Leaving Las Vegas

I've had this Blogger account for several years but have never really used it other then to read other people's blogs. Time to change that since I've gotten to know so many people who do.

I have spent the last seven weeks in Las Vegas reporting on the World Series of Poker. I am leaving with mixed emotions because quite frankly I've loved every second of it. While I hear most of my colleagues and peers say how they can't wait for it to be over, I'm of the opposite frame of mind... I wish it would never end. The World Series took place over 47 days. I worked 40 of them. 40 of 46 if you consider the fact that I was off on the very first day of the World Series. I would have worked them all if they had let me.

I have had the good fortune of having done nothing but poker for a living over the past five years. Either as a player, a mentor, and know as a reporter, in some shape or form I have paid my bills through this wonderful game. That being said I have learned more about this game and the people that play it in the past 7 weeks then I have in the previous 5 years. It was one of the reasons I took the job in the first place... I wanted to see what the poker world was like... I looked at it not only as a job but as an educational experience.

The second thing it did was it made me realize how much I need to be playing rather then teaching or writing about it. I started out solely as player but over the course of time and because of opportunities that were presented to me I moved away from playing (not completely, but it was more a hobby then a profession). Watching people play for 7 weeks... I know I belong at the table and I know I can compete with any of these players. I saw mistake after mistake being made. Players getting tired and burnt out and making poor decisions. Gambling when gambling wasn't the best way to proceed. I'd see players make calls when I knew they were beat... only they didn't know they were beat.

So that's my goal now... to play in next year's World Series. Not just one or two events like I have in the past, but all the ones I want to play in. The problem I have is that I'm the kind of guy that lives in the moment which means I have little to start with. I had a small bankroll but recent situations in my life depleted that. So I am starting from scratch... well not completely, but close enough that it's going to be a lot of work to meet this goal. But I know I can do it. I've never lost over the long run in poker. I've been fortunate that way. Just three months ago as an experiment to prove to my students some concepts about bankroll management I turned $100 into $2700 solely playing $1 and $2 rebuy tournaments (I actually cashed in 18 straight at one point... it was sick). I had turned $500 into $8000 a year and a half ago before I was a victim of identity theft. So I know I can do it. I just have to do it.

That being said I still want to do some more tournament reporting over the course of the next year to fill in the blanks and provide myself a little security. I'm going to use this blog to talk about the trials and tribulations I go through. The good. The bad. And everything in between. I might even talk about stuff other then poker. But I doubt it. LOL.