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October 18, 2010

BOOM.
Blog by : Taylor
0

Hey guys, Long time no talk. I'm officially back from my longest blogging hiatus in the history of my blogging career (which started in 2006 a few months after I graduated college). Later on, I'll touch on some of the reasons for this hiatus as well as some thoughts I have been having about my life, the poker industry, and my future. I have sat down to write the aforementioned post about four or five times since I got back from the WSOP in July but each time it got too emo and I trashed it.

Anyway, I'm here today to just talk briefly about a project I am about to start working on. Jay Rosenkrantz (KRANTZ) and Ryan Firpo (918 Films) worked with some other people on a documentary that I am sure many of you have seen, 'From Busto to Robusto.' There were two episodes about poker players and the series seemed to garner a lot of critical acclaim within the poker community.

Jay and I started talking this summer about working together on creating a much more ambitious project. The project would serve to tell the story of the "Poker Boom." The goal of this film will be to tell the world the story of how poker went from the "Pre-Moneymaker" days to what it is today. We will follow a cast of characters whose stories collectively represent what most of us serious poker players know as the poker boom.

We are almost finished raising the money needed for this project and I'm excited to get started. We're in the process of selecting characters right now, so if you have some people you think would be interesting to follow you can post here and let me know. We're trying to get a good mix of characters, both "name" people that the general poker playing public might recognize and then some more niche characters that represent a different aspect of the boom (sort of like CaptZeebo did in the original FBTR).

Not a whole lot to say right now other than I am excited for this project and I hope that we get some good support from the poker community. It is not cheap to produce a full length documentary, especially while keeping the production values consistent with the discriminating tastes of the poker community :). I kid, but seriously, this ain't gonna be cheap so I do hope that the community can help us spread the word and will also support the project financially when it is released. It would be really cool to see this project make it all the way into the theaters or on TV someday, but I know that is a long ways off so I'm not going to daydream too much yet.

More on this film: http://www.dangerlion.com/?p=750

Thanks (I hope!) for welcoming me back to blogging, I appreciate all the people who have told me they wish I would start the blog back up!

Taylor

edit:

You can follow me (@taylorcaby), jay (@dckrantz), or the film (@boomdocumentary) on twitter

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June 03, 2010

Thought You MIght Enjoy
Blog by : Taylor
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For those that have watched JimmyLegs "Brain Fail" CR videos, here is a link to the special bonus video from this week's episode. I am shocked that this series hasn't gotten more love in the general poker community, it's really quite different than anything you'll see in any poker training video anywhere. It's not going to teach you how to make millions, but I'd be surprised if anyone that watched it didn't think they learned something (about poker or otherwise) and also didn't thoroughly enjoy the series.

I don't care who you are, micro grinder or nosebleed player, watch the brain fail series and you've got my personal guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

Here is the bonus video from this week's episode (this part is not educational, FYI):

I'll cut this post short for now as this post really isn't about me. Quick update In case you were wondering, I'm alive and well and in Las Vegas. Yesterday I played my first event ($1500 NLHE) and got knocked out a few minutes before the dinner break. I'm planning on getting on my grind out here so hopefully I can do some damage in some events. I never thought I would say this but I would really like to win a bracelet. Obviously the money would be great, but I would really like to be able to say that once in my life I won a World Series of Poker Event. If I could do that then I would have played the biggest games on the internet (well, not 500/1k), played in a televised cash game and televised final table, and won a bracelet. As far as meaningless poker accomplishments go (meaning non-monetary accomplishments as I've always treated poker like a job), those are some of the big ones out there. It'd be gratifying to someday look back on all this and think that I've really been able to accomplish a lot as a player and otherwise. Maybe I will be fortunate enough to win a bracelet but if not I'll at least be able to say I gave it my best shot.

Good luck, I'll talk to you guys soon. Oh, if you're reading this today (June 3), feel free to come out to the CR Happy Hour tonight at Stripburger at 5pm. You gotta be a member and we will be checking, but you can come drink on the house and hang out with some CR Pros. Andrew and I will be there, pretty sure Hastings will be there, and I'm sure random other people who I don't know about. See ya.
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May 06, 2010

Cue the Doors
Blog by : Taylor
1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGXeXm0uMDo

I can't figure out how to embed this, sorry. This is a CardRunners tradition when shit hits the fan. Looks like the market went ape-shit today for some reason. Just finished eating an expensive lunch, it might be my last one. Good luck.

On a more serious note, the video issues we have been having are almost fixed. We'll be completely back on track soon, thanks for your patience. I am excited Mindcirkus' first video for CR which is coming out later today or tomorrow. He and I recorded it Monday and I'm interested to see what you guys think. I'll leave it at that but I think it should foster some interesting discussion.
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April 19, 2010

Rush Poker Forum
Blog by : Taylor
3

Hi all,

I always have this weird feeling that when I don't update my blog for awhile I need to have an extremely thorough and interesting blog as my first post back. I guess the rationale behind that is that if I haven't been keeping up with my blog, I better have at least been doing some interesting things, right? I guess there has been some interesting real life stuff going on lately, but definitely not enough to warrant a 45 day hiatus from the blog. I'm not going to update on any of that stuff right now for purposes of breaking the requirement of an extremely thorough comeback blog.

I will say that I"ve been grinding Rush poker as if it were my job. Actually, I wish it were my job, I would love to spend 8 hours a day grinding it if I could. I get so freaking obsessive with things sometimes, and Rush Poker happens to be that thing right now. I've played about 40,000 hands this month at 1/2nl, which has to be close to the most hands of poker I've ever played in any month in my life. Things have been going well so far and the reason I am enjoying it so much is that I am learning a lot. It's been awhile since I have really put in the hours playing and studying on a consistent basis, and that's what has been happening this month. The feeling of self-improvement is just so intoxicating to me. I wake up every morning wanting to put in hands at Rush Poker and I can't wait to get home from work or the gym to put in a few hours.

I will admit, it's really nice to have 100% rakeback when you're playing a 800-1000 hands per hour, so breaking even at the games is worth a decent hourly rate. What's been the most enjoyable though is just realizing how much more strategy there is in the game than I thought there was. Taking a step back, there was so much room for improvement in my general 6max nl game because I haven't played much of it over the past year or two. Improvements there aside, there are so many nuances to Rush Poker that I never really even considered until I have been playing in the games everyday.

The reason for this post is mostly to let people know that I'm going to be in the CardRunners Rush Poker forum everyday talking strategy. I responded to just about every recent post this afternoon, and I encourage you to stop by to visit and post if you are interested in the game. I want our Rush Poker forum to be the best on the 'net, I'll respond to every new post in the forum until I post here saying I can't promise that is the case.

check out the forum here: http://www.cardrunners.com/members/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=100&page=1

Good luck at the tables,

Taylor
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February 28, 2010

Golf Vids, Miami
Blog by : Taylor
0

Ever wonder what Team CardRunners looks like out on the golf course? Me neither, but apparently someone with access to a video camera did. Just kidding, Alex (nomo4life) took some videos of our recent trip to Miami. There are a few noteworthy ones I felt like I should post here:

Muddywater on the links. Background: Andrew is a pretty decent golfer who hit probably the worst drive of his life here. He ripped the next one 280 down the middle, but obviously it was cut from this video. Note Menlo trying to hide his laughter right after the shot.


Me looking a lot better than I am. In case you can't hear my banter, I've posted it below.

Me: Stinger, you're not going to like this......it's going to be within about ten feet.
::Swings:: - shot lands about 20 feet away and eventually rolls to within 15 feet.
Me: There we gooooo
Stinger: aww, fuck you
Me: That's two unit's my friend.

Overall, Miami was a great time. We took 8 Truly Free Poker Training members who had earned over 15k+ FTP Points in at least one month. We stayed at the Gansevoort Hotel, played golf, went out to nice dinners, had drinks, did some leakfinder videos, played some beach volleyball, and basically just chilled the f out a lot. Unfortunately, Scott (IRock) separated his shoulder playing beach volleyball and had to go to the hospital. It was pretty funny because after he got it fixed up, he left in a sling and couldn't get a shirt on. We had to go to a CVS at midnight to fill his prescription. Trust me, my idea of fun is filling a percoset prescription during the middle of the night with a guy who has no shirt on, it's an experience everyone should try.

Fun fact: The bellhop recognized me.......for my FTP Academy video! He was like...hey, I've seen you before...I've watched your FTPA video. Was pretty funny, we pimped out CR to him pretty hard, hopefully he eventually comes on over here.

It was just a really enjoyable trip though, getting to meet CR members is always fun. I don't get to see the CR Pros as much as I'd like, so it was nice to have a good group of them down there too.

Finally, someone posted on my last blog that he is in a contest to try to win the "ultimate" wedding or something. Well i clicked through and apparently his soon-to-be wife helped him lose over 225 pounds and now they are going to get married. Pretty damn cool, I hope you guys win this contest. If you don't win, I at least hope you have a happy life together, not a bad consolation prize I suppose.

Good luck in life and at the tables.

Taylor

Wedding Contest
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February 22, 2010

Lately (Part 2)
Blog by : Taylor
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I'm having a hard time coming up with blog titles. I used to sit around and try to think of clever titles, oh, the younger days.

Things have been going pretty great for me, I've really enjoyed 2010 so far. I'll just list some life stuff that's been "up" and then talk about some CardRunners things. I don't really talk too much CR stuff in this blog, but maybe sometimes I think it's good to mix that in with life/poker stuff.
So lately:
-I've been sweating college hoops pretty hard. College basketball is my favorite sport and my team, Illinois, is typically pretty good. The last few years have not been good to us but say overall we were easily a top 10 program of the last decade. One final 4, one elite eight, a few sweet 16's, and a tournament appearance every year but one I believe. In January, I was able to score some second row seats to the Illinois Gonzaga game at the United Center. This was one of the better college bball games of the year, as we were down 20 points in the first half, came back to go up by 6 or 7 midway through the second half, gave up the lead, hit 3 with a few seconds left to force OT, then lost by 1 or 2 in OT. I'm a big fan of Bill Raferty, the CBS announcer, and since we were sitting right by the scorers table he came around and bs'd with the fans a little before the game and took some pics with people. He seemed like a cool dude, I can't wait for March Madness and the inevitable "onions" and the even better "early onions" calls by him. A couple weeks ago I went down to Champaign for the Michigan State Illinois bball game, which fortunately turned out better for the Illini. It was cool to see the College Gameday crew on campus and it was overall a fun time. Today the Illini play Purdue and I'm going to miss it due to being at a wedding, boo.
-During the winter, I usually go through stretches of extreme boredom or basically just being unhappy. I've noticed this basically every year since college. I really think it's just because the weather in Chicago sucks so much during the winter. Anyway, the point is, I have felt pretty good this winter. I think it's partially because I am sort of getting over the way life "used to be." I don't really long for being out till 2am 4 nights a week, so it doesn't bother me when I'm missing that. Things on the work front, which I'll talk about later, have been great. Overall, things have just been pretty good lately.
-I spent Valentine's weekend in Las Vegas with Melissa. It was nice to get away and do nothing for a couple of days. We stayed at the Bellagio, which was my first time staying there. We got a chance to eat at Sage at Aria, which I thought was excellent. I got a chance to get a massage at the Spa which was interesting. The only type of massage I like is when they just tear your muscles apart and it hurts like hell. I get extremely bored if I'm just sitting there and it's a light massage, so I'd rather have a bunch of pain so my mind doesn't wander but then feel great for the next few days. I got the Ashiatsu massage, which is the type where they walk on your back and most of the massage is done by the masseuse's feet. It sounds strange, and man can it be painful, but it really leaves you feeling energized. After that massage I just felt great and it really set the tone for a nice weekend. Melissa and I were grinding the roulette tables at the B when I ran into a kid I went to high school with. We had a nice little chat, it was cool to see a random non-poker friend out in Vegas. On the plane home I saw another girl I went to high school with, but only had chance to chat for a minute or so. Two very surprising encounters, to be sure.
-I have fallen off a little bit in my basketball playing. I was playing 3 days a week for about six months, but now it's down to only one or two. Overall I am happy with my level of fitness, it's definitely better than it was a year ago and it is still improving. The biggest difference is just eating better, my gf has great eating habits and just mooching off whatever she is eating goes a long way, instead of ordering delivery every night.
CR related stuff:
So I don't really blog about CR business related stuff all that much, for a few reasons. One, I'm never really sure who finds it interesting. Do my real life friends care? Am I trying to send a message to other people who work in the industry? I don't know, there just doesn't seem to be a huge point to it. I do think that there are a lot of things I could blog about that might be interesting to read or even educational, but I think it might appeal to a much smaller subset of people than currently read my blog.

-We have been working for quite some time on a new version of the CR website. It's going to be a lot better, basically just a better version of the current site with some new bells and whistles. I think it will be better from both a member's perspective and from a business perspective. I'm never shy about admitting that we are in fact running a business, even though most think of CR as a place to hang out and improve their poker game. I think it's key to find that happy balance between doing everything you possibly can to give maximum value for your customers dollar, while also holding the financial health of the company in high regard. Most of the time, the right decisions are good in both scenarios, but there are times when you'll have to make sacrifices on one side for the other. I think that over the past year we have really done a nice job with that mix. Our Truly Free Poker Training promotion is unlike anything else on the 'net and it gives people such a great deal on the best poker training money doesn't have to buy! We've partnered on a FTP rakeback offer (click the red rakeback link on the top nav) that costs us money -- we are giving away free product, 3 months of CR and a HEM license, so that customers can get a great deal that is unmatched anywhere else on the net. I guess what I'm getting at is, I think we're really finding a good mix between doing things that benefit the customers and the company. That was really our biggest guiding principal in the newest iteration of the CR website, which I'm really hopeful you guys like. It should be out sometime in early April, but I don't know an exact date yet.
-I am going to Miami next week for "Camp CardRunners." 8 members of Truly Free Poker Training that earned over 15k FTP points in a month were randomly picked to attend this thing. We're staying at a nice hotel in Miami, and the CR crew is Me, Stinger, Wiggins, Eric Liu, Isaac Baron, Mike Schneider, Irock, and VitalMyth. It will mostly be us having a fun time at the beach, playing golf, going out to dinner, etc., but we'll also do some leakfinder videos and I'm sure talk a lot of poker. It's a pretty cool thing we've been able to do for TFPT members, I mean for no cost whatsoever these people are getting a trip to Miami for 3 days, not a bad deal and I'm looking forward to the trip.
-I'll be in Dublin a week after that for some FTP meetings. We've got a good relationship with those guys and I try to make it out there once a year to hang out, talk about our businesses, and hopefully get out and have some Irish beers.
Finally, an exciting piece of news that I've been meaning to blog about for awhile. About a year ago, we started talking seriously to Roy, the creator of Hold'em Manager, about becoming investors in his company. This was something totally new to us, as the only thing our company has had much experience doing is poker training related stuff. The poker software business is obviously quite a bit different and presents a slew of new challenges, I wasn't sure if I was more nervous or excited, but I knew we had our work cut out for us. Because everyone in our company was really impressed with what HEM had done with their software, we figured, "why not keep the same software development and support guys, combine that with our management team, and try to continue to build the company together?" Towards the end of 2009, we were able to work out a deal with the HEM guys and we were on our way.

It's been a fun time so far, we've launched a new website, a new "app store," partnered with software such as Table Ninja and Leak Buster, and added some pretty cool functionality to the core software. I've always been impressed with the HEM software and their company as a whole, but after working with these guys for a few months I am even more impressed with what they do. From the developers to the support guys, everyone is great to work with and it's just a really fun company to be a part of. I should say "thanks" to everyone involved in the project, both on the CR and HEM side, I'm really fortunate to be working with and learning from all of you.
I guess I should close this post with an obligatory, "check out Hold'em Manager" if you're looking for some software to track and analyze your play. Don't take my word for it that it's a great product, you can get a free trial at the website. Actually, I am curious how many readers of this blog already use HEM. If you have any insight on HEM v PokerTracker or just comments in general about poker software, feel free to comment here and I'll join in on the discussion.
Good luck at the tables and in life. Speaking of the tables, I have an itch to play some PLO, going to go scratch that itch.

Taylor
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January 30, 2010

Lately
Blog by : Taylor
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Hi, short update again. This week was a hectic one. We had a lot of people in town that usually work remotely, and it was some long hours at work. I also managed to have some fun over the past week or so, I guess I'll just list off some random stuff. I will keep this short as I am about to do a power-hour with some friends so we can re-live our glory days of 5ish years ago.

-Andrew, Brystmar, Nutedawg, Duckslayer2k and I went out for dinner and drinks on Thursday. We went to some random Persian place and then to HopLeaf for some snobby Belgium beers. Thomas (Brystmar) is a pretty big beer snob so he was in heaven there. I was also made fun of a few times for my non-baller timex watch and my 3,000 word essay blogging about it. Duckslayer really taught me something about being a pick-up artist, I always thought it was sort of a sham but honestly I was pretty impressed with his skillz. Bonus: watch CTZ tomorrow and you can hear the story of him trying to pick up my girlfriend (brag: unsuccessful).
-Last weekend my friend Dawson's gf and her friends were at Old Town Social, a fairly popular place in Old Town. We got there way too late and there was a probably 30 minute line. As a rule I don't grease doormen in Chicago because there really is no place worth going paying to get into when there is rarely cover and a million places to go to. We were leaving to walk to another bar when I got a text from a poker player (tommyboy83, mix game player) who said he saw me leaving. He said he could get us in, which I later found out meant he'd grease the door guy for us, so the three of us went into the bar. We had a pretty mediocre night actually, everyone in the place was super drunk, we weren't, so we went home by like midnight.
-The Jersey Shore people were in Chicago for some events. I vowed to go to a Jersey Shore event and have been growing my hair out for Jersey blowout purposes, but I missed the events. I hope to have The Situation at a party sometime in the future, maybe for next year's Christmas party.
-Hmm..what else. I'm going to Champaign next week for the Illinois/Michigan State game, next weekend I'll be in Vegas, the following week I'll be in Miami with some of the CR guys for a camp/hangout thing we're doing. I should have some good stories, and I still have a freaking long blog post from winter break that I haven't posted.
gl at the tables.

Taylor
PS - Just ordered the new Dominos pizza. I recommend trying their ordering system, it's badass. You can literally see all the steps as your pizza is being made, and supposedly it doesn't taste like cardboard anymore. We'll see about that.

***UPDATE***

The Pizza was fantastic, I have to admit. I HIGHLY recommend getting the BBQ Sauce with chicken, for your standard BBQ Chicken Pizza. Please refer to that as the "tay," btw. Funny story, the Pizza took way too long to get here (like an hour when it said it would be 30 minutes), so on the page where it gives you detailed information of where your pizza is you can also leave comments. I left the following comment:

"Pizza supposedly left the store 30 minutes ago and is still not here. I will be blogging about this experience, blogs.cardrunners.com/taylor, please let me know if you can do something for me."

I'd say 10% chance someone gets in touch with me and gives me a coupon, I know I do things like that when I see people saying nice things about CR. I hope I get some Dominos coupons....I'll let you guys know if I do.

Seriously though, get that pizza, it's really good. Unanimously agreed upon by all eaters that for 12 bucks for 2 pizzas was a very good deal. I also recommend the sandwiches if you are looking for a sandwich that sort of tastes like Pizza.
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January 19, 2010

Rush Poker
Blog by : Taylor
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Hey guys. Been almost a month since I updated. It's funny, because I read a lot of poker player's blogs and I get kinda pissed when they don't update. Typical hypocritical poker player's mentality, I guess. That's one thing I like about Phil Galfond's blog, he updates it pretty regularly even just to say "hey, I haven't been doing a lot lately." I like that, maybe I will get back to that.

Anyway, here for two reasons. The first is just to say hello and also mention that I wrote a really long post about a week ago but I basically forgot about it. I had some video I took over the Holidays I wanted to share, but I have been lazy about getting it off my flip thing onto my computer. I'll post that later this week.

The other is that you guys should check out "Rush Poker" at FTP. It's kinda addicting actually, so be careful if you have an addictive personality. I won't really try to explain all the rules here, but basically whenever you fold you are insta put at a new table. You can also insta-fold whenever you want, even if it is not yet your turn, and they will put you at a new table. It's hard to get reads on players because you are constantly playing with new people. Current HUDs don't work on these tables, and bumhunting is impossible. Kudos to FTP for coming out with this, it looks really cool.

Check it out here: http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/rush-poker

Also, remember, you can get CardRunners completely for free just by playing at FTP -- no need to create a new FTP account, no hit to your rakeback, doesn't cost any points or money: www.trulyfreepokertraining.com
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December 24, 2009

It could happen to you
Blog by : Taylor
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Hey guys, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, etc. I don't have a life update for you at the moment but I do have a link to a blog a lot of you would probably enjoy reading.

Joey "jcl" Lawrence has become quite a popular pro this year. I think he flies a bit under the radar because he is new to the video making scene, but if anyone is interested in reading about a "it can happen to you" CR success story, he's a great example. A lot of people ask me if it is still possible "in this day and age" of online poker to move from a small stakes beginner to being a high stakes reg. I'll admit, it's tough, but it can happen. Give his latest blog a read, it's really pretty awesome.

He's got a HSNL video coming out tomorrow and his previous videos at CR have been pretty fantastic. Give 'em a watch, who knows, maybe next year it could you be!

Anyone else have any poker/CR success stories for 2009? Give me a shout in the comments and I'll link you in a later blog. I'd love to do some interviews with you guys in the beginning of 2010. Best story in the comments wins a CR hoodie...it's gotta be real, though :).

Talk to you later guys, have a safe holiday.

Taylor

Link: http://blogs.cardrunners.com/jcl/2009-a-breakout-year
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December 15, 2009

Watch
Blog by : Taylor
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I recently bought a watch. It's the first watch I've bought since I impulse bought a Rolex in 2005 while in Aruba. Looking back on this purchase, it's really amazing how much I've changed since then. Being 22 years old yet having made maybe high six or low seven figures from poker after having deposited less than two years back was a pretty wild thing to experience. Up until the Rolex, the only things I had purchased with my money were some PS2 games, DVD's, and some clothes. It was my second trip to Aruba (UB Tournament) and my first where I could legitimately walk into a high-end watch shop and consider buying something. You don't really realize it until you experience it and then look back on it, but luxury good makers are so good at making you implicitly desire whatever it is that they sell. I left for Aruba not even realizing I wanted a watch, then left Aruba not understanding how I lived life not ever owning a nice watch. Three days later, I wondered why I owned the high-end watch. That's the interesting part of the whole Rolex story, I brought it back home to Chicago, felt cool showing my parents and a few friends, and then didn't even take it back to Champaign (school) because I was too embarrassed to wear a rolex out to bars where on expensive nights drinks might run $3 each. All in all, I probably wore that watch 20 times, I don't even know where it is now. Note to self: find watch.
The Rolex story is reflective of my tastes in general. Simply put, my tastes have changed over the last few years. It's funny, because I actually do spend a pretty good amount of money. I just spend money on things I once wouldn't have considered buying and I don't spend money on the things I always thought I would want.
I like to eat at nice restaurants, I enjoy not having to cook as often as possible so I order delivery quite regularly. I actually went almost an entire year without stepping foot in a grocery store, impressive or sad: you be the judge. I stay at nice hotels and I waste money on taxis when taking public transportation or driving would be a much more economical form of transportation. I often buy expensive clothes, but rarely do I buy something that looks expensive or that flashes a name brand that people would know to be expensive. Compare these things to how I lived before poker: I had dinner at maybe three "fancy" restaurants in my life, I ate at a restaurant or ordered delivery at most five times my entire freshman year of college, I walked or took the bus everywhere, and I don't think I had ever stayed in a hotel besides when traveling with my family (yet I've slept in cars, on couches, on floors, or [sadly] in bars on numerous occasions). The only clothes I bought were whatever I could get my parents to spring for, which by no means was anything extremely fancy.

Now, let's talk about the things I don't spend money on. I always thought I would want a really nice collection of watches. It seemed to me that having a lot of nice watches was a symbol of success in the world. After buying one, it's clear I'll never make a point to start a collection, but I do see myself getting a nice watch or two sometime down the line. When I was 19 I set a goal to own a BMW by the time I was 30. I bought one (used, 3 series, nothing over the top) when I turned 23, and it's arguably been a pretty poor purchase. I don't drive often, I don't know much about cars, and I don't find a whole lot of additional satisfaction in owning an entry level luxury vehicle. I thought I would want to own a bunch of real estate because "that's what rich people do." Well, I bought a place when I graduated but have since moved out and have been renting for a few years. I still get questions all the time as to why I am "burning money" renting, but it's been one of the best decisions of my life. If anyone is genuinely curious, I'll do another blog post about that, just let me know.
While I'm thinking about it, I read an article somewhere (wish I could find it) that basically talked about the utility that people receive from spending money on different things. It's (supposedly) been proven that you get more enjoyment from spending money on experiential things -- vacations, dinners, sporting events, etc. than on tangible goods -- clothes, jewelry, cars, etc. The reason is that the human mind tends to focus on the positive things about past experience. We remember all the amazing times we had during college, the parties, the co-eds, the friends, but forget about all of the all night study sessions, the politics of the social scene, being broke, etc. Same goes with vacations and restaurant experiences, the study went on to "prove" that when you look back on these experiences months and years later, you recall them more fondly than if someone asked you about them the very next day. Furthermore, when you spend money on tangible goods, you're much more likely to find that they have less value to you as time goes on. You can lose things, break them, or they may just go out of style. It's pretty hard to lose a memory of a nice meal or conversation with a family member on a vacation.
My friends often give me crap about some of the tangible goods I do buy. My friends Coop/Craig told me last weekend: "Taylor, why is it that you like to buy really expensive things that look really cheap?" They were just giving me some (I think) good natured shit about all of the sneakers and non-logo'd polos/tees that I typically wear, all of which are generally very nice but you wouldn't look at them and think they were very expensive. My tastes have definitely changed, I like to look good but the last thing I want to do is walk into a room and make it look obvious that I'm flashing something expensive or overly trendy.
So, where am I now? Was this just a long winded way of telling people I bought a freaking watch? I hope not, but that's where I am. I bought a watch recently, and here's a picture and a link about the watch.

I think the watch actually sold out at the website I bought it from, because I can't find the original link to the watch there. It was $80 and is probably the cheapest watch I'll ever purchase the rest of my life. I like it a lot, but I'm curious as to what readers of this blog think. Retro? Cool? Trying too hard? I like the watch, it makes me happy. I think what I like the most about the watch is it reminds me how I've changed over the last few years. Crazy to think I get more enjoyment out of this thing than a watch that was fifty times as expensive and a thousand times more "baller" than a Timex. Something tells me I'll wear this one more than twenty times, but who knows for sure, maybe my tastes will change again :)

Alright, time to go play some hoops. I'm headed to Dallas for a day at Jim's sweatshop then I'll be back in Chicago until the New Year. Good luck in life and at the tables.

Taylor
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