Man, these are really tough times for the online poker industry. I really haven't had a lot of time to catch my breath but when I stop to think it's always about the people. This will cause hardship for so many in the poker industry, myself included. Even though this is difficult, I am without a doubt one of the lucky ones. I got into poker early. Our companies are not nearly as dependent on USA business as some others I am hearing about. I was smart/lucky enough to have some sort of fall back plan by getting a degree. Then again, is there really any fall back plan these days? Is my degree even worth anything five years out of school in an industry that has been just as badly ravaged as the online poker industry? No matter what happens to poker, the experiences I have had in this industry feel more valuable than anything I learned in college. That might be typical for someone a few years removed from school, I don't know.

I felt like I should give people an update because I am getting a ridiculous amount of email submissions from my last blog post. I have read about 150 emails so far, mostly from online poker players. The stories are eerily similar. So many players aged 23-28, kids like me who were in college during the peak of the online poker boom and now are wondering "what's next?" The crazy thing is that nobody knows. I could see scenarios playing out where things are back to "normal" in a matter of months, not years. I could see scenarios where what we thought was normal was actually not and we'll never see another time like that again. I personally don't think there will be a quick fix but I am pretty optimistic about positive change within a couple of years.

The motivation behind my last blog was that I want to make it known that I am going to do everything I possibly can to come out of this whole mess as best I can (CardRunners and myself personally, that is). In any catastrophe there are a ton of losers, a few huge winners, and everything else in between. I know which category I'd like to be in. I felt like the best attitude to have was one of open-mindedness and optimism. I still feel that way. I can be pissed off about what has happened or I can look at all of my options and try to pick the best ones. If along the way my attitude can rub off on a few people and help some others then that would be great too. Maybe I can also find some other people to work with on CardRunners or other projects too. In the short run, there will absolutely be a need for more instructional poker talent at CR. If you are interested in becoming an instructor the quickest way to do that is to PM nomo4life and talk to him about the application process. As for non poker jobs, I'll be contacting people soon if for no other reason than to make an introduction and see what comes next. Part of this was just to make some contacts and keep people in mind for stuff should something pop up down the road.

Thanks to everyone who has sent me an email so far. A lot of you have said very nice things about CardRunners and it means a lot to me. There's not a whole lot else to do or say right now besides it's time to get to work.

Taylor