FIrst I wanted to say thanks for the good wishes sent to me by a couple different CR members. On one hand I appreciate total strangers rooting for me. On the other hand, fuck you guys for obviously jinxing me and being the only reasonable explanation for my month long run bad.

I would have updated earlier but as mentioned Ive been running/playing like shit for the first few weeks of turning pro and nobody wants to read a bitchy post about the same beats they've taken. But I did want to reflect on my first few weeks and some things Ive learned.

1. I thought I could transfer my business schedule to a poker playing lifestyle, IE put in as many hands as possible from 8-5. I was very, very wrong. You simply cant play this game well unless you get that itch. I've gone back to just putting in the hours when I really want to play and the results are all ready turning around.

2. Dropping down is a great way to refocus. After a couple days of playing just horrible poker at the end of Feb I dropped all the way down to 25NL just to refocus. for 15K hands. Obviously I cant make any real money at these levels, but sometimes you just need to get that feeling of leaving the table as a winner back. Confidence cannot be emphasized enough.

3. I need a new phrase to shout when I take a bad beat. 'Fuck this game!' is starting to feel stale. Suggestions?

4. Absolute's badbeat jackpot completely untilted me this morning. I was 5 tabling when someone hit the BBJ and ship the 1K to my account. 1k for 30 minutes of play helps to wash away lots of suck outs.

5. I find that my biggest leak is paying off the fish when Im 100% sure of the hand they hit but my fucking pride is somehow soothed when I pay them off I guess to show the table that the idiot made a horrible call to hit his flush vs my set. Its a major hole and Im looking for ways to psychologically reprogram myself.

6. Ill try to update more often but heres a pic of the best thing to happen this past month. I got a puppy. We named him Dozer in honer of of the thousands of migrant workers who suffered unspeakable hardships at Fraggle Rock.

Today I received notice that I will be laid off at the end of the month. The economy hit our industry late and ironically the changes and advances I made to this business and its marketing department made laying me off both possible and honestly the most logical. I'm honestly stunned more than anything. I could never have hard feelings toward my current employer as they have always been very loyal to me and I could tell this was a shitty decision for them to make. Like I mentioned in my last blog, I have already started taking a couple days off a week to focus on poker but this really pulled any security out from underneath me.

But as I sat at my desk considering what my future holds something crossed my mind that I hadn't considered for years. 'I can do whatever the fuck I want with my life'. I allowed myself to get so wrapped up in the 8-6 lifestyle of the business world that I haven't considered what would make me happy in a long time. So, as the title of this blog indicates, I'm making my run at being a professional poker player. I did the math quickly and if I run at expectation at my current levels Im looking at needing to play 10K hands/ week to make the same income I do now. That seems very doable if I stay on my current schedule.

Anyway guys, Im not entirely sure why I chose CR as my forum to vent about all this but Im excited about this stage in my life and I figured who could understand better than my fellow degens. Here's to doing what you want in life.

Hey CR

Its been several months since I've blogged here but poker has being going amazingly well for me. When I first joined CR I made a decision I would treat poker like I treated a college course I really enjoyed and just submerse myself in the topic. The vids on CR have helped tremendously but let me suggest taking notes while watching them. I found that simply having a notepad and a pen helps me absorb the info so much better and I'm twice as engaged. I also then type up those notes but thats my OCD kicking in. I've also read 10ish books in the last 6 months which I found have given me a nice learning balance as they are almost all written by predominately live players.
Anyway, as my education has continued my game has improved dramatically. So much so that I began to take Fridays off just to get a few thousand hands in and, coupled with the rest of the week, I've been making more than I've lost at work. Starting tomorrow, I'm taking both Thurs and Fridays off to focus more on poker and get more hands in. I'm unbelievably excited about this transition but I've already seen a couple issues arise that I need some advice on.

1. Knowing that I now have a '4 day weekend', I'm getting pressure from my friends/family about what Ill be doing with my 'time off'. I cant seem to articulate to them that I will in fact be very busy and between getting the volume of hands in and keeping up with my studying Ill probably be working harder on the last 2 days of the week then I was on the first 3. No matter how much I try to explain that I'm looking at this like a second job they still seem to think of me sitting around in my boxers playing Xbox all day. I think there is something about the phrase 'playing poker' that invalidates the process. I wish it was called 'working poker'. Anyway, Im sure other CR members have encountered this problem and I would love any feedback on how you've dealt with it.

2. All of the crushing I've done over the last few months has come at the very low limits. I've done very well and have a great grasp of 50NL-200NL depending on which tables look juicy. But I always struggle with moving up. I'm always convinced that the next tier is going to be filled with online regs and Ill get crushed. This inevitably leads to me playing scared and losing my 2-3 BI shot at that level. I'd really love to move up to 600NL by the end of the year but I dont know the best prep for that jump. Suggestions? Should I get a coach or just keep pounding away at vids until I break through?

3. Finally just a brag pic. I took a little of my winning over the holidays and got myself a new poker set up. I love this set up.