By
Plattsburgh
Last year at this time, while sitting in the classroom it dawned on me... I was not happy. I wasn't sure if it was because I had stopped playing basketball for the college team, or because most of my friends graduated, but I just did not feel right. So I decided to finish out the semester, and see where poker would take me.
I went to the 2007 WSOP with $3,000 on me, putting $1,500 down for the first event which was Event #3 NLHE. Now, I had played in the 2006 WSOP but did not manage a cash in the few events I played because I had no goals. So I started with a goal for this tournament - and that was to make it to dinner break. When I was eating dinner, I formulated a new plan - make the money. After that plan was a success, I had a goal to make the final table of the event. Now this event had about 3,000 entrants and was the largest non Main Event field in WSOP history at the time, so this was a hefty goal and I am glad to say I reached it.
It was 6am when play ended the night before the final table. We bagged our chips and talked to a few people about sponsorship opportunities for the final table since it was a televised event on ESPN. After all that, my friend Jon "PearlJammer" Turner gave me a ride home. It was around 7am when we talked about how crazy it was that he and I had both made final tables (he made the FT of the $5k NLHE/LHE Event #2) so early in the WSOP.
I was very proud, but also knew there was more to be accomplished in a few short hours. You see, they make you come in around 10-11am to do the pre-interviews for ESPN in case they use it in the televised show. After Jon left, I went upstairs around 7:30, and I thought I wouldn't be able to sleep. I slept very well, however, until my alarm went off at 11am and I headed to the Rio.
It was rather hilarious - that whole morning I was so careful with everything - shaving, driving... everything. I was just so excited to have the opportunity. The media was buzzing, I went and saw some friends around the room and noticed how much wearing a full tilt logo on your shirt actually makes people stare at you. Geesh! I started the final table with a lot of confidence, but unfortunately the cards did not fall my way and although I went into the final table 4th in chips, I was the first casualty. I don't think I got over it for a few days. Tournament poker is brutal because unless you win, you really lose. If I could go back and do it differently I would just treat it like another final table, and think about what I will buy with the money later. (I was going to buy a Maserati if I won.)
When I started playing poker, I never imagined I would be doing it for a job. I assumed it would be a part time fun thing to do online or play Sit & Go's with my basketball teammates. When I started to have mild success, I began setting goals. One of those goals was to buy a nice new car with my poker winnings. This goal finally came to fruition when I won the $300 rebuy FTOPS event on Full Tilt Poker. With these winnings, I decided to buy a car and eventually decided on a Lexus IS350. The car itself is very nice, but what's even better is that I accomplished a goal - which is very important to have if you become a poker player, or really in anything you do in life. So that car is a symbol of my hard work in the past year and how fortunate I was to have this success.
After I bought the car, I headed south to my family's house in Cape May, New Jersey, just to hang out and relax. While in the midst of relaxing, my friend convinced me to go to Aruba for the Aruba Poker Classic. I decided there wasn't any significant reason not to go, so I booked my flight while it was still cheap and got a hotel room for a reasonable price. You only live once!
I arrived in Aruba and, let me tell you... it was breathtaking. The ocean was clear, the air was warm and there were beautiful women everywhere. One of the great things about traveling for poker is that you get to see all these amazing places. I have visited Australia, The Bahamas, Aruba, and Vegas all in the last 12 months. But the downside to these events is that you have to play poker inside, which is unfortunate since they are so beautiful. Thankfully, online poker can be played outdoors on a wireless internet connection. I played the WCOOP LHE $1k while overlooking the ocean with a breeze hitting my face. It was not until a few days later that I did have to play inside; ironically for a shot at playing outside for $800,000 (the UltimateBet Aruba Poker Classic televised final table is filmed just a few paces away from the shoreline).
The Aruba tournament was well-planned. UB did a fantastic job in hiring Matt Savage as the Tournament Director and throwing some great parties while we were there. The actual tournament featured a fair blind structure, and they only made us play 8-9 hour days, which is always nice. I was fortunate enough to get to Day 3 with a workable stack, and before I knew it, we were down to 7 players. The feeling when you are closing in on a final table is an amazing one... especially at a major live event. People are gathered around, all eyes are on you. Being the focus of so much attention and having all eyes follow your ever movement is an extraordinary feeling.
Unfortunately, I decided to 4-bet bluff shove vs. a random player, and that resulted in my 7th place finish. I never did get to play outside, but my good friends Jordan "Octavian_C" Rich, Jason Gray, and Travis "TravestyFund" Rice were at the final table. Congratulations to Travis who took it down for $800,000.
Poker trips are always fun not only because of the poker aspect, but because you get to meet so many people to share/compare experiences and stories with. I met some great people in Aruba, which included (but was not limited to) "Annette_15," "The Miltman," "The_Dean22," "Gboro780," "AKJhoosier1," PocketFivesLive Reporter Courtney Harrington, and "SCTrojans."
After Aruba I sort of just went home and spent my time traveling and hanging out with friends. I visited some friends back at college as well. I then went to Vegas for the Bellagio Five Diamond in December and then to the Aussie Millions in January. I also attended Foxwoods and the Borgata WPT events. I did not do too much in these events besides cashing in the Borgata WPT ME and bubbling the final table of a $1,500 prelim at Foxwoods.
Most recently, I decided to take a shot at a $2,500 satellite into the WPT championship at Bellagio. I would never enter a 25k event by myself (at least not at this point in my life), and since it's a one time deal the variance is too much for a lot of people to want to invest in anyone to play, so I decided to take a shot at qualifying. I ended up winning my seat, and was about to play in the largest buyin event in my career. This tournament was stacked. It was a who's who of poker players. My Day 1 table consisted of TheWacoKidd, John D'agostino, Thomas Wahlroos, Michael Binger, and a few other competent players. Overall it was a great experience for me. I was able to cash but was very hungry for the win. Three million dollars would have been very nice.
A lot has happened in this past year, as an individual and as a poker player. I have met many new people and shared in many great experiences. I had to quit school to accomplish this, and I definitely don't encourage anyone else to do the same. However I will say one thing... I have my regrets for leaving, but you only get one shot at life and I think it should be spent doing what makes you happy and experiencing everything you can and everything you want to. I received an email from someone who goes to my old college (Plattsburgh University), which is in upstate New York. He wrote me a two-page letter saying how I was his hero, and he had a bunch of questions for me.
I don't believe I am anyone's hero by any means, I leave that up to those who go out of their way to educate or volunteer their time. I will say I'm enjoying riding the poker wave and that I will continue to learn and grow as a person and as a poker player. It will be interesting to look back on this article a year from now and see where I am then.