Life is what happens when you’re not playing poker.

Sorry for the long wait; I’m still alive, and still finding time on the felt.  This month has brought all kinds of challenges for me, personally, professionally, and of course, at the felt.  We’ve had a family/medical emergency which has resulted in my Mom and step Dad spending the last month here in the Seattle area.  I love spending time with them; however, I wish they were here for other reasons.  Last Tuesday I was laid off.  They actually closed the entire Kirkland office, so we all lost our jobs.  Bummer.

Always trying to be the one to find the silver lining, I’m looking at these challenges as an opportunity to try and figure out what is important to me, to sort out the crap from the important stuff in my life, and of course, focus on the important stuff.

My last 2 jobs sucked.  I hated being subject to really bad decisions, over which I had no say or control.  When I think about the idea of going back into another environment like that I feel sick to my stomach.  I’m not sure I can do it – at least not right now.  I’m more than a little bitter about my last job, and some of the stuff that happened there while I was employed.  The job before that was similar, and I’m left feeling burnt out, as far as software/web development is concerned.  It’s time for a change.

I love poker; however, with my bankroll being the size it is right now I know I can’t live on it.  Besides, the real money is at the no-limit tables, and I have neither the experience nor the bankroll to make a go at that.  I have decided that a little time off is necessary, if for no other reason than mental health.  During that time I’ll spend time at the tables certainly, and work at building my bankroll.

Unfortunately I *might* not be able to make it to the World Series this year; with no income, I’m a little hesitant to spend a bunch of money on that right now.  I haven’t yet decided – I may still go, and certainly I’ll go as a reporter for The Vegas Tourist – but I *might* not actually play.  It depends – we’ll see what happens over the next few months.

So I’ve been thinking about ways I might be able to earn a little income doing something I enjoy, while taking some time off from my web development career.  I hit on the idea of taking some courses in dealing poker and table games, and then getting a job dealing for a year or so.

The thing is, right now in my life I would love a job that ends when my shift ends.  I’m tired of taking my work home – or staying late at night or working weekends to finish a project that the project managers couldn’t get right.  I would LOVE a job that I could leave at work.  To know that when I’m done with my shift, I can leave everything behind me would be WONDERFUL.

So I might take some dealer courses and see about getting a job for a little while dealing.  Like everything else right now, I’m not certain about anything.  But I’m thinking about it.  And heck, I may just move to Las Vegas and find a job there for a while.  At least this way I can spend some time focusing on poker – and hopefully get benefits as well as a little extra income.

My Mom and step Dad are still down here, and I’m trying to spend as much time with them as I can while they’re here.

So that’s it.  I’m still working hard at my poker game.  I’m still learning.  Especially about my bankroll.  I’ve made a few mistakes over the past few months, mismanaging my bankroll which resulted in some needless losses.  Most important, I’ve played at games that are beyond the limits of my bankroll.  I’ve also played some blackjack that has hurt my bankroll, too.

My friend has very nicely reminded me that it’s EXTREMELY difficult if not impossible to beat blackjack these days – but I can easily beat a $4/$8 table, so why am I wasting my money and effort doing that?  He makes sense.  He’s a very good friend.  I’ve taken a few shots at the no-limit tables, too – for which my bankroll isn’t even close to sufficient.  That’s hurt my bankroll, too.

I take solace in the fact that these are lessons every serious poker player needs to learn, and when you learn from your own mistakes, those lessons tend to last longer and have a bigger impact.  So lesson learned.  I feel like I should create a kind of “10 Commandments for Gamblers”

1.  Thou shalt respect thy bankroll.

2.  Thou shalt never gamble with money that is necessary for living expenses.

I’ll come up with the other 8 later.  :)