My 2018 - This is my Hobby: Making Friends with Cards at the Poker Table

It was 2003, and for the first time in my life, I saw poker on television. I was a senior in high school and had purchased cable television so I could watch Sportscenter on ESPN while doing my homework.

For the millions who watched the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP), we saw an amateur poker player, Chris Moneymaker, defeat seasoned professionals to win $2.5M and become an instant celebrity. During a commercial break, a saw an ad for Party Poker, a website that gave any 18-year-old in their parent’s basement (me) the chance to win real money playing poker online. That night I lost $200 I didn’t have to lose and had to find creative ways to raise enough money to fill my gas tank to get to and from work.

From that moment, my interest shifted away from video games and homework (sorry mom) to poker. It combined statistics, chance, risk, and skill, which in a game is all I could ever want or hope for.

I began finding friends and strangers who were hosting private games, travelling to local casinos, and continuing to play online poker. I’ve played live poker in Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Indiana, Canada, and Las Vegas, from buy-ins of $5 for a tournament to $500, including a World Series of Poker Circuit Event in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

WSOP Circuit Event Experience

In early 2010, as a broke college student at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, I made the 7-hour drive to Council Bluffs, Iowa, which is right on the border of Nebraska. Over the past two years, I had paid several thousand dollars towards my tuition bills (private universities are not cheap) from poker winnings at the local casino boat. I would show up 2-3 times a week and consistently win from $100-300, which for a college student who made $9/hour, I couldn’t have been happier.

I was destined to take my poker skills to the next level and start on a path of becoming a professional poker player. It seems silly now, but I was very serious about turning my hobby into a career.

The night before the tournament, I scrounged together the $350 I needed to enter the tournament (and a bit more to play in a cash game), and I started driving. A few hours into the drive, and it was midnight and I was still about four hours away from the tournament. I pulled over my 1994 Eagle Talon, and slept very uncomfortably in my car in the parking lot of a rest area.

I woke up early, fueled up on energy drinks and McDonald’s, and headed the rest of the way to the casino. A few hours later, I was there and ready to play. After playing in a couple of cash games for a few hours, the tournament was about to start. I paid my $350 entry fee and took my seat in a packed room. The winner would get a WSOP Circuit ring, and I had my eye on the prize. This was the day where I would make a name for myself, win a ring, and begin my journey as a professional poker player.

Nervous and excited at the same time, the tournament began. After three weak hands, which I immediately folded, I was dealt AA. I could barely hold my excitement. I raised, and to my delight, I was reraised by an older female player sitting to my left. I raised again, committing about 30% of my chips to the pot, and she called. My heart was pounding and I just hoped that the other player couldn’t see through my poker face, realizing I had a monster hand. The flop comes 882, which is a fantastic flop for AA, considering the player reraised me before the flop and likely had a high pair, or another premium hand like AQ or AK. I let my excitement get to me, and I go all-in. After thinking for only about 3 seconds, the player to my left calls. “What could she possibly have here,” I thought. She flips over 55. Yes! Only four hands into the tournament and here I was about to become the early chip leader. I could then play aggressively and build my stack and have a great chance to cashing or even winning the entire tournament.

As I begin to smile, I see the dealer flip over a 5. “You have got to be kidding me!” The entire room stared as I picked up my jacket and walked out of the room. While I love the game, I have a hard time keeping my emotions to myself, especially in that situation after working so hard and risking so much to get busted by such a poor hand.

How Poker Has Benefited Me In Other Aspects of Life

I truly believe that every hobby has some benefits outside of that specific hobby. For me and poker, I could apply what I learned at the poker tables and apply it to other aspects of life. For example, the concept of opportunity cost changed my life, and is still something I use in some way, shape, or form every day.

The concept is that to do anything, you have to give up doing something else (or several things). In poker, based on your cards and how many opponents you’re playing against, you can calculate roughly what the chances are of you hitting the hand you want. Based on this, you can decide whether to call a bet or fold based on opportunity cost. If the chances of you hitting your hand aren’t greater than the risk, you should probably fold your cards.

From what courses I should take to how I would spend my Sunday nights, I used opportunity cost to decide how my time was best spent.

Poker also helped me make and build friendships, both in-person and online.

The Steem Poker League

When playing poker in-person, I made friends at the poker table – real friends that helped me get through tough times and were there just to goof around with. But, one thing I was missing was an online community where I could get to know other poker fanatics like myself without having to be a professional.

Just three months ago with an interest in cryptocurrency and skills as a writer, which is my full-time job, I joined Steemit. Every couple of days, I would see a post or two about poker. “Are there really people who play poker here on Steemit?” About a month into my journey on Steemit, I learned about the Steem Poker League, which plays freeroll tournaments on Lucksacks.com. Not only could you play poker with other Steemians, you could win actual SBD without any risk.

With my love of poker, I couldn’t have been more excited to learn about the SPL, and I’ve been playing ever since. From conversations on our Discord channel to hosting my own tournaments with my new friends, I have gained a lot from this community, including dozens of friends, and I plan to give back as much as I have received. They have helped me continue my hobby, which I don’t plan on ever giving up.

I’m currently ranked as the Player of the Month for March, so while I never did win that WSOP Circuit ring, my best days of poker might still be ahead of me.

Thanks for letting me share about my hobby, and if you’re interested in playing with me, join the @SPL!