Goals

Mexico

Get to Rosarito and be online playing by Feb.

Vegas

Spend the summer in Vegas crushing the PLO8 tournies. Play the WSOP PLO8 events. Don't bubble this time.

Europe

Enjoy the fall in Europe. Mostly visiting friends and enjoying. Play on line when we need money.

The World

Back pack the world. Seriously do it. We've done Europe before. This time we hope to go from continent to continent, couchsurfing, staying in hostels, and living in poker houses, until WSOP the following year.

Last time I tried to start a goals and challenge thread, it fell apart. I blame that on Florida. (description below)

This time I plan on achieving all of the above goals.

Poker is a huge part of my life. It has been for around 10 years now. It started when I got my first dealing job and read every book I could find while slowly grinding up on the side, keeping notes, and playing 4-8 limit hold em.

My boyfriend and I met on 2p2 when I was looking for an Omaha coach. Our 5th year together started on Jan 1st. For the majority of the 5 years my income has come from poker playing. I dealt the WSOP 1.5 times (quit half way through one time just to play) and I have dealt a few times here or there but nothing major. Most of the income has been from poker. He only plays.

Last April, the decision was either go to South Florida where I would deal some events and we could play, or stay in Vegas living with family and continue to play there, or go to Mexico and play online. We took the worst choice of the 3 and went with Florida.

I will tell anyone reading this thread what I wish some one had told me last year:

Do not go to Florida. Everything here is horrible.

If you play 1-2 NL, you are handicapping yourself by coming here. Everywhere from Tampa to Daytona all the way south to Hollywood allows mini buy ins. Most people buy for 60. Some places as low as 40. Factor in $7 per hand in rake. Then add in a ridiculously high cost of living. Most of the poker rooms are somewhere between mediocre and awful, many dealers are horrible, there's this huge Florida "check it down when your heads up" conspiracy. If you play larger games and don't mind paying huge bills, it may be worth coming here if you really really care about the weather.

We knew almost right away that we had made a huge mistake coming here. We tried to stick it out. I gave up playing and took a regular house dealing job. Not only do you get raped by a high rake when you play, you get raped by paying tax on every single penny you make when you deal. Then the state pulled my licence to deal over a stupid mark on my record that's from over 10 years ago and I was ready to go.

But we still stayed. We drove over an hour every day just to play in a 2-5 PLO8 game. We killed it for a bit, but now the word is out on that game and it's the worst I have ever seen it. It's like anyone who knows how to play suddenly heard of this game and went to farm it. Now it's no fun to play and much more difficult to beat. Finally we're saying screw it, let's go.

So as of right now we are looking for a room to rent in Rosarito. I'll continue to update as we go through the process of getting there and getting online.

best of luck to you and your bf. I hope you achieve all of your goals and take us along for the ride

Thanks for the encouragement.

I'm adding a most most important goal to the top of my list

Don't worry, be happy

Seriously, this is my biggest leak in both poker and life.

My life is so good. I have had a difficult time getting to this point and I often forget to be grateful.

We're pretty much just dropping everything and going for it and I keep getting stressed. But really, it's just my mind playing tricks on me.

I just started reading Aesah's thread and I am to the point where he's questioning his motives for a potential move to LA. I am in the same boat here. Do I think a move is going to make me happy?

And more importantly, can playing for a living really make me happy?

I like the freedom and the ability to live off the grid. Sometimes the importance of discipline and concentration drives me crazy.

Really, the hardest part will be the staying relaxed and happy.

haha I still haven't found that place where it's like "I *know* I want to live here for the rest of my life". LA is probably the closest for me but I'm still searching, maybe I will find it maybe I won't. Either way it will be fun

Things have been beyond stressful since the decision to move was made. I found someone to take over my lease on my apartment and buy all the furniture and was ready to leave tomorrow.

Of coarse this falls through. Now last minute I am trying to sell everything on craigslist. And I am losing a deposit.

So far failing miserably on the don't worry be happy part of my goal. Before all of this started, I ate healthy every day, did yoga, and never drank. Now I am drinking every day, eating junk and not exercising. And the stress is weighing me down.

My boyfriend keeps telling me that I am doing good, but I don't think so.

We got some incredibly crappy offers from some players in Rosarito to rent out their spare rooms. Such as "Let me charge them the whole amount of rent, make them pay 2 months up front and share all the utilities just to use my spare room" type stuff.

I mean come on guys I can look up your building online and see what the apartments are renting for.

So lots of stress......

anyway

much more poker to come in the thread once I get online. Lots of PLO8

For now absolutely NO PLAYING. I am not fond of playing in Florida anyway, but I wanted to play just to make some extra dough and kill some time and realized this is a horrible idea since I am so stressed.

Stress levels lowering.

Our land lord offered to give a percent of the deposit back if he could find someone to take it while we were still living there. So we were paid up until this Sunday, trying like crazy to sell furniture and stuff and this young girl with a baby knocks on our door with our landlord. We let her see the place and she loved it.

All goes well, she takes the place, we sell and/or donate all the furniture in the next few days while the rent is still paid, we go to Orlando for a few days (where we have family), sell a few more miscellaneous things along with our 2k car, catch a flight to San Diego and head to Rosarito.

IF all goes well.....

I think I am due for some run good.

I need to stop drinking.

Hopefully I see this and it serves as a reminder. It serves no purpose. I feel better for the moment and feel much much worse later. This is a lesson I have learned many times in life, not sure why I am taking a refresher course now.

Cakes is amazing

My boyfriend really went to work last night on craigslist and we ran so good. He convinced people that we are selling everything in the apartment for very cheap and the people came.

I figure it's better to refer to my compañero as cakes instead of constantly typing out boyfriend (I hate that term) or BF which could also mean bet/fold or before.

We sold our bed even and I hurt so bad from being drunk and sleeping on the floor. But I feel good. Good things are happening.

All the people that were coming in and out of our place buying were catching bits and pieces of our story and they were all jealous and amazed.

subbed. was thinking of playa de carmen myself.

I originally wanted Playa de Carmen, however decided to go with Rosarito due to it's proximity to Las Vegas.

Things haven't been going good.

We never got any of our deposit back from the apartment. I think the land lord just wanted us out quickly.

We can't sell the car because Cakes was over zealous on craigslist and now we are flagged. So we are stuck here in Orlando (worst city I have ever lived in) with his family. I keep trying to convince him we should just drive the car, if it doesn't sell by Sunday, he has no choice. We're putting a sign in it and parking it across the street at a college.

Why do you need to sell your car? I hear that car insurance is pretty cheap in Mexico. Plus, you'll want to have it in Vegas this summer. Cabs can get really expensive, especially if you're there for a few months.

If it still runs ok, just drive the car to Mexico! You can always sell it later if you want.

Good luck OP. As a fellow female poker player, I'm rooting for you!

Thanks Kitty.

We wanted to sell the car because it would have been convenient. We both hate driving and neither of us is looking forward to 40 hours on the road. Plus the car is older so there is always a risk of something breaking. I know many people in Vegas from living there for 10 years and we would have just used the bus when needed.

But we gave up on trying to sell it. So we leave tomorrow.

Just finished a grueling drive from Orlando to Rosarito last night.

The place we got, we reserved online from an agent and it was much nicer looking in the pictures however it will be good enough. We kinda just settled on something because we finally found someone willing to do a month to month lease.

The agent also helped us get our internet and utilities turned on quickly and hopefully I will be on stars by tonight or tomorrow depending on how fast they respond to me sending them my information.

It might take me a couple days to start seriously playing because I feel like I am recovering from a drug binge. That drive took the life right out of me and I strongly believe that to be a successful winning player, you must be in the right mindset and healthy.

Anyone thinking about going through what we did, feel free to ask any questions in the thread or PM.

The food here is amazing

Maybe I will get sick of it later, but for now I love it. All the crap that is very cheap and bad for you in the US is expensive here. Processed Convenience crap. All the stuff that I love like fresh, hand made food with fresh vegetables is very cheap. Produce is cheap. You can get fresh lunch from a stand on the road for 3-4 dollars. Lots of food with a drink included.

moar updates plz.

subscribed, good luck

Online poker is worst (or better) than World of Warcraft

I played 13 hours straight today I feel like a jukie when I used to be addicted to WOW.

indepth update coming tomorrow

I considered letting this thread die. I'm lazy, I wasn't running good online and I hate writing about it, and I thought there was a lack of interest. But I got a three PMs asking about how I am doing and I decided to keep up a bit more.

On my last update, you may have noticed that I edited out some of it. I kinda bashed the experience I had a little to hard. So here I will try to put it out there a little nicer. I think we got worked, just a little. The apartment we have is decent, but it looked nicer in the pictures. Don't get me wrong, the place is really nice. We pay 500 per month for a fully furnished condo with an ocean view that has top of the line security and services. I think other people in our building pay less and that there are places for less. I wanted to look in to it more, but Cakes is content just staying here.

Before we came, people made it sound like it's really difficult getting set up. It's not. We had people and businesses offering to "take care" of all the banking and getting us up on PokerStars again for 200-300 dollars. We were really anxious about this stuff and decided to just pay. Then we got here and I convinced Cakes we should try on our own and we did it. We just walked in to the bank with our paperwork and they gave us an account. And pokerstars was easy too.

I ran really bad at first and of coarse I had a case of run bad play bad run bad play worse run even worse play horrible......

I had originally deposited 1000 on to stars for my roll. I burned through more than half in just 3 days. I lost around 10-15 buy ins trying the $15 no limit O8 SnGs. I was playing too high at a game I had never tried before. I love PLO8 but no limit is a whole different beast.

So I promised myself I would stop the SnGs and stick to large field tournies. I had my first decent score a few days ago when I had a 3 way chop on the 8.80 Omania. I think my prize was between $750-800. (not really in the mood to go looking it up, anyone wants to see my stats, I am Turd Magoo). Once I had that score, my confidence heated up and desire to win kicked in.

Yesterday, I came close to scoring nice a few times again. I arrived at the bubble of the 5.50 5 card PLO8 and a player was all in for a little more than a min raise. I had an average stack. I flopped 2 pair with a second nut low draw. The pot was 5 handed including the all in. I am pretty sure I was about to bet. I know that often when a player is all in, two people will check it down not wanting to push out a hand that would beat the all in. This however was a little different. First off, I don't care when the bubble bursts. With an average stack, I want to build while the shorties are just trying to cash. There was a lot of money in that pot, enough to double my stack.

So anyway, I think I wanted to bet. This is when stuff got a little messed up. Sometimes when we are involved in key hands, Cakes and I talk to each other, he had been watching this particular hand and he said, "well you might as well check". I just check as second to last action and the button checked. The turn counterfeited my low draw and gave me 3 pair and this time when we all checked, the button bet. We all folded and the button ended up protecting the all in who won. I would have filled up OTR and scooped. That pot would probably have propelled me to the final table. I am not sure what would have happened if I bet, but I went on tilt after that and busted a few after the bubble.

But I keep cashing (just cashing is a joke when the buy ins are low) and I keep wanting to play so yesterday I was a junkie. I played from when I woke up at 7AM until 9PM.

Another lol moment was when I was at the final table of the $22 PLO8 around 8:30 PM last night. I was really burnt and turnt from playing all day and Cakes was losing and he was getting emotional. I feel really bad for him, so I stepped away from my computer and try to make him feel a little better. He had my final table on the big screen of the TV so I figured there was no way I would miss a hand. Well the hand I had walked away from must have been really fast because I remember talking to Cakes and out of the corner of my eye I see the "Im Back" button on my screen for my tournie meaning I timed out on a hand. I mouse over my cards and I had AA57 double suited UTG. I was short and even if I had only picked up the blinds with that hand, it would have been huge. There was action anyway and that would have been a hand that gave me an average stack. Then the very next hand I bust out when I get AA2T in the BB and the button shoves w AKJT and gets a straight and there's no low.

LOL



I'm very much looking forward to taking a few days off. My body and my brain are sore.

We met another couple that we actually like and today we are going down to the beach with them. They are showing us a spot where the fishermen actually catch the lobsters and fish and cook them for you right on the beach. I'm really excited.

Then tomorrow I am going to LA to spend some time with an old friend. Hopefully I can convince him to stake me in the WSOP PLO8 events.

Hey lupita, thanks for responding to my PM. Just wanted to say good luck and I hope the poker gods bless you with some run good from this point on!

Subbed

Heey Pinche lupita,

Keep updating and good luck with online poker

Got staked for PLO8 at Wynn Classic in Vegas and for PLO8 in WSOP.

In for the ride. Glgl!

I think I need to change the title of the thread...

Explanation: The world travel thing seems to be on the back burner for a few years now.

What happened?

The friend I went to go visit is very rich. He's been very successful at the whole medical marijuana thing. He made me an offer I literally can't refuse.

Cakes is so excited. We are going to live near the border and grow legally in Southern Cali. Great right?

I was so excited about the plan we had. I was only visiting my friend in Cali to spend some time with him before I was out of the country for a long time. And also to try for getting staked, but never to try and work for him.

I should be so excited, but it seems everything has taken a turn for the worst. I can't sleep well. I have nightmares many times per night where as I used to only have good or interesting dreams.

My poker is suffering. It's hard to concentrate on it when I know that I am about to have everything paid for with no worries and lots of income. This should be great, but poker seems unimportant right now.



Hopefully this turns around. I have the event at Wynn in a couple weeks, so if I slack off on the updates for a bit since I am a little down in the dumps, you can all know that I will at minimum let you in on my upcoming Vegas adventure.

Good luck with your new "job"

We have the same thing going on here in Colorado. Every time i drive to work i can smell all the high grade ganja that is being grown and stored in giant warehouses in our industrial areas.

got first in the 8.80 NLO8 Omania on stars today for a grand