[quote]
I can't help asking though: do you enjoy it? [quote]


I've enjoyed playing more in the past three or four months than just about anytime.

You can usually find one 5-10 stud game at the Mirage almost anytime. The 10-20 game is sporadic. The Mirage never has any bigger stud games anymore. The Bellagio will usually have both a 15-30 and 20-40 game but rarely two of either.

Very inspiring and entertaining post Dynasty - thanks for sharing.

I've played chess for years informally, but fairly seriously, and poker for one year. It's been great having the challenge and the extra cash. I'm not sure if I am cut out just to up and move like you did, but I have been working and 8-5 for a year after graduating college, and it really ain't pretty. I'll be in Vegas in a couple weeks for vacation (first time) to check out the scene.

thanks again..

Well, of course, you may have chosen some other job to pay the rent. But, poker dealer is by far the most popular choice amongst failed poker pros. And no matter how much talent and intelligence you have, with only 19 hours of practice there was every reason to believe you would go broke before becoming a long term winner. Clearly you must be pretty good to begin with, and you got lucky to not hit any bad streaks early on.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

I envy your discipline, beacuse I just don't have it. Well, not yet, anyway, but I don't think it's something that can be taught. You either have it or you don't.

Just wanted to drop you a quick thank you for helping me out when I started playing over two years ago.

There must be days you don't want to play, but you do because it has become your job. Do you find your play suffers when you feel this way? How do you keep the game interesting and fun after so many sessions?

Great post. I'm sure I don't even begin to grasp the level of discipline that it has taken for you to get where you are right now, but I have thought a lot about making a move similar to yours over the past 6 months and your story makes the idea even more intriguing.

Of course, my recent marriage and desire to start a family one of these years will likely leave the poker life in the fantasy category, but I still wonder whether I could make it work and I have a ton of questions about the lifestyle, miscellaneous costs, taxes, etc. Would love to pick your brain and hear how someone like yourself handles the nitty gritty of everyday life out there (PM me if you wouldn't mind discussing some of these types of things).

Anyway, thank you for sharing your story and congratulations on your success! Hope to meet you and some of the other Vegas locals when I'm out there next week.

I think Dynasty's point is he had enough money to live on for a year or more and would not have allowed himself to "drift" into a job like dealing. Instead, it sounds like his default plan was to return to some form of corporate life, possibly using his accounting skills.

You sound like a real whack job. Freaking out and leaving a job over a trivial agreement that means nothing. Moving to Vegas to be a pro with no experience. Not telling anybody about it until you're gone.

Makes for a good story, though! And congratulations that it has worked out for you.

eastbay

awesome post! after just a year of about 25 hours a week of online poker i found myself burned out and am on a 2 month break. i still read the forums and will be playing again in a month or 2 when i start WANTING to play again but i have a new respect for guys who can play for 40+ hours a week for years.

if its too personal just dont answer but if you dont mind my asking-How big of a bankroll did you take to Vegas? Sounds like you were not hurting to make money quickly...thanks

Wonderful post Bryan. I see we have another accountant/ poker player.

I hear that I just missed you at the Mirage last night. I got there about 6:30 PM. I hope that we can hook up sometime before next Tues.

Dynasty,

I didn't read all the posts in this thread so I may have missed it, but have you ventured into the online arena with any regularity?

If not, why?

Thanks for a great story!

Craps is his big problem.

so

what are you running away from dyn??

gl

gr8 post

gl

I figured out the negative EV of tourney play withing a few times of seeing the payouts and quality of the fields. Everyone who places pretty much is decent so where is the dead money, and the hotels and casinos don't pay for your travel and entry fees it's a total scam. You are better off rounding at the highest limit game that you can consistently beat than entering in these tourneys. Ie if you win 10K many times you just marginally win after airfare and hotel and food costs plus rent where you live.

Really enjoyed your post...Funny, but I moved to Vegas around 3 years ago (for different reasons), and I feel so behind. I think I've played with you once (I believe it was a 10-20 game at the Mirage and met Dave at Boulder Station.

It's great to get an insight of the mind of the professional poker player...

Just curious, what was your USCF rating? I love chess, but
the few times I have played it, it didn't go well. I play some online now. But I like to follow the grandmasters and
I like reading about the game--I have a collection of about 150 chess books.

Now to Vegas. It's a tough place to make a living. I feel better off in Southern California, although I might eventually move back there this fall. You have to have a lot of discipline to make in Vegas, somrhting which I lacked in the 1980s, when I tried it there.

Here's to the next three years.

What kind of bankroll did you come with?

Greg(FosilMan)
punker:
With the bankroll I came to Vegas with, there was absolutely no chance I could bust out playing 1-5 stud or low-limit stud/hold 'em. I had more than enough money to cover more than a year's worth of liviing expenses.

I just don't play when I don't feel like it. I don't put in a full 40 hour work week.

I topped out a little above 1800 just when I moved to Vegas. I was actually just starting to seriously study chess when I made the move.

congrats on your success so far. really terrific story and my nomination for post of the year (POTY).

i'm hopefully on my way to a semi-similar type of success story via online-poker income.
january of 2003 i didnt know how to play hold-em, didnt know if a full-house beat a flush and didnt know what the terms 'muck, nuts, utg, turn or river' meant. but i did know what 1BB/hr meant from my time spent on blackjack card-counting and the BJ21.com boards so maybe i was a step ahead of you there.

my progress hasn't been quite so rapid, but i'm getting there.

my USCF is around 1400...but i've knocked off the occasional 1800 in my time (so watch out)!! havent played much chess since taking up poker though so there's no way my game is very strong now.

if/when i stabalize my income a bit more via poker i look forward to spending more time back with the 64 squares with the occasional chess-club appearance or weekend tournament.

curious if you still play chess very much (perhaps you mentioned it but i didnt notice). i know there are a couple of big tourneys in LV...i think the bigger one is around XMas, New Year's.


congrats again...great story.

Just wanted to de-lurk a minute to thank you for posting this, along with everything else you post. I, like you, played "real" poker for the first time in the 1-3 stud games at Foxwoods in April 2001. While I haven't made the leap you've taken, it's been an exciting, fun, and profitable experience for me as well.

What I most want to say, though, is that despite the fact that we've been playing poker seriously for the exact same amount of time, I don't think there's anyone who's been more helpful in improving my game. Your posts here are the nuts, and I've taken more from them than probably 80% of the poker books I've read.

I'm moving to Vegas in August to begin law school at UNLV; I don't expect to have much time to play during the next 3 years, but maybe I'll see you at the tables.

Best. Post. Ever.

Fantastic story. It proves that in poker a bright guy can get real good real fast.

My only advice would be to listen to pokerbabe and wear those suits.

Clarkmeister should right a companion piece (or I could write one on my fifteen year decent into mediocrity ).

~ Rick

you should, i think a lot of us are striving to reach mediocrity in poker. i enjoy reading these, and dynasty's was great. i always wanted to know how everyone got kicked off into their poker lives.