Quote:
Originally Posted by RelaxedPrecision
Few questions for Michael:
1. Any particular reason you took a break right after it hit the print that you're a highly regarded cash player?
2. Why would you say there isn't much glory in being a top tier poker player?
3. Are you joking when you say you're not that good anymore? Are you running bad? What type of games have you been playing, would you be interested in getting back into?
4. What occupies your time these days?
5. How has black friday effected your poker career? Have you considered moving overseas? What type of business ventures interest you?
Thanks.
Hi RP! These are all some pretty personal questions and it's difficult for me to feel comfortable being completely open in front of an audience like this, but I'll be happy to give it a go.
1) Poker was a lot of fun for a very long time, but it can also be somewhat of a grind. I found out that I really enjoyed the challenge of trying to see just how far I could take my game. It was thrilling to try to win at higher and higher levels of competitions. I think that in order to have tried to maintain the level I was at, or try to progress to another one requires a real commitment of life and mind to the game in order to stay as sharp and focused as the other players who put in that commitment. I wanted and still want to find another career path that I'd like to fully devote myself to that would hopefully bring a better sense of happiness to both myself and others. I guess that poker just wasn't the perfect mesh for what I'm personally hoping to get out of life, it was just something I was good at.
2) ESPN claims that poker is a sport, and while there is glory in being a professional athlete in sports such as football and basketball, the glory just isn't quite the same for being a poker player. I think that part of it stems from a lack of stadium filled live audiences in support of the players, but also because of a lot of the negative connotations that media, such as movies, have depicted of poker players. A lot of film portrays poker players as thieves or old western gun slingers for some reason. But in reality, poker is a very straight up, fair and honest game. I think that it's on all of us to alleviate those negative stigmas that have been placed on it by representing this "sport" with prolific integrity.
3) During my two year absence I started forgetting about the math and theory that are involved with poker as I began learning other things. I stopped concentrating on ranges and percentage of times a player is holding what cards and so forth, and it will prove costly to me if I continue to pursue poker again from here on. I really don't remember the stuff that I used to do in order to book wins. I actually wasn't sure if I still know how to win anymore. This summer at the WSOP was the first time that I have tried to play in a long while, and it gave me confidence that I didn't have prior to the series. I didn't do great but I thought I did fairly well. I only booked a 3k profit from 23k in buyins, but 10k of that was lost in the main event which I did play really, really poorly. Prior to that I thought I was happy with how I was doing in the smaller buyin nlh fields. I think I might just try to play nlh tournaments. The mixed games are somewhat obsolete with general media and poker players alike. They really are a lot of fun though. But the math is complex.
4) I try to dabble in other projects and have leisure fun. It'd be nice if I can build a niche in something that I enjoy dedicating myself to. I think that maybe dedication is really important when trying to find success in something. I kind of want to do my own thing in life. I think maybe I was born that way.
5) I paid taxes for online earnings out of my bank account, and hadn't withdrawn the money. The funds are locked, so I'm stuck like a lot of you are with that whole thing, plus my tax bracket on top of it :/. I would really consider jumping from European country to country for while, PartyPokering in the mean time if I knew how to. I think the PP website says that US citizens can't play on PP even if they're staying in another country. Does anyone know if that's true or whether US players flying to WSOPE are partying? Doing a world travel thing would probably be a pretty amazing experience for those of you on here that are doing that. If you are, I say go for it and have a blast. In terms of business venture type stuff, I'd like to try to be creative and put something together that other people really like and lifts their moods. Positive energy from people means so much more to me than money. I guess maybe that's why I get all hormonal toddler tantrum when unfounded negative comments are directed at me. I've had a few ideas for poker that I'll need to patent in order to tell people about them. Maybe I'll have the opportunity if I ever get lucky again and make another big score.
Last edited by Michael DeMichele; 08-17-2011 at 10:41 PM.