have yet to win a showdown on absolute this year, and am down $847 there over 236 hands (all 200nl and 400nl i think).

was able to lose AA vs AA today.

had a massive amount of sets today.

up almost 2bi today on my largest table ($400nl).

up a grand total of $150 today!! weeeeee!!

dont know why i feel the need to go in depth about my losses, but refrain from posting many specifics while winning....

Most people always remember there losses because they get so mad and it burns in the mind, and when you win, it just quickly passes out of your mind because you "expect" to win

PM sent

woot! up like $50 over 2 hrs tonite! at least we have beachfront living...

its north padre island near corpus cristi.

tumultuous night. i had a misklik of the likes i have never seen. was on about 10 tables, and everything was going fine. was playing one 5/10nl table; these havent been going too much this month, and it was filled with the normal tardos. all of a sudden i looked up and my stack was under $500. then i realized that somehow i had called some dudes ai pre with my T4o! the best part was that he had 33. i lost. i still dont know what happened. i have had many miskliks, but none like this where i had no idea what happened. to offset that, i placed 11th in a 20k freeroll for $320. lost another half-stak on 5/10 with K9o in the sb vs 44 with a flop of K4x and turn of K. would have been willing to rish more, but a player i respect decided to just check the river with his boat. down a grand total of $61 tonite, and somewhere around $1600 this month. oh well. im actually happy with my play. my redline is improving, but i did take some disasterous showdown losses.

no six figure income this year, thats for sure!

My God that's a beautiful ride!! Everytime I pass someone driving a nice motorhome like yours I wave at them & give em a big thumbs up! The only thing I don't envy you is your fuel costs!! Safe travels road warrior!

lol tumultuous

hoping to play lots more volume this month. started the month off down about $50 on the 1st, and then played my first "two session" day (maybe 8 hours total?) in a long time yesterday. up $1300 is good for the soul. always making minor tweaks to my game. i think i have identified a couple things to help.

in palacios, tx right on the water again. i love the water i realize, or at least its a welcome change after so much desert. the weather is quite bad right now though. this town and the last area (aransas pass/port aransas tx) each claim the "shrimp capital of tx" honors. we got some fresh shrimp that were really good for around $6/lb. last night we went to a hometown seafood place and got a plattar for 2 for like $30 with shrimp, fish, scallops, oysters, and crawdads. so luscious. we are staying right in a working harbor that has what i think is a fish or shrimp packing plant, and the crazy thing is that they have this very loud machine (which sounds like they are power-spraying the entire building) going until 11:30pm every night! i dont know how they get away with it, but whatever. i think we will be heading to galveston tx today.

This is such a fun read for someone trapped in a cubicle most of the week. Does that $1600 down for January include rakeback and bonuses? I can't imagine being able to travel in such close quarters with my wife for this long and not be constantly fighting. Then again I can't imagine my wife ever approving of poker as a primary means of income.

If you skip most of the deep south you can still make it Miami for the Superbowl!

thx luke. yes, $1600 down for jan includes all free money, of which there was probably at least $1k. any time i report a week or more bottom-line it will almost always include at least some rb/free money.
my wife and i fight quite a bit imo, but it isnt a product of our environment i dont think. her old job (teacher) caused far more fights alone. i think the fighting is caused more by our personal shortcomings, probably 65% mine.
regarding wifey's support: i guess i kinda take it for granted, but i think if one has a proven track record on anything they really shouldnt be questioned too hard. i think one of my greatest strengths is personal financial management, and my wife would readily admit that i was far her superior in this area (my bachelors degree is actually in finance). i have never, and will never delude myself when it comes to money matters. that being said, i can definitely see the games getting tougher as time goes on. at some point, if this continues, i will at the very least need to put in more volume in order to make a greater overall return per month. i am fairly confident that i can make at the very least a $30k yearly income no matter how tough the games get just based on rb/free money/slight winning player. of course, i am sorely yearning for the day regulation/legalization comes to usa online pokerz! in fact, i am currently wearing my PPA shirt as i type this!
ya, it would be very cool to be in town for a superbowl, but that wont happen. we have reservations for mardi gras in new orleans now, and will be spending some time in alabama after that with wifey's brother.

feb going awes, but...pissed about tonite. won a stak early on 1000nl, but only up less than $400 for the night. so many reasons why i should be up more. um...so drunk.

oh well...+$2577.20 for month so far. one time.

Tell me you decided to imbibe after the poker was over. Tough to win while drinking.

i drink just about every night while playing. not tonight tho...

Late comer to the thread. Sounds like a blast! I am an RV salesman in Spokane and have had thoughts of a similar hiatus. Looking forward to following the rest of your trip!

first stop on this trip was spokane. wifey grew up there. welcome!
galveston tx mardi gras today! didnt even know it was happeneing. good times. one parade down, and so many beads. its is going to be ultra party tonite. its only 2pm, and im already 4 beers in. we found a random place where we are going to park the rv overnight on the street. apparently anything goes here the next two weeks; i hope so! its open-container galore here, which is my utopia. this city is very cool.
down a bit less than $200 last night.

Great time to be in New Orleans....!

Also, great pic of RV a few posts back...nice angle and cloud pattern as well.

My bro is a photographer for a living (I call him the "brotog"), and he had the idea of a coffee table book....your RV in best spots in America.

Pics like the one you posted...pics like the one you are probably taking now, with beads and gumbo all over the place!

Figure I would pass along the idea....b/c I will never get to do this journey...

livin' it through the posts...keep 'em coming (with the poker updates obv. as well)

i would rather not give "poker updates" at this time. thought i would "fool around on the tables for a few minutes"...currently down $1300 with no big hands or all ins or any hands of note except of course my AA going down in flames vs the Q8s runner runner flush...

mardi gras is on hold for a few hours, while i tilt it up over here...

whoh. brought the down $1300 back up to only down $200 with the wifey on the head-rub, which is my fave...went to mardi gras party which was quite cool, except i saw some of the nastiest fattest boobies ever...then
back here for about 1hr of 3 table 5/10nl. this was the best session of my life for certain. i had 4 stacks on one table and 1.5 on another. have never even been close to that on 5/10nl before. wow. so i end the night up $4200. my best day ever. unreal.

sweet dude! I'm running like poop but i ran god like over the last day on po so im over it

before u leave please punch a new orleans fan in the face k thx

haha, sorry man. it was a great game, and we had to root for the saints. prolly woulda rooted for indy if we had been there, as i do like that team also.

i was wrong about my bottom line report the other night: it was $3250 up...thats still my best day i think. i guess i made a $1000 math error somewhere. was pretty/very drunk though.

now in abbeville, la. this is the heart of cajun country apparently. we are going to a cajun seafood place tonight. wifey very angry about her sd card which is having an "i/o error". up $238 over an hour or so today...

Just came across this thread recently. Congrats, I'm very jealous! I think you're wrong when you mentioned not too many people would be interested in reading about something like this. I think a lot of people would be fascinated by this experience, even if it only turns out to be for a year or two. Hopefully, an experience you'll always look back at fondly!

My wife and I are currently considering doing this in the next 1-2 years. Right now, we're in the process of building up savings and $ for an RV. Rather than strictly online play, I plan on playing quite a bit live during our travels as we are thinking of making a number of longer stops along our journey. This may sound absurd to some people on this site, but I prefer playing live WAY more than online...and I prefer limit to NL!

Ideally, 20/40-40/80 LHE or mixed games in this range. I'm also very comfortable playing NL and PLO, so finding some decent live games shouldn't be a problem.

How long do you expect to stay "on the road"? Or is it an open-ended journey? I've checked out many full-time RV blogs/websites for budgeting/trip planning/etc. purposes, but is there any advice you have for someone considering making this a reality (only income, poker related)? A little concerned about living FT in a confined space. My wife and I have a great relationship, but 24/7 on top of each other could create a lot of stresses that we have never had to deal with.

Thanks for sharing your adventure with all of us on here. Keep the updates coming and good luck!

Steve

lots to chew on here, and thanks very much for the post!
yes, i have been hearing more and more "how do you do it in such a confined space?" i would say that we probably fight more than the average couple. im a pretty emotional guy as it is, and wear my emotions on my sleeve. she is often easy-going, however when criticized will give any/all excuse, and defend herself till the cows come home. perhaps we would just fight no matter what the living conditions! if anything, we fight the same or less than before. a big strees-releiver is her not having to deal with any job (of course besides her current semi-homemaker role). the job was the worst. also, like i stated before: there is always the big room outside, since the weather is nicer by definition wherever we are than seattle was.
in regards to budgeting: this is one of my all time favorite subjects. i really honestly believe my true calling for a job would have been personal financial consultant. the problem is that i just see things so far differently from main-stream america. the easy answer to any personal finance question is "opportunity cost" (or, EVERY decision/every dollar is a choice). this goes all the way from your overall lifestyle on the high end to coke vs generic or starbucks vs nothing/brew your own on the low end. i dont really like the budgeting websites, or places that sort of prepare you for how much this lifestyle is going to cost. it can cost as much or as little (within reason) as you want it to. for example: you could certainly live just about rent free with a little work and planning if you wanted to. you could also pay up to $50 or $60/ night. you can eat out never or 3 meals every day. you can spend between $5k and $5m on an rv. its all a personal choice. i would estimate our monthly expenses to be between $3k to $4k, but i really dont know exactly, as there is some discretionary spending that could easily be cut out. the biggest advice in this regard (when thinking ahead and planning a budget) is be THOROUGH, be HONEST, and be CONSERVATIVE. dont plan that you will spend $40/month eating out if wifey loves starbucks each day. thats not realistic. keep insurance and taxes in mind. overestimate on gas. if you get rid of all revolving debt (the FIRST rule for any american family imo), get rid of car payments, rent a house out if you own one or leave your rental, and buy an rv that is well within your budget, you are well on your way to EASILY affording this life, as i personally believe you can do this with all or more of the comforts of "normal" life for less monthly cost. again though, im coming from a perspective where the "normal" american personal finance decisions are totally alien. i have never had a car payment or payed off a credit card later than the month it was due for example. i just cant understand why people see the $40k or $50k price of a car (plus interest) and the ACTUAL work it entails to pay for it, and think "thats worth it", while continuing to replace the new car every 2 years! anyway, of course im pretty much rambling here, but i would be more than happy to give you some more specific advice via pm if you gave me a clearer picture of your situation.

we are still in abbeville, la the heart of cajun country. went to tour the tabasco factory yesterday, as well as saw some locks for oil barges and the "intracoastal city" which is basically a big parking lot for all the boys who work on the gulf oil rigs. this area was ravaged by hurricane rita which came through just a few weeks after katrina. there is still some damage. along with hurricane ike which was west of here, we will be seeing at least 3 huge hurricane disaster areas within just a few hundred miles. it must be crazy to live through those. i really love this area though. galveston tx was one of the most alluring places i have been in america. i like its vibe. i like what i call the "free form" attitude down here. they dont bat an eyelash at someone drinking in public, which is one of my biggest problems with where i live. law enforcement presence seems much less. in seattle there is so much traffic enforcement it seems compared to anywhere else in the country. i just feel like our priorities in wa state are so far out of whack. im starting to really despise that area, and truly hope i never have to live there full time again. on the other side of that coin though are my friends, who i do miss a lot. we really arent meeting anyone on this trip, which kinda sucks. i dont feel anything in common with retired fold, altho i did go to a "happy hour" gathering with some rednecks next door in an rv park in port aransas tx which was awesome. anyway, thanks for reading; i better end this.

MAHP, just read the entire thread from day 1, started in the travel forum by looking at stuff about thailand, and somehow ended up opening this about an hour ago haha.

Gotta say it sounds really awesome. I'm only 19 so it'd be awhile til I could do something like this, but you really are living the dream

Dunno why you think you'd get flamed on this, awesome story and if anyone does, **** them

One thing I saw seems you get fairly worked up on losing days, or over common bad beats. (no offence just what I got out of a couple of your posts.) I don't know if you've read it but I'd reccommend a book "The Poker Mindset", I got it for christmas and thought it was really good!

Anyways keep up the good work and I've subscribed to this thread!

awesome mahp, best of luck sir!

and i must have missed the pics of your wife, can u post those again?