You are USA player. Tell us your black friday story?
On Black Friday, I was taking a nap with my five year old son. I was awakened by the sound of my Skype chat pinging me over and over. It sounded like the constant popping of popcorn. I woke up the laptop and found out from one of my students/players what had happened.
I immediately started shipping investor funds back because I figured the window of being able to do so would close quickly. The next thing I did was try and withdraw my funds. To this day I have no idea when we will get our thousands of dollars. I had several people playing with my money, mtt investor money, and my own money on FTP. The US government claims we will begin seeing our money in March 2014. I will believe that when I see it.
Now, when most sites are down in USA, what games you play and how you are involved in games? I still play on Bovada and True in mtts, sngs, and cash games although I wouldn't be surprised if the government shut them down soon. So, I keep very little of my own money on there.
I also play live. I prefer mixed cash games because there is almost always a much greater edge.
PTP history?
My PTP story is like a roller coaster...Up and down and screaming (others at me because of my outspoken Christian faith) all the time. Unfortunately, I cannot remember who referred me to PTP. I tried several times to find them so I could give them a reward. But, I never tracked them down.
I came to PTP via referral from another poker website that went out of business. I started out trying to coach. But, I was laughed at because I had no reputation, points, etc. At the time, I was the #1 ranked Sharkscope $12 turbo 180 player in ROI on Pokerstars. Nobody on PTP cared.
I had to earn my way on PTP although I was close to signing a turbo 180 coaching deal with PokerXFactor. I respected the PTP community for making me earn my way.
I started coaching some people from the site with success. In June of 2009, I resigned from my $150k+/year job thinking I would find another job quickly. I was wrong. After struggling for a few weeks to find a job in a tough economy I talked to my wife to see if she was okay with me trying to play poker full time. After some convincing she agreed and I raised $5000 on PTP via a BAP to play MTTS. At the time, I had very limited success in mtts because I had a full time job/no time/no energy to commit to the 6-10+ hours/day in mtts.
Three weeks later in late July, I binked a $55 buy in on a Sunday for $34k. My mtt career officially launched.
Your biggest cashes, where, when??
My biggest cashes are $52k, $34k, $20k, $20k, and $17k. My favorite back to back sessions were a December to remember in 2009. I won the $55/PS again on a Sunday for $17k...it finished on Mon morning. I took Monday and Tuesday off. Then, I played a session on Wed. and took down the Wed. $320 for 52k. It finished at 5:30AM. I quickly left for a bible study and did not get to sleep until later that day. I was exhausted and excited all at the same time!
Most important things to be good poker player?
Passion!!! If you LOVE the game and are hungry to learn it...you will learn and become good...even great!!! The key is to learn from someone that knows how to teach you properly. The greatest coaches in life are rarely superstars. It takes five to ten times as long to unlearn something and relearn it correctly than it does to learn it correctly the first time. Find the people that are qualified and willing to teach you because they want to. You don't know what you don't know. That is why you do not have. To know and not to have is not to know.
To the losing player - Learn the fundamentals (folding, bet sizing, learning the game) first. Get fancy after you are profitable. Start slow and build. Stay humble and hungry. I started out selling play money from PS on Ebay for $20 per million chips because I refused to put my own money on. Then, I finally decided to play with my own money...and proceeded to lose $7000+. Then, I decided I better learn how to play this game from somebody that has already had success. I learned from the best before they were well known players making millions/year. I am so thankful!
To the minimally profitable player - Once you have learned the fundamentals of the game (NLHE, mixed games, etc) of your choice it is time to step up by engaging a coach and finding a group of 1-4 people that you can bounce ideas off of that have a similar skill set but are committed to getting better.
To the profitable pro - Know your leaks and have people holding you accountable for them. I have coached many brilliant players that have no idea how to manage a BR or other gaping holes in their life. They are rich one month/year and broke the next. Surround yourself with people that will not only help you become a better player...but they will help protect you from yourself.
Your favorite PTP and PRO players??
My favorite PTP player is none other than Chris "Indariva" Tryba. He has a BIG heart and tells it like it is. My favorite PRO (other than Tryba) that I have played with multiple times is Daniel Negreanu (DN). DN is hilarious, humble, and a brilliant overall (not just NLHE) player.
What your wife think about your playing??
My wife did not become okay with my playing until I started making a significant income from poker. At that point she was fine with it. Our children loved that I was now home and available more often versus traveling for work. The emotional, physical, and mental health of my family is very important to me. This is a HUGE reason why I did not become a poker refugee or travel the world playing live after BF.
Message to friends and players on PTP?
My parting words to friends, players, and enemies on PTP is...............I have had a little money and a lot of money. When the dust settles in poker or in life, what matters most are the relationships that we are left with. This includes the most important relationship of all...the eternal relationship with The One who will decide our eternal fate after we breath our last. Seek to know Him and all other things will work themselves out within time.
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