[LesJ]

One year ago today, I. . .



1. Was determined to find a way to beat blackjack without card counting.
2. Had not played a single hand of Texas Hold Em.
3. Had not even heard of Chris Moneymaker or ever watched an episode of WPT/WSOP.
4. Could not, with any level of certainty, recite to you the rank of poker hands.


Since then, I have. . .

1. Finished 2nd in my brother’s first ever monthly home Texas Hold Em tourney. I was totally destroyed head to head by a player that actually knew what he was doing.
2. Started playing internet poker on a site I was using for sports betting, Bodog.
3. Bought and digested about a dozen books on poker. I gained more from one (HOH) than I have all the others combined!
4. I found this message board and have learned tons from many of you folks here. There are a couple of posters that have spent some of their very valuable extra time in developing my SNG skills, but I am quite sure they would rather remain un-named. My family and I thank you for what has been accomplished thus far.
5. Taken two trips to Vegas, including an early June visit that culminated with me busting out pre-bubble in Event #2 of the WSOP.
6. layed roughly 4,000 SNGs since late July with a wide variety of results.
7. “Let” (sounds like a really poor choice of words here) my wife quit her job for a variety of family-related reasons. The decision was made much easier due to the income from SNGs plus rakeback (from Eurobet, which I no longer have!), in addition to the costs of her commuting and daycare.
8. Took first place in the end-of-year Home Game at my brother’s house.