[SuitedSixes]

Level 1 (Blinds 15/30) - March 2004

Hero is UTG with a need.

I work nights, from 9PM until 7AM as a computer network engineer in the financial industry. I am married with a just-turned two-year-old girl. I have just read a book called “The Dream Giver.” It is an allegory about a guy named Ordinary who lives in the Land of Familiar. Ordinary receives a dream (the book says that everyone receives a dream, something that you have always been good at and enjoy, which is your life’s purpose) to leave the Land of Familiar and the story tells about the struggles he faces in realizing his dream. I realize that I am 30 and not doing what I enjoy.

My whole life I have been into sports. I have always been a leader, and I have always seen things from a coach’s point of view. I coached high school football for six years during and after college. I had an opportunity to coach college football but passed on it. I have been coaching volleyball for the past three years and really enjoy it and seem to be good at it.

Level 2 (Blinds 30/60) - April 2004

Hero is UTG+1 with an idea

I am in Barnes & Noble looking for a book to read to get through the night. I have been playing Reversi (a board game like Othello) for 40 hours a week for 3 months, and am very good and very bored with it.

I come to the games section and see Matthew Hilger’s book, “Internet Texas Hold ‘Em.” I have tried online poker a few times. I’ve seen the World Poker Tour, but can’t figure out why I keep losing the $50 deposit I make to sit down at a $50 NL table. They make it look so easy on TV. I am about to receive a $1300 tax refund and decide to take $300 of that and make an earnest effort to get good at poker.

Level 3 (Blinds 25/50) - May 2004

Hero is MP with 2+2

At the back of Hilger’s book he give an assortment of poker related links, one of which is for twoplustwo.com. I check it out and become hooked. The very first post I read is “Trying to make a living Online” by David Ross. The thing that jumps out at me is the time that David has to coach soccer and spend time with his kids.

I conceive a plan to grow my bankroll while learning how to play poker with the goal of playing poker professionally so that I can coach and spend time with my daughter. I am able to play poker while I’m at work, so I’ll be able to get in over 40 hours a week.

Hilger’s book, and 2+2 get me on my way. I begin playing at the Party .5/1 limit games with intention of moving up every time I have 300BB. I also learn about bonus whoring from the animals at the Zoo and make quite a but of money playing blackjack while I sleep.

Level 4 (Blinds 50/100) - November 2004

Hero is MP+1 with KK

I have been toiling away at the limit tables, but every time my bankroll begins to amount to something I am forced to dip into it for car repairs and things like that. I have taken out much more than my initial $300, but I am going nowhere fast. I take a few stabs at NL with the hope of building my BR more quickly. My failures are more than my successes and I find myself with less than $20 remaining in my Party account.

Since $20 is not really enough to buy into a ring game, I decide to take a shot at a single table tournament. I have seen the STT forum link on 2+2, but have never checked it out, I just can’t see how playing a tournament can be fun or profitable.

I win by first tournament and am hooked instantly. I decide to click on that ignored link and discover that some guy name AleoMagus has decided to share with the whole world how to beat these things. I download his spreadsheet, because every seems to have it. The amount and quality of the information here is staggering. Mostly everyone is nice and supportive, so on November 18th I consider myself a 2+2 STT player.

Level 5 (Blinds 100/200) - December 2004

Hero is MP+2 with AA

Irieguy makes a post explaining how he would like to back some players. I know that I can play higher than the $11s, but have a hard time, bankroll wise, making the move. About this time, Daliman makes a Las Vegas trip report that includes a tournament that he played in with Irieguy. The way he talks about Irieguy and his poker ability make me decide to contact him. His terms are steep, but I know that if I am ever going to progress past this point, I am going to need a mentor. Anyone who has ever been good at anything competitive has had a coach or mentor.

While I am deciding what to do, I win a multi-table tournament at the local casino. My bankroll issues are solved. I send Irieguy a PM in which I say, thanks anyway, but my bankroll problem has been solved so I can take a stab at the higher levels. He writes me back saying that if I am not interested in backing, would I like a mentor. I realize that this is an incredible opportunity and take him up on his generous offer.

I send him a PM telling him that my goal is to be able to make $20/hr by August. He sends me a plan that will have me making $26/hr by July. This is my guy.

He has achieved more at the major tournament levels (WSOP, Fiesta al Lago, etc) than 99.9% of this forum. His posts are always thoughtful, intelligent, and generous. Yet, he is often the target of personal attacks on this forum, and I just don’t get it.


Not only has he provided the knowledge and support that I needed to achieve my goals, but he also became a very good friend.

Level 6 (Blinds 200/400) - March 2005

Hero is on the bubble with an inspiration.

In the poker game of my life, my daughter looked at her first hole cards and saw two red Aces on the button. She called an all-in from MP only to see the ace of hearts come on the flop. Checking her hole cards again, she realized that she only had one ace and the other card was a 4. Now she’s just hoping that the ace is strong enough because her kicker is no good.

If there are two things that I am known for on 2+2 it is my avatars and The Contender. For those of you who never venture out to OOT, during this season of The Contender I started a thread every Sunday night where we discussed what had happened on that week’s show. For those of you never watched the show, or who don’t know what it is about, it is a reality show that chronicles 16 boxers as they fight to make a better life for themselves and their families. Their stories are often shown through the eyes of their families and I have been impressed with the their determination and the sacrifices that they make for their familes and their dreams.

With my work schedule I am not home to read my daughter bed time stories, or even to be sure that she is given dinner. I begin to realize that she is often given a bag of french fries for dinner and then left on the couch in front of the TV until she falls asleep. I don’t see enough of her, and the work schedule is damaging my health to the point that it is a real possibility that I won’t be around for her when she needs me.

Level 7 (Blinds 400/800) - April 2005

Hero is HU with a tough decision.

I quit my job. I am a professional poker player. Sometimes the only way to make a change is to make a change.

Level 8 (Blinds 500/1000) - May 2005

Hero is HU with Life

I wake up at 8:30, make breakfast for the little kid and give her a bath, then we go to the park, or swimming, or some other adventure. She has gone on her first picnic. She has learned to ride a bike. She has flown a kite. At 1:00 I take her to the babysitter and I 3-table limit games at Absolute while 4-tabling SNGs on Party. I do that until 7:00, and then I pick her up from the baby sitter. I make her dinner, read stories, and put her in bed. At 10:00 I start playing again until 2:00 AM.

I pick up contract jobs for computer repair and network work a couple of times a week. I am able to do that in place of my afternoon poker time.

Level 9 (Blinds 600/1200) - From Here

I am currently playing at levels well below my skill level, but that are responsibly in my comfort level. My current goals are to make as much as I was making while working (check) without going broke (check) with as little variance as possible (check). I love my life style and the time that I have to spend with my kid. I’m not where I want to be yet, but I can see it from here.

After I have made this work for a few months I’ll go back to playing at the levels that challenge me.

I intend to open a computer repair business in the Fall and I’ll continue to play poker until one is more lucrative than the other.

With my current situation I don’t have time for much else, so it has been great to make the friends here that I have.

Peter, Craig, Jonathan, and Bob: Thanks for all of your help and support. I really appreciate those times that you guys just checked in to see how I was doing.

Thanks to the other friends I’ve made: Roberto, Corey, Johnny, David, 1C5.

Thanks to all the great posters here who I’ve learned so much from and/or been entertained by.

Looking forward to meeting all of you who are meeting for the WSOP in a week and a half.

-Brian