I’ve been playing poker seriously for about five years now, and playing for a living for two and a half.

My love for gambling was sparked by my Dad who would play all kinds of games with my brother and me. In the evening after our chores were done, the nickel/dime action got pretty intense at our kitchen table. We would play a lot of blackjack, hearts, and any kind of poker from stud to Indian (ironically we never played hold 'em). When I turned 18 I made a B-line to the local Native America casino. I thought that if I drank enough keystone Ice and played three blackjack hands at once I’d be a millionaire by summer. I proceeded to lose all my savings in less than a month; I guess my strategy wasn’t full proof.

I first got into poker when ESPN aired the WSOP in 2003. I could see right away that it was a winnable game unlike blackjack. So I went back to the Native American Casino and headed to the poker room. A 3/6 Limit hold 'em game was all they had to offer. I played for a while and was marginally successful, but ultimately I found restricting the bet amounts to be boring, I needed to find a no limit game. Fortunately it was the start of the poker boom and everyone was playing including my brother. My brother and I were able to find a ton of house games which we dominated.

Then I found the online game. I started fooling around with limit cash games on Party Poker, and eventually found my favorite game the single table sit and go. I started with a $6 game and within a few weeks I was playing two $33 at a time. I played $33’s for about 6 months, then I got the courage to try $55 and $109, and about a month after my first $55 game I was crushing two $215 tables at a time. I quit my pizza delivery job determined to play poker to put myself though school.

Things are different now though, my government decided to pass a stupid law making it illegal for U.S. banks to deal with poker sites. The law isn’t even really even enforced and I am convinced it was just a scare tactic. Although un-enforced it was enough to stop Party Poker and some other sites from allowing U.S. player to play. Poker Stars is great though I love the action and their VIP program is stellar. It’s just hard to get a $215 game started anywhere these days and that sucks. Now I play 6 $109 games at a time which makes me about $65 an hour.

All I want is to make a WSOP final table on ESPN. I will overwhelm the cameras with my personality, be the most interesting player at the table, and somehow involve a product with my play insuring me a lucrative endorsement win or lose. Then I will take a break from poker, and move to Hollywood to become the trophy husband of a rich actress.?