My
background in poker stretches back to 2001 when I first started
taking poker seriously. I was 20 years old and was living in
Thibodaux, Louisiana and attending college at Nicholls State
University. Every night I would head out to a local bar where we
would play $4-$8 limit hold em. It was here that I ran into an old
family friend who had lived in Vegas from 1978 to 1991. He taught me
the correct way to play limit poker and effectively became my poker
mentor. I won immediately and started building a bankroll, which I
promptly spent by buying a new motorcycle. I guess that is immaturity
at its finest!
After graduation in December 2002, at the age of 21, I decided to pursue my love affair with Las Vegas. I packed up my Ford Mustang and made the 24 hour drive west. I settled on Silverado Ranch Boulevard in a 450 sqft studio apartment. After settling in, I eventually found a job at the Palms Casino and Resort. I did every job in the poker room from prop player (yes, they actually had those before the poker boom!) to eventually becoming a shift manager when the "High Stakes" side opened. I really enjoyed working in the industry, but my desire to play poker full time eventually got the best of me. I spent from March 2004 through August 2004 working a full time job at the Palms, and then playing poker full time after work. Because no limit hold em cash games weren't extremely popular yet (except at the Palms where I worked), I spent most of my time playing $30-$60 limit hold em at Bellagio. In September 2004, after a 4 month trial run of playing full time, I quit my job at the Palms and started my new adventure as a poker professional.
Immediately after quitting work at the Palms, I started experimenting with playing no limit there. As with almost all people who attempt to play poker for a living, I had my ups and downs. Luckily for me I surrounded myself with other good players who helped me analyze my game and fix some of my leaks. Also, I started dating a dealer from the Palms who understood my lifestyle and was very supportive through the rough times. By 2006 I had made the transition to playing no limit hold em cash games almost exclusively, with the exception of a mixed game every now and then. I very much enjoyed living in Las Vegas, and was extremely happy with my situation there. In August of 2006 though, a few things changed. First, a roommate who was living with my girlfriend and I stole from her which really soured her outlook on Vegas and some of the people there. Coincidentally, the same day as she found out about our roommate, her sister called her and offered her a position at a company in Austin, TX. With everything that had just happened, and a chance to re-enter the business world, my girlfriend and I decided that a move to Austin would be a good thing for us. I was playing a lot of poker on the internet at that time, so being in Vegas or Austin seemed like it wouldn't matter to me as I could just grind full time online.
Well, plans didn't go as smooth as I had expected. It turned out that I hated Austin, was always sick there, didn't make any friends, and really missed live poker. I did get into playing tournaments online and found some success there, winning the Sunday major on UB and making several other Sunday major final tables. By late 2008, my girlfriend switched jobs and we moved to Houston, TX. I liked this a lot better because her family lived in Houston and we spent a lot of time with them. Also, since Houston was a major hub for most airlines, I was able to do a lot of traveling to Las Vegas and Los Angeles for poker (and all non stop flights!). I felt much more comfortable leaving since my girlfriend had her family right down the street to keep her company while I was gone. Overall Houston was a good experience, but once again her job responsibilities changed and she was transferred to her company's office in Mobile, AL. In May 2010 we took a trip to the Bahamas and got married. Two days after returning from our WeddingMoon, we left Houston and moved to Daphne, AL where we purchased a home. Daphne is a suburb of Mobile and is located about an hour from Biloxi, MS. I played online in Daphne with occasional trips to Biloxi, and in April of 2011 my wife gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Life was PERFECT.. until Black Friday happened two weeks later. Once internet poker wasn't an option, we sold our home in Daphne and moved an hour down the road to Biloxi. It was also at this time that a good friend and WSOP bracelet winner Jon Friedberg approached me about joining him in his company AllVegasPoker.com as the Resident Pro. That brand later morphed into what is PokerAtlas.com today, which I am still a part of.
After graduation in December 2002, at the age of 21, I decided to pursue my love affair with Las Vegas. I packed up my Ford Mustang and made the 24 hour drive west. I settled on Silverado Ranch Boulevard in a 450 sqft studio apartment. After settling in, I eventually found a job at the Palms Casino and Resort. I did every job in the poker room from prop player (yes, they actually had those before the poker boom!) to eventually becoming a shift manager when the "High Stakes" side opened. I really enjoyed working in the industry, but my desire to play poker full time eventually got the best of me. I spent from March 2004 through August 2004 working a full time job at the Palms, and then playing poker full time after work. Because no limit hold em cash games weren't extremely popular yet (except at the Palms where I worked), I spent most of my time playing $30-$60 limit hold em at Bellagio. In September 2004, after a 4 month trial run of playing full time, I quit my job at the Palms and started my new adventure as a poker professional.
Immediately after quitting work at the Palms, I started experimenting with playing no limit there. As with almost all people who attempt to play poker for a living, I had my ups and downs. Luckily for me I surrounded myself with other good players who helped me analyze my game and fix some of my leaks. Also, I started dating a dealer from the Palms who understood my lifestyle and was very supportive through the rough times. By 2006 I had made the transition to playing no limit hold em cash games almost exclusively, with the exception of a mixed game every now and then. I very much enjoyed living in Las Vegas, and was extremely happy with my situation there. In August of 2006 though, a few things changed. First, a roommate who was living with my girlfriend and I stole from her which really soured her outlook on Vegas and some of the people there. Coincidentally, the same day as she found out about our roommate, her sister called her and offered her a position at a company in Austin, TX. With everything that had just happened, and a chance to re-enter the business world, my girlfriend and I decided that a move to Austin would be a good thing for us. I was playing a lot of poker on the internet at that time, so being in Vegas or Austin seemed like it wouldn't matter to me as I could just grind full time online.
Well, plans didn't go as smooth as I had expected. It turned out that I hated Austin, was always sick there, didn't make any friends, and really missed live poker. I did get into playing tournaments online and found some success there, winning the Sunday major on UB and making several other Sunday major final tables. By late 2008, my girlfriend switched jobs and we moved to Houston, TX. I liked this a lot better because her family lived in Houston and we spent a lot of time with them. Also, since Houston was a major hub for most airlines, I was able to do a lot of traveling to Las Vegas and Los Angeles for poker (and all non stop flights!). I felt much more comfortable leaving since my girlfriend had her family right down the street to keep her company while I was gone. Overall Houston was a good experience, but once again her job responsibilities changed and she was transferred to her company's office in Mobile, AL. In May 2010 we took a trip to the Bahamas and got married. Two days after returning from our WeddingMoon, we left Houston and moved to Daphne, AL where we purchased a home. Daphne is a suburb of Mobile and is located about an hour from Biloxi, MS. I played online in Daphne with occasional trips to Biloxi, and in April of 2011 my wife gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Life was PERFECT.. until Black Friday happened two weeks later. Once internet poker wasn't an option, we sold our home in Daphne and moved an hour down the road to Biloxi. It was also at this time that a good friend and WSOP bracelet winner Jon Friedberg approached me about joining him in his company AllVegasPoker.com as the Resident Pro. That brand later morphed into what is PokerAtlas.com today, which I am still a part of.
While
I enjoyed living in Biloxi, poker began to die there. My wife was
transferred back to Houston for work and I tried playing in the
underground rooms there as well as a little on the unregulated online
sites. My trips to Las Vegas became more and more frequent and being
away from my wife and son was taking a toll on the family. So, in
May of 2015 we sold our home in Houston and moved back to Las Vegas.
I joined a great chat group with fellow poker players Andrew Neeme,
Joe Tehan, John (Nicolak) Kim, just to name a few. I played a few
months in the 2/5 NL games around town and then became a regular in
the 5/10 games at Bellagio. You can find me playing anything from
2/5 to 10/20 NL, and even sometimes 80/160 mixed games.
