My Poker Ph.D.

One of the top five questions I'm often asked is, "Hey, how come you get to call yourself a "professional" poker player?"

(The rest of the top five: "Do you REALLY play poker for a living?" "Wait, isn't that illegal?" "So...how'd you do last night/week/month/year/lifetime/etc", and "Do you play against real people or against the casino?" If you ever ask me a question about poker and I respond with a look of infinite patience tinged with barely-restrained aggravation, it's probably because you asked a question I'd heard three times already that day. Not your fault, you couldn't have known. Moving on...)

Well, the path to title of "professional" wasn't a casual overnight epiphany. Nor is it 100% related to skill - there are phenomenal amateurs and average pros. The key distinction is a certain level of dedication to the game; poker is not a hobby to me. Also, though there are no formal poker schools(other than a few WSOP "camps" that are basically pyramid schemes), there is a level of study that few people are willing to dedicate themselves to in order to maximize their success in the game. I've read several dozen poker strategy books, spent hours watching professional games on television, and spent hundreds of hours playing the game itself regularly.

I've always been drawn to games of skill, with card games in particular striking a chord. My mother and my aunt taught me various forms of rummy and gin, as well as hearts, chess, backgammon, Stratego - if it was a game, I loved it. While in middle school I picked up the collectible card game "Magic: The Gathering", which was as much a drain to my wallet as poker is a boon. Although I never could afford to buy the "best" cards, I managed to beat most of my friends and even won a local tournament.

High school brought with it new card game challenges, and two games I still consider among my favorites: Spades and Big Two(a variant on Chinese poker). Every lunch period was an excuse to bring out a deck of cards and test the resolve of the vice principal, who seemed to consider constructive use of time to be against the rules.

All of these games were fun, and I was good at them. At about the same time, ESPN started showing highlight shows of the "World Series of Poker." It featured a poker variant called Texas Hold'em, and for the first time they showed the players' cards while they played(To be fair, the British show "Late Night Poker" began using a "hole cam" to show cards in 1999, and the World Poker Tour opened it up to American viewers in 2002. ESPN's broadcasts were the first time I ever saw it, though.) In 2003, an unknown poker amateur named Chris Moneymaker(no, really. Moneymaker.) spent 40 dollars in an online poker tournament, won a $10,000 seat in the WSOP main event, and won that too, cashing in for $2.5 million.

And I was hooked.

(Part 2 to follow)