My poker story

Sorry to hear that, man. Take care and come back stronger!

Dad has cancer. Dad has always been a big role model for me. Didn't always see eye to eye but he's a really good guy that wanted the best for his kids and had worked harder than his fair share to keep his family together. I feel like poker had distracted me from what really matters...family & just trying to be a good person for the world. I look up at the stars to remind me all of it doesnt actually matter in the big picture of it all...we're just small cosmic pieces of dust....but feelings are real and life reminds you how real things can be. Dad doesn't have much time left. Poker already can be a depressng game to play having to sit around people who are largely degenerate selfish pieces of ****, but choosing to spend time around that group as opposed to my own dad is even worse of a feeling. My mom has mental issues and dad has been a rock for her. Brother got some of that from her. Sister is stable but she's in Arizona with her own set of medical things and a family and young kids. Im a strong guy but i have a tough job and I don't always choose the best ways to cope either. Not sure if I'm strong enough of a person to deal with that all. But something about the game brings me back, like I said it's in my blood. Not addiction. Sportsbetting & craps & slots can be that, but poker is something more to me it's a road to someplace. I feel a need to keep playing despite all that above. I have a right to make a way for myself despite the things around me. Not sure not feeling the best , works been tough, but on life goes and it could be much worse. Just figured id update the story however successful or tragic it is is mine & on it goes.

Been chilling. Not much poker lately. Been focusing on work mostly, then got sick with a bad cold & cough for a few weeks. Finally feel normal again. Spent Thanksgiving with Dad & parents. He's doing good. In good spirits. My uncle over the summer, the one I went TN for, had his funeral from cancer. Was feeling good up until things turned sour within a few weeks. Cancer can be like that, it's a bad thing. I play my best poker when I feel mentally grounded in life, so no real motivation right now to go on a hard grind. I'm just kind of keeping it lowkey but figured I'd post a quick update. I might start playing again a bit just to take my mind off things for a few hours on the weekends.

Signed up for a YMCA membership so I can swim laps during the winter. Went this Friday after work to swim. Felt super relaxing. Used sauna after and then played poker from about 6pm - 10pm $1/$3 NLHE. Made $80. Played tight. Going to start doing that Friday nights after work it was a good way to keep my mind off things in a healthy sort of way. That was the first session I played in a while. Felt nice.

Hey man, been some time since I've last posted here.

Sorry to hear about your father situation - stay strong and keep your head (and chin) up!

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Sorry about your dad, mine has prostate cancer, but is holding up well. Swim, sauna then poker? That's sounds like great way to spend an evening.

I'm live to win $100k in a fantasy football contest. I made it to the championship round (week 17) of a contest with 75 teams or so. I'm already top 5 with 2 games left back about 7 points from first (full ppr tight end premium superflex format). I have Purdy, Jennings, & Bijan left to play for me each needing to replace players who have scored 22, 14, & 12 fantasy points, with some Puka & CMC teams behind me. I'll update before MNF game if I'm live to win with what I need or don't need. ONE time please let me get lucky ONE TIME.

Purdy had a big game. I'm in 2nd down 0.2 points. 0.2 points in fantasy football is 2 rushing yards, 2 receiving yards, or 5 passing yards. The difference between 1st & 2nd in this contest is $90,000. If I lose $90,000 based on 2 rushing yards that's going to be tough for me to swallow. The guy in 1st had a RB named Swift who ended up passing me on the very last play of the game. This is what I mean by running bad in big spots in my life. It's happened about 10 times in my life where I'm live for 6 figures and I get boned. Good news is that I have Bijan Robinson to play yet with him needing to replace a 13.70 score in my lineup. He's projected for about 20 points. In theory I'm favored to win. I'd say about 75% to win $100k. Please pray for me. Here's a breakdown of the players I'm fading tomorrow for MNF. The "placeholder" is the player in the opponent's lineup they have to surpass before that player starts counting towards their score.

Opponent Team Player(s) Placeholder Score needed
181.90 Blake Corum 9.30 16.94
178.52 Drake London 9.90 20.92
167.92 Matthew Stafford 11.30 32.92
161.74 Puka Nacua 8.20 36.00
160.86 Kyle Pitts (1.5 PPR) 15.50 44.18
160.00 Puka Nacua 13.70 43.24
159.96 Kyren Williams 12.50 42.08
154.00 Kyren + Puka 10.40 / 12.20 58.14 (combined)
147.34 Puka + Pitts + Allgeier 12.20 / 7.40 / 15.14 76.94 (combined)
143.52 Stafford + Pitts + Allgeier 8.80 / 12.20 / 2.90 69.92 (combined)...but i have bijan counting for me over 13.70 which raises the score needed

I'm team "lovestars"

chat gpt has my chances at: P(lose) ≈ 13% + (87% × 11%)
≈ 13% + 9.6%
≈ 22–23%
77–78% to WIN $100k; 22–23% to "lose"
$79,000ish in equity right now.

This is a life changing spot. I don't run good in these spots. Is tonight different? Let's get it.

I won the contest. I actually won. $100,000.
That’s by far the biggest score I’ve ever had in a single day.

I’ve had some big hits in life before, about $40k on AMC during the COVID squeeze and around $30k when Roaring Kitty came back to GME in May 2024, but I’ve never come close to six figures like this. It doesn’t even feel real yet. I’m still trying to process it.

The last six months especially have been a real grind for me, and honestly the majority of my adult life has been full of ups and downs. I’ve had plenty of moments where I’ve questioned myself and wondered if I was ever going to get my break. Lately it felt like life was testing how much I could take.

What’s strange is that I had a really good feeling about this fantasy football season, because everything else in my life seemed to be going sideways. Bad luck, stress, my dad, things not going right, and plenty of things I’ve chosen not to write about because they’re personal to me. At a certain point I even caught myself thinking, almost in a clairvoyent way, that if things were running this badly for me, something big must be coming. And sure enough, here it is.

I try to be a logical, grounded person, but moments like this make you wonder about timing, balance, and whether there’s more going on than we can see. Maybe it’s just luck and perseverance, maybe it’s something else. Either way, tonight feels special.

And if you’re reading this and you’re feeling down in life, just stay the course and keep trucking. Don’t quit on yourself. Your day will come too. I started this blog so I could look back on the good & the bad, and share my journey with others. I know there will be more downs coming, but tonight… tonight is an up. A long overdue up.

Big congrats on your score, man. Stepping into 2026 with a bang, salute!

Wow, that's an awesome win. Nice way to end a tough year.

Best of luck, hope the cards treat you kindly.

Love to see it! Congrats man. I know things have been tough(and maybe still are in some areas) but take some time to enjoy this win!

Oh wow, firstly sorry to hear about your dad and secondly get the **** in there on the 100k score.

Honestly that is so well deserved, the kindness you showed in giving people some of your action (me included) has been rewarded with interest.

Don't know why I logged on today as haven't been on here for ages, but was feeling down as well after a **** year and this has perked me up and inspired me again.

All the best to you pal

You know…..I’m going to play some $1/$3. Nothing crazy. If I start losing I can stop. But I believe in myself and 6 months of playing cash games and studying on the side could be a good test of discipline for me and get me out of the house. Bankroll is peaked. Have $20k in the nightstand and over 6 figures in my account with 3 days off….

$100k is get me into a house money not retirement money so why stop trying to make money. Put a bag in the back, took a shower, got a fresh Puma hoodie on and feeling grindy.

https://youtu.be/slO2aXwUfGA?si=a6Xj3G2X52Rwn5_h

Won $273 after 1.5 hours of play. Decided to walk I was playing well and dialed in at a good table but I wanted to book a small win to start 2026. Wouldn’t have felt good to give it back. Got down to $300ish on a bluff from a $400 starting stack, then grinded some back up and hit a nut flush for about $200ish before leaving. Probably should have played a longer session but it’s the new year and don't want to get out of hand…plus S5 Stranger Things just came out and have to watch that

I need to go meet some girls or something. I've been single for too long. I hate laying around alone on a Friday night lol. I think I may go to Island Poker Room about an hour from me instead of Oneida. There was a cute dealer there who I think was single. She had a kid but she opened the door for me on the way out last time & smiled at me. Probably just being friendly but maybe if she's dealing I'll try and get her number.

Made $300 in the island game. That game is ridiculously soft. They have nightly $60 tournaments that run and they open a $1/$3 game after that ends, just one table. I play an aggressive style of poker at those stakes attacking limpers and c/r air at times so that’s the type of play that pisses off those types of games quickly. Sometimes I have to make adjustments and limp just so players don’t start playing back out of spite, but it’s amazing how face up the majority of )1/$3 players play. At $2/$5 that tends to start changing more with people 3 betting more often or open raising instead of limping and bluffing more but at $1/$3 it’s a lot about stealing equity, playing tight aggressive, and finding good timing. That alone done correctly makes the games beatable but when you start adding in reading body language and table selection and knowing when to walk the players have little chance to beat the games im in with the rake and my play style. I can run bad but it’s getting hard for me to lose at $1/$3. I can see clearly mistakes people are making nobody seems to notice. I always feel like I’m the best player in the games I play in. Even when I went to Vegas the games were noticeably tougher but I had sessions at the bellagio $2/$5 that I would run over the table in some disgusting ways. Not to get a big head but my hourly at $1/$3 over the last 2 years is probably second to only a few, if any. I probably should consider moving up but the closest $2/$5 the runs consistently near me is Milwaukee and that’s a drive. Maybe I should consider taking more trips to Chicago or Vegas to play bigger because these games are a joke and I’m absolutely coasting. Okay back to being humble lol

Oh yeah the cute dealer was there but she was being friendly with everyone and some guys were flirting with her so I didn’t ask for any numbers maybe another time . I suck at asking girls out or showing interest in front of other people

Congrats on the score bro. Getting to 100k roll is by far the hardest part, now you’re past the lower stakes with ridiculous rake.

But as you gotta know by now it’s easy to lose your roll with the wrong game selection so keep your head down and you’ll never worry about money again. 100 buyin rule brother - never buy in for more than 1% of your roll and you’re good. GL and don’t let yourself slip

I'm going to be grinding on Friday's and Saturday's until June most weekends I've decided. Try and get about 6 hours on Friday & about 8 hours on Saturdays in poker. Might get a cheap room some Friday nights to save me a drive back and forth. Will try and get two YMCA workouts in each of those days as well. Going to try and take poker seriously here for a bit volume wise. Will stick with mostly NLHE cash as that's what I know best. My volume has been a bit of a joke playing an hour here hour there, my results are good, but need to be put in more work at the tables. I think if I can manage working out & eating healthy I'll be able to prevent the burnout during the work week which can be a grind & stressful. Public schools are a shit show to say the least. I put in about a 55 hour week between driving and time spent on work stuff, and most of it is in a more stressful environment. I don't like going into too many personal details regarding work life on a public forum for professional reasons, but what I do most people wouldn't have the patience for. It is high turnover and people get frustrated for sure. On the positive it's fulfilling & comes with full benefits. I earn about $3k in discretionary income after bills are paid each month which is solid and adds up quick. I get summers and holidays off and a retirement pension, so it is worth it to me & that's where my main life energy goes into, but I think I should also look at trying to take another step up in life money wise. I'm 37 and I'm not getting any younger. I feel sharp mentally & feel like my poker game is peaking. I'd like to push it a bit further. With about $125k bankroll I can do some work.

The stock market heading into May until 2027 also looks juicy. Fed Chair Powell likely to get replaced by somebody willing to lower interest rates. Trump also wants to make people money & is doing good things that'll stimulate the economy, so going to keep some cash in Webull looking for good deals on leaps / long term options / stock heading up to May. Looking to buy a condo around summer time too depending on the market conditions. Am thinking about what I want to do this summer. Went to Thailand last summer. May go to Phillipines or Macau or Brazil or some shit, not sure yet. Might stay in the country and play poker in different casinos. Don't think I'll go back to Vegas for WSOP I didn't enjoy that as much as I thought I might. I didn't like the hot weather and the games weren't all that fun to play in.

That opening scene in Rounders where Mike pulls the roll out from behind the bookshelf has always stuck with me. It’s quiet, deliberate, and almost ritualistic... like he’s acknowledging that part of himself that knows it’s time to step back into the arena. That moment feels a lot like where I’m at right now: not reckless, not chasing, but consciously deciding to take a shot while the window is open. There’s something powerful about choosing to reach for your stack when you know you’re ready.

I saved 2025 with a nice score at the end. But 2026 could be a huge year for me. Let's get it.

Investing in crypto or crypto related stocks is probably the best investment over the next 5 years. The main problems hurting a lot of businesses like tariffs, inflation, or wars doesn't relate to crypto. Until interest rates drop down to around 2% I don't see the point in investing in businesses right now.

I remember in 6th grade some girl used the note method on me. I looked at her the next day and said "no". Who the fuck did I think I was? Took that same girl out in 10th grade bowling with my friends and she fell for my best best. Served me right. I peaked in middle school. Maybe I'll keep a piece of paper with my number on it in my pocket in case a moment comes up. Probably won't be playing in that game for a while anyways.