The Rules

I already mentioned that yesterday was a good day, and as I drank late into the night, and woke up this morning feeling refreshed, one thought remained throughout... I can really do this.

I'm going to attempt to make a living playing poker. It remains to be seen if I have what it takes, or if I've just been incredibly lucky thus far... but there is no reason not to go for it right now.

I literally have zero responsibilities. No wife (or kids), no job, no debt (being completely out of debt is a wonderful feeling I recommend in and of itself). The only thing that could be remotely considered a responsibility is that I need to pay my cut of the rent and utilities, lest my roomate find himself homeless unexpectedly, and I think I can cover that for awhile yet. Oh, and having food money would be nice too.

So be it. No time like the present.

But we must have rules.

Rule #1. I am not a fucking blogger.

Not to offend any proud bloggers out there. But it's not what I am, nor what I want to be. I want to be a poker player who just happens to keep an online journal regarding his progress, and thoughts on the matter. If for no other reason than so that I can read back through it in a year and laugh hysterically at myself. Plus, it'll keep me honest.

My intent is to (force myself to) make an entry daily, but I may occasionally skip a day, or even make two entries on the same day. I definitely won't be making any entries from August 29th to September 5th.

And because I'm not a blogger, I won't be posting about news in the poker world and I won't be posting what other blogs are talking about unless it has some direct relation to my own thoughts. There are already people who do both already, better than I ever could, and none are hard to find.

I won't ever post about actual money amounts when relating my thoughts. I think things are better left relative. If I tell you I just won "a lot of money", I want you to think "a lot of money", because as soon as I relate that it was $100 the story is ruined. 100 dollars is a paltry sum to some people, country and castle to others, and completely immaterial to conveying the feeling involved with winning a lot of money.

But to recap the most important bit, I am not aspiring to be a journalist who plays poker, I want to be a (damned good) poker player with a journal.

Rule #2. No shilling.

From time to time (and starting very soon), I will be recommending products and services based no my personal experience. Because there is no good reason not to collect the referral money for such products and services, I intend to.

And then I will give it all away to charity.

This is the only way that I can avoid the inevitable conflict of interest, and feel confident in my recommendations.

I may or may not make the amounts known. There are pros and cons for both sides of the coin here, open accounting of funds or the anonymity of donations. I need to think about it more.

Also, I haven't decided what charity it will be. I am making investigations into various organizations that I feel will be appropriate. Gamblers Anonymous was my first pick because admittedly, I am embarking on a career of taking money from people with mental health issues. This is probably the hardest thing about the idea of being a professional poker player for me, but if I give something back, I can feel better knowing that other people wouldn't, and I can perform a kind of service. Or maybe I'm bluffing myself.

Regardless, Gamblers Anonymous won't take donations from outside the organization as they pride them selves on being self-sufficient. I have to respect that and continue my search for another charity... or join Gamblers Anonymous in an attempt to trick them into accepting my money, which I find amusing. I can be the first subversive philanthropist ever. I wonder what the punishment for that is if I get caught.

Rule #3. No more money in, only out.

This may end up being a soft rule, if the circumstances ever warrant, but as it is now, my fledgling poker career is completely paid for and running on profit. I have withdrawn my initial online bankroll, and everything I'm playing with now would not have existed otherwise.

I'd like to keep it that way.

I can see this getting twisted a bit down the line though if my only form of income is poker. Then it's just a stupid rule with no practicality whatsoever. I may have to define it better at a later date, but for now it stands.

Rule #4. Develop a plan for poker.

I need to figure out when to move up in stakes, change games, get into tourneys, go to a real poker room for the first time, etc.

I'd rather not continue to do this off the hip like I have been, but I haven't given it enough thought yet either. I need to take it more seriously.

At least I finally ordered some poker books!

Rule #5. Develop a plan for life.

I've never really had a "plan for life", but that's not entirely what I mean either. I need to setup some financial goals, get some savings locked down, all that adult stuff.

I need to look into how taxes and health care and all that shit is going to work.

This rule is especially important now that I'm giving up the concept of a guaranteed paycheck alltogether.

...

So there you have it. Thems the rules for now. If I were a wagering man, and I have already declared as much, I'd wager there will be more rules later.

-Tommy

P.S. Today I gave a little bit of yesterdays earnings back to the tables. But merely a fraction of it, and I am still hyped. I considered briefly growing the cajones to bare my financial soul for all the world to see, but then I remembered that it (thankfully) violated one of the corollaries of Rule #1.