And So It Begins. Again.

Hi. My name is Yaniv. I play poker as Sentin. I like short sentences. I have A.D.D. This is my story.

It was nearly a decade ago now that I was first introduced to the world of professional poker grinding through the oft-(over)quoted brilliance that is the movie Rounders. More than the movie itself, it was the sudden realization that there was an 'easy' way to make a living that really captivated my imagination. I use the word easy in quotations because I've since learned just how much work being a successful poker player takes. I suppose in this day and age there is no such thing as an easy ride...whether you're an actor putting in 18 hour days, a musician playing 27 shows in 30 nights, or a writer spending countless sleepless nights rewriting a single sentence fragment, those who succeed at 'other' professions have to earn it (most of the time). The beauty of it all tho is that when you're doing the thing you enjoy most in life, it really shouldn't feel like all that much work to begin with.

As I began my career as a poker player, at first recreationally and eventually full-time, I was constantly switching sites and games, always trying to find the right niche for myself within the poker world. I started off leaking all my money into the cash community before switching to SNGs and MTTs and finding enough success there to continue playing the game I love without having to worry about when I'd have to find a 'real job'.

The only problem was that I was bored. I was soooooo soooooooooo bored. If my ADD and I had to sit through another 12 hour day to outlast 3000 players and finish in 24th or 8th or anythingbutfirst we were ready to just give up the dream and go use the teaching degree collecting dust in my closet....but that would make my parents wayyy too happy for their own good....and so an alternative was desperately needed in order for me to keep my street cred intact.

It was then that I decided to take one last shot at cash games. I decided to take my shot at 6max Rush NL knowing full well that one of my biggest weaknesses as a cash game player was playing too many hands...again, out of boredom. Switching up to a shorthanded rush game allowed me to calm the ADD monsters in my brain and mouseclicker-finger and instead focus all my energy on making the right play on every single hand day in and day out.

The results quickly spoke for themselves. As I shot through the limits from 50nl to 200nl I was studying, adapting and attempting to improve my game with a hunger and determination that had been noticeably absent the previous year. I was excited and eager to play on a daily basis for the first time in a while.

Then Black Friday struck. Within hours the entire US player-base on Full Tilt disappeared, not to mention many of the backers who I had relied on during the previous 3 years to allow me to pursue my career in a relatively variance-free format. When my rush poker backer informed me that he couldn't continue to stake me at this time due to the situation in America, I immediately started thinking about which beach I should take my talents to.

It seemed like a given to me that I would simply look for another backer and resume business as usual but as I explained this to my lovely wife she asked very simply: 'why don't you just play for yourself now?'
I immediately brushed off the idea internally but as I was explaining the reasons against it, I started realizing that many of the fears I had about playing on my own dime when i first started playing poker for a living - bad bankroll management, tilt, lack of confidence in my abilities - were fears that, if not already fully conquered, were at worst just a shadow of their former self.

Suddenly, I knew exactly what I needed to do.

With nearly a quarter of the online poker traffic obliterated overnight by the DOJ, it is a new poker world out there and, with it, comes the silent promise of an 'easy' way to make a living....but only for those willing to give in to The Grind.

S.