New Beginnings

Originally, I wasn’t sure where this blog was headed. I created it without buying a domain name, buying web hosting, or having any idea of how to create content on web pages. This webpage was created using completely free resources, but I have outgrown the capabilities of those resources.

For that reason, I have purchased a new domain. In the future, I will be posting all new content to www.thepokerbase.com. At the time of this writing, if you browse to that address, you will find a maintenance page. But, that will change soon. It is 90% completed and just needs a few finishing touches.

What can you expect on this new page?

1. A detailed explanation of the rules of tournament poker. Surprisingly, no such resource currently exists. All major poker tournaments are currently using a ruleset developed by the TDA, or Tournament Directors Association. They have done a fantastic job. However, if you aren’t a tournament director, or you haven’t been involved in poker for more than a decade, the rules can be convoluted and unintelligible. I have done my best to go rule by rule and explain them all.
2. Poker video learning resources. I have watched 1000’s of poker videos. Most of them were worthless, but some of them were invaluable. Content creators on YouTube can choose to make their content publicly available. Some of the best poker content creators have been generous enough to make their poker videos available for free to the masses. I have handpicked the very best of those videos and created an easily navigated poker video library. Everything you need to know in order to be a winning poker player is in this video library, from how to manage your bankroll to how to play the river out of position vs. an aggressive player.
3. A diverse shop of poker merchandise. I have established a relationship with a wholesaler for all types of poker products. This has been no easy task. The vast majority of potential items were either overpriced, obsolete, or otherwise not good products. I have narrowed down a list of 2500+ items to the 30 best items. Everything is priced to compete with ultra cheap places like ebay, so that I can bring you the best deals. The items that made the cut have also been reviewed diligently by many customers and all have positive reviews. This store will continue to grow. I am currently working on a relationship with the best poker wholesaler in the world and I will soon be able to add many new quality items at the best possible prices you can find anywhere.
4. A new home for this blog. I will continue this blog, but now I will have a professional website theme to build on that isn’t dependent on fickle free options. I will be able to post any content I want without data restrictions or insurmountable technical obstacles.

In fact, this new website does not tell the whole story. Through my journeys across the country and into the busiest and best casinos, I have learned something valuable. Poker is a very limited dream. There are a handful of great jobs in the industry and to get one of those jobs it practically takes divine intervention. Once you have that job, you will still not have security.

The Linq poker room in Vegas and The Lodge poker room in Black Hawk have recently closed. The Venetian has down sized considerably. 100’s of people show up for open auditions for a small number of positions in California casinos. Casinos no longer view poker as the hugely profitable industry it once was and they have started to redirect resources that were once pointed at poker. The casinos in CA have changed their business model. Since poker is not as profitable, they have increased the amount of rake they take dramatically to compensate for that. This is not a good development for the future of poker. I have been offered a temporary job at The Commerce Casino in LA. They offered me a three week temporary tournament dealer position. The only reason they offered me this job is because I can deal 7 card stud, a rare game in the modern casino setting. I could jump through the hoops required to get this job (like getting a CA driver’s license) and try to parlay it into something long term, but I’m not going to do that. I don’t want to gamble with my future, and pursuing poker dealing as a long term career, as I have come to learn, is a major gamble.

I love poker. I will always be involved in the game in some way. However, I have new career aspirations. It turns out that I truly enjoy building websites, and I believe I have some talent at it. I have now created two websites for small businesses. I have made my own ecommerce and niche interest website. I am already working on my next big project, which is not poker related, and something you would never expect. I recently had a friend of my father’s contact me about making a site for his carpet installation business, another friend contact me about a small business owner in the Louisville area looking for a website, and I’m confident more opportunities will make themselves available as a I create a portfolio and establish my own business identity.

Once upon a time I went to school for computer science and worked for IBM for half a decade, and I am remembering why I had a passion for that industry in the first place.

Once again, I am headed in a new direction and I’m not sure where it will take me, but I am very optimistic.

Patiently Waiting

The drive to California was interesting. I stopped for gas in Barstow and my car would not start. After the third try it fired up and I was on my way to Redondo.

What a refreshing change from Vegas. The constant 110+ degree days were starting to get to me. 83 felt like Antarctica. It was nice to be able to be outside for more than a few minutes.

Poker in California is different. I was shocked to find out about the massive rake and low maximum buy in that casinos in California offer. They are pulling $6 out of a $7 pot and some casinos have a max buyin of only 33 big blinds. I’m glad I will be focusing on dealing and not playing. I find these restrictions on the game to be completely insane for someone trying to make money at the lower stakes. I definitely won’t be spending any time playing poker in a casino until I have enough money to play medium to high stakes games where the rake and buyins are in the realm of sanity.

Less than 24 hours after arriving in California I was in line at the Commerce Casino for open auditions.

The line stretched around the entire second floor of the casino. More than 300 people were there for auditions. It was brutal. After 9 hours of being in line, they closed auditions. I did not get to participate.

Determined to make some progress I scanned the first floor, where the poker room is located.

The picture is the low stakes poker area, but on the other side of the casino was the high stakes area. That’s where I found Richard. He is a shift manager at the Commerce. I explained to him about my journey and the frustrations I was facing with simply getting the opportunity to audition for a job.

Richard seemed like a genuine and compassionate guy. He walked me over to HR, but they had already closed for the day. He took my information and told me that he would personally talk to HR on my behalf and that I would get an audition. He estimated that I would hear from HR within a couple of days, and they would schedule an audition with me.

I was beyond delighted.

The next day, I gave my buddy a ride to his work.

Porsches are like Hondas in Beverly Hills. They are everywhere, and after the 20th time you see one they are no longer impressive. I also saw Lamborghinis and Ferraris. I would love to find some home games to deal in Beverly Hills, the place is dripping with affluence and money to burn.

The next day disaster struck.

The ignition problems I had in Barstow had returned. I took my car to the nearby Pep Boys. After keeping my car for a half day they shrugged their shoulders and conceded defeat. They had no idea what’s wrong with my car. They recommended that I take my car to the Mitsubishi Dealership in Cerritos.

I scheduled an appointment, waited a week for my turn, and successfully limped my car the 18 miles to the dealership. It was stressful. The 405 in LA is not a place you want to be driving an unreliable vehicle that could die at anytime. There was an accident, which made the commute about an hour. I can’t believe I made it.

I never heard back from Richard or the Commerce, but I haven’t followed up with them either. Having no reliable transportation has effectively stalled my job search. The Hustler Casino, which is less than 5 miles from where I am staying is hiring full time dealers and just posted on Indeed.com. I am currently sitting at a Starbucks about .8 miles from Cerritos Mitsubishi awaiting a verdict on my car. If all goes well, I will be back in action tomorrow, ready to hit the Commerce for a second time and the Hustler for a preliminary scouting.

This has been the hardest and most stressful week of my journey yet, but I will find a way to go on, and I am still determined to find my dream job.

Chapter 2

A few miles away from my first airbnb location I have taken residence at my second airbnb location. Erdal and Emily have graciously welcomed me into their home. Their two dogs make me miss my pup back home in Colorado.

The Vegas heat has been prohibitive. Walking miles along the strip in interview attire is just not an option when it is 112 degrees. I have been mostly staying indoors while vigorously attacking online applications.

For the second time, I was invited to a casino for a “pre employment screening”. It’s like an interview before the interview. This time it was in North Las Vegas at the Santa Fe Station Casino. By Vegas standards, it’s a smaller casino, but still larger than anything in my native Colorado. On a weekday morning, the poker room had three active tables. They mostly spread low limit and small stakes no limit hold’em games, but allegedly sometimes an omaha game breaks out. I hoped for the opportunity to speak with the poker room manager, but he was busy proposition playing in a 2-4 limit game.

So far in Vegas I have not had an interview with a member of the poker staff or an audition with a single casino. I just received my first response to an online application, which I submitted more than 3 weeks ago. The Treasure Island Casino informed me that they thought my credentials were impressive, but that they had already filled the position. If this is any indication of the response time, it may still be a couple of weeks before I obtain a legitimate interview or audition in Las Vegas.

However, the search must continue. A short 4 hour commute from Vegas is the largest and busiest poker room in the world. The Commerce Casino in LA has 243 poker tables. They are always hiring, and next Tuesday they have open auditions. This is an opportunity that I can not pass up.

My journey is headed in a new direction. I’m going to California.

One of my oldest and dearest friends lives a short drive away from several large card rooms in California. I will be calling his couch home while I check out the very busy poker scene in LA. Places like the Bicycle Club Casino and the Hustler Casino rival or exceed anything that Vegas has to offer. Should Vegas contact me about a dealing opportunity I will just make the drive back. Whoever offers me a job first wins.

The Job Search

Step one is complete, I am in Vegas. I am staying in a private one bedroom in a house I found on airbnb. The place is comfortable albeit a bit crowded. There is another room being rented, and the two couches in the living room are also being rented. For my purposes it is more than adequate.

Casinos here are big. Walking from the parking garage to the poker room in 7 different casinos in one day has sent my legs a painful reminder that I am out of shape. I can also confirm the nasty rumor that being in the middle of the desert is in fact a hot location. It’s still 100 degrees or more when the sun starts to go down.

The closest casino to me is also one of my top picks to work at. The Orleans has a large and busy poker room. It is known for being frequented by the locals. On a Tuesday night I counted 18 full tables with about 30 on the waiting list. A friendly Dealer there named Irmie gave me the inside scoop of who to talk to about getting an audition. I talked to the poker room manager and submitted an application online. If all goes well I could have an audition next week.

All of the MGM owned properties, which is a lot of casinos, are not hiring any poker dealers. That eliminates places like Aria. All of Caesar’s properties are also not hiring poker dealers. Although, the poker room manager there is from Westminster CO and grew up about 2 miles from me. It’s a small world.

The Venetian had an elaborate employment center. I was given a basic preliminary interview by a nice lady named Jessica. She said that my application and resume looked good and that she would forward them to the poker room. I would love to work at the Venetian and have my fingers crossed that I will hear from them soon.

I have a lot of confidence in my dealing skills. If I can get an audition somewhere, I will get hired.

I tried to get away from the strip, so I ate at a Subway near my room, but everything seems to be gambling themed here.

Tomorrow I will be heading off of the strip to check out the opportunities in some of the smaller casinos and downtown. My first stop will be the Golden Nugget. They hold an annual tournament for the Moose Lodge there, which many of my friends will be playing in come January.

 

The Departure

According to google maps it will take me 11 hours to drive from Denver to Vegas. You couldn’t squeeze a postage stamp into my trunk. My first week is settled. I’m staying in a private furnished room that I found off of airbnb. After that, it’s all improv. I have a lot of cup ‘o noodles and an air mattress.

As the WSOP settles down, the poker dealing jobs have started to dry up. I’m hoping I’m not too late. On Indeed there are still a few leads for me to chase down. I have one buddy with a contact at Mandalay Bay and another buddy with a contact at The Venetian.  Those will be my first two destinations on the strip.

I’m more than a little excited. For most of my adult life I have flirted with risk. In the past I’ve succeeded enough to embrace materialism, but I’ve also had to borrow money to eat. I’ve owned a house and I’ve couchsurfed. Above all else, I’ve grown confident in my perseverance.

When the sun comes up tomorrow I’ll be leaving my home of 31 years. I’ve spent a few summers away before, but never with ambitions like this. I’m going to miss the Broncos, my parents, and my family’s dog. I bought a Colorado flag themed hat to remind me of home. I’m not sure where this crazy adventure is going to take me, but I’m ready.

Vegas or Bust

The first time I played poker was right after the movie Rounders came out sometime in 1999 or 2000. My friend’s dad invited me over to play a poker game using quarters, nickels, and dimes. I still remember hitting a three of a kind with pocket threes and turning my cards face up and then folding out of turn. It wasn’t until 2004 that I started playing more regularly. By 2007, I was dealing poker for a living at the Gilpin, then the Lodge, and finally the Golden Gates. I have also dealt in various free poker leagues and have dealt and run thousands of private cash games. Poker has been my passion for a long time now.

Something that I have discovered over the years is that there are a lot of people that think they are winning poker players, but in reality they are losing poker players. In fact, that describes almost every poker player that I know of. Concepts like bankroll management are completely foreign to the vast majority of small stakes players. Most poker players that I have dealt to make absolutely no effort to track their results and are actually losing recreational players masquerading as card sharks.

The most popular and accessible poker cash game in casinos is $1/$2 no limit hold’em, or some very similar variation (like spread limit). The most successful players at that limit are making about $15/hr, and that is very rare and the absolute upper limit of what is possible. I know of several winning players at $1/$2 stakes, two of which have lots of data to back up their claims and shared that data with me. Both of these players are playing about 30 hours a week and made less than $20k last year playing poker.

Dealing strictly low stakes cash games and no tournaments I can make about $35/hr. It’s a simple choice for me. I can make a lot more money dealing poker than playing poker. I still have dreams of playing in higher stakes games and making 100% of my income from poker playing, but those dreams require a lot of time and effort. Maybe I will get there someday, but I’m happy being a poker dealer for now. Whether you are a player or a dealer, one thing is certain. You want to go to Vegas. That’s where the money is.

I’m doing it. There is no reason for me to be anywhere but Vegas. I haven’t shared my plans with anyone until very recently, but I have been secretly working on setting myself up for a new career in Vegas for quite awhile now. There are a lot of uncertainties and risk, but that is something I have a high tolerance for. I have been working hard on my mental game, finances, and self improvement in general… and it’s time. Vegas or bust baby.