How I got here

If you have somehow stumbled across this page, here's a brief story of my life.

Born and raised in Fort Worth. Parents still together, one younger brother. I was a good student. Majored in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin.

Summer of 2000, took first job as sports copy editor at Waco Tribune-Herald. Worked there for a little more than three years, picking up some writing assignments as well.

My friends (who are virtually all friends from high school) started playing poker while I worked at Waco. I started playing with them when I came into Fort Worth once a month or so and immediately was hooked. I bought Ken Warren's "Winner's Guide to Texas Hold 'em" and spent most of my free time working on my game.

I changed jobs, becoming a high school sports writer at The Dallas Morning News in the fall of 2003. I played more and more poker, and finally found a home at an underground game in Fort Worth.

When the Morning News laid off several sports writers in June 2005, I decided to become a professional poker player.

I have stayed afloat ever since. I am not rich, but I am not broke. There have been times where I have had more than $10,000 cash stashed in a drawer in my house and times where I have had to borrow money to play from a friend in the game.

I am somewhere in between right now. In many ways, I missed out on the poker boom while being right in the middle of it. I have never committed a substantial amount of time to playing online. I have taken several shots at big tournaments with money that probably would have been put to better use as savings and a bankroll builder.

I don't know whether poker is my life's work. There are days where I really enjoy it, and others where I almost pine to be back behind a desk in an office, editing stories.

I guess this wasn't really that brief. But it's where I'm at right now.