Always good to kick off with a teaser.
Lots to cram into one post, or possibly to spread out over a few, to avoid this one becoming an hour of heavy reading. Where to start? Well, as is the Kevin you know and (generally) love, I'll simply ramble and it'll come out as it goes.
Firstly. I'm now in Las Vegas. Preparing to launch a minimum 3 week onslaught on the November Venetian Deepstack Extravaganza. This will consist of approximately $10,000 worth of events. I originally mapped out a rough schedule for this (still on the share info page), which shows things I'm most likely to play, although as per my general M.O, this is subject to change if:
Most of these things tend to resolve themselves as the trip goes along, but it's always worth clarifying for those who might be unfamiliar with how I operate. For example, a multiple flight event with a $150,000-$250,000 guaranteed prize pool is of course a good one to play and make a decent run at. One of the secondary DSE events with a still reasonable buy in of say $400-$800, but now with a far smaller prizepool guarantee, say $30,000, is still nice to win, but to me represents far worse value in turns of risk versus reward. In a lot of these cases I'd rather just avoid the event, and play something else that appeals more. As always, whatever event in which I participate on stake is advertised on this blog prior to me actually playing it, so everyone knows exactly where they are, and things are always transparent.
Lots to cram into one post, or possibly to spread out over a few, to avoid this one becoming an hour of heavy reading. Where to start? Well, as is the Kevin you know and (generally) love, I'll simply ramble and it'll come out as it goes.
Firstly. I'm now in Las Vegas. Preparing to launch a minimum 3 week onslaught on the November Venetian Deepstack Extravaganza. This will consist of approximately $10,000 worth of events. I originally mapped out a rough schedule for this (still on the share info page), which shows things I'm most likely to play, although as per my general M.O, this is subject to change if:
- a) I feel I wouldn't be playing at my best.
- b) There's a scheduling clash where, say, I make a day two (nice problem to have), or most importantly
- c) If I feel the event is not great value for myself and shareholders.
Most of these things tend to resolve themselves as the trip goes along, but it's always worth clarifying for those who might be unfamiliar with how I operate. For example, a multiple flight event with a $150,000-$250,000 guaranteed prize pool is of course a good one to play and make a decent run at. One of the secondary DSE events with a still reasonable buy in of say $400-$800, but now with a far smaller prizepool guarantee, say $30,000, is still nice to win, but to me represents far worse value in turns of risk versus reward. In a lot of these cases I'd rather just avoid the event, and play something else that appeals more. As always, whatever event in which I participate on stake is advertised on this blog prior to me actually playing it, so everyone knows exactly where they are, and things are always transparent.
Next. You might have noticed I said, "minimum of 3 weeks". This does lend itself to the possibility of the trip being longer than that, however a few of you might scratch your heads thinking "OK, he's always been a bit schedule-bound by work commitments for the last year or two...how could he extend the trip if needed?
Simple. I quit my job.
Without making a big thing of it, I've worked for myself for pretty much all of my adult life. You tend to give 150%, and have greater control over your life, but I guess most importantly, whether successful or not, you only largely have yourself to either congratulate or blame. You get out what you put in etc, etc.
Whilst I in no way regret taking the King's shilling of full time employment for around the last two years, it did bring plenty of benefits and pitfalls to a life that was already bearing some strain. In no particular order:
This list could be a lot bigger, but essentially it was an amicable split and had just run it's course. After two years, no one could say I didn't give something new a shot. I welcomed the opportunity to learn and grow, and I proved to myself that I could succeed in new areas, but also the frustration, limit on earning potential, and I guess most importantly, the loss of around 20 hours per week travelling, meant I finally decided it was time for me to move on. The future is not yet set, but I do feel it was the right time and the right decision, and am very keen to go forward and excited about what comes next for me. I have plenty of plans and ideas, but for now I am decompressing a little, playing some poker on this trip, taking it easier on the run up to Christmas, and in the New Year I will re-evaluate the direction in which I wish to go. One thing is for sure, it will be my decision, and it feels good to be back in control of my own future, finances, and successes or failures.
Simple. I quit my job.
Without making a big thing of it, I've worked for myself for pretty much all of my adult life. You tend to give 150%, and have greater control over your life, but I guess most importantly, whether successful or not, you only largely have yourself to either congratulate or blame. You get out what you put in etc, etc.
Whilst I in no way regret taking the King's shilling of full time employment for around the last two years, it did bring plenty of benefits and pitfalls to a life that was already bearing some strain. In no particular order:
- I learned a lot about myself and the things I was capable of learning and doing in the workplace.
- I picked up several new skills and knowledge of various products.
- I had a truly horrible commute, sometimes losing up to four hours per day simply getting to and from work. Yes, I know most of the world commutes as well to some degree, but not all of them go across central London and back again during rush hour five or six days per week.
- I learned that some people are great to work with and will make your job easier and your day that bit better.
- I learned conversely that some people are just awful to work with. Inflexible, pig headed, ignorant and incapable of taking any responsibility for problems or issues. Let's leave it at that! 😃
- The public can be both rude & inconsiderate, and also wonderfully surprising sometimes. It's just a numbers game and meeting the right customers. In general my feedback from the public (I worked in a sales role) was superb, even if I never closed the deal every time.
- I was getting a regular income, which is nice for stability.
- The regular yearly income was sometimes considerably less than I've earned in three days in other walks of my life, poker of course being one of them.
This list could be a lot bigger, but essentially it was an amicable split and had just run it's course. After two years, no one could say I didn't give something new a shot. I welcomed the opportunity to learn and grow, and I proved to myself that I could succeed in new areas, but also the frustration, limit on earning potential, and I guess most importantly, the loss of around 20 hours per week travelling, meant I finally decided it was time for me to move on. The future is not yet set, but I do feel it was the right time and the right decision, and am very keen to go forward and excited about what comes next for me. I have plenty of plans and ideas, but for now I am decompressing a little, playing some poker on this trip, taking it easier on the run up to Christmas, and in the New Year I will re-evaluate the direction in which I wish to go. One thing is for sure, it will be my decision, and it feels good to be back in control of my own future, finances, and successes or failures.
With regards to the trip, originally I had budgeted to play a block of events within an allotted window of "work" holiday time. This now no longer being an issue, the budget for the trip still remains unchanged, but I can now be more selective about which events I decide to play, and can extend my stay by a few days or weeks if I so decide. None of this really affects anybody who has invested, I'd just rather keep people in the loop. Plus it gives me stuff to post about 😃
More to come in due course. I've been here for under day, am unpacked, and have my rental car sorted, accommodation with a good pal, and his amazing dogs, and am acclimatising for Fall in Las Vegas, and life as a free man again. Love to all!
More to come in due course. I've been here for under day, am unpacked, and have my rental car sorted, accommodation with a good pal, and his amazing dogs, and am acclimatising for Fall in Las Vegas, and life as a free man again. Love to all!
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