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Well I am back on a plane coming home to Portland. I am a little bummed at the way the trip to Nick’s as well as the member guest tournament turned out. I was either insanely tired, suffering from anxiety or in the ER. I tried to make the best of the situation and not to drag down those around me who were trying to have fun. I hope I did my best to stay out of their way and allow them to enjoy the awesome tourney that Fountain Grove puts on each year. The event is first rate all the way and the format/festivities are first class. Basically what I was looking forward to was a weekend of a ton of golf and a ton of hanging out and having some drinks with all of the really cool members there. That didn’t pan out, but at least I walked away with my health which is a good thing to have…lol

Nick and I spent today watching the British Open. I don’t think Greg Norman should feel bad as he gave it his best on a tough day, but was just that 5% or so off that led to a highish score and a 3rd place finish. Padraig Harrington (Nephew of Action Dan Harrington who we all know) played truly world class golf and shot one of the best back nines in golf history to claim the title. Even if Greg had been on his game he likely would have lost anyway with as good as Padraig played. Nice work Paddy!!!

After golf Nick and I made 3 dual commentary videos and I feel they were probably our best work ever together. The first one was at 200nl and the second video was a 2 part series at 400nl and we had plenty to talk about and the discussion should prove invaluable for those seeking to work their way from small to mid stakes. We discussed the art of not only how to move up, but when to move up and the risks associated with it. I feel like we played pretty well and although the cards weren’t going our way, we still had lots to talk about and still managed to scrap out a small win. So keep your eyes peeled for these videos which should be distributed over the next couple of weeks. You won’t want to miss them.

I very much miss my wife and am very excited that in an hour or so I will get to see her. After what happened yesterday, it will be good to just spend some time with her and relax. As I said before, I have pretty much written off this month poker wise in the sense that I have no hands played or $ won goals. I am just going to relax and enjoy life and when I feel like playing I am going to play. So far I think I have managed to squeeze in 25k hands or so and am up around $27k. I’ll certainly take it and honestly whatever happens happens. I am just really looking forward to chilling out and enjoying the beautiful summer here in Portland with my wife. We are going to go to the beach for a couple of days and maybe do some wine tasting if it works out. Whatever it is we do, getting to spend some quality time is what I am really after.

In the coming weeks I am planning on switching my schedule temporarily and see if I like it. I am going to play poker only 12 days per month. During those 12 days I am going to play a bare minimum of 10k hands each day and hopefully closer to 12-13k. If I like this schedule I think I will pretty much be the happiest guy alive because I will still easily play the number of hands I intend to play this year which is 1.5M hands a year. But I will also get to enjoy life like few people on earth get to enjoy it. I will maximize the other 18-19 days in the month by traveling, going camping with my wife, golfing and basically anything else that sounds cool for us to do together. Truthfully I am growing a little tired of the rat race that I have created for myself in taking on all that I have taken on. I am looking to start enjoying what my money can provide for us and in more simple terms, just chill the fuck out. I have lived in constant fear that poker will one day blow up and I will have to get a job I hate and my quality of life will go down significantly. But you know what? Poker isn’t going anywhere. I have the most secure job (amongst 7 figure + jobs) on the face of the planet. Name one profession that pays a 7 figure income that has more job security than me? I’m sure there must be a few, but I can’t think of one at the moment. And I am tired of feeling like I have to play 8 bazillion hands a day because someday I fear I will go to log on and poker will be gone. There is less than a 1 in a million chance imo that poker will go away entirely to the point that there are no online games. It just isn’t going to happen. The industry is too big and too many people love the game. It will ebb and flow obviously, but there is no way on earth it will just be gone one day.

So the last thing I am going to do is continue to live my life fearing that poker will go away and in the meantime toss away chances to spend time with my wife, future kids, and just enjoy life myself. I will always be a grinder and I am certainly not ever going to go off and retire. I will always have some project I am working on that I am excited about. It could be a business/golf/poker/or something I haven’t even thought of yet But the days of me slaving away at the poker tables out of fear are over. I’m sure I will still play a heck of a lot because I do genuinely love poker, but it will be for me and not the fear of some 1 in a million long shot.

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For all intents and purposes the member guest tournament at Nick’s club was a disaster for me. On the first night I had to go to bed early for me at like 11:00PM (I normally go to bed at like 4AM) and it just wasn’t happening. I tried for hour and finally gave up at like 1:30AM and grinded some poker until I was tired at like 4:30Am and then passed out. I had to be up by 7AM so I only got about 2 ½ hours of sleep. The next morning my partner and I played great and shot 65 in the two man scramble which was the best score of the day. I powered through till about 11:30PM and went to bed looking forward to 8+ hours of sleep. I fell asleep fine, but woke up at 4AM and had some pretty nasty anxiety as well. I just laid there because I knew that my body needed to at least get some rest and made it to the 9AM tee time feeling like total shit.

By the time I got to the course my anxiety faded, but I was like a complete zombie. I played terribly and my partner struggled as well and the end result was a score so poor that we essentially shot ourselves out of the 3 day tournament. After the round was over at 2:00PM, I went back to Nick’s and with the help of some Tylenol PM, passed out until about midnight. I woke up and took another Tylenol and after about 2 hours of messing around online and grinding a few hundred hands, I fell back asleep and woke up at about 8AM. So I got about 16 hours of sleep give or take and felt great once I got to the course. As I was about to begin the round I started feeling really terrible. My anxiety was back in a very big way. I couldn’t even stand still and I felt like a hard core drug addict going through withdrawals. I also had some heart palpitations which make getting a root canal sound like a lot of fun. I hit the ball ok for the first 2 holes, but on the second green I started feeling even worse. I would go from extreme anxiety to tremendous lows where I felt like I was almost going to pass out. My partner Scott Davis was right on the ball and phoned the pro shop at the club and the head professional Jeff Pace took me to the ER.

Once I got there I felt slightly better. I would attribute this to just being in the hospital which makes me feel safe. With my heart history they performed a battery of tests and my heart looked pretty good, so that made me feel much better as that is always my primary concern when stuff like this happens to me. This type of thing unfortunately happens all too often and is something that I worry about a lot. Since I have been in my twenties, I have gone to the ER for potentially heart related issues 8 different times. 5 of these times it has been a false alarm of sorts, but 3 of the times if I hadn’t gone in, I likely would’ve died. And the symptoms for most of these trips were similar so you can’t be too careful. Luckily, this was somewhat of a false alarm although they did determine that I have anxiety and gave me some medication to help me calm down.

The hospital I went to was quite good and they immediately went to work on me as soon as I got there. Although I did feel a little better once I got there, I did have a panic attack of sorts while I was in there and came super close to passing out and my pulse dropped into the 40s. I began sweating as if I were running a marathon in the middle of the desert and lost all color in my face. I felt like I was going to throw up, but I also managed not to somehow. They gave me some medicine that relaxes you and I felt much better after that. The tests came back and they did indicate past events of the heart, but nothing new fortunately.

It is really tough to have to deal with this. It gets me down in the dumps from time to time thinking about it. I know that there are a lot of people that have a lot worse things happen to them, but it still is frustrating to not get to live a normal life that a 27 year old usually gets to live. I haven’t gone a year since I turned 20 without going to the ER scared for my life and often times that gets me pretty depressed. I usually snap out of it within a week or so and life is good again. But my heart gives me a constant reminder that your life can be taken away from you in a flash. In a way it can possibly be my greatest attribute believe it or not. It has made me a fighter in life which translates into other things in life as well. For those who read my blog regularly or see my posts, I constantly tell anyone who might listen that you only get one shot at life and I encourage everyone to make the most of it. LIFE OWES YOU NOTHING! Life is a gift. I believe it is a gift from God, but no matter what you believe in, it is a gift. And that is why I encourage everyone to take advantage of it in any way possible. There are a lot of people who have aspirations in life and want to do things, but inevitably put them off and put them off until the next thing you know it is too late. And you know what? You can’t go back. You get one shot here on earth. Make the most if it and it would be better if you started making the most of it today rather than tomorrow.

I am constantly evaluating decisions I make in life and trying to keep myself in check with my own philosophies. Sometimes it is easy to get a little selfish and not leave that nice tip to the waitress that bent over backwards for you. Or it is easy to be in a $3k a night penthouse suite at the Palms with all the stripper poles, lights, plasmas everywhere and a 7 figure bankroll and start to think you are something a little more special than you really are. But without patting myself on the back too much, I am really proud of the progress I have made as a person over the years. I am proud of myself that I could’ve gotten caught up in all that and instead wrote a Vegas blog http://www.stoxpoker.com/node/1957 focusing on all of the wonderful people I met and friendships I made. Because that is really what it is all about anyway. At the end of my life if all I have to hang my hat on are steakhouses, penthouses, millions of dollars in the bank and whatever other excesses that are out there, then that would be pretty sad. I want to go out with a hell of a lot of people who care about me and not a dime to my name because I gave it all away to various people/charities who could use it to make monumentally positive changes in many, many lives. That is what it is really about. And I hope that these heart problems take a little hiatus and I can continue to work towards that becoming a reality. I know life owes me nothing, but I just hope that it doesn’t take me away any time soon.

I also want to especially thank Jeff Pace for helping me out in a time of need. He really went above and beyond in driving me to the ER and staying with me virtually the entire time in the ER. He definitely helped me relax and it was great to have such a wonderful person there during a difficult time. When you are on the road the last thing you want to have happen is something like this. Jeff showed his true colors and stayed with me despite having so much responsibility putting on his biggest event of the year. He even took me to the pharmacy to get my medication and basically anything else that would make me more comfortable. Jeff is truly a great guy and Fountain Grove country club should be proud to have such a great man as their head professional. Thanks again Jeff.

Discuss this blog here: http://www.stoxpoker.com/forums/showthread.php?p=96542#post96542

After being super busy in Vegas and then having things to catch up on once I got back home, I finally have some time to write about the WSOP. I am currently on a plane to Santa Rosa for my last trip of the summer. I am going to see Stox to play in his member guest. Not with him though….lol. He kicked me off the team awhile ago…hahaha. I am playing with his buddy who I had a blast hanging out with last year Scott Davis. Stox didn’t really kick me off, but rather he has another friend who wanted to play and it worked out fine because Scott’s guest from last year couldn’t come so Scott and I are just going to have to win the whole thing together…lol. You heard it here first.

Vegas was amazing. My wife and I (Leatherwife) had fun pretty much non stop. We took breaks having fun by playing in the actual main event, but I’ll get to that later…lol. When we arrived in Vegas we got to meet pretty much all of the coaches the first night out at dinner. Everyone was even cooler than I hoped for which was exciting. It was great meeting Hunter and his wife. Leatherwife and I got to hang out with them some and relate married couple poker stories which was actually pretty entertaining. Hunter and his wife are awesome people and a lot of fun to be around. I also got to meet the legendary Ed Miller. It was pretty cool to get to hang out with him and I think I forgot to thank him for his great books that helped me get over the hump from a losing player to a solid winner back when I was first learning poker. But he was an extremely nice guy and definitely a lot of fun to be around.

I also got to meet “The Bryce” and our CEO here Jim and both were fun to hang around and get to know some more. Both great people. Jim didn’t look at all like I expected him to for some reason. He looks lot younger than his age. I got to hang around Bryce some and also watch him dismantle some poor guy at 30/60 HU for about an hour. I had a blast hearing his reasons for certain plays and my personal favorite was when I would ask him why he would make a certain raise or 3 bet and sometimes he would say something like, “Well, I mostly just did it for the ‘Fuck You’ factor.”….LOL. The guy is a trip!!!

Hats off to Mators. Making it that far is truly an incredible feat and he must’ve played some pretty amazing poker at the WSOP this year to do as well as he did. I am really happy for him because he is such a nice guy. We got to meet him and his fiance who seemed to be another great gal from the brief time I spent with her. I like Matt a lot because he is pretty straightforward and let’s you know what he thinks. He’s not the type that is going to pussy foot around. If he likes something he’ll tell ya and if he doesn’t he’ll also tell ya which is a quality I love. The great thing too is that there isn’t much a warming up period with him in the sense that he will reveal his true colors the minute you meet him. I love that.

I also got to hang out quite a bit with a guy named Rob Hwang, but known in the poker community as “Action Bob.” Action Bob was another guy that I absolutely loved. He is a really nice guy. He is just a cool customer and can be fun hanging out with in virtually any setting. I probably drank a little too much and talked about it a few too many times while we were all out drinking, but I fucking love his name “Action Bob.” I mean how cool is that? Imagine going up to girls in a bar and introducing yourself. You’re like, “Hi. I’m Action Bob, what’s your name?” And the girls are like, “Oooooohh Action Bob eh? Nice to meet you.” Think about how much fun it sounds to meet “Action Bob, as opposed to saying, “Hi, I’m Rob.” Just doesn’t have the same ring to it imo. He lives up to his name too. We went out a few times and he is the type of guy that likes to keep the party rolling while others might be winding down. Again, that is part of why I love him because I, and Leatherwife believe it or not, are the same way. Shoot, if you’re having fun why stop? 10 years down the road you remember the fun night out, but you don’t really remember the hangover. That’s always my attitude anyway. Actgion Bob also had a great finish at the WSOP and I think cashed for around $60k! Nice work Action Bob!

I have to dedicate a paragraph to Stosh as well. Stosh was seriously the man. You would be hard pressed to find someone more fun to hang out with than Stosh. He is full of life and has a unique personality that will just crack you up all day long. There were several times at the Stoxpoker party at my suite where he had me pounding my fists on the bed or wall because I couldn’t contain myself. He was just so freaking funny. When he flipped coins with a drunken Mbolt1 who was using the Martingale method I just about lost my shit. Stosh is also as dedicated to Stoxpoker as anyone you’ll meet too. He, like me, calls the place home and truly loves the site. I hope Stosh finds it in him to blog more because you guys would really get a kick out of him. I promise you it would be one that gets popular in a hurry.

I was also very fortunate to meet Jade Lane and his girlfriend. Jade was a really solid guy and was super nice and fun to hang out with as well. It was interesting to hear from him about his experiences in Afghanistan and the ensuing mess. He offered some pretty interesting insight about that and I was really excited to hear from him about that. I admire Jade as a person, because anyone who puts their life on the line to protect guys like me who get to enjoy the fruits of their labor, are heroes to me and get my deepest respect. I may not be a fan of the war as you guys know, but I respect an honor people like Jade more than I can even describe with words. It was truly a pleasure meeting him and he is really a great guy. It wouldn’t shock me in the least to see him go on to being one of the best players in the world someday. Anyone who is that tough mentally AND has natural poker aptitude is going to go a long way in this game. I know I will certainly be rooting him on along the way.

I also got to hang out with Sunny Mehta and Geoff Herzog who were also great guys. Believe me I’m not making this shit up and just trying to say something nice about everyone. It was seriously an unreal group of great guys with great personalities and big hearts. I talked with Sunny for awhile and he was really funny and cool. Geoff was also a lot of fun to meet and just seemed like an outstanding person. He was outgoing but maybe slightly more reserved than some ( I could be way off though), but just seemed like an all around awesome guy and I was sure rooting hard for him as he made his way to day 7 I believe. He is obviously a hell of a poker player and probably an even better person. Congrats on an awesome finish Geoff!!

There was one more guy that I got to meet that just about tripped me out. Wayyy back in the day just as I was starting to learn poker, I met a guy who is a top limit holdem pro named Michael Casella. I met him in the line to a movie back when I lived in California and we started talking about poker. He was a top pro back then and I was a total donk, but he nonetheless offered to come to my house and help me after the movie and also help me set up poker tracker. He helped me via AIM with some questions I had, and the next thing I knew I was doing like 10x better at poker. He also told me to get a copy of Ed Miller’s Small Stakes Holdem and between those two things, playing poker for a living became a very real possibility. If I hadn’t met Michael it is very possible I wouldn’t be writing this blog right now. I lost touch with him about 3 years ago, but apparently Stox and Ijay talked to him at the Stoxpoker booth a few hours before the party in my room and invited him. When he walked in the door I kinda did a double take and then was like, “No fucking way.” It was great to see him again and I am glad to hear that he is doing so well with poker. He still plays the big limit games and kicks ass.

The hard thing to believe was that we had all of these people, in addition to my good friends, in the same room for the Stoxpoker party! Mbolt1 and I were joking that the amount of money won from poker in that room must’ve been insane. I’m not sure exactly what it would be, but I wouldn’t be shocked if it was $15-20M. And like I said before, they weren’t just great poker players, but great people as well. I didn’t even mention Ijay come to think of it. He was a great guy too! He struck me as extremely intelligent and very witty. He was quite the combination of wit and intelligence and a genuinely nice guy as well. Also come to think of it I met another great guy in Stoxpoker member Lanford and his girlfriend. They were both great to get to know and Lanford did a great job at the booth. They were at the Stoxpoker party as well and were just an all around great couple to get to know.

This blog has gotten pretty darn long I guess huh? I intended to talk a little more about what I actually did while I was there, but honestly, I’ve been to a ton of nice restaurants as well as nice golf courses/hotels so talking about that stuff is not that big a deal. What is a big deal and something money can not buy, is good people. And I just wanted to talk a lot about all of the wonderful people I met and friendships I made because that is what is really important. If you make a lot of money and then go to enjoy the success and all you see around you are a bunch of assholes, then there is really nothing to celebrate anyway. That being said I do have some pretty cool pics of where I stayed that I would like to share. The room was pretty baller and I hope you guys enjoy them. I do want to send out a special thank you to Pokerstars. The treatment they gave me was absolutely first class all the way around. Their VIP rep Scotty is absolutely the best. He took care of us really well this week as he usually does, but this week Stars really went above and beyond. Putting me up in a $3k a night room is pretty amazing so way to go Stars!!

All of these pics are thumbnails and if you click on them they become full sized....

Me already hammered before we got on the helicopter:

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A Pic of my buddy Mike, his girlfriend and me on the helicopter:

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A view from my suite at the Palms:

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Me messing around on the stripper pole in our shower while drunk off my ass:

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Jared Tendler upon realizing that he just ordered the biggest chocolate cake ever at Capital City Grill:

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Nick, Jared and I at the Poker Stars party at Rain:

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“Action Bob” playing 2 Wheel of Fortune slots at once. They don’t call him “Action Bob” for nothing:

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Myself, Digs, Kyle, Jared and Mbolt1 getting ready to take tequila shots:

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Kyle, Digs, Ed, Jade, Sunny, Stosh and Me at the Stoxpoker party at my suite right before they headed to the blackjack tables:

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Same pic I guess, but just add Mbolt1’s girlfriend Jessica, Mbolt1 and Geoff:

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Another pic that is about the same, but with some pretty cool lighting. Notice the stripper pole shower behind the bar:

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Another shot of the stripper pole. Sorry it just never gets old:

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Me at the WSOP in the amazon room. I am in the far back with the white Poker Stars cap:

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I hope you guys enjoyed the blog. I have never spent so much time on a blog so I hope it was worthwhile.

Discuss this blog here:

http://www.stoxpoker.com/forums/showthread.php?p=95897#post95897

I swear I am going to post my Vegas blog soon, maybe tomorrow, but for now I have a quick rant I want to go on. Basically I have been noticing over the past few years how piss poor people drive while on a cell phone (non hands free devices) . It is like really freaking bad. This week I almost got hit twice by drivers on a cell phone and so I am starting to reach my boiling point in regards to it. The govt. really has to start taking some drastic measures about this and the sooner the better. The one thing that ticks me off the most is that doing the PC thing is so important. For example if you drink and drive you will go to jail. But talk on a cell phone and drive and you get like a $25 ticket…lol. I’m sorry, but it is no safer to drive on a cell phone than it is to drive after having a few drinks. Obviously it is much more unsafe if a driver is totally wasted than sober and talking on a cell phone, but most people that get a DUI are maybe 2-3 beers more than the legal limit. And I will put my life on it that I can drive better on 5 beers (which puts me above the .08 legal limit) than anyone talking on a cell phone. Yet somehow they jail the guy driving on 5 beers and charge the guy on the cell phone $25!!!!! How can this be?

The obvious reason is that it is PC to go after the drunk drivers and since practically everyone drives while on a cell phone, no one wants to give that up completely and so nothing gets done. I promise you that for every Mother who gets in front of the camera and sobs about their son/daughter who got hit by a drunk driver (which breaks me up to think of these mothers that lost their son’s to a drunk driver) there could also be just as many mothers if not more, that could sob about their son/daughter getting hit by a cell phone driver. It’s just that it doesn’t seem as morally wrong to talk on the phone while driving, as driving drunk. But the danger to the road is the same. Many studies in fact have indicated that your driving is MORE impaired while on a cell phone than driving drunk! The only goal of the road should be to make the road safe. Who cares if the driver is driving worse because he is drunk or on a cell phone? The bottom line is he’s driving worse. End of story. WHAT is making him drive worse is irrelevant. Yet somehow one that you did wrong charges you $25 and the other sends you to jail? It makes no logical sense. I say if you’re going to jail a drunk driver then the law should be to jail a cell phone driver as well. There should be no more of this enforcing of laws to fit retarded public perception. I think that driving while drinking is a really selfish and inconsiderate thing to do and would not seek to make the punishment any less significant than it already is, but they need to do the same to cell phones then.

I know this will never in a million years happen. It is always going to be easy to strengthen DUI laws because no one is going to say, “Hey, take it easy on the drunk guy driving into the telephone pole.” But can anyone explain to me why the sole goal of the highway should be anything other than to make it as safe as possible? Should it matter what you did to make it unsafe if they were both equally unsafe? Someone explain to me the logic in this. And why do we continue to ignore data that so obviously indicates that driving while on a cell phone is just as bad as driving drunk?

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http://www.stoxpoker.com/forums/showthread.php?p=95645#post95645

This blog entry is a special entry by Dusty's wife who has been nicknamed "Leatherwife." I hope you guys enjoy....

After a great week in Vegas, I walked away from the group of Stoxpoker coaches and their wives/girlfriends feeling as though I'm not alone in this strange world of online poker. It resolidified the fact that being married to an online poker player is one of the most unique and misunderstood experiences a woman could ever have. We deal with intense and unusual work-related stresses; we have to keep crazy hours to spend time together; and we have to struggle with difficult questions from friends and family members who don't understand online poker.

I'll be the first to admit, I didn't believe that Dusty played poker "for a living" for about two months of us dating. Of course I knew he played all the time, but I assumed his parents were paying his bills or he was a trust fund kid or something. Once online poker was explained to me in great detail (and I was given a good look at his Poker Tracker stats) I believed him. I then understood variance, BB/100, et cetera, and the numbers put my mind at ease. Most women are not going to take the "don't worry about it, it's fine, I got it covered" shpiel for very long. Sharing Poker Tracker stats with your wife/girlfriend is a huge moment and you probably won't hear many complaints after that.

As soon as I was comfortable with the fact that my boyfriend played poker for a living, we got engaged. Then the whole world wants to know what your fiancée does for a living. I meekly answered, "He plays poker… online." Now I know when you do tell them, you have to say it with confidence. You would not believe all of the blank stares, rolling eyes, and boisterous laughter I got as a response. What I've learned over the years is to pick your battles and pick your audiences. I can now anticipate almost every response to telling certain people what your husband does for a living.

There are some people that will NEVER see poker as a "real job" no matter how much someone might make. I have found that, in general, there is a generation gap and a gender gap in how this career is perceived. Honestly, I just tell older people that he works for some online company- it saves me the social tilt of defending Dusty to a brick wall.

The other responses I can anticipate are VERY gender biased: men love it, women hate it. Men are the first ones to be supportive, positive, even jealous that my husband can play poker for a living. The women think a number of negative things about Dusty and I. Most of them even have the balls to ask questions outside of any normal social grace. I have pretty thick skin and very understanding friends but when I have spoken to other poker wives, they really struggle with their friendships and how to answer tough questions.

I thought I would compile the Top 10 phrases Poker Wives should have in their back pocket to answer tough questions. Here are some reasonable answers to common questions that I, and other poker wives, hear EVERYDAY:

1. "No, my husband is NOT a professional GAMBLER, nor a criminal for playing online."
People make it sound like he's a total "degen" and plays slot machines for a living. I understand that all of your buddies logged onto Stars, donked-off a grand and "know that online poker is rigged." It's not rigged, and thanks for the car payment.

2. "Yes, it is still considered rude to ask someone how much their husband makes, even though its 'just poker.'"
I mean seriously, no one would ask this question of anyone else, from a doctor to a ditch digger to a poker player. It's just plain tacky… besides, if I told you, you wouldn't believe me.

3. "Yes, poker is his only job. My husband pays all the bills and I don't have to work. 'Nuf said."
If you're amongst close friends, I just explain that he makes about a dollar a hand and plays more than 1 million hands a year. Also, that it's been his only job for about 4 years. They can take that for what it's worth. More often than not, it's an amount beyond what anyone is willing to believe, they'll probably think you're a liar either way. Now that I think about it, this is a no-win situation.

4. "No, my husband has not been on TV."
But he does take money off of Negreanu and Matusow all the time ;) And he does not have to fly to Vegas for "donkaments" every week. He plays online, at home, in his boxers.

5. "No, I'm not worried we will end up on the streets."
My husband isn't some luck sack that won one tournament or hit it big in Vegas. Financially, we have a comfortable supply of hookers and blow and still manage to pay the bills.

6. "No, sleeping-in 'til noon is not 'lazy.'"
If your husband was up playing ten tables until 4am, he can wake-up whenever the hell he wants.

7. "Yes, my husband is very social."
But he often has to play Friday and Saturday nights because of all the weekend fish and their positive EV. The weekends he does take-off work certainly make-up for it… date night for us includes penthouses at the Palms and the best restaurants in the world.

8. "No, my husband doesn't look like a poker player."
He does not own an extensive collection of Hawaiian shirts and gold chains. Nor is he some greasy Sam Farha looking guy. He's actually pretty hot.

9. "No, playing online poker is not like playing videogames for a living."
Last I checked, your buddy isn't a millionaire from smoking weed and playing Halo in his basement all day. If that were the case, I'd know a lot more millionaires.

10. "No, my husband will not give your husband private lessons."
Although he can become a member at Stoxpoker.com. The funniest thing is when women finally believe how much your husband makes playing poker, they act like they can send their husband Brad over to your house for a couple hours and they'll be millionaires, too. LOL

For the ladies, I offer you this advice: If you have friends that cannot follow these basic etiquette guidelines, I say cut your losses and suggest that they die in a grease fire. :)

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