I chose Prague as my first ever trip to Europe. I've heard nothing but amazing things about this tourist city located in the Czech Republic. Most people speak some English here, everyone is very friendly, and the culture and history are absolutely remarkable. There's also one of the biggest tournament series of the year here, so that definitely helped my decision!
So far it's been a fairly uneventful trip poker wise. I've won some money in cash games, but have done very poorly in all of the tournaments I've played. This really doesn't upset me though, as I've still gotten to see quite a bit of Prague both during the day and at night. It truly is a gorgeous city and has some of the most amazing architecture I've seen in my entire life. I got to see the Prague Castle, which is the biggest castle in the entire world. Quite the monument to say the least.
My friend and I got dropped off at the castle and decided to basically wing it and figure out where to go from there. This turned out pretty well as we got to see some of the most breathtaking things I've ever seen. I have an entire album on Facebook with all of the photos from the trip. I hope to add more as I still have a day or two in Prague.
One day I wouldn't mind living somewhere in Europe. Everything just seems to make more sense here. I'd have to get over the cold environment, but lately the United States doesn't seem like the absolute greatest country to live in. Regardless of my living situation I will certainly be traveling to Europe again in the near future. Australia in January is a strong possibility as well.
I've been officially living in California for about two months now and I like it a lot. I feel like I really have a family there and I'm definitely happier than I've ever been. The only thing I really miss about Michigan are my friends and family. It's also very hard to meet girls in a place where you know nobody, but I guess everything takes time. I cannot imagine really moving back to MI for a long period of time. It's just a miserable state with a horrible economy. The weather isn't so great either.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Procrastination
"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task."
This is one of the most appropriate quotes for my life right now. I feel as though I have so much to accomplish that I haven't even started on yet. As a lot of you may know, I had the biggest score of my life netting me around $60,000 in profit a few weeks ago. This has given me the financial freedom (coupled with my previous meager networth) to do pretty much whatever I'd like to do within reason. This means travel the world, pursue any interests I'd like, and just feel financially stable. I'd also like to add that two friends and I have created a poker training site that I own a pretty large % of. I will also be the lead instructor there and produce videos, be in charge of advertising etc. I'll release the name of the site once everything is on paper. This will be great for a side project, and to add some passive income.
One of the big things I've been putting off in life is higher education My problem is motivating myself to pursue college and figure out what I really want to do with my life. Poker to me is fairly fulfilling, even though in general it is a pretty shallow game, It allows me to use all of my brain power to compete in a so ever changing environment. I've also proven I can indeed play this game for a living for a very long time. Poker is at its absolute lowest point right now and I'm still doing very well for myself. When poker gets regulated in the United States I am very confident in the fact I can beat the games for an extremely comfortable living, doing something I enjoy doing.
I still would like to achieve goals beyond that though, but I have such conflicting interests and keep "putting off" school to do things like travel. I absolutely love traveling and it's one of my passions in life. I've always dreamed of traveling to Europe, Australia, Asia, etc. I now have the ability to do these things, while still making money doing so. Some of the most beautiful cities in the world have amazing tournament stops so I can kill two birds with one stone.
With all of that being said, I really have a lot of things to figure out in my life the next few months. I need to figure out if I'm going to move to Vancouver or Europe to continue playing poker, go to college, or do both. I'd also like to become more healthy which I'm definitely on track to doing.
In my next blog I'll post about how my Prague trip went, living in California, and some other fun things I've done in the last month or so.
-Brandon
This is one of the most appropriate quotes for my life right now. I feel as though I have so much to accomplish that I haven't even started on yet. As a lot of you may know, I had the biggest score of my life netting me around $60,000 in profit a few weeks ago. This has given me the financial freedom (coupled with my previous meager networth) to do pretty much whatever I'd like to do within reason. This means travel the world, pursue any interests I'd like, and just feel financially stable. I'd also like to add that two friends and I have created a poker training site that I own a pretty large % of. I will also be the lead instructor there and produce videos, be in charge of advertising etc. I'll release the name of the site once everything is on paper. This will be great for a side project, and to add some passive income.
One of the big things I've been putting off in life is higher education My problem is motivating myself to pursue college and figure out what I really want to do with my life. Poker to me is fairly fulfilling, even though in general it is a pretty shallow game, It allows me to use all of my brain power to compete in a so ever changing environment. I've also proven I can indeed play this game for a living for a very long time. Poker is at its absolute lowest point right now and I'm still doing very well for myself. When poker gets regulated in the United States I am very confident in the fact I can beat the games for an extremely comfortable living, doing something I enjoy doing.
I still would like to achieve goals beyond that though, but I have such conflicting interests and keep "putting off" school to do things like travel. I absolutely love traveling and it's one of my passions in life. I've always dreamed of traveling to Europe, Australia, Asia, etc. I now have the ability to do these things, while still making money doing so. Some of the most beautiful cities in the world have amazing tournament stops so I can kill two birds with one stone.
With all of that being said, I really have a lot of things to figure out in my life the next few months. I need to figure out if I'm going to move to Vancouver or Europe to continue playing poker, go to college, or do both. I'd also like to become more healthy which I'm definitely on track to doing.
In my next blog I'll post about how my Prague trip went, living in California, and some other fun things I've done in the last month or so.
-Brandon
Friday, November 4, 2011
Cali
I've been in Temecula, CA for a little over two weeks now. I'm settled in and have gotten back in touch with a lot of friends and family I hadn't talked to in a month or two. Cabo was pretty isolating as I wasn't really able to use my cell phone, and Facebook chat really isn't the same. I'm glad I reconnected with everyone and I'm excited to see everyone in a couple of weeks. I'll be in Michigan from the 17th of November until December 1st. I'm going to play the HPT $1650 on the 19th, then Thanksgiving with family. The day after Thanksgiving I have tickets with a few of my friends for the Kanye West/Jay-Z concert. I haven't been this excited to go back to that awful glove shaped state in a long time.
I've made the decision to stay in Temecula indefinitely. I love it here so much and I don't think I've been this happy in years. I feel no burden and have people I love around me. Again I'm really happy with my decision to leave Cabo and look forward to a healthy and prosperous future. I'm going to obtain residency in CA, and attend school here next Fall.
Thanks for the support and for reading. I plan to update this more frequently.
-Brandon
I've made the decision to stay in Temecula indefinitely. I love it here so much and I don't think I've been this happy in years. I feel no burden and have people I love around me. Again I'm really happy with my decision to leave Cabo and look forward to a healthy and prosperous future. I'm going to obtain residency in CA, and attend school here next Fall.
Thanks for the support and for reading. I plan to update this more frequently.
-Brandon
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Farewell...for now
This is going to be a pretty big surprise for a lot of people, but I've decided poker as a living may not be for me anymore. I moved to Cabo about two months ago and have done pretty well here. I didn't really have any losing weeks and I had a lot of fun. With all that being said, for the first time in my life I just simply do not enjoy grinding poker. I've really only felt this way when I was on huge downswings. Feeling this way for weeks while having the time of my life and crushing poker is certainly a sign.
Moving to Cabo has given me a lot of time to think about things. I kind of moved here on a whim as I didn't see myself going to college for a year or two. I still loved the game and believed I could beat HU and 6-max for 6 figures a year pretty easily on Stars and Party. I still believe this is true, but I'm no longer happy doing this. I'm going to look for something else I'm passionate about and have fun doing as a career.
While I can see myself playing a lot of poker if/when the US legalizes it, I think moving out of the country for a long period of time is not the best choice for my life. By being down here I'm pretty much putting my life on pause. I'm moving to California (Temecula) with my best friend and his family. I've been close to his family for a pretty long time and believe it's the best move to make. I'm going to live there for a month, then probably head back home to Michigan for Thanksgiving. After that I'm going to start figuring out going to college as well as many other things I've kind of blown off for a long time.
I do not regret moving down to Cabo San Lucas in the least bit, even though I'm leaving my condo with almost a month remaining. I've had an absolutely amazing experience living here. It was a shock to me at first as I've never lived in another country for any relatively long amount of time. You still see things here that you'd never see in the US almost every day, but it's very safe here and the people are quite friendly. I learned a ton about myself from being down here for a while and met a lot of cool people. I also made a bit of money so that's always nice as well.
I've really never had a "normal" family and have been very independent since I was 13 or 14. I consider my friend family and have visited Temecula a couple of times and loved it every time. It just feels normal to sit down and eat dinner with your family, have emotional support, etc.
It's been a lot of fun and I appreciate everyone for their support and input. It really has helped me on my way to becoming a better person. I had a great run and hopefully you'll see me back online in a year or two playing here and there. I expect to be in college by the absolute latest Fall 2012.
Moving to Cabo has given me a lot of time to think about things. I kind of moved here on a whim as I didn't see myself going to college for a year or two. I still loved the game and believed I could beat HU and 6-max for 6 figures a year pretty easily on Stars and Party. I still believe this is true, but I'm no longer happy doing this. I'm going to look for something else I'm passionate about and have fun doing as a career.
While I can see myself playing a lot of poker if/when the US legalizes it, I think moving out of the country for a long period of time is not the best choice for my life. By being down here I'm pretty much putting my life on pause. I'm moving to California (Temecula) with my best friend and his family. I've been close to his family for a pretty long time and believe it's the best move to make. I'm going to live there for a month, then probably head back home to Michigan for Thanksgiving. After that I'm going to start figuring out going to college as well as many other things I've kind of blown off for a long time.
I do not regret moving down to Cabo San Lucas in the least bit, even though I'm leaving my condo with almost a month remaining. I've had an absolutely amazing experience living here. It was a shock to me at first as I've never lived in another country for any relatively long amount of time. You still see things here that you'd never see in the US almost every day, but it's very safe here and the people are quite friendly. I learned a ton about myself from being down here for a while and met a lot of cool people. I also made a bit of money so that's always nice as well.
I've really never had a "normal" family and have been very independent since I was 13 or 14. I consider my friend family and have visited Temecula a couple of times and loved it every time. It just feels normal to sit down and eat dinner with your family, have emotional support, etc.
It's been a lot of fun and I appreciate everyone for their support and input. It really has helped me on my way to becoming a better person. I had a great run and hopefully you'll see me back online in a year or two playing here and there. I expect to be in college by the absolute latest Fall 2012.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Update on other things
As for the rest of my life, everything is pretty much sorted out. My grandma is working diligently to try and keep my house, but it's pretty likely it's going to get foreclosed on at this point. I feel horrible, but I knew it was coming so it's not really that big of a deal. I know when I go back to the states I have so many friends and family members I would have a place to stay no matter what.
My Grandma was an emotional wreck after the death of my father, but she seems to be alright now. I really feel horrible for her as she was the one working with him on his health constantly. She would literally be over my house 5 days a week 12 hours a day just sitting by his bed, talking to him, cheering him up, and making sure he felt comfortable and wasn't drinking or in pain.
As for my future? I'm not really sure. It's hard to look years in advance and I've learned that very quickly. I'm just trusting my instincts and doing whatever I feel is best for my life. I make sure to talk to a lot of people I trust and soak in their opinions, but overall it's about what I want to do with my life. I strongly believe I will still go to college, but now is not the time for me. I just went through an absolutely devastating period of time and I'm simply not prepared for it.
Moving to Cabo was a great idea and has been a lot of fun. I've already met a ton of cool people here, and our realtor (Greg) has been the most helpful person in the world. His assistant Vianey has been very helpful as well. They've shown us around town, driven us wherever, and have done us countless favors. If anyone reads this and wants the best realtor in Mexico you can send me an IM, facebook message, email, whatever and I'll give you his info. He really is not only our realtor but a friend as well.
I still have a very strong passion for poker and it's never died out. I can truly see myself playing poker professionally for the next 5-10 years and still loving the game. The moment it's 100% about the money is the day I quit playing for a living. It's not only a job, but a hobby as well and it's the most mind engaging thing I've ever done. It's provided me opportunities that I certainly would not have had without it, and has gotten me through some rough times in my head. Just being able to load up some tables online, or go to a live poker game to get my mind off things just makes me feel great. It really is one of the best games ever and I'm blessed to be able to make a good living doing what I love.
I've gotten a lot of pressure from a few family members to go to college right away, but I'm just going to listen to my heart and do what makes me the happiest.
Sorry for the long winded posts as usual. Thanks for reading everybody...
-Brandon
My Grandma was an emotional wreck after the death of my father, but she seems to be alright now. I really feel horrible for her as she was the one working with him on his health constantly. She would literally be over my house 5 days a week 12 hours a day just sitting by his bed, talking to him, cheering him up, and making sure he felt comfortable and wasn't drinking or in pain.
As for my future? I'm not really sure. It's hard to look years in advance and I've learned that very quickly. I'm just trusting my instincts and doing whatever I feel is best for my life. I make sure to talk to a lot of people I trust and soak in their opinions, but overall it's about what I want to do with my life. I strongly believe I will still go to college, but now is not the time for me. I just went through an absolutely devastating period of time and I'm simply not prepared for it.
Moving to Cabo was a great idea and has been a lot of fun. I've already met a ton of cool people here, and our realtor (Greg) has been the most helpful person in the world. His assistant Vianey has been very helpful as well. They've shown us around town, driven us wherever, and have done us countless favors. If anyone reads this and wants the best realtor in Mexico you can send me an IM, facebook message, email, whatever and I'll give you his info. He really is not only our realtor but a friend as well.
I still have a very strong passion for poker and it's never died out. I can truly see myself playing poker professionally for the next 5-10 years and still loving the game. The moment it's 100% about the money is the day I quit playing for a living. It's not only a job, but a hobby as well and it's the most mind engaging thing I've ever done. It's provided me opportunities that I certainly would not have had without it, and has gotten me through some rough times in my head. Just being able to load up some tables online, or go to a live poker game to get my mind off things just makes me feel great. It really is one of the best games ever and I'm blessed to be able to make a good living doing what I love.
I've gotten a lot of pressure from a few family members to go to college right away, but I'm just going to listen to my heart and do what makes me the happiest.
Sorry for the long winded posts as usual. Thanks for reading everybody...
-Brandon
The Move
So I moved down to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with a couple friends of mine. So far it's been absolutely amazing and I plan to stay here for at least another 3 or 4 months. I'll visit home a couple times in between then, but living here was the best move I've ever made. I feel stress free, anxiety free, and I'm just enjoying my life in general. I'm doing pretty well in cash games too so I feel like I have my groove back. I haven't done too much partying down here, as I consider it a business trip, but we did go out the other night and it was one of the best days/nights of my life.
I'm not sure how long I want to stay here. My lease is up in a little over 1 month, and as much as I love it here I miss the US a lot. It's hard to meet anyone new here and I've just mostly been staying in my condo playing poker. I do love playing, but I find when I play too much I am depressed regardless of how well I am doing.
I'm not sure how long I want to stay here. My lease is up in a little over 1 month, and as much as I love it here I miss the US a lot. It's hard to meet anyone new here and I've just mostly been staying in my condo playing poker. I do love playing, but I find when I play too much I am depressed regardless of how well I am doing.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Dealing with losses and moving on in life
I've grown accustom to dealing with losses over the years. Such is life. As many of you already know, my father passed away a few days ago and it's been pretty devastating. I've gotten an overwhelming amount of support from family and friends, though, and I really didn't realize how amazing they are. I love all of you and couldn't make it without all this support. Thanks so much to everyone for the well wishes. I think I'll pull through and move on with my life successfully. I'm weighing my options right now and I really have no idea what I'm going to do. It's a strong possibility I end up moving with my best friend in the world Kazu to his mother's huge house in Temecula, CA for at least a few months. His mom is the absolute nicest and most genuine person I've ever met in my entire life. His sister is also an amazing person and they are just, well...normal. Normality is something I haven't really experienced much of in my life. I'm really ready to move on and just be a normal person again. I think living in a nice household would be an amazing change for me. Eating dinner around a table with family is something I haven't done in years on a regular basis and it just feels so right.
I can even enroll in community college out there while still playing poker both live and online. I'm going to make some pretty huge life decisions coming up in the next month or so and I'm pretty excited. Hopefully everything turns out well for me. I think I'm due for some life run good soon! The funeral is tomorrow and I haven't slept very much in the past week or so. I've spent a lot of time getting closer to my family and I'm really glad I have. I have such an amazing family and they've been nothing but there for me every step of the way. Thanks again everyone and I'll make sure I keep you all posted on my progress.
-Brandon
I can even enroll in community college out there while still playing poker both live and online. I'm going to make some pretty huge life decisions coming up in the next month or so and I'm pretty excited. Hopefully everything turns out well for me. I think I'm due for some life run good soon! The funeral is tomorrow and I haven't slept very much in the past week or so. I've spent a lot of time getting closer to my family and I'm really glad I have. I have such an amazing family and they've been nothing but there for me every step of the way. Thanks again everyone and I'll make sure I keep you all posted on my progress.
-Brandon
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Making Progress
The above picture can be clicked on to see the whole image. My setup is finally complete! Apple 30", 17" Macbook Pro, Logitech DiNovo wireless keyboard, Logitech Revolution mouse, Herman Miller Aeron chair, and a Bose sound system with a subwoofer.
I've been doing really well live since I started the stake. Definitely a mixture of Galen Hall rungood money and me playing extremely well in very soft games. I feel like my live game is extremely strong right now, maybe even stronger than my online game. I've built the patience and skills that are mandatory to be a very successful live player. I see a lot of online players making a lot of huge mistakes just because they don't realize how different the game is. Patience is key and one tabling full ring is pretty tough for most online players to adjust to.
I messed up my knee really bad playing basketball and I was out of commission for a week or so. I played live almost every day and was hobbling around on crutches. Not very fun! I'm feeling really healthy now, though, and I've gotten back in to the groove of things. I've been exercising again the last couple days and trying to eat as healthy as possible.
My friend Craig Bergeron came over two days ago after he got back home from Las Vegas. We did a bunch of gambling and ended up playing some HORSE and free throw shooting contests for money. I ended up winning $300, and he gave me his brand new Apple 30" monitor as I hooked him up with a favor in Las Vegas. He bought it about a year ago and never even opened it out of the box. Typical Craig. I'll tell some more stories about him in later blog posts when I have the time. He's one of my best friends and just a really epic person.
I just got done packing for Florida. I'm going from the 20th until the 1st of August. The Florida State Poker Championship is going on down there at the Isle Casino in Pompano. I'm landing in Ft. Lauderdale and staying at the Sheraton in a really nice suite with some of my good friends from Michigan. I plan to play the $1600 with $500 bounties, the $2200 6-max, and the $5300 Main Event. I'll be there for 10 or 11 days and I'm only playing 3 tournaments, so I plan to play a very large volume of cash games. According to some of my friends who are already down there, multiple tables of 5-10 uncapped have been running every single day. There have also been at least one 10/25 uncapped game going also which is apparently very soft as well. I'm salivating just thinking about it!
I'm pretty much putting real life on hold for the next two weeks. If I do well in Florida it will pretty much be 100% that I'll be moving. I'm unsure of where to, but I'm leaning toward just getting an apartment or renting a condo in a really nice area of Michigan. There's also a slim chance I move down to FL just because of the live action. Plenty of my friends have made the move and they love it.
Thanks for reading!
-Brandon
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
A Dollar And A Dream
Got a live backing deal from Galen Hall, and off we go! I'm a live pro starting now. I'll keep the blog updated with new developments.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Live Pro?
I'm seeking live backing. I already have a flight booked to FL for two weeks, and am considering moving there and taking some college courses. I'd move close to Ft. Lauderdale which has the best cash game action in the US. I'm mostly looking to play 2-5, 5-10 and some 10-25. I'm very experienced in live and have played an absurd amount of live cash. I feel extremely comfortable in the live setting. Here's the thread I put up:
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/135/staking/seeking-live-backer-1048606/
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/135/staking/seeking-live-backer-1048606/
Thursday, June 16, 2011
I guess it's the life of a legal age degenerate now...
I'm going to start updating this blog again. I started it when I was 16 years old and only had 10 or so followers that I trusted. I mostly used it as a journal or something to vent and tell my story, as I really could not publicly without ramifications. I love having some kind of outlet to get my thoughts out, and I've never been the personal type. I also don't mind the attention, even though I don't deserve as much as I get. I'm far from a celebrity, but sometimes it feels like I am. A lot of my friends think I'm some rich superhero when really I'm far from it. People come up to me at poker games and say are you CompleteDonk, or a random friend's parent will find my screen name out and see my PokerDB and think I'm crazy rich, as it just shows cashes and not profit. I'm actually down according to real stat sites online, lol. In reality I'm up only around 100, maybe 150k.
Everything in my life is pretty good right now. I'm far from my peak in terms of wealth, but I'm happier than ever. I've been working on fixing everything I screwed up when I randomly decided to leave my high school for online and barely told anybody. I've built back all of my old really good friends, and have met some new awesome ones as well. It feels nostalgic almost. I feel like I'm being able to experience everything I missed socially by making the move I did. I had a girlfriend for a few weeks and decided to break up with her. It was probably pretty cold by me, but she was really in love with me and I'm not looking for anything long term. I'm way too young and teenage girls are much too hot, heh. I've been working out a bit and playing a ton of basketball/running. I'm way too skinny and out of shape and I'm quickly fixing that as well.
I'm pretty much convinced I'll be going to college by the latest next fall. I will graduate from high school in a couple weeks and finally will have that ever so elusive diploma, lol. I cannot go this fall as I'm graduating a bit late due to laziness, apathy, and some depression mixed in. I've gotten out of that funk I was in. I think Black Friday was actually an extremely good thing for my life longterm. I feel healthier, happier, and even though I'm poorer, I've realized money isn't everything!
Hopefully this post doesn't come off too braggadocios. Most of my posts (especially previous posts in this blog) are more dark. I'm just telling the truth about what's going on in my life, and hope it's interesting enough for at least a few people to read and enjoy.
Until next time..
Everything in my life is pretty good right now. I'm far from my peak in terms of wealth, but I'm happier than ever. I've been working on fixing everything I screwed up when I randomly decided to leave my high school for online and barely told anybody. I've built back all of my old really good friends, and have met some new awesome ones as well. It feels nostalgic almost. I feel like I'm being able to experience everything I missed socially by making the move I did. I had a girlfriend for a few weeks and decided to break up with her. It was probably pretty cold by me, but she was really in love with me and I'm not looking for anything long term. I'm way too young and teenage girls are much too hot, heh. I've been working out a bit and playing a ton of basketball/running. I'm way too skinny and out of shape and I'm quickly fixing that as well.
I'm pretty much convinced I'll be going to college by the latest next fall. I will graduate from high school in a couple weeks and finally will have that ever so elusive diploma, lol. I cannot go this fall as I'm graduating a bit late due to laziness, apathy, and some depression mixed in. I've gotten out of that funk I was in. I think Black Friday was actually an extremely good thing for my life longterm. I feel healthier, happier, and even though I'm poorer, I've realized money isn't everything!
Hopefully this post doesn't come off too braggadocios. Most of my posts (especially previous posts in this blog) are more dark. I'm just telling the truth about what's going on in my life, and hope it's interesting enough for at least a few people to read and enjoy.
Until next time..
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