Change

So many things have changed since my last blog. It seems every time I update, my life is in a completely different direction. I kind of enjoy the craziness in a masochistic kind of way, but it definitely takes its toll on me. My stress levels were at an all time high about a year ago, but now are much lower and I'm feeling really good about life. My life has settled down a lot and I feel like I'm getting in to a groove.

In early May I decided to move to British Columbia, Canada to continue playing online poker. I missed it a lot, and I've always wanted to see Vancouver. I'm so happy I made the move. Vancouver is the nicest city I've ever been to, and I can't wait to move in to my new condo downtown in a few weeks. I'm currently living in Surrey, which is a suburb of Vancouver. It has some advantages, like cost of living, but I would strongly prefer paying more and living in a gorgeous location. I already have a condo picked out, and I'm going to sign my three month lease soon. At least before I leave for Florida on the 19th.

I'm flying in to Ft. Lauderdale and staying in my friend/backer's condo which is awesome. It's a gorgeous condo in a beautiful location, within 15-30 minutes of every casino that runs big games. The Florida State Poker Championship is going on, so I'm mainly going down there for that. I plan to play a ton of cash games, as the games are always very juicy down in southern Florida. Now with a lucrative backing deal, I'm able to play the biggest games there. Prior to being backed I just played the 10/25, which was always very soft...but I really wanted to take some shots at the bigger games. There were very wealthy recreational players in them very often, but in order to play I would've had to sell the majority of my action. The three tournaments I plan to play are the $1500 bounty event, $2K 6max, and the $5K main event which is a re-entry. I'm really excited, and think my live game is very strong. I'm also extremely hungry to win a big live tournament. The $5K would be perfect. I can't wait.


On the more personal side of things, I saw a doctor while I was in Michigan visiting friends and family. I of course have had some extremely high stress and anxiety levels given my family and personal history, causing some medical problems. I talked to a doctor, and he helped me out a lot. He gave me some things to read, some new information, and a prescription for extra strength Prilosec for my acid reflux. I'm really hoping I don't have to have surgery in order to fix my esophagus. I'm not a huge fan of hospitals to say the least. So anyway, my anxiety levels are at an all time low, and my acid reflux is at least being maintained right now. It's definitely not fixed, so I need to figure that out. It really is a pain in every day life and alters my eating and sleeping habits drastically.

I also met a girl here in Vancouver. We've gone on two dates so far, and I've known her for about two or three weeks now. I'd say it's going well for how little time we've known each other. The little time we have spent together has been a lot of a lot of fun, and I feel like there's at least a chance it lasts for a long time. You never know though, so only time will tell. If it doesn't work out, it just wasn't meant to be. I feel like it takes a lot to hurt me, even though I'm certainly still a fragile person.

So I will give a little poker update as well. As I said before, I'm now backed by a well known high stakes cash game player. It's a very good deal, and it allows me to play in all of the huge games I believe I am clearly +EV in. So far, the cash games have not gone my way at all. I'm getting absolutely destroyed, but it's only been a couple of weeks so while it's off-putting, I will not be deterred and I will continue to grind it out. I still feel really good about my poker game, and am excited for the future. I actually had my biggest ever online MTT score, winning the Sunday Warmup after a 3 handed chop. I got a great deal and received just shy of first place with my win. It's funny though, even with that big score, I am still down around $100K on the month. At least I'm backed...I guess.

Anyway, things seem to be going well right now. I am optimistic and excited for the future both poker wise, and for my personal life. I wasn't even interested in dating at all for about a year. I was just travelling so much, and too worried about my health and other issues in my life. Now that I have most things under control, I can finally have some fun. Maybe I can even meet a girl I truly love, but as many of you know that takes a very long time. So while I'm optimistic, I am also realistic and will take any relationship I get in to very slowly. I also am going to start working out a lot more once I move in to my new condo, as I'll have access to a 24 hour fitness center, pool, sauna, hot tub etc. I also plan on possibly getting in to a casual basketball league. I have a lot of things I'd like to do outside of poker, especially things to get healthier and have less stress, and more fun.

Thanks for reading.

-Brandon