I started this thing for no clear reason, just knowing that I had a place to write (however occasionally) was a little bit of personal comfort. Because let’s be honest, you can only tell your wife poker stories so long before she just tells you to shove a sweaty sock in it. Or, in my case, before she decides to just take up online poker herself so she can counter with stories of her own. At some point, the stories just need to be sent off into digital oblivion, and that my friends, is why I’m here.

I am a Poker Blogger. It’s true. I blog about poker. I have a whole list of blogs that I read and enjoy, each for a different reason.

I’m not clamoring for linkbacks. I admire the community poker bloggers have developed, but all I’m here for is to put my stuff out there, and as way of introducing myself I’ll be registering for the Blogger Tournament on PokerStars. If others appreciate what I write here, great. If not, great. My self-worth is not based on the number of subscribers, which as of now stands at 1. (me!)

I’ve learned a ton from the blogging community. Heck, it was Wil Wheaton’s blog that re-introduced me to hold ‘em poker and ignited this little fire for poker. So if you ever read this, thanks Wil. The story goes further than that, but I’ll leave that for another entry.

I’ve learned that it’s possible to be a Christ-follower, husband, and father, and still enjoy poker.
I’ve learned that dropping the HAMMER is one of the finer pleasures in life.
I’ve learned that I have a long way to go to be the kind of writer that gets noticed in the poker world.
I’ve learned that you can be a well-known poker pro and not come off like a complete ass.
I’ve learned that sometimes you have to just buckle down and grind it out.
I’ve learned that some people have an amazing sense of humor.
I’ve learned that dedication to one’s passion is a rare quality.

There’s much more. I’m going to be slowly adding links to all the blogs I read to the “Links” page. It takes a lot of time, I recommend using Bloglines to aggregate all these things so you’re not clicking across one by one. Skim the ones that don’t interest you, if you must. I admit, I do that often.

How else would I get a peek into the lives of such a diverse group of people that have only the love for a game in common? I’ve felt guilty reading these things and feeling like I know these people, but doing so in complete anonymity. I guess that’s why I’m here, to allow that reciprocal peek into my life, for those who care to take it. I’m just a guy. I’m staring down the throat of my 30th birthday. I’m a pastor– I pretty much play around with guitars and amps for a living. I’m a musician, I write songs and play out in the local bars, clubs, and coffeehouses. I’m married to a woman who loves to play poker almost as much as I do. We are a perfect match. So perfect, that we’ve made 3 amazing kids. My 6-year old daughter has a mean heads-up NL game. For a 6 year old. My 4 year old daughter plays a very loose, maniac style, all-in-all-the-time game because she likes pushing her chips into the middle. My 18 month old son likes to try to eat the poker chips. And I am a slightly obsessive poker player. I play for the lowest limits possible, because that’s the responsible thing to do for my families finances. Sometimes that means play money only. I’m competitive enough, that I even enjoy the free play. I love to play poker. I started at LHE, and have been absorbing so much NL information over the past few months, that I’m starting to try to get a feel for other games, stud and omaha specifically.

Thanks for listening.