So...you got a job yet?

Although I would never class myself as a professional poker player, it’s really all that I do now to earn money. What started out as fun nights out after work has slowly developed into my passion.

After we sold our business, I was left with a great deal of time on my hands and I went back to work doing temporary work as an accountant. Not being experienced in the SOX legislation and being out of the profession a few years, it was extremely difficult to get a job that paid enough to warrant going back to work fulltime. I was playing poker more and more between assignments. I was making more money playing cards than I was on the temporary assignments and I didn’t have to deal with the way temps are treated by co-workers. After much soul searching and discussion with my husband, we decided that I wouldn’t go back to work and just play poker fulltime. His paycheck covered our expenses and allowed me the flexibility to pursue this venue. Thanks to premade frozen dinners or double meals made, there is usually dinner for the family on the nights that I’m not home. I set myself a goal of earnings each week but met with much up and down success. In January, I took a poker camp, which turned on a “light” for me and I’ve had more consistent success ever since.

Unfortunately, my husband was let go 2 months ago and the safety net that I’ve always had was gone! Senior management positions are fewer and we both know that it may take awhile before he returns to work. The onus is now on me to provide income. This is a task much easier said than done. I had to get past….”my family is depending on me….don’t lose your money”….thoughts streaming through my mind. I must admit that I’ve tightened up my playing style but I try to push these thoughts away while playing. “Just play the game, think each hand through before you act”, this is what I concentrate on . I keep meticulous win/loss/expense records for our beloved IRS, which also allows me to track my own progress through the months. It has taken the pressure off of my husband and thus, lowered any related tensions. I know he is very proud of how well I am doing and has told me so many times.

Every time that I phone back home and talk to my father, he always asks “Do you have a job yet”, though I’ve told him several times what I do. “No, Dad” I answer, with a sigh. Maybe when I win the WSOP……….