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playing poker and teaching science: October 2004

playing poker and teaching science

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Location: Honolulu, HI, United States

I'm a middle school science teacher, wrestling coach, poker player, scuba diver, aikido black belt, amateur writer, and student of life. In the past I have tried to give back a little by volunteering at a children's home in Belmopan, Belize, Central America. I also love Frosted Flakes. I took a year-long sabbatical from my science teaching position in order to sail the Caribbean, retired from teaching in Indiana and now teach at a Honolulu middle school.

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

If you write it, they will read...

To blog or not to blog, that has been the question. I've decided to blog and we'll see how it goes.

Writing has always come easy for me. A little common sense and a firm grasp of the written word can take you a long way in this life. For me, perpetually undecided in my youth, settling in to a position teaching middle school science has been the best thing that ever happened to me. I love my job and I’m very good at it. But as with all restless souls, I am ever looking for something new to stimulate my senses.

Enter poker.

Like a lot of people, I saw Texas hold ‘em on the Travel Channel during the launch of the World Poker Tour. The tutorial (which we have to listen to every damn week!) was simple to understand. The quote about taking a minute to learn an a lifetime to master spoke volumes and as I looked at the game it became clear that it was more than luck, it was numbers and patterns.

Hey, what did my last IQ test say? Gifted in numbers and patterns? Ding, ding, ding. It sounded like I’d found a niche.

A poker player is born.

I started playing free games on Party Poker. Deposited some money. Lost it all. Deposited some more. Lost it all. Deposited some more. Started winning. Since that time I have cashed out almost exactly the amount of money I currently have in the three accounts I keep active on Empire Poker (I opened an account there before I found out it was the same as PP), Ultimate Bet, and Poker Stars.

If you’re on one of these, look for me as mrreed (UB & PS) or mr_reed (EP).

I've also played at some home games, Ceasars in southern Indiana, and I'm traveling to Las Vegas for the first time next week. I'll post a trip report.

Thanks for reading :-)