One time I found a free to enter tournament online. I can't remember what the prize was - I think it was either entry into another competition with cash prizes, or possibly a small amount of money. Even though I literally had nothing to loose, I was petrified of mucking things up, and as a result, played very few hands and went out pretty early on.
I seem to manage a little better when playing with colleagues at work, but I think this is due to them all being fairly rubbish as well.
This is in sharp contrast to my good friend from college, with whom I spent most of three years either playing pool in the local pub, or sat in front of computer games. We did occasionally go to lectures, but the drawback was that they tended to be in the mornings! He, like me, ventured into the world of work after university, and indeed spent three more years obtaining the same professional qualification as me.
However, he clearly wasn't destined for the nine to five, and soon after achieving his qualification he packed it all in to concentrate on making a living as a gambler. His first love was blackjack, but the problem with blackjack is that whilst there are ways in which the game can be beaten, casinos tend to get rather annoyed if you do so. He tells a great story about being escorted (by armed security personnel) from the gaming table at a major casino in Vegas back to his room to pack his bags and leave the premises never to return. No doubt a tale that qualifies as amusing, but only when able to look back on it from a safe distance.
So, after blackjack came poker, mostly online, but occasionally in the flesh as well. Apparently next on the agenda is a move to Aruba, hopefully later this year. Provided there's a decent speed internet connection then I'm sure he can ply his trade based pretty much anywhere. A few casinos just down the road can't hurt either.
Me - I'm still doing the nine to five.
What has got me thinking of the turn of the cards? Well last weekend, once Jake had had his feet measured and new shoes had been purchased, we popped over the road to the Oxfam bookshop, where I found a copy of Victoria Coren's book "For Richer, For Poorer" which gives an account of her life so far in poker, culminating with winning a European Poker Tour event in London - first prize £500,000. Great read.
If the daily blogs start disappearing, it means that I've signed up on the Pokerstars site and that I am engrossed in a tournament and too busy to blog!