Like I said, I'm a quiet guy on and off the felt. There are a lot of people that are recognized for their mouth and for their antics in poker. Some of them are obviously very much like that away from the table but there are others who recognize it as a marketing tool. Obviously poker is a big thing in this country and a big selling point. If you get yourself on TV, it can create a lot of opportunity for you. Some of these people put on fronts or these fake personalities and I really don't have it in me. I play poker to play poker; I'm not looking to become a big TV star. Some ways I think it might be nice but at the same time I'm not a TV guy, I don't have the TV look, and I don't have the TV personality. I'm just your average guy that plays poker better than most. I go out there and do the best I can do and be myself. I don't worry about putting on a show or anything like that. I guess it has worked out pretty well for the people that do that, though. The goals that they had set out for themselves, I think they are accomplishing them. I guess there are just different flavors.
The reason I got into poker was to have that extra freedom that I don't have with normal responsibilities. I can pick and choose which tournaments I play, for example I didn't go to Europe. I'm probably not playing much for the rest of this month. I don't think I'm going to go to Borgata, I didn't go to Biloxi, and I didn't go to LA. I am burned out from poker from spending so much time in Vegas. I still play a little bit online (Full Tilt) but I have been taking a break. I am trying some other things, mixing it up, and I will probably start playing again soon. I may head out to Foxwoods, maybe out to Vegas for the Five Diamond but I am not going to be quite as involved as I was last year.
Basically, a big part of poker for me is the competition. Growing up I have always been really competitive. Growing up I played baseball, basketball and football from the age of five. I was really into sports but then I got a serious injury when I was a teenager and I was unable to compete. I started playing Magic and that kind of competitive need kept moving on.
I'm always going to have that need for competition, that need to try to push myself to succeed in some way, shape or form. I think for the time being its poker. For the last few years that's been what it is but I don't know how well it can hold my attention in the long haul. I try to play out my life and think about where I want to be five or ten years from now and all the jobs I think about aren't very well paid jobs. For example, I really love kids and I really love helping people so a school teacher would be a career that really suits my personality. However, because of the life that I have now and the people that I take care of, it's not a feasible thing for me.
I need a certain amount of money and poker is a good thing right now. I have a lot of good opportunities, I play the game well and I have done very well with poker. It's just hard because I don't have the same love for the game that some people have. It can be fun from time to time but it's really, really hard on me a lot of the time too. It causes a lot of ups and downs in my life; it's not something I see myself doing deep into the future.
*Photo courtesy of Full Tilt*