The primary week of my month as a semipro blended sport poker participant was imagined to be about easing in to the brand new day by day poker routine, discovering my rhythm, and settling into the twin lifetime of work-by-morning and poker grind-by-night. What it truly turned was a check of emotional management, self-discipline, and studying to just accept the unpredictable nature of blended video games.
My wins arrived in bursts, my losses in waves, and at one level an impulse to gamble challenged my resolve to have the self-discipline required of a semipro. The week began off by providing the acquainted consolation of a gradual upward climb and drove house plenty of classes that I knew I’d must internalize as my month as a semipro blended sport poker participant started to unfold.
Day 1 | November 5: Hoisting Anchors and Setting Sail
After arriving late the earlier evening, I spent the morning caring for work and errands; an intentional anchoring earlier than diving into poker taking part in mode. Among the many different “anchors” I solid was setting off on an hour-long morning stroll. I knew that I’d be spending a ton of time indoors sitting, so getting the contemporary air and motion would offer a important and wholesome stability. Plus, the 82-degree climate was completely attractive!
I’m proud to say that I really caught to the train walks all through the journey, getting in a mean of 4 per week. That, together with my 100 push-ups per day and studying my day by day web page of Talmud helped present a rudimentary framework for my days.
By afternoon, I used to be at Resorts World, reconnecting with my poker media buddies working on the North American Poker Tour (NAPT). It was fascinating; clearly a totally acquainted scene for me, however I wasn’t there to work or cowl the occasion. I used to be in Vegas to play poker. By night that itch was too sturdy to disregard.
So, I drove out to South Level for a “warm-up session” to play $4/8 Omaha 8 or Higher. My purpose was easy: attempt to double my $200 buy-in. However that’s simpler mentioned than executed. Whereas I didn’t get there in a quantitative sense, I did obtain a great outcome, particularly that I performed disciplined, affected person, and composed – the model of myself I used to be decided to be all through the month that will observe.
For 3 hours I hovered round -$130, however I didn’t panic, chase losses, or self-destruct. Ultimately somewhat rush of playing cards arrived, and since I hadn’t spewed off the remainder of my stack (I wouldn’t have purchased again in if I had misplaced all my chips), I used to be “nonetheless round” to capitalize on the upward momentum. I surged as much as +$80 and, extra importantly, actively acknowledged when the momentum was ending. I picked up and left with a small $50 win. It was my first reminder of the month {that a} “win in self-discipline” might be much more significant than a win in {dollars}.
Day 2 | November 6: Assembly the Mentor, Taking Shot #1
I wakened from a nasty evening’s sleep with a headache and nausea. Not precisely prime poker-playing situation. Even so, in my pleasure to be in Vegas and with a need to hit the tables, I satisfied myself that “generally you simply need to play via it.” Looking back, I notice that “generally your physique’s telling you to take a seat this one out.”
Earlier than heading out to play, I had a rendezvous with my buddy and mentor Poker Corridor of Famer Eli Elezra. I’m skilled sufficient to comprehend that frequently taking part in $20/40 alone dime would represent poor bankroll administration, so when Eli supplied to stake me in increased stakes blended video games (identical to on my temporary four-day Vegas journey in September) I snap-accepted.
Thus, in my $20/40 periods I’d be “freerolling” and giving Eli half my earnings, whereas I’d be “alone” when taking part in for any stakes beneath that. I do know precisely how lucky I’m to be in such an superior spot, and Eli is aware of simply how grateful I’m for the immensely beneficiant staking alternative.
With that, I headed to the Wynn to play in my first $20/40 session of the month. I purchased in for my customary two racks ($1,000), shortly went up $200, after which proceeded to bleed all of it again after which some via missed attracts and a contact of frustration-induced looseness. I added on for $500, steadied myself, climbed again as much as $1,250, then slipped once more. After 5.5 hours, the sport broke and I booked a $420 loss. It wasn’t a catastrophe by any means (equal to dropping $84 in a $4/8 sport), however it wasn’t the way in which I needed to kick off the higher-stakes periods.
To assist the adrenaline put on off, I then headed to the NAPT Gamers Social gathering. Attempting to neglect concerning the dropping session, I knew I needed to “flip the swap”. I used to be in Vegas as a semipro, not a full-time professional. Networking and sustaining my poker business relationships issues so much. Despite the fact that I hadn’t had any official plans to be spending an excessive amount of time on the NAPT, I knew that using the chance to see individuals, have conversations, and be a part of the scene was the best name.
Barely 48 hours into my journey, I then made my first actual mistake. After the celebration ended, I felt the temptation to play somewhat extra, so I made a decision that the $4/8 Omaha 8 sport at South Level can be the best low-stress match. That wasn’t the error although. It was what I did after seeing the sport was full. As an alternative of simply leaving, I donked off $50 taking part in video poker ($30) and roulette ($20). Poof! Day 1’s win had evaporated.
Strolling again to the automotive, I swore to myself that it will be the one non-poker gamble of the complete journey. Whereas that didn’t show solely true (I gave in to my video poker impulses for an additional $10 a pair weeks later), I’m proud that I caught to my weapons and didn’t actually fall into any playing traps all through my month as a blended sport poker semipro.
Days 3-4 | November 7-8: Resting, Stress-free, and Making Good Choices
Whereas poker is likely to be on my thoughts 24/7, I all the time take a step again from the felt (and every little thing else) on the Sabbath. Past that, forward of my journey, I had resolved to not play on Fridays since within the winter months the onset of Shabbat is so early within the day (round 4:20pm). On the flip aspect, with Shabbat ending so early (round 5:30pm) I knew I’d have some nice taking part in alternatives on Saturday nights.
Certainly, I spent a beautiful and stress-free Shabbat with my buddies. Past their sort hospitality, it was additionally my first publicity to the orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Summerlin. Simply as with the day by day morning routines I had crafted, having a “correct Shabbat” on the finish of the week served to assist preserve me grounded in actuality regardless of the vastly completely different poker life I used to be main.
I turned my telephone again on when Shabbat ended to see a message from my buddy Ruth Solar (extra about her within the subsequent installment…) that she was organizing an $8/16 sport at Resorts World. So I locked up my seat and headed there to play.
I purchased in for 2 racks ($400) and over the subsequent 4 hours I performed good, relaxed, and disciplined and gained $500. Despite the fact that I nonetheless had tons of power, I made the choice to stop the sport at midnight. That’s one thing I primarily by no means do in my house video games as a result of they signify my solely probability to play every week. In Vegas, nonetheless, there’s all the time extra poker to play the subsequent day. That makes it so much simpler to stop a session. Plus I wanted to ensure I didn’t get into a nasty behavior of falling behind on my common work obligations. That alternative (leaving a great sport as a result of long-term self-discipline issues extra) felt like one other quiet victory.
Simply since you’ve made the best resolution many occasions in a row doesn’t imply that doing so “the subsequent time” will get any simpler. Selecting properly is rarely a given, particularly with poker video games working 24/7 in Las Vegas, so doing so is an achievement that should be celebrated. Moments like these ended up occurring pretty frequently; in a way, they outlined my journey… however I didn’t all the time make the best choices.
Day 5 | November 9: Reaching the Good Stability
Understanding that I had an $8/16 sport scheduled to start out at 4:30pm ensured that I might use the time beforehand optimally. So, the day started with some “common, regular life” stability: an article revealed, a publication despatched, selecting up my “poker aunts”, Ladies in Poker Corridor of Famers Jan Fisher and Linda Johnson from the airport and spending some high quality time with them.
Then, my sport received cancelled… then revived… then postponed… then lastly confirmed for 7pm. Right here’s why all of that’s essential to say: blended video games aren’t like Texas Maintain’em. You (sadly) can’t simply count on the sport to be working on a regular basis, even in poker’s Mecca. You can also’t simply present up and count on to have a seat. It’s good to domesticate relationships with different gamers and poker site managers. It’s good to spend money on being communicative. It’s good to have a comparatively versatile schedule.
A seat in a blended sport isn’t a assure; it’s a privilege that requires coordination. Usually, protecting your schedule as open as doable in order to prioritize taking part in and assure your self a seat within the sport means you’ll need to be keen to forego different actions. In any other case, you run the danger of being “shut out” and never having a sport to play in. That may suck. I didn’t journey 7,500 miles to take a seat on the sidelines. I got here to play!
An excellent previous $8/16 combine at @PokerRoomRWLV … win or lose, it’s a really glad place, certainly 😁 pic.twitter.com/WvrnU4luKR
— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) November 10, 2025
The sport ran 5.5 hours. I performed very effectively, despite the fact that the primary 4 hours had been brutal: no playing cards, no traction, all the way down to $100 from my authentic beginning stack of $400. However I as soon as once more was capable of preserve my feelings in test, inform myself to attend for the momentum shift, and be able to pounce if and when it lastly got here. Fortunately, it did, and I managed a large $800 constructive swing over the subsequent 1.5 hours. Then, round midnight, I once more made the best resolution: it was time to stop and head to sleep. There was extra poker to play tomorrow.
Day 6 | November 10: You’ve Gotta Deal with the Swings
After getting my work executed within the morning, I had a beautiful pizza lunch with a buddy from Israel who occurred to be on the town. I then headed again to the Wynn for my subsequent $20/40 session. It turned out to be 9 hours lengthy. After about two hours, I had misplaced almost my whole $1,000 beginning stack. Frankly talking, I simply wasn’t taking part in effectively. Fortunately, I managed to scoop an enormous badugi pot with my closing chips in danger, giving me again a full rack to work with.
That’s the factor about having some single-winner video games as a part of a mixture; whereas it’s nonetheless a hard and fast restrict variant of poker, your scenario can fluctuate wildly!
Inside 1.5 hours, I managed to claw my method again to even. Over the subsequent couple hours, it was an absolute rollercoaster: I ran up my stack to $1,300, fell all the way in which again to $580, after which — with the assistance of a pair HUGE Motion Razz pots (identical to Razz, however you have to be holding a paint card on your hand to qualify) — I made it again to breakeven.
Whereas the rollercoaster was the story of the session, the opposite spotlight was attending to play with a few old skool poker legends, particularly Cyndy Violette and Ted Forrest. Cyndy is a daily within the sport, however Ted’s look (see beneath) was a shock. I’ve performed with Cyndy earlier than, and I had additionally gotten to play with Ted earlier than in an $80/160 combine, however the thrill of getting to combine it up with the old fashioned poker legends that I used to observe on TV by no means will get previous. It’s an exceptionally cool a part of the Vegas blended sport expertise.
In any case was mentioned and executed, the sport broke with me up $35. I felt quite a lot of feelings racking up, chief amongst them aid. I couldn’t have identified it on the time, however that $35 win would sadly signify my greatest efficiency of the journey within the $20/40 sport…
Having logged a strong week within the black, I used to be in for fairly the impolite awakening within the subsequent day’s blended sport periods. Unbeknownst to me, absolute freefall was on the speedy horizon.
Robbie Tracker: 31.5 hours of poker performed | $970 general revenue
Verify again right here on Cardplayer Life-style for the third installment on this miniseries, to be revealed quickly.
