Playing poker has been a passion for over a decade, and a profession for the past 5 years. I finished grad school in 2014 and decided to chase a long time dream and become a professional poker player. Poker is an amazing game. It can be extremely fun one second and equally frustrating the next. The swings always keep it interesting, and there's nothing like going on an upswing and winning piles of money.
I made a living playing online poker for the first 3.5 years. The online poker market in the US has taken a turn for the worse. Dealing with unregulated sites and playing against bots really cut into profitability. I turned towards live poker and it has proven very successful. Over time, the casino lifestyle has taken its toll. I just don't enjoy being in a casino 5 days week at all hours of the night. Poker will always be a hobby, but it's time to try something new.
I went to school for finance/business. I could look for jobs in that area, but I went towards poker because I wasn't finding jobs I was excited for. After reading Haseeb Qureshi's blog post, https://haseebq.com/cracking-the-coding-bootcamp-the-definitive-guide/, it inspired me to give coding a try. I went through the Codecademy Javascript tutorial. It was difficult, but also a lot of fun. I am hooked! Coding and poker are very similar. At their core, they are both problem-solving.
For now, I am still playing poker. In my free time, I am going through coding tutorials. After Codecademy, I finished Gordon Zhu's Watch and Code. My next plan is to go through a few freecodecamp certifications and create a portfolio. My ultimate goal is to land a developer job. I am excited to create. I am excited to build. I am excited to join a supportive community here. I am excited to learn.
Thanks for reading, and if you have any helpful tips let me know!
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