The 90-day Poker Challenge

There comes a time in every 20-something male's life when he decides he is going to dedicate every waking hour of every day to the game of Texas Hold 'Em. For me, that time is now.

A confluence of situational factors have precipitated this decision.

1. The brightest, loudest, and richest casino in the Philippines is a $3, 15-minute taxi ride from where I currently live.
2. I have enough disposable income to play consistently.
3. I have enough time.

Starting on October 2nd, 2011, I am going to either play, read about, or watch poker for 90 straight days, for a minimum of 4 hours a day. By the time January 1st, 2012 rolls around, I'm either going to be living on the street with banana leaves as shoes, or I'll be in a penthouse suite at Salcedo Village. There is no middle ground.

Just kidding. Actually, I'm going "all-in" on poker for 90 straight days, and at the end of it, I'm going to either put a bandage on my losses, or use all my winnings on brief, fiery, unforgettable small acts of kindness for friends. (Like buying John Song Spotify.) What will happen to this blog? Well, for the next 90 days, I'm going to write about poker. I'm not good enough to really write about poker, like my man Alan does, but I'm going to try for a broader, cross-generational appeal: I'm going to write about why I play, what's great about it, chart the path of pseudo-addiction, describe my thinking on poker strategy, and, of course, document every casino session I put in.

Here's the poker all-star workout plan: play at least 3 times a week, recuperate and read about poker strategy the other 4 days. Casino sessions should be at least 4 hours in length. Online poker is, I think, even too much of a vice for me, even if it's the best way to concentrate as many hands into an hour as possible.

I've done this before. 5 months ago, I played guitar everyday for at least 4 hours, for around 90 days. Senior year of college, I wrote around 4 hours everyday first semester. Poker's something I've always wanted to be good at, but never had the time or wherewithal to invest. I think it's time now. Let's go!