Aug 19
How good do you want to be?
I am currently laying in the place where I have probably spent more hours of my life than any other specific place on earth, my bed in the house I grew up in. Sometimes when I am home visiting my mom I find the suburbs to be a dark frustrating place since lights turn off early and there are no city noises to accompany my thoughts. Such an atmosphere is not quite for me, but it is certainly good for blogging.
I have been a pretty avid gymnastics viewer during these Beijing Olympics and I have become a fan of Shawn Johnson. She always seems so cheerful, especially in contrast to her top counterparts from the USA and China including teammate Nastia Luiken who always seems to have a scowl on her face even as she collects medals like a child collects acorns from the Oak in the front yard. I was therefore very happy to see Shawn win the gold medal on the balance beam tonight (I know it wasn’t live tonight, but whatever, that’s when I saw it). To think of the amount of hard work, discipline and drive that Shawn Johnson at 16 is capable of is pretty much unfathomable to this poker player (who on a good day may be described as a bit lazy). The announcer told some corny anecdote as she accepted her gold, saying that “she bounced into [her coach’s] gym and within a few days he asked her, How good do you want to be?”.
This got me thinking about choices I make and the extent I can blame my natural (lack of) skills for not being a world class athlete (or world class anything). Almost anyone is capable of finding a path, almost anyone is capable of greatness. Going down this path the right way, putting up with all the nonsense, difficulties and self-inflicted obstacles is the part where I believe I falter (and most others do as well). I suddenly realized that I have no legitimate excuse for not reaching my goals. I have been given pretty much everything from birth. A good place to grow up, a good family (especially if my sister accepts the butler job), a path, and enough intelligence and athletic ability to get by. Really with any activity the question is only how good I want to be.
I told myself long ago that I wanted to get into the best physical shape I possibly could (within the confines of a normal life). This requires eating far better than my current 20 grilled cheese/day and going to the gym far more than once per week on a good week. So I move to New York tomorrow and I am giving all the Full Tilt railbirds that read my blog a freeroll. Be one of the first 10 people (that I don’t know) to comment on this blog saying anything with any substance, then at the end say add me to the freeroll list. By the end of my first trimester of business school, I must have a minimum of a B+ in every class AND be on track to reach my athletic goals (I will have my friend who lives in NYC with the best work ethic I know be the official arbiter). If I fail at either of these, I will transfer all 10 of the freerollers 150$ on full tilt. I want to note that I’m not putting up this bounty to motivate myself since I’m not sure that $1,500 dollars would be enough to motivate me to do what I have to do, but rather to prove to those who know me that I’m serious.
As a sidenote, if you live in NYC drop me a line, I’m excited to get there!
August 19th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
It’s a simple matter of eating cake and drinking soda (aka, The World-Renowned Deep Diet), just do it in moderation. Calories in, calories out. Also, good luck in NYC.
Add me to the freeroll.
(I beat the Full Tilt morons).
August 19th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
You can do it, study and eat lots of blueberries!!!
August 20th, 2008 at 2:32 am
Steve. Good luck with your endeavours. As a matter of fact, back in
January I moved back to Columbus, OH from NYC (well actually East Meadow,
LI about 20 mins away). I’m 28 and had been out there for 4 yrs working as
a stockbroker. When the market’s decline refused to let up I decided it
was time to do something else. To be honest, it was really never my cup
of tea. I’m pretty laid back and while I am a hell of a salesman, my
profession sort of bothered me. But I’ve always loved poker and I’m not
going to lie gambling in general but especially POKER. I used to go to
Atlantic City almost every weekend when I lived out there and Vegas once
a month. Since I’ve been back I’ve still managed to go a few times. I
decided not to get a “job”. Instead I decided to become a ‘professional’
poker player. One of my friends has been doing it for 2 and a half years
and has mad about 60 K all togethr. Not alot but not too bad. I figured that I could always beat him so why not give it a try. I could always beat him so why not right. I’ve had my
ups and downs. FTP has been my least profitable
site. While still up money solely because of their cash tables, I seem to
get more bad beats on this site. I play on about 6 of them regularly.
Recently I have made a few thousand dollars on a site called Crazy Poker
(it is a microgaming site). That was actually a feat because I never
deposited there. I made it all off the free $10 they give you when you
sign up. I immediately played in an almost 600 person $5 + $.50 tourney
and took 1st. I won about $600. I went from there. I requested a payout
for $2500 and while it took about 5 weeks, I did get a check that cleared
so they’r alright by me. You should check it out. I have been a railbird
for 6 months I’d say. My raibird alias is elihu2748 and I’m not sure if
your serious about the $150 ftp bankroll or the freeroll but if so my ftp
username is thedoctor2748. Once again, good luck in NYC and if you need
some good hangout spots, bars, etc. I know of a bunch. I went into Manhattan4 or
5 times month. I’m also a bit of a barfly lol. My email is above but just
in case jvjones2748@yahoo.com. Take care.
Jonathan V. Jones
August 20th, 2008 at 2:34 am
I lmost forgot ADD ME TO THE FREEROLL LIST. THX.
August 20th, 2008 at 3:03 am
I absolutely agree about Shawn Johnson. Without a doubt the best attitude on the team.
August 20th, 2008 at 3:06 am
i want this freeeeeeroll too
tyty sir
August 20th, 2008 at 4:06 am
Steve,
It’s a good clause to put in there (within the confines of a normal life). Too many people jump head first into tough endeavors and completely change their life then find it too hard to follow through. Then again, what’s normal for you might not be normal for other people, so don’t forget that either.
Good luck.
August 20th, 2008 at 4:44 am
Steve, I am a regular reader of your blog and I believe you can meet your goals. Good luck. Add me to the freeroll list.
August 20th, 2008 at 8:40 am
Good luck on your mission. I’m sure you can achieve your goals. But add me to the freeroll list anyways just in case! :) “luvbeans” on FT.
August 20th, 2008 at 8:41 am
Since it is a free roll I will jump on, but from what I have read while following you, I think you will have no problem hitting your goals.
Sounds like this is something you want and will take serious and as long as you continue to do that it will be easy to accomplish your goals.
Add me to the free roll list, FTP - Breeze81, thanks!
August 20th, 2008 at 9:27 am
gl in your pursuits in NYC. I live by one simple rule when dealing with other humans. Do not, under any circumstances, dispense unsolicited advice to others, unless it is a matter of life or death. I violated my own rule the other day and got burned. Please add me to the freeroll list. My FT sign-on is “MeanJG”.
August 20th, 2008 at 9:42 am
I am facing a difficult diagnosis and I thoroughly enjoy reading your blog(when you post ;) to distract my mind. Best of luck in school. I hope to be around when the semester ends. I would rather not get the freeroll $$$, but have you succeed in your goals. You wouldn’t recall me but we use to play some STT’s on Party , way back when. (SN-Jamesdean13) Anyways Steve, I’ve read all of your posts and miss them when you take a long hiatus. Blogs are an odd thing as the blogger doesn’t always know how educational and inspirational they truly can be to others. Talent is great, but discipline will carry one farther. Good luck in life. add me to your freeroll but that’s not why I wrote. Take care.
August 20th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Thanks for the reads over the last few months. I’ve been reading frequently about how good physical shape is imporving the play of other poker players. I’m sure you can do it. Good luck at school! And add me to the freeroll! ;p
August 20th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Hey,
Sounds like a great challenge for yourself. My advice is for you to track your activities, such as what you eat and when you exercise. I have found it is amazing how motivating it can be if you actually have to document everytime you eat something bad or you see in your exercise log that you haven’t worked out in 3 days. Hope this helps.
Good luck and add me to your freeroll list.
August 20th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Not sure if you have ever watched Gatika, but that’s exactly the underlying point of the story. Certainly having a strong base (like good family) is a good start to trying to succeed in life, but one needs to face some sort of adversity in life in order to truly want, feel, taste, success. add me to the freeroll list
August 20th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
free money for railbirds
shrewwwwwwwwwwwww
August 20th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Good luck with the bet steve… try controling tilt!!
-add me to the freeroll plz
August 20th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Steve,
Good luck to you on your quest to improve yourself as a person. This is a quest I’ve taken to in just the past year, after failing to become the person I would like to be in my post-collegiate life. Life for me has never been so unstructureed and I fell into many bad habits and generally went for pleasure over things of value substance. I’ve change my life in the past year and feel like a completely new person, someone who I will be proud of every day. What you are doing will be difficult and filled with small pittfalls, but is so so worth it. Finally, thanks for soliciting a response and giving me something to think about with your freeroll. Please add me to the list.
I hope I never see a dime and you live the best life you can live.
Matt
fulltilt: phattymattie
August 20th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Good luck Steve!
Keep the updates on the blog coming, maybe a bi-weekly chart on how you are doing with your goals.
add me to the freeroll list please!
August 20th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
One important tip I learned for maintaining a good workout and nutrition routine is it NEVER stray from your routines. Don’t fool yourself thinking that being lazy and eating a Big Mac for lunch or skipping gym for the day will not wreck your routines–it will. Focus on your workout and nutrition goals and you’ll definitely see results faster, which will be a great source of self-motivation in itself. You sound like you’re driven, so I don’t expect you to fail your academic goal, but in case you don’t, ship the $150!
August 20th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Congrats on the move. It takes 21 days to start a habit so if you start going to the gym/eating right you will be on pace to meet your goals.
August 20th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
goodluck steve lets hope you ACTUALLY pull through. If you cant prove to some measly ftp railbirds you can get in shape and do well in something you have CHOSEN to do your a moron like everyone else! GL add me to the freeroll.
August 20th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Thanks for all the comments, everyone posted so far is added to the list even though its slightly more than 10 people. I will post about the objective goals (meeting with the arbiter to decide them) for the fitness portion soon. If any of these commenter’s are shrew under a fake name, mhm.
JamesDean I definitely remember playing with and I’m incredibly sorry to hear of the bad diagnosis.
August 20th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
i ended up here by way of an epic thread on 2p2 containing your screenname in the title. your tilt-induced rants possess a subtle comic genius. plus it seems like you play well and rarely get it in bad (which of course fuels the rants). even though it’s entertaining, i’ve also been through long phases where i really let poker get to me too much, and it’s really not a good thing, for more than just the obvious reasons. the stress it can exert on a person if it’s not controlled and constant is really pretty unhealthy. you should work at finding your “inner peace” or whatever, because you don’t wanna lose your hair, you know. anyway, blog looks good, gl with poker/life
(obv add me to the freeroll list, “combuboom” on FT)
August 20th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Good luck Steve at school, I too am about to enrol in grad school and am faced with the decision of working at a job (which is offering to pay for school)where I dislike my boss or simply trying to find another job and possibly not being able to make it to grad school. Its a hard choice and I am curious to hear how rewarding grad school turns out for you.
August 20th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Steve ur a massive donkey!!
August 20th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
cow, how the HELL IS SOMEONE SAYING “hey steve, good luck, u can do it! add me to freeroll plz:) ” SOMETHING OF SUBSTANCE? jesus.
hoooo nyc tomorrow
August 21st, 2008 at 12:01 am
they are all me cow
August 21st, 2008 at 8:44 am
I cannot believe after giving a speech about greatness and all that, your big goal is a B+ in
business school. There is literally no excuse for you to not get straight A’s and you’ve somehow
managed to prove your point about standing in your own way while claiming to be turning over a new leaf.
August 21st, 2008 at 8:46 am
Just to add to that perspective, it’s Fordham. It is absurd that you don’t think you would be in the top
quintile. I’m gonna guess that 15% of Fordham business school grads get the kind of job you want, maybe 10%, . Time
to up the ante buddy.
August 21st, 2008 at 11:14 pm
B+? So your goal is to win a bronze?
As Shawn Johnson said multiple times, when competing against Liukin, she wanted America to go “one, two,” but her goal was always gold.
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:29 pm
N4N and Seth are right ….. Straight A’s or bust …. this isn’t a PhD Program
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:09 am
fuck yall, all yall, if yall dont like me, blow me
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:43 pm
ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, THAT LAST SHREW COMMENT WAS NOT FROM THE REAL SHREW
WHO POSTED THAT?????????????
August 25th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
If you want to do something badly enough you can do it. The incentive isn’t the freeroll. You are smart and gifted and lucky. You’re going to have no problem with A’s at Fordham. Enjoy it all.
September 7th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
He steve, im a regular on your blog,and im always watching your games at fultilt.
it would be a great thing 4 me to play in your freeroll,…ill even would pay 2 play with you
greetings a poker fan
September 7th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
oops almost forgot add me to your freeroll
September 18th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
hi steve,
i just stumbled across your blog and let me be honest i actually dont care a lot about what most people write in their blogs. i looked up yours cause i saw you winning the hu championship, congrats on that. i was about to leave already when i saw the “how good do you want to be” headline (oh btw excuse me for bad english im not a native speaker). my inspiration is tiger woods. he is legendary for working his butt off and never blaming anyone or anything but himself. look up some interviews on youtube, he kicks ass.
so i been asking myself how good do you want to be? now, consciously, i want to be as good as possible. but i caught myself making excuses for not practicing etc (for me i want to be good in poker and karate). so i think i might not REALLY want it.
id like to hear if you experience the same sort of problems and what youre doing to overcome them.
im not gonna wish you luck, you dont need luck.
take care, patrick
November 19th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Hi Steve,
I’d Freeroll on you anytime stevebets, on pokerstars I’d even fount you the playchips to play me. I’m game any for freerolls Steve.
I enjoy watching you play on Pokerstars big horse game. I’ve seen you play very often and I consider you among pokers elite unknown. I’m unaware if you have been on TV, but please encourage the producers to put out the stevebets name in the future, every time you’re on TV. Poker enthusiast should cheer for winners. It would be exciting to see your rang of hands and betting tact on TV! Gl on the poker and I hope you have found people that continue encouraging your development.
Mark (Bombs_over_B)