Since most of you have no idea who I am, I'll begin with a little back story.

My poker career started in the Fall of 2002 during my freshman year of college.  My college roommate, Andy Zuzolo, and I watched Matt Damon take on John Malkovich in the poker classic, Rounders, and quickly became fascinated with the game.  After a little internet investigative work into the rules of Texas Hold'em and what burn cards were, we started playing in our dorm lounge.

It didn't take long to realize that this game could be beaten, so I read every book available and started discussing hand scenarios with Andy while continuing to play every day in the lounge with my floor mates.  In my second semester, I started playing at another dorm where a bit more money was being thrown around and made about $1,500 dollars.  When I came back for my sophomore year, that game had dried up and I needed a new way to fund my eating and drinking habits.  I deposited $50 onto Party Poker, turned J 8 into quad 8's for almost $100 bucks and never looked back.  I was grinding .25/.50 cent blinds no limit hold'em and cashing out $500 dollars every 4 days or so.  A few weeks later, my roommate Andy and I entered a $50 tournament with 699 players and finished 1^st and 2^nd (He took first).  We chopped it up just about evenly and each took $6,500 for our efforts.  We took all our friends who had stayed up until 5 a.m. to watch the final table out to a celebratory McDonald's breakfast, and from that point on I was officially hooked on poker.

Fast forward past all the college cash, sit 'n' go, and multi-table tournament grinding to pay rent and for my spending habits, to my Wall Street trading job I took coming out of school in 2006.  I got the interview thanks to a college professor who thought my poker skills would translate well into the trading world, so I was very upfront with my new owners and boss about my side job.  I requested to start working in August so that I could play in some WSOP events that summer.  I busted the three prelims I played shy of any money, but wound up running up enough money in side games to justify to myself a WSOP main event bid.  I took 349^th out of the record 8,773 player field for about $35,000 and was off to Wall Street to try out a real job.

I had wanted to start playing poker full time when I graduated, but turning down a trading job on Wall Street seemed like a bad idea.  I was smart enough to know I could use a back up if poker didn't work out, and figured I could still play on the side to make some extra money.  I enjoyed trading, but didn't like the sales aspect of my job.  Good people, good boss, good owners (not only did they OK me to take 2 weeks off for the 2007 WSOP but they even bought some pieces of me in some events), but it just wasn't for me.  I didn't make much money at the 2007 WSOP, but just being there was enough to convince me it was time to leave Wall Street.

I left New York that August and drove across the country to Los Angeles with my friend Kevin.  I set up shop in my friend Victor's living room with the intention of staying a few weeks for the California State Poker Championship at Commerce Casino.  A few weeks turned into eight months of sleeping on an air mattress in Victor and his roommate Danny's living room while playing tournament and cash games at Commerce as well as online.  When Spring '08 rolled around, I wanted to get my own place and I knew I'd be in Vegas for the WSOP during June and July, so I decided to look for a place there.

I moved to Vegas in April 2008 with my college roommate Andy Zuzolo and high school buddy Craig Montalbano.  I grinded small no limit games online 12 tables at a time to build up a roll for the 2008 WSOP.  I bricked a few early tournaments before taking 3^rd in the $2,000 No Limit Hold'em event.  My pocket 8s lost to pockets 6s all in pre flop  for a massive chip lead pot to conclude one of the best and most disappointing days of my life.

For the past year, I've been traveling the tournament circuit all over the country as well as a few stops in Europe.  I've had a pretty decent 2009 so far, but have been unable to break through and get a win after several deep runs.  I'll be playing over 20 events during the 2009 WSOP, with all intentions of clearing that hurdle and winning my first bracelet.

The hunt resumes today with the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Shootout and the $10,000 NL 2-7 Single Draw event.