It was May of 2003. Limit hold'em was the game. More and more limit hold'em. Started from $2-$4, $3-$6, $4-$8, $6-$12, then $8-$16 in less than 3 months. We played those games viciously. I didn't care to read any poker books. Not that I was trying to be stubborn, but more because I was the illterate-type. Beating $8-$16 wasn't easy. I was going through the usual ups and downs of the hand ranges. I'm going to skip to about October/November of 2003. One day, my friend Ryan and I, decided to go to the Sycuan Casino in San Diego instead of Viejas Casino which was our weekly spot. I saw and sat down in a $3-$5nl game. It was my first time sitting in a no-limit cash game, and the buy-in ranged from $200-$500. I watched the action from the sidelines and was immediately fascinated. I had previously played in and had decent success in on online nl tournaments, but had never actually played in any nl cash games. I thought to myself and said to my friend Ryan, "It's like a tournament, but the blinds never go up. Dude, I can absolutely destroy this game!" I was right. I did destroy that game that night. I don't remember the exact amounts, but I'm guessing around $1500-$2000. When I first sat down, I wasn't sure the exact amounts to raise, so I just copied what others did and went with the flow of things; everyone seemed to raise 3x or 3.5x so I did just that. Also, I tried to concentrate and memorize as much information as much as possible. Just like I did on PartyPoker, I took mental notes and tried to gain other players' strengths and weakneses. But I did this as much as possible while listening to my iPod. I have to confess that music is my life. I'd rather be listening to a soothing music than be part of a funny conversation. I love all types of music. From Chopin to 2pac, Tony Bennett to Norah Jones, and from LeAnn Rimes to Chris Tomlin. But my playlist was filled with mostly R&B. (to be continued...)