*BAM!* I'm on my way...

Since the day I subscribed to Pokerxfactor (simply life-changing!) and upon return from my LAPT trip, I have gained a newfound confidence in my poker game.  I think I finally "GET IT"... I know how to play near "PERFECT POKER" and outgrind the best.  I am playing so consistently right now-- getting DEEP in everything I touch.  I attribute this new success to a better understanding of SURVIVAL (risk vs. reward; no panic in my game); Money Management (throwing my weight around with only raises / no flat calls unless necessary); Patience (waiting for the flow of dominating situations); having the Guts when you need it most (winning lots of pots with no showdown and just good solid focus/observation).  I am just a better all around player than I was 2-3 months ago.  There is always room for improvement though... this is just the beginning!   

June 16- ($105 buy-in; 1st Place/90 Players)- $3000 
June 15- ($109 buy-in; 2nd Place/878 Players)- $12,300 ***WHAT A POP!!! My first 5-figure cash***
June 10- ($105 buy-in; 1st Place/135 Players)- $4440 
May 29- ($109 buy-in; 7th Place/306 Players)- $1100 
May 26- ($33 buy-in; 1st Place/497 Players)- $3000

I am most proud that I set/defined my Goals and I achieved what I knew I could do.  I have the makeup to be a championship player time and time again.  Every third day, I hope to hit a big win (with every 10-15 tourneys I play).  My immediate goal from here is to see how fast I can accumulate $100,000 of wealth/savings.  For year 2009, I want to be a "TOP 50 ONLINE PRO" (cardplayer.com) = outlandish statement hahaha crazy in fact... but let's see if I can backup my words with some ACTION!

July 3 = my last day as a TD Ameritrade Stock Broker; quitting my day job-- gave my 2 week notice. 
August 21 = first day of school; CEIBS MBA student.
Now... Occupation: Full-Time Poker Professional hahaha never thought I would ever say that!!!

Action-Packed Calendar

TOURNAMENT VENUE CITY/ COUNTRY DATES BUY-IN CAP EPT BARCELONA OPEN Casino Barcelona Barcelona SPAIN Sept 10-14, 2008 €8,000 + 250 700 EPT LONDON Victoria Casino London ENGLAND October 1-5, 2008 £5,200 + 200 500 *EPT POLISH OPEN Hyatt Regency, Warsaw Warsaw POLAND November 15-19, 2008 20,000 + 1,000 PLN TBC EPT PRAGUE Hilton Hotel Prague CZECH REPUBLIC December 9-13, 2008 €5,000 + €250 600 EPT DEAUVILLE Barrière Casino Deauville FRANCE January 20-24, 2009 €5,000 + 300 700 EPT SCANDINAVIAN OPEN Casino Copenhagen Copenhagen DENMARK February 17-21, 2009 50,000 DKR + 2,250 500 EPT GERMAN OPEN Casino Hohensyburg Dortmund GERMANY March 10 - 14, 2009 €5,000 + 250 500 EPT SAN REMO San Remo San Remo ITALY April 18-23, 2009 €5,000 + 250 800 EPT GRAND FINAL Monte Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort Monte Carlo MONACO April 28 - May 3, 2009 €10,000 + €600 1,000

BIG THINGS AHEAD:

Life is pretty exciting right now.  I erased all my old xanga entries from 2002-present (immaturity from the college frat boy days at Berkeley) hahaha I feel like I'm ready to embark on the best years of my life; and I want to start chronicling everything from this day forward.  I think it's extremely important to reflect and analyze your "vision/plan/action" items.

In 2 months (August 21, 2008), I will be a full-time MBA Student at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS)-- Shanghai, China.  The institution is fast becoming a powerhouse in the region and in the world.  The MBA program is ranked #11 in the world by the Financial Times global MBA ranking system (http://rankings.ft.com/global-mba-rankings).  I am one lucky guy... very lucky hahaha as my grades were poor at Berkeley (didn't help that I drank 4-5 days a week and didn't study much); my GMAT score was mediocre (didn't help that I have a "C+" brain).  My work experience was the main reason I think I got in (Thank you Morgan Stanley and Fisher Investments!).  So there you go... China here we come!  That in itself will be the biggest shock-- I will be living in MAINLAND CHINA-- my new permanent residence.

1) Conventional/Core Means of Building Wealth-- Get my MBA + CFA = become a hedge fund manager / private money manager.  Specifically I love Emerging Markets.  FYI: The last 20 years Emerging Markets as a category (15% annualized rate of return); S&P 500 (13% annualized rate of return).  I think the next 20 years will be the same... with greater level of globalization and interdependency; and ultimately development in these countries.  I would love to be involved in that.

2) Poker ("icing on the cake")--  I think I finally "get it".  I know how to play "Perfect Poker" (if there is such a thing).  Obviously every tournament I play, the element of luck exists in that one game.  However, the skilled player, if given 10 tournaments to play-- that player will get DEEP in the cash 1-3 times within those 10 tournaments.  I've been playing casual poker since college 5 years back; and just started playing serious online poker tournaments last year (Jan 2007).  You would be surprised at how many little nuances/intricacies one picks up with experience and learning from the pros.  I've had decent success since I began.  However, after subscribing to this professional poker video/training guide (www.pokerxfactor.com; run by some of the top online pros in world)-- I feel like I'm ready to become one of the BEST in the game.  It's so much fun turning small money into big money.  For instance, about a week back, I played a $30 buy-in tournament (497 total players)... I got 1ST PLACE ($3000 USD).  And I feel like I'm able to duplicate these efforts over and over, with great consistency-- and eventually with even bigger payouts (5-6 figures+).  I'm really starting to come into my own.

2 weeks back (May 17-25, 2008)-- spent 9 total days in Costa Rica (vacation + pro poker).  Me & my gf Michelle had a blast (as we always do)!  First half of trip was all travel (we did everything you can imagine-- volcanoes, hot springs, rain forests, zip lining/canopy, etc. etc.).  Second half of the trip was the poker tournament (Latin American Poker Tour-- San Jose).  398 total players.  (Payouts= 1st $274k; 2nd $145k; 3rd $106k; 4th = $77k; 5th = $57k; 16th = $10k; 32nd=$6500).  Tournament begain with $10,000 starting chips.  At end of Day 1, I was at $48,000 chips... pretty solid... considering I only showed my hole cards TWICE in 10 hrs... didn't really pick up hands (just steals, re-steals, and good solid bets).  Day 1 was 10 hrs of the most INTENSE POKER I've ever had to play... some tough professional players.  At the end of Day 1 (midnight that night), only 86 players remained (http://www.lapt.com/tournaments/sanjose/players/day2.html).  I could not sleep that night hahaha kept visualizing in my head "#ONE = $274,000 USD!".  Lack of experience hurt me I think... as this was my first major tourney and I got roughed up a bit Day 2.  I ended up getting knocked out 45th place out of 398 people.  Yes... was very sad!  However, one great thing to take away from this whole experience was that: I CAN HANG WITH THE BEST OF THEM.  I was 1/2 a day away from major prestige and 6-figures in my hands.  So close... so very close to life-changing money!  All said and done: I feel like this Costa Rica experience will be a great stepping stone for me and will serve as a springboard to greater things ahead.  I am good enough to play for that 6 figures.  I can do it!!!

Again, I hope to document my life happenings on this blog on a more regular basis.  I believe it'll help me get me to where I want to be-- 1) Hedge Fund Mastermind/Portfolio Manager; and on the other side 2) "Top 50 Online Poker Pros the next year-- 2009".  

-Kenny Shih ("ynd!" on PokerStars) 

Currently Reading Harrington on Hold 'em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments, Vol. 1: Strategic Play By Dan Harrington, Bill Robertie see related