World poker champion or communications major?

Freshman year. I am sure all of us out there remember it well, but not for the reason I… Freshman year. I am sure all of us out there remember it well, but not for the reason I remember it. See, I fell in love. Unfortunately, it was not with a girl; it was better.

Before Chris Moneymaker, before Gus Hanson, before Phil Ivey and a long time before Greg Raymer were household names, I fell in love with poker.

I started by watching “Rounders” in the summer of 2000 and was rather intrigued by poker, especially no-limit Texas Hold’em. I arrived at Pitt that year and began to explore the game every night with my roommate and others. It was a very expensive education, to say the least. As my losses mounted, so did my education. I began to get better, but still lost more than I won. As the years progressed I began to win, slightly and slowly, but I knew my time would come.

Boom! Then the explosion hit. Summer of 2003, the World Poker Tour debuted (I am watching it as I write this), and, for the first time, the players whole cards were exposed for all to see. A month later, ESPN started airing the 2003 World Series of Poker. The world became captivated, and watched the greatest reality television of all time as an accountant from Tennessee (Moneymaker) turned $40 in an online poker site into $2.5 million.

I was part of this explosion, and began to play online every night of the summer. The more poker was on, the more players began to play the game. My time had started to arrive, and I had a new career aspiration. Forget communications, I wanted to be a professional poker player.

I began winning regularly online, and it is now my main source of income. I usually play two hours a day, on three different sites. (Again, I am playing as I write this)

I figured it was coming together online, why not try in person? Three months after my 21st birthday, I was in Las Vegas. The first day I arrived I played in a $60 buy-in limit Hold’em tourney. I cashed in and finished eighth. I thought I was on my way to being a pro. How wrong I was.

After giving away all my winnings and then some, I went home broke. I returned in February with even more online winnings. This time I played in a $540 buy-in tournament, and lost. The trip, however, was a wash, since I finished even, an improvement.

The 2004 World Series of Poker was this past May. I had to take my third shot at Vegas in a year right? Of course I did. I targeted the $1,500 no-limit event as one I was going to play in. I played in it for free, I won a $300 satellite, which gave me a free entry into the event, and even knocked out professional Cycalona Gowen to earn my seat.

It was not meant to be, however, as I finished 262 out of more than 800 players. I got unlucky after flopping two pair, when my opponent turned a third queen. Although, the tourney was disappointing, the trip was a success, and I made a huge profit.

I thought, “Where do I go from here?” I have played with some of the greatest players to ever play the game and more than held my own.

Yet the game continues to expand and grow, as does mine. Now, my Dad plays, my Mom watches, and I taught my girlfriend how to play. (She finished 28 out of 122 in her first tournament) At this point, everyone on campus plays, or knows someone who plays. I know I am not alone, and there are many others out there like me. Yet until I graduate next May, I will continue to try to be a professional.

So what’s my next step? The World Poker Tour will be in Atlantic City, N.J., next week. I will be there at the Borgata trying to make a name for myself. If this doesn’t work out, I can always fall back on my communications degree from Pitt, right? I hope I don’t have to.

Matt Miloszewski is a columnist from The Pitt News and wants to know if there are others like him in the area. E-mail him at mattmilo50@hotmail.com, or find him on Partypoker.com, Ultimatebet.com or Pokerstars.com under the name milo741.