My Journey... Part II - The Online Blackout & My 1st Year of the Live Poker Grind (2011 - 2012)

     The online blackout was only a month before the upcoming WSOP. I was extremely fortunate when I played a freerolled 10k at the WPT Hollywood Poker Open in 2011 and (sadly) bubbled the final table, but still cashed for the needed 22k. This cash paid my way to WSOP that summer. I needed WSOP 2011 to be a good one, otherwise I didn't know what I would do. Would I have to move abroad to play online poker like my friends were considering? Was that really worth it? Could I deal with being so far away from that which was most familiar to me? My hopes were to have a good WSOP, and to continue playing live poker tournaments within the U.S.

Again I found myself running good. Of the 11 tournaments I played in the 2011 WSOP, I cashed in 4 events, the most notable of which, The WSOP Main Event, which I busted out in 62nd place. My winnings for the summer brought me in about 140k! I sadly bubbled the last woman standing award in that year's WSOP Main Event, as Erica Moutinho took that title down instead(props to her!).  Achieving last woman standing status was a big goal of mine in those moments... how cool it would be have your name written into poker history?! I narrowly missed the opportunity that time. Regardless, I couldn't have been happier with my results for the summer! Not only with having this big bankroll booster, but also in that I was receiving a lot of great coverage on ESPN and other poker media websites.
 

This massive bankroll boost opened up a whole new world of opportunity for me. I could now live out my ideal of grinding live tournaments. I'll admit that pre-WSOP, I questioned if I could make it in the live setting. I was extremely scared of it, timid, and unaccustomed to being away from my computer screen for so many hours in a row(separation anxiety). Doing well in the 2011 WSOP brought my confidence to an all-time high! I felt a little relief finally... that maybe I could make it doing this live poker thing after all.

The year that followed, leading up to this past WSOP(2012), was a wild one for sure. I had(and still have) a sick grandmother back in Pennsylvania to get back to. But before I headed back east, I stopped off in Reno to play the 1st ever WPT Regional: Western Poker Challenge. I ended up taking 6th place in the $2400 Main Event there. This further convinced me that maybe I was really meant ot be a live grinder all along. Maybe Black Friday had been a major catch 22 for me?! Following my 6th place finish in Reno, I drove(as I always do) back to the east coast, with my kitty cat, Boozer, in my lap for the entire 4 day drive.

I set up temporary camp back east, and was in and out of normal family life throughout the fall as I fit in some grind time. The grind paid off!! I went to Borgata Fall Open(2011), and in the 2nd event there, I end up winning! It was insane. I mean... at this point I'm just praying I'm not a total fuckin fluke because this is just absurd at this point, right?! Despite the win bringing in only a fraction of the amount as my WSOP Main score, and way less media attention... it was still such a major achievement for me. I felt like I was really solidifying my place in this new arena. It was the best feeling ever to achieve what you dream of.

After the holidays, I picked up with the World Series of Poker Circuit Tour. This tour had me away from home practically the rest of 2012 leading up to the WSOP in Vegas. Of the 6 stops I made on the circuit tour, I was lucky enough to have made final tables at 4 of them. I wasn't fortunate in the area of obtaining any WSOP jewelry, which on the Circuit Tour, is a WSOP ring.

These 4 final table appearances leading up to the 2012 WSOP wouldn't be my last close call with some of that elusive WSOP jewelry.....