Family Ties

I've been scanning and storing digital images from old photos of the family. This photo was taken in 1961 (or 62?) when my mother remarried. The wedding was held in my grandmother's house. What a group of misfits. I'm the small one, front right, looking up at my new stepfather's mother.

I like the expression on my older brother's face. He seems to be saying, "I can't believe I'm having to spend an entire Saturday doing this." More than likely, my sainted mother standing behind him just pinched his rear end.

CraigsList Shopping

I've spent a few hours today just looking through CraigsList at various job postings. I've been looking for work in real estate or writing and found some leads. I emailed two resumes for writing gigs, and one to The Real Deal online magazine which is expanding its coverage from New York into the Vegas market.

The job market looks pretty strong in Vegas, and I found a number of writing opportunities. The best of both worlds, I guess, would be to write about the Vegas real estate market.

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I'm beginning to sell off much of the junk I've collected over the years. I'm scaling down to just those personal items that have value for me. Much of what I own can easily be sold. Everything I sell now can be replaced later, right? When you get down to it, most of what we own is junk. I have very few things I really cherish, and most of those things will fit in a box. I like the idea of scaling down, cutting back, clearing out the storage, unloading years of stuff that I pretend gives meaning to my life. It is a silly idea: collect what we think is valuable stuff and then place it in storage (or the garage) where we never see it.

The Timing of Suck-Beats and Other Frustrations

When my KK found its way to the showdown, alas it was worthless. Man, the timing of suck-beats in poker is really amazing. Last night I was down to my last $15 or so after my second bad session in a row. I figured I had one hand to get back in the game, and I get KK. Great, I’m thinking. I’ve got a real shot here to win a nice pot. Congressman J.B, sitting on my left, raises. Three callers come to me, and I call (probably a mistake). The flop comes 8-2-x. Great flop for me! The House Rep bets out. The 4-seat calls and I call. The turn is an 8. Great! I’ve got two pair now, KK88. Will they hold up? (You know what’s coming.) The river card is a blank and doesn’t appear to help anyone. So I’ve got my eye on the nice pot, when the player in the 4-seat turns over 8-2 off-suit! OUCH! The guy calls a raise with 8-2 off-suit (only the second worst hand in Pokerdom) and flops two pair, then gets his full house on the turn. I’m toast, of course. And the Congressman turns over AK.

It’s not bad beats that rankle my nerves. It’s the timing. Most times when something happens like this you just shake it off and go on. But I really wanted to turn a bad session into something positive. If I had won that pot I might have gone home with a loss, but I would know that all was right with the world. Why did the P-gods choose this particular time to shoot another missle at me? Amazing.

Bad beats I can deal with on a regular basis. It’s the timing of those beats that really make you feel like your intestines have been ripped out and left for the buzzards to chew on.

It helps to write about it. I know what you’re saying. “Don’t tell me your bad beat stories, I’ve had my share. It’s poker. So get over it.” I understand fully. There’s nothing worse than hearing others whine about bad beats. It happens to us all. They are a big part of playing this game. And usually I can deal with it. But today, I’m on tilt. So understand if I have to get it out of my system. I rarely if ever write about bad beats, and bad beat stories bore me to tears and I try to avoid those who like to share them. Sometimes you just have to share your story. It helps. I'm reminded of the two men at the WSOP last year who set up a table and charged players $5 to hear their bad beat stories.

The issue I’m dealing with is the timing. It’s like a double knock to the system. Not only do you receive a hit by the beat itself, but the timing of the beat is a second knock to the groin. Had the same hand occurred an hour earlier, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought. But at that particular point in my day, at that precise moment, when the clock hit 9:30 p.m. on Saturday night July 8, after a nine hour session of ups and downs and beats, when you feel like something really positive is about to take place to make you feel like the day has all been worth it, you’ve been playing well and the results are not there but that’s okay because there will be days like this, the P-gods decide they are going to hurl one last salvo at the spirit of a player who was only praying for one small stack of chips to make the pain of a losing session more tolerable while driving home.

Before leaving I leaned over to the Congressman and said, “How do professionals learn to deal with this game? Playing day in and day out--the highs and lows and bad beats.”

“Well, they just learn to enjoy the game, the people, and learn to deal with it. You have to be patient in this game.” The Congressman leaned back in his chair and took a long deep breath while looking at his own small stack.

I enjoyed playing with the House Rep who serves our state in Washington. He told me he plays online for play money and likes tournaments. I told him I voted for him, but he still beat me out of a couple of pots with some nice aggressive betting. He would raise with top pair, some times having only a mediocre kicker. So when he and I were heads up with a J-x-x-x-x and I had KJ in the hole, I called his bets down. He turns over AA of course, and won a nice pot. I put him on a weak J, which of course turned out to be a poor read.

Welcome to The Seven Seat...

Can't talk now, I'm headed for the casino.

Making Moves

I've continued to make contacts in Vegas. The most recent was with Martha Chiriboga, a mortgage broker and investor. She responded to a job placement ad I posted in CraigsList. I'll add her to my network list.

I've got to look at my finances and plan my budget. I can get to Vegas with no problem, but I need enough in savings to live three months or so. This will be the biggest challenge. I've got to have enough money to live on until I get my business established.

As a writer and real estate investor, I've made a good living in the past. But this last year I paid off some debts and went through my savings (what littile I had). I unloaded a house I could no longer afford to live in, and moved to the small country town of Gainesville in north Texas to escape the big city. I also needed some time to recover from a two-year period of death, misery, financial loss, and other minor problems. I went into a self-imposed "rehab", moving into a cheap apartment and placing most of my belongings in storage. I don't drink, smoke, or do drugs. The kind of rehab I needed was more internal and spiritual than physical.

So now the time has come to look forward, not back. One day I was sitting at Starbucks and writing in my journal and I realized that I'm at the point in my life when I can do anything I want and live anywhere I want. "So why not move to Vegas and invest in real estate, become a freelance writer and work on that first novel, and play cards?"

Welcome to Writefinger

Just a minute...I'll be right back.

Making First Contacts...Building a Network

It's all about networking and developing relationships with people. Real estate investing success is dependent on knowing people, meeting strangers, developing working friendships. It's about team work. My success in this business is directly related to my success in building my alliances, my network.

One reason I chose "FreedomTree" as my business name is because a tree has branches, roots, and must continue to grow or it will die. Networking will keep FreedomTree growing, providing a healthy root structure, with branches reaching out to all kinds of things.

A major component of my move to the West is making contacts with people already living there. I need a network of working friendships to help me make the transition to a new life. So far, I've contacted:

1. Bill Guerra, an investor I met via the REIPLACE.com forums. He lives in Vegas and has been successful at it. We are in contact now, as he is beginning to seek investment opportunities in Texas since the Vegas market is in a downturn. His web site is WillBuyAnyHouse.com .

2. I emailed Trish at Century 21 Aadvantage Gold in Las Vegas. They are a large and successful franchise with numerous offices around the Vegas area. I could see working with them, especially in the early going while I'm getting settled. They will help me obtain my license in Nevada. They have a real estate school.

3. I emailed Pasha Rafat, a professor of art and photography at UNLV, and asked him about the graduate programs they offer. I'm interested in doing some studies at UNLV, either in photography or writing.

I'll continue to look for contacts, and seek those who might be willing to help a Texan make a move out West. I need a job, and a place to live. Should be easy enough.