Like many others around the country, today I reflect on things in my life I am thankful for. And of course, a lot of those have to do with poker. Here are some of the things I'm thinking of.

My Thanks...

First of all, I am thankful for the ability to play poker fairly close to my home. Without the ability to play online in this country, it has been very important to be able to get out and play live.


I could be living in a lot of places where a decent card room was more than an hour away. In the Twin Cities you have two choices within a half hour of the metro.

Speaking of the two choices, I am thankful that there is some competition among the card rooms in my area. Monopolies are bard for the consumer, and the fact that two major card rooms are in such close proximity makes them work hard for my business. Tournaments structures are better, comps are better, and they both try to one up each other on their  promotions.

I am extremely thankful for a family that is supportive of my chosen profession. My wife deals with the ups and downs of poker probably better than I do. And I know enough married pros to know how rare this quality is in a spouse. My kids handle the odd hours with aplomb and even my aging mother asks me how I'm running. There's very little worth doing if it screws up your family life.

I am thankful for good friends who are knowledgeable about poker. When I'm playing, writing, researching, recording videos, or any other number of poker-related activities, it has always been invaluable to have so many great players I can go to for advice and opinion.

I am thankful for the Minnesota poker community. Not only does this state have a ton of great players, but they are also some of the nicest around and always seem willing to share their hard-won knowledge. The weather is cold but the people are warm.

I am thankful for my position here at About.com. There's little I like more than thinking, talking, and writing about poker. There are other spots to find my writings online (pokersites.com, pokerxfactor, my personal site) but this site pays me to write all the time and it is an absolute luxury to do what you love and get paid for it.

On to more specific thanks…

I am thankful for that three of clubs in my last tournament when I resteal-shoved with K3 versus my opponents AT. Though it was the right move percentage-wise vs. his range (which was nearly the whole deck -- he was that guy) on this occasion it put me all in and behind. I cashed in that tournament and I wouldn't have without that three of clubs.

I have a lot of faults. But one good quality I have is that I am never jealous of my friends' successes. So I am thankful for all the cards that fell to allow my friend Chris to have such a good run at the WSOP. If it couldn't be me, I'm glad it was him. He worked hard and deserved to finally get lucky in some key spots.

And finally…

I am thankful to be healthy, hale, and whole. To have hands to hold the cards, eyes to see the suits, and a mind that can conceive the possibilities and the probabilities and know the difference between the two. And I wish you all the same for the rest of this year and the years to come.