TURNING PRO AND BACK AGAIN
If anyone was unsure of how difficult it is to thrive as a professional poker player, a column by John Kelly in the Washington Post highlights the rigours involved in a difficult rather than glamorous work place.
As Kelly recounts, he first spoke to Urban at the time he made the trip, inspired by a few big wins, and full of self-confidence.
“I’m the age, and this is the time to do it,” said Jon back in 2009. “I’m not married. No kids… Everybody at work was impressed that at least I was trying to live my dream.”
Becoming a professional poker player is a dream to a lot of players, but the standard is high and unforgiving. Poker is an ever-evolving skill game that requires a player to be talented as well as disciplined enough to treat the game as a profession. It takes long hours and a level head to succeed. Crucially, all this got the better of Urban.
“I noticed that I started getting a little arrogant and started losing my discipline,” said Urban, speaking three years later. “I was trying different types of moves and plays that I really had no business doing.”
After 18 months in Las Vegas Urban turned his back on his Vegas lifestyle, showing a degree of awareness that turned his love of poker back into a hobby rather than a job.
It makes for an interesting tale, with a happy ending. You can read the full column and that from 2009, on the Washington Post website.
