Long time no blog! I can't recall going more than a couple of weeks without blogging in the last oh, half decade or so.

A lot has gone on in my life the this year so far. First off, I have switched to a vegan diet on the recommendation of my doctors. While this sounded like an awful idea to me at first, after having been on it for over 3 weeks now, I am actually loving it and can't imagine going back to my old diet. It turns out a diet rich with meat (for me anyway) is really not a good thing for my body. My body doesn't process meat well and was not working well for me and my heart. Before going vegan, I experienced palpitations in my heart 50-100 times a day that always made me feel uncomfortable. Over the last 3 weeks I barely even notice my heart anymore as it beats regularly now. I also feel much better. I have shed 25 pounds since November of last year to drop to 182 pounds. I usually gain weight in the winter (since the weather sucks here in Oregon) and lose weight in the summer as I play lots of golf. So I am excited to see what I can get down to by next November after playing a bit of golf.

Speaking of Oregon, I am back here now after spending a good deal of time down in California playing golf tournaments. I announced at the start of the year that I was going to focus on golf this year but unfortunately that didn't end up happening the way I had envisioned. I could not work it out with my family to move down to southern California which caused a lot of tension, but fortunately things are going well now. My golf aspirations are likely never going to come to fruition, but I have my family in tact and that is a good thing.

Golf went pretty good considering I hadn't played competitively in forever. I didn't shoot above 74 in any individual competitive round and won one event on the Pepsi tour. I consider that pretty good given I hadn't played in forever and was excited to see how things would go after a few years of playing full time. But I am back and focusing on poker once more now and am having some fun with that.

Getting my game back in good multi tabling shape has been a challenge. I am working hard on getting my game in shape for the mass multi tabling stress that is associated with playing your best over many tables. When I review hands and talk about hands, I feel my game is better than ever. And over 3-4 tables, I am playing VERY good for me at the moment. But I am not handling mass tabling well. I am making far too many mistakes. Namely calling down too light trying to find a few combos of hands that I beat and also running bluffs that just aren't going to be successful often enough to show a profit. I have been making a little bit of money overall in the past few weeks while running 40 buy ins below EV according to HEM, but I still know I am making way too many mistakes and that is costing me big at the tables.

It is going to be a process to get back into it. The games are much more intellectually challenging than they were several years ago and success won't happen overnight. Just like a break from golf is going to cost me strokes, a break from poker will do the same. The two sports aren't really that different. I expect within the next 2-3 months at most that I will be playing some very good poker and am excited to see what kind of win rates I can attain. Right now I would guess I am making 500 big blinds a day in mistakes over a full days play and that is quite a lot. I am excited to reduce those mistakes in game time play and see what happens from there.

Funny story. Back when I was a 2/4 limit holdem grinder trying to make ends meet back in 2005 and 2006 on America'scardroom.com (which then was a part of the ongame network) a guy named Phil who worked for the site used to call me quite a bit and hook me up with bonuses to encourage me to continue grinding on that site. We would chat on the phone and I always found him to be absolutely hilarious. When I moved to Poker Stars to play the no limit, we lost touch. But a couple of years ago we connected again and I have got to hang out with him in Vegas and the Dominican Republic. He is a great guy and recently he got me pumped to play some MTT events over on America's Card Room. I was amazed to learn that they have a $250k guarantee event on the first anniversary of Black Friday (April 15 NEVER FORGET). I say that like it is 9/11 since it kinda was in our world. Anyway, if you are looking for a big event with a soft field, come join me in that event. <a href="http://www.americascardroom.eu">Americas Cardroom</a> is where the event is at. Soft fields and $250k guaranteed seems like a nice way to spend the day instead of mourning the day that will live in infamy for us online grinders.

I am hoping to get in there and blog more. To be honest I was going through a tumultuous time in my life and I just kind of retreated from doing a lot of the things I normally do. I even took a little break from making videos for about 6 weeks, but I made about 5 in the last 2 weeks that will be out soon. I wanted to be sure my head was clear enough to make a video with my best stuff and just didn't feel I was in a position mentally to do that. I feel solid now and I hope you guys enjoy the content that will come out in the near future.

Until next time, may all your cards be live and your pots be monsters. OK I completely robbed that from Mike Sexton, but seriously though, run good!

Haven't played much poker in the last month but have been hitting it hard the last few days. Played 102 games today and plan on doing similar sessions next week. Been very swingy...part of it I would account to the fact I couldn't figure out why my HUD wasn't working. Not to say I am one of those that totally relies on his HUD but when you are so used to interacting with it I felt a bit blind.

 

Have a lot of new videos coming out, weeee.

 

Things have been starting to improve quite nicely on the links this past week. After hitting it good but struggling around the greens, I was able to put it together quite nicely this week.

On Monday I played El Camino CC and was able to shoot an even par 72 on a course that was very odd and quirky. There was OB everywhere and the greens were pretty nuts. You could get at the course if you were really sharp, but I was just sorta average with everything which is OK in it's own way. I am starting to feel more comfortable on the course and dealing with the pressure of tournament golf. Anyway, I t10th in the event (just a 1 day event) that had a pretty strong field with some Nationwide and PGA tour guys (past and present) and earned my first paycheck of the year.

On Wednesday I played one of my favorite public golf courses called Brookside which is next to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. I always get excited to play there because the golf course is very hard and challenging, yet completely fair at the same time. It is a lot like Torrey Pines golf course (site of the 2008 US OPEN) in that regard. It is 7,300 yards and in January, it is playing every bit of that. In fact, I honestly think if someone were to pour a bunch of money into it for whatever reason, it has the makings of being the next Bethpage Black.

I was finally able to minimize my mistakes both mentally and around the greens and played a very nice round of 69 (course rating is 75.0) to t1st and pick up my first win of the year. It wasn't anything to write home about in that it was just a small field Pepsi Tour event, but nonetheless I treat pretty much every competitive round the same and it was nice to shoot a nice round out there.

One thing that was pretty cool about it was that I was 3 under par and standing on the 18th tee which is a brutally hard 470 par 4 that plays every bit of it's length. OB hugs the right hand side of the fairway and the green is as small and narrow as a 470 par 4 can come.
The last time I stood on that tee in a professional event was just a few weeks prior to my heart attack in 2004 and I sliced the ball OB and made a 7. I stood on the tee and stared at that OB fence (which is pretty intimidating) and just said to myself, "Things are a little different this time. Let's show yourself what you are made of." I hit my drive exactly where I was aiming and was left with a mid iron in. I hung my second shot out to the right but was left with a fairly easy chip shot. I had a sense that I needed a par to win since it felt like 60 just might take it home, but 70 would be marginal. I hit my little pitch exactly how I wanted to, but unfortunately when the ball went to check up on the 2nd bounce, it hit a pebble and skidded some 10 feet past the hole.

I was pretty jacked up to hit that putt. I just got really excited to hit it and just felt like there was no way I was going to miss it. I saw the line really well. Almost as important, rather than getting really nervous and freaked out to hit a big putt, I could see myself making it. I felt like the kid in the basketball game who was like, "Coach, give me the ball!" I knocked the putt right in the center and it was really a nice feeling to sense how far I have come since the last time I played that golf hole.

What is so great about playing competitive golf for me is that I feel "alive" in a way that nothing else can do for me. And it is great to feel alive. After playing so much poker and living in dreary Portland, Oregon, I have come to realize just how much I truly love that feeling. How I perform may not matter to very many people, but it matters to me in a way that is very special. Having grown up in LA area and then moved to Portland for the past half dozen years, I now have a true sense of appreciation for how amazing southern California really is. I can play and compete at golf against very good if not great golfers year round in absolutely perfect weather 15+ days a month. I literally can't play any competitive golf whatsoever in the state of Oregon and wow, that is really depressing. As much as I love this place in so many ways, living where there is zero good poker action and no competitive golf, is not my idea of a lot of fun. Anyway, thank God a place like this exists!

Today I played my first tournament of the year at Temecula Creek golf club on the Golden State tour. It was great to be back playing. It felt "right" being out there. The weather was fantastic as was the condition of the course. Unfortunately my golf game left something to be desired as a struggled to a 74 to finish in the middle of the pack.

I had a lot of things working against me today. First off, I haven't even played a single round of golf in over 2 months. I have hit less than 500 balls the last 2 months as well. I also am not used to waking up as early as I have to for golf, so I need to adjust my body clock. It was also hard for me to achieve the laser focus I often have on the golf course. It has been awhile since I have played of course, so I guess this is all to be expected.

It felt very weird playing a golf tournament having not played golf in awhile. Normally when I am playing golf tournaments, I play and practice every day and so when I go out there, I have a good idea what to expect and I am in the groove of playing, and more importantly, in the groove of getting the ball in the hole. One of my best attributes in golf is the ability to turn a 74 into a 70 or 69. And turn a 69 into a 65. Today I turned a 69 into a 74. I didn't strike the ball great, but I didn't hit any foul balls and the course was easy enough where I should be able to shoot in the 60s nearly every time I tee it up when I am in the groove of playing. But it's just going to take some time, no question.

I had a choice between taking a month to prepare to compete and just throwing myself in with the wolves right off the bat, even though I knew I wasn't playing a lot. I chose to just go for it and play golf tournaments A. because I am anxious to play and B. because I really think if you are not someone who is afraid to play with less than your best stuff, it is optimal to just play and compete right away because it will just help you get better quicker. For example, if I am working on things on the range and putting and chipping greens for a month, then I also need to test it out in competition and get comfortable with things. That process can take awhile. But if I just work on things while I compete, then I don't have to worry about seeing if the changes will make their way to the course. I think it is best to go out there and do what Nike tells you to do and "Just do it!" Heck, I am a 30 year old who hasn't competed in 7 years on a regular basis. There is no time to waste anymore. It is now or never! :) That might mean I struggle at the outset, but I am not afraid to post some bad rounds if it means it makes me better quicker.

The next few days I am going to work with some students in the morning on poker and then work on my golf game in the afternoons. I may play a few hands at night if I get bored as well. My next event is a Golden State Tour event at Arrowood and it is a 3 day event. The event is on the 10-12 of January and I am really excited about that because that means I can prepare for a few days and also get 3 more tournament rounds under my belt which should be very helpful. Prior to this summer, I hadn't played much in years and this summer I found a pretty good groove after about 20 rounds and was able to play some good rounds after about 6-7 rounds actually. I hope things come back that soon this time. That would be pretty cool and should set up some good opportunities to grab a win in February. I definitely want my game to be sound by then because the first week of February I play in a 3 day event at Pebble Beach. You definitely need your A game out there because obviously that is a US open course and it will expose you pretty hard if you aren't up to the challenge. God I love that place. I am already getting anxious to get out there and play. An argument can be made that there is no other place I would rather be on this earth than Pebble Beach.

I have spent most of this year post black Friday figuring out what I want out of life. I was also able to spend a great deal of time reflecting upon poker and what it means to me. The whole process revealed a lot about myself and I was able to learn a lot. I came to the realization that I love golf infinitely more than I love playing poker. With that, I have decided to return to golf and use all of what poker has taught me to try and become the best I can be (whatever that is) at the game of golf.

For those that aren't familiar with my background, I basically lived, breathed and slept golf from ages 8-23. It was literally all I cared about outside of friends and family of course. At one point I believed so strongly that golf was my only way to happiness that I once told my parents that, "If I had a crystal ball right now and it told me I would never play on the PGA tour, I would rather just die now than endure a life without a career on the PGA tour." It meant that much to me.

I was very inconsistent with how I played. At times it seemed I was a can't miss for the PGA tour, and at other times, no one would have given me even a fraction of a chance to make it. My golf game just never showed up day in and day out. Most of this was due to a lack of proper instruction and opportunity that other kids had. While they were getting lessons from folks who knew what it took to make it, I was often left observing their lessons from a distance and trying to apply it to my own game. And while my peers were playing in the most prestigious events in the country, I was often left at home despite being eligible to play due to a lack of funds. I simply lacked the opportunity. And unlike poker where the barrier to entry is small and literally anyone with an internet connection and a few hundred bucks can receive the very best poker instruction in the world, golf requires a lot of funding to really do it right.

At this point in my life, I am 30 years old and the chances of having a career on the PGA tour are fading fast, but it isn't over yet. My chances are infinitesimally small of making the big time, but I have overcome far longer odds before in my life. I won't let that intimidate me.

At 23 years old, I was finally getting some momentum in the game of golf. I was leading the money list on the Golden State golf tour (which is basically the equivalent of single A minor league baseball) when I suffered a heart attack that abruptly ended my career, at least for the time being. I remember distinctly laying on the hospital bed with my heart feeling like it was jumping out of my chest and thinking, "This can't be it for me. I can't die having achieved virtually nothing I wanted to achieve. This can't be the end of my story." Luckily I was able to survive.

I then channeled my energies towards poker. I couldn't believe that I was able to find something that could satisfy my competitive cravings from the comfort of my own home. Having competed virtually every single day at golf for 15 years, it was miserable having nowhere to channel that energy. Then along came poker and wow was I hooked. It took me a couple million hands to really get the hang of how to play at a high level, but in less than 4 years from the date of my heart attack, was able to look at a bank balance north of a million dollars and that was when the wheels started turning again about taking the game of golf seriously again.

Over the past several years, I haven't taken golf super seriously of course. But every summer I have been chipping away at making changes in my swing that would enable me to play at my desired level. I sought out the best instruction possible. I worked with 2 time PGA tour winner Brian Henninger for almost a year and that really opened my eyes to what I needed to be doing in my golf swing. It was like a light bulb went off in my head and while the swing changes are far from being completely ingrained, I was able to play a lot of golf this summer and found that while my best stuff was only marginally better, my worse stuff was miles better. I used to literally hit the ball crooked when I was struggling to the point where I just had no chance. But now my worst stuff is almost as good as my old B game used to be. Bad swings are now usually 10 yards off the fairway rather than 50. It feels like I have a chance now.

My short game has always been strong. In fact my good friend and PGA tour winner Kevin Na once told me that he wished he could be as good around the greens as I was. Kevin is now a perennial top 10 leader in up and down percentage on tour, so I took that as quite a compliment coming from him. While I do think he was probably being overly nice, there is a lot of truth to that. I have always been able to get the ball in the hole very well. I got so used to hitting the ball all over the planet (relative to PGA tour players anyway) that I simply had to be good around the greens to have any chance. Now that I can keep the ball in play much more frequently, I am excited to see if I can capitalize on that with my short game.

I did play 2 golf tournaments this past summer after a 7 year absence and was able to shoot rounds of 74-72-71 to win my club championship at Pumpkin Ridge golf club (site of Tiger's 3rs straight US amateur win) and then shocked myself and nearly everyone I know when I was tied for the lead with 13 holes to play in the Idaho State Open this summer. I shot rounds of 65-67 to reach the penultimate pairing and then birdied 3 holes in a row early in the round to grab a share of the lead. I struggled home to a 73 from that point, but I found out that I could play this game again, which was very exciting to me.

On January 3rd I am going to hop in the car and drive down from Portland, OR to southern California to start my journey. On the 5th I am entered in my first event back, which is the Golden State tour event at Temecula Creek. I have 14 tournament days in January alone, and 18 in February. I simply could not be more excited. While I am down there I am going to look for a place to rent a house and my family will eventually come down to join me down here while I am pursuing my dream of playing golf competitively day in and day out. I am not sure how long I will do it for since a lot depends on what transpires with poker and what kind of progress I am making with my golf game. Honestly, I actually hope this is the end of the road for me with taking poker as seriously as I have for the past 6 years, but it probably won't be.

I would obviously love nothing more than to make it to the PGA or Nationwide tour in golf. And if I do that, playing poker full time will be just a distant memory. But in all likelihood this will just be a break from poker. While I am pursuing golf, I will still be making videos as well as playing 20-25k hands a month of poker so that I be sure not to let my skills diminish. At the end of the day, golf is a long shot for me to really make a career out of it, and poker is what is going to pay the bills for me. More importantly, should my kids decide to take the game seriously some day, nothing will be more important to me than being sure that they don't lack opportunity the way I did. It would obviously break my heart if I couldn't support them in golf or anything else they may decide to do. I don't want them to struggle the way I did.

I honestly have no expectations for now with golf other than to practice and prepare as well as I can, and to give it my best each and every day. I guess you could say my goals are all process oriented right now. Even though I have practiced very little the past 3 months, I felt it was important to throw myself in with the wolves right off the bat and see where my game is at. Tournament golf will expose you like nothing else. So I should have a good idea by the end of January what I need to work on. And those experiences will go a long way towards figuring out how to keep getting better and better. My only expectation is that my leaks will quickly become exposed and then I can get to the real work.

The only thing that really matters throughout the year is how you play at PGA tour school. You can win every tournament and have a bad week at qualifying school (which will be staged in the Fall) and most players will consider their year a failure. Quite honestly, I am chasing the experience of playing golf competitively day in and day out with no financial barriers for instruction or opportunity, as much as I will be chasing a PGA tour card. I definitely won't consider 2012 a failure if I don't make it on the tour. The only way I fail is if I don't give it my best. And for those that know me, that means that my chances of failure are very low.

I will be keeping my eye on the pulse of the poker games by playing and of course the pending licensing and regulating of online poker here in the US will be of particular interest to me as well. My hope is that poker comes back as soon as possible, of course. Although, part of me deep down inside hopes it just comes back with a huge bang in about 5 years so I am not torn between big $ and my dream of playing golf. I really don't want to be in a position where I am making a ton of progress in golf, but yet the poker games online are good enough to make 7 figures a year. That would obviously be a an amazingly good problem to have, but wow, if I were in that position, Holy Shit I don't know what I would do! But of course, wow do I hope I am in that position!

For all those who have supported me in poker throughout the years and want to keep a passive interest in my golf game, I am still keeping my blog and will likely update it much more frequently. It will be a mixture of golf and poker, with maybe a slight emphasis on golf now since I will be doing more of that than golf. I will be sure to keep everyone posted on my progress as always.

I am also proud to announce that Scott Brown and I are making some wonderful progress on Treat Your Poker Like A Business 2. We have all of the publishing options sorted out, and we expect (and this time we mean it haha) a Spring 2012 release. Since it gets dark early in the winter months which means I can't play golf after 5 or 6 o clock, and the fact that I will be away from my family quite a bit for the next 5-6 weeks, I have committed to banging out the rest of the book in the evenings. We are about 50% done as of this exact moment, and our expectation is to complete the book and release it at least temporarily this Spring on my website. At this point I have literally received 1,000 messages from folks who have read Treat Your Poker Like A Business asking when part 2 was coming out. That has been inspiring, no question. Thanks to everyone for writing!

We have only 30 days at this point to sell the remaining copies of <a href="http://dustyschmidt.net">Treat Your Poker Like A Business</a> and  <a href="http://dustyschmidt.net">Don't Listen To Phil Hellmuth</a> at my website before they go out of print temporarily. Cardoza Publishing, the same group that did Super System, among others, will take over the rights in 30 days and then they will release them in bookstores nationwide later in the year. So please take advantage of the last opportunity to get these books. In fact, you can get them for 50% the already reduced price by entering code DUSTY at <a href="http://dustyschmidt.net">DustySchmidt.net</a>

Well, I am off to the driving range to get ready for the season. You can't ever practice this crazy game enough....