Hello & Welcome

I've been thinking about doing this for some time and finally took the plunge after some prodding from several more experienced bloggers. I just wanted to be part of the group!
I've been keeping a handwritten journal of my poker experiences of the past few years and now plan to post those and continue digitally recording them for the foreseeable future.
I've been playing poker seriously for a little over two years now after making the final table in the firsttournament I ever played in a casino (The Borgata) back in November 2003. A week later I won $10k in a satellite tournament at the Sands and two days later was playing in my first "major" tourney ($10,000 buy-in), sitting with the big-name pros in the Million Dollar Showdown at the Sands which was televised on Thanksgiving Day 2003 courtesy of Fox Sports.
Since then I have played in a few more major events and dozens of smaller events ( and countless online tournies), making more than a dozen final tables (final nine players) and "cashing" (that's where you actually leave with more money than it cost you to enter) in another 30+. The highlight so far probably being the 2004 World Series of Poker at Binion's in downtown Las Vegas, where I won my $10,000 seat into the Main Event in the largest satellite tournament in Binion's Horseshoe history (competing with 580 players to be exact; Including one of the greatest poker players in history, Amarillo Slim!) the night before it started . But I'll get to that in more detail later. For now I am happy to be up and running and looking forward to sharing my experiences on and off the felt with you as I travel the tournament circuit and chase the cash games from Atlantic City, NJ to Foxwoods in Connecticut, to the famous cardrooms of southern California and of course the gambler's Mecca: Las Vegas, Nevada.
I hope you enjoy it and I hope it inspires you to improve your game and get out there and play. Remember, if you can't spot the sucker at the table in the first 30 minutes, then the sucker is YOU!