Once a poker player, always a poker player

​It’s said there’s no such thing as an ex-poker player – once a poker player, always a poker player. Poker is a magnet, it attracts to the game table even if you left this activity behind years ago. There are a lot of stories about people who stopped playing poker but after some time continued to make bets at the green felt. It gets into your blood and becomes a part of your live.

Around three months ago, there was one interesting thread started on the 2+2 poker forum. Its title is pretty loud “WhirlingDervish Returns…”. Who was that person to create the topic stating that he was back?. It was done by one player under the "WhirlingDervish" screen name. The guy joined the 2+2 in May 2010 but forum people haven’t heard from him a thing for a long time…

Who is WhirlingDervish?

WhirlingDervish lives and works in Northern California, USA. The guy was a successful high-stakes online SNG player and showed impressive results, but after the Black Friday happened, he moved on from poker and started a career. The hero played poker from time to time, but the game wasn’t a part of his life for many years. In the middle of 2018, the player understood that he was still passionate about the game and began to play small-stakes live poker for fun.

"I genuinely love poker. It's probably the activity I've been most passionate about in life", wrote the player.

Back into the past – 2011 ...

"WhirlingDervish" started his first thread on the 2+2 forum early in January 2011 right three months and a half before the Black Friday happened.

Many years ago, the guy played under the "WhirlingDervish" screen name on Full Tilt Poker. He usually played 9-max single-table SnGs at the $100 level and above. First, the American was a serious poker amateur but after some years he began playing professionally. The guy shoved great success and was one of the best players of his limits.

He learned a lot about what it takes to be a professional poker player. His long-term goal was to become a FullTilt pro, but this dream was doomed to failure.

WhirlingDervish Sharkscope graphs in the "days of glory":

After the events of Black Friday, "WhirlingDervish" left poker and closed the thread on the forum. Unfortunately, a big amount of his money was tied up online.

"No doubt. One day, when and if online poker returns to the U.S., I'll be back too", said Sammy.

Risen from the ashes – 2019

The guy ran the thread on the forum with the purpose to document his session results, as well as interesting hands that may come up during the play since he thinks, that hand analysis makes poker players perform better at the table.

Formerly, WhirlingDervish used to play high-stakes SNG online, but this time he decided to switch to the live cash games. Sammy has also set some goals for the 2019 year: he is going to make $35 000 by playing live poker and spend 600 hours for the game. The player started his journey with a $400 bankroll and grew it to over $16 000 (~350 hours of playing) at the 2/2/3 stake (button blinds game - this game is common in Northern California).

Read also: 60-year old lady made $11K playing poker

In the first two weeks, he moved up to the 2/3/5 game and got a downswing. It could happen because online and live poker is vastly different. The player lost pretty much money (his bankroll at the moment of opening the topic was equal to ~$4 000) but he has done a lot of work improving his game and soon he started showing good results.

At the end of February, Sammy took part in the Meet Up Game hosted by Brad Owen and Andrew Neeme in the Graton Casino:

"Got to play with Andrew, Brad, and Check Raise Charles. All super cool, genuine dudes".

The guy has also visited Stones Gambling Hall in Sacramento. He played on the Stones Live Poker Steam. Watch the video to see WhirlingDervish performance at the table (our hero is Sammy, dressed in a white T-shirt and a grey cap):

In March, the game wasn’t so smooth - WhirlingDervish lost some money, but April changed the situation and everything went well. The player managed to increase his bankroll.

WhirlingDervish year-to-date results:

• Time spent: 205 hours played
• Bankroll: +$6 736

We’ll continue to monitor Sammy’s success in poker. Welcome back, WhirlingDervish, and good luck at the tables!