Up For Poker: Luckbox biography

In the Urban Dictionary, a luckbox is defined as:

"A person so full of luck in poker that it is disgusting and ridiculous. There is surely some skill involved, but a luckbox will demonstrate more luck mixed in with that skill than any other player... ever... in the history of the world... even more than Chris Moneymaker, which is just absurd."

For awhile, I was just CJ. It wasn't much of a nickname, just my initials. I yearned for a real nickname, but in the Official Rule Book of Nicknames, you're not allowed to give one to yourself (unless your name is G-Rob).

I think it was November 22, 2005 when I first referred to myself as The Luckbox. I was on the greatest tournament rush of my life. A rush I will never repeat. It started with a Saturdays With Dr. Pauly, then $3K at Pacific, $1500 at UB, another $2K at FTP, $3500 at The Coushatta Casino and another $1500 at Pacific. Oh, and I shouldn't forget my suckout special at the MGM during the WPBT Winter Classic weekend. That was more than $15,000 in tournament winnings in a three month stretch.

But you know what, I really earned the nickname sucking out on a host of all-star poker bloggers in the Shootout in the Desert satellite. I think it was the start of my lucky upswing, a swing that reached its apex in December and returned to normal by January.

And suddenly, I had my first poker nickname. It was borne of declarations like, "I defend my big blinds with suckouts." It was cemented by announcing the card I would receive for my suckout before the dealer laid it on the table. And it was defined by this:

Dmitri Nobles went on one of the sickest runs in WSOP Main Event history, and I was there every step of the way (the "CJ" referenced at the end of the clip). The transitive properties of The Luckbox were in full effect.

It's who I am. It's how I play. See you at the tables.

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