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Daniel Skolovy

Daniel Skolovy started out in the gaming industry as a lowly dealer, spending countless graveyard shifts dealing blackjack, pai gow, carribean stud, baccarat, etc. He quickly became bored dealing games that were so obviously weighted in the house's favor.

Daniel had fallen in love with poker after watching Rounders. While in high school Daniel had held regular poker games at his house. Working in the casino rekindled that love for poker. After losing tips slumming the $4-$8 minbet tables at the few casinos in town not owned by his employer, he began rigorously studying the game. He ordered practically every 2+2 book off the Internet and read and re-read them. He also took the poker dealer course at his workplace and started dealing poker. Between honing his hand-reading skills while dealing and honing his playing skills while bending cards at rival casinos, Daniel started to crush the low-limit games. When a new casino opened that spread No-Limit games, he took to NL and began supplementing his income at the tables.

Daniel spent a brief spell in a ski-resort town, snowboarding three out of four weeks of the month and spending the rest of his time playing online (with meager results) and live (where he killed). At the end of the season he moved back to the city and dedicated himself to casino play. Being a low-stakes grinder, playing mostly $1/$2 NL, life was easy in that he made his own schedule, but a high cost of living prevented him getting ahead and moving up in stakes. It got worse: playing for a living can be brutally stressful when you’re on a bad run, and Daniel found himself on one that seemed like it would never end.

Being burnt out on poker and the financial burden of living off his bankroll for two break-even months, Daniel decided to look for a job. Somehow the luck gods decided to make up for his streak of suck-outs by getting him a job in the industry he loved. Daniel started working for PokerListings in March '07. Free from the stress of playing for a living, he devoted himself anew to playing and studying poker. Now that he plays for fun, the game has once again started to give him that sunny bunny feeling. Daniel still plays live but is currently dedicated to moving his way through the limits online. Though he is now a working stiff, his understanding of the game is at an all-time high!