Randy Holland became disenchanted with his legal career and decided to make himself over as a poker pro. Here is what he says about his initial experiences in the game. "My departure from the world of law came as a result of my desire to try something different in life. I started playing poker when I turned 40, and was working in an appointed government position in Florida. After being in that job for seven years, I decided to take one year off to pursue something else. Several law firms asked me to come and talk with them, but I decided to try playing poker full-time instead. I didn't really know what to expect, but I thought that I might go to Europe for a while and play some poker there, go on a cruise, and do some different things with my life. That was nine years ago, and I haven't looked back."

Randy says it took him some time to work up to bigger games. "There was no public poker in Florida, so we played very low-limit home games. The first time that I played poker in a casino was in 1984 in Las Vegas, during a convention that I attended. The game was $1-$4 Seven-Card Stud. I started looking for opportunities to visit Vegas again, or Los Angeles, where my parents lived. Soon, I jumped into a $4-$4-$8 Limit Hold'em game. Even though I was chastised several times for mucking across the flopped cards, I was hooked on the game. In the early '90s, poker came to Mississippi, a four-hour drive (with speeding tickets) from Tallahassee, and I started taking poker more seriously. By 1993, I was playing $20-$40 and $40-$80, and decided to try playing poker full-time."

When he started playing tournaments, he did so in a conservative manner. "You're playing with real money in the tournaments, so why invest a lot of money in the beginning? I went to Foxwoods in December of 1993 and had modest success, finishing third in the best all-around player rankings. In 1994 I won my first tournament, a Limit Hold'em event at the Gold Coast Open in Las Vegas. Later that year, I chopped three events at Foxwoods and started taking tournaments more seriously"

Randy met is wife Laurene on the dance floor at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. "We've been married now for more than five years and the poker playing lifestyle works out for both of us. We can go on cruises. We can travel, and do different things and it's great to have a companion."

Randy has played often in Europe and enjoys the experience. He says: "There is absolutely no language barrier in the poker rooms. Check, bluff, and raise are common words that everyone uses in poker. The dealers are highly trained, and most of them have been to the World Series to observe how things are done. People are very hospitable everywhere I've been in Europe. Playing poker there is a great way to travel, because when you meet people through poker, you automatically have something in common with them. It's better than going to a big city where you're anonymous and have no connections. I just don't understand some of the younger players who have the freedom to travel but don't go to Europe."

In speaking about his advancement from smaller to larger games, Randy says: "In 1993 when I decided to take a one-year sabbatical to play poker, I was playing 20/40 and 40/80 Limit Hold'em. At that point, I was quite one-dimensional; a ring game Limit Hold'em player. Variety is the spice of life, so I started playing every small tournament on the Mississippi coast. My first 'major' win was at the Gold Coast in 1994, but I started to think of myself as a tournament player after Foxwoods in December of 1994 where I chopped the $500 Razz, $500 No-Limit, and $2,500 Stud events, winning the trophy in the latter event."

His idea on how to best ready himself for the World Series of Poker is as follows. "To prepare, I try to get rested both mentally and physically. I believe that going to the gym and trying to eat right do affect poker results. So I will concentrate on going in refreshed rather than doing any poker related reading or studying."

Randy has found renewed inspiration to play tournaments from the popularity they've gained through television. He has stressed that poker is a game of skill and says: "I wouldn't be playing poker for a living if I didn't think that skill mattered."