Heather, Author at PokerPilgrims

How Much Can You Save When You Travel Cross Country by RV?

November 5, 2018November 6, 2018 Heather Leave a comment

Ever since I came across the idea last year, Paul and I have debated the merits of RV living when we travel cross country on our poker adventure. I have been tentatively pro RV, while Paul has leaned hard toward “Are you insane?”. Then I decided to use the magic words that always pique Paul’s interest: “You know, travelling cross country by RV will be much cheaper than staying in hotels and rentals”. While I was pretty certain that living in an RV to travel cross country would save us money, I was not 100% sure. What I was certain of: Paul would immediately open an Excel spreadsheet and figure it out.

Presto, the spreadsheet was open and Paul began to enter numbers.

Scenarios and Assumptions of Cross Country Auto Travel vs. RV Living

We brainstormed the categories of expenses for our two primary scenarios:

Driving in our Mazda3 and renting AirBnBs, hotels, and hopefully some house sitting; vs.
RV living for the whole trip

If we take our Poker Pilgrimage via our Mazda3, we assume that we would keep our current vehicle: a 2017 model with 30,000 miles on it currently. We estimate that we’ll be at about 80,000 miles at the start of the trip and will have the car paid off.

Best Poker Books For Learning Poker Strategy

September 26, 2018September 25, 2018 Heather 1 Comment

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Best Poker Books

There are a lot of poker books out there in the world. Sometimes it feels like we have read them all, but we know that we couldn’t if we tried. New poker books come out every year, often espousing new strategies or approaches to the game. Additionally, there are books on Omaha, Stud, Razz, HORSE, and a variety of other poker variants. These are not included in our list (but may be in the future!). Below we share the best poker books for strategy and overall approach, in our chosen game, No Limit Hold’Em.

6 Reasons to Visit Las Vegas Even if You Don’t Gamble

September 4, 2018September 3, 2018 Heather Leave a comment

Las Vegas is an amazing city. Yes, it’s a mecca for gamblers. And if you play poker like we do, Las Vegas is a must-visit vacation destination. But Las Vegas is also a wonderful place to visit even if you never intend to drop so much as a penny into an airport slot machine. The city and its surrounding area offer everything a traveler could want.

Las Vegas

The Food

Las Vegas has incredible restaurants. The city has everything from top of the line eateries with menus planned by celebrity chefs to some of the best tacos you’ve ever bought in a parking lot. Food is one of the many areas where Las Vegas offers a little something for everyone. We’ve only visited Las Vegas four times (but we will be back!), so we have many meals yet to eat. In the meantime, here are some of our favorites:

How To Save Money By Planning to Leave Home

July 24, 2018 Heather 2 Comments

As our Poker Pilgrimage draws closer we’re finding that the mere plan to leave our home in four years is saving money today. We save money in a variety of ways that are all related to this long-term goal. When we devised our country-wide travel plan, we considered how much money we would need to save for it. We thought of the costs of travel and of working less than full-time. And of course, for us, the costs of playing poker.

What we didn’t realize was that we would save money in the years leading up to our journey. Just knowing that we’re planning to leave our home has saved us from buying things that we would otherwise “need”. Along the same lines, we’re no longer planning home improvement projects (remodeling, redecorating, gardening), as we know that we’re a few short years from handing our home over to another family who will have their own tastes and interests. It has also inspired us to sell some of our things rather than paying to store them while we travel. As we near our departure date, we’ll ultimately be selling, donating, and recycling most of our stuff, including our house.

How to Meditate to Reduce Stress

July 16, 2018July 17, 2018 Heather Leave a comment

In my ongoing campaign to reduce stress and anxiety, increase my levels of gratitude, and embrace optimism, I have taken up meditation. Actually, I should say that I have taken up meditation again. I have long been aware of the reported benefits of meditation. I first learned how to meditate in a college course on “Stress and Health”. At the time, my professor emphasized both the emotional and physical benefits of meditation. However, when I gave meditation a try as part of a homework assignment, I had a panic attack.

That experience stuck with me for a long time. I finally gave meditation another shot a couple of years ago, when life events sent my stress levels off the charts. I knew I needed to reduce my stress and anxiety or I was going to be heading to the doctor. This time around I had a much better experience, and have been meditating at least semi-consistently ever since.

So I learned how to meditate, downloaded a couple of meditation apps, and started practicing regularly. I have since reaped the benefits of meditation. My stress levels are definitely lower now that I meditate. Despite juggling three jobs, two teenagers, and the financial challenges posed by a child heading off to college. Meditation also helps me to sleep better and think more clearly.

Author: Heather