This ones for Pops

Being a Railbird has hands down, bar none, been the single most positive addition in my poker game and has hugely impacted my life. Not only has the community as a whole been supportive and fun, they have become an extended family. I never imagined that I could actually make real life friends through an online poker forum. Now I can say that I have made many, many that I talk on the phone with quite frequently and have made plans to meet up socially to play live poker. Weeeeeeeeeeeee!! I have been a member of many different poker forums, none of which can hold a candle to Railbirds. Their user-friendly site, dedicated staff and faithful members make up the whole package of what is, to many others, and myself the ONLY poker forum!

I’m not a writer and I’m not necessarily doing this to win the competition (although it wouldn’t hurt my recently depleted BR-lol), but I’m happy to take this opportunity, that Topcat has once again brilliantly created, so that I may express my gratitude towards the Railbirds community for bringing me into their nest from adrift a solo online poker player path at a time when I couldn’t have needed it more.

[Please bear with me as I get thru the ruff times. This is not for sympathy, but necessary for sharing how Railbirds helped me get thru some extremely tricky times]

I started playing online poker about 2 years ago. A few months into my online poker playing, I lost my Grandmother and my father within 3 months of each other. My Grandmother passed naturally, but my father suffered a heart attack at the young age of 61. My Grandmothers passing was hard enough, but loosing Pops was devastating. I live in California, Pops in North Carolina, Grandma in Georgia and Mom in New Hampshire (my parents had divorced years back). So needless to say, I was spending a lot of time traveling to take care of family needs. During my travels I discovered my mother had slipped into depression due to the loss of her mother and also, ironically, her significant other had decided to skip out. So I then found it very necessary to be around her on a consistent basis. For the next year I found myself far removed from my life in California, hopping between Georgia, North Carolina and New Hampshire. The pressures and effects this had on me were colossal. I knew I was doing what I needed to do, but I was fairly lost. During the days I took care of family needs, but my nights were sleepless repetitively…

I began playing poker as soon as everyone was asleep each night and many times until they awoke. I was able to play anywhere thanks to my trusty laptop and sometimes a neighbor’s Wi-Fi. (hehe) It was during these times that I would occasionally see the word Railbird pop up in the chat box. One day I finally asked “what the heck is a Railbird?” and I was told of the forum. Great another forum, I was thinking sarcastically. But I always give something a chance and thank goodness for my ability to do that. I remember being impressed with the site from the get go. The chat room was fun, members were nice and helpful and the prorails responded with answers in a flash. The next thing I know I’m working on my home page going WOW this is a cool freaking site. Birdies PMing me, requesting friendship and inviting me into private tourneys. For the first time, I began seeing the fun people were having playing together. I started playing all the freerolls and private tourneys I could, building my BR and just really enjoying poker on a whole different level of fun! Then I started to really get into the game of poker above and beyond any level I had ever achieved before, due primarily to the amazingly talented pool of players that call themselves Railbirds. I’ve learned a lot from Railbirds and all the sharing of poker strategies that circulate there. My game list has expanded to games that I had never even heard of before and I’m actually competitive in them now. (so look out! aaarrrr..lol) My friend list continues to grow and I continue to learn every day. It’s interesting to me now as I reflect back on those times, because my dedication to Railbirds never waivered nor did they ever let me down. Being a part of the Railbird community truly helped me stay grounded through all those sleepless nights and was a welcome diversion that kept me out of my head about the realities of what myself and my family were going through at the time. I was a bit of a zombie at times, due to sleep deprivation, but my Railbirds escape and the friends I’ve made are priceless! I do miss Pops and if you ever see me state “this ones for Pops” you’ll know what I’m talking about. =) Thank you for reading this. Things in my personal life have gotten much better, my poker game has strengthened immensely and, like I said earlier, I have a poker family and a nest to hang my hat in. =) So, a big shout out to the Railbirds community as a whole for being there for me personally and for everyone else as well THANKS RAILBIRDS! YOU ROCK!

Sincerely, Your Railbird for life,

mdafka