An opinion piece on partypoker’s decision to disable hand history downloads in a bid to make third-party software tools like Hold’em Manager, PokerTracker and TableNinja ineffective.

I remember the fear of not making the professional poker player grade. Butterfly wings reverberated around my belly with more force than during the decision to leave The Matrix.

The roles and responsibility statement for a ‘professional poker player’ screams ‘freedom’. There is no muzzle, because for many of us, at the start of our journey, we don’t know anyone who plays poker ‘professionally’. All we know is when we play; we feel free.

If I couldn’t turn a profit substantial enough to cover the life and death aspects of Abraham Maslow’s triangle, I would find have to give up my dream and find a ‘real’ job. I escaped from the path of least resistance’s magnetism despite the fear that I would have to start setting my alarm clock again.