My first poker experiences were in the low-limit 7-Stud games at Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. From the start, poker was an important part of my income. It had to be. I couldn't afford to go broke. I needed to avoid the fate that hit many of the good players around me. They experienced massive swings in fortune -- one day they're playing in the big games, the next they're on the rail, trying to scrape together enough money for a buy-in.