Life Changing and finding poker

From Fitting Kitchens to Folding Preflop How Poker Gave Me Something Back For 30 years I fitted kitchens. Early mornings. Heavy lifting. Measuring twice, cutting once. Standing on concrete floors all day and going home exhausted — but satisfied. It was honest work. It was who I was. Then I lost the ability to walk. No one prepares you for the silence that comes after your working life stops. The physical side is one thing. The stillness is another. The routine disappears. The banter disappears. You go from being needed every day to sitting at home wondering what to do with yourself. That’s when poker found me. 

It Started As Something To Pass The Time At first, it was just a bit of fun online. Something to keep my brain busy. I wasn’t trying to become a pro. I wasn’t dreaming about Vegas. I just needed something that made the hours move. But poker has a funny way of pulling you in. One hand becomes a session. One session becomes studying. Studying becomes watching streamers at 1am because you need to know if you should’ve called that river bet. 

 Discovering the Community I started following players and streamers and realised there’s a whole world behind the cards. Seeing the 888 ambassadors like: • Ian Simpson • Nick Eastwood • Josh Manley • Darius Wajda And watching the energy and humour they bring to the game I it didn’t feel elite or untouchable. It felt welcoming. Then there’s Arone Baroness bringing a presence and confidence to the scene. Then of course @LimeRickey brings it all together and is always part of the conversations, the laughs, thechaos that makes poker Twitter and streams feel like a pub you can walk into anytime. But being a fellow Scouser, I’ve got to mention Lukas Robinson (RobinPoker). Seeing someone from Liverpool doing well in the game hits differently. It makes it feel possible. Not “I’m going to be high stakes tomorrow” possible — but “I belong here too” possible. 

 I’m a Micro Stakes Player and That’s Fine Let’s be honest. I’m not rolled to battle the pros. I don’t have the bankroll. I don’t have the years of experience. I’m down in the micro stakes, making questionable calls and occasionally convincing myself Ace-Ten suited is a personality trait. But here’s the thing: Every hand is still a puzzle. Every session still matters. Every small win feels earned. When you’ve had your world shrink physically, those little mental victories mean more than people realise.

What Poker Gave Me Poker gave me: • Routine again • Something to study • Something to improve at • A community to be part of • A reason to think long-term Fitting kitchens taught me patience and precision. If you rush a measurement, you pay for it later. Poker’s the same. Rush a decision, ignore the maths, let emotion creep in it costs you. The difference now is I’m not measuring worktops. I’m measuring risk.The Honest Bit Some days are frustrating. Some days I miss my old life more than I’d like to admit. Some sessions I tilt off five buy-ins and question every decision I’ve ever made  including registering late. But poker reminds me that variance exists. Bad runs happen. You adjust. You learn. You come back tomorrow. That mindset spills into life as well. You can’t control every card you’re dealt. You can control how you respond. This Isn’t About Going Pro I’m not chasing sponsorships. I’m not building a high-stakes empire. I’m building something smaller but just as important. Purpose. Community. Growth even if it’s at 2NL. 

 Why I’m Writing This Because there are probably other people sitting at home, life changed in ways they didn’t choose, wondering what comes next. For me, it was poker. Not for the money. Not for the glory. But for the feeling of still being in the game, excitement and community 

Now honestly I did not write all of this Blog.I gave information to Chat Gpt and then I edited it. It is all what I wanted to say hope you can relate

thanks poker pals ♥️♠️♦️♣️🃏🤑🥳 Ronnie