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October 21, 2012
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You clicked it, so that crazy ass title got your attention. Mission accomplished. Now let me explain…
[I had a good old school ramble on this one, so I decided to create a tl;dr Cliff's Notes version for you guys: I'm living in a van and working in an office (for now). I plan to Twitch from these 2 places. Also, I plan to do a prop bet to try and lose 60 lbs by Thanksgiving. If you want in on the bet, scroll down to the bottom for details. Now for the rambling version…]
Damn it's good to be back in the Poker Goals and Challenges thread. This is where it all started for me back in my loxxii days. https://www.tournamentpokeredge.com/forum/poker-goals-and-challenges/loxxiis-first-professional-poker-year-2013/
Now, I'm just Carlos Welch. Check that. I'm “THE Carlos Welch.” I thought that phrase was super ridiculous when I first heard it. I'm not a famous professional poker player. I'm just me. I'm not supposed to be getting that kind of notoriety. Now I plan to embrace it because I'm cool with what's exceptional about me. It's not my poker skills, intelligence, or good looks. It's that I am the anti-baller. I cant compete with the average poker player's spending habits, but dammit they definitely cannot compete with my saving habits. I'm the king of this nit shit! To prove it, check out my craziest idea yet…
When I was teaching, I bought a 4 bedroom 3 bathroom house. My mortgage alone was around $1000 a month. When I decided to play poker, I knew I would be traveling a lot, so I moved into an extended stay hotel where I paid by the week. Back then, it was like $160 a week for everything so I was saving heaps. Now, those places are around $200 a week. Still not bad and that would be ok for the old me, but not for THE Carlos Welch. I decided I can do better than that.
I've made around 50K so far in the first half of 2015. This is more than I ever made in an entire year as a teacher. This money represents freedom and peace of mind to me and I'm gonna do everything in my ability not to lose it.
I dont have the ability to fly around in helicopters like Phil Ivey, but dammit Phil Ivey doesnt have the ability to live in a van like The Carlos. That's right, I've found my nit niche. I bought a van to live in. I got rid of my house 2 years ago because I knew it made no sense to pay for four bedrooms when I only used one. So I moved into one room at a hotel. In the hotel, I basically laid around on the bed with my laptop all day playing, studying, and writing about poker. Now I figure, hell I can do that in the back of a van. So I bought one and decided not to go back to the hotel. My new address is 2005 Chrysler Town & Country Dr.
I'm not sure if I want to do this full time just yet, so I rented a small office to spend most of the day in. It costs me $200 a month and has pretty much everything the $200 a week hotel room had minus the shower, TV, and gym which are now all provided by Planet Fitness for $20 a month. I'll keep the office for at least a month or two while I hook the van up the way I want it. I'm starting much smaller, but eventually it would be cool to get something close to what this guy has.
Then again, I may not get an actual motor home like him because I will be driving to live events and need better mpg. Plus I dont need quite that much room. But, who knows what the future holds. All I know is that I will have complete freedom, a boat load of savings, and some fat ass mutual fund accounts. How many homeless guys (or poker players for that matter) can say that?
Speaking of fat ass, I also want to lose weight again this year. I've gained a lot in the past few years and I figured losing it all live on Twitch would be pretty cool. Personally, I've been motivated in the past by weight loss videos on YouTube. I'd love to bring that same energy to Twitch Poker. Lord knows we poker players need some motivation in that area. So I am proposing this prop bet.
Several years ago, Mike The Mouth won a prop bet against Ted Forrest by losing 69 lbs in a year. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/poker/columns/story?columnist=wise_gary&id=5449689
I am going to attempt to lose 60 lbs by Thanksgiving or just under 4 months. Starting on Monday August 3rd, I will weigh in live on Twitch (I'm currently somewhere around 265) and try to get to 205 by November 26th. I want to get 2 to 1 on this bet and I am willing to risk up to $500. I've never done a prop bet before so I could use some help with the logistics if anyone has any suggestions. The way I understand it is that with max action, I win $1000 if I make it and lose $500 if I don't. If interested in getting a small piece of this, let me know in this thread or DM me on Twitter.
In summary, I think the homeless poker player/weigh loss challenge idea will be a hit on Twitch. I'm hoping these 2 things will garner some attention to hype my channel and entertain you guys as you rail my crazy adventures on the road traveling to (and sleeping in the parking decks of) casinos all across the country.
TPE Management
April 6, 2010
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now THIS is gonna be good. I cant wait for the van tour!
TPE Pro
December 6, 2012
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I am very, very, very excited about this van business! I can’t even tell you how giddy I was when I saw the thread title. Virtual tour needs to be on Twitch/Youtube yesterday. Gimme an address where I can send a housewarming present.
Please talk to a doctor before embarking on such an aggressive weight loss plan. It may well be fine, I know it’s not an unheard of amount for people to lose, but there are health risks associated with dropping so much weight so quickly: …..per-month/
October 21, 2012
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I talked to a nutrition expert the first time I did something like this in 2013. I lost a lot, but not this much because I wasn't 100% compliant back then. I'll have to be clicking on all cylinders in order to make it, hence the prop bet. Haven't gotten any actions or suggestions on it though. Maybe poker players don't like prop bets any more? I may think of some other way to make it fun for the viewers if I get no action.
A gallon of gasoline would make a great vanwarming gift next month. I'll need plenty of those when I drive down to the Circuit event in Daytona.
October 21, 2012
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I realize that there may be some people who dont have access to the TPE forums, so I will cross post at a blog I created. There, you can also find links to everything I have done for the past 2 years. Check it out here.
July 29, 2015
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As someone who's fought his weight his entire life, I'm looking forward to seeing how you do (not to mention the poker results). I think the biggest blocker you'll have is living in the van itself, since you won't have a kitchen. I know in my case, I could never keep my weight down when eating out a lot and it sounds like that is what you may be doing nearly 100%. Now I cook/make about 90% of my meals and it's much easier (knocking off alcohol helped a lot too 🙂 )
Will you be detailing your diet rules/routines
good luck Carlos!
October 21, 2012
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I'm a simple man and in the past when I lost a ton of weight it was just by being simple. I only ate when I was truly hungry and I ate unprocessed, natural foods. Most of them didnt have to be cooked. I used to walk to the farmers market every day to buy a pound of strawberries to top my bowl of fresh spinach. Those were some of the best days of my life. That's one example of the type of thing I plan to do. Mostly though, I will be avoiding processed sugar which is my biggest addiction.
TPE Management
April 6, 2010
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My guess is you are not getting action because people know how dedicated you are to making something happen when you put your mind to it. Just dont let that stop you from hitting your goal!
October 21, 2012
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You're probably right KB.
I'll change the deal to even money since it's not that unlikely that I will make it. Either way, I am going to get back on track.
Screw you sugar.
August 10, 2014
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Carlos, I'm a fan.
I'm an old student of Andrew's who was an avid podcast listener but took a break from poker. Coming back to the podcast its all “Carlos this and Carlos that”…I'm like…who the F is this Carlos fella?!?
Anyway, I've since caught up, including the Coaching Carlos series, and can sense what all the fuss is about.
I went through a phase in life where I lost a bit of weight. I'm going to share an unsolicited tip: P90x3. If you haven't checked it out before, I highly recommend it.
To many it sounds a little extreme, but it is truly quite doable for just about anyone.
They're 30 minute workouts and you can do them almost anywhere (including on the road). They give you a set schedule and means to measure and obtain results.
If you're doing that, and using an app like MyFitnessPal to count your calories, you'll absolutely get the results you want.
Anyway, I apologize if sharing that is presumptuous. I just hate seeing people get disappointed when there really is a simple way to go about getting fit imo.
All the best man and good luck with the Prop Bet, regardless of how you pursue it!
February 20, 2015
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Yeah even at even money it's negative EV. The other part of it is if I “win” it's because you didn't lose the weight, and I would feel bad about profiting at your expense.
I've struggled with weight for more than 10 years. (Binge eating has always been an issue, but it wasn't until my mid-20s that my metabolism couldn't handle it anymore.) I don't look like the biggest guy (neither did you honestly), but I'm much happier at 200 than 230. For me, it's all about portion control, although processed food is an issue, too.
Like many of us, I was a nit before there was such a thing. Having both Japanese and Jewish heritage makes that easy. And whether you're ordering from the 99-cent menu or buying dented cans at the supermarket for 50 cents, you're probably not eating something that's good for you; you're eating something that's cheap.
What keeps me at 230 is, if I get any bigger than that, I need 38-waist pants. When you have a 36-inch inseam like I do, that means you have to shop at a big-and-tall store. And when you're used to shopping at Ross/Marshall's/TJMaxx (TKMaxx in some countries), those are some expensive-ass pants, literally.
Anyway, Carlos, you're not buying 99 cent food solely because it's 99 cents, and that's why I know you'll be successful. I just made a smoothie with raspberries and strawberries. The problem was the whole half flat of strawberries was cheaper than just a few baskets (per strawberry), so I ate the whole flat at once. The good news is I will spend the rest of the day at a party, so I won't eat there (yay shame), so I should be OK for the day. This is my struggle.
Finally, another nitcast idea: If you have those gas stations where gas is 50 cents/gallon cheaper if you buy the car wash too, and you're filling the tank all the way, you may come out ahead if you find someone to sell the car wash code to. It's kind of like selling lammers at the World Series. I can't do it because my car only gets 10 gallons at a time, but your tank is probably a lot bigger.
Looking forward to hearing how this challenge goes. I know you can do it.
October 21, 2012
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October 21, 2012
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GunnJD - You've made my day because I always think about guys like you when Andrew asks me to come back on the show. I'm sure he has lost some old listeners because of my frequent appearances. Glad some of them like yourself are still around. Even I am getting a bit tired of me. That is one of the reasons I am doing crazy stuff like this - so that all of the unwarranted attention will make sense to me. I've done P90X before. I liked it and it worked, but I've always gotten my best results by just eating a simple diet. Losing weight is pretty easy for me when I put my mind to it. Just not this much this fast. That said, I haven't even gotten a $1 of action, so I've pretty much called off the bet. I'll probably figure out something else crazy to motivate me instead. Joel - Binge eating is a problem for me too, but only when I start eating sweets. When I dont eat them at all, I lose the cravings. When I eat one, I have to eat them all. Agreed about the clothes. They are crazy expensive now a days, but not at the thrift store where I shop like twice a year. Strawberries were my secret weapon in 2013. Cheap and healthy. That gas idea is pretty creative. I like that.
October 21, 2012
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Sorry for the formatting issue.
August 10, 2014
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Carlos said:
GunnJD - You've made my day because I always think about guys like you when Andrew asks me to come back on the show. I'm sure he has lost some old listeners because of my frequent appearances. Glad some of them like yourself are still around. Even I am getting a bit tired of me. That is one of the reasons I am doing crazy stuff like this - so that all of the unwarranted attention will make sense to me. I've done P90X before. I liked it and it worked, but I've always gotten my best results by just eating a simple diet. Losing weight is pretty easy for me when I put my mind to it. Just not this much this fast. That said, I haven't even gotten a $1 of action, so I've pretty much called off the bet. I'll probably figure out something else crazy to motivate me instead. Joel - Binge eating is a problem for me too, but only when I start eating sweets. When I dont eat them at all, I lose the cravings. When I eat one, I have to eat them all. Agreed about the clothes. They are crazy expensive now a days, but not at the thrift store where I shop like twice a year. Strawberries were my secret weapon in 2013. Cheap and healthy. That gas idea is pretty creative. I like that.
March 30, 2015
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This is awesome- subbed in, GL Carlos! The prop bets a bit over my head, that’s like 25% of my entire bankroll so far haha. Maybe you’d get some takers on an Avatar bet or something to that effect?
October 21, 2012
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GunnJD – If you're ever in town hit me up. I'm sure my buddy piefarmer would like to join as well. He'll drink the beer for me. I dont drink so I'll have a diet coke.
Greave – Maybe everyone thought that I was asking one guy to put up $500. My plan was to take multiple small bets of $10 or $20 dollars up to a total of $500. I didn't know what I was doing when I proposed it and it seems most of dont really understand it. We need a prop betting video series, lol.
Any how, I'm taking it of the table now. The fact that I got no actions shows that it doesnt have the attention grabbing quality that I was hoping for. I initially thought about 80 in 4 months. Maybe PokerNews would have covered that, but that seemed a little too crazy even for me.
Living in a van will have to be crazy enough.
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