OTTAWA -- Most kids begin their college careers hoping to find a profession. However, there aren't too many guidance counselors with brochures on how to become a professional poker player.

Nevertheless, Ottawa resident Mike Castelli worked on his game, passing time and playing online in the computer lab at Illinois Valley Community College, as he waited for spring baseball to begin. By the end of the fall, Castelli's dream of playing baseball subsided as he dropped out of school to pursue a lucrative and less physical dream, this with a deck of cards. It's something that eventually would lead him all the way to the World Series -- in Las Vegas instead of Omaha.

"When I first started playing online, I was 16 and not very good," Castelli said. "It wasn't until that first semester of college that I really started improving, and I was amazed at how much money I could make."

Castelli's occupation is difficult for some to grasp, as his office exists mainly in cyberspace, but the money he makes is real enough to spend.

His preferred game online is Limit Hold 'Em.

"I feel there are less experienced players in Limit Hold 'Em as opposed to No-Limit Hold 'Em," said Castelli who keeps late hours from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. most nights at pokerroom.com.

His road to the World Series of Poker began with an online tournament of 100 participants and a grand prize of a $10,000 entry fee into the main event going to the winner. He finished first, beating a good friend from New York at the final table to claim top honors.

While in Las Vegas, Mike spent a month competing in six side tournaments leading up to the World Series Main Event and cashed in for 88th place in a field of 1,240 in a Limit Hold 'Em Tournament. In addition to the WSOP events, he played in cash games at casinos all over the Vegas Strip.

"The electricity and emotion was unbelievable," Castelli said referring to his month stay in Sin City. "There were thousands of spectators at each tournament, and the main event was unbelievable."

However the main event did not last long for Castelli. Two hours into play, Castelli, who had hoped to play conservatively until the blinds had raised, was pushed to a spot where he was forced to make a move a little sooner than expected.

Holding pocket queens, Castelli played his hand to the flop, which came up 10, 3, 4. Another player at the table pushed all his chips into the pot, eliciting a call from Castelli, committing all his chips and his tournament life on a pair of queens. His opponent turned over his cards revealing a pair of jacks, making Castelli an overwhelming favorite going to the turn. On the turn, the dealer flipped over a king, leaving only one possible out for his opponent. Needing a jack on the river (the final card) to beat Castelli's queens, the dealer delivered just that, sending Castelli packing on a bad beat.

"I wanted to play tight at the beginning but it is hard to get away from pocket queens," Castelli said. "It was a great experience but one bad beat can knock you out in tournament play."

Was Castelli discouraged by his early exit in the main event?

"Not at all," said Castelli as he looked to upcoming tournaments on the Heartland Poker Tour and next year's WSOP. "The whole experience gave me confidence I can compete with any of these guys. To be honest, I wasn't real impressed with the caliber of players that I played with." That's quite a statement considering Castelli sat at the same table as such notables as Phil Ivey and former WSOP champion Minh Nguyen.

So Castelli will continue to work on his game as he grinds out nightly games on the internet between tournaments.

"At the beginning, poker was just something I did for fun," said Castelli referring to his road from novice to professional. "It is still fun, the only difference now is that I make my living at it."