"Professional poker player" might sound like a euphemism for someone who loses money at casinos all day, but San Diegan Tim Acker has been living that dream for the past 20 years.

The big picture: He's all in on poker, splitting his time between online games, casino tournaments and the Chula Vista card room Seven Mile, and making a living in the process.

• Acker tells Axios that he stays away from private games in San Diego, though, because they're "sketch," meaning you might get cheated or robbed.

The backstory: The 54-year-old was a math whiz in college and played a lot of poker with his frat brothers.

• He started dabbling in casino play, but would always lose.
• Then he found a book explaining the math of poker, and it suddenly clicked: It's all about odds.

After graduating in 1994, Acker had a "real job" as an engineer, but was also making money playing poker in an underground club in Denver.

• "The other guys I was playing with were almost always these ultra wealthy 'whales,'" he tells Axios.
• Whale = someone who regularly bets big and loses big, often big business owners and pro sports players, he says.

All in: When Acker's now-wife Mette Adkisson became an ER doctor, he decided to quit his day job in 2007 and they moved to Las Vegas.

State of play: Adkisson's work then brought them to San Diego, which Acker said is not so conducive to playing poker.

• California takes at least $6 out of every pot — sometimes much more in casino games — so you have to make more each hour to come out ahead.
• Acker plays all over the country, but likes the San Diego scene.
• "They're happy to play, they're happy to lose, they're just happy playing," he says. "You go to Vegas, and they're all kind of miserable, and they're scrutinizing you all the time, and they're trying to play perfect."

Acker's game is all based on math — what are the odds he can come out ahead on each hand.

• If the odds aren't there, he folds.

Yes, but: Sometimes the cards are stacked against you, even at the World Series of Poker.

• "We built the biggest pot of the day, and we get all of our chips in," he says. "And there was one card in the deck that helped him, and with the other 45 cards in the deck, I win this massive pot."
• His opponent hit that one card, but Acker said he'd still play those odds every time.

Go deeper

Want to up your game? Here are some of Acker's tips:

💰 Buy in for the maximum: Seasoned players (not beginners) should sit down with the most chips allowed. When opponents make mistakes, you want to be able to fully capitalize, Acker said.

🃏 Starting hand selection: The biggest beginner mistake is playing too many hands. The earlier your position at the table, the stronger your hand needs to be. Use hand charts to understand which hands are worth playing from which positions.

📍 Position is everything: The later you act, the more information you have. The button (dealer position) is the most powerful seat because you see everyone else act before you.

🎯 The only two real reasons to bet:

1. Value bet — you think your opponent will call or raise with a worse hand
2. Bluff — you think you can get your opponent to fold a better hand

Everything else ("I want to find out where I'm at," "I think I have the best hand") is flawed thinking.

More pro tips

🎄December Nights at Balboa Park could end under the mayor's proposed budget cuts in an effort to save about $1.5 million. (Union-Tribune)

🧑‍💻 SDSU, UCSD and thousands of other schools are dealing with global data breach involving the Canvas online learning platform. (Fox5)

• Meanwhile, the San Diego Community College District is also still fixing a separate major cyberattack that forced its network offline and disrupted classes. (Times of San Diego)

More than 16,000 people, mostly Mexican nationals, have been removed from the San Diego region by ICE since January. But the data reported to Congress doesn't include how many detainees and removals had a criminal record. (City News Service)

🛟 San Diego Lifeguards have new rescue boats designed for swiftwater emergencies and flood response ahead of an expected summer of high surf. (CBS8)

We're approaching bat season, and you can level up your backyard by adding a bat box to your space.

• Hosting bats takes patience and some strategic setup, but once your winged guests are settled, the benefits abound.

The big picture: Bats are under threat globally due to habitat loss. Giving them a safe place to roost helps protect these nocturnal MVPs — key pollinators that also spread seeds and devour pesky insects like mosquitoes, wasps and flies.

Zoom in: San Diego County is home to 23 species of bats, including the largest bat in North America — the Western mastiff bat. It has a wingspan of over 22 inches.

• The most common bat locally is the Mexican Free-Tailed Bat, which can fly 100mph and is the animal world's fastest flier.

Tips for setting up your own bat box

👏 Congrats to reader Tom O. for recognizing Artist Alley in downtown Oceanside, several blocks from the pier.

Tomorrow, it'll be with filled with live music, art, clothing and jewelry from local vendors for a spring bazaar.

• The alley hosts weekly events like artwalks and markets.
• Two murals on either end will help you find it tucked between Mission Avenue and Pier View Way and N Coast Highway.

Here's what else is happening around San Diego this weekend:

🐊 Gator by the Bay brings a taste of Mardi Gras to Spanish Landing Park.

🥂 Sip and shop at the Coronado Art & Wine Festival.

⚾️ Watch the Padres vs. St. Louis Cardinals at Petco Park.

🎉 The annual Balboa Park Pow Wow celebrates American Indian culture.

💐Plus, check out these ideas to celebrate Mom!