Where to begin

Hello everyone,  I'm hoping to get some direction.  I'm new to chess (well, I've known the rules since I was young, but new to real chess) and want to improve.  My rating is usally between 1400-1500 but I really feel lost most of the time.  The only thing I think I'm good at is finding lethal combos.  My Chess Mentor rating is around 1850, but I'd never reach a real rating that high.  The tactis trainer rates me around 1685, so I think that some aspects of my game are stronger than others and would like to know what to study in order to improve.  My first guess would be openings since I literally don't know a single one, but I don't know if that's really the best place to start.  I know the basic principles of opening strategy like control the center, develop pieces, don't move the same piece twice, don't bring the queen in too early, and castle quickly, but that's about it.  I know NOTHING about endgames or openings and often feel like I'm throwing darts at a dartboard to guess which move is best in the middle game.  My strongest points are related to finding combos and calculations.  I have a degree in mathematics and played poker professionally for over 10 years, so I know chess is in the ballpark for me. I even produce instructional videos similar to the ones on this site for the top two poker sites online (though I won't spam them).  Where would you suggest I start?  Openings, endgame, middle game?

Thanks in advance,

Donkeyshark

Middle game / strategy / positional play. It's fine to study some openings, but in the end the only purpose of an opening is to get you to the midgame in a decent position. If you don't know what a good position is though, you'll just be memorizing opening moves, so midgame should be studied first. Some endgame knowledge would be useful so you know how to convert a material advantage, but most games are won and lost in the midgame. I'd highly recommend Silman's "The Amateur's Mind" book to help with that.