catch up

sorry for the gap, but there wasn't anything to report.
devon and stacey have been out of town, so i've been on full animal duty.

this also meant that i volunteered to take munchy (male fixed cat) to be surrendered at the humane society.
he was pissing on everything twice a day.
you can't tolerate that.

that was a bit emotional. more so because it brought up old memories that are still very unsettling to me.
he clawed me up pretty good too.

so i took a long weekend, then paul (Annie's little bro) called and came into town for a couple of days, so i spent some time with them sitting by the pool and driving them to in-n-out burger. everyone always raves about it. i still think that fat burger is much better. eh, i think it is a california nostalgia thing.

so i played last night at mgm. got snapped off at the 1-2 while waiting for my 2-5 seat. flopped top 2 in the bb to bottom set. it's just impossible to get a read on these convention morons. they act like they're afraid when they flop a set? i guess it is just mega inexperience. but seriously, grow a frigging pair. you're only playing with a hundred bucks.

so i'm stuck like 250 when i get my seat at 2-5. get shit for literally 4 hours. then i'm up against it. 400ish left when i get akoff in the small blind. button limped, so i make it 30 togo. flop comes k107 rainbow. i lead out with 50. he calls. i check the turn, an 8. he bets 65. i min raise. river is 9, no flush. i check, he insta goes all-in. now i think for a good while. i can't put him on aj, or aq, because he limped on the button. he has to have ace rag, i guess. hopefully not a6. fully expecting to go home broke, i call 2+ and he says good call. turns over k10off. boy i needed a drink after that one.

nothing happens for like another 3 hours. i take a double blind break, then come back to some real shit cards. i get milked hard. i'm now down to 350ish then finally get a couple nice hands. better yet, people to pay me off. nothing less gratifying than making a set on the river with 4 clubs on the board. q high good.

get milked again, then get up a hundred. i can't even remember how. i was really tired. it was like 3:30am, i'm leaving next hand when the bb comes. i get ak under the gun. asian auzie kid (kind of funny to see someone who totally looks japanese with an australian accent) makes it 30 directly to my left with 57c. flop comes cck. river comes club. i call the river bet, putting him on ak for a chop pot. he could possibly have akc, but he was shaking like a fish out of water. ouch.

he had a cool hat though. i was admiring it even before i saw the back. travisty. surf company. i'll be searching the web for one myself.

i'll be back home next week for a week, and to get my B.A. diploma. even though i'm a broke, unemployed starving artist/poker player. even though i promised it before, i just don't believe in traditional open hand at graduation. that said, you can make checks payable to…ha ha.

MN

just getting my hours

so after a 13 hour session, im only 12 hours short of 60 for the caesars free-roll. after being screwed out of a guestamated 5-8 hours.

the evening started with kk running into aa.

i built my stack back to even and then some.

got snapped off for like 150, then was only down 50 when the plo game started.

i played with a bunch of crazy young white dudes who must have had a ton of cash by the way they were throwing it around.

i was up 300+ when i bet the pot with the nut straight and a gut shot (q) straight flush draw. dude called 115 with two pair and nut flush draw. he catches a jack to give him a broadway. a major accomplishment, since i held two of them.

the game died for a while, then got really crazy when this scottish old man sat down. he played or raised every pot but 2 in a 2-3 hour span. of course i couldn't catch a decent hand or flop.

i left once all the money on the table went to a dude from london who was third best and caught his one outer to take down a 1600 dollar pot. 8888 bested flopped nut straight and 10s full.

i went back to 1-3 and won back some of my losses, then anted away most of that. left for the day with a marginal loss.
went and had biscuits and gravy at golden gates casino. just like mother used to make. yummy

MN

Guest Post 2 - The Jellystone Turtle Massacre

Vegas is exhausting. Of course, I was exhausted when I got there, but it just isn't the place to catch up on sleep. Maybe it is just the gambling decathlon that is exhausting.

I was convinced for a while that I did actually bring Travis luck. When I went to sleep at 1AM on Monday Travis was up several hundred (thanks mainly to wheel of fortune again). I had cajoled him into buying Smith & Walensky because he was the big winner. Unfortunately, that was not to last.

The decathlon petered out in drunken tired low-bankrollness, but we managed to complete most events. The final tally by my recollection is:

Event Winner
Slots Travis (even before his big score on Wheel of Fortune)
Video Poker Stacey (by losing a quarter less than Travis)
Keno Tie Travis and Devon
Limit Poker Tie Travis and Eric (under controversial circumstances)
Craps Travis (by cheating) he agreed to a rematch, but it never happened
Roulette Eric (my only outright win)
Cash wheel Tie Travis and Eric - we both lost everything

With the most outright wins combined with ties, Travis has to be declared the winner.

On Saturday afternoon I rolled off the plane still somewhat hungover from the previous night. Vegas was cold and rainy - i viewed it as an omen - wasn't sure if it was good or bad. We went to Devon and Stacey's (and now Travis') place and began drinking. It wasn't technically the hair of the dog because the night before was all scotch and bourbon and this night was all Tecate and Corona. Either way we had a good buzz when we went to a local casino near their place. We held the keno, video poker and slot events before heading back to the homestead for a nightcap and nickel ante poker on the deck. Devon and Stacey have 2 dogs and 2 cats, including a reincarnation of Skid - my family's cat from years ago.

Travis purchased two giant stuffed animals - a turtle and yogi bear after deciding that blowing up fruit was not ethical in this time of food shortages. Apparently depriving some poor child of a giant stuffed animal is ethical because in Travis' words: "those things are just filled with germs." I guess we were ridding society of a threat when we blew off Yogi's head. Shooting was awesome and gunplay is all good when it stays at the range . . . ahem.

The rest of the weekend was the usual combination of poker, pool-sitting and drinking that you are all familiar with. Travis and I both had our share of bad beats and good moves, but I generally stuck around too long at tables after my luck had clearly changed. Something that we've seen T struggle with as well I guess.

I'm utterly exhausted and was too tired to post last night. Unfortunately, as eluded to above, I think Travis ended the weekend barely up, if at all. I can't say how or why b/c I was sound asleep, but something bad happened between 1:30 and 5 am on Tuesday at Monte Carlo that ended with Travis losing $600 or so. . .

i got cut up by a real professional

after playing all night at caesars in a pot limit omaha game, where i was playing with many big time players and big time bank rolls. i held my own. just before the game broke, i lost my profit on a pretty good hand. i picked up with 21 dollars profit and left.

now that was a big time game.

earlier that evening i was playing in a 1-3 nl holdem game and was up 200 and made a bad call with bottom 2 pair to a solid player. this sent me to even. i then got 99 on the button and called a raise, re-raise for 20. four callers. flop comes 975 rainbow. bet 25, all-in, initial re-raiser folds. i move all-in thinking that im golden, possibly a set over set over set instance again! small blind calls my all in and we all show. with top set im behind! dude called raise re-raise with 68off. he flopped the joint! (latest poker term for flopping the top flush or straight, essentially the nuts) i was thinking that my call with 99 was only justifiable because i had position, but what did i know? the river brought the justice card. 7 pairing the board. i walk with 200 profit and my 150 buy-in for the 7pm tournament.

i went out with 777 to running diamonds for a flush.
so thats when i went and sat at the plo game. love that game. its totally a nuts river game, but it is so much more entertaining and skill driven than holdem. there was a really good holdem player playing, but he was no omaha player. big difference.
if you can hold your own in a plo game with big money for more than 5 hours, you are either one of the luckiest sobs to walk the face of the earth for that time span, or you are a real good poker player.

but what happens next takes the cake.

i left caesars and went to mgm. this is when i got the honor and privilege to play with a dictionary definition of a professional.

he ended up cutting the shit out of me.

now dont get ahead of yourself here. this is a poker blog, so you have to be ready for the twist.

it was Jordin Tootoo, #22 for the nashville predators (nhl). he dumped at least a grand into the game and was going all-in dark, and for no reason than to have fun. at least 4 players left our table with a full rack. unfortunately it was a lot of my money that went with it. he went all in with jj (one of his real hands), so this asian calls the 180 with aks, and i wake up to qq on the button. i go all in for like 600. asian kid calls and has me covered. flop comes k. river comes j. i ended up losing to tootoo with qq again, he only had like j5off this time and then two other times when i was ahead when the money went in.

i just got out lucked. more like fucked, but i had a great time. sad, to have a good time losing 600 bucks. but i would sit down in a game like that any day of the week. you just have to know that with high risk comes high reward, but unfortunately it also brings high loss possibility with it.

it might rain today.

MN

the setting: MGM

as i was driving home this morning i noticed how beautiful the mountains are here.
today was the first day i really saw them in all their glory.

the wind has been really intense for the the last couple of days, so it blew all the dust and smog out of the sky, leaving the vibrant colors of the mountains to glare through a clear sky.

i went to play last night after trying to go to bed at like 9pm. just as i was beginning to fall asleep, katy called and i woke up.
after that i couldn't go back to sleep, so i cleaned up and went to mgm. i was tired and i could now feel the effects of the migraine hangover when i coughed or moved sharply. nothing too bad, about a .2 on the migraine hangover scale. really not even noticeable unless i coughed.

so i'm playing 1-2 and this local punk keeps asking me, you gonna call, you gonna call, you gonna call. (trying to get info on whether or not he would have pot odds to call.) i look at him after the third time and ask, "what did you say?". he mucked and i called the all-in bet with my aq off on the button and the blind all-in raiser had k8s and flopped 2 pair. to top it off, he slow rolled me. what a dick.

so i'm like, here we go again. and the hits just keep on rolling. i get jj in middle position and raise to 16. 4 callers. punk calls. flop comes Ad 8c Jd. i bet 25 and punk calls. turn comes 10h and he bets 40 into me. i go all-in for like 105 more. he calls. river comes 9d. i'm like f. i knew he had a straight minimum. he had just snapped off a couple of people with crap like that. he turns over pocket eights. and i am happy to set over set him.

i play for a while, get up a couple hundred +, then get snapped off a few times until i'm back to 200.
at this table the first of 3 weird things happens this evening. the 2nd and 3rd were the same thing, but still something i had never seen before. all the power went out in the casino except for the poker room. all the slots and lights went off for a second then quickly came back on. this as i said before happened twice but much later in the evening.
so back to the first weird thing that happened. this real conservative guy comes back from the bathroom and starts to tell us about the goings on in the mens room. as he described it, this dude and this chick were totally going at it in the stall. as he said, there was no doubt they were having sex. he said the guy was smacking her ass and she was high 5ing other dudes with her hand under the stall. after a while, with 20 people cheering them on, security came and made them leave.

so back to poker. i get moved to 3 different tables before i could even play a hand. the first 2 tables broke before i could even get in. so i now have the option of 2 tables and i ask the floor woman which she recommends. i take her suggestion and go sit down at this crazy action table.

people were betting the shit out of the pot when they had nothing and not betting when they had the nuts.

this dude was wearing a wpt hat and was calling every hand with crap. so he bets 30 on the flop, and i go all-in for 200 and he finally had a hand. flopped 2 pair. i just had middle pair. i had only brought 200, so i had to go to the atm. 5 bucks to get out 200. ALWAYS BRING THE CASH YOU WANT TO PLAY WITH YOU.

i get smacked around for a while then get a good hand and get a hundred back, then i get hit by the case 9 and lose 200 to this bluffer. ouch. so i'm down to my last 100. i win a few small pots and get close to 200. i get aa in the small blind. pot is raised by solid player to 17 and called my another solid player. i raise 35 and they both call. flop comes q 4 7. i bet 60 and dude goes all in. other dude calls all in for like 60 and i, knowing i'm beat, call my last hundred something. he shows his set of sevens, the turn comes 10, i call for an ace as the river card comes and then boom! the ace of clubs never looked so pretty.
the other guy flashed me his pocket queens and i raked a nice pot. set over set over set.

next hand i'm on the button with 35off and the pot is raised with 5 callers to 12, so i call. flop comes q 3 5. i raise the 20 bet to 60, raiser calls and then goes all in on the turn. the turn was a 3, so i easily called. fearing pocket queens, he didn't show though. i win a few more pots and cash out for 1100.

a real nice turn around i'll have to say.

it got down to the real nitty gritty there.

we'll see how things unfold now. hope there is a lucky swing in the cards.

i can't wait for the gambling decathlon. eric is gonna go down. he can't possibly match my gambling stamina.

isn't that what decathlons are all about?

we'll soon see, as the hoards of blog-onlookers anxiously await the outcome.

MN

i prefer cheese and crackers with my whine

so i just went through all the stages of a migraine, except for the pain part.

man am i feeling lucky now.

from seeing the spots to partial numbness, i popped an imitrex and went to bed.

i just woke up and don't even have the after effect, hangover feeling.

i wish to convey my sincere apologies for being a little whiner.

i realize that things could be a lot worse.
i could be recovering from surgery on my uterus, or chemo. well not really the uterus part, but i'm just making the point that others are having much worse things to deal with right now than me.

i don't want to come across as a prima donna celebrity.

it's just hard to not become self-absorbed when you have very little interaction with all your friends and loved ones and have to publicly write about yourself and actions.

so my thoughts and heart felt prayers go out to all of you who have far more substantial worries than my pitiful vacation sob stories.

a bad day of poker is still better than a good day of work.
well that's debatable, but you get the point.

MN

swan song of silence

this is initially directed at eric, then to everyone else.

even my last ditch effort of braking out the poncho wasn't enough to loosen the grasps of time and chance's grip on my nut sack.

now to bore you with the gory details.
so i'm playing tight and conservative, my latest ineffective style of play.

feels more like being daffy duck and hanging on to the building ledge while bugs bunny slowly plucks my fingers, one at a time.

i first get aa at the 2-4 limit game while waiting for my seat (like 2nd hand in). get called down to river with multiple raises and raisers with gut shot (4 outer) she hits the straight. best part was the guy next to her said, "you had to call that, pot odds, 11-1 you were getting on your money." i'm no expert on that end of the poker knowledge, but calling 16 dollars to win less than 40 just doesn't equal 11 to 1 on your money, to me. i could be wrong, but i assure all prospective players, that if you chase gut shots all the way down, even in limit games, you will go broke quicker than the 6 weeks it's taken me.

so like 3 hands later i get jj. flop comes aa7. i turn a j and get back to even. go to 4-8 limit for a couple of hands then go to nl.

i heard more laughs and snickers directed at me tonight than all of high school.

it's ok for all these fucking posers to walk around with that same center moose spiked up hair cut, but a poncho is something to mock.
at least one guy asked me if i was peacocking.
a fair assessment, but i don't think i'm gonna pull any trim in that outfit. it was more of attitude adjuster i said.
(for all of you who don't have a clue what the hell i'm talking about, i looked like clint eastwood in A few dollars more)

so i'm even after like an hour of play at the limit. then i get to nl. i get my usual run of total crap, get blinded, and call off like a hondo. i raise a few marginal hands with position, then make a good call down with a2 to get back up 20 bucks after a few hrs of play.
i played aq off weak, and didn't call an all-in bet with a flushed board. i was 40-60 on whether i should call, so i didn't. when the guy mucked i thought i saw Qs, which would have meant i was probably good, but the dealer chick next to me said she saw a 6c. she thought it was a good lay down, but whatever. still could of raised the turn to see where i was at.

now i'm at 120 and flop a k-high d flush draw. 80ish in the pot at the time, raiser checks, dealer brings a jc on the turn thinking that the action was correct. 2 people behind, so the jack comes back and gets shuffled back in for the river. guy after raiser bets 50 and i go all-in on my draw. not the best play, but i felt it was coming. then bang. the natural river card, the now turn card gives me a flush. the other guy in the pot shows his set, and then the board pairs on the river.

now i could argue that the all-in was a bad play on the draw, but the guy who raised it to 50 had just called my big raise with q3s a few hands ago, so i felt he was just trying to buy the pot.

so i still have around a grand left and i am still confident that i can come back.
when i was playing on the internet a few years ago, i was down to my last 50 bucks from a 200 dollar buy-in and i turned that into 10k. i am a far superior player now than i was then.
so it's not a lack of confidence, but more of a realization that to play for an income, you need to have like 20-30k to do it right. meaning to play at the right levels and be able to handle the swings.

so when eric comes out this weekend i am gonna give it my all and see what happens. but short of making a huge swing around. i just can't do it right now unless i get a job.
i've been looking a little this week, but half of everything i see wants you to be bilingual.
not to mention that i miss katy a lot and my kitty too.

i also get the feeling that a force greater than me doesn't want me to be here now.

i really would like to have played in some of these tournaments coming up. they start next week.

so now some have said that i accomplished my goal of a month.
the fact of the matter is that i only said a month when asked how long i'd be out here. my goal was to win enough to play in a wsop event. i guess i could still do that, but i am not comfortable risking my last grand on a tournament.
if i'm gonna do that i might as well just put it all on red.

can you possibly imagine how long that car ride home would be if i did that and lost? i'd still be saying fuck by the time i reached green river, (half the way home).

so short of a major up swing, i'll be coming home in a few weeks.
i was planning to fly back for my B.A. graduation anyway, but i might as well just drive home then.

that is unless any of you would like to sponsor me in an event or two…i'd even be willing to give a high percentage of the winnings if there are any takers.

now i know that's a pipe dream. anyone who would be willing is too damn broke or in debt, and anyone who could afford it doesn't know me well enough, or they do know me well enough and just don't like me enough to do something like that. especially if they have been reading this flipping blog. who the hell would give me any money?

none of that last part was said to induce a financier, but that said i wouldn't reject it either.

but be expecting a graduation card in the mail. i have never really understood, or believed in the practice of giving people money for doing something they should do, but being older now, and having paid off many-a-graduee. i can turn a blind eye to my feelings of embarrassment and hold out my hand for a traditional donation.

MN

something has happened

i don't know what it was, but i have become a pussy.
maybe just a bad player.
i don't know what it is, but i can't make a hand to save my life.
and then when i do, i get cut up by draws.
no one calls me when i raise with good cards, and they always call when i'm weak.
i must have some tells that i'm unaware of.
i need a good week, or i'm gonna just give up.
it's far too painful to just get milked down.

maybe i just need my good luck charm. eric. he'll be here sat.
hopefully i can make it that long.

as it is. getting my wisdom tooth pulled on monday will be more enjoyable than my last 4 sessions.
MN

got tilt?

so i will admit that for the first time in a long while, i went on tilt.

back to that in a moment.

so i have had losing sessions 3 of the last 4 times out.

one i can chalk up to playing while doped up on the meds i took to go to the dentist. i remember being up like 600. getting called lucky, then leaving with nothing. other than that and going all in with an ass end straight with a paired board and a flush out there as well. funny i won that pot, even when called.

this last time was just bone head stubbornness. donkey supreme. i was playing small ball at Caesars. 500 max 1-3 game. but the players were just right out bad.

why do i do so poorly against inferior opponents?
i win more frequently in the 2-5 game than in the 1-2 games.

the only reason i was playing in the 1-3 game was because i was wanting to build up my roll before i went back to the 2-5.

come to find out (this has taken 2 days to write, picked up again from sun night, now tue 3am) this is a good mathematical way to play. as told to me by katy, from the poker math book she is reading.
i knew this by feel, and turns out to have been the better mathematical decision as well.

i was going to bitch and complain about the inferior players, but after meditating on it for a while i have changed my beliefs.

i just played bad for 4 specific hands. i was emotionally affected. caught up in the moment. and most importantly totally missed a glaring couple of tells.

this mostly stems from the advancements i have made. i am back in a learning stage. i didn't realize it for a while, but i have moved on from the constant solid play with the occasional bluff, to a more aggressive style. not to say i'm playing bad cards, but i am betting higher and more often in situations that are questionable.

i will call this the playing the player, not the cards stage.

i can say i got a little carried away with my own interpretation of myself as an advanced played, but have quickly learned that with each step forward, your balance is easily swayed. much as a little child.

my confidence is still high. one of my greatest strengths and weaknesses.
humility is a tight rope. you must walk a fine line to not be at its mercy.

i am down to my last two grand, and having grown accustomed to the freedom of my new life style, will now stay a small ball player for a while. i will only take 200 with me to play with. i will become a rolling stone. (that is a poker joke that i'm sure not a single one of you will get…a rock is term for a tight solid player, and to gather no moss means to mix it up very occasionally)

i have come back from far more adverse situations than this so don't fear. some day soon, will you all see me on tv

MN

so long my sweet

so katy left last night.
we had a good time while she was here.

unfortunately there are no known pictures of katy with guns. maybe you can talk to jeff and see if he has any satellite ones, but if not, we didn't take any.

lost my first kk vs aa battle. next time, i'll just lay em down if i feel that i'm beat.

made up for that loss yesterday. mgm and orleans.

got caught bluffing at mgm. but rivered a straight. ha, dickhead should not have called with a10 off for 40 dollars more. he cried like a little girl. sorry.

played in a plo game at the orleans. boy that is a tough game. fun though.

going in for more fillings today. can't wait.

MN

Guest Blog!

This post is written by Travis' girlfriend, Katy (here for a visit).

I arrived Friday night. From the the airport, we went to MGM to use Travis' hard earned comp points for dinner. We went to Seablue, which of course was pricey, but I would recommend it. Afterwards, we joined Devon and Stacey at their place for a nightcap.

The next day was Derby Day. Travis had the makings for mint juleps: Kentucky bourbon, crushed ice, mint and sugar. We made a big batch "to go" and hurried to the sports book at the Santa Fe Station casino. This casino is as nice as any casino on the strip, but with a more neighborly feel. I hadn't done my homework, so I had to call my mom, the librarian, to give me some info on which horses to pick. (Mom was also born in Louisville, btw!) I placed a bet for each of us to win, place or show (i.e. 1st, 2nd or 3rd). Devon had Denis of Cork, Stacey and I chose the filly, Eight Belles, and Travis went for Pyro. Travis and I also had a side bet, he bet $10 dollars that not one of us would win. Of course, he was the only one who didn't win and had to pay up! If you didn't watch the race, there is a bittersweet ending to this. Eight Belles came in 2nd, but shortly after collapsed and was euthanized, she literally gave it her all.

After this eventful afternoon, Travis and I went to the Sahara to check in. I've stayed at 3 other places in Las Vegas, the Excalibur, MGM Grand and Binion's. The Sahara ranks after Excal and slightly above Binion's. MGM is leagues above them all, by far my favorite.

The next morning, we met up with Stacey and Devon to do a little shooting. It only takes a 20-minute drive south to be in the middle of hills that look like the horror movie, The Hills Have Eyes. I didn't come up with this on my own, it was suggested by Stacey, but I totally agree (scary!). Anyway, Devon knows of these spots where you can target practice. People bring (and leave) all sorts of junk to blow away: bowling ball and pins, furniture, paint cans, bottles, playing cards, fruit, toilet seat, playing cards - you name it! Also, scattered everywhere are shells, it was quite the site. I fired off 3 rounds on the 9mm, 1 on the 45, 1 shot on the rifle and a couple shots on the SKS (an assault rifle). It was fun, next time we should bring a watermelon to shoot, if there is a next time. I like new experiences, but some you can mentally check off the list when you're done. I'm thinking this might be a "check." At any rate, I'm definitely not Annie Oakley.

The rest of the trip has been uneventful and fun - drinking, gambling, hanging out. I did want to say something in here equivalent to ice cream, say - popsicles? But, I would just be making it up for jokes and spite, I admit I only have eyes for Travis! I'd also like to say that Stacey and Devon are most hospitable and I am very grateful to them for sharing their home with Travis.

3 for 3 cashing at 6

played in the 2-5 game at caesar's palace.
200 min, no max buy-in.
so i double up early with kk vs qq. so i'm at 900 now from 400 to start.

asian dude. solid but a little crazy. calls my 45 dollar raise heads up with 10s6s.
i have kk on the button. flop comes qs 10s 6h. i bet 50 he calls. turn comes jd. i bet 150 he calls. river is 6c. i bet 200 he just calls.
ouch. should of bet more on the flop, but i put him on aq and wanted him to raise.

play for a few hours and nothing really happens. get back to even + at 440ish, then get 88 on the button. i limp. flop comes kj8 rainbow. same dude bets 25, i make it 75. turn comes A. he checks i bet 100. he goes all in. i think for a minute. i put him on ak and call. he proudly shows his ak having put me on kj. i show my set and rake the pot.

three days in a row with 6 bills at the 2-5 game. i may be getting into the swing of things finally.
only time will tell. but i am definitely confident that only a large bankroll is keeping me away from finding out where i stand against the big boys.

side note: i felt like a pea. someone jokes about an all in situation. "run it twice" they say. i ask the dealer if they can do that here. as i'm looking at the dude's money next to me, which is at least 18k, the dealer says, "no, not in these small games"

so i've been following the advise of john scarne in his book scarne's guide to modern poker. (given to me by my uncle fizzer a few years back when i stayed with them) don't lose more than the buy-in in one day and cash out when you have doubled that buy-in. well, i have been leaving when i get to 1000 after buy-in of 400. i guess it's a good idea. but the thought of doubling up with a k on the table is pretty enticing. i will continue to walk when i'm ahead like this awhile still. i think i need to get a couple of k in the black before i starting to go for the next level. play within your means travis, i have to say.

i'm playing against some real big hitters lately. i still have a ways to go, but i'm learning every day.

i need more tournament practice. that's the best way to come up on a big chunk on change.

katy will be here tomorrow. i pick her up at the airport at 8.

anyone have a horse they like for the derby? i keep seeing pyro on the board.
might have to bet it, just because i can.

MN

what would you do?

mgm-2-5

i have like 5 something. crazy raiser declares last hand before he leaves. i call in last position with 87s. 1 other caller. he is first to act. raiser is in the middle. flop comes 338. check, bet 25, i raise to 75. smooth call. guy says if this is 50 here, then i call. it was exactly. turn comes 9. no flush on board. 1st to act bets 100. raiser folds.

what would you do?

i pushed all in. the kid thought about if for a long while. agonizing about it. fake folding, almost wanting to cry. just trying to get a read on me. he exposes jj and folds.

now in retrospect this was a bad move because he had only like 175 left. and i only raised 225. he was totally pot commited, but i just smelled weakness.

i haven't been caught bluffing in like my last 10 attempts. i haven't been doing it much, but when i do, it was because i spotted something from the remaining players that just was weak. i think the key was i played really tight and only had good cards when i won the pot.

either way, it worked. mabye i won't try again for a while when i know i'm beat.
but i guess that's what it's all about. making the wrong move at the right time.
walked up 6 then lost a buck at hooties getting my hours. i don't think i'm going to worry about the free rolls any more. it just seems like a waste of time when i'm being successful with the big boys.

MN

mirage, mgm, hooters

i started at mirage after i used my comp for the buffet. 15 bucks or full buffet, for 8 hours of play. the food wasn't very good, but free is free. or at least it's a rebate.

the game sucked. played 2 times around. won 2 bucks and left.

went to mgm.
started at 1-2, and was on the 2-5 list. lost like 50 bucks before i got my seat.
played real tight and aggressive (be aggressive, be be aggressive. b-e a-g-g-r-e-s-s-i-v-e. {i hear that in my head when ever i spell that word. highschool cheerleader cheer})
i don't remember losing a hand until the end.
i bought in for 360ish and was up to 1000 when i called a raise to an aggressive swede. most swedes are this way, well, they are mostly solid, and raise a lot and then value bet. so i call with ac6c and flop comes 6d4d3c. i check, he bets 65, i raise 100. he goes all in. now i know that he has been raising a lot with low suited cards. 45s was one of his favorite hands. i muck. i'm pretty sure he had 35 of diamonds.
so i'm at 820 now. i decide that 800 is a good cash out number, so im waiting for the blinds to come before i walk. swede bets 20 in the blind and i muck 77. i had 5 in and didn't want to break a hundred stack, so i fold. flop comes 10, 7, 4, two diamonds. he bets. other caller mucks. he shows a10. i kicked myself. i could have gotten at least a couple hundred out of him.
oh well. lesson learned. play all the way, or don't play at all.

as katy said to me once. "half ass is better than no ass". doesn't apply to poker. only house work. she'll be here friday night. cant wait. can't decide which show to go to. it's between KA and LOVE.
funny, i have to become a local to do all the tourist shit.

so i made 400 at mgm and then was going to hooters to log my hours for the free-roll for this sunday. as i left the poker room i began on a coinciding path with 2 smokin hotties that had just left the club. it was kind of fun, because, well two reasons, the first being the most obvious, but the best part was i got a glimpse of fame. being within a close vicinity to the girls, all the heads of all the dudes as we passed snapped as we passed. it made me feel as if i was a celebrity and every one was looking at me.

guys so fit the construction worker stereotype.

hey baby-yeah she wants to baang me (jersey accent). they all think as they walk by.

only a month and i'll have to beat em off with a stick.
fame and fortune-here i come.

so i go to hooters to log my hours and win 240. crazy drunk game. i made some brilliant reads. calling big all in bets with sixes and calling a raise with a set with a flush and straight on the board.

so 640 for the day. not a bad day's work.
i'm going to stay at the 2-5 games. much better for my style. i'm sick of f'n around with the chimps. don't get me wrong, i like to fling poo around every once and a while, but mostly when it's the only option from now on.

MN

to post or not to post…

frankly i'm getting bored with this.
the posting that is.

i played at hooters the other day. got cold decked for like 4 hours. then tripled up. game broke. went to mgm. won, then lost. back to hooters to get enough hours for the free-roll. placed for the free-roll.

all in all lost 200 for 20 hrs of play.
it was a good barometer check though. all the local sharks were in this tourney. placing was a real big sign that i'm good enough to stick around.

sante fe yesterday. up 140. then to circus circus. what a dump. walked with 440. then to wynn. didn't play. don't care for the unlimited buy-in.
went to mirage. played stud until my 2-5 seat came. played forever and lost 40 bucks. crazy game. a few pros and a crazy raiser. he was a madman, claimed he's as good as anyone heads up. only because he could afford it.

went back down to the 1-2 when the game broke. was up like 175 when my flopped middle set was all in on the flop to a open-ended straight flush draw. deuce of clubs turns for the nuts. ouch. played till my comp hrs were up then went home.
made like 300.

my game is improving and i am playing with a large amount of the local pros. i either need to make a big hit soon, or get a job. my roll is fine, but my bills are catching up quick.

i'm tired and i just slept for 10 hours.

MN

another winning day

all eight dollars of it.

break time. might play sat night or sunday this weekend. dont know yet.

but even though it was only eight dollars, that was 4 days of winning in a row.

funniest part is the eight today was the hardest to win.

tight old farts.

MN

another day…

another hundred dollars

MN

so much for not drinkin

i played at the santa fe station yesterday.

it is the closest poker room to devon's house.
it has really nice chairs.
the waiting service is once an hour if need it or not.
i needed a drink after the first couple of hours.
not because i was losing, but because i bluffed the she-ee-ee-it out of this dude and i couldn't stop shaking.
i'd tell you how, but it has worked every time i've done this move, so no reason to give away a trade secret.
the table was also very crazy. raises with gut shots. huge over bets. and much more.

funny because all the books would say to call me instantly. i guess i have just chosen my victims wisely.
played for like 8-10 hours and made 300. all in all a good day.

i'm embarrassed to be a nuggets fan.
i'm glad i was winning yesterday, or i don't know if i could handle all the laker fans.

it's funny, i seem to write less when i win.
hopefully more entries will be this short.

MN

Sorry sports fans

sorry sports fans for the delay.

i took a long weekend off and have had internet cable problems…

so laying in bed sunday night 11:30ish, after about a half hour of tossing and turning, i decide that the golden nugget will help me sleep.

i play tight for an hour or so, then get 1010. call raise behind a true asian gunslinger. this guy made my top ten list for gambling on a draw. side note: general observation about asians and texans; they are either really big gamblers or very solid when it comes to poker. this guy was the former, at least this night. he splashed his money around for the better part of 3 hours and lost big pots on some sort of draw to every player at the table except for me and the tight old man at other end of the table.
flop comes dds all under cards to my tens. he leads out, i double his bet. call. turn comes d, he goes all in. i instacall. diamond comes on the river. he says jack high. turns over Jdks. now i knew that he was on a draw and didn't have a made hand because that was his tell. if he had four to a draw, he was all-in. so on the turn he had 4 diamonds and this modus operandi took over.

i fight back for like the next 3 hours to make it back to 100, 2 short of my 300 i brought to the game. playing with this man and wife who bring in like 1500 to the game. she indirectly brags that she is the highest ranked player at the table. i'm pretty sure i've seen her on tv before. she is really solid at best from what i've seen. i was wondering how true she really thought that ranking was in relation to the table at the time. i had her third at best, in the list of people i was looking out for at the table. her husband was an open book and she wasn't afraid to jab at him about it either. after he was called on an all-in bluff, she says to the caller. "caro's book of tells, any time a guy says save your money he's bluffing. strong means weak." she was clearly disgruntled about her husband's lack of poker skills. 25 years she kept saying.

i only tell u this because it just gave me the idea to have a marriage counselor play poker with a couple and he could learn more about their relationship in a few hours that would take him weeks to discover normally.

i guess he'd have to be a good poker player then too.

i go home tired now with my comp. 10 dollars off. the highest comp ticket i've seen. usually they're like 4 bucks.
next day i play at mgm and earn back my 200 plus 50 on top.

i saw in that game one of the best cut-ups i've seen in a long time. best part is that it was against one of those cali-pricks i have come to love. cali is on the button with ak, business dude who looks like matt holiday calls raise, flop comes qsq6. cali bets 25, check raise to 50. turn comes spade. dude says i'll put you all in. his last 65 bucks. cali, clearly disgruntled about the fact that his superior ak is now worth about two shakes of a lamb's tail, and as showing flips them away in as quick of a fashion. after a pause to confirm that the muck was official, as cool the other side of the pillow, he shows 23s. he smirks in a manner that only a good player could spot and rakes the pot. the table erupts instantly at the surgical precision of this quick slice and dice.

the matt look-a-like was a really good player. i hope to remember him not for his masterful bluff, but also for two other things i picked up from him. he came to the table looking like a total tourist, right out of a convention meeting. he even had a really shit bag dumper come with him. this guy didn't even know how look at his cards without anyone else seeing them. dumps 100 into the game within 30 minutes and leaves.
the other thing that i liked was that he was on a total bluff, he still had outs; turning the flush draw.

i leave up 50 for the day and go back to the nugget for dinner, to use my comp. turned out to be an expensive meal that was really bad. chicken noodle soup and chilly cheese fries. the buffet was closing in like 10 minutes and didn't look that appetizing. and no i wasn't drunk. i haven't had a drink while playing in like 5 sessions. a habit i plan to continue.

the level of play out here is a lot higher that it used to be. every table is like 5 solid players minimum. it's like when they chum for sharks. we all have to fight over only a couple fishes.

back to the nugget. i play for a couple hours and get cold decked and blinded down. i don't remember playing a hand to the river. down 150, i go play in the tournament. 65+40rebuy. 25 players. i make it to the final table. first hand i get jq in the bb. button exposes a 8, 9, or a 10, one of the three as he looks at his cards. then raises. i go all in knowing that at worst i have a race. he has a10, and i make 2 pair. i'm now the chip leader. my plan is to just milk the blinds until the money. only one other guy had as many chips as me and no one else even had half as many. the guy with the same amount as me, just showed 67 when he went all in, and was just cut off, so i'm lovin life.

then drunk raises 6k and i peek down at aces. shocked i have to give a total tell and relook at em before i go all in. he calls with k8s. flop comes aqj, turn 6, river. ah, the requested card by the fucking dirt bag i had to sit next to this whole tournament. he was in worse shape than every bum i've given money to since i've been here. he had not showered in a week at best. he looked like a snow globe with dandruff pile. his nails were long and black. he smelled 3 seats away and whined the whole time how he didn't get any good cards, even though he kept playing bad and winning, pot after pot, after pot. at least, he was brought out of the grasps of all-in death 7 times.

if you hadn't guessed yet it was a 10 giving the drunk a straight.

i have like 3k left. double up. i start the chop talk. every one wants it but the bum and this other dirty old man. "i want to keep playing". like 2 hands later the dirty old man check raises all-in with kk and the drunk calls with a8 off and flops and turns an ace for the overkill.

chop talk resumes all the way until 6 players left. bum doesn't want it.
2 hands til blinds that will put me with 1 chip left so i go all in with k10off. called with aa and a10h by drunk who catches runner runner flush to knock us both out on the bubble.

drunk cracked aa twice and won vs 99 with em in like 30 hands. amazing.
to show the other side of the coin, i did catch a one outer earlier that day. it was for less than a hondo though. flop was qd10dblank. i slow played kk, button raised. 2nd to act bets his kq and button goes all in with a set of 10s. i catch case k on river for the win. a true 1 outer.

monday i got a filling redone that had fallen out. i liked them, and the insurance covered it, so i went back the next day for a checkup and cleaning. the most enjoyable dental visits i have ever had. that's good because i now have 4 more scheduled. fillings and a wisdom tooth extraction. nothing major.

back to mgm. 6 hours of even play then win 260. play this big lovable gay guy who sounded so familiar. i put him as a director or actor. michael m was his name, but he was very nice had a hot bitch behind him. so he had to be some kind of somebody. who knows i was only on 4 hours of sleep, so i went home when i was exactly up 200.

not sure where i'll play today.

MN

Poker is not for the faint of heart or the easily upset.

went to the venetian tonight at 9:30ish after taking devon and stacey to dinner at the outback.
i treated because they won't take any money from me until the first of the month.

i told em, that they better get it before it's all gone.

i got felted in the first hour. one of my new most hated sayings, not for its creativeness, but for its meaning. you lost all your chips on the felt in front of you.

aa lost to kk, 17 pre-flop, i raise 45 on top, 2 callers. flop comes k,10, 7, i call all in.
probably a bad call, but one that would pay off around 50% of the time, if not more, a lot of players who like to bluff will take a big stab at a big pot. i have been on both sides of this scenario many times, and feel that you just have to shrug your shoulders and say nice hand.

i bought in for 150 and limped around for an hour or so, and then sensing that it was time to go, i did so.

went to harrah's, bought in for 110, got to 200 and left. the game was weird. one local, one dick and a bunch of mouths.

everybody is a frickin genius.
especially these california kids. what a generation of fuckin pricks. the only people i've met this age have been cocky assholes. i guess that's not entirely true. at least 70% this holds true. a good majority of the decent ones are foreign. mostly euros, and a few aussies. the california asians percentage is pretty high too. 7 out of 10 are respectable. so mostly it is white young asshole americans ruining that generation.

move on to the Imperial Palace. two locals and the rest drunks, real drunk. my first hand i get qq. 3rd position raises to 20 with jj. i raise to 75. small blind goes all in with ak for like 125 total.
i'm ahead on the flop and a king comes on turn and ace for overkill on river.

i later go all-in with aq and am called with a7s. flop is 7.

well that was a fun evening.

an older local told me that a lot of teams play at the belligio. so unless you're a high roller, it is probably wise to avoid.
meaning that if you're a high roller you don't give a shit about losing and it's the only place to get the action.

fortunately i don't have to worry about such things.

katy, i believe, has decided to come out for a vacation.
that will be a welcomed experience. it's weird. this is the longest we have been apart for like 5 years now. amazing, when you say it like that.

i have 16 different casino chips now.
i think it will make a nice display when framed. there is certainly more than 22 rooms that katy found, as commented a while back. it seems the majority now all have rooms.
a far cry from when we first started coming out here. i guess you have to think chris moneymaker, lucky minch.

i think i'll only bring 200 with me now. only go to 200 max 1-2 games and hope for the best.

i'm still right around the 3k area, so my roll is not hurt that bad, but i am still struggling with the desire to make up for bad beats right away. there is really no need to risk more than 200 a day. maybe i'll make it 300, so not to limit my selection of casinos.

i'm still yet to have a monster day. 800 is my best so far. but that was a full day's work. i've made triple that in half the time before. i just need a good run of cards.
i'll probably become a lot more conservative on my starting hand selection when playing even.

i won't bore you anymore. the bud light is starting to kick in. (that's all there was in the fridge and i need a drink)

MN

the things you see in this town

so i left mgm up 300 and went to excal
i played for a while then raised a hand with jj, got called with 93s. take a guess what the guy caught.
no, not the flush, quad threes.

i won back a hundred of my money, but then lost it to this other fish who caught a flush on me.

the game broke, so i went to the luxor.

on the way there, in the cat walk, this solid vegas vanilla 9 comes strutting along from the opposite direction.
as we approach, she smiles and then winks at me. i smile back and chuckle. after i pass i look back and she did the same. she was totally checking me out.

we'll say for the purpose of self confidence that she wasn't ice cream.
either way it does prove that i am totally committed to katy to have not even spoken to her after such a welcoming invite for such.

i got cold decked at luxor and left with 20 bucks.

i believe that is the first time i have ever walked away from a situation like that where i didn't leave without any chips.
a definite step forward in the evolution of my discipline.

on the way back there was this other chocolate vegas 8. she wasn't nearly as out going. she was cleaning her teeth with dental floss.

i am just going to assume that any smokin hot chick that is alone in these random places is ice cream.
not that it is a truism, but let's just say i'd bet on it.

oh, let me explain the ratings. an 8 or 9 in vegas is a 10 any where else other than LA or NY.
anything above a vegas 7 is nearly impossible for any red blooded man to not take a second look at.

i stopped back at excal to see what was happening and the game looked a little too tight to be worth sitting down at. but again i was given a confidence boost.
this younger woman was playing and she kept looking at me and smiling. it was funny because she was wearing this very low cut top that barely held her natural dd, and she was leaning up against the table so that if a chip were to errantly roll towards her when she wasn't looking it would easily get stuck in the middle.
it must have been a ploy because she had that table wrapped around her little finger.

i then walked back to the mgm where i was parked and the 2 games there looked real good, but i decided that i was done for the day.

walking through the casino, i look over and see this old man slap this young blond, maybe a 5 or 6, she does nothing and then she comes walking at me and this guy tries to shove some money at her. he was with a woman and it looked like he was mocking her. it reminded me of a scene from leaving las vegas when she gets thrown out of the casino and the guy grabs her ass to throw her out.

i looked for a second, just because i was so surprised at what i had just seen, but then tired desire to sleep kicked in and i started walking again.

ten steps later i look over at this group of people messing around in the lobby and this chick's breast is totally hanging out.

if i had been 10 paces closer i could have had an eye poked out.

where else could you see all of those things in less than 15 minutes?

i'm going to bed now

MN

all in all a professional day.

i started my day writing 3 entries, doing laundry and dishes, cleaning my room and walking the dogs.

i went to the texas station first. it was about a 3.4 on dump richter scale. could possibly be a good place to mop up, but they were only dealing limit games at the time. there was a 1-2 nl list but only 2 people on it. ate china panda (not recommended) my fortune said "ask you mom". i called, but she didn't answer. i still don't know what i would have asked her.

then i went to paris. it was empty except for a tournament, so i went to bellagio. their room is much smaller now and is uncomfortably cramped. you literally bump into the players behind you at the next table. great chairs and tables, but they make you post to enter the game and they only deal 2-5 nl 2h-5h buy-in and then bigger games. i sat down in a 2-5 game for 400. played real tight as the play was aggressive and big. won 100 then lost it plus 80 more on an open-ended straight draw and a flush draw. guy bullied me with q4off, raised with second pair then called 60 on the river with the same queens. i am either very readable at those 2-5 tables, or i think it is more that i am timid. i played for a while longer and got even then left. i just can't play in games where they throw around the chips that way. walked with 6 dollars profit.

went to bally's next. got into a really good 1-2 game. 300 max buy-in. i got up to like 450 then got a2s on the button, flop comes 2k2 rainbow. guy with k bets 15, i call, sm blind calls. turn is a 9, check, k bets 30, i make it 60, small blind calls, k folds. she bets 100 on river which is an Ace. i go all in and she instacalls with 260. i was shocked. she had played so tight for so long, then she gives up all her chips with a shit kicker. oh well. i was happy.

so i have 9 in front of me and i flop the nut straight q-high, bet 20, call call i raise to 100. fold fold call. turn is Q, check i bet 100, guy goes all in for 200 more. i ask if he hit the miracle. he says yes. i know he has it, but i call anyway because i possibly put him on a diamond draw with the Jd. he was nuts. so i lose all my profit. son of a bitch. i was pissed at myself for making such a donkey call.

an hour or so goes by and i rake a couple of pots, then flop a set of 222, get a caller for 100 and turn a 2. i go all in because i put the guy on a set, what else would he call 100 with? it was a flush draw, so he didn't call, but i turned it over and because 10 dollars was in the pot, i win the high hand jackpot for quad deuces. 190. not bad. i play for a long time now because the game is so vibrant.

side note. 2 guys in a hand and big call on turn then checked river. button says i missed and turns over kq. guy says i have a pair of sixes and lays his hand down thinking that the kq mucked. ruling as anywhere you must show your cards to win.
the guy ended up splitting the pot with the guy to be a gentleman, but i wouldn't do that. you muck you lose. always keep your cards until the dealer pushes you the pot!!!!!!!!!

i get back up 400 and feel like i have done all i could there, the big stacks left and only the guy with 1800 is left. i leave content with 400 profit.

i then go back to paris. real drunk game is going on and a lot of cash is moving hands. i get up like a 100, then lose it. then have to endure the drunk fiasco. new players come in, anxious to mop up. i win 200 and leave.

so not a bad day's work 600 profit.

i will be staying at the 1-2 tables. i am just so dominant in those games that it almost isn't fair. i know i can play at the higher stakes, but not now. i need to work daily, and not get enticed by the big hits. one day soon it will come, but why not clean up on the weak?

is there ever a point that you should feel sorry for a drunk?
i almost wanted to tell this one guy to call it a night, but i let him keep buying back in.
does this make me a bad person?
i haven't been looking at it that way, i have been using everything i can to my advantage.
it's the high price of entertainment.
who knows? maybe that guy will one day say, "i was able to sit down with the great mortal nuts" ha

i've decided that if i get into the wsop main event and i last a few days, i'm breaking out the poncho.

might have to go back to paris and bally's tomorrow, a few of the dumpers are staying there and will be back.

MN

playing tight defined

to play tight means to me that you are being very selective about starting hands.

especially when in early position.

so that means only playing pairs, and suited connectors. not betting as often as i would and letting the table dictate the action.

ironically this style of play invariably gets me into trouble.

it almost falls under playing scared.

not that you're weak when playing this way, but that you become increasingly readable.
good players will just muck their hands and you will only win a few dollars. so you don't end up with a very good hourly income. win a 15 dollar pot and then have to pay 3 dollars every 10 hands when you are only playing 3or4 hands an hour.

to me, this style should almost exclusively be used for tournament play. where increasing blinds discourage loose calls.

i find i am the most profitable when i am aggressive and dominate the table.
always keeping in mind the few players at the table whom i do not want to get into a tussle with unless i have a monster.

i hope that i answered your question jen, again thanks for your comments.
i think you have to sign up for an account or maybe it's like an email to give comments.
i don't really know, i spend all my time on here entertaining the masses.

enough of this banter.
let's get some real action talk next entry.

i think i'll go to paris today.

as always any comments or suggestions will be welcomed and instantly commented on or ignored. lol

MN

what is art?

call me mary.

mary mary quite contrary.

what is art?

is a urinal in the Met art?
what if you take a dump in the same urinal? does that change its title?

well i have crossed the line. i have edited myself. the one thing that i said i wouldn't do.

i know you're thinking. what?
if this is edited then what was there before?

know your audience is one of the most important elements in the creation of a design.

hold nothing back is one of the most important elements of art.

the problem is that when i'm an artist, i'm one who will not be appreciated until like 50 years later.

all my art will do now is offend and alienate. so be it.

charles opened pandora's box when he told me not to edit this blog.

i'm pretty sure that he meant to talk about losing, he didn't realize that the way i would interpret it would be to completely open my thoughts to you all.

friends and family are probably appalled.

i could be wrong, maybe some do wan't to read crap like this. but unless i get comments asking for it, i'm gonna stop talking about my deepest thoughts and fears.

i can just feel people covering their eyes with their hands like they would if a child walked in during a violent movie.

now i have come full circle at least once.

maybe i shouldn't take two days off any more.

mn (sign of weakness)

my mother has great talent as a writer, and my father has great talent as an artist. and this the way i use both those talents?

Bad Dream, Dirty Mouth…Clean it up!

i just woke up to from a horrible dream.

i was back, or ernie (eric and annie) and katy were here. either way, we were at an outing of some kind. it switched back from a movie to a play, or a show of some kind.

first it was a movie, then a play, kinda like a snl type thing.
i was sitting in the middle of the row and for some reason it was my obligation to go give the main act their cue to go on stage. they were sleeping in a bed, and i had to pound on the door to wake them up.

none if this makes sense now that i'm trying to translate it to you, but what the basic gist was, that it was implied that eric was cheating with katy (evidently implied by eric's presence in my bed) and i was drunk and annie didn't like that i was being vocal about such outlandish accusations in such a public place. so i called her all the bad names then ernie and katy left the aisle, but some fat old lady put her feet up and wouldn't let me leave the row.

i jumped a row back and bulldozed my way through, then i jumped into every door i could making the biggest scene possible.
i make it outside and ernie is in the back seat of my beater and some strawberry blond is driving my car, so i run and jump on the hood dukes of hazard style and then some how end up on top of the car and then into the window.
i then immediately wake up.

as you can imagine i was a little disturbed.

i then was quickly reminded of my oral diarrhea from a previous entry and how annie is always the loving friend who tries to make me see that such filth is not acceptable. even if at some level i make a valid point that words are just words and only have value because we place value on them.

it's like salt now and a 1000 years ago. it was used as a main currency, (and still is in some parts of the world) but a very small amount was very valuable, but now here you can buy a large amount for a pittance of a price.
supply and demand.

i know fully well that there is no place for that trash at any time.
i just have a deep seeded problem with the pc mentality in this country. everyone is so flipping entitled. no one takes responsibility for their own actions. and they all act like it is the responsibility of society to ensure that they are not offended. and if so, they should be compensated economically for it.

my argument for having unlimited freedom of speech, and that they are only words. the old sticks and stones will break your bones, but names will never hurt me. is only my asshole attempt to act at the same level, but on the opposite end of the spectrum.

i knew that wasn't true as a child, being the constant blunt of cool kids' wrath.

but for some reason, i have been able to turn off my emotional weakness for such verbal assaults. using the argument that words have no value as weapons.

but in reality, i think now that i have simply transformed myself into one of the cool kids. how pathetic.

it's like the oldest trick in the book and here i have fallen pray to it like a first grade kid.

i think that on some level that i am correct that we should not place any value on such filth in our language and then it will cease to have the same impact on us.

but i refuse to become the school yard bully and unfortunately for you will no longer be so much of a compost heap.

im sorry-this has nothing to do with poker, unless you can somehow make the connection that poker is an emotional war and that verbal tactics have some place and are necessary for a truly full arsenal.

what ever.

i think all this time alone is making me do a mental reboot of my mental hard drive.
either that or i'm just emotionally insecure and scared.

aaahh, good morning.
i feel much better now that i have expunged.

all readers of this blog should receive a payment, because this is more like me talking to a shrink than anything else.

but you were warned! and you should actually consider this a privilege. when will you ever again get to look into someone's soul so unfiltered ever again?

i have to do some laundry, then i'll get back to work.

the entries can only get better after this!?!

MN

i know that that dream can't come true, because i was wearing a jacket that i donated to good will and the maroon door on my car was on the driver's side in the dream. oh yeah, and neither katy or eric would betray me like that.

Listen to a chimp and Stratosfear!

Devon, Stacey and I went to sahara last night to ride the roller coaster.

woo hooo. that was one of the most fun rides i've been on, and i've been on many world class roller coasters.
it's over in a second, but the initial blast shoots you off like you were on a ninja.

after that i went to the poker room to try to get a free drink. the angry old bitch wouldn't give me one, so we went to leave. i saw a waitress going to the slots, so i sat down at one and ordered a drink.
Devon points out the megabucks is at 19-million. then he says wouldn't it be funny if you came out here to play poker and then you hit megabucks? we got a chuckle. a little time passes and he says i want to see you stick a 20 in there. so i oblige the lucky little monkey.

i start playing all slow, to milk my drink time, and also the machine was sticking, and wouldn't work every time you hit the button. so then finally it works and it goes bar, bar, bar +120 credits on the dollar machine. i think i had 137 at the time, so i tell devon i'll play it down to 100 and cash out. like 4 spins later it hits 777 all different colors. i look up and it says 1200! but that was only for a certain color order. any color order was only 400 some credits. still a nice hit! i play it for a few more spins and it hits bar bar bar again!! i'm at like 670 now, so i play it down to 650 and cash out up 630!

how awesome, especially after the way i ended the last entry. i guess i know what all the rave is about now.

i turn into big papa and treat for the stratosphere and the rides. we got the package deal ride to the top, and 3 rides for 25 bucks, then i think devon got us a bigger discount because is a nevada resident. we got yelled at for smoking on the way to the elevator, it wasn't the casino, technically a shopping area, so you can't smoke anywhere like that now here. which is really nice.

we have to wait in line to go through security and have to put all our metal objects in a plastic tub then go through the metal detector. we start BSing with the guy and he's like one hour left and i'm off! must of been the reason why he ignored devon's and mine knives! what a joke. oh well, the illusion of safety all over again.

we did the big shot first, devon and stacey are kinda scared of heights so they were getting nervous, while i was talking a big game, but when we got up there i started getting nervous. it was real windy, and before when we were on the observation deck you could see the ride shooting off the edge, and feel the whole tower shake from the force. totally freaked me out. so we go up and out to the big shot. it shoots you straight up in the air and slams you down then repeats. ugh! better than a double shot of espresso to wake you up.

we then went on to the other ride. i'm sitting right in front. and it shoots off at like 40 miles an hour and you go straight off the edge, then slam to a halt. you just sit there for a second, then you think its over, about 10 seconds pass then all of a sudden it drops you like 10 feet. scared the shit out of me. then it repeats. looking to the side when it drops is recommended if you are really freaking out. it lessens the blow. you get a different perspective, so it isn't as scary.

the picture was so good, i had to buy one. 18 bucks. devon looks like he's crapping a football! two veins on his neck are sticking out like an inch.

what a blast. i totally recommend that to any one looking for a good time. night time is definitely the way to go.

we then got one of those giant drinks and went to Roberto's mexican restaurant for a night cap.

all in all an awesome night out with a 400 dollar profit! can't ask for a better night.

going shooting tomorrow.
i'm gonna wear the poncho, the indy hat and have a cigar to take some pictures.

i'll send Gen some more pics to load from the slot victory and top of stratosphere.
i don't think i can load them because my os is not compatible.

for all you following the vegas poker tour, i have a few more to take off the list. i have 7 different chips now.
excal still has the wheel and a jackpot. in my opinion, they have some of the best dealers in town, i know 5 that are still there from when we used to go back in the day.

luxor moved its room and is much nicer now. might consider going back to take the tourists' money on a weekend sometime, also an hourly high hand bonus. highest full house, or hand every hour gets 150 bucks, kinda nice. this is where the 3800 guy was.

red rocks is a beautiful casino and has a nice poker room. it was mostly locals. very tight game. but i would recommend that casino if you want an all inclusive stay. it's way to the west end of vegas and is in the newer nicer area, so it's all golf courses and nice houses, no low-lifes at all to be seen. you're not close to any other casinos, but you can do it all there. and it is supposed to have a nice pool.

ttfn

MN

Lucked or Fucked? That is the Question.

well, last night wasn't a result of bad play.

i am just running bad.
what ever that means.

i'll tell you that when one guy gets aa 6 times in 2 hours and gets 4 callers on average and wins all those hands, and i am sitting patiently having to make the hard decision to call the extra dollar in my small blind with absolute shit; the word luck will most certainly come to mind, or unlucky as it was.

i have never placed much stock in luck, being that i have never consistently had it.

where do i want this discussion to go?

if you play a million hands, i'm sure that on every given hand no matter what you had the last hand or the last 100 hands makes any difference on what the next hand will be. right? but i can't get more than one or 2 hands an hour and half of them i split or lose. then there is this other guy who in a max 200 buy-in game has 3800 in front of him. how do you explain that?
for 12 hours he was on fire, making every hand. granted he was a good player and used his dominance to bully the table. it got to be like fighting a guy with body armor in a rubber band fight. but still when he's raising with 2 face cards and all i see is 94off there is nothing you can do.

but that said, i don't get a hand for 3 hours and then get kk and of course an ace flops and someone bets large in to me.
but this has been for about 16 hours now. just getting chipped away. my skills have allowed me to steal some here and there and double up on an aggressive player with little cards. 67s to $17 dollar raise with position and a couple of other callers in my opinion is a great call and one likely to win you a large pot if you hit. that said you have to be able to read your opponent as to know when you are drawing dead, or if the pot odds, or implied odds warrant it.

so that said hand, for 17 dollars i get to have the nuts and double up.

what do you do when running bad, do you play through it? do you just quit for a while?
what do you do when the table is a ripe fruit tree, but you have 2 broken legs. all you can do is hope to eat the apples on the ground before they spoil.

back to the randomness of good and bad swings. one can't ignore that they occur. so do you call that bad luck or luck at all?
how can it seem so much like a wave?

is it just a statistical anomaly?
do you believe in the power of positive thinking?
can your thoughts possibly have an impact on the cards that are dealt?

say there is luck as an entity, then it has to be controlled by a force. say God then, or demons. being a God fearing man, i don't think that God plays a factor in the outcome of wagering. but if this force is controlled by the Prince of the power of the air, then what chance does a God fearing man have if the control of the world is in the hands of Lucifer?

no need to comment on that last paragraph. i don't feel like debating that topic with anyone right now.

whatever you believe, you cannot ignore that these swings occur.

so do you not play, or play through it?

i guess you limit your risk-taking when it's bad and the opposite when it's good.

I MEAN THE FUCKING GUY WAS BETTING DARK FOR 40 THEN LOOKING DOWN AFTER THE TURN TO A SET.– THIS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES!!!!

i'm gonna take the weekend off to rest and take some aggression out by blowing up a bunch of defenseless inanimate objects.

stupit bleep, mother bleep, son of a bleep.
AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sorry, i have been so composed and bottling up through all this losing (and acting like a gracious gentleman {a very rare commodity at the poker table for losers these days}) that i had to have one of those oral diarrhea moments.

i can't wait until i get a golden horseshoe shoved up my ass.

MN

"Come on Cincinnati, just one more time." - "You're just not ready for me yet kid."

today was a lesson in fear.

NEVER, can you let it dictate your actions.
playing cautious is another story, but fear can only bring bad things.

i was playing 1-2 at the venetian. max buy 300. i have 340ish and have position heads up with AQs. flop is queen, rag, rag. i raised 25 pre-flop. bet 30 on flop, possible straight on river. guy shuffles and ruffles counts his chips for like 30 seconds, then checks. i bet 60 and he goes all in for 131 more. i think about it for like 7 seconds then stack my chips and call. he instamucks.

now i'm up around 340 after an hour or so, so i go play in the one table satellite for 80, top 2 get $40 and 300 in tournament chips good for any of their tournaments. they have a daily 300+40, average pay-out is from 10,000 to 20,000.
i got semi-bluffed once, then blinded down so i had to make a bad call with 2 over cards. go out in like 6th place.

go play at 1-2 for a little while then move to 2-5. get up 120 in the must move game then get placed at one of the main games. i get called down with q4 off to my aq, guy wins with a pair of 4s. KK gets setted on and i lose the rest of my 500 buy-in.

totally unusual hand happens. blind has qq, 3rd has 99, 4th has jj, 5th has kk raises to 50, button smooth calls with aa, call call call, call. flop comes 10c, 10s, 8s. check to kk bets 75, aa raises to 150, qq goes all-in for 500ish. all fold. aa shows, qq asks if they want to see em. yes. then the talking begins. all in amazement at how it was played out.

i played for like 4 hours now with no cards at all. stayed even. then get kk in small blind. button raises 25 with ak, small blind calls with 1010. i raise 65, call call. flop comes j 9 3. i check, checks around. the worst mistake i've made since i've been here. turn is 8. sm bets 100. i call. 3rd worst play i've made since i've been here. river is q. he goes all in for 200. i call. second worst play i've made since i've been here. he turns over the straight and i graciously leave. knowing fully it was my own fault.

i got smacked around by the 2 worst players at the table for the first 500 and then i got tight and scared. i made a few good reads and laid down 10,10 to aa pre-flop. but what does it say to lose to the 2 worst players at the table? i think it means that they were the 2nd and 3rd worst players at the table. ha

the first donkey left right after he took my money. the other guy lucked around for like 1200 then left. the table filled up with a few rotating seats, but this was by far the best table i've ever played with. i am fully confident i can play with every player there, but i was playing scared and didn't get shit for the longest time.

oh well, back to the little tables where i've been one of the dominators. why did i ever leave? i know exactly why. i had to see where i was. and i found out i can't afford to play at that level yet. i know i can compete with them, but not now and not with my dinky bank roll.

"It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult." -Seneca

if you have ever been deeply in love and have been cheated on, ripping your heart out only to put it back in upside down; this is the closest thing that i've experienced that comes close to the feeling of knowing that if you only would of done one thing differently you would have won instead of lost. (not to imply that you can affect the actions of an unloyal lover.)

i will continue my tour, but you all need to take the advise you keep giving. be patient. i don't plan to be home that quickly.
my ass is gonna clench up tighter than all these botox injecting old bitches. so much plastic surgery around here. when did small perky breasts become less attractive than grapefruits in pantyhose attached to a woman's chest?

gonna see about getting compted for rosanne barr tickets, and i am going out with Devon and Stacey to check out the stratosphere tomorrow after a nice home cooked meal. i've forgotten what that was like. then off to blow shit up in the desert, most likely on sunday. seriously Devon has a better arsenal than Katy and I had on average in GTA. (grand theft auto)

keep it coming and so will i
love and patience

MN

Another day, another dollar

in response to annie's question, yes i have tipped the cashier. usually only if i cash out for a big win and there is like 3 or 4 bucks left. same thing with maid service. leave a couple bucks on the sink for the people who make your bed and clean the bathroom.

Las Vegas is all about the kick backs.

in response to a question from my cousin,
I started with 5k, plan to stay for at least a month.
and my goal is to make this my profession. to make more than 20k a year would be better than i made last year.
i would ultimately like to get into some of the smaller wsop tournaments. but i think that i will focus more on the binions 10% deals. if i win one of them then i'll go to the bigger ones. if i win, or place in one of them, then i'll go to the main event.

but for the most part, i would like to build my bank roll to about 10k and consistently play in the 2-5 games (usually 500 to 1000 max buy-in depending on which poker room you're at) this i think is my best chance for consistent profit.

i will be moving into Devon and Stacey's extra room on friday. that should bring an extra bit of normalcy to my life.
i am already on the night shift. play all night, sleep all day.

hopefully we will go shooting this weekend, i gave Devon 50 bucks for ammo. he has a complete arsenal. and i mean complete.
i might have a list of his toys later.

played at sahara last night after having gone back to bed after my blog entry yesterday. just had a headache that wouldn't quit.
cashed out for +250. was up 400, but had AA cut up by AKoff. i've seen that twice in the last 2 sessions. not a very common thing. i don't know the percentage, but it has to be less than 8%.

i'm gonna play at venetian again today. beautiful room. the waitresses wear like these little playboy bunny outfits with a thong. they must make a ton of cash. but that's not the reason to play there, so many rich golfers. love taking that kind of money.

i've been playing 1-2 nl so not to risk to big a portion of my roll at any one time. but if i double up i'm moving up to the 2-5 tables tonight. i do better more consistently there.

note to prospective players, you can't bluff a loser.

i am only down a G now from my first 2 day loss of 1800. but that also includes spending like 3-4 hundred on food and entertainment. i've been dividing my expenses between credit cards and cash. usually anything that isn't a hundred gets spent on living expenses.

i love all of your comments and would encourage you all to spread the word about this blog to anyone you think would find it interesting. i really look forward to the comments. it's like my only connection to the people i love. more of a chance to let my internal guard down. you have to be on the defensive at all times here. the separation of rich and poor is like the flip of the coin. for the most part all you have to worry about is the smell, but you can never predict the actions of a desperate person.

this is turning into the daily grind i expected. i haven't lost my initial buy-in since the first 2 days. a strong sign on good play.

MN

Spotting tells, and being bluffed hard

headache. i have one now

yesterday i played at the venetian was up a little over 300 after a few hours of play, took a break to smoke a cigar…

i have always been a people watcher. this helps me as a poker player and an artist.
people fascinate me. what they do, when, why, and so on. i am just interested watching people and how weird they are.

so i'm smoking looking over the casino, when i see what i'm sure is chocolate ice cream.
i follow her from a distance over to the bar to see her work.
the bar is packed with mostly suits with their ties loose.

it was funny, i was watching these guys at the bar before i saw the ice cream, and every time a beautiful woman would walk by, they would all gaze and take a gander, ruffling their feathers, the cocky act. machismo at its finest. it's as if they're all thinking, "yeah, she wants to bang me" (said with that Jersey Sopranos accent)

so this ice cream goes right up to the bar and sits down, instantly she has the attention of the whole area.
all the men go from that cocky demeanor to a meek subdued stare. knowing they all could have her, for real this time. but they instantly show their true stance. the oldest, most polished alpha gentleman took the lead as all the other puppies stared, as if they were the scavenging birds around a lion's kill, just hoping for a mere morsel of attention.

i left before the deal went down, but it struck me as such an easy tell. most of them could be good poker players.
she instantly when to the strength in the center of the weak.

i came back to the table and within the first three hands i lost most of my profit.
got straighted on and out kicked.
left with 64 dollars profit.

should of been content with 300, but i was well rested and in good spirits, and most important, the table was real weak.

i've still yet to get real hot. a lot of swings. this is a hard thing to do.
my confidence is really high still. i keep getting compliments on plays i make, or don't make as the case may be. "that was the best fold of the night" folded nut flush draw on turn to 60 bet from strong player in small blind with straight on board, guy calls and exposed one of his cards. (flush draw, at best) flush comes on river. all in, call. board paired and strong small blind filled up. i showed it to the guy next to me and said i should call, i can't.

another was against a solid old man who i came to find out runs the sahara poker room and was a special ops guy and special ops trainer. couldn't get that from looking at him, or with his bad attitude. flush on board, no betting, i make 7 high straight on turn, checks around again, 8 on river. i was gonna bet like 15, but saw dude grab 25 before i bet so checked. he bets i show him my seven and he gets pissed, "you should of called that, you have played with me before!" then leaves for like 20 minutes. its possible that i played with him like 7 years ago. (last time i played at the sahara) but that had nothing to do with it. he had 79 for a 9 high straight.
no wonder we haven't been winning any wars.

my camping trip was relaxing. the desert is not very hospitable. every thing is sharp and sticks to you and everything it touches.

went on a boat cruise around lake mead.

got bluffed so bad.
not what you think, but i fell for it hook line and sinker.

i got on the boat, and was waiting for it to launch in full tourist garb. i had my camera, my binoculars, sunscreen and drink. i learned that the boat has a bar, and that you can smoke on the boat. i go to ask if we have time for me to run to my car and get a cigar. "i dont know, you'll have to risk it, it's your choice, if you hear the horn, we're leaving" so i ran as fast as i could. i made it back with at least 15 minutes to spare, and every one of the crew members says, "you made it!" with that nevada chuckle and a sucker look on their smug faces. the kid in the bar had a half smile, but the bartender played it as cool as the breeze on the port side bow.

i laughed because i knew that yesterday this would have cost me at least 3 stacks.
but that day, i was a tourist in my own country.

nevada state motto, you can do what ever the fuck you want here.

MN

now at Sahara

the dam was a wonder to behold.
i have to say though that i was more impressed with the super highway they're building over the top of it.
trucks and large vehicles are not permitted to cross the bridge, and all other vehicles have to go through a security check point. kind of like taking off your shoes at the airport. total bs. the illusion of security.

i'm at the sahara now until friday. they have a pretty big draw for their tournaments. 45+20 3 times a day. i played in the 7pm one, was doing well until i went all in with aq to ak. i really dont like tournaments. increasing blinds demands good fortune. plus a majority of the players are just dicks. they act like they're God's gift to poker. when in actuality many have very poor cash game skills. oh well, i need to continue to get practice in the next 2 months.

played at the Venetian on sat night for like 30 minutes. won 200 that quick, i got like 7 pocket pairs in like 20 hands, three in a row once. then devon and stacy met up with me and we painted the town red. rode the roller coaster at ny ny and then met up with some locals at a bar south of the strip. vegas is all non-smoking in most places except the casino floor, but this place didn't care. the air was filled with cigarette and cigar smoke, they even had machines to buy cigs and cigars behind the bar.
a dont ask, dont tell policy.

if there is a pool going, i can be bought! i hold valuable information to the outcome of that possible wager.
i'll hold off on the announcement to see what the bidding brings.

i'm gonna post some of my pics if i can figure out how to do it.
i saw on cnn that 2 people died in a skydiving accident in Longmont. the older i get the less my desire to check that one off the list becomes.
i hear its snowing in boulder. so i better get out to the pool before it gets too hot.
will be at the Venetian tonight. probably the best poker room in town right now.
got a lead on the Red Rocks, heard its a great poker room, it's way north so it might be a while before i check it out.

off with the clothes, on with the tan.

MN

respect my authori-TIE (as said by cartman)

im on LV time now.
went to bed at 2pm yesterday after playing for like 16 hours. slept for 11 hours, woke up, showered and went to play. won 300 at binions. right when i sat down, i asked to move to the 9 seat. (i prefer to sit on the end of the table so i can see all the players actions)
the guy in the 8 seat had like 1200 (200 max buy-in) in front of him, played like 5 hands and then tells me "i played with you the other day, i cant play with you, you're too tight. u sat to my left intentionally."
i didn't recall him for sure, but i think he was a guy the night before i called him for 50 on the river with 63off with a pair of threes to his ak no pair.
then later i bluffed him but didn't bet the river his kicker was bigger than mine (no pair each) note to all players, if you're gonna bluff, you gotta go the whole way. how does that play make me too tight?

i took it as a compliment, but at the same time i was offended. i have made a good portion of my money calling raises with small cards.

the golden nugget has a pretty nice poker room. 1-2 no limit, NO MAX buy-in. pretty good game. i am told the game at the venetian is the best game in town. i'll find out on sunday or monday after my camping adventure. maybe i'll take some pictures and post em.
took a rack of red out of the nugget game to make 800 up for 6 hours of play. i'm back baby!

i have earned the respect of many of the local players and they seem to be welcoming me into their fraternity. same thing with all the dealers.

binions is going to have the exact same tournament as the previous day's world series of poker tournament for %10 of the buy in. ex. nl omaha 8 or better, buy-in $2000, the next day they have the same one for $200.

i think that will be more of my focus, and i recommend that if you visit, you should do it then. check out the dates on worldseriesofpoker.com

played in that pl choice game again, won again. love that shit.
another new game to play is ABC. three cards, three draws. a23 is the best hand. super super crazy. i think that playing these choice games improves my game much quicker that just playing hold-em. i had to play 2-4 limit while waiting to get on a table, even playing a little of that makes you tighten up your game, (if you want to win that is)

haven't been looking too hard for a place to stay yet, was scared with all that losing, but now with me scaring off dudes with tons of cash "because i'm too tight" and winning this morning i'll get some place next week. the stability will be a positive asset.

my confidence is still very high, and i know that i have the ability to play and win against every one i've played against so far. and believe me there are a lot of sharks in the water. sometimes they are even easier to beat. you can misrepresent yourself and trap em because they're over confident.

my biggest problem is self discipline (not just while playing cards) but i feel i'm getting better. it was like for the first few days i was in vacation mode, cramming in as much playing time as i could stand. playing tired, getting too drunk, bluffing too much instead of being patient. but i got up and left the last 2 times when i was feeling it was time to go. up 300, then up 500. get in, get out.
i was just ignoring those feelings. but i have been focusing mainly on that and have limited my risk taking.

i'm off to lake mead to camp tonight, possibly sat night too. i think i'll take a boat tour.

tony salinas was that guy's name. i bet 20 on the over he liked and lost. and parlayed it with 2 other things for 30. i also played 20 at the craps table. other than that i have been exclusively playing poker. one of the main keys to make this a successful venture.

tip for potential players. wearing large aviator sunglasses is the best way to hide your facial expressions. but that pulsating neck a mile a minute is one of the best giveaways when someone is bluffing.

the weather here is perfect now. hotter in the casinos than outside.
not looking forward to the heat.
i'll just have to get enough cash to fan myself.

the interesting things you see in vegas.
4am and 3 solid 9's walk into binions together (red head, blond, and brunette; A true Neapolitan) and head right toward the elevators. it was a guarantee that they didn't have a room, but they were there to stay for the night. makes you wonder how much 3 scoops of ice cream costs?

i dont plan to become an ice cream reviewer, or even try any.

MN

day 3

played with a Las Vegas icon today.
Tony S something, (i'll correct this later) professional sports handicapper he won the world series of sports betting twice, the only person to do so.
he was a true texas gambling son of a bitch.
"cowboy up" meant he was all in.
he said it least 20 times.
he was one of the most entertaining players i have ever played with.
he had an(?) so many set ups (verbally) and comebacks it was like watching old movies on A&E
He knew all the tricks.

HE might be a professional gambler but he was a horrible poker player this day.
guy went on to dumping at least 1400 into the game. 200 max buy-in

unfortunately i dumped a ton also.
unlucky again.
but later at Binions played in the coolest pot-limit dealers choice game.
tons of games ive never even heard of, it felt good to know at least a couple they didn't

new game we'll have to play– Juarez . its omaha with two boards- crazy
i got a straight flush wheel, and kkkk on two different hands. 3/4 and half winners,
but fun hands to get needless to say

hard to get internet without paying. discovered the
library not far away thanks to katy. what a great girl.

Las Vegas (as the locals call it, vegas is what tourists call it) is a real fucking shit hole.
Its like all the worlds filth surrounding one of the densest concentrations of decadence and wealth.
its as if the strip is a money drain of the desert toilet bowl

that said the mountains look beautiful.
going to lake mead to camp on friday to take a break and reevaluate.

i will be starting the Las Vegas poker room tour once im done typing.
i plan to attempt to play in ever poker room in town.
this is a very long term goal and only will be possible if i can start winning

i think my luck turned around in the choice game. it was a very pro table and i took 200 out of it. probably the biggest winner at the table.

ttfn

MN

disclaimer

i had meant to mention this as part of my first entry.

i am an atrocious speller.
so, being the artist that i am, i will be laying it all out on the canvas. unedited and uncensored.
this may be irritating to some (possibly i'll get a volunteer to clean up after me) but for the purpose of this blog
i think that the best results will come from this method.
especially if i have more nights like last night.

this will be an R rated blog.

i often express myself with very offensive language that will be considered vulgar and or demeaning.
basically if youre a whinny biiatch you shouldnt read on.

please note that at heart i am a kind and loving person.

i am also extremely emotional and absorb others emotions.
i take every thing in and release much the way a geyser does.
only i spew out complete and utter filth.

the way i have come to deal with this abundance of feelings is when overwhelmed emotionally i purge myself with the most assholeish thing i can say. basically i vent and entertain myself. i guess im a sick man. no, strike that. i know i am. im doing this aint i.

note: unedited

alcohol and sleep depravation will also be large contributers to things not being a finished product.

but enough excuses

charles-fuck you
i would not be telling this accurately if not for you.
honesty and poker loses have no place together.
but you are ultimately correct. it will make this better

so after many big swings up 3, down 7, back up 2, then i ran into the best learning experience if i am able to realize it
i made the proper read on at least 6 out of 7 hands and was completely out drawn. top 2, aj, guy catches a set on turn-150.
i spelled weakness so i pushed with 77, called with k9off, flops 9, -160. go all in with kk, same guy calls with 99, flops set, -4ish. getting tired of the bull shit, tired in general so i go all in for my last 150 with top pair, top kicker, a7. guy calls with 75, makes gut-shot on river.

so i wish i was into s&m. this is pretty much the same thing. i hope its more like tantra s&m, hold out for a long time then nut. meaning today i will probably win it all back.
have to stay at the binions though just in case. $32 a night. as opposed to 129 at mgm with $40 off for poker rate (4hrs day min, $40 max deduct)
will still be playing at mgm. big wireless convention in town today

hope katy will still love me if i go broke

MN

I'm off to seek my fortune.

Special thanks to Gen for all here help on setting this up.

Driving from Denver to Vegas by yourself with no radio gives you a lot of time to think.

I think it might be one of the only times in my life where i have driven under the speed limit for the entire trip.

What am I in a hurry for?

The weather was some of the weirdest I've ever seen.
Torrential downpours, Snow flurries,
Dense fog, High winds, and perfect conditions rotating each at lease 3 times per hour for most of the way.

I left at 6pm last night and made it to Mesquite at about 5:30am. Stayed the night-$40 for 6 hours of sleep. Totally worth it.

The lady at the front desk looked quite strikingly like the land lady in King Pin who Woody slept with to pay the rent.
Her nails were 3/4 inch long (natural) with about 14 years of dirt and cig tar.

I'll probably start a hotel review. To be positive, that place was a step above the Wild Wild West.

I just checked in to the MGM. One of my favorite places in Vegas.
Im starving, maybe i'll get some truffled mac and cheese…then i really have to get to work.

Start right what you want to finish right.

MN