Hella Hold'em

I'm playing in the last WBCOOP game on PokerStars - NLHE. So far, so good.

2:30pm... So, I've started seeing a chiropractor. It was an accident really. They were offering free spine checks at the gym, and with that, a free diagnostic exam (foot scan, range of motion tests, xrays). I figured, why not? There are some skeletal anomalies in my family, and based on my various occasional running pains, I was pretty sure I'm a little out of whack. I suspected one leg was shorter than the other.

So I went for the free exam, which confirmed some things I knew. My hips are out of alignment (making one leg shorter). I've destroyed the arches in my feet (thanks to my love of Converse All Stars and other horribly unsupportive shoes). I learned some new things - my lower back is slightly curved, and my neck is losing its curve. I carry my head too far forward (thanks to terrible posture at the computer desk).

My thinking in going to the chiropractor was that if any of these things are going to cause me pain, it will start now, because I'm significantly increasing my running mileage and workout training for the 25K race in May. I don't have any pain right now (aside from occasional running tweaks).

So, the chiropractor recommended a 12 week plan of adjustments and at-home exercises, and shoe inserts. My insurance covers just about everything - my out-of-pocket costs are slim.

And now I'm totally paranoid that the chiropractor is gonna mess me up. I should never have consulted wikipedia. Now I'm thinking chiro's are all quacks and they're gonna kill me. Considering how much I believe in the body's ability to heal itself, you'd think I'd be all about chiropractic. My insurance wouldn't cover it if it was a scam, right? Damn you, wikipedia.

I'll report back in 12 weeks!

2:43pm... Nothing exciting poker-wise. I've grown to enjoy the PokerStars Big Game TV show. So for this game, my goal is to raise more preflop. That's the story of my life around here, eh? I don't like that PokerStars doesn't give an audio indication of a raise.

2:55pm... Pushed all in over the top of a short-stack that raised to try and isolate... AKd... got an extra caller along for the ride! Extra caller had pocket 10's, original raiser had AQo. Flopped 2 pair, turned the boat. Phew! I was thinking of going to the library today, but it looks like I'll be playing too long. We'll see!

3:13pm... Whew! Thought I was toast when I flopped 2 pair, AQ, and the board came 4 diamonds. Big pot. Got to check down the river. Thought maybe I'd be going to the library! Nope. About half way through the field. I'm currently 43/473. So far, so good on my PFR practice. Currently 12%, much higher than my typical single-digits.

3:20pm... Ya know, the J4 from this past Winter Classic still haunts me.

3:38pm... Yawn. 70/354. Missed the library window. I'm watching a hummingbird nest with 2 babies - http://www.phoebeallens.com/

3:51pm... Good read! *pats self on back*. Doubled through with JJ. Chicago's upcoming weather forecast sucks ass. We've had only FOUR days over freezing in January here this winter. Another winter storm (and cold ass temps) are scheduled to come through here mid next week. I hate Chicago weather!! Get me out of here!!

4:01pm... Seinfeld's Soup Nazi episode is on. Break snack: PB&J and a pear. I've got plans to make my favorite asparagus potato soup tonight.

4:48pm... Gambooool'd with a double gutshot and flush draw... then doubled back to even with JJ... and got berated for being a fish. LMAO! Yup. Tag me, baby. This game is taking forever. 20 spots or so to the SCOOP tickets. I should just fold to the loot. I'm starting to get antsy. 25xBB or so.

4:55pm... 33/163. Another break. I've grown bored.

5:12pm... Bubble has passed. Folding laundry. 18/146.

5:47pm... Can't believe I'm still here, with as goofy as I'm playing. PUSH! AGAIN! Wheeee! 30/64, about to get the next level up of SCOOP ticket. Ha!

5:55pm... Ya know, this whole hooplah about the "best time to exercise" to lose the most weight... OK, how about this theory, people: the best time to exercise is whenever you will actually do it. I've tried the whole "workout in the morning for the residual calorie burn and metabolic boost." Ya know what? It never lasts - because I am not a morning person. So what good is burning a few extra calories when I quit after a few weeks? Workout whenever YOU want to workout. It makes a whole lot more sense to build a sustainable, ongoing habit than to start, stop, and fail, over and over. For the record, my best time to work out is after lunch. And that's just me.

6:25pm... Alright, now I'm getting hungry. 35 people left. I'm middle of the pack. I should probably decide if I'm playing this thing for real or not.

6:30pm... Food wins. Pushed with an open-ender. Didn't hit. $33 SCOOP ticket for 31st place. That works!

FOOOOOOD!!!

Playing in the Mookie for the first time in a whilez. Enjoying a hot mug of decaf Chai, latte style. Sitting in my new comfy computer chair - one of the best investments I've ever made, even though it was only like $120 on sale. I got The Montbrook from Staples.

One bummer about playing in my comfy chair is that I don't have Poker Tracker on this computer. Boo.

Sweet! Doubled up early (KK vs AJ, held up).

There's one game left in the season in the online poker league I play in. Had I not missed a couple games due to work, I can guarantee I'd be in the running for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd. As is, I'm a couple spots outta the loot with just the one game left. Still, it's fun to have a regular game, as much as I wish it was a live game. I even made it out to the casino this month, but chose to donk around at 3/6 limit (though I do love me a full kill game).

Now, I'm donking around the Mookie :)

I will get a chance at some live poker this Sunday, at a new-to-me local game. Me likey.

In other news, I do believe I'm holding all of the documents I need to do my taxes this year. So early! I might even file before February! Awesome sauce.

I'm still waiting for someone to say that I'm not the only one who likes pickles on salad. I cannot be the only mutant out there.

I'm gonna go read Runners World for a while... biab.

Now THIS looks like the solution to my treadmill boredom! If only I can get it on my iPod... VirtualActive.

First break... I'm 5 of 16. Meh.

Half hour later... 6 of 11. Done reading Runners World. I've had pocket 4's a zillion times tonight. No floppie for me.

Damn it. I'm gonna go back to folding.

Actually, I should turn into aggro-maniac. Heh. As if.

I highly dislike playing short-handed. But I am up to 2 of 10.

Final table! So now it's like a SnG except uneven starting loot :)

I'm getting a headache and I wanna go to bed. That never bodes well for my poker game. Who calls an all-in with KQ? Sleepy me. I'm hungry, too. Cranky is soon to follow.

Break #2. 3 of 9. Guess I'd better go get a snack.

Well, there goes 160 calories I'll wish I hadn't eaten, come scale-time tomorrow. (Chobani Strawberry Banana Greek Yogurt, if you must know). Chobani is my favorite Greek yogurt. I love Greek yogurt - don't really eat regular yogurt anymore. Actually, I don't really eat dairy anymore, except for yogurt. If it weren't for yogurt, I'd be vegan. Even more so than cheese, yogurt is the one thing I haven't desired to give up yet.

I even found a creamy replacement for my coveted ranch dressing - if I were to go full-on vegan. Mmm miso dressing... but I love yogurt. Sometimes it's my breakfast side-kick when I know I've got a long stretch before lunch. Other times, it's my late-night snack, when I just need enough fuel to get through another hour or two before bed. (I tend to eat a light dinner, so if I eat it too early, or stay up too late, I get hungry!) I'm fairly certain that I'll give up the yogurt someday... but not today.

Hell, the ranch dressing in my fridge right now is a yogurt-ranch dressing. HA!

And with the blinds putting me around 12xBB, I'm just about nearing push-or-fold mode.

I've been trying to make my own dressings lately, because I eat at least one giant bowl of leafy greens every day, and commercial dressings tend to have a bunch of crap in them. Even when I go organic with the dressing, they're not as whole-foods as I'd like. I made one decent one so far, a cucumber dill dressing, but it works better as a salad topping than the actual dressing. Anybody have any killer salad dressing recipes?

And... out in 4th. That KQ hand zapped my will to live. Tomorrow is another day.

Goodnight, world!

So, I made it home in time for tonight's PokerStars WBCOOP NLHE game (the World Blogger Championship of Online Poker). PokerStars is a great supporter of the online poker community. They ponied up some great stuff for this year's WPBT tourney at Aria this past December.

6:20pm... I raised UTG with AA. I flopped quads. I blinked a few times to try and get the sandman outta my eyes. Seriously? That's a lotta A's. I got paid (well, as much as I was gonna).

6:35pm... I've been engaged in idle chit-chat. I don't usually talk at the table when I play online. I'm letting them all think I'm a guy.

6:41pm... I'm bored. I've drained my DVR of poker shows (and every other show). Live TV is tormenting me.

6:46pm... Called a shorty's all-in with 66. He had AJ. I won. He called me a bastige lol! Same guy I had quad rockets against. Phil Laak has rockets built into his last name!

6:56pm... First break. Average stack.

7:00pm... The Biggest Loser. So, Jillian is leaving after this season. I totally thought Bob would leave with her, but it looks like he's staying. The new trainers aren't really that interesting to me. I love Bob and Jillian. I own DVD's from both of them, and they've been a big part of my weight loss this past year. I hear Jillian has a new show in the works. I hope it's better than her last solo show....

7:08pm... Button raised with 44 when it folded around, and a bully in the BB put me all in. I saw him push a couple people around with junk, and I rolled the dice. He had J8. I won. Doubled up w00t!

7:21pm... And just like that, I'm the table chip leader. Does anybody else like to eat pickles on your salad? Or is it just me?

7:30pm... Yawn. So I'm going to a chiropractor for the first time tomorrow. I scored a promo at the gym. I get 2 spinal x-rays and a digital orthotic foot scan, amongst other things. Like a spinal wellness check. I already know I'm a little out of whack... I put more weight on my left side than my right, and consequently my left ankle over-pronates when I run (whereas my right doesn't). While I don't have any pain issues now, I'd love to find out if there's anything preventative I can do as I start upping my mileage in the next couple months (training for the 25K race in May). Should be interesting!

7:53pm... Still treading water. I can tell you this, though - my "better breakfast" is not made from Subway's frankenfoods.

7:55pm... Second break... I'm just under average stack. Not bad - I don't think I played a hand in the last 40 minutes.

8:01pm... The State of the Union, 2011. I used to love watching stuff like this. These days I usually just get the reader's digest version from the news the next day - but the slogan amuses me: how we "win the future." So hip. No epic fail? Wow - Hilary Clinton looks different.

8:16pm... whew. Took a risk with AJ when I hit top pair A's and got check-raised on the flop. I was being bullied by A8 with a flush draw. Held up, doubled up. Breathe!

8:17pm... There it is - TO WIN THE FUTURE! I think we should make a drinking game out of it. SHOT!

8:19pm... China scares me.

8:29pm... It's not just the winner of the Super Bowl that deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair. HELLS YEAH. Nerds unite! But seriously. Yes.

8:32pm... Props to teachers. Reward the good ones and stop making excuses for bad ones. YES, PLEASE. (I'm a teacher, and lemme tell ya - the system is effed. The majority are rewarded for longevity and not quality of work. I've been doing it for over 10 years and still can't swallow that it's the right way to do things).

8:40pm... Obama's first joke. I'm short stacked. Gonna push soon.

8:42pm... Doubled up, my KQ hit a Q vs A3. Man, I am at the slowest table ever. There are 4 different people with VPIP's below 10 that fold every hand after the timer. Nobody home. I'm at about 12BB.

8:44pm... Oh no, Mr. President. Our food is NOT safe to eat. Keep those blinders on...

8:45pm... Joke #2.

8:54pm... Best joke yet. Smoked salmon lmao! Everybody is running out their 160 second clocks. We're a handful of spots away from the loot.

8:55pm... Third break. One bust to the loot.

9:06pm... No American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love. Damn I wish all of this could come true. And, this is the longest bubble of all times.

9:20pm... Out, 66 vs. KK. 116th place out of 720 - wins me a $11 SCOOP entry ticket.

Just in time for the end of the State of the Union.... gnite all!

For those that have asked "how I did it" regarding my weight loss in 2010, here's the answer:

2010: How I Did It

I'm not done yet, so here's to continued success in 2011 :)

Happy New Year!

It's time for the 6th installment of my annual reflections and musings on the future. Previous New Year's posts: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005

Looking back on 2010, for the first time in a few years, I actually played a bit of poker! Nowhere near as much as my love for the game would have me play, but I did play regularly (thanks in part to an online poker league I joined with a friend on Full Tilt). I also made it out to the local casinos a few times for live poker, and made my favorite trip to the poker mecca for the WPBT Winter Classic in 2010.

I feel like my game is improving, and not necessarily due to any studying or practice I'm doing. It's improving more because I'm maturing as a person. Maybe maturing isn't the right word - but a fatal flaw in my poker game is tied to a personality trait whereby I don't like to cause conflict. (So, yes - raising is hard for me to do!) But the older I get, the more I feel like in life that I will step right up and cause conflict if it suits my needs or my beliefs. (Get outta my way - I'm becoming a badass in my old age!) And that, my friends, is helping my poker game. I'm a lot more comfortable at the tables than I've ever really been in the past.

I had a really good year in 2010. It was an incredibly difficult year at work, but I channeled those challenges into fueling progress in my personal life. I lost 80 pounds in 2010, and settled into a whole-foods organic lifestyle. I went vegetarian in March 2010, and around that time, also completed the Couch to 5K running training program. I'm now a runner! I run at least 3 miles, 3 times a week, with my "long" run at the 5 mile mark right now. My race pace is around 11:30/mi and regular pace is around 12:00/mi. I ran four 5K races in 2010, with a personal best time of 36:32.

It was a pretty good year financially too. For me, "pretty good" means, I didn't struggle to make ends meet every month. In light of the economy and the general state of things, I consider myself very blessed to have solid full time and half time jobs. I was also able to earn some extra income with photography and portraiture, as I'd hoped in 2009 when I spent what would have been my Vegas money on a set of studio lights instead. I'm patting myself on the back. That was a good decision.

Travel was another high point of my year. At this time last year, I was hoping to make it on at least one trip in 2010. I managed to hit all 3 - a week-long photography workshop in New Mexico in February, an August trip to San Diego to attend the Syndicate World Conference and meet my guild mates in Ultima Online, and of course the WPBT Winter Classic in Vegas in December. And, miraculously enough, I came home from Vegas even - which means, 2011 begins with some money in the poker box!

You see, the poker box is my poker bankroll. It has been a few years since I've had a poker bankroll. When I moved into this house 4 years ago, I had a decent low-stakes bankroll, but spent it on new furniture. Then came some rough years financially, and I didn't have the extra cash to refill the poker box. This year, though, the poker box is starting out with a few buy-in's - which is a fledgling state at best, but it's a start!

So, what am I looking forward to in 2011?

First and foremost, I look forward to continuing this more healthy lifestyle that I've adopted. I plan to hit my final weight loss goals in 2011 - to hit the -100# mark this spring, and -15# or so more by the end of the year. (Hitting -100# puts me in the healthy range for my weight, so those last 15 are vanity pounds). I plan to run a 10K in the spring, and am considering training for a half marathon by the end of the year. Now that my finances are a bit more settled, I plan to make a concerted effort to pay down some debt and put more money into savings. (Wouldn't it be nice to be able to do that via poker!)

And yes, I do plan to play more poker in 2011, particularly live poker. The old Empress Casino Joliet is now a Hollywood Casino property. They spread NL now, and while there are only 5 tables, it's better than the 3 they used to have. It's a much nicer poker room these days, and I plan to play a bit more there. I've also heard rumors of a poker room opening at Harrah's Joliet this spring. That would be interesting. I'd love to have 2 close-to-home options, in addition to the Indiana boats (which are close to work but the opposite direction from home).

I hope that you've all found something to be thankful for in 2010, and something to look forward to in 2011! Here's to a happy and healthy new year to you and yours. Thanks for your support and friendship and for all the good times! And many more...

Happy Christmas (or whatever your winter holiday of choice) :-D

I've been waiting forever for Full Tilt to come back online! Of course, it's never down (unless I want to play!) I have renewed vigor to play since I realized that Poker Tracker is now available for Mac :)

It's also tea time. Tea is my new thing. I need to get some decaf chai tea, because the chai green tea I'm currently enjoying is caffeinated, and I cut out caffeine a few years ago. Luckily, I found a Tazo decaf chai (which is probably delish, as it's the Tazo regular chai that I fell in love with at Starbucks, per Maura's advice at the WPBT Winter Classic last weekend).

Tonight, though, I'm hitting an herbal tea - an apple cinnamon concoction - because it's too late at night to hit the caf-pow chai. I've got a KO SnG going on Full Tilt now. Watching Poker After Dark, and Jennifer Harman just explained that 6 pack abs are hard to pull off - a 5 pack is easy. It's the 6th pack that's hard. LMAO! I'll take 5. That's fine.

Poker After Dark seems very slow now, after I've grown to enjoy the PS.net Big Game with the Loose Cannon. I love Jennifer Harman though. I'll deal with it.

Oooh, Aces!

And, at this joker-riffic table, I doubled up. My competitor said in chat, "$!!@ing retards ONLY PLAYING ACES." Yup! 10 hands into the tourney. You know me so well. Keep on shipping with your pocket 5's 10 hands in, scooby. Doobeedooo!

I see Annie Duke is drinking tea too. So, who are my tea drinkers out there? I need some suggestions on how to become a tea aficionado.

So here's a question. Some people sit there with the same tea bag, filling their cups over and over. Yet, on the tea box instructions, it says 1 tea bag per 8 oz. cup. My mugs are 16 oz. so I'm using 2 tea bags. I tried using just 1 (thinking people make multiple cups out of their 1 tea bag), and it was too weak. Blech. So, what am I missing? Do those people just drink weak tea?

So, all you Chicago locals have to get with me this summer. I'm captaining a Relay for Life team to benefit the American Cancer Society, in honor and memory of my dad and other friends and family members that have been affected by cancer. The event isn't until July, so there's plenty of time to mark your calendars and come out and join Team: What About Bob? or donate :)

Chugging along... nothing doing in my FTP tourney.... I just labeled somebody an "aggro fish." Moving right along, about 20% above the average chip stack.

But man, the aggro fish is just getting smacked on the side of the head with the deck. Ugh.

Update: Sweet! I just knocked out the aggro fish! Trudging through hand-for-hand now.... and... on break! Bubble is next to go. I should be able to fold long enough to get past it, but you never know...

Whew! Would you believe I almost bubbled? LOL, AQ vs 99, but I flopped top pair. Wheee final table!

Alrighty, time to pay attention. Here goes!

Day 4:

Sunday started out as a bit of a cluster*#ck. Minneapolis Airport was completely shut down on Sunday night due to a blizzard, and Chicago was under a winter weather advisory with high winds. I really did not want to sleep in the airport, because I figured I'd eventually get to MN, but there was no way my evening Chicago flight was going to make it. So I tried to call Delta to rebook my flights for Monday. For 2 hours, I couldn't get through, because their phone recording said that they couldn't answer my call due to extreme weather. Their headquarters is in MN. Gah!

Eventually, I got through, and while the customer service rep initially said that my flights did not appear to be affected (they showed as "on time" online), I explained that by the time I have to catch the flights that afternoon, that situation would likely change. He put me on hold with his awesome Australian accent, and came back and agreed to rebook me based on the weather conditions in MN. I got an 11am flight the next morning, but then his computer wasn't working properly and he transferred me to someone else to do the actual booking. I had to go through the whole situation again with her, as she was of course saying, "Your flights don't appear to be affected..." After a few holds, she came back and rebooked me. Whew! I had no trouble getting a room at MGM, as the rodeo was heading out of town and MGM was glad to have me.

It turns out, my original flight to MN was delayed by 4 hours, and my flight to Chicago was canceled. (I would have missed it anyway, and it was the last flight of the day to Chicago). So I would have ended up sleeping at the MN airport. All hail proactiveness! (Is that a word?)

These new flight plans allowed me to make it to Legasse's Stadium at the Palazzo, Emeril's place (BAM!) Full Tilt was sponsoring part of the food/bar tab, and what great food it was! I had cheese pizza and some awesome hummus. For me to say the pizza was fantastic is a big deal - I'm from Chicago, people. I know pizza. Delicious. So good! I ate way too much and was finally able to pawn off the last two pieces of pizza to Alan.

I got to see just how awful the snow was in Chicago on the big screen (while the Bears were getting crushed). I was glad to stay in the Vegas weather for one more day!

April, Maura, and I bid farewell to the blogger-folk after a few hours and walked over to the Wynn. I'd never been there. Nice place. Like I said, I may check out their limit games next time MGM can't get anything going for me. Maura and April then headed back to their room and I headed down to the MGM poker room. I spent a few hours losing and winning the same $50 at 1/2 NL. April let me know that they were going to watch the Amazing Race finale and would come get me afterward. Sounded good to me - we had plans to find a cheap craps table!!

In the meantime, I hit gold. The fact that it was against a bunch of frat boys (one of which was so drunk he kept ordering Red Bull and vodkas, forgetting that he had one in his cup holder each time) was just a bonus.... set over set over straight, 4 way all in - and me with the nut flush draw. The pot was laying me 4:1 to make the call all-in after the flop, and I was 4-flushed. I was either gonna get up and go play craps, or win a shit-ton of loot. All in!

And... SCORE!

The three frat boys immediately left the table in disgust. I didn't notice until after I finished stacking all those pretty pretty chips.

I played for another 45 minutes or so, until April and Maura came down to get me. I made back my whole weekend bankroll right there. That's what I needed :)

First, we walked across the street to Hooters, hoping to find a cheap craps table. No luck - and, ewww. Hooters is so blah. I think even the restaurants are nicer than the casino. So we walked over to the "improved" Tropicana, and - wow! Very nice! Very clean, very white. I would definitely stay there! Many people noted how scummy the place was in recent past, but they've done a great job with the remodeling and redecoration. I liked it, anyway.

We played some slots to take advantage of a new player card promotion, and while we played, the craps tables dropped to $5! Maura and I played a little craps (it was her first time), and while we didn't win anything, we had some fun. It was a perfect, quiet table for learning the game. And I love rolling the dice!

And that was about it... I headed back to my room and crashed out, then packed up on Monday morning and headed out. All of my flights went OK on Monday with only minor delays. Still, it was 11pm before I pulled into my driveway at home. Long, long day.

Overall, a most excellent trip. I had such a blast seeing everybody, and it's always fun to come home even! :-D I can't wait till next year!

Day 3:

Tourney day!!!

First up: My very first chai tea latte ever. I had mentioned to my new favorite foodie, Maura, that I had been trying different teas lately. It's friggin cold in Chicago, and I don't like coffee. Hot chocolate has too damn many calories, so I've been trying to acquire a taste for tea. Maura suggested I try the chai tea latte at Starbucks, so I did, with soy milk. It was wonderful!! I cannot allow myself to get anything more than the Tall. At 145 calories, an occasional tall won't kill me, but I don't like to drink my calories (at least not while I'm trying to lose weight). But oh... so good! I've since bought some organic free trade chai green tea to make my own lattes, minus the sweetener. So good! It's my new favorite thing.

I was excited to check out Aria. Beautiful place. They really treated us right and had super comfy adjustable chairs in the poker room. I drew table 2 seat 3, up in the back room. Poker Grump was at my table, as well as Otis, Josie, and AlCan'tHang's personal assistant. Maigrey ended up at table 2, as well as BadBlood and briefly, Iggy. (I'm missing some people, but again... no notes. Sorry).

I won my first bounty from Poker Grump. Thank goodness, because I hadn't packed any extra clothes and so at least I had a clean t-shirt to wear when my flights got rebooked and I had to stay in Vegas an extra day!

I'm sad to report that I didn't bring a bounty prize. I had meant to - I was going to make a box of Scooby Snacks - but I just didn't have time. Next year, I promise!

The next bounty I picked up was after a table change. I can't remember who I won it from (somebody help me!!) - but it's the infamous Wild Turkey shooter that has passed through several hands, including those of Dr. Pauly and OhCaptain. I had to throw away a bottle of shampoo in order to fit the Wild Turkey into my liquid carry-on baggie, but it was so worth it! Now I have a must-attend order in place for the 2011 Winter Classic. :)

My favorite bounty, though, was a very cool photograph from OhCaptain. I didn't manage to get it signed - that means he has to come out to Vegas in 2011, too!

As we got later into the game, I was staaaarving! On a break, I ran around the corner and paid $20 for a falafel sandwich. I had no idea what falafel was, but it was the only vegetarian option available. It turned out to be delicious! I like falafel. The Aria folks pulled up a side table for me and I nom'd in between hands. I finally got to meet the real Dawn Summers at that table, too.

I was in good chip position as we broke to two tables, but a couple unlucky hits put me into bad shape as the bubble approached. I did what I could.... 9 places paid, but the bubble got a prize, so in my definition of the bubble, it was 11th place (i.e. the first place that gets no prize). Whaddya know... I finished 11th. That makes me the first blogger to bubble in two different WPBT tournaments!! Woohooo!!

I was hugely disappointed, mostly because my last-longer teammates were counting on me. We actually had a shot to make the top 3 teams, had I lasted through a few more bust-outs. Sorry, guys :( I tried!

CJ later told me that 10th place agreed to chop the bubble prize with me, since we busted at the same time (though s/he had more chips than I did - I'm not even sure who it was!) So, I got $50 for my 9 hours of play. Oy. Better than nothing, but still... I'm bummed that I let my team down. I wouldn't have done anything differently. Honestly, knowing my own weaknesses, I think I played my best game ever on Saturday. It just wasn't meant to be.

I watched a bit of the action and just couldn't get my head outta the funk, so I decided to walk back to MGM. I came across an art gallery on my way out of Aria and got my mojo back with some amazing nature photography. It was a nice walk back, and I decided to see what was happening in the MGM poker room.

Again, they couldn't get a limit table going, so I played 1/2 NL. Big mistake. I was very quickly exhausted, and I should have just left. I started getting all back into my head funk again, pulling that negative self-talk of, "Might as well lose it all... losing today anyway..." Thankfully I walked away after 1 buy-in and just went to bed.

Day 2:

Started out with breakfast at MGM's Studio Cafe with CA April. I had a very pretty veggie frittata, though I did learn that I don't really like artichokes (or maybe I just didn't like them in this particular preparation - I'll try them again someday). We headed to the MGM poker room to have a look around, and ran into Sweet Sweet Pablo (and I'm drawing a blank on everybody else, but there were a few of us!). We sat down to a .50/1.00 beginner's NL table (LMAO!)

I gave Evil Evil Pablo like $40 when I called him down just to see it. I think he took a big chunk off me later on too with a boat! Then he gave it all to the crank old guy to my right (GAH keep it in the family, brotha!!) I ended up dropping a hundo at a game that was supposed to just be for fun, but it's all good. We had fun.

I'm trying to remember what we did next... What the heck did we do Friday?! Oh, I think I remember! We tram'd it down to Mandalay Bay to check out the Burger Bar. I had read that they had an excellent veggie burger (and they did!). Now, THAT was some good eats! Sweet potato fries... nom nom nom.

Then, it was back to MGM, where the mixed games were starting up. I decided to skip the mixed games this year. Played some NL (because MGM was completely incapable of getting a 3/6 or 4/8 limit table going all weekend - fail. I did later discover that the Wynn runs 4/8 limit, so I may have to keep that in mind). OhCaptain was getting kicked in the gut. I didn't fare much better. I did get to meet a drunk Waffles (finally!), who I doubt remembers meeting me until Saturday. :)

Day 1 - Geisha!:

It has been so long since I've written a trip report! That means I haven't been spending enough time in Vegas. Must rectify that in 2011.

Back in the day, I'd have a notebook full of scribbles to draw up my trip report from, but alas - I am an irresponsible blogger these days. Maybe if I carried one of those trendy moleskin notebooks, I'd take notes. And a fancy pen - I would need a fancy pen. But I didn't equip myself with such luxuries, so you're stuck with my powers of recollection.

The trip started out pretty bad. I've already bitched about my poor decision in booking a Delta trip with connections (since I had to pack everything in a carry-on to avoid the baggage fees). It turns out that Delta just sucked all around, and I'll never fly them again if I can help it. The first leg of my outbound flight to Minnesota was delayed by over 4 hours due to a mechanical problem on the plane. It wasn't a problem they were trying to fix, however - they just couldn't find a mechanic to override the automatic grounding function when a plane only has 2 of 3 de-ice systems working. They finally found a mechanic to override the system, and we flew to MN on 2 de-icers.

I was rebooked on a new connecting flight to Vegas with what appeared like it would be a 3 hour layover in MN. However, my first leg was so late that I had to play out that stereotypical scene of the girl running through the airport, bags in tow. I got to the gate and literally got right onto the plane. It was nuts. Off to Vegas.

The only good thing about the flight was that my second leg was on a wi-fi plane. It was my first time using in-flight wifi, which was free thanks to Google's holiday promotion. Of course, the flight was delayed sitting at the gate upon arrival because no crew was ready to usher us into the airport. Oy. Never again.

(Wifi, by the way, was pretty sweet. I'd say it was just about DSL-quality broadband speed. The only annoyance was that it kept dropping out and I had to keep re-signing in).

Since I had already missed CA April and Maura at the airport, I txt'd them to see where they were. Luckily, I'd arrived just in time to meet them for dinner at Mon Ami Gabi at Paris. I had an awesome roasted veggie platter (though anything probably would have seemed awesome - I was ready to eat my arm off by that point).

After dinner, I headed to MGM and checked in, then headed over to the Geisha Bar at IP. Make new friends, but keep the old.... I was lapping the craps tables when I ran into CA April and Maura. It was definitely a warm welcome to meet Numbono and be treated to a tequila shot. He didn't believe me that I didn't know the rules on how to do a tequila shot. Truth, yo. Also met OhCaptain, and Dr Chako and the Mrs. (BTW, the MGM wanted $25 to use their treadmills! Gah!). Compared tattoos with Falstaff, and solidified my newfound status as the third member of his last-longer team. Greeted Kat and talked Canada. Was Joanada there? Or was that the next day?

The best part of the night, though, was yet to come. After letting Iggy think I was some Geisha n00b for a while (hey, April must have told him 48 times, "You know this is Shelly, right?!"), I won a bet regarding my age. (It is quite handy to look a decade younger than I actually am!) Iggy checked out my driver's license and proceeded through a series of mortified apologies. (It's all good, dude!) With that, Iggy proceeded to challenge me to rock paper scissors. Can I just say - EVERY WOMAN'S DREAM! To just have the opportunity to throw down RPS vs. Iggy was momentous in itself, but...

To WIN?!

FIVE BUCKS! Wheeeee! I think I deserve a trophy.

Later on, two of my favorite peeps ever arrived: Gracie and Sweet Sweet Pablo! Chatted save-the-earth concerns with Gracie and old school metal with Pablo. I still think that guy totally looked like Bret Michaels and am only mildly embarrassed at how many of the lyrics to Unskinny Bop I remember.

I made it back to the hotel room around 3am and got some zzz's.

... and all through the house, could be heard me screaming "Why the hell did I pick this stupid cheap Delta flight, and how am I going to survive with just a carry-on??!"

I fly out tomorrow for the WPBT tourney (VEGAS, BABY!). Though I've seen a couple bloggers here and there, it has been several years since I've officially made it to a WPBT event. I'm excited to see everybody again!!

But I should have just booked Southwest. No layovers, no checked bag fees... so that's me, trying to save a dime. I realized last night that I will have to spend the weekend without any of my hair care products. That. Sucks.

Or, I suck it up and pay $50 to bring a checked suitcase - which means, the flight is no longer cheap, AND it has stupid layovers! Ugh.

Me = not brilliant.

But this cranberry whipped banana oatmeal I just made is the cat's ass. (That's a good thing, even though it doesn't sound like it).

I think last time I went to Vegas, I needed a new couch. I still need a new couch. I have delusions of grandeur that involve the deck smacking me upside the head, and me coming home with all kinds of phat loot. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!!

I have a new cell phone number since last I met most of you, so if you're on Facebook and want the number, hit me up there!

See ya's soon!!!

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

Have a safe and peaceful holiday, and good luck at the tables :)

Enjoy it while it lasts! I'm in 1st place overall in the online poker league I play in. It's very early in the season, and a big win this week pushed me up the ranks. So I'll enjoy my 5 minutes of fame before I fall back into the middle of the pack... :)

I've been watching the PokerStars.net Big Game on TV (the one with the whole loose canon thing). Week after week, it seems the players with the most cash in front of them are the ones 3 and 4 betting preflop. Now, of course, that only works because it's a pot limit game preflop on this show, but still. I think the message is clear: preflop aggression can be lucrative.

I've settled pretty comfortably over the years into a game that is a bit aggressive post-flop, but very passive preflop. And I do alright. But for the first time, I'm actually starting to believe that if I'd grow me a pair preflop, I could be more successful.

Can I beat my inner chicken and start raising a bit more preflop (and with hands other than top 10's?)

It sure would be nice to make some tweaks and get into a good groove for Vegas in December!

Summer's winding down, kids. To me, that means, poker season!

I live in Chicago, and it gets friggin cold here. Miserable cold. So I spend a lot more time indoors in the winter. Someday I hope for this not to be true - because I hope not to be in Chicago! I hope to be someplace warmer, someday. But for now... Chicago it is.

I've started saving up my poker fund for December's WPBT gathering. I haven't made it out to one in a few years, and can't wait to see everybody again (especially Waffles! Dude, have I ever even met you yet?!) Would love to see all of my buddies again :) I can't wait! And I'll definitely need some recovery time from the Chicago weather by then.

Who's with me for Vegas in December?!

Has anybody noticed that Viffer looks like Goose in Top Gun? I didn't see it until they started interviewing him on The Big Game, after he rivered a pot against Giang. The mouth hanging open all the time has to go, but when nicely composed, he totally looks like Anthony Edwards.

I finished in the middle of the pack in the online poker league I played in. I'm debating playing the next season. The problem is, the games are on Monday nights at 8pm, and I work until 7pm. By the time I get out of work and home, I'd be lucky to be home in time. I'd most certainly miss at least a few minutes. But a few minutes isn't that bad, and I could probably make it home for the start of some games. We'll see.

I've warmed up a bit to The Big Game. The commentary has gotten better, and like my initial impression, I do like all of the statistics they provide. I really enjoyed the week with Nadia.

I am, however, getting sick of the colon cleanse and hair restoration commercials.

I've got a trip to San Diego coming up. Looks like the Barona Casino is about a half hour away. Any opinions of their poker room? Or other nearby poker rooms?

Ahh well. My little micro SnG on Full Tilt has ended anti-climatically. Such is life.

Like the title says... I hate it when the buffet is the best part of a poker night.

Don't get me wrong - I loves me a good buffet! I'm sure Ed would keep my secret, but in the spirit of full disclosure, yes. We hit up the Empress Casino buffet and I caved to the lure of chocolate-vanilla twist soft serve with a crumbled chocolate chip cookie on top. And yes, I'm about to go run 3 miles in penance.

Anyhooo, on the advice of a dealer at Empress, I headed back there last night with my friend Ed in tow to go fishing. The dealer said that Thursday nights were the best.

Boy, was she wrong. I spent 7 hours tossing lures into a friggin rock quarry.

I made good on my observation from the other night and bet after those orphan pots (and won a few of them). I also made bad on an old tendency to overplay big pocket pairs.

But let's back up a bit. I made it off of the feeder table up $50 or so - always a good thing. I settled into the main game and was in good company. I liked my neighbors to the left and right. We chatted photography and birds and poker TV and the passage of the HR2267 bill (one dealer hadn't heard about it. I felt so politically savvy).

I was fairly card dead throughout the night, but survived on conversation. About 5 hours in, I saw a flop with AK. Flopped the gutshot Broadway draw. Called an early position bet. The turn was a blank. The bettor checked to me. I took that as weakness, and I bet out. I was hoping to take the pot away from the guy right there. But then - whoops. Didn't realize there was another guy to act behind me. I thought we were heads up. He called. The other guy folded. (Damn. My semi-bluff probably would have worked had we been heads up). I should have taken a moment to recompose my thoughts. The realization of my screw-up had me discombobulated (though the dealer was not announcing the number of players in the hand like they usually do). The river fell a blank and I checked. The other guy bet out, and I figured I could only beat a bluff. I folded.

He showed his bluff - AQ. He was open-ended. My bluff was better than his! Had I pulled the trigger on the river, I'd have taken that pot.

I suck.

Then, one of the quieter regular old gents gave me some advice under his breath. Obviously, those two had tangled before. I believe the phrase he used was "reckless ol' bully," explaining that the guy bluffs all the time and bets with nothing. A punk kid rolled his eyes and nodded in agreement.

It really depends on the situation as to whether or not I take advice from regulars. Sometimes I sense that there's an unspoken bond between them that compels the regulars to stick together (and possibly mislead the non-regular "targets"). More often, though, the advice turns out to be genuine. I think I do get more unsolicited advice as a girl than I would as a guy, and in this case, I think it was genuine.

Noted: the Brett Hull lookin' guy is an aggro-bluffer (BH for short).

As the last couple hours wore on, I noted several hands where BH showed down crap, pushing all the way. This reinforced Gramp's advice, and I can't say that it wasn't in the back of my head as I embarked upon what would be my last hand of the night.

QQ in the big blind. I hate playing big hands from the blinds. Despise. Loathe. Did I mention that I hate playing big hands from the blinds? Grr. Anyway. It was limped 3 ways. I raised preflop to 6xBB (average raise for the table was 3.5x BB). Got 3 callers (surprise!). Flop came Axx. Small blind checked to me. I bet out $40 (pot size). BH (aggro-bluffer) called. The rest folded. Turn came a blank.

I'd been all in with BH one time since the bluff hand, and had beat him with a straight. In my trigger-happy (and rather exhausted) state, my puzzle assessment said that a) he'd assume that I had something (he thought I made a big laydown on his bluff, which is why he showed it, and the last time I went all in, I had a monster), and b) he had nothing, because he's a friggin aggro-donk bluffmonster.

I pushed all in. It was only about a pot-sized push, but still. He didn't take long to call with his Ace. I was felted.

Lesson for today: slow down. Even though I had a game plan during that last hand, had I slowed down and just reviewed my thoughts, I'd have come upon a realization that would probably have prevailed. Why play a big pot with just 2nd pair? He called a preflop raise. He could very well have an Ace. Sure, it had a craptacular kicker, but it was an Ace. Don't let the target on his forehead take precedent over solid reasoning. Trigger-happy moves tend to be careless moves.

Ed seemed to finish better than I did, though I left before him and didn't get the final tally. Now, it's time for me to go run off some of last night's buffet debauchery. (Thanks, Ed! nom nom nom). Speaking of - the Empress buffet was pretty good. It was no Vegas buffet (I really wish there was a section with Chinese food), but the food was good - above decent but below awesome.

Off to run!

I checked out the "new" Empress Casino poker room last night. Well, it's new to me - I haven't been there since the fire. Wow, has it really been over a year? March 2009. *counts on fingers* Yup.

I've been watching a lot of episodes of The Big Game, and last night I was jonesing for some live poker, and I felt lucky. I had no luck finding an accomplice for my evening debauchery, but that has never stopped me before. That familiar adrenaline-fueled tingle jump started my heart as I pulled onto the casino grounds. Oh, how sweet it is!

I was quickly lost. The parking lot was no longer the parking lot. I missed the entrance for the parking garage (what?! There's a parking garage?!) and had to loop back around. Then, I drove around the parking garage looking for the casino entrance. Ahh, there it is!

I walked to the building and... oh boy, lost again. Elevators! OK... now what? Mazes of hallways! OK... wow, the old atrium is gone (presumably to be built back up into something even more spectacular someday). OK, walking through the maze... Then, up ahead, I spied something familiar - the big ol' hallway leading to the entrance to the boat (well, I guess it's technically a barge... but we call them all boats).

I entered the casino floor and noticed some things had been rearranged. Also, the carpeting was new, and the place smelled better than ever (probably because it had never been smoked in since the post-fire remodeling). Fresh air! Shiny things! New carpet! I walked along the left corridor towards the poker room - or, what used to be the poker room. What?! It's gone! And... there's a giant buffet back there! I want cards, not chicken wings! Gah!

I lapped back around the other side, looking for the poker room. No luck. I noticed that all of the other table games were gone, and it started to make sense. The slots took over the main level, and the table games must be downstairs. I had to hurry - I was going to lose my spot on the poker room board if I didn't find the place soon!

I took the escalator downstairs, and breathed a sigh of relief - there it was, around the corner to the right. The new and improved poker room. Bigger (maybe 5 or 6 tables now instead of 3?). Nicer - lots of TV's and more space between the tables. Centrally located - the deli is right there across from the poker room. Awesome :)

Oh - and they give comp points to poker players now! 50 cents an hour. Better than the previous comps (i.e. a big ol' goose egg!)

I was in for another surprise, though, as I sat down with my buy-in. They no longer spread the $5/10 limit game. Now, I was never really in love with that game. I played a heck of a lot of it, but mostly because Empress is 15 minutes from my house, whereas the Indiana boats spreading the $1/2 NL games are 45 minutes from my house (on a good day - an hour+ on a bad day). I do enjoy limit hold'em, but that's more because I'm a chicken and love math. I find that on my good days, I'm much better at no-limit (though on my bad days, I'm pretty bad).

Anyway, all 3 tables that were running were $1/2 NL hold'em, and according to the guy next to me, that's just about all they run there anymore. Limit never runs, and the $500 max NL sometimes runs. That's just fine with me - $1/2 NL is my game, and bonus - it's a $200 max buy-in (whereas the IN boats are $100 max /edit - thanks, Laoch! Looks like both Majestic and the Horseshoe in IN have $200 max buy-in's on their 1/2 NL games now).

I treaded water at the feeder table for a couple hours. Up $40, down $40, and back and forth. It seems like the main goal in a feeder table scenario is to get away from the feeder table with at least your original buy-in intact. I had a particularly disappointing experience with JJ that had me down half a stack at one point, and then the magic hit.

Two hands in a row. First, I flopped the nut flush in diamonds beautiful diamonds. I had a crazy guy betting into me on the flop, which I smooth called. The turn came a blank. He checked, and I checked behind. On the river, he shoved all in.

Money. Too bad he only had like $60 left. I called, scooped a sweet pot, and woke up the Asian guy two to my right who proceeded to recap the entire hand, praising my stealth ninja check on the turn. I'd rather not have the whole table clued in to any notion that I might know what I'm doing, but I won't lie - I enjoyed the compliment.

The crazy guy rebought for $100 and the next hand was dealt. I looked down at 55. I'll take it. It was a limped pot until the crazy guy raised to $10. 3 people called, and so did I, and so did the 2 guys after me. 6 to the flop.

It came: 55x.

I had plenty of time to wait for my action, and I needed it, because I was counting the dots on the first two cards just to be sure I was seeing them correctly. Did I seriously just flop quads? Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

Check check check all the way around to the crazy guy. He pushed all in. Fold fold fold ME! CALL! Fold fold.

'dem's quads, bitches!

Just as I was stacking my new found glory, the brush came up and announced my move to the main game. Gah! Just as things were heating up!

I spent a couple hours on the main game, mostly folding. Picked up a couple small pots, and left when the action started to get really drunk and shove-happy. I know, I know - that's when you most want to be at the table: when the donks are making idiot moves. But I was happy to skate with my winnings and check out.

As I drove home reflecting on the session, I pondered the usual - things I need to improve in my game. I noticed one thing in particular that I have fixed in my online game but apparently not in my live game. I am reluctant to bet out in a live game, particularly when I have nothing but there are loose chips in the pot and nobody is vying to get them. Online, I've learned to steal blinds and bet after those stray pots. It often works. Last night, though, I wasn't doing that. There weren't many chances to steal blinds (as most pots went 4 or 5 way to the flop), but there were plenty of situations where I was in late position and it checked around to me on the flop or turn, with nobody showing any strength.

In my head, I assume most players on these low-limit games are calling stations - and they are. But when somebody finally did throw in a bet at these checked pots, they usually took it down.

That somebody needs to be me more often.

One dealer noted that Thursday nights are the best night in the poker room. I wonder what my evening holds....

Be the One. Sign the petition. Restore the Gulf.