Monday, February 28, 2005

a psalm for bad beats...

1. The Lord is my dealer, I should not want…
2. But how long, oh Lord, will we suffer the mocking of fools
3. My enemies mock me and draw to their 3 outers
4. They throw chip after chip in, and bring it back 10 fold.
5. Good play is useless to me….what good does raising with AK do for the man who is in Sheol. My enemies play 42 offsuit on an AK4 board and go runner runner boat.
6. My closest friends are in the muck, where they would have given me the nuts
7. but though I walk thru the valley of the shadow of bad beats, I shall fear no evil…Thine disciples Sklansky and Malmuth, they comfort me.
8. Even the nature of math herself comforts me for every 3 outer has 3 times where it doesn’t come in
9. though my bankroll languish and whither away, I shall be comforted in knowing I played the hand correctly.
10. and your patience is finite….these dumbasses cannot prosper forever.
11. I shall fear no WPT wannabe, playing a 50 buck tourney with shades and a hood, throwing Hellmuth tantrums and trying to stare me down.
12. I gird myself in the breastplate of good preflop strategy, the helm of the checkraise, the belt of the semi-bluff, and the boots of pot odds and I arm myself with the sword of the blind steal.
13. and I shall dwell in the game of poker forever, but not play Jesus, cause he always flops the nuts, AMEN.

as a stress reliever from the previous night's tourney debacles, I picked up 10 bucks and played .25/.50 cent Stud.

I can see why Felicia likes the game....people online are friggen morons...I hardly ever play it, but by playing tight and betting the big ones (no fancy play here) I took a 10 buck buyin up to 27 before cashing at 24.

two tourneys last night I made the top 20 percent and was fighting my way to the top 10 percent.

I suppose it's inevitible that when you play as tight as I do, most of your tourney endings are bad beat stories...but fuck almighty....JJ vs 22, KK vs K7, QQ vs A3, ATs vs KJo - AK vs AQ - how long, o Lord must we suffer fools on the poker table. How long...my bankroll cries out in anguish.... My enemies flop 3 outers all the FUCKING time and mock me, good play is useless to me, as it is to a man in the grave.

I do get some good losses, however. Couple times I got busted when someone slowplayed AA/KK and caught me with top pair. However, I laugh at those fools...I have been saved as many times by people slowplaying as I have been trapped by it. I welcome more people giving me free cards to snap them off.

RB

RB

10 from the money in a $20 buck Pokerstars NL - (63 pays...we're about 73) - and I run into a bonefida goddamn fool.

Table '5472434 54' Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: FaXXX (17919 in chips)
Seat 3: whiskeytown (8556 in chips)
whiskeytown: posts the ante 50
whiskeytown: posts small blind 400
JustinHerazz: posts big blind 800
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to whiskeytown [Qs Qd]
FaXXX: raises 1600 to 2400
whiskeytown: raises 6106 to 8506 and is all-in
FaXXX: calls 6106
*** FLOP *** [4d Ac Jh]
*** TURN *** [4d Ac Jh] [7h]
*** RIVER *** [4d Ac Jh 7h] [6c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
whiskeytown: shows [Qs Qd] (a pair of Queens)
FaXXX: shows [3c Ah] (a pair of Aces)
FaXXX collected 18212 from pot

*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 18212 | Rake 0
Board [4d Ac Jh 7h 6c]
Seat 1: FaXXX showed [3c Ah] and won (18212) with a pair of Aces
Seat 3: whiskeytown (small blind) showed [Qs Qd] and lost with a pair of Queens

----------

what kind of a fucking idiot doesn't realize when his blind steal gets repopped he's probably drawing dead.... - goddamn fools rewarded with miracle cards....fuck.

Saturday, February 26, 2005

holy fuck....

it's 7:40 am and I just got off work and I'm considering going to the bar/liquor store at 8am.

yes, the night was that bad....the kind that gives you chest pains from stress - jesus....at least I'm off for the next 4 days.

somedays I worry someone's gonna say I screwed up one too many times....or that I'm too high up the food chain for my abilities....then I'll be back to square one.

it wouldn't be so bad except when I look at my life as a series of defined goals, I really haven't been meeting any of them....

screw it...liquor stores will still be open when I wake up from a nap if I still feel like it...so will the online poker rooms.

RB

Thursday, February 24, 2005

I got yer friendly fire right here, sissy boy. (I'm waiting for my copy of Bill Mallonee's new CD to come in...still waiting so far....ach) -

I could probably write for hrs. tonight if I wanted to. I'm tired - dopey, and on a conference call which kills my access to doing other work related things right now - can't call anything out or listen to too much.

Daniel Neg. and his fiance have called it quits. As a hopeless romantic, I am always saddened when good relationships go bad - apparently he's quite at peace with it though. Of course, having millions of dollars may just attract the kind of women you need to get over a broken heart. I hope so...otherwise, what's the point in being rich....LOL

reminds me of a song my friend David Hanners wrote called Average Midwestern Wedding - he's got a chorus that speaks a lot -

Everybody knows what they wanted
Everybody knows why they came
They're here for the minor miracle
And they hope to leave with part of the same

so the contrast is that when we see it fail, we see part of what we're hoping for fail as well - or maybe I just get depressed too fucking easy....LOL

I did see one couple who got married in Vegas and one who was back for the 1 yr. anniversary....no masses of Valentine's Day setups though....oh yah, a guy getting married that afternoon when I played him that morning.

how about a few quickies? A man can always take a quickie.

-------------------------------
Watched the Battle for Algiers this week....rereleased with a new print on CD - a classic that every asshole who's pimping for war in Iraq right now should watch.
-------------------------------
One of my fellow coworkers who competed with me for my job got hired on this week. He had been a contractor and let go and now is an employee, so that's cool. I emailed him about the position when it opened, so I am glad he's back in the working world...it's still tough out there.
-------------------------------
Here's some Kate Rusby lyrics to balance out the negative -

Cruel (trad, I think - but her music is killer)

Cruel were my parents, to tear my love from me,
Cruel was the pressgang that took him to the sea,
Cruel was the little boat that rowed him off the strand,
and cruel was the big ship, that took him from the land,
Haul away, boys, haul away,
haul away, boys, haul away.

Cruel was the water, that ship it sailed upon,
cruel was the fair wind, for now my loves he's gone,
had you blown a roaring gale they'd have left him on dry land,
where he would walk besides me and I would hold his hand,
Haul away boys, haul away,
haul away boys, haul away.

The ring beneath my pillow, is the ring he gave to me,
I'll wear it on my finger, for all the world to see,
But cruel was the captain, the bo'sun, and the men,
for they didn't give a farthing if I saw my love again,
Haul away, boys, haul away,
haul away boys, haul away.

Cruel were my parents, to tear my love from me,
Cruel was the pressgang that took him to the sea,
Cruel was the little boat that rowed him off the strand,
and cruel was the big ship, that took him from the land,
Haul away, boys, haul away,
haul away, boys, haul away.
--------------------------------

I suppose at this point, it is time to send a word out to Hunter S. Thompson.

Didn't read his shit at all, though Johnny Depp's acting should have endeared me to him instantly - odd - now I'll hop on the bandwagon and read his books. I'm weird though, it really take a book to fight my Short Attention Span leanings - though I am finding a severly kindred spirit....terrifying, to say the least.

Ah well, what can ya do...I don't feel like ending up an invalid in my hospital bed either. better to die then not be able to live - hope the devil spits him outta there and sends him to heaven to torment God for awhile.

haul away boys,
RB

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

I just found out Full Tilt is running a private RGP tourney tonight.

It's a HORSE tourney. (Holdem, Omaha 8 or better, Razz, Stud, Stud Eight or better) - I recall putting up a comment demanding more of these just a couple weeks ago.

Maybe someone's reading the site....LOL

pax
RB

I'm sitting at home, slumming in a 1/2 game on Full Tilt - It's all I can do since I am essentially BROKE....LOL - I have done the damage on the Vegas trip on the spreadsheet, and I'm down $750 for the yr. as of Feb. Interesting, if I do the math semi right, I must have coughed up about $100 in tips that week - well good. I did my duty, damn it

I told Felicia I wasn't gonna count it initially - write it off as vacation - but ya know....that don't feel fair - so I put it in there. an $88 gain in home games was wiped out last night by an $88 loss at Canterbury, and my best shot at 2 or 3 grand went down in flames when AK got snapped by AQ in the Celeb. bounty tourney on Full Tilt..

fuck.....my tourney luck is in the fucking tanker - I've decided to take the $150 deposit I was gonna put in Party for ring games and put it into Pokerstars for some $10/20 action tourneys with 1000 players....try to get some big scores - but probably not until after I finish Dan's book - which I should have done - I made the mistake of reading in a bar, so now I have to go back and reread it all. He made the money at the WPT, but not the final table. Sounds like Michael Mizrachi made a hell of a comeback to win it -

I've been obsessed with Kate Rusby lately (her music, not as a stalker....LOL) - seems like that's all that's in my walkman or car or PC - it's hard to describe the combination of sadness and beauty that's in so many of her songs - to a person like me, prone to being depressed, this could be a bad idea.....but fuck, they're so beautiful I can't turn away.

I'm debating HDTV's right now . - the 50 inch Sony Grand WEGA rear projection LCD tv looks good - but I dunno...I don't think I want HDTV ready, though - just give me the damn HDTV right now. Any good recommendations, let me know - I'll be a few weeks before I act on it - I want my credit card debt GONE. By then maybe more DLP TV's will be out there and prices will go down again...

just what I need - a bigass TV for summer.

I feel like I should have other stuff, but it's escaping my mind right now - maybe later.

RB

Monday, February 21, 2005

God, maybe I should start drinking again while playing tourneys. I had great results in Vegas playing slightly sauced, and good results at home.

As it stands now, I'm 10/10 in losses - many of them to 3 outers. Funny how many times in my notes I have comments like "AK vs AJ....chump hit a 3 outer" - stuff like that - AK vs K9 - AK vs AQ (my fav. bustout last night - get up to 10000 the first hr. and it all bleeds away till I get called with my last 7K by AQ....he went on to the top 4 that tourney, probably on the strength of his 3 outers)

it's hard to play a tourney, see you have a dominating hand, and just totally give up before the cards fall cause you know the fucker is going to get that 3rd card that gives him the game. Christ almight...

RB

Saturday, February 19, 2005

almost forgot this one....just a little one.

I'm walking out of Bellagio the first time past the shops, and I see three security guys (one small guy in a suit and two BIG guys in red coats) standing near the door to Tiffany's? - (the jewelry store...I thought it was Tiffany's)

I slow down expecting to see some famous celebrity in there like Celine Dion or someone doing some special shopping, but there's a few people in there.

As a guy came out, they walked up to him and started talking/escorting him somewhere....so SOMEONE got busted for something....LOL -

just thought that was interesting....got to see it finally.

RB

Whiskeytown trip report – Las Vegas –

So, as was common knowledge, I spent this week in Lost Wages –

SUNDAY: - Starstruck

The morning starts off positive EV – I head from work after 7am to the airport via light rail, get my flight (I have 4 hrs to kill before it goes but I didn’t feel like going home) and I find that I still have time for the 9:30 flight if the line thru security is short… - free tkt. transfer and all – SO, I rush to the gate, sit for 10 min, board, and I’m on my way 4 hrs early. I have to get a hold of Felicialee and tell her not to come pick me up at 4pm, but come 10am local time, I am at the airport. The line there is around the block, but after 20 minutes, a cab arrives to get me to the Imperial Palace –

First thing I do is lose the army jacket (I won’t wear it again pretty much the whole trip except my first night walking the strip – I don’t know what the crowd is like and if there is danger, that jacket sort of tells everyone to stay away) – Head over to the Imperial Palace, and get myself in one of those 77 person tourneys that Felicia always warns me about – an exceptionally flat payout makes 10-8th pay the same and it’s only 4 times less then 1st. I make it to 8th when I bust out – I made the right call at the right time on the turn but got the wrong goddamn card. Ah well. – good start anyways.

Great story here. We’re down to 18, and one guy has a massive chip lead but has a plane to catch. He doubles me up playing shit cards (thank you) but wins a few from others too. Finally at 17, he says his wife won’t forgive him if he’s late – (whipped, obviously) – He goes to the floor, leaves his address, and proceeds to get blinded off. However, he doesn’t lose all his chips till 6th place. That means I lost 2 places in the lineup to a guy who was gone 45 minutes ago….LOL – I guess the place mailed him his money.

I mark myself as a tourist right away when I ask the cocktail waitress for a whiskey and ask her how much when she brings it. I continue to ask them every time they bring one the whole week. I know it’s free, I just like hearing them say it. Beautiful women giving me free booze at a poker game I’m winning it….does it get any better without getting R-rated?

Then, over to the Mirage – I’ve gotten a voicemail from Luv2driveTT (a fellow twoplustwo'er) and when I get to the Mirage an hr. early, I see a seat at a table right by the entrance, so I sit down at 3/6 and wait for the rest to show up. Felicia and Glenn show up at 5pm (having looked for me at the IP and just missed my busting out) and we go to California Pizza Kitchen where they scrap together a meat lover’s pizza for me – All is good as we head to drunk magoo poker with 2+2’er’s and Mason and Ed Miller – (I’d have brought their book to sign had I known BOTH were coming….it was at the hotel, crap) –

The stories of drunk magoo poker? – Me mucking when I have the rock and a mandatory straddle – Ed looking way to young (and suspiciously like a pothead to me with that long hair….you on the wacky weed, ed? - J ) – Stabn, Accident, Felicia, Glenn, Al Capone, Luv2Drive, The Dude. Me, Mason and Ed Miller – damn – I’m missing someone…sorry guys. I can’t remember if Stabn’s significant other played or if she just watched - I was a bit blurry by then on 36 hrs of no sleep and 7 shots of Bushmills during the tourney 2 hrs. before.

Anyways, I bail as everyone else is bailing about 9pm. The plan is to go to bed, get up and start fresh and awake, but as my feet hit the strip and the hotel, and I walk out onto the small balcony, I realize that going to bed early in Vegas feels as wrong as passing up a free roll in the hay with a cheerleader – it’s a sin against humanity.

So I grab the walkman, and walk down to catch the show that is the Bellagio fountains. I’ve seen these on the travel channel, and I’m aware of the issues they had building them, but I am so damned impressed I can barely breathe. It’s like watching comets or shooting stars going up in front of you sometimes. Having done that, I am content to go back at 10pm and sleep like the dead for about 8 hrs.

One funny note – at the Mirage before the gathering, I run into a woman named Rachel – she fits the stereotypical retired woman who now plays poker and comes to Vegas several times a yr. She asks me if I’ve ever heard I look a bit like Russell Crowe (I’ve heard that several times) – This is important in the days to come – LOL.


MONDAY – this town is tough?

Another day at the Imperial Palace tourneys…. they’re mostly freezeout with one rebuy and one add-on. I HATE rebuys, but in this case, I just consider it a $65 tourney instead of a $40 tourney. I end up sitting next to a couple beautiful women during the tourney, and am glad I changed into clean clothes. Alas, my styling black boots get me nowhere, and I am left disappointed. I did get 4th in the tourney though, for a small chunk of change. I manage to catch Accident for about an hr. before the tourney as he comes over to play before catching a plane. – but that is the last 2+2er I see before the plane ride out.

Well, I HAVE to go to Bellagio and play. – So I head over there, and almost double up in 5 min. on a 4/8 game – I see Rachel again (as she shouts Russ when she sees me…LOL) – and she tells me she’s heading over to Flamingo – I spend the next 2 hrs dropping my winnings and leave Bellagio about 9 bucks up. I then go to Flamingo and play the WORST poker players I have ever seen. I struggle with this cause I’m down 100 bucks after 3 hrs….but I KNOW that the cards will come, and their luck can’t hold up. But I play on the same table with Rachel and her hubby and feel like I’ve been playing with them for the last yr. -

So I toss it around….go to bed and rest (I wasn’t getting the best sleep at nights….big pillows or whiskey…not sure which) – or grind it out. I didn’t think I could play my best poker pissed at getting run down and being tired/wore out. – So again, I pack it up and head out, satisified with my $24 profit for the day… - (hey, if you can eat and drink free, that’s half the reason I play poker…LOL)

TUESDAY – ah…found the assholes

Tues. I wake up eager to find a tourney, but it looks like there isn’t one at the IP till 7pm. So I call the Sahara and find there’s an early tourney at 1pm. (researched on the internet before coming) – get on the Monorail, and take a LONG trip to the north end of the Strip. When I get there, I am disappointed – one NL game with 4 people around it, that’s it. But a few locals assure me if I join the 2/4 list and we get 5 handed and sit near the front of the room that more people will fill it up – SO, we do and I drop 40 bucks in 60 min. playing shorthanded 2/4 holdem. – Ah well…LOL

Then starts the tourney – 18 players with one rebuy and one add on. I find out one rebuy doesn’t stop players from buying back in with new player entries when busting out – (you’re allowed to do that the first hr.) – so I’m in no danger. One chump busts out twice and buys back in twice. You know this guy, the slightly flashy Middle Eastern player with a poor attitude, swingers clothing, and a bit of gold. All he needed was the toothpick.

It’s at this point my first bad experience comes. We’re down to 11 in the 2nd hr and the next player to bust leaves and we go 10 handed at 1 table (still no money till 3 players) – I fold and pretty much ignore what’s going on at the far end of the table, but Middle Eastern guy (hereafter referred to as MEG) and another local get all in – MEG has KJ, other guy has AQ.

Flop comes KJT – turn and river come, and the pot is pushed to the Middle Eastern Guy (MEG) and we go 9 handed. We also had another player bust same hand, and she mentions the straight takes it and we go on to the final table and draw seats. A minute later, the other player who busts out is wondering where his chips are….just like that, 3 of us (including the dealer but not the girl who was all-in as well) saw the 2 pair but missed the straight and the pot has been pushed to the wrong player. Then starts one HELL of a debate – 5 players at the other table are saying the hand is done and you can’t fix it, but we haven’t started the next one yet. MEG is being a total dick (notice he didn’t correct the error when it happened) – and doesn’t want to give back the chips. The camera tells the truth, but MEG is fighting it tooth and nail with the floor, and the other guy doesn’t even want to play cause if he does, he’s got to sit next to the guy who tried to steal his chips. In the end they give him his buyin/rebuy back and he leaves and the other players bitch about whether it’s coming out of the prize pool.

I can’t resist at this point, as I look directly at MEG and say “good job…way to take the high road” – cheap shot, but he deserves it. – Long story short…4 handed I’m all in with AK hearts and get called by AJ diamonds and am busted by an English Tourist who is slumming in Vegas for a couple days before heading over to Commerce to play in the big $15000 tourney at Commerce (he won a satellite online but didn’t want to be in LA for 3 days…. don’t blame him) – I hope he busted MEG in the balls.

I go back to the Mirage and play for a bit – play a satellite I can’t win for their evening tourney (that was nasty…$300 in chips) – drop $100 playing Limit 3/6 – One talkative guy there got me when I had QJ – flop came KJJ…. turn came Q – river A – we got it 3 bets on the river before I checked and show him QJ – he takes 2 seconds talking before turning over KJ and slapping me up for the bitch I am.

I go to the Imperial Palace, enter the tourney I’m 2 for 2 for – we’re down to 35 or so when I call a mini raise with A8 on the button. Flop comes AK8 – he checks, I’m all in and he calls with AJ. I see the J before anyone else (sitting next to the dealer’s right in seat 10) on the river and slap the table before anyone sees the card, but that’s poker. Hell, I’d probably have lost anyways if it was AK7 cause I’d have done the same thing. – I just got a lucky flop. I play in a live NL game and stay good for an hr. playing tight and folding when my JJ runs into KK. I decide to call it a day and play somewhere else on Wed but not before dining on the good old’ Prime Rib sandwich in the Teahouse on Poker Comp Dollars.


WEDNESDAY – you can’t hit if you don’t swing.

Back to Bellagio at 8am. I walk in as they’re doing satellites for the $540 at 1pm. I sit down – it’s 10 handed – 2 get seats, and we get 1500 in chips – so it’s not the worst tourney in the world. One loud talkative [censored] near me (a dealer apparently) can’t sit still long enough to play 4 handed without a drag on the cigarette.

Early on, I get K8 Clubs in LP, limp, and flop comes with 2 clubs and the turn gives me a double gutshot. My opponent goes all in and I decide to gamble with 15 outs. (I thought the satellite would move faster, but it lasted over an hr.) - He has A10 and it turns out I have 18 outs with my 3 kings as well. I hit the A of clubs and I’m in comfy shape till about 3 players.

There’s the loud kid, a friendly local who knows everyone, and myself. One hand I get all in with 22 vs. KJ, flop trips, and I’ve knocked loud kid down to 4 BB’s. Next hand I get AQ vs. his 64 but can’t close the deal, so he’s almost back. – We collar up, and we’re almost even 3 handed but with about 6BB’s each. I get all-in with AK vs. 66 and can’t win so I bust.

The local comes to me afterwards and apologizes. Apparently he had a hand he would/could have played had he not been distracted. He’d have gotten the straight and busted the kid. Because everyone was talking to him, he didn’t concentrate and didn’t bust the kid and cost me the satellite.

I’m not going to say I went on tilt, cause I didn’t. But suddenly, I’m thinking very heavy. $540 is the most I’ve ever paid for a tourney, and if I bust, it’s 2/4 the rest of the day or maybe 3/6 if I’m lucky. AND I need to hit the ATM to do that. But these guys, they’re no better then anyone else. I’ve placed twice in Vegas, bubbled twice, and lost my shot once to a 3 outer. I’m not losing with the worst hands, just the best ones or the occasional 50/50.

If it was the beginning of the week, I’d say screw it and move on. But this is my last day, it’s a Bellagio tourney (with a better structure….takes about 6-7 hrs. to complete) and the fields are softer cause of Commerce going on. So I sign up. We end up with a few over 100 – so one table will pay.

I may have only really played about 10 hands the whole tourney. I was hand dead but got a great lucky flop at one point and survived easy into the 4th hr. but I was flat tired most of the time (lots of J4) –

I make one mistake over raising the third hr with KK and only getting blinds/antes - stupid amateur move – made it 7 times BB instead of 4 (didn’t account for the fact the antes were only 25 instead of 50) – so I missed a good double up there.

when we get to 21 players (9 pays) we’re 7 handed and I have to steal blinds every 6 hands just to stay even with them and antes, and it can’t last forever. Anyways…after two successful steals around the table I get AQ – a pretty tight player raises UTG. I’m almost certain at best, I’m 50/50 – but I have to try. Just cause he hasn’t been playing doesn’t mean he’s tight. His cards could suck as bad as mine and I had only played with him since we consolidated to 27, so not a lot of time to see his style. I have to take the shot even though I think I’ll probably die about 75 percent of the time. I can’t steal blinds forever with so many bigger stacks.

He has AK – I actually caught a Q on the turn but he rivered a K. goddamn. So they make it 2 tables and I drag my sorry ass back to the Flamingo and play in their 3 table tourney but not before running into Rachel again…(I kept hearing Russ being shouted all week and expected to see a 2+2er and it was a nice retired lady …LOL) –

I play in their tourney and raise with JJ to 5 times BB early on about the 4th hand – and get called by BB. Flop comes 742 and I go all in and he calls – he had 22. – Called 1/3rd of his stack with 22 and flopped a set. I’m down to $250 and can’t recover and am the 3rd person out of that tourney in 30 min. At that point, I say [censored] it and go to my room and lie down. Watch Tilt, and decide at 9pm to go down and play a bit more at the 3/6 IP game. I think I won a few bucks, I don’t remember, but I skip the midnight multiple rebuy tourney – go to the 24 hr. place only to find it’s closed – (another bad beat – I have 30 bucks in comp dollars I can’t use now)- and just say fuck it and go to bed.

There will probably be a few comments about bankroll management and whether the $540 was a good investment. My biggest hole two years ago was winning 200 bucks and entering 200 buck tourneys instead of more 10 buck tourneys. It’s a hole I’ve plugged, and like I say, I would never do it at the start of my week with my $800 allocated for the trip. But it’s the last day, it’s a decent tourney, and sheeit….I’m on vacation. I want the new experience – I want the vibe of playing tourneys with 2 hr rounds and seeing if I can keep my focus when it’s half speed of online.

And I thought I could place in it….plain and simple. I think long term it would be a +EV move for me, and I’d do it again – I had shit cards and still almost made it to 2 table – just think of what I could do with real hands.

I did see Daniel Negreanu there probably getting money from his lockbox for Commerce but was too shy to ask if he’d take a picture with me – (hardly took any pictures, actually) – met Suzie Issacs – Maureen Feduziak was in the tourney with her Husband, and a guy who looked a HELL of a lot like Erik Palladino was there. (his name was Erik too…could have been him for all I know - ) – but no $18000 first place prize.

EPILOGUE

I go to the airport via shuttle at 8am, not sure of how long the security line will be. It’s a hell of a lot shorter and I’m sitting at 9am for an 11am flight after trying the new BK double crossandwich. (Not good…the bacon is all that makes it a double, and it isn’t worth it…) – I’m sitting there reading when Luv2DriveTT is there and spots me – we’re even flying out of the same gate, he’s just the plane ahead of me. We chat for a bit before he has to rush on – wish we could have played some more – I’ve urged him to come to Canterbury and take part in our fine-ass fishes. We’ll get ya covered…LOL –

Flight is on time and arrives at Mpls.…take light rail to bus to home, play in a satellite online, watch Veronica Guerin, and sleep the sleep of the dead. Dreamed I played poker with Britney Spears…and she sucked. Woke up this morning and can scarcely remember Vegas- it’s 18 degrees here, and the place is a bit of a mess. No parties outside my window, no Bellagio fountains, any lights or Mexican guys trying to give me cards for hookers/strip shows. No asking people where they’re from and sharing stories of Montana or Minnesota if they’re from the same local.

I think I’ll try to make it back – I don’t know…. maybe if I wipe out my credit card debt I’ve been hanging on to the last few yrs. I’ll come up in April or May before the temp. really soars….good times.

FINI…

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

got 4 min...

I'm exhausted....took a hard swing at the Bellagio $540 and missed - my feet hurt and I am sick of people and bad lounge music...LOL -

I'm going to my room early (8pm) and lie down...IF I wake up and it's not 8am, I'll go mess around at the Mirage, but otherwise, I'm flying out at 11am and am going to relax -

I see now what Felicia says about Vegas - great place to visit - God forgive the chump that chooses to live here - jeez...

RB

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

hey kiddos - whiskeytown here...

I'm not suppose to be....I'm supposed to have A8 and have doubled up on an AK8 flop but ya know....AJ wasn't listening to me...

ah well - can't place in every tourney...

I have a lot of stuff to write and I will when I get back...but mostly I wanted to check in and tell you this...

the Bellagio fountains are incredible beyond belief....

pax
RB

Sunday, February 13, 2005

I haven't been on here much this week - between getting ready and working (and it's been busy nights this week) there wasn't much to say...

had some small reversals in 1/2 poker - i'll just have to live with it and move on - reading SSHE again before I land in Vegas, so I'm hoping for some extra mojo to come back. guess a coworker located in CA is flying out the same morning, so I may go bug her while waiting for my plain which takes off at 245pm...

sounds like it could be one hell of a party at the Excal. tomorrow night - should be fun - I'm almost more excited to ride the light rail and get to vegas - really don't care about the plane ride, though I love heights, and I love awesome views...

I have an mp3 Cd walkman, giving me 700 mb of mp3s on a cd player - so I'm taking it and one Cd - here's what I got in subgrouped folders.

1. - Drive By Truckers - highlights of their last two albums - 19 songs
2. - Flaming Lips - highlights of their last 2 albums - 12 songs
3. - Irish grabbag - mostly one off's of tunes downloaded or the best of an album - 39 songs
4. - Kate Rusby - everything I love off her 5 albums - 19 songs of the best (there are more, but these are the ones that knock me out - I didn't wanna skip over any in this mix)
5. - Matthew Ryan's "Concussion" - a great 4am rain song or happy hr. dive bar album. - most of the folks on that album could be found in Vegas - 10 songs
6. - Patty Griffin/Rosie Thomas grabbag - 9 songs
7. - Susan Mcknown - Sweet Liberty (butchered the name and album - Irish singer)
8. - The Gaels - Wack fo la di da - (another local group...nice trad. music)
9. - Townes Van Zandt - Rear View Mirror - his best live -
10. - Wilco - grabbag of the best from their albums and the Mermaid Ave. collabrations, as well as some Uncle Tupelo thrown in for good measure -

Probably won't update much while there - just no point in spending an hr. typing about the experience when I could be living it - suffice it to say, I'll be busy when I get back...I bought a tiny notepad for keeping notes and we'll go from there.

ok, kids....see ya in 5 days...

pax
RB

Saturday, February 12, 2005

read this earlier today in a newsgroup - thougt it was appropriate - RB

"when you lead with your chin, every now and then someone's gonna walk up and take a shot."

Friday, February 11, 2005

48 more hrs, baby....

one hell of a 2+2 gathering going on - starting at the Mirage at 7pm and going to Excalbuier (sp...) -

I feel like there will be one thing missing - if I don't get this, it'll feel like an incomplete trip -

I really feel I need to get "The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi battles the Pink Robots" before I land in Vegas - don't ask me why....I just feel life will be incomplete if I don't -

so it's off to the record store tomorrow....LOL

RB

yikes....

article on MSNBC about how blogging could get you fired.

I ran a quick search thru, and aside from discussing how I was blogging out of boredom, or coworker issues, I really haven't discussed my main job at all or what I do or who I work for -

so I'm probably gonna pull a link to it from a page my coworkers know a bit better, and make it as obscure to the world as possible...

hell it's not a gripe blog for jobs anyways....I like my job mostly....I just gripe about poker, alcohol, repubilicans, women, poker, etc....LOL

RB

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

coming up on Wed. - I go to work tonight and work 4 days -

I probably won't get much sleep off work this week - I have to do laundry and pack and make phone calls and generally try to clean up this dump before I go -(cant' leave dirty dishes for a week)

but I STILL have time for a poker tourney....bwahahahahahaha - and I've updated my cell coverage for NV, so I can actually arrange to talk to people in Las Vegas -

should be a good time...

RB

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

OT post of the day number 2 -

furballs - dipshits - yes - I'm talking about cats... -

thinking of getting one (or god forbid two so they're not lonely when I'm at work) -

I've been talking with my online alcohol group, and we all agree that since loneliness is a drinking trigger for me, that maybe being less lonely is the best possible thing for me....and God knows it's not like I have fancy stuff for one to destroy....

will let you know more when I get back from Vegas.

RB

an off topic post...but one near to my heart - weddings....

did you guys know Cathy got married last Sunday to Irving? - - apparently, the comic book equivlent of Sarah Jessica Parker tied the knot - son of a bitch....

congrats, Cathy and Irving....:)

here's the link to the comic

RB

Monday, February 07, 2005

playing 1/2 poker at Full Tilt right now...

got AA 3 times in 6 hands....and I've only played 15 hands total -

suffice it to say, most folks are thinking the site is rigged...LOL - but of course, if you're gonna rig a site you don't do it at 1/2 limit.
---------------------------
UPDATE - that ended up being 5 times in 77 hands by the time it was all done -

didn't make any money off the first 4 - 5th one coughed up 20 bucks, as did a 33 where I flopped trips. - ended up 40 bucks up .

there's one hell of a dry spell in my future, statistically speaking....

RB

Sunday, February 06, 2005

I'm pretty tired...so just a couple quick things...

Poker Superstars Invitational - I know what's gonna happen - everyone's gonna go on how Gus got lucky/did incredible for knocking out all 7 players..

In my opinion, the biggest story of the night was the comeback of Johnny Chan - down to 3 big blinds early - (2 trips around the table with antes) - and he comes back to 2nd with only a 2-1 chip deficit vs Gus...

and then looses 40 percent of his stack most of would lose everything on....great restraint. -

but we all know Johnny is that good...just didn't know he was that good against the best around ;)

-----------------------
3 final tables this first week out of 9 tourneys....the vast majority of them (including my places) were under 100 people - in fact, two only paid 7 or 8 - had another win....nice to see it come together better in the smaller tourneys.
------------------------
you need to go out and buy/rent the movie Highlands if you feel stuck in a rut in life....wonderful story, and Kate Rusby (my fav. Yorkshire folksinger) is in it -
-----------------------
I miss booze...but I'm gonna go to bed without it -

RB

Saturday, February 05, 2005

Felicia Lee is supposed to be playing over at Commerce for the LA Poker Classic

January 26-February 9, 2005 (or longer)
Commerce, California
LA Poker Classic

but so far, it seems to be a sad observation that I have not seen Felicia Lee's name up on any of the tourney results for any of the tourneys....may be a bad run for her at Commerce - though I did see Poker-babes.com Shirley made the money in the last Omaha H/L

RB

Friday, February 04, 2005

Heidi Hey - baby don't you want to go...back to that same ol' place...sweet ol Whiskeytown.

fuck....almost no poker content at all this week except a poker tourney I was almost too drunk to remember winning - it's a sad statement on my life right now that my poker skills seem to get better when drinking. Now I can't use that as an excuse though....I think I'm just less scared money is all -

or maybe it's cause it was Doyle's room....that room is easy.

been also playing Hearts of Iron II - a cool wargame...picked it up after the Sat. night binge from hell -

couple kids died at a poolhall I used to frequent - glad I don't live in that neighborhood anymore. fucking gangs...

I don't really wanna talk right now, actually...fuck it...I'll come back later.

RB

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

forgot how much I love the Indigo Girls...

--------------------------
Fare thee well, by Emily Saliers

Fare thee well my bright star
I watched your tailights blaze into nothingness
But you were long gone before I ever got to you
Before you blazed past this address
And now I think of having loved and having lost
you never know what it's like to never love
Who can say what's better and my heart's become the cost
A mere token of a brighter jewel sent from above

Fare thee well my bright star
The vanity of youth the color of your eyes
And maybe if I'd fanned the blazing fire of your day-to-day
Or if I'd been older, I'd been wise
Too thick the heat of those long summer evenings
For a cool evening I began to yearn
But you could only feed upon the things which feed a fire
Waiting to see if I would burn

Fare thee well my bright star
It was a brief brilliant miracle dive
and that which I looked up to and I clung to for dear life
Had to burn itself up just to make itself alive
And I caught you then in your moment of glory
Your last dramatic scene against a night sky stage
With a memory so clear that it's as if you're still before me
My once in a lifetime star of an age

So fare thee well my bright star
Last night the tongues of fire circled me round
And this strange season of pain will come to pass
When the healing hands of autumn cool me down

----------------

gawd....listening to Amy and Emily is like falling all over again with the girl next door...

RB

about damn time....

finally got a final table after 10 bad tourneys...

actually, got a win after 30 or so...but final table after 10 games or one win after 30 - doesn't matter...either way, it's a good thing...

even if it's only $220 for a 12 buck tourney

RB