F%@#ing Runner Runner

Unbelievable. There I am, at The Plaza 7pm tournament. Only 19 people entered, so it was a small one, but there I was, running the table. I was catching cards every other hand, there for a while. I had a huge chip lead when we combined to the final table. Half an hour later, five people were gone, and now everyone had just about the same 18-20k in chips like me. I figured I was a shoe in to the money.

I then get A-Q in the big blind. Some dude bets 3500 in chips. Everyone folds, and I call. He declares he is going all in blind, even though I'm the first to act. The flop is Q-2-5. I go all in myself. He calls with his suited A-K. He friggin catches runner runner diamonds (meaning the next two cards, the turn and river are both diamonds) to give him the flush. I was a 93% favorite to his 7% underdog. What a miracle set of cards.

I take fourth. They only paid three.

I'm still sick about it.

In other news, I found it impossible to find a laundromat to do my laundry today. I drove around for an hour, and found nada. The stupid Rio has no facitlities for thier guests, unless I pay $5 a shirt for dry cleaning. I think I wore my last pair of clean socks today. Tomarrow I have a laundry mission. Wish me luck.

Payday

Its paydirt people, paydirt. I finally cashed in.

I started the day with a few single table satellites at The Bellagio, even sat right across from that "Armenian Express" dude. I think he stole a pot from me. I just wasn't so strong as to call his re-raise. Oh well, both tables were of no great consequence, and I never got much traction.

Then, I hit up Binion's 8pm.

The first two hands, I actually misread my cards, and won both pots.

The first one, I held Q-J. The board hit 7-7-7. There was just two of us, and I put in 300 hundred. (We all had about 2k). Dude calls. The turn is a king. For some reason I thought I had a king, so I bet another 300. Dude calls. River was a 2. I bet 300, dude calls. He had J-9. My Q-J won. Stupid play. On both our parts. But I'll take the chips.

Then, very next hand, I'm in the big blind and I got 4-6. No one bets the whole way through, and in the end I thought I had 2-6, so I turned my cards over saying I paired my two's on the river. Oh snap, actually, I pulled a straight with the final duece.

Everyone thought I was a total moron. And at that moment, I could hardly argue.

But I hung in there, only playing hands when I had significant cards, and of course grabbed a few opportune situations. (I swear so many reads can be had in a live game vs. internet play)

Four hours later, I find myself at the final table, whittled down from a starting 47 players. I'm 2nd in chips with 22k, 1st only had 25k, so I was in great position.

First hand at the final and I catch cowboys. (pocket kings). I carefully raise to 5k. A guy on the other side of the table, just as carefully, goes all in (for about 10k). I call. He has rockets, and I lose that one, to be halved. But everyone was so cool, and I was having so much fun, I didn't care too much. I was still around 4th or 5th in chips.

It eventually came down to three of us, all with about 50 or 60 thousand chips. We all agree to split the 1-3 money equally, $682 a piece.

As side note, Binion's holds 2% of all prize money from all of thier daily tourneys, to be applied to a TOC (Tournament of Champions) held every couple of weeks. So, the three of us who split, needed to decide who would get the free entry into this TOC. Well, the other two guys were out of town tourists, so gosh fellas, I guess I could stick around a fews extra days!

That will be Sunday.

From now till then, I'm not sure what I'll do. If the weather cracks 60 degrees, I may check out the grand canyon and Hoover dam.

It's a Tough Gig

Today I got my humble pie served on a silver platter. Basically, I got munched into little pieces
every table I played.

I started with three single table satellites for The Bellagio's mongo tournament starting on Dec. 12th. All three were midway finishes for no loot or take home prize. I then opted for some live table NL. Big mistake. It's always rough on the big casino, live cash, NL tables. Everyone usually has 500 to 1500 in real cash on the table, and anyone with a decent hand raises so big, so as to eliminate the small guys like me, unless we commit to an all in, or at least half our whole stack. After an hour and a half of trying to sneak in cheap, and not once catching a flop, I commited with big slick, the A-K. Didn't work out. Some huckleberry called with his 8-9, and caught a straight.

OK fine. Onto to greener pastures I presumed. I went back to the satellites, except I hit the satellites for thier 7:15pm $540 tourney. Its a big time event, and the satellite entry was cheaper than the previous ones I entered.

The 7:15 is the largest daily tourney in all of Vegas. Perhaps the world, for all I know. Two attempts at that, and I laid fat goose eggs both times.
I did catch quad eights though. Its always easy on the ticker when you know you got the pot
coming your way, and all you have to do is show an ever so subtle level of doubt. That was today's highlight. The only highlight.

In general though, today was one of the tougher days on the tables I've ever experienced. It seemed most every time I caught a decent hand, it was always second best. And when I did try to make a move here and there, someone had a piece to call me down with.

Thats how it goes.

I'll stay level headed, and figure tomorrow has to be better.

Seahawks and a Yoohoo: Vegas Style

Today I was at Binion's Casino, in Las Vegas.

I know I should be in Oregon, continuing work on the bathroom. And I am very motivated to do so.

So... I feel I must explain, now, here, at this here juncture.
SO... here it is.

When I got back to California and read my leftover mail, I realized I had just narrowly missed the deadline for a free, three-night stay, included with free entry into a $45k invitational poker tourney. Bummer man. Then, the next piece of mail I opened was another offer, almost as good.
This one is a "Video" poker tournament though. And, granted "video" poker is more akin to a slot machine than poker, still, why not push some buttons for a while and have a few free drinks? I'm gonna be the dude who you think may be three sheets windward, because I'll be the one trying to start a conversation with every passer by willing to give a moments eye contact.
I sign up tomarrow. Game starts on Wednesday.

Vegas is cold. Hecka cold. Saturday hailed 30+ mph winds, and temperatures well bellow 50. I would guess the chill factor was in the thirties. Seriously, this a desert right? When I was here in July it was 92 at 7am, and was easily over 110 all afternoon. Now this? I calculated that to be an 80+ degree temperature swing.

I watched the Seattle-Giants game today. Last night some employee/white-homey-the-homeboy made a comment about my Seahawks hat. I jibed back about how Alexander would run on them, just as he thought Tiki Barber would seal the game with such certainty, so as to him it seemed reasonable to simply forego the entire game itself. We left each other pondering our own, very certain stance.
The Rio has a great sports book for a game with Ny fans. There was a lot of hollarin, and a lot of screeming. Not a thing was out of hand, yet the decibal levels of both rival fan base, was raucous and grand. I loved it. With the Seahawks winning in OT, I was able to depart the scene with hands held high, asking rhetorically, "Tiki who?"

The Rio does lack one thing though. Get this, all general guests have to pay a fee of twenty bucks to use the weight room. They include it into the "spa." Awesome. Super cool guys. Internet costs ten bucks for one 24 hour segment. Again, awesome fellas. Oh, but the fridge and pantry was stocked with a plethera of assorted spirits, beverages, and snacks. With a price of course. I've only had two things. Wait, no three.

I looked at the beer first. But it's Corona in the can. Sick. Bud Light in the can, grosser still. And a Heiny, in the mini 12oz. keg. Stoked. All shwag beer if you ask me.

But alas, I opted for the water first. Later, I taste tested the micro-sized, 8oz. unsweetened oj. I didn't see the unsweetened part until it made me wince in a salavatory tightening, of sorts. Like eating a grapefruit, with lime chunks. Nausea set in.

Next, I dove head first into a Yoohoo. THAT was what I was looking for.


IN POKER NEWS, I have played two days here now, entering four tourneys so far. The Plaza midnight, The Rio noon, The MGM 6pm, and Binion's 8pm-er.

The Plaza had 70+ players, I made it the the final 19 or 20. No money tho. The Rio was 70+, and I hit the final 30, no $. The MGM was a quick buster outer.

Binion's was something special though. $125 buy in, with one $50 re-buy (to be used whenever you want, no matter what your chip count, in the first hour). Oddly, it was 7 tables again, offering a $3k+ payout for first, and paying out to 7th.

I didn't get cards in the first hour what-so-ever, except for the pocket-ace rockets. I made a slender pitence. With only a "manufactured" win or two in the next hour, my chip stack began to look a little cruncheesy slinky (crunchy-cheesy-slim-skinny).

In the third hour, I called an all-in, to put me all-in, while holding a diamond suited A-9. The board fell me a pair of nines with the nut (slang: best possible hand, given the community cards on the table) flush draw. It hit, and I was happy. Soon therafter, I felt very solid. I made almost every right read, and was able to capitolize a few times over. I had over 16k in chips, after starting with 2 thou. Things were going quite well.

We condensed to two tables, and then both tables looked half vacant. Twelve were left, equally divided between the two.

The blinds had been tacking a whack out of me at that point, and I had just been shallacked for a 2200 blind+ante. My chips were back down to 8.8k and there was nearly 4k in the pot already.

A pair of jacks were top pair on the flop, and I had them. So I threw in the rest of my chips. He called, and I saw him hit his 6-out, 90-1, river ace to bump me out. He was the tables chip leader with roughly 50k in chips, so for him it was a very cheap call to see if I was just trying to buy it, and to seeif his A-K would land. Sure enough. Jerk.
Heartbreaker. Just five to the money and after wading through 4 1/2hours of patient, well deduced... and well performed poker play.

I still felt comfortable afterwords though, knowing I was in acute form, and in the end, just ended up getting drawn out on.

Oh, some pro was at Binion's last night too. "The Armenian Express" is what he calls himself. Chris was his first name though. In any event, I had never heard of him, and I lasted longer than he did!

Today, I hope to hit paydirt. In the meantime, I need to get some breakfast in me.

No new pics...

... so you'll just have to scroll down.
No pictures are required anyways, unless I had a pic of
2-8 offsuit.
I almost had it painted onto my tailgate.

I played a tourney at San Pablo this morning. First, I
started with some 8-16, just as something to do. And,
it seems I do ok on the higher limit, limit games.
After a few hours, maybe three, I ended up with a net
gain of forty something bucks.

Once the tourney started, I felt in my element. I doubled
up quickly, then doubled that a short time after.
It was then that I began to feel edgy, and even a bit jittery.

I used to feel that way every time I played poker. For about
the first three months. Its exilerating, but nerve-racking if
your trying to play straight-face poker with a bunch a
strangers. Truth was, the crowd was very mellow, and
sometimes entertaining too. I think I get nervous sometimes
when I have a big stack, early. Many times, I have busted out,
after first getting off to a great start. Grant it, I used to play
more specutively in my formative days, and for the last
four or five months, my game has been very profitable. So
why the nerves...
Today, I actually got up and left the table, and walked outside
for a while. It helps to calm nerves when walking, I think.
Maybe fifteen minutes later, when I was good and well
bored to the point of total inner sanctified calm, I returned
and essentially picked up where I left off.

With two tables left I was in second place chip wise, and
felt solid.
I ended up making a few high dollar, pre-flop bets, only
to lose those hands. Before I knew it, we were consolidated
into one table, and I was
now near last in chips. They paid the top ten, so we were
all going to get paid off, but it was just a matter of who
would drop first.

The blinds had been going up every fifteen
minutes, antes had been going on for nearly three hours now,
(and also going up each round)
Basically this meant, each hand now had an individual ante of 300 chips, and the
little/big blinds were now 500-1000.
Ultimately, the two chip leaders were now allowed to sit back and watch everyone go all in
on each other. It was a feeding frenzy.

So there I am. And I pull the trigger with an 8-2 offsuit.

The only reason I did it was because two dudes ahead of me
were already all in, and I didn't put either on a big pair.
Most of time, at this point, its only ever mono-a-mono.

This allowed me to triple up hopefully, this is called "pot odds."
Also, I was nearly positive no one had my same two cards!!
All I needed was one to hit.
Sure enough, one feller has A-7, the other A-9.

The flop gives me a pair of 8's. The turn and river were
of nonconsequence. I tripled up and knocked one fella out.
I told everyone, that if I win the whole thing, I'm getting
2-8 painted onto the Tundra's tailgate. And I would wear
it like a badge of honor!

Later, I'm dealt suited A-J. I only raise 1k, thinking I'm gonna
play it cheap and sneaky. The big blind (who is chip leader by far)
thinks hard, and I verbally try to lure him in, "it's a thousand, whats
a thousand anyways?!"
"Ok," he calls.
The flop is 8-8-10. He bets a thousand. I call.
Turn is a five. He bets a thousand. (Keep in mind, the pot was
about nine or ten grand in chips) I call.
River is nothin. He checks, I go all in. I get busted. I talked
him into keeping his 8-5, and I gave him a boat, for all my
chips. Yahoo.

I still walked aways with 100 bucks for 7th place.

More Pictures

Poker Update

I won $100 even at The Mill, in North Bend, two weeks ago, Wednesday. Just a few days ago, I won a little over $150 at The Mill. Both times, playing 4-8.

Today, in San Pablo, I made $20 something in 6-12, and then promptly lost $100 in some NL with pocket queens. Later, I went to The Oaks, and won forty something in 6-12, before then losing $200 in 15-30. Nuthin I could have done either. $200 is not enough to start a 15-30 game. I figure, $100 is perfect for 3-6. Its just enough to take a two or so,bad beats, and allows you to chase a hand once in a while. I say, with this formula, its sets an amount to win with also. And at the Oaks, I just couldn't catch any cards.

Then, just now, I finished a 9 seat Sit-n-Go (single table tournament). I was patient and wasn't in many hands for the first half hour. Then, two guys are out, then another. I catch a few cards, win some chips, and now its down to four of us. I felt good, but was thinking I was going to have to get comfortable and do some waiting again, when low and behold, my Q-J sees a J-J-Q flop. Chip leader bets heavy into me. I wait a few seconds, maybe five total, then call. Nect card is an Ace. Chip leader bets heavy. I chill. Waited maybe half a minute, and called. River comes, and he goes all in. He had a pair of aces. That was nice.

The final two dudes busted out in mostly non-exciting fashion. I did win it with pocket queens though. Net gain, $225.

Pics.

Some Pictures?

Some Pictures...

Some Pictures

Please now set your "Funky MoJo Groove" to the "On" position...

Above, you will find a KO from this morning. It was taken at Horsefalls Beach, here in North Bend, OR. I'll try to get more Ocean stuff, and maybe something from the hills outside my granny's place.

Today I begin the rough-in plumbing for the loft bathroom.

I could have started it Monday, but instead I decided to do a quick repaint/recarpet, of an upstairs bedroom in the main house. This allows me to have a room (other than out in the loft) when visitors appear.

This became pertinant, when I discovered that my cousin Brandon and his wife Jaimie show up every Saturday night for dinner, and Sunday morning mass with my grandmother. And in lieu of the aforementioned loft living arrangement (many disadvantages), and to avoid slumber upon the living room floor, I figured a quick-o remodel was in order.

With all temporary living arrangements now squared away, I can at this point, concentrate on the orginal goal. The loft has been duly de-rodent-ified, de-buggified, and all blueprint plans have been reviewed, verified, modified, reverified, reauthorized, and now, ultimately, have final and complete approval for all construction commencement.
So, after I finish my morning mocha and wrap up todays blog update, I then head off to buy supplies.

Oh, and I have another round of....

Kirk's 2005 Roadtrip Best Of/Worst of List


Best Price for Gas - $2.39 Boise, ID 10-19-05
Worst Price for Gas - $3.19 Minneapolis, MN 10-10-05

Best Live Music Gig- Tally Hall - Blind Pig, Ann Arbor, MI 9-22-05
Most Like James Taylor Live Gig - Bob Skon - The Firefly, Ann Arbor , MI 9-20-05

Best Bar To Get Your Funky MoJo Groove On - Coconut Joes, La Crosse, WI
Worst Bar To Do Any Studying, But Still Ok to Get Your Drink On - The Library, La Crosse, WI

Best Bar Pickup Line - "Can I take your pic with my camera phone? I want Santa to know exactly what I want for Christmas. "
Bar Pickup Line Most Likely to Get You a Free Drink (or at least one dumped on your head) - "If you were a booger, you'd be the first one I pick."

Best Location(s) to Find Single Women - Any drive thru coffee shop on the entire Oregon coast
Best Location to Find a Single (or so she said) Woman with No More Than Four Front Teeth - Hank's Pub and Karaoke - Elko, NV

Best Mocha (home brew) - Becky & Garret's icey, chocolatey blend
Best Mocha (drive thru) - 1st Stop Java - North Bend, OR
Best Lookin Hot Hoochie to Serve a Tasty, Chocolatey Mocha - 1st Stop Java - North Bend, OR
Worst Mocha On Earth- My uncle Richard's house (dude, you need some real Hershey's syrup man)

to be continued...