September Vegas Trip Fully Booked

Our trip to Vegas is now booked.  I had signed up for a Southwest Rewards card last October.  I used points off that to book our flights.  Riviera had sent me an offer for a 2 night stay so I used that and waited to see if I would get an offer from Harrah's for September.  When I pulled up my e-mail today I saw that they had sent my offer for September.  Two complimentary nights and show tickets to Jubilee. 

I called to set up reservations at the Quad and asked to book an extra night.  The lady on the phone said that they would book me for an extra night complimentary.  Score!  A free 5 night trip to Vegas.  I've already won.

My usual trip to Vegas involves very little planning, and a lot of last minute decision making, as well as sitting around.  On this trip I hope to have a few things planned ahead of time.  We already have Jubilee planned now.  My first show in Vegas.  I would like to have a few poker tournaments planned before we get out there.

I always think I am going to get in a decent game.  We end up goofing around and I never get in one.  We generally play a daily tournament or 2.  The Venetian has the last tournament of their Deep Stack Extravaganza on the 28th.  It is a 200.00 Bounty tournament at 7:00.  I would like to play in it.  We will probably plan some daily tournaments as well.

Friday will be our crazy goofing around night.  Mash some buttons and have some drinks.  Saturday we will make some bets on college football and watch the games while eating a crazy amount of delivered food and drinking.  Sunday we will change hotels, then get in the Venetian Deep Stack.  Monday is Jubilee.  Tuesday is still open.  We will fill in the blanks as it gets a little closer.

We will be spending a lot more time playing poker this time around than we did the last 2 times I have been out.  It will help being in a casino that has poker rooms in and around it.  We will be eating the Wynn buffet, and Chinese at the food court in the Riviera. 

I'd say we have a pretty solid foundation for our trip.  Now the wait begins.  We still have almost 2 months to go.

New Truck - Road Trip - Poker - Win - Win

My weekend started Wednesday afternoon with a trip to the dentist to get new wires on my braces.  I had plans to travel fly to Ohio the next day to pick up a pick-up I had bought on ebay. 

 

I have been looking at pick-ups for a few months now.  I had decided earlier this year that I want to be a boater in the fishing tournaments that I compete in, instead of being a co-angler.  In order to do that I need a decent pull vehicle and a bass boat.  I am now starting to look at bass boats since I have my pull vehicle.

 

While I was in Ohio, I visited some friends.  I got in to town late Thursday night and had to leave early Saturday morning.  It would have been nice to get to see more of them.  I got to hang out with a few people but had made a lot of friends in the 7 or 8 years I lived there. 

 

I did get to visit the new casino in Columbus.  The poker room looked awesome with a lot of tables.  There were a lot of people on the waiting list for 1-2 NL.  Enough for a couple new tables.  They must not have the staff to run that many tables.  We sat at the counter for about a half hour, without ever being helped.  We went to play some slots as we only had a few hours to spend in the casino and didn't figure we would get into the poker room in that amount of time.

 

While we were mashing some buttons a security officer came up to me and accused me of smoking.  It wasn't me.  Then he accused my friend of starting trouble in the Valet.  Again, it wasn't us.  Didn't even use the Valet.  I got a little upset from the accusations.  We had him call his manager to come meet with me and him.  His manager was very respectful, but this prick of a security guard kept pointing his finger at us accusing us of things that we did not do.  We told his manager to go look at video footage, and if there was a problem with us, we would leave, but this security guard needed to be reprimanded if he was wrong.  The security guy started sweating so much I thought he was going to faint.  We continued to play, but I was mad and played stupidly losing more than I would have, had the incident not occurred.  The manager never came back, but the security guard was still roaming around when we left.

 

On the way back home, after driving for 16 hours, I got tired.  I was only an hour, to hour and a half away from home.  It was dark and my reflexes were slowing down.  I was scared of hitting a deer, so I stopped at a Motel 6 to sleep.  There were very few cars in the parking lot. 

 

I stepped inside to see if they had a room available.  They did.  I paid, got my key, and went around the building to check out my room.  On the trip I had consumed 2 monster energy drinks and a 5 hour energy.  I slid the key card in the door.  The light turned green and I opened the door.  Two people laying in bed screamed.  I screamed.  The few people that were staying there looked out their windows to see what was going on.  My heart was racing 100 mph.  I was no longer tired.  All of the energy drinks I had consumed went into full effect.

 

I apologized as the guy in the room stepped outside.  I went back to the front desk to explain that they had given me a room that already had somebody in there.  They went and knocked on that guys room and accused him of staying there without paying.  He was nicer than I would have been, had I been on the other end of this ordeal.  They finally figured out that he did indeed pay and had given him the key card to the wrong room.  They switched out my room with the room they were meant to have.

 

As I got into my room I turned on the T.V., and started to flip through channels.  When I stopped my T.V. changed channels back to the original station.  The satellite apparently controlled more than just my room.  Great!  I turned off the T.V. and ate my microwave burrito in quiet. 

 

There was a 1" gap under the outside door and bugs across the floor.  The room was quite retro.  you could see it had been remodeled recently to a new retro look.  The beds were as hard as a boulder, thanks to a thin mattress that was on a board with feet.  Despite all of that I still managed to fall asleep. 

 

In the middle of the night I dreamt that a rattlesnake had gotten in under the door and somehow gotten into my bed and bit me in the hand.  I woke up wondering if my dream was that far out of reality.  My hand was numb.  I couldn't feel it.  My arm was numb and tingled in pain.  I turned on the light and looked for a snake.  Then I remembered how hard the bed was.  I had been laying on my side and had cut off circulation to my hand.

 

I woke up at daybreak and left the hotel.  The rest of the trip was incredibly short and I was home in time for church.

 

After church we ate at the new Mexican Restaurant in town.  I was settling in for the day when I remembered this was the day for the $25,000.00 guaranteed tournament on carbon with a $1.00 entry.  I loaded that game as well as some other 1 and 2 dollar tournaments and the $11.00 Sunday game.

 

I ran well in most of the games, min cashing along the way.  I was down to just 2 games left.  The Sunday $11.00 and the Sunday $2.20.  I ran into trouble on the $11.00 game and went out after cashing a little bit.  I was now up $20.00 for the day with a chance to go deep in 1 tournament.

 

The $2.20 game was getting down to the final 3 tables and I was getting low on chips.  I was waiting on the right hand at the right hand scenario.  It finally came.  I had been watching the big stack and noticed him get caught on a couple of bluffs.  I got a hand and he raised.  I went all in and he called with a hand I was hoping he had.  I doubled up.  The next couple of hands I was able to steal some blinds, then got the big stack to bluff off more chips to me.  By the time we reached the final 2 tables I was chip leader by a large margin.

 

My cards went cold with 2 tables left.  There was no reason for me to play poor cards so I let the other players take each other out.  At the final table I was 3rd in chips.  I really wanted a top 4 finish, but was thinking I really wanted that 1st place money.

 

The top 2 chip stacks went to work on the other players.  I stayed out of their way.  I was able to take out one player when I got dealt a KK in the big blind.  He went all in and I called.

 

We got down to 3 players left and we were pretty close in chips.  I decided to get really aggressive and hoped my table image from the final 2 tables would help me to win a couple of hands.  My table image did no good.  There was no getting these 2 players off of a hand.  All I had to do was wait on hands and play them.  Those 2 would pay me off.  

 

The other 2 players got into a big hand finally and one of them were knocked out.  Not long after that I had QJ and J 10 9 fell on the flop.  The other player went all in.  I had a shot at a straight with top pair so I called all in.  He had QQ.  Unbelievably another J hit on the river giving me the chip lead.  I put the pressure on at that point, continually growing my stack and working him down.

 

Finally, after 7 1/2 hours I took down the tournament.   

 

Last night was our Monday Night Muck Em.  We only had 10 players, so I was going to try extra hard to cash so that I could get some points.  For the first 2 hours it was not looking good.  I couldn't grow my chip stack.  Then 2 hands before break, I make a hard call, and took down a decent pot.

 

After break I was able to take down a couple of pots early that really helped me out.  It wasn't long and a few players had gone out.  One player was amassing a huge stack.  The rest of us were playing for our tournament lives.  The chips started to spread out a little.  Then the guy who had been the big stack went all in and was called by the 2nd big stack.  There was a new powerhouse.  With 4 of us left, 3 of us had barely over 1 big blind.  He had all the rest of the chips.  I held on until there were 2 of us left. 

 

Somehow, the cards turned in my favor, and I won a few hands in a row.  The next thing I knew, I had the chip lead.  I got back down a little, then came back to win the game.

 

 

 

T

Monday Night Muck Em

I was the bounty going into the game last night since I had won the week before.  A really tight aggressive player sat to my direct left last night.  I usually don't mind, but with the blinds increasing as fast as they do there, it's not the best scenario. 

There is not a lot I remember of play before break.  It was a lot of looking at my hole cards and mucking.  8 2, 9 3, 10 5, Q 4.  I did get some decent starting hands.  They would catch top pair and I would get outkicked.  The hand I remember was the last hand before break.  I get tossed AKo.  I put out a little more than double the blind.  I got a call from a very loose aggressive player.  Flop came out AK2 with 2 diamonds.  I bet around 1/2 pot.  He called.  The turn was another 2.  He was the type of player that would call the flop with a pair of 2's waiting to catch something.  I felt he was on a flush draw so I bet out 1/3 of the pot.  He called again.  River was a random card no diamond.  I went all in and he threw his cards in the muck, saying he was on a diamond flush draw. 

On that hand I went from very small stack to an o.k. stack.  The bad thing was the blinds were jumping from 200 400 to 500 1000 and I was in the big blind next.  Time to get serious.

I don't remember what I had on the hand when we got back, but I raised and everybody that had limped in folded.

Several players went out fairly quickly and we were at the final table.  I was sitting with an above average stack.  The first hand at the final table I had 88.  The person to my left raised.  I was the only caller and wanted to pop it up but just called.  The flop was not all desirable 10 9 x.  I checked and he bet out less than his original raise.  I thought at that point, that I might have him, so I called.  The next card was a 2.  That's not a bad card.  I checked he bet his original raise amount.  I called.  The last card was a J.  I checked and he bet the same amount.  I was thinking at this point that he had not slowed down with me check calling.  He knew I had something but it wasn't great.  He also had to know that I would call that bet, since I had been calling him down to this point.  He knew he had me beat.  I folded my pocket 8's face up.  He showed me his pocket 2's for trips on the turn.  I missed 2 bets on that one.

I was down to just a few big blinds left with 8 players left and the blinds were coming around to me.  I look down at K 10.  I was going to play it when the guy to my right goes all in.  I'm thinking I should play, but fold.  He gets 2 callers and the flop comes out 10 10 x.  The winner got a monster pot and I am in the big blind with the blinds going up the next hand putting me all in the next hand if I don't play the big blind.  I put my card protector on my cards and raise all in when the action gets to me.  I'm called, she has AJs.  I flip over my cards and I have J2o.  A 2 doesn't come.

Took a Shot At the Sunday Games

The awesome poker run I experienced last week continued slightly into this week.  Yesterday I was thinking of driving to Kansas Star Casino to play in their 120.00 Sunday tournament.  I had helped load my Sister and Brother In Law's U-Haul on Saturday and helped them move a deep freeze from the basement Sunday morning.  I also helped my son mow a neighbor's yard on Saturday.

My back was hurting again for the third weekend in a row, so I decided to stay home and take it easy.  I didn't think I could sit in a poker chair for hours.

Instead I decided to take some shots at some online tournaments.  My first tournament was a 11.00 Satellite to the Sunday 215.00 game.  I made it fairly deep and had an average stack with 20 players left to go out to reach the tickets.  The blinds were increasing rapidly and I needed 1 more win to get my ticket.  I was dealt AA in the big blind and had 1 person go all in for half my stack.  I called and he drew out a flush on me.  The very next hand I was dealt AJd and went all in when nobody played before me.  The big blind had 10 10 and called.  I went out short of getting a ticket.

I loaded up the 2.20 Sunday game to play until the other Sunday tournaments took off.  I was running well in it with a top 5 stack by the time the other tournaments took off.  I also got in the 11.00 Sunday game, another 11.00 game, the 33.00 Sunday game and another 33.00 game.

I couldn't get anything going in the Sunday 11.00 game or the other 33.00 game.  I did continue to improve in the 2.20 game and the 33.00 Sunday games.  I went out in the 11.00 Sunday game before the 3 hour re buy period was over so I bought back in.  I went right back out and did not buy in again.

I was down to 4 tables.  I was top 10 in the 2.20 and 33.00 games and was just starting to make a move in the other 2 games when I lost both of them with pocket 10's to Ax almost simultaneously.

As I got down to 2 tables left the play on both got really aggressive and I folded hands that I probably shouldn't have.  I would raise with AK, JJ, etc. and get pushed all in.  I was still winning a smaller pot here and there to maintain my stack but it was not growing.  I would raise with AA and everybody would fold.  No re-raise when I have AA?  Soon I was looking at 400,000 and 600,000 chip stacks compared to my 80,000 chip stack going into the final 3 tables.  With the blinds as high as they were a couple of double ups and I would be in contention for a final table.

In the 33.00 game I made a move with QQ and was instantly called by the big stack on the button with 82o.  He caught 2 2 for the takeout.  Ouch! Pay was almost triple my buy in so it was not too upsetting.  Would have loved to take it down for 3500.00.  A final table run would have been pretty exciting.

In the 2.20 game I was losing chips fast to the blinds and pushed all in with K 10 on a 10 high flop.  The other player that called me had 10 10.  Oops!  We were about even on chips so I knew when he called I was probably beat.

I then played quite a few 5.50 super turbo SNG's with mediocre to no success.  It was not my night for those as I kept losing flips, and getting outdrawn.  I played a .25 .50 NL game heads up against a player for 50.00 that thought he was all that.  I showed him 2 bluffs and he was dead set on getting me.  I finally took him for the entire 50 when my 67o flopped a 8 9 10 rainbow.  I bet, he raised and I re-popped him all in.  He called in disgust when his pair of 10's were no good.  He did not want to reload another 50.00.  I'm not sure where he lives but I thought I heard him screaming and crushing his keyboard.  I love heads up play.  You really get to know the other player's style and tendencies.

As the smoke cleared that evening I pulled up the cashier to see what the damages were.  I was up 25.00 for the day.  I have not played stakes like that in quite a while.  My online roll is way short of funds to do that every day.  It was a fun change of pace.  As little as I get to play a whole day like this, I might as well take a shot when I do get the chance. 

If I would have busted all of my tournaments I would have only been out the 120.00 that I would have risked at the casino.  The casino tournament would have been fun as well.  They cap it at 70 players, but have good starting chip counts and blind levels. 

Easiest Win Ever

Last night I played a few heads up SNG's.  I was playing well and thought I would take a shot at a larger SNG.  I searched the 22.00, and 33.00 SNG's and there was nobody waiting.  There was 1 person on a 60.00 SNG.  That is a little higher than I wanted to play but I also didn't want to sit and wait for another player to come along so I loaded the game.

As the game started the other player timed out.  He wasn't there or he was asleep.  What do I do?  I had AK, AA and AQ the first three hands.  I was a little upset he wasn't there.  I started raising to take his blinds.  Who knows if he passed out, and I was not waiting all night for him to wake up.

I got him down to 275 chips and he showed up.  This was quite a while after the start of the game.  It was not turbo or super turbo.  Now what do I do?  I had tons of great starting hands that I could have taken this guy with.  Now he shows up.  We play a few hands and he goes all in all 3 times.  I let him take the pot.  Then I decide to call with 87c.  If he has a good hand he can have some of his chips back.  He had A7.  The turn brought me an 8 and the game was over.

I have fallen asleep in games a couple of times and woke up without my funds.  I have never had this happen to me before though.

Monday Night Muckem and Some Weekend Play

We had plans Saturday to go tubing at the lake, then go to watch a Niece and Nephew play basketball, followed by staying at a hotel in Hutchison with a swimming pool and hot tub.

When I woke up on Saturday, it was windy.  I didn't feel like going to the lake and decided instead to put a thermostat in the van to see if that would keep it from overheating.  I had to take off the engine cover, take out the battery and the air filter housing, as well as some wiring and hoses.  Just to get to the thermostat housing.  I put the new thermostat in and was tightening up the bolts on the housing and snapped a bolt.  It was mid afternoon already and everywhere in town was closed.  I had to put everything back together so I didn't forget what went where until I get a new bolt.  Then I have to eazy out the old bolt and put the new bolt in so the radiator fluid doesn't pour out when the engine is running.  The really good news is that the thermostat is not the problem.  I am going to replace the belts next.  Broken knuckles, I feel it coming.  Why am I so cheap.  A mechanic with the proper tools would be so much easier.

Anyway, where I was going with that, was my back was hurting after bending over the engine.  I didn't go with the wife and kids to basketball.  My cure was to drink lots of beer and play poker.  I made middle deep runs in a lot of events I played but no cashes.  Then I made a deep run in badugi, late in the evening.  My final table appearance saved the day. 

I started watching Orange is the New Black after that tournament while I was eating Corned Beef Hash, Eggs, and Fried Potatoes.  I must have mowed it down fast because when I woke up on the couch Sunday morning and checked I was only 15 minutes into Orange is the New Black.  I made up for it Sunday as I laid around and watched the first 7 episodes until the wife and kids returned.  Then I lost T.V. privileges as they took over.

Last night was our Monday Night Muck Em game.  We had 17 runners.  I had added on before break and still at break my stack was substantially under starting stack.  It was looking like an early night.  I made an all in push against a couple of limpers with QQ and nearly doubled my stack when they all folded.  Then I slowly built my stack, winning small pots.  As we got to the final table the other players started commenting on how quietly and sneakily I had built my stack. 

Soon there were just 5 of us left with 4 getting paid.  My stack was getting eaten up by the blinds but I couldn't find a hand I wanted to play.  Then the bubble was broken right as the blinds were going up again.  I was in the small blind and was dealt pocket aces.  First to act went all in for exactly what the blinds were.  Big stack called.  I went all in for 2 more BB's.  Big blind went all in for less than a big blind more and big stack calls.  They had hands like 10 8, J 9, J 10.  The board ran out low and high and my stack was now competitive with big stack. 

The BB won the side pot so we had 1 elimination.  The next hand he was all in from the blinds.  I had 87c and called.  I caught a 7 on the flop and it held against his K4. 

In heads up battle we went back and forth for nearly half an hour.  I would get way down then come back and he would be way down and come back up.  I made a big bluff with a 6 2 at one point and showed him.  The next hand I got 7 8 off in the bb.  He called and the flop was 4 5 6.  He bet and I went all in.  He insta called.   He had 5 6 for 2 pair.  We played a few more hands after that.  The blinds had us both down to 4 and 3 big blinds.  The final hand came with me holding an A7 and him having a K7.  I went all in and he called.  An ace hit on the flop giving me my second win in 3 weeks.  With that I will move up to top 4 or 5 in the standings for the year.  I went on a long dry spell after the start of the year.  It feels good to be running well again.

Gut Instincts Sometimes Work But I Should Have Used My Head

Last night I decided to play another local game that I don't usually get to play. I have only played there a few times now. 

In the first hour I saw the most ridiculous playing I had ever seen. People were raising 15 to 20 times the blind every hand and getting called every hand. I unfortunately did not get any hands to play so my stack slowly dwindled. 

Finally after an hour of play and some of the guys had done their rebuys the play started to settle down. I won a couple of small pots with unnotable hands. At the end of the second hour play got a little hectic again as the rebuy period was winding down. 

I called a small all in with 55. He had A3 and caught his A. In the next hand he raised and I went all in with 66. Another player called and so did he. The other player had A 10 and he had AJ. An ace on the flop had me reaching in my pocket for a rebuy. 

The start of the next level did not work out well for me and I was soon down to barely over 1 BB with the blind hitting me next. Then I was moved to the other table out of the blinds. 

I doubled up right away. Then stole a couple of blinds with mid pocket pairs. A short time later I got pocket Q's raised and was called and bet a k77 flop and was called. I checked the river due to his calls I thought he had a K. The river brought out another Q and I bet again. This time he folded. I'm not sure what he had to give me all those chips. I'm guessing a mid pocket pair. 

It wasn't too much longer and I got A3 in the SB.  I completed after everybody else folded. BB raised. I called. The flop had an ace and two suited cards. I bet and BB goes all in. My mind went instantly to thinking he was bluffing to take down the pot or he had spades. I instantly called. He had AA. 

Had I put a little thought into the hand I could have made an easy lay down and had plenty of chips to make the money. Gut instincts sometimes work but I should have used my head here. He had not played with me long but the hands he had seen me turn over had been good. He wouldn't be risking his tournament life without a decent hand here. 

It's hard to forget the hands you play poorly but I had made a few other good plays to get to that spot. I make a hero call there and he didn't have anything and I wouldn't have given it another thought. 

I played a couple of turbo SNG's when I got home and finished 2nd in both of them for a couple small cashes. Then decided to play in a 1.80 knockout tourney. I knocked 3 players out for .40 each and went on to finish 32 out of 190 for a 3.50 cash. 

SNAP

This morning I woke up to this tree branch down in the yard.  My wife woke me up a few times during the storm.  I kept telling her to go back to bed, let me sleep.  She kept insisting that the wind was going to blow over the basketball goal into a car.  I had parked last night so that would not happen.  The wind didn't sound too bad.  Apparently I should have been concerned about parking under this tree on the other side of it.

This is the 2nd huge branch we have lost this year out of this tree. 

Last week or the week before I decided I was going to get in a nightly tournament because I was going to have so much free time.  So far I have not figured out where that free time is.  I have gotten in a couple cash game sessions and have done pretty well.  I am up about 6 buy ins at the lowest level I can play.  Three buy ins came from one player the night before last.  He would push all in with any top pair.  It was fun to keep picking him off.  It got late and I needed to get to bed or I think I could have gotten more out of him. 

My wife and I have been enjoying playing 2 handed pinochle lately.  Since we started playing this weekend, I have went on a 6 game winning streak.  I'm bragging now because the streak will end soon.  I don't know how I pulled out a win in a couple games last night.  I have self proclaimed myself to be "The Comeback Kid".

Monday Night Muck Em - 35 Pounds Lighter

We had a fish fry on Wednesday night and followed that up with fireworks.  My wife's sister from Missouri was visiting.  We had lots of kids blowing off all kinds of fireworks.  At one point I think 6 kids as well as myself were in a line shooting roman candles.

Over the weekend we traveled to my parents in Northwest Kansas and pretty much just took it easy and ate.  Love food!  My back and right side were achy so I didn't have the desire to do too much.

Monday night I was excited to defend my run at the previous Monday Night Muck Em.  The cards were not as kind to me this time and neither was the person to my left.  Every time I hit something she had something better.  I stayed alive to make it to the final table.  At the final table I made it through 1 blind level but had not gotten any starting hands.  I had 2 BB's left and made an all in call from the BB with a flush draw as well as an inside straight draw.  I missed and was out in 7th place.

I made it a long ways for not getting cards and being destroyed when I did get cards.

There's always next week.

On a good note, I stepped on the scale the other day and saw a number on there that I have not seen in a lot of years.  I finally hit the 210 pound mark.  Last October I had dropped to 215.  It has taken me all of this time to finally lose that last 5 pounds.  The good thing is that I have not had to try since last October.  I made some eating changes and walk more around town when I need something, but was not specifically trying to lose weight.  It just happened, slowly since last October.

Now that I have reached 210, I have lost 35 pounds from my heaviest point.  I feel better and can notice quite a bit of change around my mid section.  There is still room for improvement.  It may be time to start toning now.  I'll start out by doing some sit ups and push ups each night.  With 35 pounds of weight being gone, maybe I can lift myself now.

Lesson Learned Teaching My Boys About Money

As the clock hit ending time yesterday, I was out the door.  For the first time in a long time, I was off work on time and did not have a sporting event, or anything planned for me.  Instead I had my own plan.  I was going to grab the boys and walk over to the fireworks stand that opened that morning.

When I walked in the door my youngest boy was right there.  I said, "Get your shirt and shoes on, lets go to the fireworks stand."  He started scrambling about, like he had just drank 3 Mountain Dew's and had 5 bags of skittles.  I walked through the hallway door and saw my older son and told him to get ready. 

They had waited a whole year for this moment. 

A week and a half ago they had made 20.00 a piece picking up several trailer loads of branches at my parents house after a big windstorm came through.  I had told them that they should save their money for buying fireworks.  I knew they had been to the store several times since then and knew they wouldn't have any money.  I thought it would be a good time to make a point to them.

I told them to grab their money.  My youngest looked at me with disappointed eyes.  My oldest smiled and told me I owed him money.  Backfire!  He had loaned his mom the 20.00 he made at Grandma's house. 

They had also both taken on a mowing job at our neighbor's house.  They have mowed twice and have not gotten paid, so I told them I would front the money, but not before I talked to them about saving for the things we will really want.

We hit the fireworks stand and both boys surprised me.  They had a plan, all on their own, to not spend all of the money they had just gotten.  They really wanted certain things but would pick it up and put it back, trying to get the most, bang for their buck, as some would say this time of year.

Myself on the other hand could use a lesson of the same accord.  I took 30.00 with me and walked to the cash register with 50.00 worth of fireworks.  I had asked my oldest son to borrow 20.00 from him until we walk by the ATM on the way home.

When we got home we blew up a whole bunch of firecrackers and smoke balls.  We finally went inside and started to watch Real Steel.  As it was getting dark we paused the movie and went back outside to blow off some nighttime fireworks and watch some of the others going off around town.  We saved some back for tonight and went back inside to finish our movie and go to bed.

Monday Night Muck Em

My plan to start out slow and pay attention to the other players did not work out last night.  My first 4 hands had an Ace in them and I caught either the Ace or the other card.  I would bet and by the turn would be raking the pots.  Not a bad way to start out. 

It took a little while but I finally started to settle in and really get focused.  The player to my left was amassing a huge stack.  Mine hovered right around the starting stack size all the way to just before break when I decided to play some less than steller hands to try to build my stack. 

The most notable was calling a small all in with K6 of diamonds.  K Q and 6 fell on the flop.  Big stack to my left bet out big and I called.  Another K on the turn made me feel better, especially when big stack made a bet of the same size as his last bet.  Had he had the KQ he would have normally bet bigger.  I called.  Turn was a blank.  Big stack bet and I raised.  He called and I took down a healthy pot.

After break I started getting slapped in the face with cards.  It didn't matter if I folded or stayed in my hands seemed to be the winner most of the time.  My stack got huge.  With such a lead I just waited on hands and pounced.  At the final table I knocked out all but 1 or 2 players on my run to 1st place.

I only lost 1 pot that was disheartening.  It was early in the game and I had 4 6 off in the BB.  Nobody raised and a 4 6  fell on the flop.  I bet the flop and turn trying to chase 3 players off.  They stayed in and a 2nd jack fell on the river.  I checked.  There was a 1/2 pot size bet from across the table and I folded.  She showed her trip J's. 

Part of my success last night was making good lay downs, staying focused, and getting extremely good cards.  I haven't ran that well in a long, long time.