Lets get something straight....

There needs, clearly, to be a clarification made.

As I am getting messages from various readers, and then an email from my backer, it becomes painfully clear to me that I need to elaborate on a few statements I made last post. No, not the "who is Gary J" post...as that remains a huge, glaring mystery. The only noon winner who this could possible be is Garrett Jones...and I do not think that is our mystery guy.

No this centers around the comments regarding me 'taking it easy on guys' because I feel bad about busting them, potentially. Here is what I left out...mistakenly. The past week has been filled with a plethora of horrible suck outs that occurred mostly on the turn and/or river. We have all experienced these. And oh...there would be more yesterday.

What this means....or where this leads, is to a broader explanation as to why I was betting these guys off of hands...where in some cases I may have elected to play them a bit slower and extract more value. Here is the practical reality to this situation...part of me felt that I was letting those guys off the hook, thus making me the 'good guy' in my own eyes, and maybe some other peoples' eyes also. The other part of me was this: I did NOT have the nuts. Their were boat draws there. Their were flush draws there. Their were bigger straight draws there. And when you are conditioned by getting sucked out on for a week solid, you tend to start playing your hands a bit more aggressively and protecting your hand while you still can, to thus avoid another horrendous suckout.

So before you guys get on your perch of righteousness and start blasting me for collusion and softplay....just see the big picture for a second and chill the hell out.

There is a comfort that comes from getting up 3 times the average stack early and being the chipleader at your table, that doesnt exist when you are sitting there with an average stack. For example: If you are in a hand with AJ....in the SB....and don't raise...and the flop comes Js-9h-4s....and you bet out 750 (with blinds at 100/200 and 5 in the hand) and your opponent raises you to 2200...you can just grab enough to put him all in and reraise him. See, you have that major edge on him. You can be wrong there...he might have a set. But probably not. He probably has either KJ or a flush draw...and for him to either be wrong, or to get lucky...will cost him ALL his chips. You not raising preflop had him thinking his KJ was good. But by me NOT raising preflop...I hid the strength of my holdings. Which allowed me to get him to raise to 2200. Now...for me to simply call his 2200...and watch a king hit the turn...or for that matter another spade? Why? Why not take the pot while its at over 5000 then to allow him to catch up and thus cost me about 5 or 6k? See...a lot of you get a big stack, and you start playing russian roulette with your chips. I don't. I will keep winning semi-small pots and maintain my advantage. Some might call it a hole, some might not.

Another example: I have kh9h...limped for 200. 6 callers. Flop comes QdJs10d. Flop a straight. But not the NUT straight...AND there is a flush draw out there. Being first to act...I check. Hoping to get at least ONE person to juice the pot. Someone does...and he happens to be a guy I'm fond of. Whatever. He bets almost the pot. I re-raise the shit out of it. It folds back around to him. He groans...I tell him "pretty sure I have ya" and he folds face up...Q-J. Now in my head...he could have a lot of hands here. KQ? Two pair? Flush draw? There are a lot of hands he could have that after the turn card hits I might not be liking my hand much anymore. So for anyone to suggest that by me re-raising big there I am 'colluding' simply has no concept of the game. And trust me...after seeing that he had two pair...I liked my play even more. And he came away from it feeling better too, I'm sure. So in essence, we both won. He doesn't go broke, and I fade another potential (disastrous) suckout costing me 25 to 30% of my stack.

Final Example: Holding Q-10 offsuit, I limp again for 200. We get 4 callers on this hand. The flop comes Kc-Js-9c. Another flopped straight. But another flush draw...and 4 people in the hand...and again about 1000 in the pot. I check again, first to act. Player 1 bets out 1000. It folds all around to me. I raise him to 2500. He shoots me a look....you know the look...the "wtf, man?" look. I say two words..."fold, man." Now a lot of people do this, and a lot of players DONT fold. Hell I've told guys this and had them RERAISE me all in! Happens more than I would like...and I call. And a lot of times they have that flush draw...and then hit it...or a set...and hit a boat...and now I am sitting there....stewing. So this play often times goes bad a lot! But again...a guy I like...not particularly keen on busting...but also not wanting him to chase there and cost me another chunk of my stack. So his fold? I am perfectly fine with.

So... to all you people who look for holes in my game. Who look for reasons to villify me and throw a cloud of suspicion over me...chill out. Take a look at the big picture. That I have to log on and explain this to you, in the first place...is a little ridiculous. But since I have been trying to 'reform' my standing in the poker community lately, I felt it important to briefly explain myself on this subject.

Okay so I am done with that.

Wanna discuss yesterday? I really don't...but I will, I guess. Played the noon Final Tableist Freeroll, along wtih 150+ other players. ONE person wins...an entry into the 2010 WSOP in Vegas. And with all the rebuys from Levels 1-4...a total of 55 would win entry into the 8pm Mega turbo. I would rebuy twice and take a double add on, so I was in for $200 total. Was pretty much card dead the ENTIRE tourney. But I would pick up hands when I needed them to stay alive. Got down inside of 55, so at least I locked up that free entry into the 8pm Mega. Then, with 26 players left...I finally look down at AA for the first time all day. Mainly, I spent the day looking down at hands that ALL seemed to contain a FOUR...and then something to go with it. Must have seen K4 at least 56 times yesterday. But I would say 75% of all my hands had a 4 in them. So when I saw AA...with the blinds at 3000/6000...and me holding 18,000 it presented a weird opportunity. With only 1 winner, and nothing else...it really kind of changed the way this thing was being played. Big hands like AA needed to get paid off. So do I limp here? I was hearing that voice inside of my head..."Monkey...don't get cute with aces! Don't do it...you KNOW what will happen!!!!" So then, instead I decide to appear weak...by shrugging my shoulders...uttering that phrase "Oh well....all in guys." I get called, just CALLED, by the guy in the 1 seat...who has already demonstrated earlier how terrible he is...when...oh LOOK AT THIS PLAY, as we take a break from this action:

When the tables combined to 3 tables...and on the first hand...I was in the BB....with 5k...and the blinds 2/4k. Yeah...I was 1k behind...and clearly NOT folding to any raise. This clown raises...MIN raises...to 8k....UTG....KNOWING he will have to show....with 9-7 offsuit! The guy behind him goes all in for about 20k. Well I have to call...I have J-3...which has been my lucky hand the last couple days...and this guy folds...and folds FACE UP! So not only does he cake off 8k in chips there with a retarded play...but he then subsequently destroys his table image by SHOWING EVERYONE what he was min-raising with!!!! The all in guy had AQ. I would hit a 3 and triple up. Two 7s came out too....so moron would have won.

So back to the action...this same guy...calls my all in...then when J.C. (Asian kid, good player, and really nice guy as well) goes all in for about 30k more.....dude calls. With 66. Nice call sir. J.C. has AK. I have that feeling that I KNOW a 6 is coming...and BOOM...there it is, right in the window. Unreal. I'm drawing to one out. It doesnt come. And I am out.

It's 4pm. The next Mega, a $340, starts at 5. Me and another player decide to go get sushi. Tien (at IP) and Jia at the Beau both don't open until 5, but Chef Scott's in Ocean Springs is open. We race over there. But there is a Street Festival going on, which happens only once a year, of course! All the streets are blocked off. So we park and walk about half a mile. It was worth it. The sushi was killer! We actually get back to the IP by 5:15. Shocker. I buy in to the mega.

It was one of those where I never got a lot of chips, but was never really short. This was the one I really wanted to win. But alas, it would not pan out. Guy shoved all in on the button against my BB and I looked at AK. I would miss everything and his JJ held. Then after flopping top pair on a 4 player scenario...being relatively short...and being first to act, I moved all in and hoped no one had a bigger Q in their hand. No such luck. Bigger Q on Player #4....and I was knocked out. Dammit.

So time to play the 8pm Psycho Fest. About 106 players showed up. I was now drinking beer. I had a great table. We were all having a lot of fun, talking about everything and anything. Had the table laughing a lot. Meanwhile, I was managing to slowly accumulate a decent amount of chips. But then the structure went to hell. Im sitting there with 6500 chips and the blinds are now 600/1200. Almost no one at my table had over 7k. It was going to get ugly. So in middle position I get QcJc and think, "hmmm..Kristen Derfendorf is in the BB...she knows I only raise with decent hands...I probably need to play this" and so I do...but my only real play with that chip stack is to shove....so I shove. And to my astonishment, the guy next to me wakes up with AK. Of course he does.

The flop brings nothing for either of us. The turn though gives me a straight draw...so now I have about 11 outs going to the river...but do I hit any of them? Why would I? I shake the guy's hand...tell everyone good luck...tell 'em how much fun I had...and say goodbye. Let a few people know they most likely won't be seeing me in the Main Event...since I can't see dropping $3k of our bankroll into an event that will struggle to get 60 players. That money would be better served buying into 5 or 6 events next week at Venetian, where every 1st place finish will pay over $40,000. So while I hate NOT playing the Main Event...a lot of players are sharing the same exact sentiment as mine. I will call over there around noon, just in case...and see how many are registered. If by some miracle there are over 100, I will think about it. But I am about 97% expecting there to be well under 75. Anything under 60 players and you aren't even earning any POY points should you make the Final Table...and that is simply unacceptable.

So, what did I do next? I made my way to the cash room. After trying unsuccessfully to get a 1/2 PLO game going...we FINALLY succeed...and this time...we have too MANY players. And the one guy who was trying to help me get the game going...gets frozen out! After 20 minutes of argueing, we finally get the guy a seat, and its on! I buy in for $450...and within an hour I am sitting on 1300 in $100 bills and 700 in chips. Yeah...up over $1500 just like that! God, this is THE game. We were playing HI/LO for one orbit...then switching to HI only...which I am not real fond of...but seem to be finding that people will get their whole stack in with not much in their hands. I had one hand were I flopped top set of queens...but saw an obvious flush draw there...with two players betting it HARD! Real hard...like...pot, pot, potting it and me stressing the turn and the river...hoping to fill up. But they would both brick and I dragged a HUGE pot!

Well, the next half hour started going pretty shitty. Guys getting it in really bad...me raising with great starting hands...flopping good, but then watching disatrous turn and/or river cards hit...and having to fold after sticking 100 to 300 in the pot. One guy in particular I was just ready to kill. I was literally staring at him for over 15 minutes after he needled me by showing me two of his 4 cards after I folded on the river...knowing he had knifed me in the heart with a river flush...but showing me 2 insignificant cards...just to piss me off. I sat glaring at him...not saying anything....then telling him I was thinking of various methods to dispose of his body. I think I finally, at one point...made him a little frightened. But whatever...he continued to suck out on people. This old guy...who had a shit load of money on the table...who I had already taken for about $600 myself...and was with this woman who was...well, can't really even figure out what the relationship there was.

She was about 40 I would say. Tall, long legs...and wearing shorts. But she had that 'condition' we are all familiar with. Where she sits on a chair with her legs crossed, and the cheese is all up the back of her leg...nasty. And she was sporting a very awful boob job. Its like...I guess if you were in one of those truck stop casinos somewhere in the swampy outposts of Louisiana, you might see this couple there...playing the local bigshot role. Never could figure them out. But the guy seemed to be cool enough...didn't say much. But on this one particular hand...he was holding KQxx...the flop comes AJ10. A shit load of money goes in...and we all KNOW that the 'good guy' has KQ...but dipshit in the multi-colored shirt is so enamored with his obvious set that he simply wont fold...and when over 2000 of each guys money gets into the pot...and an ace hits the river...the cigar chomping cowboy almost threw up when asshole over there turns over AAxx...for the boat. The whole table just groaned...as we all had taken to hating this guy.

I lose a couple more pots to the fucker...and finally...as my stack is now down to $1500 decide that stopping right then and there...putting my feelings of homicidal rage towards this guy on the back burner...and leaving with a $1000 profit is probably the best way to go on this one. See? I am getting better at this cash game bullshit. Take the profit Monkey, take the profit. Screw this clown. He is just THAT guy...who know matter what you do, you just CANT seem to beat. I was proud of myself for  leaving. Even prouder for not creating a scene at the table. Nope...I've gotten much more controlled. But I'm telling ya, all these Vince Flynn books I'm reading? With Mitch Rapp running around the world capturing, torturing, and killing terrorists? Its warping my mind I think. It has to be...since this guy in the 7 seat went from being 'guy in ridiculous multi-colored shirt' to Abu Malik Muhammed, world reknowned terrorist...who needs to be shot in both knees...then pumped full of Sodium Pentanol and forced to tell me what he's holding in his hand!!!!!

Phwwweeewwww! Okay then. Its almost time for kickoff...with some big games coming up. What a day in college football yesterday! Holy smoke! I know I know....all you LSU fans are up in arms and PISSED about that blown call by the ref yesterday in the Bama game...but hey! What can you do? You all have gotten your fair share of calls go your way too. Regardless, it was a great game. Lots of upsets yesterday too. I don't think anyone really knows who the best team in the nation is this year...its pretty wide open. Kind of what makes it so exciting. But come Tuesday, when I pull outa dodge and make my way to Vegas, I will have some kind of new color scheme!!!!!!

MONKEY