Just another Ho-Hum win at the I.P. !!!

OOPS! I did it again. And with the assistance of the finest cocktail waitress in the I.P. who knows how to do her job to perfection...me and a handful of my good buddies made the Final Table last night and coasted to victory...ahem...Mr. Anonymous, you will be happy to know that I did not chop. Again. We started with 35 players...which was much better than the 15 and 19 of the previous two nights...and with 2k added in by IP, it was a very nice little score, in my opinion, for the 6 hours invested. That takes us up to well over 12k in winnings this week.

Oh wait, there was a small deal made. I decided to be nice and cave in and give up $300 for the 4th place finisher, who ended up being Justin (or JJ if you prefer). He has had a very, very frustrating week. Going out on or near the bubble on two other occassions. Well, he was struggling with about 6 or 7 left, and I was really, really pulling for him to pull it out and hopefully get heads-up with me.  And then he got on a little bit of a heater, and actually took over the chip lead.  But sure enough...he got hit with awful luck. He raised in the SB when we were 4-handed, and Larry (last name uncertain...young guy, works at Hard Rock) re-raises him all in. JJ calls...and turns over AA. Larry has AJ. Flops a Jack...rivers another Jack. Brutal. Poor Justin...just not his week at all, but a very nice guy, and a very fine player. He will have his day.

That was actually kind of ironic...and reflective of how my tourney started. Somewhere in the first level I raised to 150 with AJc. The SB, guy named Howard who was just coming off a 21-hand penalty from Shawn Lytle over at the Bad Times Casino earlier in the day...flat calls me. Unbeknownst to me he is slow-play/trapping me with AA. The flop comes J-high with two spades. He checks. I bet 250. He raises to 750. I am sniffing out a spade draw (errantly, of course) and decide to get super aggressive and shove on him. He snap calls, rolls over the aces, oh shit!

Well I turn a club....giving me a club draw....and Tim Burt, seated down in the 7-seat, who has already called for the club on the turn giving us the sweat, now predicts victory on the river....and when the Jack hits I just sat there, slightly grinning. Not acting stupid, like most do right there. Sorry Howard. Took Howard about 30 minutes to leave...after he had finished letting everyone in the room know that my AJ had knocked him out with AA. Hey, shit happens.

It was another fun night. I made some pretty good calls (one that comes to mind...holding 37k...UTG jams all in for 8900, guy in the SB flats...leaving only 1800 behind, strange play...and me having 10-10...SB had 77, UTG had QJ. Somehow I faded all that and took them both out) and also some pretty good laydowns at critical times. Justina wasn't dealing so I knew I had a shot. She played instead, and we had some battles throughout...her winning a couple, me winning a couple, and then me knocking her out...her QJ, me AK suited. Sorry Justina. The dealing was good, the floor did a good job, we had a good cocktail waitress. We had some good players show up...a decent field made it over...well in comparison to the rest of the week anyway. And tonight and tomorrow I expect some 50+ fields hopefully in a 2k and 3k added tourney...so it would be nice to finish strong before I take a week off here to get my house in Pensacola all taken care of and re-rented, and then zip out to Seattle for a week before hitting my west coast, 6-week poker trip in February and March.

When Larry and I got heads up we were close to even. Again, I think I just got better cards than my opponent. I might have thrown out bets with air 3 or 4 times...but on the whole, I think I just got better cards. Then, like with Ross the other night when him and I were heads up...I raised with AQ...and Larry shoved with As8s. I called. He flopped four to the flush...ugh...and I faded it all...and that was the end. Larry wondered if he misplayed the hand...but I assured him he didn't. He was down to 15 BB's and a suited ace heads up when I had been surging was simply a hand he couldn't let go there. He played a very good tournament and had nothing to be ashamed of. And oh yeah...he drank Snappers with me, so you had to KNOW he was going to cash, right!???

Okay enough about poker. There is something going on in the world right now that really has my attention. I just made a pretty decent donation this morning. I wish I could do more. I wish I could get on a plane and go volunteer to help in a bigger way. But I can't obviously. Haiti got just drilled by a huge earthquake this week, and unless you are living under a rock, then you already know this. There is something we can do, though to help. This country, already the most poverty-stricken nation in the Western Hemisphere is just wracked in devastation and looking at the photos makes me just hurt for them.

HELP FOR HAITI.....you can make a difference!

If you guys can find it in your heart, or your wallet to do something, anything...it would make someone's life better.  I have to say, I spent yesterday thinking about how proud I am to be an American at moments like this. We are constantly being berated by these countries all around the world for being the 'ugly Americans' all the time...but whenever distaster strikes...who is it that always seems to come to everyone's aid? Us! Us ugly Americans. Why? What do we have to gain politically from helping Haiti? Not a damn thing. Its pure and simple that we are there with boots on the ground in their time of need because that is what America stands for. Helping those who can't help themselves.

 I just see how their control tower at their airport was destroyed, and our Special Ops from Hurlburt Field in Fort Walton moved in and had Air Ops restored within hours...and are running aid in and out of there 24 hours a day. I love what our country does to help people. How amazingly professional our military is. If they don't make you proud, well, then you should move to France or something.

Anyway...the people of Haiti are in my heart and mind and the subject of my prayers this week. I just really, really hope that they are patient....as all the routes have been cut off, the ports are disabled, the airport is out of fuel and space to park planes...I just really hope it doesn't turn ugly with rioting and looting and more death.

Some of my good buddies, the high-rollin bigshots from Vegas and other places..are starting to roll in today for the 'big events' at the Bad Times Resort and Casino. One of them...who happens to be in the top 20 in POY pts...asked why I wasn't over there. When I told him why...he asked if he should go talk to 'the guy' about it. I told him...yeah, sure...but I think you have a better chance of getting Obama to bring back slavery. Instead, I will probably just get together with my good buds hopefully for a nice dinner at BR Prime while they are here. I love that place. And Kai works there also, so maybe we could get him to wait on us!

Big weekend coming up for football fans. I know you Saints fans are all fired up. I know you have to be a little nervous too, what with the way they finished up the last three games, and how powerful Arizona's offense looked last week against GB. Should be a helluva game. I personally don't think you should put much stock in those last two Saints losses. If anything, the Saints' second unit got a lot of much needed experience against Carolina...and still almost won that game. The starters should be very well rested for this game. I had some interest in going to the game...and even had a couple people offer tickets...but when I heard the price!??? Yikes, I gasped. And I didn't want to be ugly about it, because I know that is probably what they are going for...but for my money, I can enjoy it just as much on my 46' Samsung that I am still in love with!

Plus...if I was going to spend that kind of money, it would have been to take Squirrel to the BCS Title Game in Pasadena.  So...to you Saints fans, and I am slowly but surely starting to root for them (you know me, I am a die-hard Seahawks fan! Interesting hire by the way, of Pete Carroll....should be a fun season next year!) I hope you all have a great weekend!!!! Would really be fun to have the NFC Championship in the Superdome next weekend, wouldn't it? And how big would a rematch with the Cowboys be? Whooooaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!

Okay, well...I am going to go run some errands and then try and defend last nights victory with another one tonight! Hope to see ya'all down there at the I.P.!!!!

MONKEY