Off we go to Atlantic City

I did not play one hand of poker for a week...and then last night...decided, against my better judgement, to log on for a little online poker. The first five games I got throttled. But in the last one...a little $5 with two rebuys and one add-on, and 831 players, I ended up making the Final Table. I went out 7th, when my AK couldn't improve against QQ...but at least it felt good to get that deep before heading off for AC today and the Borgata.

Got all my errands around the house done. Finished (finally) my backer's spreadsheet and shot her off the good news. And some money! Ordered my fall wardrobe online...then made all the returns and exchanges at the mall yesterday. I feel like I am set for Fall. Now all I need to do is lose some freaking weight so all my other stuff will fit in spring!

I've been hearing a lot of horror stories from Atlantic City...mostly about how attrocious the dealers are. I kind of already know that from my trip there last year...but from what I am hearing, it is worse. I shall get myself in the right mental mindframe for that, then.

I will be sharing a room with Mike 'Carwash' Schneider...a guy I have always liked a lot but never roomed with. Should be interesting. I plan on meeting up with, and partying a little bit with my buddies Jason Young and Christian Iacobellis while I'm there. I would say Joe Cutler...but I have no idea what the hell is going on with him. He just suddenly went incommunicado on me. Then I find out he got married this weekend. Hmm. No invite. No nothing. Very weird. Starting to think I did something to piss him off, with no clue what it might be. Hopefully we will get a chance to sit and talk about whatever it is.

I'm gonna miss my dogs like crazy. Love being home with them. And with Squirrel. She is back to begging me not to go...but damn, with over 1.5 million for first last year...and that structure? And being on kind of a hot streak...its kind of hard NOT to go. I booked a one-way on Air Tran...so I can pretty much come home whenever I want. Would love to get up there, Mega my way into the Main...play on Day 1a, Saturday....get out of Day 1...then hang out with Christian on Day 1b, Sunday...and grind online all day and maybe have dinner...then go back and get deep for a nice cash. Then leave! Sounds like a plan!

I will keep you all updated. I arrive late tonight, about 11pm.

Monkey

Great Weekend in Milwaukee with the Family....

What do we do after winning a bunch of money and putting an end to one of the worst runs of 'no decent cashes' in recent memory? Most poker players would likely book a flight to Atlantic City and get after the always-inflated fields at Borgata, right? And true...had this weekend not already been planned several weeks ago...that is likely what I would have been doing.

But we had made plans...and so that is what our weekend plans called for. And honestly, after all the bullshit that Delta and the idiots who work at Gulfport/Biloxi put us through (and that was on our DEPARTURE flight, no telling what awaits us tomorrow when we go home) I have almost ZERO desire to book a flight and hotel and all the other stuff that goes along with planning a poker trip...which will end up only being about a week long. But my buddies Jason Young and Christian 'Da Professional' Iacobellis are counting on me to come...and I keep thinking about last year's Main Event paying out like 1.7 million for first...and more and more I'm thinking, "Damn, I really probably need to get my ass up there."

First of all, I would like to extend my gratitude to the folks at the Beau Rivage for letting me return to their poker premises. As I had mentioned before the dealers did a magnificent job all throughout the event. I managed to get all of the Main Event dealers taken care of through my personal channels, and I appreciated all the ones who sent me thank you messages. Thanks to Johnny Grooms, Ken Lambert and Eric Comer, as well as floor guys like Troy, Amanda, Kurt Dau, and Brannen...who made the trip very pleasant. Even though I pulled a pretty ridiculous 2 for 14 in SNG's, I more than made up for it in tourneys. Obviously. :) And for two or three days I did nothing but return all the messages people sent me, not wanting for one second to be that guy who people said things about like "see, now he gets a big score and he's too cool to respond." I'm pretty paranoid about that stuff.

So here I am in Milwaukee. Squirrel and I started the journey in very annoying style. Getting to GPT 45 minutes before our flight...we get stonewalled by a bitch named Kimberely Williams and an old lady with the poise of a raccoon with a firecracker up her ass. Oh, I would have provided you her name...but when Squirrel made a move for the front desk to get her name (which is something usually only I would pull...very out of character for her...should tell you how pissed off she was) she had disappeared. This was the bitch who had accused Cheryl of not having any common sense.

This on the heels of Cheryl standing in line...being waved over to the kiosk by this bitch...then after going through all the prompts and having it say "You Are Too Late to Check Baggage at Kiosk" she goes into this speech about how we are supposed to be here 2 hours before the flight. Huh!??

"Yes maam, you have to be here 2 hours before the flight because the gate takes control from us 30 minutes before the flight."

Again. HUH????

Squirrel: "So which one is it? I have to be here 2 hours before the flight? Or 30 minutes? And by the way, I was here 45 minutes before my flight...and right now its 35 minutes before my flight...and your telling me I can't check in? And if I have to be here 2 hours before the flight...WHY? So I can sit around for an hour and a half? You make no sense lady."

This is when the common sense BS started. This is when I got involved. This is where the old bitch starts trying to cite some psycho babble bullshit about FAA regulations.

"Really lady? Here is the problem...I am not an idiot. I am not one of these people who travel once or twice a year and will buy whatever crap you are trying to feed them. See, I know that works 98% of the time for ya...but not with me. Why don't you just be honest and tell us you oversold the flight...and don't know what the hell to do...so as a stop gap measure, you are turning away semi-late arriving passengers. Think maybe you're capable of that?"

So...what does she do? What they always do at the freaking airport when they have no clue how to respond.

Old Bitch: "Sir, I am going to get someone who can help you!"

Translation....Old Bitch is calling the cops or security, then telling them I am causing a disturbance. Oh yeah...Ive been down this path before with these ingrates. The last time was when they destroyed my luggage and I simply wanted to know who to go through to get some kind of help. That day, they called the cops, then told them I was making threats. Yeah, I was threatening the lady with calling customer service for Delta and filing a complaint about her.

I have no idea how someone hasn't walked into that airport and shot one of those assholes that works those counters. And they can just cool it with the whole 9/11, terrorism crap....trust me, terrorists are not plotting to wreak havoc in Biloxi, Mississippi. Give us all a break. That is specifically reserved for hurricanes!

As I find out, these clowns aren't event airline employees, they are contracted as an outside collection of bozos to wake up every day, drive to the airport, and dedicate themselves to making us traveler's lives a living hell!

Well this little bitch Kimberly was seemingly thrilled that she was going to force us to leave for two hours...then come back, just to find out if we were going to get to travel 3 hours later, for a mere $100 change fee...or, if someone out there was stupid enough to purchase those last 5 seats on the plane for $1000+ per ticket. Well, I one-upped her. I called customer service. Spoke to a gal named Wendy Springer out in Seattle, who could not have been nicer or more helpful, and actually gave me hope for this trip. I told her what had happened. She agreed we had been bamboozled. I told her of my numerous issues with this airport. She demanded (okay, heavily encouraged) that I write a letter to Delta explaining all the crap I've endured at this airport. And then she booked us both on that flight...and in an exit row (leg room) and of course waived the $100 change fee. So when we went to check in, that little troll Kimberly could not have been snottier. Upon pulling up our names you could tell by the look on her face that she noticed I had gotten around the $100 fee and had gotten myself booked before she could.

When she handed Squirrel our boarding passes, she said nothing. Cheryl says "Your welcome! Have a nice day!" While going through security Cheryl told the TSA guy what we'd just put up with...and his comment was "Really? You wouldn't believe how many stories I hear about those people down there. I mean...every day its something." So, I guess the problem really isn't so much Delta and the other airlines as it is those misfits of society they find out on the street to check us in and take (and destroy) our baggage.

First leg of the trip...to Memphis, perfect. The flight from Memphis? Holy crap. What is a CRJ200 and how did they ever decide to make this a commercial aircraft. First of all, the windows are down around my stomach, so you can forget trying to look out of them. But the real douzy was the 7 inches of leg room, which disappeared when the person in front of me reclined on my lap. OMG OMG OMG OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!! And of course, no Xanax! I started to freak out. And then all of a sudden, the flight waitress saved me..."we have a whole row in back that is unoccupied sir, if you would like to take it."

Oh thank God!!! Granted, it was still two of the smallest seats ever! I got myself contorted into this pretzel-like ball, as though I were going for some super-bonus Twister manuever in attempt to win the game...and by the time we finally arrived in Milwaukee I was ready for a deep-tissue massage.

{as a little side note, there was only one row behind me...then the back of the plane. It was occupied by a young couple. And halfway through my terribly attempted nap, I was awoken by sounds...yeah...THOSE sounds...and after looking between the seats, I see the girl performing fellacio on her boyfriend. I didn't know whether to feel jealous or disgusted.}

Thursday...not sure what we did. Not much. Friday, we took a cool tour boat ride around Milwaukee. It was a beautiful sunny, breezy day. Had never seen Milwaukee before. Its a pretty cool town. The ballpark is gorgeous. We went and had dinner at Ryan Braun's (he plays for the Brewers) and had a decent meal. The food was good. I'm pretty sure our waitress had just finished training last week. Friday night, the projects started to prepare for the big party my sister was having at her house.

She recently adopted a 3 year old who happens to be the little brother of the 9 year old they adopted a few years ago. This kid is maybe the cutest little kid I've ever seen. Obviously I'm not going to get into the whole story of how he came to be in this situation...for fear of losing whichever ones of you still remain. But they were having what amounted to a shower/birthday party for him.

So I mowed her lawn and did most of the work disassembling her patio that had partially washed away, and then rebuilding it. While this was going on Squirrel was whirlwind-cleaning like she does...whipping her way through their whole house. We were all nervous that rain was going to ruin the day, since the forcast was calling for it. Well it did rain last night, and all morning...but then, finally around 1pm, here came the sun. And it was a perfect day. I was the Grill Master...Squirrel played cocktail waitress! Over 50 people showed up... and watching her work the crowd was amazing. I've never seen anyone like her. People she has never met before, and who...odds are, won't ever see again, she managed to immerse herself in conversation with.

She showed the same energy when we had to fly out to Montana a few years ago and get my Grandfather's house (who'd passed away) for sell. Also when we went out to Seattle to help my Mother move into her new house. Where most people in her situation would be backing off of getting involved in all of that, or at least showing the least amount of assertiveness possible...this woman I married just throws 100% of her effort into helping people and getting to know them, and making them feel special.

You know that thing that exists between you, your family, and your significant other? When they are all together, and one of them says something 'snippy' to you...and the family immediately comes to your defense? It's almost the opposite with us...that's how much my family loves my wife. If they hear me snap at her, or say something deemed 'offensive' they jump all over ME! Phewwwww....tough crowd! Kind of makes it hard to sit on the couch watching college football while the Squirrel is flying around the house doing anything and everything to help!

So yeah...I'm pretty exhausted. The party was a success. Lots of gifts were brought. And, I was presented a surprise cake...a 'Congratulations Monkey' cake...with a big dollar bill on it and a monkey in the circle. Very thoughtful. They were all very happy for me. During the Final Table, my family, as well as Squirrel's family, were all huddled around their laptops watching the minute-by-minute updates that Brian was putting up on the Beau Rivage's Facebook page.

I have to say, I am awfully proud of my sister. She is the Athletic Director at Mt. St. Mary's College...which is an all-girl's college. We got to go to her school and meet all her co-workers and see the school. It was very nice. She has done wonders with these kids. I sat here listening to them scream and yell and bang on toys...and wonder "Wow, if Squirrel and I have a kid, am I going to be able to deal with this?" It's tough. I mean... I know that I would never be the kind of father that my step dad was, alcoholic, abusive...just an asshole. I would never strike a kid. I would never allow myself to drink around them to excess. But my problem is the patience to deal with the things that drive me crazy. They say its different when they are yours. I can only hope that is true.

It was nice to see my family. My Mother is always happy to see us. And her and Squirrel have a better relationship than any girl I ever dated. She just loves Cheryl to death. I'm so glad I had the week down there I did, if I hadn't I might have been a total stressed out mess all weekend.

Great day of college football. Alabama beat the crap out of Penn State. Minnesota loses to South Dakota? A 29 pt underdog! Virginia Tech loses to James Madison!?? Very exciting Michigan-Notre Dame game. Florida State got trounced by Oklahoma. And hey, hey...my Huskies got a win...I know, Syracuse sucks...but still, its a win. And it was nice!

My football pools have a record number of entries in all four of them. Georgia Tech losing to Kansas whacked a bunch of people from the NCAA Survivor Pool. Tomorrow is Week One of the NFL and I am pretty fired up. Except that I am going to be spending all day flying home. Anxious to see how all four of my Fantasy teams do in Week 1.

In the last 5 days I have played exactly ZERO hands of poker. And I have not missed it one bit. But I know its coming. I have to figure out what I am going to do when I get home tomorrow....Squirrel really wants me to stay home. And part of me wants to. But I feel like I am on a hot streak right now...doing well in Tunica, doing well in Biloxi...and to go up to Borgata and do well there? Damn, I could really put this year of misery to rest. I really, really want to get us out of our rental house and into a house of our own. And eliminate ALL of my remaining credit debt. Those are the two goals...then we can think about trying again to have a baby. One step at a time. Last week was just the first step in this plan...and yeah, it was a great step!

I guess thats about enough. Fear this has gotten too long already. Hope you all have, or had...a great weekend!

Monkey

September 6, 2010...a day to remember!!!

In this year of reasons to be disappointed with almost everything that has come my way, I finally found a reason to wake up, walk outside with my dogs...throw my dog the ball, and just smile. And keep smiling. To open my mail box, pull out bills, and laugh at them. To take all the overdue bills on my bulletin board and promptly pay them off.

Then I sat down....and spent four hours answering each and every text message, email, and Facebook shout out that came my way. I've never felt such an outpouring of support both before I made the 'big score' I kept waiting for this year...or after. And all from people I know aren't 'coming out of the woodwork' looking for something from me, or cutting some angle. Nope...it was all people who are friends, family or fellow players who have felt my pain all year, or even been there suffering with me. I wanted to make sure I responded to all of them.

I am not a better poker player than I was last month. I am not a cooler person. I am not better than anyone. I might be a little better behaved! I might be 'cooling my act' a little...both due to the need to, and the medication I'm on...and maybe just a little bit of maturity! Nope...nothing really has changed THAT much. What did happen, was I managed to have my hands hold up. I managed to pull a few very well timed bluffs. And I managed to pull off a couple of monster suck outs. All requirements to win a tourney or finish very high.

Joining me in the final four yesterday was a very old friend of mine...who I had NEVER played a hand against at the poker table. Chad Brown and I played baseball together some 20 years ago. And in fact, there is a baseball tourney/reunion for that team in Tempe this fall that Chad will be going to...and which I've been invited to, and just might attend, even though I havent played in a baseball league for about 4 years now. Might just be fun to catch up with the guys. It was fun to watch Chad play. We had some great conversation.

Pretty much every guy at that Final Table was a class act. I got Facebook messages and friend requests today from Ron Romano in the ONE seat. Got one from Mark Rose...the eventual 'winner' in the TWO seat. Got one from Jonathon Stanton in the THREE seat. Chad is already on there. And got one from Mike Bradford and his wife. Along with a nice message. After I cracked Mike's AA with my KK...hitting a king on the river...he quickly left the table...and I am pretty sure he did what I did up in Tunica last month when I went out 14th, 5 from the money...and went out to the hall to gather himself, decompress and curse the poker gods. Then he came back in, shook my hand, wished everyone luck, and got paid. Good guy.

Yesterday was a great day. When Chad got knocked out on a ugly three-outer against Kai Landry...it was just me, my friend Kai...and Mark Rose...another good dude. It then dawned on me just how freaky this was. Two days ago...when I had only 14k at the end of Day 1, I got a call from my good buddy Charlie "Smoke" Oliver, who I guess has been conferring with a psychic lately. Between that and a dream he had...he told me I was going to make a comeback, and get down to either heads up, or close to heads up with a friend of mine. I can't make this up. To make it even better...Kai has had a personal nightmare of a 2010, even worse than mine. And he has handled that adversity with so much poise, and such dignity than I ever could come CLOSE to. To know that he walked away with such a nice, fat lump of cash gave me such a great feeling of happiness for him. Almost as happy as I felt at receiving mine!

The first thing I did after answering all of you...was take that money straight to the bank, putting some in checking, sneaking Squirrel a little gift in her account and putting the rest in my safety deposit box! Lesson learned! No money in this house folks!

Kept trying to decide what I would write about today. I've gotten several messages from you guys telling me you want to see the post! Kind of tough one to write. I mean...do you guys really care about all the hands? Bottom line...is I didn't really get into a lot of showdown hands at all. 75% of the hands I raised with...I got walks. I went in with 452k. When we were down to 4 I had 459k. My plan was to go in...and play very tight, very cautiously...hang around and let other shorter stacks get knocked out and try to pick 5k here, 10k there...til I got to a point where I could sort of feel like I was now freerolling on the payouts....and start getting after it.

The blind structure was so good that I was never in danger at all. Its the most amazing feeling when you can just sit there and let the action come to you. Kai and I started up with the Red Snappers right away. And Mike Bradford would join us as well. I was content to sit and watch Chad Brown and Mark Rose fire at each other constantly. Early in the action Mark raised from cutoff. Chad re-raised from the small blind. To which Mark tanked...then re-raised huge. Chad finally surrendered...."I'm really laying down a big hand to you here" but didn't show. Mark rolled over 10-4 offsuit.

"ohhhh okay...nowwww we're playing poker!!!" said Chad.

On the first hand of the day Ron Romano shipped all in UTG with KJ and was called by Ben Chan...another guy I'm pretty good buddies with. You all might know his brother Charles, who is a very good and established dealer, as well as a solid player (and watch out! his favorite hand is 4-7 and he will GETCHA with it!). Ben...as well as Kai, swapped 5% with me on Day 2...on a pretty smart play I thought. I figured ONE of us would certainly make the final table. Its always a good insurance policy to have that in place just in case things go terribly awry. Of course, we ALL made the final table...so none of us had to sweat that anymore. I also think its a bad idea to have 'live saves' when you are at the Final Table because it could really affect how you play against that guy. Kai and I are good buddies for sure...but there was no love lost yesterday. We both wanted it just as bad as the other guy. And in our case...NEEDED it! So it was nice to not have all that hanging over our heads.

Anyway, Ben decided to call with 33. And despite Ron having a ridiculous number of outs going to the river...he missed them all, and Ben won a much needed pot. And we had all made a quick $5k more.

The next three or four punchouts came pretty rapidly. I, of course hit the K to knock out poor Mike with his AA. Johnathan attempted a squeeze play with J10 and ran into Mark's QQ...and had Mark flop a set. Chad went out when he got into a heads up all in vs. Kai with AKs vs. Kai's AJ. Kai flopped a Jack and it held. The final table went a lot faster than I thought it would.

The dealers were awesome. Collins, Danielle, Danny...think it was just those three....did a super job. We had every 'head guy' hovering around...Johnny, Ken Lambert, Eric Comer...all of them...so I was being extremely careful not to do anything 'controversial.' I was actually in a pretty mellow mood all day. Not my usual wild, final table self. We had a nice crowd on hand most of the day. It was fun.

And now its over. Wow. I did not play a single hand of poker today. Just getting ready now for our trip to Milwaukee tomorrow...where we are joining my family at my sister's house to celebrate her adoption of a new little boy. They are all very excited for us to arrive, and were following along with the Final Table action yesterday and shooting me text messages. My Mom called me this morning, and it was obvious how happy she was, knowing what a terrible year its been for us. It will be nice to just go be with family and relax...and not even think about poker.

And when I get home Sunday...voila! Its right back to the drawing board! As I say...you're only as good as your last tournament right? When I go buy into the next tourney, they are only going to give me 6000 or so chips, right? Not half a million! But it is days like September 6, 2010 that make me come back wanting to do it all over again. That make me not lose hope. That make me feel like maybe I do know what the hell I'm doing in this game. And all the support I get from you guys...makes me feel like maybe I do matter a little bit to some people.

Thanks to all of you...for making this day, and this week so special!!!

Monkey

FINAL TABLE here we come!!!!!

after posting this I found a very helpful link for those of you wanting to follow the action from home. Brian Heptinstall has been doing live reports on the Beau Rivage Poker page which is on Facebook, that I just now noticed. Just click HERE to go there and subscribe (for free of course.)


WOW! To begin to describe the emotions I am experiencing right now would be next to impossible. And we haven't even begun the Final Table yet for the 2010 Gulf Coast Poker Championship.

It is almost 10am. Monday morning. Labor Day. I have been tossing and turning all night. I might have slept a total of 2 hours. I got home at around 2am, took a 2-hour bath, and read my latest Baldacci novel...trying to come down from a tremendously emotional, and mentally exhausting day of poker.

What a day! Driving home the previous night, and feeling glum...I suddenly got a shift in attitude...and told Squirrel, "You know what, if that river card hadn't hit...and I had bagged up $70k, I would be feeling right now like I am supposed to make the final table. Everyone else would be expecting it too. This way...the expectations for me making it are very low. So there is no pressure on me at all. And with the structure being so good...I should know as well as anyone, that this thing isnt over. I'm going to do this. And if I dont...well, its fine. We had a great week."

After a couple of minor pots went my way to get me up to 16k...I made my first mistake. A guy who loves to prey on small stacks min raised me...and got another caller...with me holding AJ. And for some reason, I didn't shove on them. He had 10-8. And when it checked all the way to the river...I finally bet 6k. To which he called with bottom pair on the board.

MEMO to SELF: Do not make any future attempts to bluff this guy. Several other players learned this painful lesson with this guy.

I was now down to 8500 and desperately seeking help. I would get it in the form of a double up with Ad3d vs KJ. Then a few hands later, Ben Gordon...a lawyer from Pensacola, who I've played with in the past...calls my fairly loose raise utg (holding QJ) with his own KJc...and we go to a flop heads up. The flop comes Q-9-7. Pretty good flop for me. I lead out pretty big. He calls with his gutshot. Oh no....

The turn is the five of clubs....now giving him a flush draw with his gutshot. I go all in for the rest...about 8500. He calls. I see his cards and gasp. It was the same hand the guy rivered the flush with the previous night. Justina is dealing...she of the numerous murderous river beats this year. I close my eyes....

BRICK on the RIVER!!!!! And we double up!!!! I get up and take a walk around the room, trying to get my breathing to go back to normal. We are back! 32k and breathing again.

Later I get a huge pot...when this guy who was simply, well, a terrible tournament player...he had 'cash game guy' written all over his face, and played way too many hands, called way to many raises when he was way behind, and would eventually pay for it....raised in early position with A8. I wake up with AA in the BB. Now a lot of players...good players mostly, I don't mind flatting right there with AA and letting them build the pot for me before I hammer them on the turn or river. But this guy? I knew he would call any re-raise if he had already raised...so why not get some added value early? I re-raised him from his 3k to 8k. And as advertised, he snap called.

I can't remember who the dealer was...but I flashed him my hole cards. Sometimes...if I like the dealer, and I know they play on the side...I like to include them in the hand, merely for their own entertainment. So when I saw the ace in the window, and glanced at the dealer I could see a little gleam in his eye...as he was obviously wondering how I was going to play it. Flop came out A-3-8 rainbow. We shall call that heaven!

I check the flop. He leads 10k. I smooth call. Turn is the 7 hearts...which makes for two hearts and a remote straight draw. I check again. He bets another 10k. I call again. Now here is where it gets good. The river is the 4 of spades. Do I check again and run the risk of him not betting, and getting zero value here? Do I go ahead and bet, say...15k, maybe 20k into the pot of about 60k? And hope he pays me off with whatever he has? Or do I maybe do a desperation heave of 27k all in and make it look like maybe I missed a draw and am trying to steal it? Me and several of my table mates talked about this hand for awhile later...and no one really had the ironclad, surefire answer to how that river should have been played. I went with option C and moved all in. To which he folded. I showed him my hand.

"Boy oh boy, I sure wish an 8 had hit....I had two pair and would have got ya!"

To which two or three of us had to inform him that he really didn't want another 8 to hit. Wow...this guy really was as bad as I thought he was. He would go out later...actually taking a pretty bad beat at the hands of Ben Gordon. But it was again him raising with another non-raising hand out of position...raising with J9 UTG...and getting flatted by Ben Gordon with AA in the SB...taking my advice on that move from an earlier discussion regarding playing AA out of the SB against an aggressive player. The BB also called, he was holding J10. So when the flop came J-10-9...Ben checks, which prompted an all in from the BB...followed by another all in by the UTG raiser...and how Ben calls both of those all ins right there none of us could figure out...but he did...and the dealer goes runner runner 8-8....giving him two pair...and sending the other two players packing...and freaking out. Ben could barely disguise his giddiness as he stacked up his huge stack of chips...which was easily around 300k.

We went to dinner break with 20 players still remaining. There was a lot of talk about how long we would play. Word was, we were going to play down to 18 and call it a night. This was not something I was in favor of. Nor many other players. I went to Memphis Q by myself and had a nice bone-in ribeye. I was joined by floor guy Shaun Johnston, and we talked about a variety of things, including the awkwardness surrounding how long we would play on Day 2. In case it goes without mention...Shaun...who has been a floor guy on the scene for quite awhile now...also plays a little poker himself, and a couple weeks ago won one of the FTOPS events on Full Tilt. How sick!

So when we went back we were just kind of focused on knocking out two players...which we did relatively soon. So then the shenanigans started. Shaun finally had to call Ken Lambert at home and tell him the situation. Ken then called Johnny Grooms and Eric Comer and a decision was finally reached. Let the players vote. If yes...they could potentially be playing til 4am. They would play down to 9...or the end of Level 16. Or if they voted NO...they would come back Monday with 18. I went to the bathroom. As I was exiting...another player told me "Monkey...they voted yes and are getting ready to play again...better hurry." Sweet! And it was on!

In the interest of not making this entry any longer than it needs to be...I will just tell you that I hovered around 200k for about 3 hours...among the top 5 in chipleaders. Kai Landry...a guy you all know is my buddy, was at the other table having a nightmare of a struggle with another buddy of mine...from 20 years ago when I lived in NYC and we played baseball together, Chad Brown. I was fortunate in that I was on a table I considered to be pretty soft in comparison. Rusty Moore was about my biggest obstacle, but as we are pretty friendly and respect each others game quite a bit, we manage to avoid a major calamity....until!

Rusty likes to raise the button. People think I am a pansie on my big blinds, and like to raid it a lot. But in the past year or two, I have really started to defend it a lot more. And sometimes, I even like to flat with what I am almost 90% sure is the better hand, in hopes of trapping them. Well, that situation arose...when he raised me and I looked at AdQd. I smooth called his raise. The flop came out Q-3-6. I probably should have check-raised him here...but I think because we both had a lot of chips, I decided to play it safe and just come out firing. Which I did. And he called. The turn was another 6. I bet 15k. He tanks. And raises to 40k. I put him on a move. I re-raise it to 100k.

"Ohhh....Monkey, nooooo....did you really do me like that man!???" And after contemplating for awhile, he finally pushes all in. Its another 37k for me to call, into what is now a pot of around 250k+. Holy crap what a spot. But I now KNOW that he has like A6...maybe even K6...and I am drawing very thin to the river. But that pot! However, making this call will knock me down to around 48k. Folding will leave me still relatively healthy at 87k, albeit below the average for the first time in a while. But despite the pot odds to call, I felt like I needed to fold there. I did so, and showed my hand.

Then started trembling inside. That cold, hollow feeling you get when you feel it all slipping away. 15 left...and I just lost over half my stack. Oh no...another 2010 curse hitting me smack in the face.

Then the comeback begins. I start picking up little pots here and there. Then it happens! I put the 'El Diablo' smackdown on a guy!

When Ron Romano from Georgia couldn't stand it any longer and ran to the bathroom, he left his big blind deserted. I pick up K10 utg...and decide at 1200/2400 to take a stab at it. I raise, very light...so I can fold to any re-raise...to 5000. A guy with a shortstack of 37,000 decides to just smooth call me. The others fold. The flop comes out K-10-3! But all diamonds!

Yikes! Check raise here? Not very smart. Why? Well, if the guy bets about 10 to 15k...he will be committed to the rest. If I bet out...and he has no diamond, he likely will have to fold. I would rather not price the guy in to putting a beat on me...so I bet out 17k...with him holding 37k. He goes all in. Shit! Well...the odds on someone FLOPPING a flush are pretty slim...so I have to just hope he only has one diamond and misses, or that I fill up. I call. He turns over TWO ACES! Whoa! And no diamond! The turn is a Jack...giving him a straight draw now with his ace still live and the 3 or another J to beat me. He whiffs the river and leaps out of his chair and bolts for the door. I cringed for him...knowing the pain and suffering that comes with being 'el Diablo'd' but still loving the outcome.

The next monster hand would come at 1500/3000...when Rusty would again raise...this time at cutoff. I sat holding 44 and asked the dealer Collins if he could flop me a set.

"Can I? Or will I?"

"Will you please?"

"I'll see what I can do Monkey."

The flop comes out 4-K-K. I had to look at it twice. Holy crap! Rusty bets out 10k. Now I start thinking. Flat call? What if he has AK? Do I want to let him hit another heartbreaking turn on me? But if I smooth call...won't that kind of signal to him that I have made my hand? I think so...and Rusty is a good player...so I decide to raise to 25k. With him holding QQ...it sent him the signal that I was merely TRYING to represent a boat....so he called. The turn was a 7. He checks to me. I bet 25k again. Now he starts talking out all the scenarios in his head. At one point...he says, "I can't believe I am thinking about folding these," which lets me know he has a large pair, and definitely NOT AK...so I am fading a two outer....or also another K...which would be another terrible beat in this year of terrible beats. He calls.

The river is what I hope is a harmless 8. After a mere moment or two...he announces "100k!" I don't even know what I have left in my stack, but I am pretty sure I don't have that much. I can't fold. If he has me he has me. I call. Turn over my cards and he moans in disgust. I have just won the biggest pot of the tournament...which has put me over 250k.

A little while later, at 2000/4000....I erroneously MIN RAISED...which you all know I do NOT ever do. I made it 8000...thinking I was making a raise based on blinds of 1500/3000. But after doing so I said, "No, its cool, this might actually work out better for me, anyway."

Well, Rusty completely misread me...because he moves all in on me for about 60k. I call, and as soon as I did he says he has nothing, that he was just making a move hoping I would fold. He turns over 79s. I flop a set of queens. He does pick up some outs on the turn, but misses them on the river, and he was out 12th. I was now rolling.

We combined at 10 players. I made an informal proposal to the table that we shave a bit off of each spot and reward the 10th place finisher something...but it was quickly vetoed by Chad. Which didnt really surprise me. He suggested that we instead, "Shake the person's hand and tell them they played great and better luck in the next one." Ouch. Chad is one of the nicest people I know...and that just didn't seem like Chad, but then again, he is a professional poker player who has been in this spot many times, and he thrives on the opportunity to pound on players at the bubble to maximize the opportunity. I fully respect that. And frankly, I have gotten a lot more tenacious lately about not chopping and/or awarding the bubble people for that very reason. Just felt like this was a little different situation. But one vote of 'no' was all it took to shoot that idea down. The other players, well....the short stacks, appreciated my attempt.

We got to action. Chad and I had never played at a table before. It was pretty cool. We started talking about old times, and reflecting back on friends and stories involving them. I'm not sure if this made the table uncomfortable, knowing that him and I were such good friends...I didn't really care. I was just psyched to have made the final table...after such a rough year. To have a long time buddy there with me...and then, on my right, Kai Landry! Another new friend who has also had a tremendously bad year in every way imagineable, but has handled it with the utmost poise. I could not have asked for a greater final table scenario.

I opened up the action by raising Chad in the BB with pocket 9's. Chad decided to look me up...with Squirrel's favorite hand! J10 suited. Kind of ironic. I get a very good flop for me...5-6-8...and tell him its a very good flop for me.

"Wow, Will...really? you have 4-7? That IS a great flop for you!??? I guess I better fold" and shows me the J10...which makes me laugh since its Squirrel's hand. Chad is one of the few people from my past who havent made the transition from calling me WILL to calling me Monkey. Which is just fine!

I wish we could have played the whole thing out because I was starting to drink Coors Lites, and was just having a blast...Chad and I were rehashing stories from the old days, and I could sense the tension on 2/3rds of the table...which to me was awesome. When I make a final table...its like just another sit n go, which I have played hundreds of through the years. Anyone who ever thinks I am going to get to the final table and be NERVOUS? Sadly mistaken. It is my happy place!

On the last hand of the night I pick up AhKh and raise to 12k (2000/4000) in early position. Another guy, who I had been getting pretty chummy with, tipping for his Corona after he raised and later c-bet the flop against me with 2-7 and me holding KQ in the SB...then showing me the 2-7, and who had tolerated us all gushing about his super-hot girlfriend...moved all in on me. Wow. Pretty big raise to me. But I can't see folding this hand...not with over 300k in my stack. I made the call and he flipped over KK. Ooooof, ouch!

No help on the flop. Nothing on the turn...and as I was beginning to package up about 60 or 70k in chips to send over to him I bink an ace on the river...and feel that sound that always hits when someone loses on the river in dramatic fashion...as I have been losing all year. I just clench my eyes closed and share in the guys agony. I walk over and console the guy. What a terrible way to go out. No one deserves that. I felt just sick for the guy.

But it was what it was...and it got me to over 450k in chips, sitting 2nd behind Chad...and just ahead of another very fine player, Mark Rose. And just behind him is Kai. So we have us a great lineup for this final table.

Will I win? Who knows. All I know is that I have locked up $14k+ at a time when I really, really needed to make a decent hit in something, and have four big tournaments coming up that will require a lot of buy in money...and despite having a decent week at the Beau...I hadn't even come close to locking up anywhere near what I need for this fall. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face as I left the casino...even as I drove home...and even as I lay in the bathtub and later my bed, then couldn't sleep all night. The sense of relief that comes from grinding 14k into 452k in one of most amazing days of my poker career, at an event that I wasn't even allowed to attend last year, in my home town...just has me feeling incredible.

Then there was the incredible outpouring of support I got from you readers...and from friends on my Facebook, and from friends and family in general, sending me text messages all day. I don't care what anyone says...having that support behind you really does make a difference. No matter what happens today, I will walk away thrilled with the outcome. Do I want to win? Ohhhhh baby, you know I do. It would change me and Squirrel's life. It would provide relief, finally...for what those burglars took from us back in January. It would get me out of debt. It might even mean we can finally think about trying to have a baby again. It will mean a lot of things...all I can do is show up, play to the best of my abilities, and hope things go my way.

Wow! I really pulled this off! Still can't believe this is happening! This is when I truly love poker! Guess I will go outside and throw Jasper the ball!!!!

Monkey

r 80k! 28 left.

Started day with only 14k and 45 players. I got 2 double ups, then won a big pot and now just crushed a guy with AA vs A8 on an A-8-4 board! Now have ove

On to Day 2...minus most of my chips....

Everything was going so smooth. I was card dead for most of the first day, which was just fine with me. With 20k for a starting stack, and a great structure, I could have cared less if I made it out of day 1 with just an average stack.

Add to that my first table featured the always pesky Tyler Smith, as well as Jared Ingles and Vanessa Rousso...and I just wanted to sit like a bump on a log and let the action come to me.

Things would go exactly as planned. Vanessa's day was a nightmare. She would get all sorts of hands and have very few of them materialize into winning pots. Or she would fold hands like 44 to a raise behind and then flop quads. She looked at me after that one and whispers "Monkey...I am now on LIFE TILT!" She would finally get it in with A3 and run into the pest on my right with AQ...and miss it all and leave somewhere in Level 5.

Tyler on the other hand...he was having just as irritating a day. Only, in his case, some of it was by his doing. But when he got down to 4500 he got pretty lucky. First, he got me to fold 88, and Vanessa to fold AJ when he jammed on the button behind our raises...which helped. Then a couple hands later on a hand that nearly the whole limped on....me with A10....a flop came out 333. Tyler just happened to have A3. How nice. And gets paid off by someone with KQ. So he was back up to 10k.

Cue the disaster. And cue the introduction to what I would have to say was the worst player I have ever faced in a Main Event anywhere. Mr. Two Seat. This guy was utterly phenomenal. Granted, after I figured out his deal, and deciphered his tells, he became my personal bitch. I worked him over for two or three substantial pots. Most of the table though continued all day to keep this guy around but simply getting unlucky. He is what we shall call, as coined (so as NOT to deprive him of the credit) by Sir Kai Landry...

THE CONSUMATE LEG HUMPER!!! (yes click this to see funny video and further hammer home the point I am making!)

The guy who likes to limp a lot. With anything. A guy who call any raise once you have put in a bet, whether it be a reasonable bet (say 600 on a 100/200 level) or a ridiculous bet (say 4000, after a raiser makes it 1200 at 200/400 and someone else re-raises to 4000!) There is nothing you can do to shake this guy off of you. No can of repellant you can spray at him to back him down. He is....THE LEG HUMPER!

Flop top pair, top kicker? Thinking about trapping? Don't even think about it. You will only trap yourself. Because if your top pair is a jack...and he has an ace...he will definitely be calling you. And NOT betting it? No big deal really...he wont bet. Or maybe he will, and if so, WAY too much...which tells you if you know ANYTHING about poker, that he is trying to buy the pot with a stupid overbet. To which...once you figure it out you just fire twice his bet back at him...watch him insta fold...then snicker to yourself at just how truly remarkable this guys lack of intelligience is.

This is how he got Tyler...just when Mr. Smith was in the throes of mounting his epic comeback from the ashes of destruction yesterday:

200/400. Lots of limpers. Myself included with something like KJ or Q10. The leg humper limps in with 22. Tyler makes an excellent raise out of the small blind to about 3000. We all fold....except for...THE LEG HUMPER!

The flop...wait, wait...lemme tell you what Tyler has first. AdQd. He actually DOES have a good hand...which is about 20% of the time for Tyler... as 'good hands' are measured. I'm sure if we asked 'Red' what constitutes a 'good hand' we would get 289 different answers! So...okay, in OUR book...he has a pretty nice hand.

Here comes the flop..... 10d-7c-4d. Nice flop...definitely one geared for a c-bet. So Tyler does what most of us would do and fires out a very nice bet...something like 3500. And what happens? The Leg Humper snap calls. Yes. With deuces. Turn card? How about a non-diamond effing deuce? Why not? Tyler shoves all in. And misses a diamond on the river.

At one point Donkey Hump had about 45k in chips. He would lose them in the most hilarious fashion possible. Call, Call, Call....fold. Call, Call, Call......overbluff.....fold. Or like he did against me on two occassions...and these were kind of fun hands:

Multi-limp pot. Me in SB with KsJc. Flop Js-8s-4h. I bet out good amount. He calls. No one else does. Turn 8c. Two pair. Flush draw still. I bet a bigger amount. He calls. River 4 of spades. Ick! Flush out there. But if I check...I know he slapping a 4k bet out there. I bet 2200. And he calls. I must be dead. I have to be dead. Right? Nope. He turns over AQh. Nice call sir.

Next hand. He limps in for 400. SB completes. I'm in BB with 77. I don't raise. Why bother? He isnt folding. Flop comes A-5-A. No way in hell he has an ace. SB checks. I check. He checks. Perfect. Turn...5. SB checks. I bet 1000. He calls. I know instantly he has K-high and am fading a King on the river...or of course praying for no 5 to hit. Ace I'm okay. River is a harmless 8. I bet 2k. He calls again...I show my hand, he mucks. I know he has King high. The table turns to me and snickers.

Lady on my left...from Texas...who actually played pretty well all day finally takes the largest portion of his chips. Never saw either hand...but didn't need to, it was still hilarious. 3-way pot. Started small enough. But by the turn...the lady checks. This toad bets 5000! She raises to 15,000!!! He smooth calls 15,000....which causes the whole table to just gasp. WTF??? River produces whatever he could have POSSIBLY been drawing to. She bets 10k. He folds. We all sit looking at each other after he pissed off about 75% of his stack.

He gets down to 1900 chips at 150/300. He raises to 1000. Jared Ingles re-raises to 2000. It folds around to him. He folds!

Now with 900 chips in the BB....I raise with 22. Button calls with 33. Leg Humper folds. Flop comes Q-9-8. I bet 2200. Button folds. He now has 600 left.

Next hand. In small blind...he completes...with AQ. He flops the ace...but ends up losing to a flush with 4 clubs on the board and the other guy holding A5. Kind of a fitting end.

I texted the world and Facebook that King Leg Humper was finally eradicated. Now we just needed to bust the K-10 loving donkey in the 4 seat and the table would be a perfect world. LT would take care of that....raising with Ah9h and being forced to call his all in (priced in) with 10-10. LT would flop an ace and have it hold. Finally. A donk-free table.

Then we broke. Damn. I had lost two big pots after dinner break to fall from 23k down to 16k. I got moved to a new table and had Jonathan Little to my left and really no one else of any real concern. Into the 2nd orbit I pick up AK. Its the last hand before break. I raise to 1200. (200/400) The guy from the previous night's mega...who is really tight...re-raises me to 3000. But he also only has 15000 behind that. I dont think I can lay down AK at this juncture of the tourney, and I really decide to represent AA and hope to God he doesnt have that hand. So I re-raise him to 9,000. He almost instantly shoves. Shit. I can't fold. 80% of my stack is in there now. I call. He turns over AQ. Holy shit. Really????? And someone...he misses a Q. I double up to around 35k. Nice!

I coast for awhile...picking up an occasional pot. Then disaster.

With about 10 minutes left in the night...at 300/600...UTG raises to 1850. He gets another call from a shortstack. I look at AQ off in the SB...and decide just to call. Which I think is the right play there. The flop comes ace high with two clubs. No other face cards. I check. UTG bets out 4000. And the 2nd guy goes all in. I run all the scenarios through my head and figure this guy either has the same hand AQ...or possibly AJ...and an outside shot at a flush draw. I am a little worried about calling though and having the first guy shove and be stuck in another bad spot. But I also know I have a chance to get to 70k and end the night in great shape. I call. The first guy disgustedly folds.

Dude rolls over KJc. Shit. Flush draw. People have been hitting these damn things on me all friggin week. HOLD DAMMIT!

Turn is the J of spades...giving him some more outs of course...but not a club! Turn....come on baby...I'm behind the dealer silently chanting 'put a heart out there...come on heart!!!!'

TEN OF FREAKING CLUBS!

!&@#*&!@#*&(~^*)(!~^$E*(!&^&!*#)@(*

SHIT!

Takes me down to 18k. Then two hands later, I pick up AK. Raise. Get called. Flop comes 10 high. I bet out. He calls. Im done with this hand unless I pick up an ace or a king on the turn. A three. I check. He bets big. I fling my cards in. Count my stack...and start to get that sinking feeling you get when you see your Main Event dreams slipping away.

Squirrel was there watching the last hour. She has gone through this swoon with me that is 2010. It hurt her just as much as it hurt me when that damn club hit the river.

But then on the drive home...I decided to re-adjust my thinking. Hey! You know what? We go back at 400/800. I have 14,400. I am STILL alive. Some of my greatest wins have come when I grinded a small stack all day. My boy McLean Karr went back for Day 3 this year at Bay 101 with the SMALLEST stack in the field...and came back to win that thing. There is over half the field who still wishes they were in right? I'm not a quitter. Squirrel and I had a really nice, long chat with Chad Brown after we bagged up our chips...and that also left me feeling a little better, and upbeat. Chad...if you've never met him...is such an incredibly positive guy. Going back 20 years to when we played baseball, I'm not sure I have ever known anyone who is so optimistic about EVERYTHING!

So I woke up this morning, went outside, threw Jasper the ball about 20 times...enjoy the sunshine...and said another little prayer to the poker gods to just for once this year...let me win something that will give us a little breathing room financially this year. I've been so close, so many times...and had it ripped away. But I know, we ALL go through it. It's not just me. I know that. Bad beats and river suckouts hit us all. Plus...I also thought about this; what if I had bagged up 70k in chips. I would pretty much be expecting to make the final table then, wouldn't I? At least now...I am the under dog. Not expected to make it. So when I pull it off...won't it be that much more satisfying??? Hell yeah it will. So thats it...I'm heading for the shower...and getting my game face on.

WE CAN DO THIS!!!!!!

MONKEY

Lousy start in Main. Only one runnin worse at my table Tyler Smith. 20k down to 16k. 108 players.

Wow...two good days in a row? Really?

....now if I could stretch that to THREE and possibly FOUR...we might just have a shot at turning this dreary 2010 around!

I slept in until 2 yesterday, did some online accounting work...then made it to the Beau by quarter to 4 in time for the 4pm Mega rebuy satellite. You know when...or how I should say, that I knew I was going to win? Because I was card dead as hell for 5 levels. Always a good sign!

It took us until 10pm to get from 103 players down to the required 10 that got a seat in the $5k Main Event. Interestingly, not ONE time all day was I ever all in, or had to call an all in preflop by anyone. I am not sure that has ever happened. I was in for $540...which is, in my opinion, about the minimum really. After two add ons I came out of the rebuy period with 16,000 chips...at 150/300....which is really a good jumping off point.

When we got down to 11 it ended immediately because 11th paid $2282 and this guy wasnt going to be able to play the Main, so he voluntarily took 11th and the money. Nice...a perfect ending.

I bought into a $200 SNG and went to eat in the buffet again. I ate every single fried oyster they had in the tray! Love oysters. Even if they are soaked in BP oil!

Sitting in the buffet reminded me of two nights ago when I had Glenn Butts and his wife sitting next to me. Glenn is a really, really nice guy who I have played with for years. Had no clue he was as old as he is. Him and his wife have been married for...ya ready? 53 years! How incredible is that? And watching the relationship between them, you can tell they are still 100% in love. Glenn is friends with Ron...last name I can't place...but he always wears that hat that says 'Rons Railroad Shop' and is one of the NICEST people I have ever played with. He gets deep a lot! He is also very, very tight.

Well, yesterday I got moved to his table, said 'Hi' to him and noticed that as usual he was nursing a short stack. I literally tell the table "Ol Ron over there is tighter than you all think I am! If Ron raises, Monkey is gone!" I was basically helping build his table image. Or thought I was!

He raises UTG...an amount that most people would snicker at...as opposed to just shoving his 8 BB's. But I knew as soon as he did it he had a monster. Well...bozo in the BB, who couldn't get out of his own way with a compass and a map, pushes all in on Ron. Ron calls. Ron has QQ. dingle-berry has KQ. Ron flops a set of queens. Done? Oh.....no. Not so much. King on the turn, king on the river...and poor Ron just stood up and had the most hopeless look on his face. Felt so bad for him. Its just not fair sometimes how this game works.

Then, on the table behind me? Literally at the same time? My good buddy "Smilin Don Norman" was raising with AK...getting called by 99....flopping an Ace...with nothing else....betting into the guy...having the guy re-raise....Don moves all in!!!! The guy calls!!!! And Don picks up a nut flush on the turn...reducing this guy to ONE FREAKING OUT...the nine of hearts.....and what does he hit on the river? You know it. Don handled it amazing. Just gross. I saw more bad beats in this Mega than I think I have ever seen. Can't believe I managed to fade my monster beat.

So the first $200 sng I play I lose to the biggest idiot on the table, right out of the gate. At least I didnt have to sit there long.

I immediately got into another one. $200 with a $40 last longer that 8 people got into. We got down to 3 players and I asked if they wanted to chop the last longer. To my surprise, neither of them were in it! Nice! $320...ship it! Then, as the small stack I get 10's to hold up against AQ to become healthy...and I get heads up with the other guy. We agree to just chop up $925 each...and on top of my last longer money...I ended up turning a profit on the day, while locking up a seat in the Main Event today. Could not have had a better ending to the week than this. With that Thursday night Survivor win, then another solid day.

Now, if I can just close the deal and Final Table the Main Event...we can head into this fall schedule with some good momentum and a healthy bankroll. I guess that's all I have for you guys. Gonna get ready and head on over to hopefully 'have a day' to remember! Good luck to all of you playing today!

Monkey

Peaks...Valleys...More Peaks.....

Okay listen...I am not ducking you people I promise. But this has been a typical crazy week...where I play poker all day, sometimes til VERY late...and sometimes I even end up doing famous Wal-Mart dance at the Coast...skinning up my knees, playing blackjack (blackjack!???) and passing out at home with my clothes on...waking up at 1pm...and barely making it back to play some more! So you will HAVE to forgive me!

And I was asked to do this big question and answer thing for Ante Up magazine...and aparantly her deadline was today....so I just spent 2 hours banging that out. It is now 2pm. My dog's need to be fed. Wasnt going to play the noon turbo ANYWAY...but I have now missed the 2pm Texas Hold 'em poker Mega satellite, which isnt really that big of a deal to me. But I do have to play the one at 4pm.


This has been a wild week. And oh I have gotten some great pictures from the guy at Image Masters including me posing in every way imagineable with the 'sailboat' I won for having the chiplead in the Survivor tourney on Tuesday. A trophy which I late dropped and broke the top of the mast on. No biggie...barely noticeable, and now it has some character!

A quick recap. Won/Chop/Cashed on Monday. Won/Chop/Cashed on Tuesday...but as chipleader got the trophy. And I had a massive chiplead. It was a fun day. Wednesday was a nightmare. Lost all three tourneys on the slate. And lost 4 sit n gos. I am currently ONE for 13 in sngs this week...with a 3rd place and FIVE 4th places. Very, very frustrating how I have been getting clipped in those. With even 3 more wins...I would really be having a good week. But those SNG's peltings are really holding me back.

Yesterday I had one of those disastrous noon tourneys that just make you wanna shoot yourself. Nothing holds up. KK went down three times. No bluff goes uncalled. Get low...triple up...get some hope back...then get butchered on a suckout to lose most of it. You all know these days that I am talking about. We all have them. And they suck! Huge! So after busting the nooner, I strolled over to play a $200 sng with a $40 last longer that the whole table played. Nice...win this and I can smile again. We get to 800/1600 I think...or maybe it was 1k/2k...at any rate....it was TWO HOURS in....and I run A7 into A10...dammit. And it holds. They did at least give me my buy in back. But who cares right? I lost (again) to freaking Jennifer...you know who I'm talking about. Breasts? Likes to make sure everyone see them? Yeah. Her. She has been luckbox sucking out on me all week, and I'm really sick of it. I've never seen anyone, male or female, who makes more bad plays and get rewarded...and she does it constantly. Someone told me a story of her in the 2/5 game the other night where she sat down with $500....and went on a heater where she never, ever missed anything...then after getting it up to over 5k or something...lost it ALL. Making bluffs that any novice could see through. Making calls that were just ....well. Whatever. She has been killing me all week. It gets old.

Then I went to play a $100 SnG. This time, I lost to a guy who decided he would play, excuse me...RAISE..every hand...without looking at his cards! He started the game by raising 1500 after three of us limped for 50. Nice. So yeah...I was ready for him to go. He managed to lose a big pot and get down to 400. I called his blind shove with 88. Lost to his K8. Called his blind shove again with 33. He has 25. Five on the river. And on the very next hand when he raised blind again...I shoved with 55. He had J7. 7 on the river. I got up and bolted to the buffet.

Ran into Ken Lambert and Johnny Groomes and we kind of had an entertaining conversation...mostly about the psychotic lady who graced us all with her obnoxiousness the other day. I will tell you more about her later...cuz its funny. I will also tell you about this girl Kerri Simmons who has made quite a splash on the scene...holy smoke...who recieved a penalty the other day for...ya ready....wait for it.....drum roll please.....FOR HARASSING ME! Yes...she got a full round penalty for harrassing me. I didnt exactly recall because I was into my 5th glass of Pinot Noir and was shuttling between the Omaha h/l tourney and the 7pm nightly. Yes, I was playing all three tourneys! Believe it had something to do with shoving on her with 45 on a 235 board...showing her...and her freaking out cuz she had 88. Really didn't think I was showing her a bluff. Whatever.

Where was I? Oh yeah...talking to Ken and Johnny. Then Vanessa Rousso strolled by and she informed me that I was the topic of conversation during one of her Boot Camp sessions. Wow. I'm famous! HA! Whatever. It was pretty funny what was discussed. Just about how to deal with someone like me who uses (in their opinion) table talk to get information from people. I'm not going to expand upon this cuz I am really in a hurry now. But you people are beating on me for an update!

I went and ate a good meal at the buffet. Made all the better by it being free of course. Went and said hi to my lovely wife...then headed in for the 7pm nightly. I got off to a killer start. Called a guy who shoved after raising utg with AJ in my hand on an A-7-4 board with two clubs. Took awhile but it didnt make sense. I was right. He had KJ clubs...pushing with a club draw. Magically he missed. Nice. Then with BB sitting out, Terry "Lake" Garner raised in early position...his nemesis raised it to 1000...and I looked at AK...and with that guy only 4000 deep total, and me at 12k...I four-bet him to 3200. Lake says "now that is a good bet, I KNOW Monkey has a good hand..." and he folds what he claimed was A10. The other guy called with AQ and I held. So I was sitting close to 16k and hadnt used my rebuy yet.

Then they broke us for half an hour! What? Ohhhh...there was a players appreciation party with food, booze and .....I guess just food and booze! In the adjoining conference room. I wish I hand't eaten the buffet! Anyway, it was a really nice touch by the Beau Rivage...and everyone seemed to like it a lot. But it kind of broke my momentum.

Didnt matter...the night would end up being a marathon though...100 players and it took us until just after 3am to end it. I never go short stacked. I did have a hand where I lost 10's against AK that set me back from 25k to 12k...but I worked that back up to where I didn't have to sweat much. Then made a huge hero call in the BB with KJc when the SB pushed with Q10. That pot kind of put me in coasting mode.

When we got to 20 the begging began. Oh shit! I knew this would happen. They have been chopping almost every tourney here this week. In large part to getting deep and having the average stack representing 10 to 15 BB's...pretty tough to play that way. Its really nice though if you are sitting on over 20 BBs! Which I was. Well 10 were supposed to get paid $1750. And these guys wanted to each take $1000 each. And since I lost $1900 yesterday, and was stuck $800 on this day in buyins...taking $1000 would be a joke, I would barely cover my losses for the day. And you know...whatever, if I lost, I lost. But I was sure as shit going to try and build a profit for the day, since this IS my job, and BILLS are due today! So thats what I did, I kept refusing to chop...and sure I might have made some people pissed at me, but thats unfair. And deep in their heart they knew it. I can't just keep chopping with people because I feel sorry for
them. Those days HAVE to end! This is my job, and it is my responsibility to myself and my family to win damn tournaments. And in the past I have left a LOT of money on the table because I caved in to them. And I tell ya, the pressure on me last night was ridiculous! I even texted my wife and asked her what she thought.

So when we got to 11 they wanted to do it again, and I just told them, "I don't care if we pay 11...but I want 1st place money. I want $1750." So one of the guys agreed to pay me the difference out of his pocket. There about 4 shortstacks...and they were obviously terrified of playing for 8 hours and walking away with NOTHING. As I would be too. Hey I understand that. But I wasnt taking a penny less than $1750. Tipped the floor staff $50, tipped the dealers $50, and made a beeline for the house.

Slept like a baby. And now...its 2:35pm...and I must go try to satellite my way into tomorrow's Main Event. Wish me luck!

Monkey