MONKEY CALLS HIS SHOT!!!! Again!!!

Okay...this is getting almost ridiculous, my annual ability to NAIL the Super Bowl outcome! Congratulations to the Green Bay Packers for their victory in SBXLV in Dallas Sunday. My prediction was GB 28-PITT 24. Final Score 31-25.

Also predicted Aaron Rodgers would be MVP...not as much of a reach. Pretty good day for me personally, as I won a nice 'OVER' bet at the window out here...then won about $2200 in Super Bowl squares...which sounds great, unless you consider that I was in for a total of $3200 over 12 boards! Watched the game with Charlie "Smoke" Oliver at the Venetian's sportsbook, while Squirrel had a house full of friends over back home. Charlie and I spend most of the day clowning this big, bald oompa-loompa of a dork who was wearing a Troy Palamalu Steelers jersey, but who was cheering everytime the Packers scored. When people would ask him "WTF...why are you cheering for the Packers?" his reply was "Hey money talks!" Aparantly the fool had decided to bet on Green Bay...but still thought it would be clever to wear a Steelers jersey.



Once again...I must emphasize how frustrated I am, having to share this planet with such complete idiots. I did hear, however that NASA...through the use of one of its amazing telescopes, has discovered another planet in another galaxy that could possibly be capable of supporting life as Earth does. I will keep my fingers crossed for that outcome...and tell Squirrel to be preparing for a move in the future.





As for next year's Super Bowl? I might as well start operating under the tag of "Monkey the Greek" and soliciting my picks for the Big Game for a fee! Granted, I did kind of slip up with a pre-postseason prediction of New Orleans vs. New England. Yeah...not even close on that one!



When you look at Green Bay's record this year....10-6...eventually 13-6...its interesting to note that in those 6 losses, they lost by 3, 3, 3, 3, 4 and 3 points in all of its losses, and lost to Chicago, Atlanta, New England, Miami, Washington, and Detroit. A total of 6 losses by 19 points. They had the largest margin of victory in the league. They could have very easily have been 17-2. This was a helluva team. And look at all the starters they had on injured reserve. Its pretty scary to think about what thye might do next year when they are healthy!



Moving on!

Remember this sweet little girl? Remember about 15 or 20 years ago, when you were sitting there in your living room, watching the 'Parent Trap' and thinking to yourself "Hmm...self, this little girl is going to grow up and probably end up being a little hottie." Yeah? Was that you? It was me!

And then she grew up. There she was in 'Mean Girls'...and oh yeah, she was blossoming. Did a few more other films, got a little older. Started appearing on all those late night scandal shows...showing up at Hollywood parties. Rumors started swirling...then the arrests started to follow. Oppps...time to take a stint in rehab. Gotta get that career back on course. Oh no! Another slip up. Time to go to court. Take a little spin to the local lock up. Get out. Get drunk. Crash car. Get arrested again. Get popped doing coke. Get kicked off movie set.

Yeah...our little Lindsey has grown up to be a looker. But now...the only place we are seeing her seems to be in mug shots. Is she just a victim? Are people setting her up? At least in her mug shots she makes the attempt to look pleasant, whereas most people look totally effed up in theirs. All disheveled and confused and angry. Right?

Well, here we go again. Now she is being accused of stealing a necklace. Personally, based on what I'm hearing...it sounds like the bitch who owns the jewelry store is pulling the 'ol switcheroo on her. Maybe she started out as trying to be on 'LiLo's' good side...then turned spitefull bitcherella on her when things didn't go her way. I've been in those shoes...where people act like they are your 'buddy' then turn on you.



Hey Lilo! You got Monkey here rooting for ya! I feel your pain! I don't think you have slipped ALL the way off the deep end, girlfriend. You might just need a little reality check, thats all. Don't give up! If you need to sit down with the Monkey and have a little pow wow to get your head straight...just shoot me an email at ThePokerMonkey1@aol.com and we can get all this shit worked out. I might even let you hang out with The Squirrel and her friends...they will take you in, I promise...and we will get you back on the right track!!!



Poker in Vegas has been...mmm...well, not totally disasterous, but I'm just not having ANY luck at all in tournaments. I am, however, kind of kicking ass in SNG's, thank god...so I'm at least not losing my bankroll at an alarming rate. I have now clicked off 6 out of 13 sit n gos, winning the only one I played, last night...after getting deep in the nightly before running my 88 into a guy's AA and going out around 35th....paying 12 spots.



The nooner yesterday was a complete shitshow. I managed to draw the worst table of players I'd seen in a while. I had a lady on my right...who even though she was super sweet, smelled awful. There was an old guy at our table who was wayyyyyy out in left field. "How much can I bet?" "What is the raise?" "Do I have to ante every time?" Yeah...that guy. He is limping in with mediocre hands....calling HUGE raises...not hitting the flop...but calling the c-bet....then getting there. He had half the table scratching their heads and pulling their hair out...while taking all their chips.



I couldn't get anything going...and kept folding hands that I would have ended up winning. I think we all know how that goes. I really felt good too, going into yesterday. It was a beautiful day, I was well-rested...having taken Monday off to get caught up on all my pools and stuff...never leaving my room. But for some reason...I am just NOT having any luck at all in tourneys. Its getting pretty irritating, but the thing to do is just stay patient. At least I'm running good in SNG's thank god.



In between the nooner and the nightly yesterday, I decide to sit down at the 2/5 game...putting $1000 on the table, the table max. On the first hand...with 33 in the BB...the flop comes AA3...and have a guy betting into me. Win $75. And it just got better from there. We had an Asian guy at our table...who was like a PEZ dispenser...he just kept giving and giving and giving away chips. I'm raising with AQ. He's calling with 10-10. Flop comes A-J-4. He checks. I bet. He calls. Turn 3. He checks, I bet, he calls. River 9. He checks, I bet, he calls. I see his 10's. Giggle in my head...wondering what the hell he's thinking. I saw his hands about 5 times...and everytime, in my mind...am thinking...WHAT IS THIS GUY DOING? But loving it. And just about the time he went from $1000 to busto...he tripled up! Yes! I then proceeded to get about half of those chips.



When 7pm rolled around I had $1750. Hmmm....do I cash out and go play the nightly? Or stay at this table? The smart player stays. However, I have a pretty succinct history of sitting down in cash....chipping up early...then someone turns on the DOOM SWITCH...the shit hits the fan...and before you know it...the profit is gone! Squirrel has tried to encourage me to get up and leave when I have a nice profit in cash game.

So that is what I did. Maybe stupid...and yeah, I burnt 4 hours in the nightly for nothing, but I suppose the $450 I won in the SNG made up for that time misspent.



It felt pretty good to finally have a profitable day, at least! Thats three profitable poker days in a row now...despite still not cashing a nooner or a nightly.



Hey how about the musical stylings of Christina Aguillera and the Black Eyed Peas in the Super Bowl, eh? Good god...I mean...what? How much time did she have to rehearse for that thing? Like a month? Good job Chrissy. And how bad are the Black Eyes Peas live? Wow. As hot as Fergie looked during the halftime show...its was just impossible to allow myself to be aroused after listening to her shreik. Not sexy, Fergie. Ouch!



Stretch drive begins today. 5 more days here. $350 today. Tomorrow I have the choice of either the $1050 at noon...or wait till 4pm and play the $350 Omaha 8 or better. Sure would like to snap something off before I leave here.....because the day I get home...I have to do laundry, then repack...then Squirrel and I head for Seattle to see my Mom for 5 days...before coming home and leaving again...for either Reno or Chicago...still havent decided which one to attend yet.

But I am ready to make a nice hit. Really ready!

By the way...I've been reading all of your comments...wish there was a better way to present them on this blog editor, and a more visible way to answer them....but there just doesnt seem to be. But I do read all of them, and I really would like to say THANKS to all of you who leave such supportive and encouraging messages...



Have a great day!



MONKEY