End of 2nd level. From 30k down to 27k. Won some, lost some. Still feelin out the table. 212pp so far.

Table 4 seat 5. Sweet! 208pp so far. Pretty solid table, large internet-pro presence. Well-rested, and CLEAN shaven!

Here We Go Again.....

I don't even have time to sit down and write today. Because it's 11:07 and the BIG ONE starts in just 53 minutes. Nobody 'stepped up' and offered to 'stake a Monkey' for a 55% interest, so with the blessing of my backer, I did as advised...I got to bed early, got some sleep, and will buying in directly for the first time EVER for $10,000 into today's big Regional Main Event...the first of 4 WSOP Regional Main Events...the other three in New Orleans, Atlantic City and San Diego. All four final table will be televised. All four offer the chance to make the Final Table and clinch a spot in the National Championship freeroll for a million bucks. Granted, I took my first big step towards qualifying for that with a 6th place finish in yesterday's $1600 Main Event; earning 45 points and getting myself in the race.

But this is huge. Typically we would NEVER, EVER plop down $10,000 for a tourney. But my backer is really starting to get how this business works. She knows this will be a big tourney, with a big turnout. That we have final tabled 2 of our last 3 Main Events...and cashed all three, the last two with fields of 1042 (Borgata) and 872 (Chicago) so I am obviously doing something right. I am grateful for her faith in my ability to make this happen.

Yesterday came with a bit of disappointment, a frustration born from one big flaw that turned the momentum against me. It was something that has a lot of the 'haters' out there talking about me with a smirk on their face, and ridicule in their tone. It never fails...the pricks of the world just sit and wait for a reason, ANY reason...to talk shit about you. And its always those losers who will NEVER put themselves in position to be where I was yesterday...a chance to win life-changing money, and achieve a level of respect in the poker community that we all strive for. Nope...they just flounder in the murky depths of poker mediocrity and take their shots at us players who actually MAKE final tables and commit a big mistake. Why? Because, I suppose, it makes them feel better about their own miserable existence. Well...thats fine, we need those jacktards to keep showing up with their donations to every tourney...so I will take their jabs with a grain of salt.

This is what happened. Sitting 3rd in chips...and cruising right along, I look down at AA on the button. William Reynolds raises to 90k in early position. Kurt Jewell, the chipleader, and eventual winner, calls. Wow...a shot to really get into both players' stacks. Hmmm....how much do I raise here? Would like to get ONE of them in at least. I decide to make it 250k.

This is when Casey Hayes in the 9 seat starts getting squirrely (with apologies to my wife) and staring me down....making love to his chips...staring some more, and I am just doing that thing we all do with AA when we see an opponent going through this act when he is about to attempt the 'The Big Move' ....whispering in my head:

"do it....DO IT! Come on man.....come on....push all in fucker....DOOOOO ITTTTT...........do it dammit!!!!"

I see him lean over to the dealer, Adam Nash...mumble something...and push forward a stack of the silver chips, or whatever the fuck color those things were...and Adam announces..."600 Thousand"....not raise, not all in....just 600k.

This is when my brain does the thing that Robocop's brain did when he was getting blasted with gunfire by all those gangsters...remember? When it started short-circuiting and shit? I watch Reynolds fold, then Jewell follow suit...and whether it was due in part to the unfamiliarity with the larger units we were playing with, or that I just completely 'bricked it' mentally, I was led to believe that he had shoved all in. So what do I do?

"I call" and turn over my aces. Adam's eyes grow as big as baseballs...as he tells me "Monkey, he's NOT all in!!!!" It was just a raise. WHAT!!!??? Then I look at the stack, and look at his remaining chips....OH SHIT. Almost makes you prefer to play online poker.

Casey Hayes: "Oh my God...wow...AA...I think I just got saved...I'm still going to have $600k left. Now I have to win this tourney, right?"

Floor! Okay, hand is going to play out.

Hayes: "Sure hope I hit a lucky flop here"

Of course I never see his hand, he later claimed to have KK...which I think was bullshit. As did everyone else. But if he did...and the flop came out 9-high, I would have surely seen him shove after that flop. Granted, if I had identified his bet as a re-raise instead of an all in, I would have just re-popped him all in anyway...so while I think he was just making a 4-bet steal attempt, since that is what his 'resume' says about him...I think there is a better than average chance that he would have tanked for about 13 hrs and then finally mucked preflop.

He sees the flop and just checks out. I drag the 'decent pot' and then get assessed a one ROUND penalty. Which I thought was absolute absurdity. Why? Well, just TWO NIGHTS before, I am laying in my hotel watching coverage from the WSOP Main Event this YEAR....and what do I see? The exact...I mean E-X-A-C-T situation happen and the player who did what I did got a ONE HAND penalty. Thats ONE. Not a 1-round, nine hand penalty. For exposing my hand with action pending.

I understand rules, and am happy to play by them. But on a rule of this magnitude, where the only one who was penalized was ME...and the other player was offered a virtual '2nd chance' at survival, me getting a 1-round penalty was the ultimate kick in the balls. And the fact that I just WATCHED another player, in the biggest tourney on the planet, on worldwide TELEVISION...in the same spot, in a tourney with the same brand on it as the one I was playing in (WSOP) get a 1-hand penalty...why was I getting a 1 ROUND penalty?

"That's their rule here in Chicago."

I didn't protest. I didn't argue. But yes, I was extremely disappointed. I was urged by everyone to just 'let it go, not let it affect me' and to return from my penalty and get back to work. All I am asking for, and wishing we could get in this game...is a little 'across-the-board' consistency in this game. It is so irritating. And in the biggest spot of my poker life.

And I never did completely let it go...because it changed everything. The momemtum, the cycle of cards. Everything. With the blinds at 15k/30k, and then moving to 20k/40k in the middle of my penalty with 5k antes, I lost a pretty sizeable chunk of my stack in that one round. And then that player still remained at the table...which affected the cards.

So when I came back and lost with KK to the guy on my right...with MAYBE AJ like he was selling me on an A-2-5-2-A board....and lost JJ with an under the gun raise against a small stack on the button who later told me had AA and was trying to slow play a monster for a double up, but to whom I checked a Q-high flop to and folded to his big bet...things just changed. It was like a 1.5 million chip swing...that I never fully recovered from.

I have no regrets. I know I played well. I also know I made one critical mistake. And people will talk about it. And that's fine. Fuck those clowns. I finished 6th. I won $47,000. I am having a great fall. My backer loves me. My wife loves me. My family loves me. My good friends care about me. My dogs think I'm God! That is all that matters.

And to those of you who follow me and support me, your support the last three days have meant the world to me. Your text messages, your emails, your Facebook shoutouts...it was awesome, I enjoyed the ride. It allows me to walk with my head held high, with confidence...and with a smile on my face. Thank you!

Y'all ready to do it again? I am....lets go!!!!

Monkey

We just went to Final Table. The new updates site for Final table is now www.cardplayer.com. I have 2m now.

And we have arrived at the Final Table! Well, 10 players, so not official yet. Here we go. Me...1.7m. Avg is 1.6m.

In the Money...and driving for the Final Table!

Wow! What a day! What a month! What a fall...what a life!


These are the days when I love poker! The rush of going deep, the excitement of being on the precipice of winning 'life changing' money. The text messages, the well-wishes of the dealers and fellow players, the Facebook shout outs...the excitement in the voice of my wife. The sick feeling in your stomach that you feel when your AA goes down, or you make a 'hero' call against a 'button maniac' shove...only to lose as an 80/20 favorite, and feel your tourney slipping away. Then the complete opposite feeling as you make your opponent fold JJ to your 99 for a 250,000 pot when you use the ace on the board as your friend. Flat calling a raiser in the blind with AA and having him hit the flop and doubling up through him...as all your hair on your arm stands at attention.


These are the reasons we play. These are the things that keep us coming back for more after we bubble a tourney 11 hours in.


Yesterday was an absolute gem of a poker day. From the great play exhibited by nearly every player at my table...to the incredibly entertaining conversations we all had, to meeting some great new people while learning their style of play. Sometimes, and it seems to happen mainly in Main Events, these almost become 'poker workshops' where you go to practice your 'trade' with the industry's finest.


My little sister made it down from Milwaukee for the day and was on hand to watch and to give me support. Near the end of the night I was hating my outfit, was really uncomfortable, and she literally drove to my hotel and got me a complete wardrobe change. She is awesome!


After the night ended...and I was among the 16 remaining players...I left with Janae and went in search of Kai. We found him in the cash room...and decided to spend a little 'quality time' playing some 1/2 together. I rarely get to see my sister, and the last time we played poker, she was beating my butt in a heads up match for $100 when our whole family was in Maui two years ago. I wasnt all that tired...and needed something to help me wind down from a long, long day. It was perfect. So we played together for maybe an hour and a half, and I was finally feeling ready to call it a night. Kai and I left...and after winning a couple of big pots, she had the 'fever' back, and decided to stay to play some more. I hope she cleaned up...the table was ridiculously bad.


Before leaving for Day 2 yesterday, Kai and I started watching a show on SPIKE TV called '1000 Ways to Die' and I have to tell you...it was killer! One of the funniest shows I have ever watched. I had to peel myself away from it...and was almost late. But then, after arriving, the start was delayed, as there was a huge accident on the Chicago Skyway...a road that leads from downtown Chicago to the casino...and nearly 25% of the field wasnt there yet.


One person who WAS there...but who was flipping out because she claimed to have raced at over 100 mph to get there on time...was Nadia Magnuss...who was seated on my left most of the day. If you watch the Big Game sponsored by Pokerstars...and featuring 'The Loose Cannon' Nadia was that Loose Cannon in one of the episodes. She is Russian, 34 years old...and incredibly beautiful. She is also very intelligient, and a very competent poker player. She joined my sister and I...as well as another table mate, John Cohen...an older gentleman from the area who is incredibly entertaining, and who thought I was hilarious...on the dinner break at the buffet. [don't worry, Sweetie, she has a very handsome boyfriend!]


I won't go into a lot of hands that were played yesterday...I think you all know I'm not really into that too much...plus, I suspect a lot of my competitors might be reading this, and I really don't want to give away a lot as it relates to how I play, or how I intend to play as we go back today at 2pm for the restart...in my quest for $242,909...and a win that could finally change the lives of my wife and I. When it is all over with I will get a little into some hands, how they were played...and why I did what I did when I did it. But for now...I have to go back today knowing that there will be some critical spots against some guys who haven't ever played against me, and there is no need to give them any free information.


I had a hard time sleeping last night, I guess because of the anticipation that comes with going back for a Final Table...or close to a final table anyway.


Interesting follow up for y'all. If you read my blog the last two days you will remember my predictions for Saturday.


Predicted that Alabama would crush Tennessee. Final Score: 41-10. Roll Tide!

Predicted that my Huskies would get crushed in Tucson. Yup! Crushed.


Predicted that Auburn would beat LSU 24-20. Final Score: 24-17. Down goes LSU.


Pretty powerful stuff!!!!


Squirrel's best friend is dating a guy who manages a radio station in Biloxi/Gulfport...and now whenever there is a concert in town they have a better than average shot at getting tickets with the VIP treatment...and last night she got to go to a 'Meet and Greet' with Maroon 5. She was so excited for it...and sent me a picture of what she was going out in. After seeing it I started hoping that all the guys in the band are gay...cuz she looked HOT!

She called me when she got home...and it was pretty obvious she had a great time. I'm glad...always happy when she is able to go out with her friends and have a good time when I am out of town. Look at this picture...how in the hell did a schlub like me get a hottie like that? I DO run good, don't I!???

Well, hopefully today I go win us enough money to get us out of our rental house...buy our own...and get started on filling it up with little SquirrelMonkeys! That is pretty much all I have been obsessed with for the last year or so. That and getting her out of her job before it kills her.

It's kind of funny...the exact 'situation' that I described as being a possibility the other day...but which I knew realistically might not happen...as I would have to plow my way through 872 other players...has indeed happened. Today is the last day for Mega Satellites into the $10k Main Event that starts tomorrow...and if I DO make the Final Table...there is a very good chance that I will get shut out of all the Megas...the last one being at 7pm. The winner of this $1600 Main Event gets a seat into the Regional Main Event...so I guess I will have to just win this damn thing!

Thanks again to ALL OF YOU for your tremendous support and well wishes...I can't tell you how much it really means to me. I now feel like I have an army behind me when I go back for big tourney!

Y'all ready? Lets do this!!!!!!!

Monkey

Another break. Down to 19. Up and down but back to healthy! Feeeeling it!

Just won a huge 4-way pot with QQ. Flop 9-7-4. Perfect! 110k pot! Badly needed too!

Okay. In the money. Time to do work!

On break. Now sittin on 202,500 with 95 players left, 5 from the money. Having a real good day!!!