Back on the wagon (again)

It has been awhile since my last post between Christmas, New Years, new job, old job, etc... I have been so busy and so distracted to say the least.

Let's talk about Poker first. I don't know if I will ever make the cut with no-limit and tournament poker. I don't know why, but i think there are parts of my personality and background that make backing down and accepting someone else has me beat as hard. I just feel like they are stupid (and they are) and I should win... it doesn't really work that way.

Limit poker on the other hand has a lot of math to it. When I can apply mathmatics and not emotion to the game it makes all the difference. So it is back to limit for me.

In the past 6 weeks I have played about 25 hours of 4/8 Limit and am up 475 dollars.

I have also played no-limit once, and 3 tournaments... Lost every time down 400 total.

So I am going to stick to limit, planning to move up to 8/16 in the next week or two and keep grinding away.

On the positive side, my wife is awesome at tournaments and doesn't have the ego I have... even though she is winning them left and right including a 3rd place finish in a 500 dollar buyin event at Binions which took home 3.5K. This was a huge deal as a good portion of the field was pro's including Kenna James, Barbara Einright (first woman at the WSOP final table), Chip and Karina Jett, and many others who I didn't know... it was one tough tourney let me tell you. 11 hours and she was out 3rd. I couldn't be prouder of her, and she really made an impact there and got a lot of notice.

The job is going very well, I moved from a contract to perm position into full time on Feb 1st. There is still no real Las Vegas office so I am working at home which is pretty nice I must admit. On top of that I also got a nice 6% payraise during my move to perm. I have to admit it is pretty nice not to have to worry about paying the bills anymore, that is definately taken care of now with both of us working. A big change from neither of us really working a year ago.

Smoking Sammy

Well, the poker world is turning around a little. After 3 straight quick losing sessions (totalling about 600 down in less than 3 hours), I pulled 2 nice sessions in a row up 700 in 2 nights over about 8 hours. Add in a few sports bets which went well and thinks are looking up. Neither of the sessions were memorable just solid poker with very few all-ins. A good table image plus picking up some unclaimed pots, and milking the few good hands for a nice profit made all the difference.



I proceeded to the Palms on Monday to place my NHL bets for the day (NYR and the over, TOR and the over, and Broncos and the over). The Palms used to spread only 2-5 NL and it was a pretty vicious expensive game. I walked by and they had a 1-3 with 300 max buy-in... sweet. I pulled out 200 and sat down. Right away I pick up Q9 and hit 2nd pair. My read says the guy is full of shit, and I should reraise... however 3 players behind me, one of which was already in the process of calling convince me to just call. The turn gives me 2 pair and I reraise the early position better all-in, turns out he was betting his gutshot and 2 overs, and hit it with MY Queen... down 1 buy-in already.



Buy-in for 200 again and get Q/10 flop is QJ9, checked to me... I bet 25, call from the button, SB raises to 49 and all-in. Freaking 1 dollar means I can't reraise and have to just call. River gives me a straight when the king hits and I dodge a club on the river. However button called a pre-flop raise with 10/6 offsuit and splits the pot with me...



I build back up to 500 and call 15 pre-flop with pocket 4's. Flop a 4 on a 2 heart board and early position maniac leads out for 15, call from UTG and I pop it to 100. Folded back around and "Smoking Sammy" as I later found out he calls himself, calls. Turn is a blank and I make it 200 more. He insta-calls with about 75 left behind. River is of course a heart and he pushes.. .I call and he had 10/8 of hearts for a small flush. I couldn't believe it..... I looked at him and he shrugged and said "They call me smoking sammy because I am running hot. I never fold flush draws". OMG! Then he racked up and left exclaiming how he was up for the day now. I can't imagine how he ever got DOWN! Sheesh.



Back down to 75 or so... top off for 200 more, double up one more time when I hit 2 pair on a J89 flop and get put all-in by J4. Cashed out and went to pick up Estie from work and go to work myself.

Winds of change and progress

When I moved out to vegas, I was single, focused, and had a firm plan in place. My intention was to cut my expenses to the bone, live a frugal lifestyle and poker it up. Unfortunately things didn't line up like I wanted... My house in Atlanta didn't sell, when it did sell it sold for less than I owed on it. My credit cards were not completely paid off. To top it all off, the woman I was in love with was back in Atlanta and I was miserable in Vegas without her.



It happens often, that the best laid plans have to change, and so it is in this case. I started working more and more in the casino as a dealer and supervisor just to keep up with the bills and had less and less time to play. On top of that I was working a lot harder for a lot less money than I had in my previous career. Top it off with the fact that I had almost no time with my wife since I was working nights and she was working days. It was just time for a change.



A week ago I got offered a job as a Configuration Engineer for a local company and accepted. I am a little nervous because I have been out of the business for over a year. If this all works out I will be a lot more settled in and can get back to playing poker. I will have nights and weekends free, be unburdened by major financial constraints, and be able to leave my bankroll to poker and not worry about playing to pay bills.

At some point in the future if I end up with a good bankroll, and a years worth of bills maybe Estie and I can pursue a year of poker and travel together.... for now, lets just focus on eating and playing.

Of course, as soon as I accept this job offer, another one pops out of the closet when the configuration manager at Estie's company up and quits. DANG! I could have had a V-8! Or that job at least... but it is probably better if our eggs aren't in the same basket. I am looking forward to getting paid holidays and paid vacations again.

Lawson's Losers

Well... Football started again and Georgia sucks again. We barely beat vandy, we got crushed by UT who are also awful... but apparently not as awful as we are. The offensive juggernaut and the great defense we had are gone. BAH! I barely want to watch it. Of course I still do :(

2 weeks ago I ran across a new parlay card at the Imperial Palace where you could pick 12 teams and if you got 10 right you got paid 6 to 1, 11 right 60 to 1, and all 12 right 1400 to 1. So I of course tossed down 5 dollars to win 7,000 dollars and prompty went 3 for 12. I then went and did it again next week and got 3 for 12 AGAIN and tacked on a 5 team parlay that went 0 for 5. So a combined 6 for 29 in 2 weeks... My new plan is i will write down what teams I think will win, and then everyone else can break the sports book by betting against them.

NFL games:

ARI @ WAS (-8) - Arizona has no QB, Washington has been on a roll. Should be an easy cover for the Redskins.

ATL @ NO (-9) - Atlanta is due to win eventually and I think this is the week. New Orleans finally busted out last week for a real game and I don't think they can do it again. Atlanta covers and probably wins.

MIN @ DAL (-9.5) - Dallas at home against a rolling Viking team. Dallas is coming off their crushing against the Patriots. I expect Dallas to win but keep it close. Minnesota loses but covers the 9.5

NE @ MIA (+16.5) - I refuse to bet against the Patriots until they show me why I should. This line could easily be 25 and not be too much. New England rolls Miami and covers easily.

CHI @ PHI (-5) - I don't think Chicago's DEF can stop anyone now. Too many injuries and too many issues. Take PHI and the over.

STL @ SEA (-9) - Bad team vs bad team, but STL is the worse team. SEA has been good at times this year and this will be one of them. SEA big.

IND @ JAX (+3) - Indy is coming off the bye week and is ready to face up the Patriots undefeated. 3 pts is a piddling, take Indy and the over.

NCAA Football

South Florida @ Rutgers (+2.5) - Rutgers is at home, but USF is my parents alma mater and are rolling. I bet against them once, I won't make that mistake again. They cover easily.

Vandy @ South Carolina (-13) - South Carolina manages to keep almost every game close, and Vandy is better than people thing. SC wins, but it is close. Take Vandy to cover.

USC @ Notre Dame (+18) - USC is vastly over rated, and injury plagued. ND sucks, but not 18 pt bad sucks. Take ND to cover.

Florida (-7) @ Kentucky - Kentucky is the pretty pick... beat LSU, ranked in the top 10, etc. Florida is off 2 tough losses and is not in a good mood. Florida wins handily.

Auburn @ LSU (-10.5) - LSU is pissed off, Auburn is playing well but not that well. LSU wins by probably 30.

I just want to state for the record GOOOO South Florida. National Championship is coming your way!

Oops... I guess you are in charge now

Well, the move to swing shift at work was a nice change. The money was a lot better and I was really enjoying working 3-4 hours and making the same money I was making in 8 hours on day shift. That lasted all of a week before I came in last friday and got the information that the swing shift supervisor had been fired. He was already on probation and apparently had overstepped the line the last time. I came in friday night expecting to work, and bingo bongo I am in charge. I covered his shift for a week and then on Tuesday was pulled aside by the poker room manager and offered the "interim" shift manager. Basically, it is mine if I don't screw it up... I have 90 days to prove him right. This should make for an interesting ride... Swing shift manager at a poker room on the strip in vegas. Oh boy.

The good news is that the money is pretty decent... the bad news is there is a 3 week delay till I see any of it. 2 week pay cycle and then 1 week delay in paychecks getting cut. So money will be a little tight which has cut down the poker playing until then, but once we get on the cycle it will be much better.

I did get out to play once this week and it was a short lived visit. I got there and not much happened until about an hour in. I limp with Pocket 7's and the flop is A73 of spades. My standard play with a big draw board is wait for a non-scare card on the turn and try to get them off the draw. 1-2 NL players just don't fold with 2 cards to come. They will sometimes fold with 1 card to come... SOMETIMES. Early position leads out, myself and 2 others call making the pot 50 dollars to the turn with 4 players. Turn is a red queen and early position checks. I bet 35 into the 50 dollar pot (my fairly standard 2/3 pot size bet on the turn) and the guy to my left raises to 135. The original flop better calls the 135 bet and I put him on a big spade probably the K or Q or spades. I figure AK or AQ with the K or Q of spades. I push all-in for my last 35 and both players call. At this point I figure made flush to my left, big flush draw to my right, and I need the board to pair. River doesn't pair the board and the cards go over. The reraiser to my left shows pocket 3's for a flopped set, I show my flopped set of 7's, and the original bettor shows pocket Q's for the turned set of Q's. I am stacked and headed home for the night.... I don't feel bad about how I played it. If it had been A73 rainbow I would have slow played it... Flopped set on non-scary board is instant slow-play. I was getting the right odds to draw to a full house with 3 players in the hand.

Football Poker and a rollercoaster

Lots of changes over here in Las Vegas. Football season has started and already my bulldawgs have dropped a game to the evil Steve Spurrier and his SC Gamecocks. I am really concerned about their offense, and even though Matt Stafford has all the skills I just don't know if he can put it all together. I won't even discuss the Atlanta Falcons... I think it is time I picked a new pro football team to follow. Maybe I should pick one based on the colors of their jerseys, it seems to work better than following the falcons!

Some good news on the job front. I got a semi-promotion (more a lateral move) to a dual rate position in swing shift. I now work 6 PM to 2 AM with Wednesdays and Thursdays off. The money on swing is much better than on days which is nice. It also provides me with the chance to watch football before work which is awful relaxing. The negative side of it is pretty huge though as I don't get to see Estie as much and poker time is really withered down to about 2 days a week.

Poker has been going better as well, I had a nice run of 3 great days and was up about 1500, turned around and dropped a bunch back but am still ahead for the month. I had a nice little run of 3 hands on Saturday afternoon where I got pocket 10's in back to back hands and flopped back to back sets. I ended up taking a big chunk from the 1 seat on the first set, then the rest of his chips on the 2nd set. The next hand I got pocket 7's in the BB and 1 limper and the same 1 seat raises to 15. I fold not wanting to play a small pocket pair OOP in a small pot against a pre-flop raiser. The flop was of course a 7 and I would have stacked him AGAIN. Instead another girl stacked him and he left the table after dropping 500 dollars in 3 hands. Luckily for me she held onto the chips for awhile and gave them all to me when I rivered a flush in a 900 dollar pot. I will never understand why people bet 25 dollars into a 200 dollar pot and then 300 when the flush hits. Please Please continue to give me odds to draw to my flush, and then dump money in the pot when I have my made hand. I read some about it in the books, players feel threatened by a scare card hitting the board and get more aggressive to combat that threat. It makes much more sense NOT to fight... but human nature is to fight back. That is what makes poker so difficult to master... so much of it is counter to human nature.

Slow start, but a start nonetheless

I started out on my return to 4/8 with a short foray at the Venetian. It took 5 hours to get started (maybe I shouldn't go at noon on a wednesday), but when it did it was REALLY good, and I felt extremely comfortable. I had forgotten how comfortable I was at 4/8 when I played last year and how uncomfortable I felt at 1/2 NL. I only played for an hour or so, but was up 85 and very happy with my start.

A few days later I went for my first "targetted" night out at 4/8. It was a thursday night and I had to decide where the good games were going to be. After my experience at the Venetian I decided their game selection on non-weekends was very lacking. I knew from my dealer friends at the Rio there 4/8 games were virtually non-existant except on the weekends during the summer months (a habitually slow time for poker). MGM and Station are rock gardens at 4/8 due to the 2/4 sucking up the fish and the fact that a lot of the "regulars" play there. The other harrah casinos don't really offer 4/8. The only places in town that seem to have regular 4/8 going are the Wynn and Bellagio. I picked the Wynn for my first night out since it was easier to get in and out of the parking garage, and their comps are better.

I started out in an immediate hole, a REALLY REALLY big problem I have. I am all excited to play, pumped up with adreneline and ready to make some money. So I immediately start bluffing, and reraising with air. Of course I get called since I have no image at the table and quickly was down 100. I missed a few draws and was down to 50 and then finally started going back up before running into the luck box of a calling station sitting to my right. He hits 2 freaking runner runner draws and ends up stacking me after about 2.5 hours of play. I left a little frustrated... I got some bad luck, but a good portion of it I brought about on myself by overplaying many hands, and trying to get to creative. I have to relearn that 4/8 and limit in general is a game of patience.

I took a few days off to reconsider my play and readdress my bankroll... I went back on wednesday and decided that despite the horrid parking at the Bellagio (The only entrance is on the strip in the middle of Flamingo and Tropicana a horrible place to be on the strip at) the reviews of the games were that they were really good.... so I had to give it a try to judge for myself. Well the games at the B were absolutely amazing. It took me about 30 mins to get in, but the game was insanely good. 7-8 players for 2 bets pre-flop and then 5 of them folding on the flop. I don't know what hands 5 players could have that could not call one bet getting 14 or 16 to 1 on the flop. Any 2 overcards, any gutshot, etc... even back door flush draws with an over should probably call. They folded which meant more dead money to win in the pot and that made the pots huge with few people vying for them. Everyone at the table was for the most part a very simple straightforward player. They bet with top pair, check/called with draws and cold-called with 2nd pair. Bluffing was not an option but winning with top pair seemed to work well. After just 2 hours I was up over 200 and decided not to push my luck and called it a night.

I couldn't have been happier all night having played extremely well, read all the people at the table perfectly, and really established a confidence in my game I had been lacking. I of course HAD to go back the next night. Now this is where I tend to have a problem... confidence from a session of poker is often wrapped up in your image at the table, knowing the players, adjusting to the attitude of the table, etc... None of these things carry over from one session to another... however my attitude didn't change. I hit the table the 2nd night all full of confidence and expected everyone to just roll over. Unfortunately they were not there the night before and didn't realize *I* was suppose to win... and I didn't. I immediately lost 200 in about 45 mins and rebought for 200 more (after all I am exceptionally good at this game and they just have to realize it then I will start winning). I hit a monster hand with set over set and get back to almost even before a few more hands bring me back up over even.... a monster comeback and I am once again on cloud nine. Unfortunately as I was about to leave after about 4 hours of play I got a pretty nasty bad beat and was back down to even.... I didn't want to go home even (it felt like such a waste of time), so I tried to win one more hand to get back up... then I got another bad beat and was down... so now I started to try even harder to win... now I am down 200 and pissed off... so I try even more... now I am down 300 and upset and don't want to admit I lost 300 at 4/8 in an hour.. so I play even more aggressive... now I am down 400 and out of money and have to go home broke. I managed to turn an even or minor win night into a 400 dollar loss without even really breaking a sweat.

It is really very frustrating. It is so painful to just sit there and stew in your misery knowing it is all your fault, and totally under your control but being unable to do anything about it. There is so much self-control in poker and if you don't master your emotions and attitude you can do nothing but lose.

On an even more depressing note... There is only one more week left of my step-daughter's visit for the summer. Clarese is leaving on August 2nd and we are trying to squeze in every last thing we can do before she goes. It is really very sad that she is going to be going home soon.... The house definately won't be the same with just Estie. Noone to tell us what she won't eat and have to get plain cheeseburger's if we try something new so she won't starve (poor child must be from a 3rd world country the way she starves sooo often).

Saturday was a big day for all of us as Clarese had a casting call for a hollywood producer. We aren't getting our hopes up too high as there were a lot of kids there, but she did get a lot of very positive feedback and is very excited about doing more acting auditions and getting her face in front of some cameras.

All in all it has been a rocky start but a good one.... it is a tough job being a poker player, and one which does not really work well when you aren't in the right frame of mind. I swear I may have to look into these mind exercises to relax and put you in the right state of mind. Yoga? meditation? something? who knows...

Time to get this party started

After a rough 6 months or so where I was trying to figure out how to play no-limit (and failing) and a falling bankroll and mounting bills, I was getting a little bit discouraged. The world series of poker ended yesterday about 4 AM and that got us completely caught up on everything. Now it is time to address this poker issue.

I spent some time thinking on things, and talking to Estie and friends/family. I don't think I am currently able to maintain the level of concentration and insight I need to play no-limit. I have way to big of an ego and way to much of a wandering mind to stay in the no-limit games. Limit I have a mathematical basis for everything I do. I know when I am getting too emotional in the game because the math no longer adds up. I went from averaging 3-4K a month in poker winnings to breaking about even at no-limit.

All this has lead me to a revitalized interest in poker and a drive to get back to playing 4-5 times a week. I have also moved back to Limit poker which means more work at finding good 4-8 and 8-16 games. It looks like at this time the only 8-16 games in town are at the Wynn and Bellagio. And the only reliable 4-8 games are at the Venetian, Wynn, Bellagio and really only in the evenings.

A Smack in the bum

Well it is amazing sometimes where and when things will "hit" you. I have been lazy in many ways lately... working close to 40 hours a week has drained me (can you believe I used to work close to 70!) and has really sapped my motivation to do anything other than sit and sleep.

A few pointed comments from new friends and old friends has put me back on the right track. I have moved up to 2/5 NL and had some success with it. I also got a pointed reminder the other night that poker is a J*O*B* and is not for fun.... I had a great time, watched the braves game, the Thrashers playoff game, drank beer, had a great time... and played like a complete moron and lost 700 bucks. (before I had fun, I was up 400 and playing great). It just goes to show that if you are going to turn a hobby into a job, you have to take it seriously!

Work is going well. I finished my training and had my first day alone on the floor on Saturday. It was a piece of cake, no issues at all. I even had a minor fiasco when I had to add a 5th table for the tournament, the tournament clock broke, had to reseat 7 players, and all happened 3 minutes before the tournament was suppose to start. I managed to get the tourney started only 2 minutes late and felt like it was a real success.

I have settled into a bit of a schedule now for both work and poker... Playing on Monday, Wed, Thursday and Friday nights (leaving work early on Mon and Wed to play). So it should keep moving on up now.

Oh yeah... Kelly Johnson is a good 2B? Well call me stupid and slap me in the back of the head... I thought Bobby Cox had gone crazy again... but it turns out he DOES have some ability to recognize talent.

Thug-enomics

Well, last weekend was the NBA all-star game, Presidents day weekend, Chinese new year and a huge tourism weekend for vegas. Unfortunately the weekend seemed to attract two main types of people... those too rich to gamble who would rather party and be seen... and those too poor to gamble who would rather steal and cause trouble. The end result was a miserable weekend for the gambling based businesses and a lot of trouble for the cops.

I have been playing some poker and doing well until Thursday night at Venetian. I played pretty poorly at times and gave away several hundred dollars just being stupid. Towards the end of the 6 hour session this hand came up. I get 6-9 of hearts on the button and there is a live straddle. 5 callers to me and I call, Straddle raises it to 9, and UTG raised to 20. 2 callers back to me and I call as does the straddle and big blind. The flop is 7/8/10 2 hearts giving me a gutshot straight flush draw and a flopped straight. Straddle bets out 25 into a 100 dollar pot, UTG raises to 50. I make the decision that I am not f'ing around on this and raise to 200. Straddle folds back to UTG who thinks for a minute before pushing all-in. There are only 2 reasonable hands for him to have here... a big pair played very poorly or more like a pocket pair that hit a set. I have virtually the nuts right now and it is 240 more to me and I call making a pot of over 1000 dollars. He turns his hand up to show AK of hearts for the nut flush draw and nothing else. The river is the 2 of hearts putting him on the winning end of a 6 outer for a huge pot.

If that wasn't enough 2 hands later I flop ANOTHER straight and get top pair to put all his money in and he hits runner runner to a boat to end up setting me back 200 for the night. It could have been much worse, but it was setup so perfectly for a huge winning session and it all came crumbling down at the end. It was the largest pot I have ever been in to date... and it was painful to be on the losing end of it.

I have been offered a fulltime dual rate position at work. Dual rate means you are a dealer part of the time and a supervisor part of the time. It gives me a pretty regular schedule and a nice experience for the resume and the future in this town. Right now I will be training on graveyard and the moving over to day shift in a month or so. This will also give me more time to play poker as I will have more of a regular schedule and can actually get adjusted to it instead of jumping all over the place.

For now though... it is graveyard and it is time to go to work.

Valentines Day and Poker

This weekend Estie and I went to Ceaser's to play in a couples tournament. The structure was that we played the same chips and took turns every 20 minutes, and then when we were not playing we took turns playing at a live no-limit table with the same chips. In the end we both played very well for the first 3 hours, but as the blinds got higher and the chips got smaller I ended up making a move from under the gun with J9 suited (btw, probably not what I should have done as Estie will inform you) and got called by A10 and was knocked out.

We ended up finishing 16th out of 86 but they only paid the top 9. It was still a great time and we had a lot of fun playing together. In the cash game nothing spectacular happened as we ended up down $1 for the 4.5 hours we played. About 3 hours into the game a couple extremely drunk guys came in with their friends and played at the game with us. Well one of them was very loud and looked familiar... when someone called him Andy it clicked with Estie that this was Andy Dick sitting next to us offering her a beer... He really isn't that funny when he is completely wasted, but it was fun anyways.

Live games have gone better lately as I have adjusted my game back to a little more patience in it. I have been playing really well about 95% of the time and have had 5 straight winning sessions. However I am still making a few mistakes per day which are costing me a lot of money. It seems to happen after I start winning and relax my game and suddenly I called too many hands with nothing, and made to many reraises with mediocre hands, etc. And suddenly I was up 600 and now am up 400 or was up 400 and now up 150. It is a part of the game I have to adjust and will be working on for awhile.

The check is in the mail

OK well not exactly a check... but Estie's Green Card (which is apparently Pink) is approved and according to the nice lady she talked to at the INS on Tuesday, January 30th it is "In the mail". They approved it on the spot and sent it off to be printed and sent to us. So in a week or two she will be a card carrying member of the Foreign Elite :)

It is now 3 weeks from January 30th, 2006 when she can apply for citizenship and 21 months when she can get permanent residence. A *HUGE* thank you to everyone who helped in this process as it is a big relief to be done. My mom and Dad, Estie's Mom, Jon, Katherine, and everyone else who went out of their way to make this possible. It is greatly appreciated and we will never forget the kindness and support of everyone in this time.

Thank you again and congratulations to Estie! I personally could not be prouder or happier at this time in my life.

Stepping Up

It hasn't been a good start to 2007 so far.... I got my second lesson of the year in tilt. After getting my Pocket A's cracked by 5's on the turn I dumped 300 more on the table before rebuilding from 600 down to 50 up. I decided not to leave because there was a drunk/idiot who I wanted to get his money and got sucked out on again for another 300 and then proceeded to dump all of the remaining 400 onto the table for a net loss of 700. Not only was most of it tilt induced... I strongly suspect that the Drunk/idiot was not really as much of an idiot as he played it up to be. He was getting away from an awful lot of big hands and making some marvelous plays with some marginal hands. I left very frustrated and actually stayed away from poker for a few days even though I had time to play.

We had a big tournament at IP this weekend and it got me to thinking about getting my skills up the level where I can compete regularly in those tournaments. First place was only $37,000 which is small for those tournaments but it is definately enough to make a dent in my bankroll! I also spent some time talking to a few of the local pros about moving up, bankroll management, games in town, etc... and made the decision to take a shot at 2/5 No-limit at the Palms. This is a 200 minimum, 1000 max buy-in game. It is higher than I have ever played before but I felt like my game was ready for it as long as I could keep my head about me.

The room at the Palms is nice enough. It is only 10 tables. 6 in one room for the limit games, and 4 in the "High Stakes Room" where they only spread 2-5 no-limit. They had 3 tables going with a list and it stayed that way the entire 5 hours I was there. The bathrooms are right in between the 2 rooms (very convient a huge plus), they serve red bull without charging $5 a can like the station casinos do. The waitresses were nice, and prompt... Dealers were acceptable, if not outstanding. The rake is one of the best I have seen in town with a max $4 rake on a $120 pot and high hands and bad beat. All in all, I understand the reason the word on the street is that Palms is the best 2-5 in town.

The game was pretty good. The stacks were very deep and the play was decent enough to take advantage of. We had a husband/wife team playing in the game and they appeared to be playing together which was a bit disturbing but they left shortly after I sat down. I played very well most of the night... however I misplayed 2 hands badly putting most of my money in when way behind and I should have known it. I dropped 700 on those 2 hands alone, and ended the night only up $426. It could and should have been better... and I never really got any big hands. I felt like I could play this game regularly and beat it for a sizable profit..... So I will definately be back. Especially with their half a million dollar first prize freeroll in June which I only need 300 hours of play to qualify for :)

Year 2006 Summary

The year of 2006 was not a bad start. I finished with 545 hours played at the poker tables and up $9,794 for an hourly rate of $17.97. Almost 18 dollars an hour and that was with an awful May where I played almost 100 hours of negative poker.

My goal for 2007 is to play 100 hours a month at a win rate of $30.00 an hour. I think this is definately achievable for my continued improvement in the game. I also want to include 1-2 medium size buy-in tournaments each month (100-200 buyins) with deep stacks and slow blind levels. Probably MGM or Ceasers.

I had a good year dealing as well, even though I think I would have been more successful if I had just played poker. Dealing gave me the consistency I needed at that point and has been an enjoyable experience. I plan to remain on the extra board even if a full time position opens up in 2007 to allow me the abilty to continue to do tournaments and cruises. Estie and I have talked and discussed that I will not accept a full time position unless it is a primo spot until after the world series in 2007.

There are 2 Bellagio tournaments I want to do in the first half of 2007, as well as one at Mirage, Mandaly Bay, and possibly the world series again. I also have a cruise to Alaska, Party Poker Million cruise, and back to Mexico in November. All in all, a lot of interesting and enjoyable stuff coming up in 2007 and I have to fit poker in there somewhere :)

November and December were a decent finish to 2007 with only 58 hours and up $1540 for a $26.32 win rate. It was almost exclusively no-limit and I have continued into 2007 the same way. Except for one tilt induced session at Ballys where in just a few hours I dumped 800. Not a good start to 2007, but recoverable.

Oops... My bad.

Well the interview at INS was Tuesday morning and we got there at 8:35 for our 8:45 appointment. We only had to wait about 10 minutes and we got a nice friendly gentleman for our officer. He asked a series of questions to verify what we had written down and then only asked for more details/documentation if we didn't have all the answers correct. Unfortunately one of the questions was "When were you divorced from Emily". I didn't know the answer... (Estie did, but that didn't help!) so he then asked for the Divorce Decree... well I hadn't gotten THAT piece of information, and ask such we got the green form. The green form means you have to come back with the extra info before you can get approved.

Other than that, the interview was smooth as silk. We had everything else we needed and it was over very quickly. Once I get that copy and bring it back... we should have Esties conditional residence. If Estie is still putting up with me in 21 months from that date, then she will be given her permanent residence. 3 years from the date of the conditional residence she can apply for citizenship.... So it is fairly well finished at this point... a huge relief for both of us.

We went and celebrated by going to the Spa for the afternoon together. We had a lovely pedicure, wax, facial and a nice relaxing day (I didn't do the facial that is for women!). It was very relaxing and refreshing. Aftewards it was poker time!

Poker went fairly well yesterday with a 4 hour session finishing up 180. It was a quiet controlled day where I was never down, and didn't get many cards to play with. I had to work and grind for everything I got. Today was a different type of day. I immediately went down a full 100 when I went all-in with 2nd pair on an 10 high flop. I got called by QJ with a gutshot who caught a king high straight. He apologized profusely and actually turned out to be an incredibly nice guy from Dublin, Ireland. We sat next to each other for 5 hours and had a great time. He ended up giving back that 100 and a lot more over the rest of the night :)

After losing the first 100 I bounced up and down and around for awhile before getting extremely lucky playing the Hammer (2-7) from the straddle. I decided this guy was buying a pot and pushed all-in with 2nd pair. Unfortunately he had the 8 on an 8 high flop and called. It was the same Irish guy from before, and this time I sucked out hitting a 2nd 7 on the turn and taking down a nice pot with the Hammer!

I played well for awhile taking down some unclaimed pots, and making a few great plays. I made one in particular which I was very proud of. I had K/10 on the BB and 2 limpers to me and I made it 12 to go. They both called and the flop was 10 high. I bet out 25 into the pot and a player at the other end of the table who got a huge beat earlier and was playing a bit off-kilter made it 75. The other guy folded and it was back to me. I looked at the guy and the way he held his body and the way he looked at me made me feel like he wasn't very confident in his hand. I made the read that he was making a play at me with a drawing hand, and that I was ahead. I pushed all-in for 75 more into a 180 dollar pot and he called after some long thought. My read was dead on, he had J high with a poor draw and my K/10 held up for a nice pot.

The poor guy had lost his third buy-in for the night and had to take a break. The night was winding down when this hand came up. The table had gotten very passive but a lot of new players were coming in as the "night shift" came in. I limp in under the gun with Q/10 offsuit. It is raised by my the guy to my immediate left to 10. 4 callers back to me and I am priced in to call. The flop is 10/10/7. So I flop 3 10's with a Q kicker. I feel very confident in my hand at this point when the guy to my right leads out for 60 into the 60 dollar pot! This is same Irish guy from earlier! I had played with him for awhile and had a pretty good read on him. He made a few comments about full houses and quads which didn't fit with his body language so I put him on a weak 10 who wanted the draws out.

I called the 60 and it was folded around to a guy sitting with 87 in front of him playing his 3rd hand of the night who goes all-in. At this point I can't fold for 27 more into a 300 dollar pot and call as does the Irish guy. The turn is a King and the Irish folds to my all-in bet of 200 more. (I really thought he would call... but whatever). We turn our hands up and the short stack had pocket 7's for a flopped full-house and was WAY ahead. I had 6 outs to catch up and the miracle Q hit on the turn for the better full-house and the whole pot. That put me up 300 for the day and I managed to give some back before cashing out up 187 after 5 hours.

It is back to work on Thursday morning at 1 AM for 2 days of graveyard before the big 500 dollar buy-in event at the Imperial Palace at 9 AM on Saturday morning... I will probably be on graveyard next week, but it should be a good week with 2 big tournament days and a big weekend on graveyard. Last week was really good with the 5 days on grave and almost 600 at the poker tables.

Big day tomorrow

Well... tomorrow is the immigration interview for Estie and I. This is when they decide whether we got married for a green card only, and if we did everything right. It is the last major hurdle for us to overcome in a long, painful journey. It is pretty nerve wracking right now...

In addition to that, I had my first week working on graveyard. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be... and it looks like with one guy out for 10 weeks for a hip replacement, I will be on it for awhile. Once you adjust the sleep schedule it is actually pretty good.

World of Warcraft expansion came out, so that has been pretty exciting working to get my priest up to level 70. In addition to that, Estie has made some adjustments to her game and started playing a lot more poker with me... so both of us are working towards some big accomplishments in the near future.

I got my phone replaced after leaving it at the airport. However, I have lost every phone number I had.... so if you want to ever hear from me again, send me your phone number or call me. If you don't have my email address it is my first initial, last name, at gmail.com.

I wanna go Fast!

Sunday, Jannuary 7th
It is amazing how much of a difference a real weekend makes after a real week at work. When your average day is 4-5 hours, days off are not that important. When you work 40 hours in 4 days... suddenly not going to work seems a whole lot more fun. This was the last weekend for Clarese as she heads back for Jacksonville at 7 AM Sunday morning. It is going to be very sad not to have her here with us. She is a real joy in our lives, and it is tough having her live so far away.
Saturday we went to the Sahara and the "Nascar Experience". Apparently it isn't exactly the biggest attraction on the planet since at 3 PM on a Saturday afternoon there were no lines, and hardly any people. We went on the rolleroaster there "Speed - The Ride". I have to say, that is a darn good coaster. Backwards and forwards, a vertical drop in reverse, one loop, some twists, with no waiting it was pretty solid. We also did the "Cyber Speedway". I was sorely disappointed. The graphics were awful, the handling was poor, the cars were difficult to use, and overall a poor lacking experience. Play an Xbox driving game and skip this one.
Now that Clarese and Johan are finished with their visit, which I wish had been longer but everyone has other things to do than entertain me. (I wonder why that is... I pay them enough I thought :), I can start my new year of poker. I want to start playing more serious tournament poker and plan to hit up the Venetian, MGM or Ceaser's tourney's first. They are respectable starter tournaments at 100 or so buy-ins, 30-40 minute levels and deep stacks. So it is a real tournament and not a push-fest like the 40-50 dollar ones around town. In addition the prize money is fairly large (4-5K for a win in most of them), so it is worthy of some effort. I want to try to hit 1-2 a week as well as 20 hours or so of playing. I will try to finish up the numbers from 2006 to give an idea of how things finished up. Overall it was a good year, and I hope next year is even better.
A funny story from the Nascar ride at Sahara. We are waiting our turn to get on, and the guy in the coaster already is smoking a cigarette. Now this SEEMS to be a bad idea, but what do I know. He then drops the lit cigarette into his lap and starts trying to find it in his layers of clothes, at this point the ride takes off. Speed is a turbo start, so he is launched back into his seat with a lit cigarette in his lap. On the return trip he states to his friends "My hat is gone. Right off my hand". Regardless of the fact there is a sign that says "No loose articles of clothing. Please put all hats, sunglasses, purses, etc into the lockers". He had a hat on as well as his 4 Nascar jacket wearing friends who all promptly took their hats off and put them in a locker. As he gets up to walk off the ride he falls back INTO the the coaster cars and has to be helped off the platform by the employees. I think he was drunk, hatless AND burned at this point. I am sure this guy will be a poster boy for natural selection one day

Happy New Years! 4 Dollars to Call!

Well.. the new schedule came out and I expected to be on Day shift again this week, however it turns out I moved over to swing for the week. New years eve I am working at 5 PM "until". I was not terribly pleased as this meant I couldn't spend new years eve with Estie. It was our first one since we got married and I wished I could have been with her. The rest of my schedule was 8 PM on Monday and tuesday and then 4 days off for the rest of the week.

The time leading up to New years was great. We went on the Gondola ride at the Venetian and got to ride on the boats, and listen to the beautiful singing of the Gondola drivers. We had dinner at Mon Ami Gabi in Paris and some excellent food! I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting. We also visited the Bellagio Christmas display, it was amazing! Polar bears made out of live carnations, Reindeer out of Pecans, a 35 foot christmas tree, 100's of poinesettas. It was absolutely gorgeous! Estie and Clarese took her brother (Johan) to see the rest of the sites. They rode the rides at Stratosphere, and NYNY. They spent a lot of time sight seeing, and he utterly enjoyed the sights around town.

New Years eve Johan had to go back to England where he lives now, and I had to go to work. It started out slow, but since we had only 10 dealers and 6 tables it moved by pretty well. At midnight the room emptied out down to 1 table. It was very amusing to be sitting there on New Years eve with everyone counting down to the new year and we are there dealing out hands. "Happy new Year sir, 4 dollars to call".

After midnight we had a short reprieve when we got to have some dinner and relax a few minutes before the real fun started. With 300,000 people on the strip it was a mad house, and a whole bunch of those were coming in to play poker with us! Between 12:30 and 1:00 AM we went from 1 table to 9. It ran smooth as silk with me and Loughman at the front directing everyone, and the supervisor Rick getting the dealers on the tables and the money. As soon as a table was full they started dealing. We had all 9 tables running 10 handed at 1 AM and we held all 9 tables until 5 AM when we started breaking down. I ended up going home at 7 AM after 14 hours of work. I had reached that point beyond exhaustion where everything was just a haze. The nice thing was it was good money. The bad thing was it really really messed up my sleep schedule. Atlanta time, working mornings, then switching to nights, and getting off at 7 AM. I was definately broken. I was so tired on Monday when I got to work that I decided to go home early so signed the Early out list. Well I'll be damned if all the people from New Year's eve didn't want to go home! One guy called in sick, 2 people had to work overtime, and it was insane in the room. I ended up being their until 4 AM and coming home exhausted AGAIN. On top of that, one guy didn't show up for New Year's eve and was fired. So they added another day to my week giving me Saturday night at 9 PM. The next day I come in to work at 8 PM again and find out that another guy has been suspended for getting in a fight while off shift in the room, and now I have been given ANOTHER day at 7 PM on WEdnesday. My 4 day weekend has now become a 2 day weekend.

Tuesday I go in, and again sign the EO list trying to get home before 1 AM so I can get a good nights sleep. I am still not able to sleep past 11 or so... which really sucks when you go to bed at 5 or 6 AM and are already exhausted. Unfortunately for me... noone is going home again, AND someone calls in sick again, so AGAIN I am there until 4 AM. 3 Days, 22 hours of work all in the late evening and early morning. Welcome to the life of a dealer I guess. Tonight I am in at 7 PM and if they scheduled me for another shift I will probably cry!

Vacation Overload

There are times when you go on vacation and the story is "Yeah, we had a good time and got to see everyone again". Then there are other times where your vacation sounds like you decided to fill every waking hour with something to do... This was one of those trips.

To start out with I booked a great flight direct out of Las Vegas to Orlando to meet up with the rest of my immediate family and their spouses/children at Disney. It left Vegas at 11 AM and arrived in Orlanda at 6 PM. A Perfect flight on the 19th of december. So I requested my vacation time at work from December 20th to December 25th. This was less effective than I had planned it to be, since I actually left on the morning of the 19th!

I went to work and told them "Oh my I made a mistake I can't work on Tuesday". So I had to apologize to the big boss, and get him to fix the mistake I made. We were already short staffed that day, so the Supervisor was mad, etc. I then get home from work and get a message from my Mother saying she will pick me up at 6 AM on Wednesday morning in Orlando. 6 *AM*! Oh crap... I go check my flight info to inform her that she is wrong, when I find out she is right! DOH! I booked an 11 PM Flight on Tuesday! Well crap... so now I *CAN* work on the 19th since I was scheduled for 10 AM, and so I called my boss and told him so. Unfortunately I didn't write it down and send it to him, I just called him. I had originally written down the original problem. So written trumps verbal.. and when I came to work on Tuesday morning the schedule had changed and I was off that day. Oops.

The flight went fine and we got there right on time. Dad was there to pick us up and we got caught up with everyone at the condo before going to take a short 4 hour nap, drove to get Clarese from her Dad, and got everyone all together for dinner. The weather was moving in and the original plan was to go to Universal Studios on Friday and Disney Christmas thing on Thursday night. However, with Clarese only being in Orlando for 2 days, and it maybe raining on Friday, and us leaving on Saturday we decided to go to Universal Islands of Adventure on Thursday morning just in case we didn't get to go to Universal on Friday. It turned out it didn't rain until after we finished on Friday and we had a great time at everything. The rollercoasters were awesome, Clarese had a great time (I enjoyed it a little as well, but don't tell her. I want her to think I just went for her). Disney world for christmas was great.

We left early Saturday morning for the extended family christmas in Thomasville, and then got home late before doing our immediate family christmas on Christmas Eve. Our flight back was at 1 PM from Atlanta so we had to get up and leave Bainbridge at 6 AM. We made it in record time since there was no traffic and hit the airport early and had an hour and a half extra to eat and relax.

Now in most airports security they have a little white bucket that you put your keys, phone, etc in. While they have big gray trays you put the big stuff like your laptop. etc. However in atlanta they do not have the little white trays. So the man yelled at me for bringing my keys with me to the scanner, and made me go back and put them in a gray tray with my cellphone. This unfortunately put my keys/cellphone way behind the other stuff I put thru. Well... fast forward 2 hours and the plane is leaving in 10 mins which is when I realized I didn't get my keys and cellphone from the security checkpoint! So a mad rush, mad train ride, back to security where they had found my keys but NOT my cellphone. It could have been worse... we only have one key to the car! so losing both would have sucked. So now I have no cellphone! BAH! Time to get a new one and get everyone's number again.

Once I got back home and checked my schedule at work I was scheduled for the next 5 days straight after taking Sunday and Monday off for the vacation. It wasn't too bad with 3 9 AM shifts and all day shifts. This worked well since I was still on Atlanta time and was waking up at 6 or 7 AM anyways. So I had no problem getting to work. It was good to be back home after everything. It was great to see everyone, and I really had a good time. Clarese is with us now for the next 2 weeks and Estie's brother is coming to visit as well for a few days. So it is sure to be an exciting time!

A Cruising we go (very long)

It is cruise time! I couldn't be more excited... this is the kind of thing that I came to vegas to do, and now it is upon me. Estie and I got up at 5 AM (ish) to drive to San Diego. She has a friend in San Diego and wanted to tour the city some, so we decided to drive the 5 hours instead of fly. Everything was going beautifully, all packed the night before, everything laid out, up and shaved and out the door at 6 AM just like we had planned.... Then we decide to stop in Primm, ok *I* decide to stop in Primm and fail to tell Estie (I pointed at the sign and went yum.. food, but that isn't the same thing as DISCUSSING it. How was I suppose to know that!) So we stop at the Primm Valley casino and go into the cafe to get some nice steak and eggs. However, they apparently change shifts at 7 AM and the outgoing shift stops working around 6:30, and when the new shift gets there at 7 they can't take any orders until they have their morning coffee. Let me give the people who are in customer service industries a piece of advice... If you are going to ignore your customers, do NOT NOT NOT do it where they can see you! We can SEE them drinking their coffee and discussing their weekend plans! Yet none of them are coming over to take our order... it was stupid just watching 20 people mill around drinking coffee and noone talking to us! We finally got one of them to find out who was on our table, and they all argued about who would take the orders... Very very sad, needless to say his tip was NOT good.

After a rather lengthy breakfast the rest of the drive went very well and we got into San Diego at 11:45 only 45 mins later than planned, and as it turned out PLENTY of time ahead. The directions on how to get to the cruise ship were not exactly stellar... Especially if you had someone dropping you off. They mention where to park at for 12 dollars a day, but not where to drop someone off... They also don't give any info on how to get there from ANYWHERE but I-5, which is NOT the road you come in on from Vegas... I-5 runs along the coast, noone drives that from anywhere but LA or the airport, which is apparently their target market. We finally find the cruise ship (turns out the big boat at the dock is the one I want to get on... go figure) and we park at the public parking area, it is only about a 1/4 mile to the boat but my bag is HEAVY HEAVY HEAVY. So everything hurts when I finally get there and find out there is a passenger drop off RIGHT NEXT to the boat. BAH!

I get inside and the checkin is smooth until I find out that the boat was late getting in and as such is late departing. We are smooshed into a small area with not enough chairs for 2 hours waiting to board. The boarding was fast enough once it started and I settled into the stateroom and get into the 3 PM dealer meeting.

This cruise is a bit of an oddity to me, and I am a little nervous on how it is going to work out. First of all, I am basically a passenger who volunteers to deal. I have to pay for my own cabin, own fees, own transportation, everything. On top of that, we get no hourly wage. So basically tips from 7 days has to cover everything! So I am already about 400 bucks in the hole before I even go on the cruise, and I am giving up a weeks work at the same time. Of course, I do get fed every day with excellent food and I am on a cruise ship to Mexico. So we will wait and see.

The poker room on the ship is setup in the Crows nest in the top of the ship, 29 tables, 37 dealers on swing shift (scheduled, no idea how many will actually show up) and I work every night but Tuesday from 7:00 until the players go home (Graveyard shift is 5 people). They spread games from 2-4 to 40-80 and 1-2 NL to 5-10 NL as well as Omaha and a little Stud. I was a little worried coming on the ship as I didn't know anyone else who was going besides one girl from work who I have met like 2-3 times. It turns out I shouldn't have been worried as I knew about 10 other dealers from previous jobs and had plenty of people to hang out with. One of the dealers I met at the series comes up to me and tells me "There really isn't many prospects on this ship. Not that it matters much to you". He glanced around the room to emphasize his point that there were very few unattached women. I apparently misunderstood him as he pointed out to me a few minutes later as he started pointing out the attractive MEN in the room and telling me why they were unavailable. Surpise again it seems.

Dinner the first night is excellent as I had some nice Pork Chutney with a honey glaze, and it was quite tasty. Unfortunately dinner is at 6 and work is at 7 so I had to rush thru dinner a good bit... but I managed to get it all down and get to work on time where I had 9 downs, 2 breaks and was out at 12:30 to get to bed for some welcome rest after being awake for 20 hours straight. It wasn't a bad night for only 5.5 hours averaging over 20 dollars a down for a 183 night. It was a very interesting experience dealing on a moving ship... especially on the 10th floor of a big ship in 40-50 MPH winds as we headed out... got some nice movement up there on the top :)

*** DAY 2 ***

Well I didn't bother setting an alarm since I didn't have to be anywhere until 7 PM for work... and I was extremely tired. I am caught up a little now after sleeping 10 hours, and after some lunch went and hit the poker room for some nice 4/8 action. I had some decent cards for some small pots, and made some nice pots out of draws and ended up 60 bucks before going to lay down for a nap before dinner at 6 and work at 7. Tonight is Formal dinner and I am looking forward to some marvelous Beef Wellington!

Tonight was the first night we were at sea all day and we don't hit port until Noon tomorrow so it is a perfect night for some poker. Unfortunately as I discovered we have a pretty large portion of older customers and as such the games tend to break down pretty fast around 11 PM. I managed to make it to 10 downs and 6.5 hours with another pretty good push, all 3 balls with 1 dead spread. Tomorrow is Cabo San Lucas! One fun note from tonights dealing, they have a 20/40 Omaha H/L game that is "The Big Game" on the ship. I didn't get to it the first night, and I wasn't too worried aobut it the second night. However, when I got there I realized that not only was it an Omaha H/L game (one of my weakest games to deal), but it was a game with the 2 owners of the company, the husband of the director of operations, the day shift supervisor, and 2 guys who write books on Omaha 8/B games. Suddenly, I was a little more nervous... I managed to get by with just a few mistakes and no major ones. I almost burned and turned too early which would have cost Linda Johnson (the announcer for the WPT Finals) a huge pot if I had in a several thousand dollar pot. Whew.

*** Day 3 ***

We docked in Cabo around Noon which was about the same time I got up. A quick lunch and I hit the 1 PM tender to do the Shore Cruise I had purchased. The cruise was beautiful as it was a nice 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. We got to see the Sea Lions, the arch with the beach underneath, lovers beach, and the old lighthouse. The beaches in Cabo are amazingly beautiful and the people there are very well taken care of. It was a pleasant change from the other places in Mexico I have been in.

As I am getting ready to get on the tender over to the shore they announce that a girl is missing. An 18 year old on the cruise with her grandparents. It was very windy last night so there was a great fear she had fallen overboard. After dinner that night we find out that she has been found, and that she was asleep in a guys room! Apparently there was more to the story than I heard completely, but drugs and alcohol played a part. The guy she was in the room with was a dealer on the same shift I was on, and he was kicked off the boat in Mazaltan!

Dinner was solid tonight with a marvelous Roast Lamb shank and some delicious fruit. Dinner starts at 5:30 but it is impossible to get thru Appetizer, Salad, Soup, Bread, and Entree before 6:30 when I need to leave for work. Therefore, I have yet to get to desert in time... But tomorrow night is a day off, so I plan to sit and relax and eat slow, order every desert on the menu, maybe even 2 or 3 entrees...

Work was another solid night, I started really slow hitting 2 dead spreads and a break in the first 2 hours, but then it picked up and I ended up working 7.5 hours and doing pretty well considering I only had 9 downs total. The tips seem to be getting better every night, as my average per down is going up each time. Either I am getting better at dealing (possible as some of the games I was pretty rocky on), or I am just getting to know the people better. I have noticed some people recognizing me in the hallway/etc and tipping better in the games. I hit the 20/40 game twice tonight and was MUCH MUCH more comfortable. I didn't have any errors, smooth as silk and the tips are great in that game. That game freaking flys by... it is amazing how many hands I can get out in that game. 25-30 per half hour!

The ship really started rocking last night and being on the 10th floor it was REALLY bad. We ended up handing out 200 sea sickness pills and lost several dealers and a lot of players to the motion of the ocean. I was not complaining because it meant more downs for me....

*** Day 4 ***

Today we are in Mazaltan. I am off work tonight, so it is a real free day for me... Very exciting! I got up in time for breakfast this morning after working till almost 3. I am claiming a victory even if the phone did ring to wake me up... but I count it as a victory so MEHHH!

After breakfast I had SOOO much energy that I went for a 1 mile run (OK I WENT for a 3 mile run, but I stopped after 1). Heading into town now to do some shopping, buy some liquor, and then meet up with the other dealers at Senor Frogs for some beers... a nap afterwards and then some poker for awhile before going to bed. Tomorrow we are in Puerto Valerta where I have planned a treetop zip line tour over the tops of the jungle! It should be amazing and I am sooo excited. After that we are back at sea the rest of the way and on the downward part of the journey.

Senor Frogs was a great time with almost every dealer there dancing and drinking, doing shooters and jello shots. It was a great time, and I was just sorry that boat was leaving at 5:30 so we had to get back so soon. I took a little nap before going up to play some poker on my day off from dealing.

At dinner they announce some MORE people missing from the boat. Apparently a couple didn't make the last tender. They were out drinking and thought the last tender was at 6 PM, but it was at 5:30. I don't really think I want to be on the other side of that conversation with my wife when we miss the cruise ship because I was too drunk to remember the right time. The couple apparently took a bus to Guadalare and took a plane to Puerto Vallarta to get back on the ship. This was particularly difficult because they forgot their ID's and their credit cards!

I really get upset at myself when I do not play up to my abilities. I sat down tonight and lost the first hundred very quickly for no specific reason, chasing draws I didn't have the odds on, trying to bluff weak players who I knew wouldn't fold, etc. It was just horrible. I straightened up and got that hundred back plus another 120, but I looked at the end of the night and realized just how much better I could be if I could get some consistency in my play.

Tomorrow was suppose to be a late start due to us being in port till 10 PM, however due to some mechanical problems with the ship they are running at less than full power so we are leaving at 6 PM instead. So the poker room opens at 7 PM as normal. However, graveyard shift has already been given the night off! We have to work from 7 PM until everyone goes home or day shift comes in at 8 AM. Oops... could be one long night if I make it the whole way.

*** Day 5 ***

Today we are in Puerto Vallarta. My trip leaves at 1 PM from the Tender Dock, so add in a 30 minute trip on the tender boat over to the shore and some moderate shopping time, plus lunch and shower and I had to get up at the butt early time of 10 AM. SOMEHOW I managed to do that, even after falling asleep at midnight the night before and got on shore and ready in plenty of time for my trip. The Canopy adventure is just that... a serious adventure. First we have to take a small tiny boat from the tender dock to the marina... a lovely 10 minute ride across the bay with some amazing yachts scattered around. Then, after a short wait we board an open air truck for 14 and ride miltary style up to the top of the mountain. In the united states a 40 Km drive to the top of a mountain is a lovely affair. In Mexico a 40 km drive to the top of the mountain is life or death. We had to dodge cows, donkeys, horses, cars that don't go up hill EVER, vendors stepping in the road, sharp turns up the mountain in the back of a truck. All in all it was probably the scariest part of the trip. Once we got there we were in a marvelous resort up in the mountains with no electricty. They had nice open air huts, very nice guides, and the most beautiful trees in the jungle you have ever seen. After some safety briefing, a wedgy of a safety harness and a short hike we went from platform to platform in the trees via zip lines. It was sooooo much fun. Flying thru the trees at insane speeds and braking to a halt at the last minute before hitting a tree. The longest run was about 150 meters and the highest stand was 80 feet off the ground. At the end of the lines we had to free fall repel down a 50 foot drop to the ground. I would highly recommend it!

So when we get back on the boat they are announcing that another person has not made it back yet. It turns out the person missing was another dealer from swing shift and he made the last crew tender back. He was late because his cab was in an accident and they wouldn't let him leave the scene of the accident!

I had to work at 7 PM and we got back to the boat at 6 PM. I had to shower, change, eat dinner, and get to work. I would dare say it was a bit rushed :). I finally got to work at 7 and ended up breaking a table early and getting bumped out at 10:30. Only 4 downs, cleared 88 before tip out, and then went to see the 10:30 comedy show. Unfortunately it was insanely crowded and I wasn't going to stand out in the hallway to listen to the comedian so I went back to play poker. 4/8 had a long list so I moved up to the open seat on 6/12. It was my first experience at something higher than 4/8 limit and I played extremely well for 2 hours and was up 250. I was doing everything right, betting when I should, folding when I should, reraising to isolate, etc. I had complete control of my game... then a few people left, a few new ones came in and I changed my game. I let my ego get control of me and started doing everything wrong. Calling to much, bluffing to much, all in all everything wrong. So now I am down 100 and the table is breaking up. I get back to down 50 before the table breaks and take my remaining 150 dollars over to the 1-2 no-limit game. My first big blind I get Q4 of hearts hit 4 to the flush on the flop and there is a small bet from the SB which I call, and then a min raise from the button which I also call. The heart hits on the turn giving me the 2nd nut flush but also pairs the board. It checks all the way around. The river is a blank and the original aggressor bets 20, I raise to 60 and fold out the big blind and the SB calls for a nice pot to bring me to 225 total. I get whittled down to 200 before this hand happens. I am UTG and stradle for 5 dollars (they let you do that not sure why). It is foled to a guy in middle position who makes it 13 to go. 2 callers back to me and I look down to see pocket 8's. Now I see the bet from middle position as a weak ace or 2 high card bet, and the callers as even weaker. So with 50 dollars in the pot I decide I have the best hand and want to take it down right now. So I raised to 75, the early position raiser reraises all-in. I have 125 behind and it is folded back to me. At this point I put him on 2 big cards, and that he thought I was just trying to steal the pot. A little over 400 in the pot and I have to call 125 into it.... I figure there is a small chance he has a big pair, but more likely that he has a small pair or 2 big cards. the callers in between probably have big cards as well so I figure I am probably ahead and I am getting 3 to 1 as a likely favorite so I call. He flips over AK and my 88 holds up for a nice pot. A few hands later I get KK and raise with it, getting 2 callers. Flop is crap, and the blind goes all-in for 28 into me. I reraise to isolate and take down the pot. So now I am up 300 and after a JJ vs JJ hand where I bet and she folded, I cash out up a little over 300 at 3 AM.

3 AM rolls around and there are 2 full tables running, the poker room shift supervisor comes over and tells us that despite 2 tables who can keep going for awhile... the room is closing in 15 mins! I have never seen a place kick people OUT of the room who are paying rake and playing. Even 2 tables is still dropping 200 an hour in rake... they had a good 2-3 hours of play left in those tables.

** Day 6 ***

We are in route back to San Diego. The cruise ship is a smaller "Shore Ship" and can't really go far off shore. So we are paralleling the coast of Mexico the whole way. This makes for a marvelous ride down the coast with a nice breeze and a gorgeous view of the coastline and mountains. I sat on the deck with some friends for lunch today and just watched the coastline go by and listened to a some live music by the pool.

The poker room closes tomorrow night at midnight, so this is our last full night. I am going to head off and take a nap before work. Tonight is Surf and Turf with Lobster and Filet Mignon.... So I want to save my energy for a double helping of THAT!

I tried to take a nap, but for some reason I am too rested for that :) so I read a little up by the pool and played some poker. I played about 2 hours and was up 80 at 4/8 before I went to get ready for dinner and Lobster time! Lobster and Steak was SOOO good! I ended up eating 2 helpings of both and would have gone for 3 if I could have but ran out of time. Work was good for awhile, but the desert buffet was at 10:30 and apparently chocolate beats Poker. Half the poker room left when the buffet opened and 8 tables broke, which ended up sending me home. I went down to the buffet as well with a few friends and it was mediocre at best.

** Day 7 ***

Since we sail in a Southeastern direction on the way down to mexico they change the time back one hour when you get on the ship. Last night the moved it back to Pacific time so we gained an hour. With the extra hour I made it up in time for Breakfast and 2 hours of poker before lunch and nap time. A few nice hands at the No-Limit table and I cashed out up 205 after 2 hours and called it a day.