Do's and Dont's Reprised
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Since Okie Vegas 3 is rolling right down the block and coming up faster than I can imagine right now, I thought I might copy and paste an old post for your reading pleasure. I've included some new comments in BLUE for this year.
1.DO.....bring cool clothes. Other than Thursday night at the casino, where it can be frigid, most of your time will only require shorts, t-shirts and flip flops. It is getting hotter by the minute here in Oklahoma and with all the rain and moisture around these parts, the humidity is around 100%. That amounts to instant sweating when outside, so dress appropriately - still exactly the same.
.2.DO....use the OFF that will be provided for you while at the lake. Again, with all the moisture and general wetness in Oklahoma this spring/early summer, there is a bumper crop of horse-fly sized mosquitos in this part of the country. I know that OFF stinks like shit, but believe me, it is much better than being eaten alive by mosquitos. Besides, everyone else down there will smell exactly the same. - this won't be that bad this year. We have finished the porch at the lake, so the the mosquitoes are screened OUT.
3.DO....use sunscreen liberally while at the lake. If you are as fair-skinned as I am, it won't take long for you to burn to a crisp. There is nothing worse than having to try to concentrate on cards through a severe hangover, but if you add in a toasty sunburn, it will become much worse. - same, especially for any light skinned whities like me.
4.DO......bring your camera and take lots of pictures of the festivities. DO NOT, however, post any pictures without the permission of all the bloggers. Some could care less if their picture is plastered all over the inter-webs, but some do NOT want their pictures up for all to see. Make sure you have permission before posting a picture of somebody on your blog. - this is EXACTLY the same, always get permission.
5.DO....be extremely careful on the jet ski's. Our lake is up a good 6-7 feet higher than normal and that leads to hiding alot of obstacles that are normally in plain sight. I will direct you where NOT to go from the shore, but once you are on the lake, please stay in the middle of the lake as much as possible. Also, if the water starts looking red, you are about to run aground, so slow down. Oklahoma dirt is red clay, hence the mud is also red and when the water starts looking red, it is getting very shallow, right Josh? - the lake is only up about a foot over normal right now so the shallow spots are back this year.
6.DO NOT......expect anybody, other than a fellow blogger, to lay down a hand at the tables in Oklahoma. I like to compare the tables here to playing .10/.25 NL on-line and you all know what that is like, so be prepared, flop a monster or get out of the douchebag's way, because his 3rd pair, shitty kicker is GOLD, JERRY, absolute GOLD. - DITTO
7.DO....arrive with a smile on your face, ready to have a good time. Me and my entire staff (ok, that's just the wifey and Maudie) will do our best to make you feel at home and to insure that everyone has a good time. - this is, again, exactly the same. I'm also happy to announce that Oossuuu754 will be joining us again this year and acting as one of our co-hosts.
8.DO....feel free to make yourself at home at my house and my lake place. I wouldn't have invited you if I didn't want you here, so make yourself at home and enjoy yourself. - DITTO
9.DO NOT.....attempt to ride the jet ski's if you are shit-faced drunk. I won't let you. The Highway Patrol boat will definitely be on the water and will also definitely write you a ticket if you don't follow the rules. Some of those rules are: Stay 100 yards clear of other boats, jet ski's, skiers, etc. Basically, do not follow anything or come close to anything while you are out on the water. We will take care of getting everybody on the water that wants to ride early enough in the day that this won't be a problem. The plan is to be off the water by late afternoon and either at the bar or the trailer for the rest of the evening. - same.exact.plan. without the travel snafus this year that ended up costing us jet-ski time.
10.DO.....feel free to drink as much as you like while here. I will make sure that you get a ride, if you need one, by somebody that will be much more sober than I. Also, at the lake, everyone is allowed to partake as much as they want. The water is 1/4 mile from the bar and the bar is less than 1/4 mile from my trailer. We can walk (or stumble) back, if necessary. -LOL, I forgot about this one. Suffice it to say, the drinking will be in full force again this year.
I've had a number of people that have told me they are "interested" or "definite maybe's" and a good number of folk that are coming for sure. I can't begin to tell you how much fun we are going to have, if I have anything to do with it, but if you have any doubts, go back to July 2007 and check out the blog posts from last year. Follow the links and read the comments, if you don't make it, you are truly missing out.
Until next time, I fold.
G
posted by GaryC @ 4:28 PM,
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No More Chat For Me
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
I can't stand it anymore. I've turned into the bitter ass-hat that I loathe so much.
I've run poorly, caught no cards and, to be honest, played pretty poorly for a couple of weeks now. (longer than that in blogger tourneys) Since my initial "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" post, I have become that exact dillweed and I can't play good poker that way, plus, I feel bad after I do it.
So, my chat ban is back in full effect, but not so I don't see what others are saying, more for me to help reign in my emotional outbursts. Whoever that was last night in the Skillz series, I apologize. I still hate your play in that spot, but I'm sorry I called you a moron.
I am going to be on LivePokerRadio tonight as a guest, at least for a little while. You should already be tuning in to them on an almost-nightly basis, because Buddy and Instant Tragedy are doing a fantastic job. Also, tonight, for your viewing pleasure, the Mookie is on at Full Tilt on what will be one of the last couple of opportunities for some lucky blogger to win their way into the Tournament of Champions.
Good luck to everybody and I'll see you tonight. I'll be the one NOT responding in the chat box.
Until next time, I ban my own chat and I fold,
G
I've run poorly, caught no cards and, to be honest, played pretty poorly for a couple of weeks now. (longer than that in blogger tourneys) Since my initial "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" post, I have become that exact dillweed and I can't play good poker that way, plus, I feel bad after I do it.
So, my chat ban is back in full effect, but not so I don't see what others are saying, more for me to help reign in my emotional outbursts. Whoever that was last night in the Skillz series, I apologize. I still hate your play in that spot, but I'm sorry I called you a moron.
I am going to be on LivePokerRadio tonight as a guest, at least for a little while. You should already be tuning in to them on an almost-nightly basis, because Buddy and Instant Tragedy are doing a fantastic job. Also, tonight, for your viewing pleasure, the Mookie is on at Full Tilt on what will be one of the last couple of opportunities for some lucky blogger to win their way into the Tournament of Champions.
Good luck to everybody and I'll see you tonight. I'll be the one NOT responding in the chat box.
Until next time, I ban my own chat and I fold,
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:03 PM,
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one of THOSE weekends
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
You know the one. I'm sure you've had them, as well.
My family took the day off Friday and they all drove down to the lake on Thursday right after work. I stayed home because I had to work on Friday.
My wife called during the morning on Friday just to "check in" and "see how things are going." Oh, and by the way, "Do you know where the battery chargers are for the jet ski's?" Insta-freaking-work tilt. I got home Friday night and settled in to play some poker, since I had to stay in town and work on Saturday................except that I wasn't in much of a mood to play. So, I didn't play much, went to bed early and got up and went to work on Saturday morning.
I got off at Noon after wasting approximately 5 hours of my life sitting around and waiting for the customers that never showed up. I went home, ate lunch and loaded all the equipment to take to the lake for karaoke that evening and finally, around 3:00 pm, I took off west. Of course, I got almost to El Reno when the damn phone rang and I had to turn around and meet somebody back at the office. You see, I'm on call all weekend when it is my Saturday to work also.
Finally, around 4:00 pm, I took off and made it all the way down to the lake. We set up karaoke, ran the show, got to bed around 3:00 am and somehow managed all of this without one single phone call from work. I got up Sunday morning just in time to see EVERYBODY in the area heading to the water. Jet ski's, boats, skiers, the whole lot. I could feel the tilt rising up in the back of my throat like vomit.
I took off and headed for home, knowing full well that if I stayed down at the lake for shenanigans, that damn phone would ring and I would have to change clothes and drive back to the city anyway. Sunday was quiet, but first thing Monday morning, I get a phone call. "Wow, are you guys open today?" No sir, I have the on-call phone in case of emergencies.............and at 7:30 am on Monday morning, Memorial Day no less, that guy decided his call wasn't an emergency.
I did however get to drive in to work around Noon and set out a part for one customer. All in all, a complete and total waste of what could have been such a fun weekend.
Blech.
Until next time, I fold.
G
posted by GaryC @ 6:09 PM,
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I Agree With Otis
Friday, May 23, 2008
Thanks to all the commentors on my last couple of posts. I really appreciate those of you who stopped by and had something to say..................except for you low-life spammers.
In the words of the immortal Dr. Dre:
"ass, grass or gas, biotches, nobody rides for free."
And, in the words of the equally immortal JJok:
BLOW!!!
Until next time, I delete spammer comments.
G
In the words of the immortal Dr. Dre:
"ass, grass or gas, biotches, nobody rides for free."
And, in the words of the equally immortal JJok:
BLOW!!!
Until next time, I delete spammer comments.
G
Addition: First one in a LONG time.
posted by GaryC @ 2:59 PM,
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Chicken Fried Wednesday
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Dinner for 4 at Ozzie's in Norman - $27
Gas for my truck to drive to Norman - $93.75
Max Buy-in at Riverwind 1/2 game - $200
Bud Light at the table - $3
Hanging out for 3+ hours with great friends and good people - PRICELESS!!!!
--
I still remember walking into the Thunderbird Casino 3 years or so ago for my first-ever blogger meetup. I was nervous. I headed straight down to Norman from work on that Friday and walked into the poker room not having any idea what to expect. I left some 5 hours later with two new friends and a completely different perspective on this thing we call poker blogging.
Last night after work, I again made that drive down to Norman for a blogger meetup. CK and F-Train's fabulous whirlwind tour of Americana rolled through Oklahoma City and more precisely, Norman, home of the world famous Miss Maudie. This time though, we didn't meet up at the casino. I drove straight to Maudie's home for my 2nd visit there and met up with my good friends.
Maudie, CK, F-Train and I could not be any more different people. Size, nationality, age, occupation, etc. You couldn't put a lineup together with four people so incredibly different. You also could not throw four people together at random that were so alike, personally. Good peoples. For those of you that have never taken the plunge and gone to Vegas, or Weekend At Mookies, or Eh-Vegas, or even Okie-Vegas, I cannot tell you the valuable friendships you will make from giving it a go.
I also remember more than two years ago, Maudie was after me to make the Vegas trip in December of that year. I wanted to go, but I was a bit nervous about it. Suffice it to say, it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. The group, as a whole, welcomed me into the fold much like Dugglebogey and Maudie did that first night at the Thunderbird Casino.
I can remember last December, standing by the bar after being ousted from the tournament, drinking a cool Jack and Coke with F-Train and just chatting. He had taken the flight that summer and come in for Okie-Vegas and, I like to think, we've become better friends because of that.
I'm not an A-lister, nor am I a great writer, story-teller, strategist, etc. I just like the fact that I am accepted into this group, regardless of my ability to write, and because of the fact that I try to write and I play poker. I'm also not the best poker player. I understand that too. I play too tight, call too much and overall, play that weak/tight game that so many of you loathe. I can live with that too.
The things that have made this blog, and many others, continue on for as long as they have are the friendships developed along the way. If you have never gone to a blogger meetup, but have always felt like you wanted to go, take that plunge. You will not regret it, I promise.
--
How about some honest to goodness poker content for a change? Since I actually got off my ass and went to a casino to play live last night, I thought I might discuss some of the goings on.
CK and Maudie were seated before us and they were seated at different tables. Eventually, they opened a new table and F-Train and I were able to sit together, he in the 6 seat and me in the 7. We were joined my a motley group of mostly college kids and were both licking our chops with the prospect of playing some poker with youngsters who thought they knew what they were doing. They all bought in short for $100. The game was 1/2 NL and we expected a wild ride.
Wrong!
What we witnessed was the tightest 1/2 NL game in the history of Oklahoma Casinos, from a bunch of college-age guys. I couldn't believe it. We must have gone 8-10 hands before we even saw a showdown, much less a re-raise.
Finally, with a few straddles and re-raises with air, I'm sure, F-Train began to single-handedly loosen up the table.....well, except for the fat guy on his left. He eventually takes a big pot off the only other aggressive player at the table with a semi-cooler when his A-8 from the button beats the kids Q-8 from mp on a 8-8-x-x-A board. The kid to my left says "nice catch" to F-Train, which I don't think he heard. I said, "Dude, he didn't need the Ace, he was ahead the whole way." Doh! Don't tap the glass.
Later on, my big hand of the night came up. The 3 seat, who I had pegged as a decent player, raised to $10 and I smooth-called with 6-6. Everybody else folded and we saw a flop of Q-10-6. BOOM! All spades. Not so much boom. He immediately fired $25 into the pot. Insta-bet it. F-Train and I had discussed betting patterns a bit over the evening and everything about this kid's bet just screamed weakness.
I thought for a bit and made the call. The kid had $52 behind and when the turn came another spade, I could see in his face that he didn't have one. Let me also say that I fully thought I was ahead here. He had a pained look on his face and finally checked it to me and I immediately tossed $50 into the pot. I knew deep down in my soul that this kid did not have a spade. No freaking way.......and, he didn't. He folded his Q-Q for top set face up. Wow, bad read by me, other than knowing that he didn't have a spade. I was drawing to one-outer to win and a 9-outer to chop.
The moral of the hand for me was this. I had watched this kid lay down at least three other hands, when he raised pre-flop, to aggression later in the hand on coordinated boards. While it turned out that I was WAY behind, I went with my read when that fourth spade hit the board and was lucky that he was able to fold top set. Anybody else at that table insta-calls the rest of their stack in that spot and I lose 99% of the time.
By the by, I showed him my bottom set and he took it like a man and said nice bet. I shook his hand and told him tough hand on our way out the door.
--
It was a great night in Norman with great friends. Thanks to Maudie for the hospitality, as always and to F-Train and CK:
May this truly be the adventure of your lives. I hope you will continue to write about it on a regular basis, because for us cube monkeys, stuck in our own little rat race here at home, it might be the closest we ever get to having that type of adventure.
Goodluck, God bless and Godspeed.
Until next time, I fold.
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:04 PM,
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Two Words
Monday, May 19, 2008
Okie-Vegas!!!!
At a month and a half to go, I can officially say that I am starting to get excited about Okie-Vegas 3, finally. With a little real-life tilt swirling around me, I have about another week to go before I am officially off-tilt and will be sliding into near-full-time lake mode. I have to work Memorial Day weekend and miss out on drunken lake shenanigans for the most part, but following that weekend, I will be making almost non-stop Friday evening trips down to the Crows Roost.
We had a great weekend this past weekend, attending my oldest daughter's graduation ceremonies on Friday night and then helping out with a little graduation party for her at her Mom's house on Saturday afternoon/evening. She had nearly 30 folks show up and received a plethora of good/useful gifts for her graduation. Lots of nice folks and lots of good times were had. I even managed to avoid ex-wife tilt for most of the evening and let me tell you, if you think poker-tilt is bad, WOW, ex-wife tilt is the absolute worst I have ever experienced. May you go through your entire life without having to go through that.
Anyway, back to Okie-Vegas. The festivities will officially begin on Wednesday, July 9th and run through Sunday, July 13th. Actually, the 13th will be spent shuttling people back and forth to the airport and trying to recover from what is sure to be an epic Saturday night at our house, full of tournament poker, cash games galore and karaoke. If you think you aren't singing on Saturday night in my living room, I suggest you re-think that right now, because when the liquor starts flowing, you just might find yourself on youtube the next day.
For anybody that might want to make an extended trip out of it, I offer you this option. Surflexus will be flying in here on either Thursday, the 3rd, or Friday, the 4th and making a preliminary trip down to the lake with us for karaoke and lake shenanigans on the weekend prior. If you have the vacation time to burn and would like to join us, I will make sure to pick you up at the airport and drag you down to the lake with us. (insert fishing/noodling adventure here)
Surf and I are taking the entire week off to hang out, karaoke, play poker and to get a head start on all the arrangements that will need to be made. I believe our first arrivals will be on Wednesday, the 9th, but if you want to/need to fly in earlier than that, just let me know and I will make the necessary arrangements for transportation, etc. I'll even get you a Google map of the nearest liquor store, if need be.
Right now, the plans are tentative at best, but I would think there will be poker involved on Wednesday and/or Thursday and perhaps an earlier trip to the lake on Thursday evening this year, giving us an entire day on Friday to play on the water, play poker, drink beer, etc. The plan last year was interrupted by travel snafus and if that is the case this year, we will be flying by the seat of our pants again. I can comfortably house 10 or so at the lake and also have my buddy's trailer down there where we can sleep another 5 or 6. There is also a small motel down there that has, I think, 8 rooms for about $35 a night, if we have that many folks.
Saturday will be a long, long day at our house. We will get up fairly early and drive back to the city for a blogger lunch, meet and greet, autograph session, etc. I'll be the hung over/drunk hippie busting out rap songs on the karaoke in the front room, so, know that going in. We will eat, drink, be merry and try to start the tournament around 3 pm-ish. I haven't worked on the structure of the tournament yet, but it will be the same type as last year. Long levels (because that's how I like it) and a single, one-time re-buy OR add-on. Just like last year, this is more of a save for somebody that takes a bad beat right off the bat, so you can still get back into the tournament.
What I would like from you all is this:
I am going to start a spreadsheet with phone numbers, etc. for anybody that is planning on attending. Get with me either via email, YahooIM (gcoxy25) or by phone and let me know if you are going to attend, when you will be arriving, what your plans are while you are here, etc. I will do my best to accomodate as many requests as possible, but with the numbers getting bigger every year, some requests don't get handled and I will apologize for that up front.
Until next time, I fold.
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:21 PM,
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My Little Girl
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
It doesn't seem remotely possible.
Gotta hold on easy as I let you go, gonna tell you how much I love you, though you think you already know. I remember I thought you looked like an angel wrapped in pink so soft and warm, you've had me wrapped around your finger since the day you were born.
Eighteen and a half years ago, November 21st, 1989, my first wife and I were settling into bed when it happened. Her water broke and we were off to the hospital. I was 24 and she was only 19 at the time. We honestly had no idea what we were getting ourselves into back then.
We had just moved to LA that summer for my job and I already hated it. The traffic and the smog and the crime, it was not some place that I wanted to be. I can understand the allure and, had I grown up in that environment, maybe I would look at it differently, but, suffice it to say, this small town boy had enough of LA in the first few weeks we were there. When we moved into our apartment, north of LA in Glendale, we hadn't been settled two hours when our first earthquake hit. It was a small one, around a 4.0, but it took my wife and I an hour or so to figure out what had just happened. Yeah, we were still wet behind the ears back then.
I was just closing my eyes for a good night's sleep when my wife came out of the bathroom. It's time, she said. Having never been through anything like this before, we were excited, scared and panicking all at once. Somehow, I managed to get us to the hospital without having a wreck and we settled in there, for what would be the longest 36 hours of our life.
It was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and most of the doctors were home with their families, so we had interns for the most part, for 36 hours. She went into labor some time late Tuesday night, but could not reach the point of delivery. Some time on Wednesday morning, they gave her the shot to ease her pain and that shut down the labor completely. While she was out of tremendous pain, she was also making absolutely no progress in bringing our baby into the world.
Did I mention it was 36 hours? Finally, at around 8:00 am on Thanksgiving Day, a doctor came in and asked what we thought about a C-section? My wife and I couldn't get yes out of our mouths fast enough and the doctors started readying her for delivery. Once we were in the delivery room, clean and sterile, with my wife drugged up pretty good and me in those cute little gowns and slippers, the doctors started to work.
10:34 am on Thanksgiving Day. They wrestled my daughter out of the womb and welcomed her to the world. She was not happy at all. As the nurses cleaned her up and checked her vitals, she let loose a serious fit. We wouldn't realize it at the time, but it was probably the worst fit she ever threw. I know I've mentioned it before, but my daughter was a great kid. Anyway, after a few minutes with the nurses and with my daughter still screaming, the nurses walked over and handed me my daughter, wrapped in a pink blanket and screaming to beat the band.
I pulled her close to me and looked down into her eyes and the world stopped. It absolutely took my breath away and just as suddenly, my daughter stopped crying and looked up at her Daddy for the first time, tears rolling down my face and she just laid there as if she knew she was in the right place now. No more crying (except by me) and no more fit, just laying in her Daddy's arms and looking up at him with those baby blues.
When you were in trouble that crooked little smile could melt my heart of stone, now look at you, I've turned around and you're almost grown. Sometimes you're asleep I whisper "I love you" in the moonlight at your door, as I walk away, I hear you say, "Daddy, love you more."
I'm writing all of this now because like I said at the start of this post, it does not seem even remotely possible that my little girl is getting ready to graduate from High School this week. She's turned into quite a little lady and I am very proud of her. We've had our bumps and bruises along the way, like any family, but I must say, she has handled the good times and the bad times as well as any kid could have handled them. I love you Alex, don't ever forget that.
You're beautiful baby from the outside in, chase your dreams but always know that road that'll lead you home again. Go on take on this old world, but to me you know you'll always be.....my little girl.
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Until next time, I fold.
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:53 PM,
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Good Kind Of Tired
Monday, May 12, 2008
This weekend was Mother's Day all over the world. I'm sure all you guys know that, if not before this weekend, surely somebody has mentioned it to you by now.
I've spent the last 18 years or so away from my Mom on this special weekend. For the last 14 or so, I spent this exact weekend in Kansas playing in my one softball tournament per year. Always on Mother's Day. So, short of a quick phone call on Sunday morning and having some flowers or such delivered that weekend, I've pretty much been a bad son when it comes to this particular weekend.
Hopefully, what happened this weekend made up for some of those lost 18.
When I went over to my hometown on the weekend of my Nanny's 95th birthday party, my Mom mentioned that she really needed a section of her fence replaced. We looked it over and, although it would have worked for me for a few more years, I could see that she really wanted it replaced. So, when I got to work that next Monday, I pulled out my calendar and picked a date where I had nothing planned, not even looking at which weekend it was and not even knowing that it would be Mother's Day weekend.
Normally, I would be packing and planning the family softball trip for weeks in advance, but with kids graduating and a multitude of real-life things going on in everybody's life, we decided we couldn't do the softball trip this year, as a team. It's the first year in the last 16 or so that Eazy Street Softball Club hasn't been in Great Bend, Kansas for their annual CASA softball tournament. I'm sure no tears were shed by our annual competitors, although at our age, we have struggled to stay competitive.
Anyway, back to Friday night, my good friend Bill decided he was going to make the trip over with me and help me with the fence and any other chores my Mom might have for us. Many thanks to him for his friendship and his help this weekend. We got over there about 7 pm on Friday night and ate dinner. After surveying the job to be done, we set out for Lowe's and loaded down my truck with the proper supplies.
We started early on Saturday morning and by around 5 pm, we had finished. My Mom treated us to a huge Mexican feast and when we got home, we were both done. We had a couple of small jobs to do on Sunday, but got up and knocked them out and drove back to OKC around Noon.
I cannot tell you the last time I've been as sore as I am today. Perhaps the last high school football game I ever played, some 28 years ago, but something tells me even that wasn't as bad as this. I can barely lift my arms over my head, my legs feel like rubber, except for the pain and my back, oh my back, well, let's just say I didn't sleep comfortably yesterday at all. I took about a 6 hour shower yesterday with the hot water pounding my back and that made things better, but damn if I'm not sore this morning.
Oh well, it was all worth it to get all of the chores done for the one person in this world that is always on my side. I love you Mom and hope that this weekend somehow made up for a few of those that I've missed over the years.
Happy Mother's Day.
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:07 PM,
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Malaise Part 2
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
First off, thanks to all of my IFF's who called, IM'ed or emailed me following that last ghastly post. I appreciate the concern, but it's really unwarranted, at this point. I'm just stuck in a bad spot personally right now. It's been worse and it's been better, so I don't have a ton of room to complain.
As I sit here in my temporary jail cell, Oklahoma is dark. The rain is beating down on the top of my metal, portable building and I find it hard to put myself in my "happy place." I know it's there, I'm just having a hard time locating it these days and again, it's not end-of-the-world stuff I'm dealing with here, just typical ups and downs of everyday life. The weather certainly isn't helping matters though. My mood was already dour, so when you combine that with this rain, well, I'd rather be home.
The wife and I have been fighting off the effects of some strain of virus for almost two weeks. We originally thought it was allergy related, but now, not so much. The drainage, coughing and overall uncomfortability that has accompanied this particular sickness makes us that much more miserable. She finally got some of that good cough medicine though and that helps, at least with the sleeping part. Codeine > Nyquil.
I typically don't wake up at night, EVER. But this recent bout of coughing has awoken me on 3 or 4 different occasions over the last two weeks and when my sleep pattern is interrupted, I am not a happy camper. I can live on 3 or 4 hours of sleep per night, if necessary, but do NOT interrupt my sleep or I am a total mess the next day and, generally, the day after that, as well.
Poker has been near non-existent the last few days. Just a few quick, hit and run sessions at the cash Limit tables. Tonight, though, that changes. I have absolutely no plans for this evening other than to get that beer iced down early and to hit the tables hard tonight.
For those of you under a rock somewhere near Tibet, the MOOKIE is tonight on Full Tilt Poker. Also, if you haven't heard or are dead, BuddyDankRadio will be on the air I'm sure and those guys are always entertaining. There aren't many opportunities left to earn those TOC seats, so here's your chance. I liken my chance at a TOC seat to that of a snowball in hell, if you know what I mean. I'm just sayin'.
I certainly haven't played enough events to give it a concerted effort and when I have played, I've been distracted or otherwise noncommittal toward anything resembling solid poker. My feelings still haven't changed, but I don't see the need to recap that here, so I won't. I will probably be trying to play as many events as possible in the coming weeks, just to see if I can luckbox in, but if I have something else to do with my time, I certainly won't be heartbroken about missing a tournament.
--
The new issue of Truckin' is out (again, for those of you living under a rock) and you should, by all means, go check it out and support Pauly and the rest of the authors. It is always a worthwhile read. I'm sure you don't need me to confirm that for you, but if so, I give it two hearty thumbs up.
As I sit here in my temporary jail cell, Oklahoma is dark. The rain is beating down on the top of my metal, portable building and I find it hard to put myself in my "happy place." I know it's there, I'm just having a hard time locating it these days and again, it's not end-of-the-world stuff I'm dealing with here, just typical ups and downs of everyday life. The weather certainly isn't helping matters though. My mood was already dour, so when you combine that with this rain, well, I'd rather be home.
The wife and I have been fighting off the effects of some strain of virus for almost two weeks. We originally thought it was allergy related, but now, not so much. The drainage, coughing and overall uncomfortability that has accompanied this particular sickness makes us that much more miserable. She finally got some of that good cough medicine though and that helps, at least with the sleeping part. Codeine > Nyquil.
I typically don't wake up at night, EVER. But this recent bout of coughing has awoken me on 3 or 4 different occasions over the last two weeks and when my sleep pattern is interrupted, I am not a happy camper. I can live on 3 or 4 hours of sleep per night, if necessary, but do NOT interrupt my sleep or I am a total mess the next day and, generally, the day after that, as well.
Poker has been near non-existent the last few days. Just a few quick, hit and run sessions at the cash Limit tables. Tonight, though, that changes. I have absolutely no plans for this evening other than to get that beer iced down early and to hit the tables hard tonight.
For those of you under a rock somewhere near Tibet, the MOOKIE is tonight on Full Tilt Poker. Also, if you haven't heard or are dead, BuddyDankRadio will be on the air I'm sure and those guys are always entertaining. There aren't many opportunities left to earn those TOC seats, so here's your chance. I liken my chance at a TOC seat to that of a snowball in hell, if you know what I mean. I'm just sayin'.
I certainly haven't played enough events to give it a concerted effort and when I have played, I've been distracted or otherwise noncommittal toward anything resembling solid poker. My feelings still haven't changed, but I don't see the need to recap that here, so I won't. I will probably be trying to play as many events as possible in the coming weeks, just to see if I can luckbox in, but if I have something else to do with my time, I certainly won't be heartbroken about missing a tournament.
--
The new issue of Truckin' is out (again, for those of you living under a rock) and you should, by all means, go check it out and support Pauly and the rest of the authors. It is always a worthwhile read. I'm sure you don't need me to confirm that for you, but if so, I give it two hearty thumbs up.
Truckin' - May 2008, Vol. 7, Issue 5
Welcome to our 72nd issue of Truckin'!
1. Sundays by Paul McGuire I held four crappy jobs and had to work on Sundays at an art museum. Most of the time, I got baked in the parking lot and just stood around making sure the post-church and post-brunch crowd kept their grubby mitts off the paintings... More
2. Prison Justice by Dr. Chako Hateem's crime must have been grave. They broke his ankles and elbows, of course. What happened next is beyond human understanding. At least five executioners must be involved. After the arms and legs, you'd think Hateem's spirit would be broken, but you'd be wrong. They must be swift. From the time the gag comes out, the screaming must be intolerable... More
3. Egotistical: Three Examples by Sean Lovelace The radio was playing angry girl bands. I love and have always loved angry girl bands. They have what I call fuck you. Also I was waiting on a girl. A cute bra-less girl who would soon leap off a balcony... More
4. High School Reunion by Johnny Hughes He kept asking me if I remembered people which I didn't, but he told me all about them anyway. No one would ever forget Bobby, especially me. Now the most mellow guy in West Texas had a license to carry a hand gun... More
5. Ode to.... by Dusty Rhodes Death is natural. We will all die and we will all have friends and family that die. It is a hard thing to deal with but it has to be done. People cry, people act strong, people try to empathize but can't truly understand what it is that you are going through. Our experiences are all different but I can't imagine anyone who likes dealing with these things... More
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Until next time, I fold.
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:18 PM,
,
Guess Who Will Take It Down!
Monday, May 05, 2008
888.com, one of the biggest online gambling companies, decided to give all poker players around the world the chance to win millions of dollars.
While this is mostly an online poker tournament, the 888WPC final event will take place at a casino as a live poker event. The final 10 players that reach the final stage of the online tournament will be invited to play in this exclusive event (which will be broadcast live on TV) and win the big prize (guaranteed total prizes of $3 million and a guaranteed first prize of
$1 million!).
This huge prize is for anyone to take. The World Poker Crown Final Event at Perlada Castle in Barcelona, Spain between May 6th to May 10th will be broadcast live on television and the internet.
As mentioned above, you could watch the live tournament on the internet at:
http://WPC.888.com/ and vote for who you think will win. The viewers will get a chance to win a $17K package to the WSOP (World Series of Poker - another live poker event that will take place in Las Vegas later on - these are two separate events).
In addition, there will be three events during the broadcast:
Pre-event: all you need to do is to vote. All players who voted until the event started are eligible to play an online tournament that will start 3 hours later, giving the winner 1 WSOP package ($17K).
During the event: freerolls in the 888forum for all members who post their username, prizes are tickets to your WSOP qualifiers ($550).
Post-event: another online tournament will be held, this time awarding
3 WSOP packages (3x$17K). This is open only to those who guessed / placed their bet on the player who actually won the WPC.
Vote now to win a free WSOP $17,000 package!
posted by GaryC @ 6:34 AM,
,
Malaise
Thursday, May 01, 2008
---a vague or unfocused feeling of mental uneasiness, lethargy, or discomfort.
That would be me in a nutshell right now. Life is busy, work is busy, I'm fighting off allergy attacks at every turn and in general, I am damn unfocused right now. Not sure when that is going to change, but for about the past two weeks, I really haven't given a shit about much that is going on in my world.
My oldest daughter graduates high school in two weeks and we have a robing ceremony, the actual graduation and then, the graduation party to look forward to. I say "look forward to" with the very best possible intentions, because right now, I'm not really looking forward to it very much at all. I am thrilled for my daughter, she's a great kid, she makes good grades and I am verry proud of her, but the general feeling of blech right now that envelops me is surely affecting my feelings about everything.
I will be heading over to my Mom's house for a weekend of chores next weekend. I was looking forward to that since we planned it more than a month ago. Now? Eh, not so much. It has nothing to do with the chores or with visiting my Mom, I enjoy doing the little things to help her out and would do anything in my power to get over there more often, but, as with everything right now, it's just another weekend.
The weekend of the 24th would normally be something to point towards since it is a long weekend with the Memorial Day holiday on Monday. We have karaoke scheduled at the lake and I would normally be stoked about getting out on the water all day on that Sunday, but alas, I have to work that weekend and will be on call, so it will be a short trip down on Saturday evening and then back to the city on Sunday, because as sure as I stay down there, I will get a phone call and have to drive back in to work on Sunday or Monday.
I can't honestly say there is any one thing that is causing the feelings I'm having right now, because other than a bad case of the blechs, things really seem to be going well. I have a great family, alot of great friends and am able to spend as much time away from the city as I want most times. I'm not really sure what to make of all of this, but I do know it's a problem and I am working on it.
Unfortunately, it is spilling over to the poker tables as well. I've gotten to the point that one bad beat or one suckout ruins the night and, rather than plug away trying to make that money back, I just flip off the computer and either watch TV or go to bed. It's hell getting old, you know?
I missed what was probably my 4th Mookie tournament in the last 3 years last night because of that very reason. I was playing some $2/$4 on Stars and running pretty well until a guy, that I had tagged, chased a gutter-ball all the way to the river and cracked my Queens. Ugh. Log off. Turn off computer. Hit the sack.
At least I am not allowing myself to go on Red Alert Tilt right now. The red alert feelings are still there after a hand like that, but luckily I've resisted the urge to chase those losses and to do something incredibly stupid.
I'm not sure how much longer I am going to be feeling this way, but until I reach the point of feeling better in general, I will probably be pretty much off the air. I know that isn't something that concerns the vast majority of you, but for my friends, everything is cool, I'm just trying to get my groove back and this time, it really has nothing to do with poker.
Until next time, I fold.
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:11 PM,
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