I'm Playing Great, but Running Bad

Not much going on lately. I've been playing great poker lately, but can't seem to fade other people's 5 card outs. Got all in with JJ against Q8o and K6o and the flop came KQx. What can I do? I managed to fold pocket kings after the flop of 9 8 2. I bet and got raised, and laid it down. I was right, because the other guy showed a set of 9's. I had a decent read on him, so I was confident my decision was right even if he didn't show his cards.

I'm playing in a tournment (and running it) on Saturday. Start with 10,000 in chips, blinds start at 25-50 and go up every 45 minutes. I'm really feeling confident about my game, and I think it's time for me to start winning like I should. I'm one of the best players in our game, and I'm ready for my results to start showing it. I'm going to stop playing big pots against inferior players, and chip away.

Well, I hope to post happy results this weekend! It should be fun regardless. I'm really ready to start taking this poker thing seriously, so I'm turning all my focus to Saturday. Hopefully no bad beats!

"Sometimes your bust and sometimes your flush, and when your up its never as good as it seems, and when your down you never think you'll be up again. But life goes on."

I'm Such a Slacker

I haven't posted in like two weeks, and there has been a lot that has happened since then. First off, the Buckeyes who were ranked #4 in the country took on the Texas Longhorns who were ranked #2. The Buckeyes pretty much dominated the game, but couldn't score in the red zone and ended up losing 25-22. It was a crazy atmosphere! This pic is one that I took on Lane Ave. before the game. Just a mass of humanity.

The day following the game I played in the largest live tournament that I've ever played. There was 135 people in the tournament, and only the top 10 spots paid. I played extremely well, and I was pretty much card dead all day. I ended up finishing 13th, just missing the money, but I was pretty happy with my performance. I played for 5 hours and only had 3 pocket pairs... 7's, and 8's twice. I had a really good shot at getting to the final table, and I was in great position to double up when I got it in with AK vs. A10, but the board paired twice and we chopped the pot. If I win that hand I feel like I'm for sure gonna cash, and have a good shot to win the first prize of $2,000.

Last Wednesday we played a cash game at a friend's house and I ended up winning like $7. Not a large amount by any means, but I felt like I played awesome. One hand of note: Guy in first position raises 4x the blind and the next guy, who is really tight calls. I look down at QQ, and decide to raise because 1. I know initial raiser has junk, and 2. I need to find out where I am with the caller who is a tight player. Well, initial raiser goes all in, and the caller calls. I now decide that I'm beat and lay the Queens down. Well initial raiser shows AJo, which was pretty much what I expected, and the caller shows KK. I made a great laydown, and I'm not so sure I could have done that 2 months ago.

I played a cash game today and lost $20. I had a couple bad breaks and I was down to about $9 when I picked up JJ, the best hand I'd seen all day, in the big blind. Small blind makes it 4x the BB, and I decided to push right there. He makes an absolutely horrific call with K10, and the first card off the deck is the King. If I win that hand I'm pretty close to even, but I lost the rest of my stack. I have the worst luck when it comes to hands like that, but I want that call every time. I'm winning that hand 75% of the time. Oh well.

The Vegas strip is calling my name! It's right at 3 months until my trip, so I'm starting to get excited. We're either gonna stay at Monte Carlo, The Mirage, or Treasure Island, and it looks like my friend Cheryl might join Pounds and I along with one of her friends from college. It should be a blast.

On another note, I've been feeling a little depressed lately because it seems like all my friends, and even people that I know that aren't really my friends are getting married. This is kind of depressing because I haven't had a relationship in like 2 years, so it doesn't look like I'll be getting married anytime soon. Not that I'm in a hurry or anything, but everyone seems to be starting their lives and families, and I seem to be stuck in neutral. I try to think that my time will come when it's supposed to, and that fate works in really weird ways, but you can only believe that stuff for so long. Guess I'll just go with the flow and see what happens.

Peace out homies!

" A person of nobility is one who can appreciate their noble
surroundings by appearing humble and gracious in the company of those who strive for nobility."

Hell on Earth

There hasn't been anything important going on in my life lately. Pretty much every night I've came home and watched the Hurricane Katrina coverage that has been going on. The hurricane hit Biloxi and Gulfport, Mississippi the hardest, and then devastated New Orleans when the levees broke and flooded the city. It is really like a disaster area down there, and my thoughts and prayers are with all of the victims down there.

My friend Eric and I were just down there over Memorial Day weekend. My cousin lives in Biloxi and we went to to visit with him and play some poker. I'm gonna post a few pictures that I took when we were down there, and then I'll post some of the pictures I got from the internet that were taken after the storm hit. It doesn't even look like the same placee, and it's going to take the whole Gulf Coast years to rebuild. Hopefully they'll decide to rebuild everything that was there and continue to provide jobs and income to everyone who worked there.

The Air Force base that my cousin was stationed at is 95% destroyed. His house is still standing, but a neighbor's tree fell on top of the garage and crushed it. That's actually good compared to what happened to most of the houses in Biloxi. He was smart and went to Alabama before the storm hit so he didn't have to worry about staying alive. I think he's coming back to Ohio for awhile because there isn't really anything left for him down there. I'm pretty sure he was planning on getting out of the Air Force anyways, so this pretty much just seals the deal I would think.

These are some pictures that I took of the nicest casino down there, the Beau Rivage. It's part of the MGM Mirage corporation. It was really a beautiful place, but I heard it suffered substantial damage in the storm. But it is still standing, which is more than can be said for most of the casinos.
This is a picture of the palace casino that was picked up and thrown by the storm. It is amazing what a storm with that kind of power can do...mother nature is an amazing force.

I forgot to mention that my friend Eric who went down the Biloxi with me is a member of the National Guard. He was called on Thursday night to go to Mississippi to provide support to the other troops who are contributing to the relief effort in the Gulf Coast. So good luck Eric, take care of yourself and get back so we can play some poker and gin.

The storm has also increased our gas prices because 30% of the country. Gas has gotten as high as $3.09 around here, and there have been reports of $6.00 gas in Atlanta. If that isn't price gouging, I don't know what is!

This is another picture of a building that was ripped from it's foundation and thrown by the 175 mph winds. It's amazing to see these pictures, but I couldn't imagine what it's like to see these things in person. Surreal I imagine.

Well that's pretty much all I have for now. I had some poker stuff, but it just doesn't seem all that important right now, so I'll save it for later.

" Success is knowing what you are made up of, in spite of what occurs to you. Greatness is a function of who you are and what you have. The difference between you and your place of glory is an event. Great men have dreams; great dreams rule the world. You are only a thought away from your dream and a step away from your greatness. Take a walk Sir!"