Good News For People Who Love Bad News

Man...poker is sure a humbling game. About 2 weeks ago, I deposited $130 in Absolute Poker and $150 at Full Tilt. Well, I worked the $130 at Absolute up to about $350, and the $150 at Full Tilt up to about $200. I was playing pretty well, getting some good breaks, and all my bluffs were working. And then...it all went to shit. In the past week, I lost all $350 at Absolute Poker, and I just cashed out only $143 at Full Tilt, and that's after receiving a $20 bonus. So I lost about $80 there. So I've lost about $430 in the past week, playing .50-$1 NL and .25-.5 NL. If that doesn't humble you in a hurry, I don't know what will. I'm going to take a break for about a week to refresh myself. I need to get away from it for a little while and get a fresh perspective. I've been playing so much, I just got in a rut and I couldn't get out. The good thing is that all of that is profit. I started out with $50, and with bonuses, sports betting, and poker, (even after thisatrociouss week) I still have $1,000. So I guess it could be worse.

We leave for Chicago in a few days. I need this little "get away" to re-charge my batteries. Hopefully it'll tide me over until I can get back to Vegas. I'll have a full trip report sometime next week. Later...

"There comes a time when every life goes off course. In this desperate moment, you must choose your direction. Will you fight to stay on path? Will others tell you who you are? Or will you label yourself? Will you be haunted by your choice? Or will you embrace your new path? Each morning you choose to move forward or simply give up.There comes a time when every life goes off course. In this desperate moment who will you be? Will you let down your defenses, and find solace in someone unexpected? Will you reach out? Will you face your greatest fear bravely? And move forward with faith. Or will you succumb to the darkness in your soul?"

Can't Stop This Thing We Started

So I'm back. I wish I had some awesome story to tell you about traveling the world or hitting the lottery or something…but I don't. My life has been painfully, well, painfully the same lately. I haven't done much to alter this routine, so I guess the only person to blame is the person typing these words. Which by the way, although they are arranged differently, are mostly the same words I've typed in the past 4 or 5 entries. I need to get a life!!

Poker was going good the past week or so, but I've managed to dust off all the profits from the past week in the past two nights. I attribute my success, and then my terrible failure to a couple things:

1. I was playing too many hands (i.e. suited connectors, big connectors like KQ & QJ, and small pairs) either too aggressively or out of position.

2. I was bluffing entirely too much…and getting away with it. So when I started to get called, it was big trouble.

3. I was calling too much, especially out of position.

All 3 of the problems listed above are BIG trouble. If you do any or all of these with any regularity, it's going to catch up with you. Couple those with a few bad beats (ex. My AQ against Q8 on a flop of QQ6. All the money went in on the flop, which was about $125 and the 8 hits on the river to send me packing with my balls in my stomach) and you get the past two days for me. Thems the breaks I guess, so it's time to stop feeling sorry for myself and correct the problems.

Onto other things. Next weekend Kylie and I are going to Chicago. We're flying out on Saturday morning and coming back late Sunday night, so it should be a nice little escape for us. I'm really looking forward to it, and I hope I can get some really cool pictures to post. I think we're both looking forward to getting away and spending some time together.

I'll try to post between now and then, but if not I'll have a full trip report afterwards. Everyone enjoy your weekend!!

"There are moments in our lives when we find ourselves at a crossroads. The choices we make in those moments can define the rest of our days. And, of course when faced with the unknown, most of us prefer to turn around and go back. But, once in a while, people push onto something better. Something found just beyond the pain of going it alone. And just beyond the bravery and courage it takes to let someone in. Or to give someone a second chance. Something beyond the quiet persistence of a dream. Because, it's only when you’re testedthat you truly discover who you are. And, it's only when you're tested that you discover who you can be. The person you want to be does exist; somewhere on the other side of hard work and faith and belief. And, beyond the heartache and fear of what lies ahead."

The Same Deep Water As You

What's up? I've been wanting to write something to post, but I just can't come up with anything worthwhile. I've lost whatever creative juices I used to have, and they probably weren't that creative anyways. So, most likely, I'm going to ramble on for a little while about absolutely nothing, and then end this thing…

Something horrible happened over the weekend, and it's simply ridiculous. Congress passed a bill that makes it illegal to gamble online. This bill is completely un-American, and it disgusts me. This bill makes it illegal for banks and credit card companies to process transactions with online gaming sites…they're trying to cut off the pipeline of money to online gambling. I personally don't think this will work because sites like Neteller will still be operational, and it's not illegal for banks to make transactions with sites like these. You simply make a deposit to Neteller from your bank account, and then deposit the money into the online gaming site from Neteller. The thing that is really going to hurt is that some companies are going to stop allowing U.S. customers to use their site. I truly don't think this is going to fly, and I think they'll be numerous lawsuits challenging the validity of this law, along with it's constutationality…if that's a word. But you get my drift. So, the "Race to 5K" might be cut short due to those conservative bastards that run our country. I mean, how much more ridiculous can it get? Americans are supposed to have freedom of choice, but this bill essentially eliminates our right to choose whether we want to gamble online or not…it's ludicrous.

On another front, there is A LOT of good T.V. shows on this season. I've been busy watching quite a few of them…along with College Football on Saturdays and the NFL on Sundays, I don't have much time to do anything besides work and watch T.V.!! I need to stop being such a lazy S.O.B. and start exercising or something…we'll see how that goes.

Well, I was hoping to write something meaningful this time, but as usual I failed miserably. I guess I just don't have that many interesting things to say…damn. I'll talk at you all again later...

"We are all vulnerable, and we all at some point in our lives will fall. We will all fall. It is these times...it is this pain, that allows us to look inside ourselves."