Monday, July 25, 2016

Come On September

Good morning everyone.  Sunday/Monday become my blog-writing day this week, without any real plan being in place beforehand.  For some mysterious reason, after I change my sleep schedule to play poker all night on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I end up being tired on Sunday.  Go figure...  I woke up at about noon yesterday after sleeping for five hours.  I almost talked myself into going to the Flamingo for some Sunday afternoon poker, but instead, I started writing an entry for my poker blog.  It's a good thing too, because at about 4:00 I hit the wall, and proceeded to take a 4-hour nap.  If you click on that link, you will find a very detailed post that summarizes my last week of playing poker.  I appeciate all of you who have found my new poker blog via this one.  For a blog that's in its infancy, it has received substantial traffic.  I also appreciate all of your support and positive comments.  As you can read in my poker blog ('Three Chips Poker'), July has been a successful month for me, despite some very bad beats.

July has also been very, very, very, very, VERY HOT!!!  Our average temperatures now in Las Vegas are highs of 110 with "lows" in the mid-80's.  It's looks like we're going to have another week of this before the mercury begins to drop just a little bit the following week.  With the combination of lower temperatures and the onset of the football season, I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of fall.  I still have to figure out how I'm going to play poker and watch football on the weekend during football season.  As I've told several people, my poker is the primary focus this time around, and my football betting will be secondary unless I begin finding some success there.  The best poker games can be found on the weekends when the tourists are in town, and that's when the majority of football games are played.  However, I can't stay up all night playing poker on Friday night, watching college football all day on Saturday, playing poker all night Saturday, and then watching football all day Sunday.  I have to sleep somewhere in there, despite my talent for staying awake for extended periods of time...  :)

As for my move, I still have two big duffle bags of stuff to sift through, but I've been wading through my things pretty tediously, and have thrown out several unnecessary items up to this point.  I'm also anticipating having a little more energy to do tasks in general once the stifling heat of the summer passes us by.  Come on September...  My new place has been fine, and I really don't like spending more time than necessary here anyway.  I didn't move to Las Vegas to be in my apartment.  I've never lived anywhere just to be in my apartment...  ;)  Even when I find some time to catch up on my poker studying, or to simply catch up with my out-of-state friends (via social networks), I'll likely do that from the Strip.  Yeah, probably from a sportsbook...  :)  To my credit, I've been so focused on my poker that I've hardly cracked open my football magazines yet.  So much studying to do...

As for the Strip, people still don't know how to look where they're going while walking.  They also love to congregate in their big tourist groups by huddling right smack in the middle of major walkways/pathways through the casinos and outdoors.  The abundance of baby strollers that can be found after dark on the Las Vegas Strip is not only frightening, but it also does a lot to expedite the flow of traffic.  Ugghhh...  I love people-watching. but it's much better when you're sitting back enjoying a cool beverage, and not when you're in a hurry to get somewhere...  ;)  Hopefully I can succeed enough with the poker that I can build some cushion into my bankroll, and then I'll take the time to do some detailed investigating into good Vegas stories for you.  Again, with my friends that I tag on Facebook to these blog entries, I can only notify twenty at once, so that's why I rotate through the different people who have supported my writing and my adventures.  Hopefully with my more steady writing schedule now (at the start of each week), everyone will know when to come here for new posts.

That's all I've got for you right now, but have a great week and I'll see you soon!  

  

Monday, July 18, 2016

I Cross Finish Lines

"I'm not the best.  I work hard.  I do not give up.  I keep going.  I cross start lines.  I cross finish lines..." -via Whitney Watson-

Good evening everyone.  Before I forget, if you want to keep up with my poker adventures, you can click this link here.  I actually need to start linking my poker blog back to this one...  :)  Anyway, I posted another poker entry there last night, and that blog has been well-received so far.  Like I was telling my friend Rob last night, having a "network" in place already (my friends' blogs on the right that are linked back to mine like I am to theirs, my Twitter followers, my friends that get here from Facebook) has helped my poker blog tremendously.  When I began writing this blog going on five years ago, it took some time to build up a following, and as always, I appreciate you taking the time to stop by and read about my life adventures.

That quote up there comes to you via my sister Whitney.  I'm using it here because it fits me PERFECTLY.  I actually removed the first line of the original quote because it said, "I'm not talented."  I feel that I possess a little talent...  :)  Anyway, Whit shared the meme on Facebook, and that meme pertains to running, which Miss Whitney has worked very hard at, and you can see how the words relate (crossing start and finish lines, etc...).  My edited version up there can almost be used as a personal motto for myself.  (NOTE:  Everytime I hear the word "motto" now, it still reminds me of my friend Drea, and when she delivered the line, "My motto is, my motto changes...").  :)  There's a blog post by that title back in these archives somewhere...  Anyway, a while back, I was very surprised when someone questioned my work ethic and my heart (among other things), because if you know me at all, I'm kind of a pretty hard-working, dedicated, diligent person...  Please weigh-in if you disagree.  :)  Anyway, when Whitney shared that meme, I was like, 'YES!," and I snagged it.  I do cross finish lines (and that other stuff)...  ;)

Since we're speaking of Whitney, let's talk for a moment about Whitney's mom and Tim Duncan...


Back in my younger days. when Brenda and myself were encouraging the Spurs to start winning championships (yes, we've been Spurs fans that long - I'm just realizing that for some people out there, the Spurs have been good during the course of their whole lives...).  Anyway, your friend 'Coach' received several Spurs jerseys (along with Red Sox and Steelers gear) over the course of many Christmases from Miss Brenda.  Thank you...  :)  You'd be shocked to learn that these jerseys are part of my poker wardrobe, and I specifically broke out the Silver and Black last week in honor of Tim Duncan's retirement.  I was actually cashing out my winnings at MGM a few nights back (like, LITERALLY at the counter, in a transaction) when a stranger comes up to me and brings up Duncan's retirement, in a very remorseful tone.  I was like, "well, Timmy has played for NINETEEN years..."  Am I really that old?  Anyway, I needed to give Timmy a shout out here.  It's been one hell of a ride during the 'Duncan Era.'  Five titles in six trips to the Finals over nineteen seasons.  Pretty special.  Thank you Timmy...

'Jaws.'  Okay, 'Jaws' and 'Jaws 2.'  Since returning to Las Vegas, and, more specifically, since I moved from my brother's house into my own place (and it's been almost a whole month now), I've stayed at home more than planned, sorting through and unpacking (and throwing away) my stuff that I've now dragged all over the country.  Well, the 'Jaws' movies have been shown on t.v. a lot (A LOT) this summer, and there have been so many times that they have been the best thing on t.v., so I've simply tuned-in while unpacking.  Rewind back to this past weekend, and the night that I played poker at MGM and Excalibur until the sun came up.  I was walking down the Strip in the early morning hours when I reached the Bellagio.  The Bellagio looks something like this...


So it's early in the morning, and the Strip is quiet, and I'm walking along, and I'm looking at all that water, when I CATCH MYSELF, as I realize that I've been scanning the top of the water, looking for damn fins...  :)  MAYBE I've seen the 'Jaws' movies once too often this summer...

Okay, I just wanted to touch base with you crazy kids, but if you click on that link above, I wrote a pretty detailed poker post last night if you haven't read it already.  Have a great week and I'll see you soon!






    

Monday, July 11, 2016

Home Run Derby

Good evening everyone.  I'm being lazy with the title tonight.  The MLB Home Run Derby is on right now, so there you go.  I'm coming off of a great Friday watching poker, and more specifically, the WSOP Ladies' Event at the Rio.  I just wrote a detailed entry about that experience at my other blog, Three Chips Poker, if you want to check it out.  My friend Joey also took a pretty good poker picture of me, so let me share that right now...


Upon seeing it, my brother Pete instantly cracked on the shirt, and commented on Facebook that it's an intimidating shirt for the players at the 2-4 limit tables.  Punk...  I told Joey that I'm using this photo all season long when we pick football games, just to bother Pete.  :)  My friend Nick told me that he wanted to be mentioned in a blog post, so let me just say that he's messaging me NONSTOP about his upcoming trip to Las Vegas, which is preventing me from writing right now (speaking of punks)...  :)

So I played poker at Bally's Saturday night, and pulled out a profit after being $70.00 down.  Yesterday I was resting (I have made my recent poker sessions go from 8:00 p.m. til 5:00 a.m., in the hopes of finding better games), and my friend Joey said that he could indeed take me shopping one more time before he leaves the country tomorrow on vacation.  I was about to ask my brother Pete, but he's still on his crazy summer work schedule between the Strip and the World Series of Poker.  Anyway, at that point, Joey had given me an excuse to stay in last night, so I did.  I actually crashed pretty early, as Joey picked me up at 7:00 this morning.  I'm trying to eat more healthy, and lots of veggies were on the agenda.  Tonight I'm doing blog posts, and may just stay in afterwards.  I still have three complete duffle bags of stuff to sort through, so I could justify staying in.  I haven't lost in a poker session so far this month, and if that continues, I can keep playing without doing more job hunting.  I still have some wash to do, but prefer doing that when the laundry room opens at 8:00 a.m., before it's 400 degrees outside.  This mid-July garbage can go.  110 degrees - pfffttt...  I definitely plan on playing poker the rest of the week starting tomorrow night, regardless.  If you hadn't noticed already, Monday/Tuesday look to be the days that I'll be blog-writing, except for the football predictions that will be coming to you on Fridays in a few short months at Coach's Parlay Card.  I think that's about it for now.  Check out the Three Chips poker post - Friday was enjoyable.  Otherwise, have a great week and I'll see you soon!

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

My 4th Of July

Hello everyone.  Well, so much for the best laid plans...  After being surprisingly disciplined over the past few weeks, refraining from poker for 14 days so that I could move, unpack, etc.., I had decided to play three sessions over the holiday weekend.  If you'll recall, the Flamingo Tournament two weeks ago was the last time I had played.  I was in a 4-way chop for first, getting back $680.00 for my $60.00 buy-in.  With my new resolve to play tournaments, I naturally found myself in cash games Saturday at the Flamingo.  It seems that I'm following in the footsteps of several of my poker-blogging friends, planning to do one thing, and then doing another...  ;)  Speaking of poker blogs, I'm going to get my blog that's dedicated to poker rolling now, so I'll be writing a more detailed summary of this weekend's play at Three Chips Poker.  Any of you who have spent time around me in the last ten years should get the 'three chips' moniker.  :)  Anyway, I made $100.00 on Saturday.  I made $34.00 in no-limit, then $5.00 in limit, followed by another $61.00 in no-limit.  I'm FINALLY starting to use game selection as more of a factor in my play.  If you'll notice, I also don't mind jumping between limit and no-limit games.  

Now let's talk about "Sunday..."  I stayed home longer than I had planned during the day, and didn't begin playing poker until almost 9:00 p.m. Sunday night.  Again, details on this session will be available at that link above in the near future.  I'll be writing that post right after I publish this one.  However, a few highlights for you now...  The 2-4 limit looked promising, so I sat as a new game was seated.  I was up $35.00 in less than two hours, and concluded that playing poker was just like printing money...  The highlight of this session was looking over the the 2-4 table closest to the Strip shortly after darkness fell.  I saw a dealer and ten chip stacks.  It seems that the WHOLE TABLE went outside to watch the fireworks.  I'm not joking...  :)  And yes, the Strip had fireworks on the 3rd, my days are right...  Anyway, maybe an hour later, and I'm now DOWN $23.00 for my 2-4 session, and I decide that limit sucks.  That's when I switched to a no-lmit game (around midnight), and after playing a short while, I got up and went home at 6:00 p.m., EIGHTEEN HOURS LATER...  I finished up $78.00 for that session, a net of +55 for the "day."  As I said, click on the link above, and you'll find the poker details there, including how a guy rivered a one-out straight flush to win a pot, and how I played a flopped royal-flush draw.  I have never had a royal flush in live play...

Now let's cover some general Vegas things...  While playing poker this weekend, a guy sitting by me bought a pack of cigarettes from the casino girl who walks around selling them and other assorted items (gum, candy, flowers, etc...).  The box of Marlboro Reds cost him FOURTEEN dollars...  I was at the bank today when a guy from out of town comes up to the teller right next to my line, and he makes a request to withdraw $6,000.00 in cash.  That's when you know you're in Las Vegas...  So, today was a stay at home day for me.  After that 21-hour session, I went to sleep at about 9:00 p.m. last night, woke up a few times, paid my rent today, and then slept for about another six hours this afternoon.  I see some more poker in my future this week and coming weekend...  :)  Anyway, this is blog day, and I have another one to write, so I'll touch base again with you soon.  Hope that you had fun on the 4th, and that you have a great weekend...

Saturday, July 2, 2016

Poker & Fireworks

Good morning everyone, and welcome to July...  I'd hate to sit here and brag about my self-discipline, but it's been two weeks since I've played poker.  HOWEVER, that's going to change today.  :)  I actually anticipated playing yesterday, but my week-plus of staying home and unpackng into my new apartment saw me staying awake into the wee hours of the morning several nights straight.  This became problematic when I attempted to readjust my sleep schedule so that I could hang out with my friend Joey yesterday.  Joey, who I dealt poker with at the Riviera, and who will be teaming up with my brother Pete and myself once again to bring you football predictions at Coach's Parlay Card (another of my blogs) picked me up in the early afternoon so that we could hit Walmart and the World Series of Poker.  Joey and Pete have yet to meet, and that idea was thwarted yesterday due to Joey's busy schedule.  Mr. Joey is about to take four weeks of vacation (two separate trips) in the next couple of months, so he had some errands to attend to yesterday.  However, those errands didn't prevent us from scoring these gems at Walmart...


While ESPN continues to ENDLESSLY cover Kevin durant's free agency, football season is actually sneaking up on us and will arrive just a bit before basketball begins.  Anyway, after Joey and I ensured that I won't starve for a while, we headed over to the Rio to check out some poker.  The $888.00 tourney taking place had tables going in all of the huge poker rooms, due to the numerous flights that were underway.  The $235.00 daily deepstack tourney had fewer than 700 entries yesterday, a very low turnout for this summer, especially on a Friday, and I attribute some of that to the $888.00 tournament.  It's always cool hanging out with Joey because we can talk seemingly nonstop about sports, poker, etc..., and the timing was good since he'll be out of town more days than not until football is upon us.  I'm sure that the highlight of Joey's day was seeing my innovative video setup for himself...


This is for the days that I can't get to the sportbooks after football begins.  Okay, who am I kidding?  I already have both t.v.'s on all the time...  :)

So on the homestead, I only have about three more bags (pretty sizable) to go through and unpack.  Other than that, it's job applications and poker and football that are on my horizon.  Oh, and meeting up with friends who either reside in town, or those who will be visiting.  Again, a great thing about living here, everyone will come to see you...  Oh, and as I sign off to begin my three days of poker, let me say for the record that this tablet (like $80.00) is one of the better Christmas presents that I've ever given myself.  :D  Have a safe and outstanding 4th of July Weekend, and I'll see you sometime next week!