For those of you who just can't stop jerking me off!

Well this just about explains it all... I am a glutton for punishment I guess!

Vegas in two maybe three days. See all of you already there, when I get there!

Keep it going

For those that have read about our fellow blogger and friend Bayne, and the issues he had yesterday, I was just informed that she has woken up and things seem to be stable.

I'm sure they are far from out of the woods though so keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

how often does it happen that you actually hear what they mean to say?

Sand surf and kids = work
Sand surf and kids, and the fact that it happen to be a senior week for a bunch of kids (girls) from VA = work worht doing.

Chasing around the kiddies in the sand gives you a brand of anonimity as you gaze, glare, stare, and downright ogle the celebrating graduates who think they are entitled to an actual celebration for completing what will inevitably be the best times of their lives. Instead of celebrating they should be mourning.

This vacation was one where I did something that I normally don't do on vacations. And that is, actually relax, and enjoy what is supposed to be time off. And did I mail it in. I mean really, really just mailed it in. I had a total of over 690 (filtered to not inculde most spam) emails that I haven't looked at.

We got home last night at about 2am after deciding to wait around and try to grab one last day on the beach before heading home. Its a good 8 hour ride form there to here so leaving at 6pm was something I had come to terms with for the extra day in the sand.

It is all back to work for now though as some other things are starting to take shape business wise. It will be a miracle if we can pull some of the stuff off in time, but some projects I have been working on for a while are about to take a different form. all things will gel in Vegas.

Until then, its good to be back...

On my command... unleash hell!

I sit here at 8:30am with the kids and breakfast and chewing. I have it somewhere in me to really want to quit but it ain't happening. PokerDegen gave me some advice on going cold turkey, and I think he may be right. But to date it hasn't gone real well.

Today, I use the excuse of dealing with the kiddies by myself (and brother-in-law) since the wive's are stateside at her brothers Mother-in-laws funeral with the rest of the immediate family.

The kids are sucking the life out of me. Mine and the others are all fighting, best friends, and fighting again in a vicious battle for supremacy over whether they watch Caillou, Dora, or spongebob. Or who gets to wear the purple hat vs the red hat, and so on.

The 10 year old is staying clear, relegated to the pre-beach hours of ninendo DS, staying out of the way of the carnage. But all the while laughing at me secretively behind her back. As a matter of fact, I don't even think the thing is even on at times as I see her peer over the screen in enjojyment as I change yet another diaper, while refereeing a fight between my 4 year old and her 3 year old cousin. (both girls... If women are the rake, then little girls are the toke)

I played in a bodog $10 last night with Tragedy. 250+ runners and I took 3rd. As soon as I went out the boy woke up and decided he wanted to go to the pool. (1:30am). It got to the point where he was going to find out how pleasant that pool would have felt in a thunder storm if he didn't pipe down. Thats my credo... when all else fails, "you want it, you got it!"

But he went from whiny siren to fast asleep when the powers that be saw me walk on to the deck with him. Call it intervention.

The wife and sister and brother all come back late tonight. I hope they make it a fast trip. the weather has cooled considerably after the storm last night, going from the 90's to the high 70's today. The could be a blessing in disguise, or it could prove quite troublesome.

The beach is a great baby sitter, but with cool temperatures and no wind, the flys are certainly going to be out in full force. Probably not a good day for combing.

Without beach activites, pent up little urchins will be hard to entertain and I am preparing for a full frontal assault from the little ones. This is war people. Its all about tactical assaults. I am a pretty good operative though when I have time to prepare, so the plans are being drawn up for the expected attack. Somewhere along the day, I hope the tide will turn and in the end, we can claim victory.

The ordinance for this evolution will include, but not be limited to:

Play station - that should keep the 7-13 years olds occupied and happy in case I need to turn them into an alliance. This could backfire however if they are interupted in the middle of a quest for a high score.

DVD's - This will be tricky. Finding one that can be agreed upon by all parties will be difficult but worth the 2 hours of silence if succesful.

Pool - The pool is heated so the temps wont be an issue, however, it entails my time watching and standing guard. Depends on the moods of the enemy at that point, and if who gets the yellow noodle vs the blue one doesn't rile them up a whole bunch. Probably a last ditch effort.

Naps - If that happens, I am ruler of the world. Probably a poor attempt at diplomacy, but who knows. Maybe the sun will rise in the west, and the moon will fall out of the sky, and pigs will fly, and that will happen.

ICE CREAM! - This would buy a lot of bargaining power. The issue however is once the popsicles are done, the power of negotiation goes with it. Probably -EV, since the high commanders, when finding out that the enemies were given ice cream at 11am will view this as weak and shallow on the part of our command.

Trip to the playground - again, this would be likened to dropping a daisy cutter from 50,000ft. It would quiet the ranks for a while, but also entail participation from us (plenty of collateral damage), so we will see how that goes. It certainly doesnt guarantee submission either, as it could just be moving the battlefield if someone doesn't get what they want.

The next 12 hours will see a victor for sure. Either way we expect high casualties, but with suffering comes peace. Strength and honor!

My kids own me, and Tiger Woods is retarded

First off, Tiger woods really is retarded... I mean C'MON!!!! two sick sick putts and a chip in on Sunday to get him into a playoff, and then all the way through Monday against poker playing Rocco Mediate, when Rocco shoots the lights out, and Tiger plays kinda meh...

They get to 18 with Tiger down 1, and he birdies to tie and press more free golf. Can anyone, will anyone argue that Rocco just finally gave up? Not in a bad way on his part, but the fact that playing against Tiger just wore him down? If it was Davis Love III, and they halve the Monday match, does he fall apart like that on the first hole of sudden death? After a stretch of holes on the back nine, mind you that saw him overcome a 3 shot deficit AND take the lead!?!?

In golf, momentum is everything. There is no way he fails like that on one hole after that run if he doesn't think he is up against insurmountable odds. The likes that only Tiger can invoke in opponents.

Congrats to him I say (Rocco, that is) for standing up and almost getting it done. Now its off to the WSOP for him. And a huge congrats to Tiger, possibly the best commpetitor this earth has ever seen. (all deference to Michael Jordon)

Fathers day was fun at the beach. Lots of kids stuff and sun and sand and a huge meal. Which I preferred to prepare because it was fathers day, and I like to cook. So I did. I couldn't figure out what to make and cooking for 10 adults, and 8 children would be a task not so tough given the fact that I wanted to.

Off to the grocery store to see what I wanted to prepare. I couldnt figure it out so I did all three... Fish (mahi) Steaks, Chicken (split breasts), and some shrimp that I put into a nice yellow rice dish. Broccoli, Asparagus, some corn on the cob, and of course, a salad for the masses.

After dinner the kids start piping out presents and cards for the fathers. Pop Pop, uncle Brendan, Uncle Timmy, and of course, me. Everyone got some really cool cards, and some really cool presents. T-shirts, coffe mugs, etc... Status Quo.

But I got something from the 10 year old that at first I thought was something she was put up to do by the wife. It was a card that she made and explained that I would be able to wait to give her her present until August when we come back down to the beach house.

It was a home made coupon of sorts for a pre teen spa package at one of the local resorts here. I laughed, and showed it to everyone, and they laughed, and she stood there. Stern. With a mean face. Looking like we were all nutty for not taking this seriously. I asked her if her mother had put her up to it, and she said no.

Then she explained that I wouldnt be a father without her and from where she stood, I owed her a present. And she was serious. As serious as dick cancer.

I couldnt even argue. So instead of waiting til august, she is heading over on Thursday with her cousin Caitlyn. C= 10 the other C = 13. godd times... should set me back a nice $300...

Good Times!

Mr. Chain Blue lightnin' Himself!

Here on vacation in the B-A-utiful OBX of North Carolina, and finally getting some rest and more importantly, some relaxation. We have had this house for about 6 years now and it never gets dull. Always fun. If you are on the east coast and looking for a place to take the family on vacation, I suggest this place right here. Very family oriented, great beaches, and lots of stuff to do with the kiddies.

I started catching up on some of the blogs last night, and although I was made aware of some of the alleged shennanigans that went on with what Hoy may or may not have perpetrated, I didn't really think much of it. And couldn't really wrap my mind around how bad or how insignificant it could be.

Then I read blinders post. Wow, what a ripping. I mean, jeez... calling someone a cheat is going pretty far. An asshole, well, yeah, thats acceptable and by no means punishable by death, unless of courses, YOU are an asshole. But cheating is way bad. Thats a pretty tough line to cross in the arena we recreate in. And, yes... all of you dopes out there are only playing recreational poker ON-LINE. I dont care how big your scores are. (unless you are in the 6-7 figures and playing 18+ hours a day) But playing $10-$500 online tournaments are purely recreational in my mind. Until you have the balls to show up in Vegas and paly LIVE poker for a living, you are nothing but a purely recreational player.

Now, let me define cheating as I see it. Cheating, occurs when someone deliberately takes actions to alter the OUTCOME of any event, game, or contest, in their favor. Those actions must be outside the rule of law, making them illegal AND almost guaranteeing a favorable outcome to the perpetrator/s.

To say what Hoy did with the Icrushbloggers id on bodog was cheating, I can't agree with. The bottom line is you still get to play with that person, and no matter how much of an advantage they think they are getting by playing anonymously, you still have the opportunity to still play them. Hand for hand, orbit through orbit. The only thing being kept from others is their real identity. I did not know who half the field was really when I first started playing, and really didnt care.

Not the point really however... The real issue here is the ripping he puts on people in some of those posts, ANONYMOUSLY. Behind the curtain and comfort of not being recognized as the asshole who would say such things, in the manner in which they were said.

Now, fairly, Hoy posted that he did not write any of those posts at all. That some other people have, and they will remain anonymmous. However, some have written and stated that they belive, that based on the writing style, AND the content, that it actually is Hoy who wrote those posts.

I don't really know who did, other than the fact that to not believe him puts his character in question. I have never met Hoy, nor do we Gchat, email, or converse in any way, but I will tell you that I have heard nothing or have seen nothing to believe that his character could be so small. I'm not defending him here, just laying out my own observations. And I will state, unequivocally, that if it does come out that he did write these posts, then my whole image of him will change, and I will always look at him as a cowardice little pric.

I will take some of those posts that were written though, and judge that whoever wrote them was and is a complete moron, coward, and punk.

HE/She/ They write about single hands of players, and bases their whole judgements on that players games on one hand. And for that matter, I laugh at those situations even being real.

He posted this about me...

"Anyways, first with around 6 players left in the bodonky, riggstad called one of the somewhat short stacks' push from riggs' 37k stack when riggs was holding Q3 offsuit. Ahahahahahahaha. I have seen this countless times in blogger tournaments, where these guys get to the end game with some kind of a stack, and they start using the sheer number of chips they have in their possession as if it somehow changes the pot odds involved in the hand. I have seen bloggers obviously uncomfortable and nevous with big stacks call allins when shorthanded at the final table with literally any two, and it makes me chuckle every single time to tell the god's honest truth. I don't care if riggs' stack had been even bigger than it was at the time, that was still a horrible decision by him and, unsurprisingly, he lost the hand and made a short stack into a big stack in quite a hurry."

I will tell you that the depiction of that hand is grossly misreported. I won that tournament, first of all. Second, I was in the BB when that shorty raised to me. Third, he had less than twice the bb. and Lastly, he was not made into a big stack at all. Really an autocall with any two cards.

He rips on Skidoo defending his bb with K5 and then not only criticizes the play, but goes a little overboard in doing so. Attacking personal character and so forth.

An the worst part is getting after Smokkee... Constantly, just without fail, and relentlessly. Attacking again, personal character and just over all animosity towards someone I think is a pretty cool dude. (regardless of I did or didn't I would still have the same feelings about the posts)

Do that shit on a blog all you want. You're protected. do that shit in a live game, or in real-life and you'll be picking up teeth. Now Don talks about this all the time. How people do shit on-line and would never dare to it live.

I will tell you, and there are many others that have witnessed it. I do everything you see on line here in real life. I don't hide behind the screen, I BOOOOOOOOOOOM at live tables as much as I congratulate, criticize, and even repremand other players. I have no qualms or inhibitions or apprehensions about gettng into a player for being a douchebag. And I can clown as much as the next guy.

What has been written in some blogs have always struck me as jabbing, ribbing, and just plain fun really. You have the right to rip anyone you want, and you have the right to look at things how you do and write about them. You also have the right to be upset about what people write about you. If you choose to be, or if thats how you are made.

But what gets me about this certain situation is the fact that it was done anonymously, with deception, and malice really. Thats what sticks in my crawl. You fucking cowards you.

Now, again, I haven't necessarily sold myself that it is Hoy that wrote those posts yet. I am not a forensic reader, and cannot and will not base my decision on whether or not they are his words based on a comparison of what and how he has written in the past.

Plus he has written that it wasn't him, so I will believe him, as I would believe any of you who asserted anything like that on a blog. Its all we have to go on. I love this community of players, and people. As another blogger I'd about another situation, taken out of context here, but he line was... "with some pretty amazing fucking people". But I am not naieve... and will hold final judgement until all of the facts come out. If they do.

The bloggers I have met have been nothing short of amazing people. All of you. But this little anonymous posting thing just wreaks of pure cowardice and immaturity.

You think your game is that much better, write about it, you think you can tell people how bad they are, write about it. You do it behind the facade of someone else, you are a coward and a punk. Bottom line.

We should all start showing a little more class these days. Kidding around is kidding around, but you dont do things under the cover of meaness or deception, and then say, after outed, that you were kidding. Doesn't work that way. Trust is a huge issue for all, let alone people you've never met over the internets. Be a man, be stand up, and don't fuck with people anymore than they think they are already being fucked with.

With all that being said, I wish all of the fathers out there a very happy and fun filled fathers day!

Borgata wrap-up

They got to the final table last night after trying a billion times to figure a chop. It started when there was 18 left. The staff at the Borg gave them options. That is, the only option available to them. If you want to discuss a chop, you have to leave the tables. Take it away from the tables.

But not too many were keen on leaving their stacks when the antes and blinds were going to be posted. This is not a Borgata rule. This is a gaming commission rule, that states that casinos are not allowed to have anything to do with deals made by players. And, that the game cannot be put on hold for said discussions. In other words, the clock must run.

It really gets ridiculous with some friends of some of the players giving their input and regular spectators spouting off their two cents with no real interest. The staff does their best to quel anthing like that, but some people are just ignorant assholes. You should have heard some of the comments.

With 18 left there were some monster stacks around and a ton of poker to be played so I dont know why they would even consider a chop at that point. You were talking about 18-13 getting $1392 and 12-10 getting $2782. The chop at 18 was somewhere around 10k per. With the big stacks being able to dominate the little stacks, why would anyone want to give away that much equity?

Anyway they couldn't get together to decide on how to cho at 18 considering who would have to sign for first (60k prize), and they continued play.

When they got to the final table, mayhem ensued. I think it was about the fact that they had been playing for so long, and the fact that everyone was pretty much spent and just didnt want to play anymore. Alvin Delgado is a guy who I have seen cash multiple times at Borg events.

Alvin is a very cool dude, and a lover of life. Hes also no fool, and when they got to the final table he held one brown chip and one grey chip. (thats 30k). The blinds were 5k ante, 15k/30k.

He was all about discussing a chop. I dont understand how no one understood how little chips he had. But they went out of the casino floor and discussed the chop. Ultimately they came to a deal.

The winners are listed here. At least this is where they signed for. I can't say enough about the Borg staff. They are a bunch of some of the best professionals in the game. Its why I like playing there and will continue to do so. They offer a great structure and a really great room to play in. The players they attract range from the kids who play with their dicks, to the passive guys who just want to sit down and toss some chips around, to the guys who are in there everyday feeding on the incompetent and unlucky.

Tournies today are getting a little skewed. 4 years ago I can remember playing in tournies and never getting chop offers until we were down to at least 4 and on some occasions maybe 5. Today it seems most are willing to chop these huge pools at around 18 or even more. Time will tell if it gets back to normal and if players will really be able to calculate maximum equity to decide when a chop will be worthwile. Just doesnt seem to be the case anymore.

I could post more here about my thoughts of who got what and where they signed, but I just dont want to embarrass any one player. Some of you would get a chukcle, and others would probably put pen to paper and be able to figure out how much equity they actually lost.

Truly, looking at the the chip stacks and who got paid what, I believe Alvin was the biggest winner, despite having shared the least amount of the chop Ithink his equity was probably the highest of any one player who took cash. I believe the most anyone player got was $39k and the least was $14k. Go figure.

I'm heading off to vacation in a day or two. Not sure if we will leave tomorrow or thursday, or possibly friday. Depends on different things. I'll be sure to post while I'm gone though and will be heading back to cover the main event at the Borg starting on the 22cnd. That is a 5k event and the field should be ripe.

Live Bloggin from the Borgata - Day one of the Summer Open

At the Borgata today to bring you the latest from the Summer Open. We will have taped interviews from players, staff, and spectators, as well as updates of the first event, the $400 NLHE. The staff seems to think that the field will be around 500. It kicks off at 11am est and I will have all the lates updates throughout the day.

The Borg has some sick sats for the Main event which starts on the 22cnd of this month. You can super sat for as little as $110. 1 of every 10 will advance to the $1040 event, which 1 of every 5 will earn a seat into the $5000 ME.

The $110 ACT I sat is on June 16th @ 3pm.
The $220 ACT I sats are on June 15th and 19th at 3pm, and June 20th, @ 1 and 4pm.

The $220's are 1 in 5 getting entry into ACT II

Check out the site for all of the events here...

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1:00 - Final table time.. 5k ante, 15,000/ 30,000 blinds Trying to talk chop again but who knows. The borg staff is right on it and they are playing...

12:40 - Down to 12 now and stacks aren't that far apart. the average is about 350k with the leader at 700k

11:00 - down to 18 and the natives are getting restless. Some are screaming for an 18 way chop (which is retarded btw). I see so much of this anymore, play the goddamn game people. You wanna talk chop make it equitable. There is still a ton of poker to play. I could see if it was a turbo and a crap shoot but the chip stacks have a ton of poker to play yet. Fortunately the Borg is ot having any of it, and are making them play, with the clocks running.

10:30 - down to under 23 and we are starting to see some movements in the bigger stacks away from the middle stacks. The shorties are starting to shove and finally getting called I can see more frequent updates coming as the tables condense

9:09 - Down to 42 out of 535 starting players and the field is tightening up a bit. I haven't seen any big stacks really ready to gamble it up with the shorter stacks when they are forced to push. I saw a big stack fold out of the BB to a shorty shove when it would cost him little more than a minraise... Not sure how that happens, but not really sure how the table didn't react at all. Should be a very intersting final table

8:26 - WE are now at 6 tables and in the money. The bubble broke when, while getting ready to go hand for hand, someone from the 8 table when their QQ was called by a huge stack with J7. Two pair beats the QQ's and we are in the money

8:01 - down to 56 and on the bubble. I'll have more specific updates as we get toward the final tiables

7:17 - Back from dinner break in 5 minutes. Down to 8 tables and the average stack is around 52k

4:38 - Truck is not so lucky as he runs his AJ into AQ, JJ into KK and AK into JJ, getting away from all of them. Then, the final hand he flops trips holding J8 in the limped bb. Flop comes K88. it gets all in and the opponent holds KK. Things are moving faster and there is approximately 200 players left. Dinner break in about an hour an 30 minutes

3:17 - Shags is also in this tournament and a little less than average. Lucktruck is two seats to his left and is the only one at the table who actually knows who he is and what his capabilities are. Shags is a very accomplished player, always at the highstakes tables here in the Borg, and has taken some impressive tournament scores in his time. A guy at one of the tables across from me just stacked 4 players in two hands when he got in so far behind, once with a gutter, and once with a back door flush draw, completing both with two others in each hand. He is clearly the chip leader at this point

3:06 - Little Nicky is palying and has some chips. No idea why he isn't in Vegas yet, but we have an interview scheduled to find out. I know he is going out soon enough. In other news, two loud BOOOOOOOOOOOM's were just heard in two different parts of the room. Conversely, two rather large fellas went storming out of the poker room altogether talking about bad beats. Getting close to dinner break as the field thins

1:50 - The count is official at 535 with a total prize pool of $214k with $60 of that going to first.

1:26 - Its been a pretty slow start here with a lot more people in then I thought should be considering the starting stacks. although as I walk around I see alot of shorties so I think we will see a little bit of culling within the next hour. It never ceases to amaze me some of the things that go on in these MTT's. Each player was warned about cell phones, although this time its really lax. They are allowed to have them on, but they must be a table length away when on them AND not in a hand. One guy is in a hand with pretty heavy action pre flop on table 16. As one tanks he gets a call and stands up. The dealer notices him stand up and mucks his cards and the guy who tanked announces all in. The guy throws his cell down and says, "WAIT!!, I have AA!!". There was an ace on the flop. Dealer says doesnt matter, you took the call, you muck. Next time you receive a penalty. Floor was called but not much he could do or argue with

11:10 am - Cards in the air and there are 485 registered and counting. I haven't seen anyone of any poker stature yet, and the talk seems to be of everyone being in Vegas. But the big buzz seems to be along the lines of everyone coming back for the Main Event on June 22cnd.

11:20 -up over 500 and still people in line registering. The starting stacks are 8k with 40 minute levels starting at 25/50 blinds. About every other person I speak to is heading out to vegas after this event for some WSOP Action. It seems this isn't the run of the mill touristy crowd. A lot of these guys are regular tourney players trying to make their way into poker fame. Lucktruck is playing and won his first hand without going to showdown adding T900 chips to his starting stack.

1:00pm - unofficially the final count is 535. The fire alarms went off about 15 minutes ago, and the all of the cocktail waitress made a bee-line for the doors. The rest of thet degenerates sat there and continued to play without much of a concern at all. I heard one lady clucking about "my life is more important than a poker tournament", but she quickly stacked off and was sent to the rail anyway. I will have payouts coming up as soon as they confirm total players.

Am I to be bathed, or drowned?

I write this post sluggishly as I have recently taken a chunk out of my finger with a utility knife. My grandfather literally arose from his grave and thwapp'd me on the head calling me an idiot as the blade slid through the top part of my right index finger a'la the 'ole irish spring commercials.

Surf has challenged me, or better yet has asked me to help him, and him help me with a little weight loss action. I have happily accepted, and by the time the bash comes, someone will be a $100 lighter, but I gather both of us will also be a little heavier from consuming that dollar amount worth of scotch or beer, or soco, or whatever libation we decide to partake in as we both celebrate.

Tom Mc, an RPT'er and avid reader of many blogs also wants action so I will give him the same rate and try to hedge my bet with Surf. Surely I can beat at least one of them?

But I would state that ultimately there will be no loser. Certainly we will all be a little lighter, and a lot more healthier.

My workouts and diet have started off very slowly. But succesfully as I see it. I am doing the pushups, and playing basketball, and I have even started biking again. For those that care, and know about this type of thing, my bike is sort of ancient. That is about 5 years old. Its a fuji race bike with the egg beater pedals, lark bike shoes, and about 24 speeds to pure torture. My legs have never burned worse in my life. And thats never getting out of second gear.

I have weighed in at a cool 256 lbs. Thats 4 lbs lighter than last week as cutting out the sugar has seemed to works its magic. But the pizza is still there calling me every friday night, and the sandwhiches are still almost in staple status. So that will have to go if I want to save $100.

The coffe is gone, I'm happy to announce, without much pain at all, and the green tea is fantastic. I really didnt think I would like it, but its got ahold of me now and I'm afraid I have a new addiction.

Speaking of addiction, I have been chewing tobacco since the ripe old age of 12. Now, it was on and off and mostly as a tough guy thing back then but by the time I was 15 it was almost a can a day. I quit for two years at the age of 21 but since 23 its been at least a can a day. This is something that I cant let go of. Its has been very difficult every time i have tried. Running out to the store at midnight because I need just one last hit before I'm done for the night.

I have made an effort to cut back on this without much success. I tell myself that I can quit anytime, but it seems I am only lying to myself. I have done another schedule to rid myself of this addiction and I can only hope that I have the fortitude to conquer it. The plan is no more than 4 chews a day (about 1/2 a can) for a week. Then 3 a day for the 2cnd week, then 2 a day for the 3rd week, then 1 a day for the 4th week.

Hopefully by August I can claim victory. We'll see. GL to all today in the TOC. I'll be railing and rooting everyone on. Especially Waffles!

a note to some friends

Don has written about it, Ck and Ftrain have conquered it, as well as many others. That is the blind adherence to societies rules that say you must conform to being a contributing member of society. Settle down, get a job, pay your bills, raise a family. The roadmap is given to all of us starting in kindergarten. What do you want to be when you grow up? Further your education. Get experience in that field. Earn money to pay off your education loans, get married, buy a house, have kids.

Now, none of these things are bad. In fact, they are all good. But its about what YOU want to do with your time on this earth. and let me tell you, any thoughts of an after life is a gamble. Pure faith, and hope. Living well won't cut it. You must follow your heart. But you must also find it first. This isn't purely about obtaining things or being something. Its about how you want to live.

There are many things to accomplish as well along the path. Be a responsible person. Live virtuously. Be fair and kind. Don't lie, don't cheat, don't mislead. You will lose more friendships that way than you would have ever gained, not to mention what you will lose within yourself.

Instead, think about what has made the best men and women in history who they are. One is no aversion to risk of any kind. They know what they want, and they do everything to get it.

Of course, some have their advantages. Access to money, education, friends. Others had nothing. Not having an advantage is NO excuse. Don't wait for an event down the line that might help you. It probably won't happen and will just waste more of your time. The point is, you go out and take what you want. No one is going to give it to you.

There is no time frame. It is never too late. You might be 50 before you realize what you really want to do. Circumstance is not an excuse. Everyone has problems. Everyone has had hardship. Worse than yours, even if you don't think so.

Don't be selfish. Live for everyone else. But take care of yourself. Play hard, but work even harder. Be focused. And never let them tell you its impossible. In fact, hope they do. For it will only drive you harder.

Forgive everyone, but don't be foolish. Forgiveness does not necessarily mean inclusion. And your words should indicate as much without being hurtful.

Don't hate. Be funny and have fun. But treat everything worth while as serious as death. For nothing is more final than that.

I'm a fan of Man!

Played in the bodog final event last night to try to earn my way into the top 18 (I was 19th going in)...

Things started out rather light, but I made some timely raises to stay level. When I did have a hand, I never got any action. I think I made about 7 preflop raises without even getting as much as a look.

Then I look at QQ and repop a UTG raise to about 680. He calls and I flop a boat. Q99 I believe.
I check he checks, turn comes a T. I bet 1/2 pot, and he jams... I got up to about 6800 on that one.

I chipped down to about 5k when I picked up about 5 small to mid pairs, and had to fold to pressure on broadway flops. Then I pick up JJ in the small. All folds to me, and I pot to about 1050, into Don on the bb.

He insta jams, and a call would leave me with about 600 left. I thought about this but I thought he would see my raise as standard and a resteal with any two really would be almost expected.

But I know Don, and he normally wont resteal without at least some sort of +EV starting hand so it wasn't an autocall. But not many circumstances where I am going to fold either.
I think we were about 9 off of the points, and remeber, I only have to make the points, to probably get into the TOC.

But I call. and of course he has KK, and I lose all the way down to 600. I tripled up after that to about 1800, but gary carson decided to call my jam from the big, with Q7 to his limped K9o.

I dont know that I ahve any regrets, other than not being able to play all of the tournies bodog offered. I think I missed 3. Smokkee had a bounty on his head, and actually won the damn thing.

Some idiot I have read tries to make light of the fact that Don was colluding with IT about some fold he made to him towards the bubble. Falsely accusing a man of being a cheat will get you killed dope. Thats the first lesson in poker? Don't you know that?

So, with all the same circumstances: player, stacks, conditions of moving on to the TOC, blinds, etc.. do you make the call with JJ there or do you go away?

I'm not sure that making the points alone would have helped. I think a final table would have had to be certain, and at the time I think we had average stacks... Thoughts?

Bodog Pimpage

Tonight, the biggest bounty ever in the history of blogger tournaments will be on the head of the one and only, yours truly, $mokkee, the Bodog blogger tournament host.

If you are the lucky poker blogger to eliminate $mokkee from the tournament you will be rewarded with a seat in Bodog's Main Event Semifinal 5 Seat Guaranteed to be held on June 8th at 3:15 pm ET.

You read it right, Bodog is adding an extra T$270 in value to Tuesdays June 3rd tourney!
This will be an exciting and eventful night and bloggers around the globe are invited to participate. It is also the last chance for bloggers to climb their way into the top 18 on the Bodog blogger tournament leaderboard!

This really is a sick opportunity to get to the series. And for those of us who missed out during the BBT, there is no way anyone should be missing this tournament.

I have been one of the biggest critics of Bodog and their software, but I must say, it aint half bad once you get the hang of it, and the prizes, the overlay, and the players there are just to good to pass up. Bodog has gotten it right, and I want to thank Smokes for helping put this thing together. Awesome Job bro!

Good lulck to all you bubblers tonight, and we'll see who gets the top 18, and who busts Smokkee for a cool $270 buyin to the Me guarantee!

No. The world is full of guys. Be a man. Don't be a guy.

Internet problems today as it sees to go in and out like a young man, coming in for a quickey.

I have a lot fo projects to work on today, and surprisingly enough, I am getting them done without interuption. I just can't send them to the people I want to because I dont have access without at least an interuption every ten friggin minutes.

The BBT3 is over, and I opted for basketball last night rather than the big game because I felt the need to throw up more bricks, than I could flop.

Congrats to all of the TOC seat getters and good luck. Also, congrats to Donkette who wins an RPT embroidered jacket for being the only one who played in every single event. Every one. Just sick.

The WSOP is also underway and I expect to hear and read stories of debauchery and stupidness the likes of never before. The one thing that has always been topped every year in WSOP history. Makes for good copy though, and gives those pro bloggers out there good reason for site traffic. Its always more entertaining, and more interesting to read about who is puking in the bathroom, and giving up the holiest of holies for a buy-in, rather than who actually won.

Tomorrow is the last night for the Bodog online tour. I missed last week due to a date with the Phils to watch them dismantle the Rockies, but the two previous weeks made for a 4th and 5th place finish, which saddly has put me in 19th place. One off of the top 18 who gets a seat.

I will play tomorrow night in hopes of grabbing the prize and see what happens.

After that I think internet poker will go away for a while as I will be focusing more on opportunities that have presented themselves, and with the long days of summer coming, I can expect my nights be filled with outdoor kiddie festivities. I will aslo be picking up on my live play action heading down to ac and the local underground rooms at least 3x a week.

This excites me as I will spend the time usually in front of a laptop now in a live setting, where all things seem and are, more enjoyable.

Good luck to everyone with your recuperation from the challenge!