ARRRGGHHHH Where's my hairspray !

"So how can you even live up to the name of PrettyPokerBoy if you forget to pack your hairspray ?", says Jeff as I'm asking him for hairspray.

For those of you that know Jeff, right now you are saying, "Why are you asking Jeff for hairspray ?"

I've had this same "anchor-man" hairdo for quite some time. You can't pull off this look without the proper spray to make it crunchy and make all the hairs stay in place.

What to do ? .. what to do ? ..... Looking around the hotel room, I don't see much that could substitute. I called down to the front desk. Surely they have items for just such an emergency. I mean, a man without hair gel or spray certainly must qualify. If the Fab-5 were here, they would be calling 911.

- "Hello, front desk, how can I help you ?"
- "Hi, I was wondering if you have hairspray ?"

- "Hairspray ? mmmmm.... not here, try the Cafe."

What ? .... the cafe ? Ohh yes, of course. As the latte drinkers of the world are ordering their Starbucks, they are always on the lookout for the ultimate hair care products on the shelves of Starbucks. Must be right next to Crainium and the bean grinders. Why didn't I think of that before ?

Alas, no hairspray in the cafe. What to do ? ... what to do ? ...

A-Ha ! ... I did bring my shaving kit ! Looking at the ingredients of my Edge shave gel I see ... water, alcohol, glycerol ... mmmm, might have potential. I rub a dab in my hands and make it foam up. Is it enough ? , maybe too much ? ..... Hell, who do you ask about the proper amount of shaving gel to put in your hair ? I settle on a dime size amount. I'm gently applying it to my hair at first, just a top coat to see what happens. Hmmm, seems to be working. Now I'm really working it in. My hair doesn't seem to know the difference. It actually works out great. Even smells nice.

Crisis averted, problem solved. And the Virgo in me got to save money !

Finally, I can concentrate on my poker game. No way I could have done that before if I was worrying about hair #3,256 being out of place !

First night in Vegas

Arrived safe and sound. Checked into the Renaissance. Nice hotel, flat panel TV and great decor.

Jeff and I headed out to the Alladin to start the night off. The monorail station is right by our hotel. Very convienient.

I sat down to the $2-5 no limit table and bought in for $500. Jeff sat down at the $1-2 no limit table. I played from 10:00pm to 1:30am and was very tight. I might have played 4 hands in the first 2 hours. I wasn't getting shit for cards. Half the table were the "semi-pros" ..... the ones that talk all the crap about bad beats and how they used to play in the $10-20 no limit at Bellagio, but lost $60K in 3 days so they are back grinding it out at Alladin. I guess it could be true, and I guess monkey's could fly out of my butt !

I was up and down until about 11:45pm, then I was down about $100. I kept my calm and waited for position and hands to come to me. We got down to 5 handed and I got heads up with a guy when I had AKs in the SB. I raised pre-flop and got two callers. I lost the 2nd one on the 9-10-x flop with 2 of my suite and I bet $75 into a $65 pot. The turn was another crap card. I bet again and he called again, and I thought, "Crap, I'm in trouble now." For some reason I had him on the same flush draw as me. I didn't have too good a read on him because he was new to the table. The river was a J. It made me stop and think that it might have also been on a straight draw. I picked up a stack of red $5 chips, $100 in all and thought for about a minute and a half. Then I checked and he thought for a moment and checked behind me. This was a big mistake on my part. I should have bet if I put him on a flush draw. It would give me 2 chances to win the pot. I said, "Ace high". He said, "Nice hand" and I dragged the pot. Big pot, but I think I played it horribly.

I cashed out at 1:30 for $602 for a profit of $102. Not too bad a start.

We are hitting the Wynn and MGM Grand tomorrow.

So I added to my bankroll. My goal is to have the winnings pay for 2 entries into Sunday's tourney at the Palms. Noon and 7pm with a $230 buy in and one $200 rebuy.

Haven't seen any celebrities yet, got to remember the camera tomorrow.

I will use the Force !

Saw Episode III on Monday. I liked it, didn't suck. I liked the ending where they tied everything together.

Poker trip is very near, I'm very psyched and ready to go. I've decided to use the Force in my game. I mean, how can I go wrong ? The Force will allow me to see into the souls of my foes. I can use mind tricks to make them fold. What can go wrong ? Hmmmmm ... will the need to accumulate mountains of chips lead me to the dark side ?

I really don't want to lose all my limbs. That seems to be a requirement if you follow the path of the Dark side of the Force. But wait, Luke lost his arm and he didn't turn to the dark side. Maybe I will sever a finger before I leave. A pre-emptive strike so the Dark side will not engulf me.

Anyways, I will use the Force in my game. Watch out !

Jeff's Tournament

Played $40 tourney at Jeff's last night. Started good out of the gates, but then couldn't put anything together. Tried to appear loose at the beginning and played for a small pot with crap cards so I could show them down. So I was getting the action I needed, but just got too much on one hand.

I had JJ under the gun, and I raised to 900 with 150-300 blinds. Got 4 callers ! ... Damn, flop was Kxx, two hearts. I was 2nd to act and I checked it. Action had been tight post-flop so my thought was, "if it checks around, I am good. If someone had a K, they would bet for fear of the flush draw." That was my 2nd mistake. I should have done a continuation bet. It did check around, and I knew my jacks were good. Problem was the turn was an Ace. "Damn !" That hand took a pretty good piece of my stack. Jason bet out and everybody folded.

OHHHH, Jason built a kick ass table ! I wish I would have brought my camera to the game. It has the padded rails, an inside track made of wood that has a thick coat of laquer, and dice all around the inside edge that are lit up ! The dice around the edge make the table, along with the fringy dingle balls around the outside edge. I'll get a picture of it. Very nice piece of work. He wouldn't sell it to me :-(

So a loss is good for me. Brings me back down to remind me that poker will be a life of continual ups and downs. Just have fun and keep a positive attitude and positive bankroll.

Bankroll ? What's it look like ?

The Vegas trip is right around the corner. I'm a Virgo, so I needed to make sure I'd be able to get the bankroll through security at the airport. I mean, I've written a lot of big checks, but I don't typically walk around with rolled up hundred dollar bills.

So I stopped at the bank today, just to see how "big" this bankroll would be. Would it fit in my pocket ? If it did, would it bulge out and cause suspicion by security ? I mean what kind of people walk around with rolled up hundreds in their pants ?

I walk up to the teller. I've got my withdrawl slip in hand. I've been flexing my hands and fingers all morning. I've got to be limber and prepared. I don't want to stretch my metacarpals and phalanges. My god!, those are the hands I have to hold the cards with. How ironic would it be to injure myself while trying to get my hands around the bankroll.

The teller says, "I'll have to go to another drawer. I don't have that much cash here." I think, "ohhh goodness... will my PT Cruiser be able to hold all this cash ?" He returns and begins to count the cash. He hands me the envelope. I remove it and make it into a real "bankroll". It looks like this :



Impressed ?? .... yeah, me neither. I was expecting something a little larger. I thought about asking for $20's or $1's. I'll save that for a day when I have more time.

I went bank to the teller. Told him I'd like to deposit the money back into my account. It will be safer there. I wouldn't want to lose it in the crack of the sofa cushion, it's so small, you know.

Well, when I come back with $10,000 that will be a sight ! I mean, that bankroll will be at least, well maybe .... about how much bigger ? Is it related to the square of the circumference of the cirle multiplied by pi ? Not a bit of damn good my mathematics minor is doing me now. I can't even calculate the size of my "bankroll" !

Rant on Local Morning Show

This morning on the radio show that I listen to on the drive to work (jbandsandy.com), they announce, "Hey if you have a goal that you are close to accomplishing. Call in to the show. We want to hear about it." Here's my post to their message board

Now I know my life goal of playing professional poker is not as commendable as say, curing cancer or running the Boston Marathon. But I feel it does have some weight. So I get up the nerve to call in. I haven't called a morning show since I was stalking ... errr I mean wanted to date Kellie from the Kidd Kradick show back when I lived in Dallas.

Autumn Bouakadakis was screening the calls and it went something like this;

AB - "Good morning, Mix 94.7. What's your goal ?"
Me - "I'm going to be a professional poker player."

AB - "Really ? .. How are you going to do that ?"
Me - "Well I'm setting a smaller goal of making $10,000 first over Memorial Weekend."

AB - "Well how do you plan on making that money ?"
Me - "Well I'm going to bring $5000 to Vegas and play poker. I'm going to double it so I can get a fresh banded stack of $100 bills all in sequential order"

AB - "Hmmm .... That's nice, be we are looking for bigger goals for this bit"
Me - "Ahh ok, have a good day."

So I think, "ok, I know I'm not trying to lose weight, or bring peace to the world... so let's see what calls they do let through."

First call, someone was building their own house. Wow, people actually build their own house. I can see how that is challenging, yet rewarding. Wonder what they next one is ?, they must be doing a buildup.

Second call, someone is buying a house. Wow, people actually buy houses. I've bought a house, not the easiest thing in the world. A commendable goal. How many houses are there in Austin ?

Next call, someone wants to move to New York. Wow, people move ? Maybe she is going to fulfill her lifelong dream of being on Broadway or she is taking a risk and diving into a new career. Not exactly, she's a teacher and is going to move closer to her family. Teachers are awesome, taught me everything I know, especially the penguins I had in Catholic school. But again, not the huge goals that Autumn had promised me.

Next call, I can't remember exactly what this one was, but I remember that she was divorced for 6 years and getting $1000 month for child support and a huge Military pension from her husband. I think it was something about another house, because she said, "With all that money that is rent (or something else)". She came off like she enjoyed taking all the money and spending it on herself. Isn't it for the child. Anyway, this call kinda got under my skin because of the women that I've seen take advantage of men.... but that's another story, and I should probably be telling it to my therapist.

So of all the calls, I think mine had more merit than those. But of course I put more weight on it because it is mine. So when I become a professional poker player I will defintely call them back and say, "Hey guys ! I bought a house ! "

Thread on RGP

I started this thread on rec.gambling.poker, so I could get some ideas of what to expect in Vegas. It will also allow me to start planning for the trip and put together a rough agenda.

My thread on 10-20 NLHE at Bellagio

I appreciate all the responses so far. Very helpful group of folks. I wasn't aware of the 5-10 NLHE at the Palms. I wanted to play over there last time, but never made it across the highway.

Looks like my $5000 roll is too small for the $10-20. So I'm thinking my agenda might flow a little like this :

Friday - Play some 1-2 NLHE to warm up. Then find a juicy 2-5 game to build a mountain of chips. There is no better feeling that to have a mountain of chips at the table. Love the feeling. Play all night, get some sleep in the morning.

Saturday - Play 2-5 all day and try to find a good tournament (any suggestions ?) Head out to the Palms, try some of the 5-10 NLHE action.

Sunday - Check on the status of the bankroll. If bankroll > $5000 go to Bellagio and checkout 10-20 NLHE game. If game looks good and I can buy in with an average or larger stack at the table, then sit down.

Monday - Lick my wounds from the night before :-) ...... might be time for a huge breakfast buffet. If Sunday night was profitable, then play smaller games to pass time until flight out that night. If Sunday was not profitable, then play smaller games to pass time until flight :-)

Any suggestions for decent tournaments to play ?

Monthly Game Results.

Had our monthly tournament last night. Turnout has been lighter than last year. Kelley suggested that it might be the increased buyin to $60. I think she might be right. I've polled the players, I will eagerly await their responses.

Game was good. Didn't have much early or late in the tourney and had to go all in quite a few times. Picked the right spots and stayed above water. Got to 3 handed and I only had 2800 left in chips. Greg and Terry had about 24,000 between them. Got some lucky hands and turned in into about 16,000 chips. It was a very conservative table at the end. Not a lot of preflop raising, and I couldn't do it because of the short stack. I was just hoping to triple up every time.

Pivotal hand was when Greg limped in with AJ suited and let me limp with 3-4 off. Flop was 3-3-x, none of Greg's suit. Blinds were 800-1600 so there was 3200 in the pot. Greg goes all in for 16,000. Of course I call and knock him out. Talked to him shortly after (game only lasted 2 hands after heads up (I won :-))) <--- some of my CSCI degree in use, close all those open quotes ! ----- I talked to him about over betting the pot and how the only hand that will call that is one that most likely has him beat. He could have gotten better information with a pot size, or 1/2 pot bet, and left himself with an exit strategy. I'm sure he'll remember that hand and keep the lesson. Greg has gotten a TON better and he soaks up information like a sponge. So the next time he comes across the same thing, I'll have a harder time reading him.

RESULTS :
1st Scott (me !)
2nd Terry (Great player, I don't think he's missed a game yet. Great down to earth guy)
3rd Greg
4th Adam L (Unabomber !) -- Here's his picture with Phil Laak superimposed, you be the judge. I plan on framing it for the wall !



Tonight has really helped boost my confidence level. I feel more prepared for Vegas. Or maybe not ...... David G played 3 heads up games with me before the tourney and won EVERY time ! But then he got knocked out 2nd, so I think I sucked all the luck out of him (we had some good euphamisms with that one !)

Shout out to Dusty !

Dusty is a kick ass chick. Not too often in this world you find a cool woman that can really relate to you. I can't speak highly enough of this woman. Awesome sense of humor and very down to earth. She's a little wild, but hey, who doesn't have, or like a little wild streak ?

I know, you're asking yourself, "Hey, I want a Dusty of my very own. What isle in Target do they stock them ?" Well let me tell you, she is definitely not on the bargain isle. She is full class woman.

For a limited time only, you can get a Dusty of your own. She is a hot commodity on the market, and it's not too often you'll get a chance at her. So if you're available and live in the Dallas area, drop me a line. I'll screen you and maybe you'll get a shot at your very own Dusty !

Free Money Games

So now that I'm out of money in my online accounts, of course I'm playing the free money tables. The problem is that I'm sure it's killing my "real" game. Like when you play racquetball and tennis at the same time. Two different types of wrist movement, and don't forget that third if you are into that sort of thing, or perhaps lacking a girlfriend :-)

Free money tables are just a whole different beast. And I just love the people that try to berate the players for not playing "proper" poker. Come on .... like anybody is going to play for "real" on those tables. However, I do think they help if you just want to practice calculating pot odds and outs. You see so many hands so quickly and you have to do the calculations fast. It also forces you to play a solid tight game. You just can't bluff anybody off a hand with free money. What do they care ? It's FREE MONEY. That is unless you've seen them play for hours at the table. Then they start to put some intrinsic value to those play chips. "These are MY chips. I worked so hard for them." I know I start to get that way if I have a huge stack at the table. Of course I also don't mind calling everyone, because I have a mountain of chips that mean NOTHING to me.