Been a while since I've done this, so why not.

9:53
Have bubbled in a tier 3 SnG, and a 6+.50 SnG in the last hour. I'm tilting just a tad. I've almost unregistered from the Mookie 3 times since, but I've decided to donate to my friends. After all, what else am I going to do? Sleep?

10:00
Seated at my table, starting from my left: KillinKegz, Pokergrind, Riggstad, Surflexus, Scottmc, OtisDart, Julius Goat and lighning36. Good grief.

10:11
Busted out of my SnG on Stars, bubbled again. Yippee skippee. time to concentrate (?) on the Mookie. Lost a few chips to ScottMc's hammer, nothing major.

10:14
Jesus, Waffles and Buddy dank are out already. I'd turn into Buddy Dank radio for details, but it's proven to be too addictive and too distracting. And I don't believe I need anymore addictions OR distractions.

10:19
The hell with it. Buddy Dank radio is on.

10:28
HAMMER in the BB! and I take it from Otis with a big raise post-flop. whew.

10:32
Godammit!
Full Tilt Poker Game #5060619353: The Mookie (37226882), Table 8 - 25/50 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:30:27 ET - 2008/01/30
Seat 1: surflexus (3,955)
Seat 2: ScottMc (5,665)
Seat 3: OtisDart (2,695)
Seat 4: Julius_Goat (2,775), is sitting out
Seat 5: lightning36 (2,585)
Seat 6: katitude (3,260)
Seat 7: KillinKegz (3,250)
Seat 9: riggstad (2,815)
OtisDart posts the small blind of 25
Julius_Goat posts the big blind of 50
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to katitude [7c Ac]
lightning36 calls 50
OtisDart: Well played, Scotty
katitude raises to 150
KillinKegz calls 150
ScottMc: you are the best
riggstad has 15 seconds left to act
riggstad folds
surflexus folds
ScottMc folds
OtisDart folds
Julius_Goat folds
lightning36 calls 100
*** FLOP *** [Qd Ah 7h]
lightning36 checks
katitude bets 200
KillinKegz has 15 seconds left to act
KillinKegz raises to 600
lightning36 folds
(I'm getting the sneaky suspicion that Smokkee has QA, but the damn curiousity combined with a martini makes me have to see)
katitude calls 400
*** TURN *** [Qd Ah 7h] [3d]
katitude bets 1,000
KillinKegz raises to 2,500, and is all in
katitude calls 1,500
KillinKegz shows [Qc Ad] (And there it is)
katitude shows [7c Ac]
*** RIVER *** [Qd Ah 7h 3d] [2c]
katitude: damn
KillinKegz shows two pair, Aces and Queens
katitude shows two pair, Aces and Sevens
KillinKegz wins the pot (6,725) with two pair, Aces and Queens
katitude: nh
The blinds are now 30/60
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6,725 | Rake 0
Board: [Qd Ah 7h 3d 2c]
Seat 1: surflexus didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: ScottMc (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: OtisDart (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Julius_Goat (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: lightning36 folded on the Flop
Seat 6: katitude showed [7c Ac] and lost with two pair, Aces and Sevens
Seat 7: KillinKegz showed [Qc Ad] and won (6,725) with two pair, Aces and Queens
Seat 9: riggstad didn't bet (folded)

This leaves me with 10 chips. I get a triple up next hand (yay, 30 chips), but this is the next one:

Full Tilt Poker Game #5060648955: The Mookie (37226882), Table 8 - 30/60 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:32:47 ET - 2008/01/30
KillinKegz: weeeeeeeeeeeeee
Seat 1: surflexus (3,955)
Seat 2: ScottMc (5,665)
Seat 3: OtisDart (2,670)
Seat 4: Julius_Goat (2,695), is sitting out
Seat 5: lightning36 (2,445)
Seat 6: katitude (30)
Seat 7: KillinKegz (6,725)
Seat 9: riggstad (2,815), is sitting out
lightning36 posts the small blind of 30
katitude posts the big blind of 30, and is all in
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to katitude [4d 2s]
KillinKegz folds
riggstad folds
katitude: wheeeeeeeeee
surflexus folds
ScottMc folds
OtisDart raises to 180
Julius_Goat folds
KillinKegz: chick and a chip and a chair
lightning36 folds
OtisDart shows [7h 7d]
katitude shows [4d 2s]
Uncalled bet of 150 returned to OtisDart
*** FLOP *** [7s Qd 7c]
*** TURN *** [7s Qd 7c] [Js]
*** RIVER *** [7s Qd 7c Js] [Jd]
katitude: jesus!
KillinKegz: OMFG
OtisDart shows four of a kind, Sevens
katitude shows two pair, Jacks and Sevens
OtisDart wins the pot (90) with four of a kind, Sevens
katitude: OTIS!
katitude: lol
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 90 | Rake 0
Board: [7s Qd 7c Js Jd]
Seat 1: surflexus didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: ScottMc didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: OtisDart showed [7h 7d] and won (90) with four of a kind, Sevens
Seat 4: Julius_Goat (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: lightning36 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: katitude (big blind) showed [4d 2s] and lost with two pair, Jacks and Sevens
Seat 7: KillinKegz didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: riggstad didn't bet (folded)

DQB.

And on that note, I am off to watch bad tv with Hunny Bunny and drown my sorrows in a bowl of popcorn.

No more am I a C-Lister with delusions of grandeur - I am now a B-Lister! I feel oddly validated. I'm not sure what to do now ... do I go out and celebrate with champagne?

****

In November of 2005, I was playing some poker, and trying to understand this new obsession. then I read of the four week Saturdays with Dr. Pauly series. I jumped at the chance to play with the bloggers I read, the A-Listers. The game was hugely challenging for me, being a n00b and an unknown playing with her heroes, but through a series of suckouts so shocking and mind-numbingly awful I managed to place fourth in the first game. I cringe even now thinking of how awfully I played. But the damage was done, I was hooked; hooked on blogger games and hooked even more thoroughly on NLHE.

But now a new opportunity to get completely hooked on something new is on the horizon:


And once more, I will have no clue what I'm doing, will make the most abysmal plays and suckouts, and have a giggle while doing so.

I'm already registered.

****

I came across this in my Stumbles the other day. I've made liqueurs and infused vodkas as gifts before, and I'm thinking about making up a batch for AlCantHang. I better get on it if I want it done for Eh-Vegas.

And while I think it's a pretty nifty (yet odd) beverage, in the back of my head I can't help but wonder what would be the circumstances where the thought of bacon-flavoured vodka pops into your head as a good idea?

****

Played a little poker early last night. I descended into anarchy and played a cheapie SnG on stars and proceeded to mock the player who gave me crap for going all in with AJ s00ted, and effectively cracking his AA with a flush. My points were 1) YOU called ME post flop with a clear flush on the board and 2) I do not take poker tips from someone who's ROI is at - 62%. Christ, that's even worse than me!

I also played the Tuckfard game at 7. This is a fun Knock Out game and at $ bucks it's a cheap price to pay for a giggle. I was doing pretty ok, no spectacularly stupid plays until Hunny Bunny announced that he had a run a bubble bath for me. Hmmm, let me see... hang around and play for the possibility of winning $16, or saying goodbye to the three bucks to descend into a tub of bubbles armed with a good book and a good beer.

I was gone in two hands.

****

Tonight is the blogger game on anti-Canadian Bodog. Have fun, you bastards.

There's also the latest edition of the Blogger Skillz Game on Full Tilt at 9:30 EST, which looks to be a Pot Limit Hold 'Em Knock Out flavour tonight.

Have fun,y'all. Me, I'm going out for a nice night out with my Hunny Bunny.

Almost forgot...if you'd like to take my moolah, since I am so freely giving it away, you can find me today here:

BritBloggerment
PokerStars, 4:00 PM EST
Password: donkament
$5 + $.50, NLHE

Then here:

No really, it is. Follow my logic here.

I woke up Saturday morning at 7 am, as I do when left to my own devices. I like to snuggle under the covers for a few minutes and think about the day ahead, and whether I can afford to lollygag in bed for a while longer drifting into daydreams and dozing. But Saturday morning I remembered that there was live poker that night at PokerTart and Bankwell's place and the anticipation was like a shot of caffeine, making any further sleep impossible.

But as I lay there I remembered that I was down to the granny panties, my laundry early warning system. Trust me, it's hard to feel fabulous and confident and strong in granny panties; one needs the leopard print thong for that (and yes, they do make them this big). So I hauled my butt out of bed to hit the laundry room by 7:30. After 8:30, the place gets crazy busy for the rest of the day and I run the risk of either 1) having someone remove my stuff from the dryer when I didn't get back down there quickly enough (I HATE other people toughing my clothes) and/or 2) having some unmentionable or another fall on the floor in front the the only guy down there, "Here, you dropped this". Both options put me off.

Anyway, As I'm back in my apartment waiting for the wash cycle to finish, knitting and sipping my coffee, I was thinking about PokerTart's announcement (congrats again, you two!), and how happy they must be. Then I remembered the shirt hanging in the back of my closet that I need to get rid of, since the last time I wore it someone asked me, very innocently, when I was due. I looked down at my pear shape and thought that it might be a good idea to see if I am becoming somewhat less of a pear now that I am watching what I eat, and remembered the scale that is also somewhere in the back of the closet and perhaps I should dig that out while going through my closet for the shirt and other items to jettison.

Well the whole thing turned out to be far more of an archaeological dig than anticipated. I found the shirt and I found the scale. I also found a lot of other stuff, like my grandmothers baking pans, a cake tin, 3 board games I never play, a bag of old punk/concert tees that I still can't bear to get rid of so have stashed behind my cedar chest, 2 knitting UFO's that I'd forgotten I had, gifts from students (please by all that's holy, no more candles, notepaper or cheap, smelly body wash! a donation to a charity or a coffee shop gift card is much more appreciated), 12 purses (7 of which I never use), sealed boxes of software utilities for Windows 95, a Harley Davidson logo'd picture frame that someone gave to me not realizing that HD is anathema to non-HD riders, and clothes that will never again be worn by me, yet are taking up far too much valuable real estate.

Five hours later the closet is cleaned and I was knee deep in donations to be taken to Goodwill. Literally, knee-deep; 9 garbage bags full to be exact. From a space 5' x 6'. Jesus, what a pack rat I've become.

I was also sneezing uncontrollably, as I am highly allergic to dust and I have broken my treaty with it - if I let it lie where it wants to, it will leave me alone.

So I looked for some allergy meds, and all I have is the non-drowsy kind. I took it, wanting relief from the sneezing and and the eyes so itchy I could tear them out. However I forget the 6-hour part of the non-drowsy, ensuring that my afternoon nap (something I needed as I only got about 4 hours sleep Friday night) was nigh on impossible.

I killed part of the afternoon with some SnG's on Stars and Tilt, and ITM in all of them (w00t). The time comes to head to PokerTart and Bankwell's place for some poker. I don my leopard print thong underneath some comfortable sitting-around-for-a-few-hours clothes and head out.

I'm a bit late, and we're pretty much starting as soon as I come in. I'm ready to rock n roll!

Or at least I thought I was...but after the first few blinds go past, it's apparent to me that no, I was not ready for rock n roll, but rather for some nice mellow easy listening. I was zoning out during hands and not really thinking about cards or position or aggression.

It's hard to be the new player among a group of folk who have played each other before, many times before in some cases judging by the banter. There are private jokes, and they all know each other's range of starting hands and aggression level. And unfortunately, I was just too tired to pay attention, to be as aggressive as I should have been and to read the nuances of the players.

Don't get me wrong, I had fun! There was a lot of laughter around the table, and the story about lifting the balls absolutely cracked me up. But I went with two goals, to have fun and to play good poker and the second goal completely eluded me both in the tourney (second one out) and in the cash game (presto is no fucking good, ever, I don't care what some say about it). I left down $100 (60 for the tourney and 40 in the cash game), which is as it should be after a night of passive-defensive poker rather than aggressive-offensive poker.

"But Kat, how the hell is any of this PokerTart's fault?", I hear you ask.

Here's the chick/Kat logic in a nutshell: bad in poker because of being tired.Tired because no nap. No nap because of allergy meds. Allergy meds because of dust. Dust because of cleaning. Cleaning because of shirt and scale. Shirt and scale because of thinking about PokerTart. Also, tired because of waking up early to do laundry because need clothes for Pokertart and Bankwell's poker night.

Yes I'm perfectly aware that I should have done laundry around Wednesday, and that the closet has needed to be gutted for at least six months. Hell, I never said I was really capable of higher level logical thinking; you've all played against me, you know that already *grin.

Thanks so much to PokerTart and Bankwell for hosting! I hope you'll invite me to come and contribute again ;-)

It's official.

Waffles is in fact a code god, and I....well I am the one who not only gapped on how to do a comment tag properly (HTML 101, for gods sake!), but then couldn't find the error if my life depended on it.

The sad thing is that I am a computer teacher who should know better. Even sadder yet is the fact that I am actually teaching HTML to the Grade 7's at the moment.

*hangs her head in shame and shuffles away.

****

After a good night's sleep, I am ready, nay, PUMPED to take on today's 12 hour day of school-related fun and games.

Or maybe it's the thought of martinis and the Riverchasers Razz game after that has me so pumped. Hard to say, really.

How the hell did I last an hour and a half?

Super card dead. Horrifically card dead. So card dead that an UTG allin with hammer looks pretty damn doable.

Well it would have been doable if not for the BB calling me with QQ.

No poker for me tomorrow as it's the school's Science and Technology Fair, where I have to manage twenty-five grade 8's and their robotics projects, chit chat with parents, and smile throughout.

My head hurts just thinking about it .... my martinis are already premixed and chilling in the fridge.

However.....it is the Riverchasers game at 9 tomorrow, and it's been changed to my new crush, Razz. Hmmm...maybe if I took a cab home, I could make it.

Busy as hell.
Busy as a one armed paper-hanger.
Busy as a bee.
Busy as a cat burying shit.
Busy as a funeral home fan in July.
Busy as a hound in flea season.
No, those phrases don't quite cover it.

Busy as Iggy.

There we go - that one works.

One good thing about being busy is that it's making my goal of less online poker easier to obtain. Nothing like a 87 item long to do list for breaking the must-play-every-night habit.

And no, alas, I am not exaggerating about the 87 items. Make that 88...while typing this someone dropped something on my desk. Then ran away, the coward.

Another thing that's making it easy to cut back on the online poker is the general rise in the overall douche-baggery at the online tables. honestly... when did rudeness, poor sportsmanship, lack of impulse control and general overall cuntish behaviour (see meanings 2 and 6 in particular) become goals to be achieved, instead of character flaws that really should be overcome?

Ah well. Perhaps I'm just getting too old for this shit, I guess. After putting up with all manner of juvenile behaviour during the day from the twelve year olds, I'm less inclined to put up with it from people who should really know better.


****

File this one under WTF:

Yes, I have one of these, and yes I think it rates pretty high on the icky meter. Really people ... cute cartoon characters should not be sex toys. eeew.

But this....this is truly wrong:

Good lord....what's next? No, don't answer that, I really don't really want to know.

****

In my quest to get a life, I called my pal, the Martini Goddess and invited myself out to the country on Saturday for a night of girl talk and martinis. Both were exactly what I needed, as I'm finding that my smile is making a more frequent appearance than it has in recent months.

Madame Martini is entertaining the idea of coming to Eh-Vegas. "I'll be the drunken donator for the evening", she said with a smile. "And that makes you different than the rest of us how exactly?" was my laughing reply.


****

And speaking of Eh-Vegas, it's a month away from today. This is where time becomes truly fucked up, as it will seem like it's dragging along even as it flies by.


****

A HUGE congrats to Pokertart and Bankwell on their upcoming new addition :-)


****

Any CSS gurus out there? I'm desperate for hints as to why my sidebar looks so perfect in Firefox, and yet sucks so hugely in IE. I can't pay you per se, but can forward you a blogger buy-in or send you something fun by mail.

12 hours 25 minutes ago | Posted by DrPauly
232 Players Remaining


12 hours 27 minutes ago | Posted by DrPauly

Eric "jeciimd" Chadwick Eliminated

Holding , Eric "jeciimd" Chadwick pushed all in on the turn with three spades showing. His opponent called with . Chadwick missed his flush on the river and his opponent won the pot. Chadwick, an online qualifier who won AlCantHang's BBT2: Aussie Millions Challenge, was eliminated from the tournament.

Dang!

Razz, a thoroughly frustrating form of poker, is currently exacting its cruelest revenge in history; despite all reasonable efforts to assure its extinction, it refuses to die.
~ Michael Craig, the Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide.

Kat - So just how long does a limit Razz game take?
Gracie - It's double stacks. A while
Kat - Fuck. That settles it. I need a good nights sleep!
Gracie - C'mon, register!
Kat - I feel my will crumbling...ok, why not. Have to go now and read the chapter on Razz in 6 minutes.
Gracie - Go! Read!
~ paraphrased IM with Gracie 6 minutes before start time

Good lord, I am tired today. Bone tired, stunned tired, sluggish in mind and body tired, every step a possible disaster tired, three hours of sleep while feeling crappy to start with tired.

And since it's parent-teacher interviews, I have to be at work until 8-ish tonight. So stupid not to go to bed and get restful and complete night's sleep before having to commune with parents for 5 hours. In my defense, I did NOT expect this to happen:


Yep, you got it .... I came in fourth of forty-seven in last night's edition of the Blogger Skillz Game. And yes, it took a while...over three and half hours for fourth. Of course that's aided by the fact that it took forever for fifth to bust out.

I'm still not 100% certain I like Razz, but I can see the attraction. Talk about a rush! But like with drugs, the lows are pretty brutal - I saw more people tilt than in any other game. And what's funny is that I, the Tilt-O-Whirl, didn't tilt once.

Funny, eh?

Many thanks to Surf, Joanada, Peaker and Gracie for the IM chat!

Now off to go see if a diet of smoothies, coffee and Midol can keep me 1) awake, 2) coherent, 3) pain free and 4) civil for the next ten and a half hours. Here's hoping you don't read about me in the papers tomorrow.

Starting in March, Full Tilt will hold 14 events as part of its first annual Online Charity Poker Series.

All of the rake from these tourneys ($5 or $10, depending on the tourney) will go to the selected charity for that event. More will be added to the list below:

Alzheimer's Association
Bad Beat on Cancer
American Diabetes Association
Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
Save Darfur
Autism Speaks
Doctors Without Borders

...but sometimes I find stuff I can actually use.

I am going to FIND this, buy a CASE of it, and SEND it to the fuckers who call an allin with SHIT, CATCH on the fucking RIVER, and then have the fucking NERVE to yap on about how they were ahead the whole time, and how they rock/I suck at poker.

****

Yeah, I KNOW it's a parody, and is not really available. But a girl can dream, right?

This black and white clip has perked me up immensely on a very black and white kind of day...don't ask me why.

Must be witchcraft.

thanks to Tenmile for a new meme, which happily lands on a day that I have absolutely zero that I want to write about publicly.

****

Here are the rules: Put your music player on shuffle. Press forward for each question. Use the song title as the answer to the question even if it doesn't make sense.

30 Songs:

How am I feeling today? I'm Bored.

Will I get far in life? Crushed

What's your current state of mind? Breather

How do my friends see me? Blonde and Blue

Where will I get married? Troops of Tomorrow

What is your view of marriage? Euphoria

What is my best friend's theme song? When the Angles Sing

What is the story of my life? Well Did You Evah?

What is/was high school like? Will You Catch Me?

How can I get ahead in life? Well That Was Easy

What is the best thing about me? Death Disco

What is today going to be like? The Way I Like It

What is in store for this weekend? Blame It On The Moon

Describe my parents? Drop Dead Celebration

Describe my grandparents? The Empire Strikes First

How is my life going? Beautiful Thing

What song will they play at my funeral? It's Oh So Quiet

How does the world see me? Rock n Roll High School

Will I have a happy life? Coloured Bedspread

What do my friends really think of me? Hotel For Women

Do people secretly lust after me? Prelude

How can I make myself happy? Sweetest Drop

What should I do with my life? Inbetween Days Shiver Mix

Will I ever have children? Cowboys

What is some good advice for me? Fish Below The Ice

How will I be remembered? Image Change

What is my signature dancing song? Gimme Shelter

What is my current theme song? Everything That Rises

What do people think my current theme song is? Vision Thing

What type of men/women do you like? Kinda Nice, I Like It

****

This proves once again that randomness is surreal.

WHERE

Well, the casinos in Niagara are out; the most they can do is a 10 person SnG. Anything more than that and we'd have to submit our info and get approval through the A.G.C.O. (Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario).

Oh, I don't think so.

I talked to the owner of the club, and he is being very accommodating. He wants no juice for the tourney, and just asks that we look after the dealers. Plus if we want to keep to ourselves and run a private cash game after, he'll reduce the rake for us. He said that Saturday nights are fairly busy, so there will be other cash tables as well.

The new location is nice and spacious, with seating, a bar area (we'll BYOB), and a separate room for smokers so you don't have to stand outside and freeze your ass off to get your hit.


WHEN

Tentative plans look like this:

Friday - some options are

1. head up to the northland for a Tuckfard game (it's about an hour out of the city so not sure if this is feasible - I sure don't want to be the DD)
2. head to the Falls (see above)
3. dinner and hang out for debauchery and degeneracy at bars, strip clubs, etc.

Saturday
Have talked to Astin and he is game to cook dinner on Saturday for us all ("Hey, if it'll lock in Al, I'm in!). And he's not that far from the club so we can venture over after. I'm thinking a 7-ish start time for the tourney, and I'm open for suggestions on blind structures. I'd like something that will 1) make a good pot and 2) keep people playing. My initial thought is a $50 +$10 for dealers, with one rebuy and one add on.

Sunday
throughts here are for recovery, brunch and a trip to Niagara for sightseeing and/or more gambling degeneracy


WHO

Confirmed are:

• Me
• Astin
• Pokertart & Bankwell
• BamBam, Pebbles, Carson and 5 or so other Tuckfards
• Joanada
  
• Alcanthang
  
• Riggstad
• Iakaris
• Vinnay

Unconfirmed but have expressed interest:

• Irongirl
• BWoP
• LJ
• Surflexus
• a few others that I can't remember
  

If you're interested in coming, let me know and I'll add you to the list!


WHERE TO STAY

Like any big city, the T-dot has a lot of hotels. Some are great, some are divey. Some are hideously expensive, while others are much more reasonable.

I've checked Expedia and it seems like there are a number of decent downtown hotels that are in the $80-$100 range. As of today I'm finding:

• Courtyard by Marriott Downtown Toronto for $99 /night
• Days Hotel and Conference Centre Toronto for $94.50/night
• Ramada Plaza for $89/night
• Comfort Hotel Downtown Toronto for $94
• Super 8 in Chinatown for $95/night
• Sutton Place Hotel for $120/night

I know nothing about any of these except for the Comfort Hotel, which was good for the price. I'd recommend checking some reviews, and staying away from anything that has less than 2.5 stars or has the word Airport in it's name. drop me a comment or email if you'd like more info about a specific hotel. FYI, the club and Astin's place are close to the Spadina/Queen West area.

I have had a big post rattling around in my noggin about resolutions. But I hate the whole idea of New Year's Resolutions, mainly because everybody else does them and I hate being a bandwagon jumper.

But I've come to the conclusion that I needs me some goals to get me through the next phase in life. Bad things happen when I drift too much; I think too much and my thoughts become too self centered, opening the door for Jealousy, and her sister, Bitterness. I'm tired of it. Enough already.

It being the beginning of a new year, and everyone eager for the usual fresh starts, Lifehacker had a timely post on managing resolutions that hit me at the right time.

I <3 Lifehacker.

I won't bore you with the details of my goals, but I've wrangled them from the general (I want to be a better person and lose weight) to the specific and measurable (go out with Keith or with friends at least twice a week, play 10% less poker and donate that buy-in money to Kiva.org). My goals can pretty much be summed in in six words:


Less online life, more live life.


I love you all dearly, but I really need to step away from the keyboard and get my ass out my front door more often. WAY more often.

So far my plan is working. On Sunday I joined my pal Su for brunch, catching up over a lovely wild mushroom and brie omelet.

Tuesday saw me meeting the lovely, newly-blonde Tawny downtown and heading out to Mr and Mrs. Sauga for some live poker. They've moved further out so the days of weekly home game are over, but a bi-monthly or monthly game is in the works. We had a slight misstep while getting on the GO Train ("OHMIGAWD, we're on the wrong train", followed by a mad dash while the doors were closing), but it was a nice night of poker and Rock Band.

Yesterday I joined Astin at the club for their Wednesday $40 tournament. They've recently lowered all their weekly buyins to $40, and added an Omaha tourney on Thursdays, so it opens up a lot more nights for me. They've also recently moved and the new space is so much bigger!

Reviewing my play during the two nights of live poker, I've come to the realisation that like an 80-year-old driver, I've deluded myself into thinking that I'm still an above-average driver when it's obvious to all and sundry that my skills have slipped and I've fallen into bad habits. My live game both nights was sooooooo weak-passive, and I misplayed perfectly decent hands while making little or no effort to make reads.

Time to take myself to skule. And to remember that the range of hands to play in a live donkey game with a fast blind structure is much different than the range in a blogger game.

The BEST hand of the night came just before the first break. A table had broken, and Astin and another player I recognize were seated at my table. I don't remember the pre-flop betting pattern, but ended up that it was just Astin and the other new player were the only ones in the hand, and the other guy was allin. When he flipped over aces, I leaned over and jokingly asked Astin "So what are you going to crack them with?". With KQ KJ off apparently, with a set on the river no less.

I really need to start channeling my inner Astin.

I've been tagged by BamBam, and so here goes:

My "top five things you'd like something automated to be able to say" are:

1. Something like a Staples Easy button that says "No, I will not troubleshoot, fix, make recommendations or interact with your computer in any way. And especially not for free like you seem to think."
2. Something like a Staples Easy button for school that says "No you may not got to the bathroom. You don't really have to go, you're just bored."
3. Printers that shout to the person who used the last sheet of paper "FILL me dumbass!"
   
4. A cell phone that says 'Charge me tonight, or I will fail midday tomorrow without notice."
   
5. A proximity sensor on my motorcycle that would blare "BACK OFF!" to the guy tailgating me, or "I AM HERE! " to the idiots on their cellphones beside me who change lanes without looking first ("oh, I'm sorry I didn't see you." fucking cagers.).
6. BONUS: when I set my alarm clock at night, a soft soothing voice will say, "There, that day's over. Tomorrow will be better".
   

I've been struggling with dark feelings lately, and bitterness seems to have a found a home in a corner of my heart. The eviction process is underway, but there are days when I cry for no reason or, even worse, am overcome by a case of the whatevers so strong that I can barely summon the energy to get out of pajamas.

I know the whatevers are insidious, but had no idea how much so until today. Today while in a SnG, I got AA twice (held both times), KK (held again), 3 flush draws that turned/rivered into the winning hand, took out two players with flopped quad sixes, and easily came in first for a much needed bankroll boost. And all I could say is

whatever.

Ok, the holidays are thankfully past us once more, and it's time to cast my eyes upon the next thing: Eh-Vegas.

The date has been set for the weekend of February 23/24, and I've got a few options that I'd like to bounce off y'all that are planning on joining the Northern version of WPBT degeneracy.

1) Niagara Falls & have the tourney at Fallsview or Niagara casino

• lots to do, both gaming and touristy stuff
  
• readily available cash games, slots, craps, etc.
• good hotels available with Falls view for not that much mobnay
  

2) Toronto & have tourney at club

• lots to do in TO, not as much gaming unless we get a home game (dependent on how many people come)
• cash game available after tourney
• again, good hotels are reasonably priced and close
  

3) Toronto & have home game

• space is an issue
• environment, smoking vs non-smoking - don't get me wrong, I'll jump at the chance to play a Tuckfard game again happily, but I'm a non-smoker, and was having a hard time near the end
  
• don't have to pay juice

I'm sure there are other pros and cons, but it's late and my brain is a tad fried. Please let me know 1) if you're hoping/planning/thinking on coming and b) which option sounds best. Comment here or email to badkatitude at gmail dot com. I can't guarantee what you want will happen, but I'll do the best I can to accommodate the majority (within reason *grin).