January 2010, Las Vegas Trip Report, Part 3 - Lucy(pher) in the Sky with Diamonds

You're only as young as the last time you changed your mind. – Timothy Leary

Friday was our 10th Anniversary. We celebrated by sleeping in and reminisced about our honeymoon, ten years prior in Las Vegas. The weather is supposed to improve but only barely does so. We enjoyed brunch at IHOP on the old end of the strip since we had eaten there during our first trip to Vegas together. It was decent, and in fact, better than both the IHOPs near home in Texas, but not great.
Sadly, the Holy Cow brewpub, another interesting eatery we enjoyed on our honeymoon (also located near the Sahara), has been out of business for a few years. After brunch, we went downtown to the Golden Nugget and Fremont Street. Downtown Las Vegas looks older, crappier, and more dilapidated every time I go there. It’s not even a shadow of its former self, it’s a sad reminder like an old faded poster of a band that used to be good. The Golden Nugget is the only decent looking place down there. Their poker room was almost empty on Friday around noon. I should have inquired about the room used to film High Stakes Poker. I would love to sit at the table, get a photo, and even buy some merchandise but if the possibility even exists, they don’t advertise it effectively since I did not see anything about it while we were there. Don’t they know that HSP is the best poker show (AINEC) around? One would think they would take advantage of this marketing and merchandising opportunity given all of the Nugget branding in the show.

After we left the Nugget, we headed over to the Mirage to get our pre-purchased tickets to Love from the will call window so we don’t get stuck in a long line the night of the show. They have a magnificent marine aquarium with lots of coral (photo above).

At approximately 2pm, the Mirage poker room appeared almost dead with only two tables going. I notice there are no CardPlayer magazines in the Mirage poker room either. Surprisingly, the waitresses at Mirage seem a bit long in the tooth, as well as, not as shapely as I would expect for people that spend all day on their feet.

After we left the near empty Mirage, we went to the Fashion Mall on the strip. Foolishly, we did not valet and had to tour the garage for about 20 minutes to find an available parking spot. Despite the sort of interesting exterior appearance of this place, the mall itself was bland, unimpressive, and un-Vegas like. It basically resembled any other shopping mall anywhere in the country. I thought it was a terrible waste of limited Vegas time. Why in the world do people shop while in Vegas? You pay to fly there. You pay to stay there. And then, with all the unique activities one could engage in while in Vegas, thousands of people shop.
I don’t get it at all. I saw nothing there that I could not acquire in a mall in Houston or from the comfort of my own home on the internet. Plus, you have to carry or haul your newly purchased crap back home enduring the airlines draconian baggage policies or pay to mail it. WTF? We don’t waste too much time at the mall. Once my wife sees the thing, she agrees with me that it’s no different than the mall back home and that coming to Vegas and shopping seems silly.

When we get back to Planet Hollywood, she wants to relax in the room and I, of course, head back to the poker room. I obtain seat 3 and immediately become acquainted with some interesting characters. Sitting next to me (in the 2 seat) is a redheaded woman I will call the “California cougar” since, judging from her hands and face, she is roughly 55 but her boyfriend (in the 8 seat) is at most 30. She is chatty, frontally augmented, and tells me she is from some place in California that has a nearby casino but I have never heard of. She also tells me she likes to play suited connectors but I don’t see her show any during the approximately two hours she is at my table. At the opposite end of the table (seat 7) is a big, affable gentleman from South Carolina named Billy. Billy is the table captain, a solid player, and has the entire table covered thanks to him felting a couple of opponents soon after I sat down. A new fellow, soon to be revealed as a complete neophyte, takes the seat to the right of the cougar (i.e. the 1 seat) and his buddy takes the 4 seat. I start straddling my button each time I have the chance. Soon, most everyone is doing the same. The neophyte revealed himself when he straddled his button, no one raised, and when the dealer looked at him and asked option? He folded. Yes, folded. Every time he was big blind and there was no raise and every time he straddled his own button and there was no raise, he folded when asked about his option. The dealer subtly grinned as she mucked his hand but never said a word about it.

Soon, the neophyte and Billy get into a big hand. Having watched the novice a few rounds, he never bets without a really solid hand although he called and chased a few times. The flop has two spades and the river brings a third spade. Neophyte shoves all in. Billy says call but does not move his chips forward since his stack is huge and he easily has the other guy covered. The neophyte apparently did not hear him say call and thought he said fold since he did not push any chips forward so he flips his hand forward face down and reaches for the pot. Billy tables Ks - Qs for the King high flush and stares at him. The dealer begins to gather the pot and push it to Billy when the noob says, “wait!” The dealer says, “Sir, you mucked your hand”. The noob says I thought he (Billy) said “fold.” The dealer begins to explain what happened, still preparing to push the pot to Billy, when Billy, the Southern gentleman, tells the dealer to turn up the noob’s hand and let it play. The dealer says OK and turns up the noob’s As-9s for the nut flush and Billy graciously loses a pot of approximately $450 with a shrug and a wry smile. Now that, my friends, is a true Southern gentleman. To make matters worse, the neophyte picks up all his chips and leaves right after that preventing Billy or anyone else from winning any back. Now, in my home game, if a new guy did that against me, I would definitely behave the same way Billy did. However, this is Las Vegas and the noob was a complete stranger, so I have to admit, I doubt I would have been so kind.

While I am still contemplating what I would have done, my button arrives and I straddle it again. I am dealt 4h- 5h. The flop comes 10 high with two hearts. When the 10h comes on the river, one of my opponents goes all in. I wonder if he has a higher flush so I replayed the hand in my head. I did not put him on a flush so I called. He tables K-10 for trip tens. I table my flush and he’s felted. Minutes later, my wife arrives and says she is ready to go eat so I cash out (up one buy in).

We dine at the Spice Market buffet, which had come highly recommended, and are regrettably underwhelmed. Great diversity of entrees but most of it has been sitting too long to be really good. Like everyone else mentioned in the Bible, I am quite fond of lamb but sadly, the lamb kabobs were overdone and chewy. I tried the osso bucco but it was also chewy and compromised from sitting too long under the heat lamps. The beef short ribs were good but not excellent. The prime rib was the best of the meats since it was deliciously juicy and rare. My wife, not being much of a food adventuress, stuck with her favorite and enjoyed the pizza - which was surprisingly good. While I usually skip dessert, I indulged and was glad I did. The desserts were very good. The service was reasonably attentive and kept our glasses full of their iced tea – which was tasty and definitely freshly brewed. Finally, the time had arrived to go see Cirque Du Soleil – LOVE. The Mirage poker room was packed to capacity at 9pm on Friday. Surprisingly, floor waitresses are no better looking on the night shift at Mirage than they are on the day shift. Maybe just another sign of how far the Mirage has fallen. The show, LOVE, was very good, and in fact, quite trippy. Someone in the creation/design of this show has enjoyed an altered state of mind and their influence and creativity was not lost on me. The music sounded incredibly clear and good. Seating is comfortable and no better/worse than any other large concert type venue. Given the success of this show and the fact that there is already a similar show about Elvis’s music, I am wondering how long it will be before we see a similar show about the Stones, Led Zep, etc. For good bands that made good music with wide market appeal, there are new fans waiting to be created. Suffice to say, my wife appreciates the Beatles more now than ever before. As we left, we talked about the music and the show. I hugged my wife closely and gently reminded her, I told you it was good stuff a long time ago but you know what they say about prophets in their own land.

January 2010, Las Vegas Trip Report, Day 2, - An Introduction to the Uncapped Button Straddle

Part of it went on gambling, and part of it went on women. The rest I spent foolishly. – George Raft

As I awoke on Thursday morning, I could still hear thunder and knew it was going to be another rainy day on the Strip. Getting dressed, I overhear the news and they say that Las Vegas has had more rainfall in January of 2010 than all of 2009 combined - FML.

We decide to have brunch nearby at a Vegas classic, The PepperMill Lounge on the Strip. The food is good and plentiful; imagine an upscale Denny’s or IHOP that serves twice the volume of food per plate. The service is friendly but swift, in short excellent. The atmosphere is also good although they would not let us eat by the cool looking fires they had in the lounge (even after I courteously pointed out that the lounge was open but empty). WTF? After brunch, we make a quick run to the Palace Station to pick up some information for relatives that would be staying there in a few weeks. I swing by their small poker room and see two tables going but no CardPlayer magazines to be had. The day remained rainy and rather cold so we headed back to Planet Hollywood to walk through their Miracle Mile of shops. Most of the shops seemed to be selling stuff that no one was buying – either because it was crappy merchandise or because it was overpriced or both. I discover a microbrew distribution site within the mall called Sin City Brewing Co.. Never being one to pass up an opportunity to enjoy a good beer, I belly up to the bar and order a pint of their Amber ale. It is good but while I am enjoying it, the serving wench suggests I try their seasonal special IPA. Rarely needing an excuse for a second cold one after I have enjoyed a first one, I agree and order one of the IPAs. She was absolutely correct and the beer was excellent (and would prove to be the tastiest I would enjoy during the entire trip). I celebrate the moment and reward the Sin City Brewing Co. (for their outstanding brews) by purchasing one of their bowling shirts emblazoned with their trademark “devil woman”.
We mosey back into the casino and take our daily free spin (on a gigantic slot machine) as members of the Planet Hollywood A-List Players Club. We weren’t expecting to win anything but just for entertainment value we figured why not.
As expected, my wife, who swears she isn’t lucky, won a silly hat. I, on the other hand, who do consider myself at least a little lucky, won $100 in free slot play – Ship it! Of course, since I completely eschew slots, I promptly give it to her to enjoy while I am playing poker and she graciously accepts. Speaking of player’s club bonii, an additional value of joining was the coupon book they give you when you sign up. Most of the stuff in it is crap but there was an additional slot play give away and even better (IMO), a match play coupon in each book for $25.00.
I head over to a blackjack table to use my coupon (I used to play blackjack before I discovered poker but now I play exclusively poker). However, this was a justifiable excuse since the coupon made my wager +EV. I whip out my cash and present the dealer with the coupon. I am the only one at the table. He deals me a 5 and a 2. I take another card and get a 10, so I stop at 17. The dealer busts, I say “ship it”, and he cheerfully pays me. I tip him and leave the table immediately. Meanwhile, my wife asks me to explain what just happened. I do so and she then produces her coupon book and asks me if I can do it again. I playfully ask, are you serious? Then, before she can say anything, I confidently answer my own question - Of course, I can. So, we walk over to a different empty blackjack table. With aplomb, I whip out one of the green chips I just won along with her coupon and place them on the table. The dealer proceeds to deal me two face cards for 20. She has a face card and a 5 so she hits and busts. I smile and before I can say anything, my wife excitedly says, “Ship it!” I laugh, tip the dealer, and we walk away quite pleased since we just netted a quick $200 ($100 in free slot play and $100 in match play blackjack) for taking the time to join the A-List Players Club.
As we walk by the poker room, I look around for a magazine to read. Evidently CardPlayer magazine is not being disseminated via poker rooms anymore. What’s up with that? Meanwhile, we hear some shouting and look to see what it is. It is a young guy with his buddies walking through the casino shouting “Viva, Las Vegas” with a beer in each hand and a belt resembling an ammo belt full of more beer. It is not even 4pm, yet. You gotta love Las Vegas and clearly, the young guys were having a great time. Anyway, we decide to go to the MGM and see their CSI exhibit/attraction. The wife is a big fan. While I am not the follower of the show she is, I have seen it a few times and the one set in Las Vegas is pretty good.
The concept has merit but the delivery/execution of the thing was well below my expectations for a Las Vegas attraction. It was OK but appeared to be more about selling CSI merchandise than entertaining the public. The whole thing was better than it might otherwise have been since the friendly lady with the accent selling us the tickets winked/smiled and said, you two are in the military, right? - and proceeded to sell us tickets for the military discount of half price.
We eat at Planet Dailies, the Planet Hollywood “coffee shop” for dinner. It is way overpriced for anything resembling a coffee shop. My baked ham and cheese sandwich was so salty that I could not finish it (I like salt so if it was too salty for me, look out). Wife’s Kobe burger is decent but not great considering the price - we should have taken the time to go to In/Out Burger.
We decide it is time to get our gamble on. She heads over to a bank of slots and I head to the poker room.
Immediate seating is available (it’s approx. 10 pm) and as I am taking my seat, an announcement comes over the PA system regarding the Planet Hollywood poker room’s “Aces Cracked” promotion that runs from 10am-Noon, 2pm – 4pm, and 2am – 4am. If one has their pocket Aces cracked during the promo, they get $200. I overhear some nits talking about playing their Aces in a way to help get them cracked. My opinion is that it’s just a little insurance in case the hand goes sour but if I get Aces, I will play them for full value in the hand. As I am getting comfortable in my seat and observing the table, I notice the player to my left is hilarious. He is making humorous remarks, good naturedly needling his opponents, and generally having a good time. I like having fun people at the table because it enhances my own entertainment, as well as, usually loosens up the table. It turns out, the funny guy is an off duty dealer and well known in the room. At Planet Hollywood, one can straddle one’s own button. Here’s how it works. Either the UTG player or the button may straddle. If they both attempt to do so, the button has priority. What is weird is that the button gets to act last pre flop, too. When it is his turn to act and he has straddled, the action passes the dealer and the blinds have to act – and, then it comes back to the dealer to act. The straddle has to be $5.00 period. No other amounts are usually allowed. The off duty dealer guy is straddling every time he can. He is also encouraging others to do so, too. I think about it and figure, who wouldn’t want to straddle his own button – thereby putting more money in the pot with the best position both pre and post flop? Most everyone is doing it when the off duty dealer guy tells the table that we could all agree to let the button straddle be for any amount if we wanted to. Clearly, he is a proponent of this plan and he succeeds in convincing the whole table to agree. This is where the action went wild.
Sadly, I am completely card dead and getting grinded down by the table full of action with no flop getting seen for less that $30 or more. So I am waiting for a spot to go to work. Finally, my patience is rewarded when I get A-K in the CO. The off duty dealer guy button straddles it to $30 pre. BB raises to $60 and before I can speak, button announces all in. I tell the dealer I have not acted yet and have live cards. I think for a minute and call which means I am also all in since the button has me covered. BB also calls. We table our hands. BB has A-Qo. Button has A-Ks. I have A-Ko. All five cards are dealt and no one hits anything so the button and I split the pot. However, the dealer, a female, splits the pot completely wrong and shafts me. I calmly but firmly speak up and, luckily, the off duty dealer agreed with me so he proceeded to instruct her how to swiftly and accurately split the pot. A few rounds later, a different guy button straddles for $30. I am in the BB and look down to see Q-Q. My only thought here is how to get the money all in as fast as possible. There is one other caller so $60 in pot and I have approx $130. I don’t like just calling and not having enough behind so I move in. MP caller folds and the button calls. I think I have to be way ahead of the straddler’s range but, unfortunately for me, he tables K-K. I don’t improve and he wins - bummer. I consider reloading, since the action is wild and I am certain I will win some money if I can play well for another hour or two. However, being honest with myself, it’s 3am and I am somewhat tired so decide I should call it a night.

January 2010, Las Vegas Trip Report, Day 1 - Anticipation and Arrival

Expecting is the greatest impediment to living. In anticipation of tomorrow, it loses today. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca

It was a soggy/foggy Wednesday morning as we prepared to leave for the airport. We are backing out of the driveway, I turn on the radio and, as if on cue, The Animals – House of the Rising Sun begins to play. As we made the long drive to the airport to get my vacation underway, I could not help but notice all the poor souls driving to work. I thought soberly to myself, all too soon, I would be returning to my job as a wage slave, too.

I could not wait to get to Las Vegas. The rainy drive to the airport, the loathsome pre-flight check in process, the seemingly endless wait before the flight, the flight, etc. - everything was just another obstacle to be overcome, another annoyance to be endured, another hour to be sacrificed - all for the sake of getting to Las Vegas. I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of discomfort I had to endure on my flight. It was the best flight ever - no headache or earache at the end, which is highly unusual for me. Nice job, Continental.

I had already obtained the weather forecast and, as we landed, we could see it was definitely raining in Las Vegas. And, it would continue raining all day in LV, including some flooding in the evening. We get our first jolt of unexpected excitement when, after watching the luggage conveyor go around repeatedly, our luggage never appears. I find an attendant and ask if any luggage was lost or late. He says, no, but some luggage arrived early on a different flight. We were greatly relieved to see our luggage was among those to which he referred.
We show our claim ticket and head outside to catch the shuttle to the rental car center. Once there, we obtain our vehicle (a thoroughly unimpressive but inexpensive Toyota yaris) and head in the direction of the Strip.

We ate our first meal at the Gordon Biersch Brewpub just off the Strip.
My Marzen burger was decent but not great. My wife’s pizza was very good. However, even though I am not normally a french fry lover, the pungent garlic fries are still my favorite thing about this place. The service was pretty good but also, not great likely due to the fact the place was packed for lunch. Despite the meal not being as good as in previous visits, it did not matter that much because now that we were actually in Las Vegas, all my anticipation was focused on how soon I would actually sit at a poker table and be dealt a hand. My “Poker-Jones” was peaking.

Since it was still too early to check in at Planet Hollywood, we drove back to the famous Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign. On past trips, it had been hard to park and get photos but a small parking area and Astroturf covered mound have been added since 2007 when I was last here. We brave the rain to get a few souvenir photos next to the famous sign.

We finally get to check into Planet Hollywood and I, of course, attempt the $20.00 trick (i.e. obtaining a room upgrade for a $20 tip). To my chagrin, the clerk refused to accept the tip and, although he went through the motions of checking for an available upgrade, I was not at all surprised that he did not find one. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, although we did not get the upgrade, at least I got to keep the $20. First wager in LV = a push.

I make my way to Planet Hollywood poker room approx. 5:30pm. There are 4-5 tables of 1-2 NLHE going. I look for Joe Viator, whom I have been following on Twitter, to introduce myself but before I can find him I am called to my seat. The moment I have been anxiously waiting for all day, if not all week, has finally arrived. Notable hands included the following:

I am dealt A-A on first hand in CO, incredible! I bet $15 into a few limpers and get 2 callers. Flop is J high and checked to me. I bet 40 and everyone folds. I don’t show, of course. I probably should have checked behind to draw them in. I proceed to get A-A twice more in first hour and reduce my open bet to $10 but no one calls anyway.

I build my stack up with some more small wins with non descript hands but soon get K-K and open for $15. I get 2 callers. Flop is 10 high, and I bet $30 into $45 pot hoping for a little action.

A TAG re-raises to $130 (more action than I wanted with one pair) and from his demeanor, I sense he out flopped me (maybe set, maybe 2 pair). I do not think calling would be right since I would be committed, I need to raise all in or fold so after thinking, I fold (later he says he had 2 pair).

A few hands later, I get A-Jo. I open bet and flop is J high. I bet again and have one caller. Turn is another J so I check behind to act scared of the 2nd J. Opponent fires a ½ pot bet on bricked river. I raise, he insta mucks, and a I drag in a decent pot.

Soon, I limp in with Q-7. Flop is Q-7-4. Turn = 7 River = J and I win about a $100 pot.

Limp 3-3 from EP and turn a set of 3s but everyone folds to my ½ pot bet and another monster goes to waste. Not much later, I get dealt pocket 10s and I win another small pot. Within minutes, my wife arrives and it is time to go for now. I cash out 2 buy ins up for a nice start to my trip.

We decide to have an inexpensive dinner so Ellis Island it is. This place is one of the best values near the Strip. It offers consistently good food at ridiculously low prices. Added bonus is they are also a brewpub and offer $1 micro brewed beer, as well as my wife’s favorite, micro brewed root beer. I recommend the off menu steak dinner special.

After dinner, I had about a 10 minute wait to be seated on Wednesday night at approx. 11pm. There were 7 tables of 1-2 NLHE going.

Notable hands:

Early on, I get one of my favorite hands, 10-10, in LP. I always open bet with 10s (and Js, too) so I made $15 to play after a couple of limpers - the loose guy to my left calls and so does one of the limpers, so it’s three to the flop. Flop is Q-10-4. Limper checks, I check knowing the other guy would bet it if I checked, and he does not disappoint. He bets about $30, the limper folds and I raise enough to put the rest of his stack at risk. I have him covered and he calls. I table my set and he groans and says he has a Queen. He doesn’t improve and I felt my first opponent of the trip.

After (foolishly) choosing to fold garbage hands like K-3o and Q-4o (rather than just limping in) and then seeing those garbage hands catch flops like 4- 4-10 and some guy with the 10 winning, or 3-3-7, etc. I started playing/limping some junk trying to catch a miracle. All I ever got were some top pair/weak kicker hands that had to be folded to big bets on the turn or river. Finally, I get A-K. I open to 10 and get a couple of callers. Flop is A high, turn is K and I win approx. $80.

Later, I see a flop with 7-10 in LP and flop a made straight (flop = 6-8-9). An Ace comes on the turn and my sole remaining opponent leads into me confidently. Thinking the Ace helped him and my call here would commit me, I go ahead and raise all in. My opponent thinks for a minute before calling. I table my straight and he tables his. We both had 7-10 for the same straight and chop the pot.

Near the end of my session, I get 10-10 again. I open bet to 15 and get two callers again, one is a short stack. Flop is 6 high. I bet the pot and get called by the short stack (whom I think has 7-7, 8-8, 9-9, or a big Ace). Turn pairs the 6 on the board and I bet again, opponent raises, I 3 bet all in (because I have tight image and I could not believe the opponent called me preflop with a 6 in hand) and they call. To my surprise, they had called my open bet with 4-6s, then called my flop bet with top pair and no kicker(which is usually a recipe for disaster for my opponents) and then got lucky. Keep in mind, I have shown nothing but winners (with primarily good starting hands) all night. Arghhh….talk about unobservant opponents, fortunately, I had the opponent covered so I was not felted. However, it was after 3 am Thursday morning (I had been up since 4 am Wednesday) and I was feeling mentally fatigued so I called it a night (while I was still up for the day). There would be much more Vegas to be had and I didn’t want to make my traditional mistake of over doing it on day one.

I Guess They Threw All the Beads in New Orleans, Mardi Gras Galveston 2010

I just want Texas to be number one in something other than executions, toll roads and property taxes. – Kinky Friedman

The weather was beautiful on Saturday morning and I was up early to attend the annual Galveston County Master Gardener’s Fruit Tree sale. Having been twice before, I knew what sort of chaos to expect and got there early. This sale offers fruit tree varieties that are particularly well suited to our south Texas climate and grown with love by real master gardeners. They are sold either bare root or potted in 3-5 gallon containers. I bought a bare root Beauty Plum tree to add to my two MidPride Peach trees, and navel Orange tree (purchased at my two previous visits). Having been prepared, I was the first one to check out and headed straight home to plant my new tree.

As it got closer to Noon, we loaded up the boys and headed to the Seawall to see the first Mardi Gras parade of the day. The most noteworthy guy they had in this parade this year was none other than the former Texas Gubernatorial candidate, Kinky Friedman, chomping his trademark cigar. Sadly, (as you can see from the picture) neither Kinky nor the other folks in the parade were throwing many beads, and consequently, the parade watchers were not properly bead adorned. As one of the lucky ones to have previously ridden floats in the parade, I can confirm that you are supposed to be throwing beads as fast and furiously to the crowds as you can. The folks in this parade, apparently, had not gotten the memo about proper Mardi Gras parade etiquette.

In any case, we ended the afternoon on a high note by stopping by the locally famous, Queen’s Bar-B-Que. I had a sliced beef po-boy and my wife and son enjoyed the chipped beef po-boys. The sandwiches were good but not sufficiently large and, as usual when I go to Queen’s, I could have easily eaten two.

PokerStars WBCOOP 2010

Good ideas are a dime a dozen, bad ones are free. – Douglas Horton

I do not usually play freerolls. The fields are simply too large, the time needed is too long, and the play is usually horrendous. However, the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker is no ordinary freeroll. The bragging rights alone would be worth the win. Sadly, I fared about the same as I usually do in really big fields. I waste a few hours playing well only to get busted out of the money. Here are some of the gory details:

2nd orbit I get 2 black Kings in the BB – everyone folds to me before I can even bet.

3rd orbit 2 red Kings in the CO – I bet 3xbb – everyone folds.

I get J-J, open bet and get called. Flop is all undercards and I shove all in, get called and I double up when his draw doesn’t get there.

A-A in MP and open bet 3xbb but everyone folds!

Finally, some action - I flop a flush draw with Jh-10h and make it on turn. I am up to t5210.

4-4 holds up and I am at t5945 as we go to the first break.

I got a couple of suited Aces(A-Js and A-9s), open bet got called, missed flop, made C-bet and won pot.

“Sitter Outers” are dying off quickly now, I am at t6045.

I make it to the second break but, at t3915 and below average, it’s shove or fold time.

M = 6 and I get Q-Q in MP. I shove and get no action.

M = 3 and I get A-Jo so I shove. Get called by 5-5 and I don’t improve.

I am out in 240th. (Sigh), maybe next year.

Notables seen included: MemphisMOJO, TanOrpheus, Rakewell1, Fuel55, Lightning36.

Who Dat Talkin Bout Partying in New Orleans?

We Americans are a peculiar people. We are for the underdog, no matter how much of a dog he is. – Happy Chandler

Once again, I will be pulling for the underdog in the Super Bowl. The Saints have (IMO) paid their dues. That doesn’t entitle them to a win but it is enough to net my support for the game. Down here, we have called them the “Ain'ts” for a long time since they “ain’t” really ever gone very far in the NFL Playoffs and, the prevailing opinion was, they “ain’t” likely to next year either. However, the synergy between the coach, the quarterback, and the rest of the Saints has impressed me this season. They will have to play very well to best the Colts and Manning but it is possible. Believe me, Mardi Gras kicks off this weekend and anything is possible.
Go Saints!