Fenway Update

Fenway went into the vet this morning.  He still has a couple of spots of skin infection on his leg so the vet won’t operate on him.  The risk of infection to the knee is too great.  So we will get him back later today just as he left.  Maybe we can get him on the road to recovery next week.  Thanks for the well-wishes.

Fenway’s Knee

Dr. K and I decided a long time ago that there would be no little Ks running around the K estate. Instead, we have 2 children that most people call dogs. Dr. K named the dogs Fenway and Wrigley. You can tell she is a baseball fan.

Both dogs are from the same kennel and both are golden retrievers. That is about where the similarities end. Fenway is the older of the two. He is male, smart, beautiful, playful, demanding, and a bit of a loner when everything is well. When he doesn’t feel well, he demands attention to the point of being clingy. Here is a recent picture of our boy:

Wrigley is the sweetest dog you will ever meet. She doesn’t have the classic good looks of Fenway. She is not very bright, can’t track, doesn’t play, loves to sleep, and is totally devoted to Dr. K. She can be funny as hell though she doesn’t mean to be. But as far as being loyal or a good pet, she is awesome.

We’ve been having a problem with Fenway over the past week and a half. Fenway blew out his knee. He was running in the back yard and snapped his ACL. I was outside with him and heard it pop. I didn’t know dogs did such things. A quick search of Bing shows that they do.

Today, Fenway is undergoing surgery to repair his leg. For the next 12 weeks we have to keep him from running or playing as he loves to do. He won’t be able to go out without being on a leash. That part means that Dr. K and I will be going out with the dog in one hand and an umbrella in the other.

I’m no parent, but watching the dog go through this has been heart-breaking. We are hoping for the best. I’ll post updates, and maybe some gross post-op pictures, here soon.

Side Boob

I’ve noticed that posting a picture of a hot lady showing ample side boob increased the viewership of my podcast site.  Case in point: http://gtpodcast.com.  I’ve also noticed that mentioning such posts also increases traffic.  This may become a regular feature.

Overdue Vegas Trip Report

No excuses.  Let’s just get to it.

This trip ran from March 7-10.  There was a plan where I could be stopping in Vegas at the end of February.  That trip was cancelled when a customer I was to visit pulled the plug. When my next planned trip (end of March) fell through, I hooked up with Brian the Red and crew and headed out with the gang.

The digs on this trip were the suites of the Venetian.  Thanks to Papa Skoon, I had a bed for one night and a sofa for 2 (which I didn’t use much).  I’ve not stayed at the V before.  It is the location of the best poker room in town so I always stay close.  I doubt I would fork over $200+ per night when other good alternatives exist for under $80, but it was very nice to be so close and in such a nice room.  Thanks, Skoon!

Now for the bottom line.  I was in Vegas about 70 hours and played poker for 34 of them.  More importantly than that, I won at poker.  I didn’t realize it until I double-checked the numbers.  Here it is in graphical form:

The red line on the chart above is the running net for the trip.  I actually thought I had lost a bit less than $200, but either my math was off or I lost more in random machines and roulette than I remembered.  You will notice that I peaked on Monday with an 8th place at the Venetian Noon tourney, then had a horrible time until Wednesday morning when a furious run brought be back above water.

I got a couple of interviews for the podcast while in Vegas and laid the groundwork for more in the future.  Those interviews are planned for show #012 to be released on Sunday. 

We did visit Aria and City Center.  I’m not real impressed.  It would be spectacular anywhere else I’ve ever been, but so are many resorts on the Vegas Strip.  The poker room was OK, as was the decor.  The staff was polite without being overly enthusiastic.  I’ll probably go back sometime, but I can’t think of a good reason right now.

I’m not sure when I will get back to Vegas.  There may be a trip to AZ in a few weeks, so maybe I can schedule a stop-over then.  I’ll definitely be making a trek out in October for my birthday.  Anyone who wants to party is welcome to join (almost certainly Oct  22-25, maybe one or two more days).

There’s been lots else to write about in the past few weeks.  I’ll get that out shortly.

Conservative Values

Let me be one of the first to condemn the actions and reactions of some on the right to the passage of the healthcare reform act(s).  The shattering of windows and threats of violence against anyone involved (especially the President) are acts of treason against this country and the conservative movement.  Those actions do much more harm than good.  Stop it!  You get no support, only scorn, from the vast majority of republicans, libertarians, and conservatives.  Grow up.

When a poker tourney gets raided, the players hope it is the police.

That has never been more clearly illustrated than at the EPT Germany.  Check this article by MSNBC:

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/35744551/ns/sports-other_sports/

Robbers made off with the prize pool of over a million dollars.  I’m sure my friends in the poker media are already far ahead of me and MSNBC already. 

When the raid happens, if the raiders are the police, the players usually face loss of the money in the game and a ticket.  If the raiders are robbers, people can be killed.  I’d take the police every time.

US Gov’t Poisoned Citizens?

I found this story very interesting in light of the current debate over health care in this US.

http://www.slate.com/id/2245188

Zealots of every stripe are very dangerous.

What to do with ‘a Jerk’ at the table?

Interesting times at a not so local poker game this weekend.  BtR and I traveled to a new (to us) location in Asheville for a Friday night poker game.  The setup was nice.  The host (who was also great) had a full-sized poker table in his man-cave.  The cave also came complete with a toilet and fridge nearby, both of which are critical to the proper poker environment.

I got off to a ‘great’ start when I got 6x4x in the un-raised big blind.  The flop came 3x5x7x rainbow – the absolute perfect flop for this hand.  I push out a standard bet.  Player +1 makes a healthy raise and BtR calls.  I shove the remainder of my initial 100 buy-in.  Player +1 calls and BtR folds.  Player +1 says “Well, if you’ve got a straight, you’ve got a straight.” to which I reply “I’ve got a straight.”  He turns over a pair of sevens for a set.  The turn is another 5 and I’m off to get another buy-in.

Much of the rest of the night was mostly unplayable cards and situations.  I hit a big flush draw and pushed over top of a raise by Mr. LJ which he called.  I don’t recall what he had since pretty much anything beat me at that point, but I hit my flush on the river to get my initial loss back.  I bled down from there and made my third chip purchase shortly before the big hand of the night. (or did I make that 3rd by before the flush hand?)

I picked up a pair of tens in the small blind.  I raised and got rid of most limpers.  The notable exception was the player to my right who I will call “big A” or just “A” .  The flop comes down 9 high.  I check and A bets 10 or so.  I call.  The turn brings a ten making my set.  I bet 15 or 20 and A raises about a hundred to which I push over top for another 150 or so.  He says that he has to call and turns over 10x3x for top pair (or was it 2 pair).  My set holds up and I rake der Monstertopf.

I typically say little or nothing when I win a big pot.  I know the loser feels bad and I don’t want to kick that person when they are down.  It’s bad form and it may cause a situation that will change the game in undesirable ways.  This was no different.  I did say something about Asheville being unfriendly at first (referring to my early bust) but getting better, but I kept even that low key.  That was pretty much it until I won a couple of decent hands right at the end of the night to give me a nice profit of 235.

It was the behavior of the player to my right that really stands out from this night.  This was Big A that I wrote of above.  It was early in the night when I had to ask him not to fling my cards at me.  I was at one end of the table and when the dealer was at the other end my cards needed the help of those closer to the middle to get my cards to me.  Most people just put a finger or two on the back of the cards and slide them down.  Not A.  He would flick them in my direction sometimes launching them into the air. Asking him to stop could have been offensive or something. 

A could stand for Apple as this guy had an iPhone on the table.  With the Olympics on, my Twitter feed was busy and I took out my Epix at one point to check on my incoming messages.  Big A asked me (this was probably the first thing he said to me all night) “What kind of phone still uses a pointing device?”  That really can’t be anything but a put-down.  I about came back at him with something very snide, but I let it got with a reply of “Oh, just an old one.”

It was at the conclusion of the evening for me that the biggest incident happened.  I had folded my last hand and counted and stacked my chips in preparation to be cashed out.  Well, Big A saw something in my stack that he liked and decided to make it his own, a $100 chip.  So without saying or asking anything, he reached into my stack and pulls out the chip and slides over a stack of red 5s.  I stare at him without saying anything though I’m sure the look on my face said “what the fuck are you doing.”  He must have been trying to tweak me since he asked if there was a problem.  Why else would he even wonder? 

One of the biggest taboos in gambling is touching another players chips.  Everyone knows this, right?  I’ve looked up poker etiquette on several web sites.  “Don’t touch others’ chips” is generally mentioned high on the list.   At the time, I replied to A that it is more difficult to count out 20 chips instead of one and he shouldn’t be reaching into my stack at all.  He made an excuse and we let it go for a second.  Then he brought it up again when the host put the chips in a tray and, of course, I repeated my objection.  Most everyone else there just wanted to avoid a heated confrontation.  I sure would have liked to hear if anyone else shared my view or if I was just over-reacting.  That’s happened before, too.

It was an awful end to an otherwise great night.  I play poker for entertainment.  I like to win and it sucks when I lose, but losing is still better than not playing when it is among friends.  Some folks are more competitive than that, I suppose.  Some will resort to making others angry to get an edge.  I may have done something that rubbed Big A the wrong way.  I’ve done it before and will do it again some day.  It may be that this is a part of his game: pick out one person and target him.  I really don’t know.  I know that I’m not going to play in an otherwise friendly game where purposely tiliting players is going on.  I can’t do anything about it at a game where I am a guest except to stay away.  There are people on my list that do not get invitations to my games for various reasons.  Not playing nice is one of those reasons.

I like going to Asheville to play.  The folks there are great mostly.  So now I’m torn as to whether I will consider invitations that also includes Big A.  Once this is read the problem may even take care of itself.  If there are no more invitations, so be it.  Hopefully time will show me the proper course.

In the mean time, Mastodon weekend is fast approaching and then a short trip to Vegas.  There are too many good times coming to dwell on the past.  It’s on.

Gambling Tales Update

Podcasting is still a blast.  I’m getting everything I had hoped out of this project with the possible exception of cash.  I’m keeping up with an area of interest.  I enjoy collaborating with my cohost Falstaff.  I’m meeting and writing to some very interesting people.  I’m going to ramp up my efforts to get some sponsorship shortly.

Today will will hit our 4000th download in 8 shows, so it looks like we are not alone in enjoying some good gambling stories and we really have just scratched the surface of what is there. 

So check out http://gtpodcast.com for some news and story-telling goodness.

Poker in Seattle 2010

Traveling from west to east really messes me up.  That traveling makes the days short and throws my already punished sleep schedule straight under the bus.  I feel my hangover, but I didn’t get to enjoy the buzz.

The first leg of the trip was seriously messed up.  Blame global warming if you like, but flying out of sunny Seattle into rainy Phoenix is just not right.  Thank goodness that Charlotte was its normal cold and gloomy self.  It is good to be home!

I am home now, though a few dollars lighter.  I dropped $460 in the Shoqualmie Casino my first night in Seattle on a table that I never could get anything to happen.  All of my moves were challenged and hitting a flop did nothing be cost me more chips.  I guess I lasted as long as I did because I only hit one flop which gave me AA with a 10 kicker.  Since my opponent flopped a straight I didn’t end that  hand on a happy note.  I didn’t tilt me.  When you play badly, there is no one to blame but yourself.  Not having good cards is not excuse for playing badly.  Anyone who plays poker at any level of seriousness knows there is both good and bad play, which is why playing poker is clearly a game of skill.

I did okay on the skill thing for the rest of the trip.  I went back to Snoqualmie on Saturday night and to Tulalip on Sunday. The cards didn’t get any better, but I managed to play even poker for another 10 hours or so, beating the rake and tips to finish the trip right where I finished the first night.

I’ve got two big games coming up at Mastodon Weekend followed immediately by a trip to Vegas with BtR, Papa Skoon and Big Papi. While in Vegas, I hope to do some work on the Gambling Tales Podcast.  I’ve got my portable recorder.  Now all I need is business cards and some subjects to talk to.   Here’s looking forward to better cards and better flops.

Aging

I mentally filed this article from the Financial Times website under “holy crap”:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/436a39a0-1a6e-11df-a2e3-00144feab49a.html

Basically (for those who don’t get FT.com for the articles), the article explains that scientists in Germany (U. of Ulm) have discovered the mechanics of how and why we age.  Old cells get their DNA damaged over time and reach a point where they are told to either stop reproducing or destroy themselves.  It is this damage that, if left unchecked, that can cause many types of cancer and other problems of aging.

For me, this begs two really big questions.  First, should I find of save sources of my young DNA now so that it might serve as a tool for refreshing my DNA when that technology is discovered?  The second question is do I really want to?

The first question is pretty easy.  The answer is yes.  Why not hedge my bet and have some spare DNA just in case.  I don’t know if my mom saved any of my baby hair.  I actually had an wisdom tooth lying around for years.  I may still have that.  I seem to remember teeth being good containers of DNA.  I’ll have to go find that and maybe find another source to set aside.

The second question is probably also a yes.  I’m pretty much OK with my current situation where age is involved.  I’ve always gravitated to people younger than myself.  Most of my friends are more than 5 years younger than me.  Some are almost 20 years younger but I see them as equals and colleagues (except maybe when they do dumb-assed things that I did at THAT age).  I feel good and really don’t look or act almost 50 years old. I don’t expect any of that to change drastically in the next 10 years. 

However, barring a technological miracle, the end is almost certainly closer than the beginning and that is a really strange concept to get my head around.  What if I could keep going?  Right now, I would.  I wouldn’t mind continuing to work or coming home to Dr. K and the dogs.  I could keep learning new things (like I’ve learned about podcasting this past year) and meeting new people.  The central deciding factor is am I tired of this and ready for what lies beyond.  I’m not even close, so keep working, you demon deacons of the U. of Ulm.  You need to figure out how to refresh human DNA.  I’ll wait as long as I can.

Hotel Desktop

Here is a picture that I snapped a while back.  This is the look of the desk in my hotel room on a typical business trip.  I expect that I will look back at this in a few years and 1) Remember these are good and bad old days, 2) be reminded about how far technology has come, and/or 3) make a blog post about how my hotel desk top looks now.

I expect this will mean more to my fellow business travelers.

Enjoy.

Too Much Fun

Hey, Special K!  How about a blog post?

Sure, don’t mind if I do.  Can I get it toasted?

That sums up the last two weeks or so for me.  I’ve been busy working on the road, which, in this case, means hanging out in DC during the week and home on the weekends.  Well, that’s not really fun, but it pays for some of the fun.

I got a toaster as my most major Christmas gift this year.  That seems pretty funny that I would get the toaster that I asked for.  I didn’t really ask to get  a toaster for Christmas, but it was just around Christmas time and I mentioned to Dr. K that I’d like to scrap the toaster oven for a real toaster.  I also wasn’t very specific about what I wanted for Christmas gifts, so I got a toaster.

It’s a real nice toaster made by Cuisinart with an LED browning indicator and settings for bagels, thawing, and of course, toast.  Since 12/25, I’ve been toasting every piece of bread that has come near my mouth.  PBJ on toast.  Tuna on toast.  Warm Pop-tarts? O-M-G.

Yes, the podcast (gtpodcast.com) is still going strong and might even pick up a sponsor.  It would be nice if it would pay for itself.  That means about $750 a year.  I don’t think we will have an problem there, but I’d sure like to see the money in the bank.

I’ve been 3 weeks without poker.  Folks have been busy.  I should get that monkey off my back next weekend.  Until then, we’ll just keep plugging along whistling a happy tune.

Dog Looking for a Poker Game

This is a picture of my dog Fenway who found a prize that he didn’t want to give up, at least not until we agreed on a game and the stakes.

Another Year – Another Trip – Another City

Today I’m off to DC.  Of course I was a bit worried about the situation at the airport, so instead of leaving the house 1.5 hours before the flights departure, I made it 2.5 hours early this time.  As long as the security lines were not a total nightmare I’d get to my flight in plenty of time.  Wouldn’t you know the airport is like a ghost town this morning.  The deck where I normally drive around looking for a spot looks like it’s been closed for a week and only opened this morning.  Where is everybody?  I could understand this if it were the week of Christmas or New Years, but this is a normal week.  Go figure.

The trip to this customer site is getting to be routine.  This is my third trip to this site.  Thought I did bring my GPS, I didn’t bother to print out a map or my hotel reservation.  I hoping and a little afraid that much of this year’s travel will be this way.  Familiarity makes business travel a little more like a long commute than a big deal full of planning and worry that I’ve forgotten something important.  However, it also means that I’m not going anywhere new or exciting.  Come to think of it, I’m a bit worn when it comes to new and exciting places.  Maybe familiar will do just fine.

Since my holidays ended yesterday and the new work year begins today, I’m counting this as the first of the new year.  I count it as a sign of real true happiness to think that I hope the coming year is as good as the last year.  This last 11 have been the best of my life and I sometimes wonder how many more I can string together with Dr. K, a good job, nice house, and dogs who love and amuse me.  I guess I’ll just have to enjoy the ride as long as I can.

Happy New Year, y’all!

December Truckin’

December 2009, Vol. 8, Issue 12
1. Stiff Santa by Paul McGuire
The Beverly Center had one strict rule -- never under any circumstances remove the bunny head in public. That would mortify young children. Josh turned to Ritalin to solve his problems... More
2. Christmas Money for Misty by Johnny Hughes
Misty laid her best story on Sam, her road story. She was temporarily broke, like most casino folks, but she was to inherit the historic Morgan Ranch, 473 oil wells, 47,000 acres, and a bunch of cows in the Texas panhandle... More
3. The Hobby by Milton Burton
The driver himself was a small-time coke pusher and wannabe heavy metal musician named Ronnie DeLoach who would never make it big, partly because he was void of any real musical talent. But mostly this sad fact could be attributed to his very limited life span... More
4. Dick-Hole, Part II by Bobby Bracelet
Most guys will yank it twenty times a week but they won't feel their balls for lumps. I see it all the time... More
5. Absence of Fear by George Tate
The turns became hard to handle and Gatlin knew it wouldn't take much to be over a guard rail and down the side on his back, load, tractor, and all. He suddenly cleared his mind and focused on the words, "Turn off the engine, that's it."... More

Threads

Sometimes, things just happen.  I’ve gotten too old to let my ignorance as to why bother me.  Then again they can be such little things that suddenly become very important to someone else.  Thankfully, this time it appears to be a good thing.

What the heck am I writing about.  This morning I get a Tweet from my buddy Falstaff.  He is trying to build a writing career and is really still in the startup phase.  Not the writing part, the career part.  Instead of just spamming everyone he knows or directly begging for money, he asked everyone who got the tweet to “Email someone that you think would like my writing and give them a link to this site.”  Since this was a great idea and I generally want to support his writing, I decided to help him out and send the email.

I don’t know many people who I would describe as touchy-feely in a poetic sense, but I thought my friend LB (who also happens to be my ex-wife) might just fit the bill.  So I fired off an email and went on with the day.

After a little bit of audio work and computer work and Christmas shopping I return to my email to find a couple of mails from LB.  To paraphrase it in short, it read – “Our friend MI’s boyfriend BS found someone else and is moving out.  MI’s chemo is having some bad side effects.  I couldn’t afford a ticket to be with her.  I told mutual friend WB who sent a ticket, no questions asked.  I’ll move back to CLT as soon as a job opens up.  My boyfriend CH won’t move to NC, but I need to be there.  I’ll be with MI Christmas day. I was so happy to hear from you.  See you soon.”

Wow!  If there was ever a year when I was just going through the motions of Christmas, this would be that year.  But when you see the kindness and selflessness of folks like LB and WB and the rough times that befall nice folks like MI, it both restores and calls to action.  People really aren’t as bad as I’ve been feeling that they are (BS may be an exception).  There really are more good ones than bad ones.

So from a simple favor I get so much in return.  That is likely not to be the end of that story.  Now I have to figure out just how I can help.  It would be good to help out to bridge the gap until LB can get to town.  We’ll see what the season will bring.

New Podcast

New episode of the Gambling Tales Podcast is now available: http://gtpodcast.com/.  Enjoy.  Please send feedback to gtpodcast@live.com.

In the middle of a blogger weekend

Who knew it got foggy in Las Vegas?  It’s really not foggy, outside anyway.  The time rushing by certainly make this weekend a blur.

This is the December weekend when friends we call the poker bloggers descend on Vegas to hug, drink, talk, and gamble a bit.  I scheduled this trip for myself back in the August heat of Iraq as a present to myself.  Of course, Dr. K has been great about allowing/encouraging this trip, so at least half of the gift is from her.

The trip out was smooth.  I had a first-class upgrade on US Airways, so the booze started flowing before we left the ground.  After 4 more mini-bottles of of tequila and a nap (go figure), we touched down in Vegas.  First stop after check-in, the MGM poker room and the first of several monetary losses playing hold’em.

Next came the Geisha Bar at the Imperial Palace and the gathering of friends, both old and new.  Of course Falstaff found his bachelor party level of  intoxication and seemed to enjoy every bit of it.  Dr. Dave Schwartz came by and chatted for over an hour.  What a great, fun, nice, smart guy.  It was a pleasure to let Falstaff buy him a drink or two. :) 

A big shocker was the attendance of Mrs. GCox.  I knew (and still very much regret) that GCox would not be attending, so it really didn’t register when I saw the Mrs.  My mind told itself “she looks an awful lot like Mrs. GCox.”  It wasn’t until later that she came back around and we had a great talk.  The GCox’s are some of the finest people I know and a always come away from visiting with them richer for that time.

Yesterday brought a visit to the Neon Boneyard.  Here is an areal view:

View Larger MapDriving DirectionsView Bird's Eye

It’s a little hard to see on the small view, The lots full of old vegas signage are on either side of E. McWilliams Avenue in the center of the map.  In the lower lot is a clear view of the old skull sign from the Treasure Island.  This was a great time and well worth the 2 hours and cold temperatures.

Here are a few pictures of the Neon Boneyard from ground level:

My trip report on the second half of the weekend coming soon.

The Hard Rock Poker Lounge Rocks

This weekend’s blogger gathering was hosted last night at the Hard Rock Poker Room for cash games of hold’em and omaha.  Pokerati in Chief Dan Michalski hosted the event.  It was a great event in every way.  The Hard Rock Poker Lounge is a nice facility.  It has all I like in a poker room: Lot’s of room, comfy chairs, compentent dealers, and “knock your socks off hot” waitresses.  The room added an extra gift of comping the dinners of all of the poker bloggers.

The evening also give my a great opportunity to get to know several bloggers that I’ve read, but not gotten to know.  Poker Peeker Dan, Jordan, CK/BWOP, and an excellent poker player named Alanna all came by to sling the cards.  I also got to talk to a most interesting book-maker/actor/producer from Birmingham England named Ian.  He was great fun and agreed to do an interview on a future episode of the Gambling Tales Podcast.  It will be a good one.

Thanks again to the gracious hosts at the Hard Rock casino and to Pokerati Dan for a great evening.  Go visit the lounge next time you are in Vegas.