The Roller Coaster Ride Continues....

Well, I've now been in Vegas for 2 weeks.  It has been a true roller coaster ride.  I've had big wins, but I've also had big losses.  Each time it seems like I break through with a nice win or two, I've followed it up with a big loss.

Last night I played 40-80 Hold-em and ended up losing about $2500 which isn't a huge loss for that limit....but it ended up putting me a little down for the trip.  Financially, the trip hasn't been a success, but I'm still glad that I decided to come out for a few weeks.  I still feel very good about the way I've been playing.  Like I told my wife, with the way I've been running, instead of being stuck a little bit, I probably could've easily been stuck 10 grand....

What I've described is somewhat typical for every poker player.  You simply don't win all the time, no matter how good you are.  You need to be prepared for the down-turns like I've had lately...and in fact, you should be prepared for much worse results, because they'll invariably come.

I'm looking forward to an extended good run though also....   Those periods of time happen also, especially if you can keep playing good, disciplined, poker....

I have not been able to put in the hours that I'd have liked to the last couple of weeks due to the headaches I've had.  It's pretty important to me that I feel good...refreshed...and anxious to play cards...when I do decide to play.

I had considered playing a 3-day no-limit event at the World Series of Poker this weekend, but have since decided against it.  A couple of things went into that decision....one of them being the financial aspect of this trip...and that I'm no longer ahead, and the other being the headaches that I've suffered through.  It wouldn't be good for me if I got a bad headache during the tournament.  I would have to leave, get a room, and wait for it to pass....

I am going to plan on coming out again in 2012 and I'm going to plan on playing at least 2 or 3 WSOP events.  I will be brushing up on my tournament play between now & then.

I am planning on leaving for home very early this coming Wednesday morning.  I want to get out of here as soon as it's light out (or before) and try to be well on my way before it gets really hot.  I'm having some anxiety about the trip home right now, due to my headaches.  It would be murder to have a bad headache in the middle of the desert, if it's 120 degrees out, like it has been lately.

I am really looking forward to the ride through the CO Rocky Mountains.  It's something I've always wanted to do on my motorcycle and I will finally be doing it in a few days.  Hopefully that will be a fun "roller coaster ride"....without any more motorcycle problems....

As I'm writing this...I can feel my left eye starting to twitch...  It's a sign of another headache coming on...  (2nd one today)  Time for me to crawl into bed and try to find the most comfortable position I can to try and fight my way through another one....

If you're reading this & you're someone who prays....  I could use some intercession....
These headaches suck!

Next blog post will most likely be after I am back home in MN.

Vegas: The Poker Capitol of the World

So, without any more real exciting/entertaining incidents like the one I talked about in my previous blog post, I arrived in Las Vegas a week ago from this past Sunday.  I got myself a little apartment, got settled in, and got my laundry done.  This was the first time I've done laundry in at least 10 years and I was able to get it completed without wrecking anything.  (with the help of a phone call to Christine)

I figured I'd hit the Bellagio card room on Monday, play some hold-em, and find out where the best games and all the action has been in town. 
I found out that the Rio is crazy busy because of the World Series of Poker tournament being held there and the waiting list to get in a game I'd be looking to play in could be (& usually would be) extremely long.
So, I've found myself playing at the Bellagio every session to this point.  They also have a nice wide range of games, varying from $1 & $2 No limit games to $4000/8000 limit games.  Millions of dollars are changing hands on a daily basis!

I can sum up my first week pretty quickly and easily.  I find myself playing extremely good poker, but not running very good for the most part.  I have been able to win every single day, with the exception of one, but up until today couldn't really break through with any real decent wins.

I'm exceptionally happy with the discipline I've showed, after time and time again, getting my big pairs and other big hands drawn out on.  I just keep trying to play the best that I can and hoping the cards will eventually break my way.  I consider myself very fortunate to only have the one loss and to be money ahead for the trip.

Today ended up hopefully being that breakthrough day.  I finally chalked up a nice win that was a little over $2000.00 
Anytime I win over $1000 in a day, I consider it a pretty darn good day.  I just slowly built up my winnings to around $1000 and then got on a nice little rush.  I won another $1250 or so in about 10 minutes....  I then got drawn out on in a couple of hands and went back down to about a $2000 winner for the day.  About that time Christine called to get some information she needed from me to ship a few packages, so I told her I'd play one more round, and if I didn't win any pots, I'd head to my apartment and call her back with that info. (and that's pretty much what happened)

I've thoroughly been enjoying myself, meeting people that I haven't seen in years.  Some of these people didn't even recognize me, until I called them by name.  (I do find that I am unbelievably good at remembering the names of people I haven't seen in over 10 years)  Some of these people are also amazed that I can call them by name.  They kind of remember playing with & seeing me....but don't remember me by name.  My looks have changed a bit, as my hair is much, much, shorter than it used to be & my beard/whiskers have turned from black to gray/white.
I have been asked at by at least 4 people if I was going to.... or if I had played the Senior Tournament at the WSOP.  I guess it's time for me to shave again, because I won't be eligible to play in that for another 5 years!

I attended Grace Valley Church here in Vegas on Sunday and seen more people that I hadn't seen in awhile & that was very enjoyable.  This is a small church that our family was a big part of when we lived here.  I played guiter there on a regular basis and Christine & I also helped out with the youth group.

Since arriving in town, I have experienced several pretty bad headaches, which isn't a good sign for things to come this summer.  I suffer from something that is called "cluster headaches" and they are very sporadic, but when they come, it virtually changes my life completely for the period of time that they last.  I've been very fortunate to not suffer from these headaches for the last 3 years which is the longest I've ever gone.  They keep me from attending family functions & other events, because I simply don't want to get caught in a bad place (where I can't find refuge) with a bad headache.  On one or two occasions, when I have had bad one where I can't find any good place to curl up, I've actually had to go lay down underneath a parked pickup truck, and try to survive until the headache goes away.

The headaches always start behind my left eye and as time passes, they get increasingly painful and longer in duration.  At best, I go 2-3 days without one, and at worst I get 2 or more of them every day/night.  They completely wipe me out.  I can do virtually nothing, but try to find the darkest room, with absolutely no noise, (including background noise from another room) and just suffer through them.  The room cannot be to warm....or to cool.... 
Any of those things (light, sound, temperature) seem to intensify the headache.
Right now, the headaches seem to be lasting about an hour or two.  In the past, as they intensify, they can last up to 3 or 4 hours....and then when I'm finally able to move, I am so tired from fighting it, that I still can get very little if anything done.
The best way for me to describe the headaches, is that it feels like someone sticks their finger in my left eye & rips the eyeball right out my head.  My eye gets all bloodshot and waters to beat heck.  The main thing I can do is to cover my eye to let absolutely no light in, and to try and gently massage the left temple area.

These headaches invariably go away about the time late fall or winter comes.  This leads me to believe it may have something to do with the air I'm breathing....(some type of allergy or something)
I'm thinking that they quit, as soon as we have a good hard freeze.  So, if my headaches persist, I will anxiously be awaiting fall/winter this year.

Back to poker....  I honestly do believe that I'm playing close to the very best poker that I ever have...and I'm looking forward to continuing to do some traveling (hopefully with my wife) and playing more as time passes.  My 2 biggest decisions over the next year or two will be:
(1) Decide if I really want to pursue and concentrate on playing no limit hold-em. (which is really a completely different game that limit poker which I've been playing up to this point) and
(2) Decide if I want to concentrate more on tournaments, and put in the time to figure out how to play them the way you need to play them to win big

I will probably be forced to concentrate and play somewhat on no limit games, because that's what they're offering at the new casino in NW Iowa, that was built close to where I live.

The tournament thing is something completely different & at this point, I really don't know if it's something I'll actively pursue or not.  I have done fairly well in the past in the few tournaments I've played in, but they can also be very frustrating.  The only way you're truly pleased after playing one, is if you win the whole thing.... (That's the way I am anyway) and that doesn't happen very often.
It's so frustrating (and final) to get knocked out of a tournament.  You can't buy back in....  You can't go after someone who put that super bad beat on you....  It just can be frustrating....

It looks like I'll probably leave here this coming Sunday at the earliest....or the Thursday after that, at the latest....and in the meantime, I'm going to be trying to play the very best poker that I can, and to keep building that poker bankroll.  On this trip, I've decided just to concentrate on the live games and maybe next year I'll commit to playing a few WSOP events.  If I decide to do that, I'll be brushing up on my tournament play between now & then....  :)

"Reggie"

I call Reggie to see if he still has the afternoon open to help me change the wheel bearings on the bike.  He had assured me earlier when I'd talked to him that he would have any tool we might need and it's a pretty easy fix, so we shouldn't have any problem.

For those of you who don't know me real well, I am not what you'd call a "Master Mechanic".  I'm always willing (and anxious) to help when someone's working on the bikes, and I relish the mechanical learning opportunities that riding and owning an older Harley present.  That being said, unless it's a pretty simple fix, that I'm somewhat familiar with, I'm not real comfortable unless there's someone there that really does know what they're doing.  (Like both of my brothers, David & Brian)

Back to Reggie....  After making the initial mistake of not throwing that napkin with his phone number away as soon as he left the O'Reilly's parking lot, I give him a call...  He gives me some pretty simple directions to his place about 6 miles away and I limp the bike in that direction.  He tells me that he doesn't have much going on, so he'll be happy to help me fix the bike.

I see his old Chevy and I pull into his yard...  It's lookin' a little spooky so I give him a call again from the from the front yard.  The guy's got 3 gnarly lookin' horses on his little 2 acre plot & they're looking like they might be really happy if they could make their escape....  (Just like I'd be feeling later in the day)  lol
He answers the phone & a minute later I see him at the front door... He says to me.... "C'mon in and grab a chair" and I do...
He's got a 6-pack of beer on the coffee table in front of his couch and he's finishing off the last one....as he explains to me that he hasn't had a 6-pack of beer before 1:00 in the afternoon for a "long time".

I'm thinkin' he'll finish his last beer & we'll get to work on the bike.  He's a talker....and he lets me know all the important people he knows....and all the different types of work he's done...and the different businesses he's run, etc.... and all the while, I can see he probably would have a hard time finding 2 cents in a pinch...  He's layin' on the couch, rubbin' his eyes....and yappin....

1/2 hour later, I see movement on the couch...
I'm thinkin'... "YES!"  let's get this show on the road so I can get outta here....
He stumbles outside and we go around back and get all the tools we'll need.  He's got about 3 other old vehicles back here and he explains to me that he could've had 3 "jobs" today, but his pickup needs the brake pads replaced.

Reggie does help me get the bike jacked up & on blocks, so that the work can be done.... (as he's telling me about all the times he's been stabbed and shot)  We get the front tire off of the bike and Reggie heads for the door of his little pad.  He says to me..., "Well, you're on your own now."

I'm not likin' this.... I'm feelin' pretty darn uncomfortable and as I explained earlier, I'm not the master mechanic that I'm wishing I was right about now....  but with the tire off and the bikes on blocks, there's not really any lookin' back at this point.

I give Dave a call and he starts walking me through the process of changing the wheel bearings....  I'm putting the phone down, while I'm pounding on the bike.... pick the phone up to ask more questions, etc...  I'm really feeling that I wished I'd never have come on the guy's property....  Reggie seems to be getting a little more spooky every time I have interaction with him....

I have to run into the house a few times to ask Reggie if he has this tool....or that tool.... and every time that I open the door after knocking, he wakes up....  He's laying belly-up on his couch getting every last wink of sleep that he can....

I had asked Reggie if he had grease for the wheel bearings and he had assured me on our first phone call that he did.  With the help of David, I eventually get to the point of needing that grease, so I again go wake Reggie up.  He stumbles back into one of the bedrooms and comes out and says.... "I must've used that for somethin' else".  So, I ask him if he'll give me a ride into town to get grease....assuring him that I'll pay for gas.... (Thinkin' to myself that he might have all my money and belongings anyway by the time this is done... )   :)

He tells me that he'll give me a ride....and he needs to buy a C-clamp anyways so that he can finish fixing his brakes.  I immediately offer to buy that for him....for all the "help" he's given me....

Now, maybe part of why I was a little uncomfortable might be that I have a fair amount of cash on me....and I have my computer and expensive camera.... and if this guy had any idea of the value of what was on my person and on my bike.... he'd think he'd hit the lottery....
Probably was a good thing I looked as rough as I did also....
I'm unshaven.... My face is about is dark as a white guy's face can get, from ridin' in the sun every day...and I'm dirty...  I got grease everywhere....   If Reggie was someone that I had been feeling comfortable with... I probably would've had him take a picture of me... (and the bike)  just because I don't look as rough ever....as I looked that day...

The ride into town is quite an adventure in itself...  I'd say about half of the time we were driving on the right side of the road....and the other half we were on the left-side of the road...or somewhere in the middle....   But without fail, he seemed to get back in the right lane whenever he'd see a vehicle coming.  I'm tellin' ya.... If I'd have seen a cop... I'd probably have tried to non-discreetly wave him over...   I'm gettin' more uncomfortable all the time with my new friend....

We safely make it to O'Reilly's, get the stuff we need, and head back to the house...
I call David again and tell him I've got the wheel bearings packed and I'm ready to get the wheel put back together.  I'm wanting him to kind of walk me through it as I'm doing it to make sure it goes back together like it's supposed to.  I also tell him I only have 1 bar left on my phone....so if I lose him...that's why...  I also get the message across to him that I'm very uncomfortable and he WILL be hearing from me if and when I get out of there safely.

David gives me a crash course on getting things put back together correctly, in the event my phone goes dead.  I'm thinkin' I want to save enough juice to at least make a 911 call if I need to...  lol

I gotta give some major kudo's to my brother Dave....
After this was all done, I said to him... "I bet this is the first time you've ever changed the wheel bearings on a bike, via the telephone..."   We had a few good laughs over the whole deal, once I did eventually get out of this guy's place..

So....I do manage to get everything put back together and the wheel turns the way it's supposed to...so things are lookin' up.  I go back into the house to wake Reggie up again and let him know that I would sure appreciate his help getting my bike off the blocks.  This is virtually an impossible task for 1 person.

Reggie briefly sits up on the couch....only to recline back into his belly-up position.  He tells me to go ahead and wash my hands...and grab a glass of lemonade out of the fridge and sit for a bit.  I oblige....and am not surprised to see that the pitcher of lemonade in the fridge...is the ONLY thing in the fridge...  Not even ketchup....   lol

Another 1/2 hour goes by & I'm just chompin' at the bit to get away from this man...
He finally rouses again....and throws his slippers on and heads towards outside.  I follow and I'll be darned if he doesn't head into the back yard.  He starts working on the brakes on another one of his old pickups.  Another 1/2 hour goes by and I finally say to him, "Reggie... I'd sure to like to get on the road, and if you'd just help me get the bike down I can do that..."  He says, "OK..." and continues working on his brakes until they're done.  Now he has to put the wheel back on the truck & thank the good Lord, he needed the jack that I had on the bike.  He realizes this and cussin' under his breath, says, "Well, I guess we better go get that jack".

On the way to the front yard, he stops to feed his starving horses....pets them all.... and says sweet nothings to them.... 

I honestly am starting to get very nervous by this time wondering if I was going to get out of there.  While he's feeding his horses, I go to the bike & gingerly try to start jacking it up, holding the bike up, and removing the blocks....  I was to the point that I would NOT let Reggie walk behind me, because I was afraid I might get the old MN bullhead treatment.  (which is a knock on the head)

I was also getting to the point, with the back tire of the bike on the ground, if I needed to I would start the bike & just give 'er hell and somehow get off those blocks.

About this time Reggie sees me working on getting the blocks out, he comes over and gives the jack a few pumps....  It's all I need to get the remaining blocks out & get both wheels on solid ground again...

I had the bike completely packed up and ready to go before I had alerted Reggie to the fact that I needed help....so that once I got off those blocks, I could make my escape.

I had finally made it to that crucial point....  Reggie started to saunter into the backyard and I hollered over to find out of he wanted me to close the gate behind me...  He told me that I could just leave it open...and then he asks me..., "Oh... you takin' off already?"  I casually said "yeah.... I better get a few miles on yet tonight".....as my heart's racin'...  I thank him for his "hospitality" and start the bike....
I know I'm close now.... lol

I make it to the gate.... open it....ride through.....and I'm home-free!
I had survived the ordeal....  I rode into town, stopped at a gas station & called David again to let him know that I had gotten out alive....   We did have some good laughs....   I sure appreciate him taking the time to help me get through a few interesting incidents on this trip.  He's always willing to help (especially with bike issues) and it's SO nice to have the expertise available of someone like him.....

I ended up driving to Albuquerque and did find a very nice hotel, very attractively priced, (no sarcasm here) and very close to a good poker game.  I decided last night to spend an extra day here just to relax and count my blessings....and that's what I've been doing today... 

That brings us to the present time....  I hope to arrive in Vegas early Sunday....
I will try to keep you posted on the adventures yet to come...    :)

Biking Across the Good Ol' USA

Just to follow up on my last post....
I ended up having a very good weekend playing cards in Shakopee a few weeks ago.
They started a new 20-40 1/2 Hold-em and 1/2 Omaha 8 or better game which was exceptionally good.  I ended up having one small loss and 2 nice wins and it all equaled out to a very profitable weekend.

I then returned home and worked my tail off up until the minute I left on my little trip to Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker.  My trip was delayed for several days, just to give me additional time to get everything in order.

For those of you who don't know, I am riding my '91 Harley to Las Vegas from MN.
The first day, I got to Kansas City and stayed at my daughter's house.  I ended up with a stomach bug of some sort and decided to stay there for an extra day....to recover.  I was very glad that I did, as I was a very regular visitor to her bathroom facilities all day long.

So....I cruised out of KC on Tuesday morning and hit the Kansas turnpike.  (This is a toll road) The turnpike, if you haven't used it has sporadic "service areas" where you'll find a Mc D's and a gas station.  When you exit the turnpike, that's when you pay your toll, so I generally don't exit until I have to.

Cruisin' along the turnpike, I noticed that my speedometer was acting a little goofy.  This was the first sign of trouble....  I pullled into a service area and filled up with gas.  To my surprise, the bike just 'clicked' when I'd try to start it.

So....I call my bike mechanic...who just happens to be my older brother, David....  I explain to him what's going on, and he has me get my tools out.... pull the primary cover off and "smell" inside it.  It did kind of smell like something had crawled into there and died.  I relayed that to him and he diagnosed the problem from afar.  The stator had gone out in the bike, which is a unit that charges the battery as you ride the bike.  He told me if I could get a charge on the battery, I'd probably be good to go for awhile.  I found a young air force guy traveling who was kind enough to let me throw jumper cables on the battery and let it charge for 15 minutes or so.  I was back on the road....

I went as far as Wichita and stopped at a Walmart to buy a battery charger to charge the battery up again and made some calls while I was there.  I located a HD dealership, talked to someone in the shop and they said if I could get there soon....they'd probably be able to fix it yet the same day.

That's exactly what happened and about 4 hours and $400 later, I was back on the road.  It was evening and I went to Dodge City, KS and spent the night.  I had talked to some guys at the dealership who had told me that there was a new casino there with a poker room, so I thought I'd maybe be able to make a few bucks...

However, once I found a piece of crap room for the bargain price of $80.00  (being sarcastic here) I was so pooped out from the day that I just ended up sleeping.  Morning came and I got the heck out of Dodge.  :)

I had a decent day of traveling that next day.  It stayed relatively cool and wind-free until about 2:00 in the afternoon...  Then it got super hot...and super windy...  I was totally exhausted by the time I got to Santa Fe, NM.  After the room I had the night before, I was thinking I would just camp.  I did stop at one normal looking hotel and asked about rates.  They had a "manager's special" of $90.00
I went to the KOA.....pitched my tent, and got a good nights sleep.

I've met some great folks along the way and the past 2 days were no exception.  I'm havin' a ball....  You ride through (and stop to eat in) some of these little towns in Kansas, Oklahoma, and NM with the bike all weighted down with the luggage and every once in awhile you have a pretty girl wave at you....  It's all good....and it's a lot of fun....

So....I leave Santa Fe with kind of a strange feeling about the bike...  I just sensed that something wasn't going to go my way on Thursday.  Shortly after hitting the interstate, my speedometer stays on zero.  I was nervous about shutting the bike down, but every time I did...it started back up, so I thought to myself...  "Well, if this is the 'problem' that I had the strange feeling about, I can deal with that".  I've gone 2 years without a speedometer working on the bike, so it wasn't a big deal to me at all.

But...unfortunately, that was the least of my problems that day....  :)
I started hearing a noise from the bike that was coming from the front end.  I rode for awhile, as the bike seemed to ride OK and the noise stopped for awhile.  When it started back up, the noise was louder and I knew I better pull over and see what I could see....

I pulled into a gas station about an hour away from Albuquerque and tried to diagnose the problem.  The front fender was bolted down good....  No problem there.  I checked that first, because I had problems once with that in the past.  It occured to me that front wheel bearings might be going out and I called the mechanic to see what he thought....
Once again, he diagnosed the problem from afar and I limped the bike along the side of the interstate 10 miles down the road to the nearest town.  The front wheel was making an awful noise going down the interstate & to put it bluntly....  I wasn't comfortable...  I was uncomfortable enough that I was wearing my helmet and holdin' onto the handle bars pretty tight...  :)

I find an O'Reilly's auto parts store.  They tell me they don't have what I need. 
While I'm there, I meet "Reggie".  I don't really know how to describe Reggie...  He's driving a '67 Chevy pickup I think, with plywood in the place of a topper.  The back windshield is totally shattered and the front windshield isn't much better.  The guy's got a beer belly that looked like it would constantly be getting in the way of everything.  He's unshaven, wearing his pajama bottoms and a t-shirt that doesn't cover that beer belly.  I don't know if this would be the definition of a redneck...but I think it might be...

Reggie is kind enough to offer me a ride to his house and help me fix the bike.  "We can throw the bike in the back of the pickup".  (as I'm rollin' my eyes)  I tell him I haven't even been able to get the parts I need...but thanks for the offer.  He pulls out a napkin from his truck and writes him name down and a phone number.  (Looking back, I don't know if it was his name or an alias)  lol

David (the bike mechanic) tells me via the phone that the bearings are not unique and they probably have them, but I just have to find a parts number.  I go to a travel center where they let me use their wi-fi and try to get the part number I need.  I get a HD part number and a JP Cycles part number. (neither of what do me any good)  David calls later with the part number I need.  He had called a local bike shop and they got him the numbers I needed.

I go back to O'Reilly's and they do in fact have the parts I need so I think I'm in luck.
I hee-hawed a little bit deciding if I wanted to try and limp the bike to Albuquerque and find a bike shop....or if I should call "Reggie" and take him up on his offer to help me out with this.
The bike had been making such an awful racket that I wasn't comfortable driving it any further than I absolutely had to.....  So.....

I made the mistake of calling "Reggie"....   That's what my next blog post will be about....and it will be written before the day (or night) is over....

Can you all imagine how Jeffrey Dahmer's victims must've felt before they met their end?  I'm thinkin' that they kinda felt the same way I was feeling when I was at this guy's place....   Check this blog post out later today....  :)