Poker and Friends

Well, it's been 2 weeks since I've posted an update, so I figured it was about time....

After my last blog post, I started out the week with my biggest poker win since leaving home.  It was a nice little welcome boost to the bankroll!
I followed that up with an average size loss (first one of the trip) which was followed by another nice win....
I then suffered my 2nd loss of the trip, however it wasn't that hard to take because it was a very small loss.
The following day I had a very nice win which more than covered the 2 losses of the trip..... and that brings us to Saturday.....

If you read my last blog post, you will remember that the previous Saturday, I had put in my longest session of the year, made a huge comeback, and ended up with my smallest win of the year.
This Saturday was almost a ditto of the Saturday before.
I ended up getting stuck around $2000, playing for 13 hours and ending up with an $83.00 win....
A tough day to end the week, but it ended up being a very good week overall.

I have become good friend with many of the guys I play poker with, but one in particular.  He has had me over for breakfast once, and Sunday he invited me over for dinner.  I never play cards on Sunday, for the simple fact that it's the Sabbath....and I really just enjoy a day off every now and then....  I spend most Sunday's on this trip relaxing, watching a little TV, and maybe spending an hour or two at the pool. 
A great homemade meal was a welcome addition to my typical Sunday.
Chris (my poker friend) is an excellent cook!  We started out with some homemade tortilla chips and salsa, followed by what I would call a "Cajun" turkey.  It felt like Thanksgiving!  He had mashed potatoes with some of the best gravy I've ever tasted.  We enjoyed a sweet pea and corn combination that was also simply outstanding!  We ate most of a 9 LB turkey between 4 people (A neighbor friend of Chris also stopped in for chow) with all the fixings!  I especially appreciate a home-cooked meal after I've been on the road for over a month and after eating what seemed like way more than would be considered polite, I was stuffed!

We then enjoyed a couple of cold beers and relaxed in/by the pool for a couple of hours.
He was also nice enough to let me do a load of laundry while I was at his place.

Monday and Tuesday were both decent days at the poker room that ended with average sized wins.

Wednesday I helped my friend, Chris, and his girlfriend who had just recently moved from New York, empty a "pod" that was filled with all of her belongings, into her new house that she had purchased in Anthem.  It was a very nice house with a eloquently shaped pool in the back yard that we made good use of after we were done with the work.

Chris had made some turkey salad sandwiches with leftover from the weekend before and they also tasted great.

I was pretty beat after the workout of emptying the pod in the Arizona heat, so I took the rest of the day off and didn't play any poker.

I did go to bed very early that night and ended up at the poker room by 5:00 Am on Thursday morning.

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, were all very good days at the poker room.  I had $1000+ wins every single day, which equated to the best week since leaving home..... and it also was a short week, since I'd only played 5 times....so it don't get much better than that!

I also have a good friend that lives in the room next to me.  He received some bad news on Thursday night.  One of his best friends had been murdered in a fight at a party....over a few bucks....  It was just a sad situation and I didn't really know what to say to the guy, but I did make myself available just to listen....  I wanted to help him get through the situation if I could....

This young kids name is Jai and he's a super outgoing guy who's got a lot going for him.  He's in town for restaurant management training and he'll go a long ways if he can stay focused.  We have some similar interests like cooking, barbecuing, guitar playing, etc... so we kind of hit it off as soon as we met.  We've enjoyed a few meals together, and usually a beer or two every night before we head to our rooms....  I've helped him study a couple of times for tests and he really appreciates that.  I'm sure Jai is someone that I'll keep in touch with for years to come....

Today at the pool, I met a nice older gentleman that was originally from the Midwest.  He had recently got out of the hospital after an extended stay, defying everyone's expectations.  There was apparently no one who expected him to ever enjoy the outside air again.
We had a great 1-2 hour visit and I found out he did not have a vehicle or any means of transportation out here.  He used to be an avid motorcycle rider and he had some great stories.  He was an artist, and a professional photographer in many different areas.  He worked in fashion, family photography, commercial photography, and many other areas.... and I'm sure has a wealth of knowledge.  I enjoyed the visit and before leaving assured him, that I would try to arrange for me to borrow one of my friend's vehicles so that I could take him to Walmart or Frys this coming week.

He's all excited about that, so I'm going to try and make sure it happens.  He's a regular eater at the local "Sonic" restaurant and told me has nothing in his refrigerator besides water right now.  I can see why he's excited about the prospect of going to the grocery store!

I received a text about an hour ago from poker buddy Chris inviting me over to dinner again tonight and a swim....  Another great ending to my typical Sunday!

I've had an extremely enjoyable trip so far and as you've read now, you can see that I've made some great friends.  That's probably the part of a trip like this that I enjoy the most.  I'm always reassured by the fact that there's still a lot of "good" people out there.
It's a bonus that poker has also ended up being quite lucrative....

I DO now know that I will be leaving the Phoenix area on July 22nd.  I am hoping that it'll work for me to visit an old high school friend in Long Beach upon my departure. 
From there I'll be heading to Las Vegas for a week max.... and then starting heading North and East towards home.
If it works for me to get together with a couple of other high school friends (my best friend in high school and his wife who was also a good friend of mine) who live in Manhattan, MT I will spend a day on the road in Idaho, which is the one state out West that I've never been to.  I haven't talked to them yet, so it will depend on their schedule whether or not they can accommodate me for a day or two....

I've been gone long enough now that I start relishing the idea of getting back home and seeing my niece Jade, Christine, the kids, and all the grandkids... along with my parents and siblings....and other family and friends....
I was talking on the phone with Jade the other night and upon saying our goodbyes she started to cry, so I know that she's missing me....  It kind of left a funny feeling in my tummy....  :)  I'm looking forward to spending a day or two....or three on the river canoeing with her.  We had a blast doing that a couple of years ago and I'm going to do my best to make sure we do it again this year...

Until next time.....




 

All About Poker...

So....it was kind of a strange 2 days of playing poker Friday and Saturday.

Friday, I ended up getting ahead $600 to $700 pretty fast.  Then....I couldn't get a hand for quite awhile....and found myself only ahead $100 to $200.  I then was involved in a small pot where something happened that hasn't happened for at least 15 years....

I was in the pot with one other person after the flop and I bet the pot the entire way.  When the hand was over I had 3 eights and was about 100% sure that I had the best hand.  I placed my bet after the last card had come out....and here's what I ~thought~ happened....

I saw my opponent flip his hand face-up and toss it towards the dealer.  Since I had not seen my opponent put his money in the pot to call, I assumed he was conceding...and flipped his cards face up, so that people could see he was making a great laydown....  I threw my cards to the dealer face down and waited for the dealer to push me the $320.00 pot.

As he started to push the chips to the other person.... I said....  "Wait...wait...  What are you doing?"
The dealer said "I'm pushing him the pot...  you threw your cards in."  I
I said, "He didn't call the bet though, did he?"
He said, "Yes.... He did call the bet."

I knew there was nothing I could do about it at that point so I watched dejectedly as he stacked up the chips that should've been mine.

I had thrown away a winning hand after the hand was over.  Things like that happen and I've seen it happen personally probably at least 25 times over the years.  The last time I had done it, was at least 15 years ago....and I swore to myself, I'd never let it happen again.

So....after that pot, instead of getting my win back up to a few hundred, I found myself behind $100 or so....  I was still mad at myself for allowing it to happen.  I just never saw him put his chips in the pot and there wasn't anything I could do about it...  It was a done deal....

I decided to take a break for 1/2 hour or so to make sure I'd go back into the game without being so disgusted that I'd start throwing money away....
I sat outside until I felt I was ready to go back in and play my best poker again....

**On a side note....  One of the things that kind of helped me get over this fast, was a phone call from a guy, right after I had went outside to take my break, that resulted in him placing an order for a $325.00 pipe.  I just told myself that I'd gotten my $320 back....but I'd just have to put some time in making a nice pipe for the gentleman.  :)

I went back in the poker room, bought another $500 in chips and sat back down....and ended up putting a pretty long 9-1/2 hour session in.  I tried to play my best and I did end up winning over $1000 bucks by the time I left.... but in the back of my head, I was still saying to myself:  "It should've been about $1400 instead of $1000.

I equate a mistake like this to be pretty much the exact same as taking $320 out of my pocket and lighting it on fire.... and watching it burn.  There's simply no way you can ever get that same money back...

By the next day, I had put it completely to rest.  I was over it and was determined to play some great poker and hopefully make a couple thousand.  I was rested and ready to put in a nice long session.

This was Saturday and the game always starts early.  I was up bright and early and ready to go by 8:00 AM or so.  I got to the card room and we ended up starting the game 3-handed at about 9:00
I had a great omelet and felt really good.

Saturday pretty much started out horribly....  :)
I just could not win a pot and I took some horrible beats where my opponent could only hit 1 or 2 cards to beat me.... and it seemed like they all hit them just like clockwork.
After less than 3 hours, I found myself stuck $1700
Now my loss limit typically in the game I was playing is $1600 so I already was over that limit.

Again....I took a short break and tried to decide if I wanted to keep playing and invest another $1000 or so to see if I could get something going...  I told myself that I had to play really lock-down poker and not try to get all my money back right away....  I would just have to chip away at it and hope the cards (and other players) cooperated.

One of the things that influenced my decision is that I was well rested, I had just ate, and it was nearly 120 degrees outside, so I really didn't want to get back on the motorcycle in that heat.

So, I went back in, bought some more chips and felt determined to play the best poker I could play.
I ended up losing a couple of more pots and found myself stuck almost $2200
I had already decided I was NOT going to put anymore than $2500 in the game, so I knew it would have to turn around very soon, or I'd be on my way back to the apartment.
I was/am still playing on my wins from when I first got into town....but I still hate getting stuck that much.
If I lost 2 more pots without winning any, it would go in the books as a very bad day!

I told myself that I just needed to get $500 in front of me again....  which would only take winning a small pot without losing one.  I managed to do that....and then I won another small pot...and I found myself $1800 stuck and starting to feel a little better about my prospects.

I then told myself to just try and keep playing good so I'd have $1000 in front of me....
I managed to do that, after winning a few pots.... and losing 1 or 2.

By this time, I'd probably already been playing 8-9 hours, but I did still feel good.  The game was good and the pots were getting bigger.  I knew it could still go either way, pretty easily.

I ended up winning a nice pot about this time and found myself with $1500 in front of me....
About this time, I was starting to feel like it was possible that I could get all of my money back if I was willing to put in a nice long session.

Once I got to the $1500 point, I had a hard time getting any more than that.  I'd lose $400, win $200, lose $300, win $400 and a few hours later, I found myself exactly at this same point with $1500 in front of me.

I'd probably been playing 11 to 12 hours and took a dinner break and enjoyed some great fried shrimp.  I decided to go back and play for an hour or so to see what would happen.  Even if I didn't win any more money back, it would still be a 'not-so-bad' day, when it could've been a terrible day financially.

An hour later, I found myself with $2000 in front of me and feeling 100% confident that I could get the rest of my money back.  I was playing great and I was in a game where 7 of the other 8 people were playing horribly.  I just had that feeling that it was all going to work out.

To shorten up the story.... it did all work out..
At 11:29 that evening, I won a pot that put me over the $2500 mark.
At 11:30 the new dealer came in and it was time for all the players to pay their $7.00 for the next 1/2 hour.  It also happened to be my big blind, so it looked like the perfect time to quit.

I stacked my chips and cashed out exactly $2519 which equated to a $19.00 win.
It was my smallest win of the year, but it felt like one of the biggest wins of the year!
I'd put 14-1/2 hours in (which equated to a little less than $1.50 per hour) and I felt like a huge winner.  :)

I believe it was also the longest session of the year.  I rarely put in long sessions like that anymore....and I was glad it all worked out for me on Saturday.

I went back to my apartment and realized how tired I was.  I was up until about 2:00 AM, just unwinding and trying to relax....and I did end up sleeping like a log....

I had a nice relaxing day on Sunday.....so I think I'll be ready to hit it again tomorrow....
I'm looking forward to a great week ahead!