End of 2010

The end of 2010 is upon us and we are now getting started to look forward to the new year. I hope it will be a better year all around for everyone.

I don't like to put up resolutions about what I want to do in the new year. I will post some goals I would like to meet though. I think goals are better and more achievable for me.

Be safe tonight.

Addiction

How do you know you are addicted to something? What does it take to be addicted? Can you be addicted and not know it?

I had surgery done on the 16th of this month on my neck. One of the things the Doctor told me was to make sure I took my medication for the neck pain I would have for the next few days. The Doctor also told me that I was to see her in 3 weeks after the surgery took place.

I came home and started taking the medication. Usually I am very aware of the meds I take and I will normally undermedicate myself since I know I can stand a little bit of pain and not have the meds completely cover the pain I am feeling. I was able to take the pill, if I wanted, every 4 hours and could take one or two at a time. I chose to take one pill at a time and would only take them in the evening and night while I was trying to sleep. During the day I would do whatever and not take meds. This meant I was taking 3 to 4 per day and Monday was the 11th day from surgery. I have taken about 40 pills in that time.

I was wanting to take my pills the other morning and noticed I was down to 2 more left and would need to call the doctor for a refill. I did call and asked for the refill but when I got off of the phone I didn't feel right asking for the pain meds. I started wondering if I was addicted and if I really needed them. I started counting the days and really looked at how I was doing after 11 days from the surgery. I was really wanting the pills. The information says not to just go cold turkey off of the pills either. Now I have made a mistake and how was I going to deal with this. I was addicted to pain meds.

The doctor did call in my prescription and now it is up to me to get off of the pills. I am going to withdraw myself and try to do one pill at night and then just stop or take a half and then quit. My appointment with her is on the 5th and I will be off of these by then. Give me a few more days.

Overall I am doing well. My neck still does not have the motion I want but I will get it by the time I go in to see my physician. If not then I will work with the Physical Therapy department. This is better than what I was doing.

I am going to try and play some poker on Friday afternoon. This will be a tournament. I have been playing my Wii poker and it is not the same. I like real live people to play against. And since I can't play on PS or FT anymore in WA state then I have to make do with what I have.

Christmas 2010

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

The Year 2011 will be here soon and will bring new surpises for us all.

Christmas

What is Christmas? What does it mean to you? It means something different for each person. You ask a child and then ask an adult and you will get two different answers. Are they wrong? No, each person will celebrate in the way they were raised or what they believe.

For me I do not like the commercialization of christmas. For years I have stopped shopping in the stores the day after thanksgiving. People turn rude and don't care about the next person as they only want to get to the item first at all cost. This has solved a lot of my feelings for christmas. I have taken care of it by not shopping. Now that leaves the shopping for my wife and that doesn't seem right either. She has accepted this and does well.

Ok, back to Christmas. What is Christmas? It is the celebration of the birth of Jesus. Whether you believe this or not that is what christmas is about. Somewhere we have forgotten this. I think it would be more enjoyable to help other families have a good christmas. Hence, the giving part of the year. I used to do something for families for Thanksgiving and then Christmas. Now that I have lost the job this last year I am unable to carry on with what I set out to do. Maybe this next year I can start up again.

This year think about Christmas and what it means to you and do what your heart tells you to do.

Myself, maybe a job working in the giving areas.

Merry Christmas

Surgery Completed

Today is the day after. The surgery went well and I spent one night in the hospital. I am now home and in some pain. I will be taking my medication and trying to rest and get the pain to slow down. It is nice to be able to move my arm around and not have the pain.

I did get some extra on this surgery as well. The doctor told me that this surgery would last 2 hours. It actually lasted about 3 hours. When she got in there she noticed that the disk was breaking apart and floating around. She had to clean out the area to be able to fix it. So another extra on the surgery.

I must say I am very tired and I want to make sure I don't catch pneumonia. I was intubated during the surgery and I have been coughing up some scretions. My esophagus and trachea are very sore from having to be moved aside to allow the work to be done on the spine. Today the incision area is being painful as well. Everything starting to catch up with me so I will be on meds for about 2 weeks until this settles down. As I think of things to write about I will do that. I am anxious to get back to playing poker. I can sit at the table now.

Have a good weekend.

The Day Before

I can remember as a kid the "The Day Before". It was the time that we were going somewhere or doing something that was going to be fun or important as a child. The feeling of excitement you felt and you wanted the time to hurry up and get there. Hurry up time, tomorrow is the last day of school! Hurry up time, tomorrow is graduation! Hurry up time, tomorrow is the wedding! Do you remember those days?

Now that I am older it seems to be the other way now. Even though I would like time to hurry I really don't want time to go too fast. Now I am concerned with the future and what it brings.

Today is "The Day Before" my surgery that I have been looking for for some time. I have been in pain now since August and the decision now to go and fix this issue has now come time. I spent my time in getting the CT's, the X-Rays and doing the Physical Therapy. I did have the injection done to see if the steroid would help the spine and get the nerve to settle down. The decision was then made that we have done all of what could be done and it was time to let the surgeon take care of this.

Then why do I feel glad that it will be done and then on the other side I am very nervous and, I don't want to say scared, but vulnerable. This will be my 3rd actual surgery and will be the longest under anaesthesia.

The first time I had surgery was my foot. The doctor went in and replaced a joint in my toe to help me be pain free. Well, it didn't help and I still have pain in that joint. He said that when he was working on the joint that he had to spend some extra time taking care of some stuff around the joint area. I don't think I felt so vulnerable for that one. It was my first time in the operating room but I felt good about the time going in.

The second time was, I guess, considered a minor surgery procedure. I had a Kidney Stone that would not pass and the doctor had to go in and break it up so it would pass. I did have to spend some hospital time and that was fine. The doctor told me that he found an extra problem and that took him some extra time but he was unable to fix and will leave that for another surgery. That still has not been taken care of and I don't know if it will be done. Dealing with the Prostate won't be a good thing for me.

This now will be the third surgery and will entail the surgeon making an incision in my neck and moving all of the important parts to get to the spine of C6 and C7. The doctor will be putting bone between the two and will put 4 screws in to hold a plate on both of them. I know this will remove the pain and the numbness I feel in my hand. I know this will make me feel better and get back to do the things I need and want to do. I will be able to sit in chairs and stand for periods of time without the pain in the shoulder and arm. I hopefully will be able to pick things up and hold what is dear to me. To be able to roll on my side and sleep the way I want.

Then why am I feeling so vulnerable? I might even use the word scared. Ok, I said it. Thoughts keep running through my mind. I will be intubated for this procedure because of where the doctor will be working. I guess I am worried because of the extra that always seems to pop up when the physician is working on my body. What will she find this time? Will I be fine? Will I have to spend extra time on the ventilator? Thoughts keep running.

Ok, here we are at the "The Day Before". I can't say there is excitement in the air but I do know it needs to be done. Today I will spend time preparing my mind to accept this and know on Thursday afternoon I will be in the hospital bed in my room and will be doing fine. That everything that has happened up to this point has been taken care of and was done correctly. I trust the surgeon and those around me. That is all I can do.

I am going back to bed to try and get some more sleep this morning. These are my thoughts on "The Day Before". I love my family and friends.

Off Time

I haven't written on the blog in over a week. A lot has been going on with me. I have been working with my parents and getting my Mom out of the hospital. I am getting ready to go into the hospital on Thursday. I will have surgery on my neck. I will have C6 and C7 fused and a plate will be attached to them. At this time my left fingers have basically gone numb. I have a hard time sitting in my chair at the desk so this will be short. I have been unable to sit for periods of time in a chair and so I haven't been able to play poker. I can't even study right now since the pain is unbearable at times. I will be back this next week.

Friday Tournament

Well, that didn't go very well. The one tournament I like to play and today I just couldn't get any cards.

I have a strategy I like to use for this tournament and it has always done well for me. Today it was my downfall. I think it had to do with the people at the table more than it did with the strategy. Every time I did try to play a hand I was either raised or called and the flop did me in after that. I had KK, QQ, 99, and 33's. Maybe I need to open my range just a little bit more.

I was in the the 300/600 blind round and had about T$6000 left. That would make it around 10BB's and time to go all in. I found the 33's and pushed. I was called with a person with A10 and the flop came 1010x. All I can say is not tonight.

This week I will hit the books again on tournament play to see what I could have done differently if anything. I will attempt to play the 2-20 cash game on Thursday night as well. Until then have a good weekend.

Cash Game

It has been almost a whole week since I put something in this blog. This week has been really busy. My Mom was put in the hospital on Tuesday and was discharged on Wednesday. Spent Sunday night in the Emergency Department with Mom as well.

This evening I decided it was time to spend some time playing in the cash game at Jokers Casino. The product of not being able to play online. Anybody need a gas pumper. Need a job. The game was the 2-20 spread. I had some really good hands this evening. Quite a few pocket pairs that actually turned into something. I realize I need to play differently in a cash game and will adjust for the game.

The end of my night ended with 33 and the flop came KK3 and there were 6 players and I checked and the other five checked as well. The turn came 8 and everyone checked again. I really wanted someone to call. The river came Q. I bet and everyone folded. The player next to me folded a 3 with two pair. How could he not bet?

I ended the night in the positive with my limited bankroll and it was a good start. I will play in the tournament tomorrow at 3PM.

Friday Poker

It has been awhile since I have been able to play at Jokers Casino. Yesterday afternoon I drove through the snow to get to the casino. I felt a little rusty and I knew not to expect too much but at the same time I should be able to play my game. There were 30 players at $35 buyin and we received T$10,000 in chips. I like this tournament with the 20 minute rounds.

It went really well for me through the rounds and I was always able to chip up each time. I did make some good decisions during the tournament. I made a big mistake towards the middle of the tournament for myself. I had KQ and the turn came 10-8-J. When I looked at the board I saw a 9 instead of an 8. I decided to 3Bet the flop and see if I could induce a call or take the pot down at that time. After the bet I then looked at the board again and found out I had read the board wrong. I was on a draw instead of a made hand. I ended up folding the hand and down some chips that I really hated to loose.

We went from 3 tables down to 2 and we started up again. With 16 players left and blinds at 500/1000 I looked at my hole cards and was holding QQ. At this time I had T$10,000 left in my stack and that was 10 Big Blinds to play with. I had made up my mind to slow play the hand and get a few people in and then go Allin on the Flop. The Flop came AxA and I decided it was time. Allin for the rest of my chips and was called. I looked at the other player and asked him if he had an Ace and he said yes. The only thing I needed now was a Q to get a Full House. It didn't come and I was out of the tournament in 16th.

Now I go through the process did I make a good move or should I have folded and held on to the T$7,000 I had left and hope for a better spot? I have been training myself not to go allin until I have to and this might not have been the spot.



This is the picture the other day. We are getting more snow as I speak. Roads are not safe.

This week will be very busy for me. I have a Dentist, Neurology and Diabetes visit with the Doctors. I hope they all go well.

BBQ Sauce

Wow, if you want some good BBQ sauce you need to try this. Go to Ron Reed's Signature Barbeque Sauce Co. online at www.reedsbbqsauce.com and get yourself some of this. I have tried all of them and they are fantastic. You will not be disappointed.

The sauces that are available are the "Original Brown Sugar" which is their mild tasting sauce. Has that good sweet taste. Now if you are a little bit more daring try the "Brown Sugar & Jalapeno" This has a medium taste and I love the jalapeno. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it. Now if you are into the heat you have to try the "Brown Sugar & Habanero" What a combination this is and is the hot one. This one will get you going for sure.

All of these are great on your steaks or even chicken wings. Give it a try I know you will like it. Each 16oz bottle is $6. You can't go wrong.

I don't usually do advertisements but this is just great. I am sure Ron will appreciate the business as well. Tell him Steve sent you.

This is the start of the holidays and I hope everyone is safe. I am looking for sunshine and warmer weather. I have a feeling it is right around the corner come Spring the first day of March.

Snow

We really got hit with the snow in the state of Washington. I went out to pick up my wife from work yesterday and I left at 3PM. I got home somewhere around 6:30PM. That was a long trip for about 10 miles. I really think if we had another bridge somewhere out in the north of town over the river it would sure help the congestion around here. It is either that or don't let everyone go home at the same time. If they would stagger the times that could help.

Something I have noticed lately that I find annoying is people still on their cell phones while driving. Today I was driving on 240 headed to Kennewick and this vehicle in front of me was not steering correctly. I noticed when I looked over at him that he was talking on the cell phone and at the same time had his hand off of the steering wheel. We have ice on the road and he is doing that. Where are the police when you need them. I wonder if I started turning in license numbers if that might help. It can be very annoying. And while we are at it what about these new cars that have this brown plastic over the license plate. I thought that was illegal as well. I guess if I have to follow the rules then maybe they should as well.

I have decided that as of this last weekend I am now stopping my visits to the store. You talk about rude people while shopping. Just can't deal with it.

Looks like I will have to wait till next week to play some poker. I have 3 different doctor visits next week. Crown, Neck discussion for surgery, Diabetes check. Sounds like fun. I figure we just need to get them out of the way the first of the month and then see how the rest of the month pans out.

Have a nice holiday. Don't eat too much turkey.

Decisions

Was the decision the correct one? I have to ask myself this question and then I start to question that decision.

A number of weeks ago the decision was made to move my Mom into an Alzheimers Care Unit. That decision also reflected that we were splitting up my Mom from my Dad. It was not an easy decision but my Dad was the one that eventually agreed to this because he knew he could no longer take care of Mom in the Assisted Living apartment they were in. She was in need of special care and this new home would give this to her.

Since we have done this Dad is having a hard time accepting the fact that Mom is elsewhere. I take Dad to see Mom almost every day. Every day it is the same thing. He will sit there beside her and not say anything and will start crying. He tells her he is sorry and then keeps saying over and over that he loves her. Sometimes I think that Mom understands and then there are days I have to wonder. When I sit with her I will make small talk and just let her say whatever she wants to say. Just conversation that doesn't have to mean anything. We end up being there about 30 to 45 minutes and then Dad will want to leave.

Today was the worst day that we have experienced with this. Dad only lasted about 20 minutes and then he just started sobbing uncontrollably and so he and I went outside and he told me that he wanted her back so he could take care of her. How am I supposed to react to this. I told him Mom was in a spot where she needed to be and she is getting the help she needs. Taking her back to the Apartment just wouldn't work. I have to question myself then by saying did we do the right thing? What if I got Hospice to come in and stay with her? Would that be enough? Then my next question is would Dad be able to handle the process of the Alzheimers getting further along?

I am getting close to my wits end. My physical problems are not going away and I am looking at surgery possibly this next month. Can I keep going and keep Dad going and stay strong for him. I am finding now that I will just sit at home and eat and I know that isn't good. No exercise, I am not playing the game I love very often anymore. I do well when I play and it does help to keep my mind off of the problems at hand but then the quilt starts because then I am not focused on Mom and Dad. I just don't know what to do? I know that if I could run away I would do it but it takes money to run away. Then again running from your issues doesn't help either. Somehow I need to solve this.

I wish there was an easy answer to this but I know there isn't and I need to stay positive but that is hard as well. We do have an evaluation coming up for Mom with DSHS and the care she is getting. Maybe if Dad went with me to this he would hear the things that they are doing for her and then he might understand why she is there. Or maybe not understand and he goes in saying he wants her back at the apartment. Then what? I can't be there for the care she needs just because he wants her there. Ok, now I am rambling.

Maybe the next post will be about poker.

End of the Week

Today is now done. It is nice to be going into the weekend and to be able to get some rest from all the madhouse stuff that has gone on for the week.

Today I spent an hour in the dentist chair. Thankfully my dentist gives me medication that allows me to sit there and they can then work on my mouth and get the job done. If it wasn't for the calming medication I would be on the ceiling of the place with all of the nice pictures of waterfalls and mountains. Everyone is really nice there and I do appreciate the staff allowing me to be wacked out during the procedure.

I played in a home game the other night and I came in 1st place. I started out and played a big hand right off the bat. I had QQ and on the board came AJJxJ. What a nice set of J's and I knew I was ahead and all I had to do was get him to put his money in. It all did go in and he turned over A8 for a bigger full house. Luckily it was a rebuy tournament for the first 2 rounds and I bought back in and really didn't loose any ground. I then played the way I was supposed to and waited my turn to shine. In the end I had the chips and the money.

I must say as well that I have been trying to get my money out of Full Tilt know that we are unable to play in Washington State. I did get the money and it came to my bank in about 4 days. I feel good about Full Tilt being able to get it done. Now the bad part I was able to find out who was basically responsible for the issue of not playing poker in WA State. Margarita Prentice is the one and she even states that poker players need to go get jobs pumping gas. Wow, I did pump gas back in the 70's and they work hard and for very little pay. I think Prentice needs to experience what it is like to not have a job so she can pump gas. She really needs to be voted out of office over there in the Seattle area.

I am presently watching the market and ready to get back in at the first sign of a positive growth. I just don't feel it is there yet. Possibly this next week. I am watching BYD, MGM, LVS, F. Not sure which ones I will play but keeping an eye out and watching the charts.

The Aftermath

Now that I have had some time to calm down about playing online poker I guess the next business at hand is to move my bankroll back into my local account. Mind you I didn't have a lot of funds in the online sites but I had enough that I didn't have to reload all the time. In fact I think I only reloaded on both accounts the amount of fingers on one hand. I was able to always keep myself going by placing in tournaments and not worrying about having to put more money in the account.

The first one was Pokerstars and I didn't have very much in that account so I just transferred that money to a friend and lets hope he grows that money into something big. Rooting for you Johnny!!!! The account for FullTilt is a different story. I had decided to play in the biggest tournaments and cash games that I could with this bankroll and if I lost the money then so be it.

First off I started with the Cash game and after a couple of games I had doubled my bankroll. I was totally surprised since I was playing such low stakes games that I figured I was the fish amongst all the sharks. I was very happy with the double up. The last thing I did was play in a tournament that was 1/4 of my bankroll and I had a blast with the tournament. I came in second and tripled my bankroll. I guess I should have been playing at these stakes all along. I look at it as Risk and Reward.

Well, now that Fulltilt has closed my Live account I have asked them to send my money to me. I sent out the request and today I got the notification that it was approved to be sent and it is on its way to my bank. Lets hope there are no complications with this and when it arrives I will put this with my bankroll for live tournaments and continue to grow the account. I might even try to play some cash game of 2-20 Spread. Not my favorite but it is worth a shot to see if I can get the bankroll to grow. I will try not to be the fish swimming with sharks.

I was a little late getting into the stock market this time. I read the charts correctly and had an idea of what was going to happen and I sat back and watched it happen as expected. I ended up being a couple of days late and since I won't chase the stocks I will watch from the sideline this time and be prepared to get back in within a few days. Christmas season is coming and retail shopping is here. I suppose the markets will move higher until the end of the year. At least that is what I am looking for. I will be ready for the next move.

I did have the neck injection for the C7 Spine and to this date I have no relief. I am scheduled to visit with my physician in about three weeks and we may be looking at surgery. So hard to sleep at night.

Having Fun.......

Reflection

Now that the reality of Washington State not allowing individuals to play poker online is hitting home it has to make me sit back and wonder about how I am going to proceed for my quest in playing and learning poker. Being able to play online has helped me learn strategy and has given me the skills that I need to keep pursuing the dream. The options are very slim and of course I am unable to just get up and move to a different state. When you have family and jobs that does make it hard. I do know one thing and that is I will not give up on my dream.

Finding a good structured game here in this town is hard. When the rounds are 10 and 15 minutes it makes it hard to work skill and you end up hoping for luck. I prefer to make my own luck. If I wanted to spend my money on luck I would do the state thing of playing Lotto. Talk about ripping money away from the Washington people. At least poker gave us a chance of getting money back.

I suppose I will now end up finding games in this town that will cost a little bit more and try to find the structures that will benefit me. I wouldn't mind trying out the cash games but then I have to watch the bankroll as well. Live vs Tournament play. Where is the best opportunity? Of course one other item now I will try to accomplish is to get my money out of the online company. Hopefully that will go well.

We were informed yesterday morning that our Son, who was nominated for Sailor of the Quarter, had won the distinction. We are proud of our Son and even though he has not been to Iraq or Afghanastan the possibility is always there and I know he is ready to serve when asked. Last night we were at a party and I listened to a person talk down the award and basically made fun of it. I think that is totally wrong and especially not showing our service people the respect they should have. The award is something that our son did not go after, it was something that his peers bestowed upon him for the job he is doing for our country. My family taught us that if you can't say anything nice then don't say it at all.

This week is a new week in the Stock Market and I will be looking for some entry points. Looks like the market is correcting and that should help with some possible short trades.

Having Fun.......except online.

Sad Sad Day

This is another sad day for the state of Washington. Full Tilt has sent out emails telling all of the Washington players that they are no longer able to play with real money on their site. All of this happened after about a month since PokerStars had told their players they were stopping them from playing on their site. This is so wrong in so many ways. And to top it off if you are caught playing you are classified the same as a rapist. Does that make any sense? Washington you have it all wrong. This is totally wrong.

I have been able to play on both Pokerstars and FullTilt and I use the site for practice for my strategy for live play. I am not a professional so I don't have bunches of money on the sites. This gave me a chance to play very low limit games to better my skills in hope of someday making some big paydays on the felt. What is wrong with that? Now I am forced to go to casinos and practice where I am considered a fish amongst sharks. I will have to learn fast or my bankroll will be gone and then another person is lost playing the game they love.

You hear that the poker game is luck and not skill. If you believe that then you should try the game. It is very much skill and you need to learn all the facets of playing the game to get better. What about horse race betting? Of course the lawmakers will keep that going. So much skill in that game. I am just saying it is just wrong to make this game illegal. What about the Lotto? Is that luck or skill? How much money is spent on that one and people loose big time hoping for the big cash. Addiction? If the state wanted to they could tax poker and that would help the coffers for the state. I don't think we are saying not tax the game but to just let us play the game we love.

Come on Washington State lets get this corrected and do something right for a change.

Time Change

I really do not like the time change. Two times every year we have to try and get our internal clocks changed as well as the actual clocks around the house. It is a little bit better for me now since I am not working and I am not trying to run a routine like I did before. It would be nice to just leave it alone at whatever was the original way.

I didn't get to play poker on Friday. I got a call from my Mom's Assisted Living place and they thought she had broken her arm. I met her at the emergency room and sure enough when she fell off the chair Monday we didn't realize she also fractured the arm as well. They took the CT of the head but no one even thought about arms, hips or whatever. This trip to the ED they did the arm and also did a hip to make sure. She is doing well and today we are taking her to the Orthopaedic Doctor to see what they want to do with the arm. The fracture is pretty high on the Humurous Bone.

I did get to watch the WSOP on ESPN3. That was great and I am glad we now have an opportunity to watch some poker tournaments on the internet. They are long but I really think I can learn something by watching the table play. I am a very visual person so watching something being done helps my play.

I am not sure if I will be able to play this week since I will have some minor surgery ( Injections ) in my neck for the C7 spine issue. I am having an issue sleeping at night and sitting for long periods of time. The Fall Poker Roundup is currently going on at Wildhorse. I have been looking forward to playing this tournament but with the issues with my Mom I have decided to not play this session. I will play again in the Spring when it comes back around. I just need to continue to play here at Jokers and continue to get better with my play.

My Stock Trading is going well this week. I finally decided to start acting instead of watching the market and put some money at risk. I am up at this point and will continue to follow. I need about 3 more stocks I can follow and trade. If I have a few I get to know well I think this will do fine instead of constantly trying to find something to trade.

Having Fun.....

All things Poker

I got to the Casino on Wednesday prepared to play in a tournament. This tournament is $35 with T$20,000 in chips and has 10 minute rounds. I really do not like the 10 minute rounds. It does make for a fast tournament but doesn't allow you any time to work the table. It makes you get involved with hands too early and I even think it makes people stay in with hands they wouldn't normally stay in with. I try to play my usual game and that was not working for me. The first one was KK and I sort of slow played them but the flop came with a good flop for me so I did a continuation bet thinking they would fold. Nope they came right on along. I bet with the turn and the river thinking I was still good. They turn over a set that was reached on the flop.

The rest of the tournament for me ran the same way. I would have a hand and the person would have just one hand better than I. Ok, how about some wine with the crackers. I kept at it throughout the tournament and finally when I got down to about T$7000 left I pushed it all in with my pocket 6's and lost to a flush. That was my night.

Today I am ready to play again this afternoon at 3PM. Better setup with 20 minute rounds. This is the usual and is a better tournament for me.

Last night we were driving home from dinner when I noticed in someones living room a Christmas tree was set up. I can't believe people already doing Christmas and we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet. Come on people, get with the program.

Have a good day...

Decisions

It is amazing to me that we all have the same thing in common everyday. That would be decisions. We all make them. Some are harder than others and some seem trivial but they are all important to each of us. You have to think back on some of the harder decisions you have had to make and what would have happened if you had made the opposite decision.

I enjoyed watching the EPT Vienna Main Event over the weekend. Watching poker is like watching golf. Nothing happens and then all of a sudden a hand that there is something happening and you need to pay close attention to the decision that is being made.

Watching the hand with DN and two others yesterday was interesting. They each had decisions to make for the chance to continue with the tournament and take a commanding lead. I was sitting watching this and trying to figure out what each person had with the cards on the table. Who had the set, pairs, straight. In the end when all was said and done one person was eliminated, one person went from chip leader to short stack and one person went to chip leader. I must say that was exciting to watch.

We all have the same decisions and some are not as important. Before you act today on a decision think about it and make the correct call.

Poker Thoughts

I was so ready to play poker Friday afternoon. The poker tournament started at 3PM today and I was ready to get started. I hadn't played poker since the big tournament almost two weeks ago. I was down on myself about how I played and I didn't show myself that I deserved to be playing in a bigger tournament yet. Three times per year I give myself the opportunity to see where I am at in my poker play. I will play at Wildhorse Casino and pay the larger fee just to see where I am at. I would do the same thing with my golf. If I wanted to see how I was doing I would play at Canyon Lakes Golf Course because that course was the size of golf courses the pros would play. You see where I am going with this already?

Every time I play like I did at Jokers Casino the next thing to do was study some more and get myself more prepared for the next time. I am competitive and this game will put me up against people that are better than me and I can't have that. I need to learn and get better.

With this game I have goals that I must meet each and every time I play. If I don't meet these goals I have to figure out what I did that did not allow myself the opportunity and fix those leaks. The three goals I have for every tournament are:
1) Make the Final table. 2) Make the money spot. 3) Win the tournament.
Now number one and two can be switched around depending on the tournament and how many people are playing. At Wildhorse those would be switched around. At Jokers they would remain as I have them listed. These are important goals and they must be reached to accomplish where I want to be in my play.

The next thing that has to be looked at are procedures. With poker you have to make plays with hands that you are given. Now I know there are other things that enter into the decision making on making plays but you do need to have procedures of how to play certain hands. I play pocket pairs differently than face cards and for straight and flush possibilities. Procedures is important in how you play. I must follow them. If you have been reading my other posts you can see a correlation with the boxes in the brain. Things for me are basically cut and dry and if you do something then the outcome should be the same.

With all of that said then how did I do in the tournament today. I came in second place today. We played for four hours and I made one play at the end that made me loose a big share of my chips. Was I tired? Why did I choose to play the hand the way I did? These are two of the questions I have to answer. So, I accomplished goal number one and two but fell short for goal number 3. I will still pat myself on the back and say good job but then have to sit down and think about what I did that made me do what I did.

The tournament started with T$10,000 in chips and I did drop down to around T$7,000 and I had to tell myself that this is my job and I needed to concentrate a little bit more and I then was able to get back up to the T$9,000 area before getting to the final table. Even though this is a game and I do enjoy this game it is also a job to me in making money to keep the dream alive. What is the dream? It is part of the goals list. You have to have that and it has to be written down and you have to read it almost on a daily basis to make it part of your life.

Having Fun.

Boxes Continued

I have been accused of having boxes in my brain. Only able to work on one item at a time. Now I usually am not a multitask person. I do like to work on one item and finish the task before moving on to the next item. If I have to work on more than one I usually will write down the tasks and then again work on the items at hand and try to get the items to a spot I can't go further and then move to the next item on the list. This tends to work well with me. In multitasking the stress level moves up a notch because you have items not being finished and then adding more becomes inevitable.

This is how I percieve the boxes. I have talked about boxes before and how we live in a box. I think you can see the next version and how this is possible.

In the morning I wake up and the mind starts to work. The hyster is starting up and the motor is now running. What boxes are needed for this person to move. I must get the Hygiene box out. This motorized little hyster moves to that area and pulls the box out. The box opens up and there are a number of items that have to be completed. Please don't interrupt the items in this box. They have to happen in order for them to be completed and if they don't happen according to the list then something gets missed and it is gone and out of the box for the day. How it gets back into the box I don't know. Must be a little person that runs around looking for missed items like what they do at Walmart. Put lost items in a cart and someone picks them up at the end of the day and puts them back in the box for the next day. That seems logical to me.

If I have done things correctly and listed my day according to plan the next box is pulled. Of course the previous box must be put back to allow for the next box to be opened up. Cleanliness in the conveyor belt of boxes. Don't work ahead too much in placing more than one box on the conveyor belt because then it will stop and have to wait for the mechanics to come in and fix the belt. I wonder if that is when I sit in the chair and try to figure out my boxes and what order they should be in. Sounds logical.

The day proceeds as it should going from box to box and opening and closing of said boxes. All within a very logical and orderly fashion. In my mind I have all kinds of boxes that will get opened during the day. All of said boxes are clean and will be put back in the same location as when they were pulled.

Remember as before since we live in a box and move around in boxes then our minds must be a box as well. I think it is logical. I like logical and precise. I like things to be in order and function in order. Oh, how I like my box.

I want to play!!!!

The State of Washington is making it so hard to play a game that is so much fun. With proper bankroll management you are not hurting anyone. Let us play.

I did play in a live game the other day in a $1/$2 game. I am very patient and basically when I got through I had increased my bankroll again. I like playing at this level. I will keep it up as long as I can or if they keep having the $1/$2 game. I am starting with a little more than my bankroll would allow but I am seeing a much better game and I am responding to this as well. I will probably play in a tournament on Wednesday night and then try to get in on Friday afternoon. Both of these tournaments give me the best chance to get the bankroll up.

The best avenue for me with studying the game is the WSOP Academy. I think the price is right and there is good information available. You even get to take a test after each session. If you haven't tried it you should. I am still thinking about going to the Wildhorse Casino this next month to play in the seniors event. I liked that one last year and would like to play in this one again. It is also a way for me to find out where I am at in this learning process.

Life is still throwing out personal and physical problems and I will keep at them. Keeping my eye on the prize. I would love to play in the June 2011 WSOP.

Poker Weekend

This was my poker weekend while my wife was gone for her girls trip to Seaside, OR. I was hoping to get some quality time playing poker as well as spending time in my WSOP books and the WSOP Academy site on playing tournament poker. Sometimes I feel like I do to much book study and not enough actual play. Now that I can't spend the time playing online and learning to make plays I have to spend more time and more money to be able to play at our local casino.

On Thursday the tournament structure at the Jokers Casino was a $45 buy-in and you get T$10,000 in chips. The rounds were 15 minutes in length. This is not a bad structure to play in. This was also a bounty tournament so for every person you busted you received $10 back. I was able to bust two people during the evening. I ended up in 4th place. They paid 3 spots. I always try to take something away from each tournament as something I learned about myself, and the individuals I play against. Patience is a big item as well as when to shove and when to not give up. I find I will shove to easy when I get down in chips where if I just wait a little longer I might be able to double up and maintain in the tournament.

Friday was another tournament at Jokers Casino. This one was a $35 buy-in and you get T10,000 in chips. The rounds were 20 minutes in length. I like the longer rounds as it gives more time to play but also can be something that goes against you by playing more hands you shouldn't since you have a lower blinds for a greater amount of time. During this tournament I did just that. Too many hands early and then I just tightened up and was able to make it to the final table. This tournament I went out in 8th place. Again they paid 3 spots. Most of the time I can get to the final table it is just the problem of not having the chips I need to make a difference.

Sunday was the big tournament of the weekend. This one was a $210 buy-in and you get T$10,000 in chips. The rounds were 30 minutes in length. This was a nice tournament structure and was more in line with the Wildhorse Casino I play during their Roundups they have three times per year. I never got myself going during this tournament. I ended up in 31st position. I really think I gave up on myself. I shoved with AQ against AK and lost the pot and was out of the game. I had about $8000 left when I did this at the 300/600 blind level. Was it too soon? Should I have waited for a better spot? I figured the amount I was pushing in would take the others off of their hands. The caller must have thought about it for 5 minutes before he finally called me. It would have been a good double up and would have gotten me into the next session towards the money. What can I learn from this?

So many things going on with my family right now. Mom with Alzheimers and Cancer and decisions that need to be made. Problems with my neck C7 and I think it is locking up on me. Can't even do my exercises right now.

Ok, back to the books before the next tournament this week.

Getting Colder

I have been so busy just trying to keep up with all of the things pushing for my time. Guess what took a back seat for awhile? Ok, you guessed it. I haven't written anything on this blog but I have thought about it the last few days.

With my Mom having Cancer and Alzheimers it has kept me fairly busy. I make the trip over to the home where they are at and I try to spend some time so Dad can go for a walk or go down to the cafeteria for his lunch. This allows him some away time from watching Mom. It looks like the Cancer is going into remission but of course there is no guarantee. We are still waiting for some test results from the bone scan she had the other day. Will continue with the plan of making sure she is taken care of and Dad gets some needed rest. C will now be helping me with some time at parents since her job is now allowing her some time off for family. This will help.

I started the H&R Block tax class in September and was doing well. All I needed to do was maintain greater than 80% in testing and I would have a job with them. Looking good at 99%. Then the hammer fell. I ended up with Gout in my left knee that set me down in bed for almost a week. By the time we got the medications I had missed 2 days of class and a test. Now I was in a catchup mode. Unfortunately you just can't miss the days in class and the computer time and keep up. I spent a couple of days trying to catch up but when it came down to it I was behind and couldn't get it done. So, again this year I gave up on the Tax class. Maybe next year I will give it another shot. This time I will put myself into a health capsule and fight off all health issues.

I did have my MRI done and found that I have an issue with the C4 and the C7 spine impinging on nerves. I am attending PT twice a week to see if we can solve this issue. A lot of pain from the C7 area. If this doesn't fix it then steroid shots or surgery to fuse the area. I am opting for PT at this time.

Poker has taken a back seat as well. I will be playing tonight and will also try some live cash game as well. I am not a fan of 2-20 spread but if that is all that is available I guess I will give it a try. The state of Washington has made playing online a class C Felony. I cannot believe this. I ended up transferring my BR over to a friend in Arizona. This is so wrong. You can gamble on horses, Lotto, and even the stock market. Makes me want to leave Washington State and go somewhere more poker friendly. So I guess my days of learning online are over with.

I am still working on my certification from the WSOP Academy. This has really helped my game and understand some of the finer points of playing poker. I need to really look at the math side of this game since the internet pros are starting to use this in how they play. You have to know what they know so you hopefully can figure out what they are thinking. I am getting prepared for the Fall Poker Roundup in Pendleton in November. This is always exciting for me to play with very knowledgable individuals. Last time I came in 80/245 players and I want to do better on this next trip. Getting into the money would be good.

Have a fun day.

End of the Month

I haven't forgotten you. I want to write but have been working the class on Taxes and it is taking all of my time. I want to play poker but it is important to me right now to see if I can land this job. It would be good. Parttime and then will have some offtime.

Great Night Back

I haven't played in a Casino for six weeks. Too many things taking up my time. My mind hasn't been focusing on playing the game I like. But last night everything changed.

Knowing I haven't been in the casino for 6 weeks I didn't know what to expect. I have been continuing to study from the WSOP and hoping that I remembered everything I put into my brain. There were two tables playing last night and the tournament structure had changed. This was a Bounty Tournament and we started with T$10,000 in chips and the rounds were 15 minutes. For each person you busted out of the tournament you would get $10. To bust four people you would make your money back for the tournament. I just wanted to make it to the final table and let the other stuff happen if it happens.

On the first table I waited till the 2nd round of play with the blinds at 50/100 before I got involved with any of the pots. My first big hand was a flush and got beat by Full House. The second one was my set against another Full House. I didn't start out well but I figured if I was patient and not go all in eventually the cards will come my way. And they did. Before I left the Table for the Final Table I was well up over T$13,000.

At the final table anything can happen. I remained patient and played my big hands. I got JJ and was beat by AA. A little bit later I had AA and beat the same guy with 88. I told him I was letting him hold my chips until I needed them again. In the end 1st place was nice. Getting back to playing after 6 weeks off I still had the ability to play good.

My first week of Tax Class is done and now we are starting to get into the meat of taxes and should be fun. Got to keep up with the homework. We watched the instructor do a tax return online and it looks like what I have been doing for years with Turbo Tax. Just a different application. In class it is Theory and all the different scenerios we will be seeing during the tax season. Lets hope it works out alright.

I need to interject some stock trading here at some point. Need to get back to reading charts in the evening and set up some trades.

I will say this that Alzheimers is an ugly thing to watch someone go through. You add Cancer to that and it is rougher to watch. Will be looking for some guidance soon on what to do with my Mom.

Have a fun weekend. Keep it green.

Over the Hill

Yes, I went over the hill. I went to the west side of the state yesterday. Got up early and took off for a class at 1230. I arrived at 1100 and ended up sitting for an hour and a half. The weather was cloudy but no rain in Bellevue. I had made a video of Mt. Rainier up on Manastash Ridge and I lost it trying to put it on the computer. Better luck next time.

I attended a class on trading from Rich Dad group. When I got done with the class I ended up purchasing the information and another three day seminar. I think this will just engrain into me what I already know as well as help me get started with my trading and finding the stocks I want to trade. I am still looking at the ETF Sectors for the SPDR. What I did was just create more study that needs to be done and more time that will be spent. I guess if I throw enough darts on the board something will stick.

I attended my second day of the H&R Block Tax class and so far so good. My homework was done and proved to be correct. Yes, I can fill out a form now and figure income and taxes. Now we get to the meat of the forms and all of the extra stuff you can do to get deductions etc. Will work on Chapter 3 and the related homework for Friday.

It has been nice the last few days getting up and going somewhere in the morning just like days of old. I like being home but I also enjoy the ability to meet people and talk with others. Not my usual. I don't like meeting new people but once I am in a situation I will make the best of it and talk.

I did play live cash and on the very first hand I got 94 and since I already paid the BB and when it came around to me I went ahead and put in a raise and both the SB and BB folded. I didn't play another hand for 12 hands. I had A9 and I put in a raise being the first in. Someone raised all-in after me so I folded. Two hands later I got QQ and bet and was called. I bet each street and was called each time. I really felt I had the best hand and he was letting me bet for him. Usually this means they have a strong hand and will entice me to just check it down. He ended up showing AK and I won the pot. That was the last hand I played for this session. The table started to break up so I went ahead and left the table as well.

Today is the day that we visit the physician for my Mom. We will find out what will be the next plan for the Cancer.

Have a good day.

I want to hide

I keep saying that I want to go up to the mountains and sit looking at Mt. Rainier. It is such a peaceful place where one can sit and just think about how enormous this mountain is and the power it has available within itself. I do the same when I get around the rivers or ocean. Look at the power it has and what it can do within nature. The creator is great and allows us to see these magnificant items in our little planet. We are reminded we are not in control.

This week is going to be a very busy week for me. At least it is suppose to start out that way. Tomorrow I will start my first day in Tax class. This will go on for 2 months. I am hoping it will go well. So many other things are pushing for my time and I am wondering if I will make it through. The last time I tried to take this class I was working as a Respiratory Therapist and was called to go on a Neonatal Transport and it happened a couple of times in a row and I could not complete the class. Now I have the opportunity but will everything else allow me the time.

Tuesday this week I am headed to Seattle to attend a Stock Trading class. I am also going to try and meet up with some friends from my hospital days. There is a possibility another class may come out of this one. We will see. I want to attend the Tuesday session first and evaluate the program. I am presently working on trading the ETF Spyders. If I work with the sectors I will not have the fluctuations as just the company stocks. This will be more like working with mutual funds without the mutual fund type rules.

One area that I have tried to keep out of the blog is the family portion of what I am dealing with. My mom has cancer and alzheimers and working with her and my dad to get through this part of life. Sometimes I have to be the person taking the unkind words from my dad on not doing enough. Thats alright since I have to remain strong for both of them. We will visit a doctor on Wednesday for more information on cancer. I am working on placement for my mom for the Alzheimers but I have to keep in mind the cancer and how we are going to approach this as well. Where might be the best place for her? Do I separate Mom and Dad at this point? Stress is back and my BP is starting to show it as well as my blood sugars. I will eat under stress and that is what is happening right now. I will sit and eat my comfort food which is Popcorn and Nachos. I have been known to do both in one night.

Poker is really taking a back seat at this time. I try to continue to play some live cash to keep my BR up. I will need to start working on tournament play again for the Fall Roundup in Pendleton at the Wildhorse Casino. I really want to do well at this tournament. Remember I was 80/245 players last time and I want to do better and get into the money this time. If I give myself small goals in poker I will achieve them easier. My goal for live cash is to try and get 50 hands in a sitting. I will keep working on that one. This also allows me to get my mind in a different spot and concentrate on something else other than the issues that are in front of me. I have three new chapters to complete from the WSOP Academy to continue my goal of poker certification. When I am done I could possibly coach some and help others with their game.

Have a good week.

In the Box

My eyes slowly open when I notice the morning light. When I get up I notice I am in a box. This box has everything a person needs. I can move around and do what I want as long as I am in the box. I am now in the front of the box and I hear a ring coming from within the box. This ring is from a smaller box. Each box has a line that goes from the big box and seems to go to other boxes. I would wonder if this is a way for them to communicate.

The voice on the other end wants me to visit another box. If I leave my box am I safe and will I be able to find my way back. I go deep into my box and prepare to venture out and see if I can find this box they are talking about.

I find the small hole in the box that allows me to venture out and I see a lot of boxes in a row. Each box has a little box in the front or on the side. If you get into these little boxes they will move. It seems they move on some type of rail or by some type of guidance mechanism. Mine moved slowly and got out of the small box area and I was moving toward bigger boxes. These bigger boxes were huge. I wonder if anyone ever gets lost in these big boxes.

When my little box stopped I got out and moved toward one of the big boxes. Wow, this was a big box. I could even see into this box from the outside. I knew I was outside because of the bright light that was shining. I moved closer to the box and the box opened up on its own. Why would it open by itself and no one around? Will I be safe going into this box.

When I stepped inside of this box it was empty and was very big. I could now see out of the box and it had a different feel to it. I looked around and I saw another person sitting on a little box. I looked the other direction and there was someone sitting behind a box. I figured since this person was closer to me I would try to communicate with her and see what I was supposed to do in this box. She asked me for identification and opened a box in front of her. She kept looking at the box and then said she may have to move to a bigger box to keep working and looking at it. She even pulled out a smaller box and talked into it like I did earlier. Someone showed up and they talked and I was told to sit on a box and wait.

This same person came back and got me and we walked through this box. This box had little passageways to bigger areas within the box. This person would use a little thing around his neck to open boxes and we would walk through. I was taken to a little box and I was asked to take all of my identification and put it into a box. What are they going to do with my identification in this box? Am I safe to be here? We walked into a little bigger box with some type of humming machine. I guess it could be a box. I was told to lay down and put my head between these two items and he placed little boxes over my ears. He also put something over my neck and this pinned me down so I couldn't move. What kind of box is this? It makes noise.

I was slowly moved so I was inside this box and was told to not move. I was there about 20 minutes listening to noise coming from the small boxes on my ears. This machine kept making loud noises around me. Was this box talking to me? I opened my eyes and could only see a light coming from the box right in front of me. I was eventually let out of this box and was told I could leave. Was I brainwashed? What did they see? Into my body and soul? Would I be the same as when I left?

I was able to get my identification back. It looked alright. All of the boxes were still around. That box they had me in was the only thing that I could see that could be a problem. I seemed to be alright. I was still thinking and I could speak so it must have been alright. Time will tell.

I left the big box behind and got into my smaller box which for some reason knew how to get me back into the area of smaller boxes. It even found the box I had left earlier and I was able to get back into my box. Everything now looks familiar. I have my own box with all of my boxes around me. I must be home.

Is this the Matrix? How do we know it is not just a computer program we live in?

My 201st Post

I cannot believe that I have now put in over 200 posts on this blog. I really have fun writing and that is something I never thought would happen.

I remember the days in High School where I was in the last period of the day and it happened to be English. English and I just never got along. As you can see I still have issues with punctuations. Maybe someday I can get better with that. I used to sit in the back of the class and when the teacher would go to the office then a group of us would sneak out the window that was open and then ditch class. Was that smart? No. I did pass the class and that was with the help of the secretary for the teacher. I would go into the office and stand behind her and look at the answers to the tests and then would do well in the tests. Ok, not a good idea but at that time that is what I did. Enough of the past.

I decided to sit down and play on FT last night and I got into 27 player SnG. I have a strategy of playing in these tournaments and it does well for me. I will also write down all the hands that are given to me so I can review what I did and when. We start out with T$1500 and I end up playing the 10th hand into the tournament. I was given 10K and was in the Hijack seat. Everyone was checking it down and we made it to the river and this is what was on the board. 26AJ6. I know I didn't hit it but it seemed no one else wanted it either. I bet and was called and the person in the SB had an A to win the pot. I am now at T$1280.

Nine hands later I got 88. I raised it 3 times the blind and immediately won the pot. No one wanted to play. Two hands later I got JJ and raised it 3 times the blind and ended up going all-in with it and the other player had 1010 and my Jacks held up to get me to T$2275.

Two hands later I get 33 and end up folding. The very next hand I got AK and win the hand and now I am at T$2255. We move forward five hands and I get 22 and when the flop came out I did not get the set I was looking for so I folded. Four hands later I get A6 and I call with this hand. I ended up with a draw and made a bet at the pot and did win the hand. I know move to T$3490.

I didn't see another hand I could play for eighteen hands. My last hand of this tournament was AQ and ended up playing against a person with AQ and we ended up being all-in and he made a flush. I was out of the tournament in 8th place three from the money.

I am spending time working on my poker studies with the WSOP Academy.

There is so much going on right now it is hard to keep up. I was called by the hospital today and asked if I would do my MRI today instead of tomorrow. I went in and it was done. They are looking at my Spine to see why I am having pain in my shoulder and down my arm. I tried to pick up one of the grandkids the other day and couldn't do that. Hopefully they will find something since this hurts in my shoulder and spine.

Today was yard mowing day and putting some water on the grass. Take care.

Walking

Can you believe it, I am walking down by the river. In fact here are a couple of videos I have taken.



This was taken at the beginning of the walk this morning. The next video will show the stopping point and where I turn around.



The temperature has been nice the past couple of days. It was my turn at the doctors yesterday and now it is time for lab work and I will be getting a MRI on my spine. I think I have a possible pinched nerve. It is hard sleeping with the shoulder and back in pain. It is always something.

Nice Weather

We have finally reached September and school has now started. This only means one thing and that is Fall and Winter are on their way. I have never been a fan of Fall and Winter because it reminds me of the nice green leaves now turning brown and dying off. Cold weather and snow. Trying to maintain a positive outlook has always been hard during this time of the year. This year especially I will have to work real hard at it and see if I can maintain a positive attitude about everything.

Today I decided to take a walk along the river. It was very nice outside and when I got there this is what I found.



I sat along the river for a while and watched the boat and the goings on aboard. It is called the Spirit of 98. The banner was CruiseWest.com so when I got home I went and took a look at what they do. They have seven day trips on the Columbia and Snake river. Wouldn't that be fun and be able to get off at the towns along the way and sight see. That would be a fun vacation.

We continue getting not so good news about Mom and I am afraid to go to the next appointment since I am very sure about what we are going to hear. I really think we are way to far behind doing something for her. We will continue hope that they can do something with hormones and put this into remission. I am having a hard time being positive for parents and yet realistic in what we see. The appointment is scheduled for the middle of the month. That is why I think we are too far behind. If there was something that could be done I would think they would be doing something now instead of waiting.

Right now my poker has taken a back seat to everything. I try to continue with my challenge for live on PS. I am now up to 847 hands. I didn't have a positive session on this last one. I continue to learn. My worst hand was when I had QQ and a Qxx8x and the other person had Q8. It was hard coming back from that. I did manage to come back a little but ran out of time. I would like to get back to tournament play but I can't right now since my mind is not into it with other things going on.

This month I have finished my three months of Stock Training. I seem to understand more than what I started with but now it is putting the Capital to work. Finding a good strategy and the correct stocks to work with is important. I will also be starting a two month class on Taxes in two weeks. So many things going on right now.

Poker Challenge

Back on July 4 I gave myself a challenge. To play as many hands of live cash game poker and grow the bankroll. A lot of the pros have been saying and doing just this and they will grow a bankroll by showing it can be done. Ok, why not me. My goal was to play at least 100 hands per day. I would start out at the .02/.05 game and move forward from there. I also will start with $10 and see if I can get it to grow.

Here it is August and I am still going. I have now played 751 hands and my bankroll is down 80% from where it started. Wow, I didn't do very well. The last half of this month I have finally turned the corner. I went down in stakes to the .01/.02 level and started working on the game. Patience was important to me and has been something I have to learn with this game. I wanted to be aggressive and my bankroll showed it.

As far as the 100 hands per day, well it didn't happen. Along with the other things happening in my life I couldn't put in the amount of hands I wanted. Soooo, patience again shows that I stay with a table until it starts to break up and then I will usually shut it down for the evening. I try to get as many hands in as the table will allow. I watch the players and learn what they are doing and figure out what type of hands they are playing. Right now the plan is to keep going forward with this plan.

I did play an SnG last night with 18 players. I came in 3rd. I have been doing only the cash game so it felt weird playing in a tournament. I prefer tournaments but only at the casinos.

Having fun.

Weather is Changing

Wow, today is just a very nice day to be outside. I went out this morning and mowed the front yard and am watering the back yard. Tomorrow I may mow the back yard and water the front yard. I have been trying to keep our utility bill as low as I can during the summer. So far I have done well. The yard does have some yellow in it but it is not bad. I have been watering once per week with me going out in the evenings and just spraying the lawn to keep some water going. School is starting within a week or two and as always the weather will change.

We just got through visiting the Radiology Oncologist this last week and the news he gave us was not very good. Mom's cancer has spread more than what we thought from previous week. She has a number of areas where the cancer is and because of this the Physician is unable to help us with Radiation Therapy. We basically have two options now. One is to contact Hospice and keep her comfortable and the second one is to try and see if another oncologist can help us by giving her hormone therapy. We are persuing the hormone therapy and will have an appointment hopefully this next week to get that started. This will hopefully get the cancer in remission. She will not be out of the woods but at least if we can slow this down or get it in remission then she will have some more time. This is where I am spending most of my time working with the particulars of all of this.

This past week I have been working on Craigslist selling items we are no longer using and it has been sort of a mini yardsale online. I have about 4 or 5 items I put on and work with them through the week. Not bad so far. So much easier to work on Craigslist than Ebay since I don't have to worry about shipping and all of that.

My Stock Training will be done in about a week and a half. Even though I will be able to listen to the classes for lifetime I am and should be ready to get into the market since I have had all of the lessons. Do I feel ready? I think the hardest thing right now is the market itself. It is so choppy and you never know what is going to happen. It is not like it use to be where a company is good and the stock will just rise. A good stock can go up one day and then drop the next. Thank goodness for technical trading.

This next month I am taking another class that has always interested me and that is to get involved with taxes. I signed up to take the class with H&R Block. I am hoping that working about 4 months of the year and then taking the rest off might be good and that way I can keep my poker playing going. Maybe travel to some events outside of the area. The Tax class will be going from September thru November. This year has been busy with training in a number of things so hopefully 2011 will be a good year to find something I enjoy and can work at it for a while.

Poker has taken a back seat this month. I am trying to play at Jokers Casino when I can but my Mom has priority in whatever needs to be done. I have been playing on PS and my hand count is 675 hands and now I am down about 8%. I am making a comeback and it will take some time. Patience. I do need to play more hands but will be working on playing appropriately. Not spewing chips around. I am maintaining my education with the WSOP and I just signed up with another group that will have me doing weekly study and playing what I learn. That should help as well. The next major tournament on my schedule is the Fall Poker Roundup in Pendleton in November.

Continue to be busy.

Time does Fly

I sit at my desk every day and start thinking of the items I need to achieve for the day and writing in the blog is one of them. I have been busy doing other things and that keeps me from writing.

After telling my parents that Mom has cancer again the next part was visiting the doctor with the test results and seeing what our next options were going to be. We had Mom do the CT with contrast to see if the cancer made it to her lungs or her brain. Yes, it did get to the lungs. No, it did not get to the brain. She has small nodules in her lungs. Our next visit will be to the cancer center here and we will have mom do some radiation therapy. This will not cure the cancer but hopefully we can control it until the time it does not work anymore. We will see what the doctor has to say this week.

My poker playing has taken a back seat to this and I have not played very much. I did play in a freeroll last week and ended up in 14th out of 45 players. Not bad but I know the game setup has a lot to do on how you play. T$1000/10min rounds is really fast. Luck plays more in these type of tournaments. Me, I would rather play in something with at least 20 to 30 minute rounds and have a bigger chip stack to start with. I have done some Online Cash trying to build my bankroll. I am now at 639 hands played and now at -9%. Making a comeback. The more hands I see the better it is. Too bad I let it get down so far before working it out. I wanted to get 100 hands per day but now I am happy to just play a little bit at a time.

I have been spending some time on Craigslist selling items we no longer need. So far it is working out. Nice to get a little bit of cash back.

Still having fun.

Wicked Friday

The weather is hot and trying to maintain cool in the house is a job. Our yard doesn't look very good right now. Yellow spots. I have tried to water and keep up but the grass dries out so fast that is hard and I am behind. Then when you look at your utility bill and it is going up during this time it is hard on everybody. I see lots of yards in the same boat. One more month and then the weather should start to cool down and the watering should be a little bit easier.

I had to do the hardest thing so far that I have ever had to do and that was informing my Mom and Dad that Mom has cancer again. She had cancer a year ago and that was taken care of with surgery. We were told that the margins looked good and they were sure they got it all. Well, about a month ago she started seeing some bumps and we took her to the doctor. After a couple of tests and a Biopsy the results came back and they are positive. Now we are going to be doing some more tests to see how far this has gone. I am not going to look at the possibles but will only work off of facts. I won't know until Tuesday or Wednesday what I will have to tell my parents next. My Mom has Alzheimers as well so that does complicate things somewhat. Emotionally hard but I have to be a rock for my parents. I hope I can do that.

I am not playing as much poker as I would like. I have been doing some cash game and so far I am at 592 hands and my bankroll is still in tack. I am learning some techniques while playing and I think seeing the amount of hands that I am is helping as well. I will keep this up as much as possible. I do plan on playing Monday evening at Jokers. This is a Freeroll with a $300 pot. Got to take the chance on it. If I play well I will give myself the opportunity.

I was in the stock market this last week and the Market Makers took me out of the market early. They are so tricky. I talked with the company I trade through and we looked at what happened. I can't believe what they did. Next time I will do something different and see if that helps.

Keeping it together.

More of the Same

Not much new to write about this week so far. I have been staying pretty close to home and on the computer. My Sister is here for a few days with her granddaughter and will visit Grandpa and Grandma.

I have been playing some poker and was able to get into a Freeroll on FT and placed 643 / 7500 players. I am getting closer in the multitable tournaments. My decision making skills have gotten better with the cards I am being dealt.

I played on FT again in a 45 player tournament and placed 11th. Ohhhhh so close.

Monday night Jokers Casino held a Freeroll tournament with T$1000 in chips for a prize pool of $300. This is a very fast tournament and I guess you could say luck of the cards would be on this one. My QJ vs AK with xQK on the flop sort of did me in. Will try again next week.

I have also played 498 hands of live cash game. I am trying to get 100 hands in at a time. Slightly different than tournaments so I will try to stay patient.

We got a leak on our roof and so I decided to try and fix it myself. I am not a carpenter, roofer, plumber and have never tried to be. I am also afraid of heights. Took me years to finally get comfortable to fly. I still hate landings and takeoffs. I finally talked myself into getting on the roof but when I got up there it was not a good thing. I felt I was not going to get myself down without falling. I then made myself get off the roof and Cindy called Rob. So Rob and Nick went up on the roof and fixed the spots where the shingles came off in the wind. I don't know when I will be able to get on the roof again. That was bad.

I have also been working on the Stock Trading part and have made a trade finally. As of this time I am still in the market and may get out on Friday depending on the price. Feels good to have the first one sort of under the belt. So far it has been a good trade.

We are now in August and the heat is building.

Can it get any Hotter?

Maybe I shouldn't ask that question. I know once you say that then there it goes and it will be over 100 degrees before you have a chance to pour the ice water. We did get some rain this past week but just very little. I didn't hear any thunder or lightening so I know the weather isn't cooling down any. I am staying inside most of the time and I am watering the yard as much as I can. Trying to save on the water and our budget.

This past week I have been working on the Stocks class. This is my second month complete now and I am close to starting the trading portion and get this thing done. I should say started. I have been going over the lessons again we have had and making sure my notes are up to date and this also gives me a chance to reread the information. I am also relistening to the lessons as well since they are all recorded. I am thankful this is a lifetime class that I will always be able to go back as well as listen to the new information as I go forward. A lot of looking at charts and that is important. I hope too much information doesn't keep me from doing what I need to do and click the button when it is time. Got to start somewhere.

I have also been going through the lessons on the WSOP Academy. I have finished this week all of the lessons that are available at this time and waiting for the new lessons soon. This will be going forward for the certification with them. That seems funny that you can get a certification for playing poker. Well, I guess it shows that you have put in the work and the time. The proof is at the table when you are playing. Can you play according to the textbook. This week I played a live tournament and came in 4th. Not bad for not having cards and then when I got AA they got cracked by Q3. I really don't like AA that much anymore. It seems like they get cracked more times than not. I am sure that is not the statistics but at least it seems like that.

I have also set up a new challenge and that is to play more cash game on a daily basis. So far my hand count is:
398 Hands = -10%
Not so good but I just started this week. I need to see more hands and just keep plugging along and get these numbers to turn around.

I did play in a tournament of 125 players and came in 11th place for a cash. That was good.

Jokers Casino is going to start something new now and that is a Freeroll on Monday nights. The casino is putting in $300 for this freeroll. To start we will have T$1500 chips and it will be 10 minute rounds. This will be fast tournament but should be fun. They are also going to start up a Live Cash game of $1/$2 game. Hopefully this will attract some new players and in turn help the casino with new patrons. It won't hurt the games as well.

Stay cool this weekend.

It is HOT

This past week has been very busy for me. Trying to stay cool with the weather being very hot around here. We are in the 90's and now getting to the 100's. Of course when it gets this hot who cares about the temperature because now it is just hot. I think the older I get the more I can't handle the heat. Growing up in Indio, California as a youngster the heat did not bother us. We ran around barefoot all the time as well. Times change and the body changes as well.

I have not played much poker this week since my showing at Wildhorse. I was very pleased with my play and learned a lot about myself and my game by going that deep into their tournament. I am excited to try this again in November and hopefully can fulfill another goal of mine and that is to cash. I really enjoyed the bigger tournaments because it allowed me to play my style and not be rushed into decisions. I only wish I could go to more of them. Around here they don't have those type of tournaments.

I have been getting emails from Johnathan Little and his online teaching videos. Since I have purchased before from him I was invited to play a freeroll on a poker site. I did sign up for the tournament and it took place today. There were 127 players starting and I ended up in 11th place for this tournament. Missed the final table by one. I had AA and I went all in and was called by a person that had 99. Guess what happened? He got a 9 on the flop and I was out of the tournament. I did get paid $1.00 for being in 11th place. I did well on this tournament. It would have been nice to have my AA hold up. For being free that wasn't bad. Now I am going to play live with that $1 and see if I can get it to grow. I have heard about people taking an account and playing a freeroll and then turning it into a lot of money by playing cash games. I will give it a try.

I have been very busy with my stock trading class. I have been revisiting my lessons and redoing my notes. This is taking a lot of time. I have also been listening to the WSOP Academy instruction as well. Working on my certification with them. I was called by H&R Block about my class I will be taking with them in September and it is now set. This is a busy year for me so far. Hopefully it will get better.

My Mom is going back through some tests to see if her cancer is back. That has been taking time as well. Lets hope she does alright through this. She doesn't understand since she has Alzheimer's. We will know this week what she has.

Have a fun one and stay cool.

Tournament

Today was the day that I played at the Wildhorse Casino. I was able to play in one of the tournaments for the week and this was the one. I left this morning at 0800 and got there around 0930. I bought in for this tournament for $150 and we will start with T$5,000. The rounds are 30 minutes each. This is perfect as it gives you the time to play and usually those with some type of skill level can rise to the top.

I was able to get through 8 rounds today. This is the longest I have been able to last in these tournaments. Coming in with a strategy really helped me this time. I am really glad I was able to spend the time with the Pros down in Las Vegas. It really helped. I ended up in about 80th position out of 245 players that started. Being in the money started in the 25th position. I got close.

I will now take what I have learned about myself and what I was able to do in this tournament and start practicing at Jokers again to get myself ready for the tournament in November. I had a lot of fun today.

At one point one of the players asked me if I was a Pro. I told him no but I did stay at a motel 6 last night. Ok, it was a Holiday Inn. It still went over real well with the table.

It was an exciting day.

And Here we Go

The rest of this week will be very busy for me. I am preparing for the tournament at the Wildhorse Casino and the Summer Roundup. My plan is to play the Sunday tournament. I am only going to play in one of them this summer.

On Wednesday I played in a Home Game. I haven't played in one of these in quite a while so it was fun to sit down with friends at the table and play. The cost was $5 so it was affordable to just haveing fun and not feel the pressure of getting into the money. When I arrived at the home of the tournament I was late and I was being blinded out. Needless to say I was the shortstack when I arrived. No pressure I just started working the table and playing my gameplan. I eventually was near the top in chips before I ran into a hand that got me back to being in shortstack and then went out in third place. It was enough to get third place money which was $5. I spent 2 hours playing and came out even. Not bad for being short stack and playing my plan.

Tomorrow night I will be playing at Jokers Casino in the $35 tournament and will try to tune up my game plan and be prepared for the weekend. I have been doing a lot of reading and studying the WSOP Academy information. I am presently working on the certification course with them. Yes, a certification for poker. They have 12 chapters and testing throughout the program. So far I am through 2 chapters and have done well on the exams so far.

As I have been saying the Tournament at Wildhorse Casino is going on starting today and will go through Sunday. I will be playing the final tournament on Sunday. The tournament starts at 12PM.

I have not had a chance to play anymore live cash games since last week. I will hopefully get back to playing this next week to grow the Bankroll.

Having a good time.

I See Twins

I guess I will start my blog off with Poker this time. The last two days have been not nice to me. Just when you think you might have it all figured out it turns against you. Or is it you just think your getting better and it has to knock you down a peg to let you know you are not in charge.

I looked over my notes from the WSOP Academy just like I am now doing before I go and play any tournament. This will help me reinforce what I have learned and to play the style I need to get to the final table. I have always said that anything can happen when you get to the final table but you have to get there first. Well, then how do you get there? By following the plan sam!!

Ok, I did make the final table thursday night at Jokers Casino. The only problem I had was not following the plan. Instead of playing TAG to start I opened up playing LAG. TAG is Tight Aggressive and LAG is Loose Aggressive for those that do not like letters only. I was so LAG that I ended up getting low on chips. At that point I figured I was in trouble so I went to TAG in the middle of the tournament and where I normally start to open up the game. OK, now you can see I am reverse of what I should be doing. That followed me all the way to the final table. Yes, I did make the final table but with not very much in chips. At that point I usually start playing TAG again to get to the top three. Well, I ended up moving to LAG to catch up and that is what got me in trouble.

My final hand here was KQ vs KJ and was allin with 2 other players. On the flop was a K and then on the river there was a J. I am out in 7th place.

Now I figured today playing at Islands Casino I would do better. At the beginning I was TAG and then I get AQ vs KQ. The Q came on the flop and the K on the river. I really don't like the river card anymore. At least through the rest of the day.

Both of these Casinos are different with the game. Jokers is $35 for T$5,000 chips and 20 minute rounds. Islands is $25 for T$2,000 chips and 15 minute rounds. Will have to figure out the difference between how to play them. Any ideas let me know.

Now that I am running two blogs I am trying to separate my poker playing from my stock trading. I am still being highlighted with the stock blog. I am even getting some followers with it and that will keep me going with that one. What about this one? Anyone out there? You can comment on if you like it or whatever you want to say.

Have a good weekend.

Getting Hotter

We are starting to get the heat finally. The temperature is supposed to be in the upper 90's and then reaching into the low 100's. Will try to stay inside most of the time and then water the yard in the evening when it is cooler outside.

We had a good 4th of July. We spent our time at a couple of BBQ's with friends and it was enjoyable. I need to get my Grill up and running soon.

This week has been taking care of parents financial stuff and getting through the DSHS requirements. Today was the visit from the Social Worker making sure parents are getting the proper care and that they are still able to be in the program they are in. I must say that we were unsure they would be able to stay in the Assisted Living but after the visit it turned out alright and another year is set. What a relief.

I had a chance to have lunch with a good friend and that was fun and enjoyable as well. Being able to discuss what is going on in each others lives. Have a conversation with someone that is interested in what each other has to say. Friends are good to have.

I have been playing poker this week and so far for the week I have been playing in a cash game and so far have played 166 hands and have increase BR by about 10%. I am going to try and keep playing the cash game and see what happens with the BR. This next week is the Summer Rodeo at Wildhorse Casino. Tomorrow night is back to Jokers for another tournament. Working on my strategy to go deep in tournaments.

Stay cool.

Multiple Topics

Sometimes in my life I will go out of the norm or what I percieve to be normal and do the opposite. For the people that know me I will sometimes do things that I wouldn't dream of doing. I don't like wearing jeans. I once did the brakes on my car in slacks. I don't like wearing hats but sometimes I will wear a cowboy hat. I will wear clothing that I don't normally wear just to see if people notice. Ok, you say what is your point?

In life overall a dream of mine was to work for myself. I have always looked for ways to make an income for my family and still be true to myself and the dreams that I have. Of course family comes first so you do the right thing and settle down and work for someone else. I have met and know of a person who is a very good friend that took their entire retirement account and put it into a business. This business went through some tuff times and even to the point of possibly selling the business for very little money. They hung on and today this business has grown 3 fold. Wow, what a story and the willingness to step out of the norm. This person is an inspiration to me and knowing it can be done.

I don't have the same opportunity or the money to do what this person did but it doesn't stop me from looking for ways to work for myself. I have tried a number of things. The worm farm being one. If it wasn't so hot in my garage I know it would have worked. Keeping worms happy is really hard. I then spent five years working MLM and even had one of them take off and went from Washington to Canada back to Washington and then on to Oregon and California. You would have thought I would have made it with that one. No, the payout structure was changed and I was getting less money than when I started. Ok, I got into Stocks, Forex and at the end of the couple of years I was still at breakeven. All of these never stopped me from thinking that someday I can work for myself.

I guess the opportunity is now here again. I am pushing myself to make my next projects work. I have attended an academy for poker, and am in the middle of the academy for stocks. I think the education part is going to help me get to where I need to be. I have to have the drive to make it work. You have to want this to work out. I have now added another part of what I want to achieve. I will be attending the H&R Block class on taxes. This one is a little more far fetched. When I started college back in 1974-75 my major was Accounting. The reason I didn't finish was because I ran out of money. I had to settle for an associate business degree. For me being able to help people with their taxes is something that I enjoy doing. I am now going to give this a shot.

My plate is pretty full now. I will have the Stocks that I can trade and work on and I will also have the poker game to enjoy. I will hopefully have the tax season to help others and keep busy. Will any of these bring in a steady income for our family? Did my friend have a guarantee that when they pulled out their retirement to start a business that they would have an income? I don't think so. I have let this person know that I think they are a hero of mine. Doing something you have a desire to do and no matter what anyone says you keep pushing forward. That is why I always try to listen to the positive. Negative people have no business being around me. I try to keep myself positive.

This week I have been working with my parents financial stuff trying to make sure that they are able to continue living where they are at. It is important to me that they are able to continue with the lifestyle they presently have. The State has multiple papers that need to be filled out and the nurse is due to evaluate in August to make sure they are able to stay in their apartment. Again, I am staying positive that they will not have to be moved.

Yes, I have signed up for the H&R Block class. This will start in September when I am done with my stock class. It was nice that so far the 3 education courses have been able to follow each other. First the Poker Academy, Stock Academy and then the tax course. I feel like I am learning and will be able to keep busy.

My poker game has been doing well right now. Last week I came in 1st place and last night I came in 2nd. I almost eeked out another win last night. I had the other player all-in twice with me being the chip leader and both times he was able to river out on me. I just couldn't make a comeback on the last one. With blinds at 3000/6000 I was in trouble. I let the guy off of the hook by letting him take a break when I just about had him at one point. He was not able to concentrate and make good decisions. I gave in and let him go to the bathroom. If I had to do it over again I should have made him keep playing. Maybe I wanted to win it fair and square and without the added stress he was going through. Hopefully some day he returns the favor and I win.

I have been having fun watching the Pokerstars.net The Big Game. One loose cannon against five pros. You are staked with $100,000 and you get to keep anything over that amount after you have played 150 hands. This week Nadya is up $71,000 and has about 45 hands to play yet. It has been fun. I have also been watching the WSOP on ESPN3 and that is fun as well. I learn by watching and this has taught me alot by seeing them play each hand, not the ones the TV wants to show you. I am very visual so I learn well by seeing someone do this and then I can follow and do the same thing.

Have a happy fourth everyone.

Rambling

Sometimes I will start to think about stuff and then it becomes more stuff and then I start to ponder of what I really think about the stuff I am wondering about. See how the mind can get so clogged with stuff. I need to have that button under internet (mind) to clean the stuff out. Create some more room for more stuff.

Lately I have been thinking about friends. Who are they? I suppose you can have friends at all levels. You have friends that really know you and how you think. What your goals are and will help you in any way possible. They support you in your goals and will not put you down when you want to do something different. I guess this is a person you can confide in and know some of your inner thoughts. I wonder sometimes who that is. Now I am not talking about the significant other. This person really knows you and is the confidant in your live. I am talking about friends. Probably first level.

You have work friends. People you work with and hang out with on a daily basis. People that know you on a work level and see you day to day in your good times and bad times. Not someone you would confide in unless they are real friends. I would think these friends would cover your back. Take care of each other.

How about friends you meet outside of work and you accidently meet somehow. Strike up a conversation with and then you just keep in contact. Sometimes they can be the best friends you can have. People that have the same common interests that you have and some of the goals you might have. You can also help each other meet your goals by pushing each other along.

I don't know what got me thinking about friends. Maybe it is because I haven't heard from some of them for awhile and then when you try to make contact you are either ignored or they don't want to be friends anymore. You just have to wonder about friends. I do know that friends change over the course of time. Who were your friends 30 years ago and then you think who are my friends now. What happened? Time. We are in a changing world. We change, we grow and I guess friends change too.

See I have too much stuff on the brain.

I have been playing a lot of poker lately and hope to continue. Trading is not easy in this market. I don't mind short trading just not yet. I don't like to chase the market.