Be the grizzly...

The Nickelback concert was great last night! And you just couldn't beat the company... And we were REALLY close to the beer area, and I never waited more than like a minute or so in a line for anything. The Nationwide Arena also offered up a pleasant facility, very spacious, and high ceilinged. Remarkably my ears aren't ringing today, like they do after most concerts that I've attended, and this was due to the setup of the arena. Yeah, it was loud, but it just seemed that the high pitch sounds weren't nearly as piercing as I've experienced in other concert halls like Charleston's Civic Center for example.

I'll be adding a lot more of the songs that I heard last night to the old iPod in short order. Not only did Nickelback sound great but so did the boys from Seether and Saving Abel. There were definitely a lot of tracks that will be great for my afternoon runs on the treadmill. Gotta keep the heart pumping!

I did have to take Cole to school this morning, so I groggily dragged myself out of bed and got him there, and then came home and went right back to bed! Remember I took the whole day off, knowing exactly how I'd be feeling. X ) hiccup...

I played some poker on Bodog for about an hour or so, and made a little over $18. Which in all honesty feels like a million bucks since I took some real kicks to the head at the tables. A lot of really crazy hands went down in that short time at the tables. Take for example that preflop I got it all-in with pocket Kings, when a villain raised my initial bet. He called and he was holding the Cowboys too! AND I almost LOST the friggin' hand, when the flop came out with 3 diamonds, and guess who was NOT holding the Diamond King?!? Whew... avoided that one.

Then, came this pleasant hand, which threatened to send me down the uber-trail of tilt! I call a small raise preflop from late position with pocket 7s. I flop my set with AQ7 on the board! The turn is another Ace, and now I've got the sneaky boat. I bet out hard, get raised, and I shove and get called. The pot is now $42, and this on a .10/.25 nlhe table! Come to poppa! He flips over AK... So, he's got 7 outs! Unfortunately, one of them got there, when the river brought him a King to the rescue. Ouchie... gut wrenching! I briefly consider taking up Solitaire as my new hobby... But I've still got 20 minutes before it's time to pick up Cole from school, and I've still got the 3 other tables I'm playing at. One of which I've nearly doubled up on my initial $25 buy-in. So, I ake the deep cleansing breath and press on, and stick to the same game plan, brutal beats be damned. Hell, some of the guys were at all my tables and had seen what just happened and figured I was babbling nonsense to myself by now and was easy pickin's! Think again kids!

With 2 minutes to go, and I'm already planning to cut my losses and log off, but I find from middle position a pair of 9s, just as I'm ready to go and opt for just "one-more-hand." Go ahead and shudder, you know you've been there too! It gets raised preflop... and three of us decide to come along for the ride. The flop comes AQ9! Sweet! There's a bet in front of me, but I pop it up with a pot bet, and then another reraise back to me, and I decide if it's the day that my flopped sets are just gonna get pounded, then so friggin' be it. If you're gonna be a bear, be the damned grizzly! Here we go! We gots us a $41 hand here... The money's all in the middle, nothing to do now but watch. Another Queen on the turn, oh shit, here it comes, I can feel it!!! River is... the case 9! My opponent's cards show AK suited, which are no match for my QUADS! I sit back, feeling the need for a cigarette, even though I haven't done that in many years now. Wow what a ride this game is! A lot of ups and downs and a mixture of emotion was rolled up into this little hour long session. All that to show only an $18 profit, but trust me I'll take it.

Regards,

cheer_dad

My NDPT #11 experience...

Oooooffff! Okay, NDPT #11 started off unbelievably for me. I caught so many cards, so many hands. But I was the first to recognize that getting cards early on in a tournament is the wrong time for it to happen. I was right. On the second hand of the night from middle position I looked down at pocket 10's. I limped, and got to see a flop, which gave me... brace yourself... QUADS!!! I actually made a little on this one. I, of course checked and let someone else do the betting for a while. I did bet the river and got paid, but I had to hold back a bit, since no one could have much of anything else based on the rest of the board. The very next hand, I flopped a set when I connected with my pocket 4's. By the river I made a boat! I didn't get called, but showed nonetheless. Four hands later, I looked down at pocket 7's and made the call against a mid position raiser. The flop gave me a set, but had also came out with 3 hearts on the board! But they checked to me and I bet anyway, and got one caller. By the turn I made QUADS again! I didn't get called, but showed again! Not long after I made another boat, but didn't get called again... No show on that one, as it was getting old. Then, somewhere along the line, Big Red got knocked out from the other table. It was time for a little table balancing. I was in the spot to move... and was moved in to the former chair that Big Red had occupied. That was a bad omen. I stayed out until I could get a read on people. When I finally entered a hand from late position, I looked down at AQ. I raised to 5X the BB, and figured I might get called by someone thinking I was just pushing. Didn't matter, I got raised preflop. I had made it 500, and was raised to 800 total. Of course I call here. I found pocket 5's in the hand of the other, and this time they held. Ouch. Then in the next two hands I was done. Pocket 3's were bested by pocket Queens, and then I was all in blind, and hit nothing. It was rough... but I wasn't surprised, I've seen it too many times, it just happens that way sometimes.

Anyway we're home now... but as we were leaving Mike R, took it down, for the Big Win. I believe Eric S took the second spot. Congrats guys! I'll have to wait a day or so to see how the points thing pans out. Here's where things start a changin'!!!

Thanks JR for hosting tonight, regardless of how things turned out I had a great time. Have a nice night folks...

Regards,

cheer_dad

WSOP Event #2 winner Grant Hinkle

Read all about it over at PokerNews http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2008-world-series-of-poker/event-2-1500-nlhe/id49651.htm#no49651, that Grant Hinkle has won WSOP 2008 Event #2 ($1,500 NLHE) and lays claim to the coveted bracelet (not to mention the $831,462.) To top it all off Hinkle took it down when he got his opponent (James Akenhead) all-in. Akenhead had a monster AKos, to Hinkle's 10-4s. The flop destroyed that though, when it came 10-4-10! And then the capper of a turn... the final 10 in the deck! Quad 10's! And with that another event goes down in the history books.

Congratulations to Grant Hinkle!

Regards,

cheer_dad