Dave Has Aces ~ Thoughts & Sessions

Current Status : +14,343

December 1st, 2021: Maybe…..maybe next year
Monday Nov. 29th and I decided to hit Palace for a few hours of, what else, Omaha 8.
We are 7th up for an 8 handed game. Perfect. First player we see we are praying he is in O8 today. Please! Let’s go….
Most seats are already spoken for so we end up in seat 1 by default. Seat 1, us. I just told you. Seat 2 old solid Korean dude. Plays every day. Usually doesn’t lose. Seat 3 friendly Asian player. He’s ok. Seat 4, our mark. This guy is certifiable looney tunes. Seat 5 middle aged Asian lady. Seat 6 retired Muckleshoot dealer, seat 7??? Seat 8 is an older black guy who is descent and Palace reg. Also shows up at the creek on an occasional Sunday.
Today finds us running good and playing alright. We are hitting a few cards. Up $400 in about an hour and a half! Right now this game is too good to leave. And now I’m on a heater! A 2 8 10 on a flop of 8 8 10! Turn 4. River 8! Quadzilla!! High hand!! +$100! With that we end up +$600 and call Seat Open!!!
Tuesday …. Not playing HORSE today, for obvious reasons. After the auction I pop in Palace and get seat 1 in O8. Seat 2 is a poker dealer from Little Creek. I talk to him about what I saw 2 weeks in a row there (collusion between 2 players) my suspicion and why. Seat 3 says are you talking about the HORSE game at Little Creek? I nod and say yes. He says oh a buddy of mine was in that game last 2 weeks in a row and said the exact same thing! Wow. Just wow. What the…word is out on that game. Too bad. Love playing that rotation but I will be surprised if the game doesn’t go away by Christmas.
Speaking of Christmas. Holidays are upon us and I am going to retreat and take some much needed time off from poker. The exception being home games. And mix only home games. Just sick of the scene or lack there of here in the Pacific NW. Hasn’t been fun for a long time. Just don’t need to or really even want to at this point so maybe next year.
I’m scheduled to play Sunday the 12th 5/10 mix home game. Other than that my 10/20 home game is on break until sometime next year.
Have a fun filled season however you celebrate it! Comin in hot ‘22!!!

November 27th, 2021: Played only a couple short sessions last week. Sunday was our usual 4/8 O8 game at Little Creek. To say we couldn’t gain any traction or get anything going is an understatement. Whiffed draws and counterfeit lows. So gross. Call it a day early as it was obvious no matter what we have or how we play it we just can’t win today. -$400.
Next was Tuesday again at Little Creek. 15/30 HORSE! This is my game! Arrived early to meet up with Patrick for breakfast. Get a seat locked up and grab a coffee and a nice breakfast.
Today’s line up consists of all known players. Seat 1 old white guy. Solid player and used to work at that poker room part time. Seat 2 Uber driver and Palace regular. This guy thinks he is better than he is. Seat 3 pro. Known him for several years and this is what he does for work. Seat 4 is Uber drivers brother. Seat 5 creek reg. Seat 6 a wild player. 7 is us and in 8 is Patrick.
Here’s where the disappointment sets in. In a few different ways. 1)  I see a pattern between seat 3 and 6. They will raise, re-raise and 3 bet unless or until it’s them heads up. Then they soft play each other. Teamed up? Sure looks like it and I’m 1 of 3 players to see it. All 3 of us are either going to boycott the game or….beat em at their own game. I don’t know seat 6 but I can tell you I’ve never cared for him. Call it gut feeling.  He would be the one to mastermind this team. I later called out seat 3 and if you follow me on Twitter you already know. Odd thread on there about it. He basically admitted it tho calling it a strategy. 2) on top of that I ran so bad. In the Omaha8 variant I hold As2sAc10h. Raise pre obv. Flop is 10 5 6 with a couple clubs. Seat 6 bets into me and we raise it up. Four ways to a turn of….2. A freakin deuce? Counterfeit. Big pot and now I have 2 pair. River pairs but wrong card, it’s a 6. Seats 3 and 6 each voluntarily called a raise out of position with 3 4 x x. Old dude hade A 3 for now nut low and Aces. Just one example of premium hands turned into rags. All day. Seat Open! -$700.
This one hurts on a couple different levels. So haven’t played at all now for 6 days. Really disappointed in the entire scene. Hasn’t been any fun for a long time. And with a downswing I thought at least a week off would do me good. Go back and read my write up “Playing with marked cards”. That is at Palace and continues. Patrick mentioned it to me as well.
Next? Not sure. Sunday at the creek probably. Can’t play HORSE Tuesday if I wanted to. Last day of the month. Work obligations. Going to stay out of Palace for the time being. Need a break but I’m trying to make a list of who’s in the game each time I find marked cards so I can narrow it down. Red Dragon game is simply to late for me. Going to concentrate on work and prepare for Christmas.
Happy Holidays to you! Thank you for reading and good luck!

November 21st, 2021: New challenge accepted! And it’s lofty!
I can’t remember my last time at the Rio but I remember my first like it’s yesterday. Say what you will but I liked the Rio. I will miss the Rio. I liked the Rio. RIP.
A new challenge that requires me playing the bigger games. Requires more playing time but I like it. Suggested by a friend we are doing officially…..$30k by WSOP ‘22!!! Huge goal. We have 6.5 months to hit and the holidays blocking us. I swear if I hit this I will just quit my job and play for a living. Car business is becoming increasingly difficult and I think it’s going to just get worse. Let’s go….
The plan is a) play bigger games. 15/30 horse and 20/40 Omaha mix. Sprinkle in some loose O8 low limit and I believe we are there. I think I can do this. I want to do this. I need to do this!
This week was a rough start. Played 15/30 HORSE. Good game I look forward to playing it again next Tuesday. However I post a loss. -$500.
Played a short session at Palace and couldn’t get anything going. -$200.
Had a seat locked up at Dragon 20/40 but didn’t go.
This week has been “off” and I’ve felt off.
Our new puppy is doing fantastic and frankly and I’d rather be home with him. But, we have work to do! Let’s go….

November 13th, 2021: This week starts out with our normal ride in the morning to Little Creek for Omaha 8. Takes roughly an hour one way and it is a beautiful drive even in bad weather. This game is played as 4/8 with a kill so 8/16. And they play horrible. Seriously. Bless them! Let’s go….
We arrive early to meet our friend Patrick for breakfast. Comped. Nice start to the day.
Today’s line up is all familiar except a team that I think are husband and wife and I’ve never seen them before. Seat 1 solid old reg, seat 2??? Husband of the duo. Seat 3 is the Indian (not Native American, from India) seat 4 is Bob, very nitty old reg, seat 5 our friend Patrick, seat 6 is an old goofy guy and Palace reg (never seems to remember me and that’s fine) seat 7 is us and in 8 it’s the wife of that duo. She goes broke in an hour and leaves the game. Husband not far behind. Now we get a guy who I’m pretty sure is a pro. Seriously I see him at all the places and I think it’s all he does. I scoot over to 8 as another reg shows up and I want him on my right.
Bought in today for $170. Mostly due to I had a $50 bill I wanted to get rid of. I’m up $30 ish very quickly but in the next 2 hours manage to go busto. Reload for $200. Hey, it’s a good game. So in $370. Ugh. Now I heat up. Get it all back plus juice. Nothing super cool. One spot I make nut/2nd nut. Flop the nut high and get bet into. There are a couple callers so…raise! Turn gives me nut/2nd nut and same action. On the river…same. I’m good for 3 quarters as our friend Patrick has the same high but no low. No high hand bonus for us today. I’m just happy to end the day a winner after being stuck and climbing out of that hole. So we say…Seat Open!!! +$180.
I missed playing 15/30 HORSE again this week. Not next week. A friend of mine played it and won $1345. He said that there is only one good player at the table. Must play! I felt bad because the auction was terrible this week and I bought nothing. Should’ve played HORSE.
Speaking of auctions. The sale I attend every Wednesday is canceled this week. It’s closed due to road closures. So we get to play Omaha8 today! Maybe. Waiting an hour plus for a seat is not how I want to spend my time. The game finally starts and $100 high hands start at 11. $100 per hour. We get the first one with just 8’s full of Aces. Next hour we have K J J 10. We see a flop peel off …. J J K!!! Flopped Quadzilla!!! I bet just to take it now, new high hand and let’s play another. But wait, what’s this….a caller? Yep! Can you even believe it. So check the turn and bet river and if course he calls again. Thank you. Another high hand! The game is already in danger of breaking and we are playing now 5 handed. Not a lot going on here for us although I’ve told you, I love short handed. At 2 we get paid our bonus and say…Seat Open!!! +$260. Includes high hand bonus monies.
Thursday. Hit Palace at 9:50am and there are 14 names on the O8 list. 14. Immediately go home. Day off.
Friday. Auction is a joke this morning and it is absolutely raining sideways. Arrived at Palace and am 4th on the wait list for Omaha8. Breakfast and almost immediately in. Nice. Again today we are up quick. Should just hit n run right? Game is good. A goofy lady in seat 8 moves to 4 when a player leaves. I don’t like her or her playing style and don’t want her on my left so I move into seat 8. Partly to annoy her when I run up a big pile. And I do. I spin it all the way up to $800! I really should go but it’s a good game. Plus we have that girl talking to herself now. Time to get though. Blue and Rocco are waiting. Seat Open! +$212.

November 5th, 2021: 20/40 is back at Dragon with a twist. It runs as Omaha mix. What is that? O8, Omaha hi, double board Omaha hi, and a game they still call Big-O but it’s 5 card hi only and limit instead of pot limit. Problem for me is they are starting the game at 6pm. I haven’t played it yet but want to/will.
Another exciting new option is…15/30 horse at Little Creek every Tuesday. That is one of if not the most productive day of my work week. I wanted to go last Tuesday but got tied up with work. I will try again this Tuesday. That is definitely a game for me and I should be able to make good money.
This last week I was only able to get in 2 sessions. First was Sunday at Little Creek. 9am start. Mostly the same cast. One exception being a husband and wife duo. In a pot with a board showing both Broadway and wheel possible there is a bet and 2 callers over to the wife of this duo. She flat calls and shows 7 low. 7! Lol. Somehow she gets half when she shouldn’t get any. Again we make Quadzilla for a high hand and again the first 2 high hands belong to us! The game is good but I really have to go home. My girlfriends Dad is coming for the 2nd half of the Hawks game and dinner so we say….Seat Open +$160.
The 2nd session occurs on Friday at Palace. I am having a morning with my dogs and take a look at the app for Palace at 8am. 2 games in action and wait, one of them is Omaha?? How is this possible. No wait list yet so we head straight there. We are told the game ran round the clock! Never broke. We are first up and grab breakfast. Before we finish we have a seat. Seat 5. I immediately ask for a seat change button. The guy to my immediate left is certifiably wild, loose, crazy player. Seeing every flop with any 4 and raising every time! Not kidding. There are a couple players in this game that I’ve seen before but it’s been over a year. We promptly lose a rack. Reload and get back to work. Building. And some more. Soon I have it back. Then I scoop a fat one! I have 2 3 4 and a dangler … Jack with Jack high spades. Flop is A 2 9. Check call in a 6 way pot. Turn is a gorgeous 5! Bet and no one folds. River is a 3 and I think now multiple players have a wheel but I still bet and get 3 callers. I scoop about a $200 pot! I’m going to call it a day but it’s my kill. Scoop another! After about just 3 hours of play we say….Seat Open!!! +$596!!!
Next week we start with the creek on Sunday and then again Tuesday! I need to be in the 15/30 horse game. Stay tuned…

October 30, 2021: I need to do better. Be better. I need to act better. I need to play better. Do better.
My Thursday home game has been a lesson in life. 8 handed game. 3 of the 8 currently have some type of cancer. Some of these guys I think I actually would have been friends with years ago if I had been better. Acted better. Opened up a bit. I’ve met some great people, great friends thru poker. One in particular I took a risk of opening myself up and introduced myself. A risk because this player is female. So a risk because I didn’t want to come off as trying to pick her up or hit on her. I’m sure she has heard it before. She is a great player, smart, funny and attractive. I had several trips to Vegas where I played mix game tournament and she was not just in the tournament but at my table. Several times before I finally was like ok enough, it’s a sign. We have become great friends. Some other characters I’ve met as well. Mix game players are the absolute nuts.
Friday. Palace. I arrived to the last seat open. Jump right in, perfect!
Start off slow and taper off from there.
Interesting hand…I have 2 3 4 5. Flop peels A 7 J. Player bets and I raise. Look at my hand. 3 ways to a turn card of a 9. I bet it still when checked to. 3 ways still to a river …. 7, pairs the board. I bet! And….take it! They both fold. I bet because obviously I can’t win at showdown. We can bluff on occasion at low limit O8. Just gotta know when. Do not just try this every time. You’ll go broke.
Speaking of….this just wasn’t my day. Thru my missed draws and counterfeit lows l end up -$360 and say…. Seat Open!
Playing Little Creek again on Sunday. I have $25 free play and a Golden ticket! Stay tuned….

Session #128 ~ Luck be a Lady:

A couple things to talk about.
1) 10k HORSE Championship at WSOP (winner is a friend of mine)
2) Return of 20/40 at Red Dragon?
3) Hit n Run

Gerhart wins it! $361k!!! WSOP HORSE Championship. Kevin Gerhart is a young pro living in Las Vegas, originally from Ohio. I met Kevin thru a friend of mine. Kevin is one of the good ones. Mark one up for the good guys. Job well done, congratulations.
What’s interesting is that’s 2 of my friends that have won the 10k horse championship. Chris Wallace being the other. Amazing. I’m fortunate to have these guys to talk shop with. They have helped my game a lot.
So Red Dragon is offering a game on Monday November 1. “Omaha mix” is what it says. I called and asked…3 times now…and each person is more clueless than the other. Just add my name to the list and I guess I will find out when I get there? What time? No definite answer. I was told once 10am. I so hope that’s true. That would be perfect for me. One person told me Omaha8 and Big-O with Big-O being played as limit instead of pot limit. Ok cool. They are now playing this version of the game in LA card rooms. So we shall see. Will the game break again? Will I hit n run? If it starts at 10am I will play until at least 2 depending on how things are going.
As I write this I’m at Little Creek. I played only one quick little hit n run at Palace this week and of course Thursday home game fun. On Friday I got to Palace after the Omaha8 game started. 5th on the list and I have immediately been sat in 4/8 hold em. Buy in for $100. Lose it and reload another rack. So $100. Now we get a couple pots and are up. Our first rack back plus sugar. We play for just a few minutes over an hour and cash it out. +$88.
They told me from now on they will be running 2 tables of O8! So long as there is enough players obviously. Great news! As Little Creek is absolutely dead this morning. I’m in the O8 game …. 6 handed this morning….no one here. No wait list for hold em. Dead. Might leave and zip up to Palace. But I absolutely love short handed. I do. And…I’m on a bit of a heater here. Hit n run in full effect. This game is shit and I just wanna go home. I play 2 hours and bag it. +$179.50. Yep .50 they actually use 50 cent pieces. What the….

Session #127 ~ Puppy love: Our new Jack Russell puppy, Blue, is doing fantastic! Already house trained. One smart pup. Full of so much enthusiasm for life! And he seems to be my dog for the most part. Rocco still gets his love and his two-a-days of course! He is the best dog ever!
Today, Sunday, Oct 17. Little Creek.
Huh??
They sent me $20 free play. Gotta come use it so….
Omaha 8 with my friend Patrick. First up, breakfast.
Today we start hot. First 2 high hands are ours. $50 apiece so $100.
Today these players need to read my write up…why bet? 7 or ways to a flop and first action bets?? If your hand is that good why not check raise? And then if there’s a raise they flat call, never 3 bet. So wrong and backwards I’m really confused. I see one player raising a lot but then either folding later or over calling. Another player plays his non nut flushes like they are the nuts…even on a paired board. We get to catch his ass a few times. In one hand we hold AAJ9 with the A9 of spades. Flop is Jack high with two spades. We bet and get raised! We of course 3-bet! Take that! Turn is a brick and river is a Jack. We bet and they all fold. So I show just the A9 of spades and say, just a missed nut flush draw. Lol.
If you read this you must also follow WSOP closely. I haven’t followed it nearly as close as I normally do. Hellmuth wins number 16 and in 2-7 NL single draw, wow! A bunch of NW area players making some noise. Two in particular either give me hope or make me want to quit poker. Not sure which yet, hasn’t fully sunk in. We will explore that when I’m in a better head space. Especially one. You Tacoma area players know this player. If he can do it there’s no reason I can’t. More on this another time.
I’m reminded today that these private home games have me completely spoiled. Just not at all enjoying my time. I end up -$300. Not the way I wanted to start the week.
Next? Probably nothing until what is now my favorite day of the week. Thursday. 10/20 ROE. Razz, Omaha8 and Stud8. Until then work and home. Gotta train Blue and give him love and time. And of course Rocco!

Session #126 ~ Ying Yang: Palace. Friday.
Today is the Yang to my Ying yesterday…so far. And it’s not to bad. Down just a couple hundred as I write this. Weird day tho. Friday’s have just not been my day for whatever reason. Counterfeit lows and whiffed draws. You know.
I think home games at higher stakes have spoiled me. I’m done for a while playing poker on Friday. One of those days.
The play today is horrific. Seriously. One player, who plays any 4, goes broke (shocker) and leaves to go to the bank. (?) they award him 20 minutes. He never returned. They have an ATM inside the poker room. WTF.
One hand I have 5 2 x x on a flop of 5 5 2! Turn A. Villain has of course A 5. Why wouldn’t they. That’s the day today so we say seat open! -$375. Say what….
I was invited to another home game but it runs on Wednesday. Damn. I want to play more of these home games. Great week with my big win yesterday. Made more in one day playing poker than I did at work all week. Don’t threaten me with opportunity!
Next? Probably nothing until Thursday 10/20 home game. Have a great weekend.

Session #125 ~ Home game heater: 10/20 mix home game again on Thursday. Buy in $500 and from the first chips we commit we climb and climb some more. Same cast of characters. All solid, good players. I can’t seem to spot the sucker at the table. You know what that means.
Game stayed early today. Cards in the air about 11:14. We break for lunch about 2 and game ends at 6. My goal today is to play it snug. I think I can make a thousand today in this game.
Nothing super interesting or cool today. Just straight forward solid poker. I wanted to make 1k today…..I made 2! Yes, +$2000. Can’t wait for next Thursday!

Session #124 ~ Hit n Run: Wednesday. Auction day. And it sucks. Prices still very high. I buy 2 units on Tuesday but zero today. Patrick calls me and says he is headed to Palace. Ok, see ya there.
We immediately get seated in a 4/8 hold em game. I actually played this for a hit n run on Monday. One hour of play +$101. Today we wait 2 hands to be dealt in and before I even have my 2nd card they tell me I have a seat in Omaha!
Guess who’s back? F&O know. Loud mouth player. Non stop talk. Haven’t seen him in 2 years. He’s to our immediate right. He is also aggressive.
We start off hot and don’t slow down! Including Aces full for a high hand! $100 bonus.
Not a lot to report in this hit n run session mostly just standard spots. I really need to go home and take Rocco for a walk and check on our new puppy, Blue. So just an hour and 10 minutes we say …. Seat Open! +$310!
Next is Thursday 10/20 home game!

Session #123 ~ Taking a break: I was off Twitter for a minute. I’m back. Same name but you need to follow me again. Let me explain….
Long story short…I had a weird experience. A player, who remains anonymous, copied and pasted a few of my tweets regarding the 20/40 Dragon game on a private chat just for that game. Weird because I never said anything bad and or negative about the players or game. On the contrary…. I posted that it was all good players and I do better against good players. So it is what it is. So one night to much wine and I deleted my account. Deleted. Can’t be recovered. Oops.
I feel bad for not going to the series. I feel a bit lost right now to be honest. I do. So let me share a home game experience I had last week.
A player invited me a few years back and I declined. Several times actually. I’m surprised I was invited at all. She and I haven’t seen eye to eye. Just poker, nothing else. I was actually friends with her brother. She is a solid player for sure. I don’t think she cares for one of my best friends and I’m guilty by association if not acting out myself a few times. So ….
Fast forward.
I get a phone call I don’t recognize and let it kick into voicemail. It’s an invite again and this time there’s no way I can say no. I say thank you! 10/20 mix. Just 3 games. Omaha8 with a kill! Stud 8 and Razz. My favorite 3 games and my best games! I’m there.
The house is absolutely beautiful. All players there are from my 10/20 O8 game a couple years ago at Clearwater. None that I would call a “friend” but we are friendly when we see each other and it’s good to see them all. I am 55 and the youngest in the game. Love it.
Start off this day a bit bad. Buy in is $500 and then you can obviously top up and or reload at any point. I lose. I lose it all. Reload. And again. WTF. Now I buy in for $400. All this before lunch! We break for lunch. Pizza and salad with beverages and we get back to the game. I string together some winning pots and get back to about even. Game ends at 6. I cash out ultimately a $200 winner! Wow! A few players comment to me it’s a great comeback. Thank you. Indeed. Why can’t I just do that on the first bullet?
I’m invited back next Thursday. I say thank you and lock up a seat! Let’s go…

Session #122 ~ Bad Play: On Friday there’s a few interesting hands and just plain bad play. I’m not suggesting I’m a guru or even any good but this is what I witnessed and is just my opinion.
Seat 3, middle aged Asian lady. Thinks she’s a player. Bets any and all flops! Must be nice to hit em all! We see a flop of K 4 4. Checked to her so of course. Seat 5, older solid Korean dude, raises! It was our blind and we have zip so ez fold. She what? That’s right, calls. (Remember the question we have, why call) A re-raise right here by her would take it. She flat calls. Turn is another 4. Now it goes check check. River is a brick same action. She shows…pocket 10’s. Pocket 10’s??? Why? Huh? Korean dude says oh you win now when the turn was another 4. He held Ace King. To me the bad play is in a few spots here. 1) pre-flop. She should fold. Her hand was ugly 10 10 and two middle cards like 7 8. Fold it all day long. I promise you you’ll be money ahead. 2) on the flop I think a bet is ok. You should get the pot now unless…. 3) when VIP raises it you have to fold. She defends her action saying something about she had money in there. 4) never chase. Don’t put good money in after bad. 5) shut up! Quietly stack your chips.
I really don’t expect anything else in 4/8. As they say…it is what it is.
Sunday. Little Creek. They use the BravoPokerLive system but it’s been down the last couple weeks. The room doesn’t open until 9 so we use a sheet of paper and a pen to lock up a seat. Bravo system working this morning but now there’s both. A list on a sheet of paper and a list on Bravo. I should be ok because I was here early and signed up on both.
We are good and game goes off on time. And immediately it’s obvious we are in a good game. No, great game! Let’s go….
Seat 1???? Older white guy. Never seen this guy in my life. Seat 2 is us today. Seat 3 Indian dude, seat 4 today is Bob, seat 5 is a creek reg and solid to a fault, seat 6 is a middle aged white lady who has been showing up. Thank goodness. I hope she continues because she can’t play the game well. Seat 7 creek reg and goof ball, seat 8 ??? Some lady who is calling down any and all lows. She is bleeding chips! Hope she stays a while today.
Today we have our targets picked early!
They are each on a rebuy already. Hopefully they can stay a while longer.
Little Creek has about the worst dealer in 3 states working. Seriously. She’s that bad. Probably worse as a player if I remember correctly. It’s been a few years.
Today is a tad frustrating but we stay cool. No tilt. You just know what to expect with these players. Indian guy (from India not Native American) goes on a really nice run. He actually colors up $300 and still has $200 white! Game stated at 9 and this is by noon. Why stay? Why not cash out a nice win for the day? He blows thru the $200 in white and cashed in a hundred of his color up in exchange fir $100 white. And again. And again. He blows thru all of it and rebuys with cash! Oh boy.! Goes busto again and goes home. I see him rarely win. He had tightened up the first couple weeks back. Now, he’s back ….. he is capable of having any 4 cards in any situation in any position for any and all raises. Impossible to read. So yes sometimes he wakes up with a monster. He cost us some chips today. He certainly goes into Chip burner mode. There is a raise pre. On the flop he is first and donk bets. Raiser raises. Same action on turn. Why bet into a guy who has raised at every opportunity? It is what it is.
I flop what??? Yes. You know how I do!!! Quadzilla!!!! I make 2 high hands today for $100 total bonus. Play until the game breaks just before 4. I have $220 plus $100 bonus so +$320 on this day. This game today was crazy action.
Next? Would love to play 20/40 on Monday just not sure the game will fire. Patrick is out of town so I’d be running solo and that’s fine but sometimes it takes both him and I just to have a game. Stay tuned….

Session #121 ~ Why Fold: Is over folding a thing? Seems like a crazy question to me but….
The other day I folded, on the river, the low twice! 2 times. Ugh. One of the reasons I was so salty. There’s a player that shows up late in the afternoon that I’ve been giving to much credit to. Now please understand I had no where near the nuts and usually my reads in these situations are spot on. It’s just one bet. One. Into a pot of $60 plus. I need to be a bit more sticky. I made it to the end so…why fold?
The problem (or sometimes blessing) with low limit poker is no one seems to fold. I had to chop a pot with the low on a flop of QQ7. He didn’t have anything but a low. Had to go runner runner just to get his money back as we were heads up. He didn’t have a Q in his hand and no pair as a back up high, just hoping to hit low. God bless em. You never see this happen in 20/40, ever.
Friday we play Palace. Game starts early. Good. Hopefully I can leave early. The game is just Bingo with cards. 7 or 8 ways to a flop. Lol. The very first hand dealt I pick up AA2 J with one nut suit! First hand, raise! High cards on flop and turn pairs the board. We c bet flop and continue also on turn that pairs. The river brings a back door flush. We had flopped a 4-flush to the nuts and whiffed. Villain stayed with number 2 back door flush and he also had a straight draw but should not be there after the paired turn card. If he hits he should never be any good. But I digress….
We are up about $120. Should leave now it I’m starving. My $4 breakfast turned into a $100 breakfast. Counterfeit lows and whiffed draws. Seat Open!!! +$20.
Next…Little Creek Sunday Omaha8 action. Stay tuned.

Session #120 ~ One card away : The last 2 weeks I’ve had several close calls. One card away from the bad beat! Don’t even know how much it’s worth at Palace. At Little Creek it’s $5k. Yesterday morning when I flopped my quad Queens another player turned an open ended straight flush draw. One card away.
Monday September 13th. 9 am. Palace.
We meet up with Patrick for breakfast and Omaha 8 fun and profit. But first…hold em. Hold em??? Yes. The happy hour hand is K J of clubs. Pays $299. Patrick and I partner on it until Omaha8 starts. We never get it but I do end up +$164. I really should play a bit more hold em, especially in the mornings at Palace. Good game.
Omaha…line up is mostly the same. Seat 1 ancient Chinese secret (female) seat 2 a Palace reg and solid player, seat 3 is us, seat 4 our friend Patrick, seat 5 ??? (This guy is nuts and not in a good way) seat 6 ancient white guy who was at creek yesterday, seat 7 aggressive Asian dude and in 8…crazy B we shall name her. Crazy B is a Asian lady aged 52-72, thinks she’s a player, guzzles Bud Light and oh boy…. Let’s go
Today starts off well enough. Then we turn cold. We do make a high hand for $75. That’s the highlight of today. I need to stop coming to Palace…it’s …. No bueno …. Ever since they moved back inside. I actually miss the tent set up. It was dialed in. See the Omaha table used to be over on the far right side and had its own Monte Carlo board. Now it’s the first table right at the door and next to the desk. They rearranged all tables. Today I noticed that when the pot reaches $40 they take out $7. Seriously $7? That’s like what? 18% of the pot? Don’t think I should be playing this. That and I’ve gone into an extremely bad run there lately. Not comfortable, don’t enjoy it so why? Why do it? Fortune Poker used to run a Omaha8 game but haven’t since pre-pandemic days.
I see the 20/40 game did not run without Patrick and I there. It’s a shame. I need Little Creek to get the 10/20 game going. So I guess we try Dragon on Wednesday. It did run last week on Wednesday and Friday without me and or Patrick being there. Just a ways to go for such a dive. Gotta do what I gotta do. Seriously surprise players don’t Bitch about it.
So anyway I’m steamed up. Salty. Speaking of…. I heard that the old Korean dude (VIP for F&O or those who know) got his ass chewed and lost yesterday. Sorry I missed that, but I was busy with better stuff. Steamed up for multiple reasons but I am undefeated on my football bets so far! I was going to take the Ravens in Monday night and as I write this I’m watching. So far so good but no bet. Today -$300. So gross. The last hand we played….A2 10 and a bit of a dangler 7. My Ace 10 is suited and let me make a 10 high straight with my 7 10 because then I have nut nut! Straight, 10 high and nut low. Flop is 10 Ace 4! Flop top two! Long story short never any good. We ran into a set of Aces and some jag off stayed in with a bullshit low otherwise we have an emergency low and let me tell you with the way the betting went he should have folded. Seat Open….
Next? Work on Tuesday and Wednesday but Wednesday afternoon I think it’s worth a drive north to Red Dragon. We will already be in south Seattle for work so why not? Need to play that 20/40 game. Stay tuned…

Session #119 ~ Winning a $400 pot with 2 3 & Rounders: Thinking of last session of 20/40. I was in the BB with 2345 and the 2 3 were diamonds. Really need an Ace to flop here and preferably the Ace of diamonds. Bingo! Flop peels Ace of diamonds 6 of diamonds and Queen of clubs. Check. It gets checked around. Turn is the 7….of diamonds. I bet. Two players do what? That’s right just call. River is a blank. Same action. I scoop with nut low and my flush for high!
Saturday had plans with a friend in the afternoon. Sorry I missed the fun with F&O for sure. Got home and enjoying some vino with the girlfriend and Rounders came on! I’ve seen this movie hundreds of times but it’s on, I think, Showtime. Must watch again. Somehow after hundreds of times that movie hit me a bit harder last night. Maybe it was the wine.
Sunday. Wasn’t going to play poker. Plans changed and we meet up with our friend Patrick at 8 for breakfast and Omaha 8!
Today we have 2 new faces and this time for real. Never seen them before in my life. Both female. Both 40-50 years old. Seat 1 Bob. He is there every Sunday and tight to a fault. Seat 2 ancient white guy from Palace, seat 3 new lady number 1, seat 4 a creek reg and also tight to a fault, seat 5 our friend Patrick, seat 6 new lady number 2, seat 7 is us and seat 8 is a guy who we haven’t seen for about 2 years. Let’s go….
We play 20 minutes and flop Quadzilla! We have A3QQ and flop is 8QQ! High hand! And this day finds us running good and playing good! High hand every hour and we get the first 3! It’s just $50 per so $150 total in bonus. The game ends up 4 handed at 3pm so that’s it. Done. Game broke. +$490 today!
Next? Probably not going to Dragon because if Patrick and I didn’t go last Monday there wouldn’t have been a game and Patrick is tied up this Monday. Long way to go on a maybe. Might hit Palace up in the morning. Stay tuned…..

Session #118 ~ Uncertainty: One thing is certain.
I just heard that Bally’s and Flamingo are set to close their poker rooms on September 26th so that all dealers will be available at the WSOP. Bally’s has a set reopening date, Flamingo does not.
The Orleans released their fall series schedule and Aria is supposed to be coming out today. I’m considering my options. Including but not limited to not going at all. I may reschedule and stay away from the WSOP this year and play Orleans as well as Aria. Orleans has a few mixed tournaments I would love to play. I will obviously keep ya posted.
Monday. Labor Day. I meet up with Patrick and we ride together up to Red Dragon. We start the game 6 handed. Full table is 8. Seat 1, empty. Seat 2 empty, seat 3 is a younger black dude I’ve never ever seen, seat 4 is Patrick, seat 5 is Tree, seat 6 Adam, 7 is us today and 8 is cutie Asian gal. Seat 2 soon gets occupied by ???? Never seen him. Younger white male. Let’s go….
This afternoon finds us playing well. Snug. Hit a few hands. Nothing very interesting or cool….all standard as they say. Our friend Patrick goes on a nice run and then I do. We leave and unfortunately that breaks the game. Sorry. I want that game to run but time for me to run! Hit n run that is. 2 and a half hours +$1102!!
Next?? Work and home. Work and home. Exciting I know. No Little Creek this Sunday either. Plans with the girlfriend. Have a great week!!

Session #117 ~ Little Creek: Sunday we meet up with Patrick at Little Creek for breakfast and Omaha 8. This is 4/8 with a full kill so 8/16.
Today we have a few new faces. Again not new to us but new to Sunday Little Creek O8. We play with one of them regularly at Palace. Seat 1 our friend Patrick, seat 2 Amy. She played last Monday at the Dragon 20/40 game. I rarely if ever see her down here. Seat 3 is an old white guy from Palace. Maybe it’s the mask but he doesn’t seem to remember us. Fine by me. Seat 4 creek reg. Older solid dude, seat 5 young hot shot and creek reg. Have never seen him anyplace else. Seat 6 is the Indian guy and crazy player. From India not Native American. Seat 7 is us today and seat 8 as always is Bob. Let’s go….
No quads for us today but in the first 27 minutes of play Amy makes quads…Aces! Two Aces in the flop and the case on the turn. We do, later in this session, make a straight flush.
Not a lot going on in this game today. Hot shot goes on a nice run. Can’t seem to miss. Whatever he has or needs it’s coming for him for a solid hour. He racks it up and leaves. Indian dude takes his seat but the genie has been put back in the bottle. Indian guy has seemed to really slow down the last couple weeks. By the afternoon he is back to his old bad habits however.
We play until the game breaks at 4. The last 30 minutes or so we play short handed. Cash out today +$227. This includes the $50 hi hand bonus. Slow, uneventful day. Had a bigger profit but one hand we turn the nut straight but the river paired the board. Of course villain has a boat but checks. We of course check behind saving one big bet.
Next up….Monday Labor Day going to play 20/40 with a half kill at Dragon!

Session #116 ~ Paying em back with their money: It feels a bit like that scene in Rounders. You know the one. Where Teddy KGB is telling Mike McD fucking joke anyway. I am paying you with your own money from the last time I stick it in you.
That game was very different last time. Unusual for 20/40. Players outta line. I need to just sit back and let that game come to me. It was overly aggressive. One hand, my SB, I have Aces yet again. Aces are the most overrated hand in Omaha8. It’s raised pre as every hand was. These Aces are with a K and 10 with no suits. Flop is 8 J J. I check from up front and call a bet. Yes, just call because I don’t have a Jack but want to peel one just in case. Turn…Jack. Now it gets checked around. River…..the case Jack! Lol. I check and there’s a bet?? Lol. They have the other 2 Aces? I miss a raise here. What was wrong with me this night? She had Kings.
I did not show up with my A game after reviewing. What the… no more. I play A or I go home. With work grinding to a snails pace I may need to pick up the pace in poker.
Thursday September 2, 2021. I’m on I-5 near Palace. Can’t help it… I check the app. 7 names up. I can be 8th and hopefully start a game upon my arrival. I am 8th. Got a seat locked. It’s still about a half hour wait. Was gonna leave but they call down the game. Seat 1??? Seat 2 ancient tight white guy, seat 3 is us today, seat 4 solid Asian kid, seat 5 old Korean solid guy, seat 6 retired Muckleshoot dealer, seat 7 mid age Asian gambler, seat 8 older Asian gambler female. Let’s go….
First half hour of this session I make a Jack hi straight flush! High hand bonus $75. Before I even get paid I make a full house and another. With 20 minutes remaining it gets beat by a better full house. In the meantime we have been running good! This session wasn’t even supposed to happen and I have things to do. So after just an hour and 45 minutes we say … Seat Open!!! +$396! Takes the sting out just a little.

Session #115 ~ Why call? : I think we will try to run a series here. This ties in obviously with my Why Bet write up.
This, why call, I really started to think about in my 20/40 game. Why just call? Especially in a big game. In 4/8 it’s way different. It is. In 20/40 with a half kill (30/60) if you raise it will get their attention. Unless they have it, or a draw to it, they might just fold in this game. Gotta know your player.
I will try to mix it up. Especially playing with the same players. Raise or call. Depends. As with most things in poker. There is really no clear cut answer every time. It depends. Again this is just to get you thinking. Get you interested in studying the game.
Monday I made a call. Just a call. I held A235 with nut spades. Flop was Q 9 5. The player I was against (heads up) is very aggressive. A lot of the time has a questionable hand. There is only one spade on this flop by the way. So we make a ….. call. I don’t want to fold it just yet to this particular opponent. Turn is an off suit 3 giving us 2 pair and nut low draw and of course can make a wheel or a full house.  He, of course, bets. Here we are…why call??? I have 2 pair and nut low draw. We, just call. Why not raise? Because in this spot against this player I really think he 3-bets 100% of the time. River brings everything but our draws. It’s a 10. Completes a straight. He could Easily have a better 2 pair. He still bets. We tank and…..call. He shows K K K 8. What the?? For just a pair of Kings. For you O8 players let’s repeat…he had 3 Kings in his hand. He wasn’t a blind. He voluntarily played this hand! I called with bottom 2 pair because I knew my opponent. It was one bet only. It was heads up. Scoop!
I still think raising in that spot is the better play. If and when he 3-bets then we can 4-bet or….call. I’ve said it before and I will say it again. I need to be more aggressive.
Interesting side note for those of you keeping score at home. On Tuesday the Omaha8 never fired at Palace. 4 names up was the max I saw according to their app. Interesting indeed. Dying game?
Wednesday September 1, 2021. Auction day but it looks like there’s really nothing there I’m looking for. Home for first half of the day, cleaning, getting things done. Then, 2pm Red Dragon 20/40 Omaha8. Our friend Patrick is not in tow today but probably Monday. Hopefully this game fires today. Last Wednesday it was a no go. I called my name in and there’s at least 3 that confirmed they will be there. We will know soon enough…
I forgot this weekend is a holiday weekend. Monday is Labor Day so not going to Dragon on Friday as I thought. With the holiday traffic just need to pass this time. That is actually why we are trying to get in a session today.
1:41 only 3 names so far. I sure hope I’m not wasting this beautiful afternoon.
Looks like we have a game! Waiting for players to buy chips and be seated. So far a couple different players. Today’s line up…seat 1 cute Asian gal (same one from last few 20/40 sessions) seat 2 is us today, seat 3 currently empty, seat 4 MrPro, seat 5 empty, seat 6???, seat 7 is Adam and seat 8 is a middle aged white guy we played once before. Let’s go….
3rd hand dealt we look down at AA3Q with a nut suit. Flop comes K J K. Trouble brewing. Even if I make a flush or straight I can lose to a full boat. I peeled one just in case and whiff. But now it’s checked around! Free card. Miss. Checked around and the Asian gal shows a King. Ugh.
This session is short by design. We keep getting counterfeit and or missing our nut draws. The last hand I play I have AKK 10 with a suit. Flop is 4 7 9 with two of our suit. I bet because I don’t want to give a free card on that flop, I have an over pair and nut flush draw. Turn 8, river, 10. Checked around and that gal says “I just have a set” and rolls over…..2 4 8 8?? Lol. This is a good game just not for me tonight. She should not have been in there from the start and now she has to fold to any bet on that flop. Her low is already counterfeit (8 low is NEVER good. She could only make an 8 low) and her 8 makes the nuts for J 10.
Headed home to take Rocco for his 2nd walk today. Glass of vino or 2 and hang with the girlfriend. I’m really not mad or upset at all about that game. I had been on the wrong side of variance since that first hand I played. Burns a little bit the vino will help… -$1000. I did my $800 buy and reloaded but bailed when it was clear to me it’s not my night. We will get it back come Monday.
Next…Sunday Little Creek and Monday put your seat belts on kids….action 20/40 game. It is a good game! Enjoy your Labor Day weekend!

Session #114 ~ Freedom: Have you ever read much or studied the super successful? I mean the absolute top of the food chain. Warren Buffett type success. It’s interesting that it’s not about the money. Never was. What these type guys wanted to find is…Freedom! True freedom so yes of course in order to achieve that you need financial freedom. But freedom we are talking about and what they enjoy is freedom to do what you want, whenever you want for as long as you want. Wow.
I certainly enjoy a lot more freedom than a lot of folks I believe. Mine is no where near that kind or even close to that true freedom. I better buy that Mega Millions ticket tomorrow!
Monday August 30th. Red Dragon 20/40 is a go! We bring our friend Patrick along today. His first visit to Dragon. Curious to get his review on the ride home.
Today’s line up…the usual suspects. Seat 1 Mr. Pro. Middle aged white guy, seat 2 younger solid Asian male, seat 3 is me, seat 4 Patrick, seat 5 cute Asian gal, seat 6 is Adam, 7 another mid age white dude and decent player, seat 8 is an old Muckleshoot reg. Female, seat 9 is Tree. Yes, 9 handed. Early on we flop…..Quadzilla! Quad Jacks! And then we flop a set and turn…..Quadzilla!!!! Again. Not kidding.
It was actually a tuff session. The game had a couple new faces but not new to us. We’ve played with them before just not here. The game played a lot differently tonight. In one hand, the kill is on so 30-60, we turn the nut high and there is no low possible…yet. Seat 1 (Mr. Pro) bets into us…$60. We raise of course…$120. He thinks for a few seconds and makes the call. River completed the low draw and he checks. We tank … probably should bet but no low is ever folding now so we say…I have the nut high and he has a 23 for low.?? I really think his call is very bad. He’s not drawing to the nut low. Well, ok if an Ace hits. And he had no outs for a high. Zero. And he needs a low card, that doesn’t pair him to just get half. Ugh. I don’t like it but maybe I’m missing something.
We play a tic longer than usual. 3 and 3/4 hours. And let me tell you I made a great comeback! I got stuck my full buy in of $800. Buy in again the same so I’m in $1600! Shit. Let’s do this! I blaze back! I cash out $2025 so +$425!!! Down from previous wins but why couldn’t I run it up like that on the first buy?
What I did correct….
Kept my head on, never tilted.
Had some fun actually.
Had good table manners. Was polite and friendly.
What I did incorrectly…..
Played too many hands out of position.
Not aggressive enough.
Called too light.
I will try to play there again on Friday. Plug the leaks and make money. A few times tonight I had A234 with a nut suit and the flop would be all high with none of my suit. A few times or more I had a draw to the nuts and whiffed. Happens. Happy to come out ahead.
Next? Tuesday auction and then home. Wednesday I think the same. Thursday day off?? Palace??? I think day off. Friday auction and then Dragon! Stay tuned…

Session #113 ~ Nut nut: When I first started to learn and really study Omaha I thought oh all I have to do is play for nut nut. Hands only that can make nut nut. I learned making nut nut is difficult at best. I can play all week and never make nut nut. While it’s true you want to play hands that can  easily make the nuts to actually make nut nut is rare. Often we have nut low or nut high, but nut nut?
Most cash games locally it is always correct to play A2xx … any A2. Friday I have A278 with nut diamonds. Flop peels 877 and a player does what? Bets! Why??? See what I did there? Why bet? I raise and get 2 callers! Again the worst play. If your hand is good enough to bet, when someone raises you need to either 3-bet or fold. I can’t think of any exceptions in Omaha 8. Turn in this hand is an 8! Guess what the villain does? You’re right! Bet. Lol!!!! Raise and of course he calls. Now I ask for a 5, out loud and I throw in I don’t care what suit it is. River….5! He bets. I think he also has 8 7. The only thing that makes sense but now I have nut nut so I raise, he calls, I show and he mucks! Crazy hand. I told ya they are bad.
Another time I have A4QQ with again nut diamonds. Flop is 882 with two diamonds! Turn 4, yuk! Counterfeit. Ugh. River 4. Trip 4’s with an Ace kicker and the way this hand played gotta be good right? Nope I get scooped by AQ78. So gross. Variance snapped me. Thank goodness it was in 4/8 not 20/40. But in 20/40 people don’t call raises with AQ78. 20/40 did run Friday at 2. I am going to make a real effort to play that almost exclusively. Too bad it’s so far away but the numbers don’t lie. No choice. See you at the Dragon.
Today first is Little Creek. Omaha of course. This is also just 4/8 with a kill. High hand every hour. Let’s go….
Mostly the same line up today. Our friend Patrick from Vegas is up here for a bit so he meets us here early. Then the retired doctor from Palace shows up. We are doing well today to include quads again! Quadzilla! High hand bonus of $50.
Not much cool or sexy to report. Except, we booked a decent win! +$308. Seat Open!!!
Home. Dinner. Kissed the girlfriend (who made my dinner) and thanked her for supporting me in playing today. She’s always so good with that. Walked Rocco. Now a cocktail and bed. Good night.

Session #112 ~ Why bet?: I know the usual reasons.
My question is in regards to specifically low limit Omaha8 from early position in a multi way pot.
A poker pro told me 10 years ago now that I should be able to be behind you, tap you on the shoulder and ask why you just did that. “that” can be any number of things but for this discussion that is betting. Let’s not get into raising just yet. Thats entirely different. Let’s talk about when the flop peels…say you are early position like first or second. Say there’s 5 or more in this pot. You bet out into the field on a flop of 4 8 Q. Why? What are you repping? What are you trying to accomplish? Why? If you’re that strong why not check raise? Now say you bet and someone raises, now what? Call?? Lol. Never. Worst move there. Either 3-bet or fold. Never only call. Never. If you’re the opening better and can’t take the heat, why bet?
Back 10 years ago the reasons to raise were simple….to narrow the field, to gain control and to gain information. It’s a bit more complex than that in a lot of situations I know. And poker isn’t the same. Again I’m speaking of low limit Omaha 8.
Now take number one reason, to narrow the field. If you’re in a game where that doesn’t work then don’t do it. Plain and simple. If your goal is to build a pot, out of position, ok. But see what I said there. You have a reason or a why. Why bet?
Now in the example hand I provided say you have the nut low draw. Say it’s even with protection. Protection? You ask? Yes. Something like A236. Can’t be counterfeit. Now you’re thinking player x raised me and I’m only on a draw, no pair, no high quality just the low draw. Then again, why bet? I do it often in this example because any low card comes I get half. Or do I? Sometimes just a quarter. Be careful. All I’m suggesting is…think. Think before you act. Don’t just spew chips. I play with a number of guys that just bet. No matter the flop. No matter the players. Bet. Check to them ? Bet. First to speak? Bet. Every damn time. Love it. We raise! Guess what they do? Yep. Flat call. Lol. Terrible.
I’m not suggesting I’m a poker coach or a great player. I’m just putting this up for thought. For discussion. Think before you act. When you act….why??? Play with a purpose. A purpose to win.
Friday August 27 2021. The auction is trouble again so we head out. Not buying the problems someone else is trying to get rid of. So Palace it is. Haven’t eaten yet today so perfect breakfast spot and why not play some Omaha8? Hopefully I run better. Although yesterday I hit quads. Twice. I seem to make quads a lot in O8. Anyone know the true odds? I don’t. One time it was because 3 of them were on board. But another time I had a pair in my hand. Turned a set and rivered Quadzilla! Runner runner.
Today we start off in 4/8 hold em. Huh? Hold em…that’s the 2 card variety. And we get some good tickets. Play for just 30 minutes and +$199! Great start to my Friday.
That was the highlight of my day. This 4/8 Omaha8 game has given me fits lately. Decision time for real. Seat Open!!! -$300.
I will share a couple hands in the next write up I already have in my mind.
Next?? Sunday Little Creek, Monday 20/40 Red Dragon. Have a great weekend.

Session #111 ~ Dying game ??? : What is going on? Games are dying off already. Some never have fired.
First. 5/10 mixed home game. I didn’t have to quit that. Game is dying. I was not the only one done with that game. Host wanted to move it to this week as some players are unavailable next week. He only got a total of 4. That’s really just 2 because he counted himself and me. Pretty sure that game is done for already.
2nd. Little Creek 10/20 never has started. I really really want and need that game to go. I’m promoting it…with no takers.
3rd. Wednesday 2pm is supposed to be 20/40 Omaha8 at Red Dragon. Monday no game and Wednesday no game. That game is in serious trouble it appears. Damn. Good thing I did not make the drive up. That’s a big game for a lot of players. Lose in that game and it can leave a mark. Probably has for some and that’s why it’s in trouble.
4th. Palace. What a joke. Especially after 20/40. Win or lose a couple hundred who cares. That’s half the pot in 20/40. They play bad and think they are great. 7 or 8 ways to a flop and never fold. Should run over that game but can’t beat 7 other players unless you flop gin. It’s not poker anymore at that point. Aces? Good luck with those. Even if you flop a set you’re just gonna end up chopping with the low and get no where. Also I saw game broke at 1 yesterday. So just after I left. Ran less than 3 hours. Dying.
Not sure what’s going on. Even the hold em games have been light. Maybe back to blackjack? No….
Buckle up! It’s gonna get a bit bumpy. At least until people gain a bit of confidence back. I mean regarding public health. Here initially when plexiglass came down and masks off there was a collective sigh of relief. Now the feeling seems to be…here we go again. So….
Thursday August 26th. 9:02am Palace. I must enjoy pain. Best breakfast around for $4. Four names up for Omaha.
As I came in I saw 2 police officers on the opposite side of the street looking down and picking up small things and placing them in a small bag. Now they are here with security watching security cam footage. This isn’t the best part of town. Shell casings??
Today’s line up different…seat 1??? Younger Asian male. I think we have played him before. Tough to tell with masks. Seat 2 is us. Seat 3 old white lady not particularly good player, seat 4 aggressive Asian male 35-65, seat 5 old black guy who has been playing Little Creek, seat 6 solid Korean dude, seat 7???? Black woman i have never seen anywhere, seat 8 middle aged black guy and good player. Let’s go….
So far today missed draws and counterfeit lows. One time I turn the nut low. River…2 yuk. Then I have a piece of cheese but it’s my BB (big blind) A599. Flop is 4 8 10. Check call to see a turn….9! River? Case. Quadzilla sighting!!! Quad 9’s and good for high hand bonus of $75. Then SB I have 33 9 10. Flop comes 3 8 J. Turn is a 4 to complete the low. River 9. We are good for high half. Another day that if I make just half my draws I come out up about $300. Gotta go home and care for the girlfriend. -$120.
Next? Friday auction and an old friend of mine will be at Palace so we will pop by. Saturday day off. Sunday Little Creek Omaha8. Stay tuned….

Session #110 ~ Keep your customers happy: This ties in with a write up I did almost 2 years ago now…Don’t tap the tank. Remember that? If not go back into $3k in 30 sessions challenge. Basically you want them coming back so keep em happy or at least keep the peace. All to often I still see players all bent outta shape. Why? Even a rag hand in Omaha8 isn’t that big of a dog. Hand equities run very very tight pre-flop. I played poker with a bracelet winner in Vegas who would just smile and say I love my customers. Keep em happy. Unhappy ones quit the game on ya. Very unhappy ones don’t come back or rack up when you show up. So stay humble, keep the peace and play another day. You will get em in the long run I promise.
Today, Monday August 23. What a beautiful day. Hanging out with Rocco in the morning. Running a few errands and catch the boat up to Red Dragon. It’s 1:47 as I write this and there are only 2 names on the list. This game lacks….staying power. If at least 3 more don’t show by 2:15…we out.
2:00 only 3 names now. 4th will be here shortly. I love short handed but 5 is too short. Blinds are 10 and 20. You could get eaten up fast.
2:33. Only 4 of us. Out. Too bad. Waste of an afternoon. Catching the boat home and up early tomorrow for an auction. We will try again Wednesday.
August 25th. Wednesday. Up at the crack getting the girlfriend off to work and taking care of a few things around the house and of course walk Rocco. Hit the road and Palace early. The Omaha8 game has fired earlier than usual so I want to lock up a seat. Not a problem. First name up. So of course breakfast.
The plan today is play Palace until noon or so and then either A) 20/40 Red Dragon or B) head home. Would love to play 20/40 but that’s about an hour and a half drive north on I-5, if traffic is ok. And there was no game Monday. Never did fire. And per usual the game at Palace is impossible to figure out. Most days lately the game has fired by 9 or so. Not so much today. This week I plan on playing today, Thursday and Sunday. Thursday Palace and Sunday at Little Creek.
Today is a short day by design. Also a reg player at Palace who I’ve never seen play Omaha8 sits in. He orders wings. At 10:30am. Wings? Wings. I’m hoping he will ask for an out button and eat away from the table. Nope. He eats his wings with his hands and licks his fingers. 

 not even kidding. It’s just flat time to go. How can this be allowed any longer? Why was this EVER allowed. He’s our target today tho. We break him for the 3rd time? I think. And he’s out. Another is gone and suddenly we are 6 handed and there’s just no money on the table. I like short handed so hang in for a bit but get coolered time and time again. Enough. Seat Open!!! +$65.

Session #109 ~ Staying power: Staying power or sustainability. I don’t think the 20/40 Dragon game has it. Shit. I think that game will die soon. I’ve told everyone that thinks I’m a bad player to come play with me. Obviously I haven’t said a word about my success so far in that game. In the meantime Palace Omaha8 game fires every day and now looks like early. Fired this week most days around 9am. Ran all day. That game is weird though. If I continue to play I need to go the way of absolute rock. 7 or all 8 players to the flop and no one will fold. So let them gamble. That’s not for us. I know most split pot games are showdown poker. So it takes the absolute nuts to drag a pot.
Today Friday August 20th. Auction first half of the day and absolutely starving so pull into Palace. Game fired at about 9 again today and has 4 on the wait list. I am 5th. I will wait for a bit. Breakfast first and the Little League World Series is on. Oregon is crushing it. While I’m here I’m going to suggest a 10/20 once a week. I’m told I need to speak to Todd and he should be in any minute. I play 8/16 hold em for about a half hour and am bored with it so cash out +$64. I’m 4th up for Omaha8. Probably won’t wait. Breakfast was good as always. Masks now required again. Starting Monday that will be state wide.
So that’s all for today. Not sitting here waiting for a seat. I’m out. At least I had a great free breakfast!
Next….20/40 Omaha8 at Red Dragon Monday 2pm! Have a great weekend…

Session #108 ~ All Star: I’ve mentioned this place before but rarely come here anymore. Unable to get to Palace before the Omaha8 game is full so we walk Rocco and drink our iced coffee. Hit All Star for a fun little donk fest turbo NL hold em tournament. Just 2 tables deep today and we know almost all of em. Wait. Did I say fun? Today I give myself permission to have fun. Win or lose, it’s only $30 with a $10 optional add on.
Arrive right at start time and there are 2 seats left. A player wants the seat I was taking and I said go ahead. Seated at the other table now with a few good friends. And wouldn’t you know it. That player that had to have that seat is out very early. Lol. Nice seat. This is a true turbo. 12 minute rounds. Haven’t played hold em for a while. Remember this is just for fun.
Super card dead. Pick a few spots to steal. And in an hour and a half we make the final table. Card dead and min cash. Woohoo. Lol. So after just 2 hours of play we enjoyed our time. Aaaaaand I am out!!! +$10 after buy in and add on

Session #107 ~ Mixed home game: Lot of action. We have our action player back tonight but we somehow lost our dealer. Damn.
I really wish the 10/20 O8 game would fire on Wednesday at Little Creek. Today they don’t even have a list. At all. No idea how they can get that going. And now the 20/40 game at Dragon has struggled the last couple times. It went 22 hours straight a week and a half ago and now doesn’t start on time and struggles to survive 5 hours. Concerned because that is my jam. Finally a game we can make more than a hundred or two. I’m going to ride that wave till it crashes on the beach.
It’s been a long day. A good day. But long. My girlfriend has been having some intermittent pains in our around stomach. They tossed around the possibility of metastatic cancer. Oh shit. Thank God, it’s not! Most likely muscle spasms or torn muscle from all she has been doing. We drove to Olympia for that doc visit. Roughly an hour and a half drive each way. We found a funky little lunch spot downtown and head back home. I then need to turn around and get to my home game. Long day. Dragging tail tonight but let’s go…
Starting off bad but making it back. Might make it a short night. Probably smart thing tonight.
One hand, we are in double board Omaha high only. I turn the nuts on top, 2 pair on bottom. I bet for value on top as well as protection because we are multi way. I get a fold, a call and a raise so I 3 bet. The action player was in the middle of us but now folds and it’s heads up. He 4 bets it. Huh? Heads up. Why? I check dark and almost roll my hand face up when he bets it. WTF. I have nothing?? I have nuts top, he has bottom. I thought that was obvious. I make a comment and he flies off the handle. If you’ve read this before this player and I don’t care for each other at all for whatever reason. I will leave it at that. He’s yelling at me to calm down. I’m just sitting here. I’m not upset at all. I say…next hand. No need to argue with this guy. He just won’t ever get it. It’s obvious I have top and he has bottom. Let’s chop it and move forward. But he wants to have a Dick measuring contest.
I’m ready to retire from this game, permanently. After that outburst from that player and the ridiculous play here, no dealer,  it just sucks. I would rather head up to Dragon and play 20/40. It’s a shame. Love to play mix. This isn’t a fit for me though. Doin more damage to my game than good. Gotta know when to cash in, right? And now no dealer? Super slow and more mistakes than you can count. Out.
Now we pick up chatter of the 20/40 game moving back to 4. No good. Girlfriend now back to work I just can’t come dragging in at 10 or later. We shall see. Speaking of … home now, gotta go. -$200.
Next? Unsure actually. Not playing Sunday Little Creek due to it’s our anniversary. Might, just might pop in and get a short session at Palace. Would like to go there and suggest they put together a 10/20 O8 game once a week. Worth a try, right? If my appointment tomorrow is over quickly I will head there. Stay tuned….

Session #106 ~ Look: Next time you are in a poker game keep your head up. I mean literally. Instead of checking your cards immediately,  wait. Your cards aren’t going anywhere. Your cards aren’t changing. There’s no award for acting super fast. So be patient and look. Look at your opponent check their cards. In flop games look. Don’t watch the flop look at the players. The flop is the flop. Look at them. Ok you can’t watch all 7 of them so watch what you are comfortable with. It’s funny when no one notices you doing this. Funnier when someone is doing the same and you lock eyes.
The other thing to look at is your cards. Especially in Omaha 8. Yesterday multiple times a player would table their cards and not realize they have a flush. Twice the dealer didn’t even see it. It’s easy to get tunnel vision. Focused on you missed a draw but missing you made a straight or connected in some other way, maybe back door low. Check your cards multiple times. It’s ok. Especially on Omaha8. There’s no penalty. Look.
Today is Monday and we are looking at the inside of Red Dragon. It is such a dump. Really a shame. Checked in at the desk, got a mask and ran to the restroom. Disgusting. Smells so bad. Floor is wet. Seems super unsanitary. Gross. I will hold it the rest of the day. I have 45 minutes until 20/40 O8. They had issues on Friday starting the game. Didn’t fire till 5 or so. If there’s no game by 2:30 I will head back home. I’m on a group chat with a core group of players in this game and I know there will be at least 4 here by 1:30 or so. I just hope this game has staying power. We shall see. 1:27 3 names so far. 2:08 6 but hasn’t fired. Waiting is…we’ll you already know how I feel about that.
Cards in the air at approx 2:15. Today is mostly the same cast of characters. Seat 1 cute Asian gal again, seat 2 I think is a pro middle aged white guy, seat 3 is us today, seat 4??? Seat 5 another solid reg middle aged white guy, seat 6 a handsome bald black dude probably 40ish or so, seat 7??? Seat 8 is our host and outstanding player Tree. Let’s go…
Seat 6 is our target today. He came to gamble and he won’t be pushed around. We take our usual rope a dope style in this game. One hand we go runner runner wheel and I thought someone had to have the flush. Nope. Aaaaand seat 7 goes off his chair. Literally to look at our cards and he throws his cards. I’m not kidding. Card down! Wow. Who is this clown. We scoop!!! We play tight and passive. Probably to passive but the game is slow tonight both in play and physical speed. However I start to really look (see what I did there) at what they showdown…. Garbage! Seriously. There is only 2 good players the rest are gambling! Seat 6 is already on a re-buy! Really very straight forward. Nothing super exciting. I  Play it snug as a bug in a rug and decide after just 2 and a half hours of play we are good. Gonna go home and walk Rocco and get to bed early. I have to be out on the road very early tomorrow for an auction. I will sleep tight with +$707 in profit for my couple of hours!
Next? Tuesday work. Wednesday night 5/10 home game! Stay tuned…

Session #105 ~ WSOP or ??? : By now you’re all familiar with rule 115. You probably know also by now that WSOP came out with a ….. “clarification” ?? I was inches away from canceling and still may.  They still may. I think this year is going to be a huge cluster. I am vaccinated for what it’s worth. Still. Just can’t risk bringing anything home to my girl. That’s way to big a gamble.
Speaking of big gamble. My 5/10 home mixed game wants to run a once a month higher stakes night. We will see what they decide and what games. We are certainly in baring the outcome of circus games.
Today, Sunday August 15th. Up and at em early. Little Creek for 4/8 O8. We also put our name on 10/20 and that may have taken me off 4/8. I should be on both. We will know in 10 minutes.
People are bad at poker aren’t they? I mean in general. I have a lot to learn to be any good but I mean the average Joe is really bad. I’ve been hearing this and seeing this everywhere since reopening. Players want to gamble. They didn’t wait a year plus to fold I guess. Let them gamble. Please. Yes, sometimes they will burn you but in the long run we win. Let’s go….
Today the line up is mostly the same. Seat 1 ancient white guy and overly tight player, you can bluff him but if he bets give him no action, seat 2 goofy 75 year old white guy, seat 3 is our old friend. If you’ve read these write ups for a couple years remember the Indian??? And not Native American an Indian from India and wild player. Fun guy tho. Seat 4 is a lady ive never seen. Turns out she’s semi clueless. Seat 5 is a older black dude from Palace. Mostly solid. He slips up on occasion. Seat 6 a real Donk! It’s me! Seat 7 a creek regular and terrible player. Seat 8, oh no it’s Bob. Away we go….
We make a high hand that holds up. $50 bonus. And another. These are 1 hour each. And a 3rd! $150 total in high hand bonus monies. This game is 4/8 and plays like 5 cent 10 cent kitchen table poker. I’m not kidding. You know how I feel about this.
Here’s a day I should leave. Gone by noon but…I hit yet another high hand and must be present to win. This one gets cracked.
I really am loosing desire and or motivation to play 4/8. Seriously. And there’s nothing to gain at the Creek. Not yet at least. It’s 1 for 1. Not playing next Sunday as it’s my anniversary with my girlfriend. Spending the day with her and of course Rocco. Really need to do some thinking about continuing to play 4/8 at all. The way this sounds is reverse. I won today but it’s no fun and they are terrible. I want to play with good players. Today +$430.
Next? Monday 20/40 at Red Dragon! Wednesday 5/10 mixed home game. Stay safe friends…

Slaying the Dragon ~ Session #104: Monday. August 9th.
20/40 Omaha8 at Red Dragon now starts at 2pm! Love that. I can make it on the days I want to play and I can be home at a reasonable hour.
What an amazing day today. Home all morning. Take Rocco for a walk. Make coffee and breakfast and take a nice drive up to Kingston to get a ferry ride over to Red Dragon. Call in ahead of time and they put me up. First up. Arrived at about 1:20 to see only 5 names and one of them is going to be late. Belly up to the bar and enjoy some street tacos. We start the game 5 handed. I love short handed but this might catch up to me fast. 5 handed and blinds are $10/$20. Short lived as a couple more players join. And another. 8 handed. But what’s this? Floor wants to square up the table and make room for a 9th??? Yep. 9 handed….
Today’s line up all familiar except one player. Seat 1 cute younger Asian lady, seat 2 middle aged white guy, seat 3 is Adam Coates again, seat 4???? 60 ish white guy. Very well dressed. Expensive watch. Silver hair, well kept. Looks like a rich dude. Very talkative. Very. Seat 5 younger Asian male, seat 6 55 year old white guy, 7 is us today and 8 is Tree. Tree Bark is about the best O8 player in this state and probably a few others as well. We do our best to stay away from him. The 9th they squeezed in the middle of the table is one of the main guys to get this game going and solid player.
Immediately dealt A25 10 with the 2 5 both being hearts. Seat 4 raises. We are in position with a good start hand and flat. Flop is A K J all hearts. Seat 4 tosses out a bet. Folds to me. I put in the raise. Huh? Yes. Raise the 5 high flush. Let’s see where we are at. Only caller is seat 4 no raise. Turn is a brick. He now checks. We bet and he calls. River another heart. Doesn’t pair the board. He checks and nothing to do here but check behind and see if our read is good. He exposes all black cards, not a single heart! We are good and more importantly, our read is the stone cold nuts.
Seat 4 continues his overly aggressive play and overly vocal. My man never shuts up. We know his type oh so well. Short time later we turn the wheel. He bets. We raise, he calls. Heads up now to a river that pairs the board. He checks we bet and he calls. Wheel! I show. He yells oh I knew that’s what he had! Really? Thank you for the call…twice! We scoop! This IS a good game. We have a few hands and fold a few. Think about leaving when we are $600 up. This game might be just a bit to wild for me. Very loose aggressive. I stick around a bit longer. I play snug as a bug in a rug.
This session lasts just 2 and a half hours total for me.  Scooped a few and when we have a lot of chips and the blind next I walk over and grab empty racks and say….Seat Open!!!
+$1531. !!!!
Really unbelievable.
Or is it?
I’m a believer. I believe I love this game. Finally a game we can beat the rake and make some money! I believe I can win. Believe.

Up a Creek ~ Session #103: Welcome back Little Creek poker!!! The nicest room in the PNW. Great staff as well.
Sunday. First Omaha8 game since reopening. A lot of familiar faces. Some new. The casino doesn’t even open until 9am. The side of the building with the hotel is open and accessible. The cafe open and a little coffee stand. But no access to poker room until 9. We are able to lock up a seat and we have a full game. Cards in the air shortly after 9. Used to be 8. Also Sunday all day was triple time. Currently not. 1 for 1. $1 per hour in comps. Hopefully they change it back soon. The entire property is all non smoking. Love that. The gaming floor is still using plexiglass. All tables. All employees wearing a mask. Only a handful of customers masked up. I’m told tournaments will not be back for a few months. At Red Dragon, tournaments are back.
Very uneventful session. Nothing interesting or cool other than the poker room is open. Highly recommend! I need to get home to meet my landscaper so we say….Seat Open!!! -$6. Seriously $6. Told ya it was uneventful.

Don’t call it a heater ~ Session #102: It sure is nice when you make some connections. Playing well and running well makes for some nice profit. I’ve made more money this week playing poker part time than working. And that’s just thru Wednesday!
Today, Thursday August 5th. Very flexible day today. We start off by trying to sleep in. For me that means 7am. Take Rocco for a walk, make coffee and breakfast in bed for my girl and out the door. But to where? I need to get to Little Creek. They are open! They are back on Bravo I see also. I need information. Day 1 today might not be the day. We shall see. I open my phone and see there are only 2 names up on the wait list for O8 at Palace. Here we go….
Today’s line up mostly the same. Seat 1 solid old black guy, seat 2 is us, seat 3 retired Muckleshoot dealer, seat 4 crazy old white dude, seat 5 old solid Korean guy, 6 is now open, 7 ???? and 8 ancient white guy. Game starts off fast today. Good pots from the get.
Not staying long today.
Haven’t been here for over a week. Should’ve stayed away longer. Haven’t missed it.
I read somewhere recently…poker is a game of waiting for the nuts while others get bored and play anything but. That really rings true in Omaha8 and mixed games.
Today we make 2 high hands in the late afternoon so $100 each. Other than that it’s a grind today. Seat 4 is on…do we dare say…a heater. And he is super annoying. And I didn’t bring my ear buds otherwise I would just drown him out. He means no harm. But annoying non the less.
Speaking of annoying…this game. 8 handed and most flops you are seeing 6 plus players looking at the flop. Then no one folds. Blessing and a curse. I, if I continue to play this game, need to tighten my range hard and play premium hands aggressively in position. Easier said than done. We need the board to cooperate. With that many players in ya know it hit somebody if not you. A lot of high halves were going to weird 2 pair hands. These players are no where near the nuts. Crazy. We get stuck then unstuck, and again stuck and unstuck. Last hand we have a pair with a straight draw, flush draw, straight flush draw. Turn pairs the bottom card…3. Not us. I know Villain has a 3 but did he hit his kicker yet? River now hits our pair for a higher three of a kind if all he has is a naked 3. He has bottom full house. And…so does another guy. Lol. Seat Open… -$60. No harm, no foul but I’m steamed up about it. I played well. Honestly. Remember part of this is to be brutally honest. Twice I have a big full house and somehow lost to a tic better. Fuckin ridiculous. No, make it 3 times and the last one was a true one outter. So so gross.
I go to cash out. Yes, I have chips still obviously. The cashier has a sign “ back in 10 minutes “ and that’s the 2nd time today! Fuck Palace. Seriously.
Next? Unsure…Friday I have an auction in the morning…then??? Depends on how I feel. The girlfriend fully supports me in going to play 20/40 again. Game runs at 4. Stay tuned….

You wouldn’t believe it ~ Session #101: Even if I told you, you wouldn’t believe it. Well you guys would because you read this. The 20/40 O8 game at Dragon is a great game. I haven’t ran around promoting it or telling anyone. I post it up on Twitter but that’s it. Number one it’s a long ways for the players I know. Number 2 the game is always full with a list. I haven’t told anyone but my girlfriend and best friend about my incredible hit last time. Why? They wouldn’t believe it. I barely do. I woke in the morning to see my roll, in a rubber band of course, full and fat! I was due for a rush like that.
Today, Wednesday I almost canceled on my mixed home game to go play 20/40 again. But this is close to home and I want to play mix. So here we are. A few players are running a bit late. Par for the course. No problem. We have fried rice and Lumpia!
2-7 is first tonight. We win the first couple pots. Small ones to start and we are missing our action player. Mixed games are fairly slow but this is criminally slow. We relax. Call the girlfriend and continue to play well.
A couple different players in tonight’s game and the rest the same. 8 handed. Nothing exciting or unusual to share from tonight. I actually enjoyed my time. The player to my immediate right I’ve known for some 30 years and it was good catching up with him. One player leaves early every time. Win or lose. Then another. 6 handed. Perfect. I try to leave and they talk me into staying longer. I don’t want to break the game. I stay another hour. Then when another player leaves us I say….Seat Open!!! +$210.
Next? Tomorrow I will visit Little Creek. I was told that our friend Patrick got hired there! Great news! Fantastic dealer. Now, let’s hope they fire Omaha 8 at the 10/20 level. I’m not playing tomorrow I’m just looking for information regarding what games will go and when. So many rumors. Stay tuned….

Changing the rules ~ Session #100 : get word that the Red Dragon has changed the rules regarding sign ups for 20/40 Omaha 8. It was to be run at 4pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Now they are trying to make it daily. So with that there are no early sign ups. I love having a seat locked up because A) it’s a serious commitment for me just to get there B) if you’ve followed along this journey you know how I feel about waiting for a seat. Now, at Dragon, it’s allowed only 30 minutes prior to start time or just show up and have them put your name up. This will be challenging for me most days.
Today Monday August 2nd. I’m on the 2:30 ferry out of Kingston Wa headed to Edmonds. It’s only a 30 minute crossing and 12 minutes up the hill to Dragon. Let’s see if I get a seat.
Arrive just a few minutes after 3 and we are 3rd up! We have a seat. 55 minutes to wait so we get lunch prior to start. Starving. I’ve only had coffee and a yogurt so far all day.
Check in after lunch and the confusion already sets in. This is fun. I’m told there’s not enough players to start. Huh? 8 names on the list, i point out. Try to get him to clock me in to earn points but of course can’t because I’m not in an active game.
It’s so funny to me how if I post a loss I’m a bad player. If I win it’s because I was on a “heater” lol. I’ve certainly had a little run bad. Happens. What I’ve done well is mental game. Same person coming in the front door at home win or lose.
Today we have a great seat. Rocks on my right, loose on my left. Let’s go….
Tonight’s line up…seat 1 ??? Middle age white guy, seat 2 is us, seat 3 is a guy who got this game goin..ok player, seat 4 crazy loose guy, probably about 55 year old white guy, seat 6??? Seat 7 ???? He looks like a walking brochure for visit Washington. He has a Ocean Shores shirt with a Leavenworth hat, seat 8 is Adam Coates again and we skipped 5 somehow…the best O8 player in this state I think. Let’s go….
We pick the hot seat tonight! Heater! Lol.
They fix our problem immediately regarding call ins and reservations. Fixed!!! We are in!
Tonight we get quality start hands that connect well. Made a few nice scoop pots finally in this game. This is really a good game. I’m really hopeful that I can play this twice a week and the Little Creek once a week minimum. Hard to do sometimes. Again, I’m just a regular guy with a day job ( luckily extremely flexible) a girlfriend, a dog and a house to care for. All good stuff for sure. Very fortunate.
Tonight, for some reason, we buy in for $800. Usually it’s an even 1k. Cash out at $2753. In just an hour and a half. I’m not even kidding. Unreal. Really should stay longer but we say…is there a wait list for this game? Yes? Ok then….Seat Open!!!! +$1953!!!!
Next? Tuesday auction and home. Wednesday auction and 5/10 mixed home game. Thursday we go to Little Creek to check in and get the scoop. Stay tuned….

Chasing the Dragon ~ Session #99: Red Dragon Casino 20/40 Omaha 8. 4pm. Wednesday July 28th.
2nd hand dealt I pick up double suited Aces.
Good for nothing. No part of the pot. This isn’t starting as planned. But what’s this? A turned straight flush? Nice! Let’s go….
Tonight plays faster and more aggressive. We have Adam Coates (I think that’s the spelling) in seat 3 just getting after it. Adam, if you’re not familiar, was a poker dealer who has had some success at the WSOP. I recognize other players from Mondays game.
We pick up double suited Aces 3 times in an hour. Every time I’m double suited I can’t get one of my suit to come. Seriously. Then A24Q. Flop 2 5 9. Turn is 6. I really thought I had A 3. Number 2 low no good. Oops. A2QQ with AQ of diamonds. Heads up, flop is Q A J. Turn 5, river 2. Villain has 3 4. Ugh. It appears this is not our night. I have strong quality hands that I keep getting beat somehow. Then on two hands I folded to early. Would’ve won about $600 between the two if I had stayed. Folded one on the turn. Folded one on the flop. Ya know what? I was beat each time until the river. I would’ve sucked out on em! I’m starting to see why some players are so stubborn or sticky.
One adjustment I need to make still is aggression. I’ve talked about this before. Hand equities run so tight together in this game pre-flop that sometimes I prefer to wait. Even with A234. What are ya gonna do if no low comes? Even if you make a low you still might loose money. If you make a wheel it’s difficult to get paid off tho so might as well build a pot I guess. And build em they did. We are stuck now in reverse. No matter what we have. So after just a couple hours again this session we say …. Seat Open!!!
Today -$500.
Next? Day off tomorrow. Friday I have an auction in the morning and weekend off. Red Dragon again Monday (I think) and Wednesday is mixed home game. Thursday we will visit Little Creek! Day 1 of poker operations. My goal is to get my name on the list for the following Wednesday 10/20 Omaha8 game. I will keep y’all posted. Have a great weekend.

We call it Tuesday ~ Session #98: Tuesday. July 27.
I really should have stayed at Dragon longer. I think. It was nice to book the win and be home a lot earlier than I thought I would. Still a little daylight remaining so took Rocco for a walk. I feel if I would’ve played a couple more hours I could’ve added to the win total but we said…Seat Open!!!
Today’s auction is slim. Very slim so we submitted a couple proxy bids and point the car towards Palace. Not even real sure why. Looks like 20/40 runs again tomorrow at Dragon. Soon between 10/20 at Little Creek and 20/40 at Dragon I will not have the desire or motivation to play 4/8. This is a game where a lot of the time the entire table of 8 players sees a flop. 5 plus is the norm. I do better against better opponents. The loose ones playing any 4 cards seem to drag me down for some reason.
I found a spectacular deal. Seattle to Vegas round trip air on Alaska and 4 nights at Vdara for $565. This has to be booked via Costco Travel. I really really want to do this obviously. I picked the slowest days to get this deal. Sunday-Thursday. Orleans runs a HORSE tournament on Sunday at 4, PLO-8 Monday at 4 and Wednesday at 4 is Omaha8. Don’t think I won’t. I will keep you posted.
For now. Palace. 4/8 Omaha8 with a full kill 8/16. Let’s go….
Today’s line up mostly the same ol. Seat 1 our man Slim, seat 2 Uber driver, seat 3 old solid black guy I haven’t seen for a bit, seat 4 ancient white guy, seat 5 old Korean solid, 6 is retired Muckleshoot dealer, 7 is us and 8 is the guy we dubbed rude guy but we were wrong. He’s alright. Let’s get em…
And it’s family pot after family pot. Even if it’s raised, 3-bet and cap. They came to gamble. They won’t be pushed around. This is dumb. It’s not poker. It’s bingo! We mix it up with them but get odd ball run outs. One hand I have flopped the nut low with the nut flush draw. I hold A2QJ with the AQ of diamonds. Of course the river drops as a black Ace and we get absolutely nothing. What’s interesting is it seems as if not one player is playing to scoop. They are just throwing chips in and see what happens. Flop of K 10 3 with two hearts? Player with A268 no hearts calls? Yep. No high equity…low only. And it has to come runner runner just to get half or maybe a quarter. Terrible Am I missing something? Isn’t that about as bad as you can play?  We are up just a couple bucks shy of $100. With yesterday’s win and this 2 days into the week? I’m loving it. Making more playing poker than I am working. Poker seems more effortless and money won is twice as sweet as money earned right? I truly think that with 20/40 on even a weekly basis, 10/20 weekly and my 5/10 mixed home game every other week I should be able to have a lucrative side hustle and not waste time in 4/8. We are now 9 days away from Little Creek opening poker back up. I heard a rumor that they want to run 20/40 but I also heard 10/20 every Wednesday at 4. Plus a bunch of other rumors. I will report when I confirm what’s really happening there.
Today I make quad 5’s for a $75 high hand bonus. Plus a little money from the game we are +$212. Seat Open!
Got a message today asking if I would like my name on the 20/40 O8 at Dragon tomorrow at 4! Yes please! I’m told they are trying to make this game a regular game, like offer it daily! It did not run today but we look forward to it tomorrow! Stay tuned…

20/40 Omaha8 Red Dragon ~ Session #97: Monday.
We flip this day on it’s head. Leave the house at 7:30am and head over to preview for tomorrow’s auction. Why? Today at 4pm is 20/40 Omaha 8 up at Red Dragon.
The Dragon is a haul for me. It’s located in north Seattle.
So we flip it around and reverse it! Here we are…Red Dragon. 20/40 Omaha 8. Let’s go….
We have 2 tables in action. We are in the main game. I recognize only 2 players at my table and one of them is about the best O8 player in the state.
We don’t get to voluntarily play a hand for about the first hour. One hand we would’ve flopped top set and turned Quadzilla!!! But it’s in the muck KKxx. Happens. So far this is a snug table.
Soon a pot developed where I’m in the cut off with AA2 and a dangler 9. Raise. It gets 3-bet and capped 3 way action. I flop the nut low and of course have Aces for high. I get checked raised! Turn is a 10 and river 10 to give us nut low and Aces up. Good for 3/4!
Not much happening. This is, after all, fairly snug.
Red Dragon is kind of a dump honestly. The building and property that is. The staff are all great. It sits on Hwy 99. Just seems, I don’t know, dingy. The staff are very helpful. Do a great job. Let’s see how often this game runs. Will play it again. Hopefully on a different day. Monday nights are difficult for me. Tuesday is an auction day and have to be up early.
End up cashing out after just 2 and a half hours. Shout out to @desnoquo ! Great to meet you. Give him a follow on Twitter you guys. Headed home +$631. Until next time

No fun ~ Session #96: Poker stopped being “fun” for me a long time ago. I want it to be. It is, after all, a game. A competition yes but still a game. I’ve met some lifetime friends thru this game we play. Met celebrities, sports stars and every day heroes. How do I enjoy this again? Or do I?
Thursday morning. Palace. This game is crazy today. Seat 1 older Asian lady, seat 2 Uber driver, seat 3 Little Creek player, seat 4 ancient Asian lady and odd ball player, seat 5 mouthy older guy but fun player, he means no harm, seat 6 pretty Asian lady, seat 7 is us today and seat 8 solid player and regular. Let’s go….
We immediately get word from Little Creek player that yes, the opening of the poker room has been pushed back. August 5th now. Will be running 10/20 Omaha8 every Wednesday at 4. Perfect! The return of the creek and 10/20 is just what the doctor ordered. So sick of Palace. Truly am. I will still play there on occasion but to have other options…fantastic! And again to have a place where I play I earn comps, yes please. Speaking of options I just learned that Red Dragon is running 20/40 Omaha8 Monday at 4. I am going to try to make it. Monday 4 up in north Seattle could be tuff for me.
Back here at Palace the pots in this game are getting close to $600. Not even kidding. Then we loose the live one and pots are under a $100. No way to catch up now. Damn. I’m stuck. I’m not even mad or tilting. I just smile. How. How do they play terrible and get so lucky? One hand I flop Broadway! There are two hearts so of course we pile chips in. No flush came in but a back door low does and this lady (new to the game) has some odd ball low for half my pot. Ugh. Gross.
There’s a lot going on locally in poker. A lot to look forward to. I will keep you posted.
Next? Maybe tomorrow at Palace. Maybe not. Gotta go scout out an auction in the morning. Hopefully then I need to stay to buy units. If it’s junky we fly up to Palace. Nothing over the weekend but hopefully Monday…20/40 O8! Let’s crush it. Time to hit God mode.
Today we hit a $100 high hand but lost, again. -$400. Yikes. Not a problem though. Playing well just getting very unlucky…happens. Variance is high in this game. I certainly didn’t play perfectly tho. Mistakes made? Yes. We will adjust, adapt, overcome!

Wrong Direction ~ Session #95: Downswing again? Sure feels like it. Running so so bad. Seriously. A blind guy could play better than me the last couple sessions. Ok maybe not play better but do better. Actually happy with my play and mental game. But would be great to get a good streak going again. Have you ever ran so bad it makes you gun shy? That’s very bad. Each hand is individual or independent and should be played correctly. But when whiffing every draw sometimes it may be smart to pump the brakes. Speaking of playing bad…I really should be able to make my living in that O8 game. One hand I have QJJ9. Big blind. We see a flop of 4 J 8! Top set plus a gut shot. Check. There is a bet and a couple calls. I go ahead and raise it now as there is no low yet and there are two spades. Turn pairs the 8! I get in a check raise again! River Queen so no low. Keep chasing those lows for half. Please.
The home game was a wreck for me. Absolute disaster. We have a player in who is one that bets or raises every time. If you check he bets, if you bet he raises. A real Chip burner. Again caught in the crossfire. Sometimes it absolutely can not be avoided. I had a plan this time. Just hand him all the rope he needs. Tonight’s game is just off. Players just blowing chips in getting to showdown and see who wins. Not poker. Most games are split pot games that are extremely difficult to scoop. Drawmaha being one of them. We play 5/10 with a cap being a bet and 4 raises. So in the big bet rounds $50. And it’s $50 a majority of the time. Crazy action. Fast and loose. Tonight I’m just not feeling it so we bail early. Go home and kiss my boy Rocco and hit the hay early. Rise n grind we going to play Omaha8!!! -$300 in home game. Ugh…..

Mix Game Fun ~ Session #94: Wednesday. Again the auction is a joke in terms of quality of vehicles. I’m out. Run a quick errand and…
Palace. First order of business breakfast of course.
Tonight at 5 is my home game. 5/10 mix. Looks like 6 handed tonight and I hope it stays that way.
After breakfast, always fantastic, the O8 game has 7 players but hasn’t fired by 10:30. We tell the floor to start the game short. If it doesn’t fire soon I will head out. List is now full. Let’s go….
Seat 1 is a guy who hasn’t played for a bit. Was a regular O8 player. Seat 2 is us again, seat 3? Seat 4 retired Muckleshoot dealer, seat 5 Korean solid dude, seat 6 old solid white guy, seat 7 another solid and in 8 old man Bill.
Another slow start this morning. Chop pots. Chopping doesn’t make money. Sometimes actually lose. One interesting hand we hold A456 with nut spades. Flop is 9…66! Bingo! Villain just sat in like 10 minutes ago. We’ve seen him before. Loud mouth and very aggressive. We’ve got the right customer. Turn … Ace! River… Ace!! Aces full, Mike. He shows us Aces full of 9’s. Hmmm. Ok. Nice hand. Last hand we play AKQJ. Badugi. Flop is 9 10 Q! Flop the nuts! Turn Q. Ok. We have a Q and three overs. Let’s hit one of our kickers. Nope. Outran by Q 10. Seat Open!!!
-$200.
New day tomorrow….
Wait. Tonight! 5/10 mixed home game! Let’s go….

The passing of a poker legend ~ Session 93: Although I never met Layne Flack I saw him many times. 52 years old is obviously way to young. RIP.
Today, Tuesday July 20th. Auction is dead. Only a few rigs we are interested in so I submit proxy bids on line and see the Omaha game hasn’t started yet. Hit the road and find Palace unusually quiet today. Only 3 tables in action and open seats. 5 names up now for O8. Again, can’t figure this game out. Usually on Tuesday the fires by 9:30 or 10.
Grab a seat in 4/8 hold em. Play AK suited A7 suited. AQ off. I’m down of course in this game with those hands. Miss a flush draw when I flopped a 4 flush. My big blind next hand and they call down the Omaha game! Let’s go…
Today’s line up…seat 1 ancient white guy, seat 2 is us today. Had 8 locked up but Bill needs it to be able to see the board. Seat 3 not claimed yet, seat 4 is our man Slim, seat 5 is nose picker, seat 6 retired Muckleshoot dealer, seat 7 Asian lady and 8 as you know already is Bill a solid old white guy.
Seat 3 fills in but opens back up. Zero names on the list. I think this game breaks early today. Treading lightly today. And it’s one of those days I just can’t gain any traction. None. No matter what I have. So I play slow and tight. I have an appointment at 4 about an hour away from here so not my day here we say… Seat Open!!!
Happy I remained patient and didn’t tilt off chips. Today -$88. Not bad, could’ve been much much worse.

Check it at the Door ~ Session #92: Is it really that difficult? Just be kind. Be humble. Check your attitude at the door. No place for it here. We all play a lot together. What do you think you gain by being a jerk? Seriously. If you lost a hand there will be more opportunities I promise you. And news flash…Aces are overrated in Omaha.
Hand equities, pre flop, run so tight together in Omaha. Seriously. And after the flop I’m probably a favorite even tho you hold Aces. This isn’t hold em. In hold em you can have your opponent “dominated” not so in O8.
One of my biggest leaks in my game is giving to much credit. Today I raise pre with 23AA single suited. I flop top set but there is also a 3 on board. By the time we get to the river it’s an ugly card for me…4. Doesn’t pair the board and now a wheel is certainly possible and I’m never scooping. Check. Now we have a new shooter. Guy that has called down all the way bets. Next guy snap calls. Fold. Goofy says 2 pair and other dude shows a low. No one had the nuts. Oops. I guess I call there for one single bet?
If you’ve played poker with me you probably remember. I’m usually the absolute quietest player there. I don’t want you to even notice me. Until I’m leaving with your chips. And I shouldn’t take it so hard really. I don’t want your respect, I want your chips! +88.
Saturday I’m invited to a friends place for party and annual poker tournament. No Limit hold em, deal ourselves and 85% of the participants haven’t a clue. I know what to expect goin in. Just fun. Lots of fun. Win or lose. We have 16 players total, pays 4 spots. We are completely, totally card dead. Look at a cheap flop in position with pocket sixes. Flop comes KQ3. There is a bet and a raise. Obviously fold. Turn card….6 of course! Lol. Would’ve made a boat and a huge pot. Oh well. End up busting 6th and dealing the remaining tournament. Afterwards a few beers, food and the UFC fights. Actually enjoyed myself.
Sunday. Home the rest of the weekend. Watching poker, golf and doin chores. Of course getting my 2-a-days with Rocco. No poker until Thursday now. If at all. Flying to Vegas on Wednesday the 21st!
Stay cool and thank you for reading.

Short Stack ~ Session #91 : Palace. Friday morning.
I get pancakes for breakfast. Short stack. The best pancakes. And for poker players it’s $2. Seriously. $2 for 2 of the best, biggest pancakes.
Today the Omaha8 game fires at 9:15. Today’s line up mostly the same. Seat 1 goof ball 60ish white guy, seat 2 an old guy that has never played O8 with us but Is a Palace regular, seat 3 Uber driver, seat 4? Seat 5 middle aged Asian man, seat 6 Korean guy and super solid player, seat 7 Little Creek player, seat 8 is us today. Let’s go….
Today we start ice cold. Whiffed draws and a few chop pots. The object, to make any money, is to scoop. We are looking for scooportunity! Lose the first rack. Buy another. Now it’s a slow, steady climb up until….KJ10 and a dangler…4. It’s suited up to my King so we try to see a cheap flop. Not happening today. Seat 4 is overly aggressive. Especially for this game. He straddles. Good. He raises dark. Great! We see a flop multi way of J A 8 Badugi. The turn? Off suit Q!! We make the nuts! Seat 4 firing away. Raise! Everyone flat calls to a river 10. Really changed nothing. Someone could have Broadway with me. But no low. Bet. Get no callers. Not one. This is a nice pot! Turns out it’s my “go home” pot. In just a tick over 2 hours total we go from stuck $200 to up $153! So, we say…. Seat Open!!!!
Home early on a Friday feels nice. Made homemade BLT’s for lunch for my girlfriend and I and of course extra bacon for Rocco. Marie Calendar’s Turtle pie for dessert and a walk for Rocco. Now watching PokerGo 50k players championship. Again.
Next up…??? Palace again next week at least 3 days. Let’s keep the streak going! Have a great weekend…

85 Days ~ Session #90: Thursday. July 15. Palace. Game fires at 9:33 today. Glad I was here early.
Today’s line up…seat 1 ancient white guy, seat 2 is us again today, seat 3 Uber driver, seat 4??? Seat 5 rude dude, seat 6 old white guy, seat 7 same, seat 8 older Asian lady. Let’s go….
We hit our $100 right about noon. Going to leave but immediately make a high hand. Must be present to collect. We talked about this yesterday with the poker room manager. Don’t have to be in the game but must be in the building. So we hang tight. Go on a nice run and going to leave. While waiting to be paid the high hand money, we make Aces full! Can’t leave. It’s $100. Now we go on a heater. I fold J 10 4 6. Flop is 4 4 6. So yes, certainly a heater. Love it. We have at least one guy on monkey tilt. This, is a good game. End up making a 3rd high hand but it doesn’t hold. With about a minute and a half to go a player gets runner runner to crack us. Seat Open!!! With 2 high hands and a heater…. +$612!!!
Next up? Doin it again tomorrow!!!! Stay tuned.

87 Days ~ Session #89: WSOP for me in just 87 days. Comin quick. I can’t wait. I’ve been rewatching a lot of 2019 WSOP events via Poker Go. Most recently the 50k players championship. This is very interesting to watch because it’s played as 8 game mix. That’s the event I’m targeting except a $1500 buy in. Might as well watch the best play it.
Tuesday. Auction day. Not a lot here I’m looking for unfortunately. I submit some proxy bids and head to Palace. We are 9th on the list for an 8 handed game. Hopefully someone recycles and we get a seat. If not, oh well. Head home and get some stuff done and walk Rocco. At least I can have breakfast. Starving.
There is a dealer here today from Little Creek. (Playing here not working here) we sit and chat over breakfast. A lot of ideas in the works. Wait and see what becomes reality. One idea, that I love, is 5/10 7 card stud! Yes please. The new manager is from Muckleshoot. They ran 20/40 Omaha8 every Saturday. He wants to do that at the creek. Will it fly? In my opinion only if he’s able to convince his old player base to make the drive down. Also this dealer informed us opening date of August 1 will probably have to be pushed back. Dealers need to renew all their paperwork and licenses. Probably not ready to open by August 1. Then it may be a month or so before before any of these great ideas are finalized. Need to see what the players will actually show up for. Will be more difficult in winter months just due to the drive. I, for one, can’t wait! Bye bye Palace! Seriously. If I’m going to spend hours I might as well earn…comps! Right?
In between hands I checked my e-mail. Very unusual for me. There is an e-mail from Alaska airlines. My flight in 8 days …. I said 8 days from now is canceled and they want to put me on a flight at 8:35 am. No. Can. Do. Flat canceled. No big deal. 87 days. Let’s go…
We do get a seat but have the absolute worst shit happen. I will save you the boring details at least till I can process it all. –$300. So gross. We will get em next time!

Playing with Pros vs playing with Joes ~ Session #88: Question: would you rather play with poker pros or average Joes?
I recently have had this conversation with multiple people. For me, I want to play with good players. They don’t necessarily need to be pros but I do better against better players. The guys playing every hand seem to drag me down. I need to stick to my game.
You see, I’m my own worst enemy. The only person I fear at the poker table is the one I see in the mirror when I wash my hands in the restroom. If I can just get past myself I might improve as a player and as a person. Feed the Beast, starve the doubt!
Yesterday I was off my game. Played horrible. How many of you can admit when you do? Do you recognize it or caulk it up as bad luck and or run bad/variance. That certainly does happen. But in order to improve I have to be brutally honest with play. I’m super lucky to have gotten back my losses plus a bit and call it a day. That was the right thing to do. You have to know when it’s time to go home.
Friday morning July 9th. Arrive for duty at 9. Hard hat? Check. Pick axe? Check. Let’s get to work.
Today’s line up all familiar. Seat 1 is a guy we have played with a bunch at Little Creek, seat 2 is us again, seat 3 Uber driver and solid same player from yesterday, seat 4 middle aged black guy and ok player, seat 5 retired Muckleshoot dealer, seat 6 older Asian lady, 7 old white guy, and in 8 is solid Korean dude. Let’s go….
Start off with whiffed nut draws. And a few nut nut draws as well that miss. Why wouldn’t they? Should be up $200 instead of stuck already. And now, once again, they are salty AF. I have again a nice double draw. Hit low and high on river but not nut nut. Seat 3 shows a pair of Aces and starts talking trash. Then he says I’m just trying to show you that you were beat. Lol. No you’re not I exclaim. You’re berating me and I don’t appreciate it. He laughs out loud. These poker coaches at the table I tell ya. Then we make the nuts on the turn with no low possibility ever on this board. Bet. They all call. River changes nothing. As I bet I say out loud if you have it with me call and we will chop and play the next hand. A player raises! What in the actual. These guys are bizarre.
Now I flop the nut flush. Check raise. He 3-bets! Now I know he has top set. Without a doubt. Board never pairs and he pays us off the entire way. Lol. He says I have to pay you off cause you’re a bad player! Told ya these guys are salty. How freakin rude tho. Dealer says or does nothing. Fun times. I just smile and say “I gotcha right where I want ya!”
This is a day that has me questioning what am I even doing? I’ve thought about not playing poker up here anymore. Save it for Vegas. Such a better experience. Dealers and players alike. But now with Little Creek comin back on board I’m in. I have word from a friend that is now officially an employee of Little Creek poker room that they will be spreading 10/20 O8!!!! Oh yes please. If I only play locally once a week it will be that game.
So, lots to look forward to. I can’t let those mouth breathers at Palace ruin my day. It’s amazing to me that they don’t recognize that I’m walking over to the cashier cage with racks more often than not. F them. Not today unfortunately. As I mount my comeback I have obligations and simply have to go. Seat Open!!! -$260 today.
Missed my goal for the week but didn’t go down without a fight, almost literally. Lol. Have a great weekend. Next up? Home stuff, work, adulting. Probably no poker for close to a week if at all. Vegas on the 21st, Little Creek opens on August 1 so might skip Palace for a bit. Oh wait, almost forgot I did make one of the high hands for $100 bonus! So -$160.

Caught in the crossfire ~ Session #87: Interesting Razz hand from last night. The bring in is a Jack. A player who has a 3 of diamonds completes it and then there is a raise. The player with the worst hand three bets it! Huh? Thank you? I wasn’t involved in this hand but seriously. What the. I don’t care if you have A 2 in the hole. By the time you have been dealt 5 cards the best you can do is Jack low. The more interesting part is all players caught face cards and nobody folded. I might need to loosen up a touch. Lot. Of. Action. A few times I do have a strong hand. I’m drawing to the wheel in 2-7 with only having to draw one. If I can find a deuce I make the wheel. Raise. That same player from the jack low razz hand 3 bets. Let’s go…..
Remember our boy “Chip” ? I named him that for Chip burner. Not only their chips but sometimes mine. Caught in the crossfire with a strong hand. Blessing and a curse. If you drag the pot it’s nice. If you whiff? Well…it’s a rebuy game. The lightning in a bottle has to run out for them eventually and typically these type of players do not know when to apply the brakes.
Thursday morning. Palace. Arrive early. Probably to early it appears. Plenty of time for breakfast. Need to fuel up because we have work to do.
Speaking of work. Had a fantastic day yesterday at the auction. I bought 5 rigs. Haven’t done that in over a year! Prices finally coming down. Hopefully they sell a bunch over the weekend and I can do it again next week. For now, side hustle….poker! Omaha 8. Palace.
By 10am there are 11 names up. Hopefully the game fires soon.
Today’s line up…seat 1 ??? Old Asian dude, seat 2 is us again, seat 3 is a good player who we haven’t seen for a year and a half, seat 4 our man Slim, seat 5 retired Muckleshoot dealer, seat 6 older Asian lady, seat 7 ancient white guy, seat 8 middle aged black guy and decent player.
Very first hand we make quads!!! Quadzilla first thing. A seat opens up and seat 1 moves. New player in seat 1. Never seen him before in my life. Older, big Pacific Islander. Nice guy. Not a clue on Omaha. Welcome. Here we go again tho. Chip burner. Ugh. Let me make a few hands please. Impossible to read. Playing any and all and overly aggressive. Goes to the river. If he’s in he’s in. Never folds. He goes broke for about the 3rd time and is gone. The guy to take his spot ? Nose picker. Flynn and Ollie I’m sure remember him. He is wearing a mask. Fine. But below his nose. Wrong! Hey Buddy, it’s been over a year. Wear it correctly or not at all.
This table is out of control. Players calling with any old thing. They, will not, be bluffed! Lol. Lady calls with 3rd flush on a paired board. Perfect. Keep calling with garbage please!
Today finds us ice cold. So cold, in fact, I have to fold my rivered full house. Runner runner straight flush the villain had. I see it but it would require specifically the 5 7 of diamonds. I check. There is a bet but now the first position who checked it raises and he is shaking like he needs a fix. Easy fold. Yes, he of course has it. How am I running?
Today I actually miss the plexiglass. Players are salty and verbally abusive. This is no fun and not at all what I had planned.
After being stuck heaps, I make a nice comeback to include one high hand. So enough is enough today….Seat Open!!! +$120. I’m actually happy about that. Back at it tomorrow.

Heads Up ~ Session #86: On Tuesday at Palace 4/8 O8 I have ABCD (A234) Badugi (all different suits) and I am UTG (under the gun or to the immediate left of the big blind) Raise! Folds around to the big blind who calls. Heads up. We see a flop of 5 Q 4. BB checks. I bet. Do you agree with this line so far? I never check here, do I? Multiple players in I think so but never heads up and especially against a blind. We get to showdown and he starts yapping about how I bet with nothing. I tell him next time you’ll remember that. Next time you will think “oh he’s just betting a low draw” Next time. Hopefully I have him set up but he already went broke twice in an hour so I don’t think I need to worry about it.
Wednesday. July 7th. Up at 5:33am and on the road by 6:01. Busy work day. No Omaha today at Palace. We do, however, have the 5/10 mixed home game tonight at 5!
Tonight same line up. Let’s get some good tickets.
2-7 I have a 1 card draw to the wheel from the start. 3 way action. They are drawing 3. I end up after the 3rd draw with a 7 high straight. They both check so obvious bet. They both fold! I don’t show or say a word.
Razz. I love razz! Is anyone any good at Razz? I mean besides Hellmuth?
Omaha8! As you know one of my favorites!
Bomb pot hold em. I loathe this game.
Razzdugi. Love it. I make the nut Badugi. A234 but can’t make any better low than a Jack. FML.
Stud 8! Now this is my absolute favorite! Love Stud8.
Baduecy…what can you say?
Drawmaha….ugh. Really don’t care for it. Seems hard to scoop. I want to scoop in order to make money.
Fairly mellow night. Nothing exciting to report. Razz is super action. These guys are the worst Razz players. If you follow me on Twitter @dave_has_aces then you saw the photo I shared. Should just be able to print in this game. Seriously.
Trying to decide if I should stay in this game or not. I guess I better. The good definitely out weighs the bad. I’m in. I may miss a week tho. Flying to Vegas on a Wednesday in 2 weeks. This game has been every 2 weeks on a Wednesday.
Need to cut the grass tomorrow morning while it’s cool and leave time to get to Palace early so we say…Seat Open! -$250.
Next up…Omaha 8 Thursday AND Friday! We have work to do. A lot of work!

Feed the beast and starve the doubt ~ Session # 85: Ever read books by or listen to Grant Cardone? Currently listening to Be Obsessed or Be Average via Audible by Grant Cardone. I learned about Grant back in the 90’s. This is really good stuff. Most stuff I knew but this is a great reminder. A great refresher.
The main thing or reminder I get from this so far is….goals. Sound familiar? I think I may have become a bit lost. A bit blinded. Now back to basics. Back to bite size goals leading to a major goal. I know I can do this. I know I can. See I’m not afraid of failure, I’m afraid of success. No more.
Feed the Beast, starve the doubt.
No more excuses. No more bad beats.
I can do this.
I will do this.
Monday July 5th. The Omaha game at Palace is full by 9am. Crazy. They had enough on the list for 2 tables of O8 but I don’t think enough dealers and or tables available. We will try again tomorrow. Today I need to preview cars for the auction tomorrow.
Got a text from a friend of mine in Vegas at about 2:40am. He played the HORSE tournament at the Orleans and took it down! First place! Wish I was there with him. He and I always swap pieces. Always fun playing poker with him.
I check the list again via the app on my phone for Palace. Omaha game broke already? How? Strange. It’s only 1:30. Had a list of 11 names by 9:30 this morning.
Tuesday. Auction day. Keep an eye on the list for Palace. Maybe get to play a bit today. We shall see. Tomorrow is the mixed home game again. Playing that.
Aaaand we are in. Have seat 2 locked up! Waiting on a breakfast order and ready to beat this game up! Let’s go…
Today’s line up isn’t so tuff. Seat 1 a middle aged black guy and ok player, seat 2 is yours truly, seat 3 retired Muckleshoot dealer, seat 4 old white guy and odd ball player, seat 5 Asian lady, 6 same, seat 7 is the Korean guy who is super solid, seat 8 old goofy guy.
This day finds us running good and playing good. Per our goal this week we leave after just an hour and a half. I actually have a few things to do still today for day job. And now the major hiway from I-5 down to the Auburn valley is closed due to a truck fire. Wish I was still playing poker. Today +$206 and Seat Open!!!
Thank you for reading. Stay safe. And remember…Feed the Beast, starve the doubt!

Locked out ~ Friday. July 2nd. Slept later than I usually do. Up at 8. Shower, make the girlfriend breakfast and coffee and take Rocco for a walk. Now that the weather is cooler we are getting back to 2-a-days. One walk in the morning and again in late afternoon or early evening.
On the road by just a tic after 9 am and check the list for Palace. 6 name’s already? Back to 8 handed but we are locked out. 45 minute drive with only 2 spots left. Not waiting for a seat. No thank you. We pull a U-turn and call Steve. Steve is one of if not my best friend. He is the one I go to Vegas with. I tell him we will meet up with him at All Star.
All Star Lanes and Casino is a bowling alley with a card room upstairs. 4 poker tables and blackjack and what not. They are back to running NL hold em tournaments in the mornings. Haven’t played a NL tournament for over a year. This is just a $30 donk fest. $10 add on after round 2. All Star is only about a 15 minute drive from home. They have a cash game but just 4/8 hold em. I think I will pass. But we will take a crack at the donkament. Only 2 tables this morning but all players we know. This is a turbo. And in the first 3 rounds we have but 1 playable hand. Seriously. One. Then we pick up A 9 suited in diamonds and sneak a peek at a cheap flop. Get a piece but not good unless we improve more. Correct fold here. This is frustrating at best. Time to Chip up or Chip out. 12 minute rounds.
Aaaand I’m out! That was 10 handed if I didn’t mention that. 10. So stupid. Not doing that again. 10 players at a table makes for an uncomfortable experience. Hard pass. And what a reminder of my love for mixed games. Not interested at all in hold em any more in any shape, form or format. Time to grind my roll up before WSOP. No time to gamble. Leave that to the others.
4th of July weekend. Staying home. Today certainly wasn’t what we had planned. Wanted to play O8. It’s ok though because I’m sure that drive this afternoon will be challenging. Holiday weekend and I live in an area where a lot of folks will be driving to or at least thru. Happy to be home. Stay safe everyone. Let’s all still have 10 fingers on Monday.
Next up. Grind O8. Going to try to put in at least 4 short sessions next week. As soon as I’m up $200 I’m leaving regardless of the how good the game is or how much or how little time it takes. So short term goal is 4 sessions $800. Let’s go…

No More Plexiglass~ Session #84: Session It’s gone! Back to normal. Almost. Still not doing call ins. Why? Don’t know.
Wednesday June 30th. Today I thought something was wrong with their computer or app. 9:35 and zero names up for Omaha. By 9:52 we have 6. But first, breakfast!
Also noteworthy is we are now 8 handed. Has been 7 and pre Covid it was 9. Back to 8 handed, no masks, no plexi.
Today’s line up is familiar. Seat 1 old talkative white guy from yesterday. Seat 2, yours truly. Seat 3 retired Muckleshoot dealer. Seat 4 goofy 60ish white guy, seat 5 is Slim a very nice older black guy and fun player, seat 6 ancient white guy, seat 7 same, seat 8 older black guy and ok player. Let’s go….
Today we make 2 high hands! The 2nd one was a Queen high straight flush with just a few minutes left on the clock. There were a few players that left and the players that came in were unknown to me. I went on a nice little heater. Then seat 1 has turned over players twice and now a complete and total Omaha shark sits down. Can’t remember his name but Muckleshoot regular back when they had a poker room. So now up a couple hundred plus high hand bonus money we decide to call it a day. Seat Open! +$180 plus HH $ of 175. So total today is +$355!
Feeling good again at the table. Confident. Including a fold I made where I had a King high straight. I just knew the villain had Broadway. Sure enough he did!
Speaking of….in Vegas at the Orleans I laid down a wheel. Let me explain. We are playing PLO8 tournament. Three of us see the turn. I’m on the button. Seat 1 and 2 are early position. Seat 1 (old white guy) bet close to pot on flop. Seat 2 flats. I opt to flat and spike the wheel on the turn. Seat 1 pots, 2 flats. I’m concerned of seat 1 might have a wheel AND a 6 high straight. I flat call. I’ve gotta be getting quartered at best. River pairs the board AND is the 3rd spade on board. Seat 1, all in. Seat 2 all in. I have them covered but not by a lot at this point of the tournament. I think I’m blasting those chips in to only get a quarter. I fold. Great lay down or terrible lay down? I was right. I was getting only a quarter. Is the pot so much I have to call?
Tomorrow, Thursday I’m taking the girlfriends car in for service so I doubt I play any poker till Friday. We shall see.

Heat Wave ~ Session #83: Crazy heat wave here in the PNW. Did nothing all weekend but sit in front of the A/C and study poker.
I feel kinda bad for not sticking to my schedule on the last Vegas trip. It was fun tho. I wouldn’t change or exchange that home game experience on Saturday for anything. Seriously. Playing with a multiple bracelet winner. And the stories. Incredible. That game is being moved to Resorts World possibly. Will keep an eye on it.
The week begins on Tuesday this week. Just simply to hot on Monday. Nice and cool this morning as we head over to the auction. Rough looking sale today. Nice thing is I’m able to submit proxy bids on the couple I’m interested in. That way I can play poker and work at the same time!
Palace. The Omaha list has been filling up early. I think mostly due to the heat. It may as well have snowed 3 feet. It’s the equivalent. People want to stay in for the most part. Today is no exception. Omaha8 list filled by 9:40am. Hopefully it fires by 10 or so. I have time before because of course I’m getting breakfast.
I’m a little concerned for next month. Palace is running a promotion…$499 high hands every 20 minutes. Hold em games only. That could ruin the O8 game. We shall see. Also Little Creek still has not reopened their poker room. Will be wanting to see if they run Omaha 8 every Sunday like they were. Triple time all day Sunday as well. And some of the worst O8 players.
Today the line up is different for the most part. Seat 1???? Older Asian lady. Seat 2 is us today. Seat 3 is the goof ball 60ish year old white guy. Seat 4????Old white guy. Seat 5???Older white guy. Seat 6 oldest white guy. Seat 7 older black guy who we played with before. At 55 I’m the youngest player at the table. Also the dealer???? New here but obviously has experience. Doing a great job!
It really was just a matter of time before seat 4 went broke. A real true calling station. Looked like he was having a good time tho. That’s good to see. Wish he reloaded but he left. Line up changed slightly. I’ve been fairly card dead and or getting counterfeit. Slow day so far but game is good. So good, in fact, I flop top set with no low possibility yet. J 10 4. Turn is a 5. River peels an Ace and player shows down 2 3. No other high equity on the flop and has to come runner runner. If they keep playing that way we will need to quit the day job. Another hand I make Aces full and lose to a steal wheel. Seriously. I. Did. Not. Raise. Next write up I will tell you about when I folded the wheel in Omaha 8. Yes on purpose. It was in a tournament.
High hands in Omaha only go until 4. I hit the last one of the day. Good for $100 bonus. So that’s enough…Seat Open!! +$220.

The Cooler ~ Session #82: There is actually a movie by that name but I’m sure you know that. Staring William H Macy and Alec Baldwin. If you’ve never seen it give it a go. But the cooler is real for me once again. Such is poker. Let’s see what happens today at….
Palace. Thursday morning. Up early to make coffee and breakfast for the girlfriend and see her off to work. She is the office manager at a middle school so another week and she is off for a month and a half. Hit Palace at 9:35 hopefully this game fires by 10:30 so we have plenty of time for breakfast. No temperature check at the door and no mask required. Plexiglass still in use. I’m hoping they take it down by month end. As far as Covid I don’t think it ever prevented one case any where. I ask the floor if they are back to accepting phone ins. No. Will they soon? No. Damn I miss that. Here comes breakfast. Hang on a minute.
Best breakfast $4 can buy. The food here is always good.
6 names on the list for a 7 handed game. Should fire shortly. Should fire now. By the time they get it set up another player or 2 will arrive. It’s Thursday tho and the worst floor person is on every Thursday. Waiting for a seat is the nut low. Now the floor probably doesn’t want to start O8 yet because most of the players on the list are in other games. 3 of them in the same game at the same table. That would break that game. I have maybe 20 more minutes in me. Maybe. Truth be told I’d rather just go home and hang with Rocco. Don’t threaten me with opportunity.
I forgot I scheduled an eye exam tomorrow. I’m eligible for new glasses so let’s do it. 2pm appointment so I don’t think I will play any the next few days. Weekend will stay home. Gonna be 100 degrees or so and that’s crazy hot for the Seattle area. Seattle itself has hit 100 only 3 times as long as they have kept records. Now it could hit 100 for 3 days in a row! Wow!
Game fires today at 10:37.
Seat 1 goof ball 60ish white guy. Seat 2 is us today. Seat 3 older Korean and super solid player. Seat 4 today a special appearance by an old poker buddy of ours. Seat 5??? Asian lady and unknown. Seat 6 retired Muckleshoot dealer. Seat 7??? Ancient white guy. Let’s go….
After a slow start we finally get warmed up. We make a small full house for high hand of the hour and it actually holds up! +$75 bonus. Next hour we make Kings full and it sticks! Another high hand bonus if +$75! Nothing real interesting in this session. All standard as the cool kids say. We have a birthday party tonight so we say….Seat Open! $220 from the game and +$150 in high hand bonus monies. So total on the day is +$370 and out by 2. Have a great weekend everyone! Stay cool!!

Post Vegas Depression ~Session #81: Anyone else experience this? I would be on a plane now if I could. Nope. Back to work. Back to reality.
Wednesday June 23. Home game. 5/10 mix. The line up is ever changing. Tonight, if everyone shows, we are going 9 handed. Ugh. I told them get an out button or 2. Let’s go….
8 handed. Tonight’s line up. Seat 1 is our host and solid player. Seat 2 is a guy we have played with plenty over the years. Overly aggressive. Good for us tonight I think. Seat 3 solid player and another we’ve known for several years. Seat 4 kinda a goof. He and I have never cared for each other much for some reason. Maybe it’s me. Seat 5 a tight player who we’ve known since we were teens. Seat 6 is us tonight. Seat 7, a new player to mix and way too aggressive.  He’s back!!! He blew off $400 last time! Seat 8 a gal who even tho a good player doesn’t know half these games! We start on Baduecy. Next was double board hold em. Initial night we did this as bomb pot. No longer. Next Omaha 8. Then 2-7 triple draw followed by razz, drawmaha, razzdugi and finally Big-O. And finally my favorite, 7 card stud 8 or better.
Tonight our normal dealer is unavailable. The dealer filling in is from Palace. He tells us no mask required any longer! I’m going tomorrow morning for O8. Shocker I know.
This game is actually annoying. Way way too much weed consumption by our dealer. And host. At the table. Contact high. I’m all for it just not right at the table. His house he can do what he wants, what he likes. I don’t have to play. The dealer tonight is busy socializing and getting high. It is a home game but c’mon.
We start off good. Seat 7 goes bust and reloads. But reloads short and doesn’t stay long at all. Seat open. Then seat 2 bails super early. What is going on? So 6 handed. Perfect for this mix.
Still running cold. Unbelievable really. I know it happens but this is almost cruel. I am drawing 1 to a wheel in 2-7. Raise obviously. All other’s drawing 3 and sometimes 4. I’m not kidding. I, of course, brick out. Why wouldn’t I? Big-O, well it’s big-O do I need to say more. You get the picture. We are now 3 for 4 in this game. Still profitable but dang. Just wonder if maybe I should just pass next time and not play. If I’m not enjoying it (and I am not) why play it?
Tomorrow, Thursday, headed to Palace. Masks no longer required! The past 2 days according to the app the game had 4 or 5 names as early as 9:30 and started no later than 10:30. I plan on being there no later than 9:52. Great breakfast and crack em in O8! Today we are -$250. Yuk. Mental game lately C – let’s work on it.

I’ve seen the future. It’s beautiful. No masks, no plexiglass. It is awesome! You Seattle Tacoma area poker players rejoice! It’s coming soon. And more rooms opening. IF they can find and hire the manpower.
Speaking of hiring…I heard from a very reliable source do not expect any cash games to be running this summer at the WSOP. Cash games and side action will be Bellagio, Aria, Wynn and the all new Resorts World. Resorts World? Yes! Big, beautiful poker room. I’ve seen video of it when my friend got a walk thru the other day. Incredible. Can’t wait. But why no cash games at WSOP? They always have great side action. Lack of dealers. Plain and simple.
My next trip to Vegas is booked for October 9th. IF I get to go. The ONLY reason I would not go is my girlfriend is experiencing some health issues again. She had a cat scan done. We will know more hopefully this week. If you’re new to reading my write ups she is a stage 4 breast cancer survivor. Stage 4. She beat it. Clean now for several years. Now we wait for test/scan results.
Trip overall was great. I actually like going to Vegas solo. I know a lot people there now. I can have my own schedule. Come and go as I please. I love Vegas. I do. I mean Vegas, not the strip. The more time I spend off strip with locals the more I love it. One day I will not be booking a return flight. When? Who knows. 5 days is not enough. I would go back tomorrow if I could. Just missed the money on the two tournaments I played. PLO8 and triple stud. $150 buy in, $400 buy in. Lost $200 in cash game. Won $600 back in cash game. (Fathers Day heater at Orleans) made $450 in blackjack (doesn’t count) lost $400 at home game mixed. (Playing with world championships so happy to pay for the lesson) Didn’t eat much and mostly inexpensive food using points or comps earned. Room comped. (Thru a great friend, not my comps) and if you’re reading this I owe you dinner. At least. Love you!
What’s next? Wednesday night 5/10 mixed. I already have an edge over all but one player and now with what I’ve learned, the coaching and advise I got, I will dominate. I’m excited. I’m going to Palace Thursday and Friday to get the money back I gave them to hold for me. Also for a great breakfast and to escape the heat. I feel like I got my confidence back. I feel ready. I’m comfortable again at the poker table. Great things coming! Let’s go…

Final day. Happy Father’s Day!
Home is where I want to be! Pick me up and turn me round. Guess I must be having fun.
Back to the Orleans. 8/16 O8.
I can’t play much better and run much worse. Or can I?
On the ride back to the Rio I heard stories of missed opportunities. Regret. Freddie had millions. Right when the poker boom hit and was all over TV. Already a WSOP bracelet winner he played mostly cash games. This guy has a huge personality and is absolutely loveable. At a time when Poker Stars was patching players up, he could have been a star. He also talks about not buying a condo about 12 years ago when at 60k a piece he could buy several, for cash. Imagine what they are worth now. This guy has stories for days including coming to this country as a refugee. Now a US citizen.
Sugar for breakfast! I love sugar for breakfast. Chips that is. Currently up a couple hundred today. Let’s go….
5 days in Vegas now feels like nothing. I certainly miss my girlfriend. And of course Rocco!
If you are coming to Vegas soon be advised. Uber is still an issue and requires masks still. A few cabs were declining customers without a mask. At one point I tried to get an Uber from the Orleans to Sahara. $79. They wanted $79. I could take a limo for that. Seriously.
Back to the action….I flop a wrap. Miss the turn. It’s a 2. I still bet. River pairs and I can see the villain shake his head as if to be thinking I can’t believe I missed. I bet but he tanks. Finally folds it. Bluff successfully in O8! Unbelievable. Usually they never fold when they should. Call any old thing.
We go on an absolute heater! Finally! It’s our day! Nothing really to report. When the heater was slowing I decided I’d had enough. Cash out, hop a cab to Aria. Wanted to try Posh Burger but closed just as I arrived. We do, however, run into The Trooper. I may even make it thru the editing process and be on an upcoming Vlog.
Nothing like Aria on a Sunday night. Love it to be my last stop before going home. We are off the airport in the morning…
Next up, I have seen the future! Also catch ya up on win/loss. Might start a blackjack challenge. Kidding that’s not included but I’ve hit n run blackjack! I lost money in that home game but gained some serious knowledge. Goodnight!

Private Home Game in Vegas : Saturday. Vegas. June 19th.
I’ve met some people in Vegas. Some cool people. Some fun people. A lot of poker pros. Some have become friends. One of them is a master mixed game player and is a poker dealer at Aria. He invited me to go play a mixed game today at Coaches house. Coach is a great guy. I met him some years ago at Wynn. He is running 8/16 mixed today and my dealer friend is picking me up this morning to go play with them. Curious to see who else will be there.
After getting my room key replaced I have to wait at least 10 minutes for an elevator. First world problem I know but that’s never happened at the Rio even during the WSOP. My friend picks me up and away we go. I really like Las Vegas. The more time I spend away from the strip and spend time with locals I love it.
Coach has a nice set up at his house. We are in the garage but even the garage has A/C, it’s own bathroom and of course fully stocked fridge. Full spread of food. Set up a TV and a bed and I could live in there. Just outside the door is a nice pool. Nice.
We are playing a full 12 game mix with great players. The guy on my right, Freddie, is a multiple bracelet winner. He is an absolute riot. Has us laughing till our guts hurt. Another player knew and played with Puggy Pearson. Our dealer is a top notch dealer from Bellagio. The stories I heard. Good times, hard times and bad times. The old days. So interesting. For a poker fan I was wide eyed, slack jawed. I can’t wait to go back. And I’m invited back. My money is good there anytime. Oh wait. Maybe that’s not good. Just kidding. Great group of guys and gals.
The game breaks about 10pm and Coach runs me back to the Rio. I am beat. Good night.

Vegas Friday: We are on the grind early today. Win our very first pot today at 7:44am. Let’s go…
Playing 8/16 Omaha 8 at Orleans all day. Hop a cab at 4:30 to go to Sahara and play mixed game. My personal favorite. Love mixed game. Today however the cards spit in our face. In one pot a player raises from early position and we look down at AA39 with the 9 being suited up to one of our Aces. Flop is 577. He bets it. We raise. Turn King. Good thing we make low on the river cause this clown was doing this with KKJ8. He should not even be in the pot from early position especially with a player (me) re-raising pre and raising flop. He sees me hand and says “oh, I got lucky” … ya think? A day of counterfeit lows and whiffed draws. Then on a hand just before leaving we turn the nuts! There is no low and we have the nut straight. Bet it for value…there is no protection here, it’s limit poker and there are 2 clubs on board. No one is folding a flush draw as big as this pot has become. A player behind us raises it! The river whiffs the club draw but puts a Queen up. We already have a Queen in our hand and now K J is the new nuts. We are good here and scoop a $500 pot!
In the mixed game I simply played way to many hands. In Stud 8 (pineapple style) I have split 10’s with a suited Ace (my discard was an 8) Make a set of 10’s and back into the nut flush. We correctly folded it. Player made Kings full. How am I running?
A poker dealer friend of ours (deals at Aria) shows up. Haven’t seen him in a couple years. He invites me to go to a home game tomorrow. 8/16 mixed! And it’s at a guys house who I’ve met and played with. So he is picking me up around 11:30am and this should be cool. I’m looking forward to this. Let’s hope the cards don’t laugh at me tomorrow. Home game in Vegas….stay tuned

Quadzilla In Vegas : Hello from the Orleans poker room! Today is Triple Stud Championship. $40k guarantee. 107 started this thing and we are now below 30. Pays 15 places. Min cask $1k. $10,600 up top.
A fairly tough field. Multiple bracelet winners in this. And they won bracelets in mixed games. A great player and poker author is in, Chris Wallace. He won $10k HORSE at WSOP a few years back. Ron Ware. Chip and Karina Jett. Frankie Odell. And others I recognize but don’t know by name. I have a table draw that’s good in terms of its one of the last to break.
I played well but not great. There are a couple hands that stick out. Remember I don’t get a chance to play this often and I’m learning. We are in Stud 8 and I have been dealt Kings down. Buried Kings. My door card (first up card) is the 7 of diamonds. The bring in puts me in great position to see the action. Folded around. My neighbor to my left has the 4 of diamonds as her door. At this point with the Antes and bring in I should either complete it or fold. There is an argument to be made for both. Fold? Yes. It’s Stud 8. Why get involved without a convertible hand? (A hand that can make a low and a high) If I’m going to get involved I needed to take the aggressive route. On 4th street (heads up now) we catch the Ace of diamonds and villain sees the Queen of clubs. I bet she called. 5th street I catch a low card but off suit. Now we can catch a low. She catches a Queen for a pair of Queens exposed. I bet and she raises. I re-raise and she is now all in. Cards on their back. She gets up, grabs her purse and is all but in the parking garage when she pairs her 4. Yuk. She makes 2 pair and we do not improve. No low. No 2 pair. No trips. My line on this was to trap. It worked but the trap snapped back on me. Again I think I should fold that right away in stud 8. It’s a trouble hand in 8. No need at that point to be involved.
I made another deep run but not deep enough. Pays 15 spots. Busted 22nd. Ran bad when it mattered most and every else caught whatever they needed against me. Is what it is. If I avoid a couple suck outs and eliminate a few mistakes I’m in.
As a consolation prize I had dinner with our good friends F&O! We hit one of my favorites. Herbs and Rye. Fantastic as always. They drop me back at the Rio and before bed I make a quick $250 playing blackjack. Lucky to have made that. Table was good but dealer didn’t bust when she should. So we call it a night.

Poker with Bracelet Winners: Hello from Vegas! Day 2? I landed yesterday at 3 so day 1 1/2?
Played PLO 8 tournament at Orleans. It’s a $150 buy in. There were known pros in. Bracelet winners. 141 runners to start. 15k start stack. Paying 18 spots. The 2 known pros? Chip Jett and Dan Heimiller. Before break Dan either busted or surrendered a small stack because his seat is empty. He re-entered and is now at my table with a new start stack. I’m off to a slow start but found a way to double up before first break plus some. Then I’m under the gun with A23J nut diamonds. Flop….AAA! Quadzilla!  I had limped in and obviously check. A player pots it! Yes! At least I got something out of it. Those are all the chips he is putting in unfortunately. Another time I see a cheap flop with 2357 on the button. Flop is 34 10. First spot pots. 2nd spot snap calls. Turn is the Ace to make us the wheel! Same action. We opt to flat call. Probably should have raised pot for value and protection. But, I really think I’m getting quartered. River pairs the 4 and it’s also the 3rd spade on board. Now action goes all in, all in. Uh oh. 17k to call. At the time I had about 26k. I’m not sure at this point that I even get a quarter. I think I’m loosing chips by calling off here. It’s either a great fold or I’m an idiot. I fold. Folded a wheel. First position I thought had turned a wheel and a 6 high straight. 2nd position maybe something similar. Folded a wheel. Crazy? Dumb? Good play? Terrible play? Weird spot. I end up busting just before the money. Pays 18 I went out 24th. Head held high tho. Happy with my play overall.
Today, Thursday, playing triple stud at Orleans! $40k guarantee. Let’s go….

Cancel Vegas trip? (June 16) No way, no how. Not this time. I was inches away from canceling this trip. Mainly due to the weather forecast. Excessive heat warning. I’ve been in Vegas before at 117•
I’m planning on pool time each morning and poker afternoon and evenings. The other factor is the girlfriend hasn’t been feeling well and is being scheduled for a biopsy. She has family in town all week so she won’t have time to miss me and I’m happy to be out of town and let her have time with them.
This is the trip I did as a birthday gift to myself. Originally booked Aria. My personal favorite. Canceled because I got a great offer from Encore. Canceled because a friend of mine got me a comped room over at the Rio. Say what you will but I like the Rio. I like being off strip. I like the pool. Usually when it opens at 9 it’s very quit for the first hour or 2. Especially during the week. Also I’m doing this trip solo and don’t really need a luxury suite. When the girlfriend comes with me then yes. That’s rare tho. She doesn’t gamble and couldn’t care less about Vegas. She just told me she wants to go with me next time. She has been with me for a WSOP trip. My first, 10 years ago. 10 year anniversary so I need to take her this year I think.
WSOP schedule finally released! Omaha 8 $1500 as usual is up front. Opening weekend. The problem I see is it collides with “The Reunion” and I predict 22k plus players in that. That means the place will be an absolute shit show. Long lines. Clogged hallways. 8 game mixed $1500 is on a Monday 10 days later. Want very much to play that. It’s on a Monday. 3 day event. Would miss my work week. Next up is a $1500 HORSE. That’s on a Wednesday at 3. Totally doable. Then on Nov. 10, again a Wednesday at 3 is $1500 Stud 8. So I’m thinking Oct. 13 for $1500 HORSE AND Nov. 10 for $1500 Stud 8. I will keep you posted.
For now we need to pad the available roll a bit. Alaska airlines is running a sale now. Seattle to Vegas for as little as $37! I need to figure it out quickly.
This trip starts with me hearing news that again had me almost cancel the trip. More on that next week when I have a clear picture. So other than that I work an auction for a limited time. Just down the hill from SeaTac. Drive up to Master Park and shuttle over to the airport. Sit in the Alaska lounge for just a bit pre-flight. Take off out of SeaTac was unusual for a flight to Vegas. We took of North. Over downtown Seattle before they pull the U-turn. Then brought us into Vegas hot. Never before have I landed going southbound. But all in all, good travel experience.
Get all set up in the room and zip over to Orleans for a $150 PLO 8 tournament. 141 players started. We are a few from the money……

Session #80 ~ Shake It Off: Back into some run bad. Happens. Also my mental game has slid way back. I believe a side effect of run bad. Messes with your head. Yesterday we make quads. Flopped a set, rivered Quadzilla and of course high hand. Only to loose it later to quad Aces. This one we had zero control over. Just bad luck as we sit and watch villain catch running Aces. Lol. Runner runner. He had only an Ace in his hand. So actually runner runner runner if there is such a thing. His opponent claimed he had a Royal draw. So this is going to the river no matter.
We gotta shake it off before next week. As you all well know tournament play is different than cash. Different mind set, different muscle set.
Did you get your Poker Go subscription yet? US Poker Open has so much great content on Poker Go. So much I can’t keep up. Currently watching 8 game mixed. Check it out.
Friday morning. Starting as usual. Iced coffee. My dog Rocco by my side. Poker Go airdropped onto my TV. Leaving soon to get to Palace for Omaha 8. This game has been a mixed bag as of late. Hopefully today we see the newer players again. Yesterday was all regs. Fairly snug. Old drunk guy has simply become a calling station. Note to self…take this fool to value town. Never ever run a bluff against him.
On the freeway to Palace. Stop for gas and I check the list. 10am and list is 7 names deep already. Still being dealt 7 handed so we are locked out. To close to turn around and go home. Most days at 10 there are next to zero names up. Again I miss how it was pre Covid. Call in and lock up a seat, game started at 10am sharp. I’m hearing Washington State to fully reopen at the end of this month. Let’s hope Palace starts accepting phone ins again. Way easier, especially when having to drive 45 minutes. Unless over here already for work. I added my name but I’m number 12. Put my name on 8/16 as well but you know how I feel about waiting. I really don’t mind not playing today. Can go home and do a few things and spend time with Rocco. Waiting on my breakfast order and see Omaha still hasn’t fired even tho there are now 13 names on the wait list. They could have 2 tables of Omaha 8 today. That hasn’t happened for a year and a half. Our favorite waitress here has been gone so long I thought she quit. We welcome her back and she tells us she had Covid. That means we were all exposed. I’m vaccinated for what that’s worth.
Another short session of run like poo. Pocket Queens into pocket 10’s and loose. Etc…blah blah….yuk. Why am I eleven here? Seat Open!! -$200. Headed home to walk Rocco and clean house. Get ready for Vegas!!!
Speaking of…anyone seen a schedule yet for WSOP??? Seriously thinking of playing 8 game mixed if they offer it at $1500 price point otherwise try to satellite my way in. I will impatiently wait for the detailed schedule to be released. If ya see it please tag me on Twitter. Thank you.

Session #79 ~ BIG Mistake: Still mad at myself for this one.
I have 2 pair. Heads up. Q 8. Board reads 8 9 Q. Why? My small blind.  I currently hold the high hand. Queens  full for just 7 more minutes and it pays me $100. Heads up against ancient old guy. Lately he has been outta line. A year and a half ago it was almost always correct to fold against this guy. Lately though he has been getting out of line. As they all have. But why not fold here? Fold and start playing very slow. Very slow. Earlier we had 2 minutes roughly in the clock and high hand is us. So we tank. Tank every decision. Fuck these guys. I owe them nothing. Now, on this hand holding two pair we almost fold. Why not? He could easily have J 10 for a flopped straight and we are drawing thin. Just fold it. Turn Jack of spades. Now there are two spades on board for back door flush draw. We could tank here for at least a minute plus before anyone says or does anything. I’m such a degen. See the river, why why why. How am I runnin? Villain goes runner runner straight flush. My mistake. Big mistake. Cost me my 2nd high hand for the day and my sanity. Fuck!!! Dumb ass Dave. Then old drunk guy (started drinking at 10:45am) is on his 3rd double Jack on the rocks after numerous beers and goes on a weird heater. To include calling down in a hand where he would normally fold. He makes the wrong end of a straight when we hold a set with a wrap. Of course we whiff. Why wouldn’t we? He’s fine until he’s loaded. Then he’s loose. Then he’s a loud mouth. Then he’s not nice. The cards he holds to river a straight by the way? Cards you’re not supposed to be playing in Omaha 8 especially all the way to the river. 8 9. In the words of Phil Hellmuth…why must I loose to these idiots? But I digress. Even when I’m winning it isn’t fun. Sorry. It just isn’t. My mistake. I almost left today after just an hour and a half. Hit n run style. I need to go back to that. Every time. $100 up and run. Fuck em. If we do that 30 times that’s 3k! Hey! Sounds familiar. I was happier playing less hours. No reason for me to pull a lot of hours. Palace used to do rake back and food comps. Used to. I have a job and responsibility outside of poker. Vegas in just 11 days…..
Monday. June 7. I have it so good. Don’t have to rush out the door. Get to ease into my day and start my week at about 10am. Tonight at 5 I’m excited to say is the return of my home game! 5/10 mixed game. This is a game that if it ran once a week that’s all I would play locally anymore. But since it’s inception it’s only fired twice. Difficult to schedule around people’s work and personal lives. I bought a set of Kem playing cards. As a gift for the host and have nice cards to use. 2 decks complete with cut cards. Last time we had a pro dealer. Hope he is there again. Game goes quicker with an actual dealer. Mixed is slow enough already.
Home game now. Dealer is here! 6 handed. In about 3 hours of play I’m up about $500. We play 5/10 limit but there’s an extra big bet round in most of the games we play. In Razz I’m heads up on 5th street with my opponent showing Aces. A pair of Aces. I bet of course and again on 6th street. He calls. 7th street I make two pair. I’m not going to win by checking. I bet. He looks at his 7th card and laughs. He caught another Ace!!!
I really enjoy mixed. In 2-7 triple draw I’m drawing one to the wheel from the first draw. Bet draw one. Whiff. Same action on 2nd draw. 3rd draw we make a pair of 7’s and it’s heads up so of course we have to bluff. Luckily our opponent folds! I want to show it so bad. No way. Not tonight. The line up has changed. The game has changed. The first couple of times we would openly show hands (after all action completed of course) and discuss ideas and strategies. With a couple different players in it’s still friendly for the most part but more competitive. Even with the dealer it’s still a home game with people smoking and joking. One guy runs down the hill to the store and on his return puts the bag in the middle of the the table during a hand. 2-7 triple draw and now I have no idea where we are, who drew what or what’s going on. There is a player here who has never played a few of the games. No surprise when we are playing razzdugi and Drawmaha. And this player is pure action. Blows thru $400 and leaves. Hopefully he will come back next time. After his departure it’s time for us to say…Seat Open!!! Have an early day tomorrow. Auction day. Hitting the road at 6am! Will be done by noon so it’s all good. Leave tonight +$400. Had a tuff run out in Stud 8. Drawing to a wheel and an Ace flush I end up with a 7 perfect for low. Run into a 6 low and he has AK for high. He scoops. That was enough. Good night anyway. Next up? Not sure honestly. If mixed home game runs I’m there otherwise probably nothing…..till Vegas!!!!

Session #78 ~ LAG Players: Speaking with a friend of mine in Las Vegas yesterday morning. He has been a regular at the Orleans 8/16 Omaha 8 game in the mornings. He tells me it’s crazy. Lot. Of. Action. It’s not uncommon to see $400-$500 pots. He mentioned he has the most difficult time playing against the players who play every single hand and hyper aggressive. I think the knee jerk reaction is to widen your game to try to catch them. Lately I’ve remembered a page out of the old hold em book that seems to work. Play opposite. If you see the table is loose play tight. If you see the table is tight play loose. I’ve tightened my range. Playing snug. Folded a garbage hand yesterday under the gun. Would’ve made a full house (bottom full house) with no low available and scoop. That happens in O8. You have to be able to get away from trouble hands immediately. I’m still learning. Always learning. Maybe some day I will be a good or at least decent player. There’s hope!
Friday! Let’s start the weekend early. Palace and by 10:15 am there are 9 names on the Omaha list! We have a seat locked up! Enjoyed some pancakes here this morning. Haven’t had pancakes in forever.
Start time today 10:30. Love an early start. However high hands don’t start till noon. Today’s line up very familiar…seat 1 same as yesterday middle aged guy we played with a lot but haven’t seen for a while, seat 2 retired Muckleshoot dealer, seat 3???? No idea..some old dude, seat 4 is older Korean solid male, seat 5 is old drunk guy, seat 6 is us again today and in 7 is a younger white guy from yesterday. He didn’t play long and went broke by calling down with a lot of #3 hands. Let’s go….
Why do players in this game bet when they don’t want to face a raise? I think, depending on my hand strength and possible outs, I’m going to raise the donk bet. I’ve noticed one guy betting on the come with a naked low draw. Say the flop is 76 10. He is first to act and bets with no plan B. No high equity just a naked A2. So if the turn is an Ace or 2 what then? What if he gets there but gets counterfeit on the river? What if he gets there and gets quartered? Just thinking here. What’s the correct line? Remember I’m not a fan of drawing to a naked low only with no high equity. Thoughts?
I’m thinking about not playing poker locally anymore. There is very little reward. No fun. So why do it? Save it for Vegas. The games here aren’t helping me I’m sure. They play so bad I’m worried I will no longer recognize good play. Plus most em are jerks. Seriously. 
At least a break here until Vegas. Only 12 days away. And then back to Vegas for the WSOP in October. I know a player who shall remain nameless from here who has crushed the Venetian tournaments and frankly we didn’t think he is good, at all. Shocked. What he has is aggression and no willingness to fold. Me? I make big lay downs in tournaments. Look where it’s got me.
Today we have some weird runouts. Flop a wrap with the nut low and the board runs out brick brick. We make a huge mistake and leave….more on that in the next write up! Pissed at myself. We make one $75 high hand. So total today is -$175. Till next time…

Session #77 ~ Garbage in, Garbage out: This is one of the first rules I learned in poker. Still holds true today and especially in Omaha 8. Occasionally, yes, you will get lucky. 95% of the time you are spewing chips. As my friend says…You gotta feed the donkeys a little hay once in a while.
Yesterday a dealer from Little Creek joined us in the O8 game. He says they are opening poker but only 3 tables, no tournaments and back downstairs where the room was like 20 years ago. No thank you. Hard pass. Unless they run Omaha 8 on Sundays again and it’s triple time. I will keep you posted. I do know they are hiring a poker room manager and looking to hire more dealers so I gotta believe this is an ugly rumor. They just had opened a new poker room some 16 tables deep. Newest, nicest room in the NW. Wayne, the director of the entire casino now, was the poker manager and a solid player himself and likes poker, supports poker. I don’t believe that’s the direction he is taking it. We will know soon.
After a couple days of near record heat here we get back to normal today. This morning is cool with the marine layer back in place. Feels nice. Feels like home. I love the desert, and as much as I think about living in Vegas or Phoenix area not sure I would be comfortable. I would adjust with a pool and A/C I’m sure.
Palace. 10am. Zero names up for Omaha 8. We are first and have time for breakfast. I’m hoping this game gets an early start again today. I talked with a couple of the regs and told them I would be here today at 10am. I figured they would line up to take my money.
Today’s line up… seat 1 a guy we used to play with all the time. He’s so so. Seat 2 retired Muckleshoot dealer, seat 3 60 year old goof ball, seat 4???, seat 5 empty currently, seat 6 is us today, seat 7 ancient white guy and usually solid. Let’s go…
Seat 5 just got filled and I’ve never seen this guy in my life. The first hand he plays is the first hand dealt to him 4 6 J J. Alright! This is what we want! In the first 4 hands the dealer deals 2 cards and stops. Annoying. Once ok. Beyond that?
Seat 4 has chips but no player for the first 15 minutes plus. It’s a loose, overly aggressive player (LAG) that is finally seated. He is the guy from the other day that would be mad he had to chop the pot when all he had for high was a 10 high flush and no low! He should be super happy to get any piece of that pot. Away we go. This guy is certifiably crazy. We think we recognize him from more than just the other day. He busts and rebuys. He flops quads ( borrowed a page outta my book ) gets $75 for the high hand and pumps it back into the game. He rebuys and is on tilt! Goes broke again and leaves the game.
We decide then and there we are leaving today at 2, win loose or chop. We are currently stuck by $250. We stick to our cut off time of 2 and….we are a winner!!! An entire $28. Lol. Feels bigger because we were stuck hard. Happy with my play. Absolutely. In one hand we flop a wrap with a Queen high flush draw. Turn the flush. We bet and ancient solid white guy raises. Fold. Another player calls him down with the Jack flush and of course ancient guy shows the nuts. Good fold by us there obviously. We folded a lot. Got counterfeit a lot today as well. No wonder I was stuck. Happy to come back.
Seat Open!! We rack it up and cash out. People in line behind us so we move over to the restaurant area to regroup. Put the money away, make sure we didn’t forget anything and what not. We see our seat 4 LAG finishing lunch. We say…see ya tomorrow brother! Wait, didn’t you play here when we were out in the tent?? He nods yes. Are you the guy that was ejected for an altercation with a player because he was talking shit to you? Yes. We say … well welcome back! This player is action action action!!! Has a envelope full of cash and ready to gamble. We want to stay friendly with him. Seriously happy he is back.
Today as mentioned above +$28. Back at it tomorrow, Friday!

Session #76 ~ To Be Determined: You need a PokerGo subscription. Do it. Do it now. Worth every penny. On Friday they released a documentary called…To be determined. I’m not a Matt Berkey fan or Solve For Why fan. To be discussed a different day on that topic. But this documentary was well done. It is an absolute must watch in my opinion. Check it out.
I’m now just 2 weeks away from another Vegas trip. I’m playing a few tournaments. I think I shared my schedule but….
Wednesday 6/16 @6 @orleans $150 PLO8 10k guarantee. 1 day event.
Thursday 6/17 @11 @orleans triple stud!!! $400 $40k guarantee 2 day event. Triple stud is 7 card stud straight high, stud 8 or better and razz!!! Really looking forward to this.
Friday 6/18 day 2 @orleans 1pm restart.
Saturday 6/19 @3 @venetian $600 Omaha 8! $50k guarantee 2 day event. Warm up event for me and hopefully pad the roll. If plexiglass is still up I might pass. I’ve heard from a great source that the dealers were terrible dealing an Omaha 8 event last week. Also only 40 minute levels with a 15k chip stack. Run cold for a while in that and it could be trouble.
Sunday 6/20 day 2 @venetian
Monday 6/21 fly home.
This trip I bought myself as a self b-day present. First class on Alaska airlines. A suite  at Encore! This should be a fantastic trip. Going solo. Have friends in Vegas and more friends that will be there as well but traveling and staying solo. Oh also with the Uber wait times I’m hearing of, I booked a Cadillac Escalade round trip from airport to hotel and back. This will be a nice trip indeed! Now to come home with a pocket full of cash!!!
Wednesday June 2. Auction day today. Started my day at 5:45. Hopefully able to hit Palace by 10:30. Made it and just in time. We 7th on the list for a 7 handed game. Grab breakfast and wait for them to call down the game.
Today’s line up…seat 1 is us today, seat 2 ancient white guy, seat 3 retired doctor, seat 4 solid black guy and friendly player, seat 5 is old drunk white guy, seat 6 older white goof ball, seat 7??? Crazy Asian looking dude. Let’s rock….
So seat 7 lives to straddle and we don’t mind a bit. If I have garbage I fold. If I have a hand raise! He burns thru 2 racks in about 4 hours.
We make a high hand with a full boat and it holds! Bonus of $75. Next hour high hand is worth $100. We flop Quadzilla!!! First to act bets into us. Flop is 477 with two hearts so I raise for value. Called in multiple spots. Low never gets there and we scoop!
Again a great game. Lots. Of. Action. We leave at 4 to go home and check on Rocco. Seat Open! +$175 in high hand bonus money and +$155 in the game. So +$330 total today! Oh and I bought two cars at auction in the morning! Life’s good!!!
Tomorrow….back to Palace for fun and profit! Stay tuned friends…

Session #75 ~ Drawing Dead: Last session the highlight was flopping quad Aces while also holding the 2 3 …. got em drawing dead. There’s nothing like getting there and still being no good.
The more I learn the more I realize how much I don’t know. I’m going to be making some changes in my game. Just a few adjustments. Number 1, fold when I have a low only draw. Even if it’s the nut low. It is just a draw and only for half if I’m lucky. If I have high equity and scooportunity I will proceed, otherwise fold. It’s amazing how often the nut low gets quartered. Number 2, keep my head in the game. Remain kind and humble win, loose or chop. If I’m not feeling it, cash out. There will be other days to play. Again way to much I’m seeing players very salty. It’s just not a fun session with these players. Why? Go home if you’re cranky or not enjoying yourself. Number 3, tightening up my pre-flop range. Looking to play hi/Lo hands that are by definition multi way hands. Ace with a couple wheel cards and a Broadway card suited. With middle cards you are giving away money. I see players make this mistake all the time. We want to capitalize on that. This is how we make money in this game. And Number 4, be more aggressive. Especially pre. Maximize our equity, which is minimal in O8, especially when you limp and let the blinds see a cheap flop. If I’m tightening up my starting hand range I want to build pots and get value.
Had a nice weekend mostly at home. Friday night my girlfriend put together a small group of friends to meet up with us for my birthday. We had a fun night. Saturday morning breakfast with her and my Mom. Then home doing chores, watching golf and hanging with my dog Rocco. Absolutely beautiful weather here all weekend.
Monday, Memorial Day. I think I will take the day off from both work and poker. The list at Palace has only 2 names up for O8. I think traffic coming back today will be crazy. The weather is amazing. Home with my dog for the win. Hard at it tomorrow.
Tuesday. Couldn’t have timed it better. Went to the auction, bought 3 units and hit Palace. I have a seat upon my arrival. Little different line up today. Seat 1, retired Muckleshoot dealer and super tight player, seat 2 is us again, seat 3??, seat 4 retired doctor, seat 5 old white guy ok player, seat 6 terrible reg, seat 7 semi reg, semi ok. Let’s go…
We see a couple pots that we would’ve scooped. 2588 we fold pre. Turns out we would’ve made the only low and only flush. That’s going to happen in O8. We didn’t have any where close to the nuts either way. Most of the time if we were to play that hand we are just burning chips. So good fold.
Seat 3 is bonkers. Hasn’t a clue!!! Welcome sir! Will you please play again?  We have played hold em with him years ago and he was terrible. Turns out he is even worse at O8! He is the small blind, no raise but several callers. He raises from the small blind with 6 8 10 J no suits and who cares about a J high flush anyway in this game. I seriously hope he continues to play Omaha 8.
These players call raises with 2458. Think of how bad that is. They don’t beat A2, A3, A4 or A5 for the low. And if there is a raise someone or multiple someone’s have that and better.
Now I’m dealt AAJ3. Raise. Several callers of course. Flop is AAJ! Quadzilla on the flop again! What are they calling with? Let’s just hope they keep doing that.
We make quads a second time today. A244. Flop is A4Q. Turn Jack. River 4 ball!!! Quads again!!!
I end up making 3 high hands again today! I play longer than I wanted but how can you leave this game? Seriously. If the game stays this juicy I may have to quit my job or at least take a leave of absence. Although today was the perfect mix. Auction in the morning, buy 3 units and poker by 11am! Sounds perfect! Absolute dream come true.
Need to get home so we reluctantly call it. Seat Open!!! +$275 in high hand bonus and +$233 in the game! Nice day. Total +$508.
Auction day again tomorrow and Palace again after. Let’s keep it rollin!!!

Session #74 ~ My Own Worse Enemy: Happy Birthday to….Me!!!
Oh wait, don’t much care anymore. Just hoping that the poker gods continue my birthday week super strong !! It’s been a great week. Long time coming.
Any one else? Worst enemy is yourself? I’m so guilty of this. Sometimes I even want a pity party. It’s more glaring at the poker table. I catch myself doing this still from time to time. Get beat by some junk hand that should not even be in and I think somehow I need to do that. No. That’s not my game. If I stick to my game guess what? Even if I loose I’m happier than knowing I played bad and lost.
Palace early arrival today to enjoy a breakfast. We are 4th name up before 10am. Good sign. I’m hopeful that we get back to a regular 10am start and you can call in to reserve a seat.
Today’s line up…seat 1 retired Muckleshoot dealer, seat 2 is us again today, seat 3??? (More on him in a minute) seat 4 a strange semi regular, seat 5 old drunk, seat 6 loose crazy guy, seat 7 is our old Korean guy who is one of the better solids. Let’s go….
Seat 3, who I’ve never seen before, sits down and raises every hand! Then seems mad when he has to chop with the low or vice versa. And we are ice cold so far this morning. Folding for the first 30 minutes or so. We find our first A2xx only to chop it. And so forth and so on. In our blind with the kill on we pick up 245 10 and see a flop of 445. Turn Ace and river 7. The 7 hit the loose player in seat 3. He held the case 4. We had em the entire way until he hits a miracle 7. Here we go….
Seat 3 played 27910 and goes running spades for just a 10 high flush and again is mad. Slams the table. He was behind the entire hand. He does win half with his bad flush. This is a good game!
Today though we are back to not allowed to win. It’s not run bad. Thankfully. It’s just missed flops and or counterfeit lows. So easy to fold post flop. It’s frustrating for sure but that’s how it goes some days.
The highlight of this session was we finally have AA23 with one suit. Flop….AAJ!!! Quadzilla!!! Flopping quads and who cares if a low comes in back door, we got it! Sure enough, we get paid off and get to say the best words in Omaha 8, nut nut!!!! High hand for this hour $100. But truly that’s it today. Can’t stay long anyway. So we say…Seat Open!!! -$300 but plus the high hand of $100 so total is -$200. Back at it Monday!

Session #73 ~ Flopping Quads: Thursday May 27th.
Should be day 1 of the WSOP. We should be there. No reason why I wouldn’t. Five and a half days off. EZ PZ.
Yesterday we declared the run bad over. No monsters under the bed. And lo and behold we had rags in our small blind, no raise so we look at a flop. I was questioning myself for doing this, even for one more $2 chip. My hand? 44Q10 with the Q and the 10 being spades. If we make a Royal it’s worth $499. No Royal possible on a flop of 4 4 9. Turn Q. Wait….we just flopped quads? Yep and of course check to the river.
A bit of run good certainly. I feel comfortable and confident again. Playing good, running good. May this continue please!
Arrive at Palace probably a tic too early. Was going to have breakfast but just not hungry. 5 names on Omaha list already. Hopefully we start early again. I was going to reserve seat 6 again but somehow someone locked it up already. Still playing 7 handed so 6 has become my favorite. Best view of the table and rest of the room. Today we will ask for a seat change button. I usually never do that.
The game has definitely been better. Some of the nits have either loosened up or I was off base. Yesterday I flopped the nut low. Turn was the 3rd club up on board and I have the key card. Ace of clubs. I check raise in this spot because no one can have the nut flush and by doing that I think we have fold equity even in this game. Seat 7, old solid white guy calls the raise and a river bet with 2 3 ….  of clubs. Worst possible flush and there is no Ace on board so he looses to A 2 AND A 3 for the low. These guys aren’t tuff or scary at all. The only thing that’s scary is me. I’m my own worst enemy. No longer. Learning and moving forward! Let’s go…
Some confusion this morning. Not surprising considering who’s flooring today. I look at the list to see what seats are locked up. I select seat 1 . Game hasn’t been called yet tho for start up. An Asian lady approaches and asks is this where Omaha will be playing? We confirm and she says she has seat 1. Not when I sat down, it was open. Floor didn’t look and see players already seated even tho the table is literally 5 feet from her. One thing I learned a long time ago, if a player wants a seat that bad, let them have it. Fish on!!!
Today’s line up…seat 1?? That Asian lady and unknown player, seat 2 is us today, seat 3??, seat 4 retired doc and fun player, seat 5 old goofy white guy. He is the dude playing hands like 9 10 Q 3. Seat 6 old tight guy, seat 7 old old goof ball. And more confusion sets in. A player grabs a seat who doesn’t have a seat. First hand in the air at 10:55. High hands start at noon.
Something is off here this morning. Not sure what it is. Probably the floor person today. Both dealers in the box have dealt 2 cards and stop. Multiple times. Then they start messing with their tray.? WTF. I know that we all make mistakes but multiple times? Then misread the board.
At 12:05 we promptly make a 9 high straight flush for high hand. (I know I know. It was my blind) It holds of course. Next hour is ours again! Two high hands. Then we have, again in our blind, A J 6 7. Flop comes A Q 7. Turn Ace, river……The case Ace for Quadzilla!!! 3 high hands!!! And we go on a run….
Today we stayed way longer than we wanted but what a juicy game. The action got absolutely fast and furious! I scoop a couple fatty pots.
Seat 1, by the way….Asian lady we let have seat 1, went broke. Rebuy. Went broke again and left. The seat we wanted before that, seat 6, never really got anything going and left. Seat 5, the goofy guy, well where do we start. Blasting off with nothing or no high at all just a low and getting quartered! Lol! Love it!
A little after 4 and up over our goal so we say…Seat Open!!! +$275 in high hand money and +$436 from the game itself! What a crazy day.
Tomorrow…my actual Birthday! Going to Palace around 10am. Stay tuned friends…
So total today obv +$711. I’m playing a short session tomorrow, have plans in the late afternoon.

Session #72 ~ 3 Strange Days and Poker Rumor: Actually 5 and a half but there’s an early 90’s song by the name 3 Strange Days. With Monday being Memorial Day I find myself with some time off. Friday is my Birthday. I’m at an age now where I really don’t care about birthdays any longer. Normally I would be flying into Vegas for opening weekend of the WSOP.
I heard it from a reliable source that Little Creek Casino is reopening the poker room next month. They are interviewing candidates for poker room manager and hiring dealers. Only 4 are returning. So we wait. Hopefully he is able to hire the people he needs. 4 dealers is at least 5 short to get back to where they were. 16 tables deep. Need a few part time dealers as well. With a new manager who knows what will happen there. Will the Omaha 8 game return on Sundays? Are Sundays still triple time? Will they run a regular tournament schedule as before Covid? I don’t think they will be ready next month unless it’s on a limited basis. I don’t think that’s a good idea. Open it with a full schedule, a variety of games and let’s go. I look forward to playing there again.
Today, Wednesday May 26th. Arrive at Palace at about 10:20am and with us there are 4 on the Omaha list. Good sign as it is still 7 handed max. Hopefully this game starts by 11. I know they say don’t be results oriented but I want results damn it!
Omaha 8 starts at 10:46. Played 8/16 limit hold em for about 15 minutes. +$33.
Today’s line up in O8. Seat 1??, seat 2 old white guy and solid, seat 3 retired Muckleshoot dealer, seat 4 retired doc, seat 5?, seat 6 us again today, seat 7 another old solid white guy. Let’s go….
This game is 4/8 limit with a kill. Kill we play it as 8/16. Game playing tighter and a bit more straight forward so far this morning. High hands start at noon. And lookie here…from our small blind we flop quads…Quadzilla!!!! High hand!! In the mean time we have some good scoops and our halves are ok as well. Never quartered today. We decide to lock up a nice win and go home to cut the grass and walk Rocco. So Seat Open!!! Out at 1:15 +$422! Good day. Back at it tomorrow…

Session #71 ~ Playing for half?: You Omaha 8 players know of which I speak…..
I saw this hand play out and it got me thinking.
Here’s the flop…..A 7 8 with two hearts. The low is there, will always be there no matter if it comes 2 3. He has no low, at all. High only and a draw only. We will get to his draw in a minute. Question is…..when is it correct to fold here? Always? It’s a draw. Draw to half and half only, never ever scooping. The way I understand it is the only way to make any money in this game is scoop. It’s a draw so what if he puts those precious chips in and whiffs?
The action pre was fast n furious. Capped. This player was voluntarily in with 9 10 Q 3. Now once he sees that flop in a huge multi way pot he is never folding. Now what if he gets there and has the same high hand as another player? Not getting half. Getting quartered. Oh and he did not have hearts. So now he is really drawing thin. Especially since I had the Jack of clubs.
Scoop. Play hands that have scooportunity. The opportunity to scoop the pot, hands that can easily make the nuts. We are looking for connectedness, suitedness and nuttiness. Takes a lot of patience. I’ve had a few sessions lately where I played way to loose. Time to get back on track. Let them gamble. That’s not for us.
Friday morning as I write this. Watching $10k Omaha 8 2018 WSOP via PokerGo and airdropped onto my TV. Enjoying iced coffee and time with my dog Rocco. Non poker day today as I have an appointment at 2:30 this afternoon. If the game starts at 10:30 I could get 3 hours in. I will keep an eye on the list. Hopefully the guy in seat 3 and 2 for that matter are back.
So just thinking about playing for half. It’s so easy to get quartered, especially on the low. It is difficult to scoop but the number 1 goal is hand selection. We want to put ourselves in position to make the nuts and have scooportunity. Hands like J J 7 8 might look tempting to see flops with but you will go broke playing stuff like that. If you make an 8 high straight that means a low is present and you’re getting half at best. Flopping a set of Jacks will only punish you. How bout a flop of 8 8 A? Great, right? Wrong! You will loose more often than win. Trust me on this. I’ve put in the hours playing and studying. I’m still learning, always learning, but that much I know.
So no poker Friday or thru the weekend. I’m missing my 5/10 mixed home game for sure. He says we will play again next month.
Monday finished with work obligations early and see that there are 6 names on the Omaha list and no game started yet. When I arrive to add my name they actually have 7 on the list, I’m number 8. They are still 7 handed max in this game so we may be shut out unless someone passes. That happens a lot. Most of those players are already in a game so we shall see. If I don’t have a seat I will just head home.
Just as we were gonna leave they start a game! Seat 1?, seat 2 old white guy and solid, seat 3 retired Muckleshoot dealer, seat 4 is the retired doc, seat 5??, seat 6 is us again today, seat 7 is a guy who we haven’t seen for a long while. If I remember he is ok at O8. Let’s go….
Well lookie here! Our old friend Chip joins us. Chip for Chip burner.
This is a good game. They are playing junk O8 hands!
Seat 5 is in a hurry to give away his chips. Most of the players in this are reckless to the point seat 2 and 3 leave. They are so tight I heard em squeak as they left.
In one fun filled hand we have AK35. Badugi. (No suits) flop is A4K with A4 both spades. We check as do all others to our surprise. We see a beautiful Ace peel off on the turn, Aces full!!! River is the 5 of spades. We had called out loud for the 9 of spades. Villain has 2 3 of spades for the steel wheel!!! F M L! We don’t do or say anything. What can I do? That’s right, put my hand in the muck and play another.
After 3 hours of play i need to go. Good game but Tuesday is going to be an early long day for me. Seat Open! +$158.

Session #70 ~ Fully Vaccinated: Good morning! Thursday May 20th. I had my 2nd shot of the Pfizer vaccine this morning at 9am. Took care of some personal business and now….
Palace for O8 torture, I mean fun and profit. Arrive just a tick before 11 and they started a game upon my arrival. Mostly same line up. Seat 1 retired Muckleshoot dealer and overly tight player, seat 2 solid old white guy, seat 3?, seat 4 retired doctor and fun player, seat 5 old drunk white guy, seat 6 is us today, seat 7 middle aged brown guy who is so so but friendly player. Let’s go….
We start warm. Scoop the first pot, chop the 2nd.
In my BB we flop the nut high with also the 2nd nut low! I bet right out and retired Muckleshoot dealer raises me! We say “no. We ain’t putting up with that shit! Even from him! Raise!!!” He calls turn and river, we scoop him!
We flop Quadzilla for a high hand bonus!
Much better day today so far. Seat 3 is obviously new to O8 and or doesn’t care. Raising pre every single hand. Great! This is what we want.
Old drunk guy is always friendly and fun until he orders a double Jack and then another. Then he becomes belligerent. Especially when he is loosing.
The game breaks about 3. We end it with a bang. Drunk guy is obviously trying to get all in. Our small blind with Ks 10s 2c 5c. We call a raise and flop the nuts …. Q J 9 and the Q and J are spades!!! A Royal draw! Turn…Ace!!! Oh wait, of diamonds. We end this session with a profit. +$165 from the game and plus $100 high hand bonus for a total of +$265.
Note to self: we were wrong about seat 2 this entire time. We are going to punish that asshat!
Last thought and a question…playing for half? When is it correct to fold when on a high draw and low is already there on the flop. Open for discussion.

Session #69 ~ Keep your eye on the Goal: Good morning. Last Monday at this time I was some 42,000 feet in the air headed home. This Monday we pull into Palace for a quickie as we are right here for work.
Doing some hand reviews and pretty crazy. We are gonna put that behind us and move forward. The thing I did better than ever was remain calm, cool, never tilted. Frustrating for sure but it happens to the best of em. Playing good, running bad. Let’s go….
Spent most of the weekend home. Watching a lot of videos and reading. Rereading a mix game book. I am playing triple stud next month at Orleans so trying to brush up. The only time I play stud games up here is in the home game but that hasn’t run now for over a month. It only ran twice. Each time I was a winner. I prefer mix games. Stud variants especially. No community cards.
I may not get to play this morning. O8 list shrunk again. WTH. I miss how it was. You could call in a reserve a seat. Game started daily at 10am. I miss the 10/20 game dearly. I miss Little Creek. When will they reopen the poker room? I look forward to getting back to normal or at least very close to.
No game running yet and list down to 5 including me. Outta here. Day job obligations await. Hopefully prices are stable this week and we get to buy a few.
Tuesday. Auction day. There is a 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 long box diesel with 209k miles I’d like to buy. Beautiful truck. Well cared for. 1 owner rig. Kelley Blue Book wholesale is $14200 and retail is $18900. I’m prepared to pay $18400. Bidding opened at 12k. Ok, let’s go. Buying this one…..wait…. bidding continues past my number and keeps going like I’m tied to the dock. Sold for $22k. The others on our list we submit proxy bids and hit the road. That 05 Dodge has to be some kinda record.
Pull into Palace. Last Tuesday at this time Omaha game was already running. Today, we are 5th up. Still plexi, masks required and 7 handed. If it doesn’t fire in 30 minutes I will hit the road. Y’all know how I feel about waiting. Last update I heard was Washington state to fully reopen June 30th. Considering not playing poker here until that time. When the plexi is gone and no mask required.
Speaking of that…..Vegas is all the way back beginning June 1! Pre-pandemic era guidelines! I fly in Wednesday June 16 to Monday the 21st. And a big change for me. Canceled Aria. My favorite. However I have an offer I can’t refuse from Wynn/Encore. Encore Resort King Suite, $225 resort credit and $400 less than Aria. Going solo so resort credit will cover most of my food consumed there. Playing Venetian all weekend and thats right next door so I can walk back and forth. Gonna get some pool time in in the mornings and be fresh and ready to kick butt!  Really looking forward to this trip.
Wednesday. Another auction day. Another day of high prices. Again we enter our proxy bids and hit the road. Arrive at Palace about 10:40am and we start Omaha within 5 minutes! Seat 1, retired Muckleshoot dealer and tight player, seat 2 solid old white guy, seat 3 us today, seat 4 solid old white guy, seat 5 drunk old white guy, seat 6 ??, seat 7 ??? Let’s go…
This is actually a very good game. And I’m getting some strong starting hands. AA3 and again a bit of a dangler 7 but double suited! Flop top set on a rainbow board with no low yet. Turn is an off suit King. Perfect. We’re still good. River brings in back door flush, clubs. Not one of our suits and we loose to an unknown who called a raise pre with 356 10. We want to play pots with this player. A matter of fact, 3 out of 7 seats we want to play pots with. We see another missed nut nut draw and the winner was the old drunk who usually isn’t that bad. This hand he voluntarily played QJ63??? Seriously.
The end of this session comes when we hold A34J. A J of spades. Flop is 45 10. We check as do all players in. Turn 4! We bet and of course this game today all call. River 5. We loose now to A35Q. So dirty. Seat Open! Gotta keep my eye on the goal and if that means leaving a good game, we leave. Just feels like not allowed to win no matter what I have or how I play it. -$300 today. I need a shower after that dirty business…
Next up? I get my 2nd shot tomorrow at 9am. Fully vaccinated so we will see how I’m feeling. I keep hearing the 2nd shot takes you down for 24 hours or so. I will keep you posted.

Session #68 ~ Fri Yay: Palace.
I was going to play PLO today but last night I realized I forgot my glasses at Palace. Called in and told them I would be in to get them in the morning.
Open seat at 8/16 as soon as I walk in. Don’t mind if if I do. Only a few orbits and we start the Omaha game short. 5 handed. Love a short handed play actually.
Today starts off, well, rough. Then we see a flop of AAK while holding AK25! Bet out and get called in 3 spots! High hand for $100!
Usual cast except seat 6, who I’ve never seen before.
Just getting punched in the face all day today. Only exception being my high hand.
Preakness tomorrow. I like Medina Spirit again for Win Place or Show. My other pick is Concert Tour. Good luck everyone!
Now enjoying a beautiful day, getting some food to go from down the street. After my $100 bonus I still lost $300 thru a weird sequence of BS. So -$200. Have a great weekend! Go Concert Tour! Go Medina Spirit!

Session #67 ~ no alcohol: None. When I was in Vegas I tried to have some but just wasn’t good. Not feeling it at all. I’ve certainly had more than my fare share and I wouldn’t dare say I quit drinking but for the most part I’m on a little break. I usually don’t or won’t drink while playing poker. It’s good for me to not drink during the week just due to day job obligations. Feeling like I have more energy and a bit clearer minded.
Speaking of work…the market has been super volatile on the wholesale side and actually looks like prices dipped slightly this week. Still very tall but sliding so with that we play a short waiting game. Hold off the last few days of this week and regroup Monday. See what we’ve sold and look at what the market is doing. Fine by me. Love an extended weekend and that gives me time to play….
Poker! Today is Thursday May 13th. Palace. Because it’s just about my only choice unless I travel an hour plus.
Speaking of poker, did you guys see the Orleans is running a summer series? Full of mix game fun! I already had a trip booked but added an extra day. So next month schedule on the Vegas trip is as follows.
Fly out at 12:25pm June 16 to Vegas check in to Aria!
6pm $150 PLO8 $10k guarantee single day. At Orleans
June 17 $400 Triple Stud at Orleans 11am $40k guarantee 2 day event.
June 18 day 2 at Orleans triple stud event
June 19 $600 Omaha 8 tournament at Venetian $50k guarantee 3pm 2 day event
June 20 day 2 at Venetian.
June 21 fly home at 9:05 am. With a pocket full of cash!
So that’s the plan. Going down this trip solo and staying at my favorite spot the Aria. My birthday is the end of this month so I treated myself to a little nicer trip this time. Looking forward to it. Now, let’s see if we can expire this run bad I’m experiencing….
Arrive at Palace around 10:30. Up on Omaha list of course and looks like they may fire an 8/16 hold em game so add my name to that as well. I see Muckleshoot Pete in the parking lot and boy does he have a nice car! We tell him Wow! I gotta stop playing so bad! If I play better I get a nicer ride? He laughs and we chat for a minute.
We start our day in 8/16 hold em. Usual cast.
Boom! Omaha 8 game starts! Seat 1 us, seat 2 retired Muckleshoot dealer and super tight O8 player, seat 3?, seat 4 retired doctor and fun player, seat 5?, seat 6 Asian lady, seat 7 same. Our first 2 cards today we muck without checking the other 2. Yep, 8 9.
We start with Kings full for a high hand. Omaha tho…won’t hold. Sure nuff a short time later Aces full for seat 5. Wow, now Quadzilla for seat 6. Seat 3 is on a heater.
Fun hand alert 

 AQ24 with hearts flop is 35Q with two hearts! Bingo Bango bingo Vince! Turn is a Jack of diamonds. River another Jack. Seat 3 stayed on that flop because he flopped open ended. He played pre with 456J. Perfect. This is what we are looking for, yet unbelievable that guy hits perfect perfect to beat us out of the entire pot. Of course I’m betting my rear off with that board and my hand. When will it stop?
This game really isn’t very good today. No money on the table. 7 handed. Seat 6 and 7 are super slow to act every single time. Ugh. Probably won’t stay too much longer. Now they put in the slowest, worst dealer in the box.
Another fun hand A2Q10 double suited. Flop is Q 10 7 with 2 clubs, our nut suit. Turn is an off suit 5! Alright! Nut nut nut draw! River is an off suit 9. Really. So so gross.
We do actually get not one but 2 high hands! Such a beautiful day outside we call it. Seat Open!!!! +$105 in the game +$200 high hand bonuses so total of +$305. Good nuff.

Session #66 ~ Fix the leak: Do you have a leak or 2 you’re aware of? Sometimes it takes a while to figure it out.
I was reflecting on the Omaha game Sunday. The leak that sprung that day was wanting to play pots so badly with the terrible player that that blinded me and pulled me off my game. The problem was he was playing them all so had me playing way to loose. I need to play my game, not his. There are lots of leaks. Our job is to track em down and plug em, quick!
Tuesday today. Auction today that is short so we head up the hill, jump on I-5 and hit up Palace. Omaha game running already so we grab a seat in 4/8 no fold em hold em. Soon a seat opens up in O8 and we are on our way.
Again a slow start. Then we get dealt 2 3 4 4. Flop is A 4 4! Quadzilla!!! It’s been a minute. High hand for a $100 bonus.
Then again the run bad comes running back. I have several hands were I’m drawing to the nut nut. Nut flush for high, nut low with any low card. River pairs the board. Seriously. Ya can’t make this stuff up. We intend to hit n run this today as it’s way to nice a day to sit in here. Got to run home and walk my boy Rocco. Just absolutely not allowed to win right now for some reason. So we say Seat Open! –$200. Try again possibly Thursday for a few hours, maybe. Going to be absolutely perfect weather here all week so want to take advantage of that.
Damn, I can’t believe how many suited A2 hands I had today and flop comes like 35K with two of my suit. A dream scenario that turns into a nightmare. So so sick. Onward

Session #65 ~ Las Vegas …Sunday last day: Hello from the Orleans poker room!
Playing 8/16 O8. We don’t have to wait very long for a seat. Dealt in under the gun and fold based on looking at 2 cards. You O8 players know the 2 I’m sure. 8 9. Very next hand in the BB the first 2 again…8 9. Really? That’s how it’s going to be?
Slow start but we pick up a few pots and are on our way.
Our friend Mike, O8Grinder on Twitter comes down to join us. If you don’t already you need to follow him and look up his YouTube channel as well. A lot of good content.
Up n down day so far. Good game. They are calling with any low. Any! Let’s go…
In one fun hand we have the small blind with a garbage type hand but we flop trips. River the 2nd best full house. Looser. Maybe I should stick to blackjack? This is a great game today. Let’s run it up!
I flop top set. Trouble in O8. There is no low yet. And it has to come in runner runner for low. It does as well as a flush.
We have a seat to the immediate left of what has to be the worst O8 player on the west coast. But our run bad comes back. Ugh.
Now I turn a 7 high straight with a 34 low and a 7 comes on the river? How. The bad player stayed to a bet and a raise with 9 10 10 5 he had one out. 7 only and I hold one of them. So so sick.
All day long I whiff. No matter what I have or how I play it. Nut nut draw? Fast? Slow? No difference. How it goes for me lately. Hopefully we can shake it because we have a few things coming soon. First up…Vegas on June 17. We are coming to play specifically a Omaha 8 tournament at Venetian. But I got some top secret info direct from the source and I’m sworn to secrecy. I will not break her trust. Let’s just say, keep an eye open for an announcement from the Orleans very soon. Then at the end of September we have the ‘21 WSOP! No schedule released yet so I can’t say when or book anything unfortunately. Speaking of, I think it’s time I get a host. Not that I’m a VIP or high roller but I’ve given them action in the pit. I stay in their hotels and spend money in there.  I’m not asking for anything or expect anything other than to start that relationship and open up the dialogue for the future.
So home tomorrow morning. Working straight off the plane and then get to go home after. Gonna be a long couple days. Feeling my age lately….55 on May 28. I’m fortunate to enjoy good health and really don’t want to jeopardize that in any way.
Hopefully I get in a couple sessions at Palace this week. I really need to. I need to get in more playing time. Need to make my goal for ‘21 WSOP! Thank you for reading. Stay healthy my friends.
Almost forgot. After spending some time up I again post a loss here at this O8 game at the Orleans. -$600. Rough day. We will make it up though and I won more than that in the pit this trip. Gambol!

Vegas Day 2 – Saturday : First full day today as I didn’t fly in until a bit after 6 on Friday evening. Got up at about 9 and headed down to the pool for just a bit. Back up to the room for a shower and grab some breakfast. After some food we hit the pit. Wait, what? Yep. $25 Blackjack. Make $300 in short order and quit. Short time later a different table and kind of a tuff run so when I’m up $50 we bail.
My friends daughter works at the pub inside Tuscany suites and we hop a cab to go have lunch there as she is working. A friend of ours just flew in so he joins us.
Now it’s about 4pm and back to the Flamingo. Hit em again at $25 BJ for $350. Out. Have a few cocktails and back to blackjack. Buy in for $350 and damn near loose it all. Make a great comeback and when I’m $20 up I color up and get out.
No poker today at all. Spending time with friends and having fun. I think we may head to Circa.
Well pass on Circa unfortunately. It’s ok I’m back down here for 5 days in mid June. My friend is way to drunk. Probably should get him up to the room but he is not having it. I end up back in the room early, on a Saturday night in Vegas and probably the best thing I did. I sleep hard and long and now Sunday morning I feel great! Hit the pool first thing for a couple hours and now just sat down at the Orleans for 8/16 Omaha! Stay tuned…

Session #64 ~ Vegas first night part 2: Flight was super fast. Under 2 hours. Seriously. They should just do that all the time and advertise it. Seattle to Vegas in under 2 hours! Are you kidding me? I would go even more often.
This trip my friend says we are staying at either Paris or Caesars. Comped. Ok. Sounds great. A few days after I book my flight he calls me. Dave, we are staying at the Flamingo (aka dirty bird) nooooo. I don’t like it, even for free. But, it’s just a weekend.
I arrived at the dirty bird just before 7. Diamond check in closed. Huh? Friday night. Vegas is back and what’s this? Jump in a short line to be told that they would have to charge my card the entire amount. What amount? It’s a comp. Yes, but he isn’t here yet. Ok. He will be in 2 hours. Mind you my name is on the reservation and I am Diamond. No. You’re not charging my card a dime. I know it will be a week before I get it back. No thank you. It’s not the money it’s the principle.
Shoot down to Sahara. Aaand the Starbucks is already closed. Damn. On the wait list for mix and see our friend and dealer extraordinaire … Luke. Hi Luke.
We have enough comps for a quick bite over at the Mexican place next to the poker room and a couple drinks. Still we wait for a seat. Ugh. You may already know how I feel about waiting for a seat.
We get our seat and it’s a fun game. Kind of a weird/tuff mix but we end the game after 3 and a half hours +$209. Seat Open!
So now I sit 21 floors up in the dirty bird, renovated room and strip view. I’m calmed down now. I will share pics on Twitter. Good night!

May 7th 2021 ~ Crazy ass start to this trip.
I’m relaxing to the max at home. Drinking my iced coffee and hanging with my boy Rocco. (15 year old Jack Russell and love of my life) He and I are cuddled in bed watching 2009 WSOP main final table via Poker Go and airdropped right onto our TV. So nice. Flight out not until 4pm. All the time in the world. For some unknown reason I decided to check the Washington State Department of Transportation website. ??? Wait. What’s this? I have not watched the news today. Trying not to lately. Holy…..I-5 north closed! Right where we need to drive to get to the airport. Jump in the shower, toss some stuff in our bag and out the door. I know I’m not going thru Tacoma so we barely make the next Washington State ferry out of town. It’s a one hour ride and drops us directly in downtown Seattle. Hang a right and follow 99 south down to the airport. We could go south I-5 but shocker, blocking incident. Oh and when we are trying to get off the ferry some dudes truck stalls out and is blocking my lane! Not kidding.
Arrive at SeaTac and walk straight in. Zero line at TSA checkpoint. Zero. Alright! Things are looking up! Get into the Alaska airlines lounge (a first class perk) and am the last soul allowed in. Full! Order a Tito’s and…that’s an up charge! Huh? Ok what’s the normal Vodka here? Because on the plane all they offer for Vodka is Tito’s. It’s something I’ve never heard of and not drinking it even for free. Finish the Tito’s and decided I’m not feeling that any way so a glass of Cab Sav please. That’s an up charge! Really? C’mon. Not worth flying first anymore if that’s the case. Premium seats on Alaska get me free drinks just like first class. At least we are first on, first off. Let’s take a flight….

April 24th, 2021 ~ Home game fun? If you followed along in Challenge number one, 3k in 30 Sessions, I mentioned I won my way into the 2011 WSOP main event! The Main! 10k buy in. I did this via a home game. Some friends formed a poker league and I was the winner. Fast forward to 2021 and a small number of these guys now have a 5/10 mixed game at one of their houses. Every other Sunday. This last Sunday was, well, interesting. I did well but let’s start at the start. At 12:30 tacos are served pre game. We start about 1:20 or so. One guy shows up late, has some food and sits down. Starts loosing immediately. We all do that in certain sessions right? Some days are that way and it’s our job to recognize that and stop for the day. Just not our day. For whatever reason. But this guy thinks he is a great player and no way can he be loosing. He starts slamming Tito’s vodka and whatever. Now he is talking super loud, slamming chips and throwing cards. I’m not kidding. This is at a friends house. Have some respect. It’s uncomfortable to be there at this point. One of the guys tries joking with him and talk him off the ledge. I gotta tell ya if this happens again I may quit the game. I hate to do that but he is that far outta line. This guy wasn’t involved in our poker league 10 years ago and for some reason I’ve never really cared for him. Something just seems a bit off with the guy. Good read. I end up winning $377 and calling it a day. Wanted to stay but wasn’t completely comfortable doing so.
Another player, ive known for close to 30 years, buys in for $400. I bought in for $200 and joke with him that if I go bust I may need a marker from him. He looses all of it within about an hour and 45 minutes or so. This is 5/10 limit here people. He is a fun, action player. Putting the straddle on and the like.
There is a bit of a rotating crew in this game. Just depends on who can make it that Sunday. I said lock me up a seat every time. A player that is there gets on the list for next time but if you don’t play you go to the bottom of the list. Also now we have a dealer. A great dealer. I can beat this game and hone my mixed game skills. I look forward to it.
Update on relationship status…girlfriend and I still together! Working on it and things are good and getting better again. Truth be told I can’t leave my boy Rocco. He is our 15 year old Jack Russell. Love him so much. If you follow along remember we lost his sister last summer. Late July. She had a seizure and it was bad. Rushed her to the hospital. She had to be put down the next day. Best thing for her so she doesn’t suffer. So unexpected. So sad. RIP Ruby Pearl.
Stay tuned. Lots of good positive things coming. Lots of fun times and a lot of hard work. My girlfriend and I have been together now almost 12 years so obviously can’t just walk away. All relationships take work. I’m lucky in many respects with her. How many girls just let their guy rip down to Vegas whenever? She’s beautiful, smart and funny. Also an extremely talented singer. And she’s tuff, strong, independent. Worth the effort. Worth fighting for. Worth putting in the work. So let’s see what the future holds. It’s going to be a journey. Let’s enjoy the journey!

Friday, April 30th ~ Time : Why are we so quick to give away our time, to waste time or to sell our time? We sell our time in exchange for an hourly rate or salary. We waste time in numerous ways or simply give our time away for free. Some of you smart ones invest time in numerous ways. Invest with family. Invest it in yourself by working out or the like. How we choose to spend our time I think is the difference. The difference between happiness or not. The difference between being wealthy or not. The difference between being healthy or not. I’ve wasted a lot of time. Shame on me. That waste will never be recovered.
I think coming out of, hopefully, the pandemic has got me thinking. It’s taught me something. Time is invaluable. It’s all we have and it’s not much. Seriously. I’m not one to judge. I’m far from perfect or any kind of role model. Just sharing some thoughts here. I’ve always been one to revolt against the…rat race? I guess? Ya see I want, I desire freedom. I don’t want to punch a time clock, attend meetings, be strung along on a leash. This, all this is exactly what excites me about poker and poker pros. The freedom. The lifestyle. I’ve always, always had that entrepreneurial spirit.
What we do with our time is a choice. I know you may think otherwise but it is. They say happiness is a choice. Is it? I try to choose it and it seems to elude me. I was in a great mood the other day. But I digress…
I’m lucky in many, many ways. I will be 55 at the end of May and am healthy despite myself. I have a job that I invest time in in exchange for money. I love my job. But if I had a million plus dollars would I do it? Not a chance. I used to consider it my passion. The passion is gone.
My upcoming trip next week to Vegas I’ve decided to upgrade to first class. Why not? I have to spend a few hours of my time on that flight why not enjoy it to the max? I will spend time in the Alaska lounge pre flight and totally enjoy it. Time is invaluable. I want to enjoy my time and have some great experiences.
The other part or other thought is security. What exactly is that? I prefer freedom over security. Security sounds like lockdown. This is the problem between my girlfriend and I. She says she has no security with me. What she really means is money. I do well but I’m not a rich man by most people standards. I spend my money. Easy come easy go. I have fun. I drink. I gamble. I go to Vegas. And I go again. Then I want to go to Maui, to Cabo San Lucas. I think most people standards are skewed. See, on Monday morning when most people are trying to get to work on time to exchange their time, their efforts for dollars, I will be sipping iced coffee, watching poker and hanging with my dog Rocco. For me that’s success. That’s freedom. That’s spending quality time.
Invest it, spend it how you choose. Whatever is best for you personally, I hope that it brings you joy. I hope you have memories to look back on. I hope it puts a big smile on your face.
Vegas this Friday May 7th. Fly home Monday morning the 10th. One day I won’t fly back. One day….I stay. I will give you some good stories (I hope) this trip. Thank you for spending time reading this….

Session #63 – A quick O8 session or two: Today is Wednesday April 28th. Hello everyone!
I was at an auction for work for the first half of the day and now I am at Palace for some Omaha 8 or better action.
Day job has been challenging. Very very busy. The challenge is finding inventory. Last night a local news station ran a story about the red hot used car market. Seller’s market, absolutely.
Our O8 session starts shortly after our arrival. Perfect! Today starts slow. And then it tappers off from there. In one exciting hand I hold A234 with nut hearts. I get quartered. Fun times. Should’ve just went home. Headed to Vegas next week. Save it for then.
Just not my day. So we say seat open! -$200.
It appears my home game every other Sunday (5/10 mixed) is moving days. Thought we were playing this Sunday but the host has to work. So he said possibly moving to Wednesday evening. Keep ya posted.
Now Thursday April 29th. Got my first dose of Phizer Covid vaccine this morning. Ran a couple errands, did a few things for work and now I have a few hours to invest playing poker! Palace. My name is 7th up for Omaha. No O8 game running yet. It’s 1:05. Hopefully fires soon. Starting a brand new 8/16 hold em game tho and we have a seat locked up! Let’s go….
I know no one or recognize anyone at my table except the dealer.
Seat 2 can’t miss. I can’t hit. I make a double draw. KQ of diamonds. I have a flush draw and a straight draw. Whiff. KQ off. I flop top 2. River 9 ball to make a straight for some jag off. And on and on. I may cry. What did I do to deserve this shit?
No Omaha game and the list goes from 9 to 5. Eff it. I’m out. I’m cold figuratively and physically. It’s only in the mid 70s but they have the air cranked up like it’s 95. Seat Open! -$300.
Next up….Vegas! I’m toying with the idea of playing a tournament. $400 buy in Venetian Deep Stack. $150k guarantee. 2 day event. I need to check in with a couple friends down there. I would love to play Big-O at Aria. That was the plan but $150k guarantee? Hmmm…

Session #62 ~ Update: Hi, I hope this finds you in good health and prospering again.
Where to even start?
First, I haven’t played any poker, at all, for at least 2 weeks. Haven’t kept track but feels like longer. Finally got a session in today, Friday April 23. Work has demanded most of my time and all the other time I’ve invested at home. All work and no play makes Dave a dull boy. I had a couple things to do for work this morning and then start my weekend early. Check the list for Palace and there are 5 names on Omaha. Perfect. I’m 10 minutes away. Upon arrival there are now 8 names so I put my name up as number 9 in an 8 handed game thinking someone will pass. Nope. About to leave for the day and they have a seat for me in 8/16 hold em. Let’s go….
About the 2nd orbit in we pick up pocket Kings, late position with a raise in front of us. It gets capped and we are 3 ways to a flop of 4QQ. Checked around to me and I fire. Heads up now to a blank on the turn and a bet in front of us. Smooth call. Blank on the river and we call one more bet. Does this guy really have AQ? Nope. AA. Wow. Cooler right at the start. A short time later we pick up Aces! Dave has Aces! Q high flop and we opt to just call in position on a rather wet board. Q97 with 2 clubs. Turn Q. So gross as the villain capped it pre, out of position with KQ off. How am I running? Burn thru $300 and finally get moved over to Omaha 8. The run bad continues. But wait. What’s this? A223. Don’t mind if I do. Flop is KQ2…all diamonds. Turn…case 2!!! Quadzilla for a high hand!!!! It holds and we pick up $100 bonus! Plus up about $100. Alright. Here we go. A few more hours of play and nothing really note worthy. The game isn’t that good. Chalked full of nits. A couple guys you just flat know when they are in a hand they have A2xx. It’s our job to figure out what xx is. They play it like stud 8. Always play for the low and if you back into a high then great. One of them leaves and about the worst O8 player in 3 counties sits down. Seriously. She is terrible so great for the game, especially this game. Time to hit the road though. I have lots to do. Done. +$86.
Vegas trip coming up!
I repeat….Vegas!!! In 2 weeks.
May 7-10. Just a weekend. Friday-Monday. Fly home Monday for work.
I intend to play 2-5 Big-O at Aria all I can. I have food comps there and want to put in more time there and I love Big-O. We shall see. As I’m writing this I looked at the Bravo poker app and they have one game of Big-O running now with 8 on the wait list. I land at 6:30. Not sure where I’m staying yet as I am rooming with one of my best friends. He is getting comped by his host. Either Paris or Caesars he says. Fine by my either way. EZ walk to Aria from either.
Also, on the Vegas tip….I booked myself a nice trip. June 17-21. Staying at Aria! I found round trip airfare via Alaska,  First Class, for $530. We going first class! I enjoy the Alaska lounge preflight when I fly first. Also, I booked a Cadillac Escalade to transfer me round trip from airport to Aria and back. This trip I am pampering myself a bit and look forward to it. I’m playing Omaha 8 tournament at Venetian! $600 buy in, 2 day event with a 50k guarantee!!! Let’s go baby!!!
I have more but want these to be a quick, easy read so thank you for reading.
Next up? No idea. I will update you guys on my love life and my 5/10 home mixed game. I have a few stories I want to share from that so stay tuned friends….

Session #61 ~ Gamble on Easter? : Hi, I hope you all enjoyed your Easter no matter how you celebrate it or not. I was invited to a home mixed game. It is 5/10 with about a 9 game mix. 2-7 triple draw, Omaha 8, drawmaha, razz, badacey, Stud8, double board bomb pot hold em, razz dugi, and one other I don’t recall. Because it’s Easter we run 4 handed. I love short handed games. I start with a buy of $200 and in 3 hours I’m down to my last $10 at the end of a big razz pot. I win it and finally get some momentum going my way when I have to leave to have Easter dinner at my Moms. I have a seat locked up in this game now every other Sunday. I’m really looking forward to it. I made a comeback before I left  $10 to the good. This Sunday home game will not be part of the challenge. The idea with this is for all of us to improve our mix game abilities. We show hands and discuss ideas and thoughts. We smoke, we joke and have a good time. Some of these guys I’ve known for over half my life. This group of guys all want to improve. All want to play mix at WSOP. Learning. Always learning.
My girlfriend, yes I still have one, is in Surprise Arizona this week. I think it will be good for her to be away for a bit and spend time with her Dad. We have made strides to returning to a good place, her and I. Keep ya posted.
Work is super busy again and I hope it stays that way. I’ve already canceled my May 24th trip to Vegas based on that so fingers crossed. Next reservation is mid June and of course October. Pending WSOP schedule.
Wednesday we squeeze in a quick session at Palace. On the road for work and need to eat so let’s play a short session.
Well, that was a mistake. Can not win. No matter. I have A B C D flop is all high cards. At least it’s a no brainer fold. Probably should not even be playing today. Work is jamming and my dog is home alone. Time to roll. It’s hard to play when you’re not focused. That and another ice cold session. Save ya the boring details and that’s the problem actually. Poker has been zero fun the last bunch of times I played. At first I liked the plexiglass and masks. Over it. Completely. Today -$200. Will try again tomorrow because I’m a glutton….

Session #60~ Double Time: Friday, April 2, 2012. Check the list via my phone for Palace at 9am. There is already a 8/16 game going? No one up in the Omaha list yet. Hit the road and arrive at 10am. Seat open in 8/16 hold em. I’ll take it! I am first up today for Omaha. Some things never change.
Usual cast of characters. Muckleshoot Pete, old Korean lady etc… There is a guy, who I have never seen before in my life, who shouldn’t be playing. At least not this game. First off, he is slowing the game way down. Super slow, not paying attention, you know. I have AQ off mid position and open raise. This dude is in there amongst others. Flop is K 10 5 with two clubs. No way am I making a c-bet here. Too much traffic on a wet board. I have Ace high without a club. Check call. The turn is an off suit Jack! We have the current nuts!! Check obviously thinking someone will bet. Nope. Checked around. River pairs the board with a King. Now the guy who in my opinion should not be playing bets. Seriously? My hand is way to strong to fold to a single bet. Call. All others fold. He shows down 5 6 off? He was in first position and bets into the field. Maybe he recognized he can’t possibly win by checking? Nah. Prior to this the dude didn’t know what was going on or who had what or when it was his turn even. Not an act from this fella.
There is a pleasant young man two seats to our left who i don’t recall seeing before. He can’t win. Gets everything beat. Including when we crack his Aces when we flop 2 pair. Now he goes on monkey tilt. Playing junk like J 3.
We spend a good majority of this session stuck by as much as $300. Thru discipline, patience and determination we climb outta that hole. $65 winner so we say… Seat Open!!
Cash out and going to tell the floor but he sees us first and says Omaha will start next. Ok. We will stay. Grab some street tacos and sit down in seat 2 again. 2nd session of the day! Double time!  Most players today are unknown to me. We are on absolute fire! Can’t miss. Seriously. Within 30 minutes of play we are up $203! Now we have A3QQ with a nut suit. Flop of Q 8 9 with two clubs. I bet. No one raises and we see a turn card of a 9! Queens full and no low possibilities!! Check. River is a meaningless 6. Bet and now the retired doc raises. He thinks his 9 is good? Maybe he has 96? We 3 bet just to have him show us quad 9’s. We exclaim “What a terrific beat!” and show our hand. What an incredible cooler. So gross. Probably should’ve left right then and there. But a obviously new player sits in. We have to help him learn, right? Again everyone is nice and trying to help him but so far, he’s helpless. We make a full house and there is no low only a possibility of a flush. He raises us. Easy 3 bet. River is heads up and he really believes he has the nut low. There is no low and we scoop! I hope he returns to O8. I hope he wants to learn the game. We decide enough is enough. Lots to do today so we say… Seat Open!!! +$145. So today we total +$210.
Up next? Don’t know. Sunday is Easter and work is super busy so probably nothing poker wise until at least Thursday.
Thank you for reading. Stay safe! Win lots!!!

Session #59 ~ Back in the Omaha Streets: Thursday, April 1st. No April fools joke I got in a short session today.
Finding myself hungry and super close to Palace I thought I would grab a quick bite. Best $4 breakfast around. Wait, what’s this? 5 names up for Omaha 8? Sign me up! Soon after breakfast the game fires. Seat 1, the retired Muckleshoot dealer and solid player. Seat 2 is us today. Seat 3, retired doc and solid. Seat 4, Slim, great guy and fun player. Seat 5, old drunk white guy. Seat 6, LAG player and fun player. Seat 7, attractive middle aged Asian lady. Let’s go…
A couple hands of note today: first one, we are in the BB with 28xx and we see a flop of 822! No way are we giving away a free card even though we flopped a full house. It’s vulnerable to getting cracked and any low card we loose half the pot. Bet, Slim calls as do a couple others. Turn Jack. Bet call and fold fold. Heads up to a river of…2! The case 2 for quadzilla! Slim shows us 88xx! He had us drawing, well, Slim. It holds up for O8 high hand. $75 bonus! New hour starts with us AA35 double suited and straddle is on! We flop number 2 low, turn a set of Aces and river pairs the board! Aces full and 3 5 low. We get check raised? Yep. We call thinking we only get half. Nope, scoop!!! Aces full holds for this hour high hand and this time it’s $100!
We play just 2 hours and 20 minutes and have doubled up. In for $200 and now $402 in front of us. So we say Seat Open!!! $202 plus $175 in high hands so +$377!
Did you guys see the WSOP announcement? Dates confirmed for WSOP ’21 at the Rio! Day 1 is September 30 and runs thru Nov 23. No actual schedule of events released yet but this is great news! We still have a full 6 months plus to prepare and run up a roll!! Oh the possibilities…

March 28th, 2021: I can run. I try to hide. To no avail. It finds me. It’s so fun when it’s away. When I escape it for a bit. I try to drink it away. I fly away from it. It’s here. It’s heavy. The heartbreak. The pain.
I’m moving into my own place on the first. Single. The worst part is my dog. My boy Rocco. Man I’m gonna miss that dog. I firmly believe this is gonna be for the best. I have a two bedroom condo with an amazing view and a pool! One of my best friends lives directly below me. See, it’s not all bad.
The freedom is going to be great. Either that or it will kill me. Day job is rocking. Busy as ever. Let’s hope it stays that way. For a year. One year. I have a one year lease. I’m gonna live lean for a year and seriously consider a move to Vegas full time. Maybe maybe not. Flights are short and usually cheap. I do love it here. Let’s just see….the opportunity. The doors are all open!
No poker now for a week. Just to busy with work. Great problem to have. Now with the move and all probably another week at least.
Cha cha changes….stay tuned

Session #58 ~ Vegas. Final Day: Sunday. March 21. Wake up at about 7:30, shower and jump a cab to Orleans…
Forgot to mention the buy in for Bally’s last night was $250. Also a $50 add on. Also had a player recognize me tells me he follows me on Twitter. If you’re reading this sorry I didn’t catch your name. Our table broke quickly.
8/16 O8 game at Orleans fired quickly but was short as 4 players until more finally showed up. Was actually a very good game but I couldn’t get anything going so I left to go meet up with friends for something to eat. -$200. Seems like for whatever reason I’ve ran cold in that game the last few times. At one point today I have a double flush draw and a wrap. One of my flush draws is only Queen hi so don’t really want to hit. I want my straight for the nuts and a fat scoop. I check call when my Q hi flush hits the river. I loose to the crazy wild player with King hi flush. Of course.
So that’s probably it down here for poker this trip. Going to watch basketball with my buddies and get some rest. Need to be ready for work when I fly home tomorrow morning. Back to the good grind. Day job and now that Spring is upon us there’s lots to do at home.
To recap I knew this trip I wouldn’t get much poker in and that’s alright. Poker will be there when I have more time. No rush. Gotta enjoy some time away from the game as well. Remember I’m no pro. Far from it. Still a ton for me to work on. But now I have other more important responsibilities. Patch things up with the girlfriend number one. So I will probably be quiet for a while. I will certainly keep you posted when I play again. I’m ready for a break again it’s been tough lately. I’m Vegased out. Pokered out. Not going to push it when I don’t need to. Was excited to get back to playing post shutdown and from what I’ve seen the games are softer than ever. So if you can, take advantage. Much love everyone. Thank you for reading.

Session #57 ~ Vegas Day 3: Saturday. Only 3 hours of sleep and I’m hurting. Head over to Caesars Colosseum for the March Madness party. There’s food and drinks all provided so I grab a breakfast sandwich and a screwdriver. Hair of the dog you know. I only last till about noon and head back to the room for a nap. Much needed. After nap time I walk next door to Bally’s thru the back hallway and late reg O8/Stud8 tournament. $250 buy in. After a rough start I climb back by dinner break to above average chip stack. At dinner I sit with one of my table mates. Guy about my age, local, solid player I can see and he tells me stories about traveling the circuit. Following the WSOP Circuit stops. After reg closes we have about 54 I I think was final count. I go cold at the wrong time. In O8, as an example, my BB and no raise. We flop a King high straight. The nuts. 910J flop, rainbow. Small blind bets, we raise, next guy flats and small blind folds. Heads up. Turn is a brick. I bet and he calls, heads up. River pairs the board. Check call to see of course the bad news. End up busting this in about 18th place. Stud8 used to be one of my favorites. After the run outs I had last night now I wonder why. Is what it is.
Straight to bed so I can be fresh for Sunday. Goodnight

Session #56 ~ Vegas Day 2: There’s so much to say, so many stories but I try to keep these short.
Friday I played 8/16 O8 at Orleans for a few hours. Not much going for me so we leave after a few hours to go meet up with friends. Nothing in this session was note worthy at all +$88.
Meet up with my friends to watch college basketball and have a few drinks. And a few more. Washed those down with more. End up in the pit and play $25 min blackjack. +$400. We head into the dueling piano bar for fun and drinks. Close it down at 1:30am and I walk to Aria and sit down in the Big-O game. 2/5. I really like playing Big-O and love the Aria. I intended to play this game thru the next day but at 6am decided I had enough. At about 4:30 a obviously drunk guy sat in the game. He was action to say the least. Raising and playing to the river in the dark! Livened up the game. He was having fun and it was fun to see that. I’m dealt A235Q with nut clubs. Flop nut low with one pair. Turn 2 pair. River is no help. Action was great and we actually scoop with Aces up and nut low. About a 1k pot! I wanted to stay but was exhausted so we say…. Seat Open! +$800!
Really a fun day overall and climb in bed at about 6:20am. Ouch. Usually I’m up by that time making coffee and starting my day.
Looks like upon my arrival back home I won’t have much free time, and, that’s a good thing. Boss sent me a text that said they were selling a lot of cars so need more! Yes!!! Very happy to hear that obviously. Ready to make some hay while the sun shines! Thanks for reading.

March 18th. Las Vegas Nevada! Back baby!
This trip is starting off fabulous. One of my best friends who I’m going with as usual has a lot of family going down as well. On the drive to the airport in Seattle he hands me his debit card and says call down to book us a limo! A bit cliche I know but there are 8 of us in this group. We get a stretched out Cadillac Escalade upon arrival. Truly if you have 4 or more all going at the same time this is the only way to do it. Taxi is going to be  $25 each way anyway and if ya need 2 taxis you’re half way there. Some friends landed at midnight and said they waited an hour and a half for a ride. Zero taxis, nothing. Lesson learned for future trips. Live a little. Live a lot!
Staying at Paris again. Get freshened up and hit video poker for a few and of course cocktails! Hit a Royal but with a deuce so a good warm up at least. Zip over to Herbs and Rye for a great dinner with a great friend. Wonderful, much needed conversation and I am now sitting with another friend at the Orleans. We are alternates in what we thought was a Omaha 8 tournament. Nope. No limit hold em Super Stack. 172 players and counting! Feeling tired from a long day and this is not Omaha so we bag it. This will probably run until 4am or so. Not really ready for that tonight.
For anyone going soon to Vegas, not sure what’s going on with Uber. For many trips here it’s been great. No longer. I ordered an Uber at 4:15pm at Paris and it was going to be a 25 minute wait. Canceled it, walked out the front door of Paris and jumped in a cab with zero wait.
No poker played yet this trip. Bally’s has their series running again. Started yesterday and today at 3pm is a HORSE tournament I may take a shot at. $400 buy in with a 5k guarantee. As I write this it’s 8:15am Friday morning and am waiting for a friend of mine to pick me up and head over to the Orleans. If I win $400 in the O8 game I will play HORSE tournament today. Free rollin! Let’s go…stay tuned for more Vegas fun!

Session #54/#55 ~ Falling Short: Lots of time left on the clock but I’m falling short. Especially if ya factor in the slow bleed I experienced in Vegas. Poker has not been easy, to say the least. Nothing has been easy. Sometimes the cards can make ya look like a fool. Can’t believe the horrible run outs in O8 I had the other day. Counterfeit when it seemed impossible. A2310 with A10 of clubs. Flop 823. How? Why? I think I should tighten up my range but A2310 with a nut suit is a premium start. Ugly flop for us. Another time I hold a hand in my BB, no raise, flop two pair with a flush draw! Leggo…. never made the flush and villain flopped a set. Oh boy.
My dog sitting days are coming close to an end. Chip is a little fire ball. Adjusting well but I forgot what having a puppy is like. Will miss him but can visit him anytime and not have to care for him full time.
Anxiously awaiting an official announcement from WSOP. I think it will come sometime in late May is my prediction with dates starting in late September thru October. $1500 O8 is usually event number 4 or 5. Way up at the start. I love being there at the start. Opening weekend. Nothing like it. All the energy, high hopes, optimistic players. The end of the summer is different. Dreams down the drain for most. A lot of folks looking to somehow salvage their summer.
The girlfriend and I are doing good by the way. She tells me she is happy I’m still here. Me too. For a minute there I thought I was starting over. Had a great condo lined up and all. I remember living alone. So quite. My only company was usually the Ness brothers. Emptiness and Loneliness. A lot of time spent at the local casino in my single days. My ex-wife always thought I would end up dating a poker dealer. Thanks for the vote of confidence honey.
A couple short sessions I squeeze in at Palace. First one I start in 8/16 hold em but not even for a complete orbit and they start Omaha. We play a majority of this quick session 5 handed. Our old nemesis from Little Creek Omaha game is here on this day, Mr. Lee. Very aggressive. The brother of a Little Creek player sits in for a bit. Strange hand occurs….I hold KhQh2c3s. No raise pre so we see a flop of AJJ. Checked around. Turn is a 10 to give us Broadway. We bet when checks to us with only the one player behind. He raises. Another player flats and we fold. Paired board. A raise. Gotta have the boat made. We….fold. They are heads up at showdown and the raiser shows … Broadway???? Weird raise in my opinion but he scoops. No idea what the other guy had as he never showed. Gotta go so we say… Seat Open! +$44. Played a few minutes under 2 hours.
Friday hit Palace early and upon arrival have a seat in 4/8 hold em. Up $66 and get moved to a new 8/16 hold em game. I’m feeling it today. Don’t ask me why. Maybe cause everything is clicking again. Girlfriend and I doing good. Work is coming on strong. Feeling better than I have for over a year. Short version is I hit some hands today. In for just $200 today and in 2 hours clear a profit of $316! Need to go home and be responsible so we say…. Seat Open!!! +$316! Feels good.
Girlfriend and I head to an early dinner and celebrate her 25 years of service at her job. She knows I’ve been invited back to Vegas next weekend and asks when are you going? I say “I’m not” she responds with “no, you should go. Seriously, have fun, hang with your friends” so…..it’s on! Flight booked! Outta here via Alaska Airlines on Thursday morning and return on Monday! So probably no local poker, except the home game on Sunday. Busy with day job and home life, then Vegas! I am feeling this trip is going to have a much different outcome! Leggo….daily write ups from Vegas of course! Staying at Paris again.

Session #53 ~ Hit n Run: Finished day job obligations and I need to pick up Chip around 4 so with a couple hours to invest….My daughter lives about 12 minutes away from Palace. Looks like Omaha hasn’t fired yet today and I’m only number 4 on the list so I put my name up for 8/16 as well as 4/8. Get a seat real fast in 4/8 hold em. Actually a good game. Only one guy I’ve played with a lot. All others are unknown to me but seems straight forward. Going alright and I have a hand I’m not sure why, how I got involved. Oh I know, my button. I have a suited flat tire. Jack four. Of diamonds. No raise in front of me and we see a flop of 4 A J with the Ace of diamonds. We put in a raise here. Turn is a Queen. Now the small blind, who folded to my raise, starts buggin out. I knew that card was coming, he exclaims. And announces he held K 10. Would’ve hit Broadway. This, obviously, is way outta line and the dealer shuts him down. Makes me comfortable knowing one K 10 combo is in the muck so I bet when everyone checks. I tell him “maybe the board will pair” as the dealer burns and lays down another Jack! Jack’s full for us! But why is the first position betting? We put in a raise and when he only calls we know we win! Jack’s full I say as I roll it face up. He snap mucks and we win a nice pot. I bought in for just one rack so $100 and the minute I have over $200 I get up and check the Omaha list. Still only 5 names and floor says if it fires it won’t be till later so we say… Seat Open! +$104 in just under an hour. I would love to stay today but have obligations. Early day tomorrow for work then straight home for dog sitting. Peace out!

Session #52 ~ Fresh Opportunity: Hi, great news! The beautiful girlfriend and I are working things out. Also, the day job is getting much busier so a lot better. Cuts way down on my poker playing and that’s ok. Priorities. Adulting.
Christine (my girlfriend) told me her meds have changed and one was cut out altogether plus with all the pressure she’s been under with work and then add in skin cancer….fun times. We’ve been thru a couple health scares with her. So we are still together and working thru it together.
Work seems to be getting a lot better. It was flat for a few months. Also I was contacted by my old boss and have a fresh opportunity to buy some units for him as well. It’s off to work we go…. today will be spent at an auction just down from SeaTac. I have a list of a few dozen rigs I need to look over and drive for the sale tomorrow.
Looks like Omaha is going regularly again at Palace. The first couple weeks it was hit n miss but I did stop in there the other day and they fired the game at 10:30. Wish I could’ve played longer on that day. There were 4 players, out of 7, that I want to play with every day. One in particular was obviously brand new to O8 and that’s great. We want new players interested in the game. Thankfully no one said a cross word to him and actually helped and encouraged him a couple times. So off to the ATM machine he goes. In the 2 hours I played he must’ve been stuck $500. I only got a bit of it. High hands starting at noon and I make Aces full immediately. This is Omaha so has to hold for one hour. My big blind I have 9 4 x x, no raise we check to see a flop of 9 4 3. I bet with top 2 and no low on board yet. Turn is a King. Bet. Now the new guy only has 2 more chips and puts em in. I can’t fold now for 2 chips. Can I? River King to counterfeit our 2 pair and of course the new guy has King King for quadzilla! 2 chips cost me $100 high hand. Not even mad tho. Want that kid to come back again and again. Play for just 2 hours and say… Seat Open! +$88. At least we are inching our way back to the winning side.
Next up? Unsure not just due to day job but one of my daughters (I have 29 year old twin girls) and her fiancé are headed to Palm Springs and I am keeping their dog at my house. He is only about 1 year old. My dog and him (Chip is my daughters dog) have spent a day together a few months ago and got along great. My boy Rocco is such a sweet, loving dog so should be no problem. Next up for sure is a home game I’ve been invited to Sunday afternoon. 5/10 mix game! Should be a great game. Till

Session #51 ~ A Problem: I’ve got a problem but it ain’t whatcha think. After 11 and a half years it appears my beautiful girlfriend is ready to move on. Talk about a bad beat. More to come on this at a later time. We are still together and talking, seeing if this can be worked out. I know I’m not the perfect boyfriend but if perfect in all areas is what you’re looking for, good luck.
It’s amazing to me how poker runs with life. Right now, I’m running bad in both it seems. It requires work, I know, in all areas. Can’t just cruise thru and rely on luck and looks alone. I put in work. In poker, a lot of work off the felt. A lot. And it just seems like right now the deck is stacked against me. Work has been tough and life at home….yikes! I am now not going to play any poker until at least next Tuesday. Tryin to play thru it and no matter what I have, how I play it, nothing is clicking right now. So, a little time off. A short break. I have other, much more important life stuff to figure out. On the home front I put in work. A lot. I even cook. I do dishes. I cut the grass, wash the car. What does a guy have to do?
Probably should’ve taken today off as well. There were some highlights but mostly lowlights. O8 never fired. 8/16 for about 3.5 hours and…Seat Open! -$200. Not today. Not the rest of the week. Peace out!

Session #50 ~ WSOP ’21?: If you don’t already, follow @kevmath on Twitter. He is the official Twitter Czar for WSOP.
While I was in Vegas last week I kept hearing October as the time frame for the WSOP. So that’s what we are targeting a bit in the dark as there is no official announcement or schedule. Kevin confirmed the rumors last night via Twitter that they are more than just rumors. He spoke with a WSOP official (and from what I was told by an insider in Vegas there aren’t many left) that as long as Covid numbers continue to decline they will run in fall. Leggo….
So I’m reviving my challenge. Not that it ever really died but with all that’s happened from total shut down and some poker rooms gone permanently I was all over the board. Depending on dates for WSOP I have roughly 6 months ish. I need to define this and refine this for myself. The goal remains play $1500 Omaha 8 at WSOP at minimum. My goal is 2k per month winnings for 6 months. I can play cash games and  or a couple events and have all expenses covered. I will play both hold em and Omaha to hit this goal. A majority of the play will be at Palace. Subject to change as more rooms open back up such as All Star and Little Creek. All Star is 15 minutes from home. The 8/16 game at Palace is to good to walk away from and Omaha so far has been a nit fest with very small pots. Even if you make a scoop the pot is no where near what it is in 8/16. I’m asking management at Palace to bring back 10/20 O8 once a week as well as 10/20 HORSE once a week. The players are back. Especially on weekends. Full house. Literally.
So it begins again. Or continues….let’s go….
Tuesday March 2nd. Arrive at Palace at 10am. Happy Hour hand is 10s10h for $300. We need to be in a game so put my name up for 4/8, 8/16 and O8. Looks like already 5 names for O8 so that should fire by 11 today I would think. Maybe noon if happy hour has not been hit yet.
Yesterday we saw the player to our right get dealt quads in his hand. $499. Same player made high hand fir the hour for another $75. Nice hit.
We order breakfast and have a seat in 4/8 before it arrives. I never eat at the table so I buy a rack and ask for an out button to eat. Just about the best $4 breakfast around. I need to eat this morning. Feeling a bit hungover after I drank a nice bottle of Cab Sav at home last night.
We start Omaha 8 at 11:35. 4/8 with a full kill. Mostly the same old line up with us in Seat 1 today. Seat 2 is a player who I haven’t seen in over a year. Fairly loose O8 player. Definitely good for the game. Seat 3, retired Muckleshoot dealer. 4 retired Doc. 5 old drunk guy. Seat 6 Asian lady who I don’t remember. 7 same.
Rough start again. AA24 with nut suit. Nuff said. We do hit Aces full for a high hand and then a 9 high straight flush. So $200 in high hand money and hit the bricks. +$240 on the day. Let’s do it again tomorrow…

Session #49 ~ Downswing and Omaha Challenge: Let’s pull out of it today. March 1st. Omaha Challenge back on! Played Friday and the game ran until at least 3am! Saturday morning at 9:30 there were already 3 names on the list.
Friday I had some hands that just either never got there or got counterfeit. Last hand I played I was the button. A26J with nut diamonds. Flop nut low draw with back door nut flush draw. On the river, end up with 2 pair. River was an Ace. Two pair no good for high and we called it a day. A day, just not our day. When ya win ya win, when ya loose ya learn.
There was discussion of starting Omaha daily again at 11. Its 11:25 and I’m 4th on the list. 8/16 game full. Might not get to play any today and that’s ok. I will give it 30 minutes. I can’t stay past 3:30 today anyway as I have a 4:30 appointment. No sooner do I finish writing that and I have a seat in 8/16. Game is good. And I am up about a hundred when they call Omaha. Just about the very first hand I have AdQdJc2c. Bring it in for a raise in position. Flop nut nut draw. Make nut low on the turn and of course the river is a deuce. Why not? My hands played today were good starts but when I made the nuts with no low available I’m still chopping. Two of us made broadway. It just goes like this a majority of the day and the game has no action. Total nit fest. So I steal a couple pots because they are an easy read. Pots are small in this today and I need to make my appointment. I’m out. Seat Open!
-$120.
Back at it tomorrow kids. Stay safe.

Session #48 ~ Down: Anybody else? I just feel this weight. I fight it. I ignore it. I drink it away. But it’s still there. Pulling me down. I escape it, at times. But it persists. Pulling. Tugging. Down. But I refuse! I’m mentally so much stronger now. Is it because of last year? All that shit? Mentally strong because? Because I’m afraid. Afraid of what would be if I wasn’t. I have goals. I have dreams. But sometimes I dream of a different life entirely. I know, I know. Everyone has their shit. Bottom line, I’m blessed but striving for more. So much more. Not for glory. Not for fame. For freedom.
See, I’m the sick-o that would try purposely to come in 3rd at the main event final table. Why? Life changing money and no one remembers. Tell me who came in 3rd in 2011 main? See? No idea. On the other hand, put me at the final table of the $1500 Omaha 8 event. I want to win it! No one cares. Only Omaha fans. No one would recognize me or care if they did. Freedom. That, to me, is success. Freedom. So today, Friday, it’s freedom we enjoy to go play more poker. Oh the freedom! It’s an addiction. An obsession. Obsessed with freedom! My pain, is self chosen. Let’s roll…
Today we arrived just as 8/16 is starting. Shouldn’t be much of a wait tho because about 4 players are waiting for 1/3 NL to start and we will have a seat. We start the day in 4/8 limit hold em. Happy Hour hand is 7h 3d. $500.
Usual suspects today. Muckleshoot Pete to our immediate left. Nothing much happening so far this session. I’m not counting on Omaha firing today and that’s ok cause it’s a nice day and I have lots to do at home. So if we can win a little today we will call it. Either way cause I’m not going to reload today. Short day. Would love to pull a hit n run but a bit too late now for that. 2 hours in already and back to missing everything.
But wait! We are starting….Omaha!!!! It’s 12:23 now. I plan on at least a 4 hour session. It’s been a while here at Palace since this game ran.
Aaaand it’s official. I hate the term but there’s no way to call it anything but a…. downswing. I am suffering a downswing. Never ever remember being counterfeit so many times in a 3 hour window. Crazy. Good news is the game appears to be back starting now. We talked about running the game every day starting at 11am. Lock me up a seat!
Today we get our butt kicked all day. Down in 8/16, down in Omaha. Total today is -$350.
I look forward to next week. Have a great weekend everyone! Thank you for reading.

Session #47 ~ Locking up a win: I’m no high roller or deep pocketed Bitcoin guy. So for me a win is a win. An old friend of mine (literally, he just turned 88) tells me you’ll never go broke taking a small profit. I had a chance in Vegas a couple times to lock it up. Seat open. But I thought maybe I could have a $1000 plus day. It would’ve been the difference in me coming home up or down. I should’ve locked up the win and enjoyed some time away from the table. Those swings make a big difference, at least for me. And, over time, it adds up.
Today, Thursday, we return to Palace. Arrive just a couple minutes before 10. 8th on the list for 8/16 and 2nd up for O8. Happy Hour hand already hit and high hands don’t begin until noon.
I just started a new book via Audible. Grant Cardone Be Obsessed or Be Average. I spend a lot of time in the car alone and find this to be a productive way to invest that time. I’m a huge music fan and have music playing all the time but need some other input as well. Very interesting so far. As a person in sales my entire adult life I am familiar with Grant Cardone just didn’t know any of his history. He spent a few years in my industry. Will be interesting to hear where this goes.
I was obsessively going my hand history from yesterday and what’s interesting I never had anything sexy. No Aces, no kings, no AK… no full houses? Nope. Great hit n run tho. Today, we wait for Omaha 8 to fire and play patiently.
Take a quick break to have some street tacos and get back in the action. Or should I say back to folding. Yawn. Now 9 names for Omaha! I really want to be in the very first game in a year. So…we wait in 8/16… still.
So they won’t start O8 because they would have to break a game? Never mind the obvious. We head to the pay window -$110 today. Back at it tomorrow. Hopefully we can get this Omaha game going again!

Session 46 ~ Welcome Home: Day 1 back home and having to play a little catch up around the house. While I was in Vegas the TV in the bedroom went on the fritz. Cable company thought maybe the cable box. Drive out to the cable co store with old box to exchange for a new one. While I’m at it, two new remotes. Install new box. Nope. Same issue. Time for a new TV. Luckily they are cheap to replace these days. No more reports of the Cougar in my neighborhood. There is security camera footage and it’s a big Cougar. Hope it’s moved on. We have 3 cameras already and 3 more now on the way.
Palace moved back in the building. Omaha hasn’t fired yet but as I write this there are 6 on the list! That game will go again soon if not today. I’m on the 8/16 list as well but not in the mood to wait long.
Last night it froze again here and a few areas received a bit of snow. Icy this morning so didn’t get an early start like I planned.
We get to start a brand new 8/16 hold em game and what’s this?! Brand new chips! All the chips at Palace have been replaced! Nice! I am number 6 on the O8 list. We play an hour and O8 list now at 7. Check in with the floor as they have a couple empty tables but do they have enough dealers? Otherwise I’m bout to hit n run this 8/16 game and try tomorrow. I’m up +$253 in just one hour of play. So we say Seat Open!!!!
I will sprinkle in a few Vegas things starting tomorrow. Playing Palace again, stay tuned…

Vegas, final day: Monday. Last full day here. My flight out is at 11:15am so I will not play at all Tuesday. Coffee, breakfast, pack and Uber to the airport. I’m actually excited to go home. It’s been a rough trip with a couple highlights. I have a few stories. I like to keep these short so I will break em up a bit.
The good, the bad, and the ugly…..
So, first the good. I met some great people. A few of these people are Twitter followers and of course I follow them. I won’t call em by name or Twitter handle on here to respect their privacy. Great to meet them in person and hope to see them again on my next trip in. I got to see some friends I haven’t seen for over a year. Dinner Sunday night, I will never forget and with a person who I absolutely adore. My strip view room at Paris was comped and I had other comps to use at MGM properties like Aria. So as far as expenses go it was just my flight ($209) and miscellaneous Uber rides. Didn’t pay for any food or drinks entire trip. Oh wait, I had a personal pizza at Pizza Rock on happy hour. $8. I’m no high roller or VIP. Vegas as you know is just starting to come back and casinos are wanting people in. Once it opens fully back up they won’t care less for a low rollin poker player like me so it was nice to take advantage of these perks while available to me. I did good today at Orleans Omaha 8 game. I should just play that and nothing else. Remember my write up last week…stay in your lane. Also in the good I got to check out Circa. Amazing. Love it.
The bad. I couldn’t run worse if I was blind. Honestly. It’s unbelievable really. Last hand of poker I played we were at Sahara in a mix game. A-5 triple draw. Dealt A345Q. First draw we make a 6. So A3456. Strong hand, especially playing 4 handed. Villain draws two again on 2nd draw and check raises me. We are both pat and he shows down A2456. Huh? Ouch. How am I runnin?? I played some PLO at Aria as well as Big-O. Had to fold, a lot. Just terrible cards. So frustrating. I really had visions of something quite different. Not to be.
The ugly. With my run bad I lost money. We gained some back at Orleans to make a small dent and again it was a slow bleed so not much but we need to be going the other direction. I have to check my notes but it’s in the neighborhood of -$900 total after tonight. Damn. Now I have to grind it back home and build it back up. Palace has moved back indoors so I will check in with them tomorrow when I am driving by anyway to go home from the airport. I will keep ya posted.
More stories to come this week. My overall review this trip is…all properties taking all safety measures seriously. I was scolded at Paris for not having my mask on while I was drinking mind you. I told her that I’m drinking and they want you to pull it down and back up between sips, not off. Really? What about the smokers? They take your temperature and have a metal detector at most places I visited. They distance people and wipe everything down. Vegas is coming back and hopefully back up to 100% by May 1st. I am hearing WSOP will run in October. We shall see. Some places operated on a very limited schedule but if you have the chance and desire I would go while it’s cheap. Cheap airfares, cheap rooms. My next trip is May 23-27. It’s during the week this time. So I have 90 days roughly.
Alright kids, off to bed.

Vegas Baby! And dinner with a WSOP Circuit ring winner!!: Day 3. Sunday. I feel good for only three and a half hours sleep.
Tonight I am having dinner with a dear friend at Gordon Ramsey Steak. A year ago she won the WSOP Circuit HORSE event at Rio. She has been a huge help to me in mixed games and I look forward to catching up with her tonight.
I am first up on the Big-O list at Aria and they already have a game running. This is my day!
Again today we are absolutely in control of our emotions and play. Nothing to be scared of here. The only thing to fear is constant coolers. I have some hands but will save you the details. Gross gross gross. I can’t help but feel snake bit. Outta here. Back in my room gonna freshen up for dinner.
One more day. The plan? 8/16 O8 at Orleans and 7pm PLO8 tournament. Will I snap and end up in Clark County Jail? Will I not have enough to pay for parking upon my return? Will I beg for money on the pedestrian overpass in front of Aria??? Stay tuned friends and poker fans! It’s gonna be a journey….

Vegas day 2. Saturday: Why didn’t I come here during the week. Last trip I flew in on a Sunday and back home Wednesday. It is definitely busier here. But it’s a, what’s the word, different crowd. I think it’s because it’s the weekend. I’m sure late Sunday afternoon things will look different. There was a line last night to use an elevator to get up to my room. Unruly crowds or groups walking thru Bally’s. Thought there was going to be a fight.
This morning I’m awake early as I usually am but definitely need more sleep. I was awakened by a nightmare. Literally. Speaking of nightmares…that hand that I got knocked out of the Stud8/O8 tournament. In Stud8 you want all your cards working together. It’s not Razz. You really want a hand that can make a low yes but also a high. One powerful start hand is 3 suited babies. You can make your low and possibly a high and scoop. That is after all the goal in any split pot game is to scoop. Scooportunity! Scooping is how you make money. This guy was in with nothing but a naked low draw and had to have a miracle, absolute miracle, to make high. Oh well, next….
Today is a tournament at Bally’s. 9 game mix. Not sure if I’m gonna fire that or not. I will start my day at Aria. 2-5 Big-O hopefully. If not then 1-2 PLO. Hopefully spin it up a ways. If it’s a good game and I’m playing good I might stay put. Or, if I win enough to freeroll myself for the tournament I might take that shot. We will see later.
Aria. We start the Big-O list and it’s deep now but still not gonna fire so we sit in 1/2 PLO. Slow start. Then….my button and everyone limps for $5. I have AA37. One nut suit. I limp behind hoping to flop big. The BB pots it and everyone calls? Yep. Only one way to play it now….All In! We get heads up pre. Villain wants to run it twice and I don’t wanna be a dick. Top board 7 7 x x 7 for quads! Bottom board villain gets no help and we scoop! Yes! Ever since I’ve been super card dead. 237J you know the garbage. Folding. Folding more. Q923 with three of the same suit. Enough of this shit. Going to take a break now. I have a seat at 6 in mix again at Sahara.
A little disappointed that Bally’s canceled the 3pm mixed game tournament today. I was gonna sell action to a friend and see if I can finally expire the run bad. Oh well. Sahara it is.
Seems as if the girlfriend has this me outta town thing figured out. She had dinner and wine with friends Friday night and girls day Saturday at our house. Glad to see it. She deserves have fun!
It’s nice to be able to play poker all day and not have to be anywhere. What’s not fun is catching a frozen wave of cards. All. Damn. Day. I’ve played well. Not great but have certainly minimized my losses. It’s been a slow bleed. And again I’ve never felt better at the table. If I could get an ounce of run good. Hell, run ok.
I have two days left! Let’s do this!!!

Vegas!!! Day 1 (again): This message has been interrupted by….a cougar siting!!! Not good because it’s been in my backyard. I get the news while waiting to board my plane. Oh shit. If my dog, Rocco, gets killed by a cougar while I’m in Vegas I don’t know what I will do. He has such a keen sense of smell and lately when I take him out he stops and sniffs the air. I knew something was up right away. Keep y’all posted. Now back to our regularly scheduled program….
This time I flew Delta. Never again. I’m a loyal Alaska customer and now I know why. I will pay more because it’s worth it. Every time.
Arrive early in Vegas and check into Paris. Strip view but no upgrade. We tried. At least it’s a strip view. Comped! Contacted by a personal concierge? Ok. Cool. Need nothing but nice to know they are reaching out to me. Dig it.  Get our stuff settled in and hop an Uber to Circa. Way cool. Love it. Check out Whiskey liquor up at Binions and walk Fremont but head to Pizza Rock to meet up with a couple people. it was great to meet them in person for sure. Wish I had more time but had a seat reserved at Sahara at 5 for the mixed game. My friend Tim met me there. Was great to see him. He works for PokerGo and I asked for a studio tour but not at this time. He did give me a cool PokerGo hoodie though.
The game was way more nitty than I expected. Friday night I thought people would be drinking and or a couple players may not know a few of the games. I had a couple rough run outs and the mix was not really right or what I prefer. No Badugi but Badacey and a couple Drawmaha variants and decided to call it quits early and go late register the Bally’s Stud8/O8 tournament. Started slowly for me then scooped a fat one in Stud8. I made an 8 6 low with a Queen hi flush. Scoop! We are in business. Rounds are only 30 minutes. Should be at least 45. So with short levels makes it tough to sit there and keep folding but back to completely card dead so we have to. Down to about 17 players in the Stud8 I start with split Queens and an Ace. AdQd in the hole. Q of spades in the window. Raise. 3-way action. I’m up against 2 low draws and it looks like they have each other’s outs to make any hi like a straight. On 4th I catch an Ace! Aces up and we get it now to heads up. Our opponent pairs up so lookin good for us. He ends up with three 8’s and we get no help. Busto. Such a gross way to go out. Happy with how I played, my decisions and how I handled myself. That’s all we can do. Make the best decisions possible.
Good night from Paris Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas! Day 2 on tap…

Missed Value: My last few sessions I think I missed value. One hand I flop bottom set on 4 10 A flop. Turn Q. River J. Heads up. I had check raised the flop. Heads up now and villain flats. I lead out on turn. He flats again. What do we do on that river? Terrible run out for us obv. But do we bet for thin value? Seems like cards are coming where I still have great show down value but I could be crushed. What worse hands can still call? 2 pair maybe? What if I bet and villain raises? Turning my hand into a bluff catcher by checking and obv we are calling in this limit game all day. There have been a number of hands like this last week.
Maybe no local poker this week. Leave for Vegas on Friday. Let’s go….can’t wait. I have a special night already planned down there. Stay tuned.
Today, Monday still a lot of snow. Main roads are fine. Side roads still treacherous. So still home. Going to make breakfast and of course coffee for the girlfriend and I. Tomorrow should be better. Maybe a run to Palace for a few hours.
Tuesday, check Palace. Closed. Moving back indoors! I saw yesterday there were 3 names up for Omaha 8 and I was at home. That is promising. Hopefully when I return from Vegas the Omaha game will be a go again. We shall soon see!

Session #46 ~ Down to the Felt: Thursday.
After very little sleep I’m up early to take the girlfriend to have her stitches removed. Everything looks really good for her.
Still no winter storm and actually stayed above freezing and the roads are perfect so…..
Palace.
Arrive at 9:30 to no game running. Happy Hour hand is KJ of diamonds and it’s worth $800! So we say we will play short handed. Let’s go. Bad beat is worth 75k so just a table share short handed is like what, around 8k. We start 5 handed. And at 54 I’m the youngest at the table. Love it. It’s a solid, tight game. Right up my alley. Soon a 4/8 game starts, then 8/16. No one hits Happy Hour hand and at noon we are now on high hand time. I get nothing. And nothing and AJ I lose to K9 on a AK3 Badugi flop. No fun today. See, I was testing you. It’s not about fun, is it. By that I don’t mean be grumpy or miserable. I mean be polite, be nice, make money. In 8/16 we are in just one rack. $200. It’s snowing a little and I don’t want to be here long. Again we have a double draw. Actually triple draw. Straight draw, flush draw, straight flush draw! Whiff. That hurts. Now we flop a straight draw and nothing else. Short stacked. We get it all in. Down to the felt. Ready to go home. Turn, brick. River…we make it! Now we walk it all the way up to a profit of $105 and hit the pay window. Seat Open!!! +$105. I know it’s a small win but from the felt I’m very happy with it. Also if I did that every day and only played a few hours that works for me. Refer to my first challenge. Stay healthy. Peace and love.
Next up? No idea…probably nothing till Monday but I will keep y’all posted.

Session #45 ~ Stay in Your Lane: Get in where you fit in. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Ever hear these sayings? I’m sure you have.
I mentioned I’ve played a ton of different poker variants lately and that’s fun. I love to play mix games. I’ve been thinking though, it’s not about “fun” it’s about making my goal. It’s about making correct decisions. So we need to stay with what works. Stay in my lane. There will be times to take shots, yes. Not that time right now. We have a very specific target. 2021 $1500 WSOP Omaha 8. If WSOP runs. I’m hearing maybe fall time. Fine by me. I have booked 3 more trips to Vegas while they are in the mood to comp me. I would like to spend a minimum of 1 month in Vegas in ‘21 total. 4 days or so at a stretch. I have 4 days in and 4 more comin up in about 9 days. I usually stay out of the pit but I will give them a little action for free stays. I only spent $300 on roulette last time and now I could stay at almost any Caesars property for a month for nothing. Zero. Comped. I booked several more trips all thru this year. So far looks like I will get my month in Vegas for $28, total! Spread out between Paris and Planet Hollywood. Ok! Don’t threaten me with opportunity!
Wednesday. Up early. Girlfriend is working from home the rest of the week so after fixing coffee and breakfast for her I give her a kiss and head to Palace. Arrive at 9:35. One game running and it’s 3/6 limit hold em. The Happy Hour hand is AsQc and there is one seat open. Ok, I will take it. In about a one week window I play the highest and the lowest I’ve played. Actually a good game. Up just a bit when we move to 4/8 and then 8/16. Usual cast of characters. Muckleshoot Pete on our immediate right. My BB with 10 7 off, no raise and obv check our option. Flop a gut shot. Check. Call to peel one. Whiff. Check. Gets checked around. River, King. Check. Again checked around. We have to show first as the SB had folded pre. We lay our cards face up and…..10 high is good to win the pot!!!! What? Wow! Not a lot going on in this game today. Not really feeling it, just kinda a grind today so we are up a bit and say…Seat Open!!! +$139. Today. I’m happy taking my small profit and heading home. The last hand I saw I was dealt A 7 suited in clubs, late position. Fold. Flop came 99J. Turn 9. Don’t ask me why but I said to myself if one of these guys shows a 9 for quads I’m going home for the day. So, home now.
The 20/40 mix game is supposed to fire tonight at 7. I’m not going this time. If I did I wouldn’t get home till after midnight and tomorrow morning at 8 I am taking the girlfriend in to have her stitches removed. Then taking the day off. Hanging at home. Thank you for reading. Thank you F&O for letting me do this. Much appreciated as it helps me I feel.

Session #44 ~ Valentines Day and Poker: Do you and your sweetheart both play poker? My girlfriend and I have been together over 11 years. She doesn’t gamble. At all. She is the most educated non player you’ll ever meet. She has met top pros. Been with me to hear Phil Hellmuth himself speak to a small group. We played a tournament at home once. Got down to her and I heads up. She was Chip leader. Got very late and we went to bed. Was going to finish next day but didn’t. She won. Good game.
Under normal conditions I know a number of rooms ran a couples tournament on Valentine’s Day. For you single guys and gals what do you do? Play cash game for a while? I know a few couples who have met on the felt. I’ve made some life long friendships thru the game for sure. People I would’ve never met.
Remember Valentines Day is this Sunday.
Today, taco Tuesday, I arrived at Palace very early. Put my name up and am now waiting on my breakfast order. For now, Palace is still in the tent. I was hoping for a surprise when I got here today. Fortune Poker in Renton Wa. is now back indoors. The weather is looking good. Mostly sunny and now above freezing.
Start at 10am sharp. 4/8 limit hold em. So far this game is much more aggressive than usual. Hopefully 8/16 starts soon. I’d much rather play in aggressive 8/16 game. So for now, we grind this.
And now 10:45 and 8/16 starts! Muckleshoot Pete on our immediate right. Up an entire $14 from 4/8. Hey, it’s better than going the other way, right?
Weird day. Again they strip half the players away to start 1/3 no limit and bring us new players. Seat 1, old Asian who plays 100% of hands pre-flop. Seat2, Muckleshoot Pete, Seat 3, me. Seat 4, solid reg. Seat 5, unknown. Seat 6, unknown. Seat 7, super tight old white guy and reg, Seat 8, LAG. Soon seat 8 is bust and old Korean lady, reg, takes that seat. Finally we flop a set! Pocket 4’s on 4 A 10 flop. Turn Q. River Jack. Let’s hope villain just has 2 pair here. He had hung with us when I check raise the flop and bet turn. River card goes check check and we are good. Have a couple spots where we have our opponent dominated and somehow lose. Kinda wanna go home. Up a bit and after just 2 hours and 15 minutes we say…Seat Open!!! As we color up at the poker desk the floor man pays us a nice compliment. He says, Do you know what it’s like to lose? Cause I’ve never seen it! Lol. I tell him if he is the floor and Larry is security that’s my winning combination!
Now home making lunch. Next up? Weather watch. No snow, then I think back to Palace. Dragon is a long way to go and been running cold the last couple sessions. Let’s see if we can string together 3 in a row at Palace and hit a high hand!
Total time today just 2 hours and 15 minutes and +$146.

Session #43 ~ No Gamble No Future: I decided a while ago gambling isn’t for me. Let them gamble. I will play solid. Tight is right. Or is it? In the long run I sure think so. No one wins every time. I don’t care what cards ya hold or what you do, it’s just not possible. I was rewatching WSOP 2018 $1500 PLO event and near the beginning of the broadcast he says something that made me think. He says That’s the nature of PLO, you can play perfectly and still get kicked in the face repeatedly by the deck. Exactly how I felt. A lot of information to absorb in that broadcast. And they do discuss differences between cash games and tournaments. Repeatedly. If you have a PokerGo subscription I highly recommend. It’s long but interesting the entire way.
Today, Monday, I have an appointment in Lakewood to have my windshield replaced so while they are working on that I play 8/16 limit hold em at Palace. Walk in to add our name to the list and see Muckleshoot Pete already in action at 4/8 while waiting for 8/16 to start. The floor informed me that they are moving back inside! Like in the next 24 hours! Alright! Also of interest I see a couple Omaha players I haven’t seen for a year. I jump up and speak with them regarding starting Omaha 8 again and they can’t wait! Music to my ears!
Today is much different. We hit a couple flushes! Right off the start! Our table this morning is half 1/3 no limit players so as soon as that starts they fill us back up with players but my windshield is done, I’m up a ways so we say…Seat Open!!! +$275!
This week is supposed to be an interesting week of weather around here so we shall see how much poker I play. I may not play a lot or at all if it snows or is icy. Still booked to fly back to Vegas in the 19th and plenty of poker to play there! Stay tuned….

Session #42 ~ The Great Game: Friday. Headed to Red Dragon to play PLO for a few hours. Gonna play it snug and hopefully have some good tickets today. I prefer Omaha to hold em any day of the week. Just wish it was a bit closer to home.
This is Super Bowl weekend. I admittedly am not much of a football fan and really could care less about the Super Bowl. Matter of fact while my twin daughters were growing up (they will be 30 in 5 months) I would take them somewhere every Super Bowl Sunday. Places like the zoo, weather permitting, and we would have the place to ourselves. This year, as with many, I have a small group of friends flying to Vegas today for Super Bowl weekend. I asked the girlfriend if I could go and was asked if I’m crazy. I will take that as a no. Comped room at almost any Caesars property awaits. Still going on the 19th.
Speaking of the girlfriend, Christine is doing great! Her operation was a success! Healing up very nicely. No pool time for her this summer in Vegas. Cancer sucks.
Arrive at Dragon and have a seat immediately. First hand 6679 one suit. No, I didn’t play it. Just how it started. Fold. And we start off missing again. But wait, hit a decent pot! Let’s go!
This game, I believe in garbage in garbage out. These guys are here to gamble. Not us. We will go rock today. Us and OMC in seat 5.
I put QQ in the muck pre because my other 2 cards are 56. If I made it to the river with these gamblers I make Queens full. It was a great fold as it turns out pre, first we are small blind, 2nd there were 2 all ins pre. Villain shows Aces. Correct decisions is what it’s all about.
I attempted a trap play from early position with double suited Aces. Would be great except not one of my suits came and no Ace. No draw. I’m starting to think I may not have enough gamble in my game for PLO. But I think it’s more about well timed aggression and discipline than just tossing chips in and hope to get lucky. Is it just me? Or could it be our opponents know that hand equity’s run super super close together in this game? Nah, they just gamble according to the junk I see them roll over. Speaking of junk, the last hand I play today in my BB is KJJ10 with 2nd nut clubs. Flop is K 2 Q. I don’t improve and get beat by K 2 5 8. Frustrating because I fold better hands than they play. Next week I’m definitely going to be more aggressive. I need to put more pressure on pre-flop if I can. Pot pre is only $15 if you’re opening unless the straddle is on so in this game be prepared to go 5 ways to a flop. Today we lose. Again. I feel that there is not a lot I could’ve done differently. Seems like the cards ran against me. Maybe a short break? Don’t know. I’ve never felt more comfortable or confident at a poker table in my life. Mental game A. The way I acted at the table A. There’s gotta be an adjustment somewhere I need to make and I think it’s aggression. I can’t let them see cheap flops when I have a hand. I’m trying to trap and the trap is snapping back at me. The cards can make you look like a fool or make you look like a genius. Two days in row I’m the fool. I don’t like it. It’s not a good look on me. We blow 2 buy ins at $300 each so -$600.
Enjoy your Super Bowl weekend however you choose to spend it. I will be home all weekend. Next up….PLO at Dragon on Tuesday if it’s not icy or snowing.

Session #41: How many games do you know?: Good morning from Palace Casino Lakewood Wa. Arrive just a couple minutes after 10 and am 9th on the list for 8/16. That’s not good because it’s currently an 8 handed game. As soon as 1/3 No Limit begins that will clear out the shoe clerks and crumb bums.
Lately I’ve played many different variants of poker. That got me thinking, how many games do you know? How many are you comfortable to actually play? I come up with about 15. I’m not “good” at 15 mind you but I know the games and can sit down and play. I remember years ago some top pros saying if ya wanna get good at poker learn all the games. Learning. Always learning. Don’t be a one trick pony. It seems that learning more games helps me learn more. Helps me become a better player. I feel like I’ve improved as a player a lot. Still a very long ways to go but that’s what keeps it interesting.
Today, Thursday since we are on the wait list I go enjoy a nice breakfast. You can once again eat inside the bar area. Only a few tables set up due to restrictions. I never ever eat at the poker table. Even pre pandemic era. Never. I will go sit at the bar and enjoy a meal and then return to the game. After breakfast as I’m writing this I see the 8/16 list dropped all the from 9 to 5? At least now we have a seat locked up. There is one name up for O8. One guess who. I will get that game going again soon. We are now only 9 or 10 days away from being back indoors. While I ate there were guys working inside the building. Making a few changes and improvements. Are you listening Red Dragon?
We start our session in 4/8 but only for a couple orbits and we start the 8/16 game. +$10. We have Muckleshoot Pete on our immediate right. I like that because he never chops the blinds. Also he is solid so if he raises it’s an easy fold unless I have something. I dig myself into a little hole right from the start of 8/16. Still running bad. I do something I never do, move seats. And, for a while, it was a good change. I make a comeback and I’m only stuck about $80. I think about booking the loss and going home but things have turned! So I think. The frozen wave finds me again. Again I have a series of whiffs. One hand I flop a 4 flush, turn a pair and then whiff the river but it goes check check so we have showdown value and our 1 pair is nothing. Many pocket pairs that not once flop a set. Not once. Aces cracked when we are only 3 ways to a flop of 10 3 8 Badugi. Turn is a 7 of clubs bringing in the back door flush draw. River I correctly check fold and I was beat in both spots. Straight vs flush. Ya just can’t make this stuff up. Unbelievable really. If someone told me I would think they were making it up and or paranoid. So we say good bye to 2 racks. That’s –$400 today.
Tomorrow, Friday, is PLO day for me at Red Dragon. Going to try to get there about 10:15 and play 4 hours or so. That game suits me better. Just don’t care for the venue. I will get over it if I can book a nice win. The goal is to play every hand the best we can. Good decisions and the chips will follow. Good things coming!!!

Session #40 ~ Hump Day: Back at Palace. Started off easily enough. 4/8. Up +$120 in an hour. Move to start a brand new 8/16 game and start to slide a bit thru again, a series of missed draws and donks hanging on dearly with bottom pair.
Truth be told I would rather be playing PLO. Dragon just isn’t my spot.
Spoke with management about reviving the O8 game here at Palace. Lots of change in the wind for sure.
Today is an odd day. I managed to scratch out a win but it should’ve been bigger. I’m not complaining nor greedy. I’m happy to win but wow. At one point I flop an open ended straight flush draw and don’t make even a pair. Nothing. Multiple missed flush draws. Flop a set and get smoked by garbage. Ugh.
Now, my button, couple of limpers. Look down at KhJh. Raise. Flop is K 10 10. Checked to me and as soon the first hole now smooth calls I know. Reads are on? Just how I’m running? Combo of each? Dealer burns and turns……King!!!! We get paid off all the way and to boot it holds for high hand! (There was only 2 minutes remaining) $200 bonus! Play a while longer but about 2:30 we call it…..Seat Open!!! +$360 today (includes hi hand bonus) For running cold I’m doin alright. Wait till I run good! $$$$
Mental game never better. This cold streak is teaching me. I’m happy with my decisions and the way I act and handle myself. I’m excited for the future. For ‘21. Good things coming to be sure! Stay tuned! Thank you for reading. Feel free to hit me up or berate me on Twitter @dave_has_aces

Session #39 ~ Biggest Cash Game I’ve Ever Played: Hi everyone! Red Dragon is now back inside! With that comes the return of mixed game. They play 20/40. Ive played as high as 15/30 but very little. 10/20 a lot but that’s it. I’m both excited and nervous. Excited to be back inside, no more parking lot tent poker. Excited to play mix. Nervous cause I don’t know the players yet. Nervous cause 20/40 is a big game. I attempt to call my name in and they no longer accept call ins. Huh? Well damn. I have seat 4 locked up with the host of the game so I guess we will see. If not I will put my name on wait list and play 1/3 PLO for a bit. Too far to come just to turn around. We will play.
Arrive at 3:50. We have a table reserved but may have to start short to keep table. I played 3 handed last Tuesday night for a bit in Vegas but that was 4/8 mix. No one at table yet…4:10 now. All other tables in action currently.
I’m able to sit immediately in a 1/3 PLO game. This was by far the softest PLO game I’ve ever been part of. I was able to steal a couple pots when I missed my nut draw. (Shocker, I know) They were very very small pots. Also one pot in my BB gets checked all the way down and I win it with 2nd pair, no kicker.  So I play about 30 minutes is all and move over to start mixed game. This game is probably not right for me. At least right now.
A couple observations 1) Being back inside is great and I know the dealers are pleased to be back indoors. However, Dragon is, for lack of a better description, very ghetto. It looks to me like they did zero improvements or clean up during the shut down. They have 7 tables, all in play and even tho they have room all are a bit too close together in my opinion. 2) Game is too expensive. And I don’t mean the limit. Somehow it’s agreed on that instead of a drop or rather rake they would be charging time. $75 per 30 minutes divided up by the entire table. Ok. But there are currently only 4 of us. So we each pay $20 for a total of $80 and tell the dealer the extra $5 is theirs. Might work if we were 7 handed but damn. I’d rather them just take $5 per pot. 3) Dealers and staff alike are all fantastic. They really are.
The game itself consists of 9 games. One player, our “host” or the guy that put this together is too aggressive for his own good. 2 to 7 triple draw and he would 3 bet but then be drawing 3! Lol. If ya check to him he would bet. And he never slowed down. I don’t think he folded a hand, at least pre-flop or before the 2nd draw, ever, in 3 hours of play. More often than not if you bet into him he would raise. Hyper aggressive, in my opinion, and maybe I’m right because he went broke. 3 times. But in $500 to $1000 each time. One seat got a majority of those chips and it wasn’t me. I played snug. Maybe to snug and I think that’s ok for my first time in that game. Just not sure if it’s worth it. It’s at Dragon. Don’t care for it much. Red Dragon that is. It’s a 3 hour round trip for me. Love the games but at $75 per 30 minutes? Maybe if there are 7 players. Still thats $20 per hour I pay directly. I guess if there’s a rake you don’t notice it? But I do, I talk about in certain games ya can’t beat the rake. Is this one of them? I played 3 hours plus the 30 minutes in PLO. Total +$260.
Here’s what has me thinking. The ferry ride is $35 round trip plus my time. I’m anxious for Palace to be back indoors and see if we can revive the Omaha game. If so, I will just hang my hat there a majority of my playing time and get back to my Omaha challenge. We are in for some developments in the next couple of weeks. The one wildcard in all this is a place about 12 minutes from my house. All Star Lanes and Casino. A bowling alley with a card room upstairs. The manager moved to DC and now a friend of mine since we were teens is in charge. If he runs an Omaha game on a regular basis put a fork in me! This will be the only poker room within about 30 plus miles. Only game in town. I’m sure they will add a few tables and I’m sure they will pick up the old Omaha game from Clearwater. So at least once a week close to home. We wait and see. I’m certainly gonna talk to him about running Omaha on the regular. When Clearwater closed poker they had 2 tables, sometimes 3 of O8 running with no one other than a couple guys knowing what the heck they were doing. Let’s go….

Session 38 ~ Quick 8/16 Session: My girlfriend tells me over the weekend she is going to work on Monday for a few hours. Um, ok. Warrior, glad you feel up to it!
Decisions on Monday. A) Red Dragon for 1/3 PLO B) Palace for 8/16 hold em C) Day off. Dragon is a big time commitment just to get there and back and really don’t want to be that far away from my girl in case she needs me. C I don’t think is an option so B it is.
Palace. Monday morning. We arrived early by design. Happy Hour hand is 10c 10h. Worth $300. Both cards must play and must win the pot. I get it dealt to me, late position and flop is ok looking for pocket 10’s. It comes 7 7 3. Turn Q, river 4. I knew before the cards are even turned over. We loose to 8 7 off. No harm no foul. Small pot. I sniffed it out immediately. Next hand. Pocket Aces. Cracked on the turn. Actually somehow up just a tic. Then we win a few without a showdown. A few more uneventful wins and soon we are a couple hundo up! So we say….Seat Open!!!! Cash out and on the road by 11:30 +$243. Welcome home!
Home now making lunch for my girlfriend and she is working from home. Still in some pain but doing well all things considered. Looks like I will be back on the NW grind just about every day this week if only for a few hours each session. Hit n run dream is alive!
Palace says they will be back indoors by Valentines Day! Let’s hope with that comes the return of the Omaha game! Stay tuned…

Vegas. Final report and a few thoughts.
While in Vegas we get some news. First is Red Dragon is now back inside! No more parking lot poker! No more tent! Will Palace be back inside also? With that comes the return of the mixed game at Dragon. 20/40. Big game. Not sure when I will be playing that primarily because I have to take about a week off due to the other news. It’s bad news. On Thursday morning my girlfriend is scheduled for surgery. Cancer. She is a breast cancer survivor and this time it’s skin cancer. Caught very very early. No chemo or radiation this time. But just that word makes me want to cry and makes me angry, instills fear.
Vegas was very different this time. First, it was empty. I usually enjoy Vegas when it’s slow but this was eerie. My walk from Venetian down to Paris there were next to zero people on the strip. Just a handful and mostly homeless looking people. Sad really. At one point I counted the people watching the Bellagio fountain show on one hand. Also a lot of things are still closed. Restaurants that are open are only allowed 25% capacity and 4 per table max. Looked like Javiers inside Aria bent the rules a bit. Love that place.
Live poker continues on players! All precautions in place and taken seriously. Once we are past this, the rooms that survived will thrive!
Mixed games is the most fun you can have playing poker. And it’s so interesting. Get familiar and play if you haven’t. There are a few books on the games. One by Ken Lo simply titled Mixed Games has 12 games and is a great read.
I probably won’t return to Vegas until either A) pandemic over and or B) WSOP. I’m hearing they might try to have it this year but move it back to fall. For you Caesars Diamond and above players MGM is still doing free tier match. Definitely take advantage of that if you go to Vegas. My advice after this experience is wait. Don’t go. Rooms are super cheap. No crowds and airfare is amazingly low. I fly first class for $119 on Alaska. How can you not do that? So I understand. Locked up and no travel for a year plus can drive you mad. Nice to get away for a few days.
As far as poker goes, I can play at home. Now I need to take a little break, maybe just one week and we will continue the challenge. I will get in that big mixed game at Dragon soon. PLO for sure! Those guys are straight gamblers. No one understands hand values. They want to buy in short and play get it in as quickly as possible. We will remain patient and pick our spots.
Happy to be home! Missed my dog so much and of course Christine, my beautiful girlfriend. Next write up I will update you guys on her and of course poker! Stay safe, stay healthy!

Session #37 ~ Vegas! Day 3: Tuesday. Slowest day for poker on the strip. Aria only has two games going so far and one is inside Table One or whatever it’s called now, the old Iveys Room. 50-100 big bet mixed. Over my bankroll for sure and probably over my head as well. My name has been up all day for 2/5 Big-O but no game yet. Head to lunch with my friend and his daughters and take a rest in the room before heading to Sahara for mixed game.
Order up an Uber and head to Sahara around 5:30. I’ve never been there. Nice place. Great poker room. We are playing 4/8 mixed. Double board Omaha, 2-7 triple draw, A-5 triple draw, Badugi, 7 stud hi/lo, razz, Drawmaha zero and a little later Badacey got added. Tonight’s line up was solid players. Everyone knew what they were doing and were good at all games. Started at 6 and by 11 we were playing 3 handed. We each picked 2 games for the rotation and played thru it twice and that was game. After spending much of the session $200 down we make a comeback and cash out a tiny win. +$68. It feels so much bigger.
Our plane departs tomorrow at 10:30 so in bed by about 12:30. Last night in Vegas and probably won’t get to come back until fall for hopefully the WSOP.

Session #36 ~ Vegas Day 2: Good morning from the Orleans poker room. Up super early today so may require a nap before I play the PLO8 tournament at Venetian. Grabbed breakfast at my hotel (Paris) and jumped an Uber and now waiting for the game to start. After what seems to be a lot of confusion the game finally starts after I waited so long I damn near left. Should have went to Aria and played 2/5 Big-O instead. No fun. No money. We dust off another $300.
Take a break and grab some In-n-Out and walk to Venetian. Our seat assignment was good , at first, but got moved to an outer table that didn’t have the nice chairs. Hard conference chair. Seat 1 is the rotating seat with players busting or getting moved. We scoop a couple and wait. Play patiently. Then we get quartered twice but make a nice comeback to over start stack again. After about 4 hours I’m dealt A A 10 4 with one suit. Folded to me in late position. Pot. Small blind, who is chip leader at our table, calls. Flop is Q 5 A! Top set and villain checks. Pot. Call. To a turn of a Jack. No flush possible and we get it in only to have him show us K 10. Didn’t think he had that mostly due to the fact we have a 10 for a blocker. We need the board to pair on the river for a double up and a deep run, a King for a chop. No dice. And we are out! Buy in was $300 even, so down today -$600. No regrets but can’t help but feel a bit snake bitten. There’s more opportunity and our last full day, Tuesday Luke put together a mixed game for us at Sahara. They heard I’m in town and bleeding badly…..should be a ton of fun and I’m really looking forward to it.

Session 35~ Vegas!!! Day 1: Hello from Las Vegas and the beautiful Aria Poker room! After a smooth fast flight here we are. Check the Bravo App and see 40 plus players on the Omaha list. Our friends Flynn and Ollie warned us about that. So looking at Bravo we decided to call in and add our name to 1/2 PLO at one of our absolute favorites…Aria!!! Got seated upon our arrival.
This trip we are staying at Paris only because our friend got comped. Nice room, strip view looking directly at the Bellagio fountains! I haven’t been to Paris Vegas in several years.
Our game today plays very slow. Back home it’s Ram jam rebuy. Here. Very methodical. Hardly any all ins unless they are short. No scary players at all. Feeling completely comfortable and we start out well. Buy in for $300 and within 30 minutes we are up +$165. And a little more. Then we get Aces cracked, heads up. We have AA109 with A10 of diamonds. Flop is all rags with two Diamonds. We get beat by two pair. 2 5. Wait, 2 5??? Yep. We put in about a 6 hour session and need to go to get to Bally’s. We end up +$215 and go enter a Big-O tournament at Bally’s with our friend Steve. But in $100. 1k guarantee. We are still frozen. A frozen wave cards rushes over us. My BB with A248Q one nut suit. Flop is 2 8 4. Check fold is the obv play so….we find another fold. This is getting frustrating. Steve is on a nice roll. After a couple 2 and a half hours play, blinds are 1500/3000/3000 (big blind ante format) we are BB with A2QQK one nut suit. Get it all in. (The betting is pot limit) get beat by 457JK. Out!
Hit the room, shower and in bed early (by Vegas standards) got a long day tomorrow. O8 at Orleans early and then PLO8 tournament at Venetian. Let’s make about $800 or so at Orleans and then bink the tournament at Venetian. I’m due. Today only +$115 total. This is going to be a long couple days at that rate. Goodnight

Session #34 ~ Longer Session: Today we put in 5 hours at Palace. Longer than normal but gotta be ready for Vegas. It was a day of mostly hovering around even. All. Damn. Day. Usual suspects nothing noteworthy. Never even made it up on the board. Ever. Had a lot pocket pairs that never made a set. We did very good again with patience and not tilting.
Now to head home and clean the house. We are leaving on Sunday and want to leave the place in tip top shape so my girlfriend can relax.
Weird day. +$26. Ugh. Better than going the other way but damn.

Session #33 ~ P to the L to the hell O: Wednesday. Giving it another shot. Up early getting the girlfriend off to work. Jump in the shower and hit the road. Call in from the ferry ride and put our name up, me and our special guest today Matt.
Game starts upon our arrival or actually when I went in to buy chips action was fast and furious. Not even in my chair and we see players all in and rebuying already. No lack of action. These guys are truly sick. We have zero playable hands and watch as seat 2 burned about $1500 within 30 minutes. Not kidding. Seat 2 appears to be playing all kinds of junk. Good. Let’s play.
We watch some more as our friend Matt goes to the felt, reloads and goes on a heater. He is crushing. We still haven’t got to play. We fold better hands than seat 2 plays. But seat 2 is all of a sudden on a heater. Can’t miss. But prior to heater Q664? He (she?) has a pair, looks good, never mind none of the cards work together. Oh ok 6 4 you can make a straight. Good luck. Fold that garbage. On a flop of 477 special guest Matt pots it. It’s head up with seat 2 and our friend Matt. Turn Ace. Pot again. River brick and Matt wins a fatty with JJ. Seat 2 shows Q664. WTH?
This session there’s really nothing cool to report. No fun stories. Standard. Boring. Special guest has a few nuclear wraps that somehow brick out. He gets felted and calls it a day. I’m not very excited to stay but play a bit longer. We play as short as 4 handed a few times. Super card dead so we call…Seat Open!! -$250 today. Proud of my patience while card dead. Overall pleased with my decisions all day. There is definitely money to be made in that game.
Fly out Sunday to Vegas so probably taking the next couple days off. Keep ya posted and obviously daily write ups from Vegas!!!!
Viva Las Vegas!!!!

Session #32 ~ More PLO!: Lot. Of. Action.
AA and 2 garbage cards 79 but my 9 is suited up to one of my Aces. Oop. Small blind. We decided to not get squirrelly with bad Aces as there is a raise and several calls. We flat to a flop of A 3 6 rainbow. Check.
Let me back up a bit. Today we have a poker buddy along for the trip up and to play PLO with us. We pick him up at 8:40, grab a coffee, some gas and hit the road to catch the 9:35 boat.
Talking poker strategy and stories and all I decided to call in and see if they accept call ins to reserve a seat. Yes, they do. That helps our cause coming up there to play. We will call every time we go now obviously. Game today starts within about 15 minutes of our arrival. Seat 1 for me again. Start with $300. Double up and a bit more within the first 30 minutes! Now, if I were here by myself today I would just leave. A true hit n run. Seat open. I don’t want to make my buddy leave that fast, especially since he is down $500 at that same time. I thought about cashing out still and tell him to take his time. We can just sit and play around on the phone, listen to music, write this session write up. But, maybe, we can run this up again today.
We see a series of hands where we have a wrap and flush draw, brick out. Seriously. Ouch. It’s ok. The game is kinda soft today with a ton of limping pre. Now I know hand equities run super close together in this game so for now we are happy to not commit a bunch until post flop. Frustrating when you have a good run down, double suited and whiff. Happens, I know. So no steaming or tilt at all just a mental note. Doing great in my mental game. So much better. Tomorrow we will hit those and win 1k or better. It absolutely can be done in this game. We burn our chips out on these missed draws and reload. Another $300. Seat 4 leaves and a player we recognize from Friday sits down. Action. Lot of action. We are able to check raise him with top set and such a dry board maybe I shouldn’t have but he pays us off anyway. Good game here again. We spin it back up. Then again go ice cold. Flop the joint and board pairs on the turn. You know, fun stuff like that. Seat 7 is on a mission. Goes broke and says hold my seat. Comes back in and is super loose, very aggressive. Never has a “good hand” I think played all hands at least to the flop. If ya check to him he will bet. If ya raise him with your made flush on the turn he will call.
Then we don’t win a hand for what feels like an hour. AcKhQc10h. Flop is 457 none of our double suits and there is betting and raising over to us. EZ fold. At least I got away cheap but again a series of those and after making a comeback and again with one foot out the door. We have a terrible streak, get felted and say … Seat Open! My buddy made his comeback as well and left around $400 up! Not for me today -$600. We are on the same schedule tomorrow and will do my best to live tweet it. Thank you for reading. Let’s crack em tomorrow!

Session #31 ~ Grinding: Up early today getting some things done around the house and going thru hand reviews from yesterday. There are a couple spots where admittedly I really shouldn’t be involved or check fold the turn. Remember part of this journey is being brutally honest and learning. Growing. Becoming better. Let them gamble. Not us. We are not there to gamble. We are there to grind out a win. Get it in when we have the best of it, protect it when we don’t. It’s that simple. In one spot we have QhJs9h8s. Flop the straight and heart draw. Gut shot straight flush draw. Bet out, get just one caller. Turn card is where I should tread a bit more lightly. He called with something. Turn pairs the board with a King. I bet $240 and it’s heads up. He goes deep into the tank. Obviously hopping he will fold. Call. Oh no….there are now 2 hearts and 2 spades on board but the flush, unless we make the straight flush, is no good and we know it. Know it much to late. Check the river spade ready to fold to any bet. He checks behind and shows down Jacks full. Simply put, I played bad yesterday. I know better. One hand, on the button, I hold AsJsJh4c. By the time we get to showdown it gets checked to us. Check. Player A shows pocket 9’s, player B shows down the other 2 Jacks. We think we are chopping. Show 2 Jacks but wait…rivered a wheel and didn’t know. Never looked back. Terrible. Today, we are bringing our A game and traveling alone. My friend Matt is sleeping in. Fine by me. I actually prefer to be a solo act. I have taken tons of trips near and far for poker with friends. Fun times but easier alone and we are not looking for fun right now.
May look at dividing our poker time between Palace and Dragon. Looks like some winter weather headed our way and it can be a tricky drive to get up to the Kingston ferry if there’s ice and or snow. Last session at Palace the 8/16 game never fired. There is another room. I’ve mentioned before, Fortune Poker. Renton. Kinda a hassle to get to and from but the 8/16 game starts at like 9am goes all day and usually with 2 tables of it. $499 high hands every 20 minutes. Might be worth it on occasion but again it’s limit hold em. Not what I want to play. Not the drive I want to make. Much rather hop the boat and Red Dragon is only 12 minutes off the ferry. EZ PZ. And it’s our newest poker obsession…PLO! Let’s go….
First hand of the day, AJQ5 with one nut suit working. Flop comes 3 5 J. Villain bets and we raise. Turn was a blank. Villain started with only $150 today and now he’s all in. River 5! We think we start with a nice add to our stack instead we loose half to JJ? Yep, Jacks full. We get it all back a couple hands later when we turn the fourth nut flush. Did I say 4th nut? Oh boy….but it’s a winner. Very next hand we check fold the 2nd nut flush and we were correct. Old man coffee of course flopped the nuts ….easy read. Game today is a lot different. We don’t catch very many playable hands. Nothing cool or interesting all day. We get bored folding all morning and we are up a bit over $300. It’s absolutely beautiful out today so we say Seat Open! +$335. Going home to take Rocco for a walk.

Session #30 ~ New Adventures: I’m on a Washington State ferry as I start writing this. Headed to check out Red Dragon. Finally! I haven’t been on a ferry for over a year now. I live 5 minutes, maybe, from the ferry dock in Bremerton. Today I drive 35 minutes north to Kingston and take that ferry to Edmonds. The Red Dragon is only about 12 minutes off the ferry dock. I could take the boat by me but it’s an hour ride and docks in downtown Seattle. That’s great for going to concerts and sports. I look forward to doing that again. This ferry crossing is 30 minutes and a ton less traffic to deal with.
A few thoughts  already. 1) I paid $16.40 for the ferry ride. Seems like a lot. Gotta pay it again later today to go home. 2) this seems like a long way to go. 3) could already be at Palace. 4) the high hand money almost makes it worth it but they are hard to get and harder to have hold up. One card qualifies. Seems like it’s always quads or a straight flush. The other day it was a Royal because the guy had the one card ya needed. Queen of diamonds. But $200 for your first and then for the rest of that week $499! $699 in high hand money I got this last week. (Thursday thru Wednesday) that about makes it worth it if ya can string together a few wins as well.
At Dragon now. Exactly an hour and a half door to door. Set up not as nice as Palace. Smaller. Not as much room. Dick’s a Seattle burger institution is right across the street so we will definitely get that for the ride home. Dragon also has $200 high hands but probably not for PLO. I will check when I get seated. Just missed the start of a game but that’s ok, the main game I want to stay out of for a bit. 4 names up for the start of another table so we wait. I sure wish the O8 game at Palace didn’t die. Dragon is in a tent also temporarily but it’s sub floor sits right on ground, barely elevated and seems a lot colder than Palace. Also, it’s not even. It slopes. Seriously.
My first table we actually start 5 handed. They play 7 handed max with plexiglass. Not a lot going on. Win a few, lose a few. Seat 7 sounds like he’s a real regular and gambler. Talks a lot. A lot about Vegas. I opt to stay completely quiet. No one here knows me. And I want to listen today. Learn these players. Gather information. After a bit the floor tells me I have a seat in the main game. It’s a must move. Ok. Main game it is. How tuff can it be? We pick up a few hands, and win some pots. Then a few more smallish pots. Now, on the button with A A 10 8 and one suit working all of a sudden there is heavy action around to us. So much, in fact, we are able to make it $320 to go! Pre-flop! I thought honestly everyone would fold. Nope. Three callers! Three!! Flop comes 3 2 9 rainbow. Check around to me of course and we have about another $330 behind. It goes all in! Now, we have everyone covered so they would be all in for less. Two of them put their remaining chips in. The turn pairs the board with another deuce. River……the most beautiful Ace you’ve ever seen! Aces full!!!! Drag a monster and say….. Seat Open!!!!
I absolutely love playing Omaha and PLO straight high? No chop pots??? Please! I am in love. We leave at 2 today +$2100! Wow! I will be going again next week. Probably will pick a day or 2 to journey up to the Dragon. Kinda have to, right?

Session #29 ~ Last Hooraw & another NW Poker Room closed : I’m going into Palace today hopefully for the last time in a long time. I need a change. I don’t want to play limit hold em. Just isn’t fun. So beginning tomorrow we will see if Red Dragon will work for us. Omaha. Pot limit, high only. Looking forward to it. 4 cards. Oh the possibilities….
I read of another NW poker room closing. Spirit Mountain in Oregon. Never been. Heard a lot about it. Drove by it once. Way to far from us but still a NW room that once upon time I heard was rockin. We are running out of options. Hopefully Little Creek is reopening their poker room soon. Brand new room with 16 tables. They could own the market right now if they wanted.
Waking up this morning to a number of power outages. Extremely wet here. Record rain fall and last night very windy. The 1, 2 punch. With the ground saturated the wind blew down a lot of trees. Now we are forecasted for dry, calm weather for a week. We need it. The drive may be interesting but all major highways to get to Palace so should be just fine. Seems like every single day there have been bad accidents I’ve had to get around or drive by. Arrive at Palace at 10:15. Zero names up for 8/16 so far and I am 2nd up for 4/8. Surprised it’s not busier this morning. Happy hour hand today is 9h 10h. That’s doable and it shows it’s worth $900! I thought it only went up by $100 every day it’s not hit? 9 10 of hearts should be hit today. I need in a game though instead of sitting here waiting. Let us get some run good today. Hell, I will even take run ok. Crazy how we missed all yesterday. I know it happens but to pour salt in the wound when we turned the nut straight villain caught a flush on the river. Also we watched as seat 8 hit not one but two high hands. One of them he played Q 5 of spades. Told ya the game is good. Flop is Q 5 Q. Turn is a 5 to boot so he just has to fade the river. He did and a player paid him off. Queens full held for high hand. What the…
Today, new day and our last opportunity to hit high hand number 2 for the week. Only reason we are here. That and happy hour hand for a cool $900! Vegas money. 4/8 game starts up and what’s this? We have Muckleshoot Pete to our immediate left. Never have I seen him sit in 4/8. Game is actually good so far. About the right mix of solid low limit players and players just gambling. Within about the first 15 minutes or so the happy hour hand gets hit at our table. Then a Royal gets hit behind us. Wow. 5k payday for that luckbox. We are doing ok. Up a bit and a bit more. A8 suited on the button. We see a flop of AA4. Just call here obviously. Turn is a 6. River is….the case Ace to give me Quadzilla!!! One card plays for high hand so it’s quad Aces with an 8. Only 3 minutes and 19 to go! We are now $100 up plus our 2nd high hand for the week and it’s a beautiful day here so we say …. Seat Open! +$599! Remember this time around all bonus money counts. Felt so good to finish on a high note like that.
Home now. Walked the dog. Washed the girlfriends car and of course enjoying a nice glass of Cab Sav. Life’s good! Tomorrow, we check out Red Dragon and PLO! Don’t miss the next write up! Thank you!

Session #28 ~ Happy Hour : Palace. Lakewood Wa. 10am on a Tuesday. Only 1 table in action but 6 names on 4/8 and 4 names on 8/16. Also 2 names on O8. We are here early to attempt to win the Happy Hour hand. Today it’s 5 7 of clubs. Hit it and $500 is yours. Only till noon then we are on High Hands.
Yesterday was a bit wild. At least 2 maybe 3 players were betting every time. Most of the time showed up with nothing. Bluff heavy game. And we were now playing 12/24! I hope those kids are here again. Just throw them the rope. Let them keep betting and raising with air. I really like playing those types.
Countdown is on for Vegas trip. Happy to be traveling again. It’s been over a year now.
So far today we are seeing playable hands but run Jacks into Aces. Saved a bet on the end when the board paired 10’s. Thought he had a 10 but showed us Aces. Then we run our flopped set into a higher flopped set. Still in the 4/8 game though so not very costly but still. Now 11:25 and 8/16 is firing. We buy a rack of blue $2 chips so $200 plus our rack of white we bought over from 4/8 so in $300. Let’s go….
Today only 2 unknown players. The couple LAGs from yesterday are not here, yet. It’s early. Again we have a hand where we have both a straight and flush draw. Whiff. WTF. C’mon. Can’t miss em all, can we? Then, Q J of clubs on a flop of 9 10 5 with a couple of hearts. 8 10 wins? Ugh. So gross. Done with these hand histories because we just got a really bad one. So not talking about anymore.
Buy another rack. Loose another pot when we had the nuts on the turn so not our day. Seat Open! –$350.

Session #27 ~ Streaks: Poker can be streaky. Some days you’re the pigeon and some days you’re the statue. Hot streaks, cold streaks. Good streaks, bad streaks. Heaters, coolers. What brings it on? Just good luck or bad luck?
It seems to me I’ve been on a cold wave of cards. Yesterday when I looked at a flop I missed entirely. 10c 9c and flop peels As 5d 6d. At least I get to get off the hand cheaply. I guess that’s a bit lucky really. I often say sometimes you don’t know how lucky you are to not have a hand. I guess maybe the word I’m looking for is variance. Let’s be on the good side of that for a while please.
Today, Monday I arrived at Palace early by design. They have reintroduced the Happy Hour hand. 9am-12noon then at noon it’s high hands every 20 minutes. So the happy hour hand is a hand drawn at random from the deck. Today it’s Jack of hearts 5 of clubs. If you win the pot using both hole cards you win the happy hour money. Every day it’s not hit it goes up by $100. Today’s pot is at $500. But again both hole cards must play. Motown? J 5. Jackson Five,  Good luck.
We put our name up for 4/8 and 8/16 as well as Omaha but I have to play hold em to try to hit a high hand. $499! Let’s go…
4/8 game was nitty but played very fast. Play for about 45 minutes and 8/16 fires early today. Bring our rack minus a few chips and buy in one rack at 8/16 so $200 plus the $100 we started with in 4/8, we are in $300. 8/16 game starts with us on the button and wired 7’s. No one in so open raise and win the blinds. From there things are slow. Again card dead. Missing draws and not connecting at all with the board. Then, after a while, we are playing suited connectors. 8 9 of clubs. There is a remakes behind us after we limp. Call. Flop is 8 4 5 with the 4 5 of clubs! Check raise. I try to balance doing this but honestly in this game I think no one is paying attention to much but themselves. So again we miss our flush. All day long, we didn’t make one flush but we make 2 pair immediately on the turn. River off suit King. We continue obviously on both the turn and river and get paid off. And again I do it. 2 pair! No the LAG now bounces up outta his chair and takes a walk. Comes back and everyone except the old Korean lady gets Overs button. 12/24 game now if she’s out! We win a couple nice pots and soon say Seat Open! I would really like to stay but decided to not press our luck. We run it to $822 so today we put together a +$522 day!
Let’s do it again tomorrow! Now home enjoying a nice glass of Cab Sav and hanging with my dog and of course girlfriend. She’s giving me grief about upcoming Vegas trip and probably rightfully so but we are booked! Life’s good! Hope it is for you all as well!

Session #26 ~ In Search of: A new Poker Home : If you follow me on Twitter @dave_has_aces you already know. The staff all are great at Palace but my hearts just not in it. 8/16 no fold em hold em. I want to play mix games and or PLO. So we are going to commit to going to Red Dragon next Thursday. We have to. We need to see how far it truly is. Need to see if it’s where we want to play. As far as Omaha or mix games go it’s the only option without jumping a plane ride. Speaking of plane rides, one of my best friends is headed to Vegas and asked me to go with him. Got the girlfriends reluctant approval so away we go. On or around the 25th. Keep ya posted.
Aaaand flights booked now for Vegas trip! Fly in Sunday the 24th and out on Wednesday! This, I’m looking forward to. Haven’t been for what feels like forever. For a point in time I was going once ever 3 to 4 months. Not kidding. I’m going to play Omaha at Orleans and we will see what else. If I take to PLO quickly I can play 1-2 at Aria. They also are playing 2/5 Big O I see. Trip write ups daily obviously.
I play a rare Sunday session only because every high hand I hit thru Wednesday pays me $499. I would love to hit two of those. Vegas money ya know. Well, on this day I couldn’t hit water if I fell out of a boat. At this rate now I need to hit one to be even for my last 2 sessions. Just simply ice cold. I fold a ton of hands. Miss every single board. All of em. Fairly nice day here so after loosing a rack we say… Seat Open! -$200.
I could play longer but it doesn’t seem to be our day and one of my poker goals for ‘21 is to minimize my losses. If this day isn’t right, no problem we are out. Home. Took my dog for a walk and watched the end of the Saints game. I won my one and only football bet I made this weekend. So, there’s that. Going to try Monday. Good night.

Session #25 ~ Winning at Poker: Winning. Not a single loosing session yet in ‘21. Not that I’m winning huge sums of money but I’m not putting in major hours either. And it’s only been 4 short sessions but hey if I did that every day.
However, sometimes it feels as if I’m playing to not loose. But isn’t that the point? It’s low limit hold em. I’ve done a good job picking spots to bluff or semi bluff. I love the semi bluff because it gives you two ways to win the pot. They fold now and you win. They call and you complete your draw. Bingo Bango Bongo Vince!
In no way am I saying it’s been easy. Opposite actually. It’s been a grind. Especially when you’re card dead and then your premium holdings turn to garbage. Wait and wait….Aces! Beat by Q 7 off! But remember, that’s what we want. Every time our opponent makes a mistake, we win.
I’m really happy with my improvements on my game. Mental game probably never better. Knowing when a game is good or bad? Check. Reads? So so. It is, after all, limit hold em. Bankroll management is better. A lot of improvements and a lot to go. Learning. Always learning and growing. Love it.
Friday. Slept really good last night. Up early feeling great. Getting a few things done around the house and hoping we get some good tickets today.
It still amazes me what hands people are willing to call a raise with. They have zero chips committed to the pot but are willing to pay $16 to see a flop with Q 7 off? Ok! Thank you! When they do get lucky and suck out on you it only stings for a minute. You’ll get it back with interest! Also, any raise on the river is never ever a bluff in this game. Doesn’t necessarily mean the nuts but it’s a minimum of 2 pair type hands plus.
Arrive at Palace a tic before 11. Game fires upon our arrival. Seat 6 today. I am dressed today more like a business man just killing time until his next meeting, just in case there are a bunch of unknowns again and as to not tic off the Asian kids. Not today. We recognize every player. Again off to a terrible start but it’s not how ya start….
Now 7 times I loose with Big Slick, or was that the 8th time? Ace high flop. Loose to Ace 10. Had my opponent dominated and the deck bailed him out. But then we win a nice pot with 3 4 off. We made the wheel. The board was paired and had 3 clubs, and its good? What are these guys doing?
Might not get here for the start of the game anymore  because again half the table empties out to play 1/3 NL. We play as short as 5 handed. I like short handed but there is a lot of commotion with players leaving and coming. We are currently 6 handed. Full game is now 8. So far today this game sucks. Probably a short day, we shall see. Swing and a miss. Whiffed everything so far today. But that’s how it’s been all week and we have been able to grind out a win. Let’s go…
One other thing I’ve noticed is I can stop buying in for 2 racks. One is plenty.
We limp in oop with A 7 off. Flop is 7 10 3. Check call to a turn of 7 and a river 7! Quadzilla! High Hand if it holds up. We hit it as the buzzer sounded so a full 20 minutes to go. This table I’m at plays very slow. People eating, on their phones and what not.
Quad 7’s hold! HH and now thru next Wednesday we get $499 for every one we hit! Other than that so far today has been tuff. Again the series of hands, or lack there of is gross. And get the worst beats put on me. Crazy. We flop trip 7’s and our opponent doesn’t go away when we check raise. He goes perfect perfect for a straight flush. Not kidding. Unreal. AdQd flop 2 4 Q with the 2 being a Diamond. We have top top. Top pair top kicker. I know these guys will bet. We are under the gun and had raised pre. We check. They fire, we raise! cache I raise into the field. No one folds. Turn another 2. Lead out. Calls all around. River Jack. Of course a player hung around with Q J. I mean why wouldn’t he? He had top pair with me. Ugh. Only can catch a 2 or a Q for a chop and only a Jack to win. Jack. Really? And that’s how it goes. All. Damn. Day. I’m lucky to not have lost more than I did. Yep. First loss of the year but it’s only $200. That HH money saved us but I did good on not going off on tilt and blowing thru 600. The way the cards were coming today I would’ve done that a couple years ago. Not now. Now I just know we will get em next time for sure.
Thinking back on the week and how things went I’m lucky to show a profit for the week. A bit frustrated thinking about it but encouraged. Poker is certainly not dead. Very much alive. There’s opportunities for sure. The way a majority of them play I should have a great week next week plus $499 every high hand! So again today we post a loss -$200. First loss but I’m lucky to have it be only $200 loss.
Decided to search out a new poker home. The dealers and staff at Palace are great and that game is juicy but it’s just not me. Hearts not in it. I have to play thru next Wednesday as every High Hand I hit is worth $499. I can’t surrender that obviously gotta try. After that I’m going to finally check out the Red Dragon up in Mount Lake Terrace, just a tic north of Seattle. PLO. I’ve talked with several friends in poker and they all were surprised I’m not already in that game. They say I will love it and to go ahead and play 5/5 as they seem to think it’s not that much different from 1/3. I disagree but am unsure as a newbie to PLO. I think….I will love it! Wish me luck. I will write up each 8/16 session till the end and certainly let y’all know what’s happening. Also, a possible Vegas trip at the end of this month!

Session #24 ~ Poker Dreams: I had a dream last night that I won a WSOP bracelet! Seven card Stud Hi/Lo. Winner winner Chinese dinner. There were no hands or poker playing in this dream it was all immediately after I won. Ya know how they take the winners photo for WSOP.com? Somehow, in my dream, they didn’t take my pic. Also, when I went to get my bracelet to show it to someone it wasn’t an actual real one. It was black, I remember, and not even metal. I was saying what’s this? Is this temporary until I pick up my actual bracelet? And then I had a conversation with Daniel Negreanu out in the hallway. Only part of which I remember. Strange. I dream a lot about poker. I think because I watch poker videos before bed.
Today, Thursday we had intended to get up at 6:30 and leave the house at 7:30 and journey up to the Red Dragon. My dog, Rocco, a 15 year old Jack Russell had me up most of the night. After we lost his sister back in July I keep a closer eye on him. He seems to be doing great for a senior dog. When my alarm goes off we turn it off and go back to sleep for a bit. So back to Palace.
Check the list and take off early because the list for 8/16 already has 4 names at 10 am. Arrive at 11 and game starts at 11:09. Let’s go…
Today I recognize only 2 players. Need to watch and see who’s who. I get Aces under the gun. Flop is rags but two spades. Turn a red King. River a Red Queen. Somehow we loose to Queen 7 off? Not even kidding. Unknown player, mid position calls a raise with that? Let’s play….
By the way, the last 5 times in this game I held Bug Slick I’ve never won a single pot. Aces? Last 3 times no good. Kings? Already cracked this morning. Crazy. Lucky to grind out the wins I’ve gotten.
No wonder I recognize no one. This was a feeder game. Guys waiting for 1/3 NL to fire. I don’t play that. I have. For some reason it’s just not me. I will stay in my lane.
This day we have seat 3. Seat 6 is an Asian male in an Addidas track suit and is the player who cracked our Aces with Q 7. A short time later, we are playing 5 handed I open raise with K 9 suited. Flop a straight. It’s he and I, heads up and he raises me! This guy seems to be gunning for me today. Must not like my jacket today? I am wearing a Suited Poker Gear Aria Poker pull over. Other than that this day finds ice cold. Ace King again nothing! 6 times now with Big Slick.
It’s now 12:48. Game is quite. The run of cards in getting, or lack there of, is frustrating. I know it happens. Limit hold em, to me, very boring and then add on a cold deck and I wanna cry. But I have done so good lately with my mental game so we remain strong. In the meantime we watch seat 1 go on a little heater. Playing a lot of hands and getting there.
Again Kings no good. Seriously. How am I running? So gross. This is a grind. Zero fun.
Then, with pocket 6’s from my small blind, capped pot with 6 players the flop comes 6 3 3!!!! Check. It goes bet, raise, call, call, call we only call. No need to pop em until the turn. Also there are two spades on board so we want them to hit obviously. Turn Queen of hearts. Same action and when it’s back to us we raise. River is a small spade! We get in another check raise and drag the biggest pot of the day! This pot puts in the black really good. After again being down almost a full rack we now are a couple dollars shy of $200 profit. It’s now 2 o clock. New player in seat 8, I’m pretty sure it’s Flex. A lot of you probably know who that is. He buy in for $800 and raises before he’s even in his seat. A few players get Overs buttons, 12/24! But, we say….Seat Open! Cash out at 2:07 +$192.

Sesssion #23 ~ Back in theTrenches: With the day job grinding to an all time historical low we have more time to play poker. Back at it today. Palace. Arrived at 11:20 and got sat immediately in a 4/8 game.
It’s been kinda nice to not have to leave the house until after 10 I must admit.
Again 4/8 for just a couple orbits and we start 8/16. Mr Action is on time! Initially we are getting settled into seat 5 with Mr Action in seat 6. I know he prefers 4 or 5 so we tell him we will switch. He can have 5. Done deal! He is on our immediate right! Away we go….
Today starts out fast and furious. Chips are flying. One hand we have a double draw. We have straight and flush draw and whiff. Let’s hit these today….
Seat 3 again is goofy. He called a raise in his big blind with 9 3 off. I mean I understand defending your BB but wow! He also loves to bet into the field on any flop. Now seat 3, a complete unknown to us and Mr Action get into a Dick measuring contest. Seat 3 challenges Mr Action to play 20/40. So they each get an overs button. We opt out and they are not messing with us. We win a couple pots against those two players with nothing. Against them though it had to be nut nothing.
It gets worse between seat 3 and Mr Action. They start jawing each other to the point where the floor is called and security shows up. They eject each player. Noooo. There goes the game. But wait. Here comes a crazy Mexican guy we played with a lot over in our neck of the woods. Maybe this game will be alright.
Now those ejected players show back up at our table and it almost comes to blows. Out the door they go by security.
In the meantime crazy Mexican will feed us. He is playing Q Deuce voluntarily. Out of position! Not his blind! Let’s go…
Really thinking of making it a short day today. It’s now 1:00. I’m going to play maybe till 2. Maybe. Just feels off now after all that commotion. Felt bad for Mr Action because seat 3 started it. All Mr Action did was not take his BS. I gotta ask the floor when he is allowed back in. Mr Action was friendly when we sat down. Remember I traded seats with him. Even in the first few pots together, no problem from him.
We speak to the floor and make sure he knows seat 3 (we learn his name is Danny) was outta line. The insta gator. He confirmed he knows but anytime there is gonna be a physical fight both players are now equally punished. He tells us it’s a minimum of 30 days. Shit. He tells us Danny is a trained UFC fighter. Why then, is he getting stupid? Could cost him a lot if he fights. I’m pissed because Danny was just killing time waiting for 1/3 to fire. If you followed my first challenge blog on here remember I had a write up about Do Not Tap The Glass. Now Mr Action might not ever return. I’m sure he will go up to Fortune Poker. It’s about a 30 min drive depending on traffic. That’s why I haven’t been there in about 2 years. That drive can end up being an hour plus. Once he goes up there he will probably just continue there.
Today just feels off. After a series of whiffs we are down about $170. We get it all back plus a $6 profit and say….Seat Open! Cashed out at 1:27 today +$6.
We will have a decision to make. Continue at Palace? Game today turned into fairly nitty play with players hoping to hit a high hand. Do we head to Fortune and try to follow that money? I’m sure he will be there. Again today he blows thru the first 2 racks in 20 minutes and try’s to rebuy for 2k! Floor told him he could only do 1k. He pulled out an envelope that appears to have all 100’s … had to be a min of 10k. Should we venture up to Red Dragon for PLO? I’m sure I would love it but it’s an hour and a half each way. Decisions Decisions….

Session #21 ~ Dgen Dave on the loose: Taco Tuesday. 11am Palace again. The Dragon again shows PLO game is going as 5/5. Pass for me for now. We have 6 on the list already for 8/16 and it’s only a couple minutes after 11. Game should fire today by 11:30.
I’ve been rewatching the 2005 WSOP main via PokerGo. 2004 Champion Greg Raymer is chip leader going into day 4. Kinda fun watching what they call “Classics” even though you know the end you’ve probably forgot most of the beginning and middle. I’m looking for when Adam Friedman breaks down and actually cries because a table mate hasn’t returned from break on time. The Mouth is playing great poker that year. In between that I’ve been reading and watching video on and about PLO. I’m hoping to get to play that this week but want to start at 1/3. 5/5 seems like it would play to big for my britches.
We get a warm up seat in 4/8 but only for a couple hands and promptly at 11:30 the 8/16 game fires! Let’s go….
All solid players so far. We are missing Mr Action from yesterday. Should we say he is missing in action? The Muckleshoot guy tells us he blew through 15 racks! Wow! Probably should’ve stayed.
Wait! What’s this? Mr Action in the house! Put your seat belts on kids. Down 1 rack in 20 minutes he is and rebuys for…..2k? Lol! Now it’s our job to get our fair share. He moved seats already also. Now he is two seats to my left. Watch this….
Mr Action is a bit slower today but not much. He is always calling even when you check raise. Great! Our BB with an extremely marginal hand, ok it’s a piece of cheese. Jack Duece suited in clubs. Mr Action raises and picks up 4 callers. Pot odds plus implied ya know. Flop is one Duece and one club. Check call to re-evaluate on the turn. The turn card is …… a Duece! I go for the check raise and somehow it gets checked around. There are now a couple diamonds on board also. River drops as a Diamond…….Bingo Bango Bongo Vince is the Jack of diamonds!!!! I bet right out and now Mr Action raises! 1 caller behind him so I 3 bet. Big blind special! Today was quick. The hit n run dream is alive! Just 2 hours of play and…..Seat Open! +$250

Session #21 ~ First Session of the New Year: Happy New Year!
Looking at the list for Red Dragon and they are running the PLO game so far today as 5/5. For a newbie to PLO I think that game plays a bit bigger than we would be comfortable with. Interesting though that they have 20/40 mix showing on their list. Zero names so far. I’m going to call and ask if and when that fires. I would love to play mix even at those stakes. I’ve never played over 15/30 but I know the games and think I have a small edge in a couple of the games over an average opponent. I will keep you posted. So, for now, back to Palace.
Today, Monday, very wet dark day here in the Tacoma area. We arrived at Palace just a couple minutes after 11. On the drive over I called Red Dragon. He said 1/3 PLO is their regular game and took my name and phone number for 20/40 mix. I told him I would need a minimum of one days notice and would love to come play that. We shall see. Sounds like a few guys are trying to get that game going again. They used to run it at least once a week pre-pandemic. I will try to get up there this week for PLO.
I spoke with the floor man at Palace regarding Omaha. He said they will probably remove it from their wait list. Gone. Hopefully it returns in the future but for now, dead. I told him to offer it as 8/16 or 10/20 once a week instead of 4/8. I’m afraid if they remove it as a game available to sign up for it may die permanently. Outta sight, you know.
Very quite in here so far today. Only 3 tables in action. I expect players to start rolling in shortly as high hands begin at noon. I’m the only name up waiting for 4/8. 5 names on 8/16 including me. 1 name up for O8.
They changed what table they are using for 8/16. Also it’s now 8 handed instead of 7. Plexiglass still in place but one more seat. Not yet noon and 8/16 fires. Only a couple of the regular players all others I don’t know. On the very first orbit we see a pot develop that is capped pre flop. At show down players are in there and raising and capping with A 8 off and A 6 suited. Wow…let’s go…
They certainly came to gamble. Under the gun raises in the dark. This is a good game. So far we are super card dead. Nothing to even gamble with. We stay patient. We walk for a minute and see the guy from Muckleshoot (20 years ago, remember) he is on the wait list and tells us the crazy player to our right lost 12 racks a couple days ago. 12 racks! That’s $200×12! I’m still getting dealt 9 2 off….
When I do have something I’m getting out drawn. Then I’m picking the wrong times to call down light. Pot odds, you know. I win a decent pot with just Ace high. This game has just turned into BINGO! Did I mention I loathe limit hold em?
I was just contacted by a guy up north trying to revive the mix game at Dragon. I’m in the loop at least now. The game hasn’t fired since pre-pandemic era. Keep y’all posted.
In the mean time I’m in a great 8/16 game today and I have the best seat in the house. To the immediate left of, let’s name him Mr. Action. This guy really should go play 1/3 No Limit. He would probably crush. I mean if you’re willing to loose $2400 in a 8/16 limit game. ATC is Mr. Actions motto. We get stuck. But this game is juicy because Mr. Action has put at least 2 players on monkey tilt.
Side note:now 6 names on the Omaha list.
We are 3 racks deep into this game. That’s $600. Our small blind, button straddle so our action first. Pocket 6’s. Raise. It gets capped to a flop 6 ways. 6 5 8 with two hearts. We flop a set! Turn A of spades. Now two flush draws on this board. We are all in on the turn. River spade. It’s the 8 of spades to pair the board and give us a boat. It’s good for a main pot of about $230! A player shows his cards for the side pot. 7 4 off. Seriously. That’s how good the game is today that he is willing to call pre flop, out of position in a capped pot with 7 4 off? Yes he flopped the joint and slow played it. But c’mon. 7 4. We now spin it all the way up to $840 and say…Seat Open! First session of ‘21 is one for the memory banks. We leave at 3 sharp +$240. Nice start to the year! Let’s roll..

Session #20 ~ Gotta Feed the Donkeys a Little Hay: A friend of mine says that often. Keep em comin back. As repeated in the movie Rounders, You can sheer a sheep many times but only skin em once. So crazy what happened yesterday. How bout the flop of 66K and turn J, our customer stays the entire way with wired 10’s and hits the miracle true one outter on the river. But that was yesterday. New day!
Get Ready It’s a New Day! Grind. Away we go…
No fold em hold em. It’s a blessing and a curse. Remember every time our opponent makes a mistake we win. Maybe not today but in the long long.
Today we at least hit the board for High Hand. $499 but doesn’t hold.
Seat 3 today is an odd seat. We are in 5. 3 has had two different players and both just goofy. ATC. Any two cards. First dude buys in twice, goes broke in an hour and is gone. His replacement ive never seen before. White guy about 55-65. Playing goofy stuff. Queen six off and all. Love it! Let’s play.
I get bored with hold em easily. I wanted to play a bit longer today, I really did. With seat 3 playing all hands dealt to him and calling down with bottom pair. High hands till 8pm and if I manage to get one it’s $499. But not feeling it any longer. Gotta go. Seat Open! Rack up +$230. Happy New Year, let’s hope it’s a good one without any fear.

Sessions #18 & #19 ~ Death of a Poker Game: Hello everyone, I hope this finds you in good health and everyone enjoyed their Christmas.
Palace Poker, Lakewood WA hasn’t fired an Omaha game for about 2 weeks now. Seems to have died. I hope they can revive it soon. I did go there on Monday and played a few hours. Started in the 4/8 game. I loathe 4/8 limit hold em. High hands every 20 minutes though and no Omaha or 8/16 game going. Our Big Blind with A 7 suited in Diamonds. Flop an Ace and only one diamond, check call to see a turn of an Ace. Check check. We are heads up. River…7! Aces full! Only about a minute and a half left on the clock so it holds for $200 high hand bonus.
That’s about it for the the day. In n out. Just went out of boredom and get outta the house for a few hours. Interesting tho that now I’m in line for $499 high hands the rest of the week. That’s right. For the rest of the week if I hit a HH it pays me $499. So now I gotta go play…..let’s go.
Today is a grind. Nothing going right. Seat 5 is LAG type player and straddling almost every time it’s his button. That’s good. That’s the game we want to be in. This hand it’s his button and straddle is on. We pick up Aces!!! We are 2 seats to his right and of course 3 bet. Flop is Q83 with a couple hearts. I think for sure he is gonna bet when checked to. Nope, not this time he checks. We bet the non heart turn and he winds up going perfect perfect to make a straight. Huh? He holds Ace King of spades. The turn was a J and river 10. And it goes like that. All. Damn. Day. We never get on the board for high hand. We have AJ suited on a flop of A 10 7. Villain has A 10. Why wouldn’t he? Did I mention I loathe limit hold em? Check this one out. Our BB no raise. We hold 6 7 of clubs. Flop comes 6 6 K. We don’t get cute. Bet out. Called all the way around. Turn Jack. Same action. River 10. Check and call a bet from late position. The lady shows us pocket 10’s. Ya can’t make this stuff up. How are you still in there on that board with just 10’s??? God bless ya. Did I mention these players are sticky? I should be rich playing this game, seriously. But the poker gods have other plans on this day.
So next week, new year, new game. Going to travel north. North Seattle. I have to hop a ferry ride and about 12 minutes off the Edmonds ferry dock is Red Dragon Casino. They run a 1-3 PLO game every day. Usually multiple tables of it and usually starting by about 8am. So plan is to get there around 10:30 ish and be in the second game. I have a feeling the main game first thing in the morning is all the same players. Probably all good players so we will try to be at the other table and ask our dealer friend who works there. Away from work, off the record, who to watch out for, can I should I play main game or not till I’m more experienced? PLO is a different animal all together. For starters it’s high only. Great by me. I think I’m going to love it. I’ve been readying myself by watching videos and reading. I know I can do this. The Omaha 8 game is dead at Palace. I don’t want to play hold em, I really don’t. So north we go!
In the meantime I have another session of 8/16 tomorrow at Palace because any high hand I make that holds for that 20 minute block pays me $499! Let’s hit 2 and leave with a bang! Stay tuned friends….
Yesterday session was +$235: Today was -$350.

Editorial (12/17/2020) ~ Neg Covid & Long Gone P-Rooms pt 1: A janitor at my girlfriends place of work is hospitalized for Covid. Praying she recovers quickly and all this misery ends for us all soon. My girlfriend was promptly sent home and a week after potentially being exposed we went and got tested. Negative! So we just finished breakfast at home I prepared and are sipping coffee. As I sit, I start thinking…reflecting.
Watching the return of High Stakes Poker last night got me wishing some of my local poker rooms would return. Most are gone forever now I’m sure. One such room was inside a local bowling alley. Bremerton Lanes. Initially they had four or five tables set up in a meeting room. Smoking was allowed back then at the table. I’ve never been a smoker and it was always thick in the air there. With the poker boom it wasn’t long before they built a brand new room. They took out about six bowling lanes on the north end of the building and walled it off. They put in a large bar area with a pool table and large windows that looked out into the bowling alley. It was a nice set up. This room grew in popularity with the locals and ran some great tournaments and of course cash games. I was a regular. They had a monthly Freeroll for players who earned enough hours. For the daily tournaments you had to be there early and stand in line or risk being an alternate or being shut out completely. Always sold out. The location of this bowling alley was right at one of the roads to enter into the auto center back then. All the dealers located within a couple blocks of each other and I was there all the time for work and for a while lived just a couple miles away. Back in high school I actually worked at this bowling alley for a while.
The very last Freeroll they held I won it. First place, no chop! The next day, Monday, I roll up with a friend of mine to play the morning tournament and see a group of people standing out front. Players and dealers. Not open yet? We pull up and see the doors are chained and pad locked shut. What??? No warning, no rumors…done. Wow. Turns out the owner, who owned another establishment a tic east of Seattle, lost his gaming license. Revoked. The building remains vacant to this day. This has been about a dozen years or so ago. Still vacant. All equipment intact. Can look thru the front doors and see. Time capsule. Would be interesting to go inside.
Some of the dealers went to work at other casinos or card rooms. Some did something else entirely. This was actually a good place to put in a lot of time because when it came to rules, they had em all and enforced them like it was life and death. One dealer in particular was super strict. I think they had and enforced rules I never heard of. I think it actually helped me. And I ran very good in that room. Very good. They had a Monte Carlo board. I hit it so often one of the dealers called me Jack Pot Dave. I hit my first Royal playing live, on opening weekend of the new room! $4400 Jack pot! I still have the promotion poster in my garage. I met some people there that I’m still good friends with to this day. Miss that place for sure. I seriously doubt it will ever return. Even if someone were to reopen the bowling alley I think they would just incorporate the poker room area into the bar. On the side with the windows looking into the bowling alley there were a couple steps up into a raised area that had booths. I hate to eat at the poker table so always had my lunch in one of those booths. Would be a great spot for live music. Lots of room for a dance floor.
Next episode we will go across town. Head north and east a bit to talk about another long gone room. Chips. Chips Casino … RIP.

Editorial (12/15/2020) ~ Poker Boom: You all remember, I’m sure. 2003. ESPN. WSOP. It had a great cast of characters. Really couldn’t have been written any better. People came out of the wood work to play immediately after that. Back then there were a number of card rooms within a 20 minute or less drive. Players stood in lines to register for daily tournaments locally. None of which had a buy in of over $75. The fun part was you could play “the circuit” as we called it. Starting at 9:30 am at Chips Casino. $35 buy in, best breakfast around and if you made it to the end deals and or chops were common place. Get your cash and head 11 minutes north to All Star Lanes and Casino. A bowling alley with a card room and bar upstairs. If you haven’t eaten by the time you got there they had a good cafe-style restaurant. Start time 11:30 but call in and tell em you’re coming you had a guaranteed spot. Another $35 buy in and optional $10 add on at the end of the 3rd round. Rounds only 12 minutes long. Turbo as they are known now. Complete blood bath with players over playing all sorts of stuff. Probably, given the structure, the correct thing to do. But this was prior to GTO and all that. It was Gambol! Usually done by 1:30 with a deal made along the way. Never have I seen so many players so anxious to get “money back” the field was only 30 to 40 players and they wanted “money back” when we reached the final table of 10. Yep. 10 handed tables. A friend of mine always said no if he was still in because if you can’t afford to loose $35, you shouldn’t be playing, is what he would always say. Lol. On Wednesday, you had a few hours until the next one. Often play cash for a while and have a great, comped, lunch. Wednesday night featured the best tournament of the week here locally. This one was held at Clearwater Casino. $75 buy in with optional add on, and usually about 75 to 80 players deep. On Tuesday nights, for a while, the best one to play was at Bremerton Lanes. Yep, another bowling alley with a card room. I sure miss B Lanes. Great room and so close to home I could walk if I wanted. I will do a feature soon reminiscing about some of my favorite local rooms. Bremerton Lanes is where I hit my fist Royal playing live. They had a great Monte Carlo board I hit so often one of the dealers started calling me Jack Pot Dave! Loved it when I had time to play all 3 in a single day. The circuit. How I miss those days. The days I pulled a hat trick and cashed all 3 really made me feel good.
What has me thinking about all this is the success of Queens Gambit and now the Chess Boom and the poker world crying for something like that for us. It’s been done and tried again. First was the airing of 2003 WSOP on ESPN. A fantastic cast of characters with an unknown amateur getting heads up with a millionaire businessman and savvy gambler from Houston Texas. Of course the bluff seen around the world to set into action the poker boom. 2nd was a show I really wanted to like, I really did. Tilt. Remember the show Tilt? Epic flop. Pun intended. So now the poker world wants an answer to Queens Gambit? Really? Too late in my opinion. If they came up with something featuring mix games, possibly. But I don’t think you can really build the drama for TV like you can with no limit. Also in a poker world filled with hoodies, sunglasses, headphones, no socializing, solvers, GTO and the like it just isn’t what it once was. Previously we had characters with cool nicknames like Slim, Puggy, The Mouth, The Poker Brat, Kid Poker, Tree Top, and many many others. Now we have Kyle or Brad check raising all in for his last dozen or so big blinds. The poker game, the poker world has certainly changed. I know the goal here as to why the poker world is asking for a show is to attract new players. More fish trying to swim upstream. I get it. I think it’s more intimidating than ever for a player to walk in and join a live game or tournament. The answer may lie in mixed games. Omaha in particular. Pot Limit Omaha possibly. Everyone gets 4 cards? Now you can only use 2? This may be of interest to people. Texas Hold Em I think has had its 15 minutes and for the poker world to grow and evolve it has to reinvent itself so to speak. Make it interesting and make it fun again. Fun being the key for new players. Just my two cents. But Doyle himself has endorsed mixed games. Kid Poker said it’s the future of poker. Chip and others have said to be good at poker you need to be good at all the games. Should be interesting to see what happens. First we need to be able to play again. Safely.

Session #17 ~ Update/Spoke too Soon? : Juuuust couldn’t help myself. Damn degenerate anyway. But rumors are flying around about a tighter lockdown. All the way. Until next year. Soooo…. we played. Right by there for work anyway. Yes work. Tying up loose ends and after Monday I am off until after Christmas. So…
Palace. Again start in 4/8 hold em but again only for a couple orbits and right into 8/16. Today’s table is fairly solid. We wake up in the BB with KJ off, no raise so we just check our option to a flop of KK6! Check. Turn Q and now the old Korean lady who plays everyday leads out. We flat. River….Jack. She checks, we bet and win plus we are on the board for a High Hand! It’s super early in this 20 minute block and I don’t think it’s gonna hold. It doesn’t. Oh well.
I see that WSOP is running a month long event at Bally’s Las Vegas with a ton of mixed game fun to be had. Omaha 8? Yes! Horse? Of course! The one, besides O8, that I would play is a $250 buy in triple stud. Oh, don’t threaten me with opportunity. $25 rooms at Paris which is connected to Bally’s. $169 round trip flight via Alaska Air and I’m there. I love Vegas at Christmas. Not this year. Not now. No way. Damn.
The Omaha 8 game doesn’t fire again. That’s ok. We play 2 hours 10 minutes. Back to the old hit n run. +$265.
With the way work is going or rather not going it may have to be this way for a while and that’s ok. Let’s do it again!

Editorial (11/28/2020) ~ Learning & Hitting Pause: I, obviously, still have a lot to learn about poker. But again that’s one of my favorite things about poker. Learning. Always. Not just about poker but about ourselves and about people. Friday was back to ice cold for me and when the list was full for Omaha I asked the floor about starting the game. His response was he didn’t have enough dealers! Huh? Uh oh! So that leads us to our next thought….
Pause. You all know Covid is raging now. The numbers are staggering. They say one new case every 3 minutes or something like that? I’m toying with the idea of taking the entire month of December off. Completely off. No poker, no work, no worries. I know, I know. I have a major goal to achieve. But if I get sick and or die or worse bring something to my girlfriend obviously it’s not worth the price of admission. Poker just isn’t a priority right now. The health and well-being of my family is. I’m not dying to play. It can wait. In addition we are still playing in a tent with no timetable for going back in the building. Temperatures over night will be right at freezing. Even in good health that can’t be good on ones person over time. So my break, or pause may go through January depending.
Stay well everyone!

Session #16 ~ Ebb and Flow: The tide goes out, the tide comes in. The flow. The flow of the game. Watch the chips move around the table. Hopefully they get to us and stay put!
I’ve noticed the last few sessions how, at least it seems, we are either hot or cold. Ebb and flow. Call it fell maybe. The flow of the game that is. I think you have to have a feel for the game. With me it comes and goes. Some days I’m reading like DNegs other days I feel a bit lost I admit. I want to be brutally honest with my shortcomings or leaks. Remember part of this journey is to become a better player, a better table mate, a better person. Today was a success not just for the W but we had fun. We interacted with some guys I’ve never met. We joked around, made fun of myself and enjoyed our time. We were a good table mate, a good sport even in the pots we lost.
The other thought is, at least for this game, ya can’t force it. Again my old poker buddies are aggressive as anything. I caught them speeding a couple times. They should move over to the No Limit game. They would probably crush.
Wait. Bobby’s Room at Bellagio has been renamed Legends Room? No. C’mon. I know Bobby Baldwin went to work for a competing casino but some things are sacred! Aren’t they? Guess not. Will always be Bobby’s Room to me.
I’m friends on Facebook with the old poker manager at Palace. On Thanksgiving day I see a post from him claiming a number of employees at Palace and Fortune Poker have tested positive for Covid. Not believing it. First off, he was fired from Palace so he may have an axe to grind. 2nd, as much as I’ve been there, I’ve seen no one or heard of no one sick. A personal friend of mine is a dealer at Palace. He would tell me off the record. I will certainly dig into this a bit more. If verified obviously The Deuce goes on pause for a bit. I will keep you posted. But I’m saying no way.
Friday, day after Thanksgiving. Nothing to do today for the day job so we hit Palace just after 10:30am. No one on the O8 list yet, I’m hopeful that game fires by noon. It should on a Friday. If not I’m going home early. It’s a beautiful day here for late November. Mostly sunny and going to be in the low 50’s. I add my name to 8/16, no game running yet for that. High hands all day today, $200 every 20 minutes so I add my name to 4/8 also. 2 names ahead of mine for that game. We get a seat in 4/8 but just for a couple orbits when they fire the first 8/16 game. Line up is pretty much the same meaning I’m only 1 of 2 white guys at the table. All Asian males 65 to 100 years of age and the old Korean lady that plays everyday. They seem to love to gamble. Let’s go…
Seat 1 can’t miss, at all. A trained monkey could have that seat at this point. He straddles the button, our BB with QQ!!! 3 bet. We get smoked by seat 5 who had zero chips invested when I 3 bet. He flat calls (UTG +2) with 2 3 of diamonds. Poker is not just alive and well, it’s rockin!!! $20 out of position with 2 3. Did I mention they come to gamble? By 1:30 the list looks almost full for Omaha but they can’t start the game. Huh? Not enough dealers. Uh oh. Maybe cause they’re sick? Maybe some truth to the rumors? We say…Seat Open! -$188 today.

Session #15 ~ Break Down: Or rather breaking it down. I have realized that there is still a lot of time on the clock. Enough time to not feel rushed or pushed, time to grind. Time enough to hit this goal. Although we have slipped off the mark just a bit, if I put in just a few hours of play 5 days a week and averaged a win of just $100 per session on average it’s achievable. No one wins every single time they play obviously so I’m talking averages. Just $100. Sound familiar? Dave’s 3k in 30 Sessions Challenge. Remember the key to being a winning grinder is knowing when to leave for the night. Cash in your chips and go home. If I’m on a good rush we will stay until it shows signs of being over. The other day I left abruptly because I felt the game was a bit too wild for me. Instead of playing in that game I left a winner. One of the leaks in my game I feel is getting caught up in that. It’s wrong to do in my opinion. See a game playing very loose? Play tight. The entire table tight? Play a bit looser. Play your game, not theirs. Recognize what they are doing and play accordingly. Don’t play 2 3 off or even suited just because that guy got you with it last time. Sometimes the game just turns into BINGO. Players tossing in chips all the way to showdown and let’s see who wins. Not my brand of poker. But remember in all things poker….it depends.
I still can’t believe some of the hands that crushed us. That used to really bother me. Now it really excites me! These are the players we want to play with. Their lightning in a bottle will expire. Let’s just hope their bankroll doesn’t. U B…. keep playing like that and U B broke! Remember every time our opponent makes a mistake we win. Maybe not today but in the long run, we win! Let them play 23, 93, K6. See what I’m saying? All hands that belong in the muck immediately. They come to gamble. We come to win! Let’s go…
Arrive at Palace just a bit before noon. They fire 8/16 upon my arrival. New day today! We set a high hand right away. Pocket Aces! Dave has Aces! Flop of J Q Q. Turn Ace! Aces full holds for the HH bonus of $200 and we win a nice pot! Today our old poker buddies are at our table. I like that because they build big pots and it keeps me in line. Including one hand we have Aces again. We see a flop of 6 7 8, turn 9. It’s now heads up. I check and old lady (she plays every day) bets real quick. We fold Aces face up! A couple players about fell outta their chairs! She had us, I promise you.
The list for Omaha is stuck at 4 names. Also our mini heater appears to be over already and seat 1 now can’t miss. So just 2 hours of play today we say…. Seat Open! Put together a nice hit n run today. +$575! Including the $200 HH bonus but it counts in this challenge. Next session is Friday!

Session #14 ~ Staying Power: Is the word I’m looking for maybe sustainability? Bottom line is the Omaha game feels like it’s dying off. Last week there was no O8 for 3 days in a row. This challenge has me playing more hold em than Omaha. And it’s been a roller coaster. 3 steps forward, 2 back. 2 more back then a jump forward. At least on a graph the line would be trending upward! Up up and away! We got a goal to hit! Yesterday’s O8 session we played as short as 4 handed for a while. I prefer short handed. The worst player in the game (no not me) went broke for the fourth time today when we were 5 handed and this time went home. Finally made a few hands and of course the game breaks. AhQh2c3d. Flop is As10h7c. We lead out and he raised us. Flat call to see a 8h turn! Check raise. River the nut nut! Finally! Had a few times today where we should have scooped. Turn nut nut and get counterfeit on the river for a chop. Other times villain goes runner runner! It’s ok, it’s alright. We are going to certainly have some very good days in this game if it’s sustainable. Once a vaccine is approved and readily available I think more rooms will open back up. Hopefully Little Creek is back with their tournaments and Sunday Funday Omaha!
Today, Tuesday we have some stuff to do for work in the morning. Aiming to hit Palace at noon. Seems like 8/16 is running by then and high hands are in effect! $200 every 20 minutes! One card! Let’s hit 2 of those today!
Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing is going our way. In the 8-16 LHE game, late position with 2 limpers we peel KQ off. I limp behind, a mistake I think. Maybe. Flop of K25 rainbow. Check from first position, next to act bets so we fire in a raise. One caller. Turn 6, he checks again and we bet. River 7. He checks. I have a feeling here and check behind. He declares 2 pair. Huh? This player was voluntarily in with K 6 off! And called a raise with no kicker. Poker Gods bailed him out with a turn 6. We should be able to quit the day job and make a living here with the way these guys play. I’m no good but they’re worse! Flop a pair and go from there. Seriously sticky. Not sure if these games here at Palace are good or great!? Lot. Of. Action.
Omaha starts finally but I can’t stay much longer. Normally not a problem but I set up a grocery pick up between 5 and 6. Order on line and they bring it out to your car and load it in for you. I’m about an hour drive away depending on weather and traffic and the weather is rough this afternoon so then will be traffic. So we see the same garbage today in Omaha. We play KQQJ with one suit. Hey the Royal pays 5k alright. And if we flop good with no low we have…..scooportunity! Q high flop! Top set but proceed with some caution in Omaha 8. It’s not hold em. Top set in hold em is obviously super strong. Sets in Omaha usually cost you rolls. Very dry board. The turn is an 8 bringing home the low. We continue our story and….everyone folds??? Ok. We are happy to scoop that one. Other than that it was another cold session.
I feel another heater comin on. Just need the cards to not run against me. Can’t make this stuff up. Like the K 6 hand? How bout the 2 3 hand last week! Poker is certainly not dead! I’m actually very encouraged. Very. Yesterday in hold em there was a button straddle and we have wired 8’s. Put in the 3 bet. Flop Q 9 4. I could bet but not in this game. We were set mining. Remember these players are super sticky. They will call. So no more chips deposited in this pot and it actually gets checked down just to discover we lost to…….9 3 off? To a 3 bet? Wow! I can’t wait to get back there today!
As for this session we manage to keep our loss fairly minimal…. -$288.
GetReady It’s a New Day Grind!

Today we will be more aggressive and tighten up the range. Stay safe friends!

Editorial ~ Try Hard: Ever watch the vlogs from Jaman Burton? If not search that name on YouTube. In one of the vlogs a while back he referred to some players at Aria as “try hards” they come in and try hard. I feel a bit like that recently like a try hard. Got my Beats on and I’m trying hard. Seems to be working out ok. 3 winning sessions in a row now in 8/16 limit hold em. Let’s see if I can string a bunch together.
Monday we had seat 1 and in seat 2 was the same guy we think we recognize from like 20 years ago at Muckleshoot. So we ask today. Hey…did you play Muckleshoot a lot back about 20 years ago? Always wearing a track suit? Playing high limit poker? The look on his face is like wow, how do you remember that but he says … uh, yeah I played there. So we continue. You were there like every day, on the early side of the day…10am and in there playing the biggest game probably in the state back then. (Told you guys I remember) he confirms. Told me about playing 100/200 heads up! And a few other short stories. 100/200 heads up??? Wow! I need to talk to this guy more. Seems like a guy we could learn from. He is certainly the most solid player at our table. Not playing pots with him unless we got it.
Another day no Omaha. I’m actually really starting to like this 8/16 game though. Mostly the same cast of characters with only a couple rotating seats. I feel that I have a good read on most of the regulars. I feel the game is not very difficult. I think my table image is better (if ya can call it that) in hold em than Omaha. I don’t care but you need to be aware of how players perceive you. You need to know who to apply pressure to and who you can call down light. Remember, I don’t want your respect l want your chips!
December 8, 2020. Hit the highway headed for Palace. Check the app on my phone to see the list. I noticed yesterday seemed very slow and quiet in there. List shows zero all the way down. Uh oh. Call in. No answer. Phone a friend who says they closed due to Covid outbreak. Oh shit. He says some 37 employees and players have tested positive for the Rona. Noooo. Back to plan A for me. Off completely until January 2. Damn. Right when I was on a streak. But not worth it. Should’ve stayed outta there as was the plan. With work at a crawl and Inslee now extended our restrictions for 3 more weeks I was hoping to make myself some money on the side. Unbelievable. Temp check at door, face coverings and Plexiglass no matter. So I’m thinking completely done until we are thru with this. Stay safe friends.

Session #13 – Hold Em?: The Omaha game has appeared to die. Shit. 8/16 game is good though. We are honing our skills again in hold em. But it’s limit hold em. Yawn. I will do what I gotta do come hell, Covid or no O8.
I talked with a regular Omaha player today who plays everyday to get his input. Here’s what’s happening….if you hit a high hand 2 days in a row you are now going to be paid $499 for every high hand you make the rest of the week! Wow. A lot of the regular players play enough where that happens for them. They qualify for $499 High Hands the rest of the week. Why then, play Omaha. I understand. The supervisor says he is going to do a promotion of some kind for Omaha. We shall see. I could go play 1/3 PLO? Runs every day usually 2 tables of it. It’s about an hour and 20 minutes from me. Included is a ferry ride and that expense. Red Dragon. North Seattle. Hmmmm…. I’m fairly happy with grinding out a couple hundred dollar wins at Palace 8/16 for now. That PLO game I’m just not sure about. I’ve played very little PLO. We will see.
The weekend had me super busy at home. We are doing a light remodel on our kitchen. Also the weather, especially for early December, is remarkable. Gotta take advantage of that. Taking our boy Rocco for walks to the park, riding my e-bike and getting things done. With the exception of work right now life is good. I’m very fortunate. So I’m not going to let slow business bother me. I’m going to enjoy some time off. When I got home Friday afternoon from my session at Palace I ordered food from a locally owned favorite restaurant of ours. Rib Eye and baked potato with a couple sides. Fabulous. Enjoyed watching a movie with a couple cocktails and in bed early. Saturday working around the house, walking the dog and a couple bike rides. Sunday, ditto. So Monday morning we hit Palace at 11:36. They fire a new 4/8 game so we grab seat 7. Nothin. We get dealt 8 3 off 3 times in a row. Win a small pot to put us even and they start 8/16! Let’s go…
Right off we have A Q and open raise. Blinds defend to a flop of A 6 6. Of course we loose that one, why wouldn’t we. A K to a flop of 10 10 K. Turn A! C’mon river…..nope. We blow thru a rack quickly. 8/16 uses $2 chips. 1 rack is $200. Reload for 1 rack. Things get better for us. A poker buddy and friend off the felt is at our table again today. Very aggressive. And, in my opinion, a bit on the loose side. He builds pots though. We get into the black finally and considered going home. We were up just $40 but feels bigger after being down a full $200. The game is good and it’s still early. Let’s play.
Never find a high hand but win a lot of pots in strange spots. A 10 off on a pot that was 3 bet pre. 10 hi flop and cards stay low on the turn and river pairs the board with the middle card. The button had raised the meaningless 3 on the turn. We decided we were ahead and didn’t want the others to see a cheap river so we 3 bet it. They had checked it to us, we bet and button raised. The early positions flat so we must be ahead and raise. We were right. We were up against Q 10 and drag a pot of just a tic over $200! Nice! Soon we are over $200 up so we say….Seat Open! Cashed out at 1:57 so just 2 hours 15 minutes of play +$232! Going to put in another hit n run 8/16 session tomorrow.

Session #12: Doin’ It Again. Back to back! Friday. Palace 11:35 am. Omaha list 6 deep already. 8/16 list 7 deep. Put my name on those only. They fire a new 4/8 game and 2 clowns that walked in after me, one of which, is an overall tight O8 player, are seated and in action. I walk up to the desk and they tell me that I have a seat in 4/8 if I want it. Let’s go…
Again for only a couple orbits. One interesting hand I’m under the gun and….Dave has aces! Bam! Flop 4 ways to 55Q. Bet and all flat. Turn Jd. Bet, all call. River Kd. All back door draws got there. We check with the intention to fold. It gets checked around and a late position player shows down pocket 5s! WTH. He won the minimum. Absolute minimum. Nice hand. Congratulations. We do not, absolutely do not show our hand.
Moved to a brand new 8/16 game. Familiar line up. Seat 3 for us. Seat 1 the old Korean lady who plays everyday. Seat 2 a guy who I think I remember. More on that later. White guy just a bit older than me. Seat 4, middle aged black guy who is missing some fingers we noticed. Seat 5 a 20 something Asian guy who we now have played with a bit. 6 same. 7 older black gentleman who I haven’t played with yet.
Seat 2. He is the only one at the table who doesn’t chop. We are in seat 3. We know he doesn’t chop and are good with it. We plan on defending our BB most of if not all of the time. And it happens. My BB. All fold to no chop dude. He raises. We defend. Not going to just let him have it and want to send a message. We win that pot but what’s strange is he shows us his hand when he did not have to. His hand? 10 6 of hearts. Ok.
Seat 2 I think I remember from the Muckleshoot way back. Like 20 years ago back. He played a ton. Every time I was there I saw him. Always in a track suit. Remember I told you kids I played a lot of 10/20 back in the day. Monday we will ask him. He’s a good player overall and with his history and longevity it’s someone we should be friends with I think.
Nothing very interesting this session. We play 3 hours today. Very happy with my play. With my decisions. Staying the course. Look! There are now 8 names up for Omaha 8! Again the floor tells us basically to F Off as they are not firing the game. He claims he has to break a game to do it. I inform him I’m cashing out and I know a few of those guys would rather play O8. I will wait 15 minutes and that’s it. No Omaha and that’s ok. We have other opportunities and it’s a beautiful day! So today +$207! Peace out!

Session #11: Thanksgiving. Giving thanks. I don’t have to tell you this has been a challenging year but thru it all I have a lot to be thankful for. I’m sure you do as well if you’re reading this. We could certainly curse our bad luck with this pandemic but let’s stay positive and give thanks.
I certainly give thanks for this past weekend. Had a great little getaway. We were very lucky on Saturday with sunny weather and temps in the low 50’s. It was beautiful and our dog loved the beach and visiting other dogs. I look forward to doing it again.
Today, Monday, we hit Palace early and grab a seat immediately in 4/8 LHE. At 54 years old I’m the youngest at my table. That’s great! These guys are nitty… Let’s go…
Really want to get a high hand right now as there are only 3 tables in play so it would stand a real chance of holding up. We could call it an early day. But wait, too early. HH starts at noon. 4 names up for Omaha already! Please please fire today. So far, today has us seeing terrible cards. When I do have something I either get coolered or miss my nut draws. Twice in a row I have 3 8. Twice in a row I have 7 2. Why can’t I have KQ or even J10 twice in row? Moved to a new 8/16 game. Not a minute to soon. Let’s go…
Now 7 names for Omaha….c’mon! Let’s just start it 7 handed. Meanwhile I continue to be cold in 8/16 LHE. And the list shrinks again to 6 names for Omaha. Zero cards in the game I’m in. Ice cold.
The thing I continue to do better is stay the course. Remain even. No tilt. No steam. Just another hand of poker.
Omaha does fire today! Started at about 1:30. Still completely cold. One hand I flop not flush draw, turn the 3rd nut flush draw on a board of club club, heart heart. I was double suited, clubs and hearts obv.  River….spade. How? How can I miss them all. After about a couple hours we pack it in. Obviously just not our day. I drive home in disbelief but that’s poker right? We will get em tomorrow I’m sure. -$322. Seat Open!
This week I plan on playing everyday except Thanksgiving of course! Stay tuned….

Session #10: Teamwork. Ever see or just flat know guys are working together in poker? As a team? Most of the time I’m sure we never know, other times, obvious.
My old poker buddies I ran into were at least on the buddy system for High Hand Bonus. $200 every 20 minutes and only 1 of your hole cards has to play. Such as when I had quad 9’s yesterday. My actual 2 hole cards were Ad9d. Flop came 993. Turn 5. River 9 ball!!! I checked flop and turn. Bet river and got raised! My old friends, actually there were 3 of them had a deal carved out for HH money. The 3rd one came running over to our table asking my friends was that you?? Also very suspicious that when one of them raised the other 3 bet or capped, every time they were in a pot together. Maybe they were chopping all the money at the end of the night? I really don’t care because these guys aren’t signaling to each other what they have or anything. And like I said the one guy was just burning chips. Maybe he was playing the roll of Worm? You know, from Rounders? Now there have been times when I openly ask, in front of everyone, if a friend of mine wants to go 50/50 on high hands or 25% Monte Carlo across the board. There’s no problem with that. The problem is if you soft play each other or try to ram and jam to get everyone else to fold. But I digress….
I can’t play any poker Friday. We are leaving at noon to drive to the ocean. Looking forward to it. So today, Thursday we are all about it! Let’s go….
Palace. No more eating in the building but food service available table side or a side table away from the poker table in the tent and in the tent only. Today, Thursday we buy a couple cars for work in the morning and arrive at Palace at 12:40. My name is 6th on Omaha 8 list, hopefully we can start that game today. Never fired yesterday. 10 names up for 8/16 LHE. We can grind that for a couple hours if we have to. Maybe pop a high hand for a deuce?! Let’s go…
Today we actually start in 4/8. And it’s ok. Not a bad game. We make Aces full for a High Hand but full of 6’s and there’s 5 minutes to go. With 3 and a half minutes to go a flop came that I knew was going to take that HH from us. Flop AAJ. Turn 5. River….Jack. Bye bye bonus. We get moved over to 8/16 and see right away it’s a crazy game. In our BB we have a garbage hand. 10 5 suited in spades. There is a raise (every hand has been raised pre) from late position, the button and small blind flat. We get outta hand and flat. Then comes a 3 bet and cap! The pot is too big to fold. Call? Outta line? Yes. We see a flop of 5 Q 5! Wow. Now the small blind, old Korean lady, leads right out into the field! Huh? Oh well….Raise! A 3 bet from mid position…all others flat back to us. If ya got us, ya got us…cap it! Turn 4. Small blind now checks, we bet and everyone calls. Off to the river 4. We bet. Get paid off and drag this pot. We play only for an hour and a half and say….Seat Open!!! We are exactly +$200 …. no poker until Monday at the absolute earliest. Have a great weekend all. We are headed to the ocean!!!

Session #9: Flop a Pair and Go From There These players are sticky. Seriously sticky. Bottom pair no other draw? Am I missing something? No one folds. No fold em hold em. I remember now why I had all but quit limit hold em. I may move back to 1-3 No Limit. Give us Kings in the BB and you can’t call with 5 7 off. Or…
Stick to our goal. Omaha!!! Love the game. I’ve been watching the list up at Red Dragon. They run 1-3 PLO daily. I know one of the dealers there and reached out to him. He thinks the city might not renew their license to be operating out of a tent. So I need to go in the next couple of weeks if I want to check it out. Once a week they ran that game at Palace. I heard it was crazy. So, I stayed out. I regret that. Sounds like we could’ve made some money. At least one pro was in that game though. Then I heard Lee Markholt showed up for that game a few times. I’m going to make a run up to the Dragon soon. Keep ya posted.
For now, this Tuesday finds us working hard at the day job. I look at the list for Palace or lack there of at least for Omaha. We declare today a no poker day and move forward.
Wednesday. Get a few things done for day job and arrive at Palace at about 12:40. I’m 6th up for Omaha. At 1 sharp we start 8/16 LHE. Hey, it beats waiting, doing nothing. Can’t sit in the actual building now with the new restrictions. So here we are…look up at the O8 list and guess what? It has shrunk to 5. Probably a short day. We run into a couple old poker buddies and they sit at my 8/16 game. Hyper aggressive. 1 of em plays every hand super aggressive and looses $200 before the first orbit is complete. We don’t find any playable hands so we just watch the train wreck. Aaaand he goes broke again! Twice in 22 minutes! Our other buddy is running good. Now our other friend requested Over button! Lol! So in Overs its  12/24. We win a couple small ones is all so far.
We watch the Omaha list go as high as 7. Back down again to 6. Meanwhile in 8/16 we flopped top 2. Remember I said these players are sticky? Flop contains a deuce, turn deuce, river deuce. Yep. We run into running Quadzilla…
Now 2:30. No O8 game yet. New high hand! It’s us with Quad 9’s!!! Quadzilla! Can it hold for just 4 more minutes? $200 HH bonus!! Last hand for high hand….aaaand….it holds! $200. It’s now 3 and still no Omaha. We are up +$230 plus the HH bonus of $200 for a total of +$430 in just 2 hours so we say seat open! Until next time, be safe!

Session #8: Turning Pro? Sometimes it’s easy to think about playing poker for a living. Especially when you’re running good, playing good and feeling great! Dragging pots, building castles. I love my day job. I’m very lucky to have the perfect job for me. All the freedom and flexibility in the world. Lately though, it’s been well, a grind. Just like poker sometimes things are flowing or running good. Other times, not so much. I have no schedule and my time is mine. That’s worth a wheelbarrow full of money to me. I paid my dues and earned it. But it’s easy to think, what if? What if I played a lot more? What if this is what I did…all I did. Nah, we will leave it as it is. A fun part time job. Side hustle. There was a time when my girlfriend was in her darkest days (battling Stage 4 Breast Cancer) I played kinda for a living. See I was her care giver. Was there every step of the way. Drove her to all appointments and treatments. I didn’t work. At all. For a year. When I laid her down in bed, helped her with meds and made sure she was comfortable i then went to a local card room (back when there were multiple rooms close to home) and put in a session. Usually not long. I was really grinding it out then. I had some money in savings but that wasn’t to be used gambling. I was trying to make enough for day to day expenses so I didn’t have to dip into savings until necessary for larger bills and expenses. Also they fed me dinner. Back then I wasn’t a good cook at all. That year put me on the learning curve and now I really enjoy cooking. But it was so great having friends in all the right places. Just show up and order. A few other guys took advantage and then you had to play a minimum of 2 hours before they could comp it. No problem. Easy enough.
When she kicked cancers ass (thank God! What a warrior) it was time for me to get back to work. I seriously considered not getting a job and making a run at playing for a living. Didn’t think I could earn a real living on the games that were offered locally back then. Even if I averaged 2 big bets an hour, no way. So here we are. Back then about all they were playing was 4/8, at least locally.
Our Governor here in Washington state issued more restrictions and closures. Seems like a lot is left open for interpretation. At least for business outside of being a restaurant or bar. So I pop into Palace, primarily to ask the room manager if they are having to close down again or?? Open. Obviously still in a tent with all things in place. Plexiglass, face coverings by now you know the drill.
We sit in a 4/8 game for a short time. Waiting for 8/16 and or O8. 5 names on the O8 list. Always. We are about +$80 when…..button straddle so small blind acts first. Call. BB call. Folded to us in mid position. KcJc. We put in the 3 bet to blow out the riff raff behind us and then able to play this hand in position. Of course the button isn’t going anywhere for one more bet with any 2 cards. Both blinds call and we see a flop of Jd3c5h. Checked to us and we bet it of course. All call. The four of us see a turn of 7s. Same action. River is a Deuce.  Checked to us. Our hand can’t be good against three other players can it? We check as does the button so we must be good. The small blind was in there this whole way with……2 3 off! River hit him for 2 pair. Glad I checked. What was he doing, going for a river check raise? Ugh. Wow. That what we want remember. We are a bit shocked. But not mad or upset. This is a player we would love to play with all day every day. Poker Gods are not going to save you every time. I will have to run the odds but I had to be a 97% favorite with just one card to come. Still up a bit when we get moved to 8/16. Our Big Blind with 5 limpers. 5 limpers? What the…we wake up with KK!! Decided to check our option here because all your doing by raising now is bloating the pot. Let’s see a flop and put in a check raise. Almost the same flop we had in the 4/8 game. J53. Check. And there is a bet in late position so we put in a raise. We know this player. We know she has a Jack. One other caller and her. Turn 7. I bet. They both call. River 8. Check. Now the player in between her and I bets. Huh??? Really??? She snap calls. We know we have her beat. We know she will never ever fold top pair. We know she would raise if she improved. But him? I think he has us. I fold. Face up. This clown was voluntarily in the pot with 5 7 off. How are we running??? Now I feel steamed up so we play a little bit longer and say…Seat Open! +$88 and happy with it the way things were going. Ugh.
Back at it tomorrow! Stay safe friends…

Blog Entry : We did it again! Well kinda….
I actually had a dream that I won it back to back. My old poker league that is. Close. Came in 2nd for 3k. Up to me what event I play. Wish I knew Omaha back then. This year they are playing an Ante only event. No blinds ever. All players ante every single hand. My how the game has changed and evolved huh? Ante only to Big Blind Ante. For some reason I think it would be interesting to play. Make it to the end of day 1 and you’re in the money! How sweet!
First table full of pros. We are in seat 1. All other seats occupied by pros. Some we know, others we don’t. Seat 3 is some hot shot from Sweden. Don’t recall his name. Seat 2 is Peter Jentin. Remember him? What happened to him? Seat 4 recognized him but unsure of name. Seat 5 is an up and coming pro named Matt Burkey. We all know him now from Solve for Why and his numerous cashes. Seat 6? 7 a pro from Portland Oregon area. We’ve watched him on a few final tables via streaming services. Seat 8? No seat 9.
It’s very very early in the day. We’ve won a few small pots. Lost a couple. Never making it to a showdown. Folded around to us in mid position. JJ. Raise but to how much? Remember no blinds, ante only. We add up the pot and decide on a fairly standard 3x of total pot. Burkey late position 3 bets. Heads up now pre flop. I 4 bet wanting to take it down now. Burkey 5 bet shoves all in! Huh? Noooo. Really? Damn. I made a mistake here I think. I should’ve either flat called trying to set mine or shoved all in myself. If I call and loose I think we are literally the first player knocked out. If we are good we double up and go on cruise control till at least dinner break. What would you do in this spot? Today a lot is different. This was 2012. I think he knows I’m a rec and don’t wanna go out early. I did see him play pocket Kings in the exact same manor. Only 3 hands beat us. Are we racing maybe against AK? I find a fold here. He says nothing, doesn’t show. A short time later our table breaks and that’s that. I don’t see Burkey on break. I was gonna ask since we are now on different tables. It’s now the one and only hand that gives me nightmares. Either a great fold or a donk fold. I obviously like to think it was a terrific fold.
I actually dream about poker a lot. Maybe because I fall asleep watching videos. They are always so real. Dream on dreamer! Until we do Vegas again! Maybe a new segment separated from the Challenge write ups, Donk Dave Does Vegas 🤪 My games I play in the summer are all smaller than the smallest bracelet event. I love the nightly deep stack and have cashed in it a few times. 1500 players deep! But my true love at the Rio during WSOP is sit n go’s or single table satellites. No better return on your time. Also cash games obviously. The Orleans has a fantastic summer series full of mix game fun on a budget. Aria as well just a bit more expensive but a great value. I cashed deep in a Omaha 8 tournament a couple summers ago at Orleans. They finally agreed to a chop at 6am. 8 ways I think for roughly 10k apiece. I wasn’t in there unfortunately. Should’ve been. Played great just got unlucky when we were down to the last 2 tables. Here’s looking at you Summer 21! It’s our summer! Let’s go!

Blog Entry : My first trip to the WSOP was to play the Main. 2011. The Main! I was there playing a 10K only because I had won my way in. That’s right, a complete Freeroll! I was part of a poker league that played every Tuesday night. The top 5 finishers every night would be awarded points based on where they finished. We played 13 weeks. At the end the top point earner gets 11k. 10k buy in and 1k travel. I won it! I immediately recognized the optimal game theory would be solid consistency. I knew if I finished in the top 5 all 13 weeks or even 12 outta 13 with getting to heads up a couple times I would win it. Job done!
Decided to register for Day 1 D. I flew in early and could choose any day. Why 1D? If we bag n tag and have momentum day 2 was the very next day. No break. Keep goin.
I recognize only 1 player at my table. Robert Mizrachi. 2 seats to my right. Every time it’s his button it’s my big blind. He starts raising every time it’s his button. We pick up pocket 10’s and 3 bet him. I want to send a message that you are not going to steal my bb all day. He gives me the once over and folds. This is still the very first round, first pot I played and I 3 bet a champion? My girlfriend is still on the rail so I go tell her the situation. She gives me a kiss and says she is headed out to the pool, check in later.
A while later we have wired 10’s again. Open raise. 2 callers. Flop 7 3 2 rainbow! Great flop for our pair. Slide in a c-bet for about 40% of the pot. It’s still early and that should take it down unless someone has a hand. Player in seat 10 (yes 10 handed to start) an attractive female makes the call. Call? What can she have? We glance down at the board. Shit! She flopped a set of 7’s! Turn pairs the board with a 3. We check and will snap fold to any bet. She checks back. Big mistake in my opinion by giving me that free card because if a 10 peels she is not good enough to make a huge fold here. We will get her stack. River, just misses, it’s a Jack. Check. She says “well, I don’t think I’m getting anymore chips outta you” I respond immediately with “no, because you have pocket 7’s!” she says “Wow! You called my hand!” and rolls over pocket 7’s. You can hear players at my table audibly gasp. I look over to Mizrachi. He gives me the nod. No one is messing with me the rest of the day at this table!
To this day I’ve only played in 2 actual bracelet events. The 2nd one was a $1500 that again, I won my way in. Same poker league. This time I finish a super close 2nd. We divided up the money a little different this time and in 2012 it’s back to Vegas and the WSOP again on a Freeroll. This is where the other hand that gives us nightmares occurs. Stay tuned. I will share that story in the next episode of Donk Dave Does Vegas! 🤣

Session #7 : Friday the 13th. Are you guys superstitious at all? Any rituals you abide by when you go gamble? What about parking? I know some people think they have a lucky parking spot or area. I park in the same area because I want to remember where I parked! Always. At the grocery store or casino. Grocery shopping I’m now doing on line. Yep, just reserve a time, pull up, text what stall number you’re in and they bring it out and load it in your vehicle for you. Love it.
Looks like we are missing a direct hit from the big windstorm. Oregon dealing with it. Hope everyone stays safe. A bit windy here but nothing out of the ordinary for November so….Palace for breakfast chips!
Got a little later start then we would like but by only about 15 minutes. Arrived at Palace today at 10:15. Reporting for duty!
Another great piece of news…no lockdown! At least for now. Governor basically said to please rethink the holidays this year. No gatherings please, wear a mask. He did part by saying some restrictions may be fourth coming if numbers don’t drop. I just read an article about a poker room where 9 employees are positive for Covid. Obviously room closed until further notice. It’s back East, NJ if I remember correctly. Crazy.
10:52. Guess how many names on the list? That’s absolutely right….5! Last Friday the game fired at 11:01. We could’ve played upon our arrival. Sat right down. 4/8 game. Pass. Name is up for 8/16 also. List for that game is also 5.
Goals. The Duece is obviously a lot longer and larger goal. So we reduce it down so it’s not so overwhelming. Today is the 13th and we are half way to the monthly goal of just 2k. The Duece is 7/14. 7 months to produce 14k in poker earnings. Or 2k a month. Doable I believe. I’m feeling great. Nothing bothers me at the table, nothing. I certainly haven’t played my A game every session and that’s a leak we need to fix. Now. Today. Learning. Always learning. I wish I had more games to choose from. The Tuesday 10/20 game. Sunday 10/20. Wednesday 10/20 HORSE. Those games helped me achieve my goal in Challenge number 1, 3k in 30 sessions. Maybe next spring Little Creek will reopen poker? Lots of low hanging fruit in that O8 game on Sunday mornings.
Again today we are starting 8/16 limit hold em. Let’s run good, play better. But then the 6 players on the O8 list all agree to start 6 handed. Fine by me. I love short handed and want more short handed play experience. Away we go….
So far the dealer seems distracted. The game is now full. 8 handed. We are getting punished. AJ45 in our blind. Flop is J67. With two diamonds! We have AJ of diamonds! Board runs brick brick! Next hand flop a wrap with nut low draw. Bricks….maybe a short day. Players come and go from this game today like super fast. Then players still in the game are up walking around. Zero control of this game. What happened to 3rd man walking? Back to short handed. One guy, who I mentioned before, old drunk guy goes outside to smoke like every 15 minutes. This guy was on a heater yesterday. He got my run like god mode handed to him. Couldn’t miss and couldn’t shut up. Doesn’t bother us a bit. We just laugh.
Dealer change. Sits in and deals everyone just 2 cards. Hello? This is Omaha! Game full again. A lot of confusion at this table. We will sit for a bit more but so far, I don’t have a good feeling about today. Too bad. But better to leave sometimes. Remember the key to being a winning grinder is knowing when to cash in your chips and leave for the day.
A2KK on a kill pot. One suit, spades to the King. Flop is 3 J Q with 2 spades! Turn 7c. River pairs the Q and again we got nothing but short stacked. Seriously, what is going on? Can’t make up these hands. My big blind, no raise. Check our option with a run down of KQJ10. Jack ten of spades. We flop the joint with an open ended straight flush draw! Again, we get no part of this pot. Seriously? Unbelievable. 5 of spades on the river and we get raised and reraised. Obviously our flush is garbage and we fold. Player A has A4 spades but player B shows down the straight flush. He holds the 6 7 of spades and of course is never folding once he sees that flop.
Some days you’re the pigeon, some days you’re the statue. Today is my statue day. Including a small verbal, uh exchange or altercation with another player. Let me tell you that story. Remember I’ve told you about the drunk old guy? Actually a good player and no one thinks he is cause, well, he’s drinking from 10am on. Before the first challenge we got into it with him and it shut him and the entire table up. See I’m usually the quiet one at the table. Always kind. Do not mistake my kindness for weakness. We have AA910 no suits, no low value and out of position…small blind. We have been ice cold so just call. Flop 5 A 5! Oh yeah! Check here to induce a bet and put in the check raise. Turn 8. Damn. Low is already there. Bet and get raised by old drunk. ??? So, we roll our hand face up (we are heads up) and say “you might wanna stop raising unless you have quads! It’s heads up, obviously you have low and I have Aces full. If ya have quads congratulations, put more chips in” he says something I can’t hear. Of course he has 23. No 5 or back up for high other than a 4 for the wheel but that’s no good. He says something….I say, we are heads up. What did you think I had? He fires back “don’t talk me!” ….. huh….. really, wow. I fire back “I will talk to you! Ya wanna know why? Because yesterday when you were on your heater? You wouldn’t shut up! On and on and on! Remember what I did? I sat here quietly and said or did nothing! “
Ugh. This guy I have got into with previously but again he wouldn’t remember. But everyone at the table, dealer included, their jaws hit the table. Everyone got quit. A few players smiling nodding at me. You’re not gonna run over me at the table, ever. I know tensions are higher than ever and I will give you room but don’t bark at me or tell me what to do. My opinion? Bad play there on his part. I check raise, what could I have? You’re now putting in chips hoping to get just half? What if I had say 235x so now villain is getting a quarter and I get 3 Quarter. But it’s not that type of game. They bet raise call with all kinds of garbage. All kinds. But that’s what we want. They continue to play bad and we will be in Vegas with their money!
Have a great weekend! Stay safe and as always thanks for reading. This is so good for me to be able to do this. As for Friday the 13th? -$300. See y’all next week 

️Session #6 : 2013. WSOP Circuit event at Caesars. I’m in seat 4, way at the front of the room. I defend my Big Blind with Kc7c. Flop 9 7 2. Turn, 7!
2017. WSOP at the Rio. I’m sitting in the bleachers (literally, railing an event I didn’t play and back when they had actual bleachers) front row center. A player walks in and sits to my immediate left. We are shoulder to shoulder. “Um, hey. Not sure if you remember me or not but….
2013 circuit event. Caesars. Turn card of a 7 to give me trips in the BB and I check. Heads up with my opponent on the button who checks behind. He was the pre flop raiser when folded around to him, on the button. He could have literally any 2. I’m setting the trap. River is a brick. We check again with huge showdown value but intending to put in a check raise. Villain shoves??? WTF is going on? I stand up and start talking. Very unusual for me but it just so happens in this huge field, one of my very best friends who I flew in with is directly behind me. I say out load, “I’m not sure how I can fold this!” looking at my opponent for a reaction. This is early levels and would knock me out. Villain hasn’t said or done anything prior to this to give any kind of read. We know he is from the East Coast and probably a boxer that didn’t win a lot. Or if he did, it was a hell of a fight or ten. What do we do? We find…..a fold.
This hand …. this is one, just one of two that have given us nightmares. On break he tells us “I knew you had K 7”
2017 on the rail of WSOP event something…..”Um, hi. Not sure if you remember me but. 2013 Circuit event at Caesars. You were in seat 2 and I was in seat 4. You were on the button and….. I proceeded to tell a detailed story and he stops me mid way and says “you remember that with that much detail?” I simply nod….he gets very excited and says…..”Dude! That was such a sick fold!!! I didn’t think there was anyway you were ever folding that! How did you fold?! Great fold! I had pocket 9’s!” I thank him and we proceeded to talk about all kinds of stuff. Wow! So great! Thank you.
Some day I will share hand number 2 with you kids. It’s against a well known pro. WSOP event, not the main. Some day we get into that and other fun poker stories.
I don’t consider myself to be one with a photographic memory. My girlfriend just laughs and says you can’t remember when to take the garbage can to the curb but you can remember every poker hand? Yes honey, I can. I can remember faces and how they play also. Speaking of, I saw a player at Palace. A player who played Little Creek, and ive seen at Palace. One Friday afternoon, before the tournament, I’m playing 1/3 No Limit at the Creek. I did this a lot to earn hours and hopefully Freeroll myself for the tournament. I’m in the Big Blind, a few limpers as usual. We look down at AA!!! Dave has aces! We over bet the pot due to several limpers just happy to either take it down now or play heads up. The first limper now shoves all in over the top! Fantastic! All others fold. We say “You have the other two?” As we obviously call and roll our hand face up. He looks sick and slowly shakes his head no. Flop 3 9 J (by the way villain still hasn’t showed, he doesn’t have to in this cash game)  turn x x. Villain now, after the river card, yells “Send It!!!” And only now rolls over JJ……seriously? What a dick move. Now I’m not one to hold grudges but I’m also one to never forget. I guarantee this guy doesn’t remember me at all. No clue. Not a problem. We gotcha pal. He wouldn’t even remember that hand.
Win with grace, loose with grace. We want to be in the game a long time. And again I don’t want your respect, I want your chips! Or do I? I guess I want you to respect or at least recognize sportsmanship. Be kind. Be courteous. Be humble. But all that may be lost on the younger. We will choose to take the high road. If it’s not for you, I understand. I owe it to the old gentleman that taught me this game. It’s good for the game. Integrity. But back to my original thought. Remember. Think about hands played. Think about opponents. Think about situations. Think. Think and remember. It will help you. It’s amazing to me how many poker players couldn’t tell you what happened 5 hands ago.
Today, Thursday. I was supposed to be flying to Vegas today. Cancelled due to Covid numbers spiked. Not worth the gamble. Damn. Currently 10am and pondering. Look at the list, or lack there of, for Palace. Considering taking the day off but no. If we get orders to go back into lockdown then we will have lots of time off. Again. Ugh. Hope it doesn’t happen but general feeling out there is everyone thinks it’s coming, just a matter of when our Governor pulls that trigger. If numbers keep going up I think it may be as soon as next week. So, let’s go….
Palace. 11:30 am. I’m 6th on the list. Hopefully this game fires by noon.
Our Governor is going to speak later today. Everyone is expecting shut down again. Feeling is he will give us thru the weekend and then starting next week a shut down of a minimum of two weeks. It’s gonna sting but we gotta do what we gotta do.
Ugh, this place. Palace. In a tent. This game. The list for O8 was at 6 but now dropped to 5. Again just 5 names up. 11:55am. I will give it 35 minutes and then go home for the day. Maybe a Costco run pre lockdown number 2. The Deuce. And it feels like one too! Suddenly the list jumps to 7! We may be in luck!
I’ve noticed the last couple of sessions that playing with all the plexiglass dividers makes it a bit like a fun house. Remember those at the carnival? It creates a lot of reflection and you can’t see your neighbors.
12:54. We played 8-16 LHE for 54 minutes. +$200. Omaha is now starting! We have one of the loose players in from last week. We immediately buddy up to him. I want this kid as happy and as comfortable as possible.
Today has been an odd day. We play as short as 5 handed for about an hour. I like short handed but this day the cards are running against us. Game broke at 3. And we are exactly even on the day. Even up. +\- 0. Get me to Friday please!!! Thank you for reading.

Session #5: The Ace of Spades. There is a house in the town I live in. Lots of them obviously. This house, now owned by a friend of mine, has a swimming pool. He has since redone it to look like something you’d see on a show on one of those home channels. Originally when this pool was built it had some amazing tile work. To include, the Ace of Spades ♠️ tiled in the bottom center. Story is, there where some high stakes poker games held in a business downtown somewhere years ago. The lady who owned the home at the time made enough money in the poker game that it paid for this pool in cash. Tile work included. Nice work! I need to find out more of the history of that. Interesting.
After taking the weekend off from poker we are looking to play again. On Friday when I left Palace they had all 10 tables running with 2 tables of Omaha 8 and a wait list! So good to see. Everyone must’ve heard I’m back! Lol! When I had 1k in $2 chips in front of me word must’ve got around cause now there are multiple people walking over eye balling. A few guys I haven’t seen for 7 months stay. Like they are on my rail. The two loosey-goosey players have now retreated. Shriveled up. So, we say….Seat Open!!! But not before witnessing a flopped Royal! Wow! That’s when we hit the pay window. Obviously the high hand is locked up.
Looks like we had a great weekend at work. I knew as soon as the election was over things would break loose. Sure enough! Will have to put in more hours at the day job this week and that obviously is a good thing. It has been slow for a couple months. So back to it! Don’t know how the poker schedule will look for us this week, we will play that by ear. Today, Monday we are on the road early to go look at some cars for the auction tomorrow. Hopefully we have the opportunity to play a few hours this afternoon. If the game fires at all it won’t be till around 1 or so. I watch the list…not a single name up yet for Omaha today but we lock up the last seat for 8/16. We tell the floor let’s start a 8/16 game and he says he can’t do it. Huh? Why? He doesn’t want to break a 4-8 game to start 8-16. He will wait until he has 3 or 4 more on the list before he starts it. Some of the players are killing time in the 4-8 and some are on 8-16 just until 1-3 NL starts. Ok. Bye. Not waiting. I was by here for work anyway, so, back on the road.
Tuesday. A bit after 12 noon. 4 names on the list but we are on the road for the day job. Non poker day. Looks like we play just 3 days this week again. So….
Wednesday. The Deuce may be put on hold just as we are on a roll. Of course. We are forecasted for a strong wind storm on Friday. It might miss us though. Let’s hope. Friday is the best day for the O8 game at Palace. The other issue is Covid is raging. Hitting record numbers. Keeping an eye on that situation. Rumor has it we maybe headed for more restrictions or lockdowns. I’m concerned the Palace (and others) might be forced to close again for a stretch. I will keep ya posted. For now, breakfast chips! Let’s go…
We arrive at Palace today early. Too early. We can play poker immediately if we wanted to sit in 4-8 limit hold em for a bit. No thanks. Put my name up for 8/16 LHE and of course O8. Each list has now 2 names including ours. Let’s get some breakfast.
It seems like Friday is the best day to play here in terms of start time and action. We may miss a Friday or 3. As mentioned above we are watching a wind storm forecasters are saying for the Seattle Tacoma area with damaging wind up to 60mph. I’m not playing poker in a tent during that. Then the following Friday my beautiful girlfriend has a co-worker that is letting us use their house out on the Washington coast. Westport. We are taking our dog Rocco and staying the weekend. He loves a car ride and I know will love the beach. The Friday after that is the day after Thanksgiving and we actually should be able to play that day, maybe. So, we may miss a couple of the best days for O8 and that’s ok. It can wait.
No Omaha game today. At one point the list was at 7 but then dropped all the way to 4 and never grew. We sit in 8-16 for a bit and spew off a rack. Seat 2 can’t stop coughing so we say….Seat Open! -$200. So frustrating because at 10:30 there were 3 names already up. Oh well. There’s always tomorrow!

Session #4 The Queens Gambit: Netflix. The Queens Gambit. I know very little about Chess but the similarities to poker are amazing. This show or mini series on Netflix is fantastic. Watch it. Watch it now. Binge the whole thing. I will be right here. See, amazing! Right?
Last night when I got home and ran thru the hands from my session I was very pleased. I will openly tell you, yes I ran good, yes we got good tickets. But was I sitting there waiting on AA23? Oh hell no! Depends on position, depends on who’s in, depends on depends on depends on…. this game is a fairly easy read. So, we pick spots. I’m not saying I was dead right every time or bluffing but….there are times or spots. Pick your spots. Call it feel. I dunno. I’m not the best, I’m no guru but I am ….. Learning!
I really don’t remember such a strong desire to play since, well, a long long time ago. I want to play and play some more! I am really enjoying this again. I see the anniversary for my first challenge is in a few weeks. If your new to me or to this, look at my first Challenge, 3k in 30 sessions, on where else? Here! Flynn and Ollie.com it’s in here just gotta look a bit. As long as there is a game and we are able to play I feel The Deuce is achievable. Pipe dream? No. A dream yes but then turned into a plan with a deadline. So, that makes it a goal! If you can dream it, you can achieve it!
Friday. Up early. Make breakfast for my girlfriend before she takes off for work and my boy Rocco. Rocco is our now 15 year old Jack Russell. Make myself an iced coffee and rewatch the 2019 WSOP Omaha 8 10k Championship. Hit the road early. Make a stop to run the car thru the car wash and we are rollin down the freeway all cleaned up. Traffic is a breeze today and we arrived at Palace a bit early. Put our name up for 8/16 LHE and of course 4/8 O8 with a full kill so goes to 8/16. Let’s keep the run good running!
Yesterday in the BB we have KKxx with one suit. No raise and we check our option. Flop 3 8 Q with two hearts. That’s our suit.  I really think our Kings are currently good for high but check it and we just flat call 1 bet with another caller. Turn King! Top set and nothing on the board to be frightened by. River brings in the low, no heart. We put in the check raise thinking we get the high half of the pot. There is just nothing available on the board that bets us for the high. Guess what? We scoop! Player had flopped a set of 8’s and just called the flop bet. Other player has 2 pair…Kings up! We caught the case Cowboy! Running good, real good when a low comes in and no one has it!
As we write this it’s 10:31 and there are already 4 names on the O8 list. As we left the game yesterday a few players discussed being here early and starting the game by 11. We shall see. Also when I racked up the player in seat 1, super solid reg, says “David! One more hour!” I say back “famous last words, see ya tomorrow” The game had a wait list 4 players deep so I wasn’t breaking the game by leaving. I had cooled down a bit and was folding a lot pre or never making past the flop. Time to go. This room runs a rake back promotion. 20 hours of play is the minimum qualification. It’s $30 paid for every 20 hours played. Double hours every Wednesday and every day from 12-8 am.
This day, so far, finds us ice cold. Both figuratively and literally. First we fold for at least the first orbit. Then we raise pre with AAK2. One nut suit. Flop 4 to the flush and low…nut nut draw! We get out run by runner runner for the villain. It’s ok. We want them calling in bad shape. Only the poker Gods can save them!
What a day! What a couple a days, incredible! If ya follow me on Twitter, you already know. I’m not sure what to even say. Blessed. Lucky. Wow. Please please let it continue. All of a sudden it’s a blur and things are running together. I’m on a rush. A real, true rush like never ever before! That being said….the break was really good for me obviously. Never felt better or more confident. Humble, kind, friendly and its serving me well. I’m trying to wrap my head around the session today. Yesterday is clear, today…not so much. Did I play too loose, too many hands? Absolutely! I admit it because I want to become better, I want to learn, I want to win and make this goal more than anything! So 3.5 hours played today and +$621. Thank you for reading and hanging with me on this adventure. I’m taking the weekend off. Be safe everyone!

Session #3 Travel: How I miss travel. I never considered myself a jet setter or anything like that but I really do miss being able to hop a flight and go. I used to fly to Sacramento a couple times a month or so for work. That was a ton a fun! Short flight, beautiful airport and treated like royalty. Throw in a couple trips to Vegas and there was a lot to always look forward to. My last trip into Sacramento they took me to a Kings game. Not just a Kings game, court side seats! On the floor! I’ve been a basketball player and fan my entire life and been to a ton of games but never have I sat on the floor! Amazing! I look forward to taking a trip sometime soon. Hopefully Vegas!!
Quick story about the session yesterday (Wednesday) in O8. The high hand for $75 currently was not hit so it carries over. Now HH is worth $150.  On the button, 5 handed, we are dealt AA34. Raise and get both blinds to defend. We see a flop of 288. Checked to me. Bet. Call call. Turn is a King. Now the small blinds leads out. ??? Must have King 8? We hold nut low draw and if somehow an Ace hits the river we will scoop this pot plus get the HH for $150. We call. River drops on the board with a thud, Ace!!! Bingo! Bango! Bongo Vince!!! Same player bets, we raise and now he snap 3 bets? I slow down a minute and say out load “You have quads. I have nut low plus Aces full!” Somehow I just call. He rolls over 4 7 8 8 for quads! (The player in between us folded, otherwise i say nothing at all)  Quadzilla. Wow! What a cooler! We should of pieced together an almost +$500 day. I calmly say what a cooler and just shrug it off. One thing I’m doing better as a player is remaining calm. No tilt, no steam and no over excitement. Just stay the course. Be kind, be polite, stay humble and friendly. The only person to fear at the table is the one I see in the mirror. Learning. Always learning. The thing I love most about poker is exactly that, learning.
I need to play a bit more. More hours. I need the time in otherwise there’s just no making this new goal. So back to hold em. Looks like the 8/16 game goes just about everyday at Palace. So far, I really like that game. Hopefully it’s the same tight, solid crew there in the mornings. Let’s go there now and see.
We pull in the parking lot of Palace this morning around 10 am and noticed people standing outside by the front entrance. Not open yet? Another shut down? There are a few employees and a few customers. I park and immediately two Police vehicles come racing in with lights blazing! Then a third. I wait before exiting my vehicle. Looks like people are still going in. As I enter and getting my temperature checked I ask and am told it was an attempted car jacking in the parking lot of Palace. Dumb spot to do that as there are cameras in the lot.
I got here early today by design. I wanted to allow myself time for breakfast without feeling rushed. Two egg breakfast, prepared how ya like, hash browns and choice of toast. Breakfast is excellent and my total bill? $3.30. Best breakfast around for 330. You can’t eat at McDonald’s for that. First we add our name to the wait list. 8/16 and I’m first on the list today. Omaha 8 and I’m 3rd on the list? Alright! Hopefully that game gets an early start today and we get some good tickets. We sit in 8/16 to start but only for 2 orbits and Omaha list is full! +$112! Great start to the day.
I often wonder what happened to the player pool. I see some regs but players like the guy we dubbed Chip for Chip burner. Haven’t seen him yet. What about the regular O8 players from Clearwater. Tuesday night 10/20 O8 had the same players and I;ve run into none of them. Some I’m friends with off the felt and we keep in contact. Others, no idea. I imagine I’m missing a good home game or two somewhere.
Today’s O8 line up is familiar. Solid players except seat 2….wait, that’s us! Let’s go….
Today, so far, we are crushing!!! Feels great!
It’s now 1:01 and I’m up $480! The old me would’ve hit the pay window by now. Today, let’s play the heater for a bit. Running very pure so why not. Playing good running better! Nothing like it! Conditions are ripe for me to stay. One interesting hand we peel Ad4dKc10s. Flop comes 444!!! No joke. And we get bet into. Wow. SmoothCall only. Another player puts in a call! 3 ways to a turn and we have quadzilla! 2. So now back door low comin in….river…..9 ball! Check to us, bet, fold, call! High hand for a bonus of $100. We had good tickets a majority of the day but really played well also. As I’m getting back into playing I just hope the game remains thru winter. This is all still in a tent. There are heaters obviously but still it gets chilly in there already.
At 3pm we decide to call it a day. We can beat the traffic outta here, be home before dark and savor the win. Seat open! Poor ourselves a celebration cocktail at the house and settled in for some Thursday night football. Today we put together a +$625 day! Wow. That’s total including my +$112 at the 8/16 game and we were only there for 2 orbits! Also includes high hand money but that all counts this challenge. That was +$175. We hit 2 of them back to back! Every dollar I make in any poker game is included in Challenge #2. What do we call it? Maybe….The Duece? Back at it Friday my friends. Thank you for reading and being on this journey with me. Much appreciated!

Session #2: It was my girlfriends idea. One day, a few months back, she excitedly exclaimed, “I’m getting an e-Bike!” Ok baby….
Now I really want nothing to do with it. Not interested. We live only a mile away, if that, from her work place. She says that when the weather is ok instead of using her car she will just ride to work. Besides, it will be good for me, she says. Alright sweetheart.
It arrives. Roughly 85% assembled. We put it together and I take the first ride per her. Hooked! Immediately hooked. This is from Himiway and it’s the step thru model. Fat tire bike. Looks like a mountain bike. I gotta have one! So I order the Cruiser model. Check em out at Himiway.com I haven’t owned or ridden a bike for some time. A long time. I love this bike. Riding about every chance I get. You can see a couple pics at my Twitter account dave_has_aces or Instagram davidloveschristine. Not much poker related stuff usually on my IG, mostly normal everyday life stuff but follow me if ya like.
Thursday. Back to the challenge. I want to play. I want to put in more hours. But this day, first, I have to wait for the plumber to show up at 10:30 ( better be on time ) and wait for him to finish so I can pay him ( he loves it when I pay cash and gives me a discount ) and then I can hit the road to Palace.
Plumber in-n-out no problem. No problem anymore at least, fixed! I’m $250 lighter though. Look at the list for O8 at Palace and hit the road. Takes me about 45 minutes door to door depending on weather and traffic. Arrive at 12 noon and put our name up. No Omaha game yet and we are 5th on the list. Should fill up fast as they are playing max 8 handed. So we wait…. a couple players see me walk in so the sharks smell blood! I know my table image here with these regs. I don’t care in the least. I don’t want your respect, I want your chips!
It’s difficult to figure out the schedule here anymore. This game, it used to be where you could call in in advance and reserve your seat. Even your favorite seat if not already claimed. The game always started at 10am and ran all day, sometimes into the wee hours of the morning and sometimes with 2 tables. I miss that. I miss the 8am Sunday O8 game at Little Creek. They still have no reopening date for poker. Casino and hotel/spa are open, minus the poker room. The entire place is now no smoking. I haven’t been in there since March but I drive by all the time during my day job. No reason for me to go in there at this point. Fortune Poker, another 45 minutes plus drive north of Palace I see has no Omaha and I think I see why. $499 high hands every 30 minutes, no qualifier! Also..100k bad beat jackpot with room share! Wow! They offer 8/16 as well as 20/40 limit hold ‘em. I say again 20/40! I’m tempted. I used to play 10/20 on a fairly regular basis. Loved it. Played up to 15/30 but that’s as high as I’ve played. 8/16 is fun but 20/40? I’d seriously like to play that one day soon. Maybe just grind a 4/8 session with $499 high hand ever 30 minutes. We shall see.
We wait an hour and bag it. List stuck at 5 names including mine. So….
Friday. Check the list around 11 am or so. But I have other obligations. Other priorities on this day. No harm no fowl because it looks like they never got the game going…on a Friday? Gonna be impossible to hit the goal at this rate. Maybe a couple trips to Vegas! Not at the current rate of Covid infections. Numbers jumping and I just can’t gamble that high. I did cancel my trip on Nov. 12th. Damn…
No poker over the weekend. Monday I see the game fires about 1-1:30. Not that I am playing but trying to figure out the regular times for this game.
Tuesday. Election Day. There are 6 names on the list for O8 at Palace so I head that way. Arrived at 1:30 thinking that would be about right. List shrunk. I, again, am 5th on the list so we put our name on 8/16 hold em. High hands every 20 minutes and a 75k bad beat jackpot. The high hand is worth $200 every 20 minutes. Currently 8 games in action. One table of 1/3 NL, one table of 3/6 LHE, five tables of 4/8 LHE and one table of 8/16 Limit Hold em. We wait… waiting here now, especially now, is like torture to me. Such a waste of valuable time. Now 2 pm. List hasn’t moved. I seriously doubt this game will fire. So tilting.
Wednesday. Arrived at Palace at 11am and put our name on O8 and 8/16 LHE. 3 names now already for Omaha so that’s gotta be a good sign. 8/16 not running yet but 5 up on the list. We start the 8/16 game. Have not played Hold Em forever. 8 handed max still of course with masks and plexiglass. We grab seat 2, one of our personal favorites. Bad beat jackpot 75k. Qualifier is quad 10’s beat currently.
This game today is extremely straight forward. By noon I’m up +$158! I’ve played 8/16 for just an hour. I like the game. And guess how many names are on the Omaha list….that’s right, 5.
Today O8 started at 12:19. We are up exactly +$200 already from 8/16 limit hold em. Good game for me. I like it and I will play more of it. No hand reviews for limit hold em as it is, after all, limit hold em. The game was super straight forward. Solid.
Omaha today really nothing to report. Game broke at 2:25. We are +$288 on the day. I will be back in the morning for breakfast and chips. I love chips for breakfast!!!

Session #1: #7/14 feels good to have a defined goal again. It’s weird to me now just to play to play. Goals help me. Help me to keep my eye on the target. This time I have to put in hours to hit this. So the target helps. If you haven’t read thru challenge 1 please go back and do so. I’m not a pro. I’m no guru. Far from it and I still make a ton of mistakes. A ton. I’m a regular guy with a day job. A rec player. Rec for recreational. I’m a rec with ambition. With dreams. With goals. I want to learn, to become better, to win at a high level. #7/14. I want this. I want this bad. Let’s go…
My first session back after 7 months off was a success. You may have already read about my experience and that’s what I wanted to share. The experience. See how I felt. If I thought I could play in those conditions. Turns out it’s not that much different. I worry about winter months though. Is it sustainable? Concerned. That session is not part of this goal. Hopefully I continue to run that well or even just half as well as I did upon my return. If you don’t already please follow me on Twitter @dave_has_aces I tend to try to live tweet my sessions now.
So. Here we go…… #7/14….
Palace. Lakewood Wa. Most if not all of this challenge will be here. Clearwater? Closed the poker room. Little Creek? No poker, yet. I miss Sunday’s at the Creek and my 10/20 game at Clearwater. This challenge will be more challenging due to that. A grinding we will go.
Sam Grizzle passed away. If you don’t know who that is, do yourself a favor and jump on PokerGo. Watch day 2 of 2003 WSOP Main event. Go. Do it now. I will wait right here. See, I told ya. Phil Hellmuth was on Mike the Mouth Podcast the other day and he said a lot of nice things about Sam but, most importantly, he talked about the long hours Sam played and how if Sam would have just left. Left a big winner. Played a few less hours he would, without a doubt, be a multi millionaire. Wow! Mike Sexton says basically the same thing about Sam in his book Life’s A Gamble. Sam won a tournament, jumped in the biggest cash game in the room and by 7am he was outside in Valet Parking dead broke! So that was part of challenge 1. Hit n Run. Get up, get out. Not gonna work this time for 7/14. Gotta pull more hours somehow. I think I can get in a home game. And they run it as mixed at a minimum of 10/20. If I get into that obviously I will let y’all know. For now, Palace.
On Tuesday it didn’t appear they ever got an O8 game going. No problem. Wednesday morning about 10am there are 2 names on the wait list already for Omaha. Good sign. I’m estimating they start a game about 1 or so. Wrong! Fires at 12:15 and we are not even there. So we take care of a few things for the day job and arrive at Palace at, you guessed it, 1. Put our name up and grab some lunch. And wait. If you read thru Challenge 1…..3k in 30 Sessions…. you know I’m not a fan of waiting for a seat. Especially now. I rarely, if ever, do anything else inside the casino. I’m certainly not going to walk around the place and chat with people. For now I’m sitting in the bar area, well away from everyone. I’m willing to wait for maybe 45 minutes ish. If I’m not in by then skip it and hit it tomorrow.
We have a seat! Let’s go. First hand we sit down and kill is on! 8/16! AJ23 with a nut suit! Get no part of that pot. Not kidding. We whiff again and again. I’m not sure what is more painful, waiting for a seat or sitting in the game and whiffing. It happens. We fold and fold some more….
So far seems like the pots are small and the game is playing tight. We start to warm up though and get a couple ok scoops. High hand every half hour for $100 and we make a Queen hi straight flush!! Other than that this proves to be a tuff day. Counterfeit lows, busted nut nut draws. Going nowhere fast. We managed to dust off $310 somehow. Flopped top set a few times and got rivered by everything imaginable. So a terrible start but it’s not how ya start, it’s how ya finish. Buckle up for this one, it feels like a long hard road! -$310 we will try again tomorrow! But wait! The high hand bonus and I’m counting those this time so -$210.

Introduction: It’s on! Challenge’21 WSOP!!! 14 K in 7 months

Come hell or Covid we are trying to fulfill a dream. We have 7 months roughly to earn our way in. In to what though? I have a couple ideas or dreams so let’s make them goals. I played 10 years ago in the main event. The Main I said! Yep. 10k buy in…no problem. Only because I won my way in. I was part of a poker league. Tuesday nights. 13 of them to be exact. We awarded points to the the top 5 places each night with the top spot earning 11k to go to Vegas and play the main! 10k buy in and 1k travel. Your boy won it! Can I do it this time off of just cash games?

During Covid and not playing I have studied. A lot. Read read read. Watch watch watch. Read more, watch more. I’m fresh, I’m ready. I see people are anxious to play or rather gamble. I’m ready to scoop pots. Play patient.
My choice in 21 at a minimum is $1500 buy in O8. Shocker I know. I really want to play the 10k O8 and the Main. It is, after all, my 10 year anniversary. So the $1500 O8 is usually event 4. If I make a super deep run the other two events are for sure. Done. Otherwise, I try to satty my way in. A couple years I went to the WSOP just to play single table satellite tournaments. Love love love them. For the Main I will have to play a mega satty. A satellite with a lot of players or MTT. I prefer single tables but we will adjust. Let’s go.

Barring Covid still presenting issues, we play. We play. We play in the World Series of Poker! I think it will be record fields just because of a year off.
So, a new challenge is born. A longer, tougher challenge. This is the challenge. 7 months 14 k! 7/14 challenge! Is it possible? Can we do it? Let’s find out! I think yes. And I believe it! If I believe it I can achieve it! Let’s go! If we are not completely shut down again please ride with me on this journey. 7/14 Challenge!!!! LFG!!!!! 7/14 7/14

Dave’s Got Aces is Back!

Poker…..in a tent? No, I’m not camping. I’m sure you probably know or have heard about this. Maybe seen it via YouTube. If you watch Johnny Vibes he had a  nice video the other day from a Casino near San Diego that is temporarily operating outdoors. Here in Washington State our Governor shut down all nontribal card rooms, opened them again a few months later and shut em down again. They are now allowed to operate in a tent. So after 7 and a half months off we are back!
I had my first short session yesterday, a Thursday. They no longer take call ins to reserve a seat. It’s just show up and sign up. They do, however, have an app and you can see in real time how many players are on the list. The set up here is actually nice. Face coverings required of course. Temperature check at the door. Plexiglass dividers between each seat. When a player leaves they clean before seating a new player. Food service is still available at the table as well as drinks if course. Overall it’s really not that much different. I like the plexiglass primarily because it cuts out the table chatter ( no trash talking ) and also it prevents your neighbors from being to close to you. Your spot is defined.
I hope everyone reading this is enjoying good health. I have a trip booked for Las Vegas on November 12. Short trip. Fly home the 14th. I still may cancel. Covid numbers on the rise just about everywhere again. So my return to the game may be short lived. My game of choice doesn’t run every day at a regular time anymore. It’s inconsistent and that makes it tuff for me. I am in the area a lot for work so I will keep an eye on the list via their app. I would like to play 3 times a week or so and do another challenge. A few of my local card rooms have closed, a couple permanently and these are tribal casinos that no longer offer poker. They would dominate the market in this area, in my opinion, if they chose to. At least one says they will reopen the poker room but no date yet so we will see. I will include more of that story in another write up.
Overall the experience isn’t much different. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me how they can operate in a tent but not the building. You still enter the building as normal. The cashier is in the regular spot. Restaurant and bar? Yep. Open. No bar seating and tables spaced way apart. Food is still good and a reduction in price for players. All food  and drinks served with paper plates, plastic utensils and plastic cups. All disposable. Restrooms, same spot inside the building. I, like you, really hope this is over soon. We can get back to life. Back to work, school or playing a game.
As far as my first session back went, I ran hot! Only a couple hour session because the game actually broke. And that was fine by me. I have to get back home. Back to my Girlfriend and now just one dog. We lost Ruby Pearl Marie two months ago. RIP baby girl. I felt fortunate to be here with her. Dogs it turns out love the quarantine life. Anyway +$275 and out. Stay safe everyone!

2020 3k in 30 sessions (documented below): +$3732

Session 30 – The Final Session

30. Here we are already. For me it was quicker than I thought it would be. I have so much on my mind and it’s such a mixed bag. One thing is absolutely certain. It’s not easy. Sometimes it feels easy, as if to suck you in. A mirage. Poker is hard. It’s easy to sit there and just be a button clicker but to play correctly is difficult and exhausting. My thoughts range from quitting poker to go harder, put in more time, more sessions, attack with a vengeance. But why. Again, I’m just a rec. A regular guy with a job and dare I say,…responsibilities. I haven’t put a pencil to it yet and for me the hourly doesn’t matter. Why? A) it’s simply too small a sample size. Any average Joe or Jane can do what I did in 30 sessions. Let’s see after 300 sessions. B) even it was say $50 per hour I’m never ever leaving my day job over that. I make more than that on average so I would be taking a pay cut. Also I have employer provided medical, dental and vision. At my age (53) that’s a big deal. Also after 300 sessions it would never be $50 an hour. It was just an example. So, we will leave it as is. A fun part time job. Yes, I view it as a part time job and try to treat it as such. And I want my customers coming back.

Today Chester was on a roll and good for him. It will keep him coming back. He looses 8 outta 10 sessions. Gotta feed the donkeys a little hay once in a while. Win or loose please be kind. Why do people feel the need to be unkind in any fashion, to anyone, at a poker table? Does it make them feel better somehow? And never mistake my kindness for weakness. We spend enough time together as part time recs, and it’s a game so why not try to enjoy it. It’s a challenge, I know.

The challenge. I’m a little sad it’s over because it has given me a lot. I look forward to the challenge. I look forward to writing this here report. It’s made me not just a better player but a better table mate. A better person because I’ve gained so much in just 30 sessions. Makes me feel like I’ve been missing out previously. I will definitely set goals from here on out. Bite size goals. And I think that’s why the challenge was a success. Bite size goals with a longer term goal that has an end. It’s a constantly moving target for me but the challenge remains. One session, one day, one hand at a time. Win or loose, take it in stride, hold your head high and believe in yourself even when no one else does, even when they talk bad about you, talk bad about your play. See, I’m far from the perfect player and I will never be. Hopefully one day I’m a good player but I don’t want your respect, I want your chips!

What next? I’m seriously leaning towards time off from the game. Spring is around the corner, super busy at work and home. I might not play much if at all until May 28th, day 1 of my 2020 WSOP. I will study for sure. Read and watch videos and read read and read some more. I need to invest more time in my relationships and that can’t be done at a poker table. I’m very lucky in a lot of aspects of life and I have to maintain that as to not harm that by being away too much. Thank you Christine for your support in my dream and believing in me.

It’s ends very anti climatic. Somehow it’s not satisfying but I guess that’s poker. Always moving forward still hungry never satisfied. We play 4.5 hours total +$250. See you all soon at the WSOP!!!!

Session 29

We are looking at going to Vegas for a few days mid February to catch the WSOP Circuit event at the Rio. If the boss man at my day job gives me the ok to miss just 2 days of work. We will fly late afternoon on a Wednesday (after day job) and fly home Monday morning. The goal here is to play the $600 horse event. I played this a couple years ago and busted 22nd. Paid 16. That was over at Planet Hollywood. If I make that trip I will certainly write up a trip report or 2. I will keep ya posted. The Rio has the 1600 square foot Masquerade suite available to me for only $78 per night! Yes please! No resort fee as I am Diamond level with Caesars. So that reservation is made. I can cancel if need be, free, as long as it’s at least 72 hours in advance. I usually only fly Alaska but considering giving Delta a try this time. I’ve heard good things from fellow poker players who use them Seattle to Las Vegas. $389 round trip sitting in comfort plus section. Looks like $539 round trip first class! For that small difference we will go first even on this short flight. First on, first off plus the food and drink is worth it to me. This is starting to sound like a really nice trip!

This challenge is going to end at Clearwater in the 10/20 game. Couldn’t be more fitting. But one session, one hand, at a time. Right now we’ve got to beat up the patrons at Little Creek. We arrive early today. 3rd on the list and it’s filling up fast today. Grab some coffee and breakfast.
Today’s line up mostly the same. Seat 1 unclaimed as of yet but there are 11 names on the list. Seat 2 old local reg never as tight as he looks, seat 3 Judy, part of the married couple that usually stay here every weekend, seat 4 today is us, seat 5 old local reg who will call down with anything he has. We can only value bet him. Seat 6, look, it’s our boy Chester. We will crush him as usual. Seat 7 is Judys husband and solid player. Seat 8 solid player who plays a lot with us at Palace. Seat 9 young white kid who we’ve played with only here at the Creek. He thinks he is way better than he is. Time to run good, play better! Let’s go….

We start off blistering hot. Twice in the first half hour we have nut nut. Until the river. Our customers refuse to fold a bad 2 pair and get rewarded on the river. That’s ok. This is exactly what we want, exactly what we are looking for! Remember every time our opponents make mistakes we win. Have only played an hour now and it feels like 3. And now old man river goes into punishment mode…twice in a row I have been punished by a 4 on the river. Agh. Today feels like it’s magic,…for everyone else. Now no matter what I do, what I play how I play….I can’t win. A23k with a nut suit? How bout a flop of 99J?! At least we get to fold that one right away. Others we are not so fortunate. Wait to be counterfeit on river and  or whiff nut  draws. You O8 players know of which I speak. Sun is out today for the first time in what feels like months. So, we say,….Seat Open! Total playing time today 5.5 hours (Sunday is triple time, need the hours here and here only) and it’s -$300. Does not include bonus money. We even made a straight flush today. Bonus $50. Final session Tuesday at Clearwater. We will wrap it up. Thanks for reading. Peace.

Session 28

2020 WSOP! Just around the corner and I’m pumped. Lots and lots of work to do before then. Schedule almost complete but I got all I need. If and when I cash deep in $1500 O8 we will figure out what else to play. One things for sure is the journey has just begun even though this challenge is almost complete, or is it? I decided to move the target from 3k to 4k in 30 sessions! Can it be done?

Friday. Dog tired. Don’t really feel like playing but we have goals to hit! Call in and add our name just in a nick of time. We are 9th on the list and get seat 1 by default. A few different faces than normal today but all we have played with. Seat 1, us. Seat 2 a female dealer at Palace and solid O8 player, seat 3 old white guy who never plays unless he has A2. Seat 4 drunk guy. Seat 5 solid reg. Seat 6 retired Muckleshoot dealer and super tight. Seat 7 VIP, plays every day and doesn’t loose. Seat 8 our boy Gemini, I think he remembers me now. Seat 9 another solid reg. So typical tuff line up for the most part. Day starts off with rags so we fold and fold again. No rush today but what about our hit n run dream? We manage to scoop a couple pots and turn on the kill so 8/16 limit. We catch fire! Heater! Nothing out of the ordinary but make nut high with no low possible a few times so 57 minutes later (we tried to leave after 41 minutes but it was our kill) we say,…Seat Open! Rack em up and cash em out! +$218.

Session 27

Just a couple more sessions to go and mission accomplished! Trying to squeeze in session 27 today, Wednesday, before the 10/20 HORSE game at 6pm at Palace. They run a happy hour high hand from 3-6. I see it’s down to $600. Today’s hand is 8c9s. You must use these 2 cards in your hand to win the high or scoop and the money is yours!

Reviewing hand histories and discovered a huge mistake a week later. It was 10/20 at Clearwater when I scooped that monster pot with AA2K. The error was not caught (or at least called out) by anyone. Same result. We scoop. Remember this is the hand I got counterfeit on the river when I already had nut low and a pair of Aces for high. Deuce on the river gives us 2 pair, Kings and deuces for a high, live Ace for low. My one pair was good for high anyway but what if it wasn’t? What if the villain had some kind of 2 pair made? I hope we would’ve caught it. Another lesson or rather reminder to be careful and double check. The O8 game is only offered once a week so most of the dealers are very inexperienced in O8. There are always a lot of mistakes. Especially when someone wins 3/4 of the pot. Also they try to award a low to someone who has been counterfeit and there are only 3 low cards, not 4 or 5, on the board so that player has no qualifying low. They paired up so they have that for high, no low.

Seems like fresh faces showing up more and more and that’s great. I hope players continue to have an interest in different games besides hold em. We will be happy to help them break in. Had an interesting hand in 4/8 game yesterday with one of these new comers. Obviously new to the game and it’s our BB no raise. We check our option with a tuff hand, 889J rainbow. Flop is 984. Bet and called in 3 spots. Turn is a 10. Same action. River brings home the low, 5. I decide to just check as we are now splitting the pot with the low, if we are getting any. Next player bets (low for sure) and then a raise from the young kid? Uh oh. He have the straight? I fold and would have won half. The low was exactly where I thought and the kid shows a low also but a 32 low. He gets nothing. No high and raise with the 3rd best low? Ok. Welcome! We play this here every Tuesday!

Looks as if WSOP has finalized the part of the schedule I’ve been waiting on. All $1500 buy in tournaments announced today. Omaha 8 day 1 is on my Birthday! Not kidding. The stars are aligning!!!
Still waiting for a seat. Nothing else I can do. Home is an hour plus drive one way this time of day and now we are only an hour away from start time of horse. So we sit, watch basketball and have some tacos. I think I will have an edge in Razz. Most players are terrible at Razz, and we never get to play it up here. On 3rd street they have a Queen in the door and think because they have 5 3 in the hole they have to play. I’ve seen it, a lot. The other game I think I will have an edge on these players is stud 8. My favorite. This one the average player thinks they should play any 3 low cards to start. 8 4 2 no suits? Sure. Wrong! This is not Razz. But I digress. Let’s go….
We get our seat in 4/8 Omaha 8 and play for 50 minutes. +$176! Starting 10/20 HORSE now. Wish me luck!

Session 26

Tuesday, 10/20 Omaha 8 at Clearwater. Game starts at 4. It is only 1 and we are in 4/8 O8 at Clearwater as a warm up. 2nd hand of the day we make,….quad Aces! Quadzilla!!!! Not even kidding. No bonus here and had to chop the pot. Let’s keep making big hands today. If the right card hit the river we get 3/4 instead of half. But we are looking for is,….Scooportunity!!!
We are in the 2nd game today. Two games going here ? Must be the cold weather. All familiar players. Loose as a Christmas Goose. Let’s go….

Back to the subject of raising in low limit Omaha 8 pre flop. Answer is, with a lot of things in poker, depends. I like to try to balance my range. At least against observant opponents. Seems like the games I frequent they all put you on Ace deuce x x. It’s like in hold em in the mid to late 2000s. They all think you have Ace King when you raised pre. Depends on position amongst a lot of other factors. Any player come in yet? I try to protect my hand but it’s more for value. Low limit players like to and want to call. Do you want players in the pot or out? Depends on the game and who’s in it. Post flop is an entirely different subject all together. So we work on it and a lot of other things. Working, learning, striving to get better. Some days of course, especially in Omaha, it doesn’t seem to matter what you do. Let’s do work! Hard hat? Check. Pick axe? Of course! Grind mode activated!!!

Super Mario to our immediate left and bought in for 1k! Seat 1 action player we’ve played with for years. Just check it to him and he will bet. Seat 2 solid reg. Seat 3 our buddy and good player. Seat 4 old white lady, solid but timid. Tight passive. Seat 5 solid reg. Seat 6, one of the best O8 players around. 7 is a guy we’ve played with a lot and he thinks he is better than he is. Seat 8 is us. 9, Super Mario! Let’s go,….
Flops are coming in reverse for so far. We play AQJJ double suited good for nothing and next flop is J99… Then we pick up AAQQ. Flop top set and river,…..quads!!! Quadzilla again!!!! Wow!!!

Next few hours are difficult and that’s ok. Adversity makes us stronger. If it were easy every time it wouldn’t be much fun. But tonight is no fun. After starting good (we chopped all those quad hands) it’s all down hill from there. Variance slapped us back to reality as if to yell, hey remember me? We have walked on the good side of variance for a while so it’s all good. The loss doesn’t bother me this time. I played good overall. We can’t control the way the cards fall only how we play and our emotions. Mental game lately is at least a B+. Proud of that. Win or loose you’d never know after my session. I am able to leave it on the felt and enjoy my life outside of poker. That one is huge for me. If I was unable to figure that out I would have to stop playing all together. Quit. Done. As a rec I can’t let it control my emotions or how i am or how I feel after a session. My sleep. How I treat people. My mood.   Obviously I didn’t want to stop playing.  I’m in such a better place. Such a better relationship with poker. I’m confident we will crack em next time. I am enjoying the game again, I really am, win or loose. Excited for the future and really feel good things, no, GREAT things are coming my way this year. Total time played today=5.5 hours and loss of $500 (-$500) Thank you and may you have Scooportunity in all your pots!

Session 25

Finished January with a loosing session, played longer than I wanted. Why do I do this to myself? I should’ve listened to my gut. I wasn’t feeling it at all so why play? I certainly don’t have to, ever. I play when I want. The number 1 perk of being a rec with a day job. I played a no limit hold em tournament Friday night at Little Creek. First one of the new year and the new room! Finished 8th out of 50. Felt good to final table. I need to get back to being a fixture at that final table.

New room at Little Creek, a quick review. It boasts 16 tables! 16! And it’s roomy. Lots of room to be able to get up and move about without squeezing behind neighboring tables. It was a little too dark. The new room sits directly above the bar. The bar that does live music on weekends. The music is loud. Not sure what, if anything, can be done to fix this. It’s distractedly loud. The room is not fully set up yet. They were pulling wire Friday night. I’m hoping for TV. They have a couple screens that were moved over from the old room. Too small now for the new big room and only on one side of the room. The side (to left as you walk in) they are using for cash games has large windows that overlook the casino floor. Kinda cool. They have a few adjustments to make and I’m sure will go thru some growing pains but I’m thankful for the new large room. It seems like a lot of rooms have closed or shrunk. Little Creek is going the right direction. Thank you Wayne and crew. Much appreciated. I hope the cash games grow and tournaments as well.

Speaking of Little Creek, Sunday morning, Omaha 8 4/8 with a full kill. Let’s run good, play better.
Up before dawn and hop into the shower. We don’t want to be the smelly player at the table after all. Quick 1 hour drive and we have our seat locked up. 8 am start. Who decided this? So breakfast and coffee.
A lot has been going thru my mind lately. Rereading these posts. Going back thru different spots. Mostly the spots or sessions I played horribly. 24 sessions ago I was a different player. This has definitely helped. I make less mistakes for sure. I still find myself falling into certain traps or areas of tilt. Number 1 for me is hate loosing tilt. Don’t we all ? Can’t win every session. I think I handle things much better, good or bad. Sleep no longer disrupted, win or loose. Mental game much better, much stronger. There’s a lot more work to be done. Let’s go…

Today we have only 6 on the list at start time. This place is difficult to figure out. No consistency it terms of players but I guess that’s poker players for ya. I thought everyone would be excited to play in the new room. Today we also have a seat locked up at Palace. If this game doesn’t fill up by 9 we will hit the road to Palace.
Game starts and we are too late to go to Palace now. We have 3 players show who I’ve never seen before. Holy hell a 4th one!? Unknown. We decide to lock down until we see what they’re up to. Then we get some run good magic! We have KcQc7cAd. Not a very good starting hand, we have position and no raise. See a flop of 9c10cJc!!! Flop a straight flush and obviously no low possible. First position bets, 2nd calls, we just flat here no need to raise until maybe the turn. Maybe he has Ace hi flush? Maybe the board will pair? Turn is the 8c. Terrible card because we have all the cards they need. They check over to us and we check it back. River is a brick and we bet. They fold but we have a hi hand of the hour plus a scoop pot! Bonus of $50. Next hour we have trash in our BB, no raise, we check our option to see a flop of QQQ. We hold the case Q! Quadzilla! Bonus of $50 again.
I may have coined a new word or term today while playing…. Scooportunity. Simply when you have outs to scoop or the opportunity to scoop a pot is… Scooportunity! Omaha players feel free to use, giving me full credit of course.

Today the game always feels as if it’s going to break. We played 6 handed for a while and even the dealer thought the game was over. She is asking the floor or rather yelling over to the floor “this game is going to break! Do you want to have them draw cards to see who gets a seat 1st in 1-3?” I felt like saying something but remained silent. The game filled back full but we say….Seat Open! Time played today=5 hours. +$200. (Does not include bonus money of $100) till next time may you all have…… Scooportunity!!!

Session 24

Session #24…. do we dare say…. in honor of Kobe? Basketball is about my favorite sport. But I’m sure by now everyone has had enough. Obviously we all hope the family members he is survived by will be and do ok in the future. Nuff said. Let’s go….
Tuesday session we had 3 outta 8 players tilted or steamed up. So salty was Super Mario he got up from the table to take a walk. We were gone before his return. I’m sure that game got even more crazy after our departure. Speaking of tilt, I just downloaded a book via Audible all players need to read even if you never tilt it will help you understand your opponents better. The book? The Mental Game of Poker. I have this book physically but am using Audible a lot now instead of listening to the radio while in the car running around for work. If you have this book, read it again.

Friday. Palace. Wanted to call in for a seat last night but game was still going when we went to bed. Called in at 6am and was told can not add your name because the game is still going! Huh? All night long? Wow.  7 more sessions to go and we’ve, so far at least, exceeded the money goal. The money really isn’t the true goal though. Improving, playing better, learning, play every hand correctly and the money will follow. Certainly feel like we’ve seen our fair share of quality start hands and let’s hope that continues. But the real goal is self improvement. Become a better player. Become a great player. What does that mean at Omaha? To be a great player? I hope to find out someday.

Arrive at Palace around 10:30 for an 11am start. Look up at the board to see we are 13th on the list? How? I called in at 7:03 and was 4th,…. told the poker room manager and he moved us up. Thank you! I expect chaos at 10:57. If so I will gladly surrender my seat today. Not that big of deal to me. I was over here for work anyway, I have lots to do at home and I am playing tonight at Little Creek. New poker room! Stay tuned. If we are in this game I really want to hit n run. Up a c-note, bye bye. Ok, we are in and so far very tough. Only a couple good hands in an hour and a half. Also, we keep getting counterfeit. I hate that. Zero fun. In our BB we have 10 10 x x and flop is A 10 8 with two of those cards being diamonds. We lead out, get raised and put in a 3 bet. Turn is,….10! Quadzilla again!!!! River is a Jack so no low and we scoop plus quad 10’s are worth $100 bonus! Very difficult session though. Not seeing anything good. Last hand we play Ah2d3h and a dangler, 9. Flop peels 985. Turn Q and river Jack. We say seat open!

-$300 on this session though. (Does not include bonus money) Next up, weather permitting, Sunday at Little Creek! New room! Review pending. Actually here now to play NLHE tournament!!!

Session 23

Study time. Away from the poker table and put in time studying the game. I’ve been reading a lot, watching a ton of videos and talking with friends. Learning. Trying to improve. I make mistakes in the game, absolutely. Trying to tweak it and make adjustments, fixes. Less mistakes. We have this goal we set clearly in our sights. That’s not the end rather just the beginning. The more I learn I realize the more I need to learn. I have the desire to play a lot again and am actually starting to enjoy it again. Let’s face it, winning is fun. Even in small amounts. A friend of mine always says you’ll never go broke taking a small profit. Another says pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.

Four times in 2 sessions we run a full house into a higher full house. Played some pots where we should’ve scooped but didn’t. There’s opportunity. There’s money to be made. Let’s figure out how to get it and without them even noticing. Even if they do, they will forget soon enough. Poker players have a short memory and or their ego won’t let them remember that we’ve been cashing out profits. Maybe they don’t care cuz of the micro amounts. It adds up. 30 sessions =3k? Maybe. I’d like to know really who is tracking their results and are they similar or higher? It’s been eye opening thus far. Let’s go…

Tuesday Clearwater Casino. We have seat 8 locked up today and next week already as well for the 10/20 game. Speaking of 10/20, we are now 1 week and 1 day away from 10/20 HORSE at Palace. I really hope that game lasts. We had a 5/10 horse going Monday’s at Clearwater but somehow it collapsed. 10/20 O8 at Palace on Sunday’s is no more so I wait to see if and how HORSE can go and continue. The list already has 7 names on it and there’s a lot of buzz in the room about it. I suspect there will only be about 3 good players and the rest of the players will be curious folk who want to play something different and learn mixed games and that will be fantastic. Good luck to us! I will keep ya posted on how that goes and what we win or loose if you’d like. Not part of this challenge obviously completely separate.
We arrive an hour and a half early for 10/20 just hoping there will be a seat available in 4/8 to warm us up. No such luck. First up on the wait list. Shoot me now. Might get a bite to eat but looks like there is only one choice here until others open at 4pm and that’s the deli. Not today. We do get our 4/8 O8 warm up seat and immediately win a couple smallish pots. We take note seat 8 is playing every single hand. 100%. He shows down hands like 9c7cKh3s. Fantastic. Let’s go…

Good warm up! We play 45 minutes of 4/8 and win $126! 10/20 starts now.
The line up is missing a couple heavy hitters. Except seat 1, very good player. Seat 6 is a guy we play with and have played with a lot. Very aggressive. Buys in for 1k and looses half very fast. Tops it up to 1k and again looses half. Now he goes on crazy tilt and plays hands dark! This game is played with a half kill so limits are 15/30. He raises dark and we wake up with AdAs2sKs! Other than 3 of the same suit this is a quality start. We raise. By the time it is back on us we get to cap it! Flop is Kc8s6s. Seat 6 bets it, $15, we raise to $30. Again it’s capped and it’s 5 ways to a turn of 3c. We have Aces and nut low. Seat 6 bets it, we raise and everyone folds except seat 6 of course. Heads up to a river card of,…..2c. ???!!! 6 bets, we flat. Pot is huge, we get counterfeit and know he is still in the dark. Aces for high, live Ace for low and we scoop a monster!!! We have Super Mario to our immediate left. He has that name because he is fast and likes to run without the ball. This is the Asian male 50-80 age we talked about before. We noticed he has slowed way down tonight. Way down. Checking back when checked to and all. He still gets pissed when his junk low is never good! Lol.

What a session this was. Total time played including 4/8 is just 3 and a half hours…+$1249. Feels great. Wanted to stay but why? How much better can it get? That has got to rank up as my all time hit n run! Next up, Palace on Friday. Peace. Have a great night and thank you for reading.

Session 22

Angle shooting. Ever see it? Been a victim of it? Maybe didn’t realize till after? There are many forms of the angle shot. Some subtle some blatant. I’m sure a good percentage go unnoticed. Sunday we had an angle shot shot right our way. The crazy Indian (not Native American, from India) tried his best to steal from us. He is a regular and we have played with him a ton and I considered us to be on friendly terms. Bad read. We are in the big blind with 2d3d5hQh and no raise so we get to check this rag. Flop is QsQc10s. We bet out. Fold, call, raise, fold back over to us, we decide to flat as we have kicker issues. Until the turn is a 5! Queens full. Are we up against Q 10? Look over and notice crazy Indian only has about $20 remaining and we are on a kill so limits are 8/16. We bet our full house to see what the player in the middle of us wants to do. He folds and crazy of course goes all in and we call. Look right at him and ask “(his name) do you have Queens full?” He says “yes! I flopped it” I say again and get the same answer. We lay our hand face down in front of us about arms length away. He kinda shuffled his cards and I see a 10 but no Queen. He shows 10 10 x x for 10’s full. We reach out, put our hand on our cards and roll Em face up. They never touched the muck or anything else. There was no bet as he was all in on the turn and it’s heads up. Of course he immediately starts pleading his case to the dealer as he is now to the felt, busto. Our hand of course is still live. I said you angle shot me. But I should’ve shown down anyway. Queens full is nothing to be embarrassed of, if he has us, he has us. Also, if Crazy had chips still we would check call his river bet and this entire scenario would’ve never played out.  But I will say if I’m at the table and the situation was reverse,…I would have responded honestly. Is it just me? In that situation I would’ve said I have a full house but no, not Queens full. Dealer calls the floor over who confirmed our hand is live. Scoop and bust crazy Indian for the 2nd week in a row. Funny thing is he was the first guy I saw before the room opened. We talked, shared some laughs even. He says, you really got me last week, and i remain humble and kind and respond with just ran well in a couple spots. So stark reminder, no friends at the table and cards speak. Even if someone declares, make them show it. Learned that years ago. What’s wrong with me? So many times, and more so in Omaha, players misread their hand. Make them show. Every time.
I’m still amazed at how bad these players are for the most part. Terrible. And I’m no good but they are worse. We fall back in the trap though of playing some marginal holdings ourselves. No more. We must and will remain strong in our start hands. Sunday I was in the game 2 buy ins ($200 at the Creek) and almost 3 before we turned it around. Seeing crap win, especially when we get counterfeit or whiff every draw, stings. I have to be, will be more mentally strong. Learning, always learning. Always improving.
Called in for a seat at Palace this morning. I’m 7th again on the list. Lucky number 7? Let’s hope! We are in seat 6 today and really wanting a hit n run today but we shall see. First goal is to play every hand correctly. Did we accomplish that yesterday? Absolutely not. Still got the W, but it was ugly.
Today, Monday, we barely play a single hand the first hour. Meanwhile seat 1 goes to the felt, twice! He seems to be on a mission to just bleed chips. Wish we could help. He is an Asian male who shows up intermittently and just bets bets bets. Seat 1 goes home after just over an hour. Empty. We chop a few and are up about $80 after an hour and a half. We pick up KK45 double suited in the cut off, and everyone has folded to us. Raise. There is a 3 bet from the big blind and we go heads up to a flop of 3 6 Q. Turn is a 9 and river pairs the board with a 3. Villain has A3xx. So gross. We run a full house into a better full house a short time later. More folding. Our big blind now, 234K all hearts. We flop nut hearts and 2nd nut low. Turn we make the straight flush! We chop this pot believe it or not but get a $60 bonus. Another strange day as we get counterfeit on lows, miss some nut draws. Last hand played we have Ah2s4sQd, Kill pot so 8/16 limits. Raise. We get 3 callers. Flop is 3 9 J with two clubs. We check call and the turn is a 6. Same action. River we make nut nut but only get 3/4 of this pot. Enough for today so we announce seat open and compliment all the players on how great they are. 3 hours played today +$88. (Does not include $60 bonus) Session 23 is tomorrow at Clearwater 10/20 and we already have seat 8 (one of our favorites) locked up! Home stretch now, let’s go..

Session 21

Listen, here’s  the thing, if you can’t spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, then you are the sucker.
Had a nice Saturday at home. Doing chores, watching golf and prior to the start of golf watched Rounders again. I enjoy that movie every single time even after several hundred times. Easily the movie I’ve watched most. Got a lot done at the house and am ready for another session of Omaha 8.
This is the last time I will step foot in this poker room! Literally,….I’m at Little Creek and it’s the last day for this room. They will be closed a few days and reopen on January 30th in their new location! Brand new room! I’m excited to check it out. Room review for you guys next week. So up before dawn we hit the road and make the one hour journey to the Creek. We check Bravo multiple times and it just says no update. We enter the casino, look up at the board,….empty. ??? Huh? Not one name? Uh oh. Usually, as an insurance policy, we add our name to the list at Palace. At 6am the list was 11 deep so didn’t bother. We get upstairs and see the kiosk we use during off hours to add our name to list is already gone. Probably being moved to the wall outside the new poker room? They have a sticky notes with numbers 1-9. We are 7th. Locked in for a start time of 8am. Grab an iced coffee and wait, start typing this write up. I knew this would be a cluster this morning though. A ton of confusion. List full with players waiting and of course everyone claims they were here at 5:30am. Ok sure. Why is your name not on the list? A few players here today from up in my neck of the woods. Must’ve spent the night I’m guessing. We sit down in the position we are on the list and wait for the dust to settle. Oh boy. Do we have a seat or not?…..there is discussion of playing 10 handed today.

Line up today ? Well I’m 53 and one of the young guns at this table. Seat 1, Chester. Seat 2 easily one of the best O8 players around these parts. Seat 3, a goofy dude we’ve played with a lot at Clearwater. Seat 4 is the old white guy who always calls down super light. Can’t bluff him as he will call ya down with anything he has. We can take him on a tour of value town! Seat 5 solid, seat 6 is half of the husband wife team that usually stay here every weekend. We have the wife in today and would much rather have her vs her hubby. Seat 7 yours truly. Seat 8 a complete stranger. Never have seen this dude in my entire life, anywhere. Where did this cat come from? Seat 9 always Bob.
First hand, our big blind. Seat 8, the stranger, raises, 2 callers by the time it get backs to us so we flat call also with a bit of a marginal hand but flop the nuts! No low possible but we are fading hearts. No hearts come , the board doesn’t pair and we scoop pot A!
Stranger danger proves to be nothing if not aggressive. In my opinion over aggressive for this particular game and that’s fine by me. Build some pots for me to scoop! Most pots in the first hour of play are kill pots! 8/16 limits! We hold QQ23 rainbow and see a flop of 4Q9,…all hearts. First to act leads out. We flat as does 2 more players. Turn brings in a back door low draw. Same action. River pairs the board! No low,….scoop!! Stranger danger shows 349J, no hearts, he rivered a lower full house but jeez, how is he still in at showdown? Thank you?
After 1 hour of play we have 2 players rebuy. Stranger danger and Chester! But we look at a series of bad start hands and have to fold pre, a lot. Including 3 of a kind dealt to us twice in a row. Oh well, at least it’s a no brainer fold. Bob has to rebuy after 2 hours of play. Stranger No Danger is down to the felt for the 2nd time. We wait….this folding thing is getting easier. And it’s fun to watch our opponents play horribly and make mistake after mistake. Let’s go….
We go ice cold. Flop a wrap twice in a row with a flush draw and miss it all. Meanwhile Bob can’t miss. He makes nut nut a few hands as we watch and wait. Pick up Ad2d2s3d. Flop comes 9 hi. Turn 10. River King. Nothing again. Ugh. Might be loose n run today? Nah. Let’s get it. Triple hours all day and we need the hours.

And now we get the news of Kobe’s passing via helicopter crash. RIP. That will be one of those that will be, where were you when you heard? So sad.
Today is a grind. Nut low counterfeit. Missed draws to nuts. Playing well. Running bad. And we get angle shot. This is long enough so I will tell y’all that story next write up. (Cliff hanger!) We pull a 7 hour session today for the triple hours and to qualify for a 10k Freeroll!! So 7 hours played we book a win today of $300. Stay tuned! Some good stories comin up! Thank you for reading.

Session 20

Dave has aces! AcAh3sKd. Raise pre and get a couple callers….. but let me back up for a minute.
Today we have the pleasure of seeing our friends Flynn & Ollie! Always great to see them. We arrive at Palace and find our friends already engaged in battle. They are playing some poker already this morning. The variety where you only get 2 cards to start. We check in on them and grab our seat at the O8 table, seat 7, as picked when we called in. Typical line up today and the very first hand dealt we look down at As2sKcJh. Raise. Everyone folds as they are not warmed up yet this morning. A very short time later we have Aces! Aces, no suits and backed up by a 3 and a Cowboy. Raise. Couple callers, we see a flop of A67. Flop top set but low already home and someone may have the straight draw. Bet, fold, fold, call. Heads up to a turn of 8. But we are heads up with a player that should not ever show us a straight and maybe his low is counterfeit? Hmmm. River drops on the board with a thud! Bam! Ace! We make quads! Quadzilla!!! We chop the pot (he had a straight and a low on that turn) $62 bonus.

As we enter the last stretch of this challenge we already look forward to first obviously finish this strong and make that goal but also a new one. A 2nd challenge. Maybe something leading up to my trip to the WSOP then the real challenge begins down there. By my count we now have 10 sessions remaining and we can’t get ahead of our selves but can’t help feeling excited. One session,…one hand at a time. And 10 more sessions might take me a couple months or better and then it will be WSOP time. Let’s run pure!
Today we would like to play a couple of hours but just can’t. Dryer at home has an issue and I have help available to fix it now so we say,….Seat Open! 44 minutes played +$89 (does not include bonus money) so a forced hit n run. We say good luck to Flynn and Ollie and hit the road! Hope to hear one of you hit a Royal! Till next time…

Session 19

We are not yet even in the home stretch and I have questions. More questions than answers. Hopefully with about a dozen more sessions still to go in this challenge I will find answers. I just downloaded the book Mastering Mixed Games by Dylan Linde on audible. I spend a lot of time on the road by myself for the day job so I thought this would make a great co pilot. Hopefully it can provide me some answers or at least point out some adjustments I can make. Also in 2 weeks I will be playing 10/20 HORSE at Palace so I need to brush up on other variants such as Razz, stud hi and my personal favorite Stud 8. I saw the room manager running training yesterday for dealers to be prepared. Bravo! We are 2 weeks away so hopefully he is doing this often.

My first question is somewhat obvious I think. 1) Is hit n run the correct thing to do? For the perimeters we set for this challenge, yes. Remember how this came about. 3k in 30 sessions without pulling long hours. Average win of $100 per session. We obviously are not going to win every session so we need to minimize our losses for sure. But if we are getting cards, playing well and winning shouldn’t we stay? I’m starting to toy with the concept because it’s not every day we are blessed with strong start hands and connect with the board.
Question 2) Raising. This subject remains to baffle me in Omaha 8. The hand equities run so close together. Until after the flop, and especially the turn. Do we stick in a raise pre? Do we look at a flop and decide from there? The answer I think is, depends. Depends on a number of factors. I think in most games I play all it does is bloat the pot and then no one wants to fold because of the big pot. I won a pot tonight I really wasn’t supposed to,…we flop 2 pair out of big blind position with 10s7s5h3c. Flop is Ks10h7d. We check raise. I never and I mean never check raise so I thought everyone would fold. Nope. They look confused and flat call. Turn is an off suit 4. Of course we fire and they all call.  River .King. Oh no. Everyone checks and we scoop with our 2 pair. Again, should’ve bet. We had control of that pot. We still win it and it was a fat pot to win with our holding. Do we need to employ a check raise more often? Yes. They are never sure what to do and are never folding any draws they have. Those are the first 2 questions of many….
Check the info for Palace poker and looks like they have 2 tables running now with just 2 on the wait list. I call in and add my name. Less than 10 minutes we get a seat at 2:30. Happy hour starts at 3. They draw the 5 of clubs and 6 clubs. If you win it today it’s $1200! The line up is all players we have played with before including the main game. We are never dealt the happy hour hand but lands to our immediate left. We make nut low and 5 6 of clubs makes a flush and no one else has clubs so it’s good for our neighbor to hit it. I think a lot of players may leave now that happy hour hand has been hit. We only put in 1 hour of play today and decide now is the perfect time to hit n run. Seat Open! +$102

Session 18

What do you guys think of the WSOP “Value Menu” ? I like the idea but the name is all wrong. World Series of Poker is the premiere event of the year. The Mother of all, the holy grail of poker. I look forward to getting down there early every year, right at the start, and visit the mother ship. The ESPN main stage. It’s an awesome sight and the energy in there at the beginning is incredible. Filled with hope and dreams before all the bad beats and dreams are crushed, before the halls are full of players telling each other bad beat stories. The Circuit events for WSOP is where you keep the lower buy ins in my humble opinion. I think it cheapens the premier event. If you were at the Rio last summer on the weekend of the Big 50 you know of what I speak. Hopefully this year they have a fix for registration. Crazy. I’m so pumped for this years series. Still awaiting the full schedule so I can plan accordingly. I haven’t played a bracelet event for several years. This year it’s $1500 Omaha 8. I really enjoy playing other events around town during the series. The Orleans has a fantastic series in the summer, especially if you’re looking to play mix games. Affordable buy ins, great game selection, good structures and well run room. Last year I made a deep run in the Omaha 8 tournament. They finally chopped it at 6am 8 ways (I think it was) for about 10k each. A close friend of mine was eliminated 9th.

Day job has slowed down a tic and that’s ok. I think I shared that I am a buyer for a nice used car dealership. We have about 130 units in stock on average so I need to buy about 40 a month to keep em stocked. Keeps me busy traveling to various auctions and dealers to buy inventory. I’m very lucky. I love what I do. If there are times when retail sales are slow for whatever reason then it’s time for me to slow down on buying. They need to sell down a bit before I can buy more. And that’s ok. I still am looking to buy just have to be a little more selective and I have more free time. Free time for poker! Let’s go!

Wednesday. I called in last night to Palace and have a seat locked up for 11am start time. Beginning in February they are moving the start time up to 10am. Unless I have the day off that will probably shut me out of this game at least on weekdays. I could play later in the day but as I told you previously, I hate waiting for a seat. Speaking of waiting, I’m at Palace a bit early today so we belly up to the bar to grab some breakfast. Had nothing to eat yet today and for some reason barely ate anything yesterday. This is about the best $6 breakfast around. Should be $11 but after poker rate it’s $6. We pay $10 to take care of our server who was and is fabulous. Onto O8! Let’s get it again! We are in no rush today but hit n run is becoming so much fun with these guys. They are on to us but couldn’t care less. I just politely tell them I have to get back to the day job.

Today we get seat 1 just because it’s the only one not spoken for. Sometimes I request a particular seat, sometimes I leave it up to the poker Gods. Let’s see what they have in store for us today. The line up is mostly the same. Seat 1 me, seat 2 Uber Driver who is very good, solid O8 player, seat 3 is retired Muckleshoot dealer, seat 4 is old Asian guy who plays every day and I’ve only seen him loose like twice. Seat 5 is Slim, 6 empty so far, 7 is an older white guy, probably 80 and never plays without holding A2. Seat 8 is a loose cannon. We want to play pots with him. He plays loose passive. 9 empty. There is a wait list so let’s see who gets these empty seats. Seat 9 is a reg. Old guy plays every day and starts drinking at 11am. The other vacancy is taken by an Asian female who I’ve never seen before that I can remember. And I remember them all usually.

This session starts off a bit rough but it did last night as well. But today nothing is going right, yet…. aaaaand we continue to get reminded of how frustrating O8 can be. Nut low? How bout this deuce on the river. We make a crying call with two pair to add insult to injury, 2 pair is probably hi. No flush or straight possible. Nah, dude has A422. Another hand we hold Ad4dQc10h. Flop is J93, one diamond. Turn 7 of Diamonds, river pairs the board with a off suit 9. Here though is an interesting spot because of the action thru the hand. We are in the cutoff and a player in early position bet the flop and we raise it. No re-raise and they check to us on the turn. There are 4 players in the hand including the button. We bet the turn with all the draws. They all still flat call. When they check the river I only have 1 player behind to act but I check as does the button player who scoops it with using the 3 in her hand. She was also on a low draw that missed. In this particular case, I think I need to bet because I never win by checking. And no one would have called. We could’ve scooped a pot uncontested. Are these spots rare in low limit O8? Probably. Our opponents are conditioned to call. They didn’t drive here to fold. This time no one had anything and I should’ve read it that way I think. Another spot we hold Ad6dKcJh. Flop comes 334 with two diamonds. Turn, is a 4. Again it’s checked around. River,…4. We have nut no pair. Mid position and in a 3 way pot, we check. Last guy bets, first position check calls so we fold. Someone has a pair, right? No? Guess what scoops, AK. Had we bet, we win. Instead we surrender the entire pot. What the heck did Mouth have that he thinks he can check call? Probably 2 pair I’m guessing. So I’m thinking about these spots and how in the future I can capitalize on it. Before these spots by the way, I did bluff on the river with a missed nut nut draw. I had nothing. I bet, I won. Bluffing in Omaha 8? Low limit O8? Sometimes. No way am I saying it’s going to be a normal play by me. But I think if we really pay attention and think thru the hand and the action, there are some opportunities. I still think a good 95-98% of the time it’s either you have it or you don’t. Someone is gonna look you up. Today nothing goes our way though overall and we post the first loosing session of 2020.

I know I’m not gonna win every time, that’s just not realistic. Somehow it feels different tonight. It stings a little. We just ran so bad in key hands. Missing when we have 17 plus outs and a lot of those outs gives us the nuts is well nuts. Frustrating. There are a few other thoughts but let me collect myself and put in the next write up. Total time played 5 hours and lost 2 buy ins. This game uses $2 chips so we always buy a rack of blue=$200 so I’m sorry to report, -$400. Next up? Maybe Friday at Palace but thinking of playing Friday night Little Creek tournament. We haven’t used our buy in yet for this month. Sunday for sure 4/8 Omaha 8 with a half kill at the Creek. Thank you for reading. Good night.

Session #17

Clearwater. Haven’t played here for about a month or so. Holidays kept hitting on Tuesday and last week on Tuesday the roads were so bad you couldn’t get here if ya wanted. They only spread an Omaha game once a week. You guessed it, Tuesday. 10/20 game starts at 4. The 4/8 game has a start of 10:30. The 10/20 game used to be 2 tables (must move) and go till 2 or 3 in the morning. I’d be shocked if this runs past 9 anymore. I, thankfully, will not find out. I will play 2 or 3 hours, maybe. I think as we approach May and the WSOP I may consider playing longer hours just to prepare myself for long days. Practice my folding technique. I’ve been blessed lately with great start hands and my big blind junk hands get there! Hopefully the heater continues. 2020 is off to a roaring start! Let’s go!
This weekly 10/20 O8 game has 3 of the best players around as far as Omaha goes. If you’re in a pot with them you better have or be drawing to the nuts. But isn’t that rule number 1? We called in a touch late last week and are 2nd on the wait list but 2 already cancelled and we have a seat locked up for sure! I really want to hit n run this game tonight but what does that mean? It’s a 10/20 game, we buy in for a rack of red=$500. So 250-300ish? If we hit that in the first hour? Depends. But I think yes. Just no reason for me to play long tonight. It’s a work night and I’ve already had a busy day with the day job. Want to go home and see my dogs, kiss the girlfriend. I’m in no rush though and obviously if I’m getting trash start hands we fold it and wait.
The line up other than the 3 rocks I mentioned is decent. Seat 1, unknown older Caucasian lady, seat 2 a good solid player and friend of mine, seat 3 is yours truly, seat 4 is an older white guy who is wealthy and not afraid to mix it up. He gets a bit splashy playing draws very fast. Money is not a concern for him. Seats 5 and 6 are 2 of the 3 greats I mentioned, seat 7 is a wild, loose, aggressive Mexican guy I’ve played with a lot in the past but haven’t seen him for about a year or so. Seat 8 the 3rd Rock. Seat 9,…oh boy. This guy is a 50-80 year old Asian male who just wants to gamble but gets mad when his 6 2 is no good for low. First orbit we fold everything. No playable hands. Then we are dealt Ah4dKdKc. Flop is 10hKh2c. Flop top set and we are bet into. Raise. Everyone in flat calls. Turn is 5s. I know I’m fading a flush draw and straight draws but top set and now a low draw? Checked around and we see a free river card of 4s. We get counterfeit and A 3 makes a wheel. Checked around? We bet and get called in 2 spots. The 2 worst in the game, Asian guy shows A7 for low and Mexican guy shows he called off with A8 low. Wow. We should have scooped this one. Damn 4. At least the flush never got there. Our big blind garbage magic is still working. No raise we check our option with 3h7c7hQh. Flop is KcQc7d. Flop bottom set. Bankroll killer in O8 on this wet board. We raise it up tho when bet into and see an off suit 4 peel off. Checked around. River is 4c to complete the flush but makes us a full house. We opt to just flat call with bottom boat as does the other players in the hand, no raise. We are good for a nice scoop and after our kill…we say…Seat Open!!?! Time played 32 minutes for +$254! Work is slow now so we play Palace tomorrow. Hit n run dream alive and well!!! Good night….

Session #16

Another opportunity today to play some poker. Saw it coming so I called in last night and locked up seat 8 at Palace for an 11 am start time. Today’s goal first, play every hand the best we can. If that means fold, we fold. 2nd, hit n run. Let’s make it happen today please!
Did you watch the McGregor vs. Cowboy fight? Short as it was. I watched the fights leading up to the main event. That Russian guy is as strong as an Ox and his opponent tough as nails. This got me thinking a bit about the game we play. It’s a fight! A competition for sure….war! I want your chips and you want mine. Of course there are rules and certain table manners you have to and must  abide by for the integrity of the game and everyone’s safety. But once again what happened to sportsmanship? Fun? I’m over having fun anymore, sorry but it’s true. This used to be fun, exciting. Certainly after a winning session I’m excited. I still get fairly spun up after a win. Loose? Sleep like baby. Win? Difficult to get to sleep. Rewind the entire session and replay over in my head. That’s why I’m so happy to have the opportunity to write this column. It gives me an outlet, a release. Thank you again F&O, it’s a great learning tool for me. Learning, always learning, that’s what I love about it. A lot of sessions or “spots” are completely standard….or are they? If ya play with the same group all the time and they are paying attention they start to expect things. They learn how you play, what ranges you start with. What can we do to combat that? What, if any, adjustments can we make? In O8 we want to play to make the nuts. A lot of times it is very boring, almost automatic. No limit is a complete different animal, obviously. And tournament play is another all together. Before I get sidetracked, let’s stick with Omaha 8. The goal is to get to play the WSOP $1500 Omaha 8 event and do so on a free-roll. Using poker roll money not life roll money. So back to basics, play snug, look for opportunities and scoop some pots! Let’s go!
Monday line up looks nitty. Chip Burner is not here. Dang it. No Mouth yet today. I’m wanting to hit n run. Although this is shaping up to be a quiet solid game. But wait! It’s Mouth to my immediate left. Ha! He is playing the role of Chip Burner so far this session and causing problems. Par for the course. We make nut nut against him in one hand on the turn. We have nut low, nut flush and he sticks around with 2 pair. Aaaand hits his out on the river. We make nut nut yet again immediately and we bet, Mouth raises! We get in a 3 bet and he flats. Board does not pair, he had 2 pair again. He knows 2 pair is never any good in O8. Now it’s our kill, we have a terrible hand but no raise pre. We flop…the nut hi! On fire! Mouth has no low, shows his hand thinking he has a low. Yet again a bad 2 pair! We make 2 full houses for scoop pots. Then, in the big blind, no raise, we flop top 2, and the low draw is open for business. We turn top full house. River brings a low card and we have to chop this one. Total time played today=34 minuets +$165! Seat open! Hit n run goal achieved! Have a great day!

Session #15

Mid way mark. Session 15 out of 30 session challenge. I think this challenge has improved my game and changed me as a player and has provided some important reminders and lessons.

Lesson number 1) Scooping is not easy. If you or someone you know is new to Omaha 8 the golden rule is…Scoop! You want to play hands that have scoop potential. What does that mean? You win both the hi and the low and therefore scoop. But wait, what if there is no low? Hi only, perfect, maybe you started with something sexy like Ah 2h 4c Kc and you make nut flush or nut full house.  It’s hard to make money when you’re chopping pots all day.

Lesson 2) and this one is a reminder more than a lesson…. let your chips and your cards speak. Be quiet, be kind, be a fun person to play with or at least remain quiet. No need to get tangled up in table talk. I mean the negative table talk. I’ve meet some great people, some of my best friends thru poker, so I don’t mean just ignore everyone but you get the picture. When you do scoop that fat pot, ignore the haters. But treat everyone as you would like to be treated. Treat the staff with kindness and respect. It’s a tuff gig that the good ones make look ez. Including servers.

Lesson 3) play another day. If you’re sick, stay home. If you have other things going on skip poker today and play tomorrow. If you’re up cash out and do it again tomorrow or another day. Poker can wait and will wait.

Lesson 4) again a reminder….Patience. It’s not just a virtue, it’s mandatory to be a successful player. Ya can’t be at the table all loosey goosey.  I know there’s a lot more but I think those are a few of the main keys.

Today is Sunday. I haven’t played for what feels like a week. Mostly due to weather. Ice and snow, I don’t go. I do my job and go home. Not worth the risk of being on the roads if I don’t have to be. The weather now is normal, rain and more rain so we play today at Little Creek. Up before dawn to drive an hour to lock up a seat. Today’s line up is mostly the same except 2 seats but I’ve played with them before also. Seat 9 is Bob and he is on the no action list for me. He always has the goods. Seat 8 is an older guy who is never as tight as he looks. Seat 7 today is yours truly. 6 is a goofy guy we nicked named Chester in a previous write up. Today Chester is playing every hand so far. Great for us. One hand he flops nut low and checks. Gets counterfeit on the turn and we steal the pot. The entire pot,…scoop! 5 is an older fella who is tight. 4, another old dude who calls down super light. 3, the crazy Indian (from India) and so far is quiet today. 2 is a middle aged big white guy who I have played with a few times. He’s ok. And 1 is probably the best player in this game today or any day.

As I write this I’m in the game. Chester has seen 100% of the flops, I’m not kidding. He is calling down with 3 pair! Multi way pot, flush comes in on the river, low already there and he calls with 2 pair. This. Is. A. Great. Game! Let’s go!
I make quads 3 times in about 3 hours. This room has an hourly hi hand promo starting at 9am. 2 of the 3 count. $50 bonus each! Also, I just learned, Little Creek is getting a spanking new poker room! Every time I walk by this space I always thought,..this would make a great poker room! Bingo! Wish granted! Maybe I have 2 more?
The worst 2 players both went broke, twice, just about the same time. We have a decent profit locked up so we say,….Seat Open! 5 and a half hours played +$280. We agreed any bonus money was separate but I did collect $150 today in bonus monies as a side note. Good Sunday! Up next a hit n run session tomorrow at Palace! Good luck everyone

Session #14

Almost at the mid way point now. I’m thinking of a mid challenge update or basically share some thoughts, ideas, things I’ve learned so far. One things for sure,…I wish we had more selection or choices when it comes to poker here in the beautiful Pacific NW. I set my alarm for 5:35 am today, Sunday, to get up and drive down to Little Creek for 4/8 O8 with a half kill. Alarm goes off, I tell it OFF! And sleep another 30 minutes. Still plenty of time. Game starts at 8am, but, I am not feeling it this early today. So I make breakfast at home, get a haircut (badly needed, thank you Christine) and have a seat locked up for 11am start at Palace. 4/8 with a full kill and as you know already it’s own Monte Carlo board. Let’s hit a Royal today!

Both earbuds in today and music cranked! We have Mouth on our immediate left and this morning finds him non stop as usual but I noticed playing poorly. See,  Mouth thinks he is God’s gift to Omaha. I noticed a few hands he rolls over junk like 6788. Perfect, let’s get some chips! The line up today is the same. Sly Fox in seat 2, to my right is a super duper tight player. He is a retired Muckleshoot poker dealer. Very quiet, nice guy but tight to a fault. Old tight Asian guy in seat 4. Normal crew. I’m not listening to them today, at all. Don’t care. It’s my challenge and today I have a f&@k you attitude. And again no real cool hands, all standard spots. We play just 1 hour 12 minutes and say ….. Seat Open !! +$150. 2 fer 2 in 20!!!! Let’s go!!!

Log Entry #14 ~ Session #13

It been a while. After some time off for various reasons I’m back,…finally. Holidays, day job, life outside of poker and haven’t played for a bit now. I think a break now and again is good, refreshing. Now just because I haven’t played doesn’t mean I haven’t been working on my game. Reading, watching videos, talking with friends and thinking about hands and where/how can I improve.     

I hope everyone’s new year is starting off strong. I’ve been super busy with work and have done a little bit of travel for it. I was in Portland twice recently and thought about checking out one of the poker rooms down there. I would have gone to Portland Meadows as that is only a mile or so away from where I stay, but they closed it. So decided just to hit the hay early and be fresh for work.                                       
Impatiently waiting for 2020 WSOP schedule to be released in its entirety. The earlier I book my flight, the cheaper it is. Remember part of this goal is to freeroll myself into the $1500 Omaha 8 event. The WSOP Circuit will be at the Rio in mid February with an event I’d really like to play. $600 buy in HORSE event. I see it’s a 2 day event with day 1 being on a Wednesday so we will see if I can slip away for a couple days. Speaking of mix games,….Palace is starting a 10/20 HORSE game beginning February 5th. Lock me up a seat! I’m really looking forward to playing that. They are going to try to run it every Wednesday. So you know where I will be every Wednesday evening.
As I write this I’m sitting at Palace and am first on the list for a seat in Omaha 8. Hopefully it’s not a very long wait. I thought about heading to Little Creek to play the Friday night NLHE tournament but if I do good in that I’m not home till 1am. Not feeling up to that tonight so O8 it is. When I called in to add my name they had 1 full game going with 5 on the list. Perfect. By the time I get there maybe they will start a 2nd game. Nope. About 5 players all left at the same time so now we wait. Ugh. My least favorite thing to do. I’ve been told there is a time change for the daily start in O8 at Palace. Beginning next month, start time moves from 11am start to 10am. That means I will no longer be able to start the game unless I have the day off.
Today’s game is all the same players. I get seat 8, to my right is Mouth and he is stuck and very quiet. To my left in 9 is Slim. I enjoy playing with him and like him. He is a fun player win or loose. Seat 1 is Gemini who I’ve played with over several years although I don’t think he ever remembers me and that’s fine. Seat 2 is a guy who is a solid player, always friendly and talkative but smart like a fox so I give him the name Sly Fox. Seat 3 is a guy who plays every single day,…older Asian male and rock solid 90% of the time. 4, 5 and 6 all regs. I wish I had something super cool and or exciting to report and, in a way, I do. The hit n run dream is alive and well but I think they’re on to me. As I go collect a few racks and start racking up, Mouth says “wow, that was fast! Leaving already?” I simply reply yes. Sly Fox says “see! I told you! If he gets up a hundred or better he will leave” I say….Seat Open! I played for just an hour and a half +$282!

Log Entry #13 ~ Session #12

Luck. What’s luck got to do with it? What is luck? Do you believe in luck? What part of the game is skill and what part is luck? Obviously we can’t help or predict how the cards come out. Some days though we seem to run better than others, am I right? Skill I think is multi level….choosing good start hands to play first. And it’s lucky when we get a good start hand, right? Knowing your opponent and their tendencies is certainly a skill. Knowing how to extract the most value when you have a great hand is another level portion of skill I believe. Just some things I’ve been thinking about the last couple days. There’s a lot more to it but we will leave all that for study time. 

Monday,…I called in a little late for a seat at Palace today and either I’m in or not. Could care less today, lots to do at home as we are hosting Christmas at our house for about 16 people total. Gotta whip the place in shape. I am on the list for Tuesday at Clearwater and speaking of that, I’m gonna loose a couple Tuesday sessions I’ve noticed. Next week is Christmas Eve on Tuesday and the week after is New Years Eve, so will not be playing those days. Too bad because that’s the only 10/20 game I can find that runs consistently every week. The 10/20 at Palace on Sunday afternoon has not been a go now for 2 weeks in a row. 

Tuesday, I’m actually 3rd on the 10/20 wait list but have a seat immediately in 4/8 Omaha 8 game with a half kill. Ok, I came to play, let’s do this. Or maybe not. Nothing going right. And I made a huge mistake. A210K, flop 5 7 2, counterfeit right away but it gets checked thru and we see a turn of 2! We are good, no one in this game was trying to trap and check raise I promise you. Although they have some bad low they didn’t want to bet so we are getting half unless,…..first position bets and we raise! Didn’t work though as he flats. River is a 4. We have a bad high and a bad low but he checks? What? We check behind and he says he has fours full, but he didn’t realize it. Ok we have a live Ace for low but we muck it???? WTH! Mistakes are costly and we surrendered half the pot for no reason.  Terrible. We should take a lap around the casino and regroup but we sit there and blast off a rack. -$100. Rebuy. And thru a series of missed draws and I admit,  this session, just bad play. So what do we do? Loose another rack of course! -$200. Agh!

But time for 10/20 to start and we get a seat! Let’s go! This is my jam! Very first hand we pick up AA22 with one suit. Early position, of course raise it. Flop is less than fun for us KK8 and there are players sitting here that will bet even if they only have JJxx, we decide to check call so we don’t get moved off our hand if someone does have a King. Turn 7. We turn nut low draw. Any Ace we are golden, any low card we get half. River is a low card,…a deuce. We make bottom full house, check call and we scoop! That $200 we spilled in 4/8? Yeah, got it back in 1 hand, first hand of 10/20. Yes, villain had a King, with an Ace kicker. No one had a low? Must have been the case deuce? There is another Chip Burner in this game. I don’t think I ever game him a nick name but this guy is older Asian male, 55-70 and is certifiably crazy. Check out this example. We have A24Q with the A4 of hearts! Perfect! Kill is on so now we are at 15/30 limits. Raise it of course to 30, gets reraised and we cap it. Flop is 9 high with two hearts on board! Nut nut draw! It comes running spades with no low and Chip Burner Jr over here shows down 9833 with the 93 of spades and he scoops with that piece of cheese. We say nothing, do nothing but quietly put our cards in the muck and move on to the next hand and smile. I mean $60 pre-flop with 3389? Sure, why not I mean he has a pair and 93 suited of course. Remember, this is exactly what we are looking for. And he is not the only one. This is a good game,…probably a great game. We make our money back plus a little sugar. We get counterfeit left and right. Run bad and yes, play bad because some of my old bad shit comes back tonight. Steamed up a bit, also a bit of ego enters.

The bankroll killer, ego. Usually I really don’t have much “ego” … confidence, not arrogance. But my confidence is shook this night so there’s no other explanation. I’m watching rags win pot after pot and in the mean time I come in with good starts and get punished. Last hand I play,….A3510 in the big blind and we check our option as there is no raise pre. Flop is A47. We flop top pair with a double gutter and 2nd low! Let’s get to work. Turn,……5. WTF! Counterfeit again but now we have 2 pair but of course we know the villain has made the wheel. Yes indeed. So, we holler…Seat Open! And book another loss and feel terrible. Feels like the challenge is challenging. Feels bad. I dunno. That’s part of the challenge is to learn. Learn to be gracious in victory and defeat (we did that tonight) learn to control our emotions. Learn to play better, be better, do better. -$300 this session. The goal is still within easy reach but I’m learning the goal is so much more! Thank you for reading. Happy Holidays

Log Entry #12 ~ Session #11

Session 11, same day, different casino so this will be session 11 playing at Palace in 30 minutes. Glad I read the situation correctly this morning at Little Creek and called into Palace to lock up a seat. Game/table selection I wrote about briefly in a previous write up is difficult around the Tacoma area and seems to be getting even harder.

For a reason, or, with purpose. I was given some advice once by a poker pro, who at the time had about 2 million in winnings. That advice was, every time you do something at the table and I ask you why, you should have a specific answer. For a reason. Or with purpose.         

Fairly close to the same line up. Chip is here, another player we will dub the Mouth is in. The Mouth is a reg and has that name for obvious reasons. Couple rocks and yours truly,… let’s go. Hit n run is certainly the goal here this Sunday. Today proves to be,…well, …challenging. Had a couple nut lows where we get quartered. Had some nut highs that we only get half. Scooping is hard! Today our boy Chip is barely playing any hands. The Mouth is relatively quiet,…what’s happened? So 3 hours later we call it a day +$117 so 4 hours total (just 1 hour played this morning at the Creek,…see session 10 write up) and we are +$181 on the day. Thanks for reading. Good luck!

Log Entry #11 ~ Session #10

Session 10. Good morning! It’s so early for a Sunday. Playing today at a place I haven’t been playing at,….Little Creek! The O8 game here only runs once a week, Sunday, with a start time of 8am. If ya don’t get here early you probably won’t get a seat till after noon. So we set the alarm for 5:35am and make the hour drive down to sign up. This room is on the Bravo system but for the longest time would not accept phone ins. I begged, I pleaded, I explained it’s an hour drive. Just recently they started taking phone ins. Doesn’t help on a Sunday,… no one around. Room closed, opens at 8. They used to allow players to write their own name in a white board as sign ups. That was a joke. Anyone spending the night would just write down all their friends names also. I would get here as early as 6, game full with alternates and they would tell me, oh those players are all here, they signed up last night. Now they have a screen kinda like a kiosk attached to the wall outside the poker room. Simply swipe your card, click a couple buttons and your signed up. I check Bravo before pulling out of the driveway this morning and it shows only 2 people signed up. We arrive just a couple minutes before 7, sign up and we are 4th on the list. Breakfast and coffee pronto! 

Do you guys watch poker vlogs on YouTube? My favorite is Jeff Boski but there’s a new comer to the scene I watch as he is putting out vlogs almost daily and he plays PLO. He will occasionally play PLO hi/lo. Fireman Scott Dulaney. Check him out. Also Lo8grinder but he came out with a bunch that he interviews other vloggers,….no playing, no hand reviews so have damn near given up on him but he said he will be playing and vlogging again.         

Be kind. I strive to be nice and polite and that gets tested a lot lately.  What happened to the fun or more importantly, the sportsmanship in poker? Seems like someone always has something to say, even if they are not involved in the hand. I mentioned this previously but I am usually the quietest one at the table. I really don’t want you to even notice me until I’m stacking your chips. I usually won’t speak unless spoken to. I surprised a couple players recently I think when I shut em down. The dealer then said something to me so I almost called the floor. I told him before you correct me or shut me down, fix these other guys. I’m not just gonna sit here and listen to them tell us all how great they are and then try to insult me and or berate me. Not gonna happen. In Omaha 8 the hand equities run so close that you’re really never a huge favorite with a couple rare exceptions. 

On this Sunday I could’ve showed up late. Probably wouldn’t even be a game if I didn’t show today. Only 7 players including me? Can’t figure this place out. Game consists of a husband and wife team who spend every weekend here. They are both solid but she will tilt when she is loosing and start chasing. There is an Indian guy, about 50-60 (from India not American Native) who is extremely loose aggressive. Seat 1 is always Bob and always has the goods if he is in. Just don’t play pots with Bob if you can avoid it. I’m in seat 4 with seat 3 being the loose Indian dude! Seat 6 is a guy we will dub Chester. This guy is a creep and makes my skin crawl. Couple other regs and away we go,….kill on from first hand and it’s been raised pre every hand so far. We wait.   

It is unusually cold and quite in here this morning. As a back up plan I called Palace and have seat 1 locked up. May just do that. Player to my immediate left, white male about 70-80, whom I’ve never seen before anywhere, is just an ass. Glad I drove an hour to play,… not!  WTH? The game breaks after 1 hour? I’ve never seen that happen. Crazy. +$64. So session 10 is a 2 part or if I go to Palace is that session 11? Undecided, may just go home but I have a couple hours to put in. I also have a lot to do around the house. Decisions decisions.           

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Log Entry #10 ~ Session #9

Grinders. The movie or rather documentary titled simply,…Grinders. I just rewatched this for at least the tenth time. He says something towards the end that really registered with me. He states “the key to being a winning grinder is knowing when to cash in your chips and go home” This kinda sums up how my 3k In 30 Sessions Challenge was born. Knowing when to leave. Get up…..Seat Open! There really isn’t any reason (at least for me currently) to put in long hours. Clearwater gives you $1 an hour in comps. Palace you can earn food comps. The one place locally that you can build comps as a poker player is…..       

Little Creek. Located on Hwy 101 just outside Shelton Washington and about 12 minutes or so from Olympia sits a nice Casino and Hotel. Haven’t been here too much lately. Once a month for about the last three months because I earned 1 Freeroll per month for 9 months. Let me explain. The poker room on Sunday, all day, every Sunday is triple time! 3 for every 1. Also it just so happens every Sunday, starting at 8am they run a 4/8 Omaha 8 game with a full kill (8/16) so I would play every Sunday starting at 8 and usually play all day, leaving at 5 when the game breaks for a tournament. So earning triple points a player can easily jump up in the Little Creek tier player system. Top tier is Black Card and has amazing perks including 1 free round of golf per month for you and 3 friends with Carts included for 6 months, free hotel room just about anytime you ask, preferred parking and the list goes on. I doubt I will ever make black card because it takes 75000 points in a 6 month period. Next level down in the 2nd VIP position is Silver card. That’s me. I hit that easily just playing poker only. The qualifier here is 25000 points. No pit, no machines. One of the perks on that list is a free poker tournament buy in, 1 per month of your choice not to exceed $65. Anything over you pay the difference out of pocket. You can start using benefits as soon as you hit it. 

The Sunday O8 game is usually the same cast of characters. And a lot better game than Palace in terms of action and players paying off. Also they have hourly high hand for Omaha, has to be a full house or better. If no player hits it then it carries over to the next hour. It’s just $50 per hour but a fun little bonus. Also a bad beat jackpot, qualifier is quad 10’s beaten.     

I tried to play Sunday, I really wanted to. I thought if I wake up at 5:30 I would go to Little Creek. Didn’t want to set an alarm though. Usually I’m up at 5:30 but if I’m able to sleep longer then ok. Little Creek is about an hour drive for me and you need to be there no later than 7 or the game will be full. There are at least half the players in that game that stay at the Hotel there on Saturday night and they sign up for their favorite seat early. I wake up at 6:30 and decide to call in for a seat at Palace. Start time 11am. Show up at 10:45 and there’s only 5 names on the list. Call down to Little Creek and add my name as the 5th waiting so I thought maybe by the time I get there they may have a 2nd game. And we wait. Wait for 1 hour with no changes so we tell them take us down and hit the highway home. The 10/20 game at Palace also has only 5 names including mine so another Sunday with no Omaha game at all at Palace.  Tuesday, last minute trip to Portland for day job. Had a seat in the 2nd 10/20 O8 game locked up at Clearwater but after an 11 hour day (6 of it driving) I just didn’t feel up to another 45 minutes north to go play so I called and let them know to take my name down. It’s now Wednesday and will be a short day today for day job so I have seat locked up at Palace today for 4/8 starting at 11am. Let’s go….             

Wait, no. Locked up at day job longer than expected. Try again tomorrow. 

Thursday, call in to reserve a seat at Palace. Seat 3, one of my favorite seats! Arrive about 45 minutes early so belly up to the bar and have breakfast. Presidents Cup golf is on and that’s always interesting. My favorite though is next month. Waste Management Phoenix Open. I’m ready for some Omaha. Haven’t played for 6 days. Still want to hit n run though,…depending. Today’s line up looks like the usual rocks so far. Players taking their seats. Oh, Chip just sat down! Chip, short for chip burner. And another Agro player takes a seat. Seat 9. I’m in 3. All solids to my left.                                                             This day finds Chip in full effect. He goes broke for the 2nd time in an just an hour and a half and now rebuys for $500! Put your seat belts on!  So this was an extremely challenging day. No pun intended. And I will be honest when I tell ya we had it. We had our $100 profit for the session, after being stuck for a bit, in just an hour and a half. Now with our boy Chip Burner buying $500, how can we leave? Easy,…announce seat open, rack up and leave. But we stay. Wrong thing to this day. We actually had some good hands. One hand we have A23Q. We not only get Counterfeit on a hand that seems impossible to get Counterfeit, we make 4 pair! Yuk! All our cards pair. Gross run out for us. Another we have AQQ7 with A7 of hearts, our big blind, no raise out there so we check our option. Flop is QJ5 with J5 of hearts! Top set and nut flush draw! Let’s go! We get half the pot? Yep, runner runner low and no other heart. So after sitting there for 4 hours after we should’ve left….-$200 on the day. And it feels like we were done dirty. So gross. Still excited though that I can and will hit the goal we set! 3k in 30 sessions. Nobody is gonna win every session but once again, if I would’ve left….. Session 10 I’m trying for Sunday. 10/20 may not run again so I am gonna set the alarm and head to Little Creek. Have a great weekend!

Log Entry #9 ~ Session #8

Called in to reserve a seat at Palace 08 game at 7am today thinking plenty early enough. Nope. 12th on the list. So session 8 may not happen today. Guess what we have to do? Wait. Ugh. Not to long though, if I don’t get a seat I’m outta here.   

Tilt. Ever happen to you? Steamed up or as I hear it often called in Omaha,..Salty. I’ve really been working on my mental strength in poker and not letting things get to me. Session 7 would have been a night I could’ve tilted off but I didn’t. Happy with my play over all and happy I remained calm and was still making good decisions. I already see it making a huge difference in profit. Speaking of profit, thru 7 sessions and I’m roughly half way to the money goal I set. Will be interesting to see where I finish and the true hourly. Last I did the math the hourly was great but way to small a sample. A lot more hours and we will have a clearer picture. $53 per hour or whatever it was is not sustainable. Just no way, is there? 10/20 certainly helps although the last session was weak. Hit n run skews it as well I know. Maybe next challenge is longer hours? I don’t know yet. Let’s get thru this one and see. Looks like session 8 has to wait until Friday. No problem, back to day job.   

Friday. Almost didn’t play today. Really lacking energy lately. Winter blues? Who knows. We will work thru it. Called in and have seat 1 locked up today. Not my favorite but I got the last seat available. Do you have a favorite given a choice? Obviously tournament play you draw a seat and that’s it. Cash games, I like 2,3, 7 or 8. Corner seat. Feels like ya have more room and can view the entire table. Let’s get to work. Hard hat? Check. Grind mode activated. Playing rock today. Let’s go….Today proved to be a lesson to stick to our original goal. Hit n run. Especially on a weekday and especially when we have things scheduled tonight. First 30 minutes of play,…up $100. Here it is. Why not leave? Game isn’t particularly good. Cards are ok though obviously so we play more. 3 and a half hours total. Up, down all around. Finish this session +$106. Hopefully session 9 will be Sunday but only if 10/20 runs at Palace. Have a great weekend everyone!!

Log Entry #8 ~ Session #7

Waiting for a seat. One of if not the thing I hate the most. Really shouldn’t be here and I would leave and come back except home is a 45 minute drive. You can sign up a week in advance for a seat in the 10/20 game at Clearwater and I have a seat reserved. Game starts at 4. It’s now 12:31. Thought I would get here early and play 4/8 O8 to start. 2 names on the list ahead of me. So we wait. See I don’t play anything in the casino except poker. I stay out of the pit. I have been known to jump in a dice game now and again but it’s been a few years. I love Craps. But just a fun way to throw away my money usually and that’s no fun. I used to play Blackjack for lunch money some 20 years ago or so. I called it that because I would either have lunch money for the week or I’d have to skip lunch that week. Slots never. Video poker only in Vegas and usually only at the Hooker Bar. (Shutters inside the Rio) so we wait.       

I thought of a couple short stories I can share in the future. Which one first? A) me finding a $1k chip on the floor or B) me winning my way into the 2011 WSOP Main? Let me know in the comments and I will include it in a future write up.     

Session 7? Already? Getting more sessions in than I thought and that’s ok. Interesting the more I play the more I wanna play. Long ways to go. Not even 30% thru yet. 30 sessions. I’m glad I’m doing this because it certainly has and is helping me be and do better. Accountability. I admit that especially at 4/8 level I can and do become bored and therefore splashy or much too loose. Remember part of this goal is to become better, much better. 3k in 30 Sessions,…but it’s really not about the money at all. That’s just a way of keeping score. The real goal is to play every single hand and every situation and every time we have a decision…to do so correctly. If that means fold for an hour straight that’s what we will do. I do it in tournament play so why not cash game? Especially cash game. Sometimes the best bet is the one you save. Let’s go to work. Hard hat on, pick axe in hand. Grind mode activated!     

Played 4/8 game for 2 hours. +$121. Starting 10/20 now as scheduled at 4. Tough session in the 10/20. Not going as planned. Finally get A2J10. Good for nothing. Look at this hand,….AA36 double suited!!! Good for only half. Not getting any scoops just halves. Miss draws and counterfeit lows,….we are stuck. Thru an unfortunate bad run of cards, we are loosing so far tonight. And this is a good game. Only 2 solid, good players,….the rest are just gambling. They gamble with bad low draws we have crushed and we get punished. Counterfeit. WTH. One player, an older Asian gentleman is raising 100% of the time and re-raising most of the time. Good. This is what we want. Remember, when they make mistakes and get rewarded, we win in the long run. Think of the other 8 out of 10 hands we play with this maniac. We win. So let them keep putting chips in bad, please. We reload. Immediately pick up A3JJ. Flop comes 5 5 ….. Jack! Hello flopped full house and ya know someone has a 5 and will bet it. Check. Here comes a bet. We flat. Turn 9 of spades. Check raise! River,….Jack for quads! Quadzilla! Scoop finally! We work our way back to the plus side of the business at hand. Pass the Sugar! Our big blind look down at 5566. Flop is 456. Check call to see if the board will pair. Turn is….a 6! Quads again! Of course the low is already there so we are just getting half. Play just a bit longer and are happy to have stayed off tilt. Had a lot of pots we should have scooped and somehow chop with a one outter on the river or we get nut lows counterfeit. Not our night so we say,…Seat Open! +$126 after being stuck and having to reload I think is great. So 3 and 3/4 hours of 10/20 plus 2 hours at 4/8 for a total of 5 and 3/4 hours this session and a total of +247. Thank you for reading. Good luck. Session 8 coming soon.

Log Entry #7 ~ Session #6

Session 6 was a little unexpected. I didn’t think it would be until Tuesday, however we got in the Palace 4/8 O8 game at 11am on Monday. Hit n run dream is alive and well this day. A lot of my profit for the day came from an interesting hand. In the big blind we are dealt KKQ9 with the KQ of spades. There is a raise and we just flat here obviously. See a flop of 4h5sKh. Flop top set on an extremely wet flop. We led right out and all call over to the original pre flop raiser who raises. We 3 bet. All call but original raiser who caps it. The player, by the way, is one of if not the most solid player and plays every day. He usually wins. So, I think he must have Ah2hxx maybe xx is another A? Turn card peel,….10 of clubs. We led out again with the same action around. River card drop,…….Jack of Diamonds. We backed into the 2nd nuts with no low. Snap bet, 1 caller who shows us he turned a set. We scoop a nice pot. A short time later as I’m preparing to leave, look down at As3cJs9h. Late position for us and no raise so we look at a flop of 458 with two clubs. Flat call only. Turn is an Ac,…we fold, rack up and say……..Seat Open! Just 1 hour of play +$162. Good luck everyone! Go Hawks!!!

Log Entry #6 ~ Session #5

Last write up I forgot Little Creek. How could I? 5 tables so that brings the total to about 12. A dozen poker tables on the peninsula. That brings me to game/table selection. We have no selection or choice. If a game is going grab a seat or grab a ride home. That being said I made a great choice the other day by choosing B. A ride home. Skip it today. See y’all another day. I did actually sit in for 3 hands and decided, no, not today, no thank you. Don’t ask me why. Maybe because I’m working on feel and trusting my gut, and it just didn’t feel right. There’s a little story here that I will save for another day. This day, this one time, let’s practice table selection and bolt. Seat Open!     

Table Image. Do you know what yours is? How the other players perceive you? You should be aware of this. And it can change from game to game or player to player in the same game. That’s one of the reasons I play at Palace. 90% of the players in the O8 game on a regular basis think they are the best, O8 genius as I refer to some of them. Their ego gets in the way not only of themselves but the game itself. Players do not enjoy playing with these players. They have to have some new players or that game will die in 6 months. So I’m ultra aware of my image with these players. And it’s not good. I like that. I raise and they openly say oh your raise doesn’t scare me, to which I say either A) good I don’t want it to, I don’t want to scare you I just want your chips. B) how could it? It’s limit poker C) nothing at all. Usually C. I am usually just about the quietest player at the table. I don’t want you to notice me until I’m racking up all your chips and saying,…Seat Open! 

Session 5. Back at Palace. Starting in 4/8 and if the game goes at 3 will be switching over to 10/20. Nothing went right at 4/8 game so now a quick break before 10/20 game starts. Whiffed some nut draws, counterfeit my lows,…Seat Open! I wish 10/20 ran as regular as 4/8. The 4/8 game it just seems players fold nothing once they see a flop. 3rd nut low draw? Sure, why not. Both a blessing and a curse. Today,….curse. Down a rack of blue. ($2 chips) -$200. Let’s run better in 10/20. Total time played so far 2 hours. I am not on any kind of schedule tonight so if I’m making some connections at 10/20 I will play longer than normal. Usually this game breaks early, around 7. Clearwater 10/20 game on Tuesday usually breaks about 9 or so. That game used to go until 2 or 3 in the morning. T minus 15 minutes to start time for 10/20….let’s go.       

Side note. Players, please wash your hands! Ugh. Just watched a player walk out of the restroom without stopping to wash. I don’t want to or need to get sick. Be courteous. Thank you.           

10/20 game started as scheduled at 3 and it was a full game. However 2 players busted in an hour and did not reload. A couple more players came and went. Game only ran 4 and a half hours, most of the time with at least 1 seat open. I don’t mind. I like and actually prefer short handed. That being said, short handed I get AA22 with A2 of spades. Monster. Kill on so betting is now 15/30. I cap it pre. My beautiful start goes to shit. I win a few, loose a few don’t scoop but I think 1 pot. End the 10/20 session +$630 in 4 and a half hours plus 2 hours from 4/8 for 6 and 1/2 hours total and -$200 from 4/8 so +$430 on the day. I may play less 4/8, like a lot less. 10/20 is hard to find a regular game but suits me so much better. If I take my last 10/20 sessions only (too small a sample size) it becomes obvious. Let’s get some more 10/20 sessions in and see. Next up for session 6 of the challenge is ….. 10/20! At Cl on Tuesday. Thank you for reading. Good luck all!    

Log Entry #5 ~ Session #4

Please DO NOT tap on the fish tank! Ever hear that saying? When a “good” player berates a “bad” player. When a player comments to a “fish”. When comments are made. When players complain when they loose a pot. Why? Does it make them feel better? In my opinion all it does is give the “bad” player fuel and or knowledge and or desire to play better against you. Who wants that? Let them keep making mistakes. Remember every time they make a mistake and get rewarded not berated they will keep doing that. Mistakes, costly mistakes in the long run.         

When I first started playing Omaha I played almost any 4 cards. I played them all! 4s5d8h10h?! Sure! I have a flush draw, low draw, 2 different straight draws,…no like shoot,…I can make 4 different straights? Alright! Let’s go! 45 is obviously never a good low unless you magically make a wheel. The flush always looses to a better flush and none of those straights will be good for a scoop. It took me a while, having moved over from hold em, to figure it out. I read what I could find, watched videos and talked with friends but mostly I played. I like playing,…most of the time. I’m still learning. I love that about poker. Always learning. Listen, when I started this challenge it was just a challenge to myself. I’m not trying to coach anyone or claim I’m some O8 guru….far from it. It is fun to chronicle my sessions and I am certainly learning from it and that was part of my goal. A big part. I want to improve. I want to be better. I want to be one of the best O8 players in Washington. Period. I want that not for ego or bragging rights. For fun and profit! Period. There’s money to be made. I see the mistakes my opponents make and most importantly I see the ones I make. Learning. Always learning.   

Session 4. Clearwater Casino, Poulsbo Wa. I haven’t been here for a couple months. They closed the poker room. I’ve played here since ‘02. 4 different locations for the poker room and this? Why do they even have it? 3 tables along the back wall of the no smoking (thank God) gaming area. There is blackjack, roulette, a ton of slots, self service beverage station and 3 poker tables. So while you’re trying to check raise a maniac, Betty is 10 feet away and her machine sounds like a party! Jackpot party! This place had and still has the opportunity to become the premier poker room on the peninsula and they would own the market. Players would come from all over,…there just isn’t much over here anymore. The Point Casino in Kingston just a stones throw north had closed their poker room or rather poker area a couple years ago. Bremerton Lanes was great but owner lost the license and poof, it’s closed. Show up one day and the doors are chained and padlocked. Chips sold and closed. So, to my knowledge we have 7 poker tables total in operation on the peninsula. 7 Cedars up in Sequim had poker and still do but I think just once a month or so. I heard rumors of them trying to get a O8 game going. 10/20 or 15/30. Long drive for me but beautiful drive and totally worth it. I will make a couple calls.

I start off in the 4/8 Omaha 8 game today. Play for an hour and 15 minutes +$158. Great start to the day. Some absolute terrible players here and like two good ones. Seat one (who I’ve never seen s before) is raising pre with any Ace and a wheel card, like A5 xx . Let’s make some money! We are on the button with A258. No suites. No raise pre so we flat. Flop is KK2. Obvious fold but what’s interesting is there are 3 players still in. Late position had bet so we fold on button and other 2 check call. Turn Q and river 4. Last to act still bets on river and gets snapped in 2 spots. He shows pocket Jacks, first spot shows King Jack and other spit shows King 10. It’s now 5:25 so total time playing today is just 2 and a half hours. Seat Open!

+$753! Good day. Should I stay and play more? Probably. Game is good. I feel good but part of this challenge remember is hit n run. Don’t want long hours. I have a day job, 2 dogs and a girlfriend. Thank you Christine for believing in me. Have a great Thanksgiving all!!!

Log Entry #4 ~ Session #3:

No 10/20 game on Sunday? No game at all? Not even 4/8? No. No game so we stayed home and watched football, hung out with the beautiful girlfriend and the dogs.  Also got to watch Rounders for the kajillionth time. 

Can you bluff in low limit O8? Depends. Had an interesting hand where I was on the button with no raise in front of me so I take a look at a cheap flop, in position, with 2334. Flop comes A77 and it’s checked over to me. I have 2 pair with the nut low draw. I bet. 2 callers. Turn is a Queen. They check again so I continue the story. River is a beautiful 5. Everyone still checks. I bet and they all fold. Great result for us. Now I think it was a semi bluff on the flop but the turn was definitely a bluff. We get lucky on the river to make nut low but we have a terrible high. We scoop.   

Not sure how much playing time I get now that the holidays are upon us. Also it seems like it’s becoming a bit slower in the poker rooms I frequent, at least for the games I like. So that being said I am in a session now. A player I will dub Chip Burner is here this morning and hyper aggressive. Put your seatbelt on.           

What’s surprising to me is how many times the low gets counterfeit. Come in with a good start and low pairs up and we whiff high. Just how I’ve been running I guess. Try try again. Also the river has been my foe. Kill is on ( my kill ) we look at AJ104, with three spades. Flop peels off J95 with the 9 and 5 of spades. Turn is off suite 7 and river is a 4. As it turns out, the case 4. A true one outter for the villain when he was drawing dead to the case 4. Wow. Again today we make quad Aces.

Aaaand the game breaks. So early. Game only ran 3 and a half hours. Session 3 in the books. We all agreed I am not to count bonus money so $-150. Bonus money today as a side note was $166. I like the separate Monte Carlo for Omaha here at Palace. Starting in December they are including Omaha in Happy Hour high hands! See you all soon. Looking at session 4 tomorrow’s 10/20 O8 game at Clearwater. Good luck all!

Log Entry Number 3 ~ Session #2:

I don’t remember how or why I started playing Omaha. I think because it’s part of the HORSE rotation. I prefer limit mixed games and would play Stud 8 if I could ever find a game around the Seattle Tacoma area. I think O8 is beatable on a regular basis with a little luck, some skill and a lot of patience. A LOT of patience.   

Session 2 started off slowly, both my hands I was dealt and the physical speed of the game. The morning game at Palace can be tuff. All regulars, all tight, all never giving much if any action unless they have the goods. The game gets better late afternoon, evenings and weekends. In 4/8 it’s both a blessing and a curse though when you have multiple players calling all the way down. Not folding when they should and hitting some odd ball runner to take part or all of your pot. I mean players drawing to stuff nowhere near the nuts, one way hands. Immediately in the morning, I think the 3rd hand dealt, I have AAJ3. Raise it up pre, get 3 callers (because they never believe me) and flop Quads! Quadzilla! Boom! Scoop! And Palace has a separate Monte Carlo board for Omaha, I receive a $56 bonus. Sometime later I have Ah2c10h5s. Flop the nut high, turn nut nut. Scoop! That’s what we are here for. So ran okay but had some wild beats again on the river by stuff that really should not have been in but that’s okay. 4 hours later we are up an even $200 so we say,…Seat Open! Session 3 looks like Sunday $10/$20 Omaha 8 game with a half kill at Palace. Have a great weekend everyone….

Log Entry Number 2 ~ Sessions #1:

Very first hand of the challenge we look down at A233 and get half the pot. Ok start but what we really need is to scoop pots. Scooping is the goal in order to make any money. Way too often on a low, even a nut low, you’re going to get quartered and that’s not a good time for anyone. 

I had discussed my challenge idea with a few friends and it was split right down the middle of yes, great idea, good luck to can’t be done. A couple friends said that’s only a $100 a day! I know. $100 per session. But no one, and I mean no one, wins every single time. This is the challenge. At first I thought I will leave as soon as I am up $100 or down $100 however, like poker, I put a “that depends” on it. Depends on if I think the game is good or not. Depends on my time, remember part of this challenge is to not have to pull long hours at the table. Depends on other factors as well. One things for sure it will definitely not be easy.   

Session one was a roller coaster day. Started off a bit up. Split a few more pots and then had some wicked beats. Happens a lot more in Omaha because everyone has 4 cards. That’s why it’s so important to be able to have the patience to play hands that can easily make the nuts with no guess work. I turned the nut straight with no low possible on the board. Two diamonds up for a flush draw and the river pairs the board, with a Diamond! Huge pot, now being pushed to one of our opponents. Who, by the way, rivered quads. Not sure how many hand reviews you guys would like but I thought maybe I would include a key hand or two per session. After two hours of play we decide to call it a day and go home, feed the dogs, kiss the girlfriend and be thankful for the opportunity to play again. Session 1 ends -$100. Session 2 begins in 4 minutes so off we go! Good luck everybody!

Log Entry Number 1:

Day 1 of Omaha 8 challenge. Challenge? What challenge? Let me back up a tick and tell you. I came up with the idea of a challenge to myself while going thru hand reviews and realized if I had left sooner I’d be ahead a lot more. I really don’t need to or want to put in a lot of hours so why not just leave as soon as I’m up a few hundred? Why not leave as soon as I’m up $100? Hit n run style. Do that for 30 days I make an extra $3k. Boom,…challenge on! Now I know I will not win every session no matter what. I also don’t want to or can’t play every single day. So the challenge is simple. $3k in 30 sessions.

I think it will be good for me and my game. I think it will be interesting to see the true hourly. See I’m just a regular guy with a day job. A rec as they say for recreational player. I love making extra cash in my side hustle and I have goals. This is the present goal or challenge with a 6 month goal of playing the WSOP $1500 Omaha 8 event. I want to bankroll it off the money I win playing low level Omaha 8.

I play $4/$8 to a max of $10/$20. I prefer 10/20 but seems like I can only find a game twice a week. Sunday at Palace and Tuesday at Clearwater. The Sunday game shows signs already of struggling to continue. Clearwater closed their poker room and have 3 tables set up in the no smoking section of the gaming floor. Don’t really care for it at all. I will track every session starting now. Regular updates will be posted via FlynnandOllie.com as a guest writer and thank you F&O for that opportunity. It will hold me accountable and be fun.

So as I write this I’m first up on the O8 list at Palace. Challenge accepted. Ride with me on this journey.

Dave