Overheard On My Couch

"You know why you like blackjack so much? It fits the swings of your personality exactly."

True.

And So Ends...

...one of the most mentally tough weeks I've yet to have in my young life. On the plate this week were decisions of occupation, location, and determination. To this point I have yet to make any choices, but they are there to be made!

It's come to my attention recently that my current job is making me sad. It's making me bored, mad, and depressed. I'm not making any money, most of the time I have no work to do, and most of the time I'm there I daydream about what I could be doing instead and I constantly berate myself for not being in school.

One of the worst parts of the whole thing is that three and half years ago I only meant for my job to be a stepping stone. Unfortunately it became the #1 thing in my life and everything else disappeared. While it's true that it did get me out of the worst situation I'll admit to ever being in, I only meant for it to be a temporary rescue.

Now I'm so derailed from my original goals that I don't feel like I'll ever get back to where I thought I would be. What did I want to be doing? I wanted to be playing poker. I wanted to be graduating. I wanted to be doing something useful. I wanted to be instantly bettering my life so that I had a bright future ahead of me early, and in the process building myself something so awesome for the future that no one would have thought I could have done it.

And now, instead of the microwave wealth that I had so insistently believed in, I'm here in a dead-end job that won't stop promising me grand things for the future. I'm 22. I want it...NOW.

So taking all of this into account I'm strongly thinking about leaving this place when my lease ends in September. Where to...where to is the question. I could return to Ventura where my friends and my girlfriend are, where potential school futures lie if I want to drive out to CSUCI every day...where...mental normalcy lies?

Or there's the LA area...I don't know if I'd cut it out there though. I seem like a cool enough cat but I'm not sure that would suit me. Then again, I've never thought about it and I really have no idea how things go out there. Maybe I'm overthinking it.

Then on the other side of the map there's...need I say it...Vegas! Yes. Las Vegas, my golden land. I could just head out there and wing it! Crash some couches for a week or two, find a place, get a job. Maybe a dealer. Maybe a fuckin janitor. Maybe another office clerk, but in a place I would love more than anything to live in.

Of course if I did that I could play every day. My bills would be cut in half if I moved out there, and of course there's UNLV. I would love that. I would love to be able to play all the time, to get back into the game! Wouldn't I? Sure, until I sat at the table and lost my first buyin. Then it's back to Hell.

Ugh...of course Steph would die if we had to live in Vegas. I would live.

Whatever happens I still don't know what I truly WANT. I have no frickin clue what it is that I'm lookin for in life. I have ideas sometimes, but they leave my mind as soon as they come. I'm pretty sure I have ADD. I have no medical proof but


Hey I won playing blackjack today! $250 profit from a quick-decision $50 deposit.


And after all that it seems that at my ripe age of 22 I shouldn't have to face the decisions that I put on myself, but I can't help it. I don't know if I'll be bored if I'm either not worrying or celebrating something.

There was once a point that I was calm. I went to work, had a decent day, brought home a paycheck, and stayed inside not spending money and just layin around. That got boring quick.

There was once a point more recently that I thought I was an alcoholic. I went to work, had a balls-out shitty day, went to the bar, brought home a buzz, and stayed inside getting drunk until I passed out. That got boring quick. It was a drain on my wallet too.

And now here I am deciding what's next. I could go sky-diving. Does that cost money?? Damn!

I could...well shit no I couldn't everything costs money. Which brings me to the lesser worries of my week: finances...again.

I've always been good with my credit. Since the day I had my first $500 limit credit card in my freshman year at CSUN I've been good with my credit. In fact there were seldom times where I wouldn't pay off my cards in full. My car was the biggest purchase I had yet to make on credit when I was 20, and seeing as how the creditors saw fit to slap this first-time buyer with 9% APR I've been aware of just how badly interest bones you, the consumer, the borrower.

Because of my financial awareness I've paid my credit cards in full every month up until two months ago. With about half of my available credit in use because of frivolous spending (boredom-based obviously) my credit score has dropped to 731. That's not bad...but it's not what it was!! I want it perfect I want it all I want this I want


Damn I shouldn't have played those $100 hands, I could've cashed out for more...


that. But now I'm finding out that America's favorite past time is spending money one doesn't have. I now face an $1,100 purchase that I can't force myself to not make. It's not even important, this thing that I want, but I HAVE to have it. And why shouldn't I? I don't currently have the money obviously, or else there'd be no decision. But why not charge it and pay it off like most people do? What's a few credit points?

Being so young and without experience, I have no idea what a few credit points are worth. As far as I know 731 is sufficient for now, and in the current state of America's economy I'm assuming 731 is above and beyond what certain lenders are looking for. But I have no idea. I really want to buy this...

I'm always biased towards myself when it comes to making big purchases, because I know how much I've lost lifetime at gambling and how much stuff I could've bought with the money. Of course that doesn't bother me when I'm gambling. Why not? Who knows...ask a gambler. I'm not one.

I guess I could hit the BJ tables again and try to get that other $200 that I was up back...

I Don't Understand

Why people do this:

Full Tilt Poker Game #5834419458: Daily Double - A (43720589), Table 92 - 20/40 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:32:06 ET - 2008/03/29
Seat 1: cazoo (1,750)
Seat 2: Chuu Len 13 (4,200)
Seat 3: Emmanuel83211 (4,105)
Seat 4: corn013 (1,500)
Seat 5: John_Salami (965)
Seat 6: jstidwell (3,290)
Seat 7: MAUIMOON (2,495)
Seat 8: Kid Crash (5,175)
Seat 9: SyphonSoul (1,620)
jstidwell posts the small blind of 20
MAUIMOON posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Kid Crash [9d 9c]
Kid Crash raises to 140
SyphonSoul folds
cazoo calls 140
Chuu Len 13 folds
Emmanuel83211 calls 140
corn013 folds
John_Salami calls 140
jstidwell folds
MAUIMOON folds
*** FLOP *** [6h 8d 2s]
Kid Crash bets 400
cazoo folds
Emmanuel83211 folds
John_Salami raises to 825, and is all in
Kid Crash calls 425
John_Salami shows [4h 3h]
Kid Crash shows [9d 9c]
*** TURN *** [6h 8d 2s] [3s]
*** RIVER *** [6h 8d 2s 3s] [3c]
John_Salami shows three of a kind, Threes
Kid Crash shows two pair, Nines and Threes
John_Salami wins the pot (2,270) with three of a kind, Threes
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2,270 | Rake 0
Board: [6h 8d 2s 3s 3c]
Seat 1: cazoo folded on the Flop
Seat 2: Chuu Len 13 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: Emmanuel83211 folded on the Flop
Seat 4: corn013 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: John_Salami (button) showed [4h 3h] and won (2,270) with three of a kind, Threes
Seat 6: jstidwell (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 7: MAUIMOON (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 8: Kid Crash showed [9d 9c] and lost with two pair, Nines and Threes
Seat 9: SyphonSoul didn't bet (folded)


Or why shit like this happens ALL THE TIME:

Full Tilt Poker Game #5835001729: Daily Double - A (43720589), Table 92 - 60/120 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:20:39 ET - 2008/03/29
Seat 1: cazoo (1,768)
Seat 2: Chuu Len 13 (4,225)
Seat 3: Emmanuel83211 (4,290), is sitting out
Seat 4: corn013 (3,980)
Seat 5: FullTilter20 (2,396)
Seat 6: jstidwell (710)
Seat 7: MAUIMOON (3,773)
Seat 8: Kid Crash (3,247)
Seat 9: SyphonSoul (3,771)
MAUIMOON posts the small blind of 60
Kid Crash posts the big blind of 120
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Kid Crash [Ac Ad]
SyphonSoul has 15 seconds left to act
SyphonSoul raises to 247
Emmanuel83211 has returned
cazoo folds
Chuu Len 13 folds
Emmanuel83211 folds
corn013 folds
FullTilter20 calls 247
jstidwell folds
MAUIMOON folds
Kid Crash raises to 1,000
SyphonSoul raises to 3,771, and is all in
FullTilter20 folds
Kid Crash calls 2,247, and is all in
SyphonSoul shows [Jc Jh]
Kid Crash shows [Ac Ad]
Uncalled bet of 524 returned to SyphonSoul
*** FLOP *** [9c 8d 6d]
*** TURN *** [9c 8d 6d] [Js]
*** RIVER *** [9c 8d 6d Js] [8h]
SyphonSoul shows a full house, Jacks full of Eights
Kid Crash shows two pair, Aces and Eights
SyphonSoul wins the pot (6,801) with a full house, Jacks full of Eights
FullTilter20: wow i had a J
Kid Crash stands up
cazoo stands up
Chuu Len 13 stands up
Emmanuel83211 stands up
corn013 stands up
FullTilter20 stands up
jstidwell stands up
MAUIMOON stands up
SyphonSoul stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6,801 | Rake 0
Board: [9c 8d 6d Js 8h]
Seat 1: cazoo didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: Chuu Len 13 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: Emmanuel83211 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: corn013 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: FullTilter20 folded before the Flop
Seat 6: jstidwell (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: MAUIMOON (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 8: Kid Crash (big blind) showed [Ac Ad] and lost with two pair, Aces and Eights
Seat 9: SyphonSoul showed [Jc Jh] and won (6,801) with a full house, Jacks full of Eights


And I can't help but laugh at this "FullTilter20: wow i had a J".

These are the reasons why I don't play on a serious basis anymore. There are so many things I can say about these two hands alone, let alone the swongs I faced in the Daily Double today, but it'll make my brain explode if I try to figure out why people play the way they do.

On the other hand...I sure do miss Vegas.

Sitting the Life

I've been thinking about starting another blog to link with Sitting the Apple and using StA for poker and gambling stuff from here on out, but considering my current and near future state of unplay, that doesn't really seem like a good idea for right now.

I miss being "in the game". I don't miss just playing poker, but being a gambler in the sense that every day my livelihood depended on or somewhat required that I gamble in some sense. Losing or winning hundreds of dollars a day when my paycheck was only hundreds of dollars itself was an exciting feeling.

Many people don't know what it's like to be a gambler. Maybe you call it addiction, maybe you call it a lifestyle. Obviously people view the two with complete conviction that they're individual belief on the subject is correct. There are many people nowadays, thanks to the poker boom and having gambling glorified by the media, that know the ups and downs of being a gambler too well. I started when I was 17.

Being a waiter and walking away with cash from tips every night meant that I had a paycheck behind to pay for my car and that I had enough cash to do what I wanted. I was privileged in the fact that I had more money than most of friends as a working junior. It's because of this that started me playing poker. On a regular basis I would leave form work, go home and change, and head to the Indian casino while I talked to my girlfriend on the phone. As far as she was concerned, I was laying in bed.

Gamblers hide the truth for many reasons. In current times young people hide the truth that they're winning money (for those that do win) for a living simply because people ask too many questions and offer advice on life when it wasn't asked for or appreciated in the first place. I hid it because I knew people would disapprove of a 17 year old gambling.

Lying also means that you're in it alone. You go sit at a table, buyin, and get a rack of chips and prepare yourself for the next few hours. For me it meant that I had three or four hours of play before the poker room went dead, and I'd have to return home just to fall asleep for a few hours before waking up late for school, or missing it altogether.

So I would play alone. I would make friends with those who would frequent the casino because I could talk to them. They understood. In most cases, those guys are worse off than I could ever be. But not me, it wouldn't happen to me. So I would play alone. I would lose some pots, win some pots, and in the end it felt amazing to know that no one else that I knew had an idea of where I was or what I was doing. It was freedom in the most unstable sense.

Many people don't know the feelings you experience as a closet gambler. When you are at a point where you can't tell anybody, everything becomes empowering and distancing. When you lose you have no one to console you. When you win, you know that you can't tell anyone, but you have money in your pocket and YOU know where it came from.

Of course the life of gambling consumes you. Eccentric red and yellow casino carpet fills the halls of your mind when you dream, and the sound of jackpots and shuffling chips blast your ears until you wake up. You can't wait for the next coin flip.

As your gambling evolves and becomes more of a part of you, you learn the scenarios by heart. You know what it feels like to lose it all and you know what it's like to walk to that cage with a handful of black chips and the relief and happiness that follows as the cashier rips hundred-dollar bills onto the granite countertop.

It's an amazing feeling, when you're eating dinner at 3AM and realize that you just accomplished a great financial feat by winning in one night three times the amount of money that you would have to work for for two weeks. Knowing that you either played great, played smart, or just got lucky while you count in your head over and over again the wad that's in your pocket...that's a fun feeling.

On the other hand when you're eating dinner at 1AM and realize that you just lost everything you'd worked for for the past six days, and have now just recreated for the umpteenth time one of the worst financial disasters in your life, well that's an amazing feeling as well. It hurts. It hurts mentally, it hurts emotionally, but you already know the feeling well because you've been there before. You've been in that same seat twenty times before, and each time you realize you'll have to borrow money to pay rent you tell yourself the same thing, "never again."

Throughout the past 4 years of my life I've known what it's like to borrow money, to lend money, to hide from the skeptics and to emerge from my social cave and to throw it in their faces when I've won. I've been complimented, criticized, questioned, and encouraged over the years. In the end, though, I didn't come out on top.

It's the rush that I miss. It's the joy of victory and the thrill of the gamble. I don't miss the feeling of knowing that I fucked up, but I do miss the overall rollercoaster of emotion.

I decided to quit gambling a long time ago; I obviously didn't. I operated in a no-I-shouldn't-ok-one-more-time mode. There came a point where I lost and couldn't get it back, either because I was broke or because I was so afraid to lose more that I couldn't force myself to place another bet to win it back. When I had finally had enough I made a promise to myself and to those who had seen the damage that it caused that I wasn't to gamble again until I had enough money to do so without consequence.

The past couple times I've truly gambled were times of inebriation and celebration. They were times where I had money to lose, save for the last one-night relapse I had. On that night I didn't lose what I couldn't afford, but the alcohol and general absence of the game from my life brought me to lose all but what I needed to survive.

It was at that point where I realized how much I loved and missed it all. As I sat in that diner seat at 5AM, knowing that I had done it again, I remembered the feeling. I made the necessary vow to myself to not do it again, but why not this time? I have a stable full time job that allows me to live life now. I have money to lose if I want, and I can still pay bills, rent, and go out to eat and buy household goods without hesitation.

I want badly to get back into that life. But I want it to be better this time, I want it to not be the wrong kind. For years I let it run my life in a bad way. I started to not have fun with it all and that's when things were the worst. I stopped having fun with it and started depending on the win. I'm over that way of thinking, and if I ever get back to that way of life I'll make sure it's different this time around.

Three-Step Shinny

One of my favorite things to do when I'm messing around and playing blackjack for fun is to play a step-style bet pattern. I start with one minimum bet and should I win press the bet for a specified amount of hands. If I don't win, I place another single unit bet and try again until I finally hit a run. This betting strategy obviously has nothing to do with skill besides knowing the basic strategy for a 6-deck shoe, and any wins that come from it are purely lucky.

Usually the number is set at 5 or 6 hands. On a $10 bet, this results in either $160 or $320 profit. Of course, winning 5 or 6 hands in a row at blackjack isn't really a plausible win rate, so the profit amount on such a betting strategy is minimal in the long run and is obviously something I would never do on a regular basis. This is purely for fun to see if I can pull it off, and if I do and for some reason I can get this done in under five bets, then obviously the payout is an added bonus to my mental satisfaction.

As Joe and I sat around the apartment with drink in hand on Friday night lamenting the fact that we never play poker anymore, the thoughts of this fun and money-wasting scheme crept into my mind. Of course going to play blackjack after drinks wouldn't be a smart idea for two young 20-somethings who barely pass rent every month.

Why not play poker? We were good at it at one point, and even if we weren't we managed to survive a couple years before we lost it all, and that's enough to make me believe that we can win. Well if don't have the money to waste playing blackjack, we certainly don't have the money to play in a casino-stakes environment. If it were online sure we can play $20 buyins and not worry if we lose.

The problem is that over the past two years we would deposit money online, win while we were sober, and then go into an alcoholic, overextending, shot-taking, donkey-tilting poker bender and lose all we had won in one night. We made an agreement not to do that again after it happened for the fifth time.

So...we had alcohol, we had finished some good dinner, what then would we do? I wanted to play my step betting for fun, while we both have been itching to play poker for a while. Neither of us can really afford to blow money at a casino, but we could play for a little bit. Why not combine the both? How about a step-program shortstack extravaganza?? A Countdown to Robusto.

We made ourselves one more drink before throwing $100 on Full Tilt and devising a step plan. The strategy was to shortstack a 20 big blind stack at 6-max starting with a $20 buyin at the $.50/1NL table. When we got to $40 off of that buyin we'd move to a $1/2 table, after a double-up to $80 we'd go to $2/4 and shortstack until we got to $160+ and then quit. We had five shots at this to see where it would go. If we hit $160 and quit we'd start over again with $20 buyins and do it again.

This isn't anything new, but mostly when stuff like this happens it's a busto needing to reclaim some lost cash by not stopping until he's fully bankrolled again by the end of the night, or losing it all back trying. We were trying to find a happy medium.

The fun part with something like this is that if you can get your money in good and run well, you can profit just as easily as you could with any other run-good gambling. Also, with such a short stack part of the goal is to actually commit yourself to hands that you normally wouldn't force yourself to go busto with, and see what happens. As the Phils like to say, "gambo gambo!"

Here's a couple fun ones from the Countdown to Robusto:


Full Tilt Poker Game #5639095452: Table Cherokee (6 max) - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:15:11 ET - 2008/03/15
Seat 1: Kid Crash ($20.30)
Seat 2: Moukar1 ($110.75)
Seat 3: nuK1 ($100), is sitting out
Moukar1 posts the small blind of $0.50
Kid Crash posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Kid Crash [Qc Qd]
Moukar1 raises to $2
Kid Crash raises to $5
Moukar1 raises to $110.75, and is all in
Kid Crash calls $15.30, and is all in
Moukar1 shows [Td Js]
Kid Crash shows [Qc Qd]
Uncalled bet of $90.45 returned to Moukar1
*** FLOP *** [3h 6h 5s]
*** TURN *** [3h 6h 5s] [9h]
*** RIVER *** [3h 6h 5s 9h] [Jh]
Moukar1 shows a pair of Jacks
Kid Crash shows a pair of Queens
Kid Crash wins the pot ($40.10) with a pair of Queens
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $40.60 | Rake $0.50
Board: [3h 6h 5s 9h Jh]
Seat 1: Kid Crash (big blind) showed [Qc Qd] and won ($40.10) with a pair of Queens
Seat 2: Moukar1 (small blind) showed [Td Js] and lost with a pair of Jacks
Seat 3: nuK1 is sitting out


Full Tilt Poker Game #5639212349: Table Egret (6 max) - $0.50/$1 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:25:04 ET - 2008/03/15
Seat 1: pheno ($133.50)
Seat 2: luv4uladies ($142)
Seat 3: martijnvdb ($100)
Seat 4: binxer123 ($113.35)
Seat 5: Kid Crash ($35.60)
Seat 6: Litko ($114.70), is sitting out
binxer123 posts the small blind of $0.50
Kid Crash posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Kid Crash [Ad Jh]
pheno folds
luv4uladies raises to $2
martijnvdb folds
binxer123 folds
Kid Crash raises to $5
luv4uladies calls $3
*** FLOP *** [5s Jc 7s]
Kid Crash bets $7
luv4uladies raises to $14
Kid Crash raises to $30.60, and is all in
luv4uladies calls $16.60
Kid Crash shows [Ad Jh]
luv4uladies shows [Ks Jd]
*** TURN *** [5s Jc 7s] [Kc]
*** RIVER *** [5s Jc 7s Kc] [Tc]
Kid Crash shows a pair of Jacks
luv4uladies shows two pair, Kings and Jacks
luv4uladies wins the pot ($68.70) with two pair, Kings and Jacks
Kid Crash is sitting out
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $71.70 | Rake $3
Board: [5s Jc 7s Kc Tc]
Seat 1: pheno didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: luv4uladies showed [Ks Jd] and won ($68.70) with two pair, Kings and Jacks
Seat 3: martijnvdb (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: binxer123 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: Kid Crash (big blind) showed [Ad Jh] and lost with a pair of Jacks
Seat 6: Litko is sitting out


Full Tilt Poker Game #5640285945: Table Quetonia (6 max) - $1/$2 - No Limit Hold'em - 2:06:40 ET - 2008/03/15
Seat 1: king_rithy ($64)
Seat 2: jbl3rd ($162.35)
Seat 3: phidddle ($540.90)
Seat 4: Hasu_Ninja ($200)
Seat 5: Kid Crash ($46.20)
Seat 6: NiceBigJohn ($385.20)
Hasu_Ninja posts the small blind of $1
Kid Crash posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Kid Crash [Kd Kh]
NiceBigJohn folds
king_rithy raises to $4
jbl3rd folds
phidddle folds
Hasu_Ninja adds $1
Hasu_Ninja folds
Kid Crash raises to $10
king_rithy calls $6
*** FLOP *** [4d 6h 5s]
Kid Crash bets $12
king_rithy raises to $54, and is all in
Kid Crash calls $24.20, and is all in
king_rithy shows [Qd 7d]
Kid Crash shows [Kd Kh]
Uncalled bet of $17.80 returned to king_rithy
*** TURN *** [4d 6h 5s] [Jd]
*** RIVER *** [4d 6h 5s Jd] [3h]
king_rithy shows a straight, Seven high
Kid Crash shows a pair of Kings
king_rithy wins the pot ($90.40) with a straight, Seven high
Kid Crash is sitting out
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $93.40 | Rake $3
Board: [4d 6h 5s Jd 3h]
Seat 1: king_rithy showed [Qd 7d] and won ($90.40) with a straight, Seven high
Seat 2: jbl3rd didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: phidddle (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Hasu_Ninja (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: Kid Crash (big blind) showed [Kd Kh] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 6: NiceBigJohn didn't bet (folded)


Full Tilt Poker Game #5639262596: Table Lamb (6 max) - $1/$2 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:29:23 ET - 2008/03/15
Seat 1: Kid Crash ($38)
Seat 2: drfeelgood133 ($622.60)
Seat 3: ripkeniv ($166)
Seat 4: le_kiki ($207)
Seat 5: jprewis ($370.50)
Seat 6: adyar ($197)
ripkeniv posts the small blind of $1
le_kiki posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Kid Crash [9d 9c]
jprewis calls $2
adyar raises to $9
Kid Crash calls $9
drfeelgood133 raises to $41
ripkeniv folds
le_kiki folds
jprewis has 15 seconds left to act
jprewis folds
adyar folds
Kid Crash calls $29, and is all in
drfeelgood133 shows [Ad Qd]
Kid Crash shows [9d 9c]
Uncalled bet of $3 returned to drfeelgood133
*** FLOP *** [2c 6h 5c]
*** TURN *** [2c 6h 5c] [Ts]
*** RIVER *** [2c 6h 5c Ts] [5h]
drfeelgood133 shows a pair of Fives
Kid Crash shows two pair, Nines and Fives
Kid Crash wins the pot ($87) with two pair, Nines and Fives
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $90 | Rake $3
Board: [2c 6h 5c Ts 5h]
Seat 1: Kid Crash showed [9d 9c] and won ($87) with two pair, Nines and Fives
Seat 2: drfeelgood133 (button) showed [Ad Qd] and lost with a pair of Fives
Seat 3: ripkeniv (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: le_kiki (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: jprewis folded before the Flop
Seat 6: adyar folded before the Flop


Full Tilt Poker Game #5639422581: Table Goldspur (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:43:18 ET - 2008/03/15
Seat 1: Bullseye900 ($86.50)
Seat 2: StKolbe ($354.95)
Seat 3: Century2005 ($150)
Seat 4: smallboy3215 ($554.40)
Seat 5: Kid Crash ($96.80)
Seat 6: thelilbearbeeny ($557.60)
thelilbearbeeny posts the small blind of $2
Bullseye900 posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Kid Crash [Jc Js]
StKolbe folds
Century2005 folds
smallboy3215 folds
Kid Crash raises to $12
thelilbearbeeny raises to $40
Bullseye900 folds
Kid Crash raises to $96.80, and is all in
thelilbearbeeny calls $56.80
Kid Crash shows [Jc Js]
thelilbearbeeny shows [Kc Ah]
*** FLOP *** [Qc 8h Ks]
*** TURN *** [Qc 8h Ks] [3d]
*** RIVER *** [Qc 8h Ks 3d] [2h]
Kid Crash shows a pair of Jacks
thelilbearbeeny shows a pair of Kings
thelilbearbeeny wins the pot ($194.60) with a pair of Kings
Kid Crash is sitting out
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $197.60 | Rake $3
Board: [Qc 8h Ks 3d 2h]
Seat 1: Bullseye900 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: StKolbe didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: Century2005 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: smallboy3215 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: Kid Crash (button) showed [Jc Js] and lost with a pair of Jacks
Seat 6: thelilbearbeeny (small blind) showed [Kc Ah] and won ($194.60) with a pair of Kings


Full Tilt Poker Game #5639642796: Table Goldring (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 1:03:08 ET - 2008/03/15
Seat 1: bosshagz ($226.60)
Seat 2: homeboi49 ($96)
Seat 3: GiVeMeTheCake ($449)
Seat 4: NigelWinters ($448.30)
Seat 5: kevy34 ($62.50)
Seat 6: Kid Crash ($95.95)
kevy34 posts the small blind of $2
Kid Crash posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Kid Crash [7c 6h]
bosshagz raises to $14
homeboi49 folds
GiVeMeTheCake folds
NigelWinters folds
kevy34 folds
Kid Crash folds
Uncalled bet of $10 returned to bosshagz
bosshagz mucks
bosshagz wins the pot ($10)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $10 | Rake $0
Seat 1: bosshagz collected ($10), mucked
Seat 2: homeboi49 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: GiVeMeTheCake didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: NigelWinters (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: kevy34 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: Kid Crash (big blind) folded before the Flop


Full Tilt Poker Game #5639646782: Table Goldring (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 1:03:31 ET - 2008/03/15
Seat 1: bosshagz ($232.60)
Seat 2: homeboi49 ($96)
Seat 3: GiVeMeTheCake ($449)
Seat 4: NigelWinters ($448.30)
Seat 5: kevy34 ($60.50)
Seat 6: Kid Crash ($91.95)
Kid Crash posts the small blind of $2
bosshagz is sitting out
homeboi49 posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Kid Crash [7d 6d]
GiVeMeTheCake folds
NigelWinters folds
kevy34 folds
bosshagz stands up
BubbleBoy87 adds $400
Kid Crash raises to $12
homeboi49 calls $8
*** FLOP *** [7s 6s Ad]
Kid Crash bets $16
homeboi49 raises to $84, and is all in
Kid Crash calls $63.95, and is all in
homeboi49 shows [Jd Ah]
Kid Crash shows [7d 6d]
Uncalled bet of $4.05 returned to homeboi49
*** TURN *** [7s 6s Ad] [7c]
*** RIVER *** [7s 6s Ad 7c] [4h]
homeboi49 shows two pair, Aces and Sevens
Kid Crash shows a full house, Sevens full of Sixes
Kid Crash wins the pot ($180.90) with a full house, Sevens full of Sixes
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $183.90 | Rake $3
Board: [7s 6s Ad 7c 4h]
Seat 1: bosshagz is sitting out
Seat 2: homeboi49 (big blind) showed [Jd Ah] and lost with two pair, Aces and Sevens
Seat 3: GiVeMeTheCake didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: NigelWinters didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: kevy34 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: Kid Crash (small blind) showed [7d 6d] and won ($180.90) with a full house, Sevens full of Sixes


Some hands sucked. Some hands made me lozl. Some hands made me fist pump. Overall by the end of the night I had two shots at the $2/4, the first one I flipped JJ vs AK and lost. The second one I got in the right position and held up. After $100, playing all night, and losing and winning some the final tally in my cashier was...$100. Night having fun, playing some cards, gambling, and of course drinking, and I broke even. Good enough for me!

While it might be a little while before I get back into the game, I have a feeling that I will be back to gambo in this style a bit more.

To Blog Again...

I haven't blogged or played poker in quite some time now. While this won't be a full entry, it will be a reminder to myself that I do like writing, despite the fact that I often find myself too lazy to do so. I have plenty of uncompleted entries and ignored titles in my Blogger queue, but to see the day in which they all come to fruition seems to be more and more of a distant hope as the days at work pass.

To quit or to push through.

To drink or to stay sober.

To spend or to save.

If I don't write out the hassles, the hassles seem to build up. Perhaps it's time that I truly start writing. Perhaps it's time to make something of myself and maybe to rejoin society as a successful member and contributor instead of a 22-year-old office drone who rarely does good by anyone and who thrives on mediocrity.

To write or to stay the pen.

Return to the City of Dreams Pt. I

For the fifth time in 2007, I traveled Eastward towards the Strip. This time around we gathered nine of my closest friends, packed into two cars (and one airplane as it was), and took to Sin City to drink, gamble, eat, drink, and drink. The occasion? The holidays. My birthday. Our friendship.

For the holidays I hadn't gotten anything for anyone. For the past year I've been living in a financial funk, never really digging myself into a hole, yet never really building a monument above monetary ground either. I didn't even start excavating land for that matter.

For the coming new year I had cleaned the slate. My credit cards were paid off, my bills were straight, I had a budget all ready and set up, and everything looked good leaving December. The only problem was that up to the holiday season I still had a revolving balance of zero dollars in my bank account.

I had been living a breakeven life on ground zero for the past year, and because of that I had no funds for the holiday season. I had my sister's present and that was it. So before we left, me and the two roommates decided that Christmas in our apartment would consist of spending time with each other in Vegas.

I had also made a commitment to hang out with John Cruz, my buddy who now deals at Planet Hollywood. I had been out there numerous times during the year, and I had seen him on a few of the trips, yet I hadn't really spent as much time as I had wanted to. One of my goals on this trip was to make sure I saw him at least twice, as I always promise to hang out with him when I'm out there, yet I've barely spent any time with him when I'm in Las Vegas.

Across the ocean, Casey and Sommer had moved to Hawaii to attend school and I hadn't seen either of them for months. When we gathered in Vegas in July for Casey's 21st, we made a vow to meet up with them there when they returned from Hawaii in December. They took off to the islands, I went back to my boring desk job, and we texted, talked, and e-mailed our way through the months. We'd finally have a chance to hang out again when December rolled around.

Along with my roommates and Casey and Sommer, Mitchell and Darsky, who seem to be my Vegas staples were going with us. And Steph and I finally got to spend some real time together, devoid of our work schedules and 30-mile spread. Despite the fact that it was going to take me down to my last available dollar for the trip, I was ready to head out to my favorite city with my favorite people for America's favorite time of year.

We made reservations for a couple rooms at the Venetian to accommodate us all. This trip would be the first time I spent any money on a hotel room. All of my previous trips had been purely poker trips, and although I hadn't stayed at any hole in the walls, I certainly had yet to stay at any reputable casino. We were able to get a decent rate since we were going during a slow weekend, and since we were splitting rooms it wasn't even very expensive.

Because I was treating Steph this time around we had made dinner plans for six of us at the Bellagio on one of the nights. Although I do enjoy the general higher quality of food in Vegas, I had yet to have a nice dinner anywhere on any of my trips. We made plans to eat at Sensei, and afterwards (for another first) I got Steph and I tickets to KA at the MGM.

Regardless of the fact that I had been to Vegas multiple times already in '07, this trip was different and I really felt like I was going out for a vacation. My previous trips I felt pressured to do well in poker and not lose any money at all, and obviously when you try too hard at anything you'll end up failing, which I inevitably had all year. However, this time around I was ready.

I had saved enough to pay for the room for Steph and I, pay for food, and to gamble at a level that was comfortable enough to satisfy my mind and not make me feel like death if I lost it. Finally I was really excited to relax, have a good time, and focus more on having fun and being with friends than trying to take the casino or run over the poker table. It was the way most people see Vegas anyways.

At noon on Thursday it was time to gather the troops and head out. We hopped in our cars and after an hour in the right direction and a couple stops to pick people up, our two-vehicle caravan was on the way to what we knew would be four days of drinking, gambling fun.

A Little Break From Thinking

I figured I'd write a little update for any readers out there since I haven't posted anything in a while. I have a couple things mid-work, but nothing finished or written enough to post.

For the most part of the past few weeks I've gone into a little mental vacation. With the addition of the cat, thoughts of my birthday Vegas trip in a couple weeks filling my head, and starting to finally come into range of being financially comfortable for the upcoming year, I've been able to relax and chill out for a little bit.

Last game at Paul's I won the $20 rebuy tourney, and on the next game I'll be collecting the $100 Darsky will be owing me, barring he wins both tournies in one night and I don't point cash in either. I've lost a little overall sports betting on the NFL now (those tricky professionals), but my miniscule gambling ventures over the past couple months has kept me in the black.

In two weeks we'll have a group of ten armed with alcohol and good spirits heading to Vegas, as we've rounded up the troops for my birthday celebration. Along with my birthday, Casey and his girlfriend Sommer will be returning from their semester in Hawaii so we'll be celebrating that as well. We've booked a couple suites at the Venetian and I'm sure it'll be a blast for all involved.

Anyways, like I said I have a couple posts half-written so if I get around to it in the month of December I'll post them up.

Until next time.

A New Member Joins the Family

Time has been flying by at slow speed lately. Every day at work I seem to find myself more and more bored, dazing off and wondering when the next Vegas trip is gonna be and pondering if I'll ever find art to hang on my bedroom walls that I actually like.

I think about what games I'll bet (and most likely lose) on the upcoming weekend, what I'd like to do later in my life, and if there's some new music out there that I'd instantly fall in love with should I somehow find a way to discover it. I think about how I never go to any concerts nowadays. I think about how I never play poker seriously on a regular basis anymore.

I think about when payday is, I think about my delayed raises, and I wonder about how I can triple my yearly salary by the snap of a finger by stumbling upon some great get-rich-quick plan that no one else in the past two decades has ever thought about (we all think about that, don't we?)

I think about if I could have made it in on the felt if I would've put more study and discipline into the game. I wonder if I'll ever be able to man up and put some time and effort into writing or graphic design to actually do something for myself in life. I think about how little I have to do to get back to school within a reasonable amount of time so I don't end up like more than half of this uneducated country of ours, who struggle day in and day out to grind themselves a living in a shit job. I then think about how lazy I am and quietly turn my attention back to my work monitor for more mindless internet browsing.

Yay.

And then at the end of the week and at the end of the month, I wonder where my money went and how it's already halfway through football season. For as much time as I spend doing nothing, life sure seems to be going by a lot faster nowadays. I find excuses for why I haven't been blogging regularly or why I haven't done my full closet's worth of laundry in a month. I'll figure it out...next week.

Last weekend, after I spent the majority of my week doing as I described above, I went to Ventura on Saturday night for some time with Steph and her friends over some drinks. When I showed up at her house she had a huge, awkward smile on her face. She quickly came out of her room and slammed the door shut behind her.

I knew something was up, I just couldn't tell what. Maybe she was hiding a mess. Maybe she was hiding another guy. Maybe she was hiding...a fart?

I asked her what she was doing and she said nothing, but then I heard a distinct jingling sound that could only be a small pet. She opened the door and I saw a beautiful little kitty with a black eye patch. I've wanted the specific cat for a while, so I could call him Pirate (eye patch obv).

"Holy cow, did you just get him?"

"Yeah," she answered shyly. "He's Pirate. He's yours."

I was ecstatic! I've been wanting a pet for some time now, but our apartment won't allow dogs unless they're small, like cats. I'll never be the sole owner of such a dog, so I've been thinking of getting a badass kitty for a while. The one I would've picked out for myself is the exact one she found and adopted for me.

I went to pet him and he immediately took to me. Right off the bat he was the most loving cat I've ever seen. I took him home the next morning and he's been a blast to have around ever since.

To get on a real sappy note here, since I've re-met Stephanie, I've been happier than I've been in a long time. Before we started dating, I had found a subtle ground in life that allowed me to contently sail through it. Ever since I fell for Steph I've been better than fine, and I find myself thinking of her (and now Pirate of course) in times of mental peril.

Furthermore, here's some pictures of the badass:




And in his best Firefox impression:

Philly Loses Again

I must have the thickest skull of any person I know. The lessons I am supposed to learn over and over again just never go through my head. By any stretch of imagination it takes far too many repeated failures in a single area for my body and mind to reach an understanding of something so simple that even the most obviously imbecilic child on the planet could grasp in a New York minute.

Unfortunately for me I live in Philadelphia time, and apparently I trade Philadelphia money in an NFL market that is far wealthier than Eagles fans. I did okay last weekend (editor's note: since when did the correct grammatical way of writing the word "okay" switch to "OK"?) when Green Bay pulled an overtime win and I hit my underdog card for a decent payday.

Although this is only the third weekend I've been sports betting, I've won on the only weekend where I bet on my instincts. This weekend I put too much trust in numbers and hearsay to lose 2 seemingly "sure-win" cards, while having my one instinct card go to the wayside when I let my personal preferences get in the way.

My inexperienced eyes saw a lot of opportunity in Teaser games this weekend, so I decided to go bigger than usual. I ran a six team 6-point teaser across the morning and afternoon games, and for whatever reason I tacked on Philly +9.5 to finish off the card. The morning started off with Washington and San Francisco getting good overage lines thanks to the Teaser points. Into the afternoon I had Houston +9 and Buffalo +7.5 which both would've on the moneyline, as well as having New England bumped up to even money.

Because of all of these games, I had 10u going in based on my read on the league and my study of the numbers. At the last second I added on Philly for no other reason than my love for the team. The analysts said no, the numbers said no, my brain even said no, but on one partially inebriated noon my heart said yes and I pulled the trigger on tacking on Philly +9.5 at home against Romo-mania. 10u to win 70u.

Well, I was weary going into the Sunday night game, and when McNabb fumbled the first snap of the game I tore my card up and knew that I had no shot whatsoever to even come close to the inflated spread. My dreams of going big on this particular weekend were brutally shot down by my favorite team, and not for the first time.

While I admit that I was toxicated when I ran that specific card, overall I didn't listen to my gut and therefore lost on all counts. I ghost watched the picks that I would've made, and had I followed through with what I truly wanted instead of listening to words and numbers that came from outside sources, I would've won on the weekend and covered the 10u loss that I endured last night.

Although I have a very fresh and unexperienced sports betting mind, I think that if I stick to what I do know, I can come out ahead by a decent margin by the end of the season. For now, it's back to the drawing boards for next weekend, and maybe a little "get well soon" bet on the Monday night game tonight.

Until next time.

Go Pack Go!

I'm not a Green Bay fan, but I was sure rooting for them to win last night. Brett Favre is a legend in the game, and everyone knows it. Anyone who denies that he is clearly has no idea what they're talking about.

Not only does he play the game great, but he plays with more passion, more emotion, and more love for the game than anyone in the league right now. He shows that he's happy when he's winning, and he shows that he's determined when the Pack are trailing.

Putting your heart, not just your body, into the game is something that should not go overlooked nowadays. The league is too full of crybabies and spotlighters. Receivers prance around like idiots in the endzone and linemen chop invisible trees when they do their job and make a tackle behind the line. Players complain about salaries, and when they can't do that they complain about their teammates.

Favre stays out of all that. When he throws for a touchdown the only celebration you'll see from him is his index fingers pointing in the air as he runs to his closest teammate to give them a hug, all the while shouting with happiness, proud that both he and his team can play the game. He's a true player, a true lover of football.

With all of that being said, #4 wasn't the reason I was happy to see the Packs win last night. Because they did take the W I score my weekend saving underdog parlay card, hitting for a +4312 to recover some loss on other games and come up with a decent profit. It's still small beans moneywise, but I'm workin my way up.

I would've hit for another smaller card if Tennessee would've covered the seven points, which was easily doable. The Raiders put up 14 penalties for 100 yards and had two turnovers. On top of that, they are just a horrid, horrid team, and I was shocked and pissed that the Titans couldn't capitalize on their opportunities in game.

I refused to bet the Philadelphia game this weekend, mainly because I've made a vow to not bet their games for the rest of the season. I'm tired of sitting at home watching my team and money get blown by boneheaded plays and faulty formations on field. I wasn't gonna do it again this weekend.

I headed over to my dad's house this weekend to enjoy the one thing that I can about the Philadelphia Eagles: they'll destroy the Minnesota Vikings every time they get on the same field.

After a horrible first half of the season, I've become quite the dejected Eagles fan. The defense is battered and the offense is not even mediocre. They had a rough start to the season and coming off of a bye week they crushed the Detroit Lions, putting up 56 points total with Kevin Curtis accounting for 221 yards in the receiving lane and Brian Westbrook running for 110 yards.

I was excited to see them win, and from the central NFL hub that is my father's house, I was able to keep track of all of my games and bets thanks to his NFL Gameday package. This weekend we have Paullywood Park coming up, and I'll probably stay at my dad's again on Sunday so that I can channel-change the day through while I either win or lose some more money.

All in all, it was a pretty good Sunday, with my weekend betting culminating in an overtime win by the green and yellow.

Until next time.

Damn You Philly...Damn You

Another weekend in the NFL has passed and like a broken spring in a set of gears, another Philadelphia fan has shot out of the They'll Be Okay clock and has landed in the bucket of Maybe Next Year among his fellow sprigs. Football. It's wonderful. It's painful.

This weekend's loss at home against the Bears hurt a little extra, because as much as I didn't want to bet on the Eagles, I had them holding up two of my remaining parlay cards well into Sunday afternoon. Everything looked good. Everything looked fine.

1:30 left in the fourth quarter, Philly up by 4. Chicago has no more timeouts. Deep in their own territory. Philly just don't let them in the endzone for a minute and a half. Simple stuff. Here we go!

1:00 left in the fourth quarter. Griese airs one out and completes to midfield. No problem. They have no timeouts and a field goal won't do. The Eagles know it, they know that all they have to do is for sixty seconds keep the Bears out of the endzone and they go 3-3 and have a small shot in the division.

0:09 left in the fourth quarter. I'm crying on the couch, cursing the Eagles through my tears for the amount of money I would have won on the two cards. Instead I'm left punching the couch cusions for two hours straight because I end up losing money in the end, thanks to Philly giving up a game-winning touchdown with :30 left.

I'm not the only Philadelphia Eagles fan ready to look ahead to next season. I'm sure there a few who started before I did. And I'm not the only one who lost money thanks to the Eagles this weekend, nor did I lose more than anyone. But the feeling of needing my team to win in order to have a shot of coming into playoff contention later this year coupled with the fact that they were all that stood between me and a healthy win pushed me over the mental sports fan cliff.

Obviously this isn't going to keep me from betting the games again this weekend. I need redemption! This past weekend I would've won despite the Eagles draining loss if I had listened to my guts instead of the numbers and the "experts". But, like I'll be tempted to do, I listened to the voices outside of my head and it cost me. I have a new strategy coming this weekend, and hopefully I'll be able to pick up a little bit of cash.

In other gambling related news, I'm currently planning my birthday trip to Vegas. There should be a decent group of us getting a few suites at the Venetian and doing the Vegas thing the weekend before Christmas.

What does that mean? Everyone will have just finished up Christmas shopping and will be awesomely out of cash, so it looks like the small weekends in Vegas will continue for a little while longer.

I've started to enjoy small weekends in Vegas, as the last trip with my dad turned out to be another unforgettable experience in Sin City. The stories I hear on a regular basis about his past times in Las Vegas make me love it even more. This trip was a little more personally enjoyable, as it was not only another vacation, but it was a fun time spent with my father, which is something I haven't had in a long, long time.

I'm going to write that trip report soon, and will probably be putting up a Vegas section to this blog. I'm also thinking of starting a new, possibly joint, blog about my Vegas trips instead. I'm also currently trying to redo Sitting The Apple's layout, which is part of the reason why there's been a huge lack of updates.

In the end, I'll tell you I'll keep trying to update. But I'll slack, you'll get mad at me, call me names, and then come crawling back once again to this wonderful outlet of my mind and useless ramblings. At least I update more than Darsky... and I work so at least I have an excuse you long-haired freeman!

Until next time.

Pendulur Sickness

For the past while now I've been in and out of small bouts with sickness. It's been nothing close to extremely sick until today, but up until today it's been more of a constant state of soreness and misery than actual illness. Of course it all started with a phone call into work to play hooky. And wouldn't you know it by the end of my day at home I actually was feeling sick. It's just the perfect kind of irony that keeps me straight.

My crappy chair at work, where I spend all of my pointless hours during the day (which is all of my hours during the day), has been causing me a lot of soreness to my neck and back. The life of a paid internet browser is tough, there's no doubt about it.

I haven't really felt like blogging for a while, mainly because of my personal mental state. I've fallen back into the whole "I shouldn't be working" mentality, but with every thought of quitting comes a contrary thought and reason why I should stay.

I just took another small getaway to Vegas though, so I'll be writing that up soon and will hopefully have something for you all to read. I'm not sure how many readers I still have after leaving this thing dry over and over again, but as soon as I get out of this mental slump I plan on getting all those lost readers back.

Until next time.

This is the Game I Am Currently Sucking At

With my makeshift year 2000 sound setup. New one coming soon.

Living in High Def

Whether it be poker or technology, I try to pretend like I know what I’m doing. I know very little in some areas of both, but in whole I really have no idea what I’m talking about. Although from time to time I may sound like I fit in with the niche that has been created around either field, it’s only because I get caught in the right conversations with the right people who just happen to ask such the right questions that I can squeeze out answers with what limited knowledge I do have.

I have a fancy phone with cool gadgets, a decent laptop with fancy gadgets, and a massive amount of poker related things, mostly books and an insane amount of assorted poker chip sets according to any sane person. But in reality, I let the hype of these things take place of the actual understanding of putting any of it to use. Don’t let this deter you from thinking I’m a hard and true badass, cuz I definitely am, but I know nearly nothing compared to the world of knowledge that surrounds both poker and electronics.

In any case, I’ve gotten a decent taste of everything over the past couple of weeks. Two weeks ago on the Friday night before our Saturday night game at Paullywood Park, Darsky and I headed down to Hollywood Park for a little poker action. I was planning on a night of drinking with Joe and a couple friends in Santa Clarita, but when I was presented an opportunity to play on Darsky’s dime, I couldn’t pass up the offer.

I have another trip report written up for that weekend which I’ll post soon, but it’s gonna have to go on hold until I write about my faux technology addiction. I’ve been meaning to get an awesome new TV for a while now, but thanks to my misunderstanding of the game of poker over the past two years I’ve been unable to comfortably afford one.

I’ve been wired into the tables of casinos across the nation for a long time now, and I’ve been completely unplugged from the technological world around me. I use it, I want to get to know it, but I haven’t been able to own it or love it as my own. While I’ve spent countless hours dumping my earned money at poker tables and blackjack tables at Chumash, Vegas, and Turning Stone (the won money was put back into the game around a year and a half ago), my friends have been out spending their money on tangible objects that shine, shout, and display glorious visions of the future around their houses.

Most of my 20-21 year old friends are broke anyways, so I don’t feel so bad that I am for the most part as well. However, they always manage ways to fund their addictions to hottest new toys on the market, much in the way that I always manage to scrape up just enough money to help the casino fund their comp for one of their highroller’s $300 steaks; the difference is my friends get to use theirs every day instead for a weekend like me.

The thing I've noticed about myself, though, is that I'm so frugal when it comes to spending money on things (with the exception of dinners), but I feel no restraint when it comes to betting $300 on a single hand of blackjack. I've seen that because I actually refuse to spend money on things that I want on an every-day basis, I've had money in the past to throw away to my reckless fearlessness inside of a casino.

Because I realized all of this stuff, I decided to cool it on the serious gambling for a bit and concentrate on building up a reputable collection of my own technology and house adornments. I started with a laptop, a digital camera, and Motorola Q before I decided to leap into a new TV and an XBOX 360. I was planning on waiting until December to make the plunge, and I had been putting in a bit of time looking at and talking about LCDs and DLPs with friends of mine who are more savvy in the matter.

I also couldn’t decide if I wanted to get a TV for my bedroom or for the living room, which I share with two roommates on a daily basis, one of whom is known for being messy beyond a higher being’s ability to stop it. After a bit of thinking, I had firmly decided that come the last month of the year, I was going to buy myself a birthday present of a 42” LCD and 360 which would be safely located within the boundaries of my bedroom. That was until I found a deal I couldn’t pass up.

Two Fridays ago I was browsing a couple forums when I came across a deal that Best Buy was having. In order to liquidate their DLPs for the new year’s models, as well as to advertise and boost the hype for the upcoming release of the newest addition to the hugely praised Halo series, a huge online sale was being hosted. If a person were to buy a Samsung DLP 50”+, an XBOX 360, and pre-ordered Halo 3 through Best Buy, they were giving $410 off of the TV and free delivery. At first I was skeptical of the deal, but as more and more people chimed in on the legitimacy of both the deal and the products, I had to find something for myself!

Still recovering from financial hell and being on a low budget, I needed something that I could afford yet still feel good about buying. There were a few selections of TV to choose from, yet I decided to go with a price saver that’s around middle of the field for TV’s nowadays. I purchased the Samsung 50" 720p DLP HDTV HLT5075S. After reading the great reviews it got, I felt that it would be an adequate purchase to feed my desire to be seen as a tech guru while staying within an affordable price range.

I know that it isn't the greatest TV out there, and it's not even close. However, HD TV channels only broadcast in 720p, and since the majority of it's usage will go towards TV it's not bad at all. I wouldn't want to cramp my room with a 50" DLP (13" deep), but it fits perfectly in the living room, actually takes up less space than our previous 36" CRT, and with this cheap of a price I won't be too upset if the thing gets crapped out due to roommate conditions. The downside is that without 1080p we can't watch HDDVD's to their utmost capabilities, nor will video games output their max potential. With that being said, the games that I've played so far look insane, and like stated the HDTV channels come in crystal clear.

I decided to go with the XBOX 360 with the knowledge that I'll be getting a far superior TV sometime in the future that will be able to handle anything thrown at it, and even in this new setup the 360 displays awesomely on our TV.

In total, I was able to grab the TV, the 360 Elite, and Halo 3 for less than $1,300. It's hooked up, our HDDVR cable box is hooked up, and just in time for Sunday football (even though the Eagles need to go back to the offseason already so they can learn how to play the game again). We are all now enjoying our weekly shows and weeknight Halo 3 online anger-fests in high def and I couldn't be more content.

I can't decide whether surround sound is next or if I'm going to further fuel my TV want with a top of the line LCD for my bedroom. Of course, knowing me, I'll end up spending zero dollars on either one and I'll be writing another blog entry from my Vegas hotel room a couple months from now, complaining that I should've just bought another damn TV and had something to show for the $2,000 I just dropped only to stare at a grimacing dealer's face and retire to a night long view at the Strip from 30 stories up.

Only time will tell where my money will end up in December, but for right now it's back to the tech forums to see if I can't actually learn something about all the new stuff I'll want to end up buying.

Also, I fixed the internet at our apartment and I have a bunch of stories to tell, so hopefully....just maybe....just....just by a random hopeless chance, I may start updating regularly again.

Until next time.

Technimoron

I haven't updated in a while because I've been busy, and for the past few days I knocked out my internet connection at my apartment thanks to me being an idiot who can't figure some things out. It should be back again soon, as should some new posts here on Sitting the Apple. That is unless Halo 3 shows up in the mail around the same time that I fix my internet. If it does, this blog might be in limbo for a few extra days.

If I get around to it today I might write up a post from work, but I don't know how likely that is. In any case, something will be up sometime soon, as I had a pretty fun weekend.

Until next time, here's a picture of a rare albino ratfish for no reason:

Credit to the University of Washington.

Reflections On Success

As I sit at work, staring at my desk and mentally digging deeper and deeper, all I can think about is success. The fuckin word won't leave my mind. I need it, I want it, I know I can have it. But what is it? What defines it? How does one achieve it?

For the longest time I thought that success would come in the form of financial fortune and that it was possible to achieve in one hit through gambling. I've since been removed from gambling and playing poker on an every day basis, and along with it far removed from the thought of reaching wealth by means of easy luck.

Living in Santa Barbara and having gambling be such a big piece of my life for so long has increased my need to be financially successful in life. I can't get away from rich people, and I need a piece! Success in life is more than wealth. It's family, it's having great friends, it's being personally true to yourself, it's being comfortable, it's finding peace. At the same time one cannot deny the fact that money gives you an outlet to some of the latter descriptions of the word.

Every day I see success even from my post in the office. My big boss has turned his life into a never ending fairytale as he sits atop the hills of Santa Barbara in his multimillion dollar Italian villa that he's built from the ground up. He has a hired accountant, a slew of monthly bills that quadruples my paycheck, and a portfolio that looms over my salary like it was a bug.

He wasn't always wealthy, though. He started as a computer programmer before computers could function by themselves. When he found out the business of a family friend was being sold, he bought it. He worked, he turned it into something to be proud of. He was presented an opportunity and he took it.

My little boss married the big boss's daughter and now leads a life of luxury, opening his mouth wide daily to swallow the drippings of the family's fortune. He works a menial yet crucial job, as he's capable and willing to do. He works as much as he has to and a little more, but he's understanding and a fun boss to have, partially because he's in the position to be. He'd done well for himself already, there's no doubt about it.

He finished school, found himself a nice job as the dean of a large technical institution, and was able to provide for his family. He worked a difficult and stressful job, but stuck with it and made a healthy living as such. But when presented with the option to do half the work for almost the same pay, along with the rights to won a multimillion dollar company with his wife, there wasn't much debate. He was presented an opportunity and he took it.

Both men are outstanding people, and I can't be happy enough to work for them. On a personal level they are some of the funnest, most enjoyable people I've ever met. On a job level, they've worked hard in life and are now at a point where they can rest and relax first, and work hard for little bits at a time second. I can only hope to be at their level later in life.

But how do I get there? That's been the question roaming the empty halls of my head for the past months. So many success stories I've heard have been that someone has just been in the right place at the right time. They had info on a stock that happened to go big when it did. They were able to buy a business and they, even without the money, personally knew a wealthy investor to go in with. They were able to get a job for the right person and ended up in the right conversation when it was taking place.

Whatever the circumstance I see so much success come from random events. But that doesn't suit me. I know I can make it in the financial world by my own way. I have the brain, I have the drive for success. Perhaps not currently as I'm stuck behind a desk and a computer making less money than what's going to make me happy, but I have the drive.

I want to invest in the stock market, I want to own my own business, I want to invest in real estate. I've bought books and I've read about it all, but I haven't been able to figure any of it out on my own. I'll get to the point that I need to be at one day because I desperately want it, and I know I'm smart enough to get it.

I keep looking for a teacher though, I keep looking for a hand to hold. Perhaps this is one of my weak points in life. If it is the thing holding me back then one day I'll overcome it and achieve my goals.

For now, I'll just push through. I'll keep looking, I have to. Perhaps I need to go back to school to be happy, but maybe I just need to find my calling. Whatever is out there, I'm ready for it. I've settled my life in other subjects, and I'm ready to find myself in the financial world. Hopefully I'll make it.

This kind of turned into a thoughtless and random rant, but I have so much goin on in my head and in my life right now. Everything seems to be getting clearer and a lot of things have fallen into place to make me a happy person. The next step is close, I can feel it...

Until next time.

An Angry Couch Coach and Meeting Mom

Sunday was a disappointing opener to the season, as Philly lost what was supposed to be an easy win against Green Bay. Even though a couple big roster changes took place on the defense, it ended up being the Eagles' sophomoric special teams show that brought them to lose.

In starting Lewis to return punts for the first time in his NFL career, they allowed numerous mistakes. In general it looked like the team forgot about special teams training altogether. Every punt return looked even worse than my unrated high school team, resulting in a fumble recovery for a touchdown, a turnover, and a tackle that could have been misconstrued for a decapitation.

As I sat on my couch and yelled at the multi-million dollar franchise and its players and coaches, I saw the fresh defensive team make plays and bring on the power that Jim Johnson so awesomely creates for the team. Unfortunately, the punt return mistakes are what ultimately lead to their first loss of the season against a team that should have presented less of a challenge.

Although I've abandoned the thought of betting the season through this year, I thought about betting this game this weekend. In the end I'm glad I decided not to, as I'd be pretty upset because of the way the game was lost. Overall, it was pretty disappointing.

Saturday was a more satisfying day. I went to Ventura to meet Steph's mom and have dinner, and it was a great time. From the stories I'd heard I knew I'd like her mom, and she seemed just weird enough to like me back. Upon first impression she didn't disappoint!

I wasn't sure what to expect at first, but when she showed up she had a cute style and a personality that I knew I could get along with. We hung out at Steph's while I sat on the couch and listened to the two of them talk about stuff for a little bit before we went to dinner, where I really got to talk and get to know her mom. Towards the end of dinner Steph began to get irritated with her, as seems to be the norm with a lot of girls I've been around for whatever reason, but I still thought her mom was awesome fun.

I'm sure I have a great time comin with her as Steph and my relationship moves forward. I'm heading back out to Ventura after work today for a barbecue at her mom's place along with Stephanie's friends and roommates, and I can only assume that it's gonna be a good time. I'm eager to get to know the crew better, so hopefully things will go smoothly...

As the year moves forward I'm thinking more heavily about what I'm going to buy myself for my birthday this year, and I'm pretty sure it's gonna be a new TV and a 360. I don't watch too much TV nor do I play too many video games, which is why I've yet to make these specific purchases. But I would like to have both nonetheless, so as December nears I'm thinking more heavily about exactly what TV I want to get and whether or not it's going into the safety of my room, or if I should leave it in the hazard zone of the living room.

Blah, too much thinking for a Monday. I'll elaborate more later.

Until next time.

A Turning Stone and a Tender Bender

If it's not my eternal laziness that keeps me from updating a week at a time, it's some sort of venial interruption. This past week a new stone was turned with Joe's 21st birthday. Although Joe and I have been drinking for years previous to each of our legality-introducing-celebrations (and gambling for just as long), a 21st birthday should never be overlooked or under-partied. This was no exception.

Unfortunately for Joe's birthday we had to skip Vegas as he is a mere student at this point, having been removed from poker for over a year now. He did receive a small lump of money for his birthday, but he had other priorities with which to allocate that cash. Us three apartment-ies are planning on going in December, so we knew he'd get to visit the sinful wonderland soon enough. But for the time being, there was drinking to be had.

On Tuesday night we managed to pull Darsky up here for the drinking extravaganza. I took off from work a little early and he met us at our place with beer in hand. As soon as he walked in the door we almost instantly set up a game of Bonedoneskis.

Unfortunately luck was on Darsky's side tonight, as he ended up taking a decent amount off of both me and the birthday boy. We eventually switched to PLO to get rid of some of the luck factor, where I managed to gain back a lot of my stack for a short amount of time before I missed a couple of huge draws. Towards the end of the game Steph and her friend Chelsea showed up and we decided to 3-way flip for the rest of my dwindling stack. I flopped huge, but Joe hit turn and river to swipe my cash and it was time for the night to begin.

We went downtown for dinner with the girls, where Joe enjoyed his first legal public beer at a local microbrewery. We had some decent food, a couple rounds of decent beer, and I footed the bill before we headed over to Q's to play some pool and to enjoy some more drinkage.

Our friend Amanda surprised Joe by coming out from the valley, when he had previously thought she wasn't coming down to celebrate until the weekend. She showed up at Q's and joined in on the birthday fun, but not before arguing with the waitress about what a Black Russian was. For the record, according to Wikipedia:

The Black Russian is a cocktail of vodka and coffee liqueur, sometimes topped up with Coca Cola. It is traditionally poured over crushed ice in an old-fashioned glass.

Joe was enjoying his drinking, and let it be known quite a few times that "Dude...this is fuckin fun man...seriously...this is fun..." After we shot pool for a while and lounged around, we decided to head over to a local Irish-pub-in-America, Dargan's. We've had some good times at Dargan's and it never seems to let us down in time of needing fun and drunkeness.

On the way there I had to take the girls back to their car, as they were going back to Ventura to retire for the night. Darsky, Joe, and Amanda all went ahead and enjoyed some Irish car bombs without me (those bastards), and when I returned the drinking continued. A few rounds of Green Label and beer made for a good time, some fun/awkward/interesting conversation, and of course more of Joe's increasingly drunken admittance that yes, this was indeed, fun.

I took the crew through Jack in the Box on the way home and as soon as we walked in the door we all started hungrily tearing through the wonderfully delicious yet bodily harmful food. We popped on Bob Saget's standup and I quit about halfway through, thanks to having to work only hours later.

Wednesday at work went just about how I expected it to, with me feeling like hell and scrounging around...until lunch. At noon I was treated to lunch and multiple rounds of beers at lunch, and it turned out being quite a day as the boss left early to attend to family business and I sat in front of my computer all day plugging away at Excel like I usually do. The plentiful beer at lunch helped me not a give a crap about the rest of the day, and the buzz tied in nicely with the previous night's drinks to send me through the rest of the day in a state of haze and easiness.

On Thursday Joe and I started the drinking way early, and by six o'clock we'd cleaned through another case-worth of beer. We consumed more alcohol before Steph came out, and again we drank the night away. Work the next day was about the laziest Friday one could ask for.

Coming into the week, I knew that Joe's 21st birthday would lead to a continual stream of alcoholic celebration, and I was dead on. The goal of the week was to find that delicate balance of drinking regularly while keeping mind enough to handle yourself at work. I refer to weeks like these (and yes, I've definitely had them before) as tender benders, for it takes a bit of care to pull off smoothly.

As for Friday, the drinking began early and continued as we hit up another bar after dinner. We ran into some fairly odd and interesting people downtown, and managed to pass off a random home-made rap audio CD to a scared yet curious couple. I was then supposed to go down to Ventura for the night to drink with Steph and her roommates, but ended up passing out until about 1 o'clock in the morning.

I had yet to get a good night's sleep since Monday, and it turned me into a walking zombie by Friday. Mike, Amanda, and Joe's brother and sister and their respective girlfriend and boyfriend were coming up that night and Saturday afternoon, but I couldn't hang with them that night. I recharged my batteries with a few hours of impenetrable shuteye and took off late. When I arrived everyone was sleeping, and Steph and I passed out rather quickly.

I drove back up to Santa Barbara on Saturday afternoon, and arrived to a couple stories of the previous night's inebriated horseplay. Once Tina (Joe's sister) and Ben (her boyfriend) arrived, we all headed out to lunch downtown to let the day's festivities of booze begin yet again. We ate at another place on State and had multiple rounds of margaritas and beer, and three of us raced to the bottom of a $25 bucket of alcohol.

We had some good food and again, shared a lot of funny stories and had an all around great time. We hit up the store to load up on a $160 worth of alcohol before returning back to our place to drink the night away. We accomplished our goal.

We ended up playing some N64 and some Halo2 before things really got rowdy. Steph showed up later in the night to join us, and by that time the eight of us were on our way to crazy drunk. We were playing guitar and singing when Steph had let me know she arrived, but there was no parking so she ended up having to park quite a bit aways. No fear...there was eight of us who loved picking people up, and we had a guitar. To the sidewalk!

We all took off in our haze singing loudly while Joe lead the group playing the guitar on the entire walk. On our crazy walk we sang a song about reacharounds, I freestyled a little bit, and by the end of the night Joe had been hurrican-rana'd inside our apartment, we shotgunned almost an entire case of beer, we built a waterbottle trampoline on Sunny's bed, and the pizza delivery guy drank a beer.

It was a blast and an amazing time was had by all. In the morning I made breakfast for everyone while we drank mimosas, and after we watched Grandma's Boy everyone took off. Joe and I spent the rest of Sunday being dead and watching movies while eating Taco Bell. Towards the end of the night we decided to play a Sit N Go marathon on FT, which ended at about 3AM.

As soon as we got up on Monday afternoon we cleaned the entire place, went to lunch, and eventually came back to couch up the rest of the day. Steph came out, we watched another movie, and hit the sack pretty early.

All in all, it was an amazingly fun week and I'm thinking of taking a break from drinking for a few days. It probably won't happen, but it's a thought.

Until next time.

Shortstacking Vegas Pt. III

This is the finale' of Shortstacking Vegas Pt. I and Shortstacking Vegas Pt. II. It's been on my procrastination list forever, so enjoy it more than you usually would.

Decker's first four-of-a-kind of the night

With spirits high (and flowing), and Decker just having turned his $20 into $550, the crew was ready for the night ahead. Although we had just eaten hours earlier, the five of us figured we'd uphold our obligations to ditch the Nugget and join some family over at the Mirage's buffet since 1)we didn't have to pay for it and 2)we were going to be down on the Strip for the rest of the night anyways.

We met up, nibbled on a few things so as not to be rude, and the 21crowd ordered a slew of drinks to keep us entertained as we chatted with family and friends for the birthday celebration. A short while later Brando called and said he was parking and would be in soon. We downed the rest of our drinks, said goodbye to the family, and we were off to enjoy the night.

Brando was waiting for us outside the cafe, and the first order of business was obviously...DRINKS! Mitch, him, and I headed to a bar in the Mirage while the rest of the guys went to find some video poker machines. Brando took care of the tab (thanks again man) and without an open table we took back to the casino floor.

We found Decker (the apparent video poker kind of the weekend) pluggin away at a quarter video poker machine with a fist full of twenties in one hand, a drink in the other, and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Mitch and I both watched as Brando peeled a hundo out of his pocket and sat next to Decker.

At this point, being the last night in this Vegas go-around, Mitch and I had obviously run out of money. We decided to head to the ATM (one time!) and we hit gold on the 100% no-risk machine as a few hundos poured out for the each of us. When we returned to the video machines Decker and Brando were about to negotiate a deal for a race to the next 4-of-a-kind. An amount was agreed upon and they were off.

Decker, hot off of his $500+ hit at the quarter VP machines at the Nugget was nonchalantly randomizing his betting amounts and draw times, while Brando took the more aggressive, more optimal approach by max betting every draw and doing so as fastly as possible. Obviously with more credits returned on the big hands and more hands/hr than Decker, Brando looked like the favorite to win.

On this night, however, optimal play would not come into consideration in Brando's play. After ripping out a second hundo and continuing his timely play, he couldn't capitalize. A few minutes later Decker raised his hands in victory as four sixes came drawing to a halt in front of Brando's face. Defeated and distraught, Brando paid his debt and, visibly shaken ;), collected his remaining funds from the machine. This wouldn't be Decker's last quads of the night...

We decided to roam the Mirage for a bit and Mitch and I ended up watching Brando go on a short craps heater before he gave it back to even (or a small profit...I don't remember). After that we found ourselves a nice little single-deck blackjack table, which I managed to pick up $300 to start closing myself in on even for the trip.

I made a dangerous move when I stopped by the craps table before I even cashed in my winnings, and ended up escaping with a minimal $100 loss after a few minutes of play. I exchanged my chips at the cage, and on the way out Brando obviously had to hit up a few more slots. He tried a random one first and then a Harley Davidson one, both of which treated him like slime. It was time to go somewhere else.

After we milled around for a few more minutes, we decided to head over to the Venetian. The other guys had headed over a while earlier, and we were on our own to scout them out...but not before Brando found another slot machine once we got inside. This time it was a Wheel of Fortune slot.

After multiple spins and multiple failures, I came up with the idea of the Triple Thread Slot Pull. It's a move that requires two players, and uses a combination shot of hitting the Max Bet button, the Spin button, and the lever. With one player using one hand for either button, and one offset player on the right-hand side pulling the lever, it's sure to confuse any slot machine and it's caretakers. In my mind it was an unconsidered move that guaranteed a win. In reality, it was useless. But it still looked badass, and I have strong feelings that this move will work wonders on a single pull one day...

In this example, Brando was the main man while Mitch helped alongside.


After we were carded twice, I jumped on the phone and Decker had said he was at the bar. Of course with Vegas bars come Vegas video poker machines. Imagine my surprise when we turned around to find Decker occupying another seat, steadily staring down at the machine with cash and drink in hand. We all ordered drinks and started intently watching Decker try for his third four-of-a-kind on the day. Brando popped in another bill as he ordered a drink, while Decker gave both Mitch and myself cash to play beside him.

About 20 minutes after I sat down, I ended up pulling four Aces on Decker's dime. We all shouted in celebration. I was completely speechless at the fact that in a matter of six hours, we'd managed to hit three four-of-a-kinds, while my only previous time playing video poker in Vegas had me hitting a royal flush on the first and only draw I'd take during that trip.

Decker scurried off to the bathroom to relieve himself of his day's current drinking tally, while Brando, Mitch, and myself stayed seated to keep plugging away at the video poker machines. As I was facing Brando and talking, Mitch began to tap on my shoulder repeatedly. I looked over at his machine (again, on Decker's dollars) and saw an unbelievable sight: another four-of-a-kind, this time it was 7's. We waited for Decker to come back before we all laughed hysterically at the ultimate luck held within our monies, and cashed out after ordering another round.

Brando and I headed to the Venetian's poker room to see if we could cause some drunken havoc at a $2-4 game, but the lowest game going was $4-8 and it just didn't have the inviting feel that a lower game would have at that point. Even though we'd been drinking the day through, I was not even buzzed and felt very disappointed. I hadn't slept the previous night, so I assume that my body trying to keep itself awake was doing a big part to keep me un-drunk, but it was disheartening nonetheless. I wanted to be drunk, but I hoped to get there by sitting at the lowest limit poker table possible and drinking round after round while wildly flinging chips. This wasn't the game for it though, so we did what any sensible gamblers would do, we hit the blackjack tables again.

We took up Mitch and Decker as we scoured the casino floor while looking for a fun looking table. We found one and Mitch took the seat. He went through what little money he had withdrawn, and Decker handed him a bit from his victory stash. I ended up grabbing a seat next to Mitch after about a shoe and a half, and after a few more shoes I found myself up another $200 on the night after giving Mitch $100 to stay in the game with me. I was almost even!

We got up and strolled the Venetian until we came across our other two very drunk friends making fools of themselves in front of a couple attractive Vegas nighties. Jason had managed to acquire an electro-shock massage pad at a gift shop somewhere, and had decided that the middle of the Venetian was a good place to use it. They had attached it to his chest, and with a drunken 21-year-old on the controller's end, Jason was in for quite a ride. He was shocked pretty hard for quite a while as the rest of us were on the floor laughing hysterically. The entertainment lasted for a few minutes and then Brando took off for the night.

The five of us then decided to head down to the MGM. On our long walk, we managed to lose Jason to the cops twice, ran into two cute weed-selling modern day hippie chicks, and low and behold we ran into a group of chicks that we knew from back home. If there's anything more disappointing about a Vegas trip, it's randomly running into a group of chicks that you already know during a random drunken walk down the strip. Add to this the fact that I had yet to BECOME drunk, and I was in a bit of a bitter mood. The girls wanted to go to McDonald's....so we left them there and took off back on our marry way.

Before we hit the MGM we came upon a wondrous sight, the Paris. The lights had attracted us and in we went. We looked for an open bar, but there was none. We all ended up in the walkway to Bally's before Jason got pulled in by the temptation of loud club music and cute promoter chicks that were standing outside. He drunkenly, laughingly tried to resist the moans and puppy-dog faces of the half-naked girls, but they pulled him in and the four of us followed suit to make sure he didn't get into any trouble.

Once inside the drinking continued, and after I bought a round of Kamikazes for the guys, and three shots of the same for myself, I felt drunk for the first time during the trip. I had accomplished my goal! We decided to carry on and keep trying to make it to the MGM Grand, but we hadn't gotten half that far before we found ourselves on the bridge of the New York New York having a loud drunken conversation.

I ended up fielding a phone call that lead me inside, and when I was finished I saw that the rest of the crew had followed me in to locate me and get me off of the phone. I ended up finding another single-deck blackjack shoe, and having lost to NYNY every time I've been to Vegas, I pulled out $300 to make sure it wouldn't happen again. Since I had yet to come even on the trip, the alcohol obviously played a big role in this blackjack round, but as drunk as I was I was still determined.

I played through a few shoes while I slurringly tried to explain to the group of friends that stopped by to play how to play correct strategy. Of course when they hit their 16's and 14's and busted, and doubled down their 11's against the dealer's 5 and they lost, they ended up getting hard headed with me and playing horribly on their own and losing anyways. As for me, I saw that I was up another $300 and, making a point to have a theme of winning for the night, decided to call it quits sensing that I was too gone to play well for any longer.

We all wandered around NYNY for a little bit longer before realizing that it was early the next morning and that after an entire night of drinking, gambling, walking, and all around fun, it was time to retire. We hailed a cab to take us back to the Nugget, and Mitch and I decided to take off to avoid the Sunday leaving-Las Vegas traffic. I passed out after another 48-hour sleepless stretch and Mitch drove home.

We had both taken to Vegas with no cash and only intention of appeasing Casey and his birthday well-wishes, and we both ended up having a blast. I broke even after spending $200 and giving $100 for gambling friends, Mitch only lost a little bit, and I was even able to kick down a little bit along with Decker to make sure everyone had a great time.

I can only hope that next time I go back, I'll have the same fun. And if we don't get a Bonedoneskis game goin with Brando soon, my head's gonna explode.

Until next time.