It's a Beautiful Day.

When people who live in Vegas say it's hot, it's hot.

The day we arrived it had hit 46c, and when I woke up at 6:30 yesterday morning it was already 27. I was still tired, but like a kid at Christmas I was not going back to sleep. I needed toothpaste, so I showered, dressed and walked out the door into the blast furnace looking for a coffee shop.

There always something kind of beautiful about a city in those quiet moments shortly after dawn. The light seems a little brighter and when you are in a strange city everything seems clear and crisp. Even at this early hour there is traffic on Tropicana Boulevard,  but it is light enough that I could hear strange bird calls and I spotted a little tan bird I'd never seen before. In the pale blue morning sky hung just a thin sliver of the moon like God's fingernail clipping. You know, I thought to myself, the world really is a beautiful place. As I crossed Tropicana heading towards the MGM Grand, my heart was filled with love for all of creation. I saw a man crossing the street headed the opposite way, and when he got near our eyes met and gave him a friendly nod. "You want some coke?" he asked. "Um, no." I replied, and we walked our separate ways. Ah, yes. What a wonderful world.

I entered through the massive lobby of the MGM Grand and went into the massive gift shop. In a move of merchandising genius that my retail background could appreciate, items such as toiletries were placed way at the far back corner of the shop, forcing the dazed tourist to walk through a maze of t-shirts, hoodies and ball caps to get to. But at $10.75 for a tube of toothpaste I balked and, somehow avoiding buying a Floyd Mayweather T-Shirt, got the hell out of there.

Telling myself that I was looking for a coffee shop, I wondered into the casino. Seeing a sign pointing towards the poker room, I thought that it was very likely the coffee shop was in that direction. Finding two tables in full swing, I suddenly realized that if I sat down to play poker, a waitress would just bring me a coffee. It's all about the coffee.

I got $200 in chips, sat down, and witnessed the end of a hand where a guy took down a $150 pot with a pair of nines. The thought crossed my mind that this might go well. And it did. About two hours later I cashed out up $320. This, added to my video poker win of the night before, put me up $518 for the trip so far. With this much cash in my pocket, I felt like doing something crazy. Something extravagant. So, I went back to the gift shop and bought the toothpaste.

Walking back to the fabulous Howard Johnson on Tropicana, I was once again filled with love for the universe and all the creatures in it.

It's a wonderful world.

The Journey Begins

So, I started the day reading stories and singing songs to kids in a bookstore in Calgary, and I finish the day up $192 playing video poker in Las Vegas.

My buddy Eric took care of everything logistics wise. While I spent the morning doing my "Icky Sticky Bubblegum" schtick to toddlers, Eric was arranging getting us on standby and booking accommodation. I would highly recommend that anyone planning anything last-second and crazy like a sudden trip to Vegas have a friend like Eric, who will do all the work for you. If this were a movie, you could not have a character like Eric in it, because Eric eliminates all conflict that movies need. Eric gets shit done and he does it quietly without any fuss. Eric also snores very loudly, but hey, nobody's perfect.

Tomorrow, win or lose, I'll cross one off the bucket-list and enter the ten-game mixed event at the WSOP at the Rio. This is event #39 I think. It does not start until 4:00pm, which is great because that gives me almost all day to figure out how to play three of the ten games that I've never played before. I've played almost an hour of Badugi online, so I'm feeling pretty confident there.

Has anyone ever been less prepared to play in the WSOP than me? I plan on using my lack of experience to my advantage, as it will be so apparent that I don't know what I'm doing that no one will be able to get a read on me.

So goodnight from the lovely Howard Johnson motel off the strip.

A Strange Journey Begins...Maybe.

As you may or may not know, the World Series of Poker is now in full swing. By "now" I mean June 17, 2015 and by "full swing" I mean that it is nearly half way through the 70 odd tournaments that make up this thing.

If you are like me, you probably have always thought it would be fun to play in the WSOP. I will openly admit that every time I'm in a bar somewhere and I see poker on a television, I think "Someday I'm going to play in a big tournament. It looks like so much fun." But, if you are like me, it has always been relegated to realm of "Someday, I'm going to write a novel" and "Someday, I'm going to finish painting the house." The realm of crazy dreams.

I used to be obsessed with poker. I wrote this blog back when I played live poker fairly often - back when the dream of maybe playing a big tournament seemed not so crazy. But then I began to lose interest. I stopped playing regularly and stopped writing this blog. But still I think of playing in the WSOP someday.

Suddenly, it appears that "someday" may be tomorrow,  and if all goes well my friend Eric and I will be on a flight to Vegas in about twelve hours.

Life is odd, no?

How it came about is this:
Over a month ago I had booked a little time off work so I could fly somewhere that has nothing to do with this story to talk to a guy who has nothing to do with this story about a thing that has nothing to with this story. The trip fell through because this guy said he had this thing to do in Budapest (If I had a dollar for every time I've heard that excuse), but the time is still booked off work.

Yesterday, my last day before this super-long weekend, was a particularly trying one. Yes, I know, I said I worked in a public library. If you don't think working at a public library can be stressful, then you have not been in one lately - particularly an inner-city library where the "marginalized" come to test the limits of your liberal social conscious. But I digress. I had a shitty day - let's leave it at that.

I meet up with my wife Sara and some friends at a bar after I finish my evening shift. I mention my crappy day. I mention that I'm off for five days. Somebody, (was it me?) suggests a trip to Vegas. My buddy Eric, who is semi-retired/self employed, likes the idea. I remember that the WSOP is going on, and wouldn't it be fun.... 

So it would appear we are going to make this happen. I'll keep you posted.

When to play. Where to play. Who to play.

I had not played poker at the casino for quite a while, but last Friday just seemed to good an opportunity to miss. Friday nights bring out a lot of bad poker players. The best reason I can figure for it is that for a lot of folks this is payday, and some people just seem to want to spend their money as fast as they can. You want to play poker against people like that.

This particular Friday night was the last home game of the season for the Calgary Flames, whose area was a very short walk from the casino. After games the card room is full of hockey fans who want to have a little fun. A lot of people have a few beers in them - and some have quite a few. Again, ideal poker opponents. I had taken a nap that afternoon and felt refreshed.

What makes it tricky is that all these fish attract a lot of sharks, so you have to be careful. You loosen up your range to play more hands against the donkeys, and you too often find yourself in trouble with mediocre holdings against a solid player. As hard as it is to stay tight when you see guys pushing in after flopping top pair, you have to stay patient. There is no need to take any real risks.

I showed up at around 10:00 p.m. and all twelve poker tables were in use. I was able to find a seat right away. The first order of business is to find out who the fish are. Shortly after sitting down one guy, who seemed a little tipsy, was in the middle of a hand when he asked the dealer if aces were high or low. This was a very good sign that I was at the right table. After an hour I figured their were four guys at this table who thought flopping top pair was good enough to go all in with. The plan was to wait until I had a monster and they had something they felt was really, really good - like K 9 on a K 6 2 board.

After four hours I had made a modest $125, but I did it without really taking any risks at all. In fact I made almost all of it on a single hand, when I was dealt the red aces and flopped a third ace. My opponent tried to bluff me by going all in. With no flush or straight draws on board, it was a bad time to bluff, but with top set I would have called regardless.

Anyway there you go - that is the most basic way to play poker. Play against bad guys. Play against guys that have been drinking. Play against guys who are tired and should have quit. Play against guys who have lost too much already and are desperate to get it back.

At 2:00 am there were still 9 tables playing - but I was getting tired, so I went home.

Admit to Your Stupidity

Be honest with yourself.
When you are furious because some idiot sucked out a two outer on the river to lay a massive bad-beat on you, remember that you have made dumb plays and sucked out on others.
Everyone sucks out now and then.
Admit it.
Shrug it off.
Don't get mad.
If you can't admit it, you are not being honest with yourself.
You must be honest with yourself.
When you make a bad call, say to yourself "I'm making a bad call here - I shouldn't be doing this."
This makes it easier to throw the hand away when you miss because you already know you've made a mistake. When you hit you should say "Gee, that's lucky" and don't for a second think skill had anything to do with it.
When someone sucks out on you, imagine that you have just made a deposit in the "Luck Bank" - sooner or later you will withdraw that amount when you suck out on someone else.
Over time the balance in the Luck Bank always will go back to zero.
And that's just the way it is - luck is a zero-sum thing.

Episode 204: A New Hope

Rumblings and rumours.

They say that on Boxing Day there was a cash-in on an on-line freeroll.

They say that he-that-shall-not-be-named has returned, and that he is at present gathering his strength in the nano-stakes tables.

Perhaps.

Perhaps.

Disappointment and Hope: The Jesus Challenge ends...for now.

A couple days ago I pissed away the last of the bankroll I had built off a $2 freeroll win. Hate to admit it. Since my last update I went on a great run, building my bankroll from $18 to $70 in two weeks. But the downfall was precipitous and this time I didn't find the discipline to reign myself in. A lesson learned - I'm not the dispassionate killer I thought I was.

And that's okay. In the end I just decided to have fun. I'm not entirely sure you can play like a pro and still have as much fun as you do as a recreational player. maybe I'm wrong.

The bright side is I get to play in my favourite charity tournament tonight and no matter what happens I know I'll have fun.