$20 PL HE MTT w/96 @ Full Tilt. AA almost gets snapped on 567 board by 56 but turn is a 7. Then I piss it off on a double belly buster. Call min. raise pre-flop w/44, flop 235, re-raise min., turn 4, check, river 2, bet my house. Try to maintain this time. KK puts AA all-in, great, so much for that. A3 flops A39, turn 9 and kills me to A8. KJ is dominated by AJ and 42nd is it. Oh well, I probably wouldn't have signed up if I had noticed beforehand that it was PL but that's just an excuse in hindsight. At least I've got an icy cold can of Hawaiian Punch.

One More Saturday Night @ C.C.'s...

Boats keepin' me afloat. 10K in $10 PLO MTT w/37 entrants. Tourney leader till a river J screws me out of the lead in a big pot. Aces in the hole take down a monster pot and eliminate the 1st at the final table. Kings in the hole slam into a set that becomes quads. Get heads-up and I go from about to knock my opponent out to him doubling up through me like 3X when he fills on the river over my made hands each time. Take it down for +$137 and my 1st Full Tilt win and my 1st ever PLO MTT win (only other PLO win I think was a 6-man SNG). Don't do so hot in the CP freeroll as I have 4 tables running simultaneously-PLO MTT, 2 NL HE MTTs and a HORSE MTT. A little confusing at times for sure. My first ever Limit HORSE MTT for $5: HE (bad-way down), Omaha H/L (boat-back up), Razz (big bump), 7 Card (up a little more), and 7 Card H/L. 9s get no help twice and my KQ makes top 2 but he has the trips then my top pair hits a turned straight all in the next round of HE. Get finished off in Razz when every hand I have to bring it in and then fold my great 7 Card starters, busting out 2 before the bubble-18th of 96. $26 NL HE MTT w/$85oo Guaranteed, double stack-KK, get it all-in on the flop v QQ and a goddamn Q hits the turn. Get some back but can't get anywhere else till a KT busts my KJ on a KTx flop. Good, I can finally get to sleep... at NOON...

Decided to finally open a real money account @ Full Tilt. People say they have a great tourney structure over there so I'll give it a shot. I see they have something called "Double Stack" matches. Plus a bonus equal to my 1st deposit. I just couldn't stand the childish feel to the site with the goofy avatars when I tried it for free way back when. 23rd, 5 off the bubble in my 1st MTT for $5, not a bad entrance (of course, a payout would have been ideal). A5 runs into AT on a A23 flop in another, and QQ slams into AA in a third. Been checking out these online "poker schools." Cardrunners.com and Todd Arnold's. About $20/month for "coaching." So it looks like it's gonna be Daron, Colin, B-Mo & I will be piling in the Jeep and heading up the hill to Harveys. Just went through my stats: Cash games +$730, Tournaments +$2400, for a total of +$3130 for a little less than 4 months, equaling roughly +$800 extra/month. Is that good or bad, playing the relatively low limits I do, and playing all the time? It's not a whole lot of winnings but it's also not losing, right? CardPlayer's freeroll is this morning @ 11, $1500 from CP and an additional $1500 in TCs from Bodog. Sunday evening I have the College Poker Championship Regional Final for the West, the Finals paying out $135K in prizes!

Play Online Poker

$1 NL HE @ FCP again. 4d6d on the button turns an 8-high straight for a $30 pot. Then my AQs v A8s gets crushed on a A78 flop for a $30 loss. KQ flops top 2, turns top full for +$25. AA plays for a $40 pot from the SB. Pocket Jacks lose to a 67 on a 58577 board?!? $80 lighter this time around.

Lost $60 playing some tournies with a few friends tonight at the house. Ran into AA w/KK very early in a $10 MTT to kill me then once again to knock me out after going from 2K to 30K in the 2nd hour of play in a $5 MTT when we were down to 16 out of 243 for a whopping $7 profit @ FCP. KK is finally good on a 777 flop to pick up about $80; get another $20 with a set of digits playing $1 NL HE, end up a tad more than doubling my original buy-in of $80 after an hour. My sleep cycles are so fuct right now-hitting the hay between 5-11AM, waking around 2-5PM.

Got my replacement FCP cap in the mail today-Matt threw in a bonus T-shirt as well! Thanks!

Made a rezzo at Harvey's in South Lake for next week. They better have wireless internet in the rooms. Wednesday morning NL HE tourney. Get drunk and roll dice. Haven't been to Tahoe in 2 years. Wow. I really am a slacker.

Looks like I should be 2nd on the Neg-O Leaderboard after last night's game. Thanks DNA for all the work you've put into it!

From the beginning of time, man has looked at the heavens and firmly believed that the end of the universe ends out in space. It's not true. The end of the universe happens to be in the United States. I have seen it. And, oddly enough, it's in Houston, Texas...I know, I was shocked too... I left the comedy club there and walked down the street. On one corner, there was a Starbucks. And across the street from that Starbucks, in the exact same building as that Starbucks, was a Starbucks. At first I thought the sun was playing tricks on my eyes. But, no. There was a Starbucks across from a Starbucks. And that, my friends, is the end of the universe. People have said to me, 'how do you know?' And I say, 'go there. Stand between those two Starbucks and look at your watch. Time stands still.' And if you turn this way, and look at just this Starbucks, immediately you think, 'You know, There cannot possibly be a Starbucks behind me. Nobody would have been that stupid, to have built a Starbucks across from a Starbucks. And if there was a just and loving God, he wouldn't allow that kind of **** to go down.' So you turn slowly, thinking, 'well, I'll see a Gap, or a Denny's, maybe even a Mobil Station... BUT THERE'S A STARBUCKS!' - The End of the Universe, Lewis Black

Funny shit. Only because it's true. Then I guess that makes it not funny.

2 hours at the Grand playing $6/12 puts me up another $250 so it's $600 in a little over 24 hours. Told myself I would quit after I came up a rack and I looked down and it was time to leave. KK actually holds on a raised pot and QJ9 flop. QQ and JJ win some small pots. Make a bike on 4th on the button with a 24s and take a big one from A5. Call another raised pot w/84s on the button and flop 2 pair, filling up on the river over a turned straight. This lady sitting next to me was nice and all I guess but just gave off the image of desperation. So glad I can avoid that hole nowadays (for the most part). People watch it on TV and think that it's that easy I suppose. How do you buy into a $6/12 game with under $100?!? Even a re-buy for $60-WTF are you gonna do with that? That's 5 big bets. Gotta get a little sleep, it's a school night, class @ 10AM! Softball team won too. Yeah, even without me. Ha.

Chuck Norris is legend, but I'll still take Jack Bauer as my go-to guy.

Negreanu Open!

The Kid's in! With jayboogie in front of him at the same table! First few hands I am dealt 77 and flop a suited 722, Ace on turn completes opponent's nut flush and I get an early double-up! Decide to slow down w/an AK out of position so I just call a pre-flop raise and flop a King, turn the nut flush draw which I spike on the river. Play another AK slow for top pair along with the pair on the board and top kicker. Take a raised flop w/77 and flop a set vs AKs and the nut flush draw and AA, I boat on the turn. Flop the nut flush w/AJs v KK and AQ on a suited Q high flop and get it all to the center on the flop. Up to over 10K!?!

Apologies to Mathias, whose name I have been adding an extra "t" into every time thus far.

Cards dry up after the break for me but still maintain my chip lead. DN was out in the 1st hour-sure would be nice to just even get to sit with him and have a shot at the bounty. Can't complain today though. Bob, the man behind the Full Contact poker room, jokingly threatened me about the danger of cracking fun at him while I was the tourney leader-very funny in a not-so funny way. Pwned. 7s are super-hot; watch 'em flop sets against AK in preflop all-in hands twice, and say how hot they are, then I get them and flop yet another set v top pair, big kicker (KQ) and Brad lets it go after my all-in re-re-raise. KK very next hand to own a pot pre-flop. 77 again but a horrid flop so I let go but find out my read was right on the turn and it would have in fact been good. Limp w/QQ but get no action on Ace flop. AQs v KK for a monster pot pre-flop, flop JTJ so K would be no good for a straight but I miraculously snag an Ace on the river! 77 again but Ace flop so I drop, two Ace-Queens. 88, 77 very next two hands. Drop the 88 to an all-in pre-flop and call it down with the 7s and they're good. I now stand in 3rd at the 2nd break w/24 left.

My QQ fills up on the river on a 7A7xQ board to get me to 24K. JJ knocks out Vatche when I play an undercard board slow by just calling. Back on top w/36K. AKs knocks out Loogie's A8s. My AQ loses to AK then my AK very next hand gets no action in the BB. AT lets KQ put it all-in on a AKx flop and I'm up to 44K. Final table leader by over 10K. Thought the Power of Seven was over after I watched it lose an all-in pre-flop hand but Jonesing brings it back with a set on the flop at the final table! No action with Rockets. 55 gets rivered by a flush draw for a 10K+ loss-AAAAHHHH! Can't argue with how I played it because obviously I was right, just unlucky. KK gets pulled all-in by KJ for an easy call. 9:12-screw softball. #2 at break #3 with 5 remaining.

Back in the lead with over 70K. OMG I am SO hungry. 4 left. 3. AK misses on a big one then I fold A4 and would have hit. A3 chops 2 pair. Push w/33. Chop another Ace. Can't release QQ on a K flop even though I know I should and 3rd out of 138 for $170 is what I get. Food...

8 hours later and I'm $200 better off. Played till the sun came up. The Usual Suspects and a newcomer, Dustin. Lots of boats for me. Made some dumb-ass moves as well of course. Like wearing my beer. Make trip Jacks on 4th and get called all-in by Jiddy, he has Aces, I boat on 5th, he picks up an Ace on 7th making him a bigger cruiseship. Does it too me again later in the night when he turns a flush over my flopped set and we both fill up on the river, his being higher once again. Side action on hands has gotten quite popular amongst the cretins at the table. Daron makes a solid play in Indian, raising the Colin's raise (Ace) with an Ace of his own actually. Snap Colin's Aces with Broadway on the turn in Super. Daron called a lot of Split games, which aren't my preference to play but I am enjoying trying to figure out the complexities of the game. Pissed him off with a suited Krablar that flushed and a suited Queen-rag that hit top pair. Paid him back when he straighted and I turned a flush draw with a boat draw. Cheers roomie!

Millie's in Lafayette. Best breakfast around. Eggs Benny is top-notch. Only other one I can think of that compares is Eggheads in Ft. Bragg (topped with crab meat!). Tossed in an order of homemade corned beef hash and a large OJ and coffee and my morning was off to a solid start.

FCP Re-deposit bonus sucked me back in. $40 in bonus cash and a WSOP freeroll. Like I really needed an excuse. Already slammed me out of a $20 MTT when I ran into the cooler with Queens. Taunt me with a straight draw on the turn. JTs for the rest of my chips against QQ and AK and a flush draw on the flop and straight draw on the turn (barring pairing the board from a Q on the flop) can't help me. 30-man $20 SNG and a $10 1+1 Rebuy before tonight's game here at the casa. 3 pairs of Aces, all of 'em hold! Make a flush, my AK beats AQ, man, everything's starting to run my way for a change. Now if I can just not mess it all up.

Oops. Lost nearly half my stack on a poorly-timed play in the SNG but still at about 4K. About the same in the MTT, AJ beats out A7s on an AKx flop and then 88 cuts through A2s despite a flush draw scare and I'm up to 9K, without having to rebuy. Over 10K when I slam a massive re-raise and take down a nice pot pre-flop w/KK. Make another ill-timed play w/TT moments before the break and find myself drawing to 2 cards I think, of which I don't get either and I'm out of the SNG in 12th. Lose a bit w/a pair of 6s (I always get involved with a hand right before the break it seems) and I'm in 7th before I take the addon and I'm back to a tad over 10K again. This is the stage of MTTs where I usually fall apart; this time I'm intent on holding it together till the final table, because I sure could use a nice payout. AKs gets a horrible flop on a big pot but it is checked down and I actually win. Felt I should dump an AJ pre-flop to a big re-raise behind me, nothing else worthwhile and I'm bleeding as I always do at this point. Down to 18th out of the remaining 33. AQ and another useless flop. 23rd of 30. 6s again get no help. 3700 in chips and blinds are 300/600. T6 in the BB turns 2 pair and I'm back up to 8K. Out in 23rd w/AJ v 77.

"Preemptive Strike" re-defined. Dedicated to jayboogie.

Now 1-2 after Team Canada turned trips over Theresa's KK with a 36. Theresa put on a solid performance nonetheless. Matthias, our very own Protege finalist, who has also been running pretty hot in some big tournies lately, is slated for our next match vs Viva La Jopke.

Down to 12th in the Neg-O standings.

Happy 26th Daron.

Gonna try to put together a big game tomorrow night in honor of Colin's 29th...

Tried a little more online during the day but got nowhere. Finally Hit the Grand after midnight and stayed till a little after 6 when the $6/12 table broke up. Up and down. Start at $3/6. 2nd hand in turn the Wheel. Double my $100 buy-in but then lose some when my AA gets snapped by a 92 that boats in the BB and then get moved to another table that ends up short as well so I move up to the $6/12 after finishing the lower limit game +$30. Buy-in for $210 and early into this game I flop the nut straight in a capped pot and push the whole way but get rivered by a boat in a $600+ pot. One can lose $100 on a hand in the blink of an eye in this game in a capped pot. Buy-in for another $120. KK gets snapped by 2 pair on the river. Almost out again until my 57 flops 2 pair in a capped pot and holds. And the only reason I played the hand was because I had to pay $6 for my missed blinds and I was in late position. Baby flush draw on flop, open-ended straight draw on turn, sitting on the button so I call all the raises and a big pot gets sent to me when I complete my flush. Finish at -$62 for the morning.

Fish

Love/hate relationship, much like disco. Calling stations pay you off 4 out of 5 times, that last time they suck out on you big-time. Example: 99K flop, if someone check-raises, they very likely have a 9 in their hand, right? But the fish will call all the way with the King, even after the re-raise and continued heavy betting. No 2nd K on the board and I'm money. Then playing 7 Card, I am dealt JT(J) and raise, betting solid again on 4th as fish still shows rags on, fish gets K on 5th street but checks, not representing making Kings so I move, fish calls and flips a pair of 7s, gets a King on the river to make 2 pair while I don't improve. Ugh.

Luckbox's streak of terror is now over. After making receiving 2 Kings on the board to match the 2 in his hand in the 2nd hand of the 1st freeze-out last night, Perkins went on to win that one and then roll the dice like he was blessed right after. But I beat him in the 2nd match when we got to heads-up. And Jiddy won the last one.

Was going to try to make a run at the 101 in Petaluma last night since I had to go up that way but decided against it as I felt I was too tired to make a proper go at it. Maybe hit the Grand or even Kelly's out in Antioch tonight for a bit...