So we golfed Emerald the other day which is an easy course designed for entry level players. Lori, of course, has never really played Golf at all so this would work out perfectly. During the first six holes she was very frustrated with the game because she wasn’t able to make par! Eventually, though, she was able to get the ball in the air pretty consistently and had a much better back 9. As for me, I made par on the first hole and ended up shooting 46-51= 97 from the ladies tees. Lori shot a 69-64= 133 which isn’t bad at all for her very first time. After Golf we headed back to the hotel for a quick shower and then went to a Luau. There we sat with a local family and another couple from LA that were also on their honeymoon. Decent company for dinner, although they weren’t very talkative. Lori charmed everyone as usual with her outgoing and friendly personality and was eventually able to open them up a little bit. At the Luau, I ran into “Drunk Guy” again. I ran into Drunk Guy earlier in the day at the Golf Course and he brought me over to take pictures with his friends. At the Luau, he asked if I would Golf with him and his buddies the next morning at 7:00am. I explained to him that I was on my honeymoon and didn’t think that would be a good idea. He persisted however, and even asked Lori if it was ok! Actually, Lori thought he’d invited “us” to go Golfing and his reply was, “No, not you, just him.” Can you believe this guy? The dinner buffet opened up at about 6:00pm and the food was awesome. I filled my plate with all kinds of excellent vegetarian dishes. Once dinner was over, the lights were dimmed and we were treated to a beautiful, traditional Hawaiian show. We saw Hula dancers, dudes eating flames from their torches and all kinds of cool stuff. It was a fun evening. *************************************************************** The next morning we had our breakfast delivered to the room at 8:30am so that we could make our 10:00am surf lesson. We got there right on time and frankly, I was very nervous about whether or not I’d be able to do it. We were getting a lesson along with another family that had very young children which made me feel more at ease, but I still figured that I’d make a fool of myself out there. We hauled our surf boards out to the grass for a land lesson on how to paddle and then, “pop up,” on to our surf boards. For some reason I just wasn’t able to pop up with my feet in the right place- or so I thought. We took our boards into the water and I was dreading the idea. I figured Lori would be a natural since she is pretty limber and athletic, but I just didn’t think I’d be able to get on the board. I watched as our instructor John gave people a push onto the wave and then yelled, “Pop up,” when it was time to jump to your feet. Most people didn’t really make it up onto the board for long before washing out (that’s surf talk for falling on their butt!) Then it was my turn. John let’s me know the wave is coming, follows that up with a, “Get your Paddle on,” and then a loud, “POP UP!.” Dude, I am a natural surfer! I rode that baby almost all the way in. Every ride I took after that was pretty awesome, so the instructor moved me up to the bigger waves. Man was I stoked. Here I thought I was going to be the worst surfer of the bunch, but I ended up being really good at it (for a beginner.) After about an hour of having John the instructor help me get onto the waves I thought I’d give it a try on my own. Now that, is waaaay harder. I wasn’t really able to catch a ride without the boost. I think my timing was a little off and I couldn’t muster up enough speed. Oh well, next time. (Pictures will be up soon in the photo gallery at www.fullcontactpoker.com) So today we plan on getting some sun by the beach, do some snorkeling, play Croquet, and then later tonight we have a romantic dinner planned. We met with a chef yesterday and he is preparing a six course meal for us based on exactly what we want. A Sommelier is going to also pair each course with the perfect wine as we look over the sunset in a secluded area high above the beach area. As for relaxing, Lori and I do it up right! We each go to the spa almost everyday for a lengthy massage. I end up falling asleep every time since it’s so relaxing! Anyway, it’s time for breakfast and a start to our day. ]]>
So, I was ready. I felt pretty good and things went smoothly for the most part. The table was friendly and very social which helped everyone stay loose. The first hand I got tangled in went like this: I raised to 150 with AK diamonds and got called by a player behind me that I’d never seen before (big surprise). The flop came A-K-8 rainbow and I fired out 250. My opponent called and I planned on value betting the hand through feeling like he had A-Q or something like that- he called. The turn card came a Q and I bet 700. My opponent raised me to 1700 and I thought about re-raising again. I had him on A-Q, but he could easily have had 10-J or 8-8. It was so early in the tournament that I didn’t think it made sense to gamble with the hand at such a good table so I called. The river came nothing and I checked, hoping to check and call a nice bet. My opponent bet 1500 and I quickly called. He turned over A-8 off suit and immediately I felt like I may have let an opportunity slip away. Still though, not knowing the guy and having several hands out there that could beat me I would have felt really foolish if I went broke on that hand. I had my chips up to 20,000 at one point and then a few hands in a river got beat with pretty strong hands. Trip 10’s went down to a straight, and then two hands in a row I was thinking, “No king, no spade,” followed by, “No king, no diamond.” This is spooky, but the first time the King of spades hit and the second time the King of diamonds hit! Both cards got me, but not the way I would have thought. In the King of spades hand for example, I raised in the small blind with 6-9 of clubs. The flop came Kd 9s 6s. I bet, and the big blind called. The turn was the 4s and I bet again while my opponent called. That’s when, “No king, no spade,” was going off in my head! When the King of spades hit I checked as did my opponent. He didn’t have a flush or a King, but his J-9 beat me with the kicker. A hand that hurt bad came in a multi-way pot when I called a small raise in the big blind with 5-7 of diamonds. The flop came J-8-4 all diamonds and it was checked around to the button who bet 2000. I wasn’t ready to go broke with this hand just yet, though, so I decided to check-raise it to 4000 and see what developed behind me. The initial raiser went all in for about 7000 total and the initial bettor folded. Here I think I made a mistake. While it was very possible that my opponent had a hand like Ad A, or even J J, it was much more likely that he flopped a higher flush. Since I was “priced in” and had one sure out I decided to call the last 3000. It was absolutely no surprise to me at all to look at the A-Q of diamonds. The river gave my opponent a little scare as it was the 9 of diamonds. Close, but not close enough. A round later I moved all in on a bet and a raise with Q-Q and my opponent called with A-K. 10-4-2 on the flop looked good, but a king on the turn had Lori and me on the road back to Vegas. So there. To those that say I never talk about poker in my blog, hopefully that will tide you over for a while because the next time I’ll be playing any poker is September 13th in the WSOP Circuit event. ]]>
I’m at my hotel now just getting ready for the tournament at the Bike. It’s been quite a while since I’ve played a tournament so I’m really excited to get going.
While I may be a little bit rusty in the early going, what generally happens to me when I take so much time off is that I’m refreshed and a little “scared.”
That’s not a bad thing by the way. When I’m a little scared, that basically means that I care so much that I’m afraid to get knocked out. With so many tournaments back to back earlier in the year that attitude can quickly turn to, “Oh well, there is always next week.”
Right now I’m feeling like I want to prove myself. I never, ever, want to become a “poker fraud.” It’s super important to me that I’m a player first and foremost. The only way for me to do that is to bring my A game and continue to win.
Preparing for the wedding and a myriad of other distractions are now out of the way and I plan on trying as hard as I can. No guarantees, no bold predictions, other than the fact that I’m going to try my hardest to play every hand perfectly. Not only that, but I will pay attention to what my opponents are doing at all times.
Ok, so there you have my little morning pep talk 🙂 Seriously though, I am pretty excited about playing again.
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The last couple days I realized one other thing: I’m a sports junkie that hasn’t been getting my fix. With all of the other things going on in my life I realized that I hardly ever watch any sports anymore. Well, that’s all going to change.
I’ve read everything there is to read on the upcoming hockey season and I’m also involved in a football pool (although I’m not thrilled with my team).
My life is going to change a lot over the next few months. Why? Well quite honestly I think a lot of that has to do with watching Survivor: The Australian Outback recently.
I lived vicariously through those that were stranded on the island and the one thing I came away with is simple: Life really is no fun unless you take the time to enjoy the things that matter most to you. For me that’s er… umm… hockey? LOL, you get the point. I do love to watch hockey, play golf, spend time with Lori and friends, and of course play poker.
I enjoy the business side of poker too, but I never want to let it take up so much time that I let my life pass me by. Anyway, time to get some grub before the tourney!
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