Borgata Summer Open...

...WAS just announced! How excited am I? Ladies Only event on June 17- which is Father's Day, and we plan to celebrate the day before. We already planned to take my dad to breakfast that Saturday, because he wants a kitten (so cute) so we are goin to the animal shelter after breakfast. Then, we will do something with Jon's father that evening, and then head down to AC.

As for yesterday's poker, Jon went to the club and had, from what I understand, a pretty volatile session, but ended up earning a little over $200. I played the 8pm on UB- my flush got dominated by a full house when the board paired on the turn. I was pretty sure he had a set on the flop, or the nut fl draw, but I could not fold because after my flop bet, I had 6x the blind left. I played a few sngs and did not get anything going. I am excited though for poker the rest of the week, it will be great.

Heading to Foxwoods this weekend for Ladies Only again, that should be exciting...weeee!

Good money and peace,

Lucky C.

Ladies Only Domination....and things that Make you go hmmmm

So, Friday Jon and I decided last minute to take a little trip to foxwoods since it was a long weekend. We got there Fri night.

THINGS THAT make u go HMMM:
I was doing really well in my 2-5 NL game, which was a donkfest if I ever saw one....this one hand will explain it all: Angry irish man, who is getting raised every time, I guess, decides he is going to put a stop to all the raising and open raises utg for 200$....this is a 2-5 game, so 40x the blind.. folds to guy on button who says to guy utg, do u really have AA? At this, I almost laughed out loud...of course Irish says no...and I am sure he doesn't. he def has 66 or 77 and wanted to win $7. So KK (the button) decides he is going to CALL the 200$, leaving himself 215$ behind. Now it is up to the drunk red head- who announces she likes to gamble (with what i was sure A x). Flop comes out AQ2, red head open pushes for $500, giving herself no opportunity to make a profit on the top two that she flopped. Lmao. How funny is that? So of course, irish and KK fold and she proudly reveals AQ. Very interesting...then i realized that my bag was missing the same time that I had a big decision to make on the river...which I did call with nut straight that i flopped and saw the flush that my opponent had- runner runner, bc he had gut shot of course...and then flush draw and then..t.a da, my bag was missing. I almost started crying. I filled out security papers, had them check cameras, and then realized that I left it under my first table which broke, and I was talkin to dealer so I completely forgot to grab it. At least it was recovered. But I was so rattled, we grabbed some take out, I downed two spicy bloody marys (my signature drink) and booked back to the hotel. I felt much better in the morning.

The next day, Jon played 2-5 NL, earned a few hundred and the $500 buy in tourney and got his top set cracked by a complete moron who had 6 9 and hit perfect perfect for a straight. No concept of poker, that guy. I played the chic event and came in 2 out of 53. The chic I was against Heads Up, it was her first time playing, so that's how lucky she got. But I still earned $750 for second, so I was happy, only $80 buy in.

Saturday night, we got home, I fooled around in some rebuys and then passed out. Sunday, we had a very nice bbq/birthday party for my Uncle at my parents house, out in the country (like an hour away). We got home around 8ish, I played a little, won a few sngs on Fulltilt.

Today, Jon and I had a great day. I had a terrible sng morning, losing 5 out of 5 that I played. I went out to lunch with my girly friends- it was really nice and came back and played 2 p.,. and an aruba sat to super. I came in 12th out 116 in 2pm and then, I won the aruba entry. I also won an entry for the Sun 2 p.m. I also got back on my cash game horse, and while I only earned a few dollars, it felt good to earn in online cash again.

Two things- check out foxwoods article on Bluffmagazine.com. It is hysterical. and second, I am playin ladies only again next sat, so hopefully it is awesome!

Good money and peace,
Lucky C.

GOOD MONEY

So, after contemplating the phrase 'good luck' and pondering the fact that the very essence of the life that Jon and I seek to live will be inevitably peppered with this phrase, I decided that it is no longer acceptable to utilize it amongst ourselves. If going to work is pre-empted by beinig wished luck, then I choose to be wished something else. So I created a new phrase that Jon and I have adopted to replace 'Good Luck'. And that is, "GOOD MONEY." I think it makes sense and definitely has a more resounding firmness to it, as opposed to the wishy washiness that encompasses 'good luck.'

Onto poker news. Ultimatebet has been kicking my azz lately. My account has been diminished and now I am resolved to play sit n gos to build back up. On another front, I am kicking azz in Full Tilt sngs. I have built up over 600$ from my initial $80 investment just in $50 sngs, which are the easiest ever on there, but take forever. Poker Stars, I am trying to get something going on that site as well. Also resolved to building up with sngs.

Jon has been doing extremely well on line. He cashed in 4 out of the last 5 $100 mtt and bubbbled in the 5th...he is building with cash, overall, doing very well.

I am so happy it is Friday, the day before a long weekend. I really hope my office closes early today, that would be great.

More later.

Good Money and peace,

Lucky C.

Moving up in the Money

I love "moving up in the money" when I am in the money in a tournament. It is so much fun and it really puts you in the ultimate zone. Every play is either a bigger pay day or your way out of the tourney.

Yesterday, I played the 9k guaranteed on UB and I placed 14/103 for an $80 profit, blah. At least I cashed. Last night, we went to the club and I placed first out of 23 players for a $750 profit. Not much, but it feels good to come in first. Especially when my 44 held up against pkt KK. =)

I want to play the 9k guaranteed today as well, but I am not sure if I will. I have to really concentrate on building my account before I invest in more 100$ events. Maybe Jon will buy a piece of me =).

I also placed 1st and second in two $50 sngs on Full tilt. Even though I only have a little over 300$ in my FT account, it started with 80$, so it has been nicely increasing over the last week.

On the apartment front, no offers and no one else has come to see it. Sigh. I have a feeling it will take a while to sell.

On the car front, a few inquiries on it, so we will see. It is a very reasonable price for my car, I think. Below Kelly Blue Book value and in great condition. We just started advertising it on a new site so hopefully that will help us sell it more quickly.

Other than that, not much else. Work is slow and boring and dull and so not what I want to do with my life. I cannot wait to start my poker career. You know my plan- sell apartment and move to AC. Alternate plan- cash huge ($6figure) in a tournament, sublet apartment, and move to A.C. We will see what happens.

Back to work, more later.

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C.

Eaten Up in Cash, but still the Eternal Optomist

I seriously got eaten alive in cash yesterday on UB. I had jj v. 89, top pair for 89 and lost when a second nine hit the river. I lost 10s to 44s. It was bad all around. I played the 8p.m. and bubbled 36/240 with 30 paying....another bubble. I am bubble queen again. I did cash second on a FT $50 sng, and first and second in two ps sngs.

I do hope to look back on my blog one day, when I play bigger, live events and reminisce on when I was resigned to playing low limit stakes online and 100$ mtt. This is my dream. I vow to become a better player, an undefeatable player....that's all I want, seriously. And I will make it happen, I am 1000% determined.

I will focus on this...as for my six month goal, it is progressing on FT, stalled on Stars and has taken a severe downturn on UB.

More Later,

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C.

Tough Weekend

Good morning all, it is Monday, beautiful and sunny out. Weekend update in poker: It was a very tough weekend for me. I bubbled three tournaments- the 2 p.m. on UB yesterday, the 8 p.m. on Saturday night, I busted out of both an Aruba and WSOP super satellite against AK when I had big pp, etc. I spent a decent amount on Stars in $10 r, but I still love these tourneys. I have been doing well in $50 sngs, which is what I am utilizing to build up on Stars and Full Tilt. I am about 2 out of 3 in comin in first or second. It is a tough road, trying to build my accounts, but I will not distress. My ultimatebet account has taken a hit lately, I have deficited in tourneys and made up some in cash. I need to work on re-building that.

Conversely, Jon is doing very well in tournaments. He won several entries to bigger events over the weekend, plus he is 3/3 in 109 in terms of cashes, with one final table appearance. I anticipate more great poker results for him!

Ok, more later.

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C.

Choiceless Decisions and the Wonders of Freedom

Calling an all-in for $27 more after you raised to $45 in a cash game with JJ, and you are pretty sure your opponent has AA. Calling a min raise when you are in the big blind with 2-4 off suit because 8 people have called (ifyou re-raise, the original raiser will no doubt call because she is THAT player), coming into work at 8 a.m. (at least while you still have a mortgage), leaving your kitty in the morning even though she is beyond cute and begging you not to leave. All of the above are actions that, of course, like anything we have a choice (in a perfect world), but for all practical purposes, your decisions are already made for you because of the underlying circumstances.

Freedom is underrated. It is the greatest thing that exists. The very foundation of our country is rooted in our forefathers' desire for freedom. Entrepeneurs and business owners are lured into their career paths partially by the freedom associated with it. To be disentangled from a supervisor, a boss, a cranky, obnoxious, unappreciative owner, that cringes everytime he hands you your pay check, because in his head, all you are is a necessary evil in order to provide his free status, would be a dream.

Every fiber of my being desires freedom. I have gone down the root of solo business owner/proprietor on more than one occasion. When I was younger, I started my own baby-sitting business. My friend and I would share clients, based upon our schedule. In law school, my first and second year, I took an ad out in the Law Journal offering per diem paralegal services and did work at home at night for extra money.

Towards the end of law school, in the summers, I advertised a business called "Miracle Mixers," a company founded by me after I worked briefly on the weekends for a company called At Your Service. They hired out servers and bartenders for at home parties, etc. and charged the client 35$ an hour and paid the employees 10$. So I cut out the middle man, hired five of my friends, and took an ad out in the Hampton Star, and a few other papers, made business cards, and started my business. For three summers, I was rolling in the money. And then I graduated law school, friends moved away and I started a real job, without time for this business, so I retired it. My second year as an attorney, I sent a mailing to 200 doctors advertising my services for insuarance appeals (I had some experience with it) and made several thousands of dollars doing that. And then I had one nightmare client, that made me run screaming from doing this (she threatened all kinds of retaliatory action because her appeal was not successful- and she was completely nuts). However, I may take this up again because it was great extra money.

Yesterday, my friend Deborah and I were speaking and I told her, there are no good, 24 hour bagel stores anywhere for a 20 mile radius with the exception of one. If we open a great bagel store, we would make a killing, so she and I started hypotehetically planning that business.

I am also working on the formation of a website for legal services that will be up and running in the next three months. Hopefully, we will generate great business from that.

My entire life, I have done nothing but illustrate my desire to be in my own business, go out on my own, do my own thing. This is all I want in life. And I will do it. It is just a matter of time.

Quick poker update- I cleaned up in sit n gos. 1st on stars in $50 (considering I had $55 in my account) and 2nd on full tilt (only had $80 before my 2nd place finish). I foolishly played the $30 r on UB (cost me $123) and $10r on stars ($61). But that's ok. I was literally falling asleep 1 hour after I started playing and just donked out of them. Work is really affecting my poker results =)

Anyway, thank goodness it is FRIDAY!!!!

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C.

Working Woes...looking for greener grass.

Today was such a yucky day at work. First off, at 8:25 a.m., I got yelled at by my boss for something that was entirely his fault. I do not mean a simple, indirect mistake. It was literally his failure to meet with me on 3 separate occasions, all meetings I scheduled with him so that he could provide me with input for reports that I am doing for a client.

How can I finish a report for the client when he has the info that is the missing link? The information includes construction costs, soft costs, hard costs, fees, contingincies, blah blah for a real estate development; things that I have know way of ascertaining without his calculations. It has been like that since day 1 that I started. And god forbid I try to speak up, he thinks I am simply being argumentative. So, I kept my mouth shut and then I actually cried after that. I felt bad for the entire day. Then, to be a complete a-hole, he calls me up later in the day, and says, oh, why don't you have those reports ready for monday morning? I replied, I just finished putting it all together, I was going to messenger them to the City this afternoon. He insists that the new deadline is Monday. I could've screamed I was so frustrated.

My job latetly, has become a joke in my mind. They say "the grass is always greener" but I think that in certain situations, it is really greener. I am simply not made to be an employee. I have a free spirit, and entrepenuerial mind. I am constantly thinking up new concepts, ideas, business ventures, and anything that is potentially profitable. Sitting behind a desk 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. has become a finite situation. The finite-ness of it will be determined by the sale of my apartment.

Enough about work, only 1.6 hours left before the working day is over. Then, Jon and I will meet my friend Brigid later for dinner, with her boyfriend for drinks at this nice, outdoors place in Rockville Centre. Later, I will play the 10$ rebuy on Stars and the 30$ r on UB. I am very excited for that. I may come in late tomorrow, depending upon how late I am up tonight. Yesterday, I played the $150 tourney at the Club, they had a huge turnout, 40 people. I made a few great plays and then lost a big hand, 99 v. AA. So then, I was short stacked and pushed in with A8 suited, and got called by A10 diam, for 70% of his chips...what can I do? And then, the two worst players at the table were like, why would she push with A8 and in my head im like, duh retards, i have 4.5 x the bb, of course I push, but A10 cannot call me. They just don't know, very ignorant. Nice people, ignorant players. I then came home and earned approximately $350.00 in cash on line. It was very nice.

Will have more to report tomorrow...

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C.

Garnet's New Online Poker Goals: The 6 month Plan

I keep very little money on my poker sites. If I have a huge cash, I withdraw a majority of it and add it to my live bankroll. I have trained myself to keep approximately $500-1000$ on each site, and withdraw any excess. However, this means that I am constantly struggling with a relatively small bankroll compared to the cost of tournaments that I play. The upside to this is that I feel more disciplined; I have to be more careful and selective with how I utilize it. At the same time, I may be limiting my potential greatly because my choices are not as broad with limited funds.

So my new goal is this: to set myself up with an online bankroll on each site of $3500-$5000 so that I have at least 50 buy ins for 100$ tourneys and I can play consistently, 12-15 hours per day. I have spoken to some very successful online pros and their percentage of cashes is equivalent to mine. EQUAL. THE SAME. #s are the SAME. The difference is two fold- they have more wins than I do (I have to work on my final table strategy) and second, the volume of tournaments they play is much, much larger. Standard, I play 3-4 $100 MTT per week, maybe the $30 rebuy once or twice, and a few satellites. While I am putting in 6 to 7 hours per day playing online, I limit myself to low stakes cash and one tournament, at the most, per night. My cronies are committing to much higher cash game limits and furthermore, are multi tabling a minimum of 3-4 $100 tournaments per day.

I know, that if I commit myself to improving my game and building the bankrolls I indicated on Full Tilt, Stars and Ultimatebet, I will undoubtedly, be very profitable. My goal starts today. I will tell you how I fare. Full tilt, I will have to hold off for a while. Ultimatebet, I have $800 and Stars, I have about $150. Such little money, but it also makes the challenge exciting! My plan for stars is to continue to play the $10r until I cash again, because that is really the easiest tournament in the world. As a side note, yesterday, I finished 262/1575, because I donked off all my chips on a move- I was falling asleep.

STRATEGY- HOW I WILL EXECUTE ABOVE PLAN:

1. Time frame is 6 months: May 16, 2007- December 1, 2007. By December 2007, I want to have funds available on each site: minimum of $3500 on UB, Stars, and Tilt.

2. Withdrawal rule: Only withdraw if account is over $5,000. Anything above $5,000, I can withdraw, otherwise it has to stay on to be accumulated. Exception: Trade funds with other playres on other sites to spread bankroll.

3. Continue playinig one tournament at a time to retain focus and manage online bankroll. Slowly increase to multi tabling over time, based upon size of bankroll and amount of time alloted for poker per day.

4. Gat rid of my day job by Jan 2008 (must sell apartment =) )

5. Re-organize goals when I have $5,000 on each site or December 2007, whichever comes first.

6. Do not play when I am tired. This is very bad. Consistently bad results.

7. Invest in desktop with two large screens by December 2007, or when we move to NJ.

8. Continue to read books and put together my own play book/game strategy for poker. Tighten up holes in game including: Final Table strategy, differences between play on stars, fulltilt, and UB, etc.

I am very excited by the above goals and I look forward to executing this plan. I think that I will really enjoy this, and it will be super profitable. I am so capable of playing 12-14 hours a day straight online. I have the stamina and want to do it; as long as I have enough sleep and I am comfortable. I really do feel great things to come!

On a separate note, I am so excited about Vegas- I cannot wait!!!! It is going to be simply divine!

Finally, quick tournament report from yesterday: played the bounty $129- finished 80/255. I was short stacked for a long time and finally busted with 99 v. AQ. Blah. Then I played the 25k guaranteed $215- I made a huge mistake and tried to bet someone off a set when I had the nut flush draw and a gut shot. Bad, bad move. However, I did not know the player, so at the time I thought it was a good play =) So wrong. Throughout my remaining time, he became known as the tightest player at the table, hahaha. I actually lasted a long time and took a race with my 66 v. ak, and i was good until the river. Oh well.

I also played the 10$r on stars and got so so so so tired that I made a move with 262 people left out of 1580. And got out. But I am in good shape to win that tournament soon, I can feel it. I am always close to the money, in the money or at final two tables. I have only played that tournament 5x, cashed twice, bubbled twice, and got frustrated once.

I do have an entry for Aruba tonight, so I will definitely play that. That's all for now. Enjoy your day and good luck in all your poker endeavors!

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C.

A Fine Line between Addiction & Passion

Addiction indicates bad, degenerative behavior that is beyond a person's control. Passion has more of a positive, pleasant, "love my work" sort of conotation. So, how does one distinguish between the two? Is an addiction only an addiction if there are negative consequences? Or can an addiction be wonderful, positive and fulfilling? By definition, the answer is no. According to dictionary.com, an Addiction is: "habitual psychological and psychological dependence on a substance or PRACTICE beyond one's control." On the other hand, Passion is defined as "a strong fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anyhing; boundless enthusiasm for an activity or practice."

So, being that this is a poker blog, of course this leads me to the next question- "Is poker an addicition, a passion, or something else?" I have given this much thought. I have decided that poker can be either, depending upon player in question. For some, general gambling is an addiction and poker can fall within that realm (it is a casino game with a percentage of luck attributed to the outcome). For the wrong person, poker can become the reason for their ultimate demise.

However, poker, has also been classified as a game of skill, both by experts and the United States Supreme Court. There are hundreds of thousands of players, maybe even millions, across the globe that play this game as their sole source of income. For these players, poker is not a 'practice beyond one's control.' If a winning player (one that earns consistently) is having a tough session, or conversely, is on an extreme heater, she has the knowledge, the experience, and/or the smarts to determine when to stop or continue a session, regardless of their enjoyment of the game. For this player, there is no dependence on poker in an addictive sense any more than the 9-5er is addicted to being at their place of employ (maybe its more enjoyable, but no more addictive than that).

I believe the classification of poker as pure gambling, or poker as predominantly degenerative, or poker as naturally bad moral behavior is complete garbage, and without one iota of support that these categorizations can be applicable for all cross-sections of players.

I honestly believe that a focused and skillful player with excellent bankroll management skills can be quite successful playing full time, regardless of society's label on poker as a person's passion or addiction. The true answer to the question of addiction v. passion is a study of the person, not the game.

Monday Poker Madness

Quick update from yesterday's poker. I played the $50 rebuy at the Club- ended up in for $150. Another final table appearance, finished 7th. Only top three paid. I re-raised all in with 88, and of course, got called by AQ. He almost mucked, but then, he realized the monster that is AQ, and said "I call." 88 is the exit hand of the month, I swear. I cannot win when I have AK against 88 and when I push with 88, its as if I have 2 3 off suit =)

Also, I final tabled the $109- 7/99 for a $450 profit. I got sucked out with QQ v. A8(soooted- another brilliant hand). But this is how I will survive (for next time). I need to work on building my stack before hand. That means gathering as many chips as possible, even at the risk of busting. Raise and re-raise. Make it impossible for players to see a flop (with certain obvious exceptions). If I had a big stack, I survive the qq suck out and still make the top 3. So that will be my game plan. Now that I have improved my middle of the tournament strategy that has allowed me to survive until late, my next plan is to improve late game strategy. Oh, I also won a $10 straight for $215 tournament dollars, that I will probably use toward Aruba sat tomorrow night.

Overall, I strongly believe this will be an amazing year in poker for both Jon and I and of course, Dragon (its already been pretty phenomenal for him!).

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C.

Wedding Bells..

Not me, my sister! My sister Angela, got engaged yesterday, which is super exciting. She and her boyfriend have a house together and have been dating since, I think, the beginning of time, so I am glad that they are finally getting married!

In poker news, it has been an interesting few days. On Friday, we decided to drive to Foxwoods so that I could play the 12:00 p.n. $500 tourney on Saturday morning. The worst players ever. I was super card dead. After the first break, two hours in, I picked up a few hands, and was able to push. One situation, I had 66 utg, with 11x the bb and it took me a few seconds to make a decision, but I ultimately folded. Technically, I was out of position with a marginal pair, and because the blinds were so high, I believe it was the right decisioon to fold. A few hands later, in the cut off, I picked up 88. I noticed that the guy in first pos limped, however he was uncertain whether he should limp or fold pre-flop. A player behind him limped also (blinds are 300/600 w 100 ante). I decide to push, which is absolutely the right play. Now, the player utg who limped says, "You cannot always have a hand." I pushed three times in the course of 2 hours- haha. So he decides to CALL 40% of his chips with K10 dd, but tells me before hand, this is probably a bad call. Please don't say that, please don't ever say that- I cannot win if you inform me that it is a bad call. LOL. Then, when he sees my 88s, he informs me "I knew it." His idiocy was laughable. So, of course, that was my tournament exit. But I do believe I played very well.

The night before, in the cash game, I earned 80$. I was earning $200, but then the following hand occurred. I had Q2 hh in the cutoff. I limped, because there were five people in the pot. Flop comes out 5 6 8 with two hearts. First guy bets 20, I call and the button calls. Turn is 4 of hearts. Original guy checks, I bet 50, the guy behind calls and original bettor calls. River is 3h. Instantly, I thought that counterfeited my flush to the Ah, then I realized I had a straight flush! So the original bettor pushes for his last $60, I min raise, and the guy behind folds and shows his two pair. I turn over my hand and say, straight flush and the guy who was all in, says me too. HAHAHA. He hit a two outer on the river, because he had a straight on the turn with an open ended straight flush draw. It wasn't even that bad of a beat because it only cost me $60. So I finished with profit of $80.

After the tourney, Jon and I left around 4 p.m. because we did not want to get home super late. We returned at 8ish. I decided to play 10$ r on stars, which I finished 380/1600, of course I got two outed when I flopped trips and he hit his pair on river for a full house. Other than that, it was a great tourney.

Sunday, we went to the club after Mother's Day. Jon played cash and I played the tournament. I got out 4th by not trusting my read. I knew that the player on my right was making a move on me. I did not let go of my fear. I held on to it, said I know you are making a move and mucked second pair, which I knew was good. He told me later it was a move. I was disappointed in myself for not trusting my read, so unfortunate for me.

The moral of the story is: always trust your read, that is the difference between a good player and a great player, a break even player and a profitable player.

More later!

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C.

Pokerstars Guaranteed Tournaments

I think I can make a living just playing poker stars guaranteed tournaments. I have gone deep in almost every single one that I have played. Yesterday, I played the $22 single rebuy/add on. It cost me $44. I finished 61/360, with 45 places paying. I think I played really well and it was unfortunate how I got out. First place was over 5k$ which is amazing. I also played at the Club last night. I deficited in the tournament when my AJ monstter (w/7x the blind) ran into Ak, a player who actually contemplated folding pre-flop, which I was impressed with. Then I deficited 200$ in cash, but when I put my last $80 in, two other people called, including Jon, with middle set, who ended up scooping a huge pot. So I really only deficited $120 in cash, not $200 because Jon got the last $80. Even though its couple logic, it works. I will write in my poker log though, that I deficited the entire 200$ because any player could have won that pot other than Jon. The outcome cannot be determined by the name of the player who won =) even though I am happy it was Jon.

On another note, work is becoming more and more of a difficult situation in my life. I hate working for somebody. I am cut from a different cloth that most. I need to be in my own business, whatever that may be. For the next two years, it will be poker, but after that, who knows. I will continue to work diligently on my website with my business partners for a certain type of legal cases, which I will explain more fully in another blog entry.

I am so excited about going to Vegas, I can hardly wait. It is going to be awesome. I spoke to my good friend Ruthie out there yesterday, and we had a good conversation. It will be a good time, and if either Jon or I cash huge, I may stay out there, we will see what happens.

Also, Dragon is in several satellites this weekend for the WSOP so good luck Dragon, kick azzz!!!!

Thank goodness it is Friday. I am excited that it is the weekend. It will be a very good weekend. Tomorrow will be a very relaxing day. Sunday is Mother's Day and we have 1000 places to go, but it will be nice.

That's all for now, more later!

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C.

4 A.M. Exit...

Ok. It should be a prohibition to allow a poker player to call a raise all in with second pair, top kicker at 4 a.m. The website should automatically disconnect them. I was so tired and weary, but I felt that th play I made was was well executed. Anyhow, I finished 14/1460. I had a gut shot and second pair, and I knew the guy was weak. However, not weak enough to fold AJ to a raise all in on a board on q j 8. I had J10 and he CALLED all of his chips. I am not upset, I played really well and earned $300 profit for my $70 invvestment. That tournament is a cash cow, I love the 10$ r on Stars.

I also played the 10:00 r on UB, $30. I was in for 180$ which is the most I have ever been in for in that tourney. In any case, I lost a race at the end, 99 v. AQ, and I was out. But I played really well and of course bubbled, 27/150. I was not upset at all at the result.

I also earned a TEC yesterday- finished 2/10 in a $50 sng, first got 3 tecs and $30 and second got 1 tec and $10. The player I was heads up with was not very good at all, but he cracked my AA and that was the end of the sng.

Finally, I earned $250 in cash yesterday, 45 minute session. I flopped the nuts and had two people pushing all in on me. So sick that I still had the nuts on the river. How often does that happen?

On another note, I was speaking to Hugeheatfan, a player whom I play with often online, and I realized that there are reasons why my game has improved so much lately. There are things, secrets, that I know and no one else does. My little, newfounded pearls of wisdom, will be held close to the cuff and guarded very carefully. These are the strategies, the ideas, the tells that are not in books, not publicized, not spoken of. I am happy to be part of the society with such valuable and clandestine information =)

My favorite situation, and the one that makes me feel like the best player in the entire room is when I decide that a player has whatever he has, like AQ. Then I outplay him with nothing. And then I tell him what he had, and he is very surprised. This scenario occurred at the Club earlier in the week. This guy raised utg three times the blind and it was so obvious he had high cards after the flop. Four way pot, flop comes out 8 9 x. It checks to him and he bets 600, which is 2x the bb and an obvious scaredy bet. If he hit his hand or had an overpair, he would've bet the pot, which was 2400. It folded to me, I had 2 4 suited. I raised to 2000 and he insta folded. He was so freaked out when I said, "you had AQ right?" And his response was, "No, I had AK." Oh ok, my mistake, lol.

Also readers, if my blog ever becomes a conceited mesh of meandering, please drop me a line and tell me. Right now, I am teetering on the border of confidence and arrogance and I do not want to become the stereotypical big headed jerky player that I cannot stand.

I also resolve to stop trash talking as much as possible at the online tables. While is definitely an outlet for my frustration, I would never act that way in person. Additionally, I have aspirations being very successful at poker, and I would like to illustrate class and integrity in my game /personality, not baseless and tacky behavior.

Lastly, I am so fed up with work. It is super difficult to come to work for a very irritable and moody boss, and do boiler plate bs, when I would be so much happier and satisfied playing poker full time. Every time he yells, or gives me an attitude, its like he is adding fuel to my poker fire.

Thats all for now. Enjoy your day!

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C.

Two Tourney Debacles

Despite my lack of online success yesterday, it was a really nice night. After work, Jon asked me if I wanted to go on a date. It was very cute. We went down to the Nautical Mile, which is a strip along the water in Freeport, lined with restaurants, little shops and marinas. We walked for a bit and then decided on Crabshack, a small place that, at one time, had a good reputation. Stress HAD. It was not very good. We ended up just having appetizers and soup (the entire menu seemed like Fried Food). Despite our lackluster meal, it was a very nice evening.

We got back to the apartment just in time to play the 8p.m. I had an entry chip that I won yesterday, so it only cost me 30$. I knocked out about six people for $20 bounty each, so the tourney only cost me $10. I got a big stack in the middle of the tourney, and had one tough hand against a very good player, James Taylor. I built back up to 14,000 chips. Blinds were 400-800. I have 9 10 suited in the bb. The button, who is such a bad player, and raises position every time, raised to 2100. I thought he was good enough to fold anything but a premium hand if I push because there was only 33 people left at the time. So I push all in. Insta call with 44. Such a bad play, it was 45% of his chips. And his rationale is, and what confirmed his status as BAD, "it only cost me less than 1/2 my chips. " I laughed at him and looked up his stats. Then I made fun of him for 30 seconds because it felt good to do that and I think I was entitled. On a side note, I am so nice in person in tournaments, and respectful and such not a jerk, but online, I tend to mouth off all the time. I am working on that. That guy was just an extremely bad player that got lucky to cash in the 8 p.m.

Overall, I am not upset with my bubble. I trusted my read and pushed. I made the right read on the hand, wrong read on the player, =) Additionally, I had been really tight up to that point, so he should have given me a big hand. I definitely did not have a loose image, for that particular tourney anyway. So goes it.

Then I played the 30$ r, and it cost me $90. It was so one of those roller coaster tourneys, raise and then be committed to call an all in with a race, lose one, win one, lose one, win one, etc. And then I had AK v. AJ. I am sure you can decipher who won that hand when I had AK and less chips at the end =) Then I had AK suited against AA. And then I pushed with 55 v. A9 and that was the end of my tournament. I think I played well though. I may have been a little too aggressive to get myself involved in all of those races. But, I think for me, I am still trying to find the winning strategy, so this is still part of the process.

Yesterday, I also played 1/2 NL cash, in the SSTUPIDEST game ever. Pots were huge, people were calling with Ace hi. It was like a tourney, only with real money, lol. I was stuck 350 at one point and came back, only deficiting 40$. It was sick. I was so on my game though, it felt really really good. Really good.

As for the forecast for the rest of the week, tonight we are going to the mall and dinner with Jon's younger brother for his birthday. Thursday, I have a meeting, and Friday, we have an engagement party to attend. I plan to dedicate a large percentage of Saturday to playing online. I don't know how much more online I will have to report for the rest of the week, but knowing me, I am sure I will find time.

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C. =)

On The Leaderboard!

Yesterday afternoon, I called Jon and asked him if he wanted to go to the Club last tonight- I was in the mood for a live tourney. He was ecstatic. Usually, its him trying to persuade me to go. =) Anyway, we got to the Club and the tournament was a $50 rebuy. I am so good at rebuys, I love them. I decided to buy in for a double and do the add-on. I did not have to rebuy. There were 19 or 20 people in it.

The rebuy started out very slow for me. I ended up only playing 3 or 4 hands during the rebuy period, but I raked huge pots, building my stack to 20k before the add on. One hand I look down at 4 7 os. Blinds are 50-100. The only other woman in the tournament, and the most transparent, bad player, raises to 300. So I put her on 99 or 1010. If she had qq, kk or aa, she raises to like, 1000. So, one person calls, I call, tryinig to get involved in a big pot, knowing that if I get a good flop/she gets a bad flop, I can take the pot away from her. Flop is 4 4 6. Beautiful. She bets out 600. Folds to me, I raise to 2200. She insta-calls. Turn is Qd, putting 3 diam out there. Now, I know if she has a flush draw, she is betting into me. Predictably, she checks her cards to see if she has a diamond, and proceeds to check. I bet out 3000. She only had 1600 in front of her after she called my raise, so I believed I would get called. But, like many bad players, she called 1/2 her stack and then folded. One important lesson I learned from playing against this woman- if I raise and she is the only caller preflop, unless she hits the flop, she check-folds. Against that type of player, there is no point in betting according to pot size. It makes sense to bet small, because 90% of the time, if you read the situation correctly, she is folding. So why put more at risk if there is a chance she will call 10% of the time? It is cheaper and wiser, I think, to play it that way.

After the rebuy period was over, I raised position often, and took pots away from people when they missed the flop. I built up to 38k. We combine to final table. I raised a few hands and took some pots down. I was chip leader. Then the donkey (definitely one of the worst players in the tourney) who I have played against before ( I think he is mentally off, the elevator def does not got to the top floor), scooped a huge pot with AK v. set of jj, when he hit his flush on the river. I was looking forward to playing heads up against him. Then I won a huge pot. I have KQ hh in middle pos. I raise 4x the blind. The chic (who got so lucky to make it to final table) has about 18k in front of her, calls my 6k raise. In my head I was like, oh jesus this is crazy, please give me a q hi flop. Everyone else folds, flop is QJx. I just push for 30k. She insta calls with Ak. Another power play with AK. To her credit, she just doesnt know how to play strategy at all, at all. So miraculously, she does not hit an Ace or a ten and I scope a huge pot. I won another huge pot when I had AA v. KK, against a player who was being aggressive, and I was actually shocked that he had KK.

We get down to 3 players, and of course donkey has a ton of chips. He then picks up AA v. QQ three-way to knock a guy out in 3rd. HAHA. How does that happen? We played hu for a long long time. I had a monster chiplead on him after a while, and then he hit a two outer by calling my all in with second pair and I had top pair. 8 on the turn- why are two outers the nuts against me I ask? Anyway, he doubled up, evening our stacks. Then he hit two full houses against me when I had two pair. So that sucked. I ended up in 2nd. But if I won that hand when I had top pair against his two outer, I wouldve taken first. Oh well. I cashed for 550$, which is not so good considering I invested 150$, but not that bad either. This is the hysterical part. I offered the donkey a deal when he had a few more chips than me. There is 1580 in prize pool. I said, lets take 600$ each and play out for $380. In a very donkey-like fashion, he refusted. I don't know why he wouldn't take that. It seemed so fair. Only a difference of $70 to second, but it gives us incentive to continue hu play. He said no. I think its because he can't do math.

The good news is I am in top 5 on leaderboard at the Club which is awesome, I have never played the freeroll there.

On another note, JB_Dog took down the Poker Stars Million on Sunday. JB_Dog is a good acquaintance of mine from Connecticut. Last year, he, average-joe (another UB player) and I used to chat-conference in aim chat forums to discuss plays, hands and various strategies. JB and average really gave me the insight to playing Omaha tourneys. In Oct, JB kind of dropped off the face of the earth. I didnt hear from him for months, with the exception of a brief conversation in Dec. It was very strange though, that he just completely stopped playing all together. And then, BAM! I am looking at the lobby of the PS Million on Sun and I see he his in top 10 with 100 people left I forgot about it because I was concentrating on my tourney and he ended up in First. So sick. Don't get me wrong, Dog is a very good player, but that is a sick pay day. However, he is a really nice guy- he was a cool poker friend because loans were given without questions asked, percentages were exchanged, and we overall, had a great poker relationship. So congratulations to Dog, he deserves it.

Ok, back to work for me. I can't believe its only Tuesday, ew. =)

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C.

The weeee hours of the morning....

WARNING: LONG ENTRY

I went to bed at 3:30 a.m. last night. The last couple of weeks, I feel like I am in college again, going to bed so late. The difference is that I can't cut work the way I used to cut class. =) However, the underlying reason for my late bedtimes is almost always due to a final table appearance, thereby justifying my fatigue the next day. That's right, tiredness does have a price...I would prefer the price to be winning the tourney as opposed to 7th and 8th place, which I seem to have a lock on, but for now, as long as I am making final tables, that's fine. So I finished 8th for a $750 cash, which covered all my buy ins for yesterday pretty much. I will work on strategy to build chips at final table. I have made more final tables in the last week and a half than in the last four months. There is definitely something to be said for that.

Additionally, considering the beats I took on the cruise and over the weekend, I cannot say that I am on either a good run or a bad run, I'm kind of just doing my thing. For a period of 2 hours last night, after the rebuy period ended, I did get a series of unbeatable hands, but I was also a big stack with an aggressive image, which is huge.

In any case, I made the final table and lost when my10s failed to hold up to AJ, Ace on the river. I was satisfied with how I played. I was a bit overly aggressive at times, but that has been my strategy for building chips late in tourneys, so I think I played well. One of my friends pointed out that I don't necessarily need to raise so much, especially when the difference between 3x the bb and 4x the bb is significant to my stack, and I agree. However, I think, to some extent, it depends who my opponent is. I know great players who will see a small raise as weak and a large raise as strong, and attack my bet that way, especially if they have a lot of chips. But, at the same time, there are only a few players that are capable of doing that. Overall, I agree with him that I can fine tune my game by raising a little bit less when blinds are extremely high.

I think another aspect of my game that needs improvement is I have to work on is switching gears. I am capable of playing tight in the beginning and then LAG style, but then I get stuck in LAG. It is, to some extent, addicting to be the aggressor at the table. And at some tables, like one of the ones I was at last night, it is extremely beneficial to continue to be the aggressor. But at a table full of good players, I will get mutilated if I do not change it up. So I believe another weakness I must work on is shifting gears more smoothly and more often.

ANNUAL FATAL HANDS

I have a ridiculous, just-for-fun theory that each year, there is one hand that is an overiding disappointment and exit point in many tourneys.

10s have been deemed the fatal hand of 2007. In 2004, it was QQ. At least 1/2 a dozen tourneys that year, I busted out with QQ. In 2005, it was 10s. So bad for me. I busted out of several tourneys with 10s that year. In 2006, I don't think there was a fatal hand. I do specifically recall losing with KK quite often in online satellites, but I do not think that is enough to qualify it as the Annual Fatal Hand. Actually, I believe it could have been AK, but only against a weaker Ace. I seemed to lose a lot of those that year. Sigh.

10s are definitely the 2007 Annual Fatal Hand. It is only May, and I can count more than a dozen tourneys that I exited with 10s, because I had to take a race. Even one that included a race against Q10 (HAHA, he flopped the nuts, i need not say more).

Theory #2: The Deuce Factor

This is not really theory than more of a simple science issue. There is an invisible magnet inside me, with varying amounts of strength on different tournament days. The stronger the mangnet is, the more deuces I see. This magnet was discovered in Dec 2005, during the $1k WSOP event at Harahs. I built a big stack right away and then proceeded to get a 2 almost every other hand. I started counting, and in 90 minutes, I had gotten something like 34 hands that contained a two. That is so sick. And then I bubbled, 39 out of 300, with 27 paying. Yek. I am considering having surgery to get my deuce magnet removed, but then, what will I do if I can't count 2s during my tournament? And then that means, I can never flop a set or get quad twos, so I think, for all intents and purposes, it may be better to just leave it alone.

More later...

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C.

Two outers galore.

Hi everyone! It is Sunday night, and I am resigned to watching the Simpsons as I try to overcome the dreaded feeling of defeat. I honestly think I play good poker. Perhaps not great, but definitely good enough to give me a winning, profitable edge. From 12am on Friday to tonight, 8pm on Sunday, I have had the sickest beats in the shortest amount of time ever. It is as if two outers are 80% to win on the river, and other players calling for cards when they push all in agianst me with the best hand, miraculously get that card to hit the board.

Friday night we drove to A.C. and I decided to play the midnight madness, which is so much fun. I built my stack nicely to 30k, and then lost five or six races. Down to 11k, I have AQ, and push. Get called by threes. I flop top pair and a gut shot and he hits a 3 on the river, and I was out. So sick, but whatever, that tourney was just for fun. The next day, I am all psyched to play the 340 at Borgata. I made a few overcalls on the river to short stack myself in a few hands, which was not good. I still had 4600 chips when i look down at JJ utg. I raise to 700. Now, I am playing tight and a few hands earlier I had to fold QQ to a reraise and showed (the guy showed AA, thankfully) and the table seemed to really respect my play of folding there. Needless to say though, it was one of the more aggressive tourney tables I have been at it in a long time. I get one caller (ironically the worst player at the table). Flop comes out 10 8 8. Now I bet 1400, leaving myself a little over 2000 behind and esentially committing myself to the hand. He pushed instantly which what I thought was A10. Turns out, as I call he has J10. get that- J10 against jj on that board. He goes, I guess I need a ten. As I said, "God, don't say that!" a nighmarish 10 of diam hit s the turn and my borgata run is over.

Ok, fine. So two two outers in 12 hours. I deal. Worse poker stuff has happened. I am comforted by the fact that I am still up 9k on line and I try to forget the beats. That is a trick for me. Whenever I think of bad beats I am taking, I remember recent big cashes to remind me that these bad players who have to hit 2 outers on me are the reason why I will be wealthy from poker one day. They have to hit two outers bc when I am all in, I am usually way way ahead.

Anyway, then I sit down at cash at borgata. 2/5 NL. I get AA three times, with action only once. Then I flop top two and lose to running 7 7 who had a flush draw and made trips, so that cost me. I have about 120 left of my 400 buy in. I see AA again. It folds to me in middle position and I decide that I am going to slow play to get value. That means more at this point than winnin a $10 pot. So I limp, the guy on my left limps and the two blinds check. Flop comes out Q 9 9. Not a great flop, but if the blinds fold to my bet, then I know I am good. It checks to me. I bet 10$ into a 20$ pot, the guy on my left calls. The small blind hesitates, makes a folding motion, then cocks his head, and calls. The way he played it, he was not acting and I knew he had a weak q. The bb folds. Turn is 5c. Sm bl checks, I fire 25, guy on left calls, sm blnd folds now. I push for 70$ blind to the river...and then the river is a Q. NOw I know the guy calling me had a Q. So sick. He had one out. So he hits. I said "damn it!" and threw my aces up and left. If I win that pot, I am almost even in the game. I just got up and walked away.

We had dinner at Cuba Libre, which was delicious, over at the Tropicana. We were with Pete and Jon's father, so we had a nice time. It was a good weekend, albeit the poker =)

So I got myself psyched to play online today. I had a really nice brunch with my friend in Brooklyn, we did some shopping and I got home around 2pm. I dedicated myself to playing the Million $ on PS, and the 215 on UB. I also played the second chance on PS. I legitimately lost in PS Million when I made a move on an aggressive player and he happened to pick up KK. But I dont dislike my play. I think it was the right play against that player. If I win that pot, I have over 40k and a shot to cash.

In the 215 on UB, I flopped a set and pushed on the flop, got called by QQ, an over pair, that hit runner runner flush. In the second chance on PS, I lost with two pair to KQ who could not fold with no pair no draw on a flop of 7 7 5 when I check raised. So unfair! Then I also played the 100$ on UB (I committed a lot to tourneys today, but it was my plan to have a big Sunday). And listen to this. I have 7 8 suited. Flop comes out q 7 8. I check raise flop, he flat calls. Turn is a seven. He is in position and now puts me all in with his KQ. I call. Of course I dont have to tell you that the river was the Q of clubs. So that is it. That is my tortured poker life that makes me temporarily hate the game, but only for the last 48 hours. I vow to cash big in a tourney this week. It will happen. I will make it happen.

I am optimistic and happy with the role that poker plays in my life. Regardless of my above ranting and I do apologize, I just need to see this garish information in print, in front of me, so that I can see how bad it can get. The bottom line is that Reality is so important, especially for me, when dealing with poker. Besides skill and bankroll, I believe that honesty with yourself is the most important thing in poker. I am my own worst critic. I overcriticize, second guess and overanalyze everything in my life, especially poker. But I think, in most poker cases, that it is a good thing.

So I will recharge, take the next few hours off, and possibly play the 30$ r on UB, because that has a really nice prize pool and good players, which is a good thing, because they respect things Like check raises and have a tendency not to overvalue top pair. So that will be exciting if I cash in that.

Anyways, I will post more later.

Good luck and peace,
Lucky C.

The Good Run continues...

Another successful night in poker. First off, I arrived home from work at 5p.m. and I planned on playin 0 tourneys. I was so dizzy and nauseaus all day yesterday, I could not wait to go home and rest. Then I got home, I had a meeting with my new real estate agent (she seems very nice), and decided that I did in fact, want to play. Maybe I am allergic to work. Haha. In any case, I played a $3 rebuy on stars. I came in 182/2600 for a whooppping $32, but that's ok. And then I final tabled the 8 p.m. which was really nice. I came in 8/297, for $750 cash. I wanted to cash big, but I lost two races at the final table and that was the end of me.

I don't know if my game is that much better or if I am on a good run, or it is a combination of both, but I have made four final tables and six cashes in the last 3 days. I have definitely moved up a level in terms of quality of play, and I am thinking much deeper about hands than I did before.

It is a strange process really. You play your best possible in your current state. And while objectively, you know that there is always room for improvement, and to grow and to get better at poker, because you don't know yet how that will be accomplished, it is difficult to imagine what more you can do to get to the next level of play. And then you see a player execute a hand a certain way, you read an article, you observe a friend playinig, and then something clicks, and boom! you've just moved up a level as u incorporate whatever it is you observed into your game to make you more successful.

For example, one thing I have been struggling with lately, is raising in position without a hand against a player who I know is going to push if I raise, inevitably forcing me to only raise when I have a hand that I am willing to commit myself to. Unless it is not inevitable. I believe the solution is to raise enough to show that I am committed, and steal their thunder- take away the play before they can make it. Of course, there will be exceptions to this. If one of the blinds has so many times more chips than me and I know they are wild &/or aggressive, I need to choose my spots more carefully. However, if the big stack is very tight, then I can make a standard raise, knowing they will want to protect their stack and most likely fold. As I test all of my new strategies and plays, I anticipate busting out of many tournaments on the bubble, or early, but I think it is worth it. In the long run, my experimentation will help me tighten/strengthen my game and become a more profitable player.

I am committed to becoming the player it is impossible to play against. I think that I can do this, I just need to work very hard at it. I promised myself that I would re-read every poker book I own this summer, religiously read Cardplayer, and everything I can find on poker. IThis will be a relatively easy task for me. When I was younger, notwithstanding the fact that I am about to sound like a total nerd-o, I wanted to be a Professional Reader. And then I found out there is no such thing. I love to read, it is one of my passions. So, I will do this and I predict that my game will continue to grow and improve.

Ok, I have to return to the grind (the work kind, not the poker kind). More later!

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C.

Long Island Poker

Last night, Jon and I went to a local club that is run by one of Jon's acquaintances. It is a very nice place, low profile, clean, and very safe. It is in an obscure location, which is important. Jon played the cash game and I played the 100$ tourney. I typically am adverse to tournaments at the Club because of the structure. Starting chips is 6000 and blinds, for the first three rounds, go up every 20 min, and thereafter, every 15 min. Its like super speed poker. I am also the Queen of bubbling at the club. I have made the final table several times and only cashed three times since we started going there a year ago, which is not terrible considering we have only been to the Club about 10x. Last night, I played very tight in the beginning, and then very aggressive toward the middle/end. I came in 1st. It was awesome. It was only an$800 cash, but it felt good to win a live tourney.

On another note, all of my recent, and not so recent, poker success, has made me hate work. Not what I do, but the terms upon which I am employed. Come in at 8 a.m., be chained to your desk until 5 p.m., only 15 days off per year, make yourself look busy if you have nothing to do, etc. I cannot stand conventionality. I have never been a traditionalist. I have always felt that I was born to do something else, be something different, something non-ordinary. I never knew what that was until I discovered my talent at poker.

The difficulty with poker is lay people's naivete towards it. For example, yesterday, I was explaining to a friend of mine how good it felt to earn the respect of great players while we are on the cruise, and she laughed at me. My gut reaction was to be angry, and then I realized that she is simply naive to the sub-culture that is poker. I cannot be angry because she simply lacks understanding.

I have also come to the realization that poker is going to be extremely profitable, and Jon and I will be extremely successful. I am not worried about money, or the future. I just want to be happy, healthy and comfortable.

More later.

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C.

My first big Pokerstars Win!

Yesterday, we returned after a long and delirious trek from Port Canaveral to the Orlando Sheraton for a brief stay, to a 7 a.m. flight, to JFK, New York, to a yellow cab, to Jon's parent's and finally, to our home. Needless to say, we arrived in our apartment, extremely relieved to be home, but exhausted. After a short rest, I started to unpack and Jon did some food shopping (he is the food shopping guru, after all). We settled in around 2ish for lunch and to play the 9k guaranteed on UB. We both ended up busting out before the money- Jon lost with AA and I honestly forgot how I got out.

I also played a $24 satellite for the 40k guaranteed on Full Tilt- I won my entry. I played a TEC on UB- and won my entry to the 40k guaranteed. Then I played a 10$ rebuy on stars, thanks to Lykan Khan's (well respected player on UB) suggestion and ended up cashing for FIRST-$8,700! It was such a long tournament- 1268 entrants and the final table took forever. We ended up doing a five way chop by chip count, which was an excellent deal for me.

I also final-tabled the 8p.m. on UB- $600 for 10th. Of course, my AK, when I pushed, ran into AA. Just like every final table in the 8 p.m. in the last three months- its seriously uncanny. And if I had more chips, I wouldve folded, but only 9x the bb, so I had to push.

I got out of Full Tilt 40k 93/355, which is not terrible considering that I have typically no success on that site at all.

I am starting to think that working is more of liability than it is profitable...I am working hard to get my apartment sold so that I can quit my job and move to New Jersey. It is what Jon and I both want. Each of us have a 8k or 9k cash every other month. And that is just us playing online part time and hardly at all live. I have such good instincts about our future poker success that it makes me sad to think we won't be moving for at least four more months.

Friday, we are heading down to Atlantic City to take Dragon to dinner and I am definitely playing the Saturday $340 at Borgata. I feel that it would be a serious miscarriage of justice to myself- to be in AC and not play this tourney =)

That is all for now...more later.

Good luck and peace,

Lucky C (truly lucky in life).