Absence Makes the Heart...

It wasn't until this morning when I turned around and realized I haven't posted a blog entry in a while. For shame, for shame. Fact is, there's been very little blog-worthy in my world, these days. The new lounge/exotica project continues as a six piece, and as soon as we can find a cool combo organ player, we'll be ready to start doing Dean Martin covers, busking in the parking lot of the Barbary Coast. Or not.

I've hardly touched my FTP account in the last 10 days or so. Partly a function of spending more time with the Good Doctor Mondo this week, what with valentines, and roses, and sushi, and such, and partly because I'm down to $50 in ye olde online roll. Weird, in a way. I'm finishing in the money in around 25% of all my tourneys this year, which is my highest ITM rate ever. But at the same time, I'm not making it deep enough in my one cash to cover the three times I'm buying in and crashing.

But no big deal, as I'm doing nicely in live poker thus far. As defending champion, I managed to take down 2nd in the 2nd semi-annual Fogelberg Invitational, a $20 rebuy home game...and yesterday, in our end of season bar league finale, I managed to outlast 74 other runners to bring home the prize. A medal (nothing worth smelting down...) and $300 samolians. SHIP IT!. LOL

Not a lot of dosh, but then, it is a free bar league. Anyway, the proudest part of the day was probably the fact that I both a) played my best poker ever in a live field of that size, b) was only all in once the entire tournament, and perhaps most importantly, c) got lucky never to get sucked out on. How does one define their best poker? In this case, I played the best TAG style I could, and only played pots I was willing to raise. Except for the first pot I played early (one of only three pots I played in the first two hours), every time I played a hand, I was ahead
when I bet, induced calls or folds when I wanted to, and always felt in command of the situation. All of this while the normal chaos of free poker...stacks doubling, tripling, and wilting away like it was the last game on Earth...was swirling around me. It felt good. Yes, even though it was a bar league, and even though the prize was small potatoes. Just having that feeling of complete control of my game was awesome.

Anyway, there was one hand of note that will burn me for a bit. Down to about 16-17 players (11 player final table), and The Good Doctor Mondo sits down at my table. A couple of hands later, she's in the big blind with her last 4000 in chips. Blinds are 1000/2000. Action folds around to me on the button, where I find myself with 33. I can't fold here. And the SB has a few chips, and is a pretty TAG player whom I respect more than about 85% of the players in this league. Not a great hand, but I'm very likely in front at this point. So I raise it to 4k. I don't really want a call. I had around 25k in chips (2nd or 3rd in chips at this point), and if I lost the 4k to The Good Doctor Mondo, I could certainly live with it. I don't like doubling anyone up, but if I'm going to, it may as well be my lovely wife. But still, I'd like her to fold.

Well, after two hours of relative card death, she wakes up in the BB with AQo, and has to call. And doesn't improve. And goes home. Not happy. I dont' see how I could have played different. I was hoping the raise would be an incentive for her to fold, and be able to survive another orbit, where she might have made final table. But if I call, she's shoving there, anyway, and I have to call 2k at that point. Oh well. We did find a lovely new pan-Asian restaurant last night, and SNL had Justin's re-run, complete with Dick in a Box. So it was a good night...

Today is the FTOPS Main Event. Of course, I'm not taking part, but some of your favorite bloggers are. Personally, I'm pulling for Hoy, but I will you all good luck and deep cashes today.