400, Razz and Pimping

Blog post number 400 today. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee

My Razz skills have been coming up short in tournament play lately. I played the Razz Sat, for FTOPS event #2 last night and chipped up a little early but ran into a wall of bricks that kept falling on my starting hands and left me wondering how varience can run so bad. Examples of my skills are like this.

[Ac 2s 3d Ah] [Jh]
[5d 3d 4d 5c] [3h]
[2c 4d 3h 9c] [Kd]
[6c As 8h] [Qs]
[Ac 8d 5h] [Ts]
[5h 2d 3s 5s] [3d]
[4d 7d 3s Td As Th] [4c] Opponent made a 9 on 7th street
[4c 5d Ad Jc] [Ts]

Now I had a few hands that held up but I kept my stack even with semi steals and from winning 3 hands of notice. The real killer hand was when the guy caught a 9 on 7th street to all but cripple me. I had a nut draw type hand and bricked the last 2 cards. If I win there then I have a great shot but instead I lose about 1000 chips and have to get all my chips in on any above average hand...and then brick. It was frustrating in that I never got the traction I wanted. I did have a nice conversation with spiderjeff. He is leading the FTOPS sat challenge for Razz and gave him an invite to the next KORD tourney in November. We both got knocked out of the Razz sat by the same guy a couple of hands apart and got seated next to each other in the $75 token race a little later. Seemed like a cool guy and I look forward to playing with him again. I also sat at a table with him in the first sat I played in when I got the $115 cash instead of the seat. He may be the true KORD.

Later in the night I played in a half blogger Razz sng with waffles, jusdealem, and surf. This little $1 sng lasted forever but eventually jusdealem took the crown over waffles. I think I owe waffles .77 in a last longer bet because that was all he had left.

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Don't forget to play the mookie, the dookie and the spookie on Full tilt tonight. the mookie (9:00 central) and dookie (10:30 central) use the password of "vegas1" and for the spookie (10:59 central) you need to use "tragedy". I'm not going to paste the pictures because I'm to lazy today.

Just Another Day

Not much of anything today. I had a 2 hour meeting at church last night and then had to come home and do work for said meeting. I may try the Razz Sat. tonight but chances are not all that great for that happening. I have pumkins to carve so unless I get done quick I won't be doing it tonight.

Today I spent part of the morning taking video of the cleanroom and trying to figure out what is causing the particle count to rise by matching up results to the video. So far we have not found anything that looks like a cause so we are going to do a few tests to see if we can make the numbers jump. That probably means I will be walking in circles trying to simulate activity.

A Weekend Donkarama

I played Kat's Donkament on Friday night. I played super crazy and dropped a bunch in an attempt to give away money. After the break I tightened back up and chipped up slowly. As the final table approached I had a smallish stack but enough chips to put pressure on all but maybe two players. I used this some to keep my head above water and I really thought I had a shot. The my daughters comes into the room and asks me to give her a ride to her friend's house. Now the problem here is that I will lose a bunch of chips if I take off so I do the only logical thing. I ramp up the aggression in hopes of a quick double up. I was almost the until I re-raise/pushed astin and ran QT into KK. Win or go home.

After getting back home I jumped into a HORSE tourney and played some cash games. I bubbled the HORSE tourney trying to gain position when I could have folded to the money and I dropped 1 1/2 buy-ins playing cash games. The saving grace for the night was winning a $75 token so I can take another shot at the FTOPS RAZZ event.

Other then that the weekend was pretty layed back. We had soccer on Saturday morning and went to a pumpkin patch in the afternoon. I got home in time to take a shot in the RAZZ sat. and fired up the laptop 10 minutes before the start. I go to sign up and it isn't there. It starts at 7:40...not 8:40. So I watched the baseball game and a movie.

Sunday was a typical day in that w went to church and then watched football. The Bears suck...End of story. No softball because not enough parents wanted to play so it ended up a lazy day at home with a random nap thrown in.

So at some point this week, I'll be taking another shot at the Razz thingy in hopes of regaining my KORD title. I may play a couple more of these token races to build a supply for some other shots at bigger scores.

Just a Bit More

I guess my post went a little too far yesterday. I didn’t mean it to be as harsh as it was because I try to give my experiences in a way that can be used to improve my game as well as anyone who knows less than me about poker. The list of people who know less is small but it is here for them anyway. So, the whole point of yesterdays post was to express that calling there was not the best action in my opinion and it is just my opinion. I think it is a fold or push spot because of the chip stacks involved. I could have been making a play at the initial raise and a push could cause me to fold even with a hand like AJ. A fold is also a solid option in that you conserve chips on a hand that is less than optimal. Calling leaves you with no information and needing a great flop in order to do anything other than a straight bluff. I don’t know…maybe I played it wrong. I’ll take any input anyone wants to give.

It is Friday and thus I will be playing tonight unless something comes up. I heard a rumor at home that a trip to the movie theater might be in the books but it was only a rumor.

I also have my presentation today for the CEO of my company. He flew into the states last weekend and hopped on a plan to Brazil with my boss and arrived back here last night. I’m sure he will be tired and surly so this should be fun.

The weekend will be a little more back to normal in some ways. Baseball E. has a soccer game on Saturday but that is all we have planed for the day. That means doing yard work in the afternoon and maybe an early dinner with me cooking on the grill. Sunday Mrs. PE and I will be playing Softball E's team in a parents/kids game. I'm sure my arm, legs, back and just about every other part of my body will be killing me on Monday morning.

Thats all folks...nothing more to read here...move along and check out some of the great blogs on my blog roll.

Mookie Madness

Wow, what a night. The donkeyness that is the Mookie took off with 112 players and I was ready to make a run. I started of chipping up slowly by winning some small pots and felt good about my game. I got AA early but didn’t get paid so my tight image was keeping people from getting involved. The few times I did get callers they folded to my bets. When I later look down at KK I anticipate a chance to double when there is an over bet in front of me by ck31 who has 2500 chips. I re-raise it to 800 and he calls leaving himself 1700 back. He has now committed 25% of his remaining stack and almost 33% of his pre-flop stack to this hand. The flop is 468 with 2 hearts and I bet out 960 or a little over half of his remaining stack with the knowledge that I will call any push. He pushes and flips over KJ of hearts. We all know a heart is going to come and he takes a big chunk of chips from me. Now I’ve seen ck31 play before and I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at the skills I saw. Most people will realize that they are behind before the flop after a big re-raise and not risk 1/3 of there stack early in a tournament. I’m glad there are players out there that continue to do things like that because they are the ones who have given me the nice ROI I have for the year. I guess Fuel may be right that some bloggers need to learn to throw away hands. Anyway, I chipped back up with aggression and got back over my starting stack but lost traction. The blinds started to eat me up so when there was a raise at my BB from the button, I pushed with J6 suited figuring the player would fold the 70% of his stack raise I threw out there unless he had a premium hand in which case I would have live cards. He flipped over the powerful A9 but and A on the flop killed me and I went home.

I also played the Dookie and made the final table but missed the cash by a couple spots. I eventually went to the cash tables and won back my buy-ins for the night so I guess it was a night of staying even. I’m beginning to like the 25NL cash tables. The play isn’t very good for the most part and seems to be a good way to win a few bucks when you need it.

Today at work I get to prepare for a meeting with the CEO. I have a 30 minute presentation to work on today but it shouldn’t be that hard to finish up. I’ve also made the decision to find a new job. I saw an opening in the city recreation department that should pay me what I’m making now if I can get the job. It would be running all the programs like soccer and trips to the museum. I know this would be a nice change and would put me in a job that I would really love to do. We’ll see what happens because I know I don’t want to continue working here.

Not Happy Sometimes

It really disturbs me when the quality of the help you have doesn’t meet the expectations you are looking for. When this happens you spend hours of time trying to figure out what has broken down in a system when in reality it is the people that have broken down. In essence, it comes down to laziness and returning to a comfort zone.

When an issue came up with our customer, we figured out away to eliminate the problem with a little bit of extra work. It was as simple as creating a jig and checking returned parts for squareness and determining if the part could be used again or needed to be scrapped. It is a simple process and can be done quickly. The production manager and I trained the guys who do it and expressed the need to have this inspection done so that nothing gets trough. Today I find out that the one inspector sent things through that almost passed. He said they were really close.

I’m very happy right now.

Play this tonight.

Tournament: The Mookie
When: tonight. 10pm ET
Game: NLHE Deepstack
Buyin: $10+1
Password: vegas1

Play this tomorrow.

Tournament: Riverchasers Online Poker Tour
When: Thursday. 9pm ET
Game: NLHE Deepstack
Buyin: $10+1
Password: Riverchasers

I friggin hate work.

The Next KORD Tourney and the BBToo

I’m looking at Tuesday November 20th for the next KORD tourney. I think we’ll keep everything the same except maybe move it up a little to start at 8:30 or 8:45. The main reason for that Tuesday is that I need to have it after the 15th of the month so Waffles has some money and I don’t want to get in the way of the BBToo. I could do it on the 16th if people would rather keep it as a Friday Donkament in conjunction with Kat’s tourney. Tell me what you think about the time and date.

So how do you like this?


I like the crooked look and until I get something better I need to use this one..

Don’t forget about the Mookie on Wednesday at 9:00 central with the password of vegas1. Also, remember the Riverchasers event on Thursday at 8:00 central with riverchasers as the password. Both of these events are part of the BBToo along with the HOY and Don’s Big Game so come on out and enjoy the fun.

And last of all I’d like to say way to go to JJ for winning the Hoy on Monday night.

Choking on a KORD and Going Deep

Friday night was a great night for Razz as 22 players showed up for the blogger Razz event, The KORD Classic. Her are the Players that showed up.



It was a hard contested battle as these player work for position to become the KORD. Overall the event last just under 3 hours which might be a record for a field of this size. And the play was much better than the nightly Razz tourney that takes place on Full Tilt at 8:45 central time.

In the end we had some super make the final table.

A fine collection of want to be KORDs. You will notice that the self proclaimed KORD is on the final table. But things didn't go as I wanted them to go and I got knocked in 6th.

The final four looked like this. I have no idea who ZZZ is but he played well but came up short.


And the cashers.

And here is how they finished.

Being the lazy ass that I am I didn't thank everyone at their blog but I do thank everyone for come and having some donkey fun. I have a banner in honor of the new KORD up in the next couple days. I need to find a picture of some donkeys first.

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As for the rest of my weekend of play I final tabled the $2 rebuy on FT. I got knocked out on this hand when I knew he was full of crap and any ace would be ahead. This guy was the suckout king. He hit hands like this many times and got rewarded by luck.


It was still a nice little payday that ended around 3 am Sunday morning. At least I had 3 1/2 hours of sleep before I hd to get up.

Flopping The Nutz

Sorry I have not updated the KORD info...been real busy. I'll try and get it up tonight. I just wanted to show the power of the Hammer. This 2.5K hand helped get me to the final table.

NightRanger is the New KORD

After a long battle at the final table NightRanger outlasted JL514 to win the first ever KORD Classic. Buddydank was the other money winner. 22 Razz Donks showed up and played in this world class event. More to come later.

Maybe the Powers that Be Will Call October 19th KORD Day...A New Holiday

I have an all day meeting that I’m running and would rather call in sick. Anyway, play the KORD Classic tonight and have the chance to knock off a Razz donk. Remember that it starts at 9:15 central time and costs only $5+.50. The game is at Full Tilt and the password is “pokere”. I’ve added a little extra to the prize pool because I’m feeling generous and trying to sway the poker gods to my favor for FTOPS event 2. Come play.

I now know that my token will go for the razz sat. Not because of anything other than I won’t be around to play the Big Game. Softball E has a tourney and I don’t think we’ll be back in time to play. It was nice to have life make the decision for me.

We continue this weekend with soccer but drop cheerleading and also add some softball on Saturday as well as Sunday. A typical weekend for the family so nothing new. That’s about all. See you tonight on Full Tilt at the KORD Classic.

For a Fist Full of Tokens

With FTOPS coming up and the BBToo starting in a few days I made the decision to go after a couple of tokens in the nightly frenzy's. We'll I missed the $26 frenzy so I played a token race instead and walked away with the prize. A little later I jumped into $75 token frenzy and ended up getting knocked out with the hammer. I did get the token so it was nice to be able to call the all-in push fest with the hammer and not worry about it being sucked out on.

two for two in tokens last night was fun. I'll save one for the hoy next week, if I can play it, but what do I do with the $75 chip. Do I use it for the Big Game or do I use it to hit the Razz sat to FTOPs event #2. This becomes a choice of +ev vs fun with bloggers. It's not that I don't think I can win blogger events because I do have a win but I thinkthe best use of the chip is to try and win my spot into the FTOPs Razz event. With the terrible play in many Razz events I think it would be idiotic of me to give up the chance for a bigger score. I'll just have to win another token to play in the Big Game.

Last night I played the $5 Razz tourney and ran into this hand during the one stage of the tourney.

*** 3RD STREET ***
Dealt to slipshaft [5c]
Dealt to Sildar [Tc]
Dealt to duergar [Qc]
Dealt to pokerenthusiast [5d 3c] [4d]
Dealt to Velociraptor24 [8h]
Dealt to klaymonstr [As]
Dealt to NotNowChief [8d]
duergar is high with [Qc]
duergar brings in for 15
pokerenthusiast completes it to 50
Velociraptor24 folds
klaymonstr folds
NotNowChief folds
slipshaft calls 50
Sildar folds
duergar folds

With this hand you should raise to try and thin the field. Getting heads up makes winning much easier.

*** 4TH STREET ***
Dealt to slipshaft [5c] [7h]
Dealt to pokerenthusiast [5d 3c 4d] [5s]
pokerenthusiast bets 50
slipshaft calls 50

I bet here because I don't want to show that I bricked. Even though this card hurts, I'm not out of the hand by a long shot. No free cards.

*** 5TH STREET ***
Dealt to slipshaft [5c 7h] [Ts]
Dealt to pokerenthusiast [5d 3c 4d 5s] [4c]
slipshaft bets 100
pokerenthusiast raises to 200
slipshaft calls 100

Now I have bricked again but it only appears to be the first brick. The re-raise is more of a steal attempt and proof that the paired 4 doesn't scare me and that a card lower than his 10 will put me ahead...even if it isn't true. This may be an advanced type play so be careful because you have to know the players and if they can fold a hand.

*** 6TH STREET ***
Dealt to slipshaft [5c 7h Ts] [Kd]
Dealt to pokerenthusiast [5d 3c 4d 5s 4c] [Ad]
slipshaft checks
pokerenthusiast bets 100
slipshaft folds

Now with his hand looking bad at a made 10 at best, I take another shot with what looks to be a very solid and...and it does have a great draw if he calls. Any 2, 6 or 7 will probably win the hand for me. The key to winning this hand was setting up the seed of doubt with the re-raise when I was behind. My re-raise was information gather and also gave him an idea to the apparent stregnth of my hand. If he comes back at me on my re-raise then I have a clear understanding of where he is at.

Just Last Longer

I just finished up a Razz sat. for FTOPS event #2. There were some very good player in the vent but the cream came to the top as I made the final three players and was sure of the $115 cash and a a 67% chance at a seat. I was the short stack by a little bit but the bring in bet was 400 with an ante of 100 I think. Anyway, I had the bring in 5 of 6 hands and got very short. I chipped back up and almost even with 2nd place but ran into a tough hand where we both had a made 9 but his was one better. That was the death blow and I left with a wimper the next hand. I held the chip lead for much of the tourney but started catching pairs and face cards. I wait for my chances and stayed close to my chip stack but could gain any leverage like I had when I held the lead. I played we'll and will go earn another token and try again.

Look at the New BBT and Some More Razz

Oh my...look at the great prizes that will be given out during the next BBT series. There will be weekly give always for the Sunday big tourney on Full Tilt to the best overall player of the week and the chance to go to the Aussie Millions in January to the champion of the winners tourney. For a complete list got Al's site.


Now here is some Razz info.


Here is an example of a hand I played where I folded the better hand but made the right decision.

*** 3RD STREET ***
Dealt to GRYMSKINK [Qh]
Dealt to BobGC [Th]
Dealt to pokerenthusiast [9d 3s] [5c]
Dealt to ediddy311 [Ac]
Dealt to derOesi [9c]
GRYMSKINK is high with [Qh]
GRYMSKINK brings in for $0.15
BobGC calls $0.15
pokerenthusiast completes it to $0.50
ediddy311 calls $0.50
derOesi folds
GRYMSKINK folds
BobGC folds

I made the original bet because someone with a 10 up tried to limp into the hand. There was only one player behind me that could have a better hand so I took a chance that he would fold with a face card behind. We end up going heads up in a hand that I am probably behind.

*** 4TH STREET ***
Dealt to pokerenthusiast [9d 3s 5c] [8c]
Dealt to ediddy311 [Ac] [4d]
ediddy311 bets $0.50
pokerenthusiast calls $0.50

I made the call here because it is a small bet and even though I'm behind, i may not be far behind...or even ahead.

*** 5TH STREET ***
Dealt to pokerenthusiast [9d 3s 5c 8c] [9s]
Dealt to ediddy311 [Ac 4d] [Kc]
pokerenthusiast bets $1
ediddy311 calls $1
*** 6TH STREET ***
Dealt to pokerenthusiast [9d 3s 5c 8c 9s] [6s]
Dealt to ediddy311 [Ac 4d Kc] [3d]
pokerenthusiast checks
ediddy311 bets $1
pokerenthusiast folds
Uncalled bet of $1 returned to ediddy311

At this point I have to get ride of the hand. If he holds any two cards 9 or lower that doesn't pair the board I'm behind. He show his cards.

ediddy311 shows [Td 2d Ac 4d Kc 3d] T,4,3,2,A

The question is do I call if I know that I'm ahead at this point. I'd have to call but I would be very vulnerable. If I get a 7,4,2 or A I improve but the end point of my hand stays the same. He needs any 5,6,7 or 8 to lock the hand and any 9 if I don't improve. Thats 13 sure outs and another probable out. Even knowing his hand I have to call but know that I will lose the extra $2 36% of the time but when you figure in the possibility that he could already have the 567 or 8 the it is a clear fold when you don't know his hand.

It also illustrates why you play with three cards below an 8. My hand was vulnerable but I got away when my chances to win the hand was not worth the size of the pot. Stay away from non premium hands unless you can get away from them. This was a steal hand and I probably stayed one bet to long.


And don't forget this on Friday.

A Little More Razz

So now that we understand the starting requirements for Razz a little better, I’d like go into a little detail about the next stage of Razz. Determining how you want to play a hand.

Here is an example from the 2000 Guaranteed on Full Tilt. Players were dealt as follows.

Dealt to Elendil22 [6h]
Dealt to AHNAHN [Ts]
Dealt to Ironface337 [2c]
Dealt to deadbolt [Td]
Dealt to kevi3205 [8h]
Dealt to pokerenthusiast [7d 6s] [As]
Dealt to hollisterpmp [8c]
Dealt to Gray Fox 17-85 [3s]
AHNAHN is high with [Ts]

Ahnahn has the bring in because of holding the highest up card. The bring in is a forced bet after the antes and encourages action to take place. The next action moves to the person to the left of the bring in who is Ironface337. As you look at the cards you need to focus on the up cards of your opponents and keep track of quality cards that are folded as well as the ones in play. Here is how the action went.

AHNAHN brings in for 15
Ironface337 folds
deadbolt folds
kevi3205 folds
pokerenthusiast completes it to 50
hollisterpmp folds
Gray Fox 17-85 calls 50
Elendil22 folds
AHNAHN calls 35

What you see is a bet by pokerenthusiast, a call by Gray Fox 17-85 with a 3 up and a call by AHNAHN with a 10 up. The assumptions you must make here is that Gray Fox has three cards below a 9 and AHNAHN has 2 below a 10. These assumptions are based on what you have learned so far. I question AHNAHN calling here with two other players in because he is clearly behind both players. Even with two low cards he will be trailing either player if they get two cards below a 9. Regardless he made the call and the hand continues.

*** 4TH STREET ***
Dealt to AHNAHN [Ts] [5c]
Dealt to pokerenthusiast [7d 6s As] [2h]
Dealt to Gray Fox 17-85 [3s] [Jd]

Here pokerenthusiast is clearly ahead. In this case you will always want to bet to try and get heads up with an apponent. It is always easier to beat one player than two.

pokerenthusiast bets 50
Gray Fox 17-85 folds
AHNAHN calls 50

From the action you can see that Gray Fox folded and AHNAHN called. This defines the hand of your remaining opponent and you can be assured that he has three cards 7 and lower but he is still behind.

*** 5TH STREET ***
Dealt to AHNAHN [Ts 5c] [Kd]
Dealt to pokerenthusiast [7d 6s As 2h] [Tc]

Pokerenthusiast has a made 10 vs. a made K by ANHAHN. Pokerenthusiast must bet here to make the opponent pay to see another card.

pokerenthusiast bets 100
AHNAHN has 15 seconds left to act
AHNAHN calls 100

Very questionable call here but AHNAHN is getting 4.3 to 1 to call but does he have the odds? Lets assume he has A2 behind. In this case he needs one card 7 or below to improve to a better hand than pokerenthusiast. But if pokerenthusiast hit any card below a 10 that doesn’t pair then AHNAHN is still behind. AHNAHN has 12 cards to take the lead but pokerenthusiast has 16 outs to improve so he should fold but he is now a chaser.

*** 6TH STREET ***
Dealt to AHNAHN [Ts 5c Kd] [9d]
Dealt to pokerenthusiast [7d 6s As 2h Tc] [7c]
pokerenthusiast bets 100
AHNAHN folds
Uncalled bet of 100 returned to pokerenthusiast
pokerenthusiast mucks
pokerenthusiast wins the pot (530)

Now after hitting a 9 and having a lesser made 10, he folds to a bet and pokerenthusiast scoops the pot. Now, if you remember right, AHNAHN should not have been involved in the hand with two players who clearly had better hands. This a great example of how to look at the board and know you are ahead or behind and thus you can make the right play by betting, calling or folding your hand.

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10

Someone asked me to write 10 ore things about me that nobody knows so here we go.

1# In 1996 there was a huge storm that came through the town I lived. We had something like 16 inches of rain in a 24-hour period and I scrambled to get things out of the basement as the storm water rushed into it. As it started I, figured just getting things off the floor would be fine but had to hurry to get the T.V. and stereo out before they were ruined. I ended up having almost 4 feet of water in my basement and had to throw away over 700 books that I had collected over the years. Anyway, FEMA came to the house, did some measuring, and gave me a check for $1500 to repair the damages. They didn’t give me money to fix the furnace because the water had to be at least 4 feet before it was considered no good. I contacted FEMA and asked them to re-evaluate my house after I had repaired the drywall and when they asked how high the water was I said just over 4 feet. I got another check to cover the furnace. I only fudged by a couple of inches.

2# I once got in trouble for take a bottle of vodka on a band trip. We stayed over night in a hotel some place and I thought it would be cool to have a few drinks. I was a sophomore and didn’t really have any clue how to drink. Anyway, one of the people I roomed with told someone that I had a bottle and they told the band director. He came in and asked about it and we/I eventually gave in and gave the booze to him. He promised to keep it between us and that would be that. The next week I am called into the principles office and he asks about the incident. I explain what happened and why and his next statement was the key. He asks, “Was the bottle opened?” I answered honestly that the bottle was not open when I gave it to the band director. That was the end of the incident. He didn’t ask if we drank any of it…just if the bottle was open…and it was closed when I turned it in.

3# When I was in junior high, my neighbor and I would climb onto the roof of his barn and watch the girl next door and her friends swim in their swimming pool. She was 3 years older then I and always wore a bikini…and so did her friends.

4# The summer before my junior year I took my moms car for a ride because I wanted a frozen pizza. I didn’t have my license at the time and drove 5 miles out of my way just because I could. I almost put the car in the ditch when I was driving 70 mph down a gravel road but avoided danger with my great driving skills. I’ve never told her that story.

5# When I was in college my mom found a storage container full of seeds in my room. Most of the time the container was used for storing my D&D dice but after cleaning a bag full of weed, I had to put the seeds somewhere. I came home one day and my mom asks me what was in the container and I told her pot seeds. She asked me where I got them and I said they were for a couple of my friends and I and that we didn’t know what to do with them. She asked that I never bring that stuff back into the house and I never did. Later on she asked me about my marijuana use and I told her the truth. I have done it a few times but it is no big deal. I think it floored her put I also think my honesty somehow made it better. Since that day I’ve probably smoked pot no more than 10 times and it had been 15 years since my last toke.

#6 I’m becoming a surly jerk as I get older. I find that I am less tolerant of many things that really don’t matter. I fight with this every day and maybe I will come to the realization that I am to uptight.

#7 I looked into finding out who my biological parents are a few year back. A layer friend of mine said it wouldn’t be that hard and told me all the step I needed to follow in order to release their information. I have done nothing more on that because I’m not really concerned about someone who gave up on me because I have a family that won’t.

8# I drove a car through the front yard of someone I didn’t know. Back in 1990 there was a tornado in Plainfield, Illinois and I went there shortly after the twister hit. A friend lives there and he asked me to run down and check out his house and make sure his wife was ok because he couldn’t get through on the phone. The 20 minute drive took almost 2 hours and I had to go through the front yard in order to get to where I was heading. As I came around the corner I saw what was left of a grove of trees and the remnants of a subdivision that no longer was there. In all, 29 people died from the storm but luckily my friends house was spared. But the photographs from strangers scrapbooks covered the ground and the incident shook me up. A tornado is nothing I ever want to witness in person again.

#9 and #10 In high school I went out with this one girl. We got along great and we were about as serious as juniors in high school can be. Then one day she breaks it off and never gave me any indication of why we could date no longer. Later that year she moved to another town about 15 miles away and I figured that was the end. During the summer that followed she came back in town on many occasions and her and one of my classmates, we’ll call her TC, would stop by and say hi. After a while she started to stop by on her own and we started seeing each other again in some sense. Then she dropped a bomb. The reason she had broken up is because TC had tried to commit suicide because she liked me but I was going out with someone else. This floored me and we talked about how we could continue to see each other if it was going to cause potential harm to one of our friends. This is when I did the most logical thing and asked the school councilor how we should proceed. The councilor knew the situation and said that it was important not to hide it and let her know how we felt about each other. Obvious good advise and we did just that. TC was glad that we told her and everything ended up just fine. I still can’t believe I talked to a school councilor about a problem. The second part of this story only has one thing. TC is now a lesbian and thus I have turned a woman away from men.

Day One of Razz Rules

With 5 days to go before the KORD Classic I thought I'd throw out some of My Guiding Rules to Razz. There will be a little each of the next 5 days so stay tuned to see what it takes to be in the know about Razz.

Razz at the Start

When playing any game the first thing you have to do is look at your cards and determine if they are playable or not. In Razz, a 7 card stud game, you are looking for a 5 card low hand with the best hand being A2345. That’s right, straights don’t count in Razz. Flushes don’t count either. So realistically, and 3 card combination with all cards being 7 or under can be seen as a playable hand. You may want to avoid the 765 hands but you can certainly see a flop with it . Any of the hands above are worth seeing a flop with and even calling raises pre-4th street is perfectly fine. After you get 3 cards to an 8 pre-flop you start running into marginal at best hands. Calling with an 8 is ok based on reads but you must be careful with it and because it is vulnerable to the chasers. It is better to play with an 8 if it is a down card but remember to proceed with caution. Most other hands are not playable in Razz. There are exceptions to these rules but that depends on chip counts and what your up card is compared to the up cards of your opponents.

Tomorrow I’ll have the next installment of My Guiding Rules to Razz.

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We got through the weekend without any issues. We had no soccer so that made things easier. Friday we went to the homecoming football game and watch our team fight hard to tie up the game late in the 3rd quarter only to watch our opponents march right down the field and score a touchdown. That was the beginning of the end as we lost by 2 touchdowns.

Saturday had a little cheerleading for Speedy E. and softball for Softball E. We split up the forces and got each of the girls where they needed to be and spent the afternoon in the chilly weather watching the kids do thier thing.

Sunday was spent at church early and moved into sftball in the afternoon. Softball E. threw great and continues to improve her control each time she pitches. The end of the day came witha trip to the chinese place down the road and some fried rice and crab rangoons.

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Poker was about average with the exception of winning a $75 token for the Razz sat. For FTOPs event #2. I'll go after this some time this week and with 1 of 5 players getting a tivket I think my chances are good. I won the token on my first try so if I can win my way in on this attempt I'll be in a $300+ tourney for $15. I like my chances.

I also took my first shot at event #3 and ran KK into AA and got knocked out early. I used a token for this also and thus I'm only in for $6.60 so far.

As for every other tourney I played, I donked out of 2 others before going deep in a hold'em tourney. It was a night of 3 outers as I lost a big hand early but clawed back into it only to lose with my KQ vs. Q7. The guy raised 3x to 480 from the button and I pushed my 2800 chips into the mix. He called 80% of his stack to play his Q7 so I know I made the right move based on my read. I'm glad people play like this because it is going to pay for me when i win the big one when the odds line up in my favor.

I also played a little cash but lost a few bucks doing so. I made a terrible call after he bet and I re-raised. He push and I called with my flush draw. All of this was on after the flop and I did have odds in the end to call getting 4-1 on my money. He pushed with top pair of tens and a crappy kicker. So I guess I ended up with 15 outs so it was really the right call at th end.

I grinded for the next hour or so I got back to even before giving a little back just before I quit.

So don't forget the Kord Classic on Friday and while you are at it you can play Kat's $1 rebuy earlier that same night. You can have double the donkarama for a cheap price and spend the night with bloggers.

Please Double Me Up

Edit*****

Don't forget Kat's Donkament on Full Tilt tonight. Password is Donkarama and it starts at 8:00 central

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It is Friday morning and in a few hours I have to get up and got to work. I went upstairs at around midnight but I have not been able to fall asleep. I guess there is no good time for insomnia. So I write this post because I can’t sleep.

I played for a little bit and doubled up playing $25 nl. The table I was playing was a good mix of calling stations and passive donks with one agro to keep the chips moving around. The guy who doubled me had no idea I held pocket aces. The flop came small so I bet out from early position and was re-raised by my opponent. Now I could slow down here in hopes of showing weakness but I think his agro 48% flop seeing ass will call my push and he does call with his QQ. Tough hand to get away from but the bet for his whole stack could have been a clue. I also hit a nice pot when I flopped a set and got paid off on through the turn. While playing $50 nl. So a good night overall.

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Just a reminder of my post from yesterday that next Friday will be “The Poker Enthusiast “KORD Classic” on Full Tilt. I’m gonna hold one tourney a month for the rest of the year and throw in any money that I get from player sign ups and the rake that I get from them. It isn’t much but it is a way of saying thanks to my readers and the players who have signed up through my site. I’ll probably keep the buy-in down for the rest of the year and increase it in January. Also, I am going to change the game played each month but will have Razz at least once a quarter because I want to.

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I have a busy weekend coming up so after a little poker on Friday night I will be done for the rest of the weekend for the most part.

Have a great weekend.

The Poker Enthusiast KORD Classic

Yes I'm going to hold a stupid Razz tourney on Full Tilt. I've added a little money to make it fun and here are the details.

When: October 19th at 22:15 (that is 9:15 central time)
What: Razz Tournament #29111966 (10/19/07 22:15ET)
Where: Full Tilt under private tournaments
Buy-in: $5+.50
Password: pokere

The winner of the event wins the chance to be called KORD and will have a featured link to there blog if they have one. I will take some random screen shots during the event and post them for all eternity. So if you think you can play the game or just want to try something new come and play on the 19th.

No Mookie, But the Dookie

I had a busy day yesterday with putting out fires at work so I wasn't sure what I wanted to do last night. After a few trips to various places I made it home and had a dinner of Culver's $1 burger special and some cheese curds because I'm already fat and a little fried food is good for fat people.

At some point I opened up the lap top and fired up a token sng and got my token. I got lucky when I pushed as a short stack with KQ and won vs. the powerful A7 when I hit a Q. I also survived a scary moment when I caught KK on the token bubble and and had to call a big stack raise that put me all-in. his K9 suited caught a 9 and a flush draw on the flop but didn't come home for him to give me the chips I needed to win the token.

Around this time I fired up Razz and was card dead for much of this early. I played 5 hands in the first hour with two of those hands being walks when I had the bring in. Anyway, I chipped up a little and as we got a bit deeper I got involved in a hand that a chaser caught and I was on life support. I chipped back up on a few good hands when my hand of fate killed me when the chip leader called me down and hit runner runner to hit the nut low and bust me short of the money.

After chatting with Surf for a while I made the Dookie my last action of the night. It was turbo HORSE and I was rewarded with a few good hands early. I stayed tight and pushed my edges hard and made it to the final table with a nice stack. I hit a few big hands like a 6 cards flush in Stud and had a couple of big pairs hold up and soon I was the big chip leader. After the bubble broke I got lucky when raised a short stack with a semi solid starting hand and missed the flop but was priced in for the call. He flopped trips but I hit a flush when I got 2 straight diamonds on the turn and the river to get down to three. Bayne was knocked out a little later and I was faced with a big chip lead Omaha hl on the table. I missed on a big hand and lost the lead based on the huge blinds but fought hard and got back to even during Razz and Stud only to lose it all when my JJ behind lost to 7s and 4s. I knew I was behind at 5th street and I put him on his hand but also knew if I paired I'd take it down. I missed and he won the day.

I have a bit of news that I should post tomorrow or later today. It is nothing life changing but more on the fun side. Look for news about The KORD and maybe a little free money thrown in for my readers.

Mookie Night Tonight...Again

Not a lot to say today other than that tonight is Mookie night on Full Tilt. Sign on and play at 9:00 central time to enjoy the donkey madness. Find it under the private tournament tab and use the password "vegas1" to play. Buy-in for the event is $10+1.
You can also play the Dookie at 10:30 which has a $5+.50 buy-in.

I was going to try and play a little last night to grind out a buy-in at $25nl but my eyes kept closing so I thought it better to stay away. So then I went up stairs and tried to go to sleep and I couldn't. This is one of the jetlag issues I've been dealing with for the last couple days. Anyway, I fell alssp around 2:00 am after watching some movie that was a waste of time. I'm hoping to get some sleep tonight but we shall see.

Speedy Enthusiast has her last football cheerleading gig on Saturday. Baseball Enthusiast has no soccer this weekend but still has three games left. Softball Enthusiast has basketball cheerleading tryouts today and has softball both Saturday and Sunday. Just a typical week in the PE household.

It is FTOP Time of Year

FTOPs is here, well in another month and I think I’m going try and get into an event or two this time. The two events, Razz and Horse, I’d like to play are on Thursday nights and so unless I want to take the next day off I won’t be playing them. Below are the events that I may try and play.

Event #2
Thursday, Nov 8th
21:00 ET $300 + $22
Razz $100,000

Event #3
Friday, Nov 9th
21:00 ET $200 + $16
PLH $300,000

Event #9
Tuesday, Nov 13th
21:00 ET $200 + $16
PLO Hi/Lo $150,000

Event #11
Thursday, Nov 15th
21:00 ET $500 + $35
HORSE $250,000

Event #12
Friday, Nov 16th
21:00 ET $200 + $16
LH 6-Max $200,000

If I had my choice of one event then I would play Razz. I’ve had the most consistent success in Razz and thus I think this gives me the best chance of going deep. The price is a little high so I won’t buy-in directly. I’ll take a couple shots at it by playing a few $75 token frenzies and then playing the $75 qualifiers for the Razz event. I think I can play my way into this for under $60 so It would be stupid to buy-in anyway.

The number two event for me will be the PLH event #3. I’ve played some pot limit events and I feel I can do well in this. I also think I can buy into this for a smaller price and take a shot at a bigger pay day.

Number three on the list is PLO h/l or should I say event #9. Tuesdays suck but I like this game and have done ok in it in the past.

The Horse event is #4 but with a $500 buy-in I don’t think I’ll be playing it. If I can get into the first two event for near the minimum then I will take a couple of shots at this.

The limit hold’em event is really something that looks good because it is on a Friday. Limit hold’em tourneys are boring as hell but you can go deep if you stay focused and the donkeys don’t draw out on you real bad.

So that is what I have in store over the next few weeks as well as playing some of my other favorites.

By the way…say congrates to surf who qualified for event #1 for $30 in a re-buy tourney. When he was down to 4 players, he had as many chips as the rest of the layers combined and with 3 players getting a seat., he put pressure on the two middle stacks and made them play against the short stack. Well played man.

That’s it for today. Have a good one.

Jet Lag and Life

It’s Monday and I’m very tired. The long flight back home has caught up to me as I finally fell asleep last/this morning at around 4:00. I thought I would be fine today after a good sleep on Saturday and a long day in the sun watching softball but it didn’t work out that way. I’m hoping to be back to normal in a couple of days.

I missed a lot while I was away. I missed the chance to see a couple soccer games, a few cheerleading events and five softball games. It is disappointing to miss my kids’ stuff because of work but I guess I have to do what I have to do.

I did get to see my daughter play two games yesterday. They won both games vs. a team they had played and beat earlier in the year. They looked even better this time around and SE pitched very well except for one inning where she struggled to throw strikes.

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I know this is a poker blog and that I’ve kind of stepped away from poker for a few days but it is mine so there you go. Anyway, I have a few more videos for you to see.

This first one is of a waterfall near Mt. Fuji. The water comes right out of the rocks as it is spring fed.



This second video is of another waterfall that is probably 50-60 feet high.



This last video if of Yuji drinking some sake. I wish we would have had more video of him because he had me laughing as hard as I’ve ever laughed in my life. It is probably more funny to me than you.



I have to thank John for use of the video.

Home at Last

I'm Home. It is a place that brings comfort to most of us during trying times as well as continued joy when things go well. Walking out of Terminal 5 at ORD and seeing my wife driving around the corner in the van was a moment of joy to me as it signified the end of a long journey that would soon be over. Short 45 minute drive later we were home and I was again sitting in my chair in front of the t.v. waiting for the long day to take over and put me to sleep.

My trip home started around 10:30 Saturday morning in Hachioji, Japan. JG, my traveling companion and I chacked out of the hotel and went out in search of the bus stop that was near our hotel. Nobody actually showed us where it was at but as to educated americans we figured ths would be no problem. We were dropped off right around the corner so the logical spot for pick-up would be the same. It wasn't. I went into the building that 10 months ago was the bus depoit and realized things had changed. I asked a lady at the desk for a bus ticket and she explained through broken english that we had to go across the way to the local bus station.

Our trip to the bus station was easy. We waited for the lights to change so we could cross the street legally and proceeded to the destination. The lady at the information counter was very helpful but had no answers for us. They don't sell tickets for the Narita Airport bus there. We still had an hour before the bus arrived so we had time. We headed back to the hotel. Most of the people at the hotel desk spoke a resemblance of english so we figured this would be our best chance. We explained our problem as best we could and one of the men behind the desk came to our rescue. He scampered around the desk as we follwed along behind with our baggage to the front of the hotel. He pointed in the direction we had just come from and said there was an information sign across the street. We headed back in the direction we had come from and found the sign which was in clearly readable Japanese. OK...what do we do now. We have 45 minutes until the bus arrives. After a short discussion we head back to the bust drop-off area and wait.

We stand there until 12:00 and I take a look at a map that I was given by my boss. It shows two buss spots on the map...the one we are at and another one across the street from our hotel. We decide to go back since this was a drop off spot and we were the only people with bags. As we headed back we made our contingency plans if we missed the bus and proceeded with little faith in our results thus far. We saw a bus stop sign but nothing that suggested that it was the one we wanted. We waited in silence and watched for the bus that would take us to the airport and continue our journey home. That's when an old Japanese guy walks up and says"Narita...Airport bus?". Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee...we found the right place just in time.

The bus trip is long but we got to see thing in the day time and saw much of Tokyo from the freeway point of view. It is a huge city that has no comparison unless you have every driven for 2 hours straight at 60 MPH and had houses in all directions as far as you can see. We had a few hours to kill at the airport and had as close to an American meal as can be had in a far of land.

When we finally got on the plane we went to our seats(we didn't sit together so we could each have a window seat) and I had the fun of sitting next to an older lady who had a bad cold and hacked up a couple of lungs during the flight. Anyway, I actually slept a little on the way home and felt good when we arrived back in Chicago. It was a good trip and I will be going back in January. This is a little video that I'm putting together for work. I actually have a few videos but this is more of a fun video. I have more to add and it needs some more editing but here it is.

Friday Means One More Day

Japanese Italian was good last night. It is different than anything I’d find back at home but it tasted fantastic. I had shrimp and mushroom spaghetti in a marinara sauce with an Asahi beer and as an appetizer we had some pizza. The pizza was the size of a dinner plate and is the typical serving size here. A little bit to small for a fat American like me.

So after dinner I fired up Full Tilt and played a hold’em MTT and a Razz MTT to kill time before I headed to bed. Neither was a big field so my time commitment was small and I was ready to rip. The hold’em tourney was terrible early. I was card dead and I blinded down slowly with a few steals here and there to keep me from dropping to fast. In the 2nd hour I found 88 in middle position and I pushed the limper in front of me in hopes of buying some chips or winning a coin flip. The problem was the cut off calling and the button pushing all-in behinds me. Everyone folded to the button as he flipped over aces. But an 8 hits the flop and I triple up. I held my own from that point on and as we approached the money bubble I had a nice stack and was sitting in 10th place overall. Then the big stack raised from early position. He had been raising a lot and I put him on a weak ace. Normally I might just raise here but I want his chips and a top 5 spot so I push. He calls with his A3o and hits a 3 on the flop. I had a flush draw and a straight draw as well as any of the remaining 3 kings for the win but I missed and went home 2 from the money. I like my play because he is an idiot for calling of 70% of his stack with A3.

Razz was Razz. I stayed alive and moved up and down before taking the chip lead with maybe 12 players left. I was brutalized by a suck out but came back and made it to the final table as one of the short stacks. I stayed patient and focused and battled hard to move up and took the chip lead with 5 players left. The blinds were huge and any hand could bust any one of us. Anyway, I ended the game in 2nd place and another Razz final table.

On Saturday Morning I’ll be playing for a few hours. That will be Friday night for all of you Americans back in the states so look for me on the tables or on the chat box and I’ll tell you about my trip.

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I just got back from dinner and it is 11:00 pm Friday night. We went out for Shabu Shabu and drank Asahi and Sake. I learned about Wabi Sabi, a Japanese tradition when drinking sake and how you ask the person poring your drink to stop filling. I had a great time and called it an early night. I leave Saturday at around 6 pm and get back to Chicago around 3 pm on Saturday. Time travel is great.

Semi-Naked Poker Can Be Hard

Semi-naked poker is leaves you vulnerable…I found this out. I played a HORSE tourney last night and bubbled the final table. I had one hand that made the difference in going deeper and going home. In hold’em I had A8 in the small blind and folded when I was getting something like 5-1 to call. The flop was 8Q8 and I would have won a huge pot and been right at the chip leaders heals.

After HORSE I jumped onto a $25 nl table and stayed about even for a long time. The deck hit me in the face when an opponent raised and I re-raised with my AK to isolate. The flop was KQx and he bet out. I reraised and he re-re-raised me and I called. I don’t think he does this with trips so the possibility is that he holds KQ or a strong K…maybe a draw with AJ or JT. The turn is x and he bets out again for the pot. What do I do here? I push with TPTK like an idiot and he calls with KQ. I spike the ace on the river to suck out huge.

I chipped up some more when I get dealt AA and raise it to .75. A caller comes along and the SB re-raises to$3.50. I want to isolate so I bump it again to $10 because I know this guy will call. The caller folds and the SB bumps it to about $17 or so. At this point I know he’ll call the push and he does with his QQ. After the hand I’m back to my starting stack and pissed. So I’m even in the suck out department and up a few bucks overall. I grinded for a while longer and walked away up about half a buy-in.

I took some video of the ride to the plant today. As we approached the plant and the narrow streets leading to it we hit a bump and I got a blue screen. The file was still there after I rebooted but the file was messed up and I lost the video. I’ll try again tomorrow.

We have a machine technician coming in to show us how to run a new machine we are buying today. After that I have a meeting with some of the quality people on site and then we will go over some printing ideas and methods so we can help some of our customers back home.

I’m not sure what is for dinner tonight but I’m sure it will be great. I’m hoping for some Japanese-Italian. The seafood pizza here was good last time and I think I would like to give it another try.

Two more days and I’m on my way back home.

Gyu-Kaku Rocks

I went for a walk last night after I got back from dinner. I guess the first thing I did was call home and say hi but after that I went out. I found a Pepsi machine or should I say a machine that Pepsi in it. Most of the vending machines here have Coke so I was very happy to find my nectar of the gods.

I went by the hotel I stayed at for one night the last time I was here. They have a Starbucks so I may make a morning walk here to get some over price coffee before I leave. Anyway, I found the train station and walked a big circle and eventually found my way back to the hotel. It was strange walking around and seeing all the stores closed in a big city. The only things open were pachinko shops and an occasional mini-mart. Even the 7-11 closed at 10 o’clock for some reason.

Today I will be taking some video with my webcam to document some processes that we will try to emulate back at my facility. I am very jealous at the amount of room that they have to work with here compared to the cramped location back in Illinois.

So on the way home I may fire up the webcam to document some of the things I’ve seen here in Japan. The traffic is crazy but yet I haven’t seen any cracked up cars. I’m not sure how more kids/people don’t get run over by motorist with people walking on the side of some of the narrowest roads I’ve seen.

I didn’t play poker last night. I wasn’t in the mood to wait for a MTT and playing sngs wasn’t what I wanted to do. Instead I watched a movie and hit the hay a little after midnight.

Today was the best day so far in that I wasn’t tired at any point during work and we got some thing finished up work wise. As for dinner, the usual two people didn’t take us tonight. We had two other guys and we ended up going to a place called Gyu-Kaku. It was by far the best place I’ve eaten while I’ve been here. It is Japanese BBQ and you pick from many things on the menu and cook it up on a grill at the table. I’m not sure what it was we had but it was meat and meat is good. There was different flavorings and and different meats from all areas of the cows as well as some pork products. I could have stayed there for another few hours eating the food…it was that good.

So right now it is 8:10 pm so I’m gonna fire up a HORSE tourney on Full Tilt, get almost naked and play poker for a few hours.

Day 2...Reflections and Sushi

It is Tuesday morning and I’m sitting in the office waiting to start the day. We have a full schedule of stuff to do but we should be out on time today. We left the office at around 6:30 and headed to a traditional Japanese restaurant for dinner. I had grill beef, that was excellent, with mushrooms, potatoes and fried pumpkin. There was also some egg drop like soup that was a little different and messo soup. It was a solid meal but a little light on the beef.

I fired up Full Tilt at around 8:30 which was 6:30 am back home. There wasn’t much to play for tournaments so I fired up a cheap sng to get my fix taken care of. It was actually a pretty good one in that there were 5 players left at the 400/800 level. I eventually made it to the money and ended in 2nd when the blinds were so high that a call with any two cards wasn’t a bad call.

I also played a 90 peep and made it to the 2nd hour with a nice stack and unable to keep my eyes open. I turned the volume way up and put on my head phones so the sound would wake me if it was my turn to act. When we were down to 34 players I look at KK and an idiot was on my right. He limped in and and I made a strange bet of 14 x the BB and old fold except the idiot who calls. The flop is J96 and I push knowing he has little or nothing of this flop and hoping he will call with a piece. He calls with his A6. That’s right…he called with 3rd pair and gets rewarded with a 6 on the turn to knock me out. I made the decision to call it a knight.

I woke up this morning with and called home but got no answer so I checked some e-mail and got ready for the day with some breakfast and a bottle of Pepsi. The sun is still behind the clouds but each day here is another day closer to home.

********additions*********

All of the guys that work here smoke like crazy and thus my allergies are going nuts. I never had allergies until maybe the last year and I really don’t like it. Anyway, they sit around a table and chain smoke during breaks polluting the air for miles around. Being a man I just sit in this cloud of carcinogenic toxins waiting for the second hand smoke to end my life early, one puff at a time.

It’s basically lunch time but we are waiting for the lunchroom to clear out a bit. The company gives lunch to all of the employees and there is two choices each day. Yesterday I had a Japanese hamburger that had a gravy on it that was outstanding. I also had some rice and messo soup with some random veggies mixed onto the plate. Not a bad lunch and a nice perk for the employees. I’m not sure what we are having today but I’m staying away from the messo soup.

So in another four hours we’ll be leaving for dinner. Tonight is a night of Sushi and so I will eat a lot and feel hungry by the time we get back to the hotel. The sushi here is much better than any that I’ve had in the U.S. and will be accentuated with a cold glass of beer…or two.

Since I’m starting to feel normal again I’ll probably go for a walk. Lord knows I could use the exercise and with no t.v. that I can understand it will give me a chance to do something other than sit in my underwear and play poker. Last time when I was here we didn’t get back until late every night and I stayed in a hotel without internet. Add the fact that nobody spoke English and you have the recipe for boredom. I Probably would have walked around last time but we were in what would be considered rural Japan. So I’ll be walking around looking like a tourist in a Hachioji…a city of about 500,000.

My boss grew up in this town. I drove his high school and and had Dinner right across the street from his childhood home. I don’t know what significance this is other than I may get hammered and stand in the street yelling my boss’s last name in hopes of meeting his parents.

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I had the pleasure of doing some of the work that I expect my employees to do. It isn’t that I didn’t know how to do it but that I was actually doing some finished product. It was easy work but it takes focus and patience (surf…you get it). Anyway, we get to finish the project tomorrow and then maybe spend the afternoon checking out some sights like Mt. Fuji. I have a couple of good picture of Mt. Fuji from my last trip…take a look.


This was a bit of a rambling post but it kind of relates to how I am feeling…a bit out of place and in a state of flux. Day 2 is all but over.

Sushi was good.

Day 1 is Complete

It is Monday afternoon in Japan. I spent way to many hours sitting on a plan watching movies, playing computer games and reading a book that isn’t holding my interest yet. There was a celebrity on board if you could say a sumo wrestler is a celebrity. He actually bought two seats for the flight so that he didn’t smother the person sitting next to him.

I made the trip from the airport to my hotel without any problem. The bus ticket counter was easy to find and I took a small nap on the way to my hotel. I called my wife’s cell on Skype for .021 per minute and talked to her for a bit before going to bed.

I woke at 3:30 this morning well rest and ready to go. I called home and got play-by-play of my daughters game for 2 cents a minute and played poker for a while. I watched surf make a nice run in a couple tourneys and chatted with waffles as he worked on his bankroll management by short buying into some nl cash games. I eventually cleaned up and had breakfast before my ride picked me up and drove me to headquarters. A little before lunch I headed to the plant and spent the day there going over a few things and taking a plant our. I remembered many of the people I saw last time I was here and even knew where to turn many times. I have the memory of an elephant.

It’s now almost 6:00 and we are getting ready to head out for dinner. Not sure what it will be but it really doesn’t matter. I’m hungry and tired and will hit the sack after I call the family at around 7am central time Monday morning…even though my day will be coming to a close. I’m sure I’ll be up by 5am ready to play poker.