My Newest Challenge
Monday, July 28, 2008
I've undertaken alot of challenges right here on this blog in the last 3+ years. There was a SNG Challenge, a HU Challenge and endless self-challenges where I took the last pennies on a particular poker site and tried, to no avail usually, to turn those pennies into a playable bankroll. I am one of those kinds of people who take most of these types of challenges personally. I play better when I'm challenged and I try harder when I'm challenged.
That leads me up to today, where I have begun what thus far has been the hardest self-challenge for me to conquer to date.
As most of you know, I started hunting in earnest last year and I jumped in with both feet. What started as an innocent "free" weekend trying to shoot doves last September, turned into an obsession that saw me kill my first doves, ducks, geese, deer and turkeys in the last year. We are rapidly approaching the beginning of my second hunting season again, with dove season opening here on September 1st, and I have challenged myself again.
Waterfowl (ducks and geese) hunters are an odd lot, myself included, spending the coldest, wettest days of the year, sitting in blinds on the edge of ponds, lakes and rivers or sitting in a pit blind in the middle of a field with no shelter from the elements trying to shoot those elusive waterfowl. It's an obsession that requires patience, fortitude and even a bit of intelligence. You have to know where the birds want to be or you have to be smart enough to get the birds where you are if you are going to have a succesful hunt.
In order to get them where you are, you have to be able to blow a duck call or a goose call with at least a little aptitude, otherwise, the birds are going to go where they want to go and fly right over your spread of decoys without so much as a second glance. Last year, I hunted alot in open fields and at the edge of ponds, sitting there trying to be still and waiting for the birds to come close enough to shoot at. My buddy Bill is a caller, but most times, he was calling by himself. The few times that we went hunting with other people who could blow a call, our results were usually much better than when he was calling solo. Thus, my newest challenge:
Learning to blow a duck call and goose call well enough to help out this year in the blinds.
My wife and daughters bought me a combo pack for Father's Day, consisting of a duck call, a goose call and a hunting video. More precisely, a waterfowl hunting video. I had watched deer hunting videos and turkey hunting videos, but had never seen a video where the guys (and gals) were hunting ducks or geese. After watching that first video 43 times or so, I've gone out and bought 5 or 6 other videos, showing nothing but waterfowling. I plug them into the computer when I get home from work, crack open a cold Keystone Light and grab my calls, calling along with the guys on the video in an effort to perfect my technique.
Needless to say, there is much more to it than just grabbing a call and blowing. I have the Aflac duck call down pretty good at this point, which is NOT what you are looking for if you are sitting in a blind trying to call ducks in to range. My goose call is a bit better at this point, but I'm still working on the duck call as well, nearly every night, as season approaches swiftly. We are about two months away from getting to put this practice to use in the field, but I plan on being ready to call as soon as the opportunity presents itself.
It is certainly cutting into my time at the poker tables, but surprisingly, I haven't missed it all that much. In fact, I've found myself, on at least two occasions, turning off the computer after practicing for a couple of hours and never even logging into a poker client. Who would have thunk that? Certainly not me at this time last year.
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Brotherhood - An association of men, such as a fraternity or union, united for common purposes.
Fellowship - A close association of friends or equals sharing similar interests.
Those two definitions above state what is the obvious for me when it comes to hunting. I've mentioned before how feeling like part of the group has always been important to me when it comes to blogging and our special group of poker bloggers. Not only is that still important to me, but being part of my hunting group, fitting in and getting along, as well as all those special times that we share in the field, that is all of mega-importance to me, as well.
As Bill has become not only my hunting buddy, but probably my best male friend as well, it has become much more important for me to not only be included whenever he and his family goes hunting, but it is almost like I am a member of his family and that is very important to me, as well. I'm up early to help with any of the set up that goes along with the hunting and I'm there late to help with any cleaning that needs to be done, every single time I go with them. I just feel like if I am going to be lucky enough to get to go, then I cannot be outworked by anybody while it is going on, because I want to be asked back every single time they go. So far, that has worked out wonderfully for me.
I've spent as much time in the field this summer, since turkey season ended, as we did during hunting season. Almost. There is typically alot of work that needs to be accomplished during the summer months to ensure that the winter months are as much fun as possible. We've moved dirt and dug out a very nice duck hole that will be full of water this coming winter and we've also begun building a permanent blind along the banks of that hole, giving us what we think will be a great chance to kill alot of birds during the upcoming season.
We've cleaned out a bunch of stuff, filled feeders and straightened out endless bags of decoys, all with the purpose of being ready when the time comes to hit the field and start hunting. It's more work than most people realize, but it's almost as much fun as the actual hunting because, again, of those two words definied at the top of this section. Here's a quote from one of my video's and if I knew the guys name, I would cite him, but I don't have that with me today. It goes something like this:
"When we first started hunting, it was 80% about the hunt and 20% about the fellowship. Nowadays, it's 80% about the fellowship and 20% about the hunt."
Those two sentences tell you exactly what it's all about, as far as I am concerned, and that has been that way from the very start. I have been very lucky from the start, being asked to go hunting with a great hunting family and being treated like a member of that family from the beginning. It has pretty much always been about the fellowship for me, from the start, and I wouldn't trade the memories I already have or the memories we have yet to make for anything in the world. It's a special bond that develops out there and it's very difficult to explain, especially for a man that is short on emotions and long on being a man.
I plan on continuing this pursuit as long as I have the opportunity and for as long as I am able to drag my butt out to the field, meaning for the rest of my life. It is something that gets in your blood and is something that you can't get out, at least if you are anyting like me, you can't get it out. The hardest part for me has been the waiting, since turkey season ended until September for it to all start over again. It is getting closer and closer and I am more than ready to get back out there and start hunting. Until then, I plan on continuing to practice my calling, helping out with all the chores that accompany this pursuit and being ready when the times comes for those shotguns to go bang, bang, bang.
Until next time, I pracitce.
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:40 PM,
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PokerIntensity.com
Monday, July 21, 2008
One of my readers runs an online poker review site, PokerIntensity.com, and he contacted me about writing a review of his site. I gave it a good looking over and generally liked what I saw. Below are my thoughts:
PokerIntensity pretty much has the best poker rooms covered in terms of reviews, and the reviews are thorough and well written. Everything that I like to see covered is there, from bonus requirements to contact and payment info. The reviews are honest and objective, with none of that cut-and-paste poker site promo drivel alot of "review" sites try to get away with. PokerIntensity is a credible source.
If I could ask for anything, it would be more reviews on more poker rooms. While I generally stick with the same few sites, occasionally I like to see what else is out there.
Besides reviews, there is a good amount of strong content in terms of poker strategy articles, industry news and poker room news. The benefit here is that you can enhance your online poker game and keep up on current events at the same time.
Last, but not least, there's the free poker odds calculator. This is a web-based tool that'll help keep the poker-playing numbers-crunchers sharp.
If you'relooking for honest reviews of poker rooms and a great resource for all things poker, PokerIntensity.com is the spot.
Until next time, I fold.
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:31 PM,
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Teh Suck
Thursday, July 17, 2008
That's about where my poker game has been since around the beginning of the BBT3.
No cashes, no deep runs, no final tables, nada! I've been playing alot of online poker tournaments, though.
However, after playing live during Okie-Vegas, I think I've discovered a few things that will hopefully help me back on the right path toward eeking out a little profit now and again.
I don't play enough live poker to even be comfortable at the table. I have 5 or 6 casinos within easy driving distance of my house, but the fact is, I'm too lazy to change clothes and head out to one after work. The story of my life. I get home, change into my shorts and I'm done as far as leaving the house goes.
However, with Okie-Vegas in full swing last week, we played alot of live SNG's, two live tournaments and I had two sessions at the 1/2 NL cash tables. They were short sessions, but the first, paid for lunch and my buy-in to the tourney, courtesy of A-A, of course, and the second, I was wise enough to get up and walk away before anything disastrous occurred.
We also played a bit on-line while everyone was here. I dabbled in the HU sng's on both Stars and Full Tilt, after watching Oossuuu and Surflexus dominate much weaker opponents. I'm still haniging around the bottom feeding section, playing the $5.25 variety, but so far, I have won 9 out of 12 that I have played this week.
I also had an uninspiring run to the final table and the final money spot last night in the Mookie. I got lucky, lucky, lucky on approximately 97 hands just to get to the final table and had another huge four flush suckout once there and eeked into a 6th place finish. It wasn't necessarily how well I played, but it still felt good to make a final table again.
I eventually ran A-K into LJ's pocket rockets and was sent to the rail, but not before sucking out on Kuro's pocket Aces on the bubble of the final table. Sorry bro. I was fairly short stacked and found A-10 diamonds and raised UTG, virtually committing myself to the hand. Had he pushed pre-flop, I doubt very seriously if I could have found a fold there anyway, but after a low, 2-diamond flop, my money was most definitely going in the pot, regardless of his action. I got lucky and spiked the flush on the river.
Also of note, A-K is a drawing hand. Found out that little tidbit last night as well. Thanks for the heads up. BLOW.
Regardless, my money is going in there every single time in that situation as well. LJ raised before I acted, and with A-K in that spot, her dominating chip position and the fact that her range was pretty wide, I'm jamming there every.single.time. She had probably half the chips in play at that point or thereabouts, and I felt like her range was any Ace, any 2 paint, etc. Turns out she had Aces and IGHN. GG to LJ and well-played the rest of the way to take it down.
I was just lucky to even still be there at that point anyway, so to eek into the cash was certainly a bonus.
So, in short, I don't think I'm playing any different or any better than I was before OV3, it's just that my results have been a bit better. Here's to hoping that continues.
Until next time, I fold,
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:55 PM,
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Pay It Forward
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
I was going to try and continue with my day by day recap of the events of Okie-Vegas, but after reading others' posts and takes on the adventure, the bulletted, timeline approach just seems rather boring. To be certain, there were moments that I won't soon forget, there were moments that I'd like to forget and there were moments that I will probably never forget. It seems to be that way every year.
When Jordan, TripJax, SteelerJosh, DNasty, Kipper, WillWonka and I hatched this idea, now some three and a half years ago, we had no idea we would be starting some type of annual gathering here in the Sooner State. I volunteered Oklahoma because it is centrally located, for the most part and because of the lake place. "Come on down, I'll take care of you, I promise." I had no earthly idea and absolutely no expectations beyond that first year.
Much like the first time I walked into the Thunderbird Casino nearly three years ago now, my eyes were wide, but my expectations not so wide, if you know what I mean. Putting faces with names and avatars was a first-time, very cool experience for me and I have enjoyed every such meetup since then, but this thing that is starting to take on a life of its' own here at Okie-Vegas, well, it's different.
There have been a lot of great folks say a lot of very kind things about me, my family and my friends after these events and, for the most part, they're all true. Well, at least the part about my family and friends is true, maybe not so much about me. The different invisible internet friends that have made this trip have all turned out to be the type of people I would invite into my home if they lived across town or down the street. I fully mean that, because through my relationships with friends, and my wife's friends and friends of neighbors, etc. that is certainly not the case.
I'm no saint.
I'm no more a great guy than the next guy.
I'm not Father of the Year.
I'm not Husband of the Year.
I'm just a regular guy and I have a regular life.
I live in a regular house, drive a regular truck and work a regular job.
I've got regular bills and regular pets.
What I do have that I wouldn't term regular or trade for anything in the world is this:
-I have a great wife and loving family, both of which were on display the entire weekend.
-I have a great set of close friends in my life, which was also on display the entire weekend.
-I have a great set of Friends from all over the globe that I met through chance meetings at poker tables and via the internet, through blogging.
Not much more a regular guy can ask for, is there?
As I get older, I'm finding myself with less and less tolerance for jackassery or douchebaggery and this unfortunately shapes the way that I deal with people in most instances. I'm curt, terse, some would say even mean, not generally on purpose you see, that's just the way I am. WYSIWYG, to quote a blogger far wiser than I. There's not much play in my game any more, that is to say, i'm pretty much me, all the time, every day. Sometimes that's okay and sometimes, well, not so okay, depending on who you are talking to about it.
Back to this group though, what I've found with the bloggers as a whole is that the cliques that everybody seems to worry about and the Lists that everybody wants to be on mainly exist in our heads. Last Thursday night, at my little beer bar at the lake and at the trailer, there was nothing but A-Listers all around. Saturday at my house during the tournament, again, not a B-Lister to be found. As far as cliques go, I'm proud to be in any clique that anybody happens to imagine, whether it be in Vegas, at the Bash in September or during Okie-Vegas, because the fact of the matter is, these meetups are what YOU make out of them. If you are quiet, reserved or sullen, you probably aren't going to be sitting at the Pai Gow table with Otis at 2:00 in the morning at the IP. If you stay to yourself and don't jump into the fray, meeting as many people as you can, you probably won't end up at a craps table at Casino Royale at 3:00 in the morning, on the end of one of those epic benders with AlCantHang.
I've been extremely lucky from the very beginning of this blog. As I've said many times, I know I can't write as well as some out there and I know that I don't discuss strategy as well as others out there, but you know what? When it comes to getting to know people and hanging out and fitting in, well, I can hold my own with that any day. There aren't a whole lot of groups out there that I don't have something in common with and even if I don't, I'm also a pretty good liar. ;)
What started with a few emails back and forth between myself and Jordan 3+ years ago evolved into an email exchange with Maudie and DuggleBogey and eventually became my first blogger meetup. It has been all down hill from there. Had I not been shown the friendship and sincerity right off the bat of the few bloggers that I contacted, well, who knows? I might never have made a go of this blogger thing and might be minus a very large number of IIF's that I call Friends with a capital F. That would almost certainly be my loss.
So, in short, all the nice words from all the bloggers who attended are just that: Words. I didn't do anything last week that Jordan or Maudie or DuggleBogey or TripJax didn't do for me when I first started blogging. I didn't do anything Iggy or Otis or Joaquin or Pauly or Derek or Drizz didn't do for me during my first trip to Vegas in December 2006. I didn't do anything that Surflexus or Katitude or Joanada haven't done for me during the 1000's of IM conversations over the last few years. All I am trying to do is to make people feel comfortable and allow more of the types of meetups that I have experienced over the years to take place, because when it's all said and done, that's what this whole experience is about for me. If you can't see some type of gratification or make some real friends, why even bother?
Pay it forward.
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Until next time, I fold.
G
posted by GaryC @ 4:42 PM,
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Volume 2
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
continuation from yesterday:
Monday, July 7th - We awoke early and took care of the needed chores at the lake and headed back to the city. We showered and changed clothes in anticipation and I called Oossuuu754 about 10:00 am. Our original plan was to meet at the Newcastle Gaming Center for their 2 pm tournament. "where you at?" "On my way to Newcastle" "we'll be there in 20 minutes." - NEW PLAN
I called Maudie to tell her the new plan and off we go. Surf and I arrive to an almost empty poker room and Oossuu meets us at the blackjack tables. Apparently, there were no cash games running, just their early tournament. NEW PLAN. Off we go to Riverwind for an hour or so of NLHE and then lunch. I called Maudie, told her the plan on the way there and we all got seated almost immediately at 1-2 tables.
Quick funny: Surf and Oossuuu are seated at the same table and I get a table full of locals, they knew each other by first name even. I fold for almost two orbits and finally look down at A-A and raise UTG. The guy in the seat next to me looks up and announces, "Damn, you haven't played a hand yet, I fold." I still get two callers and we see a flop of A-3-9 rainbow and I fire a continuation bet and they both fold. The neighbor next to me looks at me and says "A-A, huh?" and I said nah, just A-10. He then tells the other two guys at the table what morons they are for even calling me pre-flop. I figure this is a bad omen for the week.............and it was.
Maudie arrived and we cashed out shortly thereafter and headed to their restaraunt for lunch before the tournament. Good food, good conversation and a half hour later, we were off to the 9-handed SNG that was Newcastle's 2 pm tournament. Bad Omen #2 - the first hand of the tournament, the dealer flips over my first card on accident and, of course, it was the Ace of spades. Luckily, my down card was the Ace of hearts, so, you know, I had that going for me. I don't remember alot, other than Surf folding A-A face up after a flop and a check-raise from Oossuu. That was followed by 3 "nice lay-down's" from the bloggers and 5 gaping, open mouths from the locals. Funny stuff right there and I, for one, could not have gotten away from it that easy.
We played for what seemed like days but was really only a couple of hours until Surf and I were heads up with "I'm playing any two cards and I am crushing every flop" local. We both took turns grinding away at this guy and at one point, I had thoughts of overtaking him, but alas, it was not to be. Surf went out in 3rd and I folded my way to 2nd. Of course, only 1st place paid and we neither one had enough chips to come up with any type of chop that "luck-donk" was going to accept.
We played a bit of their cash game for a while, but couldn't get anything going there, so we racked up and headed to the house for an easy Monday night. Of course, Surf talked me into playing the MATH that night and I immediately regretted wasting $26 of my meager bankroll. Such a donkey. We hit the sack early with a plan of attack for Tuesday already in place.
Tuesday, July 8th - Tuesday saw us up fairly early with errands to run. We dropped of my daughter and her friend at the local amusement park and headed south to the karaoke store to pick up the latest release. After wandering about the mall for a while, we located the store and found our cd and were headed back to the truck when we spied one of those Super China Buffets right there in the mall. Rather than fight the traffic to get into Bricktown for lunch, we wheeled in there and proceeded to get our money's worth.
After a quick drive to the house, we sat down and took turns taking on all comers in the $5 and $10 heads up SNG's on Stars until about 4:00 or so. I had received a few updates from BuddyDank along his route and sure enough, he rolled into my driveway at around 4:30 or so, after only a couple of wrong turns along the way.
Another quick funny (at least from my point of view) - Buddy's first question when he got out of Kansas and into Oklahoma was "are there any more toll roads I need to know about?" Um, just the one I told you about in the directions, here in OKC and it's only about $1. Doh! Somehow, in all my wisdom, I had forgotten to mention to Buddy that the entire State of Kansas is a toll road, so he spent a few minutes digging out change to pay the fine lady somewhere south of Wichita. Ha, ha, my bad, Buddy.
Anyway, he arrives and we exchange pleasantries and he proceeds to give us a demonstration of Guitar Hero on Hard and Expert, the likes of which, my easy-playing ass has never seen. I can honestly say right now, I will NEVER finish that game. No question about it.
We took it easy on Tuesday night. Oossuuu came over and we all sat around, drinking beer, playing HU sng's and eating pizza. We made it a fairly early night in anticipation of what was to occur on Wednesday. More arrivals, more Keystone Light, more SOCO and more BuddyDankRadio during the Mookie. If you were subjected to all of those drunken ramblings last Wednesday, I apologize right now.
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I will pick up there tomorrow, no time, must sleep.
Until next time, I fold.
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:02 PM,
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Volume 1 - The Beginning
Monday, July 14, 2008
My gosh, where do I even begin with a trip report/recap of some of the shenanigans of the past 10 days? Right now, sitting in my little monkey cubicle (like a good little monkey, I might add) it is all I can do to keep my head up straight and my eyes open. The extreme sleep deprivation combined with the continued hammering away at brain cells from the last 10 days have not only caught up with me, they' ve lapped me a couple of times. I spent most of yesterday just sitting around. The wife made a big breakfast, we all ate and chatted and then I ran back and forth to the airport twice.
More chatting, more goodbyes and then one poker table-loading and I was done. I had big plans to stay up and get the full trip report from Special K last night, but after my shower, it hit me and I was done. In the sack at 8:30 and awake for about 2.5 seconds. I'll have to wait and read about his trip to Riverwind like everybody else, I already can't wait.
I would imagine that trip reports will trickle in slowly over the next week or so, as most of the travelling occurred yesterday, some driving, some flying and some laying over in places they wish they weren't. Combine the travel time with the same symptoms that I am suffering from listed above, it could take a little time for everybody to recover enough to be in recap mode. But, when the recaps start hitting, there should definitely be some interesting stuff.
Videos and pictures were taken, live broadcasts on the interwebby radio thing were handled as well as a live stream broadcast from my living room before and during the tournament, at least until the battery died in the laptop. I apologize for that right now, he.
So, where to start? Day One, of course.
Thursday, July 3rd - I worked all day and got off at 4:30 and rushed home in anticipation. The truck was loaded for the lake and I grabbed a quick shower, 20 minutes prior to the arrival of our first visitor: Surflexus, fresh off a grueling 13 hour drive from Hotlanta. He was worn out but played good soldier and jumped in the truck as I drove down to the lake.
We arrived after an hour and fifteen minute drive and were greeted by cold beers all around. After unloading the truck and getting everything set up, we headed over to TurdChaser's (henceforth TC) for more liquid refreshments. We sat out in their yard for an hour or so until I finally talked them into heading to our porch before someone was finally carried away by a mosquito.
HIGHLIGHT-One of Jessica and Chris's dogs came bounding off the porch, right up beside my wife, who was leaning against their car and the dog proceeded to mark his territory right on her leg. Funny stuff there as my wife was jumping around and saying how warm it was.
We went to bed at a decent hour in anticipation of a full day on Friday.
Friday - July 4th - We woke up fairly early, had some coffee sitting around the porch and finally loaded things up to head to the water. I made a quick pass around the lake and found all of our normal spots were locked up with tents and campers on every point. We finally decided to set up TC's big tent down by the dock and away we went.
The pavillion style tent provided a little relief from the hot sun, but it turned out to not quite provide enough. The Oklahoma sun was beating down that day and there was not even one breath of air to be found. No wind in July = miserable, hot conditions in Oklahoma.
We spent the better part of 7 or 8 hours taking turns on the jet ski's, sitting in the water, drinking ice cold beer and chatting about various topics. Somewhere late in the afternoon, Surf had had enough. I sent his sunburned self to the trailer for a nap before we all got back to the trailer. It was obvious he was tired after the 13 hour drive from the day before and needed to get some rest. He took the golf cart and got a little nap before we all returned.
The evening was spent eating venison burgers and then watching TC and his son, Snoozy, set off a brilliant fireworks display. They even let my daughter Casey, and her friend, Bailey, help with some of the lighting of the fireworks. They really enjoyed it and we all had a nice time down by the dock, where we'd spent most of the day, watching the show.
After finally going to bed, some time around midnight, I even managed to sleep in a bit on Saturday morning.
Saturday, July 5th - I think I rolled out around 9:00 am and Surf and I took a little trip north to see TC's property and check on our duck hole. When we returned, there was a bit of work to do, so Surf joined the ladies in the trailer for a movie and I hit the roof of TC's trailer for a little painting party.
After sweating out all the beers I had the day before, we finished up that little task and it was time for a nap. I hit the shower and hit the sack for a little while and awoke just in time to head to the bar and set up the karaoke stuff. Surf and TC joined me and we knocked out the setup and prepared for karaoke later that evening at the bar. (by prepare, I mean we poured ourselves a whiskey and coke and hung out by the truck, chatting and telling lies)
After an evening of drunken karaoke at the Crows Roost Bar, where Surf was the hit of the show by the way, we poured ourselves into bed around 3:00 am, knowing full well that we had all day Sunday to do whatever the hell we wanted to do. Some time during the show, my cell phone rang, and it was none other than WeakPlayer, who informed me that he, WifeOfWeak and WeakBaby were planning on making the trip down to spend the day with us at the lake. Excellent news indeed.
Sunday, July 5th - After again sleeping in until around 9 am or so, we got up and started off the morning with coffee. Surf and I ran back into town with the empty gas cans, filled them up and picked up the supplies we were sent after and headed back down to the trailer. Weak and family arrived some time around Noon and we promptly loaded up and hit our favorite little spot in a cove beside the dock.
Jet Ski's were unloaded, lawn chairs were set up and the wind started blowing. Now, when I say the wind was blowing, I mean it was blowing a gale, probably 35-40 mph right into our face. A little wind during July is nice, that wind on Sunday was a nuisance. it makes for tough sledding on the jet ski's and a serious case of wind burn, which is sometimes worse than a bad sunburn.
Weak and WifeOfWeak both had their turns on the jet ski's and appeared to really be digging it. After spending several hours out there, the executive decision to head back and eat some dinner was soon made. The wife and mother-in-law went inside to work on some grub, so that left us with only one choice - 2-7 Triple Draw on the bar on the patio. WifeOfWeak played the role of steamroller, while Surf and I refused to get out of her way and were pummelled again and again.
After dinner, we said our goodbyes and WeakFamily took off for the city. I sure hope they enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed having them, good times, I tell you, good times. Afterwards, the family and I started the tasks of getting ready to head back to the city, after all, Surf and I had a tournament to play the next day.
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That's all I can muster today, more to come for sure:
---Bloggers storm a 9-player SNG and (most of) the locals don't know what hit them.
---The arrival of BuddyDank, after only a couple of wrong turns and some mis-information regarding toll booths from me.
---Further arrivals of Joanada, the long trip back from the airport for Jo and Buddy and the arrival of Katitude.
---Live BuddyDankRadio from the GCox25 house, "No 9, No 9, Fawk" and moneying in the Dookie.
---MrsSurflexus arrives (henceforth to be called Peaches, because she is as pretty as a peach) followed by 23Skidoo.
---Chicken Fried Steak as big as your head, "Can't Talk, Eating" more poker at the RiverWind Casino.
---Trip back to the lake, the arrival of Tragedy, drunken golf cart rides and prop bets and an incredible ass-busting.
---The arrival of Maudie and Special K at the lake place, more jet ski action, Gary Hasselhoff in action and a near-emergency.(that apparently should have been treated like an emergency)
---Wall of Meat, more SNG action, cash games (including SPB's) and finally, passing out in a recliner without keeping the entire trailer awake.
---Travel back to the city, BBQ, live-streaming from the living room, karaoke and "Shuffle Up and Deal."
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I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the newest issue of Truckin' is out on the intertubes. Pauly is blogging his ass off during the WSOP and has still made time to get it out, here is the information:
(As usual, shamelessly copied and pasted from the Truckin' web-site)
July 2008, Vol. 7, Issue 7
Welcome back to summer issue of Truckin'! We have six stories for you which would be perfect beach reading material.
1. Berlin by Paul McGuire It was in a hotel suite, not some dingy hot sheets motor inn near the airport. Anyway, my entire point was that at least I had the courtesy to keep my hooker alive, not like Uncle Teddy.... More
2. One Night Out Part II: Hunter-Hunter by Sigge S. Amdal The night sky loomed with pregnant darkness, while a million brilliant lights in white, blue and orange from the city below fought the epic battle as hard as they could. Sirens, shouting, gunshots and helicopters; everything was muffled by the distance... More
3. Of Lattes and Stuffed Monkeys By John 'Falstaff' Hartness I abandoned the carnage of my room, leaving an apocalypse of shattered glass and plastic on the sidewalk and the oak outside my window garlanded with t-shirts and sweaters. Five hours later I pulled up in front of my parents' house without ever really noticing how fast I was going or really having a plan as to where I was headed... More
4. All Those Things That Don't Change, Come What May by Johnny Hughes Jake inherited the Magic House when his drinking Uncle tried to empty a rabbit out of a long irrigation pipe and the pipe hit a high-line wire. The 1940s furniture clashed with Jake's beatnik, coffee-house conversational monologues sanctioned only by the weekend wannabe artists, singers, writers, and actors from the college that came to his regular parties, called Jake Parties... More
5. Don't You Know What I'm Thinking? by May B. Yesno You know, education is a funny thing. Too much of it in any one area makes you dumber. That's probably a bad way to look at it. Lets say, a very good foundation in a subject is a good thing, but as you continue to study it, it takes more and more effort to obtain less and less knowledge from it.... More
6. Cold by Kajagugu When we crossed the border we had to avoid detection and make it quickly to our destination. We had decoy units who crossed the border with us and then led the UN peacekeeping soldiers on a wild goose chase. With these fools out of the way we moved swiftly and silently... More
What a Long Strange Trip It's Been...From the Editor's Laptop:
Thanks again to everyone for wasting your precious time month after month with Truckin'. This summer issue is anchored by veteran writers including everyone's favorite Norwegian word wanker, Sigge. John 'Falstaff' Hartness, Johnny Hughes, May B. Yesno, and Kajagugu round out the list of returning scribes. Oh, and I whipped up a snippet of a conversation that magically appeared out of thin air.
Please tell your friends and family about your favorite stories from this issue. It takes only a few seconds to pass along Truckin'. The writers definitely appreciate your support.
Also, if you know anyone who is interested in being added to the mailing list, well, please let us know! Shoot me an e-mail.
Before I go... many many many thanks to the writers who exposed their souls to the world and spilled blood to make art. They did it for free which is always inspiring me. Thanks for taking that leap of faith with me.
Be good,
McG
----
That's all I got. Until next time, I fold.
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:34 PM,
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Can't Talk, Eating
Sunday, July 13, 2008
To sit here at the computer and try to do justice to what is coming to an end today would be extremely difficult. I'm tired, dehydrated and in general, worn out. It was a great ten days off though, I guarantee you that.
For anybody that wanted to be here for Okie-Vegas this year, well, I do wish you could have been here to join in the shenanigans. It was absolutely fantastic. I will have trip reports and recaps coming in the next few days, but for now, let me say this:
THANKS
(please excuse the lack of links in this post, because I am entirely too lazy for that today)
First off, thanks to my two co-hosts right here in Okie-Vegas, Miss Maudie at Poker Perspectives and Oossuuu754, from Cowboy Poker. They both made my little job here much easier and I really appreciate the help.
Next, MrsGCox25, both my daughters, Alex and Casey, my mother-in-law Kaye, my wife's friend Lori and last, but certainly not least, our good friends Bill and Rhonda and their daughter, Jenny. Thanks so much for all your work and all your help. I am forever in your debt and I know that you will all be right there beside me when the next time comes around.
Finally, cheers and thanks to all the bloggers that made the trek to my little State. I've said this many times, but this thing doesn't happen, none of this fun is had, and certainly, we wouldn't have near as much fun if you don't make the trip down here. Thanks, from the bottom of my heart.
More to come, must sleep now.
G
posted by GaryC @ 1:29 PM,
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Mookie-BuddyDankRadio
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
1000's of miles travelled so we could do what?
Play the exact same tournament that we would all be playing from the comfort of our own homes, but all from my home. The party is on, wish you were here.
Until next time, I'll have another Keystone Light.
G
Play the exact same tournament that we would all be playing from the comfort of our own homes, but all from my home. The party is on, wish you were here.
Until next time, I'll have another Keystone Light.
G
posted by GaryC @ 6:46 PM,
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It's On!!!
Thursday, July 03, 2008
As my wingman from the last two years would say, "Let's light this candle."
Consider it lit, Surflexus and I are off to the lake and the land of the never-ending Keystone Light.
See y'all on the other side.
Until next time, fade to black.
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:35 PM,
,
Tick, Tock
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
The countdown is most definitely on for me. Two more days of work, followed by 10 glorious days of rest, relaxation, poker and partying with my friends. I'm having a difficult time accomplishing anything at work right now, just knowing what awaits in two more long days.This weekend will be a fun time down at the lake place. Surflexus arrives on Thursday evening and, after I run all my errands after work, we will most likely be heading down to the lake place that night. Friday will be jet ski's, hamburgers grilled by the lake and plenty of ice cold Keystone light. Saturday will likely be more of the same, however I will have to take it fairly slow as we have to set up and run karaoke on Saturday night at the bar. Can't be having to go home early on Saturday night at the Crows Roost Bar.
Sunday will probably be more lake time, with the off-chance I will also need a nap at some point. Monday will see Surf and I getting the trailer ready for the rest of the degenerates and then driving in to the Newcastle Gaming Center in the early afternoon to join Oossuuu754 and hopefully Maudie and Weakplayer, as well, for a little NL Tournament. I'm sure this will be a super-duper-turbo format and all the chips will be going in at some point in the first hour. I am also quite sure that one of us will be writing about a bad beat suffered at the hands of a drunken Okie.
Wednesday is when it all starts happening with arrivals ranging from Noon, to 5:00 pm and then later on that evening, the Iowans arriving after a long drive. At this point, the plan is to play the Mookie on Wednesday night and broadcast LivePokerRadio from my house. Anybody in town is welcome to join us and if you need directions, give me a shout, we'd be glad to have you. I have wireless, but you will need to provide your own laptop.
Thursday sees more arrivals and finally, Chicken Fried Steak!!! Lunch will be followed by some pokery goodness at Riverwind Casino in Norman and finally, a trip down to the lake place on Thursday evening to meet up with Tragedy. Friday we have a dilemna and I am still working on the plans as we speak. Special K, fresh from the deserts of Iraq, will be flying in at 10:00 am and I am working on the plan to get him down to the lake without having to rent a car. If anybody has any suggestions, I am all ears, otherwise, I will probably be driving back to the airport from the lake to pick him up, meaning a little bit later start on the water on Friday. No big deal, as long as his plane is on time.
Friday should be a good time. The plan is to ride jet ski's and hang out on the water until we can't stand the heat or until we run out of beer, ha, like that's going to happen at MY lake place. No chance. We will have to make a quick trip down to the bar and meet some of my friends, but we will finish up the evening playing poker at the trailer. Or drinking at the trailer, or, in Skiddoo's case, passing out in the recliner. Doh!
Like I said above, I am on auto-pilot and already counting down the minutes. Boy, do I need a vacation.
Until next time, I fold.
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:30 PM,
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