MiamiDon, GCox and CarmenSinCity Meet

Well, today was the big day! MiamiDon and I met out first blogger ever!!!!!! It was a beautiful day here in Vegas as we drove down to the strip for the 11:00 a.m. tournament at the Sahara. As we were walking into the poker room to register and pay, we walked right past GCox. We yelled out his name cause we knew he'd be wearing a blue hat and sure enough it was him. So, we all sat around and talked for a while and then the tourney began. The management at the Sahara is really nice and they let us all pick different tables. Anyway, it was a lot of fun. Unfortunately none of us made the money (we didn't even make it to the final table). Basically though, all 3 of us busted out within about 15 minutes of each other - it was an all-in fest at that point anyway. I was kinda pissed at the way I went out....

Middle position guy does a mininum raise and I look down to see AJ suited. I go all-in and after a bunch of humming and hawing about how he has a crappy hand and he was just trying to steal the blinds and he shouldn't call, he calls anyway. Much to my delight he has 86 suited. The flop comes with an 8 and a J. The turn comes with another 8 (damn!) and the river comes with an A (gee, thanks for that two pair). UGH - what a tease!!

So, after a disappointing tourney, the three of us headed over to the MGM Grand. I like cash games better anyway. Ahhhhhh. I just love that place. It was packed! We got there around 2 in the afternoon and there was 10 people waiting in front of us for the 1-2 NL table. Fortunately, they opened a new table right away and all three of us sat together. It was fun! Gary didn't get to stay for very long cause he had a wedding to go to. So, we took some pictures and said our goodbyes and then MiamiDon and I continued to play. Eventually, I moved to a new table cause I wasn't feeling it and that's when lady luck came my way.

I had pocket QQ's and hit a set. I had pocket KK's and flopped a full house. I had pocket 22's and got the set on the turn. The best part is that I had a guy across from me that would not throw away his cards no matter what. He paid me off on every set I caught and the next thing I knew I was up over $200.00 Awesome for me since the day started off so slow. Eventually I went card dead and I gave away all of my profit and I broke even for the day after playing for about 7 hours.

One lesson I have to learn is to STOP LIMPING IN and letting the riff raff catch two pairs on me. I have to drill that into my head cause sometimes it's so inviting to just limp in and if I would have just made a few raises pre-flop I would have saved myself a lot of money there in the end.

I just have to say what a pleasure it was meeting up with GCox today. I am so happy that we were able to spend some time hanging out with him and if he ever comes back to Vegas I hope we can do it again. Who knows - maybe we'll make it out to Oklahoma to see him.

Here's some pictures...

MiamiDon and GCox at The Sahara



GCox and I sitting next to each other at the 2nd to final table



The 3 of us hanging out at the MGM Grand

20 Things you probably didn't know about me

Here's my list - it's much shorter than a lot of the others...

1. I am an only child.

2. I just recently realized that the world really doesn't revolve around me and this has posed many many inconveniences in my life.

3. I'm a child of the 80's. I love Def Leppard, Journey, Motley Crue etc.

4. My favorite movies are still Dirty Dancing, Goodfellas, and Scarface.

5. My favorite T.V. Show is The Sopranos and quite surprisingly the new smash hit Big Love. No poker for me on Sunday nights.

6. I've been watching Days of Our Lives since I was about 10 years old and I still rush to the T.V. everyday at 1 to watch.

7. I'm a reality T.V. Junky. I watch Real World, Road Rules, Survivor, America's Top Model, Laguna Beach, Made, the list goes on and on.

8. I'm a thrill seeker. I've been skydiving. I love roller coasters. There are many other unhealthy "thrills" that I used to seek but I think I'm finally over that stage of my life.

9. As I am typing this list, I realized that there is a lot of stuff about me that I don't want anyone to know, so this list is going to be short.

10. I used to think that quitting was a sign of failure. I realize now, that in certain cases, quitting is actually a sign of maturity and growth. To keep beating a dead horse can actually be counter-productive and a waste of time and energy.

11. My favorite store is Bebe.

12. I don't drink coffee but I can't function in the morning without a low carb Monster.

13. I love scary movies.

14. I read a lot of books. Most recently I've been reading from the True Crime section in Borders.

15. I love to shop. It doesn't matter what I'm buying. I'm happy when I go to Target and buy cleaning products.

16. I hate it when two people sit on the same side of a booth in a restaurant. I feel like it totally throws everything off balance.

17. It makes me laugh when guys are playing poker in the casino and they have a groupie sitting behind them watching for hours. Can't she either learn to play or go shopping??

18. I used to think I was a great tournament player. I've recently changed my mind about that. Maybe it was beginner's luck. I enjoy cash games much more now.

19. I hope to live in Vegas for the rest of my life. I said that about South Florida too though, so who knows??

20. The only thing I miss about Maryland is my family and the crabs.

Still Hot...

I went down to the MGM Grand yesterday for another 7 hour session of poker. I must say that the poker gods are still smiling on me. The cards started out really slow and I was fold fold fold. Until I looked down and found the same hand that I've been dealt about fifty times this past week - pocket 5's. It was actually the second time today and the first time I didn't score. This time however, I caught the set on the flop and took down a decent pot. Thus, my run began. I caught 3 more sets that hour and the next thing I knew I was up more than $200. After a while the cards went cold again and I left before I gave it all back. I'm hoping to get some more action in tonight since I'm running so hot. I won't call it "good luck" since I was schooled by MiamiDon that there is no such thing as "luck". Apparently, variance is going to catch up with me and I'll be screwed.
Whatever! I hate the technical stuff - I just hope I can stay "hot".

Unfortunately I don't think I'll be playing in the Big O tonight because I made plans (thinking the Big O was on Tuesday) with a friend. I had a brain freeze. I won't make the same mistake next week. Good luck to everyone and I'll be watching from the rail cheering you guys on when I get home.

Stay tuned as I compile a list of "things you didn't know about me" (I'm stealing the idea from Katitude.

Losing Streak Ends!!

It is a joyous day for me. My slump has finally ended. Okay okay, a lot of people probably wouldn't define the word "slump" as a week without winning, but at any rate it felt like a slump to me and I was pretty distressed over the whole thing. So, I'm happy to report that yesterday's live session at the MGM Grand turned out to be a large WIN.

MiamiDon and I headed on down to the strip yesterday around 3:00 p.m. and although there was not much traffic outside and the parking garage was even a little scarce, the poker room was not. There was a list 10 deep for the 1-2 NL Holdem game so I sat down with High Roller magazine and prepared for the long wait. To my delight they opened a brand new table - I ran over and picked my favorite seat (number 6) and MiamiDon chose seat 7 (right next to me). I was kinda excited to be sitting next to him cause usually we pick different tables. I figured he could provide me with some good feedback in regards to my play since I'd been in such a slump lately. And, he didn't disappoint. Thanks baby!! Since I refuse to read the poker books we have stashed all over the house I need all the feedback I can get.

Anyway, let me just give a quick rundown of my day.

Times I was dealt pocket 5's = 6

Times I was dealt pocket 5's and flopped a set = 5

Times I was dealt pocket 8's and flopped a set = 1

Times I was dealt pocket jacks and flopped a set to beat out pocket QQ = 1

Times I was dealt pocket 4's and flopped a fullhouse = 1

Times I was dealt pocket aces and flopped a set = 1

You can see where I'm going with this. I don't think I've ever had such a good run of cards in my life. EVERY time (with the exception of maybe twice) I was dealt a pocket pair I flopped a set. It was truly unbelievable. I humbly thank the poker gods from the bottom of my heart. What can I ever do to keep this good run of luck?

Anyway, it was a very good and profitable day. I even excecuted some skill while I was playing....

Drunk and very loose player sitting in seat 5 (directly to the right of me) is playing like a maniac. I was watching him earlier when he sat down and busted out and got up and left and now he's back (much drunker this time). YAY!! So, I'm dealt pocket JJ and I raise $15 and he calls. The board comes 9 high and I fire out $25.00. He goes all-in for about $150 more and I call. He turns over Q 10 offsuit. No flush draw, no straight draw and no pair on the board. Thank you mister drunk loose fishy guy. The reason this was skillful on my part is because I was actually paying attention to his previous play and realized that he would sometimes go all-in with Ace high. I might have layed that hand down if someone else at the table made that move on me.

Oh and as a sidenote.... His girlfriend came stumbling over after he re-bought for like the third time and slurred something to the effect of "I'm going to bed". As she leaned over and said this, her cowboy hat fell off onto my shoulder and half of her top slid down too. I tried not blurt out the obscenities going on in my head. He said "where ya going?" and she said "the van". Gotta love Vegas!!

Bad move of the day...

I was dealt AK offsuit and I raise $10. This very lucky guy in seat 10 (with two groupies sitting behind him rubbing his back) calls. So, we are heads up and the flop comes with a King and two hearts. Anyway, he checks and I bet out $20. He calls. The turn comes with another King and he checks. I bet out $25. He calls. The turn comes with a 3rd heart and it just now occurs to me that he may have been on a flush draw. FUCK! He checks and I check. I already knew he had the flush. He turned over the 8 and 6 of hearts to confirm my beliefs. UGH!!!! I let him stay in way too cheap to get the draw. Thanks for pointing that out MiamiDon and my father too. I guess you live and you learn.

Dad and I...

When will this slump end?????

There is only one thing on my mind today and that is my recent run of bad luck. And, when I say "bad luck" what I mean is that I really hope it's just bad luck and not the alternative which is that I suck. Because, a run of bad luck is something that will eventually go away. I hope. But, if in fact I actually suck, then my problem is a lot bigger than I thought.

I hate to bore you guys with this rambling today, but I can't get out of this slump. I mean, I consider myself to be a pretty good sit and go player. I play a lot and I come in the money a lot and my bankroll (and the statistics sheet that MiamiDon keeps for me) is proof. Or so I thought. I was always playing the $5.00 sit and go's and consistently coming in the money, so I decided to move up to the $10 action.

I pulled out my trusty chart and said to myself that I'm going to play 10 games in the $10 bracket and see if I can still consistently come in the money. I was hoping that my growing bankroll would start growing faster by moving up a level. So, what has happened? The opposite! My roll is getting smaller and smaller. So far I have played in 6 games and I've only placed in the money once!! WTF?????? Why am I sucking so bad?????? UGH!! No matter what I play, someone either sucks out on me or, in the case earlier today I have pocket queens and I run up against pocket kings. All day long stuff like this is happening. And, it's not that I'm impatient either cause I'm certainly not. I will hit the fold button all day and wait for a good hand but sometimes those hands just don't ever come. And, as you know, it's not a cash game so I can't fold all day or I'll get blinded out. My cash game is suffering too. I didn't even go to the MGM Grand (like I had planned) because I just couldn't face another loss. I gotta get over it. But how?

This losing streak is putting me in a really bad mood - I swear to god I'm bordering on depressed. I need to snap out of it. I can't let poker affect my mood so much but it does. I dream about the damn hands at night. I'm such an addict.

Here's my question... When you are on a losing streak do you find that it's better to walk away for a couple of days (i'm not even sure I am capable) or do you push right through it and keep playing until you start winning again??? I need HELP! All responses are GREATLY appreciated.

Here's some Easter pictures...

My very cute and pregnant cousin Dawn, me and my dad



My cousin Jen and my uncle Wayne



My adorable cousin Henry



My mom Ellen (left) and her good friend Ellen (right)

My first blogger event

Well, I am back from Maryland and happy to be home. I had a great time on my trip. I went shopping and to the movies (saw Lucky Number Slevin and it was very cool) and had a great meal on Easter. As usual my flight to Vegas was delayed but at least it was non-stop so the pilot was able to make up most of the time.

Today MiamiDon and I took a trip over to the new Red Rock Casino. Last night was the grand opening and we had high hopes for the new poker room today.

Unfortunately, the traffic was horrible and the parking garage was crammed full and the casino was a madhouse. What was I thinking going to this new casino so soon after the grand opening? I forgot that nobody in Vegas works!! Plus, none of the other casinos in the area have a poker room, so this is probably gonna be the new hangout for everyone over the age of 60. I am dead serious! We walked through the casino and it was beautiful but when I got to the poker room and took a good look around, I realized that it was just like being in the Orleans Poker Room (if you get my drift). I wasn't feeling it. So, I took a couple of pictures and headed down to the MGM. I won't even bore you with the details of my less than stellar performance at the MGM. I'll get em next time.

On a side note, I played in my first ever blogger event (Weekly Big O Tourney) and I was pretty happy with my performance. I almost made it to the final table and at least I went out on a bad beat (instead of a bad play) when I went all in with AK and ran up against A7 and he sucked out the 7 on me (i'll get you next time bdidde). I would make that same play again - it was just bad luck. Congratulations to RoccoBoxer for the big win!!

You know how much I love pictures so let me post some...

Entrance to the poker room at red rock casino



Inside the crowded poker room at red rock and an example of the age bracket inside



Cool ass bar inside the casino (too bad I don't drink anymore)



And finally, a picture of me in front of the cherry nightclub

The appeal of the scratchoff

Here I am back in Maryland visiting my family and having a great time. I drive over to the grocery store the other day to do some quick shopping for my mom and what do I see? Ahhhhhh - a beautiful, sparkly, shiny, new scratchoff machine and it's drawing me closer and closer.

It's a funny thing that Nevada is the only state in the U.S. that doesn't have a state lottery. That also means that Nevada doesn't sell scratchoffs. Everyone says that with all of the other gambling, Nevada doesn't need to do a lottery. I see that logic. It's probably a good thing for me because one of my biggest vices is "the scratchoff". They make them so colorful and inviting. Ahhhh.

I literally started salivating as I stood in front of the scratchoff machine (looks very similar to a soda machine for those who haven't seen one). Anyway, I dig into my purse and I have a few hundreds and a few twenties and some fives and ones. Well, luckily the machine doesn't take hundreds. So, I settle on a crisp new twenty dollar bill and I slide it in to the machine....

There is always a large variety off scratchoffs in the machine so I decided to select a few different amounts ($5, $3, and $2) and of course I choose the prettiest colors with the most eye catching graphics. Back in the olden days when I was going through some struggles (jobless, no self-estem and no future goals), I would spend my last twenty dollars on scratchoffs and I would tell you it was an investment. I honestly believed that.

Anyway, to make a long story short (i know i know - too late). I turned my 20 dollar "investment" into a 24 dollar profit and now I'm happy and satisfied. One trip to the machine and I'm cashing out ahead of the game and if I ever learned anything about scratchoffs - it's to quit while I'm ahead.


So, let me pose this question... Does anyone else have this love/hate affair with scratchoffs or am I the only messed up one???

Here's a cute little picture of my mom's dog Sydney...

Leaving for Maryland

Today I went to the MGM Grand for a short 5 hour session. I just wasn't feeling it. I didn't have the patience, I wasn't paying attention to the cards and quite honestly I was letting the guys bully me around. Not a good scenario. I cut the evening short and sucked up the $87 loss. Oh well - I'm still up for the month. I had to come home and pack anyway.

Tomorrow I'm leaving my new home and flying back to to my old home to see my parents and spend some quality Easter time with the family. Should be fun. I'll do some shopping and probably eat a lot of food and maybe even visit a few old friends. I might not post anything in my blog for a week but then again I might be bored and post a bunch of stuff on here. Who knows.

One thing I do know is that the day I get back from Maryland is the grand opening of the Red Rock Casino! YAY! A new poker room that is close to the house and a whole new set of dealers to become friends with, and hopefully a whole new group of fish to win money from. Or then again maybe I'm the fish and just haven't figured it out yet?? Sometimes it feels that way.

Here's a picture that I took of myself (I'm so talented, ha ha) in the car on the
way to the MGM...

Best Hand Ever

Two nights ago I went back to the MGM Grand for another session of no-limit holdem. It has taken me two days to write in my blog because I've been basking in the warm fuzzy glow of my HUGE win. It was just one of those nights when the cards were really falling my way. Lady luck was really on my side.

I was doing pretty well at my table for a few hours and suddenly I felt the whole dynamic of the table change. It's like all the cool people got up and left and a bunch of new "very serious" un-smiling players sat down. All of the jokes and the camaraderie stopped and so did my run of good cards. I had the feeling that I needed to get up leave. However, my boyfriend was sitting at a different table and his was still fun so I made the move to the other table. Thank god I didn't leave because here's my favorite hand of the night - the hand of all hands that everyone dreams about...

I'm sitting UTG + 1 and I look down to see that I've been dealt pocket aces. I raise $15 and I get one caller. The flop comes A 10 4. I check. He bets $20 (cool - I was hoping he'd bet). I go over the top for $50. Imagine my excitement as he pushes all in. I couldn't get my chips in there fast enough. He turns over pocket tens. He hit a set and so did I. Poor guy - he had just re-bought for $200. I won the hand and he got up and left the table. I felt kinda bad for a second or two but I'm telling you I haven't been able to wipe this smile off my face for a couple of days now!

Here's something my boyfriend MiamiDon
and I were talking about. Is it just us or does this happen to you too? It's like whenever we go out and play poker in the casino, whatever end of the table where we are sitting is always the "cool end" and we always talk a bunch of shit about the other end of the table - "that guy doesn't know what he's doing down there" or "he's bluffing he doesn't have shit" or "what a suckout king - I can't believe his dumb luck". hehe It's always like that for me. I think it's pretty funny how that works. I can just imagine what the other end is saying about us.

Well, I gotta get back to this sit and go that I'm not paying any attention to. Have a good one!

Hold em session at MGM Grand

Yesterday my boyfriend and I ventured to the strip for a day of Texas Holdem at the MGM Grand. I had a blast. Fun table, great dealers and in my opinion the best poker room in Vegas.

Okay - lets discuss a couple of key hands...

I had pocket 10's in middle position. There was a small raise to my right and two of us called for a total of 3 people in the hand. The flop comes A K 3 rainbow. Everyone checks around. The turn comes with a 10 (giving me a set - yay!!). I bet out about $25. The girl behind me raises to about $60. The original raiser folds and I call. The river comes with a K which pairs the board and gives me a full house. I go all-in and she calls. She turns over QJ for the straight! I took down a nice $300 pot on that one.

Awesome hand except for one thing. When I get nervous sometimes I tend to only look at my hand and not what the other person is holding. When the ten came on the turn and i bet and she raised I should have known she had the straight but I really had no idea. The thought never even crossed my mind. I just lucked out when the king came on the river to give me the full house. So, not really a good move on my part.

Now, here is an example of a hand in which this problem of mine really comes into play...

I'm sitting under the gun with AJ and I limp in. Bad move #1. Anyway, a few other people limp in as well and the flop comes A Q 5. I'm pretty happy cause I've got the top pair with a pretty good kicker. So, I bet out about $15.00 and one guy calls. The turn comes with a J. Now I'm really stoked cause I have two pair. I bet out like $30.00 and the guy raises to $60.00 - FUCK!! So, I call. STOP!! It's so obvious that I'm probably beat at this point. I don't know the guy's betting patterns cause he just sat down a few hands ago but if I take a good look at the board I can see that he could have a set, a straight, a better two pair - almost anything! But of course, like a dumbass I called with the dreaded two pair. River card comes 9 (no help). He bets out like $50 and I call. He turns over K 10 for the straight. I muck my cards. It's bad when the people beside me are spitting out what he has before he turns it over but I'm clueless. So, lesson learned. I'm gonna start paying better attention to what other people have and not just what I have in my hand.

Somehow I managed to cash out $100 ahead for that session last night. Luck I guess!

I'll have an opportunity to practice again soon cause I'm heading back to the MGM tonight.

Thanks for reading.

Here's a new picture of me...

Interesting SNG

So far today has been a really good day. The sun was shining and I actually accomplished a few things. Vegas is weird because everytime I think that spring is finally here and the weather is warming up - mother nature shows up and spoils everything. Enough about the weather though - let's talk about something interesting...

I played in a $5.00 sit and go tonight. My dad and I play every night when he gets home from work. I actually had to work pretty hard tonight even though I took an early lead. We finally get to heads up and I'm the big stack. I had about $12,050 in chips and she had about $2500. I'm thinking this is gonna be a piece of cake. I EASILY bluff her out of the first few pots and she's down to $400 in chips. That's when things go downhill. I've never been sucked out on so many times EVER! I was starting to lose my mind. At one point she pulled ahead of me but thankfully I knew I could outplay her. I mean, suckouts are one thing, but I decided to avoid the all-ins and go back to skill. Things worked out in my favor and I won. I mean, it's only $22.50 for first place - but it's the point of the matter. You would have thought I was playing at the final table of the WSOP the way I was acting with all the cussing and screaming! hehe

Favorite hand of the game...

The blinds are $15 and $30. A few people limp in. I have 8-10 suited in the small blind so I limp in and the big blind raises to $90. I figure what the hell, I already have $30 in the pot so I'll call for $60 more. One other person calls. The flop comes K-8-10 rainbow. Big blind bets $90, middle guy bets $180 and I go all-in. Both big blind and middle guy call. Big blind turns over AA, middle guy has K6 and of course I have 8-10. The turn comes 6. SHIT!!!!! Middle guy has a better two pair now. River comes 10! YAY! I have a full house and I knocked out two people.

AWESOME HAND!!

I am really loving this digital camera. I took more pictures today. I mean, how many pictures can a person take of the dog and the house? Well, apparently I can take a lot of them as you will see below.

Tomorrow I'm going to the MGM Grand for some LIVE poker action. Can't wait! I'll bring the camera of course. I'm such a tourist even though I live here.

This is the front of my house...



This is the bedroom...



This is the living room...

Boring Day

Not a very exciting day here in Vegas. It was cold and really windy - yuck!!

I took some more pictures with my new digital camera - I'll go ahead and post one below.

Lucy (my dog) looks kind of like a demon in this picture but I assure you she's not.

Dentist...

So, today I went to the dentist for the first time in about a year or better. I found a pretty reasonable place very close to the house and they were pretty cool. I got an exam and x-rays for $25.00. Not bad!

So, the doctor was telling me what a great set of teeth I had and how nice they looked especially since I haven't been taking care of them at all. I had a few cavities, I need two caps and then there is a possbility that I may need a root canal. So, I'm thinking the price of the work is gonna be about a grand or so. Imagine my surprise when the estimate came to $3600.00 WHOA! I just about fell off the freaking chair. Ouch!!

I was feeling a little aggresive after the dentist and figured this would be a great time to head over to the dry cleaners and get my money back for the pair of pants they lost about a month ago. They'd been giving me the run around for a few weeks now and I just want my $69.00 back for the adorable Bebe sweatpants that they lost and I can no longer purchase because they are sold out. I even checked the Bebe website and I'm out of luck. So, today was the day. I wasn't taking "no" for an answer and I was getting my money back. I strolled in there (a woman on a mission) and the manager/owner came over after I had a few choice words for the counter girl and he pulled out that checkbook and wrote my check so fast! Ahhhhh redemption - finally! He was very nice about it too so I almost felt bad about trashing his store all over town. Not that bad though.

Next, I played a sit and go on Poker Stars and we get down to the final 4 (top 3 places pay) and I'm the small stack. So, I get my dream hand (pocket aces) and I'm psyched. I raise $300 pre-flop and the big blind calls. The flop comes 3-9-j rainbow and I go all in. He calls with 9-10 offsuit and another 9 comes on the turn - AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! I screamed so loud (my boyfriend put his hands over his ears). So, I was out in fourth place. Ugggggh. I'm still trying to get off tilt so I can play another game. I hate bad beats.

Well, that's about it for today. I'll post a picture below just to make things interesting!


My boyfriend and I...

Well, I decided to give in and start my very own blog. How exciting!!! I'm feeling a little like Carrie from Sex and the City at this very moment.
So, last night I went to the Grand Opening of the Venetian's Poker Room and let me tell you - it is amazing. I'll venture to say that it's the nicest of it's kind in all of Vegas. I still haven't been to the Wynn yet though. It's on my list I swear! Anyway, I was a little irritated though because they advertised that the room would be open to the General Public at 9:00 p.m. Well, Robin Leech gave his whole champagne and caviar wishes toast and they pulled up the curtains and about 300 VIP's were already in the room including all of the people playing in the celebrity poker tournament. The "General Public" was then told we could enter around 9:30. Needless to say (and I think you know where I'm going with this one) at 11:00 I was still waiting behind the ropes to get in. Not cool!! I wore my fancy shoes and they were killing!! I finally gave up and went home but I did get a couple of cool pictures first.

Quick highlights...... We were at the bottom of the escalators when the celebs made the descent so this is who we saw... Mike "the mouth" Matusow, Doyle Brunson, Jennifer Harmon, Antonio Esfendiari, Liz Lieu, Jennifer Tilley and Phil Laak, Rebecca Gaylord (Dylan's wife on 90210), Stanford (Gay guy on Sex and the City), James Van Der Beek (Dawson's Creek) and a few others.

Here's a picture of Jennifer and Phil...