Everybody Always Complains About the Weather...

Apparently the best solution to just missing the money is to bitch about it in your blog. Last night was Wednesday, also known as Mooksday. In typical Guin fashion, I went out for drinks after work and got a bit too drunk to actually play poker effectively. Unlike Guin though, I decided to go straight home instead of playing at our local live game and losing. Note, this did take me looking into a mirror and telling myself I was too drunk to play... at about 7:30pm EDT.

So, what's one to do? Why one's to head home, grab some McD's (ugh, I must have been drinking), and play video games until one is sober enough to sit down at the computer and fire up the Mookie. This also took a concerted effort on my part to not turn on the computer and donk away in cash games beforehand. Damn, but I'm resilient when I've been drinking.

So starts the Mookie at 10pm, and I find myself at the greatest table ever assembled apparently. Kat, Waffles, Pauly, Skidoo, jjok, and more. I played my usual game, and played fairly well. Big highlight? Pocket Jacks. Mookie goes all-in for not-so-much, Waffles calls him, and I re-raise all-in. Waffles calls. Both Mook and Waffles show KTo, and my Jacks are Okay, giving me the near-triple, and Mookie's $10 Vegas bounty, which I have instructed him to throw away on video penny Megabucks. Of course, if it wins the $17mil jackpot... but we won't think of things that will never be. Besides, I'm sure the $10 that wins it will suddenly become Mookie's instead of mine :).

During the first break, with an okay stack, my computer decides I have wronged it in some way and pulls everyone's favourite trick - wireless problems. FT hacks up a hairball, and while my computer swears, SWEARS I'm still connected, I ain't gettin' no Internet love. So, it's a reset, and a reset of the modem and router too. Back on and I don't think I've missed much... when it all blows up again and I try once more with the resetting. This time it teases me a bit, but a good growl from me puts it back in line and all is good. I've been nailed by the blinds at least once in all this, but it's no big loss. Somewhere in all this, Waffles moved from my right to my immediate left.

2nd chance kicks in, and I join, deciding to multitable. Waffles on my immediate right this time. I can't shake the guy tonight! About 3 hands in, I get KJo, and raise. Called by one player, flop comes xKJ and I'm happy. I bet, get called. Curious. Turn is nothing, so I check... and get a decent-sized bet back... so I push, and get called?? My opponent (honestly can't remember who it was) shows pocket TT. Oooookay... and of course, the T hits the river and I'm out of the second chance. Good, I was losing concentration anyway.

Back to the main event. Keep playing with a short stack, always hovering in the bottom 3 or 4. Somehow, I manage to hold on until the final table (a few blinds and antes taken, and I think one double-up on a decent hand)... respect for your raises is fine, unless you want some damn action when you get dealt Kings twice in 3 orbits. Naturally, Waffles is on my immediate right. Immediately get into the battle of the short stacks that I win (my KQ vs his AT or somesuch)... bringing me one closer to the money. Now comes bubble-time.

I go all-in a couple times, and either scare people off, or get NewinNov to donate to my cause (luck was on my side). Then I see pocket 4s, and Waffles goes all-in before me. I figure he's on a draw and call... and I'm right. He ends up with a flush draw on the flop, a gutshot on the turn, and somehow doesn't hit any of it, with my 4s holding up. Waffles is still barely alive, with about 870 in chips. He goes all-in next hand and just about everybody calls. NewinNov takes that one down when his 2x meets the 262 on the flop. So I've finally made the money again.

I go all-in and NewinNov re-raises my K7h, the next person over calls all-in (I should really take screen shots). I'm worried. New flips over QJo, and contestant number 2 flips over pocket 8s. My K hits the river, and I'm amazingly up in the ranks, and up significantly in chips. New continued to donate to my charity until I had around 19k in chips.

Then my imminent demise. 4 players left, and I see Q8o in the SB. Blinds are 600-1200 with 150 ante. 2400 in the pot with no action, and 600 for me to call. So I call. Smokkee (BB) checks. Flop comes TTQ. Okay... I bet 2400. Smokkee calls. Curious. I get a feeling for him having a ten, but could also be a pocket pair or he just doesn't believe me. I check the turn, he bets... I re-raise all-in and auto-regret it. I KNOW he has the ten. Sure enough, over comes T6o or somesuch, and my one-outer doesn't hit. So I go home 4th, with a $55 profit. It was a stupid, STUPID move on my part, and I knew it. That said, it was 1am, and I was happy to go to bed. I'm not going to complain much though. I mean, I knocked out Mookie and got the $10 Vegas bounty, finished 4th out of 60, and finished in the money. Complaining would be foolish.

Going to the Raptors/Maccabi Tel Aviv exhibition game tonight (big rematch from last year's pre-season debacle), so we'll see if I make the Not in time. Definitely won't make the donk2shark. But hey, free tickets get handed to you... do you say no?