I’m a little bummed I’ll miss some games tomorrow and most of the games on Saturday due to traveling, but for the most part the excitement of Vegas has me forgetting about being bummed for the most part.  Today, the first day of the tournament has been better than any recent tournament beginnings I can think of.  We almost had a number 2 seed lose, having to pull it off in internet.  A buzzer beater when Murray State beat Vandy, and as I type this Washington and Marquette are tied…Washington scored with 1.7 seconds to take the lead!  Nothing like live blogging!

For the most part this trip to Vegas is to look around, and see what’s up, but I’m hoping to have at least a session or two of poker, and maybe on Sunday go find a sportsbook to watch a basketball game or two (or 7, lol)  I haven’t bet on sports since the Super Bowl, and I don’t think I’ll bet on anything this week, but it will be fun to see the reactions of the sportsbook crowd, especially if there is a buzzer beater that costs them their 8 team parlay.

I am also going to see my uncle and aunt while I’m there, at least on Sunday, so that should be good, but they are weird and have to go to their jobs Monday-Friday, so not sure how many more times I’d see them.  I’d also like to see Linda, but her insane schedule, mixed with an hour drive to the strip may prevent that.  However, in about two months we will be seeing each other most likely everyday at the WSOP.

Back to live blogging, Marquette ball 1.7 seconds left, they have to go the full length of the court.  No time-outs left for Marq half court shot, off the backboard, close, but doesn’t draw rim, and Washington State adds to the list of upsets, as an 11 seed beats a 6.

I hope you enjoyed the multi-talented styling of this blog.  Updates from Vegas sure to come.

See ya when I see ya.

I’ve been trying to keep a more positive flow going lately on the ol’ blog, so talking about colds isn’t exactly pleasant, so I don’t really feel like talking about the inhumane amount of tissues I’ve gone through the last four days, and how our small family of two is going to likely double that amount in the proceeding days.

Not much going on in poker lately.  I haven’t been playing too much, both because of the cold, and also trying to focus on my writing.  I have been able to bounce back and continue to be productive, although there have been some challenges with the wisdom teeth being removed followed almost immediately by the cold, but writing has kept me focused, which I really needed.

I feel with my productivity issues it is slowly becoming something that is second nature and a habit, as opposed to something I have to fight with everyday.  The timing cannot possibly be any better, as my workload has recently gotten bigger, and in a couple of months it will be exponentially busy.

I think that’s about it for now.

I’ve been just playing a little bit of poker, but nothing that resembles “grinding.”  Everything has been about break even, but because of the weather, it’s much easier to deal with, lol.  Also keeping me away from the virtual felt is basketball.  This time of year is known as “March Madness” for us college basketball heads and the ones who love us.  Right now all the smaller teams our trying to punch their ticket to the NCAA tournament, and as an underdog fan, I have enjoyed this very much.  The big tournament starts exactly one week from now, and it reminds me of how my step-mom used to let me stay home to watch the first day of the tournament while I was in high school.  I also remember sitting in my school’s computer lab in the dark for about an hour after class got out, while missing another class, because I thought Holy Cross was going to beat Kansas and I wanted to watch it.  Somehow I didn’t get in trouble, but the truth is my dad wouldn’t have expected anything else.  When I tell people I like March Madness more than Christmas I suppose I am joking, but not by as much as you may think, lol.

This year all my teams have already been eliminated.  Last Year I went to see Radford play UNC in North Carolina, and was hoping to follow one of my teams this year, but they were all eliminated in their conference tournaments, so I’ll just have to settle for watching it at home on tv this year.  Darn.

Thanks for reading, talk to you all soon.

Having you have to click on the “more” link should be excitement and suspense enough, so I’ll just cut right to the chase.  I will be going to Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker.  No, not like last year when I just went to write a few stories for the Main Event.  This year I will be there for the entire 52 night duration and all 57 events.  I am very excited for this opportunity.  It will give me a great 7 week time to practice my craft while being a totally new experience.

My assignment will include writing a daily “sights and sounds” piece.  Writing about interesting conversations, situations, and predicaments I see and also get myself into.  I very much enjoy this type of writing, and they will follow the likes of the two Las Vegas stories I wrote last year (What I Learned in Las Vegas and What I l Learned in Las Vegas Part II.  I am excited to be doing this for the entire 52 nights, and can’t wait to see what I can come up with.  However, while in Vegas I feel a lot of these stories will write themselves.  In addition to that series I will also be doing a brief write-up on all 57 events, which I am also looking forward to.  I look forward to reading about and learning about all the new poker stars, many which will come out of the 2010 World Series of Poker.

If you know me, which the majority of you do, I always talk about wanting to try new things, but for the most part I haven’t pulled the trigger on most things.  So, I am very excited to be committing to something like this.

That’s it for now, hope you guys are enjoying you’re weekend.  Also, I was very glad to hear nobody got seriously hurt at the EPT robbery in Berlin.

So, in theory, since I am coming off the pain medicines that should mean I’m feeling better, right?  Right.  It took a little bit longer than I anticipated, but the tooth pain is finally subsiding.  I’m eating most everything that I normally would, and today is the first full day where I haven’t been stopped in my tracks while eating something from the pain.  Anyway, to cut this joyful topic short, pain is subsiding, feel better, right on.

Poker:  Well, poker has been pretty brutal.  I’ve been running very poorly, and have diminished my bankroll in the process.  I am scheduled to talk to my backer very soon to talk about our future.  I mean in theory I’m only down 250, which isn’t that many buy-ins for what I was playing.  But, when I think about how I’ve been up 500 dollars or more four separate occasions only to get back to the starting point since November has taken a little something out of me.  For the mean time I am taking a break while waiting for that situation to fix itself up.

In the mean time I am thinking of trying out some cash games on some smaller sites and on ones that will offer me rakeback.  I have never really given online cash games a try, and only saw it as a quick diversion while maybe waiting for my wife to get ready to go out, something like that.  If I go at this I want to make sure I do it right.

As I think I have a fear of tilting more than I actually tilt, i was thinking of putting limits on myself.  I believe it was a Mike Caro article that suggested not only putting stop-losses on yourself, but also putting stop-wins on yourself.  I don’t know how much I can stick to that, because if someone is giving me their money for hours on end I’m not sure I can say “Ok, I’ve won X amount, I’m leaving” although I see his point, as that absolutely ensures that you are walking away a winner that session.  But in this story he also suggested setting a time limit on your play.  A lot of people start their session a winner, only to lose much more as it goes on.  This is a result mostly of tilt.  If you are worried about tilting (as I am) or feel you don’t have the ability to know when to “leave at the right time” then just learn to “leave at the time” you said.  Simply set an alarm, and when that alarm goes off, you shut down your poker software no matter what.  In theory that sounds so simple, but leaving when you feel you should is one of the hardest things a poker player has to master.  Caro’s point, which I agree with, is the more you get up, and prove to yourself you can do this, the more natural it becomes to leave “at the right time” simply because you now know you can.  Many people in casinos (let alone the poker table) simply can’t ever leave.  The thought goes, if you teach yourself to leave, no matter your financial situation at that given point, it will help you in the long run.  I am obviously spending so much time on this subject because it is something I am worried about being able to do.

Per usual, I don’t know what poker holds.  I do know that playing in the PokerWorks Family tournament last night was the most fun I had playing poker in quite a long time, and it had nothing to do with how much I won or lost.

On Thursday I went under to have all four of my impacted wisdom teeth removed, and for about 99 percent of that time since the surgery I’ve been hanging out in the bedroom, watching tv, and reading.  I am very thankful for my wife, who has taken very good care of me.

I’m not used to being on pain meds, as I don’t really like to take a lot of medication, so to say I’ve felt loopy is a bit of an understatement.  However, I can’t imagine getting through this without the pain meds.  I am supposed to take them every 6-8 hours, but the Doc said it’s ok if I take them every five.  About 50 percent of the time I’ve had to take them after five hours.  I didn’t realize that it was “normal” for it to hurt a few days after, then when I first got it done.  I feel like all my bottom teeth are shifting (also normal), and that they are in a constant state of “brain freeze.”

However, I’ve been feeling better enough, so I returned to “work” today.  I have been doing really well staying on task, that I’m a little upset that I missed a few days, but I hope I’m able to get back on the “grind” in a fairly smooth manner.  I would also like to get out of the house here soon.  I miss playing racquetball and floor hockey.  In fact, I miss doing just about anything.

Poker has been a wash.  Same ol story, running bad.  Even the pain meds don’t take the edge off of that.

Thanks for reading, talk to you soon.

On Friday, the 12th, we left of Avon, North Carolina which is located in the Outer Banks.  The 12th was also my 27th birthday.  Being that the drive was about 6 or 6.5 hours I was bit upset thinking about having to drive most of the day on my birthday, but when we got there it was more than worth the drive.  The Beach House was about 100 yards from the beach.  The best view was in the living room, which had two huge bay windows.  Between the two bay windows was a nice TV as well.

Avon is one of the smaller cities in OBX, and in because of that there are very limited places to eat, especially off season.  At about 9:30 Wifey and I ventured out for some food, the one place we saw (key word on saw at this point) was a sports bar.  We thought what the hell, lets see if we can get something to go, because we also brought our dog Koko along for the trip.  When we got in they told us they weren’t serving food anymore, and that the only thing open was a Food Lion, but only for about 20 more minutes.  On the way out of the bar a guy who was standing out there said “that was quick.”  I told him we were starving and were looking for food, and he proceeded to tell me “every six pack equals a pork chop.”  I considered that statement for a second, before heading back to the car and search for Food Lion.

Walking into Food Lion I’m pretty sure we looked crazy eyed with hunger.  We scooped up a variety of foods and took them back to the beach house and cooked them up.  We didn’t do much else that night, being tired from the trip.  We heading to the master bedroom on the first floor, and by this time the wind had kicked up pretty wildly.  All night we had whistling winds, and a small door underneath the beach house kept coming off the latch had it rocking back and forth.  I of course thought of every horror movie I could think of regarding beach houses, and took about an extra hour or more to fall asleep.

The next Day (Saturday) neither of us felt well.  We figured it was something to do with eating that late, and probably not eating well.  I started to feel better, but then Wifey had a fever of close to 101.  I of course started wondering what the hospitals were like in OBX, but luckily after taking a Tylenol, the fever went down.  We spent the day in the living room, watching a long movie “The Aviator,” and the Olympics, but also kept an eye on the ocean in the background.  Again, it was a very cold day, so we didn’t really mind that we didn’t get out.  Oh, and how can I forget, we played a game of Scrabble that night.  The final score was Wifey: 255 Me: 254.  I even run bad at Scrabble.  What she did was the equivalent of hitting her three outter on the river, some how spelling a double word which I believe was her last turn.  I refused to concede right away, instead opting to stare at the board and my letters for about 20 minutes, while she moved to the recliner.  Finally, I stood up, cursed my luck, and shook the winner’s hand.

Sunday was easily our most busy day.  We woke up, both feeling good.  We had decided to go check out the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, which brought back a lot of memories for me.  When I was younger my dad took me there a number of times.  Only thing is, since the last time I was there, maybe 1998, the lighthouse had moved because of the eroding coast line.  I learned from the visitor section that the lighthouse was moved about 2000 feet about ten years ago.  I couldn’t even comprehend how they moved it, but it was cool seeing the lighthouse again.

When we got back we went on a long walk on the beach, as the weather was finally decent.  On a quick side note, the city had about 17 flurries fall on it on Saturday, and the city, the few things that were open, closed for weather concerns.  We laughed at that because we had just left our home in Virginia that had about 30 inches of snow remaining on the ground from our back-to-back snowstorms.  However, OBX has no snow trucks or plows on the island, so a snow storm there is a big deal.  Ok, back to the beach.  It was a great walk, Koko met a dog named Rory, but Koko has yet to meet a dog she doesn’t like.  When we got back to the house we realized time has flown by and we hadn’t ate anything since breakfast at about 930-10am.  It was now 530.  Being Valentine’s day we wanted to look for a semi-nice place, but like a mentioned, our options were limited.  We ended up driving north for about 20-25 minutes looking for a restaurant we had heard about, never finding it.  We did stop to see the sunset, so all wasn’t wasted, but we were now officially starving for the second time on our trip.  We then proceed to head back towards Avon, and we finally find the address of a building to help us navigate to the restaurant, and the one and only address we look at is the restaurant we were looking for, which is now a mortgage bank.  Too hungry to laugh, we go back to find the first thing open, deciding on a restaurant literally .1 miles from where we were staying.  There is some irony in that somewhere, but at the time it was frustrating.  In short, the meal was great, and the leftovers we had when we got back home yesterday were even better.

On Monday it was time to go, which figures because it was supposed to get up to 55-60 degrees that day.  We couldn’t leave without one more quick walk on the beach.  Neither of us wanted to leave, but grown-ups have to do grown-up things, so they say.  On our way home we managed to hit every kind of element known to mother nature…beautiful sunlight, almost undriveable fog, rain, sleet, ice, and snow.  Luckily there was just a dusting of snow close to home.  I wrote a story when I got home (and ate those leftovers) and Wifey watched tv and that concluded our trip weekend.  Very great time, and we are considering going back in August for our anniversary.

Quick poker update:  Today was the first time I played in a while, and it was a good session.  I ended up winning about 250 dollars, winning two 6/45’s and placing 3rd in another.  I also got second in one of the F40 promotions, which is really an 11/40.

It’s amazing what a few days at the beach can do for you.  I wonder how much my poker game would improve if I LIVED at the beach?  Hmmmm, now there’s a thought.

I know it’s still super cool there, but we were able to rent a very large house for a very small price for three nights, and we get to bring our doggy Koko.  It is very close to the ocean, and there is a hot tub, and I’m looking forward to spending a lot of time down there.

Whenever I have an impending vacation (and it’s been a long time) I always think I want to get there and do nothing.  But then I think about how I’ll be in a place I’ve never really been before and think of things I want to do.  I hope I can find a happy medium between “doing nothing” but also trying to do some light sight seeing.  It’s close to the Wright Museum, and there is an aquarium there too that looks like it could be fun.  Being out of season there isn’t much more that’s probably going to be open, but that actually is one of the reasons I want to go.

I’m really looking forward to recharging my batteries the most.  So far this year has been quite a bit better than the way last year turned out, but we have felt things getting a little away from us here lately.  We have some big decisions coming up soon, in a number of areas in our lives, and this will be a good time to both get away from that, but also maybe reflect on some of the things we’re thinking about, and try to find out what we really want.  I understand that’s a little vague, but don’t worry readers, in due time you too shall know of what I discuss.

Poker…lets see…haven’t played a ton lately, when I have played I’ve made some semi deep runs, but nothing to write home about (and barely enough to write on my blog about).  I finished 6th today in a 4/180.  Those things were the first event I ever became profitable in, but they take sooooo long, it’s hard for me to commit to playing them.  However, it is nice to play “real” poker instead of turbo’s…well if you can call a 4/180 “real” poker.

I may or may not post while I’m there.  Since I somewhat figured out how to put pictures on during our recent snow storm (thanks wifey), then maybe I’ll post some pictures of where we are doing our chilling?  Am I too old to say “chilling” now?

If I don’t see ya this weekend we’ll be back Monday.

When I know a game, such as the Super Bowl, is about to take place, I like to guess what the line is (the point spread) before it becomes official.  This year about a minute after the game was over I guess the Colts would be a 4-5 favorite.  Depending on where you look, that’s exactly what it is.  I feel that the Colts are going to cover the spread fairly easy.  However, keep in mind that my sports betting record isn’t exactly great.  I

just feel The Colts will stop the high powered offense of the Saints, and I can never really imagine betting against Peyton Manning.  If you think about it, the Colts could very easily be undefeated going into the Super Bowl, but elected to rest players the final three weeks of the regular season, losing two of those games.

I like the Colts something like 35-24, which covers the spread.  Keep in mind all this spread talk is for entertainment purposes only.