Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Wanted to throw up a quick blog to say Happy Holidays to everyone. I have been enjoying the holidays lately and I haven't blogged recently. This one will probably be a little choppy also...Sorry about that

Bayou Poker Classic at Harrah's recently...I enjoyed the series and booked a winner overall in the series. It started out great with me winning my seat into the Main Event the 1st night on the 1st satellite try...and when I left you guys last...I was heading over to play day 2 in Event #1. I would finish 12th place in that event taking home $1160.00...There is a typo on the Internet as they have me cashing for $800 and some change...Nolan Dalla told me it would be fixed soon.

My backer was with me when I cashed out , but you can see where this can bring up some possible "Shadynest"...When your being backed in a tournament and your backers not there/with you...and the amount posted online is incorrect...it just makes things more prone for dis-honesty...like I said...no biggie my way...but I wish they would be a little more careful in the future about posting the winnings correctly the 1st time.

This brings me to this years main Event...$2600 buy-in...1st place was around $66k. I started with a sick table as there were only 2 spots I did not know...seat 1 had "Cash Game" Buddy....local electrician who I have been playing with since the NL game kicked of in New Orleans years ago as a 5-5 game..."B" Vu in the 2nd seat...Local Houma Attorney Baron Whipple in 3...me in 4 seat...5 and 6 were "No Namers"...Bryan “maravich” Lanoix in 7....and John "JRD" Dolan in the 8 seat (recent 2010 WSOP final tabelist to you non-poker players).

So 1st off...you notice that there are only 8 seats...that's because Tournament Director Steve Frezer decided to run the entire Main Event "8 handed". Now I am curious what every body's thoughts are here...and will tell you what happened at my table. I am told by Steve (we are friends/I think he runs great tourneys/no criticism here)...that he got lots of good feedback.

My thoughts are on the fence and just to make this "real"...Steve did ask me my opinion on the move and we discussed it in depth for 15-20 minutes (just he and I) ...during day 2. He is such a great tourney director because he listens to what the players think...and adapts. He was interested in my story...and we talked for awhile ....etc

1st off...JRD shows up pretty late...not long after he gets there..."B" Vu loses all his chips to JRD...so we are/were essentially...playing 7 handed...and then the floor seats a guy in "B"'s old seat (last guy to get in the tourney)...and he decides to go check into his hotel and just blind off. At this point, players were getting bumped out and there are a bunch of tables playing 7 handed...when we lose guy in seat 6...putting my table also "officially" 7 handed

Now we are in the 3rd-4th level of play and there is chips being blinded out in the 2 seat so we are "Officially" 7 handed....but this guy did not show up for another whole level.

So ...in the mid-early levels of this tournament...we have to play the entire level ...6 handed (6 players and 1 guy blinding out)...Steve was surprised by this and we agreed that I was just a "Victim of Circumstances"...and that it just "happened"...but that's not what I had signed up for.
The only other issue I had with it was that it was never "announced"...on paper....no flyers...not on any structure sheets....nothing. In fact, I specifically asked the floor person closest to my table, "Can you show me on paper where it says we are going to play the main event 8 handed?"...she replied, "No sir...the Tourney Director just decided this was how he was going to roll on this one".

I would really like some comments here...please post up what your thoughts are. Like I said...Steve is all about "Learning and Adapting"...if someone post up their opinion...he will take it to heart/serious.

Well...I did not cash in the Main Event and was not "overall" please with my play. I did give give most of my chips to a friend...but I didn't like the way I played the hand. I was UTG with KK ...and raise with the bb at $400 ...to $1000 straight. The blinds came along with Baron Whipple on my right in the 3 seat. The flop peeled off 10-5-3...I c-bet and he popped me (Red flags should be slapping me in the face here)....I flatted his raise...he leads on the turn and I call...he makes a nice bet on the river ...and I donk off/call as he flopped a set of 3's.

I was more upset with myself because it was against a player I play with soooooo often and somewhat know how he plays...but I was also happy about it as ...at least I gave my chips to someone I know and gave them a boost towards winning the thing. Baron and I spoke last week at the Beau Rivage...we agreed that the call on the turn was "sketchy"...the river call was terrible. I could have folded on the river and still been sitting with 10-11 bbs. Playing short stacked is one of my strong points and I didn't even get to implement that portion of my game. After the hand with Baron, I was left with just a few bigs...I got it all in 2 hands later with K-Jo...that's a wrap.

What else is going on...we did Christmas with the families and I ate the best "Gumbo's" of my life. Julie's grandma makes an Oyster Gumbo every year and it is the best...it rocks. The key to her gumbo is she uses Oyster juice ...yea...you can order a tub of Oyster juice from the factories down here and that is the key ingredient...My Mom/Dad made a Seafood gumbo for Christmas eve at my brother James' house and it was made in the same manner...They also used Oyster juice and my Dad said, "Not one drop of water was used in the Gumbo...it was all Oyster juice"...damn that Seafood Gumbo was good. I am eating the last of it tonight for dinner. For you cooks out there...Oyster Juice is the key ingredient in any Oyster based Gumbos...you heard it hear.

I want to give a quick shout out to my Brother James' website he owns called "Extreme Mob Wars"...you can get there here...http://www.extrememobwars.com/ ...its a money based game and you can win/lose real money on the game...its pretty cool.

What else has been going on...lets see

-I watched a couple of movies over the holidays and the best movie I saw so far was "The Town" by Ben Affleck. It is a cool Bank Robbery movie right up there with "Point Break" and "Heat"...excellent movie if you haven't seen it yet. We also watched "Inception" with Leo DiCaprio...it was cool also with a cool premise of them getting into people's dreams. I dream alot in my sleep and it really makes you think about and analyze your dreams...you may want to check this one out also. Big "No-No"... "The Box" with Cameron Diaz...probably one of the stupidest movies I have ever seen...Terriable...it sucked...I was kind of pissed when it was over because it never tied anything together ...nothing at all...skip it.

-The wife and I are still looking at houses and its getting a little boring...we just can't seem to find a house we like. We have looked at probably 15-20 house in the month of December and we cant seem to find one we want to pull the trigger on. We have made "offers" on several houses...people just seem to think their houses are worth more than they are around here.

-I am now "Officially" employed by Earthlink Business as the M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions) activity is over with the buy out of my company...I think overall...I am in a good spot...Now...Earthlink has just decided to buy a new company that will make us one of the biggest CLEC's (Competitive Local Exchange Carriers) in our industry...hopefully things will stable out in the next 6 months.

Hope 2011 brings lots of good things to us all...as well as the website and magazine...we are getting ramped up to do our "Yearbook" issue of the magazine...look for it soon.

"What is the most resilient parasite? Bacteria? A virus? An intestinal worm?...No...Its an idea. Resilient... highly contagious. Once an idea has taken hold of the brain it's almost impossible to eradicate. An idea that is fully formed - fully understood - that sticks; right in there somewhere"
Leo Dicaprio as Cobb in "Inception"

Running Good...and quote of the week..."OK...See youll in Vaegas"

Ok...it feels good

I am currently in the Hotel throwing up a quick blog before I head down to Harrahs to play the 2nd day of the 1st event at the Bayou Poker Challenge. I am sitting with $79.9k which is right below avg. Average is somewhere around $85k-ish. 1st place is $13,000...were already busted the bubble.

I also won my seat intot the main event in the opening night Mega...so I will among the players next week in the $2600 Main Event.

I am going to post something up quick...but I want to tell that story about the quote in the heading. The mega was paying out 3 seats to the main and a little cash ($750ish)...and we finally "get there"...we have 3 winners. There is this kid that was playing very...well..."Unconventional" as they say and I had a read on him that he was not that experienced. In fact...i was worried about him because you never know where those kinds of players are. Well 3 of us win our seats...I was sweated by SPR and Parfait and we were all waiting around to do the paperwork...etc. They put the names on the sheet and the kid steps up...signs for his $2600 main event seat that starts next weekend and says ..."OK...See you'll in vegas"...WTF...what kind of comment was that????

Several of us all look at each other in bewilderment and finally I say, "Hey man...what do you mean Vegas...I will see you this Friday when we play in this tournament"...kid looks confused...looks back at his dad...looks back ...and says, "What do you mean next Friday...I can't play next Friday?"..."This s not for the big tournament in Vegas next year?

WOW...come to find out the kid thought he was playing for a seat into "The Show"...the WSOP 2011 Main Event...AND...he already had a snow skiing vacation booked for months leaving out this Wednesday...he can't play the Main Event...we are all stunned...

Let this be a lesson for anyone who ever complains about "Sweating" your buddies...While I was doing my paperwork by the desk...One of my buddy's that was there sweating me immediately capitalized and started negotiating...and got him a seat for $1k...nice hand/well played Parfait.

Well...I am heading over there now...I have been playing above the rim...and getting the necessary rolls to pull one of these off...I will end with some comments below:

-I did double up yesterday when my Kings cracked Aces...we were both the 2 CL on the table. I spiked a King on the flop...he turned a royal flush draw on the turn...I rivered the 4th king for quads...gross game we play folks...gross.

-Shout out to Kevin Cooper from Lafayette, La...he won one of these events a few years ago.
He made a sick read on me on the river on a 7-4-7--2--9. He raised pre with A-Qo...I flatted as did 2 other players with A-Kc. ...we checked the turn...he knuckles on river...I fire out $5kish into a $8-9k pot...he tank/calls ...I say "Ace High"...he turns over his cards and says, "With a Queen Kicker"...I table my cards, "With a King Kicker"...nice read...he knew I had nothing...but my air was better than his air.

-Another quote I heard recently...his one from Tim "missippimachine" Burt in Biloxi at the IP when we were on the bubble. Some guy was fuming and complaining because somewhat had sucked out on him...Tim was trying to get the guy to stop whining...3 hands later they get it in and Tim has him crushed...the guy sucks out and knocks Tim out the tournament.

They start jawing and Tim final quote was, "Sir...look...all I can do is get my money in good...I can't control miracles"...we all cracked up...nice hand sir...well played Tim.

Gotta go do some work