One Giant Step Forward

foot poised in mid air, balance thrusting forward with the giant step, STOP!  There are three more things I just discovered I have to do before the giant step can take place.  Sometimes it’s four or five more steps, but seldom seems less than three.  It’s the way it is I suppose.  Every time you start out to do one thing, you have to fix or prepare other things before you can do the one thing. 

Having said that, none of it applies to anything really, just every day circumstances that boggle the mind and gobble up the time you have allotted for the day.

I find it rather interesting that Full Tilt Poker had access to Isildur1’s contact details and he was the biggest news to rock the poker world as he played the money roller coaster up and down the high limit games, yet PokerStars is the one that snagged him and is exploiting the whole event into a major money maker in the Superstar Showdown Challenge.  I mean really, what young, aspiring, internet poker player doesn’t want to face off with Isildur1?  Let me add to that.  In all of my time spent in the dealer’s box, I listened to a large number of players express their biggest dream – to play in Bobby’s Room, or take a seat against Jennifer Harman, Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, and the likes of players that would skin them and have their skin made into a poker chip and hang it on their wall of Donkey Poker Players – another trophy that fatted up their bankroll.  IMHO I never wanted to play against a pro, although I have played a few before they became big name pros, because I want to sit at a table where I have a chance to book a win and know I’m not the underdog.

The whole affair of Harry Reid planning to slip the internet poker bill into the lame duck session has really left me cringing on some parts of it.  I don’t get the time period for the US to be completely out of online poker and I also don’t get setting it up so the governor can opt in or out.  Hello monarchy.  What I really don’t get is why we can’t just play online poker peacefully and stop being attacked by bible thumping ding bats that feel we should live with a bible up our ass because they think it’s best for us.  No wonder they look so pained when they sit down.  There’s no need for me to explain my views on religion at this point, but there is a need for someone to explain why it is that a select few feel they need to put their sainthood out for everyone to bow down to.  And the majority of them probably shake dice, buy lottery tickets, visit the race track, and play bingo but it’s OK because they do it.  Regulating and licensing online poker would solve the problems, including the ones that we are supposedly being protected from.

On the home front, Big Tony, as named by Amy next door, is still thrashing and kicking around in the tank.  It’s been quite an ordeal for me, no one appears to be willing to take him – although I haven’t ran an ad in the paper and I won’t because I don’t need the headache of people calling and stopping by – but I did check with the local pet/gun store in Pahrump and they said they would but they have too many turtles now as it is and can’t do anything until their stock is depleted.  I doubt they would ever seriously take him since he’s 3 times bigger than their biggest.

It is kind of fun to think of a gun shop in the back where they sell/buy guns and have ammo, etc., and the rest of the store is all about animals/pets.  They have goats and geese and a pig out front of the store in pens, inside are rabbits, hamsters, some really cool seriously bright, light green frogs with dark markings, turtles, fish, maybe there’s a snake I missed seeing, and all of the stuff to set up your pet at home.  They got me for an aquarium stand, an ultraviolet light, and a few other items that Tony needed to maintain his happy water home.  Is he happy?  Hell if I know.  I’m still in awe that he lived for over 3 weeks in the crap he lived in before we found him.

Yesterday my dear neighbor Amy helped me set up the stand, take Tony out of the tank and keep him corralled in a rubbermaid dish pan (hey, it wasn’t easy, he was trying to climb up and over the edge after he’d been in there about an hour – and he was doing it) and take the tank out back to wash it down and rinse rocks, etc. to set it up back up on the stand.  It was an ordeal and took longer than I wanted to spend but had to be done.  Now that is a true friend, Amy, one that will come over and spend the time to get your newly acquired, unexpected house guest into its new home, and she did the honors of lifting Tony up and down and over and under.

Things are progressing over at the new digs, still a lot of clean up and work to be done.  My days are exhausting and my back and neck have been screaming at me due to ‘on the knees – body extended forward’ type of work that needs to be done.

I’ve played the Daily Dollar on Full Tilt almost daily.  Making it into the money a few times, making it out of the money more often than not, but still enjoying the tournament play.  Last night I sat in the cards-gone-south zone forever and finally picked up Q-Q in the BB.  It was an all-in hand for me and I ran into K-K and A-10 off.  As is expected the A-10 off made trips right on the flop, no waiting, and I was out.  K-K had more chips than the A-10.

I did manage a light-fantastic draw a few days ago when I picked up 5-5 and the BB did not raise pre-flop.  Three way action, the flop came Q-5-4.  BB checked, I checked, the caller bet 300-400, the BB called, I raised it another 700-800 and both called.  I can’t even remember the turn, but the BB checked, I bet but I don’t remember how much, I think around 800.  The last player folded and the BB raised me all-in – he had me covered.  By now the pot was around 9K and I had about 1,500 left, I called.  BB had Q-Q.  I did the ‘5’ scream and there it was, right on the river I snagged the magic one card out and was right back in the running.  WHEW!  I did make the money in that tourney.

Time to go, another one of those take a giant step forward kinda days.  🙂