Wednesday, June 23, 2004

My Week in Review

I have decided to start another journal about some non-poker issues. If, for whatever crazy reason, you want to read anything I write, please find the link on the left, or click here.



Don't miss Glenn's new post on the trials and tribulations of being a low limit grinder!

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Well, Dax had his surgery and he's fine. The good news is, he will live a full life, totally uncompromised by his throat problem. Not only will it not effect his lifespan, but his quality of life will be just as high. He has a problem, he just doesn't let it stop him from doing anything :)



The bad news is, he will always have this choking problem. He will choke after he eats, drinks and plays. He will need small, multiple surgeries.



Thank you all for the kind words sent to me via "comments" feedback and e-mail.

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I have been playing a bit online lately. I have been trying to win my way into big, live tournaments via small, online satellites. So far, so good. I am in the final for an Aruba seat, I have been in the final for two Paris seats, I am in a super for the Stud WCOOP, etc. The satellites are pretty easy to win. Yeah, there is a lot of schooling, but over time, I can rough it out. One time I had a 50 fpp satellite at Stars that was so loose that anytime I was in a hand, all seven opponents called my raise. Usually showdowns were 5-8 handed. Once someone called a bet on the river when he couldn't even beat his opponents' board. Yes, I said "called," not raised. He called when he had no way to win the hand (the opponent had two pair showing).

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Poker Room has a promo going for a seat in the Legends of Poker at the Bike. I have waited for hours trying to get a sat going, to no avail. I had no clue that their business was so bad.



I would like to win my way into the LOP, and this would be a good opportunity. I just don't see how I can win, if I can't even play the sat! LOL :)

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Lately there has been some more arguing and bickering on the poker forums. I have no clue why this heats up every so often. It seems to come in waves, and it spans all of the forums, not just 2+2 or UPF. Maybe it's the heat of the summer coming on. People are snappy and argue easily. Sometimes I think they are just arguing to have something to fight about. Like if I said the sky was blue, they would say it was green just to have something to argue with me about.



One poster who has targeted me off and on over the last year has gotten increasingly vulgar. I am not his only victim, and he has not flamed me in quite a while, but he does have certain posters that he picks fights with, just to see if they will respond.



As I have said before, he is a miserable wretch of a man, and I do feel sorry for him, in a way. At one point, Matt Sklansky banned him from 2+2 for his over-the-top behavior. Unfortunately, he begged his way back onto the forum. Why Matt would un-ban someone is beyond me.



Anyway, he was let back in, and for a month or so, kept a low profile. He was still very wretched and mean, but he would go just up to the point of being outright hostile, in order to fake innocence when someone confronted him.



Then the warm weather came, and on top of that, Matt took a little hiatus from 2+2 moderation. Oh, that just thrilled Vehn to death. He got completely vulgar and disgusting. He managed to say, "F-you" to about 20 posters inside of a month. Sometimes he would change the spelling to get by the censors, other times he would put in a space, or what have you, in order to avoid the word being deleted. He spun completely out of control, unleashing his vengence on anyone who he thought might be getting in his way.



At one point, he even brought up something completely off-topic and inappropriate. In a message, he wrote that he liked a certain website because they provided photos for him to download for his bizarre sexual preferences. Um, okay, like this belongs on a poker forum???



Since Matt was away, Vehn started taunting people, saying that he could say/do whatever he pleased, due to the cat being away, and the mouse able to play. Ugh!



Once Matt came back, he asked me about Vehn. I told him of the numerous flames, off-color remarks, cursing, etc. I showed him the tons of "F-you" posts, etc. Matt wrote back something to the effect of, "Well, if he really acts up, I'll do something about it."



Uh...if he REALLY acts up??? Um, okay. I must be living in an alternate universe. I guess 20 "F-you's" while the cat is away, aren't considered acting up. HELLO! Is this thing turned on???

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I've talked about Dave many times in my journal. Dave is the guy who got me into NLHE tourneys. He mentored me for several months, and still does, in a way. He and Dr. Shoonmaker are the two who started the WPDG many years ago in Atlantic City.



Anyway, Dave is moving out to Vegas. He is on his way now, and is stopping by our house tomorrow night.



We are radically different people, but have maintained a good friendship for the last couple of years. I accept him for who he is, even though I want to hit him over the head sometimes, and he accepts me for who I am. I'm sure he has plenty of thoughts about kicking me in the rear, too!



The icing on the cake of Dave moving out here is that right before he left, he won a Paradise multi for over a thousand dollars. His investment was only $20, as it was a rebuy/add-on tourney, and some opponents took as many as ten rebuys! I was sweating Dave the whole time, and cheered him on, even during the darkest moments, when he wanted to just give up. I should be a poker cheerleader. I would probably make more money that way than playing! LOL!