Getting old stinks! lol

I have tried and tried to remember my password and email attacthed to this account for months and for some reason it dawned on me what they were. I had an old email addy I completely forgot about I used for my previous job and the password was so easy I forgot it completely, until today. lol

Poker lately? Not so much but starting to get back into it as of late. There are more personal things to blog about than my poker but that won’t be for long I assure you! For starters, I finally broke up with my BF. THANK GOD!!! It was a long time in coming and finally regained my life.  I moved into a new home, left my job for a new adventure which is really exciting (more on that later), started dealing school and my personal life is exactly where I want it… normal! lol

I suppose every now and then we need to take some time to refocus and recharge ourselves. That’s really what I’ve been up to the last few months. It’s been quite a process going through the changes I’ve made recently but it’s essential for my life and well being.

I am excited to finally have some time for tournaments and some cash games now. I will keep you posted on what I find and the tourneys I play.

Wish there were more at this point but hey, it’s a new beginning, exciting things to come!

xoxo

Blink

Hell freezing over? No just snow!

part of my back yard at noon

I often tease about the summer here being so hot that I live next door to hell. lol Who would have thought the next door is freezing over!

In a matter of 3 hours I went from looking at this to the next picture.  Being from back East, I chatted with my parents a few moments ago. They have zero snow and it’s in the high 50′s. Who would have thought we’d have a day like this?? Aparently they say this is the worst snow since 1979.  I guess there’s no need to go to Mt. Charelston this year.  I’m getting my snow fix now!

I have to say throwing a snowball this afternoon is one thing I never EVER thought I’d do in Las Vegas.

3pm picture

Thanksgiving?? Absolutely!

I have to say, I’ve been a bit than less than excited about Thanksgiving this year. We are going to my BF’s parents house. I really enjoy going to their home as it’s a great way to relax. My laptop doesn’t get reception and she doesn’t know how to work with her network. *sigh*. I usually end up sitting on thier patio with a good book and watch the golfers go by. They live in a really nice country club in Palm Desert. To no fault of their own, they don’t cook a big meal. Their children don’t live at home (obvioulsy), and neither of them have kids so they have lived a long life of doing as they please. I on the other hand, have to children, come from a huge family and work very hard and enjoy long standing family traditions passed down from generation to generation. My youngest is now 12 and I don’t have many more years of him being at home so I want to savor all of my holidays and memories before he tells me he’s headed to his girlfriend’s house for the holiday..
Why was I bothered? We are going to the Country Club for Thanksgiving dinner. YUK! Are you kidding me?? I know, I won’t have to worry about dishes, cooking a big meal, etc. Well, that’s part of the fun of the holiday and I won’t be experiencing any of it. I’ve been sulking a little bit and made reference of this whole thing to my Dad in a convo recently (my parents live in Maine). I have a great relationship with my parents. My father and I have a very special one as I’m the only girl on his side for 6 generations if you follow the men in the family on up. Yes I’m a daddy’s girl, even at pushing 40. *wink* He said to me, “Blue, I believe in divine apointment. All you need to do is ask God to take care of you and he will. There is clearly a reason for you to be there with those people and you must be receptive to the blessings you’ll receive.” Well, ok. All I could say is “You’re absolutely right Dad.” What else am I suppose to say?? He’s totally right! LOL I was clearly looking at this all wrong. Although I will miss the traditions I usually enjoy, I will still be with my son and his family. Not mine but that’s ok…. for now. I love his family and I”m sure it will all be just fine. It sounds like a very easy thing to figure out but I’ve been a bit emotional as of late. My oldest son can’t come home, my youngest is now taller than I and I turn 40 next month on the 10th! WOW!!!

I’m thankful for my Daddy. He’s the first man I ever fell in love with and I’m his special girl. Be thankful for what you have, and who loves you. Sometimes, like I did, I forgot for a short while and didn’t realize my blessings are right in front of me. Thanks Dad for reminding me!!! I love you!

xo
princy

My parents after 46 years of marriage!

Went to the Poker Show at the Venetian

I think Chad and I had attended the 2nd actual “live” show so there were alot of kinks to be worked out.  It was fun but there’s a secret to the who thing… If you aren’t picked to go up onto the table and play with the pro, and you have the little screen in front of you, fold, fold, fold! Unless you have a premium, don’t go along. You’ll lose points and you don’t win any prizes.

It was fun to see Todd again, got to say hello to Kenna and talk to him for a few.. Nice to see the guys and amazingly enough, Scotty Nguyen was playing with Todd and Scotty didn’t have a beer in his hand! lol

It was a good time, I think it will be better in a few more weeks when things are smoothed out a bit.

Of course I think I look fat in the pics from all the drugs and steroids for my back injury but I wanted to share them anway… We had a good time.

Someone touched my heart last night at the poker table.

 

I managed to injure my back about 3 weeks ago and have been busy at the doctors and everything you can imagine trying to heal from this debilitating pain. I talked my SO into taking me out for a few hours last night to play a little poker. We ended up at the Mandalay Bay and I sat down to a 3/6 table. And by the way, may of the players we jealous of my really cool scooter I get to ride since I can’t walk very far. lol By the point in the day/evening I’m filled with a crap load of valium and steroids for my 3 bulging discs, etc etc etc… I wasn’t feeling alot of pain but was still quite lucid.

3 gentlemen New Orleans sat down to the table aprox 12-15 years my senior. It was clear they didn’t know how to play and were there to have a good time. Aparently one of the gent’s son was getting married this weekend. We got to talking about marriage and such and they asked me if I were married. I told them I was a widow and on my way to getting married in the future with my special man with whom I’ve recently celebrated a dating anniversary. The man sitting to my right (not part of this group) who was clearly offended by my outplaying him most of the evening took every opportunity to make rather unkind comments about my loss, and everything else he could try to think and push my buttons. I turned to him, looked him in the eye and said “My dear, you can try all night long and the rest of next week with your comments but remember we are at a 3/6 limit table. What  you try to do and say here will never even begin to ruffle my feathers. Bury your best friend and spouse, live through it, continue to raise a family and move on with your life and you will understand how very sad and classless your actions are.”  It wasn’t soon after he was felted by the Older gents from NOLA and if I were a betting girl, it appeared they did it with great pleasure.

A little while later into the game, one of the gents asked me how long it had been since I had lost my husband. Asked how I’m doing, some of the typical things a person asks trying to be gracious and sensitive to the conversation. A while later, he had left the table and before he left the room he stopped by and whispered in my ear he had been married 26 years and 4 months ago lost his wife suddenly. That speaking with me, and seeing a person such as myself living a happy life again was great hope and ispiration. I gave him a kiss on the cheek and told him that he would find blessings waiting for him he isn’t aware of at this time. To mourn and heal and the plan for him God has in store will once again  give him joy and happiness. I promise.

There are many many times I sit down to a table and have small chit chat with players, sometimes I listen to my ipod and just rake in the money as best I can. Last night it was clear, I was meant to be at that table to have that conversation with that man. I didn’t catch his name and I’m sure I’ll never see him again. I actually got up from the table for a few moments and grabbed my scooter to take a bit away from the table and room.  It touched me so deeply I didn’t know how to react. I needed some time to regain my perspective and remember I was there to play poker.  It was never far from my thoughts and so much so I woke up and chatted with my SO about it this morning.  I knew I had to blog about it.  It’s how I get things reconciled from my brain…

What do I take away from the experience as a whole except that I’m clearly not ready to be out doing anything with my back being as bad as it is?? For me, I must be my genuine self. If I know I’m in the mode to to play and socialize that’s what I will do and understand it’s not going to be a big money making session. That’s usually not my intention. However, sometimes life brings you moments and lessons more important than the money on the table in front of you. Maybe that’s why I lose sometimes or don’t make big money that session. There’s clearly a greater lesson or exprience I was destined to embrace than what my own plan had been last night.  If I’m genuine and true to myself life brings me riches in many forms, even at the poker table…..

War, Elections, and Poker… lots on my brain

So in the last gazillion years since I’ve managed to post… wow. So much has happened and been in my brain just waiting to be released.  I’ve managed to sit down with my laptop and somehow try to formulate my thoughts and a few updates regarding life in general and my poker experiences.

First of all, my son is out of basic and AIT and in Ft. Bliss Tx. He’s smack in the middle of being a newbie soldier and learning his way around the latrines and barracks floors I assume. lol On a more serious note, he’s expecting to go overseas to Afghanistan or Kosovo by Feb of the new year. I’ll be honest, I had to look up the conflicts in Kosovo to really understand what’s going on. None of it is nice, bottom line. I swear he’s grown a foot and I don’t remember him having to shave every single day. Not only that, when did he not have to ask me if he could go outside to play with his neighborhood pals???? Did he manage to pass through Jr. High School and I miss it? Goodness….

I’ve done a great deal of research about the Presidential Election. I won’t express my opinion as to whom I’ll be voting for. This is one of the very few rights we as Americans have and shouldn’t be influenced to do so. I believe it is  your right to vote as you choose. I simply ask you make an EDUCATED choice.

I have had a chance to play a little bit of poker as of late.I’ve had the opportunity to play in a few tournaments here in LV and thought I’d give you a report based on my experiences and opinions…
I’ve played in the bounty tournament @ Treasure Island. The Wed tournament is run much better than the evening weekend ones. The guy who runs the ones on the weekends didn’t know how to set the tables to have an even or close number of players on each table. When I questioned him, he straight up lied to me. He told me there were people who had bought in and weren’t there. BS. We didn’t get another player until one girl bought in 17 minutes later. We started our table 5 handed while the others were 8. We didn’t get another player until the tables were consolidated. Another “rule” they have, is IF there are players who have bought in and aren’t at the table, they don’t put thier chips out to blind them off, or even deal them in. I also found out if you’re one of the regular players there, they will allow you to rabbit hunt if you ask nicely… Oh, and if you want, you can yak on the phone as long as you want as long as you don’t “slow up the game” lmao I have to wonder if this bounty tournament is worth my money when the tournament itslef is run so poorly.

I played my own tournament @ the Venetian. Ok.. it’s not mine but since I work there I wanted to check it out.. Level of player you encounter will depend. It’s a higher buy in than most average daily tournaments but that can be misleading… meaning it doesn’t mean that the level of player should be assumed to be better. Although the level is better then average, it’s not extraordinary. I won’t bore you with the donk ass call someone made against me to take me out. One of the big pluses is the average first place prize is in excess of 4k. Our last Friday first place was over 7k.  Not bad for a $150 investment.

I also played the Orleans tournament. Not a bad tourney. I cashed in it. The structer is unique. The first 3 levels are 20 minutes long and then 30 thereafter. However, the structure is quite aggressive. Decent players but mostly locals who play there virtually every single day.

I  hope to be able to make it over to the Hard Rock in the next few weeks.

My only regret with my job is that I can’t join the LIPS tournaments on the weekends…. I still keep up with your blogs and read the posts. I am so delighted to see how we as the powerhouses of women grow in the world of poker.

xoxo

Blink

 

An update regarding my Son

My son, who recently joined the Army is about to finish AIT.
He’s managed to become a platoon leader which doesn’t surprise me. *wink*He sounds like a grown young man who I’d anticipate him to be. He sounds strong, like a leader and a soldier we ALL would want protecting our country.

A quick story… On Memorial Day a Soldier came into my casino area in his full dress uniform. He walked with a cane and a limp. He was there because our president of our casino had flown 50 soldiers and their families to our property as our vip guests. To be honest, it caught me off guard to see this soldier. My eyes welled up with tears, my voice was quickly unsteady. My boss, Bill, took care of this gentleman and not a single misstep happened dispite my unexpected emotion. I eventually went over to apologize to him and he knowingly knew I was a mother of a soldier. We chatted about my son’s job, him being sent to Iraq soon, and a few yet subtle powerful words to one another.

My son is strong. He’s healthy and doing everything a young soldier of his rank is supposed to be doing. He knows he comes from several generations of soldiers and oddly enough, has a calm sense about his job.

I am proud of my son. I am so incredibly proud of him that it easily overcomes any worry I may have for him. He’s an amazing young man.

I know I’ve kept many of you abreast as of late. I simply don’t have much time to write you individually so I wanted to send a letter to my extended family back home….

I love and miss y’all.

 

 

 

 

Don’t let the breasts fool you, I’ve got balls too! lol

The last two weeks I’ve final tabled in the two attempts in tourneys.

I played in the Binion’s 10am tourney the day of the employee event and took second. The 10am folks are some tough players so I felt really good about my play. I was able to read my table and make moves against them to gain the chips I needed.

I then played at the TI tourney on Wed of last week. I had a great time! Lots of good players, no drama or donkeys. That makes poker fun when you can sit down, enjoy your company and have a good time. We ended chopping because it had been a long afternoon and most of us had other places to be. We all managed over $500 including our bounties. First was only $700 so it was a good deal as we were all very close in chips from one another. I had the chance to sit and get to know a fella from SD named Omar. A young fella who clearly is one of the “next gen” poker players. To his advantage, he knew how to play a live game and behave himself. I was pleased with his play and we stayed out of one another’s way and it all worked out.  I was at the Venetian the following day at the Grand Lux and he was there and came up to  me to say hello and meet his friends.  I took it as a big compliment that he’d introduce his pals and to say “hi”.

I am a mother of a 19 yo son who’s in the military headed to Iraq soon. Maybe I have a stronger sensitivity to our younger gen to pay attention to them. Maybe I don’t want to not be one of those mothers who are totally out of touch with this generation. I do, however, want to always remember they are our young men and women who will be leading our country when we’re trying to get our bedclothes changed one day and hope the’ll be kind to me in return.

I’m feeling really good about my play as of late. I’m making incredible reads against my opponents.  Something has clicked inside my brain. It’s like I can tell when you’re lying to me and when you’re scared to make a move against me. Funny thing happened to me.  When I sat down to the TI poker tourney last week, I got NO respect initially. 6 out of the other 9 players tried to make moves against me and all I did was collect their chips. One hand in particular I had A 10 of spades. I raise in the cutoff position with a 2.5 bb raise. I get one caller.  The board comes Jack, 7, 2. suit not important. The guy in first position pushes all in as his stack is about the size of the pot.  I don’t remember the suits of the cards on the flop because I knew he was gonna push regardless to make me think he caught the flop. I went in the tank for a few and called. I was positive about my read and I was correct. He had K 3 off. I had him dominated and took his stack. The ENTIRE room watched and you could hear the other tables talk about the hand when everyone sat down. Amazingly, there was alot of ass kissing afterwards towards me.  Ahh, just another day when I took one for the “gals” to prove we DO know how to call a bluff and CAN’T be pushed around.

 

 

 

 

Karma and respect at the table..does it matter?

I often wonder if it indeed really matters about whether people respect you at the table.  I’ll try to share my thoughts from both sides of the coin. On one side I guess some people think, “hey, I”m here to make money, I don’t give a rats ass whether you respect me or not. Fair enough. The other side may say “it helps you at the table in ways you may not realize.”  For me, I suppose it is a thing that comes from within. I try to live by the cardinal rule and that’s just the bottom line for me. I want to play a game that I can live with when I leave the table and think about later. I want to know I treated others respectfully and didn’t play like a donkey and get lucky to get the chips I have in front of me. It gives me great peace of mind when I look in the mirror the next morning, knowing I’ve played a good game and didn’t screw anyone.

I’m sometimes a bit saddened to see the amount of ruthlessness at the table. Now, don’t get me wrong . I’ll take your chips and make you bleed when you take mine. However, when it comes to the spirit of the game and treating others with respect.  I would hope that we all understand what that means.

Most of us are believers in karma in this game. Please keep it in mind when you play your game against others.  Karma’s a bitch and I know it ain’t a nice girl. Respect is one of the few things we can put forth into our force. I hope it’s a positive one…

xoxo

B

I’ve figured it out, why I’m losing sleep

So I’m playing a cash game yesterday and sweating my guy as he’s playing the daily tourney at the Venetian.  (btw, he final tabled and cashed in a nice way which made me a happy girl) I wanted to play the tourney but wasn’t really feeling it so I’m over playing some cash….

Long story short, a few ladies were at my table and were informing all of us as to how good they were as their rebuys totalled 1k. One lady is bragging about who she knows in the LIPS Tour and how she plays all these big ladies tourneys. Little does she know, I know her, her style of play, and know she’s a straight up donkey. Sorry for the harsh words but it’s true.  I laugh as she’s trying to make herself look important. lol I’m not upset she’s at my table cuz she’s paid me off quite nicely 3 or 4 times. The other lady who is into the table for about 400, is a calling station. Again, love that she’s at the table as I’ve gotten paid a few times from her and her crappy play. ( I want to make clear, there was 3rd lady who came to the table late who is also a Lips player who is very good and I respected her play 100%)

Here’s my frustration as it’s others’ too I’m sure… Why in the world do you think you’re so damn good when you’re rebuying 4 or even 6 times? They are donking off their money and the one or two times you get lucky you think you’re freaking brilliant??? It’s just mind boggling to me and it doesn’t help when you crack my Aces twice either. lol 

When I actually take the time to sit down and concentrate on the game, I usually go pretty deep if not take down the damn thing. Since I’ve moved to LV in Dec, I’ve won over a dozen daily tourneys. I’ve managed to make my mark in a small way here and have a reputation for not being somone you want to tangle with. I can change up my game, adjust to my players’ styles and get you to give me your chips and you won’t even feel the pain until it’s too late. I pride myself on being successful in everything I’ve done. I’m an accomplished educated professional woman. This damn game is going to drive me batty I swear!!! The X factor of luck which I try to reduce as much as I can and the ignorance of other players as well as  their dumb luck is what drives me to drink dammint! lol

I think when I become frustrated and lose a little sleep it drives me to get better and more successful. I gain more focus and study even harder. Finally it’s starting to pay off and my results are becoming more consistent.  Now I’m not so upset about the growing pains of my game. It simply shows me I’m learning and getting better. I’m all about the path I’m on and growing. This is all part of the greater plan for my life and I’m taking it all in… even the lack of sleep every now and then.

I’ll see you at the tables and don’t be mad when I take your chips.  Don’t say I didn’t warn ya!

xoxo

Blinky