Quick Hits

I'm trying not to be online so much at work, so I'm going to do some Aimless Stream of ConsciousnessTM for about five minutes or so:

My Vacation: Great time. Sun, beach, bikinis, surf, my beautiful kids, good food, my beautiful wife, fun, fun, fun.

On the way down, I saw a billboard for a online poker room that was supposedly for military personnel "G.I's" as they said (eventhough the only base in the area is Camp Lejeune- Marines) I told myself to write the name of the sight down, but I forgot, of course. I'll do a search later and see if I can find it.

The beach house we rent had a new huge flatscreen TV with HD satellite. SCHWWEEET!! Although, Phil Helmuth in HD is not very attractive.

Speaking of looks (this is where the Aimless part comes in kids, so stay with me) I got the Moneymaker Millions promo in my e-mailbox today and Jesus, can Moneymaker look anymore like a schlub? I'm not going to denigrate his playing abilities, but good God man, you're a millionaire, get to a gym or a plastic surgeon.

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One dream I had recently was me putting together a $5 dollar buy-in NLHE tourney at a casino in downtown York, Pa. Eric Lindgren and Joe Hachem were playing. We were playing 7-card Stud, which already should have told me it was a nightmare, and I had quad aces. I'm dealing, and I accidently shuffle my hand back into the deck! Then, I realize there's about six or seven aces in the deck. I'm absolutely mortified and I apologize profusely. I mean, I'm sort of embarrassed that I've invited some big name players to such a rinky-dink game anyway and then this happens. Eric is very understanding and laughs it off.

I offer to get some more cards, so, instead of going to the floor guy, or at least driving home, I figure it's quicker to literally run to the other side of town and get another pack of my hole-punched casino cards from home. By the time I make it home, It's like three in the morning, so I just decide to not go back and leave Eric and Joe in the lurch with the other players. So I go to bed.

But, I feel bad about not returning and I can't sleep! So I decide to run BACK to the casino, but I have trouble making it to the poker room because there's all these shops in the way and they're going to shut the poker room down so they can set up the breakfast buffet. (This is South Central Pa, people. If there ever were to be a poker room in downtown York, it would shut down for the breakfast buffet. Trust me.)

Finally, I sit back down and Eric and Joe are gone, replaced by pros I don't know, but are greasy guys who you probably wouldn't associate with other than at the poker table. Players like Matusow or Farha. Boy, were they pissed! They'd taken my chips and replaced them with buttons, and I didn't know how much they were worth. Thankfully, I woke up enough to end that dream!

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Okay, that's it for now, except that, after a week of no poker, I won over ten BB's last night. I did a fair bit of poker reading at the beach, and I have some things I'm trying to improve upon. Which goes without saying, and will still be the case fifty years from now!

Here we go again!

DON'T PLAY WHEN YOU'RE TIRED

Dropped another 20BB's last night! BTW, that's my stop-gap limit. So, let's recap...three days, -60BB's (30 bucks.)

Will someone please remind me tonight to NOT PLAY IF I'M TIRED!

BTW, don't play when you're tired.

Played a limit MTT freeroll last night. I could get into these. I was doing pretty well until I started falling asleep and just packed it in. Even if I won a seat into the 1k guaranteed, I'll be at teh beach and unable to play anyway. However, in the future, if I can find a cheap MTT or SNG that actually has enough people willing to play, I will take a serious shot at it. Any suggestions? (I'm talking cheap, though. Dollah, two dollah at most.)

I'm tempted to not play poker tonight and tomorrow, thus making it about a week and a half long break, including next week. Then again, I'm always tempted to play.

Possibly (probably) my last post until after I get back from N.C., so good luck to the small, exclusive club known as my readers.

Back to the 21st Century

I'm happy to report that, when I walked into my house last evening, I felt artificially cold air. After a few tense moments yesterday, during which it wasn't clear if our air conditioning was going to get fixed, we got a new compressor and we're back living in spoiled American comfort. The temperature in the house at 7pm was 80 degrees and falling.

Of course, by then, a line of thunderstorms had rolled through and broke the back of the heat wave. It was 72 degrees outside. Go figure.

Rode the limit roller coaster last night. I was up about $8, then down $8, then almost even, then I hit my losing limit of 20BB'S ($10.) I was way too tired and I shouldn't have played.

Beach in a few days!

Retreat!

In the face of near triple digit temps and heat indexes, the Russo family decided to abandon the house today and go to Granny's, who has at least some air conditioning. The weekend was more bearable heat-wise than we thought it would be, but there were some rough spots.

Here are some things that just don't work well in the heat:

1. Cleaning. Got the house cleaned up for the home game on Saturday, but man did that suck. You could trace my work by following the drops of sweat everywhere.
2. Eating. In addition to the dehydration, heat kills the appetite. Anything other than a small meal makes you feel sick.
3. Showering. I was like George Costanza in the Seinfeld episode where his showers didn't "take." I showered in the AM on Saturday and felt like I'd been living in a jungle for a week by the afternoon.
4. Pooping. The highest ambient temperature for the comfortable relieving of one's bowels is 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything higher than 80 mandates the removal of all of one's clothing prior to deuce droppage.

Yes, I am a spoiled American. I'd chop down a forest right now if it meant getting my air-conditioning back today.

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Played the Hardware Bar on Friday night. Did a bit better than last time, but out during the second round. Here's a summary of my playable hands.

22: In the BB. Folded to a raise.

22: In the cutoff. Folded to a raise after missing the flop.

Pocket 10's: Raised to 3x's the BB pre-flop and won it right there.

Big slick: Hit a K on the flop, won after raising 5x's the BB. My opponent commented on how I must've had something because I've been so tight. Surprisingly, this table was tight all around, with rarely more than three people seeing the flop on average.

J,10s: UTG. I misplayed this hand. My standard 3x's the BB bet was called by the big blind. Hit a ten on the flop, the BB checked/called my half-pot raise. An undercard on the turn and the BB checked again. I had it in my head that he either had me out-kicked or had overcards. I checked behind him when I should've overbet the pot. The river is another under and the BB check calls me.

He shows me J-8o for his rivered straight. I didn't spend enough time reading the board and missed that there was the possibility that he had a an OESD, on the turn, which is what he had. I don't like his pre-flop call with such a crappy hand, but, if I'd paid more attention, I'd have protected my hand a little better. Hindsight.

Big Slick, suited: The same guy puts in a hefty bet of twenty-five hundred pre-flop. My stack is hurting and there's no doubt I'm at least going to call. I'd be left with only about 1500 in chips though, so I go all in. He shows me his aces and I show myself out.

All in all, I fell not to bad about how I played. Also, the hottie shot-waitress and I have an inside joke because I always say I'm going to buy a shot but never do. If I was fifteen years younger, thinner, in better shape, six inches taller, dressed better, could spit some game, was single, and could get her drunk, I might be able to get a date out of her.

Saturday was Poker Night III: No Excuses! We had five people show. I was out in second, even though I started out doing pretty well. I aggressed and was rewarded. I stole blinds like a crook. I pushed my edges.

Then, I got cocky and started playing some hands I usually discard. Like A-rag. Then, I found myself out of the money. I've yet to win any dough in my own game.

We had a new person play this week, one of my neighbors. He'd pestered my other neighbor about playing, even though he claimed not to know which hands beat which. Sort of gave himself away by coming in second.

I was suspicious about the guy before and my hunch was confirmed the first time he dealt. True newcomers NEVER know to burn a card before dealing out the board. This guy did though. Also, he would ask "is it to me?" instead of "is it my turn?"

No biggie though. I don't think he's THAT good, unless he wasn't giving it his all.

Won two bucks back in the cash NL game afterwards.

Two people didn't show, and one of them is being deleted from the game's e-letter. Got a few more possible people to add though. At some point, there's going to be twenty-thirty people at my house, and then what am I going to do?

Sunday was on-line poker day. First session, won about six bucks. Second session, the rubber band finally snapped back and I dropped about thirty BB's, mostly on my quad 8's losing to quad jacks, then donking with my jacks full losing to, yes, quad jacks again. Add to that some card deadness and complete missage of the flops and there you are.

It was bound to happen. I've been red-hot lately and I was bound to even the books. Variance, to me, is like geology. A streak either way builds up pressure, like at a faultline. Once the pressure reaches the breaking point, there's an earthquake, or series of earthquakes and the pressure is relieved. Hopefully, the hosing I took has relieved enough pressure and I can get back to normal. I hope I'm not due for the carnage of a few weeks ago.

(I know, variance isn't really like that. But it's a neat analogy anyway, right?)

Status Report

AIR CONDITIONER: FUCKED!

ESTIMATED TIME FOR REPAIR: TUESDAY!

FORECAST FOR THE WEEKEND: NINETIES AND 'SULTRY!'

CL'S MOOD: PISSED!

CL'S WEEKEND POKER SCHEDULE:

FRIDAY: Hardware Bar: Ghetto-fabulous freerolling at it's best. Crystal all around!

SATURDAY: Poker Night III: No Excuses! Apparently, plenty of people FOUND excuses, as we'll be lucky to have five players.

SUNDAY: Extra-Bonus, Super Special Free-time Poker Time Extravaganza! Yeah, we'll see if THIS pans out.

That is all.

Funk

Our air conditioner is, again, not working. We suffered through a hot, humid Monday night, had it repaired on Tuesday only to have it punk out on us again last night. A string of thunderstorms cooled things off a little, but I still woke up tired and bleary. Not to mention how happy I was to sweat through my shirt before I made it out of the house.

Tie in the heat with my lack of sleep, the Mistress' push to get her final paper in for her graduate class, a sick General, and a cranky Monkey and my depression's kicked in. I'm in a funk.

I'm sitting at work, writing this, instead of, well, working. I've been surfing blogs all week, knowing full well that our internet usage is free for the inspection by the big bosses. Not to mention that I've probably got a bull's-eye on my back stemming from an dust-up I had with some of the other supervisors in the agency.

I don't want to be here, I just want to play poker all day. I can feel the ship go down, but I'm not doing a damn thing about it.

This lethargy and self-destructive behavior is typical for people with depression. In case anyone's worried about a gambling addiction, it's more like a hobby addiction. Before poker, it was writing, before that golf, fishing, homebrewing beer, panning for gold.

Yeah, that's right, gold panning. Let's move on, shall we?

I'm got great expectations for the weekend and next week, though. We should have our blessed cold-air maker back and running by the end of today, I'm playing live poker on Friday AND Saturday, and I'm getting FREE TIME (mmm...savor that with me-free time) to put in a multi-hour limit session online on Sunday.

Next week, we've got nothing to do but plan for the beach. Yeah, the beach, bitches! Swim, play in the sand, read me some sci-fi and poker books, take naps, eat good. Can't wait.

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Even though I'm down in the dumps, my limit poker game is strong. I've put together two +8BB sessions in the last two days, playing an average of about 1.5 hours each time. Yeah, hit and runs, but not intentionally. I'm making a point to stop when my attentions suffers.

Recently, Jordan posted another of his "How Would You Play this Hand?" installments. I was excited to see that it was about limit and I could actually speak about it somewhat literately. I've noticed alot of bloggers 'hate' limit and I think I might know why:

I think that many players with backgrounds in NL tend to bring good NL skills to the limit table and are frustrated. Judging from Jordan's post and comments, there seems to be too much emphasis on reads. Reads can only go so far. In NL, you can get more info from bets, due to the leeway in betting amounts. Three times the BB or a min-bet? Half the pot or all-in? You just don't get as much data from an opening limit bet on the flop.

Also, I think that there's a different way of thinking about pot odds and pot size when playing NL. While 3:1 odds in NL is good, it's not good for most drawing hands in Limit. Also, a small pot makes all but the strongest draws and marginal made hands not worth defending.

Of course, reading players is important. But, with limited information, I think it has to take secondary importance. In my inexperienced opinion, your first consideration has to has to be the math. Continuing with un-made hands without the proper pot odds won't be profitable in the long run, even with the best reads.

I'm not criticizing Jordan or anyone else. The post got my thoughts rolling and I wanted to put them on 'paper.'

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Here's why I've been doing well lately:

1. Patience. Fold, fold, fold, fold. And, for good measure, fold. I've made some corrections about which hands to play in mid and late positions.

2. Attention. I'm much more in tune to when I'm probably not ahead, what my outs are, what the size of the pot is, and how my opponents are betting. I'm also not multi-tabling anymore, and I think the difference in outcomes is pretty stark.

3. Discipline. I'm laying down more hands in small pots. I'm not calling as often when I'm getting raised while holding marginal hands. Usually, I'd call pretty much automatically. Now, I'm taking some time to think about whether a call is worth it.

Also, I'm getting up from the table when I'm tired, or if it's getting late and I'm heading downwards. In other words, I'm locking in more winning sessions.

4. Aggression. I'm doing better at protecting my marginal hands in large pots. I try not to give free cards anymore, and I'm more willing to bet when I think I can pick up a pot quickly.

Well, that killed about an hour. Sigh.

Have a good weekend.

No, I didn't go to Vegas...

...This is what I have to deal with instead:

To those of you who insist on hanging those stupid, classless, plastic ballsacks from your trucks:

I’m putting you on notice. The next time my four-year-old points to your truck’s junk and asks “What’s that daddy?” I’m going to find you and make you explain it to her.

God damn, I don’t want to be associated with this crowd, but I find myself grudgingly agreeing with the 'Kompassionate,' Konservative Kristians who complain about the coarsening of our society. What’s next? Twelve inch dongers designed to throw sparks off the road?

You own a truck. You’re insecure about your own toughness and you possibly have gay fantasies. I understand. But do you need to overcompensate in such an offensive way? Can’t you just grow a mullet, go to a NASCAR race and leave it at that?

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Finally played a limit tourney the other day…although it wasn’t a great experience. It was a Stars freeroll and it was completely bewildering. Any bet was capped and people were betting, raising, capping with silly hands. Q3, J2, 5-2. It was sick. I asked, rhetorically, what the best strategy was for limit tourneys, and someone answered “hope.” He had a big stack after winning with Q3o.

Even though it’s limit, you can go through a stack pretty freaking quick! I eventually just gave up and went to the wall with J10o and lost, of course. I find NL freerolls to be easier and more sane, on the whole.

I’d be interested in playing more limit tourneys or SNG’s, but the cheapo ones on Stars don’t ever seem to have enough players. The SNG’s on Party are too expensive, and that part of my roll is strictly for cash games at this point.

Still doing well in the cash games. Won about 5 BB’s in one session yesterday. Gave back 1.5 BB’s in a second session on because I decided I didn’t really want to play and couldn’t motivate myself to try and get even.

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My copy of Sklansky’s, Malmuth’s, and Miller’s Small Stakes Hold’Em is wearing out. Every time I open that book I learn something new. The trouble is incorporating it and using all the concepts at the same time.

I’m probably sounding greedy, but I’d like to make some bigger scores. I’m sure I’m not maximizing my winnings yet and I’m leaking bets here and there. Also, I only have, at most three hours a night to play. If I could have four or five hour sessions, I’m sure I could win between 5-10 BB’s, instead of my 1-5 average now.

Realistically, playing five hours a day isn’t going to happen. So, I should probably just shut up and enjoy my current upswing. Remembering my last losing run makes me shudder.

Leaks, I got 'em

It's time to come clean. I have a serious addiction...to two pairs. And not the hidden kind, either. That would almost be understandable. I'm talking about those awful traps, the paired board type.

To paraphrase Pacino in 'Heat':

"I GOT A GREAT HAND!

I'm sorry, did I scare you? There's something about two pairs...it just brings something out of me."

Fer instance: I'm in a dollah tournament on Stars and I'm doing okay. Chipping up, being aggressive. I've got an above average stack and I'm looking towards finishing ITM. I'm dealt pocket five's under the gun and my 3xBB bet is called by two opponents. The flop is 3AA. I'm out of position, and I'm facing a bet and a call. Clearly, one or both have an ace. If not, the chances of them having a pocket pair better than fives is pretty good.

So, naturally, I go all in.

I end up reverse hoying myself, so I don't miss the ridicule from the table. Someone with PokerTracker tells me to go back to the ten cent tables.

As sad and funny as this tale is, I seriously need to get some self control when faced with this type of hand. I know what the common wisdom is: A bet and a call (or raise) generally means someone has trips.

Intellectually, I know this. It's my emotions I need to control.

If this is what the quality of the next hundred posts is going to be like...

So, I find myself down a little over 10BB’s on Party last night.

Down 10 big bets? On Party!?

Yes, you heard that correctly.

Unimaginable! Inconceivable!

I know, right? Well, thank God, the laws of nature reasserted themselves and I find two kings staring at me from the pocket. Blank, jack, jack on the flop. I feel somewhat stupid capping the betting, but the turn, a beautiful red king makes me feel all warm and gooey inside. I give my aggressive, yet oblivious opponents their head and I end up dragging my biggest single online pot to date, a bit over fourteen bucks. I end up with my standard four or five BB winning session.

I had fucked up my shot at an SNG by that time, but I still wanted to play, so I sign up for a freeroll on Stars. Nine thousand players? Crap, this is going to take all night.

Yeah, right. We’d lost around six thousand players before the first break. Which I didn’t exactly make it to. I was card dead and saw only one showdown-the one that knocked me out. The most fun I had was refreshing the “info” page and seeing how many players were busting out every ten seconds or so.

What a frustrating experience. A freeroll maniac kept going all in, but I didn’t have a hand worthy to call. I had two marginal hands that were probably good decisions to fold, but would have earned me a big stack had I played them.

First, I’m looking at K8c. I think about this. This is the second time the yahoo’s gone all in, so I’m not entirely sure he’s maniacal. I fold. The flop comes all clubs. The guy wins with nines.

A few hands later, I’ve got wired fives on the button. Maniac goes all in and is called. Now, I REALLY want to take a chunk of this guy’s stack, but fives are just too vulnerable to me. He could play a lot of crappy hands and still be drawing live. Plus, the other guy’s called him and Lord knows what he’s got. I fold. The flop is 6-5-6. Sigh.

Finally, I’ve got the Tourist (A7)suited on the button. It’s folded to me and I raise it to try to steal. Both blinds call. The flop comes 3-3-7. The small blind goes all in. I’m thinking that it’s not too likely that he would’ve called me pre-flop with a three (Frankly, I didn’t consider he might have pocket sevens until right now.) I’m thinking my sevens up with top kicker is good, and the big stack’s trying to push me around.

But I forgot that this is a freeroll. I call and the guy shows me his Q3.

Offsuit.

Buh-by-ee!

Still, I’ll probably play in some more of these, just because they’re free and my ‘roll’s almost down to nubbins. They satisfy the itch with no risk. I have no doubt I can finish in the top 27 sometime and make it to the 1k guarantee tourney, so that makes it even more +EV for me.

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Here’s a crazy dream I had last night:

I wake up and it’s Sunday. I’m at a casino with some people I went to high school with. I have to leave for home (Mistress keeps me on a short leash, even in dreamland) but I’m urged to play a one table SNG. I do so reluctantly, having to cash in with a credit card, which makes me feel even more guilty.

We sit, and people keep sitting down, even after play starts. I have to keep looking for a chair, I constantly lose my chips, and, when I find them, there’s always a different amount, different denominations. The table’s changed and it is now the size of a small room. The playing surface is actually the floor, and we’re all sitting coliseum-style. To make a bet, you have to walk down to a small ledge, where your stack is, count out your bet and drop it onto the swank hotel carpet that's serving as felt.

People are dropping out as fast as the freeroll I played in, yet I haven’t played or even folded a hand. I keep having to find my seat and my chips, you see. On the way, I have to break up a scuffle between two players. Apparently, the one touched the other on the shoulder without washing his hands first.

I know, weird, right?

So, besides all this, there are two other things that complicate the matter. First, the chips are paper-thin, and sort of frayed around the edges, so they’re almost impossible to count. I don’t know what the denominations are. I ask the dealer, but she doesn’t know either. She said she was just hired today and doesn’t know much about poker. She can, however, zing the cards across the room with incredible accuracy.

Secondly, this is one of those dreams where everyone, even people who like you in real life, are mildly hostile to you. Makes for a fun time.

All I’m dealt is marginal hands like AQo and KJo. Every time I raise, five or six people come over the top.

The dream ends with me deciding whether or not to go all in with KJ. Then it morphs into a scenario where I have to drive someone I work with for a meeting, but I keep going to the guy’s school and forget to actually pick up the guy. It ends with me in the shower with my clothes on, and my dad yelling from outside the bathroom that I forgot to pick up the guy again.

So, that’s the dark carnival that’s inside the mind of CL Russo this week. I think it’s because everyone else gets to go to Vegas except me. Stupid lack of money. Oh well, I hope everyone has a great time and I’m looking forward to reading some funny trip reports.

100th Post!

What could be more appropriate that my blog posts its 100th entry during this patriotic week? Who would've thought I'd have made it this far? And who really cares?

To celebrate this unprecedented, unmatched achievement, I'm going to grace you with some more Aimless Stream of ConsciousnessTM:

In the spirit of Independence Day, we did what all upstanding American parents should do: we introduced a child to video games. We got sucked into the whole VSmile hype. We thought it would be educational. It was educational all right! It taught the Big Monkey how to play video games!

Now it's all about VSmile. Can I play the TV game? Can I? How about now? Pretend I'm Dora (one of the games features the latina explora) jumping over the bridge. Can I play now?

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On Monday I downloaded the Titan software and tried to register to take advantage of Pokersource.com's instant bankroll promotion. Didn't work. I contacted Titan's customer support and was told that, in fact, I already have a cash account with them, under the e-mail madhyp@gmail.com. Um, no I don't, I said. Oh, well you might have a virus, Titan said. Delete the software and download it again.

Well, I can't do that and take advantage of the instant bankroll. I've deleted the software and, quite frankly, it's just as well. Two poker sites is enough for me right now. The computer seems to run better without that software on it anyway.

My concern is, what about this madhyp guy? Titan never mentioned the account after I said I didn't have it, but I'm wondering if my info's been snatched by someone and they've set up an account in my name. Anyone know of any scams related to madhyp or Titan?

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Remember that bumper sticker:

It's hard to be humble when I'm just that damn good

That's how I feel about my limit game right now. I'm killing .25/.50 limit at Party, for the short run at least. Six winning sessions out the past seven. I'm doing better at Stars as well, although the play at that level is tight and seems to be about the same skill level as where I'm at.

I can understand how players can get big egos. Just a week or two ago, I was dreading playing any limit 'cause I was getting crushed. Now, moving up in limits has shown immediate improvement. Those humiliating losing days seem like a bad memory, and I'm daydreaming again about how I'm going to get to 2/4 or 5/10 and bring in a steady side income.

Obviously, I can't jump levels everytime I'm in a rut and I have no intention on doing it again. My goal is to build up to $200 at Party and move up to .50/1. As for Stars, my 'roll is on life support. I can't play any blogger events for awhile. I'm just going to grind the limit tables and play a few small SNG's, which I still think are +EV for me.

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Here's an article from Slate.com written by the wife of a professional on-line poker player. It's an interesting look from a spouse's perspective.

I'm disappointed with Slate on this, however. When the article first ran, it was under an innocuous headline, which I don't remember. Now, they have it listed with the heading "My Husband Lost my Nestegg!" Which is true, but it gives a totally inaccurate impression of the article. Read and let me know if you agree with me.

Weekend Review

How do you know it's been a good weekend?

When Friday seems like a month in the past.

I'm feeling really good today- better rested than I have in quite a while. We spent Saturday outside running a yard sale. I always thought that baby clothes were a hot seller at these things, but not for us, apparently. Everybody wanted boy clothes. When someone asked if we had boy clothes, I'd gesture to the mountains of clothes we had and say "Look at all these clothes, do you think there's a boy child in this house?"

My best customer was the grandma with "love" and "hate" tattooed on her hands. Classic. She was very much in love with her grandson, though, and bought him a bunch of the baby toys we had out.

The kiddies were worn out after being outside all morning and retired after lunch for a THREE HOUR nap! Woo-hoo! I joined them. Then, it was out to dinner and a great ride around the country and down to the Susquehanna River to check out the flooding. The river was still high, but back within its banks. We found a park by the water and played a bit, then watched some ducks near the shore.

On Sunday, we were outside again working in the yard. The Mistress and I put in a hopscotch court (pitch? field?) using pavers and crushed rock. It sounds odd, but it looks really neat. The monkeys play hopscotch as part of their gymnastic classes and they liked it.

After that, guess what? Another three hour Russo family siesta! Ah, sweet sleep. I felt so rested I cook dinner: turkey breast, wild rice, and creamed spinach. The Mistress wanted to keep the girls up late because she's off tomorrow and wanted them to sleep in, so they went to the basement and watched a movie after dinner. I snuck away and played a spot of poker. I capped off the weekend by actually getting to bed at a decent hour and getting eight hours of sleep, which is simply unheard of for me.

Me likey Party Poker! The 'beginner's tables' are a fish processing plant. What a service for players with a clue! I'm up about 30BB's in a week at the .25/.50 limit tables. I think I'll keep playing there.

Also, Jordan suggested I check out poker source's instant bankroll. I'm definitely going to give it a shot. Free money? I'm there.