The BASH.... looking back again....

A couple of things I did forget to mention about Thursday night. One was the prank that was pulled on me as I arrived at The Pub. Al of course, was in his usual spot and as we walked into The Pub, I saw his arms go up in the air and then heard the warm and welcoming, "Bam-Bam!" As has been the case in every instance I have found the man down in his little corner of heaven, there was a little hottie sitting right next to him. Now I'd learned in the past that this might be a staff member from The Pub, or an attempt at mutual satisfaction of the carnal variety. Since things appeared to, "quiet up" as we drew closer, I was cheering for Al and hoping for the latter! (It's just how I roll) So with brief hello's and how's it goin's out of the way, I shifted away from his, "action" and made room for him to do his thing. They both turn to face me and Al asks, "don't you know who this is?" My mindset was still locked on the "action for Al" campaign and I only casually glanced at the young lady. "It's EVY you Donkey!" said Al. Well, I think the look on my face must have indicated how surprised I was by the way we were introduced. I think once the twenty minutes or so of laughter and hugs finally subsided, I got to explain the situation as I saw it. Much more laughter ensued! Welcome to The BASH Bam-Bam!

There were also two others that made it for a short stint at The Pub on Thursday night; Riggs brought CK in for a drink, (or a dozen!) after picking her up from the airport. There's something pretty special about our boy Riggstad! We're just not sure if it's "short-bus" special, or special of another variety! I kid ! Riggs is not only a good read as a blogger but, I'm very happy and proud to call him my friend. CK and I have gotten together on several occasions and we've had an awful lot of fun. (Hmmmmm.... that has potential to become a blogger rumour! Ah well, at least I would get the best of it! ;) ) Seeing CK and getting "our hug" and my very favorite REMON! is always one of my highlights of any event. Getting to see her pound back 5, (or so ;) ) shots in about 25 minutes was hirarious! Not quite as hirarious as watching her get poured into Riggs Mantruck at the end of the night though. I hear there might have been a "fall down" involved somewhere along the way. But that is all just rumour without the prerequisite pics of course. Although there are some jumbled and miss-matched tales of some type of CK Lapdance™ being performed on the way to drop CK off, the only real proof of anything at all was the very content look Al had on his face, when he walked into The Pub in the morning. He just kept saying the same thing, over and over again. “Bendy! So bendy!” ;)

There’s also the story of “The Cigarette!” I personally choose to leave it at me saving a fine young man’s life and lungs. I’m just glad there was a side benefit for those of you that were there. Oh how I do like making you laugh. But for the record, should you perhaps be a young punk roaming the streets looking for a free cigarette…. I may just not be the guy to ask! There! Done and Done !

So let’s see, where did we leave off yesterday? ….. AH yes! Golf was done.

After Golf we all headed back to The Pub. That was the first time this trip that I had the pleasure of running into my friend and fellow BB, BadBlood. Back in December, we had a grand total of about 1 minute to get our introductions and any discussions out of the way. You see, we met during the minute before the Poker Tourney started. I told myself that that just wouldn’t be happening this time. And I can’t tell you how happy I am that I did. Over the course of the weekend we managed to sit down and shoot the shit several different times and I always came out the better for it. Specially since Blood, Al and I had a moment to ourselves to discuss a little music and some new groups I need to get to know.

Otis and The Rooster were in the house and just before I could make my way over to say a quick hey to them, I noticed that the “Minnesota Mountain” was headed my way. Drizz was also someone I wanted to make sure I got a little time with. As with BadBlood, our time together in Vegas was limited to a quick introduction up in the Sports Book at the I.P. I was very happy to spend a little quality time with him at the Bash. Even though his choice in NFL teams leaves a little to be desired. ;) I’m telling you Drizz! The compliments you were getting on how great you look in that Green and Gold alone, should be enough to sway you over to the dark side my friend! If that’s just not good enough for you, always remember that HOT CHICKS love the Packers too!

I was grabbing a drink when I noticed that some of the boy’s were playing a game of shuffleboard together. Remembering how much I wanted to meet everyone in Vegas but didn’t know who was who, I took brudder Carson and DonKaaa over for some introductions. This is the second bit of advice I would give anyone going to a blogger gathering. It’s important to make some time to talk to those you really, really want to of course, but try and consider those that are going through the process for the first time as well. Taking a moment to make an introduction or two, takes nothing but a random act of kindness. You may just be making the entire trip for someone out there.

The afternoon before Poker was spent catching up with everyone and having a really good time. I made a point of seeking out everyone I could. If they had someone with them that I didn’t recognize, I didn’t wait for an introduction. I knew that this was the time to get to know everyone I could, before the Pub Olympics took over the day on Saturday. I did manage to catch everyone in the room and I’m really glad I did. The familiar faces were great to see again, and the added bonus of meeting several new Bloggers, (to me) along the way, was just great. But now……. It was time to head off to the Poker. Even more importantly than that however, was that I was only minutes away from seeing my darling Peb’s.

For those that didn’t know, Pebbles was down in Atlantic City for the week. She was going to meet up with me at the game and I just couldn’t wait to get there! Thanks to the over whelming generousity of a great friend, Peb’s was picked up at Bally’s and delivered to the game on Friday night. I’ll never be able to properly thank you for that Riggs! You are the best!

Here's a couple of random shots taken throughout the weekend. The first, is me and "The Boy's." Any discussion with The Doc, BadBlood and Otis is well worth your time! If you get the chance, make the effort!

And of course for me, no event would ever be complete without my girls! The Wife & Kat are two of the best huggers I know! And of course my Peb's just rocked my world by joining in on the fun that is, The BASH!

Absoloutely no one believed me, when I asked about all the girls doing random "boob checks" on each other. I actually took a lot of flack about it at first. But now that I have the proof, I expect the next round to be on you guys. Here's Kat and Peb's making sure that everything is "OK" down there for CK. ;)

Here's brudder Carson and DonKaaa setting up shop in Al's office. Laugh all you will, but until you've experienced sitting in that corner and seeing how well it's set up for him to do "business" there, there's just no explaining the "AlCantHang" office experience.


I've got a great idea! Tomorrow, let’s poker!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by….

The Bash, a first look back....

One of the things I'm going to assume we'll all be reading a fair bit of over the next few day's, is "There's so much to tell, I just don't know where to begin!"

I know in my case, I could write my experiences at the Bash for two weeks straight. I mean, I really had a blast at the Bash. I knew going into this thing that it was going to be quite a bit different from our Vegas gatherings. The intimate location, the smaller group and the organization done so as to bring us all together a lot more often, all would make for a lot more opportunities to get in trouble have fun. And that’s what happened. A LOT!

The drive down Thursday with my boy’s DonKaaa and Brudder Carson was un-eventful and quick. It was just the three of us doing what we do best, laughing at ourselves and laughing at each other. As ALWAYS whenever the three of us get together, it’s gonna’ be good times. I’ll say it here again boy’s, thanks for making the trip with me. Would’ve been nowhere near the same experience, with out you both.

So this Bam walks into a Pub with two Tuckfards ! That’s how everything got started and it went a little crazy, from that point on. I said to the boy’s, “we’ll have a little warm-up and get some quiet time with Al, before the Bash really hits high gear!” Well, after 7/8 of the MaCallans bottle I’d asked Al to see if he could bring in for The Doc and ½ the keg of Yuengling’s on tap were gone, I was getting pretty close to warmed up. Al of course was in his usual form, and we were setting a pretty steady, safe and comfortable pace. (for the two of us I mean of course)

Doc had brutal travel issues and didn’t manage to get to The Tyler James Pub, before we shut the place down for the night. There was a Spaceman sighting however and let me tell you, that was a great thing! He and the lovely Rachel were not only a very pleasant surprise, but an absoloute delight to get to know a little. There were also three very special participants there on Thursday night, whom I’ve come to have a great deal of respect, admiration and fondness for over my last two trips to the Pub. There’s not a chance in hell they’ll ever read the drivel I put up here in my little piece of the Interweb, but if you’re down in Phoenixville and you don’t stop by The Pub to get to know Teri, Ashley and Mike, you’re missing something pretty damn spectacular! Three of the best there are out there PERIOD! Not only at what they do down at The Pub while on the clock, but great to be around in the social environment as well. All three in one way or another, made this an even more special event for me. If you run across any one of them in your travels, take the time and make the effort to get to know a little about them. Just promise me you’ll tell them that Bam say’s hello.

And so all in all, the “little warm-up,” was a great way to start the Bash!

Friday was one incredible event after another. A non-stop barrage of laughs, drinks and good times. Naturally since I’d closed the Pub the night before, it only made sense to open it up the next day. By Friday morning Ashley had mastered “the look.” The look that said, “yup! He needs a Scotch and a Beer.” Then she took it to the next level! “How many more bottles of MaCallans should we bring in for you and your friend?” I don’t know about you folks, but we definitely don’t see a lot of that kind of service and concern around these parts. I was very pleasantly surprised. We made arrangements to bring in a couple more bottles and since I was apparently on a roll and Dr. Chako would be making it over to The Pub in the very near future, I decided to have a little fun. When shots are ordered at The Pub, they are rather generous compared to the few spots I frequent around here. I’m not sure if it’s the, “you’re with Al” factor or not but I’d like to think it’s a, “you’re OK” thing or, “yeah, you get it!” type of thing as well. But suffice it to say as I looked around the bar as several drinks were being passed around to “Basher’s” and not “Basher’s” alike, we were definitely being taken very good care of. So I took one look at that MaCallans bottle and sized up the remains. There was definitely one of “my” sized drinks, plus about enough for a regular 1 ounce shot left. PERFECT ! I ordered a Scotch and sat back for the fun. (with the help of Al and Ashley!) Al announced, “I told Chako the Canadians were still going golfing, he say’s wait for him!”

As Dr. Chako made his approach from about 50 feet away, I got that feeling that you get when you are meeting someone face-to-face for the very first time, and you just KNOW it’s gonna’ be pretty special. And it was! Manly man-hugs ensued and smiles were aplenty. But that just wasn’t good enough! I needed to get him set up. This man needs a shot of that MaCallans we had brought in, specifically just for him! “Ashley!” I boomed across the bar floor. “Get my friend here a shot of that Macallans please hun.” Well! The look on his face as that bottle ran empty less than halfway up the glass full of ice…… well…. priceless just doesn’t do it any justice. I roared…… Al roared….. and eventually, Dr. Chako roared as well. Moments really have to be lived to truly understand what they mean at the time. I know three of us that wish you could have been there for that one.

There was some time for a little chat and some time for in The Doc’s case, a “little” drink. Then, despite the weak-ass excuse for rain outdoors, The Doc., DonKaaa, Brudder Carson and I went out for Golf game. I have to admit, that this was the first time at The Bash where I got a little greedy. Two per cart could only mean one thing, Chako’s ridin’ with me and we’re partners! The Boy’s and I Golf together all the time and The Doc. will get spread out pretty thin, as The Bash wears on. This was my chance to spend a little quality time with the man, one on one. And honestly Sir….. The pleasure was truly all mine!

We started out so well too, as The Doc. dropped a pretty clutch putt on the very first hole to give us the 1-up lead. I was stoked! I really only had two problems. Firstly, I was honestly more interested in our conversations than anything that was going on in the Golf game. Secondly, the ground was saturated with rainwater. Like spongy saturated! I’m a down-striker in golf, meaning I hit pretty hard down on the ball and take pretty solid divots. If I tried that on Friday, I probably would have broken my wrist with the 40” divots I’d be trying to take. Friday was a “pickers” day. I needed to change up my game. I never really hit any spectacular shots and actually had a little bit of a hard time getting anything going. I was pretty solid off the tee, as there was less of an impact from the ground conditions. But my approach shots were just awful! DonKaaa and Carson crept their way back into a tie. It all came down to the last hole, as we were now all square. The pressure was really on! Tee-shots away…….. slight advantage team DonKaaa/Carson. Approach shots away….. dead even! Last chip to the green…… Team DonKaaa/Carson stuff it in tight and it’s a gimme. I go first and leave it a little too short. Dr. Chako takes dead aim and releases his chip towards the cup…… and it run’s to about 5 feet. We have a tough slider to the left and neither of us can manage to make the shot. We have been defeated. Never had so much fun losing in my life! Thank guy’s! Oh and one other thing to take away from this game! If Dr. Chako happens to be in your foursome anytime soon, you might want to make sure that YOU drive the cart! .. ;)

We’ll finish off Friday tomorrow. There’ just so damn much to write about!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by….

Here we come, the boy's in the tan brown Mazda....

So it's BASH time! Which naturally means, it's time for everything drunken Lemur! Before I head out, there's a few things I should probably clear up.

Although I've met the vast majority of BASH participants attending this year, I know there will be some that I have not had the opportunity or pleasure of running into at previous blogger get togethers. Trust me I'm not shy, and since my picture has been plastered all over the intertubes for the last few years anyhow, here's a shot of Myself, brudder Carson and DonKaaa, (in that order) you can use, to seek me out this weekend.

AND YES, thank you very much for noticing! I have lost a couple of pounds around the middle!

Excitement around here for the BASH, started to peak back in December of '07. It was Vegas and the WBPT Winter gathering at the Sports Book Bar of the Venetian, when I told Al, "there is NO WAY I'm missing it this year." It seems though that it took until yesterday for the Blogger ku-myoo-ni-tee to really get amped up for this weekend. As the screen in front of me was just jammed with I/M's and e-mails and discussions of plans and teams and of course, who would be the first to buy me a Scotch. The prop for this first drink thing, is really getting out of hand by the way. I say settle it like bloggers for cripes sake! You'll all get your turn dammit! HELL! After BadBlood weighs in at 175.6 on Friday morning, you may have to wait until Saturday to get to buy me a drink! Of course there are some out there, that have a huge edge in this little wager. I don't like to name names though, so I won't. Let's just say that one of you out there, has a leg up on the competition early on, as your significant other suffers a crappy 24 hr. delay.

Now on to much less important things than buying me a drink! I see Al and Otis have drafted up the 2008 Publympic teams and I have to admit, our competition looks formidable. But with the leadership of our great Captain Otis, I think we'll make up for what we lack in actual event talent, with skill and lack of dexterity. Well.... once we get to the falling down part of the competition at least!

My team consists of :

Captain Otis (of falling down and Keno Crayon fame)
Astin (ALWAYS better to be lucky, than good)
The Bracelet (he is myTGOD after all)
CK ( uh herro! We have a C.A.L.!)
The DOC ( Can you say, Military Precision!)
FALSTAFF ( A man in a skirt! Need I say any more?)
SPACEMAN ( Gravity at the Pub, will NOT be an issue!)
Bam-Bam (there IS drinking involved here!)
My darling Wife, Pebbles ( 0.09 in her last Irish Car Bomb relay!)

and last but very far from least,THE "A" lister of ALL "A" listers, Bike Mike
(no need to say anymore!)

And what are we up against :

Al ( Hippies do NOT scare us! )
BadBlood ( OK... there are the guns! Oh wait! Make that "GUN")
Brudder Carson ( one event wonder! After darts, he's so done!)
DonKaaa ( I think the name speaks for itself, don't you?)
Drizz ( The cheesehead will certainly slow him down )
EVY ( Top two will serve as a great distraction to her teamates)
The Rooster ( This kid has potential, but it's not a home game!)
Landow ( jury's still out on this one!)
Riggstad ( Lemur's do scare us! But NOT the way you think!)
VinNay ( Can't even get into Canada for Pete's sake!)

So I think you can understand my lack of concern over our esteemed opponents. There's really not much to see is there?

And I for one........ CAN'T FRIGGIN' WAIT NOT TO SEE THEM !

Time to hang the shingle up on the old front door.
'Cause this kids.......

GONE BASHING

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Friends, the game & Jessica's cleavage....

First off, a Fred update. It was a pretty tough weekend all around. Lot's of progress made, which was very good. But the progression appears to be pretty painful. To keep Fred comfortable, an epidural was used. That has since been removed and the actual discomfort from the surgery, has been allowed to let it's presence be known. Fred's a pretty tough guy, for 1,000,076. But it was clear he was feeling the effects of the operation. Tough to bear witness too, to be honest. But on the bright side, solid food is once again on the menu for him. Now it's Hospital food of course! But the family can and will be making special deliveries of actual edible dishes for him, as we all work on building up his strength.

=======

Due to the time at the Hospital last night, I knew I'd have to miss the TuckFard game at 7:00pm. When I got home, I stopped by to see how the game was going and who was left to fight it out. They were still going at it 6 strong. So I got myself over to the TuckFard HORSE game, to see what kind of stack I had left after getting back home so late. It ended up that SHOCKERKITTEN won the first game, with MemphisMojo taking 2nd. and DonKaaa making it into the final money spot. I see Queen_K was the money bubble baby on the night. She's had a pretty good run these last few weeks. I hope it wasn't her hubby that busted the bubble on her! ;)


So I get myself to the HORSE game, to find out I still had a respectable 1,130 in my stack. Yes I have some work to do, but it's not as bad as I thought it would've been. I then realize, there's 18 runners in the damn thing! NICE ! I do my thing and "run" around the tables to say hello and thanks to everyone for making the show. It's then I realize who it is I'm talking to. There was a special guest appearance by one of my favorite "Okies," ( only "one of," 'cause I met his Mrs.! ;) ) GCox ! What a pleasant surprise indeed! Of course cem and muhc made the show. ( I expect nothing less from our honourary Tucks!) but then I realized that PUSH had also made an appearance after a little time away from all things TuckFard. I also noticed several of the league players from Sunday's in Bedrock had managed to come out for the donkery. Very cool crowd indeed! Made me really smile, when I had a lot of other crap on the brain. Much appreciated everyone! Thanks!

I just couldn't get anything going in the HORSE game. I mean nothing! It was just one of those nights where cards were hard to find, cards found were hard to hit and, making a move meant, my opponent would hit the mortal nutz. If they didn't hit, two players would be interested and one of them would at least be showing a hand that had me most likely killed. The big one came against DonKaaa and Val. We were in STUD and I was dealt the 8h-10h down, with the 9h for my door. It was easy to get into this hand, so I went for the ride. Then the tease, I get dealt the Jh. Open ended straight flush draw. Hmmmmm..... It cost me a few chips to stay in the hand, but the strength of it if it hits, is still only looking like a possible flush draw. The next card was the 10c. Now the appearance of my hand strength just weakened down to a straight. DonKaaa did have a pair of king's showing at that point, but it was Val's hand that had me the most confused right then and there. Despite being a bit junk'ish looking of a board, I've played enough that look like that, to know some of the dangers to look out for. I was then dealt a raggedy Ace and I did not improve. I had to check and I hated it. DonKaaa's board now showed two pair, and Val was betting into him! YIKES !!! I had to turn tale and run away. The vast majority of my stack was in the middle of the table, and I really felt like I was drawing to one of only two cards in the deck. I don't typically get into those situations too often, but combining the short stack I started with from being so late to the game, and the comparison of promise in my hand to what was already showing for my opponents, let's just say it brought a little greed out of me at the wrong time.

That left me the old, "pick a hand and go with it" approach, as my only way to get back in the game. I actually ended up picking the right hand! I just didn't have enough chips to push the eventual runner-up D-O-C-D away by 6th. st. When it came down to the 7th. I only had 25 chips left to throw at the pot. His two pair lower than the two I was holding, improved to a boat on 7th. and I was out. I stuck around to rail for quite a bit, as one by one the players dropped off the screen. Apparently it was initial night at HORSE, as cgc came home with the victory, and D-O-C-D like I said, finished in the 2nd. spot. I see Brudder Carson made a return to the +$ side of a TuckFard game, always nice!

I do have a question for those out there in the know. I've always liked the view from this angle.

But can you tell me where did all this cleavage come from? Is that what happens when a Girl goes Country?

I may just have to get an old Hound dog, run the Pick Up outta' Gas and change my name to Hank!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Friends let friends, drink and win....

Yup...... I won the home game Friday night! I can only assume that some type of sympathy card was being played. There's just no way skill had anything to do with it! Now of course, the deck did smack me in the face for most of the night. :)

What a blast we had Friday night! Can't say thanks enough to everyone for coming over and creating about 8 hours of total distraction and hilarious laughter. We had a scream as is always the case, when the group of us get together. DonKaaa, Queen_K, Suzy_Q, Carson and Y......... You're all the best and we both love that you're always there for us.

It was mostly a Hospital weekend for us, so I didn't get to watch all of the Ryder cup Golf that I wanted to. But for what I did see, all I can say is HOLY CRAP ! It's been a very long time since anyone in Golf has seen that many fantastic shots, under such extreme pressure to make them. From the back-to-back hole-outs from the bunkers by Jiminez and Weekly, to Paul Casey answering Hunter Mahan's stuffed shot on the 208 yd. Par 3 11th. hole, some of the shots were just un-believable. For those that just don't get watching Golf on T.V., it's really too bad. That was some of the most incredibly competitive Golf I think I've ever seen.

Saturday night, I wanted to play a little but knew I wasn't really at my best. So I fired up a few $1 and $2 HORSE games and did my best not to Donk it up too much. I ran into muhc for a few minutes, as he mini-railed me while waiting for his own game to start. I'm not sure which one of us was the drunker, but as long we were both in the "proper" shape to read the garbled crap we were writing, it really didn't matter. :) Good to see you there muhc! There's been a real streak of me pulling Quad's lately in HORSE games. It continued with three different Quad hands in two games on Saturday. Here's the 1st. Quad's of the weekend. The best part of this hand was, we'd just switched over to STUD from RAZZ, where I'd just gone to the wheel in 5 cards. I was dealt A-2-5 with the 3 and 4 coming on 4th. and 5th. streets. I was very fortunate that another player had hit to a 6 on the same hand.

I didn't win a lot on Saturday night, but considering the state of sobriety, (or lack thereof!) I was in, I'll take the two wins and a 2nd. place finish in the three games I did play.

With Peb's heading down to Atlantic City Tuesday, we'll be back at Fred's side tonight, so I'm pretty sure I'll have to sit out The TuckFard Open NLHE game at 7:00pm on FullTilt. (P/W as always is Donkey) I am registered for the TuckFard HORSE game at 8:00pm though, (same site, same P/W) so hopefully I can make it back in time to see who I blind out to. If you can make it out, it sure would be great to see you there. I was thrilled to see the honourary Tucks, cem and muhc had beaten me to registration. That'll help motivate me to get there for the game!

Oh yeah, and my BASH plans are all complete, as DonKaaa, brudder Carson and myself will be starting our journey into insanity come Thursday morning. The three of us should be making our grand entrance into The Pub for cocktails, sometime Thursday evening. Pebbles should be getting into town Friday evening, as her stint down in A/C will be over around 4:00pm. I just need to work out the details to get here there now.

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

It's the essence of time....

Usually, time is of the essence. But time of late has only been spent worrying, wondering, helping and hoping. That time drags like an anchor attached to the anchor, of a very slow boat to purgatory.

The essence of that time, merely shifts though the use of distraction. Distraction that has been far too few and in between these last several weeks. Short bursts of distraction that help focus the mind away from anything and everything hurting. Short bursts supplied by good friends and caring family. Short bursts that are sometimes so powerful, they allow the grey and black to be peeled back, allowing glimmers of colours to sneak in around the edges of life, as it currently flows along it's dark and morose path of choice.

There'll be a short burst making an appearance tonight in Bedrock.

Yes, the Bedrock home game is on! Sometime this evening, friends will help temporarily heal the blotch of darkness that hangs over the heart of my one true love. Then just perhaps, I will take a moment and enjoy the short burst myself. A short burst made possible by truly caring friends. So don't be surprised my friends if tonight's event is a really, really, REALLY deep stacked game. With the opportunity to see my beautiful Wife smile and laugh like she really and honestly means it, I may just be a little selfish and keep you around for a bit.

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Takin' it, one hurdle at a time....

Well... he cleared the first major hurdle on the road to recovery. One of our fears going in to the operation, was focused on the combination of Fred's age, his Diabetes, Heart condition and of course, the problems he's had breathing for the last little while. None of which bode well, for the length of time he'd need to be on the table for the Cancer surgery.

I'm ecstatic to report that Fred not only survived the surgery, but appears to be thrilled that the black Devil has finally been removed from his body as well. Reports late last night indicate, that his spirits are high and he is resting as comfortably in the I.C.U. as is humanly possible, after such an ordeal.

Of course there are several more hurdles to come, as we work him back to wellness. But clearing that first one..... Well I can't begin to explain what a relief it's been to the family. We know that there's lot's of work to do and several long day's and nights ahead of us still for sure. But with the love of family and friends, it's been a process that's brought each of us just a little closer together as we go through it all. As is typical for this family we say.... BRING ON THE NEXT HURDLE. We CAN and WILL do this!

Although Fred really can't grasp the concept of what we all do here in our little Blogosphere, I'll continue to pass on each and every well wish that you all have offered up. What seems to be lacking in comprehension, can always be made up in volume! His wry and yet very sincere smile as I pass on the messages from everyone, truly tells me how much he really appreciates your support. From Peb's and I, we can't possibly thank everyone enough for helping to put that smile on his face. From me personally, I get to see it twice. Once from my Peb's and then from Fred. I'll never be able to tell you properly, what that means to me.

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Good Luck Fred....

Today's the day that two surgeons, a full support staff and a family on the edge, all do their best to kick Cancers ass.

God bless and good luck Fred! You are dearly loved.

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Bet the "Bam" HORSE in the 2nd....

Yeah that's right! I did it again. After a totally craptastic TuckFard I, where the best hands I saw all game were a Sooted A-8 and a pair of 3's after the hour of time invested, I won the main event! I (all about the ego!) like the sound of back-to-back HORSE champion!

In the NLHE TuckFard open, I saw exactly 4 flops in the hour I played. The two early ones, were to try and get something going. I won them both with absoloute air. Then as the first hour drew to a close, I ran A-8 into Queen_K's aces. Then with no stack left other than I think 30 chips, I ran 3-3 into Scotty's pocket rockets to finish myself off in style. Hilarious end to the game, as apparently FullTilt was a little worried about poor Scotty's Aces. Tilt made sure they would hold up as the best hand, by bringing the other two out right on the flop. Somehow, quad Aces actually held on against my 3-3 and I was done with the NLHE portion of Tuckfard Monday.

The HORSE game however, was an entirely different story. I uh.... got a few hands here and there. LHE was kinda meh and I really didn't play that many hands. RAZZ was incredibly sick as always. I won a bunch of chips and was staying ahead of the pack for the most part. The few pots I did lose, were ones where I was testing the waters with made 7's and 8's. I used a little pot control, just to keep any loss at a minimum. STUD was very good to me in both starting hand selection and having the deck slap me in the face. I just love it when that happens!

The biggest surprise, (and pot winner) for me last night, was Omatard! That was really, REALLY weird! I don't know if this will make sense to anyone out there, but it was like a light switch just suddenly turned on or something. All of a sudden instead of seeing four cards in front of me, I started seeing hand potentials and calculating risks and draw opportunities. I've said I'm not crazy about it all along, and I still feel basically the same about any split variation of poker. I don't plan on jumping too far up on the Omatard bandwagon, but it was kinda 'funky' being able to play it so well for one night. I guess I should re-explore the game in the near future and see how that goes.

It was great to see everyone out at the games as always. Along with the honourary Tucks, muhctim and cem, it was a blast having Memphis and Scott out for all the fun.

Peb's decided that it's been too long since we'd hosted everyone for a home game, so Friday it is! I'm totally stoked about getting three hot chicks to come over and play with me. ;) Remember ladies..... husbands are definitely optional! Specially with Queen_K agreeing that a another "Girls Gone Wild" episode, just may be in the works!

I was pleased to see that the Tuckfard sight broke the 200 post barrier this past week. Post 201 has a great picture of DonKaaa, Carson, myself and the rest of the gang all getting together for a little fun. You can see it HERE.

Lastly....

Don't forget about cem's Skillz game tonight on FullTilt. I'll be giving it everything I got to make it out to this one! I believe tonights format is STUD H/L with a deepstack. Hmmmmmm........ STUD huh? I've really been looking to try that game again! I remember I had some luck in it one other time.

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Happy Birthday Baby....

Yeah, two posts in one day! But this part is way more important than the goofy pokery stuff below!

My not-so-mini-Peb's turns 18 years old exactly......
Riiiiiiight NOW !!!

Happy Birthday baby girl! I love you with all my heart!

=======

Hopefully see everyone out at the TuckFard fun and games tonight. If you can't find both games for some reason, I am registered as BamBamCan in both already so just do a search for me.

Also for those of you with nothing going on a little later in the night. Don't forget the LPRT game starts at 9:00pm as well. Given the opportunity and if all goes according to plan, (read : I stay sober'ish and am not falling asleep) I'll see you there!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Barney can still drink and why Iceland ROCKS !!!....

The BASH practice with Barney went........ rather well! It was great to see everyone again. Of course that is, during the times that I could actually see straight! Had a blast and got caught up with everything going on in everyones little corner of Bedrock. All good times and far too much to drink. In other words, the perfect visit!

Played a little poker last night and had a couple of Donkey's stop by the rail. I was in a 90 player MTT and DonKaaa and brudder Carson stopped by and railed me to a 4th. or 5th. place finish. (can't really remember!) I know it's not much, but for me in a NLHE MTT of that size, I was happy with the way I played. I also ran over a couple of HORSE games and came out a winner in both. It was actually nice to run so well in the few games I did play. Makes a kid smile and think, there just may be hope for me after all. But then again, thinking that is probably the worst thing that could possibly happen.

Obviously if I was playing Hold'Em, I had to get the $ from somewhere. Well Saturday morning, I set up "The Office" and got down to business. As is almost always the case, it was pretty easy to get a couple of games going. I ran a STUD game and a RAZZ game side by side. I do not typically run the two together, but I felt it was time for some variety. I'm not 100% sure what the deal actually was, but man! Was I ever on my game! I made a few bucks and had a lot of quality hands get paid off in both. My personal favorite was, hitting my Quads on 6th. street in the STUD game. I'd already made a boat on 5th. and the hand was fairly well disguised. The 6th. street card, certainly looked like an action killer to me. BUT NO ! My opponent just kept applying the heat and hoping I would fold the cards I had showing. He seemed rather bemused and bewildered by the persistence I was showing, as he continually fired into the pot with me just calling along behind him. When it came down to 7th., I did my best to maximize the value of the pot, he did not disappoint! I couldn't break him in a $2/$4 game, but I got everything I could out of him. Thankfully, my Icelandic friend couldn't let go of his nut flush and it was a rather healthy pot! I proceeded to watch him lose two more buy-ins and help fund the "Bam-Bam" stupid games account along the way. None of this is really what makes all this my favorite though. I think it was when I saw that "Mr. Iceland" had joined in on my RAZZ table. Let's just say, it was REALLY good to see him there too!... ;o)

TuckFard games again tonight! 7:00pm NLHE and 8:00pm HORSE games as always. FullTilt's the spot and at $3.50 for the buy-ins to both, you just can't have any more fun for the buck. Hope to see you there! P/W as always is Donkey.

Fred update : After a Doctor's appointment on Friday, his surgery was moved up and will go this Wednesday. He's in great spirits and we are all standing by his side, as he heads in to his 'Oil, Lube and Filter.' Here's hoping all goes well!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

So close, BASH practice and GOOOOO Schaubsy....

My prediction for total annihilation of the field yesterday, was SO close! DonKaaa, Queen_K and Pebbles made up my foursome at our 5th. Annual Hospital tourney, at our home course. Not too surprisingly, we were all on our games. DonKaaa started out hot from the tee. Peb's and Queen_K were hitting their usual bombs from the tee's, on the par4's and 5's. Like, HUGE bombs! Like, Donnie and I had wedge or lob wedge to two of the shorter par 5's kinda bombs! It was with distance advantages like that, that my short game really kicked into gear. I then did what I tend to do best, I fired at the pin. Bounces went our way at times and at others, they didn't. The ground is still very damp and I had some serious "junk" on the ball from 100yds and in. Throwing it past the pin quickly became the way to go. Every single one of us made a clutch putt or two and we posted a score of -16. Sixteen under is nothing to sneeze at considering the conditions. It would take a great game to beat us and the scores coming in, all hung around the -8 to -10 range. Then we saw it! -21 !!! WTF !!! We know the golfers and we know they're good, but -21 ? WOW !!! Then we realized how they managed the score. They were only a threesome. As a threesome, one of them always got a second shot. That is invaluable, when you are a golfer of their caliber. They birdied many of the same holes as us and struggled with two of the same tough pin placement holes that we did. But they had a great putter, that got a second chance. Seldom do any of us miss, when presented with that opportunity. The difference was in those Eagles, where we'd made a great birdie.
So close, but yet so far away! Next year, this beyatch is OURS !

Heading out to Barney & Betty's for a little pre-BASH warm-up soon. With everything that's been going on lately with Fred, it'll be great to see everyone for certain. And the liquor will surely flow at a very steady pace. Lord knows, I could use the, "practice!" Good times !

If you know anything about me at all, you know I love my Golf and I love my Country. With that said, there's double pleasure in watching a friend go for something pretty special in the World of Golf. Schaubs is shooting for $1,000,000 and a win in the VW Shoot-Out out West. Stop by and wish him good skill for me. I have a hunch he's going to take the mother down! Just breathe and shoot at the pin Schaubsy. I know you can do it!

Lastly, our thoughts go out to our Texas connection. Hopefully you'll all take the time to consider those in the path of Ike. Some are near the path, some are not in their homes, but are hopefully in a much safer place at the moment. Know that our thoughts and prayers are with each of you and your families. Be safe !

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Leak in my game, I play rag-rag....

Full Tilt Poker Game #8036179397: Riverchasers Online Tour (60362928), Table 3 - 250/500 Ante 50 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:12:38 ET - 2008/09/11
Seat 2: RaisingCayne (17,020)
Seat 3: iam23skidoo (14,190)
Seat 4: snowelle5 (8,163)
Seat 6: BamBamCan (7,464)
Seat 7: NumbBono (9,278)
Seat 8: wwonka69 (9,433)
Seat 9: DonK_TuckFard (18,452)
RaisingCayne antes 50
iam23skidoo antes 50
snowelle5 antes 50
BamBamCan antes 50
NumbBono antes 50
wwonka69 antes 50
DonK_TuckFard antes 50
RaisingCayne posts the small blind of 250
iam23skidoo posts the big blind of 500
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BamBamCan [Ah Ad]
snowelle5 folds
BamBamCan raises to 2,400
NumbBono folds
wwonka69 raises to 9,383, and is all in
DonK_TuckFard folds
RaisingCayne folds
wwonka69: gl
iam23skidoo has 15 seconds left to act
iam23skidoo folds
BamBamCan calls 5,014, and is all in
wwonka69 shows [Js Jh]
BamBamCan shows [Ah Ad]
Uncalled bet of 1,969 returned to wwonka69
*** FLOP *** [5s 7s Jc]
wwonka69: nh
*** TURN *** [5s 7s Jc] [Ks]
*** RIVER *** [5s 7s Jc Ks] [Ts]
wwonka69 shows a flush, King high
BamBamCan shows a pair of Aces
wwonka69 wins the pot (15,928) with a flush, King high
wwonka69: gg
RaisingCayne: gg
BamBamCan stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 15,928 | Rake 0
Board: [5s 7s Jc Ks Ts]
Seat 2: RaisingCayne (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: iam23skidoo (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: snowelle5 folded before the Flop
Seat 6: BamBamCan showed [Ah Ad] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 7: NumbBono folded before the Flop
Seat 8: wwonka69 showed [Js Jh] and won (15,928) with a flush, King high
Seat 9: DonK_TuckFard (button) folded before the Flop
wwonka69: i was going to say you played great

Gotta' love that last line no?

Special thanks to PE. Best "railer" in the world!
HUGE golf tourney tomorrow for the local hospital. Gotta' raise some funds for the Cancer ward! Saturday, I'll be bombed at Barney's. Should be capable of putting two or more coherent words together by some time Sunday.

Have fun all.

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

No wonder Al's a Chelsea fan....

For the life of me, I could never get over Al's constant ramblings about Chelsea.(NSFW?)With him, it's always "Chelsea this" or "Chelsea that."

Obviously, I get it now! Goooooo Chelsea !

Had Waffles actually been clever enough to figure all this out on his own, I'm sure he woulda' been a huge Chelsea fan a long time ago. ;)

=====

OK ! On to some pokery stuff!

Brudder Carson asked me a question yesterday, related to the On-Line STUD variations and showdowns. Since I-am-not-a-geek, I couldn’t give him an answer that made any sense. Besides, it never really mattered to me. That was until… I started reviewing HH’s to see how it was being done. Then I reviewed some of the “steamier” blogs about who sucked out on whom and how they chased down to 7th. street to hit. Hell, I even think I may owe cem an apology for Monday’s accusation of a chase. I wish I had that HH to figure it out to be honest. I don’t do many HH’s in the TuckFard games. I take notes on the fly.

So here’s a question for anyone who cares to supply their take on what and why this is being done. If none of them make any sense, I’ll try my luck with F/T support to see what they have to say.

Carson asked :

“Why the hell do they sometimes flip cards around at showdown, when they already break down the best five cards to determine High and/or Low?”

So I grabbed a few examples and took a look. The first three examples that I looked at went like this.

This one..... did not change! But, the guy mucked. (does it matter?)

*** 7TH STREET ***
Dealt to BamBamCan [As Ad Ah 3h Jc 2s] [3c]
I8tekid checks
BamBamCan bets $4
I8tekid calls $4
*** SHOW DOWN ***BamBamCan shows [As Ad Ah 3h Jc 2s 3c] Aces full of threes
I8tekid mucks
BamBamCan wins the pot ($31.30) with 6,5,3,2,A

But this one did change... and it makes NO sense at all?

*** 7TH STREET ***
Dealt to BamBamCan [3c 6s Ac 2h 7h 2s] [7d]
unklebobby bets $4
BamBamCan calls $4
*** SHOW DOWN ***
unklebobby shows [7h 6h 5c Td 4d 7c 6c] T,7,6,5,4
BamBamCan shows [7d 6s Ac 2h 7h 2s 3c] 7,6,3,2,A
BamBamCan wins the pot ($38.30) with 7,6,3,2,A

It flipped the 1st. and 7th. cards? Why bother?????
It just makes it look bad to the other player! I had my 7 made by 5th. Why make it look like I hit on 7th.?

Now figure this one out if you can!
(Courtesy of the fine folks at Brickin’ the Nutz)

*** 7TH STREET ***
Dealt to surflexus [8d Ac 4c 2c 3d 6d] [5c]
bbb_ark99 adds $20
surflexus bets $10
Tybeetime420 calls $10
*** SHOW DOWN ***
surflexus shows [8d 5c 4c 2c 3d 6d Ac] 5,4,3,2,A

What is the reason for flipping the 2nd. and 7th. cards? Why not the 1st.? Surf already had his 6 and the 5 was just bonus. Why show it so differently? Again, it only makes the play look worse than it should.

I’ve spent hours going over HH’s. No matter what variation, STUD or RAZZ,
It always seems to be done this way. A good play is made to look like a chase on the winners side.

Again from Brickin’ the Nutz ;

*** 7TH STREET ***
Dealt to 1Queens Up1 [As 2h 3s 6d 9h 5c] [Qh]
1Queens Up1 bets $1
Happy One 35 calls $1
*** SHOW DOWN ***
1Queens Up1 shows [Qh 2h 3s 6d 9h 5c As] 6,5,3,2,A
Happy One 35 mucks

Hey wait! Happy mucked here too! Why did it change them this time?

Now I understand in the grand scheme of things, it really doesn’t matter. You play how you play and you takes yer’ chances. But why make the hand look so much like a chase? Why possibly cause all the tension?

Any ideas?

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....