BOOOO !!!!!!!......

Have I ever told you how much I love Halloween?

Everything about Halloween gets me so pumped up !!! Something about it makes it my favorite holiday of the year!


In fact I got so excited about tonight, I had the maid come over a couple of times!


I love how most guy's get all wound up about the spooky stuff around this time of year too! I mean come on guy's! It's not like there's REALLY a meat cleaver killer around every corner you know! Jeez!!!!


Halloween is the one time of the year I really struggle with all the treats too!


So hard to keep my hands of those damn treats! But I think I've got a solution this year. I'm going to do everything in my power to avoid all that sweet candy!



I really start to get pumped up over Halloween once all the kids start showing up!


As Riggs would say, seeing the kids in all of their wonderful costumes gets me, "all jammed up!"

I just think it's so unfair that Halloween can really only come but once a year you know? Seems like the perfect holiday to me, and I think it should be more like a couple of long weekends throughout the year or something!


Yeah, I love Halloween!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Poker vs. Me vs. Blogger....

Something random running through my squash....

I've actually found a NLHE game that it just may be possible even I can be profitable at. (waiting for laughter to subside.................)
No REALLY !

So I have a bizarre dilemma! Do I or don't I tell all my friends? I mean, I love to write and tell stories and this blog is supposed to help me get them out there. But do I really want the added competition, in a game that's happy to send $ my way?

WOW !!!! That's a toughie!

On the one hand, it's an awesome feeling to have "BamBamCan" on a small winning streak and actually making, (rather than steadily losing) a few bucks.

On the other hand, that's not Bam-Bam's prime objective.
I have "The Office" for that. Bam-Bam is for blogger get-togethers and good times. Bam-Bam is for gathering material to put up here in my little corner of the intertubes, so that you readers have something to laugh at every day.
(Be it meant to be funny or not)

Bam-Bam is a $1, $2 or $3 NLHE SnG junkie. He's a $3, $5 or $11 blogger MTT Donkey, just waiting for his next set of Aces to get cracked by the ultimate double-gutter that everyone at the table but him can see coming. Bam-Bam sits down on a Saturday afternoon knowing full well that he's about to play Omahahahaha with Pauly and the gang, despite not having a fuckin' clue how to play it. Bam-Bam frequently tosses out $10 or more, just to sit at a virtual table with some invisible friends for a little while and he really enjoys getting to do so. Bam-Bam is a Monday night TuckFard and damn proud of it too! Bam-Bam is NOT supposed to make money! BamBamCan was an investment in futures that was designed to fail and for the most part, he has done his job well.

I already have another place and another entity that is incredibly lucrative, as well as secretive. And it shall always remain that way no matter what. Does Bam-Bam need to keep secrets now from friends, so that BamBamCan can lose his little fishie on Sharkscope? Is it THAT important to me all of a sudden?

I see it all the time. Every blog, (including this one) has put up stories of success at some point in time, only to post later about "doom switches" or "jinxes" at a little later date. So tell me, what do I do with my current cash cow?

I find myself seriously perplexed.

Often while at the office, I find myself taking screen caps that I want to put up here to say, "HEY! Look at me!" But I don't. I don't for a very good reason and I can manage that side of all things pokery with nary a hint of animosity, or jealousy from a Bam-Bam perspective. That side of me is in total control at all times and the Bam-Bam in me, is just mighty thankful for the monetary support. The Bam-Bam in me did however take several screen caps over the last week or so, and is in some serious turmoil about what to do. Do I or don't I put them out there for the masses? The masses that would love to get in on the action.... and make these games their own personal bankroll builder.

What kind of a friend does not share a place where money can be had quite easily? But then again, what kind of poker player just throws money away once it's been found to be readily available?

For now my friends..... It's really not you, It's totally me!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Today's facts of life....

Fact: There are over 6,700,000,000 humans on this Earth.(6.7 Billion)

Fact: 79,000,000 people are engaged in intercourse right now.
Fact: 58,000,000 are kissing.
Fact: 37,000,000 are getting/giving oral sex.
Fact: 1 lonely fucker is reading my blog...

- Well, you hang in there sunshine!

Fact: Coca-Cola was originally green.

Fact: Iceland consumes more Coca-Cola per capita than any other nation.

Fact: American Airlines removed 1 Olive from each salad served in 1st. class in 1987. Saving the company $40,000 that year.

Fact: The average lifespan of a Major League baseball, is 7 pitches.

Fact: It takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with enough leather for a year's supply of footballs.

Fact: The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of old when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.

Fact: Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history.
Spades - King David.... Clubs - Alexander the Great,
Hearts - Charlemagne... and Diamonds - Julius Caesar.

Fact: Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them would burn their houses down - hence the expression "to get fired."

Fact: The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from and old English law which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.

Fact: Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle," is the phrase inspired by this practice.

Fact: In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.

Fact: If you have three quarters, four dimes, and four pennies, you have $1.19. You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar.

Fact: There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.

Fact: The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.

Fact: The highest point in Pennsylvania is lower than the lowest point in Colorado.

Fact: Percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28%
Percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%

Fact: The name Jeep came from the abbreviation used in the army for the "General Purpose" vehicle, G.P.

Fact: "I am." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.

Fact: The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.

Fact: The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.

Fact: The longest recorded flight of a chicken is thirteen seconds.

Fact: TheGoatlady is NOT the rainbows girl, (sorry muhc!) she is indeed, TheGoatlady! We've been in touch and I have to say, I'm truly ecstatic to have another new friend.



And those my friends, are today's facts of life!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Always flush twice....

Here's a tale of two flushes. One that went very, very good!



And one, not so much!



That was my first Royal in Hold'Em on-line. I went on to win that 45 player MTT and improve my comfort level with NLHE, just a little bit more.

The second Flush against TheGoatlady well, that was just a sick 6th. ST ! In that hand one four was already folded and as you can see, De AXN eD has one of the three's beside me. That leaves a two outer as a probability for the boat of three's and four's. Not likely, but possible. I had to really calculate the odds of my Flush not being good there. But the problem is her hole cards and betting pattern. With two of the Aces showing and at least one two out of play, the only reason she can be betting in this spot is if she's good to the high. Perhaps it was a busted low that just keeps on getting prettier and prettier, as more cards come into play. I wasn't about to take that chance. I folded as I told myself, "she has a pocket pair down." Mercifully, I was shown the hand and was spot on with my read.

Last night's TuckFard games were a hoot as always! (Well for some of us. Sorry about that run brudder Carson!!! Rough night!) And Fred did make his inaugural appearance. Rough start for him though, busting out in 15th. of 16 that made it out for the fun. He did get his action fix though, as his stack took massive swings both up and down in that first 45 minutes. I was obviously a little too focused on his table and how he was doing, as it took him getting busted before I even remotely focused on my table. I final tabled, but just couldn't believe how awful the cards were. I think maybe Queen_K might have actually had worse cards than me, as I'm pretty sure she only played 2 or 3 hands all night. I then made a play at Memphis with a suited 7-8 that he insta-called me on. Turns out a pair of eights was good! That was enough to get me by a few of the ever increasing blinds. Then I couldn't wait for cards to come with the stack I had left to work with, so I made a move and got picked off. Well not really picked off, more like brutally anal raped by way of suck-out from a two outer kinda picked off. Yeah, that covers it! I see our Russian card-rack friend won it all, with Belgium's Heroneus taking second. Also congrats to the lovely SuzY_Q for her cash in third place.

The HORSE game was well, a Horse of a different colour! The cards didn't change all that much for me, but my timing was right on the nose. I managed a few descent hands here and there and worked my stack up to a respectable size. Then I played a bit of a waiting game, sitting out all of the crap I was dealt in limit Hold'Em and most of the Omahahaha. Then I made a charge though the RAZZ and STUD portions and built my stack up to a double pile. I lost one fairly large pot in the STUD H/L and had to start the process all over again. I ended up money-bubble-boy, as I just couldn't wrap my head around Halface getting hit with the deck, four hands in a row. But he did and my second best was just that, second!

I see cem cashed in third and that's always nice to see! Also a shout out to Scotty for making an appearance at the game. Much appreciated good Sir! As always, muhc and Memphis both made the show and I always greatly appreciate that they do. This group is really starting to make Monday nights, one of the best nights of the week for me. Now if we can just get The Doc to make it in on time for once instead of being our super-railer, all things will be right in the world! ;)

Also a quick apology to IT. I was hoping to make it into the LPRT game last night, but knew that I'd have to late register. Not sure what happened, but I'll be damned if I could even find the game!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

A lot going on in Youranus....

This is Part II, here’s where you can find Part I if so desired.

Fair warning, this may be PG 13 “butt,”

“In the end,” please remember that the sole intention of all information you are about to read is nothing, “butt” humour!

= = = = = = =

As earlier promised, I’ve managed to take a really good look at Youranus. It’s time to let you all in on the good news. Youranus is good to go! We’ve crammed a lot into Youranus over the last few months, but we really think you’ll appreciate the extra effort we’ve put into it.

Firstly, the traveler’s welcome centers turned out WAY bigger and better than I thought possible. I think it’s safe to say that once visitors are done in our information centers, they’ll be dying to get into Youranus! And did you notice I said, “centers?” That’s right, there’s one at each entrance into Town! Now visitors to Youranus can learn all about it as they enter, no matter what direction they are approaching Youranus from. How cool is that!

Our crack team of marketing geniuses, have managed to attract dozen’s of the World’s industry giants to town. As originally planned, KY has entered Youranus and all seems to be going incredibly smooth from the get go. They also hooked on to the right people over at Hershey’s and seriously, what a coo that was! Knowing that they were looking for someplace to set up their largest production facility to date, our guy’s went out and sealed the deal! Of course it was only natural to rename the extension coming up from the South, The Hershey Highway and I’ll tell you what, we were damn proud to do it too!

Sticking with industry, I just can’t say enough about how happy I am that the Mercedes-Benz family of companies has come to town. Their facility is the perfect fit for our environmental plans for Youranus. This plant will be setting up for production of the SMART car. Once the really ramp up and start pounding them out, look for a lot of SMART’s in Youranus. You can ignore the rumour that production of a second car the FART, could be coming to Youranus too. I have it on pretty good authority from some reliable inside sources, that no one in the organization is at all excited about FARTs coming from Youranus. Apparently there are some emissions issues.

Still another major employer in the region, will be the fine folks from Wonder. It’s reported that once the facility is up and running, 70% of the nations Whole Wheat bread will be produced right here. Amazing! I’m told it’s an incredibly good source of fibre too and to be honest, that alone has got Youranus pretty darn excited.

Lastly, but definitely not the least, the SourPatch Kids candy factory is up and running at full potential. If you look around town, you can really tell too. That’s right; Youranus has been puckering ever since.

The Casino has been such a huge success. With screams of “PAI GOW” emanating throughout the halls, as players constantly feel like they’ve hit the jackpot in Youranus. To no ones great surprise, the line-ups at some of the games can be pretty darn long. Just the other day as I was sitting at a table, I noticed they were lined up two and three deep. I think we’ll have to open up a few more tables in the future, as it seems everyone wants to Let-it-Ride in Youranus. Surprisingly, (to me anyways) the Texas hold’Em tables are incredibly popular down there. Apparently it’s a big game with the younger lad’s, as they take a buddy down to Youranus and play Hold’Em together. I’m really not sure that I get it, but if that’s how the younger generation rolls, who am I to say there’s anything wrong with it?

With that I think I can almost complete the latest update on Youranus, except for a quick note from myself. As the guardian, Mayor and remember, the first ever visitor to Youranus, I’d like to remind you to try and do your best to keep Youranus a little cleaner. Please remember our motto at all times and do what you can to prevent anyone from having to see any crap around Youranus.

= = = = = = =

On the Poker front, the TuckFard games go once again this evening and there is a rumour with some pretty strong evidence to support it, that we just may be joined at the tables by none other than Fred tonight! So watch out for the handle, “BarBill” and say hey if he actually decides to join in on the fun. As always the NLHE game runs at 7:00pm EST on Fulltilt and our HORSE game, starts shortly after at 8:00pm. The password for both is donkey.

My sincerest thanks for dropping by….

$4 doesn't go very far these day's....

Just as we were leaving Fred & Wilma's, I threw my $1.10 in for The Numblowme rebuy. It meant I'd be able to play, but I'd miss at least the first half hour. All the way home I caught myself chuckling. "I'll be way behind in chips. I'll have to play pretty loose!" Bwah-ha-ha !!!! I crack me up!

Despite missing half an hour to collect, (read: lose!) chips, I ended up with something like 12,000'ish at the break. Not nearly enough to really "play" with considering the size of some of the stacks I was up against. Like 457,000'ish !!

Oh and during that half hour, I pushed with anything. With the exception of a drink break and a "pit stop" I pushed every single hand. Now that was far from the case with many others, but I guess strategy poker in a $0.10 rebuy is some "peoples" thing. In that time, my stack went from $1000 to $19,000, back down to $2000, and just about every denomination in between. What a hoot! Oh and my hats off to mookie and muhctim at my table, both of whom I saw in every single hand with me no matter the cards. That really helped me enjoy the spirit of the game. Even though I didn't get the entire hour with you, I have no doubt in my mind that you kept it up the entire time. Cheers !

I ended up in 59th. position out of the 99 runners that showed up for the fun, when this hand just naturally had to happen. As you can see, it kinda played itself. As the cagey Rooster likes to say, "it's a game of kickers!"


I was obviously the crappy TuckFard once again, as I see brudder Carson and Queen_K, (Par_Tee_Ni) both cashed in the thing. Awesome!


Poor Y again! (RedNeckTuckFard) Third bubble of the week for the lovely lass and I don't care what anyone says, that's just not right. And rounding out the five Tucks that represented last night, DonKaaa busted out in the 12th. position. Great run to you all gang!

As for my results on Carson's lines for the event, I only missed total # of rebuys and the chips in play at break. But I really didn't expect 99 runners for the game. My numbers were based on a wild guess of 85.

It was a scream for the short time and $4.20 I was there for Numb.
I for one, would like to say thanks for putting it on for us.

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

BIG night & BIGGER THANKS....

Brudder Carson has set some lines on this thing over HERE.

Not knowing if I can actually make the game, I thought I'd at least get in on the over/under of his lines. So here's my take on things.

Most rebuys by a single person: 125 = I'll take the under.

Total tournament rebuys: 4200 = I'll take the under.

Players with more than a starting stack after the rebuy: 20 = I'll take the over.

Players that quit before the break: 1 = I'll take the over.

Chips in play after the rebuy period: 4,260,000 = I'll take the under.

Waffles chip stack at the end of the rebuy: 2001 = I'll take the over.

Now hopefully, we'll finish up all our tasks in time for me to make it out.

= = = = = =

We got the latest news on Fred and to be honest, we're still trying to find as much positive in it as we can. The plan right now is to administer Chemotherapy for the next six months. Naturally, this is making for some pretty busy times. But the thought of no additional surgery being required right now though, is really helping us look on the brighter side of things.

I know I can never really get across how much I genuinely appreciate the support of all of you out there. In some pretty dreary, troublesome and down right draining times for us, Peb's and I have honestly found some of our happier distractions through all of this, thanks in no small part to you!

It is with my sincerest and most heartfelt appreciation of your friendship and support that I offer you, the Bam-Bam credo. It quite literally turned my life around.

Start each day by letting the ones you truly love, know that you do!
Bam-Bam (circa 1995)

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Choose wisely young Bam....

I had a myriad of choices for my evenings entertainment last night. I personally think, I ended up choosing wisely. See what you think.

Option #1 - I had tickets for last nights Leafs vs. Mighty Ducks game.
Option #2 - Waffles was going to play in the Skillz game. (PLO)
Option #3 - 199 complete strangers were heading down to a local bar.

What would you choose?

Here's what I went with :

Option #1 - The Leafs tickets were 17 rows from the ice, not quite center ice but about at the blueline. Pretty damn close to the best seats in the house, as far as watching a Hockey game goes. Well, I have a 10 yr. old Nephew who's never been to see a Leafs game live, but watches every single game no matter what. The Brother-in-law is a die-hard Leafs fan and has been working his butt off for sometime now, all in the name of his family. No-brainer here IMHO, I sent this Father and Son combination down to the game.

Option #2 - Another opportunity to try and get some of my NLHE $ back from Waffles in a non-HE game huh? Geez that sounds like fun and you know what, I actually like my chances in the four card bingo game. Oh damn! It's O8 ! I hate the split games so much, I have to really give this some serious thought. But then.....

Option #3 - While listening to the local radio to see if the snow, (YES SNOW !) was ever going to stop, I hear about one of the local bars having a bit of a get together. There would be some alcohol, some dancing, some laughter and oh yeah, these guys too.



And yes! They played "the" love song.



Sorry I missed the Skillz game cem!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

First, Second and.... a kitchensink?....

TuckFard Poker was a blast as always last night. We had 13 runners in The NLHE TuckFard Open, and then 12 players came out for the HORSE game an hour later.

In the NLHE game all of the regular TuckFards were out including, brudder Carson, DonKaaa, Suzy_Q, Queen_K and of course, the always tough RedNeckTuckFard. We also saw a special guest appearance by Jony2Pair which is always a pleasure! Steady regulars that showed up for the game included honourary Tuck muhctim and oh so close to honourary, MemphisMojo. The beautiful Katitude brightened up or little table, as did a new friend from Belgium, Heroneus. There were also a couple of the Sunday team league players in the mix, with ShockerKitten and DodgeCityBandit helping to make it a fun and enjoyable start to the night.

Queen_K went out Gigli in our first game. She and Jony2Pair got all their chips in the middle in a battle of kickers. In the end, Jony's K was a little too much for her J. Thus leading to a very rare and unusual early exit, for her HAWTness!

I ran hot 'n' cold through the first game, making most of my chips off of blatant steal attempts made at my blinds or bets. Several times there were one or even two, interested in pumping up the pot and apparently being satisfied with taking it down right then. Large re-raises back at them with A-A twice, seemed just enough to let them know I felt like playing. These two hands alone, got me into double-stack territory. Now I was able to pick and choose hands according to situations and strategy. After seeing A-A twice in about the first 15 hands, I figured it would be a pretty long wait until I saw anything too special again. And it was!

Some small and medium pots were picked up along the way to getting down to four handed, but not really anything significant. I had to make 2 calls with very borderline holdings, both while in a blind and shorties jamming their chips into the pot. I typed in "sick call coming" because I had to figure I wasn't that much of a dog, but I had to be the dog. There just wasn't enough chips involved, to get me off of the hand. I won the first race against Jony2Pair when amazingly enough, I was actually ahead pre-flop. The second race was more like a slaughter! But again, no real impact to my stack so, I felt the need to take a stab. I also had Carson on the ropes with all his chips in pre, but my K-K was no match for the gazillion Aces that hit the board for his Asian-Jew. For some reason, these ones just seem to come naturally now and roll off me like water off a Duck. Do you think that means I'm getting better at this game, or just more cynical?

Poor Redneck was bubble-girl in game #1, as the "card-fairy" just completely ignored her until the very end. Then when she did pick up a few of her stronger hands, naturally she didn't have enough chips to scare anyone off. There were suck-outs, several of them actually, and she was done. Oddly enough, in her last hand my K-K managed to survive her Asian-Jew in some kind of redemption move for earlier on. It was just the wrong player to do it to. Carson was next, as he either went completely card dead, or was waiting to pick a spot. Memphis treated him like a ragdoll at times, but did double Carson up once. Again he played no hands for quite some time. Brudder Carson eventually moved in with K-8 I think, but he didn't have enough chips to push Memphis off of any hand after already committing so many chips. The call was made and if I remember correctly, Memphis held J-J to take Carson down. Then Memphis just kept it coming against me heads up too! He did have a 2-1 chip lead I think, so my work was cut out for me. After I popped the pot an additional $800 with Q-Q, Memphis made it $2500 to go. I sensed the opportunity to get some more information from him and figured I could see where I really stand, if I made it $4200. He flat called. Fine, at least now I know I'm up against any Ace! Well I'll be damned if an Ace doesn't just pop right out there on the flop. So typical and after his bet, all I can do is fold and type DAMN!

It was actually some pretty damn fine Poker to be honest! (just don't tell him I said so! ;) ) I really had nothing for Memphis at the end. Head's up, I got away with a couple of steals and didn't get a call when I really could have turned it around. Finally, I become the one with not enough chips to scare him off, and my J-J push means nothing to his stack. I think he flopped a Queen right off the bat, so it was all over but the drinking. So in game #1, I go home the first loser! VGG Memphis Sir, always a pleasure!

Game #2 of course, is HORSE. Something a little closer to home and my heart than NLHE. Most of the regulars made it out once again, but we were also joined by another of the honourary Tucks, cem. I honestly have no Idea how cem Gigli'd the HORSE game, I was a little too busy watching Memphis run over me in the Hold'Em. Sorry I missed you cem, but if all goes well, hopefully I'll see you at your Skillz game tonight. PLO8 right? Should be insane! We were also joined by an up and coming Tuckfard favorite, TheGoatLady. Talk about someone that fits right in to the TuckFard genre! Yikes, it's downright scary to think what damage we could do together in a home game! The Liver shudders and, the mind boggles!

I got off to a pretty good lead in the HORSE game. I had about 4 hands played total in the first 20 or so, and they were monsters that got paid off too! That helps get you through some of the dry spells. Then in Razz, I took a calculated risk against what could've been a made 5 with my made 6, it was a lucky guess and it paid off! The very next hand, I make my wheel on 6th, (improving from another made 6!) and get paid off HUGE when the situation is reversed. My opponent had a made 7 and made the same gamble I did earlier. It was a pretty lucky run to go on there!

Poor 'ole Redneck just had to bubble in this one too! I know that feeling, and I never wish it on her again! I know HORSE has some elements that are new to you Y, but I hope that you know that I love to see you keep coming out! You are definately our most improved player IMHO!

It came down to myself against two new players in our games. Unfortunately for them, they caught me as we switched over to Razz and then STUD. I was able to build some large pots and take them down fairly easily, each time I held a monster hand. Head's up came down to a no-brainer call of about 400 chips, on top of my 2000 in the BB. Funny enough, I was ahead once again and stayed there. So I finish 2nd. in the 1st. game, and 1st. in the 2nd. WooooOOOooooT me!

Also want to give a quick shout out to The Doc. It was great to have you stop by for a visit last night. Sorry I couldn't talk a bit more, I was kinda' busy giving Memphis all my chips in one game, while trying to gather everyone elses at the time! ;)

= = = = =

And now for a question to all the "geeks" out there. Anyone have any idea what the deal is with the kitchensink thingy going around? I got it popping up continuously at home. I can't administrate my blog, get into G-mail or do almost anything at all in google mode.

My minds a crazy thing....

I took a weekend off Poker and instead had a blast at the Golf course. Yesterday was the last official function at, “The Bear,” and what a riot it was! There was only one thing missing though, no DonKaaa ! BOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!! (you were seriously missed !) Oh and the weather was un-real for this time of year in Bedrock! I mean it was October 19th. for cryin' out loud and I was in shorts and sandals! Just wild!

This event is always one of my absoloute favorites, despite it being one of the tougher games for me to win. It’s The Men’s Shootout where 19 Golfers start on the first tee, and one player is eliminated every hole thereafter. The worst score on the hole is sent packing until ultimately, there's only one player left standing. In the event of a tie for worst score, a Shootout is held between everyone in that tied position. It could be a chip off, a putt off or any other shot of skill that nets a closest to the pin winner.

What makes this so difficult is that it’s all based on handicap. When you have to pretty much give the entire field a stroke a hole, and some of them TWO !!!! You’d better bring your ‘A’ game for sure. I certainly brought mine……… for 8 ¾ holes! One bad break got into my head and then I let it mess me up. I hit a great tee-shot on the Par 5 ninth hole, giving myself a perfect chance to go for the green in two. At least that’s how it looked from the tee. When I got to my ball, I’d found that I missed the fairway by about 4”. Well, it’s October 19th. in Northern Bedrock, to say the rough was a little long would be a huge understatement. To make matters worse, the vast majority of the grass surrounding my ball was behind it. I had no shot. Like, I’ll be extremely lucky to make contact with the ball at all no shot! Man I was pissed!

I did my best and gave it the ole’ Sergio slash and I managed to move the ball about 60 yds. forward and out into the fairway. At first I was ecstatic… that was until I realized I’d just put the pond that protects the front portion of the green directly in play. Quick check for the pin and of course, it’s dead front and center! With no one in any trouble at all and having to still give strokes on it as well, I had to go pin seeking to move on. So seek I did! I threw the ball up into the air on a near perfect line. If anything, I was just a little off to the left. In the air, I loved it and asked that ball to, “Be the right one baby!”

My ball landed about a foot onto the green and bounced forward about another foot as well. Then it really bit hard and started spinning back. ALL THE WAY BACK ! I’d just sucked it back into the pond and pretty much thought I’d taken myself out of the game. As I waited to see what kind of shot I’d have to make after my drop, two others had some real trouble themselves. One I was playing straight up, the other I had to give a stroke to. My disappointment turned back into focus and my initial thought was, “I need to sink this chip.” I honestly thought I did it too! My Bogey putt ended up being a 2” tap in from just behind the hole. I lipped the chip out. The good news was, both of the other players in trouble tied my score. I was in a three-way shootout. The shot picked was a downhill lie, across the pond to the smallest portion of green to work with. A tough shot for sure. The Leprechaun drew first to act and to no ones surprise, he stuck it about 5’ from the stick. Next to act was ‘T’ and he did exactly what I thought he would, he dunked it in the pond.

Since all I had to do was get on and stay on the green now, I picked a slightly wider portion to work with. Great idea, bad execution. Suffice it to say, I put a second ball into the water. Rather than perform the same shot to determine a winner, we were moved to a putt from the opposite end of the green. A putt of about 80’ with severe break from Left to Right. This time, I’d drawn the honours and would be going first. I nestled that putt to about 4’ below the hole. The rest was now out of my hands. ‘T’ did what he had to and as his ball came to rest about a foot closer to the hole than mine, all I could do was shake his hand and wish him good luck the rest of the way.

With Donkaaa not making it out for the game, that also meant no Queen_K. That bummed Peb’s out huge, as the two of them have always run this event together. Peb’s now had to fly it solo and I just want to say right here and now, what a great job you did my love! She kept us all in line, was totally fair and un-biased in selecting who was first to act on every green and always choose the Shootout location wisely. Each and every one of them was tough, but still fair.

I was playing so well and really striping the ball at will for both distance and line, I really thought I was un-touchable. I let one bad decision after a pretty bad break get into my head. And unfortunately that’s all it takes to get you out of the game.

= = = = = = = =

TuckFard Poker tonight everyone ! Wheeeeeeeeeeee !

7:00pm est. on FullTilt is The TuckFard Open NLHE game.

The HORSE game runs at 8:00pm and the P/W for both as always, is donkey.

Hope to see you there. :)

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Fred update....

Spent the night over at Fred and Wilma's. Always one of our best nights!

We've obviously been visiting a lot lately, and that typically leads to Wilma putting some kind of dinner together for us. Eventually, it has to become more of a drain and pain, rather than the real reason we head over, to relieve and believe!

So today, Peb's and I made one of our specialties. A traditional English Beef Stew that ends up baked within a Yorkshire Pudding casing. This meal NEVER disappoints and tonight, was no exception.

The signs of improvement are rather small but as they say, small gains right? This tired and weary Fred is NOT the man I knew just three short months ago. And the strain that can occur in any relationship from such an ordeal, is apparent in both Fred and Wilma. Several discussions were had between some form of the four of us on how exactly to deal with the current state of the status quo.

I found myself at a loss for words several times this evening. But after getting back here to the cave, I've found resolve in one fact that I can't seem to shake.

Just a month ago, I was absoloute in my conviction that another night like tonight was never going to happen again!

Small gains indeed!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Hey Bloggers! Wanna' do something cool....

Here's a thought!

When I started this crap, I had helpers. Those that I may.......
NO NEVER EVER, will be able to repay.

So in turn, I offer my services in the name of Karma.

Can you stop by this PA spot and say hi?

It won't mean squat if you don't read it all and leave a comment. But after reading a couple posts, me thinks you will !

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

The Good News, Bad News post.... ****UPDATE****

The Good News : We only think we have problems !

The Bad News : One of us really does ! Whether you are one of my regular readers or someone that just drops by form time to time, please take the time to reach out and offer your thoughts and prayers to a fellow Blogger that could use them now.

4dbirds, (katiemother) has some REAL issues to look after.
You can read about it HERE !

The Good News : Last nights RAKE BRAIN Challenge was a hoot!
The Bad News : I busted 33rd. of the 36 playing, when three premium starters did not improve. In PLHE, it's the kiss of death! Then with no stack, I hit top pair and ran into VinNay's Presto gone Gold. IGHN ! I see LJ won the whole shebang, and Bloggers dominated the top 10! Rock on Bloggosphere!

The Good News : Bedrock's short a couple of stinky, garbage eating Skunks this morning.
The Bad News : The Deathmobile™ I make my hour long commute every day in, was the weapon of mass-destruction. Just about the longest 50 mins. of my life in a car!

The Good News : I played a ton of Poker last night and "broke even."
The Bad News : I may have Waffles issues!

The Good News : Sat at a table with Kat, brudder Carson and Dr. Chako last night.
The Bad News : I finished 2nd. to The Doc. (rematch coming !)

The Good News : Kat reminded me of some of my best memories of my Teenage'ish years.
The Bad News : Frankie Venom has passed. I know it won't mean that much to many of you out there, but back in the late 70's, Teenage Head was The Bomb in these parts. Musically, the world is a poorer place today. I'd say rest in peace for him but since he never lived his life that way, why would I wish it on him now?


The Good News : The Blogger Winter Gathering is getting a lot closer!
The Bad News : I'm starting to resign to the fact, that Peb's and I are NOT going to make it this year.

The actual "Work" part of my life, seems to be interfering with the day-to-day fun part! But like I said to The Doc., I really like the customer involved here. We've developed a business relationship that has far surpassed any other I've ever known. Of the nearly 900 total customers of mine, he's THE one I try to never let down. What he's working on that happens to coincide with the middle of December, is definitely the largest business opportunity he has ever dreamed of. I don't see myself letting him down now. So the WBPT just may have to go on without us.

What's really disappointing to me about missing the WBPT, is the fact that I've let another friend down instead. Some time ago, I was asked to participate in creating a Golf event on the Friday of the WBPT by Schaubs. Something I was really looking forward to, and something I was honoured to have been asked to be part of.

It seems as though however, that in this life that is Bam-Bam, something incredible always seems to come from something so terribly disappointing. This situation apparently, is no different! What happens when you feel like you've really let a friend down? Another steps up to the challenge and say's, "I'll be there for you. What do you need?" Yes my friends, Golf will happen in Vegas at the gathering. How you ask? Well instead of Schaubs trying to do everything himself 'cause I let him down, Dr. Chako will be stepping up and co-organizing the game in my place. With no hesitation, no questions other than, "what do you need?" and no expectations other than helping a friend out, The Doc. was there in a flash.

Words fail for now, but you know we will discuss this one day Doc.!
Over a few on me for sure!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Le Tune Challenge....

The good folks over at RAKE BRAIN have invited a few of us out for a little game of Poker. Actually, it's more like Le Tune is throwing together a HA game for 35 of his closest, 'friends.' He's even been kind enough to place a $100 bounty on his head. Very, very cool indeed!

And what a list of entrants! This should be great!

Participating poker bloggers: (sorry! NO time for linkage!)

MrSubliminal - MrSubliminal
BadBlood - BadBloodonPoker
ToastOnTilt – GolfandPoker
mookie99 – Mookie99
AlCantHang – AlCantHang
HighOnPoker – HighOnPoker
Gcox25 – Gcox25
StatikKling – Mattahfahtu
Babaghanoush – HardboiledPoker
katitude – PokerKat
VinNay – runner-runner-rebuy
Pokerpeaker – PokingandPeaking
Bam-Bam – Bam-baminbedrock
Buddydank – Buddydank
Jaxia – Stealtheblinds
emptyman – PokeryGoodness
huntvegas – HuntVegasPoker
TNSpaceman – JasonKirk
numbbono – DonkeysDraw
Schaubs – Lolaschaubs
ck31 – Bwop
pvanharibo – LawChica
lucko21 – PokerCash
drchako1 – PokerDoctor
Fuel55 – Fuel55
$mokkee - $mokkee
NightRanger - NightRanger
MiamiDon - MiamiDon
PirateLawyer - PirateLawyer
DDionysus - DDionysus
bdidde - Biggestron

RakeBrain people

LeTune – Rakebrain
gifted08 – Rakebrain member
woodo75 – Rakebrain member
td8507 – Rakebrain member
Vadim331 – Rakebrain staff

The game is a mixture of Texas Hold’em and Omaha, both in pot-limit format. Now I personally read that as Omaha Hi. Hopefully, that's the case! I am so NOT a happy split game player!

Either way, this should be a blast!

If you've got nothing to do around 7:00pm tonight and could use a few laughs, c'mon out and rail me. For tonight, I will attempt to NOT look like as big of an idiot as I usually do in Omatard! But I do recommend you get there early! There's a good chance you'll miss me if you don't!

See..... Not only did I make a few bucks in my repeat STUD game with the gang, I also won another MTT last night! Combine that with my second in the Riverchasers and Tuesday's Skillz win....... I should be good for getting kicked in the junk at Poker for at least the rest of the year now!

:)

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Still Skilled I guess....

I have seriously mixed emotions about last nights Skillz game! On the one hand, it was STUD, (MY GAME!) and there's no way I shouldn't have won. On the other, man I made a lot of stupid mistakes last night!

So many times I found myself playing, "The Blogger" game, rather than playing my game. Now of course, throwing the odd fun hand into the mix isn't all that bad to be honest. It can keep your opponents guessing as to what you may have held back. But occasionally, I found myself donking off chips with some seriously redonkulous holdings. This is something I never really do when I'm at, "The Office." So my dilemma was finding the right mix of the Blogger Bam-Bam, and the grinder I knew I needed to be.

Final table was a great crowd!


Some of my personal favorite invisibles to sit down at the virtual felt with! It was great to see each and every one of you!

Some good, (questionable?) and bad plays on the night.

I laid down Aces up against Waffles. He told me after that he didn't have a set of ten's and also, despite his very straightening board, he didn't have the straight. I guess I have to believe him, despite his standard draws to gutters. Good lay down or bad, The Grinder in me says it was the right thing to do. High risk calls without the nutz, can get chips moving in the wrong direction in a hurry.

I made an incredibly stupid play fairly late in the game, when I did not get maximum value out of a baby board turned made Quads on 6th. street. SO NOT LIKE ME ! At the time, some of the table were tossing chips around like candy. This was the time to take advantage of a fairly well disguised and pretty powerful hand. I decided to push the envelope, instead of letting others do the work for me. I won the pot of course, but had I given others the necessary time and one more card to catch up, I think it could've been a monster, rather than another medium sized haul.

So many out there try to teach me the "math" in NLHE. But math in Hold'em always comes down to the money involved. I get it and I think I understand it but really, making a play based on pot size value and the probability of your percentage ahead or behind, still comes down to a large amount of gamble. And as we all know, Poker is always a gamble no matter what. Math in STUD however, comes far easier for me. The math does not need to be applied to the pot or it's size. No, the Math in STUD can be directly applied to the cards in play, or sometimes more importantly and very often neglected, the cards OUT of play in the hand. When we got down to six handed, my "calculator" went into overdrive! I really started to feel good about my chances then.

I don't really know what it's like for those that run so well in Hold'Em, when they get into this position late in an event. But for me in STUD, my brain seems to process everything I see so much faster! Decisions are strictly based on known factors and they come so fast and easy. This is NOT meant as a brag, it's more of an astonishment in my own abilities to be honest. It's literally like a switch is thrown and absoloutely everything is seen so much clearer than it was before. For me, it's a very powerful moment. I don't get to feel it that often in Blogger events, it's usually reserved for some very serious grinding sessions as my other alter-ego.

It came down to Waffles, Shrike and I in the money. Goal #1 achieved, I get paid to play. Goal #2 was pretty straight forward, advance my position up the pay scale. And I did! Waffles busted out third as Shrike and I kept putting pressure on his pressure style of play. Head's up, Shrike typed in, "chop?" He had places to go and some work to get done, and I had maybe four hours of possible sleep ahead of me, before the alarm went of in the morning. "K," was all I typed in.


Despite being Waffles self-proclaimed, "bitch" most of the night, a win is a win. Perspectives a funny thing isn't it? Oh and I see I transferred $2 too much to Shrike! I'll keep that in the bank for when we actually get a chance to meet at a Blogger gathering. I like the sounds of him owing me a drink!

I also like the sounds of a Team Canada one, two finish in the Skillz game!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Life in the rear view....

Brudder Carson has a post up about looking back in time and the wonders of what would've or could've been. You can read it HERE if you like.

He's really got me thinking and wondering myself. One things for certain, I LOVE looking back!

In fact, I'm proud to say I'm an old "back-looker," and have been for a very long time!

Nothing really gets me fired up, like the thought of takin' a real good hard look back!

Now see! Don't you feel just a little bit better, after taking just a little time to reflect back on some of the really important things? I know I do!

OH !! That reminds me, we've also done a lot of work on Youranus! I should be able to get another update up here in the next few day's! Let me tell you! There's been an awful lot going on in Youranus, and I think I've managed to record just about all of it.

Looking back at last night's TuckFard games, what a blast! But that's true every week! With Thanksgiving day yesterday up here, the crowd was a little lighter than normal. But we managed to have a good time and sling my chips around to everyone fairly evenly I think. If I missed donking some off to you, no worries! I'll try and make it up to you next week!

Looking ahead, tonights a big night at cem's Skillz Series! It's STUD time kiddie winkles! I have a few too many loose ends I really need to get tied up before I can play. (one being to vote in our Federal election!) But I can't tell you how much I look forward to the game tonight.

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Thankful huh....

Those that really know me, know that I march to a slightly different drummer. It's an upbeat little diddy and definitely NOT, the standard 2/4 beat.

According to the little print on the calendar, today is Thanksgiving day here in Bedrock. I've never been one to let Hallmark tell me when I'm supposed to let my Wife know I love her, so I don't see myself allowing the print on a calendar to tell me that I am supposed to be more thankful today, than any other day!

For every day I start next to my darling Pebbles, I am more thankful than the last. Everyday I see the wonder that is my not-so-mini-Peb's, I thank my lucky stars one more time. Every time I'm surrounded by any of the hundreds of truly great friends I have managed to be fortunate enough to gather over the decades, I consider myself the most fortunate kid on this big ole' flying rock. Every single time I meet up with someone new that has something special to share with me, I say thanks to whatever force it was, that brought us together. Every time I check the stats out for this little piece of the intertubes out, I sit back in astonishment and give thanks that you all seem to care about something I've had to say.

Thanksgiving day huh?

I'm the luckiest man alive I say! I get one of these Thanksgiving day's, 365 day's a year! Who knows! Maybe Hallmark will make me my own little calendar? It could happen!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Yeah... this things spot on....

OK so...... maybe answering stoopid questions while awake for 125 hrs. straight, isn't exactly the smartest thing I've ever done!

You are Death

Change, Transformation, Alteration.

People fear this card, but if you want to sleep sometime in your life, this is one of the
best indicators for it. Whatever happens, life will be different after some sleep. Yes, the Death card can signal a death in the right circumstances (a question about a very sick or old relative, for example), but unlike its dramatic presentation in the movies, the Death card is far more likely to mean that your theory of, "getting all the sleep I need when I'm dead," is more accurate than even you know! Scorpio, the sign of this card, has three forms: scorpion, serpent, eagle. The Death card indicates this transition from lower to higher to highest, and all of them sleep very little as well. This is a card of humility, and it may mean you have been brought low, but only so that you can then go higher than ever before. Death "humbles" all, but it also "exults." Always keep in mind that on this card of darkness there is featured a sunrise as well. The darkness leading into daylight, as another sleepless night passes. DUDE! You could really use some sleep.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

The end of motivational week....

Today's motivational thought is, try not to let yourself become judgemental. Sometimes no matter how things sound or appear at first, they can turn out to be a really good thing!


Of course you need to remember at all times, sometimes things are exactly as good as they look!


So there you have it. The struggle for all of mankind in a nutshell! Balancing natural human nature and it's propensity to cause us to judge, and allowing our eyes to send the decision making process to the brain on your behalf. It's a never ending struggle, I ensure you. There are a couple of tips that can help this decision making process go along just a little bit smoother though, so today I thought I'd share them with the masses.

1) Use all of you senses! Although 'touch' is often thought of as one of the key senses for this process, I highly recommend 'taste.' It'll do wonders to help I promise.

2) Sometimes you just have to start the process at, (or near) the bottom! I think this process should come naturally to most, but just in case. Definitely count on your sense of 'taste' here! Just don't take too big of a bite, it might get you in a lotta' crap!

3) Sometimes no matter what, you just have to think for yourself. Others will not always be that helpful!



I hope all of these little motivational tips this week have helped someone out there! I know reflecting back on all of this, I have actually come away with a new perspective on a few familiar things. I'll certainly never look at rainbows the same way again!



My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Bam-Bam's After School Special....

Today's motivatial thought....... Be smart! Stay in School!


Yes kids, learnin' your readin' and writin' is so very important in this day and age. So make sure you give that crap all the attention it deserves! But Math! Well Math is something you really need to pay special attention to, to really bring out your inner poker playah!

Learnin' Math is how you'll come to know some very important things such as;

If you were rudely awoken at 4:00am Monday morning by a call from work and have not actually fallen asleep again since,

1) it had been 66 hrs. and 8 mins. without sleep, when you signed up for the mookie.
2) at 66 hrs. and 41 minutes without sleep, you just might throw "The Bammer" at this table.

3) it took you 67 hrs. and 34 mins. since you last slept, to get the chiplead in the mookie.

4) Busting out on the final table bubble in last nights mookie, means you finished in the top 20 percentile. (still a loser, but did better than some)
5) If it cost you $13 to enter the mookie and you bust out 6 other players at $2 a pop, you basically played for nearly three hours at a cost of $0.33 / HR.
6) If one of those you felted was the only break even player in the game, it was worth every friggin' penny!

and my personal favorites 'cause of all the Math involved......

7) Losing not one, not two, not three or even four.... but FIVE races in a row while getting your money in good, has a statistical probability of an amazing 239,616,000 to 1. Yet I tell you kids........ I did it! So, I bought a lottery ticket this morning on the way to work!
8) The odds of playing slightly tilted and sleepy at a five player table and running your 'sooted' A-8 into A-A...... 100%

So the lesson today kiddies, IS STAY IN SCHOOL and learn's ya' some Math! That way the game of poker will always make WAY more sense, and become a lot more fun!

Please do not think of this as a rant. I'm tired and I'm pissed off yes! But I had a great time last night! Despite my lack of ZZZZZZZZZZZ's, I'm glad I could make it out to the mookie! The mookie offers me so many different challenges besides just the time of night it's played. Which brings me to a second motivational thought...



There were an awful lot of Obstacles and hurdles thrown at me last night and I don't care what anyone say's, I think I handled them pretty well! As a matter of fact, I actually think I played some pretty damn good NLHE last night! Isn't THAT a scary thought! Lord knows, it's sending a chill down my spine just thinking about it.

OK..... last bit of Math for the day. In Math, forecasting by using a complex formula looks very difficult at first, I know. But it's really simple actually. You just need to write it out, talk it through and let the numbers do all the work for you. So don't let Math frighten you! You need Math all the time in every day life, so learn to love it! Hell! I even need Math right now!

Let's see if all goes perfectly according to plan and there is not a single glitch........ it should come to exactly 80 hrs. straight of wide-eyed and bushy tailed awakeness, when my head actually gets a chance to hit a pillow tonight. Carrying the 8 with a 3.16 over 1,000 quotient....... I'd say the probability of a Zombie like state of sleep at that moment...... runs at about 98.9%, or thereabouts.

I'll take those odds!

Last School lesson for the day, I promise!
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE? THE OCTOBER TRUCKIN' IS OUT !!!!

Truckin' - October 2008, Vol. 7, Issue 10
Welcome back to another issue.

1. Maisy Wednesday by Paul McGuire
She always wore bright lipstick which brought out a little gleam in her lips. She frequently smiled, but never initiated any sort of conversation... More

2. Happy Anniversary by John 'Falstaff' Hartness
As we stood outside the courthouse in our newly wedded bliss (which also somewhat resembled the look of people who have just survived a tornado, as it happened much faster than we expected) we decided that since Suzy didn't have to be at work for another couple of hours, we'd go have lunch. So we scraped together a few bucks and trundled over to a nearby McDonald's... More

3. A Lock of Bonnie Parker's Hair by Johnny Hughes
They was real famous and in the newspapers and all robbing them banks, when banks were unpopular. I asked Bonnie for something to remember her by. We didn't have a pencil for an autograph. She pulled this little pair of scissors out of her purse and gave me this... a lock of her hair... More

4. Whiskey Kisses by Betty After Dark
Held apart by distance and circumstance, brought together in soft voices, the pieces of who we are fill the room with every drink we pour. The gaps in our lives slowly closing as the light from the window crept into the room. There was something unavoidable that connected us, but the details were never as clear as they were this night.... More

5. What I Knew? by Dusty Rhodes
Just walk up and ask her you idiot... You've been friends for four years... she doesn't have a date and either do you... Quit being a pussy and ask her... Christ dude... what are you nervous about... More


What a Long Strange Trip It's Been...
From the Editor's Laptop:

Thanks again for wasting your precious time with Truckin'. This month's issue features veteran Truckin' writers including the legendary Johnny Hughes with another Texas tale. Dusty Rhodes and John Hartness both make triumphant returns to the Truckin' roster. Betty After Dark will whip you in a deviant frenzy with her latest sultry tale. And I shared a new piece of fiction called Maisy Wednesday.

Please tell your friends about your favorite Truckin' stories. The writers definitely appreciate your support.

Also, if you know anyone who is interested in being added to the mailing list, well, please shoot me an e-mail.

Before I go... I can never thank the writers enough for writing for free and exposing their guts, blood, and soul to the universe. Their art and dedication inspires me and I hope it inspires you too.

Be good,
McG

---
Tao of Pauly --- http://mcgrupp.blogspot.com
Tao of Poker --- http://taopoker.com
Truckin' --- http://mcgtruckin.blogspot.com

And from me as always,

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

P is for Play....

A while back, I wrote up Bam-Bam's alphabet and I thought it was time to expand on the letter P.

The whole alphabet can be found HERE if you like.

So the theory is, Play a lot. It will always be the best part of your life! If you know anything about me at all, you'll know I hold this very near and dear to my heart. I firmly believe that entertaining the brain with play, helps keep the mind and heart young. So today's motivational topic, is Play!


I find that almost everyone gets confused and makes Play incredibly difficult by looking for something TO play! Folks, WHAT you play is not actually the point at all. The effect you're looking for is HOW you play, whatever you're playing!

Obviously, we all love Poker! Well OK! Sometimes we love the game, sometimes it's a brutal life sucking bitch from which there is no escape! But generally, we love to play the game. Give this some serious thought now, how do you best describe, how you PLAY the game?

Yesterday, I took a little flack for saying, "sometimes I just want to sling some chips and shoot the shit with friends." And from a few surprise sources I might add. It made me stop and ponder? Am I not getting the true intent of our pokery life style? Am I missing the point? Well I came to the conclusion that as of recently NO, I actually DO get it and I think others may be missing out on the truly spectacular side of the game. And THAT my friends, is what poker is...... A GAME! It is not a sport, despite the arguments of others out there. IT'S A GAME! A game we decide to put our hard earned cash up for grabs at sure, but a game none the less.

I think a refresher on the definition is in order here.

game [geym]
–noun
1. an amusement or pastime.
2. a competitive activity involving skill, chance, or endurance on the part of two or more persons who play according to a set of rules, usually for their own amusement or for that of spectators.

Some will argue that there are in fact Poker Pro's, and I say that's a very valid point indeed! But does that describe us in general? Does that describe Joe A. Blogger to a tee? I think not. The mix within our group, is probably more eclectic than we'll ever know or likely even admit. Think about when you get the opportunity to meet someone that you've only ever had the pleasure of playing on-line poker with before. Are they ever exactly what you expected? (AlCantHang excepted of course!) Of course they're not! Just as we differ in age, sex, sexual preferences and skin tone, we must recognize that we also have a vast array of "Play" at the poker tables. For most of us, The Hammer has become widely accepted as one of the best things you can possibly do at a table of friends. A year ago, I thought you were all friggin' nuts! Seeing the value in the play however, has finally gotten through this thick skull of mine and I love it!

It's the Play and there's just so much value in play! It keeps us laughing, keeps us entertained and therefore, it keeps us young. I personally will never see anything wrong with that. For someone with the lifelong attitude that I have always had about play, I'll never understand why it took me so damn long to understand The Hammer!

All of which brings me to a secondary motivational thought for the day.


So true isn't it? How you look at things can make such a huge impact on how and what your reaction to them will be. I've lost a little of that perspective lately, but the Bash a little over a week ago, and this past Monday night with friends, both helped steer me back in the right direction. Now that I'm back on track, I'm going to try and stick with the theme that got me here in the first place!

I'm gonna' Play more, in everything I do!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Helping..... it's what friends do....

Let's start the day with a positive motivational thought, shall we?

So no big secret! Yesterday's post about The TuckFard games, was obviously a blatant attempt to get a few extra friends out for some fun and distraction. As I set up to start the first game last night, I realized I was indeed a very lucky man! Several good friends answered the call and made the night an absoloute blast!

Yeah I know! What's the sense in playing poker, if you're not there to try and win! But sometimes...... well sometimes I just want to sit around the table and sling some chips and shoot the shit with a good group of friends. No matter what the cost, the result in the end or the game being played, sometimes it's about friends more than anything else. If that makes me weak in the eyes of the great poker over-lords, so fuckin' be it.

I needed a mental massage(™Otis) last night and I got it. Call me crazy for saying so, but last night almost felt like we were all sitting around in brudder Carson's basement and enjoying a home game! It was as close to that feeling as I've ever felt while playing on-line. Now THAT my friends, that's good times!

As is almost always the case, the only one to register for last nights game before me was muhctim. No acronym required here. I actually laugh out loud every single time I go to register and there sits that singular lonely name. I've said it before and I'll say it again muhc, thanks for pimpin' our games and for being there with us every single week. We joke all the time about the "honourary" TuckFards I know but you sir, would 100% fit in to one of our homegames! I hope we can make that happen some day. I really do!

The beautiful Kat has been up to Bedrock for some pokery goodness and she's also been out to the "Carsino" for some fun as well. Seeing her there at the games last night just put a huge smile on this kids face. One of life's great mysteries will always be how someone as classy and clever as Kat, can just jump right in and be TuckFard! I honestly don't know how you do it, nore do I care why! I'm just really glad the you do Hun!

After last nights game and some very careful deliberation with both DonKaaa and brudder Carson, we've decided that a vote will be required on the "Honourary" TuckFard status of MemphisMojo. So if you stop by here from time to time, we'd appreciate your input! Just over to the top right there, you'll see our little poll on the issue. Although this will not be the ultimate and deciding factor in our decision, it will help guide us through all things TuckFardian.

As the TuckFard Open was just starting play last night, I see the chat box going berserk. Now that's fairly normal for our little game, so I sat back and watched for a bit. There was one line of text that seemed to fly by a little too fast for me to catch, but I was pretty sure it was directed at me. So a little scroll up and I read, "Bam-Bam! what's the pass-pass?" Now to be totally honest, there's not many bloggers out there that I enjoy typing and directing the word 'Donkey' to, other than AlCantHang. Apparently I'm not the only one either!

katitude: donkey
BamBamCan: donkey !
NutzCarson: donkey
muhctim: donkey
RedneckTuckFard: donkey
DonK_TuckFard: donkey !!!
BamBamCan: LOL Donnie 3x! hahahaha

Thanks for coming out last night Al! Whenever I need a little pick me up, you're always there throwing a massive over bet at me with the Hammer. Now THAT's GOLD !!! It's actually become very funny to me as of late. I read back to posts from a year ago and I see where I wrote things like, "why play that crap?" or "what's the big deal if a Donkey play's it?" Now I've come full circle and can't wait to see it happen. Just once though, I'd like to be holding "the Bammer" when it happens to me. Actually! I dream of a 3-way pot with The Hammer, the Bammer and the TuckFard Nutz gettin' all the chips in the center. Serious fireworks on that day! What a scream that would be.

We had another surprise guest last night in the Open, breeze81 made an appearance for our game. That was very much appreciated and a very pleasant surprise. I hope we get to see that happen more and more over the next few weeks! Always a pleasure to sit down at the virtual felt with you breeze!

I see brudder Carson won the NLHE TuckFard Open. I'll say congrats here... and move on. Put up a good post about it, so everyone can read all about your "mad skillz" HERE. ;) (nice win brudder!)

So with the Open out of the way, (read I bombed out in 12th!) I was really looking forward to our little HORSE game. I can't begin to tell you how surprised I was, when I saw the entrants to this one!

A friend I was really hoping I was going to run into at the BASH, but it just didn't work out this time, was The Poker Enthusiast. Having P.E. show up at a table I'm playing on, always makes it so much better than it was. Thanks for coming out last night P.E.! It meant a lot and definately put a pretty big, (albeit, prolly goofy) grin on my face!

The next surprise that caught me off gaurd, was OhCaptian! What a treat having you come out to one of our games Sir! Hopefully, this was not a one time occurence. I don't think I've ever seen anyone, (live or virtually) fit into the Tuckfard mode faster! Thanks for being there!

Honourary Tuckfard cem, slipped up a bit and missed the first game! There was much discussion about this phenomenon, but all was forgiven once we realized that he may actually have a life and work or family came ahead of us! ;) Great to see you out as always cem! For those of you not aware, cem runs The Skillz series on FullTilt Tuesday nights. I believe tonight is Limit Hold'Em and if all goes according to plan, I hope to join you at the game this evening.

The HORSE winner was muhctim and I see brudder Carson joined him in 'double-dipping' into the TuckFard cash, by finishing third in this game as well. Well done gents!

I flamed out in 6th. in this game. I got into a spot with a pretty amazing looking board in STUD, only to continue betting it to the end where someone couldn't let go of a pair of 5's. How's that go again? Oh yeah! "If you give two Donkey's some chips and a deck of cards".... LMAO !

Thanks for coming out for the fun and making it such a great night for me everyone!

and....

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

If it's Monday....

It must be Tuckfard time !

And don't forget! The TuckFard II HORSE game also starts at 8:00pm EST! Same Tilt station, same Tilt password! I know that brudder carson, DonKaaa, RedneckTuckFard, Suzy_Q, Queen_K and all the others, hope to see you there. I'll be looking to see the honourary Tucks, muhc and cem, as well as the latest to push the honourary boundries, Memphis Mojo! I hear he's got a bad case of TuckFard fever! Oh and by the way! If you haven't been by to congratulate Memphis on his big win over at Tunica's Harrah's Casino, you can stop by and do so HERE.

Well, I managed to make it out for The Brit Bloggerment as I'd hoped! That didn't go so well. I was accused of trying to make too many steal attempts, which I thought was pretty funny! Starting hands I had to let go included, 10-10, J-J, Q-Q etc.... I made several different types of pre-flop raises with each of them, only to have at least two others come along for the flop. Flops which did nothing to improve my holdings, but rather had a look of danger instead. In three of the cases where I was last to act, there had been a bet and a re-raise ahead of me. So in a nutshell, I was betting my stack out and missing every single time. This made me the very short stack and slowly got me to push-and-pray mode. I pushed A-9 into K-K and didn't improve. Sometimes it just happens I guess. The players were active as always, (at least every time I've played) and typically, if I could have gotten a few of my starting hands to hit, these are the players that will get my stack built up in no time. Ah well! Least I out lasted Cloud! ;)

And finally! Here's my motivational thought for the day!

For some reason, it just makes me smile!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

Poker two day's in a row?....

Although PLO is NOT a game I play regularily, I'd been giving Pauly one excuse after another, why I couldn't play in Saturday's with Dr. Pauly on PokerSatrs. Usually legit and related to Golf or Family activities. But in my book, they were excuses just the same. So when I realized that I had nothing on for 4:20 pm. yesterday afternoon, I couldn't think of a better way to kill a little time, or some of the $ I'd just made at the tables. Saturday with Dr. Pauly.... here I come!

What a great decision! 26 runners that included of course Pauly, Derek, Tan Orpheus, STB and special surprise guest's, Wil Wheaton and John Katkin! (of Murder's Row fame)

Although my results were not exactly what I'd hoped for, I wasn't terribly dissapointed with finishing up in just better than mid-pack. 12th. of 26 runners and PLO is NOT my game. (did I mention that?) I did get really lucky on one hand with three-way action. This built my stack up so I could float around the top five in chips for the first hour. My opponents were both on the same flush draw, while I'd already boated up. It was a shame that the flush never came! That would've given me a monster stack and made me a force to be reckoned with for certain. Ah well!

Here's a shot of "our Wil" joining in on my table.

And finally, here's the way this Saturday with Dr. Pauly ended up.


Today at 4:00pm EST, The Brit Bloggament runs on Stars as well. All of the information can be found at either Clouds place or at the home of the Little Acorn Man. I hope to make it out, as these folks are just plain fun to hang around! Even though it's only virtually from a few thousand miles away!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....