Steve and I do indeed go to Blackhawk. They start a second 30-60 game shortly after my arrival, I’m quickly up $1500, and then start going down a hill that gets steeper and steeper until I’m steamed and we quit early stuck $1500.

The girls are at a house party one block away from our house and that sounds way more fun than this. We purchase 50 chicken nuggets from McDonalds for the ride home and talk about how much snow we’re going to get tomorrow.

This house is lived in by Garret and Diane, high school sweethearts who are now married and still throwing keggers for Summit County kids. It was a neat crowd, late 20s-30s, and after the girls left a jam session broke out which I was invited to join.

Hell I live a block away and quickly retrieved my guitar, mandolin, djembe, and a couple harmonicas. Four hours later I made it home completely stoked after a great time and was jonesin to play some mixed games.

Nothing was going anywhere. It was 4:45am Mountain Time. My choices were 4-8 or 400-800 8-game. The biggest I have ever played is 150-300 O/E or 25-50 PLO. Allen Kessler said about that O/E game, “It’s impossible for a good player to put in a significant session in that game and come out a loser.”

He won some money and then quit it to play a $1k mega-satellite, I played for almost 30 hours that week and lost $10k that I borrowed from Jimmy Fricke. And the 25-50 games that I took a shot at I lost my ass in too, twice I got it in with top set three ways vs two similar wraps and didn’t win either of those $15k pots. Even got my ass handed to me at high stakes hearts. Such is my history with taking shots, but tonight $4-8 was just too small.

I sat at $400-800 8-game early in the Razz rotation, bought in for $10k, and intended on giving it a one pot shot, a terrible idea but where this train was headed. I anted a bunch and brought it in once down to $9100 (7 hands) and then I was dealt (63)2 in Razz. An 8 completed, then a 5 raised, and I’m next.

I should have re-raised here but I was scared shitless cause I’m playing Jet-Ski/Motorcycle stakes and really don’t want to get stuck on a monkey 4th street so called instead. Totally proper in a tournament where stacks are limited but slightly less +cEV than 3-betting. The 8 calls and we see 4th street. I catch awesome with a 4, the 5 gets a 9 and the 8 catches a deuce.

I bet, call, call. 5th street is a king, deuce to the 5-9, and a king to the 8-2. Nine-five bets, we both call. 6th street, seven! We made a seven in razz and there’s a lot of fucking money in the pot! Jack to the 5-9-2, ace to the 8-2-K. We bet, they both call. We pair our four on 7th, bet when checked to, and they both fold.

badbeatninja collected $9097 from pot
badbeatninja: doesn’t show hand

F’n a cotton, that’s the biggest cash game pot I’ve ever won (I’ve lost 3 others bigger lifetime). I should quit now. But now we’re playing stud high, and I’m pretty good at that game.

I folded six or seven hands in a row and then was dealt split jacks. A four brought it in and a 9 completed. I raised my (J2)J and we saw 4th heads up. He caught a 6 and I a 7 and he called my bet. Fifth brought him an ace and me a ten, he bet, and it’s really hard to make a pair so I call. 6th street most likely didn’t change anything with his trey and my 5, he bet and I called. I made jacks up on 7th which may or may not have been necessary, he bets I call and beat nines up that he made on 4th.

Holy shit I’m up $9k!

Very next hand it’s stud8 and we have (5A)6. A deuce brings it in, a 6 completes, I re-complete, the bring-in makes it 3-bets, the 6 folds, and I call. Fourth gives us an 8, him a lovely ten and he check calls. Fifth is money, he makes an open pair of deuces and we complete our low with a 4, essentially free-rolling. He check-calls. We make a pair of fives on 6th while he catches a 4, calls our bet, and then calls again on 7th after we make trip fives for the scoop, beating fours-up made on 6th street.

Seat 3: badbeatninja ($23791 in chips)

Hell yeah! I folded every third street and 100-200 NLHE hand until my big blind and quit up $13k, won another dime playing $10-20 Badugi, and decided to go to sleep as the sun was just beginning to illuminate Chief Mountain.

Saturday I was hungover. And $20k richer than the morning prior. Damn this year feels good. I took it easy during the day Saturday and then finally motivated myself to get out to Johnny’s cause I wanted pizza. The 15 minute walk each direction has to count as some sort of exercise too. Watch out for snow banks on the way home, but they’re way softer than concrete.

Sunday was a big day online climaxed by the UBOC $2k high-rollers event. I got in for just under $5k playing the early schedule, took 3rd in the Badugi and made a deep run in the Brawl to only lose $1k on the day. Fortunately my horse made a deep run in the Sunday Million and made me more than I lost and I celebrated by playing pool and singing karaoke at Johnny’s.

I think I’m a lifetime loser on Mondays even though I have my biggest online cash in the Monday $1k. I was in a good habit of taking them off for a while but haven’t out here and have been rewarded by losing every Monday that I’ve played.

Tonight was no exception and I got it in good about 75% of the time and won about 25% of those hands. Once again though Mr. Tepen came to the rescue, finishing 6th in the UBOC $50k mixed event for a small score, clearing makeup for his third day in a row. Sicko.

Today I woke up eager to ski for the first time in a week. I’ve been sick and sore lately and working pretty hard but it felt really good to get out there for a few hours today. I came home, made a sandwich, took a bath, and am about to start the nightly schedule including the UBOC event 21, a $50k guaranteed HAamant hosted by yours truly.

Peace and good luck,

Devo