It's felt really good being back at work.  I haven't had this much drive to play poker since the fall of 2006, shortly after moving to town.  Wake up before eleven, play online all day, and then head into a casino to play live.  

Wednesday I had a winning day on UB playing cash and SNG's, then wandered over to the Bellagio to see what I could find.  I sat in a decent 5-10 game with a huge whale who then moved up to 10-20 where I followed him.  By the time I got there he was gone, I played about an hour of an okay game and decided that it was time to go when Eric Liu sat down with 10k, left, and then somebody I'd never seen before sat down behind his chips and played them.  I'm assuming he's a sicko too.  I had half an hour to kill before I was going to meet Jimmy Fricke for dinner at Musashi and did so with a 1-2 and 2-5 session that I won dinner money in.  Lost about $200 on the live excursion.  

Tiger did his awesome teppenyaki grillin and I savored the deliciousness that is good food in Las Vegas.  I was an hour from some decent chips and salsa in Colorado and here in Vegas there's more great food than I can experience in a lifetime.  I headed to Half Shell to meet Jared and get my garage door openers back, went home, and started Heroes, season 1.  I've always heard that it's a good show, and Netflix direct through the XBox is the greatest thing ever.  I don't have television at home and don't see any reason why I would need it with way more media than I ever need streaming over the internet.  

Sleep, wake, repeat.  Played online til 7pm, winner, finished laundry and took a shower.  Didn't feel like going all the way to the strip, called GVR, and heard that they had 3 5-10 games with no cap going.  WTF?!?!?!?  Put me on the list!  I had dinner at Elephant Bar, went across the street and got into a game shortly.  Two hours later I walked to the cage, dropped four blue chips on the counter, and said, "Big bills, please."  I walked out of the place with my four dollar bills instead of twenty hundreds that I came with.  They were dusted off in two hands, one where I ran KK into AA short handed in a spot that I wanted to high five the dealer when the guy said call.  The second was a little more interesting, 4 way limped pot I'm on the button with QTo.  Q54r flop, both blinds check, UTG bets 25, I call, and we see the turn heads up.  It's a ten putting two spades out there, he bets $80, and I make it $255 intending on getting it in.  He reraises small which I don't like but whatever I put the rest in and lose to a set of fives.  Whelp see ya later.  

Sleep, wake up a little later, after eleven this time, play online.  Winner.  Embarassing loser in the PLO WCOOP.  Made a video for PokerVT of my 2 hours in the 8-game turbo, think it is decent.  Want to go to GVR cause they owe me some money.  I get myself on the list an hour before I get there, have dinner at PF Changs, roll into the poker room and I'm first up on a 5-10 INTEREST list.  No game anywhere.  What the?  "Yeah, we've only really been getting those games going on Thursday and Saturday nights."  Odd.  Alrighty then.  I drive toward the strip, call the Aria, they have a game, and I go sit in it.  It's okay, but it's Friday night.  It gets better linearly until sometime around midnight it's just plain awesome.  

I get stuck losing every hand, then see a flop with 99 in the big blind for $40.  Flop 922, check check.  Turn a brick, I bet $50, guy calls.  River J, I bet $130, he makes it $330, I make it $730, he calls and seems to have had a jack based on the way he talked to himself throughout the hand.  I get up a little bit, and then defend my bb vs an ep limper and a mp opener to $50.  I called with T9ss.  Flop T95hhc, I lead for $110, fold, initial raiser makes it $220, I re-raise to $660, he shoves for $1500 and I snap, a 989-1 dog to his top set.  Sigh.  Damn.  Poker isn't as fun anymore.  I ship over the loot, rebuy another dime so I'm sitting with $2k, and fold a couple of hands.  

Then when I'm in the cutoff the same opponent opens for $30, I call with 33 in the cutoff, the "he makes me remember the good ol days" player behind me calls as do both blinds.  $150 in the pot on an A23hhd flop, checks to me, I bet $120, button calls, and the rest fold.  Turn's an ace, jackpot bells are dinging in my head because there's no way this guy is folding an ace ever, or a flush draw on the turn (or made flush on the river)... I bet $330, he calls basically instantly.  Jack of diamonds on the river, I kinda hate it but whatever, eyeing his mismanaged pile I think it's somewhere in the low $1k range.  I want it all and think he's either calling or folding regardless of bet size so say "all-in".  He eyes me suspiciously, ice cubes clinking and condensation dripping off his wine glass full of white zin, and after ten seconds he says, "Alright, I call."  I roll over my treys full, he looks at it, and I'm somewhat expecting an inadvertent slowroll of epicness like the time Jack Ury did the Reno Doc dirty.  He says, "Pair of threes?"  Turns over a pair of sevens, and I stick out my chips to be counted.  (PAIR OF SEVENS!!)  $1585.  Turns out he had me covered.  This is like the good ol days, like the time that guy went 16 bets with me on the river in a 40-80 game after check raising me on all three streets with JT on an AAQ, 4, K board.  I drove home with the top down, feeling really good.  Started Heroes season 2 after finishing and enjoying the first, and bedtime.  It's the weekend.  

Peace and good luck,

Devo