Thursday, April 12, 2012

When is a Trip Report not a Trip Report?

When I don't end up going to the god damned casino, that's when.

I was looking forward to going to Foxywoody, especially insofar as the Cranky one was going to be there to provide me with companionship and good humor - and since, as I seem to recall, it's her turn to buy lunch. Sure, she's not a fan of the buffet, but I could have convinced her.  I could have.

I sold a couple of pairs of Bruins tickets so I was flush without having to dig into the bank account.  Hell, I even stole a little notebook from Tootsie, with a matching little pen, so I could take down important hands and share them with you:



So what happened?  The fucking dog happened, that's what.  I suppose it was partially my fault, but the fucking dog wouldn't let me fucking sleep.  She was a model of good behavior to me - she didn't jump on me, run from me, disobey me, or anything like that.  But when I lay my head down to sleep she would wake me up about every 90 minutes by french-kissing my face.  At first I thought it was her telling me she needed to go out, so I grabbed her leash, clipped it on, and took her out - till I realized she was just fucking with me. Bitches, huh?  HA! Get it?  Bitches?  'Cause she's a dog, a female dog?  No? Well, anyway...

And sure, I suppose I could have put her in her crate, but I just couldn't bring myself to do that.  It seemed so selfish, to imprison a puppy so she wouldn't be exuberant and happy and want my company, so I could sleep.

When M and T got home, I was pretty well exhausted, but I was facing a 2-hour drive home, so I did the only thing I could do: I stopped at the nearest Dunkie's and bought the biggest vat of caffeine they offered. Which, of course, worked - it got me home a treat - but it also meant I didn't drop off to sleep until the wee smalls of the next morning.

Bottom line, I didn't wake up until a half-hour after I was supposed to be in Foxwoods.  I texted Cranky the situation, who bless her took it in stride.  I still wanted to see if I could make it there, so I jumped in the shower, got dressed, and promptly fell back asleep.  It was now almost 2:30 in the afternoon, so I made the final decision to bag the day.  Having made that decision by the way I promptly went back to sleep and woke up around 4:00 or so - and as I sit here now at 1:11 in the morning I could probably lie down right now and sleep for another 4 to 6 hours without tossing, turning, or needing to pee.

So now I've got $200 that Tootsie doesn't know about burning a hole in my pocket, the theft of a notebook for which I need to construct a cover-up, and a friend whom I've egregiously stood up.

Tomorrow's gonna be better.  Hell, it's got to be.  I'll be on normal sleep, I won't smell like dog, and I'll have access to cable TV.  Oh, did I mention?  No cable.

11 comments:

  1. Sounds like a pretty dang soft life when cable television and missing poker are the major issues you are dealing with ... : o )

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    1. True enough - and hey, at least I'm not a White Sox fan...

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  2. Certainly one can understand that you would rather support the team with a 1-5 record vs the team with a 3-2 record, right? Remember that when it comes to Sox, White is right and Red is wrong.

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    1. Please. If you're a Sox fan of either color, you know that it ain't about the winning or the losing. You know that as well as I do!

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  3. Gary, Gary, Gary - I did miss your company yesterday. I was at Foxwoods from 1:15 until 11:00. I absolutely sucked at poker. Lost much money, especially on 2 hands where I should have known better. I am trying to burn the lessons learned on those 2 hands into my brain to improve my game. I tried, briefly, H/L limit Omaha. I will never play that again there. Egad! At 55, I dropped the average age of players at the table down by about 15 years.

    One thing I did do was play blackjack. Hadn't done so in years but I remembered most everything, except that you're never supposed to split 4's. I had $55 bet when my starting cards were 4,4. Split them, to the horror of my tablemates, who were all dead-on excellent players (shockingly), and to the dealer, who loved me because I tip too much. My first card was another 4 and I promptly split that. So, $165 out on 3 different hands that were all junk. The dealer busted! Woo hoo! Pretty much only made money at bj and lost it at poker and craps.

    I'm hoping we can set up some time soon to go again (well, again for me :-) ). We'll try a weekend so Josie can go (I hope).

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    1. Lordy, lordy, lordy! That's a lot of coin to bet at the blackjack tables.

      What were the two hands that burned into your brain? Spill, Crankola!

      And hey, sorry for standing you up.

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  4. Gary - yes it is a lot of coin. I start at $25 and bet progressively as I win hands, so it was at the end of a nice series of wins.

    The two hands .... 1) I was in 5 seat, opponent was in 1. I was BB, about 7 limpers saw the flop, which was 744. I had J4. Checked, to my left bet $10, 3 callers, I check-raise to $50. Only the 1 seat calls. Now, the 1 seat has gone all-in with light holdings. He's an all-in guy, not a caller. The call should have screamed ... I have a monster. On the turn (a 9), I went all-in, he called and showed down his pocket 7s for the flopped fh. Hand 2. Different table. I'm in seat 9, opponent is in seat 1. UTG, I raise to $7 with QJo. Yes, I know, I should not have even played this hand utg. Get a smattering of callers, I think 5 or 6 of us see the flop. Flop is J6x with no flush draw. I figure it's a good flop an utg raiser isn't likely to be holding QJ, so folks will think a continuation bet is on air only. I bet out $15, the 1 seat calls, and maybe one other player. Turn is another 6. I bet $25 and the 1 calls. Other player, if there is one, folds. I bet out $50 on the river (card not remembered) and the 1 goes all in. He has a huge stack and has my remaining dough well covered. That was the perfect betting pattern for someone who caught his miracle trips to 2nd pair on the turn. I should not have called his all-in, but I did. In the first loser hand, I should have known that my opponent's divergence from his normal betting pattern was to try and keep me betting rather than force me out. In the second, if I'd thought longer, I would have realized the guy could easily have stayed in on the flop with 2nd pair since the flop didn't look to be much good for me as utg raiser in early position.

    And, there we have how Cranky lost the vast majority of her losings at NLHE yesterday.

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  5. Any chance you are going down there on Sunday?

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    1. Dave, I hadn't planned on it - the holy Sabbath and all. HA! No, actually I don't go on the weekends if I can help it, but maybe I should. Why, you gonna be there?

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  6. I appreciate a well written post no matter the content and this was well crafted. That picture at the end was comedy gold. Well done, sir.

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    1. Wow man, that's really nice of you to say. Thanks a lot.

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