For those of you who don't speak Japanese, that means "it's been a long time" (or something like that.
It's been a little more than 4 months since my last post. A lot has changed in that time: state of residence, marital status, and job just to name a few. But one thing hasn't changed. I'm still a poker playing, gambling degerate who can't stop thinking about poker or Las Vegas.
Let's see. Since my last post I got married, went on a honeymoon (notable gambling-related moments include standing in front of the Aviation Club in Paris and playing blackjack in Monte Carlo) and then moved to Seattle.
Being back in Seattle has take some getting used to. Even though I grew up here the weather here hit me pretty hard when it first started getting dark around 5:00 PM. I'm convinced that my body was trying to hibernate for a while.
For most of the time I lived in the Bay Area I was usually within a 15 minute drive of a card room but for the most part resisted the urge to make it a regular occurance. I did have my regular Tuesday night poker game with co-workers to get my weekly fix, but for the most part I avoided Bay 101, Artichoke Joes and the like. My reasoning was that I wanted to keep the poker to something to look forward to when I went to Las Vegas. Truth be told, I also think I didn't have the stomach for low-limit, no fold'em poker that is the rule in most California clubs.
Now that I'm back in the Northwest though all that has all changed. Maybe it's connecting with my old (gambling addicted) friends, but I'm visiting the card rooms about once a week. My friend MM introduced me to the world of tournaments. The Golden Nugget card room spreads a $30 buy-in, No Limit Hold'em game every night at 6:30. It's only a two table affair, no rebuys and sometimes a few alternates, but it's a great way to play a few hours of NLHE and get some tourney experience. In the half dozen or so times I've played I've only placed once but I think my play has gotten progressively better. The great thing I realized two weeks ago is that the house isn't taking a cut. I'm guessing it's a lost leader way for them to get players into the room, but it's great for the player. you get T2500 in chips with blinds starting at 25/50 so it's not a complete crap shoot. The TD runs a tight ship and the dealers are pretty good so it's a great way to spend $30 and a couple of hours. My only gripe is that the room is not smoke free so I have to shower when I get home and keep a special card room jacket in my car.
I've also started dabbling online again. After a long hiatus from the online poker scene, I'm getting ready to make a deposit and jump back in. I just need to reactivate my PokerTracker account and decide where to put my money. I'm thinking of giving myself a bankroll at the start of the year and seeing how far I can go. I think I'm going to stick mostly to sit-n-gos and tournaments.
More to come soon.
it's good to be back in the game,
tank
