Pictures from Vegas....Yeah Baby!

Okay..I know you wanna see these...

Last night was Poker at the Excalibur. I joined the NL cash game with a few bloggers at about 10:30 p.m. Believe it or not, I lasted on one $100 buy-in until about 4 a.m. But I made up for it by losing my second buy-in on the first hand...(more on that later)..

Some of the players to cycle through our table include DoubleAs, Zeem, Falstaff, JoeSpeaker, Blinders, Shane, Penner42, Biggestron, Garth, Smokkee and Iggy (although I didn't play against him).

Here are some pictures..sorry for the quality..these were taken with my cell camera..

Biggestron - "Not a huggy person"
Zeem - Really friendly and likable
Shane & Garth - Shane was an awesome drinking buddy. I tried to avoid confrontations with this player. Garth sounds as good in person as he does on the girlie chat.






Some of the highlights from the cash game:

First Flagstaff was quick to identify one of the major flaws in my game. DISTRACTION. Even playing live..I managed to out chat and socialize more than any other blogger..lol..He tried to encourage me to focus..but I just couldn't bring myself to do THAT...lol..In fact, the night before, when I met Felicia, she made the comment, "You talk as much as I do, except you are happy".

I was able to win a pot against DoubleAs. He had pocket 8s in late position and raised it up pre-flop. I just got the "impulse" to put his late position raise to the test with my KJo. So I pushed with about $60. He called my bet and lost when I hit a J.

I actually bought my copy of his book on this trip. He was kind enough to add a personalized autograph stating "Heads-up with the Roshambo Queen (and NLHE HU Queen)"....Oh yeah! I got a new title to add to my list. That has a nice ring to it eh? Roshambo Queen..

Then Iggy, who had been watching our table on the sidelines, got a craving to join our game. He calls out to me, "Yoyo, can I play your chips?". Without hesitation, I replied, "yes". So, he came to the table, and then took a look at my meager stack of about $80 versus the others ranging from $200 plus and asked, "Is this all you have?". Then he sat down and I asked for my drink. He was gonna take the drink too, but was quickly turned off by my glass filled with Amaretto and a cherry. So I offered to make a trip to the bar and get him a more accceptable drink, Budweiser was his choice.



Since I was making a trip to the bar anyway, I decided it was the perfect time to get my shots. Shots of tequila of course! And the best way to do shots is with a friend. So I made my way to the bar and ordered a couple of shots of 1800 along with Iggy's beer.

With the drinks in hand, I returned to the table. Then I announced, "I need a volunteer". The bloggers looked at the shots in my hand and Shane and Speaker instantly raised up their hands to offer their help. Woo hooo..We needed another shot. I told the guys to wait for me while I got one for myself. So while I worked on my alcohol comsumption, Iggy was building my stack.



At the bar, I found the other group of bloggers including Spaceman, Pauly, MiamiDon, Change100, Gracie, Human Head, Hoyazo, Iamoff, and Derek.

By the time I rejoined the game, Iggy had more than doubled my stack and I was feeling goooooooooooooood!

I was able to avoid getting hammered by Speaker. He min raised and min bet on all streets and I don't even remember what I had, but was pleasantly surprised that it held. Speaker is hands down the best looking blogger. I had no problem looking at him all evening while we played! At one point in the game he stood up and was rambling and then blurted out something about whether anyone could massage his junk. I literally dropped my chips in my drink. And held back the urge to shout..."I'll do it"....

After a few hours, our table was the "hot" spot. This was the table with pure blogger goodness. One by one we were filling up our table with bloggers until finally only one non-blogger remained. Some of the bloggers who stopped by to watch on the sidelines included our champ Ftrain, Maudie, Helixx, TrumpJosh, and PokerGnome (I think I got the right Mark) to name a few.

Katkin finally gave up on the one of the other cash tables and came over to watch our table. I was chatting with him encouraging him to join our game. We were discussing how I should make the best of my private lesson with Phil. And he said to me that Phil will tell me not to play the hammer. Just then, I got the hammer. I showed him and laughed. He then said that I don't need to follow ALL of Phil's advise. Me let go of the hammer? On a table full of bloggers? Is that possible? So here is where Speaker got his revenge on me. I'm not sure what position I was in or how the pre-flop betting went. What I know is that I was trying to drop the hammer on Speaker. The flop came with AAx. We checked. Then a 7 came on the turn. I bet and he called. I checked the river and he made a nice sized bet....then I did the unthinkable...I folded the hammer...really, really, really lame..I know. Worst part, I would have won!



One of the other subjects discussed was the old games at Murder's Row. I of course never had the pleasure of joining these games. But there is talk of a fairwell game since a number of the FT gang will be relocating to the UK. Katkin promised that I will be on the invite list. Woo hoo..more ways for me to lose my $$$.

In case you didn't see it somewhere else, FTrain won the Blogger event. DoubleAs came in 3rd. That is all I know about the final table.

I must thank the Spaceman for busting out before me in the Blogger event. Although there was a prize for the first one out, I just hate to be last.

There is a little theory that I had an unfair advantage on the Roshambo game since it was a one on one event..lol..hmmm..I did get a chance to test my skills again last night and won $10 from a tall good-looking blogger whose name is totally lost on me (**I was Tommy-see comments). If you read this post, can you tell me your name/link again? He actually pretended to know who I was...lol...then made it worse when he said, "I read your blog, you didn't post today"..I started laughing..and said "actually, I did". We got a nice laugh out of him getting caught in this lie.

Amazingly, there were quite a few people who knew of me and my blog. Apparently, I have quite the reputation for my Heads Up specialty. I still find it amazing that people read my postings...perhaps more so because I don't read blogs..ooops..didn't intend to admit that to everyone..lol...I do read on occassion, but I certainly cannot keep up with many of you who read a number of blogs on a daily basis. I actually have to WORK at WORK. Sad I know..but true.

Iamoff was very sweet and bought me a shot of tequila. He reminded me that he was available if I need any knees broken or something...lol..somehow with all the tequila shots that I had last night..I managed to avoid doing body shots...What was wrong with me?

Miami Don and Chris were chatting at the bar and pointed out that Kid Rock was sitting just a few feet from us. I am a Kid Rock fan for sure. They told me to go say hello cause he is a friendly guy. But I had a problem..not enough alcohol...yes..this may surprise you to know..but I have my moments of shyness..Usually occurring when I am in the presence of someone I admire. So I missed my chance to talk with Kid Rock. Yikes! By the time I did have enough alcholic courage, he was gone.

At about 4 a.m., I finally busted on my first buy-in. I was planning to leave, but somehow I was not satisfied with leaving just yet. So I bought in for another $100. My first hand was AJ off. Someone raised it up to 15 in early position, and then I got one of my "impulses" AGAIN! Push! When Penner called me, I knew I was in trouble. He was playing a solid game wanting to hang on to his chips. How dare him! We turned our cards and I was facing AK...doh! He apologized a couple of times for taking my money. So I busted out on my second buy-in on the first hand.

Before I left the table, the most exciting hand was played. I didn't get to see how it all began. But when I looked, Speaker was all in with the Hammer vs Katkin. Then the flop came giving him an OESD and he started chanting "just one time". And then the miracle card came giving him a straight. Bam! Cheers went up! And we all congratulated him on showing us all exactly how a hammer must be played.

My evening ended about 5 a.m. when I finally got back to my room. Today I will pay the price. This day is reserved for my girls and a trip to the Circus Circus amuzement park. They just love when mom gets on a roller coaster with them. And yes I will be screaming loudly. They will be laughing at how "scared" mom is to go on the ride.

I have met sooooo many wonderful people here I cannot begin to list them all. This event has truly been an experience of a lifetime...many good times..with an incredible group of poker bloggers...