It was the best of times

It was the worst of times. Saturday was both. I was supposed to meet my buddy Chad for some recreational blowing off of steam achieved by the firing of large and small pieces of lead at paper silhouettes. I got over there at 10am when the range opened. Chad called me while I was driving over to let me know he was running late and would be there about 10:15. When I walked into the range building there were people in all the lanes and the lady behind the counter let me know it would be at least 2 hours before we could get a firing lane as they had a class going and the students would be on the range for a good while. So that killed that idea. Chad told me he and his wife would go to the range Sunday instead but I had to go to my nephew's birthday and then take the daughter back to Orlando so that was out for me. We agreed to go sometime this week instead.

So I went home, lost a couple of SNGs and then went to Chick Fil A with the wife and daughter. After we got back, the gals decided they wanted a nap. So I decided to go back by the range myself and see if I could shoot some holes in paper man. I didn't have to wait long before they put me out on a firing lane. Unfortunately I was on the rifle side of the range. This was unfortunate from my point of view because I don't shoot very often and some of those rifles are LOUD. Even with ear protection, the guy firing the big gun next to me made me jump a little every time he started firing. At first my aim was not so good, I was hitting the torso on the silhouette but not that close to where I aimed it. Then I remembered a couple of tips Chad gave me about aiming the .38 and started putting the shots within a small area.

It's amazing how quickly you can go through a box of shells even with a gun that fired only 5 shots before reloading. Before I knew it, I was completely empty but I did have a big smile on my face. Which is how I wanted to feel. I kept the smile most of the rest of the day until I played poker at Derby Lane for the 8pm tourney that night.

Seems my bad luck from Vegas is still hanging over my head like a black cloud. I thought it may have changed when early on I found KK in the small blind. 3 people had called the 50 chip big blind when it came to me and I raised to 250. Amazingly the big blind and the other 3 all called. So with 1250 in the pot the flop comes out K74 with 2 spades. I lead out for about half the pot with 650 expecting at least one caller and maybe all of them to call but surprisingly all of them folded. A little later on I get JJ and get called just by the gal directly to my left. Flop is a nice KJ8. I bet out 2/3 of the pot and she calls me making me wonder if she has a king. Turn is perfect, another 8. I check and she checks behind which makes me wonder what the hell she has now. River is UGLY, another K. Now if she does have a king, I'm screwed. I bet about 1/3 of the pot and she calls and flips over AQ for 2 pair with the Ace kicker. I breathe a sigh of relief with my boat and collect my winnings which is the last winnings I get for the rest of the tourney.

The lady to my left proceeds to go on a major rush where every hand hits her. She is playing 2/3 of the pots, calling raises with any ace, etc. No matter what she has, she wins the hand just about every time. I just keep folding shit hands like 8-4 and waiting. Finally I get QQ in early position. I raise 4x and get 2 callers including the lady to my left. Flop of course has an ace. I raise and she calls so I know she has one. The other guy folds. Turn is a low card and I bet again and she calls again. River pairs the board. I just couldn't bet again knowing she had an ace. So I check and she checks back and I show my QQ while she shows A10. She said she thought I had AK. Didn't stop her from calling though. I wonder if I put in a good bet on the river if she calls. I think so as she called everything else but maybe I take it down if I do. After that the rest of my night went crappy. Eventually I get moved to another table. Bluff preflop only to get called by 2 guys with JJ and QQ. They get into a raising war and I drop out but more chips are gone. Blinds keep going up and eventually I am all in with A9 in late position. Get reraised by the button with QQ. I don't get an ace and it's the walk of shame for me.

I play some 1-1 no limit for a while. Why I don't know since I figure my luck will probably carry over. It does. My draws don't hit, my opponents do. I lose with AJ to 62. I'm getting a bit short and call with A10. Flop is 10-9-2 rainbow. Aggro to my right in a $5 bet in a $6 pot. He pushes a lot so I don't put him on anything more than a 9 or 10 with not much behind it. So I push in for my last 22 bucks. Old dude to my left agonizes for awhile and finally pushes all in for $23 and the Aggro guy calls us both. Turn is a 3 river is a 7 and I lose to the old guy who had J8 for an open ended straight draw that of course hit the river. Screwed again. Calls an all in with just that. Shocking he hit. NOT

I rebuy some and keep losing. Finally i'm short again and call with 45 of hearts. Flop is Q-10-4 with one heart. One guy bets, the other calls and I call with my low pair. Turn is the 8 of hearts and I am in business for a possible suckout. Guy one jams, guy two thinks for a while and calls and there is just too much money in the pot for me not to call for the last of my chips. River is a black K which makes guy 2 happy with his open ended straight draw. Jammer had AQ for TPTK and my flush draw falls by the wayside. The only time my draws hit it seems is when they're second best. I called it quits then and hoped the next day would bring a better turn to my luck.

Sunday I went to my nephews birthday brunch in the morning and had a good time talking eating and conversing with my wifes relatives. We had to leave too soon as we had to take the college girl back to school. I remember when I went to school, 1800 miles from home, and I went home at the end of each semester only. She is home every other week it seems. I know my wife misses her and my girl misses all the relatives and the goings on here at home but my word, I thought you went to college to get away from the home and live a bit on your own. I gotta talk to the wife about this as I don't think she gets it. Then again, maybe I'm not the one who gets it.

Drive to Orlando and back was tiring as I haven't been sleeping well lately. The time change didn't help, I would have loved to sleep in but the familial obligation meant I was up before I wanted to be. After we got back we settled in and I decided to play the Donkament that night. That turned out to be a mistake. It was a multientry tourney which I don't care for but I signed up for two entries. Entry number one went down in flames early as Miami Luckbox err Don tried to steal a pot. I raised in mid position with 66 and he called from the big blind. Flop was Q-3-2 with 2 diamonds. I bet 3/4 of the pot and he put in a substantial raise. I thought for a while and put him on a draw so I pushed all in over the top. He called with AK of diamonds which rivered a king to beat me down. So my first entry went down 71 out of 72.

My other entry did better until I called a raise with 77 in late position. We saw a flop of 10-7-6 with 2 spades. I bet and was raised. I didn't put him on 8-9 and figured he probably had a big pair or maybe AK or AQ of spades. So I pushed in only to find my worst fear, 10-10 and I lose in a set over set confrontation. That hurt but was unavoidable. The other one hurt a lot more. Either way, my vegas luck continued. I don't think I should play poker for a while and maybe my luck will sort it self out. I know this stuff runs in cycles but damn, this cycle is getting old. Especially watching all of the flush and straight draws hit against me. And the only time my pairs make sets is when they are either beat or about to be beaten. And yet I can't complain, I got my family, I got most of my health, and I'm not completely insane (yet), what more can I want? So if you see me around on tables, take pity on me, fold a draw or 2. Or take advantage and know you'll hit your draw. Till then stay lucky you nuts.