Well Biggie was close, except you can replace "women" with "Legends of Poker $10k WPT @ the Bike" since I have a girlfriend. =)

Since they're playing out the final table right now while I sit at home watching Tommy Boy after a long online session and writing this blog, you can probably tell that it didn't go too well!

I continued my strange streak of having a heavily stacked table on day one of a major event, which is ironic because the later days are usually where you find the toughest tables after most of the soft spots have been eliminated.

My table on day one:

Seat 1: Gavin Griffin

Seat 2: Joe "floes" Serock

Seat 3: Mike "goleafsgoeh" Leah

Seat 4: random #1/random #2

Seat 5: me

Seat 6: Markus "LURPED" Gonsalves

Seat 7: random local/Yosh Nakano

Seat 8: David "not Bakes, the other one" Baker

Seat 9: Josh "SDouble" Schlein

My natural strategy was to lay back a bit since it was day one and it's all about survival ... especially at tables that aren't going to budge.

The few moderately large pots I lost on day one happened when I was constantly bricking straight-flush draws and top pair/nut flush draw types of hands.

A couple of these were against Gonsalves, who was extremely tough to play against out of position against all day. He played very well, and I was definitely impressed with his game.

I grinded it out for most of the day, and was amazed at how my opponents would three-bet whenever I didn't have it and snapfold when I did. That's usually the sign of a tough table. I ended up getting short and got lucky to double A♦ Q♦ through K♣ K♥

Now I don't want to say slowroll karma nailed this guy, but he did ask for a count after I shoved my short stack over his opening raise. He snapcalled as soon as I said the approximate count, but still...thanks poker gods!

Well, at least for trying, that is. The poker gods didn't know that this double up would only keep me afloat long enough to miss the Sunday tournaments.

I finished the day with ~18.5k going to 300/600 (50), which was a good thing except that day two started at 3pm Pacific on Sunday. In other words, after most of the juicy Sunday schedule is over. =(

During the first level of play on day two I ended up with A♠ K♥ early on...uneventfully up against my friend Zach "CrazyZachary" Clark's A♦ K♠. After a few orbits of grinding it out I ended up all in with a flush draw against the big blind's top pair and whiffed it.

Oh well, at least the trip wasn't a total bust. I was feeling too tired to drive to LA the night before the $500 one rebuy PLO, so I just came in and took a trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain before the main event.

The park was run like crap, but they have some good rollercoasters. If fact, they have probably the sickest rollercoaster I've ever been on: X2. It's one of the newest ones in the park.

The best way I can describe it is that they let your seat dangle and spin during the ride for added fear. Good times. Must be experienced.

Back in Vegas now, headed to my home state of Dirty Jersey on the first of the month. Just booked Yanks vs Red Sox on the 25th since I haven't seen the new stadium yet. About to book a flight to London for the next day, and am thinking about planning another cross-country road trip once I'm back from that.

"Just can't wait to get on the road again...the life I love is [playing poker] with my friends...and I just can't wait to get on the road again..."

Matt Stout