UPDATE

I have not had much time for poker lately, with the kids home everyday and with the landscapers knocking on my door every few minutes for judgment calls. I have squeezed in some heads-up play and a few single table tournaments, and I am doing well in these. I have really discovered that I have a talent for heads-up play. I am winning far more of those matches than I am losing, and have found a nice revenue source. I also won a couple $100 single table tournaments, which pays $500. I was particularly happy with one showing, when I should have finished 5th, but kept choosing good spots to go all in with my short stack, and always either stole the blinds or doubled up. I overcame the massive chip leader when I pulled even for heads up play and wore him down until he made a mistake.

I haven't played in a multi-table tourney since the Grand. I haven't been reading, but I've been watching a lot of poker on Tivo. I can't really count celebrity matches, but I am revisiting season three WPT and the Heads-Up Championship. I am also finding old World Series events on ESPN Classic from the pre-hole card camera days. I am very happy with my game right now. When the kids go back to school, I think I might devote a couple of days a week to a cash game to see if I can make a little money. Tournaments don't make money consistantly, just all at once with the occasional final table appearance. I haven't cashed in enough big multi-table events since Monaco to cover my ongoing entry expenses.

Poker Room has extended an invitation for me to sit on a panel in Nice, France this November for a European Internet Gaming conference. I don't have the details yet, but it sounds interesting, and a good way to accrue frequent flyer miles and catch a few movies en route. This morning I got notice that Poker Room was launching a new magazine and has invited me to be profiled in the inaugural issue. I was sent a list of questions to answer and I must come up with a good photo of myself. Answering questions - easy; finding a good photo of myself - time-consuming.

The Poker Room Pro for a Year Tournament is scheduled for September 10. There will be 80 or so of us vying for the winner-take-all prize of becoming a sponsored player for one year on the circuit. We will play down to nine and the final table will be a live event somewhere in the world, possibly Sweden, the corporate home of Poker Room. Second place will not be a happy finish for someone. So much of the final table is luck, I think I might play in a way that if I can make the final table, then it will be with a monster chip stack. I'll take some big risks during the late-middle stages and either bow out or get way ahead.

Next Saturday, there is a bounty tournament in which all the Pro For a Year contestants have a $100 bounty on their heads and any player who knocks off five or more Team PokerRoom players is invited to play in the Pro For a Year event. That should be fun. I have never had a bounty on me before. I imagine I will see a lot of all-in gambles against me, so I will have to make sure I tighten up a bit. Whichever Team member lasts longest in the event makes a thousand dollar bonus.

The yard turned a corner this past weekend, as the new slate was laid in the front. It was good to see deconstruction give way to a bit of construction. The back yard is nearly ready for concrete to be poured. It's going to look Better Homes and Garden out there in about six weeks. Maybe I can post a picture once there is some greenery.