THE WEEK THAT WAS

The kids were granted their freedom last Thursday at 12:30 PST. The real fun doesn't begin until July 9th when the E Head family comes to visit with cousins in tow. Until then, we are just enjoying the time off with a special emphasis on cleaning/organizing the house in anticipation of fillng our guest quarters. Cadence had a sleepover scheduled for Friday and another for Saturday. I had to drag Mason to the lab on Friday to make him give blood, very much against his will, as requested by his cardiologist. Cadence also had her initial visit with the orthodontist whom will be a part of her life for the next several years.

Saturday night, we went to the Dodgers/Pirates game. We had great seats behind the Bucs' on-deck circle about 24 rows back. Uncle Steve took the place of Cadence, who was at a sleepover birthday bash. Mason was kind of bored since he was the only kid, so we left after the eighth inning like true Angelenos. It was not much of a memorable game, other than it was the first time I ever saw a kid named Matt Kemp play. I knew the Dodgers had some rookies playing well, but I haven't been keeping up on the specifics. I was really impressed with Kemp. He's tall and lean and he just looks like an athlete. He hit the ball really hard, resulting in two doubles, and he made an incredible over the shoulder Maysesque catch in CF. He also scored from second on a broken bat squibber to shallow left. I looked him up when I got home and was amazed to find that he is only 21 years old. This kid looks like a winner. There's still time for him to earn enough playing time to vie for Rookie of the Year honors. And if Aaron Sele and company can throw shutouts, then I don't see why the Dodgers can't win that weak division.

Sunday was poker day for me. I played the Big Deal but busted out in my usual fashion. We were down in the top 30% range and grinding our way to the money. I got bored and pushed all in from the button with KT, looking for a blind steal. I got called first by AQ then QQ. Hmmm, that move just worked for somebody else who got fold/fold as a result. For me, I only do it into monster hands. I still had a king to hit a monster pot, but I came in third on that hand and I was out rather suddenly.

I played the $100 Grand Prix under my Full Contact Poker account and donked around for awhile before building a stack and vying for a payday. My final hand went something like this: I had just won like three hands in a row with good cards holding up and my stack grew to $9k. Then I got QQ in second position and raised 3x. The next guy called, so I figured him for some kind of mid-pair. The flop came JTx. I had an overpair, but I was still worried since I didn't figure him for AJ. I made a healthy 2/3 pot bet and he cold called. I was pretty sure I was looking at a set of jacks or tens and I was glad I made a big bet out of the gate so that I got the information I needed.

The turn was a 9, giving me the open-ended straight draw. Now, I had a shot at winning no matter what he had already. I checked and he bet half my remaining stack. I should have called to see the river, but for some mysterious reason, I went all-in, as if there was a chance he might fold. He didn't, and I missed the river and was eliminated by his tens. If that 9 doesn't come, then I would like to think I check/fold the turn. You have to able to get away from big hands at this stage of the game. That niner put stars in my eyes and blinded me to the fact I was taking far the worst of it if he had what I surmised he had, which he did. I hate when my stack gets decimated, so I will sometimes stupidly attack when I should retreat. If I had just called the turn, I could have check/folded the river and survived with a few thousand to fight on.

I lasted about to the midway point in the Full Tilt $200. I don't recall the hand that did me in, but I'm sure it was unjust. And with that exit, I officially went into the red for the month so far as tourneys go, which is tremendously disappointing, considering I had a $5k cushion after the first week. I have been winning in the cash games to keep me afloat, but I need a redesign of my tourney strategy that can get me deep in the Sunday events consistantly, since that is where they keep the real money.