I figured out what belongs at number one. I knew it would click, and it did. I was actually listening to another song by this artist while playing poker, crying a little bit even, when I picked up AA and won a nice pot.

Even though this is my personal favorite list, I'm confident there will be zero opposition to my choice at one. Really, I'm glad with how the project turned out, and am looking forward to the future of this blog.

1. Prince, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Dhani Harrison & Steve Winwood Et al; Featuring the music of George Harrison,

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps"

...You know that I care
What happens to you
And I know that you care
For me too

So I
Don't feel alone
Or the weight of the stone
Now that I've found somewhere safe
To bury my bone
And any fool knows that a dog needs a home
A shelter from pigs on the wing...

Hi! Love your musical taste. Very similar here. Hope Vegas is treating you well!

Thanks Mark.

I'm one day from setting up my Desktop and going thermo-nuclear on this blog. Let's call the past week the lost era and never speak of it again.

Vegas is elite compared to back home, omg. I can cover 75% of the strip from my front door. There are options, finally. I'm not putting in quite enough hours at poker but I'm playing every day which implies I'll be fine.

One of the locals hates me, lol. I go in expecting that, half from playing in Detroit, half from being skilled. "It comes with the territory"....fragile players will naturally be overwhelmed by my table presence.

I would like to be more disciplined with food, I'm sure that's a frequent problem around here. I had crab/avocado salad with exotic chips and am shortly heading out for Thai again. Not sure if it's worse for my health or bankroll, lol.

It's 3am and I'm considering going out for Korean BBQ.

The way I have it setup, If I play poker for 5 hours I'll earn $220 in promo money. Overall, many would kill to be in my situation.

I witnessed something incredible today...

My morning poker game has more or less the same faces every day. For privacy concerns, I'm not going to detail their personalities for the most part. Except for one -- a short stacker rumored to be homeless.

Last week he played super tight, seemingly optimal poker. Today he was jamming almost any-two preflop. A guy stacks him, and hands him back two chips. A few all-ins later, a younger player asked JohnDoe if he wanted to take a walk, a visibly shaken John says no. Guy says he has weed...away from the table-- John agrees to quit the game.

One of my friends plays in a game so cold blooded that a man in a wheel chair could not convince anyone at the table to help him with an adjustment. People bring each other food in the game I've been regging. People look after each other and are jovial with their rivalries. I knew Vegas poker was worlds away from Detroit: "You get to play with better humans" I tell people.

Dude earned a "good human" paper plate award in my book.

god i miss city living where you can just do anything at any hour of the day/night

My computer is finally set up. Oddly enough, and despite being in perfect health, I feel no urgency to translate my thoughts into writing.

My room is a mess. My life is not.

I'm living with another 2p2'er who happens to be a wonderful host.

Las Vegas is a great city. Dispensaries are open 24 hours. Strip clubs are next to dispensaries. I haven't seen a pair of tits in the longest time.

Maybe I will be like Howard Beale and survey the town's horde of "relaxation therapists". Surely you're joking if you think I'll be blogging about it.

I wouldn't mind doing a tour bus thing, while jotting down an intricate map of all the happenings. There's a lot of neat stuff to explore, I am sure.

I woke the same
As any other day
Except the voices in my head...

Were saying "Seize The Day"
Pull the Trigger drop the blade
And Watch the rolling heads...

The day I tried to live
I stole a thousand beggar's change
And gave it to the rich
The day I tried to win
I dangled from the power lines
And let the martyrs stretch

The day I tried to win
I wallowed in the blood and mud
With all the other pigs

~ Chris Cornell / Soundgarden

Sid's Cafe @ Westgate

(The following passage is authored by Phil Galfond. I am just a simple fan.)

The Confident Man

The confident man is shaped over a lifetime, beginning at its very inception.

Year after year, layer after layer, his experiences, along with the opinions and accepted truths of those around him, seep into his consciousness, sculpting the thick lenses through which he views the world.

His fears, insecurities, and the biases inherent to the human condition fog these lenses further.

Yet, in the face of all this confusion, the confident man has a remarkable ability to get to the truth, as he believes it to be.

He is bombarded with inputs…

• A video of unverifiable information.
• The assertive written opinion of an intellectual he respects.
• A conversation with his friends.
• 14th-hand facts — originating from a poorly performed research study, grossly misinterpreted in a magazine article, and contorted through a game of social media telephone.

Presented with a daily buffet of information and influence, the confident man is undeterred.

He fearlessly consumes and digests the vast spread and, with astonishing speed, produces a viewpoint of his very own.

This viewpoint emerges compact, tinged by a subset of facts – the most prevalent and palatable ones he’s encountered.

Of course, the confident man shares his freshly formed opinion, and this is where the true magic happens…

With his opinion on record, he no longer has the luxury of curiosity.

Those who challenge his stance force him to defend himself.

He hunts for evidence in support of his truth — the truth — efficiently discarding anything unhelpful to this mission.

Intelligent people validate him; idiots and evil people debate him with laughably flawed arguments.

The sincere bring forth supporting evidence.

The dishonest or misguided share fake news in a futile attempt to prove him wrong.

Some who he previously deemed smart and honest have their true colors revealed.

Unsurprisingly, this process emboldens the confident man.

His thoughts, still in their intellectual infancy, are swiftly encased in amber, preserving their youthful form in a rigid, unchangeable state.

A hardened cog in the very same marketing machine that shaped his own beliefs, his 15th-hand facts and unshakeable views prejudice anyone they come into contact with.

And so it continues.

The certainty.

The polarization.

The disgust.

The hate.

Though the outcome is undoubtedly negative, the confident man means well.

He believes he’s forming and sharing his views thoughtfully. He’s trying, sometimes desperately, to help.

You and I, the observers, can see the truth.

That he, merely a human being, up against a world of powerful yet nearly invisible influence and trickery, cannot see reality as clearly as he believes he’s able.

This is how he and another confident man, born with the same level of intellect and kindness, each grazed by slightly different surroundings, can become so certain of opposing viewpoints that they fail to even comprehend how the other could be so stupid.

Or worse, so evil.

For the confident man, encountering and disagreeing with another is an inevitability, as, unfortunately, he exists as a member of confident mankind.

Billions of people, all inhabiting one planet.

Each and every one of them, merely a human being, up against a world of powerful yet nearly invisible influence and trickery, duped into actually believing their version of reality is authentic.

An entire species of delusionists.

While some manage it better than others, no amount of knowledge can cure them of the reality-distorting genetic condition with which they’ve each been born.

It is inescapable.

To cease forming opinions and beliefs is not an option for the confident man, nor is seeing the world as it truly exists.

There is only one thing he can do.

Only one hope to curb his delusion and the damage it perpetuates:

Be less confident.

I am positive about meeting David Sklansky in Vegas. It will be like a union between positive and negative infinity.

Today's news:

- Ordered a VAMPIRO at El Pastor, effing delicious. I had fasted up until 5pm, it was only $8, and I may be eating one of these a day going forward.

- I have an edge at The Wynn (1/3). I wasn't so sure I did prior to landing in Vegas, I had played there one year ago and felt uncomfortable resistence in-game. But now, for whatever reasons, I know I can beat their games with certainty.

- Predictably got into it with a pathetic reg at a different casino. I stacked him preflop AA > AK which caused him to hate me, bark at me, and now talk **** about me IN FRONT OF ME at the table. A true imbecile, I'm looking forward to verbally destroying him in the coming weeks.

- My poker game is likely at an all-time high. My mental health is also at an all-time high. These two work together. The Bad news: I still don't know how to play every hand in every spot pre-flop, luckily I know what I don't know (Immanuel Kant has nothing on me) and there are resources. Dog Polk's frequent strategy e-mails are excellent for learning how to play hands; I save all of his briefings in a seperate folder and will do a deep dive at some point.

- One of my very best friends is likely in Jail. It's been a week since he's checked his phone, and there is more concurrent evidence that is too private to share. Really, really, really sucks .

- One of my biggest faults/deficits was sharing sensitive information. It appears I have adapted for the better.

- I bought a rectangular prism full of Halls breath mints, thinking they were gum instead I was quite disappointed.

- Vegas rules. I hope to make a few friends in the coming months... given I am not yet tired of playing Poker after 19 years of play, I don't really see myself burning out and turning to hate the town. I've been insulated in areas near my residence; there is SO much stuff to explore I'm actually a tad overwhelmed with thoughts of endless delight.

- There are six books I need to read, and around 15 that I'd like to. I want to learn how to read for 2 hours per day. I even enjoy it! ADD is a mother ****er. (really though, I'm still weak-willed in certain areas, always time for improvement...)

- The healthier I get, the more boring I feel. Not bored - I enjoy the **** out of life - just hardly anything inspiring or worth sharing. Having the crazies + some type of creative talent = endless thoughts of grandeur built into faulty logic. Now I'm more of a chill cat, online and off.

- It's 8:30 PM on a Tuesday in Las Vegas. I am still an absolute nobody, with no credentials, or anything to show. Yet I am secretly on top of the world...this city will know who I am before I'm done with it. That I am sure of.

- I hope to not come off too egocentric or arrogant. In reality I'm none of these so much, I just like using a badass voice to speakerphone my thoughts in writing.


I have no idea what I'm doing tomorrow. Besides stacking chips and building an office chair, tomorrow events remain in flux and undetermined.