The infuriating part is when they donk it off to other people. In one session the table fish would flop a pair versus my flopped flush, get it all in, then magically runner-runner a boat. Multiple times.

Then lose it all to someone else.

400 is a sexy number. You'll get it back soon. Are you playing at the Orleans at all yet?

Next time you want to give a fish $500 just come over to my place and I’ll give you a $200 rebate - so you’ll come out better

We have to know that we're not entitled to the fish's money, otherwise there would be no fish left. Sometimes we have to take our turn and get on the donating end. The important thing is to be pleasant and to avoid getting into a snit about it.

I've been to the Orleans twice recently and both times I was put on the bottom end of a huge list--like the entire first page was full, and they didn't show a second page. They didn't appear to have the staff to open up another table, so I left both times after waiting for 40 minutes and failing to pop up on the first page.

At those prices, I can't afford to not stop by.

I'm shaving my beard. 8 months of growth has it somewhere between late-period Jerry Garcia and Karl Marx. Not bad, but it's getting too hot out. Long streaks of triple digit heat are right around the corner.

KARL ****ING MARX

Still waiting for pics!

Need pics of epic beard ITT, hornet guess we may be to late.

Sorry guys, but there's nothing photogenic about a middle-aged man's grey and--in spite of my best efforts--unkempt-looking beard. Take a Brillo™ pad, rince the purple crap out of it, then pull it apart a little, and you'll get the picture.

When was the last time you grinded in great games only? The Flamingo/Harrahs games are on average the worst games in Vegas. The "freeroll" equity won't make up for the lower win rates. Plus you feel trapped having to put in hours in horrible games to qualify for the "freeroll" hoping to cash just to recoup the lost money.

IMO, the most important thing is game quality. Promos are a distant second. Plus your skill level comes into play more in great games since the quality of play varies greatly aka people giving away money playing like whales. Even the bad players at Flamingo/Harrahs aren't going to be giving it away. They will be marginal losers to break even at best. Don't use the "Well I know their game well and can outplay them or make sick hero folds." excuse. That's not where the money is.

You make some good points, URMeowed. Right now, the Red Rock $2/$5 game is just a little bit too big for my bankroll. I will need some rungood before I can return to it. Going down a bit, I think the Orleans has a good $1/$3 game, but the last few times I've been out there, the waiting list has been unbearably long. As for the Wynn and Aria $1/$3 games, I haven't loved what I've seen there. It could be my small sample size--I've sat at around 12 different tables combined at the two rooms--but I've yet to sit down at a good table in either place.

In comparison I find decent tables more than 50% of the time at Flamingo and Bally's (I don't play Harrahs any more.) Also, having gotten to know the regs in these places, I find that not more than 1 in 8 of them is particularly hard to play against. And there are still enough fish to go around.

Finally, I have a realistic shot at getting Diamond status on my Caesars card. If I can make the 25000 tier-point "super Diamond" spot, that means free food and drinks for me every day at any Caesars Property Diamond Lounge.

I twisted my ankle pretty badly last night while on the sidewalk from Bally's to Ellis Island. Yes, alcohol was involved, at least tangentially, although I've always been clumsy enough to slip up when on my own and completely sober.

All right, so the provision for not drinking during the work week didn't last for very long. Still, I don't like or condone drinking during a playing session. It fosters emotional play, and I've been trying to eliminate that as a part of my mindset work. My compromise has been to wait until only 20-30 minutes are left in the session, and then to order one shot followed by a second and last shot.

I didn't know the true extent of the damage until this morning. Once I twisted the ankle, I had about a half mile of walking to do to get back home. The ankle hurt, but I could put my weight on it last night--and I think that this is a survival mechanism, at least tens of thousands of years old, that kicks in when you injure yourself.

Having say, gone out with a pack of your fellow hunters and gatherers, you twist your ankle on a root, but you can still get yourself home with the group, thanks to a natural shot of adrenaline and powerful endorphins. The people who couldn't get themselves home with the group were more likely to be picked off by some other apex predator, and thus less likely to pass their genes on to the next generation.

The upshot is that it's bad today I can't put any weight on it, and I'm not going to qualify for the Bally's freeroll. I did qualify for the Flamingo freeroll running tomorrow, but registration for that didn't start until today. If I don't get there until tomorrow morning, I'll have to register late, and I will be an alternate, which means that I'll likely not be able to join the tournament until the starting stack is around 7-10 bbs.

My landlord is finding me some crutches, so I'll see how well I can toddle around on those, and I might head to the Flamingo today if I can get around well enough.

Flamingo: 6 hours:
+$274

I’d get a $20 sleeve/brace from CVS/Walgreens to get compression and give support when walking. If it’s bad enough for crutches after 1-2 days then it’s bad enough to be examined.

Otherwise keep ice on it at home and keep it elevated. I’ve experienced myriad of ankle issues from playing HS and College sports.

The good news is you liked only sprained it and in 2-6 weeks it should be better depending on severity. The bad news is that you are middle age and even a misstep like that could have made a small fracture in a non-weight barring bone like the fibula. Keep and eye on swelling and look for sharp jarring pain followed by deep throbbing when touched or used. That is a sign of a fracture if the swelling doesn’t start to decrease in a day or so, especially if it increases. If it doesn’t hurt like that it’s probably just a nasty sprain.

Hope u heal up soon mr justice. I'm bout 20 pages behind but saw the last couple of posts.

Good advice, Nat. Thank you! The ankle is better today and I don't feel any hotspots where there would be a fracture. I'm going to skip the freeroll today; though the thought of missing nearly free EV bothers me, I don't want to risk re-injuring the still-delicate ankle over the course of a mile or so of hobbling. A medical bill at this point would be a bigger beat than missing out on a freeroll.

I'm aware that I could grab an Uber, but I'd prefer to keep that sort of thing off my phone--knowing that it would become too tempting to start using it instead of the bus under normal circumstances, which would result in my expenses creeping up.

Thanks Colin! I'm on the mend.

Maybe the beard was your rudder!

I didn't shave it yet. I'm on the fence about getting it trimmed (but still long) at the barber's, or just shaving it off. My last haircut/beard trim added up to $50 after tip. She did a great job but...damn, that's a little steep. I think that I will leave it up to the luck of the next freeroll: indulge in a trim if I cash; shave it off if not.

All right, I'm back on my feet. The plan is to hit the Flamingo today, tomorrow and Thursday to garner enough hours for their Friday freeroll.

I thought it was already gone! $50 seems expensive. Can't do it yourself?

Good to see you're back on your feet.

Thanks fid! I've made various attempts in the past to keep trim, having optimistically bought a half dozen trimmer sets over the years. And I've used every one of them to accidentally blaze a clear stripe straight across my cheek every time. I have essentially the opposite of a surgeon's hands.

SLAG OMC is here today, thankfully at another table. He nodded at me, and I am honored. I notice, though, that he is drinking tea. SLAG OMT doesn't have the same ring to it.

Could SLAG OMT be DGAF?

SLAG OMC could have been Trooper. But his game is better and his drink range is properly balanced

I haven't seen Trooper's game yet, but it would have to be damn good to match SLAG OMC's. Dude's in his eighties, and he's living proof that it's never too late to learn something new in your game, assuming that he wasn't the original SLAG and the one who taught Stuey how to play 40 years ago.

Once you're that old, there's no longer a need to GAF. It's time to take a victory lap and carve some ****ing donuts into the infield.

Yesterday I sat down and took some beats for the first hour until a German tourist on my left turned to me and said, "I think that you are a very good player, but you don't do so good here."

It was a good day in terms of keeping a good mindset and executing my game effectively--and now I'm starting to sound like I'm playing for Bill Belichick--but I'm okay with that.

Flamingo: 6 hours:
($-132)

German tourists are known to be wells of wisdom!