This is a song about a fish! And fish are bad! Baaaaaaad!

Yesterday Amy returned to Los Angeles. We had a really good time and it was nice to take a break. We went on a short hike in the Red Rock area, and I was impressed with her determination to finish in the face of some very cold head-on winds. I kept trying to give her an excuse to turn back, because I wouldn't have minded it myself, but she wouldn't take the bait. Also, I must second her endorsement of Big Elvis. The highlight of the show had to be his stirring rendition of "My Way". The irony of this man, who makes his living by impersonating someone else, singing a classic about succeeding on your own terms was laugh-out-loud funny.

My cousin Heather and two of her friends, Nikki and Sara, arrived yesterday. Heather originally told me she would be accompanied by only one friend, but it seems she figured since everyone else in this city is taking advantage of me, she could do the same. Actually, they're all three very charming young ladies. This morning, as we all were sprawled around the living room, I asked "So which one of you is going to cook me breakfast?". This led to an initial offering of toast, which I upgraded to French, and within a few minutes two of them went shopping for ingredients. So life is good, very good. Everyone else who's coming to visit, please take note. Last night the girls went with Joe and Eileen K., two friends from L.A., to a hopping club in the Venetian and said it was a good time (thanks to Eileen for getting them in!).

Also, congrats to Chuy for hitting Amy's Dead Elvis thing on the head. For once I knew how it felt to look at the quote and go "What the....?" There is pretty much only one person in the world that would be able to get today's quote, and that person is my old college roomie. However, for today and today only, the "No Internet Searches" rule is lifted, so feel free to use the power of Google.

Edit: credit also to Jeff Lester for "Mark Snow" of X-files music fame. Jeff's racking 'em up!

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I went back, as any moth to a flame, to the Bellagio last night. I played a very tight and very patient game. It is interesting to see how tables evolve over the course of an evening. Right around 2100, I guessed that the table I was sitting at probably had the lowest combined IQ of any $2-$5 table I've been at. I'm not just saying that because of the play, which was also very bad. I don't automatically assume someone isn't bright if they play poorly. It was just an impression about the people behind the play. Anyway, it suited me fine, because I've kind of retreated back into my shell as far as my game goes - much less betting, much more waiting for good hands.

However, I still had to play on occasion. A bad run of cards in the first few hours of the evening gave way to a slew of nice pocket pairs. However, it would not be a Nutcracker blog without my nuts getting cracked. Somehow, somewhere, I must have really pissed an important someone off. The final hand of the night was - do I really need to spell it out? - AA. Once again I raise as I should, once again I get called, and once again I get cracked. Pocket 2s on a K52 flop. I would be really, really curious to know what my win percentage is with overpairs on this trip. Last night was another $400 down the proverbial drain. Goodbye, $400, goodbye!!! I'll miss you.

HAND OF THE DAY:
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Despite playing a very tight game last evening, there were a couple of times when I felt I had to actually play poker. One of those cases involved my 77 in second-to-last position. The UTG player, who I will describe more later, raised to $15. He got two callers in front of me, and I also called, hoping to hit a set. The button called, and both blind called, so now we have 7-player pot with more than $100 in it.

Flop: 952 - two of these are diamonds.

Side note: I may have to amend my "life is good comment" re French toast; the fire alarm is going off.

Back to poker: the small blind bets out, $20. This is a weak, weak bet into a $100+ pot. The big blind folds, the UTG player calls, CALLS mind you, and the two players after him call as well. Based on previous play and several other intangibles, I have characterized UTG and his two companions as the Bermuda Triangle of poker intelligence, with UTG being the base of said triangle. Now it's up to me. I have one player behind me, and I am fairly certain of at least one, and probably both, of the following:

1. I have the best hand
2. Everyone will fold to significant pressure.

So I raise to $80. Imagine my suprise when the button player raises all in with like another $15. I have no idea what he could have - my mind immediately goes to trips. But obviously, with the size of the pot being now well over $300, I'm calling the raise no matter what.

As predicted, the small blind folds, and this is where the hand gets interesting. UTG calls! I was not surprised by this at all - I'd seen this guy call large post-flop and post-turn bets with only overcards to the board on several previous hands. So, I was actually glad the guy had called. I still had $120 in my stack and knew the guy would call any turn bet. I figured there was a good chance I was behind the button all-in raiser and thought I could at least break even by doubling up my $120 through UTG. So on the turn, a J, UTG checked, I went all in, and got called.

I was absolutely flabbergasted when the guy turned over AA. I mean, he couldn't have played that hand worse if he had tried. A $15 raise pre-flop? A $20 post-flop flat call into a $125 pot with a diamond draw and five people in the pot with you? A flat-call of a raise to $80 and a subsequent all-in? It was absurd! It turns out the button all-in raiser was on a diamond draw with AQ and did not hit, so this guy ended up taking down a huge pot.

Looking back on that hand, I am convinced I played it well. Based on past hands, the betting, and my position, I believe that in a normally-played game I either would have won that hand outright, gotten my money in with a 55% chance of beating the overcard/flush draw, or been bet out of it by appropriate play from the UTG player. I don't think anyone in the world could have put that guy on aces. He basically won that hand in spite of himself.

For the trip, I am now back down to either -$1300 or -$1500. I am not certain because I'm not sure where my slip is from Monday.

The verdict on breakfast is in - excellent. French toast, sausage links, scrambled eggs, strawberries, and bananas. Life is indeed good. Eat well, everyone.