Luck Be a Lady
by Luckbox
About half the 90-person field was gone by now. My stack was just below average and I was playing a solid but unspectacular game. Frankly, I haven't been playing all that much, so perhaps the $50 buy-in wasn't the best idea, but these 90-person SNGs aren't the toughest fields in the world.
Dealt A9s in the BB, a rather aggressive player raised 3xBB. I called, hoping for a favorable flop. I'd say the AJ9 flop was favorable. I knew exactly what he'd do, so I just checked. Predictably, he fired out a pot-sized bet. I re-raised all-in and he called shortly after his time clock started counting down.
He showed KQo.
I can't believe I started my first poker post in more than a month with a bad beat story. I just wish the ten had come on the turn, then I'd have been able to re-suck.
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I've been a little distracted recently, for a lot of reasons.
Some of you may have noticed my other blog has been "Under Construction." I'd like to elaborate, but perhaps that's the reason it's on hiatus in the first place. Unfortunately, I have an honest-to-goodness job and sometimes it gets in the way of life.
That's the bad. But I'm The Luckbox, remember. There's always got to be good. And this is real good.
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It's the first time I remembered "The Big Game." Usually, I'd log on and it'd be half over. Tonight, I ponied up the $75 to play (that's right, no little token for me!). 16 other players joined. And they all finished higher than me.
Deep stack events would generally invite slower play. That certainly wasn't the case at our table. I dumped nearly half my stack on hands I really didn't need to play. When my pocket 9s found an 8-high flop, I raised Derek all in. He gladly called with his set of deuces. I didn't even have the heart to ask the dealer for one of my two outs.
I am Gigli.
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Something pretty good happened a few weeks ago. I really need to give credit to a little encouragement from BG. Next time we're in the same place, I owe you a drink.
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Four fantasy football teams and four teams in line for the playoffs. One of them is suddenly in pretty big trouble. And the other may need a miracle.
More than that, my beloved Eagles are done.
Donovan McNabb tore is ACL today. His recovery time is somewhere between 8 to 12 months. That leaves one fantasy team to Michael Vick, another to Charlie Frye and my Eagles to either Jeff Garcia or A.J. Feely.
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"Maybe you should pick a new favorite team," she told me, completely oblivious to the years of toil and torment I've endured since becoming an Eagles fan.
"I can't," I said, laughing, although down 17-6 to the Titans with McNabb sidelined, I really wanted to cry.
"Why not? They're not very good."
We called today our 9th date. Unfortunately, we only get to see each other on weekends, so the last four weekends we've decided are two "dates" a piece. The last few Sundays, I've tried to teach her a little about football. Being from the Houston area, she decided she should be rooting for the Texans. I tried to explain her to the folly of that decision, but I'm an Eagles fan, remember?
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Last week, G-Rob let us all in on a little secret. His third child is on the way. I'm kinda rooting for a boy. I'd like to see how he handles a little G-Rob running around.
A few days later, Otis dropped the kind of post that makes me want to stop writing.
Both of them talked about friends and friendship. The friends I made in G-Vegas are the best I've ever had. It never hurts to remind myself of that. And the friends I've made in our humble little "community" have helped change my life in some of the best ways.
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My life at the poker table is running pretty damn cold right now. My Eagles have taken a turn for the worse dragging my fantasy football future with them. And my job... well...
But life is great right now. As good as I can remember it being in a long time. Thanks for asking.
