Back at it. Kinda.

I pretty much gave up poker for the last 4 months to play video games and gain several pounds around my mid section. I considered not playing ever again but then I sobered up and figured I should give it another go round.

The only problem... I'm broke. Bankroll is nonexistent and I can't really pin point the exact reason for my financial failures but I sure it has to do with the fact I don't have the ability to balance a check book. Never mind that I don't have a job and no prospects of any sorts. So any of the WSOP tournies are out of the question so this summer. Looks like I'll playing at the Nugget this year.

There's several PLO8 tournaments spread between the various casino this summer and my goal to play as many of those as I can. I can probably find someone to buy my action in the WSOP $1500 and $5000 PLO8 events but I won't worry about those quite yet.

I'll also probably play some cash games, and a few Venetian tournaments along the way.

Soooo... Prepare for a summer full of fail!

In other news:

I was on Jon Friedberg's Under the Gun show that hosted by Card Player. Gavin Smith is also a guest and we talk about how bad our softball team is and some other shit that I have really right discussing in public.

Check out Under the Gun: Softball and Sponsorship Deals

And just a couple of days ago, I was on again, this time with Jeff Madsen and Joe Tehan as we played the Savage Invitational Golf Tournament in Temecula. (godamnit I look fat)

15th Annual Savage Golf Tournament

I shot like a cripple over the 3 days so I won't go through the pain of listening to me bitch about missing a put, drive, and or chip. I shot on average, 110 over the 3 days. So I'll just do a photo easy with some funny captions.

Day 1: Cross Creek Golf Course

1 good golfer and 3 morans.. Tehan is the good one btw.


Friedberg decides to pee next to the restrooms.


My closest to the pin for the bad players. Also got a skin this day but I don't know what hole.


After finishing the first day, I decided to celebrate with some poison oak in the eye.

Day 2: Red Hawk Golf Course


Day 2 sucked ass so this is only picture of the day. I wore pink. Nuff said.

Day 3: Journey at Pechanga


Lots of gambling going on today. Probably the funnest round of golf I've played.


Teh Ghey


Another closest to the pin for the bad players. Got half a skin here too


The 6th hole. Amazing.


Madsen looking for his ball on the 6th hole.


Friedberg showing off for Tehan's gf Lisa


Madsen's water shot. Took two tries.


My biggest golf win evar! $640.


And finally... Pechanga, WTF?

JDN

WSOP $1500 PLO 8

I think I broke my finger last night playing trivia with Gavin. Don't ask how. It's a long story.

Amazon Room (yay first time in here!). Orange table 72 seat 9.

1500 starting chips with two rebuy chips. 1 hour levels.

Table draw:

Seat 1: Jacobo Frenandez AKA The Human Rain Delay
Seat 2: RAG
Seat 3: Perry Friedman
Seat 4: ROWG
Seat 5: My arch nemesis from the Hollywood Park days, Mickey "Mouse" Mills
Seat 6: Mike "Salt of the Earth" Gracz
Seat 7: ROWG
Seat 8: Random Euro
Seat 9: JDN

This table needs more Euros and less ROWGs.

This is gonna be a long day...

I sit down and double up to 3000 pretty quick in a drawing hand vs Jacobo when I hit my wrap for a straight against what had to be a set. Sweet!

Near the end of the 2nd level it's big pot time. 4 way all in with Jacobo, Perry, a ROWG and myself.

I had the nut low draw that couldn't be counterfitted vs Perry's full house vs Jacobo's trips and nut low draw vs the ROWG's top pair. I whiffed.

I use my rebuy chips and I have 3000 at 1st break.

We get back from break and have pause for the bracelet cerimony. Lame.

Jason Potter sits down in seat 2 and Joe Tehan takes seat 4.

A couple of hands in, Joe Tehan doesn't quite pot it from middle position and its folded to me. I have Ac 8c As Qs. I pot it to 1350.

Joe calls half his stack off as the flop comes 5d 6c 9d. I move in for 2000 and Joe quickly calls the all in.

I open my hand and Joe says, "Pretty good flop for my hand..."

Oh Jesus. Joe shows Ad 4d 7h Jh. What? Wait! Did Joe Tehan really just call off half his stack preflop with that?

Oh My Gawd.

The turn is a 3h and I'm drawing dead. Well played Mr Tehan.

I'm down to 450.

A few hands later I get it all in with K K T 9. Joe calls from the big blind as the does the original raiser in seat 7.

The board runs out 3 J T 9 K. Don't you worry, Tehan shows the ole 2 8 Q J for the 2nd nut straight. The old guy shows A A 2 T.

The best part of the hand was that Joe talked the guy out of betting on the flop because there was no side pot.

Nice.

Normally I like Joe Tehan, but today is he's a fuck wit. Sorry Joe, you just earned the title and you really deserve it.

JDN

The Savage Invitational Golf Tournament

This is pretty much going to be a photo essay. Not to mention this happened about two weeks ago and I'm too lazy to write this up in a timely fashion.

For road trips I need fuel. Chipotle seems to do the trick and the burritos fit perfectly in the cup holders.



The night before the first round we meet at the Eureka Casino to get our tee times and gift bags.

George Karl is a little red and Matt Savage is very happy to hand out gifts.

Savage decided to be patriotic with the grab bags

After dinner Gracz, Katkin and I jump into a 2/8 spread limit game and Gracz announces that he is the world's greatest 2/8 player.

As Joe Tehan joins the game, Gracz asks if anyone will go skinny dipping with him at the hotel pool. The table is suspiciously silent.

I bust out of the game when I flop trip 6s vs a full house. Tehan folds the gut shot straight flush draw after the guy with the full house tells him he has a full house. The straight flush gets there. I hope Tehan is better at golf than poker.

Day 1

Hole 1

Oh boy. This is gonna be a long day.

I get bets down with Katkin, Gracz, Melissa Hayden, and Matt Savage. I'm playing them all straight up, $25 on the front 9, $25 on the back 9, $25 on the overall, and $5 a putt.

It's about 105 out too. Starting to sweat already.

Our group consists of Joe Tehan, Paul Taylor, Jon Katkin, and myself. I'm probably the worst golfer among us.

Hole 4:



On the 4th I hit my 4 hybrid over the mountain range and land a few feet off the green. My chip hits the pin and I birdie the hole with a 4 foot put. Sometimes I play good.

Front 9 totals:
Katkin - 52
JDN - 48

Hole 13:

This is my tee shot on 13. That's how I roll.

I shoot a 9 on 13. Did I mention we're hitting from the red tees today? Only 4000 yards and I struggling to break 100. So poor.

Day 1 totals:
Katkin - 100
JDN - 98

Back at the club house I find out that Savage beat me by 18 strokes, Gracz shot the lights out on the front 9 and destroyed me on the overall, and Hayden beat me in putts. Maybe I should quit golf, but I did win a $90 skin for my birdie on 4. I think that was split 3 ways. That damn chip should have been in the damn cup.

We play a bounty poker tournament that night and I make the final table along with Paul Taylor and Melissa Hayden. I finish 7th and collect nothing for my efforts save one bounty.

Day 2

I get bets down with Katkin and Gracz. Same bets and we're playing the blues today. It's 6500 yards from the blues. I'm going to be sore tonight.

In today's group its me and Katkin with a couple of old ladies named Matt and Andy. Matt won this tournament last year as a 14 handicap.

I've had to hit this shot on hole 1 two days in a row, blind shot to the pin, over the mountain. Who chose this course?

6th Hole

Front 9 scores:
Katkin - 57
JDN - 59

We are so bad.

Hole 11:



Hole 11 is a par 3 and it drops down about 200 feet from the tee. I step up with a 6 iron and hit my shot. Looks good. It drops about 20 yards to the right of the green, takes a great bounce and rolls onto the green. Sweet! Then it keeps rolling. Rolling to about 6 feet in front of the pin. That's closest to the pin! Yeah boy!

Katkin's tee shot lands 3 feet in front of the green on the fringe. Then he chips it in with his fake "chipper" club for a birdie. I miss my 6 footer and my chance for a skin. Damn it!

Katkin is a cheater.

12th hole

17th hole. I hate this hole and it knows it. I almost get hit in the back of the head with a ball from a tee shot from 16. Fuck this hole. Not to mention the lowest score I get on it in 3 days is a 9.

Day 2 totals:
Katkin - 122
JDN - 117

That is so bad. So so bad. We should quit.

I hit up the casino bar to watch hockey and play video poker.

ship it!

The Pens win and I in turn, win $50 from Gracz who loves the Hurricanes. There should be no hockey in the Carolinas. Its just wrong.

Day 3

On day 3 I get stuck with Matt Savage, Mike Gracz, and Paul Taylor. This should be a train wreck. I wish Joy Miller was here to be my caddie. Someone would def go to the hospital.

The bets get down and we're off. Me and Savage vs Paul and Gracz, straight up. I take no part of that bet because, well because, I suck and Gracz sucks just a little bit less than me.

On 6 I grab a Heineken before I tee off. It seems to work as I absolutely crush my shot. It clears the creek and ends up about 75 yards from the pin. That's a 330 yard drive. Thank you very much. Too bad I hit the second shot fat and end up with a bogey on the hole.

Hole 7

Gracz leeves his 2nd shot short and we all watch him stand on the edge of a painful death to make his shot.

fall motherfucker fall!

Hole 8

Savage puts his tee shot in the front of the par 3 green and into the creek. Paul and I put ours in the creek too but opt to chip up from the drop zone.

Savage scours the creek for his ball and soon the shoes come off.

His first shot goes no where, but the second gets out of the water and showers Matt in mud.

It takes us at least 20 minutes to play this hole. Thank you Savage for not dropping and making us stand in the sun for 15 minutes that we didn't need too.

I'm playing so bad.


Front 9 totals:
Grazc - 49
JDN - 52
Paul - 40
Savage - 47

On hole 14, Gracz announces that his alter ego, the Hulk is back. He doesn't break a club but he comes close after blowing up on a couple of holes in a row. I like this version of Mr Gracz.

Hole 14. An amazing hole, that amazingly, I played well all three days.

I shoot a 10 on 17 again. I hate that hole.

On 18 Paul 3 puts and gives Matt and I the win. Yay! Too bad I didn't have any action on it.

Day 3 overall:
Gracz - 100
JDN - 113
Paul - 83
Savage - 89

I don't know how we won but Savage said we did so I'll believe him. I remind myself not believe him the next time we play heads up. You gotta keep an eye on him at all times.

I bounce out pretty quickly to get back to Vegas and the opening of Santana at the Hard Rock. Had fun but its too damn hot in Mesquite in June to play 3 days of golf. Specially since I suck so bad.

WSOP coming up!

JDN