I find I am so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head.
I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the
start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain.

Red, Shawshank Redemption

That quote could apply to a lot of us: Iggy who left his job to pursue a living in the tawdry world of poker, Grubby who just left his job to pursue... well, something other than his job, various other bloggers who seek to bump up their bankrolls by dipping their toes in the realms of higher and higher limits.

My sorry little SnG venture looks all the more sad when compared to those of you who are talking about five figure bankrolls and playing no-limit tables for hundreds of dollars at a time. I'm sure you all chuckle at the low-limit bloggers who stress over the piddly $10 or $20 we might drop in a SnG or the .50/1 tables. Hey, I play for $10-30 at a time, less than my hourly wage at work. And it seems like a big deal to me. Just because I'm not worried about paying bills because someone with QJ rivered a straight against me, doesn't mean the bad beats don't bother me. Sometimes I envy you guys your chutzpah... your daring... your cojones. I could never play under the pressure you must feel.

In lighter news, I played a quick 6-seater at UB. Ended up head-to-head against Donkeypuncher (aka Jeff the Asshole) for the money. Sure, it was just a $5 tournament with $21 for 1st and $9 for 2nd, but dammit, this was HUGE! I started out with a huge chip lead (like 8-1), let him double up multiple times on some weak calls, and actually got down 10-1 on chips. I was having freakin' flashbacks to the WPBT when I made the first comeback on MtDew. I managed to survive some all-in bets by outkicking Jeff a couple of times and fought back to even. I ended up busting him on... hell, I don't even remember.... all I know is that I WON and HE LOST! It made my week.

He was lucky I busted out all of the other players to basically carry his sorry ass to the final showdown anyway. I took a big chip lead with 5 players by smacking the chip leader with QQ vs. AJ on a Jxx flop. The chip leader before me...? Jeff. Then I proceeded to bust out the other three players while he rode in my wake. Busted one guy with KK vs. AQ, another with AA vs. AQ while Jeff kept folding his blinds trying to limp into the money like an emasculated eunuch.

Come and watch the carnage tomorrow. Starts in about 9 1/2 hours. See ya there.