This is going to be sloppy and horribly written because I dont feel like focusing on it.  I have been in vegas for about 1 week now and have just done the normal stuff.  Our house is very nice but we are already getting hassled by the landlord for apperntly made up things.  I swear these landlords just make stuff up early to scare the tenets because we are young and naive.  Its very annoying.  He comes over to the house every other day without notice, which is just inexcusable.  The house has really been grinding the live tournaments hard with not very much luck, but one of my roomates ben, who i just met this summer, is at the final table of the 5k nl.  I have been playing a little on and off and doing pretty well other than one bad session when i was talking a shot.  Looking forward to a few big live events and hope things can go well.  The lakers game was an amazing experiance.

Im leaving in like 10 hours and I just get buried online in super soft games the day I leave.  What a great start to my trip

So yesterday I did absolutely nothing. Got oil changed, layed outside, did laundry, etc. The games are super dead cause everyone is grinding the live WSOP events. I also don’t really wanna play that much prior to going to vegas so I’m ready to put in hours when I get there. My buddie has been playing a bunch of multi table sit and goes and they look like fun so I thought i would give it a try. I sit down and play 6 sngs: 3 $60 45-man sngs, 2 $60 18-man sngs, and one $200 18-man sng. I proceed to run hotter than I ever have in any form of poker and go 1st, 1st, 2nd in the 45 mans, and I win the $200 18-man LOL. Here is a picture of my graph…..

Username Games  Av. Profit Av. Stake Av. ROI Total Profit Form
Reddog133 100      $48            $85           53%        $4,848        Hot

I am a SNG grinder… I should start a training website so I can show people how well I can push/fold!

I am just itching to get out to Vegas. Emily is a dental hygienist and has 3 patients on Friday, which sucks because she had none scheduled early in the week. I suppose I could have just left on Tuesday or Wednesday, but I really hate to drive and it will be nice little trip for us.

Tonight the NBA finals start with the Lakers playing the Celtics. I am now a Kobe fan after all these years so I am def. pulling for the Lakers to win. Hopefully I win some tournament in Vegas and then I go home for two weeks and golf every single day. If I cash for over 200k I can easily see myself taking 2-3 weeks off of not playing one day. The chance of this happening are like 0 % though, so I likely won’t be changing my day to day activities lol.

BIG EDIT: Mr. Brandon Schaefer has just found a steal of a deal and got a suite at the Lakers v Celts game 3 and we are all going!

I don’t even know where to begin with my trip home, so I suppose I will start with talking about the weather just like everyone else does. Flying into Sioux Falls, Emily and I were miserable because it was overcast, rainy, and cold. I thought to myself what a great weekend this is going to be with no golf or outdoor activities. Well I got home and went out and watched my dad golf for about 10 holes, and the rain wasn’t even that bad. After that we met up with some friends down at the IceHouse. The Icehouse is a dock down along the Missouri River where everyone sits outside, drinks, and listens to music from the nearby vehicles. Nick and Joel came up from Omaha and met us there. We moved onto Charlie;s Pizza and all ate with my parents.

Next day I golfed like 30 holes with my friend Brady. The course is in amazing shape but with so much water the greens are too slow for my liking. Brady had 79 I shot 81. Its really sad that 4 years ago I would rarely ever shoot over 77 and now I can’t really sniff a 75. Improving my golf game is going to be a big goal of mine as I get older. A pretty decent group of friends was in town, so we all met up and went downtown and it ended up being a long night of fun with us being out till 5:30 am lol!

We all wake up the next day at 10:00 am and make it out to the course there is a group of 10 of us or so. I was pretty miserable and it showed as I shot 85. No one played good that day. We took naps the rest of the day and just hung out at my parents house. I slept for like 11 hours that night and it felt great.

Sunday morning Nick, Joel, my mom, and I went to church and then to brunch. After we all just felt like sitting around, but 3 or 4 buddies showed up and wanted to play some outdoor games. We all met up at my friends and played polish horseshoes and basketball outside for like 6 hours. My skills lacked there too as I never really won anything.

My mom made supper for all my immediate yankton family(uncles, aunts, cousins, and my friends lol) so we had about 15 people over and the meal was, as it always is, amazing. Immediately after we all go to the neighbors and play 3 on 3 basketball and I thought I was going to puke. After that everyone took off, and we went to bed by about 10:30 pm. It was great to be home, and I cannot wait to come back in the end of July and really work on my golf game in preparation for our city Pro-am. Last year I shot 3 rounds of mid 80s and those were my only rounds all year. I have to make a better showing this time.

So now I’m back in Phoenix just getting ready to go to Vegas. I have been packing up and doing some odds and ends before going. I’m really excited to chill for a month with guys I only see once or twice a year. I hope we continue to make this an annual trip until we are 50.

Well its Tuesday already so today and tomorrow I am just going to get packed up for home and lay out by the pool. It was horrendous weather all weekend for Phoenix standards, but it is already back up to 90s this week. I think I am going to start a new book or something or maybe just get some magazines. I will probably watch the NBA playoff games this week and maybe hit some golf balls at the range. Other than that not too much going on.

*EDIT *

This was on TV last night and I thought it was really cool…

Nothing to crazy going on this weekend in Phoenix.  I was supposed to be home for the holidays, but I mistakingly booked a flight for the last weekend in May not knowing Memorial day was this weekend.

Pretty much just on cruise control for the rest of May here tying up loose ends before I head home.  When I get back I am going to need to get my car tuned up and other random small things before Vegas.  I am probably just going to lay out and get some sun and rest all week because going home will be busy.

Whenever you go back home when you haven’t been around its always mayhem cause everyone is so excited new people are around.  I know a few other friends will be going back as well and the weather is just starting to warm up.  I am really going to have to balance my time and try to get to see everyone as much as I can since I haven’t been home since x-mas.  Looking forward to getting in some golf,  having some drinks with some friends, and most importantly eating at my 3 favorite restaurants in Yankton(or anywhere when I think about it).  I will explain these restaurants in no particular order and why they are so good.

Charlie’s Pizza-  This place has been around since I have been born I think.  They make big, semi-thin crust pizzas that are to die for, with the crust being the best part.  They have a good atmosphere of old time stuff on the wall and good music, and I love going in there and seeing golfers and boaters(we have a lake) that I haven’t seen for sometime.  I honestly don’t think anyone in Yankton has eaten there more in their lifetime than my family.  An entire meal with drinks for 4 is like 25 bucks, you cant really beat that.

The Black Steer-  Hand down the best restaurant in town.  This is a fancier setting where you would want to take a date or have a business meeting etc.  They used to take FOREVER to serve people and it was overall just a miserable experience, but they are much better now.  This is the type of meal where you get a salad and bread with every meal and they literally have the best filets I have had, and I would compare it to any Ruth’s Chris, Smith and Wolensky, and any other type of high end steakhouse I have been to in NYC, Vegas, etc.  The only thing better is KOBE beef at Nobu, but that is just a diff. league all together.  I love going in after golfing with my dad and our friends and just chatting with the owners etc.  Meal is about 35 bucks a person….spendy for my area.

Mugsy’s-  Mugsy’s is different than the previous two in that its a little lunch sandwhich shop with owners from Boston, Mass.  The owner is the nicest guy in Yankton who genuinely cares about every person who walks in and out of his place.  I always get a Tuna sub here with beer battered cheeseballs, and its probably a crime because his cheese steaks were rated top 10 in Maxim magazine.  A meal is about 14 bucks a person here so semi spendy for the area, but the service and quality are bar non.

So if my Parents read this…. don’t think I just like to come home to eat at my favorite places.  I love hanging out with my family, and my mom is one of the best cooks around.

Just three days ago it was 112 degrees here in Phoenix, AZ, today its 77 degrees and pouring rain. I haven’t seen it rain like this here ever, and it makes you kind of gloomy and not want to go outside. So thats exactly what I did, stay inside and play some poker/facebook nerd games with some friends lol. This is the highest variance month of poker i have ever had with two record one loss days coming in the same month, but somehow I’m still piecing together a nice little month. This makes me eager for vegas and maybe to go deep in some tournament loaded with donks.

Watched The Real World, Pistons/Celts game, and deal or no deal tonight and I’m going to give some thoughts on each.

I’ll start with the Real World on MTV. I am really into this season, which is odd cause the last 3-4 years the show has become total garbage, and this show has kept me entertained. They do the typical partying, fighting, girl guy drama, but there are some good characters and it keeps me interested.

Two nights ago I randomly made a couple hundred dollar bets vs Chris and Nick on the Pistons to cover the +4.5. First off I rarely if ever bet sports or really get into any of that, but I had watched a bunch of the games this year and I thought after a war of game 7 vs the Cavs the Celtics would be wore out and win by 3 or 4 at best. Long story short they blow them out and I feel like an idiot. I thought I was doing some hustlin. Onto Yesterday we are all sweating the MAN U vs CHELSEA champions league final soccer match. It goes into a shootout and again for fun I call them and say another bet I’ll take Chelsea cause they want Man U(basically a coinflip imo). Long story short, the CAPTAIN John Terry, YES the captain steps up with a shot to win for Chelsea he misses the entire goal and they go on to lose in extra shots. Can you keep it on frame and give yourself a chance please. So I lose a pair of bets I hardly ever make and thats that. Tonight the Pistons control the entire game and win by like 6 or something so I was a night off.

Now onto the MVP of the shows Deal or No Deal. I am sure most of you are all aware of the premise of the show. If you are lucky enough to get on you can win some serious money, but just like in everyday American life these people get onto the show and lose their minds. They have lifelong friends and family telling them they are buried in debt, have X amount of kids who need school paid for, can finish off the mortgage and are getting offered a deal of 285k. Meanwhile these same people I just mentioned are telling them ” NO deal”, “Its a 50/50 chance”, “I know you have the million in your case!”. It just amazes me how this money can lower so many financial stresses for the rest of their future, and these people(some intelligent, some not) are willing to flip a coin or sometimes worse. I guess it goes to show why their is value in being a disciplined poker player.

The month of May is almost over, and I haven’t blogged forever and really have no reason to why I didn’t. I have gone in and out of stretches where I play alot of poker for a week and then just 3-4 hours the next week; this seems to work best for me. I have had some insane swings with taking action and giving action but things overall are going pretty good. I’m heading home to South Dakota at the end of May, and its pretty exciting because I haven’t been home since Christmas. I don’t have much planned other than hang out with family and get some golfing in.

After the trip home I’m heading to Vegas for probably 4-6 weeks. My friend Mike’s mom got us a house so it will be great. It is the one time out of the year where I really sit down and play alot of poker;which usually equates to more money earned. It boggles my mind how the same guys sit and play poker(whether it be 50c/1$ or 100/200$) day and night.

I have been reading lots of articles lately about people improving their life; whether it be getting out of financial issues, getting out of job trap, relationships, family etc. It really has got me thinking that I need to be working out on SOME type of weekly regimen. Even if its twice a week for 30 mins at least its something. I have alot more free time than the normal guy who is slaving over work for 10-11 hours a day, so its really a shame I’m not in decent shape. Plus, its always nice to have balance. When I first got into poker I played 8-9 hours a day. I wouldn’t leave the computer, wouldn’t socialize, and wouldn’t go to class; I was just engulfed. Whenever one thing is such a a huge piece of your day to day activites in life that can never be good.

Over the last 2 years of playing poker I have slowly, but with success, worked towards a balanced lifestyle. I generally play poker maybe an hour a day but surf for games, read poker forums etc for 2-3. Its what works best for me and as I get older I want to continue to work on a well rounded lifestyle. For now I still have the “its all about me”, “i gotta get mine” point in my life where I wanna treat myself and see the world because I feel like I have earned it, but I’m definitely focused on a bigger picture of putting myself into position at a young age to help others. Slowly in the next 5-8 years I think I will move away from poker and into something new that excites me, but I cannot be more thankful for the opportunities, life lessons, and most importantly the friendships I have gained.

Phoenix area is starting to get warm and I love it. You wake up just energized and ready to start your day. The last two months have been the best sleep scheduled months of my life and I think it goes hand in hand with success. Since middle school I have always been a “night owl” as my mom likes to call it. Up till 1 or 2 am no matter how tired I was or what I had going on the next day. This is fine and all but your always waking up groggy. Since poker, my sleep has gotten much worse at times. When we are playing lots of hours in front of the computer and not getting as much physical exercise, even though our body is totally drained and running on E our minds are so alert and awake its impossible to sleep. So you are constantly in this walking zombie state of mind, and its hard to get out of.

My good friends Mike and Brady are coming down to tomorrow for the weekend and we have some fun stuff planned. Friday night we are all going to the suns t-wolves game, and then on saturday gonna grill,pool, watch the final four at Clint’s new pool/clubhouse. Nick is gonna stay one night so he can chill with Mike and Brady and then he is off to the final four on a whim. He does the most random stuff sometimes its truly a miracle he gets through most days.

Here is a graph of the last couple weeks in poker……

I’m taking wed-saturday off and then will get back to playing.  take care Josh

Hey guys Nick, Clint, and I made it back in Phoenix just in time to catch the end of the Kansas Davidson game, wow it was amazing.  Davidson almost got it done but to no avail.  It will be the four #1 seeds for the first time ever.  I had 3 of them picked but I had Texas over Memphis and they failed miserably.

It feels great to be home and I’m ready to get back into a good routine.  Poker was very swingy this month but ended on a good up note and it ended up being my best month of the year.  Played very little NL holdem but when I did I won a little for a nice extra boost.  Here is my PLO graph….

All things considered it has been a good start to 2008.  I have two friends coming down to visit this thursday so it should be a good weekend.

take care Josh