Give the bully an extra point...

Yeh so the last couple days have been good. I am in good health again (not quite what I would term "robust health" just yet, but close enough).

Wednesday I played online in the afternoon, failed for the most part except for the UB $130 deepstack, which I was 1/26 in and came 22nd :( and the Stars Wed $250k:

I said to Dean prior to the tournament that the following would happen (as it happens every week in that particular tournament): I would;

*have starting stack after an hour
*double up twice quickly once blinds get to 100/200
*stick around the 12-14k stack level until 300/600 or 400/800
*double up twice quickly and have a big stack approaching the bubble
*lose a giant 70/30 or get coolered for the chip lead around the money bubble (just in or out thereof).

I was proven correct, unsurprisingly, on all fronts.

Thursday I woke up late, Steve and I continued our quest to play as many top-tier courses as possible, and went to play at TPC Las Vegas. Part of our motivation for playing was that Tony had invited the entire poker community to our house for a BBQ/Party that afternoon, and the thought of talking to 30 obnoxious americans while watching them drink our beer would only have served to enrage us I guess.

TPC was the most difficult course we had played to date, which made me all the happier about the way I played. I opened with a poor drive on the short par-4 1st, followed by a poor approach 30yards short of the green. I hit a poor pitch shot to about 45 feet but drained the putt for par. Good times. I bogeyed the long par-3 2nd, but got it back with birdie at #4 after sticking my approach shot to a foot.

I made the turn in 38 (+2), which delighted me and conditions were quite windy, the course is long, and you need only be a couple of yards off the fairway and you're in the desert and dropping another ball. Perhaps the thought of shooting a low score got to me a little as I jumped on the bogey train on the back nine. I figured my chances of a seventy-something had vanished when I drove into the hazard left of the 15th fairway; the 600-yard hole probably encouraged me to overswing at my drive, which I never used to do back in the day. I recovered with a good pitch to the green and made bogey.

Standing on the 18th tee needing par for a 79 I was discouraged at how narrow the fairway was, but resolved to just bomb one down there anyway. Hit my best drive of the day to set up a 6-iron approach to the green. The green was narrower still, at most 30 feet across, with water grabbing anything that goes even a foot to the left. I hit my 6-iron fairly well but it began drawing left at an alarming rate. I cursed all the gods that came to mind, which appeared to work as my ball came to rest around one inch from the water line. I two-putted for par and 79 and walked off with a sense of great accomplishment.

This is more than enough encouragement to get back into golf full-time once I get home; the way I'm driving the ball should ensure I am able to get down into low numbers the instant my short game catches up.

Woke today ready to play the $1k event at Caesar's Palace. At 11am I was informed that such an event did not exist. I joined Berky and Steve in going to the Rio nonetheless, if only to register for the $1500NL tomorrow. I did so, and proceeded to the Palms to catch up with Punty/Puzz. They have a fairly modern apartment and their building is close to the Rio (although nothing in Veags is close enough to walk to). We went from there to the Venetian to grab some lunch and catch up with Grant who was playing the $2k event. We ate at an upscale cafe-type joint upstairs at Palazzo, then Punty went home to sleep while Puzz and I went to the outlet mall.

I bought more Polo stuff. I think I have a problem.

$1500NL tomorrow, online stuff on Sunday if I'm out of that, then another $1500NL on Monday, then prepare for the Main Event.

Hope all is well back home.