Fatman, Poker and Feedburner

 Fellow former poker blogger Lightning36 is in town and will be hitting up some spots for some poker.  Of course that means that I am, naturally, working late during most of this visit.  I received the message that tonight he will be hitting up South Point which is my current hangout and I will make every effort to meet up and get some cards in.

However, I work until 11pm which means that those damn fish might have already gone broke before I even get out of work.  That will not deter me from making a b-line to the casino after work and increasing the value of my sock-roll as I continue my journey to financial independence so that I can shed the restraints of my J-O-B and become a travelling poker player like our good buddy TBC.

Friday night I also work until 11, but Saturday and Sunday I am off so maybe one of those days I can catch up with some out of town friends before they head back to their own personal hell away from beautiful Las Vegas.

I'm continuing my journey to getting down to 200 pounds over at FatManinVegas and I threw up a new post today with some information.  I'm going to keep most of my personal development over there while I talk more and more about degeneracy here.  I will link back and forth when necessary for those who might  be interested in reading more of my words, but I feel that most of the people who come here prefer the seedy side of life.

And finally, Google has decided to kill another of their apps in Feedburner.  Feedburner was a way of subscribing to a blog so that you would get an email when a new one was posted and the big G decided that it just isn't worth keeping around any longer.

I have about 31 people that subscribe to me through the service, which really isn't much, so I'll be looking for a replacement.

Hopefully I get to see CokeHead (snicker) and Lightning at the tables tonight.

Tax Refund and Uncle Biden's Stimmy saved my savings account

 You know what feels all nice and satisfying?  Watching Uncle Biden's stimmy money hit my account and then doing my taxes and almost matching that number.

So, the good news is that when the tax refund hits my account in the next week or so we will have a fully funded emergency fund siting there staring at me.  Ideally we want to get this account to $20k and after these two big deposits we won't be far off.

On the poker side of life - after going through some expenses and suffering a crushing defeat my last outing, I will be sitting with about a grand in my sock-roll.

The last session was pretty brutal. 

It was full of all the standard beats that one receives while playing poker, only it was all strung together in one 2.5 hour session.  Flopped 2 pair vs flopped straight.  Flopped Set vs Flopped straight.  Flopped Set vs Turned bigger set.  Boat vs Quads.  Guy calling all his chips into the middle with a random flush draw vs your nut flush draw and winning because he caught a 3 to make a pair.  Lots of fun stuff.

And, by the end of my session I was down about $70 thanks to South Point having a promotion where they gave me money because I flopped a set with pocket 4s.  Yes, technically I didn't "win" that money  but what comes off the poker table is poker money.  It all goes to the same stinky, sweaty sock in the long run.

Today I do have a to make a trip to the store to buy some Burgers and Steaks so that I have food for the next week at work.  Since completing 75Hard I have definitely slacked off a bit and since my vacation I've really given in to temptation and need to make a change.  So, since I have gained a little bit of it back I need to take that off again and start working on my journey towards 200 pounds again.

So, that is going to involve a nice Low Carb High Protein diet that will consist of a large dose of burgers and steaks fresh off my grill!

 Honestly, over the years I have always hated cooking.  I turned to the microwave.  Over the years I have learned to love the toaster oven but nothing has truly made me enjoy cooking until I started learning the ways of the charcoal grill.

Every week it brings me great joy to spend a couple hours with my grill making food for the family.  Usually this means grilling 10+ burgers for the kids (sometimes only last for 2 days) and then some better quality burgers for myself and the wife.  Throwing a few steaks on or doing up a large batch of chicken wings.

The grill is my time of peace and relaxation, at least most of the time.  Sometime the kids love to interfere or demand my attention or just want to come out and ask a million questions.  However, it is all part of the charm of my life and I love every minute of it.

So, today I'll be shopping for some meat and potentially I'll fire up the grill today (maybe tomorrow) and take my family to Flavortown!

Paying for my Shelves

 One of the best things about working in a retail environment is being able to get some great deals that go above and beyond what any sale price could do.  A couple of those opportunities presented themselves in the form of shelving units that I can use in my garage to organize the horrible mess that is out there.

I grabbed a 5 Tier Craftsman unit which, honestly, is my second choice because the Commander version is Black and Yellow and better represents my true colors.  However, the price was more than right and I couldn't turn down the deal just because it didn't fit my preferred color scheme.

The other thing I bought was a Garage Cabinet by Kobalt which is metal and supposed to be a wall cabinet.  I now have two of them that I bought probably 8 years apart and both of them were on killer deals.  I doubt I'll wall mount them but they can still sit on the floor and be used to hide things.

After tax I was down about $50 bucks and that came straight out of my wallet.  Luckily I was working a late shift and when I called my wife on the drive home everyone was already in bed sleeping.  This meant that I was going to get a couple hours at the tables.

I drove to South Point and there was a seat open.  Now that their Winter Free-Roll is over and they are not running another one there are less tables running at midnight than previous, but there were still a good amount of games going.  I sat down and tried to size up my opponents and see where the opportunities were not knowing that I was going to get a great feel for the table within minutes.

My first orbit had me raising with 88 in late position to 10 and having a short stack come over top of me for 30.  It folded back around to me and when I looked at his chips I saw that he only had $58 total so I just put my chips in the middle which he, of course, snap called.

The Board ran out 2, 4, 7, J, A and he flipped over A3 for the win saying "I ain't afraid."  Within the next two orbits I would find out that he truly played every ace he had and most of them aggressively trying to get a win.

Three hands later I found myself calling a small raise with 55 and going to the flop 3 handed.

K24 hit the flop and I bet out and both players called.  The turn was a 6 which got checked around.  The River was a lovely 5!

First position made it $8, I made it 40, and he made it $80.  The kid in the hand with me I have previously played with and generally he is very aggressive with his draws.  He also likes to buy in for about half stack and try to build up from there.  I have never found him to be good or tricky and I haven't seen him make a play like this previously.  It was within his range to have a suited 3 or pocket 3s here so I called and he showed KK for flopped top set. 

Ouch.  Not a great start to winning back my $50!

About an orbit later I found myself in a spot where I believe I played scared because of those two hands.

I'm on the button with 35 suited and there was a raise to 10 with 2 callers.  I called and so did the blinds.

Flop came out 33J.  Raiser made a decent bet which I called and one other guy called.

Turn was a King and a guy in the blinds lead out for 50 which got called by the original raiser and myself.

The River was a lovely 5 giving me a boat.

The original raiser kept eyeing up my stack specifically and trying to decide what to do and finally led out for 15 into a nearly $200 pot.  I had about $150 behind and she had me more than covered.  She never looked at the other player in the hand and kept eyeing up my stack and then looking at hers.

I 100% played this hand like a bitch when I just called her $15 thinking that she was trying to get me to make a raise and commit myself to the rest of my stack.  Playing scared I squarely put her on JJ or KK for the bigger boat.

I called, the other guy called and my boat destroyed what everyone else had.  I kicked myself. I berated myself.  I let my minor string of bad luck in those two hands (and how my last session ended) influence this hand in which if I got unlucky I probably should have gone broke, but I should have given myself the opportunity to win more.  I should have raised.

This blog, since inception, has been called Confessions of a Local Fish.

That hand proves that I am a Fish.  My apologies dear reader.

However, that hand got me to more than even.  I was up $55 and considered leaving because I made back my money and could go home even for the night.

However, I kept playing.

I got myself into another hand with the guy who plays any Ace where I raised pre-flop to $15 with AQ and he bumped it to $35.  I bet $90 to cover his chips and he called (he had $89).  

Board runs out 2, 5, 7, 10, J and he turns over 33 for the win.

Idiot 2, Fish 0

Later I get into another hand with him where he rivers trip queens.

Idiot 3, Fish 0

Later I get into another hand with him where his NUTS (4 2 Suited) flops 2 pair against my over pair.

Idiot 4, Fish 0

Winding down and considering going home down $100 (plus $50 from the purchases) I raise with TJ in late position and get multiple callers.

Flop comes out 89A with two diamonds and I have the Jack of Diamonds.  I lead out for $35 and get one caller from the blinds.

Turn is a 7 of Diamonds and he leads out for $60 into me.  He has bought  back into the game 3 or 4 times for $300 each time and is one of the reasons I am still at the table.  He has been in this situation multiple times and has never had the flush here, so I called.

River is a K of Diamonds giving me a Jack High Flush and he checks to me.

I bet $50 and he calls with 56 off suit for the low straight.  My Jack of Diamonds takes it down (my straight also would have had the same effect).

A few hands later, and my last real hand, I am on the button with Q9s and make it $15.  Idiot calls me and one other guy who plays tight and then randomly plays weird called.

Three to the flop of 469 rainbow.  Checks to me and I bet $25 and get two callers.

Turn is a 9 giving a flush draw potential.  I check to Idiot who pushes all in for $75 or so.  Original raiser goes all in for about $75 or so.  I put out a stack of $100 to cover them.

Idiot flips over 97 for trip 9s. with a straight draw.  Forgetting that there is a 3rd player in the hand but so excited to actually be ahead of the Idiot and turn over my Q9.

Third Wheel turns over his 44 for flopped set and turned Boat.  I think to myself that I legitimately have 5 outs here and no matter what I am leaving after this hand.

River is a Queen giving me a boat and the pot and I cash out with $490 giving me a $190 win for the evening.

Idiot 4, Fish 1 - But the Fish got the Last Laugh on this Occasion.

Next post I'll update where my magical poker bankroll actually exists and we'll see how far I can run it up and how long I'll continue to keep posting to this blog.

Fish Out

Fart on Cops

I'm an avid gamer.  Some of my earliest memories are playing Ms Pac-Man on an arcade machine in the Bar where my grandmother worked.  I was given quarters to feed into that machine and some pinball, but Ms. Pac-Man was what held my interest.

As the years went on I continued to play games as systems made their way into the house.  The first system I remember having was a Pong system which had a switch that turned Pong into Hockey.  These are my memories and if I can ever come across another of these systems I would be sure to own it just to satisfy the collector in me.

Now that I'm a middle aged, grey haired white guy (grey or gray?  I feel it could go either way but I'm not about to look up the proper usage) I still am knee deep into the hobby, but with a j-o-b I have been able to afford to build a tremendous backlog.

The last time I didn't own all of the current systems was during the initial Playstation era.  I bought the Playstation for Final Fantasy 7, skipping the N64.  However, I have owned all systems after that phase of my life.

This brings me to current life where I have a house full of systems that multiple people play on.  Both kids play on Playstation 4 systems.  I have an Xbox One X that gets used when my teen has friends visiting so that they have a system to hook up and play the latest Call of Duty.  Each of my kids has a Switch (as do I).  And I own, but the kids cannot touch, the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X.

I have Game Pass Ultimate which I do believe my subscription ends in 2023 (or at least late 2022) and I have Playstation Plus for a few more months.  Those two subscription services make it so that I don't actually have to spend money on Video games very often, if ever.  I could, theoretically, never buy another game again and just play games that are available through those services (except for Nintendo Games of course).

I bring this up because all of my extra activity money has to come from my poker playing and not my paycheck.  The Paycheck is for household expenses only. 

I am trying to build discipline in multiple areas of my life and this will help me build discipline in the financial aspect of it.

I only bring all of that up because today I say down with my boy to play some Outriders (available everywhere except for the Switch) and after about 30 or so minutes their servers crashed.  Per their Twitter account, multiple hours later, they are still working on trying to figure out why it crashed and re-build the infrastructure to help make sure it won't happen again.

My boy is playing it (or will be) on his Playstation 4 (bought for Easter by grandparents) and I am playing it on Xbox because it launched into Gamepass.  It is made by the same people who did Bulletstorm which is one of my kids favorite games.

So far the game is a fun mixture of gun play, bad story telling and equipment upgrades which means I'll probably put a couple hundred hours into it when all is said and done as I have been looking for a new game to fill my Diablo/Borderlands cravings.

So, because the servers were down I ended up going outside to take a walk and enjoy nature on my last day of vacation before being forced to return to work and be accosted by customers again.

At the beginning of my walk I ran into this little man, I will call him Franklin.

Franklin and I talked about how it was a nice warm day and how glad we are that "winter" is over.  Franklin is not looking forward to the next few months because he runs serious risk of dehydration in the desert heat if he cannot find good shade and a supply of water.

I promised Franklin that I would start leaving out a little dish of water in my backyard for him to get some much needed hydration should he ever wonder over to my neck of the neighborhood.  I gave him directions to my house, he then thanked me and scurried off into the drainage under the road.

I have serious doubts about my ability to remember to put the water dish out, but he'll probably be hit by a car before he can ever guilt trip me about my negligence.

On my walk I had plenty of time to think about the situation I am in and how to make it better.  There are many aspects of my life that I need to improve in and I'm going to start working on them instead of putting them off for the mythical tomorrow.

I still have weight to lose and am contemplating going through 75 Hard again. I'd like to lose another 30 pounds and get down to 200 even.

I need to get my finances in order.  There are debts that need paid off. There are savings accounts that need to be filled up.  There are college funds that need to be maxed out.  The world is bloody expensive when you sit down and really look at things.

On the back half of my hour long walk I ran into some fun graffiti (and, honestly, thanks to google I just discovered that graffiti has two F's but only one T).

I hope this isn't just the super polite and super white version of the N.W.A. Classic.  Instead I imagine that this is advertising a grunge (I'm a child of the 90's and it will never die in my heart) garage band that is forming in our neighborhood by some of the local teens who aspire to have musical ability.

I assume that in the near future I'll start to see parts of their songs on TikTok and the police will get monthly noise complaints as they get together for a Jam Session after all of their homework is done and their parents disinfect the garage and put big black X's with Duct Tape to make sure the band is using proper social distancing procedures.  I mean, you wouldn't want to be the cause of your own band mate's demise, although I do suppose that is the shit that starts legends.  "Yeah, Franklin kept playing off key so we low-key gave him Covid-19 and now need a new guitar player."   Hell Yeah - Fart on Cops is going to make it big one day.

I'm drinking water to stay hydrated. I'm looking for a Futon for my gaming room so I can have a bed to sleep on. I'm checking the Outriders Twitter every three minutes to see if I can get some gaming time in before I hit the casino tonight for my last vacation poker session.

I'll have to remember to check Spotify daily for my new favorite band!  When they blow I want to say I knew of them before they were cool.

Ain't No April Fools Joke

4/1/2021

When we last heard from our hero we found out that he was going to be taking up the hobby of poker again.  There were cheers from the audience and everyone was happy.

Everyone except for the wife, that is.  

Yes, yes.  There was some information that was left out of our previous post and that is the true reason why our hero is playing poker again (instead of taking up a second job).

Pot Stocks.

Hear me out now.

Investing is a tricky thing and when I first started to make investments the stock market was pointed in an upwards direction.  As I was making daily profits I started to feel more and more untouchable and then dipped into our savings account so that I could invest more and more so that I could, in a few months, show the wife how much I turned our savings into.

The best laid plans of mice and men.

Turns out you shouldn't be getting your investing advice from the Reddit Penny Stocks forum.

Nope.

Totally a bad idea.

Sometimes you make a mistake and you live with it.

Sometimes you fuck up so royally you are on the verge of getting kicked out of your own home.

I've been given a year to replenish the savings account. 

No Stress, right?

Over the course of the next year I will detail my trials and tribulations of trying to recover the money I lost.  Lucky you (all of you), y'all got a front row seat to the train wreck that is about to happen.

If at any point you aren't entertained then please let me know and I'll look for a new direction to take this.

Tomorrow, after video game time with my boy, I'll start working on the day one post and how the session went.

The Local Fish is back and swimming with sharks baby!

Confessions of a Local Fish

 I started trying to have a crappy ass poker blog somewhere around 2010.  I was writing a little on All Vegas Poker and some other site and when that other site sold itself off I decided to start doing my blog on blogger.

In 2011 I started on blogger and started finding other like minded individuals who also enjoyed playing and writing about poker, all of them did both better than I could.  However, friendships were formed and eventually life got in the way and my lack of skills got in the way and poker turned into more of a vacation hobby for me.  I'm sure none of it has anything to do with getting married and popping out kids, nope, none of it.

Every once in a while I get the poker bug, but for the most part I've been able to put it into the back of my head and move back on with life.

I am currently wrapping up a vacation where I had a buddy in town and we got to play a couple of sessions of poker and it's like I ran into an old mistress again and I want to spend time with her more often.

I sat down and looked over my cash on hand and decided that I really want to see if I can take this pocket change and turn it into being able to play regularly again or if I truly suck and should just continue to be a vacation player (mainly when other people are in town on vacation).

Of course, this money is being fueled by me finding some run good this past week, but we all have to start somewhere right?

So, the blog that originally started as Confessions of a Local Fish is, in theory, going to make a comeback at least until my pocket change runs out.

For the time being I will mainly focus my playing at the South Point poker room because of their location to my residence and due to not having to pay $15 for parking.  Not paying for parking is important since I a cheap ass.

With that being said, I'll provide my March Numbers which are 100% sustainable and proof that I should quit my job and go pro immediately, I might just need a couch to crash on.

If only TBC where in Vegas, the games are so good!

2020 Was a Great Year

 It is approaching 9 pm and I am sitting in my living room with the next 3 days off of work.  Maleficent is on the TV, streaming from Disney+ as my wife fiddles with something in the kitchen.  My boy is blowing shit up in some video game and my girl is singing along to some random Bubble Guppies song and playing with the dog.  After a long week at work I feel totally at peace with my family and my life.

The year 2020 is not going to be remembered fondly by a lot of people because of the world wide pandemic that swept over us all, but I am a firm believer that life is what you make it.  You can choose to give in to your circumstances and proclaim Fuck 2020 and Fuck Covid loud and proud and just accept that your life was decidedly horrible this past year because of what happened.  Or you can be in charge of your life and march forward with a chip on your shoulder because you know  that the only thing that can slow you down is yourself and you did not allow that to happen.

I'm not saying that I ruled the world for the entire year and proclaiming myself king of the underworld but I am stating, as fact, that I sure as shit made the most of it as the year came to an end.

The positives of 2020:

1 - I changed my mindset and decided to take back control of my life.  I jumped on a program called #75Hard and over the course of 75 days I lost 30 pounds while building up a better mental toughness and increasing my will power.

2 - Due to the pandemic, and being an essential worker, the wife and I hit more (and bigger) bonuses at work and are closing the year out with our biggest income to date, and by a large margin.

3 - I finally decided to start a Fantasy Football League with a group of friends from all walks of my life and past.  My brother, my son, my brother-in-law, a friend I met in 6th grade, one from 11th grade, one from college, Co workers that I have met since moving to Vegas and a random dude from the internet that I met because of podcasts and video games.  Quite the gambit!

4 - My children have grown like bad weeds in a flower garden. They have outgrown all of their clothes. Their personalities are shining through loud and clear and they are certifiably crazy, but I love them.  Having gone from never wanting children to having a full brood has made my life more fulfilling than I ever thought possible.

5 - Since October 1st I have lost approximately 40 pounds.  I have cut out 99% of my junk food and fast food consumption.  I have cut out soda's and am drinking a ton of water.  I have started to eat healthier and the wife and I are finding new healthy recepes to replace unhealthier versions as we both work towards a better lifestyle for our family.

6 - While my hobbies have taken a back seat to me taking a journey towards self improvement I have actually reconnected with one that I have been ignoring for a bunch of years, reading.  Starting #75Hard I read through 5 books and have continued to read a little bit almost every day since. I am about 50% through one currently and have a couple more lined up for 2021.

7 - I expanded my podcast from a two man wrecking crew and added three new members to help us push out content more consistently and have formed great friendships with every member of the team.  In addition to the three new members we also have two others who are part of the team in some manner and I hope to expand their roles in the coming year.  

8 - I was forced to buy a car when my 2005 Ford Focus started to need too many repairs and then the AC shit the bed during one of the hottest times of the year.  I upgraded to a 2019 Toyota Corolla.  

9 - While trying to raise money to buy a Playstation 5 and an Xbox Series X I rediscovered some old Magic: The Gathering cards I had in a box and started selling them off so I could afford the new systems.  One month later I accidentally made enough money to pay off my car AND purchase one of the systems (and this was after paying eBay and Paypal fees).  I had ONE monthly car payment and then on month two I made a lump sum payment and now own the car outright.

10 - I still acquired my PS5 and my Series X and then I won a Nintendo Switch (which showed up today, the last day of the year) in a giveaway on Twitter from a video game company.

Ten reasons why the year 2020 has kicked a lot of ass for me and my family.

2021 is rapidly approaching (2.5 hours away as I clack on this keyboard) and I plan on it being an even better year.

I will enjoy my family more.

I will get in better shape.

I will drop another 30 pounds.

I will sink a lot of time into my favorite hobbies.

Life is good people.  Stop making excuses as to why life sucks.  Grab life by the balls and make it your bitch, not the other way around.

The FatManinVegas has spoken.  

Thank you all for being in my life.  Without friends and family you just have ass-hat co-workers  :)

My Corona - March to December

It is almost 8pm on a not so random Tuesday evening in March, the 17th to be precise.
The powers that be in Nevada just announced a total shutdown of all non essential businesses, in the state, for 30 days.  I can only presume that strip clubs are not essential and I worry what those poor young college aged girls are not going to survive without the aid of married dong and wallets.

Wait, I'm sorry.  That is really not where I was going with this. 

My business, big box retail, falls into the hardware store category and is considered to be an essential business and as such we will remain open for the general public.  This means we will still receive product shipments and stock the shelves so that others can come in and purchase.  Will other companies pay their employees to survive while they are not working for the next 30 days?  That is an important question and one that will shape not only Nevada but the nation for the next month or so.

Based only one what I witness people do not have rainy day funds any longer.  Emergency funds are credit cards and if business's are not going to support their workers in this time of crisis then the only people who are going to win are the credit card companies as people are forced to pay for everything on credit and then figure out how to climb out of life altering debt once they go back to work.

This situation truly makes me sad.  I've been in that position before where my only option was to put essentials (and sometimes bills) on credit.  You cannot win in those situations.  If you don't have friends and/or family in a better situation to help you through it you could end up digging your own financial grave.

Today:

It is 10:30 am on a random Wednesday in December, the 2nd to be precise.

I found the above in my drafts where I never finished my thoughts and didn't get around to publishing. The Covid-19 shutdown was supposed to last 30 days but instead it lasted like 9 months.  Small Business suffered while big business thrived.  Many small businesses collapsed and closed.  Some bigger companies did the same.  The food industry might never be the same with some places still only allowing take-out and delivery while their Dine-In seating area stays completely empty.

Masks have gone from "man I can't wait to stop wearing these" to a normal part of our daily routine without even thinking about it.  Strippers and Rub-and-Tuggers (one G or two?) have had to find alternative means to get their income.  The world is in shambles and Las Vegas is suffering.

Yeah, 2020 has pretty much sucked.  The world has changed and we all have to adapt and overcome.  

So how was your 2020?  Did you succumb to the shitiness of the situation and sit around in your underwear eating junk food and taking bong hits all year while getting fatter and making excuses for everything or did you man (woman) up and decide that Covid-19 does not dictate who you are and make some life changes and enjoy it as much as you can?

I decided (later than I should have) that I needed to make some changes.  Covid-19 kills the weak, the sick, the fat, the old.  Not 100% but the percentages do not lie.  If you are young and in great shape then the Rona hits you like a flu and you recover.  If you weigh 400 pounds and a heavy workout is lifting the pizza to your lips you are more likely to get stuck in a hospital on a respirator and perish while your family isn't allowed to come and even say good-fucking-bye.

It is not a pretty picture being painted and I do not want my family, my children to suffer such a fate. So I have decided to get off my fat ass and make some changes to my life.

I started on a journey called #75Hard and am currently on day 63 of it.  I have dropped nearly 30 pounds in the past two months and have added daily exercise into my routine.  I haven't touched any Junk Food (candy, chips, ice cream, donuts, etc) since starting and I have not had any Fast Food (Taco-Bell, McDonalds, etc) either.

I feel better, I look better and I know I am on the right path.  Once I am done with this challenge I will keep looking for ways to improve my health and lose weight until I am no longer considered Obese.

Covid-19 has helped change my outlook on life and while it has wrecked havoc on our planet I am not willing to give in to "2020 sucks and I can't wait for 2021."

Covid-19 is a wake up call.

We need to be healthier.

We need to appreciate who we have.

We need to live better lives.

Now pass the bong.

Kidding.