Nothing But Net(Flix & B-Ball)!

by Katrina Lim

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I’ve been away for a while cuz I’ve been busy watching Kobe and Netflix. Finally joined it and I’m getting my money’s worth. Holy hell! Why didn’t I join Netflix sooner?! If I knew you could watch pretty much anything, anytime, I would’ve joined a long time ago. So besides my blu-ray deliveries, I stream stuff on my 360 so I can watch it all anytime. Kool!

Two days ago The Passing came out for L4D2! This new campaign add-on is so much fun!! Mixes the original L4D characters with the new ones. Fun stuff. In fact, gonna jump on later and play with some friends.

As for poker, what a joke. I’ve been spending a lot of time online with mixed results. Just finished 69th out of 610 in another donkament to pass the time. A little cash made. Jank. So, I was looking at the next 3 months and planning my WSOP. Can’t wait. Gonna spend a lotta time at the Rio in June. Every year, the WSOP Ladies’ Event happens to fall right around my birthday, so I’m gonna bank on some birthday luck again to go deep this year. Last year, I only got to day 2 and finished on the bubble. Man, Bubble Bitch is the absolute worst! So jank. Also gonna play in a slew of other events. It’s great to have a boss that allows me to play poker! LOL I can take off whenever I want. Seriously. My boss knows I love to play and she even encourages me to play more. Amazing! I am such a luckbox! Anyway, I’m excited to take a break from Corporate America this summer to get back to grinding with all the other foolios.

Some pals are in flight right now to Monte Carlo for the EPT Grand Final. I swear one day I will make it over there. Just not this time around…again. Oh well, with all the volcanic ash floating around, who wants to be stuck in Europe anyway?! HA! Besides, it’s Kobe time! I love watching the playoffs. I have a couple of prop bets that it’s gonna be a Lakers vs Celtics FINALS this year. Yes, many think I’m wack, but just look at them Green fools now! LeBron ain’t going. Sorry Cleveland. More importantly, did y’all notice that the Spurs may have the only starting lineup with no tattoos on their arms? Yes, as a lady, I notice these things. You think I actually watch basketball for the love of the game? Bwahahaha…no, it’s all the fine guys and those naked arms! But most of all, it’s my Kobe. Hmm, hmm, delicious! Now that’s what you call hot chocolate! LOL

Now for some exciting news…I am planning a trip back to the muthaland with sis and Boogs! Prolly late September for a coupla weeks. They just opened 2 new casinos there and I wanna see what kind of action they got goin’ on down there! And I can’t wait to eat!! I am on a major diet for the next 4 months (all summer) to get ready for Singapore again! Cuz all I wanna do is eat! We’re also gonna take a side trip to Malacca, Malaysia. This is my momma’s birthplace and my sister and I wanna find our roots. I also wanna find some bomb ass Nonya and Peranakan cuisine!! The food of my people!! Best food in the world!

Anyway, I will start blogging more now that my new job is starting to slow down as I get used to it. There’s still a lot to learn, but I am open to the challenge. It’s a good job. Especially with the janky economy, I am fortunate to be working again as millions are still stuck in the unemployment line. Can’t beat the convenience either. My office is right down the street from the house. What a score! Amazing! No more traffic! I am the biggest luckbox around.

Ok, gonna root fer my Lakers now cuz their dumb asses are getting pummeled by OKC right now! Damn, I knew OKC was gonna give them trouble. They are gonna be a great team in a coupla years.  Basketball playoffs rule!

Random Thoughts from Monte Carlo

by Phil

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Busted on Day One.  Blah.  Since then I have chilled at the pool, gone to the gym and had lovely little meals here and there.

But I would (obv) much prefer to be in the tourney still.  But ho hum, what can you do?

The one thing I love about this event is that the hotel is at the bottom of a huge cliff sort of hill thing, and there is a set of stairs that goes straight up the cliff
for about a half a mile.  Threee nights ago I ran the steps.  Twice!  Wow, I was fully spent.  It was very hard to do, and am stoked. (Am I? Not sure, but without at least saying that I am, then I have no shot at hitting it again, and that is what I plan on doing today.)  (I am a sick one, yes.)

Manana is the High Roller event.  More sickness.  The mega high entry fee's on the events that have been lurking about really put things into perspective.  25,500 Euros ($39,915).  How did I get here?  How the hell can I plunk down 40k on a poker tourney.  And then I realize that I got here by grinding.  I started small 10 years ago and have been running good (more or less) the whole time.  And I see what Stu Unger was talking about when they asked him what he was going to do with his prize money.  And he answered, "Gamble higher."  I get it.  But it is still fairly sick.  But it is my drug and I can't live without it so plunk I will, as plunk I must.

Reminds me of a funny moment about 10 years ago when I took a call from my mom during a poker game.  She asked how it was going.  I replied, "Up $3,000."  She thought it would be a good idea to quit.  Lol.  I said that I loved that idea but first I needed to know when I was to play again.  She replied that I should just quit up a winner.  I asked her that months or years later when my bankroll went to zero and it was time to eat, what should I do?  And then she understood.  (Sort of.) 

It is always funny how to me how poker players understand all this stuff and non-poker players really, in the end, just don't.

Like how it is normal for a 1/2 nlh player to not really be all that amazed by the big numbers that switch hands in the nose bleed games.  But a guy buying and selling houses or cars or something - or a high priced doctor or what have you.  How when they hear about those big games they are just flabberghasted by the whole thing.

All this got me to thinking what makes a successful gambler in the first place.  And then I was happy because I had already done the work here and knew the answer.

The trick is this.  (The answer is two fold.)  (By the way, the obvious postulate here is that you are a winning card player and your bankroll is steadily rising.)  That being said, the two fold way to success as a poker player is....   

1.) To find plus ev places to have your money work for you while you are not playing cards.  I have had some blunders in this dept, but by not giving up I have managed to sort of figure it out.  It is harder to do then playing cards but the benefits are huge and it feels great when things click money wise outside of poker. 

and two...

2) You must take advantage of the fact that you are essentially free to do as you please.  And actually do other stuff then playing cards.  I am good with my time away from the cards.  And continue to look for ways to get even better at it.  

And that makes me happy.  And happiness is good.

Karmic Taxi Moments - Volcanic Ash and a trip to Monte Carlo!

by Phil

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Karmic Taxi Moments:

Last night had dinner with my favorite curmudgeon... Neil Channing.  He took me to a favorite haunt of his called Maguro on 5 Lanark Place.  (I am still in Lodon. Volcanic Ash.. that whole thing.. did I tell you about that?... not sure... can't remember... hmmm... well, if after I write this first bit I will tell you all about it.)

Dinnner.  Maguro.  Great little Japanese food place near where he lives.  Half way into the meal the taxi driver that got us there comes walking into the restaraunt.  I would not have recognized him except for the fact that he was walking straight towards me and had my phone and camera in hand!  Wow, 40 minutes had passed since we got out of that taxi.  How absent minded of me!  How could I just just leave these things behind like that?  (I would have been on uber sick tilt had I lost these things.)  And how could I have been so out of it that I had no idea either was missing? 

I think the answer is that I was just in a happy forgetful state of mind and it all just completely slipped my mind. 

Needless to say I was beyond myself with joy that not only were these things found and returned to me.  Wow, and how lucky to have never known that they were missing?  That is a bonus sliver of lucky that I had not even thought of til just this moment.

I got to skip over the inevitable grief that follows when someone realizes they have left something impt behind in a taxi!  

I would like to give a kind shout out to the cizilized people of England who for centuries before this moment have run their society with kindness and fairness.  Paying special attention to politeness and niceties the UK has emerged as an example that the rest of the world can look up to when it comes to all getting along as a big group (namely a country).  This one random taxi guy moment is just indicative of how all the people in this great country are kind and thoughtful and really go out of their way to do the right thing. 

Thank you England.

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Volcanic Ash:

After the televised cash game that Jennifer and I came over for we were scheduled to fly back to Vegas on the 15th (of this month).  But we had to miss that flight as a volcano errupted over Iceland and 40,000 Americans were trapped over night in London.  Jennifer and I were two of those people.  Our flight home was rescheduled for the 21st (wow... a 6 day delay, incredible).  Luckily Jennifer and I love London, but this meant that we would be missing the 25k Bellagio event.

With such a long delay, we actually got near to the start time for the Monte Carlo EPT.  I played it last year and it was a great event. (Lots of soft spots and well run.)  It was maybe the 3rd or 4th easiest field over the past year - world wide - 10k events and higher.  So it was sort of a no brainer.  And in 4 hrs we fly to Monte Land to battle it out with the others that are there.  Stoked.

John Taba will be there too and this is good.  I managed to get only about 20 mins of quality time with him on this 2 week trip to London.  And that is way under par for what I would hope for.  I will catch up in Monte Land for sure.

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Monte Carlo:

Going there in 4 hrs.  So stoked.  Wow!  Because of the Volcanic Ash situation many players wont be able to show.  This meant some room cancellations.  The turny is at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel.  I got very lucky (again!) and snatched up one of those rooms (hopefully sea side view) and that makes me happy.  Being in the same hotel as the event makes taking breaks and the like that much easier.  The option of shooting up to your room real fast is especially great for those one hour dinner breaks.  I love having that option.  

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Life is good...

Catch ya later.

Phil 

The Big Short

by Phil

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Oh my ... if you are a bit of a finance buff... u have to see this video...

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6298082n&tag=related;photovideo

Michael Lewis (author of Liar's Poker and other cool books) has a new book about the collapse of fiscal stuff in the US (The Big Short) and this link is
his interview with 60 minutes about it.

So sick.  So uber sick. 


Michael Lewis is a king.  (The guy w one glass eye is the mega king of all kings.)  I love smart people.  I just love them.