Gracie's Boobs Got Nothing on These

"I would have had a set if a different card would have flopped." cc. Tight guy re-raised me pre-flop then board hit K42 rainbow, I checked my TT, he bet, I folded, and he showed AA.

Gracie posted a photo of her boobs and got tons of traffic, so I thought I would do the same thing. Most chicks dig fur, from what I've been able to determine when I was single. Actually, try not to look too long at the photo.

So Sweetie had an interesting observation about her Botox-Appletini-Book Club of ladies in the neighborhood. "Susan's (a neighbor) daughter will be a cheerleader next year, and everyone started talking about cheerleading. I realized I was the only one there who wasn't a cheerleader." That's what you get with all the beautiful people, we live with a crowd of cheerleaders.

Here's where we are with the book giveaway. For those who have claimed a book, please email your address to me at csquard@yahoo.com. Make sure you spell it right (no e). Still time to claim a book.

• Positively Fifth Street Claim: FJ Delgado
  
• Moneymaker Claim: pokerpeaker
  
• Red Lobster, White Trash, and the Blue Lagoon Claim: Miami Don
  
• Raw Faith Claim: Jordan
• Internet Texas Hold'em Claim: kurokitty
  
• Ben Hogan's Secret by Bob Thomas is a fictionalized biography that I received playing at Grayhawk once in Scottsdale.
  
• Beat the Odds Blackjack by G. Phillip Cline.
• Bad Beats and Lucky Draws Claim: pokerpeaker
• Making the Final Table Claim: seattlejohn
  
• Tournament Poker for Advanced Players Claim: pokerenthusiast
  
• Super System Claim: BloodyP
  
• The Tao of Poker Claim: mookie99
  
• Cinderella Story by Bill Murray explores his golf pursuits.
• A Feel for the Game Claim: willwonka
  
• Golf is Not a Game of Perfect by Dr. Bob Rotella deals with the mental aspects of the game. This is a great book and even has some nice findings for the poker table.
• A Scandalous Freedom by Steve Brown is just a terrific book for anyone who struggles from time to time with their faith. It is absolutely liberating.
• When Men Think Private Thoughts by Gordon MacDonald.
• It's Your Kitchen by Joan Kohn. Over 100 inspirational kitchens for those looking to spend ten poker bankrolls to upgrade their home.
• How to Grow When Markets Don't by Adrian Slywotzky and Richard Wise (signed copy). I'm a big fan of Slywotzky's professionally and give his signed copies to clients and prospects.

Some great comments yesterday, as well as a couple of e-mails regarding what to do after a big loss or losing run. I'd like to share Dave's thoughts as I think everyone can find value in it. "From reading at places like 2+2, it seems there are three suggested strategies that are advised when running bad:

1. Move down in limits (with the rationale that it is statistically more likely to have a higher number of winning sessions to help psychologically)
2. Take time off to clear your head
3. "It's just variance, stay in the games..."

Most of the time (and particularly more so when I am running bad) I spend a substantial amount of effort looking for mistakes in my play (leaks). I resolve myself to focus on one or two mistakes at a time and not make those particular mistakes. I think I tend not to do this as much when I am running well because I will have a tendency to multi-table more in that "healthy psychological environment." I don't think there is anything wrong with that because usually when you are running good, it is easier to make good decisions."

None of you have to take the time to provide ideas and input, and I really appreciate all the thoughts and input. I think it is one of the strengths of being part of our community of bloggers, that we can help one another. If you've read Dave's blog, you know he's a solid player, and I respect him alot. Nothing groundbreaking, but I think it's a nice analytical approach. We tend to try and evaluate diligently when things go bad, but rarely do we jump in when things go well. Also, this advice has some similarities to golf, where you try and keep one or two swing thoughts in your mind and concentrate on those.

I played a couple hours at the end of the day, and it didn't look very good starting off for sure. $10/20, I post and before the bb gets to me I've lost twice with TT (once vs. 99 and flopped set) and KTs (flopping top pair to KK). ATs and QJ open ended straight draw don't get there either, 99 vs. JJ, AJs, 44, Ah2h from sb on flop of 4h5hKs that doesn't get there, and I'm stuck over $600. Do you quit or keep plugging away? Give me your thoughts.

Not meant to be a rhetorical question; as for me, I decide to keep plugging away. I'm able to make a stand and hang with it, catching QQ vs. AT with the T the high card on the board, then I raise with 77 UTG+1, the button makes it three, and it's HU. Flop comes As7cJs, I bet out/raise/I re-raise/he caps, 6s on turn I bet/he raises/I call, 2h on river, and I check/he checks to show two black kings. Another nice HU pot in sb with KJ vs. K9 bb on board of Q2K5Q. I opened a second table which is unusual for me, and it seemed to keep me fairly balanced and tightened me up. Up and down still on the first table, chasing and missing one hand then catching AA vs. KQs with Q on flop. I keep trying to make something happen with QTs and 22 to no avail, then leave that table with 88 vs. QQ catching my set on the turn. Not everything went perfect at Table 2 for sure, AA getting cracked by JTo, T6s bb on board of 456 (55), KQs vs. AA flopping my king. One particularly tough call that helped at Table 2 and I think was positive for my overall poker psyche.

This was the hand after my KQ went up against AA, and it was the player on my left's eighth hand at the table. I raise UTG with AcJc and my neighbor cold calls, everyone leaving; flop comes Qc5h7c, I bet and am called; Jd and I bet and am raised, and I'm afraid I'm stuck but call. Qs comes on the river, I check and he bets. I went all the way to the countdown of time. I look at the pot, move my thumb, and I call. The chips move to me when he shows Js9d. He chats nc, and I say I figured you either had me beat or you didn't.

Enough other good things happened to cut 2/3 of my loss from Table 1 and being up $417 at Table 2, net of +$136. Better than slipping further, but I still need to take more time to evaluate Wednesday. Some interesting folks have stopped by, so I'd like to thank them and direct you to check them out. Aayesha has some serious recipes and great food photos. Seattle John is a nice new find, a high stakes limit player in Seattle who works there and plays recreationally at the local card rooms. Swim Suit Models, well, I think you'll like these photos a bit better than my booby shot. Or at least I hope so. Liz Lieu? Well, I'm not sure who the Five Hottest Poker Pros are, but I would think she's in the top five for sure. Sean is a student at Stanford and had some good input. Welcome to those and any others that have stopped by for the first time.

Thanks for a great week. 9 for 10 on winning sessions this month. My conclusion after fully evaluating yesterday's play: if you're going to have a losing session, it should be a small losing session rather than a big one. For Friday's Recipe, I've started out with my hard core solid meals that are fairly easy. Now we're moving up in degrees of difficulty. Homemade Southern Buttermilk Biscuits. These ain't no whopping biscuits; this is the real deal.

Homemade Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

First, place 1/4 cup of shortening in a pan or skillet in an oven pre-heated to 425. When melted, you'll add this to 1 1/2 cups of self-rising flour (must be self-rising). Pour the melted shortening into the bowl of flour, then gradually pour in the milk. If it looks runny, you should add more flour. Put some flour on your hands, take a spoonful of dough in each hand, ball and place in the hot pan. Put a piece of butter on each ball, then cook for 20 minutes.

For the Dad's out there, you'll have a big winner for your bride to whip up a big breakfast with real homemade biscuits. Happy Mother's Day weekend for anyone who is a mom. Home game is tonight with a full table, so it should be fun to mix it up with all the beautiful people. If things go well, I might do a cheer! (By the way, sorry for the crazy font issues; a Blogger special that I've given up trying to figure out, so hopefully you can read all of this).