Contentment

Had a pretty incredible last few days, and its looking like I'll actually be spending the next few months in Vegas, as opposed to going back east. Im in a position where I should be able to play in a bunch of the WSOP events, and for me to just pass up this kind of opportunity would be pretty silly, so home is here for now. It saddens me a bit that I won't be with all of the amazing people that I spent time with last year, but when I look at the bigger picture and my long term goals, I think its pretty clear that I have to be in Vegas right now. Don't get me wrong, though, I really do love my life here, but it's always hard to think about a long stretch of time away from my family and friends.

As for playing, the last few days have been great, having had winning sessions on 4 out of 5 days. After hearing about how great the game is for months, I finally went down to the Bellagio to sit in the 30/60 Omaha Hi/Lo game. It's supposedly the best O8 game in town, with a ton of loose players and sick action. Also, there is an interesting "kill" in effect that brings the game up to 40/80. Basically, any time a hand gets to the flop, and one player scoops the pot, the following hand goes up to 40/80. So for example, if I raise from the button, the BB calls, and just check/folds to my bet on the flop, the following hand is 40/80. So I'd say at least 70 percent of the time, we were playing 40/80. Pretty sick. As for the game itself, it definitely wasn't the loose shootout that I had heard about, but there were definitely some bad players, many of whom seem to be regulars. Also, WPT champ Paul Darden, and Jean Robert-Bellande (of WSOP and Survivor fame) were in the game, which was kinda fun. Darden played really well, made some pretty sick reads and just didn't make any mistakes. Bellande, on the other hand, played way too many hands, and actually ended up pumping like 800 into the game in like an hour or two. Fortunately, I was the recipient of a few hundo of his :o) Between his donations and the weak play of some of the regulars, I quickly realized that sitting in the game was most certainly +EV, and the jitters I had from playing higher than Im used to, and with famous people, quickly subsided. Once the game got short handed, I decided to call it a night, and ended up a little over $700 winner. Played the following day as well, and made another $200 or so grinding it out against the same regulars. Evidently, I had arrived after the game had settled down a bit - apparently that morning the game was nuts, with betting being capped on every street and multiple $4000 and $5000 pots. Sick.

A friend from Nantucket was in town this weekend, and on Monday I was able to go look at some real estate with him. He's considering buying a place out here, and it was a blast getting a chance to look at some amazing houses that I otherwise would have never seen. Honestly, I've never been really interested in accumulating wealth or materialistic interests. Hell, I went to school for music, and never had any real concern with being "wealthy". Even with poker, I obviously talk quite a bit about money on here, but it is honestly just a way of keeping score - you need x amount of money to pad your bankroll in order to move up to bigger games and play in more tournaments. For me, all I want is to be in a financial position someday where I can travel and play on the pro tour. Although that takes a substantial amount of money, it's really the freedom that I am after, as I am really not that concerned with material things. All that aside, when I laid my eyes on some of these houses, the first thing that crossed my mind was "I want this - make money." I felt a slight pang of guilt over my reaction, and mulled things over afterwards, about wealth and happiness and if it is only natural to want the finer things in life. In all honesty, I don't think there is anything wrong with it, and as long as everything is kept in perspective, you're on the right track. I certainly realize how insanely lucky I am to be able to live the life I live, and I'm usually pretty good about not worrying about the things I don't have, but damn, if you saw that infinity pool, you can bet your ass you'd want one too!

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” - Epicurus