My employer, when asked about health insurance, suggested I check out some website that collects some basic information and sells it to insurance brokers. I filled it out and have gotten calls for the last few days. Today's was priceless.

Idiot Sales Guy: "Hi Jason, this is XXXX from XXXX " blah blah ... " and are you still looking for health coverage?"

Me: "I am."

Idiot Sales Guy: "How much are you looking to spend?"

How much am I looking to spend? Well, about $900 a month each for me and my wife. I'm absolutely made of money and I've grown tired of setting it on fire for barbeque fuel so I thought I'd send much of it to some insurance company every month.

Me: "Are you kidding? How much am I looking to spend? That's your pitch?"

Idiot Sales Guy: "Well, there are a number of different providers in your state with lots of plans. If you tell me how much you are looking to spend I can narrow it down a little."

Me: "Oh, of course. Well, I'm looking to spend little to nothing. I just need catastrophe insurance. Make the deductable like $3000, I don't care. I just need coverage if I need brain surgery after jogging into a light pole or something."

Idiot Sales Guy: "So you don't have a doctor?"

Me: "No. I don't need that kind of insurance. I'm not going to the doctor if I get a fever or a rash. I just need catastrophe insurance. Understand?"

Idiot Sales Guy: "Sure."

(snip 10 minutes of verifying every single thing I filled out on the form. We get to smoking.)

Idiot Sales Guy: "So you use tobacco."

Me: "Yes. I don't think that matters for this though, right? I told you I only need emergency coverage and only for 2 months. When I get cancer in 20 years you are not going to pay for the treatment. Understand?"

Idiot Sales Guy: "I do."

(snip 10 more minutes of height, weight, etc. Why the hell did I type this stuff into the form, anyway?)

Idiot Sales Guy: "Ok, we have a plan here for $450/month that will have a doctor visit co-pay of $20/per visit."

Me: "I don't need to see a doctor. I just need catastrophe insurance. You might want to check with a doctor about your hearing though."

Idiot Sales Guy: (laughs politely.) "Well these plans are flexible. How much are you looking for your doctor visit co-pay to be?"

Me: "Good bye."

When is my turn?

In my last 10 hours of live play I won 7 pots. Math is seriously failing me.

Whah, wah, blah, blah. I could type it out, but I'm just so sick of poker. I just played some of the best limit hold'em of my life, and I have -$85 to show for it in the pocketbook and a pile of smash-shit-up rage emotionally.

How, how, oh fucking how do the pro's do it? How do you sit there, night after night, hour after hour, hand after hand, solidly aware you are at least several times better than the next best player at the table and infinitly better than the rest, and watch pot after pot get pushed to complete nimrods? And they aren't just calling and catching. Oh, no. I've found the special tables. You get to put in 6 small bets and 2 or 4 bigs with the best hand.

Or the nickel and dime hours. Raise AKs. Flop is 457 black I'm red. Easy muck. Gather up about 6 of those and pay your blinds in the meantime.

The deck is seriously killing me. Shoot me in the face.

Anyway, I have a plan. It is a good one. I'm going to play the ticket tourney tomorrow to get my free $70 (Sun) and $80 (Tue) and I'm through with Luxor and the free money. I seriously need a change in venue or I'm going to go out of my mind.

sigh.

Oh, and I'm entirely convinced Ed Miller just ran hot for 2 years. Yes, I see his math, and I understand it adds up. Sorry though, dude, I've been at Low Limit nearly full time for 3 months now. The deck just doesn't work out that well.

You can call too sometimes. I'll answer, even if there is something good on.

But I can't figure out how to get it onto my amazon wish list...

http://www.bmfwallets.com/

another winning day?

Nasty at Mandalay, but +140 for the day. This poor guy. $4/$8 at Luxor, he is new in town, about a week. I'm ahead or catching up every hand. Turn two to his flopped two, bigger straight, outkicked, etc. He is running solid second best every hand he enters. Just like when I moved to town.

There is this other guy in town this week from Dallas. Just aweful, but a pleasure to play with. I wish I could have stayed tonight. He dumped 6 bucks in the $4/$8 yesterday and another 3 today before I had to go home. The good news is he is here until Thursday.

Oh, and I caught a great hand tonight. TT, open raise from button, lady in bb calls. Flop J high, she check calls, turn T, she check raises! Whee, 3 bet, she calls the river and is beside herself at my "sorry, I set the turn." You can't expect to get rescued like that all the time, but it was nice to be on the happy side of one for a change.

Ran into two sets tonight and still made money. Good day. I guess I'm running a little hot. I'm getting that "I don't want to change the CD in my car" type of mentality as I don't want it to end.

Friday night, I came home from work and fell straight asleep. That got my sleep all screwed up with daytime and night time again. I found myself freshly awake at 1 am Sunday morning and decided to stay awake until that night. Let me see, what shall I do for 20 hours?

Yep. Parked over at MGM to investigate a rumor I heard about a 2/4 HORSE game. Turns out it was true, they had spread it the last two nights. Have to keep an eye on that. Off to Luxor where my hours are required and I get to see my wife. $2/$4 full kill for a few hours was fun and profitable. $50 or so? Don't remember. Anyway, I got to play with Justy for a while! Then we had breakfast, then I played the 10am (bounced - QQ vs AK, I lose race.) I went back to MGM to check out the action and wound up just getting the car. I dropped it off at Luxor, walked to Mandalay, and found a fantastic $4/$8 game. Oh, first time playing in a casino? Oh, and you just got married last night and are still drunk? Well, thanks for the $80 and the good conversation, I have to go play the ticket tourney.

The ticket tourney is all good news. There have been big shakeups at Luxor and now employees can't play the ticket tourney. That means more chop money and better odds of winning for the rest of us. The chop went from $55 to $80, profit! And I played with the big boys in $4/$8. No pots for an hour and down $120, but then I went on a bit of a rush. A nice nut flush vs. a K high for 3 bets on the turn and another on the river, a straight, some laydowns, a steal or two, and I made $69 plus the chop money.

There is more to that story. At the table was a guy I clashed with early in my Luxor poker career. I handled him much, much better than I had in the past, and actually enjoyed playing with him and some other locals. I even held my own, mixing my play up a little to get some action as they had folded to my AA raise twice. A2 diamonds UTG is really not a hand one would play, but I limped it. Understand: the Luxor $4/$8 is $1/$2 blinds. You can't try this all the time, but often if you limp first in early you create a 7-way pot for only $2 each. I'm suited, connected, big and small, and I flopped what you normally flop with A2d - bottom pair, top kicker, backdoor flush draw. Small blind bets, I call, some other callers. Of course I want help on the turn or I'll dump. Turn is A spades putting 2 spades out and giving me aces up. I get check-raised by the small blind, and I have to think. He could have flopped a little straight, he could have flopped two pair and put me on just the A, he could have a flush draw, he could just be making a move with one pair from the flop. I'm not folding. If he made his straight good for him. If I raise and he is bluffing he'll go away. I call. River blanks, he bets, I call again. He had flopped top pair 9 and turned a flush draw. Fine play on my part I think.

Justy, Richie and I ate the diner and went home. 15 hours of poker. Not bad.

So I start work tomorrow. Early. I am zero tired.

Anway, I went to an interview for another position at the water company today. It did not go well and I fear I will end my streak (since college) of getting an offer for EVERY job I interview for.

Either way, I went stopped by FedEx to return the laptop from my previous employer, then headed to Luxor for some 2-4 action at 5pm before the 7pm freeroll chop. +35. Then a touch of video poker (even) before heading home, but I heard from my lovely wife and decide we would dine before she clocked in. That meant a few minutes at $1-$2 waiting for a $2-$4 seat, wound up +$3 for the whole session.

Dinner was nice, and it was great to see dear Justy. She went to work and so did I. +~200 in the pit! Hot craps, hot blackjack, cold craps, hot blackjack, and wow I'm going home WAY up.

Recently inspired by a dear friend (fucking hooker) the bankroll is destined for 4-8. And much greater things beyond. The party stories will have to fit in between, my friend. I've made my decision.

The party is over. Negative rush of about two bucks this week. BOOOOOOOOOO.

But, we'll be off shopping today. I think the sun is out. And I've slept like 24 hours in the last two days. Catch up!

Along with the rush. 1/2 6max "bankroll building" session exposes TP no good, no sets, KQ rivered broadway but dude filled up, etc etc etc finally all-in after unexpected flop/turn cap with 89 flopped top pair open end, AQ figured his hand was good and he was right when his Q hit the river.

-50. Oh yeah, so that's how a bad session feels.

Maybe my head was just busy with other things? Home is interesting with Justina adjusting to Married Life. Work is in my head with websphere training. Maybe I should take a poker break?

Down $80 in my first 2/4 TDL, but made that back and another 100 at 3/6 hunting and haunting shorthanded games at The Party. I could have a worse Friday night. Fantastic key hand included The Aces against an overagressive and missed AK. His sorry ass got checkraised on the flop and turn. Same sequence later with my AK that hit against some Q's, and an amazing JJ that I just had to call when I turned a gutshot, then the pot was big enough at the river that 1 bet was not enough to drive me away to beat a missed AT.

Nice little night. Bankroll building always needs some luck!