YBM,S

That is my contribution to the poker lexicon. YBM,S stands for "You been min-ed, son!" Online or off, its perfect for both mocking and celebrating one of the weakest plays in NL poker, the min-raise. (When I say it is weak, I am mostly referring to an open-raise pre-flop.)

On the poker front...I finally got out and played a real game last Friday at the Bike. It was the usual 5-5 NLH ($300-500 buy-in) game. Nothing of major note occurred. I played tight and aggressive while looking to get some shots at three very soft players. I got my piece of one of them when I raised in late position with A-K and was called by 3 players including one of the softies who had limped in (as he did with most hands). The flop was Ac-Tc-Ad and Softy, first to act, lead out for $100. I only had about $340 but had him covered (about 300 tot). I loved that he had bet into me but was faced with determining the optimal play. Can I get more out him if I just call or should I move in right there so he might put me on a pair lower than Ts? I couldn't solidly put him on an Ace. If I could, the decision would be easy. Instead, I decided to move in to protect against possible club draws behind me and hope Softy could talk himself in to calling.

He thought briefly while shaking his head but did make the call. The turn and river didn't appear to help him and I turned up my hand. He showed A-5o and I took down a nice pot, about $700. Over the next couple of hours, I worked my stack up over $800 with small pots. After 4 hours of play, I decided to call it quits as two of the soft players had been busted and left and the remaining players were way too tight/trappy. So I booked my first good win in a while: +480.

Away from the felt...My friend, Joanna, is in town with three of her girl friends. I took them to Q's in Santa Monica on their first night where they met my friends Mike and Brian. On Thursday, I joined the girls at Magic Mountain. I hadn't been there in many years and was a bit hesitant. My worry was too many people and long lines. There was some of that but it was still pretty fun. And damn! They have a ton of rides now. Way more than when I was a kid. I don't think its possible to hit every ride in one day. We only made it on six thanks to more than 2 hours in line for "X". We all agreed the best ride (of those we went on) was Tatsu. I love its tag line: "Fly at the speed of Fear." As the Samurai would say, "Bitchin'!".

I was thinking about meeting up with Jo again tonight at Universal City Walk but I decided to pass since I will be going to Vegas with them tomorrow. As it stands, it'll be five days in the desert with four British women. I may have to cut it short by a day at least, if you know what I mean. Just kidding. I am expecting to have a lot of fun with some poker peppered in.

Now I'm going to do something I normally wouldn't...tell about a new girl I met. After four days on antibiotics last week, I decided I was well and would risk quitting so I could meet some friends and drink. I met up with Fred, Kristy, Scott, and Carolina (known to SMC as "Worlds Collide") at El Torito. After that, I went to another friend's house with Fred and Christy expecting to drink and play corn hole with the usual unsingle people who have no single, attractive female friends.

I was caught off guard when Christy introduced me to a married woman who asked if I was single. My reaction lead her to think I wasn't looking and the subject went nowhere. Then I saw a blonde chick in a Tenacious D shirt and asked if that was who she was talking about. Yep, that's Gretchen. So I took it upon myself to strike up a conversation. It went so well, we ended up talking until everyone else started to leave. The party was over but Gretchen was up for more hanging out back at Fred's house. Long story short, she's really fun and cool. We're going to try to get together next week. That may be another reason to cut my Vegas trip short. I hope it works out in spite of writing about it before it happens.

Side story...I felt fine on Sunday, other than a hangover, but started to feel my throat getting sore again. I decided I could try getting back on the antibiotic since I still had six days worth left. It might still work. The only problem was that I wouldn't be able to drink when I took out Jo and her friends. That was painful but the thought of being healthy and ready to do some serious drinking in Vegas helped me through.

I took my last pill a little while ago. I'm so looking forward for some Guinness tomorrow.

I was thinking about writing about Chris Benoit because I'm a big wrestling fan. But maybe another time.

SEEYa