YEP... I'M GOING TO LAW SCHOOL!

Don't have much more to say on that topic because I haven't figured out the details. I just know that within the next year or two, I'm gonna do it. Sometimes, I hate it when these "LIFE LIGHT BULBS" start flickering in my head. Specially the ones that have anything to do with school. I only say I hate it because I end up following through with them which just adds to the number of drastic direction changes that my life goes through. This one, I'm 100% sure that I will be following through with. The only other 100%er was when I moved to Canada the first time around. Plus, I got good friends who are lawyers and they prep me for what's ahead.

On another note, Fukk my internet! I got down to 33 players last night in my last mtt and of course the net goes down. I had over just over 34 bb's when it happened and when Eskal and I finally got it working again.. I had like 8! Winning online mtt's are tough enough without being sabotaged by internet connections. Actually, Goodfella has one of the most horrific internet connection cooler stories of all time. I don't wanna post it on here cause he may read it and jump of his balcony.


In ending I would like to say that..

1: I'm super excited about the fact that one day soon.. I'll have a Bachelor's, Master's and Law Degree.
(Education is our passport to the future kids! Another blog topic..)

2: Fukk you internet..I fukking hate you! Please be good from now on..k?

3: If you judged me because of my pretty "life light bulbs" joint... ur an asshole. I woulda got it to flash if I knew how.. lol. I'm a teacher man...its in my blood :/

Have a good day guys. Part 6 of the story coming very soon. Thanks for all the comments. Please leave comments.. they just feel nice. Peace.

2

One night, around 3am, we got a phone call at the club. It was a friend of ours and he told us that another club, just around the corner, had been robbed at gunpoint. It was terrible news for two reasons. The moment players start hearing that kind of news, they become weary about spending time at underground poker clubs. Believe me, they get enough shit from their families, friends, and wives/gf's. Also, the cops get pressure to break up games and they usually snoop around and bust a handful of games for a few months until mainstream society forgets about it and goes back to their regular grind. This specific robbery proved to be more detrimental to underground poker clubs in this city than any other event, ever! The idiots who robbed it were confronted by police in the parking lot as the way making their get away. They were chased down the street and once they made it on to the freeway, they decided to start shooting at the cops out of the window. Needless to say, the story hit the local news pretty hard. People were outraged that this was happening on their streets. they naturally blamed "these illegal gambling houses" for enabling undesirable activity.

Goodfella and I decided to shut down for a couple of weeks. We figured that things would die down and we could get back to normal activities in no time. We were so wrong. Within the month, club after club was raided. The cops were smashing through doors in swat gear! They were handing out fines, hauling owners out, and seizing all property. A new club would go down once a week it seemed. We had a simple decision to make. Either continue to run and risk being busted or shut it down for good. You have to remember, this was our livelihood. Although we both played outside of our own club, this was our bread and better. It payed our bills and allowed us to live the lifestyle we had grown accustomed to. When you're livelihood is threatened, its one of the worst feelings in the world. We talked night and day. How could we just shut down? What the fukk our we gonna do?

After thinking about it for a long time, we finally decided that shutting down was the only option. With a bitter taste in our mouth, we put the shut down into motion. We called players and explained what was going on. We sold some of our equipment and gave some of it away to friends and family. We informed the warehouse owner that we were shutting down. The first few weeks were pretty weird. We didn't have to go to the club or make phone calls or make Costco runs to stock up on supplies. Our phones rang about 90% less. I watched a lot of TV and rented a shit load of movies. It was just fukking weird!

As time passed I started to do some serious thinking. I realized that I only had a few credits left in my undergrad degree. I decided that first, I would finish that up. So I enrolled for my final 2 courses. It was strange jumping on the subway with a backpack and headphones! I didn't feel like one of the regular students when I got to campus either. It made me upset that I had to give up a successful business that I was good at because of a couple pieces of shit who decided to go Bonny and Clyde on a poker club and get into shootouts with cops over a few thousand dollars. So, moaning and groaning the whole time, I went to class twice a week and finished up my degree. I had always wanted to become a high school teacher. A couple of teachers changed my life when I was younger and I promised them that I would become a teacher as a result. So I thought about applying for grad school at the same university and get my Masters degree in Education. I applied to several schools back home in the States as well. I had always dreamed of going to school in New York. I applied to Columbia and NYU. Also, I knew that because my biological father had been a professor at Mississippi State University (where I grew up until I was about 10 years old), I got some kind of substantial discount off tuition if I decided to enroll there. So I figured what the hell and applied their as well.

The weather was getting good and I was starting to golf a ton again. A friend and I golfed all weekend. I think we got in about 4.5 rounds on Friday and Saturday. Sunday football with the boys was a tradition at our condo. Goodfella's two brothers and some of our other friends would always show up around noon on Sundays. I would always be up re-checking the lines and getting in the final injury updates before I smashed some bets. That Sunday morning, I woke up to one of the guys knocking hard on my bedroom door. "What the fukk, why are you sleeping?!" I was kinda confused. I tried to open my eyes and it was just fukked. My vision was completely mangled. I could look straight ahead and then move my head 90 degrees to either side but the image wouldn't change! I tried to get out of bed and fell off! I felt sick to my stomach. I tired to get to the door and ran into my chair. And then, the image that wouldn't go away even if I turned my head slowly started to fade out and what was directly in front of me started to appear. I'm telling you...it was FUKKED! I slowly got to the bathroom. I puked twice I think. The whole time, the guys are in the living room getting ready for the 1pm games. I came out of the bathroom, still with the image of the mirror even after 3 or 4 turns. I explained that my eyes were messed up and that I was feeling sick. I remember Rob telling me not to be a bitch or something in that regard. lol. I said that I was going back to bed and stumbled back into my room and onto my bed. I slept for hours. When I woke up the next morning, nothing had changed. The same thing went on for days. I didn't know what to think. Finally, Goodfella took me to the ER.

At the hospital, they gave me a CAT scan. They looked at the results and said that I needed to see a neurologist. Fukk me! I remember thinking it was a brain tumor for sure. Everything that I had previously heard about brain tumors resulted in sudden death! Surprisingly, I got over the shock in about 24 hours. If a brain tumor was confirmed, I planned to clear account all my bank accounts and empty my shoe boxes (look, I'm from the hood.. that's what we do aight!) and make a bucket list of everything I've ever dreamed of doing before I die. Playing a session in the "Big Game" and "Banging 10 Hookers in Vegas" was at the top of that list. LOL. [Sorry Hunny.. I don't think like that anymore.. :/ ] I'm pretty sure I would have never left Vegas once I got there. I would have just made a whole new Vegas bucket list. Come to think of it, I wonder if "bitch slapping some TV pros that I can't stand (I can think of two but I better keep that to myself) " would have made the list. Anyway, bucket list in mind, I waited patiently to go see a neurologist.

I went to see the doctor. He did a series of field tests on me. He then sat down and said the following words. I remember them word for word. "Based on the CAT scan results the hospital sent me as well as our test today... as well as from my experiences, I think this is a case of Multiple Sclerosis". Multiple what, I said. Look Doc, don't bullshit me I said. How much time do I got. Bucket list was spinning in my head. Wonder how much 10 hookers cost I thought. The doctor was quick to point out that he couldn't confirm it was MS without further testing. Also,he quickly pointed out that Multiple Sclerosis was not a terminal disease. He said however, that there was no cure for it. He scheduled an MRI for the following week. He told me to go home, relax, don't drink too much, and wait for the confirmation call about the scheduled MRI. I had such a weird mix of emotions. On one hand, I was happy that it was most likely not a brain tumor. On the other hand, an incurable life long disease was horrific news. Also... no fukkin bucket list? WTF!

I went straight to a bar nearby! I called Goodfella and explained everything that I had just been told. He asked me where I was and I told him I was getting drunk at a bar. He said that I was and idiot and that I should come home right away. So..after smashing a couple quick ones..I went home. When I got to my condo, Mrs Goodfella was just arriving. She had been told the news and rushed over. She hugged me outside and that's when I broke! I'm not one to cry too often. I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've cried in my life. Not that its a good thing. Its just how it is. Anyway, it all just hit me. Shutting down my poker club, brain tumors, bucket lists, Multiple fukking Sclerosis, the possibility of a wheelchair... it all just hit me hard. In a matter of months, my life had coming crashing down. Everything around me was ending. It was like... Death around the corner.

to be cont'.....

Sorry for being MIA for almost a week or so. Just wanted to give a quick update. Been kinda busy. Anyway, I feel like my life in Toronto just started. The girlfriend is back home in Portland and I'm getting settled into my new life here in TO. Also, I got some more clothes from home. Its nice not to have to wash my draws every few days! Kinda ironic that I had just set up my dream 3 screen poker set up back home just before moving to Toronto. My girlfriend says online shopping is better than ever with 3 screens now! Ordered a 28" monitor and set it up with my new laptop. Its Ok for now I guess. I'll probably order another one soon. Just don't wanna buy too much shit and have to haul it back to the States after my time here is done. I'll put up a pic at the bottom. Really pumped for the upcoming year. Got back to MTTing this afternoon. Didn't play my best for sure but managed to get into the final 3 tables in one tourney and the final 4 of another. Not a bad first day back I guess.

On a separate note, my girlfriend just got offered the promotion of a lifetime! She works for Chanel and has the opportunity to skip like 5 steps in what would be a normal climb to the top. She's awesome at what she does and hard work def is paying off for her. Very excited for her. Good job boobo!

It's ready, set, go for us both it seems...

Peace,
2

I'll post Part 5 of the Underground story tomorrow..


My poker set up back home...


the new makeshift poker station...

If you've been reading my blog, you know that Goodfella's older brother Rob was getting married on Saturday. As I've mentioned before, Rob was 1 of 4 people that I first played poker with outside of Goodfella. From the moment I met him, he's been one of my favorite people. There's something about genuine people that I really admire and as much as we all rag on him and needle him, we love and respect him a ton. He works in sportsradio and is the co-host of the Hardcore Poker Show. You can listen to him every Wednesday night at 8pm. Its a really fun show and they get some of the biggest names in poker on the show. Plus there's ridiculous prop bets and contests. Pretty awesome job! Here is a link to their site:



hardcoresportsradio.com/groups/hardcorepokershow/default.aspx

Anyway, the wedding was awesome. It gave my girlfriend the chance to meet Goodfella's family and I got to meet some of the family I had missed over the years. The ceremony was short and sweet. The Reception was just loads of fun. I told myself that I wasn't going to get smashed drunk. By 11pm, I was about 15 scotch on the rocks deep! We danced, laughed, and had a blast. Oh yea, the food was awesome too. They served chicken, lamb, and steak! All three! Ridiculous. It was so good. A HUGE CONGRATS TO ROB AND HIS WIFE KELLY. I love you both and hope you guys have a wonderful life together.

Here are some pics from the wedding...

Goodfella and I were in the zone. We finally had our own game at our own location with our own staff and equipment. We moved full steam ahead. We networked like crazy. I started making rounds in the underground club scene. I talked with people and got new players. We started promotions. We started a refer a friend program. We gave out free entries into our tourneys. We had draws. We had tournament cards (similar to subway stamp cards). We did whatever we needed to do to ensure that our game was the shit! And....it worked.

Within a month, our Tuesday Tournament brought in 5 tables with a waiting list. That list eventually ended up getting to be as high as 26 (If I remember correctly) on a regular basis. The overflow from the tourneys into our 1/2 and 5/5 NL cash games made our game run all night. People loved playing at our place. Other club owners came by to visit. In reality, they were just trying to get a one up on the competition. I didn't mind, I did the same shit! Finally, Goodfella and I could run the game the way we wanted to. The way that we knew a good game should be managed. Our staff was awesome. If you ever been to a live casino ring game or even an underground game, you probably noticed that a lot of dealers are clueless! They talk to players about random BS in the middle of hands. They wonder off into space while big hands are going on. They start watching the television monitors on the wall. It drives me fukking crazy! We trained our dealers to be fast, efficient, and courteous. I remember Goodfella bringing in a article written by Jan Fisher for Cardplayer Magazine once. In the article, Jan talked about her issues with bad dealers and poorly managed card rooms. She brought up several good points. I've been looking for that article for the last half hour online and can't seem to find it. If you're interested in finding it, an archive of Jan Fisher's articles for Cardplayer magazine can be found at this link.... http://www.cardplayer.com/authors/8-jan-fisher?page=1 . Anyway, we made our dealers read it and study it. We routinely held staff meetings to fix issues. We were very committed to having an awesome staff that did what they were supposed to do. That's not to say that they were never issues with our staff. We hired, fired, and re-hired several dealers and hostesses throughout the years. But all in all, in the years that Goodfella and I ran our club, I can without any doubts, make the claim that our staff was the most professional and efficient in all of the clubs that made up Toronto's underground poker scene. That's something I'm proud of even today.

Another aspect of running a game that we were happy to be finally in control of was "the sheet". If you run a regular game in which you profit from, it is absolutely necessary to lend money. Without it, every time your regulars go broke, you will lose them forever. We call that...the sheet. Our old partners made a huge mess of their sheet. So concerned were they about maintaining the game that they gave sheet to any and everyone. There's a balance to running a productive sheet. Cost Benefit Analysis was, among many others, an economic concept I first learned through owning an underground poker club. Many people think that we used to pay rent at some warehouse and played poker there. I beg to differ. I could teach you most of the things they teach in a first year economics class, except with interesting real life scenarios! In grad school, during the 2nd term, we are given 3 classes to teach in a local high school. Super ironic (and awesome) that my first class during student teaching was.... 11th grade Economics! Those kids learned a lot from me, LOL (I miss them a ton). There were so many weeks that Goodfella and I could not be paid our cut of the game because there was no money! Sometimes, the week's rake was 4K and the week's sheet was 6K! The thing about lending money in the underground scene is that YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO RECOVER THE MONEY! Because some people will try to F you and disappear. I'm sure most of you understand this concept. If you're confused, please phone a friend. There's only so much I can talk about in a public forum. Our old partners had so countless people on their sheet for ridiculous amounts of money. They had no way of getting to those people. Goodfella and I suffered in the meantime when it came time for weekly chop. I actually went out and recovered some of the money myself in order to be paid. At one point, we went 2 plus months without seeing a dollar! This time around, we ran our sheet the way we wanted. Some players had to be cut off when it became clear that they couldn't afford to keep borrowing. Some players had to be put on payment programs. Some players brought in food from their restaurant in order to repay their debt. Some worked on the new hard wood floor we put in. Others, I tracked down and convinced that repaying their debt was the best option. Others...only a few... I beat the shit out of!

When you're in any underground business, some interesting shit happens. Some are funny. Some are sad. Some are scary as shit! One day, as players were registering for the tournament, two guys walked up to one of my dealers and demanded to speak with the owner. I told them that it was my game. They asked to speak in the back. "Fukk me" I thought. There was two possibilities. Either they were undercover cops there to bust my ass or I was being "taxed". If you've been living under a rock and haven't seen The Godfather, Goodfellas, or The Sopranos, it is now time to phone a friend again! Anyway, they asked me who I worked for. I said "What!?" Now look, by no means am I saying that how I handled this situation was either right or smart. Sometimes, when I feel disrespected or threatened, my ego (getting smaller as I get older) kicks in and I make poor decisions. They told me that the area was controlled by their boss and that they were here to tax me and offer protection in return. I asked who they worked for. They said they couldn't tell me. The way the fat one said that made me question the validity of their claims. I was steaming at this point. These cocksuckers come into my club and tell me that I'm being taxed. Fukk you I thought. But, I still had to be careful because if they were in fact who they said they were, I was fukked! I told them that I already had protection. That confused them. They said "from who?" I said I couldn't tell them that. They looked even more confused. The half retarded looking one was trying to put together a sentence in his head. The situation got real awkward. What do you say to someone when you have offered them "protection" and they say they already have it? LOL. The fat one said that I must be making good money. "AND WHAT?!" I said. The half retarded one finally spoke. He told me who their boss was. The fat one looked upset that his retarded buddy revealed that info. "I know him", I said. Now they both looked retarded and confused. I actually knew him pretty well through mutual associates. "Call him and let me speak with him", demanded. Now things were super weird. They didn't do anything. They just stood their trying to figure out what to do. At this point, I actually didn't believe that they worked for who they claimed to work for. I thought that these were just two idiots who came up with a genius plan to make some extra money and were going around using certain names to get the job done. I told them to either call their boss and let me speak with him or get the mutherfukk out of my mutherfukking club. I wanted to punch the fat one in the throat so bad! The quiet retarded one looked at his buddy and motioned towards the door. Finally, after a brief comical stare down, dumb and dumber finally left. I called an associate who knew their alleged boss really well. I told him what happened and he said he would get me in touch with him. The next day, I finally spoke with him. He said that the two idiots did in fact work for him but that they had no authority to do what they did and apologized for their bullshit. I said no problem and thanked him. The thing with the underground is that their are rules, alliances, and a great deal of respect. If you're weak, you'll be taken advantage of. If you're so strong that it makes you incapable of respecting those who need to be respected, you'll be attacked. However, if you know the right people and remain humble and respectful while making it known that you demand the same from others, you will, for the most part, be left alone to go about your business. I had survived my first "shake down".

We ran our game for the next 2 years. We had now been in the business for 5 years. Things were great. The game was good, the location was good, the staff was good and I had just faded a shake down. Life was good we thought. And then, just when we thought we were on top of the world, it happened.....


Part 5 coming soon

Finally, the girlfriend is here in Toronto. Eskal and I picked her up at the airport last night. We checked into the hotel and took Coco for a walk. They were both excited to see me but Coco went nuts! She wouldn't stop trying to play with me up until the moment she went to sleep. The Hotel is really nice and we get an awesome view of the water! We were planning on going to a nice dinner/drinks but she was clearly exhausted from the trip and just wanted to order room service. So, we did and crashed. I haven't slept for 10 hours in a very long time but last night I did. She's still sleeping! She's on hour # 11.

Today, I think I'm going to book her a session at the spa here in the hotel so she can relax and get some energy back as we have a very eventful 6 days coming up. I'm gonna try and get in some HU PLO hands while she's at the spa. I been on a sick heater in PLO and also, I haven't gotten a chance to get in a ton of hands/tourneys this month with the move and all so my FT points for Truly Free Poker Training is only at 57%. I'm sure most of you know that the TFPT promotion gives you free membership to CR and Stoxpoker based on the amount of FT points you accumulate during the month. Honestly, what an awesome program FT and CR collaborated on. Nice work guys!

After the spa, I think we're going to do a little shopping and sight seeing. I'll probably take her to the CN Tower so she can get a view of the entire city. Tonight, we'll be going to the Goodfella house to meet up with them and head to the meet-n-greet dinner at Kelly's parents' house. That should be a lot of fun! I can't believe tomorrow is the wedding. Jesus, everyone is getting married... I remember being 17 just the other day!

Here is a pic of us from the last wedding we went to...

Omg, the last 48 hours have been so annoying! My car was towed and they wouldn't release it to my girlfriend without a notarized letter from me. She's on a 6am flight tomorrow from Portland to Toronto (through Vancouver) and her dress and my suit for the wedding are in the car. So I get the paper work done and sent it to her this morning. She goes in to get the car, papers in hand, and is asked for proof of insurance. So she calls me and tells me to have my insurance policy faxed to the parking authority. I go to do that and find out that my policy has somehow been canceled for non-payment! WTF !?! Have no clue how that happened. Maybe I missed it...I don't know. So I had to write a new policy so that proof could be faxed. Needless to say they raped me! Sometimes, I wish I just rode a bike! One of those neon yellow and green Huffy's from Wall-mart. Ship it. Anyway, I think it's all coming to and end finally. She should be picking up the car as I write this. Thank the lord!

The last few days have taught me a valuable lesson: "I really need to get my shit together".

I've always been accustomed to flying by the seat of my pants. I'm 27 years old. I can no longer continue like this. I have to get organized and get some order in my life. I'm a high school teacher by trade for god sakes! I remember preaching to my students last year about getting organized, staying on task, and being responsible young adults. I think its time for the teacher to take his own advice.

So since this is all over, I can skype with her tonight and make sure she brings everything she needs to. Really looking forward to her arrival tomorrow. Should be a blast this weekend with all the wedding festivities. Kinda sad that this is my last night at Goodfella's house. They always treat me like family and that will never change. Hope you guys are having a good week. After all this wedding stuff is done and my girlfriend leaves back to Portland, I'll start blogging about poker. I promise!

2

PS - Part 4 ( "The Rebirth and Death") of the Underground Poker Story is coming very soon. Maybe even tonight... Peace.

About an hour ago, my girlfriend calls and tells me that she has bad news. I say what? She doesn't reply. I say, "what!?" She says the following...

"umm, I parked your car on the street and when I came out of the salon, your car wasn't there. It got towed!"

My response...

"Fukkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!"

So some piece of shit just hooked up my baby to his truck and dragged her away like road kill. I feel violated right now. On top of that, I'm not home to go pick her up and let her go 120 on the freeway as a make up present. I feel sick...

Here she is...

Its Sunday night and I just got back from hanging out with Goodfella's brother and some friends. We hung out at our friend Ryan's new house. The first tournament I ever played was held at Rob's (Goodfella's older brother) house and it included all the same guys. They all lived together in a house in Little Italy on Beatrice Street. We called that first tourney the Beatrice Invitational and since then, its tradition to hold a "Beatrice tourney". Today was Beatrice #4. Our buddy Matt ended up winning. Congrats to him! Last night, we played a couple of home game tourneys with Goodfella's cousins and it was a blast! I had the best time seriously. I got a chance to meet some of the cousins I hadn't met yet and they were awesome. Ms Goodfella ended up being the night's MVP and she finished 2nd and 3rd in the two tourneys. In the first tourney, I managed to get it in with JJ and got called by a drunk happy go lucky first timer who showed Ks5s. He made a flush on the Turn and I was out in 4th. This guy, although he was a nice guy, was just a real newbie to poker and was doing ridiculous things. He just managed to make 2 pair minimum every hand he played and that was just about every hand! During the second one, I knew that he would play the same way so I decided to check raise shove on him with top pair and managed to get sucked out again. I wasn't upset though as I just went back to my scotch on the rocks and bullshitted with friends. I'm so tired from this weekend. We had a lot of fun, drinks, and laughter but very little sleep. Gonna be hitting the sack super early tonight.

This is going to be a huge week. My girlfriend is coming in on Thursday from Portland for Rob's wedding on Saturday. Got a room at a really nice hotel near the water from Thursday to Thursday while she's here. Also, she's bringing our dog Coco with her and I haven't seen her in almost a month so I can't wait to see them both. My plan is to get a ton of mtt volume in between Monday and Wednesday. Speaking of mtt's, I should probably let you know how I got into playing them. The thing is, I've been a cash game player for the last 15 months or so. As soon as a I finished grad school, I got back to poker and started playing 5 days a week at casinos. In between, I went to tournament series that were held at various casinos within 5 hours of home. In 09, I was on a serious tourney heater. I was fortunate enough to win 5 tourneys throughout the year as well as several other final table finishes. I've always enjoyed tournament poker and play whenever the opportunity is right. I've learned a ton about solid tournament play over the last few years and really feel confident in my tournament play, especially live. It def doesn't hurt to run hot for a year playing tournaments. You learn and play so much better when you're confidence is through the roof. Anyway, I've always found that online MTTing requires even more preparation, study, and skill. Even though I had a very successful year playing regular cash games, I felt like a I needed a new challenge. This move to Toronto gave me that perfect opportunity, My boy Eskal has been wanting to attack the mtt scene so we decided that we would take on the new challenge together. This way, we'll be able to support each other and feed off each other for the next year. We're gonna spend a lot of time preparing and studying and getting in a ton of volume. Although I'll be playing live cash games whenever I can, for the next year, I will be focusing on mtt's. Hopefully Eskal and I both have an awesome year.

Getting back to the week, I want to make sure that my girlfriend has an awesome time while she's here for the week. She's super excited to meet all my Toronto friends and can't wait for the wedding. On Friday, we'll be going to a welcome dinner/drinks at Kelly's parent's house (The Bride). The wedding is Saturday followed by a goodbye brunch on Sunday. The night she gets into town, I'm hoping that I can get some friends out for a dinner so that she can meet them and feel comfortable throughout the weekend wedding festivities. Hopefully it can work out. I'll keep you posted throughout the week. I'll also get in part 4 of my Underground Poker Club Story at some point in the week. Hope you guys had a great weekend and are looking forward to a good week.

2

I'm staying with Goodfella for the next little while because Eskal's dad is in from overseas on business. My girlfriend is coming in from the States on Thursday and we'll be staying at a hotel downtown for about a week. Until then, its just like old times with Goodfella and Ms Goodfella! (we all used to live together before I left 2 years ago). I got here yesterday and watched more disgusting beats and coolers that are all a part of Goodfella's 6 month downswing. Its the sickest thing I've ever seen in poker. Somethings are just so unexplainable. Played in the mini FTOPS event #4 during the day along with a few other mtt's. I think I've cashed in all the NLHE events so far but haven't been able to break through. There are over 20 events left so hopefully I can get a little (or a lot!) deeper in one. Last night, Goodfella and I were supposed to go out for drinks with our old friend AZ. Its been around 2 years since we saw him last. I think it was at my going away party when I left to go back to the States. Everyone has the best of intentions when it comes to keeping in touch with friends but life tends to makes it difficult on everyone. Even with all the Facebooking, Myspace, Twitter, and Skype, it's still so easy to lose touch with people. I'm pretty guilty of that. Now that I'm in Toronto again, I really have to stay on top of things and have constant contact with all my friends and family back home. For five years, while I was here the first time, everyone back home always needled me and said that I was like an imaginary character who lived far far away. This time, I'm going to make sure I devote the time each week to catch up and shoot the shit with everyone. Plus I have the most beautiful little niece that anyone has ever had in the history of history so I'll want to know every single detail about the next year of her life. I'm gonna miss her so much!

The Goodfella family has a new member as of the last year or so and I think she knew I was leaving her out of this blog because she walked into the guest room/poker office and looked up at me like "dude wtf!" Her name is Jackamo. She's a Morkie (Maltese/Yorkie mix) and she's cute as hell! She accompanies me for every smoke I have on their balcony, rain or shine. Actually, it makes me miss our dog Coco (she's a Maltese) a lot! My girlfriend is bringing her when she comes up on Thursday and I'm super excited to see them both. Some of you may think that 2 twenty something poker players blogging about their fluffy little dogs is kinda... (choose any word you'd like to). I would have said the same thing before having one so it doesn't bother me at all. Plus, you should see all the attention you get from girls/women at the dog park. Reconsidering how you feel now?

Anyway, we went out for drinks and it was good catching up. Ms Goodfella was meeting up with her girlfriends for birthday so we ended up meeting up with them at the end of the night. One of her friends was pretty wasted and ended up entertaining us for the remainder of the night. It was hilarious! Later this this evening, the 3 of us are going to Goodfella's cousin's house. Some of his cousins get together once a month or so for a night of poker, drinks, and catching up. This is my first time attending and to be honest, I'm pretty stoked. Although Goodfella and I are the only ones who play professionally, I've heard that some of the cousins are sickos! That, along with the fact that Goodfella and I will be trying to bluff his older brother Rob all night, will make for a pretty fun night I'm sure! I'll let you know how it goes. Hope everyone has an awesome weekend...

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Here's a Pick of Goodfella and his lil family. Enjoy!