Last Weekend at the Zoo with the Philly's

Shina and Zoc.

Man, she makes Ryan look good. Rylee's first "Go around". So beautiful. The Girls....minus Ryan.

32 years old goin on 16. No clue, mountain goat maybe? Gorillas in the mist.

This Photo Deserved It's Own Post....

Surf and Turf in Vegas.....I did this 2 times this trip and probably 6 times in the past 2 years.

Good Times in Vegas

So it was a quick and short trip to Vegas. I played a total of 2 Venetian Deep Stack Tournaments and just 1 WSOP. I had planned on playing 2 WSOP's, however I made a deep run in the one Venetian tournament which was 2 days long and ran into the start of one of my scheduled WSOP's. I ended up taking 11th in the $560 Venetian, which had 700 entrants. I was pretty happy with the way I played with the exception of 3 hands (none which would have altered the outcome). 11th place pretty much sucked in several different ways, but at least it made the trip profitable.

The trip was entertaining as always. It was a great mixture of my longtime friends and my poker playing friends. We ate good, entertained ourselves to the max, and (they) over did it with the drinking (standard). Last night, Chine and I saw Eddie Griffin (comedian/actor) sitting a few seats down from us at the Palazzo bar. Pretty cool I geuss. I will be looking to go back out for a few more events later this month. I'll keep ya posted. Here are some pics from the recent adventure..

Does this cab driver look like someone who listens to David Banner and LiL Flip? I mean straight gangsta rap.

Venetian Tournament.Chine being Chine.My chipstack deep in the $560 Venetian. Poker is fun when you have a lot of chips.Stink getting ready to do damage to this breakfast.

Vegas...WSOP / Chine & Stink

Leaving Thursday, probably coming back the following Thursday. Got a Suite at the Rio with Stink (Mike), and Chine got a houselike room at the Venetian with his boss Matt, so things will be good. I also just talked to a long time friend, Chris (marvgardens), and he will also be staying at the Rio. He is the king of the Cadillac margarita and always takes us to this private club at the very top of the Mandalay Bay...good times. I plan on playing a handful of tourneys while I am there. 2-3 Wsop's and as many Venetians as I can. Should be fun as always and I'm sure I will be posting some good pics of the trip soon enough. P O

--My quality of grammar /spelling etc etc has been awful lately...pressed for time with Queen Rylee :)

Saturday Fun Day

Oye Vay! Hot day, allergies in fullllllllll (with 10 l's) affect. Got up at 8a.m. , planned on being done with the entire landscaping by noon. HA...got done at 5p.m. My hands and the entire house still smell like shat. Took Rylee to our new community pool and playground after. By the way its really nice, similar to a mini waterpark. I know this blog isn't well written, but im straight miserable with this snot that runs faster than Usain Bolt, its incredible. Here are some pics... (fyi if you click the photo, it usually gives an enlarged and more clear pic)


Rylee and Leandra....

The Queen...

Perfection imo, try and trim a bush tighter than that, pffffffffft can't do it....

Perfection from a different perspective..

Rylee and Leandra having a good time...

The Queen in her sun hat....

Bad Days

This is actually an online poker friend who drank to much at the Dodgers game (3 days ago). I thought I had a few bad days.

P90X and My Favorite Workout Partner

So Im sure most people have seen the infomercial on P90X "Extreme Home Fitness". Well, I completed the first week and began day 7 of 90 today. The first week consists of 6 workouts and 1 optional day off, the workouts were as follow.

Day 1:Chest and Back - Push and Pull exercises for the most part, with few exercises consisting of using the bands or dumbbells. Workout time_52:50. ---Id rate this as the 3rd hardest day of week 1.

Day 2: Plyometrics - They call it "the Beast". Over 30 explosive jumping exercises. Workout time_58:36. ---Id rate this as the 2nd hardest day of week 1.

Day 3: Shoulders & Arms - More Dumbells and Bands than most of the other workouts. Deltoids, Biceps and Triceps get worked good on this day. Workout time_ 59:53. Id rate this as 4th hardest day of week 1.

Day 4: Yoga X - Good luck! I struggled big time here. Workout time _92:24. Id rate this easily as the toughest day in week 1.

Day 5: Legs and Back - Squats, lunges, and pulling are the basics during this program. Workout time_58:56. Id rate this as the 5th hardest day of week 1.

Day 6: Kenpo -"Law of the fist". Cardio intense workout. You'll learn a highly effective way on how to protect yourself, while getting a good total body workout. Workout time_55:46. I rate this as the easiest day of week 1, only because I enjoyed it.

I definitely think the results will stick if I can stay true to the workout and tone down on my food intake. Today was a great day for the workout because I got to workout with a partner who really knew how to push me from start to finish. Fortunately for everybody reading I got a photo of my beautiful workout partner. Here she is:

Seattle

Took a long weekend vacation to Seattle to visit Adam, Danielle, and Bananna. Had a great time and Rylee was near perfect throughout the flights. It was great! Here is some photos...The Original Starbucks...

I laugh everytime for some reason

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt2i0ts-uck

"Konnichiwa"

Man, really a month since I wrote? Since its a holiday and all (~~inhaling~~, just kidding Mom), I decided to blog it up. I must admit that I been in some sort of life slump for the past month. Downswing in poker, shitty weather, Yankees getting a shed job, and no exercising are probably the reason for my self depression. Like most slumps, they will all end I'm sure (Unless you root for Cleveland sports teams...doh).

Sports: The new Yankee stadium opened up. Seems like HR's are flying out everywhere. I heard a stat from a friend that there were somewhere around 170ish HR's hit at the old Yankee stadium last year and that they are on pace to double that this year! Wow, curious to know if the engineers f'd up or if it is just coincidental or maybe even purposely built like that. Who knows. The good thing is that the Yankees haven't played very well this season and still stand at 7-6 on the year.

Poker: Enormous downswing. Definitely the largest I have ever encountered, however there are a few changes that have developed which play a part. My volume has decreased dramatically. I use to play approximately 50-70 tournaments a week, now with the princess it has been cut to around 20-40. I also at times just feel exhausted with the game and it may been tilting me a bit. It will all come back, it always does. I am set for Vegas in June for the series and maybe a taste of some "live" poker will also help.

Rylee: Still gorgeous. Today I googled, "Teaching your baby how to crawl". Most links all gave a 5 step process in helping your baby learn to crawl. Day 1 for us on this so called "easy" 5 step process didn't exactly go great, but there was a little light. It'll happen soon enough.
Random thoughts: Two things I definitely been thinking hard about. One is serious, the other is more for just self enjoyment. I really want to start my own business and open up a franchise. The other....haha...I think I'm about to write my own rap song (100% serious). I have a longggg flight to see Chine in Seattle this week and thoughts fly when you are in the air. Don't be surprised if a master piece is complete by the beginning of next week. I mean, I'm not trying to go platinum, but I definitely think I am talented enough to be a 1 hit wonder. If Milli Vanilli, Sinead O'connor, Biz Markie, Candyman ("Knockin Boots" LOL), Vanilla Ice, or Right Said Fred could do it SO CAN BOKE!

Some fun with Philly

Meet Ryan Philibin:

-Been a good friend of mine since prepuberty days.

-I made him look good on 80% of his career assists in basketball.

-Only Ryan and I can say we worked a few years in each others personal space. (Lottery Booth fit for 2).

-I can't beat him in 2 particular games...golf and popashot.

-He has been bald, even before he went bald.

-Spanking new father of a little girl.

***I caught him sleeping and snapped a shot when I was in town.

Imagine...

...the blackness of the night alone and in the middle of the sea. Left helpless and clinging to any hope there is, while waves crash into you as you wonder if something may take a bite out of you from beneath. Just waiting while the sea water slowly eats your life away. Knowing your chances of survival are sinking away as time slowly goes by.

This is what those football players had to go through before they lost their lives. This is something I never want to face and is also one of my biggest fears...drowning. I understand we all have to go, but the way these young guys had to go makes me cringe. They are now gone to a better place and I pray for them and their families for what they had to go through.

-R.I.P and God Bless.

Stink and Chine at the Bar

Wow, if you run around with or know these two, you will die laughing. Enjoy :)
http://www.xtranormal.com/watch?e=20090303193501283

Hard to keep up...plus "The Mind of Maurice Clarett"

Time is going so fast that I feel like I'm gonna be turning 40 soon. I can't even keep up with this damn blog. It's been 2 weeks + since I have written anything productive. The sad thing is, I have so many thoughts every day about life in general that I could easily write multiple posts per day. Ahh well, I have more important things to do these days, like changing diapers, turning basement into a home gym, getting ready for March Madness (huge priority), and of course poker.

I recently been visiting the blog of Maurice Clarett. Yea yea, I know. He says he is writing from prison and that all his posts are strictly Maurice Claretts. I have been extremely impressed by his writings and I also feel that everyone deserves a second chance in life. He made some enormous mistakes in his life and it took prison to help him figure things out. He will always be remembered as a "waste of life" as far as football fans see it. However, he is still young enough to turn his life around and make good. You almost have to give praise to an individual who can learn from their previous mistakes in life and try to encourage others to not make the same mistakes. I hope he can come out rehabilitated and not return to his criminal ways that he practiced in the past. I definitely think he deserves another shot at society. I never thought I would say this, but I wish him well. I think he is a very bright and intelligent man who made some critical mistakes and is now paying for it.
Here is the link to his blog: http://mauriceclarett.wordpress.com/

Daddy and Rylee

The Degeneracy of Gambling

Degeneracy : The process of degenerating. Corrupt, Vulgar, Vicious behavior.

As a poker player (a professional at that) you witness and sometimes even take part in some form of degenerate action. There are several different levels of this degenerate behavior. I decided that it will make for a good piece to share with my readers about some of the degeneracy that I have witnessed and even took part in during the past few years of my career. Unfortunately the endings are almost always sad, but thats what makes us part of the sickness. We thrive for the non-stop action. We are DEGENERATES!

I started playing poker online around 2003-2004ish. Your main goal when you play poker is to build a bankroll and maintain that bankroll as you make cashouts. Unfortunately, there is always that urge to "take a chance" and play at a level that you shouldn't or maybe even venture out and take a portion of that roll and wager it on sports. Sort of like a quick fix. Back than I played only cash games and ran my online roll up to 45k at one point, which was an enormous amount of money being that I was still living in an apartment. That urge hit me and I took my roll to the high stakes nl cash game and proceded to lose about 40k in 3 hours. I broke out into a sweat as I sat at the computer in utter disbelief. Imagining what could have been with that money that I just lost. This is part of the degenerate in most of us, all though we live and learn from these mistakes and move on. Only some of us repeat that disgusting feeling.

I have witnessed other friends of mine in the poker world go through much worse times than just whiffing away 40k. I have a pretty good friend who is 23-24 years old now, and probably at one time was one of the best Limit Poker players online. He ran his roll up over 7 figures (yea over a milli) before ruining himself in the pits of sports betting. It took him a few years to bust completely, but as of late 2007-2008 he is now completely busto and starting back from scratch after losing it all in sports betting. Good news is I think he has his head back to playing and grinding limit poker. They always say every poker player "goes bust from time to time". That statement can't be more true.

Speaking of the all mighty degenerate. If anyone has any time and wants to be sickened by a real life degenerate. Go rent the movie, "Owning Mahoney". It is a movie based on real life fact on a Canadian Banker who is addicted to Black Jack. Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays the role to perfection and will make you feel so empty and helpless as you watch this movie. It's a good one.

LiL Wayne

From a recent interview with Katie Couric,

"If you need an example on how to live your life, you shouldn't have been born".

I could not agree more. What a great interview.

The Super Bowl

Damn, those Steelers just know how to win and they deserve a ton of credit for what they achieved. It probably goes down as one of the best, if not "the" best super bowl games of my lifetime. It is just unfortunate that it had to be the Steelers who came out on top :( I'm not real sure why I dislike them so much. I think Ben seems like a standup guy and has proven to be one of the best QB's in my time. I mean the guy got 2 rings, so there is no way you can argue that he is just lucky. I was very happy to see Santonio get the MVP since he is a former Buckeye. He made play after play in the post season and the winning TD grab was just remarkable. Congrats to him and to the Steelers, but F their fans imo. Especially Chine, Philly, and Zoc.

As far as life goes, the weather has been standard Ohio winter-like garbage. Rylee is getting enormous and is finally rolling over. I can't explain how much fun she is as the days go by. I am definitely blessed to be able to stay home and watch her grow, smile, giggle, etc etc. I am greatful for that. Poker has been pretty much blah for the past months. Its always a long grind, but im on the biggest down swing of my entire career. Not fun, but it'll end eventually. The WSOP schedule is out and it looks like Im gonna be playing a handful of the events in the first two weeks, which will than determine how many events I'll be playing towards the end. With live poker I never know how I will be feeling mentally until the time comes, so its hard to say how long Ill be in Vegas for. Just have to wait and see.

Congrats to my good friends Ryan and Danielle. They had a beautiful baby girl named Aubree. She is healthy and thats what is most important. Have fun Daddy!

I usually like to post a pic to go along with that days thoughts, however it hurts my eyes to see anything Steeler related. So I decided to post this picture of 14 time gold medal winner Michael Phelps celebrating his 8 gold medals from 2008.

Farewell George and Oh yea **edit**

I just wanted to give thanks to George W. Bush for the following:

1. Dividing our country after being as United as possible after 9/11.

2. Single handedly ruined the economy.

3. Beginning an endless war.

4. Getting the UIGEA approved before your exit. (Cause legalizing and regulating online poker would only bring in 40 billion in tax dollars in a 10 year span. Well played you monkey).

5. Making me question what exactly is a Democracy?

For all you Bush eaters, I understand he was not exactly given a good situation, but wtf, he choked under pressure when dealing with the problems. I don't think anyone can argue that. With all that being said, I have faith that Obama won't crack when faced with difficult decisions and that he will not make a tee time with the very same people that want to kill us. I also hope that Obama will not use his religious background to sway in his decision making on topics that involve all of the American people. Finally, Please Mr. Obama take a good look at the Poker situation and that it is a game of skill and what it could do to help bring the economy back. Yeah I am selfish in that manner.

I had to edit the DIAGF comment in the title cause some people take everything in life too serious.

It has been 1 month since...

....the last time I wrote. Yeesh time flies. I'm gonna write something meaningful in the next few days. Here is some pics of Rylee and the Holidays...
My FamilyFriends and KidsLeandra and Mrs. ZocThis is why Im Hot
Family
"Great" GrandpaAunt CaraCousinly LoveGrandpa Boke
Ehh those are only photos uploaded so far.