Captions only

Some scenes from my corner of the world. No narrative -- no words needed.

Above: Park closed -- when your one-horse town becomes no horse. Avon Park FL is in Highlands County (along with Sebring and Lake Placid). So far 35 cases of Covid-19. 34 are local residents, 21 men and 14 women, two deaths, 10 hospitalizations. How does this compare with where you live?

Above: Methodist Church was still open for Sunday Service according to another sign I saw. Perhaps God would be more likely to protect them if the congregation was willing to help themselves. Just sayin'.

Above: Most businesses are closed. I was surprised this Chinese restaurant wasn't open for carry-out.

Above: But Walmart, of course, was open and plenty of cars in the parking lot.

Above: But no toilet paper. What is it with TP?

Above: Walmart offered hand sanitizer when I left. You'd think I should get it before I entered as well. Notice the lady in background -- she counted customers as they entered and left. Signs everywhere to stay 6 feet apart, but some ignored that. Why am I not surprised?

Above: Is this your favorite MOJO man or is it a dangerous bandido? "Put your hands up. Give me your money!" Yeah, I thought so.

Did you know that in the newspaper printing business, captions were called cut lines? If you are really bored from staying home, check this out here.

UPDATE: As of Wednesday, April 8: 44 cases, one non-resident, 27 men and 17 women, 4 deaths, 14 hospitalizations. Hospitalization means that a person was hospitalized at some point in their illness and may not be in a hospital now.

Main Event wrap-up

Above: The Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino is the venue for the World Series of Poker.

Now that I'm home, it's time to look back at the WSOP Main Event. Most tournaments are ho-hum, but there's something about the Main that gets your blood pumping. I'm hoping to play again next year to atone for some of this year's sins.

Do you have a fitness band? I wear a Fitbit Charge 2, a toy/gizmos I enjoy. It displays my pulse, and I have a low one (in the 62-66 range). While playing in the main, I noticed it was often 72ish. After one big hand where the villain (unsuccessfully) bluffed me, I noticed it was 85.

My fitness band also records my sleep. I noticed the three nights before I played, I only slept 6+ hours. The nights in-between, I slept 8 hours. Sleep is important. What can I do next year to improve on this? I also noticed late in Day 1 and Day 2, I lost chips. Was I tired and not playing as well?

I did eat properly. When I play, I see guys on their dinner break with plates piled high. You will find me eating a salad.

What else can I do to maximize my chances next time?

Above: Bring money. There are plenty of things to buy if you have coin of the realm.

Above: The Masquerade Tower is part of the Rio. I think it's for the high rollers. Guess what? I've never stayed there.

Main Event run ends

Above: You have to climb a lot of steps to survive in the WSOP Main Event.

I'm sitting in my room watching poker on TV. An hour or so ago, I was playing in the event. Playing is more fun than watching.

I started with 14 big blinds. Early I shoved with 9-9 and everyone folded. The blinds and antes ground me down and I shoved with A-K and again with A-J. It's tough with a short stack. You basically have to shove or fold. Raising and then having to fold to a three-bet is a recipe for disaster. I shoved one last time from the cut-off on a steal and the BB called with A-J. I whiffed the board and was gone.

I've got to come back and play again next year. Even though I don't like my result, I enjoyed playing and the excitement.

Above: The shot clock when I busted.

Above: The Gold Coast was my headquarters for the past eight days.

Limped into Day 3

Above: The Rio Casino is the home of the WSOP.

I've advanced to Day 3 (Saturday), but played terribly. Having some bad luck didn't help either. My stack moved up above 100,000 chips, then slowly went down. I bagged 28,300 which is 14 big blinds, so I'll need some luck tomorrow. I guess the good news is that I'm used to having a short stack, but there's no room for error here.

Some days it goes like that, and I know it. Was good to have today (Friday) off to recover and rebuild my confidence. Some encouraging tweets by friends -- thanks.

Something you seldom see: A guy at my table raised. Guy 2 three bet. Guy 1 shoved. Guy 2 went into the tank and finally asked if he folded would Guy 1 show. He said yes. Guy 2 folded K-K face up. Guy 2 showed A-A. I don't think I've ever folded kings preflop. If they have it, they have it. Have you seen this at the table?

Above: The mascot's name is Chippy. Read more here:

https://www.playusa.com/wsop-mascot-chippy/

Above: Up close at the Rio.

Above: A lady waits for her Uber driver at the WSOP.

Next stop is Day 2

Above: That's me with 50,000 chips in front. The dealer took a joker from a deck of cards and held it over my head. She may be right.

We started Day 1B with 50,000 chips. I was able to move up nicely reaching a high of 106,000. Then the last two hours things went south.

I think I did have some bad luck in my table draw. One guy finished 150th in the ME last year, and there were two players who had previously won bracelets. Maybe I'm saving my luck for Day 7!

Anyway, I'm moving on with 76,500 chippies. My Day 2 is Thursday, so bring them on.

Above: The Gold Coast, where I'm staying, is next door to the Rio. In fact, you can see it in the background.

Put me in coach, I'm ready to play

Above: The Gold Coast Casino is my home for the next eight days.

I waited until the line died down today to register for the Main Event for tomorrow. At least, I thought I waited long enough. There were all kinds of donks and wannabes players waiting to buy in. The process is efficient, however, and I was out of there fairly quickly with this:

There are some differences between this time and my previous Main Event in 2014. Back then we started with 30,000 chips and 50/100 blinds. Now it's 50K chips, but starts at 75/150. I'm not going to look at the succeeding blind levels and try to do a Patience Factor analysis, just noting it's different. Also, before, Day 1A advanced and played Day 2 with other 1As. This time 1A and 1B advance to Day 2 (Thursday), but continue playing within their own group. Not sure why, but maybe they've discovered that certain situations allow some players to build up huge chip stacks easier than in others. They're always trying to improve things, so we'll just play it as it comes. The structure sheet is here.

I'll try to update occasionally on Twitter where my handle is @memphismojo. Follow along if you're interested. I'm assuming nothing, but if I advance my schedule is this: Play Tuesday, play Thursday, play Saturday and then each day following.

See you at the final table.

Oh, put me in coach, I'm ready to play today
Put me in coach, I'm ready to play today
Look at me, I can be centerfield -- John Fogerty

Above: Gold Coast Casino is located across the street from the Rio. It's just fine, not as crowded as the Rio this time of the year, and less expensive.

King of da geezers

Above: My MOJO was working Sunday in the Senior Poker National Championship.

In a comment of a previous post, lightning36 said, "In geezer tournaments, he is da man!" We all had a good laugh until the finals of the Senior Poker National Championship Sunday. We played down to three players and agreed on a chop. I won't go into the details except to say I asked for the trophy as part of the deal, and you can see it in the photo above. Nobody's laughing now except moi.

Needless to say, this was an exciting ending to a trip where I felt I was playing well, but didn't have much to show for it. As we all know, poker is a skill-based game, but you still need some luck at the right time. That's what makes poker such an amazing game, and if you can't embrace the luck factor, poker may not be for you.

One quick deal. When there were two tables left, a guy limped in, I raised and villain called. By now the pots are quite worth fighting for. The flop came jack high. The villain checked, and I bet about half the pot, villain called. The turn card was a blank and I bet again. Because the pot was getting large, so the bet was large. Villain thought for a long time, showed his jack and folded. I was rather happy to win this since my hole cards were ♦6 ♣2. Sometimes it pays to have a nitty old man's image.

The SPT took their own photos, but the pics and the results aren't posted yet, so no link. I'll try to remember to update later when it's available.

Above: The Orelans Casino Las Vegas was the site of the Senior Poker National Championship.

Above: The Orleans Casino Las Vegas is the venue for the Senior National Championship being played June 22-24, 2018.

On Wednesday, I moved from the Jockey Club (on the strip) to the Orleans with plans to play in the Seniors National Championship on the weekend. I've not been here before and was pleasantly surprised at what a great poker room they had. Before I had just assumed the Orleans was another long-in-the-tooth Vegas casino not worth visiting. I was wrong. I played in the Wednesday tournament with maybe 200 runners. It was a well-run affair.

To qualify for the finals SPC on Sunday, you had to play Friday or Saturday and last 11 45-minute levels. I bagged 44,100 chips where the big blind is about to go up to 2400. I believe I was 36th out of the 46 who advanced from Friday (Day 1A). See here.

With a short stack, I'll need some luck, but that's the beauty of poker -- chip and a chair and all that stuff.

Above: The Orleans Casino is so big, I couldn't get it all in one photo.

Above: Part of the Orleans Casino poker room.

Above: The Golden Nugget is a casino located in downtown Las Vegas on Freemont Street.

Blogger Rob (in a comment on his site) noticed that I played at the Golden Nugget's Seniors Event on Saturday (June 16), and asked did I do anything. There were 913 geezers seniors who played. The WSOP Seniors on Friday had about 6,000 runners and about 5,000 were eliminated. These donks unfortunate players were in town for the weekend and couldn't wait to donate, er, play more poker, so the great turnout shouldn't have been unexpected.

I was eliminated in 35th (sorry don't remember my busto hand, too long ago), and you can see all the results here. It's always disappointing to play all day, then cash for a low amount when first place paid north of $18K. I guess if I won them all, it would get boring, haha.

Here are some Freemont Street Experience photos:

Above: The light and music show happens each hour on the hour in the evening.

Above: About 40,000 different bands play on Freemont Street each year. This is one of them. Ok, it seems like 40,000.

Above: Remember, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

World's greatest optimist

Above: My neighbor is replacing his Hurricane Irma damaged roof.

I used to walk a couple of miles each day. Lately, I've been a bad boy, so why not jump back on it. Walking around the neighborhood, you see lots of interesting things. Hurricane Irma was last September, but people are just now getting their roofs fixed. Most of them got a blue tarp from FEMA until roofers (who obviously have been in high demand) were available.

One set of neighbors (in the top photo) decided to replace their roof altogether and put on a metal one. These cost a lot more than a regular roof, but last longer in the Florida sun. He is a WW II veteran, 93 years-old and going with the metal roof. I like his style.

Above: An egret flies.

Above: Before Hurricane Irma, each of these electricity stanchions (or whatever they are called) had a nest for a pair of ospreys. After Irma, they were gone. I saw this and thought, "Good, they are coming back." A lady in a golf cart stopped and told me, however, she thought it was an eagle next.

Above: I live just off Lake Damon. Here's a shot across the lake.

Costa Rica - Day 3

Today my brothers and I toured a Zoo Ave animal rescue sanctuary. It's like a zoo, but the animals are ones who were injured (usually by humans), and can't live out in the wild any longer.

We also toured the famous ox cart factory in Sarchi. The ox cart is a traditional sign of labor in Costa Rica, and the giant wheels are elaborately painted. (See below.)

Above: A brown pelican spreads his wings while grooming.

Above: Macaws are colorful.

Above: A proud peacock struts his stuff.

Above: This giant ox cart was built for the Guiness Book of Records. Read about it here.

Above: An artist at work.

Costa Rica - Day 2

Day 2 in Costa Rica is in the books. The most exciting event today was visiting Poas Volcano National Park.

We also toured a coffee plantation, hiked a cloud forest trail and some other stuff. Weather was cooler because we were close to 9000 feet altitude.

Tomorrow I visit a Wildlfe REscue Center among other things. Will spend the night in Sarchi, Fortuna in the San Carlos valley.

The weather has been wonderful. I hope all of you are suitably jealous.

Costa Rica - Day 1

When I left for the airport this morning, the temperature was 37 degrees F. When I arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica, it was 78. Can you say "dig it?" Pic above shows me chilling out by the swimming pool.

The tours start tomorrow. Have you heard of a cloud forest? It's like a rain forest with lots of humidity, but less rain. Poas Volcano is Costa Rica's most popular park. Besides the volcano, there is lots of wildlife, hiking and a guided tour of a coffee plantation. Should be a busy day.

Above: I'm staying at a gorgeous hotel.

When I was eleven years old, my parents, sister and I visited Yellowstone National Park. I decided it was time to check it out again. Maybe it's changed, right?

The Park offers various tours, but you should sign up ahead of time to be sure of getting a place. I enrolled about this time last year to take the Essential Yellowstone Package. Package is a better name than tour as it included lodging, escorted touring, and most meals. I arrived Monday and left Friday with lots of fantastic stuff in between. Our group stayed in Lake Yellowstone Hotel and Cabins.

We usually left left about 8 a.m. on our minibus with a dedicated guide. He said he wasn't a guide, but a teacher, and had a master's degree in something related (I don't remember exactly what). He was excellent, by the way. Well, 8 a.m. was correct most days, but one we left at 6 a.m. to see gray wolves in the Hayden Valley.

Above: Notice how the steam that comes from deep in the earth condenses, hardens, and forms walls for Castle Geyser.

Above: Yellowstone is said to be the world's largest concentration of geysers. Old Faithful is not the biggest, but it is the best known geyser in the Park.

Above: There are many geothermal activities besides geysers. This one is named Crested Pool.

Above: MOJO with the Yellowstone Grand Canyon in the background.

Above: The bison own the park, we were just visiting.

Above: We traveled each day on this mini-bus.

Above: This skeleton was probably an antelope or deer.

Photos taken with my point-and-shoot.