“Use today’s New Moon as a new beginning”

Finished ninth (out of 25) in that there Run Good Challenge 3: WSOP Edition yesterday afternoon.

I played fairly well, I think, though probably missed a couple of opportunities along the way. Ran fairly good, too, winning a coin flip versus Michele Lewis and being lucky enough to draw A-K versus Iggy’s A-Q (and having it hold up) in another all-in.

Got to the final table short-stacked, though, and when Dan Skolovy of Poker Listings put in a small raise from middle position I decided to shove my miserable little pile of chips (about seven BBs worth, I think) from the button with pocket treys. Alas, Dr. Pauly was waiting in the big blind with cowboys, and so dutifully reshoved, pushing Dan S. out. No trey came, and I was on the rail. Big congrats to TripJax and Matt Showell (of PL) for winning the WSOP seats! (And thanks again, PokerListings, for setting it all up.) Looking forward to covering you guys, as well as the Poker Grump.

My flight leaves this afternoon, and with just hours to go, I still have the majority of my packing to do. Last summer I took about three times too much of everything, so I’m gonna try to be more selective this time around. Might send along a few tweets today @hardboiledpoker chronicling my progress across the continent, if anybody is innersted.

I am confident, however, that I will not come close to matching the 124 highly entertaining tweets B.J. Nemeth sent over the last 31 straight hours as he drove 1,630 miles from Atlanta to Arizona. One highlight from B.J.: “I’m in Albuquerque! If there's anything I learned from Bugs Bunny, it’s that one wrong turn here can lead to disastrous/hilarious results.”

Time is short, then. Allow me to conclude this here WSOP prelude by sharing with you my horoscope for today, as read to me by the lovely Vera Valmore (who will be coming to see me soon for a week-long visit in June).

I’m a Gemini, of course. Had to be, right? What with my double life and all, as “Shamus” and as “not-Shamus.” Apparently we Geminis are looking at a five-star day here (out of five). To be more specific...

“You project magnetism and energy. Use today’s New Moon as a new beginning, making a resolution in any area you feel necessary. The only thing that can stop you is fatigue.”

Good enough. Will try to remember to get some rest. See y’all on the other side!