So long St. Louis

I haven’t written in a while because life away from the tables has kept me quite busy.

For starters, I’m writing today from my new home, and my hometown, Cullman, Alabama.

Less than a month ago, I got word I was being promoted to content editor at Watchdog.org, which meant I was no longer tied to Missouri. With my wife nearly seven months pregnant, and a nephew on the way, too, in a few weeks it was an easy decision for the family to move back home.

We quickly found a rental, and moved into our new home on Saturday.

Poker? ‘Round here. Sheesh.

Were I an Aussie, I’d find a place to play at http://www.pokersites.com.au/, but being in the good ol’ USA, and specifically in one of the most ultra-conservative counties in the most ultra-conservative regions in the country poker might be tough.

Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse for me at Bovada and I busted the little roll I had on there, but not before netting a $1,500 profit on my initial investment. You may recall the phrase, “Nature abhors a vacuum.” I think that applies to online poker sites too – if the action is juicy, good players flock to it to fill the skill void.

That’s the same reason I believe there’s no such thing as “the best place to play $1/$2 NL in Vegas,” a very frequently asked questions on the poker forums.

I have some leads on some home games and association games in Cullman, so maybe I can play some underground poker as I did in Tuscaloosa, but I won’t bank on that just yet.

Another surprising development was a win by yours truly in the final freeroll of the Golden Nugget online series, which nets me a seat in the $600 Poker Player Newspaper event in Las Vegas on July 4, and two nights’ accommodation at the GN. You may recall (if I remembered to post it, perhaps not) I previously won one of their weekly events, which earned me a $125 seat plus a two-night stay.

Now comes the debate on whether to go. At least, with us back in Cullman, Amy has her support system nearby. If I go, it will be for the minimum two days so I can go play the $125 event on July 3, the $600 tournament on July 4 and fly back the 5^th. As long as I can find flights for a decent price, it’s hard to pass up a free shot at some serious cash in the $600 tournament (I figure first in the July 3 event won’t be for more than a few thousand, but there could be tens of thousands to be won in the finale.)

I think I’d pledge any big winning towards the Disney Vacation Club. We had a blast on our trip with friends in October, and unlike almost all other time shares this seems like a decent deal.

As for St. Louis, it was a lot of fun living in the big city. There was a ton of stuff to see and do, and I didn’t check but maybe half of them off my list. I was pretty mopey as we packed up, but in the end it will be nice to have a great telecommute job and be able to live back home.