If you want to know who ended with the biggest cash in the 30K event August 23rd, 2026 at the Pensacola Greyhound track, you’ll need to read the whole article. I’m going to slow roll you on this one, so you best keep on reading. I started the day at 93,500 chips. In May, for 50K event, I started at 45,000 or so. In that event, I finished 8th for a cash at $1,087. With double the day 2 stack as compared to May, I was optimistic.
I started out in seat 5 with yet another younger Ray in seat 4 and Carol in seat 3. Let me explain who these people are. I have previously identified Sincere Smiling Ray and Sinister Smiling Ray in my articles. In fact, both SS Rays posed together for a picture that appears on my website. Now, I need to introduce to you Another Younger Ray. He and I faced off throughout day 1 on Thursday night. We had a few battles, but nothing devastating. Carol is one of several poker couples I have gotten to know over the last 6 months. She’s married to Sets and Quads David, who I eliminated when I flopped a set of 3’s on Thursday. Like most of the wives and girlfriends I have met who play poker here, she has a ‘too bad for him’ attitude when her male counterpart gets dispatched. I’ve been seated at the same table many times with her, but we’ve never battled extensively. So, this is her first mention in my blog.
Both Carol and Ray were in the hand I questioned my play the most about as I lay in my bed losing sleep. She raised on the button with the blinds at 2,000-2,000-1,000. She made it 6,000 to go. Ray called from the small blind. I looked down at pocket Aces,and thought for a second before moving all-in. There was no hesitation, as they both folded. Now, I ask myself if I should have just smooth called and trapped them. If they would have flopped a set, flush, or straight, I would have been asking myself that same question in the middle of the night. The retrospectoscope is an interesting device. The remainder of my day was marred by a series of missed flops with small pairs and suited Aces, to go with small bluffs that were reraised with adverse consequences.
Mysterious Marty saw the dwindling size of my stack of chips, and asked, “Hey man, did an elephant step on your stack? What happened?”
The reality was that I was getting nickled and dimed and dying a slow death. As the blinds went up, my stack was just dwindling. I had been moved to seat 1 of table 17. To my left was Jason who made it quite clear he did not want another card about my books and blogs. There were other female familiar faces in seats 5 and 6. In seat 5, was Jenny who I’ve previously mentioned. She has denied telling me to shut up, despite her wishes that I would shut up. In seat 6 was Lauren. She is a fierce player. She has a larger than life personality, and is very aggressive. In one hand Jason raised, Jenny called from the small blind, and Fierce Lauren moved all-in from the large blind. When the action got back around to Jason, I could see him looking at pocket Queens and contemplating his next move. He folded and so did Jenny. Lauren declared that she had Aces, but that doesn’t mean that she had Aces. I have a history with Lauren in tournament action.
In a previous tournament, I had raised with Ace-King, and she called my raise. When the flop came 10 high, I went all-in, and she called. I thought I would be eliminated at that point, but she turned up another A-K. I don’t see how she called with Ace high, but I do admire her for being fiercely fearless. She does not have to have pocket Aces to reraise.
Previously, I wrote an article about Full Bladder Bob, because he made an AI cartoon that made fun of me telling people, “Hey, you’re in my book.” In the cartoon, the book is called Urine My Book, and a character with a handle bar mustache says, “You can call me Full Bladder Bob.”
I really want to call Lauren Fiercely Fearless Full Bladder Lauren, because she has a habit of asking how long until the break comes, so she can go to the bathroom. She has done this in previous tournaments, and she was complaining about her urgent need of the bathroom yet again. Only this time, I had to go all in with a J-10 off suit due to the fact that the blinds were up to 4,000-4,000-2,000, and I was below 20,000 chips. Lauren called my raise, and I complained, “I thought you had a full bladder, Lauren, why didn’t you just go to the bathroom?”
She turned over King-Queen of hearts, and I flopped a Jack high straight with all black cards. I double up, but Lauren’s bladder got fuller. She kept calling or raising various hands and her mountain of chips dwindled. She never made it to the bathroom before all of her chips were gone, but she did go to the bathroom before she collected her prize money.
Now, I have to say that Lauren is a presence in any room she occupies. She is the most articulate woman I have ever met in her discussion of NFL football. She was touting her belief that the Cincinnati Bengals were the team to beat in the AFC Central. They had just humiliated my Chicago Bears the night before in preseason action. She mentioned players that no casual fan would name as key acquisitions. She even impressed Jason in his Browns sweatshirt with her sports-talk.
It was costing 10,000 a round to play poker, so my stalk of chips was dwindling yet again when I saw King-Queen off-suit just short of the blinds. Consequently, I moved all-in. Some lunatic called from late position with pocket 5’s. I only say that in jest, because I lost the hand when I failed to hit my over cards, and I don’t remember his name.
Now, that you’ve read this far, let me tell you what happened to everyone else in the title. I finished 21st, which paid $395. It broke my streak of 12 straight tournament losses, and I only needed one satellite to qualify. Those of you who were entering three satellites per week, thank you. I will say that Roger, also known as Mack says that he made more money than I did in May and August combined just by playing satellites, and selling entries to the tune of $1,600. As for Mysterious Marty, he finished 6th and cashed for $2,049. As for Bubbly Bob, who cares? I only say that in jest, but he didn’t last too long on day 2. I think that paid a little over $200, but there’s skill in nursing a small stack into the money, so congratulations. There was a Jenny and a Ray who made the top 10, but since I don’t make a point of learning last names, I can’t be sure just who you are. Leave your name in the comments or text me. My phone number is on my card.
