I realize I kinda left you hangin’ a bit there, huh? Sorry I’m just getting back to you now.

But I’m sure you know that if I had done anything spectacular in Day 2 of that tournament on Friday, you’d have heard from me long before this!

So, yeah, no. My Day 2 experience was outrageously unspectacular. I started with a short stack and after two orbits of complete dreck, it was even shorter. That’s when I looked down at AQ and quickly got it all-in. As I am wont to do, I managed to run head-on into pocket Aces and there were no miracles available to me at that particular moment.

So, I was out without a bang – and quite frankly, barely even a whimper; it was more of a shrug. Oh well.

At least I cashed, even if was an insignificant amount that I’m almost embarrassed to say. OK, fine it was about $550 (I honestly barely remember). And Uncle Sam still managed to ding 30% of that in US withholding tax.

Before my unglamorous demise, the kid beside me who looked exactly like a young John Oates, told me how much he admired my jean jacket. My Jean jacket puts the “age” in “vintage”. I bought it second-hand to begin with, and have held it for over 25 years. It’s been to every corner of the earth and has all the scars to show for it. Ruth can’t stand the sight of it. I wear it mostly because if I leave it at home, she’ll toss it in the garbage (as she knows Goodwill would never accept such a schmattah).

I told the kid he looked exactly like a very young John Oates. Of course, he’d never heard of him, which just made me depressed. I also warned him that yours truly used to look exactly like John Oates, so he better watch out or he might end up looking like me. I don’t think he cared much about that. As long as he didn’t end up playing poker like me!

Anyway, I’ve decided to revolutionize my game. I have the plan, I just need to execute. Next time I play – which will probably be next Monday in Scarborough – I’ll be a different poker player. You just wait and see.

Remember when The Penguin made Rocky lead with his right against Apollo Creed in Rocky 2, and then late in the fight switches him back to southpaw? That’ll be me. They’ll never know what hit them. When I win my next tournament, I’m dedicating the win to the memories of Burgess Meredith and Carl Weathers. And the memory of Sylvester Stallone’s career.