DOYLISM OF THE DAY: "Dear God, I have a problem. It's me."

DOYLISM OF THE DAY: "Dear God, I have a problem. It's me."

The NBC Tournament is over and I have to give Chris Ferguson my congratulations. Not only for winning, but for his record in the Heads Up Tournament. I believe he has two seconds and a win out of four tries. That's impressive and shows a lot of talent. I never really liked heads up but a poker player should be able to handle all situations.

I played Erick Lindgren my second match and it was a tough one. I beat him but I feel like he actually outplayed me. He made a couple of big lay downs that I don't believe I could have made. He won the early hands and I won the late hands and I thought I was very fortunate. He played extremely well and I'm not at the top of my game right now. In fact, I think this was the first time I've really played poker since Chip died and I'm still having trouble with that.

My third match was with David Benyamine. I've played a lot of hours with David and even though he beat me I couldn't believe the difference in the way his play has changed. He has been going badly for a while and his confidence wasn't at the level it used to be. I thought I played better against him than I did against Eric but I made one mistake and that is all it takes sometimes to lose. The blinds were $2-4,000 and I had the big blind. David raised six thousand and I mis-read him as being weak and I moved in on him with a Q-10 off suit. He called immediately with his two Jacks and I went broke. Oh well, everyone left was a good player and you have to be lucky enough to make the right decisions at the right time.

Team Brunson didn't fare very well as my daughter, Pam, would say: "I'm the Last Brunson Standing," and I only got down to the last sixteen. I noticed that the final four were all Full Tilters. That is justice for the great success their site has accomplished. They have really turned the corner and my hat is off to them. If you can distinguish the difference, I am envious but not jealous, because they are all my friends.

That night after my loss, Todd and I got word that Blake Shelton and his band was having a concert on Freemont Street and were fans that played at Doylesroom. I didn't really feel like going but after I found out what a big time name Blake has in Country Western music, I decided to go with Todd, his wife, Anjela, and my nephew, Ken Hale. I was pleasantly surprised when we got there and ran into Phil Hellmuth and Clonie Gowen and her daughter. We sat and listened to Blake and his band and drank six beers in an hour and a half. Then we met back at Blake's tent with the band and Blake. We enjoyed the show so much we stayed until the concert was over about midnight. We had now consumed about ten beers apiece and the band wanted to continue the party. The head guitarist wanted to try my hat on and when it fit him, I gave him my $1600 Stetson. That was about $150 for each Miller Lite I had drunk! Oh, well, he gave me a violin string which was exactly what I needed!!!

Then we went down the street to a bar called Hogs and Heifers. It was a biker bar and I told Todd and Phil we were sure to get into a fight going in with two gorgeous women like Clonie and Anjela. I hadn't been in a fight for a long time but fortunately, the management recognized us as poker players and gave us front row seats. You have NOT lived until you have seen a drunken Phil Hellmuth dancing to Country Western music at a place like Hogs and Heifers. All the girls get on the bar and dance but despite their best efforts, they couldn't get Phil up there with them. But, I saw a different Phil than I had ever seen and we had a great time. To Phil's credit, he didn't succumb to any advances the girls made. Me? When you get up over sixty years of age, the women look right through you - unless they say….."You remind me of my Grandfather!"

I've never seen women that could twist, gyrate, and grind like some of those women. WOW!!! Time has passed me by. Where were they when my hormones were raging? Even sweet little Clonie danced and looked adorable which she always is. We finally left to a standing ovation about two o'clock in the morning! Ken and I took Phil and Clonie back to Caesar's Palace and headed home where Casper promptly bit me - DB.

p.s. Louise wasn't very proud of me either