And we all know what happened to Clubber Lang...

Again I am posting for the monthly poker game.

Few changes this week. First with the holidays we bumped it up a week to minimize scheduling conflicts. Then The Diabolical Mr. Kim gets taken out by family obligations. Fortunately for us Riverdance steps up and handles the hosting duties.

Kudos to him for volunteering his home to us sofa kings for the evening.

Now some of the usual suspects are there. Myself, Riverdance, Free Money, Clint, Craig. To help us fill out numbers Ken's lovely wife Dee, sits in, and in a rare occurrence I get my good friend Mark. The man needs to get frequently flier miles or something thing. I mean I think Jules Verne got the idea for the book Around the World in 80 days from Mark.

Seriously. I am not joking.

Now we did get a commitment from our good friend George, but a bout of the flu forced him out last minute.

And lastly we had the ghost of Andrew Higgins.

Too bad he didn't show, but then I think we would have all had heart attacks if he had and I wouldn't have been able to write this blog that you are now reading.

Now the night started of easy. I lost a few small hands having marginal cards and someone taking me down. But nothing too serious and I was still just fine and trying to feel out Mark and Dee.

The huge surprise was Free Money Frenchy. Betting into several hands hard, often and early. Seriously, on a normal night you would totally understand why the French surrendered to Germans so quickly during the wars. But here he was tossing money at us like we were dancers at a strip club.

Granted none of us were in G-strings, thank god.

The only thing that would have shocked us more would have been for Andrew to actually walk through the door.

Now I grab a few decent pots to get my chips back up. Working back and forth for a while. Mark, while new to Texas Hold' em but not to poker, is on a slow bleed. He has some good hands but keeps getting beat by better cards or suck outs. That however is the nature of the game.

Now I have a New Years resolution is to bring a notepad. I do remember much of the night, but I forget details and the order some things happened in. Also since I seem to be the only active blogger left I guess I will have to bring something to document this event with. But I will do the best I can. The other problem is I really focus on playing a good game so I am not sure that helps either.

No one got a big chip lead, I think Dee, Ken, Craig, Clint, and Frenchy were all up at different points early.

Now with a moderate chip count I manage to bet hard into a few hands once catching a set against Dee and flush against Craig on separate hands. Then I lost a pot to Ken when my 2 - 6 straight lost to his 3 - 7. Yeah I got frenchied, how bad does that suck.

Now comes a key hand. I get dealt 67d, suited connectors. I have Craig, and Dee in and myself, I think one other player was in for the flop but backed out after it came. Jd 10d and I think the Qd, I am on a flush draw, everyone bets moderately and I raise back over the top. Everyone calls, So now I am worried about pocket jacks.

Turn is Kd. I know have my flush, but I am also worried about the Ad, Betting is hard, but I am pot committed, Dee and Craig bet hard again I raise. River is another Queen and how I face the possibility of a full house and a higher flush. Again I am totally pot committed, I check, Dee folds, and Craig raises and I call. Hoping he doesn't have anything (cause he normally does) He has a set of queens, no Ad and my flush holds up.

This was a huge hand and a big pot. I was up big with possibly the chip lead.

At this point Clint is really short stacked and busts out first. I wasn't in the hand so I don't recall. Ken goes next. Trying to bail himself out cause of a slow chip bleed. I believe it was Mark who edge him out.

I'm not totally sure who took Free Money out. It may have even been me. Mark falls not to long afterwards leaving Craig with a modest chip count, Dee who is very short stacked and myself in the chip lead.

After some chip exchanging (nothing noteworthy) I catch Dee on the big blind for the last of her chips. Tempting it I call with a 2-3 off suit. I think the blind was 2k so it was a major issue if I missed. But I'm hoping with the fact that she had to play the cards she got, that they were awful.

Nope!

Pair of 3's and she catches another for a set and she stays alive.

But not for long when I do take her out 2 hands later with a set of 10s.

This leaves Craig and myself. Difficult man to read, if he is betting into you he had something (usually better then you). I do however have chip count.

We work around a bit exchanging blinds, He even take a decent pot off me to gain a glimmer of hope.

Then it happens.

I'm sitting on the big blind at 4k. My hand? Pair of Kings. I so want Craig to call or better still, try and push with an all in.

What do I get?

He goes all in. I just jump at the call.

He has AJ off suit. Flop. He gets a jack and no help to either of us on the rest of the cards.

Turn is another K I have a set. and they hold up.

And down he goes, I showed the eye of the tiger and returned to take back my belt as the champ. That is right for those playing along at home I've now won 3 out of 4 months with only a second place finish besmirching my record.

Oh well you can't win them all.

But I pity to fool who challenges me!

Either way I have my title back and looking forward to next month, who knows what might happen. Andrew might actually show up....

...Naw I have a better chance at repeating then that happening.