Rochester, NY

2:22 PM

Last weekend I found myself at the drive thru of McDonald’s at 3 AM. It was time to raid the $1 menu for the after hours party. Two of my friends had donated to the cause and I depleted the $20 with ease. Never in my memory have I ordered like I did that Saturday night: 8 double cheeseburgers, 3 four piece chicken nuggets, 1 mcchicken, 1 chicken fajita, and 3 large fries. I am not a fast food guy at all, but the fat and grease tasted good and fueled us until my eyes shut at 6:15 AM. Ouch.

I don’t want to do either of those things this weekend. Last night was the first time in a long time I held cards in my hand with a decent amount of money on the line. The night of the drive thru I played in a hold ‘em tournament where the buy in was $10. You know how much you are risking at the outset in those type of things. Last night was different. A cash game. Not huge stakes, but still, an all in ranged anywhere from $1 to $100. I forgot about the rush of the gamble. And I enjoyed it.

It was me and except for one, all guys I had never played cards with before. We started with 13 people. Blinds were .50 and $1. Those of us that played all night went from 9 PM to 2 AM. I bought in for $20 and never had to reach back into my pocket. I never hit a huge pot, but I did well enough, playing conservatively and winning $12.

Recalling back to my Memphis and Charlotte days, I could head to Tunica or Vegas and fire pretty good sized bets at the blackjack tables. Now, with my income stream changed, the bet size has reduced substantially, bit the risk/reward rush has not. Maybe even grown. Losing $100 now is different knowing my direct deposit won’t be there on the 1st and 15th.

So I didn’t stay out and up until 6:15 AM last night. My body and brain feel much better for it. I’m even doing some weekend work as I prepare for my business talk on Friday. Time to wrap up and watch how Tiger Woods will do this year. My bet, pretty good.