[dogmeat]

Howdy, I had a little fall from Grace this week in my 30-day contest, but many of you are still in the action. When I crested $3500 (from $122 three weeks ago) I figured only a few 2+2'ers were still in the running, but I took a four-hour doof-fest at 4-tables of $15/$30 and cut that down to $1930.

So, one week left and $1930 and back at $3/$6 and $200NL 4x - and we'll see if I can get back to $3k in the 10 hours I'll probably play.

I'm not homeless anymore, as we finally got the keys to our new house. For those of you that are young and still wondering what to do with all that poker cash you're making, many cities in the US are in the middle of a huge Real Estate boom, and while the bubble will eventually bust, this is a prime time to get a home (or two).

My wife and I have owned and sold four homes and a condo in the past 5 years. Believe me, the money is a lot better than what I'm making at poker.

As an example, the base price on our home went up $91,000 over the 13 months we were waiting for the home to be built. I put down $2,000 to show interest, then another $3,000 when we picked the home. It cost me another $6,500 out of pocket before closing. We'll be starting another one in a week or two. My brother in-law has owned three homes in the past 18 months (plus one being built and ready in a couple months) and the one he is in right now has appreciated $210,00 in 6 months.

Do yourself a favor, buy land and homes in nice area's. Even when the boom slows down, you'll still have a home to live in. FWIW, the interest you pay each month on your loan helps you qualify to itemize your deductions for taxes, and you save a lot of cash this way.

Anyway, best of luck to everybody this week, and on Sunday I'll let you know my final BR and see who the two winners are.

Dogmeat [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]