For one reason or another, it had been a few weeks - and I couldn't take it any more and we had to play some poker!
But things are changing here - instead of the normal setup, I had to take a bit of extra time to make room in the garage - as we have turned it into a makeshift storage facility for all the crap that normally is in our house.
Yes, as mentioned before, we are going to sell our home and then buy a new one, hopefully we will remain in Burbank, and almost definitely Pepper Street Poker will carry on, on a differently named street!
As is the format for our Bix Mix nights, we had a dealer's choice of ALL of the games, and with tables of 6 and 7 players respectively, none of the games were set aside - all were up for grabs.
Yours truly nearly doubled up early on, with a big suck-out against the always formidable Lea Anne - she sniffed out a bluff with her top two in Pineapple against my TPGK (top pair good kicker) and so with both of us all in we ran the river final card twice only to see me hit my second pair (I had AQ) - a queen, on BOTH rivers! Crazy and SICK.
From there it was mostly down hill for me for the next few hours, but it didn't matter a whole lot - I was just so grateful to have everyone there.
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| Yes, we did put all 3 racks of $5s into play - time to bust out the $20 yellows! |
As midnight approached the game began to wind down a bit, with just over half the players cashing out. As per usual, most were up a little or down a little - with a few leaving with dust and a couple of others cashing out biggish.
We settled into six handed play at a single table thereafter, and I did manage to spin up my stack into profit-ville by the end - which was 230 in the morning! Yowza!
****
As I cleaned up the next morning - I looked at the giant pile of boxes and various household items in my garage and realized it's only going to grow from here on out until the move.
Playing in a storage facility worked this time, but next time it probably won't. It's going to be just a wee bit (or a lot bit) more crowded I'm afraid.
And so with that, this is officially the announcement that the very last poker game has taken place in the good old garage around back!
I really am going to miss this place - but I'm also excited about the future and where we will all get together next! It's very unknown at this point, but I'm confident that things will work out well - as we are very blessed with this opportunity to upgrade a bit and then continue to play the game we love with the very best people.
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Post-script -
It is very fresh and very raw, but I must officially post here that we did indeed lose our dear friend Ian.
He passed with his family at his side on a Wednesday, February 11 2026, from complications of his chemotherapy treatment - which were exacerbated by ILD (Interstitial Lung Disease).
At only 47, Ian was way too young and even more significantly - way too good of a person to go so soon.
Our hearts are shattered, truly.
I will write a more fitting post soon for him - I'm still processing, and I can't imagine the grief that is overwhelming his parents, brothers and those closest to him. I'm praying for strength for them.
We love you buddy. I know I will see you again someday. Save me a seat.
