The Poker Mutant will be retiring (mostly) from poker on 1 January. This is the latest installment in his thrilling countdown to the End of Times.

Afternoon downtime on Christmas Eve and I played the Ignition Casino $1K NLHE 6-Max. For half an hour. I lost all but one hand, sliding down from the 5K starting stack to just 1,700 chips, Then I managed to pull out a straight on the river with my pocket sizes holding the bottom end of a four-card straight on the turn and a 5 river. On the very next hand I raised from the small blind with pocket nines, the big stack that had doubled me up re-raised, and I shoved. He called with sixes and four hearts on the board made him a flush.

Played three Ignition Casino NLHE Jackpot Sit-and-Gos after that—all of them just 2x multipliers—and lost the first two, then won the third.

Mrs. Poker Mutant and I had out traditional Christmas Eve dinner of Dungeness crab (previously-frozen since the season’s been delayed yet again) while we watched Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol and the best version of the same tale, A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott as Scrooge. Kind of scary watching it to realize that I’m the age George C. was when that movie came out.

After that, I played a couple more Jackpot Sit-and-Gos. Both of them came up with 5x payouts; I lost the first after what seemed like the longest number of hands in one of those I’ve seen (and a couple of radical chip swaps), then won the second one after coming back from just 1.5bb three-handed.

Seven days to go: $92,286 to target!

Merry Christmas!