Quick Update

Poker is really, really sucking right now.

I am way, way behind on my blog reading so don't be surprised if you get a new comment on a week-old post.

Punkin is back to her old self but tried to milk it a bit yesterday. I caught her playing with her favorite toy mouse so I knew she was fine.

I have never been to New Orleans so I don't have a story to share. I did watch the entire season of Real World New Orleans and thought it would be a cool place to visit, looks like that won't be happening for awhile. My heart is with everyone from who has been devastated by this disaster. Poker Stars and Wil Wheaton have planned some charity tournaments to help in the recovery of those areas hit hardest. If you have been waiting for a good excuse to start playing online poker, this is the best time. Click Tournaments and then the Special tab for more details.

Now I must go to bed so I can be half awake for work.

I'm A Bad Mom

There are three cats in my household. Ricci and Punkin are mine, and Tye-Dye belongs to my dad. When the flea population rises it becomes my job to put flea killer drops on their necks. Even though it's expensive I have always used Advantage which I buy it at my veterinarians office. It averages about $10 per tube and comes in a package of 6 tubes. Because the two boys weigh over 9 pounds and Punkin is around 7 pounds, I have to buy two different packages for a total of $120. Last Friday it was time to apply the liquid to all the cats. I had enough tubes for the boy's but I was totally out of the one for Punkin. Since I didn't really have the money to buy it from the vet, I went to the local Wal-Mart to see what they had as an alternative. After perusing the choices, I decided on Hartz 4 in 1 Flea and Tick Drops Plus for the bargain price of $8 for 3 tubes.

It was pretty obvious about 2 hours after applying the liquid that something was wrong. Punkin was drooling and her head was twitching a bit. Later I caught her scratching the area with her back legs and as she walked she would shake her legs as if they were wet and she was trying to dry them. I immediately tried washing the stuff off and eventually had to take some shampoo to the area. I did the best I could but whatever that substance is it's hard to get off. For the rest of the weekend my baby was obviously not herself. She was lethargic and would only leave the bedroom if I carried her out. This is another sign that something was wrong as she hates being held. I also don't think she was eating or drinking much but since I couldn't watch her every second, I didn't know for sure.

Last night I decided to do some research and found a very troubling web-site. It's called www.hartzvictims.org and is dedicated to getting all these crappy Hartz products off of the shelves. If you check out the site you will find hundreds if not thousands of stories of animals who have gotten extremely sick and even died after the use of these products. And don't think dog's are immune because they aren't. I also read a couple of horrific dog stories as well. I will be fair and point out that not every animal has had a negative reaction to these products but I also feel that the numbers that have should not be ignored.

As for Punkin, she seems to be doing better although she still isn't at her best. She has been eating, drinking water, and purred for a good ten minutes this morning. She even managed to hiss at Ricci but she is still a little twitchy and not her normal, active self. After speaking with the assistant at my veterinarians office I decided not to take her in as there probably isn't much that can be done at this point and she gets way to stressed when put in a carrier. I just don't think that added stress would be good for her. At this point, I just have to wait it out. From what I read it could be a couple of weeks before she is back to her normal so I'm sure she will be back to her regular princess duties soon.

I wrote this as a warning for all my pet owning readers. I put my trust in a product based on the limited information I had at the time. Had I known then what I know now, I would never taken the cheap way out. My veterinarians office said that they have no way of getting information out to the public as to how bad Hartz products are. Luckily for me, I have a blog and I'm not afraid to use it to get this information out. Please check out the web-site and share this information with as many people as possible. No one should have to go through what I went through this weekend.

UPDATE: I just found a link on the Hartz victims site to the EPA web-site. Apparently the company recently changed the labels to add warnings, plan on stopping production of this product by the end of September, and stop selling it, at least temporarily, at the end of the year. I just want to state that I followed the instructions and read the warnings but felt Punkin would be okay as she met all the requirements on the label. Obviously I was wrong and I personally feel this stuff should be off the shelves now, not at the end of the year.

I Need Some Help

I need the assistance from the blog experts out there. I need to add a banner to my site but I need to figure out how to host it and the HTML code to add it to my template. This is not an affiliate or money making banner. Basically I need someone to tell me what to do in simple, step-by-step instructions. Please e-mail me ASAP if you can help. Once I get this taken care of I will edit this post to explain the situation and the purpose of the banneer.

UPDATE: I've decided not to put up the banner. I will be back later today with a new post explaining what the hell is going on. Thanks.

Blogger Tourney Madness

Last night the 45 player, $1 SNG on Poker Stars didn't know what hit it when five poker bloggers decided to have a little fun with the fishies. The line-up:

Everyone's favorite Austin blogger and my twin.....April (Currently no blog to link)

Everyone's favorite Canadian blogger.......Joanne

Everyone's favorite dead tired blogger......Drizz

Everyone's favorite pathetic poker blogger......Gamecock

The game started out great, as we were seated and I found no other bloggers at my table. My game plan was to play super tight and let the idiots knock each other out but I found myself with a monster on the second hand of the tournament. I was in the small blind and several players ahead of me decided to limp in. I figured adding 10 more chips wouldn't hurt much so I went ahead and limped with my monster...... A 4 offsuit. I thought I'd end up folding after the flop but the poker gods were shining down on me as the flop came 3 5 2 giving me the wheel. My next step was figuring out how to get some more money out of the hand. I had forgotten that $1 tourneys are really just a giant aquarium.

As first to act I went with a small bet of T60 and found 2 callers. Turn came a K and I fired out T120 and was down to one caller. River is a Q and the flopped flush draw doesn't complete so I know I've got the stone cold nuts. I didn't think my opponent would call so I only bet T200. He raised me all-in and I, of course, called figuring he had a pair. Cards are flipped and it turns out he went all-in with Ace high, he wasn't even on a draw. With that hand I had taken the chip lead and knocked the first player out of the game.

After that it was standard poker with an occasional bluff. The first blogger casualty was Joanne. I didn't see the hand but she evidently was on the wrong end of a bad suckout. We had a chat room going and I realized I was missing some good stuff by not having Gamecock's table open. I remedied that and couldn't believe what I was seeing. No matter what he did he was getting called all the way to the river. He had the chip lead for quite a while but eventually he became the next blogger victim. I'm pretty sure he didn't care as he was having a lot of fun trying to rile up his opponents.

In the meantime I had been moved to my twin's table and later, Drizz ended up there as well. Three bloggers at the same table, time to get serious.

Unfortunately, Drizz was playing in his sleep and didn't last much longer so it was up to the twin's to bring home the victory. I don't remember the exact sequence of events but we both ended up doubling up with pocket 7's and we decided that from here on out pocket 7's are the official hand of the WPBT Twins. Not only did we win with that hand but I took out a player who dared play it against me.

At this point we had both made the money and Joanne was continuing the encouragement. Austin finally went out in fourth place and I found myself shortstacked with one guy having about 70% of the chips. I knew winning was going to be close to impossible so I set my sights on second. I actually made it to heads-up play but was severely out chipped. I fought for a few hands but finally decided that the extra $4 for first wasn't worth it.

I had a great time and want to thank everyone for coming out to play, especially Joanne and April for sticking with me until the end.

Until next time.....

The End Of The World!

Those who know me know that I am a hockey fan. Those who know me well know that Mike Ricci is my favorite hockey player (I actually named one of my cats Ricci). When I first started watching hockey he was playing for Colorado and was the only player on the ice I could pick out of the mass of players out on the ice because of his long hair falling well below his helmet. He was the reason I continued to watch and I was thrilled when he left Colorado to become a Shark. Unfortunately he is now on the Phoenix Coyotes but I still look forward to seeing him play when his team is in town.

So, you are probably wondering what this has to do with the end of the world. I'll tell you in one simple five word sentence: MIKE RICCI CUT HIS HAIR!!!! I'm pretty sure this is a sign of the apocalypse.

First person to direct me to a picture of Mr. Ricci with his new look will get a special mention in my next post (I know, you can barely contain yourself).

Here We Go Again!

It looks as though some poker bloggers have made their reservations in Vegas for the next WPBT get together on the weekend of December 15th. I'll tell you right now that I will be there, I just have to rob a bank first. Even though I went through a lot at the June event, I had a good time, and saw the potential for a better time if I had actually been alive for the Saturday events. This time I plan to be healthy.

That being said, I realized last night while doing preliminary trip pricing, that the travel industry likes to screw the single traveler. Vacation packages are about the same price for one person as they are for two people. Tell me how that makes sense! Basically, I am being punished for traveling alone. So, I then went on to price airfare and hotel separately. I discovered that hotels charge five to ten dollars less a night if you say there will be at least two people in the room. If I claimed two people were sleeping in the room how would the hotel know that I wasn't telling the truth? I would think that all I would have to do is say my friend is flying in later. If anyone can see a flaw in this logic, please let me know.

I would also like to state that I have no problem sharing a room so if you are also planning to travel alone and would like to split that cost, let me know. I am looking at staying at the Sahara or Imperial Palace but will consider other accommodations if the price is right. Leave me a comment or e-mail me at
April9807 AT aol DOT com if you are interested.

Until next time.......(still got nothing).

Complications

It's been over a month since my surgery and I figured I was in the clear as far as post surgery complications go but, as anyone who reads this blog knows, I'm an idiot! Over the weekend one of my incision sites started to give me problems and yesterday I had to visit the surgeon for a little procedure. I won't go into the gory details but I will say that the next time anyone tries to stick a needle into my abdomen, I'm kicking them in the junk and getting the hell out of there.

There was some good news this week as my co-worker/boss (depending on who you ask) had surgery and will probably be out for at least three months. It isn't anything life threatening and we knew it was coming but it's going to take me a couple weeks to get used to the peace and quiet that comes with her being out. I considered throwing a party to celebrate her departure but figured she'd kick my ass and have me fired. Unfortunately I need the benefits so I have to behave myself.

As for poker, I won another SNG the other night and had a second place finish the next night. In the first one I made a couple of early mistakes and was down to a chip and a chair when my patient side kicked in. I waited for good cards and managed to go into the final three with a decent chip lead. After a few hands of heads-up, it was all over and I went to bed a happy person. The second place finish was a similar come from behind game, except the other player had a huge chip lead going into heads-up.

It was a good thing I won some money in the SNG's because the ring games have been horrible for me lately. I take full responsibility for the losses but it really has sucked. I've been playing like an idiot and have deserved every loss I have encountered. Hopefully, by admitting to my stupidity, I can begin to turn my game around. No more chasing, no more playing marginal crap, NO MORE FISHY PLAY!! Something tells me that's a little easier said than done.

One last thing, to all those going to Brad-o-ween this weekend, have fun (although I think that is a given). More importantly, take lots and lots of pictures so I can spend a few minutes living vicariously.

Just Call Me Lucky!

I had just won a $12 pot at the .25 table when I decided to enter the $3 tourney on Stars. I was hanging out in the Big Brother 6 chat room and needed something to do as I kept track of the HOH competition (heading into it's 6th hour if anyone cares). I really didn't think I would last long as my tournament game is sucking lately.

I actually did fairly well in the early part of the tourney, at one point I was in 20th place. The few times I went to showdown I actually won, even with the Hilton's (Queen's). Then I made my stupid move of the evening and lost a good portion of my stack. Basically, from that point on I was short-stacked.

After the second break, and with the bubble approaching, I managed to win enough chips to keep me alive but not comfortable. It was a struggle, but I made the money (top 135).

After the third break my only moves were fold or all-in, and this is where the luck really kicked in. I would get down to barely a big blind and finally get a decent hand. I would go all-in pre-flop and get anywhere from 1 to 3 callers. My hand would not necessarily be the best, but I would ultimately win. I think I did this about ten times, winning just enough to make it to the next rung on the payment ladder. Towards the end I had to go all-in at least once every orbit just to cover the blinds. It was crazy! My luck finally came to an end when I was forced all in with Q 6 off. I actually flopped a 6 and the turn was a Queen but I ended up being beaten by a better 2 pair, K 9. I was so close to the next payout but my luck had run out.

Of course 20th place out of 1398 isn't bad, even if I only made $16.

Here's my stats for those interested. Probably a little too tight but I'm still okay with the result.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 285 hands and saw flop:
- 17 out of 35 times while in big blind (48%)
- 6 out of 34 times while in small blind (17%)
- 16 out of 216 times in other positions (7%)
- a total of 39 out of 285 (13%)
Pots won at showdown - 17 of 19 (89%) - only lost the hand I went stupid on and the final hand.
Pots won without showdown - 6

Dumbass Idea

I just unregistered from a SNG on UB after sitting in the waiting room for almost 30 minutes. How ridiculous is that? I thought the point was to sit and, once the table is full, play some poker? Instead, Ultimate Bet "improved" the system by having you sign-up and put your name on a wait list for some undetermined amount of time. It's stupid and the dumbass who thought this up should be fired or, at the very least, smacked up-side the head. Is there something I am missing here because I just don't see how this new format makes any sense? Anyone?

Anyway, in honor of this "new improved" format I am suggesting a new name. How about we start calling them the "sit-and-wait" tournaments? I think it's kind of catchy. Who's with me?

Post Deleted

I had posted a fun quiz result from a link on Maigrey's site. The HTML came out looking like crap so I erased it.

Sorry, but I suck at fixing HTML!

2 Down, 47 To Go

I have just finished my first week of my new diet and I am celebrating my 2 pound loss. If I lose 47 more I'll be back to my high school weight, which is my dream goal but probably not the most attainable goal. I'll definitely settle for 35. Last time I tried this I lost 11 pounds before I gave up, this time I will not fail. I actually feel motivated and have yet to feel as if I am missing out on something. As far as food is concerned, I have tweaked my intake by adding more fruit and removing most sweets. I am making better choices at work and did not deny myself cake when we celebrated a co-workers birthday. I feel no guilt over that choice and probably would have felt worse if I hadn't had the cake. Besides, other than sweets, my diet isn't the real problem.

The real problem is that I never get up off the couch. The only exercise in my life is the walking I do around the hospital as I go to different departments to do EKG's. Most days there isn't a lot of movement and I've discovered that I get winded while getting dressed every morning. Add to that my increased blood pressure and heart rate and it becomes obvious that I needed to make the change. I have done some form of exercise almost every day this week and I am already feeling better. We have a treadmill and cable machine in the house so I don't even have to go to a gym (I hate being around other people while I exercise). The best part is that I can set my laptop on the treadmill and catch up on my blog reading while I walk (not that I'll ever catch up since you all write so damn much). ;)

Poker Content

I finally won a SNG yesterday on UB. When we got 4-handed I had to fold for awhile. There was one player who was sitting out and I wasn't about to go out before him. Once he was blinded out I started to get some cards but we were just exchanging chips for what seemed like ages. Finally the guy across from me was knocked out and I was heads up with a slight disadvantage. Again, we exchanged chips for a bit and at one point I was down to 800 but had the other guy's number and started to build back up. I finally got the chip lead and then crippled him with a hand I don't remember. The last hand I knew he was going all-in (I don't think he could cover the blind but I'm not sure) and I made up my mind to call no matter what. When I saw my cards I knew he was done as I had been dealt The Hammer! A 2 came on the flop but he had paired his Q. I tried not to worry and when the 7 came on the river it was all over. The hammer brought me my first SNG victory since June 11.

A Long Night That I'll Never Get Back

I am finally finished with my summer class, Medical Law and Ethics. This week we had to do a five minute presentation about a bioethical issue and if I never hear another word about stem cells, euthanasia, and right to die, it will be too soon. For some insane reason we voted last week to do all of the presentations in one night and I thought it was never going to end. Luckily I have mastered the art of looking like I am paying attention while my mind is actually wandering off to a world where I am married to Michael Easton and I play poker professionally.

I ended up doing my presentation about 2/3 of the way in, which was about the time most of the class was fidgity and obviously very bored. I knew that was about to change because I actually picked something interesting to do my report on. My topic was face transplants! From the moment I started I could tell the class was with me. I didn't hear anyone talking, no one got up for a "bathroom break", and every time I looked up their eyes were on me. It was pretty cool. Unfortunately we dove back down into the depths of boredom once I was finished.

So this means I am about one quarter away from being finished with school and I can't wait for this to end!