« April 2005 | Main | June 2005 »
May 26, 2005
Read the Blog!
Yes, it's very early this week. Therefore the list is very short. Quality, not quantity.
1. DoubleAs: Pressure Points in NL2. Steal the Blinds: The Lesson
3. Go Be Rude: Meanest Poker Blog
I leave for Tahoe in about...16 hours. My limit practice? Limited. I really didn't want to be the fish on the plane to Reno reading a poker book - that just screams "follow me to the casino and take all my money!!" - but it looks like I will be, as I have yet to crack open SSHE.
Laptop is staying home. Please check out some of the fine reading material on the left there. I'll be back with I'm sure at least one good story of some dumbass thing I did in a casino.
I have spent my night training for the WSOP, railbirding Sir and then Geek. We even got a little visit from China...always nice.
Posted by April at 04:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 25, 2005
Grubbed
While I do miss him, I'm kinda glad my LA counterpart is not here to see this.
Though it was Hank who decided to count Grubby as an LA blogger, Phil certaintly got on board quick. I suppose I can get behind the whole "Austin blogger at heart" idea. I know I would always be if I were to move.
But everyone go tell Eric how much he sucks. 
[I am of course kidding. Jealous as hell, and I wish you all the luck in the world.]
So, regrouping here in Austin - nobody else pick up and move to Vegas, OK??? And Gus, more poker - that's good stuff. 
And someday dearest Phil, you'll come to Austin and I'll take you to the flagship store of your beloved Whole Foods. Two stories tall, with a freakin parking garage and escalators for the shopping carts. That freaked me out. Yesterday was my first visit there. I watched a woman walk to the escalator with her shopping cart and GET ON. I was baffled. Later it was explained to me that you can do that there. I couldn't even find the milk. The beer though...that I found. But in my time there I thought of Phil and how he would most likely enjoy the wonders of such a store - and the sights it had to offer.
Posted by April at 11:33 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 24, 2005
Knocked off my pedestal
[23:31] williamscottmcmillan: so you want a peice of me huh
[23:32] beadingwitchblade: lol
[23:32] beadingwitchblade: figured i'd try
[23:33] beadingwitchblade: hank kicked my ass in NL HU
[23:33] williamscottmcmillan: ouch how bad
[23:34] beadingwitchblade: it was pretty bad
And he still hasn't turned off the "make April lose" feature at Full Tilt, so I lost $50 there playing with the boss. Cause it sure as hell wasn't MY fault I over-valued my top-pair, decent kicker; hell no! Better to blame it on someone else, that's always a winning strategy.
Stupid poker.
Posted by April at 01:28 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 23, 2005
Limit Lessons
Guess what I did last night? I played poker!!
It's only been forever. I spent my weekend in Houston visiting my parents and when I arrived home, the cat was seriously wanting some quality time, so despite all the things I need to do before tomorrow night, I decided I would indulge her by sitting on the couch next to her, and hey, she wouldn't mind if I had the laptop too...
I played $1/$2 at UB. It took me a while to adjust...I was this close to asking DoubleAs why the .50/$1 blind structure. I was unfamilar with the .50 blind. Remember, my prior limit experience has been in Colorado, home of the single blind. Then it hit me - Colorado is just weird.
I won my first hand. I had Qd4d in the BB, and the flop was 9h Qh 7h. I bet $1 (DUH!), and got 2 callers. Turn was a 6s. I bet (guess how much....) $2 and got one caller. River was a 3s. I bet again, he calls.
He had 9d Ac. $15 pot mine.
At which point, I'm thinking "I won that with Q4? This limit stuff rocks!"
Overall, I played for about 30 minutes and made a whopping....(are you ready?).....$4. And then I went back and lost $20. (Hank's gonna convert that into those bb things that I don't fully understand and tell me that that's not so bad for a $1/$2 game or something like that).
My main wins in limit came when I was 100% full of shit. My most winning hand? Jh Qh, I raise pre-flop to $2 (is this bad to do? I thought I read somewhere that if you had pretty cards, to always raise with them). Flop came 5s 2s 6h. I bet, get 2 callers. Turn comes 5c. I bet, get one caller. River is 6d (hellloooo boat) and bet again. He folds. I was told my Queen high was probably good there. This game confuses me.
I then went to play NL to try and recoup my limit losses lessons for the evening, but that didn't go so well either. Nothing bad, just didn't get cards. My losses there were just blinds and then loss of a raise with AK when I was re-raised an obscene amount by a guy holding jacks, who was called by the guy holding eights, who flopped his set and made a boat on the river just to dig the knife in. Jack guy whined. He so deserved it. Re-raising to $7 at a .25/.50 with jacks??? You know, that standard 4xBB raise is there for a reason...next time it won't be AK I'm raising with.
My only win for the night was playing DoubleAs heads up. Not that I'm gloating or anything. 
Posted by April at 12:17 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Read the Blog!
1. The Obituarium: Pour Some Sugar On Me [Make the 80s refrences stop Joe]
2. Pathetic Poker Play: Rounding Out
3. sheverb: Poker made me cry [BTW Gracie, avoid the iTrip unless you know someone in your area who has one and has found a station that it works on all the time, kick-ass awesomely - otherwise just invest in the direct-line input to the stereo. Or stick with the buds.
]
4. Sound of a Suckout: Bustin'Rocks
Posted by April at 12:00 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
May 20, 2005
Nice Set
Brief history of my academic career - right out of high school, I did what the majority of kids do, and went to college, at The University of Texas. I lived with my cousin off-campus, and was making frequent trips home to Houston to see all my friends, who were either finishing up with senior years in high school, or who had decided to not go to college themselves. Study? Ummmm.... My cousin never did. (This might explain why he was on academic probation at the time, having been dismissed years earlier).
Ya see where this is going? It got worse when I met my now ex-husband in The History of Rock and Roll in my Spring '96 semester. Go to class? But why? There are so many other more enjoyable things to do....
That letter that said "don't come back for 5 years" hit me like a ton of bricks. Oh. You're serious, huh? Well. I suppose one of us should be.
I pretended to go to the local community college for a while (and I mean that, I litterally lied to my parents) but I bascially jumped into the corporate world and stayed there until one day I decided it was time to go back to school.
I can't say I've been properly motivated. In my learning skills class, we had to answer the question, "I'm in college because..." and list five reasons. As usual, I was truthful and blunt. My first one was
"I got really pissed off one day at work, and decided "fuck it, I don't need this anymore, I have a degree to finish anyway" - so I applied for re-admission, and here I am."
When I came in last semester and saw how low my GPA was...funny, I didn't remember having that much fun. I had to get it up to a 2.0 or I was going to get kicked out again, which meant getting all As (HA!) or, the liberal arts college allows you to "work off" your GPA down points, and as long as you make at least a 2.5 each semester, you're fine. I took math and astronomy to finish up my core requirements, thinking I'd be FINE. I had no grasp on the whole "build up the GPA" concept. I needed an A, B, C, and D. I got an A, C, C, D. And the boot again.
I wrote a very emotional appeal letter. John, being the writer, cleaned it up and made it much more professional and rational. I sent it off before I left for Hawaii and tried not to think about it. But as soon as I got back, the first thing I did was log on and check my e-mail.
this is your FINAL opportunity-- there will be no consideration of any further appeals.
I have been living on borrowed time...I've never felt like a "real" student. I've resisted buying t-shirts and sweatshirts even, knowing that there was a very real posibility that they would stand as reminders of my screwing up yet again. I've watched myself improve from last semester, yet still fail to do things that would make me succeed, and I've been so upset with myself for it. I booked Vegas knowing it was either going to be a big reward for myself, or the perfect place to drown my sorrows.
as long as you make a 2.5 on at least 12 hours in the Spring, you will be automatically continued for future semesters.
(9*3)=27+6=33/12=2.75
Who wants a t-shirt?
Posted by April at 04:13 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
May 19, 2005
Ooohhh Mr. Haaallllvvveerrrsssoonnn....
I have a present for yoooouuuu....
You have to wait till Vegas for the rest though.
Had a great time tonight seeing the Gourds again. Explained to them about this guy in Minnesota who loves them but yet misses them when they come to town...
Special thanks to Mike for assisting me on my Halverson quest, and also for supplying me with Guinness.
Posted by April at 01:11 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 18, 2005
You're Next DoubleAs
I just took it easy on Hank, since he's been having all those bad beats and all lately, that's it...yea...
[For the record, he did not kick my ass, we were fairly even stack wise the whole time and made it to level 4, thank you very much. Someone just kept getting boat after boat after boat...
]
I'm told that limit is the game to play in Tahoe, so my plan is to work on that in preparation for my trip. Work on it. Ha. Like I ever started. My only experience with limit has been when there was no other option (Colorado) or when I was forced into playing it during a HORSE tourney. I do not like limit. This should be fun...
In preparation for my trip to Vegas, I thought Pauly's idea of staying up late sounded good, and I have always done that already, so hey...let's just extend it by a couple of hours. However, the whole getting up at 9 shit? Ppppfffftttt. Invoke twin motto....now.
Oh, and Brent? I found a Canadian band! Well, "music collective" actually. And I am in love with the song they're offering on their site. [Brent wins "most dedicated blogger" award - he typed his last post on his Blackberry]
Posted by April at 03:51 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
May 15, 2005
Congrats Joe!
Another tourney, another blogger in the WSOP. A big fat congratulations to Joe for winning this one. It was great fun hanging out in the chat room cheering him on to victory.
As for my performance in the tourney...eh. You have about 50 other tourney write ups to read, go check them. Pauly I know has the best one overall.
I did get to double-up with the hammer, that was nice -
Dealt to FatTabbyMama [2h 7s]
good43: folds
lifesagrind: folds
FatTabbyMama: raises 250 to 300
hydroponic1: folds
phillsievers: folds
homersolo: calls 300
Jaxia: folds
ABVidale: folds
*** FLOP *** [5s 7d 2c]
FatTabbyMama: bets 592 and is all-in
homersolo: calls 592
*** TURN *** [5s 7d 2c] [Kd]
Jaxia said, "woo!"
*** RIVER *** [5s 7d 2c Kd] [As]
phillsievers said, "wooop"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
FatTabbyMama: shows [2h 7s] (two pair, Sevens and Deuces)
homersolo: shows [4s 4d] (a pair of Fours)
lifesagrind said, "go tabby"
FatTabbyMama collected 1859 from pot
FatTabbyMama said, "thank you"
And I went out with this -
Dealt to FatTabbyMama [Ad Kh]
ABVidale: folds
good43: raises 100 to 150
lifesagrind: folds
Jaxia said, "wanna bet one which of us'll go out first?"
homersolo said, "ME!"
FatTabbyMama: raises 150 to 300
hydroponic1: folds
phillsievers: folds
homersolo: folds
Jaxia: folds
good43: calls 150
*** FLOP *** [7h 6c Ks]
good43: checks
FatTabbyMama said, "i thought we were anti gambling"
FatTabbyMama: bets 300
Jaxia said, "doh, old habit"
good43: raises 350 to 650
FatTabbyMama: calls 209 and is all-in
phillsievers said, "gambling is for losers, thats what my mum always said"
*** TURN *** [7h 6c Ks] [9c]
lifesagrind said, "oops"
*** RIVER *** [7h 6c Ks 9c] [Ts]
phillsievers said, "ul april, gg"
FatTabbyMama said, "oh i guess maybe i should have bet"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
good43: shows [7d 7s] (three of a kind, Sevens)
FatTabbyMama: shows [Ad Kh] (a pair of Kings)
My twin took a blow to her stack right thereafter in a very similar fashion, AK vs. a set of 8s I believe. AK was truly the devil hand of the tourney.
Oh well. Don't play to win really, play for the good times; and as always there were plenty.
Posted by April at 11:19 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Priorities
I could play in the College Poker Championship this afternoon, as I won my way in many months ago. But no, I think I'll go have lunch with a friend and then go luggage shopping for my trips to Vegas, and Memorial Day weekend trip to Tahoe. (Yes, it's a rough life - I fly to Tahoe the Thursday before Memorial Day, fly back to Austin the Tuesday after, and then Vegas two days later).
Besides, I'm a little hungover from hanging out with my neighbors last night. I thought about writing something similar to Pauly's "Existentialist Conversations with Strippers", only mine would have been "Existentialist Conversations with Drug-Dealing Felons", but I didn't have a tape recorder handy, and that was seriously neccessary to get the finer points of the conversation. Suffice to say, it's all the man's fault, and if you have enough money to throw at the problem, you're cool. This government major, daughter of a former high-ranking prison offical kept her mouth shut, smiled and nodded, and tipped back her glass.
I freakin love my new apartment.
Posted by April at 12:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 14, 2005
Read the Blog!
While I study all day!
1. Mean Gene: Hey, Maybe I Can Write For The Washington Post! [Rarely does a post trigger a laughing fit. This one did.]2. Chicks Dig Poker Geeks: At what price, Security?
3. Feeding the Addiction: Where I Am In This Mess I Call A Blog
4. Absinthe's Troubles: The Wise Men (And Why I Like Them) [I dedicate this one to Poker Professional Chris Halverson]
Posted by April at 11:47 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 13, 2005
Who needs sleep?
well you're never gonna get it/(who needs sleep?)/tell me what's that for
- Who Needs Sleep, Barenaked Ladies
Random Conversations at the Undergraduate Library, circa 6am -
Me, upon hearing the bells of the UT tower - "Well, the tower's up" (Look outside, see sun starting to come up, hear birds) "Shut up...go away"
Nice stranger guy who had given me a dollar earlier to buy a coke - "Yea, this is the worst part of staying up all night - when the sun starts to come up."
Me, to friend/partner in crime Miguel - "You know, I haven't stayed up all night in forever. And when I do, it's usually for poker."
Miguel - "Well consider this roulette then."
That's comedy GOLD when you've been up all night people.
Paper due in 9 hours. 1/2 way done.
On the plus side, Sociology grade is in, and it's exactly what I expected. (this is good)
Who's up for poker Saturday night?
Posted by April at 08:04 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
May 12, 2005
Look at it this way
At least we're all still happy little link whores, unlike a rather large portion of the rest of the blogger world.
I admit it made for interesting procrastination reading, but damn. See guys, we're not so bad after all.
Still -
Best magnet ever...bought it on South Congress for a friend of mine, at the same place I got Bob's present...
Posted by April at 10:34 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
May 10, 2005
Go play
Don't forget about the WSOP satellite tourney tomorrow gang - go sign up!
Unfortunately I'll miss this one too, as I'll be in the middle of a final exam once the cards go up in the air. Y'all have fun though, and I'll check in as soon as I get done.
And I should be a lot less boring next week...
Posted by April at 09:01 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
May 08, 2005
Way to go Austin, way to go
Dammit, which one of you didn't vote?
Sometimes this town sucks.
Posted by April at 12:31 AM | Comments (14) | TrackBack
May 07, 2005
Read the Blog!
1. Bad Blood Plays Poker: What Game Are You Playing
2. Human Head Thinks Big: Notable Nugget
3. My Little Poker Blog: Bobby Fischer Visits Joaquin
4. Chris Halverson: Poker Spreadsheet [that's famous Chris Halverson to all us little people, OK?]
5. Poker Perspectives: Pat-tronizing the T-Bird
6. The Obituarium: Some People Call Me the Space Cowboy
Being the good government student that I am, I expect to see all my Austin bloggers at the polls today. I heartily recommend a vote of "no" on the issue everyone is most concerned with, and I just might have to keep my record of voting for the homeless transvestites/transgenders intact and vote for Gale. And no folks, I'm not kidding. Welcome to Austin.
Posted by April at 12:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 06, 2005
Saying Goodbye
bittersweet - adj. producing or expressing a mixture of pain and pleasure
It's 82 degrees and sunny in Austin, TX and I am offically done with classes for the Spring semester at the University of Texas.
And I am exhausted.
It's been a long week of late nights, early mornings, good times, and bittersweet moments.
I always get a little sappy at the end of a semester. I don't know why. I rarely get to know people in my classes. I'm more of a "get in, get info, get out" type - I'm not there to make friendships or connections. I can count on one hand the classes I had where I actually made any sort of friendships, and even less were they lasting. Most notable would be my second semester at UT when I met my now ex-husband in The History of Rock & Roll (had a group of people there, but only one connection obviously lasted). Last semester in my Math class I had an hour to kill before class so that led itself to meeting up with a few people before hand (and that was OK, but it really interrupted my blog-reading) and I ended up "friends" with one guy from that group, but that didn't last. But even then, on the last day of classes...a part of me was really gonna miss those guys. We had been through a lot together, with our crazy but well-meaning professor.
And I find myself in the same situation now. Aside from some very notable exceptions in one government class, I never got to know anyone in my classes. But I found myself today leaving classes a little wistfully. I'm kinda going to miss frat boy wanna-be who sat next to me in my Sociology class who always came in reeking of liquor, and of course - I can't forget Party Poker Guy. I won't miss Barbie 1 & 2 though, or Whole Foods girl who felt the need to eat lunch two seats away from me every day during lecture.
I'll miss my ex-NFL football player and my class clown. I'll miss chain e-mail exchanges that make staying up studying till 4am and then getting up at 8am a little more bearable. (BTW, where was my drink outside the Education Building at 3pm?)
However none of this stopped me from saying my usual good-byes and then making my way across campus with a big smile on my face (test=easy), ready to come home and relax. I'm looking forward to finishing up the semester for good next week and then starting on my summer.
I see a lot of poker in my future...and a lot of Nevada...
But for right now, I see a lot of sleep.
First round is on me tomorrow.
Wake me up when the phone rings.
Posted by April at 05:20 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
May 05, 2005
You had me at Wilco
but go ahead and toss in The Decemberists to seal the deal. The lineup for the 2005 Austin City Limits festival has finally been released.
Posted by April at 08:52 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
May 04, 2005
So nice to know Otis and I think alike...
I saw the entry title on Bloglines and thought "it's my area code, of course" and then low and behold...
Posted by April at 01:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 03, 2005
So that's why this blog is red...
School is over on Friday (well, classes are at least, I have a final paper due in one Government class, and then two tests the week after), so don't expect to see much of me at the poker tables anytime soon.
I've already been accused of skirting my academic responsibilites to spend time with cards and chips instead. I have a test in one of my Government classes this Friday, and as per the usual routine, the review was split between myself and the three smartest, coolest, funniest, and best-looking guys in the class. I had a paper due for another class Monday, so I was going to be the late one turning my part in. I begged forgiveness -
I know, I am so getting kicked out of the bloc for this, aren't I?
Untrusting little bastards...
What do you say, guys? Should we cut her loose??? She was probably playing poker all morning...____________
april either
a): does not realize that "this is not a poker break"
b): is out celebrating may day, the fucking commie.
_____________Man, the story of my life - always checking my e-mail late and having to pick up the slack from a poker-lovin' commie...
For the record, I just submitted my portion, save one little detail...
38. soft money - WTF?? THERE IS NO INDEX FOR USER'S GUIDE TO CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM?? HOLY HELL!
My plan this week is to go to class, work, and study. Oh, and write that final paper, which I fully intended to have done WEEKS ago and looked at by brighter minds than myself. *cough* Hank *cough* Sigh...best laid plans. My reward will be this (Halverson, you wanna go?) and a visit from my mother. Yep... How long till Vegas Joe?
OK, one more!
Brent and I have this cross-cultural musical exchange thing going on - kinda like NAFTA but without all the 18-wheelers with bald tires on I-35. But we need someone from South of the border to represent! Mark, you wanna step up? I'm all about new music - go check out the band Brent linked up in his latest post, they're good, and hey - they even have a Wilco connection.
This one will be short -
Candyfloss - Wilco
Undercover - Pete Yorn
Straight To You - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Born To Die - MT
Take Me to the Earth - bedbug
Firecracker - Hot IQs
Pride and Joy - Stevie Ray Vaughn
Jungle - The Sleepwalkers [Last year's site, but the links appear to be good. I put this on my "Best of SXSW" CD last year; my best friend loves this song]
The Temple - Destroyer
Seed 2.0 - The Roots
Posted by April at 01:02 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
May 01, 2005
Oh now this is just SAD
After a futile attempt fighting with putting together a lamp I bought today, I'm trying to write a paper in semi-darkness. I take a break and do some web-surfing, and stumble upon this. First eBay, now Craigslist??
I anxiously await the ACHE parody ad.
Posted by April at 11:48 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Read the Blog!
So I got myself all bloglines-d, and I realized that I totally forgot to include my fellow Austin bloggers, plus a certain notable LA blogger...oooopppppsssss. It's all good now though.
1. Tom Bayes and His Weird Poker Adventures: Fish Fry in Metropolis [Tom, you make me want to pack up and go back to Colorado!]2. DoubleAs: Folding when you think you're ahead - ring games
3. G-Rob @ Up for Poker: Brick and More-Tar
4. Riding the F Train: Love That Razz! - Starting Hands and Dead Cards
5. Confessions of A Losing Poker Player: What a loser!
6. Riding the F Train: Razz Night at the Blue Parrot
And not really a blog entry per se, but still worth attention - new comic from fellow Austin blogger Broke Gambler.
And don't forget the WSOP Satellite tonight at Stars!!
Posted by April at 11:52 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack