Racquetball!

Well, the spin class is getting easier, so yesterday morning I hit it again. Around 6:45 pm I was thinking this may have been a little too aggressive because I was playing racquetball with two kids who's combined ages probably didn't add up to mine.

It was a bit of a drag driving north for an hour and a half to get to the court, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good the games were. MeanHappyGuy, his buddy Travis (Trevor?) and I played a little cut throat. In the middle of the second game, Travis got a little winded and called it quits. Damn lazy kids! Well, technically they had been playing for a half hour before I got there, but it's no excuse. I did spin class that morning, dammit!

MHG and I played some singles, but got kicked off by the next group. We convened at his parents house for a cold beer and great conversation with his Mom.

Next time they come to me. I'm getting too old to be driving all over Hell's half acre to school a couple kids in the box.

They Passed!

As many of you know, not only am I a physician, but I'm also a teaching chief in a large residency. It's a 4 year residency and we have 5 doc per year. In order to be a board certified radiologist, you need to pass 3 boards: Physics, Writtens and Orals.

Before I got to my hospital, they had a pretty poor pass rate. Since I've been here, it's been 100%. I was a little nervous this year, but I just found out that once again, everyone passed! I'd like to think I had a small part in their success. It sure did feel good this morning when they each came to me and told me how much they appreciated all my teaching over the last 4 years.

Well done guys!

Double A/B on Full Tilt

I was bored on this quiet Sunday, so I decided to try my hand at a 275 FTP freeroll into the Daily Double B. Nailed it on the first try. I had no idea what a Daily Double B was, so I checked. It's a 10 + 2. Two seemed like a crazy high rake until I realized that $1 is set aside for a progressive jackpot which now stands a little over $32K. But you have to win the Double A and B at the same time.

So, of course I tried another 275 FTP to the Double A.


Come rail me if you're bored.

Edit:
A - out in 565th
B - out in 463rd

Nothing to see here. Go about your business.

Poker Philosophy 101

I had a long post in mind, but it all boiled down to this:

Would you rather get your money in first (regardless of what you are holding) or call behind with Aces?

The first person who replies with, "It depends" gets a punch in the nose.

Biggest Cash

Perhaps I should have said, "In the money in a tournament with the most number of entrants in my online poker career," but that wouldn't fit as a title. Okay, so it was only $1.60, but it's a cash in a tournament with over 1000 entrants, darn it. And this after playing 10 games of racquetball! Allow me to bask in my moment of glory, please.

Spin!

Not much going on here. Ever since The Wife left me, I've been trying to find ways to improve my life. I cooked dinner twice in a row (Copper River salmon the first night and crepes the second for those keeping score), and I'm going back to the gym. Mondays and Wednesdays at LA Fitness are spin classes.

I've never done a spin class before. It always looked liked fun as I gazed through the window like a kid outside Marble Slab. They were yelling and screaming. And smiling. Can I play, too?

So I got there early (class begins at 5:45 am, so I was there at 5 - it's an Army thing), and the instructor set up my bike. 5:45 on the nose and we were off. If you've ever done this, you know it's a lot or work, but you don't think about it much. It really can be a lot of fun, and if the puddle of sweat around my bike was any indication, I got a pretty good workout.

The only hitch came around 45 minutes into the routine. I took a small break from "jumps" to drink from my bottle of water. As I sat up, I had this urge to close my eyes. Before I knew it, I lost my balance a little. I think I was about to pass out! I sure have come a long way from the Paris Marathon. The wrong way.

That's about to change.

***

Since this is a blog about poker (seemingly less and less), I'll leave you with this. 14 bucks, baby!

One Life to Give

I work with wounded soldiers every day. You could say I've dedicated my life to it. Well, I don't often get involved in the personal side of things, but when I received a request from my buddy KenP, I figured the least I could do was pass this along:

http://onelifetogive.blogspot.com/2009/05/urgent-request.html

Happy Anniversary!

It's anniversary season, and today is ours. Back in 1995 we were just two kids with a dream. I was finishing medical school and she was making her mark on the public accounting world. Who could have predicted all the goings-on over the last 14 years? It's been one helluva ride.

Tonight we celebrate this special occasion just the way you'd expect - by rushing home to get the kids to Tae Kwan Do, only to turn right around and go to our oldest son's concert.

It may not be the most romantic celebration, but I get to do it with the girl of my dreams. I may not be the best husband in the world, but I guess I'm doing something right.

Happy Anniversary, babe. It will all work out.

Edit: Once again, she outdoes me. Check it out here.

Pic Dump - Whale Watching

Orca!

Despite being near death, The Wife booked us on a whale watching excursion out of Anacortes, WA, which is only about 2 hours north of here:

Island Adventures

We had gone on one other tour with my dad, but we didn't see any whales. We sure did this time.

"I see a whale, Mommy! Oh wait. It's just dad."

Even from the relative shelter of the cabin, she still looks good.

Killer whales going off into the sunset

And one cool short video of the whale they call "Deadhead."

Dr. Chako is on You Tube

I'm a sick, sick man. I'm also off today and had a little too much time on my hands. I apologize in advance.

Pic Dump

Just back from a beautiful day at the Seattle Arboretum and the Dash Pointe Beach:

At the beach with Kipper. The kids are in the Sound (of course)

Host Mom and Au Pair

Smile!

Mom is SO BRAVE!

Now we're off to see Star Trek again!

The Coolest Thing You Will Do Today

http://www.aip.org/isns/reports/2009/051309visualillusion.html

Thank me later.

The Wedding

I've just come from a wonderful wedding in Georgia. Our 2nd Au Pair married her sweetheart on a Sunday in May during a break in the rain. Other than my bride, she may be the most beautiful bride I've ever seen in person.

Here she is being given away by her brother.

And here she is with her new husband and the wedding party.
These kids actually have a chance.

Contest Follow Up

For some reason (read: probably operator error), my last post went to RSS readers prematurely. For the full text, click here:

http://pokerdoctor.blogspot.com/2009/05/contest-is-over.html

Thanks to Otis for rubbing it in. This is crazy, eh?

To Justme - I DID change the name of the file. You just outsmarted me. Not hard to do when it comes to this internet thingy.

For those too lazy to do the math, the price per square foot is $752.19

Contest is Over!

Me thinks someone cheated and looked it up on SF Bay Craigslist, but I'd just call it being resourceful.

That's right folks. The little house from my last post is listed at $1,287,000.

Don't believe me? Check it out yourself:

4BR/2BA Single Family House (Palo Alto)

Justme - send me your email and an interesting pic is headed your way!

With an Aching... in My Heart

That's right, folks. Everyone's 2nd favorite poker doctor (I'll never beat #1) is headed to California. I'm still trying to swallow the cost-of-living thing. Seriously, have you seen home prices in Silicon Valley?


This home is available RIGHT NOW (or so says the ad). This is roughly equivalent to the home I grew up in in upstate NY. Anyone have a guess at the cost? Leave your guess in the comments. Closest gets a prize.

The Wife has followed me around the world (thanks to Uncle Sam) and now it's my turn to follow her. Besides, we've lived in the Seattle area for almost 5 years - longer than any place else in our relationship. It's time for a change.

Now the only question is - do they play poker in California?

Edit: Since we are mortgaging our souls to pay for a new home (NOT the one above, mind you), your "prize" will likely be either an as-yet unpublished pic of The Wife's new shoes or something equally exotic from my collection. If I were you, I'd choose the shoes.

OMG

The Wife got some news today that will change our lives forever. As many of you know, she was another victim of the economy. The new job search began in earnest just a few weeks ago. We were prepared for anything. Years ago, I made her a promise that regardless of my situation, if her career brought us a change, then I would do whatever was necessary to make sure she could pursue it fully.

When the possibility of this new job popped up, it seemed too good to be true. They still hadn't discussed compensation or title, but I told her to be prepared to accept a salary similar to what she is making now. By my way of thinking, as long as it was at least the same, I'd be willing to leave my current job to let her follow her dream.

I'm not going to spoil her surprise. I imagine she's crafting a post right now. My only question is if I have to salute her now.

This is just unbelievable.

The Ferrari That Wasn't

This time I was a Ferrari owner for 2 full days! Last time, it was a 360 Modena Spider, and this time it was a 1981 308 GTSi. To answer your questions from my Facebook page:

- Yes, it's the Magnum, PI car

- No, it's not a Mustang or Corvette

- Yes, it's much more reasonable than a 360

- Yes, The Wife approved of this one (well, maybe "approve" is too strong. Read here for her take)

This is the first one I actually got to park in my garage. I must say, it looked beautiful in there. I'm not ashamed to admit that after the kids went to bed, I grabbed a folding chair and went out there for some quiet reflection. The Wife may have even discovered me fondling it in a slightly inappropriate manner.

I'm very fortunate to have one of the world's best Ferrari mechanics in my backyard - Carlo at Alfa of Tacoma. Seriously. People from all over the US buy Ferraris and ship them to Carlo to get his blessing. He doesn't pull punches. If he says it's a dog, it's a dog. If he says it's a gem, you should do whatever you can to buy it.

Unfortunately, he said it was a dog.

Specifically, he said the engine would need to be rebuilt. It failed compression testing and leakdown. The brakes were dangerous. The frame was bent from being put on a lift improperly. The timing belt was falling off. The report went on for 4 pages. It was a disaster.

So once again, I'm back to being Ferrari-less. I'd like to leave you with a philosophical comment or some great life lesson that I learned here, but I'm just bummed.

Are You Kidding Me?!

This is yet another story that I should probably keep to myself, but I'm putting it out there in the hopes that you'll read this, think I'm a huge donkey, and give me your money at the tables.

I've been running bad. I've tightened up my game, but recently I've had a string of bad beats in large pots. It seems like someone will always turn a set when I have top pair or top two. And it's always with an underpair. Pocket 9's are the death of me. To make matters worse, I've had three sets cracked with ridiculous hands - the worst was a set of Aces cracked by Q-8, when the guy just called my river bet when he had the nuts.

So today, I look down at pocket queens in early position and come in for a raise. The small blind and big blind call and we see a flop of Qh-9h-4d. Top set! Okay, how am I going to lose this one?

I bet out and get raised by the small blind. Big blind calls and I three bet. The small blind has been raising draws regardless of position, so I don't want to see another heart. Both just call.

Turn - 3h. Of course.

Small blind checks, but I think I see a little drool at the corner of his mouth. Big blind checks and I check too. The old me bets here, but I'm just tired of getting my ass kicked.

River - another F***in' heart.

Now the small blind bets out. Big blind folds, and I turn over my stupid top set and show everyone how bad I'm running. But, for whatever reason, I convinced myself that he could have two pair. It's reasonable, right? So, with the cards almost in the muck, I toss in one big bet. Suddenly there is a big commotion. Huh? Small blind turns over the nut flush, but the dealer is yelling something at the floor.

"High hand! Queens full of 4s!"

That's right folks. The bad beats had blinded me to the fact that the board paired. All I saw were 4 hearts.

Not only did that reluctant bet win me a big pot, but Queens-full was good enough for 2nd place in the high-hand race. It would have been 1st, but someone else got a royal flush.

Hee-haw!

Review - Mini Sirloin Burgers from Jack-in-the-Box

If there's an upside to the weight I've put on since I got back from Iraq, it's that it gives me more credence as a food reviewer. Never trust a skinny guy when he tells you about the latest fast-food craze.

I LOVE White Castle and Crystal Burger. In fact, I'd bet you right now that I've paid more for a Crystal Burger than anyone reading this post. When I was leaving for Iraq, we had to spend a week at Ft. Benning, Georgia (I was stationed there 10 years ago and it's where my son was born). I got a chance to sneak off onto Victory Drive for dinner one night, but the shuttles had all stopped running. Long story short, I underestimated how much it would cost in a taxi to get a burger. $60 dollars later, I was one happy guy.

Unfortunately, there is no such restaurant in Federal Way, Washington. But wait! Burger King is now offering a similar mini burger in a 2-pack or 6-pack. I had a couple the other day, and while it's no White Castle (no sauteed onions and the burger wasn't quite right), I'd give them a B- for the effort.

Today I had Jack-in-the-Box's version. The burger was too thick, and it was tasteless. The bun was uninspired. The cheese was even lame. They come in a three pack, but I could eat only one (as opposed to my personal best 11 White Castle burgers).

It sucked.

Bottom line - if you have one available, go to White Castle or Crystal Burger. If you must have something after a long night of drinking, BK is your bet. If you go to Jack, stick with the Monster Taco. It will give you the worst heartburn you can imagine, but it still beats their lame-assed attempt at dethroning the king. Who in this case lives in a castle. A crystal castle.

Okay, maybe I shouldn't write food reviews after midnight.