You need to be logged in to your Sky Poker account above to post discussions and comments.
You might need to refresh your page afterwards.
You need to be logged in to your Sky Poker account above to post discussions and comments.
You might need to refresh your page afterwards.
Comments
I'm the tall, handsome, slim gentleman, as I'm sure you'll remember from the UKPC.
I hope you enjoy your well earned break in the US.
I did a similar trip down the west coast, and it is stunning. I was not overwhelmed by LA itself, but driving down the coast on highway 1 was breathtaking. Stopped on the way at long Beach to tour aboard the Queen Mary. Then down to Sunset Beach, where the cars in the drive are only outdone, by the boats parked round the back. The police move you on pretty sharpish too, if you hang around too long admiring the opulence.
We stopped halfway down in the beautiful Laguna Beach, then the next day down to San Diego, which is a beautiful city, which I much preferred to LA.
Have a great holiday.
Craig
I hope you have a splendid time in Vegas. good luck in the games you decide to play and I hope you manage to grab a well deserved rest and see the sights out there. I am going to pinch the word Rotundage btw
Many thanks for the good wishes for Vegas from MOTHER, Craig, hh, Day4Eire & Tom.
The Pacific Coast trip will be very special for me. No interest in Los Angeles whatsoever, just going there to get on the Pacific Surfliner. Am interested in the iconic "Union Station", though. From the Airport to the Union Station, plan to take the "Flyaway" Coach, which will at least enable a sort of quick look at the city en route.
The centrepiece of the 2 day round trip will be an overnight stay in Oceanside, and a swim in the Pacific Ocean. Dinner &/or breakfast will be at Ruby's Diner, on the end of Oceanside Pier.
Day 2 will be back on the train to San Diego, & a day looking round, especially the harbour.
Then it's back to Vegas, a trip to Mount Charlston included.
Plenty of poker planned, too, though the first 10 days will be 70% non-poker.
All being well, I'll write a few Blogs for those interested.
Have a ball Teeks, sounds like an amazing trip.
60 days since the last update. I'm as reliable as Jac35 with Diary Updates.
Well Vegas came & went, & it was immense fun.
Not everything was lovely, though, the table manners in Vegas, & the constant bickering, was tiresome, & I longed to come back & play some fun poker with my friends here. In fact, I could not wait, I thought about it almost every day.
So I did. In fact I got home at 3pm on the Monday after a nightmare journey home, & I was playing 3 hours later.
Before I update, I'd better pick up where we left off, which was back in February. The bankroll was at £1700 odd, & since then, I cashed in a couple of UKOPS Events, & so the balance the day I resumed last week was £1,917.43.
Should be easy enough to reach the magic £2,000 then? Well yes. And no.
Won't bore you with daily updates, but for now, maybe just do it weekly.
I played last week on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, & Sunday, so 4 sessions, with the bonus of double points on Sunday.
It is the first time I've tried the new Rewards System, & it did take some getting used to. As I only play PLO8 DYM's, & the biggest is £11 (& those run very rarely), it's tough to get a lot of points, but I generally managed between 2,000 & 3,000, which equated to £20 to £45. Call it between £5 & £10 per week, which falls straight to the bottom line as profit.
So I decided to try & earn around £10 per (full) week.
Week Ending 19th July
Games played = 131
Games Won = 83
% of games won = 64%.
Worth bearing in mind that at level stakes, we need to win 55%, as I generally only play £3.30, £5.50, & £11.
So that was a decent start, aided by plenty of run good I fancy.
Opening Balance = £1,917.43
Closing Balance = £1,953.13
So, just under £36 profit. Happy with that, little steps & all that.
On top of that, I got a £6.27 Rewards Payment, so that took the balance to....
£1,959.40.
Plus, any income from the Rewards Freerolls goes on top.
So that was not so bad, really.
Most important of all, it was just so much fun to hook up with the crew, have a bit of banter. Nothing changes really.
One at a time.
Q1 is a toughie. No clear "best".
Annette, as she is a long term friend, & I like her very much. She's lost SO much weight, too, she must be very proud of herself. Lovely kid.
Jake Cody was a joy, in every way. A genuinely nice kid, but since he became a Dad, he has matured wonderfully, & got great life balance now.
Jason Somerville, who really surprised me with his business acumen. He told me - off screen - exactly how many sign ups he had generated from his Twitch thing. No other Pro can do that. So he knows his worth to his sponsor, too. Smiles easily, & is gushingly enthusiastic. Polite & well-mannered. Loved everything about him.
Danny Negreanu. He's (almost) the biggest name out there, but he grants me an interview every year, without fail. Proper Pro, him.
The Qualifiers. They were like pigs in whatsit, & their happiness was so nice to see. I like to see people enjoying themselves.
Shane Warne. Well he's a "superstar", so that's always exciting. I interviewed him last year, too. Swears like a trooper. No, really.
Sam Trickett. Really good interview, that. Again, Sam is a pal from back when he was playing tenner rebuys. Now he's living the dream. Good looking boy, too. Have you seen his Ferrari, parked at DTD? Mean machine, that.
The Daily Moans. Loved them, & so did the viewers. They were of course completely tongue in cheek, as I mocked "chuffing tourists everywhere", "foreigners", & best of all, the way "tourists dressed so badly", as my dreadful shorts, pale white chubby legs, fluorescent yellow t-shirt, purple socks, green trainers & silly hat came into camera shot EXACTLY as I said it.
Others I can't bring to mind right now, the whole Vegas experience is a bit of a haze at the moment.
I'm not actually very comfortable interviewing people on camera, it's not something I excel at, in truth. There is no script, & usually only a fee minutes to "prep" & decide what to ask, & what "tone & mood" to set. Some need to be serious, some not so.
I prefer writing, & was looking forward to doing Daily Blogs, but it never quite happened for a variety of reasons. I'd write a Blog every other day given half a chance, I love writing. (Did my next Bluff Europe piece yesterday). Writing is like golf, you are never 100% happy with it, you always think back & say I wish I had done it a little better/different or whatever.
There were several.
One guy just said "yes" & "no" to every question. Dan never even bothered editing it.
One Pro simply cba to make any effort at all & was overly sarcastic. In the bin, Son, in the bin.
A WSOP Main Event winner, but the interview was all spammy & "me me me". Another one that went straight in the bin.
It's a fun gig, don't get me wrong, but MUCH harder than you'd imagine. Going cap in hand "can we have a short interview when time permits, please?" is not easy, especially when so many turned us down. One guy, a long term acquaintance just said "no". That was it. And it means hanging around for hours in end, awaiting the 20 minute breaks in play, then it's all rush rush rush.
Dan then had to edit & upload them, which took him until 2am most mornings. Having started at 9am, that's a very long day.
We were only permitted, under the Media Guidelines, to film in one room, that tiny, dark, bleak, dreadful room behind the Media Centre. So almost all of videos were shot outside, in the lovely sunshine, with the Strip in the backdrop, but this was dead against the rules & we had to be very careful. We even had to steal chairs from Pavilion, or Poker Kitchen, to take outside, & I ricked my back carrying them, which was really painful & I was barely able to walk for the last week. (Still no better now).
Neil was a Godsend though, it made SUCH a difference with him being there, he helped in so many ways.
For the "Daily WSOP Update", which we shot each morning, it would take me about 2 hours to research everything, then condense it into Bullet Points which I typed onto my I-Pad "NoteBook" & used to show Neil in advance, & as prompts whilst we filmed them. And off the back of those notes & prompts, I'd throw to Neil, & he'd waffle along merrily. Him & I, in front of camera, gelled perfectly, we fitted like two little peas in a paddy thing. He talks a lot, mind.
When folks diss The Rio, it hacks me off. It's fine, especially compared to what we are used to here at home. I spent much of my working life on the road, originally staying in B & B's, & then budget hotels - Travelodge, Days Inn, Premier Inn & so on. Compared to those, The Rio is an absolute palace.
People who knock The Rio need to get out a bit more imo. I feel a buzz just being there, THE HOME OF THE WSOP & all that. I've stayed there every year, bar one year when we stayed at the dreadful PH. Never again....
Maybe I am easily pleased, but to me, it's luxurious, & I have no complaints.
How did you rate Palazzo? Seems quite nice to my eye, but personally, I would not want to stay "on Strip", too crowded, noisy & overbearing for me.
If I went again - doubtful - I might even try staying Downtown at Nugget. I love Downtown, far more than the Strip, but it's just such a long trek back & forth every day to the WSOP @ Rio.
I watched the $111,111 One Drop. There were scores of kids who I had never heard of, all "flicking it in". I find it ever so slightly obscene, actually.
There were several $25,000 & $50,000 Comps, too, all full of players who ponied up all that money without a care in the world.
I'm a small stakes player, very happy to play tenner SNG's all day, & it's those guys I care for in poker, with my time at APAT & so on, that's what matters to me.
I did think "Colossus", @ $575, was a tremendous thing for poker. More of that please.
Mr Ambo & 2 friends of mine went to the Baseball at Cashman Field one night. On the way, we passed though the Vegas "shanty town", where all the drop outs sleep rough, on the street. Bit if a reality check, that. Can you imagine living on the streets in that heat?
I met him at Gatwick, on the way to Vegas, several years ago. I was 100% sure he was speaking in Norwegian.
3,000 posts? Who'd have thought. We can't see how many people view, or read them, though, so I've no idea if it is popular or not.
Anyway, we shall press on, & try & do better.
Been great to share so many tables with you, & all the other regulars. Can't think of too many sites where the general mood & spirit is so friendly.
Right, last week's numbers, I know many people find numbers a bit boring, & rightly so, but we have to be disciplined & keep these as a sort of measuring tool.
Off we go then....
Had a big week last week, & was keen to try out the new Rewards System.
I just about managed 1,000 points, which qualifies for the 25% uplift, & ended up with 1,003 points for £12.54, plus I collected £3 (£2 + £1) in the Freerolls. So that was pretty pleasing.
Results?
Monday P21 W15, L6
Tuesday P26, W10, L16
Wednesday P 42 W22 L20
Thursday P30, W17, L13
Friday P46, W29, L17
Saturday P45, W29 L16
Sunday P51, W32 L19
TOTAL P261, W156 L107 = 59%
Opening Balance = £1,954.40
Closing Balance = £2,037.81
Profit = £83.41
Profit per game £0.32.
In one way, it's a shame there are not bigger games, as it's very difficult to get more than 1,000 points in a week playing PLO8 DYM's. Having said that, there can't be too many sites where there is so much liquidity in PLO8. Given it is mid July, the worst time of the year for traffic, these volumes are really much higher than I expected, so overall, can't complain.
The biggest game available is £11, & only 7 of those ran all week, so for now, I guess we can't lobby for a £16.50 or £22 game. One day......