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I'm actually quite jealous that in NLH you can play tons of £15, £20 & £30 DYM's, that must really rack up the Reward Points. 30 games per night @ £20 comes to 600 points per night, the best I seem to be able to manage is around 150 per night, & so making 3,000 Points is quite a challenge, takes me 20 sessions on average. 20 sessions @ 600 Reward Points - 12,000 points, holy schmoly.
Look forward to seeing your snazzy new haircut @ UKPC.
Did you see how many runners last night's UKPC Final got? - 51, & so 10 seats! Incred.
Anyway, UKPC starts Thursday, I'm as excited & nervous as a trainspotter on Platform 2 @ Paddington.
1500 calories a day you need young man, and you will lose weight. A big breakfast of toast/cereals, fruit, to get the carbs and bit of fibre in you, cupasoup and ryvita if you must for lunch, but a few nuts, dried fruit and seeds are excellent, then have a sensible dinner. Chicken, fish, turkey, lean pork and the odd steak, have nothing fried, lots of salad and veg. It all works and is wonderfully good for you, thus enabling you to live longer and play more poker.
I eat all day and have never been on a diet.
Mind you I am 32 stone. Apparently even taller when I lie down.
The defendant is obsesed with food.
Mind you I am 32 stone. Apparently even taller when I lie down.
Now that is good!
I know you are right, but I can't help myself. For 40 years now, I've swung between 12 stone & 15 stone, every year. Gain it, lose it, gain it, lose it.
Went to Vegas 12-7.
Came back from Vegas 13-12.
Am now 12-12.
So it took me a month to gain 1-5, & a month to lose a stone.
I end this diet on Thursday, when UKPC starts. All my weight goes to my pot belly, & I have a lot of TV stuff to do at UKPC, so I just needed to get a bit of weight off. I feel unwell when overweight, too, & consume Nurafen & Rennies by the pack. At the moment, I feel great. Come Thursday, & I start eating "normally" again, I'll have a month of stuffing bad food inside me - pork pies ftw - & then the vicious cycle will start all again.
And I don't ONLY eat Ryvita & Cup A Soup. I have Philly Extra Lite on the Ryvitas, & fresh sliced tomatoes twice a day, every day. Once a day, I have a giant bowl of....
Fresh grapes
Fresh strawberries
Fresh black currants
A sliced banana.
Topped with Greek Yoghurt & a sprinkling of granola.
Proper roughage, that.....
Truth is, I equally enjoy both "pigging" & dieting. One tastes nice, the other makes me feel good, that I can do it.
Now't as strange as folk, eh?
Hundreds of you (well, Gelders & Mother) mentioned that "Live" Omaha tourney at The Vic on Friday, so I have no excuse not to have a mini-chirp.
I never won it though, I came 2nd, for £1,304.
Took me from 7pm Friday until 5.30am Saturday to do it though, yikes.
Live Poker is THE nuts, no mistake, but it really is time consuming, & very expensive, compared to Online poker.
The Entry Fee was £150 + £15, & it was a single Re-entry, which, thankfully, I never needed. There were 32 entrants, & 7 Re-Entries.
Train & taxi fares cost me £50, 4 coffees cost me a tenner, the juice was £15, & I gave a Dealers Tip of £25, so £1,304 netted down to about £1,050. Very nice too, but a few blanks & the money soon goes.
The Vic had a mini series of PLO & PLO8 this weekend, I had planned to play all 3 of these, but after that all-nighter, I decided to swerve the other two, especially as they finish so late (or early next morning...). It rarely pays to visit the well too often, I find. Anyway, after an all-nighter, I was wrecked all weekend. I used to play all night every night & then go to work, but I can't manage it these days.
I'll talk a bit about the Tourney next - it was a VERY odd affair, but before I do, a weird spot arose in the Final where I flopped the absolute nuts, with all the higher straight extensions all the way up - & folded.
What would YOU do in this spot, which is explained HERE ?
First up, here's a perfect example of variance at work.
This year I have played just 4 Live PLO Tourneys in the UK, & cashed in all 4. Small fields, obv, but most PLO tourneys are.
These are the results;
February, £500 PLO UKPC Sidey, 2nd, £7,000
May, £75 PLO GUKPT Sidey, 5th, £524
May, £150 PLO UKIPT Sidey, 4th, £920
August, £150 PLO @ The Vic, 2nd, £1,304.
So 4 from 4, that's pretty good, eh?
But wait - here's my Vegas schedule this year.....
27th May – Binions $200 PLO
28th May – WSOP $1,000 PLO
29th May – Orleans $225 PLO
30th May – Venetian $600 PLO8
4th June – Venetian $600 PLO
8th June – Golden Nugget $225 PLO8
11th June – Golden Nugget $225 Big O8
13th June – Golden Nugget $230 Big O8/BigO
14th June – Golden Nugget $125 PLO8
15th June – Venetian $600 PLO8
16th June – Aria $235 PLO OR Golden Nugget $200 PLO.
17th June – WSOP $1,500 PLO
18th June – Golden Nugget $230 Big O8
22nd June – Golden Nugget $230 PLO8
23rd June – Binions $200 PLO8
24th June – WSOP $1,500 PLO8
27th June – WSOP $3,000 PLO8
And out of that little lot, I cashed exactly 3 times for just over $2,000, so I lost an arm & a leg.
Incidentally, here's some more run good. I sold 60% of my Vegas action, so that shared the losses. And except for a 10% swap in two Events, (Chris Cox runs good) I never sold any action in the UK PLO events.
What an incredible force variance is. Luckily, if you play poker long enough, you come to understand that it is all-powerful, & there is not much you can do about it except to ride the punches, accept the defeats & enjoy the wins.
My next PLO Tourney will be, I hope, the UKPC £500, next week. I say "I hope", as it depends if everything is running smooth up at UKPC generally, if Dan The Producer man does not mind me playing & "working" at the same time, & if the Leeds Suits give me a Pass. I must add I would not have played the February UKPC Omaha unless Mr Harmer & Mr Milner told me he did not mind, & urged me to play it. Turned out nice that.
You shouldn't be so good at it then, or it wouldn't take so long!
Myself and Mr. Mac are having a go at live poker, together, for the first in years this Friday and/or Saturday. Surprise long weekend away (cough, nothing gets past me) to Copenhagen, by all accounts the casino/card room is attached to the hotel. If it was meant to be a surprise he shouldn't shout down the phone to others now should he!?
I'm reminded that I put a horror beat on you a week or so ago. Yikes.
How are things with you these days? You coming to UKPC?
Copenhagen? How lovely, almost be like a fairy-tale.....(see what I did there?)
Where are you staying - the SAS Hotel? If so, it's lovely.
Copenhagen, in fact, is gorgeous. Very nice Airport, too.
Enjoy.
Anyway, back to that thing @ The Vic.
It was 4, 5 & 6 card PLO.
7 players per table, & each variant (4/5/6) is played for one level at a time, then we move on to the next one.
It began as 4 card, & as there were 4 Levels before the Freezepoot ended, we played 4 card, 5 card, 6 card, then 4 card again.
Personally, I think it may have been better if they ended the re-entry period with 6 card, as that is where all most of action & bust outs occur.
I've previously played 4, 5 & 6 card cash, & 4 & 5 card PLO8 Tourneys, but never a 4,5,6 PLO Tourney.
5 Card PLO8 is very popular in Vegas, where it is known as "Big O", they also have 6 card PLO8, called "Big Squeezy". But not 5 & 6 Card PLO.
The three games - 4, 5 & 6 card - all play VERY differently. I mean, what opening ranges should we consider in 6 card? Many players found it hard to pass ANY hand pre-flop, so it was Limpers City.
I decided that in 5 & 6 card I'd concentrate on run-downs, wraps & nut flush draws. One pair hands like Aces can almost NEVER win at 6 card unless we get it Heads Up & run really good, (it has to improve somehow) so I only played potential "combo hands".
4 card seemed very slow & "flat", but I changed tactics in those & played traditional PLO strategy.
Anyway, I bimbled & bombled my way to the Final.
A very close friend of mined, Ian At-It Bradley also played, & we sat next to each other most of the night, & he sat next to me in the Final, too, so that was great.
He also finalled the UKPC PLO, again sat next to me. I busted him in both too, which was rather bittersweet, especially as he was the best player at both tables.
When he first moved to my table on Friday, I had a short stack, & one eye on the clock, as I wanted to catch the last train home @ 11.36. (I ended up catching the FIRST train home next morning, lol).
It always kicks off with him, & me, as he is very aggro.
So I warned him "don't do it Ian". He did it. Very first hand, & I'm not letting him bully me, & so we got the lot in. I had the best hand pre (just, by one spot), but he flopped two pair & I was in a world of pain. The Board runs out perfect perfect & I 2xUp. Love you Ian.....
So that means I'll miss the last train home, unless I have a big accident, & soon. And I nearly did.....
Next hand I'm dealt good aces, & Ian takes off, as per. I pot it, he calls. Groan.
It comes 3 diamonds. Let's have a peek. I have the bare ace of diamonds, no other diamonds. Hmm.
Check check. Careful, Ian is tricky.
The turn is a blank. Now he bets, & I conceive a plan to get him off with my bare ace, which is the oldest trick in the PLO book. I just flat his bet, as I would with the flopped nuts.
The river pairs the board. Uh-oh.
He bets again. I look at the time. 11.15. I can still catch that train if this goes wrong.....
Here we go.
POT!
Now Ian starts dwelling.
He says "Why did that board have to pair? I have the flush, & I KNOW you don't, but I think you have filled up".
And after what seemed a lifetime, he......folds. BOOMIO!
Eventually we make the Final, 7 handed, 6 paid.
I had plenty, there were 2 shorties, & no need to get too busy early doors.
Chinese Timmy, a friend from way back, was short, & we could not get rid of him. He keeps raising, everyone keeps folding.
He does it again, on my BB. I have K-Q-J-10-9. I'd prefer to see an ace in my hand, but let's do it Tim, & in it goes, on their backs.
He turns his hand over, & he has me CRUSHED. He has A-K-Q-10-9.
Ship the Q-J-low-low-low Board, & I bust him. Lord knows how many outs he had with his hand when the flop came Q-J-x!
He did not seem best pleased, & flounced off in a sort of flouncy way, but he came back after he had de-steamed & wished me well.
I had an accident 4 handed, left me with 3 Bigs. Oh well, too bad, but I never give up. All 3 limp into my BB, I pot it blind. They all FOLD! What? Are you boys serious?
I start playing loopy, & pot every hand. They all fold every hand. Go figure. I'm soon chip leader, happy days. They limped EVERY hand, I Potted EVERY hand, they folded time after time. Some things cannot be explained or understood.
Eventually I get Heads Up with a nice chap.
It was 6 card. Tell me what our opening ranges should be in 6 card Heads Up PLO? There is barely a hand we can pass, so this won't last long.
I double him up first hand, lol.
We then play aggro heads up for THREE LEVELS, & the chips just kept going back & forth. Very little skill in this when it was 6 Card Head Up, as we can barely fold a hand. The key is to see flops & take it from there.
Anyway, eventually he busted me, no complaints.
Taxi to Waterloo, which was pleasantly deserted, got the 6.06, & was home for 7.30am.
Saturday & Sunday I stayed at home, too tired to move but I had 2 good sessions in the PLO8 DYM's & got August off to a flier. Finished early both nights & watched "Wild Russia", which is as good a nature documentary as you'll ever see.
Omaha is the greatest fun ever. I so wish I was a bit younger, & could look foward to 20 more years of it, but I wasted so much time playing NLH, in which I proper suck these days.
Anyway, thats it, back to the PLO8 DYM's.
See you tonight.
Normal service now resumed
I've replied, Simon.
Anyway, thank you for organising it again.
Great posts about the tournament itself, PLO/PLO8 always sound much fun but there very rarely seems to be (cash) games running that I can afford so have yet to really play much - especially knowing that I'll most likely lose lots in the short term!
Have tried sneaking it in on the rare occasions home games run with friends or family, but there has so far been no way to shift people away from NLH...
In fact Herodsfoot (along with a dozen others) is termed "Doubly Thankful" as all those who served in the Second World War returned as well.
Information is from http://www.hellfirecorner.co.uk/thankful.htm
Quite a remarkable thing that there are "Doubly Thankful" villages, though maybe not quite as remarkable that regular people from different countries were obliged to fight each other to the very death whether they liked it or not.
Did selling action make a difference to my Vegas play this year?
Not one iota, no. I have a little bunch of friends who buy some of my action every year I go to Vegas, for vicarious reasons really, & we all made a bit of money the 3 previous years. I felt really bad about it it this year, but it was not because I sold action. I just ran bad, & in truth, although I tried my best, I was not playing terribly well this year, I seemed to keep making bad decisions at crucial points.
In an early tourney, I made the Final with good chips, went to war with Aces, & busto'd before the money. It happens.
In a $3,000 PLO8 event, I made Day 2 with a bowl, but found A-A-2-7 almost immediately, but they got beat.
In a $600 PLO8 @ Venetian, I had mountains of chips & was set fair for Day Two, with a ton of prize money on offer. I flopped a set of Aces on a Low Board, & could not find the very obvious & standard fold. It's hard to fold a set of Aces when you are running bad!
But in the UK this year, I've just run very well indeed, as well as playing better than I did in Vegas.
Mostly, its just variance I think.
I really liked your post showing your tournament buy ins this year. I think we all get given the impression that the top players (and you obviously) just win, win, win when, in reality. the big pay days - excellent and news worthy though they are - are often few and far between.
I had the pleasure of playing at the £3.30 tables a few nights ago (no £5.5 or £11 running). What a laugh they were, the only difficulty was finding time to join in with the banter in between fits of laughter and whilst trying to keep up with the tables! Great fun.
4th August Daily Numbery things
Played 20
Won 14
Lost 6
£3.30, P 13, W 9, L 4
£5.50, P 6, W 4 L 2
£11, P 1, W 1, L 0
Opening Balance - £1,399.43
Closing Balance = £1,426.53
Profit/Loss on Night - £27.10
Profit/Loss on Month = £70.30
REWARD POINTS on night = 79
REWARD POINTS IN MONTH = 247 (= £2.47)
GAMES PLAYED IN MONTH = 65
GAMES WON IN MONTH = 44
JULY WIN % = 67.7%
August Profit/Loss per game = £1.08
Seems to me it is - or has been - mini-heater time. So far, played 3 sessions in August, & won all three, averaging a profit of over a quid a game, & winning 67% of all games. Won at all three levels again last night, too (£3.30, £5.50 & £11).
Won 12 of the first 15, but then had to attend to some other matters & felt my concentration was waning, so I decided to quit early after 20 games, which was 10 shy of my intended session. Hit & run merchant, me.
Needless to say, I ran pretty well last night.
No poker-playing for me tonight, I have to spend 5 hours cooped up in a windowless room with this individual. How bad do I run?
I mean, the mere SIGHT of him irritates me.
Think it's nearly time we did this again, & I put him in his place.
Was the photo of Orford photoshopped or staged? It appears he still has cards and chips and this is obviously quite unusual.
A chat box convo last night went something like this.....
"Have you seen The Lego Movie?"
"No, I've not been to the cinema for a decade or more"
"Typical you, all work & no play"
I did not know where to begin with that.
Just because we like different things does not mean we are weirdos. I just don't have much interest in movies, & if I never saw another one in my life, I'd not be troubled. I'm visiting a wildlife sanctuary next week though, & I'm quite excited about that.
Meanwhile, we had a new player to the PLO8 DYM's last night, but he's not quite got the hang of the game yet. Another player had a ton of chips, so he kept telling her to "raise, go on, you have raising chips". Later he commented, "come on guys, hurry up, I'm bored".
Takes all sorts I suppose.
This whole "hurry up, faster faster" thing is all a bit odd. Poker was never designed as a race against the clock. Enjoy the journey, as the end might not be so good.
Well spotted Tuney.