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Quick shout out for DTM for using his Sherlock skills to out the cheater/s in the Skill and Go. Wp sir.
They were in Laos in November. Swimming in one of the many rivers there. Unfortunately, despite being a strong swimmer, he was swept away. Apparently some underwater nets that were usually there had been removed by some local fishermen.
Panic ensues. An immediate relief fund is set up for search and rescue teams, helicopters etc etc. No sign of him for 3 days. News filters through on the fourth day that his body has washed up on a beach further down the river. She is alone in a country miles from home, emotionally shattered and mourning the loss of her boyfriend and life partner. How the hell do you get over that?
The answer is, you don't. She flew home. Can you imagine the torment she must have gone through every single day? All the questions floating around in her mind. All the things lined up for the future that in the blink of an eye are gone forever. All the times she must have had to put on a brave face in front of friends and family, when in reality she was must have been absolutely crushed inside.
Crushed no more. She booked herself into a hotel in Newcastle towards the end of last month. It was there that she took her own life. Reunited with the love of her life.
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I didn't know them personally (friends of my sister), but what a terribly sad situation all round. Perhaps there is no place for something like this on a poker forum, but I wanted to give an insight into why I have absolutely no patience with people who complain that they've only been given the 37th horse in a poker freeroll, or that they've missed the first 2 hands in a tournament, or whatever.
Have a good weekend one and all.
Oh my word, what a tragedy.
My thoughts go to the family.
So I should probably add some balance.
Would be churlish to describe my best ever day. To be honest, I don't even know what day that is. Some are not Sky poker friendly. Others are just, well, silly. So I'll go with a day that, although nothing special as such happened, still remains with me.
Australia 2008. I was on an extended holiday with my then girlfriend. We were staying in a one bed apartment in Cairns, northern Queensland.. Over the road from our complex, and with an enviable beachfront location, was a nice bar/restaurant. I'm pretty sure it was a Sunday, and we ventured over there for a few mid afternoon beverages. They had a special on, $5 bottles of Corona (other bottled beers are available). So pretty much bang on £2.50 per bottle. We sat at a table on the sands, and simply drank the afternoon away. We talked to various locals, watched as their dogs played with each other on the beachfront. All with the soft background noise of waves from the Coral sea slowly lapping against the shore. The sun gradually disappeared, the money slowly dried up, and we headed back to our apartment.
I did many memorable things that holiday. Jumped out of a plane at 11,000 ft. Did a bungee jump and basically blacked out. Snorkled at the Great Barrier Reef. But for some reason, that day, despite being nothing particularly special, sticks in the memory. Alas, I don't talk to the girl in question anymore. Ironically, that long 6 week holiday down under was a bridge too far for our relationship, and we eventually split not long after getting home. But that day has stuck with me.
I know Sharkscope divides opinion, but it is good for catching out liars if nothing else!
In something completely unrelated, I'm starting to think another diary on here is just one big level....
Both teams to score in the above returns nearly £190 just in time for UKOPS.....
Bit rusty on the poker front, hardly played for a few weeks online, less the team games now I'm a member of the Hitsquad (tapped up/seduced by Hitman himself). Did play live in Leeds last night, a £40 f/o. Shocking standard as always, the highlight being someone stacking off with QJ on a J838 board, 400bb deep. 400! Alas I survived the sharky waters to the FT but bust in 9th when the money started at 6th.
The journey to Vegas begins 2 weeks tomorrow, via Dublin, and then via Gatwick. Don't ask!
PS: likewise Matt.
Was gonna post.....Sort it out Morecambe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But they did, in the 95th minute no less.
I'm not busto for another week
For the princely sum of £450, I fly Manchester to Stockholm. Spending the night there, then fly direct to Bangkok the following day, and for the first time ever, I'll be in the premium economy cabin. Gotta treat yourself and all that
This isn't until right at the end of September, so all my forum foes are stuck with me for the foreseeable
The best bit? I haven't had to scrimp and save to make it possible. I've got £4k stashed away from various results on here, would've been a bit more were I not going to Vegas soon as Sky poker is essentially paying for that too. I'm gonna try and add to that lump sum over the next few months from work, as you can never have enough money when backpacking. But now I have my flight, I won't need to buy much else in the interim.
I had such a good little run in MTT's in Autumn last year which made this possible. I don't really have much desire to play anywhere near as much these days. I often prefer to talk poker and discuss strategy than actually play. I'm not overly fussed about trying to improve (as in like really improve), trying to squeeze every last edge out. I know I'll never be a Bates, a Scotty, melt or Ivan, and I'm quite content at the level I'm at (which ain't very high!). Apart from paying off my credit card after binking the Primo, I'd never really used tournament winnings to pay for anything. So whatever happens in the future re poker, I can always look back and say it funded a Las Vegas holiday and a backpacking trip round SE Asia.
And I think that's pretty cool
So cool, have the best time!!
Mr Melt, the plan is......I don't have a plan
Ms Mallard....thank you very much!
The journey to Sin City starts today. First stop, Las Dublin in a few hours time. Unfortunately I miss the whole City Everton game due to my flight time, bit of a bummer. And then I have a 4.30 start on Sunday morning, can't wait for that.
Tikay, I'm sure you'll be delighted to know I've got a strategically selected seat on the flight there, it's a window seat towards the back of the plane (747-400), on the last row of 3 before it goes to rows of 2 for the few at the back....so I have no-one behind me, can recline to my hearts content, no person kicking the back of my seat, and more importantly, no-one grabbing my headrest when they want to get up. JUST GET UP WITHOUT HOLDING ONTO MY HEADREST, YOU *****.
Land at 14.10, and there is a $135 tourney at Caesars Palace @ 16.00 that I'd like to play/donate. Gonna be the first of many races next week I bet.....
Have a great week, run well, enjoy and embrace life.
I should probably start packing!
Landed back from Las Vegas into sunny Manchester at 8 this morning. Good trip? Absolutely!
Should probably start with the pokers. Played 6 tournaments whilst there, totalling $760 worth of entries. Cashed in 2, a 5th for $360 and a 3rd for $850, so a reasonable return. I might have left in profit if they didn't have slot machines
MTT 1....was at Planet Hollywood, where we were staying. It was a $75 BI jobby, played it on the first night after getting settled in the room and adjusting to the new surroundings. To say it was a crapshoot would be generous. It essentially didn't have a structure. We would soon learn that these almost always end in a chop, and with good reason. I got nowhere, shoved a draw only to get called by a better draw and ended up losing to K high, wp me and great start to the holiday! My mate managed to get a slice of the chop, so at least one of us had a decent start. Onwards and upwards.
Having been up for 27 hours, by the time I eventually got to bed on the first night I thought I'd sleep like a baby. So naïve. I was trawling the strip at 8am looking for a cash game, with little joy. Waiting lists galore, and I can be an impatient guy at times. Tbh I'm not entirely sure what I did for the rest of the day until...
MTT 2....at The Ventian at 7pm. $125 buy in. Got there slightly late. Not fashionably late, just stupidly late because it took longer to walk there then we imagined. No biggie. Still in first level, and chip up immediately. As in first hand immediately with QQ. Then flop trips and turn quads with the monster that is 85o in the BB (this is why we should never limp boys and girls), got paid off by an A on an 88A8x board. Coasted to the final table, but there wasn't a huge field so only the top 5 spots got paid. Lost a couple of players early doors, then seemed to be 7 handed for an eternity. Interesting dynamic with myself and 2 others pretty short, and none of us wanting to go broke just yet, but I do enjoy playing a short stack
MTT 3.....was the following afternoon at Aria ($125, 1pm). It had been recommended to me by a guy from the Venetian the previous night, said it was a good structure and attracted plenty of runners so good cash up in the top spots. He wasn't lying; by the time late reg closed, there were around 150 runners creating a 15k PP and over 4k for the victor. No real memorable hands or spots, just played as solid poker as I could. Top 15 were paid, and we were down to about 25. I picked up AJ on the button with just shy of 10bb, and I knew I was busting or doubling with it. It was the former unfortunately. An older guy 2 spots from me jammed and just covered. I didn't like calling off with AJ, hated it in fact, but knew I was ahead of his range, and this was too good a spot to potentially double as the money approached. He flips over K10 but I couldn't hold. Disappointed to play for over 6 hours and not cash, but enjoyed the tournament and knew I'd be back....
MTT 4.....was again at Planet Hollywood. It was a special 'Micromania' tourney, with a $10 BI but rebuys and add ons a plenty. It is definitely aimed at the less experienced players. I think the less said about this MTT for me, the better. I blew off $60 on it, just because the small field was full of said less experienced players, and with $500 for the winner I was willing to go for it with a definite edge. It was a very high variance spin, and didn't pay off. But it was very refreshing to see people playing the game with a smile on their face, with the enthusiasm of a child on Christmas morning. Most of them didn't really know what they were doing (feel free to add me to that list!), the dealers had to be patient for obvious reasons. But people sat there and enjoyed themselves at the tables, something that is often lost amongst the headphones and hoodies. So whilst not a personal success in money terms, its a tourney that will stick with me for a while. Just don't play it if you want a good clock and starting stack
MTT 5....was back at Aria, this time the evening (7pm) slot, same buy in and structure as the afternoon, but with a smaller field. Got off to a slow start. Had done half my stack not too long into proceedings. Picked up 1010 and went looking for action. Got action. Got eliminated. Couldn't hold vs AQ on a KJxKJ runout. Licking my counterfeited wounds, I decided to re-enter. It meant stumping up another $125, but I felt the value was there, and as it was still relatively early in, I had 50bigs coming back in. With around 50 entries, it was a top 5 payout again, with a min cash worth $308, so only $58 profit should I be lucky enough to min cash. I navigated my way to the FT with relative ease. I always seemed to be below average stack when we got to the business end, and this was no different as I started the FT as a shortie. Lost a couple of guys to get 7 handed. Got 'lucky' in one spot when I 3bet jammed 89s from the bb after a late position raise from Mr Aggro. He'd 3x it, and there was just too much in the middle to do anything other than ship on him. I had reasonable FE, but he tank called with AJ which was fair enough. Fortunately for me, I flopped the flush draw and turned a pair to get a nice double up. FWIW, if I had A9 or similar in that spot, I'd just fold, as I'm hating life if I shove and get called. With 89s, I know I'm behind but unlikely to be crushed if he does call. Mr Aggro busted in 7th, so we were on the bubble. By now, I was getting pretty desperate. Myself and another gentleman were the obvious short stacks. Another couple were not exactly stacked but not quite as in danger, and we had the 2 larger guys. So I knew who to attack when I needed folds. We nearly burst the bubble, but shorty got runner runner for a straight, and this left me as the clear SS. It was getting dire. 6bb dire to be precise. Was on the button next hand, and deep down knew I had to shove any 2 if it folded to me. The small and big blind weren't super deep themselves, so I knew what I had to do. I debated not looking at my cards, but decided against it. Sigh, J3 and it's folded round to me. In they go, toes crossed under the table. SB folds, but BB finds a pretty quick call. Please be live was all I thought. He flips over A9 so at least I'm not a million miles behind. A grim KK2 flop gives me little hope, but a J on the turn and a blank river gives me a much needed DU, much to the annoyance/bemusement of the table. One guy was incredulous that I'd shoved J3. Did he think I wanted a call?! So that fortunate turn card meant I was out of immediate danger but still treading water. In a moment of ICM madness, 2 of the larger stacks go to war pre flop with what turned out to be Q9s vs 88. Not sure if one of them had somewhere to be, but with 3 small stacks at the table, seemed bizarre for 2 marginal hands to clash like this. Anyway, 88 held and the bubble burst, and by hook or by crook I'd snuck in the money again. We lost a player soon after, unluckily shoving his modest stack with K7 blind on blind, only for the BB to wake up with AK. Variance see? Works in many ways. Now 4 handed, and with $488 locked up, things started to heat up. Yet again I was hovering around the 10bb mark, trying to steal where possible. The other shorty jams over a raise, is called and doubles when 10s beat A10. This now puts myself and Mr A10 as the shorties, and I knew exactly what was coming the very next hand. He was the small to my BB, and lo and behold, he shoves on me. I ask for a count and I cover him by like an ante. I have A4. I know I should/have to call, but I dwell on it. 3rd place pays $850, which is a big jump (for me) in itself, then you're looking at 4 figures for the top 2. I'm hating it, it's a near $400 decision now, with potential for more. Not huge sums, but pretty significant in relation to the spending money I took with me. I considered folding. I wouldn't hesitate to shove A4, or much worse in fact, but calling off here didn't sit well with me. In the end I went with my gut feeling, which is probably the right feeling, and called. What he flipped over was kind of irrelevant, as I was pretty sure A4 was ahead now. He had Qh6h. Variance eh? I dodge, A high scoops the pot and we are down to 3 and a minimum cash of $850. Tried an ill timed bluff, failed miserably as I couldn't fire the 3rd bullet (I knew he was calling) and his 22 won the pot on a 10 high board. Back to 10bb again. Very next hand, AdQd on the button. Doesn't get much juicier than that, in they go. Such a monster 3 handed that I wanted a call. Well I got the call from 66, and despite turning flush and straight draws to go with my overs, the river bricks off and my tournament comes to an end. Pleased with how I played, slight tinge of disappointment not to get heads up, but a nice cash all the same. Back to Planet Hollywood at 3am, tired and ready for bed.
I wanted to play at the Bellagio before I came home, so MTT 6 was my last hurrah in Vegas for now. It was a 5pm $125 tournament. Didn't attract a huge field, 32 runners total so top 4 to be paid. Again, smooth running to the FT helped by flopping a set of 8s and a couple of well timed bluffs. Then it collapsed on one hand. We'd already lost a runner, so down to 8. Was pretty well stacked for once. A guy I deemed to be one of the softer spots at the table raises, which already I'm suspicious of. Another larger stack calls, and I elect to peel AQo in the BB. I did contemplate 3betting, but wasn't too happy to play a bloated pot out of position vs these 2. I check call a continuation bet on the QJJ flop. I check call the bet on the turn J, but I'm not in love with my hand. River is an A, and before I've even acted he snap chucks in 20k. This was maybe 65/70% of what I have left. In the confusion of acting out of turn, I don't think the hand through properly and acted way too hastily. I called him, he had quads and I was now in trouble. This should have been a trivial fold. I ignored my gut feeling that I had for all 3 streets and paid him off like a fish. Now who's the soft spot at the table? Within an orbit, I'd busted when KK was bested by 33 all in pre. A disappointing climax indeed, and walking out the casino I was annoyed with myself for messing up my last tournament in Vegas.
This has already gone on waaaaaaayyyy too long, so shall post a few snippets of the trip in a separate box.
If you've made it this far, I'll post you a dollar
Right, the snippets. I didn't play cash once all holiday. Either there was a waiting list or I wasn't in the mood. Slight regret? Yeah. But I'm a tournament guy anyway
There was a game going on in the Ivey room in Aria whilst I was in an MTT. Apparently, a load of rich businessmen from the Far East were in town, and the blinds were $2k $4k with a running $8k straddle. As you do. Our dealer said there had been a million dollar pot, with a 90k tip chucked in for good measure. I don't think I will ever be able to comprehend such figures. No mention of who exactly was playing....
I did see David ''Viffer'' Peat in Bellagio, holding a huge wad of notes and having a very attractive young woman on his arm. He is rather large these days, but I'm sure his girlfriend isn't with him for his looks
In the same casino was David Benyamine, playing a $1k $2k mixed game in a separate room.
Tips for recreational guys like me heading over for the first time?
There are plenty of tournaments to be had on the strip, starting from as low as $20 or $30 in some places. But you get what you pay for, ie; a ridiculous clock and starting stack, and next to no structure, with maybe the top 1 or 2 getting paid. Fine if you want a quick gamble, less so if you want to sit down and be there for the long haul. In which case, your best bet is the 2 daily tournaments at Aria. 30 minute clock, 200bb starting stack, all the levels you'd expect. Yes, these cost a bit more at $125, but as I said, you get what you pay for. Don't play two $75 crapshoots somewhere, and just use that money for a buy in at Aria. Bellagio and Venetian have similar tourneys daily if you want a smaller field than Aria.
In my small sample size, I found the play to be at best, ok, and at worst, truly dreadful. People limping in on the FT then folding to a 4bb shove for example. People will make exactly the same mistakes live as they do online. You just have to pay attention to what is going on. At the Bellagio, I raised JJ utg from a 30bb ish stack. I then folded to a single 3bet. Why? Because this guy had not done a single raise or 3bet in the near 3 levels we'd played (almost 90 minutes). Open limped? Check. Over limped? Check. Open limped the button? Check. But now he wants to 3bet an under the gun raiser. I elected to open fold my jacks as I wanted to gauge the reaction of the table. Surprise surprise....''how can you not peel there''?, ''man, you've got to take a look at a flop'', ''I can't believe you just binned that, you might spike a J'' so on and so on. For me, it was about as easy a fold as it gets, bearing in mind stack sizes and table positions. But the people who I thought were the table value didn't let me down with their comments. Within an orbit or so, I'd raised folded AQ vs the same guy, I again showed and he rolls over KK. I knew exactly where I was with him because of how he played, and because I concentrated at the table and absorbed all the info possible. In all my play in Vegas, only a handful of people put me in awkward spots. The rest generally play their cards face up.
Quick word on the wonderful world of variance. I saw KK run into AA so many times it would make your eyes water. I also saw AA cracked so often that I'm surprised threads didn't start in BBV saying 'sort it out Aria!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'. But variance works in many ways. Playing at Bellagio, it's raised UTG. I find AQ in early position. Whilst debating to raise or call, it turns out it is a misdeal. The raiser flips over his cards to reveal AA, and I give him a wry smile and turn over my AQ. All he can do is smile. The very next hand, I'm dealt the bullets, no misdeal this time and I go on to win a nice pot. What would have happened had the previous hand stood and the flop comes A or Q high, or God forbid AQx.....
good advice too!!!
moral of story......maybe.....
First day!!! Recover, Eat, Drink, Party!!........SLEEP..... then Krush!!
I was in Vegas about 7 Years ago, Veterans Football Tournie, [before id heard of poker], The Mexicans smashed it!!
....but point was, in 6 days there, I never played ANY CARDZ, Never put a coin in a slot, NEVER got IN before breakfast!!
What a trip! Was brill!!
Welcome home harry
Ashamed to say I had to Google that Jac
Just the small matter of the last day of the season in 2 hours......See y'all on the other side......
Pleased for the squad as a whole. Think they deserved it over the course of the season. But extra pleased for certain players....
Edin Dzeko, absolute hero and a very handy knack of scoring when it really matters. His goals have been vital during the run in, especially with Aguero's various injuries and the Beasts' lack of fitness/form.
Pablo Zabaleta. I would marry this guy. Cut him open, he bleeds blue. Amazing to think we signed him before the 'money', was only £6m, could've easily been marginalised once the funds flooded in. Instead, he is just as essential as the Silva's, the Toure's and the Kompany's. Not only does he wear his heart on his sleeve, take elbows, dirty tackles, broken noses etc etc in his stride, he's also a bloody nice guy. Has a stunning wife, and he takes his family to all the academy games where possible. He has no obligation to do this, he just seems to genuinely love the game, the club, and appreciates how lucky he is. Never on the back pages, never falling out of nightclubs, never caught up in any untoward business. What a guy, the ultimate professional.....
.......just like Vincent Kompany. I would also marry him, but I wouldn't feel comfortable going behind PabZab's back
Also special mentions for Demichellis, Garcia and Jovetic. And pleased to see Lescott sign off with another winners medal. He can look back at his 5 years at City with immense pride. He's won the lot (domestically), and yeah his international career might now look over, at least he has numerous honours to treasure for years to come when he hangs up his boots. Romours are he is heading abroad....
One thing that strikes me, we have a whole bunch of likeable players. I know I'm biased, and there are a few exceptions (looking at you Nasri and Hart, but we love you). But how can you not appreciate the skills of Silva? The tenacity of Zabaleta. The general beastness of Toure. The leadership of Kompany. The goals of Aguero. The engine of Fernandinho. And all under the management of Pellegrini, the charming man. It's nice to win the league, very nice. It's even better to do it in style with a squad bursting at the seams with talent. Roll on 2014/15.
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Had a mare in DTD last night, probably my worst ever performance. Started well, flopping and turning sets like they were going out of fashion. Then it unravelled. Think my best finish was 33rd or something, pretty poor.
Just watched a full £10/£20 game running on here. Kinda depressing really. A few known names, so it wasn't gonna be hard to spot the table value. Identified said table value in one hand. He was soon happy to get his stack (all £800+ of it) in with 910 on a 2 6 9 5 board, having been check raised all in on the turn by the nuts. That was him busto and sat out, and inevitably the game started to break up, not before a £4k pot with QQ holding vs AKs AIP.
Not gonna get on any sort of high horse about bumhunting. I think most winning poker player bum hunts in one way or another to certain degrees. Just a shame to see a guy do close to a grand in a matter of minutes, with no real hope of ever winning anything in that game. Whether he was aware of this or not, who knows. Perhaps he was blissfully ignorant and had a ball. I at least hope he enjoyed himself (as much as you can in that situation), and that that wasn't the last of his money.
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I promise I'll try learn to type less
Dtd night, always a good laugh and plenty of banter at the tables. I have the misfortune of representing 'Outlaws' these days, for my sins.
To cut a potentially long story short (first time for everything!), I managed to win DTD1 and DTD2, scoring 2 points and becoming, from what various people have said, the first person ever in the 3+ years of forum Mondays to win 2 of the 3 tournaments in the same night. A handful of people had scored 3 points previously (that's a first and a second for people not in the loop), but no-one has gone the whole way.....until now. Not gonna lie, when we were at the business end in both MTT's, I wanted it. I wanted to be the first. Yeah, the money was nice (about a £130 combined), but I just wanted to take them both down and perhaps carve my exceedingly catchy alias into a little bit of Sky poker history.
It would be remiss of me not to mention my extreme run good. QJ /> AA, A10 > AJ etc etc. Rivered 2 outers more than once. All fairy standard spots is how I can justify it
Suppose the aim now is to win all 3 tourneys in the same night.....
Also, gotta thank various peeps for the rails and kind words here and elsewhere. Too many names to mention but you know who you are.
Rainman deepstack, I'm coming for you in 7 days time!