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Sky Poker Blog Competition 2015
Write us a piece, and you could win a £550 UKPC seat!
At Sky Poker, we love hearing about our player's stories. Turning a small satellite into a big win, your first cash or even your first live tournament. There are several special moments that take place at the tables, and we want you to share them with us.We're giving two players the chance to write and win. Tell us your story, and if it's selected as one of the top two as a riveting read by Neil Channing & Tony Kendall you'll bag yourself a free seat to the Sky Poker UK Poker Championships this August.
Entry Criteria
Ahead of the UKPC we'd like you to tell us, in 300 words or more, about your first ever live tournament experience. Was it as you expected? Were you nervous, or made a mistake that threw you off? Did you defy the odds and ship the lot? If you haven't yet played a live event, we want to hear why not? Are you put off by the fact of facing actual people, or do you just prefer the virtual felt?How to enter: Post your final version on this thread to be reviewed by Neil & Tikay.Deadline Date: Monday 10th August at 9:00am.
How will you be judged?
Sky Poker Ambassador Neil Channing and Sky Poker TV Analyst Tony Kendall will judge all entries. We're looking for a fascinating read, a little gem of a story that gets us itching to play.
When will the winners be announced?
The two winners will be announced on Friday 14th August. There won't be any cash alternative for the UKPC seat, so if you're going to enter, please make sure that you're able to make the UKPC dates.
If I win, what day will I be playing in?
Qualifying players will be entered into day 1C of the UKPC Main Event, which starts at 1:00pm on Friday 21st August.For terms and conditions - see the promo page here.
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I played live for the first time at the Gala Casino at Teesside Park on Friday 4th November 2005.
I had been planning to go for a while, however, with no local poker-playing mates it was to be a solo expedition and I had been putting it off for a while.
The casino holds a £10 no limit re-buy tournament every Friday, registration starting at 7pm and the tourney at 8pm. I arrived early to give me time to find out what's what and found time before registration to read all the rules posted on a notice board in the card room. It was a good move as I learned important things like, the 50 chips are removed from the tables after an hour, and the re-buy period ends after 115 minutes.
When we started the players were a mixed bunch, some casino regulars who knew the ropes, a lot of young male internet players, some better than others, and a core of seasoned poker players.
I felt quite at home after 9 months of practice on the internet and a clear understanding of the local rules.
The first hand dealt me 88 on the BB and UTG went all in, it was folded round to me and I had a decision to make. I could either fold like a girl or push 'em in, I chose the latter.
He showed ATo and I flipped over the eights, an Ace on the flop and I was beat, "Re-buy please."
I thought that this may turn out to be an expensive lesson, but things soon settled down and that was my only re-buy of the night. I played tight straight forward poker with not too many tricks or bluffs, and made it to the break at the end of the re-buy period as leader of my table with 10,000 chips.
The player to my immediate right was obviously the worst for drink and making some crazy plays, but somehow he kept hitting, including calling an all in with 74s and hitting his flush to beat pocket aces. I made a mental note to take him on if the opportunity arose, and it did early on after the break. I had AT on the BB , three limpers round to me including the drunk guy on the SB. I raised, 2 folded and my target called. This was the position I wanted, now I needed to flop an ace. The flop came A72 rainbow he checked and I sensed my opportunity. I had estimated his chip stack at about 3500 so I decided that three bets of 1200 would take all his chips unless QQ or KK hit the board and I had to bail out.
I bet 1200 he called, turn 5, he checked , I bet 1200, he called, river was a 9, he checked I bet 1200 to put him all in, he called and showed AJ, A disaster, outkicked for nearly half my chips. I never really recovered from that and eventually went out with AQs against KK in about 40th place out of 90 plus.
Hopefully I've improved a bit since them, so chuck me an entry and I'll try to prove it
I had been playing in my local pub league for about 12 months and had gone from a newbie to winning the league twice on the trot. it was at this point where i thought its time for me to become a man, time to play with the big boys at the casino. When i started playing in the pub league i was only 17 so by time i went to casino i had only been 18 for about 6 months. Picture a fresh faced 18 year old walking into a casino for the first time to play a poker tornament.
As i headed up to the casino to play my highest ever stake (£25 freeze-out) i thought to myself 'as long as i play my game i have got a chance to win this'. In my head this £25 freeze-out at my local casino was the WSOP main event. The had tournament started when i noticed that there was 65 players registered so far and it was rising. It was at this point i started to do the maths....... £25 x 65 = £1265. I then stopped looking at my opponents bet sizing and started to think how I will spend the most I have ever won from a poker tournament. For anyone interested In my head I was on a plane to Ibiza.
I decided from outset that I was going to put the hood on my hoodie over my head because id seen the young players on the TV do it and I thought I clearly looked cool. I didn’t have to worry about the hoodie making me to warn as before the clock reached level 2 I was out.
My first ever live tournament was over and I wasn’t on my way to Ibiza but despite only playing for 15 mins I realised that I was going to be playing this fasinating cruel game for a long time to come. Once you get the bug you realy do get it and will find it harder to shake off than a clingy ex girl friend.
Well, nothing like a timely bust of an account to bring a poker player to the forum, I am testament to that right now (and most days). For those of you reading this, commiserations on your nil balances and just console yourselves with the old adage that there is nothing like a good night’s sleep to reignite one’s passion for poker. What’s more, there is nothing like a poorly written blog to trigger that good night’s sleep.
However please try and stick with me for the duration, see this as a train journey where you are the penultimate stop (Yes Tikay you read that correctly, I can only imagine that ‘train’ is a buzz word for you as you skim read through these entries..), if you allow yourself to nod off at any point then you risk missing your stop. Now take a deep hard look at the person opposite you, or next to you for that matter, do you really trust them to wake you at your station? ? I made that mistake once, the mischievous little £$!£!%£ failed to wake me at our mutual stop.. That is until the bloody doors had shut, the banging on the window woke me up at first, followed closely by howling laughter, I look up to see the pair on the platform as the signs for Hassocks station become a blur as we gather momentum. GRRRRRRRRR, crack my aces over that any time (that is not a euphemism either, I might add!)
So much like the train (you’re welcome Tikay), the story of my first live tournament must also gather some momentum.
A short 20 minute drive in my mates MG ZR in canary Yellow
looooovely.. we really thought we were THE kiddies at 18yrs old, heading down to the infamous £10 rebuy at Brighton Marina’s Rendezvous Casino. Fantastic venue. We’d heard about the games, 4 figures for a win, all the rich old yacht owners ready to donate us their millions!! Well it turns out that when £10 constitutes an hour and a half’s labour at Waitrose deli counter, you in fact play a little tighter than optimal (I have come to learn). Some advice for any other first timers heading to a £10 rebuy with a £20 optional top up, I suggest taking more than £16 for the night (particularly if your mate is inclined to charge you a fiver ‘petrol money’ for the privilege of 90mph on the A23, I should possibly have lobbied for a more economic and safer 70mph, however only being 10 lessons in with AA driving school, I thought better of biting the hand that fed me).
Anyhow I digress, CHIPS…WERE…FLYING.. more middle aged men waving tenners than a Friday night at Stringfellows! (I’m sure Mr Channing could testify!?) by hook or by crook, we BOTH make it to the break, I have about 1500 chips from memory, and suddenly that £20 top up for 4000 chips is ever more alluring. BUT… I only have a fiver left (and that is spoken for thanks to my friends new found vocation as an unlicensed cabbie), so I do what any self respecting gambler does and find the blackjack table. WOW!! I make my desired £20, but why stop there I ask myself?!?!? Perhaps we should let hindsight answer that one, as 5 minutes later we have our head bowed down in shame at the casino ATM, deeply resenting the exorbitant £1.50 charge to withdraw my own bleeding money (quite literally bleeding).
So back to the tournament, semi tilted, I manage to get it in pretty quickly.. Pocket 55s or similar from memory, a gut wrenching feeling as the cards are painstakingly flopped out by one of the players (oh goodness, the horrors of the self deal tournie). For the first of many times, BUSTO!! GG all, I will be back.
And back I was.. That Friday night game was a staple in our diary for the next couple of years, unfortunately the field size ultimately diminished to a shadow of its former glory, and the casino elected to change the schedule as they do, to ‘mix things up’.. I still smile to myself and enjoy the nostalgia of it all though. Now where is the one place I have experienced said environment before?? That’s right the SPT grand final, of course (what else would you expect from a brown noser like myself)
Here’s to looking forward to a great week at the UKPC for all, may the best man or woman win!
All the best,
Hugo
Anyway they were playing 2 tournaments during the week as the casino is only allowed to open when at sea something to do with maritime law i think and on this particular cruise we had 2 full days of sailing.Both tournaments were $50 re-buys.
I talked my way out of playing the first,nerves i expect i was alittle worried about making mistakes and the other players looking down on me but i decided to play the second figuring i would rather make mistakes against a bunch of holiday makers than at a land based casino where the game is taken far more seriously.
I paid my $50 and got my seat not intending to re-buy as it would seriously cut in to my holiday budget plus the fact the wife wouldn't be to please.But the pot was being swelled enough by an American guy sitting next to me who re-bought and re-bought thinking that the winner of the tournament was the one who re-bought the most.At one point when i was out of a hand i caught a flash of his cards 10-2 off suit.He promptly raised and got snapped called the flop came A A K he raised again his opponent almost burst out laughing and shoved all in the American called the other guy flipped over A K much to everyones surprise..NOT where upon the other guy just groaned and re-bought.
I then had a golden patch where i was dealt A J and the flop came J J 2 to give me a set i got a caller the turn was a brick but the river was the last J to give me four of a kind the other guy went all in with his full house and sighed as i flipped over the last J.The very next hand i got dealt 3 3 the flop came 3 3 7 and luckily my new American friend got dealt a 7 so double up for me re_buy for him.
During the game i had heard a couple of the players mention a Terry."I hope terrys playing" "I want to play against Terry"
"Wheres terry".
Then i saw this guy walking over to the table pokerstars shirt pokerstars baseball cap and wrap around sunglasses and the trash talking started immediately "I thought i would turn up late to give the rest of you a chance",so this was terry.
Well when he started playing i had never seen anything like it he raised every pot then re-raised and went all in bullying people bossing the table pushing people aroung all the time trash talking.
Up until then my game had been very simple get a good starting hand Aces Kings etc raise it if i didn't hit the flop and somebody before me raised it obviously mean they had hit something so i folded (i don't play like that now)
I then finally got a decent hand a pair of 9's so i called Terry immediately raised so i called the raise i can't remember the flop but i no he kept on raising.I just suddenly thought well i can't beat him his obviously to good so i shoved all in thinking get this over with i can then have a drink by the pool and get back to my family.
He then folded with even looking at his cards.It was like a eureka moment and a lightbulb went off in my head.I did it again a couple of hands later with the same result i knew i was on to something.
When we got down to the final table we took a break and i asked another english guy i had met who this terry was he told me he was some Belgium poker pro but other than that he didn't no.Back to the game i played slow then got A 7 with 4 players left and got 1 caller the flop came A 7 2 he went all in i called he flipped over A 9 and didn't hit so my 2 pair won then there were 3.
All the time terry kept saying to me "You should have called you should have raised you shouldn't have done this you shouldn't have done that " it was really ticking me off.
Finally the third place got knocked out it was just me and Terry and the money was brought out on the table.Terry offered a deal but i didn't take it i was having to much fun.
We played on for another 30 minutes and when we had even chip stacks we settled on a 50/50 split.
His son then took a photo of use with the money and i got talking to him.
He was infact Thierry de quick AKA the sheriff a belgium pro who had won over $100'000 in live earnings and he admitted to me he couldn't get a bluff thought because i could always sniff them out (more luck than judgement)
Anyway we swapped e-mail address so his son could e-mail the photos to me and we still keep in touch to this day if i need alittle advice about how i played a hand or whatever,and because of thierry de quick i began to look at the game in a totally different way and certainly a much more successful way.We met up a few months ago when i was playing in an apat event in aspers London and he came across to play the team event and we caught up on old times.
He has since won over $130,000 whens the next plane to Belgium.
Wow. My first ever live tournament! Well that’s an evening I won’t forget. Let’s start at the beginning. I’d been playing 5-a-side football with some friends and one evening we all went back to one of their houses. He had Sky Poker up on his computer. I later realised this must have been very early days for Sky Poker, at most the site would have been a month old. I had a good experience the first few times I played, winning small amounts which got me hooked.
Fast forward a few months, we’d had some home live games between us and I felt like Phil Ivey, I won most times we played and my friends were always saying they hated being in a pot with me. Brilliant! I’ll take this new found skill of mine to the casino and scare the living daylights out of all the regulars there. Easy money, right?
Nobody else felt comfortable enough to play at the casino, so I went on my own. The weather was horrendous, it was literally raining cats and dogs! (OK, not literally). I was coasting down the motorway on the way to Bristol Gala, it’s about an hour and a half away from me which is actually the closest casino. Living in the sticks has its downside! Just then one of my windscreen wipers decided to break. It wasn’t even the passenger side. I thought, fantastic! That’s it then, I’m going to have to stop and fix it. So learning across to the passenger side to see out. I moved across to the slip road and stopped. Got out, within seconds I was soaked. Fixed the wiper like the trooper that I am, got back in and off I went. Within about 100 yards it broke again. The wiper wasn’t stopping at the edge of the windscreen and was hanging off the side. I was determined not to stop again. So decided sitting in the inside lane and following a lorry while leaning across and looking out of the passenger side was the best idea. I couldn’t see a thing from the spray apart from his tail lights. Eventually, with my heart beating at literally 200 beats a minute (Again, probably not literally) I arrived at the casino.
The tournament was a £20 freeze out. Got myself all registered, went and got a soft drink and chilled out watching the roulette and black jack before the start. By this time I was pretty much dry and ready to take on the world. The call came for everyone to sit down. I found my seat, sat down and starting riffling the chips like a pro. A guy about twice my size (Not hard admittedly) came and stood next to me and said “you’re in my seat.” No I’m not mate this is mine. “No this is my seat, table 6 seat 3”. Sighh, look this is my seat, I said pointing at the board… I got a little closer to the board, my eyesight isn’t great. I read the seat number again and then decided it would be a good idea if I sat at table 8 seat 3 instead… Sorry!
I can’t remember too much about the actual tournament hands itself apart from 1. I was feeling very self-confident, you know as 18/19 year olds tend to do. I flopped a set of 8’s in one hand and got all the way to the river versus a reg and went all in. I thought, right this will be funny, what I’ll do is place one 8 on top of the other so he thinks I only have 1 pair. I did that, and he started to smile as he showed his 2 pair. The dealer then split my cards to reveal the set. His smile soon disappeared. In fairness to him, he just got up and said nice hand and left. I had no idea what slow rolling was back then, and I now realise I should have been shot on site. Umm again, Sorry!
The rest of the tournament went OK. I got some bluffs through, got paid off in other spots, I don’t think they knew how to play me. I then made the fatal error of counting down the players to the cash. I should have comfortably made it as I had quite a large stack, but I decided to totally nit up and fold my way into the money. I did make the money so the next stop was the final table. I stayed all nitted up and found myself with about 3 blinds when it went hand for hand. I eventually bubbled the final table, but I was more than happy with my performance.
It was getting late, so I collected my winnings and headed straight off to the car. Oh no! The windscreen wiper! I had a mess about with it again and hoped it was fixed. Got in and started to leave… This doesn’t feel right, I thought. Got out, and had a completely flat front tyre. Looking back now, I expect it was the guy that I’d slow rolled!
Called the RAC, went back inside with my winnings and waited for the call. It turned out to be OK as I sat at the blackjack tables and left another £100 richer when he finally turned up about 2 hours later! I got him to fix my wipers as well while he was there. All they needed was a bolt tightening. Turns out I’m no car mechanic.
So there you have it. The ups and downs of my first proper live event.
Ha, love the references to trains. Very clever, young pr1nniraid.
For the record, your ruse won't work.
Just so you know, before I am prepared to show bias, I will need mention of trains, bridges, (especially viaducts) aircraft, concrete, motorways & canals. (Did you know they are doubling the width of the Suez Canal?).
PS - In case I whoosh anyone - it happens, believe me - I am joking.
Before I get to actually recounting my first live poker tournament I must explain the circumstances which led to this fantastic experience. I had been playing online for about 12 months and used to play anything and everything, from limit holdem to stud, all equally badly. I only ever played cash tables until 04 09 2004. There I was, half-cut, playing my 7 card stud game at 8.30 on a Saturday night, accompanied by my friends Stella and Martell when an advertising banner flashed across the screen announcing the 1st satellite to a major live event, only £35 entry. Well i had made a little that week (luck not judgement) so decided to give it a whirl and registered at about 8.55pm with a start time of 9pm, amazed to find there were only 71 runners including me with a 1st, and only, prize of entry to the Caribbean Poker Classic to be played in St. Maarten in December. The prize included flight and accomodation.
So, having regged i then removed another couple of blondes from the fridge and sat down to play my 1st ever MTT. To say I ran well would be an understatement and at the 2nd break (11 pm) there were 4 players left and I was in possession of about 70% of the chips. By 11.15 it was all over and I was on my way to St. Maarten.
I was eventually contacted by the site after a rather anxious 6 week wait, during which time I lost count of the number of times I told my missus it was not a con, and the travel arrangements were made.
We flew out on Saturday 04.12.04 and were booked in to stay at the Maho Beach Resort, opposite the casino and the Main Event ($5000 buy in) was to start on the 8th, which just happened to be my 49th birthday. On the Monday there was a welcome cocktail party at which we were introduced to Chris Moneymaker ( nice chap if a little on the short side) and other WSOP main winners Robert Varkoni and John Gordano.
I had decided that I would treat this as a holiday and had no illusions of doing much in the tourney but would just enjoy the experience. So on the 8th I went to the casino and was allocated a seat, looked round the table to check if any big names were on the table and was a little disappointed to find that there wasn't.
Play started at 2pm and I played nice and tight for an hour or so, folded everything, then got involved in a hand with a young English lad, who had been annoying the table by telling everyone what hands they had but was always wrong, and won a 2/3k pot.
Got to the dinner break with just above starting stack but blinds were now getting steep so came back from dinner hoping to find some spots to make some progress but alas none came and my stack dwindled until I was down to about 5bb. Picked up 77 utg+1 so in they went, folded round to button, who had a massive stack, and reraised blinds fold he turns over AA, pfft gg thought I until I flopped quads.
Then moved tables, card dead again, no spots dwindled down to not much, with 51 players left, I pick up 44 in early position and in they go, 1 caller with AQ, A on flop game over. So I finished in 51st place at 01.00 in the morning having lasted 11 hours and had the best birthday ever.
Hi. The name’s Mark. Bench Mark. With ‘Mark’ being my second name. A bit like Markie Mark from Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch who, for reasons better known only to himself, is now referred to as Mark Wahlberg. The Funky Bunch, for reasons better known to everyone, are now referred to as has-beens.
I’ve never played live poker. Does that make me a fish? A live virgin? Or the guy that sits in the pantry with his laptop, and never answers the door or phone? Oh, how I dream of getting replacement windows, switching my energy supplier or donating more money to charity. Although, trust me, I’m already donating enough. On a nightly basis.
The reason for me never playing live is I suck at poker. Even in cash games, I get blinded out. You see, I’ve only been playing poker since last October and I’m not that good. I can hold my own on a 30p DYM, but my letter of resignation is gathering dust on the mantelpiece.
It’s not that I don’t want to play live poker. In fact, it’s on my bucket list for next year. ‘What sort of poker player am I?’, you might ask. I used to play by gut instinct, but when I was constipated, I played really tight and after a dodgy curry, a lot looser.
Nowadays, I play by the numbers. Not the bingo ones, though others may disagree, but by maths. Surely that makes me a proper poker player?
I also now have a favourite hand too. I think THAT practically confirms me as being a ‘proper’ poker player. Naturally I can’t say what that is, but you can be quite sure it isn’t QQ.
For now, I need to produce a nerve dangling, must read, atmospheric blog for people who want their lungs filled with the smell of sawdust and greasepaint as they wait for the next card to hit the felt. That particular casino chain never did last very long…
As I haven’t played live, which story should I tell? I never usually win poker tournaments, but there was this particular satellite one day in March…
14th March 2015 - Vegas Satellite (Prizes 2 seats in Vegas £3.2K Qtr Final)
The tournament started off as usual. Whilst the blinds were low the better cards seemed to win. Everyone was cagey, as no-one was prepared to risk serious chips for such low returns.
When playing tournaments, my chip stack tends to hover around the opening value and then diminishes as the blinds increase. Sometimes I cash to the value of the GDP of a small European country (i.e. Greece) (i.e. £0.25p). Though not often.
Today was different. Every hand I touched turned to gold. All my pocket pairs held. Well, except for twos. Okay, twos and threes, but we all know we only bet on them because we’re too embarrassed to fold them. It’s called ‘set mining’. I’m pretty sure that’s an anagram of ‘Nest Gimi’, which is Latin for ‘Goodbye chips’.
As the play progressed, I eventually took a chance on T-5 suited. The flush came, and I never looked back. AA gave me a big leap, after being called when I shoved. Not long after, a pocket pair of queens unbelievably held, after a board played out with no overcards. This was quickly followed by sevens holding, due to a very lack lustre board.
I just couldn’t seem to lose. Sure, when I played speculative hands, I lost a few chips, but when I went for it, the chips kept rolling in. A made a flush draw having my suited pocket cards being matched by the last 3 cards to hit the felt.
I even won a hand at showdown with what was effectively ace high. In fact, for every raggy ace I lost with, I won with another.
I soon became the big stack and wielded the power of Greyskull. Taking down hands unopposed with 7-4 off suit. Other players were to take me on, as I tended not to bluff and had the cards anyway.
My daughter still laughs about me punching the air, every time I knocked someone out in the closing stages of the tournament.
And at the end? I finished 1st out of 207. Sure, I got lucky. But it was ME who played the cards. I’d rather be a lucky fish than an unlucky expert.
I never got very far in the Quarter final. It was a bridge too far for me at the time. You have to respect the big boys. But that was 4 months ago. Now I’ve got the ‘smarts’ (which isn’t related to playing by gut instinct).
Bench.
Sensei Channing (my hero) & Tony (you handsome fox) this is my story.....
My Heart was beating like an angry Keith moon, every part of my body was tense trying to contain the emotion that was trying to escape from every single limb in my body ….. all in ….. I did what I had been doing all night…..
But we can come back to that later…..
It was 2003 I was 18 the sun was shining I was feeling good and I was on a cruise…. Not a cruise as in the Mediterranean but my mates Fiesta in Walsall…. life was good!! 2003 was a good year in general, Chris Moneymaker won the WSOP, Gareth Gates had a number 1 hit & Chelsea were bought by Roman Abramovich. Interestingly I decided it would be a great idea to style my hair with twists like Gareth gates but that’s another story all together.
I WAS A GAMBLER…. Never has a truer statement been made. If I could bet on it I would, on nights out my friends would call me “the Moth” due to the amazing ability of pub fruit machines lights to draw me in. They are called fruit machines for a reason….every time you are left with a pain in your melon and a sour taste in your mouth.
One day by complete chance I popped around to my mate’s house for a game of Fifa, I didn’t have any manners at that age so I walked in and headed straight for his room…. Little did I know something was about to happen that would impact and so deeply change the rest of my life and I am sure I am not the only person who has had this happen. As I entered his room he was sat at his desktop computer and I could see these little cards flying all over the shop…. Over the next half hour I asked what must have been 101 questions whilst watching him successfully polish off £80 worth of birthday money from Grandma Taylor.
My mate had been playing poker for quite a while as it happens….. And he was awful (Funnily enough he has since gone on to make a very successful career out of poker)
I was hooked…. Instantly…. I had to play!
But internet was charging by the minute in those days so online was a no go area for me….. Fortunately my mate had heard about a magical little place called the Grosvenor Casino in Walsall we made a date for a week on Friday. This would not only be my first time playing real poker but the first time I ever step foot in a casino.
My mate borrowed me a book (Super system by some bloke I had never heard of) and as many VHS videos of Late night poker as I could watch…. I was fascinated. One player in particular captured my imagination…. The late and great Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliot, in my head I decided that was who I was going to be when I turned up for my first tournament.
So a week or so passed very slowly and finally the day had arrived. We jumped in my mates Fiesta and headed to Walsall for a £25 rebuy with £25 add on…. I TOOK £20 (no joke) and borrowed a fiver from my mate……. I had bankroll management nailed from the start.
Out of all the things I read from the books and saw on the TV 2 things stood out to me and I promised to myself I would stick to this game plan the whole way there….. Play tight and a check raising is the most powerful move in poker. I was full of nervous tension made worse by the fact I quite clearly have un-diagnosed ADHD.
We arrived….. And I have to say it was majestic it was like brick and metal heaven, I could have been in Las Vegas for all I knew I had arrived….. This was my home now.
I leaped, bobbed and tripped up on a step on my way to reception… then disaster hit as I went to register for the casino…. My ID that I definitely had earlier, was definitely not in my pocket and most definitely in the jeans I had decided to change 5 minutes before I left.
The tournament started in 30 and the journey was 20mins there 20 minutes back…. Fortunately I had the best mate in the world and the kindest lady on reception who said she would register us so we could join when we got back…. She still works there to this day and is still one of the nicest people I have ever met.
40/45 minutes later and after promising my mate the world for the help we were finally in the casino. I was so focused on finally getting to play this great game that the slot machines did not even catch a glance from me….. Nothing short of a minor miracle. In fact Poker has actually managed to stop me gambling in the true sense of the word, apart from the odd sports bet.
We took our seats and I reminded myself once more of the game plan. When I received my first hand I can honestly say it was the closest thing I have ever felt in my official adulthood to being a child again…. It was magical. It was exactly like TV, banter was flying bluffs were shown and although looking back I was playing quite terrible I can assure you that night the poker gods smiled at me like my girlfiend at the bullring shopping centre…. The run I had was quite incredible – on a side note: I also had the runs the next day from the 2 hour break buffet after eating a roast dinner that looked like a butcher’s dustbin.
I was calling 25% of my stack of with gut shots…. Boom there it is
When I missed flops I was check raising all in and they were folding
When I needed running cards …. Boom there they are
When my opponents went all in …. Boom I had aces or Kings
Ace King was and automatic full house….. If you have ever seen Darvin Moons WSOP run it was just like that.
In my head I was just a quick learner and I was already better than my idol Mr Ulliot.
I remember a player who had the nickname ‘Con’ on my table he was the big dog at the casino and other regulars at the table mentioned how good a player he was and he had won this that and the other. One hand that sticks out is against con where I called his all in and hit runner runner flush (as you do) He looked me straight in the eye and told me I was brilliant…. Looking back I can’t be 100% sure he meant it….
The whole night I don’t think my leg sat still it was jumping around like a moth on coffee if anyone looked under the table they could have been forgiven for thinking I was Michael Flattely.
My poor friend was out shortly after the first hour or so and he patiently watched as I luck boxed pot after pot hour after hour after hour….
Around 2am I had made the final table with no rebuy no add on. The emotions I felt were incredible and as I sit here now smiling I struggle to remember many happier moments in my life.
At the final table I proceeded to knock out opponents like a prime Mike Tyson.
We were down to 3 player myself another young lad and a Chinese gentlemen who spoke little English and looked just like the trainer out of Karate kid without the glasses. The other lad suggested a chop (Again I had no idea what this was so I just looked at my mate puzzled…. He explained)
Me being me I instantly said no…. the truth is the money was just a bonus to me I did not want this game to end…. It was all about the game!
Literally the next hand I knock his ace rag out with my ace jack and me and Mr China went heads up.
We went back and for the for five minutes or so… then it happened to this day I will never forget the King of clubs Jack of Clubs
I raise….
Mr China pronounces all in….
I had no hesitation I called and slammed my hand down like I already had a royal flush…. Bear in mind at this point I had close to no idea what losing a pot was like…. I was holding King Jack that’s has to be close to unbeatable right?
I can’t remember what he had now but I do remember flopping 3 kings.
I had won! I was King! I could conquer the world.
Truth be told that night is still one of the greatest nights of my life and if you have never played live poker or poker at all then you quite simply must as it has brought so much happiness into my life.
That night I won £2100, But since then I have made great friends had great times and great memories and although the amount of time I play live now is minimal I owe it all to poker.
(On a side note I did give my friend £500 quid after the win)
To whoever wins I wish you fantastic luck and it will be the experience of a lifetime, for those who have never played before and are scared of looking silly dont be.... Humans on a whole are a fantastic race and this is a fantastic way to play the best strategy game in the world and meet some wonderful wonderful people.
May all your cars be live & your pots be monsters
Danny
Uncooked Kippers Poison Channing
Date – August 2014.
Venue – Dusk Till Dawn, Nottingham.
Event – Sky Poker UKPC.
I somehow found myself playing the above, after free rolling my way into the event via a promotion on Sky Poker for SnG games. I had played smaller live games before but this was my 1st ever 4 figure buy in tournament. Nerves?....just a bit! I am just a small stake recreational player who plays the game for fun while trying to make a decent profit to top up my working salary. Before the tournament had started, I swapped 5% of myself with another player.
I sat down on day one and my table consisted of a mixture of players. To my left was the high roller cash player Style from Sky Poker (gulp). To my right was an obvious pro player wearing more patches than a Scout Master at a Jamboree. I had settled down fairly quickly and after a few hours, I was totally relaxed and just playing cards and enjoying the day. I somehow managed to reach the end of day one. I then had the embarrassing task in asking someone how to ‘bag up’ the chips, being that it was my 1st ever time I had ever got through to a 2nd day.
Day 2 came and I got there early to locate my seat for the day. There was surely some mistake as the screen was showing the exact same table/seat I was at on day one. Nope, it was correct. What were the odds of that? Was this a sign?.......
Long into day two, my dream was over after getting my chips in with AK and being out drawn by a player with AJ who hit the J the 1st card out on the flop. I wasn’t too down and wished the player who had just busted me, and the rest of the table, good luck for the rest of the event.
I headed to the bar to have a few beers and meet up with some of the other Sky players who had also hit the rail. I sort of got cajoled into sorting a fun SnG out for the lads. No problem I thought…..I would easily get 10 players for a table. I first sorted out with the bosses at DTD if this was ok. Thankfully Rob & Simon not only said it was ok, but they also waivered the rake and gave us a dealer too. My charm was working. However, I was two players short of the full quota. The bubble had just burst in the main event and the bubble boy was just getting a drink from the bar with his mate. I thought I would go for my biggest gamble of the day and ask him if he fancied a game. He instantly agreed. What makes that more amazing is that it was actually Sam Trickett! Yes, this chap had just bubbled, was trying to relax with a drink and without hesitation, agreed to a £10 game of poker with us lot of recreational players from Sky Poker. Top man and total respect right there. His mate Ben (also a pro) agreed too.
In closing, I will just put the finishing touches to my story.
The chap who busted me, went onto a very well deserved Final Table appearance.
Sam didn’t win the SnG. I cannot remember who did, but it is immaterial anyway.
The chap I had swapped 5 % with went onto a very well deserved Final Table appearance, which in turn, enabled me to have a 4 figure return and my biggest ever live ‘cash’.
The title of this blog has no meaning whatsoever……it was just an attention grabber.
There is sometimes a divide in poker between the recreational players and all the pros or ‘experts’ in the game. This day, there was no divide in my eyes.
It was the age before 9/11 when pubs closed at 2:30 and BBC DJs played discs and cut ribbons on new shopping centres and football stars gave out autographs.
I was a 26yr old Mancunian living in Eastbourne, I didnt mind a sing song or a scrap and on Sundays, I used to make a butty to mop up the gravy from my sunday dinner. Hardcore northern.
Skip back 5 yrs before this, Manchester was a good place for cards, pub life , chips peas & gravy , in a tray , football and more cards, not so much poker but 3 card brag- Nap - 9 card Don- Bridge- but sometimes poker, 5 card Stud or Draw poker. Never heard of holdem, dont think it had reached these shores.
I used to play cards so often, you could pass me a deck and just by gripping them, I could tell you if It was full pack or how many short of a full deck it was. Me and my mate Billy used to win a few pints on that trick, till they cottened on.
So , here I am in Eastbourne, early friday night im in a pub, Im on the pub pay phone ringing my mate Billy on his pub pay phone.
Thats what we did then, if you wanted your mate, you rang his local, thats where he would be.
And hes telling me about this holdem Poker, with cards in the middle , that we all shared, how some lads are having a game, when the pubs closed in the afternoon on Sunday , when I next went home, he'll show me how it worked.
Saturday morning, with a hangover, I was down the Library in the hobbies and sport section looking up this Texas holdem and there is was,this brand new book , explained how it worked, these community cards, that we all shared , in the middle.
I remember getting goose bumps , I could see how this was so much better than any game of poker that ever went before , we all share these same cards, unheard of, I was shaking my head in disbelief and wonder.
I get back home, still a bit hung over and dreamy eyed about this Texas holdem.
My girlfriend didnt quite share my outlook on life. Probably I was ahead of my time, we had some disagreement that morning, I remember her kicking me in the shin, barefooted, shouting somethig about my table manners at her Mums every Sunday. Young lovers type of stuff.
So , im down the Pub at 1:00 , moping over a pint. And my good ladys at her Mums round a fire with a pot on it.
Then it dawns on me, I could go to Manchester.
I phoned round , planes, trains, coaches. They were all viable options . Gatwick had a BA flight leaving in 2 hours for Manchester and I could buy a ticket over the counter, but the counter staff normally fly back on this flight so I have to catch them before they boarded themselves. I had no time to waste.
I threw a few clothes and a shaver in a Sainsburys bag, I even pack a pint glass , that comes in a green presentation case, the glass is cushioned in a silk like material and engraved and stenciled - Macaffreys real ale - and some fancy patterns.
Its a gift for my brother, he likes his real ale, and I drank 20 pints of the stuff to get it free.
I hop into my Fiat 127 and head up to Gatwick.
So, Im on the M23 ( if it was built then, maybe it was the A23) going as fast as this car can take me, Im suddenly dying for a pee, I think I can hold it, actually, im sure I can hold it , because, I cant stop, I dont have time.
Whenever your dying to go to the toilet, if you know you cant possibly go, you find superhuman strength to hold on. Then when your in sight of a toilet, it becomes urgent again and you spill a little bit then manage to put the rest in the proper place. I told myself I had to hold on and I did.
My eyes spot the green Mccafreys presentation box and my bladder got wind, because by bladder decided it could release and im in dire pain trying to hold it in.
On the M23, just after the concrete viaduct, doing 65 MPH, I reach out my left hand, open the box, prize the glass out, hold it between my legs. Then with my spare finger and thumb, unzip, pull out, pre-dribble a little then proceed to fill the glass. And I filled the glass too, right to the brim, but I wasnt finished, I had drunk 2 pints an hour ago. 2 pints in, 2 pints out.
So I had to hold it again, Oh the pain. What to do with the full glass ?
Obviously out the window.
My right hand is steering, my left hand has the full glass. I grip the glass between my legs, my left hand takes the wheel, freeing my right hand to wind the window down. ( Fiat 127, basic model). When I reach down, the winder arm wasnt there, weeks before, the window kept sliding down of its own accord, I dismantled the door , fixed it, and had broken the winder arm, so there was just a cog.
The passenger door window worked fine, I simply swapped hands. Stretched and reached over, I could reach it, but I couldnt quite wind it down whilst steering and hold a full pint glass safely or responsibly.
But I could pull the winder arm off ,so I did.
I swap hands again and use it on this nearer door. I did that, managed to wind it down, empty the glass, fill it up again, then empty it.
I got to gatwick, never been before, there was acres and acres of parking . I parked up, hopped on a bus, I remember the driver stopping the bus, pointing up at the sky, and saying, look, a helicopter. Innocent times.
I got dropped at some Terminal. Someone directed me to the right checkin counter. When I found it, it was deserted of stewardesses , except some lady mopping the floor. She told me they were all boarding the plane and pointed in a direction.
I sprinted there, and down that concertina corridoor ramp that leads to planes, at the end, there was a Flight attendant / stewardess boarding the plane and closing the door, she stopped when she saw me.
I said I was hoping to fly to Manchester, famous for its concrete canals, She asked if I had a boarding ticket. I said I didnt, she screwed her nose up at me a bit and looked at me like I stunk of ...
She then looked over her shoulder behind her then turned to me and said " ninety quid , one way"
One hour later, I was In Manchester.
I had a great weekend, I saw my parents and my mates.
There was no cards that Sunday, my mate billy didnt believe I flew back, I had no proof.
I phoned and made up with my g/f Monday, turns out , she broke her little toe when she kicked me.
I flew back Tuesday, this time with a ticket , ninety quid one way. The ticket office told me I could have got a return for 95 if I bought it over the counter at gatwick It cost 45 quid to get my car out.
My brother loved his Macaffreys glass and presentation box.
Yes Kara was a poker novice then but she did seem to pick it up a lot quicker than Rich Orford
Still working, does various sports stuff for ESPN & BT Sport.
Some might say that parts of that should be filed under "too much information", but I always assumed you were female, so at least I have learned something. I should add that as someone who drinks way too much coffee when driving, I do completely understand the problem you described.
It was some coup getting Sam to play just after he had bubbled, it was amazing you pulled that off Max.
Gl to all the bloggers!
“Dealers, shuffle up and deal!” Relief was the predominant emotion as the dealer swept the neatly lain cards into his hands and began riffling. I’d already been sat there for a long ten minutes whilst the rest of the players milled about as if the card game was of secondary significance. It had occurred to me within the first thirty seconds that there wasn’t much point rushing to the seat to ‘be ready’, and after satisfying myself that my chip-stack did in fact total 20,000, twice, I found nothing to do but sit on my hands and scan round the room. I have since heard it said that players who are seated early are more likely to be ‘the value’, perhaps they all knew this, but at least nobody was there to fortify that notion when I struggled to work out where seat number 3 was.
On hearing the call they wished each-other the best before settling down and negotiating an optimal position to share the drinks tables behind them. A few nods were exchanged between familiar faces around the table, but that was about the extent of the social niceties – not exactly what I’d heard about the live poker scene, but then again this was London.
We’d travelled as a merry band of four, our first jaunt out to play poker in a cardroom, and an obvious extension to visiting each-other’s houses on a weekly basis. I’d been doing okay in our home tournaments, fuelling the forest fire of an idea that I knew how to traverse this game better than most. So armed with my all-conquering knowledge of the hand-rankings and how to calculate the odds of having hit a draw by the river, it was game on.
I didn’t experience any issues with the etiquette of the live game, and was being careful to announce my intentions and be deliberate when it was my turn to act. My confidence grew along with the blind levels, though I don’t remember contesting too many pots voluntarily, and certainly not aggressively.
The cards in use were slightly tired – I’m fairly sure the deck was new, but some of the colour had faded slightly on both the faces and backs of the cards. Having been dealt the Ace of spades a few hands previously, I was able to detect it round the table. As the dealer spread the cards to begin another hand I told him I knew some of the cards from their backs as the deck was compromised. He flipped over the Ace of spades on my call and requested a replacement set. I was very likely to have an eyesight edge on the table given the skewed distribution of ages, but this to me despite its inconvenience was the right thing to do. I felt quite proud that I was able to uphold the honour of the game for the table, though when I called it out a second time fairly soon afterwards I could sense that the ratio of appreciative nodding and chuckling against the groaning and tapping of watches had definitely diminished somewhat. I've not picked this out again since I recently got back into playing live, I suspect print quality has improved over the last 10-15 years, and my eyes have definitely been in decline also (likely attributable to too many hours playing online poker throughout that period). If I ever get called light whilst running a bluff I’m sure to give a quick close-up inspection to the integrity of my cards, before sliding them quietly back into the muck. That’s all theoretical anyway, I always have it.
Back then, I had to have it to make chips. Bluffing was what you did when you were bored, raising pre-flop with gems like 9-4 off-suit before firing on each street regardless of what the board read. Naturally, that takes some bottle, and what with all these giveaway hand movements, nose twitches and traitorous beads of sweat that everyone knew how to read, it just wasn’t worth it. Typically then, as the night wore on and the lower denomination chips were taken away there wasn’t much left in front of me. Being ‘still on starting stack’ stops being such an achievement after a while. I didn’t count in big blinds or M back then, but it was fairly obvious when I had just the one play left. I shoved a pair of 9s on an open and was called in two places, all-in pre. Rising to my feet I had to fade an Ace a King and a Queen. It was sweaty all the way to the last card. The release of tension as it bricked out transformed uncontrollably into a celebratory yelp that was quite obviously out of context for this £35 game.
At the time I wasn’t concerned with how much was ‘up top’, relative stack sizes around the table or even how many had to bust before I made the money. Quite simply, I got to carry on sitting there for longer, playing cards and having fun.
Every time I go back to a casino cardroom I’ll see one of these fresh faced beginners, saying “oh, go on then” before clumsily putting their chips in, grinning when they scoop a pot, having a few pints and sharing that occasion with friends. Undoubtedly they are the value, but provided they can also derive value from the money they’re spending and are happy to learn and return, then everyone’s a winner.
My first ever, ever, ever poker experience!
So as indecisive as ever I can’t decide whether to write about my first ever,ever,ever poker experience or my first ever casino experience which was at the 2014 UKPC at Dust Till Dawn where I satellited in for £2.30 and made day two with an average stack, having doubled up just into the second level on day one. An unbelievable experience full of adrenaline, drama and much learning but since I wouldn’t have been there without the very first experience I suppose that’s the one to go with.
So my first ever ‘live’ poker experience was also my first ever, ever, ever poker experience. At least if you exclude losing at home to my kids for matches.
I’m a keen golfer and three years ago my club decided to hold a ‘Poker night’. Now I love sports and games of all sorts especially card games. It might give my age away but I loved the miner’s strikes of the 70’s and the three day week because it meant power cuts at night and so there was nothing else for the family to do but play cards by candle light. Suited me perfectly.
So I thought how hard can it be? A bunch of golfers trying to play poker. I pitched up expecting to see all my fellow golfers there but instead was met by a sea of faces I didn’t recognise. I didn’t realise that all the local ‘proper’ poker players had been invited too. So there were about 32 starters of which a handful of us were novices. After a quick revision of the hand order – I had to check that a flush beat a straight – we started.
Heart racing I was dealt my first ever poker hand – 72. Now I didn’t know too much about poker but I did know it wasn’t very good so I folded it. Unfortunately that set the scene for a long time. I seemed to be getting dealt complete rubbish. Not a face card in sight. In retrospect it was probably my saving grace because all I could do was fold. Finally I got dealt KK in the position I now know as Under The Gun. I bravely raised the minimum and have never since seen a whole table fold so quickly. I’m sure I also heard some sniggering and ‘he must have a monster’ comments.
Somehow, a few hours later, I found myself on the final table. I had virtually folded my way there and was very much the shortest stack with just over two big blinds. I didn’t know anything about not letting yourself be blinded out then! So as the rest had a short break I just sat there thinking I’ll have my break in a few minutes when I’m out.
We re-started and a couple of orbits later, having not played a hand, I was in the small blind. The blinds were 500/1,000. After my small blind went in I was left with my last 100 chip (and my chair). I then made my bravest move of the night so far and proudly announced for the first time in my poker life “all in”. I can’t remember the exact hand but it was complete rubbish. Somehow I tripled up. Then I finally started to get some decent hands. I also started to see patterns in how the others were playing. Players who hadn’t played a hand for a while generally weren’t called when they did finally bet – like my hand with KK. Also the big stack was bullying the table. When he raised the others folded. When someone raised and he re-raised it got through. I realised maybe there was more to this game than waiting for good hands!
I can’t remember the exact hands other than going all in with KJ clubs and getting called by the KJ hearts. The way the night was now going I wasn’t surprised when I hit my flush on the river. Amazingly, that made me the big stack and I’d seen what a big stack should do. The rest of the evening was a blur but ended up with me winning the whole thing.
Hooked – you bet! I then found Sky Poker on TV and after six months of watching plucked up the courage to join. Met great people on line and at the live events. Thanks to the tuition on Sky and some avid book reading I managed to luck my way into the UKPC last August. Met TK and the gang. You probably don’t remember me TK as you were running about organising things and I was just a newbie who introduced himself to you. I was also interviewed by the lovely Laura. Had a whale of a time.
What a great game poker is and without a chance game at the golf club I wouldn’t have found it. I’m sure to this day the guys at the club still don’t believe it was my first ever poker experience.
Donald
Pretty sure I do remember meeting you. You were the well-dressed, sauve, handsome fella, right?