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The Sky Poker UKPC journey begins.
The 5th renewal of the Sky Poker UKPC was announced on Friday, &, so now the satellites have begun, & folks are starting out on their UKPC journey.
We'll try & use this thread to collate comment, feedback & questions as we go along.
Last night saw the first Semi-Final (they are nightly @ 9.15pm, except Sunday, when I guess they will be earlier), & these eclectic eight all qualified for this Sunday's Final, in which 10 x £1,100 UKPC seats are guaranteed, & 1 in 5 go through.
Well done them.
| rodwell | 4000 | ||
| ramos282 | 4000 | ||
| kyp1961 | 4000 | ||
| grandpabak | 4000 | ||
| RockSolid | 4000 | ||
| Matty_44 | 4000 | ||
| Ludovician | 4000 | ||
| FLYPAN | 4000 |
Comments
I am also hoping to go to Vegas next year so would like the practice before going to the big show.
Good luck to all who are attempting to get in
Nick
Nick - be the greatest thing ever if you could qualify for either- or both.
Good luck, live that dream.
Last night saw the 2nd UKPC Semi-Final, six seats were guaranteed, but it made 9 seats, so we have 17 into the first final on Sunday now, which will award 10 guaranteed £1,100 UKPC seats.
I have no idea how the other 4 qualified, but your suggestions seem plausible.
Good luck, it'd be great to see you there.
It should not finish too late though, as we have agreed with DTD that it MUST finish at a reasonable hour, & so at present, the plan is to start the Final around 5pm. Mr Trumper, who has an uncanny knack of forecasting exact finish times, thinks it will finish before 11pm.
The logic of the Monday final - an experiment which may or may not be repeated - is so that the majority of recreational players will not need a day off work. Whilst there are Day 1's on Thursday & Friday, all Sky Poker qualifiers will be entered by default into Day 1c, on Saturday. (They can move it forward to Thursday or Friday simply be contacting Tighty or myself).
Let's look at the likelihood of a Sky Poker qualifier playing on the Monday, to place this in context. 1,00 runners (hopefully....), so assuming a 10 player final table, 1% of them (10) will make the Final.
Sky Poker hope to send 200 players to the event, so that means - in theory - 2 of them will make the Final, & need Monday off. Of course, that number could be zero or ten. And exactly NONE of them will need the Friday off.
That's the logic.
We appreciate it will not be convenient to everyone, some of whom have jobs where - even for a chance of a life-changing sum of money (approx £200,000) - it is not possible to book the Monday off work at short notice (as a day's holiday - nobody is suggesting players should throw a sickie), or even finish work early on that day.
If that's the situation, then it would be best to consider that before qualifying or entering.
I hope that makes some sense.
In short, nobody needs to take Friday off - which we consider a huge bonus - &, in theory, 2 will need to take Monday off.
Any more questions, fire away, I have all the answers at my fingertips.*
* T & C's apply. I can remember this as well as forget them.
Thanks Mr Phant.
Be the greatest thing ever if we get a few qualifiers from those Daily Rewards Freerolls.
I just had a look at the Freeroll route, & there are two ways to get in tonight.
7pm - UKPC Freeroll.
6 players get a seat into tonight's semi-final. (Entry criteria, 20 points in the preceding 24 hours).
7.30pm Rewards Freeroll.
There is added value in that 1st & 2nd will win a seat into Sunday's Final. (Entry Criteria via the Rewards System from the previous week).
For clarity, tonight's £1,000 Rewards Freeroll has £1,000 of CASH PRIZES plus 2 x £240 UKPC Final seats, so total value = £1,480.
25 in Sunday's Final now, with 8 added yesterday, presumably 6 from the Semi-Final, & 2 from the Rewards Freeroll.
Going along nicely, each night 8 are qualifying for Sunday's Final.
The Final guarantees 10 seats, & needs 50 to cover, & with 41 in already, it might make a seat or two more yet. The weather is awful today, which is usually a very good signal for online poker traffic.
Some good & recognizable names in the 41, too.
5ausages40005kyRimmer4000Alarthur504000alpine4000ANDY6K4000aussie094000bigneebs514000Bromhead4000claire0084000dewy304000FLYPAN4000Gaaarrry4000gazscoop4000grandpabak4000GreenKing14000henners104000IanSimpson4000IrishRose4000jimmyg_g4000Joey8984000kyp19614000LuckyDaveB4000Ludovician4000Matty_444000Milber4000moggie3614000Moufdi4000Muad_Dib4000myrrdhin4000Nutter59324000onoo4000Padooki4000ramos2824000RockSolid4000rodwell4000rspca124000shubling4000Tadas254000thisltedu4000Thoich4000violet88294000
The first UKPC Final is tonight.
10 £1,100 seats Guaranteed, 1 in 5.
46 are in already, & with 6 seats Guaranteed in the 7.15pm Semi-Final tonight, so it may even make 11 seats & a bit of cash.
Plenty of feeders & Micro Sats today, starting from £1.30 & upwards.
The 46 who are in tonight's Final includes VLV & Punta Cana trip winners, as well as plenty of Freeroll winners.
Good luck to every one of them.
Claire,
I'll reply, chapter & verse, first thing in the morning if that's OK. Been a long day, & I need to get to bed.
Chuffed to bits you have qualified.
PS - at the moment, ALL Sky Poker qualifiers are being, by default, entered into the Saturday Day 1c. However, if you wish to play 1a (Thursday) or 1b (Friday) instead, we can sort that. Saturday, I would imagine, works best though, as you'll be with all the other Sky Poker qualifiers.
I'll address these questions one by one, to add clarity.
More follows.....
Hotel
Jurys Inn is fine, also there are B & B's galore in Nottingham.
The most popular hotels for DTD players are both on Castle Marina, almost next to each other - Holiday Inn & Premier Inn. It's about 5 minutes in a Taxi to & from DTD.
The beauty of those two hotels is that so many players from Sky Poker will be staying in one or the other, so you can almost guarantee to taxi-share (& so cost share) both ways. The Staff & Management from Sky Poker generally stay at Holiday Inn.
Personally, I would ONLY book one night - the Saturday night. If you DO make the Final on Monday, it's easy enough to get a room on the Sunday night, the hotels are near empty on Sunday night.
Structure of the day
Day 1c - Saturday - stats at noon sharp - not as second later. However, it's "Live Poker", so you can poll up late (until 4.40pm) if you so wish. Personally, I'd suggest arriving early, soak up the atmo, meet a few people, chat & chill, so you are nice & relaxed & in your seat from the very start.
Your Table & Seat allocation goes up on a plasma screen, 5 minute before the start.
The tables are in rows, or tiers, numbered from left to right, but if in doubt, ask anyone, in particular just ask any Dealer. The Dealers are all sat in place 15 minutes before play commences.
SPT Rich, aka Tighty, aka Rich Prew, or myself, will both be there, so come see us if you need any help at all. That's what we are there for, what Tighty scornfully calls "Front of House Duties".
Play will continue until quite late - possibly after midnight - as it is important that we can get down to a Final on the Sunday, so as to avoid a late finish on Monday.
Can you bring anyone with you?
Yes, of course.
They MUST register as a Member though, or they will not be permitted to enter the premises. (Gaming Commission rules). This applies to you as well.
It's best to register in advance, as the queues at the Reception do get a bit lengthy & tiresome. Takes about 30 seconds to register online, you do that at the DTD Website. I'd suggest you do that now.
You will need to bring Photo ID with you on the day - Passport, Drivers Licence, or whatever, even a Utility Bill. You will NOT be admitted without ID on your first visit.
Your +1 can pop up to your table from time to time, to see how you are doing, ask how you are getting on, or bring you a cuppa. However, some etiquette is required - you should NOT talk to them whilst on a hand, or delay play because of them. They should not "hover" too close for long either, as it's unsettling for the other players, who may think your +1 is able to see their hole cards. Just sensible, common sense.
There is a bar, also tea & coffee (sadly the tea & coffee is charged at about £1.80 a pop), & there is TV on various plasmas around the room. Plenty of armchairs, sofas, & occasional tables at which to sit, too. (Isn't "occasional table" an odd expression? Is it occasionally something else?)
Generally, life being what it is, young ladies tend to congregate together, & you'll be fine, as a few female players of my acquaintance - MacacGirl (talks for England) & Mother (maybe even The Dreaded Daughter) are hoping to be present. My Gill may be there, too, so you'll be fine.
Clothes? Just smart casual. No ripped jeans or string vests, sorta thing.
Food - there is usually a buffet for the players.
Never Played "Live" before"?
Bit of work needed here if you are to enjoy the day to the max.
Arrive in plenty of time, there are usually a few who have never played before, & Tighty or I will arrange a Table, dealer, chips & a deck of cards for a quick practice run.
A few quick tips.
Always catch the Dealers eye before you act if you intend to call, bet or raise, then announce what you intend to do - "Call", "I make it 600" or whatever. Then, if you get your chips muddled up & put the wrong chip(s) in you are ok, as verbal is binding. When folding, no need to say anything, just muck your 2 cards. It is VERY DANGEROUS not to announce your intended action. If you accidentally stick a large denom - 5,000 say - chip in the middle it MIGHT get construed as a Raise, or you may not have noticed someone else raise, & it'll go as a call. ANNOUNCE YOUR ACTION TO THE DEALER BEFORE YOU PUT THE CHIP(S) in until you get the hang of it all.
Separate your chips into denoms, to avoid getting muddled up. Keep them neat & tidy, in stacks of 5 or 10, easier to count then. Your biggest denom chips MUST be visible to all players, they MUST NOT be hidden at the back of your stack.
Try not to count chips when betting in ones & twos - "cut" your stacks where possible.
Do not EVER act out of turn, even if you intend to fold - WAIT until it is your turn to act. Online we can fold out of turn, but other players don't know we have folded. Live, we MUST act in turn. Failure to do so may incur a warning, then a time penalty.
If you need change - say you want 5 x 100 for 1 x 500 - do not ask other players or the dealer. Just stick the 500 chip across the line for your 100 call, Blinds or bet, & the dealer will sort the change after al players have acted.
When you win a pot, do NOT pull your chips in - that's the Dealers job, they will push them to you. It's extremely bad form to touch chips which are in the middle, like venting in church.
NEVER touch anyone else's chips, or the chips in the pot.
Pay attention at all times, or you will miss the action, or act out of turn.
Do not lift your two cards off the table to see them better. They must remain in contact with the table at all times.
Do NOT show your hand to other players not in the hand, or after action has completed. If you show ONE person, you are obliged to show everyone. It's very bad form, too.
If you pass, say, 8-8, & an 8 comes on the Board, don't blurt out "ooh, I folded a pair of eights". That gives vital information to players still in the hand & can affect the play.
Try not to "tank" or dwell un-necessarily, or every hand. Bad form. When you do have a tough decision, that's fine, take all the time you want, within reason.
Nervous? Sit nice & quiet for the first few orbits, watch, listen & learn. There's no rush, you have plenty of chips, so just fold for a few orbits unless you find a monster.
Not all poker players are good at social interaction I'm afraid, simple things like saying hello,. or introducing yourself, small talk etc are lost on many. To get the best out of the day, try & interact early, get chatting, it really helps everyone relax. Some don't want to talk or say hello of course, & that's up to them. You are there to enjoy yourself though, so try to make the most if it. Getting a nice chatty table is the best fun ever imo, though not all agree. I've shared tables with folks for 12 hours & they have been unable to mumble a single word. Tough to think of any walk of life where you plan to sit with 8 or 9 others & cba to even say hello.
And finally, most important of all - ENJOY yourself. It's not an ordeal, its a great day, & it's not often you'll play an £1,100 jobbie. You may even end up on a table with someone like Jake Cody, Mr Ambo, Sam Trickett or whoever. I must say, Mr Ambo is the nut table companion, he's huge fun to share a table with, as care many others.
Live Poker is tremendous fun, believe me.
There you go - any other questions, fire away.
If any other regulars would like to add something to assist Claire, please do.
So, back to business, & congrats to this baker's dozen who have got themselves at £1,100 UKPC Seat.
If my memory serves correctly, Lulufold was a previous Viva Las Vergas qualifier, & I8PALACE was a Punta Cana qualifier this year. Ian Simpson is a regular on the Sky Poker TV Show these days & Ben Sherman makes lovely shirts favoured by us chavs.
may i add something?
keep track of the pot. you must keep a running total of the pot size in your head. then you can calculate the bet sizing in relation to the pot. you need to know what others are doing. afterall, you do not have screen friendly info when playing live.
as another tip, count the pot and calculate bet sizing even when you have mucked your cards.
you can learn so so much on others' play but also it will guide you on your own bet sizing.