You need to be logged in to your Sky Poker account above to post discussions and comments.
You might need to refresh your page afterwards.
Sky Poker forums will be temporarily unavailable from 11pm Wednesday July 25th.
Sky Poker Forums is upgrading its look! Stay tuned for the big reveal!
Diary of the PLO8 Champ (Translation... a losing player ) With a bit of life stuff thrown in
Great read AJ. Always interested to read what you have to say, very honest. Thanks for sharing.
Ger
Comments
Like other diary’s, I am hoping that this one, will keep me focused on my game. That is the aim anyway, we will soon find out. Before we get into my game, aim, and goals (which is not much) let me tell you a little bit about the Champ,
and yes, to put the record straight, the self-proclaimed Champ. Having said that, I’ve won a plo8 dym challenge, won the plo8 Sunday tourney league, won the Thursday plo8 tourney league, and let’s not forget I won the plo8 UKOPS. I’m hoping to do the double next week. So you see, I do have some credentials.(that’s why I’m the Champ :-)
This may get boring, so I will try to keep it short. My name is Alan Milton, alias ajmilton. Born and bred in Newport south Wales in 1963. The eldest of 7 children (5 sisters and 1 brother) moved to the Eastham on the Wirral peninsular in 2001 and still live here now. School days best years of your life. They say. Not for me, never liked school much, maybe because I wasn’t very academic. Pen and paper stuff used to bore the life out of me, didn’t mind maths though, required a bit of thinking and working out.
I did enjoy woodwork, metalwork, and science, hands on stuff making things. As far as sports went, did not like football, rugby, or cricket, the only things I liked were athletics and gymnastics, I excelled in both. I clocked the third fastest time in the cross country for my year. I finished second in the annual race. (Only because the fastest was off ill that day :P = bonus) In gymnastics I had the honour of representing the School in the welsh schoolboy’s team championships (6 man team) months of qualifying rounds and made it to the final, a trip to London no less. we finished 5th or 6th not sure. So apart from that, hated school. Oh I should mention that I met my first love whilst in school (the 2 of us aged 14)
First job, working in an electrical wholesalers, enjoyed it very much, lasted about 2 years, the company went into liquidation. I bought my first car off a rep that used to visit us. It was my pride and joy, the good old Hillman avenger. I don’t know how I got into my next job,( can’t remember)It was on a small building site, building 8 luxury 4 bed house’s. I was the site labourer working for 2 partners, we did all the ground works, scaffolding, and the like. They would hire in sub-contractors to do brickwork, plumbing, joinery, and electrical work. I got stuck in and helped out with all the trades, I learnt a hell of a lot.
They had a semi-retired painter, who I helped doing the decoration to the internal. By the time the contract ended, I pretty much decided that I was going to be a painter and decorator, which is what I have been doing for the last 30 or more years. I’ve travelled all over the country doing various paint jobs, I don’t travel anymore, I’m getting to old, to be out on the lash every night after a hard days graft, and stumbling into some strange B&B .
I got married to my first love in 1984 at the tender age of 21, had 2 Son’s Dean and Ryan. Unfortunately, it ended 2001, not her doing but mine. While I was on my travels (working away), I’d met someone else. It was not planned and I was not out looking for someone it just happened. That’s the reason I now live on the Wirral with my second love, and 2 step sons , Dan and Nathan.
Only had a couple of hobby’s other than poker, singing and playing the guitar, and snooker. My claim to fame playing snooker was to play against Ray Reardon. I played Ray in an exhibition match at butlins or pontins in Skegness. Ray was ahead, I needed to pot the pink and black to win, I wobbled the pink Ray steps up and says were trying to do this, pots the pink, and before the white ball had stopped rolling, he hit the black in, game over. I travelled there especially to play him, wifey and mum in-law were there with the kids, so I went there for the weekend just to play Ray on the bank holiday Monday, I was a big snooker fan, so that was such a big thrill for me.
I used to play for the local snooker club called Cannon’s, just across the road from the Newport centre, where the Welsh open was held. So when that was on a few of the pro’s used to come over to our club for some practice on our match table, Steve Davis, Mark Williams. John Parrot. They were exciting times, back in the day.
Music, love anything from the 50’s early 60’s Have to say Doo-Wop is my favourite. I bought my first guitar when I was 16, over the next few years I learned how to play, my mate Tony , can’t play any instruments but, he’s a cracking good singer . So we would get together and sing a few tunes, I had a 4 track mini recording studio, we used to record ourselves and get a kick out of it. We always said we would be the next Wham (Tony being George Michael, and me Andrew Ridgley lol)
Anyway fast forward a few years to around 1992/1993. After a snooker match, we decide to go to a pub, which has this new Karaoaky thing going on, I kid you not, within 3 weeks we begged stole and borrowed to get £2K together, to buy our own gear, we called ourselves Starsound Karaoaky, did between 3 and 6 nights a week for 2 years. (Happy days) After that finished I got a call off a friend of mine, (next door neighbour) who said his dad was looking for a guitar player for his country band. (Yikes) cut a long story short, I went to meet him for the audition went through a few songs. (He taught me to sing the harmony parts with him) He gave me a tape and said learn the lead guitar.
There’s the first set come back in a week, if you can handle that I will give you the second set. He must have been happy with me ….here’s the second set, see you next week. I went back the following week, we ironed out a few things that I could not play and tweaked them. He said you’re in (happy days) I asked him when the first gig was he said Friday.
(5 days’ time, Holy crapperamma) Well I have never been so nervous in all my life. To walk on stage with my guitar and play in front of an audience, (proper squeaky bum time) and to top it all off, I had to play the intro to the first song. (No pressure off you go AJ….a 1 2 3 4) Ok so that brings us to the year 2000, or near as dam it, we will call this part one, part two will come later. Let’s talk poker.
I will go into more detail later, in part two, about how I got into poker. I’ve been playing poker for 5 years, a losing player. My deposits have always been an affordable amount to lose in the past. The last six months, has seen a change in my financial circumstances, and the rot has to stop. So from a personal point of view, I have decided, that now, is the time, to try to become a winning player.
Easier said than done, but that is my goal. The way I have been playing the last five years, has been shall we say, unorthodox. The first 3 years I just played Holdem, best results came in the way of winning the mini primo for £455 and the £2K button hunter for £740. Then I discovered plo8, pretty much been playing it for the last 2 years. Omaha hi/lo the best poker game ever. Not a clue how to play the game to start with, but thought I would give it a go. Maccacgirl1 started a 100-dym plo8 game challenge in November to run until Christmas; I have been hooked ever since.
I actually learned to play the game via the chat box. With the help of all the good kind ploppers that play this game. As I said earlier, I play the game in an unorthodox manner, most of which are standard poker leaks. Which I aim to fix. My major leaks are discipline and focus. I can start a game with 100% strategy and game plan, within 3 or 4 levels, it can all go out the window, any kind of distraction be it in the chat box, or wifey shouting for a cup of tea, or answering the phone, just silly little things that make me lose focus.
I have pretty good reads on the plo8 players at the moment , maybe I should start taking notes, I’ve never taken notes (not sure it would help me, players change) Any way in short I’m in serious mode from now on. Good luck guy’s and gall’s
Regards Alan (plo8 winning champ)
regards
yfired
Excellent read AJ, really looking forward to this journey m8.
can hardly take the p*ss out of the chump after an op like that.
vwp.
A tremendous opening post, well done Chump.
You are older than I thought, which somehow pleases me.
First car a Hillman Avenger? - I had one of those, too, though it was my 3rd car.
Good stuff AJ, keep it up.
And keep that poker discipline up too - when you focus & concentrate, you are top class.
Merry Christmas, to all the ploppers out there, and indeed to the non-ploppers. Finished work today, not back in until 9th of Jan.
Two weeks of merriment, and poker carnage.May have to rule out boxing night for poker, I.ve got the family coming around for snacks, and drinks. They don’t generally stay late, so I may get a couple of late games in .
Looking forward to the plo8 UKOPS on Tuesday night. Before all of that, there’s the matter of the Plo8 Thursday night Tourney league Tonight.
See you later plops, and a happy new year
Well done Champ.
I have been impressed with your new-found discipline, well done bud, now you just have to keep it up & stick to it.
Would you mind if I made an observation about something I notice you do from time to time, and which I think is an area you might want to look at & improve upon?
It's only a tiny detail, but with edges so thin, every little helps.