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Live Poker - Warning this post is actually a blog in disguise lol
Well, I had always intended this to be Part 2 of a Blog that I had written for the Sky Poker Forum. Unfortunately my time writing Blogs passed before I had a chance to play in a real life, live game. I have at last played in a live game and just thought I’d drop down a few of the moments here on the General Forum Chat.
First off I have to say that my experience of Casino Poker got off to a fantastic start. I live, a few short miles over the water, from Dundee. Around 6 months ago a new “G Casino” opened. As it was the newest and had a big sign on the outside saying “POKER ROOMS” I thought I’d give it ago. The day I joined the Manager gave me a tour told me all about the Poker games that were played, and said he would get his Poker Room Manager to give me a call. Off I went with my new membership card (a paper one coz the printer wasn’t working to give me a plastic one lol) safely stored away in my Wallet.
As things go, I can count on one hand the amount of times in my life that someone has said they will call me, that I actually get the call. I was pleasantly surprised when I got a call on the mobile. “Hi this is Vinnie, from the G Casino, just giving you a call to find out when you’ll be coming in for your first visit.” We chatted for a while over the different games on offer and I decided, with excellent advice from Vinnie, that the Triple Chance on a Monday night sounded like a great starting point. The triple chance is exactly what it says, for a £10 buy in you are given three sets of 2500 chips, you can take them all at once or 2500 to start. If you choose to take just the 2500 then you are given two chits each worth 2500, which as required you just ask one of the guys standing around for more chips. Which will be brought to the table. After an hour any remaining chips you haven’t claimed are automatically added to your chip stack. Nice, Simple and at the most I will lose is £10, as there are no re-buys.
So the very next Monday night I arrived at the Casino. Now please do not laugh (though I’m sure some of you will) I spent ages decided what to wear, lol. I didn’t want to look like a scruff; I didn’t want to look like a guy, trying to look like a Poker player. At the end I decided on Black trousers, Blue Shirt and a Blue Jacket. (Tried to find my burgundy one but it was in the wash) I turned up about 15 minutes before registration started and introduced myself to Vinnie. Vinnie is a top bloke, a keen Poker player himself, he explained how things worked, assured me that the dealer would look after me and that the other players that they get were a friendly bunch that would be more than happy to help me out.
All of this proved to be true. The dealer, a young lad from Donegal called Jack, was really helpful. I was sitting on his left and he kept me straight all night. Before we even started Vinnie introduced me to another player who was playing live for the first time. Ron was a keen beginner, like myself. Another thing we had in common was he is a hugh fan of TK and Richard. I got the bragging rights off to a good start when I told him they had interviewed me on the TV the previous Monday night. We sat and had a few drinks and discussed our fears, turns out we had a lot in common lol. We then heard the call over the loudspeakers so Ron and I headed for the Poker Room. Twenty Players over two tables, Ron and I were lucky enough to be at the same table so at least we each knew at least one other person.
We needn’t have worried, most of the players at the table were regulars and were a great bunch, if something was going on that I didn’t understand, someone was always ready, and willing, to explain. A young lad sitting across from me, Craig was extremely helpful. Turns out he was an ex magician. Still had some of his skills the way he made my chips disappear. There was a really nice lady at the table, Pat, who again was happy to help out a beginner. There was lots of encouragement and it was a lot of fun. Now how did the Poker go……
Well let’s put it his way. I didn’t get knocked out first…. And that’s about it. I didn’t win a single hand all night. I was playing so tight, that when I limped in with Ace King and was re-raised all in, I folded. Completely forgetting that my tournament wasn’t at stake because I had two chits for another 5000 chips. Needless to say a call would have led to me tripling up as the raiser was called. An Ace Six broke his pocket 8’s. Eventually it became clear that I was going to have to start playing a bit looser, but every time I saw a flop, I missed it by a mile, I had a pair of sevens that got beat by a pair of Kings. Just not my night. Actually it was my night I had a brilliant time and will be back again on Monday night, if not sooner, for another game.
However the night was not over, I decided to hang around for a while and see what happened. I was lucky enough to bump into a chap that I had met at a fiends party around the time I was just getting started in Poker. Eddie is a very good Poker player, with a real passion for the game. He has previously won the Scottish Poker Open and has sat at tables with the likes of “Devil Fish” no less. Eddie was sitting around waiting for a cash game to start, so we had a drink and started to have a chat. We had a great time with Eddie giving me an insight into some of the things I may have done a little differently. But equally he told me that some of the things I had done had been good moves that hadn’t just worked out. After a while Eddie headed off to join a cash game but not before telling me all about a uselful little bit of software “Mikogo”. It allows one person to see another persons desktop and for them to chat over the internet in real time. Eddie has now agreed to mentor me. We can use Mikogo for me to record an MTT while I make a commentary of why I did this etc. Eddie can then sit down with me after the event and point out any mistakes or missed opportunities. I couldn’t believe that Eddie was offering to do this for me, for no reason other than he loves the game and is willing to help other players get better. Great Guy
So all in all, my first every live experience of playing Poker was fantastic, that’s despite the fact that I never won a hand lol. Oh one last thing…. By the time I got home I was still on a bit of a high, couldn’t get to sleep, logged onto Sky Poker as sat down with a field of some 40 players on a £300 guaranteed regular NL Holdem. Well maybe the Poker wasn’t so bad after all 
See you on the tables
| £300 Guaranteed |
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| campbell06 | 80000 | 1 | £160 + 30 League Points |
| JockBMW | 0 | 2 | £100 + 26 League Points |
| VIC212 | 0 | 3 | £60 + 18 League Points |
| zandan25 | 0 | 4 | £44 + 12 League Points |
| moose190 | 0 | 5 | £36 + 6 League Points |
| glynnebe13 | 0 | 6 |
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| FINS | 0 | 7 |
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Comments
I really really keep meaning to make it to my local Grosvenor after the fun of the Luton SPT but never actually do it. One day.
Great blog/post lol, i have never played live before but blogs like these are definely making me feel like im missing out, hopefully il play somewhere soon rather than later...by the way what was the most difficult things to get used to when playing live?
Great blog Jock.
I'm sure next time you'll play you will have more confidence and when you win your first hand (not rubbing it in mate, honestly!) you will be buzzing. It all adds to a great experience, the adrenalin when your all in and win is second to none.
Keep up the good work and good luck for the SPT in Glasgow..
Snedds