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UKOPS ME SIDE win marred by bullying and intimidation in Main Event
Well done on winning the mini! No mean feat sir
Sad to hear you got some criticism in the main, don't take it to heart, why listen to bullies? Just continue to play your game, have fun, and prove people wrong
No need to take a break over this, as you have just won a biggie, i would keep playing!
Comments
I am going to post a bit of my poker history, I apologise if I waffle.
I have played Sky Poker for 7/8 yrs and it has been one constant massive learning curve. My first big win was in the old Open, first prize was just short of £1200, approximately 6 months after joining this , my first poker site. In hindsight the win was probably the worst thing that could have happened in my fledgling poker career. I was a lucky novice who suddenly thought he was a poker genius! Hence, instead of studying the game and learning how to play to the best of my potential, I spent the next few years as a losing player.
I went through periods of blaming everyone else (privately of course) and Sky Poker, even to the extent of self-excluding myself for 6 months whilst shouting at my computer screen "IT'S FIXED'!! but strangely enough, when I played other poker sites they were fixed as well!
In more recent times, I have again excluded myself for shorter periods of up to a month but not because of any great conspiracy against myself, rather, because I was so frustrated at my own poor play. Each time I had these sabbaticals I would reflect and analyze what I was doing wrong. The last few months I feel I have shed a lot of my demons and consequently enjoying my poker a lot more.
I am under no illusions I am a great poker player and know I never will be, however I am experiencing a marked improvement in my game which has boosted my confidence to enter main tournaments over the last couple of months. I satellited into 3 UKOPS MEs, two through micros and semis. Now, when I exit early from a tourney, I am constantly searching for my mistakes. If I get a bad beat I roll my eyes and tell myself "that's poker". On the flip side I know that I also experience good breaks. What I am conscious off is being gracious in defeat and wishing the player or, if I dislike the player for any reason, the table GL... which brings me to the main reason of the post.
Whilst playing the Main Event, I was on a very strong table with some heavy hitting Sky Poker legends and constantly found my blinds under increasing pressure. I was down to aprox 6.5k chips. The blinds were running 400/800 and was raised by player A to 1600. I reraised to 3200, the blinds folded and A went all in with 16000. I called and player A showed AQ against my AJ. I flopped the J and took the pot.
I was totally unprepared for what happened next. The chatbox came alive with vicious, nasty comments of how rubbish I had played the hand and I should never have raised. Player A accused me of forcing him to go all in, I was a donk etc, which then his freind, player B joined in with, Then his supporters away from the table joined in. What was most shocking was that these were big Sky Poker players who between the 4 of them had won numerous main events. These guys are well respected in the Sky Poker community but became nothing more than a pack of baying Hyenas!
The next couple of hands I played were met with a chorus of donkey comments "eeoorrr" and such like. The effect was like nothing I had ever experienced. I was paralyzed. I couldn't play a hand and could barely make out my cards. It was after I folded a pair on a flat call which turned into a full house that I threw my lot in. I just wanted out of the tournament.
I would like to say to the gentlemen concerned...you disgust me. You think you have a god given right to final table and anyone who is not part of your clique and your 'community' has no right to be there. I actually respected you guys and have often observed you on final tables to pick up any tips, now I think your pathetic!
I have noticed on the forum that some of you are friendly with Tony Kendall. No doubt over time you have picked up points on strategy from him. It is a shame you never picked up the Man's grace or etiquette! I think if he would have seen your comments he would have been disgusted as well.
Moving on, I vowed never to play Sky Poker again, however I was still in the ME side and after a period, got my composure and went on to have a great game. On the final table, Mamsta, who was my opponent when heads up, seemed to be a popular guy with supporters rallying him but in contrast to the ME table, when wishing him GL they also wished all on the table GL.
Thank you to Mamsta for being gracious in defeat and wishing me WP, it brought a lot of perspective to the evening.
I was quite elated after the tourney success and obviously on a high. I had a couple of guinness, turned on some music and was dancing with my dogs to Bob Dylan's Duquesne Whistle (if you like Bob put this track on YouTube and watch the vid, it's great) when my good lady stormed down at 4.30 to demand "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" When I explained my good fortune she retorted "WELL? SHUT UP AND GET TO BED" to which I sheepishly obeyed.
The most peculiar part of the whole episode is how I felt today, rather than being elated I was completely flat and angry. I have not had the thought of my treatment out of my mind all day, my day at work went by in a haze. Why was it having such an affect on me? And then it dawned on me, I was totally powerless and incapable of dealing with the situation. I let the bullies get into my mind.
Part of my dealing with this is writing this post. One thing I know for sure, I will not be intimidated by them or anyone else on a poker table again. I know I have nothing to be ashamed of in my play. I will play my game and how I want to play it but I also know I will never resort to retorting similar on chat, then I would be just as low as them.
What now? I am going to have a short break from poker and give my neglected dogs some overdue TLC and attention. Don't get me wrong, they have had their daily walks and long treks at weekends and the bank holidays but they have been fitted around poker lately instead of the poker being fitted around the girls. (maybe even give the good lady a bit of TLC)
See you on the tables after my sabbatical!
First off, super congrats on the UKOPS ME Side bink. Gotta take some balls and some serious concentration (as well as some luck no doubt :P) to go that deep and win the thing, so vwp sir. Also pretty awesome to see some run-good karma on you winning the thing after your ME bustout.
Which kinda leads me onto my next point, and this applies to all bullies/haters both on and off the table. Joke’s on them. Not only do you walk away with a huge bink to add to your poker resume, but you now know the people who obviously have little to no emotional self-control at the tables. They get exposed to you for who they really are, as you walk away knowing that you’re at LEAST a better man off the tables, if not on them too.
You also get to learn a cool life lesson about being skeptical to the people you look up to, as well as spending your time admiring and respecting the right players now, instead of wasting any time on people who don’t deserve the positive attention they get. Positives galore baby!
People’ll give you abuse because it either makes themselves feel better (in which case, they just show their true colours for being massive douchebags, so no reason to let ‘em get to ya. Especially when you walk away with their chips
)
OR
They’re just doing it to try to get to and hurt you. So don’t let them win. Close the chat box, say “ty for the chips gg”, or just giggle at their poor emotional control, because you’ll always have the last laugh being the better guy.
Don’t hesitate to screenshot what happens, out the players responsible, or just go straight to customer support and let the complaints against them build up so it doesn’t happen to someone else.
Wp again on the victory. Be proud, crack open a beer or two, and enjoy 2013 with a healthy bankroll.
Cheers,
Smitalos
Congratulations to you for your superb win.
I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience, I wasn't on the rail so cannot comment about what was said.
It sounds like the chatbox affected you badly in the ME. Poker players aren't exactly a bunch of choir boys, plus sometimes things said in jest can come across the wrong way. It's the same on all poker sites, you'll never get away from potty mouths and armchair coaches wherever you play. What you need to do is work out how to stop them putting you on tilt. Maybe you should switch the chatbox off off to avoid the same thing happening again, many other players do this. Also the excellent 'Mental Game of Poker' book may help, if you can learn to overcome this sort of thing it'll make you an even better player than you are today.
I think you should name and shame them!
May they have their Karma in 2013!
Well done Elevation for the bink and really the best way to deal with this is forward the details onto the customer care department. Also kudos for NOT naming and shaming here, as things like that can only get messy. If you do report it to the customer care people, it WILL be looked into and this is something that Sky Poker do take very seriously.
Some of us have thick skin and can take most things posted, other can not.
Naming and Shaming is the last resort, some times its the only way to get these so called poker players of your back, i still don't know why sky don't have something that you can report these sort of thing immediately, a button you can press to CC and let them sort it out.
Good luck in 2013, and remember some one once said i might be a small fish but i got your chips.
Glen
Ignore the Mugs, Petty Poker Brats & lifes Idiots!!
THEY ARE MANY!!!
I wish You well!!
Dave Hitman Harvey
it would be unfair to mention names so far along the line but i believe one of them bubbled a very big payout last year and the word karma was mentioned.
keep your chin up...it seems by not going all in you didn't give this player the option to fold so you sucked him in, got lucky and doubled up...i think they call it 'tough luck' for him.
And as Tikay quite often says there is no 'right way' to play poker, if there was we would all be winners all of the time.
Funny that your post makes you no better than the people who abused the OP, if you are going to comment make sure you use the same level of decorum that you preach or please refrain from posting.
OP
Well done on the win and you should never have to suffer abuse at the tables. It is just a game that we play but there are always people who take it that step too far. It is usually those who have had a bad run or a nasty cooler, it isnt usually ment or personal. If you feel so strong about it the of course discuss it with CC.
Keep running good.
Customer service please note!
An idea for 2013 ,to clean up the game,so many of us enjoy!
ps. turn chat off
[QUOTE]Firstly,I won the ME Side 10k BH last night. I satellited in through a £3 all in. I was also in the 40k ME which I satellited in through a £6 Direct. All in all it cost me about £80 in satellite fees. I am going to post a bit of my poker history, I apologise if I waffle. I have played Sky Poker for 7/8 yrs and it has been one constant massive learning curve. My first big win was in the old Open, first prize was just short of £1200, approximately 6 months after joining this , my first poker site. In hindsight the win was probably the worst thing that could have happened in my fledgling poker career. I was a lucky novice who suddenly thought he was a poker genius! Hence, instead of studying the game and learning how to play to the best of my potential, I spent the next few years as a losing player. I went through periods of blaming everyone else (privately of course) and Sky Poker, even to the extent of self-excluding myself for 6 months whilst shouting at my computer screen "IT'S FIXED'!! but strangely enough, when I played other poker sites they were fixed as well! In more recent times, I have again excluded myself for shorter periods of up to a month but not because of any great conspiracy against myself, rather, because I was so frustrated at my own poor play. Each time I had these sabbaticals I would reflect and analyze what I was doing wrong. The last few months I feel I have shed a lot of my demons and consequently enjoying my poker a lot more. I am under no illusions I am a great poker player and know I never will be, however I am experiencing a marked improvement in my game which has boosted my confidence to enter main tournaments over the last couple of months. I satellited into 3 UKOPS MEs, two through micros and semis. Now, when I exit early from a tourney, I am constantly searching for my mistakes. If I get a bad beat I roll my eyes and tell myself "that's poker". On the flip side I know that I also experience good breaks. What I am conscious off is being gracious in defeat and wishing the player or, if I dislike the player for any reason, the table GL... which brings me to the main reason of the post. Whilst playing the Main Event, I was on a very strong table with some heavy hitting Sky Poker legends and constantly found my blinds under increasing pressure. I was down to aprox 6.5k chips. The blinds were running 400/800 and was raised by player A to 1600. I reraised to 3200, the blinds folded and A went all in with 16000. I called and player A showed AQ against my AJ. I flopped the J and took the pot. I was totally unprepared for what happened next. The chatbox came alive with vicious, nasty comments of how rubbish I had played the hand and I should never have raised. Player A accused me of forcing him to go all in, I was a donk etc, which then his freind, player B joined in with, Then his supporters away from the table joined in. What was most shocking was that these were big Sky Poker players who between the 4 of them had won numerous main events. These guys are well respected in the Sky Poker community but became nothing more than a pack of baying Hyenas! The next couple of hands I played were met with a chorus of donkey comments "eeoorrr" and such like. The effect was like nothing I had ever experienced. I was paralyzed. I couldn't play a hand and could barely make out my cards. It was after I folded a pair on a flat call which turned into a full house that I threw my lot in. I just wanted out of the tournament. I would like to say to the gentlemen concerned...you disgust me. You think you have a god given right to final table and anyone who is not part of your clique and your 'community' has no right to be there. I actually respected you guys and have often observed you on final tables to pick up any tips, now I think your pathetic! I have noticed on the forum that some of you are friendly with Tony Kendall. No doubt over time you have picked up points on strategy from him. It is a shame you never picked up the Man's grace or etiquette! I think if he would have seen your comments he would have been disgusted as well. Moving on, I vowed never to play Sky Poker again, however I was still in the ME side and after a period, got my composure and went on to have a great game. On the final table, Mamsta, who was my opponent when heads up, seemed to be a popular guy with supporters rallying him but in contrast to the ME table, when wishing him GL they also wished all on the table GL. Thank you to Mamsta for being gracious in defeat and wishing me WP, it brought a lot of perspective to the evening. I was quite elated after the tourney success and obviously on a high. I had a couple of guinness, turned on some music and was dancing with my dogs to Bob Dylan's Duquesne Whistle (if you like Bob put this track on YouTube and watch the vid, it's great) when my good lady stormed down at 4.30 to demand "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" When I explained my good fortune she retorted "WELL? SHUT UP AND GET TO BED" to which I sheepishly obeyed. The most peculiar part of the whole episode is how I felt today, rather than being elated I was completely flat and angry. I have not had the thought of my treatment out of my mind all day, my day at work went by in a haze. Why was it having such an affect on me? And then it dawned on me, I was totally powerless and incapable of dealing with the situation. I let the bullies get into my mind. Part of my dealing with this is writing this post. One thing I know for sure, I will not be intimidated by them or anyone else on a poker table again. I know I have nothing to be ashamed of in my play. I will play my game and how I want to play it but I also know I will never resort to retorting similar on chat, then I would be just as low as them. What now? I am going to have a short break from poker and give my neglected dogs some overdue TLC and attention. Don't get me wrong, they have had their daily walks and long treks at weekends and the bank holidays but they have been fitted around poker lately instead of the poker being fitted around the girls. (maybe even give the good lady a bit of TLC) See you on the tables after my sabbatical!
Posted by elevation
Hi Elevation. (& pardon that awful pun).
Many congrats on your win, & I'm very sorry it was marred by trash talk, or "bullying/intimidation" as you describe it. I'm afraid many poker players, particularly those new to poker, do this in defeat. Good winners & bad losers & all that. Please, if the rail "chat" becomes over the top, ALWAYS report it to CC, & if deemed appropriate, action will be taken. You'll make enemies by doing so of course, such is life.
Your early poker career is a standard pattern. First we think we are good, then we feel we are unlucky, then we blame "bad players" for making "bad calls" (did you EVER hear anything more ridic, we only want GOOD players making GOOD calls against us?!), then we blame the software. It was always so, on every poker site. However, we work it all out pretty soon, & just accept that it is the way poker works, & we settle down & enjoy the game, which is our recreation. I exclude Pros from this, but generally they accept the good with the bad.
Truth is, poker is an absolutely fantastic litmus test of our character, & ability to handle a bit of adversity. How we handle defeat says so much about us.
I need to respond to the part I highlighted though.
"Friend" is a much devalued word these days, but there is an ocean between "friend & "enemy", & most people I know fall into that gap - they are acquaintances, or Clients.
Be assured though, I do not consider anyone who cannot take a beat at poker, & throws the playthings out of the perambulator every time they take a beat, as a "friend".
I have no idea who you are referring to, nor do I wish to know, but they are not "friends" of mine in the correct sense of the word. You must form your own view as to whether I respect them or not.
Happy New Year to you, & I hope you don't experience more trash talk, though I fear that if you keep winning, you will. It goes with the territory.
That might go a long way in them getting a little respect back.
Sadly i won't be holding my breath.
(i wonder if they do it in live games?)
wd on the win
i wonder if they won a mtt of that value that night?
standard shove given your bbs and any decent player knows to take the bad with the good
gl for future mtt's
its just my opinion, i think it should be made easier to report it.
Gl for 2013.
Glen
What i have found on the site is that just as you get in life there are a mixture of different types of people on here.That is just the way it will always be and we cant let the sad guys take away our enjoyment of this wonderful game.
You also mention that some of these guys are friends of Tikay,i doubt very much that they behave like this when Tikay is around because he would not condone such behaviour.I have never met Tikay but i am sure of what i have stated because of the way he comes across on the shows.
Personally i have had a bit of abuse a couple of times from a guy who i have heard Tikay praising on the show when a hand of his has been covered.My attitude is that Tikay does not know the real character of this guy but through time i have no doubt he will be found out for what he is.
It is hard to say much more to you mate as i know that his has upset you,where i come from guys getting snidey in a chatbox means nothing more to me than just to laugh at them but everyone is different and i understand that.
All the best mate and keep on winning those coinflips.
I have often questioned a players call, and had people questioning my calls, during hands that I have been involved in......part of the game to a certain extent. But what I witnessed during the main was borderline abuse from people not even involved in the game. (people who I thought would have known better)...
Still, it is quite rare and the community here is the best on any poker site.
Nice win anyway, ignore the haters and stick with sky