Poker Journal

Did I play this right?

2006-03-06T11:31:00.000Z

Often I hear those words, I read the scenario's often in the Gutshot forums, and often I glance over them, but something happened yesterday thats been bugging me, and I can see claims for playing the following hand and the tells I should of picked up on.

£20 F.O Blinds 350 - 700 Final 3 tables (unknown at the time, the stats screen wasn't actually showing upstairs) position 3 from the BB, Big Stack (seriously big) 3 behind me.
My stack: 5,000 M = 4.5ish

I pick up AJ suited (hearts) raise to 1,400 every one folds apart form the big stack who calls (and ask how much I have leftish)

Flop 10d As Qd.

I go all-in (I feel I should of checked now)

he calls and shows Jd 7d

Turn 2s

River 9d

This was one of the better hands I had, I made two mistakes, I didn't check to see where I was I could of got away for cheap, I didn't get a feel for the table this was the first hand I played on it.
I had a few more opportunities to double up so I fell in love with this strong hand.

After reading Mike's book of tells I knew he was betting on the end because he had seen my stack and asked what was left. But I felt after the flop I was ahead, (which I was).

What could I of done differently?

-Fig-

I hate James Bardolph / Hakfest....

2005-12-05T10:31:00.000Z

I really do, I have never had so much hate towards him, I wanna kick his head in!!

Why you ask?

Sun 04-12-05

We both met up and played in the 1st £20 FO at the club, not a bad tournament I must say. Started with 1500 chips, went down to 525, then fought my way back to 2'200 by the end of the break.

Lost with K Q all in so I decided to play in the £25PLHE cash game. Meanwhile James goes on to 6th in the tournament, congrat-u-f*uckin-lations!

Then he decides to sit in on the cash game. Before this I went from the starting £25 to £70, hand some very nice "all in's" with QQ JJ AA, and built up a nice stack. Which meant I was up on the whole day!! Which I was happy very happy about!

THENNNNNNNN! "The hand"

JB in BB.
UTG: Folds
Me: "Raise the pot" (A 10 os)
SB: Calls
JB: Calls

Flop: 7 A (4 I think, low card any way)
SB: Raise to £7
JB: Call
Me: Call

Turn: 10 - Bingo!!!!!!! 2 pair! For the first time today I had been rewarded I was thinking!

SB: Check
JB: Check
Me: "They both checked, that's fine I raise the pot that should send them packing"
"Raise!" £18.75
SB: Nope!
JB: "Call" (All in)

I turn A 10 JB turns 7 7!

River: 2

Crippled back to £20!!!!!!!! I wanted to shove his big dome shaped head into the nearest wall I could find! But resisted the urge and said "Nice one, I'm off"

I will get my revenge !!!!!!! Mark these words.

Concentration

2005-11-15T10:48:00.000Z

It's a Funny thing that...

Sunday 13th 8pm - £30 Freeze Out.

I lasted all of 30 mins in this, my fave tournament!!

My heart was just not in it, I remember getting ready then getting in the car to get to the Gutshot, on the way there I had one arse jump out in front of me while I was doing 50+mph up to Clapham, then when I got to Elephant and Castle I heard screams and some guy was out cold on the floor, it looked like he was dragged from his car that was still running at the lights.

Then I get to the Gutshot and I await the usual suspects and then some guy challenges me to a game of chess, now I couldn't be arsed with this but played anyway and lost. Normally that would bother me but I didn't care.

Then the tournament started, in the 1st half an hour I played 1 hand and won, then I got KQ late position, I call and everyone folds to one caller.

Flop K 8 J, he bets 500. I call. J he bets 500, I call.

10 - He moves all in and I call. And of course turns a Jack.

But I didn't care, for some reason I just could not be arsed, and even now I can't be. There is the Fourm tournament tonight and guess what, I can't be arsed. I lost $30 last night in a cash game and again I can't be arsed, I don't care.

What is wrong with me!! - I think I'm pokered out.

Suggestions?!

What is wrong with me!!

So.. What next

2005-11-02T13:16:00.000Z

Ok so my post about my final table finish wasn't riveting, but in the words of Teddy KGB "I feel so unsatisfied" I want to go again, I'm eager to do what I did on Saturday a hundred times over. I had visions of being at the final table of the WSOP. I tried to play online but I can't concentrate, knowing I will have to start again with my tatics at all levels, making moves.

I know I will be disapointed as well if I don't make the final table again. Is that the next phase I must deal with? This is going to get worst before it gets better.

Two words come to mind. Patience and Discipline

To the WSOP

-Fig-

It's a jungle out there

2005-10-31T13:38:00.000Z

£30 Freezeout. 9 handed table.
Starting chips: 2,000.
Blinds: 25-50.

First hand. I'm in 8th position with KcKd. After a few limpers I raise to 200. Faroze glares at me like I'm wearing pink lipstick, then folds. SB, BB & 7th call.

Flop: 7d 8s 4s. Check check check. I bet 500. Fold fold. 7th calls. Turn: 8h. He checks, I bet another 500. He calls. River: 9s. He checks and I check. He shows As5s for the nut flush. I show my kings with disgust :)

A few hands later, Faroze (to my immediate left) raises 15x BB to 800. Late position raises 800 more and is all-in. Faroze calls and has 400 chips left.

Showdown!

Faroze says "let's go home then" and shows AdKd, assuming mister all in for 1600 has a monster pair. Mister all in shows Kc6c, flops a 6 then goes on to river a flush.

Faroze is pissed, people around the table are bemused. In my mind I could see a '?' above most heads at the table.

One of the most bizarre times I've had at the £30 FO.

You only ever see this on-line...

2005-10-31T10:00:00.000Z

So as you have probably already read Fig made it to the final table. Congrats but with a bit more stamina you could of gone the whole way!

But alas getting onto my "on-line" only moment... I also entered the £5 rebuy tournament last Saturday and was doing very well, I went from the starting 500 chips to 2475 by the end of the break, this was down to some very lovely big slicks that I kept getting about 3 in the 1st half an hour. This tied in nicely with the target I was trying to hit for the FO part of the tournament (4k).

Ok so I meet Fig at the break and I'm above the average stack count. Nice.

Moving on to after the break I sat back at the table and kept my stack pretty even until I tried to bluff one guy off a hand, needless to say it didn't work and it ruined my table reputation.

I was down to about 1k in chips blinds were in the region of 150/300 or there abouts and I figured that the next ace I see I'm going all in.

So about 2 hands later I look down and see that ace, "wey hey" I was just hoping not to see a 2 or a 3 with it. Something / anything high 7 or above!! I sneak a peak at the next card and wham bam thank you dealer it's another ace.

So I'm very happy BUT.... this is how the hand played out.

S/b / BB / UTG raised to 1500 all folded round to me I move all in for about 900-1.2k can't remember the exact about. All folded to the BB who called.

So now i'm thinking what the hell can these to have to be rasing to 1500 then CALLING in the BB of all places?!?!?!?

Any the flop bought 5d 7d 8h

BB: Check
UTG: 1500
BB: Call

5c

BB: Check
UTG: 1500
BB: Call

2s

BB: Check
UTG: 1000
BB: All in (Pushes in about 4cm high stack of reds - 500's)
UTG: Call

Now I'm thinking what the hell they can't have a straight can they? Not with a pre-flop call of 1500 even in the BB to me that is a lot to call hoping for a mid range flop.

BB turns over JJ
UTG turns over AA

Then I stare in dis-belief. And flip my cards over (AA) the table erupts! My lovely "triple" up pot was cruely SLASHED in half the BB (JJ) walked away rejected from the table and the UTG and I looked at each other and just smiled thinking what the hell just happened.

Again something that you would only ever see on-line.

Fig makes Final Table

2005-10-30T10:59:00.000Z

At last, the day we all have been waiting for (unless you count the happy hour freezeout) 99 runners. I make 5th, I was Dominant at the final table, chip leader, no one could touch me. In fact I even set aside 30,000 just to bully the other players who I had covered and still had 30k left, I lost it and then came back. I grew tired and the fact is it was 8pm and I just wanted to go home, so I settled for the £127 payout for 5th. Sure I could of stuck for the £400 payout, god knows it would of been useful. but the game lost its appeal after a certain point. Like eating chocolate morning, noon and night. In fact I'm still tired from this session and don't want to look at another poker table for a while.

The Twix you see in the picture became my lucky twix after I sat on it, I had forgotten about it and went to get a tissue out my back pocket and it flopped on to the table at the same time, I became a joke at the table when no one believed the twix was lucky.

I think Aces twice and Kings against Q's and 8's (both all ins) proves how invaluable this Twix was to my play yesterday (lol)

Not much more I can say about this really, I may come back and edit it, all I can say was the final 20 was a grind session and I thought the final table would go faster then it did. I'm happy with my play, it was the same style i adopt online. I think that this proved to me that poker is definatley more about skill then luck.

http://www.gutshot.com/iframes/results.php?id_ts_res=925

-Fig-

Playing on VC

2005-10-22T16:04:00.000+01:00

Thought I would share this with you all.

[Oct 22 14:51:08] : Hand Start.
[Oct 22 14:51:08] : Seat 2 : shelly79 has $1,780
[Oct 22 14:51:08] : Seat 3 : Stack it Up has $2,410
[Oct 22 14:51:08] : Seat 5 : bullett007 has $1,880 [Oct 22 14:51:08] : Seat 6 : mannen has $2,540
[Oct 22 14:51:08] : Seat 7 : phishman3 has $1,760
[Oct 22 14:51:08] : Seat 8 : LindaJ has $6,610
[Oct 22 14:51:08] : Seat 9 : MAR SR has $1,020
[Oct 22 14:51:08] : bullett007 is the dealer.
[Oct 22 14:51:08] : mannen posted small blind.
[Oct 22 14:51:08] : phishman3 posted big blind.
[Oct 22 14:51:08] : Game [9] started with 7 players.
[Oct 22 14:51:08] : Dealing Hole Cards.
[Oct 22 14:51:08] : Seat 5 : bullett007 has Kc As [Oct 22 14:51:11] : LindaJ folded.
[Oct 22 14:51:14] : MAR SR called 60
[Oct 22 14:51:19] : Stakes: 30/60 Current level: 2 Next level in: 8 min.
[Oct 22 14:51:21] : shelly79 called 60 and raised 120
[Oct 22 14:51:23] : Stack it Up called 180
[Oct 22 14:51:28] : bullett007 called 180 and raised 600 [Oct 22 14:51:33] : mannen folded.
[Oct 22 14:51:33] : phishman3 folded.
[Oct 22 14:51:35] : MAR SR folded.
[Oct 22 14:51:36] : shelly79 folded.
[Oct 22 14:51:38] : Stack it Up called 600
[Oct 22 14:51:38] : Dealing flop.
[Oct 22 14:51:38] : Board cards [8c Qd Qc]
[Oct 22 14:51:39] : Stakes: 30/60 Current level: 2 Next level in: 8 min.
[Oct 22 14:51:44] : Stack it Up bet 70
[Oct 22 14:51:49] : bullett007 called 70 and raised 560
[Oct 22 14:51:53] : Stack it Up called 560 and raised 1,000 and is All-in
[Oct 22 14:51:55] : bullett007 called 470 and is All-in
[Oct 22 14:51:55] : Showdown!
[Oct 22 14:51:55] : Seat 5 : bullett007 has Kc As
[Oct 22 14:51:57] : Seat 3 : Stack it Up has 8s 8h
[Oct 22 14:51:57] : Seat 5 : bullett007 has Kc As
[Oct 22 14:51:59] : Stakes: 30/60 Current level: 2 Next level in: 8 min.
[Oct 22 14:52:03] : Board cards [8c Qd Qc Kh Kd]
[Oct 22 14:52:03] : Seat 3 : Stack it Up has 8s 8h
[Oct 22 14:52:03] : Stack it Up has Full House : 8s full of Kings
[Oct 22 14:52:03] : Seat 5 : bullett007 has Kc As
[Oct 22 14:52:03] : bullett007 has Full House : Kings full of Queens
[Oct 22 14:52:03] : bullett007 wins 4,090 with Full House : Kings full of Queens
[Oct 22 14:52:09] : bullett007 : WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo
[Oct 22 14:52:10] : mannen : omg
[Oct 22 14:52:13] : shelly79 : vnh
[Oct 22 14:52:13] : Hand is over.
[Oct 22 14:52:13] : Stakes: 30/60 Current level: 2 Next level in: 7 min.

50 Cent...

2005-10-06T22:33:00.000+01:00

Must be all JVL209 has left, after his escapades yesterday.

Last night, $7,500 Guaranteed tournament on VC. $27 buy-in. During the rebuy period you can topup between hands, regardless of your chip count.

The following transcript only covers his play from hand #31 to hand #54. Every time he lost a hand he did a rebuy & topup. So that's $54 each time. This log only shows a small part of what happened at this table; he did a rebuy + topup at least twenty times. He alone, contributed around 5% of the total prize money!

I've colour coded his plays: green for all-ins he wins, red for all-ins he loses, blue for a tie and and yellow for uncontested all-ins.

Note: I've pruned a good few of his uncontested all ins to cut down the length of this post.

D: MARYNAIL is the dealer.
D: hakfest posted small blind.
D: Yochanan posted big blind.
D: Game [31] started with 8 players.
D: Dealing Hole Cards.
D: benny b folded.
D: JVL209 called 100 and raised 3,900 and is All-in
D: Tiatodd folded.
D: LFC4EVER1 folded.
D: gholimoli folded.
D: MARYNAIL folded.
D: hakfest folded.
D: Yochanan folded.
D: JVL209 wins 250 as the last player standing
D: Hand is over.
D:

D: benny b is the dealer.
D: JVL209 posted small blind.
D: Tiatodd posted big blind.
D: Game [34] started with 9 players.
D: Dealing Hole Cards.
D: LFC4EVER1 called 100
D: gholimoli folded.
D: MARYNAIL folded.
D: hakfest folded.
D: mavrickone called 100
D: Yochanan called 100
D: benny b called 100
D: JVL209 called 50 and raised 3,850 and is All-in
D: Tiatodd folded.
D: LFC4EVER1 folded.
D: mavrickone folded.
D: Yochanan called 3,180 and is All-in
D: benny b called 3,850
D: Showdown!
D: Board cards [9h 2s 6c 2d Kd]
D: JVL209 has Two Pair: 6s and 2s
D: benny b has Two Pair: Kings and 2s
D: benny b wins 1,340 with Two Pair: Kings and 2s
D: JVL209 has Two Pair: 6s and 2s
D: Yochanan has Two Pair: 5s and 2s
D: benny b has Two Pair: Kings and 2s
D: benny b wins 10,140 with Two Pair: Kings and 2s
D: Hand is over.
D:

D: JVL209 is the dealer.
D: Tiatodd posted small blind.
D: LFC4EVER1 posted big blind.
D: Game [35] started with 9 players.
D: Dealing Hole Cards.
D: gholimoli folded.
D: MARYNAIL folded.
D: hakfest folded.
D: mavrickone called 100
D: Yochanan folded.
D: benny b called 100
D: JVL209 called 100 and raised 3,900 and is All-in
D: Tiatodd folded.
D: LFC4EVER1 folded.
D: mavrickone folded.
D: benny b folded.
D: JVL209 wins 450 as the last player standing
D: Hand is over.
D:

D: Yochanan is the dealer.
D: benny b posted small blind.
D: JVL209 posted big blind.
D: Game [42] started with 9 players.
D: Dealing Hole Cards.
D: Tiatodd folded.
D: LFC4EVER1 folded.
D: gholimoli folded.
D: MARYNAIL folded.
D: hakfest folded.
D: mavrickone called 100 and raised 390 and is All-in
D: Yochanan folded.
D: benny b called 440
D: JVL209 called 390 and raised 4,360 and is All-in
D: benny b folded.
D: Showdown!
D: Board cards [9s Kc Ks 8c Kd]
D: JVL209 has 3 of a Kind: Kings
D: mavrickone has Four of a kind: Kings
D: mavrickone wins 1,470 with Four of a kind: Kings
mavrickone: figures
D: Hand is over.
D:

D: JVL209 is the dealer.
D: Tiatodd posted small blind.
D: LFC4EVER1 posted big blind.
D: Game [44] started with 8 players.
D: Dealing Hole Cards.
D: gholimoli called 200
D: MARYNAIL folded.
D: hakfest folded.
D: Yochanan folded.
D: benny b folded.
D: JVL209 called 200 and raised 4,110 and is All-in
D: Tiatodd called 3,620 and is All-in
D: LFC4EVER1 folded.
D: gholimoli folded.
D: Showdown!
D: Board cards [4d 2h 9s Kh 3c]
D: JVL209 has High Card : King
D: Tiatodd has Pair: Kings
D: Tiatodd wins 7,840 with Pair: Kings
gholimoli: not 2nite mate
D: Hand is over.
D:

D: Tiatodd is the dealer.
D: LFC4EVER1 posted small blind.
D: gholimoli posted big blind.
D: Game [45] started with 8 players.
D: Dealing Hole Cards.
D: MARYNAIL folded.
D: hakfest folded.
D: Yochanan folded.
D: benny b folded.
D: JVL209 called 200 and raised 2,390 and is All-in
D: Tiatodd called 2,590
D: LFC4EVER1 folded.
D: gholimoli folded.
D: Showdown!
D: Board cards [Ks Jh 9d 6s Js]
D: JVL209 has Two Pair: Kings and Jacks
D: Tiatodd has Two Pair: Kings and Jacks
D: Tiatodd wins 5,480 with Two Pair: Kings and Jacks (10 kicker)
gholimoli: lol
D: Hand is over.
D:

D: gholimoli is the dealer.
D: MARYNAIL posted small blind.
D: hakfest posted big blind.
D: Game [47] started with 8 players.
D: Dealing Hole Cards.
D: Yochanan folded.
D: benny b called 200
D: JVL209 called 200 and raised 3,800 and is All-in
D: Tiatodd called 4,000
D: LFC4EVER1 folded.
D: gholimoli folded.
D: MARYNAIL folded.
D: hakfest folded.
D: benny b folded.
D: Showdown!
D: Board cards [Ac Kh Jh 6h 8s]
D: JVL209 has High Card : Ace
D: Tiatodd has 3 of a Kind: 8s
D: Tiatodd wins 8,500 with 3 of a Kind: 8s
D: Hand is over.
D:

D: MARYNAIL is the dealer.
D: hakfest posted small blind.
D: Yochanan posted big blind.
D: Game [48] started with 8 players.
D: Dealing Hole Cards.
D: benny b called 200
D: JVL209 called 200 and raised 3,800 and is All-in
LFC4EVER1: your *****
D: Tiatodd folded.
D: LFC4EVER1 folded.
D: gholimoli folded.
D: MARYNAIL folded.
D: hakfest folded.
D: Yochanan folded.
D: benny b called 3,800
D: Showdown!
D: Board cards [As Qh 4d 3s Jd]
D: JVL209 has Two Pair: Aces and Queens
D: benny b has Two Pair: Aces and Queens
D: JVL209 ties 4,150 with Two Pair: Aces and Queens
D: benny b ties 4,150 with Two Pair: Aces and Queens
D: Hand is over.
D:

D: benny b is the dealer.
D: JVL209 posted small blind.
D: Tiatodd posted big blind.
D: Game [51] started with 8 players.
D: Dealing Hole Cards.
D: LFC4EVER1 folded.
D: gholimoli folded.
D: MARYNAIL folded.
D: hakfest called 200
D: Yochanan folded.
D: benny b folded.
D: JVL209 called 100 and raised 1,300
D: Tiatodd folded.
D: hakfest called 1,300 and raised 5,200
D: JVL209 called 2,550 and is All-in
D: Showdown!
D: Board cards [Qs Ad 4h 6c 9c]
D: hakfest has Pair: Queens
D: JVL209 has Pair: 10s
D: hakfest wins 8,300 with Pair: Queens
gholimoli: lmao
D: Hand is over.
LFC4EVER1: give it up
D:

If he has a hangover when he wakes up, his headache will become a lot worse when he logs on.

Fig on a Roll

2005-10-06T10:44:00.000+01:00

Can you believe it, I made 9th in a $100 speed freeroll and scooped all of $2, nearing a short stack and with blinds at 10k/20k its folded round to me, I push all in, one caller with an A9, I have 10 K and the Ace holds up. But thats not bad, the hand that gets me is when I make it into the money and am dealt pocket aces, I make a minimum raise and its folded to me. Sad times.

-Fig-

Hamster racing

2005-09-25T09:05:00.000+01:00

I was at a house party last night, and a random American with a hamster crashed the party. After a few bottles of Hoegaarden I thought I'd devise ways to make money on the hamster.

I decided we would put the hamster on top of the cooker and put bottles of Hoegaarden between the hobs so it could only travel around the outside, then bet on how long it would take the hamster to do a lap round the hobs. I allowed them to bet choosing 8 second intervals, with no-one's interval overlapping another. Whoever got it right would win all the money, if nobody won then I would win the money.

All was going well and I had people down for initial £5 bets to get the feel of the first race, but then one of the guests, who happened to be a tree-hugging PETA troglodyte threw her toys out of the pram.

"No don't do that! You're going to hurt it leave it alone."

"Shouldn't you be throwing eggs at abortion clinics?"

Race off.

So, how much do hamsters cost?

Hamster Grandstands would be great for home game intervals; ie when one tournament has finished and the person who went out first is sorting the chips out for the next tournament. Or it could be done live over the internet, so players can bet over the internet using paypal! The possibilities are endless. You could have hamster deathmatch (no deaths, it just sounds dramatic), where three to five hamsters are in a baking tray with pieces of sweetcorn scattered around, and one piece is red. First hamster to make contact with the red sweetcorn wins! The hamsters could be colour coded via stripes with powder paint.

Can hamsters swim?

VC Poker promotions for September

2005-09-03T10:26:00.000+01:00

http://www.vcpoker.com/news/promotions.htm

STT Frenzy Bonus

Play in STTs ? Win a lot? This September go on a winning streak and receive up to $2,500 in added bonuses.
Here’s how it works:

Win 3 consecutive STTs in a row and receive a $25 bonus
Win 4 consecutive STTs in a row and receive a $250 bonus
Win 5 consecutive STTs in a row and receive a $2,500 bonus
Place 1st or 2nd in 5 consecutive STTs and receive $100 bonus

Terms and Conditions

In order to qualify for the above bonuses, you must play at 9-seat single-tournament tables with a buy in of $5 or greater. Tables can be Normal , Speed, or Turbo events.

Myself, bullett and Fig play at these levels and upwards on VC. We'll see how many bonuses we can achieve during September.

Last two tables

2005-08-29T20:19:00.000+01:00

111 entrants, 3hrs 20mins of play and I make it to the final two tables(flying the flag for my commrades), So my game has tightened up, however there is still one more turn of the screw, the cherry which is missing on this triffle and thats to build a stack and make it to the final table, if I could do that my game would of become a lot better (worthy of a beginners tournament finish at the vic).

so i'm dealt pocket 8's first hand and win the hand, a loooong wait and I get AQ off, the flop comes down 36Q, hell yes I raise and the only follower raises I call, turn is a 9, I bet 300, trying to rope him in he goes all-in, i wait ages and get time called on me and fold, he shows 6, 9. I got away from that at 9.10pm. just.

i'm dealt pocket kings and raise the minimum and everyone folds (dam it) 2 rounds later, kings again and the flop is A,8,A I go all in on the flop after going down to 1100 in chips, I get a dirty look of 'eh? hold on a second' and he folds.

I know my table image was that of a rock which didn't help matters, because I was being grinded down by the blinds.

After the break i'm moved downstairs and go on a run, I'm dealt A,K first hand and i'm all-in with one caller who has K's, the board produces a straight for both of us, a while later i'm all-in again with pocket 7's and win, i'm riding my luck here and cruise to a second table finish. So not only have I played past the bullys at previous table I've played my longest reign of poker ever and for my reward, the most education i'm ever going to get to date, so the question or task next is, how do I build my stack like the bullys while folding rags and marginal hands? Once I have that down my final table debut will be close.

-Fig-

The Final Table - 4th Place

2005-08-22T17:58:00.000+01:00

Let me set the scene for you if I may. £30 Freezeout, Gutshot, Sunday 21st August, 8pm.

Starting chips 2000 - Shuffle up and deal!

First Hand I get, A K unsuited, the first things to run through my head was "Shit I didn't want this!"

Reason being is that in the last competition I saw this same hand go "All in" then "All out!" to trip 3's on the first hand, well not only that but I prefer to see and observe other players for a while before I play to get a feel for the table, so first hand, I raise preflop 200 on the button, partly to get action and party to hope I don't.

1 Caller

The Flop: 2d 5d Kd (I have no diamond)

Well that slowed me down!

I'm last to act so I have the advantage. "Check" I pause for a moment.... "Check"

The turn: 9d

"Crap crap crap crap"

I bet 500, (a bit gutsy I know) "Call"

Turn: To be honest I don't remember but I know it wasn't a diamond!

He turns K Q (No diamond) I turn A K, and think to my self that I have been very lucky here, now that I'm in a very nice position to sit here for a while, anyway I think I played one more hand then the table was broken up! "Great"

After being moved into the room with the hideous fruit machines I thought, "This is nice, no outside interference, no other noise. Well I didn't play another hand for a while, at least 20 mins I think, and then who walked into the room and sat at the table... yes you guessed it! ***Ms Tiffany Williamson***

Now I'm thinking to my self how cool is this, I'm playing poker with someone who made it to the WSOP, well kinda playing, why? Well with me being the rock I am I still did not get into a single pot with her, one thing I did notice is how she looked at opponents who bet at her. Scary man! I noticed also that when people bet at me when I was in the BB and letting it go, she gave me a look as if to say, why are you not fighting to keep your chips!? Like, your crazy man!!!

I just smiled and continued... then she got busted out anyway. Ah well! It was a bad beat mind she had the better hand all the way to the river.

Finally a few hands later I'm in the BB I look down to see 7d 9h, now I'm starting to get a bit stressed, I want a few hands to play with but there not coming today, about 4 people call, I check.

Flop 2c 5c 3c

Checked round to me, I smell weakness, I bet 200 and take a big pot considering all the calls that were thrown in to it. Anyway at the end of the 1hr and a half I'm left with 2075 chips. I'm trying to stay positive at the break, after all I'm up, right!? ;o)

After the break I'm back at the table I look down to see KQ unsuited, now to me this is looking like pocket aces, I mean I've not seen a hand like this for nearly 2 hours now, and this is KQ we are talking about!! I think I was BB, there was 1 caller, so I doubled the BB and again he called.

Flop: 2c 5h 10c

Me: Check
Tai: Check

The Turn Kd

Me: "I'm all in baby!" I think this was about 1500 - 2000 can't remember the exact amount, but after some deliberation he folded saying he felt he had me beat, whilst showing a 10. I just smiled to my self. Who knows what could have happened!? Then someone else at the table said he would have called like a shot! Claiming I didn't have it, I could see all there eyes staring at my cards as I went to muck them.

Hey you gotta pay for that kind of information!!!!

Anyway this is how the whole night pretty much went, the only other hands before the final table that helped me out were pocket 10's all in vs 8's, a complete double up at one point I couldn't even watch!! I saw a 9 come out but I could have sworn it was an 8! O and I knocked the guy out that was on the bubble with pocket 6's. That was nice!! We all cut a deal though so he didn't leave empty handed.

I had about 20k in chips when I got to the final table, I couldn't believe that, I was thinking to myself how the hell did I get these!?

I picked my card I got seat 1, not bad considering that makes me on the button, for those of you who know him, Adrian got seat 9 so I had wonderful position over him.

Well I folded the raises all the way round to when I was on the SB everyone folded to me, I look down to see Kh Jh suited so I call, the BB (Ade Bayo) goes "all in" 6k total, know I know I should have folded but for the 1st time I had chips plus I thought (wrongly) he was on a half steal, I call.

Turns out he had AA vs my KJ, Flop J 5 K (WOO HOO) A (Do'h!!) River to come can I catch the full house!?!?

No.

Ah well, a few hands later we are down to 5 people, I'm on a very small stack in the BB next hand and thought to myself if I see a picture card I'm all in, I need to make a stand. I post the BB and look down to see Jh Qd, well now is a good as time as any? "All in" I get called by the massive chip leader, he turns 8 10, and I win the hand. Couldn't believe that.

Well the hand I got knocked out with was strangely enough ***Pocket 10's*** (10d 10c) I went all in as I was still low on chips, and got called Ad 8d, ok that's kool!?

Flop 5d 2c 9d

The Turn: Kd

(At this point I was thinking, yes yes yes!)

River: 4d.

NOooooooooooooooooooooo! Ah well, I was told that I played very well and people did not want to get involved with me unless they had something strong, one guy actually said that

"I ain't calling you unless I have a good hand, I've seen when people raise you and I can see you take it personally and you will fight for what your chips"

This was a very good thing to hear. Well until the next tournament: -

"May all your cards be live and you pots be monsters!" (I think)

Hell Yes! The Fig is BACK

2005-08-20T18:34:00.000+01:00

I've found a technique which has improved my poker in leaps and bounds on the bluffing side.
I've taken it from the drunken master the only thing I can say is when bluffing do what they least expect.

I will be trying this new technique out and combining the strategy slow thinking side, with the extreme bluffing side, I'll let you know how I get along.

~Drunken Fig~

All play and no bite

2005-08-15T20:22:00.000+01:00

Well, down at the Gutshot yesterday for the £30 F.O and it went well, Adrian, James and me were slapped banged next to each other. This lasted for 30 minutes before the table was broken up, in which time i had got A, 5 early, I raised for the flop to come down 9, A, 9, I bet 100 with one guy who followed. I bet 200 on the turn and he folded.

Moved upstairs and barley surviving upto the break, get pocket Jacks and in the excitement I go all in with 1800 left in chips, this was more to circumvent the two people on the table who kept raising heavily. The last hand I was down to 1100, first decent hand in ages A, J I raise 600 (first mistake should of gone all-in) just to be raised and re-raised so i'm all-in my right has JJ, other guy has KQ, KQ wins it with Kings and sixes and i'm out.

Now out of the three hands that were playable all night I feel I played correctly apart from one element of the game, I did not bluff, why I don't know, intimidation or fear of going out early, I feel that if I get this part of my game right then I can do a lot lot better. A couple of well placed stands here and there could of done it, but with 2,000 in chips and bigger stacks going all-in I felt paralysed to do anything

This will be rectified!

-Fig-

This is becoming a regular occurence

2005-08-01T20:31:00.000+01:00

Well not that regular, considering I came 13th in the £5 rebuy last Tuesday BUT:

Out first again in the £30 freezeout last night. But hey, I lasted double as long as I did last time! Yes, it took two hands this week.

£30 freezeout
8 players at my table
Blinds 25-50
Starting with 2,000 chips.

Hand 1: 8d 2h
Fold.

Uneventful hand.

Hand 2:
5th Position, Ac 10c

3rd & 4th fold, I call the BB. 6th & 7th call, 8th & SB fold, BB checks.

Flop: 3d 3h 10h

BB checks, I bet 200, 6th calls, 7th calls, BB folds.

Turn: J

I check, 6th checks, 7th thinks for 2+ seconds and bets 500, you have a jack my arse we both call

River: 6

I check, 6th goes all-in for his remaining one thousand someting, 7th folds, I thought he must have a pocket pair stronger than my pair of tens but failed to get away from my hand.

I call, he turns over two jacks for the boat.

I am having issues with being able to focus properly. While I was thinking about what he had, I could see him staring me right in the face. On a normal day i'd have known I was beat and folded. Yet I knew I was beat and called.

What am I doing? At the moment I really don't know.

An excerpt from Ace on the River.

2005-07-29T23:06:00.000+01:00

An excerpt from Barry Greenstein's newly-released book, Ace on the River.

Jack Straus, a famous high-stakes player, received a call at the Horseshoe Casino from a friend who was on death row. The friend said, "It looks like I will be executed. The governor didn't grant me a pardon."
Jack responded, "That's pretty bad, but you won't believe what they have been doing to me here."

Tiffany Williamson

2005-07-13T09:13:00.000+01:00

Can you believe it!

She entered the WSOP 05 via a tourney at the Gutshot, she is now one of the last 70 odd players left in the tournament. She is currently on the ESPN feature table and is guaranteed to take home $100'000+

Although she has had some lucky breaks, I read today that she called an "all-in" KK vs AQ and she caught the Ace on the flop. 2 other players both then said that they folded their ace. She had the 1 card to catch and she did.

You know that would never happen at the Gutshot!!

Can she? Will she make the final table?

3rd in chips so you never know.

My seat wasn't even warm.

2005-07-10T21:28:00.000+01:00

£30 freezeout, my favourite tournament. 84 runners. 2,000 chips. Blinds 25-50. I'm on the dealer table, in the BB. First hand. 4 limpers, comes to me and I find a pair of tens. Considering the four of them all limped I raise to 500 to just end the pot there and then. The person sitting to my left calls, the rest fold. I think to myself, he must have overcards, probably big slick, since he didn't raise all in. You would think if he had a face pair in this situation he'd push all in here, or raise another 500.

Flop: 9-4-9

I know he hasn't caught anything on that flop, so I push all in like a flash. After a short deliberation he calls and shows QQ.

Out I go, first hand.

In hindsight, I heard him talking to someone before the tournie started, and it was his first time at the gutshot. He did seem a bit timid, which may be way he did not re-raise with his queens. Considering this information (which I neglected to consider at the time) I should not have pushed on the flop. I don't understand why he'd want me to see a flop, he must have thought I had an ace at least. But oh well. I played my pair of tens too agressively anyway.

Pushing all-in straight away once the flop went down was bad. You should have seen it. Now I think of it, he seemed to be a beginner, and my thinking was too far ahead for him. This is my own fault, since this was the first hand, and I should have checked my BB so I could get a feel for the people at my table.

When I learn from my actions it's always the hard way, and sometimes it can prove to be costly. I'm glad, because then lessons are learned well.

Help I've lost my Mojo!!!

2005-07-06T09:29:00.000+01:00

This is madness, I can't win a thing!! I can't even build a decent stack of chips!

In my normal play I would have no problems at all playing, I would be able to pick up on tells, push people out of pots 'constructively' Not think to much about my play.

Now though as I haven't played in 2 weeks I feel that the other guy has always got 'the nuts' or something stronger than me, you see what I mean!? I'm even talking about the cards!! When I know that it's not about the cards!!!

I know that all I need to do is pick up my play a bit more and I'll be fine but this is awful!!

I want my Mojo back!!

Names

2005-07-05T23:46:00.000+01:00

I think the PJ needs a proper name. Also, the URL is currently vcpoker.blogspot, and that needs changing.

I was thinking chipflip, but that's already taken, goddamn it. That would have been fabulous, non?

Suggestions on a postcard.

The Steep Learning Curve

2005-07-04T10:18:00.000+01:00

What a weekend, first I enter a £5 turbo tournament on Friday, 45 runners, came out around 18th absouluty no hands what so ever and I folded an inside straight draw which was a big pot and would of won it! There was no room for error and I think I've lost the aggressive side of my game, which in turn puts me in danger of not doing well. I seem to believe peoples bluff's and spent around an hour of hand mucking and blind stealing.

Anyway on Saturday, after the warm up session of the night before, I sit down again a £5 beginners tourney, 102 runners and re-buys for the first hour. Etheir I'm not taking enough chances or money but there was aggressivness from three people at my table and they were regulars at the Gutshot. I got AK suited and some one went all in, after having time called on me and listening to him run his mouth I decide to call and make a stand Got my Ace which helped and all this pre-flop! my next and only other win was KQ off and the board came down A9A, 9, 2. it was checked to the river at which point someone bet 200 and I was the only caller, K won it he had a Jack.

What I noticed about this table was the raises in the first hour of the re-buy period became 200, which became a joke then everyone started doing it which put the regular's off their game.

I don't think I was in the mood to play barley surving the re-buys, my downfall came when after the break and it went to freezeout I raised to 300 and got called, I had AK, flop is J 6 J, the other guy went all in really fast, I just stared at the cards and got time called again, and I knew he had a jack but with 800 left in chips and the blinds going upI decided to quit the game and call it. He hit trips an Ace hit turn and made it interesting for all of 5 seconds. Then I was out.

I'm getting better at readings but I'm not getting the hands to be aggressive, again Adrian defyed logic, he made it to the top 20 after all of us busted out. What I don't get is he never plays online, and only at our home games and doesn't read any books but has a natural flair for the game. Good luck to him!

Anyway, gonna take a break and see if i can analyze any areas where I could improve.

-Fig-

Got your outs, now you're out

2005-06-29T00:20:00.000+01:00

I'm so competitive. Ask anyone that knows me well. Tonight I was close to the final table, and could easily have seen my way there if I had not played this one hand. I'd definitely play it again, though.

£5 rebuy. 137 entrants. Not sure how many rebuys there were or what the prize money was.

3 tables left, approx. 21 people, blinds at 700/1500. I get moved to another table, and I'm to the right of the dealer. 3 limpers. I have A-10os and raise to 4500. All but the man on my right fold.

Flop: 9-J-4. He checks, I bet 3000, he calls.

Turn: Q. Board now reads 9-J-4-Q, Rainbow. He half-sighs and goes all in for 9000 more. I'm going for the straight. I am drawing to 4 8's, and 4 Kings, so I have 8 outs. I decide to go for it and call, putting me all-in. He turns over K-J, the river is a 6 and I'm out.

Knowing now that he had the K-J, I was drawing to 4 8s, 3 Kings and 3 aces, giving me 10 outs. I think I was unlucky not to hit. I had a 22.7% chance to win. I think that's a fine way to go out, but of course I'm pissed I didn't make the money again!

Lesson Learned

2005-06-27T07:17:00.000+01:00

Yesterday's £30 freezeout, 86 runners, I came 5th for £155. Ding!

Premature departure!

2005-06-25T17:15:00.000+01:00

The other day, Aaron (bullett007) told me that my biggest weakness is the amount of times I go all in. I more or less brushed it off, but today in the £5 rebuy at the Gutshot I realised he was right.

I crashed out of this tournament 2 hours into it. Blinds were 100-200, I had around 2,200 Chips, and was the BB. 9-man table, approx. 5 people limped in, I looked down to find AJh and decided I'd try and steal the pot, on the premise that if someone called i'd probably have two overcards over them. I thought if someone called they probably have an ace with a low kicker.

2 callers, who flip over K-K and AJd. KK wins and knocks us both out. Now, yes it was unfortunate he had KK, but I did not need to jeopardize all my chips with AJ. A hard lesson learned. Although my all-in shenanigans in such positions usually pay off, I think it wasn't the right thing to do in this position. I'll be thinking about this hand for a while.

When you just know...

2005-06-23T10:24:00.000+01:00

Has anyone ever had that feeling of turning upto a table and knowing you have them all beat regardless, knowing you will win the tournament.

Yesterday was that day for me, I came, I played and boy did I conquer, took two people out in the first 5 mins, then my wrath envisioned against two more people, my wrath taking them out alone. Chip leader. and two more go but not of my hand, and we're down to four. More aggressive play, huge raises, dealt pocket dueces preflop, I raise 500, another goes all-in and I instantly fold.

Turning hand, hole cards KJ, boards flops like this, 56Kh, 5c, Jh one man follows me all the way, he types "be careful" I don't put him ahead on anything, his betting had been consistent. I put him all in and he calls, 4,3 off suit, none of them hearts, I dodge the silver bullet and I'm over10k in chips. I leave the other two to battle it amongst themselves, I occasionally raise but they fold to the pressure, not wanting to fight back against the big stack (always a bad move) 5 more mins later I have the game wrapped up.

Winner, don't know how I knew but just did. Boy I was on fire last night.

I'm wanting to put this to the test at the Gutshot, but must find some spare time first to do it.

-Fig-

The Chocolate Rocky Road of Success

2005-06-17T11:43:00.000+01:00

So, Easing myself back into the swing of things, 2 to 1 in wins, ok so it was a 1x1 and $1 tourney, special thanks to my brother for giving me some tips when I was the small stack with five people left, made it to third via a miracle folding by the large stack 11,000 in chips (folded instead of checked I was all in at this point, 300 in chips), forced the new short stack off in blinds. Think he had a grudge against him or something.

Was playing a 0.10c yesterday and owning the table, however got caught, ruined me, (BB) I had K, 2 (flop) K, 2, 3 (I raise etc.) turn 3, river 5, now I still figure I'm ahead at this point, one person following me all the way. turn comes down, I know he doesn't have a striaght but he goes all-in. I call, Shows me Aces, Somedays you just can't escape. Worst part, (apart from not folding that hand, I previously had Aces twice.) Now you ask about tells, This guy gave nothing away, he raised me once on the turn, all in at the river, thought fishing for trips, no action before then. Any analysis of the play would be good.

Still broke but planning my next move onto the poker scene, I seem to play better when I have absoultly nothing to worry about, no time restrictions etc.. When I know I can be in for the long grind if i have to.

Got a right B******ing for prefering to see the last Dr Who episode over going to play in a tourney this saturday, before anyone says anything about priorities and video recorders, last time I trusted some one to record it, on a supposed new tape (I still think this tape was from pound land or new as in 5yrs old new) I got a bad recording. Not impressed, no chances this time, and yes I'm in to Star trek as well, but not that crap they call Enterprise. anyway off on a tangent.

Still.. I guess when you play the game for enjoyment you don't really prioritise winning or staying in. Guess thats the first problem. I hear James is doing well and has made himself somewhat of a name down at the Gutshot. Ask for Mr. Banks (LOL) just kidding.

Anyway at work so I am going to get back to some, just thought I should write something up since no one else seems to use this blog often.

-Fig-

Now that's what I call value!

2005-06-07T23:50:00.000+01:00

Just got back from tonight's £5 tournament at the gutshot. They opened the cage late, so when I got there and a nice & early 7.10 PM (8pm start) to register, the queue was going all the way from the lower level, up the stairs and out the door. I ended up being the 7th alternate, and had to wait 55 minutes to sit down. 2 hands before the end of the rebuy period. This saw me call the BB, fold to someone else's all-in, then fold the next hand, then buy a top-up to start after the break with 950 chips.

Blinds now 50/100. Didn't double up for a while, and boy was I mighty frustrated. At one point I was dealt AA, limped in, someone raised 400, only I called. Flop: A-J-8. He checked. I feigned weakness, then went all in. I was in two minds; I realise this was the wrong play if I wanted to get maximum value from my trip aces, but at the same time I didn't want to get them cracked by possibly letting him draw to a straight, so I wanted to end it there and then, one way or another.

A few rounds later and I'm the BB. UTG raises to 500, everyone folds to me. I have QJos and think about it for a while. I think to myself: "raising a third of his chips UTG, he must have at least one high card. If he has KQ I'm screwed." After some deliberation I decided that considering the amount of chips I had I should call, which I did. A3d VS QhJc. I hit a Jack on the flop, and ended up with a Queen high flush.

Later I'm moved to another table with new compadre from my table. We are surrounded by big stacks, which makes me happy. There's nothing I love more then pressurising big stacks with a smaller stack. Wanna take my chips? I'm all in.

After some to'ing and fro'ing, I have 1900 chips left at the second break. The guy to my right had the biggest stack at the table. He doesn't return to the table. Basically, he told his wife he'd be home by 9, and at the time it was 11, so he went home!!! Unbelieveable. Where are your priorities man?? Your chips have way more value than your other half. Just lie to her. Tell her you witnessed a car accident, or you fell asleep in the toilet of a pub. Anything.

First hand after the break, I'm UTG and find AQc. I raise all in, and look around the room like I'm following a fly. My compadre next to me decides I've got next to nothing and also raises all-in. Another guy calls our all ins. Then another one does. Then another one calls and is also all in. The two not all in check all the way down.

Now, I don't exactly remember what the cards on the table were but the guy next to me won with 10-9c, He made a full house. The other guys had 10-10, next guy didn't show, and the other guy had A-A (cracked, no less). Was quite an entertaining hand to watch, everyone thought they had one at the end of it, yet the least likely hand to win got the best of it. Good luck to him.

Unless I play the £10 on Friday, I won't be doing another live tournament until next Tuesday, as I'm shooting a wedding all weekend. See you then.

Bad Beats and Downturns

2005-06-07T11:14:00.000+01:00

So, There I am Mr. Final 'bloody' table at last, came 7th and my name mis-spelt on the website for the effort pfff.

I should be eliated, Went back on to VCPoker and I should be in the zone. But I just can't seem to get back in the money anymore. I'm reduced to heads up tournaments for $0.20 just to build the account back up. I know, I know, far from the days of $10 wins (at least I cashed out eh). At least I don't spend much each month then there would be problems. I've been trying to work out where my game has gone wrong, and I'm probably getting involved in too many pots (jc 5c what am I thinking?) as well as not giving myself time to play properly, $3 tables are viciously long.

James is right, and I should know this and keep telling myself this, doesn't mater if I held Deuces and the flop is K, Q, A and heavy betting ensues with the final two cards deuces. I am and always will be playing the first five cards in this game, thats where its easy to escape with minimal losses.

I can only hope I take this time till my next deposit to reflect on my mistakes, the irony being I can tell my mate where he's going wrong and when to be more aggresive to win. He's doing pretty well. (Bit like when I taught my brother to play chess, can I beat him now, nope) I still see glimmers of my former self online, people fold when I raise aggressivly, fearing I hold the nuts, rags is all I have.

Anyway I hope to post a more upbeat posting soon, just thought this blog needed some of the bad beat stories as well. At least mercury is out of retrograde.

-Fig-

Chip and a chair

2005-06-03T00:05:00.000+01:00

So, high off last Sunday's in-the-money placing, I decided to have a crack at tonight's £50 freezeout. Started with 2500 chips.

First hand I play in, I get dealt AQos. I raise 200 pre-flop, one call.

Flop: J 4 3

I bet 500, he raises 1000, I fold. I don't usually do such bets, and I felt out of my depth as soon as he reached for his chips with that one. Oops. Next hand I play, I am dealt 4-5 suited. 5 players limp-in.

Flop: K-6-7. Someone bets 200, everyone folds, I call.

Turn: 4. I bet 500. He calls.

River: A. I go all-in. He thinks about it for a long time, then calls. I have a pair of 4s, he has a pair of Kings.

25 minutes into the tournament, and I have 25 chips left. That's one yellow chip.

Just as the cards are about to be dealt for the next hand, I get moved to another table. "Watch out, here comes the chip leader!" the gutshot member of staff cries, to our amusement. I sit at the table, tell them to prepare for domination, then slam my one yellow chip on the table.

I get dealt 10-9 offsuit. I should have called with my 25 (blinds currently 50-100). But I folded because they were offsuit. As if I had the chance to be picky.

I would have made the straight on the flop. Anyway, next hand I'm dealt K-7h and go all-in with my 25. Two calls.

Flop: K-Q-7

HOORAY! I can win a total of 75 chips, and next round I'm BB. The current SB bets 200, and the BB folds. Showdown! I show my shiny K-7, and he shows his shinier K-Q. "Oh now that's a bad beat, unlucky mate" the other players cry.

The dream is over!

I think for the moment, I'll stay with the £30 tables as a max. I'm totally not ready for the £50 tournament level. I had no idea if I was making the right moves or plays, or anything. I shall have to ask the TPF'ers about the 4-5suited hand.

.....Actually, I've read over what I have written in the preview feature, and I realise why I did what I did, and why I had no idea what was going on around me. It's because these actions are what I would have done if I were playing a $5 or $10 tournie on VCPoker. It seems I have to make some kind of mental boundary separating online play behaviorour(s) and live ones, because the two are very different.

Another lesson learned, even if a costly one! I shall cash out £50 from my online poker acount to recouperate my losses.

I hate losing.

Just when things were looking bleak...

2005-06-02T16:49:00.000+01:00

...I've finally broken out of my bad streak. I went about 2 months without a 1st place win, but in the recent week, I've taken home 4 1st place wins. I tried everything from MTTs, to Specials, to STTs and my luck was just not changing at all. I could finish in the money almost everytime (2nd-5th depending on table totals), but I just couldn't win no matter what I did. I looked at my heads-up hand history to look for loop holes and while there were a couple bad plays here and there, my heads-up game was/is relatively solid. Anyways, I took a few days off to read a bit and look into some more advanced tournament strategy and decided to try them out. I guess it worked.

Game Type : Texas Holdem
Buy-In : $10
Fee : $1
You finished in position 1
1st place - BrazenSix - $50
2nd place - DETHROWE - $30
3rd place - mike020466 - $20

On Table : Table 17602
Game Type : Texas Holdem
Buy-In : $10
Fee : $1
You finished in position 1
1st place - BrazenSix - $50
2nd place - JBonus1 - $30
3rd place - bstelly - $20

On Table : Table 35326
Game Type : Texas Holdem
Buy-In : $10
Fee : $1
You finished in position 1
1st place - BrazenSix - $50
2nd place - cincbus - $30
3rd place - Mel3173 - $20

On Table : Table 35331
Game Type : Texas Holdem
Buy-In : $10
Fee : $1
You finished in position 1
1st place - BrazenSix - $50
2nd place - capone9876 - $30
3rd place - sdgolferace3 - $20

Oh, and the damn casino near me decided to reduce the NL tournaments to a STT, 11 players and you can only register in person for them the week of. It's about 1.5 hour drive from me, so I can't even get into them anymore. Damn them.

On a happier note, the Canadian Poker Tour is coming to the casino on July 13th, in roughly a month. Wish me luck.

Eyes of the beast

2005-05-30T20:24:00.000+01:00

After doing bar staff overnight, I come home, have a bath and pass out on my bed for a few hours. I wake up at 6:45 pm, and consider doing the £30 freezeout at 8pm at the gutshot.

I mulled over the decision for 20 minutes, then a breath away from not bothering to go I said 'the hell with it' and turned up with 3 minutes to spare.

104 runners in the tournament, each starting with 2,000 chips, making a total of 208,000 chips in play. I start on an 11-handed table with a dealer, there is some competitive banter at the table between to rivals and play ensues. I play tight and observe people's play and behaviours, and the mistakes they make.

I'm not really going to talk about my strategies and whatnot, because I don't want to give my game away to gutshot members (that includes you Mark!). But I will say this. Observation is such a marvellous tool. Every time I play poker at the gutshot I have my ipod on me and my headphones plugged in, yet I am never listening to music. This has various advantages: One, people usually do not try to make conversation with me. Two, I can think to myself without interruption, and people don't notice my table 'presence'.

Most satisfying play: Stealing the blinds by going all-in with 10-3 offsuit.

Bad beat of the tournament: Two short stacks on my table. One goes all-in with 5-5. After much thinking, the other calls with 6-3 offsuit. Community Cards: A A 7 4 7

Caller wins with two pairs and a six high! Killer!

When we hit the final table, two of the big stacks raised, re-raised, and all-in'ed each other. AA vs 88, AA gets trips on the flop. One huge stack out. I was out next in 7th place (9th went out before even getting to the final table), for £125. Nice.

See you at the £5 tournament tonight!

Learning the hard way

2005-05-27T23:10:00.000+01:00

Today at the gutshot, I did the £5 tournament and the £10 tournament.

This was the happy hour £5 tournament, at 5:45 PM, it was turbo (blinds up every 10 minutes), and you were allowed 1x rebuy and 1x topup, all of which you could purchase straight away, which all but one did. So it was basically it was a £15 freezeout. There were not as many people playing as usual, and the first place prize money was a meagre £158. Not worth the trouble in my opinion.

Anyway, about 8 hands in, I was SB, everyone folded, so I went all in blind, and the BB called with 66. I had 3Qd, and hit nothing. Out in less than fifteen minutes.

The big blind pointed out to me that I went in for a pot of 75 chips, and thinking about this, it wasn't even worth trying to steal the blind. I mean, thinking about it, there was no justifyable reason for me to go all in.

So after the others went out (Damian made the final tale for the first time, surely the world will fall apart tomorrow), we bought some drinks and sat outside. It was at this point, that the people living above the restaurant/bar/poker room, decided to water the plants hanging over the balcony.

Cue water splashing all over us. At this point I went into incredible hulk mode, and looked around asking people how to get upstaism thinking someone was taking the mickey and asking for a slap. Five minutes later a slightly calmer James was sitting with the others inside, after the owner of the gutshot & a member of staff convinced him to leave it.

You must be an idiot to water your flowers in the middle of the evening when you live above a restaurant that has tables outside. Really.

Anyway, the others went home and I stayed for the £10 rebuy tournament. For some completely bizarre reason, everyone at my table seemed to not know how to play poker properly, except for the staff member that was playing at my table. Some bizarre plays were also being had; for some reason this one guy called with 72os, found a flop of K-J-10, someone bet, he called, hit a 2 on the turn, and bet, other guy went all in, and he called. Complete plonker.

Anyway, when I went out, he was probably chip leader. Go figure.

I did ok on that table, hit some trips, full houses, but lost a lot going all-in post flop with up & down straight draws, and a pair to boot. Ended up doing a rebuy and then a topup.

Doubled up once or twice, and then, the second extremely foolish hand. I had 78 offsuit, and called. BB checked, everyone else folded. Flop: 2-4-7

I thought I had the BB covered quite well in chips and went all in with my pair of 7s. Now, considering he was BB this was a bad play to start off with. To add to that, I stared him in the face, which clearly indicated I was bluffing and was trying to indimidate him to make him fold. I noticed someone else do this on the £5 table, and discussed it with my friends. Then did the same thing myself.

Anyway, he called with 7-10 offsuit, and won with two pair in the end. I had about 300 left, with the blinds at 150/300. Went out a few rounds later. There was 400 or 600 in the pot. I'm unsure about the all in I did, but I certainly should not have done it against BB or SB. If he was purely in early position, then he most likely would not have had it, or a big pair, because he would have raised pre flop.

A strong lesson has been learned; and hopefully a leak in the barrel has been plugged.

You know you have improved leaps and bounds when...

2005-05-20T07:34:00.000+01:00

Blinds 150/300, A 7 offsuit in the hole.

inferlogic is the dealer.
funnypages posted small blind.
hakfest posted big blind.
Game [67] started with 5 players.
Dealing Hole Cards.
holdthispete folded.
EAGLE HAWK called 300
inferlogic called 300 and raised 300
funnypages folded.
hakfest called 300
EAGLE HAWK folded.
Dealing flop.
Board cards [Ts 7h 7s]
hakfest bet 600
inferlogic called 600 and raised 630 and is All-in
hakfest called 630
Showdown!
Board cards [Ts 7h 7s 5d Jd]
inferlogic has Two Pair: 10s and 7s
hakfest has 3 of a Kind: 7s
hakfest wins 4,110 with 3 of a Kind: 7s
Hand is over.

hakfest: walked right into that one
inferlogic: nh
inferlogic: well i dont know what ud call!
hakfest: :)
inferlogic: youve been calling just about anything today
hakfest: good game man!

This $5 STT was the best performance of my life, form start to finish.

A new era has dawned!

I just want to play poker!

2005-05-17T22:46:00.000+01:00

Last week I came for the 8pm tournie at 7:30 PM, and it was already full up. What happens when it fills up is, you can register for it as a reserve. So, when someone goes out, you can start playing. There is a max of 129, and 30 reserves. I was reserve 27 so I went back home. This time I left early to ensure I was in the 129. Get on the train at Victoria station, it gets one carriage deep into the tunnel, then POW, a HEEEUGE power cut stops us there for 15 minutes. Then when we resume, the train driver tries to explain to us what's happening at other stations, but his mic cuts out every time he gets to the bit about the station I need to get off at being closed.

Anyway I got there in the end. Had a nice bunch of guys around my table. I had my headphones in, but I was not actually listening to anything. Just put them in to appear to not be paying attention.

So I played tight, but not in a noticeable fashion. The key hand I lost was when someone raised pre-flop. Now this guy made some stupid decisions, like calling 2 all-ins before him with 3-3 in the hole, only to get four of a kind. So naturally I doubt he has a monster, so I re-raise all in with my AJ suited. He calls with A4 suited, and gets two pair on the turn. Arse.

Rebuy, nothing really stunning going my way, so on the SB, everyone folds except for the dealer, who raises 400, so I go all-in blind, BB folds, I turned over J8 offsuit, he had KQos, wins with the high card.

Fig Wins $10 STT

2005-04-27T21:53:00.000+01:00

Can you believe it, I won an $10 STT I played slow and tight, waited for the others to get knocked out and then bam made my move, I knew at least I had to stay in 3rd to have any chance of winning money, I made some great full houses and bluffs at the right time.

When it became just me and a person called lillydie, I was 1/3rd in chips, what was perculiar was this person kept folding and not bullying me, my turning point was winning an all-in moment, making the chips 40% to their %60, I then made a couple of over bets, which they folded and before long I was chip leader after an impressive move to force a fold of over 5k in chips!!!

The last move was a belly-buster straight being made with my 9 and 10, Queen and 8 on the flop, J on the river oooh yeah baby.

They're catching us

2005-03-27T09:13:00.000+01:00

In the last 24 hours I have had the pleasure of playing with some complete idiots on the $5 S&Gs.

Yesterday I'm in my ususal 9 man $5 STT (Single Table Tournament), and there are four of us left. The first two players have around 2,500 in chips, and the fourth player has around 9,000 in chips.

The cards are dealt. Player 1 goes all-in, Player 2 goes all in as well, I get the hell out of there with my rags and Player 4 calls.

Now, when the cards get turned over, Player 4 has... a pair of twos. Now tell me, is this the most stupid hopelessly suicidal play you have ever seen in your life?

Think about it - he has the bottom pair, and is up against two all ins. Let's get out the basic numbers for this, hmm?

In basic terms, there are only two cards that can save him. So he is drawing to two cards. Now, assuming the two all ins all have different cards, he is drawing to two cards, while they are collectively drawing to 12. What do you think his chances of winning are? Add to this the fact that one (or both) of them might be drawing for a straight, and his hand is in very, very big trouble.

Needless to say he lost, gave them more chips, and made the battle to not go out 4th (1st - 3rd = money) drag out even longer between the three of them. Because no way in hell was I going to lose to any of these jokers.

But today I did lose to one of these jokers.

I have KK in the hole. I raise 2x BB, player after me re-raises to 4x BB, one player calls, the rest fold, back to me. I raise all in. Re-raiser calls, and 3rd player calls.

Player next to me has a pair of twos, and the third player has.....

A4 offsuit.

And wins with three fours.

Hard for me to stomach things like that, I get all Phil Hellmuth in my chair.

But it seems the kamikaze internet players from the $1 and $3 tournaments have moved up to the $5 tournies. Not that I am complaining, but the unpredictability factor gets you(r chips) sometimes. I'm looking at going up to the $10 tournies by the end of next month though, so hey it's all good.

Aftermath

2005-03-06T21:45:00.000Z

So it's Sunday, casino Poker Tournie time.

This month the team is: Myself, Damian, Aaron, Adrian, Gareth and Leyshon.

I get drawn to table M seat 4, Adrian gets drawn to M3 (much to his dismay, he tried to change his seat but I alerted the cardroom staff so I could torment him at the poker table), and Leyshon gets drawn to M7. Aaron gets drawn one seat before Pam the destroyer and Damian & Gareth are on another table together.

Now, on our table there were two hustlers (a woman & man, with the third Hustler on Aaron's table), and a goggle-eyed lunatic, who seemingly forgot to take her medication.

First hand comes in, female hustler raises big, clearly she isn't messing around. Anyway I'm not in this pot so let's move on.

I get dealt Q 8 on the big blind, so I check, and get two pairs on the flop. She checks. I bet 200, lunatic folds, she raises 200, I call. Turn, was a 7. Nothing special. She bet 200, and I call that. River, was a 10, I think. She fiddles with her chips, and asks me how much I have left, then I say '300' in a strong voice, then she checks, and I check just in case. I win, two pairs.

NOW. This is a beginners tournament, which we are doing for various reasons. We had first - timers with us, I want a few more beginner games to get a feel for people and tells, Damian isn't ready for the big ones yet (currently having a pint before we start to calm the nerves), and a few more reasons. This girl is not a beginner; she's - no, wait. They (her and her two hustler friends), think the beginner tournament is easy pickings for them to make a quick buck. See, at this point in time, she thought I was a complete newbie, and tried to gauge my reaction to her indicating she was going to put me all in. There was no reaction, then her actions made me realise she was thinking 'oh crap, I'm in trouble', and she checked. Silly girl.

A few hands later I have QQ in the hole. The blinds at this point were 50-100, and Adrian raised to 200 behind me. I raised to 400, and he knew I had the goods, and folded. Anyway, I took a nice pile of chips off a chap, who I must say, has a commendable poker face.

Now, time for the lunatic to strike. This woman has been pissing me off throughout the tournament so far. Not directly....I'm sure she's a lovely woman, but she's a busybody and a control freak and needs to kerb that nervous laugh. Somehow she decided she was the poker ref, and was badgering people to put their blinds in, and do this and that, and contested basic things like dealing, and she was wrong 99% of the time. I don't feel sorry for her, even though it's clear she has little to no friends or life, and is just trying to make a connection with the world.

What made it worse, is I was dealt AK suited, went all in, and she called me with JJ.

Bye-bye James.

So with me out, and Aaron out before me, Damian soon followed, the game whittled down to two tables, and we watched Adrian, Gareth, and Pam The Destroyer battle with the forces of evil. Of course, Pam had a massive stack of chips and was heading nowhere but final table, but Gareth had amassed a MONSTER amount of chips, in fact he was chip leader.

So, final table! Gareth was speculating and accumulating. Adrian went out in 10th place, and Gareth just increased his stack more and more. Pam The Destroyer went out I think 5th, to a collective sigh and salute from her superfans (we're thinking of making T-shirts). When it got down to four players, you could clearly see the other 3 were afraid of Gareth and his chips! This is unbelievable. So it's Gareth, a regular (who is NOT a beginner), and lunatic girl. I could not BELIEVE she made it to the last 3, it's bloody ridiculous! All she did on that final table was fold, although she did go all in twice and get a pair each time.

There was a key hand where Gareth lost his grip on the chips. There was a king on the table, it was the high card, and he had a king and a five in the hole. The non-beginner bet on the flop and turn, to both of which Gareth called. Then, he bet 4,000 on the river. This was *so* blatantly a bluff, clear as clear can get. However, due to Gareth's inexperience and lack of intermediate poker education, he was intimidated by the bet and folded, and it was all downhill from there. So Gareth finished third. We didn't hang around to see if lunatic won or not, especially since I promised if she did i'd kill myself.

Now, only two of us made the final table this time (three last time), but it was still massively productive. It was good to see Gareth do so well, he has a lot to learn. The main benefit though, was we sussed out SO many of the characters there. Those hustlers, their game was up quick time, they need to work on their act...and abilities, too.

Remember the female hustler? Well, she was to Adrian's right, I was to Adrian's left, and the other one in her gang (at our table) was to my left. He was dealing the cards, even though myself and Adrian preceded him and dealt by sliding the cards along the table, he decided to pick them up and deal them out the novice schoolkid way. One of the cards flipped over while he was doing this, the 4 of clubs. The woman put it in the middle and said carry on. I said "no, it's a dead hand, shuffle again", and she said "no, it just goes in the middle and you carry on", to which I said "no it does NOT, it's a dead hand", and then the other hustler started saying it wasn't, so I called an attendant over who said "no, it's a dead hand, don't start messing around with the cards", to which Adrian burst out laughing. The man seemed dismayed by this decision, which made me realise something fishy was going on.

Anyway, I knew they were in cahoots when he made exactly the same play on Adrian that she made on me, feigning the 'putting him all in' to gauge his reaction, which once again failed.

The lessons I learned at my table were much more rewarding than even coming first would have been. It's a great feeling when you suss people out like that, and multiple people, too! Psychology skills come into play almost every day.

While we were standing behind Gareth at the final table, I noticed Vicky Coren (a journalist / pro poker player) come in. Now let me tell you, this is one hot chick that knows how to use her womanly charms in the cardroom. She came in wearing black tights, a short skirt, and, basically had her baps out. I was drooling left right and centre, as Adrian pointed out to me. Well, it was nice to see a pro in the flesh. A hot one at that!

Mothers Day Mayhem

2005-03-04T13:42:00.000Z

Sunday is casino poker time again. This time, there will be up to 16 of us going, including my account manager from the company I buy IT goods from for work, which should be fun. Damian's Mother is coming this time too, which is great. I can only dream of her knocking him out of the tournament, but if that actually happens, you'll certainly be hearing about it from me. Hopefully we will both give an account of Sunday's goings on, and maybe some of our other players will join the blog. I will be very disappointed if I do not make the final table. But if i'm going down i'm taking people with me!

Tonight is the glorious poker night that preceeds the casino outing, it's a full house (see what I did there) this time, nine heads at the table. Some people new to the game, which means fresh hearts to break when I relentlessly devour all their chips!

Exciting times are ahead!

- James

Cruel Fate

2005-02-13T21:18:00.000Z

Well, there i was, 57 people and I make it to 5th, the prize, a seat at the Maxim Grand Final, the problem. It's Valentines day and I'm previously engaged. Ah well. I'd like to thank James for all his effort in advance, maybe next week eh!
Made it to a Final Table
-Fig-
-New Directive, Enter WSOP Super Satalitte for $3.15, win it, go on to win seat in Main Satalitte, win that, Go on to WSOP and Win with Royal Flush, Directive End-

Fig

...and then

2005-02-11T22:14:00.000Z

Flush, only for someone to get a full house on the river.

Hooray!

Online Bad Beats

2005-02-11T19:24:00.000Z

Ok this is the scenario.

The blinds are 100-200 and I have JQ in the hole.

All the cards are on the table, and they read 9-3-3-9-9.

Four players still in, i'm second off the button. The pot is currently 1,200, and I have 2,700 chips.. First player bets 2,000. I have 2,770 chips. I know he definitely does not have the 9, and if he has a three then it's nines over threes anyway so it's worthless. So I call his 2,000. That pot's going to be shared and I want my share.

Next player folds, and the last player calls too.

Showdown!

Player 1 shows a pair of threes in the hole.

You have GOT to be kidding me.

The Usual Suspects

2005-02-07T15:30:00.000Z

So there we were, standing outside Marble Arch station at 2pm, everyone dressed in black. (Ocean's 13 gone wrong) We planned to hit the vic, There was jimmy boi(James), Survivor(Aaron) and Extra Crispy(Adrian) along with Gareth and myself.

We all registered to the £10 buy-in and hit the roulette tables, my small win helping to provide for refreshments during the night. The tournament begins with 39 people, Aaron and Adrian are dealt on to my table 'K' Jimmy boi and Gareth are drawn onto other tables. Let the games begin.

After the first 2mins where seat allocation problems arose, (two people had drawn K7) we sat were we thought we should be.

No action for the first two hands, the cards aren't shuffled enough and everyone suspects there may be a straight flush on the table, flop goes 8, 9, 10 turn Q spades. third times a charm as I'm dealt Q, 3 suited. i pay to see the flop. Q, 7, 3. Some one raises to 100, I slow play and call it, next card is a dud, and the next. Some one has a death wish as I'm calling what I presume to be the nuts. I was right as this person only had a pair of 7's! off to a great start.

I'm dealt a pair of 7's a while later fold after the person to the left raises to 400. nuff said really.
later on I'm in there again with a 10,2 and the flop goes down 10, 2, ? and this guy who acts like Phil Hellmuth Jnr(James's words) put himself all in with a pair of 3's. I call the 500 as I pair up on the flop. I win and its break time - Thank you Mr. Doyle Brunson.

We go to break, I buy Aarons, Adrians and James add-ons/top-ups since etheir they didn't have the right change, didn't bring enough cash or already used any spare change for a re-buy(I feel they're good for it)

After an add on i'm upto 2,500 in chips blinds are now 100, 200, this is where it goes so wrong. Phil jnr has pocket Q's and raises 900, I have a Q, A in the hole. I stare at him for a while and I don't know if it was the alcohol(2nd pint - bad Fig) but I call.

To see a rubbish flop, 400 more all in i call it, I want this guy out so badly, i took him out before, i believe i can do it again with this hand, this lady goes all in and so i call and raises all in, (WTF am I doing) and so Phil Jnr calls it. (If only i realised he had more chips)
On our backs K,3 QQ QA Only an Ace could do it, bam out. She wins with a pair of K's.

21st place, I'm gutted, done the maths and only needed 2k to make it to the final table, New personal best however very badly played near the end, I'm awaiting pure criticism.

Gareth comes out 11th, James 8th, Adrian 6th (I say 5th as I believe he had more chips) and my brother pockets £87 for 4th place. I tell you he was survining, he went all-in twice and the river card saved him, once with three 10's (crowd goes ooooooooooooooooooooo) and Striaght on the river. However his last battle couldn't be won as he was going for third and to my disgust battling against - Phil Hellmuth Jnr! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
The blinds went up as he paid the big one with 800 left.

Well, we learnt a lot, new personal best for everyone, and I didn't do too much damage to my wallet, actually only lost £10 all night! Thanks to Roulette. I should of composed myself better and I'm going to scratch the word paitence on the back of my card protector. I'm hoping James will add to this, we have some pics taken on my phone, mainly of when My chip stack shadowed everyone elses and one of Aaron on the final table. I did try and video everyone on it but my phone didn't save it. Dam technology.

It could of been, but

see you on the final table

-Fig-

I have seen the light and it's Omaha coloured

2005-01-30T11:03:00.000Z

First off, Well done Brazen on your run, I guess the drinks are on you ;)

I think I've found my poker niche, I was on my last $5 when I saw my brother playing Omaha(not hi/lo).
I thought if I'm going to blow the last of it, then I may as well do it properly, What turned in to a a kamikaze mission turned into an enlightening night as I whooped people's asses with full houses left, right and centre. The tempation to take all my brother's cash was there as well, but I had thought better of it as he checked me on crucial hands, and some times it is better to have an ally at the tables.

I swear these people were just giving me their money, they kept raising $1 - $2 but I knew each time I had the nuts and they just kept bringing more, after 20mins of play I was up to $31 which is where I had set my limit, at this time other peole where joining the game and so I felt my streak wouldn't hold against them.

I thought I would put my run to the test and went back to hold'em and I fell hard, five minutes later I was back to Omaha, I decided to try the Omaha Hi/Lo table, and made my cash back.

I can't explain why I have taken to Omaha so well, maybe it's knowing the combinations better, or having four hole cards allows me to hit the best hands faster. With my mum and little sis, learning 5 and 7 card stud, we are going to try at our next poker night in March, dealers choice, should make for an interesting night.

Anyways, hope you all have great fortunes at the tables.

See you at the final one.

-Fig-

Mid January Tournament Run

2005-01-29T13:13:00.000Z

Had a great run a couple weeks ago on PartyPoker. Decided I'd play in a tournament each day until I did not place in the top 3. Ended up placing in 6 straight tournaments before finishing 6th on the 18th. I was contemplating jumping up to the next bracket of tournaments on PP, but then I lost to a series of bad beats and my luck has been horrid since this nice run. Ah well, that's the way things go.

Summary
----------
Played on : 12 January 2005 02:48 AM
On Table : Table 12446
Game Type : Texas Holdem
Buy-In : $5
Fee : $1
You finished in position 1
1st place - BrazenSix - $25
2nd place - tiltoleary05 - $15
3rd place - D_Rock82 - $10

Summary
----------
Played on : 12 January 2005 10:51 PM
On Table : Table 12440
Game Type : Texas Holdem
Buy-In : $5
Fee : $1
You finished in position 1
1st place - BrazenSix - $25
2nd place - faststang200 - $15
3rd place - Teater_8 - $10

Summary
----------
Played on : 13 January 2005 08:19 PM
On Table : Table 12134
Game Type : Texas Holdem
Buy-In : $5
Fee : $1
You finished in position 1
1st place - BrazenSix - $25
2nd place - baglee - $15
3rd place - smurfette74 - $10

Summary
----------
Played on : 14 January 2005 08:11 PM
On Table : Table 12046
Game Type : Texas Holdem
Buy-In : $5
Fee : $1
You finished in position 2
1st place - Ankare - $25
2nd place - BrazenSix - $15
3rd place - mattf74 - $10

Summary
----------
Played on : 15 January 2005 12:30 PM
On Table : Table 11914
Game Type : Texas Holdem
Buy-In : $5
Fee : $1
You finished in position 1
1st place - BrazenSix - $25
2nd place - dmc47 - $15
3rd place - kevie52 - $10

Summary
----------
Played on : 17 January 2005 02:21 AM
On Table : Table 12393
Game Type : Texas Holdem
Buy-In : $5
Fee : $1
You finished in position 2
1st place - Muppet0404 - $25
2nd place - BrazenSix - $15
3rd place - stev00 - $10

A New Direction

2005-01-27T15:02:00.000Z

So there I am, still playing poker on-line, still able to make $20 last a month unless Hak and my brother want me to join in there STT (personally I think they want me to hold their hands)

I realise that the on-line aspect of things are fairly steady although I could improve, didn't do too badly in a MTT the other day out of 970 entrants I came 92nd! a new personal best. I would like to take a moment to thank the kind people at Southern Comfort and Budweiser for the alcohol which did provide my personal best.

So I got a new direction since we are heading toward 'The Vic' on 6th of Feb with some new people for a beginner tourney £10 buy-in. I'm reading a book on how to read body language (I'm also taking re-buy money). The beauty of it is that I'm hoping to last longer then I have done, I want to be the tight-aggressor and I'm hoping I can get past the begginers. Thats right baby steps! We'll see how it works out with a poker night on the 4th I want to use the time to practise.

Anyway, back to work!

See you at the final table

-Fig-

WINNER!

2005-01-09T17:00:00.000Z

Today's been a good day. I entered a $30 Guaranteed tournament, $0.25 buy-in. 57 players in total, and I won. First time i've won an MTT! My previous best was second, in a $150 Guaranteed tournie.

Anyway, after this win I realised I had my form back, so entered a $40 Guaranteed Rebuy Speed tournament, came 5th in that, and won an additional $5.

Then, I realised I was playing my best poker to date, and entered a 9-man $5 STT (Single Table Tournament), came second and won $13.50. I'm on a roll! It's good to have my game back.

'3 pairs'

2005-01-08T07:31:00.000Z

So last night was Poker Night at Damian's (Fig's) place. This was the night history was made; we came about his nickname, when after the river someone flipped over their cards and Damian claimed that person won with 3 pairs.

Enter Damian '3 pairs' Crawford!

We had a new addition to poker night, Gareth, a colleague of mine from work. He did quite well! He came second in the first tournament, much to his delight, as I went out before he did. Beginner's luck seems rife in Poker.

Anyway, was the best poker night we've had. If you are thinking of having a poker night of your own, I suggest you play with 4 different coloured chips: 25, 50, 100, 200. Makes the game flow quite well.

Highlights for me:

Eliminating Adrian first with the trusty AA
Going all in with K 7 offsuit and getting a full house on the flop
Damian and his 3 pairs.

Johnny Five Is Alive.

2004-12-30T01:00:00.000Z

Well, I was bored at work, had an hour to kill and decided to hit up a basic 10 player Sit & Go tournament at PartyPoker.com...

Hello BrazenSix,
You requested a transcript of Tournament #8250462.

Summary
----------
Played on : 29 December 2004 07:14 PM
On Table : Table 12517
Game Type : Texas Holdem
Buy-In : $5
Fee : $1
You finished in position 1!
1st place - BrazenSix - $25
2nd place - Jimbolaya423 - $15
3rd place - cigadyc20 - $10
-------------------------------

Jimbolaya423 posts small blind (200)
BrazenSix posts big blind (400)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to BrazenSix [ 5c, 5s ]
Jimbolaya423 raises (1259) to 1459
Jimbolaya423 is all-In.
(he goes all in, before the flop on a 9-10 off suit)
BrazenSix calls (1059)
Creating Main Pot with $2918 with Jimbolaya423
** Dealing Flop ** : [ Js, 4h, 8d ]
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 4c ]
** Dealing River ** : [ Jd ]

Jimbolaya423 balance 0, lost 1459 [ Td 9d ] [ two pairs, jacks and fours -- Js,Jd,Td,4h,4c ]
BrazenSix balance 8000, bet 1459, collected 2918, net +1459 [ 5c 5s ] [ two pairs, jacks and fives -- Js,Jd,8d,5c,5s ]

<3 my pair of 5s.

One off the money

2004-12-27T19:47:00.000Z

So there I am, on a STT and I win it, the turning point a 10-2 offsuit.

An hour later Hakky and me decide to do a $0.25 STT, I'm losing and Hak's being aggresive on the tables, people are throwing money at him and he's on a good rush. We go toe to toe a few times with him going all-in against my small stack, the worst part is EVERY time, and I mean every time we have the same cards. I'm one off the money with Hak in third position and I get a 10-2, Hak forces me to go all-in, I think lightining can strike twice.

Doyle Brunson, I am not

Fig Wins STT

2004-12-23T12:00:00.000Z

It may of been for little cash, but a win is a win is a win! However just proving i could go to first place is a real confidence booster, now all i need to do is concentrate harder on MTT's.

Doyle Brunson

2004-12-22T06:16:00.000Z

There is a $600 bounty on Doyle Brunson's head on the 27th December on VCPoker. See you there!

This Game Does Funny Things To You

2004-11-13T15:27:00.000Z

Check out this screenshot. This happened to me last night. I have nothing to say... lol.

Screenshot

Dumb Luck

2004-11-12T22:06:00.000Z

So, I decided to take part in PartyPoker's $5000 freeroll on Wednesday night and I was surprised at how fast the action was. I was expecting it to be quite slow with not nearly as many people showing up that signed up, but our table was actually full of active players. The funny thing was, that they were far to aggressive so me and a player a few seats away from me just started knocking them off like crazy.

One of the first hands we played, a guy goes all in after the initial betting. A guy calls him with pocket 10s. The guy that initially went all in, had pocket Ks. Flop comes 3 - 10 -7. Next two don't help him either with an 8 - Q. Must've been like 2 hands into the tournament and he was already gone.

Next couple hands down, a guy got a bit over zealous and went all in on his 3 - 10... lol. And guess what he lost to? a Q high. I couldn't believe some of these all-ins.

Later on, after we'd had a nice cycle of players come and go I was sitting comfortably 2nd in chips. Another guy with pocket As goes all in. The guy opposite me, who was leading in chips at that point calls him with a 9-10 suited. Flop comes down 8-J-Q. I couldn't believe it... this guy was definetely wearing the lucky horse shoe today. But I didn't realize just how lucky he was until the next hand...

I was dealt a 10 - Q club suited. After some initial betting, re-raising... it was me sitting at 2nd in chips and the guy that was 1st in chips left in the pot. I could tell this hand was gonna make or break one of us. Flop comes down 3 - 5 - J CLUBS! The guy throws down 500 chips and I immediately go all in with the flush. He calls and we throw down the cards and he's got three of a kind... 3 Jacks. 4th street comes up, 4 of hearts. The river shows it's ugly head and guess what it is?... yup... the last Jack.

F***

Ah well, it's a shame I had to go out on a hand like that, but I guess overall I had fun. I'm gonna try one of the satellite tournaments next week I believe, hopefully I'll have a bit better luck then.

Intro- Thomas Xavier

2004-11-12T00:51:00.000Z

Hi.

Im Thomas Xavier and frequent 888.com's casino generaly in the caribbean poker tables due to the quick thrill factor and also because i have little to no patience.

James recently introduced me to vcpoker.com and so far i like it. So if you want a game i can be found at the hold'em tables in particular ''haunted gold'' or any of the $2/$4 dollar stake tables.

I have only been playing online for 2 months but when in France (I study in the UK) i gamble at the local casino's.

Preparation Pays Off

2004-11-10T01:27:00.000Z

I decided to hit up PartyPoker.com for a bit of preparation for the $5,000 freeroll tournament I'm in tomorrow, and it paid off, in a nice way.

I decided to just try some low profile $25 buy-in NL Hold'Em. Things started off kind of strange. I folded the first two hands(being dealt 2/3 offsuit and 5/6 H), but it was the guy that was sitting opposite me(in theory) that made it strange. The first flop came, 10 - J - 4, and he simply checked. Other two players threw in 50cents and he called. Next card, 5. He suddenly bets 4 dollars, and one guy calls him. Last card: 8 of hearts. He goes all in. The other guy calls him in an instant. What did the guy opposite me have? a Q - 2 off suit. He didn't even have a flush draw, lol. The other guy won the pot with a pair of 10s. Fantastic.

So, he buys back in, he's down $25 at this point. Next hand I'm dealt pocket Kings. Guy opposite me makes a 5 dollar bet before the flop, so I figure he must have a nice hand, so I just call and wait for the flop. K - 2 - 3. Awesome. I make a 5 dollar bet and he raises me 10. I go all in and he calls me. The rest of the cards come up A - 8. We flop the cards down and what does my man have? A - 2 OFF SUIT. I killed myself at this point... guy is now down $50 within about 10 minutes of playing, I could hardly believe it.

I stayed at the table for about another 30 minutes, but people started dropping out after I started taking their money. The guy opposite me ended up losing again, but he quit after that... down $75 in total. I switched tables to a 6 man table, and ended up coming ahead $137.17($162.17 American total). Not bad for a $25 buy-in and a couple hours work.

Hopefully I can do the same tomorrow night.

Deja F-U

2004-11-09T21:23:00.000Z

So i'm playing a satellite for tonight's $7,500 guaranteed (rebuy).

Main buy-in is $27 + $1.

Satellite is $3.15 + $0.32.

A-7 diamonds in the hole. Flop came 2-A-7. He Raises 160. I re-raise 160, he re-re-raises 160, i raise him the minimum once more. He raises 840, I raise all in. He shows a pair of twos in the hole.

At this point i was scared. The turn flopped a 7. YES! FULL HOUSE. Bye-bye to him.

Next hand, 4 people go all-in, pre-flop. K-Q, K-Q, A-4, 9-10. One person takes all with a pair of aces. Three gone in one hand. 5 left, the next one goes all in and loses to a straight. Fun being a spectator. Four left, and it's still level 1!!! 20/40! Absurd.

At this point i'm still being dealt crap cards left right and centre, while listening to an acoustic sheyrl crow song. Another one goes out, and it's three left. These two either side of me are the most boring crap players i've ever seen, ever. Raise, fold. Raise, fold. I was the only one giving any action.

I was getting nothing but crap cards. Then I get dealt a 10 J offsuit, the best cards i've had in the last 40 mins. I call. a 10-7-2 comes up on the flop. I'm sure neither of them has a 10. Frankly i'm tired of these two idiots, so I go all in. For once they both call. Me and another guy are eliminated by the guy with the most chips. With what hand?

Wait for it.........

A set of twos.

F***

'All in'

2004-11-07T19:02:00.000Z

It was Fig's first time in a Casino and he was a little nervous. It was only my second time, but i'm Mister Confidence, so no problems there (although he says I was nervous when I met his fiancee).

On the way to the cardroom you pass the roulette and craps tables, and the PC betting game things, whatever they are. The female croupiers and bar staff are absolutely stunning! Walking past the roulette table I stopped to watch this guy betting. I had no idea what he was doing, but he was betting on like 70% of the table, so I stopped to watch. It landed on 36, which he had no chips on, and the girl sweeped all his chips into this hole on the side of the table.

Madness.

Anyway, so we get to the cardroom area, and people are sitting and standing all over the place talking about poker, so naturally we eavesdrop on some poker stories, hearing bad beats about a guy who went all in with ace king suited only to lose to some idiot with an ace 5 offsuit. We register for the tournie and then wonder what to do with ourselves for the next 20 minutes. So we decided to fire off questions at the cardroom staff!

The cardroom was were selling card protectors for £5, and I managed to nab one left over from the european championships (i'll put a pic up later). Talk about a tool for intimidation!

Armed with my shiny weapon of mass deception, I headed for the table I was drawn on, Table King, seat 7. When we were all ready to go there were only 5 people at my table, which kind of worried me. With only 1,000 chips I didn't really want to start at a short table. Luckily they moved us onto other tables, and I ended up in H 7 instead. I was sat next to this guy with glasses. He was a nice chap, and would go on to 'take me under his wing' for the night. And boy did I need it.

When the tournament started I realised we had no assigned dealer! And when it was deal time, the person on the left of the 'dealer' would shuffle, the person on the right of the dealer would cut the pack, and then the 'dealer' would deal. When it came to my turn to shuffle, I asked the person to my left to shuffle, because "I can't shuffle to save my life". With him shuffling, the guy to my right noticed my card protector. The side up was the side that said 'THE VIC'. He picked it up and had a look, then turned it over to read 'European Championships'. At first he looked startled and slightly taken aback (he was probably thinking 'shit', just what I wanted), but then he must have realised he looked scared so regained his composure and said 'that's very nice!' in a kind of 'I'm not scared of you' sarcastic manner, although he clearly was.

I could have gone along with it and pretended I was some hotshot poker player, but it was my first tournament in a Casino so I thought I could do with making some friends at this point, so I said: "yeah....cost me 5 quid", and that got the ball rolling! I was quite clumsy to start off with, even dealing the cards. The guys knew it was because of my first time, but when I got into the swing of things and was forcing people to fold, the guy to my right took a long hard look at me. I know he was wondering if I was hustling them.

I liked that. Maybe I will next time.

I realise now I must play 'lazy' when online, because it seemed I wasn't paying enough attention to the action before the flop, but I think it was just going too fast for a first timer*, because once as the big blind I folded instead of checked, but they let me off because I was the newbie.
* First timer in a Casino.

I brought my online play to the table, and had a lot of fun in doing so. I was tight, then loose, then tight again. I got AA in the hole and two people raised before me, I was in middle position. I raised all-in and 3 called, BAM lots of money to me. I guess it went to my head, because next found i had a fair hand, and was loosely raising and calling and didn't stop to think about what my opponent might have, and he took a chunk of my chips, which put me on the backburner, but I didn't go on tilt.

I won two further pots with a set of 8's each time, further along the line. I went all-in with one, and did a biggish raise with the other. I love going all in, the only thing that comes close to the fun I have going all in, is having lots of chips, and raising someone their exact amount of chips, with the clear intent of eliminating them from the game.

It was rebuy for the first hour, but I promised myself that rather than rebuy, i'd just come and play in next week's tournament instead. So I lasted the rebuy hour, and then half an hour more until this hand. I was dealt JJ, and was low on chips, so even though I knew it was a weak hand to go all-in with, I did so anyway, and was called by the guy opposite me, holding KK.

I was out.

It was a great experience, I met some nice guys who all learned my name (but I learned none), and I look forward to playing there again!

Best thing about Casinos? Free orange juice and sandwiches!

The morning after the night before

2004-11-07T16:31:00.000Z

Enter the Fig

Well, we went, we saw and we live to fight another day!

After meeting up with Hak, we went onto the casino, total newbies to the scene. We registered for the tourney I drew table E seat 4. Well what can I say, the atmosphere was smoky but I had fun, oh my god, my plan as skecthy as it was, burnt into the smoky thin air when the game got going, seasoned pros on my table. Intimidation started to set in, I couldn't focus, first I was dealt only a £1000 in chips, £100 x 8 and £25 x 8 This threw me off totally, only being told half an hour before by Hak it was unlimited re-buys for the first hour, next the cards flopped onto the table, only ever use to online play and watching late-night poker I was under the impression that we would have someone to do it for us. I was wrong, I felt obligated to shuffle, my hands fell to pieces.

I have to say that whenever I have a 1000 left, I usually find myself on the way out. To start with 1000 was a new experience. The game started with 25/25 blinds. first hand a pair of tens, sweet I couldn't believe it, I try and remain composed and call. Another person raises, others fold, i call his 200, flop 2, 8, 2 two pairs no f***ing way. I check, he raises 500, crap, i look at him, my spider sense tingling, I announce, "I'm going to regret this, but I fold" I felt gutted, he showed me his cards as compensation, rocket pockets ppl! A, A. The only bright move I make all evening, I did win 1 round, but that was all.

Mr x to the right of me dealt, first hand in, fold after a raise. Mr y to the right also a newbie and first tournament, lets just say that beginners luck was on him he played a Qc and 3s Ks Kd Qs fell, he called the raise, 9s he called again, Js, no one is none the wiser at this stage, he goes all in, he says, "I'm going to regret this i'm going out" he showed me his cards and I concurred. I felt a higher spades was on the table, 3 people left, Mr U, pair two pairs Q's and K's Mr x, Q's and 9's, Mr U - spades flush, he raked in over 1,500.

Next round, dealt a K and 7 off suit, 600 chips left, I fold on the raise, the flop goes down, K, K, 7
I wanted to be sick, I was dealer, I guess its a good thing i didn't call, since my shuffling was something left to be desired.

After folding 5 times in a row, I felt that the hand I was in was worth playing, straight in with a raise A, J suited. But the game skips my move, and I'm lost! Mr Y says, "put your cash in or if i move it becomes a dead hand"(after apologising, and being told that I can stop play if it happens again) he re-raises, an american chap, says too bad and asks if i had an Ace, unaware I was still in the game, I give him a stare and he apologises, I was impressed he could tell, but I had fallen apart by this time. Mr x plays everyone else folds, I must go all in to call, and so i do. Blam. pair Aces on the flop, but not enough, lose to 2 pairs.

I told them i was leaving after 30mins of play, they said I could rebuy, but I declined, This was the first £30 tourney I did, I was told i didn't do bad for my first tourney but it felt like I was learning the game for the first time, people shuffling their chips, more intimidation, and I couldnt believe it was working, I didn't feel like losing more money, I headed straight to the bar.

We are planing to go again but for the beginners tourney, which costs £10, I don't mind gambling my money away within limit, but £30 straight in cold, with no practise is unwise.

I went to find Hakfest afterwards and all he says is, "your out already?", I reply disheartened "There was this guy", he laughs.

I wandered around for a while and came across the super stud tables, I watched for a bit, Hak was done after an hour and a half, I believe. We then got some free playing cards and pin, oh and the tea and orange juice is free!

I'm going to practise big time, and brush up a bit more, now I know what to expect I can prepare. As for winnning well not yet, but improving my game is the next step.

-Fig-

Intro - BrazenSix

2004-11-05T21:39:00.000Z

Hey,

Figured I'd throw up my intro post here and get to know a couple of my fellow contributors.

I'm Matt, a 21yr old from Ontario, Canada and have been playing for about 2 years now. I strictly play NL Hold 'Em and have since I started. I can't really remember what got me into the game. I think it was starting college and taking part in our weekly Hold 'Em poker nights. We used to play with a max bet when we started out, but quickly moved over to NL and have stuck with that ever since. Unfortunately though, I don't play as much in our weekly games anymore because there are to many people at college that will not play if I'm involved. I've won far to many tournaments, that they will flat out not play me anymore. Kind of discourgaing, but at the same time I guess I kind of take it as a compliment. I enjoy watching just as much as playing anyways.

As well as weekly poker nights, I've taken up playing at casinos in my general area. Just getting into it, but it's been pretty enjoyable so far. Lots of really good players out there. It's one thing to play with friends, but when you're playing at a table full of complete strangers, it really adds another level to the game. It's hard to find a friend or two that wants to chance that much of their real life hard earned cash, but so far I've been lucky and have found a couple old friends that are into it. Besides, I'd be lying if I said seeing an older gentleman lay down $1000 in crisp bills right beside me wasn't intimidating.

Online, I frequent Ultimatebet.com and PartyPoker.com. Not into these as much as playing in real life, because it's just not the same. Entertaining still, but there are many missing elements when you play online.

Anyways, I guess that's about it. I'll bring you some stories of my casino nights whenever they happen.

Matt(B6)

The day before Tomorow

2004-11-05T14:23:00.000Z

Well, I thought I'd just write a bit here about tomorows NL Hold 'em Tourney at the Grosvenor Victoria Casino.

Hak assures me we will get lunch before hand, and that he'll get my drinks when he comes out early (haha dead money)

I'm a bit anxious as this will be my first time at a real table, and so i'm eager not to mess up and annoy my fellow players. I also must resist the urge to look at their cards! (Bad Fig!)
The worst part is I haven't had much time to play this week, But i'll view that as when a runner rests before the race.

Well I'm glad i have been able to share my pre-tourney nerves with you, I wonder if this is how it is for the professionals? I'm sure Hak will let you know how we got on.

-Fig-

A funny story

2004-11-03T12:53:00.000Z

What Fig is referring to below, is the Poker night we had at his place. The first of many, I hope!

We were just playing for chips, and not any money. So my attention span was 0% after the first five seconds of the tournament, and I decided I'd take this chance to play looser than a cow's posterior. And take photos of poker chips. And mock Damian's brother some more.

It came down to the last two, myself and Damian's brother's friend, Adrian. He himself was a serious poker player, he's looked up instructional documentation and whatnot, and clearly thinks he's god.

He isn't. I am.

Third place had just been eliminated and it was down to the two of us. It was to be a battle of egos, and bragging rights.

Or not.

First hand I was dealt was a K-10 offsuit. I immediately went all-in, and he (with the bigger stack) called. I flipped over my cards, and he looked extremely worried as he turned over a Q-2 offsuit.

Before the flop, I said "I don't care what happens, as long as I don't lose to a pair of twos". Well, I didn't lose to a pair of twos.

I lost to a set of twos.

This was the ultimate humiliation (well nearly, Fig's little sister proved to be a formidable calling station early on). Everyone was laughing hysterically at me, and they caught the episode on video-camera. I'm sure it'll end up online at some point.

What amplified the misery for me was all the trash talking I had done before. When I'm playing amongst friends, I trash talk in a fun silly manner, and I parade around with my pizza box declaring I'm going to "kick ass and take names", so when I fall, I fall HARD.

What I found most amusing though, was Adrian said "The best man won".

The best man didn't win. He made a great many mistakes, and I just could not be bothered. Fig and I are entering a £30 NL Hold'em tournament this Saturday, at the Grosvenor Victoria Casino in Edgware Road, London. I'm hoping Adrian comes along, and I'm hoping he finds himself at my table.

He'll be dead money.

Intro - Fig

2004-11-03T11:00:00.000Z

Well, I was also one who lost to the Hakfest, but I blame tehHustler for that one!

I'm Damian, 23yrs old and from South London, and have been playing for over a year now. I had played 5 card stud when I was younger, but never really understood it. My second coming was in Blackpool when at the LAN we played NL Texas Hold'em. Since then I've played on-line in pokeroom.com and ladbrokespoker.com where I can really get into the real money games. Haven't really committed myself enough to stick out a tourney but i'm hoping to change that soon.

I've introduced my family to this game and hold poker nights where it can get very heated, I also have video proof of Hakfest careless all-in against a guy named Adrian.

But enough for now.

When bluffing, pray the river card is the one you need! (isn't that right Hak)

I look forward to reading about everyone else's experiences.

-Fig-

Intro - Kathy

2004-11-03T10:02:00.000Z

Well hello everyone.
I am Kathy, 29, female from Greece.
I have never played poker before in my life, but I am willing to learn.
I love challenges, games, winning.
When i want something I .always. get. it.
I love the challenge poker offers as a game, so i will do my best on that.
I am really glad to be here and hope to get the most out of this.
See you all around.

Intro - TehHustler

2004-11-02T19:59:00.000Z

First things first. My nick used to be TheHustler but I forgot the password to it so I registered TehHustler. I'm also phasing it out altogether, because it sucks. Mark or Marko is nice and simple and not shit.

Anyway, yeah, I'm Mark, 22, and I reside in Blackpool, North West of England (where it's cold). I started playing poker some years ago at college, but never really for money, and only ever five card stud. Thanks to the explosion of online poker sites, and thanks to encouragement from and games with friends (in real life mainly) I decided to bite the bullet and play online.

Hakfest owns me to be honest. I'm learning all the time though. Don't be afraid to lose money. Just don't lose too much... You'll find me on the 50c and $1 STT's and occasionally the freerolls when I have enough points to play them. VERY occasionally I'll have a go at ring games to make a few quid very quickly, but I suck. It's a VERY different style of play.

Hopefully, you will enjoy my posts.

Intro - Hakfest

2004-11-02T19:34:00.000Z

Hi. My name is James, i'm a 20 year old Londoner, and i've been playing poker for a year.

My first game of poker was at a LAN party (a computer meet thing), and I was drunk. I teamed up with a friend Andy, and we played as one unit. It was our first time playing poker, we had learned the basic rules five minutes beforehand.

We went on to win that night. Awesome. That gave me a taste for poker, along with my extreme competitiveness. So we started playing poker online, for play money, and then started playing for real on VCpoker/UK Pokerstars.

I'm a hardcore Hold 'em tournament player, I never ever play ring games, I find they are not ruthless enough for me. I like eliminating someone from the game completely, it's like I can taste their blood on my teeth, like a cheetah killing a deer.

You can usually find me on the $3 STT tournament tables and MTTs, and when I win big on an MTT, the $5 and $10 STT tournament tables.

The Poker Journal

2004-11-02T19:21:00.000Z

Welcome to the Poker Journal.

The aim of this is for friends to have a place to document their goings on in the poker world, for everyone to read and discuss. The contributors will be men and women of different backgrounds and different levels of skill, to bring lots of different angles to this, something for everyone.

Enjoy!

-Hak