Poker

OMR - have you played against a bloke called James Dempsey? Apparently a complete canut around a poker table - i ask as i assume he is quite well known!

I is goin down to the Rendezvous in Brighton for a £200 FO on 11th Dec ( Fri) - he is going to be in the tournie.

 

I've heard of him .... I don't think I've played against the fellah.

Here's your man;

http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=42761

It would appear - from his fairly impressive results - he's a bit of a 'Brighton specialist' ..... probably a phuqqin arsebandit, by the look of him!

 

cheers matey i had looked up the hendonmob site and checked hm - you have posted the link previously andi do take notice of said information.

Just wondered if you had come up against him ( not his arsebandit persona). Have been told heis complete winker who spits his dummy out.

having a poor run of luck, closeish but not hitting that good double up in preparation of final table and losing on the river from winning position last three tournies.

May do the sportsman again this friday if its on.

 

Well, that is that - The London Paddington Casino has closed down leaving 100 people unemployed and 30+ poker players scattering to venues.

Must say, not too fussed about he closure and was lucky enough to get nearly a years training in there - possibly a chik is taking over the licence and moving the casino to one of his hotels in Marble Arch.

Looks like the Sportsman - Fridays and a look into the Baracuda, when it starts its competitions.

 

Phuqq being a Poker playing Yank with their taxation laws ....



Basically - our very own James Akenhead finished 9th in the World Series Masin Event .... but binned almost as much Prize Money as the guys who finished 4th and 5th, because of the US Tax Laws.

I'll bet James looooooooooooooooooooves the fact that the tax rate for winnings is 0% in the UK, and doubt he'll be in a hurry to apply for US Citizenship with it's 40% tax band on gambling successes!

 

didn't you post similar stuff re Vegas, when brits are there the yanks jump to the chance to do a deal on the final placings?

it will be brought in here at some stage?

Sportsman tonight, The Mint in Saff Kensington on Sunday.

 

Yesterday - and I entered the weird and wonderful world of the APAT, and ended up almost enjoying it.

The APAT is for amateur players - so the pros aren't allowed to enter their tournaments (although many top 'amateurs' are more than capable of taking the pros apart!).

For all you 'delicate' young things who are too afraid to venture further than gazing at your monitor - playing $10 SNGs on Pokerstars - this nice mob might, just might, get you out into the big, bad, world - and enjoying - a real game of poker .... though maybe not!

http://www.apat.com/forum/index.php

Free to join!

So on saturday, it was off up to the G Casino in Luton for the £75 Deepstack APAT European Amateur Championship 2009 tournament.

A superb structure - slow blinds, 10k in chips, dealer dealt, no 'registration fee' (the costs picked up by Blue Square), excellent free buffet, attracted nearly 200 players (from the UK, and all over Europe .... and Ireland) to fight it out for the delicious prizes/prizefund below;

PRIZES

1st: A payment of £3,500 + Engraved European Championship Cup + Gold Medal + GUKPT event entry + 18 ranking points + Significant Media Exposure.

The added poker entry comprises an entry to a GUKPT main event, worth £1,060.

2nd: £2,250 + Silver Medal + 17 ranking points.

3rd: £1,250 + Bronze Medal + 16 ranking points.

4th to 9th: £600 each + 10 to 15 ranking points.

10th to 18th: £400 each + 1 to 9 ranking points.

19th to 20th: £400 each.


It really was unsettling - playing against opponents that ranged from very accomplished, to those that wouldn't have a hope in hell in a Rileys Five Pound Freezeout - a real brainteaser trying to fathom out their plays at the beginning.

While all around were being gifted huge amounts of chips - I continually ran my stack into the mundane players that continued to call with third pair on the flop, the turn, until they eventually got ahead come the river - ignoring all my increasingly higher bets, indicating to all and sundry that they were badly behind.

(this is the difference playing at this level - they don't 'know where they are' in a hand, and carry on fishing in blind hope, and ignorance - the better players know 'when to get the phuqq out of it', thus conserving valuable chips for a future assault)

Going down to 4k, I ground away like a Thai Ladyboy and (after a mere six hours play) was into 'dreamland' .... getting above the starting stack!

Overdrive was engaged and the 30k mark was soon hit, and I was feeling reasonably confident about kicking on to the higher echelons.

Then inexplicably an absolute Donkfest suddenly broke out, and players with 15/20/30 x the BB began shoving their stacks in with absolute s h i t e to gain very little, and often lose the lot ..... unfortunately my cards/or my 'position' were such that I couldn't take advantage of this manna from heaven.

(The real shame with the explosion in public interest in poker is that it is the Idiot's Game - No Limit Holde 'Em - that has caught the imagination.

Basically, it's so easy to play - and , hey ho, if you're stuck and don't know what to do, just go 'all in' and hope for the best ..... if only it had been Pot Limit that had come to the fore, we might have actually created a 'poker savvy' player base.

It is a great shame that No Limit - a game designed by the 'Road Players' - Doyle Brunson/Amirillo Slim etc specifically to relieve clueless rich Texas Oil Barons of their dollars as quickly as possible - has become the 'universal game' ...... hence the UK successes in the Pot Limit Events during the WSOP - most Yanks can't play 'proper' poker!)

Why this happened, I haven't a clue .... probably inexperience, nerves, tiredness, too many beers for some, or a combination of these.

I eventually bowed out in 42nd position - my full house getting severely 'duffed up' by a most unwelcome river card - towards the end of level 11 at 12.30 am Sunday, thus missing the concluding day's play, and a share of the loot, commencing this afterlunch.

I will definitely play the APAT again - some very nice people, showing some very nice etiquette/sportmanship ..... which would put to shame many 'regular' live players!

Maybe some of you 'online only loners' might want to use the APAT route in overcoming your unfounded fear of live poker - most of the APAT players were genteel types with little 'life experience', and whose 'amusing stories' bored the pants off me (all hail for the ipod drowning them out) ..... you might fit right in, if you ever summon up the courage to leave your three bedroom semis!

 

It appears quite clear from yours and paddys ramblings that the better poker players are the ones with unlimited patience. I had my first experience last night playing a few games against people I hadn't met before. Very interesting and vastly different from online play. It surprised me how easy it was to read a couple of them too and I left with a few more £ in my pocket than when I arrived, (the heads up tips paid dividends again). I've said before that time is the killer for me, but I have no doubt that when the kids are older I'll definately be trying it out at a club/casino.

 

'People watching' is an art in itself - I'm amazed how many poker players actually don't, even at high level poker tournaments!

(To be frank, at the lower levels many of the players are such an 'open book' to the experienced player that 'tells' are only a small part of the armoury .... their betting patterns/bet sizes after long periods of passivity often 'announce' their possession of good cards - then they openly appear dumbfounded as anyone with half an appreciation of the game rapidly folds).

The natural instinct is to look at your cards as soon as they've been dealt, to see what 'goodies' may how come your way .... a grave mistake!

Unless I'm UTG (under the gun), obviously, I scan the table as the players get their 2nd card for any hints (people aren't so 'forthcoming' any more - but look out for the odd one that stares a shade longer at his cards than normal, bank it, and then observe his action when the betting comes round to him).

As the betting from the UTG commences - I still won't have looked at my cards as I observe the action as it comes round to me .... many reach for their cards as soon as a raise has been announced, and can miss out on the 'demeanour' of a caller/re-raiser.

When I do have a look, I'm acting on most of the info already gleaned (most poker hands/situations disappoint, so don't require the endless pondering that a lot of the 'newbie' players consider compulsory after watching the pillocks on Late Night Poker) but not all.

I also invariably do an 'eyes right' as I glance at my hole cards - frequently you can see the next player make a small involuntary hand movement (going for his chips) which can help you to muck that average hand that probably won't stand up to 'a bit of scrutiny' - before I make my action.

A nasty little trick is too look/appear 'nervous' as you ponder re-raising a raise, with the stone cold nuts .... overdoing it can give away the 'story' you're telling .... pitching it just right can pay off beautifully.

(plus - the next time you might be bluffing and looking a trite apprehensive, but the table will be at a loss as to what to do, due to your previous false tells being fresh in their minds)

You don't get this sort of Machiavellian Drama gawping at a PC monitor!

Look and learn .... knowledge is power!

Apart from that - live poker is a very sociable activity.

I've made some superb friends - the table banter is reminiscent of the old football terraces (many describe the game as the 'New Football').

Which is hardly surprising as an awful lot of players are ex-season ticket holders of their local clubs, who've become thoroughly disenchanted with 'Modern Soccer' - and just can't be arsed anymore to donate their hard earned to a business they no longer feel any part of!

All participate on the understanding that our friendship ends as soon as the words, "Shuffle up, and deal" are announced!

 

Sunday night's poker fare.

An online tournament that - almost certainly - guarantees a return ..... right up my street!

The top 100 battle it out for prizes ranging from a mediocre 25 quid to a £3k entry to one of the most prestigious tournaments on these shores!

Finishing Position Prize
1st £3000 GUKPT Grand Final seat + Seat in Champion of Champions
2nd £3000 GUKPT Grand Final seat
3rd £1000 GUKPT Main Event seat (excludes London Victoria leg)
4th £900 Cash
5th £800 Cash
6th £700 Cash
7th £600 Cash
8th £500 Cash
9th £400 Cash
10th £300 Cash
11th - 20th £200 Cash
21st - 30th £150 Cash
31st - 40th £100 Cash
41st - 60 £50 Cash
61st - 100th £25 Cash


Only 84 runners, so far, with only 35 minutes left to register ..... free to enter ..... virtually garanteed to cash - luvverly jubbly!

 

Dare I ask who with? Would make top gear bearable next week!

 

It was a blatant tease - the comp really is a freeroll .... but it's a quarterly shebang open to the best performing souls - during a set period - in live tournaments at Grosvenor Casinos around the country and the online scruffs from Blue Square.

Incredibly, out of the 200 who are elegible to enter for all the free money/prizes, only 88 bothered registering .... Praise the Poker Gods!

 

OMR - Sportsman update - £2k 1stprize, £1k+ 2nd £1k 3rd - various down to 9th. Afetr the notorious aggressive play which you witnessed my demise, my next venture saw me knocked out at number 37 i think of 59 having pocket J's stuffed by AT. That was the 2nd visit.

Last Friday the third visit - was in decent frame of mind, less anxious of the surroundings and the people and sat down next to a bird stuffing her face and talking to a geezer on the next table.

Played tight and watched as recommended by you and lost a chip or two in blinds and a couple of looks at the flop.

An hour or so went by and made my first move with half my chips left after a flop had given me 3 of a kind - got called by what you may deem a chancer, who kin hit a straight. Rebuy one - three hands to go - still got my rebuy chips less 200ish - did an ad on - reatrt with 9,800.

Most of that session had very little to play with but was enjoying the game and a decent table of people.

After a few hands of restart started to get better cards and won a couple of hands where a few chips were in and got to about 15k. Eventually our table was split up and down to 24 players iw ent to table 1 seat 1 - hmmm i thought. Nw table with one of my table platyers came to asw ell wo was well chip stacked. Played tight and folded a lot and made one al in shout on pocket 8's against a sb and bb who both folded - which i was happy with - then did nothing for a while - got some better cards and raised to allin from a prior player, who then folded. Ny chip stack was hovvering around 20kish mark allowing for a few blinds folded. I foldd pocket 5's when a player had raised a decent amount and it was me to go and then three others - i folded the fives, the player next to me raised and the first to play went all in and was called - they showed pocket J's, pocket 7's so my fold was good - ho hum - the flop brings a five and would have won the hand - A wry smile to myself and a "well your still in it" thought. Carried on and had a few hits and got the chip stack up to 56k kncking out a couple on the way. Now that chip count of 56K was with 17 players left - 770k chips in play, 17 players - was doing slightky better tha average - BB4k SB 2K and 400 anti -

8 players on our table - three players i think had more chips than I - 1.30am - get pocket 10's - 1st palyer folds, next player raises to 14k next comes to me after others folded - i ponder a fold or an all in - i quickly discounted the call with two or three others left to play. My pondering took into account that I would ned chips in 30 minutes of a subsatntial size and maybe or maybe not i wold get a hand liek this in that time and the chip stack whittles away as the blinds and antis go up - so ALL IN i declared - "wow, i was going to call, but not now" came the SB and BB folded - teh raiser, " How many chips you got", i repleid "about 56k" and the dealer started counting "don't bother counting, my hand is too big to let go ad with about 5 more seconds he announced - call. He was one of the players ahead of me on chips - I showed pocket 10's ( his facial expression changed from confident to hmmm) he showed A,Q unsuited - I was actually quite happy with this as i was just hoping he had two over cars and not the J's or higher. I think I was slightly ahead and 100k chips would be bloody nice a that stage.

Flop 9,K,5 - ok thus far
Turn Q - bollix but still an out on a 10 or a Jack
river - nothing.

OMR - at that stage with the prize money down to 9th - did I do the right move as my motive was to double up at a very good chance time to give myself a best shot at 1st prize with 100k+ chips - call but fold on any bet after the flop if overcards or just simply have folded and keep the 56k safe until another better hand cropped up?

For my part and style of play - I made the exact right move and would do it again and agian again.

would you? I think you would. Should the guy who saw me have folded? I wouldn't have in his position - i think it was a great hand of poker. Didn't mind losing to that.

Bid them all good luck, a hand shake to my counterpart who one and an expensive jopurney home due to bus strikes in East London.

 

You ask should you have done it?

A lot depends on what you're trying to achieve in a Tournament.

In this case if you were seriously out to win it/finish in top three (as you were) .... you were correct - and I would have done the same thing!

However, I'll pitch you another scenario (that often plagues the not so well off player).

Take the exact same situation, but transfer to a bigger stage.

You're in a massive Comp with huge cash prizes - 21 left, 16 get paid - same 10 10.

Would your 'decision' be different ...... when 'laddering' up the prize levels could bring you untold riches?

(It's easy for the top pros - they're all sponsored, and their buy ins don't often come out of their own pockets - but for Joe Soap ..... it's a quandary!)

 

Cheers OMR - respect your time in assisting us novices with exceptionally good, solid and honest advice.

The bigger stage quandry question - My thougts on that are simply this for myself if I were playing - I would see what, who and and how I felt at that exact moment - saying one would do such and such in a certain situation is easy - the heat of the moment, the adrenalin the need to react quickly, fold or not give a way your hand too much - my answer is therefore - i would love to be in that position to answer you with what I actually did. Hopefully one day I can tell a happy story.

 

Well - I've been in the 'quandary tank' before .... it certainly crunches the grey matter.

First time; Nov 2006 in Singapore, Day 1 of the Betfair Asian Poker Tournament .... holding QQ a guy in early position had already gone all in, it was folded round to me on the button with SB BB behind me, still to act.

Insta call, you'd think!

Well no, having carefully observed the opponents for hours I had to enter the Think Tank.

This player had only gone all in twice ..... winning both times with AA, then KK.

There was five minutes till end of play on Day 1, and I used most of them in my pondering.

I decided this particular player wouldn't have made such a big move with a Big Ace (he was a rock - and this was a real poker competition .... not Late Night Phuqqin Poker!), and sure as hell he wouldn't have made the move with a pair of Jacks or downwards.

Rightly, or wrongly, I folded .... however, I made it through to Day 2 and went on to finish 30th and binned a prize of 6K.

The second time was in The Irish Open this year; very deep in the tournament I'd aggressively with 77 UTG, and it was folded round to a Skandie Phuqqwit in the BB who after a long think re-raised me.

Sensing danger, or possibly a squeeze play, I immediately shoved all in with all the confidence I could muster to really put the pressure on the Skandie Phuqqwit.

He went back into the tank, and dwelt for ages (I now know he hasn't got The Premiums -AA KK QQ - or he would have snap called .... I'm in with a good chance that Mr Skandie Phuqqwit will fold this hand, that he doesn't seem to fancy that much).

The longer he thinks, the more likely he is to bottle it and fold ..... he even asks me - with the most pained expression I've ever seen at a table - if I "had the Kings, or Queens?"

I smiled and replied, "get those chips in, and find out ...."

I've got him ..... or so I thought!

Eventually he reluctantly elects to call .... I wish he hadn't!

No race .... he turns over JJ.

After a teasing flop/turn giving me up and down possibilities to add to the unlikely trip 7 appearing, I'm out.

Out of a field of over 700 - packed with champion players from all over Europe, and WSOP bracelet holders from the US - I depart in 92nd ...... sixteen spots from where the money starts!

I'd played so well for two days against the great, and good ..... and had almost, almost, outplayed a top Swedish pro!

Do I regret the 'three bet' to nick an enormous pot I probably couldn't win without the 'semi-bluff' re-reraise?

No, not really ......

But yes, because I could probably have gone on to cash, if I hadn't ..... and (unlike most of the pros) I needed the phuqqin money!

 

This thread is great please keep the poker tales coming. I dont play poker ,as i dont get the chance, but i have found this thread very interesting.

 

Agreed.

 

Grosevnor Newcastle:

Sorted for my weekend - poker tour - uck the football

Address
100 St James Boulevard
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE1 4BN

T: 0191 260 3303

Friday No Limit Hold'em 130 £20 Double Chance Freezeout - 3500 + 3500 Chips - 8pm
Saturday No Limit Hold'em 130 £25 Double Chance Freezeout - 4000 + 4000 chips - 8pm


OMR - one question - what is the double chance? If its a freeze out - do you pay another £20 or £25 for the double chance or is it a chip thingy from original entry that if you lose your chips or go under a certain amount you get a further stack - kind of not being given all the chips at once becasue the naughty numpties will lose them all in, on first hand?

 

Double Chance .... it does what it says on the tin!

 

cheers.

 

Thursday night, and it was off to HQ for an excellent - if a little strange, in poker terms - tournament.

For £40 you get a starting stack of 4,000 chips, but for the first two levels - an hour in total - it's a rebuy comp (if you've done your bollox, or have 2k or less .... a bit 'double chancey PYA?) but the 4k rebuys are only twenty sovs, plus the option to add on 4k for another score at the end of the initial hour.

The comp is much loved by the 'better' players at HQ - a chance to gamble to build up a decent sized stack before the Freezeout begins at Level Three ..... whilst, more importantly, the prizefund grows at a pace.

It attracted 41 runners, creating a creditable prizepool of £3k odd, with a first prize of £1,120.

Also attracted were the SKY Poker crew, including Tikay's Babes.

Tony Kendall (the old fellah who presents The Poker Channel on the Dirty Digger's transmissions) is a lovely bloke - a very good poker player, who goes back years in the 'Live' scene - and loves to bring the SKY Poker TV team out (to actually learn the phuqqin game they're flogging - online - to the mugs with soppy dishes) to play live comps at real poker venues.

Particularly pleasing to the eye was one of the presenters Lisa Marie Long;




and the other SKY females weren't that shabby either .......... 'looks' certainly count for nothing on Telly!

At the beginning I had a pleasant young man sat to my right - Richard Orford - who turned out to be one of the 'bloke' presenters on Sky Poker, and further down were two good looking girls from the production team.

However to my left was this raving **** - who appeared to know all/all about these TV folk - who was getting up my nose from the off.

**** spent the first hour - loudly - discussing/quoting/dissecting hands from (on phuqqin line!) poker comps on the Sky site.

I soon gathered that **** - one of their online punters - was a 'pseudo-stalker type' that followed these 'celebrities' round, by studying their forums/Twittershitter blogs for their movements and then turns up to 'grace' them with his presence (lucky phuqqin them!) when they're trying to have a hasslefree night out (the average regular poker player wouldn't have a clue who's famous on TV .... mere Telly programmes clash with much more important things .... getting to a card game!).

Fair play to the TV mob, they engaged in his dull discussions without the slightest hint of intolerance .... I'd only met the fellah for five minutes, and I wanted to headbutt him!

Anyhow, Orford played a fairly good game - whilst **** kept up an irritating running commentary on every hand played .... whilst 'impressing' the whole table with his analysis of last week's progress in some phuqqin $10 tournament on the TV's online site.

I looked round the table, and there was 'knowing looks' from the regular suspects as the boring tirade went on, endlessly ..... this fellah was gonna come to a sticky end!

Boggy made good progress after the break - after rightly laying down the flopped, well bet, nuts to an alarming outdraw, come the river - and with a healthy stack, **** was firmly in the crosshairs.

Mr Orford - being a top poker pundit, ya know - then stepped up his game and tried to 'get sophisticated' .... wrong move sonny!

A gnarled, wizened, regular spanked his arse and sent him packing!

Later, looking down at 7 6 connectors in the BB, I chose to 'have a look' - for 1400 more - to ****'s UTG raise, with one caller, and see what the flop held.

Down came 6 5 4 rainbow - so I checked to the action.

**** bets 3k, caller flats - I choose to flat call as well .... the turn's a Jack (mmmmmmmm, not too scarey).

I check, **** goes all in for 6k, other bod folds, I snap call.

**** looks very pleased with himself showing 6 A (I'm outkicked, but have shedloads of outs).

A very pleasing 7 on the river sends **** spinning into a rage as he demands of me, "how can you call a bet of 6,000 there .... I never seen such awful play!"

I then explained - curteously - his total lack of understanding of the game, pointing out that (without knowing his hand) I had 8 outs for the up and down straight, plus 11 further outs to two pair/trips.

The 'educating' went further - as his jaw dropped further, and further - as I expained that the pot/implied odds dictated my action.

He looked further bemused at the maths - I'm sitting with 20k, faced with a 6k all in (I can call the bet and still have a playable stack) with 17k in the pot ..... basically 3/1 for my money!

Now I couldn't care less who I'm stuck next to, but this was one of the rare occasions I've thoroughly enjoyed outdrawing a total p r i c k.

They really don't realise how phuqqin silly they look 'advising' vastly experienced guys on their play, and haven't got the Life Skills to realise their folly.

Anyway enough of **** .... I ended up in the (small end) of the money, getting knocked out by the lovely Lisa (the pleasure was all mine!).

 

PMSL - after last night's Tourny, I had a look on the SKY poker forums (for the first time ..... MongCity) out of interest (I had a sneaking suspicion that their 'success' would be shared with the Flids that they 'cream off') .... and found the Crown Jewels of Spin.

https://www.skypoker.com/secure/pok...scussion:74246fe6-6473-429a-98fa-5176417abe32

Mmmmmmmmmmmm - superb advertising to the gullible dribblers that provide their online poker operation with such healthy profits.

Here's Lisa's report of the SKY Team's 'success' (with my added observations).

Re: Lisa does Luton!
posted at 27/11/2009 1:43 PM GMT on SkyPoker.com
LML Posts: 114
First: 14/10/2009
Last: 27/11/2009

Yes indeed that 'motivational chat' was just the kick up the bottom I needed.. At least after I dug deep and found the last remains of my self-respect and self confidence in tatters, dried up my tears.... and found that I had nowhere to go but UP! ..Er..Thanks for that Rich

It was a wee bit hairy at times... and the big stack gave up actually betting by declaring "I would make a min raise but I can't be bothered..So ALL-IN"!

My pal, Ian Wilmott.

But you know folks, when I found myself in times of trouble (ie I accidently 'donated' 99% of my chips to Tikay) I sat back, took a deep breath..and thought to myself that age old question that so many wise sage's have pondered before...'What would Orford do?" and it seemd to work because 'GET LUCKY' was the only possible answer.. hehe.

Ermmm - you called Ian's all in raise on the BB with pocket phuqqin Kings love .... so "'GET(TING) LUCKY' was the only possible answer" might be construed as a wee bit dramatic!

Talking of the Dark Lord himself .... After suffering a bad beat of the SICKEST kind (at least that's what HE said!).. He went on to a cash game where he managed to Steam roll pretty much everyone and ensure that this years Orford Family Christmas would be an event to remember..Or at least wouldn't have to be cancelled entirely

Sorry Lisa, love - but he just about got his money back for his tournament entry .... a lad called Alan Gray from Stevenage won all the big money ... I can only presume the 'Orford Family Christmas' is usually a very frugal affair!

An awesome night.. and we did indeed OWN Luton (Which I'm sure means they'll think twice before letting us through the door next next time!).

OWN? .... The Sky Mob constituted about 25% of the field last night - there were so many of them - three made the Final Nine (all of them low stacks, hanging on for dear life, and with no real chance, nor desire, of actually winning it) .... getting a 4th place, and an 8th spot (only 7 were getting paid so the rest of us players 'created' a sixty quid prize for the bubble, because we felt sorry for the nervous girlies).

In fact The SKY Team 'owned' the tournament that well that they took £530 away - between them - out of a prizepool over over three grand (25% of the entrants won 15% of the money .... sorry Leeeeeeeesa but your lot took home less than they'd even put in the pot!

We wuz sure 'owned'!

Huge thanks to a GLOWINGLY PROUD Tikay for a good old fashioned night out..and a fair bit of nudging, smiling, railing etc etc..although this may because he OWNED a piece of the action..lol!!

T K (who went out in 9th - no money - was clever enough (?) to have had shares in all his 'proteges' ..... poor old Lisa obviously doesn't do Maths though, as his 'shares' didn't cover his expenditure!

3 final tablists and a seriously cashed up 4th!!

Very interesting reading though .... they (beautifully) 'spun' a 'successful night out' to the nodding SKY punters/donkeys - who actually believe the bullockpoo.

The true version of the events (dear Lisa's clever enough to gloss over to her 'market sensitive' audience) ran like this;

My pal Ian starts FT with over 150k (one third of the chips in play ... bang on favourite) - with about 12 pints of Snakebite down him - and smashed the Finalists to smithereens, using his massive chipstack with admirable aggression.

I was going to post on their Forum, and ask "with three wonderful SKY players at the FT, how come a complete drunkard pissed all over you? (almost literally).

But I don't think it would have gone down too well .... amongst all the celebrations.

 

Free money on the net.

For all those who love a bit of poker but - for whatever reason - don't have the bankroll, have a little look on Pokerstars for a 'delicious' promotion that might be right up your street.

http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/promotions/500-depositor-freerolls/

For a small cash deposit - in my case I bunged them a tenner's worth (which you can always withdraw once the Finals are concluded) .... just about all online poker's worth - (and remember to include the bonus code FIRST500K) I was let loose!

Nastily, the first stage freerolls have huge entry fields - up to 10,000 players! - but are as soft as s h i t .... they also have free prize money (from $1 to £200) up for grabs.

If you finish in the top 500, you get a ticket for one of 8 'Final' freerolls on Dec 13th .... hardly that difficult, the fields really are of a pretty poor standard!

Each of these Finals has a prizepool of between $10 to $2,000 ..... now that's what I call 'freebie' dosh!

Plus .... you can actually qualify for more than one!

Now, even though I'm no great lover of the online bollox, when there's - potentially - 8 x $2k ($16K in first prizes on offer), without having to put my hard earnt in jeopardy, those sort of odds floats my boat.

They're running one of the first stage comps about every fours ..... (so sneak down while the missus is in bed, for a dabble).

I've already binked two Final spots .... just another six to complete the set!

So if you fancy a shot at some decent pots for sweet phuqq all, fill yer boots!

 

Will do, thanks for that.

Here's a question I've been meaning to ask you or PYA. The last 2 times I've played a tournament I've found myself chip leader in the middle stages, and one of those two I was chip leader by some distance. Both times I've sat there and protected my stack, not wanting to undo my good early work / luck. All this has achieved was letting myself get caught up again by everyone else, and both times I finished outside the money. In fact, if I think back, my best games have been coming from a relatively low stack and going a bit gung ho because there was no choice. I understand the need to bully the table with the stack, but I just don't want to throw away the hard work because Mr 72 unsuited gets lucky.

I've seen players with big leads go on and further their lead, and I've seen others blow all the good work in 2 hands. So what sort of strategy would you use if leading or doing very well in a tournament with a lot of players still left in?

 

Yup, a real puzzler - I've also suffered the same fate in the past.

There's bullying 'incorrectly', and there's bullying 'with a plan' (all very Baldrick).

Position is the key ....

Many players can use a big stack well .... most can't (mainly because they really don't understand the importance of Position)!

The ones that phuqq it up often use their 'might' badly through poor use of Position, when trying to be aggressive/apply pressure.

It's actually quite simple really (a bit like some poker players), and easy to put into action!

Always assess how far your bet/raise has to go round the Table, relative to it's strength.

Any fool can raise with AA/KK, it's a different matter with A 10 off suit!

If you're in early position (UTG etc), just think to yourself, "how likely is it that this bet - with this hand (A 10) - will get round 8/9 players without getting 'looked up'"?

The odds ain't great ....

However - If you're in late position (the Cut Off/the Button etc), again think to yourself, "how likely is it that this bet - with this hand (A 10) - will get through the 2/3 remaining players?

The odds are good ....

Get the bet sizes right - make it expensive, but don't over-commit .... you really don't want to be 'pot committed' by an overbet if an opponent re-raises all in (you want to be able to get away from it, if needs be).

Think of the Table in zones.

Your area of operations (on a 9/10 handed table) should be the 3/4/5 positions to your left (preferrably when they're on the blinds) - these are where you concentrate your fire power .... when you are on the blinds your hand strength will - obviously - dictate your action/play.

The 'other zone' - positions 5/6 back round to you - is the dangerous ground for you with marginal/'pretty' raising hands .... best stormed only with Premium Hands.

Play the right zone hard - and you will progress.

 

OMR, any idea how Akenhead got on last night? He was chip leader four handed just before I went out.

 

He won it mate - one phuqqin successful year for a guy of only 26 ..... WSOP Europe Final table, WSOP Las Vegas Final table and winning the Poker Million!

He's wealthy enough now to do his own 'staking' without having to rely on Neil Channing to supplement his inability to afford his tournament buyins!

Still, it worked out nicely for Neil as he has had large chunks of the prize money through James (and several other winners recently) by sponsoring the young up and coming stars.

 

I got pocket kings, first hand after break (3 tables 27 players left - possible pay out down to 6th but hadn't seen confirmation) - Me 13k chips ( slightly less than average I thinkl. Small Blind (150) Big Blind (300 - no antis) were straight after me. So folds up to a guy who raised to 750, folds to me who then puts in 4k ( my thinking is he has an Ace, so let hm pay to see the flop) of my chips. SB goes all in with 20k plus chips, bb folds - first bet folds -

Do I call or fold?
Call, becasue i have pocket K's, committed a third of my chips and highly suspect one ace has been folded already and a race at this strage will see my stack healthy for the next couple of sessions and allow me to play.

Fold - becasue it is the first hand after the break, a player who's stack is higher than mine has gone all in - surely not bluffing or pushing, at what level of cards do i think I am playing against - pocket Q's or Aces, A,K, unlikely he has pocket K's as well but not impossible of course.

A bit of table history about the player who went all in - played loose in first session ( to his own admission as we walked out at the break). I had three wins early on against him, when he was bluffing on two and got beat by the better playable hand on the third. A couple of hands i wasn't in when there were other players he showed just a playable hand not mega and was lucky one or two hands.

 

Even more reasons to 'shove it right up him'!

If you go on to tell me you folded here, I'll be forced to cull a London Bear (in the most painful way possible) .....

 

Indeed i did "shove em all in with screech marks" all over them and good luck to him, he had pocket A's and I went home by TRAIN!

 

Good man ..... the cards 'played themselves'!

You just simply can't get away from the situation!

(The only time a fold might be considered is - if - you were in a huge paying major Tournament, you were on the 'Bubble' .... and you needed to make sure of a cash for bankroll reasons)

 

Good on him. As you say, an incredible year for him!

 

A good result for a Herts lad, I know - Stevie Spring - in the GUKPT Champion of Champions Event over at Luton today ..... 3rd spot netting £10k.

 

OMR - tactics advice and general play

Mentioned the other week about the £200 freeze out down in the Rendez in Brighton - well it is this Friday and still looks like I will go, but may decide to stay at home venue in Marble Arch.

Anyways - what stage strategy would you recommend in a freeze out.

I imagine it was even more important to check out the opposition for the loose players. But on that point the loose players and players trying to nick early chips could be vulnerable to be picked off.

The need to increase chip stack is probably less important over the first few stages as staying in is of utmost importance with no rebuys - I will be folding hands that in rebuys I would have checked the flop etc, is that sensible or too tight?

If by chance I get to the latter stages - any tips?