blonde poker forum

After the long qualifying campaign through the Poker Player magazine/Betfair freeroll league, I somehow managed to finish in a high enough position to make the GRAND FINAL which saw the top 50 players in the league and 4 staff from Poker player magazine Take their seats at Big Slick poker room in Purley.

The day started with me getting a train from Colchester into London , tube to Victoria,train from Victoria to east Croydon and then finally a tram to the travel inn where i would eventually get a couple of hours kip sometime later :) ....

I get numerous calls from Flushy who was on his way to meet me to do some railing duties ... Most of them consisted of "Mug, where are ya, where is the travel inn, where do I go now, what station do i need, etc etc .... eventually he turns up at the Travel inn and we set off in a cab to the venue.

Big slick poker club is hidden away in a business centre and as we queued up to register we got our first view of what was actually a quite impressive place, nicely kitted out and tastefully decorated, Completely NON SMOKING, they dont even have a ciggy machine... I spose thats a good thing, but smokers are looked after with a covered smoking area outside with tables and chairs in a private courtyard.

I draw a seat on table "Bellagio"  (All the tables are named after casinos in vegas) and before I know it the announcement comes ...."SHUFFLE UP AND DEAL".

I look around my table and take a bit of time to study everyone closely, It didnt take me too long to work out which players had played live before and which ones were experiencing live poker for the first time .... I also spot the guy with the WSOP cap and T-Shirt on.... and figure him to be the one that will make the early moves and take advantage of the tight opening exchanges... I wasnt wrong !!
He must have raised 7 of the first 10 pots, taking down 6 without any resistance, I decided to sit back and find an opportunity to trap him, while looking to find a spot to gather some early chips myself.

We started with 2,500 in chips and the blinds were 25/50 with a 30 minute clock.
The first hand i played cost me 400 chips, I raised to 200 with  Ahrt Js in mid position and got 2 callers, we saw a flop of  8s 2h 7d and i fire in a continuation bet of 200 ... pass and a call .. turn brings  Qh and i check ... matey fires in a bet of 500 and i pass, he shows pocket 2's for a set and I thank my lucky stars that the turn wasnt an Ace or a Jack.

I wasnt picking up anything at this point and kept my stack stable by stealing the blinds every now and then...
One guy at the table, a welsh guy had taken 2 people out by the time we reached the 100/200 level ... one of them with  9h 9d v Kh Ks on a  9s Qc 3h flop so he had plenty of chips .. I had built my stack to just over 3k by taking small pots and not doing anything tricky.

Then the key hand happened, blinds had just gone to 150/300 and I am BB ..  the Welsh guy with all the chips min raises to 600 all pass to me and i look down to see  Aspades Js I flat call his raise and we see a flop of Jd Jh 3d BINGO I think and check to him .... he fires out for another 600 and I flat call again praying that I dont see a diamond ... turn brings  7c  and I check again, this time he checks behind me and the river is the  Ac giving me the full house ... I cant check to him becuse I think he will check behind me and i wanna get paid here, so i make a bet of 600 praying that he will think its weak and hoping that he has AK and will re raise me .... I am not dissapointed :) he insta re raises me all in and taps the table when i show my full house to his AK.

A nice double up and im right back in the mix now, from there I maintained an average stack as players were starting to fall out with regularity, I didnt do anything tricky, I was playing ABC stuff with only the occasional sb v BB steal.

Flushy was constantly keeping tabs on me from the STT tables he was cleaning up on, he was also on his 12th double vodka and redbull .. good man :)
Before i know it tables are broken and we are down to the last 2 tables.

I take a small hit a couple of times on this table short stacks are pushing in and I lose with AK v A9 .... and AK v K8  but also take down a few small pots to keep my stack at average .... it wasnt long before i got my revenge on the A9 player, Mr Dacey from poker player ... I got all his chips when i turned a flush to his top pair, winning me the bounty of a betfair chipset ... which i promised to Flushy.

Down to 12 players now and this is where my game is weak, Im not aggressive enough in these situations and I rely on other people making mistakes and letting the big stacks take out the others, but i was just above average chips and somehow managed to make the final table of 9 with under average and just about the shortest stack.

This is where coach Flushy earned his free bed for the night, we went outside for a smoke during the pre final break and he sat with me and talked to me about finding a spot to make a move while i still had enough chips to force a pass, He also helped me to calm my nerves and reminded me that the others were probably as nervous as me and that no one wants to be the first one out of the final.

The final itself was a blur, not just because of the 15 bottles of becks that I had necked during the evening, but the nerves and pumping adrenaline were awesome, I couldnt help but think what players that i had so often railed in big big payout events felt in these situations, The buzz is incredible !!
We lose a player and are 8 handed when I make my first move, Serial raiser raises from early position and it passes to me in the SB, I look down at  Qh 7h and decide that this was it .... RERAISE all in !! BB and UTG pass and serial raiser goes into the tank .... I was absolutely cakking myself but managed to keep it together externally, I think i managed to contain my relief when he finally passed and I had added a few chips to my stack.

Another player goes and we are down to 7 I am still shortest on the table and looking for a spot to double up or die.

I didnt have to wait too long .. Im on the button and it folds to me, i look at one card and it is the  Ac no point looking at the other one I think, and announce ALL IN !!

I look over at the SB and he insta calls my all in which leaves him with about 6000 chips, then the BB also calls (he is chip leader) so still betting on the side and i look around to Flushy who is stood right behind me, he puts his hand on my shoulder and wishes me good luck .... the flop comes   5c 9c 4c  .... what a dream flop for me I think, Ive only looked at 1 card so I know I have a real chance here.....
SB checks and BB announces all in ... SB passes and BB turns over  Tc Ts I pray that i have another club with my  Ac and turn the other card ... F**K ME its the  Ahrt !! I dont know what hit the river, but it wasnt a 10 and I had trebled up, the dream was still alive.

Down to 5 players and another key moment, the Loudest player at the table was now short and SB to my BB passed round to him and he pushes , its about a 5th of my stack to call and I look down to see Kh 8s ... I have a bit off a dwell and gobby starts with all the speech play, "come on.. call me i need to double up", and then starts going on about how he wants to go to stringfellows and he will take me with him if i call .... I keep calm and look at my cards one more time and say CALL !!  a big cheer goes up from the rail and he immediately starts saying Noooooooo you cant call as he flips over  Td 5d  a King on the flop sends him packing in 5th and im down to the last 4 !!

I cant remember how the other 2 went out but before I know it I am HEADS UP and we break for 5 minutes.
Flushy is now like a corner man in a boxing match, we go outside and he is pumping me up, telling me that weve got it now, we can do it ... and advising me that i need to not let him run over me ... I need to make a stand against a very aggressive player, but be strong and take your chnaces.

We sit down for the battle and the chip count puts him in the lead by about 60-40 I have to admit to being outplayed here, he battered me for a few hands and got up to about a 3/1 chip lead, I had had enough and Flushys words came back to me ... be strong, be aggressive, take the initiative away from him ... I decided that i was either gonna win it or go out fighting, i wasnt going to just whimper out by passing all the time .... He raised as expected and I pushed all in with garbage... he passed. I sensed that this was my time ... I look down at  Ahrt 5h and push all my chips in, he insta calls and turns  Ac Td  We both stand up and the rail close in on the table as the flop is dealt .... First card out is  5s and nothing else drops ... I have got lucky and double up, i now have the chip lead and the VERY next hand I flat call his raise with  3s 4s the flop comes  Aspades 9c 6s He bets out and I push all in ... He thinks for about 20 seconds and calls .... All his chips are in now ,, and he turns 3c  9h  I flip my flush draw and the crowd are all oooohing and craning over the table as the dealer stacks the chips and positions our hole cards to deal the turn ... I wish my oponent good luck and we shake hands, I look at flushy and whisper to him "Just one spade, just this once" he whispers back "Its coming son, dont worry" .... Its like slow motion as the dealer reveals the turn..... its the  Ts and my oppo is drawing dead ..... I cant believe it .... the crowd start clapping and cheering and flushy is the first person to grab hold of me and give me a great big bear hug while telling me im a jammy b*stard and a luck box :D  everyone is shaking hands with me and my oponent is very generously wishing me well and we have a few seconds to chat and it was all surreal ... I was sooooo elated at winning, yet felt bad for a guy that i had never met before and It was a strange mix of emotions.

I then get called up to receive the trophy and I still cant believe what has happened, I actually started to get quite emotional, whether it was just the release of the pressure that had built up, or just the fact that im a big soft lump, I dont know, But I was filling up and had to go outside for a smoke and a brether to compose myself a bit ... Flushy was almost as excited as me, and I have to thank him for his help and advice ..... he was first class.

So there you have it , Im off to singapore for a $5000 buy in comp .... WTF is that all about ? the biggest buy in comp i have ever played is a £150 event at Blackpool, And now im off to the far east to play in a comp that has Phil Ivey in it .... Surreal.

Thanks to everyone for their warm congratulations messages, it was really touching and meant a lot to me.

I cant wait for the trip and still cant believe i am going ..... I just hope that this dream might be a 2 parter .... and the best is yet to come .... ;)

what a great report...and well done Flushy too.

Well done and good luck in Singapore.

Well done and a great report. Go on and win it now.

great report well done big man

AAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

Nice one KIv 8)

Another good trip report from you Kev!

However it may be wrong so say i was cleaning up in the SNG's, the bar yes, the poker no. Apperntly the all in every hand tactic doesnt work aswell as it does on the $0.10 turbos!


That squeeze with the Ac was the most exciting squeeze of my life, lol. I couldn't believe the Ace of hearts popped in! Happy days!

Best of luck in Singapore, and you can ladder up all you want there mate!

had tears in my eyes reading this, well done big man ;applause; :)up

Great report, but this bit puzzled me....


Are you trying to tell us that this wasn't you?

Sheriff

Great report and very well played Sir. Imagine sitting next to Ivey in Singapore and stealing his blinds! Its a no lose situation as long as you enjoy the trip,I hope you have the very best of times.

Excellent result, really enjoyed reading it.

awesome report Kev, made up for you

A wonderful read, Kev, and great play - well done! Savour every moment of your Singapore poker-playing experience.

Well played. ;applause; ;applause;...enjoy the trip and the Singapore Slings :P

great report Kev.  Still double chuffed for you :)

Kev's qualification for this was always inevitable.

The main road in Singapore is the Pan Island Expressway, or PIE, for short.

Kev obviously heard someone talking about the 'huge PIE' in Singapore and it galvanised him to play his top game to win. :)

Fantastic report Kev, top man, you deserve it, ....more fun & adventures await in Singapore, all the luck in the world  ;hattip;

well done,great report kev.

Feck Me Kev, No more trip reports like that one mate. I'm sitting here on the settee blubbering.

You're ruining my street cred!!

Well done Kev, nice result. What sort of pies do you get for making the final table in a $5K buy-in event?

same as you red lol you dewi and me must be real big softies lol

the bit where kev whispers to flushy just one spade and flushy replies dont worry son its coming..........brought lump to my throat and fantastic moment transfered to the written form by kev.

ironic that kev wins with a flush after being railled by flushy all nite.

we all wind the hell out of kev and he gives more tha he gets but you can tell by this forum how loved and how highly he is thought of and the joy felt by members for kevs win is truely amazing.

and hats off to flushy another top guy who takes the banter in the greatest spirit and was there on the rail with support and advice when a fellow blondite needed it.

blonde poker forum simply the best!

Love it!!
Well done MUGLY!
I didn't even mind being woken by the text updates at stupid o'clock ( i had to be up for work at 5.30am :D), awesome.

Great report Kev, and the very best of luck in Singapore.  Well done for mentoring Flushy.  Is Kev bringing you to Singapore too  :D

Me Too. 


Great report Kev it actually felt like i was there with you. I am so pleased for you it could not have happened to a nicer bloke. Enjoy the ride now, for sure you have earned it.

To Flushy, thanks for representing all us Blonde railbirds that would have given anything to be there for Kev. 

XXXX

:goodpost: ;iagree;

Me Too!! Fecking chuffed for you Kev!!!

I'm another sucker for these tear-jerkers too  :'(

Nice story Kev, it's not April 1st is it ?

Great stuff Kev, hopefully see you over in Singapore  8)

Flipping eck Kev - just read this - really chuffed for you mate  - bet you can't believe it. Well done ;-)

There is a God after all,well done Kev cant wait for the Singapore report (me and Ivey heads up he goes all in i look down at my stack i cover him now my cards the first one is the ace of spades please lord the second is                      ) :D

Fantastic report.

Well done Kev - what a star!!

and

Well done Flushy, you should get yer butt to Singapore with him - don't wreck the dream team!!

T
xx

Sorry missed this thread just want to say nice one and see you there!

Delete my thread if u want.

We shall see, the 'problem' is i am off to Vegas straight after and it would mean a bitch of a journey!

Just get a round the world ticket and kill two birds with one stone. 

Kev, you jammy fish!

Seriously, well done mate, can't wait for the Singapore trip report, you just know its gonna be cracker  8)

and?   lol

get away with you, if you were as old as Tikay then I'd worry, but you're not!!

I have already bought my London > Vegas ticket. Also when i checked online Singapore>Vegas routes go through London anyway.

Too bad - you can get a good price on a LHR - SIN - Vegas via LAX - LHR ticket traveling East all the way.  Also, have you considered winning a seat on Betfair?

How much is that ticket?

I might give it a bash, anyone know the sat structure?

Best check with a travel agent but I would guess around £1,400.  From what I have seen the best value on Betfair is the Thursday final where they guarantee an extra seat.  They have plenty of satellites into this.  I do not remember the structure but from playing in it I did not find it too bad.  I expect they will offer some aggressive promotions though, there are not too many people who have qualified.

Yeah sorry i don't mean the clock and chips i just mean the sats themselves, buyins etc.

Thursday you say, will give it a bash

It's ok i got of my lazy ass, lol.


For anyone else who wants to know there is a $250 sat on Thursdays and Sundays at 19:30 1 packaged for each 32 runners, thursdays is 1 added, Sunday is 1 g'td

Don't know if this link has been posted yet?

http://www.pokerplayermagazine.co.uk/pokerlife/pokernews/1450/betfair_grand_prix_final_results.html

Excellent report and Excellent news Kev. Really chuffed for you mate.

 

well done mate

Thanks all, I didnt think the emotion would transfer into the report ... i was obviously wrong.

Im still on cloud 9 ;)

The mug just railed me to a 4th place, after a couple of beats, he is clearly an inferior railer......or a better player!

Fantastic report, fantastic performance!! ;letsparty;

Really chuffed for you, well done Kev!!   ;sexybanana;

Just found a few pics ..... not sure what i was doing in the first one :)

the Second one is great, it was taken as the  Ts dropped on the turn ... and Flushy was on hand to witness it.

Can't fabricate cheesy grins like that.  :)up

The 3rd one is a gormless looking bloke in total shock getting the trophy ;)

sigh........can we have a "Colchester Kev wins something" child board please?

LOL GFY !!   

You told me to post the pics !!

Not THOSE pics  8)

Wow, just read this. Great trip report Kev... reading that was like watching a film that you've already seen, we all know you won it but reading it you're still shouting at the screen "comon the spade!" Emotional stuff. Absolutely chuffed for you Kev x

PMSL

Kev,
Have you got past the "this feels surreal, as if it's not really me that won" stage yet?

take it as a compliment Kev.  ifm is obviously expecting you to win so many things that reports of your victories could fill a whole child board :D

to be honest . . No not yet, I dont think it will really sink in until im sat at the airport waiting to board a flight to Singapore.

Ive been to so many big events with friends, EPT,s Irish Opens, Vegas etc.... but always as a railer..... This time its me thats going to be sitting at the table, and having never played a comp with a buy in over £150 quid ... you can see why im finding it hard to get my head around this.

Of course when i sat down at the qualifying tournament I really wanted to win, I never honestly expected to though, and at the final table it was like i was on auto pilot ... it all seemed to fly past and before i knew it I was getting the trophy.

Probably seems a bit naff to those that I have railed so many times, and who have won 6 figure sums in comps, But that feeling of sheer euphoria and disbelief and shock when you actually win is unbelievable It is a pure adrenaline rush and certainly a feeling that im glad to have experienced and I will certainly never forget it.

And the oscar goes too....

Well done you big Cod!

Now go win it!

Had a crack at the sat tonight, 39 runners. Was in 4th place with 39 left when i got AJ in on a JT5 flop for a 9k pot (average 3k) with AJ vs J8, it was not to be!

Would have been nice to be average for the final with 30 left, always next time!

A bit belated Kev, but god I am so chuffed for you.  How deserved is your win considering all the support you have given others in the past.  Sit at the table and enjoy every second of it mate  :kiss:

Post of the year :D

Amazing stuff and a massive congratulations to you Kev, really great I'm really pleased for you :)

Great post Kev.

An excellent read and a top result for a top bloke.

 :respect:

great report when u r in singapore make sure you have afternoon tea at raffles it is well worth it

Quality report Kev, congratulations on the win. 

How do Bongo and Nakor feel about being replaced by Flushy??

The day you lose this feeling when you win a tournament - whether its a $1 turbo tourney or a $10000 WSOP main event is the day you should give up poker.

Its one of the main reasons why most poker players continue to play - because they want to experience it again and again and again.

(well this monkey does anyway!  :D)

 ;goodluck; in Singapore squire :)up

superb report and outstanding performance kev. glad i was unavailable to rail you mate as it meant you could have flushys support and advice which i am sure was a great help to you.





 ;applause; ;applause; :cheers:

I've just returned from my weeks break, to come upon this fabulous thread, My heartfelt congratulations go to you M8.

Your trip report was really from the heart, from a true gent of the blonde family.

Good luck in Singapore.........................you deserve it. 8)

Unbelievable, and a tear-jerker. Kev, we love you.

For Kev, of ALL people, to win this, is some sort of poetic justice. The geezer has railed so many of us, Online & Live, night & Day, & now he's gone & made the big time.

"just this once".....wow. Kudos to Flushy, too.

How lucky are blonde to have guys like Kev around?

He is a legend, he has been railing me all week online aswell. I dunno it makes me feel better when i know i have an aaayyaaarrr coming if i do something good! Well after i made a bad call this aftenoon in a comp 6 handed he kept my head in it, i was saying stuff like "damn win that pot and its mine" etc, he just said "it still is concentrate" etc and sure enough i came out on top for just over 2k, cheers m8!!!

Just dont win too much out there, we cant lose you on the rail!