blonde poker forum

I haven’t found much time for playing poker recently. The last tournament I bought into was at the Broadway back in December. I played a media satellite for the Irish Open, but that was a freebie. I’ve been going full throttle with blonde so far this year, as I convinced myself I would. The Main Site, Live Updates, blondepedia – it’s all heavy going and has left me with no time to play. However, for those who recall my Dog’s Life thread, I still have a passion for poker, and so, after an exhausting four weeks in Vegas, promised myself that I would play more upon return. Hence, my five day poker binge…

Binge Day 1 – Grosvenor Walsall

Initially, it was my Nan’s funeral that lured me back to Brum. She was 97 and on her way out, but was finished off by one of those hospital viruses. At her age, she had no chance, and died a rather miserable death. My Dad keeps bringing up the issue, as you’d expect him to, but the truth is that her clock had reached the 13th hour and was running on borrowed time. It’s just a shame that it wasn’t a more peaceful passing.

I’d never been to a funeral before. For some reason, I assumed that there would be a burial, but it was cremation. My Dad told me to wear what I wanted, but when I arrived in casual clothes, everyone was sooted and booted, so I felt a bit disrespectful.

The ceremony was odd. Everyone was squished into one side of the chapel and a priest who never knew my Nan started the proceedings. He probably does about three of these a day, so what he vomited out sounded like routine and would have been best omitted. Unfortunately, there was little alternative, as nobody felt they had it in them to say anything.

My Dad stepped up to the plate though. The youngest of six kids, he took the responsibility like the hero he is and prepared a speech. Trembling at the podium as he hastily read out his thoughts, it was a painful experience. There were times when he stumbled, forgot a full stop or hesitated as he regained his composure, but he made it through to the end, like I knew he would. Uncomfortable viewing, but I was proud of him.

All the while, the coffin lingered in the background on a raised area of the floor as if awaiting its fate. A couple of times we were obliged to sing hymns, which I hated. They’re long, boring and didn’t seem particularly appropriate. All hymns sound the same to me, and people just pray for them to end so they can stop singing. I think most people mime, or whisper the words, but there’s always one Auntie that bellows like an Opera singer. But why does she always have to be standing next to me?

Finally, the priest closed proceedings by rattling off a few more generic words replacing the name ‘Connie’ in the appropriate spots and pulling closed the curtain like the end of a theatrical performance. My Dad shouted out “Bye mum” and that was that, another life gone, but not forgotten.

My Nan was an intriguing lady. A real people person who would invite people in off the street and chat to strangers at the bus stop. Mad as a hatter in her final years, but always asking, “I’ve made a difference, haven’t I?” Well, 6 children, about 25 grandchildren and God knows how many great randchildren – like my Dad said in his eulogy, “you don’t have to climb Everest to make a difference.”

If there’s one thing I’ll remember, it’s the emphasis on her age. Right up to her death, she was intent on telling all and sundry how old she was. She couldn’t remember who I was unless reminded, but she could remember her age as clear as day, although she kept adding a year on. Apparently, she was 98 when she died, not 97 like we and and her birth certificate had foolishly concluded. It’s like she engraved tally marks on the wall of her mind and totted them up every day. Quite remarkable what our conscious chooses to remember.

[Poker bit to come later...]

Nanna RIP, thanks for sharing that Snoops.

This may sound strange Snoops, but imho that is the best thing you have ever written.

My condolences to you, my respect to your Dad.

Agree. I love to read about the non-poker aspect of pokerists, & that was a very touching Post

Very poingent and moving piece of writing, my condolences.

i can relate to a lot of that, nice post snoops.

Had to go away from the computer for a bit after reading that one.  Very touching post.  Hugs to you, your Dad and the rest of the family.  Rest in peace Nan.

Well written snoop i actually enjoyed reading this, RIP to your nan.

They hymn bit made me chuckle i have to admit :x

I loath funerals especially cremations, when you walk out of the side door at the end into the little courtyard bit at Sutton where the flowers are laid out you see the families of the previous service there, makes me feel so sad that it really is just business.
You actually reminded me of my dad there adam, he was a softly spoken proud man that stepped up at his mothers funeral for the eulogy much to everyones amazement.
Oddly he never had a drivers license till he had to when he was around mid 40's and discovered from his birth certificate that he was 2 days out on his birthdate!!!

Condolences

That's exactly how it happened for me, I didn't know the side bit with the flowers was the same everywhere. I personally didn't like the fact that my Nan's selection of flowers and her personal memorial was just one of many in the courtyard. Like you said, it's just business to many.

Whilst in the Midlands, I thought why not make a return to the tournament felt and head down to Walsall. It’s not my favourite venue in the world, but it does the job, and Dani and Zak are always nice to me when I pop down.

Before I left, I played a session of heads up online cash. It was rather brief though. I sat down with $400 and said what I always say at the start of a session: “Focus, play tight, and just get a feel of your opponent first.” First hand I bluffed T-7s on a rag-rag-rag-A-rag board, firing barrels on every street including one pre-flop. Crikey, I’m starting to sound like Blue Scouse!

This put him down to a third of his stack, and moments later he was broke. He scarpered and I picked up my $609 and said thank you very much. Not bad for 5 minutes work and pays for my trip down the M6.

Set out early for Walsall. I’m always worried, the motorways are forever changing and I wouldn’t be surprised to see cones on my exit and a sign diverting me to the North Pole and back.

I reckon I can predict the outcome of tournaments from my journey there. If I dordle in the slow lane then I’m relaxed, but clearly daydreaming and not as focused as I should be. If I’m whizzing along in the fast lane, then I’m probably a little too uptight or angry to be playing my A-game. If I’m spending most of my time in the middle lane, however, then I’m in a good frame of mind and always seem to fair better. Of course, the correlation between lane selection and tournament performance is slightly unproven and doesn’t take into account luck, but I’d left my radio in the boot, so I had to keep my mind occupied somehow.

I was met by Liz at the door, a truly wonderful character and one that can brighten up anyone’s day. Mad as a box of monkeys and loud as a gong, but a star nonetheless. If you ever want proof of opposites attracting, then check out Zak and Liz. I’m sure Zak wheres the trousers in that relationship, and has Liz’s permission to say so.

Inside looked no different, except for the smoke. I could actually see the other side of the room and my eyes no longer stung. I’m all for this ban, I hate going home with smoky clothes, no one wants to do the washing after one outing, and why should we? True, the cardroom never permitted smoking, but people used to stand on the rail and let the smoke drift over, which, if you were on a table adjacent to the rail, was doubly worse.

They reckon that as the weather worsens, numbers might decrease due to people not want to stand in the rain smoking. This might be a problem with the bingo halls, but I can’t see that happening at the local casinos. Most of these guys are tobacco AND poker addicts and would smoke knee deep in poo if they had to.

The players at Walsall were mostly unknowns, which puzzled me. Jon Hewston, Ben Callinan, Darshan Sami, Andy Johnson and Satnam Sandu were there, but that was about it, the rest were unfamiliar. Oh, Alan Geddes was a surprise entrant. More familiar to the Luton clan, he’s moved up to the Midlands to be closer to his kids. He’s still single though and can play every day if he wants, which is pretty much what he’s doing. Was Tony Blair’s tennis coach, according to tikay and Tighty, but I still suspect they’re pulling my leg.

£30 freezeout, well, one rebuy, around 60 players. I don’t like to bang on about too many hands unless they’re mind blowingly interesting (which they normally aren’t), but what I will say is that the standard made me look like a Stephen Hawking on a good day. People were playing it like a multiple rebuy, and genuinely seemed slightly miffed when they used up both their 1.5k stacks after 5 minutes with rag aces and crappy flush draws. I stumbled into a bad beat for my first lot, and then raised to 400 with tens with the second to take the blinds or single out one opponent. 5 people (!) decided to call and nothing came. I did get lucky though, moving in from the big blind for my last 800 with A-5 after everyone had limped for 100. Didn’t expect K-3 and A-7 to call. Lucky I hit my quad fives then.

Took another bad beat and was down to 100 in the freezeout stage, but we’ve all heard the napkin story and the tired, old ‘chip and chair’ phrase. Well, it rang true here, I doubled up to 400, then 1.2k, then 2.5k… right up to 18k. At this point, it wasn’t about making the final, just winning so I could tell the grandkids I won with one chip. Might I just clarify that I don’t have any grandkids at the moment, I was making a future reference. Not to say that I want grandkids, Dana, just that… oh, forget it.

I guess several months away from the table can’t fend off at least a little ring rust. Alan Geddes limped under the gun and I checked the big blind. 9-9-7 Flop, check, check, Turn Ace. He bet 2k, I called, River Rag. He quickly slid in 6k to leave me with shrapnel if I called. I’d smooth called the Turn to induce a bluff on the River, but for some reason I second-guessed myself and folded my Ace-5. Don’t ask why, I guess I wasn’t sure in the end and knew I was still in good shape if I folded. He showed J-To for the bluff and I was left to rue my mistake. I knew he was at it, I should have called, there are very few strong hands he could have had. “You made me sweat there,” he added after proudly showing the bluff. I let him off the hook in this incident, good poker face, mind, looked like he was waiting for a bus.

Down, but not out, I crawled onto the final table with mainly low denomination chips, but was to soon suffer my demise. Getting low, I pushed from the button with K-Js (even though Alan had flat-called under the gun with Sevens), only to fall head first into a world of poo with Andy Johnson moving all-in behind me. His A-K held up and I was gone in 8th for £90. Paid for my night and I was glad to make the final after so long out (especially from just one chip), but disappointed not to win. I play every comp for first, so anything else is rather unsatisfactory.

Like Gary Glitter said (although not for a while now), it’s good to be back, and he’s not wrong. It was only a £30 event and a 1k first prize, but I’ll play anything, from a £2 rebuy to £1,000 freezeout, I’m really not that fussed. At the moment, I’m still learning, and I just want to win. I also like the challenge of winning at all levels. Way too many people mock rebuy crapshoots, but there is a skillset required to conquer both, and I’m keen to master the lot. From my early years playing £20 rebuys, I’d learned the game on these events, as did Thewy who became so apt at them before moving onto newer pastures. For this reason, I had my eyes firmly fixed on Friday’s £20 rebuy fest at the Broadway, but before then, a quick trip up north to visit some old friends…

Sorry to hear of your loss, My condolences to you and your family.

Was a very good article, good to see you back playing and writing.

Sorry to hear about your nan mate.

Your writing really is fantastic snoops, i can't quite define how it's different or has improved (it has always been good and entertaining) but now it really seems to flow, you really are talented, keep it up. x

Sorry about your loss...

A great post, really enjoyed the read..

another cracking post snoopy! 

ps

what ever happend to the $5 challenge u started on laddies?

Thanks, guys, that's very king.

Regarding the Ladbrokes Challenge, it's still alive and kicking, but only just. I'm on around $250 and up to the second level ($10 STTs) but was unfortunately forced to send it on vacation temporarily when my workload increased and my computer died leading to me purchasing a non-poker friendly Mac. Now that I'm back from WSOP though, I will get back on the case and vow to fulfill the Challenge by the end of the year, hopefully sooner.

Binge Day 2 – Gala Nottingham

It always warms my cockles when I take the monotonous journey up the M42 to Gala Notts. They’ve got the Stanley Circus up and running now, but I had my eyes firmly fixed on Maid Marian Way and nothing else. After spending every waking hour in the joint during my student years, it has been cemented in my heart, and every time I return I rejoice in the fun times I experienced there.

I’ve said it many times before, but Gala Notts truly is the most fun place to play. Perhaps due to the cardroom being segregated from the rest of the casino, the place is brimming with banter and personality that really gives the venue a character and buzz that so many places are lacking.

Unfortunately for DTD, this might prove problematic. People don’t like change, especially when they enjoy where they already play. DTD might offer better facilities, structures, and whatnot, but people become institutionalised, even in a cardroom. There is a real sense of community in there, and I fear many of them will be wary of disrupting that. I also suspect that some of the successful regulars will be doing their utmost to persuade punters to stay, if only to protect their income, in fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if management were asking regulars to assist in this way.

I first played a comp at the Gala on 13th Jun 2002. It was a £20 Pot Limit rebuy, as were most events around that time, none of these £10 rookie nights or £30 freezeouts to break you in. I was pretty lucky though as I had the full student loan to gamble with, and boy did I spend it. It wasn’t until 31 comps later when, on the 23rd Jan, I won my first comp for £1,580. It only just about got me back into the black, but at the time, I was over the moon to have won such a large amount ‘gambling’.

I can’t explain how much enjoyment I prised out of the Gala over the three years. I was a 3 days a week man and even brushed aside outings with friends to partake. I only lived 5 minutes away, so temptation didn’t have to journey far. There was something romantic about it all. Whilst all my friends were begrudgingly undertaking holiday jobs, I was busy playing poker, having the time of my life and prospering in the process.

Notts Gala wasn’t without its faults though. Management were never too interested in the cardroom and didn’t offer too much in the way of ‘treats’. There were a few cases of cheating too, which unnerved me, but I’m sure this has occurred in numerous venues nationwide. However, with a lack of dealers, it remains a worry.

You seem to encounter a lot of arguing at Gala Notts, no deal going by without the inevitable ‘who can yell louder’ contest. I even saw fists fly once, so blood can certainly boil at times. It’s a tense atmosphere for beginners, and you have to be pretty hard skinned to start your tournament life there. However, recent times have seen the introductions of lower stake freezeouts, which have helped immensely.

You should keep your wits about you outside. I used to run home if I’d won, as Lenton Road in front of the castle walls was a creepy and nerve tingling jaunt if you were heavy pocketed. I think I recall AdamM being attacked there. He’s a black belt, I think, but there were three of them so he was always struggling. I don’t think I’ve ever gone down on a Friday night without witnessing a drunken townie and his Chavvy Mrs screaming at each other outside, and that car park’s a bit daunting too, it’s like something out of Doom or the weird bits in Silent Hill, and I wasn’t overly surprised when my brother told me that he caught someone breaking into his car.

But back inside, the banter makes up for it all. Unlike my trip to Junction 10 the night prior, very little had changed, especially with the clientele. Of course, they’ve lost a few along the way, but the faces are still there. The first one I saw was Raj from Leicester. He’s best buds with Chippie, and you won’t meet two nicer guys. I remember Chippie’s first ever comp, he was on the booze and talking like that guy from the Micro Machines ad. I remember him trying to sell conservatories to the whole of the table, but I don’t think he had too much success. From that day on, he was a regular. Raj is a lot more laid back, but a top bloke all the same.

Venturing in, I ran into John, Rob (Fran’s pops), Javid, Ed 'The Kid', 'Bag of Bollox' Ali, Sean, Bookie Jim, Steve Read, Pete Linton, Nik Hicks. The list is endless, and I couldn’t believe how many people I knew. Even Ash was there playing Backgammon with Richie, just as they had been a couple of years back. It’s as if once they’ve lured you in, you can never leave, and I know how they feel!

Yes, the cardboard numbers in a bag have been replaced by a snazzy plasma screen and the grubby felts of yesteryear have been replaced by brand spanking new GBPT tables (although I had to laugh when I saw they were using the same old crappy chips), but everything else is like I’d never left. Even Benz is still there, although slightly less hairy and running around in the former shoes of DTD’s Rob (Nightfly).

As for the comp, it was a £50er with two rebuys, which was pretty cool, but I wasn’t here for the comp per se, I was here to have a laugh and reminisce about some of the good times I used to enjoy there as young fresh-faced student. There was only one player at my table that I didn't recognise, and that said it all.

I plummeted out in unspectacular circumstances, but unlike many places, I hung around for a bit, ordered some food, watched the cash games and had a chat with various folk, one of whom was Jeff Hill, Junior’s dad. Greg’s a working man now, but his Dad’s still playing, and recently gave the World Series a shot for the first time, cashing in two events including the senior’s event which drew an incredible 1,800 runners.

It’s this aspect that I like, being able to exit the comp and have a chat with any number of people. There’s a real social aspect that keeps the Gala Notts ticking, and this is why I still love playing there more than anywhere else in the country. Win or lose, it's normally a hoot, and that's what it's about.

Dana sent me this still of the Simpsons. Apparently that's me on the left, fuchsia shoes an' all.

(http://www.simpsonsmovie.com/sendfriend/daanaaaasnoopy_316200703741.jpg)

Great read snoops, i can relate to alot what you have said there regarding notts gala.

I made one of Jen too.

(http://www.simpsonsmovie.com/sendfriend/danayou_37200732853.jpg)

fantastic read snoops,just sorry i wasent there to..

Binge Day 3 – Broadway Birmingham

My third consecutive day of poker and different venues each time, I felt in fine fettle heading into the Broadway £20 rebuy, and not too fazed by my sudden onslaught of pokermania after 7 months on the bench.

From my standpoint, the £20 rebuy fest is a much underrated tournament and one that is wrongly categorised as a mere crapshoot. Poker is all about adapting to various situations, including the tournament type. There’s admittedly a lot of variance in small rebuy comps, but if you play them correctly, you’ll come out a winner in the end. The likes of Julian Thew, Ash Abdullah and even tikay are proof of this, the £20er their bread and butter back when I were a tax-dodging student in Nottingham.

It seems to me that there is a market for written teachings on these smaller comps, especially when so many people play them. It’s not just a ‘lottery’, there’s an arsenal of skills required: how to gamble during the rebuy period, when you should take the add on and when you shouldn’t, not tilting and going crazy on rebuys, when to push, which blinds to attack, striking a deal – the list is a lot more extensive than people think, and if they were to stretch their mentality beyond the self-soothing bingo theory, they’d eventually begin to prosper.

One of the reasons why a £20 rebuy can be profitable is the laxity of the field. A large contingent fall into two simple categories: gamblers and tilters; when the two mix in bad beat bedlam on a boozy “It’s the end of the week so I’ll let myself go” Friday night, you’re destined for a huge ‘high value’ pot. The Broadway in particular benefits from this combo, 120 degenerates somehow producing a 9.5k prizepool and mammoth £3,680 first prize. Yum!

Amongst the rabble were a few tough players: Ben Callinan, Steve Jelinek, Wayne Fitzpatrick, Darshan Sami, Marcus Bebb-Jones, Des Jonas off the top of my head, but even some of them deem this small fry and gamble like there’s no tomorrow. Frankie Knight was present as always. A tight, solid, old school player, you know where you are with Frankie, but he must have a few moves in him as he frequently cashes. He’s known as Mr Vegas to many and has been a prominent figure in the Midlands for decades. If you ever need a Vegas contact, then Frankie’s your man. He told me that he managed to swindle a luxury room at the Horseshoe for just $28 per night, so he obviously knows who to speak to.

The Broadway remains one of my favourite casinos. Good service, prompt starts, friendly staff, dealer dealt tables, swift waitress service, great facilities and a sensored flush in the loos, it really is the bee’s knees, and Raj is most accommodating whenever I play. Apparently they have the second safest car park in the country, just behind one in Derby who I believe will soon be sending muggers over to Brum to ensure they hold onto that top spot.

The free halftime dinner is a nice touch. Chicken, rice and chips seems to be the norm, but it fills a gap. It’s a long pause though, 30 minutes they give you. As a born cynic, I expect it’s so they can prise the most out of the roulette wheel, and why shouldn’t they, people don’t have to play the house games, and they are the crux of the business after all.

Broadway is far from perfect though, and is likely to be surpassed by DTD who look set to raise the bar even further. The £8 sessions on the cash tables sting, dealers seem to work long, unsociable hours for little reward and there’s a guy in the bogs who I simply refuse to tip. There’s no way I’m paying anyone for the privilege of relieving myself and I detest that awkward moment when he holds out a hand towel and I say, “It’s okay, mate, I’ll use the hand drier… (because I’m too stingy to tip).” I’m battling through the guilt though and standing my ground, I just hope that he doesn’t think I have a hand drier fetish.

Whatever you make of the above, if you’re part of AdamM’s crusade, I’d advise you to tred carefully. Yep, you guessed it… “Move the shortsack!” Whatever the poll says, I’m with Adam on this one, moving the shortstack seems a little harsh. You end up having a seat of death, especially if they move from the button to the big blind. Plus the same guy can keep jumping from one table to the next without even paying a blind. Surely taking the big blind is the fairest, but cynical hat on again,  I guess the Broadway aren’t too fussed about fairness and just want it done and dusted.

As for the comp, I played well with very little and predominantly yo-yoed before finally stumbling upon the following hand. With two tables left and the shorties taking it in turns to push all-in to stay alive, Steve Jelinek limped from the small blind and I checked the big with 4-2. K-3-5 Flop, check check, Ace Turn, he bet, I called. Rag River, he bet, I raised all-in, he called quicker than a sheep in RobertHM’s garden and proudly revealed Pocket Kings. Hehe. This gave me some chips for the final where I eliminated two players at once with Aces to give me double anyone else’s stack.

With 4 left and just 20 minutes on the clock I was offered a deal: they get £1,500 each and I take £2,300. I’m not a massive fan of deals, but I was getting £500 more than second, so accepted knowing how easy it would be for me to have my stack sliced in half.

I’ve won lots of rebuy events for similar figures before, but this one was particularly important to me. Earlier on in the night, someone commented that I was bottom of the barrel now that Jen was winning, which hurt a little. In fact, I hear that quite a lot at the moment, so I was pleased to prove to myself that I could actually play a bit too. It’s one thing others thinking you’re a donkey, it’s another when you start to believe it yourself.

move the shortstack?
I;m guessing thats a joke because that has never been the case there.
The comps at the broadway i'd rate as the toughest 20 quid rebuys anywhere, the players in them are not newbies, mostly seasoned pros!
A great result Snopp, just try to emulate it in the monday comp....

Well I think you're a very clever beagle. Treats for you!

This thread delivers.

WD on the result in b'ham. shipship.

Good write up of the Broadway Friday night £20 re-buy and well played on taking the lion's share. I agree that it's is a great tournament. I simply can't understand the approach taken by many. Players taking 20 re-buys is not uncommon. Surely if you have £400 to spend on a poker tournament there are better options than a 110 runner £20 re-buy where you will need to make the top 4 to show a profit! This leads to fantastic value for players with a tight approach during the re-buy period. You would think that if you didn't play a hand for 30 minutes and then come in with a 4*BB raise you would get some respect but oh no, 4 callers would not be uncommon in this situation.

I played there on Friday and managed to make the final table. A deal was done guaranteeing everyone £500. I went out in 8th but was happy with £500.

Whats with the shortstack move Snoops? when did that change....tell me it's not so!!

I'm afraid so, they announced the new rule on that very day. I can only guess that the motive is to get the comps finished quicker.

Just read the whole post Adam.

Good stuff.

Remember you don't need to prove yourself to anybody and only you can let others get you down.
I've been on a personal mission to take down a big Sunday event online and realise I may be chasing it a while
before I repeat it again. The first time I did it I was nowhere as good or knowledgable a player as now but my fearless
allin pushes against mid stacks was the reason I took that event down. Now I protect my stack and play much more
cautiously when deep in a tournament - there is something to be said for throwing the stack around like an axe in later stages of tournaments.

Looking forward to more news on your binge sessions. Hope to see you later in the year at Blackpool, London WSOPE or grand final.

Greg

I assume this was after Raj left? I cannot imagine Raj would ever do such a thing, & I know he's off to get himself Married, maybe never to return. He was excellent, imo.

Great post Snoopy  :)up

No, Raj was there at the time, a decision made from above I think.

Did you know his is an arranged marriage?

Absolutely stunned!!!

How can a forerunning independant switch to the dark ages like that??

I'd to read that twice to realise you were slagging moving the short-stack, instead of slagging off marriage  rotflmfao ;noflopshomer;

He was? ;D

Bit of both really :)

Binge Day 4 – Grosvenor Walsall

Although tempted to make my debut at the Star City Casino in Birmingham, the lure of a £300 double chance freezeout at Walsall overshadowed my lust for 5 consecutive days in 5 different casinos and before I knew it, there I was, back in the all too familiar compounds of Junction 10.

Now and again a quality tournament pops up that is capable of drawing big crowds on a regular basis. Back when tikay donned a brown barnet, the Gala Nottingham’s £100 rebuy was the highlight of the month. It used to make a packet and attract players from all over. With £100 now seeming like a splash in the ocean and options for poker community going through the roof, the Gala’s £100 rebuy has dropped off the radar allowing the monthly freezeout at Walsall to take hold of the reigns.

And why shouldn’t it? 2 day event, 7.5k chips, 45 minute clocks, every blind level under the sun, satellites throughout the week – this really is a low stakes players wet dream and one of the best ‘affordable’ freezeouts available. If there’s a comp that I’d advise an amateur to splash out on, then this is the one.

When I started playing, there were no freezeouts, just £20 and £30 rebuys, so variance truly was a factor back then with long, dry spells a familiar occurrence. Nowadays, the cream can rise to the top a lot quicker with the likes of Stoke, Blackpool, and Cardiff, not to mention all the side events at the Festivals, following suit with similar freezeout tournaments.

When I arrived, the usual motley crew were there: Karabiner, tikay, Thewy, Ash Hussain, Pete Singleton, Lucy Rokach, Mick Jones, Simon Zach, Nick Slade – all the usual suspects. On my table were Ben Callinan, Mad Turk and Rajesh Modha, so I knew I was in for a rough ride.

I won’t bang on about the ins and outs of my tournament, it won’t be anything you haven’t already heard in the endless blogs out there. I pretty much hovered around average for most of the comp, before the cards seized up and a mistimed all-in re-raise against Zippy Aslam cost me my comp with about 40 or 50 left. I thought he was weak, was mistaken, and paid the price. Simple as that really. I probably could have been more patient, but I like to go with my gut, if I’m wrong, then c’est la vie, I’ll make sure I’m right next time.

I do wish it hadn’t been Zippy though, he seems to be my nemesis. Whenever he’s at the table, I always exit in dramatic circumstances. I actually found it a little embarrassing going out to him, mainly because I respect him as a player. His Kings v my T-7s, I Flopped a flush draw and Turned a Ten, but part of me didn’t want to make my hand on the River. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like that before in a showdown, I hate making mistakes, so perhaps I just felt I deserved to be out of the comp.

But enough about me, the most interesting hand I witnessed involved Lucy Rokach, and it ultimately led to her demise. She’s limped in late position only to re-raise the button bet on an A-9-8-J board after everyone checked the Turn. The button and I both folded, only for Doc, a tight, but calculated player to push all-in under the gun. Lucy quickly said something like “Let’s gamble” and shoved in the rest of her chips with K-J, but Doc’s A-Q stood up.

There were a couple of things that interested me about this hand. Firstly, the check re-raise from Lucy on the Turn seemed very suspicious to me. I’d called the initial button bet with A-6 in the big blind and was severely thinking about re-re-raising Lucy for what would basically be my tournament life, but Doc was still to play behind me and could easily have held a monster.

From my perspective, Lucy’s play didn’t make any sense. I very much doubt she’d check two pair twice, and would imagine she’d raise pre-flop with any hand that would have made a set. In this sense, I deemed it a squeeze play after Doc and I had flat called. Doc said he would have folded his A-Q if I’d have moved over the top, so a missed opportunity I guess.

The second thing that raised a Beagle eyebrow was Lucy’s willingness to gamble after she’d been caught with her pants down. She knew she was behind, but was happy to stick in the rest of her chips in hope of catching something on the River. She didn’t even hesitate, clearly not a fan of grinding.

After the tournament I posted a thread on blonde about the pros and cons of double chance freezeouts. Personally, I prefer straight freezeouts as people play with more fear as they know they could be eliminated from the comp in any one hand. With another 3.5k behind them, they seem happy to play more freely and thus become less predictable and harder to push around. Of course, the flipside means that they may throw more chips your way on draws or marginal hands, but that also relies on you finding hands.

I believe all double chances should prohibit players from taking the second set of chips straight away. If everyone does it, which can happen via the domino effect, there doesn’t seem much point. My preference is to take it as soon as possible. At the risk of sounding arrogant, I believe I have the edge on the average field (ie, in the top 50%), so why wouldn’t I want to garner the maximum amount of chips from the hands I win. The weakest player on my table won early pots, so I deemed it even more imperative to grab those extra chips early doors.

As I’m sure you’re already aware, this comp was won by Thewy. I’m sure he played superbly, but they always say you need to get lucky to win any comp, and get lucky he did, pushing all-in under the gun with Deuces, running into Queens and Kings and outdrawing both. Ouch. But once he’s got those chips, you’re in hot water.

Thewy’s had an incredible few years and it’s great to see him still donning the William Hill logo. He may not have performed to his capabilities on the ‘big stage’, but Thewy’s record in £300-500 freezeouts is second to none. I don’t know if there’s any particular correlation or whether it’s simply coincidental, but either way, I wish he’d tell me how to win them instead of £20 rebuys. 

Binge Day 5 – Broadway Birmingham

The last day of my mini binge was pretty inconsequential and rather anti-climatic. I accrued a nice stack of several thousand during the rebuy period before being forced to push later on with J-T under the gun. I had more than a pot raise in me, but found an instant caller in the Big Blind who couldn’t release K-T.

Slightly frustrating, but it didn’t really bother me, as long as I’d played well, which I believe I did. The most crucial point was that it confirmed one thing for me… after several months out of tournament poker, very little has changed. Yep, everything is just as I left it. People still make dodgy calls, players suffer from bad beats, opponents go on tilt and I still use words like ‘sound’ and ‘bloody hell’ when I return to the Midlands – nothing changes.

One thing that definitely isn’t threatening to change is the lack of any permanent set of rules. I was initially shocked to hear that the Broadway were inexplicably moving the shortstack, but then I simply accepted it, knowing full well that due to the lack of governing body there wasn’t too much anyone could do about it. In this sense, the big casino wigs still have a monopoly on the game and can make whatever rules they want, and until we see the DTD doors open, they’ll probably revolve around getting the tournament finished so people can play the House games. Fortunately, there are some genuine poker fans organising tournaments, such as Rob from Grosvenor Stoke and Jonathan Raab at Blue Square – what we’d do without these guys, I just don’t know.

Vitally, numbers are still as good as they were since I last played in December 2006. As 2007 commenced, many were somehow predicting the end of the poker boom, especially with the interest in televised poker waning and the recent Internet bills in America, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.

The WSOP received record numbers and attracted over 6,000 to the Main Event, which surely would have been double if the government hadn’t stuck it’s schnoz in. Meanwhile, the introductory of two major Tours (GUKPT and GBPT) this side of the Atlantic have sent the poker community into a frenzy with everyone eager to take advantage of the added value, bigger fields and prizepools, and opportunity to get their mug on the box.

Then you’ve got the cardrooms themselves. Even when people were suggesting that interest in poker was drawing to a close or that there were “no new players”, places like Torquay, Plymouth and Moortown Leeds started showing their face and saying, “Hey, there are lots of people who still want to play poker” and providing us with even more venues from which to play the game. Just take a look at the Walsall £300er, still garnering over 120 players for one comp. If this is the poker boom coming to an end, then I must be seeing things.

On a personal note, I’ve certainly missed the game. I’ve been focusing my attentions on work, but that desire to play tournaments has been gradually burning away at my starved flesh. The best thing was that I still experienced that adrenalin rush, still loved making someone fold the best hand and still got a kick from when I made a great call. That and the fact that anyone can win on any given day is surely what keeps the game alive.

Of course, the heartache remains. From taking 2.3k at the Broadway, I then went on to donk myself out of the Walsall £300er and give away more than enough to my virtual enemies on the blonde poker cardroom, but that’s poker. Poker is a rollercoaster ride, and an emotional and demoralising one at times, but it’s one that I’m happy to be on.

With this in mind, I’m pleased to be returning to the game with the buzz still present, not just in me, but around the community as a whole. People still love to play poker and have a genuine passion about the game, and unless something drastic happens, I can’t see this changing.

Here is my final record for the 5 day binge:

Day 1:  Grosvenor Walsall -- £30 NLH 1xR/B  = 8th for £90 = £25 profit.
Day 2:  Gala Notts -- £50 NLH 2xR/B = £100 loss 
Day 3:  Broadway Birmingham -- £20 NLH R/B = 1st for £2,300 = £2,258 profit
Day 4:  Grosvenor Walsall -- £300 NLH F/O = £330 loss
Day 5:  Broadway Birmingham -- £20 NLH R/B = £60 loss

Total profit = £1,791


-- THE END --

A+, would read again.

Top stuff snoops  ;hattip;

A great read.
 :respect:

Highly enjoyable read snoopy.  High quality level of writing!

Great Read.. A+