blonde poker forum

Play begins at 3pm today for Day Two of the BlueSquare.com Blackpool Bonanza Feature Event, at Grosvenors Sandcastle.

There will be a full blonde Live Update Service from beginning to the end. But we are struggling with the digi-camera today, so we may not be able to bring you photos.

Good luck to alistair (the fox), yoyo, camel,carlo,rob young and lawrence. Quite a few faces to root for in their for everyone. Lawrence stuck in there for a long while with a short stack before being absolutely gifted a double up by an absolute muppett making his worst play of the year (moi of course) and after that there seemed to be no holding him back. 3 form horses left in are definately alistair, Iwan (2 finals each already this week) and Alp (how many events he won lately???) but I am hoping for a big result from yoyo as he has been due a big result for a while now.
ariston

Before we look at todays players, a few words are necessary in respect of Grosvenor Blackpool.

This week's Blackpool Bonanza has been the best run Festival I have attended this year. And that seems to be the view of everyone.

Every comp has started within 3 minutes of it's scheduled time. Play has started after every break smack on time, to the second. The team running the cardroom - Yogi, Blue Wolf & their new Lady (names later) have bent over backwards to be firm, fair & helpful to everyone. And their reward has been "Sold out" signs up every night. The Omaha Rebuy sold out - when did THAT last happen? - & the Feature Event was sold out 24 hours in advance. Even the Valets are the UK's best. Smiling all the time, not waiting to be asked - "anyone wanna drink?" - they are the business, & can only have been especially trained to be so customer friendly.

One or two of the dealers are a bit inexperienced, and as a result there were a couple of "incidents" yesterday. Grosvenor know this, understand why it happened, & they won't let it happen again.

Finally, blondepoker want to thank everyone at Rank Group, Grosvenor Blackpool, & Blue Square.com, for their help & support, without which these Live Updates would not have been possible.

And for the Live Updates, we have quite a team to thank. Claire - Mrs Doc - was the mainstay from the beginning. And she looked a whole lot better in my blondepoker shirt than I do! Colchester Kev was the runner, & what a good job he did. Jonathan Rabb of BlueSquare.com facilitated all our requests, & joined our reporting team. And our blondeite friend Ironside, after busting out of the comp, assisted in every way.

A big thank you to them all.

Right, lets remind ourselves who the remaining runners are, & their chip counts:

Mick McCluskey, 48,500

Carlo Citrone, 57,500

Robert Binelli 82,500

Alistair Findlay, 23,500

Rob Yong 111,500

M Fletcher, 81,000

Trevor Reardon, 46,000

Dave Penly, 1,500.

Table 2

Lawrence Gosney, 122,000

Achilles Kalakkas 39,500

Iwan Jones 37,500

Nik Whiten 46,500

Douglas  Dickson 34,000

Cemal "Jimmy" Alp 42,000

Julian Yoyo Thew, 142,000

Jimmy Marcou 73,500

Table 3

S Pearson, 29,500

John "CT" Law, 166,000

Camel 51,000

J Buffenbarger 20,500

Adrian Swingler, 53,000

T Dunwoody, 24,500

P Moss 35,500

James Browning 22,500

So current Chip Leader is John "C T" Law. John is based in the North East, & plays mainly at Stanleys in Newcastle. CT makes a habit of making Finals in the Master Classics of Poker in Amsterdam, where the fields are always big & tough. He begins in a strange situation, in that all or most of the low stacks are on his table. He'll try & pick 'em off one by one, but he needs to be careful of the guy to his immediate left, Keith The Camel Hawkins, who has 51,000, more than enough to hurt CT.

go on Julian, Rob and Nick.  I see the Notts boys are taking the heads up win confidence into the main event.  Surely a result to come from one of them.

Currently in second placed is William Hill's Julian Yoyo Thew. By his standards, he's had a quiet time lately. He was well chipped up at Gutshot, but met with a series of accidents & failed to Final. In Jesolo last week, he finished 3rd in the closing event, after being chip leader with 4 players left. On that evening, & down to the last 3 players (including Robert Binelli who is here today) Thewy suffered three of the worst bad beats you could ever imagine - in successive hands! Anyways, you know all about Thewy. We travelled up together in my car, & are staying at a nice little B & B across the road from the Casino. We had a long chat in my room last night, & I can tell you, Thewy is determined to do well today, especially as the Poker 425 crew will be filming the Final.

On the same table - which could be significant - is the no-nonsense, bluff gruff Leeds lad Lawrence Gosney, currently in third place. I cant recall seeing Lawrence so strongly focused for ages. Gosney "reads the table" as well as anyone I know, & had a nice draw - about 6k - at Notts last week. He's the original "any two cards can win" geezer. I cant see Lawrence finishing 2nd, 3rd or 4th - I take him to win it, or blow his stack away earlier trying to win it. There's no half measures with Gosney.

I think it has. Whoever, the next challengers are to the notts collective be warned. These guys are on form!   

Once again, Notts are well represented, & the second of the Notts boys still in with a chance is Rob Yong. Rob is a millionaire in "real-life", & does not need to play for the money, but he's some hungry competitor. He chopped the 500 at Luton, & winner Carlo Citrone said that Rob was a complete nutter. That's about right. But a nutter with brains. Patience is sometimes a problem with Rob - I hope he settles down today, & saves his A-Game for the latter stages of the Final. To see the likes of Rob Yong, Thewy, Carlo, Jimmy Alp, The Camel, Gosney, Binelli & Iwan Jones etc lock horns in the later stages would be something else.

Ok, am gonna be off air for an hour or so, & will continue with the Preview a bit later.

I can't believe what's happening next. Bad Girl Pham has somehow persuaded me to go on the big dipper roller coaster thing here at the Pleasure Beach in Blackpool. Wassamatterwiv her? And wassamatterwivme? I'm a grown man, approaching middle age, and that lass has somehow got me to go on the UK's biggest big dipper jobbie. I am PETRIFIED of those things too. OMG.

Later......

PS - And Thewy was supposed to come, but he BOTTLED IT.....

Go for it Tikay.

Its the whole minute it takes to get to the top thats the worst.

Some quality coverage here, whilst I had to work all night.

See you all soon.

Yogi

Been a great event so far.  Looking forward to this afternoon's action and I echo Tikay's comments about that possible dream final.  Should make good rail viewing.

As Blue Square's rep here I'd like to thank Yogi, Blue Wolf, Claire and all the staff at Grosvenor for a well run festival.  You've been great hosts.  I'd like to thank Tikay and everyone involved with and helping out with Blonde. I'd also like to thank everyone who has attended this week.  Its great to see each successive festival get bigger and better and I really appreciate all the feedback I'm getting from everyone I've had the pleasure to spend some time chatting to.

Finally...well done to the Nottingham team.  Looking forward to the next challenge, wherever and whenever that takes place.

What's happening with the report on the heads up challenge??
I know this main event jobbie is of some interest but come on we wanna know what happened with the challenge in some detail please!
Good luck ALL for today i look forward to catching up later.
Ian

5th chip is Robert "I Love you Deeply Tony" Binelli. Robert sat quietly most of yesterday, but got moving late on. Robert finished 2nd last week in the closing event at Jesolo, & has made finals all over Europe.

There are quite a group of players in the 30/40/50k region. Carlo, Trevor Reardon, the in-form Iwan Jones, Mick Mccluskey, & Man of the Moment Cemal Jimmy Alp. You know enough about all of these guys, they can all go on & win this.

Nik Whiten is an interesting one. He's Rob Yong's business partner & lifelong friend, and of course yet another of the Nottingham Crew who are mashing up Final Tables all over Europe. Nik got 4th at The Vic a month or so back, in the biggie that Andy Church went on to win.

Achilles Kalakkas is in reasonable shape. This guy does not play many tournaments, though he plays some pretty serious cash. But a Top 30 finish in the WSOP tells us that the guy knows how many beans make five. Lovely fella, too.

Report on the Heads-Up Massacre? - dont you worry about that, it WILL be done. But a bit busy today, so look out for it tomorrow. Hehe.....

Commencement of play was slightly delayed to allow one latecomer - Robert Binelli - to arrive. But he's still not here, so play has commenced.

I have tried ringing Robert, no joy. Anyone know how we can get hold of him, or where he is staying?

Glad to see that you survived the big dipper.

Now honestly, was it fun ?

 ;)

And we have our first casualty of the day, Riverdave Penly, who has been busted by Rob Yong. Mind you, Mr Penly only had 1,500 chips, having had his stack decimated by Carlo's Citrone brave call just before close of play last night with 7-7.

So, Dave Penly OUT, & 23 left.

And now Julian has lost a huge pot to Cemal Alp. Thewy had JJ, Jimmy had AQ, & two Aces on the flop did the job for Cemal.That doubles Jimmy up to nearly 100k, & knocks Julian back to, at a guess, 100k.

Very next hand, Carlo Citrone & Rob Yong clashed big time, Carlo all-in with A-J, but seriously dominated by Rob Yong's AK. Almost inevitably, the J fell to push Carlo way above 100k, & knock Rob Yong back to about 60k.

Any idea what the starting chips are for 2nites 50 pot limit comp ?

It's bedlam here, another whopper, this time it's a three handed jobbie.

Julian Thew has 9-9, Douglas Dickson has AK & Iwan Jones has KK. Board helps nobody, & Iwan trebles through. Dickson is OUT though, & Julian has taken his 2nd big beat of the day.

Its okay I found the info thx anyway

Sunday 8th May 50 Pot Limit Hold 'Em

2000 Points 30 minute clock. Starting blinds 25/50

Wow, and another HUGE shock - Julian Thew is OUT! He had JJ again in a 3 way jobbie involving Iwan Jones & Cemal Alp. Iwan eventually passed, but Cemal was pot committed & called all-in with A-2. You can guess the very first card, & Julian Thew is OUT!

Play has been on for about 20 minutes, & Thewy, who was 2nd chip overnight, took 4 beats, all with proper hands, & is down the road.

The poor lad looks gutted, you gotta feel for him.

It's going bananas here, we've just had yet another huge confrontation.

Carlo Citrone & Rob Yong clashed for the second time today, Carlo with QQ, & Rob with AK. The Queens held sway, & Rob Yong is OUT.

So two of the overnight deep stacks, both Notts Boys, are toast. Incredible. We have been playing for 29 minutes.

Rob, like Julian, is gutted, he looks like he dont know what day it is.

We better get some chip counts, the comp has turned upside down in the space of 30 minutes.

very unlucky julian wish him my best!

John lau is a Gala Teesside man not Stanleys... and resides in the best cash game in the country, normally winning all the money.

He's been off comps lately glad to see him back, did'nt think he'd like latif out shining him ;)

At iT ;D

Carlo Citrone 185k.

Cemal Alp 170k

Lawrence Gosney 180k

Achilles Kalakkas 38k

Keith The Camel Hawkins 100k.

Everyone is in the money now.

John CT Law has about 180k.

Thanks to At It for correcting me, I thought CT was a Stanleys man.

And to complete the misery of the Notts Boys, Nik Whiten has busted out now, A-9 v slow played AK held by Lawrence Gosney

So the high hopes of the Notts trio have gone up in smoke. The 3 of them have set off for home in Rob's car, that's gonna be some miserable drive south.

Lovely lads, all 3 of them, & I ache for them, but it's a tough game.

Now Dunwoody has busted out, his A-9 failing to hold on against KQ..

But Poker Zones James Browning has managed a double up at Carlo's expense, JB with AA & Carlo with A8. James had about 23k overnight, so that wont put much of a dent in Carlo's stack.

Now Jimmy Marcou gets on the double up bandwagon, with an exotic straight. He's holding A-8, C T Law JJ, & it looked good when the first card down was  the J to give CT his set. But then it came Q-T-K-4, & Marcou catches a remarkable straight.

And Fletcher joins the Double Up Party now, he has AK v A-8, flops the absolute nuts in Q-J-T, bets all-in - and gets called!

Fletcher is up to 160k now.

Still only 50 minutes gone, but no time to catch breath here.

Ten minutes to the first break, we will get some chip counts then - & draw breath!

And to eventually answer Karabiner's question, was the Pleasure Beach & Big Dipper thingy fun? Are you SERIOUS? It was horrendous. I intend to sue.

Robert Binelli doubles up now with the Aces against Jimmy Marcou's AJ. Robert Binelli is up to about 60k.

Alistair Findlay doubles through with JJ against Iwan Jones with AK, board T-4-7-2-8.

Another man overboard.

Trevor Reardon had AQ, & hated seeing Mick Fletcher with AK, Trevor failed to catch his miracle card, & is OUT.

15 players left.

I missed another exit - there are too many, too fast - Adrian Swingler busted out half an hour ago.

But this one is right up to date, James Browning, the Poker Zone guy, busts out with 66 v KJ, the KJ catching 2 pairs.

14 left.......

We have a lot of "Guests" on the site, nice to see you boys, but why don't you register to be pukka blonde forum members? Costs nothing, & we need you to interact with us to help make our Forum better. Takes about 30 seconds to register.

Jeff (Buffenburger?) has doubled up at C T Law's expense. CT had the Aces, Jeff had 99, but found a lovely 9. Pot was 110k.

hows Lawrence doin now? I had the pleasure of spending a couple of weeks with him at thje Bellagio last year,hes a real gentleman and a class act, love to see him get some recognition by winning this

Another Man Gone!

Three way pot, Mick McCluskey had KQ, Mick Fletcher & Jimmy Alp BOTH had AK, flop came 3-9-T. Fletcher then moved all-in, Jimmy called, & the board gave no help to anyone. Jimmy Alp & Mick Fletcher split the remains of Mick McCluskey's stack between them.

Mick McCluskey OUT.

We have been playing 80 minutes at reasonable blind levels, & have lost half the field.

after beeing on reseve list most of the week the 500 i stayed for the 1k i phoned up for lol,

can u tell me if the 50 is full please? or how many pre-reg?

Achilles Kalakkiis has doubled up to 55k, with KQ against 9-T, catching the Q without needing it.

Go on Achilles!

Tonight's comp? 35 seats sold so far. Concensus seems to be that it will not sell-out, but the best bet is to get here early, just in case.

And, in the absence of any predictions from Ironside, (who is sat next to me), Gareth The Nugget Jones has made his predictions for the top three.

Carlo Citrone.

Robert Binelli.

Mick Fletcher.

Couple 'em in Forecast doubs & trebs.

hi tikay how did lewis shape up in the 500 he busted me with ak vs my kk.only 5 tables left aswel.u was on our table.remember

Hi Hotdog, I really cant recall to be truthful - when things quieten down a bit here, I will check it out for you.

mick fletcher will win . he seems alucky face

How is Lawrence Gosney doing? Bad timing - he's just GONE.

He and Cemal Alp tangled, both had unpassable hands. Cemal Alp J-7, Gosney the massive Q-5.

Flop came 7 high, Gosney moved all-in, Cemal called, goodnight Gosney. Incredible!

Lawrence Gosney is OUT....

lawrence gosney will win young bob monkhouse will be second

if u want to play a good comp 2nite then head to walsall j10. 100freezout attracts around 100players 9.0clock start

We will try & get some chip counts shortly. There is a break in 20 minutes, but at this rate, we will have a Final before then!

Keep up the good work mate, may be in later to watch a bit of the final.
russ

And since we reminded our non-registered guests to sign up to become blondeites, 20 minutes ago, about 6 new members have joined - thanks lads!

Off to play downtime tourney on bfair.

Keep up the excellent work Tikay

Two big lads clash here, Iwan Jones with 88, & The Camel with AK. The 88 holds on, a 90k pot is pushed Iwan's way, & poor Camel has the hump, he's been badly wounded.

Woohoo, go on Iwan!

Martin

William Hill Poker.com - you can register here - http://travis.willhill.com/re.asp?name=WHPD&camp=REF1405_0 - are running a Satellite at 18.30 this evening, 10 (+ 1 reg) to their $100,000 GUARANTEED tourney on May 24th.

Why not sign up, register for the tourney, & spend a few hours playing online, & flicking back & forth to our Live Update?

Jimmy Alp & Mick Fletcher get it on. Jimmy moves in on the 8-9-T flop, he's holding AJ, but Mick Fletcher don't buy, & passes, giving Jimmy Alp a 70k pot.

There is a break in 1 minute, so I'll get some chip counts for you then. No idea who has got what.

My "runner" this afternoon is none other than Robert Cooper, to whom I am very grateful.

Right, they are on break, so let's have some chip counts.

Cemal "Jimmy" Alp, 200k

The Camel 50k

Mick Fletcher 300k

Iwan Jones 85k

Achilles Kallakis 50k

Alistair Findley, 77k.

And on the other table.....

Robert Binelli 145k

Paul Moss 18.5k

Jimmy Marcou 90k

Carlo Citrone 180k

C T Law, 95k

Jeff Buffenbarger 105k.

So, the 24 becomes 12, in 2 hours flat........

TWO more gone! Low stacked Paul Moss went - no details, sorry. Then.....

Pah! Achilleas Kallakiss is OUT.

And what an exit it was.

Achilleashad AQ suited, but, incredibly, he walked into KK, and AA on the SAME HAND, both of them sat behind him. Achilles had played brilliantly whilst card dead all afernoon, what bad luck to walk into two such hands.

10 left now......

sounds like lawrence gosney pressed the self destruct button  ???

GO GO GO IWAN!!       8)

And it's a 10 man Final, so we have a Final now........

They are setting up the table now & the cameras are being prepared to record it for next week's Poker 425.

We will try & get you some chip counts before they start.

So tell us MaidMarion, who do you want to win the Final, eh? Go on, give us a clue.....

And how about this for a lovely touch by the Blackpool Management. All the Finalists are quaffing a glass of champers, and there's fruit & stuff too. Nice touch Blackpool!

And the chip counts for our Final are.....

John "C T" Law 95k.

Cemal "Jimmy" Alp 136k

Keith The Camel Hawkins 51k

Jimmy Marcou 96k

Mick Fletcher 250k

Iwan Jones 80k

Jeff Buffenburgar 95k

Carlo Citrone 200k

Alistair Findlay 210k

Robert Binelli 148k.

So who is your money on NOW?

Alistair the fox 1st Iwan 2nd. cant beat the form horses ( I will have camel for 3rd).
ariston

Go Alistair, Keep it local

in the hand with the aq v kk v aa   who had the KK? and did he fold?

They have just finished the intros, giving it the clapping & whooping bit, & they are under way.

Blinds begin at 4k-8k, & I believe they are capped at 5k-10k.

darling, Im home!

The Final has begun, & it's all very quiet right now. Camel is sat there with his i-pod on, trainers, & the same shirt he's had on for a fortnight. And at the other end of the scale, there is the Male Model Carlo Citrone, looking sharp in a beautiful black tailored jacket, over a white crisp t-shirt. And between them is Robert Bellini, who looks like a walking jumble sale, with his avant-garde clothing selection & trendy handbag.

You are not missing a thing (of significance), it's all Raise & Pass stuff so far. After 2 hours of mayhem & carnage, all is light & moderation now....

Hi Tikay, Its Dex Carlo always looks good he get's it from his mother ;D just a joke don't tell him I said that. ;)

LOL
gotta love Robert's dress sense. - and that moustache - what a guy!

But suddenly we have lost our first Finalist, Cemal Jimmy Alp's amazing rollercoaster ride is over, he busts out in 10th place.

Cemal had K-8 suited, John C T Law had A-6, & the best hand held up. Just spoke to Jimmy, he maybe noticed the look of surprise on my face when he told me his exit hand. "But it was soooooted Tikay" he calls as I walked away.....

Just a reminder of my earlier post, still time to sign up guys......

William Hill Poker.com - you can register here - http://travis.willhill.com/re.asp?name=WHPD&camp=REF1405_0 - are running a Satellite at 18.30 this evening, 10 (+ 1 reg) to their $100,000 GUARANTEED tourney on May 24th.

Why not sign up, register for the tourney, & spend a few hours playing online, & flicking back & forth to our Live Update?

Bad news for the legions of Iwan Jones fans, he has busted out 9th, Jeff Buffenburgar had two pairs, which was one too many.

Well played Iwan, another fine effort, & three finals this week.

GO CARLO GO CARLO GO!!GO!! GO!! 8)

Hi tikay,
Has The Camel got any chips yet? What are the blinds/antes now?
Thanks

Hi Tikay (from Rob), me, julian and Nick sitting in my house over the moon how things went. We would like to apologise for letting Notts down. See ua t the 30 buy in on Monday! Back to basics for me!

Buffenburgar busts another! Buff had AA, Jimmy Marcou had AK, & that was that. Bit of a weird exit, Jimmy turned his hand over before realising that C T Law & The Camel still had to act. Eventually, they both pass - just as well, as they dodged a Buffenburger bullet.

Marcou out 8th.

Unlucky the 3 of you, we were rooting for you even after you slaughtered us in the challenge match. See you guys soon (cant make Barcelona as im off to new orleans but womble will be there).
ariston

Camrel has doubled up, he has 75k now. He had KQ v JJ, but he had one chip left, so "moved in" on the flop &, surprise surprise, got called by Mick Fletcher.

And the answer to part 2 of the question is that the blinds remain at 4k-8k for another 20 minutes.

And to my Notts heroes, Thewy, Rob & Nik, you all made me vey proud to be a Notts man, you gave us a heap of fun & played just great. Bet it was a bit of a sad drive home, eh?

Ay-up, The Camel has moved all-in, & there is a table full of players waiting to act behind him.

All the railbirds have rushed to the table, the players all stood up, and he gets TWO callers, Buffenburgar & John Law.

And WHAT a hand it was........

Flop comes K-7-3 rainbow, John Law bets 60k, Buffenburger passes, & John turns over his K-x, for top pair. But Keith brings a gasp as he flips over two Aces! It's a whopping pot, maybe 250k. The dealer deals the blank turn, but it's a cruel, cruel river as another K drops, & there is a huge cry from the crowd.

So Keith The Camel Hawkins is OUT in 7th place. How unlucky was THAT?

A short break is due in 3 minutes, so we will get full chip counts then.

It looks like 2 locals defending against 4 raiders trying to take the money out of town.

Often wonder why we do this to ourselves. The game is so bad at times. Usually the next thought is "wheres the next game?". We are all very sick individuals.
ariston

How long is the break?

Best Regards Dex

Wow, now the walking Jumble Sale, Robert Benelli, busts out.

He makes a move UTG with K8, Carlo Citrone in the blinds finds AK, it's a no-brainer even for Carlo, (hehe...) & he calls in a flash.

Robert Binelli OUT in 6th place.

GO CARLO  :)

Called in a flash? Surely Carlo the male model had a little dwell up. Chip counts maybe???

Only a 5 min break, but here are the Chip Counts especially for Dex, Carlo's Mum.

John CT Law 332k

Mick Fletcher 394k

Jeff Buffenburgar 240k

Alistair Findlay 176k

Thought I'd forgotten, eh Dex?

Carlo Citrone 258k

I know you would never do that to me THANKS Tikay  ;)

5 left tikay?  what was starting stacks ? 1.4 mil in play i would imagine?

Depends if they removed the absent player's stack. 1.39 million I reckon.

gesh arguin over 10k  :) am never right lol

Almost correct, bar a technicality there.

In fact, there were only 139 runners, as poor Simon Trumper arrived 2 minutes late, & was not allowed to start. So his chips were removed from play, and the chips in play are 1,390,000, plus or minus "colouring up"......

Gotta feel for Simon Trumper. He took it like a gentleman. He had his son with him this week, he is a fine looking young man, & Dad radiates pride.

did simon get a refund?? or was he just DQ so to speak?

Did he get his buy in back?

On another note, looks like the structure was very player friendly and leaves plenty of room for "proper" poker at the business end of the event.

blackpool famous for its 45 min clock! best struchure - starting stack i have seen for a major event make a welcome change :)

anyone got any news on the oxford cup or know any way of getting any ??

Yes, Simon Trumper got a refund.

Oxford Cup - yeah, I may be able to get an update, El Blondie is (was?) there, but it's a bit busy here right now, so give us a bit of time.

Meanwhile, back in the Final HERE, we've had another casualty.

tikay, please tell Jeff Buff that word of his exploits has reached his mates at Luton, and good luck from all of us..ta

Bugffenburgar & Mick Fletcher get it on. Buff had 99, & Fletch KK, & there were no dramas.

Buffenburgar OUT 5th.

my last post was marvellously timed then ::)

keep up the good work TK, having seen you in action last night ( doing the updates I mean ) theirs not many guys as proffesional and dedicated as you...as ive said before...you're the man.
Julian, rob, nick...great effort guys.
What pleases me most is that the group we have coming out of notts is not only becoming a force in terms of results, but we have a lot to be proud of the way we conduct ourselves and have great spirit in adversity.
Bouncebackability as someone once said. Forgot who said it, can anyone remember ?
Hope to see everyone down notts monday at 8 for a couple of beers and bad beat stories :)

Sam Allardyce?  :o

Will do TightEnd.

Now then, a question for YOU guys.

Play started today at 3pm, 24 players returned, & by general agreement, there was plenty of "play" left.

4 guys busted out in the first 20 minutes, and it took exactly 2 hours (minus breaks) to get down to a 10 man Final.

And the Final has been going about 90 minutes,& we are down to 4 ALREADY.

Why? How? WTF?

Bouncebackability was an Ian dowieism I think. Was used everywhere after soccer am got hold of it. Notts lads have conducted themselves well all week but then again nothing else could be expected really.

You are of course right Russ!

http://www.bouncebackability.biz/

i put it down to the stacks/blinds/ante time limits leads to alot more play hence the more plays pre-flop/on the flop/turn/river, which leads to better chance to play poker, and stops the all-in before i get to low which normally happends,

also leads to pepole outplaying themselves lol

Lovely post bookiebasher, it's lovely that the Notts Boys all conduct themselves so well. And yup, team meeting on Monday night at 8pm, don't be late!

Bouncebackability? Comes from same dictionary as giveoneable.

Right, chip counts for you.....

Knew you would get it Russ, Ian Dowie was the man.
Didn't get chance to have a chat with you saturday, just wanted to say thanks for getting the challange match sorted, would love to have played and talking to the guys they really loved it. Reckon it could get quite big in a year or two.

Mick Fletcher, 360k

J T Law 320k

Alistair Findlay 220k.

Carlo Citrone 420k

I seem to have missed the hand where Carlo moved into the chip lead, I will try & find out how he got them. Maybe he been stealing.......

just to say very well done to Alistair great performance all week by him

Too late, there has just been the biggest pot of the comp.

Mick Fletcher makes it 60k to go, Carlo moves all-in, Fletcher calls in a trice. Fletcher has QQ, & Carlo just hates his hand now - he's seriously dominated with AQ, & the three outer never materialises.

Carlo is down to the felt, not enough to post his blinds. He needs a miracle now. A BIG miracle.

Graft is the word your looking for ;D ;)

Bad news Mum, Carlo is OUT, he done you proud, but it's all over now. Another fine performance by the suave Geordie.

So 3 handed now. Mick Fletcher & Alistair Findley, the two locals, & C T Law the sole remaining visitor.

Thank you Tikay for all the info catch you next time.  :(

Not sure if Sam is Dex, or Dex is Sam, but you are welcome, Carlo gave us plenty of fun, as ever.

The guys are on a bit of a break - chatting about things in the toilet maybe? - but here are the approx chip counts:

Alistair Findley 180k

Mick Fletcher 570k

John C T Law, 650k.

These are approx. The stacks are big, & I cant touch the stacks, but it aint much different to that.

AlrightJack here standing in

Alistair Findlay has doubled up to 410k with 66 versus Mick Fletcher's AK

.......neatly leaving J T Law as chip leader.

Mick Fletcher moves all-in on J T Law who gives it a good long think before calling. The board is Q-J-J-9-6. Fletcher has Q-7, & J T Law has made an awesome call with Q-4 - split pot!

Findlay has nicked two pots, & is now around 550k.

These three boys know the score, & it could all end very quickly. Hard to name the winner yet, but I happen to know John Law, he's a real gentleman (maybe they all are, but I don't know them), & i am kinda rooting for him.

It's ebbing & flowing here - now Mick Fletcher bounces back & doubles up at John Law's expense. Mick had A-T, John had K-J, & two tens hit the board.

That's turned it right round! I fancy John Law will get seriously lairy now. This could end in tears, too....

And John Law is OUT!

He pushes with A-9, Mick Fletcher calls with J-J, & that's John Law busted out in 3rd place, having transferred every one of his chips to Mick in two consecutive hands.

Ironside still there or has he headed back to far far north.

If still there - has he given a prediction?

So, to make it a bit fairer, Mick Fletcher promptly doubles up Alistair Findley. Mick had A-8, Alistair A-3, but a sneaky 3 hit the board, or else it would have been all over.

This is bizarre! The two guys have apparently agreed "NO DEALS" & decided to play to the death. Great.

So hard to understand how they managed to get ALL the chips in pre-flop with A-8 & A-3. The blinds? Yeah, a massive 5k-10k....! And there are 1.4 mill chips in play.......

So the very next hand all the chips go in pre-flop AGAIN. Alistair has 7-8, Mick has J-T, & a redundant 10 falls on the flop.

So our winner is.......

MICK FLETCHER

Hard to fathom this. After John Law's exit, Mick & Alistair played a grand total of 3 hands Heads-Up - and they BOTH went all-in pre-flop!

Maybe there was business? Well, rumours have now surfaced that Mick & Alistair swapped 10%, but at what stage of the comp? It hardly accounts for the way the last 3 hands were played.....

Very strange......

From you descriptions it's pretty obvious they split it, just own up fellas.

Excellent coverage thx very much tikay

great job TK, any news on oxford yet?

thanks for for doing all the updates Tikay, congrats to all who got in the money. After careful consideraton I have decided to donate my 50 blue square bubble prize to you! A good well organised tournmament, friendy casino staff, but again, it would have been better if we could have maybe started earlier on saturday so that we could have had more flop play in the latter stages of the tournament. See u Monday. Rob

Sorry, the only news I have on Oxford is that Dave Colclough, who played in it, is back at home in Birmingham.

 Thanks Tikay for yet another great report

            neves

An early night for you tikay.  I guess the manic play on the final table was down to the free champagne before the final table (must remember not to partake if the same thing happens when I'm in a final).  And if only I hadn't have bokked The Camel - he would have won tonight without breaking sweat.  Sorry, Keith.

Thank you for that donation Rob! Well I did donate my chips to you in what I have decided was the worst play of the week, when I refused to put my QQ down, & you refused to put your AA down....

A better structure would have given more flop play? You jest. There were 1.4 million chips in play, & the blinds at the end were capped at 5k-10k. And ALL the chips went in pre-flop on the only 3 hands of heads up play...... In case you suspect a typo, blinds WERE 5k- 10k.

But I do agree with you about the Blackpool Grosvenor team. I really am gonna miss them. The Valets - especially the doo-lally one - are simply wonderful. So are the girls on Reception - BIG smiles & "how are you's?" every time we come in. I am bowled over by the customer care up here.

Maybe we now know why Notts beat Blackpool in a canter in the Inter Casino Challenge. They just play H-U different in these parts?

thank you tikay,great coverage.......gonna have to find something else to do now during the 350k and the quater mill......

great Coverage Tikay, excellent report
Move over jessie May
 :D

Thanks Ed. Loads of folks like to play the big Sunday Night online comps & keep an eye on the updates, so it's all a bit of an anti-climax.

Good luck in the comps though mate.

Thanks Mahound. But Jesse is different class. HE THE DADDY!

I can now confirm what the "deal" was between the 1st & 2nd. They "saved" 10% of the difference between 1st & 2nd.

Right, I'm outa here. Got a long drive, & two hungry cats waiting for me at home.

Thanks to everyone at Grosvenor Blackpool, what a great bunch they are.

And to everyone who helped with the updates, a big thanks.

Tikay - 24 people left, avg stack 60k, blinds 2-4k, a raise 3 x BB = 20k, a re-raise 60k. On average each you played you were risking 33% your chips call 1 raise - how can you afford to bluff a flop, check raise or bluff the river or play suited connectors with this structure. Hence no play, down to five card crapshoot.  A short stack of 30k - 40k only has one move, skill factor = ZERO.  Surely this does not make good viewing, anyone can say "all - in". I appreciate watching and playing the flop, turn and river and there was no play left for the short/ average stacks (although I was not one of them).

...... I spoke to 4 people who had < 50k after day 1 and there words were "I only have 1 move - all in" - how can this be when the average stach was 58k????

2/4 blinds 3xbb is 12k not 20k though ???

I think he meant a raise is 12k PLUS the blinds which though not 20k is close enough.................a reraise to 60k?
For me there seems still to be room to play but hey waddaiknow?
I do think the blind cap is a very good thing and this does make for a lot of play in the latter stages.
They do this at walsall though they sort of counteract it by starting late and having an early chipcount. :-\
Ian

Well my comments really applied to the situation when the comp got heads up.

1,390,000 chips in play. Blinds 5k-10k.

I thought we were set for 3 or 4 hours of intriguing heads up play. They played 3 hands, each of them all-in pre-flop with bus tickets.

Am I being critical of them? How can I, as someone else said, "who am I to criticise"? But I'd like to understand why they did it that way. I DO believe that they had not chopped it, just agreed a 10% saver, so that's not the reason.

We blame the structures so often for crapshoot play, but we gotta look at ourselves. The structure was NOT the reason. I am just curious what the reason was, thats all!

On my table everyone was putting in at least 20K when the blinds were 4k, which I agree equates to 4x BB + the 4k call. A re-raise is 3X the bet so the person does not get pot odds to play am arginal hand. There was hardly any flop play, maybe a SB BB pot every now and again. I'm just sayiing that it was a crapshoot and average chips could afford to play 1 pot with 24 players left. For me, skill factor is diluted, I think it was a combination of structure and the players. I only make the point in relation to the hard work that everyone put in the get to the next day, and they could only afford to play 1 pot. Mid you, I had double average and played 2!

We are arguing about different things here Rob.

My point has alays been about when there were 2 players left. The blinds then were 5k-10k, & the average chips were 695,000. That's not a crapshoot by my definition.

But there was NO pre-flop play heads-up, except (3 times) "all-in" - "I call"....

I reckon "No Leaks" may have been nearest the mark - it was the pre-Final Champagne!