blonde poker forum

2006 is creeping very close.  How was your 2005?

What were your highlights and lowlights?

For me.  Highs:

Meeting some of my poker heroes
Pausing my old job to work in poker full time
Getting sponsored
Travelling around Europe playing poker
Winning a European ranking event
Winning my biggest ever cash pot online

and lows:

Not playing alongside a friend anymore due to his back injury.


Anybody else want to share their year?

Highs:

Cashing in more tournaments than I dreamed of, having only started playing in earnest this year.
Meeting and playing against some top class players.
Meetng various sporitng and TV celebrities whilst playing poker.
Reaching 6th place in a European ranking event.
Being a sizable amount up in my first year.

Lows:

(Bad beat story alert) Going out to Falconer in above stated 6th place after he made four runners to a straight against my trips and making me bubble.
Not saving my winnings to build a decent sized bankroll.
Realising everyone is just a person and those feelings of being overwhelmed by celebirites and poker gods at the beginning of the year where just embarrassing newbie blues.

Highs

Blonde Poker was launched in January
Being asked to be a moderator
A lot of very good and several extremely close friends made via my association with Blondepoker
Winning (alright, chopping!) my first ranking event (even though it was small)
Final tables in two other ranking events
Taking £ cough thousand out of the Luton cardroom since August
Always remembering that there is more to life than Poker, and getting my priorities right

Lows

My bad beats and a couple of bad plays in the recent Walsall and Luton festivals
Being unable to consistently match my live results on the Internet
er, that's it

Poker wise, a good 'un

Bloody crap - nuff said!  lol

High
Running the best potentialled cardroom so far for most of year

Low
Realising that potential means just that and no plans to achieve it ...thus leaving it

Oooh I should of added discovering Broadway casino.  My favourite in the UK.  I really hope it doesn't go downhill now you've left dik9.  That would be a travesty.

I Will give it 5 weeks before it is self deal on some tables :(

Been a mixed year .. some very highs, some very lows...

Lows
Dealing with some HUGE family issues

Work - well not work, I love my work - colleagues/office politics.

Had a big life changing choice to make - 6 months on I am still not sure it was right in every way, but nothing I can do about it now, so it's a low til I know better.

Loss of a relationship - realisation that it was dying.

Prozac - good when it works, lousy when you realise you need it.

HRT - great, but again really lousy when you know you need it.

Poker - drives me insane, I am undoing a lot of bad stuff through it, but it causes me a lot of stress.


Highs (in no particular order)

Blonde! Kept me sane for ages, now drives me insane and makes me elated, but I can deal with the insanity :)

Vegas - has to be in here, as it's part of me - only made it once this year, but it was a good 11 days.

Flight to and from Vegas - you can't beat £250 for full Biz class....Two words - Onboard Chef!!!

Friendships - Can't explain this one properly, but from going to a wasteland, I am lucky enough to have found an beautiful garden. There's a few people on Blonde that I would lay my life down for, and in anyone's book that is a beautiful treasure - I found some kindred spirits, some good friends and a lot of people that I will be hugging when I meet them finally.

Cheesey Game - everyone has to visit Ali's game at least once - I've not laughed and had such fun, and learnt so much in years. Its damn good, and I am lucky they put up with me :)

Mobile phones - I'll admit I was a Luddite - I got a new phone to go abroad with in July, and it's been a bloody godsend, I am a convert, and while I know why I coped before, I wouldn't cope without it now - so thank you 3<g>

Turkey - Took my sister (with her broken leg, pins, metal plates, booted and suited) to Turkey in May just before I went into hospital, she came alive, healed her mental wounds and I got a sister back. I'll forgive her for copping off and leaving me alone most of the week (used to it<g>).

Being asked to be a moderator. I do this for a living, well I manage people who do this ... but I was more thrilled by being asked and being able to help out than anyone can understand. I really love this place, and I marvel at the strength, the bonds, the community and the intellect that lives here. This is a special place, and I'll do my bestest to look after it with you guys. 

Poker has been a high and a low - a couple of people have spent time helping me, and I am grateful - it's all there, and I just need to crack a couple more neuroses, and I will be dangerous! Thank you to you, with all my heart - you know who you are.

The Lister Hospital - turned a nasty situation into a morphine filled haze, and it was all private - let's all thank my work's medical insurance!

The highs outweigh the lows, and all in all I wouldn't swap this year, it's been tough..but I am tougher :)

Highs -
Making more than i lost at cards (but not by much!).
This place. Keeps me sane while at work.
First festival event played in.
Family being great.
Seeing my baby walk and do all the great growing up stuff.

Lows -
Nan dying
I'm not making this up - 2 hours ago I reversed into the neighbours car. I've only had my car 1 month and its 1 year old. He WAS STANDING RIGHT BY HIS CAR when i did it. I feel such a fool right now. bumpers/headlight/his wing and £160 excess. bummer.
otherwise not too bad a year.

to be honest i try not to differenciate between the highs and the lows, instead trying to treat them all as part of the same learning curve of life. Though throughout the year there have been testing times i try and keep as emotionally stable as possible with the same outlook on life regardless - so long as i wake up in the morning in good health, i cannot ask for more. As the words of the song went "don't worry, be happy........"

I have a good friend in poker - BigArmo, who not only is he there to help celebrate should one of us have a decent win but i know i can confide in if things are not running smoothly and i thank him for being there to listen when i have something i need to get off my chest - just as i am there for him if he ever needs an ear to bend. And now that i've discovered blondepoker i believe i have made even more friends within the poker community.

Its been another decent year in terms of both winnings and profit - hopefully next year i'll be joining Snoppy in the murky waters that is professional poker and although monkeys dont make very good swimmers (it takes ages to get all the fur dry) i've hopefully gained enough knowledge to keep me afloat.

Here's to more of the same in 2006 - may everyone achieve what they set out to achieve but if not have an enjoyable time along the way!! :)

Say it ain't so, say it ain't so!!

Your bosses must be crazy.  I'll be gutted if they start self deal or change any of the other reasons for visiting Broadway:

free safe car park
no rake or tournament fees
free snacky food at the breaks
no smoking at the tables
good dealers

Is the Heart of England festival still going ahead?

5th full year 1 in poker:

year 1: broke even
year 2: small profits
year 3: solid profits
year 4: profits overtook my salary
year 5: Spanked. Smacked about. Kippered. Every river outdraws me. Every big pair cracked. Bubble after Bubble in big  live tourney's, entries start to mount up. Start chasing and game collapses. Huge losses in high blind online cash. Eventually see sense and drop to lower stakes and finally go on a self enforced break for sake of sanity. I'd say thats a hoooorible poker year.

Well its the year I found out I wasn't as good as I thought I was. Not because my game was crap, but cos I couldn't control my bad runs. Sure a few months is fine but when it turns into a seriously bad run, that was a different matter.  I now realise nothing is more important, because no matter how good you are, when the bad run hits it can hit you hard - staying on top of it is everything.


But is it all bad? No, cos snoops  is playing like a demon, and hey 2006 is approaching right!  :)

Some nice responses here.

I see someone did well enough for a Ferrari too.  Is it a red one, Tikay?

It's been two months(ish) of introduction to poker for me, and I've loved it so far.  I've learnt not to play stupid hands and perhaps most importently learnt how and when to fold a semi-decent hand. 

Highs for the year.  My first £5 STT win was a great moment for me.  Turning a free $50 to $160 on Party was a great feeling.  Most recenty, my highest finishes in the £2 mtts of 24 and 32 were great.  I think I've played the best poker I've played so far and at one point was second in the chip counts both times.

Low points - Losing all of that $160 on Party, mainly in cash games - the same was as I built it up but I've decided that they're not for me at the moment - I prefer mtt's now.  A couple of hands I've played recently on pocket 9's have disapointed as they knocked me out in 24th the other day.  I saw overcards on the flop yet I still reraised a big bet from someone - not really a low point but a 'stop and think about'  point.

Also, I'm glad I stumbled upon here.  I feel free to ask any questions I'm stuck with and I have had some great pointers from people on here too.

The next year (was that a question too?  Anyway :D) To regularly be in the cash in mtt's, visit Readings Stanley casino and play some live poker, maybe take in a Blonde live event and try and build a bankroll.  I'd also love to win an online qualifier to somewhere nice too, but that maybe taking things too far - but someone has to win em :)

I should imagine so, if it doesn't then there will be some serious egg on some faces. I hope it goes ahead and is successful (a little bit of  me wishes it to fall on its arse) But I wouldn't want the other staff to be tarnished with a failure. I have confidence in them but not heirarchy.

i started playin 14months ago
i made bout 8k profit an hav played some big festival tournies including grand prix
many thanks to the monthly 300 f out at wasall it has made me 13 k  i have had 3 cashes out of 5 atempts not bad realy
aim 4 year 2 is to earn more than my salary and get a seat in wpt or world series
i still cant do ne gd in these small rebuys though lol

My 2005 


Well started off splitting with my long term boyfriend after 4years and for the first time in my life had to live on my own and become independant!!! Boy that made me grow up alot. Before then i had never used a washing machine, iron, dish washer or even learnt to cook ( thank god for microwaves !!).  Then I ended up being involved in a car crash which wasnt my fault having to wait still to this day for an opperation ( nothing too major though ). Also my dad became ill and every day i have my fingers and toes crossed for him he is a tough nut (like me ;) ) and slowly he is plodding through. But now things are starting to look up as i have now decided to leave over 5 and a half years in the casino business behind and change careers. I have acctually learnt alot during the past year and i am really looking forward to the new year ahead although the past year wasnt the best year of my life!. Fingers crossed for the new year not just for myself but for everyone else. I wish you all a good Christmas and New year hope to meet up with many of you round and about.
Take care r x x x

My poker highs for 2005

-Making 5 final tables on the UK circuit from 22 events. 3 of them were in tournaments with over 100 runners so I was chuffed. Nothing higher than 7th though so I've made a loss thus far in ranking events. The experience was something else though, I'll try to play about 4 festivals next year.

-Winning a £500 6 man-freezeout, convincing me that when I get the cards, I can convert them into big wins.

-Having a good run in July on the Party Poker leaderboard. The week that I won it I broke the record for the number of points in one week. (It was broken again by someone else the following week >:() The weekly leader gets to play a heads up match for $1k against the winner of the previous weeks match. I had a 5 week run at this taking $4k. The challenger gets to pick the game and matey-boy ended my reign when he picked pot-limit Omaha hi-lo.

Lows

-A bad night in September when I lost £3k online playing video poker (I know, I'm an idiot.) Have not played any other online games but poker since and do not intend to. I beat myself up a fair bit over this night of weakness. I'm not suppose to be a gambler, I'm a poker player. It is my sincere hope that this was £3k well spent as it'll hopefully deter me from playing casino games, for any other reason than to pass the time playing tiny stakes, for the rest of my life. I saw something in myself that frightened me that night, I don't want to see it again.

It was comletely out of character, when playing poker if I'm down for the day I don't bother chasing my money. Tomorrow is another day. That night playing the silly video poker though I just kept on depositing and depositing, chasing and chasing. Trying to break even, probably so as to deny to myself that I ever played the -EV game in the first place. I'm just glad I was able to stop at £3k, I could have easily upped the stakes and emptied my entire bank account into that black hole. I understand a lot more about the gamblers psyche now, I've been there, I know what it feels like.

It has truly been a year I will never, never, ever forget!

1) Hangin w/ DC and sending him lots of emails in early 2005
2) Making my 1st live final table w/ any real $$$ involved and bad beating DC twice to take 2nd!
3) WSOP / what can I say :D
4) Meeting Tikay, Jen, and all the blondites
5) My trips all over the world to play "POKER", what could be better!

I had some real downs also in 2005 but I have to say it was a great year!

##### The best of 2005 is the starting of Blonde and where I think it will go, I am glad I was there at the start###################
Congrats to all that is Blonde, the creators, the members, even the critics, 2006 will be a great year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My predictions for 2006

1) The Rookie wins another bracelet at the 2006 WSOP
2) DC cashes for 2.6 Million or more
3) Tikay gets his eyes fixed :D
4) Djinn wins 2006 European player of the year
5) All that is Blonde has a great and healthy year, I wish the best to everyone!     :respect: ;applause;

The Rookie 4s 7h

Highs

Loads of online cashouts - 5 $10k plus cashes
Playing in WSOP main event
2nd place in Stars WCOOP event and $43k
played two EPT events one money finish

Lows
Some bad losses online cash - high limit PLO and NLHE players are good (well too good for me).
Didn't play as many live tournies as I would have liked

Lows
1) losing my second job through redundancy in six months in february, two months before second baby due.
2) having to wipe out my entire bankroll for the second time due to above.
3) running bad most of the middle of the year. outdraw after outdraw breaking my heart
4) being skint most of the year

Highs
1) After a bad run coinciding with the bankroll wipe out the 4th quater has shown a significant inprovement in finals and cashes.
my game is coming together and I've managed to win christmas for the family
2) getting the T-shirt business up and running. It's not making me a profit yet but it's growing steadily
3) baby Joe arriving in April.
4) Blonde poker

Highs:

For the first time in my adult life seeing the black in my bank accounts rather than the red.

Having 4 big cashes over £1k , (£1050, £2700, £1000, £1200)

Taking 4th in the Pokerstars Bloggers tournie out of 1473 runners

Winning my trip to Atlantis for the WPT Jan 2006 $12k !!!

Paying for 3 holidays with poker profits inc Vegas :D

getting engaged :D

Lows:
Having a piss poor performance in my first decent sized event the Mayrbury festival £1k NL in June. Overvalued top pair twice and was bounced within an hour!!! thats 8000 chips GRR.

Constantly having to defend Poker against Friends, Family and strangers alike... It just bores me

  Suited Jock...I also have a problem trying to explain to friends and family about poker even though I play only for fun(when I start talking about the basic mechanics of the game they lose interest)

  Anyway 2005.....

  Well what a year poker wise....

  I have learn't a lot about the game over the past 12 months and I have ended the year about £200 up.The money aside, I have learn't that sit n go's  are my bread and butter and that mtt's are a luxury.Saying that I love playing mtt's and will endevour to improve in this discipline of the game.

 Highlights....

 Ending the year at a plus money wise even though this is just a hobbie..
 Knowing that sit n go's are my strongest discipline of the game.
 Discovereing Blondepoker...what a great site!!!!

 Lows.....

 Building my bankroll from $40 to $500 over a period of 2 months then blowing it inside 2 weeks...That was a LESSON WELL LEARN'T,(do not play at a level your bankroll can not handle).
 Playing cash/real money tables...see above!!!!

 Aims....

 Over the next 12 months I hope to improve on the mtt discipline of the game.Also to be able to stay away from real money tables...
 I would also like to be able to qualify for a festival/E.P.T event at some point because I believe I am developing my game sufficiently to be able to do this.....
 Anyway the best of luck to all Blondes for the next 12 months...

 cheers  Mike

Highs:

Finding Blondepoker
Being asked to moderate Blonde
Making a heap of new chums on the forum
Contributing to the live updates
Winning 4k at Walsall
Playing my first ranking event and cashing in my first three attempts
Finally reaching profit in online multis
Earning a steady income from online ring games
Being able to give up my job to take up poker full-time
Going from broke at xmas to having a nice bankroll

Lows:
Not going to Vegas
Watching Aston Villa cement their midtable mediocracy

Up and down fo me!

Spilt with ex in Jan after 6 years bu as the year went on it got better and better, started poker 2 months ago which im really enjoying roll on 2006 cant wait!

Wow, My year

 I started playing poker on William hills on Nov 28 04 and pretty much started winning tourney's from the off (cant play cash, so i never do!), entered $11 sat to wsop, won that and another one with about 550 entry's . So now im off to Las vegas all expenses paid, also won about £1000 spending money online just before and Im thinking WOW what a piss easy game ater 4 month's and ive won a free holiday for my young family.
Im not going to bore you silly with all the poker ,However 78 hours of poker in 6 straight day's later ive come 18th in the main event of the World series of poker winning $350,000 that's £195,000 tax free.!!!!!!!!!

How can it get better than that!, but it does because i've met some truely wonderful people on the way, starting with Phil Quale  who was with me all the way, James Lowe, Dan taylor, Paul Tilling, Sheila the funniest woman i've met,Andy & billy (who i still owe a drink ,thanks chaps) and loads more who all work for William hill.
Since July 2005 down to poker my life has completly changed for the better, We have a huge deposit for a house ,new car,new Honda motorbike,laptop,computer and all kinds of crap.
I was also invited to the William Hill Grand prix in Cardiff and had a great time, Ive played in the carribean classic in St Kitts( all most generously paid for by William Hill )where i played the funniest game of golf in my life myself ,Mark Goodwin against Dave colclough(truely nice funny guy's & dave you owe me dinner) and my good friend Brian Wilson. if you think Brian's making up all his play's in his post's  i  can ensure you there all true....i've even called one of his mad raise's with 94 s and i had the best hand !!!, needless to say i lost that pot to his straight.
In St kitts i also spent alot more time with Phil,Julian,steve V,Badgirl,james,Dan where much merryiment was to be had in between that silly card game.

Well i cant go on for much longer the sense of bragging is embarrassing me, and for those who have met me know i dont even talk about poker never mind give it the bigun... Oh i nearly forgot to mention the really creepy guy i met in vegas....oh what was his name again.........you know the one , wears bright coloured jackets, weird colour hair,sleeps with young thai men any chance he get's...........TONY KENDALL (TK) that's his name ......nice bloke !!!.


Well i've had a brilliant year all for $11........and for 2006 im in the WSOP again thanks to William hill.

John Mcgrane (johnny046)......or just Cupcake.

Happy new year all blondites.

Great post Cupcake.

Inspirational stuff.

I am telling you guys, cupcake is a great guy, very funny also, congrats on a great year Johnnyboy!!!! ;karabiner; ;karabiner; ;karabiner;

for me

( 1 ) got married
( 2 ) went to vegas ( for above and the world series )
( 3 ) Headhunted for a great new job that paid fortunes
( 4 ) Left said job as the MD was a wanker ( 3 weeks later )
( 5 ) Earned my crust from playing poker at the Cincinatti room since November
( 6 ) Had a great chistmas due to number 5
( 7 ) Chuffed with my year and progress playing poker considering I only started playing in May. 8) 8)

sounds like a great year!

Its not done yet!!!!! I am squeezing all the juice outta this year I can

i am not, i have done nothing in December except rest and get ready for 2006

....and inspire us all. Don't underestimate the potency of sitting on your arse Brian, and the power you have over us all.

just look what the mighty  4d 7s has done for glasgow poker players

please dont try to pin this one on me, i didnt do it 8)

You did and that's why we luv ya.

Personally I await the cardboard erection of Brian next to the bar.

Incidently brian when will you visit said cincinatti club?

A cardboard erection is the best I can manage when I'm next to the bar for too long.

 :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

couldnae resist either

2005 High's

Putting the brakes on online poker and playing considerable more live poker.  Just 100 times more interesting.
Discovering Blonde poker and true mates on the back of it.
Chopping a £300 comp in Notts and gaining £5,500.
Coming 4th in my first Ranking event.
Gaining on overall live profit of nearly £12k.
Not losing weekly online anymore.
Meeting loads of interesting and rare people.
Peoples atitudes towards female players changing considerably this year.

Low's

Hating my chippy business that i've ran with my brother for the last 18 months, BUT i have to say that i wouldn't have played nearly as much live poker this year than when i was in dull office job with crap pay. So i guess this belongs in both.
Not making it to Vegas YET.
Damaging my arm/elbow at work and being on pain killers for 6 months.  Not advisable.
Constantly day dreaming at work about another life (possibly poker related) and consequently nearly setting fire to the shop (a couple of times).
I guess NOT setting fire to the shop should be in the High's section!!

In all a top year that i cant really complain about.  Bring on 2006!

i hope in March before the Monte Carlo EPT

Good stuff, I am looking forward to it already.

Highs
Winning $50,000 on Challenge TV
Met some great people during the year and made good friends.
London winning the 2012 olympics
England qualifying for the world cup

Lows
Hangover after the Poker Million final party, don't think i have really drunk since.
Recent visit to a Casino, decided to teach someone how to play craps. Promptly gave a lesson in how easy it is to lose money.
Robbie Fowler missing a penalty against Boro which would have qualified City for Europe.

no 8)