blonde poker forum

It's back!

This event didn't get enough love last year but I'm gutted I forgot to check the schedule this season else I'd definitely be up in Blackpool this weekend.  See below for one of the frames that sums it all up - Neil Robertson was pretty casual about the event until this frame when he got caught up in the moment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YegAtj5_adQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YegAtj5_adQ)

64 man event where pretty much anyone can win so plenty of value to be had amongst the players listed at 80/1+.

Despite drawing Selby in the first round, Joe Perry must be worth a punt at 125/1.

Plus people like Tom Ford and Fergal O'Brien look decent at 100/1.

In theory it should suit the rapid players like Jimmy White (125/1) and Tony Drago (100/1) but think I'd rather a bit of form still....!!

Good luck to those getting involved!

Someone at Sportingbet doesn't rate Joe Jogia....

250/1!

have you seen the market for his first game has been taken down in some spots after some strange market move. There was one game there last year that was as bent as a nine bob note featuring someone with loads of previous.

Seems like they can't help themselves.

Aha, that explains it.

Apart from the top bracket the tour players get bugger all prize money so can see how they tempted.

Will look today and get involved, mad punting ftw

When does this start? Saturday?

Tomorrow night at 6 I think

Ronnie not there either, shame.

I've had some e/w flyers with

Hawkings 80/1
Millkins 80/1
J Robertson 125/1
Gunnell 125/1
Day 50/1
Burden 100/1

Had a punt on this last year and enjoyed watching it.

I'd like to go for one or two of the young guns around 100/1 - can someone more up to date help, googling the names I don't know is taking ages.

Tom Ford for me.  Fairly quick player and already on 100+ career centuries which is decent, and handy to have someone who can get in and kill off the match in this format.

Here's a nice VIDEO (http://"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Az-vD13YDUw") of him smashing up Maguire in the 1st Round last year.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Az-vD13YDUw

Can still get 100/1 I think.

Here is my list for the tourno (clearly got a bit carried away - but hopefully get a sweat on Sunday!):

Matthew Stevens @ 40/1 (Last 32)
Stuart Bingham @ 66/1 (Last 32)
Tom Ford @ 100/1 (Last 8 )
Joe Perry @ 125/1 (OUT)
Steve Davis @ 125/1 (OUT)
Martin Gould @ 50/1 (Last 8 )
Andrew Higginson @ 80/1 (OUT)
Fergal O'Brien @ 100/1 (Last 32)
Matthew Selt e/w @ 80/1 (Last 32)

EDIT - Down to just two hopes!  But does include biggest bet on Ford...

C'mon Wenbo!

I've not watched much Snooker for ages but I am really enjoying this concept and it's com when the crowd start booing the people who play safe etc.

What channel is this on?

One of the Sky Sports.

Nice pick :)

Sandy

Can't believe Ford missed that black!

8 bags on it plays on your mind

Always good to see a Hawkins pocket 32 lumps.

wow well done Dwayne, incredible tekkers.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MkXNCsVlAE

wd Dwayne.

Oioi wp Dwayne!!

Nice pick! Wasn't expecting that black to miss.. :(

Oi oi!!

Only had a deep sea diver each way on but still, and a pre quarter final top up @ 9/1!

My little boy confirmed he's left footed today too, so what a day all round!!  :D

Thrown some arrows at:

Hamilton 66/1
Jamie Jones 80/1
Walden 40/1
Wenbo 66/1
Higgingson 80/1
Pinches 100/1

Three complete guesses for me on

Gould
King
Harold

I see they have shortened the shot clock again this year

three very pinstickerish £2 e/w on these for me

Alfie Burden 80/1
Barry Pinches 100/1
Jimmy Robertson 100/1

Some of the prices on the well known players are scandalous in this format

Rory McLeod v Martin Gould might finish 1-0.

Anthony Hamilton is the spitting image of John Sessions

i am now remembering why i stopped watching this last year

pretty dire

First time I've watched it more than in passing.

I'm enjoying it.

Never seen Jack Lisowski play before, he looks good.

Practices, and lives with Judd Trump, must be an advantage

It's the snooker version of the Shrewdies poker house.

Kind of.

Woolaston v Davison looked incredibly dodgy.

Some very strange betting patterns pre match.

the format is so easy to manipulate matches isn't it?

No idea what the betting volumes are in each single match, or what the prize money is?

many players will be going to blackpool and associated expenses for one frame, two frames, over a weekend?

but a lot of bad play in this can be blamed on shot clocks and the time limit

I am pretty surprised by some of what I am watching

I'd pay more than a ton to see Judd Trump spend 24 hours in a cupboard!!!!!

Some people just don't cope with the shot clock (Higgins is the most obvious example). How do you spot the betting patterns, BTW? Is it just looking at the graphs on betfair?

Sheriff of Pottingham up next.

My fav nickname by far.

Only in snooker, I assume.

If not, I raise you Mervyn 'The King' King. :D

Pretty sure "Get on with it!" is the greatest snooker heckle of all time.

I take it back.

Singing the James Bond theme and following it with "Nigel Bond...he s**gs when he wants" might be borderline, but it was at least witty.

I know it's wrong but I am laughing.

Willie Thorne apologised for that!

If they apologised for every risque chant at football matches there would be no time for commentary.

Gerard Greene being backed as if defeat is out of the question for the next game v Dave Harold.

Double the amount traded on this game compared to the average.

It's like they know the result in advance.

Greene backed from 2.14 to 1.8

This is the event where Joe Jogia ruined his career, if you'd call it that last year, would they be stupid enough?

I'm paranoid.

Can't understand why anyone would bet in thousands on an event like this.

Harold actually played pretty well.

He is one of the slowest and most deliberate players around but he has fun in this event and I seem to recall he had a good run either last year or the year before.

there were a few rumours around twitter that Harold was pissed out of his head (pre game)

the strange dancing at the end would suggest he was

did not affect his thought process if he was though

Just read about the Jogia thing.

How did he get a ban 4 times the length of John Higgins!?!?

"11 of these bets had been placed before he sought medical attention regarding his knee injury" - So what?

no idea but because he was/is a relative nobody?

was ridic when you consider what others have got away with wasn't it. Higgins and Lee generate cash for the boss man, Jogia doesn't and was just given the punishment those two and a few others should have got.

mcmanus not exactly rushing to give himself a chance there

That was funny, even when there is a game clock counting down McManus still plays at the same pace.

Although it was obviously going to be bent, he's had a much better alibi than Higgins!

1.01 shot landed with the commentator calling mcmanus " a good match player"

been saying that for twenty years

it is obviously not right but a similar thing has happened in racing recently

Jim Boyle a fairly low key flat trainer has been banned and basically gone bankrupt defending himself and Nicky "chemical" Henderson has received poultry fines and bans for what most feel have been worse rule breakers

nothing to do with him training for the queen mum i am sure

Wonder if you are allowed to take a laptop into the venue

Ridic ricks in running in the Campbell/Dale match

Milkins looked really good and comfortable in the format last night, my longshot tip to win.

i played Jimmy Robertson in our league i referred to the other day

he was 13 there was a big debate about him being allowed to play

the shame of being 17/18 and losing to a wafer thin kid who looked 10 and i think i had 3 shots all frame

amazed he has not done better as a pro just shows you how good the standard is

Done one unit on Milkins.

Switching to White for my next outright loser.

That was the most impressive I've seen apart from the Selby total clearance yesterday.

What has happened to the old MC of the snooker, the curly haired fella?

Foulds suggesting some of the players have been on the sauce?

think that is a 1.01 shot

Maguire out of his skin pissed by the looks of it.

His name was Alan Hughes. He was a little different to his tv persona

If it's the league i'm thinking of, another player a few years older threw a hissy one night and got banned from the club Jimmy played in. The other player was on the tour and didn't like it that Jimmy got sponsored by the club and he didn't

been loving this all weekend!

Still got a few pre-tourney bets left as well.

I think you'd have to be completely stupid, or really drunk to bet any reasonable sum on this is running lol

no idea about this

Wow, White had some kind of brain fart there and gave Hawkins wins it with 2-3 seconds left.

Maflin should have won this twice

Been watching this all day. It's pretty bloody good. Strategic stuff tbh but some players seem a bit thick with shot selection.

I bet there is some action in the G casino Blackpool on cash tables with that lot up there too later.

Our hero Ming will be loving it!  "aww innnn" was the only thing that fkr ever said. Top bloke.

wtf was Maguire doing there, he took the only combo of lower colours there off the last reds that didn't put him in front by at least 1 point after potting the pink.

That was a great frame.

Allen and Maguire always seem like tossers on the reg tour.

Actually seem like decent blokes playing this.

I agree, the most underused tactic for me is the snooker, a successful snooker is more valuable than potting a single ball with the ball in hand if the other guy fouls.

Doubt Holt will turn out to b a decent bloke.

Tips for Tikay 2014 bash at Blackpool for this?

Think it looks like a great weekend, even if we can't bet on laptops, can bet with each other.

Haven't backed a jolly all tournament, but would fancy Allen at 4/5 with pressure at the max.

Final!!!

I'm going for the green followed by the green tho.

I'd make it about 6/4 they are standing out the back now and splitting it 24k each.

Doubt anyone would split anything with Holt.

But Gould and Allen will probably cho9p it up.

Although got to be careful with Hearn in charge. Remember the original Poker Million?

Was that the one John D won, or Tony B?

If so what happened?

great idea

John won.

It was a £10k buyin with a million guaranteed to the winner.

Only got 70odd runners, so Ladbrokes/Matchroom (realistically I assume Laddies) had to add £300k and in the end they added a little bit for the other finalists, so the payout was something like 1st 1million 2nd 100k 3rd 50k 4th 30k 5th 20k 6th 10k

Hearn told them if he found out they did a deal, he wouldn't let them keep the added money.

It was actually 6k buyin with 156 runners.

Think Ladbrokes put quite a few runners in late to boost the field.

http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=633

I can 100% see him doing that. Good idea for next years T4T too, my first thought was 'messy'

Crikey, some faces on that Final Table.

And a few who have - in Herndon Mob terms - dropped off the radar.

Always interesting to see these final tables. What happened to Tony Jones after he beat Helen Chamberlain?

Dave Welch came 10th for 1/3rd of his money back.

Bet some investors in Aces Poker would like 1/3rd of their cash back!

I did my bollocks on this tournament.

Ran a book on it and laid Duthie to lose fortunes.

I had played with him alot at Russell Square and he seemed like the ultimate ice cream.

Proceeded to produce the most impressive performance of poker on tv ever seen (imo).

Little did I know I was betting against a mad genius.

Very messy probably, but the cash games at G Casino will pay the exes surely?

I would be up in class in the poker games but would deffo be fun.

I've never played against you, but I'd be happy to have half your action v Stevens, Williams and the boys.

Doubt is was his money (Dave W) Keith......

John Duthie, when he was on his game, is one of the most talented players I ever saw or played. Maybe not in today's game, but back then he could be different gravy. There is a great JD story on Mr K's yacht, when John was in a bit of a difficult spot, & he HAD to win. He took everyone's pants down good & proper.

Williams plays a pretty good game of poker, especially Omaha. Not in bobby's class though. Obv.

Does Laurie Butters still play at Luton?

haha, we have actually played cash together once, many many years ago at The Vic. We got into what I thought was a bluffing war on a 666 X board only to find either your balls were bigger than mine/ or you had it.

That poker mill performance was unreal wasn't it, he hardly ever had it but totally ran the table.

No, not seen him in years.

lol, you mean my...ooohhh these are all a bit connected....aaahhh yin.

I feel a long range sting attempt taking place.

It was awesome.

I had the misfortune to be on the wrong end of one of those masterclasses one night. It was a pleasure to watch, losing to that was no disgrace.

Totally agree Keith

John also tells one of the funniest stories of when he worked in Soho as a youngster, ask him to tell you next time you meet. ref: Roxy    ;D

Dobbo hasn't had a cash since 2004 according to THM database.

Wonder what would happened to their respective lives if that ace hadn't come when John had A2 v Dobbos 33.

Yea, I still think he would have ironed it out though, he loved a punt lol
 He was working at The Western for a while and then went off the scene. I havent seen him in  a while.
Theres some good stories with Ian too. Some real good times in those days.

I remember when Dobbo, Duthie and Devilfish apparenly had a percentage in UBet for wearing their gear. I think only Devilfish stuck to it though.

This bellend was there.  As well as usual trick at the darts as offering ridiculous odds throughout  (think was 1.66 vs 1.91 in the final), over heard him telling someone to "get my fuckin car out front now" at the end. Fat tosser didnt move all night

The picture upload seem to have failed, it was of gary wiltshire slumped over a table

Wow.

Good memory Craig.

Totally forgot Duthie had the UB gig for a while.

 ;bump;

Carter, Milkins, Guodong, Hamilton and Selt.

Anyone else having a speculative parlay?

Martin Gould, gould always believe in the gould...

I done well in this format last year backing against the favourites.  Selectively of course.  With the swingy nature of the tournament you can do well putting a bit on betfair just to trade in play. 

As for the outrights I have a few including Liskowki, Brecel, White, Cope, Davis and Campbell.

This guy:

(http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Admin/BkFill/Default_image_group/2009/12/17/1261063118708/Jimmy-White-001.jpg)

Just lol, that ref.  What the feck was he doing?  Did he even know? 

Shambles. 

Tom Ford v Mike Dunn looked very dodgy to me.

Me too, but I didn't want to post during the game and make it look like I was talking through my pocket.  But I genuinley believed both players were trying to lose.

The Ebdon game just on was "interesting"

Amazed the firms price up every game tbh

Just cannot trust this format at all from a betting perspective

Not only is each frame random/chance

but you cannot convince me that some of these players want to win some of these frames.

Does the game no favours.

Surely you can back people who are less likely to have had a few beverages or who aren't as likely to have had a conversation with a bookmaker?

There are some squiggles in the field, I'm sure. Doesn't take much to be making decent bets, even if you are a slave to crippling variance.

It is fun, and for betting purposes it's fun too, as long as your not betting silly sums on something thats not better than a coin toss.

how do you know who they are?

You don't know, but there's a few games every year where you wouldn't want to be reliant on player X or player Y in the future. Not the worst place to start.

Also worth saying the format really doesn't suit some players and really does appeal to others, who don't cope well in the more formal environs.

Just seen a bit of this. God help us.

Crowd heckling, bimbo walk-on girls, players in sponsors shirts, some sort of foghorn repeatedly going off.

Why do we have to ruin the decorum of everything? This is nearly as bad as bish-bosh cricket. What next, one-club golf, with dancing girls, & players not tucking their shirt in?

Disgusted,

Tunbridge Wells.

Why do they use a schoolboy as the Referee?

FYP ;-)

This is not a game for the snooker purist, but its light hearted entertainment.  Too many, snooker is boring probably in the same way that darts was before Mr Hearn got involved and look what he has done for that game. 

As long as this is only once per year I am not too bothered.

I did warn you, tikay...

I actually quite enjoy it.

Except for the cheating.

Matthew Stevens is wearing tan coloured shoes!

WTF?

This is an utter disgrace.

What is going on??!

What's the over/under on mashed potato ?

Sounds like 4/5 people in the crowd need shot and it'd be more enjoyable.

Sandy

What was Michael White thinking there?  That was supidity. 

"Matthew Stevens v Nigel Bond, I think that's the highlight of the round"

*switches off*

Jimmy White, famous raconteur, wit and story teller is doing the commentary.

*really switches off this time*

Don't need to watch, flicking through this is more enjoyable ;D