blonde poker forum

Been lurking around a few poker forums for a couple of years now without really posting and now decided to post a bit more. I didn’t know the best way to introduce myself to the site so did it here.

About me

I’m 25 and live just on the outskirts of Leeds. Used to live in Blackburn but made the controversial move over the border to the place with the wrong coloured rose after going to uni in Leeds. Still travel back to Blackburn for the football (unfortunately).

Got into poker the usual way people start poker really. Played with mates at college, home games etc then made the transition to online poker with Full Tilt. Before it closed, I usually lost my small deposits and then would go on to blame anything bar myself for my losses before I realised I was a bad player.

Now play cash games solely on sky poker were I have managed to change my game around and built up from the 4nl cash tables to being a profitable 30nl player. One or two books helped me get there, but now I need to work hard on my game to try reaching new heights. I have a lot more to learn and unfortunately have quite a few leaks which consist mainly of spewing and making terrible calls which then leads to the inevitable tilt.

I am working on my game a lot at the moment which is why I have took the plunge into the poker forum world. Unfortunately, life circumstances mean I have to withdraw bits of my roll from time to time so it is harder to make the step up through the higher levels but those circumstances will change soon meaning the aim is to go from 30nl to maybe 100nl within a year or 2. This will be out of my ability at the minute but setting goals can only help.

I am thinking of regularly updating this thread with the ups (hopefully) and (the more likely) downs along the way to hopefully progressing through the levels and creating a decent amount of side earnings to whatever direction life takes me. I won’t be posting specific profit/loss numbers unless I decide to create some sort of challenge for myself in the future etc.

Right, well that’s the boring introduction out of the way. Anyone have any questions just fire away. I’m into sports, music, TV etc so doesn’t have to be poker based.

(http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_me2io3Jgbv1qldf7x.gif)

Ha ha, cheesy forum gifs FTW.

First (in before G2L)

Good luck getting what you want.  I'm doing loads on motivation, goals, inspiration, mental game - as well as coaching and strategy work.  Happy to join in where I can here.

best place to live leeds or blackburn? did u enjoy leeds uni?

Hi AJR14

Please rank the following films in order of brilliance and explain your reasoning:

Police Academy
Airplane!
Hotshots!
Goodfellas
Hook
The Dark Knight
Casino Royale
Rounders

Please note your answers will be marked berated by a panel of experts anyone who happens to see your thread.


An excellent start to your thread-owning career, may I say, sir.

In before bobAlike.

Hi AJR,

Good luck with the Diary.

Think I MAY know of you from next door, though I have no idea what your screen-name there is. (An oddity of the Data Protection Act is that I cannot ASK you that question, but you CAN tell me if you wish. Weird thing, the DPA).

Good to hear you have moved up to 30NL, & are profitable at that level.

I have a question for you - a perfectly serious one.

If you are profitable at 30NL (we are talking £ here, not $), why are you hoping to move up to what is, without any doubt, a tougher level?

Why not just play more Tables, or put in more hours, at 30NL?

This question may surprise you, or others. "Moving up levels" seems to be wired into our minds - no matter what level ANY player plays at, & beats, they have a desire to move up to the next level. It's almost like a paternal instinct in a lady.

If you can make - say - £50 per week at 30NL, why not just stay at that level & count the £50's rolling in each week, or double the volume & earn £100 per week?

As a supplementary, & rhetorical question, I assume you know roughly what % of poker players actually make money playing poker. Not many...... So if you have found a level you are profitable at, & unless you are some kind of poker genius, why not stay at 30NL?

Look forward to this Diary.

In before Thursday

Are you the next Blackburn manager?

tyty. Coaching is something i have been considering for a while so may take you up on that at some point in the future.

Cool.  I'm not doing the coaching though.  I'm just paying someone else for it, but happy to discuss the merits of the course and other bits I have been doing,

Leeds without a doubt. Blackburn is a dying town unfortunately. A lot of good people but absolutely nothing to do within the town. The complete opposite of Leeds.

Yeah uni in Leeds was good. Very good in fact. I was deliberately misleading in the intro though, i went to Leeds Trinity uni which happens to be the 3rd best uni in Leeds (unfortunately out of 3). But yeah, enjoyed the time there and finished with a degree and a battered liver. The bank account took a beating as well but was all worth it.  

looking through that list i have only seen half of them. Out of the 4 i have seen:

Tough to pick between the top 2 between Dark Knight and Goodfellas. Both great films but think Goodfellas pips it for me. In fact just watched The Dark Knight Rises for the 2nd time over weekend and think i may actually think its better than the Dark Knight. Very close though and may be because i have seen Dark Knight a lot.

3rd would have to be Hook, there is a lot of good family films from when i was young and this is definitely one of the better ones.

Rounders is a good solid film, nothing spectacular but a good watch.

Out of the rest i havent seen, any you strongly recommend? i have just received Casino Royale on love film so gonna watch it soon. Also if there is any good recommendations i will stick them on the to watch list. 

Trinity is excellent for certain courses :) and in a great country location

Ending of Goodfellas is something I have an irrational loathing towards. I don't care whether it is based on a true story. End it properly! Such a good film until then.

If you've never seen Airplane or Hotshots, I can't really take this any further. Both unimaginably silly, will fill two hours without you wanting to get up and make a drink and you'll find yourself quoting bits to other people without realising it.

Wow, Hi Tikay. Great to get a reply from someone who i believe has helped me out a lot in the past without actually speaking one to one. When starting out 'next door', a lot of the work you do over there helped me out a hell of a lot and was one of the reasons i managed to get through the early levels and beyond so ty sir!

The name is AJ_Rockets on there, i cant recall speaking directly to you but i have been about for a while so you may recognise the name.

To the question,

Im obviously a poker genius so.... no in all seriousness its something Ive never thought about. In all aspects of my life i'm very competitive (you should see the games of snakes and ladders v me and my also very competitive little niece) so when moving up it brings the competitive side out. When i stay at one level too long it can start to feel a bit stale and some of my enjoyment of poker dwindles and i just play solely for the money. So i suppose (other than the money) moving up keeps me more interested in the game meaning i then have the motivation to work hard on my game. There has been times i have got to the point of just playing for the money and it didn't go well lol.  

Lol. I'm very close to sending in my Footy Manager CV. The worst thing is, it would not surprise me in the slightest if i got through to the interview stage!

Yes, I understand, that all makes perfect sense.

Glad I was able to be of some assistance when you first began. I only do "Level One" stuff, but that IS very important, as we take these basic disciplines right through our poker life. Seemingly little things like the importance of position apply no matter what level we play at. I still try to help the newcomers next door, but the general level of ability, or perceived ability, is far higher on blonde, so I never ever give "hand advice" here, though I do try & help folks with psychological stuff.

You should take a look at the Poker Hand Analysis Board we have here - some incredibly good advice there, though you will need to be able to sort the wheat from the chaff.

Good luck with the poker, & the Diary. We are getting a lot of new Diaries & Members of late, & the place is very much better for their presence.

ah ok, misread your first post :).

If you don't mind me asking i have a few questions as like i said it is something i have been considering myself. Any you don't want to answer that's fine.

You been doing it long? You noticed how much it has helped your game? What areas do you think it has helped you with the most? has your end results improved?
Is there a huge difference in one 2 one coaching when compared to video coaching sites?

They are both now on my list and will update my views when watched lol

For the record, Tony has also helped my poker career by not speaking....

Hanging Lady: Nervous?
Ted Striker: Yes.
Hanging Lady: First time?
Ted Striker: No, I've been nervous lots of times

------

Rumack: Can you fly this plane, and land it?
Ted Striker: Surely you can't be serious.
Rumack: I am serious... and don't call me Shirley.

Yeah agree about the basic principles, unfortunately i self taught poker before i had any clue so therefore had a lot of bad habits which you helped a lot with and are definitely one of the 2 reasons i turned from a losing player to a winning one. Bizarrely the other one was the first poker book i ever read called 'play poker like the pros' by the lovely Phil Helmuth lol. Re-read it recently and have no idea how it helped, really is a poor book.

VBlue is showing you the way.

1st poker update

Any hopes of some start of the diary run good has soon disappeared. Although I’m not down a lot in money, hardly anything in fact, my play has been pretty poor and the cards haven’t been running my way.

This diary won’t be a moaning diary, but when I decided to start, I decided I would only do it if I was frank and truthful with every issue I was experiencing. So here is the first.

I’m not sure whether any readers play on Sky, but if you do let me know.

Although there are a few decent regs at this level, the majority are recreational and inexperienced players or one or two tabling semi regs. This means that the level can be profitable but can also sometimes be high variance, something that only recently has started to cause some tilt issues for me. The main issues aren’t with how people have played their hand etc but is with my decision making and the way I play the hand. When I make bad calls etc I get really annoyed with myself. Even when I make the correct call and lose, I can’t help results orientated thinking entering my mind. This without a doubt has started to affect my play later on in sessions

I’ve played poker seriously for about 2 years now and it’s something I have never suffered with until recently. Bizarrely, when the tilt started was right around the time that I started to work on my game. When I used to sit down and just play it never happened.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who struggles with tilt and would be really helpful to see how others deal with it or have managed to completely stop tilt issues. I have read the mental game of poker which I am just about to read again and actually do what he says to do this time, but any other help would be great.

 :hello: i've played 4 or 5 hands on sky before :)up



re tilt, just don't simples.

Hey AJ.

Think I've played a few hands with you, def recognise you from just around the site tho.

Be interesting to read about a fellow Sky reg so good luck with it

The Poker hasn’t gone too well since starting this thread. Just been looking through my HH’s and although there are quite a few coolers I’m really not happy with how I’m playing at the moment. After losing around 5 buy ins last night and another withdrawal I am going to have to drop down to 20nl for a week or so and rebuild, not only the bankroll, but the confidence. I know 5 buy in loses are normal but when coupled with the rest of the week i definitely have to move down for a short while.

Moving down the levels is something that doesn’t bother me as I’m really strict with the roll so I’m always moving up and down. In fact I am probably playing a different level every couple of weeks. However this time I am bit more disappointed with it as I haven’t had to drop to 20nl for a very long time. I have played quite a few hands there recently but that was mainly due to lack of 30nl tables running so I would play 20nl while starting new tables.

I would post a couple of the hands here but haven’t yet found a way to move SkyPoker HH’s on here without it pasting in an god awful way and taking an obscene amount of time to make it look reasonable. So instead i will give a quick summary of one or two major hands

1-   Tried to make an unknown fold in a 3bet pot with a pretty obvious JJ/KK on  x10xAx board – Obv shouldn’t be trying this v an unknown, they called w/ KK

2-   Calling down a poor aggro player with AJ on 9445x after they pot donk flop, check turn then pot river only to see AK (a hand i had completely discounted as they didn’t 3bet pre, something i would expect) The only hand i was worried about here was AQ or maybe some low pairs they are turning into a bluff

3-   Value betting TPTK v good reg who will always 3bet JJ+ except for this time when they turn over QQ on Jxxxx


I know the above way isn’t the best way to summarise hands, i will work out how best to do it for the future. I will probably be posting some hands in the poker hand analysis section at some point over the next couple of days.

options for sky hhs

remember the details and retype,

or open the full detail chat window, and copy paste the betting information there, remember to note stack sizes other information that isn't contained.

Yeah think ive donated to you both on my brief ventures to the higher stakes.

Would be interested to know both views on 50nl+ on Sky and whether when moving up you would advise playing those levels on Sky or whether different sites are better. Ive never really played on other sites and i know 50nl+ on Sky has got a bit of a reputation for being really nitty.  

violently nitty would be the word. liquidity is getting very low, but the nl30-50 games do run and are definitely crushable.

 ;yippee; 

GL w/ the diary Rocketmannnnnn !!!

Bit of a football post here, well, a football rant is more accurate. Anyone who read the opening post will know I am unfortunately a Blackburn Rovers fan and I’m sure a lot of you have heard what has happened again this week at Ewood Park. I’m not going to discuss the sacking as I happen to think Appleton was poor in some aspects and in isolation this sacking probably wouldn’t be that bad. Obviously the length of time given to him to change things around is not long enough for anyone, if you are going to appoint someone you have to give them the time but for me he wasn't the right appointment in the first place. The problem is that this decision is not in isolation and is obviously going to be lumped together with every other decision that Venkys have made.

My main issue with all the mess at Ewood is how on earth can the FA stand by and allow owners who obviously have no knowledge about football to come into a Premier League club and completely dismantle it?

Whatever people feel about Blackburn one thing is clear and that is that these rules and regulations regarding fit and proper ownership in football needs looking at urgently. Most football people know that Venkys have completely ruined our club and they are seen as one of the worst owners in English football so why can’t the FA step in and help the people of Blackburn?

I know a lot of people have no sympathy with Rovers for various reasons but one thing is clear, the football world need to take notice when owners like these arrive, and put pressure on the FA to put in measures to not let it happen in the first place or stop it if it does happen.

I heard something recently that under the new financial regulations being brought to football in the coming years, Jack Walker would never have been able to do what he did for Blackburn years ago when buying his home town club but Venkys would be allowed free reign to continue their destruction. As much as I agree about something needing to be done about money in football, that thought fills me with disbelief every time I hear it.

Loving the balance in your Diary, keep it coming please.

Photos would be terrific, too, if you have time & inclination. Photos enhance any Diary or thread.

Great stuff.

Welcome AJ,

Good to see you starting a diary, will definitely follow this with interest.

Paul

Paul!

Welcome aboard.

See you tomorrow.

Cheers Tikay,

I used to browse here a long time ago, but never got round to making an account/posting but a mate told me AJ had started a diary so thought I'd pop along.

See you at London, should be a great weekend.

Paul

Tyty!!

Good luck with the weekend Lambert if your playing

Finally had my first decent session since starting the diary!!

Played about 4 hours 20nl last night and ended around 5 buy ins up, which practically puts me back up to 30nl just in time for the weekend. I would spend a bit more time at 20nl but Friday night has always been my most profitable night so im just going to move back up unless i have a bad start.

20nl on Sky is a lot different than 30nl. The main difference is that all the multi tabling tight regs stay at this level, so although there are a lot of tables running, some of them just become so mind numbing and an exercise in swapping blinds. That said there are still a lot of inexperienced players who splash their money around so table selection is far more important.

I think table selection is a big leak in a lot of regs games, most will just sit at any table even if it is 5 other really tight players and not bother that they are damaging their win rate. I’m not saying the tight regs aren’t beatable, they are, but just spending a bit of time looking around for tables with inexperienced players will increase the win rate dramatically.

Does anyone have any tips when it comes to table selection or any tips on what seats are best when starting new tables to maximise the chance of the weaker players sitting on your right? I once read a higher stakes reg saying  that they sat in specific seats when starting for some tactical reason but they never divulged.

I haven’t looked through my HH’s today so I’m not putting any up at the moment but I'm going to be going over the last few days over the weekend so i will put 4 or 5 up when i do, will probably be tomorrow.

Gl to everyone at the tables if playing tonight

sit in the top middle of new tables on sky ssshhh don't tell anyone... ;-)


you'll also find that nl50+ just has the same set of moron regs folding and passing the money around just like at nl20, there's just even more bumhunting.


tbh you shouldn't have to game or seat select to be able to beat the games, yes doing that may increase your wr but you should be able to be positive anyway in these games.

Yeah totally agree titanium about it being beatable on those tables just so much more value to be had quicker by looking around.


Only a quick update today.

Played a 7 hour session last night that finished around 4 in morning so I’m pretty goosed today. Didn’t go great, but wasn't too bad either. I stayed around breakeven all night, except for 2 hands that I’m genuinely quite embarrassed about so those HH’s will never make an appearance, hopefully. Just lost all discipline in the 2 hands and spewed off 150bb stacks in both.

I’ve stuck a 5 quid accumulator on today even though there aren’t many league games being played.

Bournemouth
Doncaster
Cheltenham
Gillingham
Northampton

Just over £300 from a tenner if it comes in. Yes please

Right have first hand for the diary. If people feel that the hand analysis section is a more suitable location for my hands just say and i will place the next hands over there.

Villain is a mass tabling 20nl reg who isnt the best player, they take really weird lines and make a lot of mistakes often. He is a winning player at this level though so he does know what he is doing.

I have a lot of notes on him:

- The player can tilt really badly for about 15-20 mins after a big hand. There is no evidence he is tilting here. It is usually very easy to spot so i am assuming he is not.
- he limp calls a lot, especially in Early position but i have seen them do it on the button. i know this has nothing to do with the below hand but want to put across the type of player. i also know they have limp raised 1010 in the past
- They used to min re-raise value and larger when bluffing (this is likely to be an outdated note)
- They have 3bet me earlier with J7o and value bet 2 streets with 2nd pair. this was blind v blind though. They can 3bet very weird hands usually around the blinds
- Most mistakes they make are not folding when obv they are beat if they have top pair and they miss so many obvious value bets on turn and river


To the hand. This is on 20nl.

we are on the button with  Qh Qd. UTG limps we raise to 80p and villain 3bets to £3.20 in the BB. everyone else folds. I call. we playing villains 100bb effective stack

QQ doesn't do great v their range that continues when i 4bet.  i want to keep his bluffs in. he has only 3bet once in this session bvb. 

flop comes  6c 4d 2h.      pot is £6.70

villain snap checks with a stack of £16.80, i bet £3.50, he takes a small amount of time and raises to £8.00

What do we do here??

just because he can beat the population at nl20 doesn't mean he's 'any good'.


very often against players I don't want to 4b QQ with here, I check the flop alot bcos if we bet and get raised we're not winning unless they regularly do this with AK.

Yeh i may have not been clear. I don't rate him as a good player. What i meant by adding that they are a winning player was that they must not be completely awful but yeah he is poor in many sections of his game.

Yeah i like the idea of checking back flop. Is the plan when we check the flop to call the turn and river because our check can induce bluffs unless bad cards fall or their bet sizing tells us we are beat?   

so as played we always beat unless we have notes that say otherwise?

the only reason I mention quality is everyone over there says, so i'm playing nl4 and im up against phil ivey. and it's very tilting because it's clear the standard is very poor.


flop check is very deceptive relative to our hand strength, plus i'd been peeling the 3bet with a whole bunch of other stuff so would want to create some b/f some check back ranges.

the only reason I mention quality is everyone over there says, so i'm playing nl4 and im up against phil ivey. and it's very tilting because it's clear the standard is very poor.

[/quote]


lol, yeah i see that a lot. The posts that really rile me are the ones where they clearly feel they are close to taking the world by storm but cant build a roll yet because they can’t beat 4nl as its full of really bad players!!



Also wondering if anyone can shed some light on why I seem to have lost a post or 2 that I saw on here last night. Is this something wrong with my computer, something that happens a lot on the forums or they have simply deleted it?

depends normally anything by smashedagain gets deleted soon after posting. cant comment on this thread as I haven't seen anything go.

lol. have to say im looking forward to the return of this diary. i haven't read any of the earlier pages but from the last 2 pages before the return, it sounds like it will be an interesting read.

The missing post wasn't anything bad, it was just a post about the hand i posted which is why i was confused about it disappearing. Oh well.

 

Weekend review.

Not the biggest fan of huge updates but this one may be a bit bigger because i didn’t post on Sunday.

Saturday was a long day with not much happening.. I ended up a little bit up at the end of the day but the main part of Saturday was managing to find a lot of my leaks that have been making me play in a way I’ve not been happy with.

Then we come to Sunday which was a bit of weird session compared to normal. One thing about 30nl is the majority of regs don’t adjust and just constantly play the same game day in day out even if they see things that should be making them change it up. The ones that do adjust usually adjust too much and are far too slow in re adjusting when they should realise you have adjusted to their adjustments.

Then there are times, like last night, where regs completely change their game dramatically and throw you way of balance. There is one chap at this level that never 3bets, always folds to 3bets and is generally really tight abc. However yesterday they literally started targeting me with 3bets all the time and i really struggled to adjust as i have them tagged as really tight. Anyway, safe to say that reg owned me all night and my winnings would have been a lot more if he did me a favour and played normal. I was lucky however that he can’t value bet properly because he missed so many bets by being overly careful on the river, i estimate he lost out on about 50 quid throughout the session just from not value betting.

Anyway the rest of the night went really well. When the cards fall your way it is an easy game and becomes far more difficult to make the little mistakes that cost you money normally. I coolered one reg all night and the none regs seemed to be handing me their money so ended up having my biggest win for a couple weeks.

Since the start of the diary I’m a few hundred quid up, which is something i never thought would have happened last week when having to move down to 20nl.

Something i may do later is list the leaks and problems with my game and may do it every week so it gets me to think about it more and more. Unfortunately i have a tendency to ignore my game too much and listing them may help but im also slightly conscious that people may see it and try to exploit them either at 30nl or higher stakes if i ever manage to reach those levels again.

How do.

Been meaning to get a couple of books recently but haven't got round to it. Usually an avid reader but nothing taken my fancy that Ive seen so thought i would ask on here for any good recommendations. 

Anything will do, fiction or none, biographies or novels, crime or conspiracy. anything really.


Also some TV recommendations would be welcome. Not seen many new series recently, been hearing a lot of good things about Breaking Bad so starting that in a minute. Any others a must see? Any genre. 

Not sure if you've seen/read any of these but just chucking them out there...

Books
Shogun - James Clavell (my favourite book)
1974 - George Orwell
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold - John Le Carre
Stephen Fry's autobiography (Moab is my Washpot) is decent if you want an autobiography.

TV Series
If you aint seen it, Dexter is brilliant imo (and I dont usually go for those American/HBO shows like The Wire)
The Big Bang Theory is good if you want a sit com
If you didn't watch it when it was on and love Gervais then deffo watch Derek. Can also watch The Office or Extras if for some crazy reason you aint seen them yet.

Good work in your diary so far, and cheers for the congratz in mine.

lol, yeah i see that a lot. The posts that really rile me are the ones where they clearly feel they are close to taking the world by storm but cant build a roll yet because they can’t beat 4nl as its full of really bad players!!



"....Also wondering if anyone can shed some light on why I seem to have lost a post or 2 that I saw on here last night. Is this something wrong with my computer, something that happens a lot on the forums or they have simply deleted it?....."[/quote]

Morning.

Nothing has been deleted from this Diary by the Mods, in fact none of your Posts on blonde have been deleted. I suspect you forgot to press "POST".

The Mods almost never delete Posts, it is exceedingly rare here, the place largely self-polices itself. You need to get seriously out of line, or troll, before we ever delete a Post, & in normal circumstances, we'd PM you at the time.

Enjoying your Diary very much.

Will look up the books. I have to say though, even though i really like Steven Fry, he comes across like a book about his life would be pretty boring?

Seen the office and Extras but not derek yet. tbh some of the adverts put me off watching it but your not the first to recommend it to me so will have to get around to it. In fact, mentioning Extras, Dave (the Channel) is pretty good at the minute except for showing the exact same episodes later on that it shows earlier in the night.
Its showing the 1st series of Extras and a lot of Not Going Out and Men behaving Badly. If you haven't watched Not Going Out i would recommend. Quality. Some episodes are a bit OTT but on the whole tis very good.

Heard Dextor is supposed to be really good, thats def on the list. And Big Bang is easily one of the best new comedies along with my name is Earl. Im usually more of a fan of the older stuff like Only fools, Blackadder, Fawlty Towers, One foot in the grave etc (too many to mention)

also like a lot of even older sitcoms like Porridge, Steptoe and son, Rising damp, the likely lads etc.

There really are some great English sitocms. Far better than over the pond imo



YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuCkT9Ha5hU

Cant believe i nearly forgot The Royle Family!! Haha Quality sitcom

still in shock that someone would post 'not into those hbo shows'.



massive fail

Stephen Fry? Boring?

Convicted of fraud. Kicked out of school. Directed the utterly brilliant Bright Young Things, wrote the English libretto for an adaptation of The Magic Flute, starred in some brilliant comedies, dramas and challenging things (Peter's Friends and Wilde spring to mind) and somehow done it all with what we now call Bi-Polar Disorder.

If ever there were an autobiography worth reading, read this one.

I'd also recommend his fiction - Making History is a cracker and The Stars' Tennis Balls is even better.

Yes, I'm a fan.

Fraud? Really? Shows my ignorance of some people away from the screen. Never knew he had bi-polar either.

I based my assumption that it may be boring on the way that he comes across on screen and sometimes on Twitter. Obviously knew there would be a lot of good anecdotes but thought that would be it. You may have persuaded me to give it a try.

Forgot that he had done fiction as well. will look them up after the footy. I did read a review a while ago that raved about one of them but cant remember which.

Yeah, he's had a fascinating life, I believe Moab is my Washpot (IIRC) only goes up to not far after the end of his school life, and that alone is enough to fill a book. He went to a boarding school which is bound to have many a story, discovered he was gay and yes was convicted of fraud.

He did do a show abuot Bi-polar on TV discussing his own case and how it can affect others etc. I think it was on the news a few years ago now, he finished up doing a show and then just completely disappeared from everyone he knew for months (I believe) because of it.

Great read and yes I agree british sit coms being better. I'm actually not a massive fan of Only Fools, think it's a bit over-rated but there are some real classics like Blackadder. Not seen that other sit com so might give it a look.

Indeed. The Fry Chronicles updates it somewhat (but doesn't quite bring you to 'today' yet).

Also worth a read.

He didn't finish doing a show. He left in the middle of it and went missing for a few days. Made national news. Pretty horrible stuff.

He's not everyone's cup of Earl Grey but his is a story both well worth telling and well told.

What he said ^^^

So the one to read is Moab is my Washpot? Or just The Fry Chronicles? or both?

If both books don't go too far into his life is he going to be bringing out further books detailing the later part? or has that info not been released yet?

Watched England last night and realised how little i actually care about international football these days. Im not sure what exactly it is, but if someone made me pick between following either club or international football i would pick club without a moment’s hesitation, even with the Venkys destroying my club.

Looking back, i really got into watching England around the time of Euro 96, World Cup 98 and World Cup 2002 but after that my interest levels have dwindled dramatically over the years. It was only by accident I remembered we were playing last night.

Don’t get me wrong, I still watch all the games and would jump at the chance to go to my first live international match but I get nowhere near the level of interest I do when it comes to club football.

Even the England songs these days are poor in comparison to all the older ones.

It may be the players, it may be the constant sense of disappointment or it may be just me, but i simply find watching England far less enjoyable than I used to. 




YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0NT6aUwN8c

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW4jhLLk4aI

Not read the Chronicles, but Moab is an excellent read.

There's also Paperweight, which is a compilation/anthology/collection of some of his lesser-known work. A few articles from when he had a column in the (?) Sunday Times, a few other pieces and a few Donald Trefusius stories (he is the Oxbridge Don who Fry invented and occasionally references on request when Phil Jupitus is on QI)

gold titties tho

(http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5c06bGtN91qf9osvo1_500.png)

"Au contraire, Blackadder"

Remarkable lack of pictures for that even when you know the name of the episode.


I am not one to shy away from a challenge, I was more than happy to type 'boobies' into google for you all. i'm such a top bloke.

What a hero

lolol

I just saw boobs and thought wtf are people posting in the thread before i realized what it was haha!!

I had forgot about that quality scene. A quick trip to YouTube means i am very likely to buy the box set next week

and the fact you spent a whole day looking at the results....great commitment to the cause

Great diary, always like diaries when they get a good balance with poker and non poker stuff. I also play on sky (Matt Bates) but am a tournament player, I play the odd bit of cash but am pretty bad at cash!

lol. Im sure it would have took no longer than 10 seconds before I forgot the reason for the original search.



Yeah ive definitely played on your tables. Im sure it would have been some tournament that i donated to the prize pool without any chance of receiving anything back. My game sounds the complete opposite to yours. i seem to do ok at cash but struggle to make the money in almost every tourney i play. its obv my shorter stack play thats the issue as i always seem to do ok for around 2 hours of the Sky mains then bomb. I think the last 10 mains i have played that i haven't cashed in i have been knocked out at 10 o clock. May also show i am being too tight early on.

I am going to be doing a load of work on my Tournament game at some point throughout the year though. I want a big score!!!!

Saying that, one of the big factors in managing to build a roll was a sky tourney. In fact it was the main reason so will prob write about that over weekend.


 

definitely read both -- insightful, witty and very Fry.

That said, I'm probably biased, I'll read anything he's written -- if you haven't read 'The Liar' yet, do that after you read the autobiographical parts and see how much the art imiitates life ;)

Just realised i actually haven’t done a poker update since the weekend.

To be honest i haven’t played much. I played a lot over the weekend and it seems to have drained a lot of my motivation.  I have sat down most days but for One hour sessions (my usual is 3 or 4). I played 25 minutes on Tuesday and give up as i was tilting almost within 5 minutes for no reason whatsoever so knew it was time to stop.

The results are still good though, even though I’ve made another small withdrawal i have ended a little up in each session. If results keep heading in this direction i may be able to have another crack at 50nl early next month. If i do head up to that level i will have a lot more hand histories to show as that is where i start to struggle. In fact i may incorporate some sort of challenge into the diary as well for a week or 2.

Today is a bit different on the motivational front. I have an empty house and a full box of lagers so I’m ready to go. I feel good so may put in some decent hours. I don’t usually drink that much while playing so results could go either way.


Also a quick TV update. Started Breaking Bad this week and seems really good. Only on the 4th episode but the start has been as good, if not better, than anything i have seen for a while. Hopefully that continues!

GL to anyone playing tonight.

Hello Matt,

Bet you can't guess my Sky alias ;)

I'm guessing you're gonna be down for the entire UKOPS series? I might be having a punt in a few of them this time round now my roll is a bit more healthy.

Only a quick update on yesterday.

Played 2 sessions yesterday and both were exactly the same. The main story was terrible calls, mainly on the river. I lost count on how many i had made by the end of the day. Drinking definitely does not help this tendency.

I finished about 2 buy ins down but lost about 4 stacks due to bad calls, really bad calls. I’m not going to look at the HH’s yet because i know it won’t be pleasant reading. To only lose 2 buy ins is a good result in the end though, so although I’m not happy with how i played i am relieved at the results.

I always need to remember I’m a 30nl player, I’m obviously going to make a lot of mistakes otherwise i wouldn’t be at 30nl. To convince myself otherwise would be totally unrealistic and damaging to my game. I just need to learn where i am making the mistakes, why i’m making the mistakes and how to make sure i don’t make them again. Unfortunately, that will be a long process.



I’ve stuck a 10 quid accumulator on today. After last weeks close call i hope this one decides to come in for just over £300.

Watford
Crystal Palace
Swindon
Rotherham
Brentford
Bournemouth


GL at the tables

Hey AJ, are you gonna be playing any of the UKOPS events on Sky over easter?

This is a brag which is not the slightest bit veiled and given what I got for 5th it's barely worth bragging abuot but I FT'd the UKOPS Micro last night (got a few bounties but didn't cash in the Mini) and the structures are a lot better than normal imo.

There's no like having a nice stack of say 28xBB then the blinds go up and boom you got 14xBB. The blind jumps were smaller than normal which allowed for a lot more play.

Even if you don't play the bigger like £50 and £100 ones, there's a Mini and Micro for like £2/£3 and £5 every night

How do Lambert.

I may be playing the mini later tonight but i try to stay away from touneys at the moment as i struggle with them. I am looking to improve in that format so may try to improve in time for the next UKOPS.

Well played on your FT. You seem to be doing well at the moment in micro tournaments. Is it something you may take more serious in the future? You playing the main tonight?

Just seen one player has won 2 out of 3 UKOPS main events, both within 2 days! That is some achievement. 

Lol Easily one of the funniest blow ups i have seen in a while.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH_d3Uj9uP8


With the amount of beats i suffered over Friday and Saturday, if my opponents were close by i would have been close to imitating him and using my laptop as the ball. It was easily the most frustrating 2 nights i have had for a few months.

Unlike a lot of previous updates I feel i was playing well but the bad luck just stopped any progress throughout both nights and i ended just under a buy in up for the 2 days. It could have been a lot more but at least it wasn’t a loss, even though it does feel like one.

I have decided to steal an idea from someone else for next month and put in a +/- buy in count throughout so i can keep a track on the amounts. It gets quite confusing the way i have been doing it so will give that a try.

March Review & what April may bring

Before I started the Diary I had my worst ever downswing. At one point, at the end of last year, I was rolled to be taking on 100nl but decided I wanted a bit extra in the roll to take a shot. Well, through the downswing and withdrawals, that shot at 100nl never materialised which then led to me having to move back down from 50nl.

This downswing had a fairly bad effect on my mindset when it came to poker and is still something I am trying to shake off. I’m sure anyone who has read the earlier updates may have noticed I always have the negative aspects at the forefront of my mind.

Even though I have either played poor or run bad since starting the diary, I need to focus on the fact that my bankroll has increased, even with withdrawals. I ended the month 7 buy-ins up since the start of this thread. I had to move down to 20nl during the early stages of the thread which i was disappointed at but that only lasted one or 2 days. Far better than i was hoping. i hope i don't have to move down again, 20nl has changed a lot since the last time i was grinding that level. Even though the general level of play is still fairly poor by the majority, they are some of the most boring tables i have sat at. They were quite profitable though.


So, onto April, I have decided to set myself a challenge to get back to 50nl by start of June. So the targets are:

•   Increase the roll by £400. I will keep a log of the profit and loss but will round the totals up or down to the nearest quid. These won’t include withdrawals.
•   I will also be working a lot on my in game thinking and tilt. These are 2 leaks I can work on away from the table as well as on them.




I played a small session yesterday to start the month and made a small loss.

Profit/Loss -         -£15.

1st hand of the month

Opponent is unknown. They have seemed poor from the few hands i have seen. they have limped once or twice.

We are all playing 100bb stacks. Villain is a quid or so light.

i have  Aspades Ac in the CO. i open to 90p, Button calls and villain calls out of the BB

Flop       3h Th Ts        pot is £2.85

Villain checks, i bet £1.60, Button fold, villain calls

Too small?

Turn        6c        pot £6.05

Villain donks £1.80, i raise to £4.80 they call

do we call the donk or go for value v the draws they could be looking for cheap?


River          Jh        pot £15.65

Villain donks £5.10

what do we do, Villain has 14.97 behind. i have them covered

If you're gonna lose the plot like that, you might as well stick one on the guys chin. It's the same punishment in game.

Did something similar in an indoor 5 a side league a few years ago, was brought down when through on goal by the last man. We were 7-3 down or something and the game was over, but it p!ssed me off. He'd been hacking away all game.  

Flipped, but instead of lamping him I got up and threw my trainer at him, which had come off with the impact of the 'tackle'. ;grr;

Definitely put him in his place.

Will probably never live that down. ;hide;


--------

re. the hand....

Wud be happy just calling turn and calling most rivers/bet sizes.

Think it's a fold now. But that doesn't mean I would coz it's only a fiver :(    :dontask:

Lolol. Please tell me you missed with the trainer? Or even better, you threw it with your ‘wrong’ hand and hit the floor before it even reached him?

Think it’s a 3 game ban for that but then, if i remember right, Barton got a 3 game ban for when he punched Pederson.

To be honest though, Pederson may have deserved that punch for this dive!!

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICPyr0q0doY
--------------------------------
To the hand.

When he donks the turn he only has a 10 or draw imo, maybe some weird 6 or a bad bluff but doubt them 2. When i raised the turn i was expecting to check back most rivers, get the value on turn unless a none heart above a 10 hit then i may have gone for thin value v a draw that just paired up. We think that is an ok plan or flawed? Trying to work on my in game thinking/plan building.

I called the river, which annoyed me because i was planning on not putting anything more in the pot especially if the 3rd heart dropped. He never bluffing that river is he? Turning a 6 into a bluff etc? Always a 10 or flush?

Fairly good session yesterday even though my motivation levels are dropping a bit. All pretty standard situations. Starting to get my game back on track. I feel I’m playing pretty well, still little mistakes but far less than previous weeks.

Just had a quick scan through the HH’s and happy with how I played. Lost a few big pots but that was down to bad luck rather than poor play.

Yesterdays results -   +£117
Total Profit/loss  -      +£102
Target -                     £298

Good start to the month. Already ¼ of the way to my target for the month.

Hey AJ,

If you'd rather not say then that's fine but I'm just interested to hear what your BRM guidelines are.

I imagine you must have a pretty aggro BR strategy with a good amount of discipline because you seem to have no issue with regularly moving up and down levels. Have you ever considered staying @ say 30NL for a longer period to give yourself more of a chance at 50NL without having to step straight back if things don't start off well?

When you say move from 30NL to 50NL, how many BIs do you allow yourself to drop before you'd drop back?

Any info on your BRM would be good, but as I say, if you don't wanna talk moniez, that's fine.

Also, do you multi-table various levels at once or always try to stick to one level?

Another Hand. I realise these hands are fairly standard but i want to put more hands in the diary and most are pretty standard at 30nl.


I have  7s 4s in the bb. UTG min raises who has 50bb. Button and sb call, i call. I have 100bb and the sb has us covered

All players i would describe as very inexperienced.

Flop  Ks  7d  8s      pot £2.40

 sb checks, i check, everyone else checks

Should i be donking here or looking for the c/r or even the c/c

Turn  3s          pot £2.40

sB checks, i bet £1.80, UTG calls, sB raises to £4.20. 1 fold, me and UTG both call

Easy call or raise?

River  5d        pot £15.00

sB bets 7.50, ???

Opponent behind had about £9 left

Hi AJ
Nice diary but wondered why you set a target? and what happens if by April 10th you have hit the target are you then going to stop till May?

Would it not be better to keep making the correct decisions and the ££ will keep coming in.

How do 180! Is that a darts reference btw?

Yeah I don’t mind discussing it. My standard is 20 buy ins and I stick to that as much as I can. There are sometimes when I want more buy ins to take on a level but normally as soon as I hit the 20 buy in mark I’m firing up tables at the next limit. However, at the moment, the target I have set myself above is a lot more buy ins than I normally would want but I have struggled the last couple of times moving up so I want more this time.

When it comes to moving down it differs from each level. Once i have dropped below the 20 buy in mark I have no set strategy, it depends on other factors at the time I’m playing, for example the standard of tables, am I making correct decisions etc. I may be more inclined to stay at a certain level even if it drops quite a bit below my normal threshold if the tables are poor in standard and I’m making good decisions. But if the tables are tougher and I’m making little mistakes I may drop down a level as soon as my BR indicates I have to. 

Moving up and down the levels when needed is just good poker strategy imo. Getting hung up on having to move levels is just letting your ego dictate your decisions which will ultimately damage other aspects of your game imo. It can hurt at times but once you realise you’re making a sound strategical decision by moving to the lower level you realise you have created another little edge over a lot of the other opponents at the table.

As for playing different levels at once I do it fairly regularly. At 30nl I add some 40nl tables in. If I’m playing 50nl I don’t mind opening up lower tables if I see the usual maniac players splashing around, but that’s pretty rare as I do like to stay at the same level for most of the tables.

If I’ve missed something out or you have more questions just fire away!

RE: the hand....

I probably donk the flop, but as played, I flat the turn and ship the river. Think he'll show up with sets alot

Hey Eso

Tyty.

The target I’ve set is the amount I want before I move up levels so when I hit the target I will move up to 50nl straight away.

I decided the other day that I wanted about 400 more before I step up so decided to put it in here rather than just writing my normal ‘I lost one buy in etc’ as that can get pretty boring to read. I agree setting targets can have a negative affect so if that happens i will just stop it and go back to normal :)

Just been reminded of this sketch and thought i would stick it on here. if you haven't seen it yet you can thank me later :)

Ive been to see Rhod Gilbert live tour of 'the cat that looked like Nicholas  Lyndhurst' and it was really good, his stand up is quality at times. However i don't think he is that good on panel shows etc. The complete opposite to someone like Milton Jones who i find really funny on panel shows but really disappointing with his stand up.

Ive only ever seen 2 comedians live, im not the biggest fan of stand up. the other was Lee Evans on his XL tour which again was quality. Lee Evans is probably the only comedian i find funny on all his tours.

Rhod also did a work experience programme which is quite funny,  i would definitely recommend searching it up over the internet.

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

Great video, I remember seeing that years ago before I knew who he was/he got famous. I know you just said you don't like stand up but if you haven't already done so you should give Michael McIntyre a chance.

RE: Bankroll stuff...

Guess you must think I'm a massive BR nit then? lol. I'm playing 30NL atm, with some 20NL when I have trouble getting games going but won't be taking any 50NL shots til I get to around £1500 ish, and even then probably just the odd shot depending on how good the games look. Looking to be on 2-2.5k before I start having a serious go at grinding 50NL.

Not at all. One of the most important things in poker is doing what you are comfortable with. As soon as you deviate from that and put yourself in situations you are not comfortable with then it can lead to all sorts of problems. Some so subtle you wont even realise them until your roll has took a serious slide downwards. What i consider a good strategy for me can be the totally wrong one for somebody else. In fact, my BRM could be bad for me, something i have never considered before.

I think what you are doing is good strategy, especially when you have only recently started playing 20nl/30nl and being comfortable at those levels.

However I did read somewhere the other day that someone was still grinding 4nl from a 1k+ roll, that i see as being really BR nitty but again, if thats what works for them then who am i to say otherwise.

Well that was a rollercoaster session. 1st hour i think i lost every hand i played. I Couldn’t get anything going at all, i was missing everything and i was either being totally owned by everyone or they were hitting everything. I also tried a couple of bluffs v unknowns which has always been a big leak of mine. The 2 main ones however were decent bluffs on good board run outs but just against the wrong people. Think i got called in both by 3rd pair. Im sure people can see my cards at times  :). Even people who cbet 100% started to c/f every time i hit the flop big.

In fact that reminds me of a comedy hand i played about a year ago.

I had  6d  7d. Guy opens big UTG i call on button.

This guy was the typical maniac. Sits down and just throws money at the table all night until they lose it. He had been all in with 100BB in about ¾ of the pots he had played and the ones he wasn’t all in he had put a lot in.

Anyway flop comes
4d 5d 8d

We are both playing 200bbs and I’m getting his. By the time i had finished shouting Get innnnn.... he open folded!!! It was online so the big Gettt innnn shout wasn’t a big live tell of mine. I couldn’t believe it. Big celebration stopped abruptly! lolol. he then went on to lose the 200bb stack in the next 5 mins and one was with 7 high. sigh



Anyway back to yesterday’s session. This session was the perfect example why people say don’t stop playing due to a few beats etc because the 2nd hour went completely opposite. I started to hit some hands which turned the session around. Coolered a few regs and valuetowned some poor players which put me back in profit.

Also noticed there has been 3 times in the last week where i have completely misread my hand on the river. Shows i must be completely lacking focus at times. I cant remember misreading a hand for ages. The first 2 this week were ok, just missed value bets but yesterday i over bet what i thought was a FH on a river that just brought the flush, ofc they called with the flush which is what i was expecting but i had misread my hand and had 2 pair instead of FH.

Session Profit/loss      - +£11

Total profit/loss          - +£113

Target                       - £287

+£11 for the session was a good result after the first hour where i got as low as £100 down. 

Anyway its Friday today, easily the most profitable night for me so hopefully will be today. GL to everyone playing!

Yeah, last night was an interesting session for me too, had a few more aggro players there like you and EvilPingu, people were I can get in 100xBB and not expect to be against KK+ all the time, so got it in a few times flipping and didn't come off too well from them. Also got coolered too many times to count but yeh you know it's a bad session when you're happy with being -£70.

Like you, hoping Friday night will be a good one.

Bets for the day.

I follow Footy accums on twitter and always put on their 7fold both teams to score coupon. Easier than doing the work myself! They don’t come in too often but had a couple of wins with them so i carry on

1.   Walsall v Sheffield Utd 
2.   Morecambe v Rotherham
3.   Oxford v Wycombe
4.   Dundee Utd v Aberdeen
5.   West Brom v Arsenal
6.   Charlton v Leeds
7.   Crystal Palace v Barnsley

Brings in just over £400 from a tenner
 

My usual accy

Hull
Nottingham
Palace
Yeovil
Bournemouth
Gillingham

About £280 from a tenner


On the topic of football, quick quiz question i was asked yesterday for anyone that reads.

Who is the only player to win the champions league with 3 different clubs?

For a Brucey Bonus!! Name the clubs he played for.

(disclaimer, if someone else has done it other than the guy i have  its not my shit quiz question lol)

Went to see Stereophonics in Leeds a couple of weeks ago and, even though I’m not the biggest phonics fan, they were one of the best bands I have seen live. I would describe them as a proper band, no fcking about just great sound, good tunes and delivered great. I will definitely be going to see them again and I would recommend anyone who may not think of going as they aren’t the biggest fan (like me) to go as well.

Anyway the gig got me thinking of what my favourite gig has been. I’ve been to loads while growing up and travelled the country, so it’s difficult to choose. I’m in to all sorts of music, anything I find to be a good tune and it’s on the ipod. From Rock/Band to pop, classical to hip hop, dance to easy listening etc etc. I collect records as well which leads to me attempting to D.J and I sometimes hammer away at my acoustic guitar, much to my neighbours disgust. I can only play one song full way through and that’s Oasis’s Wonderwall, even then it’s a very poor standard.

Obviously peoples first experiences with live music in big venues is always going to be up there as one of the best. My first was New Order at the Manchester Apollo when I was 12 years old, which would have been around 1999. Jesus Christ. Scary thought. I had grown up with New Order due to my older brothers and they have become one of my favourite bands, so for them to be the first gig I went to was great. Bizarrely, my brothers first gig they went to was New Order when they were also 12 some years before (they are twins).

If anyone has ever been to the Manchester Apollo you’ll probably understand why it quickly became one of my favourite venues. The Standing area is perfect for gigs, the sloping floor makes it easy for viewing and it has that feel of a proper gig venue that instantly adds to the atmosphere, especially when watching a local band made ‘big’. Standing is always obviously better, I have had to sit right at the back on the balcony before but even that was a good gig and not too far away.

Manchester is great city for watching local bands. The town has this huge patriotism towards its own which creates an atmosphere unlike any other city I have seen gigs in. I have seen local bands in other towns and even though there is definitely a better atmosphere than watching none locals it doesn’t even come close to how it gets in Manchester. I have seen loads of Manchester bands like New Order, Happy Mondays, Ian Brown, Stone Roses, Oasis and more all in the city and every one of them has been some of the best gigs and not just because of the music.   

Out of all the bands I have seen live, I have only ever seen a fight at one at that was at a David Gray gig. Lol, always makes me laugh. Great gig though. Even though he has only really done one album I like, that album is incredible.

So to answer the question I asked myself at the start, I don’t know what my favourite gig is. If I had to pick it would probably have to be the a Manchester v Cancer charity gig.

Line up

Artists The Scratch, Hippy Mafia, McAlmont & Butler, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Charlatans (+ Paul Weller), Ian Brown, Noel Gallagher (+Paul Weller), Finale.[2]
D.J's Andy and Jez Williams (Doves), Mani, D.J Tintin

I missed the first few but from echo and the bunneymen onwards was great. The finale was a Ian Brown and Mani play mini Stone Roses reform (before they recently proper reformed) to play 'I Am The Resurrection' which topped off a great gig.


(http://farm1.staticflickr.com/179/466043338_42e73b8e69_z.jpg)

(http://a3.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/27/819fe0ddf1784b3d549af4a991a4e380/l.jpg)

(http://a3.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/57/d88d7afa2f78dd8b4c5f63bab01ce9d2/l.jpg)

(http://a1.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/31/42c60668f3f449c0136d5edbbd23b8ea/l.jpg)

Another great Diary that ticks all my boxes, blonde is blessed with some great new Diaries recently.

Absolutely loved The Charlatans

Yeah very good band! Been to see them in Blackpool at the Winter Gardens Empress Ballroom. Another really good gig. Yet another great venue as well.

Not a big fan of their more recent albums though. One or 2 okay songs but the rest pretty disappointing.

Only a quick update. Friday and Saturday sessions didn’t go as well as i hoped. Every session seems to take the exact same pattern at the moment. Start off with being coolered once or twice, play well in the middle then play some pretty horrendous poker at the end of the session.

Don’t think i am going to play much, if any, poker over the next week. No motivation to play and having breaks will probably do my game some good.

Finally got round to downloading Spotify, can’t believe it’s took me so long to get to it. Obsessed with it at the minute, its great for finding music you haven’t heard before. If anyone is really into a band/album or song at the minute let me know and i will give it a listen. It can be anything, just enjoying looking for new stuff.

Weekend session combined     -      -£89
Total Profit/Loss                       -      £24
Target                                      -     £376

Clarence Seedorf - Ajax, Real Madrid, AC Milan

WE HAVE A WINNNNER

(http://www.datgif.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Game-show-reaction.gif)

Favourite Seedorf memory? Pro Evolution Soccer 2, him and Davids used to boss the middle for Netherlands. What a game that used to be.
 

Not sure if serious?  It's like being spoon-fed warm diarrhea (googled that word obv).  I saw him when he was doing his underground stuff - you know Jongleurs/club circuit material.

You know when you're out and someone says something really funny and everyone is in stitches for ages and just as people are regaining their breath someone else tries a side-joke but it doesn't really work, even if it were funny, because it wasn't as good as the one the other guy said?

Peter Kay stopped and Michael McIntyre skipped in.

Wow, so much hate for Michael Mcintyre. Granted it's not the most sophisticated form of humour and he's not my favourite stand up by any means, but each to their own.

How's it going then AJ? Aint seen you on the tables for a couple of days. You got any thoughts on who this Chrissy_S might have been last month? It's driving JJ mad.

I don't really do "hate" as such. He really isn't my cup o'char and I find his blandness unappealing. I don't think he has added anything, that's all.

I don't throw the remote at the telly if he comes on or anything :)

No hate from me really.  I've watched one of his DVDs and I laughed quite a bit.  And I did like him at Jongleurs when he was doing his underground stuff (it wasn't underground it was the same).  I guess the point is, his is not particularly clever comedy and I like being snobby about it and to dsicredit it with the aim of appearing more edgy and quite sneery.  And I much prefer the likes of Stewart Lee and Bill Hicks.  And being into comedy means you have to create divisions, just like when you are 'into' music.

I did actively dislike Peter Kay when I saw him in Liverpool though.

Yeah im not a fan. I find Mcintyre hideously annoying at times. His over enthusiasm really puts me off and he always comes across as he is trying really hard to be funny, another characteristic that tends to put me off. I have found one or two of his jokes funny but not many


lolol. there is only one person in this world that makes me come very close to this and that's James Cordon. How that man has managed to forge out a career away from acting really is beyond me.

Hey Lambert.

Yeah haven't played since Saturday night. it was driving me mad so decided to give it a rest for a bit. will probably be playing again over the next few days though.

I'm curious to who his other account was. I have a few suspicions but cant post them on here obv. It all depends on what level was his main one. if 20nl with a few 30nl then there has been a few new names playing the odd table and its hard to see who it could be but if it was mainly 30nl and he played enough to win, and for priority then there is only a few i can think off as the player pool is so small.

He obviously didnt know it was against the rules as he wouldnt have broadcast it. Although its weird that someone has played that much online poker over 8 years and not know that multi accounting isnt against the rules. Cant believe sky spent the time to close the thread that he admitted it on but not the time to investigate him that day. He was still playing day after wasnt he?

Anyway, doubt we will ever find out the other alias as Sky wont tell everyone, even though i think they should because we obv would have played loads v them.

Multi accounting will happen loads. i know of 2 people that have admitted it in chat box, when ive reported it i got the response of 'we cant prove it' even though they were writing it in chatbox.

sky have knowingly allowed people to multi account before and claimed lots of sillyness for why they can't discuss it. they have no understanding of security but reel off the 'we have large and knowledgeable security department constantly monitoring the site' aka sky bet has a guy and like one time, at band camp, he looked at a poker hh......

it's ok guys short numerical only pins ARE EXTREMELY SECURE...... [ ]

That does not surprise me in the slightest. One of the poker boffins asked me what the problem with multi accounting is!!

They just seem to deny rather than sort it in my experience.

But the man drawer.....

hi, enjoy the diary. First post.

Who would you say are the decent regs at 15/30? And the errr, not so decent ones? Can pm if you don't want to mention anyone in particular.

Hey Celtic. tyty. You play on sky?

Its a small player pool at 30nl.There are quite a few decent regs who can make sessions tough but quite a lot of the player pool are rec players or semi regs. I'm not going to list all the players etc but think the best/toughest opponent at these levels is probably someone called SuperNova. Always tough to play against them, they seem to be a pretty good thinker and adjusts a lot which are always the tougher players to play. The majority of 30nl regs just play their normal game, which even though may be a good game, can become fairly easy to play against.

You gonna be on the tables tonight AJ?

I need to get a big grind in tonight (big for me anyway), is probably gonna be something like 7tabling from 7pm - midnight/1am. Really need to get back on target points wise.

I dunno if I told you but I'm going for Priority this month. It's not really for any of the Priority benefits, more just a case of setting myself a target to make me play a lot this month and I knew if I said something like 5k points it would be too easy, so thought I might aswell go for something that makes me push myself and 10k seemed about right. I just couldn't face playing last night so got some catching up to do, only on 2700 atm, and need/want to be as close as possible to like 3600 by the end of tonight.

So yeah, I'll have an easier life if you don't play lol, but if you do it's always more fun

I havent played poker since Saturday night, think im going to play again tonight.

Ive withdrawn quite a bit yesterday to sort out a 2nd hand PC i was supposed to be getting a while ago but there has been problems. i have been informed that once it is finished next week it will be a 'racing machine'.

So i have decided to add it onto the challenge amount for the month so rather than the me wanting to get £400 to move up i now need £550

Gl anyone playing tonight!

Didnt see this earlier.

Yeah i'm playing later on i think.

You did say you going for priority, you have a side bet on the go don't you??

900 points in a night, 6 tabling will be tough at those limits.

Gl tonight, except against me!

Hi, I have just started playing on sky @15/30, and occasional 25/50 when i'm tilting. Which makes absolutely no sense, but there you go. Someone kindly defended me last night, saying that I have a 60% ROI versus the villains 1.5% lol. Made me laugh. Will PM my name if you like, though I know for sure we have played against each other. I have tagged in a complimentary way, i doubt you have a similar opinion of me, as I have been playing a fairly weird way, as I'm new.

Enjoy playing against Lambert too, except when he gets AA v my KK :(

lol I'm surprised anyone that is new to Sky has me tagged in a complimentary way with how i have been playing over the last month. I suspect you are being kind :)

Lambert must be hitting these Aces, your not the first who has mentioned his ability to catch them. Must be nice to be Lambert :)

Yeah you can PM name or stick it on here. If you would rather not tell me your name that is fine, i dont mind.

How you finding Sky? you think you going to stay on the site. I know a lot of people have issue with the software when they start.

You are on one my tables NOW!

see if you can work it out. but dont post here.

oooooh pm me your name honey xx

Very surprised by this, I think he was great in Gavin & Stacey - Gavlaaaaaaaa!

These were some of my favourite moments :

http://youtu.be/SPwoc39BmqE

http://youtu.be/gqOl2OKsLYk

http://youtu.be/1WF643KInlE

http://youtu.be/Xaq4nN2QwEI

Comedy gold IMO

I don't mind his acting that much (although i am not the biggest Gavin and Stacey fan, unlike the missus), it's all the other stuff he does away from acting that i find extremely irritating. His presenting, talk shows, panel shows etc etc. I just don't think he is funny in the slightest.

I did however find the 3 steaks clip quite funny :)

I played for 1st time in ages last night. I was quite happy with how i played throughout the session, i made some mistakes in big pots but overall i was quite happy. But then i had a poor 10 minutes which ended in me tilting off 20 quid in the most horrific way after i lost a big pot so i snap shut the laptop. I need to stop quitting when things don’t go right, especially when i was playing ok for the day. I lost about 2 buy ins which is normal so i don’t understand why i have started to tilt so easy. I’m going to have to look at it in detail over the weekend and try to address it as it definitely is having a big impact on my game at the moment.

Anyway, I’m going back to Blackburn today to see the family so won’t have the internet until i'm back on Sunday. As a Rovers season ticket i will be going to game on Saturday which is a huge game for us. We really need to win these next 2 home games v Derby and Huddersfield. I think if we don’t get good results we are heading for League 1.

Since Venkys have taken over we nearly got relegated in their 1st half season, then got relegated in their 1st full season and now very close to getting relegated in their 2nd full season. That is some achievement after taking over a mid-lower steady premiership club that was regarded as one of the best run clubs in the country.

I saw a quote from one of our owners the other day, he said “in football there are 2 outcomes, win or lose”.........sigh

I may not play poker again until i get the computer up and running. I’m also going to stop the challenge I had set myself on here. It’s now close to needing 20 buy ins for the month to complete it and with the volume i am likely to put in i think it will be better if i just concentrate on grinding 30nl rather than getting to 50nl.

Gl to everyone over the weekend.

lol I'm surprised anyone that is new to Sky has me tagged in a complimentary way with how i have been playing over the last month. I suspect you are being kind :)

Lambert must be hitting these Aces, your not the first who has mentioned his ability to catch them. Must be nice to be Lambert :)

Yeah you can PM name or stick it on here. If you would rather not tell me your name that is fine, i dont mind.

How you finding Sky? you think you going to stay on the site. I know a lot of people have issue with the software when they start.
[/quote]

That's probably cos I only play AA ;) Shame when I get big pairs in V Dohhh (ahead) they never hold :(

Had the most brutal day ever yesterday. Somehow managed to only be like -£200 which must have been some kinda miracle after how it felt. About to post the update from today's play on my diary now but thankfully I was +£120 tonight so that's recouped most of the damage from yesterday.

@Celtic - very interested to find out your Sky alias. You usually play a lot of tables? I'm just trying to think if I've noticed any new multi tablers to the level.

That's probably cos I only play AA ;) Shame when I get big pairs in V Dohhh (ahead) they never hold :(

Had the most brutal day ever yesterday. Somehow managed to only be like -£200 which must have been some kinda miracle after how it felt. About to post the update from today's play on my diary now but thankfully I was +£120 tonight so that's recouped most of the damage from yesterday.

@Celtic - very interested to find out your Sky alias. You usually play a lot of tables? I'm just trying to think if I've noticed any new multi tablers to the level.
[/quote]




Well things certainly turned around for you after this post :)

Well done again Lambert

I haven’t played much since the last update. i played one little breakeven session the other day, nothing really to note. Couple of coolers and weird hand where i should have folded KK pre flop for the first time ever but didn’t, they obv had AA.

Going to be playing 30nl again today but may end up dropping back down to 20nl if i have another poor session or two. It got to the point last week that i felt i was going to lose the hand every time i played one which is why i haven’t played much since. Confidence can be a real killer at times.

 
2 great results for Rovers over last few days which is exactly what we needed but unfortunately other results weren’t great so we still in trouble. It’s such a mad league the championship, it’s so tight. From 9th to 23rd there is only 8 points difference. Some tough games coming up and only one more home game for us so we certainly far from being safe. Its lucky we have Rhodes at the moment, we would be down for certain without him.

Will the Venkys sell him in the summer?

Can they afford to keep him?

Can they afford not to?

Yeah it's certainly been a great few days for me. I've played 3 MTTs in the last 3-4 days and have come 1st in two of them :) Then I luckbox getting picked for TSP, could be just the right time to go on a heater :p

Got my roll up to like 60BIs for 30NL now so 'never say never' but hopefully won't have to consider moving down from here because I'm gonna continue with the (relatively) tight BRM. Will start taking a few shots @ 50NL when I get to £2k+ but probably just like 1 table of 50NL on the side of 4-5 tables of 30NL at first and only if I spot a decent table going.

By the way, it looks like that Chrissy_C has been banned for the multi accounting, aint seen them on the tables once now for a week or so compared to usually being on virtually every night.

Venkys would definitely sell him at the right price. However it's a weird situation with Rhodes, we overpaid a lot for him which could lead to trouble if we cant afford to keep him. We paid 8 million and put him 35k-40k a week. No championship clubs will pay anywhere close to that, let alone above it, even after the goals he has scored. It will also be a big risk for any premiership club so they wont spend over that. Venkys wont understand why they arent being offered 10+ mill for him so i can see him still being here next year, unless we get relegated.

Im a huge fan of Rhodes but he does have his critics. Parts of his game like holding up the ball and bringing others into play are poor at times which will put people off spending that money because they are huge parts of todays game. His finishing though is some of the best i have seen at Ewood and we have been lucky enough to have seen some great forwards in the past. I firmly believe that if you took every forward from mid table premiership and below, only a few would come close to scoring the amount of goals he has scored in what is a very poor Blackburn team. I think he could be a solid Premiership forward, whether teams will gamble on him is a different matter.

If they did sell him, it would be essential we use the money wisely when reinvesting - something they do not have a good record with.

Definitely the best time to go after a good week. Just don't muck your hands until you know you have lost ;)

Sounds like they may have been banned then. i wonder if they have banned the other account. I don't know the normal procedures, will it be a permanent ban for him?

Anyway glgl over weekend.

Sadly not... this is the conversation JJ had with them while playing at the table earlier:

DOHHHHHHH> chrissy do u have chat open?
Chrissy_C> ye
DOHHHHHHH> what was the other alias u played on?
Chrissy_C> stil going on about that...really...
DOHHHHHHH> surely only fair that regs knowthat do u c why?
heidabaw> 666
Chrissy_C> its all been sorted now
DOHHHHHHH> theyre obv not banning u. so whatever. but i mean surely u understand how you're gaining a huge edge
DOHHHHHHH> they shud at least tell us the other alias
Chrissy_C> kendal1989 but its been closed now so it dont even matter
DOHHHHHHH> ofc it matters, im amazed u dont understand why
Chrissy_C> bcos its been closed....
DOHHHHHHH> yes, but what about the 1000's of hands regs have played v kendal1989? the notes they have etc. these now apply to chrissy_c
DOHHHHHHH> also how kendal1989 views them.
DOHHHHHHH> v important no?
DOHHHHHHH> fwiw I've never even heard of that other alias. so wudnt be surprised if it's made up. but whatever. good luck cu at the tables later
Chrissy_C> laters

========================================

I don't mind so much, and generally give the benefit of the doubt that it was not done with any bad intent but it is only fair that we know the original alias and I'm pretty sure it wasn't Kendal1989 because I've never seen that alias before and they must have been on ALOT to make Priority at 30NL. Oh well, what can ya do, shouldn't take too long to get some notes going again, and his notes might not be relevant anymore anyway because we may play a certain way because of how he plays, and as we don't know how he plays anymore, we won't, so we won't necessarily be playing the way his notes say etc.

I'm gonna post up in my diary tomorrow about it, but yeah it was a great weekend at the Monte Carlo. Sadly fell just short of Day 2, but was always gonna be playing for the win. I had about 70xBB during the 2nd to last level so could have easily cruised into Day 2 by sitting back but that's not how I roll ;)

I was going to come on and say that my lack of updates had nothing to do with my recent bad run but that would probably be a lie. Even though it’s not my intention to not post when running bad it definitely kills any motivation to write about it so will ultimately influence the number of posts. I don’t want the thread to turn into a moaning thread but with the variance in poker i suppose sometimes it will be unavoidable.

So, how has the poker been going? Not great. I have had to drop back down to 20nl for the time being and variance is kicking me right in the goolies every time i log on. I won’t pretend i am playing well, but every time i flop big, oppos seem to turn the nuts. I can’t win flips and if i end up all in with the best hand i lose the majority. The run has certainly dented my confidence, some sessions i feel like i won’t win a hand and i have started to miss out on a lot of thin value spots due to playing it safe.

The confidence issue is one that i really shouldn't be having but creeps in all the time. My problem is i see the Bankroll figure as a sign of results, but i withdraw a lot each month due to being unemployed at the moment so the results are never as bad as they seem.

Im going to be grinding 20nl for the foreseeable i think. I need to fully rebuild the confidence and with the standard being quite poor it will be the perfect place to rebuild.

The computer still isn’t ready. Been told it should be ready for next week which will be great. Having a proper place to play on will help a lot, i tend to end up watching TV when on laptop which isn’t good for the game. I will probably be able to add more tables as well with the computer. I know adding more when not playing well is a risk but one of my problems at the moment is playing to many hands so adding tables may help, if not i will just reduce them again.


Also watched the boxing last night. Even though i’m not a big fan of Tyson Fury he is quite entertaining to watch. However, he is nowhere near good enough to take on the klitschkos. The guy has a little talent but he is far from being on the same level as them. If he is getting knocked down from a cruiserweight (a good cruiserweight) he is likely to struggle v any good proper heavyweights. Think he needs to cut down on the theatrics and get down to some hard work. Also wtf was that singing about?? lol.

Was going to say he was still playing the other day. i have seen the Kendal alias before but was ages ago at the lower levels. I haven't seen them grinding 30nl though. As you say, what can you do. Sky let themselves down in these situations though, and as said earlier in the thread its not the first time.

Will look forward to the update, haven't heard anything about it really, just knew you didn't make day 2. ul

Not seen you on any social media lately rocketman.

Short notice but think some ppl r doing some hand reviews on skype this aft if u wanna join/have any you wanna look at.

If your bankroll permits, you should really be trying to play as much 30nl as possible atm, never seen the tables so good.

Prob coz u aren't there  :D

Will be from now till close of play anyway, if you're not around, good luck turning your fortunes round this week. Should only be a matter of time.

How do dohhhhhhh

Yeah been trying to avoid poker stuff for a few days so swerved skype for a bit. Wasn't much help in the review yesterday. It's strange what a bad run can do to the thinking processes :).

Saw you had a few big stacks again last night.... another good session? I wont be at 30nl for at least a week or so yet. Depends when the dealers start to treat me better!

The less said about the last 2 days poker the better. Still not running great and starting to make some poor decisions for stacks. Like chasing draws etc. oh well. I'm sure the cards will change soon.

(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rpkhAOSdI0k/T0N1GZVCtbI/AAAAAAAAAhI/HgCraw6z7HE/s1600/breaking-bad-heisenberg-drawing.jpg)

I know i have mentioned Breaking Bad a couple of times in the thread when i started to watch it but i couldn't recommend it enough. Me and the missus have been obsessed with it. Was gutted yesterday, one episode finished and we thought 'shit we have to watch the next one.....' waited for the next one to start and realised we had finished the whole lot. Huge tilt!! Cant believe the last series isnt out for ages!! If you start to watch it you will find yourself watching 3 or 4 episodes in a row so waiting for it is gonna draggggg. Especially with how it finished.

Think its going to be the later series of Peep show next. We have the earlier ones but only just got the later ones. The next American one we will watch will either be 24 or Dexter i think unless anyone can recommend any better ones to watch?


Also Cant do an update today without mentioning United winning the title.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxNlAcdsff8

It's some achievement what Fergie has done there. Almost certain it will never be topped in my lifetime. Its strange, i used to hate United winning the title (like most other none United fans) but i probably prefer United winning it than City.




Another quick football quiz question i was asked a while ago if anyone is interested. May be more now but know the 6 i know are still there.

Name the 6 football teams the English Football League that end in the letter E. It has to be the full name so Newcastle wouldnt be one as it Newcastle Untied.

Last night was swingy. Decided to self destruct again. Got out up 2 n a bit though, despite being 'stackered' all night.

Peeling 3bets oop w/ 2 cards lower than 8 then c/calling 3 times with a pair lower than 7s.

Seemed a good idea at the time.

Didn't work though. So tried it again.

Didn't work again.

 ;fishing;

Same again on Skype tomorrow aft 1 till 3ish if u fancy it.

GL if you're playing tneet!   ;slavedriver;

Port Vale
Crystal Palace
Rochdale
Morecambe
Dagenham & Redbridge
Plymouth Argyle

(http://www.blogohblog.com/wp-content/pop/2008/04/winner.gif)

I failed miserably with this one. Think i only got 4 before i gave up!

When looking back at when i started to play the game i used to play for the fun. I used to enjoy all aspects of the game and even though i lost my money i would finish the game wondering when i could next play. When did that enjoyment stop? I do still enjoy the game, i wouldn’t play it otherwise, but now i have become a profitable player it certainly becomes more about the money than the fun and therefore the enjoyment isn’t anywhere near what it used to be like 2 years ago. If we are lucky enough to become winners in poker does a large part of the fun of poker go and becomes a ‘grind’? or is it just the reasons for playing change, bringing a whole new mind set to the game meaning our enjoyment comes from winning rather than playing?

This may be what is holding me back. I have definitely started to play for the money and being unemployed makes taking a break from a potential source of small income becomes difficult as every little helps.


I remember my first ever poker win. I was playing in a £25 quid buy in for the first time. A small MTT in a pub with my dad and his friends and i won for £225.The feeling i got after that win was amazing, i was buzzing. Ive never recaptured that feeling again in poker. £225 at the time was huge. The most i played for before that was a fiver buy in winning about £20 quid. I was playing for the laugh and if i won it was a bonus. That win is still my biggest tournament win which may be the reason i haven’t recaptured the winning feeling but i have had bigger cash sessions and felt nothing.


This must read like i have had another few bad days at the tables but they have actually been quite good. Played some hands very poorly but on the whole been pleased with it. I may play 30nl tonight but if not i will definitely be back over the weekend. Im Just reflecting on certain aspects of my poker which is a huge part of my learning and if i can find leaks in my mind set then it will help a lot.


I would love to hear other grinders or pros views on whether their enjoyment levels have dropped dramatically and how important they feel enjoyment is to their success? Do we feel that the money being at the forefront of our mind when playing is a leak? I don’t mind losing the money, but i find i want to win money too much at times.

Finally got the computer sorted on Friday and its now up and running. I know nothing about computers so know none of the technical side but in my expert opinin it seems to be running well. I can play more tables than before although the monitor doesn’t allow too many so will sort that sometime in the future. Think i will go to 8 or 9 until i get either a bigger monitor or a second one.

Im more happy at finally getting my Itunes back because t wouldnt fit on my laptop so havent been able to update it in about 2 years.


When going through all my back up stuff from my last computer to put on here i came across this vid that i forgot i had. Love my darts, unfortunately don’t have Sky Sports at the moment so my darts viewing consists of the odd match here and there and the BDO. The Leg of darts below is great, one of best i have seen. Ive not been to a Darts match live yet but its something i really want to do and soon. Looks a great night.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeN2cjb9sVo



The poker has been the same really, been playing relatively ok with either one or 2 hands where i lose my discipline and call down light or get coolered which wipes the profits. I’m going to be looking to put quite a few hours in this week. I’m still going to be grinding 20nl but want to be at 30nl by the end of the week so going to put some work in.

Im also looking for some poker shows to watch at the moment if anyone has any good ones to recommend. I would prefer cash but dont mind watching MTTs or STTs. Ive just finished watching the big games which has been my favourite show and watched the high stakes poker series but struggling to find any other decent ones.

A little late with the April review. It was a tough month both on and off the tables with a lot of off the table issues definitely affecting my game and volume. April was the lowest volume month i have had in about a year and most of that was due to either poor motivation or logging on, losing and then snap shutting down.

It was easily the toughest month i have had with playing and running really bad at times, all at the same time of starting this thread which unfortunately gave me a platform to moan so i decided to leave the updates for while. The amount of beats throughout the month really has been unreal at times and when you mix in a lot of bad calls it can get very frustrating.

Anyway thats the story of April in a nutshell and i want to forget it quickly so enough with the moaning. I’m starting the month in a positive frame of mind and ready to make a push up the levels.

What do i want from May?

Hopefully May will be a big month for me both on and off the tables.

Poker wise i want to be back at 30nl and making a real push for 50nl as soon as possible. I think i have the game to beat 20/30 and 40nl so if i apply my game and stay disciplined (something i struggle with) i will hopefully get moving in the right direction again.

It’s going to be a big month working on my game aswell. I have a lot of material to watch and read. I have been lazy with this over the last month or so and with a hand history review group getting more active it could be a big month for improving.

Away from poker the daytimes will be filled with job hunting. I haven’t mentioned this is in the diary yet but when i finished uni i took on a family business and was looking to take it in a different direction. Well, after 2 years of trying i finally decided it wouldn’t work and gave it up. Looking back i should definitely have given up with it way earlier but when you feel it will work and when it’s an old family business you get stubborn and don’t want to admit defeat. It was a tough time but if i can turn it around into a positive experience i think it will help me in any future plans.

I have always been really indecisive with a lot of aspects of my life and it really is daunting looking around for work and having no idea what i want from life when one thing you did want failed. I’m sure i am not the only one who has sat there and thought ‘what now?, what do i want to do’. It can get really frustrating at times. I suppose i am really lucky that i have been able to make small amount of money from poker. If only is was as easy as Alan Watts makes it sound here.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJuUq9wy6u4

The start of this month has been quite good when it comes to poker. I have made a profit and my confidence and motivation seem to quite high at the moment. Hopefully this continues. With finally having a PC and getting all my music up and sorted i am really enjoying grinding to music, it used to be the tv but music seems to improve the mood while playing. I am going to be putting a lot of vloume in over today and tomorrow to try and get back to 30nl.

Record of the day. Damian Rice - Coconut Skins. Really into this record at the minute. If anyone is interested there is a vid of him playing this on Jules Holland which really is a great performance.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv9PzV1L2GI

GL to everyone at the tables

The power of positive thought

I said in my last update that i was starting the month in a positive frame of mind and looking to make a push up the levels. It really is quite amazing what positive thinking, a change in mentality and attitude towards poker can do. Before starting on Saturday i looked at my game and re-iterated to myself that i had the game to beat these levels and that i had done it numerous times before. I sat down with a competitive side i hadn’t had for a while and a renewed motivation for the game. Well, it worked. In the last couple of days i have effectively doubled my roll, i have felt good while playing and the number of mistakes where a lot lower than other sessions recently. Its feels pretty good to get a big win under my belt and even after a decent sized withdrawel the bankroll looks a lot healthier. 

I did however notice one thing at the end of my sessions that could completely help with my future bad runs in poker.

When it comes to the mental game i am a complete fish. I let all the negative aspects of the game override all the positive. I didn’t realise i was that bad until this weekend, when i have effectively doubled my roll but still come away feeling i ran bad at times. There is no doubt i ran hot for a lot of the weekend, to nearly double your roll in 2 days you need to be running hot but i come away thinking it could have been more which clearly shows how much i am focusing on the negative aspects rather than the positive (of which there was far more than the negative). This way of thinking has only really set in over the last month or two (maybe more), a period of time that i would class as one of my most difficult in poker but after the way i thought when coming away from the tables last night i am starting to think that all the problems are in my head and not just in the cards. Hopefully the realisation of this will be the start of the end of it.

If anyone knows of any good videos or articles etc to help with the mental game other than ‘The Mental Game of Poker’ i would really appreciate it.

So now i am back at 30nl which i am really pleased at. Although the standard at 20nl really is quite poor the games can be really mind numbing at times which can make for a few tedious hours watching people wait for the nuts and stealing their blinds. It really is so nitty at times.

Record of the day. Supergrass - Alright. Heard it for the first time in ages yesterday.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUE4oDunYkc

Well that was a great Bank holiday weekend for poker results. I started the weekend at 20nl and finished around 30 buy ins up. Just the sort of result I needed to boost my confidence.

The tables were great, no regs and a lot of inexperienced players coupled with a lot of run good gave me the best results in months. At one point there was a half hour period where I stacked someone every 5 minutes ending in a nice 500bb pot with my AA v opponents KK. 

I’m now going to re start the push for 50nl that I abandoned earlier in the thread. I need  10 buyins to be at the level I would be comfortable to take a shot. I’m not going to be playing much over the next few days but I will start it now.

Target £300

What a big day for football as well. Like a lot of other none United fansI don’t like Fergie but there is no denying the man is a genius. We will never see those achievements topped in our lifetime. I reckon we won’t realise the true ability of how good he actually was for another couple of years. We all know the guy is the best there has ever been but we won’t realise actually how good until he has gone.   

I know who I would love to take over the reins for them. The best manager outside of the top 4 for many years, a guy that did a sterling job at his last club and is loved by many... Steve Kean. The guy will take them to the next level imo. You only have to look at where he left rovers to see it. 3rd in the championship after 7 games shows us that he can make it as a manager. If we just forget what happened for the other season and a half he obviously is the man to do it.

In all seriousness whoever takes the job on at United is in for a rough ride. They need to be made of steel to take on that job and United do love to come from behind and the excitement it brings so maybe Steve Kean is the man for the job. I’d would like to see Moyes given the chance and Mourinho going back to Chelsea.


Record of the day: The Prodigy - Diesel Power. You gotta listen to this loud, great record on a great album. If no one has listened to the album I would highly recommend.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLXhyV2uEN4

One of my very favourite bands, The Prodigy. Have had the privilege of seeing the a couple of times, including the Warriors Dance extravaganza in Milton Keynes a few years back.

Do you like their rockier sound or would you be more partial to a return to the electro/rave roots?

What do you make of the song Keith Flint did with Caspa?

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

Will say this video comes with a parental guidance warning from Tal.

Some really good mixes of the song as well.

I'm more partial to the older stuff with The Prodigy but that's probably because I haven't heard much of their newer stuff. One of my first ever 12" records I got was Everybody in the Place (Fairground Remix) many moons ago. Love that track. Just had a quick look at their discography and pretty shocked they don't have many albums. I was checking to see which ones I don't have and I seem to have them all except the newest. Music for the Jilted Generation and Fat of the Land are incredible albums IMO. Just managed to get hold of the 12" of Fat of the Land at Christmas. Something I have been after for a while.

Unfortunately not been to see them yet. Seen them do a festival on TV and instantly decided I will see them one day. My bro just went to see them in Manchester and said he will keep an eye out for when they are next about.

Just remembered the Dirtchamber Sessions album which is a good one aswell. The intro to Sure Shot/Breakdance track is one of my favourite intros. 

Not heard the War track you put up before. Sounds a decent track. He do a lot of collaborations?

I don't think he does do many collaborations, Keef.

Glad to hear you're back to winning ways AJ, sounds like a pretty sick bank holiday weekend!

I've barely played any poker at all over the last 2-3 weeks (about 4 MTTs and no cash) but finally got back to the cash tables last night. I can definitely relate to the whole moaning abuot the small negatives more than appreciating the postives. Like last night I ran fairly well and finished abuot +£65 from 2.5 hours of 6tabling but all I kept thinking about was what it would have been if I hadn't took a couple of nasty beats towards the end.

Best one....

Raise the CO w/  6s 6h

BTN and BB flat.

Lovely flop....  Jh 6c 9c

I c-bet, BTN ships about £11 total, BB folds, I snap off and see 9d Td

Turn  Ts

River 9s

Yeah the bank holiday weekend was very good to say the least. Havent played since though.  I wanted a break before that good weekend result but wanted to get back to 30nl as quick as possible so carried on playing.

Yeah was going to ask why I havent seen you on the tables, just been having a break?

When it comes to the negative I suppose people always remember them more than the positives. I think anyone who doesn't is very lucky and I have always done it on a small scale but I seem to be focusing on it a lot more recently. 

lolol I saw that hand in your diary, that is a beauty lol. At least he wasnt full stacked!!!

FA Cup Final Day

Formally one of my favourite days in the season, unfortunately not anymore. I’m still quite excited by it and going out on the piss for it but there are so many things that the organisers have done to make it far less special.

It’s not just on the day of the final they have ruined either. For a start, the semi finals played at Wembley completely takes away the Wembley experience for the final, let alone making it very expensive for the fans that manage to go twice. I would like to see the semi finals being held at neutral venues that isn’t Wembley like it used to be. I suppose the F.A. need to make the money back on building it though so that won’t happen.

The main one that really annoys me though is the fact it’s not the last game anymore. Take a look at Wigan. They have a huge task in the premier league that will be on their mind and there is a full premier league fixture list over the weekend. Even if they don’t want it to that is going to affect them. The FA Cup should always mark the end of the season and let every fan and player fully concentrate on it without other things getting in the way. Other games being played on the day or even the weekend just shadows over the FA Cup. 

The FA Cup used to be seen as the best cup competitions in the world and was certainly one of the most famous. I know I won’t be the first to mention it today and I won’t be the last. The vast majority of football fans want to see it back to being the last game of the season to bring back a lot of the magic that has unfortunately been lost.

Who do i want to win this one? Wigan. I always want the underdogs to wn and with Dave Whelans connections to Blackburn i would like him to win it.

Ive put a couple of quid on Kone to score first but City win 3-1.


Record of the day: The Maccabees – No Kind Words. Here’s one for The Gavin & Stacey fans from earlier in the thread. I like the whole record but from 1:36 onwards it is just quality. 

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=605fY2RqTkI


Ive not played any poker during the week. Having a much needed break away from the tables.

Gl to all playing

Incredible song choice. Definitely agree regarding fa cup too

I've only recently discovered The Maccabees. Can't believe i didn't get into them sooner.

Their Wall of Arms album is probably my most played album at the minute. Cracking band.

Well what a result that was in the Cup final. Great day for Wigan fans that they will never forget. It’s a shame that it will be overshadowed by the uncertainty regarding their league status.

It’s great for neutral fans as well. With all the money in football these days it makes it far tougher for the smaller teams to have any chance of success so to see it happen creates excitement for everyone. It’s a shame that that’s the state that football has got into. Money matters more than anything so it’s great to see a small town club on a small budget upset the odds.

Anyway, i won’t rant about money ruining football, I will save that for another day. I will keep this as a congratulatory post to the Wigan team and fans and i hope they stay up.

I also tried to put Wigan to win on at half time but i couldn’t get Sky Bet to work on my phone. Arghh lol. Nice move Sky lol, saved yourself some money.


Record of the day: Oasis - It's Good to be Free. Again turn it up loud. I have never known a band that can fill an album with B sides and it be arguably their best album. If you havent listened to The Masterplan you are missing out.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX81qzmkzq0

Masterplan is a fabulous album. Shows what brilliant records Noel was writing for those to be the B sides.

Just about to start my first session in a week and decided to withdraw £100 so my target is now £400 to get to 50nl

Gl all

Played for a couple of hours last night 9 tabling mostly 30nl but with a couple of 20nl and one 40nl table. To say I run good would be an understatement. Every time I found myself behind I wasn’t for long and I picked up some big hands at the right times. I’ve had some serious run good thrown at me for the last few sessions, I just hope it continues.

It can be tough playing again after taking a break for a week or so when you are used to playing a lot. I found myself making some questionable plays that I usually wouldn’t and it takes a while to get used to playing the amount of tables again. It makes it a lot easier when the cards fall your way though.

The confidence is definitely back in my game at the moment and I have found a new motivation to play. I wrote last month about the enjoyment from poker dwindling and maybe that it’s the change in why I play that effects the excitement levels.  Well I think it is; the fact that I’m winning money and getting a renewed level of enthusiasm for the game suggests it is the money rather than the game that I enjoy more. I obviously do enjoy the game but I enjoy it far more when hoovering up the chips. I’ll have to work on making it so the money isn’t the biggest factor.


So down to results

The target is £400

Last session:  £189

New target: £211

I remember I had a good session to start the push for 50nl last time, then it went Pete Tong so I’m not getting carried away by the good start.


Record of the day: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Spread Your Love. Great band and just seen the video for the first time and think it's a good vid.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abKjC7EX2Zs

Although I do like their later stuff, his earlier songs surely have to put him as one of the better song writers of our time.

Stop beating me in every pot.

Thanks.

Lol i am running pretty good at the minute, although the only hand i can remember ended with you scooping the pot.

Some more run good last night ended in a 95 quid win which means i am more than half way towards my target in just 2 sessions. I can’t expect this run to continue for too long but i could do with it going on for a bit longer.

I am happy with 80% of my game for this level. My standard play seems to be a profitable one but there will be a hand every so often that i make a questionable decision and that’s how i tend to base whether i have played well or not and at the moment it’s ok but there are still a number of these hands in session. I'm trying to to stop them but it's easier said than done. There will be time when tilt or even accumulative tilt (like the whole of last month) will make my standard game go belly up but in general it has always been ok for these levels.


Target £400

Last session £95

New target £116

Im not sure whether i am going to play tonight. Sleeping patterns have been a bit shit recently and it seems to have caught up with me today.


Record of the day: Morcheeba – Big Calm. I love the shuffle on ipods, throws up some records you haven’t heard in ages.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npSTM0Tb9V4

I knew i shouldn’t have played last night. I was tired and not in the best mood which lead to a session of spew. Luckily the spew went in my favour for most of the session and i was about £60 quid up at one point. Although it didn’t end like that.

The two main hands were:
•   my QQ v AK aipf button v blind, i think i could have found a fold but i didn’t. luckily they had AK which was the best hand i could hope to be against. He obv binked on the flop.
•   5 min later i tried to make someone fold who told me on the turn they had a hand, so i decide shoving the river is a good idea....it wasn’t. I snap shut down all cash tables and one tabled the main event for another 10 minutes before the inevitable.

Its been pretty tough to get 30nl tables going over last couple of days. Don’t know why. They have been quite good recently but hardly any since weekend. It can make sessions annoying because you can be playing shorthanded on more than half of your tables. I don’t mind playing shorthanded for a bit and regularly start new tables up but when not playing great it can be a pain. At one point last night i had 4 tables playing instead of 8 or 9 and 2 of them where 40nl. I hope the games pick up again soon.

I finished the session -£34 which is a good result on the basis of how i was playing and that i had donated about half of that loss to the tournaments. No idea why i insist on taking a shot at the tourneys, I never do well.

Target £400
Last session -£34
New Target - £150


Has anyone watched off their rockers on ITV? It’s pretty funny. It’s a bit silly and some of the sketches aren’t that funny but you get the odd one that really is quite funny. I’m not a huge fan of shows like that but with old people doing it it’s funny to see peoples reactions. I’ve just had a look on YouTube to see if there are any clips of the good ones but there aren’t many. Would definitely recommend for a quick laugh.

Record of the day: Gomez – Get Miles.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uSj0YHOCM8

By the way if anyone wants to share music on here or thinks i may like a record feel free to post. I dont mind the thread getting derailed, always interested in hearing music i havent heard or ones i havent heard for a while etc. It can be any genre.

Gl at the tables

Musical derail you say?

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

Can't find a non-live video on YouTube, but the ending of the John Candy and Dan Akroyd film 'The Great Outdoors' will have to do.

Wilson Pickett's Land of 1000 Dances

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIQWt3oMids

Every time I hear this, it cheers me up.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnYeQx5-0t8

My favourite bassline (from Rip Groove by Double 99) and the magic of Hadouken! over the top. Marv.

That'll learn ya

:)

Hi AJ,

Meant to ask you earlier on Skype... have you ever been to an SPT/do you play much live?

Just wondering if you were gonna give it a go to satellite into SPT Birmingham.

Wow how bizarre. Ive spent years trying to find out what the White Town song Your Woman was called. About 10 minutes after writing my earlier post i discovered it on Spotify and then you post it here. I suppose it's hard to portray how bizarre it is in writing lol.

Spotify is great. i only just recently signed upto it. Before that i actually had a list of songs that i would add to when hearing new stuff so i could get them later on. Hate the adverts though.

I've heard the land of 1000 dances a lot on films but again never knew the name, love that old style. Been spotified!! The missus seems to enjoy it aswell judging by here weird movements lol

How do Lamberto!!

I used to play in pubs a lot but actually never been to a casino. One of my goals for the year was to play a SPT event but none are close enough to Leeds for me to try. I will def be trying to play one soon. Just as a side note, and dont want to sound thick but is it 'a SPT' or 'an SPT'? i know the general if its a vowel starting the next word rule but when i said the above line in my head lol i say 'an SPT' and 'a SPT' sounds wrongs? lolol

Do you play a lot live? i know you have played an SPT before.

Im going to be looking for some good live cash games around Leeds soon. I saw a thread about Leeds games on here a while ago but couldnt find it next time i tried looking. Will probably start a new one.

why does an SPT neeed to be near Leeds?

Its a community event, people travel from across the country to each one

Well it's Sky Poker Tour, so if you said you were going to a sky poker tour event then A would be correct, but when you say it as an acronym, then I believe AN is correct. Although as I type that I'm confused myself because you would say 'he is an FBI agent' but also 'he is a CIA agent'.... so I really dunno if there's a rule, just whatever doesn't sound wrong :)

I play a bit live, not half as much as I'd like to, and that was one of my goals for 2013 (to get out and play live more). Apart from Dublin last week, I think I've been to every SPT for the last like 18 months so probably 10 events ish, played most of the mains in them, and some side events. Played the Monte Carlo for TSP obv but other than that mostly just the odd pub game.

Live poker is just a million times more fun than online imo.

I have a great mix, Greg Wilson, where he plays this.  Will link it for you later on.

Viz your acronym dilemma, read the sentence out loud and that will tell you what to write.

If you say the letters (which you will generally do), then that's all that matters and whichever form of the indefinite article the first letter takes will be the one you use.

If you were for some reason intending the reader to say the words and that meant a different indefinite article being applied (say because the word begins with N), that should be what you write.

You are communicating and that means you're telling the recipient something. Call it a stage direction :)

At the moment its purely just because of the added costs of travelling/accommodation on top of the hefty buy ins (hefty in terms of my usual buyins).

I will definitely travel to one in the future, I just have to wait till the financial situation improves :). They look and sound like really good events so will definitely be at one soon (hopefully).

Have a think about Newcastle 14 September

Closest one to Leeds

£100 buy in but a two day Deepstack so a really good structure

Usually a very good social occasion, and you'll meet plenty of regs

If you have the £ then, thats probably the one for you

Didnt realise you had been to that many SPTs! What are the side events like? They pretty cheap arent they? The sides may be better for me with my tournament skills lol. A smaller loss sounds more attractive.

Do cash games normally run as well?

Yeah i will have a look around at hotels etc. I have the roll to take a punt with the buy in its just the added costs. If i can find anything cheap i will definately consider it and set aside cash winnings to fund it :).

Regarding the Acronym. I won't pretend to understand everything Tal said :) but the general consensus seems to be whatever sounds right. I will go with that :).

I was looking for a fairly long session yesterday but had to turn off after an hour as the lag was unbearable and it threw me half my tables anyway. Thought it would probably be a problem at my end but seen others had the same problem so I have nothing to worry about with the new computer (well, new second hand computer lol)

Anyway after the hour i was a total of £4 down so pretty much a breakeven session. No real hands of note that i can remember, i may find some when looking through later but doubt it.

Target - £400

Last session - -£4

New Target - £154

also, newcastle is awesome, so there's that, too....

I have heard it is supposed to be one of the best nights. I've not been yet though. Been to Middlesbrough around there for a night but not Newcastle..

As language is about communication, I ballsed that right up :)

Say the sentence to yourself.

If you say "Have you seen an MC live?", then it's AN; if you say "Have you seen a Master of Ceremonies live?", then it is A

Yeah the side events are usually quite cheap, depends on the venue but don't think I've ever seen one over £50. Also in most places, the casino usually let the Sky regs run a few cheap like £5 or £10 SnGs later on when tables are freeing up, and they're always good fun.

Again usually always cash games going but BIs depend on venue, usually 50p/£1 and £1/£1, they're the most common to run. Only ever sat down to play live cash at an SPT once and it was the worst piece of table selection ever... I had Thewy, TommyD, and Scotty77 on the table... luckily didn't lose too much :)

I played for a couple of hours last night and can’t remember much of it to be honest which must mean it was pretty uneventful. I haven’t gone back and looked at my hand histories for a while now so i haven’t put any hands up on here. Im going to have to get back into going over them as it’s obviously the best way to discover some of my many leaks.

I discovered the problems with lag i mentioned in my last session is indeed a problem at my end so i hope that stops soon. However Sky has had a few problems over last couple of days which unfortunately could make a lot of reccy players just go elsewhere. I hope the problems get sorted soon because numbers seem to be struggling recently as it is. Although i know the time of year affects that as well, people logging on and havning problems on the site is obviously not going to help.

Anyway, lag problems permitting i should be playing a biggish session tonight and maybe Saturday. I’m feeling good going into the weekend although that can cause over confidence issues which will make me lose money lol.

Target £400
Last session - £35

I decided to make a withdrawal today again. Its been a bad month for having to make withdrawals. It makes it easier when you’re up a lot for the month though. I’ve took out the amount to make my new target a round £200

Withdrawal £81

New Target £200

Hope the weekend goes as well as my last weekend playing did.


Record of the day: The Doors – The End. Bit mellow for a Friday but i love the opening riff.

Quiz question. What famous film is this song the intro to? Great film. There may be others i am not aware of so there may be more than one answer lol. If anyone has read a good Jim Morrison that they would recommend let me know please, i assume his life could be a good read.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSUIQgEVDM4

Sounds like a proper fish tank ;)

How do you even lose money with those three on the table?

I loved The Doors when I was at college.
'No one here gets out alive' is a decent biography. Films good fun too.

I'm guessing 'apocalypse now' for the film

Hi Jac. Oh yeah, forgot there is a film about them as well. Will give that a search in a minute. I've only got their Greatest Hits album at the minute but it is a great listen.

Yep, its at the beginning of Apocalypse Now. Really good film. Think i heard somewhere that the majority of Brando's scenes where improvised in that film which makes his scenes even better.


I had a quick look on here last night and seen there was another post but i cant seem to find it now so im not ignoring it, i just cant remember it :). Dunno if you have deleted it or not. 

Yeah, there was another post.
It was a bit pointless about a pot I luckboxed against someone when I was briefly at a cash table with you.
 

Friday

Friday was a boring night results wise. I played 2 small sessions and ended £30 down on the first then £60 quid up on second so booked a small win. I decided I was going to withdraw any winnings before the session so I withdrew the £30.

Saturday

I played 2 bigger sessions on Saturday. The first one went pretty well. I played ok and ran well too and booked a 4 buy in win. Could have been more but had 2 coolers for stacks right at the end of the session and also had a tip on a horse from a friend who has a 100% record on his tips, unfortunately it’s a 100% lose rate, yet i still decided to whack some of my winnings on it to hear the inevitable :). 

Before the second session i decided to withdraw the winnings from the earlier session and then that should be it for the month. I then went on to have my biggest losing session for a while. I lost about the same amount as i won earlier, so i would have been breakeven if i hadn’t withdrawn. It’s weird how a withdrawal can make the day seem like a loss. I have to stop looking at the number as a sign of results.

Sunday

Sunday was another boring session. Played for about an hour and ended about 30 quid up.

Target £400

Weekend sessions – Approx +£47

Withdrawals – Approx £150

New Target £303

None of the figures are exact, i cant be bothered fully working everything out to the penny but the new target figures are always spot on


Record of the Day: Jake Bugg - Seen It All. Not listened to the album yet but this is easily on of my favourite new songs at the moment.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_est5zPL6eo

Yeah i remember the table. Was 20nl wasnt it? Was an uncomfortable table because we were both 300bb's deep and you was on my left. i was glad when you stood :).

The poker nemesis.

I’m sure most people have that one player that you could describe as your poker nemesis...Well mine has decided to make a return to Sky.

They don’t play often (thank god) and we don’t get in many big pots but they seem to crush my soul in every pot we play. It is almost like they are looking over my shoulder at my cards. There will be plenty of players that i will be down quite a bit of money to lifetime but nothing like this chap. I think i have won 2 pots v them in hundreds.

The player isn’t very good, and im sure that if i mention the name to any 30nl reg they will laugh at the fact i class him as my poker nemesis but im starting to think my read on them could be wrong. Every time i don’t have a hand they raise me, if i have a mediocre hand they have it slightly beat, i have a big hand they have bigger and when i flop the nuts and think ‘right you bastard, i’ve got you now’ they check fold. So they are either very lucky or they know my game exactly. So tilting. I’m sure i have started to play differently v them and not for the better which is probably why i keep losing, even seeing the name has started to put me on instant tilt which obviously doesn’t help. I hope they bugger off back to the other sites they have prob been playing on :)

Anyway, Yesterday's session was another good session (the nemesis wasn’t playing) but there was a couple of hands i am really not happy with.

1)   i know my opponent is loose passive yet i still call his flop re-raise on a QQ6 board with AJo and then stack off on an ace turn when they overbet shove after i convince myself that ‘they wont play trips like that’. Well they did, and for good measure he had the 6 as well.

2)   This one i am more annoyed at. I stacked of with 1010 v the BIGGEST NIT/ROCK i have ever played because they had 4bet twice in 10 minutes. I’m not happy i 3bet in the first place but then to 5bet/call was just annoying.

Them 2 hands above show my biggest leaks. Not going with my reads or conveniently forgetting them and constantly thinking people are at it. At these levels, they hardly ever are.

The rest of the session went good. I managed to get 9 tables running at 30nl in about 30 minutes which is good but after an hour almost every table was either 3 or 4 handed. I don’t mind playing shorthanded for a while but knew the tables were not going to fill up so dropped down to 20nl for the rest of the session.

Target £400
Last session +£111
New target - £192


I won’t be playing until the weekend now. Im heading back to glamorous Blackburn for a Blackburn Rovers fans v Rovers legends match and we have tickets for the after party. Im not usually the sort of person who enjoys the whole after party and having pictures with celebrities etc but have to admit I’m pretty looking forward to meeting some of the players from when times at Ewood were a lot better. If i end up with any pictures (i probably won’t) i will put them on.

Record of the day: Ian Brown – Longsight M13. Had the pleasure of seeing Ian Brown live a few times now. Even though his voice is dodgy its always a good night.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZl4jbh6ABI

I see you enjoyed me playing like a massive donk last night, then. ;)

I listen to 6 Music when I can, having been one of the post-Moyles lost sheep. It is an incredible station for music lovers: the normal shows have a range wider than a drunk Ziigmund.

I heard the following for the first time yesterday:

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STz5dlEJ6ZI


YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G_CAYf-itw


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


Three brilliant records, two old and one brand new. Music is just brilliant, isn't it?!

Sadly, Ray Manzarek from 'The Doors' passed away a couple of days ago.

Wow, not the best session to come back to after a few days break.

Target - £400
Last session - -£224
New Target –  £416

I’ve Just had a look through the hand histories and quite a lot of the hands are pretty big coolers and also quite a lot of hands where i planned to bet fold river but obv decided i had to call instead. Add to that having to fold big hands by the river quite a few times and thats the main 3 points of the session. From what i have just seen in my HH i am quite happy with how i played the majority which is unusual for me after a heavy loss. The 2 main hands i am not happy with are 2 very poorly played bluffs for stacks but the rest seem ok although i only scanned through them so may have missed some things.

One huge positive from the session was the complete lack of any sort of tilt. This session would have put me on pretty big tilt just a month ago so the work i am doing on that seems to be working.


Away from the tables, the legends match i went to the other day was really good and it was good meeting the players and having a laugh. Its been a while since i have seen that many smiles down at Ewood. One huge negative to come out of the day was the mammoth 2 day hangover i suffered. I haven’t had a 2 day hangover that bad for a long time. I must be getting old.

Rovers have announced Gary Bowyer as the new boss with a 12 month rolling contract. Do i think its a good appointment? I like him, and if Venkys are going to appoint another inexperienced manager i am happy that he is the one. I would prefer a more experienced manager but i doubt that many applied for the job. Bowyer has done a great job when coming in as caretaker on the 2 occasions during this season and managed to get a team that was playing bad and low on confidence to play better and get results both times. Whether he can now do that on a permanent basis we will have to wait and see. I hope he does succeed, he seems a really good bloke and has the clubs best interests at heart. The players really like him aswell, so hopefully that is a big positive.

Champions League Final tonight!! I would like to see Dortmund win it. I used to love watching Dortmund years ago but stopped watching as much foreign footy over the years so haven’t been able to see much of them. Should be a really good game. I cant mention a Champions League final without remembering this beauty.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kJ5Y0XE1T4




Record of the Day: Will Smith and Jazzy Jeff. Great video of what has to be one of the best TV theme songs. 1:20 onwards is great viewing. I used to love that programme when i was a kid.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwS14TiO7Pk

Certainly is, with me finally being able to get my I-Tunes back and the discovery of Spotify i have become obsessed with music recently lol. I don't think there is anything better than when you hear a great record for the first time.

Is 6 music good then? I have been meaning to find a station that plays a wide variety, anything from the type of songs you posted up to newer stuff and different genres etc. Also like to hear Stations giving the not well known/unsigned bands/artists a go.

Yeah, was sad to hear to hear that. Been listening to them a lot recently.

I read a great post somewhere about his death from a huge doors fan. I cant remember where i come across it but if i find it again i will copy it in here. Was a good read.

Stone cold nuts, IMO

One suggetsion would be to check out the tracklistings on a few of the shows to get an idea of what they play. If you recognise more than 50% of the songs, you know more about music than I.

Only a quick update this time. Since the last update i haven’t played much. I’ve sat down every day but found my interest levels pretty low so quickly stood. The longest session i have played was about an hour. The shortest was 15 minutes where i spewed in spectacular fashion so quickly decided to stop. Not sure what the problem is, I’m not tilted or anything. Must be the weather, and i have recently bought a CSI game i haven’t played so that has took some of my time. Ive played a lot of the CSI games for the PC and they are really good. I really enjoy hunting for clues then putting them together. I would definitely recommend.

target - £400
Last sessions, - +24
new target - £392

I may play later tonight, i'm not sure yet.


Record of the Day: Happy Mondays – Wrote for Luck. Love the Mondays, seen them a lot now. Was gutted to hear Bez is retiring lol. Says his legs have gone. Anyway there are 2 great remixes of this record which i will put here aswell. Its really difficult to get one good remix of a song so to get 2 this good is a rarity.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5jkOpsqxjc

W.F.L mix (The next one is prob my favourite mix)

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ7bfHizM0I

Think about the future mix

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ew6piSWm-s


Three great versions of the one song!!

Anyway, i'm off to solve some crimes!

All about following those stains.

That or the insects.

WARNING! This post is going to come across as a brag post, that’s’ not my intention but when looking back through the thread i realised i haven’t  posted about my poker before i started the thread. I started this thread to document my push for the higher levels but i suppose you cant have a thread like this and not mention past results.

The numbers on sky:

Deposited: £34
Withdrawn: £9283.38

Add to that my roll now and we are over 5 figures. Im not exactly sure on when i joined the site but pretty sure it was 2 years ago.

I had to do a bit of digging from live chat to get them results so i wasn’t sure of the exact amount until now. My roll got as low as £3 when i was grinding 4nl and luckily i have never looked back. Looking at the results now it helps me realise what i have achieved in poker so far and shows any micro stakes grinder that you can beat the levels. When i was grinding away at full tilt playing $1 sit and gos and losing my deposits i believed i had the talent to win (which i didnt) but if someone would have said i would get the results i have i would have laughed at you, i would never have dreamt of it. I need to remember that when tilt starts to set in.

I do sometimes wonder what i could be playing now if life circumstances didn’t mean i had to withdraw the money. I probably would have lost it all at higher limits rather than withdraw but i could also be grinding away at the higher levels. I suppose i am a bit gutted i didn’t get these results when i was at uni and didn’t have to withdraw the amounts

Quite a bit of that amount will be rakeback though.

The levels

4/10nl i found pretty easy. The general rule is stay really tight at these levels, which is obviously right but i used to be slightly looser just to get into a lot of pots with bad players. Was higher variance but it helped me beat the levels pretty quick.

20nl is what i class as my base level. What i mean by that is when i play any sort of volume at this level i will pretty much always end with a profit. I use this level when confidence is low. I don’t believe i will ever drop below 20nl again. (i have now gone a tempted fate).

30/40nl I find these a lot more swingy but it is these levels that has made me most of my money since joining the site. Unfortunately  i do seem to go on some big downswings at this level unlike 20nl.

50nl This is where i started to struggle a bit. I was breaking even for a while but then had a big downswing. I suspect that the breakeven month or 2 may have been due to good variance but i like to believe the downswing was due to bad variance.

Tourneys I have mentioned my inability when it comes to tournament poker before. Only a couple of hundred quid has come from MTTs with two 3rd place finishes in the Mini event a long time ago. The second 3rd place finish was on the night the first jackpot was won on Sky. I remember being devastated that they knocked me out in lucky fashion :) but then i saw they had took down the jackpot and i instantly didn’t mind i didn’t win.

STT’s I used to play Sit and Go’s a lot when first started. My first ever win (and my biggest away from the cash tables) was my first ever proper poker game in a pub about 8 years ago and i took it down for £200 quid. Great night and was the reason i carried on playing.



Record of the Day: Jose Gonzalez - Far Away. on the gaming theme from the other day this song is from Red Dead Redemption which is probably the game i have enjoyed most for years. I would recommend to anyone who like wild west games.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC6f3x6dKPQ

good thing that's not a brag then, because it's neeeeee where near being thin ;)

Only played a little session again yesterday. Ended about 40 quid down.

Couldn't be arsed playing much so ended up stopping and returning to the CSI game.

Did a live sweat session earlier with a few mates and managed to win £50 so i am actually up since last update.

Think i will be playing quite a bit later. Not sure yet though.

Target £400

New Target £394

Well that’s what i get for the brag post. Haven’t had a winning session since lol. Last 2 sessions haven’t been great and finished about 5 buyins down all together. Nothing major but it is annoying. I can’t seem to get any momentum going for the push for 50nl. I’m not playing well and i seem to be getting punished by the reccy players every hand so they have been a couple of tilty sessions.

I think i am going to stop writing the target figures down on here for a bit aswell. When getting frustrated with results, writing them down doesn’t help lol.


On football news i have just seen Stoke have appointed Mark Hughes. I know a lot of people don’t like him but any Rovers fan will know why i rate him highly. I’m not sure what happened since but the job he did at Blackburn was unbelievable. He took a side struggling in the premiership and heading for relegation to Europe, FA Cup semis, League Cup runs and made some great signing along the way.  He got us playing great football and in 2 seasons we had the 2nd biggest scorer in one and the 3rd in another. If he can come close to what he did at Rovers at Stoke they will be very happy.

Seen Martinez being heavily linked with Everton as well. Not sure that would be a good appointment. I like Martinez and you can’t argue with a manager taking a club like Wigan and winning the FA Cup but i think he will get found out at a bigger club. I hope he does well, he comes across as a thoroughly decent chap i just can’t see it myself. Ive always wondered why he can get Wigan to play until they have their backs against the wall. Never a good sign.

Having said all that watched Wigan v Everton in the FA Cup this year and Wigan’s performance was one of the best i have ever seen in the first half. If he could get a team to play like that a lot, then he would be a good signing.


Record of the Day: Joy Division - Transmission. Great band cut way too short unfortunately, big fan of New Order as well

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

Going to put a couple of hands in as i haven't for a while.

Hand 1

This hand was right at the end of a sweat session with friends, i said i will play the next hand for laughs. I pick up  9h 4s. I know it's always a fold pre but as i said, i said i would play the next hand no matter what it was.

I raise to 90p at 30nl. Btn calls, everyone else folds

Btn is quite poor. Seems to be playing most hands, havent seen whether they passive or aggressive by this point. Seem passive pre, but not sure on post flop tendencies

Flop:  9d 9s 2h        Pot - £2.25

I bet £1.50, villain calls

Turn:  Js         Pot - £5.25

I bet £3.00, villain calls

River:   Kh      Pot - £11.25

I bet £5.70, Villain shoves to £22.20 and i have them covered, I fold

2 questions

1) River Sizing? At the time i felt the K was a bad card for their range so bet smaller. Bad thinking?

2) The river fold? I thought it was a pretty easy fold at the time but a couple in the sweat session said it was closer than i thought and they thought they may have called. I still think it's an easy fold but thought i would get others opinions.

Hand 2 20nl

This generated a bit of discussion

i have  Ahrt Ks in the small blind 100bb's deep.

UTG very poor player open shoves £12

Tight, good reg re-shoves on the btn for £19.50ish

Do we call? I have no real reads on what range they do this with but at the time i was pretty sure they don't do it with AQ - 99/1010. what range do we assign to a decent tag reg when we dont know their range here?

i folded.

The re-shove is from a chap who i see as probably one of the best at these levels. They are tight though. I haven't seen UTG do this yet but i wasnt paying a great deal of attention. This just a case of range assigning and doing the maths? My math is extremely poor and unfortunately i have not been able to get stove for the new computer :)

Hand 2, I'd imagine we have to be splitting v another AK or flipping ALOT against the good reg which means we're mostly just chopping the poor player's money. I'd be calling, unless by tight-reg you mean one of the complete nit-regs. I think you're probably right that they don't do it with AQ, but I'd imagine most are likely to do it with 99+ or at least TT+ and AK.

If he's good, why is he sat with £19 @ 30NL? or has he just lost a hand?

Hand 1 is close and it's always a worry when the poor players stop C/C and find the raise button, but think he can still be over-valueing worse hands like KJ. I probably station off and get shown K9

Oops, forgot to put this hand was 20nl :) Edited it now.

Opponent is tight but not the usual NIT reg at these levels. Guy will make the game difficult with aggression etc but mostly has it or picks his spots well, fairly tough to play at this level.

Call and call and call and call and keep calling there are no other options :D

Meh, hand 1 is  :dontask: looking back.

Snappityyyyy Snap 2 tho!  :cheers:   :tikay:

With hand 2 i thought it was a pretty easy fold at the time but when writing the HH down on here and writing the reads i started to think it was a bad fold. I'm still not sure though, i cant help being results orientated in these spots and think it was a good fold because they turned over KK. I still have a niggling feeling that the best i am hoping for is QQ or JJ. Im never dominating but can quite easily be in bad shape a lot of the time.

Hand 1. I definately still like the fold but can be persuaded, if we are calling because they can show up with KJ sometimes i still like the fold. The hands they do it for value are bigger 9's (there are many), rivered straight, KJ AND 22, i dont do well v that range. If i thought they can turn Jx into a bluff then its more of a call, i dont know they can do that but it has to be considered. I doubt they have a bare K because that means they floated 2 streets with Kx, again i have no reads they do that so i have to assume its pure value with 9x, Q10, KJ or 22. I am open to be persuaded otherwise.

FINALLY! I managed to put in a 5 hour session last night which used to be a normal session for me but i have been struggling to get anywhere near 2 hours recently. I nearly snap shut down again when, in a 10 minute spell, i threw away 3 stacks but i bundled on and finished with a nice £110 win. Not much, but it stops the rut i had been in since my semi brag post.

I feel i played pretty well for most of the night, i seemed to have a grasp on what was happening in most hands during the night and even though i was playing quite a high variance style i was picking the right spots and making the right calls. Although there is one hand i’m not sure about v an aggressive opponent who loves to barrel. I called their 3bet with K9s, double floated planning on taking the pot away on river (i was certain it would work at the time) on a QQxx board but paired up on river so didn’t have to bluff when they checked to me and i could check back. My read was right, they had nothing and my river bluff would have worked but i think i could just fold pre and save myself the hassle because i am not sure it would work often enough.

I was going to put in another big night tonight but had about 2 hours kip so not sure i am going to now. I will decide later on.



Record of the Day: The Black Keys – Lonely Boy

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_426RiwST8

Hi AJ.  How are you getting on with note-taking?

One thing I have been awful at is hand histories - both examining my won and reading other people's to try and learn.  I'm going to start to put that right.

A couple of questions for you then, firstly on your most recent post (as an inexperienced cash player myself):

1) As you have already alluded to yourself, what is your thinking behind calling a 3-bet with K9s vs this opponent?
2) Why would you be playing a high variance style in this session (sounded like you usually play a lower variance style) and how does it change the dynamic for you?

I am playing a pretty low-variance style myself and my first goal is just to rack up a month or two of about 5k hands/pm to get a feel for the Speed poker tables before I try to deviate too much from my ABC approach.  I am playing the odd slightly more read-based move.

3) Are you up for a skype chat sometime soon, to have a look at my style and point out any obvious flaws, or easy pointers to give?  I am not expecting you to give up time you don't have so if you are too busy right now, then that is understood.

Cheers

I can ship Pokerstove to you whenever you're on Skype next mate.

Hi V.
Going over hand histories is a problem for me as well, either the motivation is lacking or i have a tendency to just scan through rather than analyse what i have done in the hand. HH groups obviously help with that a lot and are really good for picking up little mistakes that you didn’t realise were mistakes.

With the K9s hand it was read based. If anyone picks up any obvious flaws in thinking in the bit i write next don’t hesitate to pull me up on it. The guy had been barrelling for fun without thinking whether they were good barrel spots or not. He is a very good MTT player but a losing cash player and normally you can tell what mood he is in within 5 minutes. I noticed pretty quick he was in an aggro maniac mood. He is opening constantly, 3betting a lot and blindly betting most streets without consideration for his opponent and the board etc. He had shown down weak hands a few times already in the session. I know that if i hit a pair with K9 or hit bigger i am going to make money a lot due to his over active betting both pre and post. It’s obv high variance but even if i hit 2nd or maybe even 3rd pair i am going to win a fair few times.

He can also fold post flop so i will be able to bluff him off a hand a fair amount of the time aswell when i miss. Although he bets a lot, when shown aggression back he can realise its not good for him and will fold. With the hand you are referring to the flop came Q52 rainbow so i cant bluff with K high and rep anything there so  i float, the turn comes another Q. Im in position so raising the turn when he barrels reps nothing as well because if i had the Q i am likely to call and let them fire a  third time so i had to go for the double float. When i called the turn i pretty much knew if he didn’t have a Q he will check, i jam and it will get through i decent amount but the river paired my 9 so i could check back my showdown. There is however a case for still jamming the river when i pair because i can fold out hands that still beat me like 1010 or JJ etc. I’m not sure what the best move is on the river actually but in game i checked back and got shown Ace high. The only reason i questioned whether i should have done it or not is because i had control over my tables that night and i didnt need to risk chips for no reason. i could have folded and let them have 90p, instead im risking 20/30/40 quid on floating to bluff. Just wasnt worth it, although it does feel really good when your read is right.


I was playing quite high variance that night as there were regs who can be bluffed a lot and a lot of bad aggro reccy players so i found myself bluffing a lot and calling with very weak hands on river like ace high or 3rd/4th pair a lot. Fortunately it worked in that session but one of my problems is switching between styles. I rarely change in sessions and if i do its usually tilt based changes but in poker, the key is changing it up to the situation and the opponent. As soon as i master that i feel then i will be able to make a real go at the higher levels.


With Skype i am happy to chat on there a lot. Im not the greatest talker on things like that though and i’m not sure how much i will be able to help with your game as i’m not the greatest player in the world but yeah if i can help at any point i don’t mind at all. I’m not sure yet when i will be able to do it but if i haven’t PM’d you within the next week send me a PM to remind me and i will def sort it. Like i said im not sure how much i will be able to offer but i dont mind chatting.

Good man!! i will be taking you up on that offer very shortly :)

I haven’t played any poker since dumping Saturdays winnings back to the 30nl economy on Sunday night. Some hand s where standard, some were quite tough spots but most was my own doing which seems to be the story of the last few months. I was going to play last night after doing a couple of hand history reviews that usually get me in the mood to play but i looked at the tables and they looked pretty poor so didn’t bother.

Think i am going to spend the week brushing up on some theory and watching another poker series i have stored on the computer. I am not trying for the promotion Sky are running so may work at my game rather than play while its running. I have a lot of of videos but not much written theory so if anyone knows of any good ones i would appreciate a nudge in the right direction.


After tilting on Sunday night i made a tilt induced purchase of Final Fantasy 8 to keep me away from the tables for a bit. Easily my all time favourite game, i even prefer it to Final Fantasy 7 which i re-bought and finished last year. I used to be a big gamer in my youth until i substituted it with a game that could win me money for my time so the discovery of the Playstation store has got me buying all the classic games from years ago that will have a big affect on grinding. I also bought Abe’s Oddysee, another classic game that can waste your time. Once i have finished these games think i am going to getting the first couple of Resident Evils. Resident Evil 1 was one of the toughest games i have ever played with Resident Evil 2 just being a great game.

On the subject of games, if anyone plays fifa on the PS3 and fancies a game v a division 1er (thin) i would be up for that. Just let me know


Records of the Day: Going for 2 today as i have bought these classics on 12” last week and they have arrived today so thought i would stick them on here.

Fragma - Everytime you need me (Pulsedriver Mix)
                                     
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6shzIAd13s

Y Traxx - Mystery Land (Sickboy Courtyard Mix)
                           
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gV7MD6KVR8

AJ - Equilab on pokerstrategy.com is a great free tool and imo better than pokerstove.  I have just written a review on my own diary.

I will give some thought as to a skype session.  I am currently struggling to fit in enough cash so it might be that I only play the odd two hour session at the weekend if I can fit it in.

I really want to make sure I play ten sessions per month, but even that may be too much for me to cram in. 

Thanks for the offer.

Where's all the money going AJ cos you, me and Penguinz all seem to be having a complete mare. Me thinks Rancid ;)

<3 the Final Fantasy series, few dodgy ones in the mix but mostly a great series. Good tilt-buy.

I have decided to move down to 20nl for a few days. I have moved down far earlier than i normally would just to book a few winning sessions. The tables at 30nl haven’t been looking great and although i don’t normally mind and feel i can win, i think it is best to avoid them at the moment when i feel i'm not playing great. 

There is some huge comedy plays both from regs and reccys at 20nl. I saw one reg last night open to £4.20 HU. At first i thought it was a big misclick until the next time they opened to £3.80 and kept opening to these sizes. There were far more wtf moments as well but wont write them all :)

Anyway, i had a bad start at 30nl and dropped a couple of buyins which is when i decided to drop down to 20nl. I then had a good session until a couple of hands where i threw away my profits and ended even. Moving down looks like it will be a good move for the short term.



Other news, I’ve just seen Benni McCarthy has retired from football. There was one season at Rovers when he was unplayable, he really was world class without exaggeration. I have no idea what happened in his life after that because he became overweight, lazy and never played. Such a shame as he could have been a great player wherever he went. What i would do for the team we had in those days with Hughes as boss.

My favourite Benni goal at Ewood in the FA Cup v Arsenal.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKrIdh2tWo0


Record of the Day: The Lumineers - Stubborn Love. Got hold of the album at the weekend as heard it was good and heard this. Great track.

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

Yeah i have seen a lot of regs losing money at 30nl. Someone must be having a grand old time at the moment :)

Yeah there def are a few dodgy Final Fantasy games. I love 7/8 and 10 (10 is one i know is widely disliked but i really enjoyed it and was happy to hear they are re-releasing it soon). Never got into 9 but didnt play it much. i think im going to buy it when i finish 8 and give it another go. The rest i wasnt a fan of. 12 was ok but 13 (i think it was 13) was the worst game i have ever played imo. i gave it a few tries but really didn't enjoy it at all.

Just joined up mate, will be following your diary.

Been a rough month at nl20/30 i just cant seem to hold when im all in. Managed to get it in KK v A10 earlier and he hit the 4 flush jeeeeeeeesus!

Been thinking about giving tournaments abit of a bash im kinda getting bored of playing cash now. Managed to go deep in the main last night after i was talking to you and its kinda rekindled my love for tournaments haha.

Good luck pal.

None of you are winning because I haven't played for 2 weeks. Back over the weekend tho, so get comfy.

Yeah i saw on twitter you final tabled!! Cracking result, especially as when we was talking you just got moved to a tough table and you predicted you wouldn’t even cash.

You thinking of grinding MTT's or just the odd one? and which site? You were grinding stars a while ago wernt you? The wins in tourneys always look far better than grinding cash, unfortunatley i never come close to the big scores though :)

Sigghhh, was hoping for better tables this weekend with the SPT on :).

You ever play the SPTs? I saw the other week you have been getting some good MTT results. Which format you prefer between cash and MTTs?

Had a really good session yesterday at 20nl. Felt i was running the tables and picking up a lot of pots. Almost all my losses were coolers, although i could prob have got away from one or two. Looking at them now the majority were over pairs v sets and one where i got KK in v a player i consider to be the best at this level and he binked trips on the flop.

However i ended up with a decent profit and felt good most of the session. I started to gift away some pots near the end so stopped earlier than i wanted to but all in all im happy. If the last couple of months has anything to go by it won’t continue, but i hope it does.


Not sure what i am going to play tonight. Will keep my eye on the 30nl tables and see if i think its worth it when not playing great. The standard at 20nl is really quite poor so may just stay there and add one or two 30nl.



Record of the Day: Iggy Pop – The passenger. Turn it up!!!

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0nlygb1Qfw

Played 3 SPT's. 2 @ Luton, one at Stratford. You should try and get to one, good fun, and the Sky lot seem to be a decent bunch. Avoid Tikay tho, not worth meeting.

Was supposed to be playing the Birmingham one, but I'm going to a birthday party.

Had a decent run on Sky, just need to build on it now, and see where I can take it. I'm enjoying swapping between the two really, just depends how I feel on the day.

I knew that it wouldn’t continue from the other day!! I will warn you now, this post will be a moaning/bad beat post so i wouldn’t read on if you really dislike these posts. Just be thankful i don’t post after sessions when these moaning posts would be a lot worse!

I started the session really well for the first hour. Was feeling good and picking up a lot of pots but then my discipline just went west and i gifted 2 or 3 stacks away in 10 minutes. The worst thing was in 2 of them my thought processes where ‘ok, no need to bluff him. i try anyway, when he calls the flop i know i cant make him  fold....i then ignore all that and bluff off a stack 5 seconds later’. TILT. 2 minutes later i have 99 on Ks8s68Js board and call down after getting  raised on flop for a stack. Thought process on river? ‘the flush has just come in so most of the hands i was beating i am not anymore so its a clear fold’...i call. No idea why i do it. My mouse hand does not do what my brain tells it. if i could stop the stupid calls my win rate would increase dramatically.

I shut down and had an hour break.

After the break was a totally different story. Think i played well but i got some pretty horrific run of cards. I have just scanned through the HH’s and i hit top top in a 3 bet pots 4 times only to come up against a set in every one. I come up against 2 other sets in 3bet pots, this time holding over pairs...more stacks gone. I managed to get it in good a few times at least, but i still lost. That is probably only half of it as well. The only lucky thing to happen in the session was poor regs letting me lose the minimum a lot.

So yeah, pretty horrid 2 hour session after the break. I’m not too fussed, it just means more time at 20nl but (unless i run like last night) i should be back at 30nl in the next week or 2 (hopefully).


I’m not going to be playing today. I am going to make the most of the weather before that decides its had enough of giving us some sun.


Record of the Day: Alabama 3 – Too sick to pray. Most people will know these because of the Sopranos theme track, unfortunately my Dad is like their groupie so i have been to see them way over 10 times with him because otherwise he would be going on his own. Good band though and always a good night.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJQ85_sLI9Q

Thought this hand history might make u laugh/give you a boost going into your next session AJ.

Not sure how to display a HH here, spose I'll have to type it out.

May be the worst I've ever played a hand in my life. bear in mind I'm the guy who hates folding in any circumstances.

I think I look soooo strong though especially on that turn card, it has to look like I have it already, and if not, I've just got there, so when you ship it's like wtfffffffff?????

At least that was my thinking at the time.

30nl.

Unknown (suspect fish) opens hijack to 90pence playing £51.
AJ rockets flats cut off playing £31
Big fish DOHHHHHHH flats playing £39 with  9h  7h
Shortstack in the big blind playing £10 squeezes to £1.20 total (lol)

Unknown, AJ and Doh all call. obvs.

Pot £6.15

Flop

 4s  5h  8h

Big blind shortstack donk leads full pot, £6.15 pretty much all in now.
Initial Opener folds.
AJ rockets calls.
Dohhhhhhh calls. (?) Shove here? I guess I can maybe get you off some stuff. But the times we get it in you're crusing me with sets/better draws.

Pot now £24.60

Turn

 2h

Big blind shortstack puts his last £1 in.

AJrockets moves all in for £24 total.

Dohhhhhhhhhh FOLDS


 ;surrender;

Is that some freaky sick level 3,238 stuff from you, turning your hand into a bluff or what???????

I have to have your hand beat here! I just have tooooooooo.

I suppose u can ship sets. I should really have called.

The 1 time I find a fold, it's a bad one.

Anyway, even though the shorty had us both beat, that was £24 saved! lol.

Maybe cya on the tables/skype later if you wanna talk about any hands from that session!

gl if u play today.

loooool @ doohhhhh

hahahahah quhfouasifcahouvhoufrh

Turning off stupid fin notifications.

:'(

Technically I was beaten.

£10 guy had  Kh  Th

FO

nh.

why would reg villian snap jam a bigger flush only lol like lol we has 5 reds and they are all the same reddness, gogogo wagering chips

Think he thinks my range here will have to be pretty fin strongggggggggg ????

Made hands otf are always 2p or better, or a draw, which has now got there. With the shorty involvement.

And he ships it??

What kinda hands do u think he has???

Sets and better flushes?

That's what I thought. Maybe more sets with the shove, but he will see me as abit/a lot of a station and I reckon he can ship flushes here. (v me).

I completely forgot about this hand. Sigh. Looking at it I'm really not happy with how i played it at all, from the flop to the turn jam. It was at the time where i was throwing money around before i had to have the break. Really poor half hour or so.

Still pretty shocked you folded the flush though. There will def be a few hands i could decide to jam (whether right or wrongly) with the shorty splashing in the pot, as i did lol.

I know when i moved to that table with the likes of tommyD and a few other good MTT players i feared the worse but i ended up playing better and picking up more pots. Final table was so strange saw some weird stuff going on 3 players went in about 15 minutes lol i was pretty happy though been short. Punted abit of the prize money back at nl20/30 though haha just cannot believe how bad im running i know its what everyone says but the amount of 80/20s ive lost is getting stupid. Out of all my sunday tourneys already and got coolered about 5 times in as many minutes on stars so stap logged off.

Hope things go better at nl20 you should hammer it very poor atm.

Let me know if your doing any of these sessions again need to work on my game the tilts just making me do stupid things.

The last 2 sessions have been good. My hungover session on Sunday went well but i ended with 7 quid profit. I thought it was more before i turned off so was a bit gutted to see 7 quid but at least it was profit.

Yesterday was a lot better. I played a 5 hour session at 20nl and ran like god for the majority. Everywhere i looked i hit aces, sets, flushes. It was one of those sessions where you know everything the regs are doing and the reccys just hand you money.

I pulled out the old show a bluff move v one reg who is an obvious tilter/ego player, its not a move i usually make (in fact i have probably shown once in 2 years) but decided to give it a go after witnessing his tilting before. I wasn’t sure it worked until he spanked off a stack 5 minutes later in pretty obscene fashion and then decided to get me back by showing me a bluff in a 3 quid pot 2 minutes after handing me a stack. It is safe to say that showing early in his session worked a treat and more than half my win must have come from him.

I finished 15 Buyins up for the night and thats after i made quite a few value mistakes as well. I have been far to risk averse when it comes to thin value after my poor sessions recently and i have been missing a lot of value in the last couple of sessions. One or 2 of the value bets i have missed haven’t even been thin, they are clear value bets but i have been wary.


Im well rolled for 30nl, but 20nl is too good to move at the min so will stay there until weekend and then re assess. Both days this week have been profitable so I’m hoping that carries on for the rest of the week. I may add a couple of main events on Sky this week as well. It really is starting to irritate me that my record in these is so poor. I’m determined to take one down this year, something i can’t do if i don’t play them.



Record of the Day – Notorious B.I.G. – Hypnotize. I had a good session grinding to hip hop last night so decided to stick my favourite Hip Hop track on. I’m not a big fan of Biggie, i was more into 2pac in my youth but this has to be the greatest Hip Hop track.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk4ftn4PArg

Yeh keep your eye on twitter. i will DM you when doing one.

Thats why im not the biggest tourney fan. The variance can be brutal and nothing worse than spending hours getting close to the cash before hitting a horrible beat. My temprement is well and truly tested!

Your right about 20nl. If you can avoid the outdraws you should make some decent money.

BIG >>>> 2Pac ainec. 2Pac undeniably cooler but Biggie's music was outstanding.

I have to say i am liking his music a lot more than i used to. I didnt listen to him at all when growing up but recently discovered more of his stuff and am enjoying it.

Watched a good documentary other month about who killed Biggie and 2Pac which is worth a watch if your into that sort of stuff. I will put link in below rather than thye full 2 hour documentary. It's probably outdated now and the accusations may have been proven to be wrong but i havent took the time to see if it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x02bE_GzbJo

 Normal service resumed after the decent win the other day. I told a mate the day after the 15 buy in win that i always have a bad session the day after. The trend continued.

Having a quick scan through and there are some pretty horrible beats, standard coolers and there are 3 or 4 hands that i have played joke bad. Also a couple of read based decisions that i am happy with but went the wrong way. Inconsiderate bastards changing their predictable ways :)!!

Results over the last 2 or 3 months have been so erratic that there HAS to be some pretty big issues with my game that i am not noticing. I have never been Ivey or anything but my results used to consistently be good at these lower levels where as now it has changed to being proper Inconsistent. It may be just the cards but i am starting to suspect it's not. I have done live sweats where i have lost money and people have said it has been standard, i have looked through HH’s and not noticed persistent mistakes (although i have spotted some pretty  big ones in individual hands) so it’s tough to put a finger on why results are so up and down. I may be playing far too many hands; i think i am going to fully NIT up for a week or 2 and see how that works out.

I would put more hands on here but i feel a lot of the losses are standard hands (hence why i cant find the suspected problems in my game) and there is nothing worse than a thread of a moaning bastard sticking a shed load of beats up. I have already filled the thread with one of the 2 so the hands can stay away :)

Not sure i am going to play over next couple of days. Couple of days away then return with a NIT mentality may just be what the doctor ordered :)



Record of the Day: The Cure - Inbetween Days. Been listening them this morning, had a hard time deciding which to stick on here. Plumped for this classic

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scif2vfg1ug




Come across these yesterday after being pointed in their direction. Some unreal trick shots. Im not a big bowling fan, although i do enjoy the odd game, but there is no way you cant be impressed by some of the shots on Youtube. I love a good trick shot in any sport.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRt0rC-42r8

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR4fzUCkgpQ

I’m planning on quite a big poker weekend this weekend, no plans whatsoever so I’m going to use the time to get a couple of decent size sessions going. I was thinking of returning to 30nl but i am going to start at 20nl and see how that goes. If i start to tear that up i will add some 30nl but it is more likely i will stay at 20.
 

I’ve swerved any life updates for a while purely because there has been nothing really going on worth an update. Probably the most exciting thing i have done for a while is buy a couple new fish (not some random bad poker players lol).

I don’t think i have mentioned on here before that i keep fish, I have one tropical tank and one coldwater. The new additions are for the cold water. Not sure how i got into it but started about 3 years ago. Great things to keep. They are easy to look after (unless you are me) and great visually for the house and any kids that visit love them. I’m fascinated by the fact you can keep a whole different world in a tank, in your house.

I’ve had loads of problems with the tanks recently though so the amount of fish i have got is far less than i used to have but looks like we have managed to sort the problems out and going to start refilling them.

I’ll stick some pictures on at some point.

I also recently re-acquired Cubase (a music production software) that i have been on quite a bit, creating some shocking pieces of music that because i have created sound great to me but aren’t quite ready for public appearances. Unfortunately i am self taught on that software so i know the basics (slightly) and very little else.
I’m surprised my neighbour hasn’t come to kick my head in yet as i constantly have the same part of a song on loop trying to add things, it annoys me so the missus and the neighbour must be smashing their heads on the wall.

I’m on the hunt for a good software to help create mash ups. Cubase was pretty tough for that when i tried and it’s one thing i would love to do. I love a good mash up.


Record of the Day: Ed Sheeran and Passenger – No diggity. Found this great live performance other day. Enjoyed it all except Ed’s ‘say whaaaaat’ at the beginning, No idea what he was thinking. Rest is a great listen.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2K_7-MHt3k

So, an uncomfortable situation arose yesterday while in Asda (there are other supermarket chains available). While stood looking at a shelf i said ‘i will get some of them for while I’m grinding’. This was met by a weird look from one couple and a snigger from another chap. The missus found it pretty funny as well and i started to realise how weird the poker dictionary sounds to others.

I manage to keep poker lingo away from everyday life but there is the odd time that it creeps in and it’s almost always met by the same confused looks.  The poker jargon sure is a bizarre one. Forum regs and live players must have to explain themselves all the time. The worst time to let the lingo sneak into everyday chat is in fromt of my mum, when i have to explain it's a poker term it then leads into having to spend the next hour convincing her she doesnt have to worry about a gambling problem.

That brings up another interesting question, when does gambling become a gambling problem. Is it just when we lose? I play a lot of hours, probably a lot more than most who will be seen to have a problem. Does the fact that i make money eliminate the idea of it being a problem? Or is that a poker players justification? I know the skill elemant of poker changes the issue a bit but it is still gambling. I mentioned to someone recently that i play a lot of poker and they instant took it as having a gambling problem and when i tried to convince them it was ok because i win and havent deposited in years i was met by a look of sympathy. It was clear what they thought and my Insistence in trying to convince them only seemed to make it look worse.



Anyway, i put in a decent grind last night and had a decent night results wise. It could have been more as i made more poor calls but other than that i am fairly pleased. My in game thinking and hand reading is questionable a lotof the time so i need to brush up on that and quickly.

At one point in the session i looked at all my tables and on at least ¾ of them i had the one player at 20nl i don’t want on my left on all of them. Microstakes is an easy game, it’s us ourselves that make it difficult for whatever reason but there is one or two players that make life difficult as well, and he is certainly one. It’s safe to say i was relieved to see him stand.

There was one bizarre moment of the night. My internet lagged a bit, which is pretty normal so didn’t think anything of it. 2 minutes later i look at one of my tables and see a 4424 board and i have A4. One reccy bets big so i call and a poor reg calls as well, at this point i am certain i am stacking one of them. Then the flop comes 377?!?! Still no idea what happened, the board must have stuck on screen when the internet lagged. To go from quads with players betting into you to ace high in the same hand is definitely disheartening.

I will be putting in some more hours today hopefully. Gonna try and get 3 or 4 in later this afternoon and then maybe another 5 hour session in tonight. 
GL to all that’s playing, unless you happen to make your way to my tables.

Record of the Day: New Order - Temptation

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUjUTG3hwyQ

Best record you've chosen in a few days.

;hattip;

Yesterdays big session didn’t last as long as i wanted. I got pretty tired by midnight and all my old problems started to resurface so i decided to stop myself from making bad calls by logging off. I finished the day with a small win, so now i have had a few winning sessions i am fully expecting losing sessions when i next log on lol.

Just scanned through my HH's inbetween writing this and it is actually pretty joke bad. Ending the day with a profit seems a fantastic result after these hands. I am glad i decided to have a quick look as these are very very poor from me. I am actually quite shocked at how bad i played last night. I blame tiredness! I didnt think it was that bad. I knew i was making mistakes and thats why i logged off but was completely ignorant to how many, and how bad. I will certainly be using these to learn from in the week :)

Well, this has turned into i tilting writing session lol.

Poker free day today for me i think, until later when i inevitably decide to donate and then tilt cursing myself for deciding to play when i didn’t want to :).




Record of the Day: The Hippy Mafia – King of the Sky. On a more cheerful note i heard this for the first time this morning on Sunday Brunch. Love finding new tracks. Great record. Ths will be getting a lot of plays from me for the next week :)

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex19hnizpn8

Had this same feeling yesterday when I did that quick hour looking through hands.

It was pretty humiliating seeing just how bad I played, just giving money away to bad regs and clueless fish. No real excuses at the mo for not at least playing well with the tables how they are.

I was just sat there for 3 hours in last nights session focussing on "not making mistakes"

That was enough for 1 of my best sessions ever! Admittedly I ran shit hot for the majority.

Can't help but spew a few buyins when I see your name at the table for some reason! Mental game of poker might have the answers?

Took the gloss of an otherwise unreal session, pretty sure if I hadn't done that hand review in the afternoon I wouldn't have done so well, so cheers for taking the time out! Happy to do an hour or so tomorrow if you reckon it'll help. Think 'quick hours' r the way forward with those kinda things.

Good luck if you play later today, cash in as much as you can while the tables r like that!


edit*

There's probably a lot of people read this for the music content and 'record of the day' as much as the poker, so worth a try.......

Does anyone know who's singing the Michael Jackson 'thriller' cover on the sky sports Ashes 2013 'ad' ?

Yeah, i saw you had some pretty big stacks. I had to move from one table where we were both 500bb's deep because i was convinced i would do something stupid and hand you the lot. The AK v 99 hand made it clear i had to move, i was genuinely shitting myself about you raising river lol, i wouldnt know what to have done even though i had the house. Having to fold a house to you would have hurt. I was sat repeating ' please dont raise' lol.

I will do an hour tomorrow. I dont mind showing the hands even though they are poor. I would never have dreamt of making some of these calls when i was grinding 4nl so no idea why it has started to creep into my game now. I'm doing them a lot so showing them to others may help get it into my head to stop doing it lol.

Tables were great for while. they got pretty tough for a spell but like you say there is no excuse for making mistakes and not playing well on those tables.


Regarding the Thriller track, i have kept my ear out but nothing. Shazam will help with that. I know you dont like technology but its v easy to use once you have downloaded it to your phone if you have a phone that will allow the app. Think you get 5 free a month on the app, or at least you do on my blackberry (the worst phones in the world btw. if anyone is tempted by one DO NOT, i have had nothing but troublewith mine). If you have a phone that wont support it i know there used to be a Shazam number you could ring, play the song down the phone then they would text you the name of song. Obv expensive but worked the onece or twice i used it years ago. A lot of fkin about but if you really want th track tis worth it.

Only a quick update. Played 2 small sessions yesterday even though i said i probably wouldn’t. Predictably lost a couple of buy ins with the 2 main hands me handing over stacks trying to bluff an over pair on a 4578Jccc board vs a player that will never fold. In the other hand i convinced myself the opponent was messing me about with the line they took and i embarrassingly handed him a 175bb stack with top pair in a 3bet pot. Looking at it now, it was a clear fold.

That was later in the sessions though after i had been coolered a lot so tilt had set in.

I think i am trying to win every pot i play at the moment which obviously is a bad strategy. At these tables all you have to do is wait for a hand and take their chips but i seem to be unable to do it. 


Record of the Day: Black Sabbath – Paranoid. I read they hit the top of the album charts yesterday and i haven’t heard this in ages.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8w4u-GbEw4

This will be a larger update than normal, I haven’t updated for a few days and those few days happen to have been quite eventful in terms of poker.

These posts seem to always have a downbeat theme. That’s normally not what I am like, I am usually always positive about my poker and the games I play but the truth is since I started writing about my poker in this thread , results haven’t been great and it’s tough to not have the downbeat theme in your posts when results are like that. I’m not a fan of writing moaning type posts so I’m almost certain people won’t like reading it so I am hoping this post will be the last one for a while.


So, where to start? In the last updates I had had a losing session the day after a good winning session which seems to be a trend for me. I then had to make a withdrawal. That’s when the problems started.

I had a real bad night a couple of days ago where my play and the cards were all going wrong. What made that day worse was I had decided before the session I needed to win because I could really do with making another withdrawal. Wanting to win too much makes my game go west, making mistakes puts me on tilt more than anything else and wanting to win but then losing increases that tilt dramatically.

It was one of those sessions that are the most frustrating when you want to win. I was losing every pot. No matter what happened I just couldn’t gather any chips. The weirdest part of that night was I was running really hot cards wise for large parts. I was picking up premiums all the time but everyone would fold, I was flopping sets galore but the opponents would always fold and most would check fold even though they almost always cbet and the same was happening when I hit straights or flushes. This became more frustrating than my complete inability to win pots. When you want to win, you get the cards to win but don’t get the customers it can add a weird element of tilt whilst already tilting because you can’t win other pots. This happened all night and I was down a lot of money.

By this point I was tilting pretty bad and decided to have an hour break.

I logged back on half hour later, still tilting and loaded up more tables. Thankfully I decided to put in a stop loss on which I had reached in 20 minutes so snap logged off again. I am so glad I have the discipline to do this, it’s crucial to be able to get that discipline to walk away. You always hear people who go busto saying they should have stopped earlier. I have no doubts that if I didn’t turn off I would have been busto by the end of that night or at least very close to busto.

It was a tough night, my writing ability is poor so my interpretation here won’t portray how close to busto I was. I was convinced I would be and when going sleep that night I predicted being busto by the weekend. I had probably over exaggerated the true predicament to myself (as tilt can have a tendency to make you do) but the sessions I had where brutal, mix in needing to win and other stuff and it becomes even worse.

I felt pretty awful when sat reflecting on the night later on. I use poker money to help with living expenses while I am still unemployed and losing that would be tough. I have never felt that bad after a session before and I was seriously considering stopping playing for a while, but as I said, the income generated from these games help a lot which makes it very difficult to stop playing.

I woke up in the morning with a strong determination to repair the damage so decided to grind all day. The night before had shown me that the problems for the last few months have been me and my tendency to lose all sort of concentration and discipline. Basically I would make plays, calls or folds without thinking about them. That is why my results have been so erratic, that is why I haven’t been able to gain any momentum and that it why I had such a bad night the other night. Losing any sort of thought processes is a problem I have had since I started, I start to just play the cards and play them badly and the problem for me is I can’t spot it until a real bad night at the tables. I have had 3 other occasions like this in the past but not for about a year.

This has been my own fault, yes I have run bad at times but spew and lack of intelligent thinking has put me where I am at the moment. It’s that fact that has made me more determined to turn it around. It’s weird, when looking at forum posts, looking at HH’s or watching videos I am reading situations right but in my own games it’s like I am the 4nl player I was a year and a half ago.

So I decided to grind all day yesterday to dig myself out of the hole I had created and when I saw that I was tenth in the current sky promo I have took the unusual step of using that to help me gain some roll back. I know they say you shouldn’t chase volume when not playing well but I feel the other night was a turning point and the extra money from the points and promo will come in handy. I am never one to chase rake back as anyone who has read this thread will know I have never mentioned points or rake back earned but I will be doing until Sunday now due to the promo.

I played three different 3 hour sessions yesterday and made a small profit in each. I am nowhere near the level of roll I would like but hopefully the recovery has started. Nights like the one I mentioned earlier can have the side effects of actually helping your game. I am also 6th in the promo at the moment, I probably won’t be that high by the end of it. I would be a happy with a tenth place finish.


As I side note, this is the 3rdcash promo Sky have run in about a month and although I can see why they do it, it really ruins any sort of fun in the games. Any player wanting to play for fun will soon log off. I find these games utterly tedious when the promos are on, and that’s from someone who can win in these tedious games. Any player wanting to spend money playing will soon stop spending money when they lose it and come away thinking ‘well that was a waste of my time’. I have been using the test software for Sky over the last few weeks and with the chat box on screen you get to see how many people complain about ‘hardly any hands being played’, ‘this is boring’ and many more comments from recreational players who then log off. The promo is great short term for Sky but it will be bad for them in the long term. 

I am going to be grinding pretty hard until Sunday unless I start to think it is hindering my game or causing too much hassle and i might not update until Sunday.

Record of the Day: Cage The Elephant - Aberdeen. Another new discovery for me, Ive never heard of them before until this. Will have to have a listen to their other stuff.

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

I have managed to string together 5 winning sessions out of 5 which has actually got me out of the mess i had created the other day.

I was far closer to being rolled for 4nl than i was 20nl but I’m now comfortably rolled for 20 again. I’m usually really strict with my BRM, i’m quite aggressive with it but will move up or down as soon as i need to. This time however i decided to gamble when i wasn’t rolled as i was pissed off with myself and felt that i had worked out what i needed to do. Thankfully it worked, as like i said before losing the roll would not be good away from the tables so there was a lot of pressure on these last 2 days.

Im really happy with my game since the blow up, i have made quite a few big adjustments which seem to be working right in time for a big weekend grind. Obviously there are still mistakes here and there but im playing 20nl, i have to expect to make a lot of mistakes.

Gl to everyone at the tables over the weekend.      

Record of the day: The Smiths - There is a light that never goes out

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-cD4oLk_D0

Hey up mate.

Still following the diary, its been a good read. Glad things are starting to go right for you, didn't realize how serious you were been other day when you said you were unrolled till i read this. You know your well capable of beating nl20 don't think its much of a gamble playing underolled. The games are just a lil bit tougher cause of these promos sky are running atm, the players aren't that special but they know their stuff so its much tougher to play against, specially when your playing 6+ tables. I do agree that these rake races are just ruining the action for recs, i wouldn't want to play vs 3-5 regs on each table if i was just playing for fun. The money isn't really that great tbh cause everyone's really playing for 2nd place cause DTM just cleans up both the lower and medium tiers, the money you can potentially win when the tables arent reg infested is much greater than the 300£ up top.

Good luck anyway matey probably see you at the tables.

p.s stop making me make hero folds :( i cant be folding trips every hand vs you haha.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpOSxM0rNPM

Thought id add a "track of the day".

So i managed to get 4th in the cash promo sky was running which was good, as at first i only wanted somewhere around 10th. The bonus and extra rake back will come in handy away from the table and i managed to get the roll back to a comfortable level so all in all a successful weekend, unless you start to analyse my play.

Im nowhere near the level i was or want to be at the moment. I’m just clicking buttons. I should have stopped going for the promo on Saturday with the way i was playing and with how low the roll got again, but hey, why start making sensible decisions? It’s over rated... I carried on. To be honest im glad i did. I won quite a bit Saturday night but not sure how i did.

I have no idea how people grind that many hours a day. I’m totally goosed after the weekend. I used to be able to grind a lot but nowhere near the level of some people on Sky at the moment. There is one chap who must play 16/20 hours in the day, maybe more. I would be a mess after them sort of hours.


I’m having a break from playing for a while. No idea how long yet, could be a few days or could be a few weeks but feels more like a few weeks at the moment. Will just play whenever i feel i like it and when i feel i have flushed away the poor play.


Record of the Day: Groove Armada - Fogma. I thought i was called Fagma until now. Great record

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8R_BN7gsXI

Great choice for track of the day, have to say im looking forward to this album more than the last few. Sounds good. They are one band i haven’t seen live yet that i really want to see as well.

How you doing at cash at the moment? Im glad the promos (or shgould i say DTM's wages) are finished now. May get better tables.

Also if you been trying to talk and i havent replied at tables i aint being ignorant, its just i havent got the test software now so harder to talk again.

you do realise they play 16-20 hours and yet don't play a single hand well or tough?!?

Haven't seen you at tables for abit didn't play much in the promo but still managed to scrape 45 quid out of it. The tables have been a lot better since the promos stopped, made some decent profit already this week. Gotta take your hat off to DTM though he does put in some monster hours and to come top of lower AND middle tiers is just mental!!

Hope you enjoy your break away from poker i did this early last year, had two weeks off then come back refreshed and played much better.

I would recommend seeing arctic monkeys they are amazing, easily my favorite band and makes it a lil bit better they grew up just up road from me.

I’m enjoying my break. I knew i needed one but it was reinforced when i was talking poker earlier in the week, my mind went blank and it genuinely tired me out. I was pokered out so i stopped.

Now over the last few days i have started to enjoy analysing my hands and watching videos. I have a lot of bad sessions in my HH which can be turned into a positive because bad sessions are good learning sessions.

I’m still not playing for a while, just spending the time enjoying working on my game before that enthusiasm undoubtedly evaporates. I see Sky have put in ANOTHER promo that drains the life out of the games so my break may be longer than i wanted.



“most players revert to a style that matches their personality and stop thinking when things get uncomfortable at the tables. Some may become overly passive, some may become too nitty, some become bad aggressive players and some players just stop thinking altogether and click buttons. One thing every poker player needs to work on is limiting these times or being able to spot you are doing it as soon as it starts so you can try to control it or take a break”

That was said in one video that describes a lot of my problems to a tee. I stop thinking, and revert to a losing style when things aren’t going right. Much work is needed on this.



Comedy street name of the week!

(http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/6103/qzap.jpg)


A trip to Blackburn, a bizarre addiction to Storage Hunters, endless episodes of The Ricky Gervais Show and the odd infuriating game of Fifa is how i have been spending my usual poker time.

I have also been keeping my eye on the Glastonbury programmes. Its tough to not get insanely jealous when i watch. There have been some decent performances and some poor. I am definitely going to be attending one of the coming years. I have never been to a proper festival and i cant help feel i am missing out every time i see one.

In Honour of last nights headliners

Record of the Day: The Rolling Stones - I Can't Get No (Satisfaction)

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a7cHPy04s8

Yeah the Arctics are class. I much prefer the older stuff though. Their 1st and 2nd albums are just pure class. You wont hear many debut albums that good.

I’m not sure whats happened to Alex though, i thought he was taking the piss when he was talking between songs until i saw him say it was not intentional after he got stick for it.

Yeah i know they struggle with a lot of hands. I was praising their ability to grind it out for hours on end every day, not their playing ability. One of the main grinders is great for other peoples win rate :).

Hey AJR, interesting to hear your comments about cash on sky. The general consensus is sky cash players are awful, but in my opinion there is no doubt that the poor players are being flushed out by these promos. And yet you have others saying that if you are competent, that you can still beat the weaker regs. That may be the case but reg vs reg inevitably means edge is significantly reduced and a combination of run bad/tilt and just clicking buttons through these promos can have negative consequences.

I've played you quite a lot this year and you are one of approximately 5 players at nl20-40 that I rate (discount that spewy donk dohhhh from the list!), so if you are struggling my decision to stay away from cash is vindicated!

I play sngs and mtts too, going for volume to overcome variance. Do you have a back up game, or have you just decided to chill for a few weeks whilst you try to analyse your game more?

This is my first post, I didn't realise you cant post on the staking page until you been on here 3 months and posted 300 times. Would have been good to get a piece of Tikay and Stuart Rutter for the ME but mehhh looks like its too late.
 

After a long break i decided to play a few small sessions over the weekend. Just little hour long sessions here and there. They mostly went well. Made a few mistakes but the majority of losses have been coolers which I’m happy about. Finished with a small profit, which should have been more but profits profit.

One thing that happened before my break was i had seemed to have settled for being back at 20nl and wasn’t too bothered... well, i am bothered. I don’t want to be grinding 20nl. I’ve shown in the past i can get passed this level and am comfortable at 30/40nl so i needed to get that drive back. I’ve set up a little challenge for myself to get back to being rolled for 40nl by the end of the month.

£117 – to 30nl

£317- to 40nl

It shouldn’t be too hard to achieve if i keep my discipline. If i run good it could be done in a few sessions, although it’s unlikely to be done that quick. Not many tables open at 40nl but when i get there i will just open some up and mix them with 30nl. As soon as i hit 40nl i will restart the push for 50nl. Withdrawals will make the challenge go slower but it should be fine.



Finally my guitar received some much needed TLC as well. I haven’t picked it up in ages, in fact the last time was a few days after a house party at mine. Nothing major, just few friends with a load of alcohol.  Anyway one mate turned up real late so we decided to put double the amount everyone else was having in his drinks to catch up, as you do. It didn’t end well. The poor chap ended up throwing up everywhere, including all over my guitar which unfortunately i didn’t realise until sticking my hand in it when picking it up a few days later. The realisation of what it was ended in me breaking a string so other than cleaning it i hadn’t touched it since. So after a 5th clean and new strings I’m getting back into learning that again.

This will be the 3rd time of trying to learn, i start to struggle and then the inevitable boredom makes it go back in its case for a few months. I made the mistake of deciding to learn Oasis’ Wonderwall when i first purchased the guitar, so i can pretty much play that perfectly but i ignored everything else so i struggle with it all.

In fact if anyone knows of any good Youtube or internet sites that offer free learning vids i would really appreciate being nudged in the right direction. I know a couple of decent ones but the more the merrier :).


Record of the Day: Peace - 1998 (Delicious).

Heard it ages ago on a horse racing advert, think it was Cheltenham but couldnt find the name until recently. Been making a few appearances on the tele. Starts really slow, i usually just knock it on to 2.00 where the song starts.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiGJ8XatRks

Hi Ace. Apologies for the very late reply, haven’t been on for ages so hadn’t seen the post.

I haven’t played cash on any other sites long enough to compare player s across sites but the general level of player at our limits isn’t the best. As you say reg on reg tables are definitely tougher than the average table but with a little more thinking you should be ok. A lot of the regs you can play for 10 minutes and know pretty much exactly whats happening which makes the games still fairly easy. The promos definitely have an effect on win rates but you can still win, just at a slower pace.
 
The worst thing about the promos is definitely the impact it has on the reccy players. Its pretty obvious it will make the games far less enjoyable for most people and they will just load up another site. Something that will damage Sky in the long run. They have had a lot of bad responses to this last one so they may look to stop them for a bit. Hopefully.


Ive played you a lot at 30nl and know you have the game to beat these levels even with the promos on. Sometimes, starting to think the games are tough will start to have a negative impact. Its something that has crept into my thinking. When rising through the levels i didn’t care who i was sat at a table with, i was confident i would win. Now i start to think like 'well this table has player A, player C and player X so i will look for another'. That negative thinking surely must have an impact on our games. As i said earlier, even though the games become different to your average small stakes games during promos the players are usually pretty ABC. Any player that doesn’t adjust to what’s going on in games are easy to read and play, and most at our levels don’t. So even with promos, if you put the fact that they are reg players to the back of your mind you will be fine. You are better than a high percentage of the players at these levels.


Ive just seen your looking to put in a lot of Hypers. I used to play them as well a while ago. No major volume, just 5-10 at a time for something different. They went ok, well it seemed like it did but I’ve never checked results on them so i could be down lifetime. I don’t really have a back up game, i just go away and work on my game. I don’t have another format i consider myself to be good at so playing something else will probably be –ev.

Gl with Hyper challenge. Are you going to moving back to cash once you finished the Hypers or are you going to stay with them? Do you consider Hypers your best format? Why Hypers and not normal HU games?

Have a HH as well. Ive put it here because it may be completely standard so wont be suitable for PHA. I may be completely over thinking here.


I have a bit of history wit this chap. I consider him of the best at this limit and someone i generally try and stay away from. We have a bit of history in 3bet/4bet pots around the blinds and will usually play with fairly weak hands and play post flop. These spots usually are in the typical bluffing postions like btn v blind etc. There used to be a lot of bluffing, both of us calling down with 2nd/3rd pairs etc through the streets. I have adjusted to this and tightened up a lot, something that took them a while to adjust to but they were kind enough to let me know in the chat box when they had finally cottoned on to what i was doing.

Although bluffing has dried up a bit between us recently, it can still happen. They will get it in light if they think im bluffing but they will usually have outs.

20nl both 100bb's deep

So i pick up  Qh Qs and they open to 60p UTG. Folds around to me in the BB where i make it £1.80. they call. My usual sizing would be £2.00. Im not sure why i went £1.80 but they may have realised i hav gone smaller than normal.

Im not happy with my 3bet here. if ihad the hand again v this chap im calling almost always

Anyway onto the flop.

The flop comes.  Aspades 6h 7d pot: £3.70

I bet £2.00, they raise to £5.50

Ive never hit this situation with this player. I would be folding a lot to some players. But when they raise i start to go through all the value hands and start to wonder why they raising. Ive played a lot v this player and i would fully expect them to call ANY value hand but obv i could be way out. i dont think they turn a smaller PP into a bluff. Again could be way out.


Is this spot totally standard and I’m over thinking it? i suspect that may the case and i shuld just fold. What are the thoughts of any readers. Would you be calling? Folding? Ive completely ruled out shoving.


Lets say we call (which i did) and they shove £12.90 into a pot of £14.70 on a  2h turn card (which he did) what do we do?

Only quick updates today as the first 2 sessions back into the challenge have been pretty slow. I’ve got a decent general game plan set out to get up to 50nl which is taking a little time to get going but I’m confident will work.

I got beaten up a bit the first night and was having to fold big hands a lot. I seemed to be facing a lot of aggression from everyone. I suspect they were just running hot rather than targeting me but i will keep my eye on it. The most pleasing thing to come out of the last few sessions is keeping my discipline, something i can struggle with when feel like I’m being battered around.

I did make a few mistakes as per, and i stacked off  3 times v the same poor reg which may have been questionable for 2 of them but all in all I’m fairly happy with how I’m playing, i just need the cards to start helping me out.

Last couple of sessions: -£30
30nl target - £147
40nl target - £347


Also just seen more pictures of Gazza leathered. It’s such a shame to watch one of the most talented footballers in such trouble. Looks like it’s only a matter of time.

Record of the Day: James – Waltzing Along. Their Fresh as a Daisy album (A singles collection album) is a cracking album. Highly recommend, Some classics on there.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZTCt-nQY9U

There is one thing that i dislike more in the poker world than the rigged threads, and that is the complete lack of response from the industry on these issues. Poker is full of people moaning that it’s rigged. Its going to happen, people don’t like losing and they certainly don’t like losing money and rather than look at their own failings as a player they scour the globe to find someone or something to blame.

In a gambling industry where everything is built for the house edge, from bookies with their odds to slot machines fleecing pub goers money means people are always going to be suspicious in this industry.

So why don’t sites do everything in their power to prove to these people it isn’t rigged and reduce these fears? Surely it will benefit the whole of the online poker industry?

I see it all the time (at least once a session at the tables), “online poker is rigged”, “This sites a joke”, “bots”, “the miracle pause before the river”, “sites look after the bigger rake earners”, “the withdrawal curse” but what i never see is a site showing them evidence that will put down the idea and make people realise they are wrong. It’s clear to most that the sites conform to industry rules and are externally adjudicated so why can’t the results be used to show suspicious players that there is nothing untoward happening.

I don’t believe sites are rigged, if i did i wouldn’t play but I’m just starting to get wound up by the fact nothing is being done and it just seems to be either brushed under the carpet or ignored. There are a hell of a lot of people that are suspicious, it’s not just one or two people so surely some sort of strategy needs to be introduced to help keep these players playing and not just ignore them. 

For example, on other forums i look at i have seen a few rigged moans over last few days which is normal but what i haven’t seen is someone come on, from the site, and say anything. It’s left to regular posters to shoot the theory down with no back up for what they are saying which doesn’t help. Why can’t someone official step onto the threads and have something prepared that will make the original posters think “oh yeah, it isn’t rigged”. Even if people don’t want to be convinced of a sites authenticity and won’t listen surely the sites should give it a damn good go. These players are left for the idea to manifest itself to a point where they leave and tell their mates why they left which then puts the idea in their mates head because nothing has been do to alleviate the idea previously. It is left to the regular posters who will respond in a manner that will wind up the original poster and only serve to drive them away from sites quicker.

I don’t want to sound rude but a lot of the players that claim wrong doing will be losing players (i know not all will be but it usually is the losing aspect that brings it out in people), which means they are depositing players which is exactly who the whole industry want on the sites, so sites taking time out to ease these players fears will be hugely beneficial to everyone.

Just to clarify this isn’t me claiming sites are rigged, this is just me musing as to why sites don’t do everything in their power to put sceptics minds at rest and increase trust in the whole industry. They may do, and i have completely missed it, but the fact i have missed it is exactly the problem unless i always seem to have my eyes closed :)

People will have far more experience in this than me and will probably know why sites don’t come out and say more on the subject. There may be many reasons but i feel at a time that people are saying online poker is dying and people don’t put enough money into online poker anymore this is surely one section that the industry could and should look to do everything to keep them in the game. These are existing players leaving because of it so surely it needs looking at. 



Onto my poker now, i managed to get myself back to 30nl and then proceeded to run like shit for 20 minutes and had to move back down pretty swiftly. Pretty brutal 20 minutes that led to my first bit of tilt since my break so finished early. I will be back at 20nl today and hopefully get back to 30nl in time for tonight or at the very least tomorrow night.

£64 to 30nl Target

£264 to 40nl Target



Records of the Day. I dug out my The Jam 12” LP Snap album and put it on the record player while i was writing this so going to stick a few songs on today.

The Jam - In the City

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcK5Go8CzRc

The Jam - Eton Rifles

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

The Jam - Thats Entertainment. My personal Fav

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-H0uIH5HHQ

what do you think an operator could say to convince a sceptic otherwise?

"We have an RNG audited by xyz and "

would that do it? I think not

what else can they say?

I have no idea how the industry could go about it due to my own lack of understanding, there will be people far better placed than me to look at it.

I think a lot of the issues around the rigged argument actually is peoples lack of understanding on how sites work. That will always lead to conspiracies for some. Fully detailing how the sites work, how its tested etc and the results in lay mans terms may help with the full reports available if anyone wants to read for themselves. i have no idea if that would work or not, or even if all that is already out there. One word i have i seen banded about a lot is transparancy, again i'm not sure how the industry could go about that but surely its time they look into it when they have nothing to hide?

I dont know if any of that would be possible or if it would even work. It would be up to the sites to formulate a plan they feel would work which i believe they need to do fairly soon simply due to the ever increasing number of people claiming wrong doing.

Also just want to clarify this isn’t about one site, my moaning is aimed at the online poker industry as opposed to one site in particular.

actually have the audit and stuff to back it up.

it's like ftps emails kept saying we segregate, when they clearly didn't.

some brands give you more worries than others obviously, but some brands have awful awful customer facing attitudes.

I assume you're referring to the never ending stream of threads about "online rigged"  on Sky?
When Tikay is around, he will, to his credit respond to all of these tedious threads with wonderful patience.

Just recently with him not posting on there (god knows where he's been?) there seems to have been a few more of these which haven't been nipped in the bud.

Agreed, i've said many times Tikay does a great job over there and is a credit to Sky. I just think that if you change the standard “we comply with rules and have no reason to do otherwise” response with hard evidence to back it up you will start to eliminate the problem and more people will keep playing.

Nothing really to write about the weekend except that it was decent results wise. I’m back at 30nl but not comfortably, i could easily have to drop back down after a poor session so not getting too carried away.

Saturday and Sunday was the first sessions i was genuinely not happy with the way i was playing but still managed to finish with a profit so it’s pretty easy to brush it off and get back to my game plan for the small stakes.   

I hit my 4th ever royal over the weekend but didn’t get paid much. Bizarrely every royal I had hit before the weekend had been clubs but that run stopped when this one dropped hearts.


Going to do album of the day today and stick on 4 records instead of one.

Bloc Party – Silent Alarm. Nothing better than putting a great album on that you have neglected for ages. Great band and i would recommend anyone to get tickets to see them live, one of best gigs ive been too.

Helicopter

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R6S5CJWlco

Positive Tension

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMJnTYDp2Wc

This Modern Love

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oRlpGyI1rg

Luno

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNHZsQhNtT4

A very good album, that. What a band they could have been if they didn't keep getting into arguments with each other.

Yeah i could have put the whole album on but decided against putting that many on :)

It was actually reading an article with Kele saying it can be difficult being in Bloc Party that got me listening to it again. Definately could have been one of the great modern bands without all the shit. Ive not met many people who don't like there earlier stuff.

Went to see them in a warm up gig at a place called 'The Cockpit' in Leeds which only holds 100/200, seeing a band that good in such a small venue was quality. In fact, has to be one of my favourite gigs. To say they constantly argue with each other they didn't come across like that on stage.

His solo stuff was ok as well. Nothing compared to Bloc Party but still an ok listen.

I suppose maybe the infighting was what contributed to their success. Like the Libertines, with one of their most famous songs being about how much the two main members hate each other.

Do you listen to much radio? I've been a radio 1 person since I was about 11 and have only recently migrated to 6Music, post-Moyles. Although I've always thought I have a diverse and reasonably wide range of musical knowledge and interest, 6Music has pretty much blown my mind.

Here is the play list from this morning's breakfast show:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b036w2xr

I know pretty much all of the artists but probably only a little over half of the songs. Only yesterday did I download my first Nick Cave album (a remastered version of Let Love In). I'm aware of a few of his songs but this is symptomatic of the problem: there is so much more out there.

I've never really been a radio listener but since i have started listening to music while playing poker I've been looking for some good stations and ended up settling on Spotify radio, which isn't even radio and really is quite poor. A station with the playlist like that and can be listened to online is something i have been wanting for a while so thanks for pointing me in the direction. Will def be giving it a full listen later.

It's the wide range that the most appealing. The main reason i stopped listening to radio was most stations play the same style all day and repeat the same songs repeat the same songs about 5 times. Something that becomes extremely irritating.

The 30nl games have dried up a bit since i was last there. It’s pretty hard to get more than 3 tables going and the games have become far tighter than normal. I used to enjoy 30nl, you used to get action from the regs that you wouldn’t get at 20 or 50nl which made the games fun. I’m not sure if it’s the knock on effect from the promos or simply just the weather but they seem to be far nittier. I have only been playing for a few days though so it may just be a case that those days where bad days with the weather being good.

I can’t complain about the boredom too much though, I’ve made a decent profit that i have withdrawn and doubt i will need to withdraw any more for the month so can make the push for 40nl. With the withdrawal I’m right back where i was at the last update where i am rolled for 30nl but one bad session and i will have to move back down.

£200 target for 40nl.


(https://si0.twimg.com/profile_images/76721482/BRFC_Logo1.jpg)

I’ve just booked my new Season Ticket for the Rovers. I’ve just realised that this will be about my 12th or 13th Season ticket. I’ve seen some ups and far worse downs in that time but i have started to get a feeling we may do fairly well this season. No idea where my sudden optimism has surfaced from after the last few years at Ewood but I’m starting to get excited for the season and hoping for Playoffs. Obviously i would prefer automatic but think that will be out of our reach (so im obviously not that confident then!)

I just hope we can afford to keep hold of Rhodes after last season. It’s clear we have a far better chance of getting to where we want to be with him in. Another couple of signings and i think Bowyer could get us playing.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzrVYn8Df5c



Record Of the Day: Timo Maas - Shifter. Video isnt the official. it's the only full version of the record i could find though.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUvEH8VXT0A

Short update, i won’t bore people with the details but had a pretty rough couple of days thanks to the dealers insistence in kicking me in the bollox at every opportunity. I have spent half my time staring at the screen in disbelief with some of the run outs. They sure have taken a liking to making my sessions as miserable as possible.

So, after managing to prise my foot out of my monitor I’ve decided to visit family for the rest of the weekend which means no poker. Couple of days away from the tables of doom is required.


Record of the Day: The Courteeners - You Over Did It Doll

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyNXmi6xUDw

I loved the Courteeners but think it's fair to say I was in the minority! Preferred Not Nineteen Forever. Cracking record.

Also heard this today for the first time in ages.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoUGf5VtAz4

Much underrated anthem, IMHO.

You playing the 6 max, Saturday?

Great track. Love Maximo Park. I only used to like one or two of their songs and then i got a ticket to see them in Leeds a few years ago at uni and they completely converted me. Really enjoyed watching them as a band. They are a bit mad but that adds to it.

A Certain Trigger and Our Earthly Pleasure really are good albums, a good mix of records. This post has just reminded me i got one of their 2 latest albums and havent listened to it yet so will have to stick it on today.

No, unfortunately not.  Need to sort my roll out before i start with the SPTs. I’m hoping to be go to at least one next year. You going?

Also, are they not all 6 max events with Sky being a 6 max site? Always presumed they where.

I’ve only played small sessions during the week. Every time i logged on i would lose interest within the hour. I ended up dropping 5 buyins spread through about 5 one hour sessions. Could really have done without it after the last session i wrote about lol.

Going to be playing a lot today i hope so will update more over next few days as i haven’t for a while.


Record of the Day: UNKLE feat Richard Ashcroft - Lonely Soul

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttRpjJ_o1q0

No, they're usually full ring, except for the 6max at DTD obv.

Cheers Andy. Thats another hurdle i will have to overcome on top of my lack of Tourney skills if i wanna take one down. I havent played full ring for years. Im still def gonna play one soon though.

How about you? you playing this one after your last SPT deep run :)

Should've entered and not turned up so I can say I went deeper than last time :)

Nah, gave this one a miss because I'm being a bankroll nit, but regretting not going now though. I'm hoping to play the final at the end of October at DTD, depending on the buy-in which hasn't been announced yet.

Gone in alternate list, still in at level 4, got in at level 3, so not as great as it sounds.

October will be too early for me to take a shot, def looks like next year for my 1st one now then :). You have played a few SPTs havent you? Whats the deepest run?

Not sure what an alternates list is lol. My live poker background is very limited to pubs and my memory isn't usually at it's best the day after. Anyway im assuming it's a back up list and your playing from level 3 so glglglgl.

Have you considered playing the one in Newcastle in September? That's only a £110 buy-in, and it's 2 days as well so it's not a total crapshoot.

I've played 3, but my record in SPTs is crap. Deepest run was in the first one where I played like a total nit (Because I was a micro stakes grinder so waiting for AA was the only way I knew how to play at the time) got a double up, folded down to 10bb again then went out in about 50th with about 15 or 16 paid.

Well, I’ve just discovered i am pretty evil. The missus just left the house and 5 minutes later it started to thunder. If anyone knew how scared she was of the thunder you would know why i started to laugh. The fact it’s pretty loud only adds to the amusement.

Anyway onto some poker. Things have picked up over the weekend. I was steadily losing money through poor play and bad cards before the weekend but i managed a couple of big sessions over weekend and doubled my roll. There is definitely a pattern at the minute of big sessions to get me out of holes i have dug myself. Don’t get me wrong, i love big winning sessions but needing them to recover the roll is getting tedious. I need to sort my standard game. There are obviously a lot of things i am doing wrong in small and big pots, im just struggling to find the answers.

After a 3 figure withdrawal im at 30nl again.


Loooool that thunders getting quite bad! She won’t be happy and judging from the abusive text back i have just received...she isn’t.


I decided to stick The Prodigy on midway through a session last week....that was an error on my part. I spewed like mad, splashing money everywhere and generally adopted a maniac style for the duration. So there is an AJ top tip, if you want to listen to Prodigy while playing, wait until you have finished.


I’ve been listening to a lot of older stuff last couple of weeks. 50’s 60’s etc and it is quite mad on how acceptable it was to sing about young girls. With all the news of that sort of stuff going on, some of the lyric sheets could be handed in as statements. Although i want to go to ‘surf city’ unless that is another song discussing young girls!

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxMyFe81FUg


Some great music around that time though, I’ve only recently started listening to 50’s through to the 70’s in the last few years so don’t know all that much. I am enjoying finding new ones though.


Going back to what i was ranting about the other day with sites not having a strategy to help alleviate conspiracy theorists views on internet poker. It may just be me that feels like this and I may be over egging the problems but it does feel like a huge problem to me. More and more threads on sites are left to forum regs to bash down, every session (and thats not an exaggeration) i see people with their rigged theories discuss it yet i still see nothing from sites to put the theories to bed. 

Is it a big problem? I dunno, it might just be me but it certainly feels like one when you see it every day. I want the sites to do something to keep these guys playing please :).

Again, this isn’t aimed at any particular site or person. When starting this thread i did it with the intention of writing down my thoughts and feelings on certain issues and perhaps to be educated in parts that i obv don’t understand. There is obv a lot of things i don’t understand that goes on behind the scenes, the lack of action taken to help the rigged discussions disappear being one of them.



The update wasn’t meant to be this long. Apologies for any readers i have bored.


I am considering using another site for a month and use a free trial for a tracking software and use that software to analyse my game. After that month i will head back to sky. I am apprehensive about doing that though; Sky is the only site I’ve ever won on. I’ve not changed since becoming a winning player and with sky having a rep for bad players/play (i have no idea how true that is btw. It’s something i read a lot elsewhere so it’s not my words) im a bit worried that i will move and just get outplayed.

There is a deposit bonus aswell but again i have no idea how much that will be when compared to Sky’s C4P system. If i would earn about the same in C4P as i would in the deposit bonus then that isn’t really a plus. I’m going to do some research and maybe do it in September.

Record of the day: James Brown - The Boss

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC2ZY2loo74

Yeah the Newcastle one was mentioned and i may make a last minute decision to try and get to it but doubt it. You trying for the Newcastle Leg?

If that really were true, no matter how bad people thought the software was, every elegible poker player on earth would play there.....

Poker players do ANYTHING to find an edge (& why not?) & if it means playing on an uncool site, but nicking £200 or whatever every damn day, they'd be in there like a shot, in their thousands.  See also 'Stars FR (VERY soft), da de da.

It's a perfect nonsense if you think about it logically!

Alright mate,

I'm playing crap atm so I'm going to do a sweat session tomorrow. Not sure what time yet, depends who is around and when, but if you're interested, be on Skype :)

Yeah i always wondered why that doesn’t happen. As i said, i have no basis for comparison so it wasn’t my view, was just regurgitating a lot of what i have read. When you put it like you have, then it makes sense that it may not be like what people say.

because the software successfully put people off, combined with the hideous regs.

Well you saved a few bob.......

PS - Anyone can stake via ANY other Medium EXCEPT the Staking Boards (includes Social-Media etc) , even if they do not have 300 Posts.

It’s been up and down over the last few days. Nothing major. I’m just a few buy ins up from the last update. Im fairly happy with how i am playing at the moment. I haven’t looked at my HH’s yet but other than 2 big pots earlier in the week which were clear river folds it’s all been pretty standard so nothing really to write about. I had to drop down to 20nl for a sesssion or 2 but im back to 30nl. For some reason i seem to be struggling whenever i move back upto 30nl. 30nl was my level, and was for a while with the odd move for a day or so but it seems like i may be struggling with mental aspects of moving back up. i have no idea why, i am comfortable with the money aspect and im comfortable v the regs but i cant seem to book consistent winning sessions. I will keep plugging away, but it is starting to get frustrating because i dont feel like a dog in the games but i suppose that doesnt mean i am not. 

Target for 40nl - £150


Football starts today!! Thank God!! Think it’s going to be a good season in all the leagues this year. I like the look of Chelsea in the premiership even though the prem obv doesn’t start today.  It will be tough for them but with Mourinho  and a really good looking squad i think they have a big chance. Not sure what i think United will do this year, the things i hear the players say about Moyes makes me think the big mentality change from changing boses will affect them. With Fergie, he was the boss, no messing but since Moyes has come in it sounds like he is there mate and they all want to do ‘really really well’ for him. Not sure if that’s just me looking to close at things. Add all that to the fact they have a tough start and the fans could on his back after a bad start Untied may struggle.

Im not sure on City either. They have spent a lot but dont think they have spent it well and not sure it will all work with the new manager. Will have to wait and see.

Prem relegation? Palace, Hull and Norwich


Championship looks very competitive this year as well. Easily one of the most competitive leagues in the world,  unfortunately it can be quite poor in standard at times though.

QPR, Wigan and Reading are obv gonna be up there. They both have good squads for this level and all have good managers. I think QPR will lose few more players before the window shuts but they will still have a squad to get back to the Prem. I think Wigans Grant Holt signing will be great for them, he will bag goals for fun in this league as he did last time he was here. Forest, Watford, Bolton, Leicester all with an outside chance.

Will be hard for Rovers to get playoffs with strong teams like that and i haven’t mentioned them all. We have made some steady signings and seem to have managed to keep hold of Rhodes so i feel we have a chance of maybe catching the playoffs. Only problem is that a lot of the signings we have made are players we don’t really know how they will perform. Some seem good signings but they are unproven at this level. Coupled with a manager with little managing experience at these levels and we could struggle. I like Bowyer though, i think he will get us steady and from the games he took over last year he looks like he will get us winning games.

Champ Relegation? Yeovil, Doncaster :) and Huddersfield


First Accumulator of the season


£10 accumulator

Nottingham Forest
Q.P.R.
Reading
Crawley
Southend
Fleetwood

£10 Both teams to score (taken from Footyaccums on twitter)

Birmingham v Watford
Leeds v Brighton
Crewe v Rotherham
Peterborough v Swindon
Shrewsbury v MK Dons
Rochdale v Hartlepool
Inverness v St Mirren         



Record of the Day: Arcade Fire – Wake Up

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zdNdjF-htY

First Accumulator of the season


£10 accumulator

Nottingham Forest
Q.P.R.
Reading
Crawley
Southend
Fleetwood


Nice 38/1 accumulator to start the season!

BLADY LAVLEY! Thats a nice bankroll booster init? Havent posted in a while been quite busy. Havent played in a week and half, longest in ages. Got back on it tonight though played pretty well won a few quid. Let me know if you want some hands looking over or something, might send a few your way later this week.

GL pal.

Another poor start to 30nl. Happening every time. Its starting to get right on my boobs. A few coolers to start that leads to spew, log off then repeat. I’ve lost a couple of stacks getting it in pre in spots i should be able to make big folds, but i don’t which is the most frustrating. I also seem to have hit the conspiracy theorists nightmare, the river card! It has provided the perfect card for the oppo quite a lot over the last few days. I may have to start a thread ;)

In all seriousness 30nl seems to be providing me with a few problems every time i move back. A lot is my own doing which i want to eradicate as soon as possible. 30nl isn’t tough, but i seem to be making it so when i sit down. I have noticed that the tables are getting unbelievably nitty as well which is a shame. 30nl used to be a fun level with a lot of action but since the promos (i have no idea if they are the cause, it may just be coincidence) 30nl has become a dull place to play.

Im still up since the last update but that is due to the accumalator. I always take the majority of winnings out and leave a little in. The 6 buyins i left in has mostly Disappeared.

Target for 40nl - £86

I’m almost certain to be moving site for the month in September to make use of the month free trial of a tracker software to help improve my game before i move back to Sky. Hopefully the tables will become better when i get back.


(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/08/04/article-2383714-1B25276B000005DC-655_634x361.jpg)

Rovers start to the season was encouraging. I was hoping for the win so i could bombard Jacs thread next door but it wasn’t to be :). I thought we played quite well and if it wasn’t for a ridiculously stupid handball we may have been able to get the win. Gifting the home side a goal is always going to make your day a lot harder.
 
I may be being harsh on Rovers because there were a lot of positives but it did feel like it was 2 mid table sides playing each other. I know you can’t judge a team on the first game of the season but that’s just how it felt to me in game. I hope I’m wrong.

I still feel we need a couple of signings if we are going to push on. Our centre midfield of Marrow and Lowe will struggle. I don’t feel they are good enough yet and you need a strong middle in this league. Its not like when we had Alladyce and we could bypass the middle. I would also like to see another winger come in instead of King. He could be a decent player for us in the future but i don’t think he is good enough to be our first choice. If we got the winger and a centre mid to play with either Marrow or Lowe our team would look a whole lot better. All in my opinion of course.

Although i wasn’t blown away by Derby i thought they looked solid enough. I think they will do ok this season and if they manage to keep hold of Hughes and maybe make a couple of signings they could do well. Hughes looks a cracking player. He impressed a lot last season and i think he will do the same again this year. I’m surprised that teams haven’t took a gamble on him yet although the window still isn’t shut.   


Record of the Day: Maverick Sabre - Open My Eyes

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHUO-GmcBbk

Yeah was a timely boost. I Withdraw most of the winnings though so not as big a BR boost as it could have been :).

Yeah i will def be up for doing that. I'm not around today or tommorow during day but i will give you a shout when im back, most likely be Wednesday or Thursday. Will see if others want to as well.

Had to stop early tonight as the tables where really lagging making them unplayable. It will probably be an issue at my end so i hope that sorts itself out by the time i get back from the weekends football.

Had some really good results over the last few days and I’ve now way past the target i set for 40nl. Next stop 50nl. Am i good enough for 50nl? Probably not, but that hasn’t stopped me going for it in the past. I’m hoping it won’t be too long before i get there. This thread was set up for a push for 100nl and if I’m honest i was expecting to have had a crack at 50nl a lot quicker than what it’s taken so far. Now i have wrote this i have a feeling that i will be 20nl before 50. ‘The diary curse’, as a friend once put it.


I had a funny moment earlier. A reg on Sky (a decent reg ) went mental at me for getting AKs in for 100bbs pre button v blind. Literally went on a 15 minute tirade on why im such a huge fish. Maybe it was a bad play v him, im not sure, but you would think i had showed 72 for value. This was my personal favourite part:

The player i upset: thinks 120 bigs is acceptable preflop what a clown
The player i upset: with ak
Someone sat at table:  many many many many people do it.
The player i upset: old skool fish or what i mean whos hapy to put 120 bb in with ak




I’ve been thinking of recording a lot of my sessions recently and look back over them rather than looking at HH’s. I’m not sure whether that will be better but it will also make it better for sweat sessions. Rather than play a session that will usually be pretty standard it will be easier to find sections that may have talking points. I was also wondering whether putting them on Blonde would be a good idea. Ive not seen that being done at all (i havent been around long) and i don’t know how how easy it is to do or how beneficial. Is it something that has been done a lot? Is it something people would be interested at looking at or would it be a waste of time? Can it even be done on here?

I have a lot of leaks that will only be seen in sweat rather than picking hands out like bet sizing. Ive always had trouble with turn sizing. I’ve found myself looking at hands and thinking why so small.


Anyway, only a quick update before i head off to watch our first home game. Hopefully we can carry on from our decent performance in the first game. No more poker for me until after weekend. Hope everyone runs good.

Records of the day: As its Friday, some old skool dance

New Atlantic - I Know

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFtYHbjF5hc

Together - Hardcore Uproar (What a great dance record)

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYZiTQoSF9A

U2 - Even Better than the Real Thing (Perfecto Mix)

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBxmIe_05W0

2 Winners on the bounce pleasssssse

£10 Accumulator

Watford
Blackpool
Leyton Orient
Burton
MK Dons
Brighton

£5 free bet

Q.P.R.
Swindon
Wolves
Fleetwood
Southend

£9.97 BTTS

Blackburn v Nottingham Forest    
Bolton v Reading    
Notts County v Peterborough
MK Dons v Crewe    
Rotherham v Preston
Northampton v Newport County
Burton v Rochdale

Superb songs. Two uptempo songs I heard today for the first time in ages:

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7JoGTTgUpw

Think this one might be a gamble:

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hDbpF4Mvkw

Still, at least I didn't get 120 big blinds in with ace high...

I’ve never been the biggest David Bowie fan. In fact, after Let’s Dance, im not sure i am keen on any other. Maybe Heroes and Under Pressure but other than that i don’t like his stuff. Never heard the of Special Beat before. Just found them on Spotify so will give them a try, that’s tomorrows poker music sorted.

Breaking Bad is back Bitch!!

Great TV and proper excited its back. Thought i had to wait for ages until i read a decent article about its return to Netflix this week.

In fact here is the article if people are interested.

http://metro.co.uk/2013/08/09/breaking-bads-success-lies-in-its-nosediving-trajectory-3916731/

I really hope the last season isn’t a letdown, or worse, someone shoves a spoiler in my face. If they do I will have to go all Heisenberg on their ass.


Won’t be back playing poker until tomorrow. I’ve done a lot of situational work on spots i have been struggling with v certain players i have been struggling with and also done a lot of self analysing while i haven’t had the internet at my parents. I’ve spotted a few things and formulated some basic game plans for specific players so hopefully that will help me push on now results are back to the increase.

50nl target - £190

I’m also going to watch a few 50nl tables to get re-acquainted with some of the regs and their tendencies. I seem to remember a few being really straight forward and some being fairly tough so watching for a while and making notes will help a lot. I used to have a spreadsheet full of player notes for 50nl but I’ve lost it after my laptop broke. Sigh


I will keep the football talk to a minimum. Hate last minute goals against anyway but it’s made far worse after a dull game and average performances from both sides. As Gary Bowyer described it after the game “it wasn’t a classic” and that was being kind.


Record of the Day: Beautiful South – From Under the Covers. Great Record from a good band

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-aWjD5gea4

I will start with music today. Seen as The Charlatans drummer Joe Brookes died this week i decided to stick 2 of my favourite songs of theirs on.

The Only One i Know. There are pictures of me that get pulled out at so many family gatherings dancing to this song when I had only just started to walk. I obv had good taste in music from an early age  ;danafish;. 

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RJwW77Lsj8

One to Another

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXs8zmfqXvg

I could put a lot more up but if you haven’t listened to them i would recommend searching them up and having a listen. Not the best band around but def a great band.



Other news, i've Somehow managed to fade The golden Ticket promo on Sky every single time :). There must have been over 1k prizes given out and i haven’t won one! Running so bad in that it’s unreal,sigh. I did see someone saying they hadn’t played a single cash hand and they still had won something which sums up how bad my run in that promo is :).

Poker results have been ok since the last update but a little withdrawal and the weekend footy bets have put me right back where i was last time. I SHOULD have been way up and grinding 50nl this weekend though...

I got the roll to about a fiver away from my target, i was just gonna play 50nl the day after as it was only a fiver away but i decided to play another session that night. I threw money away like a donkey, logged off 30 minutes after annoyed at myself for deciding to play again and then went on to do the same the day after. It was all my fault, and it was the usual problem. From bluff catching v NITs to gifting passive fish money with weak hands, all the bad plays are there. It’s so frustrating when on the whole i had been playing well imo. It’s always the same sort of mistakes that i cant seem to get out of my game. I look for a part of their range i beat (no matter how small) and convince myself they have that part. I must have had this rant so many times in this thread, i keep repeating it so it may finally stick in my head.

Big weekend grind planned which will end in a loss if i continue the way i did and may end with a fist shaped hole in my monitor if the internet connection continues in the same vein. However, I’m quietly confident that i can put in a good winning weekend connection permitting. I feel I’m playing well in between the bad hands so hopefully that will continue. My results have been really good this month following my game plan change and hopefully that will continue. There are a few tougher opponents that seemed to have joined the site though which make the games slightly harder.


Target for 50nl - £200

(http://hammyend.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Jordan-Rhodes-008.jpg)

Hes gonna score tonight. He is due a good game. 2-1 Rovers, Rhodes both please :).

Tellin' Stories is one of the great 90s albums. People talk about Different Class or Moseley Shoals but this was a definitive album of its time.

£10 accumulator

Q.P.R.
Nottingham Forest
Crawley
Peterborough
Sheffield Utd
Cheltenham


£10 BTTS

Norwich v Everton
West Ham v Cardiff
West Brom v Southampton
Bournemouth v Wigan
Crawley v Rotherham    
Crewe v Tranmere
Port Vale v Bradford


£5 free Accumulator

Wigan
Scunthorpe
Oxford
York
Walsall



Burnley was gonna feature somewhere in my accumulators but i couldnt bring myself to put them in.

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MP4Cpe-NL._SY300_.jpg)

:) lol

Agreed. Def up there as one of the best. The 90's had so many great albums, strong in nearly every genre. My favourite era by quite by a distance, especially if you add in the late 80's. 

Probably about a fair result on the opening day.
We didn't play well and I thought the equaliser was always on the cards.
Good tactics from our wonderful manager to decide to defend for the last  30 mins when the one thing we can't do is defend.

Urban Hymns and Definitely Maybe would be up there for me. Maybe Aquarium as well!

Would have enjoyed being at the table when you won the AK hand. There are a few players next door that I'm not overly keen on, but that guy is in a league of his own.

Snap!

Sigh :(

First game of season did end about right. We were a bit gutted we couldn’t get the win but when you gift the home side a goal like that it will always be difficult. As you say, i wasn’t sure the defensive tactics where the best to employ that early into the game. But I’m glad he did. From what i saw of Derby i think you will be ok this season but i’m not sure you will get past mid table.

Rovers on the other hand...we may struggle to reach mid table. I’m trying to stay positive but we need to pick up wins soon. Very soon. Otherwise the Ewood doom and gloom will set in rather quick. It already is with some sections of the crowd, something we really could do without.


100% agree on Definitely Maybe. There are many many great 90’s albums that come near the top but this is my no.1 and it’s not even close.

1.   "Rock 'n' Roll Star
2.   "Shakermaker"
3.   "Live Forever"
4.   "Up in the Sky"
5.   "Columbia"
6.   "Supersonic"
7.   "Bring It on Down"
8.   "Cigarettes & Alcohol
9.   "Digsy's Dinner"
10.   "Slide Away"
11.   "Married with Children"

What a track list that is. To think that is a debut album really is amazing. I always love the fact that the first song on their first album is Rock and Roll Star. Great opening. Noel Gallagher is an unbelievable songwriter imo.

I didn’t think they could make the album any better then i spotted the later additions with this beauty.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV-Owj1lNPE

Instantly went and bought the 12" Album with that on.

Well, i’m sure you have noticed I’m a big Oasis fan by now lol.

Urban Hymns is a great shout aswell. Some quality records on that album.


As for the chap you mention, I wont say too much as we share a mate who visits the thread occasionally but you’re spot on about him being in a league of his own. It’s the classic case of a little success/heater going to someone’s head unfortunately. I used to quite like him as a poster pre heater but that has certainly changed.

 Is he a good player? yeah he is quite good at low stakes and would make money at our levels but is he as good as he thinks he is? No. Ive seen a lot better than him at the cash tables at our levels. I’ve seen his scope is quite impressive though so he def has good MTT/STT game but again, he may hold an inflated view on himself in that area as well.

Thats the nice version  ;).

I have to say i did enjoy his ‘old skool fish’ comment for getting AKs in on the button though.

Lol you aswell? I was amazed when i missed again especially with the amount of tickets i get. i kept seeing the list go on and on and kept thinking surely i have to be on here now  :(.... it never came  :'(. looool

Not won again either.
Sky rigged

It pains me to see what’s happening to Phil Jones at United. This is a player that was getting man of the match performances on an almost weekly basis at Ewood against some of the top teams. His first premiership start for Rovers v Chelsea at Ewood was the best centre back display i have ever seen from an 18 year old. He had Drogba in his pocket all day and any Rovers fan who was there knew he was going to be a player at the top one day.

Ferguson bought him for just under 20 million and claimed it was an absolute bargain and he wasn’t wrong. That’s how good he was at Rovers and if there was any team in the world that would take him and make him a world class player it was United. Yet he is now used as a utility player. Every Rovers fan knows it’s an absolute waste, not just for United but for England.

 I’m not saying he would have walked into the United team when he moved, but a couple of years learning from everyone at that club and brought in gradually and i have no doubt he would be United’s first choice centre back and would have been for England. He was talked about as being the future England captain. 

He is no right back, he is good there but he isn’t great. He isn’t a midfielder, again he is good there and can do a job but he is a centre back, and he could be a world class one. Unfortunately he never seems to get the chance to establish himself in that position. Having to concentrate on all the different skills used for the other positions will always stunt his centre back growth.

I hope they start to try and work with him and help him become the great centre back he can be as soon as possible because playing out of position is doing him no favours. The longer it goes on the harder it will be for him, and that won’t just be United’s loss, it will be England’s as well.

Well a nice 15 buy in 5 days. Unfortunately... the wrong way.

1)   Playing far too many hands
2)   Playing them poorly
3)   Running like shit


I was doing pretty well until one big hand on Friday v a reg who usually plays higher stakes but Ive played with him a lot. I bluff c/raise a turn that was an obv good barrel bluff card for him, I’m giving up on the river almost 100% if he calls. I river 2nd pair, check and he bets huge. Great sizing by him, I’m not sure if he meant it to be but talked myself into a call on the basis i had shown weakness and the big size looked like they wanted the fold. I thought he would vbet small so i called. He obv had the set and that was it, that was the start of 5 days of not winning a hand. I suspect it may have a tilt induced 5 days lol.

So i have spent the last couple of days feeling sorry for myself and i have to start trying to remind myself that i am a winning player, confidence gets low. I knew i would re-hit 20nl before 50nl when i got overconfident last week. Sighhh

 I think im gonna give this thread a rest for a couple of weeks. It feels like it’s getting stale with my constant repetition and i could do with just concentrating on the old poker. It’s not the best updating after a brutal weekend either. It should only be for a couple of weeks though. I do enjoy the writing, even if no one enjoys the reading :) and i quite enjoy sharing music. I do feel more people should share music all over the internet, there isn’t many places for people to hear stuff other than the mainstream garbage that's around now. 


Record of the Day: Ludovico Einaudi – Nuvole Blanche. Going down a different road today...yep, it’s classical. Well i think that’s what it would be described as. Its been a weird couple of days for music for me, spending a lot of time blaring Oasis thanks to Jac and Ludovico. Pretty contrasting styles lol. This guys a genius with a piano though and he has just brought out a new album so thought i would stick him on here. Give his other songs a listen as well, you will not be disappointed.

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

Oh. And anyone with Netflix, search up Louis Theroux and enjoy. Great documentarian who could take even the most mundane topic and make it worth watching. Some very funny programmes and some pretty shocking but all enjoyable. 

Hey AJ

I read it whenever you post so dont stop obv ;)

How many Bi's do you keep at each level and why? if you dont mind me asking that is and what are the differences you have found from 30nl to 50nl?

Yeah I’m only giving the poker updates a rest for a couple of weeks or so.

I usually have a 20 buy in rule. I will move down as soon as i hit below... most of the time. 

The main difference with 30nl and 50 for me was mainly the amount of tight regs who fill most of the tables. There are far less reccy players but you do still get quite a few. 50nl is more like 20nl, saturated with tight regs but obv the quality far better at 50 than 20nl.

I struggled at 50nl but afterwards i realised that was due to my own play/thought processes/lack of adapting etc but if you are comfortable v decent tight regs and can adapt to exploit them then you should breeze it. Even though i struggled it didn’t seem that tough of a level, it was me who made it a tough level if you get what i mean. Saying that there is definitely a jump in quality from 30 to 50nl, not as many of the one or 2 tabling very poor ‘semi regs’ etc.

Still reading too.  Will look back when you return.

As the first week accumulator came in after putting the picks in here i am now going to have to do it every week. Superstition ftw!

£9.51 accy which im not very confident about

Leyton Orient
MK Dons
Burton
Oxford
Stoke
Leicester

£10 BTTS. Again, really not confident of this. shouldnt have put it on.

Blackpool v Reading
Tranmere v Peterborough
Swindon v Gillingham
Bradford v Sheffield Utd
Brighton v Burnley
Southampton v Sunderland
Everton v West Brom

£5 free longshot bet

Blackburn
Newcastle v West Ham Draw
Peterborough
Fleetwood
Exeter


I wouldnt follow these bets lol. I would be v surpirsed if one comes close. i never put Blackburn in either so im sure for double dissapointment in that one.

Gl if anyone else sticks a few on

                                                             YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJmgLqQ-uog

             

                                                                       A weekend to lose the money - a lifetime to rebuild

Well maybe not a lifetime although thats what it felt like!!

You see, just before the last update i managed to bleed away half my roll. Its sounds worse than it was, i was still rolled for 20nl but it was a difficult weekend and was also difficult facing the idea of writing about it, hence the break from posting.

So what’s been happening? well steadily i have been building it back up. I’m more or less back to where i was before that weekend. It’s been slow, but as i said above that tends to be the norm when losing a lot, quickly. It can all be undone rapid but the winning never seems to be as quick.

I think it’s time to stop driving for 50nl for the moment. Although the roll is close to the target I need to concentrate on improving before that could happen. A lot of work is needed on the fundamentals so I’m just going to concentrate on 30/40nl and some hard work. Some new dealers would be nice as well. For large sections of the break i have been running awful. The usual stuff that people aren’t interested in hearing other than the guy receiving them. Some of it has been pretty brutal though, it’s been a constant battle with the dealers. Tikay!! have a word with head office for me please ;)

I know it seems like I’m painting 50nl as some kind of holy land where the standard is great and I’m gonna get battered about. That’s not the case, I’ve been there before, worn the t-shirt and fked it up. I know 50nl is beatable but these guys are consistently better than me at the moment and I need to work to turn that around. Coming from 4nl up to these levels it can be daunting, something else i need to eradicate from my psyche so I need to make sure my game is in order before I go and spew up there.

I’m half tempted to forget 50nl altogether until I’m finally in a job and the money doesn’t mean as much. On that note, any employers looking for a handsome hard working chap to liven up their place of work, feel free to PM me lol  :)up

If anyone has any small stakes vids from DeucesCracked they recommend to watch, let me know. When looking at the amount its tough to know which one to watch next. They would have to be smaller stakes though, i try to avoid the higher stakes stuff at the moment, unless people think that it's best to watch some of them aswell?

                                                            YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4BB1TZcO_o


Impressive team performance by Blackburn on Saturday. It looks like he may have found his best 11 except for maybe a one or two. Best performance in years and the first time in a while i have come away from Ewood genuinely excited for the season. After Saturdays superb performance and keeping Rhodes I’m optimistic for the rest of the season. That may change after the big derby next week.

Thank god the transfer window is now shut. Usually enjoy deadline day but having to sweat Rhodes rumours all day made it difficult. I managed to avoid the news all day. What a signing Ozil was for Arsenal, don't think it will be enough but cracking to see him in the English Leagues. 100 million Euros for Bale is bonkers money!! I've been reading a lot of people saying he has treated the club bad for a club that has helped turn him into a world class player, but surely the 100 million euros is a massive repayment for his development, its not as if he ran out his contract and left for relatively nothing. Not sure about United, don't think the squad is as weak as everyone is saying but I think they needed 2 or 3 more strong signings. Only time will tell, but I still think Chelsea are still looking really stong this year. People mentioning Spurs for a title chance are very optimistic... Obviously City are going to be massive contenders, it all just depends on if they get the balance right quickly.


Record of the Day: Chicane feat Bryan Adams - Don't Give It Up



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



Will finish with another track with a bit of film trivia.

What film is the intro from.? Great film.

Warren G - Regulate ft. Nate Dogg

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

get some coaching? there is little difference between nl20-nl50 regs, it's just about bankroll mindset and then learning the nuances.

Coaching is something i am definitely considering. In fact i was close to starting a thread on here the other day.

I stopped myself because even though I could afford it out of the roll, the main problem (being jobless) is its hard to justify spending that sort of cash on something not required to the missus and myself lol

However i am going to write to a well known sky reg who I have been recommended and may start the thread up so i can get an idea on cost, and who people would recommend for my stakes etc.

Spend a couple of buyins and get good help > grinding without improving.


one to one coaching can really help improve your game. tis somewhat hard as you want sky specific coaching (ie poker dumbed down). PM if you want to do a session or want some advice, you could also look to players at a similar level to you and try and start discussing hands with them etc as that is free :)

Aye, def need to look at all the ways to help improving. I will def be taking you up on your offer soon. Cheers. As you say sky specific could be tough, i do know one that im def thinking of getting in touch with though.

I do a few sessions with other regs at my levels which are helpful as well, its good for spotting leaks in my thought processes, something that I can have a problem with in game. Obv something coaching would be really good for.

Yeh happy to do a session if you want to try, can always give some advice re other people too.

Cheer. I'll PM you sometime over the next week.

Well, poker is gambling and ones gambling tendencies are bound to come out sometimes. That was the sort of weekend I’ve had at the tables. Playing lots of pots and certainly playing them far from perfect. It is fun though... most of the time. Trying to play a lot of pots with hardly any logical thinking isn’t the best strategy. It obv started after a few beers on Friday night and trickled on through the next couple of days.

I finished the weekend with a small loss, which is ok given the fact I was playing pretty poor but is criminal when looking at the tables I was on. I missed an opportunity for a big weekend results wise. Too much gamboool and a very poor last hour last night where i decided to play some hands embarrassingly bad. Dhfvchwfurhgfh


I saw a well known, and well respected (at least from what i was aware)Sky reg hunt down a reccy player who had obv hit and run him HU and then joined my table. He started to say ‘never join my table again’ etc. I’m assuming the reg isn’t the sort of player to give action to other regs so he will know the dangers of playing recs heads up. To hunt him down just seemed pretty poor form tbh. This guy he had hunted down felt he had to fully apologise and explain why. The guy was trying to explain that he had seen him on tv and wanted to play and was well out of his roll etc

I don’t know him, but i know he has a pretty good rep on sky forums etc and i think he just let himself down. I hate that HU regs feel they have a right to play recs until they have their money. It may have just been a one off thing for them, i don’t know.


Not sure how much poker i will get played this week. Planning on a lot but i have just received the blitzkrieg game for the PC. I think it’s a game i used to play a lot but i may have the wrong one. Either way looks like it should be a good game.

(http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/2003/pc/blitzkrieg/0527/b_screen001.jpg)

(http://www.gamershell.com/static/screenshots/2753/43301_full.jpg)


Record of the Day: Kings of Leon - Pyro. Used to be a big Kings of Leon fan when they first started. Enjoyed their newer stuff but prefer their older records. Tried their Come Around Sundown album other day and come across this cracking record. Wasnt the biggest fan of the rest, although it is a decent album.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFp7q-IJqno

I thought this was a good track aswell.

Kings of Leon - Pony Up

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO8gH67VANc

which of the classless numpties was it? none of them get poker.


blitzkrieg = awesome. along similar lines, I used to absolutely love and recently replayed hidden and dangerous 1/2 where you plan a mission then control a squad of men like a fps assigning orders to your other men and switching between them when you want more control.


loves it.

5:00 the intro to the first mission starts, makes me want to re-install just reatching it.
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2iJwDfjb_U

I wont name him but he seems like a sparkly woman, WR.  ;)

Blitzkrieg is quite possibly the hardest game i have ever played. Got through the first chapter pretty quick but am now probably on my tenth try of the next one. 

Hidden and dangerous looks good. Very cheap on Amazon as well so after i have either completed Blitzkrieg or more likely, snapped it, i will give it a try.

meh losers gonna whinge.


The thing is that I much much prefer games that are really hard to games you can complete in a short space of time. I've got so many hours out of replaying the hidden and dangerous games aswell as games like my all time favourite Deus Ex. If you have never heard of/seen or played any of the series then just get the first one and consider when it was made as it's an absolute work of art re gameplay and enjoyment.

Deux X. Never heard of it. Will search it up later.

There is nothing worse than spending an obscene amount of money for a game that is piss easy. Completing a game after a few hours game play is just a waste of money. Especially at the prices they charge.

For anyone interested in the Warren G song film question from a few posts ago the answer is Young Guns. A quality film about a group of gunmen, led by Billy the Kid, who become deputies to avenge the murder of the rancher who became their benefactor. But when Billy takes their authority too far, they become the hunted (that’s a sites description, not mine). I would recommend.

(http://thecelluloidsaloon.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/young-guns1.jpg)



Poker is going well, I’m playing ok which is good for the profits but the dealers are holding back the amount of profit i could be making. I have made a 3 figure withdrawal and am still up quite a bit since the last full update. Nothing else to say really, all has been pretty steady.

A decent hand i saw the other day.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=364DVUr8Qyo



Big day for Blackburn tomorrow!!


When Graeme Souness says that the game is something else then that says it all. It’s not a big marquee game for the football world, it’s 2 small East Lancashire towns but the town rivalry that exists away from the Football does make it a passionate affair for the fans involved.

I do always get really nervous before the big derby game. We have never lost to them in my lifetime and it is something i don’t really want to experience. Unfortunately, I’m not going. The atmosphere created at these games is a lot different to any other Rovers game. With dwindling crowds going to the normal games it is very difficult, in fact impossible, to get an atmosphere close to what it’s like at these games and it’s that sort of atmosphere I love so I’m always gutted when I can’t go.  

If we lose, i may not be mentioning football in these pages for a while.



Record of the Day: The Phantom Band - Folk Song Oblivion

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57EEspGFGqg

It's an absolutely fantastic game. Graphics for the day were awesome, obviously now they look pants, but it's just so playable. One of the first games to have user choices affecting the storyline and an open world play style.

Eg the first mission, you instantly get a choice at the start for a type of weapon you can be issued, big rocket launcher, sniper rifle or a cattle prob that doesn't kill people but knocks them out. You have multiple ways to complete the first level all of which affect the plot later in the game, how you act with some characters earlier affects how they treat you later on and to top it off there were 3 different endings. Just a truly fantastic game. They did another version recently, and though it was fun and nicely updated it could never achieve the freshness of the first one. This meme is very very apt.

(http://www.alexismagne.fr/public/DeusEx_mention.jpeg)

Weekend Bets. Feeling pretty good about these ones. Prob shouldn't say that!!


£10 BTTS

Fleetwood v Bury
Burton v Portsmouth
Bournemouth v Blackpool
Crewe v Walsall
Bristol City v Peterborough
Bolton v Leeds
Hull v Cardiff

£5 free bet

Arsenal
Manchester City
Q.P.R.
Rotherham
Peterborough
Oxford

£11.88 Accumulator

Fleetwood
MK Dons
Leyton Orient
Watford
Nottingham Forest
Tottenham



(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0f/Blackburn_Rovers.svg/200px-Blackburn_Rovers.svg.png)

COMMMME ON YOU BLUEEEESSSSSS!!!!

GGWatford. Thanks for letting me down!!

The missus put an accumulator on for Soccer Saturday after the game. I noticed she obv did something wrong when she says ‘i wonder why the odds are 80 000/1’. She had managed to put a goal rush on. I’m not sure what they are but i think all teams need to score AND the team you picked has to win the game.

The funniest part, if she puts the accumulator on properly it would have come in for about £400 quid.  :redcard:          ;frustrated;

So there is a guy playing a lot at the minute who is constantly abusing me every time he sits at my table. The usual stuff, name calling, the odd “I hope you die C**t”. None of it bothers me; in fact I find it funny at times. But his reasoning is even better.

You see, he sees me as a “reg” and, in his words “sky favour the regs because of rake”. He is a very poor fit or fold player so i obv spend all night peppering him and taking 90% of the pots. So before long he gets pissed off and claims sky looks after me and makes me hit every flop lol. In reality, i have hit none.

This is every night. He plays more than most which amuses me when he claims the regs get favoured. He obv really doesn’t enjoy the game, so why play? He will deposit regularly and he gets overly angry every single night. I’m not going to claim i enjoy the game all the time, i wish i did but i make money from it. This guy doesn’t. He pays a lot to feel miserable on an almost daily basis. So why bother?

And then i start to analyse the sort of person this chap is. I wouldn’t even think some of the things he says, let alone type them. For him to talk like that and spend hours a night playing a game he hates, i can’t help but start to feel sorry for him. I can imagine him living one hell of a miserable life. I am only making assumptions tbf, he may be England’s answer to John Rockefella mixed with Hugh Hefner sniggering at us minions as he swans off in his new Ferrari followed by hundreds of bikini clad models on his way to his own yacht party. I doubt it though; this lifestyle wouldn’t breed severe negativity while grinding 30nl.

In all seriousness though it is quite depressing seeing grownups stoop so low. It’s no surprise to me; I grew up in a fairly rough area where it was pretty common but it’s still not nice to see.

I can understand why people can get annoyed playing poker, losing money is never nice for anyone and the wonderful complexity in poker means that anyone who knows the basic rules will believe they know how to play poker. Add to that the fact that anyone can win at poker short term and the belief that people have in their own ability, no matter how poor they are, they will feel a huge sense of injustice when they lose because they are so blind to the fact that poker is so complex. Any person feeling that sense of injustice will start to feel aggrieved and i suppose every person will let that frustration out in different ways. I just wish that people wouldn’t do it in such a horrible way to each other. Maybe then the world would be a nicer place. 

I suppose it is people’s very characteristics that come out after a few beats and sometimes it shows the very ugly side of society. Something that can be quite difficult to watch.

It’s that same theory above that drives people to the rigged argument. People don’t want to believe that it is their ability levels that cause them to lose. They are blind to the complexity of the game so they believe they are good enough to win. When they consistently don’t they look for any reason why.

That wonderful quote of the more you know, the more you realize how little you know (May not be exact) is very apt to poker. It’s something i realize every single day.

And the very predatory instincts come out in players with that little bit more knowledge. We want these players to misunderstand poker, we want them to never realise that the very reason they lose money regularly is because of them, nothing else. That very realisation will drive players to either a) quit poker or b) work hard to become better. It’s our own brain where the limitations lie and the less they know about that the better. Saying that, my belief is that there is a very big problem with online poker at the moment with not addressing the constant rigged arguments. Depositing players every day are leaving the world of online poker or at the very least cutting down their deposits due to that very belief. I’m not sure how that could be addressed but as I have mentioned before it does need addressing by the industry to stop the many people leaving the industry in a time it is believed the industry is in decline.



Onto my weekend and in poker terms it has been quite frustrating. I’m running quite well in terms of the hands I am hitting. I’m just running awful when you compare it to the opponent’s hands. Shit happens! The more frustrating part is i think i could have saved myself a lot by making some big folds...i obv couldn’t find them. A second 3 figure withdrawal also made it feel worse at the time as I have a very annoying tendency to see my roll size as an indication to how things are going. Something i have tried to stop for a while.

I did luckbox my way back on Sunday night though with some debatable decisions that went in my favour which puts me in profit for the weekend. So all in all its been ok.


Onto the football. I am happy with 1-1 for the Derby on Saturday. We didn’t play great and the game wasn’t a classic by any stretch of the imagination. Although Stanislas goal was a cracker. Jake Kean was flapping at everything early, not something that helps breed confidence. We were poor in the first half but managed to look a bit better in the second but still not great. Think we were pretty lucky to get away with it and I’m just happy it’s another game gone by that I haven’t had to experience a loss to the rivals. I will look forward to hopefully a win in the return fixture.

This is a great red card though after Kanes mistake.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGX3tu9y9NY

I am surprised at how subtle he tried to be. If it was me i would be doing this

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_f5Rr93v_Q


I wasn’t happy at some people in the pub though. I’m not into the whole hate thing, i obv don’t like Burnley Football Club just as they don’t like us but when in the pub the other day there was some Burnley fans in there as well. When we equalised i obv celebrated, something i don’t usually do in pubs that much but sometimes it does just comes out. Well these Burnley fans behind weren’t happy at conceding and started to F and Blind and start to call the small group of Rovers fans scum etc. I don’t mind being called but the missus and her mate started to feel a bit intimidated. I don’t understand why people get so angry. We are watching a game of football. I’ve never got the whole football violence thing or violence in general for that matter so it was just annoying that when in a friendly pub people are made to feel uncomfortable. Nothing else happened or was said; they made a sharp exit after the game so it wasn’t that bad. I suppose it could have been worse. It’s just annoying.


Record of the Day: The Kingsmen - Louie Louie.

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