blonde poker forum

On Wednesday evening the Father and I depart for Deauville to play in the France Poker Series out there.

A number of Blondes have bought a piece of our action over here: http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=60010.0

....and as promised here is the thread where we will write something of a travel blog hopefully chronicling a rather successful outing. We meant to do something like this last time we went out and never got round to it which rankles the Father to this day so....here it is.

In the meantime, for those of you who live under a rock and don't know Ian 'Credible Hundred' Gascoigne, here he is:

(http://i1353.photobucket.com/albums/q677/edgascoigne1/70sgascoigne.jpg)

For those of you who have had the good fortune to not yet meet me, I look something like this:

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/167983_619142583982_7008766_n.jpg)

And for those who have never been, Deauville casino looks something like this:

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A0GGZX-CUAAprvY.jpg:large)

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have here....

Allez!!

Do u actually call him father or dad?

Qui traduira ce semaine?

Is it true you let Vokes from off of University Challenge borrow your jumper?

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/167983_619142583982_7008766_n.jpg)

Generally dad, though alarmingly using father more and more often. Whilst originally it was ironic, it's increasingly organic.


Moi. This said, nothing quite beats the amusement of dumping my dad in front of a frog in a relatively awkward social situation (where he thinks I will speak for us) and then standing mute. Simple pleasures.

fyp ;)

He he.

"Je m'appelle Incroyable du Cent Incroyable"

...and autocorrect obv...

Ahem...

good luck

Thanks Ironside. Hoping to do Blonde and stakers proud.

Failing that, this thread should give me a remarkably efficient platform to take the piss out of Ian for a week or so.

Long walk back if you push it.

sorry you saying your son is pushing me back while walking
sorry going to have too pass on that one not fit enough for france ATM and too cold for getting pushed back

Just wanted to lock up first page in what is likely the best thread blonde has ever seen. Even going to give this a new tab on my phone browser so I don't have to open up diary forum and see my friends/my diaries falling at the weyside

Good Luck, get the lot...

Will be following

Subscribed

Love that shit! Tab opened F5 at the ready!

gl guys

GL boys.

your dad looks a lot like Rick Trigg with that hair and pose. You n Trigg could be same jockey different horses

Looking forward to the reports, and best of luck to you both

Amazing. Ed Gasoigne's posting gold consolidated into one thread. Bookmarked.

In. Best of luck!

Managed to get a shot of Ian in the car, as they set off.


(http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/tikay2/Gassy.jpg)

Mother Gascoigne, before dedicating years of her life to raising me and my sister, was a French and German teacher. After reading both languages at Lancaster University (where she met the young upstart Ian, who was but a second year yet behaving like he owned the place when she returned from her year abroad) she went on to teach in various spots and to various sorts before ultimately settling in Leicestershire where she lives to this day.

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/78_511829153480_8620_n.jpg)
Me and 'The Mothership'

Father Gascoigne, before dedicating years of his life to working his way through the ranks at a wealth management company the intricacies of 3b bluffing ranges and the intricacies of the triple range merge, worked as a probation officer and social worker with youngsters living a little too close to the boundary between teenage rebellion and criminality.

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/78_511829158470_9052_n.jpg)
Like Father, Like Son

It would be safe to say that my passion for all things Francophile comes from my mum’s side. If this is true, I suppose I must grudgingly accept that my passion for poker comes from my ‘Y’ chromosomes, of which Ian is alarmingly the source. If we are indeed a product of nature and nurture, I would say I am a fair case in point.

(http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/edward_gascoigne_ukipt_notts_day1c.jpg)
Obvious French influence is obvious

Whilst reading French and Spanish at University I discovered the game of poker in a purely social context. Returning home one holiday I spoke to Ian of my new-found interest in the game (I am rather an obsessive sort), and so it was decided that we would head to play the £10 rebuy at Gala possessing nothing but a smattering of knowledge between us (hand rankings for me, how to boss people at 3-card brag for Ian). I bust in 8th for £60 when my Q-10hh couldn’t outrun a chap’s 99. Ian bust when they wouldn’t let him rebuy any more.

We were both hooked.

When my sister and I were younger we holidayed ‘en famille’ in France a lot. If we weren’t in the caravan in Norfolk it would be a fair bet that we’d be either shuttling over to Le Touquet or heading to Club Med down in Opio.

Whilst the latter offered fantastic weather, many different activities to get involved in and a wonderful buffet it also meant a flight, a reasonable chunk of organisation and the Mothership taking the dreaded cab ride through the mountain roads.

(http://www.picturescolourlibrary.co.uk/loreswithlogo/2038274.jpg)
Obviously a gross exaggeration but you get the picture.

[Digression] Mother Gascoigne gets travel sick, especially on the road if she is made to drive at anything beyond her statutory speed (28mph in a 30, 36 in a 40, 45 in a 50 and 54 on the Motorway). The full family crowd came to visit when I was living in Paris, and we hopped in a cab at the Gare du Nord. Mother asked the driver, in her best (if a little rusty/school teacher-y ) French if he wouldn’t mind driving relatively placidly as she gets car sick. The driver huffed, puffed and launched his shoulders vertically in a way only a Frenchman can. (Note, if you can lift your shoulders above your ears you almost certainly have some French ancestry, fact). I remained silent, if a little miffed at the affront to my mum. I did however decide that any further monkey business and he would feel the force of my résistance. After a quiet first few minutes, when he (somehow) found a relatively quiet stretch of road he started driving like a loon. Mothership repeated her request, he slowed down but began muttering rather derogatory ‘verlan’ (French/Parisian slang whereby words are inverted or pronounced a l’envers) about my mother. Having remained mute for the voyage thus far, I let him have it. Properly, in my very best 'listenerefrenchswineyoumayhavethoughtiwazzestupeedinglishpombutowdoyoulikemenow' ghetto French. I’ve never been so angry. He shut up pretty sharpish and drove the remainder of the journey like James May.

Skip to 42secs in...
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxZ5AKDvyfU


[/Digression]

And so it was that we would instead ‘nip’ to Le Touquet, where we shall be stopping over on Wednesday evening en route to Deauville.

(http://www.a-taste-of-france.com/images/le-touquet-town-street-3.jpg)

(http://www.aeroport-letouquet.com/images/le-touquet0.jpg)


 

(http://impartnow.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Lift-Light-1.jpg)

Thanks for the mention Ed [ ] !

All in good time...

(http://www.bromleyfc.tv/season1011/images/stories/guinness.jpg)

lepopcorn.gif

Le Touquet(-Paris-Plage) is a small little town on the coast about 45mins drive south from Calais. Owing to its comparative accessibility from Paris it has long been a popular destinations for Parisians popping for a weekend away. Where the vast majority of the Nord Pas-de-Calais is somewhere between rural paysans and industrial developments, Le Touquet is certainly a gem. The beach is extensive, relatively windswept and peaceful out of season whilst being manageable at peak times.

(http://www.trocadero.com/galaplus/items/514917/catphoto.jpg)

We’re merely stopping over for an evening to break the journey down and ensure we are fresh for the FPS Main which begins Thursday, but it’s always nice to visit 'old friends'.

Joining the Gascoigne raiding party is none other than the original Poshboy of these parts, Alex ‘cambridgealex’ Goulder:

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFoqoOWQl48

We are all convening tomorrow late afternoon in Swanley, and whilst the father and I will be mixing it with the hoi polloi on the train, I believe Alex has a rather more comfortable solution planned. Glamorous Swanley certainly is not, convenient however it definitely is lying square in the commuter belt just half an hour by train from Victoria/London Bridge and right by the M20 down to Folkestone.

(http://s0.geograph.org.uk/photos/72/51/725103_85357f83.jpg)

(http://blog.otel.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/deauville_coast.jpg)


Deauville beach, just as a point of comparison to Swanley. Guess where a two bed flat costs more?

(https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcShMedmEfhOLspOEQxJ5cPAhQFcWqfUogxtcmLTrwYVpZFL9tTq)

And here is the casino that overlooks the beach. Strong.

gowan Ian, do wins I need to eat!


Also more father photos from back in they day when cameras were first introduced pls Ed  :)up

I'm working with relatively limited stock I'm afraid as they've had to go from from glass slide --> negative --> digital image --> photobucket but here's a bonus shot of Ian back in the day:

(http://i1353.photobucket.com/albums/q677/edgascoigne1/70sgascoigne2.jpg)

                    Starting to get excited about the trip. I have a full day of meetings in Nottingham today and London tomorrow.Hope to finish about 4.30pm when I swap the suit for a hoodie and catch the train to Swanley from Victoria,meet Ed,Alex and Gas 7 for the drive to Le Touquet. Readers may be surprised to hear that I quite like driving :-) . Obviously not looking forward to listening to Ed and Alex rambling on about variance and fold equity and 'ranges' and all that stuff.
                     Tonight like any teenager I will be giving attention to my wardrobe for the trip. Ed has recently taken to dressing like some country posh boy nob. All tweed and red trousers. He will no doubt soon be wearing a signet ring. I will have to take the unwashed ' I love Blackpool ' shirt as Deauville is by the seaside. I have also decided to take an England Rugby T Shirt as the 6 Nations kicks off on Saturday and I am sure the French surrender monkeys will love being check raised by a 'Rostbif'.
                    Last time we went I managed to fluke a satellite seat to the main event and Ed actually won a comp so who knows. Deauville is a wonderful place in the summer but I have heard it's a bit gloomy and 'shut' at this time of the year. However the beer,food and wine will be good and although it's not Vegas or Prague or Marbella it is 6 days away from work pretending to be 25.
                    I have never been 'staked' before and certainly don't need to be. I have done it as a way of seeing if it has an effect on my approach to the game. Some of you guys have contributed your cash to have a punt on me and I take that very seriously. My own money I occasionally tilt donk off. ( occasionally Ian ? ). I can promise all the backers I will not be doing that during these three competitions. I am SO motivated to get a result for the stakers. Seriously motivated.
                     So that's about it for today. Tomorrow the fun starts when Steve the driver picks Alex the posh boy up and takes him and Gas 7 to Swanley to meet Ed for about 5.30pm before I drive us to Le Touquet.
                      What could possibly go wrong ?

Very jealous.

Deauville my favourite tournament of the year.

Good luck.

Howards Marks you say?

Your car is not a Thunderbird.

(http://www.platesforcars.co.uk/samples/impT2WYIp.jpg)

Start of a 1000 page diary I feel! Awesome, will be following the adventures.

 ;goodluck;

WP  ;D ;D ;D

Good luck! Sounds like poker is getting in the way of an epic road trip!

What is gas 7?

More expensive than Pau11 H0   ;)

PA11 LHO  ;nanana; ;nanana; ;nanana; ;nanana;

Never had the pleasure of meeting either of you gentlemen, but looking forward to following this and expecting the newest diary on Blonde to be epic!!

I see Blackpool mentioned earlier, are you a Blackpool fan? If so, are you rooting for Thommo to be given the job for the time being?

Best of luck to you all!!

Ed, do you want to explain to the young'uns what the title of the thread refers to? It was scarily before I bet some were born...

Most triumphant thread, BTW.

Many thanks.We will do our best.

One of Ians (many hilarious) claims to fame came from him wearing an "I <3 Blackpool" T-Shirt on the final table of GUKPT Blackpool

FAG!

Great thread, looking forward to the diary.GOOD LUCK!
Just googled GAS 7...
(http://nice-reg.co.uk/number-plates/car-registration-numbers/GAS7.jpg)

This badboy is picking me up 130 tomorrow oioi!

Ha, I think I remember seeing a pic on Blonde now that you mention it.

Serious motivation FTW.

Eh?

Edit: just remembered. It's the hug scene, right?

*HUG*

Bill ->  Ted

Ted -> Bill


"FAAAAAAAG"



Tooooo funny.

Paragraphs with indented starts! What a hero!

Be excellent to each other. And... PARTY ON, DUDES!

Ian's a big Wednesday fan. Goes to all the games with Barry Neville.

barry just had some surgery last weekend. I know he reads blonde but he denies it. Speedy recovery Barry.

Is Gas7 the name of the car?

Not sure if I've recounted this before but said occurrence came about because Ian had only taken two days' worth of clothes for a three day comp, so unlikely did he believe it was that he would make day three.


Something like that. When I first sat at a table with Barry, and I really have no idea how this happened, I had got the impression he was a Sheffield United supporter. I innocently asked him, "Are you a blade, Barry?"

One can imagine the curtness of his reply as he rolled up his sleeve to show me his tattoo. He then questioned me in a similar fashion, eliciting a similar response. Apart from the tattoo.

This morning's entry will mostly centre around the minefield that is ordering a coffee in France:

(http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02370/coffee_2370526b.jpg)

Pretty sure you've got the wrong end of the stick and should be keeping an eye out for this:

(http://nice-reg.co.uk/number-plates/car-registration-numbers/GAS8.jpg)

Ordering a coffee in France, perhaps more specifically Paris to be fair, is an absolute minefield.

Before people starting ordering hazelnut lattes, moccachoccalottafrothas and the like the very height of coffee sophistication was the oh-so-exotic sounding café au lait. In the same manner as the Cordon Bleu cookery school drew subscriptions from far and wide, this French concept drew in 80s punters like moths to a flame.
The problem here is that the French don’t actually drink ‘café au lait’. It’s a tarp.

(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTfng2FK1GEGE_BTMlgATCfqB6vWjrAtL9ToKsmFkVHK4Zquek_PQ)

Imagine the scene....you have some time in the world’s most romantic city (*cough, bullshit, cough*) and, in the mode of the classic flaneur, sit down at a cafe and order a café au lait. You are about to have your pants royally pulled down. At a reasonably nice looking cafe in Paris, a café au lait is liable to set you back 5-6Eur. Why? Because it’s the most ludicrously sized drink ever, served with the sole purpose of catching out tourists desperate to prove they are au fait with the language. Your coffee will be so big you could probably swim in it. Although only if you were wearing skimpy little budgie-smugglers as apparently board-shorts are unhygienic, <3 the French.

So, to avoid social embarrassment and poverty, what are your options?

Un Express

Strength: 8-10
Length: 1-3
Smugness at looking like a Frenchman rating: 5

(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qle4Lv1aCBw/TVsGo0AQriI/AAAAAAAAATo/CDJmrVwYN54/s1600/expresso.jpg)

The cheapest caffeine hit available in la France and pretty efficient as a pick-me-up. Often served in France with a small glass of water reminiscent of an eye-bath and a little dusted almondy-chocolate type thing.

Un Noisette

Strength: 5-7
Length: 4-6
Smugness at looking like a Frenchman rating: 8

(https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTAOOScpAbfF1vBFB4KsbNne61jS97jMipYC1boomPw1EAPEhQ0)

The lesser-spotted Noisette is the perfect option for those who can’t quite handle the Express but like their coffee to put hairs on their chest. Often served as an Express with a small pot of milk to the side, this niche coffee is never ordered by tourists.

Un Crème

Strength: 4-6
Length: 6-8
Smugness at looking like a Frenchman rating: 10

(https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTULksYZXpqDrFI8V6pMbm3rzgKw7MJlNu4pLJS_IeF4pPwL0NNeQ)

Take that, French swine!! The Crème is the coffee that innocent interlopers are attempting to order when they request, in their very best French, “un café au lait s’il vous plait garcon”. The principal difference between the Crème and the Café au lait? The Crème will still be pleasantly warm when you reach its conclusion and cost you half as much.

Oh, but be sure to mimic the motion below when conversing with the barman for full effect, then you'll really have him rattled.

(http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01526/arsene_embed_1526398a.jpg)

Tell us about the perils of ordering a cup of tea in Paris, please. And the Smug Rating.

Sacré Bleu! Or, for those of you who wish to appear rather more 'street', "sacré fils de putain de merde enculé".

We British take the pleasure of a good cup of tea for granted. Yes the drink is as much a part of our society and heritage as Churchill, the Spitfire and Skeggy so we really should be rather good at it but, let's face it, it's not difficult is it? Isit?

1. Boil kettle
2. Pour boiling water on tea bag
3. Add milk to taste
4. Brew
5. Drink

* In before derail on tea-making-tekkers akin to the epic steak derail of Prose from a Poshboy.

Here is the place that I have drunk my favourite ever cup of tea:
(http://russelldavies.typepad.com/ateaandathink/images/IMG_0961-thumb.JPG)

The Regency caf(e) is full of builders, plumbers and craftsmen - the people who make London work. And, every so often, me. They are impossibly efficient, it truly is a sight to behold, and their tea is wonderful, delicious, uncomplicated fayre.

So, where do the French fall down?

1. Their kettles don't actually boil, it's all an illusion. They merely nearly boil, much like they nearly stopped ze Germans.
2. Their tea bags aren't perforated, rather their factories essentially pack tea into cardboard condoms.
3. They're not big on proper milk, it's generally the UHT stuff.
4. Comment? Wat eez 'brew'?
5. Ok, they understand this one. But not before the tea has been served deconstructed on the most ornate platter known to man, sometimes with lemon instead of milk. LEMON!!

(https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQYOlEF5519jLGq6WKr-m4wlrLDzIC-a5r87asrt8VgWWA33NOy)

Garçon

 ;yellowcard;

I am aware, I merely couldn't be bothered.

*(Gallic) Shrugs*

This thread allows me to tell one of my favourite French waiter stories (I have lots)

We are skiing, on mountain having lunch, the group is 8 lads this day, so we plonk ourselves down outside and wait for the waiter.

He [ ] arrives promptly, and takes the order

Friend 1 errrr, le cheeseburger svp
friend 2 oui, le cheeseburger aussi, svp
friend 3 moi aussi, le cheesebuger

Waiter - explodes - "[insert fench grunt] le cheesburger, le cheesburger, le cheesburger, zis iz all you English want, why not try le Plat du Jour"

As it happens my sensible friend, "sensible steve" is next

Steve -  je voudrais le plat du jour svp
waiter - c'est bon, c'est bon,............ et monsieur

now onto Hamish, who can speak fluent lovely french, says something far beyond any of our comprehension and finishes by ordering "Le Plat Du Jour"

Waiter - in his best English "Im sorry, we have no Plat du Jour left"

Prick!

My hatred of French waiters is unspeakable. France has so much potentail to be a nice country, but is spoiled by French people!

I was waiting for the plat du jour to be a cheeseburger

Moi aussi.

lol. Sounds like the waiter has a sense of humour

+un

Fellow Francophile here. Enjoying your thread guys.

bonne chance

Given I know you are a cycling fan, here's a little teaser of a story to come...

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/72_511828894000_8162_n.jpg)

Can't wait for Spacefrog to make an appearance itt

Larry David might struggle in Paris

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBNOB7FkSSM

This is going to be testicules des chiens
(http://www.berkshirehash.co.uk/gs2003/Hash1828_html_756c05af.jpg)

I don't know what you're talking about.

(http://i1353.photobucket.com/albums/q677/edgascoigne1/Clothes_zpsd1dd1b3c.jpg)

Edward, do you have shares in Boden?

Haha, no. Look at this cheeky little pair of shoes they're flogging top left of shot - strong!

(http://www.boden.co.uk/images/13SPR_main/men/home-Mens-HeaderShoes.jpg)

I see Ed makes mention of The Regency Cafe. So for all you film buffs here is a quiz question. The Regency was the venue for a particularly violent scene in a movie starring Daniel Craig. Shortly after his appearance in this film he clinched the Bond role. Over to you. P.s I am still at work and quickly need to get my work face on.

And for the bonus point, "During said scene, what music is playing in the cafe?"

I remember when I was young, my parents and I went to Paris. My mum had a French phrasebook and spent >an hour getting ready to order in French. We got to a lovely restaurant, the waiter came across and mum started to reel off her new found language. The waiter didn't listen to a word, halfway through interrupted saying "madame, we do speak English. You don't need to embarrass yourself".

We walked out <5 seconds later

Layer Cake

Layer Cake, sure it's Duran Duran but can't remember the song title

loved layer cake........... was it ordinary world?

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Strong work.

Layer cake......

Loving this thread boys and quite excited for the fab3, although more excited for us, the blonde reading public.

Enjoying the French education Ed also seeing as I had never set foot on French soil until last June and that was only with Matt & Stu to drive from Calais into Belgium :)

I hope it really is most excellent for you all. Try getting Alex drunk one night, let his hair down x

How did that go, Maria, did you cash?

Not like Alex would do anything daft when he's drunk, surely?

Oh wait...the tattoo...

I once managed to have a row with a very pleasant lady in a Paris hotel (this is what counts for flirting in Tal terms) over whether I should be saying partir or sortir.

With hindsight, she was both French and right. From my perspective, however, that doesn't happen simultaneously that often and was a very easy mistake to make.

Parisians just grunt and gesture. I found opening in French anywhere else in France gets a welcome reaction and people don't mind switching to English shortly afterwards if needs be. In Paris, they're somehow insulted that you could have deigned to befoul their beautiful language with your back-of-mouth stiff-upper-lippery.

attention, poker en France

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b42KbfyDxeM

bonne chance

Sadly, most of my French visits have been to

Paris
Nice
French Ski Resorts

and you simply couldnt find more Paris-ite types (intended) if you tried!  I guess you could argue London can be about as friendly - I just dont get it!

hahaha No sir I did in fact not cash but ate loads of mussels, drank loads (of green tea) and had a fab night getting drunk in a very quaint Belgian old skool pub where they were not so covertly letting the customers smoke as long as you weren't sitting at seats near the front windows where the CCTV could see in :)

I left them a wonderful present in their bathroom sink.

20 B&H?

Nah, a little less classy.

Rofl. It's up there with this for subtlety isn't it?!

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLm-oL-LuQA

 :-X

great stuff, good luck .

As if!

Were you going full-blown Hepburn with cigarette holder?

(http://fashionone.s3.amazonaws.com/images/audrey-hepburn-1.jpg)

 rotflmfao if only I looked like that in a pub setting

In Gas 7 oioi! Will be meeting Father and Son within an hour and saying goodbye to the driver (Ian's decided to send him home on he train and drive the rest of the way himself :D).

Hopefully get the first pic of the blog up shortly.

Whoop!

absolutely loving this thread.


ZE BLOODY FRENCHIES!!!!


geeeeeel

Hope your sitting in the back of GAS7.


Regards

M

Showdeurrrrrr

(http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100911124324/simpsons/images/b/b4/Simpsons08.jpg)

It's all kicking off...

(http://i1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc416/cambridgealex/18A28551-F31D-47B9-940B-C074E8B3BDF5-1343-0000022D0A0A9A7A.jpg)

Ballin out of control from the word go...

So, all this talk of fine cuisine & you end up in a Welcome Break ..........

Booking all the tables in any restaurant is pretty balla

BK has the team 1-for-1 on good decision making for the trip

glgl

this thread was going so well until alex posted a photo of a welcome break! Not baller enough for my liking!

Tikay No1 Sky TV man spotted it!

I thought it was M&S

Regards

M

Ok readers,here is an update.To start with I have
learned how to post from my iPhone.....an advantage
of traveling with youngsters.
     We are checked in to The Red Fox in Le Touquet
and I have spent the evening learning how to play
open face Chinese Poker. Obviously I am brilliant at this
and am only €25,000 in a hole.Fuck me,it took me a whole
day to earn that.
       

It says welcome break on the windows always a give away ;)

this is a lot more baller!

If only it were true. Right,sleep time for me.Tomorrow
we head for Deauville with the game face on.

Always the king of wishful thinking.

The calm before the storm...

(http://i1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc416/cambridgealex/IMG_0212_zpsf05199c6.jpg)

Ian luckboxes Aces full...but oh wait, it's no good...Alex binks the case V...

(http://i1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc416/cambridgealex/IMG_0213-1_zpsaccdd43d.jpg)


I'll get the beers in then boys :D

FPS main event tomorrow. Hoping the Gascoignes make a dual deep run whilst I catch them in the breaks for more chinese!

Are you actually down €50k then?

Alex binking cards!

*guy likes this*

now keep it up fella!

Picture cards with identical pictures.

Not balla.

230 runners yesterday. 500+alternates today.

Decent,prizepool.

Let's gogogogogo!

Lovely to sit down in seat 10,look up and see Simon
Deadman in seat 6 . Wonderful.

Could have been worse...

does he still play in Team Eureka for K&K

So my first hand. Apologies for not being able
to use the templates.
I get KK utg
I raise to 350, blinds 50/100
2 callers

Flop Q 9 3 rainbow
I check
Villain bets 650
Villain 2 calls
I raise 2,000
Villain calls
Villaiin 2 folds

Turn a 6
I check
Villain checks

River Q

I check
He bets 3,500
I fold.

Should have led the turn ?
Should have led the river?
I put him on AQ.

His last win was the first on his own dime! So no.

Personally I'm firing 3500 on the turn there.

Not saying it's necessarily correct just what I'd have done.

ok. Ty

I bet the turn but he's probably calling anyway with a big Queen. (In before inevitable jokes)

Comedy tactic of utg raise + check raise the flop, BTW.

Just arriving (http://i1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc416/cambridgealex/5B661DC0-31CC-4BDB-AFF6-B9FC10808549-1819-000002734C1FFF4D.jpg)

Ed sardonically applauds Ian's table selection.

(http://i1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc416/cambridgealex/1EDA27A8-9C2A-4B36-9E8A-E228724F59A3-1819-000002726759680D.jpg)

(http://i1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc416/cambridgealex/25A3A904-AD63-4E6E-B1A2-CA187AAAAA4E-1819-00000272DD3C7D1B.jpg)

looks like Dominik Nitsche on Ian's table too. Tough table indeed. Gl

You not played with Ian before?
At least one check-raise per hand as a standard. Two, if he can fit it in. Three if it's against Mitch.
The button is the nut worst position for Ian to play a hand.

Have only played a couple of hands with him before and either his c/raises weren't prominent or I wasn't paying attention. Either way, pretty sure he outlasted me :)

if it was a £100 comp chances are he probably won it

Did not realise the comp was a handicap.Everytime I have a
decent pair the French guy has aces. Not played
these rules before so will take some time to adjust.
Ed is doing OK but I am down to 13k . Plenty of time
but do need to hit a set to think about winning a hand.
Even the English dealers are in on it.

We all know you're trying to bust early and take Joe Stapleton's seat in the commentary booth.

Try not to bust then, Ian, as The Honourable Lord Stapleton, aka stapes, is not in Paris today, he is in London, with me. ;)

Are you taking him to Nottingham to do the commentary there instead?

Ive been going through the French live updates page, I liked this section

"Voir tous les bustos"

No! We can't afford him. ;)

Tell him the Superbowl is on.

Ian 17k and doing brilliantly to still be in after getting away from AJ on AJ77Q where Simon had aces!
Simon 30k and getting to grips with the frogs.
Alex 24k and doing everything in his power to avoid equity beats.
Me 55k and a stellar pair of trousers.

Tell Simon to take his table captaincy elsewhere.

A fine start, keep going boys!!!

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY9QD8vJQic

Hard to believe that's House :)

Sorry guys.

Blinds 250/500
I raise utg to 1,500 with AKss
Button raises to 4,000 out of 16,000 stack.
I push all in for 16,000.
He looks well pissed off but finds a call with 10,10.
I miss everything.

Really gutted and if anyone thinks I have played
bad you can have your money back. I don't mind
losing my own money but feel really pissed off
for the backers.
Still two more comps to play. Felt on the back foot
since the KK hand and ran into AA twice when I had
a big pair.
Hit two pair AJ when Simon hit a set if aces and
he filled up on the turn.Surprised I got away from that.
       Certainly didn't feel like there was any easy chips
on the table and surprised he called my shove with 10,10.

One day your the statue,another day the pigeon.

Anyway,get down to DTD an support the club!
We are still gonna mash up the Frogs.

Unlucky Ian.

Now you can better keep us Posted on the various Little Lord Fauntleroy's.

Unlucky Ian. Just do what the young uns do and win a side event instead

I think you played bad.

Thanks for the freeroll, does this apply for the other 2 comps as well?

facking pigeons.

Think that's a better reply for Matt, Ian.

I love you Ian :)

I don't want the money back until I know whether you're actually going to win anything.

Obviously if you win you can keep the stake money and send me my winnings but if you lose then a full refund would be lovely.

Thanks mate.

LOL @ Matt.

Ian, doesn't sound like you did much wrong - just one of those days.  Now go and win something and then grim Matt.

this.

think the KK c/r is only good if there as capable as the bulk of frenchies, because then theres obv sick value, what with them not being able to fold a napkin. Would personally normally go for a c/c line if I check as the pfr. 1 pair can get put in some horrible spots further down the line when you bloat the pot. Like the c/f on the pair up though.

:)up have fun, and keep the updates/pics/hilarity coming pls.

I am so disappointed to be out.Wanted to go deep so much in this comp. I am going to play the €300 tomorrow and maybe even the High Roller on Saturday. I may be out but I am not beaten. I mean most of the field are French !  Out of 50 tables I get Simon friggin Deadman lol.
         I have even brought my ' I Love Blackpool ' T shirt so I have to make one final table.
        Will try to bet a few pictures tomorrow. How the flip can he call with 10,10 . No wonder the Germans just walked through the bloody place. Can you imagine the Germans just ' walking through' London,Birmingham,Sheffield,Manchester,Liverpool,Glasgow, Nottingham? Seriously they would have had to scrap for every inch in every town. Different mentality you see.  Anyway rant over.Going for a snooze and a chill out before railing the choir boys and then a nice meal and a bit of wine tasting.

No wonder the Germans just walked through the bloody place.

Ian - you can't say that!

;)

see that's why I stake <3

3 levels to play.

66k avg 36k

;tightend;

Don't get too worried Ian. Sounds like you ran pretty horrific and did well to last that long

Of course I appreciate it is very incorrect and I am fully aware that some French showed incredible bravery in The Resistance etc so I don't want to slight or disrespect them. However I do often try to picture what would have happened had the German Army crossed the Channel and invaded Britain. I am convinced that we would have reacted a little differently. Maybe because we were a more urban country,an Island mongrel race but I could not see the people of the East End of London,the guys from the Welsh valleys, the steelworkers of Sheffield, the dockers of Liverpool,the shipbuilders of Glasgow just rolling over in the way that France appeared to do. In fact this little rant has inspired me to read up on the resistance so I can be a little more measured about it. In the meantime I still cannot believe he called with 10,10 and I missed everything. Stupid game.
              I will find a bookshop tomorrow and update you.

Go go Ed.We are not leaving here empty handed. Even if I have to nick a few wineglasses.

Ian

I sadly missed the opportunity to invest, but needless to say that

a. most people probably think this thread is providing their monies worth
b. the trip is a long way from over


Go get a bottle of Chateaux Neuf du pape, or whatever you pallete prefers, chill out and crush the next event!

Enjoy your poker trip and flip better!

STUPID GAME

totally with you on that one!

Pretty major setback as AKdd < 22 on 259d Jd K

30k @ 500/1k

all of this, except I am most fortunate to have a small piece of the action!

Can't see the interior decorators of Wimbledon, the hairdressers of Solihull or the Merchant Bankers of Chelsea putting up much of a fight though. 

Please refund me zero Euros ASAP.

Busto :(

AK<10s after I open,utg1 get flatted, villain jams 19bb,Last  we rejam 30VB, XXK 10x

Last 10bb go in on the button over a cutoff min with a5. Bb wakes up with AQdd.

Gg :(

Better just win a side event,again

UL fella!

any news on Alex?

Cheers

(http://adamdevlin.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/20120825-205615.jpg?w=430)

GG chaps

Can one of the Gascoigne's please get it touch, I'm at the casino, need my stuff from Gas7!

Come to pizzeria il parasole. 6 rue hoche. 2min walk from casino.

Still in bagged up 24bb overnight

Plenty of serious poker talk here at Pizza Busto.
 ' if only I had hit an ace I would have been up to average'
 ' if only I had folded those Kings,I knew he had aces'
 ' if only one of those pairs had made a set on the flop,I had
so many pairs.......'
 ' if only I hadn't entered I would be €1,000 up now'
 All that is required is a good nights sleep,a walk on the beach
and a swim in the pool.
 
Good night everyone. Thanks for the railing.

what a boss

#somedaysitsagrind

roooofl

;tightend;

Good effort chaps, best of luck for the rest of the trip.

Ian, that check raise with the KK will work well when everyones 30ish bbs deep towards the end of a tourny, but when its early levels and your deep, your putting yourself in a awkward situation. Your gonna get a load of bad turns which make your one pair look like dog shit.

Saying that u got a 6 and checked.

Anyway, enjoy, and best of luck to Cambo' 2moro.

Thanks Mitch you are exactly right about the Kings,especially as I already knew how hard these guys find it to find the fold button when they have hit the flop. If you are playing the Deep Stack run well,should be a soft field with all the talent in Deauville  :-) if you are selling any let me know.

I have left Ed at the flat and wandered down to Morny's Cafe for breakfast.
The cafe is a five minute walk and overlooks the market. French markets are
just wonderful with real food and an atmosphere all of there own.
         I have taken advantage of the breakfast special menu. A cafe creme,an orange juice,a glass of water,
Half a bagguette,a croissant,butter and jam all for €10.
         I am sat under a canopy and the gentle sound of jazz seems in beat with the light rain
that is tapping on the roof reminding me of camping holidays as a child.
         The papers are full of David Beckham signing for PSG.Whatever people say he is an icon and they
seem delighted over here with the news.I was very very lucky to meet him for about 30 minutes 2 years ago
and believe me he is the most self effacing,polite and wonderful guy you would ever want to meet. Top drawer.
           So back to the trip.This morning I am going to stroll the market,take a walk on the beach and then hopefully
go to the Thallassos Hydrotherapy Centre for a swim,steam and massage.Then a snooze and then the €300 freeze out.
           I wish I has a better camera on the phone ( and knew how to upload). All around me is French cliche after cliche. A man with a baguette and beret,a lady taking coffee with a poodle on her lap.The cobbled roads around the market,the striking elegance of French women.An absence of obesity, a general pace of life which you know is built round food; living to eat rather than eating to live.
           I got told off by Ed last night for my little rant about the French and I he is right and I should know better. Shouldn't really post anything within a few hours of busting.Makes you realise what it must be like for football managers being interviewed within minutes of a big game.So easy to say things you regret.
            Anyway I hope you are all enjoying the updates.I really enjoy Blonde and so does Ed.It's our attempt to give a little back. I wish we had done it last trip,especially as Ed fluked a side event.
           

About 15 years ago, my Grandad went on a trip to Normandy with his sheltered housing group. When they got to Calais, the coach was asked to present passports. He had of course not realised he needed one ("We were barely even getting off the coach").

French authorities, the tour guide and my grandad then have a vigorous discussion which was reportedly ended by my grandad uttering the immortal words:

"You didn't worry about my passport in 1944"

He was allowed in.

True story.

Thank you all for the rail thus far and apologies for...

(a) Ian's somewhat incendiary comments
(b) Not winning the main

From a personal perspective I was very happy with how I played, if obviously gutted to be out.

Those who know my game will be aware that, in the past, I used to be very much on the spewy side of aggro. I would also struggle if I suffered a mental setback in-game. Though I would never visibly tilt, deep inside I would get a bit steamed and, before I acknowledged it, start playing sub-optimally.

Well yesterday there was none of that. Here's some key hands...

(1) Starting stack is 25k and we have chipped down to 20k. Slovakian opens MP to 400 ©100/200a25. I peel 10-7cc on the btn. 568ss I raise his cbet, he calls. Turn 9, two streets of value and up to 35k.

(2) Peel an early open with AKo and call the btn 3bet squeeze. Flop K52 ck cl. Turn 9 xl cl. River Q I set him in, he folds. 45k

(3) Peel a MP open with AKhh, call btn 3bet squeeze from aggro spewtard. Flop K73 ss and check raise leaving him pot back. Set him in on 3s turn and,he calls off with K2cc. 55k

(4) Open K9 (definite error), peeled by,cut off and bb. Cut off seems competent/good. Cbet 974, co calls. 10 ck ck. Brick I ck call and lose to JJ, think I played this poorly. 48k

(5) Open J7dd in co, btn peels, bb 3bets and it was just one of those spots where I knew he was light. Have,rarely been so confident 4b bluffing. Gets through, 55k

(6) Short stack jams 8k at 300/600a75, we call 99 in bb and hold vs a8cc. 63k

(7) Rr late position open off 35bb with AK in bb. Cbet a106 and take it down. 67K

(8) Uneventful phase of play where my opens/3bets/cbets get,through, 80k.

(9) Open AKdd utg2, villain I have battled (good player from earlier hand) peels btn. I ck cl 259 d. Check raise Jd turn figuring i'm putting everything he is being that flop with under serious pressure, especially as it leaves him 60% pot back. He calls, I bomb the Kh river and he calls 22 2 :( down to 35k at 500/1k

(10) Table breaks. Fold for a couple of orbits. Open AKo to 2.1k utg 1, MP flats, hj jams 19bb, I rejam and lose to tens on xxK 10 x sigh. Would,have put me right back in it. 12k

(11) Blinds go 600/1200/100...co (young, seems lose/competent) mins, I jam a5 on the btn, bb rejams aqdd and makes a flush for rofls.

Gg.

Disappointing as the result is, I take a lot of positives from it. I delivered on the aspects of the game I've been working on and felt comfortable at the table. The seminal hand was obv the AKdd vs 22 and, I think I misplayed it as should have cbet the flop. The outcome may end up being roughly the same (unless I find a   bet/fold on the end), but the result doesn't justify the means.

300Eur two day comp later which I am looking forward to. They're my speciality in these parts, horses for courses and all that :)

Hope you're enjoying the blog and if I can get on the iPad I will try to post some pics etc.

Yeah posting stuff within seconds of busting not a good idea.

Did you know Simon was also going to be over in France.

Currently in the scrum for buying in for the 4pm competition.
Every bit of bureaucracy on display as they check everyone in.
Forms to be filled in,ID to be shown,two people to give you a colored wristband.
Each player taking at least 5 minutes to be 'processed'. Players getting restless,guys pushing in.
So ' Continental', so French. So frustrating.
       No wonder the Germans..........

(http://pbs.twimg.com/media/BCBhyiSCEAAvrtu.jpg:large)

Ed's favourite things all under one roof. Frogs, coffee, horse racing and gambling. What's not to like? Apart from his trousers.

as a fashionista myself, those trousers/shoes avec le jacket is not kewl.

now go win sideys and don't mention ze war

Does he support Scotland?

All ready for the 4pm. 30min clock 10k chips and missing a few levels so a bit shooty...should play to ian's strengths!

Ed

You don't need a camera Mr G. You're painting with words.


I can see Ed's not the only one who hides his light under a bushel.

Unlucky Fellas...

Loving this diary atm especially Ians in the Zone rant... More Pictures, Rants and stories from yesteryear please...

 ;popcorn;

Gearing up for the 300 side

(http://i1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc416/cambridgealex/EEB9D551-405F-406D-B07F-276412BE6D0C-2771-00000316FDB56FDD_zpsaf0913fa.jpg)

I was to friendly and sociable yesterday. Today
it's game face and serious. I am not going home
empty handed.

What's your excuse for the rest of the time?

;)

Loving this diary, great updates so far fellas and hopefully the raiding party will come away with some yoyos!!

Please please please no more small pocket pairs
unless one comes on the flop.

Can't really flop a pocket pair...

One more lame joke from you and ill flop my pocket pair into your next cup of tea.

Alex misunderstands the meaning of 'tea-bagging'...

I'm sure that's worse for you. He can just not drink the tea whereas you ain't never gonna be able to repair that damage to your balls!!

Ed here. Ian qq into AA. I lost 55<AK then AK<88.

Bad times. Morale under threat but, if it cracks, we should at least get another Ian rant for the fans.

 Right,having busted out they test your mental
state by making you queue for an hour to register
for the next comp. Oh god how good is DTD.

 The wait for a cash game is currently 4 hours.
 If I wasn't in the queue you would be getting a full
on rant. But I have been told by my mental coach
to breath in and listen to Whale music.

I feel a Nigdawgesque win coming with the last tourney.

We have decided to have a go at the Bounty Turbo which starts in 20 minutes. To kill time Ed is donating to the French economy by playing black jack. He tells me that if you really know what you are doing it's the one casino game with the least edge to the casino. His objective is to spin up €150  to €5,000 in the next 20 minutes. Life is nothing without short term and measurable goals.
               On a separate note,does Simon Deadman ever lose a race. I am currently giving serious thought to playing the High Roller tomorrow at 12pm. Ed has said decide in the morning. If you get a good night's sleep,wake up feeling good then I should do it. He is so sensible because this is his inheritance I will be spewing off. Well his and his sister's.
                 Reflections on being staked ? It's been interesting.I have certainly refrained from any spewing but I also think it's made me play a little defensive and passive. That's not my game and although that is a weakness it's often been my major strength in Tournaments. Obviously a pigeon at cash but tournaments relatively ok. Unless it's all just variance.
                    So far on the black jack has turned the €150 into €600 so not all bad...............oh,sorry that was €60........
................oh whoops it's now €30. and that boys and girls is why table games in Casino's are a road to ruin.
                     Right,after that little episode we are off to the non staked bounty turbo which we will obviously win causing a little bit of embarrassment. Drinks for backers if we bink ( or survive the first 5 levels ).

Just seen the worst slow roll ever. Details later.

Whereas this was the greatest slowroll of all time:

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5QHZ1IY3-M

Go on, Jack Ury!

"You're in trouble"

Pretty sure I could never tire of watching that clip. That, the EDF flame in the birdbath and Gazza's free kick in 91.

Me too. Absolutely love Jack Ury. RIP <3

Crippled in the turbo bounty in comedic circumstances.

Button-clicker matey boy manages to jam 14k into 8k on 236hh (at 150/300a25) before demonstrating the finest display of tellbox-ship I have ever witnessed. I call off with 88 to find he has  KQo. Obvious king on the turn is obvious for 42k pot! Get AQo in over a limp next hand for 17bb against 88 and still don't do a win after flopping Q52, why wouldn't there be an 8 on the river?

Moan over, very cathartic. We resume battle tomorrow.

            Ok,let's see if I can paint the picture of the slow role. We are in the first level of the €300 + €100 Turbo Bounty. It's 20,000 chips and a 15 minute clock. We are in level 1 and the blinds are 25/50. This is France so although it's labelled a Turbo a lot of the dealers are efficiently slow, every decision is a tank and we have played 11 minutes as the second hand begins.
             ( readers also have to realise that before sitting down you have been subject to the mental torture called registering, see Alex's diary for description of process ).

The characters.Player one is a normal looking guy.French and a rosy glow to his cheeks. He has a nice smile and what I would call a positive countenance. Player two,well let's call him The Villain. He is about 25. He is wearing a pair of grey tracksuit bottoms and a white T.shirt. Around his neck he has a gold medallion. I have bought jewellery in the past and I estimated the value of the medallion to be about £3.60. His head is shaven at the sides with a little bit of blonde hair in top.With regards to his face,if he was a bird he would be a crow.

So,the action.

The villain is in the big  blind.
Hero is in middle position.

Hero opens for 200.
Everyone folds to the villain who raises to 800.
Hero re.raises to 1,600.
Villain calls.

Flop.      4c  Td Jh

Villain bets 2,000
Hero raises to 6,000.
Villain calls.

Turn.     9s
Villain checks.
Hero bets 6,000
Villain calls.

River  4c
Villain checks.
Hero all in
Villain tanks,tank,tanks,tanks,.............calls.

Hero shows  Ahrt Ac

Villain looks to the right,looks to the left as if looking for a friend.
He stands up,he sits down. He looks to the left,he looks to the right.
The table is waiting.

The slow roll took about 25 seconds. Now get your timer on your phone and sit still for 25 seconds. It's a long time.
He then shows........... 7h   8c.

He scoops a 40k pot,the blinds are 25/50 and the fun on the table was just about to begin. He was a total maniac.
 
Right that's about it for now. The sun has come out. Ed and I are going for breakfast and I have a decision to make regarding the High Roller. I might just chill and play cash later. The French locals at cash is another topic entirely.Time for coffee.



          

          We have decided to have an off site strategy day and driven along
the coast to the delightful small port of Honfleur.Located on the Seine Estuary.
It has a long history and it was from here that French explorers set out and bumped into Canada.
            It was also an artists colony and it was here the Impressionists first met. We have stumbled on a port side family restaurant and enjoying the Plat du Jour. ( menu €17).
            I have had a very nice fish soup and Ed chose the duck gizzards washed down with a ' pichet' of white wine.
 That was followed by la piece du Boucher which today (as most days one would imagine) was faux filet.

(http://pbs.twimg.com/media/BCGVfxqCMAA-7cd.jpg:large)


(http://pbs.twimg.com/media/BCGV6OsCIAAO2eF.jpg:large)


Ed here - father successfully distracted from getting a French bumming in Le 3k hiroller, great success. 300 turbo tomorrow night is the get out stakes, failing that I may have to press my 49ers position.

Sports bar opposite Deauville station later for the rugby (calm yourself TiKay).

Allez charge!!
            

Great thread guys, so many winning quotes...

Glad you're enjoying the French hospitality, shame about the coin flippery.

Best of luck in the final event!!

(http://shootingtimes.media.ipcdigital.co.uk/86/00000074e/a983_orh100000w268/french-pigeon.jpg)

Photofit of the villains of the piece thus far. Whoever shopped this image must also have played poker in France.

I can picture him now and I don't like what I'm seeing.

Awesome description :D

(http://www.zap2it.com/media/photo/2006-08/25133605.jpg)

C'est a moi que tu parles?

Point for first to get the actor, bonus point for the film.

Vince Cassell (sp?)

That from La Haîne?

A point for you both. Bonus for why the reference is quite so pertinent...

For a really special bonus what ties Vincent Cassel to Deauville Casino?

Wed there ?

No idea tbh, his missus is Incred though  ;kev;

The Casino was robbed in the 2008 film Mesrine: L'ennemi public № 1 starring Cassel

Well done taxi man. Great movie . Ed and I are now
playing cash on a table which is a mixture of locals and the odd EPT visitor.
Going well so far but it's early. Ed will no doubt recount some hands tomorrow.He coolered the same guy twice with aa v KK
and AQ v QK. Nice for him to get a few early double ups.

Are you staying for the duration of the Ept.

Meanwhile the Iancredible 100 has 400 runners pre reg'd as would has got out that you are in France and someone else has a chance to win one of these

No Jason we are returning tomorrow or Tuesday. Great to see so many runners in the Incredible 100.
          Yesterday we avoided any comps and played a cash session where I donated a chunk and Ed won a chunk.
He will post full details later but it will include yet another slow roll ( the younger French guys seem to think this is part of the game here because this one was a beauty ) and also details of a particulary odd young man who was either a little autistic,simple or a genius because his style of play was unfathomable and he got the lot.
              It's a real shame they don't do the Deauville leg of the EPT in the summer. Right,off to the cafe for breakfast and coffee and to make a plan for the day. Tonight we go into the €300 turbo which is our last chance to get a return for the backers. If Ed runs like he did last night at the cash we have a chance.
                Good luck all blondes who are in the DTD Deepstack. What Simon and Rob and his team have created in Nottingham is actually unbelievable and they deserve every credit.I imagine the place was humming last night.
                    Morale is fine. Feel very sorry having seen the pictures of Paul Gascoigne this morning. How very sad.

Dear lord some of the funniest write ups ever. absolutely loving this thread.


Mesrine is a sick film too!

French fish

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/313880_526248054086099_395173649_n.jpg)

Especially for Tikay

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/269199_526250087419229_946238224_n.jpg)

Facking pigeons everywah

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/217471_526248794086025_1843181271_n.jpg)

The lobster seems good for 15E
Yummy
Prawns are massive

PIDGEONS!!!

        Tonight we play the €300 turbo as our last chance saloon to salvage something from the trip.Although Ed locked up a couple of bags last night at cash.Hence he his now cooking me a pasta dish before washing the car in the morning.
           French morale is on the floor following their defeat to Italy and for this reason only I have decided to wear an England rugby cap at the table tonight. It's a turbo comp so anything can happen. I just flipped a coin and it landed on it's side. I am not sure what that means.

           So you come all this way to be knocked out of the €300 Turbo by your own frigging son. Marv.

:( Too late for Pizzeria Busto?

I am going to rail him to the win or go for a beer with Vicki and Dave.

ahahahahaha



awesome WP Ed!

Ok let's not get carried away but Ed is down to the final 27 in the turbo.
Min cash at 20. He has about 40k, average stack is about 28k and blinds are 1,500/3000 with an ante of 400.
It's crapshoot time. Even a min cash of €600 would seem like a victory. Oh,there's €13,000 up top.
         Blinds shoot up in 9 minutes. There's a massive rail building for this prestigious tournament. Well,me.

GL Ed.

          Taxi to Deauville, calling at Slow Roll Central and Shattered Dreams Parkway.
           My fault for BOKING. It's all over guys. The disappointment we can cope with,It's the hope that kills us.
         
           

Successful revenge bok by father for my knocking him out I'm afraid.

Jammed 10bb from the btn with 95cc  to be tank,called by A6 from the bb.

Rest went in from cut off with Q8o next hand only to be slowrolled by same villain with.....aces. Pigeons everywhere.

Pigeons 6 - 0 Gascoignes

Thanks for the excellent reportage which has been well worth the small investment.

I especially enjoyed your description of breakfast at the market, I could almost smell the coffee.

It's been emotional.

Will calculate returns tomorrow, shouldn't take long sigh.

Also a top 3 moments for your delectation to come.

Thank you all for staking and apologies for failing to bring home the bacon.

Unlucky Ed :(

     3 days of Poker and three slowrolls with aces witnessed.
      Never seen anything like it . Seems like if you get aces then you work on your slow roll
       strategy.

        Ed is a little tilted and has hit the fridge ' Pigeons,frigging pigeons everywhere. Time for some organic cider '
         That's how Baller he is.

        Chilling with the Super Bowl. Ed has a few bob on the '49 ers. Apparently Phil Ivey has a chunk on Ravens.
            Maybe visit a few War Cemeteries tomorrow just to lighten the mood.
             
       

sticking around till tuesday guys?

such a big fan of this thread, please do this again!


faking pidgeons!

Undecided, but if I were a betting man I would go 2/7 'no', 11/4 'yes'.

Good luck tomorrow Al, to Simon/Steve et al too.

PS. Is 95cc a 10bb jam from btn into 15bb sb and 5bb BB?

Unlucky fellas, valiant try. It's been a great descriptive journey, reminding me of Ms Maunder, my first English teacher, who gave me my first glimpse of a lady garden sprouting from the sides of her underwear as she made me sit in front of her for being a naughty boy.

Boy that was a great punishment.

Whats the stacks around u?  Could maybe find a fold but shoving ATC cant be terrible

Were the Beckhams in town?

Seriously though - my envy levels leapt through the roof at this throwaway remark. Bad enough reading about people swanning off to Deauville without dropping that one into the mix.

If I had the money I'd be their Number One Stalker

Genius.

:D

Around for dinner? We have a dinner break in 20mins

Son Gascoigne is in his cosy cottage in Wimbledon and the Father has just got back to
Nottingham so unable to join you Alex. Good luck and mash up those dodgy French angle shooting slow rolling surrender monkeys.

One last post....designed to wrap up the 'highlights' of the trip in classic 'Top 3' format.

3. We meet Dave and Vicki (Mitchell rather than Beckham)

Father has long been a fan of Vicki and was besotted at the mere sight of her billboard in the EPT conference centre, let alone when we saw her and new husband David Mitchell milling around in the lobby.

An amusing debate over what photo opportunity was available to us ensued, with Vicki eventually insisting on a "Sophie's Choice"-esque decision of a photo with one of the two of them. To punish her I selected David, and here is the evidence:

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BCSqidyCMAE0QR2.jpg:large)

You would assume I'm laughing like that because he's just told a hysterical funny....in actual fact I just always look like that because I am a gorm. In the aftermath of Father tweeting the photo the twittersphere went mental (ish), indeed Clare Balding tweeted Ian. He was well chuffed, though not sufficiently social media proficient to respond with anything other than 'lol', which we of course all know means 'lots of love'.

2. Ian gets slowrolled

Bittersweet one this as, looking back, one can't help but laugh, but at the time I must admit tempers were a little frayed. Mercifully I was two seats away from my dad so managed to hold him back before he metered any rough-Westfield-School-1967-1973 justice on the tosser.

The game is very, very splashy, with a couple of reasonable stacks knocking around. Villain in the hand is the 2nd limper and has sat with c3kEur. After a limp or two more it folds to Ian in the SB who goes for the classic squeeze to 100Eur. Folds to Villain who now makes it 260Eur. Ian clicks it to 520Eur from 2.5kEur effective, and the villain tanks/hollywoods for a while before announcing all in.

Father doesn't like it but calls off, asking, "Have you got Aces/Kings?" as he turns over Queens. The French chap looks pretty gutted with life before saying, "I need to see all five cards", and keeping his hand face down as is his prerogative.

 3c 3d Ad x x

Dad's hand remains tabled and a good 5-10 seconds go by before the frog shows the  Ac. Judging by his face when Ian called I am expecting a bagofshit card to go with it but.....oh no, there it is. Another ace. Marvelous.

Diplomatic relations get a bit testy before I rather betray my education by mocking the frog for his lack of 'etiquette', stating I thought the word has French origins. All rather clever I thought. Turns out the word actually means the label in the back of a piece of clothing in French. Marv. We all have a good laugh at my expense and the mood lightens a little.

1. The Wisdom of Fozzy Bear

A dangerous choice for the top spot as perhaps you "had to be there", but I'll risk it. I don't know the name of the chap in question but hopefully you can figure out who he is from the following description....he essentially reminds me of fozzy bear in a gilet, and can generally be spotted hanging around the cash desk queue at the Vic. He is about 6'3" with wavy/straggly hair. He smiles less than in the image below:

(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRF_lZOzdYejiwz9OXiS_2wQ53bqwcjh8F_01I2BOd6DujMtQx1SA)

Fozzy has managed to engage us in conversation and we are discussing the merits of Deauville....

Fozzy: "Yeah, me? I love it here. Great little place. Love it".

Ian: "It's a funny one out of season isn't it though? We came here in August and it was just perfect. Sunny, horse racing, poker, walking on the promenade and the beach...."

Fozzy: "What? There's a beach?"




Thank you all for staking/patience/interest/contributions to the thread and I hope we've given a little amusement to you all.

Thanks, Ed & Ian.

Looking forward to the next trip and accompanying report.

:)

Saving up for the next trip and accompanying bricks

:)

yeah be too. I love your work and most of Ian's stuff is genius.

David Mitchell, what a hero. Great stuff.

Tip of the hat to the photographer, they almost managed to get you both in..

Thanks for all the hits,replies and particularly to our sponsors.
       Since our return Ed has had a good session at cash at The Hippodrome.
We will let the dust settle and plan our next adventure. I fancy Venice,he fancies some obscure Italian Ski Resort.
It may end up being Walsall. Peace and Love. It's goodbye from me and goodbye from him.

Loved this blog..

Id like to try and own a piece of the pie next time, just for some 'ownership' rights to the blog.

Confirmed good session for Ed yesterday at hippo.. He just had good hands, a lot.

:D

Gotta love Gorms <3

Ian, Ed.

Veey sad to see this Diary reach the end of the road, it has been tremendous fun.

Thanks.

PS - Thanks for the Tweet, Ian, with that photo, what memories that brings me, of the journey from Paris, & the town. I recall trying to book a ticket to "Deauville Station" & there was no such station. I hope you don't mind, but I've reproduced below your photo. Pretty little station, huh?



(http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/tikay2/Deaivillestation_zpse95e54fe.jpg)

Very amusing read. No need to stop, just keep posting imo!

Very much this.

What those two wise and gorgeous men both said.

Wouldn't be surprised to see the three posters above me carrying Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.

You should heed their words.

(http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc43/kinboshi/monty-python-life-of-brian-movie-st_zpsb23ea32b.png)

WISE MAN #3: We are astrologers.

WISE MAN #1: We have come from the East.

MANDY: Is this some kind of joke?

WISE MAN #2: We wish to praise the infant.

WISE MAN #1: We must pay homage to him.

MANDY: Homage? You're all drunk. It's disgusting. Out! The lot, out!

WISE MAN #1: No--

MANDY: Bursting in here with tales about oriental fortune tellers. Come on. Out!

WISE MAN #2: No, no. We must see him.

MANDY: Go and praise someone else's brat! Go on!

<3 python so much.

I hope you had to google that dialogue! Knowing it exists is obviously acceptable, but....

Next week the Father and I will both be in Galway taking in some horse racing, some Guinness and playing a modicum of poker.

Any interest in a light commentary?

(http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/tikay2/NEW%20ALBUM/YESSSSS_zps615559ce.jpg) (http://s1147.photobucket.com/user/tikay2/media/NEW%20ALBUM/YESSSSS_zps615559ce.jpg.html)

Hi Bill or Ted

Hell yeh looking forward to some guinnessed views of Galway.

Cheers

 ;woohoo;

              So looks like Ed has phoenixed the diary from our trip to France last year for some laughs this year in Galway. Well let's start with some background. Ed booked some time ago for a Monday to Friday gig built around the 'Galway Race Week' which I think is a big horse racing festival. For those of you who don't know Ed knows EVERYTHING about odds,value,price movements, the flow of money,jockeys,owners,conditions.....the list is endless.The only thing he cannot do is pick a winner. Apart from that he is a good guy to go racing with. His obsessive nerdish personality is perfect for horse racing.
            Anticipating huge losses on the track he expects to be able to win it back playing cash games all night with ' drunk Irish punters' over in Galway for the racing. He has high EV hopes here. If he wins more in the evenings than he loses in the days it will be a nut best week and he will return to poncy Wimbledon Village with enough cash to buy a frozen organic yoghurt from the corner shop.
              Last week I decided it would be good to watch this disaster unfold and checking my calendar saw I could escape the corporate machine at about 12.45 on Wednesday. I could make the dash from somewhere in London ( I could tell you but try not to mix work with pleasure) to Heathrow for the 15.15pm Aer Lingus  flight to Shannon. This will not be straight forward and still trying to work out best strategy for the dash from the City to Heathrow.
              Assuming safe catch of flight I have hired a car for the trip to be picked up at Shannon. I actually enjoy driving on holiday as I do,so little of it during the week.  ( slim).
              Drive to Galway and check into very expensive hotel ( due to race week or because its 5 star) whereas Ed has gone for some student digs to keep his costs right down as this trip is all about him winning money . Really ? I VERY MUCH look forward to updating both readers on his P&L account for this trip.
               At the moment I have a flight that is due to,return on the Saturday which is a bit silly as having got out there it would be more sensible to stay for a while and as I have actually booked holiday I could stay all week................
                So that's about it for now. I will keep a Guinness tally and once Ed shows me how to upload from my phone to this site I will also post the odd picture of Guinness glasses, very small towers of chips and Ed looking very serious if a little like a nob.
            I do hope loads of Blondes win loads is seats on DTD and make it over for what I am hoping will be an hilarious week. Any race tips,pub recommendations welcome.................... ;karabiner; ;karabiner; ;karabiner;

lol can't wait for the updates. Hoping to get out there myself although not 100% yet.

Ian,

To get from the City to Heathrow, the Piccadilly Line (1973 rolling stock, 6 car sets) is easily the quickest (45 minutes) if you don't mind mixing with the general public.

Highly recommended. The train, not the public.

Depends very much on your starting point Teeks. If you are near a,Bakerloo line stop then I would go up to Paddington then the Heathrow Express. I think even with a single change required on the tube (ie. Starting on the viccy line or whatever) that route may still shade it.

Bonus point for the answer to this....

Which two tube stops feature all five vowels?

Will write a post on puntering and pokering soon.

South Ealing and Mansion House.

Some recriprocals for your flight:

1. Give me a nine letter, one syllable word.
2. What connects inept, dissaray, inadvertent, innocent, dismay, unthinkable and impeccable (and others)?
3. Who is the only US President whose full name includes all of the letters of the word criminal? (I'm not including Clinton, as his real surname at birth was Blythe)

Yes, fair point Ed.

If you can access Paddington easily, I agree, the Heathrow Express runs every 15 minutes, & the journey to T1 & T3 takes just 15 minutes, or 21 minutes if you go to T5. Platforms 6 & 7 at Paddington are dedicated to HE.

Uniquely, Heathrow Express is NOT part of National Rail, it is owned by Heathrow Holdings, (formerly BAA), & so is not subject to franchising. VERY punctual, too, over 90% punctuality.

Even better - it has a First Class option (£52 return), & from time to time, I treat myself to that trip, just for the buzz.

Lurve it Ian.

"( Slim )" Hahaha!

   The starting point of the dash across town is Chancery Lane / St. Paul's  so favouring a quick cab to Holburn and Picaddilly line to Heathrow. Let the adventure begin. It's the journey not the destination. Just read up on the Race Week. Looks as if half of Ireland descends on Galway for the week. There also looks to be some wonderful beaches in the vicinity so glad I have hired a car. Obviously I will be spending a lot of time exploring the area as it would be stupid to travel to one of the nicest places in the world and spend all your time playing poker and drinking Guinness. That would be moronic.

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zps05e39a78.jpg)

    Sorry for the random picture but result of photo training
by Red Dog at DTD. Mixture of Photo Bucket and fat thumbs. Will at least take the shirt to Galway. Well,Ed will.

What became of these guys taken under our hero's wing at an early age?

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BQRThwMCIAAb2-3.jpg:large)

Right then...I've realised I've been rather quiet having promised a post on poker-ing and punter-ing a short time ago. This has been to what I believe in the trade is referred to as "writer's block".

In short, I'm not too sure what to say. When I started this thread ahead of the Deauville trip a while back there was a clear subject matter to babble on about - the French. Love them or hate them, and readers of yesteryear will see Father certainly oscillates between the two, I know them and their country well enough to write in a (hopefully?!) relatively amusing fashion. Now, with my departure to Galway imminent, I am at something of a loss. I have a huge respect for the regular diarists on here. Be it Tikay, Red-Dog, Alex, Sean, Nik, Matt, Monda, Tomsom (apologies to those I have left off) they take their time to post, poking their head above the parapet of public judgement each time, just so as to mildly amuse us, their viewing public. So thank you.

The promised piece on punter-ing may take a while to construct. My livelihood remains in the industry and I need to be a little careful about what I write, and so unfortunately when I get around to writing something I am likely to remain on the cautious side of full disclosure. The industry fascinates me, and I have now spent five great years working closely with a subject matter of great interest - as I'm sure most will agree if you have a passion for your 'job' the whole thing is infinitely more pleasurable.

Poker-ing however is something I can certainly talk about freely....so here we go.

I mentioned previously that my beginnings in the game were in the 6th form common room, before playing SnG's once every couple of weeks at University. I then played a bit at Notts Gala, before attending DTD when back home. I was smitten with the game immediately. I like to think I am highly numerate, I am competitive (although in an increasingly controlled manner). I like 'solving' problems. I like doing well at things. The game could have been designed to fulfil a role for a mind like mine.

Viewed through the other end of the lens the above are all a curse. With a grasp of the numbers at hand in poker you can easily draw conclusions as to the approach of others that are often incorrect. A competitive nature can be difficult to appease in a game of which a large part is losing. Not every problem has a 'correct' solution, rather there are huge areas of grey and uncertainty. Normally you lose in tournaments.

My 'eureka' moment came around the time of the Deauville trip. I'm not sure what clicked, but I think I grew up a bit. Where once my focus was hugely introverted, I began to pay attention to others, take an interest in their behaviour, listen to what they say, watch what they do. Cambridge taught me intense focus, an ability to process vast amounts of information, distillation of this information and subsequent presentation of it. It taught me to value success above failure, it taught me to be results orientated. My time at Cambridge in many ways delayed me from 'growing up'.

Where once I focused on myself probably to the prejudice of others I have grown out of that. It's been a combination of things - I have a wonderful partner, a (relatively) settled lifestyle, a clear view of what I want my future to be. Above all of this I know exactly what I value in life. We can delve into all this trippy-hippy nonsense at a later date if anyone can be arsed to listen.... ;)

Then it happened. When at the poker table instead of being self-centred, introverted, focused on reasoning through specificities of the 'world according to Ed'....I looked at others. Talked to them. Listened to them. Understood them.

I am not Tom Dwan. I am not Phil Ivey. I don't have anywhere near the technical proficiencies of any number of players. But, through screwing my head on properly; focusing on other people both in life and at the table, all of a sudden I started to win. Not huge sums, not life changing money, but a sustainable amount at a rate that seems reasonable in comparison with the data I have consulted (there's the newly controlled competitive streak!)



Sorry, this is more waffle than one of Ian's posts, and I'm sober as a judge. I guess if I could boil this down to one key point: in life and in poker think about the people around you. They're more important than you might think.

Boom. Rungood initiated.

Plane kisses the  tarmac at 1344, I make the (hourly) bus at 1355 - strong!

Edit: free wifi on the bus and the sun is out - life heater confirmed.

Enjoy it, Ian.

Was great to see you at the weekend, & I hope you got along nicely with the chap I introduced you to, Adam, the Lawyer bloke chappie. His wife is a Corporate Lawyer, too. They live in Blackburn of all places. Not sure why, but it seems hard to imagine Lawyers living in Blackburn. I thought they were all chimney sweeps up there.  

Pics or it didn't happen.

That IS rungood!

Enjoy Ed. Won't see you there unless I win the friday night DTD package, but have a good one!

  Alex to win package on Friday. Ed to post pictures this evening. Me to catch plane on Wednesday. What could possibly go wrong ?

Confirmed nice couple.Natalie new follower on Twitter taking me up to about 30 followers. As for living in Blackburn not much to add. Cannot imagine there is a lot of work for Corporate Lawyers in that wood of the necks. :-)

Love this thread.

All arrived at the accommodation. Nit that I am I've booked myself a room at Corrib Village, which is normally student accommodation. How anyone at a campus university is expected to seduce a partner for the first time in rooms like this I will never know. Here is a shot of the room I find myself in:

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-MA60bYIOsEU/UfaM7uH40sI/AAAAAAAAABY/ZVq_COrmEa4/w559-h419-no/2013-07-29+16.40.13.jpg)

For context, here is a room I once got taken back to whilst at University (thin, I know, I know):

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-CMcpA_Piq6M/UfaOEL1cApI/AAAAAAAAACA/SlDEOt_X2Po/w356-h475-no/room.JPG)

And here, more pertinently, are a couple taken en route on the coach from Shannon Airport and then on the walk to the campus:

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2BKmp4V6i10/UfZ10EjREcI/AAAAAAAAAAY/NvQqzwShpB8/w633-h475-no/2013-07-29+15.00.08.jpg)

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-UdyXAxevcG8/UfaMbNuKvTI/AAAAAAAAABA/QvxjJ_d3Z7k/w633-h475-no/2013-07-29+15.32.13.jpg)

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-FMuzqz27Lak/UfaMgFZi9aI/AAAAAAAAABI/qtbFF5N6x_w/w633-h475-no/2013-07-29+15.54.31.jpg)

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-8nqQHcrvgGA/UfaMj-o3_oI/AAAAAAAAABQ/LL9VXkCrDXk/w633-h475-no/2013-07-29+15.54.19.jpg)


Now time for a quick chill/nap/shower before heading to the poker village to arrive c45mins before the first buses back from the races.

1. Scrunched? It has to be something like this though whether 'scrunched' is technically one syllable I'm not sure.
2. Will keep thinking.
3. Abraham Lincoln

Only league football club of which none of the letters, when the name is written in the traditional mix of upper and lower case, can be 'coloured in'?

Too easy.

For you perhaps, but then you did invent trivia ;)

Okay then... how about this. I have recounted this story to any number of people and only one noticed the same curiosity I did, doing so immediately.

"I went to a Sam Smith's pub in London (a well priced, non-brand type establishment) and ordered 6 pints of lager. The bill was £12.96."

What is so 'neat' about that (other than it being bloomin' cheap for London town)?

£2.16 is cheap

I will muse


Sam Smiths': Yorkshire's finest etc etc

It was a goodly while ago now!

6⁴ = 1296

1296 is 6 to the power of 4.

Perfectly happy with scrunched as being a single syllable. Nicely done.

Was the particular lager 4%, cos that would be marvellous?

Well done both! Only other chap I've known get it was a pretty tasty Economist so you're in good company.

Thank you. I just copied Tal. When in doubt, copy Tal, & argue with Tom. Never fails.

I saw your Dad on Friday & Saturday, he semed to be in fine fettle, & carefree. Almost as if a problem was about to go away. 

I can't for the life of me think what problem that could me...

   Ed has not posted for four hours which means;
             a) is deeply involved in a splashy cash game where he is winning so much he hasn't time to stack his chips and recount hand histories to both readers of this blog. [    ]
              b) has met Dave Nicholson and decided to have a few beers and has now no recollection of why he is in Galway [  ]
              c) has retired to his student gigs with the realisation that he has not taken enough money to survive 5 days in the company of 200,000 Irish blokes in Galway for a weeks racing and 'the craic'. [   ]
         
              Meanwhile I remain in Marylebone watching the clock countdown to Wednesday when I hopefully catch the big silver bird myself. Just when he probably thought it would be safe to go out.

Sort of. Not a massive win but a nice start to the trip.

Will get some pics of the venue etc. today but for those interested in a little background (saw Mitch asked in another thread re: the games) I would suggest it's not as busy as they anticipated/hoped. That's not to say there aren't games running, but the place wasn't jumping floor to ceiling.

I think at peak count (was there 7pm-3am) there were probably 15 tables running - around 6 1/2 NLH, a couple of 1/2 PLO then maybe a 2/5 PLO, a 2/5 NLH and a 5/10 NLH pretty much.

In terms of the clients frequenting the establishment....when I arrived I was pretty mortified. I joined a 1/2 table that was infinitely more reminiscent of an online game than a game at the Hippodrome or the Empire. Fold, fold, fold, fold, CO raises to 6, Btn folds, Blinds fold. I mean, really?! It's live poker, where's your hutzpah?!

Last race yesterday was at 815pm so I kept spirits high that at c9pm they'd be arriving by the (proverbial) boatload. Certainly some people arrived post racing but not hundreds. I would say that they probably accounted for 3 people/table at peak. This said, there were also numerous locals there enjoying themselves, the race week and the poker festival so don't think it's 5 wizards and 3 punters (tables play 8-handed :)) At times last night my table was pretty bonkers, though as always this ebbed and flowed with the mood/fortunes of its participants.

All in all perhaps a little quieter than I would have hoped, although not entirely more quiet than I was expecting. It takes a lot of heart and commitment to the game to make it from a racecourse to a poker club c4miles away, especially when there are any number of great fun looking watering holes en route. Did get a tip off that the local casino to be at this week is the Eglington, so considering a jaunt there at some point to see what the craic is.

      To be fair Ed I think next week is the main Poker week and this week is mainly about
the horse racing. Don't be to surprised that not everyone who has had a long day at the Races
hasn't rushed over to the Full Tilt Tented Village to spew cash to you !  Equally next week the venue will
full of Poker players. Seems the recreational fish/ whales are increasingly hard to find these days !
         See you tomorrow subject to safe extraction from morning meetings in London. Will pinstripe be acceptable attire ?
        Also is it not time you won a side event or something ?

Toying with the idea of participating in one of the daily tournaments just for a shot at an Irish flag....

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zps8a8180a3.jpg)






Love this advert but not as much as flying to see Ed in Ireland tomorrow .

That is SO spooky Ian, for some reason the very same thing crossed my mind when I read of your upcoming adventure.

PS - Proper expert with uploading photos now, eh?

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zps8a8180a3.jpg)

Good bye City,welcome the Underground.

That is one of THE best adverts ever. I have been eulogising about it for ages.

I can just imagine Mitch in his speedo's doing it.

Jeez , I need help.....

How do you 'unsee' an image?

Lol . Wish I was clever enough to photoshop.

A less successful day yesterday, dusting off the majority of the day 1 profits. Part cold decks, part forcing the action too much for a late afternoon/early evening game. On the plus side, I got to see lilDave playing a spot of HU Vs Gus and met and had a good chat with Claypole. Played the 150Eur comp in a quest for a flag, also think when cash is going poorly its important to have the discipline to take a step away. Played pretty well I think, maintained a stack reasonably well throughout in spite of losing, with one exception, every time I had a player all in with me generally in the ascendancy. Still, no grumbles - life is too short and if one plays well that's all you can do.

Father Gascoigne arrives a little later on, seriously hoping he brings a change of weather in his suitcase as it is currently hacking it down.

Chap fishing just off 'Salmon Weir' (think it's called). Pretty cool, don't see too much of this in London city centre.

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-EegNvdk1kKE/Ufj-57oQUmI/AAAAAAAAACw/kHNgeU3K_s8/s640/2013-07-30%252015.54.22.jpg)

The poker village, square on the dock front:

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-znXnWkwix-M/Ufj_EKHg1NI/AAAAAAAAAC4/jMDzTxKz0oY/s640/2013-07-30%252016.01.24.jpg)

[SHIFT] [DELETE]

    Currently sat in Pret at human zoo called Terminal One.
I wonder if they call them Termimals because that is how they make you feel. I am sure a lot of the people are nice and have a story to tell but the British are heading towards a serious obesity epidemic within 15 years. I feel most sorry for the children. We live in a toxic food environment and I am sure it will be the big issue for the country very soon. Forget smoking and cancer,this will be massive.
     On a more cheery note very much looking forward to the break. Objectives are pretty well defined.
      a) run deep in a couple of comps whilst having fun.
      b) play some cash games, win or break even and have some fun.
      c) visit some of the beaches on the West Coast and have fun.
       d) have a few pints of the black stuff.
       e) get to grips with the photo uploading via photo bucket. Very hit and miss at the moment.
   
        If I achieve these simple goals I will be a happy old fart. Most amusing part of the day was the 'Superman' change in the toilets here. Couldn't arrive in Shannon in a suit could I. Next challenge is the flight and the hire car. Never mind the map reading etc. it's amazing how emasculated you can become at work.

Never mind Galway and pokerz, give us some thoughts on the Owls!

Nice work.

      A little early to say. There are some strong teams in the league and I am not convinced we have the strength in depth to mount a serious challenge. I always start every season with immense optimism which has usually plummeted by about 3.17pm. Never forget going to Ipswich away one sunny day and we were 3 down within 20 minutes or so.
      Cannot see Leicester or Forest or Leeds doing much though   ;ifm; ;ifm;

I had traveled from Paris for that match. Marvelous.

Slim from Edward.

    Boarded. Airbus 320. Tikay will provide full specification.

Luckily for you, i am clever.

looool

   Right. Arrived safely in hotel having managed to handle the drive from the airport. Two very important bits of information.The air conditioning in the room is so loud the room shakes.But that's not a problem because I can open the window and inhale the cool exhaust fumes from the by-pass. Now going to do what every one always does when they arrive tired and hungry,head straight to the nearest cash game and donk a couple of buy- ins before getting acclimatised. Once acclimatised donk a few more buy-ins but not so quickly. Simple . The view from the hotel is a bit like the ring road in Derby. It really is that good.
   But I am here,alive and the shares are up.
     

Best of luck to you sir.

 ;popcorn;

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zpsd4403988.jpg)



In the €150 comp. swerved cash for a sandwich.

  Yes I took the picture and uploaded it whilst folding.

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zps51d9e688.jpg)



No taking pictures of the dealers.

Was about to ask that.

I taught you well.

   Think it was a certain Red Dog actually.

I taught him though.

The poker village is 4 miles from the racecourse?

WTF?

Which is nearer to the city centre?

 The Poker Village is nearer the town centre.

Are you staying for the main Ian?

What is the conventional wisdom for how many runners they'll get?

Coming in on Saturday - really looking forward to it.

First introduced in 1988.

Over 5,000 in service, with another 3,000+ on order, including several variants.

Cost, around $83,00,000 each, excluding optional extras.

Competes with the Boeing 737.

Seats up to 188.

Powered by two CFM56 variants.

The only model & make of aircraft (including variants) that EasyJet use.

RyanAir do not own a single A320 - their entire fleet consists of Boeing 737-800's. King Michael knows best.


Here, for scale, is an A320 alongside a B747.



(http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/tikay2/NEW%20ALBUM/A320B747_zps4e5c8983.png) (http://s1147.photobucket.com/user/tikay2/media/NEW%20ALBUM/A320B747_zps4e5c8983.png.html)

Currently booked to leave this Saturday but will probably end up staying a bit longer than that.

Keep us updated on the cash please guys. Mitch and I might head over on Sunday if it seems deece and if Ian extends his stay

Good luck father & son . Hope u both have a good time in Ireland .

 rotflmfao rotflmfao rotflmfao rotflmfao

More or less a breakeven day on cash, turned a small profit. Afternoon session went pretty hideously, encapsulated by this pearler (apologies for the poker content...):

Chap I have direct position on has been prrrreettyy aggro. Think he normally plays PLO higher but the 1/2 NLHE game was all that was running. We are 6 handed and one orbit previously I have raised QJ utg, he was sole caller from straddle, I ck back AJ9r, call pot on 7 turn, call pot on brick river and he snap mucks.

I open  8h 6h utg over his straddle to 16. Folds round to him, he calls (pot 35).

 Qh 8c 8d

He checks, I bet 17, he raises to 50, I call.

 7h

He bets pot (135), in exactly the same fashion as hand previous, big stack of reds, plonked down. I call.

 7d

He jams like 210, I obviously call to be shown  Qs Qd

I then I chundered, everywahhhhhh.



Evening session went much better. Made one really sexy play where I turned my hand into a bluff otr vs a very competent guy called Alex I have been playing. He was the meat in a Gascoigne family sandwich so felt he was pretty handcuffed. Great spot, he knew it, but not much he could do. Very pure. Then as the game started to get pretty deep, with a couple of chaps in particular splashing pretty hard, we found this beaut.

I am in the straddle with  Qd 7d, think we are six-handed.

utg limps, BTN (seemingly competent on his day, young chap, handles chips well etc. but I think a little worse for wear) makes it 17 playing like 700 (we cover). One of the blinds calls, we call, utg calls.

 Jd Th  5s (pot 68)

Checks to BTN who bets 22. Blind folds, utg seems genuinely disinterested and I make a rather speculative call.

 9d

I check, BTN bets 52 into 112. I call.

 4d

I somehow resist temptation and check. BTN bets 105 into 216. I raise to 325 and he tank calls with  8d 3d

Carlsberg don't do runouts, but if they did....




Right, enough poker nonsense. Today the father and I are off to the course for the Galway Hurdle along with Claypole, Jake and I believe Marc Foggins. Plan was to mix it with the hoi polloi but then father spotted the tiniest drop of rain in the forecast so decided we would join the boys in a box rather than risk wetting his suede loafers.

Given I'm on about 3hrs of sleep I sense this could get messy.

I think you're "sense" is right....plan to get moneys worth a free bar, if I can beat Foggsy there. See you in a bit :)

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zpsdc3e84e9.jpg)

Currently sat on the complimentary coach to the races. Ed is playing OFC with Jake Cody. We have the coach to ourselves.
    'Do you want to play Ian?' Says Jake.
    ' No I think I will give this a miss' I reply.

Probably for the best

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

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zpsd69b3585.jpg)



Well here's the start of the afternoon at the races.

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zpse77ce55f.jpg)

Ed choosing winners with his new best mate.

One direction meets My Chemical Romance

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zpscd1918df.jpg)


Only fair that Father should also have a new best mate.

     (http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zps7fcc0229.jpg)



The drinks of choice today. Guinness for me and vodka and Lucozade for the boys.
We have done ok on the place pot and its all being lumped on
Treasure the Ridge and Don't tell No One.

Vodka and Lucozade?

I've learned a new cocktail now. Does it have a name?

modric

That's Tighty.

Loocozade

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zpsd3a08c21.jpg)

And it comes in. We railed and shoe bombed.

Smirkoff

smirkon

  So we are banking a profit and now lumping a chunk on
' She's a foxy lady'. If this wins it will be a ridiculous ending to 'Ladies Day' at Galway Races.
     I will post a more sober summary of the afternoon later. It is already a little bit messy and the old git may have to swerve the evening..........

Can't believe Gascoigne Sne has sharked my girl....great day, last one wins its golden but we've locked up a profit

Awesome!

Proven that father drinks son under the table....hilarious

And to prove to everyone Jake doesn't run golden he jut lost 15 consecutive Omaha flips on the coach :)

     Oh dear. Ed now playing table football against Mad Marty for money. Poor Ed. just because he used to play a lot when he was 12 he thinks he's good. Has no idea that about 15 vodka Lucazades may have an impact on his game.
     Just heard the inevitable ' I used to be really good at this'. Ed that was when you were 12 and playing  your mate from school.

Score. Marty 6.   Ed. 0.

They think its all over.

Glu Driver

Finally!

Vodka isotonic.

Now I can get on with something else. Good.

Sorry Tal that Lucozade isn't isotonic.

Really??

How about a harvey luke-banger?

Lucozade Sport is the isotonic one.

Blarney Wall Banger

Luke-driver.

Zadka must be

sounds a great trip - long wanted to go to Galway races - any chance stars make this a regular event?

Gotta be Vodkozade surely?

Lightweights....that is all I have to say on the subject ;)

         Phew. I sneaked away from 'The Village' early last night and slept remarkable well in my ring road hotel. For anyone travelling over there are plenty of hotel rooms that can be booked on site so no real need to book in advance. Prices were massively inflated this week ( race week) but normal service to be resumed after the weekend.
          Yesterday was great fun from start to finish. I hope the updates gave everyone a flavour. I left a rather tired Edward sat on a 1/2 cash table playing short stack ninja poker. He came here with the intention of making money from ' drunk guys who had been at the races all day'. Little did he know he would become one of them.
            Today I will be using the hire car for a bit of an explore. There are meant to be some fantastic beaches just north of Galway and with the sun shining today I am hopeful of a more peaceful day. At my age it's all about pacing yourself. Haven't really had much of a nose round Galway yet and that has to be done. It is clear that Ireland is still struggling after the carnage of the financial crash. It's economy was one that fell the farthest after the huge property bubble. All the talk of the 'Celtic Tiger' turned out to be a little inflated and the banks lent substantially to property developers to build buildings that were never really needed as well as lending money to individuals to buy domestic properties at massively inflated prices.It all went horrible wrong. Rates of personal debt are some of the highest in Europe,the economy remains very fragile and despite the natural optimism and warmth of the locals you sense a people who have had the stuffing nocked out of them and have become a little 'risk averse'. Had some lovely conversations with the taxi drivers taking me to the poker village. You can see they are all intrigued by the event and they love 'poker'. Countless questions about what is going on in the tented village. I think they think the €1,000,000 guarantee must be everyday.
            I have a decision to make as to how long I stay. Ed returns today and one of the major motivations was to spend some time with him. As the kids get older its harder to ' take them on holiday' so snatching little trips like this is precious. I remember reading somewhere that one of the best things you can give your kids are memories . Unfortunately I have a feeling Ed will not remember much about yesterday other than how it was his selections that secured the Placepot winnings which paid for the day. He only mentioned that 20 times on the coach back. Oh yes,the coach back. Introduced to 'Omaha' flips where I comfortably crushed Jake Cody as did did the rest of the party.  You see once you have a game with no skill required he's not that good. Actually I was very impressed with Jake. Well mannered,very calm.Enyoying his life but also clearly takes his responsibilities seriously and appeared very grounded. Hilarious run good when on arriving at the races he punts a horse within minutes which obviously comes in at about fives. Name of horse? ' The Golden Empire'. Thought Alex would like that.
           So time for breakfast now and then a steam and massage in the hotel spa before trying to find if Edward made it back to his student digs without getting a tattoo, bumraped and thrown in the harbour.
   
               

Nicely written, sir.

Hello there sailor. Text me the details of your hotel and I will come and say hello.


Where on earth did you chaps go? Remember not wanting to inflict myself on anyone as a partner in the doubles' pool tournament, then popped in for a spot of cash. Net result could have been much worse given I was arguably a little past my best, though equally I was very nearly the drunk idiot who wins everyone's money - regrettably I failed to hold with  7s 8h all in on the turn of  6c 9h Ts 9c against  Jc Jd for a 650Eur pot, sigh.

The trip has been almost exactly breakeven pokerwise, in fact, having done a tally this morning I have 60Eur less in my wallet than when I flew out.

Yesterday was rather a lot of fun. Thanks to Jake and Shaun for organising, and good to meet Foggsy. Always great when you get a bit of a sweat through the afternoon as so good for group morale. Locozade was a curious choice but I suppose it will at least have kept the blood sugar levels up.

But The Golden Empire runs terrible! How could it win?!

Simple: started with the Goulden Empire and removed u.

It was called Golden Wonder anyway, won in a crisp manner :)

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zpsc8fed946.jpg)


So we have found this place for a sea food lunch just a 20 minute drive along the coast road moth of Galway.

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zpsbcae63e6.jpg)

Just by this little harbour.

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zps65ceb762.jpg)


But first we must visit a cafe so Ed can have some breakfast and restore some blood sugar.

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zpsd6cfd6a2.jpg)


And have a walk on the beach to clear his head.

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zpsfe655e01.jpg)


30 minutes yet a million miles from the 'poker village'.

    (http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zpsfd7ba5c0.jpg)



    I think grass has been collected and part stored like this for 100 of years. Up dates from Red Dog to follow.

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zps948b0fee.jpg)



  Roadside religious symbolism reminds you this is a very religious and catholic country. Reminds me of parts of rural France and south Mediterranean countries.

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zps7f1e522d.jpg)



At last. Time for lunch in the harbour restaurant spotted earlier.

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zps358e4e64.jpg)



Here is the name of the place if you come next week. Right that's enough of the travelogue. Time for the post lunch power nap ready to play cash and win the comp tonight. Ed has headed back to Shannon and seeing this is a blog of 'our' adventures it's time to close down for a while until our next road trip.
Apologies for lack of flags, rants and sick poker stories but hope you have enjoyed it. Don't forget,be nice to people because its later than you think. Love and Rockets.

Bloody big moles in Galway.

Fableous foters Ian.

No stopping you now.

Many thanks to you for having the patience to show me how to use Photo Bucket as the transfer vehicle from the phone. What amazes me is the actual picture quality provided by phones these days. I always scoffed in the past about camera phones but now they seem really good quality. Of course they have their limitations but for a 'quick' shot they are great. I loved watching the development of the wild bird shots on your diary some time back. Most hilarious was of course attempts on another diary to take pictures of in flight aircraft. No wonder cement became an interest.

CONCRETE became an interest, not bloody cement.

Wish fishing was as easy.

Even cement moves too fast for him sometimes.


(http://joeclark.org/appearances/atypi/2007/TTC/inscribed/images/Bathurst-Westbound-blurred.jpg)

You can all piss right off to the piss off corner.

I think we need the restaurant review and how many Gascoigne stars it has been awarded before you take your leave of us.

Thoroughly enjoyed this little trip with you guys once again.

Best of luck for the remainder.

    I give the Restaurant a special 5 stars. The Chowder was sublime followed by a very nice and fresh fish and chips. Swerved the oysters after the excess of the day before.
I've been for a walk into town and the place is rocking.(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zps3d107abf.jpg)






The races are a special 'festival' and Galway is certainly lively even if
I am sure Full Tilt are concerned about getting the numbers.

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zps1ea24dc0.jpg)


I was going to end this chapter of the diary when Ed returned but when Mitch flew out I knew I had to keep it going.

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zps5b883551.jpg)

He also brought a few of the DTD boys who are always moaning about bowl comps but never even bink them.

Ahrt

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zps25c8df1e.jpg)

Even Gus Hansen played the €20 Euro Irish Bridge Comp.

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zps6a556210.jpg)


And this is me after last night's cash game. It's very clear I have the nut worst personality for cash games.
Emotional,poor concentration, easily distracted, tell box, predictable, poor analytical skills,like Guinness , the money doesn't matter, play when tired, I am a friggin disaster and yet repeatedly get drawn to the games like a magnet. Last night I lost all the winnings of the week so far getting it all in with QQ when it was SO OBVIOUS he had aces. I called just to satisfy I had made the correct read and because I couldn't lay it down in case he had AK.
    Did the same later with JJ where he did have AK and of course he spiked. Finally did another buy in overplaying AQ on a queen high board where I have the button and all he had was a straight on the river.
     So tonight I am playing a satellite to tomorrow's High Roller which I will probably enter anyway to find myself sat between Gus Hansen and Jake Cody. But that's what it's all about isn't it? I could never find myself playing golf with Tiger Woods or football with David Beckam but you can find yourself sat on a table with the very best in this ridiculous game called poker.
      One other thing. Am I the only one who's body finds it hard to adjust to the poker body clock? Jeez it's hard to sleep late in the morning when you are usually up very early. Waking up with crushing headaches and a body that doesn't know what time it is.
        Will try to post some hands later from the satellite but really don't want to give to many of my 'lines' away. rotflmfao rotflmfao

You had "winnings" after several days there, that's fantastic if a little thin.

Best of luck to you in the high-roller.

I sense something iancredible is in the offing.

Is there a difference between bridge and Irish bridge?

(In before inevitable Irish joke)

Never played bridge, despite my love of chess. Quite cool seeing Gus playing in a slightly different context.

   It's not a local derivative it's the National Championships as it where. I am suprised you don't play Tal. I think it was all the rage amongst the intellectual elite at one time. I certainly went on a ski holiday in about 1984 with a load of Barristers and they would play through the night in the same way we would end up playing Poker these days.
    As for my own game.I felt a lot more comfortable today playing the satellite having rested and being focussed on the game. Didnt win a seat but a lot happier with myself. Poker teaches you a lot about yourself .Looks like I am going to click it in for the High Roller tomorrow unless Ed talks me out of it in the morning. I mean with 25,000 chips and a one hour clock even I can fold to the ante's and give the appearance of running deep.
      Shame about the low numbers so far. I think Full Tilt have put a lot into the venue etc but massively overestimated the size and wealth of the player pool who look to me like they increasingly want to see guaranteed prize pools before travelling long distances etc. The side events so far have been pretty lightweight and some of the comps haven't run. Much as I can see the attraction of Galway one also has to factor in the difficulty of getting to the place. Once you need an airport and a decent cab ride you are competing with some pretty awesome potential venues. Hotels during Race Week have also been a fair chunk.
      It may be hard for the residents of planet poker to appreciate its a very very small community and one that predominately survives on canabalism and a constant supply of new players who aren't scared away after the first few experiences of being eaten alive. There are also some simple things organisers could do to improve the player experience ranging from free tea and coffee to more windows of ' rake free'. To spend so much on marketing an event and then not to consider  the customer once they turn up is a little short sighted . Having said that the  complimentary shuttle bus to the races was a nice touch. A bit more imagination could easily create a better experience .They're trying hard but they have to realise they are also in the entertainment business and the ' expectations ' business. Players expect more and more and without meeting those expectations they will lose customers. The purpose of all business is to get customers and keep them. Once you take them for granted your business starts to die. The game is tough enough without feeling you are also being taken for one by the huge websites. I am kind of assuming the event is basically a loss leader to get traffic to the website? Is that right? Or is the event meant to make money in itself?
        Crikey listen to me. Who do I think I am? Some kind of marketing bloke? Heaven forbid this isn't work it's meant to be my hobby. Might have to find a cheaper hobby.........like transatlantic yatch racing or something.
           Off to snooze now ready for tomorrow's adventures,challenges and disappointments. Really enjoying the break from work and glad I decided to stay on. Amazing what a walk on a beach can do.

       

I am admonoshed

 ;ashamed;

  Whoops. Apols if it felt you were being 'admonished' ( mildly rebuked) as that wasn't the intention. Talking of 'Bridge' I knew that Omar Sharif the legend of Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia was a renowned player and since discover he has his own bridge app for your phone and iPad. He also famously smacked a croupier in a Paris casino once so not really a role model I am afraid.

Glglgl if you play the Highroller. Only you will know if you fancy it and feel/it looks like you will enjoy it, and therein lies the key.

If it looks like a load of dullards who you don't wish to spend several hours engaging with and battling, don't play. If it looks like a chance to play against a few 'stars' of the game and you feel you will derive a satisfying experience, go for it. I'd only spunk the money up the wall anyway so you may as well get in first.

ps. Win please.

Twas only in jest; you're OK.

Never been lured by it. Perhaps, in the last ten years particularly, because I've managed to get my card kicks elsewhere.

I'm sure it is similar to chess. One of the biggest chess shops is in London, called Chess and Bridge, which gives you an idea.

VBOL for the high roller. Hope all your tricks pay off.

  Well I am in, survived a couple of levels and have 29,000 chips. What could possibly go wrong from here.

GL Ian! Staying for the main?

Gl Father. Should I book a flight out to rail the FT?

 Currently 6th in chips ( 6th best player in whole of Ireland) although according to Full Tilt my name is Cascoigne and I am Irish. Must get that sorted before the photographs on the final table. Best player on the table just had a big double .

Been trying to leave Galway for a few days but have kind of got sucked into staying. I may have to stay for the main once I have wrapped this on up of course.

 Well done full tilt. Got my name and nationality correct on the live updates. Top Brit !

I imagine that is an incredibly delicate conversation, so I infer you handled that surgically.

Ouch. Guy with aces gets 3 streets of value from me when I have QQ on a 9 high board. Back to average stack.
   Only one hand since the start of the comp has folded round to the BB. When it did it was mine and I had aces !
    Great game this one. Hope I make the dinner break.

Unlucky on the QQ hand, just cold, doesn't sound like much you could do.

Never. Ever. Never...look when you get a walk. (a) Implied tilt of finding a great hand is too great, (b) just mucking them without looking is very boss indeed.

Enjoy it you oaf, you've earned this opportunity.

Literally.

In one respect, if you never look at your cards, they have no actual value. Amateur theoretical physics ftw.

I always look, although sometimes make a bit of a song and dance by peeling one at a time.

If it's aces, laugh it off and shake the hand of the small blind for his soul read. Easy game.

An old cowboy once told me "there's no point looking up a dead horse's arse".

Feel free to use that next time you get a walk as you flick them in no-looky.

     Had a real roller coaster session. Been moved onto a table with Paidrac ( some Irish legend ) and Jude Ainsworth (?). Well was holding my own and even got a substantial check raise in early which got through. They are all eyes though watching how you play every hand and how you respond to any kind of pressure. Any way just as I was buckling I got AA which for once I slow played and got seriously paid taking me up to 60k. This was to last about 5 minutes when I flopped two pair only for Jude to I assume fop a made flush as he called me all the way and rammed the river such that I couldn't call. Never felt so much  like an amateur.
      However I am still in. We are on a dinner break and although I only have about 28k average is about 38k. I seriously botched one hand where I get AK on the button and only called the mid position raise. Flop comes JQ rag. Villain bets, I min raise and he blasts a massive bet in. Again felt truly schooled and no idea why I wasted a big hand,position and chips......................
       So apart from butchering hands,being schooled and bleeding chips calling min raise with suited aces and never hitting its all going incredibly well.
        What didn't help was having changed tables I left my bag behind ( iPad, passport) only for it to apparently gone walkies. This created a wee tilt period until it was found just where I had left it in the previous break ( in the bar ). Is it age which creates the feeling of always having lost something..........you know......where is my phone, glasses,car keys. Every day is a constant sequence of mild terror as you think you have lost your phone,glasses etc. Hopefully Tikay and Red Dog will report similar affliction or I am seriously in trouble.
         Whilst it still remains quiet here I have no doubt the main event will be awesome and with an overlay predicted and some barmy play their should be some 'value' as well as some serious fun.
            I am going to try and get my game head on now as I really cannot afford to make any more mistakes so I will sign off.

    Of course ' You can follow me on Full Tilt Poker '  or some tosh like that.

Jude Ainsworth is pretty aggro.  He always plays like he has it.  He seems to always have me in his pocket when I play him and seems to be able to select to sit on my table.

Of course, now I have said it, it is inevitable he will have it when you hero him.

You are in serious trouble Ian. I can't remember the last time I thought I had lost something.

Good luck in schooling them kids. A bit of run good is all you need.

Relax and assure yourself you've probably made loads more mistakes. You just can't remember what they are.

Some of us are misfortunate enough to be left with the memories of each of our mistakes, misclicks and transgressions...

  Up to 60k, down to 25k, up to 50k, down to 29k. Like a roller coaster. Being owned by a coupl of guys one being Jude Ainsworth ?
   Butchering hands for fun,bleeding chips, missing flops, taking lines that make no sense.....just another normal comp for me.
   No worries,I have a dream. Make day 2 and play it in a ' I love Galway T.Shirt'.
   

 ' you can follow me on Full Tilt Poker' or some tosh like that.

I just checked the FTP blog to see how you were doing. First hand ur mentioned, check-raise. Surprising...

Flopping for fun. Up to 110k. Table on tilt.

Like

Regards

M

Yeahhh boi.

Now, remember how hard it was to get them and treat them with a bit of respect (yes, I am perfectly aware of the irony of this coming from me).

Above all, enjoy it.

Nice updates. Keep your head Ian.

       Stay calm Ian. Stay calm Ian. Stay calm Ian. Dreaming of a new T.Shirt.

  Table now 6 handed with two seriously good players. If my run good evaporates could be in serious trouble. However the two good players cannot work me out so that's an advantage. I am perceived at the moment as very friggin dangerous ( well that's what I like to think) oh dear,table now 7 and we have been joined by another of Ireland's finest. Glad I am not wearing my England shirt.

    Strategy is to avoid the three Irish guys unless I have a monster and position. That is the plan.

Didn't you lose a watch recently?

If it reaches a point where you have massiv' chips but are feeling knackered, do some quick sums of the cost per round and don't be afraid to call it a night early...

He might have done, but he doesn't remember.

Updates? I'll be seeing you there it looks like...

#touchwood

   Max Silver is just owning the table  and  getting aces for fun. Should have gone to bed !

  Bagged up 111,000. Down to last 12. However we are playing down to 8 tomorrow and have to come back on Wednesday for the final table......due to camera's and live stream etc. I have been trying to leave Galway for days now............

Been an enjoyable read, congrats on the day 2 but more importantly front page of the blog.

Good luck tomorrow

Good luck tomorrow Ian - great performance...now get shit done

Gogogogogogo, the Godfather of Nottingham Poker!

Link to blog?

Gogo Ian. See you in a few days!

Brilliant!

Well done Ian.......

Umm.......

It was a rather lame attempt at subtle humour, (FAIL) which Lucky sussed. He is not a old as you though, Ian, & still retains possession of a complete set of faculties.

Can't be arsed to quote on my phone, but Ian's paragraph about older gentlemen losing phone/bag/glasses etc was was so accurate it made me laugh out loud. (I'm glad it's not just me.) Tony's response was pure gold.

Good luck today Ian.

this diary is amazing great updates

gl Ian

WEEEEEEEEEEEE........

GL_TODAY

Galway Festival: Dwyer leads Irish Poker Open

Here are how the remaining twelve players will stand when they return to play down to the final 7 tomorrow:

Steve O`Dwyer United States 265,400
Max Silver United Kingdom 216,500
Thomas Hall United Kingdom 186,100
Christopher Day United Kingdom 154,700
Marc MacDonnell Ireland 152,200
Ian Gascoigne United Kingdom 111,700
Jason O’Toole Ireland 48,100
Peter Murphy Ireland 38,800
Elior Benjamin Sion United Kingdom 36,300
Paul Weekes Ireland 36,000
Trevor Dinneen Ireland 29,600
Jake Cody United Kingdom 22,000

http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/blog/galway-festival-dwyer-leads-irish-poker-open/#.UgCvHmmjups.facebook

What a thing it would be if Ian could win this, or at the very least, Final!

Go on Gas1 my son.

Run good Mr Gascoigne

Finalling looks a distinct possibility! Live stream magic to follow

The very best of luck to you Ian , win the lot !

Father spreads out after hearing they'll be short-handed at the beginning of day 2.
(https://si0.twimg.com/profile_images/873210795/Iangascoigne56.jpg)

Steve O'Dwyer struggles to suppress a chuckle as Ian gets a check-raise through before announcing 'BOOMSHACKALACKA!!' and pointing with both thumbs downturned at the 'Gascoigne No. 8' text emblazoned on the back of his Inter Milan shirt.
(http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/steve_odwyer_ept9_bar_shr2.jpg)

Jake on hearing that the man to his right has 4x as many chips as him.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ys5UCnjv3O0/UgDIvBX-PJI/AAAAAAAAADM/_t4TtMtoYIA/s620/splitscreen.JPG)



GL Father. England awaits.

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zpsa0351efa.jpg)


Yes I wore this shirt yesterday. Today I have some serious stuff to ponder.
For example what shall I wear? DTD T.Shirt? Galway T.Shirt ? I have a nice little Bob Marley number as well as a 'smashed again' choice of floral or Ed Hardy Gangsta '.All totally ridiculous for a mature man of my age. You see planet poker is just my alternative universe where I can pretend I am 22 and I love it. I just LOVE IT.

Ed phoned me this morning to give me advice. Whilst doing so he told me half the big stacks are all EPT sicko's with millions of dollars in earnings 'so far this year'. So far this year ! Jeez they are in for a shock then when they look me up on the Hendon Mob then.

This morning has been like every other morning. Bland breakfast followed by telling reception I want to extend for another night,phoning Avis and telling them I want to extend the hire car. Reading the times on the iPad, catching up on Bloomberg and Blonde followed by emails and finally the Spa where they tell me they cannot do anything for me till 6 tonight by which time it's too late.


The stack sizes at the moment are interesting. I think there are about 5 with half or less and maybe three with twice as much. So I can basically hurt and be hurt. Not sure what I will do with that but think I need to be careful.
I have to keep putting some pressure on the shorts but also be prepared to call a shove when required. But what do I REALLY know. Very little when I read the PHA sites which obviously I study for about 2 hours a night.
 So the big question. The only one that matters. Forget Syria, world peace,human rights, what to wear today and more importantly for the live stream if I luck box it into tomorrow.
   Shame I haven't got a Blonde Patch. Thanks for all the messages and support. I know it's only a laugh but it's good for morale. Being stuck in this ring road hotel all week has been hilarious in itself.
   

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zpsa0351efa.jpg)

Wools. Here is the shirt. Still minor issues with thumbs.

I can't even work out what this was supposed to say. Have you been taking coaching from Pleno?

Ps. Two fat ladies.


Good luck you big-plated-barsteward.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5A4_jU_IFo

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sYvnUz-UpU

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/970471_10151772235652302_433548667_n.jpg)

Good luck " Father Ian " and it's about time u did something and be proud of . U deserved this win as u str one of best player left on the table . One time sir and bring the throphy back to notts .

Very best of luck to you. Love your diaries.

Vbol Ian

#oldguysrule

Hi Ian, was nice to meet you, seem like a top guy. I had it in the hand you were berating yourself for, I'm pretty sure you lost the minimum. Gl today.

WTF?

Don't see these High Roller types in the Kettle Diary.

Best of luck today!

Win stuff

Very best of luck to you sir and hope to see more posts of your progress to the final table and beyond

Iancredible stuff

My levels of awestruckness just keep moving up the scale

VBOL Ian

     Will need some luck.The chip leader is the winner of the EPT Grand Final at Monte Carlo for over €1,200,000. He has so many flags his Hendon Mob looks more like the bunting at a naval parade in Portsmouth.

If the redraw on the FTP site from last night is correct I think your table should look as below on resumption:

Seat 2 Thomas Hall - 186k
Seat 3 Elior Benjamin - 36k
Seat 4 Christopher Day - 155k
Seat 6 Trevor Dinneen - 30k
Seat 7 Ian Gascoigne - 117k
Seat 8 Paul Weekes - 36k

If this proves to be the case you've swerved Steve and Max which is a nice touch.

Chris will have to be aware when opening BTN to your BB that Trevor is there as a ss in the SB (if you are resuming at 700-1400 then he's playing like 21bb) so that will help. Similarly you should be aware of Paul when opening the BTN to Thomas' BB. Keep an eye out for any dickswinging from the bigger stacks around the time of the FT bubble as they look to exploit the vulnerability of the midstacks.

Tom Hall curates some of the big games out in Macau I think. Files himself on 2+2 as a recreational player but would imagine he can play a bit.

I think Elior Benjamin may be a Vic reg but I could be wrong.

Christopher Day won a side event at EPT Berlin for 70k but other than that no big scores I can see. You can stalk him on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/Chris_Day03

Trevor Dinneen is Irish, cashes going back to 2007 but nothing anything bigger than this would be. All cashes in Ireland only, if he riles you up ask him where he left his passport. Won the PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up in November 2012 for $110k which is comfortably his biggest score.

You - just in case you've forgotten in your old age you're generally a relatively respectable sort but poker provides you with a release to revert to behaving like a child. Should you win you definitely promised to do a full shoe bomb for the cameras. You like to check raise. A lot. Too much one might say.

Paul Weekes - Can't find anything about him on THM



Enjoy and win please. Oh, and if in doubt, swing for the fences. Good luck.

You High Rofler, you.

  Ok.Lets do this. Play down to seven today.

Gogogogo!!

http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/blog/irish-poker-championship-reporting/ (http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/blog/irish-poker-championship-reporting/)

RIU!!!!!

Best of luck Ian, everything crossed for you.

Dem flips (from http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/blog/updates/)

14:35 Three-betting shoving, in vogue
The hand following Sion’s double through Hall, Ian Gascoigne raised to 4,000 under the gun and was called by Elior Sion on the button.

In the big-blind Trevor Dinneen moved all-in for 31,800. The three-bet shove fest continued.

Gascoigne got a count from both players in the pot, called, and Sion ducked out.

It was 8c 8s for Gascoigne and As-Ks for Dinneen.

The flop was Th 4d 9s, not much for the at risk player.

That pesky turn card? The complicating Js.

The river fell the 4s and while Gascoigne might have asked for a board pair, it was of the wrong variety. Dinneen gave a clap and sat down, back to a playable stack.



Father's won a pot since then mind with the old preflop raise from the SB, chk-raise AI on the flop ruse so morale is recovering.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BNDoGz2CYAEtpMB.jpg:large)

Quality thread Dewi.

Good luck father Gascoigne.

"Gascoigne checked, prompting the lively Sion to throw out a 5,100 bet at the pot. When Gascoigne sprung into life with a check-raise all-in for around 50,000 however, Sion’s interest evaporated away and he folded leaving Gascoigne picking up the chunky 25,000 pot, and moving to just under 80,000."

<3

Looks like a redraw down to 9....

Seat 1 - Marc Macdonnell  170k
Seat 2 - Christopher Day   170k
Seat 3 - Max Silver           207k
Seat 4 - Elior Benjamin      27k
Seat 5 - Thomas Hall        190k
Seat 6 - Peter Murphy        45k
Seat 7 - Ian Gascoigne      100k
Seat 8 - Steve O'Dwyer     320k
Seat 9 - Trevor Dinneen     65k


Glglgl Father.

   Right. We are down to 9 handed. I have the winner of the EPT Monte Carlo on my left and he has a zillion chips. Nice. We are on a short break.
 Some hands. I call a short stack all in with 88 he has AK spades. He misses everything but gets runner for back door flush. An early hit.
     I raise with AK. It's been the only raise that doesn't through. Flop comes 7,8,9 and I am sure the button likes this.I continue bet he calls.Turn another 8. I give up on the hand. So first two hands I played and they cost me about 50,000 chips. Fold for an hour and decide need to do something. So I call a min raise in the SB. Check the innocuous flop.Villain bets and I put him all in. Morale restored.
     Raise with A2 dd. two callers. Flop 5,5,2. Checks to me,I bet one caller. Then checks to the river for me to get another nice pot.
    Build stack up to about 90k when this happens. Min raise from UTG of 3,200. Aggro button makes it about 9,000. I see AK in the small blind and to be frank before I knew it I had put 90,000 chips in the middle. Button tanks for some time and claims to have folded JJ. Nice pot and up to about 120,000.
     New table looks seriously tough so need a bit of help from the Poker Gods.

Are we in the flags btw? And what's up top?

Pos   Prize
1   €39450
2   €27840
3   €18560
4   €11600
5   €8120
6   €5800
7   €4642

  Obviously all my chip counts and hand histories are mere approximations to whatever happened. No cash till top 7 so doubt if I will be getting a little Irish Tricolour till then. Ok back to work.

You cant leave Ireland now, you're on the final table.

Ps. Why isn't your chipcount indented on the official site?

Ooh, bubble.

Say hello and good luck to Peter Murphy, ex Bauhaus lead singer and Betfair Poker 2.5/5 legend.

Wise man once say, "Focus on choosing your victims, rather than your conqueror"

fyp  :)up

  Wise words.Fold to the final table and unleash Hell.

BUSTOUT - Elior Benjamin Sion   has finished the tournament placed in 9 position


WIIIIIIIIIIII.........

Final table stream, leggo!

GETTT!

So we are on the bubble now?

Indeed, resumes tomorrow as a live stream I believe.

Right ho

   Just bottled a good spot.Started to rep and bottled on the turn. Come on Ian,where's your heart !

No they play till the money today I believe, till there's 7 left.

Experts are predicting Ian to be chip leader going into tomorrow.

   Boom Final Table,Flag,cash !

BUSTOUT - Christopher Day   has finished the tournament placed in 8 position

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

(http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQfYDZeRludr1fpB8GEYkyKw6Nq91Kv1jvzcV3QR5yGpzDmXSwTSg)

Oioiiiiiiii

Well done father. Now get to finding one of these:

(http://rlv.zcache.com/i_love_galway_t_shirts-r02d289ed8d1442889e69ec52c0e53c69_804gs_324.jpg)

(http://www.picturesof.net/_images_300/A_Colorful_Cartoon_Happy_Leprechaun_Holding_a_Pot_Gold_Royalty_Free_Clipart_Picture_100816-148323-669053.jpg)

Guess you're more of a tournament player then, right?

 ;applause; ;applause; ;applause;

Would someone kindly inform the announcer for tomorrow of Mr Gascoigne's nickname: The Iancredible?

Secondly, do a mega-win.

Bosh.

Oi Oi.....the boss will be pleased ;) - def see you tomorrow to cheer you on. Very well played, absolutely delighted for you.

   Thanks all. Taking a look at the chip counts I need a quick run good or I won't be around long. Mind you I love the camera so I may do some extended tank folding and lots of wriggling around and Italian arm gestures. Should be fun. Have to go now,mad Irish guy insist on buying me a pint of the black stuff.

Congrats on the Irish flag, do a win tomorrow please.

Top work, proud of you.

Best of luck Ian.

Rob just messaged me and told me to tell you that if you do win this, your amateur status will be removed, and you will no longer be allowed in the Friday night game.

Gogogo!!!

Just Iancredible! Pse pse run like a good un tommorrow and geeeeeeeeeet.

Pretty hilarious update from just before conclusion for the day:

16:33 Gascoigne aired out (thanks to Full Tilt blog)

Marc MacDonnell opened to 4,000, Ian Gascoigne called in the big blind. The two took a flop.

Ac 7d  Ahrt

Gascoigne check-called a 4,000 continuation bet. The turn was an interesting one, the  Aspades.

Check-check.

On the 9c river Gascoigne checked a final time and MacDonnell chose to showdown his Qs Tc for queen high.

All his opponent could muster was 2h 5h, not interested in bluffing river the easy way, but rather the fun, check-raise way.

“He check-raised me like six times yesterday, I couldn’t handle it again!” MacDonnell told his tablemates with a laugh


Doesn't sound like you, dad?

Final Table

Steve O`Dwyer United States 528,500
Max Silver United Kingdom 253,800
Marc MacDonnell Ireland 184,100
Thomas Hall United Kingdom 177,600
Ian Gascoigne United Kingdom 83,000
Peter Murphy Ireland 42,000
Trevor Dinneen Ireland 35,100


Gogogogo Father Gascoigne!!

Will arrive tomorrow after and get straight on the live rail and be on permanent Gascoigne watch and update here for the fans!

Lol to the lol

Good luck dude

Have full tilt bloggers not seen the "ian Check raise gets it through gif?!"

please can someone (Alex) point them in the direction of it? It will be hilarious if it makes the live blogging tomorrow

glgl!

would be a lock if it was stars but don't know anyone on the tilt blogging team, but will do my best tomorrow!

Well done on the FT.

   Awoke at 6 this morning by the dustbin men outside the hotel.Pretty standard. Couldn't get back to sleep so lay dozing listening to music through the headphones. Remarkable how relaxing that can be,half awake,half asleep....hearing lyrics you had missed and the music bringing  back memories of times,places and people. Kind of pleased I was woken up in a peculiar kind of way.
   Read the papers ( clever thing the IPad) and checked the work stuff. It's pretty quiet. We are becoming more continental and corporate Britain starts to close down in August.Not to the extent of France but slowly moving that way.
    Booked my return flight to Bham airport from Shannon ( clever thing IPad) and popped down to reception to let them know yes I want another night. ' No problem Mr.Partridge'.
     Sat in the anonymous ring road hotel makes me realise one of the perils of booking on Expedia and not doing a little more research in advance. I am sure there are some fascinating places to stay around Galway near the town centre or by the coast.This place is as dull as could be although the staff are pleasant as are most of the locals.
      Last week I was having breakfast and an enormous bloke asked if he could join me. He had the narled face of a sergeant in the New York Police but he was struggling to walk due to his weight and seemed a little breathless. I just knew he had some stories so we struck up conversation. You see places aren't about the places at all.They are all about the people. He was over for the Race Week. Had been coming over from Chicago for over 40 years having left Ireland as a 20 year old. He loved Chigaco where he 'was big in cement'. Galway races gave him chance to catch up with family and in particularly some of his 14 grandchildren. Imagine having 14 Granchildren. Having two children is responsibility,pleasure and anguish enough but 14. I cannot imagine how that must feel. I hope his health improves.He was a bear of a man with a kind countenance.
       I know a lot of Blonde readers also use Facebook. Following my recent trip to New York I started to follow a brilliant link called ' Humans of New York'. He is a street photographer and each day he posts a couple of photographs of 'normal people' who look interesting.He also asks them a few simple questions to get an insight into 'their story'. It's a truly brilliant site and I cannot recommend it enough.Simple,poignant,interesting. Really like the guys work. If you like social history,photography and people its fascinating.
       Talking of people the hotel is a 10 minute drive into town and I have been conducting 10 minute interviews with the Taxi drivers. They love to chat and find out how's 'the poker going' and you can tell their fascination for the game and a bit of a 'gamble'. One of the drivers was sad to be back in Galway. He was about 60 and had lived in Kilburn for most of his life.He loved London but found Galway too small  and claustrophobic. 'What did you do in London' I asked. I helped build the Channel Tunnel he replied. That and a bit of boxing. He was a heavyweight and fought in a big fight at Carrow Road in Norwich in front of over 10,000 people. I don't like fighting.I had a few when I was younger and never enjoyed the experience.It made me wonder what it was like fighting in front of 10,000 people. Again he had a wonderful kind face. He showed me where he had had 25 stiches in his eye lid. He gave me a mini tour of the town and didn't charge any more.He made me laugh when he pointed to the big imposing church and said ' it's on those steps where the English use to hang us fuckers, shame you didn't hang the fucking lot of us'. I think he felt more London than Irish.
          Well I am off to the beach now for a stroll and some excercise. Worst thing about this poker malarkey is the potential for it to destroy your health through sleep patterns,eating patterns,access to decent food and day light.Never mind the friggin stress and emotional ups and downs. Throw in a few pints of Guinness  and you are not going to make 90 lol.
          I wish I had a few more chips for this afternoon. Just to allow breathing space. I think I may have enough for one 'mistake' and know I have to be very careful. A double up would be brilliant or even a big hand when one of the short stacks pushes on my blind I suppose. There are some humongous stacks on the table so it's going to be a challenge. I think the two short stacks are going to sit tight and hope to ladder a few places which makes me think I should sit tight for a round and then just go mental . I mean,you are never that far behind in a hand are you?
        What could possibly go wrong?


        Have fun,be kind and most of all don't forget......it's only a game. Life that is,not Poker.

Brilliant post Ian . Life is not about money . Agreed 100%. Anyway be lucky today .

Wow, what a great Post. I love it when old folks ramble on.

This, too....

He loved Chigaco where he 'was big in cement'

Fantastic post sir. Best of British for today.

Geo

Chicago?

Big in cement?

Old?

Gangster.

(http://img6.joyreactor.com/pics/post/funny-pictures-auto-lego-gangsters-victim-356946.gif)

(http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/mly/lowres/mlyn1157l.jpg)


Also...win.

Will be watching the live stream and cheering you on! VBOL

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zps389301cb.jpg)



Made the beach for an hour. Loving this trip. Beginning to chill.

Looks nice  :)

GL today.

Very best of luck Ian. Would be awesome to see you do a win. Check-raise them into submission!

Good luck ian.

Great writing Ian. Good luck.

Looking forward to this today!  GLGL.

Good luck you big softie.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1hcfKAcxC0

Saw the reference in your post (which I love btw), and just had to.

Also, with Mr O Dwyer on your left, get reads:

http://www.pokerstars.tv/poker-video-21903-pca-2013-100k-super-high-roller-episode-1.html (http://www.pokerstars.tv/poker-video-21903-pca-2013-100k-super-high-roller-episode-1.html)

anyone know what time this starts?

Good luck today

2pm kickoff.

3pm live stream (is on a 1hr delay).

Ian could simply be the best.

Good luck Chief Donkrecfish!

;tightend;

        T.shirt purchased. It's a belter.

Zomgg spoilers?!

GL today Mr. Ian!!!
Link to the stream please!!

Just put "funny tshirt" into Google images for a clue. Some very rude people out there. Some rather open-minded women, too. One would catch her death outside the way she was dressed.

I have no doubt you have substantially better taste than those people.

(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r655/IanGas/null_zps7b920805.jpg)


Ok Big Boys.