blonde poker forum

"Miss, do you think that a card room is an appropriate place for you?  Does your father know that you are here?"

Binion's Poker Classic. Las Vegas, NV. June 2012.

Ah, the trials and tribulations of the female poker player.  The above statement was dished out to me last summer, shortly after beating one, rather 'old-school', gentleman during a fairly standard hand where I managed to bluff him off a wet board with A high.  He didn't know he'd been bluffed, but was angry that he perceived he had been out-played by a girl.  Heaven forbid.  I have some sympathy for our villain.  Mine had been the latest in a long line of difficult positions he had found* (*read 'put') himself in and the inevitable tilt had followed.  Despite this, I was intrigued as to why his frustration had manifested itself in a suggestion that a poker tournament was no place for a girl.  Last time I checked, it wasn't 1950 and I am pretty sure we now even have the right to vote.  The male players at the table had been given pats on the back and "nice bet" or "good job" when they had pulled the same trick.

My response?  "No Sir, but my husband does and he is sitting right behind you.  Perhaps you'd like to take it up with him?".  Strangely, his concern for my welfare dwindled somewhat.

Now let's clarify one rather important point before we settle down.  The above incident is an extreme example.  When I sat down to scope the contents of my summer diary, it would have been tempting to stray into a feminist rant at how male-dominated the game is and rally for the elimination of sexist behaviour.  But that would, in my opinion, be straying into dangerous territory.  Creating a complaint that doesn't exist.  Reclining into a self-pitying martyrdom.  The vast majority of poker players judge their opponents on skill and not by chromosomes.  Nonetheless, I am intrigued by the dynamics of the female game and the idea of focussing on this as a topic excited me - I could share my enthusiasm for the ladies game, whilst at the same time giving the readers a different reading matter during a blog-heavy summer of live poker.

The background to this is my involvement in the WSOP Ladies Championship 2013.  I will travel to the Rio on 28 June 2013 and take my seat alongside around 900 fellow ladies (and inevitably a few men, but let's save that for Episode 2).  Some will be top pros.  Some will be recreational players.  Some will be first-timers.  All will be dreaming of bracelet glory.

Preparation is key and so I need to do my research.  I start in the most obvious way I can; I type "Ladies and Poker" into the oracle that is Google.  Frustratingly, the first hit brings a rather lively blog entitled "25 Hottest Female Poker Players of 2012", seeped in a clichéd array of girls either parading in their underwear or pulling provocative poses.  I sigh, but soldier on, refusing to be drawn into 'that' rant.  Hit number two is the Wikipedia entry entitled "List of World Series of Poker Ladies Champions".  I need to widen the scope.

If we are to start this story at the very beginning, let me put the name Alice Ivers to you (or "Poker Alice" to her closest friends).  Poker Alice was an Old West legend who terrorised Western American poker tables during the 1800s.  Rushing from town to town, she crushed each field and is even reported to have won $6k in one single session.  She was also English, having been born and raised in Devonshire.

Sadly, Alice's pioneering style was not capitalised upon and the ladies game laid dormant for many more years.  Not that ladies didn't play (far from it), they just chose to do so in the comfort and privacy of their own homes.

Fast forward a couple of centuries, and we today boast a list of women who have excelled at the modern game; step forward Vanessa Rousso, Liv Boeree and Annette Obrestad.  These are highly intelligent women, boasting degrees in economics, law, politics and astrophysics, who also happen to have an accumulative total of over $9m in tournament winnings.

And take a bow Vanessa Selbst.  The highest earning female player of all time (around $7.4m at last count) and, regardless of gender, one of the best multi-table tournament players of the modern game.  Selbst coached 2012 WSOP ME runner up Jesse Sylvia.

These are women who love the game and know how to play it.  And when they win, they hail their victories all the more loudly in recognition of the less-favourable odds they beat to get there.

Like all of my fellow friends and table comrades, I love our fair game and the rush it gives each time a hand is dealt.  But I am also proud to promote and encourage more ladies to dismiss their doubts and take to the tables with pride.  Come join the community.

Next up; Episode Deuce - The History of the WSOP Ladies Championship

Great read, looking forward to reading some more.

Welcome to blonde and good luck at the WSOP  :)

Ha!

Welcome to blonde at last, Natalie. What kept you?

Is your Dad going to join blonde, too?

See you later today, I hope. I SO wish you'd arrived here a day earlier.

Enjoy blonde - I am sure you will.

PS - Talk less, yeah?

Nice post love, get back and make sure hubby has a drink while he is playing!

Now the question is, you know me but will you recognise me with this alias?

Hi Mrs Brommers, didn't realise this was you earlier

Welcome along and enjoy Vegas

Hint Natalie

He's not the biggest!

Welcome aboard brommers, good luck in WSOP!

How's the packing going?

Welcome and glgl on the felt!

Morning Natalie.

I must warn you - this is NOT next door.

When you start a Diary here, you are obliged to Post on it regularly, not just make an OP & then run away.

We want NEWS. How much you talked today, that sort of thing.

Failure so to do will incur penalites, or even a ban.

Thought of you yesterday.

Was at Golden Nugget, & they had a Super Satellite to their big Annual Ladies Poker Championship thing.

HUNDREDS of runners in the Super Sat, girls & ladies of all shapes & sizes, but all loving the sense of occasion.

There were 25 seats up for grabs, then some money left over, & with 30 left, some sort of deal was proposed, & they all got something. A show of hands was needed, & they all put their hands in the air - except ONE. Who refused to deal. 

Cue a chorus of chunters, booing, & FLT's (faces like thunder).

They play on, then reach the magic 25, everyone gets a seat, & there was enormous cheering, clapping & whooping.

It was wonderful, just wonderful, to see everyone enjoying themselves so much.

Poker needs to do a better job of marketing itself, there is so much fun to be had out there.
 

The Royal Couple have arrived in Vegas.

They came to see me in the Media Centre at 9am, & have just left, 3 hours later, & during that 3 hours, Natalie never ONCE stopped talking, or even stopped to draw breath.

Anyway, good luck to Natalie today, she is playing the WSOP Ladies Event, Brasilia Red, Table 66, Seat 4.


(http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/tikay2/NEW%20ALBUM/TalkALotBrommers_zpsc034968d.jpg) (http://s1147.photobucket.com/user/tikay2/media/NEW%20ALBUM/TalkALotBrommers_zpsc034968d.jpg.html)

Good Luck today Nat :-) x

Natalie in action, with Adam on the Rail.

FETCH ME COFFEE, & AN APPLE says her Ladyship to the long suffering Adam.

Who do you think I am, Dylan? says Adam.

Seems fair.


(http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/tikay2/NEW%20ALBUM/NatB1_zpsf59273b9.jpg) (http://s1147.photobucket.com/user/tikay2/media/NEW%20ALBUM/NatB1_zpsf59273b9.jpg.html)


(http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/tikay2/NEW%20ALBUM/NatB2_zpsa39e3865.jpg) (http://s1147.photobucket.com/user/tikay2/media/NEW%20ALBUM/NatB2_zpsa39e3865.jpg.html)


(http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/tikay2/NEW%20ALBUM/NatB3_zps9024cc5b.jpg) (http://s1147.photobucket.com/user/tikay2/media/NEW%20ALBUM/NatB3_zps9024cc5b.jpg.html)


(http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/tikay2/NEW%20ALBUM/Natb4_zpsdfbdde76.jpg) (http://s1147.photobucket.com/user/tikay2/media/NEW%20ALBUM/Natb4_zpsdfbdde76.jpg.html)

great opening post - looking forward to the next one.

good luck out there!

Haha, wp sir :-)

ffs hope this doesnt become another tikay diary and the lady returns

Good morning my Blonde Comrades.

Tikay gave me a suitable slap on the wrist for not posting since the OP, but rest assured I have only been hindered by a) trying to get out of the office (I'm a corporate city lawyer ... holidays aren't the easiest things to take!), b) a 10 hour flight and c) jet lag!

Firstly, thank you for the warm welcome. I've been a passive reader for ages now but should have got involved much sooner.  Now I'm here, I'm hoping to use this thread to keep you all up to date with what's happening in the ladies game, both in the UK and in the world. I should really rename the diary just  "Pocket Queens" ... Can I do that?
 
By way of an update, I'm sad to report that I bust the WSOP Ladies about 10pm (6am local time). I had a horrible hand with KK which kniocked me down to 15 bigs, then never recovered. Got it in with AQdd v 10 10 but the pair held. I finished top 200 (the board was a little erratic and not that reliable so the exact position is as yet unknown).   I was really pleased so given that I had to play 7 hours with a certain Liv Boeree (nursing the chip lead) directly to my left. Tough day in the office but I did the Brits proud and wasn't that far off making day two in the end. Sigh.

I will post more when I return, along with some pics. I have a full poker schedule planned for the week so hopefully a nice cash will come my way.

Asta la Pasta you Crazy Cats

B

Gg Ms Belle.

UL :( still well played though

You lucky thing getting to share a table with the lovely Liv Boeree run better (oh yeah i forget your not a bloke ;) )

What else are you playing out there? Whats Mr Bromley playing?

if your posting pics make them of female so we can all rate them please :) (joke from another thread)

Have fun x

Well firstly, I have to say that Miss Boeree was a thoroughly pleasurable lady to spend the day with. Charming, generous with her time but (and this is the key) RUTHLESS!!

I am planning  to spread the week across a wide range of tourneys; more WSOP, Venetian, Aria, Wynn, Caesar's and some downtown.  I am seriously considering the LIPS (Ladies International Poker Series) Championship today at the Nugget (I think). Their very own version of the WSOP Ladies and its only a $230 buy in. Expecting a large number of runners. Ahhhh, tough life eh.

Mr B (aka "The Boy") will be playing the same as me, save for LIPS and a WSOP bracelet on Sun.

In the meantime, I'll be posting live updates on Twitter (@natalie_bromley)

B

Great effort yesterday Natalie, mbn to run K-K into......A-3. Until the A turned.

Once Vegas is over, we'd like to hear more about life back home. "Corporate City Lawyer" - that sort of thing. (Minus, of course, fine detail). And Adam, what does he do with himself when working, that sort of thing.

Thought you lived somewhere dreadful, up north - Lancashire or somesuch? They have LAWYERS up there?

We are VERY different from next door, as you can see. 

If you play that Golden Nugget thing today, good luck. Will take 15 minutes in a cab to get there, & cost around $20.

I will probably be Downtown myself later today, to play the $200 O8 @ Binions, so I'll pop across & see how you are getting on when chance permits.

Greetings from a scorching hot Las Vegas.

Temperatures here have reached startling highs.  Enough to prompt emergency 'cooling stations', postponing all trips to the Canyon and Red Rock and reports of record high temperatures at Death Valley.  What better excuse to stay indoors ...

Today I played the $240 Caesar's Summer Series DS. I had a real dilemma in the end as I also really wanted to play the LIPS Grand Final downtown at the Nugget. In the end, I was swayed by a desire to spend the day in the same building as The Boy.  Part of the appeal of poker for me is the adventures Adam and I go on together and getting to play the game we love as a couple (yes, 'vom', I know).  Still, it's a nice dilemma to have eh.  So many tournaments. So little time.

I really love this event.  I played in it last summer and cashed in 18th place.  I ran deep again today but fell shy of the cash in 54th place, the bubble bursting at 36th.

Interestingly, I ran into a Canadian lady who I shared a table with in that very same event last summer.  She's really great and her and her husband are not that dissimilar to Adam and I.  She actually talked me into playing the WSOP Ladies.

Which also reminds me that I forgot to post "Episode Deuce: WSOP Ladies Championship 2013, A History".  Yes. I'm incompetent.  I'll post it next.  It's not intended to reflect my personal opinion, nor is it intended to sway you either way. What I hoped it would be is a balanced, factual argument.

Tikay - comments noted and sincere thanks for the support yesterday.  You're a gem.

Until next time, stay cool Crazy Cats.

B

Pocket Queens: Episode Deuce - The History of the WSOP Ladies Championship

"Poker is one of the only sports where a woman can compete on totally equal footing with a man, so I don't understand why there's a ladies-only tournament"

Annie Duke, Poker Player Alliance Testimony, 21 July 2010

The date is Friday 6 May 1977.  The time is 12.00 noon.  The setting is Binion's, Las Vegas.  Why is this significant?  Because it was at this moment that the WSOP Ladies Championship was born.

There is a legend attached to that inaugural game, a niggling little rumour that the Ladies was shoehorned into the WSOP schedule to give the wives and girlfriends something to do.  The rumour has never been admitted or denied, primarily because poker records did not exist in the 1970's, but instead it was buried in the archives of poker folklore (just to the left of another legend that Richard Nixon used his lucrative Hold'em hobby to bankroll his election campaign).

We don't even know how many runners Jackie Daniels beat that day.  All we know is that she made history.  She paid the lowest buy-in in WSOP history at just $100.  When she took down first prize, she cashed-in just $5,580, the lowest prize-pool in WSOP history.  She was also crowned the first ever WSOP Ladies Champion.

In 1992, WSOP organisers upped the ante.  Sure, the event had always been a 'bracelet event', however numbers were low; just 110 players had entered the previous year.  The decision was made to increase the buy-in to $1,000.  I can see your bemused expressions at this somewhat eccentric tactic, but the increased buy-in gave the event kudos and the branding of a real 'championship event'.  This in turn attracted the attention of the top female pros from across the Globe.

Then came the breakthrough.  In 2005 the format of the event was changed from Stud to pure No-Limit Hold'em.  Bingo.  The Ladies game caught up with the Moneymaker poker boom and that year a record number of 601 entrants hit the Rio.  Today, WSOP organisers can expect to seat around 1,000 entrants.

So this history lesson is all good and well, I hear you cry, but where is the juicy stuff?    The above serves merely to set the scene of what has become one of the most controversial events in the poker calendar.  Controversial for various reasons; men are unfairly discriminated against, it's condescending to women ... you've heard the debate.

Rather than regurgitate those debates, I pose two questions.  Firstly, is there any reasonable argument that the Ladies Championship should be eliminated from the WSOP Schedule altogether?

Annie Duke thinks so.  In her PPA Testimony, she continued:

“Why is there a Ladies Event if poker is measuring mental acumen?  Are we saying there is a difference between the intellect of men and women that means that somehow we need a separate championship event just for the women?  What is that really saying about how we view women in comparison to men on the mental playing field?”

The issue I, and many others, find with this comment is that I don't believe anyone really views the modern Ladies Event as a tool to counterfeit a perceived mental deficit?  I've not encountered any arguments that suggest that (although of course that is not to suggest that there aren't some out there).  Is it not simply a marketing strategy to encourage more ladies to play?  The WSOP remains the largest live festival on the circuit and year after year amateur players flock to the tables to test their skills against the pros.  The Ladies Event feels no different and provides an affordable platform for bracelet glory in a friendly and fun atmosphere.

The second question is whether the event should stay, but with the emphasis on discouraging men being stopped.  Year after year, men have 'gatecrashed' the Ladies Event, much to the mutual frustration of event organisers and female players.  In 2012, Vicky Coren was one of the most vocal in her  that resolution that men should not be allowed to play:

"I love it that this unique, lively, sociable, light-hearted, novelty event still survives ... if the shyer ladies stopped playing it, it would just become another male-dominated $1,000 - $1,500 NLH crapshoot like the other fifteen in the schedule" (Pick on someone your own size, 30 June 2012)

WSOP organisers agreed and whilst they cannot actively ban men from playing, this year they implemented the strategy of making the event a $10,000 buy-in ... with a $9,000 discount for ladies.  Negreanu labelled it 'very clever'.  Jonathan Duhamel tweeted #letsbegentlemenforonce

Whilst reaction to the move has been largely positive, some corners have voiced concern that "it sacrifices the strategic position ... in previous years WSOP could point to the availability of other open low buy-in tournaments on the schedule ... at $10k there is no longer a realistic comparable for the men to play" (http://craakker.blogspot.co.uk)

This debate is going to run long into the night.  So I finish this piece with a summary of why I wanted to play it.  I have the bankroll this year to play a bracelet event and for the first time, I will actually be in Vegas for the Ladies Event.  I had the pleasure of sharing a table with a Canadian player in the Caesar's Summer Series last year and she had played the Ladies Event (and cashed) the day before.  She had loved it and her enthusiasm for the event was infectious.  I vowed I would play it this year.  I genuinely wanted my first bracelet event to be a relaxed, fun and an altogether lovely experience ... and I can't wait.

Such a slack diary! You haven't answered this...too busy eating pizza?

Omg I answered this  earlier. I said I knew you were magic Bates! Tut.

And don't deny me my pizza. Bromley with no pizza is not nice.

Good morning from Sin City.

It has been a rather busy couple of days, poker wise at least. I spent the whole of Sunday at the Rio whilst the Boy played event #54, a $1000 NLH.  Drew blank on the cashes I'm afraid, but Adam played exceptionally well and busted when his 10s couldn't hold up against AQ.  It was bizarre at how similar our bracelet events played out, but I'll come on to that shortly.  Today we have been back at Caesar's for the Mega Stack Series. I do love that festival.

Before I started playing on Saturday, I went along to rail the Ladies Event Final Table, albeit with a few pangs of envy.  We had a spectacular Ladies Event on the Brit front;  four of our ladies made the cash. Liv Boeree 54th, Claire Renaut in 12th and Lynne Beaumont in 11th.  To top it all off, Eleanor Gudger made the FT and cashed in 6th place for $27k.  Super proud.

I had the pleasure of meeting Eleanor's Dad and Boyfriend on the Rail. What a lovely family.  Both were like little Boys on Christmas Day, giddy with excitement. Add to that mix a whole bag of nerves and the pair of them could not have been more wired!  Eleanor was the calmest of the entire family!

I took a great pic which I'll post when I get home, shrink it and stop getting the 'this file is too large' message :)

A couple of hours later, I witnessed a rather unpleasant episode on my table in the Rio Deepstack.  Our villain had lost half of his stack AA v KK on a xxKxK board.  This made him frown a lot.  The very next hand he 3-bet jammed AK into the very same player, who promptly turned over AA.  At this point, he threw his cards into the dealer's face and stormed out of the building. The cards landed on the dealer's lap and so were easily identifiable, and the Floor was called.  I am sure you all know what happened next, however I was pretty appalled at his behaviour. There is no excuse for lack of manners and basic human courtesy.

Turning back to my opening paragraph, I took Adam for a well-earned beer after event #54 to debrief (as we do after most games).  I was really interested to hear how similar our tournaments had played out.  In terms of chip stacks, positions, timings and exit hands.  This got me thinking - was this caused by the fact that we play together a lot, analyse hands and tactics together and generally study the game in the same way?  Or is there a blueprint to tournament play?  I intend to ponder this over the coming months.

In the meantime, it's 02.30am, it's still 100 degrees and I've just eaten pizza (pepperoni and mushroom for the connoisseurs). I now intend to sleep for 8 hours. Not playing until 4pm tomorrow so have some sunshine and pool action planned.

Until next time.

B

Good morning, from what will be my last post from Sin City.

It's been a funny week.  Setting aside one truly shocking day where I actually considered burning my money instead of playing poker, I've played really well.  I've ran deep in pretty much everything I've played and come close to the cash a couple of times. Still, that elusive cash was proving too hard to catch.

I've spent the majority of the week trying to figure out why I lack the 'killer edge' that it takes to win, rather than just grind deep.  I'm very aggressive at the outset of tournament play, know how to build a stack early but seem to be incapable of keeping it and building.  I'll post more on this when I get home.

Yesterday I spent the day at the Venetian, playing its Deep Stack Extravaganza.  The card room is within the Palazzo and what a beautiful setting it is to play poker in.  Really glad I played it.  Apart from some Chai Tea I tried (in a bid to both stay warm and come off the toxic coffee!). Don't try it folks.  Drink a cup full of sugar with boiling water poured over it.  Will taste less sweet.

In some unbelievable twist of fate, my seat draw for the entire tournament saw me sat to the left of my Canadian friend (see posts above).  We continued our chats from last year, I reported back on the WSOP Ladies and fessed up that I'd mentioned her in my pre-Vegas blogs.  How unbelievable is that?!  Small world ...

Today, we went downtown to play in the Grand Series of Poker at The Nugget.  Old school poker where they only ask you for your first name and you pick your own seat card (bit like picking straws).  I had a great tournament, if I do say so myself, where all of my recent hard work and study finally paid off.  I'm delighted to report a FINAL TABLE with an 8th place finish.  Clearly we aren't talking $$$$ here, but to be honest, I needed the confidence boost more than the cash.  Last girl standing too, which is always nice.

Also puts me as confirmed #bestbromley on the leaderboard for the week. Which is, of course, of even more importance.

That's not to say I didn't have some luck along the way:

- I open jammed from the button with 10bb with 45o and ran into AKo ... Hello Mr flopped 4

- I also jammed from the button over a raise from the hijack with Q9cc v A8dd ... Hello Mr River straight

- But neither come close to the awful bad beat I laid on one poor guy. I open jammed 15bigs from the button with that premium hand that is J2o. Get called by 66. Cards run out J 6 10 10 J. He nearly cried. I was only trying to steal the blinds and antes. Oops.

Amidst all of this frivolity is the delightful news that the ladies are on the WSOP bracelet scoreboard with Dana Castaneda's win in Event #54. A great tale too, which I'll come on to later.

In the meantime, it's home time for us already. Back to the day jobs. Sigh.

Vegas, you've been wonderful. Stay safe and see you again soon.

Until next time.

B

"I hope to become an expert at the fine art of balancing poker with a busy law career" Vanessa Rousso

Indeed Miss Rousso.  The impossible dream.

My name is Natalie Bromley and I am a lawyer. A rather busy one at that. As a result, my life is a delicate balance of being cash rich, but time poor. How on earth did I get here?  And where the devil do I find time to player poker?  Well my friends, make yourselves comfortable and let me begin.

There are only two absolute reasons why I wanted to be a lawyer. One of those is John Grisham. The second is Ally McBeal. The Law Society tells us well in advance that it is not going to be easy. It arms us with a handy check-list:

a) Show you have the academic ability to cope with a demanding course

There is no getting around the fact that your training and education is going to be heavily academic. This starts at school, progresses through college and university and then finally ends its days at law school. After my A-Levels and a slight side-step into drama school (a story which will wait for another day), I found myself enrolled on the Law Degree. You don't have to study law at University, but the law for me was always something I was passionate about. It's an acquired taste I think; I hated subjects like Trust Law (yawn) and Criminal Law (disturbing) but loved European Law (highly interesting and relevant) and Medical Law (fascinating and my favourite).  I also had to write a 10,000 word dissertation on my chosen topic ("Universalism v Cultural Relativism in European Human Rights Legislation"). Yep, I was THAT student.

But then I graduated.  Proving that you get out of life what you put in, I graduated with a First Class Honours Degree in Law. I have absolutely no problem in shouting that brag-post from the roof tops. I am immensely proud of my degree.

(http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=61584.0;attach=35546;image)

And then I found the city.  Enrolling at Law School in Manchester sealed the deal; I was going to be a city lawyer. I just had to find a firm where I could undertake a two-year training contract as a 'Trainee Solicitor'. Easy right? Wrong!

b) Compete with very able people to win a place

This piece of advice is NOT to be taken lightly. I understand that 11,000 law students applied to my firm for the chance to be a trainee solicitor. The application process lasted 8 months, during which time I was interviewed 3 times, attended a full day assessment centre and spent two weeks at the firm working and proving myself (basically a two-week interview!).

But I did it. An intake of myself and 8 of my soon-to-be-very-close friends were to be crowned the Class of 2010.

(http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=61584.0;attach=35547;image)

c) Have a strong interest in and aptitude for the day to day work of a solicitor

Okay so let's be realistic here. This is not an easy job. We work long hours, sometimes work around the clock, and are under constant pressure. As a trainee, I once worked for 36 hours straight on a huge Corporate M&A deal involving two FTSE100 clients that was headline news in the financial markets that following morning. I have kind of forgotten what sleep feels like.

I am now a newly qualified solicitor and have my very first practising certificate. I am a Real Estate lawyer predominately, but specialise in Insolvency Law and asset recovery. It's a fascinating vocation and I still get a tingle of pride when someone asks me what I do for a living.

The downside of this that 'time poor' problem I referred to in my opening paragraph. Like most of you who are reading this, I want to play poker every day. I want to learn the game, improve my game and be the best that I can be. But I have so little time to do that in. Some nights I don't come home from work until 9-10pm at night, well after most nightly events have started. But the upside is that I probably have a higher 'budget' to play with and so have the luxury of being able to select the tournaments I really want to play in.

So in the meantime, I balance work and pleasure and keep reading and studying the game as best I can. Who knows how long I can do this for, but in the meantime I am having a ball!

Until next time.

B

Hope the posts are more regular. Although your 'time poor' seems a bit thin given your recent 'jet-set' lifestyle!!!!

I have been known to travel ....

Natalie!

Newcastle SPT?

Tikay!

Absolutely. Can't wait. :))

Good man.

Love your writing style.

Thank you very much! :)

"Everybody pulls for David.  Nobody roots for Goliath"

The arrival this week of the annual GUKPT Goliath event has got me all excitable about live poker.  It's been a great summer season of live tournaments so far and I can't seem to get enough.  Every weekend I am on the hunt for something juicy to play.

It was this blind enthusiasm that led me to play the Party Poker Old Trafford ME last weekend.  A charity affair that was held in the function suites of Old Trafford.  It was marketed quite well, I managed to satellite in for just $11 and I work a short tram ride from Old Trafford. So I thought I would skip along and see what all the fuss was about.

The majority of players were European and most appeared to have flown over from Poland, Russian and Ukraine. All clearly fans of the Devils and making their first pilgrimage to the Theatre of Dreams.  This, coupled with the presence of Sam Trickett, Jessie May and Kara Scott garnished a somewhat 'tourist' theme to the event; the Premier League Trophy was on show and plenty of Promo Girls were scattered around selling Utd merchandise.  We even had a visit from a few legends; Bryan Robson, Dwight Yorke, Norman Whiteside et al.

Still, it was a fun day.  Trickett managed to ship the lot and plenty of fans went home with signed shirts, boots and other collectables. The Boy won a chip set. Which is currently in our attic with the other chip sets we have accumulated over the past few years.

The trip to Coventry this weekend is likely to be a much more serious affair (and I mean no discourtesy to Party Poker).  I am not a huge fan of the GUKPT, but I very much enjoy Goliath and assign a day out of my annual leave each year to play it.  The programme of events this year is awesome and, on the assumption that both of us will busto, the Boy and I will be entering the "Kings and Queens Mixed Doubles" event.  I have not played one of these before, but I imagine it will either be a) immense fun, or b) a recipe for marital disharmony!

As those of you who know me will have already heard, I am jetting off on another international holiday straight after Goliath, but I will be back well in enough time to smash SPT Newcastle.  Fingers crossed for a profitable end to the summer my Blonde companions.

Until next time.

B

"These two really don't like each other"  Mark Lawrenson

In East Lancashire, you are either Claret and Blue ... or you are Blue and White.  You are never 'either', nor are you ever 'indifferent'.  Me?  I bleed Claret.

At 12.15 today, the 100th meeting of the oldest derby game in English football will kick off at Turf Moor.  It is dubbed El Lanclassico.  Burnley have not won this fixture for 34 years, although this statistic is skewered slightly by the fact that we have only played each other 8 times in that time.  That's a whole generation who has never seen us beat them.  I certainly haven't.  Win today, we put all of that nonsense to bed and fly, albeit temporarily, to the top of the Championship.

I woke up this morning feeling sick.  It is games like this that I think Bill Shankly had in mind when he declared that football was more important than life or death.  For me, it is more than bragging rights at stake. 

(https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/6769_137740087436_2482795_n.jpg)

Burnley have always been the underdog; the perceived inferior cousin to the Big Shots at the other end of the M65.  Since the greatest football owners EVER bought their club (Venky's, for those out you out of the loop), they have been knocked well and truly off their perch and a win today would reflect significantly on the progress Burnley have made.

I am off to find my lucky scarf. 

See you on the other side.

B

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder"  Author, Unknown

Comrades.

It is with my tail firmly between my legs that I once again open the doors to Pocket Queens HQ and welcome you all back into "Brommers' World". It has been a while. I know this, and I apologise for my tardiness. I can almost hear Tikay's chastising from across the pond ... "IT'S NOT NEXT DOOR YOUNG LADY".

There are a significant number of sociological arguments against the need for us to constantly explain our actions. Whilst I can see the benefit of this (ultimately, the people who need an explanation probably won't understand you in any event), I am, sadly, an 'explainer' and intend to write you all a note setting out my reasons for being absent.

We last caught up, no doubt over a steaming cup of frothy coffee and something made out of pastry and coated in icing sugar, back in September of last year. I didn't intend to stop writing, but the truth is that life took over. The arrival of the September 'Quarter Rent Date' (a property thing) saw my working life hit crazy levels of busyness and my head was buried in my desk for very many long hours. Then, at the back end of the year, disaster hit my personal life and I lost my darling Gran. A woman who was as close to me as any mother could be and whose death rocked me more than anything else ever has. I do not intend to write about this right now (the pain is still unbearable), but grief took over me and I found it very hard to function on anything. I concentrated my efforts on just getting through the day and my writing stopped.

I am told that time is the ultimate healer of grief and whilst I do not think I believe this as yet, the arrival of Spring (Summer seems to just be flirting with us right now) brought with it brighter days and a more optimistic outlook.  It is with this renewed energy, that I return to the Blonde fold.

So what on earth have we been up to?  I am pleased to report that the past few months have not been filled entirely with doom and gloom and we did manage to fill our time with some fun things.  All will be revealed ...

B

Hi Natalie,

Really sorry to hear about Gran.

xx

"Not all those who wander are lost" J.R.R. Tolken

Indeed.  Many who wander are on an adventure.  And boy do the inhabitants of Pocket Queens HQ like a good adventure. 

So many of them, it seems, that it has been hard trying to recollect exactly what we've been up to.

Amongst the many things that I deem cool about American High Schools is the creation of the Year Book. I have always wanted one, and so in a bid to record some of our highlights, I decided to make a mini one.

Introduction ...
"Your time is limited.  Don't waste it living someone else's life"

That was the logic of the late Steve Jobbs.

Looking back over the last few months was actually quite exciting. I always knew that The Boy and I filled our lives with great things, but in the dark times that have enveloped me recently I had lost sight of some truly magnificent adventures.

Here are some of our (non-poker) highlights ...

Chapter 1:   A little place in Europe...
Another little know fact is that we are very lucky as a family to own a couple of properties in Hungary.  A very savvy investment by The Boy's parents that are now used as a European retreat when one needs a break from the UK.  The main family home is close to Lake Balaton, a blissfully serene place to soak in some sun, swim and socialise.

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/UgpeuINPcYp8oXNV1AP102QrHkeu4C9XBoJRzgDLxAE=s207-p-no)

The town centre (Siofok) has a restaurant that has been converted from an old water tower.  A very impressive feat of engineering.

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/PzKERDxW6HoMzvoqXOrRY1cBrfh9qXB_8WrmeYvIsbY=w155-h207-p-no)

We also pass a bridge on the drive to and from the Lake.  The sort of bridge that would have Mr Kendall drooling into his coffee.  Just don't look down when you cross it.

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d6_XLIpipf7DQlfXRZ1CpHwl0rXgRalCtb5WZ-Dr10U=w277-h207-p-no)

Chapter 2:  Cruising for a bruising ...
Late summer was wasted swanning around the Med with some close friends on their boat (blatant brag post).  Menorca was our base in the evenings (where we spent the nights partying in the port), but the days were spent sailing around the island, dropping anchor in some stunning little coves and indulging in lazy lunches.

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1.0-9/546891_10151880408717437_1846547917_n.jpg)

I think I will buy a boat when I take down the WSOP Main Event.

Chapter 3:   Hubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble ...
As the summer sun faded and autumn crept in, we found ourselves indulging in one of our favourite festivals ... Halloween.  Call it the Peter Pan syndrome in us both, but we are huge fans.  This year we attended a party thrown by a mutual client of both of ours, where we dressed up and drank merrily.  The Boy donned some very scary Mad Professor ensemble that genuinely scared some folk at Preston Train Station.  Shame it was a Thursday night (*note to self* Thursday is NOT the new Saturday and it is never cool to be downing shots at 2am when you have to be in the office a short few hours later).

(https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/t1.0-9/1431_10152017035262437_1044481789_n.jpg)

Chapter 4:  "It's beginning to look at lot like Christmas"
In a bid to help lift the suffocating levels of grief clouding over me, The Boy took us to London for a spot of Christmas shopping.  London at Christmas is a festive spectacle and, in my opinion, is more "Christmassy" than New York.  Carnaby street is a delight.

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-W4seFSqXlTk/U5DoJ6Duq-I/AAAAAAAABW4/6zfBveBb3Z4/w512-h506-no/unnamed+%25283%2529.jpg)

We managed to blag ourselves into a suite in The Mayfair, had Afternoon Tea at the Ritz and wasted Sunday night in the Cigar Room ... a rather audacious little club where one can draw on the expertise of its staff and unwind in front of a roaring fire with a cigar and a cocktail.

(https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t1.0-9/1526247_10152132631912437_1852897646_n.jpg)

Chapter 5:  The sun is bright, and the powder's bitchin'!
Skiing/snowboarding should be on everyone's bucket list. You simply cannot beat the stress-busting feel-good factor of racing down a mountain in the bright sunshine with the sound of fresh snow crunching under your feet.

(https://scontent-b-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/t1.0-9/p417x417/1173624_10152248615152437_1144761790_n.jpg)

France drew us in the early part of this year and we spent the week in a chalet with the same group of friends that have been together the past four years. We ate spaghetti in the mountains. Learnt to snowboard. Partied Trickett-Style at La Folie Duece.

(https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/t1.0-9/1911706_10152258959997437_1012245803_n.jpg)

Chapter 5:  "Forever and ever.  We'll follow our team ... "
The absolute pinnacle for your Belle was the promotion in May of her beloved Clarets to the Premier League. Leicester may have won the title, but Burnley beat all the odds to take down second place and automatic promotion.

(https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/t1.0-9/10154967_10152368042057437_787524078984509942_n.jpg)

Even more importantly, we beat the shower from the other end of the M65 for the first time in 34 years, in their own back yard and left them for dust to swim around the lower leagues for a bit. Was well worth the wait.

Welcome back to the big times boys.

And that is it.  I hope that you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane.

Until next time.

B

Great read, what stand will you be in next year :D?

Good to see how the other half live!

Great read

Not getting to Vegas this year but hopefully see you at UKPC

Matt

A wonderful read, thanks Natterley.

I had not previously realised thst you are a kept woman.

PS - Had dinner @ Wynn last night, now I look forward to brekkie there with Adam. Feel free to join us.

JHL

Bit superstitious about my seat.  And my turnstile.  Don't have lucky pants tho.

Ah man, bummer.  When are we ever going to be out there together again?!  I miss your little face.

Yep, defo see you at UKPC.  Assuming I can get time off work to play the Main.  If not, we will defos be there at the weekend.

B

Ha! I wish I was a kept woman!!!  Perhaps you can have a word in the Boy's shell like.  I'd quite like to give up this work lark (the dream!)

Glad you enjoyed the Wynn.  My fav hotel.  Breakfast is immense.  Every type of breakfast from every US State and every country in the World.  Pancakes.  Syrup. 

Hey

Good seeing you at the tables this week:)

Can't believe how long that 1st satelite took tonight haha

All the best for vegas, have a great time, and win em all!

And you.

I lost the will to live after that satellite.  Snooze-fest! 

B

"You need three things to win; discipline, hard work and (before everything maybe) commitment. No-one will make it without those three." Haile Gebreselassie

Every poker player has at least one thing in common; they all have an opinion on what it takes to be a successful poker player.  Those opinions are as vast as they are varied.  Ask a table of players for their number one 'success factor' and you will almost certainly hear the words bankroll management, tilt control and discipline.  The one you perhaps hear less of is study.

I have been playing poker now for 5 years, but spent the first two of that at university and law school, meaning that my early play was fragmented and lacking in discipline.  I perhaps consider myself as having played 'seriously' (as serious as a recreational player can get) for about three years now, but it is only in the last 18 months that my game has turned a corner. The reason for this, I believe, is a commitment to learn how to improve my game.

2013 was a frustrating year.  Results were far and few between and I suffered big downswings. I also tilted my head off and lost all focus.  That, coupled with my black cloud, gave me an opportunity to move away from the tables and study.  I committed to spending a significant amount of time reading, watching tutorials, analysing hands and watching play.  I even spent nights loading the tables of players who I considered to be strong and watched their tournament progress.

Gradually, my technical knowledge improved and so did my game.  I returned to the tables, focused and saw the results coming in.  And for the first time ever, my online game caught up with my live game (I do consider myself a live player more than an online player).

I started the year making my debut at The Vic and binked a nice little final table (as well as a bronze medal).  I followed that up very shortly with a top 30 finish in the G 25-25 series. 

(https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t1.0-9/1545980_10152177578062437_1282720616_n.jpg)

Next up was the UKPC, and the chance to catch up with this wonderful fella (who, despite his meanness and bullying, I do adore). 

(https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t1.0-9/1378676_10151984506197079_1662335795_n.jpg)

I won't even pretend that I played at all well and it was a disappointing performance in the end. I am pleased that I didn't let this knockback affect my new found run-good though and I managed to learn from some mistakes and push on.  More cashes followed.

The highlight was, without a doubt, the EPT Grand Final in Monaco, where I competed in the Ladies Event (I am, as you know, a huge fan of ladies events).

(https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/p403x403/10153781_10152409760767437_6893812288915500742_n.jpg?oh=183244f978e5b04c780e78b61606474a&oe=5417C660)

It was a small, but tough field; Kitty Kuo, Hana Šoljan, Annette, Obrestad, Ana Marquez, Celine Bastian and Liv Boeree were all gunning for the trophy. 

I ran into Queen Victoria of Coren-Mitchell (plus hubby) in the hotel lobby and managed to have a quick chat about her recent EPT double-whammy.  Such a wonderful woman.  She must have a left me in a bit of a tizz as I then managed to literally bump into two other players; both Phil Ivey and Jonathan Duhamel nearly headed for a date with the floor as a result of my clumsiness!  Stay classy Bromley.

Despite a terrible start (I was down to 10 bigs and AI for my tournament life twice within the first three hours), I managed to FT and ended up with a bronze medal podium finish.  Given that only five cashed, I was very pleased.  Sure, the trophy would have been awesome, but I really believe that will come soon.

Naturally, it's now time for Vegas and the Boy and I are hitting Sin City tomorrow.  We have a full 11 day schedule to play, plus a few 'days off'.  I feel great and am confident of a profitable series. We have events lined up at the Wynn, Aria, Venetian and PH as well as the Rio and I cannot wait.

The next post will come to you live from Vegas.

Until the next time.

B

Subscribed.

Am just tapping out, shortly to fly the return journey. Vegas is currently full of 21 year olds wearing nothing but tiny bikini tops and fluorescent tutus (...and the girls look even worse baddumtsh). They all seem to make it home ok, despite the logistics. If they held the EDC in England, I can only imagine the results would be much, much worse.

Have a great time.

Good morning comrades. Live from Sin City.

I write my first post in a desperate bid to stay awake. It is 9.30pm on Sunday evening, however my body clock is telling me that's it's 5.30am on Monday morning. So I've almost been up 24 hours. The Boy was this giddy when we left Manchester ...

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/vQK2QeGB1g9Dnxy9fgGU0CVZaolOD26PGIeZC1IzZTU=w370-c-h370-n-o-k)

... He is now fast asleep!

The flight across here was very pleasant indeed. We managed to get upper deck seats, with lovely food ...

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/4WqR0TCqh35GfQ2lEexf8p6WLmsUR-Q1ZtBnLS0Pz7g=w370-c-h370-n-o-k)

... and the world's smallest Fab lolly!

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/Z30WJqfITW8KBr3il5ryU2VK5TjOVOZscE056DKYEow=w370-c-h370-n-o-k)

The good news is that I've actually already won my first tournament. Yes, so it may have been on the games console on the flight. And yes, the computer software may have been programmed heavily in favour of the player, but hey a win's a win!  

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/AzG3UekmGfxj2oEXF1ELNaFWW0UONCSg96JH-fyOGeo=w370-c-h370-n-o-k)

We've now moved into what will be our home for the next week. A lovely suite in the Wynn.

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/YrAcPOwcctaCXVSx5hprvklgVqkF4z4Ic4FeC8ymo5g=w370-c-h370-n-o-k)

We intend to spend some time round the pool tomorrow morning, getting a bit of sun and getting the day jobs out if our minds.
Then it's off to the Rio for 2pm for one or two Daily Deepstacks! I will let us settle in and get some poker under our belts before I return to the fold with some news. Until such time, stay cool you crazy cats.

Until next time ....

B

Morning One ... And despite jetlag leaving us wide awake at 5am, we managed to hang fire until 8am before we got up!

The Wynn is just a wonderful hotel. This is now our third visit, and I can't help but keep coming back!

The hotel rooms are all suites and very luxurious ...

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CxRQCc8PfKA/U6huHTd1q2I/AAAAAAAACAM/CNlMrccBCTo/w1280-h800-p-k/14%2B-%2B1)

There's always somewhere picturesque to eat some lunch ...

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_V8DIGGojPg/U6hvLNltEwI/AAAAAAAACAY/5-OSNxnf4CQ/w370-c-h370-n-o-k/14%2B-%2B2)

And the pool is just awesome...

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Fl_V6l6EW08/U6hvLG-f6II/AAAAAAAACAY/qcZ9UwcyAb4/w370-c-h370-n-o-k/14%2B-%2B1)

Spending a few hours catching some rays before we hit the Rio to rail a certain Ryan Spittles and get our first game in. The Boy just 'accidentally' ordered his first bucket of Coors. This day could go one way or the other ...

B

Great to see you this evening, Natalie......


http://bit.ly/TlkyDy

This is disgraceful.


http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=34057.960

Good morning comrades.

It's now Thursday morning and the start of day 4 (and a half) of our trip.

The poker so far has been generally positive. We got out of the blocks straight away and headed over to the Rio to get involved. And generally cause some mischief ...

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4V8mOcrjpxU/U6vDTbM6-tI/AAAAAAAACCE/wQMQwti_Oio/w854-h800-p-k/image.jpg)

Before hitting the cage to part with the bankroll, we railed young Spittles on his FT. Another excellent performance and a very worthy cash. I have a lot of time for Ryan. A real inspiration to the poker world and a lot of people could take a lead from his example. From a personal perspective, he has been incredibly generous with his time over the years I have known him and always been on hand to offer advice. That man has a huge result coming soon, I do not doubt it.

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-36yV-N1cyw8/U6vDTYuK1MI/AAAAAAAACCM/AWaIgprJGKk/s2048-d/image.jpg)

We've played four tournaments and I have i) run deep in two, ii) bubbled the cash in a third and then iii) finally cashed in the fourth. Wasn't a heavy cash, but it's nice it get another flag under the belt so early on 🇺🇸.

The Boy is currently drawing a blank and facing a 4-0 score line in the last-longest!  He's not sulking. Much.

We've also managed to have a little time off to have some fun. Being a) children and b) as competitive as we are, we decided it hit the Adventuredome for some good old theme park fun. Candy floss and root beer in one hand, ride-as-much-as-you-like wristbands in the other.

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-XrlftkOFqFM/U6vDTYiseNI/AAAAAAAACCM/17mG3JaQURs/s2048-d/image.jpg)

Rather alarmingly, it transpired that I wasn't tall enough to ride some of the rides. Christ, I know I'm short but still ...

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3xuqzQBx3P4/U6vDTfAj68I/AAAAAAAACCM/juvS1RYZdL4/w370-c-h370-n-o-k/image.jpg)

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k9kKCSPR6tI/U6vDTR8CiiI/AAAAAAAACCM/o9pJO69nUds/w370-c-h370-n-o-k/image.jpg)

I did tweet this point earlier on in the evening, but made the worst typo I could have done by saying that I wasn't "talk enough" to ride the rides. Cue, abuse!!  

The side betting at the Adventuredome got a little heated. We challenged each other at laser quest, basketball, hook-a-duck and Donkey Derby. The Boy was outraged when he realised that his camel wasn't moving, despite getting the ball in a few blue holes.  Yes, of course the woman was letting the 6 year old child win. Of course the Boy argued. And of course I ran away disowning him ...

Tomorrow sees the vast majority of us playing the WSOP Monster Stack, which will field unprecedented numbers. We discussed this with young Tikay at the Rio this evening (NB: I may have given him some new material. There may be some abuse following from the young troll) and he suspects we will get around 7,000 runners.  The queue for the cage was insane and we queued for over an hour to get in Flight A

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ujQh_t3bxJ4/U6vDTacd_cI/AAAAAAAACCM/U0HoZJeUjrU/s2048-d/image.jpg)

Young Cambridge Alex was last spotted towards the back of the queue looking broken! He had just had another strong performance at the Venetian and whilst I'm sure he was disappointed not to have gone further, it's another example of some of the class players we have in the UK. Alex is another man who I have a lot of time for. I hope you managed to get in there and get some sleep Sir.

The next post will hopefully be in a couple of days time with some great news on the Brit bracelet front!

Until next time

B

Really enjoy this diary. I do read it, but haven't posted.

What you said about Ryan is spot on. I remember him when he was less shit at poker than he is now, and he's still the same annoying tosser he was back then  :) just kidding, he's a great guy, always happy to be conned into buying me a nandos, and always happy to give advice when asked. A lot of people could learn a thing or two from him. Don't tell him I said all this tho, wouldn't want him thinking I like him or anything.

Glglglgl for the rest if your trip, and keep the updates coming.

Same as Vincent, I've really enjoyed reading this diary, and have just never gotten around to posting.

You write incredibly well, and I very much enjoyed following your article on the Burnley season tickets situation as well.

Best of luck for the rest of the trip!

^^ Thanks very much guys. Very kind of you to say ^^

Anybody else read this as a very expensive cocktail menu?

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3xuqzQBx3P4/U6vDTfAj68I/AAAAAAAACCM/juvS1RYZdL4/w370-c-h370-n-o-k/image.jpg)

I'm fairly sure in Vegas you can pay that kind of money for something called 'The Inverter'. Discretion assured, and all that. Tikay Marky most likely to confirm.

Ha!! How very true.

They probably knicked it from outside XS whilst every other man and his dog were at EDC.

"You can't create a monster, then whine when it steps on a few buildings" Yeardley Smith

WSOP. Event #51. The Monster Stack.

A quite unbelievable turnout for this event. 7381 of them to be precise. And a record attendance for a day one no-entry event.

The players, they kept coming.  And coming. More and more flights were added, with the last of the players getting their chips in the air at 10.40pm. All daily deepstacks, satellites and cash games were cancelled and every single seat in the Rio was taken. It felt like the Main Event. Only, a little less organised!

The guys at the Rio, in all fairness, did a fantastic job in the most challenging of circumstances. No one expected a field this size. It smashed even the most optimistic of projections.

The Boy and I, along with messrs Spittles and Thew, luck-boxed our way into Flight A at 12 noon.

You'd think that a 600 bb tournament at 25-25 would run pretty small ball in the early levels. Nah. Not on my table. We had three all-ins in the first level.

I had a torrid time, if I'm honest, and was getting pretty much murdered in every hand. Moves I tried just did not work (guys were calling every street and a decent river bet with K high (on a four-card straight AND flush board). Hands that did get to showdown were out kicked by one card. Over pairs to the board were beaten by larger over pairs.

And to make matters worse, I a) gave players on my table far too much credit for being better players than they actually were, and b) bottled decisions in key hands. I was bluffed off three very big pots on the flop and if I'd have been braver, I would have been bagging up around 45k at the end of Day One.

Instead, I ate Chinese and drank Pinot in Wazazzu at The Wynn.

My bust out at the end of level six was the result of 10 10 v 7 7. It wasn't me who flopped the set. This was followed a good couple of hours later by the Boy. He seemed to play really well but ran his 8 8 into A A. He didn't flop a set either. Still, at least he's off the mark in the last longest side bet (4-1 now).

So, what better way to lick your monster stack wounds than to tilt-reg the Ladies!!! I'll head back to the Rio at 12pm, ignore all the blighters still left in the Monster Stack and go bracelets hunting with the women.

On to the next one.

B

I don't know what sort of stuff they let you get away with at Sky, but we're proper pedants over this way.

As much as I love you quoting it as Yeardley Smith (the voice of Lisa Simpson), the episode Girly Edition (famous for Homer getting a helper monkey, Bart, Lisa, Nelson and Millhouse fronting the Kidz Newz TV show and the Mattel and  mars bar quick energy chocobot television hour) was written by Larry Doyle.

It's also:


You can't create a monster, and then whine when he stomps on a few buildings!

This website is great for quotes:

http://www.snpp.com/episodes/5F15

(Proper geek porn)

Thank you for reminding me of the classic episode, though. Pray. For. Mojo.

Looking forward to the report of the next one. VBOL in the Ladies' Event. Win big.

Burn.

Noted Sir. I will try harder next time!

You'll struggle to educate Natterley, Simon, she thinks Barnstaple is near Luton.

I'm from Burnley, me. Burp

You've gone five pages without discussing concrete or interior design of vans, so this is either disappointingly sick variance or the start of a great diary.

Keep up the good work. Please.

A good friend of mine and I quote the last line of this bit at each other whenever we've been trumped by a fact (so where we've asked the other a bit of trivia and they've immediately come out with the answer):


Skinner: Lisa, Channel 6 is launching a children's news program.  And they've asked me to select an outstanding student to be anchorchild.
   
Lisa: [gasps] Oh my gosh! [mimicking reporter] Today's top story: little girl on cloud nine as dream comes true.

Skinner: Lisa, I've selected you to be that child anchor.
   
Lisa: [crosses legs] I know.  I already jumped to that conclusion.

Skinner: Oh.  All right, if you're so smart, tell me who I selected to be lunchroom monitor.
   
Lisa: [excitedly] Me?
         
[Skinner pauses and holds up a sash reading "monitor".]

Skinner: Take your sash and go.

Thanks for the kind words Natalie.  Really appreciate it.  (And Vinny too).

GL today, hopefully more poker news updates for you!

Is everyone just ignoring something called the Rim Runner?  Seriously?

Fine, I SAID FINE.

P.S.  Great read this Natalie, I hope you and Adam are having a wonderful and profitable time in Vegas.

Play has just resumed, and Natterley has 1,500 @ 50-100 after losing with Q-Q into A-K no less then three times so far.

Most of the time in poker, your skill will get you there. Other times, only luck will do it.   Meh, the Muggles will always tell you that the game is all about luck.

The 'luck' aspect of the WSOP $1000 bracelet events is getting big hands in the early levels and getting them to hold. With a starting stack of just 3000 chips, you can't afford any errors. Sit tight, wait for your big hands and bet them hard!

That was the set up for today. Event #53. The Ladies. Given that I was still nursing Monster Stack scars, I was determined to be disciplined and not dribble away too many chips in the early stages. You would therefore think that I would hit bingo when I woke up with QQ three times in the first two levels. Not so much. I lost all three hands - AK AQ and A2. It was only the fact that the villains were playing their cards pretty face up that I emerged from these hands with an 18bb stack still in tact. So sigh.

I ground that short stack for another 3 hours but eventually busto when I ran my KJ into AJ.

What would have helped considerably would be to have the luck of Mr Julian Thew.

We ran into the Maestro himself in the MGM card room on Friday night. We were all looking for some easy cards and some easier beers! Julian was about to cash out but was waiting for the MGM's daily draw to be made.

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-thfTK1jtyz0/U65_JHf-7KI/AAAAAAAACDg/YyzdUMN0HxY/w370-c-h370-n-o-k/image.jpg)

In a nutshell, cash players who are in a current session AND sat at their table are entered into a draw where two names are drawn out of a hat. Those players win an earlier determined sum, tonight's being $100. Julian was excitedly waiting to see if his name would be called out. The Boy surveyed the vast card room and the ridiculously high number of players. He looked at Julian sceptically. And said "well, you've got a lock on that surely".

Jules sheepishly returned to his seat. Name number one was drawn. Miss-deal (player not at table). Second name drawn. Not Julian. Third name drawn out, and The Boy and I both lock eyes as we hear the words "And our second winner is Julian ... is that ... wait ... T  .  H  .  E  .  W.?"  The Boy and I weren't sure whether the States were just unaware of the powerhouse that is Thewy, or whether he was getting down with the kids and had changed his name to Julian The W. A la Will.i.am.

Either way, that guy is ridiculous.

It's been a hard week so far and we've only been here 5 days. I'm therefore taking the day off tomorrow and do not intend to move from the Wynn pool and the sunshine that drenches it. Poker sucks.

Still, there are worse places on this planet to de-tilt ....

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3fV1loxHAVU/U65_JPQ1kJI/AAAAAAAACDg/W-TIDmlnJQ8/w370-c-h370-n-o-k/image.jpg)

Today we late reg'd the $600 Wynn Summer Classic. A wonderful two-day deep stack.

First hand I get it in pre with KK v AA.

This is how many chips I now have ...

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-DWmKq5oQAEc/U69F_0hSaKI/AAAAAAAACEg/mvzPklk8638/s1008-Ut/14+-+1)

I'm gonna go get drunk.

So, we got sick.

Inevitable really that at least one of us would succumb to Vegas Flu, but it turns out that this time we both got it.

I had intended on joining the Deadman Rail last night but ended up crawling back to my hotel room, cocooning myself and my grouchy mood under the duvet and hibernating for at least nine hours.

After a monster sleep, hot tea and some mental vitamin shots I did start to feel better but I still really wasn't feeling the poker love. I decided therefore to take the day off; I took myself off and did some sightseeing whilst the Boy hit the Rio.

I started the day at the Titanic Exhibition at the Luxor.

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-xN44Hi4bI98/U7JepR2dMVI/AAAAAAAACIY/7gfUeSD1FEo/w370-c-h370-n-o-k/image.jpg)

It's tells the tale of the famous disaster all the way from White Star Line's concept of a monster ship, through construction, the crash night and up to the recovery of "The Big Piece" in 1998. I absolutely loved the exhibition, which included replica sets of the cabins, a very eery deck from the night of the crash and a breathtaking Grand Staircase. The exhibition centred around artefacts from the ship itself, pieces of the wreckage, the Big Piece (spine chilling) and personal belongings from the passengers. Maybe it was the personal aspects of the exhibition that did it, but I found the whole thing very moving and sad.

Later on I met up with the Boy and we went up to the Stratosphere to view the city from the heights

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5GGwiG8Php0/U7JepcddrLI/AAAAAAAACIY/Z5vWcT2Qmgc/w370-c-h370-n-o-k/image.jpg)

It's completely breathtaking ...

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ZgT7oilptKg/U7JepRJRkEI/AAAAAAAACIY/vtdQlI8E6hc/w370-c-h370-n-o-k/image.jpg)

We rode the Big Shot, which is a ride that's shoots you 160 ft into the air at 45 mph. Oh, located on TOP of the Stratosphere.

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-QvMMeY5FVUg/U7JepUSh4HI/AAAAAAAACIY/wn3yvcc9bCk/w370-c-h370-n-o-k/image.jpg)

I'm a huge fan of these rides but this one is especially excellent. The feeling you get at the top of the ride is what I imagine it will feel like to fly. I recommend.

You also get the opportunity to do a "Sky Jump" off the top of the Stratosphere. Hard to explain without saying you basically jump off the top and fall to the ground supported by a harness. I really REALLY want to do this but have not yet plucked up the courage. That's a post for another day!

Until next time ...

B

Towards the back end of this trip, poker has for sure taken a nose-dive. We started off really well, with deep runs and cashes coming our way.  But we seem to have dried up somewhat!

Yesterday we played the Planet Hollywood PHamous Series. I managed a very deep run but bust shy of the cash (my 13bb shove with AK v 99 didn't hit!).  Frustrating to spend an entire day of your holiday playing and not hitting the dollar, but that's the reality of tournament poker.

So we decided to find somewhere nice to eat. Food has played a much more prominent role in this trip than it has in previous years. Vegas has hit jackpot with the trend for upper class restaurants and we have tried to explore as many as we can.

The one place that has my vote so far is the Gordon Ramsey burger place at PH.

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-zc7k_x9o1As/U7RQBYVUpWI/AAAAAAAACKI/KlD7go24614/w370-c-h370-n-o-k/IMG_4399.JPG)

The decor, the service and the food are all outstanding. I thought the burgers themselves were better than I ❤️ Burger.  Nice little touches include a menu that you take away as a souvenir and an iPad that is left on your table with an interactive drinks menu. Sadly that one you don't take as a souvenir.

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-F35jYsJj9Ls/U7RQBSsOWuI/AAAAAAAACKI/-4t_gdPzb68/w370-c-h370-n-o-k/IMG_4400.JPGq)

The quality of takeaway food and snacks has also had a face lift. You can get toffee apples in all range of designs that are a meal in themselves (even I would struggle to finish one of these bad boys) ...

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-g4SW6VZH8HU/U7RQBdoBudI/AAAAAAAACKI/l8Kz75IEvh4/w370-c-h370-n-o-k/IMG_4404.JPG)

And after extensive research, I confirm this place as the number one pizza place on the strip. You only order one slice. Just the one massive slice. I have yet to finish one slice!!

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--NOSR9o0X24/U7RQBCkSDNI/AAAAAAAACKY/QYDW4gpZFQc/w370-c-h370-n-o-k/14%2B-%2B1)

Tonight is our last night here (two weeks (ish) sure goes quick) and we are debating where to spend our last meal. We're either going to the Picasso at the Bellagio, a stunning venue where you dine below one of the world's finest collections of Picasso's work ...

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-QCa8H2bLCec/U7RQBOqkkcI/AAAAAAAACKs/3WRJnn1KS84/w370-c-h370-n-o-k/14%2B-%2B5)

Or the Paris, a stunning view from the top go the Eiffel Tower (Movie Trivia: "The small one, from Vegas").

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-eluWbMvHhhI/U7RSG_isRTI/AAAAAAAACOQ/81m3O07dkIA/s2048-d/image.jpg)

I'll let you know which one we choose! 

Off to the pool for some sun and fun.

B.

Lovely pics, enjoy what you have left of your Holiday.

Really enjoying this thread, Natterley.

When are you going to mention the Barnstaple thing? Don't worry, I won't, my lips are sealed.

I now have immunity from having the worst geography ever. Taxi driver said to me "Oh wow you're from the UK. You're the second Brit I've had in my cab today. The other was from New Zealand. Is that near where you live?" 

Face palm.

And so it came. The final day of our Vegas adventure. Time certainly does fly when you're having fun.  The Boy and I work very very hard and it's difficult taking time off work. Despite our commitment to taking a full two weeks out of the office, I can't believe it is time to go home.

And what a trip it's been.

Today, poker was off-limits. We started the day at the CSI Experience at MGM. Again, a little childish, but immense fun. You get to asses a crime scene as a rookie CSI agent and then analyse evidence before submitting a report at the end. Yep, you're supposed to work as a team. Yep, we got competitive. Yep, we went to opposite ends of the room to do the final test and submit our reports! We probably need to work on that competitive edge as a couple ...

After a very brief spell of sunshine and cocktails (far too hot; temperatures hit 109 today), it was time to decide on dinner. You will recall that we were tossing up between the Picasso at the Bellagio and the Paris. Picasso didn't win in the end, but we still indulged in our love of art and spent some time in the Vladimir Kush gallery.

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-V-DzGfikdeo/U7UDpVNqqTI/AAAAAAAACRo/72GgO4m3HZs/w370-c-h370-n-o-k/14%2B-%2B1)

This is a guy with a very vivid imagination and a master with a canvas. His whole collection is based on a surrealist view of the world, using metaphorical realism. His work is captivating and if the Boy had not dragged me from the gallery then I may well have parted with $6000 for one of his pieces!

The final event was dinner at the Eiffel restaurant half way up the Eiffel Tower at Paris. What a dinner that was. We dined on an exquisite seven-course dinner and chose the accompanied wine list (one recommended glass per course). We got a table at the window overlooking the Fountains of Bellagio. The food was divine, and the views were stunning.

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-baaKH68lfK4/U7UDpTwxpWI/AAAAAAAACRo/aQ7ZzVk78Yk/w370-c-h370-n-o-k/14%2B-%2B2)

Quite honestly the second most romantic place I've been. Behind the real Paris!

I'd like to sign off this Vegas adventure with a personal tribute, if I may. This trip has been tinged with sadness on a few occasions and I've found myself wrestling tears on more than one occasion. My darling Gran loved this city and unbelievably came here at 80 years of age. My Aunt had to drag her from the slots at 4am every morning. Such a lady. She always dreamed she would come back, but sadly illness took over before she was able. I'd like to share one of my favourite photos of her, beaming at the top of the Stratosphere ...

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-kbtko4tGQI4/U7UDpZoqWWI/AAAAAAAACRo/Co7Otja9KS8/w370-c-h370-n-o-k/14%2B-%2B4)

She brought me up to treat each day like it was your last and I pray that each and every one of you do the same.

So Gran, this one was for you.

Good night, God bless all, and I'll catch up with you in the UK.

B x

Really enjoyed reading this. Great stuff. Loving the Vegas reports.

Sounds like youve had a great trip and you write so well it was good to read.

Hope Burnley do well this year - always had a soft spot for them tucked away like you are - although memories of visiting there in the 70's was occasionally scary.

Thank you so much for the positive feedback guys - I always wonder whether people read so it is very reassuring to hear!

And thanks for the football encouragement RedFox.  We are absolutely going to survive next year.  No doubt.  Top six finish I reckon. Just ask Tighty.  He knows ...

 ;whistle;

Seriously (for once), this has been a great read, Natalie.

Have made a note to go visit "Paris" if I ever do Vegas again. Have never been inside the place, but it looks really very nice.

Really enjoyed it, thanks for posting.

Steady on, it's not THAT good.

"There's no place like home" Dorothy Gale

So.  We're home.  And what a week to come home to!

As well as dealing with horrendous jet-lag, post-Vegas blues and an impossible workload, we have had to contend with the following renovation challenges:

- Scaffolding.  Everywhere

- A new roof

- A face lift for our Tudor work

- Broken Sky (TV ... the actual sky is fine (you will be pleased to hear))

- An attic full of debris

- The threat of our garden collapsing into next door

- The threat of our patio collapsing under our feet

- The actual collapse of our shed

- A new fence to help combat against said collapse

- A broken fridge and freezer (this actually broke 3 weeks ago.  We survived.  Says a lot about our lifestyle)

- A rotten porch

Ahhh, the joys of property renovation. It will be worth it when it is done, but man-alive is it expensive (and stressful) whilst it's going on.

The outside of the house is causing us particular issues, as that involves a lot of structural and build work, all of which are expensive and require the services of expert builders.  Still, when it's done I get to move onto the fun part ... landscaping the garden area.  This is what I have in mind:

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t1.0-9/8757_10151689006002437_1298674899_n.jpg)

As well as a row of pretty lights (such a girl):

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Boq4LYLCMAAB-R9.jpg)

I will let you know how we get on!

In the meantime, I know two little blighters who were pleased to see us:

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/t1.0-9/p720x720/1385932_10152007817672437_1841724063_n.jpg)

Nice to be back!
 

Million you had AJ :P

GL with the pokers.

Really enjoyed reading you're blog, very witty and you come across as a really good writer. Gl in the pokers

Thank you!

I wonder who the cat gets the smug look from?

"Double, double toil and trouble. Fire burn and cauldron bubble" William Shakespeare

(https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/396183_10151272373762437_1929199488_n.jpg?oh=8a95b4f94822f4936967280ce70a9243&oe=54E745F9)

Life for the Boy and I has been predictably manic since we last caught up with you all.  One of the outcomes of being chained to your desk with your head in your files is that every now and again, you're not really sure where the last couple of months have gone?!

Those of you in professional jobs will know that a very important part of our job is mingling with other professionals; be them clients, or referrers or even your competitors.  Business Development, or networking, is hard and it is time-consuming.  But it's necessary.  So when an event comes along that is not only necessary but is immensely enjoyable and fun, you accept your invitation instantly and genuinely look forward to the time spent away from the office.

That scenario is what happened this week.  The Boy and I work for different law firms (I work for a city firm in Manchester and the Boy is a partner in a large high street firm in Preston) but we do have a few clients who we both do work for.  One of those clients throws a Halloween Ball every year, where they hire out a great gothic cocktail bar and brief everyone to come for a night out in full-on Halloween fancy dress.  Brilliant.

I am a huge fan of Halloween and make a fuss every year.  Yes, I know, I get it; it's American and we shouldn't celebrate it and it's all commercial, blah blah, blah, but I can't help it.  It's so much fun.

And who doesn't love fancy dress?  It brings out the theatrical side of even the most shy and reserved individuals.  But also brings its challenges.

That challenge for me this year manifested itself in trying to find a Halloween costume that was "non-slut" and therefore client-appropriate.  Taking into account the current trends for female Halloween costumes, this seemed an impossible task.

I settled on "creepy" and decided to turn myself into a broken doll.  The old porcelain dolls are creepy at the best of times (in the same bracket of clown to many people) but then adding the cracks and the missing pieces gave it a very eery un-dead feel to it.

Here was the finished article.  Given that one of the paralegals who works for me was too scared to look at me, I take that as a success!

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B1NgftaIgAEB172.jpg)

The Boy distressed my slightly by declaring that he was sorting his own costume and make-up out.  Turns out that my doubt was misplaced and he turned himself into a cracking vampire.  I was slightly perturbed seeing him with hair and his desire to excitedly inflate his wings at every given opportunity (#notaeuphemism) was disturbing to say the least, but he did good:

(https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10256949_10204424877037951_9205683586710139243_n.jpg?oh=b97f9c9d1642ce9f5889bfce34c55b17&oe=54ECF842)

The night was a huge success, even if the hangover cures were not (rolling in at 04:00am on a school night is never good; Thursday is most definitely NOT the new Friday).  All that was left was for us to get into our PJs and sob in a dark room … ah, who am I trying to kid?!  We decorated the house, filled a cauldron full of sweets and embraced each trick or treater with with an over-the-top fake scream and a bag full of goodies.

If any of you had a good fun-filled Halloween then let me know; I would love you to share your pics and stories.

Until next time.

B x

Ahh, nice post Natters.

Good luck to both of you in UKOPS, too. Bust that Moorman bloke!

enjoying the Premier league?

i know expectations were low to start with, but its a long old season being out-matched every game (as all three promoted teams look to be to varying extents) isn't it?

Thought they supported Blackburn Rovers?

Funnily enough, I am not enjoying the Premier League in any way shape or form.

When can we go home to the cozy warmth of the Championship?  It's nice there.  We win games.  And score goals.

Sadly, it appears that all three of us will go back down.  Maybe.

Tikay:  I am not biting.

Good to get this diary back!


And who doesn't love fancy dress? 

Ummm...

 ;whistle;

:hello:

"The dance can reveal everything mysterious that is hidden in music, and it has the additional merit of being human and palpable.  Dancing is poetry with arms and legs” Charles Baudelaire

I am sick of hearing my own voice.  Whining and apologetic, droning on and on … “Ohhh I am soooo busy …”.

So when I received an email late last night from a friend offering me some escapism over lunch today, I snap-called.

I am not going to lie, it was not comfortable upping-sticks and leaving my desk in the middle of the day, and I even caught myself justifying my actions to my reflection in the mirrored walls of the elevators (so, like, everyone does that yeah?)

Undeterred, I walked across town and entered the Bridgewater Hall; a stunningly beautiful international concert hall in the Manchester City Centre.  The ticket in my hand told me I was about to watch

“Mi Luna”

A musical fusion of Spanish Baroque and Flamenco with accompanied Flamenco and Castanets by Mayte Beltran.

The performance was being presented by the Manchester Mid-Day Concerts Society.  Run every couple of weeks, the society invites its audience for a short but delightful programme which runs entirely through your lunch hour.  Genius.

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-BDrYR104DU0/VFlr4zg6CrI/AAAAAAAACdI/SsXVAlpoY7A/w455-h606-no/image.jpg)

Not many of my friends and peers spent their lunch hour today being hypnotised by the haunting sound of the Farruca or the dark passion of the Fandango.  But I did.  And I loved it.

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Yf5yvtBbuIg/VFlr46g4aNI/AAAAAAAACdI/XGaW0lVKwaA/w455-h606-no/image.jpg)

I fully intend to take advantage of this new found bravado and take some more “me time”.  I work hard enough and life passes by in a flash.

Every year, the Boy and make a “We promise that we will …”  list.  We hate New Year Resolutions so refuse to make them.  We instead write a list of things that we will do the coming year.  Like a mini bucket list.  Previous lists have included things like (1) go horse riding (2) learn to snowboard (3) go to Edinburgh for Hogmanay etc etc.

I am going to expand the 2015 list to include a section called “Lunch Bites” (I guess sort of like a Side Event) and this will include taking time out of my day to try something fun. 

I shall let you know what my next adventure is!

Until next time

B x

That's a lovely post Natterley, you write reasonably well for a Northern lass.


You play poker pretty good, too - well done in last night's UKOPS Main Event! A smattering of other blondes made the money, too.

  
  
           
railtard11 790000 1st/158 £4305.50
darsum333 0 2 £2583.30
bromley04 0 3 £1580
harrypump 0 4 £1240.30
offshoot 0 5 £1058.60
Iceman_195 0 6 £891.12
Nutter5932 0 7 £737.86
yoyo 0 8 £584.60 PkrPapa 0 9 £439.24
GagginKs 0 10 £439.24  

Marc is no longer a Blonde?

Ha!

On the contrary, I simply forgot to enbolden his name. (Software malfunction, obv).

Have edited my Post now.

Bless you Tikay, but I cannot possible allow this case of mistaken identity to continue.

It pains me to say it (through gritted teeth) that bromley04 is actually The Boy.

I am Bromley023

One Bromley is kicking the ass of the other Bromley in this UKOPS Series.  I will give you a clue ... Your Belle is the one being kicked!

Turning to a quick UKOPS update, last night's Main Event provided us with a wonderful example of the highs and lows that tournament poker variance.

I shared a table with Marc for a while and at a point relatively late on, we found ourselves AI with me covering him for about 2 bbs.  Marc had unfortunately run his JJ into my KK.

The Poker Gods didn't get the memo though, and Marc flopped the J.  He doubled up to a very good stack and went on to win the thing.

I ended up with 2bbs and went out not long after, about 6 places off the cash.

It's a beautiful game.

Burnley 1 - 0 Hull Tigerness Kittens

Wow.

We won a game.

Actually won.

Three points.

Your Belle may have gone into shock ...

Great win for Burnley! Best of luck for the rest of the season (starting after the game against Stoke next week of course)

Thanks.  We need all the help we can get!

I am not at all confident that we will get anything at your place.

Go gentle on us, yeah??!

Congrats to Adam, clearly the best player in the house.


Note that the other Bromley is the only cashee not to take even ONE Bounty.

nozz3r 1080000 1st/216 £2900.88 + £991.67 Head Prizes 6   
benjiblue 0 2 £1731.24 + £686.33 Head Prizes 12   
robert1958 0 3 £1032.48 + £153.65 Head Prizes 3   
kwd 0 4 £812.16 + £662.99 Head Prizes 10   
Buttafngrs 0 5 £691.20 + £277.72 Head Prizes 5   
chicknMelt 0 6 £578.88 + £292.41 Head Prizes 4   
xayn 0 7 £467.64 + £171.10 Head Prizes 3   
rspca12 0 8 £356.40 + £347.45 Head Prizes 5   
bromley04 0 9 £255.96 + £360.95 Head Prizes 8   
Bromley023 0 10 £255.96 0    
3434 0 11 £178.20 + £326.52 Head Prizes 6   
harrypump 0 12 £178.20 + £354.50 Head Prizes 7   
gazza127 0 13 £151.20 + £283.60 Head Prizes 6   
TheCrilly 0 14 £129.60 + £243.17 Head Prizes 5   
Iceman_195 0 15 £129.60 + £241.99 Head Prizes 5   
Claytov 0 16 £129.60 + £37.50 Head Prizes 1   
greg1974 0 17 £129.60 + £159.38 Head Prizes 4   
bcat99 0 18 £118.80 + £134.18 Head Prizes 3   
RossMc 0 19 £118.80 + £110.15 Head Prizes 2   
bishspur 0 20 £118.80 + £131.25 Head Prizes 3   
pj_guzdz 0 21 £118.80 + £164.65 Head Prizes 3   
darsum333 0 22 £108 + £157.03 Head Prizes 3   
mario0 0 23 £108 + £46.88 Head Prizes 1

Nothing more than we deserved on Saturday, finally got a little bit of good luck.

It's funny because now you say if we beat Palace when we should of scored the penalty to win it or if we'd beat Sunderland at home which i think we deserved to do the league table would look very very different.

We haven't been outclassed in every game like the media would want you to believe!

Tikay - that post is brilliant. I'm so rubbish at Bounty Hunters. Every time I cash I've never taken a head! The Boy despairs at me!

Chris - agreed. Our position in the table is a little false imo. Still, onwards and upwards UTC.

Performance appraisal (or performance review) is an opportunity for individual employees and those concerned with their performance, typically line managers, to engage in a dialogue about their performance and development, as well as the support required from the manager (FN 1)

It’s been "annual appraisal week” in the office. That rather painful process that enables your bosses to analyse how you have performed over the last year, instantly forget it, then set you objectives for the next year.

I have been extremely lucky in my current role, in that I have out-performed (possibly by luck, rather than judgement) and I have two bosses who are extremely good at giving feedback. But not all of my peers have been that lucky and I hear so many stories (usually fuelled by the nervous anticipation that breeds from the build-up to the meeting) of poor appraisals and the very de-motivated month that is inevitably going to follow.

The stories are as varied as they are cringeworthy, but it did get me thinking about why such an important aspect of your role could literally reduce the most strong and powerful professional into a nervous wreck.

To me, there is one fundamental aspect of an appraisal that is usually always a recipe for disaster … no matter how impressive an individual can have performed, employers find an insatiable need to include the section entitled “areas of improvement”. Ah yes … constructive criticism.

Now let’s be realistic here. The very purpose of an appraisal is to consider all aspects of performance, both good and bad, and it would be counter-productive to ignore ares that genuinely need improvement. The problem I find with this process is that we seem to have become so obsessed with including advice of how one’s performance can be improved that it has become mandatory to include it. Time and time again, (in previous employment I stress) I have seen feedback forms returned, or managers scolded for not including a plan of how that individual can improve for the next period.

Take "Exhibit A”: Employee Smith receives a performance grade of “excellent”. He has excelled in all of the listed skill sets. He has billed over and above his target. He has introduced more work than what was budgeted for. He has won a large client contact, even thought that was not part of his objectives for the year. Is it too much to ask for a "well done, you couldn’t have done better (taking into account all circumstances) and let’s set a plan for next year”? Leave that box labelled “areas for improvement” blank?

But it isn’t left blank. Instead it is filled with some shoe-horned comment along the lines of “Needs to work on networking with internal contacts”, included because he doesn’t spend lunch with his team. Or something equally as ludicrous.

The reality is that many managers are promoted as a reward for performing well in their own roles throughout the year. They aren’t natural managers and they aren’t trained in the specific skill set that managers require. They feel uncomfortable in praising a subordinate and they are worried about attaching too glowing a report to specific employees, to avoid the inevitable salary increase request that follows. There is also the 'self-preservation’ factor;  a nervousness that flows from a potential leadership challenge meaning that the manager goes into defence mode.

A successful business is built (amongst other things) on finding the delicate balance between two fragile and conflicting concepts. The first is the notion that a business must not fall stagnant and must constantly evolve in order to succeed. It therefore needs its employees to mirror that strategy in applying their own skills and technical knowledge. The other concept is that individuals thrive on positive feedback as it builds self-esteem; they tend to perform better when they are within their comfort zone. I imagine it’s pretty hard to find that delicate balance between the two.

Sadly, there’s probably not an answer here. You can’t stop carrying out appraisals as they are a legitimate tool for monitoring progression. They just need to a) be delivered better and b) prepared for appropriately (yes, accountability for own progression; employees take note).

It seems a funny topic to post in a poker blog. But given that my contribution to your reading matter has been entirely lifestyle-based, I did wonder how often you all take time to appraise your own life. Do you set yourself personal performance goals? Do you reflect each year on what you have achieved? Do you monitor growth or decline in areas such as finance, relationships, hobbies etc?

I don’t. But I would like to. And I am going to. I have recently stumbled across a self-imporovement theory called “20 Little Promises” and I will elaborate on this in a later post. In the meantime I hope that you are all enjoying the last of the weekend and that you are in a good mindset to attack the coming week with positivity and determination.

Until next time.

B

1 http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/performance-appraisal.asp (http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/performance-appraisal.asp)

In a short response, to stay ahead of the game it is essential to reinvent oneself year on year.  Addition get a new skill,  working on a skill that is under-developed; if you want to relate to poker it is Jared Tendler's inch worm method.

Nobody is so good that they cannot improve.

That said, if we are talking about writing something down as constructive criticism because the appraiser is unimaginative and simply wants to tick a box then not sure that is helpful. I've had it happen and just shrugged at a suggestion or had to come up with something feeble myself.  Not sure I would accept that so easily again, though I am sure it did no harm overall.

I have also worked for years without appraisal and it's largely demotivating.  Going back to a target-orientated, very corporate position next Monday and can't wait to sock it to 'em.

^^ Absolutely ^^

Great comments in response and good luck in your new venture.

Oioi!




(http://i3.accringtonobserver.co.uk/incoming/article1318596.ece/alternates/s2197/burnley%20fc%20crest.jpg)

I was not at the game today.

I was in the middle of lunch when I checked my phone to see how many goals we had gone behind by.

I saw the screen ... and stared at it for a good few minutes.

Surely the result must have been mis-typed?  Surely we weren't 0-2 up?!

I may have used naughty language at the final whistle.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B3wOH4nIgAAokPZ.jpg)

So it's December. Where the heck did that come from? Seriously, someone needs to tell Mother Nature that you can do someone a mischief creeping up on them like that.

I love this time of year, so any regular readers who sit on the Grinch side of the fence may want to take a vacation from Pocket Queens HQ for a few weeks.  

Now as much as I love Christmas, I'm not one of those types who has done all of their shopping and put the tree up by the first week of November. The house rule is that Christmas does not officially open until Advent.

And what can be more tortuous for an Elf wannabe than the daily countdown of an Advent Calendar. Ahhhhh, how many days left???  I'm not a big fan of branded chocolate advent calendars and whilst I've always gone for the Dickens-esque picture calendar, the past few years has seen the Boy treat me ... wait for it ... to a LEGO ADVENT CALENDAR. How cool??

This year's is particularly exciting as we've gone for the Star Wars theme. Snow Troopers, fighters and a Santa Darth Vader.  Not sure where the Skywalkers and the Solos et àl fit in with the birth of Christ, but let's go with it

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B3s2b3pCYAARuJk.jpg)

It's always a tradition of ours to go on a Christmas holiday this weekend, so as I write this post we're throwing clothes into a bag and grabbing a flight to ... Prague. Nothing at all to do with the EPT. Nope. Well maybe a little.

We got ourselves a fancy hotel: "The Boscolo"


Just a short trip for us but will get the chance to play a few side events. I'm really hoping to top this breakthrough year off with a trophy. I've recently invested in a poker coach so I'm eager to put my first month's lessons into practice.

In the meantime, please can we all pray that this snow doesn't stick and we make the airport.  

See you in Prague.

Until next time.

B

good luck!

Which events will you play and who is your poker coach?

^^ Thanks v much ^^

Not even got myself organised enough yet to figure out exactly what I'm playing, but I imagine I'll play the DS and the Ladies on Sun?

You know, I never actually checked with my coach whether I can reveal all ha! Probs better do that before I call him/her out on here :-p

B

B

Is he very small - smaller even than Pleno?

PS - I need to send you a PM about another matter, unrelated to poker, look out for it please. Should have sent it a few days ago, but been up to my eyes in stuff.

You'll like it. Up to a point........

No, it is not me!

I'm not sure Mr Bates' luckboxing skills can be taught.

Thanks guys. Noted Tikay.

Update from Day 1 to follow in the morning (when I am less tipsy!), but in the meantime I'll leave you with this pretty stunning sunset over Charles Bridge.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B4r2UT1CUAIlRs0.jpg)

B

So Prague is pretty stunning.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B4qCmcFCQAA8KAS.jpg)

Very early start for the habitants of Pocket Queens HQ. A pre-sunrise flight out of the UK saw us getting out of our beds around 4am Friday morning.  Given that we only finished work (you would not believe the stress it takes to leave the office for a couple of days) and got into those very same beds around 12.30am, we hardly even had the chance to enter dreamland before we were braving the torrential rain and winds of the M60.

Still, it was a pleasant (ish) flight and once I got through the terror of take-off (cold-weather take-off ... very alarming to those with a fear of flying ... I may have cried quite a bit), we at least managed another precious hour of sleep.

No poker for us today, so we hit the sights. For those with a love of architecture, this city is like a candy shop. We wandered straight down to Charles Bridge where we stumbled upon a certain Olivier Busquet getting his characteur done:

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4JimorVRLKY/VIwfUyFEDNI/AAAAAAAACi0/6Fr5OdTiuro/s0-Ut/IMG_5239.JPG)

Following the sunset I showed you in the last post, we partook in a little culture break and went to a concert; a lovely string quartet's rendition of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, with some classic Christmas carols thrown in to boot. Was lovely and was also a good opportunity to get out of the cold. The Boy fell asleep.

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/--9D5U0yGD-0/VIwfU_2cmbI/AAAAAAAACiY/5HJH6FAnzXU/s0-Ut/IMG_5256.JPG)

Nighttime in Prague is equally as stunning and we hit the Christmas markets for some food and festivities. I was delighted to see that Prague serves Trdelník. We have this in Hungary (where it's called "Kürtöskalács") and its one of my fave things. Basically sweet bread dipped in super. But it's round and pretty!

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-gPGILzL407g/VIwfUyP_fCI/AAAAAAAACiY/TsANqck5Xr0/s0-Ut/IMG_5259.JPG)

So with our bellies full of food and wine (mostly served hot!) we hit the deck. All ready to start again tomorrow

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2bvVFpUgHIs/VIwfU1QCPaI/AAAAAAAACis/FA5HA2G2JHI/s0-Ut/IMG_5258.JPG)

B

So my beloved Clarets won.

In the only game I've missed this season. 

I need to book more flights

#championsleagueform

B

You coming to the Lane next week?

Update from Prague:

We now have one of these!

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B4zlAJbIIAAHMOP.jpg)

 ;djinn;

Played in the €330 Turno DS. Over 400 runners and 63 got paid. I finished 42 for about €560 I think.

Was an unbelievable bubble. With 3 AIs that doubled up. I was then left with just TWO ANTES and was about to play my hand (10 3 off!) when the floor announced THREE ALL INS AND CALLS.

I folded. Closed my eyes. And hoped I wasn't going to need to red card myself from the game forever.

First two AIs both survived. Was down to the last one. He lost. The bubble burst. I cashed.

I then spun my two antes into a 15bb stack but bust about 20 places later.

Job done.

B

Ha, well done Natters, that'll be your 4th different flag?

http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=243835

The Boy seems to have more cashes, though.

http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=173776


Loving the Trip Reports, keep them coming.

I'll send you that PM this morning, it's getting near the top of the seemingly endless "To-Do List".

Thank you, thank you. That ATM figure won't be in his favour for long.

Tal - not sure yet. I'm quite corned you're gonna BATTER us and it's my only free time up to christmas.

Lots to do and all that.

We couldn't batter a sausage, but fair enough.

So it seems that I won't be bringing a trophy home from this trip. Bust the EPT Ladies today in a very meh manner. Accumulated a double stack early on, but then hit a wall and just blinded down to a 13bb shove with 99 v AA. MEH!

I'm gonna make a point now, and whilst doing so I'm aware of how controversial this may be. I have really fallen out of love with ladies-only tournaments.

Those of you who know me well know I've loved playing them for a while now, and indeed my OPs were all about my love of the ladies game. But not any more.

Recently, the ladies game has changed. It's become an ego-fest. And a very unfriendly environment to play in. The truth is that there are a LOT of very strong female players out there. Some of those players are also very thin, very beautiful and very talented. They know that if they bink a massive result then they could be the next big star. They present themselves exquisitely. They are always looking for the cameras. And they are cutthroat in their competitive edge.

I know this sounds a little like sour grapes (I'm not competing in that market and of course I want an edge in any game I play) but this extra dynamic has changed the atmosphere of the game. Especially in a field like the EPT.

It's not 100% like that of course. I managed to catch up with a few girls today from across the globe who I only ever see at ladies events and who are thoroughly lovely. There's one crazy Norwegian girl who always plays the WSOP Ladies event drunk and who's been drawn on my table two years' running. She was here today. And another Spanish girl who is close friends with Ana Marquez and who was on my FT in Monaco. Again, drawn to my left today.

It's nice to catch up with these girls and have a good gossip. But sadly these instances are getting fewer and far between. There's one Russian stunner who's been drawn on my table in the last three EPT Ladies events. And been an utter cow!! Forgive me; that's horrible. But true! 

I am always conscious of putting a blog of this nature out there straight after busting a tournament, and I don't know if I'll feel different at the next EPT. But as it stands, I'm taking a break from ladies events.

In the meantime, I'm back at the Kings Casino railing the Boy who's close to the bubble in a Prague Poker Festival event (Grand Live). I'm desperate for him to also add a Czech flag to the collection so fingers crossed.

Updates on the rest of the trip tomorrow.

B

Very interesting perspective. Well done on the flag, BTW.

^^ I need to fix this post ^^

I realise reading this back that I left out a key paragraph. The "image" issue was supposed to be a side point to build some background info to my main point. I didn't intend the post to sound like a nasty swipe at good looking girls! I'm not a bitchy girl and I'm a bit embarrassed that my post came across a little that way.

The issue is "how" these girls act at the tables. They are aggressively competitive in their nature. They trash talk each other. They play too many hands and big pots and gloat when they out-bluff each other. They also (shamefully) berate bad play openly.

It is this behaviour that is how the ladies game has changed. It was never traditionally like that. It was always a "safe zone" to encourage women to feel more confident and play more live poker.  Some of the games I've seen are more testosterone-fuelled than a room full of the most aggro of men!

So that beings this little "mini episode" to a close.  I'm pleased to report that the Boy FT'd his event and we've just landed home. Czech flags all round.

Good night, God bless all.

100% agree with both posts. The problem they have is for some reason they tend to think they have to prove themselves to the table way more than in a mix game..

I went to the 300 ept ladies in London and I hated it. I sat down about 1 level into the game and was quite hot due to me walking quite a way and so got shown my seat and sat down tried to smile at a few of them and they just looked through you. It was only for a woman on my right who was from Mexico that saved me from getting killed with their looks. We hit it off and started chatting about the online poker regulations which in turn helped the whole table to start talking to one another and become more relaxed and friendly.

I then unfortunately got moved and this is where it became worse.

I squeezed in between 2 skinny ladies (I'm fat) one was English on my left and she seemed quiet and pretty laid back. The other on my right was Canadian and she was the loud mouth at the table. I knew of one girl I've played with a few times from equal chance a few to my right and she opens and gets the Canadian calling and I elect to 3 bet the button with 95 suited. Sb bb and the OR all call... flop was J9x all checked round and I checked the turn was a 5 and the bb shoved and everyone got out the way except me obv - cards on there backs and I have 95 she has Ak high and loses. She taps the table and says nh and goes off somewhere else the Canadian speaks rather loudly and in a very horrible tone 'wow u re raise with 95 pre flop oh my gardddd etc and basically berates the way I have played and why I'm terrible even tho she isn't in the hand and it's none of her business... I just turn round and ask her 'are u from canada' and she proudly says yes which I reply I thought so... she then proceeds to loudly boast how her boyfriend is a professional poker pro and is here playing the ept main event and she has learnt from him and he is 'awesome'... I mean seriously who speaks like this just wtf?!!

Anyway rambling could go on and on... I used to be an utter horrible person at any table I played at but I put money on that in the last 18 months people have not seen me lose my temper once. I changed because I started to see others do what I was doing and hated it. Everyone pays their entry they are entitled to play whatever and however they like.

100% agree that the majority of women are out to get the fame, they use their gender, their looks to gain fame/friends in the right places which in turn helps them get deals that guys/girls who can actually play would only dream of having.

That's why I rate Vicky and fatima so much as I've seen them both at the table and they really are friendly and take the game with a pinch of salt. Anyone who plays on there table would be encouraged to play poker, hence they are deserving to get a sponsorship imho.

obv Vanessa because she is an absolute beast, but I'd struggle to pick 5  uk females out that deserve sponsorship because the majority just come across rude, spiteful and down right nasty imho.

And so our little adventure comes to an end. It's time to go home.

Following on from the Boy's splendid performance in the Prague Poker Festival (7th place), we devoted the rest of the trip to seeing what sights Prague put on display and generally take some downtime to enjoy a holiday before returning to work.

And what sights there were. We visited Prague Castle and sampled a rather spending cathedral:

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-mZ6CwESlRQ4/VJDGFLku7sI/AAAAAAAAClo/C3S0zRza-gs/s0-Ut/IMG_5264.JPG)

Some quaint little houses. And spectacular views of the city!

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6lmJlXYFmiQ/VJDGFNJel4I/AAAAAAAACkU/CoOsz0nocQQ/s0-Ut/IMG_5265.JPG)

We also hit the Jewish Quarter to look at clocks, synagogues and graveyards.

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-BOGabkF3Pfc/VJDGFCcMBEI/AAAAAAAAClI/04JOvYwGc9k/s0-Ut/14%2B-%2B7)

And we ate. There's been some funny food consumed on this trip. The Boy ate a chicken kebab that was served to him on a real sword (not a chance that's getting through H&S in the UK!)

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-iAyP2H81_hc/VJDGFGxI7iI/AAAAAAAACk8/Y8VmuWw-Z9k/s0-Ut/14%2B-%2B1)

We also ate pancakes with bananas and Nutella for breakfast. And goulash served in a bowl made out of bread!

But my personal favourite was these swirly fried potato things. Bit like a chip helter-skelter?

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-eR850c7hubs/VJDGFN-4bhI/AAAAAAAACkk/ee8Ju_o9lpI/s0-Ut/14%2B-%2B6)

It's been a great trip, but all good things must come to an end. It's been a perfect trip in many respects. We enjoyed poker success. We enjoyed a brand new country. But most of all we had a great time doing it all together. We never underestimate how lucky we are to both love the same things.

Sbohem from Prague

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ALXIsWzdI_M/VJDGFFgyPAI/AAAAAAAACkU/F1Q3mPjVRHs/s0-Ut/IMG_5291.JPG)

B

Fantastic attitude.

Hope to read more about your travels in the New Year.

Cracking write up, Natterley.

Adam looks so young in that photo. 

Morning Natter.

Have, at last, sent that PM to you.

PS - coming along nicely, I see......


http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=243835

Amusingly, THM have not listed The Boy's Prague efforts.....

http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=173776

Just to make up for it, here is The Boy in action.


(http://www.pokergeeks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/SPT-Colin-Napier.jpg)

Oops, wrong photo. Easily confused.

(http://www.ukpokerplayer.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/adambromley.jpg)

"Every time a bell rings, an Angel gets his wings"

Not that we particularly needed encouragement, but the festive spirit is smothering Pocket Queens HQ like a warm, cozy blanket and a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter’s day.  Praha only added to this abundance of festive spirit.

Chez Bromley is all decorated, the tree is up, the lovely christmas cards that people have been kind enough to send (I am clinging onto this tradition … I love cards) are displayed and the tree stands tall and regal in our dining room.

And this also means that "Christmas Movie Season" is in full swing!  Action, comedy, smushy, festive or just plain naff; I love them all!  Christmas movies also conjure up plenty a debate as to which are the “best”.  I absolutely believe that your favourite christmas movies have nothing to do with cinematographic creditability (let’s face it, they aren’t competing for an Oscar), but more the power of the childhood/family memory that it invokes.  Here is my top ten:

Prologue:

Honorary mentions must firstly go out to Love Actually and Polar Express in 11th and 12th positions.  Both very good movies, but just not quite good enough to get into my top 10. I have also excluded Die Hard from selection, on account of the fact that Die Hard is not (I repeat NOT) a Christmas movie.

10      Charlie Brown Christmas

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Lp0SjAOxZWU/VJQp18za70I/AAAAAAAACoc/fjvMM4FATbA/w480-h480/a-charlie-brown-christmas-16795-1680x1050.jpg)

What’s not to love about the Peanuts gang.  I always wanted a dog like Snoopy.  Still waiting.

9       The Snowman

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Uf7Svj0Nnyo/VJQpysplXVI/AAAAAAAACn0/WKDKMhYyfzA/w480-h480/The%2BSnowman%2B1.jpg)

My Gran’s favourite movie.  I haven’t yet mustered up the courage to watch this since we lost her. Still a classic and still captivates children when they see it.

8       Miracle on 34th Street

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pKn_n-TkZyk/VJQp0_FrbrI/AAAAAAAACo4/pVO4qGNnrWM/w480-h480/Miracle-on-34th-Street-remake.jpg)

The modern one.  This is a new entry into my top ten, on account of the fact that I have only recently watched this for the first time.  I sobbed like a girl.

7       Arthur Christmas

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-zxt4Ec7e-v4/VJQp0Uhy_EI/AAAAAAAACoA/uGFdu8lpNaU/w480-h480/DI-Arthur-Christmas-6-DI-to-L10.jpg)

It’s not often that new movies make it into a “greatest” list, but this one is really wonderful.  The Boy took me to the cinema to see this in my first year as a trainee lawyer, on account of the fact that I was feeling the pressure at work and wasn’t getting in the festive spirit.  We shamelessly didn’t even borrow a child to go and see it with! Very clever modern take on the Santa Clause story.

6       Elf

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-B4Qk2cVC0hQ/VJQp0cUfCGI/AAAAAAAACoM/5kNwvEmnJIo/w480-h480/1533_Elf_34.jpg)

Utterly wonderful movie. And brilliantly hilarious. If you haven’t seen this, please do.

5       Santa Claus the Movie

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-lrvY97l0C8M/VJQp3NCdv0I/AAAAAAAACo8/QcMjVbw2V4c/w480-h480/santa-clause-movie-mr1.jpg)

This is an old movie now, but is one that I watched relentlessly as a child.  My Gran played it to my sister and I when she was babysitting for us and we loved it. One Christmas she bought us a talking book version of the movie and I recall falling asleep listening to it practically every night in December.  To this day, when I think of Father Christmas, I visualise the actor in this movie.

4       Gremlins

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-wD5TT_qnU6c/VJQp2nl_p-I/AAAAAAAACok/xYTFAwE-Sv8/w480-h480/download.jpg)

Love love LOVE this movie. My youngest cat (Branston) looks like a Mogwai (and sings like one). I like the second one too, but this one is a classic.  I would put money on the fact that most people, when challenged, could name the three rules about keeping a Mogwai off the top of their head.

3       Home Alone

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-otrBYxIQ0uU/VJQp0ew35VI/AAAAAAAACpE/pShDwsNr5XM/w480-h480/4507231c-dd0b-467b-820d-990e87e2ce73.jpg)

This is where the list gets interesting. And contentious! Many many people have this as their number one, and to be honest, there is not a huge amount in the top three for me.  They are all pretty close. This is a classic and has delighted audiences for years. I still see shirts in stores at this time of year bearing the logo “Keep the change, you filthy animal” and the popularity of this brilliant movie shows no signs of slowing down.

2       A wonderful life

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Kbi0zpE6NIQ/VJQp2EKebuI/AAAAAAAACog/1ao3tyxTAJo/w480-h480/download%2B%25281%2529.jpg)

Again, slightly contentious, given that this is pretty much always at the top. An incredible movie that is well worth the accolades it has been receiving throughout the years. Apparently, it’s the only movie in history to have originated from a greetings card and has been ranked as the most powerful movie of all time by the American Film Institute. Another of my Gran’s favourites, I will be watching this on Christmas Eve with a glass of champagne and a box of tissues!

1       Muppet Christmas Carol

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zRTExCCQstI/VJQp25y7aUI/AAAAAAAACo0/WRl3Xx7fKtI/w480-h480/muppet_xmas_1.jpg)

Here it is. my number one. Influenced by the fact that I have been obsessed with the Muppets since I was a child, this surely has to be the greatest adaptation of the tale of Scrooge in history??  Superbly cast, brilliantly acted and perfectly directed, this movie is charming and amazing and funny all in one dose. For me, the greatest Christmas movie of all time. Come on, sing it with me; "Here comes Mr Humbug ..."

Would you have included any I have missed?

B

Some Ninja Mod has put Elf in that list while you weren't looking. Just wanted to let you know.

I assume it displaced White Christmas.

Pfft   

Missing the best Christmas film ever......

The Great Escape


Dum dum , dum der der dum dum..........

Shamefully, I admit that I have never seen White Christmas  ;ashamed;

I shall watch it before this Christmas is out and shall report back!

Noooo, this isn't a Christmas movie either?! I have a few "rules" when it comes to what categorises a Christmas movie. They include Santa Clause, snow and some sort of magic!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066344

Best Scrooge movie according to our household.

Colditz, or a Bridge too far

Perfect Xmas films

Von Ryan's Express, too

The Polar Express would defo be in there for me

"Buon Natale … Merry Christmas to yoooooouuuuuuu …"

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-QJEXgdt7rf0/VJ9IrZhobwI/AAAAAAAACso/SEnF7qFsYUQ/w1118-h373-no/IMG_5376.JPG)

So, now that Day 1 and Day 2 of the festivities are over, I wanted to check in to wish you all a very merry Christmas from Pocket Queens HQ.  I hope that you had a wonderful time, ate well, exchanged lovely gifts and (above all) spent time with your families.

The run up to the big day was predictably manic for your Belle.  I finished work at 5pm on Tuesday 23rd, and thanks largely to the “grown ups” closing my office on Christmas Eve, I had one night and one full day to get ready.  I spent the first three hours of Tuesday night running around Manchester like a maniac trying to purchase all of the things I was missing; gifts, table decorations, candles, crackers, cheese etc etc etc.  When I finally landed home just after 8pm, I had the joyeux task of (single-handedly) wrapping around 75 gifts.  All with bows, glitter and bells.  The Boy had been out all day on his work’s Christmas party and so I wasn’t expecting him a) home early or b) in any fit state to start wrapping intricately-shaped objects in M&S premium gift wrap!  When he did return home, just before midnight, he preceded to engage in a rather high-level viewing of “Saving Private Ryan" whilst debating the most recent episode of “Serial” that we had listened to.  Helpful.

Eventually, I was all ready for Santa (albeit, ridiculously exhausted).

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B5ohpgiIMAA9v1G.jpg)

Like most families, we have to split our time on Christmas Day.  We wake in our own home and exchange gifts with each other and the cats.  Then it’s off to my parents’ house for Christmas dinner and to see my side of the family.  Once we have eaten, the ‘usual’ routine is for us to then make the one hour drive to the Boy’s parents’ house for the night and into Boxing Day.  There was a change of plan this year … [drumroll] … they announced a few weeks ago that they were coming to us.  Wait, what?!  Panic.  I have never hosted a Christmas Day before.  I am not at all domesticated.  And I cannot cook.  

So I cheated.  I catered.  And I trawled through Pinterest and Houzz for ideas of how to “dress” a Christmas dinner table.  I did good in the end I think.  The table looked festive and the food was delicious (thanks 100% to the caterers; I had zero input on it!).  But I was a good host; I greeted guests with pre-dinner cocktails (pink gin), I prepared and laid out the food and I entertained.  It was a really lovely Christmas Day and despite the stress of creating a good and memorable time for everyone, it was really nice to spend at least half of the day at home.  For the first time ever.

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-hH_R326Vves/VJ9HT4z3YKI/AAAAAAAACp0/bsNf4Ct1GEs/s640-no/14%2B-%2B3)

Boxing Day:

Boxing Day for me is all about football.  I love Boxing Day fixtures and this year we entertained Liverpool at Turf Moor to a sell out crowd.  Fans are usually in a festive mood and it is not unusual to see fans wearing silly branded Santa hats.

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-vtX71Jglszg/VJ9HT6dxCkI/AAAAAAAACqc/My4Km5f7Sbc/w484-h645-no/14%2B-%2B2)

And its a family day. People get tickets in their Christmas stockings and kids go to games, possibly for the first time.  I have always gone to the football with my Dad, who has also been a Burnley fan for his entire life. I think he wanted boys, but got girls and the result was that I was always destined to be a Claret. This year was no different, albeit these days we have the Boy with us.

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-BIm6M4OHq38/VJ9HT46A7jI/AAAAAAAACqo/qQBGxNfYibQ/s645-no/14%2B-%2B1)

The game for us this year was tainted slightly before kick-off, with the sad incident of an older man collapsing in the seats behind us. He was collected by paramedics and taken to hospital. We have a regular group of friends who sit around us at the game (we are all season ticket holders and so our seats are allocated for a whole season) and we all spent the early stages of the game expressing our good wishes for a speedy return to health for the man. Our concerns were wiped out when the very same man arrived back at the game just in time for the second half! He had been to hospital, been given the all clear and had been dropped back off at the ground by paramedics so he could see the rest of the game. How is that for a dedicated fan base!

So now that the festivities are over, it’s time for us to enjoy a couple more days off work and get some volume of poker under our belts.  We intend to play the Christmas UKOPS and as many of the Sunday Majors that we can.  So it can snow all it wants as I intend to cozy up in new pyjamas, eat chocolate and play some cards.

My best wishes to you all for a happy and prosperous New Year.

B

its a wonderful is probably the best xmas film!

Many congrats Natterley, that showed The Boy who is the best player in the Bromley household, this was the UKOPS Deep Stack yesterday


iMilkerz 815000 1 £888.35
bromley04 0 2 £533.01

 ;ifm;

Dear Mr Kendall

Bromley023 = Natalie

Bromley04 = Adam

Full and final settlement.

B

Ah this almost makes up for missing out on the win - thanks Mr K!

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right" Oprah Winfrey

And so it’s over.  May I start this post where I left off the last; by wishing you all a very happy New Year.  I hope that it is prosperous and full of adventure.

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yhBI5kBCLxo/VKxszR9GLdI/AAAAAAAACuQ/dW_csM_hvuQ/w619-h504/IMG_5385.JPG)

We went a little left-field for New Year’s Eve this year.  We drove down to Leicestershire and spent three days locked away in a health spa.

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2jd_4Lis68s/VKxszMk0wUI/AAAAAAAACu4/y87YjYu14CM/s645-no/15%2B-%2B2)

Random, I know, but was really great. Nothing to do but relax. Healthy, nutritious meals made for you. And plenty of sleep! What is not to love about that?! Turns out that the Boy is a bit of a wimp though; he shied away from any form of deep tissue massage (“it bloody hurts”) and squealed like a girl when we went swimming in the snow in an outdoor pool* (*not a real outdoor pool … a heated outdoor pool with lovely jet streams and waterfalls and pretty lights). Still, the karma gods came to bite me on the backside for laughing at him, when I swam into a step in that very same outdoor pool and nearly broke my knee.  Cue the evening spent with blood steaming down my shin and an ice pack numbing the swelling.  That will teach me.

It wasn’t all water and fruit though. The staff made us all a lovely dinner on NYE, provided live music and champagne and canapés at midnight. One awesome older lady cut a mean Gangnam Style on the dance floor not long after 1am! I hope that I am still that sprightly when I get to that age.

There was a games room there. Naturally, we had a couple of Bromley Battles. The main event was a game of Connect 4. We may have been missing our usual game of choice though, given how we stacked our pieces:

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--rkEQKndu3Q/VKxszPrV_rI/AAAAAAAACus/ne36mZaqaeo/w481-h645-no/15%2B-%2B1)

Resolutions:

Turning to the brutality that is January, I see that we are once again surrounded by detox, fitness DVDs and promises of a “New Year, New Me”. Urgh. I refuse to diet or commence a horrendous exercise regime in January;  it is depressing enough without all of that nonsense.  I intend to carry on eating as much crap as I can fit in my mouth and lounging on my sofa doing nothing but staying warm and cozy. I realise the irony of that plan, given that I spent New Year in a health farm, but that was much more about detoxing a very stressed-out mind, rather than an out-of-shape body!

I also refuse to make New Year Resolutions. Please. There is a good reason for this; I am destined to fail.  Take the following example list:

- I will not diet, as I am inherently greedy and lazy
- I would love to visit more art galleries, seminars and museums, but I don’t have the time so probably won’t
- I absolutely will rekindle my shoe shopping habit
- I will definitely reboot my entire wardrobe and be as stylish as Blake Lively (this will not happen)
- I will attempt to purchase fully matching, designer luggage so that I can enjoy packing early and be super organised on our travels. Then I will waken from this dream, throw everything I own into mismatched bags at the last minute and arrive at my destination with two toothbrushes and one half of my pyjamas
- I will never ever consider giving up chocolate

I may have mentioned this in previous posts, but instead of resolutions, the Boy and I write a “This year we will …” list. Sort of a mini-bucket list that we both pick three items from. It forces us to keep life interesting and challenge the adventurer in us. And so, here is 2015’s list.

1.  Go on the Orient Express

2.  Learn how to tap-dance

3.  Stargazing

4.  Visit the Grand Canyon

5.  Shoot a gun at a shooting range

6.  Visit somewhere new in the UK that neither of us has seen before

No doubt you will hear of our adventure as we tick them off the list, but in the meantime I hope that you are all writing your own story for 2015 and making the most of this wonderful world.

Until next time.

B

Hi Nat,

That Health Farm - it's Ragdale Hall, right?

I had the dubious pleasure of being imprisoned there for best part of a week about 30 years ago. The memory lingers.....

Happy New Year to Adam & your self.

x

how much were turf moor tickets for the Spurs match on Monday?

presumably not part of a season ticket?

why the attendance apathy? cost or another reason?

Think you are getting confused Rich, or misread the number attending the game - it was not 934.8, it was 9,348.

That's about double average @ Turf Moor I balieve.

Good knowledge Tikay.  It was indeed RH.

B

Nope, not part of the Season Ticket, and match prices were £20 across all stands (which had to also been agreed with Spurs).

I think cost played a part in poor attendance (straight after Christmas is a tough time for the folks of Burnley, where money isn't that easy to come by for many), but I think the biggest issue was the timing.

The clubs made the decision to play on a Monday night, as both teams had a lot of games and they wanted to rest players.  So they scheduled it for a Monday night, the one day that all schools and work went back after the Christmas and NY break.

Utterly ridiculous decision and cost them dear!  They had to close a whole stand!  And of course that was the stand that Sam ( :hello: ) scored in front of, so all of the national media got a shot of him celebrating in front of literally no fans!

I despair sometimes.

Saying that, Spurs brought about 3,500 fans all the way from London. Very impressive!!

Ps good luck in your silly bid to sign Danny!  rotflmfao

Ha! not a chance

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B62szAjCYAEUPM4.png:large)

Bonjour.

I don’t think I ever feel as free as I do when I am flying down a mountain in the crisp mountain air and the bright sunshine of the Alps. And that’s exactly where the habitants of Pocket Queens HQ were last week.

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10986843_10153106816612437_6551010892522836694_n.jpg?oh=c549b154bfded16f5c41742fe591ac8c&oe=5554CFE7&__gda__=1432644482_726de77ba2833cda6e3ef830a0f48c39)

It may come as little surprise to you all that probably 90% of our annual leave allocation is spent on poker trips. My bosses have in the past (several times) expressed concern at the lack of “rest” that we get each year. One of the greatest challenges of being a serious recreational poker player is balancing work and tournaments (not forgetting the travel time involved in getting there and back). We do try to select our trips (certainly international ones) around cities we have not yet visited, thus combining what we want to play with where we want to explore. Some have dismissed this as pure justification for a “poker habit” (yawn), but it’s the truth.  Take this year for example; bot Malta and Berlin appear on our schedule and we cannot wait to spend some time (the extent of which will, inevitably, depend on how quickly we bust everything) exploring new territory.

The exception to that norm is our annual skiing trip. Cemented firmly into the calendar, it provides us with the only time we can to step away from work (no Blackberry signals in the mountains), stay away from the tables (largely) and recover. It is rare as adults that we spend so much time outdoors and the benefits are hard to ignore; seven hours a day in the fresh air doing extreme sports. You come home with a clear head, a smaller waistline and an array of toned muscles. There is a challenge when you get back to re-train your mind that you can no longer eat what you want whenever you want, but that’s another matter.

So we feel great, and are ready to take on the World with a renewed enthusiasm. I have reassured my poker coach that I have not fallen off the face of the earth and am ready to take significant work to improve my game. And the day job just feels better (for both of us).

It’s a happy Pocket Queens HQ. And long may that continue.

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/16226_10153106818722437_6789693394152392806_n.jpg?oh=d237244635b903e14466e701f5f1bf60&oe=55657AE1&__gda__=1430972026_653d038f426b3b1115597a479d53cd33)

Until next time.

B

“Love is in the air … everywhere you look around” John Paul Young

♥ ♥ Romance well and truly dominated the weekend.  Valentine’s Day was upon us and hearts and cherubs littered the atmosphere like ticker-tape at the Super Bowl. As good as this is in principle (anything that promotes the spreading of love in this crappy world has to be good, yes), I am not sure how I feel about Valentine’s. It just feels so … forced. I am not an overtly romantic person, but I am “cute” romantic in private. If that makes sense. I regularly make gestures that are hugely personal to our relationship and mean a lot. But I am not a “showy’ romantic. Perhaps that is why I am not a massive fan of 14 February. I feel like I am being dictated to by the rule book of St Valentine. Red roses must be sent. Dinner reservations must be made. A year’s salary must be spent in a designer lingerie store. Call it the rebel in me, but I will not conform. ♥ ♥

Don’t get me wrong, we do celebrate the day, but for us it is a chance to shut out the world and spend some quality time together. Without work, poker, families or chores. The Boy sends me flowers, but instead of the regulation dozen red roses inflated to astronomical prices , he sent me white ones. They are my favourite. Classy move. And I made him breakfast (regular readers will recall that I am not a good cook; I skived that class of Wife School). It was Eggs Royale and was the first time I had poached an egg (without the assistance of any gadget as well #proud). I bought some cute little heart-shaped plates to present them on (subconscious tactic) but it turns out such a deflection was not required - he loved it.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B9zg_piIcAArdzP.jpg)

We already had plans that night as we had long-standing tickets to see Top Hat; a thoroughly enjoyable musical set in the 1930s which combines old fashioned screwball comedy with awesome dancing and (ironically) a love story. We are huge fans of the theatre and had such a good night; even the ultimate romantic gesture of a very public proposal at the end.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B91xWbFIQAAG08c.jpg)

But in the blink of an eye, the weekend was lost and Monday morning dawned on us with startling speed. Not all bad though as we had Pancake Day to break the week up (*edit; we ‘should’ have had Pancake Day on Tuesday, but we have been busy and have delayed this until the weekend … the rebel in me has had a field-day this week!) and we are hurtling towards UKPC 2015. I cannot wait. We will be at DTD both weekends to play the Mini and the Main. Sadly work has to take priority over the midweek games, otherwise Rob and his team may have had to drag us out of the card room kicking and screaming!

If you are playing and you see us at DTD then come say hello! I will most likely be at the bar from level one onwards...

Until next time

B

No mention of the chocolate abstinence for lent???

You are such a big softie Natterley.

Lovely piece of writing though, & life sounds great.

See you at DTD this weekend.

You big softie.


(https://www.skypoker.com/img/cms/ukpc_treats.jpg)

Was lovely to see you & The Boy last week.

How much fun was it sharing a table with John Duthie?

And you Sir.  I shall let you off for bullying me all weekend!!

The table was unreal. I genuinely can't remember enjoying a table that much in a long long time. People ask me all the time why I play so much. That afternoon is more reason than one person will ever need!

B x

Nice meeting and playing with you this weekend!  The 'law student' at your table in the 8max :)

Ah excellent. Yes and you!

My offer was genuine.  Drop me a line if you need any assistance.

B

UKPC 2015

And so UKPC is over for another year. And, as expected, what a week it was.

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2skw3yBvGi4/VPwiGfCACMI/AAAAAAAAC_I/P50323DtmO8/w426-h568/15%2B-%2B1)

I could have happily spent every day of the entire festival in DTD, but sadly work got in the way. As I mentioned in an earlier post, work commitments mean that we simply cannot play everything. We have to carefully select a) festivals and then b) tournaments within those festivals to maximise the amount of poker we get to play out of our 27 days a year annual leave. This year I decided to “buy” some extra holidays at work; my firm offers this facility as part of my remuneration package and whilst it is expensive and not exactly the most tax-efficient benefit, it has allowed me to increase my annual leave to six weeks this year. Which equates in Bromley-World to more poker!

The first weekend was the UKPC Mini and three Day 1 flights on a Saturday meant that we could play this one with zero time out of the office. And (unfortunately) all three flights I did play! Plus the Turbo Day 1 on the Sunday! I am in the middle of a really bad run of variance at the moment. It happens, of course, and you just have to ride it out. The UKPC Mini was not only a little ridiculous, but also very weird in that all three flights followed practically an identical structure. In all three, I built a decent stack but ran into a crucial hand against a shorter stack that saw me lose and reduced to between 20-25bb. Unavoidable races/flips with big hands that didn’t hold. Then in all three flights, I got it all in pre with said 20bbs with QQ. In two of the flights, I ran into AA and KK. Shrugs. But the third one was quite ridiculous; the action folded to the button who opened jammed 35bb. I am in the SB and look down at QQ. I call and BB folds. The Button winces and shows 9-2 off. Happy Christmas Bromley. Flop comes down K  9  2. GG. Sigh.

So we decide to go hunting for the big one. The UKPC ME the following weekend. I was happy with my play and did manage to make Day 2, albeit with a slightly depressing 10bb stack. I failed to find the early double-up I needed though and was at the rail before the first level of Day 2 had played out. The Boy won the last-longer and did a min-cash. He played his part in an absolute crazy bubble that saw about 13 short stacks double up. Some of those short stacks were automatically AI and still managed to hold. When the bubble finally burst, the Boy had just enough chips left to pay one more set of blinds and about 6 antes. Sweat.

I have a long-standing role at Sky sponsored tournaments; I bring cakes for the crew. The picture Tikay posted above is of the tray of cakes which I decided to “badge up”. As is usual in my life, I left everything to last minute and so found myself cutting out little UKPC logos at midnight before we travelled to Nottingham:

(https://www.skypoker.com/img/cms/ukpc_treats.jpg)

Day 1 was the most fun I have had at a live event in a very long time. Every player on the table was fun, chatty, sensible and interesting. No hoodies or headphones. Legends of the game were re-living tales. Online qualifiers playing their first tournaments were having pictures taken with said legends. Tikay was donating chips. We both noted towards the end of the day that if every live table played out like ours did then so many more people would be encouraged to play.

And so it’s back to the online grind for a while. It is my birthday at the end of the month and so I have decided to fly out to Malta to celebrate with the EPT. Surely it’s time I took down a trophy. I have yet to win a live event in my poker career and it’s about time that changed.

May the Sunday-Grind Gods shine on you all.

B

"May the Sunday-Grind Gods shine on you all"

Ask, & you shall receive.


bromley04 404000 1 £813.86 + £253.88 Head Prizes 6 
ChipsFool2 0 2 £485.71 + £199.59 Head Prizes 8 
sl_ash 0 3 £289.67 + £51.89 Head Prizes 2 
robert1958 0 4 £227.86 + £104.46 Head Prizes 5 
cowhead 0 5 £193.92 + £113.20 Head Prizes 7 
MonkeyGLB 0 6 £162.41 + £158.57 Head Prizes 8


Congratulations Natalie, see, I KNEW you could do it.

"Congratulations Adam..."

FYP

And I thought winning couldn't get any sweeter

<3 Tikay. such quality rubs.

Love this thread too, please keep posting. 

......nobody....and I mean nobody should mention QQ again in this Diary.

I closed down that FT Nat.....thought you had it in the bag. 4th still a good result though ;) x

Great result Mr B, that result must put you high up on the profit leaderboard!

Aye, great diary. Enjoy it a lot. Moan free too.

Will be out in malta, will say hi if I bump into yous.

Free from trains/concrete and pictures of dog poo too.

OMG I hate that God Damn hand!!

Haha.

Cheers for the rail Mr. I was hoping few too, but it's been a while since I did a FT and it's always good to get one! x

Yes, please do!  See you there.

Not strictly true. There may be some pics of a certain Hogwarts Express coming soon! #choochoo

Yes and I see you are even managing to make people lose internet connection now to fix it!

Superstition noun [C or U] belief that is not based on human reason or scientific knowledge, but is connected with old ideas about magic etc,

(http://www.mbaker.co.uk/images/Garden%20Birds/Magpie-1.jpg)

Every morning, without fail, I see a magpie on my commute into the office. Sometimes there is only one, but sometimes there are others. Every morning, I count how many there are. Then I chant in my head:

“One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl …"

When there is only one of them, I panic, salute and chant in my most cheeriest of head voices:

“Morning Mr Magpie, how’s your wife and kids?"

I congratulate myself on having warned off any bad luck for the rest of the day. I have performed this ritual for as long as I can remember. Why? Because I am horrendously superstitious. As is most of my family.  

The most rational explanation to most of you will be that there happens to be a lot of magpies who live in the fields that line my drive to work. I don’t doubt this, but if there is any possibility that the old tales are correct and their presence is the result of some higher influence that is going to dictate what happens to me for the rest of the day, then I have to counteract this. Crazy, I know. This blind faith was probably not helped by my recent sighting of five magpies in one group (“five for silver...”), a few hours before I went home and FT'd an MTT I played. WELL CLEARLY IT’S TRUE!!

Saluting magpies isn’t the only superstition of course. There are many;

- Friday the 13th is a very unlucky day
- A rabbit’s foot brings good luck
- Do not open an umbrella in the house
- Do not walk under an ladder
- An itchy palm means that money will come your way

etc, etc.

The real biggie in our house is that you must not EVER wash clothes on New Year’s Eve. If you do, you "wash out” a member of the family (in other words, they die). I experienced this particular nugget on the NYE’s Eve of my 19th year. About three hours before being due to set off to the party, I asked my mum to wash the top I was going to wear (hey, give me a break, I was a teenager!). Step One: Rejection. Step Two: “Okay, then I will do it myself”. Step Three: TERROR. My Dad had to take me into town to buy a new top so I had something to wear. We went to that extreme.

It seems like I am not alone. Every known civilisation that has existed has myths or superstitions in their history that have played an important part of their culture. Maybe it is driven from fear? Or the need to find a justification for why terrible bad luck has happened to us.

By far the most bizarre one I have ever heard is to clap immediately after sneezing to avoid killing a fairy. Okay, even I don’t do that one!

So this morning, I ask one favour of you. Please tell me I am not alone? Please tell me that you all have little superstitions that you comply with?

Share!

Until next time

B

I hope, for your sake, that magpie has warned off some bad luck at Turf Moor later ;)

All the best for the season, just not today!

So, Natterley, never mind all this superstition nonsense, how was your Saturday afternoon? Do anything special?




(http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130315182215/logopedia/images/e/ee/Burnley_FC_logo_(1960-1969,_2009-2010).png)

GREAT result today for your team. Makes me smile the way 'smaller' teams like yours and mine can beat the 'bigger' teams sometimes. Like poker, anything can happen. Even better when you can shut their fans up too...well done.

(http://i.guim.co.uk/static/w-1920/h--/q-95/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2015/3/14/1426359749646/ed9b2634-99f8-446d-9ccc-d1445e7891ad-2060x1236.jpeg)

Boyd's strike was akin to a mediocre poker player somehow luckboxing their way to the Roller one week; he won't hit a ball like that again, just like the mediocre Roller winner won't ever get close to a similar result!

I believe that's our first defeat at Burnley since Maxally was a strapping young teen, 1974 :( fully deserved for your boys though, puts us out of our title misery and could be the final nail in MP's coffin.

Better stay up now! Want to see the southern teams drop down, fixtures like Turf Moor will hopefully be an annual event.

Enjoy Malta :)

"Can we play you every week ... Caaaaaaan we play you every week "  :redcard:

I'd genuinely rather play Chelsea every week! :(

I'd genuinely rather play Chelsea every week! :(
[/quote]

U must love getting beat every week! ;-)

Chelsea Fan Turned Burnley fan on the weekend. Thanks for the result!

"So, Maltesers are like totally the national dish right?" Every wannabe comedian ever.

Bonjour, and welcome to a rather pleasant Malta. The sun is shining, the days are bright and there's a mind and soul cleansing sea breeze lapping the island. And I know two Bromleys whose minds need sandblasting!

It was an early start for the inhabitants of Pocket Queens HQ. After a late night in the office on Thursday, we had to then undertake an excruciating drive to London, thanks to the incapability of North West airports to schedule convenient flights. It was 2am by the time we hit Gatwick, and at 5am we were here:

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-8Cd3taPwqFo/VQyuILh6GnI/AAAAAAAADEU/m1lzdrX5BIU/w1280-h2272-no/15%2B-%2B2)

Still, an early flight meant that we had the whole day to ourselves before we hit the Malta Cup at 8pm.

Our home for this trip is the rather delightful Corinthia in St George's Bay:

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-X5bAwbIV130/VQyuIEQN21I/AAAAAAAADEg/9pz98NGNJoM/w308-h174-no/15%2B-%2B3)

When we arrived at the hotel, we were met by the concierge who excitedly announced that we'd been upgraded to a one-bedroom suite. Result. I was just pondering this development and debating whether we'd just used up all of our run-good for the trip, when the Boy leant over and whispered in my ear "So why weren't we already in a suite?". Seriously?! I fear my position as 'Director of Travel' may be in jeopardy.

We spent the day chilling in the jacuzzi, strolling leisurely along the coast and gazing from our balcony out to sea

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-vlFr2xbZEpA/VQyuIK3hvdI/AAAAAAAADD8/IbA49PWxtMI/s402-no/15%2B-%2B1)

The poker news isn't great so far, as I'm sad to report that your Belle bust Day 1 of the Malta Cup. Which means that, depressingly, I'll probably be in the Ladies tomorrow (sigh). At the time of going to print, the Boy is still in the Malta Cup so we're hoping for one Day 2 between us. Although I warn you, if he gets a Maltese flag and I don't then I will be sulking!

Sleep well comrades. And send an army of run-good vibes.

B

Hope you both enjoy Malta.

Plenty of faces there you should recognize, including Alex Goulder, & RyRy Spittles.

What dates you two going to Vegas?

^^ Vegas ^^

Need to book this when we get back, but initial plan is to fly out around 6th of June and stay for the first two weeks of June? I think we land just in time for the Monster Stack! I'll pm you when I get the flights sorted.

B

I think you are due a result...good luck (to both Broms) in Malta. A lovely place I remember vividly from a holiday from childhood.

"Daddy, I want a trained Squirrel" Veruca Salt

Or, translated into the language of Pocket Queens HQ, "Adam, I want a trophy for my birthday".

I wasn't ready to stop playing today. But apparently when you have no chips left, they make you leave the table. Rude. I did decide to play today; I dropped the attitude and entered the EPT Women's Event. Played okay. Made a few mistakes. Then bust. This was the only sort of trophy I managed to get today.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CAo3vRqWEAAC9k5.jpg:large)

To make matters worse, the Boy made Day 2 of the Malta Cup. He's in decent shape, so barring any mishap or cooler he should get a cash. And a Maltese flag. Fml obvs.

Not sure what I'm going to do with myself for the rest of the day. Hard work when the Poker Gods stagger your games as it does mean you spend a lot of time apart.

Nice problem to have though, eh?

Wish Adam luck from me, please, Natterley.

Do you get the English football results out there? If not, just say, always happy to help.

"It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to..." Lesley Gore

You've got to hand it to Poker Stars. They really know how to look after the little guys. I mean, what other global brand would throw a party on a Saturday night in the Med with a free bar and a great DJ in honour of your birthday? I feel so special. I mean, apparently a few people are saying that the party was actually the EPT Players Party and was nothing to do with my birthday, but they're lying.

I'm not gonna lie, said party got a little more out of hand than was expected. We didn't arrive until around 11:30pm and by that time all the sober peoples had vanished. And somehow the Boy and I ended up partying with young Alex Spencer and his friends. I have a pre-shooter selfie on my phone that's probably the last coherent memory of the night. Shortly after having to administer first aid to one fellow who took a nasty tumble into some broken glass. One of those nights...

Shocking behaviour, I know.

Earlier on in the evening, way before a B52 became a permanent fixture in my hand, I joined the Helping Hands charity tournament that had been put together to raise money for the Right to Play charity. An invitation only tournament (I blagged my way in!), featuringTeam Pro, WSOP bracelet winners and dignitaries from the Maltese business and political world, it raised €15k.

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5rpGwsTQ7iU/VQ89YNE_9RI/AAAAAAAADIE/iI-JHm_vRAU/w1318-h1758-no/IMG_5950.JPG)

And we had British success in it, as the lovely Sin Melin Took home the trophy.

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-eiNRTIeNIjk/VQ89YOE1CwI/AAAAAAAADIg/JKI8wj7RmWo/w1318-h878-no/15%2B-%2B1)

And I'm pleased to report that the Boy did indeed cash in the Malta Cup. Which means he has a Maltese Flag. Which I'm super annoyed at (okay, okay, I'm proud too). Still, it does mean we'll have to come back to this really beautiful island at some point, so I can get one too!

Happy Birthday Natalie x  Sounds like you are having fun out there, even if the results are not forthcoming. You are due one soon.....

A history lesson.

A little know fact for you all. On this day (23 March), various years throughout history, the following legends were born: Joan Crawford, Roger Bannister and Damon Albarn. And your Belle, amongst others. I'm not sure whether the above list means I should have been destined to have discipline and athleticism, dramatic poise or a knack for writing catchy tunes about parks, but if I was then I failed miserably!

Still, I have a few skills up my sleeve. One of those is how to celebrate a birthday in style. We finished the short trip to EPT Malta with a day in the sun, some laziness in the spa and then a nice formal dinner in the evening.

Our restaurant of choice was an award-winning "fine dining" restaurant known as Caviar and Bull. I had a little wobble when our waiter serviced us these vegetable shots (a stark reminder of the fully alcohol-fuelled ones from the previous night) but without doubt it was a very enjoyable dinner.

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And the food was delicious. I had a pasta with salmon and lobster. Yum.

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And so this marks the end of another fantastic European adventure. Sure, they're all short, but we simply can't take a week off work every time an EPT comes to town. Our mini trips allow us to visit most of the stops on the tour each season, play some poker and have some fun. We will stop long enough at one to play the entire festival one day, but until then we'll enjoy what we can do!

Until next time

B

Hi, don't know you but diary is a great read. You seem to have an excellent, subtle sense of humour,and write very well.
You Certainly get around on some nice trips, good luck, and keep posting.

If we didn't win then it didn't happen!  ;melissa;

Thanks lovely. On to the next one x

Wow, thank you very much! How kind of you to say. Glad you enjoy the read; you're never really sure of these things are you and I am nowhere near arrogant enough not to massively appreciate such nice feedback  ;cupcake;

Once again, Natterley proved she is the best player in the Bromley household in last night's Roller.

Well done Natter.


wallnutts 1470000 1 £3750
MAXALLY 0 2 £2250
jimmyshoo 0 3 £1500
basty2010 0 4 £1200
spitfire10 0 5 £1050
TheCrilly 0 6 £900
F_Ivanovic 0 7 £750
GELDY 0 8 £600
choma 0 9 £450
CSCS 0 10 £375
SenorBegs 0 11 £330
bromley04 0 12 £300

I'm not biting this time. We all know if that had have been me, it would have been a top three score*

(*I didn't bust waaaaay before the cash. Nope. Not at all)

In a small brags tho, I did win The Magic817 Invitational on Fri night. First MTT win in 2015 and what I hope will be the start of the end of a horrible downswing.

B

“Every man is a hero if he strives more for others than for himself alone” Lloyd Alexander, The High King.

A remarkable thing happened to me yesterday.

Driving home from work, my petrol light alerted me to the fact that I needed to fill my car up. I pulled into my nearest garage and set myself up at the pump. For some reason (probably a trick my Dad taught me), I always check I have my purse and sort my money out before I start pumping the fuel; I am aware of the seriousness of putting fuel in your car and not having the means to pay, so I have always been overly cautious!

NIGHTMARE - no purse in handbag. I had left it at home.

The panel in my dashboard told me I had 26 miles left in the tank. A check on Google Maps told me I had 33 miles to get home. Crap.

I went into the garage and explained my predicament to the cashier. I explained that I could pay over the phone, as my husband had my purse at home. Computer says no. I beg ... surely there is something you can do, I am stranded?! Computer says no.

I apparently have to call the breakdown service out to rescue me.

As I wander back into my car and nervously ring The Boy to fess up to what I had done, I am startled by a knock on my window and a motion to wind my window down. A young man tells me he was in the shop just then and heard my predicament. He got his wallet out and handed me cash. He noted that it was ridiculous that I was stranded in this way with no-one to help and could give me cash to put enough petrol in my car to get me home. Are you serious?!

I finally persuade him to take my details and I ask him to call me straight away with his bank details so I can refund him the money. So far he hasn't called, but I hope that he does; I want to show him that I meant that the cash was to be returned to him and that there are more good people on this earth than him.

There is unconditional kindness in this world still.

The day after I read your latest installment, I was in the Supermarket getting supplies from a list compiled by Wifey. I stood in the self service checkout behind a young mum just as she finished paying. As I start, I realise there is a problem as i can't scan anything. It's then I see £30 cashback still in the machine. I quickly waddle outside (in flip flops, running would've resulted in some base over apex action) and present her with said folding stuff. Time for a quick thankyou and I waddle back in to continue shopping and feel good about myself for a while.
 By the way, I used to play fuel light roulette in my car. I worked out that on my journey home at 70 mph, i could get from the M11 Junc 9 to a petrol station in my home town. This journey took approx 25mins with my fuel light on and the distance on the trip computer saying 0 miles left in the tank. I think you would've been ok getting home.

^^ I love this ^^

Well played that man.

Spread the love.

Yeah, Fuel light roulette is awesome.

Was in tesco petrol station a couple of months ago and a guys card wouldn't go through. They have a form especially for such occasions, and you have 7 days to return to pay. Worth bearing in mind for when you next forget!

Has the guy called you with his details yet?

No he hasn't. I'm disappointed; I wanted to return his cash and give him a little extra as a small token of my gratitude.

I hope the karma gods find a way to reward his kindness.

B

I don't know you other than through this blog and Tikay's comments but I suspect you already know that kindness can be it's own reward.

Karma,shmarma.

Just spread the kindness. Next time you see someone who needs a little help, help them.

Pay it Forward as it were.

When I was young I got stuck in a strange town with no money.

I went to the cashpoint to withdraw a tenner and the machine withheld my card.

No money and no way to get money to get home.

Someone told me to go to the police station and for something called a "permit to travel" which could be used to pay for a train or bus ticket or if past the time of the last bus/train given to taxi driver to get you home.

I have no idea if these still exist, anyone know?

My local station still has a machine that dispenses permits to travel AFAIK.

Couldn't agree more.

Permits to travel.

Every day is a learning day.

The reason why I love interacting is to find little nuggets like this!

“Choose your friends wisely - they will make or break you” J. Willard Marriott

It’s been a sad week for your Belle. Nearly five years ago, this little bundle of trouble crashed into my life during an awesome summer in Romania. We bonded over a shared love of sleeping on town squares, big tunes and tequila. The foundations were laid during that trip and despite having to split our time between London and Manchester, a strong friendship formed. He moved back to London this week, where he is to join one of the “Magic Circle” firms (an informal term for what are generally considered the five leading law firms in the UK) as an associate in their corporate finance team. I shall miss him terribly.

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I first met the friend in question in the summer of 2010, during a placement with Habitat for Humanity.  We had secured training contracts with the same law firm and, along with the other 38 members of the “Class of 2010”, were flown out to Cluj, Romania as part of our induction with the firm; you know, the one where you have to bond as a team.

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Habitat for Humanity, for those of you unfamiliar with them, are a global charity who create affordable housing for families in desperate need. As is the case with most charitable organisations, there are several ways you can get involved. The most common corporate involvement is for teams to fly out to a specified country and spend a week on a building site. Yes, we built a house. On a building site. With donated tools. And no formal training. And 40 degree blistering July heat. Was awesome.

I learnt how to plaster.

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And build roofs.

(https://scontent-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/40453_694725517700_2309480_n.jpg?oh=dd28ea86618f2cefcf51490032d38f6c&oe=55CB8120)

And our handiwork proved okay in the end. We didn’t finish the build, but another team was scheduled to take over from us the following week and would get the house ready for the new family to move it (tssk, glory hunters).

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It wasn’t all work work work though. As you can imagine, dumping 40 law school graduates in the middle of a cosmopolitan European city, where a litre of beer costs 60p and a shot of tequila 10p is just asking for mayhem.

Mind you, it wasn’t all drinking either. Cluj is a beautiful city full of culture. We even managed to schedule a trip into a salt mine; apparently wonderful for your health, which is a good thing given the liver damage sustained on this particular trip.

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It truly was a great start to my career as a lawyer and the friends I formed over the two years of my training contract will stay with me for a long time. As I bade a teary farewell to my London-bound buddy, I reflected on the people who come and go in our lives. The ones who make you laugh, who pick you off the floor when you are down and who shout your success from the rooftops. Make time for those people. Life is better shared.

Until next time.

B

<3  this diary.

Always a pleasure to read this diary.

^^ Thank you both. You really are too kind ^^

Mrs Pocket Queen & her husband, Adam, will be on the Sky Poker TV Show tonight, on Sky Sports 4 between 10pm & Midnight.

Anna Fowler is the Presenter.

Messages can be tweeted to @skypoker hashtag something. Might be #skypokertv


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(http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/pictures/bromley04.jpg)

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Just read through this diary while chilling on hols, brilliant read Mrs b

Congratulations on your challenge success last night Brommers

Though finishing a spot in the table below Burnley probably wasn't the tribute you quite had in mind?.

To be fair, I finished exactly where I expected to.

I so suck at cash!

Date Night
noun
“A pre-arranged occasion on which an established couple, especially one with children, go for a night out together"

The inhabitants of Pocket Queens HQ do not have children, but we do have two small, ginger, furry dependents who produce poop and sick, keep us up at night and demand love and affection. We also have full time jobs. And a time-consuming poker habit.

As a result, the concept of a date night is one that is known and well practiced. Regular readers of this thread will recall our mini bucket lists; our attempts to try and fill our lives with adventure. Date Night is a good opportunity to do fun things that we would not normally have done before. There is nothing wrong with dinner and drinks of course, it’s just that The Boy and I aren’t really a dinner and drinks kind of couple.

The latest "Date Night” adventure saw us attempt an Escape Room.

For those of you unfamiliar with this concept, a Escape Room is a physical adventure gaming concept that has been prominent in Europe for a few years now, but has recently seen an explosion of popularity in the UK. It channels Krypton Factor and Crystal Maze chic; players are locked in room and have to solve a series of puzzles and clues in order to escape the room within a prescribed time limit.

(http://i.ytimg.com/vi/O6_eHR0YAgo/maxresdefault.jpg)

The Boy works from his firm’s Manchester office now and again and, as my office is based there, it was a good opportunity to meet after hours and do something fun. Manchester has two companies who run Escape Rooms, both with five different themed rooms. It’s not particularly expensive to do (around £20 each), nor is it particularly time consuming. The Boy and I chose to take on a Mummy’s Tomb themed room. We arrived at the location, were given the rules and a H & S briefing (naturally), then we were led down a long dark tunnel to our chosen room.

The company who ran this room did so very well. The venue was built into an old, disused railway tunnel and was very ‘atmospheric’. The atmosphere is eery and whilst you are fully aware you are not in any immediate danger, it does give you the shivers (but to be fair, I am a a bit of wimp). We were led into a room and the door locked behind us. On the wall was a large digital clock with a 60 minute countdown. Eek.

At that moment, we were transported to deepest darkest Egypt and were locked in a pyramid. The set design was superb and no expense was spared on props and decoration. I won’t talk through the challenge, as I don’t want to spoil the surprise for others wanting to try this. But the concept is familiar throughout all of these rooms.

(http://upload.spottedbylocals.com/Manchester/normal/escape-room-manchester-(by-paul-coleman).jpg)

There are several items around the room that are locked with padlocks. You find the first clue, solve it and get the code for one of these padlocks (usually a number, letter or direction combination). Then you find another clue. Etc etc. You work as a team. You try and get out. There may be secret rooms and passages. All kinds of awesome.

It was a really fun date night to have. The Boy and I are naturally very competitive but also work like a machine when we need to be team. He only got cross with me once to be fair (“Natalie, will you shut up, I am trying to concentrate, I’ve got this"). We were also about 3 minutes off getting out - we solved the final clue, but had got the padlock the wrong way round (face palm) so timed out our last 6 minutes.

We will not be defeated though; here’s to the next one!

Until next time.

B

who was your favourite "The Crystal Maze" Presenter?

the escape rooms remind me of that programme....

The original, and one and only, Richard O'Brien for me. He epitomises everything about that show.

“I turned down a scholarship to Yale. The problem with college is that there’s a tendency to mistake preparation for productivity. You can prepare all you want, but if you never roll the dice you’ll never be successful” Shia LaBeouf

Shia LaBeouf is not immediately known as one of the great philosophers of our time. Nor even that inspirational an individual. Young, hot, Hollywood actor? Sure. Saviour of Earth from the wrath of the Decepticons and BFF of the Autobots? Absolutely.  But the go-to-guy for advice on the theory of life, the Universe and Everything? Probably not.

Still, the above comment struck a cord with me, especially at this time of year when Pocket Queens HQ and the rest of the poker community turns their attention to Vegas and preparations for what will surely be ‘their’ World Series. Does everything in life require risk in order to achieve reward? Maybe. There has certainly been two occasions over the last week where your Belle needed to take a deep breath, roll that dice and see what happened.

Pokers

The first of these involved our beloved game. The Boy and I have always played our poker “next door” and were lucky enough back in October to be invited onto channel 861 for one of the live shows. We mustn’t have done that bad a job, as the call came though asking us to go on for a second time. This time on its new home of Sky Sports 4. Gulp.

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The format of the show has changed since it’s relocation and this time features the “100 challenge”. Two players, £100, 100 minutes and the brief to make as much profit as possible on a 25-50p cash table. Exciting. Except I don’t play cash. I am incompetent at cash. I was going to be terrible. Oh God, should I turn down the offer??

Absolutely not. Sure, I sucked (might even be bottom of the leaderboard), but I decided to go for it and just play hands without fear of busting right away. It’s incredibly daunting (particularly in the current climate for extreme online trolling) to be vulnerable and allow your play to be analysed on live tv (good or bad), but what do you achieve if you don’t? I could have folded every hand and left with a small profit, but the producers would not have had a show and I probably wouldn’t have earned that much respect.

What I did realise, is that I am not afraid to play my own game and am no longer intimidated at any poker table or environment. That’s got to be a good thing.

Tomboy Problems

One thing that you certainly should never take a chance on is your health and over the Easter weekend I had a wakeup call; I needed to address my very unhealthy lifestyle. One thing I don’t do enough of is exercise. Which is odd as I was very very active when I was a teenager. One of the challenges you face when you are inherently lazy is finding something to do which you enjoy.

I used to dance. Classical dancing that is; ballet, tap, jazz. And I loved it. Ballet has always been my favourite, but I was not blessed with grace and elegance. And I am a tomboy. So how on earth do I get back into this? I am lucky enough to work in a major city where most things are accessible. The Northern Ballet Company runs adult ballet classes every night of the week, so I signed up.

Taking on my first session after a long gap was terrifying. I turned up alone and was faced with about 70 other girls who were a) decked head-to-toe in regulation ballet gear and b) stretching like pros! I nearly turned round and walked out. But it is not in my nature to allow fear to consume me so I sucked it up and did the one hour session. And loved it. Even if the tomboy in me was screaming four-letter expletives!

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All in all, it’s been a good week and Pocket Queens HQ is now packing up and relocating to Sin City, where your next few posts will come live from.

It’s World Series time baby!!!!!

B

I enjoyed your show (yes, your show - possession is 9 tenths and all that). Have you watched it back? I always find that interesting: sitting down and watching yourself on TV, particularly if you know you're about to disperse a nice daily wage for a lot of the viewers in the space of 42 minutes (no rubs intended). On the other hand, it's you...on proper telly...so you'd be mad not to have it recorded and ready to show people every Christmas.

As for your other 'obby, where does Carlos Acosta rate in the list of the greats? What about Darcey? How do they compare to Baryshnikov, Nijinsky, Nureyev, Pavlova, Ulanova and  Fonteyn (plus any others I'm missing)?

How much has ballet changed from the 1900s? The 50s? The last 20 years? Is it more about power than grace? More about speed than light and shade?

Looking forward to the Vegas shenanigans. Remember: good toes; naughty toes.

God; I am not sure I can ever hear the expression "good toes, naughty toes" without shuddering with fear!

Your question is interesting, in that when I was studying dance back in my drama school days, it was all about the contemporary scene and so if you weren't talking about the likes of Martha Graham, Isadora Duncan and the whole Russian onslaught the you didn't know what you were talking about. I haven't seen much of Acosta, but from what I have just quickly Googled, he looks some talent.

I did record my show, but I haven't watched it back yet. I am quite self-critical and I don't think it's always healthy to scrutinise yourself to the extent where you destroy any scrap of self-confidence you may have possessed. I will watch it back, but only when I am in a good mood and not susceptible to a demoralising sulk at all my perceived negatives!

B

You have nothing to fear when you watch the show. You were both good fun.
Hope you have a great time and win loads in Vegas

I need to know. How does tal know about good toes naughty toes.

You told me, of course.

(https://nyocommercialobserver.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/las-vegas.jpg)

Hello and welcome to Las Vegas, Nevada. Pocket Queen HQ for the next couple of weeks.

Given the number of times we've frequented this grand old town, the journey had a familiar feel:  

- good flight (check)
- devour in-flight movies (check)
- cane duty free (check)
- breeze through US border control (check)
- check into nice room overlooking pool, strip, desert (check)

Day zero of the trip is always taken up with fighting the urge to go to bed. You arrive mid-afternoon, which is about midnight body-clock time. The trick is to make sure you stay awake as long as humanly possible to ensure one's body clock resets itself and you're on good form for the rest of your stay.

We have a bit of a routine now; we hit Senior Frogs in Treasure Island, eat ridic hot chicken wings (for good metabolism) and down vodka jelly shots (for no other reason except we can). The Boy went a bit "off piste" though this time and sneaked a little Lobsicle in as soon as we arrived at the hotel. A Lobsicle I hear you cry?! It's like a corn dog but made with lobster. And actually tastes like chippy fish. All a bit random and threw me off balance!

Inevitably, at some point jet lag is gonna get you. It's a funny thing is jet lag; it goes way beyond just being tired and messes with your entire nervous system. Indeed within about five minutes of getting here, I was wearing frozen piña coladas in my hair. A few problems with the old hand to eye coordination.

Luckily we very quickly ran into some friendly faces who we'd gone looking for, as well as some lovely faces who we were not expecting to see (including the truly delightful Jen Mason). You can guarantee you'll always run into someone you know here.

In the meantime it's now an acceptable time for me to go to bed without waking at 3am. I'll let this very sleepy Belle bade you good night and God bless. It all starts tomorrow!

Great news, see you later this week.

Am Downtown tomorrow, going up to Mt C on Tuesday for brekkie, then start pokering daily as and from Wednesday. Media Centre will be Base Camp, see you there.

I assume it was something like this

Change is as good as a rest. My Gran. 

Readers familiar with this thread will recall that the Famile Bromley have traditionally been residents of the Wynn. At some point during the planning stage of WSOP 2015, the Boy muttered words that would strike fear into any heart; "Let's try something different". Gulp. 

They say change is as good as a rest don't they? So with a heavy heart, your Belle ventured out into the unknown and agreed to move into ... The Venetian. 

Tough life, I know, but it was a hard choice. I love the Wynn and given that this is our primary summer holiday away from the stresses of the day job, we have to get it right. First world problems. 

But it was a cracking choice. The suites are lovely. They have a quasi-mezannine feel about them, with the sleeping quarter on an upper floor and steps leading down to a living and dining area. 

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-XunLGoOcPaE/VXcWDeGCshI/AAAAAAAADP0/diwgIeVYYAM/s2048-Ut/IMG_6324.JPG)

We get a massive breakfast delivered to our suite every morning, which should ensure we actually eat. The beds are also big enough that I can get in my side and do a star-fish without even making physical contact with the Boy* (*this clearly was not +EV for him, but gets my vote on account of the fact that I'm gonna sleep REALLY well this fortnight!)

Our first tournament didn't start until 3pm on day one so the morning was a good chance for us to take in some pool time. Again, 10 points for the pool area. My personal favourite is the outdoor spa whirlpool. Just a bit heavenly. Stress? What's that? Was a tough Monday... 

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No poker results as yet, but we got our teeth stuck into day 1 and both ran deep in both tourneys we played (one DDS at the Rio and one in the Aria). We're unlucky not to have at least one flag from Day 1. Saying that, your Belle had a terrible attitide in the Aria nightly and as a result played badly. I need to work on that today; fingers crossed it was just a jet-lag induced blip! 

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope. Martin Luther King, Jr

Day three. Five tournaments down. And one bubble. 

One of the great things about Vegas at this time of year is that it's not all about the WSOP and the Rio. There are so many amazing festivals taking place and you need to pick carefully. We've so far sampled the Aria WPT, the Planet Hollywood PHamous Series and the Wynn Summer Classic. The British contingent, it would seem, have cottoned on to this well and are flooding these alternative festivals in the masses. So much so that I think there were more Brit players in my Aria tournament yesterday than Americans! 

It was the Wynn Summer Classic that took up the majority of Wednesday. Come the bubble, I'm sitting on a comfortable 55bb stack. I open with Q 10dd in the cutoff and the BB (with a huge chip lead) defends. Flop comes out Q 10 6 rainbow. 

At this point, the BB open jams all in. I call. He tables QQ for a flop set and I bubble. I feel a little sick as I write this update to be honest. I have blockers to QQ or 1010. Sure, he can have 66 there, but would he really open jam a flopped set and lose any chance of value? It would seem so. It looked like either a worse two-pair or bubble strategy. You see, I'm not the player I was 12 months ago and nitting up for a min-cash is no longer in my game. I was going for the win. Get that right and I'm sitting on a FT average stack with a good chance of a 5 figure score. Puke. 

Outside of poker, we've not been up to much yet (far too early to take a day off!) I've very much been enjoying the NBA Play Off Finals and the coverage here is awesome. I may watch game 4 at the Legasse Stadium in town. Apparently, if it goes to game 7 then it'll play out after we get home. 

I'm off to put a call into the coaching staff of both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriers to ask them to get this wrapped up by game 6! 

Lagasse Stadium in town?

I know there's one on the floor below the casino at Palazzo. Is there another? Have you been before?

Heartily recommend booking in advance if you're going to watch one of the NBA games there. It'll surely be busy with LeBron doing what LeBron does. $25 minimum spend for a seat, which is easily taken care of by some sort of burger-related luncheon and a beverage (great how Vegas takes care of the punters to ensure we don't have difficulty spending money). Just need a card for them to hold as a security; you can pay cash at the end of course.

Having a seat and an unobstructed view of sport is definitely +EV. Has to be one of the best little finds in Vegas. Didn't even know about the place on my first four visits. If they showed British horse racing there, they'd probably make a killing!

I should add, it's also one of the few places in Vegas where the waitresses aren't wearing clothing their mother wouldn't approve of. I don't get the chance to type sentences like that often without being overwhelmed by fear of rebuke.

Those that do find such inelegant fripperies wholesome will prefer Roundhouse, which is on the outside of Venetian, near the cardroom. It has a rodeo machine.

Quite.

*First flag of the trip klaxon*

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The Boy did a min-cash in the Phamous Goliath $200. About time he got a U.S. flag. Only took him four years...

Send my congrats to the Best Bromley.  ::)

VUL on that bubble.....your time will come though. Keep enjoying yourselves out there and thanks for your reports back for all us stuck in blighty being highly jealous.

Distraction. To remind yourself that you're actually on vacation. 

What does one do when having down time in Vegas? We've been here before. Lots of times. But there's just so much to do and see. 

We took a self-imposed day off poker and kept ourselves [largely] out of trouble with some attractions. 

We started the day toasting our marshmallow skins around the pool. Not difficult to relax and have some fun when surrounded by such luxury:

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LJcu4zcz3ro/VYB_JolVeyI/AAAAAAAADZk/WfKCG41hfGs/s1060-p/IMG_6458.JPG)

We quickly burned tho (in SPF50 at 10am!) so wanders off to the Seigfred and Roy Secret Garden to the Mirage; a lovely little gem that we'd not been to before. It largely comprises of a dolphin sanctuary, where we got to meet these little fellas:

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-H0B2qHzgOYg/VYB-PiRJT7I/AAAAAAAADW0/4QSH9UZZNOU/s1356-Ut/IMG_6417.JPG)

And a few big cats. Who made me miss Pickles and Branston Bromley a lot! 

We then tottled over to the Titanic exhibition at the Luxor. Regular readers will recall that I did this very exhibition last year but I really loved it and wanted to take the Boy this time. It's such an intricate and fascinating insight into an age-old story that's been recounted so many times. Yet it's personal, and very very moving. 

The piece de resistance is for sure the "Big Piece"; a large chunk of the side of the ship that was excavated from the site in 2008 and painstakingly restored. The story was such a long time ago now that it's more of a legend than a memory for this generation. But the "Big Piece" is real. A part of that ship. The exhibition leaves Vegas in 2018 and if it ever comes to the UK, please go see it. 

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-dDR7wqctsM4/VYB-PqIDF6I/AAAAAAAADW0/QAFe8FRXUsY/s1028-Ut/IMG_6437.JPG)

We finished the night at a show.  This time it was "Showstoppers" at the Wynn. This is a new show, but a great one. If you love the good old Broadway classics and a chorus line (and quite frankly who doesn't?!) then this is your thing!! 

Suppose we'd better get back to work...

Better late than never

I think it is fair to say that this trip, poker-wise, has been car crash awful. Two really terrible performances, lots of deep runs and three bubbles (one of which a pure bubble). Plus a massive choke in the only bracelet event I ended up playing.

I managed to salvage a small amount of self-respect in the final tournament of the trip and finished 68/1080 in one of the Rio Daily Deepstacks. This equates to a min cash, plus a few ladders. Whilst this wasn’t the big cash I was hoping for, it does keep up my 100% attendance v flag ratio in Vegas. Still, I didn’t draw a complete blank.

Saying that, I ended up winning a lot more money playing slot machines badged up with Wizard of Oz, The Flintstones and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory than I did playing poker! I somehow turned into a full-time degenerate by the end of the trip.

(https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/10447140_10153424345157437_3480713548409692554_n.jpg?oh=6ddde5c4773283fd5a87cd9ac1ad698e&oe=55EAD29B)

The Boy did better than me and managed two cashes in the end. He was pretty unlucky not to win one of the Binion’s Poker Classic events; he was crushing the field all the way through and amassed a ridiculous chip lead, but lost two big hands to other larger stacks to finish just shy of the final table. This tournament was one of my bubbles, where I had once again taken the opportunity to go for a top 3 stack around the bubble, rather than nit up for a min cash. It’s an important progression in my game and is the attitude I hope I maintain.

As an aside, I really enjoyed playing downtown this year (I haven’t in previous years). There was one interesting event that I wanted to share with you though. In the early levels of the tournament, we ended up with a AA v QQ situation where it all went in on the flop (the QQ had hit the set). After the hand, the dealer stopped the action and started to “warn” the young Canadian with the QQ to "slow down” his play and not set players all in; he was basically telling him a) how he should be playing and b) how things were done around here! I didn’t say anything at the time (although myself and the player did discuss it during the first break), but it really annoyed me. I have never seen that before.

So it finished 2-1 to the Boy in the end.

(http://i.imgur.com/o5UXr4f.jpg)

One thing I have learned from this trip is that my online game is now much stronger than my live game, I assume as a result of the coaching I have been receiving. It a complete turnaround to this time last year, when my online game was really weak compared to the live circuit. Would be nice to get some balance at some point. In the meantime, all that was left of this trip was to have some fun before the long journey home. I shall report on that shortly...

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Week one of this trip was pretty disciplined. We went to bed at reasonable times, had 8 hours sleep, ate healthy breakfasts, got a little sun and prepared generally well for the tournaments we wanted to play.

Week two, not so much. We seemed to transform ourselves into full-time degenerates. So much so that we managed not to make it to bed for the final consecutive four nights of the trip. As I write this final blog from WSOP 2015, I am wondered whether I did actually make it home from Vegas, or whether I left a significant part of my soul there.

As is usually the case at this time of year, most of us have a good number of friends out at the same time so there’s something always going on. We also had some good results to celebrate, some friends having binked some excellent results. I won’t bore you all with a full rendition, but will share some of the highlights of the 'down time' we had:

Pai Gow

At some point, someone suggested that this was a good idea. A few of us played this casino table game over the last few nights of the trip. Always drunk. To be honest with you, I am not sure I could tell you how to do it right now! We got off to a losing start with “Moon, the Dealer of Doom” but once our Italian Stallion, “Darvicci" took over our table and recounted his tales of his trophies for “Customer Service” (don’t ask), some good fun and profitable gambling followed. We may have sunk 14 rum and cokes during one session and left the Flamingo in daylight; not big and not clever kids.

Stuart Rutter and his Brian Potter Mobility Scooter

It was on the pursuit of another late night Pai Gow session that we stumbled upon the hilarious, and somewhat legendary, Stuart Rutter, flying down the Rio corridor on one of the motorised mobility scooters that you can hire when in need. Stuart required the services of said scooter as a result of falling over a Craps table in the early hours of the day before. Stuart convinced us to give Pai Gow a miss in exchange for some Craps lessons from him. Turns out that Stuart Rutter hasn’t got a clue how to play Craps either! He owes me a lesson...

(https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/10372562_10153461896340681_4067663061077931777_n.jpg?oh=4040257e0899a14dc4450fde8291fbe7&oe=55E7F7B0)

Brit Rail

The next night we joined the Deadman rail for a fantastic night of beer, brit rail and Deadman v Mercier (the HU challenge we all wanted to see). Deadman was awesome and it was such a shame that he missed out on the bracelet. Mercier was on fire that night and was real good fun too; a solid ambassador for the game. He interacted and engaged in banter with the brit rail and was really gracious in his victory. The highlight of the night was what is now known as the "$250,000 River”; the 10 that earned Deadman the second place and a nice little ladder v Gorodinsky. I swear I cheered louder than I have done for many Burnley goals when that spiked.  Have so much time for Simon Deadman. A very classy guy.

Magic

We also saw our second show of the trip on our last night when our close friend Leigh Wiltshire treated us to some surprise tickets to see Penn & Teller at the Rio. I have never seen a magic show live and it was awesome. The pair of them stayed in the lobby for hours after the show taking selfies with hundreds of fans and signing programmes. It struck me how big and successful these two are, yet they still make time for the little things that are important. A lesson that can transfer across many areas of our lives.

Hoover Dam

You will be pleased to note that the Boy and I finally made it off strip this year. I still have very little interest in seeing the Canyon, but I have wanted to see Hoover Dam for a long time. I come from an engineering family (my dad was an aerospace engineer before he retired) and everything about the Dam fascinates me. One of the modern wonders of the world, it is also one of the most important engineering feats of modern man. Not sure the Boy was overly keen on the power plant tour I also made him go on, but I found it interesting. I also got this fantastic money shot...

(https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/10448179_10153428542832437_6327033640665102086_n.jpg?oh=10456d42492db8e963ad457bdeba6d4b&oe=55F145C6)

Feeding the Troops

I have mentioned on previous trips that food plays a big part of my Vegas experience and this year was no exception. Some notable additions to the culinary repertoire include Lemongrass at the Aria (delectable thai cuisine), Yardbird at the Venetian (weird-sounding southern restaurant, that is actually just a posh KFC) and Otto, also at the Venetian (Italian with live music and very large meatballs).

But the absolute pinnacle was Cut by Wolfgang Puck, again at the Venetian. We all ate there on our last night and it was sublime. Steak that melted in your mouth and that you would never dream of pouring sauce over. An absolute must if you are over that way. We never made it to Picasso at the Bellagio as it is closed for renovation to the art work, but hopefully I will get out there again.

So there we go. World Series 2015 is over for the Bromleys and its back to the day job on Monday morning. Heads out of one life and back into the other. This year was a pretty exceptional trip and not one we will forget in a hurry. I hope you enjoyed the journey.

Until next time.

B

How is this diary 2 years old and only 17 pages?

Post more.

Lessons from a "90" year old

I miss the old Facebook. You know, the days when people just wrote status updates and uploaded pictures, and you could see what your friends were doing in an orderly fashion whenever you logged on. Nowadays, you have to filter through a significant amount of corporate sponsorship, your friends’ friends activity, countless amounts of image poetry and a sufficicating amount of (largely inaccurate) political propoganda. And to top it all off, the feed isn’t even in time order any more; Facebook decides what it decides to show you. Which quite frankly messes with the OCD in me.

Despite my grumbles, every now and again one stumbles upon a little gem. And that is what happened to me this week, when a friend shared a an article entitled “45 life lessons written by a 90-year old”. I discovered that the article was in fact written over a decade ago now (a little late to the party it seems). During the process of it going internet viral, the details were tweaked and 54 year old breast cancer patient Regina Brett became a 90 year old fun-loving lady who looks remarkably good for her age!

The article I read (http://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/45-Life-Lessons-Written-90-Year-Old-Woman-34209890 if you are interested) quite rightly pointed out that, whatever the age of the writer, the universal lessons it contains are relevant to anyone who needs a reminder of life’s important things. I won’t share the whole list, but here are a few that struck a chord with me:

Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

Save for retirement, starting with your first paycheck.

When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

Don't compare your life to others’ - you have no idea what their journey is all about.

Burn the candles; use the nice sheets; wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"

What other people think of you is none of your business.

However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

Believe in miracles.

Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.

Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Let me know if you can add to that. I would love to hear what gets you through the minefield of life!

Until next time

B

You write beautifully.
A treat to read, as always.

I'm sure you realise that you can change the order that Facebook displays things.
Towards the top left of the window you should see "News Feed" with a downward arrow to the right of it. Click on the arrow and select "Most Recent". Rather annoyingly it frequently resets to "Top Stories" but it only takes a second.

People can also edit their privacy settings so that you aren't troubled too much with their friends activities but then sometimes you miss out on gems about "90" year old women. :)

4 wins on the bounce , going along nicely.

Indeed. And we're playing really rubbish too. Can't wait until we actually start playing!!!

I do love the Championship.

Congrats on winning the Punta Cana final seat Natalie. No doubt who is the best player in the house now, eh?


bromley04 4189 9 Punta Cana Final


xx

Ha. If only eh

The only saving grace in this entire scenario is that I at least have a chance to make it to the sunshine. Cause let's face it, I'm never going to do this with the year I'm having!

I need to catch up with you all, but it's been a busy time. Lots to report before we fly out to Berlin for the WSOPE.

I'll try and post soon!!!

Thin, Brommers, thin indeed.

I'm sure Brommers many admirers on blonde will be pleased to learn that husband Adam (& 8 others) won himself a £4,000 package to Punta Cana in the Caribbean in November. I fancy he'll not be travelling solo......


The Final last night was a real bum-clencher, as Adam went from cruise mode to cling mode, as described here, stolen from Next Door....


Adam Bromley, who had plenty of chips earlier, & looked to be cruising, received the curse of the bok when a (well-meaning) railer suggested he & Natalie get their bags packed ready to fly to Punta Cana. Natalie, who was eagerly railing, but sensibly (just keeping quiet for a change) was horrified, & of course, you know what happened next - Adam could not find any spots, & was looking at the 2 ultra shorties on the next table, & soon found himself with about 4 bigs & clinging on desperately. He clunged well.


(http://www.onlineplayerassociation.com/Images/Sky-Poker-The-Road-To-Punta-Cana-2015.jpg)

 

Adam had quite a night, as he also finished 14th for £231 in the super Roller.

The Super Roller last night was won by Boba Fett, who took home just shy of £4,000. He was 2nd in this last week for £2,350 & has cashed in it some 5 times in the last 8 weeks. Turns up every Sunday, wins the money, goes home. Efficient. 

Ha, thanks Tikay.

Not a bad life is it?

Cheers Tony - it was a bit touch and go at times but managed to scrape through in the end.  Didn't really know what to expect from the package as hadn't looked into it too much so as not to bok myself but it looks absolutely amazing!  

Congratulations Adam.

Bromleys on tour again, enjoy it guys :)

I hope it rains lots!

I don't like either one of you and I am not all jealous!

oioi, Lady Bromley is getting in on the act now.


Andyp42 1389000 1 £1157.50
jok22 0 2 £648.20
Bromley023 0 3 £382.44

Having to pack. Again. FFS.

It'll be fine Matthew. I'll be at the other end of the world. And don't really like using my phone. Or social media.

You won't know I'm there ;whistle;

*STOP THE PRESS*

This year may be turning around. Just in time to go bracelet hunting too #WSOPE

Well done on your bink in that side event at the WSOPE in Berlin last night. I hope you treat Adam to a meal/new suit/season ticket out of the winnings x

Natterley cashed? Wonderful news.

Well done the girlie.

There is a German flag in the Bromley household yes. I will let her give you the details though ;)

I'm hating on you right now.

Bromleys on Tour: WSOPE 2015, Berlin, Germany

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-WxQqkz_cdJM/Vh2Js1hEk7I/AAAAAAAADio/H4AqLZonkp4/w488-h651-no/2015%2B-%2B10)

Hello, and Herzlich Willkommen to Berlin, Germany, which for the next couple of weeks will host the 2015 World Series of Poker, Europe.  We are at the Speilberg for some cards, beer and sausages.

Berlin is a city that Team Brommers has never visited before and so excitement reached fever pitch when the WSOPE announced the 2015 schedule.  Regardless of what else happened in 2015, we were going to Berlin.

And so here we are. Early flight out of Manchester into Shönefeld over the clear skies of our coastline and raring to go. As with most our trips, we are here for just a short time (5 days), combining some selected tournaments with a lot of sightseeing (*edit* beer and sausage). We planned for one bracelet event and a couple of side events.

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-OHAh6ETTxFI/ViLeq9RkSgI/AAAAAAAADjc/AviEmjqA9M4/w480-h640-no/2015%2B-%2B2)

Our bracelet event was the €550 Oktoberfest, themed (although I am not sure how) on the frivolities from down the road in Munich.  The tournament floors were packed and the event amassed a colossus 2,144 entrants.  It wasn’t the best value of tournaments if we are honest. For your €550 you get a 5k stack and a 30 minute clock. Turbo turbo turbo. Your Belle bust bullet #1 in pretty standard fashion: we ran KQ into 56 for half our stack, then AK into QJ for the rest. Fairly un-controversial.  It was time for a quick rest before we fired bullet #2 (no re-entries in the WSOPE events).

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-lnv3SNa1DeE/Vh2Js2mCMdI/AAAAAAAADiU/M6Vj8CvCE7k/w367-h651-no/2015%2B-%2B8)

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-U73duKAGpGo/Vh2Js84cmCI/AAAAAAAADhk/-6-L-sSRQkg/w367-h651-no/2015%2B-%2B11)

This followed a similar theme.  Ran QQ into AQ for the first half of our stack. Then had the most ridic exit hand EVER - jammed remaining 11bb with J9. Get called by the BB with 33. We flop the world (8 10 Q). We still lose. Turn 10 (uh-oh). River 3 (puke).

The rest of the trip was just side events. These are even more turbo though; €265 for a 5k stack with a 15 min clock and max 150 runners. I got close to a cash, finishing 6 off the bubble, but the Boy had to go one further and lock up a 5th place finish for €3,500. And a German flag. Not impressed!!

We left our friends, and this random dude, to clean up the rest...

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-SxaJLepM9a8/ViLeq0GBcdI/AAAAAAAADjc/er71SAlbBwo/w480-h640-no/2015%2B-%2B1)

Bromleys on Tour: WSOPE 2015, Berlin, Germany

“The tears I have cried over Germany have dried. I have washed my face” Marlene Dietrich

So once the poker is done, what else is there to do in Berlin? Given our enthusiasm for this city, Team Brommers decided to take a slightly extended break and make sure that we got around this famous, historical city. We bought guide books. We set an itinerary. We learnt stuff. I am not sure we even scratched the surface in the three days we spent wandering around, but we were still impressed. Our guide book of choice is usually the Eye-Witness Collection, that contain a rather handy 'Top Ten'; useful for poker players in a rush.

We present to you, our top picks:

1. Berlin Zoo

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-MC4P7-tGAMk/Vh2Js-RJIPI/AAAAAAAADjw/7F40wFhR6yA/w488-h651-no/2015%2B-%2B7)

Sure, it's a zoo. Has animals. Not particularly different from any other zoo in the world. But it is good and well worth a visit. They have Kangaroos, an animal I usually place in the "Oh, I thought they were mythical" category. Kangaroos really do hop around.

Learning with Brommers #1: Knut the Polar Bear, one of Berlin Zoo’s most popular animals, was the first to be born in captivity to survive infancy in 30 years.

2. Reichstag Building

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-UIJGlqmI-04/Vh2Jswcl5yI/AAAAAAAADhY/gUb-9IORYsM/s640-no/2015%2B-%2B1)

Germany's most important political building doesn't disappoint and is nothing short of spectacular to look at. As you can imagine, it is pretty well protected, as the Boy found out to his determinant when he wandered nonchalantly into a restricted zone and met the force of the German police!

Learning with Brommers #2: The Reichstag played a significant part in Hitler’s rise to power. The 1933 fire resulted in the passing of a Bill that afforded him absolute power. Many claim to this day that Hitler started the fire himself - that some political strategy if true!

3. Brandenburg Gate

Apart from being a lively, vibrant centrepiece, we spent quite a bit of time roaming around here in anticipation of Season 5 of one of our most favourite box sets; Homeland. Which is set in Berlin. And given that most of the major embassies live here, we tried to memorise streets and scenes for when the new series starts.

Learning with Brommers #3:  Originally, only the royal family was allowed to walk through the central arch of the gate. Everyone else had to walk through the other arches.

4. Deutsches Historisches Museum (German History Museum)

The official national history museum of the Federal Republic of Germany is nothing short of amazing. Your Belle is a complete history geek but we just simply didn’t have the time to go through the entire archives. So we started in 1918 and finished at 1989. The thing that struck me was the complete honestly of the information on display. Good or bad, it was factual and did not try to dilute a past that they may not be particularly proud of. Or make excuses for defeats in battle.

Learning with Brommers #4:  The museum houses over 8,000 permanent historical artefacts!

There was so much more to do, see and experience that another trip simply has to be on the cards (pardon the terrible pun).

Bromleys on Tour: Punta Cana, Nov 2015

There are brags. And there are sick binkage brags. 

Team Brommers has temporarily relocated to the Dominican Republic, where for the next 7 days we will be soaking up sunshine, rum and the Punta Cana Poker Classic at the great Hard Rock Resort. 

You see, the Boy managed to win one of the 9 packages up for offer next door. The stars aligned at just the right moment and we managed to schedule the time of out of the office, swap our scarves for bikinis (me, not the Boy you'll be glad to hear) and sleep our way over here on an Airbus A330 

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-c-QUgzZVyxM/VjimM77c8TI/AAAAAAAADlM/lbUShYpgLSQ/s1536-Ut/2015%2B-%2B4)

I believe one of the terms of the comp was that it was only one package per household, but nonetheless we both tried to get us here; always on the strict understanding that we would also buy the other into the tournament. There's no way we would let the other sit on the rail and not play. There's a full schedule all week, as well as a ladies event on the last day. But more of that later. 

In the meantime, we've arrived safe and sound and have just spent a few hours trying to stay awake long enough to nail the Jetlag on day 1.

We're still functioning highly enough to realise that a midnight dip in the ocean was probably not wise. 

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lSq6URZGZNM/VjimMxMYVqI/AAAAAAAADlM/KDV7eXGRQTY/s1536-Ut/2015%2B-%2B3)

So we settled for rum on the beach, before a dip in our private jacuzzi (in the lounge - not sure anyone needs a jacuzzi in their lounge) and bed. 

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-1Ax1-GEjNEw/VjimMx0b29I/AAAAAAAADlM/zM7b3-wbld8/s1536-Ut/2015%2B-%2B2)

WAL   :)

Very best of luck to you both. ;esochomp;

Natters,

Are you or The Boy playing any poker today? If so, will come along, rail and update.

That assumes I can find the card room. Strewth, this Hard Rock Resort place is bigger than the Isle of Wight. I'd go get breakfast if I could but find the restaurant area. It's a good 20 minute walk from my room, for sure.

Yo yo. You made it then?!

We've just sat down for breakfast. Not sure we're playing today as I think it's just satellites to the Main?

Gonna just chill round the pool, but we'll find you later! X

I'd just like to be the first to congratulate ADAM Bromley on being the first in the Bromley household to secure this rarest of beasts, a Dominican Republic Flag.

Natterley is also delighted for Adam. Ish.


(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRtxqTj9D40OgUZUbWSIMJDn0OCu9Qck1QHeZyFDz_Rz-W5DvZ7)

I miss Natterley

^^^

You are not alone David.

I wrote to them both a month or so ago, as neither Adam or Natterley has posted Next Door either, & Adam replied that they were both busy on "catch up" with work.

This morning, another player posted that Adam & Natalie had both been at the GPPT (?) "warm up" in the 235 Club in Manchester last week.

So both of them are fine, just busy with work. 

Hello hello

What a lovely thing, to know that there are people out there who miss you when you are not in their lives! How very kind of you to comment.

This diary has been playing on my mind for some time now and I am very very aware that I need to catch up with you all. Tikay has summed it up perfectly in his post above, so I won't regurgitate.

I have half a post written. I will be back asap!

Don't forget about me  ;booboo;

Mrs B

is it fair to say that when not in claret and blue you would not be a fan of joey barton as a person or a footballer?

now in claret and blue, you sing his praises to the rafters frequently

--

in my time as a supporter i have two of these. david speedie and robbie savage. hated them when not playing for my team, then we signed them...


did you go through a tortured process of mentally transforming a player from demon to idol or was it seamless?

any other burnley players over time that you've disliked before you sign them?

Now then. There's a question.

Prior to arriving at Turf Moor, I confess that I HATED Joey Barton. As a man and as a footballer. I had nothing positive to say about the despicable little cretin and adopted a zero tolerance strategy.

There are players who get categorised as "hate them if they play against you; love them if they play for you". I put the likes of Savage, Diouf and Bellamy in that field (although none of these played in a Claret shirt). Then there was Joey Barton. I genuinely believed that you hated the guy even if he played for you!

When the news broke that we were trying to sign him, I was gutted, but I said almost immediately that he would be an outstanding signing for "football reasons". The transition from demon to hero shouldn't have been seamless, but it was, and it wasn't through anything I did. It was all Joey. What you don't see outside of the "Joey Barton Circus" is the level in which he immerses himself in your club. He meets everyone. He learns the very ethos of the club's spirit. And he adopts it. Before he even kicked a ball, he had impressed me. I have turned into a massive Fangirl.

I do believe that the Barton we see today is very different to the one of 10 years ago, and I am not sure I would have felt the same way if I had been a QPR fan when he signed for them. I don't say that to dilute his past, but I believe he has changed. The man paid the price for his wrongdoings and I guess you shouldn't punish someone for the rest of their life for making a mistake(s).

There have been no other players from this category at Burnley in my lifetime. The closest we usually get is when someone signs for us who used to play for Venky's United down at Deadwood Park (*spits*). There's an unwritten rule that you cannot play for both clubs, but a few have; Alan Mahon, David May and Andy Cole all crossed the divide and came out alive!

Anyone else got any experience of this?

your favourite does the business at Brentford

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYyqPFaU0AE7EsY.jpg)

^^ Meh. What do I know?! ^^

Hi,

I also didn't particularly like Barton much when he signed but football wise he has been sensational.

One nice little touch from him... when a player was down injured getting treatment and he was waiting to take a free kick he threw the ball to some kids at the front of the James Hargreaves stand so they could head it back and he did it for a few minutes.

I don't expect him to if we don't go up but really hope he's still here next season.

David Jones is another to play at Deadwood before moving to us and also current target Alan Judge would be another (really hope we don't pay 8 Million for him).

I remember being on a terrace at an away game when Kerry Dixon was playing for Watford (having been at Luton) and there was a punch up between pro and ante Dixon fans.  It was pretty nasty.

Matt Spring had no such issues though several years later.

You must sit near me then - that Joey kick about was right in front of us. I was desperate for him to throw it to me (such a child!!)

I am desperate for him to stay with us. I believe we have opened talks to extend his contract?

Ah you are quite right about Jonah. I clean out forgot about him! I would pay £8m for Alan Judge ... I though he was immense against us on Friday night.

God, I don't miss these scenes at football games any more!

Don't you just love those "sing when we are winning" sorts?

Spotted this stuff on another Forum.

He's one of our own, he's one of our owwwwwwwn, Jason Shackell, he's one of our own :)

And.....

"Who put the ball in the Derby net ... Who put the ball in the Derby net ... Who put the ball in the Derby net ... SUPER JASON SHACKELL"

No idea what that was all about.

Jason shackell  (now derby) was the ex burnley captain.

Left for Derby and a bigger payday

 :redcard:

Cheers lad. You'll always be a Claret

(http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/images/localworld/ugc-images/276250/Article/images/28605418/12199688.jpg)

No mercy for Shacks!

Funny did all but sign Keogh 10 years ago too ... Big week coming up now!

Bromleys on Tour | Emirates Stadium | London

Because sometimes we stay in the UK too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olCanN_BYVg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olCanN_BYVg)

 :cheers: :)up

Nice one. Great to see Burnley go up.

Congrats Adam, Natalie, bet that feels great.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

(http://www.burnleyfootballclub.com/cms_images/match/team-cele113-3092180.jpg)

Still, young Tighty's achievement tonight (rightly) eclipses ours, but needless to say I am lumping chunks on Burnley to win the Premier League in 2017 at 5000/1!

UTC

Nice shirt Natters.

How did they get on in Game 7?

Postcard from Vegas | Dubs and Rubs

It's been a while. Pocket Queens HQ has been forced offline for much of 2016. I could explain, but you know the drill - work/stress/life - and the summer just wouldn't be the same without a Vegas update.

Your Belle landed in Sin City Saturday lunchtime. A 4am roll call was the result of our decision this summer to give Virgin Atlantic a swerve and fly out with Thomas Cook Airlines on the Airbus A330. Newer planes, cheaper tickets (we could fly Premium both legs for half the price of a Virgin ticket) and a generally much more pleasant flying experience. Saying that, I did manage to faint a few hours into the flight. That's not happened before...

Day one was taken up fighting the inevitable onset of jet lag. We had some time around the pool, drank some frozen pina coladas and soaked in our surroundings. Our home for the next two weeks will be the Aria, a rather stunning hotel right in the centre of the strip. I've battled to stay awake in worse places!

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/diaxNEPWWazuMB0iXH7AaotGwdomg0F6f533BLU5fXuvnqB-2WO86ymXwp2wGnx_rWofyjDKew=w1500-h2668-no)

After a slice of the best pizza on the Strip (which, let the records show, is Pin-Up Pizza) and a good 9 hours snooze it was time to work.

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MXdEp6mPlvU/V2gQwGHZH-I/AAAAAAAADz4/kRDlnxloKPwNzq-gxS2q7duCGdN12j_VA/w358-h636-n/1e22f339-da29-4e90-995c-5bd1d926a724)

Our shedule started at the Rio for a bit of Daily Deepstack action during the day (where we bumped into the lovely Tikay and the lovelier Tal) and an Aria nightly. The Boy found himself sat next to (and ultimately sucked-out by) Main Event runner-up Darvin Moon. How very Vegas.

Sandwiched between those was Game 7 of the NBA Playoff Finals. We fell in love with the Warriors last summer so were gutted to throw a 3-1 lead away and see Le Bron lift the trophy at the Oracle. We had planned to fly up to San Fransisco to watch the game, but the ticket prices were slightly off putting ($47,500 anyone ... no?). Much like I found myself wandering around Leicester Square on 7 May 2016, still in my Burnley shirt, chanting "23, 23 undefeated..." I found myself this time wandering around the Aria in my Warriors shirt getting rub-downs from drunk EDC kids. FML.

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mMKyyhM8BmE/V2gQwKHu-KI/AAAAAAAADz4/ziBVLkmigHYVQ4MdvHtsh3AtloYAOAj-g/w636-h636-n/9b9cd0b6-0d4a-4acc-843b-bf0580cba020)

And so it begins. We have two weeks of fun and hazy optimism ahead of us. Honey, were home!

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GEu8RIpmXvg/V2gQwFXGiOI/AAAAAAAADz4/BJUP3VZzBc0Ao1hNAE08iM7fijvi-g1yQ/w358-h636-n/03984c99-1d0f-4d5b-8778-532741d78a16)

Excellent. Looking forward to more updates.

+1

Say hello to Jeeves for us please & run good, cash big. (to both Brommers)

Postcard from Vegas | Bubble Trouble and a Goliath Grind

We have our first flag of the series. The Boy FT a PHamous Goliath event for a min cash. Slightly annoying as we have prop bets on this summer for a) number of flags and b) final value of winnings. I'm obvs bugged that he's off the mark already and I'm playing catch up! 

The event wasn't without controversy tho, as he voted not to pay the bubble when a deal was proposed. This is a position Pocket Queens HQ has as standard. And people really don't like it. It's a reality that there's a bubble in tournament poker and someone won't get paid. It sucks, but it's a fact. What about the guy who bust to get us to the bubble; would he have played differently knowing he was only one off a min cash and not two? The table got aggressive as a result of his decision (and he was very short on chips when he said no!) and one drunken English lad threaten to "smash his face in" as a result. Fine. Whatever.

Further afield, Team Bromley and the lovely Tal (which is now his official title for this trip) all punted in the $600 Goliath Event at Planet Hollywood. Billed as perhaps the best value tournament of the summer, organisers are expecting to smash the $700k guarantee with a projected prize pool of over $1m. Was a cracking event, albeit a real grind of a day and I'm pleased to report all three amigos bagged up for Day 2. Nice to nail the first day 2 of the summer so early on. We celebrated getting through the day with a relaxed dinner at the Luxor with a couple of glasses of wine and some delectable food. There's few things in life I like more than a long dinner with good wine and fantastic company. 

*Edit*

As we go to press, the Boy just picked up his second flag of the summer with a cash in one of the Rio Dailys. Your Belle is now 0-2 down and things are looking grim. Maybe I'll just go take down the Goliath to wipe the smug smile off his face. 

Gl gl in the Goliath

Quick update:

Boy has made Day 3 of the Goliath (breaking his Day 3 duck). We have $4k locked up at the moment with $200k up top.

Prop bets looking irrecoverable right now for me, but railing all the same!

Oooh

Good luck to the Boy.

Great stuff, wish him good luck please Natalie.

Loving the "WE have $4k locked up"......

:)

gl gl, but surely he has the man now.

Is today a good day to be a Corporate Lawyer, Natalie?

The legal profession will surely be the biggest winners from Brexit, with all those trade deals and stuff to be renegotiated.

Oioi!

Any short term gains are likely to be wiped out by the prospect of another recession.

Saying that, in a corporate insolvency lawyer so the immediate future is looking depressingly rosy for me right now!

'Cos recessions never happened whilst we were in the EU. #justsayin
Hope your enjoying your new job as a rail bunny. Give my best wishes to the Boy as he does his first day 3.
I'm sure the premium handbag makers are on standby.

About Bloody Time. Well Done.

Have we done a win? 

Good morning.

An early second half goal sees your Belle back in the game.

1-3 on the flag front.

Full update to follow!

Bump

Postcard from Vegas | The Curious Case of the Limping Belle

It occurred to me today that I'm entirely comfortable in my own company. In a densely populated, social media existence it is a rare thing to spend some time alone. To let your mind wander. To be in the moment with the elements. To resist capturing every moment on camera instead of living that moment and savouring the memory. 

Why was I alone in Vegas do you ask? Let's rewind a little...

I last left you just as I'd managed a min cash + ladder in the PHamous Goliath series at the Planet Hollywood. I played well, but there wasn't really anything else spectacular to report from the event. The only comment of note was that we had to grind a 45 minute bubble. Forty. Five. Minutes. This may seem overkill for a $180 event, but it made me appreciate that there are still a significant number of players to whom that min cash meant a lot. That can only be good for the game and for general recognition of the value of money (a concept I fear gets lost in poker). 

An early second half goal should, you would think, put me on the right track to a trip-saving result in Prop Bet #1 (number of flags). Alas this was not the case. As the Boy is now 1-4 ahead. 

His 4th flag was in downtown Vegas at the Binions. A cracking event - 50,000 chips and a one hour clock - which was rammed to the rafters with players. So much so that the 2 day event had to be turned into a 3 day event and the TD was pacing the floor on the microphone crying about the number of players and asking everyone to play aggressively and bust as soon as possible. Would never happen on Trumper's watch...

Again, nothing particularly exciting to report, apart from the rather annoying scenario that in a room full of the senior and super senior cohorts, I managed to get two of the most young, aggro, technically hard-to-play-against fellows sat directly to my left. Plus Tal. Meh. 

So let's fast forward to the point where I found myself alone with my thoughts in the (probably massively overpriced) spa in the Aria. Well I managed to tear the connector muscle at the top of my hamstring. And I have no idea at all how I did it. But I couldn't walk for two whole days and was hobbling around so badly that I was accosted by security at 3pm in the afternoon and accused of being drunk. I mean, it's a fair shout in this town but give me a break dude. 

The trip itself has been so much fun and we've actually been able to do a lot of non-poker fun since we've been here. I'll update you on those later, but it involves seeing me cheering on the Germans in this weekend's Euros. How on earth did I get myself into that pickle... 

<3 Dingle updates.

Get well soon.

Postcard from Vegas | Play, play … then play some more

This year was my 7th summer in Vegas. You’d think that, by now, I would have seen all that there is to see. The beauty about Vegas is that every visit unearths some gem that you had not seen before. Something that was always there, but you just didn’t see it (like the adorable row of quaint Parisian shops and patisseries right at the back of the Paris Hotel). Or something new that has been added to the chameleon city since your last visit (such as the Central Park replica tagged onto the end of New York, New York).

I saw so much this year and really enjoyed some downtime away from the grind of poker and the stresses of my day job.  Too much really to squeeze into one post. So here is my “Top Five” for WSOP 2016.

Lagasse Stadium:

When I first went to Vegas and saw the signs for this place all over the Palazzo, I thought this was an actual stadium. Where some form of American sport would be played. It was only last summer that I understood that this is, in fact, a sports bar.  Perhaps quite obvious given the rather barren quantum of professional sports teams in Vegas! Nonetheless, it’s a very good sports bar. Styled out very much in the genre of “bloke’s sofa on a Friday night" you hire a spot on massive white sofas and watch your chosen sport on cinema-esqe sized screens. As with anything in Vegas, there is a hefty minimum spend on food and drinks, but if you get enough of you there then it’s not expensive at all. We watched the pathetic England display v Iceland there with Messrs Tal, Rutter and Spittles, then returned again to watch Germany v Italy with some dear German friends - which is how I ended up supporting them!

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ZuwR2ShB5vI/V3qGoosBEJI/AAAAAAAAD3s/c1qsrPNOTMciLAz6a0YwaI7K21GiBmOTQCL0B/w366-h651-no/fa170d75-f591-408c-b400-117e39428b21)

I made sure I represented the Clarets though!

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-8KOI6UQgGQ4/V3qGonj8fII/AAAAAAAAD3s/tSVgOIx-BJsngzAOmo8P-PdTiW8MikNqQCL0B/w366-h651-no/4c117003-fa1c-4ed2-8768-1050d641ba3f)

Avenger’s Station:

I am a huge marvel fan and this new attraction at Treasure Island was simply brilliant. Centred around the training of new Avengers recruits (you, obvs), your task is to venture through 5 rooms to learn all about the science behind the super heroes, then complete assessments to move you up the levels. Very very cool. They even had full-sized replicas of each of the Iron Man suits.

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-iXOr9AEJj4s/V3qGopkniLI/AAAAAAAAD3s/xd7PswrkJ4cDWPNfjvvVAbZhP6b91uR4QCL0B/w366-h651-no/eba47d86-53a1-4971-b538-dd62f8490ce6)

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-EUgaCbchNYQ/V3qGohpoAMI/AAAAAAAAD3s/96lTQLqNx0MWKBRYir2FGTDG48wUo5RMwCL0B/w366-h651-no/27ba2c63-b2c3-4f55-a0b2-1d7571f1a2cf)

Pinball Museum:

How do you waste an entire afternoon? Pay a visit to the pinball museum with very deep pockets full of quarters. This funhouse contains rows and rows of pinball machines, dating from the 1950s up to the 1990s. And it is just pure fun (even if your hands do stink of metal at the end of it). Slight warning though; this is not the place for you if you are in any way competitive! I particularly enjoyed rekindling my affair with PacMan and fans of Wreck-it-Ralph will recognise some familiar faces in the crowds.

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Fcm7-zBLSas/V3qGoiV02EI/AAAAAAAAD3s/KHKv1BDInxM5Rwdc8FnBaDYqPQ9GT4h5ACL0B/w488-h651-no/fe625bcf-8570-45d9-b6b5-00d542eb9289)

Kiss Crazy Golf:

Recently relocated to the Rio, this is easily missed due to its quite poor advertising. We took our German friends there for some England v Germany action (which they won on penalties, obvs). It perhaps wasn’t the most technically difficult of crazy golf courses I have been to, but the lighting, effects, music and memorabilia adorning the walls do make this a fun experience. In the arcade at the end, you win old-school fairground tickets that you then trade for “tat”. We won 275 tickets that we transferred for a rubber duck, a plastic dinosaur and two ninja finger fighters. Ace.

I particularly enjoyed the Batman arcade racer, which was one of my favourite games growing up. Even If I am still annoyed at Batman v Superman, it’s still cool as hell to get into the Batmobile.

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TbBWKrPWIDA/V3qGohlgvHI/AAAAAAAAD3s/eQXwK4oRXSU_C8VRHevnhN3p5mlhhU3OACL0B/s651-no/027278c0-c28b-4072-a1fc-90985507f05a)

The Mob Museum:

We took the newly adopted member of Team Bromley (Tal) to this on a very early morning trip downtown to learn all about the history of the mafia and it’s influence on early Las Vegas. Well, I say that we took him, but in all honesty it was Tal who was brave enough to deal with (and subsequently supervise) two very grumpy members of TB (we are not famous for being sprightly and alert first thing in the morning). It was so so so worth it. Rammed with more information that you can take in during a few hours, it features the first Vegas casino, the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre wall, an original “Tommy Gun” and some of the first casino chips used. I won’t offer any spoilers, but if you do find yourself over there, do not miss this.

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-BYa2H6FribQ/V3qGojgy18I/AAAAAAAAD3s/EH0NpMcu46sTCnsjLuwBIa4jYUp6MNAOQCL0B/w366-h651-no/398f3eb1-915f-4249-9ee5-62660263ea23)

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6WTZ1lnl0Q4/V3qGotHGL-I/AAAAAAAAD3s/sz17TeTaRtgm5FWElkn4RD2NERY9RfHMgCL0B/w366-h651-no/b4dc1db3-6a4f-4500-9415-326a3b798c20)

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1Q5Vwv3K4yo/V3qGolwA3DI/AAAAAAAAD3s/HiOAFEv27HIV1DO8GfkNHgKoRMUlTyTPQCL0B/s651-no/85c5c1bf-5a27-4548-8628-b70c2a571bb4)

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-kA1gs5q08tI/V3qGonzNOBI/AAAAAAAAD3s/p1eJ_lxnLvwmuYW-0q6kf96-B-unZmSRgCL0B/w366-h651-no/816805ab-6105-41d1-8bda-0b74a6824b29)

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-0ocnowjE8Gs/V3qGoqvPQjI/AAAAAAAAD3s/V8PndB472a44Cwqp5UsSjCVzAwJPcaiIACL0B/w366-h651-no/cb57fd53-793f-4adc-a4fa-80113838fa35)

I appreciate that not all of our leisure time is spent doing mature, grown up activities, but I am a firm believer that whilst growing old is inevitable, growing up is entirely optional!

I appreciate that not all of our leisure time is spent doing mature, grown up activities, but I am a firm believer that whilst growing old is inevitable, growing up is entirely optional!
[/quote]

Great line to finish off a good to read report. Thanks for sharing with us.

“You’re off to great places, today is your day, your mountain is waiting, so get on your way!” Dr Seuss

For as long as I could remember, the ‘new year” began in September. A new school year. The smell of new uniforms. The blisters from new shoes. The grit of shiny new pencils etching ideas onto the blank canvass of a new notebook. At some point in our adult years, emphases move and the timeline of a new year shifts to January with its relentless drive of the New Year’s Resolution.

I never lost the love of September. I am at my most inspired with the promise of autumn leaves, new coats, Halloween, Bonfire Night and all the delicious food and drink that comes with that. Think Harry Potter movies. A colleague today told me about a Podcast she had listened to. The host revealed that she never made New Year’s Resolutions in January, she did them in September. My colleague said this made her think of me and I can see why.

This year has been no different and I have been spending some of my rare-but-precious free time thinking about where I am in my life and what I want to achieve. I feel awake and oozing inspiration.

It therefore comes as a surprise that we are choosing this time of the year to indulge in a late holiday. The World Series was too early a holiday for us and we simply cannot go any longer without a break. The lure of the GPPT proved too much (I am a real fan of this tour) and so tomorrow morning we are off to Killarney to play the Ireland leg. We get to play most of the festival, returning late Monday night.

Rather than drive down to Luton or London for the short flight to Kerry (perils of being Northern), we have instead chosen to fly into Dublin, pick up a car and embark on a road trip along the remarkable coastline of the Emerald Isle. This is going to be a great trip and I am very excited.

I hope to be able to update you on our travels, unless we are crushing the tables, in which case I will post the winner’s photo with the trophy when I get back!

Belle

Welcome back.

Enjoy Ireland and the very best of luck in Killarney

Bromleys on Tour | Killarney 2016

4am is a pretty horrible time to get out of bed. Especially when you only got in it a couple of hours earlier. But there we were, awake and driving to Manchester Airport for the early morning flight to Dublin. Dense fog and fours at the airport later, we finally arrived in the Emerald Isle (quite a bit later than scheduled ... .sigh).

After picking up the car and picnic supplies, we set off on Day One of the Road Trip; Dublin to Killarney (M50 / N7 / M20 for those who care).

The first pit stop took us to Tipporary, but only really by accident. You see, signs for "Services" in Ireland are a little misleading. Rather than pull off a slip road and into a conveniently built complex of food, comfort and petrol facilities, you are in fact directed off the motorway and to the next available town (where you hope to find a pub or a shop or a cafe!). Nonetheless, it was a happy accident as my beloved Gran used to sing "Its a long way, to Tipperary..." to me as a little girl and so the Boy and I did a little rendition in a car park in her honour.

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/J5IDx70LDo_cFMbVcOoFGwD6yEQxemo4gZEX0gWXbLVnDVvB_99pgO-lpY1-OqlLmx3s9V-BMOSKoGttXKKTweVfhap4f-E)

The other funny thing about Irish motorways is their habit of placing random sculptures in the grass verges. No warning. No signs. And no explanation. Still, helps pass the time on a long stretch.

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/uqGGqAsVscKFBFgnCvaEHZ9JYbvHmGfM_hkant8NXaWyoNOGrTReLlrh_tegou1jX04VarfYLP93EJWfsp_5vNhOPoCRosk)

Another surprising stumble along the way was the town of Moneygall which proudly declares is the ancestral home of Barack Obama. I think the town is still not over the elation of the presidential visit back in 2011!

Anyway, getting back to the trip. We finally pulled into the stunning Killarney early evening and checked into the Brehon; a hotel set against the stunning backdrop of Torc Mountain and a car park away from the GPPT festival hall. Handy that.

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/u2J44lqrsLcepMdsl3taZ_hgIUsn6udCy-auf2C68clZDWWsFG-QuOC0gUR_AlGhy3Fr_IX5vod9_mWquihOI7HTnrz8i50)

Poker starts properly tomorrow. Would be nice if the team could lock up day 2s tomorrow so we get a day off on Saturday and a chance to explore some sights!

I spotted this today, out here in Punta Cana.

This is the exact species that our Ms Brommers spotted here last year, & reported as being "a thin swan". If that is a swan, it's most certainly not been at all well.

The levels of ignorance in the North are, I suppose, either a product of lack of education, or an acceptance that a woman belongs at home, doing the cooking & stuff.    

Amen.

It is an egret, not an ibis, heron or thin swan.  I would say cooking was a mans job, but having seen the tinned tomatoes...

Haha brilliant.

It really did look like a thin swan from where I was stood. Some great memories from that trip Tony. Wish we were out there again with you!

B

This post reminds me of Annie Duke who (I'm sure you all know of her) got presented with the awkwardness of being "that girl" at the big boy's table daring to dwindle the egos of her male-counterparts.

There have been studies conducted that proves psychologically, that if you feel like an outsider, it will come at a cost - the way you play your hand at the poker table, or it could work out to one's advantage as a stereotype threat. If you're always worried about falling into the stereotypes that "girl's can't play poker" you may lose your focus and prove them right.

Women stay focus and remember God gave us all two hands and we should all be able to use them to play poker. :-)

Well, well, well it is you - the Burnley "fan reporter" used by BT on their PL coverage. (Apologies if this has been mentioned elsewhere on Blonde but if it has I've not seen it)

I've seen quite a few of your video clips on BT and thought there was a similiarity to your pics on here and I wondered if you were one and the same person. My wonderings have just been confirmed - I was looking at a recording from a couple of weeks or so ago, this time with your name included, making your appeal for Sean Dyche to re-sign Joey Barton. And I see they just have so you will be delighted with that :)

How did you get the gig in the first place? Presumably it is something you enjoy?

Well well. Hello there!

Your investigations have proved successful and I can confirm that it is indeed me!

So, myself and 4 male friends run a Burnley fan site called "NoNayNever". We used to have a blog as well but we have recently been concentrating on producing a one hour Podcast that gets published on iTunes every Tuesday. It's the only Burnley Podcast and has been listened to over 100k times!

We are always being asked to contribute to media stuff; be that from professional journalists or other fan sites/blogs. At the start of this season we were approached by the producers of the BT Sport "Premier League Tonight" show and asked if we would be on their panel and submit vlogs each week. The boys thought this was one for me and I jumped at the chance. Little secret for you - I studied at drama school when I was 16 so I'm not shy in front of a camera!!!

I've really enjoyed it so far and will be gutted if Burnley get relegated and I'm not part of the show next year! I'm the only girl they have!!!

Clearly SD is a fan. Given that Joey is on his way home...

Wow, Natterley is a TV Star.

Thoughts on Joey's return?

Picture of Chez Brommers Xmas tree & decs please.

XX to you both.

I'm impressed - great stuff.

Thinking about it, one of guys who does the vlog for City is from a  City fan channel. In fact BT invited them to meet everybody behind the scenes and included  full BT hospitality at a recent CL night.

I was born and bred about 3 miles from Maine Rd and the most natural thing was to support City but I've got a big soft spot for Burnley and have been to Turf Moor lots of times over the years. This stems from my father who was from Burnley originally and was a big Burnley fan. Obviously I really hope they stay up as well :)

Happy New Year Natalie

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C1BQfj4WgAAFWqt.jpg)

I start this post by extending my very warmest of wishes for a happy, healthy and peaceful new year. It has always been my customary greeting to wish people a prosperous new year but, whilst ending poverty and creating a comfortable life for everyone is important, it really dawned on me in 2016 that money is not the greatest gift one could wish for.

Anyway, in terms of catching up with your comments:

Tikay

I think that "TV Star" is perhaps a little too enthusiastic! I literally just send in [sometimes] coherent ramblings that are either ecstatic and full of survival optimism (if we have played at home) or woefully fearful of relegation back to the Championship (if we have played away).

I am genuinely excited about Joey's return and hope that this FA charge doesn't scupper that. He was such an important player for us last year and honestly had an impeccable season with us. I am not naive enough to suggest that he will have the same impact on the pitch, but his leadership skills will be vital to our chances of survival (I hope!). If we are only talking about a 3ish game ban then I suspect we will still sign him. Any more than that and there is no chance.

We did manage to turn our house into something festive in the end. I tend to keep to the same decorations each year, as I still need to be efficient with my time! This is my favourite decoration ....

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CWIH-WvWEAEC_S0.jpg)

I had a few other pics to post, but for some reason I seem to have lost the knowhow to post pics on this thread. They seem to keep disappearing and I fear I have had a technological breakdown!

Archer

It always surprises me how many people have a connection to Burnley. For such a little town! Thank you for your kind comments. I really hope we stay up too and a little part of me is starting to believe. We had a great festive period - it was so important for us to win both of those games - and are sitting 9 points clear of relegation. It looks to me like it will be Hull, Sunderland and Swansea but you just can't tell in this league! We could still go down yet.

Tighty

Happy new year indeed!!!!! Maybe, just maybe, this is our year? Do you think we can still stay up with our woeful away form?? Surely Swansea are down, so that leaves two from Sunderland, Hull, Boro, Palance and Burnley?

B

A belated Happy Birthday to Natalie, who, I believe, celebrated her birthday yesterday.

Natalie & Adam were also kind enough to come see me in Manchester on Sunday, & gave me two beautiful gifts to aid my recuperation after last week's bit of a health drama.  

God bless them both.

xx

Thank you very much. It's actually the big day on Thursday but you know me, I like to spin these things out!

Adam and I are off to Rome for the weekend to celebrate (as only Bromleys can). Some of you will recall from an earlier post that I lost my Grandma a while back. I have not yet had the courage to spend the money she left me, partly out of fear that I would spend it on the "wrong" thing. She was Italian in heritage and although I spent summers in Italy when I was little (we are from the East coast; Pesaro and Pescara) I have ever been to Rome. Ten year olds and July in the Vatican do not mix well. I am so very excited.

Turning to book news, I think I found a really perfect novel to keep our Tikay occupied during his recuperation. "Tales from the Fast Trains" Tom Chesshyre.

"Tired of airport security queues, delays and all those extra taxes and charges, Tom Chesshyre embarks on a series of high-speed adventures across the Continent on its fast trains instead. From shiny London St Pancras, Tom travels to places that wouldn’t feature on a standard holiday wish-list, and discovers the hidden delights of mysterious Luxembourg, super-trendy Rotterdam, much-maligned Frankfurt and lovely lakeside Lausanne, via a pop concert in Lille. It’s 186 mph all the way – well, apart from a power cut in the Channel Tunnel on the way to Antwerp. Is our idea of ‘Europe’ changing as its destinations become easier to reach? And what fun can you have at the ends of the lines? Jump on board and find out!"

I hope you enjoy it Tikay.

Both books were lovely, & both came gift-wrapped in London Tube Map wrapping paper, & the books had lovely personal messages in the flyleaf. You two really are very special.

Hope Italy this weekend is everything you wish it to be.

A quick "get well soon" to Natalie.

She & Adam are here in Vegas, & I've not managed to bump into them yet, despite an extensive "search" of Colossus tables.

However, I happened to bump into Leigh Wiltshire this morning, who is over here for the APAT do on Wednesday.

Leigh was telling me that Natalie had a bit of an accident on Friday, & ended up banging her head quite badly. She seems to be OK now, but it was quite nasty.

It's unclear how the accident occurred, but Leigh says she was in a bar on the Strip & had been drinking heavily all evening. That's what Leigh said, anyway.   

perhaps she is laying low from the shame of seeing her husband with a flamingo...

(https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/p526x296/18921649_10155478374497437_6038794622154417689_n.jpg?oh=e8c99989a93cff144a4b960b52dba231&oe=59E47A9C)

Poor Adam, worried to bits about Natters.

Actually, looking at that photo for a second time, I'm not at all sure I like what I see.

Mr Brommers is a seriously impressive individual, it would appear.

Greetings, greetings.

Yes we are in Vegas. And yes I've been a terrible terrible writer for not updating this thread in forever.

Thanks for the get well soon message. I can confirm a pretty nasty head injury on Friday night. Cracked the back of my skull on a metal shelf and nearly knocked myself out. Saw stars and a fair bit of sick for good measure! Swelling gone down but I've a hell of a bruise on the back of my head.

Genuinely, 100% not alcohol related!

I love the Boy's absolute lack of shame. He OWNED that Flamingo and the guys in the pool were congratulating him on his "pretty floaty".

Must admit, didn't spot the unfortunate shadow when I posted that pic!! Oops.

I'm insanely jealous.

Tony - we're at the Rio playing the Tag Team event if you're around at any point.

i

Room, table?

Ask Adam to have the flamingo with him. But not the shadow.

I will be down in the media centre shortly, had a bit of a problem to sort but it's all tickity boo now, so will come find you at some point.

Natalie & Adam are playing the Tag Team thing. Well, Natalie is, while Adam is back t the hotel, playing with his flamingo.

Here we see our heroine after being put in a spot. She min-raised from the button (airball), the SB called & the BB raised it up.

After a suitable period of theatrical tanking, Brommers found the fold.

Glad it wasn't anything serious, and it looks like you've got another headache on the firm now...

Best of luck in the WSOP comp!

Boom.

Team Bromley in the money in the $1k Tag Team. My first WSOP bracelet event cash (only ever cashed in daily deep stacks before).

🇺🇸

Good news.  Good luck and now get your first final table.

I always knew Adam was as good as two players. Hope he manages to carry you all the way to the final now and he wins it you both go on to TID!

#teambromers       GL GL GL GL GL

Think they are gone, no Bromleys on the overnight chip counts.

http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/chipcounts.asp?rr=5&grid=1352&tid=15610&dayof=5540

Position 35 according to this update.

My mistake, looks like they finished 101st/843 from the results page, but are still on the chip count page (?). If only Jeeves was out there to keep us updated.....

Morning morning.

Yes we bust - last hand of the day - in 101st. We had a relatively short 11bb stack that was going to shrink even more overnight. So we put Adam in for the last level of the day with the instruction to spin it up at least double so we could try and do something on Day 2.

He found a beautiful spot last hand but the cards just fell short.

What a fantastic tournament.
B

Some thoughts on the Tag Team:

Been chatting to a few friends about strategy. Being complete Tag Team virgins, we didn't really have a pre-tourney strategy in place and kind of winged it at first.

We decided that we'd spend most of the day 1 playing an hour each, straddling the blind levels (i.e. tagging on the 30 min mark of each level). This only changed when we got close to the bubble, with 7 off the cash. At this stage we only have 8 bb. We each have a very different bubble game; I can grind a short stack into the money quite well (albeit usually resulting in just a min cash) whereas the Boy is much smarter at picking really good spots to try and get them in and get a bigger stack.

So we settled on Boy playing the blinds and the button, whilst I took over and played the rest of the orbit. Something worked as we turned the 8bb into 22bb pretty quickly and comfortably sailed through the bubble.

Anyway, I have no idea whether this was right or wrong or just luck, but that's what we did.

B

Good work on cashing. Nice confidence booster
Keep on crushing

Surely this weekends work deserves a diary update?

At least one of you can play...

Oh and your view of what is the current first choice clarets side for game one please. .

Indeed. Team Bromley strikes again. Heat.

To be fair, as well as the Boy did (and he did do well, taking down the MPNPT Side Event at Manchester), I had an 8.5 hour rail to contend with. I finished an entire novel. And was on hand for critical tactical advice. As always!

Well done that man.

I am saving myself for an SPT trophy...

Okay. i guess.

Made some decent, early signings for us. And for once. Happy with midfield and most of defence. Concerned about the loss of Keane and the decision not to replace him and the lack of fire power up front.

May be a long old season for us I am afraid. As it stands, sensible money is on us taking up the third relegation spot.

#positive

Cheers for the bump Matt and the pic Tighty.  I'm sure Natalie would have gotten around to it eventually...

Hopefully, still a bit of Manchester run good left in the tank.

Oh.

I think I misread this  :dontask:

My starting line up?


SD is a bit maverick at times though. We are away at Chelsea so he will absolutely nit it up for the impossible 0-0 dream. He will probably play 4-5-1, but perhaps play Vokes or Walters up top instead of Gray, and is more likely to play Westwood than Defour.

B

My my, very well done Adam.

Details please?

And what were you doing playing J-7? Little tip for you - you want cards that match. A jack & another jack, that sort of thing. J-7 is just silly.

Cheers Tony

It was a £150 side event in the MPN Poker Tour held at the G Casino Bury New Road, Manchester.  114 runners one day event.  Actually chopped it evenly 3 ways but I took the trophy as I had biggest stack due to cracking KK to knock out the 4th place finisher.  Watching John Hesp obviously had a positive impact on my game.

Incidentally, this was the same casino where I played my first ever live tournament way back in 2009 and where we met you for the very first time...what was the tournament I hear you ask...well the SPT of course, looking forward to trying to become a double winner next weekend.

Erm, can you get your brag posts off my page please.....

 ;envious;

That's gonna leave the thread thin on  pokerz.

Very well done Adam, congrats.

Nearly 8 years since we first met at that SPT? Good Lord, how time flies.

I remember it fairly well actually.

How many of these do you remember?

http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=38885#

4/9 for me. DanTB....OnlyoneCT....Sir Dollie....& Jaegerbomb.


Great result Adam BTW......Sky Bet has just opened a book on SPT Manchester and you have gone joint fav..........with bates obv ;)

You don't recall the 2 chaps who finished 4th & 6th?

I don't recognise those names at all Tony - elaborate please...

Dan Brown is DanTB10, who used to be a big " regular" on Sky Poker. Then he got married and had kids......

Michael Quinlan is MaggiesDad.

Craig Tranter was OnlyOneCT. No longer plays Next Door.

Ryan Day was (still is?) a pro snooker player who was a guest that day.

Gordon Parton is Dollie.

David Pilling is Jaegerbomb.

Oh....yes I know Maggiesdad but didn't recognise the name. Yes, I think Ryan Day is still playing the circuit (snooker).
My 1st SPT was at Luton......where the 'star' was John McCririck. Mmmmm.

......so apart from Adam Bromley, will they be any other stars at SPT Manchester?

A certain UKPC luck box will be there.

Excellent.

Headliners will be Natterley Bromley & Matt Bates.

I said stars. Or did you think I meant ......

Sharks
That
Are
Really
Short

*waves* to Nateeerrrrrleeeee ;)

 :hello:

Natters & Adam at SPT Manchester today.

Not forgetting......

all best of friends in cotton towns?

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DH8HtNxXsAE71Wc.jpg)

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DH8HtNxXsAE71Wc.jpg)

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DH8HtNxXsAE71Wc.jpg)

They're certainly very generous at the shite end of the M65. Rolling over without a fight or even a whimper.

I was annoyed as hell when the draw was made - I HATE the East Lancs Derby - but I needn't have worried. Most comfortable we have ever been in a game against the Chicken Farmers.

What a life.

#Superior

Blackburn 0 - 2 Burnley

This has been on my mind over the last couple of days. This fixture is still a "bubble" game*, which is a police term for those games where away fans are not allowed to make their own way to the grounds. Instead, they are herded in on official coaches:

(http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/resources/images/4287632.jpg?display=1&htype=1355&type=responsive-gallery)

This, to me, has always made the situation worse. It plants the seed of hostility and expected trouble in any fan's mind who may be that way inclined to start off with. Lancashire Police just don't trust either set of fans to behave, but they haven't given them a chance. When the fans met for the first time in 17 years back in 2000, football had changed a lot since the troubled times of the 70s - 90s, but it was presumed that a world war would develop between us.

Anyway, this seemed even sillier to me this week. The usual travel restrictions applied and burnley fans were escorted into the ground some 1.5 hours before kick off by armed police. Yet, during the game, flares were set off in both ends and two Blackburn fans were able to saunter onto the pitch and assault our players. No wonder SD was annoyed. What's the point of imposing all those sanctions when the real security concerns were so lax.

(*there are now just three bubble games left in English football. Without cheating, can you name them)?

Portsmouth v Southampton very likely to be one of them.

Chester vs Wrexham surely.

Wonder if Chester vs Tranmere and Wrexham vs Tranmere is as well. Cheshire/North Wales police are nuts for this kinda thing.

You'd think so, wouldn't you, but no this isn't one of them.

Chester v Wrexham is correct. The other aren't.

1) Burnley v Blackburn
2) Chester v Wrexham
3)....

Good evening,

Swansea/Cardiff?

Boom.

Well done.

1) Burnley v Blackburn

2) Chester v Wrexham

3) Cardiff v Swansea

It's depressing as hell to be part of that group of fans. But even more depressing is that so many of our fans see it as a badge of honour. Like it is somehow impressing to hate your rivals that much that you have to be separated by armed police in case you cause physical harm.

Sigh.

Love Nakhi Wells.  Such a good player.  Hope he does really well for you.

Thanks, me too!

A lot of Burnley fans are a little underwhelmed by the signing - I am not sure what they expect these days - but he's going to give us a different option to Vokes and Wood.

I am fairly nervous about the gamble we have taken in not bringing in another Centre Half