Covid changed everything forever. February 2020 everything shut down, my partners and I gave up the flat and I spent lockdown 1 with Viktorija and Daniel by the seaside in my Mum’s holiday cottage in Suffolk.
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Daniel got a nice lockdown homecut
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It was really quite nice, but of course I only thought it’d be a temporary thing. Instead of getting sick at poker (I’d slacked off massively from about 2017) and playing tons online like everyone else did, I learnt to code.
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I loved it. It was really challenging but rewarding. Constant problem solving and puzzle completing. I love how it all fits together and if written properly, can never break. I started learning visual basic to build a powerhouse spreadsheet for the private game. Then that lead to python and then eventually to swift for iOS Apps. I released three apps publicly, a Poker Results one, a Quiz one and a Poker Flips one. Very proud of the first and third, but I never made any real effort to market them - that side of it never grabbed me, so they’re not making any money but it was certainly a fun hobby and productive use of time during the lockdowns. I still use the skills for various poker study bits and bobs. Probably would’ve been better to get good at tournaments but heyho.
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We also found our dream home and completed and moved in June 2020. No feelings of wanting more this time - this felt like enough, still does. Daniel’s school is a 10 minute walk away, it’s equidistant between my parents, my brothers, central London and surrounded by a meadow, farm, playground and epping forrest. A decent garden, and lovely community of neighbours. We’re so happy here.
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After lockdown one, my partners and I found a new flat and fired up the games again. This went pretty well this time around, and my personal heater continued during July and August, and I put all that money back into bitcoin, replenishing my stock after using a chunk of it for the house. I guess average purchase price of around $13k and it shot up to $70k by October 2021 - incredibly lucky timing to run good at just the right time to catch the wave. I wish I’d sold more at that time of course!
Sadly, very sadly in fact, The Palm Beach never reopened the poker room. The demands placed on them by the Gaming Commission for people to prove their source of funds just became too high and apparently over half the regular playing pool wouldn’t be able to pass the new thresholds. RIP most of my income.
So I was allin on the private game. We faced stiff competition from two other bigger outfits (Chelsea and Knightsbridge) who had more resources to splash on nicer venues, more partners to assume bigger credit risk, and didn’t have any decent pros in their games. I limited my own game time massively, and by 2021 was barely playing in my own game! We were still struggling and in August 2021 we decided to partner with the Chelsea game and share venues, players, admin etc. It seemed like a good idea and things went really well - together we were really strong. But more partners meant less control and even less gametime for me. I did my best whenever I played to play crazy and be good for the game, but what I’ve learnt is in that business no matter how hard you try - as soon as you start to win, they want you out.
They just want losing players. Whatever people say about “giving action” or being “good for the game” essentially what it means is you have to lose, otherwise you’re not welcome.
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Over Christmas 2021, the Knightsbridge outfit offered to merge with us both, to create a monopoly. Talks went on behind my back and essentially I was told on January 4th 2022 (My birthday lol) that this deal was going ahead and there wasn’t a place for me.
“You’ve won enough haven’t you?”. RIP rest of income.
It’s a cutthroat business, not a nice one at that - where skillsets like schmoozing, being fake, ruthless, slippery, deceitful are rewarded.
It never suited my personality - I just acted professionally, I was friendly but never tried to make friends unnaturally with people - recruiting wasn’t my role nor my skillset. I did my spreadsheets, sent out my texts, paid people on time and acted professionally. I don’t harbour ill feeling towards anyone - I was a victim of circumstance, not a target.
It was a huge blow though. I took 2 months off and went travelling with the family. My motivation from then on was “I’m going to make sure I look back on this and be happy that it happened”.
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vs Boz blind vs blind on a 
runout - vs 
. Very cold sure, but can I fold to the river 120k check jam when I bet 40k into 30k? You're not supposed to but feels like I've never not been shown 76 in that spot! 
. I have 270k and only Turk covers me. Given that I'm around 25bb effective with Stato (and would dearly love to knock him out) I shove, thinking Mad Turk's never calling (I hear he's not so mad these days?). Anyway, obviously he does call - though to be fair he had 
which I thought he would 3bet to get it in vs Stato with. 
