I'm regged as well. Naz is regging during the week.
I asked Chris Kelly but he can't make it, he's working that weekend.

Naz and I are ready to register in holding tank , waiting on final confirmation (and password) as per PMs 😁 🤞🏻

[I wonder what the line is on the time you can use Bitcoin to pay for your weekly Asda grocery shop? I don't think it will be long to be honest.]

Pokerpops and RickBFA - have either of you heard about this thing. It is coming soon. It is inevitable. It is called..... THE FUTURE.

At some point nobody had debit and credit cards and now everyone does. At some point nobody had internet banking and the internet didn't even exist. There was even a time before computers! Things change. If you get in and use something early you can even get extra benefits for being ahead of the curve.

For the average British bloke with a steady job, a mortgage, good credit rating and a bank account then yeah, probably you don't ever need to use crypto. That's true. The financial system in the UK is working and regulated and relatively ok. Gambling is completely legal and tax free.

 But everyone in the world isn't the same as that. Some people can't get a debit card, or a Paypal account. Some people live in countries where they can't trust banks, or their national currency is a joke. Some people live in America and want to play online poker but it is illegal and has been for 10 years. Some people want to send money quickly and efficiently over borders in a matter of hours for reasonable fees, rather than waiting weeks and and/or getting gouged on fees by someone like Western Union or their bank. Just open up your imagination a bit and think about all the ways that cryptocurrency could be useful if your circumstances were different.

And the argument that crypto is used to fuel illicit transactions always makes me laugh. How many times in history have there been drug deals or arms deals paid for with bags full of money. Police find a stash of drugs and a stack of cash. At no point does anyone ever say, we shouldn't use US$ as it is fuelling illegal transactions. Ban dollars!

It is a currency it has value, you can use it to buy things. Bitcoin and other cryptos are also a currency. So you can use it to buy pizza, a beer or also drugs and guns. The same as you can use pounds or dollars. If the buyer and the seller both want to do a transaction in crypto then it is just as viable as in pounds and often more convenient. If you want to change pounds to dollars, you can shop around but you are going to lose a few % everytime you change it. Perhaps not a big deal for a few trips to the Rhino in Vegas, but if you are a business then this kind of thing adds up.

I wonder what the line is on the time you can use Bitcoin to pay for your weekly Asda grocery shop? I don't think it will be long to be honest.

Yes many cryptos are crap, but many FIAT currencies are also shaky. How many FIAT currencies would you be comfortable in holding for a long period of time or investing in? Probably not too many. Yet there are over 100 currencies around the world. Same for crypto, there are some good ones and some bad ones. I'd rather store my wealth in bitcoin than in 80 or 90% of FIAT currencies in the world. So no wonder people might prefer to use it than the Tanzanian Shilling.

Technically you can now. I have a coinbase card I preload with crypto. I use that card to buy my latte, the weekly shop, or anywhere that uses card transaction. You have to know what the rate is at any given time...and there is the worry that it might shoot up or down in a matter of hours....but there has been the variance as well. Some days my coffee has cost me more using the coinbase card, and on really good days it's only cost me 50p (for example, I load my card on payday at say 1BTC=38k, then when I buy my coffee three weeks later it's 1BTC=44k....my coffee is cheaper than if I had used my ordinary bank's DD card).

I can't use it lately though.....BTC has crashed since I last loaded some onto it .... but I never put too much on there, just emergency amounts.

(edit - I meant crypto.com, not Coinbase)

[It’s carbon footprint alone should hasten it’s fall.]

You could be right as there actually thousands of them. But I'm asking you about Bitcoin specifically because I think that is the most established and stable crypto. If you think Bitcoin is a pyramid scheme, then I think I am not smart enough or know enough about it to change your mind and I'm sure you'll continue to have a great life without it.

No, I don’t think bitcoin is a pyramid scheme. I used that as an example of situations where greed overcomes sense.

I do think that bitcoin is a ‘product’ with no intrinsic worth which is subject to unfathomable influences over it’s value.

I do think that it has a significantly greater than zero probability of being effectively worthless. It’s carbon footprint alone should hasten it’s fall.

https://fortune.com/2021/11/06/offsetting-bitcoins-carbon-footprint-would-require-planting-300-million-new-trees/

And that's why I was surprised to read about the governments plan for a Centralised Digital Currency announced by Sunak (Oct, I think, can't remember when). I really thought the Zero Carbon drive would prevent DC becoming a serious contender for a country's potential main currency (but then China introduced their coin and have Russia just launched theirs as well? I know another country did, can't remember which one).

Centralised DC is more concerning to me than Decentralised. The planned Brit Coin worries me....the Government think tank group meeting 'minutes' talk of it being 'programmable'...hmmmmm, how? Will it be able to 'potentially' block transactions. I've seen the Mastercard Pilot scheme already has the voluntary option of 'Carbon Footprint' purchase allowance per month (this might be USA only at the moment, no idea how many have signed up for it either).

As for the volatility of BTC, will this not finally settle down once all coins have been mined? I'm quite new to crypto in the grand scheme of things. A genuine question for any experts out there.

I never understood crypto, but thought I should try to at least learn about it because I think it's more than likely coming one day. It won't be an overnight thing though, probably the government digital Currency (if it happens) and Fiat will run side by side for what, maybe a decade? Who knows.

Myself and Naz are going to be there, all booked, was happy to play just side events and meet up with everyone again.

If you need two reserve players last minute, let me know, as we're going anyway

Mich/x

Oh Tikay you are so naughty!! As if I'd forget Tom xx  

  hello Karabiner and blonde ... It's been a while xx

FML...I chose the wrong week to dye the front of my hair blonde. I will be avoiding Birmingham in the near future 

Will do Geo.  Hope you are well 

Excellent diary.

Did you ever find out how your old mobile number called your new number (or did I miss an answer to that).

ChippieLeicester?

One of the nicest and funniest guys I've had the pleasure to meet.

Geo

Met a girl from St.Neots and moved there.

He made a swashbuckling appearance in the D.C. game at Alea on a Tuesday night a few weeks ago. After losing gradually for the first hour, he patiently waited for a premium hand and was rewarded with   in Superstud, with the as his first up card, which he knocked his last £130 in with. After scooping with a pair of threes, he proceeded to run over the table before kindly allowing us to return to our small game by slinking back off to Cambridgeshire with over a £1,000 of our money.

Despite this, it was still great to see him again.

He frequents Luton Gentings a lot, great fella, love him to bits. Have such a laugh when he is on the table despite him calling with bottom pair and always runner runner'ing me!

I am spamming hard. Nice to see some people return!

Great job George, you've already got a few lapsed members back (Holdy is lapsed....), this is terrific.

I will help spread the word tomorrow.

  Tikay....I pop in and out. 

I have a super happy story for you

After a while away from the forum....a Bedi Reverse Sheep Quiz draws me back in .... so that's last place sorted then

In.

Might not be here for the reveal...probably better for you if I wasn't (Tighty will confirm the amount of facepalms whenever I or my mum entered a quiz   )

Mich

I don't want you to start at too big a disadvantage so I think it's only fair to point out that it isn't a Reverse Sheep Quiz; it's a Sheep Quiz - or a Reverse Reverse Sheep Quiz if you prefer.

FFS fail before I have even started...standard     (Quiz master also pointed that out when I asked where the pass option were ha)

Hope you are well Mere. Long time no chat x

After a while away from the forum....a Bedi Reverse Sheep Quiz draws me back in .... so that's last place sorted then

In.

Might not be here for the reveal...probably better for you if I wasn't (Tighty will confirm the amount of facepalms whenever I or my mum entered a quiz   )

Mich

   Congrats

Photo of the day

captions?

Click to see full-size image.

Aga do do do ......