Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

Best and worst interviews please

So busy reading your tweets Mr C, you've gone tweet-happy!

Something clicked recently and I have just awoken to how powerful it is. I was probably the biggest twitter sceptic around (Its like facebook, but you cant do as much, was what I thought), but now I think its a must for journalism/marketing types like me. I have been reading a shedload of stuff on it this last month or two. I am planning on becoming the Stephen Fry of poker by the end of the year (minus the kissing fellas bit).

Either that or I will be posting pictures of my dog n that until I get bored

@barry_carter

Not wrong, @barry_carter.

Best regards,

@Tony_Kendall.

[tikay]

Sigh, as a 3 hour "update my Diary" session, that was a complete fail. And now I need a nap, after a really stressful but good week, so that's almost that for now.

I have been dithering all week about what to do this weekend. For the first time in yonks, I have 3 straight days off, the timing of which.....could not have been more ironic, but that's another story.

So, I scanned the Tourneys available, & decided to play the Monthly Fox club £325 3-dayer. Not ideal, but it'll be OK, & I'll treat myself to a nice posh Hotel near by as a treat to myself, which I think I've earned.

Then Paul Jackson offered me a free seat in the Manchester Deepie, which is a £200 Deepie, thanks to, I assume, Poker Encore &/or Genting. Mmm, what to do?

Then Thewy, who is playing Mancy, said "yeah, come up, we can room-share". So, a 400 mile drive, & share a bed with him snoring, or a 5 star hotel in London.

The dithering went on & on, & Paul Jackson kept asking me for a decision. What to do?

Suddenly, an e-Mail solved it for me - can I do Saturdays TV Show, as a "spare" Shift? I can't help myself. "Yes, of course".

Problem solved in a most pleasing way, really - & I even get paid. So, can't complain.

Instead, I'll go to Luton tonight, for the £100, & take a rain check on what to do with myself on Sunday.

I've tried a bit of a weird Marketing gimmick for tonight. If I cash in the £100 at Luton, exactly half of what I collect will be donated as a Freeroll restricted to players who play tonight's £5.50 Take-on-tikay, at 8.30pm, & I've pledged to do "Update Tweets" throughout. The tweets might be a bit left-field, too......imagine describing Chompy, or Vinni, to those who don't know them. Quite looking forward to it, actually.

Twitter@Tony_Kendall. I think. (Is that right?). The spam never ends.

[tikay]

Karl must be bored, as he's reading this. Cos not updated his Diary today, I guess........

PS - Karl - I'll reply to that e-Mail on Monday - I need to get the exact details. Too technical for a Friday PM.

[kinboshi]

I remember, not so long ago, when tikay was proclaiming that twitter was the work of satan.

[tikay]

I remember, not so long ago, when tikay was proclaiming that twitter was the work of satan.

Probably, yes, but at the time I never realised I'd end up working for him.

[kinboshi]

I remember, not so long ago, when tikay was proclaiming that twitter was the work of satan.

Probably, yes, but at the time I never realised I'd end up working for him.

[the sicilian]

I remember, not so long ago, when tikay was proclaiming that twitter was the work of satan.

Probably, yes, but at the time I never realised I'd end up working for him.

That makes you the prince of Darkness then .. doesn't it ?

[tikay]

I remember, not so long ago, when tikay was proclaiming that twitter was the work of satan.

Probably, yes, but at the time I never realised I'd end up working for him.

That makes you the prince of Darkness then .. doesn't it ?

Nope, wrong Prince.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iws3DAAFzcI&feature=fvsr

[Royal Flush]

Sunday Tony, surely in front of the telly watching Tiger no?

[TRIP5]

Evening pops

xx

[tikay]

Evening pops

xx

Good morning, even. Enjoy your big day. I will get that PM replied to soonest.

[tikay]

Ladbrokes Poker - the only way is up......

This, from their Interim trading statement earlier this week......

"....Poker net revenue was down 32.8% against last year, though there are some signs of stabilisation with flat quarter on quarter net revenue and new signups showing quarter on quarter growth of 18.1%......."

A 32% drop is pretty horrific, imo, coming on top of y-o-y drops for several years now.

Pretty sad, imo, too, everyone (well, everyone Old Skool) has a soft spot for Laddies Poker.

[Acidmouse]

Ladbrokes Poker - the only way is up......

This, from their Interim trading statement earlier this week......

"....Poker net revenue was down 32.8% against last year, though there are some signs of stabilisation with flat quarter on quarter net revenue and new signups showing quarter on quarter growth of 18.1%......."

A 32% drop is pretty horrific, imo, coming on top of y-o-y drops for several years now.

Pretty sad, imo, too, everyone (well, everyone Old Skool) has a soft spot for Laddies Poker.

Laddies was my first real home for online poker, I dabbled with paradise but laddies seemed so much better. PunkFloyd, ActionJackson etc shame it didnt move with the times.

[tikay]

Ladbrokes Poker - the only way is up......

This, from their Interim trading statement earlier this week......

"....Poker net revenue was down 32.8% against last year, though there are some signs of stabilisation with flat quarter on quarter net revenue and new signups showing quarter on quarter growth of 18.1%......."

A 32% drop is pretty horrific, imo, coming on top of y-o-y drops for several years now.

Pretty sad, imo, too, everyone (well, everyone Old Skool) has a soft spot for Laddies Poker.

Laddies was my first real home for online poker, I dabbled with paradise but laddies seemed so much better. PunkFloyd, ActionJackson etc shame it didnt move with the times.

There speaks many of us, back in the day. I don't think it was so much "not moved with the times", I think more one bad Network decision cost them dearly.

In truth, it may be fine now, I don't know, I've not played there for 5 or 6 years, but I enjoyed the smooth software interface, & the beautifully-structured Tourneys.

For all I know, they still have both, but the relentless decline in traffic & margin for several years now is surely a clue to something not being right.

I suggested a year ago that these declines were damaging to the parent brand, & they would have sell or shut poker, but it's not happened, so maybe I had a misread. They were in long & protracted talks with 888 I believe, but that's been best part of a year now, so neither party looks keen to rush up the aisle to the alter.

Things have to change, though or they'll stay as they are......

I honestly wish them well, I have great affection for the brand, unlike many other brands who I am less warm about. I guess, though, more & more players are migrating to the Big Two, & everyone else needs an angle.

The thing that amuses, though are the players who used to say "Ladbrokes cash games/Tourneys are so soft". How many rooms have you heard that about? If it were that soft, the world & his wife would flood there, like flies round shite. It's said about every room, by so many, but it's total tosh, of course. No matter how bad the software, how low the Rakeback, if you could print money by sitting in soft games, players would be there in a shot. Another urban myth.

[tikay]

A Facebook notification just in from the bizarrely named "Team blue blood/Irish eyes" (eh?) starts "Me & Graham Pound are playing Day 1b at DTD........"

Sigh @ "me and Graham".

Graham & myself, Graham & I, please.

I'm not quite up to Tiltbeam tilt levels yet, but that one gets me close to it. It says more about the author than a baseball cap worn backwards.

Jeez, I'm getting old & grumpy.