Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[DTD-ACES]

Moving Table.

Part of the DTD experience is recreating online ie STT and No Limit with 40-100 BB max table stakes , we have several £0.50 £! and £1 £2 games with these caps, if players want to move and there is a seat available on the same size game they can but can sit down with no more than the max limit, now online you can do this all day anonymously whereas live players may take offence if you repeatedly did it while pocketing a few £100 and therefore common sense would kick in and i or the card room supervisor would advise it is bad etiquette and abuse will not be tolerated.

If a player wants to return to their original game within an hour they must have the full amount they left with regardless of whether they just lost ( even if it exceeeds the cap ).

In a game with no cap if they are moving between tables of the same game ie dealers choice they must take all theri chips.

Deals are allowed as long as all players agree not just the chip leader but they are done on a chip count with the chip leader declared the winner and overseen by the management to make sure they are fair and accurate. So far we have had no problems as our payout is structured in such a way that deals are unlikely till 3/4 handed or less and there is always sufficient play to conclude without deals if the players prefer.

Our £50 event last Thursday ended in a 4 way chip count between £1000 - £1500 so no need for bullying , collusion or secretive discussions but a good payout for all.

We have only been open 4 weeks but i would say the general perception is the club is amazing and what poker players have wanted/deserved for years but we know we can't please everyone, to enable as many players to play STT i had to use a faster 7 minute structure which lasts 50 -70 minutes, a few have complained but we have run over 50 and the queues keep getting longer so the majority are happy.

Happy New Year to all of you.

ACES

[RED-DOG]

Thank you Simon.

Prompt and succinct as ever.

[tikay]

Thank you Simon.

Prompt and succinct as ever.

Seconded. And I apologise for wrongly explaining the "Deal" procedure, which is in fact "ALL remaining players must agree to the Deal".

[tikay]

I've yet to meet a really good player who says "I never deal or chop".

You once regaled Dave Colclough BECAUSE of his stance on deals!!

I doubt I "regaled" him, though I don't doubt I disagreed with his stance which was, at the time, "I don't do Deals". Since then, he's done several deals to my certain knowledge, though I'm quite sure that was not because of my views on the matter, it would be because they made good economic sense. It costs so much to play the Circuit these days that almost everyone will agree to deals. And I always agreed with Dave Colclough's view that the reason deals & chops are becoming so acceptable is that so many Venues - almost all of them in fact - produce such daft, lop-sided Prize Structures. If the Prize Structure is top-heavy, & the Tourney is gonna get crapshooty at the sharp end, only a fool (barring exceptional circumstances) would say "no Deals".

[tikay]

After much umming & arring, I eventually plumped for the Walsall £300 tonight, instead of the Luton £100, & a decent 88 strong field took their seats for the Comp which began only 30 minutes late - good by Walsall standards. It's so frustrating that Walsall can never start a Comp on time. I've never played a single Tourney there which begun at the scheduled time, or even within 20 minutes of it.

But they are always fully dealer-dealt, & the Dealers are excellent.

We also get the best Tournament Buffet in the UK bar none at Walsall. It's not really a Buffet, it's a self-serve full meal. Tonight they had new tatties, cheese mash tatties, barbecued pork, chicken curry, rice, & the tenderest steak you could imagine. Alternative fayre there is often curry, a roast, & a full English breakfast - & it's always free. We get free buffets at the Grosvenors in Luton, Southampton, Blackpool, & Stoke, but they are not a patch on the Walsall grub.

This comp - the Walsall New Years Day annual affair - is usually a 2 dayer, but it was only 1 day this year. And in trying to give players the best possible structure for a one-dayer, it all went a bit "difficult" tonight, because time ran out. And that in turn led to a few moans & groans - more of which later. Pokerists are notoriously hard to please......

Let's first look at the runners & riders though.

[boldie]

I agree that it's a learning curve but if one of the players objected to me going to ask someone elses opinion that would only make me suspicious that the deal I'm being offered is bad. That sort of attitude may make the whole thing less friendly (I know we're not there to make friends) but as over 80% of players are social players if you start laying down the law and making something unfriendly you may stop them coming back and reduce the value.
What is the harm in them consulting a mate of they're not sure?

What about if you're being paid to play? I saw a very well known professional a year or so ago go and speak to his backer before a deal was struck. Is that also a no no?

people objecting to you speaking to somebody else before you agree to a deal?..Never heard of it and I wouldn't give a toss what they'd say. Nothing wrong with it. Your friends "offering" advice without being asked and speaking loudly over the table is a big no-no in my opinion (I have heard this happen many a time..some drunken twat telling his mate not to take a fair deal because of whatever reason..ussually when his mate is not chipleader and actually shortstack but "has an edge" according to drunken idot mate)
If you want to talk to someone about it before doing a deal you do that..but away from the table.

Ah yes - i thought I had apologised about that - Tikay is a great railer and loyal to the end. I've asked him not to drink at the tables again and he has promised........

yeah...that wasn't the worst of it though..those trainstories he shouts over to put everyone to sleep..that's well out of order..

The saddest thing is I think they may be having an affect - I was looking for somewhere to go for a few days and I happened across the Isle of Man.  I read this: 

The Isle of Man Steam Railway is the longest narrow-gauge steam line in the British Isles, running for 16 miles through glorious countryside between Douglas and Port Erin. The Port Erin Railway Museum tells the incredible story of Manx steam railways.

and I thought "Oooh - that might be interesting" 

How scary is that???    I think he is subliminally getting to us all 

Oh crap...Best thing to do is go away to some sort of Brainwashing Spa..join a cult for a little while..anything to get you back to normal..or at least stop this crazy train of thought.

[tikay]

Familiar faces included.....

Marcus Bebb-Jones  - Midland course & Distance winner.

Ben Callinan - made last 2 tables.

Dave Colclough - made last 2 Tables.

Greek Jack - early exit.

Yucel Eminoglu (Mad Turk) - rumoured to have not Passed a starting Hand all night. Until he Busted.

Peter "The Bandit" Evans. Told me life is good, & he has enough cash to last him until he dies - & he does not expect to die until Sunday. He also told me a tale of an old-timer at The Rainbow, a Jewish Gentleman, who said his ambition was to die owing over a million quid....!

Mick Fletcher.

Lawrence Gosney. An early departure. Shared a table with Mad Turk, & Red-Dog was the meat in a very tough sandwich.

Harprit Gurnham, up from Wales.

John Hewston. An early departure I believe.

Stephen Holden. He cashed at DTD on Sunday, in the £200, & his game is uber-aggressive & most impressive. Confirmed that impression again tonight. Top player, who will win plenty of Comps.

Maz Hussain.

Paul Jackson. I shared 4 different Tables with him tonight. He plays totally different "Live" to Online. Great table company.

Steve Jelenik.

Andy Johnson

Des Bling Bling Jonas. On top vocal form tonight. Lost his "first chance" on the very first hand of the night, & still finalled.

Ali Mallu. The first time I've met him in a Grosvenor since his Ban expired. He used to farm this £300 every month. Early bustee tonight.

Red-Dog. Went deep, but no cigar.

Mo Nicholson

Ash Pervaiz

Glyn Rees. Plasma nick "Golden Anal"......

Roberto Romanella. Rivalled Bling Bling in the vocal stakes. An amazing game.

Pete "The Undertaker" Seager. Took two horror beats late on - one by me - but still cashed.

Pete Singleton - made last 3 Tables. Always had plenty of chips.

Rumit. He joined Red & I who were chatting away pre-comp, & I think he fell asleep as we continued to chew the cud on horse psychology, the Great Western Railway, the London Sewage System, & Rotweillers.

Lord Wernick - made last 2 Tables.

88 runners, £26,400 in the Kitty, 2 x 3,500 chips.

The result is in Live Poker, here.....

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=29991.new#new

[boldie]

Well done on the result TK.

[tikay]

It was clear - to most - from the outset that there would not be enough time to finish this 88 runner Comp. The structure was "too good" for a one-dayer, if that makes sense. By the bye, the same Comp made 140 runners in 2006. The times they are a changing.

Then, at 2am, about 4 tables from home, they (The Casino) suddenly announced that the Comp would terminate at 4.30am, & there would be a Chip Count. (The Casino closes at 6am). "Rules" was the explanation. There was plenty of chuntering, & after some "negotiation" (by which I mean several Players did their shouty thing) they agreed to run the Comp until 5am. Why not 6am?, one has to wonder, but never mind.

By 3am, we were down to two Tables, but it went ever-so-slowly from thereon in, & the shout of "Final" (a 9 man-er) eventually rung out at 4.45am - leaving 15 minutes of play, less how much time it took to set up the Final Table!

One player busted in those 12 or 13 minutes (a single orbit in fact), & so it went to an 8 way Chip-Count. All 8 remaining got 8th place, & the rest of the money was divvied up pro-rata to their Chip Stacks. Very fair, if you ask me. From 3am, it was clear that many of us - though not all - varied our play because of the inevitably of a Chip-Count - I certainly did. The lower places at Walsall get very little, & the chance of an enhanced cash was uppermost in my mind.

The Result, after the divvy-up, can be found in Live Poker, here.....

[tikay]

Very pleased with my game tonight - I never really "played" much, but my patience was strong, & it needed to be. Patience is much under-rated in well-structured comps. This was my old-style grinding. Not pretty to watch.

I had to sit very quiet early doors, a complete lack of starting material. I decided I had to play a few token hands, otherwise I'd never get any action if I actually found a hand, so I eventually Raised it up to 500 UTG with 7-4. A bit of feeble speech-play - "my first Raise in 90 minutes" - went down well, as I got one Caller, & then ActionJack re-popped it...... Lucky for me, as it happened, as I woulda flopped 4 to the flush. Lucky, because the first caller, who called ActionJack's re-pop, ended up with Quad Jacks, to beat Paul's Kings.

An hour later (& 4 tables later, I got "table-moved" 6 times!) I was sat to ActionJack's right again, & to general comments of "are you ever gonna play a hand?", I responded by Raising ActionJacks SB, & Maz Hussain's BB. Both called, ffs. The flop came K-T-6, check-check to me, & I bet out. Paul, "thinking out loud",  then goes through every possible hand I could have, before calling me. But he never guessed that I had 8-3. He'd hit the Ten, & tripped up on the River, by which time I'd bluffed off half my stack. Sigh, start again time.....

In the next 3 hours, I got 3 playable Hands - & got action every time. My K-K took on A-K - first card K, my J-J took on a Blind Steal with A-5 - J first card - and then K-K did the trick again v A-Q. Very nice.

Two Tables out, Roberto was rampant, & very hard to play against. "Rugrat" of Ladbrokes fame was pushing every hand, & I Passed 9-9 to one of his pushes. "Better situation" was my thinking.

With about 12 left, & with my stack, as is customary at this stage, "thin", an auto-play went off when Pete Seager in the SB moved in on my BB, & I found A-Q. Call. The Board came K-K-T-T-4 - I missed completely, but his hand was counterfeited & my A played. Ugly. Then Pete caught Roberto stealing, Pete's TT looked huge against Roberto's 8-4 of hearts, but a rivered heart done Pete again. It was an awesome cling-on that took Pete to the Final.

With Blinds at 3k-6k, & both Tables 5 handed, paying the rent necessitated much stealing, any unopened pot was fair game. A shorty moved in on my BB, & I had a marginal "must-call" with K-J. He had A-9, but my Jacks tripped, very lucky.

And eventually, wth 15 minutes of play remaining, it was "Final". And with everyone aware of pretty much exactly how much money they had locked up, the Final was a bit odd, to say the least.

Lovely Comp though, & it's always nice to start the poker year with a nice little cash, & I was delighted with £1,920, to go with the £450 I nicked in Sunday's £200 at DTD. I've barely played any serious comps in the last year, due to "work" committments, so I was pretty pleased with myself. It's allowed, now & then.

But how about this for a tricky dilemma......

[tikay]

....what would YOU do in this spot?

It's the Final, we are 8 handed - Roberto bust first hand, going for the win - & we all know what our guaranteed payout is.

8th place pays about £760, but I'm in line for about £2k (using chip count Rules) if I sit & Pass for the last 6 hands, & allowing for Posting one set of Blinds. I have about 40,000, & there are 616,000 in play.

A tight guy to my right, with 80,000 or so, makes it 20,000 to go. I have A-K, & 40,000.

This is normally an auto all-in at this stage for me.

I can Pass my way to £1,920, or take him on. If I lose, I get £760, if I win the hand, I get, I think, nearly £4,000.......

I passed. Of course. Thank Heavens Flushy is away, he'd crucify me. But sod the glory, bankroll Rules in my little world. And £2k goes a long way further than £760. And a lot less far than £4k. I guess it depends how you view these things.

I'm as happy as a happy person with nearly £2k. Greed, a necessary vice in poker, can also be the players worst enemy.

[taximan007]

If you were Happy with the 2K, and you have always stated that the "bankroll management" is the most important.

Then by passing you made the right decision, for you. You know you did.

[byronkincaid]

I responded by Raising ActionJacks SB, & Maz Hussain's BB. Both called, ffs. The flop came K-T-6, check-check to me, & I bet out. Paul, "thinking out loud",  then goes through every possible hand I could have, before calling me.

You can think out loud with 3 players still in the hand?

[kinboshi]

....what would YOU do in this spot?

It's the Final, we are 8 handed - Roberto bust first hand, going for the win - & we all know what our guaranteed payout is.

8th place pays about £760, but I'm in line for about £2k (using chip count Rules) if I sit & Pass for the last 6 hands, & allowing for Posting one set of Blinds. I have about 40,000, & there are 616,000 in play.

A tight guy to my right, with 80,000 or so, makes it 20,000 to go. I have A-K, & 40,000.

This is normally an auto all-in at this stage for me.

I can Pass my way to £1,920, or take him on. If I lose, I get £760, if I win the hand, I get, I think, nearly £4,000.......

I passed. Of course. Thank Heavens Flushy is away, he'd crucify me. But sod the glory, bankroll Rules in my little world. And £2k goes a long way further than £760. And a lot less far than £4k. I guess it depends how you view these things.

I'm as happy as a happy person with nearly £2k. Greed, a necessary vice in poker, can also be the players worst enemy.

Wow - I think even I push there.  Unless you're up against AA or KK, then you're either only a small dog (against a pair) or the favourite to win the hand. 

I still fold third hand in to an all-in re-re-raise by Tom with my KK though.

[RobS]

....what would YOU do in this spot?

It's the Final, we are 8 handed - Roberto bust first hand, going for the win - & we all know what our guaranteed payout is.

8th place pays about £760, but I'm in line for about £2k (using chip count Rules) if I sit & Pass for the last 6 hands, & allowing for Posting one set of Blinds. I have about 40,000, & there are 616,000 in play.

A tight guy to my right, with 80,000 or so, makes it 20,000 to go. I have A-K, & 40,000.

This is normally an auto all-in at this stage for me.

I can Pass my way to £1,920, or take him on. If I lose, I get £760, if I win the hand, I get, I think, nearly £4,000.......

I passed. Of course. Thank Heavens Flushy is away, he'd crucify me. But sod the glory, bankroll Rules in my little world. And £2k goes a long way further than £760. And a lot less far than £4k. I guess it depends how you view these things.

I'm as happy as a happy person with nearly £2k. Greed, a necessary vice in poker, can also be the players worst enemy.

Ok as Flushy isn't here.....

That is an awful pass! Unless his range is ridiculously ridiculously tight. Against a range of say AQ+, 88+ folding is terrible.....