Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[Karabiner]

The Coldplay debate.

No opinion, they do nothing for me, they neither offend, or please especially, some of their stuff is mildly entertaining, some not so. A support-support act imo.

Just shows, it's all subjective, very much shades of grey. Or Yellow.

Your opinions on music hold little sway with me since afaik you never even had a record collection as a lad

Be patient, Mr S, I've been busy, studying form, & punting, all day. You know how it is with us punters.......

Don't worry about it, I never really thought you had a record collection anyway.

I was just being uncharacteristically mischievous.

Not like you, Mr S?

So it's true then.

[tikay]

Today, for the first time since the day I began playing poker, I had a bet on the horses. My first bet on anything in all that time, tbh, unless you include buying Shares (plenty of that) & Staking, in which I have been messing around for about 12 months now, prior to which I just did odd bits & bobs.

For those unaware, Camel sort of teased/dared me to do a sort of betting thing, & I fell for it. See....

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=56581.0

I had spoken privately with Tom about it, & he dispensed his usual common sense - "don't be daft" sorta thing, but my bad inner self got the better of me, & I did it. I don't actually feel too pleased with myself, in truth, but I also quite enjoyed the novelrty of doing something I used to do daily, for 40 years, & have not done since.

Two good things came out of it. The "kitty" is £1,000, but bet are limited to £50 maximum, & I invested £30 today, of which I got a return of about £18. So, neither here nor there really, but the worst that can happen is I drop a grand over a fairly long period. I could do that much in hours in a single poker Tourney, or at a DC game.

The other good thing - crucial this - was that although I really enjoyed it, I never got that "buzz", that "I must know the result to the exclusion of everything else" thing. I actually forgot about it once I had placed the bet, so that's good.

It's a fun thread, too, & I'm really pleased with how that Betting Tips Board is progressing.

I just have to make sure it does not "bite" me, I have an addictive personality, & I have no plans to get bitten by that bug again, that would bugger up a lot of things for me, at a time when I am in cruise mode, downhill to the finish line, nice & easy.

[tikay]

The Coldplay debate.

No opinion, they do nothing for me, they neither offend, or please especially, some of their stuff is mildly entertaining, some not so. A support-support act imo.

Just shows, it's all subjective, very much shades of grey. Or Yellow.

Your opinions on music hold little sway with me since afaik you never even had a record collection as a lad

Be patient, Mr S, I've been busy, studying form, & punting, all day. You know how it is with us punters.......

Don't worry about it, I never really thought you had a record collection anyway.

I was just being uncharacteristically mischievous.

Not like you, Mr S?

So it's true then.

All will be revealed......

[The Camel]

Today, for the first time since the day I began playing poker, I had a bet on the horses. My first bet on anything in all that time, tbh, unless you include buying Shares (plenty of that) & Staking, in which I have been messing around for about 12 months now, prior to which I just did odd bits & bobs.

For those unaware, Camel sort of teased/dared me to do a sort of betting thing, & I fell for it. See....

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=56581.0

I had spoken privately with Tom about it, & he dispensed his usual common sense - "don't be daft" sorta thing, but my bad inner self got the better of me, & I did it. I don't actually feel too pleased with myself, in truth, but I also quite enjoyed the novelrty of doing something I used to do daily, for 40 years, & have not done since.

Two good things came out of it. The "kitty" is £1,000, but bet are limited to £50 maximum, & I invested £30 today, of which I got a return of about £18. So, neither here nor there really, but the worst that can happen is I drop a grand over a fairly long period. I could do that much in hours in a single poker Tourney, or at a DC game.

The other good thing - crucial this - was that although I really enjoyed it, I never got that "buzz", that "I must know the result to the exclusion of everything else" thing. I actually forgot about it once I had placed the bet, so that's good.

It's a fun thread, too, & I'm really pleased with how that Betting Tips Board is progressing.

I just have to make sure it does not "bite" me, I have an addictive personality, & I have no plans to get bitten by that bug again, that would bugger up a lot of things for me, at a time when I am in cruise mode, downhill to the finish line, nice & easy.

I'm still waiting for the "twist in the tail" you promised!

[tikay]

Meanwhile, while I fret inwardly about a £30 bet today, & I've allocated £1,000 for a bit - I hope - of harmless fun, my poker staking continues apace, almost exactly one year after I got so lucky with James Keys in the Aussie Millions.

Since then, I've been outrageously fortunate, & have netted 10 or 12 four figure binks, & 3 five figure binks, for an unbelievable profit. I sort of set 20% aside for future re-investment, & take the rest as profit, so to speak. Biggest winners for me have been James, Thewy, Mr Trumper, Brummie Boy, G2L, & Chompy, & Claypole, with plenty of bits & bobs too.

I do most of it these days "off-Forum", no reason for that, I just kind of prefer to do it that way when possible. I always give (or offer) decent winners a nice "drink", usually an offer of free entry into another Tourney, karma has to be addressed. Most of the chaps I invest in write to me in advance of going public, so I get first refusal, which works well for both parties.

This weekend, I have quite a bit going off, action in 5 or 6 different players, live & Online, & interest in 4 players in 5 TCOOP events. I have also reserved bits of action in future stuff, too, in the Deauville EPT, in the Vegas Deepstack series, & some other odds & ends. I probably have around £3,000 invested at this moment, & I have agreements with various guys, in different stuff, for as much again. I've also set aside a sum for Vegas WSOP staking, where I particularly want to invest in a few players in particular if the chance arises.

Compare that to my fretting over a £30 bet today, & you have a completely illogical mindset. Go figure.

The main thing with the staking is that I so enjoy it - now that does give me a nice buzz, & I invest in a manner which best spreads the variance nicely, preferring serial & repeat stakes. I barely play "proper" poker myself these days, the boys are too good for me these days, & I don't have the time, so I get my poker kicks a different way, & in my case, much more profitable than playing myself. Obviousy......

I still play regular small-ball poker Online, & have not deposited a penny in 5 years, it's just small stuff, but I look at the balance every day & I find it very satisfying that I can still turn a little profit. Where possible, that profit will be used to fund the Camel betting thing. So the betting is sort of "free".

This weekend, I'm playing the Luton SPT, (sponsored, lol) & the pressure to perform is on, & I'll probably freeze, & blind away like a wimp. But no matter, I still have my staking action to follow, so plenty of buzz. Oh, & my punting fix, on Camel's thing......

[tikay]

Today, for the first time since the day I began playing poker, I had a bet on the horses. My first bet on anything in all that time, tbh, unless you include buying Shares (plenty of that) & Staking, in which I have been messing around for about 12 months now, prior to which I just did odd bits & bobs.

For those unaware, Camel sort of teased/dared me to do a sort of betting thing, & I fell for it. See....

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=56581.0

I had spoken privately with Tom about it, & he dispensed his usual common sense - "don't be daft" sorta thing, but my bad inner self got the better of me, & I did it. I don't actually feel too pleased with myself, in truth, but I also quite enjoyed the novelrty of doing something I used to do daily, for 40 years, & have not done since.

Two good things came out of it. The "kitty" is £1,000, but bet are limited to £50 maximum, & I invested £30 today, of which I got a return of about £18. So, neither here nor there really, but the worst that can happen is I drop a grand over a fairly long period. I could do that much in hours in a single poker Tourney, or at a DC game.

The other good thing - crucial this - was that although I really enjoyed it, I never got that "buzz", that "I must know the result to the exclusion of everything else" thing. I actually forgot about it once I had placed the bet, so that's good.

It's a fun thread, too, & I'm really pleased with how that Betting Tips Board is progressing.

I just have to make sure it does not "bite" me, I have an addictive personality, & I have no plans to get bitten by that bug again, that would bugger up a lot of things for me, at a time when I am in cruise mode, downhill to the finish line, nice & easy.

I'm still waiting for the "twist in the tail" you promised!

There will be a twist, Keith, I've just not figured it yet - I'll detail my schedule for the last few days shortly, & you'll realise then I'm just a bit under the cosh, not enough hours in the day & all that.

It will come to me soon enough - tomorrow possibly, whist driving (got 400 miles to drive tomorrow), but I'd like to do something good/sensible/nice with any profit I make out of it. Might be a charity donation, go towards blonde Live Updates, donate it to a blonde freeroll, invest it in a decent "communal" stake in the WSOP, that sort of thing. If the £1k turns into £2k, then I can reasonably donate part or all of that profit to something which benefits others, & that'd make me somehow feel better about it. If after x months (what period are you suggesting we do it for?) I still have the starting fund of £1k, the rest is all bunce, & I'll have had my fun anyway at no cost. That'd be pretty neat, I think.

[GreekStein]

Bit of a harsh rub to chompy to include him in that list!

[tikay]

Bit of a harsh rub to chompy to include him in that list!

Thought you was on holiday?

It's even harsher than you might think.......

I sort of have a standing order with him - he goes to Vegas 2 or 3 times every year, & now & then will play a Fessie at the Vic, or some of it.

So the deal is, he just lets me know what he is doing, "ok for x%?" & I agree, & we settle up, uniquely for me, AFTER the Event. (I much prefer to pay in advance, but the deal with Chomps goes back a goodly while, before I started doing all this stuff).

So, he wrote to me & said "I'm gonna play 4 Events at The Vic, you want the usual?", I just say "yes please", & off we go, & I forget all about it.

Now, he had planned to play 4 Events, including a big one, & his planned spend was around £2k or £3k or so, & on this occasion I was in for 30%.

For whatever reason, he then changes his mind - probably MasterChef or some nonsense on telly, or Bin Day in St Neots - but he ends up swerving 3 of the 4 events, & eventually just plays the £300 affair, for which he hardly needs to sell action, but, you know, we had a deal for the lot, so that was that, so I end up with 30% of him in a £300 Event, which makes no sense really. Especially when he won it for £9,000......

Nice return for £100, lol, but not so nice for him. Well done on the opportunity to remind him......

Like I said, I run outrageously good.

[the sicilian]

He was more surprised than u.....

[tikay]

Earliest records I purchased, asks Ralphy boy.

Well the story needs to have context, the era, how we listened to music, how we purchased it, but for now......

ALL the Beatles stuff, from day one, singles, EP's, LP's, the lot.

Most of the early Stones stuff, starting with "Come On", "Not Fade Away", "I Wanna be Your Man", "It's All Over Now", &, of course, "Satisfaction". No Stones albums, though.

Bowie, Aladdin Sane

Roxy Music, (with Bryan Ferry) can't recall the title.

Rod Stewart, "Every Picture Tells a Story". A very fine piece of work, especially "Maggie May" & "Reason To Believe".

If I listened longggggggg enough to youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

Deep Purple

Emerson Lake & Palmer

Peter Frampton, "Frampton Comes Alive". VERY good, I thought.

The Eagles, Hotel Cali, one of the great albums of all time. I have a CD version of it still.

Floyd, DSOTM

Doobie Brothers

Oldfield, Tubular bells

Everything by 10cc

Everything by ELO

T-Rex

"Yes", up to but not beyond TOTO

Genesis

Rick Wakeman (later a Director at Brentford FC) "Journey to the Centre of the Earth".

Dire Straits, obviously.

That's all I can recall of the "phase 1" stuff, there was then a gap of a good few years before I got back into music, but that's another story.

PS - Incredible to believe that, 40 (?) years on, Rod Stewart is now headlining in Las Vegas. Who'd have thunk?

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