Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[GreekStein]

bump.

how's things gramps?

God bless you for asking Mr C. Your first post for over a fortnight, & you ask how I am. I'm honoured.

I'd best answer to earlier questions on the Diary first, then I'll answer your question.

Meanwhile...

How are you?

What are you up to?

Have you mostly deserted blonde now, maybe too busy with real life stuff?

Where are you living now?

How's your young lady?

Marriage plans yet?

Are you still getting the lot?

Still living the dream?

Any plans to return home permanently? I know you miss your family.

Vegas this year?   

I'm fine thanks!

Had rather a nasty trip to Macau this time round in many ways. It was the biggest money downswing in a short period that I'd ever had and it was quite stressful to be honest. I got sick 2 or 3 times which shouldnt be normal for a 28 year old guy and top it all off I broke my foot there 3 weeks ago. The only good thing about the trip was that I had lost around 10-12kilos and my fitness had much improved but now this foot makes it hard to do anything. A real spanner in the works.

I've come back to Bangkok which is absolutely just what the doctor ordered! Seeing friends, going for a massage every day, spending time with my girlfriend and enjoying some nice meals. Have played some much smaller stakes online than I do in Macau - a very even mix of $50c-1 to $5/10 and done moderately well. If only these results were mirrored in the $25/50 games I'd been playing live the past few months. Still, I'm happy to be recharging the batteries and being around people I'm close with.

Young lady is fine. Please dont mention marriage! That's rather a scary thought. Ordinarily I wouldn't really mention things like this on a public forum but I've had a few glasses of wine this evening and must admit my girlfriend is some cause for thought at the moment. I'm 29 soon and before I'm 35 I want to have a couple of kids and settle down - problem is I don't know where I want to settle down or whether we can be together long term. We've already been with each other for 4 years and it's been very happy and problem free which is exactly the problem! It's tough to end things when there's no issue as such but if I wanted to move back to the UK I'm pretty sure she couldn't handle it there so lots of thinking on my part at the moment!

I'm involved in 2 other things that bring me some revenue and I've gotten a bit of a thirst to do something full time not related to poker - by the time I really consider myself to have settled down I would like to not rely on poker at all. One of the things in particular I've made good money on in a short period of time and enjoyed it. Poker has been great to me. I've essentially had a 5 year holiday so far in an amazing part of the world where I play a game for a few hours most days and use that money to pay for it so I'm not ready for it all to end just yet but I can see that time coming soon. I'm not panicked by it because the pieces will all come together but I don't know what they are yet.

I haven't intentionally been posting less - I've just been a bit lazy and also some friends saw my diary - hence why it was temporarily removed from the forum. It felt weird having my real life friends from outside of poker reading what I choose to share with blondes. I'm still reading every day or so but just chilling out and enjoying being lazy.

I'm not doing Vegas this year but will be returning to the UK for 3 months in the summer. I'm massively looking forward to that. It will have been 2 years since I've been back which is crazy. I'm a groomsman at one of my best friends wedding and then one of my first cousin is getting married and all the family are going out to Cyprus for the wedding. I used to go at least every other year to Cyprus and haven't been in 10 years! I really cant wait for this summer. It should be great.

On the one hand gutted to miss Vegas but 7 weeks last year was enough of a fix to last me until next year and this summer I know will be fantastic.

Cracking reply, exactly what I hope for, thanks Cos.

Without giving the details, what sort of work or business areas do you think you will end up being involved in? Restaurant business? That's what Greeks do, right? Stavros etc.

You sound very happy, which is so good to hear.

I recall when you were living in the UK, & going to work 9-5 or whatever every day, chuntering about having to catch the bus, or a taxi. You never seemed to be in a good place back then, & it showed, you were an angry young man so often. Now you're all mellow, soft & happy. Lovely job.

How much do you miss the bants with the Notts gang, Team Alex & co? And hasn't Alex done well for himself? - I'm so pleased for him, & in a strange way proud of him, he conducts himself in such an exemplary way.

 

Property related most likely but whatever I end up doing money will be secondary and enjoyment/fulfillment will be first. Life's too short to not enjoy what you do.

The Notts gang are ALL awesome. Most of them have left or are in other places now but there's no poker group I enjoy spending my time with more than Mitch, Alex, Keith, Stato, Linton, Nick Hicks, Maria etc. All just great people. Good fun and good people on and off the table.

[tikay]

How do you write to a friend who was diagnosed with cancer 18 months ago, &, you know, ask the question without actually asking it, or touching a nerve, just in case.......

I had to do exactly that last week, on an unrelated matter, & I pondered how I could ask the question without asking, if you get my drift. I mean, I could hardly write to him without making mention of his predicament, could I?

In fact, I never realised, but I owed him a small sum of money, just £10 or £20 or something, nothing of consequence, & I was not aware, or had forgotten.

So I said something like......

"Tell you what, be the greatest thing ever if we could settle up over a Starbucks in Vegas".

And - I swear to God this is true, his reply was that on that VERY day he had just been cleared by the quacks, & was officially in remission.

How good is that?

As I understand this was all posted on Facebook, I'm not giving too much away if I say "bravo Simon Galloway".

[tikay]

bump.

how's things gramps?

God bless you for asking Mr C. Your first post for over a fortnight, & you ask how I am. I'm honoured.

I'd best answer to earlier questions on the Diary first, then I'll answer your question.

Meanwhile...

How are you?

What are you up to?

Have you mostly deserted blonde now, maybe too busy with real life stuff?

Where are you living now?

How's your young lady?

Marriage plans yet?

Are you still getting the lot?

Still living the dream?

Any plans to return home permanently? I know you miss your family.

Vegas this year?   

I'm fine thanks!

Had rather a nasty trip to Macau this time round in many ways. It was the biggest money downswing in a short period that I'd ever had and it was quite stressful to be honest. I got sick 2 or 3 times which shouldnt be normal for a 28 year old guy and top it all off I broke my foot there 3 weeks ago. The only good thing about the trip was that I had lost around 10-12kilos and my fitness had much improved but now this foot makes it hard to do anything. A real spanner in the works.

I've come back to Bangkok which is absolutely just what the doctor ordered! Seeing friends, going for a massage every day, spending time with my girlfriend and enjoying some nice meals. Have played some much smaller stakes online than I do in Macau - a very even mix of $50c-1 to $5/10 and done moderately well. If only these results were mirrored in the $25/50 games I'd been playing live the past few months. Still, I'm happy to be recharging the batteries and being around people I'm close with.

Young lady is fine. Please dont mention marriage! That's rather a scary thought. Ordinarily I wouldn't really mention things like this on a public forum but I've had a few glasses of wine this evening and must admit my girlfriend is some cause for thought at the moment. I'm 29 soon and before I'm 35 I want to have a couple of kids and settle down - problem is I don't know where I want to settle down or whether we can be together long term. We've already been with each other for 4 years and it's been very happy and problem free which is exactly the problem! It's tough to end things when there's no issue as such but if I wanted to move back to the UK I'm pretty sure she couldn't handle it there so lots of thinking on my part at the moment!

I'm involved in 2 other things that bring me some revenue and I've gotten a bit of a thirst to do something full time not related to poker - by the time I really consider myself to have settled down I would like to not rely on poker at all. One of the things in particular I've made good money on in a short period of time and enjoyed it. Poker has been great to me. I've essentially had a 5 year holiday so far in an amazing part of the world where I play a game for a few hours most days and use that money to pay for it so I'm not ready for it all to end just yet but I can see that time coming soon. I'm not panicked by it because the pieces will all come together but I don't know what they are yet.

I haven't intentionally been posting less - I've just been a bit lazy and also some friends saw my diary - hence why it was temporarily removed from the forum. It felt weird having my real life friends from outside of poker reading what I choose to share with blondes. I'm still reading every day or so but just chilling out and enjoying being lazy.

I'm not doing Vegas this year but will be returning to the UK for 3 months in the summer. I'm massively looking forward to that. It will have been 2 years since I've been back which is crazy. I'm a groomsman at one of my best friends wedding and then one of my first cousin is getting married and all the family are going out to Cyprus for the wedding. I used to go at least every other year to Cyprus and haven't been in 10 years! I really cant wait for this summer. It should be great.

On the one hand gutted to miss Vegas but 7 weeks last year was enough of a fix to last me until next year and this summer I know will be fantastic.

Cracking reply, exactly what I hope for, thanks Cos.

Without giving the details, what sort of work or business areas do you think you will end up being involved in? Restaurant business? That's what Greeks do, right? Stavros etc.

You sound very happy, which is so good to hear.

I recall when you were living in the UK, & going to work 9-5 or whatever every day, chuntering about having to catch the bus, or a taxi. You never seemed to be in a good place back then, & it showed, you were an angry young man so often. Now you're all mellow, soft & happy. Lovely job.

How much do you miss the bants with the Notts gang, Team Alex & co? And hasn't Alex done well for himself? - I'm so pleased for him, & in a strange way proud of him, he conducts himself in such an exemplary way.

 

Property related most likely but whatever I end up doing money will be secondary and enjoyment/fulfillment will be first. Life's too short to not enjoy what you do.

The Notts gang are ALL awesome. Most of them have left or are in other places now but there's no poker group I enjoy spending my time with more than Mitch, Alex, Keith, Stato, Linton, Nick Hicks, Maria etc. All just great people. Good fun and good people on and off the table.

Good stuff.

I'm using your "how are things Mr Kendall?" question as an excuse, & a kick in the arse, to do a bit of a general update, more will follow soon. I'm strangely flat today, with an adrenalin hangover. Very busy yesterday, happily so, all good positive stuff, & did the Show last night, but I'm as flat as a pancake today. Mentally, that is, not the pot belly.

The Big Cloud that has hung over my head since just after Xmas (not health or Gill) might move forward today, though it's done so more times than enough, & keeps hitting further snags. We shall see, in an hour or two. It's frustrating me to bits. Bureaucracy, ugh.

[MrDickie]

But I've never had a day off work sick in 52 years, apart from a whopper of an abcess on my arse once, when I had to sit on a bloody inner tube. 
[/quote]

Do you have any pics of this........sitting on the inner tube I mean. Not the bloody abcess please.

[Magic817]

I'll stick with it for another 3 months, & then, as per, pile it all back on again.

Why?

Morning Tom.

Can't help myself Tom. Pork pies, sticky buns, latte, thickly buttered bread or toast, steak & kidney pud with mash & gravy, tea with sugar, I just adore all these things.  

Let's also remember that apart from all the above, I've never eaten veg (spuds & peas excepted) or salad, & never taken exercise or generally looked after myself. But I've never had a day off work sick in 52 years, apart from a whopper of an abcess on my arse once, when I had to sit on a bloody inner tube. I'm still full of energy & oomph, too, can't wait to get up every morning.

There's a lot to be said for pork pies & sticky buns you know.

Anyway, never mind that, how are things with you & yours? We don't see much of you on blonde these days, which is sad, but understandable we all have lives to live.

I'm currently in the best shape I've been in for about 20 years, I reached my goal weight and got proper fit. It wasn't easy though, it was bloody hard work. Enjoyable, but bloody hard work.

Now it might all go tits up and over the coming months and I'll slip back into being fat and lazy, but, (and here's the thing) I don't plan to.


I still spend a lot of time on blonde, I love it dearly and I hate to see it in decline, but sometimes you have to accept the inevitable. I have occasionally made an effort to post more, but it's easy to over do it and it comes across as forced, then factor in the fact that most people are bored witless by the things that interest me and my own declining ability to describe them in an engaging way and it's easy to understand why my diary is all tumbleweed and cobwebs.

You post this in the diary of the man who is interested in concrete!

[TightEnd]

tikay you will want to see this

http://www.shropshirelive.com/2016/02/18/dads-terminal-cancer-inspires-max-to-tackle-12-money-raising-challenges/

[TightEnd]

tikay you will want to see this

http://www.shropshirelive.com/2016/02/18/dads-terminal-cancer-inspires-max-to-tackle-12-money-raising-challenges/

you won't see this on social media so copied for you on here, fyi

" Just to let everyone know - Today is the official opening ceremony for the Maxandthemac12 campaign which will see me do 12 challenges year to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. It will be a bungee jump taking place at the UK Bungee Centre in Tamworth today at 3pm. These will progress into harder things such as a Half Marathon, the National 3 Peaks Challenge and a 100km cycle event (not cycled in 3 years so a hard one for me).

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated already. I have been inspired to do everything this year because of what my Dad Steve Ball has been through. The next 10 months will be a really journey, but we can be in it together.

If you have a spare minute, please have a look at my facebook page (link in the first paragraph) and my JustGiving page below:

https://www.justgiving.com/MaxAndTheMac12/


he sounds like a fine young bloke, good on him

[tikay]

^^^^

Not forgotten those posts Tighty, just a bit waylaid on other stuff this week.

Oddly, I shared PLO8 DYM tables with Steve (Max's Dad, ice-tiger) last night & Thursday night.

He took a couple of shocking beats, & I outdrew him badly once.

There followed a sort of awkward silence - what exactly can you say in spots like that?

I can't quite recall, ever, anyone, so brave & dignified given his circumstances.

He runs a "Mini Fred" Next Door, & is very profitable on both Football & Golf betting.

Here's an extract from a post of his dated 15th February......

 
Shame we couldn't get the win here but that gives us two wins and four second places over the last four weeks and eight tournaments:

Thomas Pieters 55/1 2nd

Brandt Snedeker 18/1 1st

Branden Grace 8/1 1st

Rafa Cabrera Bello 40/1 2nd

Rafa Cabrera Bello 35/1 2nd

Phil Mickelson 22/1 2nd

If we go back a further two weeks, we also got Christiaan Bezuidenhuit for 2nd at 250/1 and places for Jamie Lovemark at 100/1, Joost Luiten at 70/1 & JB Holmes at 28/1 so on a pretty profitable 2016 so far.


It's all so sad, but inspiring, too.

He needs a 1 outer to get out of this (his phrase). For the first & last time I'll borrow this from Team Cliché.....

One time

[tikay]

Business as Usual


A mini-blog here, it was sort of orphaned, could not be published where it was intended, so rather than waste it, I stuck it on my "Official" Blog Next Door.

And if you cba to read it, would you do business?

http://bit.ly/20LcjNe

[Mohican]

Isn't official business prevented at DTD or as its a Sky UKPC, will deals be allowed?
As for the 8 way chop, were the chip stacks relatively equal and payouts the same or spread out depending on stack size?
As for me, I'd be happy just to be in the position to deal HU..

[Doobs]

Isn't official business prevented at DTD or as its a Sky UKPC, will deals be allowed?
As for the 8 way chop, were the chip stacks relatively equal and payouts the same or spread out depending on stack size?
As for me, I'd be happy just to be in the position to deal HU..

They got varying amounts, so must have been chip stack related. 

[Mohican]

Isn't official business prevented at DTD or as its a Sky UKPC, will deals be allowed?
As for the 8 way chop, were the chip stacks relatively equal and payouts the same or spread out depending on stack size?
As for me, I'd be happy just to be in the position to deal HU..

They got varying amounts, so must have been chip stack related.  

Am I right in thinking that the short stacks benefited from this the most?
Edit- a bit of research reveals they played 8 handed for over two hours so perhaps the chop isn't as ridiculous as it first seems.

[Karabiner]

I hope you already have some USD for the annual jaunt to Vegas Tony as all this referendum business has triggered some serious jitters regarding Sterling.

This morning's rate was an eight-year low of $1.417/£1.

[Geo the Sarge]

I was not in great shape health wise after Xmas. Nothing serious, just generally off colour, feeling my age, even walking upstairs at home puffed me out, & I had a worldy pot belly. I weighed in at ounces shy of 15 stone, heavier than I've been for 30 years. Just an excess of sticky buns, bread, thickly buttered toast & so on. And not enough exercise.

So it was time to do something.

One month ago, today

I started my latest diet, & I've shed 1st 1lb since then. Still got the pot belly, mind, but Rennie intake has dropped to zero, & now meals are an event, something to look forward to, relish, savour, & generally enjoy.  

3 weeks ago today

I started a daily walk. 2 miles every weekday, 4 miles every Saturday & Sunday. That's 54 miles clocked in 3 weeks. I swear to God, I bet I don't walk a mile a year normally. I actually enjoy it, it helps me clear my head of stress & niggly worries. I don't amble, I march at a right old pace, & at first, I came back puffing & wheezing, but I'm a lot better now, & I'm going to increase both the daily & weekend walk length after UKPC.

2 weeks ago today

I stopped drinking latte. I've been supping that stuff since Dave Colclough got me hooked on in in 2004. 12 years, sheesh. Way too many calories, so, regrettably, it had to go. On a 6 hour round trip to the Midlands & back, which I do once per week, I'd down 3 of the damn things.  I'm now just drinking sparkling water, or tea. Bit boring, but had to be done.

2 weeks ago today

I started reducing my ciggie intake. I was at 30 per day, but I'm down to 10 per day now, strictly rationed. I ONLY smoke when I'm at home in the study, on the computer, tip tapping or pokering, don't smoke in the lounge any more, when watching TV, or when driving. Probably too little, too late, but it is what it is.


Am feeling a lot better now, but for context, I'm still nearly 14 stone, which is pretty damn bad. If I can stick at it for another 3 months, I might just end up sub 13 stone, & in better shape generally.

I'm enjoying it actually. Dieting is SO satisfying when the weight starts to drop, & those clothes which did not fit now fit OK.  

Me, walking every day, who'd have ever guessed?

Good on you, just a wee bit extra willpower during Vegas and I'm sure you'll manage quite well

Geo

[celtic]

This might make it a bit harder to keep weight off. At least it goes some way to explain why you have got so fat

http://news.sky.com/story/1643309/up-to-25-spoons-of-sugar-in-cafe-hot-drinks