Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

You will likely be relieved to know that's it for now. Today's Tourney is at Venetian & starts at 12.10 Local, & I need to have a shower & get myself across & sorted. 

More soon. Probably.

[RED-DOG]

I've missed this diary.

[animalpoker]

Next up was a lovely little $240 Big O at Golden Nugget which turned out to be a comedy of errors in so many ways, some self-inflicted. (This was the one the lovely Walter Smiley won).

The plasma said 6 players paid - or so I thought. In fact it was 7 paid. The payout had top 6 on the left hand sidebar & 7th on the other side, which somewhat carelessly I never saw. Had I seen that I would never have played the fateful hand on what was, in fact, the money bubble.

I'm probably 2nd in chips & in seat 8, sort of next to the Dealer. (We play Big O 8 handed). 8 of us remain.

Seat 2, the shortie, pots it, 45,000, & he's pot stuck so won't be folding. Over in Seat 8 I raise to isolate & even though I'm 2nd chip the blinds are monsta so it's most of my stack. That's OK, I've got plenty.  

Now things go horribly wrong. Seat 1 (he can't see me the other side of the Dealer & is steaming drunk) says "CALL" & puts in 45,000.

I mean, you can see where this is going, right?

Floor is called, Shortie insists he has to call the full bet from me, & I sit there & say nothing, because I just know how this will pan out. Anyway, Floor say he either calls the full bet or forfeits the 45,000, & he slurs "call". Correct Ruling of course.

And as you can guess, he got there with his utter spanners & I'm down to dust. He's only just returned from a 2 Orbit penalty too, his second penalty for abusive behaviour.

And it's only now, to my utter horror, I realise there are SEVEN paid, not 6.

But I've got 2 BB so it has to go in, & of course it plays SIX way, inevitably. I actually flop a flush which was good until the board paired on the River & Drunk Bloke had a J-2-2 Boat.

Self-inflicted misery. I don't get mad or cross or anything when pokering, but I deffo had a curly lip for 10 minutes. Chances like that don't come along every day & I wasted it by sheer carelessness.  

Just to compound my irritation, Shortie was a player I've given the nick of Cyril the Sniff. He has a cold but lacks either a handkerchief or manners, so sniffs every 30 seconds. Which, for reasons I can't explain because I don't know, annoys me intensely. Surely people should understand the need for basic manners? Meh.

And in every Tourney I've played since, he's been in in the seat adjacent to me. Now that's proper run-bad.

Here, meet Mr Sniff.

I know you lost but I’d take that spot all day long if he had spanners.  Scoop that pot  (or 3/4) and you have huge chance of top 3.   Sometimes you gotta just play and ignore the bubble imo ( says the guy that’s just crept into the cash the last 2 times ) .  Yes it’s a mistake to not know the stone bubble spot but hey doesn’t sound too bad in this situation.  I guess if you didn’t want the action vs drunk guy , announce really really loud when you reraise .  I still feel new to live poker 20 years on sometimes as don’t play often enough and am still learning every session out here .

Nice to see you briefly today, good luck .  I bust out end of level 3 so am currently in grand luxe drinking a local IPA and waiting on some salmon. 
Didn’t fancy the rebuy today, think it’s going to be many many corona and lots of big O in an hour or 2 .  I’m a little gutted not to scoop my 4 way all in and gather 3 bounties level 2 and have 4x starting stack but can’t win them all . Could have had some fun with that stack .  There was a guy yesterday at MGM that had 8x starting stack within an hour of play, was hilarious to watch and before you ask he didn’t have a clue what he was doing either 😁

Catch you in person soon again

[EssexPhil]

Just caught up with this thread. Had plenty of time-playing 1 of i-pokers EXL series, and I think the re-entry period was the month of May

2 quick comments about things you have mentioned recently:-

1. The parking 1. Obviously this is not legal advice (I have to say that-don't want the SRA after me). The first thing to say is that is is £40. Yes, you can fight these things-but it is going to cost you a lot more in aggro. Suspect the best solution is just to pay. However, if you want to argue, it is easier than it used to be. Simply because there are so many more records than there used to be. So (for example) assuming you paid by card there will be digital records. Similarly, wherever you went afterwards there may be digital records or someone's door cam footage.

2. Sorry that your time at Sky ended the way it did. The site sometimes lacks class. Which is a shame, as it has some wonderful people on it. But move past it-much better to remember the many good times there. Tonight the Main needed 125 entries to break even. It got 79...

Good luck in Vegas

[Elliot]

Elliott. Buddy Guy? I'd travel a very long way to see him. Need to do it soon though, he must be nearing 90. Someone suggested I go see The Pixies in Vegas. I gave them a listen & they were surprisingly good considering they have such a naff name.

His next gig is 6th June. Don't know if any of them fit in with your visit.. the full list is on this page https://www.buddyguy.net/

[redsimon]

hope you're enjoying Vegas, my idea of bliss is those OrleansO8 cash games

Hi Simon.

Agree, its as relaxing as it can be, hard to win much or lose much at Limit O8 & there are some amazing characters there.  

On the way back to my room last night after an early exit at GN, I had a look at the Orleans Limit O8 Cash Game wait lists. $4-$8 had 3 tables running & 23 on the list, $8-$16 3 tables & 15 on the list, & even $15-$30 had 2 tables & 9 on the list. The place was absolutely heaving.

How's your health these days, has it stabilised?

Oh, I shared a few tables with an old sparring partner of yours the other day, I'll be very surprised if you are not acquainted with him. He mainly plays at GN when in Vegas but Orleans too.  


https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=4434

He won the GN thing two days ago & I looked him up on Hendon, does very well indeed at stakes up to $300, & has over 300 cashes to his name. Excellent player at those stakes.


https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=4434

His name is Walter Smiley, a very inappropriate name for one who only smiles when he lays a huge slowroll on an opponent who thinks he's scooped. Don't think I've ever seen a worse (better?) slowroller in my life. Has chronic catarrh too as anyone who has shared tables with him will testify, and to be fair, to expectorate into a rubbish bin some 6' distant as he regularly does is a lost art. Not at all a pleasant experience to have him to your immediate left or right, it must be said. Gotta respect his game at the stakes he plays though. I almost feel bad for saying it, but on occasion I've told him to his face & it does not even register with him, he's a thoroughly unpleasant individual. For balance, I don't suppose he's mad keen on me, & it was him that went home with 1st prize so there's that.

Health isnt too good, back on transplant list and currently staving off dialysis. Looks like youre having fun at the Nugget. Areyou planning on many WSOP tournies

[tikay]

Not too much Vegas poker chat today. A series of very deep runs has been matched by some truly spectacular exits, but to describe them would sound like bad beat stories, & nobody, least of all me, wants to see that.

The worst thing with my job at Sky was putting up with all the bad beat nonsense, day after day. One has to bite one's tongue. One guy used to write to me every day to complain that the site was corrupt, & offering evidence to support it - "I lost 13 times in a row with Aces" sorta thing. Yeah, course you did mate.  

Another man regularly wrote to me to complain that the reason there were so many bad beats on Sky Poker was because "they purchased the cheapest RNG". Indeed Sir, indeed.

And we had several players who posted EVERY hand they lost when they went in ahead, including, & mainly, standard 50/50 flips.

And there was a platform where every time they lost with K-K they posted a little sort of emoji thing, as if losing with Kings was a big deal. I bet that emoji was posted over a thousand times. This was from experienced players many of whom have played tens of thousands of MTT's. At what point will they realise it's perfectly standard & that nobody cares?

Anyway, in summary, since the last poker update, I played the $800 Big O Bounty at Venetian & secured three x $200 Bounties but failed to cash "proper" & then last night I had a real roller-coaster ride in the $240 Big O at Orleans, eventually departing in about 35th of 236 with 30 paid. I had plenty of chips & was going for it though, unlike the old days when I always just tried to hang on into the money. That's my latest excuse.

And the overall position so far? 9 events, 4 cashes (if we include the $600 in bounties from the Venetian $800 Big O Bounty), an overall loss of $1,686. I think everyone that has played poker for a while will understand the high variance in MTT's, so overall we can't read too much into that. (He says, happily whistling in the dark).

Next adventure is today's $1,500 WSOP Omaha Mix. (O8, PLO8 & Big O).

Doobs, Animal will both be playing it, & possibly Stu Rutter too though his schedule is double-booked today so maybe not. With due respect to all three, I don't really want to see any of them on my table.  

 

[tikay]

Yesterday was officially the first day of my Retirement.

Gill started the ball rolling with a lovely note of congratulations, & that was followed by lots of other lovely people echoing that.

Feels a bit weird so far. Woke up yesterday, tried to turn on my (Company) Lappie but they've withdrawn all my Passwords & Log-Ins as my Contract had expired at Midnight. No messing about or fluffy "it's been a pleasure", just off you go son. As expected & correctly of course, but it still came as a sort of stark reminder. So I had to set up my new personal Lappie. That was fun.

And no disrespect to everyone who "congratulated" me, but it got me thinking. As schoolkids, we could not wait to go to work. And then we looked back on it in later years & thought "I must have been mad".  

But that's life journey for all of us, isn't it?

We are born.

Can't wait to go to School.

Can't wait to leave school & go to work.

Go to work for 40/50/60 years or whatever & can't wait to retire.

Retire.

And then......


Well you fill in the blanks. It is what it is. This is not morbid, not at all, it's just how it is. So my plan is to fill every day with stuff I enjoy, & in fact I've been doing that for some time now. Maybe too much but YOLO & all that. Gill, golf, poker, I'm very very lucky.  

End of this month Gill & I are off to Paris on Eurostar, next month I have a golf trip with the lads lined up. First though, gotta try & get me some more cashes here in Vegas.

[tikay]

hope you're enjoying Vegas, my idea of bliss is those OrleansO8 cash games

Hi Simon.

Agree, its as relaxing as it can be, hard to win much or lose much at Limit O8 & there are some amazing characters there.  

On the way back to my room last night after an early exit at GN, I had a look at the Orleans Limit O8 Cash Game wait lists. $4-$8 had 3 tables running & 23 on the list, $8-$16 3 tables & 15 on the list, & even $15-$30 had 2 tables & 9 on the list. The place was absolutely heaving.

How's your health these days, has it stabilised?

Oh, I shared a few tables with an old sparring partner of yours the other day, I'll be very surprised if you are not acquainted with him. He mainly plays at GN when in Vegas but Orleans too.  


https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=4434

He won the GN thing two days ago & I looked him up on Hendon, does very well indeed at stakes up to $300, & has over 300 cashes to his name. Excellent player at those stakes.


https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=4434

His name is Walter Smiley, a very inappropriate name for one who only smiles when he lays a huge slowroll on an opponent who thinks he's scooped. Don't think I've ever seen a worse (better?) slowroller in my life. Has chronic catarrh too as anyone who has shared tables with him will testify, and to be fair, to expectorate into a rubbish bin some 6' distant as he regularly does is a lost art. Not at all a pleasant experience to have him to your immediate left or right, it must be said. Gotta respect his game at the stakes he plays though. I almost feel bad for saying it, but on occasion I've told him to his face & it does not even register with him, he's a thoroughly unpleasant individual. For balance, I don't suppose he's mad keen on me, & it was him that went home with 1st prize so there's that.

Health isnt too good, back on transplant list and currently staving off dialysis. Looks like youre having fun at the Nugget. Areyou planning on many WSOP tournies

Hi Simon,


I've very very sorry to hear that & I know you've had that problem for well over a decade if I'm not mistaken. Ignore me if it's too personal, but I'm assuming S4CKD?

On a brighter note, I bet you've enjoyed Nottingham Forest's exploits this season. Who saw that coming?

[tikay]

Elliott. Buddy Guy? I'd travel a very long way to see him. Need to do it soon though, he must be nearing 90. Someone suggested I go see The Pixies in Vegas. I gave them a listen & they were surprisingly good considering they have such a naff name.

His next gig is 6th June. Don't know if any of them fit in with your visit.. the full list is on this page https://www.buddyguy.net/

Much as I'd love to see Buddy Guy "live", they all seem a little too distant.

[tikay]

Just caught up with this thread. Had plenty of time-playing 1 of i-pokers EXL series, and I think the re-entry period was the month of May

2 quick comments about things you have mentioned recently:-

1. The parking 1. Obviously this is not legal advice (I have to say that-don't want the SRA after me). The first thing to say is that is is £40. Yes, you can fight these things-but it is going to cost you a lot more in aggro. Suspect the best solution is just to pay. However, if you want to argue, it is easier than it used to be. Simply because there are so many more records than there used to be. So (for example) assuming you paid by card there will be digital records. Similarly, wherever you went afterwards there may be digital records or someone's door cam footage.

2. Sorry that your time at Sky ended the way it did. The site sometimes lacks class. Which is a shame, as it has some wonderful people on it. But move past it-much better to remember the many good times there. Tonight the Main needed 125 entries to break even. It got 79...

Good luck in Vegas

Hi Phil,


So good to see you here, hope you hang around.

You are right of course. It was the timing that annoyed & stressed me out. Arrived home from that mad week of travelling all over, got an hour to pack & set off for London & that letter arrived, which said I had 2 weeks to appeal, so I was backed into a corner. Had my head been on straight, I'd have just sighed & paid the £40.

However, there have been further developments....

[tikay]

And now, a FIRST in the 20 year history of blondepoker.

Vinni (celtic) was RIGHT.

[tikay]

News on the various disputes.

Pleasantly surprised, shocked even, that Avanti/WCML have accepted responsibility & are sending me £85 via a BACS payment. Surprisingly quick & efficient, fair play to them.

The Tesco Cowboy Parking Outfit? They sent me an e-Mail with the Subject Heading of....


Appeal Submission Successful


I confess, I did a little fist pump, YESSSSS!

It was not quite what it seemed though - it was just a clumsy way of saying that my Appeal Form has been filled in correctly & now they are going to review it.

I suspect alanc has nailed it, & I'll be shuttled back & forth between Tesco & the Parking company.

No way I'm paying it though.

"As a goodwiill gesture", my arse.  

Had quite a few of these from Horizon, they are easy to appeal and they are relatively reasonable when you give them the information. Never had to pay one yet. If anyone ever tells you to just ignore them though, don't.

Congrats on your retirement. 77 is an amazing age to still be working, I'll be happy just to be alive and healthy at that age. Good luck in Vegas, and let me know when you and Tom are heading out to Malta. Some nice festivals here, mixed games too. Not just Hold'em. 

Dear Appellant,

 

Parking Charge:HP3825845

 

Thank you for your recent correspondence concerning the above referenced Parking Charge.


 Having fully reviewed the case, I can confirm the Parking Charge has now been cancelled and no further action will be taken in this matter.

 

Horizon invests in both the technology and infrastructure required to manage parking facilities on behalf of its clients. As with any technology, errors can unfortunately occur. Whilst errors are mercifully rare, there are a number of possible reasons why a vehicle registration may be either missed or unreadable by an ANPR camera. These can range from another vehicle driving too closely to the photographed vehicle during busy periods, through to a number plate that is obscured due to poor weather conditions or dirt. It is apparent that a capture of your vehicle has been missed on this occasion. When problems are highlighted to us, such as in this scenario, we are able to investigate and apply remedy.


Please note that once the Parking Charge is cancelled the contact details are removed from the Parking Charge and will not be retained for any purpose or shared with third parties.  We are, however, required to retain images and appeal correspondence for a period of 2 years by DVLA and 3 years by the BPA and are not therefore able to delete these from our system. You can review our privacy policy at https://horizonparking.co.uk/privacy-policy/ or you can request that a copy is sent to you in the post by contacting us at the address below, if you have any queries regarding your data.

 

Please therefore accept our sincerest apologies and also our thanks for highlighting the problem to us. Should you have any further queries, do not hesitate to contact our advice line for further assistance.

 

Kind Regards,

Horizon Parking

 

[tikay]

I mean, I could have done without all that waffle. Whatever makes them so verbose? A business that wrote to me like this would have my loyalty for life.  

wagwan,

All patterned now cuz, don't need no P's.

Say nuttin fam

[tikay]

Next up was a lovely little $240 Big O at Golden Nugget which turned out to be a comedy of errors in so many ways, some self-inflicted. (This was the one the lovely Walter Smiley won).

The plasma said 6 players paid - or so I thought. In fact it was 7 paid. The payout had top 6 on the left hand sidebar & 7th on the other side, which somewhat carelessly I never saw. Had I seen that I would never have played the fateful hand on what was, in fact, the money bubble.

I'm probably 2nd in chips & in seat 8, sort of next to the Dealer. (We play Big O 8 handed). 8 of us remain.

Seat 2, the shortie, pots it, 45,000, & he's pot stuck so won't be folding. Over in Seat 8 I raise to isolate & even though I'm 2nd chip the blinds are monsta so it's most of my stack. That's OK, I've got plenty.  

Now things go horribly wrong. Seat 1 (he can't see me the other side of the Dealer & is steaming drunk) says "CALL" & puts in 45,000.

I mean, you can see where this is going, right?

Floor is called, Shortie insists he has to call the full bet from me, & I sit there & say nothing, because I just know how this will pan out. Anyway, Floor say he either calls the full bet or forfeits the 45,000, & he slurs "call". Correct Ruling of course.

And as you can guess, he got there with his utter spanners & I'm down to dust. He's only just returned from a 2 Orbit penalty too, his second penalty for abusive behaviour.

And it's only now, to my utter horror, I realise there are SEVEN paid, not 6.

But I've got 2 BB so it has to go in, & of course it plays SIX way, inevitably. I actually flop a flush which was good until the board paired on the River & Drunk Bloke had a J-2-2 Boat.

Self-inflicted misery. I don't get mad or cross or anything when pokering, but I deffo had a curly lip for 10 minutes. Chances like that don't come along every day & I wasted it by sheer carelessness.  

Just to compound my irritation, Shortie was a player I've given the nick of Cyril the Sniff. He has a cold but lacks either a handkerchief or manners, so sniffs every 30 seconds. Which, for reasons I can't explain because I don't know, annoys me intensely. Surely people should understand the need for basic manners? Meh.

And in every Tourney I've played since, he's been in in the seat adjacent to me. Now that's proper run-bad.

Here, meet Mr Sniff.

I know you lost but I’d take that spot all day long if he had spanners.  Scoop that pot  (or 3/4) and you have huge chance of top 3.   Sometimes you gotta just play and ignore the bubble imo ( says the guy that’s just crept into the cash the last 2 times ) .  Yes it’s a mistake to not know the stone bubble spot but hey doesn’t sound too bad in this situation.  I guess if you didn’t want the action vs drunk guy , announce really really loud when you reraise .  I still feel new to live poker 20 years on sometimes as don’t play often enough and am still learning every session out here .

Nice to see you briefly today, good luck .  I bust out end of level 3 so am currently in grand luxe drinking a local IPA and waiting on some salmon. 
Didn’t fancy the rebuy today, think it’s going to be many many corona and lots of big O in an hour or 2 .  I’m a little gutted not to scoop my 4 way all in and gather 3 bounties level 2 and have 4x starting stack but can’t win them all . Could have had some fun with that stack .  There was a guy yesterday at MGM that had 8x starting stack within an hour of play, was hilarious to watch and before you ask he didn’t have a clue what he was doing either 😁

Catch you in person soon again

Hi Rob.

You are of course correct, & I'd never have told the story or given it a second thought if my hand had held up.

Just one of those things really.

In general terms, poker (& golf for that matter) are my recreations, so it makes no sense to get all bent out of shape, or beat myself up, when things don't go as I'd prefer.

Hope to see you later today.