Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

I played the DTD £300 on Saturday (&, briefly, Sunday...) & thoroughly enjoyed every moment, the atmo there was just beautiful. That's how poker should be.

One Table I'd have loved to be on was the Opening Table which incliuded, IIRC, Red, Jen, Chili, & Rick Trigg - what a corker!

But Rick was soon moved to my Table, & it was a bit of an eye-opener for me.

I last shared a Table with Rick in the infamous Blackpol Final which Ali Mallu was "unable" to play. The most awkward of moral dilemmas ensued that day......(I finished 8th - 9 man Final, with Ali not permitted to play, so last really! - & Rick was 6th). I don't really recall his "game" much, except I had him down as "busy"......

So on Saturday, with him to my immediate left, I got a close look at Action Man's action. Too close, actually. Wow, he has some game there, it reminds me of Camel, or Richard Gryko. (Wonder how he is these days?).

There was a massive Calling Station on our Table, & Rick just harvested his stack, hand after hand. It was embarrassing to watch, sweets from a baby.

But against me, Mr C-S hit every time. I'd shown three hands in 3 Levels - AA, AA, & KK, but when I 3 bet pre with A-K, he called me.....with A-J! And Broadway'ed it......Then I found Queens, & he did me with 5-7, then Jacks, & this time he hit with J-9......Not to be rude, but that's all he did - Called, & hoped. But when these guys hit everything, they are tough to play, though I don't recall Rick losing  single hand against Mr C-S. Which says something for my game I guess. Pah.

I returned for Day Two as pretty much Low-Stack, but not in Blinds trouble, or bothered, I'm a habitual Day-Two low-stacker, that's my comfort zone.

I found 9-9, & a Raiser before me, very first hand, & recalled that interesting hand on PHA with the pocket nines. I shoved, found no action, but I was up & away.

But whereas Mr CS had moved Tables, Rick Trigg was on mine, & he absolutely owned the Table. I watched for a few orbits, never quite finding the "right spot" to try a re-steal against him, & then, bugger me, he got moved.

So, I decided to inherit his Role, & started bullying, & it was huge fun for a while, but one accident crippled me, & with us being 6-handed, I was soon in dire trouble. Eventually, it was "any two, any un-opened Pot", but my timing was off, & I walked into a monster, & that was that. No cigar, & too late to get down to Luton for the Pot-Linit I'd so been looking forward to. Great fun though.

Rick, by the way, is a sterling supporter of blonde, & I hope he does not mind if I say he's deposited a nice lump of money on blonde today, & is doing his bit to support blonde in every way he can. Kudos to him. Thanks Rick, wish we had a few more like you.

And so, that left the DTD £200, at 5pm, or the Stoke £100, at 7pm.

Let's play the DTD £200 then.

[tikay]

I took my Seat for the 5pm DTD £200, ordered a round of drinks for the Table to break the ice, & off we went.

Less than an Orbit in, I find A-A, & Pot it, one Caller, very nice.

K-6-3 Rainbow looked safe enough, but he resisted, & bet back at me. Two Pair was impossible, but a set? I preach, "never go broke early on one Pair", but the more I thought it through, the more likely it was he had A-K, & I'd get his whole stack if I played it cute. I played it cute all right, & deposited him my entire stack, he had a set of 6's, & I'd completely misread it.

Hmm......

OK, what about hooking up with Tom & Karabiner over at Stoke? Seemed a great idea, so off I poodled, headed for Stoke, & my third Comp of the day......

[tikay]

I enjoyed a lovely drive across to Stoke, went my secret "quick" route, & upon entering the Casino, I found, to my surprise, I'd beaten both Ralph & Red to get there first. Well done me.

It was a bit quiet inside, & I'm thinking, "sheesh, this will be lucky to get 40 Runners". Still, £2,000 added is not bad, & I'll take that.

I rung Red to gloat, "where are you, slowcoach?".

"Ralph & me are having our Free Dinner at the Casino"

"I can't see you, & it's deserted in here".

"You are at The Stanley Casino, yes?"......

Err.....

Wrong bloody Casino, damn. Ralph had told me wrong. Or I'd had a Misread. Luckily, it's but 200 yards up the road.

Here's the Stoke Grosvenor. Which is not where I was supposed to be.

I did feel daft.

[snoopy1239]

Im a deserved customer on your blog snoopy and i deserve an update.

Yep Snoops, why have you quit your blog? It was the best out there.

Mainly because I felt I could spend my time more wisely. Traffic was okay (about 125 unique visitors per day) and I'm sure it helped raise my profile, but it was becoming harder and harder to maintain and I was fearful of posting content of a poor standard. Maybe if more people read the blog, I'd feel obliged to carry it on, but I think my fan base was a bit too thin on the ground to warrant putting in the hours. It was almost three years in duration, and hopefully provided an entertaining read to those who followed it. There comes a time when you just think, why am I bothering, especially when it becomes a grind.

[snoopy1239]

I enjoyed a lovely drive across to Stoke, went my secret "quick" route, & upon entering the Casino, I found, to my surprise, I'd beaten both Ralph & Red to get there first. Well done me.

It was a bit quiet inside, & I'm thinking, "sheesh, this will be lucky to get 40 Runners". Still, £2,000 added is not bad, & I'll take that.

I rung Red to gloat, "where are you, slowcoach?".

"Ralph & me are having our Free Dinner at the Casino"

"I can't see you, & it's deserted in here".

"You are at The Stanley Casino, yes?"......

Err.....

Wrong bloody Casino, damn. Ralph had told me wrong. Or I'd had a Misread. Luckily, it's but 200 yards up the road.

Here's the Stoke Grosvenor. Which is not where I was supposed to be.

I did feel daft.

I've never been to either of these casinos. Are they good?

[action man]

not deposited yet but am gonna try a monkey tomoz.

I really enjoyed the dtd tourney even though i couldnt win the vital flips when needed (£1 in the tin)
was great when red-dog came to rail and have a chat with our end of the table.
Was good fun sharing a table, shame we both couldnt have made the final ala blackpool.
until next time...

[tikay]

The Stoke Stanley is new, purpose-built, & lovely. It was my first visit there.

A huge open-plan building, half a footie pitch in size, with 8 circular columns down the centre, & excellent lux levels. And no music. Superb, & though I've yet to be impressed by a UK Casino "Fit-Out", Broadway excepted, it was pretty neat.

The Buffet was a full Sunday Roast, Yorkshire pud, the works. Oddly, the Grosvenor had the identical offering.

We enjoyed a quite splendid meal, Red, Ralph, Mr I've Forgotten His Name, & me. Red had 5 dinners.

I'm a very rare poker visitor to Stoke, so I'd not met many - most - of the plyers, & I got a bit of a shock, as 5 or 6 came up to me & said they enjoyed my stuff on Sky Poker. Well they said they did. But really, & I don't know quite why, but it's nice when that happens, & I can't pretend I don't enjoy it. One man was so effusive in his praise, I blushed, but the sight of Tom & Ralph rolled up with laughter did the job. Ralph spent the whole evening proferring me pens "you'll need this for autographs".......Playing poker with mates, at DTD, Luton, & around the gaffes, is as good as it gets, & sod the Big Circuit.

RichEo, was there, too, as was DIK9.

I was staggered at the field size - a 158 seat sell-out. Wow! And the best structiure possible for a 1 dayer & 158 runners, everything except a 75-150, & we had Running Antes later on. Lovely.

Each Venue seems to have it's own playing style, & geographical "reach", & there were lots of Mancuniuans & Liverpudlians.

As for playing style, well, the game is changing so fast - two guys on my Table took it in turns to move all-in, Blind, every single hand. And this was a Freezeout.

One guy got brave & called, with Aces. And got Bust! And went on the worst Table-Tilt I've ever seen. What a total cock.

The Table etiquette was just terrible, everyone passing out of turn, making change from the Pot themselves, etc. But one Lady Dealer arrived at my Table & promptly told everyone - "touch that Pot even once & I'll have you penalised". Good on her!

I met Andy - "BlazingSaddles" - decent bloke, doing his best to promote his Card-Room with innovative ideas. Good man him.

As to the Comp, I sat out early, everyone was a Calling-Station, & it was tough, but I slowly inched my way up to top ten in chips. And then slid down again......

I then got moved to Red & Ralph's Table, & thoroughly outplayed Red in an all-in v all-in affair. I was in Seat 9, hidden behind the Dealer, & he was in Seat 2, & never knew I'd moved in. He'd told me at the Break, "make a move on my Blind, & I'll call yer". And he did. My A-J was good v his K-J, but the truth was, he'd never seen me move in.

So I was the lone survivor of the Golden Oldies, but I busted 3 Tables out, when Mr Big Stack made a good call with K-Q against my A-3 short-stacked Shove. No complaints. I shall return.

So there it was. 3 Comps in one day, £600 (+ reg fees) spent, & not a penny piece back. If things don't change, they'll stay as they are.

Back in Derby by 4am, up at Noon, & down to Luton by 4pm, ready for this week's adventures.

I'm about done for tonight, mega-tired, so I'll continue the getting up to date process tomorrow, I hope.

[tikay]

I enjoyed a lovely drive across to Stoke, went my secret "quick" route, & upon entering the Casino, I found, to my surprise, I'd beaten both Ralph & Red to get there first. Well done me.

It was a bit quiet inside, & I'm thinking, "sheesh, this will be lucky to get 40 Runners". Still, £2,000 added is not bad, & I'll take that.

I rung Red to gloat, "where are you, slowcoach?".

"Ralph & me are having our Free Dinner at the Casino"

"I can't see you, & it's deserted in here".

"You are at The Stanley Casino, yes?"......

Err.....

Wrong bloody Casino, damn. Ralph had told me wrong. Or I'd had a Misread. Luckily, it's but 200 yards up the road.

Here's the Stoke Grosvenor. Which is not where I was supposed to be.

I did feel daft.

I've never been to either of these casinos. Are they good?

I highly recommend them both.

Neither are, I suppose, "First-Tier" Poker Venues, but nice intimate atmo, & both Casinos have cosy little cardrooms. In fact the Stanley is not so little - 158 runners & not too tightly packed.

For £100 to £250 Comps, these two Venues are excellent. The Stanley, in fact, may be one of the nicest Casinos I've ever visited in the UK, really well laid out, & lots of light.

And the Reception Staff in both Venues made eye-contact, smiled, & wished me a pleasant evening. Makes a difference, you know. Blackpoool, Southampton, Spielers Southend, & The Vic, please note.

Both are well worth a visit, especially now that, sadly, Walsall seem to have pretty much given up on Poker, &, of course, are messing with our Prize Pools, which I thoroughly disapprove of, because it's the thin end of a dreadful wedge.

[tikay]

not deposited yet but am gonna try a monkey tomoz.

I really enjoyed the DTD tourney even though i couldnt win the vital flips when needed (£1 in the tin)
was great when red-dog came to rail and have a chat with our end of the table.
Was good fun sharing a table, shame we both couldnt have made the final ala blackpool.
until next time...

You owned both the Tables I shared with you. You deserved to win it, I thought, but you know how it is in poker, luck is the decider, every time.

A pleasure to share a table with you though. I hope it's a very long time before we do it again.....

[tikay]

By the way snoops, the "Buffet" at both Grosvenor Stoke & Stanley's Stoke was a full "Sunday Roast", with roasties, beef, turkey, yorkshire pud, gravy - all for free. How good is that?

But I'm very sad to see Walsall drop out of the serious poker equation.

Still, one door closes, two more open, can't be bad.

[snoopy1239]

By the way snoops, the "Buffet" at both Grosvenor Stoke & Stanley's Stoke was a full "Sunday Roast", with roasties, beef, turkey, yorkshire pud, gravy - all for free. How good is that?

But I'm very sad to see Walsall drop out of the serious poker equation.

Still, one door closes, two more open, can't be bad.

The Sunday dinner they had at DTD one time was the mutt's nuts. Does the Stoke one live up to that. As for Walsall, yes it's a shame, but I certainly won't be missing their buffet, and neither will my exit hole. Real eye of a needle job.

[Royal Flush]

Both are well worth a visit, especially now that, sadly, Walsall seem to have pretty much given up on Poker, &, of course, are messing with our Prize Pools, which I thoroughly disapprove of, because it's the thin end of a dreadful wedge.

Sigh


Looking forward to seeing my money you on Thursday Tikay! LL bet?

[redsimon]

By the way snoops, the "Buffet" at both Grosvenor Stoke & Stanley's Stoke was a full "Sunday Roast", with roasties, beef, turkey, yorkshire pud, gravy - all for free. How good is that?

But I'm very sad to see Walsall drop out of the serious poker equation.

Still, one door closes, two more open, can't be bad.

So you had both buffets?

In that pic of the Stoke Gros, is that window boarded up?

PS

This feeling crappy thing might be a function of three tournys in one day? take care TK

[tikay]

By the way snoops, the "Buffet" at both Grosvenor Stoke & Stanley's Stoke was a full "Sunday Roast", with roasties, beef, turkey, yorkshire pud, gravy - all for free. How good is that?

But I'm very sad to see Walsall drop out of the serious poker equation.

Still, one door closes, two more open, can't be bad.

So you had both buffets?

In that pic of the Stoke Gros, is that window boarded up?

PS

This feeling crappy thing might be a function of three tournys in one day? take care TK

No - it's designed to look like that! It was that sort of thing I was referring to when I said I'd yet to see a UK Casino Fit-Out that impressed me. Casinos must employ Architects who failed their exams, or specialise in tacky designs. The Broadway is an exception, as is Napoleons at Sheffield, but I'm struggling to think of any other Casinos which are easy on the eye design-wise. The Stanley's at Newcastle & Stoke are not bad, either.

As to the Cardrooms within the Casinos, Luton is head & shoulders above the rest in design & layout - all that lovely space!

[tikay]

Both are well worth a visit, especially now that, sadly, Walsall seem to have pretty much given up on Poker, &, of course, are messing with our Prize Pools, which I thoroughly disapprove of, because it's the thin end of a dreadful wedge.

Sigh


Looking forward to seeing my money you on Thursday Tikay! LL bet?

Thursday, yes on both counts.

The sigh - you approve of Casinos taking money from Prize Pools? Nah, I must misunderstand your sigh.