Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

Soon, average is 11k, & I have 30k. I'm doooomed.

Table moves, & I get a shocker, especially Paul Jackson, who outplayed everyone a treat. He has some game. My earlier bravado has been knocked out of me, I can't get anything through, so I go into temporary sleep-mode, until things settle.

Another Table-move - this one was even worse. These guys are all nuts, it's Table Maniac. I hibernate, & feel a complete idiot, as I can't handle the way these guys are playing. I'm back in midfield now.

Example - John Law - what a player he is! - makes it 2.5k. Ben Callinan makes it 18k (18,000) All-in. Wow. But typical of the Table. After serious dwellage, John calls. With Q-T. And straights it. Just wow. Ben had 6-6.

Then slow-played A-Q got done by T-5, A-Q man goes apeshit, "you effing donkey" da de da. The Table was just too wild for me, & I'm totally demoralised & outgunned by them all.

I end the day with 22,500, with Blinds at 1,500 3,000. Bugger, another chance wasted. I just can't go the pace with these big boys, that's all there is to it.

[tikay]

He had KQo ?

Correct, sorry Ralph, I've Edited it now.

[tikay]

I gotta go do some work now, I'll be back later. Can you contain your excitement until then, please?

Oh, & as to the rant about the piss-artist - yes, I did complain. Several times.

I may have come across wrong when I ranted - drunks are fine by me. "Comedy" drunks - Brian Wilson, even my special bud John McGrane, for example - I adore them drunk. It's the "in yer-face", "watcha gonna do about it?" pissheads that do my head in, who delay play every single hand, swear at the Dealers constantly, & just foul up the atmo. And yes, I should not let it get to me. I just can't help it. I guess it depends on my mood, as to what tolerance level I have. And today, I'm hippy-de-happy.

I think they should stick to pubs, & let the rest of us stick to poker. There, a compromise.

[sledge13]

Nice result Tikay, enjoying the write up...

[boldie]

Well done on the deal there TK...


Maybe now you can afford the driving fine?

[maldini32]

Soon, average is 11k, & I have 30k. I'm doooomed.

Table moves, & I get a shocker, especially Paul Jackson, who outplayed everyone a treat. He has some game. My earlier bravado has been knocked out of me, I can't get anything through, so I go into temporary sleep-mode, until things settle.

Another Table-move - this one was even worse. These guys are all nuts, it's Table Maniac. I hibernate, & feel a complete idiot, as I can't handle the way these guys are playing. I'm back in midfield now.

Example - John Law - what a player he is! - makes it 2.5k. Ben Callinan makes it 18k (18,000) All-in. Wow. But typical of the Table. After serious dwellage, John calls. With Q-T. And straights it. Just wow. Ben had 6-6.

Then slow-played A-Q got done by T-5, A-Q man goes apeshit, "you effing donkey" da de da. The Table was just too wild for me, & I'm totally demoralised & outgunned by them all.

I end the day with 22,500, with Blinds at 1,500 3,000. Bugger, another chance wasted. I just can't go the pace with these big boys, that's all there is to it.

Johns different gravy, dont try to push him of a hand, it aint happenin!

[tikay]

Soon, average is 11k, & I have 30k. I'm doooomed.

Table moves, & I get a shocker, especially Paul Jackson, who outplayed everyone a treat. He has some game. My earlier bravado has been knocked out of me, I can't get anything through, so I go into temporary sleep-mode, until things settle.

Another Table-move - this one was even worse. These guys are all nuts, it's Table Maniac. I hibernate, & feel a complete idiot, as I can't handle the way these guys are playing. I'm back in midfield now.

Example - John Law - what a player he is! - makes it 2.5k. Ben Callinan makes it 18k (18,000) All-in. Wow. But typical of the Table. After serious dwellage, John calls. With Q-T. And straights it. Just wow. Ben had 6-6.

Then slow-played A-Q got done by T-5, A-Q man goes apeshit, "you effing donkey" da de da. The Table was just too wild for me, & I'm totally demoralised & outgunned by them all.

I end the day with 22,500, with Blinds at 1,500 3,000. Bugger, another chance wasted. I just can't go the pace with these big boys, that's all there is to it.

Johns different gravy, dont try to push him of a hand, it aint happenin!

He's a Poker Legend, & came so close to a WSOP Bracelet a few years back.

In this hand, he worked out that Ben had to have a small pair, & so he was racing. Amazing balls to go with his read. I'm not sure the play is right - certainly it's not for me - but John has forgotten more about poker than I'll ever know.

Top man, & a perfect Gent at the Table.

[tikay]

Back to the TR.

So I returned on Day Two in my usual position - Billy Low Stack. Truth to tell, it's my total comfort zone, it's where I play best. We all play different, but I don't go with the "push when you get down to 10 x BB thing". It might suit others, but not me. I leave it longer. At 10 x BB, I still have a RR in me. My senses are on full alert at ths stage, it's my favourite position in Tourney Poker, low-stacked & ducking & diving, I love it, & I'm good at it. I once returned with 2 x BB, & won the Event - the £750 ME at Luton a few years back. Well, chopped it.....

I was much surprised - pleased, too, in some ways, to find there had been a Table Re-Draw, & my new Table was perfect, & I had everyone filed in the right box.

48 returned, & I just took it 10 spots at a time - hang in there, wait for the Cards, they'll come, & in the interim, use my senses to pay the rent.

It worked - 40 left, 30 left, soon, it was 21, with 18 paid. That's the first target. Target achieved, now open up a bit. And I did, & ran the stack up to nearly average. Then back down to lowest stack again. Sigh.

But suddenly, it was "FINAL". I was Billy Low-Stack - 5 x BB, but in effect, I'd laddered from £620 to £760 & now £980. That'll do. For starters. Now let's see what we can do.

[tikay]

I had 5.5 x BB, & I was UTG, first hand. OK, I decide, move in Blind. I dare not look, in case I bottle it. Amazingly, I get it through. I had 2-4, & would have bottled it if I'd looked. So that's paid the rent for one round.

I decide to move again after the Blinds, but I get lucky, & it's walked to the Small, who just makes up. I Push, he Passes!

Then I do it again, on the Button, & I find action, & 2xup. Right, the target now is 5th. To start with.

I'm going nicely, & then, at last, after 7 levels of car deadness, I find Aces. AND a Customer, with Nines. Jeez, I'm above average.

Mark Goodwin is running amok, meanwhile, busting everyone, left right & centre. Let him, I'll sit & watch for a while, let him do the work. Soon we are 5. 4 grand locked up. Now aim for a top three.

I get a monster piece of luck now. Walked to me in the SB, I make up with  . BB checks. How much did I like this flop?

 

Quite a bit.

I check, he bets 40k, I make it 100k, he never Passes. He shoves, I call. He shows the threatening 7-9.  NO SIX, PLEASE.

The Turn comes a purler - 9, for his 2 pair. Yikes.

But it's a safe River. And I'm Chip Daddy suddenly, with three left.

I have 640k, the other two have 400 each. Hmm....

My next Target is Marc Goodwin, once he's gone, I'm in 5 figure territory.

Marc is trying to win this thing quickly, as he wants to play the £500 - he's after Ranking Points. The Cardroom Staff refuse to let him to Enter the £500 while he remains in the £300. It's hairy, Mark is moving all-in EVERY hand. And picking up 36k a pop.

Then word comes through - it is now too late for Marc to enter the £500, the Two Levels have Passed. Suddenly, calm returns.

Then Mark mentions "Deal"......and it got complicated. He suggests a Deal - the money is (something like) £19k, £10.5k, & £7.?k.

I'm really not fussed. I've been well lucky to get this far, I have a big lump of money sewn up, & chances are, Marc will bust my arse if we get Heads-Up. Hmm.

Marc says "£10k each, & play for £7k?". I quite like that. With £10k in the kitty, I may just get a little braver, or, at least, a little less timid.

But he needs to check with Johnny Raab if doing a Deal impacts upon his (GUKPT I assume) Ranking Points, & Lord Raab is across the road, just booked into the Marsden B & B, he'll be across in 20 minutes.

So we decide to go for Dinner, & resume in 30 minutes.

We share a Table, Raaby arrives & says the Points are NOT frozen if a Deal is done, so Marc is happy now. We tweak the deal a bit - £11k each, & play for £4k.  Which I am utterly determined to win. And I will win. I'm quite sure about that.

I was Chip Daddy, but I don't mention that in Deal-Talk - it's not relevant, all things considered, as we all have better than 2nd place locked up, & I can still get £15k. The Deal was conducted without an iota of rancour, smiles all round. The other guy, whose name I have forgotten, was a lovely guy - only his 2nd Tourney. He's an Amateur Boxer, & a big mate of Sam Trickett's, who advised him on the Deal.

OK, let's play. I want that £4k now.

[tikay]

We start the three-handed play - we are playing for £4k, a lovely Trophy, & a Champion of Champions Seat. I can't play the C-of-C thing, I'm working that day, so that does not enter my thinking.

Marc is far & away the best player of the three, the Laddo just "plays hands", & I'm, well, you know, Passive Percy.

Marc does the right thing, R. R, R. I need to do something. He nick's Laddo's BB every hand, & If I Button-Raise, Marc flats it, then bets out - & I miss every flop.

Marc Button-Raises again, 75k this time - I have  .

I dwell for ever. I sort of don't want to flat it, & dare not Push. But I can't keep Passing, ffs. So I get on my usual Fence, & ditheringly Call.

And we see this Flop.

 

Oh boy.....what to do.

I decide to bet 150k, & if Marc shoves, I'm calling anyway. But I hope he lets go - that's the whole purpose of betting here. He might Call with a singleton spade - so be it, I'll take that chance to bust him.

So I bet 150k, he shoves, OK, Call, on their backs.

I nearly throw up when I see his hand.

 

The spade missed, but the K Turned, & I'm Billy Low Stack again. Bollox.

By the bye, in chatting to Marc afterwards, & in good spirit, he said I played this hand terribly. His view was that I should check the Flop, & wait until a safe turn comes before betting - but my view is that if I check here, he Bets, & even if I RR now, he's pot-stuck, & has to Call. So I thought Betting out was best. Thoughts?

So, down to 150k (12k-24k, 1k RA), I shove Blind three times, all get through. Then I find 7-7, & Marc instacalls with 

We see this cringeyworthy flop.....

 

Turn......

 

I'm almost out of safe cards here!

And the spade rivers. Taxi for tikay.

Great fun, I learned a few things, & had a ball. And nicked £11k. It was a lovely drive home, £11k on the seat next to me, 160+ miles, down the M6, M60, M62, M1, but home in minutes, or it seemed so.

[tikay]

An eyebrow-raiser.

I was curious as to why there was a Table Redraw when we returned on Day Two, with 40 odd players. Not arguing, just curious. I fact, it suited me, my old Table woulda murdered me, but that's not the point.

"Because we did it yesterday".

"But why" I persisted".

"We just do".

Which sort of hacked me off, that sort of answer always does.

But the answer then emerged - thank you Sir! - it's an "anti-collusion measure".

Wowzer, that's a new one on me!

[NoflopsHomer]

We start the three-handed play - we are playing for £4k, a lovely Trophy, & a Champion of Champions Seat. I can't play the C-of-C thing, I'm working that day, so that does not enter my thinking.

Marc is far & away the best player of the three, the Laddo just "plays hands", & I'm, well, you know, Passive Percy.

Marc does the right thing, R. R, R. I need to do something. He nick's Laddo's BB every hand, & If I Button-Raise, Marc flats it, then bets out - & I miss every flop.

Marc Button-Raises again, 75k this time - I have  .

I dwell for ever. I sort of don't want to flat it, & dare not Push. But I can't keep Passing, ffs. So I get on my usual Fence, & ditheringly Call.

And we see this Flop.

 

Oh boy.....what to do.

I decide to bet 150k, & if Marc shoves, I'm calling anyway. But I hope he lets go - that's the whole purpose of betting here. He might Call with a singleton spade - so be it, I'll take that chance to bust him.

So I bet 150k, he shoves, OK, Call, on their backs.

I nearly throw up when I see his hand.

 

The spade missed, but the K Turned, & I'm Billy Low Stack again. Bollox.

By the bye, in chatting to Marc afterwards, & in good spirit, he said I played this hand terribly. His view was that I should check the Flop, & wait until a safe turn comes before betting - but my view is that if I check here, he Bets, & even if I RR now, he's pot-stuck, & has to Call. So I thought Betting out was best. Thoughts?

Stack sizes?

WP btw.

[tikay]

In danger of becoming a nuisance now, I nevertheless asked another question. It's OK if I'm polite, I reckon.

The Clock was 45 mins on Day One, but was 40 minutes now. "May I enquire why?".

"We did it yesterday". Sigh.

Eventually, it emerged that it was advertised as such (my bad, I never realised). But I'm still furrow-browed as to why.

It transpired that it's to ensure that the Tables get freed up in time for the Evening's Tourney. OK, I can see the logic, but I'd rather the clock was 40 mins on Day One, extended to 45 on Day Two, if we have to have a "variable clock".

But let's be fair here. The Fessie has been THE most successful Fessie ever held in the UK, certainly for many a year, & has broken records for the number of players in the Side Events. Well done & Congrats to Grosvenor, Blue Square, & Lord Raab, & such big numbers - surely unexpected - are bound to cause hiccups. Long may such huge fields last, it was great.

I suppose I must be a genuine poker player - i.e. I'm never satisfied!

Well done to the GUKPT Team, honest, & I know they'll self-examine everything when the week is over. But I'm not sure a "designed" clock-shortening on Day Two is the best way forward. There speaks a grinding rock I guess.

[Rookie (Rodney)]

fold/shove pre ffs.

[tikay]

We start the three-handed play - we are playing for £4k, a lovely Trophy, & a Champion of Champions Seat. I can't play the C-of-C thing, I'm working that day, so that does not enter my thinking.

Marc is far & away the best player of the three, the Laddo just "plays hands", & I'm, well, you know, Passive Percy.

Marc does the right thing, R. R, R. I need to do something. He nick's Laddo's BB every hand, & If I Button-Raise, Marc flats it, then bets out - & I miss every flop.

Marc Button-Raises again, 75k this time - I have  .

I dwell for ever. I sort of don't want to flat it, & dare not Push. But I can't keep Passing, ffs. So I get on my usual Fence, & ditheringly Call.

And we see this Flop.

 

Oh boy.....what to do.

I decide to bet 150k, & if Marc shoves, I'm calling anyway. But I hope he lets go - that's the whole purpose of betting here. He might Call with a singleton spade - so be it, I'll take that chance to bust him.

So I bet 150k, he shoves, OK, Call, on their backs.

I nearly throw up when I see his hand.

 

The spade missed, but the K Turned, & I'm Billy Low Stack again. Bollox.

By the bye, in chatting to Marc afterwards, & in good spirit, he said I played this hand terribly. His view was that I should check the Flop, & wait until a safe turn comes before betting - but my view is that if I check here, he Bets, & even if I RR now, he's pot-stuck, & has to Call. So I thought Betting out was best. Thoughts?

Stack sizes?

WP btw.

Thanks.

Not sure - Blinds 12k-24k, 1k RA, I had about 550k, Marc about 450k I guess. I'm not absolutely sure.