Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

I thought we cordially agreed that we're all internet donk pushbot incapable of thinking outside the paremeters of EV poker and that you're a live poker super nit who wouldnt play a hand unless the sum of your hole cards equalled more than that of the mileage travelled to get to the comp!

now dear god cant cant we all just get along during this festive period, pushbots, donks, nits, and fish alike!!

I never realised any of us fell out. We were ruminating, chewing the cud. It was huge fun.

I did it, really, because so many people PM'd me & said I should Post on there, & I told them all the same thing - no, because I think different, & we never agree. Eventually, I decided to do it, just this once, to prove my point, & I've sent the Link to a bunch of blondes who had asked me to Post on PHA, telling them "there you go, see what I mean?".

To be fair, most of those who regularly ask me to Post on there are "entry level", relative newbies, "Level One-ers" as the poker snobs might phrase it. And it's these guys who get short-changed on PHA Boards the world over, because most poker players are so dismissive of newbies, & mock them readily. Which is why we have a "Learning Centre", & why I Posted on that, & not PHA proper.

At Sky, we have a lot of players who are new to the game, & they ask all sorts of questions. "Explain the difference between calling & betting", or "can I limp with A-3 UTG?" for example. Imagine the answers they'd get if they Posted THAT on PHA! But I find it rather satisfying to try & help these guys. Just saying "Lol" never taught anyone anything, & hardly satisfies the "A" of PHA.

So there you go.

[tikay]

Cover me, bolty. Flushy's just arrived on that Learning Centre thread.

Uh-oh......

[MANTIS01]

The only thing you can really prove in poker strategy is that there are many ways to play a hand. So it's very hard to prove someone right or wrong. Since I started to post on PHA I've been told I'm wrong on countless occasions. So what? I propose theories that I think suit the situation and if others don't agree they can tell me why. I consider that advice and may or may not change my opinion because of it. But I am thankful for input from knowledgeable people...because they don't owe me anything. I would also appreciate the input from Tikay.

Whatever people think posting is so so much better than not posting at all...or there would be no board for any of us to enjoy. If someone snaps at you on PHA try not to go to pieces. Have confidence in your own ideas and use the PHA to shape them. It doesn't matter who wins or loses on there in the end because your money is safe. And because there are many ways to play a hand nobody ever really wins anything except you the player and your enhanced education.

[kinboshi]

The only thing you can really prove in poker strategy is that there are many ways to play a hand. So it's very hard to prove someone right or wrong. Since I started to post on PHA I've been told I'm wrong on countless occasions. So what? I propose theories that I think suit the situation and if others don't agree they can tell me why. I consider that advice and may or may not change my opinion because of it. But I am thankful for input from knowledgeable people...because they don't owe me anything. I would also appreciate the input from Tikay.

Whatever people think posting is so so much better than not posting at all...or there would be no board for any of us to enjoy. If someone snaps at you on PHA try not to go to pieces. Have confidence in your own ideas and use the PHA to shape them. It doesn't matter who wins or loses on there in the end because your money is safe. And because there are many ways to play a hand nobody ever really wins anything except you the player and your enhanced education.

[Chompy]

LOL indeed, details of Tikay's poker abilities have reached as far afield as Albania.

[tikay]

Well, what a day!

All day in the Feltham office, this-ing & that-ing, then a Pre-Record for tomorrow, then the 3 Hour Live Show with Sean Boyce, & no Guests, so plenty of blathering needed. I can blather.

I'm staying over down here, Jury's @ Heathrow, I'm too tired to drive home tonight, so tomorrow I'll have a decision - drive straight home, or stay down & play The Western £100. I'll PM Jen to see if she fancies it, too.

Encouraged by several to Post more on PHA, I dipped my toe into the Learning Centre, & got a right battering, lol. Opinions are split equally right now - 113-3 against me......Battle will resume tomorrow, God Bless 'em all, though it tickles me when they get all mardy, personal, & serious, which kinda misses the point as to why we play poker.

I got to thinking tonight - I first played Online in, I think, 1998, on Paradise Poker I believe. Compared to now, it was pretty crude software, but my oh my, the game has changed in that decade. But I've never stopped enjoying it, except, of course, when we have to listen to the trash talkers.

On New Years Eve, I shall hide, as I always do, the midnight texts & 'phone calls upset me, & I get very emotional. Soft sod, me.

I'm probably going to Walsall on New Years Day, for their £20k Guaranteed. I Cash in that Tourney almost every year, for some odd reason. Self-bok noted.

Work (PTP) on Friday, & another Show on Sunday, so no DTD 3-2-1 weekend for me.

My next major Tourney ("major" is relative) is the GUKPT Brighton Fessie, playing the £200 & £300 on Monday thro Wednesday, & working down there with a Film-Crew on the Sunday, subject to confirmation. Must remember to buy the Boy Thewy in for Day 1a of the Main Event, note to self.

Tomorrow it's Blog Day, & e-Mail day - BIG e-Mails to write, sigh.

Not seen the News all day. Pray God that business in Gaza has calmed down, & no more civilian deaths. Fat chance.

[TheChipPrince]

What will you remember 2008 for Tikay?

[tikay]

What will you remember 2008 for Tikay?

Wow, what a question.

The answer, = a lot.

I'll answer it properly tomorrow, let me collate my thoughts first please.

Is this poker only, or everything?

A few things spring immediately to mind.

Losing Brendan must be near the top, but if I may say so, he went in a lovely way, & his Funeral was, in a weird way, one of the most memorable moments of the year for me, his Son's "speech" (sorry, I forget the correct word) at the Church in particular, & I was so proud that the Mods turned out in force, & Indy, & JonMw.

I briefly held a bearer document in my name, worth well into 6 figures, in the Spring, an "investment" that had matured shall we say, & it disappeared in a puff of smoke within 12 hours, so that was a bit of a setback, & it bothered me the whole of the following morning. My diary entry for that day said "a shoelace broke today, dammit". In a strange way, others suffered more than me when that kite fell to the floor.

My sister wrote to me last week, she lives in Aussie, and without going into details, it was a horrible note, she is unwell, & not nice unwell either. She did not deserve that.

There is no interest - understandably on a poker forum - for the situations in the Congo, Zimbabwe, Darfur, or the Middle Easrt, in Iran, & Isreal & the Gaza Strip, but they grieve me awfully.

Violence nearer to home worsens too, knife crime is routine now.

My health has held up remarkably well, far ahead of expectations, most of my bells & whistles still work, if a little slower than before. I'm increasingly wary of, & scared of, Alzheimers, & with good reason.

I've turned a profit yet again at poker, a small profit in cash terms, a huge profit in fun terms. If I add in "off-Table" earnings, it's obviously more of the same in both departments.

blonde - jeez, what a struggle, & headache that's been. You'll never know. Thank God for Rich by my side. I bet he & I have exchanged several thousand e-Mails this year.

Despite the fact it gave fun to many, I hated all the trouble & strife in the M3boy affair, which includes BTS stuff none of you know about, & it still weighs on my mind. I hate needless aggro. How can such a little thing - a single hand of poker - cause so much grief?

I'm thinking of so many things, with more to follow. Perhaps that's enough for tonight.

[bolt pp]

good post, i enjoyed reading that.

we should have a 2008 memories thread or something

dewi?

[Harmony26]

"Eulogy" is the word you are looking for...Tikay (re: Tom's heartfelt speech)

[tikay]

good post, i enjoyed reading that.

we should have a 2008 memories thread

Not finished yet, blame Dewi for asking in the first place.

And yes, a 2008 Memories thread = great idea.

[tikay]

"Eulogy" is the word you are looking for...Tikay (re: Tom's heartfelt speech)

That's it, "eulogy", thank you. And of course I KNEW I would forget something important - you & Christian both at Brendan's Funeral. Sorry.

[tikay]

To get a new Road Tax use to be a right pain in the butt, queuing at Post Offices & reams of paperwork, but now you can doi it Online, & it must be THE best Government Website ever - super simple.

You begin with an Insurance check - even I can do this in 5 seconds - here.....

http://www.askmid.com/askmid.aspx

Go on - try it - it's INSTANT. Well clever.

Then you go here - how well laid out is this page - simple "tick-boxes, just a handful, & that's it.

http://www.taxdisc.direct.gov.uk/EvlPortalApp/application;JSESSIONID_EvlPortalApp=JZ5r5V8Lz2x7qvXBcJ4clp1qJ8kKNBJhT0XNypFpvX9DJVj2y1mS!-1904785277!1718127217?origin=vnav_bar.jsp&event=bea.portal.framework.internal.refresh&pageid=Apply+for+a+tax+disc+NOW

Brilliant.

[byronkincaid]

There is no interest - understandably on a poker forum - for the situations in the Congo, Zimbabwe, Darfur, or the Middle Easrt, in Iran, & Isreal & the Gaza Strip, but they grieve me awfully.

you said you refuse to debate the rights and wrongs of it (presumably because it would turn into a huge popcorn thread) so what is left? It's terrible that people are getting killed. Yep it is.

[tikay]

There is no interest - understandably on a poker forum - for the situations in the Congo, Zimbabwe, Darfur, or the Middle Easrt, in Iran, & Isreal & the Gaza Strip, but they grieve me awfully.

you said you refuse to debate the rights and wrongs of it (presumably because it would turn into a huge popcorn thread) so what is left? It's terrible that people are getting killed. Yep it is.

That's not structly true. I said I would not debate the rights & wrongs of the current situation in the Gaza Strip. (For the reason you identify).

It is a poker forum, so the lack of interest, or comment, on world affairs, is understandable. And this is my Diary, & these things matter a great deal to me, & I note them down sometimes. So there's a conflict between the two, & I can see that.

Essentially, I don't Post as much about them as I'd like. Soon, on another place, where it's more appropriate, or "less inappropriate", I will, & then I won't need to Post them here.

Earlier this year, I Posted about the appalling floods in Asia, in which thousands perished. IFM, then a Member, commented "ffs, you are always banging on about these fucking problems abroad, look nearer home" or words to that effect. A pretty insular view, but it made me realise, many just don't care, & this is a poker forum, so it's prob best to mainly stay schtum.

"Banging on" about people dying, & starving to death. Shocking.

I was asked by a Member what I most remembered about 2008. I gave the answers - one of which was human tragedies, lack of interest in them, & the fact they they grieve me awfully.