Keith "The Camel" Hawkins: In the Well

[I KNOW IT]

Who do you think is the person behind the Poker Bastard?

I sat next to him at a tournament at the Vic late last year. He revealed himself. It is nobody who has ever been linked with the crime. I was very suprised, but I can't tell you who it was!

[julian]

hey big man,
please excuse the anal nature of these...oh yeah & if i could get a sharpish repsonse to the last one 
what's the best part of your live game?
what's the best part of your online game?
what's the worst part of your live game?
what's the worst part of your online game?
i'm dithering over tonights tea; stir fry or baked potato w cheese n beans?

[Colchester Kev]

Never mind all these poker questions Mr H.  Tell us about the jobs you did before becoming a tax dodger ... I would particularly like to hear of your time at Blue Squirrel ... That IS a funny story

[77dave]

Who would you say is the most under rated player in poker

are there any big name US players that you think are just hype and you would love to be locked in a room with

is there anybody that you dont wanna play HU  is there a limit to how high you would play someone HU

[Simon Galloway]

Hello Keith,
1. To what extent (and how prevalant) do you think foul play exists in live tournaments?
2. You forgot to mention the 6/5 payouts on the vegas blackjack?
3.  If your physical read says 'fold' but all the other evidence in the hand (including the maths) suggests a call, what % of the time do you fold?
4.  Where is the best place in the world for players to take a busman's holiday? (in terms of minimal playing effort to cover X's and quality of resort)
5.  Please decipher the following speech play.  blind v blind, minimum pot to the river.  Board JTTQ3.  SB who has pretty much been mute with ipod/asleep now unplugs and says "I can only win this by betting" and bets the pot!  You have 98 in the BB and have a little more than a legal reraise in your stack?

[Pokerron]

QPR definitely are NOT worth a punt at the current price of around 8/1.

One firm have you at 15/1 (I took 17/1 with them 2 days ago), I don't want to run the risk of having my post deleted so PM me if you want to know who, or check out the easyodds comparison site.  By mid June I think you will be pleased with the signings.

Re poker - Do you offer coaching?

[TheChipPrince]

What is you faveourite bet of all-time?   Not necessarly the biggest win, but the most satisfying?

[The Camel]

hey big man,
please excuse the anal nature of these...oh yeah & if i could get a sharpish repsonse to the last one 
what's the best part of your live game?
what's the best part of your online game?
what's the worst part of your live game?
what's the worst part of your online game?
i'm dithering over tonights tea; stir fry or baked potato w cheese n beans?

In order:

1. It used to be accumulating chips.. but now I'm older and more responsible (code for tighter and rockier) it's having the image of a lunatic which means I am more likely to be called down light early in tournaments when nowadays I am only sticking all my chips in when I've got the nuts. Usually.

2. Playing heads up sngs.. I think there is a formula to beat these.. and it seems not too many people know this formula. I think I have a pretty sizeable edge against most players in these (esp in turbos) and particularly against heads up cash games specialist.

3. Definitely not turning big stacks into big results. I am definitely guilty of having frozen at final tables when big money is at stake. The 2002 final of the European Poker Classics at the Vic and the 2006 final of the MasterClassics at Amsterdam particularly stick in my mind as ocassions when I totally bottled it.

4. Getting distracted in online tournaments. I'm always doing other things while I play online poker.. Whether it is betting on horses, watching a movie, tracking football scores or perusing a porn site eating dinner.. it all means I am not concentrating on the job. And when there is often tens of thousands at stake, that is criminal.

5. Bit late for last night's dinner menu.. but a baked potato with butter, chilli con carne and topped with grated cheese sounds pretty good to me.

[The Camel]

Never mind all these poker questions Mr H.  Tell us about the jobs you did before becoming a tax dodger ... I would particularly like to hear of your time at Blue Squirrel ... That IS a funny story

My working history is a bit chequered to be honest.

Before going to college I spent one summer being a gopher at the DHSS.

After leaving college I played quiz machine for a living for 3 or 4 years.

Then I was cashier in a bookies for about 6 weeks.

But my mightiest job was as an odds compiler for the glorious at the time fledgling internet betting site: Blue Squirrel.

A pretty fair description of my time there can be found here: http://camelpoker.blogspot.com/2006/11/alternative-wikipedia-entry.html.

The rst of my life has been spent tax dodging indeed!

[The Camel]

Who would you say is the most under rated player in poker

are there any big name US players that you think are just hype and you would love to be locked in a room with

is there anybody that you dont wanna play HU  is there a limit to how high you would play someone HU

1. Chris Bjorin. I have never seen his name in anyone's list of top 10 players. He just sits quietly and unassumingly and wins. He has been a huge winning player for as long as I've been playing and probably much longer. And he's a top quality bloke too.

2. Loads. I'll pick 10 for starters: Men The Master, Clonie Gowen, Vanessa Rousso, Paul Wolfe, The Grinder, Amir Vahedi, Phil Gordon, Moneymaker, Greg Mueller, Andy Bloch.

3. Most of the higher stakes hu players on stars don't play each other. there really is little point. Why play someone who you have a neutral ev or -ev (after rake) when you can play a random in 2 minutes time? The best player I've played hu was Genius28. He was awesome. He spanked me 9-1 or something until I asked him not to play me any more. He has since left my level wayyy behind and he takes on Ivey, Hansen and the rest in the big game on ft now. And he's not 21 yet. Scary. I have only once played a 5k hu on stars. I was playing a guy who I thought I had a huge edge against. Yet, playing for those stakes I played far too tight and lost. I rarely play above 1k now. When the money means something, I just can't perform at my best level.

[sledge13]

Hey Camel, you serious about the quiz machines? in the 90s these were really beatable...often paid for my Friday nights out at the end in the takeaway, my fave been Every Second Counts where most times my 50p would result in a £15-20 win (very nice in 1995!) as it was always about Films that I knew, other good ones were Coronation Street and Give Us A Break...the machines were fair and if you had the knowledge you had a good chance, the ones in pubs and takeaways are now just guessathons with questions such as:

How long does Blurs Song 2 last?

A : 2.00
B : 2.01
C : 2.02

...and this is when you get to the £1 level!

[kinboshi]

Hey Camel, you serious about the quiz machines? in the 90s these were really beatable...often paid for my Friday nights out at the end in the takeaway, my fave been Every Second Counts where most times my 50p would result in a £15-20 win (very nice in 1995!) as it was always about Films that I knew, other good ones were Coronation Street and Give Us A Break...the machines were fair and if you had the knowledge you had a good chance, the ones in pubs and takeaways are now just guessathons with questions such as:

How long does Blurs Song 2 last?

A : 2.00
B : 2.01
C : 2.02

...and this is when you get to the £1 level!

Easy question.  The answer is A.

Next.

[sledge13]

WRONG!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blur_%28album%29   

[kinboshi]

WRONG!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blur_%28album%29   

Don't you love wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_2

WRONG!

[sledge13]

Ha! Ok...got the Cd out put in player...2.02 FTW!!!!

CORRECT!