Prose from a Poshboy

[cambridgealex]

Back in London, relaxing, but also this is my version of studying

Click to see full-size image.

[iangascoigne]

     Just want to agree with TiKay's previous post. In a world where everyone is swamped with data through Facebook,Twitter etc there seems to be a ferocious appetite to absorbe content rather than create it or even acknowledge those who take the time and effort to create it. I for one have had immense enjoyment from this diary and whilst I know you may at times feel your efforts just go into a black hole of indifference that's not the case.
     When Ed kicked off our diary I had little idea how much joy it would give me over time and although it's currently a little dormant once Bingo is back in training or me and the boy scrape out time for an 'adventure' we will resurect.
      So what I am saying is keep on keeping on. The diary is like a long standing friend in a world of indifference.

[hector62]

Hi Alex.

I also am an avid fan of your diary. Whilst I do not feel qualified to commentcon any poker content, should you broaden matters and start to discuss sports betting or cakes then I shall start to contribute.

[EvilPie]

     Just want to agree with TiKay's previous post. In a world where everyone is swamped with data through Facebook,Twitter etc there seems to be a ferocious appetite to absorbe content rather than create it or even acknowledge those who take the time and effort to create it. I for one have had immense enjoyment from this diary and whilst I know you may at times feel your efforts just go into a black hole of indifference that's not the case.
     When Ed kicked off our diary I had little idea how much joy it would give me over time and although it's currently a little dormant once Bingo is back in training or me and the boy scrape out time for an 'adventure' we will resurect.
      So what I am saying is keep on keeping on. The diary is like a long standing friend in a world of indifference.

Same here with my old training diary that I kept on Blonde. I still occasionally have a flick through and it's great to reminisce.

Some of the content in your diary is amazing and you'll be able to read back through it for years. Don't forget the yearly montages though. The diary may be the icing on your cake but the montage provides that all important annual cherry.

[shipitgood]

Just to echo everyone else's comments, enjoy the updates, diary and appreciate the effort you put into it.

[maccol]

Just to echo everyone else's comments, enjoy the updates, diary and appreciate the effort you put into it.

[Skippy]

Just to echo, I enjoy this thread along with Tikay's and Red-Dogs. It's great reading for nothing- what more can you want?

[Marky147]

Just to echo everyone else's comments, enjoy the updates, diary and appreciate the effort you put into it.

+1

[Eso Kral]

Grats on a million views 😀

[celtic]

The diary is ok, I suppose.

[BorntoBubble]

Poor to average diary at best.

[Rexas]

Poor to average diary at best.

Slightly better than yours I'd say

[GreekStein]

Stay in the EU or leave?

Toughest player you've ever faced (still Ivan Luca?)

Player you think is most over rated having played them?

One thing about poker u would change? (Apart from the ambuiguity around single chip betting?)

Biggest degen u know?

Stay in EU. Wouldn't want to get into a debate about it though.

Toughest player doesn't = the best player, almost never is, but yeh never felt so under it as vs him.

Don't wanna answer 3rd Q.

I'd like cardrooms to ban more regulars that are bad for the game. Shotclocks for pros not recs.

Fred is the biggest degen I'm close to. Not happy with this answer though. Will come back to this if I think of a better one.

Could you expand on this please? What do you see as bad for the game in this context? I think there's a whole new thread buried here.

Rest, paracetamol, fluids and vitamin C today and go get 'em this weekend.

So I believe any pro or regular player who relies on the game for their living has certain responsibilities. They should be creating or contributing to an atmosphere that is attractive for recreational players. Or at least not worsening that atmosphere.

A short list of things that detract from this imo:

-Wearing headphones, being on tablets etc. Just looks and is unfriendly and unsociable. Gives off the impression that you are there for work, you don't want to contribute to the table banter, you just wanna sit there quietly making your money.

-Moving seats - this creates a predatory environment. Recreational players understand what you are doing and it makes them feel like a mark. You're also gaining edges over the other pros by doing this and the more people that do it, the worse it becomes and you end up in a farcical game of musical chairs, dancing around the recreational player and its frankly embarrassing. This isn't an issue in DTD at all, but in London it's dog eat dog and it's horrible.

-Not straddling when everyone else is / a recreational player asks you to - players that do this are just highlighting to the recreational player that they are there to make money, that they are super concerned about their bottom line - yet they are happy for everyone else to do it. It gives them the idea that this person doesn't want to give them any action, they aren't going to give them a chance to get their money back etc and just spoils the atmosphere/flow of a good game. Again, the pros resent it to because you are gaining a minute edge by being the only one not straddling.

-Not showing cards if a recreational player asks. This is a minor one but I think again it gives off a bad impression - that you are there to make the maximum £ you can and you don't want to give anything away. I think it's just nice to show the odd value hand to a recreational player to let them know they made a good fold, or that they're not being run over. Shows a human side to you and really gives nothing away yet might make them think of you as a nice guy.

-Obvious things like berating people and being rude/sullen / hit and running by tbh that's not really an issue anywhere I play thank God.

I'm sure there are plenty more but this is what springs to mind.

An unnamed casino barred 40 or so players who contravened these kind of things last year and it's games have improved remarkably. It's just win win win for all three parties (the casino/pros/recs). The problem is that people think it's in their immediate short term financial best interest to deviate from the "GTO code of conduct" and people are short sighted, greedy so stuff like this goes on still. It's tough on the pros that see things the right way and don't do any of this stuff, because not only are they losing out in the short term when x pro seat hops to their right and the recreational players left, but also in the long term as recs get put off by it and games worsen.

NB: in case people skim read and missed the first paragraph. This stuff only applies to pros. Pros have the responsibility, no-one else imo.

My 2 cents:

Absolutely agree with the headphones/tablets bit. It sucks. It also slows the game down.

Moving seats - I'm so split on this one. It's a very difficult one. Your EV can be so hugely different depending on which seat you're in so it's difficult to ask players to never move. That said, theres one player I know who will literally jump around constantly if the rec player moves seats and it becomes mighty obvious that they're being hunted. So I think moving seats is ok but with some intelligent discretion and subtlety. It does feel like the state of the games in certain places has gone past that though, which is naturally very disappointing and I don't know what the 'fix' is.

I show cards a lot. Way too often. I actually wish I showed much less often than I do. I know part of the reason is to keep people entertained but in a purist sense, I think an uncalled bet most of the time should mean cards remain a mystery. I like it when people show, it's information, it's entertaining but I don't think anyone really has the right to expect someone showing their cards often. I think an exception can be when a big 'VIP' type player really wants to see cards and it's for them and them only to see. If a reg doesn't do this they are a bit selfish and short sighted imo.

The unnamed casino that barred a bunch of people - pm me about this because I've heard a different take from a few people if it's the same beach resort casino I'm thinking of.

[cambridgealex]

     Just want to agree with TiKay's previous post. In a world where everyone is swamped with data through Facebook,Twitter etc there seems to be a ferocious appetite to absorbe content rather than create it or even acknowledge those who take the time and effort to create it. I for one have had immense enjoyment from this diary and whilst I know you may at times feel your efforts just go into a black hole of indifference that's not the case.
     When Ed kicked off our diary I had little idea how much joy it would give me over time and although it's currently a little dormant once Bingo is back in training or me and the boy scrape out time for an 'adventure' we will resurect.
      So what I am saying is keep on keeping on. The diary is like a long standing friend in a world of indifference.

Thank you Ian, Tikay, Hector and all others for the kind words. Posts like that really mean a lot and are the difference between me posting and not posting sometimes.

My day-to-day games are not something I can write about, so poker stuff has to wait until the big trips. But I can still write about other things on my mind.

For example, Hector, you mentioned about sport betting. Since I started doing this fantasy football draft every week with the boys, I've become into betting a little more. I bet very conservatively and not that often and whilst I'm trying to make good bets, I don't really mind if I'm not making money at it because it's just for fun for me.

I'll bet amounts like £50 for a long shot, and £100 for an even money shot kind of thing. I think there was a period of time a few months ago where West Ham were undervalued by the markets and I did quite well backing them then. Yesterday I looked to back them when they were 1-0 down and it was 2.16, 2-0 was 4.4 and didn't fancy either of those prices. If there's a big game that I want to watch but don't fancy either of the prices or think it's too tough to call (often cup fixtures) then I like to bet corners just for fun

It's amazing how excited I get about betting on football for these amounts considering the swings I have playing poker

Something I'm really interesting in for next season is spread betting on points totals. From looking at the early prices for outright win, I want to back:

Liverpool, Spurs, Leicester, West Ham

And Lay:

City, Chelsea, UTD.

Will have to wait and see what happens in the transfer market / Euros, but I think betting £x per point could be really fun. It's great to have a season long sweat.

[bergeroo]

Hey Alex, big fan of the blog and thought everything you wrote about the live games were spot on. Beginning to hate the headphones, non talking, hoodie wearing people at the live tables more and more.

Sounds like it was a great mix of players in Monaco this year. Lovely place to visit and one of the best venues for poker in Europe imo...