Pocket Queens:

[Ironside]

ffs hope this doesnt become another tikay diary and the lady returns

[DingleBelle]

Good morning my Blonde Comrades.

Tikay gave me a suitable slap on the wrist for not posting since the OP, but rest assured I have only been hindered by a) trying to get out of the office (I'm a corporate city lawyer ... holidays aren't the easiest things to take!), b) a 10 hour flight and c) jet lag!

Firstly, thank you for the warm welcome. I've been a passive reader for ages now but should have got involved much sooner.  Now I'm here, I'm hoping to use this thread to keep you all up to date with what's happening in the ladies game, both in the UK and in the world. I should really rename the diary just  "Pocket Queens" ... Can I do that?
 
By way of an update, I'm sad to report that I bust the WSOP Ladies about 10pm (6am local time). I had a horrible hand with KK which kniocked me down to 15 bigs, then never recovered. Got it in with AQdd v 10 10 but the pair held. I finished top 200 (the board was a little erratic and not that reliable so the exact position is as yet unknown).   I was really pleased so given that I had to play 7 hours with a certain Liv Boeree (nursing the chip lead) directly to my left. Tough day in the office but I did the Brits proud and wasn't that far off making day two in the end. Sigh.

I will post more when I return, along with some pics. I have a full poker schedule planned for the week so hopefully a nice cash will come my way.

Asta la Pasta you Crazy Cats

B

[pokerfan]

Gg Ms Belle.

[Young_gun]

UL still well played though

You lucky thing getting to share a table with the lovely Liv Boeree run better (oh yeah i forget your not a bloke )

What else are you playing out there? Whats Mr Bromley playing?

if your posting pics make them of female so we can all rate them please (joke from another thread)

Have fun x

[DingleBelle]

UL still well played though

You lucky thing getting to share a table with the lovely Liv Boeree run better (oh yeah i forget your not a bloke )

What else are you playing out there? Whats Mr Bromley playing?

if your posting pics make them of female so we can all rate them please (joke from another thread)

Have fun x

Well firstly, I have to say that Miss Boeree was a thoroughly pleasurable lady to spend the day with. Charming, generous with her time but (and this is the key) RUTHLESS!!

I am planning  to spread the week across a wide range of tourneys; more WSOP, Venetian, Aria, Wynn, Caesar's and some downtown.  I am seriously considering the LIPS (Ladies International Poker Series) Championship today at the Nugget (I think). Their very own version of the WSOP Ladies and its only a $230 buy in. Expecting a large number of runners. Ahhhh, tough life eh.

Mr B (aka "The Boy") will be playing the same as me, save for LIPS and a WSOP bracelet on Sun.

In the meantime, I'll be posting live updates on Twitter (@natalie_bromley)

B

[tikay]

Great effort yesterday Natalie, mbn to run K-K into......A-3. Until the A turned.

Once Vegas is over, we'd like to hear more about life back home. "Corporate City Lawyer" - that sort of thing. (Minus, of course, fine detail). And Adam, what does he do with himself when working, that sort of thing.

Thought you lived somewhere dreadful, up north - Lancashire or somesuch? They have LAWYERS up there?

We are VERY different from next door, as you can see. 

If you play that Golden Nugget thing today, good luck. Will take 15 minutes in a cab to get there, & cost around $20.

I will probably be Downtown myself later today, to play the $200 O8 @ Binions, so I'll pop across & see how you are getting on when chance permits.

[DingleBelle]

Greetings from a scorching hot Las Vegas.

Temperatures here have reached startling highs.  Enough to prompt emergency 'cooling stations', postponing all trips to the Canyon and Red Rock and reports of record high temperatures at Death Valley.  What better excuse to stay indoors ...

Today I played the $240 Caesar's Summer Series DS. I had a real dilemma in the end as I also really wanted to play the LIPS Grand Final downtown at the Nugget. In the end, I was swayed by a desire to spend the day in the same building as The Boy.  Part of the appeal of poker for me is the adventures Adam and I go on together and getting to play the game we love as a couple (yes, 'vom', I know).  Still, it's a nice dilemma to have eh.  So many tournaments. So little time.

I really love this event.  I played in it last summer and cashed in 18th place.  I ran deep again today but fell shy of the cash in 54th place, the bubble bursting at 36th.

Interestingly, I ran into a Canadian lady who I shared a table with in that very same event last summer.  She's really great and her and her husband are not that dissimilar to Adam and I.  She actually talked me into playing the WSOP Ladies.

Which also reminds me that I forgot to post "Episode Deuce: WSOP Ladies Championship 2013, A History".  Yes. I'm incompetent.  I'll post it next.  It's not intended to reflect my personal opinion, nor is it intended to sway you either way. What I hoped it would be is a balanced, factual argument.

Tikay - comments noted and sincere thanks for the support yesterday.  You're a gem.

Until next time, stay cool Crazy Cats.

B

[DingleBelle]

Pocket Queens: Episode Deuce - The History of the WSOP Ladies Championship

"Poker is one of the only sports where a woman can compete on totally equal footing with a man, so I don't understand why there's a ladies-only tournament"

Annie Duke, Poker Player Alliance Testimony, 21 July 2010

The date is Friday 6 May 1977.  The time is 12.00 noon.  The setting is Binion's, Las Vegas.  Why is this significant?  Because it was at this moment that the WSOP Ladies Championship was born.

There is a legend attached to that inaugural game, a niggling little rumour that the Ladies was shoehorned into the WSOP schedule to give the wives and girlfriends something to do.  The rumour has never been admitted or denied, primarily because poker records did not exist in the 1970's, but instead it was buried in the archives of poker folklore (just to the left of another legend that Richard Nixon used his lucrative Hold'em hobby to bankroll his election campaign).

We don't even know how many runners Jackie Daniels beat that day.  All we know is that she made history.  She paid the lowest buy-in in WSOP history at just $100.  When she took down first prize, she cashed-in just $5,580, the lowest prize-pool in WSOP history.  She was also crowned the first ever WSOP Ladies Champion.

In 1992, WSOP organisers upped the ante.  Sure, the event had always been a 'bracelet event', however numbers were low; just 110 players had entered the previous year.  The decision was made to increase the buy-in to $1,000.  I can see your bemused expressions at this somewhat eccentric tactic, but the increased buy-in gave the event kudos and the branding of a real 'championship event'.  This in turn attracted the attention of the top female pros from across the Globe.

Then came the breakthrough.  In 2005 the format of the event was changed from Stud to pure No-Limit Hold'em.  Bingo.  The Ladies game caught up with the Moneymaker poker boom and that year a record number of 601 entrants hit the Rio.  Today, WSOP organisers can expect to seat around 1,000 entrants.

So this history lesson is all good and well, I hear you cry, but where is the juicy stuff?    The above serves merely to set the scene of what has become one of the most controversial events in the poker calendar.  Controversial for various reasons; men are unfairly discriminated against, it's condescending to women ... you've heard the debate.

Rather than regurgitate those debates, I pose two questions.  Firstly, is there any reasonable argument that the Ladies Championship should be eliminated from the WSOP Schedule altogether?

Annie Duke thinks so.  In her PPA Testimony, she continued:

“Why is there a Ladies Event if poker is measuring mental acumen?  Are we saying there is a difference between the intellect of men and women that means that somehow we need a separate championship event just for the women?  What is that really saying about how we view women in comparison to men on the mental playing field?”

The issue I, and many others, find with this comment is that I don't believe anyone really views the modern Ladies Event as a tool to counterfeit a perceived mental deficit?  I've not encountered any arguments that suggest that (although of course that is not to suggest that there aren't some out there).  Is it not simply a marketing strategy to encourage more ladies to play?  The WSOP remains the largest live festival on the circuit and year after year amateur players flock to the tables to test their skills against the pros.  The Ladies Event feels no different and provides an affordable platform for bracelet glory in a friendly and fun atmosphere.

The second question is whether the event should stay, but with the emphasis on discouraging men being stopped.  Year after year, men have 'gatecrashed' the Ladies Event, much to the mutual frustration of event organisers and female players.  In 2012, Vicky Coren was one of the most vocal in her  that resolution that men should not be allowed to play:

"I love it that this unique, lively, sociable, light-hearted, novelty event still survives ... if the shyer ladies stopped playing it, it would just become another male-dominated $1,000 - $1,500 NLH crapshoot like the other fifteen in the schedule" (Pick on someone your own size, 30 June 2012)

WSOP organisers agreed and whilst they cannot actively ban men from playing, this year they implemented the strategy of making the event a $10,000 buy-in ... with a $9,000 discount for ladies.  Negreanu labelled it 'very clever'.  Jonathan Duhamel tweeted #letsbegentlemenforonce

Whilst reaction to the move has been largely positive, some corners have voiced concern that "it sacrifices the strategic position ... in previous years WSOP could point to the availability of other open low buy-in tournaments on the schedule ... at $10k there is no longer a realistic comparable for the men to play" (http://craakker.blogspot.co.uk)

This debate is going to run long into the night.  So I finish this piece with a summary of why I wanted to play it.  I have the bankroll this year to play a bracelet event and for the first time, I will actually be in Vegas for the Ladies Event.  I had the pleasure of sharing a table with a Canadian player in the Caesar's Summer Series last year and she had played the Ladies Event (and cashed) the day before.  She had loved it and her enthusiasm for the event was infectious.  I vowed I would play it this year.  I genuinely wanted my first bracelet event to be a relaxed, fun and an altogether lovely experience ... and I can't wait.

[Magic817]

Nice post love, get back and make sure hubby has a drink while he is playing!

Now the question is, you know me but will you recognise me with this alias?

Hint Natalie

He's not the biggest!

Such a slack diary! You haven't answered this...too busy eating pizza?

[DingleBelle]

Nice post love, get back and make sure hubby has a drink while he is playing!

Now the question is, you know me but will you recognise me with this alias?

Hint Natalie

He's not the biggest!

Such a slack diary! You haven't answered this...too busy eating pizza?

Omg I answered this  earlier. I said I knew you were magic Bates! Tut.

And don't deny me my pizza. Bromley with no pizza is not nice.

[DingleBelle]

Good morning from Sin City.

It has been a rather busy couple of days, poker wise at least. I spent the whole of Sunday at the Rio whilst the Boy played event #54, a $1000 NLH.  Drew blank on the cashes I'm afraid, but Adam played exceptionally well and busted when his 10s couldn't hold up against AQ.  It was bizarre at how similar our bracelet events played out, but I'll come on to that shortly.  Today we have been back at Caesar's for the Mega Stack Series. I do love that festival.

Before I started playing on Saturday, I went along to rail the Ladies Event Final Table, albeit with a few pangs of envy.  We had a spectacular Ladies Event on the Brit front;  four of our ladies made the cash. Liv Boeree 54th, Claire Renaut in 12th and Lynne Beaumont in 11th.  To top it all off, Eleanor Gudger made the FT and cashed in 6th place for $27k.  Super proud.

I had the pleasure of meeting Eleanor's Dad and Boyfriend on the Rail. What a lovely family.  Both were like little Boys on Christmas Day, giddy with excitement. Add to that mix a whole bag of nerves and the pair of them could not have been more wired!  Eleanor was the calmest of the entire family!

I took a great pic which I'll post when I get home, shrink it and stop getting the 'this file is too large' message

A couple of hours later, I witnessed a rather unpleasant episode on my table in the Rio Deepstack.  Our villain had lost half of his stack AA v KK on a xxKxK board.  This made him frown a lot.  The very next hand he 3-bet jammed AK into the very same player, who promptly turned over AA.  At this point, he threw his cards into the dealer's face and stormed out of the building. The cards landed on the dealer's lap and so were easily identifiable, and the Floor was called.  I am sure you all know what happened next, however I was pretty appalled at his behaviour. There is no excuse for lack of manners and basic human courtesy.

Turning back to my opening paragraph, I took Adam for a well-earned beer after event #54 to debrief (as we do after most games).  I was really interested to hear how similar our tournaments had played out.  In terms of chip stacks, positions, timings and exit hands.  This got me thinking - was this caused by the fact that we play together a lot, analyse hands and tactics together and generally study the game in the same way?  Or is there a blueprint to tournament play?  I intend to ponder this over the coming months.

In the meantime, it's 02.30am, it's still 100 degrees and I've just eaten pizza (pepperoni and mushroom for the connoisseurs). I now intend to sleep for 8 hours. Not playing until 4pm tomorrow so have some sunshine and pool action planned.

Until next time.

B

[DingleBelle]

Good morning, from what will be my last post from Sin City.

It's been a funny week.  Setting aside one truly shocking day where I actually considered burning my money instead of playing poker, I've played really well.  I've ran deep in pretty much everything I've played and come close to the cash a couple of times. Still, that elusive cash was proving too hard to catch.

I've spent the majority of the week trying to figure out why I lack the 'killer edge' that it takes to win, rather than just grind deep.  I'm very aggressive at the outset of tournament play, know how to build a stack early but seem to be incapable of keeping it and building.  I'll post more on this when I get home.

Yesterday I spent the day at the Venetian, playing its Deep Stack Extravaganza.  The card room is within the Palazzo and what a beautiful setting it is to play poker in.  Really glad I played it.  Apart from some Chai Tea I tried (in a bid to both stay warm and come off the toxic coffee!). Don't try it folks.  Drink a cup full of sugar with boiling water poured over it.  Will taste less sweet.

In some unbelievable twist of fate, my seat draw for the entire tournament saw me sat to the left of my Canadian friend (see posts above).  We continued our chats from last year, I reported back on the WSOP Ladies and fessed up that I'd mentioned her in my pre-Vegas blogs.  How unbelievable is that?!  Small world ...

Today, we went downtown to play in the Grand Series of Poker at The Nugget.  Old school poker where they only ask you for your first name and you pick your own seat card (bit like picking straws).  I had a great tournament, if I do say so myself, where all of my recent hard work and study finally paid off.  I'm delighted to report a FINAL TABLE with an 8th place finish.  Clearly we aren't talking $$$$ here, but to be honest, I needed the confidence boost more than the cash.  Last girl standing too, which is always nice.

Also puts me as confirmed #bestbromley on the leaderboard for the week. Which is, of course, of even more importance.

That's not to say I didn't have some luck along the way:

- I open jammed from the button with 10bb with 45o and ran into AKo ... Hello Mr flopped 4

- I also jammed from the button over a raise from the hijack with Q9cc v A8dd ... Hello Mr River straight

- But neither come close to the awful bad beat I laid on one poor guy. I open jammed 15bigs from the button with that premium hand that is J2o. Get called by 66. Cards run out J 6 10 10 J. He nearly cried. I was only trying to steal the blinds and antes. Oops.

Amidst all of this frivolity is the delightful news that the ladies are on the WSOP bracelet scoreboard with Dana Castaneda's win in Event #54. A great tale too, which I'll come on to later.

In the meantime, it's home time for us already. Back to the day jobs. Sigh.

Vegas, you've been wonderful. Stay safe and see you again soon.

Until next time.

B

[DingleBelle]

"I hope to become an expert at the fine art of balancing poker with a busy law career" Vanessa Rousso

Indeed Miss Rousso.  The impossible dream.

My name is Natalie Bromley and I am a lawyer. A rather busy one at that. As a result, my life is a delicate balance of being cash rich, but time poor. How on earth did I get here?  And where the devil do I find time to player poker?  Well my friends, make yourselves comfortable and let me begin.

There are only two absolute reasons why I wanted to be a lawyer. One of those is John Grisham. The second is Ally McBeal. The Law Society tells us well in advance that it is not going to be easy. It arms us with a handy check-list:

a) Show you have the academic ability to cope with a demanding course

There is no getting around the fact that your training and education is going to be heavily academic. This starts at school, progresses through college and university and then finally ends its days at law school. After my A-Levels and a slight side-step into drama school (a story which will wait for another day), I found myself enrolled on the Law Degree. You don't have to study law at University, but the law for me was always something I was passionate about. It's an acquired taste I think; I hated subjects like Trust Law (yawn) and Criminal Law (disturbing) but loved European Law (highly interesting and relevant) and Medical Law (fascinating and my favourite).  I also had to write a 10,000 word dissertation on my chosen topic ("Universalism v Cultural Relativism in European Human Rights Legislation"). Yep, I was THAT student.

But then I graduated.  Proving that you get out of life what you put in, I graduated with a First Class Honours Degree in Law. I have absolutely no problem in shouting that brag-post from the roof tops. I am immensely proud of my degree.



And then I found the city.  Enrolling at Law School in Manchester sealed the deal; I was going to be a city lawyer. I just had to find a firm where I could undertake a two-year training contract as a 'Trainee Solicitor'. Easy right? Wrong!

b) Compete with very able people to win a place

This piece of advice is NOT to be taken lightly. I understand that 11,000 law students applied to my firm for the chance to be a trainee solicitor. The application process lasted 8 months, during which time I was interviewed 3 times, attended a full day assessment centre and spent two weeks at the firm working and proving myself (basically a two-week interview!).

But I did it. An intake of myself and 8 of my soon-to-be-very-close friends were to be crowned the Class of 2010.



c) Have a strong interest in and aptitude for the day to day work of a solicitor

Okay so let's be realistic here. This is not an easy job. We work long hours, sometimes work around the clock, and are under constant pressure. As a trainee, I once worked for 36 hours straight on a huge Corporate M&A deal involving two FTSE100 clients that was headline news in the financial markets that following morning. I have kind of forgotten what sleep feels like.

I am now a newly qualified solicitor and have my very first practising certificate. I am a Real Estate lawyer predominately, but specialise in Insolvency Law and asset recovery. It's a fascinating vocation and I still get a tingle of pride when someone asks me what I do for a living.

The downside of this that 'time poor' problem I referred to in my opening paragraph. Like most of you who are reading this, I want to play poker every day. I want to learn the game, improve my game and be the best that I can be. But I have so little time to do that in. Some nights I don't come home from work until 9-10pm at night, well after most nightly events have started. But the upside is that I probably have a higher 'budget' to play with and so have the luxury of being able to select the tournaments I really want to play in.

So in the meantime, I balance work and pleasure and keep reading and studying the game as best I can. Who knows how long I can do this for, but in the meantime I am having a ball!

Until next time.

B

[Mohican]

Hope the posts are more regular. Although your 'time poor' seems a bit thin given your recent 'jet-set' lifestyle!!!!

[DingleBelle]

Hope the posts are more regular. Although your 'time poor' seems a bit thin given your recent 'jet-set' lifestyle!!!!

I have been known to travel ....