Bloody cold out there today!!!

View from the tee at the par 3 8th.

No Poker News, So Another Pic...

I've just bought a new driver, a TaylorMade Burner and this is a pic of the face after hitting the first ball with it. The lighting on the photo doesn't show the full mark, but trust me they don't get much nearer the middle than that! :-)

Ji Yai Shin Agin... Get In Agin!

JYS with her $1,000,000 prize for winning the ADT Championships yesterday... bless her cotton socks!

Get Some Quick, Before It's All Gone...

It's more comfortable than it looks...

Played Some Golf...

Hinksey Heights - Spires Course...


New PB at Faringdon...


Front 9 at Witney Lakes (1st outing on 'real' course)...


And another go at Faringdon...

thegame Kept This One Quiet...

And Some Poker News For A Change...

I got a severe ass-kicking at the cash games through the first three weeks of October, to the tune of almost $400... largely, it has to be said, at the hands of the incredible iPoker RNG!! It was such relentless run of crap that it had me taking a couple of days off, during which time I found myself scanning the 'Sits Vac' column in the Witney Gazette!

Anyway, I opted for a change of pace and hit the 10 seat SnGs with a vengance... well, as much vengance as is possible considering the slow speed that they fill up during the day. 10 days on and I have clawed back 3/4 of the previous three weeks losses.

There are still as many sick outdraws, but due to the nature of SnG strategy you are forced to get it in with worst of it more often and consequently become beneficiary of the 2-out River suckout.

Ji Yai Shin Agin...

I got word from my golf betting specialist last night that we should be on JYS to win the LPGA Kolon Hana Bank Championship this weekend... T4, 4 shots off the lead, after Round 1. Caveat Emptor!!

Did this really happen??

I found this ghostly apparition-like image of Tim and Joy playing heads-up, on my phone this evening...

Did it really happen, or has one of my recurring nightmares somehow become embedded in my phone's memory??

Spooky, anyone have a number for Yuri Geller?

I Like This One...

Golf Bet update...

Just realised this tournament is live on Sky Sports, Shin is now T2 through 10, two behind the leader... and down to 9/1 with VC. :-)

Golf Bet...

Just got word from my golf betting expert, that there is value to be had in the LPGA Samsung World Championship... in the shape of Ji-Yai Shin, in 3rd place after two rounds.

I've just got on at 14/1 with Victor Chandler.

More Stuff...

I may have to re-brand this as a Golf blog! Truth is there's not much exciting stuff happening in my poker world right now... I'm just sticking with playing for an hour or so in the mornings, picking up $50 - $100 and calling it a day, for the cash games. Until the last couple of days I have been steadily increasing a bit of forgotten Full Tilt rakeback ($8.19) playing $5 SnGs in the evenings, currently upto $93. This is currently on hold while I try and sort out a bit of a dispute with FT... that I won't bore you with the details of!

So, other stuff... after the couple of goes I've had playing the [almost] full length 9-hole golf courses I have to admit I've felt pretty knackered and was beginning to wonder if I would ever be fit enough to play 18-holes on a full length course. With this in mind I decided to see what a 4 mile walk feels like... so Thursday morning me and Teresa take the dogs for walk around Blenhiem Palace grounds, we parked just up the road from Combe Gate, entered the grounds there, turned left and followed the road clockwise around the palace and back to where we started, according to my handheld GPS, a total distance of 4.35 miles. Although I had had enough by the end of the walk I was pleasantly suprised that I didn't feel totally wrecked... Teresa on the other hand, oh dear! She's still hobbling around and cursing under her breath now, what is it with women and [the aversion to] sensible shoes?

I did feel a little stiff, when I woke up, yesterday morning (hmmm, maybe I should re-phrase that? No, you know what I mean.), but soon loosened up once I got moving, and with the sun shining and the birds a'singing (I assume they were singing, I couldn't hear them over the howling wind!), I decide to head to Oxford for another go around the Hinksey Heights Spires Course. It turns out some old guy, ex-captain of the club, died recently and they were having a memorial day... free golf, in return for a donation to some charity. So I part with a fiver and figure this is the day to try and go around twice and get in the full 18 holes.

Now, I think the maximum 'official' handicap for men is 28 and on that basis I had one Albatross, four Birdies, three Pars and only two double [or worse] bogeys... the score doesn't seem so bad when you look at it like that. :-) And as for the wind, did I say how 'kin windy it was? Blew the fillings out of two of my teeth! Blowing at 90 degs to six of the nine holes. It's not a long course, but I'm happy that I managed the full 18 holes, and with only two blisters!

All that's left is for me to wish Rich and Paul (and maybe 'Big Tone' also) good luck for today's APAT Pro-Am tournaent at Luton... and to say tune in again soon for more news from the Witney (inc. Carterton) Mob's Golf Blog!

Stuff...

Poker stuff... I didn't play any cash over the weekend, my record on Saturday mornings is not too good! They say a change is as good as a rest, so instead I have hit the SnGs on Full Tilt. I will be back at the cash tomorrow, for an hour or so each morning and then in the evenings I will persevere with the SnGs and try and re-build a decent bankroll on Full Tilt.

Quiz stuff... The Witney (inc. Carterton) Mob took joint 2nd place in the Pigeons Quiz last night, just 2 points behind the winning team and tied with team that we came 2nd to in our first venture into the cut-throat world of the pub quiz. Whilst 'thegame' continues to live in exile in the barren north The Mob's numbers were boosted by guest appearances by Rich's Maw and Paw.

Golf stuff... I was expecting a phone call all week from Mr Peachey, who thought he might be ready to swing a golf club again, following his dislocated shoulder injury. We were supposed to be visiting the driving range together, but alas the phone call never came. So any way, with rain forecast for the next couple of days, I felt a round of golf was in order for today. Peachey had said that he usually plays at Shipton Golf Club, a 9-hole course just off the A40 between Northleach and Cheltenham, so I reckoned I'd I have a go over there.

The total score for the nine holes doesn't look too good, but on the whole I was actually quite happy with my play. If you take off 5 of the 9 shots on the par 3 third... these were taken hitting the ball over the green from one side to the other five times before I finally got a 'flop shot' somewhere near right!! And then take off 2 shots for the lost ball at the 5th... I hit what felt like and sounded like a really good drive off the tee, but as I look up to see where it is going, I'm looking directly into the sun and don't see the ball at all. I didn't see it land anywhwere, so I played another ball off of the tee, which I didn't catch so well but at least it went low and straight and I didn't loose sight of it. So if we knock those seven shots off and call it 48, then all I have to do is cut out the 3 putts and it would be a half decent score... of course whether I could keep it up for 18 holes is another question!!

Played a bit of poker...

had a few good days and a couple of bad ones!!

Played a round of golf at Faringdon today... had a few good holes (got my first birdie, wooohooo), and a couple of bad ones!!

BTW, I don't think I've actually mentioned it on here preiously, but a few weeks ago I was asked to be captain and selector, of an English amateur poker team to take part in the European Amateur Team Championships. The event is being held at the Grosvenor Brighton on Nov 1st & 2nd.

The England Team will be -

Bob Malin
Simon Auckland
Linda Iwaniak
Steve Stringer

16 1/2 - 11 1/2

... are they taking the piss!!!!!

Ryder Cup - Day 2 - Half-Time

So near, yet so far... my foursomes yankee was looking pretty good early on, but, as was the trend in both sessions yesterday, it changed by the finish with some good comebacks by the Europeans.

With just two correct predictions, I now have £4.62 to play with... or will if Paddy Power hurry up and settle my yankee! After much research and careful analysis I have decided to have 3 x £1 doubles and a £1.62 treble on three of the euro pairings in the fourballs...

Westwood / Hansen to beat Holmes / Weekly
Garcia / Casey to beat Stricker / Curtis
Stenson / Karlsson to beat Mickleson / Mahan

I should also add that I will never have a bet on something where I care about the result, especially betting against the team that you actually want to win... even though you don't think they will. I was really looking forward to watching the Ryder Cup but having bets on the Americans has really spoilt my enjoyment of it.

Ryder Cup - Day 2

I managed to get out of the £10 Europe to Win Day 1 Fourballs bet with £13.80, about half way through the afternoon's (ET) proceedings... thanks to extrabet.com's 'Take It' facility. They were offering as much as £14.75 when Europe first went 3-1 up, but I'm happy to just get out with a profit! The other two bets are still running, but I will probably close the £10 USA to win outright bet today if they offer anything over £15 at any point today.

So I have re-invested £11 in a £1 Yankee on today's Foursomes...

Rose & Poulter to beat Cink & Cambell @ 11/10
Leonard & Mahan to beat Jimenez & McDowell @ Evens
Mickelson & Kim to beat Stenson & Wilson @ 8/11
Furyk & Perry to beat Harrington & Karlsson @ 6/5

£11 to win £72.14

A Small Wager On The Ryder Cup...

Well, unaccustomed as I am with this sports betting lark, I've decided to have a couple of small wagers on the outcome of the 37th Ryder Cup!



USA to win outright... £10 @ 5/4*
Europe to win Day 1 Fourballs... £10 @ 5/4**
USA to win 16-12... £5 @ 14/1

*This is actually £20, with a Free Macth Bet
**This was meant to be just Win Day 1 (doh!)

And A Bit Of Golf News Ahead Of The Ryder Cup...

I've had three more goes at it so far this month and also a few visits to the driving range. I'm getting a bit more consistent (direction-wise) with the irons, upto 5 or 6 iron, the 3 and 4 iron can be a bit more unpredictable! As for distance, well that still needs some work, the 9 - 5 all seem to land within about 20 yds of each other. And when it comes to the Driver, 3-Wood and the supposedly 'easy to hit' 21deg Hybrid... well, lets just say, "Work in progress!!"

First outing was a return to Faringdon, shot the same score as last time - 89. Not brilliant but consistent and if I could just putt a bit better the score would have been much lower... far too many 3-putts and 2-putts from short distance.

Last Friday I became a little more adventurous and ventured to Hinksey Heights Golf Club, in Oxford, and played once around their 9-hole Spires Course. Now as golf courses go it's mot much to look at, essentially tees and greens in a field - no bunkers and no water. However, for the beginner who sprays the ball around a bit, for just £8 for 9-holes, I think it is a good introduction to playing longer holes. Again my putting really let me down - it's just soooo much easier on the living room carpet! - but I was encouraged by hitting a couple nice driver shots, not overly long, in the region of 200yds, but straight and in the direction I was aiming!

On Monday I returned to Faringdon and on the front nine hit my best score so far (37), but then a bit of fatigue set in and it was back to a familiar routine on the back nine, shooting 45, but still a new PB of 82 so I'm quite pleased with that.

So still plenty to work on... most importantly fitness and putting, but I'm still enjoying the learning process and I think I've already got my moneys-worth out of my £75 set of golf bats. :-)

All quiet of the Poker front...

Not much to report poker-wise, I've been playing a bit of cash (currently 25c/50c on ipoker) first thing in the morning, 2 or 3 tables for just 60-90 mins. If I get ahead by more than a buy-in then I may not even play that long... a few days ago I was up $75 after 21 mins and called it a day! If I go down by two buy-ins then I stop and go and find a cat to kick (unfortunately this has happened once this month)... no more sitting for hours trying to get it back and just losing more!!

I don't suppose I'll get rich playing this way (hopefully I won't go broke either!), but since I only really need an avergae of about £10/day from poker, then this should keep the wolf from door. Now that 'thegame' has booked his 'Return to Eden', I suspect that as December approaches I may regret not being a little more ambitious in trying to build my bankroll, so that it would support a trip to the land of apples and serpents, aka Las Vegas.

Although I'm playing the cash on ipoker, I have vowed [again] to never, ever, play another tournament on there!!! Now I know you really only remember the times people suck out against you, but it really does seem like there is a bias toward the underdog in all-in pre-flop situations on ipoker.

In cash games, getting all-in PF is much rarer and usually against SSSs (Short-Stack Shithouses)... toward the business end of a tournament all-in PF situations are unavoidable and every one seems to be a coin-flip. Even with pair vs pair, which should be around 4/1 in favour of the over-pair, the under-pair seem to win 50% of the time and if it's not some unlikely 4-flush or 4-straight on the board then it will be the equally unlikely 2-outer on the river!! >:(

Which brings me nicely onto the APAT WCOAP Online series last week... Little Dick finally picked up his first APAT meadal, a silver, with a superb 2nd place in the 7-card Stud event. I only played the 6-max NLHE event, I ran really well, being chip leader (or there abouts) for a large part of the tournament. I finally went out (whilst not CL!!) in 16th place... I had KK in the SB, it is folded to the Button (MickeyP, for those that know him), who pushes all-in with a a couple of thousand chips more than me. It's a simple call decision for me, the BB folds, and cards are revealed... Mickey has 88!! Now I'm not sure about the reasoning behind this play, but obviously I'm pleased it wasn't Aces - or am I? (See previous paragraph) Of course, the 8 comes on the river and that's it for me.

Earlier that evening I had played two $20 SnGs... out in 1st hand in one of them with KK V AA, all-in on an AKx flop; out 8th in the other with KK v 88, the 8s hit a 4-card straight!!

It is difficult to be a king, especially a medieval king.

I WILL NEVER, EVER, PLAY ANOTHER TOURNAMENT ON IPOKER!!

Golf progress update to follow....

The Mystery Of The Two-Tone Heads...

Now as you will be aware I have been having a go at this golf mularkey. Well I have been watching quite of it on the tv just lately, to see what the hip golfer is wearing on the links in 2008... I would hate to look out of place when I finally venture onto a real golf course!

The thing that strikes me most is the fact that every golfer, bar none, is wearing either a baseball cap or a visor (I should point out that I have been watching the US PGA and Nationwide Tours)... now I understand that with an average of three sponsors on each of these 'tit fuh's the players are being paid handsomely for wearing them, but bear in mind that these people spend their lives chasing a small white ball around a field, in the sun - apart from the one week per year when they come here for the Open, when they need a sou'wester - is it any wonder that they all end up with two-tone heads!!

Just look at these two... even Tiger Woods' forehead is noticeably lighter than the rest of his 'boat'.

What do they do when they are not on the golf pitch? Surely they don't wear their sponsored headware when they take their wives out to posh restaurant? Do they keep an aerosol of fake tan in the bathroom? As Rich would say, "I need answers, Gah-dammit!"

August Round-up...

Poker in August ended with the main event of the APAT World Championships Of Amateur Poker, the two day £75 buy-in NLHE tournament... the effect on the bankroll was pretty much the same as the previous three side events!

You can see from the graph in the previous post that things never really got going, I did finish Lev 1 with marginally more chips than the 10k starting stack but never saw those heady heights again.

All things considered it was a good series of tournaments, as is usual with APAT events, and a few lessons learned; i) I'm not very good at Razz and 7-Card Stud, some study needed before attempting said tournaments again; ii) It was a mistake to decide to commute to London each day, while it definitely saved money the 2+ hours each way became very tiresome by the end of the week.

So, have I won enough to keep the wolf from the door for another month?

Party Poker, Cash... + $507.29
Party Poker, Trnmnts.. + $310.00
Eurolinx, Cash... -$478.72
Online Total... + $338.57 (£189)

Live Cash... + £215.00
Live Trnmnts.. - £78.00
Travelling... - £84.00
Live Total... + £53.00

Total for Aug... + £242.00

So, there we have it, £200 withdrawn into the real world bank account and the bankroll increases by £42. Considering this takes into account the £225 buy-ins for the APAT events and 4 x £21/day travelling expenses to The Vic... and, and the [hopefully] not to be repeated -$412 tilt session on Eurolinx... I am looking forward to a profitable September!

WCOAP Updates...

Wed... WCOAP Pot-Limit Omaha - Hopeless (but +£215 playing cash)
Thu... WCOAP Razz - Not so hopeless, but not good
Fri... WCOAP Stud - Lasted a little longer, 'til Rich 'one-outered' me on the river!!

OK, today is the NLHE main event, 10k chips and a 40 min clock. If I've got this right you should be able to keep track of my chip count in the graph below. I'll probably only update it at the end of each level and you will probably have to refresh your browser to display any updates, but we'll give it a go.

If it doesn't seem to be working it can be viewed at chipgraph.com

A mid-week update...

Wow... it's been a pretty decent start to the week in this rodent's burrow! Three winning days out of four thus far playing online, showing a profit of about $136. And there's more...


Bank Holiday Monday, and two-thirds of the Mob re-enter that ripple in the [poker] time and space continuum that is the Three Pigeons £10 freezeout... and who was it that stood proud at the end of the night and spit in the eye of the Poker Gods? None other that yours truly, that's who! Get in there!! And there's more...

Last night was the first of the new monthly €25k Freerolls on Virgin Poker... Teresa had entered a few days ago when there were just a couple of hundred entries, by the time it started, at 7.00pm, she was in a field of 2795. She made the final table of 10 as one of three short stacks and finally busted out in 10th, at 1.43am, when one of the other shortys open raised from the CO, Button and SB fold, Teresa has A7 off in the BB and pushes it in... the raiser thinks for a few seconds and then calls with TcJc... She got it in ahead but with a flop of 789 (2 clubs), alas the 1st prize eluded her on this occasion... but hey, €300 added to the bankroll is not to be sneezed at!



- Sunday 24/08
Party, 2 tables, 50NL, 86 mins... -$69.55

- Monday 25/08
Party, 2 tables, 50NL, 121 mins... +$42.43
The Pigeons £10 Freezeout, 1st Place for £90... +£79.00

- Tuesday 26/08
Party, 1 table, 50NL, 56 mins... +$62.77

- Wednesday 27/08
Party, 2 tables, 50NL, 40 mins... +$101.29

This should be a witty title... but I couldn't think of one!

As can be seen below, it has been a 'reasonable' week of poker... spoilt by a 'tilt' session on Tuesday. Having got back to winning ways playing on Party, the lure of the 30% rakeback called me back to Eurolinx on Sunday.

It started well enough with $133 profit over the first two days, for just over an hour each day. And then - Black Tuesday! Whatever I did, I couldn't win a pot. At about $150 down, instead of packing up and taking the loss (as I knew I should have done), I then buy-in for $100 on a $1/$2 NL table. After just 3 hands I run KK into AA... now it's -$250! :-(

Well I went back 50NL, tail between my legs, and foolishly said, "That's it, I'm sitting here 'til I've won it all back... or this account is empty!"

The Eurolinx pot is now empty... fortunately I only had $400 in there.

So back to Party for the rest of the week and until another bad session on Saturday it looked like I was going get out the week about even... aided by a welcome 3rd place in a $22 MTT, only 70 players but a decent profit of $128 for a little over two hours toil.

Played golf at Faringdon again on Friday, but only managed 9 holes due to my left knee giving me a bit of grief... seems OK now though, so hopefully nothing serious! It had all the makings of being a good round until the dreaded 7th hole, but it was still my best score for the front nine so far, so I'm happy with that. And, and... I finished with the same number of balls that I started with... not the same balls, but the same number! (1 lost / 1 found)

(Numbers are Strokes/Putts)

- Sunday 17/08
Eurolinx, 2 tables, 50NL, 70 mins... +$61.23

Unfortunately, our man in the Welsh mountains didn't cash in the $300k on Party... but astonishingly I managed 3rd place at the Pigeons, for the princely sum of £20 (£9 profit!).

- Monday 18/08
Eurolinx, 2 tables, 50NL, 62 mins... +$72.13
Party, $6 7-Stud MTT, 38th of 61... -$6.00

- Tuesday 19/08
Eurolinx, 3 tables, 50NL, 292 mins... -$312.12
Eurolinx, 1 table, 200NL, 3 mins... -$100.00

- Wednesday 20/08
Party, 2 tables, 50NL, 146 mins... +$2.10

- Thursday 21/08
Party, 1 table, 50NL, 117 mins... +$74.94
Party, $22 MTT, 139 mins, 3rd of 50... $150.00
Party, $6 Shootout MTT, Unplaced... -$6.00
Party, $22 SnG, 2nd... +$38.00

- Friday 22/08
Party, 3 tables, 50NL, 71 mins... +$64.63
Party, $22 MTT (LHE! doh!!), unplaced... -$22

- Saturday 23/08
Party, 2 tables, 50NL, 171 mins... -$101.10
Party, $22 MTT, Unplaced... -$22.00

Weekly Total... -$128.19

Let's have a graph anyway...

Hopefully the next step won't be up!!

Seconds out, Round 3... and an update on the poker!

I know, I know... another week and no updates, what can I say? There really aren't enough hours in the day, how I used to manage doing a full time job, I really don't know!

I have run into a bit of problem on the graph front... I have started using PokerTracker v3, but unfortunately it doesn't yet support Prima/Microgaming sites so I can't combine my old PT v2 database at the moment. Anyway here's what's happened this week...

Monday -
Party, 2 tables of 50NL for 59 mins... +$137.27

Tuesday -
Party, 3 tables of 50NL for 95 mins... -$79.30
Party, 2 tables of 50NL for 96 mins... -$24.73

Wednesday -
Party, 3 tables of 50NL for 55 mins... +$68.91

Thursday -
Party, 3 tables of 50NL for 100 mins... -$290.96
Party, 1 tables of 200NL for 77 mins... +$141.25
Party, 1 tables of 200NL for 75 mins... +$99.22
Party, 4 x $22 SnGs, 1 x 1st, 1 x 3rd... +$52.00

Friday -
Party, 2 tables of 100NL for 83 mins... +$122.06
Party, 1 x $22 SnG, unplaced... -$22.00

Saturday -
Party, 1 table of 200NL for 19 mins... +$91.56
Party, 1 x $22 SnG, unplaced... -$22.00
Party, $3 rebuy MTT, satellite to $300k gtd... (+$207.20)
BlueSq, APAT Dutch Open, unplaced... -$11.00
BlueSq, 1 x $22 SnG, 2nd place... +$38.00

Total for week... +$300.28 (+$207.20) = +$507.48

So, another rollercoaster ride this week, but showing a profit at the end of it. I won't claim the full $507 as profit though, since $207 is in the form of a $215 seat in the $300 gtd, on Party at 7.45pm tonight...

I was bored on Saturday afternoon and entered a $3 rebuy, without realising that it was a satellite. Well I played it real tight, had one rebuy ($2.40) and the add-on ($2.40) and started the freezeout stage without 12.5k chips (CL had 69k!!). It paid 7 seats and with 2.1m chips in play I had 500k going into the final table, easily enough to just sit-out and fold into the money.


Unfortunately, it clashes with the big £10 freezeout at the Pigeons tonight so I have had to bring in a more than capable reserve to play the Party tournament for me, on a straight 50/50 split... Get it won Dewi!!! $30k or $40k each will buy a few Guinesses in Brighton. :-)

As for strict bankroll management, well, that has taken a bit of a back seat again!!

In other news... On Friday, I set two new PBs for 18 holes at Faringdon. 'Out' in 41 and 'home' in 48, for a total of 89 (previous best 102) and only 2 lost** balls (previous best 5). Unable to get anyone to play with I decided to go over on my own and then, on the first tee, I met up another old Rowing Machine ex-regular, Pete and his lad Franky... so I went around them.


** I say 'lost'... well, one went in the water at the twelfth, but the other one??? All I'll say is, Pete is a scouser!! I'll say no more, I don't want to get banned from Liverpool or any pubs!!!

Oh dear... woe is me...

TODAY'S THOUGHT - Some days you will be the pigeon... other days, you just have to accept that you will be the statue.

---+++---

Oh dear, Friday afternoon I had one of those 'Rush of Blood' moments that I know 'thegame' will relate to! I had been playing for about 30 mins, on Party Poker, 2 tables of 50NL and a $22 SnG... $65 and $55 on the cash tables, around starting chips in the SnG. In one hand after the other I busted in the SnG, with KK v AA all-in PF; lost the $55 on one cash table, with TT v JJ all-in on a T5J flop; I then actually got in good with AK vs KQs on an AKx flop, matey's flush got there and I was down to $15 on that table!!

I carried on playing the cash tables for another few minutes but the two people I'd doubled up left - bastards! - and were replaced by SSSs (Short-Stack Shithouses)... for the first time in 4 months of cash play, I completey turned my back on all common sense and bankroll management and went looking for a 200NL seat!

There was no seat available, but I put my name on the list for a table where one guy only had about $20, I figured he wouldn't be around too long. I watched while I was waiting... it was two full orbits before shorty busted and I took my seat and bought in for $150. Now while I was watching there was one guy sat out the whole time, I am now sat on his right. I didn't get a hand to play for 1 1/2 orbits... matey still sat out.

So, it's my button... matey sits back in and posts both blinds out of position - this is usually a sign of a bad player! - the cards are dealt and I have AdKd. It is folded to matey in the CO, who raises to $6... now this could simply be a position raise; or it could be another trait of the bad player who posts out of turn, and that is deciding to defend his SB+BB investment, with any two cards; or he could actually have a hand!

Well this clown isn't stealing my button and I don't want to price in the blinds, so I ship the rest of it in... Blinds Fold - Fold, matey calls immediately... Shit! So, there we have it, this guy has been sitting out for at least four orbits of the table and first hand back he gets KK and manages to find someone who is steaming a little to get it all-in with... some people are just soooooo lucky!

On a brighter note... could it get any worse?? I have persevered on Party, albeit at 25NL for the moment, and in two sessions yesterday and one this morning I have recovered about $150 of Friday's losses. Hopefully it was a lesson learned that I'll not be repeating.

Also I have been asked to take on the role of 'Non-Playing Captain' and selector of the England team for the upcoming European Amateur Poker Team Championships. The event is being organised by APAT and will take place at the Grosvenor Brighton on Nov 1st & 2nd.

Hot buttered charcoal...

TODAY'S THOUGHT - Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp that no one would ever eat?

---+++---

OK, back to Monday... I didn't get around to any online poker on Monday. After my last post 'er indoors wanted a ride into town to do some shopping, this was followed by a trip to the driving range to spray 50 golf balls around a field and then a spot of lunch. Lunch taken and digested, I was just psyching myself up for a couple hours of poker when I recieved a text from Neal (The Gambler) asking if I fancied a round of golf... so that was the rest of the afternoon taken up.

Well, what can I say about the golf? Now, Neal is a pretty good player, but my practice has certainly started to pay off. Astonishingly, I was leading by one hole... as we teed off on the second! We actually halved the second, but from then in Neal's superior fitness (and better golf) started to kick in. However, the final score of my 2nd ever round of golf was 9 shots less than my 1st round... if I can keep up this rate of improvement, well you never know, it's still 11 months 'til the Open???


I did make it to The Fox for the £5 re-buy, which I can quickly sum-up as... 7 re-buys and 1 add-on (£40 - bad)... 10k chips at the break (not too bad)... mis-timed, mis-read not long after the break (v. bad)... that's all I have to say about that!

On to Tuesday, and not too much to report... in the afternoon I played about 2 hours, 2 tabling 50NL on Prima for a profit of a little over a buy-in ($51.77 to be exact). I the evening I fancied having a go at a tournament and ended up putting some money in Party Poker and playing a $33 MTT freezeout and a couple of $22 STTs. I was tickling along quite nicely in the MTT until my AsKs fell foul of an AhQh, all the money went in on an AcKh7h flop, you know the rest! I finished 50 of 168 and quite enjoyed it, I managed to hold my concentration quite well considering my recent tournament play. The STTs were a win and a 3rd, so my $77 in buy-ins showed a $140 return... not brilliant, but another $63 in the pot and a winning day.

Yesterday I continued playing on Party, for a change... 2 hours of 50NL, 2 tables for most of the time but 3 for a while... net profit $0.68!! And what makes this even more frustrating is, there is no rakeback on Party. There is some loyalty scheme whereby you can get some cashback in return for points, but how much you have to play and how it relates to a percentage rakeback I have no idea. I played 4 more $22 STTs, in the evening, finishing 1 8 1 5 for a net profit of $112.

Right, that's it up to date... just time to take the dogs for a walk and have 50 balls at the driving range before lunch. I don't know, there's just not enough hours in the day! :-)

Well that didn't last long...

TODAY'S THOUGHT - Why are they called stairs inside but steps outside?

---+++---

I'm sorry to say, neither the winning sessions nor the alcohol ban lasted more than one day!!

In a 3 hour session yesterday afternoon I managed to give back pretty much all of the profit from the last two days... bollocks! I had pocket Aces four times... and won the blinds each time; I had pocket Kings three times... lost twp buy-ins, and won a small pot... ffs.

I wish I could say it was all bad luck, but unfortunately there is still a sprinkling of bad play mixed in... why is it that when you make those 'bad calls' you get it right just often enough to keep you coming back for more? Or maybe it's just me?? :-(

And as if that wasn't enough... we had some new blood in the Pigeons game last night! Well if I say he made Joy look like Annie Duke and Steve v2.0 look like Phil Helmuth, you'll get the idea!!

Is it any wonder I ended up having a couple of pints???

Anyway, it's back on the wagon and a tilt at The August Cup, at the Fox tonight. This is the annual end of season tournament in their league, it is usually well attended and has a pretty decent prize pool for a £5 re-buy.

No beer Saturday and a winning session...

TODAY'S THOUGHT - Why is it called Alcoholics Anonymous when the first thing you do is stand up and say, 'My name is Bob, and I am an alcoholic'?

---+++---

Inspired by 'The Mob's' northern correspondent, I broke with a 25 year old tradition yesterday and didn't go for my usual 3-4 pints and a few games of pool at lunchtime. Indeed I shall be abstaining from alcohol consumption at least until the end of the month. This is part of the 'Get a bit fitter, you fat bastard' program that I am currently embarking upon.

It had always been my intention to try and get a bit more excersise when I stopped working and try and lose a bit of weight... but the decision to accompany Paul and Neal for a round of golf, a couple of weeks ago, made me realise that I need to step things up a bit, especially as I intend to give this golf mularkey a bit of a go!

Now this 'round' of golf was actually twice round the 9-hole, all par 3 course at Faringdon... and very pleasant it is too... but by about half-way round the second time I was knackered! When the game was arranged I had assumed it just a bit of mess about on a pitch 'n putt, where you borrow a 9-iron and a putter and chase a ball round a field. So when Paul asked if I had any clubs, well I was a little taken aback.

As it happens I had the notion to take up golf about 20 years ago (although nothing came of it) and aquired an old bag and a couple of clubs from various sources... which, since moving house 6 years ago, had been up in the roof of the garage, gathering dust and an assortment of spiders.

Well my first ever round of golf was a bit of a mixture, as should probably be expected I guess. Now I knew I wouldn't loose any balls by hitting them out of sight but I hadn't reckoned on two (make that 4 in two rounds) of the holes being over water... a good job I had also got a decent stock of 20 year old golf balls!! A total score of 111 on a par 54 course leaves plenty of room for improvement.

Don't tell Paul and Neal but I have now bought a set of clubs and will be having a few trips to the driving range before our next outong to Faringdon... remember what Phil Ivey did to Marc Goodwin and Ram Vaswani... watch this space!

And so on to poker... I played for about an hour yesterday afternoon, two tables of 50NL (25c/50c) and made a profit of $127, after going one buy-in down as usual!! Here's the updated graph, it doesn't look pretty, nor does that nasty red stain on the monthly summary. :-(

They're not all locked up yet...

I just had to reproduce this, for benefit of any of my readers who may not frequent the APAT forums on a regular basis. It is part of a discussion, prompted by the question - who has to show first, at showdown. The second paragraph is just a gem!

Re: Showing Cards!
« Reply #15 on: Yesterday at 08:43:53 pm » Quote

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totally agree Dan, I too think and insist both cards are shown to take a pot down, I just don't get involved if I'm not in the hand on a cash table. To reenforce it, it is called a SHOWDOWN for a reason

John I think collusion is the main reason. I wonder if by luck, it also prevents too much bluffing, and force a more correct line of play, otherwise i suppose every game may turn into a crap shoot when we may as well then play 3 card brag or another game of just balls and gambling.

The full thread can be found - HERE

A new dawn... and a thought for today...

TODAY'S THOUGHT - Why can't a woman put on mascara with her mouth closed?

I guess, since the hit counter has kept ticking over during the last month, that someone is still checking here occiasionally? So I suppose I had better write something?

So, what has happened, well not a lot poker-wise. I had a couple of horrendous losing days following my last post and decided to have a break for a couple of days... During which time my dad was taken into hospital, where he sadly passed away a few days later. He had played a lot of cards in his youth and whenever I went to see him, his first question was always, "How's the poker going?"

For the next couple of weeks I had no interest in getting back to the grind of online poker. However, I did make it to couple of live games at the Fox, taking 2nd place in a £50 freezeout... a couple of games at the Pigeons, the less said about those the better! And, if you read Paul & Rich's blogs you will already know, the Witney (inc. Carterton) Mob took 2nd place in the quiz night at the Pigeons.

My next session of online poker was a couple days before the end of July, the result - minus $100'ish... when will it end? I played one more day in July and showed a bit of a profit, after being $250 in the hole at one point, most of the money clawed back came from one player - thankyou MyButterfly (Prima) whoever you are.

Anyway, mainly due to one or two really bad days and not playing enough to get it back, July has finished as my first losing month since starting this attack on the cash games, in the middle of March... not happy!!!

And so to the present, I played a bit more yesterday and picked up nearly $80... not a fortune, but a solid profit to start the month.

No graph to post this time, not because it doesn't look very pretty but I play on two different computers and haven't got around to copying all the hand histories over for the last few sessions... when I've done so then I'll stick it up.

Normal Service will be resumed shortly....

A better day, but did I bottle it?

Just 2 1/4 hrs today (that's more like it)... only 458 hands... only about $11 rakeback... however, I did win $480.

I had a cracking 72 min session this morning, picking up a little over $300... coming, primarily, from two hands where my sets held up against aggressively played flush draws. I then started another session this evening, with the intention of putting in 2 or 3 hours of 4-tabling. When I quickly went $180 up and the prospect of winning over $500 in the day became likely, I started to think to myself that it might be better to bank a good win rather than chase the rakeback. This unconciously caused me to tighten up quite considerably and after an hour or so I realised that I was actually playing not to lose rather than to win. Definitely time to stop for the day anyway.

This is something I obviously have to deal with and get straight in my head before I start a session... playing scared is playing scared, no matter what the reason and playing scared is always bad.

The first day of the rest of my life...

How times have changed.

When I started my last (1st/only previous) job my first pay-cheque was for the princely sum of £10.73... it was September 1972. Now, 36 years later, I have just finished my first day at my new 'job' and I've got about £45 less than what I started with... wtf!!! No one told me it would be like this.

I guess it's not too bad, you have to have losing days... it's not the first one and I don't suppose it will be the last. At least it was less than one buy-in.

I put a total of 5 1/2 hrs in two sessions (5 1/2 hrs!!! In one day!!! ffs, I wonder if BT will have me back?) and played 1105 hands of 50c/$1 NL. This marathon (for me) netted about 30 bucks in rakeback. Do this for 20 days a month and I have appx £300... just what the doctor ordered. All I have to do now is crack the 'be a break even or winning player' part of the equation! :-)

Like they say, "It's a hard way to make an easy living."

That reminds me...

Hmmm, I'm having second thoughts about Virgin Airmiles... We have been collecting them by playing on Virgin Poker and also using a Virgin Amex Card. This time next year I should have about 50,000.

Now 50k Virgin airmiles is enough for a return flight to Vegas... that's good. And so long as you're flexible in your travel plans you will probably be able to get a free flight sometime close to when you really want to go.

But how about this then... on my return from Vegas in May, I enquired at the check-in about getting a Premium Economy upgrade using airmiles....

Me: "I would like to upgrade to Premium Economy using some of my airmiles."
Check-In dude: "Yes Sir, let me just check which fare you have."
Tap, tap, tap on keyboard...
Check-In dude: "Sorry Sir, you have an 'x' class ticket, this is non-upgradeable, you need a 'y' or better ticket."
Me: "I just booked online, I put in my dates, it gave me a price, I paid it... no one askes if you want 'x' or 'y' or whatever."
Check-In dude: "No, you have to request a flexible ticket."
Check-In dudess: (who has also been tapping a keyboard) "We do have one PE seat left, if you would like to pay £289 we can upgrade you."
Me: (looking at Check-In dude) "But, but you just told me my ticket was non-upgradeable??"
Check-In dude: "That's right Sir, not with airmiles... however, you can pay for an upgrade."
Me: (whilst thinking, "GFY!!") "It's OK, I'll sit with the poor people, thankyou for your time... have a nice day now."

Now, on my return home I decide to see how much I can save by booking an upgradeable ticket... here is an example (current prices on VA website) -

14 - 22 Oct 2008
Economy Lowest: £591.60 + 2000 airmiles 'x' class (£659 cash only)
Econony Flexible: £1679.60 'y' class (not available as 'miles + money')
PE Lowest: £1358.60 'x' class

So if I want to be able to upgrade on the return leg, I need a flexible ('y' class) ticket... which will cost over £1000 more than the cheapest fare plus 10,000 airmiles... or for £300 less you can just book and go bothways PE!!!

Bargain!!!

Thanks Mr Woolly Jumper... my Gran always used to say, "Never trust men with beards." I'm beginning to believe she wasn't far wrong!

3 1/2 days to go...

So, here we are another week has flown by... just 3 1/2 more days working 'for the man.' I don't remember the last time I was looking forward to something so much! There are lots of us 'rats, jumping ship' at the end of the week, most of whom have done a 35-40 year stretch and many seem genuinely sad and almost reluctant to leave... what is wrong with these people? Or is it just me? Yes, there are few good mates who I'll be leaving behind, but they won't stop being mates just because we no longer work for the same company... Trust me, the only tear I'll shed at my leaving do will be when the money runs out behind the bar! It's been a pretty good 36 years overall, but the job aint what it used to be... and as for the majority of the current managers well, the least said the better!

OK, that's that out of the way... what does the future hold? Well, I'm in the fortunate position that I don't have to go and get a job that pays anything like the salary I was on... for the next two years I 'need' to find £200 - £300 per month to keep the wolf from door and keep a wife and three dogs in style they've become accustomed to! (Just realised I'm repeating myself, from last week - it's an age thing!) Anyways up, it's the life of the semi-pro poker player for now, I've had my slide-rule and abacus out and I reckon that 4-tabling $100NL (0.5/1) for 4 hours a day (not sure about these longer days!!), 5 days a week will bring in around £250 per month in rakeback alone. So as I see it the only real challenge is to remain a winning player and if I can just avoid stacking-off with TPTK quite so often we should be home and dry... Poker Gods permitting!!

It all seems too easy doesn't it? I'm sure there will be some other bridges to cross, but I think I'll use my time proven strategy... and just cross them bridges when we get to them. :-)

This is the new 'office', complete with shiny new monitor, and you know what is really the best thing about this office? I don't have to use the A40 between Witney and Oxford, twice a day, to get to it!!!

We are still on something of a roller-coaster with the cash game but currently on another record high. Still my biggest problem is giving away a buy-in early on in a session and then having to sit and grind it out to get back... I do now make a concious effort NOT to get it all-in without the nuts in the first 20 mins or so of a session... I'm improving, but still some way to go.