What better way to get over a bad beat than to play some more poker ? When I woke up, I was still thinking about the Aces in the Caesar's tournament. Still, back to work. I decided to start at the Mirage again. Played a pretty volatile session on $1/2. Several large swings.
Had doubled up from $200 to $400 when I saw a flop with 66 and flopped a set on a 68J board with two diamonds. All the money went in - he has J9 of diamonds. Turn was a Jack giving me a house and making his flush draw irrelevant. However the river was 9 giving him a bigger house. Start over again ....
Finally managed to win a big pot with the powerhouse - flop came A34 - flopping me the wheel and also giving me a draw to the straight flush.
Won a really nice pot near the end with 7d8d. Jd6d4s flop gave me straight and flush outs. It was a raised pot pre-flop, which was bet on the flop as well. Turn 5c was perfect - a reraise on the turn took it down for me.
+$400 or so in the end.
I intended to go on to MGM, but played a $125 tourney at The Mirage first. Just 31 runners. Fast structure - I was knocked out 12th when my KK was cracked by 33.
Very friendly room. Lots of people said "you're from England aren't you ?" but it wasn't my accent. Rather my gutshot.com shirt. The name is well recognised. More so for the famous club (which isn't technically the Gutshot anymore) than anything else.
I decided to go incognito for my next assignment though - I wanted to go down to MGM which everyone tells me is super-soft. So, change of shirt and off I go.
I didn't get as far as MGM though. I had decided that on this mild evening I would walk there but after a while it became apparent I wasn't getting much closer so I stopped off at Caesar's again.
Good session in $2/5. Just played pretty straightforwardly for +$350. Sat next to a go from England (fancy that ....). Where are you from someone said. "London" I reply (it's easier). The chap next to me says "I'm from near there - Bedford".
Well, it turns out he lives in a village just outside. I joined him for some late dinner (about 2:30am by now) and I decide to complete my journey on to MGM whilst he makes his way to Bellagio where the action is fantastic apparently.
to be continued ....
Tuesday 29 April 2008
Monday 28 April 2008
A Tale of 2 Aces
Ok... where were we... after being so bad at posting whilst I was actually in Vegas, I am going to post over the next few days as if I were there.
After my relatively successful start at the Mirage, I took a walk over to Caesar's Palace the next morning. Originally I had planned to stay at Caesar's but there were no rooms available, apparently. I opted for the Mirage because it is next door.
Being next door, it took only about 30 minutes (that's what it felt like) to walk there ! There isn't much space between the two properties but each one is so big (especially Caesar's) that it really does take ages to get where you're going.
I had good memories of the cardroom at Caesar's - it's a really nice room and they are renowned for their good quality daily tournaments. Also, I was a winner in the cash games there last year.
When I arrived, I discovered they were hosting a "WSOP Circuit event". What does that mean ? Actually, someone asked me that whilst I was there - I must have looked like I would know the answer. There are actually a great many WSOP circuit events throughout the year at various Harrah's properties. At the end of the day, it's just a way to get more mileage out of the WSOP brand.
Still, they seemed to be worth a go and I signed up for the $550 event. It's fair to say that I had not really established a plan as to the mix of cash and tournament play for this trip.
Whilst waiting for the event to start, I played a little $2/5 cash - most of the others playing were doing the same thing. Handily, I won $550 !! I was up a little as I prepared to cash out in time for the start of the tournament, but played one more hand ... got KK and got it all in pre-flop vs JJ (and chased away another player with 88 who would have made a set). Then, one more hand ... 77 .. flopped a set, and improved to a full house.
Maybe the sense that I was freerolling contributed to my play. In any case, I played appallingly badly in the tournament and was out after a couple of hours. The less said about my play, the better.
After a slightly less successful 2nd attempt at the cash (fairly steady for a number of hours but got all in PF with AK vs KQ and the KQ improved to a winning straight), I decided to try the regular $200 tournament.
91 runners, 4K chips, 30min clock - a very good structure. I played badly again at first, but got a 2nd chance (after throwing away chips to stand on just 1,000 I had to gamble and doubled up twice to get me back where I started). From that point, I played very solidly I felt.
On and on it went and as we got down to 2 tables, I was feeling good - I was above average in chips and certainly did not feel out of my depth. I felt I had a good chance. My peak was 34k chips with 14left (91 started so average chips = 26k). Binds 1k/2k with a 300ante so by now the tournament was getting towards the all-in poker stage.
Then, with 11 left and my stack slightly reduced to 27.5k, two hands ended the whole thing:
In the first, I was on the cut-off with 6s7s. Folded to me. The three players behind me were tight and I had them all well covered. I pushed, very much expecting three folds. To my surprise, the button player dwelled up eventually declaring "I have to call". Two folds behind him.
The reason for his theatrics became clear as he tabled AA. I picked up a flush draw on the flop, but that didn't come in and I lost 11,000 on the hand. Down to 16,500 and in need of a re-double.
Just a couple of hands later, it seemed I had my chance. Under-the-gun, I find pocket Aces myself. I choose to limp, and then "Ted" in middle position makes a raise to 6k. Back to me, and I re-raise all in.
Ted calls and shows pocket 6s. If I win this (as I am 80%+ to do) then I will be on around 38k and surely almost guaranteed to make the final table.
Alas, a six is the first card on the flop and no Ace comes. Out in 11th - 9 places pay - after nearly 7 hours playing !
With hindsight, should I have done better at the end ? Obviously I did not need to play the 67s hand but even with average chips I had an M of only 8 at a 6-handed table. I do not regret that move. The Aces ? If I had pushed from UTG, most likely everyone would have folded and the sixes would not have beaten me. However, I managed to get my whole stack in against one other player pre-flop - this is the ideal scenario.
I don't regret my play but I was still replaying those 2 hands the next morning when I woke up !
After my relatively successful start at the Mirage, I took a walk over to Caesar's Palace the next morning. Originally I had planned to stay at Caesar's but there were no rooms available, apparently. I opted for the Mirage because it is next door.
Being next door, it took only about 30 minutes (that's what it felt like) to walk there ! There isn't much space between the two properties but each one is so big (especially Caesar's) that it really does take ages to get where you're going.
I had good memories of the cardroom at Caesar's - it's a really nice room and they are renowned for their good quality daily tournaments. Also, I was a winner in the cash games there last year.
When I arrived, I discovered they were hosting a "WSOP Circuit event". What does that mean ? Actually, someone asked me that whilst I was there - I must have looked like I would know the answer. There are actually a great many WSOP circuit events throughout the year at various Harrah's properties. At the end of the day, it's just a way to get more mileage out of the WSOP brand.
Still, they seemed to be worth a go and I signed up for the $550 event. It's fair to say that I had not really established a plan as to the mix of cash and tournament play for this trip.
Whilst waiting for the event to start, I played a little $2/5 cash - most of the others playing were doing the same thing. Handily, I won $550 !! I was up a little as I prepared to cash out in time for the start of the tournament, but played one more hand ... got KK and got it all in pre-flop vs JJ (and chased away another player with 88 who would have made a set). Then, one more hand ... 77 .. flopped a set, and improved to a full house.
Maybe the sense that I was freerolling contributed to my play. In any case, I played appallingly badly in the tournament and was out after a couple of hours. The less said about my play, the better.
After a slightly less successful 2nd attempt at the cash (fairly steady for a number of hours but got all in PF with AK vs KQ and the KQ improved to a winning straight), I decided to try the regular $200 tournament.
91 runners, 4K chips, 30min clock - a very good structure. I played badly again at first, but got a 2nd chance (after throwing away chips to stand on just 1,000 I had to gamble and doubled up twice to get me back where I started). From that point, I played very solidly I felt.
On and on it went and as we got down to 2 tables, I was feeling good - I was above average in chips and certainly did not feel out of my depth. I felt I had a good chance. My peak was 34k chips with 14left (91 started so average chips = 26k). Binds 1k/2k with a 300ante so by now the tournament was getting towards the all-in poker stage.
Then, with 11 left and my stack slightly reduced to 27.5k, two hands ended the whole thing:
In the first, I was on the cut-off with 6s7s. Folded to me. The three players behind me were tight and I had them all well covered. I pushed, very much expecting three folds. To my surprise, the button player dwelled up eventually declaring "I have to call". Two folds behind him.
The reason for his theatrics became clear as he tabled AA. I picked up a flush draw on the flop, but that didn't come in and I lost 11,000 on the hand. Down to 16,500 and in need of a re-double.
Just a couple of hands later, it seemed I had my chance. Under-the-gun, I find pocket Aces myself. I choose to limp, and then "Ted" in middle position makes a raise to 6k. Back to me, and I re-raise all in.
Ted calls and shows pocket 6s. If I win this (as I am 80%+ to do) then I will be on around 38k and surely almost guaranteed to make the final table.
Alas, a six is the first card on the flop and no Ace comes. Out in 11th - 9 places pay - after nearly 7 hours playing !
With hindsight, should I have done better at the end ? Obviously I did not need to play the 67s hand but even with average chips I had an M of only 8 at a 6-handed table. I do not regret that move. The Aces ? If I had pushed from UTG, most likely everyone would have folded and the sixes would not have beaten me. However, I managed to get my whole stack in against one other player pre-flop - this is the ideal scenario.
I don't regret my play but I was still replaying those 2 hands the next morning when I woke up !
Lucky Seat ?
Gus Hansen, who swapped seats with me on the place, just took 2nd place in the WPT World Championship at Bellagio - for $1.7MM. Perhaps if I'd stayed where I was .....
Saturday 26 April 2008
Report Stage 2
I have belatedly completed the report for the unofficial Bear poker event on 17th April - if you want to read it let me know and I will email it to you. I can't work out how to easily post the report on this blog.
One of the players is also a very gifted photographer and took many shots at the event - you can see those on his webpage.
One of the players is also a very gifted photographer and took many shots at the event - you can see those on his webpage.
Friday 25 April 2008
Busy Doing Nothing
Nothing but poker, that is !
I was bad at updating the blog whilst I was away. I just found I did not have time !! This is a bit of a conundrum. After all, I had no commitments during my trip. I wasn't on business, I did not have other family members to entertain. I didn't go shopping, or go to shows, or even the boxing. I didn't visit the Grand Canyon. I simply played poker, eat and slept.
Alright, I didn't do much sleeping. Or eating.
In Vegas there is absolutely no need to stay in a game just because you're in it. There is always, and I really mean always, another game if you take a break and come back. There are hundreds of places to play, as well. Also, you're going to play better with rest and so on.
Logically, it makes sense to pace it out.
I don't know a single player who can perform this feat!
So it is that I did not post enough whilst I was there. I am going to try to make up for it now by making some posts "as live" over the next few days.
I was bad at updating the blog whilst I was away. I just found I did not have time !! This is a bit of a conundrum. After all, I had no commitments during my trip. I wasn't on business, I did not have other family members to entertain. I didn't go shopping, or go to shows, or even the boxing. I didn't visit the Grand Canyon. I simply played poker, eat and slept.
Alright, I didn't do much sleeping. Or eating.
In Vegas there is absolutely no need to stay in a game just because you're in it. There is always, and I really mean always, another game if you take a break and come back. There are hundreds of places to play, as well. Also, you're going to play better with rest and so on.
Logically, it makes sense to pace it out.
I don't know a single player who can perform this feat!
So it is that I did not post enough whilst I was there. I am going to try to make up for it now by making some posts "as live" over the next few days.
Monday 21 April 2008
It's a Mirage ...
Uneventful flight .... there was a bit of a commotion at one point but it turned out that a card from Gus & Erik's deck had fallen down the side of the seat and they were desparately scrambling to recover it lest they have to stop playing for more than a few seconds.
I have said before that I like McCarran airport (it's small and friendly, basically) but the luggage carousel is a joke - bit of an embarrasment to Vegas tbh. After whizzing through immigration, had to wait 40mins for bags when there was only one flight and it landed about 50metres from the terminal. Ridiculous.
Anyway, minor irritation. Hopped in a cab - seemed to go an awfully long way around to arrive at my hotel, but that's the same with cabbies everywhere I guess.
Staying at The Mirage, part of the MGM group. I wanted to stay at Caesar's but it was booked out apparently. Mirage is next door, and mid-strip, so seemed a fine choice.
I must say I am impressed with the place. The first sight that greeted me was something very alien however - smoking indoors ! Amazing how quickly we become used to the new norms (ie no smoking inside pretty much across Europe).
After I had been here a bit longer, I actually became surprised at how little smoking there is in the casino. No smoking is allowed in the cardrooms thank goodness.
I was most impressed with my room - it was the cheapest available tariff - not uber-cheap by Vegas standards ($229 on Sat night down to $99 on Tuesday) but still seems good value in GBP. And my room is large, and brand new with all shiny bits and the wall-mounted plasma TV has male and female USB ports, USB power out, HDMI, component RGB, composite and S-Video, 15-pin Din PC-feed and RJ45 and RJ35 inputs all presented on a sleek interface panel at the back of the large glass-topped desk. Very snazzy.
No kettle however !
So, decided to be further disciplined by actually unpacking before playing but sooner or later I could not help but go down.
The Mirage has a large poker room itself - rumoured to be a pretty good game. On the first day, I did not want to drop a bundle of cash so opted for $1/2 NLH.
Bought in for the max $300 and never had to rebuy, although I did fluctuate down to $120 at one stage. The turning point came when one particularly bad player arrived, but overall the game was very passive so it was highly beatable.
I was a bit upset to lose with the powerhouse early on. Saw a cheap flop, and it was checked around when it came AT4. The turn was a non-flushing 3 - giving me the nuts. Got a fair bit of money in there. The river 7 wasn't ideal and I check-called only to see him show 56 for the rivered higher-straight.
Ah well. As I said, the arrival of one bad loose-weak-passive player was enough to really turn things around. He wasn't the luckiest either !
On the plane I had meant to read Harrington on Cash but I packed vol2 instead of vol1. After doing the Sudoku and the FT crossword, did not have time to get through much of it, but one thing I remembered was his slightly counterintuitive advice about holding the nuts on the river.
He advises to move all-in. I tried this a couple of times and it worked a treat ! It is surprisingly often that the river brought the other player some hand he won't lay down, like 2pair. Obviously when they call you make a relatively huge profit.
Cashed out +$350 in this game, and also made 2nd in a sit-n-go to finish the 1st day $500 or so - a better start than usual. I'll take it.
I have said before that I like McCarran airport (it's small and friendly, basically) but the luggage carousel is a joke - bit of an embarrasment to Vegas tbh. After whizzing through immigration, had to wait 40mins for bags when there was only one flight and it landed about 50metres from the terminal. Ridiculous.
Anyway, minor irritation. Hopped in a cab - seemed to go an awfully long way around to arrive at my hotel, but that's the same with cabbies everywhere I guess.
Staying at The Mirage, part of the MGM group. I wanted to stay at Caesar's but it was booked out apparently. Mirage is next door, and mid-strip, so seemed a fine choice.
I must say I am impressed with the place. The first sight that greeted me was something very alien however - smoking indoors ! Amazing how quickly we become used to the new norms (ie no smoking inside pretty much across Europe).
After I had been here a bit longer, I actually became surprised at how little smoking there is in the casino. No smoking is allowed in the cardrooms thank goodness.
I was most impressed with my room - it was the cheapest available tariff - not uber-cheap by Vegas standards ($229 on Sat night down to $99 on Tuesday) but still seems good value in GBP. And my room is large, and brand new with all shiny bits and the wall-mounted plasma TV has male and female USB ports, USB power out, HDMI, component RGB, composite and S-Video, 15-pin Din PC-feed and RJ45 and RJ35 inputs all presented on a sleek interface panel at the back of the large glass-topped desk. Very snazzy.
No kettle however !
So, decided to be further disciplined by actually unpacking before playing but sooner or later I could not help but go down.
The Mirage has a large poker room itself - rumoured to be a pretty good game. On the first day, I did not want to drop a bundle of cash so opted for $1/2 NLH.
Bought in for the max $300 and never had to rebuy, although I did fluctuate down to $120 at one stage. The turning point came when one particularly bad player arrived, but overall the game was very passive so it was highly beatable.
I was a bit upset to lose with the powerhouse early on. Saw a cheap flop, and it was checked around when it came AT4. The turn was a non-flushing 3 - giving me the nuts. Got a fair bit of money in there. The river 7 wasn't ideal and I check-called only to see him show 56 for the rivered higher-straight.
Ah well. As I said, the arrival of one bad loose-weak-passive player was enough to really turn things around. He wasn't the luckiest either !
On the plane I had meant to read Harrington on Cash but I packed vol2 instead of vol1. After doing the Sudoku and the FT crossword, did not have time to get through much of it, but one thing I remembered was his slightly counterintuitive advice about holding the nuts on the river.
He advises to move all-in. I tried this a couple of times and it worked a treat ! It is surprisingly often that the river brought the other player some hand he won't lay down, like 2pair. Obviously when they call you make a relatively huge profit.
Cashed out +$350 in this game, and also made 2nd in a sit-n-go to finish the 1st day $500 or so - a better start than usual. I'll take it.
Sunday 20 April 2008
2 Million Reasons To Be Cheerful
After my previous post, where I gave news of my good fortune in securing an upgrade, I thought I may have to follow it with news of a "bad seat beat".
As I sat in the lounge, I received a call from the check-in supervisor. A mistake had been made, and there was in fact no Upper Class seat available for me. They could fit me into Premium Economy, and would refund all my miles. Having thought I was in Upper Class, it felt like a downgrade of course.
Still, I was philosophical - net/net it was a free upgrade to Premium.
It was a bit like I flopped the nuts, and got out-drawn on the turn. However, there is always the river, and my redraw came in - there was a no-show and they gave me back my Upper Class boarding pass. I'd started in 7K, gone back to 75K and now moved up to 6K.
Result!
I boarded the plane and found that 6K was right at the very, very front of the plane. I started to get settled in when I became aware that two passengers travelling together had arrived and seemed to have been given 6A and 7K - not too convenient for being sociable during the flight.
Naturally I turned to offer Mr 7K the chance to swap. Well, who should it be but the Great Dane himself - Gus Hansen. His travelling partner turned out to be fellow Scandi pro Erik Sagstrom.
Gus declared himself very tired, but this did not stop him flirting constantly with the cabin staff. Eschewing sleep, he and Erik embarked on a non-stop game of Chinese Poker. When their tables had to be used for serving their meals, they carried on with the hands squeezed into the remaining space. The plane was practically on the ground before they would put the table away at the third time of asking.
Whilst I was too polite to remark on their celebrity, Gus's presence was certainly clocked by others in the cabin.
One such was Glen Chorny in seat 12K. Just yesterday, Glen won the EPT Monte Carlo main event and took down a cool €2.02 Million. I know this because in the plane he opened every conversation by saying "I've just won the EPT Monte Carlo and made 2 million Euros".
He also started every other sentence with the words "I swear to God....".
He was a nice chap, though, and he must be on one helluva high ... he was dashing over to make the same $25K Bellagio tournament that Gus and Erik were travelling to. I think we can forgive him a little effusiveness.
Still, between just winning the EPT and just starting the Bellagio, he obviously did not have his fill of poker and I had to lend him a pack of cards so he could play heads-up with a fellow passenger. After that (he won), he was going to give them back but I didn't put the cards away and lo-and-behold he borrowed them back shortly afterwards to play with the crew !
I felt I was being suitably abstemious in not trying to get in a game. This, in fact, was a good start on the road to proper game selection: playing world-class proven million+ winners is probably not a good expected value trade for me.
As I sat in the lounge, I received a call from the check-in supervisor. A mistake had been made, and there was in fact no Upper Class seat available for me. They could fit me into Premium Economy, and would refund all my miles. Having thought I was in Upper Class, it felt like a downgrade of course.
Still, I was philosophical - net/net it was a free upgrade to Premium.
It was a bit like I flopped the nuts, and got out-drawn on the turn. However, there is always the river, and my redraw came in - there was a no-show and they gave me back my Upper Class boarding pass. I'd started in 7K, gone back to 75K and now moved up to 6K.
Result!
I boarded the plane and found that 6K was right at the very, very front of the plane. I started to get settled in when I became aware that two passengers travelling together had arrived and seemed to have been given 6A and 7K - not too convenient for being sociable during the flight.
Naturally I turned to offer Mr 7K the chance to swap. Well, who should it be but the Great Dane himself - Gus Hansen. His travelling partner turned out to be fellow Scandi pro Erik Sagstrom.
Gus declared himself very tired, but this did not stop him flirting constantly with the cabin staff. Eschewing sleep, he and Erik embarked on a non-stop game of Chinese Poker. When their tables had to be used for serving their meals, they carried on with the hands squeezed into the remaining space. The plane was practically on the ground before they would put the table away at the third time of asking.
Whilst I was too polite to remark on their celebrity, Gus's presence was certainly clocked by others in the cabin.
One such was Glen Chorny in seat 12K. Just yesterday, Glen won the EPT Monte Carlo main event and took down a cool €2.02 Million. I know this because in the plane he opened every conversation by saying "I've just won the EPT Monte Carlo and made 2 million Euros".
He also started every other sentence with the words "I swear to God....".
He was a nice chap, though, and he must be on one helluva high ... he was dashing over to make the same $25K Bellagio tournament that Gus and Erik were travelling to. I think we can forgive him a little effusiveness.
Still, between just winning the EPT and just starting the Bellagio, he obviously did not have his fill of poker and I had to lend him a pack of cards so he could play heads-up with a fellow passenger. After that (he won), he was going to give them back but I didn't put the cards away and lo-and-behold he borrowed them back shortly afterwards to play with the crew !
I felt I was being suitably abstemious in not trying to get in a game. This, in fact, was a good start on the road to proper game selection: playing world-class proven million+ winners is probably not a good expected value trade for me.
Saturday 19 April 2008
Miles better
On my way to Vegas this morning. Had arranged to travel down by train to Gatwick, which was handy since we sold Karen's car on Thursday. If I drove to the airport it would mean walking to school for the boys for the best part of a week - an unpopular outcome for sure.
Very smooth journey in fact - no delays and very short transits at each interchange. The Gatwick Express was as efficient as ever.
The whole journey in 2nd class - something I'm not used to but it's all in the name of bankroll discipline.
Likewise, booked in Economy Class on Virgin for the 10hour flight. Well, I arrived at the ticket desk and made enquires. No seats left in Premium, but for 30,000 miles I can upgrade to Upper Class. Insta-call.
The ticketeer radio'd through to check -- last one ! Seems my luck is in.
From experience I know that securing an upgrade on the return leg is tougher, so it could be a very unhappy return trip if I go broke and get no sleep on the flight back !
Very smooth journey in fact - no delays and very short transits at each interchange. The Gatwick Express was as efficient as ever.
The whole journey in 2nd class - something I'm not used to but it's all in the name of bankroll discipline.
Likewise, booked in Economy Class on Virgin for the 10hour flight. Well, I arrived at the ticket desk and made enquires. No seats left in Premium, but for 30,000 miles I can upgrade to Upper Class. Insta-call.
The ticketeer radio'd through to check -- last one ! Seems my luck is in.
From experience I know that securing an upgrade on the return leg is tougher, so it could be a very unhappy return trip if I go broke and get no sleep on the flight back !
Friday 18 April 2008
Report Stage
I hope to have time to put together a report on last night's game before the memory of it fades away too dramatically. Seems to have been a fun night enjoyed by all.
Thursday 17 April 2008
Unofficially Speaking
Over the previous two years, I organized 7 tournaments at work. The first, with just 26 players, was a complete shot in the dark. At that time, I did not know of anyone at work who played poker and I had little idea whether there would be interest.
It was a massive success in the sense that everyone enjoyed it tremendously. The next event sold out at 32 runners. So, we took a bigger venue and had 88 the next time. After another mini-event (capped at 40), we nearly hit 100 with the next one, and then event 6 had 103, as did event 7.
When I announced I was leaving, there was as much concern over the lack of continuity of poker tournaments as anything else. I agreed to host one last event and had over 120 signed up when the credit tsunami caused us to pull the plug.
However, when I let people know that the "official" firm event was off, many wanted to have it anyway and so - tonight - we have 70 or so runners for what might be considered the 8th wonder of this little world.
Because it is not "official" I have opened it up to ex-employees and also friends etc. but it is still 85% composed of the former crowd.
We are at a different venue (City Bunker instead of Gutshot) and I have not been able to be quite as hands-on in the tournament running as before. Also, I am not funding the whole event and throwing on a free bar as previously. I hope these factors do not detract at all.
One thing will be the same - I will be trying to win it !
It was a massive success in the sense that everyone enjoyed it tremendously. The next event sold out at 32 runners. So, we took a bigger venue and had 88 the next time. After another mini-event (capped at 40), we nearly hit 100 with the next one, and then event 6 had 103, as did event 7.
When I announced I was leaving, there was as much concern over the lack of continuity of poker tournaments as anything else. I agreed to host one last event and had over 120 signed up when the credit tsunami caused us to pull the plug.
However, when I let people know that the "official" firm event was off, many wanted to have it anyway and so - tonight - we have 70 or so runners for what might be considered the 8th wonder of this little world.
Because it is not "official" I have opened it up to ex-employees and also friends etc. but it is still 85% composed of the former crowd.
We are at a different venue (City Bunker instead of Gutshot) and I have not been able to be quite as hands-on in the tournament running as before. Also, I am not funding the whole event and throwing on a free bar as previously. I hope these factors do not detract at all.
One thing will be the same - I will be trying to win it !
Front Page News
In a sense. Here's the sense of it ...
I have been posting on the gutshot forum for a couple of years now. In the early days, I used to "lurk" as they say: read posts but never reply or post. It seemed a bit scary and I am not a great fan of the colourful language that prevails on many internet forums (whatever the subject).
However, once you start becoming active on a forum it becomes self-propelling to an extent.
After a year or so I was amongst the top hundred posters. There are literally thousands of members of the forum but many have never posted or posted only once (eg if they are a spam-bot!). So, with a couple-hundred posts or so, one would be well up there in terms of the posting hierarchy.
Lately, as my total posts grew and I became even more active on the forum (although, even now, my average number of posts is still only 1.2 per day) I moved up the ranks - it's a kind of exponential graph - they top posters have thousands of posts.
If one sorts the members my # of posts, they are listed 30 per page. I made it onto page 2, then climbed upwards and I started to think I would eventually get there.
Well, this week I did ! I got to the bottom of page1 when I had 904 posts. So, that's what I'm talking about !
I will likely climb further over time because some of the top-posters of all time have either left the company (if they were "official" posters) or have left the forum for whatever reason or, in one unfortunate case, have died.
It's not much of an achievement (not an achievement at all, really, as Matt & Harry pointed out) but rankings of all kind do have a certain fascination !
I have been posting on the gutshot forum for a couple of years now. In the early days, I used to "lurk" as they say: read posts but never reply or post. It seemed a bit scary and I am not a great fan of the colourful language that prevails on many internet forums (whatever the subject).
However, once you start becoming active on a forum it becomes self-propelling to an extent.
After a year or so I was amongst the top hundred posters. There are literally thousands of members of the forum but many have never posted or posted only once (eg if they are a spam-bot!). So, with a couple-hundred posts or so, one would be well up there in terms of the posting hierarchy.
Lately, as my total posts grew and I became even more active on the forum (although, even now, my average number of posts is still only 1.2 per day) I moved up the ranks - it's a kind of exponential graph - they top posters have thousands of posts.
If one sorts the members my # of posts, they are listed 30 per page. I made it onto page 2, then climbed upwards and I started to think I would eventually get there.
Well, this week I did ! I got to the bottom of page1 when I had 904 posts. So, that's what I'm talking about !
I will likely climb further over time because some of the top-posters of all time have either left the company (if they were "official" posters) or have left the forum for whatever reason or, in one unfortunate case, have died.
It's not much of an achievement (not an achievement at all, really, as Matt & Harry pointed out) but rankings of all kind do have a certain fascination !
Saturday 12 April 2008
Cash not King
Not a good result in the East London game yesterday - I don't think I am deluding myself entirely when I say it was a tough game. What I know for sure is that some of the bigger games that have sprung up at Gutshot recently have been much, much softer.
I'm certainly hoping that the Las Vegas cash games are easier than last night !
I'm certainly hoping that the Las Vegas cash games are easier than last night !
Wednesday 9 April 2008
Ker-Ching
Live poker-wise, tomorrow I am planning to go to Chingford (the Slick poker club, which is frequented by a good few gutshotters) to play in a £250 2/5 PLH game.
Last week, the game was £500 £5/5 PLH. That is much bigger than I normally play but I was persuaded to go and decided I would play a patient game.
Well, when I arrived the game started and we were 5-handed (hence why it hadn't started prior to my arrival). The FIRST HAND I got dealt AK on the big blind. Fold/fold to the button who made it £15. Well, patience is one thing, but I did not want to get tricky so I raised to £60 which the button called.
Flop: KK6. Bingo ! 2 hearts unfortunately but I think heads-up it is unlikely the one other player has 2 hearts as well, so I checked hoping to check-raise.
However, the button quickly checked and the turn brought the 5 of hearts. I bet £50, which was raised to £150. I may be up against the made flush but there are other possibilities and maybe he has a small flush that he can lay down to a big bet etc. etc. If he does have a flush then I can re-draw to the full house. I raise all-in.
After some pause, my opponent calls and shows A3-hearts for the nut flush. A blank on the river means that after one hand, I am down £500 !
After that, things did improve and when the game broke in spectacular style, I has reduced by losses to a little over £100.
A few words on the game-ending pot. We were 6-handed (having been 7 handed for much of the night) when a flop of 974 (2 diamonds) in a raised pot led to fireworks. 3 players saw the flop.
A tight player opened for £100, raised to £300 by next-to-act (a strong, imaginative player). The third player (a good player, but playing very loose tonight) moved in for £650. The first-to-act quickly pushed all his chips in (£950) and it was with some apparent pain that our third player eventually called for most of his chips. The pot contained about £2,700.
The first all-in player showed 56 for up/down with no flush. The original flop bettor showed KK with the King of diamonds. The other player did not show but later claimed to have black Aces.
Jd and 2d were the turn and river: runner/runner flush for the Kings.
With 2 players busted and not willing to pull up again, there was no game left. It was however still too early, really, to finish so the remaining 4 of us drove over to Clerkenwell and started a £2/5 game there which was still running on Saturday, apparently.
I doubled up early there with Q4 in the big blind: I hit top two-pair on the flop and managed to get £500 in by the turn. My 2pair was good.
2pair was the hand of the night, really, as I lost a £1400 pot with 56 - flopped top 2pair on the 456 board (two hearts). I put my opponent on a big pair but when we managed to get £700 each in on the flop, he turned out to have 74 of the wrong suit - however, an eight on the turn was enough for him. That knocked me back but I still managed to finish with enough of a win to see the whole night as a profit.
I'm hoping to make a better start tomorrow !
Last week, the game was £500 £5/5 PLH. That is much bigger than I normally play but I was persuaded to go and decided I would play a patient game.
Well, when I arrived the game started and we were 5-handed (hence why it hadn't started prior to my arrival). The FIRST HAND I got dealt AK on the big blind. Fold/fold to the button who made it £15. Well, patience is one thing, but I did not want to get tricky so I raised to £60 which the button called.
Flop: KK6. Bingo ! 2 hearts unfortunately but I think heads-up it is unlikely the one other player has 2 hearts as well, so I checked hoping to check-raise.
However, the button quickly checked and the turn brought the 5 of hearts. I bet £50, which was raised to £150. I may be up against the made flush but there are other possibilities and maybe he has a small flush that he can lay down to a big bet etc. etc. If he does have a flush then I can re-draw to the full house. I raise all-in.
After some pause, my opponent calls and shows A3-hearts for the nut flush. A blank on the river means that after one hand, I am down £500 !
After that, things did improve and when the game broke in spectacular style, I has reduced by losses to a little over £100.
A few words on the game-ending pot. We were 6-handed (having been 7 handed for much of the night) when a flop of 974 (2 diamonds) in a raised pot led to fireworks. 3 players saw the flop.
A tight player opened for £100, raised to £300 by next-to-act (a strong, imaginative player). The third player (a good player, but playing very loose tonight) moved in for £650. The first-to-act quickly pushed all his chips in (£950) and it was with some apparent pain that our third player eventually called for most of his chips. The pot contained about £2,700.
The first all-in player showed 56 for up/down with no flush. The original flop bettor showed KK with the King of diamonds. The other player did not show but later claimed to have black Aces.
Jd and 2d were the turn and river: runner/runner flush for the Kings.
With 2 players busted and not willing to pull up again, there was no game left. It was however still too early, really, to finish so the remaining 4 of us drove over to Clerkenwell and started a £2/5 game there which was still running on Saturday, apparently.
I doubled up early there with Q4 in the big blind: I hit top two-pair on the flop and managed to get £500 in by the turn. My 2pair was good.
2pair was the hand of the night, really, as I lost a £1400 pot with 56 - flopped top 2pair on the 456 board (two hearts). I put my opponent on a big pair but when we managed to get £700 each in on the flop, he turned out to have 74 of the wrong suit - however, an eight on the turn was enough for him. That knocked me back but I still managed to finish with enough of a win to see the whole night as a profit.
I'm hoping to make a better start tomorrow !
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