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Pilgrims Progress

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fandango:
Sooo where to start.. Ok let"s go, Last Wendsday night wasn"t the best preparation for WCOAP, went to bed early managed to sleep until 2 am then with a few disturbances mainly a four year old wide awake, I didn"t really sleep again..knackered.com.

So Emma did the school run to dispatch the kids, last bit of packing dog to kennels and off we went..

Arrived at hotel after stress free 3 hour drive bunged luggage in room and was off for team meat up at Frankie and Bennys.
Walked in to bar and was greeted by Lucy, Stu an Asa, Steve and Tony arrived shortly after that, few other APAT members had also frequented the establishment team Canada and Jaxie also made an appearance..
So after we had donned the obligatory tattoos badges wristbands etc, stuffed our faces and talked tactics it was off to DTD to do our business..

Now Steve had really done his homework and had calculated that because of the scoring system it was pretty much a must to try and score in the top 3 each SNG to garunteed a top 2 finish going into the HU.. No pressure then let"s do this..

So the cards where in the air for the first SNG, first hand in I had the tricky but very talented Warren Jones on my table, he raised very first hand 125, I look down KK nice start huh re pop it to 300.. Warren comes along for the ride, flop comes Q 9 *. Two spades, not a bad flop for me.. So I lead out for 450 Warren calls spade on the turn hmmm.. He leads out for 600 I call even though I have no spade in my hand I have him on perhaps AQ with  A s.. River was a brick he bet 800 I think and turns over  Js 8s so was basically a 2 k loss first hand in great start grrr.. Few hands later I tangle with Warren again I re pop his raise with QQ and he out flops me with AK hitting the K on the flop, another 2k pot slides his way.. So I have to pick my spots and play really well from there on and eventually manage to get HU which I lose to a American guy .. I Was disappointed with my HU play and missed some big opportunities to accumulate chips.. Oh well pleased with that got in the top 3 as been requested, with Asa winning his heat and the other guys all picking up good starting points we where off to a flyer.. But a long way to go..

Next it was PLO time I really enjoy PLO and was looking forward to playing these as I was reg for ME Sunday when the PLO was being played. Played really well on a tough table, Carey was beating us all up and I was lucky to turn the nut straight versus her top pair nut flush draw, never really looked back from there on and managed to win my SNG without to much fuss.. Asa was on fire and won his SNG aswell for 2 wins on the trot!! Steve also getting a 2nd and Tony a 3rd Stu a 4th we was still on top and flying.. We finished the day in a healthy position coming back for day 2 but there was still lots of points to win and to,lose before we could dream of playing HU!!

Friday was upon us after a great nights sleep!! And drove back to DTD to commence battle.. So it was back to NLH and if I was honest I can"t remember much at all about the SNG apart from the finish lol.. Basically I got HU versus Craig captain of Canada, with a slight chip lead ;D.. Ok I was 29-1 Craig had less than 1 BB.. 15 mins later I finished 2nd lol after losing every all in / flip.. Not to worry another top 3 finish as requested by the skip..Steve also getting a second and both Asa and Stu securing third we where still flying..
Back to PLO and the wheels came off our run as to speak two of our players where both first out only scoring 1 point. Stu and myself managed third and Asa was the star winning his game .. PHEW!!
So as it was pointed out it was ours to lose going into the final SNG we still held a slender lead, but the others had bunched up behind us waiting to pounce on our every failure.. Our main rivals where Italy, Portugal, Canada and Ireland, this is where the tatics really needed to be employed..
That session of poker was the most stressful painful sickening session I have ever played, I can"t begin to to describe the emotional ups n downs I / the team went through, basically at the business end of things it was just Steve and me left with the other guys running around like headless chickens totting up points telling us we need to hang on etc etc.. I even had to fold AK versus a crazy French guy something I could never invisage doing in a million years, but when your playing for your team mates it all goes out of the window, you would sacrifice a kidney if it meant you stumbling across the line..
So the immortal words from Stu, Asa and Tony was we have made it we are garunteed a top 2 finish..YES!!!! GTFI ..
I had managed to get 3 handed versus France and Frank from Ireland, sick exit hand but I didn"t care we had made it roll on the HU..

So we had actually fallen into second place behind Italy in the group standings, with Canada and Spain duelling it out for the bronze.. But did we care we had fallen into second?? NO we felt invincible it might come across sounding cocky big headed and i apologise for this, I knew it was England"s year and I knew nothing was going to spoil the party for us NOTHING!!
We sat down and Steve asked us which of us wanted to play first last etc etc,  I didn"t care just wanted to play, so Steve decided I went first Asa last and the others jammed in the other positions.. But DTD found the extra dealers and this made for an even more exciting format, we all would play simultaneous ..

We all sat down with one thing on our minds GOLD and Jangle Jangle ( Tony had coined this expression for the Bracelet)..

We had the best rail ever Emma and Lucy with homemade Pom poms cheering us on and in a flash there was a whoot of delight as Stu had won his HU in record time 1-0 to the England.. Now I had gotten off to a flyer and had my opponent down to his last 1k within no time and he had his back up to the wall, I raised his BB every hand and he had shoved on me every time, so it was a matter of time before I would find a hand to go with.. A few hands later I find JJ min raise and the inevitable shove came from my apponent, he flips over Ten 2 no real sweat and the rail erupts again we was 2 up,..

I just said after this to Emma we only need 1 more win and we have done it!! I had barely finished my sentence when there was an almighty roar from Tonys table he had won!!

Cue the celebrations the guys clambered and climbed over the tables to come and give me a group hug!! Something that will stick in my mind for ever.. What a feeling cue the cheesy football songs etc.. Now usually before I celebrate a win I always firstly shake the hand of my oponent/s but this seemed to go completely out of my head but I did shake hands a little while later with Italy, obv they where gutted but was very gracious in defeat.. Canada secured Bronze after a monumental tussle with Spain eventually with Cath winning her heads up, many congrats to Craig and his team they played an absolute blinder the two days..

To be continued...

cincicrappykid:
Nice Carl, reading it brings it all back . emotional times .

fandango:
After a few drinks/shots which i obstained from, it was time to head back to the hotel for some well deserved rest..

Woke up at 11.30am on the Saturday, and treated ourselves to breakfast in bed  ;D well what else do you expect from a World Champ jangle jangle, Steve and Tony where rumoured of having a champions breakfast in Frankies and Bennys.
Today it was HORSE, a tournament which i was really looking forward to, as i had missed Stud and i enjoy playing this both with OHL it was a must to play, only downside was that i was missing the PLO on Sunday  :(..
Maybe next season they can keep the PLO as the Monday game, also would be immense if they added a PLO/HL side event i know this would sell out in a heart beat..
As far as the HORSE went, well it started fine for me accumulated 2k pretty early on, then it seemed that the structure caught up with us all and one bad outdraw really ruined your whole tournament, played the HORSE last WCOAP and it seemed to be different? Dunno maybe it was just me but seemed to go in a flash, by no means i wish for this to sound derogitary but there where a few players on my table who just seemed to have no clue? Paul Mcguiness was on my table as was Matt Carter and could not believe some of the calls etc that was occuring, saying that i did get rather lucky in a Stud round chasing a flush to only make 2 pair  :) on 7th street.. so hey ho.. So after i exited there was no more poker that day for me, as the cash tourney had started..

Saturday evening was also the presentation of the APAT awards, i was nominated for APAT Player of the Season, a huge honor and was chuffed to bits to secure enough votes to win!! many thanks to the commity for the inclusion and many many thanks to all of those who voted for me, my trophy takes pride place along side my medals and bracelet.. Was great to see Suzy win breakthrough player of the year, David for his award of best performance/s outside of APAT, Lucy was so pleased and so very very proud.. And as for Paulie being inducted into the Hall of Fame what else can i add to what already has been said before so so deserved, his commitment has been second to none!! and seeing him fight back the odd tear on collection was a moving and awe inspiring moment i will always remember, Paulie i tip my hat to you sir may we see you for many more seasons to come..

Huge congrats to Steve for winning his second bracelet i cant wait to watch the vid when it is posted sounds exciting stuff!! After staying to rail the win it was another 12+ hour day gone by, need sleep to come refreshed for my attack on the ME Sunday..

Sunday is upon me, after sleeping like a log i felt refreshed and raring to go i was going to play my heart out i was so focused on a deep run.
So i sit down at my table and is greeted by some familiar faces, Adam Sharples, Cath Gartmann, Rita Galvin, Vik Mehta and after a bustout Peter Wigglesworth!! Holy crap what a tough table..
Vik Mehta in my opinion is one of the strongest players amongst the APAT community, a awesome player who i believe is a nailed on cert for a national title one season..
Adam got of to a flying start and we clashed many times in the early stages, with Adam getting the better of me on the whole, it was only a complete cooler that crippled Adam when he run his Kings into Aces and never really managed to rebuild his stack above the starting 15k..
Rita was very very unlucky just wasnt her day, she did nothing wrong in my eyes just got called down after milking a guy who had JT on a J high flop, her betting repped to me a large pair, and on showdown i announced she must have KK, indeed she had shame the guy hit the 10 on the river, it left her with a bowl of rice  :(.. on a side note it kinda makes me chuckle when after i announced Rita had KK, the villain then proceeds to blurt out, "yeah i put you on an overpair aswell".. ok good read so why keep calling when Rita was betting overpot size bets basically for your whole stack?
Then this hand played out between me and Peter, Pete had been very active peeling off many flops and C betting leading out etc etc.. I believe he had limped early and i found  Ad Qh mid position and raised 4xBB, cant remember levels was fairly early on.. Flop came  Kd Qd 7d so Peter leads out a pot size bet i call turn was a blank, so Pete then bets large again probably just under pot.. Now im in a tough position has he flopped the flush? and protecting the board? or is he betting K and protecting board? now i think long and hard, and eventually after about 3 mins Pete calls the clock on me.. Now i think this was a mistake not because of sour grapes etc, i think he wanted me to fold so before the floor even made it to the table i called.. River was  Ac making me 2 pair, ok doesnt really change much in fact it couldnt of made him broadway? .. So then he overbets the river 9,800!! basically leaving me with 1,300 chips if im wrong if i call.. So after another long hard thought i decided that he didnt have the flush it just didnt make sense to me the way he was betting from the flop, so if he had flopped a set or rivered a straight so be it nh etc etc.. Call... he announces 1 pair and doesnt show as i announce 2 pair, and a huge pot slides over to me.. Very next hand in a 4 way pot i double him back up he flops straight i flop 2 pair  ;D i put him on a tilt flush draw and was wrong hey ho i was nicely chipped up..
Our table didnt break all day, and had numerous players join and exit through out the day, i had continued to chip up nicely and with my stack was able to get lets say a little "adventourous" one of the players who had joined our table was pretty active from the start but at the same time willing to fold to a raise, we had played a few pots previous and i think i must of won 90% of them from him..
Then this happened, blinds where 300/600 with antes he raised from UTG 2,400 everyone fold to me in the HJ.. i look down at  8s 4s so decide to steal and make it 6,100, it works and after a shake of the head he releases his hand, i show the bluff (was setting up for a move prehaps later if i had the goods).. So very next hand it folds to me on the button and i look down at  Ah Kd and proceed to raise the same guys BB  :) perfect he puts in a big re raise, great hes making a tilt move!! i ship he instant calls and flips over  Ac A s lol ooops flop comes K high all red turn is a heart so he sweats any K or any Heart, river is red but wrong shape  :( so all my hard work has been frittered away as a 90k+ pot moves his way.
Just to add to my pain after Alan Storey departed from my left his seat was filled with no other than Tod Wood!! great..
Basically i was card dead from there on and was dying a slow and painful poker death, just before the last few hands of the day i moved all in with 88 and was racing v KQ managed to run out with quads lol but still only had 10 bigs to play, oh well im gonna shove any picture card, PP in the next ten mins i have always got the HU to play on Monday.. well before i could do it after some slow and painful hands from the rest of the table Day had finished!! and i was coming back with 19,800 chips around 5 BB.. Oh well the dream of the hatrick is still on but only if i run incredible again on Sunday, bagged up my poultry amount and made it back to hotel for more sleep..

Woke up Monday checked out of hotel and went for lunch at the Mexican opposite F+Bs, stuffed myself with too much garlic bread  ;D must of stunk to high heaven, this could work for my favour lol..
Now it being April fools day when i looked on forum thread and saw that all 64 remaining players had got paid i thought it was a joke!!.. but no on chatting with Des it was correct a decision that DTD and he had made yippie i had cashed  :)
Now could i spin my 19k up and make a run or would i bust and join the HU? time will tell it was going to be messy thats for sure  :).. First hand in lady to my left doubled up with AA v TT nothing much strange you may think? but if rumours where correct i belive she doubled up last hand of day1 with AA MBN lol..
So hadnt played with any of the players on my table before, had Dan Williams to my right and knew he had a good game, the rest i hadnt a clue?  not that it really mattered i had just one move and one move only ALL IN!!
First all in i picked up the blinds and antes with KT after everyone folded, and was up to the giddy heights of 24k!!.. then next it was blind on blind i shoved with the mighty J2 ::) and managed to bink the 2 on turn to beat A6..Wiii above 50k..
Two hands later get dealt AA now because i had shoved every hand i decided to do the same hoping for a call maybe a x3 raise would of looked to strong? anyhows everyone had folded and just picked up blinds and antes again
So was at my highest chip count of whole tournament 60k!! average was 135k one more time and i was in with a chance..Then the hand that ended the dream occured basically it was a re run of a early situation and was folded around to me in the sb, i look down at K2 of clubs and ship all in BB snaps with QJ he had 46k behind so was standard call, flop came K*j turn J river blank so i was felted and running on fumes.. made it almost another orbit and we got the rest in blind on blind he had KT i had K6 we both flopped our kickers but i couldnt suck a 2 outer and i was gone as my hatrick dream too.. £225 was banked -10% i had swapped so i cant complain had a profitable series..
Said my goodbyes to all that where left behind and drove back to silly Suffolk...

Well thats the end of season 6.. WOW an unbelievable season for me, if anyone would of ever said i would win 1 National title and Gold medal in all the years i play APAT events i would of snapped their arms off!! So as you can imagine i still need pinching every now and then when i cast my eyes on the shelf with my medals etc on  :o :o

Have to say a huge huge thankyou to Des, Leigh, Matt all the others Ian,Paulie Ger Phil etc etc that makes APAT the success it is and of course the members who are in a league of their own..
Bring on Season 7 and more fun events and meet ups with my special APAT freinds.. :)

Will be playing the Southend leg of the GPS in August really looking forward to this, and i may venture into my first staking request, will announce nearer the date once im registered, getting excited already....

Enough Pilgrim ramble for now and eagerly await the season7 announcement..

fandango:


Got Lucy around showing me the wonders of how a computer works!!.. Who knew that you could do all these clever things other than playing poker and sending emails and posting rubbish jokes on FB!!

So this is my first ever image i have posted on the forum  ;D

mousebob:
That"s a very fine collection of cufflinks you"ve got there.
N1  ;D

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