Post by: monkeyman on May 30, 2008, 14:40:18 PM
To start things off, a little bit of background. I"m primarily an internet player. Norfolk is a great place to live if you like unspoilt countryside and inbreeding but is next to useless if live freezeouts float your boat. Although I"ve played in this season"s APAT regionals, 3 APAT nationals (luton last year, Cardiff and Edinburgh this year) and been to Las Vegas twice live poker is at a premium in my part of the world. I"ve got a rotating list of 12 poker sites on my computer the most frequently used of which are Full Tilt and Betfair. If you are at a table with a character call "Simonthemonkey" or an abbreviation of this, the chances are its me. I also masquerade as "Whatafish" on Virgin, "Imafish" on Sky and "Idrivedractors" on Bluesquare.
I"ll start things off with a short lesson on playing discipline. Recently, Chris Ferguson turned no money at all into $10000 and his intention was to demonstrate the importance of bankroll management. I"m not personally acquainted with the guy (and as an atheist I don"t believe he exists, but I digress) but I suspect that at no point during his challenge did he stumble home drunk at 2.30am on a saturday morning after a night clubbing, switch on his computer and start to play 5 card draw for the first time ever without knowing the rules of the game.
Post by: APAT on May 30, 2008, 15:05:37 PM
Post by: Mikeyboy9361 on May 30, 2008, 15:12:23 PM
Post by: nosey-p on May 30, 2008, 15:41:22 PM
Post by: monkeyman on May 30, 2008, 15:51:37 PM
Post by: Mayfair on May 31, 2008, 09:08:54 AM
In my mind Harrahs have a gold bracelet with my name on and Victoria Coren is going to bombard we with marriage proposals sometime soon.
Maybe marriage proposals maybe taking it a bit far but she may ask you to be in her next *adult* movie. :o
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_More%2C_with_Feeling_%28book%29 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_More%2C_with_Feeling_%28book%29)
GL with VC and the bracelet though.
--
Mayfa1r
Post by: monkeyman on May 31, 2008, 10:46:44 AM
One of my many faults as a poker player is poor game selection. I tend to decide what to play on the spur of the moment and I"m inevitably influenced by what happened in my last session. As I warm-up, I decided to start with a little cash action and after 30 minutes playing 5c/10 NL holdem I was an epic 79 cents in profit. Buoyed by my success, I decided to go looking for Gus Hansen or John Juanda on the Full Tilt cash tables but my impressive return on investment had sent them packing. I"ve made a few quid this year on FT"s hold em/omaha split sit and gos largely by concentrating on playing the omaha hands. I can"t pretend I"m an omaha expert, but there are a lot of players out there who play it apallingly, so given that I have a modest income, I don"t mind grinding out a few quid by playing people who are even less clued-up than me. Just for a change, I decided to have a go at playing omaha only SNGs on Betfair. The thinking behind this is that I used to play a lot of hold em SNGs on the site and the standard was poor so I assumed the omaha standard at the same buy-in would be equally bad. My assumption was correct and despite making a pig"s ear of a couple of hands, I managed a couple of second places which gave me big $16 profit. All I need to do now is work out how many nights I need to repeat this feat before I can pay off the mortgage.
Post by: Mr Tubbs on May 31, 2008, 14:05:56 PM
Post by: monkeyman on May 31, 2008, 14:54:26 PM
Top read Monkeyman
Thanks
Post by: monkeyman on June 01, 2008, 10:05:16 AM
This time, he checked, I bet and he reraised me all in. I had a tricky decision to make, as I had to consider that he had been slowplaying an overpair to the board and if I got my read wrong, I was out. I decided to call as I felt he was probably playing overcards and trying to bully me. Thankfully I was right and he turned over A Q, doubling me up. For the first half of the third hour I stumbled along with around 10000 chips then 2 hands happened within 5 minutes which saw me depart. I had A
7 suited 2 before the button when everyone folded to me and I decided to make a standard raise. The 2 players to my left folded, the small blind went all in and the big blind folded. I called the shove as I thought he could have been making the move with a wide range of hands some of which I would have been a favourite against. He turned over 55 which held up leaving me with about 5000 chips. Shortly after I had A Q in mid position, shoved, got called and failed to catch a card meaning I lost to my opponents 44 and was out of the tournament.
As I mentioned further up this page, this tournament illustrates 2 things which have haunted me on a regular basis recently. Firstly the number of times I"ve been eliminated in the 3rd hour of deepstack tournaments. In the APAT online events, if I"d managed to convert all my penultimate table finishes into final table, point-scoring ones, I"d be leading the national rankings (somehow I"m still not too far off the pace). If I make a continuation bet and get reraised, I call way too often and put my tournament life in peril. Ho hum, I"m sure I"ll learn one day
Post by: monkeyman on June 02, 2008, 17:59:54 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 03, 2008, 20:05:48 PM
Post by: APAT on June 03, 2008, 21:01:05 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 04, 2008, 19:23:23 PM
My thoughts towards Full Tilt are much like being in the honeymoon period at the start of a relationship. You feel like you"re spending your time with the best you can get, you"re not sure what the future holds but today feels good.
Betfair is the reliable friend. The relationship is purely platonic, you know you"re never going to get excited but you go back to them on a regular basis because you know you"ll get plenty in return.
Pokerstars is the stunner who you"ve got absolutely no chance with. Looks great, seems to have plenty to offer and you"ve had plenty of cracks at it in the past, but ultimately you know you know you"re never going to have much of a return for your efforts.
Partypoker is the character of loose virtue you return to every now and again when you feel a bit naughty. You know it feels wrong, you know you"ll probably end up frustrated, but you"ve had some great fun in the past and you occasionally give it another go just in case you get a major result.
If I was to try and think of myself in similar terms, I would be the poker-playing equivalent of a cheap whore; will normally try anything if I think there"s an easy few quid in it. ("You want a good time guvnor?" You do, Ok what do you fancy?" "You want to what? Play Razz? Sorry, I don"t do funny stuff"
Post by: Roscopiko on June 04, 2008, 19:51:02 PM
Post by: APAT on June 04, 2008, 22:15:00 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 04, 2008, 22:23:15 PM
Great post.....worrying, but great nonetheless...
If you think that"s worrying, be grateful that I didn"t include Blue Square in my summary! If there are any plans for APAT to be sponsored by any of the sites I"ve mentioned in the future, feeling free to retrospectively edit the post and insert the name of a competitor. See, I told you I"m easily bought ;D
Post by: monkeyman on June 05, 2008, 19:52:26 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 05, 2008, 21:04:16 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 05, 2008, 22:10:04 PM
Post by: mal666 on June 05, 2008, 22:27:51 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 05, 2008, 23:15:36 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 05, 2008, 23:28:54 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 06, 2008, 13:08:10 PM
I had pocket nines in the big blind, Rupinder Bedi to my left min raised with KJ suited, everyone else folded, I shoved and Rupionder called then hit a straight.
When deciding to shove, I considered a number of factors (1) what did I think my opponent have (2) considering (1) what was my chance of success (3) What were the benefits if I won (4) what was the downside if I lost.
To set the scene a little further, the final table had about 7 stacks of about 20000 to 25000 chips, 1 in the mid 30000s and 2 higher.
My first consideration was what did my opponent have? Most people assume that a minimum raise under the gun represents considerable strength, probably aces.kings or ace/king. Having played against Rupinder online before, I thought he"d be aware of this and was likely to make a move with a marginal hand safe in the knowledge that he could abort mission if one of the big stacks shoved. I thought that he would have placed a larger bet and probably gone all in with a larger pair so discounted this immediately. The hands I thought he had were K/Q, K/j, K/10 or Q/J so I was confident I had the best hand.
I then considered what I was trying to gain by my actions and this was largely shaped by the make up of the table. As my opponents included the likes of Simon Auckland,Steve Coope and Linda Iwaniak who are all prominent in the national rankings this also affected my thinking as my total of 45 points is behind the leaders but gives me a chance if I get on a roll from hereon in. I thought my only option was to play for the win to try and clawback some of the deficit on those above me. Therefore I felt that raising all in was my only serious option.
If we were playing in the final tournament of the season with the same players and same chipstacks but i needed to only gain one or two points to secure top spot in the rankings I would probably have folded.
Post by: hi_am_chris on June 06, 2008, 13:22:07 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 06, 2008, 14:30:56 PM
you didnt play it wrong i dont think, u couldnt ever fold so its between flat calling and reraising, if youd flat called George was going nowhere and would have taken it on the flop, reraising caused george to make a pretty loose call as it was still a lot for him to call off imo
Fair comment. Given that I thought he didn"t have a premium hand I"d have shoved in almost all circumstances. The only time I wouldn"t have done was if I needed to guarantee a small number of points and I felt other people were likely to be eliminated to guarantee me 8th or 9th as opposed to tenth.
I was pretty happy with my play in this hand and throughout the tournament, but I"m annoyed that my brain exited stage left for the 15 minutes after the first break. I think that"s where I blew my chances of a higher finish.
Post by: Santino67 on June 06, 2008, 16:24:29 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 06, 2008, 19:14:18 PM
What was your chip count in comparison to theirs & blinds?
I was on around 20000 chips, my opponent in this hand probably had me covered by about 4000, there were 5 other stacks of similar size, 1 30000-35000 ish and 2 bigger. If my memory serves me correctly, this happened 1st level after the 3rd break in which case the blinds would have been 800-1600.
Post by: monkeyman on June 07, 2008, 11:58:58 AM
What"s helping me come to deal with my fiery side is my day job. When I"m not daydreaming about being interviewed on ESPN with a large pile of cash in front of me, I work in Norfolk County Council"s call centre. Some of the enquiries I take are mundane, but we are the first port of call for Social Services and this is what I"ve been using to try and help modify my less desirable side. On a daily basis, I talk to/about elderly people who live alone but can"t wash/dress/cook for themselves, people with terminal illnesses and callers wanting to report allegations of child abuse. It just seems petty to complain about losing a few quid on the turn of an animated card in view of some of the people I have to speak to each day.
I"ve not mentioned the above to try and gain sympathy or to suggest there is a halo hovering above my head, merely to try and put my poker playing in some kind of perspective. Hopefully, the next time I"m tempted to tell a bad beat story or drop an F-bomb, I"ll remember that in the grand scheme of things, it really doesn"t matter at all.
Post by: monkeyman on June 07, 2008, 20:07:28 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 07, 2008, 21:07:00 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 07, 2008, 22:09:16 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 07, 2008, 23:06:34 PM
Post by: Bainn on June 07, 2008, 23:11:39 PM
Out on penultimate table again. Jeeze, how many times is that? At least I didn"t commit any fowl ups for once, which is a first
Er, good game....am I forgiven ?
Post by: monkeyman on June 08, 2008, 07:28:52 AM
Out on penultimate table again. Jeeze, how many times is that? At least I didn"t commit any fowl ups for once, which is a first
Er, good game....am I forgiven ?
Err, have to think about this one......................yes, go on then you are
Post by: Bainn on June 08, 2008, 13:29:30 PM
Out on penultimate table again. Jeeze, how many times is that? At least I didn"t commit any fowl ups for once, which is a first
Er, good game....am I forgiven ?
Err, have to think about this one......................yes, go on then you are
Phew......I could not live with the guilt........
Post by: monkeyman on June 09, 2008, 23:43:51 PM
You may be surprised to learn I was spectating not playing in this hand! :o
Post by: monkeyman on June 10, 2008, 23:57:35 PM
Tonight"s online action was in Full Tilt"s $11 combined Hold'em/Omaha Tourney. I"ve played a lot of split sit and gos on the same site and have done well mainly by playing as few Hold'em hands as possible and piling the chips in when I"ve got a good draw with an Omaha hand. Tonight I finished 6th of 69 despite leading and having double the chips of the 2nd place player when there were only 12 left. Twice I lost hands by putting people all in on after the flop on an Omaha hand when I held an open-ended straight draw and nut-flush draw. Ho hum, maybe next time.
Post by: Roscopiko on June 11, 2008, 08:51:34 AM
Post by: monkeyman on June 13, 2008, 19:27:16 PM
On the important issue of the day, I can"t believe that the contest for the commercial gold mine that is being named "Official biscuit of APAT" is being fought out by Ginger Nuts and, I can hardly say this, Bourbons. People, have you no shame? The fact that Jammy Dodgers have had hardly a mention in this fiercely-fought debate brings shame upon us all. Tut, tut
Post by: Roscopiko on June 13, 2008, 19:29:19 PM
Post by: APAT on June 13, 2008, 19:56:55 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 13, 2008, 22:00:47 PM
Nice post monkey. I particularly like the "official biscuit" angle and I"m calculating sponsorship values as I write. I think this has to be pitched to biscuit royalty...hob nobs.
If Bain reads that bit about hob nobs being biscuit royalty, I fear blood will be shed :D
Post by: monkeyman on June 13, 2008, 22:11:03 PM
You cant fool me monkeyman - just cos u are playing PLO on Betfair doesnt mean your not playing lol
Guilty as charged. Have pity on me as, deep breath, I am a poker addict and I have a problem. Admitting my difficulty was the first part of the 12 step program, part 2 was to play short sessions on cash tables. In some ways you could say that playing cash omaha on Betfair is my equivalent of methadone, I need a fix of some sort but its not the real thing.
Post by: mal666 on June 13, 2008, 22:39:40 PM
Forgive me father for I have sinned. I have committed the heinous crime of not spending 4 hours each night typing "FFS" into my messagebox, but have actually forsaken poker altogether some evenings to watch football. I feel dirty just saying it.
On the important issue of the day, I can"t believe that the contest for the commercial gold mine that is being named "Official biscuit of APAT" is being fought out by Ginger Nuts and, I can hardly say this, Bourbons. People, have you no shame? The fact that Jammy Dodgers have had hardly a mention in this fiercely-fought debate brings shame upon us all. Tut, tut
please dont use the bourbons name in vain,
and jammy dodgers jesus christ no contest.
Post by: monkeyman on June 13, 2008, 23:01:50 PM
Forgive me father for I have sinned. I have committed the heinous crime of not spending 4 hours each night typing "FFS" into my messagebox, but have actually forsaken poker altogether some evenings to watch football. I feel dirty just saying it.
On the important issue of the day, I can"t believe that the contest for the commercial gold mine that is being named "Official biscuit of APAT" is being fought out by Ginger Nuts and, I can hardly say this, Bourbons. People, have you no shame? The fact that Jammy Dodgers have had hardly a mention in this fiercely-fought debate brings shame upon us all. Tut, tut
please dont use the bourbons name in vain,
and jammy dodgers jesus christ no contest.
Them"s fighting words
Post by: monkeyman on June 14, 2008, 14:47:14 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 15, 2008, 19:48:05 PM
1) Monkeyman"s guide to crushing internet tournaments. Chapters include "Built up a chip lead? Call any bet - you"ve got them covered", "Sending emails as an aid to concentration", "Attempting bluffs that Stevie Wonder would see" and "The positive side of playing after a trip to the pub"
2) Swearing for Dummies. Are you fed up of typing "FFS" when some semi-evolved gimp ruins several hours of perfect play by hitting a 1 outer? With the aid of this book you could be cussing like a tramp after a crate of Special Brew and prove that foul language is both big and clever.
3) "Cash Razz - the way to riches"
In addition, I have a limited supply of DVDs of a pilot show that Channel 4 recorded which was to have revolutionised how poker is perceived in this country. "Bad Beat Big Brother" was intended to run for 12 weeks. The premise for the show was to see how 12 poker players would behave locked in a house cut off from the outside world without access to a deck of cards or internet connection. However, after an hour of tales about having aces cracked, Jesse May rang screaming from the commentary booth shouting "Noooooooooo, not even I can make this interesting" and the project was abandoned.
Post by: monkeyman on June 18, 2008, 22:27:45 PM
If any other sites want a favourable mention here, just let me know. I"ll take out a second mortgage and play at the nosebleed-level cash tables, knowing that I"m bound to win, in exchange for as much corporate arse-kissing as you"d like. Lets face it, if a fish like me is making money, then internet poker is clearly fixed. ;D
Incidentally, if anyone from Full Tilt is reading this and would like to return to the coveted position of "Monkeyman"s favourite poker site", cash payments are accepted
Post by: monkeyman on June 19, 2008, 18:17:00 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 19, 2008, 21:03:15 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 19, 2008, 21:56:08 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 20, 2008, 07:21:48 AM
Note to self - you aint taking defeat half as well as you think you do.
Post by: Mikeyboy9361 on June 20, 2008, 08:46:27 AM
If you quit thats one less character on Thursday, don"t do it!
Post by: monkeyman on June 20, 2008, 11:08:06 AM
Don"t do it Monkey!! S**t happens to all of us who play this stupid game, but we love it really.
If you quit thats one less character on Thursday, don"t do it!
Thanks for that reply. I probably will play again on saturday but there is still a serious chance it might be my last go if things go base over apex again. I suppose my annoyance could arise from the fact that I"ve not scored any points for a while and I"d set my heart on making a serious effort to top the rankings. If I go back over the season as a whole, the perverse thing is that when I"ve played my best poker, things just haven"t worked out. I"ve made 5 final tables and to be honest, on each occasion its owed more to hitting some monster hands at the right time rather than because I"ve been at the top of my game. Even allowing for the unique friendly banter that comes out in APAt tourneys, I"m just not sure I want to enter a tournament where I feel that the end result doesn"t seem to have any relationship to how i"ve performed. In addition, I"ve been doing well on omaha cash tables recently, so I feel more inclined to stick with that
Post by: Roscopiko on June 20, 2008, 11:14:45 AM
Its just a rut mate that we all go through where you get them in ahead but suck out, I played perfect poker last night other than getting my chips in behind on 3 out of 5 occasions and only finished 14th, wheres the justice. ;D
Otherwise I"ll see on the Omaha tables.
GL at the tables either way!!
Post by: monkeyman on June 20, 2008, 11:58:53 AM
Get yourself on there on Sat and just play to enjoy it, without the pressure of trying to get points. I"m not in so you"ll have to find someone else to double you up though mind.
Its just a rut mate that we all go through where you get them in ahead but suck out, I played perfect poker last night other than getting my chips in behind on 3 out of 5 occasions and only finished 14th, wheres the justice. ;D
Otherwise I"ll see on the Omaha tables.
GL at the tables either way!!
You"ll certainly still see me at the omaha tables on Betfair. If you ever run into "Sthemonkey" on either Pokerstars or Partypoker thats me too
Post by: monkeyman on June 20, 2008, 12:04:10 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 21, 2008, 09:21:08 AM
Post by: monkeyman on June 21, 2008, 17:57:20 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 21, 2008, 19:58:59 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 21, 2008, 21:05:19 PM
No sign of the volatile side of my temperament yet, I wonder how long that will continue.
Post by: Bainn on June 21, 2008, 21:10:13 PM
Post by: Swinebag on June 21, 2008, 21:13:23 PM
Up to 8215 at the first break and there were 2 key hands. One where I flopped a straight + open ended straight-flush draw but ended with a split pot then another with pocket queens that became trips on the flop, finished as a full house and got called by Swinebag who held AK (There was an ace on the flop).
No sign of the volatile side of my temperament yet, I wonder how long that will continue.
I am a pay off donk nut! :-[
Post by: APAT on June 21, 2008, 21:26:57 PM
I see Des is off his medication again..........
???
Post by: Bainn on June 21, 2008, 21:38:21 PM
I see Des is off his medication again..........
???
Hob Nob"s indeed.....tsk
Post by: monkeyman on June 21, 2008, 22:08:21 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 21, 2008, 22:18:30 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 22, 2008, 10:12:36 AM
I"ve been playing for 3 years and started on the free SNGs on Partypoker. I quickly progressed onto the real money version and since then, allowing for occasional dalliances with every other poker variant, I"ve been almost exclusively a no-limit hold"em tournament player. Recently I"ve been dabbling with cash pot-limit omaha with success. I"ve found Betfair"s tables to be very soft, although there seems to be a very small pool of people who play there and because at the moment I"ll only hang around if I"m convinced nobody is very clued-up on the game, any sign of names that I recognise as multitabling regulars sees me running for the hills. I"ve tried Full Tilt"s tables, but most of the players I"ve encountered are nutters and I"ve got tired of every player who loses a pot telling the winner to perform a sexual act with a close relation. At the moment, Pokerstars omaha tables are my first choice of game and I now find myself sitting down in front of my computer working out how long I want to play for, rather than looking through all 12 poker sites on my PC trying to find out when the next deepstack hold"em tourney is starting. Right now, I seem to be primarily a cash player although given my track record, I"ll probably change my mind by this time next week
Post by: Swinebag on June 22, 2008, 11:56:48 AM
Post by: monkeyman on June 22, 2008, 13:17:01 PM
Do you use poker tracker and if so does it work for omaha?
I"m a bit behind the times and I don"t use any tracking or evaluation sites. I rely solely on a "suck it and see" approach.
The advantage I"ve found with playing omaha is that a lot of people pay scant regard to basics like how important position is ( even more so than with hold"em), and the relationship between each of the 4 cards dealt. There doesn"t seem to be enough players on any of the european only sites to make serious money long term, so if I want to have a real stab at this, I probably will have to concentrate on Pokerstars/Partypoker/Full Tilt.
Post by: monkeyman on June 25, 2008, 08:58:58 AM
I"ve also booked my hotel and train tickets for The Vic in August. I initially planned on playing the main event and all the side events if I can get in, but I"m now thinking about not playing for a day or two to allow me to do all the tourist stuff. I"m a godawful stud player so this is the event I"m most likely to drop, although given my record in APAT hold"em tournaments I"m likely to have sunday free as well!
Post by: monkeyman on June 25, 2008, 18:39:28 PM
This change in habits seems to have some staying power. I"ve not played a single hand of Hold'em since last saturday and the bankroll is going very nicely. I put a tiny deposit in my Pokerstars account last week and I"ve trebled that already. I tend to play short, sharp sessions then move to another site. I"m currently flitting between Pokerstars,Betfair and Blue Square with the first mentioned seeing most playing time. I"ve also played a couple of small omaha tournaments on Dusk till Dawn, but for some reason my play in these has been rancid whilst I can"t do much wrong with my cash play. Tournaments, pah! Who needs them?
I"ve also booked my hotel and train tickets for The Vic in August. I initially planned on playing the main event and all the side events if I can get in, but I"m now thinking about not playing for a day or two to allow me to do all the tourist stuff. I"m a godawful stud player so this is the event I"m most likely to drop, although given my record in APAT hold"em tournaments I"m likely to have sunday free as well!
I knew it wouldn"t last. Ignore the above, I"m going to have to play a few holdem tourneys for the sake of my sanity. I the space of 15 minutes I"ve just lost 3 pots after flopping a full house then seeing an opponent hit a bigger full house on the river. Poker sucks
Post by: tumblet on June 25, 2008, 18:49:04 PM
Poker sucks
:o
Post by: monkeyman on June 26, 2008, 21:06:35 PM
A regular theme of my ramblings over the last few weeks is how badly I take defeat. Whether its a bad beat or incompetent play on my part, my exit from a significant proportion of the tournaments I play is the cue for all my toys to be thrown from the pram. I"ve had a couple of conversations this week which have struck a chord. A couple of days ago someone asked me "What scares you?". My instinctive response was "Approaching 40, living alone in a 1 bedroom flat and working in a call centre". A little later, the same person asked whether I thought I saw playing poker as my lottery ticket out of this. Instantly, the latter comment struck a chord and perhaps, gave me an answer as to why I sometimes take things way too seriously. One of my earliest entries in this blog mentioned how I spend time daydreaming about being interviewed on ESPN after collecting my gold bracelet. Put this together with my conversations this week and the answer is there; every time I enter a tournament of any description, rather than just enjoying it for what it is, i"ve seen it as the start of the process which will lead me the big house in the country, the flash car and the limitless, spur of the moment, trips to far-flung places. Defeat means a return to planet earth and getting up again the next day to answer questions about what time the local waste tip opens.
I"m not saying I"ll never again type "FFS" or have a whinge but things seem a little clearer now. If anyone reading this ever encounters me, either online or live, whining, you have my permission to tell me to grow up and stop being a prat. One of my favourite songs is "Knock me down" by the Red Hot Chilli peppers which was written about the drug-caused death of their first guitarist. Despite the real meaning of the song, the chorus seems to reinforce some of my recent lessons "If you see me getting by, if you see me getting high, knock me down, I"m not bigger than life"
Post by: monkeyman on June 28, 2008, 22:21:32 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 29, 2008, 23:05:32 PM
Her - "I"ve got someone coming to view my house tomorrow, I"m busy tuesday and wednesday so what about thursday?"
Me - "I"m playing poker"
Her - "Ok. how about friday?"
Me - "I"m playing poker"
Her - "Saturday?"
Me - "Err..............I"m.......................playing poker"
As she doesn"t seem to share my interest in gambling, Las Vegas, Jammie Dodgers or Finnish heavy metal bands, I"m sure Relate would advise her to look elsewhere. Nevertheless, she still appears to be interested and I might add she doesn"t own either a white stick or Golden Retriever.
Before any of you get any funny ideas, yes I live in Norfolk, but no, she"s not a relation. However, even the roadsigns on the A11 and A47 now say "Welcome to Norfolk - home of the stereotype" so you will not be surprised to learn that she comes from a farming family.
Post by: monkeyman on July 03, 2008, 18:17:17 PM
This is where season 2 starts. Tonight"s game is mine, all mine! Bring it on
Post by: monkeyman on July 03, 2008, 19:58:19 PM
Post by: monkeyman on July 03, 2008, 21:04:18 PM
Post by: monkeyman on July 03, 2008, 22:08:23 PM
Post by: monkeyman on July 03, 2008, 22:17:32 PM
Post by: Bodddders on July 03, 2008, 22:39:56 PM
Post by: monkeyman on July 03, 2008, 22:43:37 PM
Post by: monkeyman on July 05, 2008, 10:30:55 AM
Seat 1 - Neil "Speed King" Lambeth, turbo game specialist and a man whose bets are determined by the colour of the chips his hands can reach easiest. Once voted Cardplayer"s "Player most likely to call a bet because he hasn"t been involved in the last 3 hands"
Seat 2 - Sandra "Standard Raise" Stringer, APAT regional points scorer and voted "Player most likely to threaten to disembowel an opponent for trying a move not described in Harrington on Hold'em"
Seat 3 - Simon "Idrivetractors" Alcock, APAT eastern region runner-up and,proving that miracles do happen, resident in the national top 10 for several months. Voted "player most likely to get too big for his boots, try a farcicallly fanciful bluff and get caught out"
Seat 4 - Steve "Prince of Spawn" Stringer,APAT eastern region champion and who recently cashed at the Irish Open. Voted "player most like to be mistaken for Ruud Van Nistelroy and/or Gianfranco Zola"
Seat 5 - Andrew "No ace,no bet" Alcock a player whose success in previous events has been on a par with that enjoyed by Bernard Manning when he performed a charity gig for the Anti Nazi League. Voted "Player most likely to try and fold his way into the money"
Seat 6 - Stuart "Mr Happy" Alcock, APAT regional points scorer. Recently given an MBE for "Services to bad beat and cold deck stories".
Due to time constraints, only 3 hands made the final edit and the first of these was the first elimination. "Mr happy" raises and is called by "Prince of spawn". The flop comes ace high and all the chips end in the middle. "Happy" shows pocket aces,now trips and "Spawn" has a flush draw, which needless to say hits. For the rest of the night, the room is filled with the mantra "That"s been happening to me all year,that"s been happening to me all year"
The next notable came came with "standard raise" ,err, standard raising only to be reraised by "speed king". A series of reraises followed and both players got all their chips in. When the cards were flipped over, the audience were torn between gasping and laughter as "speed king" revealed 4h 7c. When he failed to hit and he was eliminated, his explantion for his apparently reckless move was "I was bored".
The hand that settled the event was conclusive proof that live poker is rigged. "Idrivetractors" raised and was called by "standard raise". The flop came queen high, "Idrivetractors" pushed all in and was called. "Tractors" flipped over queen/ten and "standard" displayed queen/two. The crowd erupted when, despite the fact that "Tractors" was dealing at the time, he dealt a two on the river, the dozy muppett. After the show had been recorded, lawyers representing "standard" contacted the broadcasters asking them to point out that the final two players had been involved in two earliers pots where the runner-up had outdrawn the winner.
Post by: monkeyman on July 05, 2008, 19:54:40 PM
1) The Wildhearts - "Top of The World"
2) The Levellers - "Last Man Alive"
3) Skunk Anansie - "I Can Dream"
Last but not least, the song that I think should become the official APAT anthem (4) Korpiklaani - "Happy Little Boozer"
Post by: mal666 on July 05, 2008, 20:44:33 PM
Post by: monkeyman on July 05, 2008, 21:06:40 PM
Post by: monkeyman on July 05, 2008, 21:50:07 PM
Post by: monkeyman on July 06, 2008, 07:16:12 AM
have you heard the DONK song?
Thank you Mal for your usual kind words of support
Post by: Bad hat lady on July 07, 2008, 20:55:13 PM
Post by: Roscopiko on July 07, 2008, 20:56:59 PM
Re your review of the Norfolk WSOP event. I would like to point out that as you managed to double up against me twice to scrape into the heads up I don"t look at the final hand as having rivered you, more of naughty little chips returning home to Mama. Also, anyone who takes a family game seriously enough to turn up in a baseball hat doesn"t deserve to win!
This is my post of the year, lmao
Post by: Swinebag on July 07, 2008, 21:38:43 PM
Re your review of the Norfolk WSOP event. I would like to point out that as you managed to double up against me twice to scrape into the heads up I don"t look at the final hand as having rivered you, more of naughty little chips returning home to Mama. Also, anyone who takes a family game seriously enough to turn up in a baseball hat doesn"t deserve to win!
This is my post of the year, lmao
certainly debut post of the year, without question ;D
Post by: monkeyman on July 07, 2008, 23:29:12 PM
Re your review of the Norfolk WSOP event. I would like to point out that as you managed to double up against me twice to scrape into the heads up I don"t look at the final hand as having rivered you, more of naughty little chips returning home to Mama. Also, anyone who takes a family game seriously enough to turn up in a baseball hat doesn"t deserve to win!
Well blog readers, I have a tale to tell. Bad hat Lady is my older sister, Sandra Stringer. "Bad hat lady", as the name suggests, has form where iffy headgear is concerned. On the first occasion she joined in our homegame she sat down with a bag contain several items of headgear you would only normally see on someone who was on a care in the community program. Woolly hats and baseball caps were the saner items on display. A set of Greg Raymer style lizard shades put in appearance as did one of those sets of glasses you get from joke shops with the "eyes" that bounce out on springs. The highlight of the evening in question was the funniest thing I have yet seen or am ever likely to see around a poker table. I"ve seen some odd things on my tables at APAT nationals; Bainn"s table banter at Luton last year, a player getting outplayed by an empty chair at Cardiff and most bizarre of all, a poker player dislocating his kneecap whilst sat at the table in Edinburgh. Nothing, however, compares to Bad Hat Lady"s top comedy moment. One of her pieces of headgear was a Biggles style flying helmet accompanied by some flying goggles. The idea was that every time she entered a pot, she would yell "Going in" and pull down the goggles. However, at one point, the elastic snapped, flew to the right and hit a fellow player in the eye. Rather than express any concern for the injured party, everyone else in the room collapsed in fits and play had to be suspended for several minutes whilst sanity was restored.
Post by: ibis on July 08, 2008, 13:20:01 PM
"Bad hat lady", as the name suggests, has form where iffy headgear is concerned.
I"d like to point out the I"ve been getting grief every day since the Norfolk WSOP was held for not telling Bad hat Lady in advance that the event would feature in MonkeyMan"s blog. Had she known, she says she would have brought along all her hats. Never mind flying helmet and flying goggles (actually an old pair of my swimming goggles with perished rubber and (now) missing elastic) she has more recent editions.
It seems that whenever we"re out shopping we have to look out for interesting hats! Last year we were in Santa Cruz (a Californian seaside resort just south of San Francisco that looks a bit like Skegness or Yarmouth but without their style and with a working Pacific Union train line running the length of the promenade!) when a large lobster shaped hat was spotted, purchased and stuffed in a suitcase ready for the next big Poker game. This isn"t just a lobster hat, it is a very large, bright red lobster hat. You"ll be pleased to know it isn"t accompanied by any eye-wear though dark shades are recommended for all other players!!
Post by: Roscopiko on July 08, 2008, 14:20:36 PM
Post by: AMRN on July 08, 2008, 16:25:26 PM
One of her pieces of headgear was a Biggles style flying helmet accompanied by some flying goggles. The idea was that every time she entered a pot, she would yell "Going in" and pull down the goggles. However, at one point, the elastic snapped, flew to the right and hit a fellow player in the eye. Rather than express any concern for the injured party, everyone else in the room collapsed in fits and play had to be suspended for several minutes whilst sanity was restored.
PRICELESS!!!
Post by: lukybugur on July 08, 2008, 17:26:22 PM
Post by: Bad hat lady on July 08, 2008, 22:44:00 PM
On the first occasion she joined in our homegame she sat down with a bag contain several items of headgear you would only normally see on someone who was on a care in the community program.
[/quote]
I'll have you know the hat wearing was a serious scientific study! One of the poker books I read said that you should know your table image and play to it. Always believing what I read in poker books I thought I should experiment. Admittedly I may have extrapolated the advice further than originally intended but it did throw up some useful facts. For example, it is hard to get people to respect your raise when you are wearing a sombrero and goggle-eye glasses. I must admit that apart from the unfortunate blinding incident, the flying helmet and goggles was one of my favourites as it not only hid your expression but could be used in conjunction with other supplementary behaviours. Declaring you are "going in" and pulling the goggles down whenever you enter a pot can put temperamental players on tilt after about the third time. To increase the affect, every time you win a pot you should spread your arms and "fly" around the table humming the theme from the Dam busters march. The down sides of this technique are:
1. For some reason it doesn't seem to be effective when playing internet poker
2. Flying helmets are quite hot so should only be used in rooms with American style artic air-conditioning
3. Parts of the technique might fall foul of the new WSOP rules on excessive celebration. I can only suggest reducing the length of your arms and humming quietly until you can judge what you can get away with.
4. You might get beaten up
Another observation I should mention is that I've never won anything wearing a hat.
Post by: Roscopiko on July 08, 2008, 22:50:16 PM
Post by: monkeyman on July 09, 2008, 08:28:27 AM
This women is a legend. Get here a blog NOW
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo >:(
Post by: duke3016 on July 09, 2008, 10:42:22 AM
Post by: monkeyman on July 09, 2008, 13:49:39 PM
This women is a legend. Get here a blog NOW
Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
People, stop this madness now. By encouraging someone to indulge in this kind of behaviour you have no idea where it will end. By giving them a platform to discuss their hat-wearing idiosyncrasies you"re merely helping to foster an undesirable trend which can only bring derision to the game we love. The main reason for postponing the final table of the WSOP was to generate a buzz beyond those who normally follow poker. What would the wider world think if they tuned in to the closing stages and saw Phil Hellmuth in a sombrero, Mike Matusow in a deerstalker, Johnny Chan in a top hat, Doyle Brunson in a swimming cap or Gus Hansen wearing a pirates hat. We would be a laughing stock. Just say no to headgear.
Post by: biffa85 on July 10, 2008, 07:49:02 AM
lmfao!!!
;D ;D ;D
Post by: Santino67 on July 10, 2008, 09:38:06 AM
Post by: Bad hat lady on July 10, 2008, 21:11:18 PM
I'll have you know the hat wearing was a serious scientific study! One of the poker books I read said that you should know your table image and play to it. Always believing what I read in poker books I thought I should experiment. Admittedly I may have extrapolated the advice further than originally intended but it did throw up some useful facts. For example, it is hard to get people to respect your raise when you are wearing a sombrero and goggle-eye glasses. I must admit that apart from the unfortunate blinding incident, the flying helmet and goggles was one of my favourites as it not only hid your expression but could be used in conjunction with other supplementary behaviours. Declaring you are "going in" and pulling the goggles down whenever you enter a pot can put temperamental players on tilt after about the third time. To increase the affect, every time you win a pot you should spread your arms and "fly" around the table humming the theme from the Dam busters march. The down sides of this technique are:
1. For some reason it doesn't seem to be effective when playing internet poker
2. Flying helmets are quite hot so should only be used in rooms with American style artic air-conditioning
3. Parts of the technique might fall foul of the new WSOP rules on excessive celebration. I can only suggest reducing the length of your arms and humming quietly until you can judge what you can get away with.
4. You might get beaten up
By the way, after posting this message I realized I had got it all wrong. You should replace the furry flying helmet with one of those old fashioned crash helmets to partner the goggles. This gives you the opportunity to shout "beep beep, make way" when entering a pot and celebrating winning a hand by "driving" around the table making engine noises. The disadvantages are the same as for the flying helmet but at least it doesn"t hurt as much if you get beaten up.
Post by: monkeyman on July 10, 2008, 21:55:39 PM
As is my want, I"ve altered my playing habits yet again this week. I had a brief dalliance with PKR earlier in the year and decided it wasn"t to my tastes. Yes, it looks nice, but the tournament structures are way too quick for my liking. Since then, I"ve become more accustomed to play cash tables so, in view of the fact that its got a reputation for being a bit soft, I"d thought I"d give it another go. I started with omaha and was surprised to find that the standard was pretty reasonable compared to the other sites I"ve played at the same buy ins. Then onto the hold"em. Oh lordy, what is going on here. There are some very, very strange players on this site. Calling stations abound and I"ve seen a move several times over which I"ve not witnessed elsewhere. On a number of occasions, I"ve raised from late position and only been called by the big blind. The BB then procedes to check/call the flop and turn, finishing with an all in shove on the river. On each occasion i"ve seen it, the shove on these circumstances has been with a very weak hand and I"ve won when I"ve called. If only all cash games were like this!
Post by: Bad hat lady on July 10, 2008, 22:32:20 PM
Oh lordy, what is going on here. There are some very, very strange players on this site. Calling stations abound and I"ve seen a move several times over which I"ve not witnessed elsewhere. On a number of occasions, I"ve raised from late position and only been called by the big blind. The BB then procedes to check/call the flop and turn, finishing with an all in shove on the river. On each occasion i"ve seen it, the shove on these circumstances has been with a very weak hand and I"ve won when I"ve called. If only all cash games were like this!
This is a very common move in sit and goes. The problem is that they either have absolute rubbish or the nuts. I guess you just have to look at the texture of the board, concider the previous plays, and if you think they are bluffing hold on to your hat and go for it!
Post by: monkeyman on July 13, 2008, 09:26:03 AM
I"ve got a bit of a soft spot for Razz as it gave me my only APAT ranking points in season 1 despite the fact that I had only learnt the rules of the game 2 days before the event. I also had something of a brainstorm involving this game last year which illustrates several lessons about bankroll management. I decided I would have a go at playing cash Razz on Pokerstars. Things started well and as soon as I had made a bit of a profit, I moved up to the next buy in level. I quickly found myself playing at $3/$6 level and made $250 profit in 2 days. You can probably guess whats coming next, but within another 2 days, I had blown all my profit and was back down to 0.
One of the reasons I play games other than hold"em is that I get bored going through the same thought processes all the time and trying different variants helps retain my enthusiasm for the game. In addition, during my many hours spent in cloud cuckoo land, I often start thinking how I"m going to win my first gold bracelet. My masterplan doesn"t involve playing the WSOP main event at all, but having a crack at some of the non Hold'em competitions. My reasoning goes something along the lines of if there"s less competitors its got to be easier to win. Mmm, think there"s a flaw in there somewhere. Nevermind, it keeps me happy.
Post by: monkeyman on July 15, 2008, 21:21:17 PM
For the past couple of days I"ve played nothing but cash stud on Full Tilt. As with Omaha, I suck at the Hi/Lo version, but the Hi only variant is beginning to click into place. I"ve made the startling discovery that I make more money (translates as "lose less" ) by NOT calling every single bet all the way to 7th street just in case I hit a useful card. I might just have to start playing HORSE tournaments as I"m now equally incompetent in the five constituent games.
Post by: Santino67 on July 15, 2008, 23:37:56 PM
if you think they are bluffing hold on to your hat and go for it!
Absolutely correct...............but which hat ??? :P
Post by: monkeyman on July 17, 2008, 17:53:57 PM
"In a move which has rocked the world of poker, Simon "Idrivetractors" Alcock has announced he is not to participate in this evening"s APAT tournament. Sources close to the legendary fish have been indicating for a number of days that "Tractors" would find something else to do with his time and our east of england correspondent braved the lines of caravans and agricultural vehicles along the A17 to get this exclusive report"
"So "Tractors", what has led you to take this step?" "I first of all want to reassure all those players who benefit from some of my dodgier plays that I have not left the fold entirely. After much deliberation, I have decided that rather than continually throw away $11 in a vain attempt to top the APAT rankings, I would occasionally find something else to do. Tonight and saturday I will instead be watching the speedway world cup on Sky TV." "This will come as quite a blow to some of your opponents. What factors have affected your decision?" "A number of thoughts led me to this conclusion. The gap between the rankings leader and myself played a part, the fact that I currently enjoy playing cash games more than tournaments and the realisation that I could do something between getting home from work and going to bed than playing non-stop internet poker all played a part" When do you think you will return?" "I should be back for the next tournaments in two weeks" "Do you think your presence will be missed?" "Yes I do. I have a long track record of sharing my chips out to anyone at my table, so the other players are going to think of a strategy other than waiting for me to go on tilt. Even Scouse3465, who has mistakenly commented on more than one occasion that he thinks I have some kind of read on him, normally benefits from my generosity"
"Thank you for setting the record straight. Now, back to the studio where we bring you a story about the face of Elvis appearing on a doughnut"
Post by: APAT on July 17, 2008, 17:57:18 PM
Post by: monkeyman on July 19, 2008, 10:23:32 AM
Post by: monkeyman on July 20, 2008, 14:06:53 PM
I"ve come to thinking that there"s no harm in a small drink or two and have got into the habit of accompanying an evening session at the cash tables with a bottle of Leffe Blonde. I was curious as to whether other APATers have any specific drink they partake of whilst playing or if anyone has any strong views on poker/alcohol mixing.
Post by: Swinebag on July 20, 2008, 14:43:02 PM
Along with my gradual shift from tournament to cash play, the other thing that I"ve changed my view on recently is my attitude towards drinking whilst playing. I"ve always had a self-imposed ban on alcohol during poker of any form and, allowing for the odd lapse when I"ve come home from a night out, I"ve generally been very disciplined in this respect.
I"ve come to thinking that there"s no harm in a small drink or two and have got into the habit of accompanying an evening session at the cash tables with a bottle of Leffe Blonde. I was curious as to whether other APATers have any specific drink they partake of whilst playing or if anyone has any strong views on poker/alcohol mixing.
I have attributed my recent improved run of live results to drinking a lot of alcohol, in moderation of course
Post by: mal666 on July 20, 2008, 16:31:29 PM
Post by: Bad hat lady on July 20, 2008, 18:42:14 PM
Along with my gradual shift from tournament to cash play, the other thing that I"ve changed my view on recently is my attitude towards drinking whilst playing. I"ve always had a self-imposed ban on alcohol during poker of any form and, allowing for the odd lapse when I"ve come home from a night out, I"ve generally been very disciplined in this respect.
I"ve come to thinking that there"s no harm in a small drink or two and have got into the habit of accompanying an evening session at the cash tables with a bottle of Leffe Blonde. I was curious as to whether other APATers have any specific drink they partake of whilst playing or if anyone has any strong views on poker/alcohol mixing.
The disadvantage of drinking alcohol while playing poker is that it can adversely affect your decision making processes. In its favour is that playing can take up a lot of your time so it makes sense to multi-task your vices. I would suggest that gambling and rock & roll are natural partners, of the others I would suggest drinking was less distracting than drugs or sex.
Post by: monkeyman on July 20, 2008, 19:50:03 PM
Along with my gradual shift from tournament to cash play, the other thing that I"ve changed my view on recently is my attitude towards drinking whilst playing. I"ve always had a self-imposed ban on alcohol during poker of any form and, allowing for the odd lapse when I"ve come home from a night out, I"ve generally been very disciplined in this respect.
I"ve come to thinking that there"s no harm in a small drink or two and have got into the habit of accompanying an evening session at the cash tables with a bottle of Leffe Blonde. I was curious as to whether other APATers have any specific drink they partake of whilst playing or if anyone has any strong views on poker/alcohol mixing.
The disadvantage of drinking alcohol while playing poker is that it can adversely affect your decision making processes. In its favour is that playing can take up a lot of your time so it makes sense to multi-task your vices. I would suggest that gambling and rock & roll are natural partners, of the others I would suggest drinking was less distracting than drugs or sex.
I must be doing something right then. I"ll normally play whilst listening to whatever obscure scandinavian heavy metal band I have an affinity for at the time. As for the other two options (a) hasn"t really ever been a consideration and do you seriously think I would be playing poker if (b) was on offer? :o
Post by: ibis on July 20, 2008, 21:58:33 PM
I was curious as to whether other APATers have any specific drink they partake of whilst playing or if anyone has any strong views on poker/alcohol mixing.
After a great deal of research I"ve discovered that the optimal poker/alcohol mix depends on the game you"re playing and the time of day:
Before 8pm, I stick to lager. For a 6 max SnG, I"d go for one of those little 2% French lagers. For a MT SnG, you need something a bit stronger so go for Carling or Fosters. For a big tourney, you need at least a Grolsch or maybe Carlsberg Special brew
Between 8pm and 10pm, it"s time for wine. A nice light beaujolais goes well with a small SnG whilst a Cote de Rhone is well matched with a slightly bigger event. For the big heavyweight tournament, you can"t beat a solid Claret
10pm to midnight and the malt comes out. Light, gentle Glenfiddich for SnG, maybe a speyside for MT SnG (I"m currently experimenting with a Sherry cask Glenmorangie which is working quite well). For a big event, you need a big heavy malt so that means an Islay - Laphroaig or Lagavulin.
After midnight I don"t really play much poker. I"m usually quite tired and ready for bed. Besides, by this time I"m struggling to focus on my cards never mind them tiny buttons and a mouse.
Post by: monkeyman on July 22, 2008, 13:58:42 PM
Post by: monkeyman on July 22, 2008, 21:17:27 PM
Post by: monkeyman on July 23, 2008, 09:46:21 AM
Post by: monkeyman on July 24, 2008, 19:28:59 PM
Post by: monkeyman on July 24, 2008, 21:04:49 PM
Post by: Bad hat lady on July 25, 2008, 21:19:04 PM
Yee haa, I"ve registered for the stud tourney. I"m obviously getting the hang of clickfests and my confirmation was timed at 9.01 tonight as opposed to the pitiful 9.03 for Omaha. Lets see if I can complete the hat trick tomorrow.
I"m glad to hear you"ve got a place in the stud tourney. Would you like to borrow my Darley baseball cap?
Post by: monkeyman on July 25, 2008, 22:13:23 PM
[/quote]
Might have to. Are you going to deliver the punchline on that one or am I?
Post by: mal666 on July 26, 2008, 08:15:22 AM
I"m glad to hear you"ve got a place in the stud tourney. Would you like to borrow my Darley baseball cap?
Might have to. Are you going to deliver the punchline on that one or am I?
[/quote]
well i wish someone would
Post by: monkeyman on July 26, 2008, 09:30:10 AM
I"m glad to hear you"ve got a place in the stud tourney. Would you like to borrow my Darley baseball cap?
Might have to. Are you going to deliver the punchline on that one or am I?
well i wish someone would
[/quote]
Be patient Mal, although to be honest whether its worth waiting for is debatable
Post by: monkeyman on July 26, 2008, 11:57:12 AM
Any relatives of mine will not qualify for the prize, so there.
Post by: Bad hat lady on July 28, 2008, 20:42:58 PM
I"m glad to hear you"ve got a place in the stud tourney. Would you like to borrow my Darley baseball cap?
Might have to. Are you going to deliver the punchline on that one or am I?
well i wish someone would
Be patient Mal, although to be honest whether its worth waiting for is debatable
[/quote]
Darley is a stud (as in breeding racehorses) owned by Sheik Mohammed. I obtained my stud hat from a publicity stall at a racing stables open day. Although we had a share in a racehorse at the time, Darley didn't get any business from us as it was a gelding (a boy without bits).
p.s. I like Jammie Dodgers
Post by: APAT on July 28, 2008, 21:21:59 PM
Post by: monkeyman on July 28, 2008, 22:57:28 PM
I"m glad to hear you"ve got a place in the stud tourney. Would you like to borrow my Darley baseball cap?
Might have to. Are you going to deliver the punchline on that one or am I?
well i wish someone would
Be patient Mal, although to be honest whether its worth waiting for is debatable
Darley is a stud (as in breeding racehorses) owned by Sheik Mohammed. I obtained my stud hat from a publicity stall at a racing stables open day. Although we had a share in a racehorse at the time, Darley didn't get any business from us as it was a gelding (a boy without bits).
p.s. I like Jammie Dodgers
[/quote]
Perhaps I should have said a prize would be awarded to the first person I"m not related to who gets the right answer. I suppose that"s my fault for not thinking through the wording of my offer. Sandra, the biscuits will be delivered to mum and dad"s house when I"m next there on sunday.
Post by: monkeyman on July 28, 2008, 23:12:06 PM
Simon, your blog is always a first class read, really first class. But I think we need a Bad Hat Lady blog also....
No Des, that"s not something we need for the following reasons:
1) This family is not big enough for 2 blogs.
2) It would break the conditions of her restraining order
3) You"ve seen the quality of our writing so far, is that REALLY what you want to encourage. Dear god, I hope not.
4) We"ve done enough damage to the reputation of Norfolk already. If the powers that be realise how we"ve tarnished the reputation of this fair county, we"ll be exiled for eternity to the pits of hell (That"s Great Yarmouth for those that don"t know).
Post by: monkeyman on July 28, 2008, 23:19:13 PM
I"m glad to hear you"ve got a place in the stud tourney. Would you like to borrow my Darley baseball cap?
Might have to. Are you going to deliver the punchline on that one or am I?
well i wish someone would
Be patient Mal, although to be honest whether its worth waiting for is debatable
Darley is a stud (as in breeding racehorses) owned by Sheik Mohammed. I obtained my stud hat from a publicity stall at a racing stables open day. Although we had a share in a racehorse at the time, Darley didn't get any business from us as it was a gelding (a boy without bits).
p.s. I like Jammie Dodgers
Perhaps I should have said a prize would be awarded to the first person I"m not related to who gets the right answer. I suppose that"s my fault for not thinking through the wording of my offer. Sandra, the biscuits will be delivered to mum and dad"s house when I"m next there on sunday.
[/quote]
I"ve just reread the rules set out at the inception of the "Darley" hat competition and it expressly says " Any relatives of mine will not qualify for the prize, so there". Thanks big sis, you"ve just saved me the cost of a packet of biscuits. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha.................
Post by: Roscopiko on July 29, 2008, 09:05:57 AM
Do I get a biscuit?
Post by: monkeyman on July 29, 2008, 11:35:15 AM
Will The Vic actually allow me to take in my own "food"? Will they object to me placing biscuits on their cards?
Post by: Oldsoreknees on July 29, 2008, 20:00:28 PM
I had hoped the answer would be amusing.
Post by: ibis on July 29, 2008, 20:16:14 PM
What I"ll do is bring a supply of Jammie Dodgers with me to The Vic. I"ll offer them to anyone seated at the same table as myself and may also use one as a card guard. To take advantage of this fabulous offer, you will need to play the any of the main event, stud or omaha.
Wow! Free biscuits and easy chips. Now I definitely want to be at your table
Post by: monkeyman on July 29, 2008, 21:15:59 PM
1) The Adams Family in disguise
2) The Royle Family without a disguise
3) Irrefutable proof that Norfolk is full of Inbred halfwits who shouldn"t be let out of the county for the protection of society as a whole.
Post by: Oldsoreknees on July 29, 2008, 21:41:59 PM
What I"ll do is bring a supply of Jammie Dodgers with me to The Vic. I"ll offer them to anyone seated at the same table as myself and may also use one as a card guard. To take advantage of this fabulous offer, you will need to play the any of the main event, stud or omaha.
Wow! Free biscuits and easy chips. Now I definitely want to be at your table
My first ever post, and already a nasty repost from my nemesis. This blogging is a dirty business.
Post by: duke3016 on July 29, 2008, 22:29:30 PM
This all changed when the considered it cheaper to build a roof over Norfolk
(http://blondepoker.com/forum/Smileys/default/lordhelpus.gif)
Fantastic writing keep it coming
Post by: duke3016 on July 29, 2008, 22:42:02 PM
Post by: monkeyman on July 29, 2008, 22:42:27 PM
What I"ll do is bring a supply of Jammie Dodgers with me to The Vic. I"ll offer them to anyone seated at the same table as myself and may also use one as a card guard. To take advantage of this fabulous offer, you will need to play the any of the main event, stud or omaha.
Wow! Free biscuits and easy chips. Now I definitely want to be at your table
My first ever post, and already a nasty repost from my nemesis. This blogging is a dirty business.
Fight,fight,fight,fight
Post by: Oldsoreknees on July 30, 2008, 09:03:08 AM
Just wait til the next tournament, no-one will mess with me any more.
Fight! - he won"t stand a chance.
Post by: ibis on July 30, 2008, 22:21:18 PM
After months of research, and deep poker insight, I have studied the masters of the game (Bad Hat Lady) and I"m finally ready to reveal my new super weapon; and yes it is hat related.
Just wait til the next tournament, no-one will mess with me any more.
Fight! - he won"t stand a chance.
Is this in any way linked to your interest in medieval armour and spacehoppers dressed up as horses?
Post by: monkeyman on July 30, 2008, 22:28:18 PM
Post by: Oldsoreknees on July 31, 2008, 12:13:52 PM
After months of research, and deep poker insight, I have studied the masters of the game (Bad Hat Lady) and I"m finally ready to reveal my new super weapon; and yes it is hat related.
Just wait til the next tournament, no-one will mess with me any more.
Fight! - he won"t stand a chance.
Is this in any way linked to your interest in medieval armour and spacehoppers dressed up as horses?
Yes!! Goodbye Oldsoreknees - witness the birth of Helmetman!!
Post by: Oldsoreknees on July 31, 2008, 12:23:35 PM
Post by: monkeyman on July 31, 2008, 14:19:58 PM
Post by: AMRN on July 31, 2008, 14:52:59 PM
Post by: duke3016 on July 31, 2008, 16:19:26 PM
a long thin metal stick that you use to move around coal or wood in a fire so that it burns better
Post by: AMRN on July 31, 2008, 16:34:26 PM
Post by: biffa85 on July 31, 2008, 16:55:21 PM
Post by: Bad hat lady on July 31, 2008, 19:56:14 PM
What I"ll do is bring a supply of Jammie Dodgers with me to The Vic. I"ll offer them to anyone seated at the same table as myself and may also use one as a card guard.
Have you thought this through? Won't placing a biscuit on your cards mean they are more likely to be taken?
Post by: monkeyman on July 31, 2008, 20:41:21 PM
What I"ll do is bring a supply of Jammie Dodgers with me to The Vic. I"ll offer them to anyone seated at the same table as myself and may also use one as a card guard.
Have you thought this through? Won't placing a biscuit on your cards mean they are more likely to be taken?
Absolutely right. Now why didn"t I think of that ???
Post by: monkeyman on August 01, 2008, 11:10:38 AM
Post by: monkeyman on August 01, 2008, 21:25:10 PM
Post by: Mayfair on August 01, 2008, 21:32:45 PM
So I"ve been playing the same game solidly for about 3 weeks now with no thoughts of trying something completely different. That"s most unlike me. However, as I"m never happy unless I"m changing my mind about something, I"ve now decided that I will play Razz in London meaning that I will be in every event. All I"ve got to do now is clear a space in my flat for all those trophies...............
Keep them in your tractor.
That way loads of angry motorists will see them as they are desperately
trying to overtake you on the A11 ;D
Post by: monkeyman on August 01, 2008, 23:10:28 PM
So I"ve been playing the same game solidly for about 3 weeks now with no thoughts of trying something completely different. That"s most unlike me. However, as I"m never happy unless I"m changing my mind about something, I"ve now decided that I will play Razz in London meaning that I will be in every event. All I"ve got to do now is clear a space in my flat for all those trophies...............
Keep them in your tractor.
That way loads of angry motorists will see them as they are desperately
trying to overtake you on the A11 ;D
Love it, top post. ;D
Post by: Santino67 on August 02, 2008, 20:10:16 PM
So I"ve been playing the same game solidly for about 3 weeks now with no thoughts of trying something completely different. That"s most unlike me. However, as I"m never happy unless I"m changing my mind about something, I"ve now decided that I will play Razz in London meaning that I will be in every event. All I"ve got to do now is clear a space in my flat for all those trophies...............
Keep them in your tractor.
That way loads of angry motorists will see them as they are desperately
trying to overtake you on the A11 ;D
:D :D :D Fantastic, made me laugh out loud in work and got a few strange looks!
Post by: ibis on August 02, 2008, 21:03:06 PM
Keep them in your tractor.
That way loads of angry motorists will see them as they are desperately
trying to overtake you on the A11
If you think his tractor is slow, you should see his car.
Post by: Bad hat lady on August 02, 2008, 22:28:31 PM
Keep them in your tractor.
That way loads of angry motorists will see them as they are desperately
trying to overtake you on the A11
If you think his tractor is slow, you should see his car.
As you could double the value of your car by replacing the air freshener, if by any miracle you manage to win a trophy you should remember to update your insurance before driving it home. However, I would have thought you were more likely to need a security guard to protect the jammie dodgers on the way down than a boot full of trophies on the way back.
Post by: monkeyman on August 02, 2008, 22:47:03 PM
Keep them in your tractor.
That way loads of angry motorists will see them as they are desperately
trying to overtake you on the A11
If you think his tractor is slow, you should see his car.
I"ll have you know I"ve just had a new rubber band fitted so that I can now reach a top speed of, ooh, 25mph. Downhill. With a gale force wind behind me.
Post by: monkeyman on August 02, 2008, 23:08:47 PM
Keep them in your tractor.
That way loads of angry motorists will see them as they are desperately
trying to overtake you on the A11
If you think his tractor is slow, you should see his car.
As you could double the value of your car by replacing the air freshener, if by any miracle you manage to win a trophy you should remember to update your insurance before driving it home. However, I would have thought you were more likely to need a security guard to protect the jammie dodgers on the way down than a boot full of trophies on the way back.
After the horrors of a 7 hour journey to Cardiff via the A11/M25/M4 in torrential rain, howling winds and with a tyre with less grip than I have on reality, no longer will I expect my trusty carriage to carry me cross country. If however, the dealers at The Vic are swayed by the offer of biscuits and go above and beyond the call of duty by dealing me sufficient monster hands to allow me to cash in any of the four competitions I"ve entered, I may consider splashing out on a new car aerial to replace the one snapped off by some of the neanderthal barrel scrapings who live in my part of this otherwise fine city.
Post by: mal666 on August 02, 2008, 23:13:24 PM
have you moved?
Post by: Mayfair on August 03, 2008, 00:13:50 AM
my part of this otherwise fine city
have you moved?
Aaahhh!!!
There must be a monkey... and he"s living in... Ipswich!!!!
Post by: monkeyman on August 03, 2008, 09:07:38 AM
my part of this otherwise fine city
have you moved?
Aaahhh!!!
There must be a monkey... and he"s living in... Ipswich!!!!
Wash your mouth out with soap immediately, how dare you?
The signs on all the main roads into Norwich read "Welcome to Norwich, a fine city". For many years I"ve been in correspondence with the city council as I feel these signs should carry something with a bit more impact. For some reason they didn"t feel "We don"t like outsiders here" gave out the right "vibe", "We"ve got two cathedrals you haven"t, ha ha" displayed a touch of arrogance and "At least its not f*****g Ipswich" was potentially inflammatory.
The proof of how Norwich has become a centre of excellence for the creative arts is provided by the link below. This guy is probably the most famous person in the city and if I had my way would be elected mayor next year.
http://www.norwichpuppetman.co.uk/
Post by: monkeyman on August 04, 2008, 15:25:13 PM
The Hotel is booked, the train tickets are booked, I"ve got a seat in each event and I"ve got a ticket to see Spamalot the evening before it all kicks off. All I"ve got to do now is decide what from of poker I"m going to play between now and then. There"s a decent chance I won"t play a single hand of Hold'em between now and arriving at the Vic and I"ll more than likely continue plodding away on the cash stud tables with an occasional Omaha or Razz tournament for good measure. Can"t wait
Post by: Bad hat lady on August 05, 2008, 22:38:26 PM
Post by: monkeyman on August 06, 2008, 09:03:06 AM
Have you managed to stop playing poker long enough to go shopping recently? Did you notice that there are now two types of Jammie dodgers; classic and jam ?n? custard. Do you think it is true that Jammie dodger variety is the spice of life or are you more a ?how dare they mess with a classic? man?
ps why isn?t there a smiley biscuit symbol to insert in these blogs?
I"m open to new developments in the biscuit world so I will have to give these new-fangled inventions a try. However, I"m sure there are those out there who will consider direct action against their local supermarket as a result of tinkering with a classic recipe, so in the interests of self-preservation, I will only take the old style to The Vic.
Moving swiftly on, I"m faced with a dilemna over the next few days. My PC is playing silly devils and I may have to hand it over to someone for remedial work. This means I may have to go a few days without playing poker :"(. What am I supposed to do with my time? Watch TV? Read a book? Don"t know if I can bring myself to say this but, deep breath, go out? I"m not sure if I can cope
Post by: mal666 on August 06, 2008, 18:51:36 PM
(http://img702.mytextgraphics.com/photolava/2008/08/06/bourbon-4bfmd4luq.jpeg)
Post by: monkeyman on August 06, 2008, 19:20:23 PM
if you are still talking biscuits this is all you will ever need.
(http://img702.mytextgraphics.com/photolava/2008/08/06/bourbon-4bfmd4luq.jpeg)
If you vote for my blog I may even consider bringing a packet of bourbons as well
Post by: mal666 on August 06, 2008, 20:37:34 PM
if you are still talking biscuits this is all you will ever need.
(http://img702.mytextgraphics.com/photolava/2008/08/06/bourbon-4bfmd4luq.jpeg)
If you vote for my blog I may even consider bringing a packet of bourbons as well
no canvassing required mr monkeyman, you got my vote days ago.
Post by: Roscopiko on August 06, 2008, 22:19:00 PM
Post by: monkeyman on August 07, 2008, 00:03:04 AM
1) This is one of those rare jobs I"m applying for because I want to do it rather than solely because it offers more money. Therefore, I need to check the application as carefully as possible.
2) I don"t have to be at work until 10.15am tomorrow, therefore I"ll have time to check it before departing
3) Besides which, I checked it a couple of times yesterday, so its probably fine anyway
4) My computer is on now. Seems a shame to waste the electricity.
5) Why not play poker instead?
Post by: the-crow on August 07, 2008, 02:11:12 AM
who do you dream of
Post by: monkeyman on August 07, 2008, 08:40:47 AM
Ok I dream of Kara scott, and Michelle Orpe
who do you dream of
Victoria Coren. Failing that anyone who is female,16 or over, knows how to say the word "yes" would fit the bill
Post by: Bad hat lady on August 07, 2008, 22:30:35 PM
Moving swiftly on, I"m faced with a dilemna over the next few days. My PC is playing silly devils and I may have to hand it over to someone for remedial work. This means I may have to go a few days without playing poker :"(. What am I supposed to do with my time? Watch TV? Read a book? Don"t know if I can bring myself to say this but, deep breath, go out? I"m not sure if I can cope
I was going to say you should get out more. Then I realised that might encourage you to visit so I have despatched the best IT engineer I can find.
Post by: monkeyman on August 08, 2008, 11:19:54 AM
Incidentally, if by some miracle any of my bosses get to read this, yes I know I"m not supposed to use the internet in works time, but you denied my request for time off to take part in the world series main event 2 years ago so I think you still owe me.
Post by: monkeyman on August 09, 2008, 11:04:34 AM
Post by: monkeyman on August 10, 2008, 18:52:48 PM
Post by: APAT on August 10, 2008, 19:00:57 PM
Post by: Chipaccrual on August 10, 2008, 19:12:05 PM
This thread has become a must read over the past few weeks. :o
Post by: monkeyman on August 10, 2008, 19:32:34 PM
Post by: APAT on August 10, 2008, 19:50:28 PM
Post by: Roscopiko on August 10, 2008, 20:43:08 PM
Although in truth it was more for your comedy guests :-*
Post by: Bad hat lady on August 10, 2008, 22:09:49 PM
Post by: monkeyman on August 12, 2008, 00:40:18 AM
Decision number one is poker related. Since my recent conversion from tournament hold"em devotee to 7 card stud cash grinder, I"ve made profit for four consecutive weeks. Admittedly, the amounts I"ve won are not huge, but do represent the average buy in for the level I"ve been playing at times several. I decided to step up to the next buy in level thinking that if things went really badly I would retreat from whence I came in the hope of making up a small deficit. I have to say that the way the cards have run over the last 48 hours, I"m glad I"m playing a limit game as opposed to, say, pot limit omaha. As usual, most of my stud time has been split between Pokerstars and Partypoker with Full Tilt as plan "c". To start with, I played like an idiot, imagining that I had to try all kinds of moves that I"d not been making at the level I"d been accustomed to. This was a mistake and led to me showing a loss. Once I"d screwed on my sensible head and decided to carry on playing the way I"d been playing for the last few weeks, things improved and I returned to profit. Then I made the mistake of deciding I would play on Full Tilt just to see how things were in my new grade. Oh dear. I try not to "do" bad beat stories, but every time I bet into a pot all the way to seventh street, the final card took things away from me. One of the things I"ve mentioned several times in this blog is my displays of petulance when things aren"t going my way and I decided that as soon as I"d typed "FFS" for the first time it was time to leave. Maybe that"s a sign that I"ve got a bit more control over myself than two or three months ago. I had a short session back on Pokerstars which yielded a positive result and the upshot of it all is that my profit/loss for the week currently stands at a loss of slightly less than the standard buy in for the higher level. The plan for the rest of the week is to step down again in an attempt to grind my way back to profit with a view to having another try next week if successful.
Decision number two will have to be made on friday night and has nothing whatsoever to do with poker. I"m having a night out with several people from work some of whom are bringing wives/husbands/girlfriends/boyfriends/lovers/bits on the side/stalkers/all of the above. We"re meeting in one of those poncy bars where they serve the same watered-down bland lager served elsewhere, but they charge exhorbitant prices because they wipe a little bit of the head off and stand the glass on a napkin. At some point the group will splinter into smaller units and my decision will be between one of the following:
1) Go to another bar and drink more tasteless lager
2) Go to a club where I will start off by drinking more lager but move onto demonstrate some of my own unique dance moves
3) Make use of that free entry token I was given several weeks ago for Spearmint Rhino.
Before I leave my flat, I will ensure that I have prepared myself for all the above eventualities by:
1) Eating lots to absorb the alcohol
2) Eating lots and making sure I wear a really comfortable pair of shoes
3) Making sure I wear the loosest fitting pair of trousers I have
Post by: monkeyman on August 12, 2008, 23:10:56 PM
One thing I"ve found enormously frustrating is the lack of stud torunaments available on any sites. Most of those that are out there are of the fifteen hundred chips/one-mistake-and-you"re-out variety so I give them a miss. I will not play any tournament which doesn"t at least provide scope for a modicum of good poker before everyone is forced to shove. On Partypoker there is a tournament which starts at 19.20 which, although it only has a buy in of $6, normally attracts sixty-five to seventy runners with the payout going to everyone on the final table of eight. OK, no-one is going to be rushing to offer me a sponsorship deal off the back of success in these events, but my main objective at the moment is to gain experience; if I win nothing I haven"t lost much and there is an enormous amount to learn. Before today, I"ve played in this competition twice in the last ten days or so with sixth and 13th placings to my name. Tonight I finished third. Three-handed I had two hands where I had good cards early, piled as many chips in as my opponent would call, only to see the same guy hit his draw on seventh street on both occasions. Much to my surprise, no curses were uttered, no derogatory comments were put in the chat box and no objects were thrown across the room. Maybe I"m mellowing with age.
Post by: monkeyman on August 14, 2008, 17:20:48 PM
Post by: mal666 on August 14, 2008, 18:48:25 PM
Post by: monkeyman on August 14, 2008, 19:09:36 PM
is both not an option?
I struggle with one table let alone two!
Post by: monkeyman on August 15, 2008, 06:37:47 AM
Post by: Roscopiko on August 15, 2008, 08:50:51 AM
Wel that was fun. Last night I played my first APAT online event for a while and finished third. I played next to nothing in the first hour, went down to little more than 2000 in the second hour then came good when I started shoving. I have played far, far better than that this season and got nothing so it was nice to see the poker gods on my side for once. Lets hope they are as friendly to me in London.
Will see you there mate and hope we meet on the FT again.
Well played again last night.
Post by: monkeyman on August 15, 2008, 14:38:53 PM
Post by: Roscopiko on August 15, 2008, 14:44:07 PM
Last night"s effort gives me another decision to make. Earlier this season my participation in the online events was largely driven by the slim chance of topping the rankings and laying waste to the GUKPT main event. In recent itmes, I"ve pretty much given up as I"d lost ground on the leaders and a result have missed a few tournies. However, last night"s lucky third has got me thinking again and I"ve started trying to calculate whethere its worth sitting down for each of the remaining online competitions. I"m taking part in the main event in London and by my calculations there are an additional 6 point-scoring opportunities (tomorrow night, main event at the Vic + the 4 WCOAP events). I might just have to try again tomorrow after all
Think we are level on points now. Got to be worth a go, I didn"t factor in the WCOAP events either.
Post by: monkeyman on August 16, 2008, 01:04:31 AM
Post by: monkeyman on August 16, 2008, 11:33:33 AM
Post by: monkeyman on August 16, 2008, 21:04:56 PM
Post by: monkeyman on August 16, 2008, 21:50:02 PM
Post by: monkeyman on August 17, 2008, 14:22:28 PM
I"m glad to report that things have changed and what pleased me about last night was a hand that, ultimately, crippled me, but indicated that my thinking is way ahead of where it was this time a year ago. If anyone present on the table at the time wants to correct me on the minutae of what I"m about to report, then feel free. However, I"ll make this as accurate as I can and if anything is slightly wrong, then all I can say is that my thought processes would not have been affected. The hand in question happened during the 75/150 level. The action folded round to me on the button and I raised to 450 with pocket tens. The small blind folded but the big blind reraised to 750. This to me said one of two things. Either he had a monster or he thought I was making a raise because of position only and he wanted to test my mettle. I didn"t think he was making this move with complete junk, but at this stage put him on a range of any pair,almost any ace and maybe king/queen. I decided to re reraise to 1050. I thought that this would be enough to send a message to him that I was serious about playing the hand but was not so big that I would be committed to the pot if he shoved. My opponent then called and the flop came Jack high with no flush or straight draws. The other guy checked and until quite recently I would almost always have put in a continuation bet of about two thirds of the pot. However, I have learnt the hard way about being check/raised off hands so, in view of my fears that he may potentially have checked with a larger pair with the intention of reraising all in, I also checked. The flop was the Queen of Hearts and as the Jack was also a heart, this opened up a few posibilities. My opponent checked a second time, I bet about 1350 into a 2100 chip pot and he went all in. Of course this gave me a tough decision to make; I had a pocket pair but there were two higher cards on the board. I also had to consider that there were flush and open-ended straight draw possibilities as well as overcards to the board and that he may have hit trip jacks or queens. I quickly discounted trip jacks as I didn"t think that he would 3 bet out of position preflop with pocket Jacks or check twice if it he had hit. I also quickly discouted pocket Queens as I thought that if he had hit trips on the turn, with the flush and straight draws out there he would have bet in turn rather than check for the second time. I also ruled out Ace/Ten or any Ace with a lower kicker as it just wouldn"t have made sense to 3 bet prelop with this kind of hand. I did consider Ace/Jack and Ace/Queen but thought that he would have made a bet of some sort if he had hit top pair on the flop and would have made a bet either on the flop or turn with Ace/Queen. This meant I was left with Aces, Kings, one of each or some kind of draw. I didn"t even consider the open-ended straight draw as I didn"t believe he"d have bet that way with Nine/Ten. Although I still thought pocket Aces and poket Kings were strong candidates, I thought the most likely holding was Ace/King. I even had a suspicion that he had Ace/King of hearts which would have given him a nut-flush draw as well as overcards. I called the bet as I was convinced I was ahead and my reading was proved correct as he revealed ah kc. Unfortunately, the river was a king which saved his neck but put me down to just over 2000 chips. I didn"t last long as soon after a shove with King/Ten was called by Jack/Four and a Four hit. Maybe next time.
Looking forward to the next few days, I"m unlikely to try again step up to the next buy-in level with on the cash tables. I"m at a gig on wednesday night, on the lager/nightclub trail friday night and will play the APAT Omaha tournament thursday night. I"ll want to get at least one Omaha tournament under my belt before the latter and will spend the rest of my time on the cash tables at the level to which I have become accustomed.
Post by: Oldsoreknees on August 18, 2008, 20:26:30 PM
You"ve got to keep going until the Vic; who else is going to give us the biscuit report? Personally I would also like to know if Helmetman's new image has improved his poker or any other aspects of his life.
Helmetman has been on holiday; so the effect on the poker play is yet to be fully explored......however I was very disapointed that nobody wanted to see the photo of my helmet, since I had polished it up specially :o
Post by: monkeyman on August 19, 2008, 23:38:20 PM
You"ve got to keep going until the Vic; who else is going to give us the biscuit report? Personally I would also like to know if Helmetman's new image has improved his poker or any other aspects of his life.
Helmetman has been on holiday; so the effect on the poker play is yet to be fully explored......however I was very disapointed that nobody wanted to see the photo of my helmet, since I had polished it up specially :o
You dirty old man. ::)
Post by: monkeyman on August 20, 2008, 08:29:04 AM
;D
Post by: monkeyman on August 20, 2008, 23:48:47 PM
Tonight I went to The Waterfront in Norwich, a former grain warehouse which opened in 1992 as a music venue/nightclub. I see a lot of bands and the majority are loud, raucous rock bands. When I go to a gig, I don"t go for note-perfect renditions of songs I"ve played to death at home; I look for a bit more. I want excitement, the unexpected, I want energy and I want a performance. Tonight"s band were Mindless Self Indulgence and I"ll have to admit, when I purchased the ticket to see them, I hadn"t heard a single note of their music. However, they have a reputation for wild live shows so I thought it was worth risking £14.
My usual modus operandi is to stand on the edge of the area people where are hurling themselves at each other so that I get a slight sense of danger but I"m not likely to make contact with anyone"s flailing elbow. Early in the performance, a fearsome moshpit developed, which for the uninitiated means that a large chunk of the dance floor was covered by gig-goers not so much dancing as wildly hurling themselves in any direction until contact with another whirling dervish changes their path. I stood on the edge of this chaos with one eye on the stage, the other alert to rapidly-moving human-missiles. I"m not sure that anything specific prompted it, but there came a point where reserve exited stage left and before I"d had the chance to say my prayers, I found myself in the middle of the maelstrom. The most bizarre sight, amongst many bizarre sights, all evening were the three six foot plus skinheads who decided to have a game of scissors/paper/stone mid venue who were surrounded by ten blokes dancing round them in a circle. I was one of the ten.
During the final song, the part of hell which had previously been shackled was unleashed and the whole venue became a seething mass of dancing, jumping, gyrating bodies. If my sensible self had been present, I would unquestionably have sought refuge in the space between sound desk and bar, but I didn"t do that. I cast off my last vestiges of self-control and for one beautiful, fleeting moment forgot that I"m forty next year, asthmatic and work in an office.
Tomorrow morning, back to the call centre.
Post by: monkeyman on August 20, 2008, 23:57:25 PM
Post by: monkeyman on August 22, 2008, 19:46:18 PM
Back to poker related matters and despite the postponement of last night"s APAT omaha event, I thought I"d have a crack at this variant in preparation for next week at The Vic. I played a 250 runner affair on Pokerstars and finished on the bubble, but was very happy with my final position in view of the paucity of playable hands/positions. Tomorrow I"ll probably stick to 7 card stud cash play on Partypoker and Pokerstars. Unless something goes badly wrong, I should complete a sixth consecutive week of profit.
Post by: monkeyman on August 23, 2008, 00:21:20 AM
Post by: duke3016 on August 23, 2008, 11:36:02 AM
I"ve just got home, I"ve had 7 pints of lager and I"ve logged on to Partypoker. Why do I do this?
Because when all factors are taken into account, when everthing is weighed up, when the odds are calculated and you sit at that table you just know
YOU LOVE IT !
Post by: monkeyman on August 24, 2008, 19:29:08 PM
Post by: monkeyman on August 25, 2008, 15:01:24 PM
To help me mentally prepare for my stint at The Vic, this morning I went elephant hunting. Before you send me death threats or ring the authorities, no animals were harmed in the writing of this blog. This summer, Norwich has played host to a city-wide open-air art exhibition in the form of fifty-three fibreglass baby elephants decorated mainly by local artists and community groups. All the elephants are soon to be auctioned in aid of charity. The exhibition ends this week, so as I"ve not looked around so far and I"ll be away from tomorrow, today was my last opportunity.
I started at The Playhouse Theatre, passed the Norwich School of Art and St Andrew"s Hall, then turned left at Cinema City to head back towards the River Wensum. From there, I made the short trip to Norwich Cathedral. One of my reasons for visiting was to see the elephant decorated by a school in Kenya, but, despite being a devout atheist, I have an affinity for holy buildings. A few years ago, during a protracted and viciously antagonistic departure from my then employer, Norwich Union, I regularly made the short walk to the cathedral during my lunch breaks to collect my thoughts before returning to the office for more verbal sparring with my boss. I used to head for a specific seat in the chapel dedicated to the Royal Anglian Regiment, who my maternal grandfather fought for before and during the Second World War. This particular chapel currently has an alternative use, so after a quick stroll around the cloisters, I left the building and on my way back into the city centre, passed the offices of the accountancy firm where I had my first ever job interview.
I then headed for the grounds of Norwich Castle before passing through the Castle Mall. I"d registered a number of elephant sightings by this point, so continued up Timber Hill past Devil"s Advocate (I"ll leave you to guess what kind of establishment that is!), turned right at John Lewis, then headed along St Stephen"s Street and into the Chapelfield Mall. I always feel slightly uneasy when entering this place. It's not so much that I have anything against shopping in vast buildings full of national chains that can found in any large town in the land, but I can"t help but think about what it replaced. For many years, this site was occupied by a factory which, in its final years, was owned by Nestle, but most locals still refer to as Rowntree"s or Rowntree Mackintosh"s. At the time the factory was closed, it was apparently the most profitable site Nestle had in the UK, but was put to sleep because of its geographical remoteness rather than any lack of efficiency. Most families in Norwich contained someone who had at some point had a connection with the place and, indeed, one of my own brothers met his wife whilst working there. Ironically, their daughter is named after an elephant! Even Norwich"s most famous/best-liked resident, the Puppet Man also used to work for Rowntree"s.
From there, I passed the Norwich Millenium Library which is apparently the 2nd busiest library in the country in terms of number of items loaned per year. At this point, I begun to think about a refreshment stop, so eschewing Starbucks, Costa and all those other huge chains, I sought refuge in Pulse, a vegetarian cafe in a quiet courtyard just off Norwich marketplace.
By now, I had just a handful of elephants left to see, so headed along Gentleman"s walk towards Top Shop. On the way there, I passed the aforementioned Puppet Man who was "singing", what I believe (it was difficult to understand the words) was "The Leader of The Pack" whilst waving his "puppet" which looked suspiciously like a well-worn walking sock with two eyes glued on. For anyone interested in people-watching, the presence of the Puppet Man is a good way of working out who is from round these parts. Outsiders always have a look of sheer disbelief and can generally be seen pinching themselves to make sure they are not dreaming. Locals however, always laugh inwardly when the Puppet Man is around and look upon him as a harmless old chap whose idiosyncratic "performances", and I use the word in its loosest possible sense, help prevent our city from plunging headfirst into a morass of sanitised blandness.
I then turned left towards the castle and left again to the cathedral, where I sat quietly at the rear listening to the closing few minutes of an organ recital before heading home.
The reason for writing all of the above is to provide myself with a reality check. Like a lot of people on this site, I have been guilty of being over obsessive about my poker and felt I needed to take a step back before heading to London. Yes I"d love the gold bracelet, the sponsorship deal and the TV appearances, but I"m an amateur player with a life away from the game. Sometimes I need reminding of that.
Post by: duke3016 on August 25, 2008, 17:11:03 PM
Yes I"d love the gold bracelet, the sponsorship deal and the TV appearances, but I"m an amateur player with a life away from the game. Sometimes I need reminding of that.
Now that is the single greatest piece of prose that has ever been posted. I will buy the first drink at the Vic
Post by: APAT on August 25, 2008, 22:40:17 PM
Time for another blog entry and what is tonight"s effort going to be? An attempt to convey how excited I am about something I"m going to do soon? A collection of lowest common denominator cheap shots at my fellow Norfolk residents? Not this time anyway. Or possibly a thinly-veiled brag post during which I tell everyone how much money I"ve been making recently? Wrong again. Today"s effort has nothing at all to do with poker.
Tonight I went to The Waterfront in Norwich, a former grain warehouse which opened in 1992 as a music venue/nightclub. I see a lot of bands and the majority are loud, raucous rock bands. When I go to a gig, I don"t go for note-perfect renditions of songs I"ve played to death at home; I look for a bit more. I want excitement, the unexpected, I want energy and I want a performance. Tonight"s band were Mindless Self Indulgence and I"ll have to admit, when I purchased the ticket to see them, I hadn"t heard a single note of their music. However, they have a reputation for wild live shows so I thought it was worth risking £14.
My usual modus operandi is to stand on the edge of the area people where are hurling themselves at each other so that I get a slight sense of danger but I"m not likely to make contact with anyone"s flailing elbow. Early in the performance, a fearsome moshpit developed, which for the uninitiated means that a large chunk of the dance floor was covered by gig-goers not so much dancing as wildly hurling themselves in any direction until contact with another whirling dervish changes their path. I stood on the edge of this chaos with one eye on the stage, the other alert to rapidly-moving human-missiles. I"m not sure that anything specific prompted it, but there came a point where reserve exited stage left and before I"d had the chance to say my prayers, I found myself in the middle of the maelstrom. The most bizarre sight, amongst many bizarre sights, all evening were the three six foot plus skinheads who decided to have a game of scissors/paper/stone mid venue who were surrounded by ten blokes dancing round them in a circle. I was one of the ten.
During the final song, the part of hell which had previously been shackled was unleashed and the whole venue became a seething mass of dancing, jumping, gyrating bodies. If my sensible self had been present, I would unquestionably have sought refuge in the space between sound desk and bar, but I didn"t do that. I cast off my last vestiges of self-control and for one beautiful, fleeting moment forgot that I"m forty next year, asthmatic and work in an office.
Tomorrow morning, back to the call centre.
Outstanding post Simon. This is a great blog.
Post by: Swinebag on August 25, 2008, 22:46:32 PM
Post by: monkeyman on August 26, 2008, 10:50:11 AM
My train gets to Livepool Street just before 3pm. I"ll find way way to my hotel, then later will have a meal and go to see Spamalot which I saw at the Wynn Las Vegas last year. Tomorrow, the real fun starts and I fully expect to cash at least once during the week. I should be able to find a space for a trophy as well!
Also tomorrow, I will be joined my my brother-in-law, eastern region champion Steve Stringer (I was runner-up, grrrrrr) who will bring a laptop. I may possibly do some updates during the week, but its more likely I will leave it until my return home next monday.
Post by: Oldsoreknees on August 26, 2008, 21:00:48 PM
Incidentally daughter helped decorate one of the elephants in the city.
Good luck for the tournaments Monkey and Steve (Prince of Spawn)Stringer - it will be very satisfiying beating a World Champ!
(I"ve just crashed out of the Sky Slow Boat - K high flush against a A high one. At least I"ll get an early night.)
Post by: monkeyman on August 29, 2008, 19:58:54 PM
Post by: duke3016 on August 29, 2008, 20:20:11 PM
Post by: Bad hat lady on August 30, 2008, 15:23:54 PM
Good luck for the main event.
Post by: monkeyman on September 02, 2008, 22:03:40 PM
The Highs:
1) Seeing Johnny Rotten whilst strolling through Trafalgar Square.
2) Oh Heck, I"m struggling here....................hmm.................that"s about it for good stuff, on with the whinging.
The Lows:
1) Feeling like c**p all week. My normally completely-under-control-no-problem-at-all asthma decided that it was going to teach me that London isn"t the place for me and I had breathing problems from wednesday morning onwards. Whilst this didn"t affect my poker at all, it did mean that most of the time I"d allocated to tourist activity was spent laying on my bed in the hotel.
2) I"d figured that by playing all four tournaments, I"d have a reasonable chance of having at least one day when the poker gods were on my side. Unfortunately, being an atheist, I refuse to believe the existence of any god and my experiences last week reaffirmed my views. I didn"t have a single hand I"d would normally like to touch with a very long pole during either the Omaha and Razz tournaments. Stud day was marginally better and gave me my only top half finish of the week.
WARNING - This paragraph contains a bad beat story. Then came the main event. Oh dear. My record in APAT nationals is, frankly, dismal. I"ve now taken part in four (excluding last week"s side events) and have yet to make it to day two. For the early levels on saturday, nothing of note happened. I stole a few blinds here and there, but my stack never seemed to go above 11000 or below 9000. Things went completely wrong when Darren Shallis (seated two to my right) was replaced by Ducncthehat. Karma dictated that the new arrival should be the man to force me to depart as I greeted him with "Aren"t you the guy that who was outplayed by an empty chair in Cardiff?". The round before I departed, Dunc raised from the button, I reraised from the big blind and he put me all in. I didn"t feel that I wanted to put my tounament life on the line at that point, so after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I folded. Then came the fateful hand which occured during the 150/300 level. Dunc raised to 900 and I reraised to 2500 leaving me with about 4500 behind then Dunc called. The flop came 9c tc :2d:. I bet a further 2500 and was immediately raised all-in and called without hesitation. I had a pair of aces, he had queen/jack for an open-ended staright draw which was completed with an eight on the river. The only positive I can draw from this is that at least Mr Potty Mouth stayed at home and I retained a certain level of decorum.
WARNING- This paragraph also contains a bad beat story. I"m not sure how I manage it, but despite the fact that I think I"m contiuously improving as a player, my departure from each national has been quicker than my preceding effort. My first try was in Luton last year when I went out an agonising two minutes before the close of day one ( Have I ever mentioned I was rivered off a 70000 chip pot by going all-in with QQ and was beaten by AQ? I have? About a dozen times? OK, I won"t mention it again). In Cardiff I survived the table of death and a couple of hours sitting next to Liv Boeree, but went out just after 11pm. In Edinburgh I was brilliant for the first couple of hours and stormed into an early lead but then blew-up in spectacular style and departed the first hand after the meal break. This time, didn"t hang around long enough to sample the bowl of chilli provided. At this rate, next time I enter a national, I"ll probably be disqualified before arriving at the casino.
In all seriousness, the main positive I gained from the week came well before my arrival in the capital. As mentioned extensively over the past few weeks, I have changed from being a no limit holdem player to someone who plays almost nothing but stud and my bank account is looking all the healthier because of it. The only reason for this change was that I wanted to practise all the side events before arriving at The Vic. If last week hadn"t been planned, I"d probably still be swearing at opponents upon departure from mickey mouse holdem contests. Being a cash player seems so be suiting me down to the ground.
Post by: APAT on September 02, 2008, 22:54:53 PM
I"m glad to see you wore the Darley hat in the WCOAP stud tournament. I was a bit disappointed you didn"t win as I was hoping to set up as a poker image consultant.
Good luck for the main event.
Simon wearing the offending item....
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/www.apat.com/SLgCa_PKFiI/AAAAAAAANC0/fxWJYfID0sc/s320/IMG_8312.jpg)
Post by: APAT on September 02, 2008, 22:56:04 PM
I"m back in my natural environment and its time for a review of the highs and lows of my week in London. WARNING - this blog entry may contain traces of bad beat stories.
The Highs:
1) Seeing Johnny Rotten whilst strolling through Trafalgar Square.
2) Oh Heck, I"m struggling here....................hmm.................that"s about it for good stuff, on with the whinging.
The Lows:
1) Feeling like c**p all week. My normally completely-under-control-no-problem-at-all asthma decided that it was going to teach me that London isn"t the place for me and I had breathing problems from wednesday morning onwards. Whilst this didn"t affect my poker at all, it did mean that most of the time I"d allocated to tourist activity was spent laying on my bed in the hotel.
2) I"d figured that by playing all four tournaments, I"d have a reasonable chance of having at least one day when the poker gods were on my side. Unfortunately, being an atheist, I refuse to believe the existence of any god and my experiences last week reaffirmed my views. I didn"t have a single hand I"d would normally like to touch with a very long pole during either the Omaha and Razz tournaments. Stud day was marginally better and gave me my only top half finish of the week.
WARNING - This paragraph contains a bad beat story. Then came the main event. Oh dear. My record in APAT nationals is, frankly, dismal. I"ve now taken part in four (excluding last week"s side events) and have yet to make it to day two. For the early levels on saturday, nothing of note happened. I stole a few blinds here and there, but my stack never seemed to go above 11000 or below 9000. Things went completely wrong when Darren Shallis (seated two to my right) was replaced by Ducncthehat. Karma dictated that the new arrival should be the man to force me to depart as I greeted him with "Aren"t you the guy that who was outplayed by an empty chair in Cardiff?". The round before I departed, Dunc raised from the button, I reraised from the big blind and he put me all in. I didn"t feel that I wanted to put my tounament life on the line at that point, so after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I folded. Then came the fateful hand which occured during the 150/300 level. Dunc raised to 900 and I reraised to 2500 leaving me with about 4500 behind then Dunc called. The flop came 9c tc :2d:. I bet a further 2500 and was immediately raised all-in and called without hesitation. I had a pair of aces, he had queen/jack for an open-ended staright draw which was completed with an eight on the river. The only positive I can draw from this is that at least Mr Potty Mouth stayed at home and I retained a certain level of decorum.
WARNING- This paragraph also contains a bad beat story. I"m not sure how I manage it, but despite the fact that I think I"m contiuously improving as a player, my departure from each national has been quicker than my preceding effort. My first try was in Luton last year when I went out an agonising two minutes before the close of day one ( Have I ever mentioned I was rivered off a 70000 chip pot by going all-in with QQ and was beaten by AQ? I have? About a dozen times? OK, I won"t mention it again). In Cardiff I survived the table of death and a couple of hours sitting next to Liv Boeree, but went out just after 11pm. In Edinburgh I was brilliant for the first couple of hours and stormed into an early lead but then blew-up in spectacular style and departed the first hand after the meal break. This time, didn"t hang around long enough to sample the bowl of chilli provided. At this rate, next time I enter a national, I"ll probably be disqualified before arriving at the casino.
In all seriousness, the main positive I gained from the week came well before my arrival in the capital. As mentioned extensively over the past few weeks, I have changed from being a no limit holdem player to someone who plays almost nothing but stud and my bank account is looking all the healthier because of it. The only reason for this change was that I wanted to practise all the side events before arriving at The Vic. If last week hadn"t been planned, I"d probably still be swearing at opponents upon departure from mickey mouse holdem contests. Being a cash player seems so be suiting me down to the ground.
Was good to catch up at the Vic Simon and as they say, that"s poker for you. Your day will come....
Post by: monkeyman on September 02, 2008, 23:24:35 PM
Post by: Santino67 on September 03, 2008, 13:42:25 PM
At this rate, next time I enter a national, I"ll probably be disqualified before arriving at the casino.
:D :D :D
Excellent stuff Simon. Shame I didn"t get to meet you in London but hope to at some future events.
Post by: Oldsoreknees on September 03, 2008, 20:40:35 PM
It wasn"t the hat that was the offending item in that photo!
I"m glad to see you wore the Darley hat in the WCOAP stud tournament. I was a bit disappointed you didn"t win as I was hoping to set up as a poker image consultant.
Good luck for the main event.
Simon wearing the offending item....
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/www.apat.com/SLgCa_PKFiI/AAAAAAAANC0/fxWJYfID0sc/s320/IMG_8312.jpg)
And I bet it wasn"t taken just after his :as: ah rivering
Post by: monkeyman on September 04, 2008, 20:54:52 PM
A) Two. One to change the bulb, the other to tell all his friends repeatedly for months to come, how unlucky he was that the bulb blew at that precise moment
Post by: monkeyman on September 05, 2008, 12:39:11 PM
The reasons for this apparent monkey fixation arise from a conversation I had with my elder niece, who was nine at the time but is now thirteen. We were playing games on the computer at my parents" house and for some reason, I called her a "Little Monkey". I don"t know if this is just me, but I sometimes seem to get drawn into conversations which get sillier with every comment and get to the point where none of the participants can remember what the conversation was originally about. If you"ve even seen the Vicar of Dibley, think of the parish council meetings and you"ll get the idea. From calling her a "Little Monkey", my niece and I came up with an idea to make our fortunes, which was to open a monkey-related theme park. All the rides and attractions were to have a monkey theme and at the height of our silliness, we even decided that no cash was to change hands in the park. At he entrance, visitors had to buy a bag of bananas which were to be used as payment tokens for the rides. The point at which we decided we couldn"t get any dafter was when we thought that we would pay all the staff in peanuts, as everybody knows that if you pay peanuts you get monkeys and having the park staffed by monkeys would lend a degree of authenticity. Our business was to be called "Monkeyworld".
This conversation took place during November and during the subsequent christmas holidays, my niece almost ignored all her christmas presents and set about creating models of all the Monkeyworld rides. A few weeks later, I was presented with three plastic bags full of roundabouts and rollercoasters made from toilet roll inners and tissue boxes.
Shortly after all this happened, I googled "Monkeyworld" and found that there was an ape rescue centre of this name in Devon. The real Monkeyworld has been the subject of a TV series on Animal Planet and Channel Five.
A few months later, I was thinking about what to get my niece for her birthday. I looked at the Monkeyworld website and found that, like most zoos, it was possible to adopt an animal. Even better, it was possible to adopt specific named animals and, this caused much merriment at the time, Monkeyworld had a chimpanzee called Simon. This settled it for me. My niece"s present that year was the adoption of Simon the monkey and to this day, she still receives quarterly newsletters from him.
Incidentally, my other niece subsequently adopted an orangutan and for the first few levels of my first APAT national (Luton last year) I wore a Monkeyworld baseball cap.
Post by: APAT on September 05, 2008, 13:21:04 PM
As well as using the name "Monkeyman" on this forum, I use the word "Monkey" somewhere in the screen name for most poker sites I use. The exceptions are Doyle"s Room where I am "Letsbeavinu", Skypoker where I am "Imafish" and Virgin where I am "Whatafish" as well as "Idrivetractors" on Blue Square.
The reasons for this apparent monkey fixation arise from a conversation I had with my elder niece, who was nine at the time but is now thirteen. We were playing games on the computer at my parents" house and for some reason, I called her a "Little Monkey". I don"t know if this is just me, but I sometimes seem to get drawn into conversations which get sillier with every comment and get to the point where none of the participants can remember what the conversation was originally about. If you"ve even seen the Vicar of Dibley, think of the parish council meetings and you"ll get the idea. From calling her a "Little Monkey", my niece and I came up with an idea to make our fortunes, which was to open a monkey-related theme park. All the rides and attractions were to have a monkey theme and at the height of our silliness, we even decided that no cash was to change hands in the park. At he entrance, visitors had to buy a bag of bananas which were to be used as payment tokens for the rides. The point at which we decided we couldn"t get any dafter was when we thought that we would pay all the staff in peanuts, as everybody knows that if you pay peanuts you get monkeys and having the park staffed by monkeys would lend a degree of authenticity. Our business was to be called "Monkeyworld".
This conversation took place during November and during the subsequent christmas holidays, my niece almost ignored all her christmas presents and set about creating models of all the Monkeyworld rides. A few weeks later, I was presented with three plastic bags full of roundabouts and rollercoasters made from toilet roll inners and tissue boxes.
Shortly after all this happened, I googled "Monkeyworld" and found that there was an ape rescue centre of this name in Devon. The real Monkeyworld has been the subject of a TV series on Animal Planet and Channel Five.
A few months later, I was thinking about what to get my niece for her birthday. I looked at the Monkeyworld website and found that, like most zoos, it was possible to adopt an animal. Even better, it was possible to adopt specific named animals and, this caused much merriment at the time, Monkeyworld had a chimpanzee called Simon. This settled it for me. My niece"s present that year was the adoption of Simon the monkey and to this day, she still receives quarterly newsletters from him.
Incidentally, my other niece subsequently adopted an orangutan and for the first few levels of my first APAT national (Luton last year) I wore a Monkeyworld baseball cap.
Very nice piece.
Post by: Oldsoreknees on September 05, 2008, 20:54:30 PM
For any people who live outside Norfolk, and I believe there are a few, this is absolutely true, and not some bizarre local joke.
Post by: Bad hat lady on September 05, 2008, 21:59:16 PM
This time, didn"t hang around long enough to sample the bowl of chilli provided. At this rate, next time I enter a national, I"ll probably be disqualified before arriving at the casino.
Never mind, I have a couple of new hats so it must be time for another WSOP Norwich branch tournament. Hopefully you will be able to make it through the front door before going out in spectacular fashion. I might even spend the next week knitting a bracelet to give you something to set your sites on winning.
Post by: Oldsoreknees on September 05, 2008, 22:03:00 PM
Post by: Bad hat lady on September 06, 2008, 10:41:13 AM
You can knit??
Yes as long as I don"t have to do anything complicated. A scarf is about my limit, but I thought a bracelet would just be a scarf made using cocktail sticks.
Post by: monkeyman on September 06, 2008, 14:36:51 PM
Looking ahead to the next few days and you can expect to see me in the some of the season 2 concluding events. I"ll definitely be playing in the Omaha and the six max hold"em. Then we come to a six max, seven card stud event with 5000 starting chips, hmmmmm, i like the sound of that one. I may well give the main event a miss as $50 is above my usual online buy-in, although if I"ve both cashed earlier in the week and find myself less than eighteen points behind the overall leader in the rankings I"ll be there.
Post by: monkeyman on September 07, 2008, 21:27:57 PM
Post by: monkeyman on September 08, 2008, 20:08:36 PM
Post by: monkeyman on September 08, 2008, 21:01:58 PM
Post by: monkeyman on September 08, 2008, 22:12:54 PM
Post by: monkeyman on September 08, 2008, 22:35:05 PM
Post by: monkeyman on September 09, 2008, 00:27:01 AM
Looking back on the hand, I think my reraise is absolutely the right move. I don"t think there"s any way I can fold the hand on a 6 max table, particularly with the blinds as they are. Where I went wrong is in calling the all in. Obviously, I"m saying this with the benefit of hindsight, but I think there was sufficient information available to allow me to escape. My opponent"s raise could have been with almost any hand from complete junk attempting to steal the blinds through to aces. I think my reraise helped to narrow down the possibilities. I don"t think he"d have shoved with junk, so the question has to be, what did I put him on? Given our stack sizes, I don"t believe he"d have shoved in the face of a reraise with ace/jack or any weaker ace. That leaves me thinking his most likely holding to be aces, kings, ace king or maybe a smaller pair. Whatever I thought he was on, I was committing my chips to a pot where I was likely to be behind. If I"d have folded when he shoved, OK I"d have taken a hit, but I would still have a perfectly playable stack which I could have used to damage my opponents.
It could be argued that I was unlucky to run AQ into AK, but I think this hand illustrates the difference between the thinking of a recreational player compared to how a professional would have thought through the same situation. A few months ago, I had a letter published in Paul Jackson"s column in Pokerplayer where I was asking his advice about a very similar situation (In the example I gave him, I had AK,my opponent AQ). His response was that even though in the scenario given, I was getting my chips in the middle as a favourite, it was a foolish move on my part to put my tournament life on the line when I had sufficient left behind to still make a nuisance of myself. I wish I"d listened to him :"(
Post by: Swinebag on September 09, 2008, 07:38:59 AM
Post by: monkeyman on September 10, 2008, 19:06:57 PM
Post by: monkeyman on September 10, 2008, 21:02:30 PM
Post by: monkeyman on September 10, 2008, 21:52:22 PM
Post by: ibis on September 11, 2008, 13:01:35 PM
It could be argued that I was unlucky to run AQ into AK, but I think this hand illustrates the difference between the thinking of a recreational player compared to how a professional would have thought through the same situation. A few months ago, I had a letter published in Paul Jackson"s column in Pokerplayer where I was asking his advice about a very similar situation (In the example I gave him, I had AK,my opponent AQ). His response was that even though in the scenario given, I was getting my chips in the middle as a favourite, it was a foolish move on my part to put my tournament life on the line when I had sufficient left behind to still make a nuisance of myself. I wish I"d listened to him :"(
I"ve done a bit of maths using Pokerstove and came up with the following: The call is +EV if you have more than around 38% chance of winning the pot against his range (if my calcs are correct). If you put him on AA/KK/QQ/AK you are 29/71 so you should fold. If you put him on AA-88 + AK you are around 38/62 and if you add AQ to his range you are 40/60 so a slight +EV but probably not enough given your tournament live is at stake. But if you think he"s pushing loosely (maybe he"s on the button/SB and stealing so you think he"s raising light so resteal and he thinks that you know he"s stealing so he thinks you"ll reraise light with a wide range, so he shoves with a wide range) say with 55-AA, A9+ you are 52/48 and if you put him on 22-AA + any A + KQ you are 60/40 favourite and an easy call (even if he turns over AK/AA, the call would be correct). So whether the call is correct depends on position and ultimately the hand range you put him on with his raise and the range you think he puts you on with your reraise. Simple!
Post by: AMRN on September 11, 2008, 14:32:32 PM
It could be argued that I was unlucky to run AQ into AK, but I think this hand illustrates the difference between the thinking of a recreational player compared to how a professional would have thought through the same situation. A few months ago, I had a letter published in Paul Jackson"s column in Pokerplayer where I was asking his advice about a very similar situation (In the example I gave him, I had AK,my opponent AQ). His response was that even though in the scenario given, I was getting my chips in the middle as a favourite, it was a foolish move on my part to put my tournament life on the line when I had sufficient left behind to still make a nuisance of myself. I wish I"d listened to him :"(
I"ve done a bit of maths using Pokerstove and came up with the following: The call is +EV if you have more than around 38% chance of winning the pot against his range (if my calcs are correct). If you put him on AA/KK/QQ/AK you are 29/71 so you should fold. If you put him on AA-88 + AK you are around 38/62 and if you add AQ to his range you are 40/60 so a slight +EV but probably not enough given your tournament live is at stake. But if you think he"s pushing loosely (maybe he"s on the button/SB and stealing so you think he"s raising light so resteal and he thinks that you know he"s stealing so he thinks you"ll reraise light with a wide range, so he shoves with a wide range) say with 55-AA, A9+ you are 52/48 and if you put him on 22-AA + any A + KQ you are 60/40 favourite and an easy call (even if he turns over AK/AA, the call would be correct). So whether the call is correct depends on position and ultimately the hand range you put him on with his raise and the range you think he puts you on with your reraise. Not Simple at all!
FYP!! ??? ;D ;D
Post by: monkeyman on September 12, 2008, 22:55:22 PM
Post by: monkeyman on September 14, 2008, 10:16:27 AM
Overall, I"m happy with how things have gone. I"ve spent most of the season in the top ten of the national rankings, got a full set of medals, made 6 online final tables and had, if my memory serves me correctly, plenty of near misses, with a further ten penultimate table departures. This compares extremely favourably to season one when my only rankings points came in Razz, my highest placing in a hold"em event was thirtieth and I was, frankly, out of my depth.
The evidence is there that I"ve improved as a player and I think there are two key reasons for this. Firstly, my trip to Las Vegas last november was an eye opener. Unlike my previous visit, I didn"t win a cent playing in low buy-in freezeouts. However, I learnt a few key lessons. I played at Planet Hollywood four times and one tournament that sticks in my mind had fifty-five to sixty players with payouts down to eighth. From the opening three or four hands, the player to my left took command of the table, continually raising other players off pots. As the structure of the tournament was such that it wasn"t possible to sit and wait for premium hands, I decided to do something I hadn"t tried before which was to take him on at his own game. I made a point of entering pots by raising and reraising, sometimes with complete junk and built up a healthy chipstack. Ultimately, I was unsuccessful, but I got to the final table and departed just outside the money. The guy I mentioned from my opening table had recently moved to Las Vegas to try and make it as a professional and I discovered later that the field contained four other full time players. I returned home a few quid poorer but with a couple of additional weapons in my armoury.
The second big factor in my improvement as a player is the existence of APAT. Before Luton last year, my live experience was my first week in Vegas and one friday night rebuy at the Grosvenor in Great Yarmouth. The latter appeared to be a test of who had the deepest pockets rather than of poker skill so gave me an aversion to rebuy tournaments. In season two I"ve played four regional contests, been to Cardiff and Edinburgh as well as taking part in all four events at The Vic. Playing in freezouts with a sensible chipstack has helped me to develop some good habits which should serve me well in years to come.
My record in national events is awful. I"ve yet to make day two of a main event in four attempts and have actually gone out quicker with each successive try. The side events in London also didn"t work out at all, so I"ve yet to make my mark outside Norfolk. Maybe I"m allergic to leaving the county!
The biggest boost I"ve received from season two has indirectly come from the week in London. When I decided I was definitely making the trip to Edgware Road, I decided to try the side events. To prepare myself, from June onwards, I made a point of playing Omaha,Razz and Stud. What I hadn"t expected was that I discovered I could consistently make profits by playing cash stud. As a result, my playing focus has completely altered from being playing almost entirely holdem freezeout multi table tournaments to being primarily a cash player. At the moment, probably 90-95% of my playing time is spent playing stud. This has come about because I"ve taken stock of what I"m looking for from my poker playing and what I"m doing now fits better with my personal cicumstances. As I"ve mentioned previously, I work in a call centre. This obviously isn"t a well paid job which means that, taking my mortgage and other household bills into consideration, my poker has to be, at worst self-supporting. My plan from this point onwards is to try and grow my bankroll and move up a buy in level or two. I"m not saying that I"m giving up on tournament play, but I will not be spending my time making repeated attempts to win single life-changing amounts. Any tournaments I buy into will by paid for by profits made from cash tables.
I wait with baited breath to see what season three brings. I"m praying that the Great Yarmouth regionals are retained as there is a small nucleus of regulars there who seem to get on with each other and it will give me the opportunity to keep practising my live game. I"d love to see more non hold"em contests and will be very keen to assess the viability of making an attempt to top the overall rankings. This blog will continue for the forseeable future and I look forward to meeting everyone again in season three.
Post by: Chipaccrual on September 14, 2008, 10:22:30 AM
Post by: monkeyman on September 17, 2008, 14:42:16 PM
Strongly disciplined players like Chris Ferguson advocate never risking more than a set percentage of your bankroll on any given session. For the week starting on Sunday 14/09/08 running through to the following saturday, I am employing a slightly more cavalier approach. Every hand I play this week will be stud at the higher level regardless of how I get on. I will only play on my two favoured stud sites, Pokerstars and Partypoker, and come hell or high water will not step down until the week is out. The potential downside is huge and if I have seven days without hitting any cards, then I will have losses that I can"t really sustain. However, I believe this is the right approach for a number of reasons. Firstly, if I tell myself that I will be successful in a higher grade and that given average luck I won"t have any problems, then my confidence will give me an excellent chance of making the right decisions and maximising returns. I think that if I was to allow myself the escape route of backing down if things don"t start off too well, I will be more likely to avoid confrontation and may as well not be playing. In addition, over the past few weeks, I"ve gradually got an idea of the level of variance involved in what I"m doing. I always buy in for exactly twenty times the big bet. What I normally find is that using my final profit/loss for the week as a guide, the maximum I will go above or below this point is about two times buy-in. I think this gives me a realistic idea of how much I"m likely to win or lose depending on how things go.
For the record, I"ve had an up and down week so far. I played a lot on sunday and finished fractionally over half a buyin down. I didn"t play much on monday, but did very well, and at about 19.30 last night I was about 1.75 buy-ins in profit. Things then went downhill as I missed a series of strong draws and finished the night a few cents over $5 ahead. It could be argued that I should have stopped before I did to minimise damage, but as far as I"m concerned, I"m a novice at this game and the more hands I play now, regardless of the end result, the better it will be for me long term.
I"ve got a half day off work this afternoon, so I"ll squeeze in a couple of hours. Tonight I may give myself a night off as my brother Stuart (Oldsoreknees on here) and I may be making our first foray into pub poker.
Post by: monkeyman on September 19, 2008, 17:50:55 PM
The big plus of this week so far has been that I"ve picked up a number of hands I know I wouldn"t have managed PV ( Pre-Vic), its just a shame that my bank balance doesn"t reflect this!
Post by: monkeyman on September 19, 2008, 22:09:47 PM
I"ve got a day off playing tomorrow so that leaves me to think about my plans for next week. My options are as follows:
1) Give up poker and walk down the road to Mecca bingo
2) Do exactly the same as this week, after all I cant be this unlucky two weeks running, can I?
3) Drop back down a level, allow my blood pressure return to normal levels and try the step up again in a couple of weeks.
4) Reintroduce a little tournament play into the mix
5) Give up stud altogether and return to a diet of deepstack holde"em tourneys
6) Smash my PC into a million pieces
7) Find religion and decide that gambling is the work of Satan
8) Stop bloody whinging, bad beat stories are also, without exception, all created within the depths of hell
9) Try to execute a cunning yet fiendishly difficult mystery plan
Post by: Bad hat lady on September 19, 2008, 22:32:49 PM
Oh dear god, this just isn"t funny. I"ve successfully managed to push my loss for the week over the two times buy in mark and in the last two hours I"ve played ten hands where I"ve been in the lead on sixth street only to lose on seventh. Funniest bad beat of the lot was when, on sixth street I had two pair (aces and tens) and a royal flush draw (card needed for royal and six others of same suit not yet exposed) but was defeated on seventh street by an opponent who completed a ten-high straight with the only ten left in the deck. Its a good job I"ve got my curtains closed as my neighbours may otherwise have seen the top of my head lift off and steam come out of my ears a la Tom and Jerry.
I"ve got a day off playing tomorrow so that leaves me to think about my plans for next week. My options are as follows:
1) Give up poker and walk down the road to Mecca bingo
2) Do exactly the same as this week, after all I cant be this unlucky two weeks running, can I?
3) Drop back down a level, allow my blood pressure return to normal levels and try the step up again in a couple of weeks.
4) Reintroduce a little tournament play into the mix
5) Give up stud altogether and return to a diet of deepstack holde"em tourneys
6) Smash my PC into a million pieces
7) Find religion and decide that gambling is the work of Satan
8) Stop bloody whinging, bad beat stories are also, without exception, all created within the depths of hell
9) Try to execute a cunning yet fiendishly difficult mystery plan
What do you mean that this has been an unlucky couple of weeks. You failed to mention that last week you managed to win the World series of Poker Norwich (Sept competition) and get your first WSOPN bracelet. How much more luck do you want?
p.s. on a serious note the only sensible option is number 3.
Also, I have a secret way of controlling my blood pressure when playing on line; I have a bit of paper with a line down the middle and list any bad beats on one side and any good fortune, e.g. winning from behind, (not that I ever go in behind) on the other. This make it easier to put bad beats in perspective, and if you really are unlucky you have reams of evidence to wave at people.
Post by: ibis on September 19, 2008, 22:34:10 PM
1) Give up poker and walk down the road to Mecca bingo
2) Do exactly the same as this week, after all I cant be this unlucky two weeks running, can I?
3) Drop back down a level, allow my blood pressure return to normal levels and try the step up again in a couple of weeks.
4) Reintroduce a little tournament play into the mix
5) Give up stud altogether and return to a diet of deepstack holde"em tourneys
6) Smash my PC into a million pieces
7) Find religion and decide that gambling is the work of Satan
8) Stop bloody whinging, bad beat stories are also, without exception, all created within the depths of hell
9) Try to execute a cunning yet fiendishly difficult mystery plan
9 interesting....
8 DEFINITELY!
7 Don"t be silly
6 Don"t call me. I"ll only fix it if it"s 4 pieces or less
5 That"s just silly
4 Possibility
2 Bad idea
1 What and get chatted up by the old dears? They"d eat you alive!
Which leaves only 3 or is it too sensible to reduce blood pressure, raise bankroll and re-raise confidence?
Post by: monkeyman on September 19, 2008, 23:10:09 PM
Oh dear god, this just isn"t funny. I"ve successfully managed to push my loss for the week over the two times buy in mark and in the last two hours I"ve played ten hands where I"ve been in the lead on sixth street only to lose on seventh. Funniest bad beat of the lot was when, on sixth street I had two pair (aces and tens) and a royal flush draw (card needed for royal and six others of same suit not yet exposed) but was defeated on seventh street by an opponent who completed a ten-high straight with the only ten left in the deck. Its a good job I"ve got my curtains closed as my neighbours may otherwise have seen the top of my head lift off and steam come out of my ears a la Tom and Jerry.
I"ve got a day off playing tomorrow so that leaves me to think about my plans for next week. My options are as follows:
1) Give up poker and walk down the road to Mecca bingo
2) Do exactly the same as this week, after all I cant be this unlucky two weeks running, can I?
3) Drop back down a level, allow my blood pressure return to normal levels and try the step up again in a couple of weeks.
4) Reintroduce a little tournament play into the mix
5) Give up stud altogether and return to a diet of deepstack holde"em tourneys
6) Smash my PC into a million pieces
7) Find religion and decide that gambling is the work of Satan
8) Stop bloody whinging, bad beat stories are also, without exception, all created within the depths of hell
9) Try to execute a cunning yet fiendishly difficult mystery plan
Oh dear god, this just isn"t funny. I"ve successfully managed to push my loss for the week over the two times buy in mark and in the last two hours I"ve played ten hands where I"ve been in the lead on sixth street only to lose on seventh. Funniest bad beat of the lot was when, on sixth street I had two pair (aces and tens) and a royal flush draw (card needed for royal and six others of same suit not yet exposed) but was defeated on seventh street by an opponent who completed a ten-high straight with the only ten left in the deck. Its a good job I"ve got my curtains closed as my neighbours may otherwise have seen the top of my head lift off and steam come out of my ears a la Tom and Jerry.
I"ve got a day off playing tomorrow so that leaves me to think about my plans for next week. My options are as follows:
1) Give up poker and walk down the road to Mecca bingo
2) Do exactly the same as this week, after all I cant be this unlucky two weeks running, can I?
3) Drop back down a level, allow my blood pressure return to normal levels and try the step up again in a couple of weeks.
4) Reintroduce a little tournament play into the mix
5) Give up stud altogether and return to a diet of deepstack holde"em tourneys
6) Smash my PC into a million pieces
7) Find religion and decide that gambling is the work of Satan
8) Stop bloody whinging, bad beat stories are also, without exception, all created within the depths of hell
9) Try to execute a cunning yet fiendishly difficult mystery plan
The options under consideration are (3), (4) and (9). No one will even come close to guessing the exact details of the "mystery" plan but it just might be worth trying.
Post by: duke3016 on September 19, 2008, 23:25:52 PM
Post by: monkeyman on September 20, 2008, 10:35:19 AM
Those stud stables really had better start being a bit kinder to me before I start looking at that stuff again.
Post by: monkeyman on September 21, 2008, 09:20:13 AM
Oh dear god, this just isn"t funny. I"ve successfully managed to push my loss for the week over the two times buy in mark and in the last two hours I"ve played ten hands where I"ve been in the lead on sixth street only to lose on seventh. Funniest bad beat of the lot was when, on sixth street I had two pair (aces and tens) and a royal flush draw (card needed for royal and six others of same suit not yet exposed) but was defeated on seventh street by an opponent who completed a ten-high straight with the only ten left in the deck. Its a good job I"ve got my curtains closed as my neighbours may otherwise have seen the top of my head lift off and steam come out of my ears a la Tom and Jerry.
I"ve got a day off playing tomorrow so that leaves me to think about my plans for next week. My options are as follows:
1) Give up poker and walk down the road to Mecca bingo
2) Do exactly the same as this week, after all I cant be this unlucky two weeks running, can I?
3) Drop back down a level, allow my blood pressure return to normal levels and try the step up again in a couple of weeks.
4) Reintroduce a little tournament play into the mix
5) Give up stud altogether and return to a diet of deepstack holde"em tourneys
6) Smash my PC into a million pieces
7) Find religion and decide that gambling is the work of Satan
8) Stop bloody whinging, bad beat stories are also, without exception, all created within the depths of hell
9) Try to execute a cunning yet fiendishly difficult mystery plan
Another week begins and I"ve decided the plan this time round is somewhere between points three and four. Last week was an interesting experiment, but was not a good blueprint to follow. It was a bit like deciding that as you like eating ice cream you want to eat nothing but ice cream for seven days. Its something you like a lot, but a lack of variety in your diet makes you sick of the stuff. Therefore, this weeks scheme will involve lots of stud play at the level to which I"ve become accustomed, but this time I will add in a couple of tournaments to add a bit of variety.
On a completely different tack, a good indicator of my mindset came in the unlikely guise of a trip to my local Asda. I tend to take my own plastic bags to reuse. I"ve got enough of Asda"s own bags to comfortably accomodate my regular shop, but I actually took ones that were emblazoned with "Mandalay Bay","Ballys", "Welcome to Las Vegas" and, err, this one ruins the pattern, "Monkeyworld". Can anyone see a pattern?
Post by: Santino67 on September 21, 2008, 09:31:37 AM
Post by: monkeyman on September 21, 2008, 10:10:34 AM
I"m sure 7 & 8 are good options Simon :D Seriously, IMO I think you should stick with it again for another week if it"s not too stressful on your bankroll. Think you may just have run into poor cards/luck/timing last week. Might be worth another pop if your confidence hasn"t been damaged.
I thought at some length about sticking at the higher level and I genuinely believe that I played well enough to have finished in profit given the rub of the green. However, I"m still very new to the idea of basing my poker playing time around cash play, so I think I need to do a little fine tuning. I haven"t yet hit upon the magic formula for keeping myself at my mental peak all for a sustained period, but at least last week has pointed me towards the idea that seven days of nothing but cash stud isn"t the answer. I will be trying the step up again sooner rather than later, but thought that I needed to do something different this time.
Post by: monkeyman on September 21, 2008, 21:25:30 PM
Oh dear god, this just isn"t funny. I"ve successfully managed to push my loss for the week over the two times buy in mark and in the last two hours I"ve played ten hands where I"ve been in the lead on sixth street only to lose on seventh. Funniest bad beat of the lot was when, on sixth street I had two pair (aces and tens) and a royal flush draw (card needed for royal and six others of same suit not yet exposed) but was defeated on seventh street by an opponent who completed a ten-high straight with the only ten left in the deck. Its a good job I"ve got my curtains closed as my neighbours may otherwise have seen the top of my head lift off and steam come out of my ears a la Tom and Jerry.
I"ve got a day off playing tomorrow so that leaves me to think about my plans for next week. My options are as follows:
1) Give up poker and walk down the road to Mecca bingo
2) Do exactly the same as this week, after all I cant be this unlucky two weeks running, can I?
3) Drop back down a level, allow my blood pressure return to normal levels and try the step up again in a couple of weeks.
4) Reintroduce a little tournament play into the mix
5) Give up stud altogether and return to a diet of deepstack holde"em tourneys
6) Smash my PC into a million pieces
7) Find religion and decide that gambling is the work of Satan
8) Stop bloody whinging, bad beat stories are also, without exception, all created within the depths of hell
9) Try to execute a cunning yet fiendishly difficult mystery plan
When I woke up this morning, I thought the plan for this week would be an amalgamation of points three and four. I wanted to play a gentle hold"em tournament tonight to reintroduce myself to the game then spend most of the week rebuilding my bank balance on the stud cash tables. The tournament I chose was the $5.50, $15000 guaranteed affair on Pokerstars starting at 18.00 which I"ve previously had some success in. I haven"t played in this competition for a few months and after tonight I don"t think I will again. There were 4896 entries and I"ve discovered just how far my attitude has changed. I didn"t enjoy playing tonight one jot. I"m not about to tell a bad beat story or regale you with some other tale of woe, but I found myself mind numbingly bored. I just couldn"t figure out why I was sitting down for a tournament which was likely to continue into the early hours without having the possibility of winning sufficient to make me at least consider telling my employers to take my job description, roll it up and use it as a suppository. This has given me a change of heart and I have decided that this week I will go for option nine, the "Cunning yet fiendishly difficult mystery plan". Before I reveal the exact details of said plan, a little background..........
For about the first eighteen months after I was taught this game, my poker education came about solely through playing and trying to learn from experience. I then bought "Harrington on Hold'em" and it made an instant improvement in my game. Where I"d been creeping into the lower reaches of tournament payouts, I started making final tables. Since then, I"ve played live a bit, read a few more books, watched Stoxpoker videos and gradually improved.
The early stages of my serious stud playing have felt very much like my early days of hold"em. I"ve played lots and have tweaked my game to take account of things I"ve worked out on the virtual tables. I think my skills, if not my finances, allow me to move slightly higher up the ladder, but I have hit a couple of snags. Firstly, there are very few sites where there are sufficient stud players to guarantee the availability of a game at all times. In addition, stud tournaments are as good as non-existent which I regard as a major handicap. Secondly, there is very little literature or wisdom I can tap into to help my game.
I have borrowed a copy of "Super System 2" and was disappointed that even this doesn"t have a chapter on stud high, although Todd Brunson has contributed a piece on stud high/low. Likewise, Stoxpoker"s video library seems to have a number of stud high/low films but nothing on stud high only. I certainly don"t intend reverting to being predominantly a hold"em player, I"ve done too well recently for that to be an option, but do have some thinking to do.
So on to the precise details of my fiendishly difficult to execute master plan and if anyone ever tells me they know exactly what I"m about to type, you are a liar. My plan starts with immersing myself in the aforementioned "Super systems 2". I will also make use of Stox"s resources and here comes the radical bit..............Once I shut down my computer tonight, I will not play a single hand of online poker of any form until next Sunday. You may care to read that last sentence a second time. My reason for coming to this conclusion is that I believe that playing hour after hour of poker without time for review can be as much of a hindrance as a help. I think the time has come for me and poker to have a bit of time away from each other in order to rekindle our enthusiasm for each other.
Will I manage to hold out for seven days? Mmm, we'll see. Watch this space.
Post by: monkeyman on September 23, 2008, 18:18:52 PM
Post by: Swinebag on September 23, 2008, 21:01:09 PM
Two days into myself self-imposed week-long poker ban and I"m still not sure if I"ll last the distance. Last night wasn"t too much of an issue as I was out for part of it. But tonight? I"m home from work, I"ve had my tea and there"s nothing on TV I fancy watching. What am I supposed to do with myself if I"m not playing poker?
poker million is on at 10.
read poker books untill then
Post by: duke3016 on September 23, 2008, 21:19:22 PM
Two days into myself self-imposed week-long poker ban and I"m still not sure if I"ll last the distance. Last night wasn"t too much of an issue as I was out for part of it. But tonight? I"m home from work, I"ve had my tea and there"s nothing on TV I fancy watching. What am I supposed to do with myself if I"m not playing poker?
poker million is on at 10.
read poker books untill then
(http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_1_75.gif)
Post by: monkeyman on September 23, 2008, 22:38:29 PM
Post by: monkeyman on September 24, 2008, 20:26:07 PM
Post by: ibis on September 24, 2008, 21:04:00 PM
This poker exile is getting silly. Tonight I"ve been putting up new curtains and worst of all, hoovering. This is complete,madness. How am I supposed to maintain that lovingly crafted bachelor pad/hovel look I"ve maintained all these years if I actually clean the place. Bring back poker I say.
What colour are the curtains?
Post by: monkeyman on September 24, 2008, 21:19:33 PM
This poker exile is getting silly. Tonight I"ve been putting up new curtains and worst of all, hoovering. This is complete,madness. How am I supposed to maintain that lovingly crafted bachelor pad/hovel look I"ve maintained all these years if I actually clean the place. Bring back poker I say.
What colour are the curtains?
Blue,red floral pattern on a cream background and bought from a charity shop for the vast sum of £1.50.
I"m surprised you"re still talking to us mere mortals with your elevation to status of national team member, not to mention your new day job as West Ham manager. Seeing as I am the current WSOP (Norfolk) bracelet holder, I am happy to offer my services as your poker coach ahead of your trip to Brighton. My fee is negotiable but I think you"ll find it will be very reasonable.
Post by: monkeyman on September 25, 2008, 22:26:43 PM
Post by: ibis on September 26, 2008, 12:24:32 PM
I won my last WSOP (Norwich) game. Whilst this in itself doesn"t sound like much
Yes, Monkeyman did indeed win the latest WSOP (Norwich) event, a tournament so prestigious, entry is restricted to monkeyman, relatives of monkeyman and spouses of relatives of monkeyman. It has its own bejewelled bracelet and as you can see from the photo below, is always conducted in the most serious and professional manner.
hmm...doesn"t want to let me attach the photo - is this forum software so clever it can scan photos and decide they are too scary for public viewing? Anyone know why it won"t let me attach a little jpg or gif?
Post by: Bad hat lady on September 27, 2008, 17:05:09 PM
This week I"m housesitting for Ibis and Bad Hat Lady, using her computer, drinking his homebrew and making plenty of use of their reclining sofa. Pokerwise, my plan had been to get back into the routine of putting in the hours on the stud tables of Partypoker and Pokerstars, with the odd tournament thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately, Bad hat lady"s computer doesn"t seem to like the new Partypoker software, so the stud/hold"em mix will be different to how I first envisoned it. Here we go, world domination awaits.
Post by: monkeyman on September 27, 2008, 17:08:08 PM
Today my self-imposed poker exile finishes and surprisingly, I didn"t feel seriously tempted to play once all week. It feels as though I"ve learnt a lot over the last few days, so there"s only once way to find out.........
This week I"m housesitting for Ibis and Bad Hat Lady, using her computer, drinking his homebrew and making plenty of use of their reclining sofa. Pokerwise, my plan had been to get back into the routine of putting in the hours on the stud tables of Partypoker and Pokerstars, with the odd tournament thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately, Bad hat lady"s computer doesn"t seem to like the new Partypoker software, so the stud/hold"em mix will be different to how I first envisoned it. Here we go, world domination awaits.
Uh oh! Now why didn"t I think to check that I had logged in as myself rather than allowing my post to appear to be done by Bad Hat Lady, What a total noddy I am.
Post by: ibis on September 27, 2008, 17:31:14 PM
Post by: monkeyman on September 28, 2008, 09:47:54 AM
I"ve just been looking at the cost of holidays in Vegas with the flights starting from Norwich airport. Next year maybe...................
Post by: monkeyman on September 29, 2008, 09:13:08 AM
Once upon a time, in a land far to the east, there lived a mighty wizard. The wizard had many powers, but was renowned for being able to create huge wealth from thin air. Many was the time when he would take a few brass coins and turn them into a vast pile of gold. The wizard was an expert in all forms of gambling and could often return from an afternoon watching horses run very, very fast with as much as three or four pounds profit.
In recent times, the wizard had been using his powers to make much money by predicting the identity of playing cards held by people in lands far,far away. The wizard was not a good man and saw nothing wrong in taking money from people without his gifts. In recent times, the wizard had been playing a fun game where all players are given seven cards but their opponents can only see four of each seven. Clearly, a man with mystic powers was at a huge advantage in such a game and much money was made. One day, after the wizard had taken a short break from playing, he sat down to play his favourite game of predicting which seven cards are the highest. For fifteen minutes, he played his game but something was strangely wrong. The wizard couldn"t work out why his card predicting skills were not producing the piles of gold coins he had become accustomed to. Then it struck him. He had sat down at a table where the rules were a little different. He was playing a game where the person with the highest cards took some money, but the person with the lowest cards also took some. The wizard was not a happy man, for he normally only played the seven high cards game and he left immediately. However, so great are his powers, that he still managed to take more coins away than he had sat down with.
Post by: lukybugur on September 29, 2008, 12:48:27 PM
WP that Wizard!
Post by: monkeyman on September 29, 2008, 12:59:31 PM
Post by: monkeyman on September 29, 2008, 22:57:18 PM
Changing tack completely, I"ve just checked the end of season two rankings and was delighted to see I"ve managed to hold onto my top ten spot. That gives me the absolute minimum I"ll accept from myself in season three.
Incidently, sometime very soon (probably next week) I"ll be starting an entirely separate blog on a non-poker website. More details to be revealed when the first entry has been posted.
Post by: monkeyman on September 30, 2008, 22:29:45 PM
Post by: monkeyman on October 02, 2008, 22:29:32 PM
Post by: monkeyman on October 03, 2008, 07:36:02 AM
Post by: Chipaccrual on October 03, 2008, 09:08:37 AM
What I"ve found is that when when I make money its because...................wait for it................I play well and when I lose its because I make poor decisions. Luck doesn"t come into it, poker is a game of skill!
With that sort of insight, I think you are about ready to write a poker strategy book.
This could blow the poker world apart (and the legal world for that matter)
;D
Post by: monkeyman on October 04, 2008, 14:06:21 PM
Post by: monkeyman on October 04, 2008, 22:16:46 PM
It could be argued that tonight"s tournament was strong evidence to support the existence of karma, as my executioner and I had clashed in last night"s shovefest. Sparks flew when there were six of us left, one of whom was sitting out, with five seats in today"s competition. The guy sitting out was the shortstack, so a couple of us typed messages to gather support for the idea of playing the game so that the absent player was eliminated. Needless to say, one brain-donor decided not to bother and as a result, the absent player qualified. I took it upon myself to compliment the dissenter on his excellent decision making and I typed a number of comments which, for added emphasis, had gaps between the letters of the most important words. I suppose tonight"s tournament serves me right then.
Post by: monkeyman on October 05, 2008, 18:59:05 PM
What I"ve found is that when when I make money its because...................wait for it................I play well and when I lose its because I make poor decisions. Luck doesn"t come into it, poker is a game of skill!
With that sort of insight, I think you are about ready to write a poker strategy book.
This could blow the poker world apart (and the legal world for that matter)
;D
Leigh, i think you just might be onto something there. As I"m equally inept in most poker variants, I was thinking of producing something along the lines of Supersystem. Clearly, due to a lack of gold bracelets, credibility or any discernable poker talent, I"m going to have to think hard about (a) my target market and (b) whether any publisher is going to be dumb enough to print anything with my name on (although I am starting another blog this week on the website of a publishing/printing company).
I"ll have to admit that I"ve not written much so far, but my chapter on seven card stud will start with this gem:
Golden rule number one - It is far easier to play badly and lose money than to play well and recover your losses.
Post by: monkeyman on October 08, 2008, 18:12:57 PM
Post by: Chipaccrual on October 08, 2008, 18:17:28 PM
Tonight I"m off to a pub near Norwich Airport called "The Firs" for a couple of pints and a £5 freezeout. By the time season three comes round, I may even have become halfway competent at live poker if I make a habit of it.
At worst case, your drinking will have improved.
;D
Post by: monkeyman on October 08, 2008, 22:51:11 PM
Post by: lukybugur on October 09, 2008, 08:26:36 AM
Quote
Tonight I"m off to a pub near Norwich Airport
Quote
I was later knocked out by my cousin
You"re not doing much here for the stereotype of Norwichians being inbreds :)
Post by: Swinebag on October 09, 2008, 11:27:00 AM
QuoteTonight I"m off to a pub near Norwich AirportQuoteI was later knocked out by my cousin
You"re not doing much here for the stereotype of Norwichians being inbreds :)
(http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll215/swinebag22/deliverance.jpg)
(http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll215/swinebag22/deliverance2.jpg)
Post by: monkeyman on October 09, 2008, 17:38:32 PM
Post by: lukybugur on October 09, 2008, 19:05:11 PM
So Rob and I have to keep a look out for a tatty caravan being towed by a E reg Renault van full of "your kind"
Post by: monkeyman on October 09, 2008, 19:19:54 PM
(http://blondepoker.com/forum/Smileys/default/hide.gif)
So Rob and I have to keep a look out for a tatty caravan being towed by a E reg Renault van full of "your kind"
Get Orrrrrffffffe Moy Laaaaaaand!
Post by: monkeyman on October 12, 2008, 17:49:29 PM
Post by: monkeyman on October 15, 2008, 21:43:00 PM
Post by: monkeyman on October 16, 2008, 22:52:23 PM
Talking of shovefests, I played in a tourney on Betfair tonight in which I was eliminated in 13th place with payouts beginning at 9th. Not long before my departure, i shoved with :3c: 5d, got called by kd qh and won by hitting two threes. What a lucky fish I am.
Post by: monkeyman on October 18, 2008, 23:27:10 PM
As for the week ahead, those kind people at Ladbrokes have placed a few dollars in my account with them which I haven"t used in a while. I"ll probably have a go at one of their deepstack hold"em tournaments which have 5000 chips to start and 15 minute blinds. That"s a format I seem to do well in! I"ll also have a go at one of the events in PKR"s Oktoberfest, positive cash table returns permitting. In addition I should be having an interview for a job managing a team of about twelve people in my call centre, so might have to cut down my playing hours the night before to do some preparation.
Post by: monkeyman on October 19, 2008, 17:43:02 PM
This afternoon"s entertainment came courtesy of Labrokes and if anyone from the company is reading this, thanks for the $10, but maybe next time you could let me have some cards as well?
I"m now off to find a brick wall to bang my head against. >:(
Post by: monkeyman on October 20, 2008, 20:46:46 PM
Within the space of six stud hands on Pokerstars I lost twice with Ace-high flushes to other Ace-High flushes and also lost with three aces to a rivered flush. Then I moved onto Betfair where I played a six handed hold"em sng. One player had a huge lead, me and the other remaining guy had almost equal stacks. The other short stack went all in, I had Ace/King so naturally also went all in and was followed by the big stack who also shoved. Small stack had Ace/nine, big stack had Queen/Ten and you"ll not be surprised to learn that I was leading until a ten on the river. Not only did this mean the big stack scooped the lot, as the other small stack had me covered by a big, count them, 11 chips, I didn"t even get second.
Sometimes I hate this f***ing game.
Post by: Swinebag on October 20, 2008, 23:29:51 PM
Post by: antthecat on October 21, 2008, 11:03:48 AM
Post by: monkeyman on October 21, 2008, 22:55:28 PM
On a completely different tack, a colleague has today asked me if I can recommend where she can buy a poker table for her boyfriend for christmas. I"m not sure at this stage whether she wants something that can be placed on top of an existing surface or if she wants a free-standing table, but if anyone has got any suggetsions then please let me know.
Post by: monkeyman on October 21, 2008, 23:41:48 PM
Post by: antthecat on October 23, 2008, 10:42:42 AM
Post by: monkeyman on October 23, 2008, 18:25:35 PM
Post by: monkeyman on October 23, 2008, 20:11:58 PM
Full Tilt sucks more than Devine Brown
Post by: monkeyman on October 23, 2008, 23:40:17 PM
Post by: monkeyman on October 24, 2008, 20:40:39 PM
......although Betfair"s six handed SNGs are still being extremely supportive. Four wins from the last six played
Make that six wins from nine
Post by: antthecat on October 26, 2008, 15:51:38 PM
Post by: monkeyman on October 26, 2008, 16:33:30 PM
Season three, in the words of Saint Delia The Devine "Let"s be having you"
Post by: monkeyman on October 26, 2008, 20:59:17 PM
---------------------------------
Betfair"s dealers seem to be trying to get their own back on me. Ignoring my second place in an omaha game, I"m on a sequence of four non-cashes in SNGs. However, with Pokerstars, I"ve won five on the trot.
This time next year I"ll be a millionaire!
Post by: monkeyman on October 26, 2008, 22:03:24 PM
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Post by: monkeyman on October 27, 2008, 21:29:49 PM
Post by: lukybugur on October 27, 2008, 21:46:46 PM
Post by: monkeyman on October 27, 2008, 23:29:57 PM
I was back on one of the sites mentioned in my most recent post; of the two, it was the one which doesn"t sponsor the majority of the world series final table. To make this interesting, I"ll describe the betting on the key hand and will post the hole cards of one of my opponents lower down this page. We"re in the first level of the game (10/20) and no one has moved more than 100 chips from their starting stack of 1500. UTG limps, I have Ace/Queen offsuit which leads me to raise to 60 and am called by the button, the big blind and the limper. The flop is four/Queen/Queen and the big button fires 150 into a 240 chip pot. The limper folds, I raise to 500, the button goes all-in, big button folds and I call. Now comes the question: Can you guess the hole cards dealt to the guy on the button? (Answer below)
Yes, you"ve guessed it, he was dealt pocket fours which means he flopped a full house to my trips, the w*****.
Post by: monkeyman on October 27, 2008, 23:54:03 PM
Post by: monkeyman on October 28, 2008, 21:12:14 PM
In 2006 I had to turn down the opportunity of playing in the WSOP main event as I couldn"t get the time off work. Despite this and the fact that within the last week I have had my sixth application for a permanent manager"s job turned down, I"m still doing the same job as I was then. My employer has recently introduced a new way of allocating annual leave involving submitting a 1st, 2nd and 3rd preference for two weeks of holiday. My first choice was for the week of the August bank holiday in the hope that there is a similar program of events at The Vic as there was this year. The other period I"ve chosen, and had granted, is the week commencing 15th June. My thinking for this was that I"m absolutely desparate to take part in any World Series event, so I"ve chosen a week that I hope should fall somewhere into the WSOP programme with the intention of trying to qualify for whichever event falls within that period. Simple really.
Obsessed by poker? Me?
Post by: Swinebag on October 29, 2008, 10:44:46 AM
Us teachers have no say whatsoever on when we can take our 13 weeks holiday, and untill they move the WSOP back to July/August, playing in that will still be a distant dream.
Post by: monkeyman on November 02, 2008, 23:11:08 PM
Post by: monkeyman on November 03, 2008, 16:48:12 PM
Nothing of any interest has happened for a few days. Sorry
.....Apart from me having a wretched time on Titan yesterday. I opened my account with them and played 5 SNGs without winning a single cent, which is quite an achievement as four of those games were six handed. What summed it up was my departure from my final game which was six handed omaha. There were three of us left and all my chips went in preflop with me holding ac jc ah qh to my opponent"s qs tc 9s 5s. He won with two pair, nines and fives. >:(
Lets hope that Ipoker"s dealers are in a more forthcoming mood on thursday
Post by: monkeyman on November 03, 2008, 19:53:26 PM
Post by: monkeyman on November 03, 2008, 20:41:51 PM
Post by: monkeyman on November 03, 2008, 21:44:29 PM
Post by: monkeyman on November 06, 2008, 22:08:21 PM
See you all again saturday.
Post by: monkeyman on November 11, 2008, 18:47:00 PM
Post by: Swinebag on November 11, 2008, 20:06:45 PM
Post by: APAT on November 11, 2008, 23:04:13 PM
Post by: Ant1966 on November 11, 2008, 23:43:21 PM
will I be able to make enough from SNGs and cash stud to fund a trip to Vegas for my 40th. The challenge starts now.
Good luck with that.
Post by: monkeyman on November 12, 2008, 22:49:15 PM
Post by: monkeyman on November 13, 2008, 22:03:50 PM
Post by: monkeyman on November 15, 2008, 11:41:04 AM
Today I"m at The Forum which was built to replace the previous city centre library which burnt down in 1994. Bordered by the library,city hall, Norwich market and St Peter Mancroft church there is a large paved area which acts as a de facto youth club. One of the joys of Norwich on a saturday is to grab a coffee, find yourself a seat just inside the glass front of The Forum and laugh at how all the groups of teenagers express their individuality by dressing head-to-toe in black, whilst you listen for the resounding "Thwack" of runaway skateboarder on innocent passer-by.
I must confess that my postings on this blog have become increasingly sporadic and there are two reasons for this. Firstly, I have recently started writing a blog on the website of the Eastern Daily Press, which is based in Norwich but covers all of Norfolk. Most of my inane ramblings which have nothing whatsoever to do with poker are likely to see the light of day on their site. Secondly, my poker currently consists of mainly of six-handed SNGs interspersed with short sessions of seven card stud cash play. I"ve found that, allowing for the occasional bad week, I tend to make a steady profit this way and in fact the amount I seem to make most weeks is roughly equivalent to the increase in salary I"d get if I won a promotion to the next step up from my current job. Bearing this in mind, I find it increasingly difficult to justify playing MTTs and don"t think I"ve played a non APAT one for about three weeks. Its incredibly tempting to play a few big tournies just to give myself something to write about (lets face it, describing what percentage of SNGs I"ve won in a given period aint exactly a compelling read), but I seem to have my sensible, may-have-started-to-suss-all-this-bankroll-management-business head on, so grinding out the pennies it is for me.
Post by: monkeyman on November 18, 2008, 17:35:28 PM
Post by: Swinebag on November 18, 2008, 18:55:06 PM
Post by: monkeyman on November 18, 2008, 21:54:55 PM
Post by: Swinebag on November 18, 2008, 22:42:17 PM
I"m in the second level of a six handed SNG on Betfair and standard raise with Kings. I am then reraised, re-reraise, my opponent goes all in and I call. He has aces. WTF was I thinking of? Ray Charles could have seen he had aces! AAAAARRRRGGGHHHH. >:(
never fold KK in a sit and go pre flop. I"ve seen players do the same move with A7o!! (as well as JJ, QQ, and AK)
Post by: monkeyman on November 19, 2008, 12:13:49 PM
I"m in the second level of a six handed SNG on Betfair and standard raise with Kings. I am then reraised, re-reraise, my opponent goes all in and I call. He has aces. WTF was I thinking of? Ray Charles could have seen he had aces! AAAAARRRRGGGHHHH. >:(
never fold KK in a sit and go pre flop. I"ve seen players do the same move with A7o!! (as well as JJ, QQ, and AK)
I"ll have to disagree with you on this one Rob and will explain why.
Most of my SNGs are played at a low level ($5 or $10) where the play tends to be very straightforward. I"ve recently got into the habit of 3-betting a lot in the early stages of these games as most of the players at this level will fold to a reraise. The other reaction is for players to hit the all in button, but probably 95% of the time they will have either aces or ace/king. This means that, as we are talking about the first couple of levels of a game, I still have the opportunity to get away from the hand if I"m trying this trick with less than premium cards. As the percentage of people who shove when confronted with a 3 bet is very small, this is a hugely profitable play if not overused.
When playing the hand in question, I thought that he would do what a lot of players do and shove with ace/king and could well have done the same with Queens, which means that the only hand I seriously believed he had was aces. Therefore, I still believe that I should have got away from the hand, as folding after my 4-bet would still have left me with 1500 chips with the blinds only 15/30.
Sometimes I shove preflop with with aces or kings, as occasionally players will take this as a sign of weakness and call. If I"d shoved and run my Kings into Aces, I may have considered myself unlucky. However, I still think there was sufficient information in the betting of this hand to have allowed me to escape.
Post by: Swinebag on November 19, 2008, 15:05:52 PM
even Ray Charles could see he had AA ;D
Post by: antthecat on November 20, 2008, 08:25:07 AM
Post by: Santino67 on November 20, 2008, 15:14:05 PM
Post by: monkeyman on November 22, 2008, 23:36:13 PM
The crowning glory was my first APAT online victory after several near misses. What makes it even better is that when I switched on my computer this morning, I had no intenion of taking part. The vast bulk of my play at the moment is six handed SNGs with a bit of cash stud play thrown in for measure. I only allow myself to play tournaments if my profit from any given week more than covers the entry fee and I was about $25 dollars down this morning. I"ve had one of those days when it seems as if nothing could go wrong and that certainly carried me through tonight. There was a hand where I could have been eliminated shoving with pocket eights, getting called by queens but was lucky enough to river a straight. Not only did I have aces in the winning hand, I also had them on two occasions in the previous ten hands. That"s all my luck used up for the mini series!
Post by: Chipaccrual on November 22, 2008, 23:46:05 PM
Not only did I have aces in the winning hand, I also had them on two occasions in the previous ten hands. That"s all my luck used up for the mini series!
I thought you were kidding about the times before. Well played tonight, even putting up with Neil"s railing of "Rollover, Rollover, Rollover" ;D
Post by: monkeyman on November 23, 2008, 10:28:38 AM
Doyle"s Room host a bounty tournament once a week where Texas Dolly himself invites a couple of professional associates (Todd Brunson, Mike Caro and Hoyt Corkins are regulars) to put their reputations on the line against those of us who operate at the fishier levels of the game. The buy-in is $27.50 and best of all, the first time you take part, your entry fee gets refunded. On top of this, if you knock out one of the nominated bounties, you get a bonus of $500, two bounties is $5000 and three bounties is worth a whopping $25000. You may well be asking yourself why I"ve not taken part before now if the deal is this good and the answer is in the start time. It kicks off at 9.30pm EST which I believes equates to 02.30 GMT. Even though I suspect I could probably sleepwalk my way through a day in the call centre without anyone noticing, I"m not a fan of playing through the night on a school day. Several months ago, when I was 4th in the APAT season two rankings, I was presumptious enough to book holiday to cover the days when the GUKPT grand finale was on, in case I finished top. This now means I have days off booked this coming thursday, friday and the following monday. I suspect this means that I"ll be spending an even more unhealthy amount of time than usual playing poker and will probably be setting my sights on Mr Brunson and his cronies at 2.30am thursday morning.
Be warned, if I do knock him out, every poker related conversation from now until I draw my final breath will include a Doyle Brunson reference and there"s not a court in the land that would convict you of assault if you knock my teeth out.
Post by: lukybugur on November 23, 2008, 10:31:32 AM
Post by: Chipaccrual on November 23, 2008, 10:35:05 AM
Doyle"s Room host a bounty tournament once a week where Texas Dolly himself invites a couple of professional associates (Todd Brunson, Mike Caro and Hoyt Corkins are regulars) to put their reputations on the line against those of us who operate at the fishier levels of the game.
After the quality of last nights opponents, I can"t believe you are lowering yourself to this sort of standard, but good on you Simon for giving something back to those less fortunate than youself. Go easy on them though. ;D
Post by: monkeyman on November 23, 2008, 10:38:13 AM
Post by: duke3016 on November 23, 2008, 11:38:51 AM
(http://img57.exs.cx/img57/8852/203010149541a36196c008f0cy.png)
Post by: lukybugur on November 23, 2008, 12:20:33 PM
Post by: monkeyman on November 25, 2008, 00:01:58 AM
Post by: monkeyman on November 25, 2008, 23:31:44 PM
Post by: Swinebag on November 25, 2008, 23:48:09 PM
For some reason I find seeing Mr Brunson"s name immediately below mine on a tournament entry list highly amusing.
screenshot please!!
Post by: monkeyman on November 26, 2008, 17:57:43 PM
For some reason I find seeing Mr Brunson"s name immediately below mine on a tournament entry list highly amusing.
screenshot please!!
I"d love to Rob, but being a technophobe, I haven"t got a clue how to. There are now 22 entries. Number 19 is "Simonmonkey" and number 20 is TEX_DOLLY. Apparently number 9 "Hoyt_Corkins" can play a bit as well
Post by: monkeyman on November 27, 2008, 02:21:38 AM
Hey ho, lets go......
Post by: monkeyman on November 27, 2008, 02:35:42 AM
Post by: monkeyman on November 27, 2008, 02:42:03 AM
Post by: monkeyman on November 27, 2008, 03:34:50 AM
Doyle is 199th.
Post by: monkeyman on November 27, 2008, 04:40:42 AM
Post by: monkeyman on November 27, 2008, 05:07:51 AM
Post by: monkeyman on November 27, 2008, 05:46:00 AM
Post by: monkeyman on November 27, 2008, 06:20:11 AM
The only question now is do I have breakfast before I go to bed for the morning?
Post by: antthecat on November 27, 2008, 13:30:43 PM
Post by: Oldsoreknees on November 27, 2008, 16:39:07 PM
Post by: monkeyman on November 27, 2008, 17:08:52 PM
Post by: monkeyman on November 30, 2008, 16:33:46 PM
Post by: monkeyman on December 02, 2008, 21:40:07 PM
Incidentally, next sunday is the Norwich City versus Ipswich Town local derby and I believe its being shown live on Sky. As the current crop of Norwich City players are performing on the wrong side of embarrassing, I fear we may get an absolute pasting from our "friends" from along the A140. If this happens, I may have to go into hiding.
Post by: monkeyman on December 03, 2008, 22:49:20 PM
Post by: duke3016 on December 03, 2008, 23:24:52 PM
7000 hits? Impressive
Is there no end to the amount of drivel posted on this blog Hmmmmmm
I"d never expected things to last this long Cos it"s a good read - keep it up
Post by: monkeyman on December 06, 2008, 15:31:54 PM
Post by: Santino67 on December 07, 2008, 10:46:48 AM
Well, I suppose I must now officially be famous seeing as I feature on the APAT Advent Calender. I"ll have to get my agent to book me on next year"s premier league poker.
:D :D :D :D Fantastic
BTW Simon, what"s your username on Betfair?
Post by: monkeyman on December 07, 2008, 15:40:52 PM
Well, I suppose I must now officially be famous seeing as I feature on the APAT Advent Calender. I"ll have to get my agent to book me on next year"s premier league poker.
:D :D :D :D Fantastic
BTW Simon, what"s your username on Betfair?
I"m Simonkey on Betfair
Post by: monkeyman on December 07, 2008, 15:41:51 PM
Post by: Bad hat lady on December 07, 2008, 17:19:56 PM
Post by: monkeyman on December 07, 2008, 18:53:13 PM
Just to say thank you for the really useful advice before I played Omaha for the first time ever yesterday. "Remember if there isn't 3 suited cards on the board there can't be a flush" is just the sort of insider knowledge you would never work out for yourself without clues from a more experienced player. It must have helped as I scraped into the points.
Of course I could have just said something sensible like "Prepare by watching Robert Williamson"s Omaha videos on Stox, they are very good" but I"ve come to the conclusion that Omaha is best played by those with the most tenuous grasp of the rules, so I kept my advice as vague as possible.
You might care to remind Steve that there are two members of our family above him in the league table.........
Post by: Bad hat lady on December 07, 2008, 19:51:20 PM
Of course I could have just said something sensible like "Prepare by watching Robert Williamson"s Omaha videos on Stox, they are very good" but I"ve come to the conclusion that Omaha is best played by those with the most tenuous grasp of the rules, so I kept my advice as vague as possible.
You might care to remind Steve that there are two members of our family above him in the league table.........
I think I"ll let Steve answer that one.
Post by: Bad hat lady on December 07, 2008, 20:03:29 PM
Of course I could have just said something sensible like "Prepare by watching Robert Williamson"s Omaha videos on Stox, they are very good" but I"ve come to the conclusion that Omaha is best played by those with the most tenuous grasp of the rules, so I kept my advice as vague as possible.
You might care to remind Steve that there are two members of our family above him in the league table.........
I think I"ll let Steve answer that one.
I guess I should also point out in Steve"s defence that he hasn"t been playing in the tournaments so it isn"t surprising he hasn"t got any points.
Post by: monkeyman on December 07, 2008, 23:46:41 PM
Post by: ibis on December 08, 2008, 21:20:49 PM
Objection m"lud. Did you not knock him out of the one tournament he took part in?
I think she did (can"t quite recall!) and as I also went out before you, I"ve decided to spend all my time re-watching Stox videos ready for the big Xmas WSOP (Norwich) game.
Post by: monkeyman on December 08, 2008, 22:29:34 PM
Post by: Swinebag on December 09, 2008, 08:42:12 AM
Stox have been in contact and asked if they can release a video of my play. Apparently they had some cameras secretly filming at the Scottish Open and they felt that "How to race off to an early overall lead, despite playing on one off the toughest tables known to APAT, but still completely f**k it up" would be of interest to their subscribers.
"tough table" ??? ???
Wasn"t Ian on it?
Post by: monkeyman on December 09, 2008, 14:25:41 PM
Stox have been in contact and asked if they can release a video of my play. Apparently they had some cameras secretly filming at the Scottish Open and they felt that "How to race off to an early overall lead, despite playing on one off the toughest tables known to APAT, but still completely f**k it up" would be of interest to their subscribers.
"tough table" ??? ???
Wasn"t Ian on it?
Actually, now you come to mention it..... Toughest starting table I"ve been on so far is a really close call. You"re right Rob, Ian was there, seated two away from you if I remember correctly. I had James Eccles to my right and Scouse was kind enough to fold to a few of my 3-bets.
However, over in Cardiff I had Max Ward, Dewi (no guinness until 8.30pm) James and Andrew Tracey for table companions at the outset. We were then joined by Liv Boeree and Gareth Owers.
Anyone care to comment on which was the tougher table?
Post by: Swinebag on December 09, 2008, 15:28:00 PM
Post by: monkeyman on December 09, 2008, 22:05:51 PM
Following on from being on the receiving end of a straight flush last week, the following hand has just happened in one of Bet"FFS"fair"s six handed sit and gos. I"m in the big blind with the blinds at 15/30. There are two limpers and I check. The flop is 7d 8c 9d and as I"m holding jd ts I"m excited. One of the two other players in the pot has already raised/reraised a couple of times, so I decide to check because I think that at least one of my opponents will bet out, giving me the chance to go over the top of them. The player to my left checks and the other guy, the one who has raised me off previous hands, puts in a 90 chip bet. I reraise to 300 and to my surprise, the guy to my left reraises me to 540. I took this as meaning he had a narrow range of very strong hands, either ad/kd or trips, that I was ahead of. I go all in and my opponent calls with, surprise,surprise, trip sevens. Unfortunately the turn was also a seven, giving him quads.
If you can"t win a hand when flopping a straight, I think its time for a change of sites. Thankfully, Pokerstars have me in their good books at the moment.
Post by: Swinebag on December 09, 2008, 23:12:33 PM
If you can"t win a hand when flopping a straight, I think its time for a change of sites.
I dont usually deal in bad beats Simon, but just to make you feel better, I had this beauty in a live single rebuy at the G casino Manchester last Sunday.
blinds 50/100 action goes : UTG limp, LP raise to 300. I have TJo OTB and call (had not played a hand so far and we are in to the second level). Blinds fold, limper calls.
Flop comes 8 9 Q rainbow (woop woop!!)
Limper leads for 800, LP raiser calls, I shove for my last 2500 and get 2 callers. Rest of the money goes in on a K turn.
On our backs... and its my str8 v original limpers Q9 (and 2 pair) and LP raisers TT (WTF!!)
river is a Q and I"m down to my solitary rebuy!!
To make matters worse I was dealing for the table and had to deal my own fate!!
Sorry for hijacking your blog but also have to say......
£3.50 juice for a £10 (+ one £5 rebuy) tourney which is dealer dealt... (I didn"t even get a free Pint for my efforts)...it beggars belief!!
Come on APAT, lets have S3, so I dont have to resort to playing in these tourneys!!
Post by: monkeyman on December 10, 2008, 23:04:28 PM
Post by: Swinebag on December 12, 2008, 11:44:34 AM
I managed to persuade my slavemasters to grant day release and have spent the afternoon at Fakenham races. The 2.00, a competitive juvenile hurdle event was won very impressively by a horse called Starluck who the Racing Post have now stated is favourite for the Triumph Hurdle at next year"s Cheltenham festival. As soon as I got home, and despite the fact that I rarely bet ante post, I logged on to Betfair and took advantage of the 22-1 on offer for the event in question. If you any of are dumb enough to take any notice of anything I say, then more fool you and I take no responsibility if you lose a penny backing anything I"ve recommended. However, if Starluck does win next March, I know where you live and I will send the boys round to collect my commission.
He"s racing tomorrow at cheltenham in a juvenile. Could be a good indicator for March?
Post by: monkeyman on December 12, 2008, 15:08:31 PM
I managed to persuade my slavemasters to grant day release and have spent the afternoon at Fakenham races. The 2.00, a competitive juvenile hurdle event was won very impressively by a horse called Starluck who the Racing Post have now stated is favourite for the Triumph Hurdle at next year"s Cheltenham festival. As soon as I got home, and despite the fact that I rarely bet ante post, I logged on to Betfair and took advantage of the 22-1 on offer for the event in question. If you any of are dumb enough to take any notice of anything I say, then more fool you and I take no responsibility if you lose a penny backing anything I"ve recommended. However, if Starluck does win next March, I know where you live and I will send the boys round to collect my commission.
He"s racing tomorrow at cheltenham in a juvenile. Could be a good indicator for March?
I"ve just gone through the form for tomorrow and think he"s the best horse in the race. The one to keep an eye on is Reve De Sivola, who last time out finished third, beaten 7.5 lenghths, in the strongest juvenile hurdle run so far this season. I still think Starluck is going to win though although the potential fly in the ointment is the ground. The jockeys at Cheltenham ths afternoon were reporting the ground to be soft and there is heavy rain forecast ahead of tomorrows meeting. Starluck has already been pulled out of a race this season because of soft ground although he won in it at a good level on the flat in Ireland.
All things considered, I probably wont have a bet tomorrow, although that depends on the price available. However, I will be very interested in assessing the form of the race afterwards with next March in mind.
Post by: suzanne on December 12, 2008, 18:34:47 PM
Post by: Santino67 on December 12, 2008, 18:47:16 PM
Obviously the computer is no longer in working order
Post by: monkeyman on December 12, 2008, 22:34:46 PM
Just read from the start....excellent blog monkeyman.
Thank you
Post by: monkeyman on December 13, 2008, 23:04:18 PM
Post by: monkeyman on December 14, 2008, 16:21:20 PM
I was off work sick from tuesday to friday this week. Whilst I"m not going to do what most blokes allegedly do and exaggerate how bad I felt, one day I watched two separate editions of the Jeremy Kyle show, so clearly something wasn"t right. To relieve the boredom of being stuck indoors with nothing to watch but home makeover shows and that one where people pretend to get excited that an "expert" has told them some worthless piece of tat they"ve had hidden in a shed for the last twenty years may go for as much as £10 at auction, it goes without saying that I played a little poker. Tournaments weren"t an option as I couldn"t stay awake long enough, so the majority of my time was spent on Pokerstars" SNGs. I spent most of the week convinced that I was failing to cash because of that old chestnut, internet poker is not as random as it should be. Oddly enough, over the last 24 hours, I"ve started feeling a lot better and coincidently, I"ve won a number of games.
Maybe, just maybe, the facts that I was hardly able to stay awake for an hour at a time and I was losing money are inextricably linked? Mmmm......
Post by: monkeyman on December 14, 2008, 19:52:21 PM
Time for one of my regular changes of direction. Its back to the MTTs.
Post by: monkeyman on December 16, 2008, 21:27:33 PM
Post by: monkeyman on December 19, 2008, 14:49:50 PM
The only significant thing I"ve done this week is to enrol on a creative writing evening class. This runs for 10 weeks and will be for 2 hours each tuesday night. The course is aimed at complete beginners so I"m hoping that by the end I may possibly be able to write a coherent sentence.
Post by: UKChamp on December 19, 2008, 18:25:18 PM
save on course fees
Post by: monkeyman on December 20, 2008, 03:02:10 AM
read Hunter S Thompson or Chuck Palaniuk
save on course fees
Good advice but this is costing me nothing at all. Its merely a perk of the job. Having said that, they still owe me as I was denied an opportunity of taking part in the 2006 WSOP main event as I wasn"t allowed the time off work. Maybe when I"m as rich as JK Rowling my employer will have paid their dues..........
Post by: Bad hat lady on December 20, 2008, 17:18:56 PM
Good advice but this is costing me nothing at all. Its merely a perk of the job. Having said that, they still owe me as I was denied an opportunity of taking part in the 2006 WSOP main event as I wasn"t allowed the time off work. Maybe when I"m as rich as JK Rowling my employer will have paid their dues..........
Just to let you know I"ve been keeping count and this is the 653 time you have mentioned you know what.
Post by: monkeyman on December 20, 2008, 18:10:20 PM
Good advice but this is costing me nothing at all. Its merely a perk of the job. Having said that, they still owe me as I was denied an opportunity of taking part in the 2006 WSOP main event as I wasn"t allowed the time off work. Maybe when I"m as rich as JK Rowling my employer will have paid their dues..........
Just to let you know I"ve been keeping count and this is the 653 time you have mentioned you know what.
and I don"t suppose it will be the last
Post by: monkeyman on December 21, 2008, 21:59:33 PM
1) At the moment, I currently keep a running profit/loss each week, then when I finish each saturday night,add the weekly total to a total for the year to date. I set myself the target of trying to be in profit for each seven day period. This seems to have been successful in getting me to concetrate on areas when I can make a steady profit. However, in practise this means I"ve almost cut out playing tournaments and I don"t think this helps maximise my potential upside. Therefore, in 2009 I will set myself the target of being in profit each month rather than each week. I think this will allow me a greater degree of flexibility to play MTTs and have more shots at a single big payday, but retain the discipline I"ve introduced in recent months.
2) I have noticed that playing whilst fatigued has a huge influence on my bottom line. Therefore, I will not play whilst off work sick or start any SNG or cash table after 11pm. I"m sure this will put me at least a couple of hundred dollars a year further into profit.
3) When playing I will not check my emails or send messages to friends on Facebook.
4) I will probably play less hours but try to have greater focus when I am on the tables.
5) Completely unconnected with my profit or loss, but at the moment I"m not sure how long I"ll keep writing this blog for. I"m already writing another one on the website of a local newspaper and as mentioned in a couple of recent entries, am starting a short writing course in a few weeks. For at least the duration of the course, I will have a crack at trying to do some proper writing, so I"m not sure how much time I"ll have for playing poker. Something will have to give and at the moment I"m not sure what.
Post by: monkeyman on December 27, 2008, 11:09:16 AM
On top of that there is a superb day"s jump racing on both Channel 4 and BBC. Although its not on terrestial TV, my ante post tip for the Triumph Hurdle, Starluck, runs in the 1.05 at Kempton. I"m expecting him to win comfortably but I"ll be keeping a very close eye on the 2.40 at Chepstow with is a substantially more competitive event. I don"t think the form of this season"s Irish juvenile hurdlers amounts to anything and all the main lines of form for the three year olds on this side of the Irish Sea come together at Chepstow. Having backed Starluck at somewhere in excess of 20-1 for the Triumph hurdle after his victory at Fakenham, I"ve had a few quid more on today at 14-1. Hopefully, that will mean my week at Cheltenham will be paid for.
Post by: duke3016 on December 27, 2008, 11:24:23 AM
5) Completely unconnected with my profit or loss, but at the moment I"m not sure how long I"ll keep writing this blog for.
Well you have two choices
1) Keep this blog going
2) (http://s35.photobucket.com/albums/d189/dimebar_probably/Smileys/th_chainsaw.gif)
It is sooooooo good I would hate to kill you .........................
Post by: Chipaccrual on December 27, 2008, 11:47:14 AM
5) Completely unconnected with my profit or loss, but at the moment I"m not sure how long I"ll keep writing this blog for.
Well you have two choices
1) Keep this blog going
2) (http://s35.photobucket.com/albums/d189/dimebar_probably/Smileys/th_chainsaw.gif)
It is sooooooo good I would hate to kill you .........................
My suggestion is that option 1 seems to be a good idea. Just some friendly advice. ;D
Post by: monkeyman on December 27, 2008, 14:02:46 PM
Nevermind, as predicted, Starluck easily won at Kempton this afternoon and has been shortened for mext March"s Triumph Hurdle.
Post by: monkeyman on December 28, 2008, 09:29:55 AM
5) Completely unconnected with my profit or loss, but at the moment I"m not sure how long I"ll keep writing this blog for.
Well you have two choices
1) Keep this blog going
2) (http://s35.photobucket.com/albums/d189/dimebar_probably/Smileys/th_chainsaw.gif)
It is sooooooo good I would hate to kill you .........................
My suggestion is that option 1 seems to be a good idea. Just some friendly advice. ;D
Thanks for the support guys but all good things come to an end and I think this blog has run its course. I"ll put a more detailed breakdown of my reasons on here in a couple of days, but broadly speaking me spending time on other things and the content of season three figure heavily in the factors that have led me to this conclusion. :(
Post by: antthecat on December 28, 2008, 12:25:23 PM
you will be missed
Post by: Santino67 on December 28, 2008, 12:38:25 PM
Post by: monkeyman on December 29, 2008, 14:20:16 PM
One of the biggest factors in me wanting to cease posting was that my involvement in APAT will be substantially less in season three than season two. I know I"m setting myself up to be shot down in flames, but the season three schedule just doesn"t float my boat. Unlike most people who have posted on the S3 discussion thread, I, and many others, will miss the regional tournaments. I realise that there seemed to be enormous differences between the level of commitment shown by the various Grosvenors across the country, but my experience of the service provided by the staff at Yarmouth was very positive. I know the numbers were very low, but given the lack of publicity, this was hardly surprising. I also believe that positive word-of-mouth feedback would have seen a substantial swelling in the level of participation. The players who attended last year were a real mixture. There were players who final tabled/won APAT online events, national live event final tablers,one who came within a whisker of cashing in a GUKPT event playing together with people who had never before played live poker. These were almost all players new to the casino and plenty of them gambled outside the poker room, bought drinks etc, so I think there was a net gain for Grosvenor.
My main area of disagreement with most people on this forum is the raising of the cost of the online events. $82 is way above what I am prepared to pay for a game of online poker. I don"t agree with the argument that its no more expensive than a larger number of smaller games, as if I was to set a budget of $80 in a given period for buying into tournaments, it would be insanity to blow it in one go as opposed to spreading the risk by playing either 8x$10 or 4x$20. I don"t think this reluctance on my part to pay the higher price has anything whatsoever to do with reservations about the strength of my game; my results in season two suggest I have nothing to worry about, its simply a reflection of personal circumstances. I have a modestly paid job in a call centre, I have a mortgage to pay and a car to fund. At today"s exchange rates, $82.50 equates to £56.48 and that is too large a chunk out of my small disposable income to be risking. Provision of satellites into these games doesn"t placate me as it just means that those with bigger incomes, who can buy in directly, have to successfully negotiate one competition rather than two.
I"m still undecided about whether I"ll take part in the online league. I have concerns about collaboration in an online team event and I have no geographical affinity to any of the "clubs" mentioned, so part of me feels I should pass on this one as well. However, I have a mercenary streak and if I can sense a way of making a few quid, then so be it. If I do decide to take part, who should I allign myself with? Who offers me the best chance of glory?
I would be horrified if any of the above is taken as a swipe at those who have worked so hard to provide us with what"s on offer. Its merely a reflection that things change and that the season three product is a very different beast to season two and is therefore less attractive to me.
Post by: Mikeyboy9361 on December 29, 2008, 15:32:58 PM
Let me start by saying " I love APAT, and all the hard working crew" Gotta be worth a few brownie points ;)
But I do agree with you re the loss of the regionals, in Manchester they were always well supported, I think the lowest number was 49.This also means that there is less live poker at low buy in, which is a real shame.
I also tend to agree with the cost of the on line Nationals, I think they are a great idea, but I have never spent £50 on a single on line tournament, I think I will treat myself to the odd tourney, and try and satellite into the rest.
The club competition should be affordable and fun though, so we will have to reserve judgement on that.
My Good lady bought me into a tournament as my Xmas prezzie, so I will be in Walsall ( if I negotiate the clickfest).
Post by: APAT on December 29, 2008, 17:08:52 PM
Post by: Mikeyboy9361 on December 29, 2008, 17:17:32 PM
Post by: monkeyman on December 29, 2008, 17:22:28 PM
Post by: APAT on December 29, 2008, 20:16:06 PM
$50 is still above my usual buy-in, but would be a level that I would at least consider. I don"t often play that high, but took part in DTDs "Hunt the pros" a few times and that was $50 + $5
I will discuss this with the team and look out for a final position on the main S3 thread.
Post by: monkeyman on December 29, 2008, 20:39:30 PM
$50 is still above my usual buy-in, but would be a level that I would at least consider. I don"t often play that high, but took part in DTDs "Hunt the pros" a few times and that was $50 + $5
I will discuss this with the team and look out for a final position on the main S3 thread.
Thanks Des for looking at this
Post by: Chipaccrual on December 30, 2008, 10:34:15 AM
Post by: monkeyman on December 30, 2008, 18:37:54 PM
Is this that "Award Winning" blog everyone"s talking about ?
Hell yeah, sure is. I"m genuinely a bit surprised that I won. You fools, this means I"ll have to continue writing this rubbish for a bit longer! This blog seems to be my Frankenstein; I created it, but it seems to have taken on a life of its own and now not even I can destroy it.
I"ve confirmed my place in the UK championships at Walsall and have booked myself a room at the Holiday Inn express near the casino for the princely sum of £36. All I"ve got to do now is decide who I"m going to play for in the online league. As I"m over 100 miles from the nearest real venue, my location will play no part in who I align myself with. I make no secret of the fact that my decision will be made for purely mercenary reasons and will go where I think I"ve got the best chance of getting a GUKPT seat. I will keep a close eye on the entries for every "club" and will look at who is on "my" side and the relative strength of the opposition in that division. I think I need a few more names on some of the lists before I commit.......
Post by: Waz1892 on December 30, 2008, 18:43:54 PM
Is this that "Award Winning" blog everyone"s talking about ?
I"ve confirmed my place in the UK championships at Walsall
how?
Post by: APAT on December 30, 2008, 18:47:30 PM
Is this that "Award Winning" blog everyone"s talking about ?
I"ve confirmed my place in the UK championships at Walsall
how?
Oh, some Award he won...which took the form of a free seat at an APAT event in S3. Lucky man....
Post by: rubertoe on December 30, 2008, 19:44:54 PM
We did state somewhere that we were not tied into those buy in figures. We certainly do not want to exclude players, however the Online Championship games will be the pinnacle of APAT online tournaments, so a $10 or $20 buy in is not appropriate. As a piece of market research, would a $50 + $5 buy in still be too much for one of these every two months?
I would certainly prefer that level of buy in.
+1
Post by: monkeyman on December 30, 2008, 20:52:42 PM
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Is this that "Award Winning" blog everyone"s talking about ?
I"ve confirmed my place in the UK championships at Walsall
how?
Oh, some Award he won...which took the form of a free seat at an APAT event in S3. Lucky man....
Post by: monkeyman on December 31, 2008, 20:56:22 PM
Post by: Waz1892 on December 31, 2008, 20:58:26 PM
I don"t normally do new year"s resolutions, but I"m going to make a prediction. I"ve never yet played in a live professional tournament but I confidently predict that it will happen in 2009. The GUKPT looks the obvious target and when (not if) I get there, I fully expect to be have my photograph taken whilst holding a trophy and being flanked by two lovelies as a result of my tournament victory. Or something.
...possible gained through winning with Luton..!!!
Post by: monkeyman on January 02, 2009, 12:22:46 PM
Tomorrow night I"ve got a home game to look forward to. Opponents include Steve Stringer (known on here as Ibis), Sandra Stringer (Bad Hat Lady/Victordog2) and Stuart Alcock (Oldsoreknees). As I won the last time we got together, I may have to feign illness so I can retain my WSOP(Norfolk) title a little longer.
Onto APAT related matters and this week I"ve confirmed my place in the UK championships in Walsall and booked myself a room at the nearby Holiday Inn express for £36. I have also decided to through my hat into the ring with North London for the online league. This wasn"t by any means an automatic choice due to my distance from any of the bricks and mortar venues. I"ve stated before that my choice was likely to be between one of the London clubs, Luton and Nottingham, with Dublin being a possibility as I can probably get there quicker than anywhere else. I was also flattered to recieve a discrete enquiry from a team I"ve not yet mentioned who operate outside the southern division. My choice was largely based on where I thought I had the best chance of getting to the final, but I also wanted to see some other names on the list before committing. What I was looking for was names I thought were capable of repeatedly making online final tables and that I recognised from season two as well as the between season mini league. I think the secret to winning the online league is to have as many players as possible capable of making final tables playing as many of the legs as possible. The names on the list already I think are players who will be committed to, and playing their "A" game in, an $11 a time online league. I suppose I"d better start thinking about which GUKPT event I"d like to play in..........................
Post by: monkeyman on January 04, 2009, 15:26:18 PM
Post by: Bad hat lady on January 04, 2009, 17:19:06 PM
Last night I discovered a little known tournament rule which I thought I"d share with you. Apparently it"s considered a breach of etiquette to continually raise when your 14 year old niece, playing her first homegame, is in the big blind.
It is interesting to note you were more aggressive when playing for chocolate money against your novice niece than when playing for cash against the "big boys" (as I"ve heard they like to be known). Does this say something about your poker philosophy?
Post by: APAT on January 04, 2009, 17:26:04 PM
Last night I discovered a little known tournament rule which I thought I"d share with you. Apparently it"s considered a breach of etiquette to continually raise when your 14 year old niece, playing her first homegame, is in the big blind.
It is interesting to note you were more aggressive when playing for chocolate money against your novice niece than when playing for cash against the "big boys" (as I"ve heard they like to be known). Does this say something about your poker philosophy?
Perhaps he has a sweet tooth, or thought he had an edget against his niece? The second options seems unlikely though, I"ve seen him play...
;)
Post by: monkeyman on January 04, 2009, 17:37:35 PM
Last night I discovered a little known tournament rule which I thought I"d share with you. Apparently it"s considered a breach of etiquette to continually raise when your 14 year old niece, playing her first homegame, is in the big blind.
It is interesting to note you were more aggressive when playing for chocolate money against your novice niece than when playing for cash against the "big boys" (as I"ve heard they like to be known). Does this say something about your poker philosophy?
Perhaps he has a sweet tooth, or thought he had an edget against his niece? The second options seems unlikely though, I"ve seen him play...
;)
Is it true that because they"ve slashed the marketing budget, Blue Square will not provide a GUKPT seat for the winners of APAT nationals but will give them a box of Quality Street instead? I need to know as this may affect my strategy at Walsall.
By the way Des, I"ve previously avoided joining the ranks of those forum contributors who see fit to comment upon your drink buying record. In view of your contribution today, I feel I may have to join in with everybody else........... ;D
Post by: Swinebag on January 04, 2009, 18:05:30 PM
By the way Des, I"ve previously avoided joining the ranks of those forum contributors who see fit to comment upon your drink buying record.
that would imply there is a record to comment on ::)
Post by: Bad hat lady on January 04, 2009, 21:47:14 PM
Last night I discovered a little known tournament rule which I thought I"d share with you. Apparently it"s considered a breach of etiquette to continually raise when your 14 year old niece, playing her first homegame, is in the big blind.
It is interesting to note you were more aggressive when playing for chocolate money against your novice niece than when playing for cash against the "big boys" (as I"ve heard they like to be known). Does this say something about your poker philosophy?
Perhaps he has a sweet tooth, or thought he had an edget against his niece? The second options seems unlikely though, I"ve seen him play...
;)
Perhaps you"ve hit on a way of encouraging more women players. I"m sure I"d be temped to play in a tournament where just before the final table the organisers wheeled in a million chocolates and dumped them in the middle of the table. Have Blue square thought of going into partnership with Thorntons to sponsor the Belgian open?
Post by: monkeyman on January 07, 2009, 21:49:31 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 10, 2009, 10:39:52 AM
I"m toying with the idea of having a T-shirt created with "Idrivetractors" emblazoned across the chest in garish letters, with the intention of wearing it at Walsall. I will probably leave ordering it until after tonight"s event, as if I bomb out early as a result of a ridiculous bluff, I"d probably rather stay unrecognised at the national.
Post by: Chipaccrual on January 10, 2009, 11:02:25 AM
I"m toying with the idea of having a T-shirt created with "Idrivetractors" emblazoned across the chest in garish letters, with the intention of wearing it at Walsall.
DO IT !
Post by: Santino67 on January 10, 2009, 11:42:59 AM
Post by: monkeyman on January 10, 2009, 11:54:45 AM
I"m toying with the idea of having a T-shirt created with "Idrivetractors" emblazoned across the chest in garish letters, with the intention of wearing it at Walsall.
DO IT !
Yes sir! "tis done. I"ve just completed the order of a yellow t-shirt with "Idrivetractors" written in green on front and rear for the princely sum of £15.10 including delivery.
Post by: Chipaccrual on January 10, 2009, 11:56:14 AM
I"m toying with the idea of having a T-shirt created with "Idrivetractors" emblazoned across the chest in garish letters, with the intention of wearing it at Walsall.
DO IT !
Yes sir! "tis done. I"ve just completed the order of a yellow t-shirt with "Idrivetractors" written in green on front and rear for the princely sum of £15.10 including delivery.
At least you"ll be easy to spot for chipcount updates. ;D
Post by: duke3016 on January 10, 2009, 11:58:54 AM
Post by: Santino67 on January 10, 2009, 12:01:54 PM
I"m toying with the idea of having a T-shirt created with "Idrivetractors" emblazoned across the chest in garish letters, with the intention of wearing it at Walsall.
DO IT !
Yes sir! "tis done. I"ve just completed the order of a yellow t-shirt with "Idrivetractors" written in green on front and rear for the princely sum of £15.10 including delivery.
At least you"ll be easy to spot for chipcount updates. ;D
You do know this will catch on Leigh..............imagine big duke with his John Wayne T Shirt 8) ..................Kinboshi with a picture of a rock ;D and how about a big WOOP WOOP in Liverpool red for Steve
Post by: monkeyman on January 10, 2009, 12:14:07 PM
Hi Simon, not been able to spend much time on BF with you so far but just interested to know if you"re doing ok. My bankroll up to over $400 so far and taken out more than my original investment so i"m doing ok for now. What u think of it?
So far this year I"ve played full table NL hold"em cash games on Betfair,Blue Square,Ladbrokes,Sky and Full Tilt. I"ve not played sufficient time on Full Tilt to draw any firm conclusions, but I"m unlikely to spend too much time there as it seems to make sense to spend time on sites which exclude US players. I"m not a huge fan of Sky as despite the competition being ultra-soft,as the games move way too slowly for my liking. Ladbrokes is OK as they seem to have reasonable numbers of players and there are plenty of Lemmings on there prepared to shove their chips in with marginal hands. I love playing cash games on Betfair as there seems to be plenty of players with only the haziest of ideas of the value of their hands. However, BF doesn"t seem to have much traffic and that is a problem. I"ve been playing with two full tables running simultaneously and BF frequently seems to only have one full table running at each level. I"ve probably spent more time on Blue Square than anywhere,simply because the volume of traffic guarantees the availability of action and if you scan through the operational tables, there"s generally a couple which appear to be much weaker than the others.
Post by: Mikeyboy9361 on January 10, 2009, 12:51:15 PM
Post by: Santino67 on January 10, 2009, 12:53:44 PM
Still can"t reg on BSq, have issues with making withdrawals on the 2 bank cards I have but hope Des can recify this soon. Hope to be at same table again soon mate.
Cheers
Grant
Post by: monkeyman on January 10, 2009, 12:57:25 PM
How can you tell which are the weak tables just by scanning through them?
If I see a table where the stack size for most of the players is well under the maximum buy in for that level, I regard it as weak. Players who buy in for under the max and/or don"t rebuy chips whilst at the table tend to be weaker than those who ensure they are using as big a stack as possible.
Post by: Mikeyboy9361 on January 10, 2009, 13:41:07 PM
Post by: Santino67 on January 10, 2009, 14:00:01 PM
The average pot thing can also be deceiving as it could also mean there"s already a bully at the table meaning no one is taking them on and therefore the pots are small.
On BF I think the best approach is too click on the individuals icon and keep notes on them. That way you can combineall the info to make decisions you need to make.
Post by: monkeyman on January 10, 2009, 14:33:15 PM
I often deliberately go in to the 25c/50c table with strange figures of somewhere around 2/3 max buy in to make people think i"m weak. Will always be around the $35 plus i"ll add a strange number of cents on the end. Not sure ifit works but I"m in profit not fixing it if it"s not broken.
The average pot thing can also be deceiving as it could also mean there"s already a bully at the table meaning no one is taking them on and therefore the pots are small.
On BF I think the best approach is too click on the individuals icon and keep notes on them. That way you can combineall the info to make decisions you need to make.
Can"t pretend I understand the thinking behind this. Surely its best to have as much as possible in your stack in case you"ve got a monster and someone is betting into you? Doesn"t having less than the max mean you"re not getting the most out of your best hands?
Post by: Swinebag on January 10, 2009, 14:58:27 PM
I understand Grants thinking though that these players, who sit down with say $36.21 at a $50 NL table, are generally thought to be playing with the last of their bankroll and are therefore v weak. If this isn"t the case then you are giving people false info.
However I think this the reason you win at cash table"s, Grant, is probably more down to good solid play on your part rather than other players interpretation of your buy in amount.
I"d take simons advice and buy in for the max. If you play the same way it will improve your bottom line in the long run
Post by: monkeyman on January 11, 2009, 00:50:45 AM
Post by: monkeyman on January 11, 2009, 18:06:12 PM
The thinking behind the change comes from increasing confidence in my play. Whilst most of this blog is not intended to be particularly serious (no kidding), I feel that describing myself as a fish, if only in jest, lowers my expectations and therefore can only have a negative effect on my play. As I finished 10th in the season two rankings, won a tourney in the pre-season mini series and was 15th in last night"s online national, the "fish" tag isn"t appropriate any longer.
I considered a couple of possible new titles but felt that "National champ sometime soon" was just too damn cocky and "Come on then yer b******s, I"ll take you all on" too aggressive. "Am I a fish? No I am not" is more succint and does what it says on the tin. At Walsall, for the first time I will not be turning up for the experience or because I want a weekend away, I"m going because I think I"ve got as good a chance as anyone of winning the thing.
Feel free to try and shoot me down in flames. 8)
Post by: duke3016 on January 11, 2009, 18:21:38 PM
Post by: Santino67 on January 11, 2009, 23:29:14 PM
I agree with you here Simon
I understand Grants thinking though that these players, who sit down with say $36.21 at a $50 NL table, are generally thought to be playing with the last of their bankroll and are therefore v weak. If this isn"t the case then you are giving people false info.
However I think this the reason you win at cash table"s, Grant, is probably more down to good solid play on your part rather than other players interpretation of your buy in amount.
I"d take simons advice and buy in for the max. If you play the same way it will improve your bottom line in the long run
Rob & Simon, I appreciate your advice & your thoughts on this 8) so will try it out and see how it goes. I understand thinking behind the full buy-in, makes so much sense but so far on the 25c/50c table I"ve had huge hands made 3/4 pot and full pot bets on flop and turn and had callers who hit bigger on the river. I"d hate to lose a full buy in then have to reload a full buy-in when this happens but the whole risk/reward factor means it"s worth going for it then assess in a week or so.
Cheers again
Post by: monkeyman on January 12, 2009, 09:14:19 AM
I agree with you here Simon
I understand Grants thinking though that these players, who sit down with say $36.21 at a $50 NL table, are generally thought to be playing with the last of their bankroll and are therefore v weak. If this isn"t the case then you are giving people false info.
However I think this the reason you win at cash table"s, Grant, is probably more down to good solid play on your part rather than other players interpretation of your buy in amount.
I"d take simons advice and buy in for the max. If you play the same way it will improve your bottom line in the long run
Rob & Simon, I appreciate your advice & your thoughts on this 8) so will try it out and see how it goes. I understand thinking behind the full buy-in, makes so much sense but so far on the 25c/50c table I"ve had huge hands made 3/4 pot and full pot bets on flop and turn and had callers who hit bigger on the river. I"d hate to lose a full buy in then have to reload a full buy-in when this happens but the whole risk/reward factor means it"s worth going for it then assess in a week or so.
Cheers again
Fair comment Grant. I would certainly recommend going for the full buyin/continual rebuy option for the following reasons:
1) Betfair, much more so than any other site I"ve seen so far, is full of very weak players who will call any bet on the off chance they hit something. Therefore you want to have as many chips as possible to punish them with
2) You should only play at a level where you"re happy to push your entire buy in into the middle if you think you"re ahead. If you"re not, then there"s no disgrace in dropping down a level. Cash play isn"t about machismo and proving to others how high you fly, its about bottom line - how much profit can you make and you won"t maximise profits if there"s an element of doubt in your mind.
Having said that you"re clearly doing something right, looking at the bankroll increase you mentioned. Just don"t scare all the fish away from Betfair before I"ve had a chance to lay waste to them!
Post by: monkeyman on January 12, 2009, 09:29:17 AM
Since I have an aversion to working five day weeks (you would too if you worked in a call centre), I"ve managed to get today off as once again I"m going horse racing at Fakenham. Since the Co-op doesn"t open its doors to allow me to purchase a Racing Post until 9.00, I spent a few minutes reviewing my Blue Square account. When looking at the "Cash table history" I was initially a little perturned as there seemed to be slightly more losing sessions than winning ones. However, most of the losses were very small ones, some of the wins were substantial and in total, since the beginning of January, I"ve played 1451 hands to give an increase on my original investment of 320%. The "tournament history" tab goes back to 22/11/08 and only shows five MTTs. However, in this sample, there is a victory, saturday night"s 15/236 in the online UK championships and two final table bubbles which gives me an increase in money staked of about 277% . Brothers and sisters I have looked into the future and its looking rosy. Yee haaaaaaaa ;D
Post by: monkeyman on January 12, 2009, 17:23:21 PM
Post by: Chipaccrual on January 12, 2009, 17:33:59 PM
"There was a young lady from Ealing"
Who said APAT sounds quite appealing,
There"s one major factor
This bloke who drives a tractor
His chips are easy for stealing
;D
Post by: monkeyman on January 12, 2009, 17:58:29 PM
P.S. North London are still without a captain...........
Post by: duke3016 on January 12, 2009, 18:18:29 PM
"There was a young lady from Ealing"
Who used to walk on the ceiling
She got a rush of blood to her head
Twisted and fell onto the bed
Now her arse has lost all feeling.
I"ll stick to poker - ooops I"m crap at that as well
Post by: Bad hat lady on January 12, 2009, 21:33:26 PM
"There was a young lady from Ealing". I"m not sure what I can come up with to follow that.............
There was a young woman from Ealing
Who was lucky whoever was dealing
Simon exclaimed "I hear
you have a nice pair"
Now his blinds she is permanently stealing
Post by: monkeyman on January 12, 2009, 21:43:00 PM
Post by: Bad hat lady on January 12, 2009, 21:49:41 PM
"There was a young lady from Ealing". I"m not sure what I can come up with to follow that.............
There was a young woman from Ealing
Who was lucky whoever was dealing
Simon exclaimed "I hear
you have a nice pair"
Now his blinds she is permanently stealing
My husband, who is busy playing cash which seems to have made him poker blind, asked how Simon knew she had a pair. After I'd explained the double entendre he said I should make it clearer and suggested:
There was a young woman from Ealing
Who's tits were very appealing
Monkeyman sidled up near
Said you've got a top pair
Now his nose won't stop bleeding
You won't believe that was from a published author
Post by: ibis on January 12, 2009, 22:14:53 PM
That Simon found very appealing
But when they went on a date
He didn't discover til late
That she was really a man from Darjeeling
Post by: Bad hat lady on January 12, 2009, 22:20:48 PM
"There was a young lady from Ealing".
I was trying to do some more lady from Ealing limericks but seem to have got writers block
I started with:
There was a young lady from Ealing
Who found playing poker appealing
When her hand was big slick
but all the ending seem to be unpublishable
Post by: ibis on January 12, 2009, 22:28:26 PM
Whose dress was very revealing
When Simon had a good look
She gave him a right hook
And said, No, not whilst I"m dealing
Post by: Bad hat lady on January 12, 2009, 22:31:36 PM
"There was a young lady from Ealing".
There was a young lady from Ealing
When asked why she was squealing
Said IDriveTractors
Was one of the factors
My blinds he has been stealing
Post by: ibis on January 12, 2009, 22:41:43 PM
That Simon loved to be dealing
Whenever he was in the blinds
She gave him American Airlines
And now they're off to Darjeeling
Post by: mal666 on January 12, 2009, 23:15:01 PM
Unfortunately the contributions on here so far sound better than anything I"ve come up with :-[
congrats 666 posts
Post by: antthecat on January 16, 2009, 17:29:04 PM
Post by: APAT on January 16, 2009, 18:48:08 PM
who"s forte was wheeling and dealing,
but on failing the test, to beat the clickfest
She soon started shouting and squealing.
Anon ;)
Post by: monkeyman on January 16, 2009, 22:42:24 PM
hi nice to see your name on the list for walsall, have you booked any where to stay yet? i am about to book a travellodge as i think the rooms are about £30 per night.
PM sent
Post by: monkeyman on January 17, 2009, 11:25:46 AM
Post by: Santino67 on January 17, 2009, 20:25:20 PM
Told u last night i"d stick with the full buy-in despite having 3 nights of bad hits. Thankfully last night paid off as I ended up more than doubling my buy-in on 25c/50c table and today more than doubled buy-in on 10c/20c table. Glad you didn"t run into too much trouble with your queens, sometimes difficult to play them depending on your table but it"s incredible the number of hands they run into bigger pairs online.
Cheers mate
Grant
Post by: monkeyman on January 18, 2009, 15:20:52 PM
However, I am a poker addict, so I can"t go too long without a fix of some sort. I will find some time to peruse some training material and have just completed a session of cash play. Since the turn of the year, my usual modus operandi has been to play a cash table on Blue Square alongside a table at the same buy-in on Betfair. My Blue Square table provided me with something of a rollercoaster ride. I intially went slightly ahead and established that the most dangerous player on the table was seated to my left. Things took a turn for the worse when a player who limped then called my big blind raise with five/six off, flopped trips and took three-quarters of my stack. I had aces. I rebought and eventually managed to grind back the dollars I had lost.
Over on Betfair, things were completely different. It doesn"t seem to matter whether MTTs,SNGs or cash games are your thing, but this site contains the players who are easiest to manipulate a few quid out of. If it had the same level of traffic as Pokerstars or the Ipoker network, I would never play anywhere else. Today went very, very well indeed. There was one particular player who kept calling my raises and continuation bets with top pair/good kicker. This guy gave me most of his max buy-in stack, rebought then was unlike enough to get cleaned out a second time as I hit a royal flush to his straight. If only every session was like this........
Post by: ibis on January 18, 2009, 18:58:07 PM
I can safely say that I"m the only person using this site who instead of spending Sunday Night chucking chips around on Pokerstars, will be attempting to write some poetry.
Well almost. You did say your second week"s poetry homework was to write a poem between 8 and 16 lines so here goes:
In his tractor that would often stall
Monkeyman was off to Walsall
With Antthecat in the back
Sitting on an empty sack
Along the road they did roll
As if out for an evening stroll
Making just 3 miles an hour
Due to a lack of power
Their tractor a shade of midnight blue
Was at the head of a ten mile queue
They drove right through the casino door
Because their brakes were so poor
They'd arrived just in time
At around half past nine
To see [xxx] had won the event
Bugger! They'd missed the whole tournament!
Post by: monkeyman on January 18, 2009, 20:13:20 PM
I can safely say that I"m the only person using this site who instead of spending Sunday Night chucking chips around on Pokerstars, will be attempting to write some poetry.
Well almost. You did say your second week"s poetry homework was to write a poem between 8 and 16 lines so here goes:
In his tractor that would often stall
Monkeyman was off to Walsall
With Antthecat in the back
Sitting on an empty sack
Along the road they did roll
As if out for an evening stroll
Making just 3 miles an hour
Due to a lack of power
Their tractor a shade of midnight blue
Was at the head of a ten mile queue
They drove right through the casino door
Because their brakes were so poor
They'd arrived just in time
At around half past nine
To see [xxx] had won the event
Bugger! They'd missed the whole tournament!
Don"t know whether anyone reading this blog has any legal experience, but I was wondering whether it was possible to divorce your in-laws?
Post by: APAT on January 18, 2009, 20:25:34 PM
I can safely say that I"m the only person using this site who instead of spending Sunday Night chucking chips around on Pokerstars, will be attempting to write some poetry.
Well almost. You did say your second week"s poetry homework was to write a poem between 8 and 16 lines so here goes:
In his tractor that would often stall
Monkeyman was off to Walsall
With Antthecat in the back
Sitting on an empty sack
Along the road they did roll
As if out for an evening stroll
Making just 3 miles an hour
Due to a lack of power
Their tractor a shade of midnight blue
Was at the head of a ten mile queue
They drove right through the casino door
Because their brakes were so poor
They'd arrived just in time
At around half past nine
To see [xxx] had won the event
Bugger! They'd missed the whole tournament!
Don"t know whether anyone reading this blog has any legal experience, but I was wondering whether it was possible to divorce your in-laws?
I don"t think so, but for a small fee, I believe you can have them knocked off...
Post by: Bad hat lady on January 18, 2009, 21:38:05 PM
I can safely say that I"m the only person using this site who instead of spending Sunday Night chucking chips around on Pokerstars, will be attempting to write some poetry.
Well almost. You did say your second week"s poetry homework was to write a poem between 8 and 16 lines so here goes:
In his tractor that would often stall
Monkeyman was off to Walsall
With Antthecat in the back
Sitting on an empty sack
Along the road they did roll
As if out for an evening stroll
Making just 3 miles an hour
Due to a lack of power
Their tractor a shade of midnight blue
Was at the head of a ten mile queue
They drove right through the casino door
Because their brakes were so poor
They'd arrived just in time
At around half past nine
To see [xxx] had won the event
Bugger! They'd missed the whole tournament!
Don"t know whether anyone reading this blog has any legal experience, but I was wondering whether it was possible to divorce your in-laws?
I don"t think so, but for a small fee, I believe you can have them knocked off...
There was a blogger called Monkeyman,
who came up with a cunning plan
to save his site from poetry posts
he'd wish his brother-in-law adios
and run over him with a van
Post by: ibis on January 18, 2009, 21:50:29 PM
I can safely say that I"m the only person using this site who instead of spending Sunday Night chucking chips around on Pokerstars, will be attempting to write some poetry.
Well almost. You did say your second week"s poetry homework was to write a poem between 8 and 16 lines so here goes:
In his tractor that would often stall
Monkeyman was off to Walsall
With Antthecat in the back
Sitting on an empty sack
Along the road they did roll
As if out for an evening stroll
Making just 3 miles an hour
Due to a lack of power
Their tractor a shade of midnight blue
Was at the head of a ten mile queue
They drove right through the casino door
Because their brakes were so poor
They'd arrived just in time
At around half past nine
To see [xxx] had won the event
Bugger! They'd missed the whole tournament!
Don"t know whether anyone reading this blog has any legal experience, but I was wondering whether it was possible to divorce your in-laws?
I don"t think so, but for a small fee, I believe you can have them knocked off...
That great blogger, Monkeyman
Came up with a cunning plan
To knock off his brother-in-law
I've no idea what for
He paid the hoodlum his fee
But instead he bought a tree
For he was green, you see
And so the Ibis was free
To post his poetry
For all the world to see
And so it came to pass
Along the lush, green grass
He wandered lonely as a cloud
Through vales and hill he was so proud
Because the country had now spoke
That Ibis must not croak
They thought his poetry so great
They made him poet laureate
Post by: Oldsoreknees on January 19, 2009, 17:27:09 PM
Post by: ibis on January 19, 2009, 22:08:12 PM
IBIS - the only man ever to get kicked out of the Vogon Star Fleet because his poetry was too bad. I really hope you haven"t been spending any time writing these!
I didn"t spend very much time
making up these terrible rhymes
I bet the composing on Vogon Ships
wasn"t done whilst winning poker chips
Post by: monkeyman on January 19, 2009, 23:14:19 PM
Post by: Oldsoreknees on January 20, 2009, 16:03:28 PM
Pocket Aces :as: ah,
The very first hand,
The Button raises,
To over a grand,
Re raise with all the stack,
Cards are on their back
Anticipation; violent shiver
Blast, damn and bugger it,
He's done me on the river
7c 7d 7h :2s: :2h:
Mystic Helmet (Commisions Undertaken)
Post by: monkeyman on January 20, 2009, 17:05:08 PM
Please see below my prediction for your trip to Walsall:
Pocket Aces :as: ah,
The very first hand,
The Button raises,
To over a grand,
Re raise with all the stack,
Cards are on their back
Anticipation; violent shiver
Blast, damn and bugger it,
He?s done me on the river
7c 7d 7h :2s: :2h:
Mystic Helmet (Commisions Undertaken)
Thank you for your support >:(
Post by: Oldsoreknees on January 20, 2009, 20:47:26 PM
Please see below my prediction for your trip to Walsall:
Pocket Aces :as: ah,
The very first hand,
The Button raises,
To over a grand,
Re raise with all the stack,
Cards are on their back
Anticipation; violent shiver
Blast, damn and bugger it,
He's done me on the river
7c 7d 7h :2s: :2h:
Mystic Helmet (Commisions Undertaken)
Thank you for your support >:(
I think you will find if you examine it closely I am suggesting that you played the hand entirely correctly - but poker can be a very cruel game, especially when your confidence is high.
Post by: monkeyman on January 22, 2009, 00:12:30 AM
Post by: antthecat on January 22, 2009, 00:18:20 AM
Post by: duke3016 on January 22, 2009, 00:20:12 AM
Post by: monkeyman on January 23, 2009, 23:48:46 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 24, 2009, 00:58:27 AM
Post by: duke3016 on January 24, 2009, 01:05:59 AM
Post by: monkeyman on January 24, 2009, 08:37:15 AM
feck Harrington -- when your book coming out
I"ve got a couple of friends who run their own small publishing businesses, so..........when I"ve started my bid for world domination by winning the forthcoming national at Walsall, been approached by Full Tilt with a hefty sponsorship deal then maybe, just maybe.....................
Post by: monkeyman on January 25, 2009, 10:50:57 AM
Although I"m still playing at very low limits, I decided it was time to set up an account with rakeback. There aren"t many sites I haven"t played on at some point, but I"ve opened an account with Ultimatebet. The standard of hold"em played on this site is considerably higher than my usual destinations and whilst I don"t mind testing myself, the main consideration when playing cash games is the bottom line. Therefore, my holdem is still restricted to the first three sites mentioned. However, I have started playing 7 card stud on Ultimate as this seems to ring up the loyalty points much quicker than holdem. I think playing a bit of stud has actually been a very healthy thing for my hold"em game, as it has made me think a lot more about thinking about how the betting might develop in the latter stages of each hand.
Yesterday, I had one of those days that, if I could guarantee it could happen every day, would see me wave goodbye to the call centre for ever. Second hand on a Ladbrokes table and I flopped a straight flush. I didn"t make much out of that one, but whenever I committed with a big hand it held up and when I tried to trap someone, they got well and truly trapped. I didn"t actually play for very long, but made a profit equivalent to 4 x buy in. Bring on the league, bring on Walsall, I"m flying at the moment.
Post by: monkeyman on January 26, 2009, 22:58:46 PM
Post by: antthecat on January 26, 2009, 23:06:14 PM
Post by: mal666 on January 27, 2009, 09:52:32 AM
I think I need therapy. Having already purchased a bright yellow t-shirt emblazoned with my Blue Square username, I"ve gone back to the same website and found that for £10.90 I could buy a baseball cap with my name loving crafted onto the forehead. Sometimes, I think I need someone to save me from myself.
Can you change the thread title back!
Post by: monkeyman on January 27, 2009, 10:25:26 AM
are u wearing the t-shirt at walsall as ill be sporting my black t-shirt with Ant The Cat in big white letters on my back.
Oh dear. We really aren"t doing a lot for the image of Norfolk are we?
Post by: duke3016 on January 27, 2009, 13:26:20 PM
Post by: antthecat on January 27, 2009, 13:49:39 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 27, 2009, 13:57:23 PM
This blog was started with one intention; to win a seat at the main event at The Vic last year. It didn"t happen that time, but, to my surprise, I won "Best online contribution" in the 2008 APAT end of year awards. The twenty-one people who voted for me were not ALL relatives. I have stated before that I believe this blog has a finite shelf life, it will be rambling on for a while yet. I have tried to kill this thing off before, but will probably allow it to pass away quietly at some stage towards the end of season three.
Even though my results at nationals have got progressively worse, I believe I have become a significantly better player since APAT's inception. During season 1 I was completely out of my depth online. Season 2 was a different story and I managed to finish 10th in the national rankings. I made a number of online final tables and went out on the penultimate table in considerably more. The biggest improvement in my game has happened because of the week at The Vic. As soon as the event was announced, I decided I was going to play in as many events as possible and set about practising the non-hold"em variants. Although the week in London was ultimately unsuccessful, the main thing that came out of it was a focus in what I needed to do to improve my game. I make a point of leaving time to watch coaching videos each week and also feel that my recent conversion to concentrating almost exclusively on cash play has also produced a large step forward in my standard of play. I"m also fortunate to have several members of my family who play to a decent standard, so whilst our homegames are always jovial affairs, there is some good stuff played. Whilst I feel slightly guilty about singling any of them out, brother-in-law Steve Stringer (eastern region champion and who cashed twice from three appearances in APAT nationals) has been instrumental in pointing me towards the coaching material I now use and has provided a sounding board for specific situations.
What about the future? I will not be appearing as often in the live nationals as much this year as last. I will be in Walsall and have not yet made my mind up about Dusk Til Dawn. I probably will go, but regard the Horse and Omaha tournaments as priorities above the main event. Due to journey time, cost and the fact that I attended both last year, I will definitely not be going to either Cardiff or Edinburgh. I would love to go to Ireland, but unfotunately flights from Norwich airport to Dublin cease on 27/03/09, so I can"t see myself making the journey. I will however, be playing in as many online events, both the nationals and league, as possible.
On November 11th this year, I hit my 40th birthday and I mentioned on this blog a while ago that I was thinking about a trip to Vegas to celebrate. I wouldn"t say that is completely out of the question, but I am now leaning more towards spending a few days in Amsterdam partly because of the cost, partly because I"ve done Vegas twice already but also because if I went to the strip again, it would probably start with a flight from Norwich to Schipol, so why not stop there? What I"m currently looking at is seeing if I can manage a trip to coincide with the Amsterdam Masters Classic which is normally held around the right time. I"ve not yet played in a live professional tournament, so apart from a couple of shots at GUKPT seats, I may try and play in Holland, even if it is in a side event.
Returning to my theme of self-improvement, I feel a good barometer of my current standard is provided by my 15th place finish in the recent online national, which I believe was the toughest field yet assembled for any APAT event. At Walsall, for the first time I will arrive expecting, not hoping, to do well. If things don"t work out, then at least if you"re on my table you will know you"ve been in a game.
Feel free to say hello in Walsall.
Post by: Swinebag on January 27, 2009, 16:12:37 PM
As already mentioned elsewhere, negotiations are in the preliminary stage with management but I hope to have more success than that eejit Garry Cook did in persauding Kaka to come to City.
Post by: duke3016 on January 27, 2009, 16:41:25 PM
top post and well done on 10K hits. I"m hoping to go to vegas at the end of october for a week to celebrate my 38.85th birthday..
As already mentioned elsewhere, negotiations are in the preliminary stage with management but I hope to have more success than that eejit Garry Cook did in persauding Kaka to come to City.
Chezger travel oct/nov -- just putting the finishing touches to the plans (which will be pants as usual Chezger don"t do plans)
Post by: monkeyman on January 28, 2009, 01:14:20 AM
However, such halcyon days don"t last forever and I"m now at the point with my writing every parent will recognise from junior"s teenage years, where they demand to be taken seriously, "cos,I"m like, soooooooo, adult now". Despite my years, I"m not too proud to admit that sometimes I too behave like that sulky, underage youth, not listerning to a word of that telling off being administered for being caught swigging a can of Woodpecker. I perhaps should also remember the golden rule of poker writing that for every triumphant, smartyparts, look at ME ME ME,I"m making loads of dosh posting, there"s an equal and opposite, f***-up around the corner.
Those asterisks in the preceding paragraph give a strong indication of what"s to come, so if you"re of a delicate disposition, look away now. Maybe there"s a chapter of the bible you need to read, or now is the time that boxed-set of Songs of Praise needs to be watched. Do not, under any circumstances, read any further down the page.
Things went wrong when I decided to open 2 cash tables at 21.45. Up to that point, I had spent a relaxing evening reading "Swimming with the Devilish" whilst listening to Radio Norfolk"s commentary on Norwich City"s illustrious band of misfits, no-hopers and all round s**t-peddlers make a complete pig"s ear of a 2-0 lead against an equally inept Southampton side. For one moment, I seriously considered placing a posting on my Eastern Daily Press blog suggesting that it would be nice if we had a nucleus of players who were at least capable of passing wind, even if passing to a team-mate more than once a game was beyond them. Thankfully, I baulked at that, but went on to decide that the esteemed Messrs Ladbrokes and Betfair would help soothe my fevered brow.
Things started to go wrong on Betfair when my turn shove with Kings was called by Queens, which went on to become trips on the river. This has happened many times since my conversion to hold"em cash grinder and I normally laugh in the face of such reverses. At this point, I really should have taken heed of the warning signs. Rather than reload and resolve to teach that bally blighter a darned good lesson, I thought the sensible thing to do was to see how many times I could type " F*** " onto one line in the chat box. I believe the answer was four. Over on Ladbrokes, something was amiss. Seated to my left was the big stack, who, frankly, was playing me off the table. Every time I either limped or raised, he joined the pot and took my chips. The sensible thing to do would have been to have left the table resolving to try again another day. However, Mr Sensible-head was not at home tonight, so I decided to stick around to teach this b*****d a lesson. Needless to say that when I raised with pocket eights, fired and got called on every street, I didn"t consider the possibility that the river 9, the second on the table, had turned his 7/9 offsuit into trips. This meant another buy-in headed off into the wild blue yonder. I then typed something like "I"m playing like a c***, see ya". The villain responded with some, oh so jolly jest,which I cut to ribbons with my rapier-like wit by typing "You arrogant c***". I persisted with Betfair a little longer to see a raise and c-bet called by pocket threes which needless to say became trips.
At this stage I thought Ladbrokes were c***s, Betfair were c***s and if my neighbour had been playing his music too loud, I"d have knocked on his door and called him a c*** too.
I accept no criticism from anyone who has been shocked by the foul language contained without this post; you we"re warned. You may also attempt to point out that swearing is neither big nor clever. You would be so very wrong to do so. I once knew a professor at the University of East Anglia who was 6 foot 6 inches and swore like a trooper, so there, this proves my point. Funnily enough, he was a right c*** too.
Post by: Swinebag on January 28, 2009, 12:13:06 PM
Post by: ibis on January 28, 2009, 21:50:00 PM
Things started to go wrong on Betfair when my turn shove with Kings was called by Queens, which went on to become trips on the river. This has happened many times since my conversion to hold"em cash grinder and I normally laugh in the face of such reverses. At this point, I really should have taken heed of the warning signs. Rather than reload and resolve to teach that bally blighter a darned good lesson, I thought the sensible thing to do was to see how many times I could type " F*** " onto one line in the chat box. I believe the answer was four.
I take it you haven"t watched the videos from Stox"s resident psychologist on how to avoid going on tilt.
Post by: monkeyman on January 28, 2009, 22:51:19 PM
Things started to go wrong on Betfair when my turn shove with Kings was called by Queens, which went on to become trips on the river. This has happened many times since my conversion to hold"em cash grinder and I normally laugh in the face of such reverses. At this point, I really should have taken heed of the warning signs. Rather than reload and resolve to teach that bally blighter a darned good lesson, I thought the sensible thing to do was to see how many times I could type " F*** " onto one line in the chat box. I believe the answer was four.
I take it you haven"t watched the videos from Stox"s resident psychologist on how to avoid going on tilt.
Funnily enough I have, but that was back on 25/09/2008. Its on my list for revision before next weekend. To be honest, I shouldn"t have been playing at all. If I stuck to my guideline of not playing when tired, unwell or after consuming alcohol, I would be approximately $140 better off this month. I"m still well in front!
I had a very interesting session on Betfair tonight. Twice I managed to lose most of a buy in raising from the blinds with Kings, getting called by an opponent in late position with a smaller pocket pair who hit trips. Strangely, I still managed to finish in profit.
Thankfully Blue Square are being consistently good to me, so i think I"ll have to concentrate my efforts there for the next few days.
Post by: monkeyman on January 30, 2009, 19:44:28 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 31, 2009, 20:24:50 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 31, 2009, 22:04:33 PM
At this point I was in 6th place and the hand which crippled me was the first after the break. The action folded to me on the button where I had JJ. The blinds were 800/1600 and I raised to 4000. The Small blind folded, but the big blind went all in. I decided to call, not because I had him covered by 7500, but he appeared to be savvy enough to realise that I could have been raising with a wide range. I also thought that he would also have shoved to try and scare me with a wide range and as such, felt my hand was strong. Unfortunately he had QQ which held up. I successfully shoved a few times to prolong my tournament life, but the final hand came when I called a shove for my last 9000 chips with Q9 suited and found myself against QJ. There was a 9 on the flop, but unfortunately a Jack on the turn.
I suppose I could be unhappy that I"d played so well for so long and had nothing to show for it, but instead I"m delighted at how well I played. Keep this up and there"s a big tourney with my name on some time soon.
Post by: mal666 on January 31, 2009, 22:28:34 PM
Post by: monkeyman on February 01, 2009, 01:10:35 AM
JJ standard Q9 wtf!
In my defence, I had about 9000 chips left and would have been big blind next hand. The blinds were 800/1600 so I thought, and still think, calling with Q9 was sound.
Post by: KarmaDope on February 01, 2009, 01:12:22 AM
JJ standard Q9 wtf!
In my defence, I had about 9000 chips left and would have been big blind next hand. The blinds were 800/1600 so I thought, and still think, calling with Q9 was sound.
If you were BB next hand surely you would have shoved UTG rather than called a shove. Shoving with Q9 is fair - calling all-in with it is a leak.
Post by: monkeyman on February 01, 2009, 08:50:52 AM
Regardless, I still completely disagree that I made a mistake by calling for the following reasons:
1) I had 9000 chips
2) The blinds were 800/1600
3) As there were 12 players left, we were playing 6 handed
If I"d have passed on this hand and when I was in the small blind I"d have been left with about 6600 chips. If there are only 5 hands between being small blind and my next turn as big blind, I"ve got little chance to wait for a premium hand. I"ve got even less chance to both wait for a premium hand and shove into an unopened pot. In this situation, I expected my opponent to shove with any two cards to try and bully me out of the pot. As such, facing a single opponent with a wide opening range and given that if I passed in the blinds I"d have gone from 5 x BB to 3.5 x BB, I still think that calling here is an automatic play.
Post by: Swinebag on February 01, 2009, 12:49:45 PM
If you fold in the blinds you have lost all fold equity for shoving with ATC in the next orbit.
You may get a premium in the next 4 hands but may end up having to play it 3 (or even 4) handed where it is more likely you will
With your stack you are looking for a double up heads up and calling in the blinds is the best way to get this situation. Q9 is junk but could be flipping with a lot of small PPs and A rags that would shove there. I doubt QJ was the bottom of his range.
Post by: monkeyman on February 01, 2009, 22:08:03 PM
Post by: KarmaDope on February 01, 2009, 22:18:08 PM
JJ standard Q9 wtf!
In my defence, I had about 9000 chips left and would have been big blind next hand. The blinds were 800/1600 so I thought, and still think, calling with Q9 was sound.
If you were BB next hand surely you would have shoved UTG rather than called a shove. Shoving with Q9 is fair - calling all-in with it is a leak.
Now I change - calling all in when in the BB is fine with 5xBB. Just unlucky to run into JJ!
Post by: monkeyman on February 02, 2009, 11:37:01 AM
Post by: Santino67 on February 02, 2009, 20:07:18 PM
GL next leg
Post by: Santino67 on February 02, 2009, 21:01:04 PM
Post by: monkeyman on February 04, 2009, 18:33:50 PM
See your guys have picked up loan deals for our Alan Gow and Celtic"s Chris Killen 8) Should do a decent job for you and get a few goals between them.
Yep, they"ve got to be better than the cack that"s already here. There"s a very strong scottish connection already. Bryan Gunn, who has just taken over as manager, was brought here as a player from Aberdeen, we purchased David Marshall from Celtic and the same club let us have the very impressive John Kennedy on loan earlier in the season. We"ve also got Mark Fotheringham who I think also came to us from Rangers. I"m not surprised Gow has arrived as we"ve tried to get him before.
Post by: monkeyman on February 04, 2009, 18:37:10 PM
Post by: Swinebag on February 04, 2009, 19:08:58 PM
Its now less than 48 hours until my arrival in Walsall and tonight is deepstack tournament practise night. I"ve enrolled in the 22 euro 3.5k euro guaranteed on Virgin at 19.30. I"ve only played in this tournament once before and I seem to remember the standard of play being poor for the buy-in level. I vaguely remember bubbling the last time I played. >:(
I"ve played this a few times and am having a go tomorrow. The standard in the early stages is diabolical. Hands overplayed pre and post flop with draws chased at any price. When you get to the last 40 though the standard is actually very good. I suppose you could say all this for any MTT, but it seems to be more true for this tourney than most.
Post by: monkeyman on February 04, 2009, 21:39:51 PM
Its now less than 48 hours until my arrival in Walsall and tonight is deepstack tournament practise night. I"ve enrolled in the 22 euro 3.5k euro guaranteed on Virgin at 19.30. I"ve only played in this tournament once before and I seem to remember the standard of play being poor for the buy-in level. I vaguely remember bubbling the last time I played. >:(
What a complete and utter waste of time. I departed in 65th of 231 players by going all in from early position for 16xBB with QQ and had two bigger stacks calling me. One player had aces, the other had the remaining two queens. What I found really strange was the way almost every other player seemed happy to commit with any kind of draw or top pair. It didn"t play like a deepstack and felt like one of those 1500 chip/10 minute blind fishfests so prevalent on Ipoker. I should have stuck to the cash tables
Post by: monkeyman on February 05, 2009, 22:52:18 PM
2) Spend a couple of hours absorbing the contents of the Racing Post ahead of (3)
3) 18.50 First race at Wolverhampton. 21.20 - laugh at bookie as 6th lot of winnings from six races are collected
4) Return to Holiday Inn, see if there are any familiar faces in the bar before retiring for the night.
5) Saturday am - breakfast then 9.00 decide to marvel in the cultural delights of Walsall. 9.05 decide to make use of available pre-tournament time to do homework for writing course
6) 13.30 to 14.00 make my way to casino
7) 14.30 Shuffle up and deal
8 ) 24.00 to 01.00 - finish for the night with huge chip lead
9) 14.30 sunday - Return to casino to mop up remaining short stacks
10) Finish job off, receive trophy, do interviews with Des and Sky tV
11) Decide to retire to Holiday Inn for a third night as too excited to drive home safely
Post by: APAT on February 05, 2009, 23:07:43 PM
1) Friday depart Norwich 10.00 ish, aim to arrive at Holiday Inn Walsall mid afternoon having sampled the culinary wonders of Little Chef/Mcdonalds en route
2) Spend a couple of hours absorbing the contents of the Racing Post ahead of (3)
3) 18.50 First race at Wolverhampton. 21.20 - laugh at bookie as 6th lot of winnings from six races are collected
4) Return to Holiday Inn, see if there are any familiar faces in the bar before retiring for the night.
5) Saturday am - breakfast then 9.00 decide to marvel in the cultural delights of Walsall. 9.05 decide to make use of available pre-tournament time to do homework for writing course
6) 13.30 to 14.00 make my way to casino
7) 14.30 Shuffle up and deal
8) 24.00 to 01.00 - finish for the night with huge chip lead
9) 14.30 sunday - Return to casino to mop up remaining short stacks
10) Finish job off, receive trophy, do interviews with Des and Sky tV
11) Decide to retire to Holiday Inn for a third night as too excited to drive home safely
[ x ] Priorities right. Good man.
Post by: Santino67 on February 06, 2009, 21:46:40 PM
1) Friday depart Norwich 10.00 ish, aim to arrive at Holiday Inn Walsall mid afternoon having sampled the culinary wonders of Little Chef/Mcdonalds en route
2) Spend a couple of hours absorbing the contents of the Racing Post ahead of (3)
3) 18.50 First race at Wolverhampton. 21.20 - laugh at bookie as 6th lot of winnings from six races are collected
4) Return to Holiday Inn, see if there are any familiar faces in the bar before retiring for the night.
5) Saturday am - breakfast then 9.00 decide to marvel in the cultural delights of Walsall. 9.05 decide to make use of available pre-tournament time to do homework for writing course
6) 13.30 to 14.00 make my way to casino
7) 14.30 Shuffle up and deal
8 ) 24.00 to 01.00 - finish for the night with huge chip lead
9) 14.30 sunday - Return to casino to mop up remaining short stacks
10) Finish job off, receive trophy, do interviews with Des and Sky tV
11) Decide to retire to Holiday Inn for a third night as too excited to drive home safely
*Note to Simon* Do an accumulator mate ;)
Post by: monkeyman on February 09, 2009, 08:51:05 AM
In no particular order, here are my good and bad points of the past few days starting with the negative:
1) The journey to Walsall was a pain in the backside. It wasn"t so much the driving in single file at reduced speeds that annoyed me, but that when I reached the junction of the A14 and A1, the police had blocked the former road heading west, meaning I had no option but to head north towards Peterborough. Rather than the automatic pilot trip I should have had, my journey from this point went A1,A47,A43, Market Harborough before rejoining my anticipated route at the point where the A14 and M6 join. This meant Norwich to Walsall took just over five hours going there as opposed to 2.75 hours coming back.
2) Much as I liked room 123 of the Holiday Inn, the view from the window across the car park of the Village Hotel failed to inspire any poetry, meaning I"ve still got a sonnet to write before my class tomorrow night.
3) For the fifth time I failed to make day two at a national. I had aces once which resulted in a few chips after I raised, saw a call and a reraise before I shoved forcing my opponents to back down and Kings once which yielded the blinds after my raise went unanswered. I was feeding on scraps apart from this and never went above 12000 chips.
4) My communication skills need improving upon. Two people tried to speak to me whilst I was seated at the table; Ant the Cat tried to tell me about his departure and Des tried to tell me of the conversation he and TK had had about my T-shirt. Both were met with little more than neanderthal grunts.
In addition, I think my poker etiquette needs a little work. The next time I bite the dust at a major event, I really should remember to say "Nice hand" or "Well played". Maybe, just maybe when Colin O"Prey stood up at the same time as me he was doing so in order to shake my hand rather than because he needed to stretch his legs. Note to self - acknowledge other people at the table when leaving. At least I didn"t drop the F-bomb upon departure, so maybe that"s a step in the right direction.
Now for the good stuff:
1) I"ve referred already to my paucity of playable hands, but I honestly believe I played by far my best poker at any national to date. Although my stack never rose above 12000, I got value from the day by clinging on to life support until about 10.20 pm. I didn"t go into the day with any gameplan, but found myself playing hands that Gus Hansen would have been proud of. I took down pots by raising with 10/3 off, 8/2 off, 7/3 off but my raise with 7/2 was called so I abandoned ship post flop. I"ve never done that sort of thing before and there"s no way I"d have gone beyond the meal break if I hadn"t. I must be getting better. Its just a shame that the abscence of tournament poker in the wilds of East Anglia means that my playing time will be exclusively PC based for a few months.
2) Despite feeling disappointed at my lack of a return, I must remember that for me it was a freeroll. Somewhere out there are twenty-one people who, for whatever reason, voted for this blog in the APAT end of year awards. Without them, I probably wouldn"t have had the opportunity to partake once more in the experience that is the APAT national.
3) I"d like to thank, Des, tighty, TK and anyone else involved in the organisational side of things for all their efforts. Without your hard work, my lifetime live poker experience would probably be condensed into two weeks in Vegas. Cheers guys, hopefully I"ll see you again in Nottingham
Post by: antthecat on February 09, 2009, 13:57:44 PM
how did andy and his partner(cant remember her name, im useless with names lol) got on, did they do well???
Post by: monkeyman on February 10, 2009, 21:47:19 PM
Post by: duke3016 on February 10, 2009, 23:03:23 PM
Post by: Swinebag on February 11, 2009, 08:45:23 AM
Post by: monkeyman on February 12, 2009, 15:34:49 PM
Post by: monkeyman on February 13, 2009, 10:21:08 AM
Post by: monkeyman on February 14, 2009, 14:39:32 PM
Incidently, over the past 24 hours I"ve had problems connecting to Ipoker sites. This may or may not be something to do with changing Broadband supplier to Talktalk at the same time as problems started happening, but I can only hope problems rectify themselves sooner rather than later.
Post by: duke3016 on February 14, 2009, 14:42:02 PM
Incidently, over the past 24 hours I"ve had problems connecting to Ipoker sites. This may or may not be something to do with changing Broadband supplier
There have been other instances of this and it maybe the MTU of your router (packet size of transmissions) default is 1500 -- try lowerIng it and see if it makes a difference.
Post by: monkeyman on February 14, 2009, 23:48:40 PM
Incidently, over the past 24 hours I"ve had problems connecting to Ipoker sites. This may or may not be something to do with changing Broadband supplier
There have been other instances of this and it maybe the MTU of your router (packet size of transmissions) default is 1500 -- try lowerIng it and see if it makes a difference.
I"ve no idea how to do this, but luckily I have a poker-playing IT consultant on 24 hour stand-by so I might run this by him. First of all, I"ve sent an email to Talktalk"s customer services asking for their observations, stating that I"ve tried using two different routers and will cancel my contract if this can"t be resolved ASAP. It will be interesting so see how quickly they respond. Of course, whether good or bad, I will comment upon the quality of their service on here. I"d already decided I was unlikely to take part in tomorrow night"s league event; it looks like Talktalk have confirmed this decision on my behalf >:(
Maybe this is just indicative of a phase I am going through. A few days ago, I sent an email to Asda complaining about "Truly appalling service". This hasn"t got anything to do with poker, but I may well mention their response on here as well.
Post by: Swinebag on February 14, 2009, 23:56:03 PM
Post by: monkeyman on February 14, 2009, 23:56:52 PM
I have been suffering from blog writer"s block for a couple of days. As I mentioned in my last entry, over the weekend, I participated in the UK amateur poker chapionships. The tournament started shortly after 2.30pm saturday. I won a few hands, lost a few hands and nothing signifcant happened until my departure shortly before 10.30pm. I discovered that weekends in a Holiday Inn in Walsall are not the the stuff that reams of flowery prose are made of, hence my dilemma. What should my next blog entry be about?
This morning, like a raincoat-wearing pervert flashing at strangers, suddenly all was revealed. My moment of epiphany came in the unlikely setting of Asda"s Norwich petrol station. Eschewing my usual setting of County Hall, I was on my merry way to a day"s work in Dereham library when I stopped for fuel. I first approached one of those pumps which allows you to pay there and then rather than having to make your way over to the member of staff in the kiosk. Unfortunately, the card reader said "Sale cancelled" when my (Asda) credit card was inserted, in the same way it had done on every visit over the last two months. The forecourt was busy, so I drove out of the exit and went back round to the entrance. As I approached one of the pumps, a member of staff was putting cones out to prevent that pump from being used. I lowered my passenger-side window and asked if some cones could be put around the pump I had tried to use as there was clearly a fault. The response was a brusque "I can"t do everything at once". Somewhat taken aback, I mentioned that I felt the pump in question had been faulty for some time, in response to which this charming lady shouted "Well go somewhere else next time".
At this point, the clouds edged aside to allow a lonely sunbeam to shine down upon me whilst the choir invisible serenaded my sanctified soul. Brothers and sisters, I saw the light and what I saw was good. Rather than waste my spiritual energy on complaining about inept, disgraceful customer service, and I use the words "customer service" in their loosest-possible meaning, it was plain I should take heed of the words of this soothsayer and in future worship at the temples of Tesco, Sainsbury or Morrisons. Hallelujah!
Post by: Santino67 on February 15, 2009, 08:27:31 AM
Well put Simon, Tesco it is then! I had a similar problem at an Asda pump with my Debit Card late one night after a poker tourney in Glasgow. Later discovered you have to register the card with the forecourt first of all. The forecourt at that time of night was well and truly locked up so how can you register your card! Needless to say I drove on what little fumes I had left to my local Tesco, who had no problem producing plenty of the flammable stuff to send me on my way.
Post by: antthecat on February 15, 2009, 08:43:23 AM
Post by: Santino67 on February 15, 2009, 08:54:17 AM
Post by: antthecat on February 15, 2009, 09:28:20 AM
Post by: monkeyman on February 15, 2009, 10:40:13 AM
Once I bought my own NETGEAR router, my problems with Talk talk ended. The modems they sent were pants and their customer service is awful, but it is free so cant complain too much.
Having discovered the problem whilst using my original router, I installed the one I"d been sent. When I was trying to view video clips on the Racing Post website, the router switched itself off! Needless to say, when I re-attached my original router, this particular problem was solved.
I still can"t get on Ipoker though :"(
Post by: duke3016 on February 15, 2009, 10:52:38 AM
Then WAN settings In Configured MTU: box enter the MTU figure
Click Submit Than click Save All and then OK
this might slow down other apps such as streaming vids but should be ok for your Ipoker
EDIT: use an ethernet cable when doing this
Post by: mal666 on February 15, 2009, 16:58:44 PM
Post by: monkeyman on February 15, 2009, 18:57:09 PM
log on to your router, if its talktalk that should be 192.168.2.1 I think I have seen somewhere that talktalk MTU optimum is 1432
Then WAN settings In Configured MTU: box enter the MTU figure
Click Submit Than click Save All and then OK
this might slow down other apps such as streaming vids but should be ok for your Ipoker
EDIT: use an ethernet cable when doing this
Cheers for that Duke. Although I"ve not been playing on Blue Square this afternoon, I"ve kept a table open at all times to monitor the situation and, touch wood, it looks OK at the moment. I may play in tonight"s Southern league battle after all.
Changing tack completely, recently I"ve been looking at hotels in Amsterdam with a view to spending a few days there around the time of my 40th birthday in November. I"m beginning to wave now though as (a) the price of Hotels in Vegas is incredibly low (b) I have probably got access to some vouchers worth substantial discounts off American Airlines flights. The cheapest hotel I"ve seen is Circus Circus where it is possible to get a room for 7 days for little more than £160 and they also throw in a voucher worth 25% off one of the Cirque du Soleil shows. Sahara and Riviera aren"t much more. Bill"s and the Imperial Palace are available at about £310 and for £400 to £450 its possible to get a room at Excalibur,Luxor,Flamingo,Monte Carlo and Ballys. Mmm, food for thought.
Post by: monkeyman on February 15, 2009, 21:27:37 PM
Post by: monkeyman on February 15, 2009, 22:04:20 PM
Post by: Bad hat lady on February 15, 2009, 22:10:31 PM
Incidently, over the past 24 hours I"ve had problems connecting to Ipoker sites. This may or may not be something to do with changing Broadband supplier
There have been other instances of this and it maybe the MTU of your router (packet size of transmissions) default is 1500 -- try lowerIng it and see if it makes a difference.
I"ve no idea how to do this, but luckily I have a poker-playing IT consultant on 24 hour stand-by so I might run this by him. First of all, I"ve sent an email to Talktalk"s customer services asking for their observations, stating that I"ve tried using two different routers and will cancel my contract if this can"t be resolved ASAP. It will be interesting so see how quickly they respond. Of course, whether good or bad, I will comment upon the quality of their service on here. I"d already decided I was unlikely to take part in tomorrow night"s league event; it looks like Talktalk have confirmed this decision on my behalf >:(
Maybe this is just indicative of a phase I am going through. A few days ago, I sent an email to Asda complaining about "Truly appalling service". This hasn"t got anything to do with poker, but I may well mention their response on here as well.
Does this outbreak of writing letters of complaint have any connection with you being on a creative writing course? Were they in the form of poems?
Post by: Bad hat lady on February 15, 2009, 22:12:24 PM
The other night I was playing $10 sit and go. I was chip leader and holding Q 8 off suit on the button in an unraised pot so I felt contractually obliged to raise to 3BB. Unfortunately when I looked at the screen I found that somehow I had managed to go all in. As I had managed to shove for more than 100BB, I thought I might get away with it. No such luck, the big blind had pocket kings which held up when he called. Fortunately I managed to carry on and got to heads up against the player to whom I had kindly gifted more than half my stack. At this point the cards were running really cold so he was perpetually min raising and I was folding as I wasn't in the mood to go over the top with 5 2 off suit. Although I eventually lost after being forced to shove I kept myself amused by the thought of any notes he might have made about me. Something like "Won't bet then goes mad" or "like to open shove 100BB from button with unsuited disconnections". However, I'm not sure people playing $10 sit and goes would notice I had been playing oddly. At what level do you think it is worth making the occasional futile gesture just for the fun of playing with peoples heads?
Post by: monkeyman on February 16, 2009, 00:24:36 AM
Dear Mr Poker Player. I have been pondering a poker problem and wonder if you could help.
The other night I was playing $10 sit and go. I was chip leader and holding Q 8 off suit on the button in an unraised pot so I felt contractually obliged to raise to 3BB. Unfortunately when I looked at the screen I found that somehow I had managed to go all in. As I had managed to shove for more than 100BB, I thought I might get away with it. No such luck, the big blind had pocket kings which held up when he called. Fortunately I managed to carry on and got to heads up against the player to whom I had kindly gifted more than half my stack. At this point the cards were running really cold so he was perpetually min raising and I was folding as I wasn't in the mood to go over the top with 5 2 off suit. Although I eventually lost after being forced to shove I kept myself amused by the thought of any notes he might have made about me. Something like "Won't bet then goes mad" or "like to open shove 100BB from button with unsuited disconnections". However, I'm not sure people playing $10 sit and goes would notice I had been playing oddly. At what level do you think it is worth making the occasional futile gesture just for the fun of playing with peoples heads?
As a general rule, the lower the buy-in, the more players feel they have to dispense advice to their supposedly less talented opponents. The fun doesn"t necessarily come from making ridiculous moves, but how you seek to justify them afterwards. I suggest reading a few poker magazines and books to enhance your vocabulary. At work, sometimes managers who couldn"t organise a booze-up in a brewery seek to justify their ill-deserved positions by using phrases like "Blue sky thinking" and "In the loop" in the hope that no-one notices they are talking loud but saying nothing. Inept poker players often use phrases like "Pot odds", "Metagame" and "+EV" to cover their inherent muppetry. I suggest using some of these phrases for comic effect.
For exapmple, in the hand you described, you could say something like "As anyone calling a 100BB raise with anything other than Aces would be taking an unnecessary risk, most sound players would fold and therefore shoving with Q/8 offsuit is +EV". Clearly manure of the highest order, but saying it can lead to hilarious consequences. An experienced opponent will mark you down as an idiot and will be looking to take you on whenever they can find you. However, many low stakes opponents will suffer a brain malfunction as they try to make you see the error of your ways, before spontaneuosly combusting amid a hail of foul language and suggestions of inappropriate sexual practises. This works particularly well on sites populated by numbers of american players. Pokerstars is good, but no site can match Full Tilt for the sheer numbers of self-important know-it-alls who like to surround themselves in a fug of bulls**t. If you want some fun and to learn a few words you are never likely to see in a dictionary in any country, try playing $5 games on FT.
Post by: monkeyman on February 17, 2009, 19:00:54 PM
I"m most likely to go 19th November to the 26th and on those dates, 7 nights at Circus Circus, Sahara and Riviera is £160 to £180. My idea of where I"d like to stay changes by the minute, but below are the most likely candidates:
1) Ballys - around £425 for the week in question. Apart from the excellent location, I"ve got an attachment to the place as I took down the morning tourney less than a year after learning the rules of poker. For various reasons, on both of my trips to Vegas I"ve spent plenty of time there, so it makes sense to stay there.
2) Bill"s Gamblin Hall and Saloon. Despite the godawful name (why did they change it from Barbary Coast?) it normally attracts excellent reviews.My younger sister stayed there last year and spoke very highly of the rooms. A week is currently available for £315 and although they charge a small supplement for rooms with a view of the Bellagio fountains, this normally only amounts to about $10 per day.
3) Flamingo. Like its near neighbours Bill"s and Ballys it has an excellent location and is fractionally over £360 for the week. On my last trip I made several trips to their food outlets and thought they delivered excellent value for money
4) Excalibur. Currently available from just under £250. A large number of their rooms have been refurbished within the last year and although they are more expensive than the older rooms, they can still be booked for between £300 - £350.
5) Desert Rose Resort. No, I"d never heard of it either. Its situated on Duke Ellington drive, behind Tropicana and Hooters, close to Excalibur and Luxor. Ok so the location isn"t as convenient as the centre-strip properties, but the rooms/suites are huge, its reviews are universally excellent and the price of £400 ish includes breakfast and evening drinks/nibbles.
Decisions, decisions.......
Post by: duke3016 on February 17, 2009, 19:44:47 PM
Post by: monkeyman on February 17, 2009, 20:02:35 PM
Chezger head for Vegas in November as well, happy days - we stay in the IP as it is very central and does what it says on the tin. You can comp the rooms if you play cash in their poker room for a few hours a day (limit poker is fine and the drinks are $1) last time flights and hotel came to under £400
How many hours a day does that take?
Post by: duke3016 on February 17, 2009, 20:26:37 PM
Chezger head for Vegas in November as well, happy days - we stay in the IP as it is very central and does what it says on the tin. You can comp the rooms if you play cash in their poker room for a few hours a day (limit poker is fine and the drinks are $1) last time flights and hotel came to under £400
How many hours a day does that take?
usually around 4 hours of play using your casino card
Post by: rubertoe on February 18, 2009, 06:59:56 AM
As a treat for our 30th birthdays!! APAT are gonna own Vegas in November!!
Post by: monkeyman on February 18, 2009, 07:34:51 AM
Where are you staying Ruber?
Post by: rubertoe on February 18, 2009, 16:57:58 PM
national in vegas, in November.......
Post by: monkeyman on February 19, 2009, 18:17:47 PM
Post by: monkeyman on February 21, 2009, 02:26:38 AM
I am likely to be absent from tomorrow night"s national for two reasons. Firstly, my profit/ loss figure for the month has a "-" rather than a "+" in front of it and secondly I am reluctant to get involved in anything involving serious money or prestiege with a question mark over the stability of my broadband connection. Assuming, I don"t take part, I will definitely be back for the next national.
As for my potential Vegas trip, The Mirage is currently top of my list, but by the time I make my next post, I"m sure I"ll have changed my mind again
Post by: monkeyman on February 21, 2009, 10:40:42 AM
Post by: monkeyman on February 23, 2009, 20:21:23 PM
Post by: Swinebag on February 23, 2009, 20:24:40 PM
Talktalk, you suck more than Devine Brown, so I"ve taken much pleasure in taking my business elsewhere you numpties
I"m having the same problem too simon and will try and find the best window possible to find a new provider.
Post by: monkeyman on February 23, 2009, 21:19:19 PM
Having missed a national and several days of access to my most consistent cash generator, I"ll put a bottle of wine aside to celebrate when everything is back to normal
Post by: monkeyman on March 01, 2009, 20:44:00 PM
Post by: monkeyman on March 01, 2009, 21:24:07 PM
Post by: Santino67 on March 01, 2009, 21:26:28 PM
Post by: monkeyman on March 01, 2009, 21:36:59 PM
Post by: Oldsoreknees on March 01, 2009, 21:40:23 PM
Post by: monkeyman on March 01, 2009, 21:41:57 PM
Are you pissed?
No, just bored and thought as I hadn"t posted for a while it would be worth returning to the cobblers I used to write at the start of this blog
Post by: monkeyman on March 01, 2009, 22:12:44 PM
Post by: Santino67 on March 01, 2009, 22:32:52 PM
Post by: monkeyman on March 01, 2009, 22:42:35 PM
ul Simon, most other days kings will hold
Cheers for the support. I won"t be able to play that particular tournament again this week as I won"t get home from work in time and next week I"ll be at Cheltenham so it will probably be another two weeks before I have another go. I like playing it as its only $5.50 to enter, there are normally hundreds of entries (top prize tonight is $1024.65) and the structure is deep enough to allow me to indulge in some 3-betting and check/raising without having to put my tournament life on the line the first time I get creative. I"ve cashed in this tournament more than half of the occasions I"ve taken part and am very confident I"ll take it down sometime soon.
Post by: Santino67 on March 01, 2009, 22:46:44 PM
ul Simon, most other days kings will hold
Cheers for the support. I won"t be able to play that particular tournament again this week as I won"t get home from work in time and next week I"ll be at Cheltenham so it will probably be another two weeks before I have another go. I like playing it as its only $5.50 to enter, there are normally hundreds of entries (top prize tonight is $1024.65) and the structure is deep enough to allow me to indulge in some 3-betting and check/raising without having to put my tournament life on the line the first time I get creative. I"ve cashed in this tournament more than half of the occasions I"ve taken part and am very confident I"ll take it down sometime soon.
Good man, stay positive and stick with it 8)
Post by: monkeyman on November 01, 2009, 22:11:04 PM
1) I"m 40 in a few days; maybe it is time for a bit of introspection
2) Soon I"m selling the flat I have lived in for the last 10 years. This will leave me in better financial shape than I have been in for ages
3) Any time I"ve had a good win over the past couple of years, the money has been spent on something not necessarily connected to poker.
4) I"ve been playing way too much. There were plenty of days when as soon as I"d got home from work and had tea, I"d do nothing but play poker until I went to bed. This has to change.
5) For all the above reasons, I will only play on an evening when I know I will be at home and have nothing else arranged. I will play a single tournament and nothing else. Whether I win it or I go out first hand I will not play any other poker at all once my involvement is over.
6) Crucially, any winnings will be ring fenced. Initially I will restrict myself to tournaments with a buy-in no greater than $6. Only when I have built up my profit to a point when I have a large number of buy-ins at a higher level will I consider playing higher. With no outside calls on my resources, I will be very interested to see how high I go. Feel free to post on here and call me arrogant, but I"ve known for a long time that I am a far better player that the level I have been playing at. My results in APAT events over the last 2 years and on the few occasions I"ve played above my usual level indicate that I could make good money way above the $5 fishfests I"ve been hanging around in since I started playing.
7) I will not play in satellite tournaments. If I can"t afford to buy directly into the event I"m looking to play in, I won"t bother.
8 ) I will only play in events where I believe I can play a modicum of real poker. There are all too many tournaments on all sites which are no more than bingo. Yes, to win any tournament requires a degree of luck, but I will not play any competition where the only sensible move is an all-in from the word go.
I may also occasionally post on here to talk about my writing endeavours. I write mainly, but not exclusively, poetry (no, my stuff doesn"t tend to rhyme). Once a month I attend Cafe writers in Norwich where normally around 50 people meet to hear a guest speaker or 2 and there is an open-mic slot. A large number of people there either have degrees in creative writing and/or are published authors, so for an enthusiastic amateur like me it is a daunting prospect to stand up and recite a self-penned piece. I haven"t yet been booed off or heard any adverse comments, so maybe I"m not that bad.
There is also a BBC competition, open until December, where they have asked people to write about real-life experiences, with a handful of the best being turned into something to be broadcast. There is an entry I put on this blog on August bank holiday Monday last year about a walk around Norwich and various things that were going through my head at the time which I like a lot. Over the next week or 2, I intend tinkering with that with the intention of turning it into an entry for the BBC competition. I"m not trying to pretend that I"m on the point of being published or that broadcasters are beating a path to my door, but sod it, there"s no harm in trying to punch above my weight occasionally.
Post by: Roscopiko on November 02, 2009, 14:08:56 PM
Post by: antthecat on November 02, 2009, 21:29:07 PM
Post by: monkeyman on November 06, 2009, 10:34:52 AM
Thankfully I have something else in my diary, as tonight I"m having a few beverages with a some colleagues to celebrate my 40th birthday next week. We"re starting in The Glasshouse, A JD Wetherspoon pub a couple of minutes walk from Norwich Cathedral. In some ways, I dread to think what is going to happen as last time we went out, one person had to be given a piggy-back by yours truly to the nearest taxi office and another was drunk enough that when he was playing pool against me at 2.30am, he was randomly striking yellow and red balls without once hitting the cue ball with his cue. That"s not to mention the person who sits at the desk next to me having to be restrained as she was trying to strangle another colleague, going on to leave the pub and being found face down next to a bus stop a few hundred yards away. There were also 2 people who had to make appointments at the local STD clinic as a result of their activities that night. In addition, between making my first cup of tea of tomorrow morning and settling down to watch the Norwich City FA Cup game on ITV, I will constantly have to be on Facebook "detagging" photographs proving that I drunk one too many.
Post by: antthecat on November 06, 2009, 18:05:42 PM
Post by: monkeyman on November 08, 2009, 22:35:46 PM
would like to see the photos of sheer drunkenness
Sorry to disappoint you Ant, but much to my relief, there were no drunken photos of me taken on friday night.
Moving swiftly on, I have now managed to put some figures in the plus column this month. Ok, so it was only a $3.03 profit from a $0.02/$0.04 Omaha HI-Lo cash table and $7.71 back from a $2 turbo on Partypoker, but that"s not the point. This idea of starting from scratch playing tournaments is proving to be more difficult than I first thought. For some reason there seems to be a lack of $1 deepstacks! Pokerstars do a few tournaments at that level, but their dealers hate me at the moment and I normally develop a nervous twitch at the thought of playing turbos. I might have to rethink this plan a tad.
Next sunday, I"m off to Amsterdam for a few days and am thinking about spending an hour or two on the cash tables at Hollandcasino. It will be interesting to see whether I really am rubbish at live poker, or whether I"m just unlucky on the rare occasions I play in this country
Post by: monkeyman on November 10, 2009, 20:45:58 PM
Tomorrow is my 40th birthday and on sunday I"m off to Amsterdam for a few days. As if there wasn"t enough in Holland to keep me amused, I"ve decided I"ll play a bit of poker over there. Lets hope the dutch (card) dealers are kinder to me than their live british equivalents.
Post by: Swinebag on November 10, 2009, 22:06:55 PM
Post by: antthecat on November 11, 2009, 13:27:25 PM
Post by: monkeyman on November 11, 2009, 22:52:06 PM
happy birthday and have a good"un
happy birthday Simon. Have a great time in the "Dam
Cheers both of you. Trip report (on the poker only!) to follow
Post by: monkeyman on November 20, 2009, 08:56:42 AM
happy birthday and have a good"un
happy birthday Simon. Have a great time in the "Dam
Cheers both of you. Trip report (on the poker only!) to follow
I wish I hadn"t promised that, as there was absolutely nothing to report on. I went to the Holland casino one night, but there seemed to be little action in the poker room so I didn"t actually play.
On the whole, I had a very good trip. I stayed in a very nice hotel, the NH Musica, which is in the business district a long way to the south of the more lively parts of town. Everything went smoothly, but if anyone reading this has never been before and is thinking of going my one tip would be never, under any circumstances, set foot in the red light district after dark if by yourself and you are not going to indulge in some of the seedier activities that give Amsterdam its reputation.
I arrived mid afternoon last sunday and after settling in to my hotel, decided to catch a train to Centraal station with the intention of exploring the town by foot. I didn"t take a map with me as I was looking to go wherever the mood took me and thought that if I did become somewhat disorientated, I could rely on the excellent public transport system to get me back to base. I later discovered that I had walked largely in the Jordaan area, but had touched the Dam and Leidseplein areas before heading back in the direction of Centraal. Mistake number one of the trip came when I decided it was time for some food. I bought a takeaway pizza with the intention of finding a seat where I could eat my purchase whilst watching the world go by. Oh dear. Unfortunately, I later discovered the seat I had chosen to sit on was on the southern fringes of the red light district. Before my buttocks had made contact with the surface of the bench, a seedy character had sidled over and asked "You want Cocaine or a bicycle?". Apart from thinking that anyone who availed themselves of both offers at the same time would probably have a very entertaining evening, I wasn"t tempted as (a) I"ve never been interested in that stuff and (b) I am a lazy b*****d who wanted to do as little physical activity as possible. After saying no, the dealer and his acquaintance disappeared.
The following night I decided to pay a fleeting visit to the red light district proper before I headed back for what was to be my only visit to the casino. I"ve got nothing against anybody who wants to spend their holiday in a haze of marijuana smoke or wants to perform acts with eastern european sex-slaves who are stuck in a glass-fronted cell for up to eight hours a day whilst a steady stream of testosterone-giddy tourists walk inches away, but that wasn"t why I was there. However, as it was my first time in Amsterdam I felt I had to at least pay a visit to see what goes on for myself. From Zuid train station I caught the number 51 metro, got off at Nieumarkt and planned on taking a meandering route towards Centraal. Five minutes later and I"d had my first enquiry "You wanna buy cocaine?". I walked off without replying and was asked the same question by two different people in two different locations in the following 15 minutes.
Two nights later and I was on my final wander around town looking to take a few photos before returning home the following day. My plan was to start with a meal in the Leidseplein area before taking a tram to Centraal then walking back to my starting point. I had walked about 5 minutes away from Centraal along Damraak when I heard the words "hey mister, you wanna buy some good stuff?". By now I was getting angry at the number of unwanted offers and my inner ninja wanted to karate chop this guy in the windpipe to send a message out to all the dealers in town that, no I am not to be troubled. However, I remembered a little-known Confucius saying which states that "He who bites his tongue and keeps walking does not return home in a bodybag." A few minutes later I was crossing Dam square and a bedraggled figure said "I"ve just lost my home and have no money for food. Can you help?". Again I said nothing and kept walking, but left thinking what a healthy state Holland"s education system must be in if even the beggars speak a second language.
All things considered, it was a very enjoyable trip. However, I can"t presently think of the circumstances under which I would return to town travelling solo.
Post by: Santino67 on November 22, 2009, 13:23:12 PM
Hope to catch up again soon mate
Cheers
Grant
Post by: monkeyman on November 22, 2009, 16:30:45 PM
hi Simon, glad you resurrected this, it was always an intersting read ;D . Was great catching up in Betfair tourney on Friday and was hoping we"d get to heads up together. I did eventually win it but rode my luck on more than one occasion.
Hope to catch up again soon mate
Cheers
Grant
Well done. I had one of those tournaments where the hands deserted me when I needed them. I"d cashed on the three tournaments I"d played prior to that, so things have been going pretty sweetly
Post by: monkeyman on November 23, 2009, 23:01:22 PM
Post by: antthecat on November 27, 2009, 18:25:53 PM
Post by: monkeyman on November 29, 2009, 09:21:23 AM
Today I"m having one of my rare forays into the live arena in the form of a Deepstack at Holt Football Club in North Norfolk. Unfortunately, as my 20 year old Nissan Bluebird died this week, I"m relying on my brother-in-law for transport so if I play as badly as I did at Bolton and get knocked out early, its going to be a long day. Needless to say, if I win the thing I will post the result on here as soon as I get home. If I don"t, I may just be too busy to mention it for a few days. Whatever the result, it will good to meet some of the crowd from the Yarmouth season 2 regionals again.
As my car (RIP) is almost undrivable but has tax and MOT until the middle of next year, I"m planning on, for the first time, buying a brand new car courtesy of the scrappage scheme. Yesterday I had test drives in a Mazda 2 and Nissan Micra. Despite there being little difference between the price of the two vehicles, the Mazda felt like a considerably better car then the Nissan, so its been relatively easy to knock one off my "maybe" list. If anyone has got any suggestions for any other cheap 1.2/1.4 litre entry-level cars that would be ideal mainly for short journies but would be up to the occasional blast along a motorway, feel free to post on here.
Post by: Mikeyboy9361 on November 29, 2009, 10:50:11 AM
Post by: monkeyman on November 29, 2009, 11:27:12 AM
My son recently bought a Mazda 3 ( 3 years old) , and it is a belting little car!
The spooky thing about yesterday"s visit to the local dealership was that one of my brothers was there at the same time to purchase a second hand Mazda 6 and we made our arrangements completely independently of each other.
I plan on doing 2 more tests, but whatever else I drive, the Mazda 2 has set a high standard
Post by: monkeyman on November 29, 2009, 23:48:44 PM
Post by: monkeyman on December 08, 2009, 10:43:32 AM
I"m still test driving new cars and below is a summary of what I"ve looked at so far:
Mazda 2 - Best car I"ve looked at so far but not sure if I want to pay the few hundred quid more it costs above some of the other models.
Nissan Micra - Feels about 5 years older than the Mazda in every respect and a definite no.
Skoda Fabia - Drives OK, but not as pleasant as the Mazda.Cheap to run,reliable etc so considered as I don"t have money to burn.
Renault Twingo - Cheapest car I"ve looked at and plenty of kit as standard, but probably a bit too small for me.
Kia Rio - FFS. Is this really a car?
I"ve also got tests booked in a Renault Clio and Citroen C2. I may also find time to try a Hyundai I20 as well.
Post by: monkeyman on December 13, 2009, 20:04:11 PM
The last week or so has been incredibly frustrating. Before yesterday, I had cashed in 5 consecutive tournaments. This wasn"t as profitable as it sounds as I"ve tended to get as far as the prizemoney then run into a monster. My last 2 departures have been all in with AK into AA and QQ followed by AK into another AK and AA. On the plus side, I"ve found another tournament or two to play in. Ultimatebet sent me an email earlier in the week saying I had a few dollars left in my account with them. I"ve not used their site in ages, and thought I had taken all my money out, so can only assume I"d not allowed for some bonuses accrued from when I was trying to grind out a few dollars playing stud. I"ve been delighted to find, praise the lord, that they do deepstacks (5000 chips/12 minutes blinds) at fish levels, so at least there"s another tournament I can play other than the $2 one on VCbet I"ve been farming recently. The downside is that Ultimatebet seems to attract more slack-jawed,foul-mouthed numpties who spend all their time putting explicit comments in the chat box than any other site I"ve played on. There is an argument for blocking all chat, but I prefer not to, as I have never seen anyone who repeatedly abuses an opponent make a final table. Its far better to put up with all the comments about performing intimate acts with close relations to find out who the weaker players are
Post by: monkeyman on December 16, 2009, 20:48:52 PM
Post by: monkeyman on December 20, 2009, 11:26:25 AM
Yesterday I went to Carrow Road to see Norwich hammer Huddersfield 3-0. Whilst there, I overheard this conversation; "You know where they get the word "sadism" from? The Marquis de Sade. He was an evil man. Bloody french. Probably ate too much soft cheese". No, I don"t know which planet this guy was on either.
Post by: monkeyman on December 24, 2009, 11:26:47 AM
Post by: monkeyman on December 25, 2009, 09:29:52 AM
Changing tack completely, despite my apalling record in APAT live nationals I"m beginning to think that its about time I put in an appearance in a higher buy-in event open to pros. If anyone has any thoughts about whether the GUKPT, Gala Tour or Pokerstars UKIPT is the best bet, please let me know.
Merry Christmas.
Post by: monkeyman on December 26, 2009, 12:50:11 PM
Post by: monkeyman on December 27, 2009, 16:59:11 PM
Post by: monkeyman on December 28, 2009, 14:04:14 PM
Post by: monkeyman on December 30, 2009, 17:01:07 PM
Post by: lazarus on December 31, 2009, 11:26:11 AM
Post by: monkeyman on December 31, 2009, 16:42:46 PM
Did u say your from Norwich Monkey ???
Sure am. Are you too?
Post by: monkeyman on December 31, 2009, 23:43:46 PM
1) Play live more, even if that means playing shovefests at my local Rileys
2) Give up Omaha. I"m bloody awful at it.
3) Never ever sit down at a cash table. I"m bloody awful at that too.
4) Get some poetry published (although those that have heard my readings might argue that my poetry is bloody awful)
5) Laugh hysterically as Ipswich Town get relegated at the same time as Norwich City are promoted. Roy Keane is a truly bloody awful manager of a bloody awful club in a bloody awful town.
Post by: monkeyman on January 01, 2010, 12:23:29 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 01, 2010, 15:27:26 PM
There"s even better news for yours truly in the shape of the expanded GUKPT calendar for 2010. There"s now a £200 buy-in event at the Grosvenor Yarmouth which represents better value-for-money for me than travelling across the country for a £75 APAT event. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Post by: lazarus on January 02, 2010, 11:34:26 AM
Post by: monkeyman on January 02, 2010, 14:19:09 PM
Sure am. Im a regular at Rileys and the Norwich Poker Club. Must have seen u for sure. Had any luck recently at Robs Place ??
Never played live in Norwich apart from a handful of friendly games at The Firs near the airport. Having said that I fully intend joining Rileys in the very near future and I"ll send you a message when I make my debut. What are the tournaments like at Sackville Place?
Post by: lazarus on January 02, 2010, 17:36:32 PM
Rileys Games are on Sundays and Mondays.
Monday Night is a £5 single rebuy / addon usualy about 14 runners
Sunday night is the League game. The new season starts tomorrow night and its probably the best night. Its a £10 deepstack freezeout. Top 3 go to the reginal finals at Dusk till Dawn also another 2 spaces for a play off on the last week of the season if your not in the top 3. I managed to get my seat for the reginal later on this month. Wheres a good bunch of serious players go so the game play / experience is great fun.
Anyone can start on the league game so if you want to start it as i say tomorrow is a new season.
Cheers Colin
Post by: monkeyman on January 02, 2010, 17:56:48 PM
Norwich Poker Club (Robs Place) has some realy good games on Tuesday to Saturday. The wednesday £5 double rebuy is popular. So is the £50 freezeout at the end of each month. Heres a full list of tourneys for each night http://www.norwichpokerclub.co.uk/tournaments.htm
Rileys Games are on Sundays and Mondays.
Monday Night is a £5 single rebuy / addon usualy about 14 runners
Sunday night is the League game. The new season starts tomorrow night and its probably the best night. Its a £10 deepstack freezeout. Top 3 go to the reginal finals at Dusk till Dawn also another 2 spaces for a play off on the last week of the season if your not in the top 3. I managed to get my seat for the reginal later on this month. Wheres a good bunch of serious players go so the game play / experience is great fun.
Anyone can start on the league game so if you want to start it as i say tomorrow is a new season.
Cheers Colin
Thanks for that. I"m unlikely to be able to make it for the next couple of weeks, but I will be there shortly
Post by: monkeyman on January 02, 2010, 18:49:54 PM
Post by: lazarus on January 02, 2010, 21:19:17 PM
Keep up the blog its a good read. ;)
Post by: monkeyman on January 04, 2010, 23:42:37 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 07, 2010, 21:55:13 PM
Post by: MintTrav on January 08, 2010, 00:13:52 AM
Quote
queens full of sixes full house defeat by Aces full of fives.
How is that possible?
Quote
I have committed a sin
Let"s have a bit more about this and a bit less about the poker.
Post by: Swinebag on January 08, 2010, 08:45:14 AM
Quote
queens full of sixes full house defeat by Aces full of fives.
How is that possible?
Its stud??
Post by: MintTrav on January 08, 2010, 09:40:43 AM
Quote
queens full of sixes full house defeat by Aces full of fives.
How is that possible?
Its stud??
Oh yeah, missed that.
Post by: monkeyman on January 08, 2010, 17:35:49 PM
Quote
I have committed a sin
Let"s have a bit more about this and a bit less about the poker.
You dirrrrty old man
Post by: monkeyman on January 08, 2010, 23:03:44 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 09, 2010, 09:37:04 AM
Mikeyboy9361 (or whatever the actual number is) recently started a thread elsewhere on this site asking what motivated people to play poker and what they got out of it. I"ve been mulling this over quite a bit and it has had a small influence for my plans for the coming weeks.
Firstly, what do I get from poker? Its partly something to occupy my free time, I"ve got a competitive streak a mile wide so I love winning tournaments, a small amount of recognition is fine, a collection of APAT medals is great, but what it really boils down to is money. If I go into Norwich City Centre on a friday night, have a few beers, head off to a club, stagger out to a taxi rank in the early hours then find my way home, I will have enjoyed myself, but I"m not going to see the money I"ve spent again. If I sit myself in front of my computer screen to play poker, not only will I have a steady supply of refreshments to hand , I won"t have to worry about "friends" putting pictures of me dancing on Facebook, I may well never see the money again but there is a chance I may make a profit.
With this in mind, I"ve started to think a bit more about game selection, or more specifically, site selection. If you were to ask me what I thought the best poker site was, I would probably say Full Tilt marginally ahead of Pokerstars. This does not however mean they are my favourite sites. For that I would have to look at where my profits generally come from. My returns on Partypoker have always been good and my Sharkscope graph on that site looks extremely healthy, so although I tend to stick to a very simple playing style when playing there, it has to be a favourite. My main area of disappointment with the Ipoker network is the lack of deepstack events. However, I"ve got a very good rate of return across the network as a whole (playing under different names on different sites) so, controversial this may be, but I love Ipoker simply because I make money there and that"s the bottom line.
My lack of live poker experience has been well recorded throughout this blog. I"ve been to Vegas a couple of times, played six APAT nationals and apart from a handful of local pub games, that"s pretty much it. My attitude has come about because of focussing too intensely on the money aspect of playing. Why should I leave my house, pay a tournament entry fee and have the expense of a night out, when I could just switch on my PC and have a choice of games? There is an enormous flaw in that particular line of thinking and that is that I"ve come to the conclusion that there is a much bigger difference between internet and live play than I originally believed. Therefore, if I"m half the player I sometimes like to kid myself that I am, I absolutely have to get off my fat backside, get out the door and play live more. Until Bolton, I used to exist in some kind of fantasy world where I could turn up at an APAT national and because I"d done well in the equivalent online events, it was only a matter of time before I"d catch a few decent cards and breeze into the money. Bull****. A record of six nationals and no day twos tells its own story. Yes there have been bad luck stories ( aces cracked, QQ rivered by AQ), but the truth is that my play simply hasn"t been up to scratch. Far from improving, I think my performances have actually got worse and my play in Bolton absolutely stunk the place out. Maybe, just maybe, what I need to do is view a night out playing live poker as an pleasant night out, rather than solely as a money-making exercise. That way, I might actually enjoy myself and iron out a lot of my flaws at the same time. I think I could be onto something here........
Post by: Mikeyboy9361 on January 09, 2010, 09:45:44 AM
Post by: monkeyman on January 09, 2010, 09:56:22 AM
From a personal point of view, I know my game suffers when I worry about the Buy In, or how much I have invested. This is someting I am trying to work on, and play the cards or the opposition as I would in a $10 freezeout. In a recent national I was bluffed off a pot ( Guy did play it well) but in a $10 tourney I know I would have snap called, but the thought of busting out or being crippled early doors did affect my thought process. As I say I have worked on this, and now consider the buy in as lost money and as such it makes for clearer thinking. ( And you got the number right! ;))
There"s a lot of truth in that. In my online game I"m at the point where if I think I"m ahead in the first level of a tournament, I"ve got absolutely no problems sticking all the chips in regardless of buy in. I don"t often make mistakes when I do that. My play in live nationals has been a mix of not playing key hands with anywhere near the same conviction I would online and limping into pots I wouldn"t touch with with a long stick normally. In a word, weak. I"m hoping that just by playing a few live games of some description I can bring my live game up to where my online game is.
Post by: monkeyman on January 10, 2010, 21:16:30 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 12, 2010, 22:59:45 PM
Tonight was a deepstack on Sky which for once was played with 10 player tables rather than the usual six. Five places were paid. Again patience was a virtue and I managed to work my way onto the final table without doing much. At that point, the dealers decided to have a bit of fun. As the low stack and with the blinds about to swallow a large chunk of my puny pile, I shoved with K 10, was called by pocket sevens and hit a king. On the next orbit I shoved with A K, got called by K 10, but the Ace high straight on the board meant a split pot. shortly after, I again shoved with K 10, this time got called by queens and hit a king. So far, I had been involved in 3 all ins where K 10 had not been beaten. Clearly K 10 was the nuts. Can you guess how this story ends? I"m sure you probably can. Shortly after, I shoved again with K 10, got called by some numpty with K 2 and laughed heartily as my marginally bigger-stacked opponent hit a 2 on the flop. F***. Obviously I can"t complain too much as 2 hands went my way and 2 against me, so it evened itself out. But being involved in 4 all-ins with the best hand not winning once? Jeeze, Louise. WTF
Post by: monkeyman on January 13, 2010, 22:21:53 PM
Post by: Marty719 on January 14, 2010, 07:08:10 AM
There"s seems to be a couple of patterns emerging in my games at the moment. Firstly, I"m finishing just outside the prize money; tonight, prize money went to 8th place and I finished 11th. Secondly, all my contested all-ins are falling to the weaker hand. My first piece of luck was shoving with 99, getting called by KK and rivering trips. Then, against the same opponent A 10 hit an ace on the flop when called by QQ. My departure hand, against the same player yet again, was 55 called by KQ with a K and Q on the board. That makes it seven consecutive contested shoves where the inferior pre-flop hand has won. Looks like I need to start playing 7 2 more.
Am I reading this right?? U won a 4/1 shot, won a 2/1 shot, then lost a flip and ur complaining :)
But in fairness, keep grinding and Im sure ul get back up there.
Post by: monkeyman on January 14, 2010, 21:57:47 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 14, 2010, 23:43:26 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 16, 2010, 11:33:13 AM
Post by: monkeyman on January 17, 2010, 00:28:55 AM
As mentioned a couple of days ago, tomorrow I will be dipping my toes in the water of the live game with a visit to my local Rileys. I paid a visit to the club on friday for a game of snooker to acclimatise and cant wait to see how I get on.
Post by: antthecat on January 17, 2010, 12:11:32 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 17, 2010, 13:37:14 PM
are u up rileys tonight then as i might pop over and bluff my chips to you.
I"ll definitely be there. Now that I know there"s added value I can"t refuse!
Post by: monkeyman on January 18, 2010, 00:16:30 AM
are u up rileys tonight then as i might pop over and bluff my chips to you.
I"ll definitely be there. Now that I know there"s added value I can"t refuse!
Successful that wasn"t. 10 runners and I was out in 8th. How is it possible to play for 2 hours without hitting a single flop or getting dealt a single pocket pair? Ho hum, I probably can"t make next week,but I will be back soon.
Post by: Mikeyboy9361 on January 18, 2010, 10:15:13 AM
Post by: lazarus on January 19, 2010, 17:55:59 PM
Over and Out - Laz
Post by: monkeyman on January 19, 2010, 21:34:24 PM
Unlucky with your card deadness monkeyman. Hey anthecat you the guy from beccles ??
Over and Out - Laz
He sure is
Post by: monkeyman on January 20, 2010, 23:34:28 PM
Post by: Cyntaf on January 21, 2010, 16:03:54 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 22, 2010, 00:12:21 AM
Post by: monkeyman on January 22, 2010, 17:56:34 PM
I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! The WBCOOP is a free online Poker tournament open to all Bloggers, so register on WBCOOP to play.
Registration code: 914431
No, the above is not what I said after the last time my aces were cracked, it"s a desperate attempt to get something for nothing. Pokerstars are running a series of bloggers-only tournaments and in return for posting what is supposed to be a picture of their tournament logo, they grant me free entry into the tournaments concerned, with prizes being free entry into some of their proper WCOOP tournaments. They"ve emailed me to say that they will honour their part of the bargain, so I suppose at some point I"d better say some nice things about the site. I only hope they can get past the fact that the professional mentioned in the title of this blog is signed to Full Tilt, I may not play in any of the tournaments anyway due to the start times and if one of their high-profile pros, Victoria Coren, could read my mind, I would be the subject of a restraining order banning me from ever being within 100 miles of London. I will also not mention that I have stated in this blog that my favourite site is Full Tilt. Oh no, for the time being it is very definitely Pokerstars. Yes, really.
Post by: monkeyman on January 23, 2010, 13:30:33 PM
Post by: jbworldwide on January 23, 2010, 13:50:32 PM
The mention of Victoria Coren in my last post has got me thinking. In the last issue of Pokerplayer, there is a big advert for the Pokerstars sponsored UKIPT. On one side of the page there is a picture of the aforementioned lovely and on the facing page is the hookline "Now you can afford to take me out". A few pages further on there is a quote from her blog which relates to this advert. "I am, basically a cheap date" which is followed by "Marvelous, they"re not wrong, sigh". Victoria, if you are reading this, I have already been paid this month and can now afford a bag of chips and mug of tea on Norwich Market if you"re interested. Feel free to send me a PM so we can make the arrangements.
if you want you can PM her, just let me know if you wish to know how ;). Vicky and I have conversed in the past. 8)
Post by: monkeyman on January 23, 2010, 18:07:52 PM
The mention of Victoria Coren in my last post has got me thinking. In the last issue of Pokerplayer, there is a big advert for the Pokerstars sponsored UKIPT. On one side of the page there is a picture of the aforementioned lovely and on the facing page is the hookline "Now you can afford to take me out". A few pages further on there is a quote from her blog which relates to this advert. "I am, basically a cheap date" which is followed by "Marvelous, they"re not wrong, sigh". Victoria, if you are reading this, I have already been paid this month and can now afford a bag of chips and mug of tea on Norwich Market if you"re interested. Feel free to send me a PM so we can make the arrangements.
if you want you can PM her, just let me know if you wish to know how ;). Vicky and I have conversed in the past. 8)
Don"t leave it like that. Tell me more. Please, pretty please. I promise I"ll behave
Post by: monkeyman on January 23, 2010, 21:28:27 PM
Never mind, my main tournament of the month is tomorrow in the form of the Pokerplayer Grand Prix main event. If I was applying strict bankroll never-use-more-than-5%-of-your-bankroll-in-any-one-tournament rules, I wouldn"t touch this with a muddy stick. However, the return I"ve made from grinding $2 to $6 events recently pays for the entry several times over, my profit for the month is way over the target I set myself and, most crucially, I"ve got a damned good record in Ipoker deepstacks. I think I"ve earned this one.
Post by: monkeyman on January 24, 2010, 17:09:33 PM
Post by: jbworldwide on January 24, 2010, 17:32:08 PM
I"ll keep you honest if you like :)
Post by: monkeyman on January 24, 2010, 17:40:37 PM
I"m in this and you have a PM.
I"ll keep you honest if you like :)
The poker gods are clearly teaching me a lesson because I described my table as "soft". Since the break I"ve lost one pot with AQ v 10/10 with an ace and 10 on the flop then another where I raised with JJ, had three callers, c-bet on a board of 668 only to discover the table leader had called with 6 7. FML. At this rate it looks as though I may still be able to get to Rileys at 8pm tonight for a bit more live practise.
Post by: monkeyman on January 24, 2010, 18:12:08 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 24, 2010, 18:31:05 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 24, 2010, 19:20:09 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 25, 2010, 00:39:39 AM
Ok guys and girls, here"s a poker tip that I don"t think you"ll ever see in any coaching manual. Lets assume you"ve had a relatively early departure from a tournament with (a) a huge overlay and (b) a heck of a lot of deadwood. You feel frustrated, but things have been good recently, so the tilt monster is kept firmly in his cage. How do you decide to get it out of your system? Well, let me tell you that listening to Judas Priest"s classic, yet hugely controversial, track "Beyond the realms of death" does not under any circumstances help improve your mood. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
......but finishing 3rd of 14 at Rileys for a £30 return on my £11 investment does
Post by: monkeyman on January 25, 2010, 17:30:31 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 25, 2010, 20:25:41 PM
Just in case my temporary paymasters at Pokerstars are reading this, I have enrolled in the final 2 events of the WBCOOP. I don"t like to turn down something for nothing offers and the idea of being able to lay waste to a tournament stuffed full of pros and wannabe pros is an attractive one, but I occasionally need to sleep. I may possibly take a look at the events tonight and tomorrow which start at 10pm, but the following tournaments which start at 11pm are definitely beyond me. Besides which, how many competitions will I need to win before I"m the next contracted pro? :o
Sod it, I"m in tonight as well. I reckon that as its a 10pm start, 2000 chips 10 minute blinds and around 1400 entrants, it probably won"t be an obscenely late finish. Sleep is overrated anyway.
Post by: monkeyman on January 25, 2010, 23:07:18 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 26, 2010, 00:01:52 AM
Post by: monkeyman on January 26, 2010, 00:19:31 AM
Sleep is for wimps
Post by: monkeyman on January 26, 2010, 00:58:25 AM
Playing poker at this time of night on a work day is not an issue any more. I no longer care whether I see my bed before daybreak.
Post by: monkeyman on January 26, 2010, 01:22:49 AM
Finally its all over. Since the above hand I"d picked up a few more chips shoving with pairs. I"ve lost most of my meagre stack when in the big blind the action folded to the small blind who shoved and I called. He had 8 4, I had 9 5 and there was a 4 on the board. I shoved next hand with 6 7 suited but was called and hit nothing. It was fun whilst it lasted.
Post by: monkeyman on January 26, 2010, 18:31:41 PM
I am tempted to play tonight"s WBCOOP on Stars but I will probably give it a miss. Strangely enough, it is also Omaha but as I finished playing this morning at 1.30 and the tournament finished at 3.00, I may allow myself to succumb to weakness and try to get at least five hours sleep one night this week.
You will have noticed how many posts have mentioned Pokerstars over the past few days. I would point out that I am more than happy to whore my blog off to anyone kind enough to offer me some kind of inducement. Therefore if any other poker site feels they would benefit from a few mentions, I feel my price of a few freeroll entries is very reasonable.
Post by: monkeyman on January 26, 2010, 22:04:13 PM
Tonight there"s more freeroll madness but this time its on Sky as part to the TKO series. The bad news is that this is Omaha. The good news is, apart from it being on fish-filled Sky, the tournament will be full of players who haven"t the faintest idea how to play the game, so I may have a chance of a result.
I am tempted to play tonight"s WBCOOP on Stars but I will probably give it a miss. Strangely enough, it is also Omaha but as I finished playing this morning at 1.30 and the tournament finished at 3.00, I may allow myself to succumb to weakness and try to get at least five hours sleep one night this week.
You will have noticed how many posts have mentioned Pokerstars over the past few days. I would point out that I am more than happy to whore my blog off to anyone kind enough to offer me some kind of inducement. Therefore if any other poker site feels they would benefit from a few mentions, I feel my price of a few freeroll entries is very reasonable.
So the Sky thing didn"t really work out and as I don"t normally go to bed too early I"ll have a bash at the Pokerstars freebie. I probably won"t be up too late though as I suck at Omaha
Post by: monkeyman on January 27, 2010, 21:07:41 PM
--------------
1) Regular $2 tourney on VC Bet
2) Won it last time
3) Going well
4) Player in front shoves
5) I have Aces!
6) Yeeeee and indeed Haaaaaaaa
7) I call
8 ) Everyone else scatters
9) He shows Jacks
10) Yee Haaaaaa once more
11) Two hearts on flop
12) Heart on turn
13) He has Jack of Hearts
14) I have no hearts
15) River = heart
16) Pot would have put me in commanding overall lead
17) I shout "f*****g jammy c**t" at other players avatar
18) Other players avatar fails to respond
19) Yeah, I know first prize is only $75 ish
20) That"s not the point
21) Winning is everything
22) :"(
Post by: Marty719 on January 27, 2010, 21:27:45 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 27, 2010, 23:18:28 PM
NOW WAIT JUST A GOD DAMN MINUTE...............................U HAD AA.......BEAT.............BY JJ!!!!!!!!!!!!! The apocalypse is upon us!!!
Yeah damn right. If this isn"t the first item on tomorrow"s News at Ten I"ll want to know why.
Post by: monkeyman on January 28, 2010, 18:13:46 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 28, 2010, 19:22:44 PM
Time for a little experiment. I normally restrict myself to deepstacks as far as possible and normally avoid crapshoots like the plague. However, when I played the freeroll on Pokerstars (note to sponsors - see, another mention) i decided upon a policy of playing substantially quicker than normal and it went pretty well. So, I"ll give it another go. Starting small, I"ve enrolled in a tournament (on Eurobet) which I normally wouldn"t give a second thought to as it only has 1500 chips/10 minute blinds. The idea is to see how I get on by playing a devil-may-care, all guns blazing style. Report to follow.
What a complete waste of time that was. I moved tables 7 times in the first three levels and that was that.
Immediately after getting knocked out, i enrolled in a deepstack on Sky and who should I find to my right but TK. We"re not worthy!
Post by: monkeyman on January 28, 2010, 23:21:54 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 30, 2010, 17:18:36 PM
:)
Post by: monkeyman on January 30, 2010, 20:36:51 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 30, 2010, 23:05:47 PM
Post by: monkeyman on February 01, 2010, 00:04:01 AM
Post by: monkeyman on February 01, 2010, 10:35:51 AM
I"ve started playing at my local Rileys on a sunday night and that is also going well, with a 2nd and 3rd place from three attempts. I"m not daft enough to think this means I"ve suddenly become an ace live player, the number and overall quality of opposition isn"t in the same parish as an APAT national, but the main object of the exercise is to gain experience and try and work out if there are any obvious weaknesses I can eliminate. I"ve already found that there was an almighty tell I was giving off about the strength of my hand after I"ve taken a look at my cards and as a result, I think this has been eliminated. I"m sure there are plenty more creases to be ironed out in the weeks to come.
Looking further ahead and I"m definitely going to have a go at one or two slightly higher buy-in events. The £200 GUKPT "Club" tournaments are definitely on my radar, particularly as there is one at Great Yarmouth meaning I won"t have to worry about booking a hotel or the cost of petrol. I"ve got no intention of going to Vegas this year, I don"t do satellites and unless I have a few really big results, £1000 for a GUKPT main event seat will remain beyond my reach for quite some time. However, there are a couple of events in the GUKPT summer series (Luton and Thanet) which could potentially lure me in if things continue on an upwards curve. The UKIPT events at Coventry and Nottingham also find their way onto the wishlist in the event of things going really well.
This is going to be a good year.
Post by: monkeyman on February 03, 2010, 23:27:48 PM
Post by: monkeyman on February 04, 2010, 22:36:58 PM
Post by: monkeyman on February 06, 2010, 23:21:11 PM
Not content with getting knocked out of 2 fish-level hold"em tournaments by chasing draws and playing iffy cards out of position with no clear purpose behind my "moves", I decided to take a look at the $54 GSOP stud event on Eurobet. I"ve mentioned this tournament before as being a possible target, but posted a few days ago that, as I was in a downswing, the sensible thing to do was to avoid it so I didn"t undo my recent good work. With two minutes to go before the event started, I noticed that as there was a $25000 guarantee and about 200 players, there was a huge overlay. My sensible head was in for repair, so I hurriedly deposited the necessary funds in my account and signed-up. I eventually finished 142nd of 232 players. I could mention that I had very few playable hands, but that is only part of the tale. All I can say is that if anyone was able to list all the things that could be done badly in a stud tournament, I committed all those crimes. I don"t think I"ve ever played the game worse.
Thankfully, as I"ve mentioned previously, January was a very, very good month and the profit I made covers tonight"s aberation several times over. However, I am annoyed with myself that on a day when I"d played my favourite poker variant extremely badly, I committed an inadvisably-high proportion of my bankroll to a tournament of a variant I hadn"t played in months. Chris Ferguson I aint.
There you are then, warts and all, a blog entry about a f***-up. I hope I don"t have to write that a second time.
Post by: monkeyman on February 07, 2010, 23:35:18 PM
Post by: monkeyman on February 11, 2010, 09:51:55 AM
Yesterday I checked my "Stars tournament record for the year and it made interesting reading. So far this year, I"ve played 6 full-table NLH competitions on that site with fields of between 1000 and 5205. My best result is 67th and the worst 246th. Clearly I"m doing something right as I"m going deep on most occasions, but my bottom line isn"t as good as it should be as the real profits come from getting to the final couple of tables. The odd thing is that most of these tournaments have seen my pick up loads of pots in the early stages to put me up with the leaders, slow down a big, then pick the pace up again as the bubble approaches. I have discovered a big fault in my game which needs to be rectified if I"m to win big tournaments even at this lowly level. In short, I have a tendency to get a bit cocky. In all the 6 games under examination, after the bubble has burst I"ve won a decent pot with a good play, put myself in a strong position on my table only to blow a significant proportion of my stack on the very next hand by playing a marginal hand out of position assuming my opponents will let me get away with anything because of the scary size of my chipstack. Things don"t pan out like that and I just chuck away a lot of the good work I"ve spent several hours building up. Hopefully, now that I"ve identified that particular fault (oh boy, have I found a lot of flaws in my game so far this year) the next time I"m in the same position, I"ll take one of games down and my bankroll will instantly be able to sustain a few attempts at higher buy-in levels.
Post by: monkeyman on February 12, 2010, 22:05:20 PM
Changing tack completely, I"ve just registered for the ballot to get a ticket for the free Rage Against The Machine gig at Finsbury Park. As part of the registration process I had to upload a photo of myself. Photos of me are a rarity and I could only find one picture stored on my computer. Why is that relavent ot this blog? Well, that solitary picture was of me playing Stud at The Vic. I"m sure that says something significant.
Post by: monkeyman on February 12, 2010, 23:17:55 PM
Changing tack completely, I"ve just registered for the ballot to get a ticket for the free Rage Against The Machine gig at Finsbury Park. As part of the registration process I had to upload a photo of myself. Photos of me are a rarity and I could only find one picture stored on my computer. Why is that relavent ot this blog? Well, that solitary picture was of me playing Stud at The Vic. I"m sure that says something significant.
The miserable sods rejected that one. Something to do with my hands partly obscuring my face apparently. Thought that would have been a bonus. Attempt number 2 is a shot of me at the Scottish Open in season 2. If that gets rejected, I"ll have to start searching through some of my drunken friday night out pictures on Facebook. Please no.
Post by: monkeyman on February 14, 2010, 09:58:06 AM
My diversion of choice is to play some cash stud. Both last night and already this morning I"ve been playing $1/$2 stud hi/lo on Pokerstars. Most non stud players assume that as the pot is split in hi/lo that it is (a) easier to play and (b) there is less variance than the high only version. Nothing could be further from the truth. In my opinion hi/lo is a much more complex game which beginners struggle for longer to come to terms with and gives more opportunity to bluff players off pots. Crucially, there are more players floating around on the cash tables who play the game badly (I"m often one of them) so the bottom line is there is more money to be made in hi/lo than hi only. Thankfully, I"m ahead on my cash play so far, so maybe I can hold onto what little there is of my sanity for a little longer.
Incidently, if anyone reading this is unfortunate enough to be acquainted with any of the former directors/partners of Wolstenholmes Solicitors who had offices in Birmingham and Manchester, please feel free to tell them "I hate your guts you snivelling piece of worthless s***" from me. This firm, who just before christmas were struck-off by the law society, are the reason why the sale of my flat, which was agreed at the end of October/beginning of November has yet to be completed. I hope that one day they too will have to spend several months dealing with stress levels which are high enough to floor an elephant. B******s.
Post by: monkeyman on February 14, 2010, 18:02:07 PM
Post by: antthecat on February 14, 2010, 18:48:19 PM
Post by: monkeyman on February 15, 2010, 08:01:55 AM
This is clearly a sign that my luck has changed, so tonight I am going to buy into the highest value tournament I can find as I am definitely going to luckbox my way to victory ;D
Post by: monkeyman on February 18, 2010, 21:20:40 PM
On to much nicer things and I have to say I"m gobsmacked at how good season 4 looks. On my initial read through it looks as though there is a little bit of something for everyone. Over the last 2 seasons I"ve done well in the online nationals, so I see no reason why I won"t have another crack at those and the non holdem live events look inviting as well. My two best non holdem variants are Stud and Razz. They"ve been scheduled for Luton and The Vic respectively which happen to be the two major venues easiest for me to get to. If things go well, the £250 professional tournaments are on my radar too. With that on top of the GUKPT club event being played at Great Yarmouth, it looks like most of my poker dreams have come true. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeee Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
Des for Prime Minister anyone?
Post by: monkeyman on February 20, 2010, 11:51:09 AM
Post by: monkeyman on February 21, 2010, 08:45:16 AM
Post by: monkeyman on February 21, 2010, 11:49:26 AM
I think I should just tear a page from my calender and pretend that February never happened. January was a very,very good month, but February has seen me enduring my longest ever run of bad luck. Thankfully, I"m still up for the year, its just that I"m not sure my sanity will last much longer.
Post by: monkeyman on February 21, 2010, 23:26:31 PM
Post by: monkeyman on February 23, 2010, 19:51:35 PM
Post by: monkeyman on February 23, 2010, 21:32:43 PM
Post by: monkeyman on February 24, 2010, 22:37:42 PM
Post by: monkeyman on February 26, 2010, 19:08:12 PM
Post by: monkeyman on February 26, 2010, 21:41:37 PM
I"ll give Sky another chance as I"ve just discovered a fish level buy-in 10 handed deep stack on that site. There is a god after all.
Nope, no good in that either. At least this time it was only my first called shove getting turned over with my pocket eights losing to AQ suited which became a flush.
This blog is going on holiday for a few days for a couple of reasons. I hate bad beat stories and that"s all I"ve been telling recently, so its time for a breather. I"m also spending a couple of days in London next week. I"m there mainly for the England v Egypt game, but I"m in a hotel slightly north of Hyde Park, so I may pop into The Vic to try and get my enthusiasm for the game back. Who knows, I may begin to give a toss about online poker again by the time I return next thursday.
Post by: monkeyman on February 27, 2010, 18:32:03 PM
Post by: monkeyman on March 04, 2010, 23:19:45 PM
My main reason for the trip was to visit Wembley for the England v Egypt game on wednesday. I arrived on tuesday and my brother-in-law, who is currently working in London, sent me a text to confirm that he wasn"t able to meet that evening for a beer as planned, so I had the rest of the day to myself. I"ve only been to London for more than 24 hours once before and that was for the season 2 world championships at The Vic. Unfortunately, I spent most of that week suffering asthma problems, which meant that most of the time I wasn"t at the casino, I was laying down in my hotel room. Therefore, the plan became to explore by foot for a few hours before, hopefully, making a few quid later in the day.
From my hotel I passed the Natural History and Science museums, walked east inside the southern edge of Hyde Park then carried on along Picadilly, did a quick circuit of the Shaftesbury Avenue/Leicester Square area, turned north up Wardour Street, left onto Oxford Street then Marble Arch and finally onto Edgware Road. After deftly sidestepping a baby-carrying beggar just outside the main entrance, I was at my ultimate destination. I arrived between 17.30 and 18.00 with the plan on playing poker for a couple of hours before quitting to settle down with a meal and a beer to watch the Brazil v Ireland game. Deep down, I knew I was not giving myself the best possible opportunity of making money as I wanted to sit down in the £1/£1 with £120 whereas the maximum buy-in is £200. However, my priorities were to occupy myself for a couple of hours, enjoy the surroundings and learn from the experience. Making a profit would have been a bonus. As I approached the poker desk there were 5 names on the waiting list for the £1/£1 game, one of which was Willie Tann. He was already in action at another table, but just to make sure I didn"t have to lock horns with him, I revised my schedule so i had my meal first, then played. Thankfully when my name was called, I didn"t recognise anyone at my table, although Mr Tann and Robin Keston weren"t far away. I played for about 2.5 hours and retired on a £22 loss. There was one hand where the player to my right raised to £7 and I reraised him to £16 with AQ of spades followed by everyone except the raiser folding. The player concerned had folded a £7 raise to a reraise to £15 on the previous circuit, but after asking the dealer how much I had behind, he 4-bet me to £66. I considered the possibility that he may have either been tilting slightly because he"d been bullied off a pot a few hands before and I"d seen him lose a few big hands, but I had a decision to make. Calling another £50 to leave £40 behind wasn"t an option, so it was all in or fold. I didn"t feel that AQ was a hand I wanted to commit my stack with as there was no way he was going to fold to a 5-bet all-in and I felt all his likely holdings (big pairs or AK) would have been ahead. Reluctantly I folded. I quit in time to be able to sip a pint whilst watching the final 30 minutes of the Brazil game then walked back to my accomodation via Bayswayer Road and through the middle of Hyde Park.
Wednesday morning was filled by a visit to the Science Museum before another long ramble around town. I met my brother-in-law at the Hole In The Pound pub next to the Bond Street tube station before getting on the Jubilee line for the trip to Wembley Park. Such was the perfect timing of the consumption of my second pint that we arrived in our seats exactly 2 minutes before the game kicked-off.
I really must head to the capital again sometime soon. Next time, I think I"ll book a hotel that doesn"t have a namesake in town.
Post by: monkeyman on March 07, 2010, 14:27:51 PM
Post by: monkeyman on March 08, 2010, 21:54:40 PM
Post by: monkeyman on March 12, 2010, 22:38:00 PM
Post by: monkeyman on March 13, 2010, 21:12:01 PM
--------------------
If it is possible to make money playing cash poker after the consumption of a bottle wine and whilst chatting to a mate on Facebook, is it:
a) Proof that my idea that drinking and optimal poker performance don"t mix is nonsense
b) Evidence that I may have cracked cash play after all
c) Final confirmation that PKR"s cash tables contain the worst players anywhere
d) All of the above
Post by: monkeyman on March 14, 2010, 14:12:34 PM
Post by: monkeyman on March 20, 2010, 10:56:02 AM
Changing tack completely, does anyone know what it happening with regards to the season 3 medals which have not yet been issued? I"ve now sent 3 emails to APAT customer services without reply on this subject and I"m owed a silver from one of the online nationals.
Post by: monkeyman on March 27, 2010, 16:53:55 PM
Post by: monkeyman on April 12, 2010, 23:49:33 PM
For some reason, my tournament play has completely fallen to pieces recently. It could be that things just haven"t gone my way since the halcyon days of january, it may be that I"ve lost focus a bit, in all probability its a bit of both. Things haven"t been all bad though, as my latest poker fad, Omaha hi-lo cash games, has kept me in profit. Eurobet has been very kind to me, Virgin is not far behind (including the session when I took a buy-in from one well-known APAT name - not as impressive as it sounds, we are talking micro stakes here), but the biggest surprise is quite how easy it is to make money playing Hi-Lo on Full Tilt. It looks like the site is full of mad gamblers without the foggiest idea how to play the game. Kerrching! Incidently, if you fancy playing the game and you start by reading a textbook or an article in Pokerplayer, you will more than likely look for starting hands that have a chance of scooping both the high and low part. Whilst that will cut down your variance and help you to not lose too much, that aint necessarily going to maximise your profits in cash games. If you disagree, then by all means come looking for me and attempt to show me the error of my ways by taking loads of dosh away from my bankroll.
In many ways, today is a hugely significant day in my poker development as for the first time, I have placed all my poker money in an account entirely separate from all other funds. The amount isn"t huge, but its well into three figures and is growing nicely. My Hi/lo cash play is producing a steady,positive return and hopefully when my tournament mojo returns, I will take down one of those Pokerstars 5000 runner events I"ve gone close in on numerous occasions this year, thereby giving my new account a massive boost
Post by: monkeyman on April 16, 2010, 22:05:05 PM
Post by: KarmaDope on April 16, 2010, 23:41:21 PM
Fed up of playing poker where any form of skill takes is meaningless? Ever wanted to shove your chips in and leave yourself at the mercy of the poker gods?
LOL, I do this a lot.
Hyper-Turbo"s FTW!!
Post by: monkeyman on April 17, 2010, 00:51:34 AM
Post by: pables on April 17, 2010, 09:40:27 AM
Now I really know why I f*****g hate tournament poker at the moment. 2nd tournament of the night, 2nd bubble, this time on Bet-O FFS,this site really is getting on my tits right now-Fair. Just to rub salt into the wounds the departure hand was me with A 10 vs Q9 and needless to bleeding well say there were two nines on the flop. If the poker gods are reading this, you"re all a bunch of c***s.
:)
Post by: monkeyman on April 27, 2010, 22:21:49 PM
Post by: monkeyman on May 02, 2010, 10:31:34 AM
Post by: monkeyman on May 08, 2010, 15:35:44 PM
The bulk of my play continues to be on the Omaha H/l cash tables and on the whole this is going well. My bankroll would comfortably allow me to play a little higher than I am at present, but my bottom line is being affected by making occasional schoolboy errors in specific situations. I can"t be too harsh on myself as I"m playing a variant I have little more than two months" experience of. Get my serious head on and make sure I"m concentrating at all times and this could still be the game that gives me a steady positive flow into my bank account.
Post by: monkeyman on May 09, 2010, 09:30:18 AM
Post by: monkeyman on May 15, 2010, 09:36:31 AM
Post by: monkeyman on May 15, 2010, 21:36:05 PM
Post by: monkeyman on May 16, 2010, 23:03:23 PM
There were 249 competitors and in typical Partypoker style, I played little poker but went deep by shoving into unopened pots on a regular basis. With 46 runners left I was well inside the 28 player cut-off mark and may possibly have been in a position to fold into a place in the London event. However, I felt that to be certain, I either had to pick up a big hand or try to steal no more than one, or maybe two, pots. On the fateful hand, the action folded to me on the button where I was dealt AJ. In the small blind was a player with approximately double my stack and the big blind had half my holding. As picking up the blinds and antes would have increased my stack by 15-20%, I didn"t have to think twice before I shoved. Unfortunately, the small blind had AQ, the big blind AK and there was no miracle Jack on the board.
I sometimes wonder why I f*****g bother. I"ve now had four consecutive months of being dumped upon at crucial moments in tournaments. Dear god, I never thought I"d see the day, but sometime soon I may, in a moment of weakness, resort to saying that most pointless of all poker phrases "One time". Maybe the poker gods are trying to send me a sign by ensuring that I never win a tournament again whilst I make hay on the cash tables. Yeah, right. Maybe they are just w*****s after all.
Post by: Mikeyboy9361 on May 17, 2010, 09:31:50 AM
Anyone know when the season 3 medals are going to be sent out?
Patience, 8 months and waiting! :D
Post by: Marty719 on May 17, 2010, 11:48:04 AM
Post by: AMRN on May 17, 2010, 11:54:57 AM
U should post every mtt bust-out hand for the next week into the apat academy section and see if you are making any fundamental errors. It will be good for your game regardless. Also, have a team-viewer/skype session with someone who"s opinion you value. There is 100% no better way of learning than this!
The final bust out hand is rarely where the fundamental errors are made.....
Post by: Marty719 on May 17, 2010, 12:11:38 PM
Maybe pick 1 crucial hand from every mtt and post it!
Post by: monkeyman on May 17, 2010, 17:08:51 PM
U should post every mtt bust-out hand for the next week into the apat academy section and see if you are making any fundamental errors. It will be good for your game regardless. Also, have a team-viewer/skype session with someone who"s opinion you value. There is 100% no better way of learning than this!
The final bust out hand is rarely where the fundamental errors are made.....
A very good point indeed. Its normally the case that someone who consistenly falls short of big wins is doing something wrong much earlier in the tournament, generally by playing too passively. However, it is also true that its next to impossible to win a tournament without emerging victorius in a coinflip or two or hitting any monster hands.
Take all the foul language out of my recent entries on this blog and there is a real frustration at how things have gone for me so far this year. I had one or two decent results in January but from the middle of that month onwards absolutely nothing has gone my way. Thankfully, my cash play has gone really well recently and somehow despite being a self-confessed awful Omaha Hi player, I"m consistently making money playing Omaha Hi/Lo.
I think my main saving grace is that, as the name of this blog indicates, I am operating to strict bankroll management guidelines. After nearly five years of playing, I also recently opened a bank account to allow me to separate my poker money from everything else. Its not that I"m a losing player, far from it, my poker winnings have always been absorbed into other areas. Since I started keeping a profit and loss for my play I"ve been in the black for 2 years and my only annual loss was in the region of $150. I suppose part of the frustration comes from playing way below what I regard as a level I am capable of playing at. Yes, i think I"m competive in $50 tournaments (Certainly in the ones that have been on Blue Square over the last couple of years!), but if I"m to stay within my own bankroll rules, that isn"t an option yet. Maybe, without those rules, I"d have had to take a break from the game.
Chris Ferguson took several months to move out of the freeroll and microstakes games he started at in his challenge and I suppose I could just be impatient. However, the next time I play in one of those micro stakes tournaments on Pokerstars with 5500 runners and get down to the final 200, that coinflip that could put me in the top 10 if it goes my way will be welcome. I fully expect to move up a buy-in level or two on the cash tables sometime soon, although I don"t want to rush things as I"m playing a variant I"m very new to, so recognise I have one or two deficincies to iron out.
I"ve never been a fan of posting exit hands. Its partly because, as Steve so rightly said, doing so only gives a very small part of the overall picture. The cards and chipstacks are only part of the equation; how did you think your opponents would react to how you played the hand in question? Why did you think they would react that way? Have you watched every single hand at your table in the tournament? Have you been watching repeats of "Top Gear" on Dave and/or trying to chat-up some very attractive woman from work on Facebook whilst playing? Without knowing all the thought process of the player in question and without seeing every hand played, exit hands only tell part of the story.
In terms of evaluating hands and tournaments, I"m fortunate in that almost all of my large family play the game to a reasonable standard, including one brother-in-law with a record of 2 cashes from 3 appearances in APAT live nationals. If there is a specific situation that I need to discuss, I"ve got someone on hand to run through things in some depth.
I suppose what this all boils down to is that since being a bit stricter with myself, I"ve not yet changed my mentality from that of the tournament player looking for one big hit to someone happy with building things gradually. At least I"m still in profit. I just need that little piece of luck to go my way at a crucial moment. Onetime!
Post by: monkeyman on May 18, 2010, 12:43:20 PM
So much for not going for one big hit
Post by: monkeyman on May 21, 2010, 20:31:08 PM
About 40 minutes in and I"ve increased my 3000 chip starting stack to loose change over 4000. I"ve not had any big confrontations, but played solid positional poker, reraising a couple of times and generally easing a few chips off the weaker players. On the hand in question UGT limped as did the player two or three to his left. I was dealt Ak suited in late position so made a standard raise. The blinds both folded, the first limper called and the second limper also folded. The flop came A46 with the four and six of the same suit. The Villain put in a bet marginally under half the pot, so on with the thinking cap. My gut instinct was that I was ahead. In those low value tournaments players often can"t get away from any pair or ace so I put my opponent on a very wide range. In a better quality tournament I may have taken a player who limped UTG, called a raise then put in a low C-bet to be extremely strong. However, at this level I felt that I could just as easily have been up against a pair of some description or a weaker ace so I shoved. To my surprise, he turned over 4 6 offsuit for a flopped two pair and I failed to improve.
If anyone has any comments apart from " What was that dozy pillock doing limping UTG then calling a raise with 4/6" feel free to post your observations however criticial.
Post by: monkeyman on May 21, 2010, 22:50:46 PM
UTG Limps with the bet being about 1/14 of his stack. I"m in late position with about 7.5 x the BB and I"ve got AQ suited so in it goes. Limp-boy calls, flips over K2 and it goes without saying that he hits a 2 on the river. What sort of c*** limps UTG with K2 then calls a shove? I"ve had four whole months of getting turned over by these w*****s and frankly I haven"t got a f*****g clue why I bother.
Post by: antthecat on May 25, 2010, 13:21:07 PM
Post by: monkeyman on May 25, 2010, 22:39:54 PM
variance is a big kick in the guts, i also have no results to be proud of due to being in theory "unlucky" but sometimes trying to win races just dont go your way whether you have the pair or the overcards pre, the deck can be cursed, just keep grinding the hi/lo tables and possibly play less tourneys. cant wait till october either, i will bring the value with me to yarmouth. what is the date of the club event?
The GUKPT club event at Yarmouth is on October 16th and it has my name on it
Yep, variance is a sod and it sure as hell hasn"t evened itself out over the course of the year so far. I"m actually enjoying cash play far more than tournaments at the moment, so that"s what I"ll be doing for the next few days. There will however be a couple of tweaks to my playing plans from the start of June:
1) I will only play one table at a time. I have successfully multitabled Omaha hi/lo on a number of occasions, but the instances of me losing a complete buy-in have tended to be when I"ve been doing this. I"m really happy with my "A" game, but my "B" game sucks, so giving my full attention to one table only will prevent losses.
2) I"m going to change the tournaments I focus on. I"ll forget about those cheap buy-in/huge field tourneys on Pokerstars, as whilst they would boost bank my bankroll enormously when I actually take one down, I"m looking for consistent growth rather than one big hit. With that in mind, I"ll play a few more low-value deepstacks on Ladbrokes as my returns are good on those, I"ll play a few non-turbo events on Betfair as I do well on there as well and I will also return to playing stud tournaments on Partypoker. Yes, the buy-ins will still be tiny, but there are certain sites I seem to make steady rather than spectacular progress on, so that"s where I will concentrate.
3) I"m in London for a couple of days in June, but I will not be visiting The Vic. From my previous visits, the £1/£1 cash game looks to be of an absolutely shocking standard and I can"t wait to get stuck into it, but the Max buy-in is £200 and my current "roll doesn"t allow me to stick that amount in the middle on a single hand as I would like to be able to. Slightly further down the line, live cash play definitely forms part of my profit making plan, I just haven"t the resources to do that just yet.
Post by: monkeyman on May 26, 2010, 19:20:52 PM
Post by: monkeyman on May 27, 2010, 00:09:44 AM
So Sky Poker now has Omaha Hi/Lo. Yeeeeeee Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. What will I spent my profits on?
Might need a bit of time to allow this to develop. There are only a handful of players on the tables so far. Hopefully there will be a steady flow of newbie fish investigating this variant for the first time. Sky contains a higher proportion of totally clueless hold"em players than any other site, so the Hi/Lo should be fun soon.
Post by: monkeyman on May 27, 2010, 21:32:03 PM
1) There are 99 runners with prizes down to 10th
2) 16 players left in
3) Blinds are 300/600
4) My stack is 4500
5) The action folds to the cut off who has 9000 ish chips and limps.
6) I"m on the button and have A J
7) I shove
8 ) Cut off calls with K 10 offsuit
9) Flop hits neither off us
10) Turn is also a blank
11) Anyone care to guess what the river was?
Post by: pables on May 28, 2010, 15:13:41 PM
11) Anyone care to guess what the river was?
Deep? ;D
Post by: antthecat on May 28, 2010, 19:39:32 PM
Post by: monkeyman on May 29, 2010, 13:36:28 PM
Having watched the semi finals during the week and after a certain amount of research, I think I"ve cracked it. There are a number of factors to consider when punting on Eurovision. Political considerations play a part, so you"ve got to work out whether the country you are thinking about backing has enough friendly neighbouring countries to get the required votes. The Russian entry this year is a godawful dirge which even Radiohead would reject for being too miserable, but with the influence they have over Eastern Europe, Russia could probably have a pantomime cow farting the national anthem as their entry and they still wouldn"t come last.
The personnel behind the song are also worth considering. Azerbaijan have being using Beyonce"s choreographer to organise their performance and they also have an adviser who has worked with Britney Spears. They seem to be taking things very seriously, so have to be on the shortlist. In contrast, the UK has employed Pete Waterman, a man who wouldn"t recognise a good song if one punched him in the face, so we"d have no chance even if any of the other countries, apart from Ireland, liked us.
Pre-tournament exposure for the song can be important too. The German entry has been a hit throughout Europe already and is the most Googled of any of his year"s efforts. However, Germany may also be handicapped by the lack of friends factor.
The top three in the betting Are Azerbaijan,Germany and Armenia. Unless I have a change of heart in the next few hours the last-named will receive my backing. The song is OK by Eurovision standards and the singer has a strong voice.
However, you might be asking why I have chosen this song over the other two favourites. No, its not because I regard it as a bit of value, but the singer has an absolutely cracking pair of norks. If you can think of a better reason for having a bet, I"d like to hear it.
Post by: monkeyman on May 30, 2010, 09:46:53 AM
Post by: monkeyman on May 30, 2010, 22:59:27 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 02, 2010, 21:42:29 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 05, 2010, 01:15:53 AM
Post by: monkeyman on June 06, 2010, 00:04:44 AM
7/6/10 - 10.00 board train at Norwich Station
- 12.30 Sit down with a pint somewhere in Covent Garden
PM - (1) Move on to Victoria and Albert Museum
(2) Stop for coffee somewhere around Trafalgar Square/Leicester Square
(3) Head on to Wembley and book into room at Ibis hotel
Evening - (a) Have a pint or two in Green Man at Wembley
(b) Go to Wembley Arena to see Harlem Globetrotters
(c) If it is still serving, return to Green Man for another pint or two
8/6/10 - Decide to be really tight and not spend £6.95 on cooked breakfast at hotel. Instead feast on delights bought from Lidl"s near Wembley Park underground.
- Tell absolutely no-one that I"ve even considered getting on underground to head to Somerset House for a Tai Chi session. That would make me a laughing stock and I probably won"t be out of bed in time anyway
- Assuming the service is running, get on Bakerloo line at Wembley Central, head for Elephant and Castle then
nip along road to Imperial War Museum
- Pub lunch
- Venue for above must serve real ale
- Assuming not too much ale is consumed, again pretend to know the meaning of the word "culture" and head to either Tate Britain or Tate Modern
- late afternoon/evening to be arranged. Will absolutely not invest any of bankroll on a cash table at The Vic.
Won"t even consider it, oh no, not I.
9/6/10 - Get on Metropolitan Line at Wembley Park to head to Liverpool Street ready for the 10.00 to Norwich
- Spend most of journey home telling self to not be silly enough to consider trying to qualify for WPT London.
Post by: monkeyman on June 06, 2010, 21:09:15 PM
Post by: Mikeyboy9361 on June 09, 2010, 22:26:53 PM
Post by: monkeyman on October 03, 2010, 11:32:21 AM
When this year"s GUKPT schedule was announced, I was delighted to see there was a "Club" event planned for Great Yarmouth. Financially, it makes sense for me to play this rather than any APAT live event. As the Grosvenor Yarmouth is only 20 miles from home, spending £200 on a tournament entry with no travelling involved is no more expensive than a £75 event when I have to fork out on extra petrol and at least one night in a hotel. As £200 represents the highest buy-in tournament I"ve taken part in, my trip down the road to the east coast in 2 weeks has been my major focus for several months.
On thursday night, I took part in a Nuts poker pub shovefest just because I haven"t played live in ages. I didn"t have anything planned for this weekend, so friday night I was looking for a bit of microstakes deepstack action and took part in a 2.75 euro game on Ladbrokes. Ok, my reward of 15 Euro-ish isn"t anything to write home about, but I was pleased with my 9th placed finish from 498 starters. On saturday night, I returned home after a short trip to the gym and again went looking for a deepstack tournament. My decision to participate in last night"s English Online Championships had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with brand loyalty. I was looking for something to give me the best possible preparation for Yarmouth and if there is another 10000 chip 15 minute blind tournament out there, please point me at it immediately. Although the cost of last night"s tourney and the GUKPT club entry represents a far larger proportion of my bankroll than the Chris Fergusons of this world would advise, it far from bankrupts me and leaves a huge number of buy-ins in my account for the cash level I"m currently playing at. In addition, with a GUKPT main event seat for the winner and 4 seats for the APAT event at Luton on offer, with only around 100 competitors this meant that the upside was potentially huge and well worth the risk.
Things didn"t start well. A few minutes into level 2 and I called a late position raise from the big blind with A 5. I flopped 2-pair, but my opponent had A 4, so the fours that came on the turn and river gave him a full house. I lost about a third of my stack, but in some ways was actually quite pleased as I think the damage could have been a lot worse. I don"t know quite how I managed it, but I remained in the bottom ten players from then for about the next four hours by finding the occasional hand, a shove here and a cheeky little bluff there. It wasn"t until the final two tables I really got moving and if I remember rightly, I reached the final table in around 4th place. I don"t think I"ve ever played in a tournament where I"ve picked up a hand at exactly the right time on as many occasions as I did last night. For the final hand, I had A 7 of hearts and if my memory hasn"t been blunted by the late night, my opponent had K 10 spades. The flop gave me middle pair to my opponents flush draw, all the chips went in and he hit one of his outs on the river. I"ve never played in a professional event and the GUKPT seat for the winner was what I had my eyes on throughout, but I"m not going to complain about my luck as I had plenty of it and quite honestly the winner played better poker than I did on the final table so deserved his victory.
With no disrespect meant to anyone I played last night, when I was runner up in the same event last year, the final table collectively had an almost ridiculously good poker CV for a group of amateurs. Apart from WSOPE-cashing and Oh-FFS-how-many-more-APAT-tournaments-is-he-going-to-win Paul Pitchford taking the thing down, there were live and online national winners as well as several players who have had big paydays in pro events. However, I think I"m right in saying that, in common with every other time I"ve made an APAT final table, I won big early and managed to stay amongst the front-runners throughout. I think last night was my most satisfying APAT result to date as I"ve never had to work so hard for so long. I"d go so far as to say that I don"t think that last year I"d have been capable of losing a chunk of my starting stack early, getting nowhere for fours hours and still final tabling. Maybe that suggests that I"ve improved by playing cash games.
October could be a very,very good month. See you in Luton.
Post by: pables on October 03, 2010, 14:28:50 PM
See you at Luton
Ian
Post by: monkeyman on October 12, 2010, 22:59:12 PM
I managed to get a bit of cash play in tonight and am now firmly focussed on saturday"s GUKPT club event at Yarmouth. There should be one player there who has final tabled a UKIPT event this year, but apart from that I"ve got no idea what the standard of play will be like. Should be fun and after I"ve won both there and at Luton the following week....................
Post by: Santino67 on October 13, 2010, 23:49:09 PM
Post by: monkeyman on October 16, 2010, 11:50:31 AM
This also gives me a decision to make. I"d ring-fenced the cost of today"s event, £220, for a bit of tournament fun and rather than just put it back into the building society account I store my poker funds in, I still feel like spending it on trying to win a decent sum. As I see it I have 2 choices (a) Use the money to fund a series of online deepstacks between $20 and $50 or (b) pay for an entry to the APAT tournament at Coventry with hotel+petrol costs etc. Mmmm, tricky one that.
Post by: Fatcatstu on October 16, 2010, 16:42:15 PM
Looks like the poker gods have decided to subject me to a Karl Henry-like tackle again. If there was one day all year when I didn"t want to be confined to home with a stinking cold, the day of the GUKPT club event at Yarmouth is it. On the positive side, it means I get to watch my favourite day"s flat racing of the whole year, Champion"s day at Newmarket, in particular what I think is probably the highest quality 2 year old race I can remember seeing.
This also gives me a decision to make. I"d ring-fenced the cost of today"s event, £220, for a bit of tournament fun and rather than just put it back into the building society account I store my poker funds in, I still feel like spending it on trying to win a decent sum. As I see it I have 2 choices (a) Use the money to fund a series of online deepstacks between $20 and $50 or (b) pay for an entry to the APAT tournament at Coventry with hotel+petrol costs etc. Mmmm, tricky one that.
Coventry!
Post by: monkeyman on October 16, 2010, 19:37:42 PM
Looks like the poker gods have decided to subject me to a Karl Henry-like tackle again. If there was one day all year when I didn"t want to be confined to home with a stinking cold, the day of the GUKPT club event at Yarmouth is it. On the positive side, it means I get to watch my favourite day"s flat racing of the whole year, Champion"s day at Newmarket, in particular what I think is probably the highest quality 2 year old race I can remember seeing.
This also gives me a decision to make. I"d ring-fenced the cost of today"s event, £220, for a bit of tournament fun and rather than just put it back into the building society account I store my poker funds in, I still feel like spending it on trying to win a decent sum. As I see it I have 2 choices (a) Use the money to fund a series of online deepstacks between $20 and $50 or (b) pay for an entry to the APAT tournament at Coventry with hotel+petrol costs etc. Mmmm, tricky one that.
Coventry!
very tempting. It would only take me 2-2.5 hours to drive, so I could arrive on the saturday, therefore only needing a hotel for 1 night at a cost of £38ish meaning the whole weekend would cost me less than I would have stumped-up for yarmouth this afternoon. Its a strong possibility
Post by: Santino67 on October 16, 2010, 23:30:50 PM
Post by: monkeyman on October 17, 2010, 14:34:13 PM
Post by: Santino67 on October 22, 2010, 03:07:01 AM
Post by: monkeyman on October 24, 2010, 12:15:26 PM
Post by: monkeyman on October 24, 2010, 17:52:25 PM
a) Really unlucky whenever I set foot in a Grosvenor
b) Just plain s**t at live poker.
discuss.
Post by: Santino67 on October 24, 2010, 23:51:32 PM
Question - Given that I"ve got a very good record in APAT online events but my live track record now stands at 7 nationals, no day twos, am I:
a) Really unlucky whenever I set foot in a Grosvenor
b) Just plain s**t at live poker.
discuss.
Big tournaments Simon and a pretty good standard of play at any I"ve been to so far. Made it to fairly late Saturday night in 2 of the 3 I played but I reckon to get to day 2 you need decent cards fairly steadily through Saturday, a patience, stamina and a fair amount of luck. Easy really lol
Post by: monkeyman on October 25, 2010, 23:12:20 PM
Question - Given that I"ve got a very good record in APAT online events but my live track record now stands at 7 nationals, no day twos, am I:
a) Really unlucky whenever I set foot in a Grosvenor
b) Just plain s**t at live poker.
discuss.
Big tournaments Simon and a pretty good standard of play at any I"ve been to so far. Made it to fairly late Saturday night in 2 of the 3 I played but I reckon to get to day 2 you need decent cards fairly steadily through Saturday, a patience, stamina and a fair amount of luck. Easy really lol
Ah, decent cards, that must be the secret. Until dinnerbreak I had precisely 2 pocket pairs (two and threes) and hit the princely total of one flop, although even that was when my 7 3 in the blinds caught a three. Anyone know where these elusive "decent cards" are kept? Am I likely to find any in Coventry?
Post by: Fatcatstu on October 26, 2010, 08:10:30 AM
HItting a flush when all in with AK v AK isnt lucky is it? I was soooooted...
Seriously though mate, you dont need good cards, average ones will do. It will come, just enjoy the experience when it does :)
Post by: antthecat on October 26, 2010, 21:26:40 PM
good luck for your next event.
Post by: monkeyman on November 24, 2010, 23:21:18 PM
Post by: monkeyman on November 26, 2010, 23:19:13 PM
Lets hope the Grosvenor dealers remember they owe me big time. >:(
Post by: Santino67 on November 29, 2010, 23:24:24 PM
Post by: monkeyman on December 19, 2010, 11:07:15 AM
How was your weekend Simon, saw you had a healthy stack at one point but not sure how you faired later on? Hoped I"d get to bump into you at some point but after spending the first few hours outside on table 16, then got moved to the feature table and stayed there. Unfortunately i bubbled main event in 16th :( but played 3 of the casino tourneys, won 1 and was 5th in another on the Sunday after that, so made up a bit for my disappointment. Hope all"s well mate
Sorry for not replying sooner Grant. This was one of my better efforts but I still didn"t manage to get into day 2. I was going to post something the day after the event, but I"ve been doing a lot of thinking about my game since then and never really got round to it.
All things considered, this was easily my most enjoyable APAT national to date. It was played in the nicest casino I"ve been to in this country, transport-wise it was within easy reach and for once, I had a steady stream of decent cards. At one point I got lucky by getting my chips in blind on blind with AJ, being called by KK and hitting an ace on the flop. However, shortly afterwards I moved tables and lost most of my ill gotten gains by running queens into aces. I survived until 10 minutes before midnight, where with the blinds at 1000/2000 and holding about 16.5K, I was dealt pocket fives. I was about three hands from being big blind, so I shoved and got called by A 9. There was an ace on the flop and despite there being 3 hearts on the table with me holding one whilst my opponent didn"t, it was game over. For once I can"t complain about my cards as I had aces once, Kings twice, queens four times and had one major stroke of luck.
What this tournament made me think was that I wasn"t anywhere near as good a player as I"d been kidding myself. After all, eight nationals with no day twos including one where I had as many cards as I could have asked for, the stats don"t lie. There must be something about the way I play that suits playing online, as I"d more than happily take on anyone who has ever appeared in an APAT event on the virtual tables, but I just don"t seem to cut it live. This year I"ve concentrated on playing online cash games and very nicely it has gone too, but I could either carry on plodding away as I am, knowing that over the course of a year i will be a few quid to the good, or try something to improve my game. The most obvious thing that needs to be done is to actually start using some tracking software. I"ve been making comfortable money without it, but I must be about the only person doing so, so its time to take that step and add that to my repertoire. Unfortunately, my current PC only has windows 2000, so I"ve bought one off Ebay with XP, so when that"s up and running I will download Hold Em Manager. The other thing I"m looking to do is to get back into using one of the training sites and the most likely candidate is Drag The Bar. I used to use Stox Poker and although they have now disappeared in a cloud of controversial smoke, my bottom line improved enormously by using their material, so as one or two of their instructors have switched to DTB, it seems like a logical move. What I suspect is that although I normally like to throw a few tricks into the mix, I play way too conservatively. Online this is probably Ok due to the number of hands played, but I think I"m going to have to loosen up a bit before my next live venture.
As for next year, it looks like being mainly one of online cash grinding with the odd bit of tilting at windmills thrown in for entertainment. I may well not play any nationals, but if there are events in Coventry,Luton and The Vic, I"d be amazed if temptation didn"t get the better of me at least once.
Post by: monkeyman on December 19, 2010, 14:01:01 PM
Post by: monkeyman on December 20, 2010, 07:12:23 AM
Here"s a fun game that anyone can play.............Over the last couple of days, I"ve been going well on Betfair"s cash tables. My usual modus operandi is to play 2 full ring tables for between 2 and 3 hours a session, with a bit of chopping and changing if my table gets tougher whilst there are softer ones at the same level. Betfair currently have a promotion where there are prizes awarded for whoever plays most raked hands in a set period. For a hand to qualify, you have to be in it when the flop is dealt. Normally I like to enter a pot with a raise or reraise, but I"m experimenting with something a bit different. I"ve dropped myself to the very lowest of the low, the 2c/4c tables, playing 5 handed and the important part of this game is I"m calling almost everything preflop (to enable the hand to count towards the promotion). As there isn"t much in the way of 3-betting preflop at this level,I allow myself a fold if this happens or if there is a preflop shove. Otherwise whether holding 72o in the small blind or aces on the button, everything is a call. I"m certainly not advocating this as optimal poker strategy as, some of my eloquent opponents who have witnessed me doing this have already rightly pointed out, to do so would be to become a fish,retard or clueless c***, but it is huge fun. You could even try taking it a stage further and do Annette Obrestad"s trick of covering your cards with a post-it and base your play on entirely what"s on the board,what you think your opponents have/what you"d like your opponents to think you"ve got. Go on, give it a try.
Of course the potential downside to doing this is that when you return to playing a "serious" cash session, you may still be playing like a ****end and blow most of the profits from the previous 48 hours hard work. Not that I"d do that of course. Oh no, not me.
Post by: Santino67 on December 21, 2010, 16:31:07 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 09, 2011, 19:14:44 PM
I suppose you could describe me as a slow learner. In June/July this year, I will have been playing poker for 6 years. I"m not Tom Dwan, I"m not a fresh-faced maths graduate who has found his knowledge has useful applications in the field of gambling, I"m a forty-something bloke with a crap job in a call-centre who would quite like to supplement his income with something he can do reasonably well and enjoys. Some of the things I"ve seen on Holdem manager in the few short weeks since I started using it have given me the tiniest glimmer of a possibility that one day I may not have to spend 37 hours a week being told I"m an idiot because a pothole reported to the council a couple of hours ago hasn"t yet been repaired or (as happened last week) telling someone in their late 80s with lung cancer that their blue badge application had been turned down.
I"ve got a few things to post about how my game has changed recently because of the way I"m analysing things and how I"m already begiining to lean towards one site in particular as my best source of (potential) income. I"ll save that for other days; must go, I want to get at least one more 2 hour,3 table session in tonight.
Post by: monkeyman on January 09, 2011, 22:13:31 PM
Today - 5.97 Hours
1044 hands
Profit 2.8 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on January 10, 2011, 22:42:55 PM
The first two factors I used to knock out some potential tables were (a) how easy it is to get money on and off the site and (b)standard of the opposition. In practise, these both mean than I can instantly rule out any sites which allow american players, as any provider who limits who can play there in theory cuts out a certain percentage of the better players in the world and I"m looking to make my life as easy as possible. I also like the convenience of being able to move my money on and off sites from my debit card and will not under any circumstances fax a copy of the front and back of my card to a foreign country as is sometimes requested. In addition, Party Poker can take a very long run off a very short pier, as any company who levies a service charge on every withdrawal and also takes money from inactive accounts is simply not worthy of my custom.
That leaves me with European focussed sites only and the next two off my list are Sky and PKR. The former is because there is almost no traffic on the full-ring tables I like to play and is way too slow compared to other sites. The speed commment also applies to the latter; whilst it may be funny to watch someone making chicken noises and giving the finger to opponents, but it holds play up and I"m looking to rattle through as many hands as possible.
The Boss nextwork is next to be discarded. Yes, its easy to move money around, there is plenty of traffic and a high percentage of fish, but dear god is it slow moving compared to some of the competition. As I have an account with Victor Chandler from their days on Ipoker, I tried their new home on Entraction briefly and didn"t like it. I didn"t like the feel of the site and there seemed to be very few players present.
This means that I have three networks remaining and discarded in third place is 888. The tables seem to move quicker than any other site, its easy to get funds on and off and I think it has more total fish than any other site I"ve seen. This is going to sound like a very strange thing to say, but if anything this site is just too soft at the lower levels and I can"t bring myself to sit for hours on end waiting for a hand big enough to call one of the almost-one-a-circuit shoves with.
The runners up spot goes to Ipoker; easy to move money around,plenty of traffic and it runs at a decent speed. The skin I currently use is Winner Poker and I would have no problem making this my long term home. However, there are reasons why this isn"t so.........
This leaves me with Ongame and yes, the skin I"m spending my time on at the moment is Betfair. On the sites independent home I used to do OK for myself in their tournaments and SNGs, but cash play was not a possibility as there seemed to be a tiny pool of players. All the same reasons about why I like Ipoker also apply to Ongame, but the deciding factor is that I have a 40% rakeback deal with Betfair. By my calculations this is the equivalent of a 3bb per 100 hands profit headstart on any other site, so I"d need a pretty convincing argument to play elsewhere.
So, onto tonights results and it doesn"t make pretty reading. I played badly, ran good hands into slightly better hands and if it could go wrong it did. Ho hum, I knew trying to reteach myself how to play the game wasn"t going to be easy and I"ll admit, I"m a losing player at the moment. However, I am learning loads with every session and that is very important to me.
Minutes played - 182.8
Hands - 551
Loss - 191 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on January 11, 2011, 18:44:59 PM
Anyone care to hazard a guess at, until close of play last night, what my 2 biggest loss making hands were? Results later
Post by: Santino67 on January 11, 2011, 18:52:50 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 11, 2011, 21:26:28 PM
9/J hit a straight and beaten by a bigger straight and 2 pair of Ks and 10s beaten by a set of 2"s??? Random as hell but thought I"d give it a bash Simon :D
I probably didn"t word my question very well. What I meant was which 2 combination (s) of starting cards (e.g 72o,pocket aces etc) has proved most expensive? To add insult to injury, the top of my losers list lost me another buy-in 10 minutes into tonight"s session.
Post by: Santino67 on January 11, 2011, 22:04:08 PM
9/J hit a straight and beaten by a bigger straight and 2 pair of Ks and 10s beaten by a set of 2"s??? Random as hell but thought I"d give it a bash Simon :D
I probably didn"t word my question very well. What I meant was which 2 combination (s) of starting cards (e.g 72o,pocket aces etc) has proved most expensive? To add insult to injury, the top of my losers list lost me another buy-in 10 minutes into tonight"s session.
Ah right then.........gonna go for definitely JJ >:( Hate them lol and AQ
Post by: monkeyman on January 11, 2011, 22:43:26 PM
10 minutes into tonight"s session I lost a buy-in with AKo v KJo,repeated the exact same trick an hour later, then a few minutes before I wrapped the session I had aces cracked by, you"ve guessed it, KJo. FML. At least I played well tonight and can"t think of any serious mistakes. If only Betfair"s dealers weren"t such a bunch of w*****s.
Results tonight
186.8 minutes played
477 hands
loss - 182xbb
Its a good job I don"t own a cat as it would get a damn good kicking if I complete the hat-trick of rank bad sessions tomorrow. Betfair, if you are listening, I"ve said nice things about you and I think you owe me. Do you really want me to go back to Ipoker? You know what you"ve got to do.
Post by: monkeyman on January 12, 2011, 23:33:44 PM
1) I"m in the big blind with pocket queens. UTG+1 limps as does someone in midtable and the cut-off. The small blind makes up, so I raise 6 x bb. UTG+1 calls, as does mid table and cutoff. The flop is 7d :3d: tc. I make a pot-sized bet, get called by UTG+1 whilst the others fold. The turn is 4s. I guess that there is a chance my opponent is slow playing a monster, but there"s also quite a big chance he"s chasing some weak draw or other, so i put him all in. He calls and flips :2d: 5d to give him straight and flush draws and needless to say, the river is ac to complete his straight. Anyone else out there regularly play :2d: 5d from UTG+1?
2) I"m in seat 6 with Aces. The player to my right limps, I raise 3xbb, the cut-off calls as does the limper. The flop is ks qs 4c. The limper checks, I bet three quarters of the pot,cut off calls and limper folds. The turn is :2h:, so as I believe that won"t have changed anything, i put in another three-quarter pot size bet,my opponent effectively raises although he"s all in and I don"t need much at all to call him which i do. He flips ts js and the river is 9h for the straight. I spontaneously develop Tourettes and type a somewhat less than complimentary message in the chat box
Glutton for punishment that I am, I"ll probably be back for more punishment tomorrow (If you"re on Betfair, come looking for Simonkey40, wait until I raise, shove all in with your 7 2o and I will call but you will outdraw me). It won"t take much to send me scurrying back to Ipoker for a while.
For what its worth, tonights results are:
451 hands
loss 309 x bb
Betfair, why me? I"ve been so nice to you recently.
Post by: monkeyman on January 13, 2011, 18:57:23 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 13, 2011, 20:06:17 PM
14 minutes later, I lose 3/4 another stack with queens against tens with my opponent hitting trips.
Goodbye Betfair, hello Winner (Ha! The irony) Poker
Post by: monkeyman on January 13, 2011, 22:03:45 PM
95 minutes played
195 hands
Profit - 110xbb
Post by: Marty719 on January 14, 2011, 15:51:44 PM
I no longer know whether to laugh or cry. 6 Minutes into the session and I"ve lost my first buy-in. I"m on the button with pocket nines and there are several limpers. I raise to 5xbb,UTG+1 min reraises,there"s a call 2 to his left and I also call. The flop comes 8 6 2, both opponents check and I bet 3/4 the pot. UTG+1 calls and the other guy folds. The turn is a 7 and once again UTG+1 checks. As I have a pair and an open ended straight draw, there are more chips in the pot than I have behind, I shove and am called. My opponent has Kings and none of my outs hit.
14 minutes later, I lose 3/4 another stack with queens against tens with my opponent hitting trips.
Goodbye Betfair, hello Winner (Ha! The irony) Poker
What range do u think utg+1 limp re-raises with? Turn seems to be a check back most of the time even with an spr of <1. Doubt you get better to fold, or worse to call.
ps - on this note....post some hands in academy. Really good way to keep sharp.
Post by: monkeyman on January 17, 2011, 20:57:18 PM
I no longer know whether to laugh or cry. 6 Minutes into the session and I"ve lost my first buy-in. I"m on the button with pocket nines and there are several limpers. I raise to 5xbb,UTG+1 min reraises,there"s a call 2 to his left and I also call. The flop comes 8 6 2, both opponents check and I bet 3/4 the pot. UTG+1 calls and the other guy folds. The turn is a 7 and once again UTG+1 checks. As I have a pair and an open ended straight draw, there are more chips in the pot than I have behind, I shove and am called. My opponent has Kings and none of my outs hit.
14 minutes later, I lose 3/4 another stack with queens against tens with my opponent hitting trips.
Goodbye Betfair, hello Winner (Ha! The irony) Poker
What range do u think utg+1 limp re-raises with? Turn seems to be a check back most of the time even with an spr of <1. Doubt you get better to fold, or worse to call.
ps - on this note....post some hands in academy. Really good way to keep sharp.
Cheers for posting this. I think you"ve probably hit upon the reason why I revived this blog. Not so many posts ago I touched upon feeling that my game had hit a plateau; I"m quite happy with my tournament results up to a certain point, but last year felt to improve my game I had to completely pull it apart and start from scratch. In December I used most of what was left of last year"s profits to buy a new computer,desk,chair, keyboard and mouse. My first dabblings with tracking software proved to be eye opening and over the past few weeks, my game has expanded out of all recognition. However, I recognised that if I was serious about driving my game towards where I want it to eventually reach, the biggest obstacle I had to try and do something about my ego. Deep down I knew I was making too many mistakes and simply not absorbing some of the information available to me. I thought the best way of keeping myself in check was to post some results, not because I believed anyone was interested in the numbers, more that I felt I was more likely to be honest about my own game if I put some of my flaws up for public scrutiny. I suppose for the hand in question I"d fallen into the trap of assuming that if I just kept blasting away, any sensible oppponent would back off. Epic fail.
I"m going to give the stats another couple of nights off, so I"ve turned my attention to equally important matters; what is the best music to listen to whilst playing? ::) Tonight"s results are that i played like a moron whilst listening to Slipknot, but since replacing their CD with The Ramones Anthology i"ve been unstoppable. I"m sure there"s something in that......................
Post by: Fatcatstu on January 18, 2011, 11:23:08 AM
Quote
. I suppose for the hand in question I"d fallen into the trap of assuming that if I just kept blasting away, any sensible oppponent would back off. Epic fail.
Welcome to my world, i had the same realisation after the apat in spain this weekend where i did 7k of my stack in one hand in the first level with 4 high :(
Time to re asses and come back with a new strategy i fear!!!
Post by: Marty719 on January 18, 2011, 11:29:09 AM
"People do not fold."
Post by: Fatcatstu on January 18, 2011, 11:40:21 AM
Post by: monkeyman on January 20, 2011, 21:46:42 PM
The greatest lesson to learn in poker is:
"People do not fold."
Yep. learning that one the hard way. Its all very well having a whole store cupboard full of fancy moves, but they don"t work in microstakes cash games. 3 and 4 betting in blind versus button encounters is very profitable, otherwise, its just a case of raising in position and c-betting a high percentage. Simplez.
I am absolutely not going to mention that I am now a luckbox as last night my month"s fortune changed when I stole someone"s buy-in by cracking aces with Queens. Right now back to the stats.
Tonight"s session
120 minutes
235 hands
profit - 129 x bb - yee haaaaaaa
Post by: monkeyman on January 21, 2011, 20:44:41 PM
------------------------------
On a friday night you don"t touch a drop of alcohol, but are happy to divide your time between online poker and Football Manager with Kerrang radio in the background.
Post by: monkeyman on January 22, 2011, 21:14:22 PM
Minutes played - 145
Hands - 272
Profit 138 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on January 23, 2011, 22:41:32 PM
Post by: monkeyman on January 24, 2011, 22:00:25 PM
Minutes played - 100
Hands - 229
Profit - 470 x bb
The first 2.5 weeks of January were so bad that there is no way that I will return a profit for the month. However, February is shaping up as my first step to world domination!.
Post by: monkeyman on January 26, 2011, 00:00:19 AM
Minutes played - 180
Hands - 387
Profit - 627 x bb
Post by: Quasar on January 26, 2011, 11:35:55 AM
Love reading this blog. Wish I had your winning play though. Whatever you are doing is obviously working - well done ;D
Post by: monkeyman on January 26, 2011, 17:59:52 PM
Love reading this blog. Wish I had your winning play though. Whatever you are doing is obviously working - well done ;D
What"s working for me could be that I"m just not having any major bad beats at present, but there"s a few simple steps I"m following. Some of this will be blindingly obvious:
1) Use tracking software. Don"t even think about playing cash games without it because just about every competent cash player out there is, so you will be at a huge disadvantage if you don"t
2)
The greatest lesson to learn in poker is:
"People do not fold."
This is probably the most important point of all. Unless you"re playing at a level where there are professionals lurking, a large number of the players at your table will not do anything fancy and will call with any hint of a hand.
3) If you don"t do so already, whenever the action folds to you on the button, raise with any two cards
4) If you"re in the blinds and the action folds to the button who makes a standard raise, 3 bet with any 2 cards. As most competent players will raise from the button in the situation outlined, reraising them will force them into a decision and the chances are they will fold.
5) If you"re on the button and your raise is met by a reraise from the blinds, 4 bet them with any 2 cards. A lot of solid players will assume that you are making a standard play and will try and raise you off the pot, but will be scared by the 4bet. Any further action means they have the nuts.
6) Play virtually nothing before the cutoff.
7) Enter a pot with a raise, then continuation bet most pots.
8 ) Steps 1-7 are the default settings for your play. Use your tracking software to identify any of the small number of players who may try and mess with your head by not automatically giving in to your agressive moves unless they have the nuts.
Post by: Quasar on January 26, 2011, 20:10:00 PM
I never play cash as I might just as well make a donation to charity instead. Might have a go using your points listed. Tracking software is out the question at the moment though unfortunately.
Thanks for the tips. I seriously need them ;D
Post by: monkeyman on January 26, 2011, 22:19:13 PM
I never play cash as I might just as well make a donation to charity instead. Might have a go using your points listed. Tracking software is out the question at the moment though unfortunately.
Thanks for the tips. I seriously need them ;D
Holdem Manager is $55 for the small stakes version so i think it pays for itself pretty quickly
Post by: monkeyman on January 26, 2011, 22:48:45 PM
I never play cash as I might just as well make a donation to charity instead. Might have a go using your points listed. Tracking software is out the question at the moment though unfortunately.
Thanks for the tips. I seriously need them ;D
I should also mention that each network seems to play slightly differently, so following my suggestions may need a bit of tweaking depending on which site you"re using. Most of my playing time over the last couple of weeks has been on Winner Poker which is part of the Ipoker network. That site seemed to have some technical glitches tonight, so i reverted to APAT's sponsor"s, Betfair, who are on Ongame. On Winner I"ve found that 3 and 4 betting preflop almost always shifts all opponents who don"t hold absolute monsters. Betfair players seem more willing to limp and call, so I"ve found that continuation betting less often produces better results than on Winner and there are far fewer opportunities to 3 or bet bet from the blinds or button.
So, onto tonight"s results. I was a little apprehensive about trying Betfair tonight as, as mentioned above, I knew that I would have to modify my tactics and the last time I was on the site I took a battering. However, I was delighted to return another solid profit as detailed below:
Minutes played - 153
hands - 298
Profit - 25 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on January 26, 2011, 22:52:40 PM
Post by: Quasar on January 27, 2011, 13:43:22 PM
Just catching up with this. I thought your results were amazing lol. Still impressed though. What stakes are you playing at?
Post by: monkeyman on January 27, 2011, 23:37:23 PM
Minutes played - 104
Hands - 172
Loss - 172 x bb
Post by: noble1 on January 28, 2011, 12:15:54 PM
Quote
Deep down I knew I was making too many mistakes and simply not absorbing some of the information available to me. I thought the best way of keeping myself in check was to post some results,
I"d suggest especially now as you mention that u are using tracking software now is to approach breaking down your game by noting every hand where u feel lost,confused,unsure what to do,what situations gave u trouble etc etc... Do this for pre-flop and post-flop and when u have collected a good sample size u can then look for common themes within that sample [spot leaks,common themes] , the themes that can crop up may vary, such as playing draws OOP , 3bet pots or being donk bet into, not sure of the maths in certain spots etc etc... This way if u are honest with yourself u will learn and grow far quicker, u can either break it down and analyse it all yourself, ask someone better than yourself who"s willing to help, or post them in the forums although be aware u met get varying answers, as u will get replies from people that may of had little experience of the situation/problem(s) u post.. [but it still gives insight as to how others think]
Post by: monkeyman on January 30, 2011, 21:27:37 PM
QuoteDeep down I knew I was making too many mistakes and simply not absorbing some of the information available to me. I thought the best way of keeping myself in check was to post some results,
I"d suggest especially now as you mention that u are using tracking software now is to approach breaking down your game by noting every hand where u feel lost,confused,unsure what to do,what situations gave u trouble etc etc... Do this for pre-flop and post-flop and when u have collected a good sample size u can then look for common themes within that sample [spot leaks,common themes] , the themes that can crop up may vary, such as playing draws OOP , 3bet pots or being donk bet into, not sure of the maths in certain spots etc etc... This way if u are honest with yourself u will learn and grow far quicker, u can either break it down and analyse it all yourself, ask someone better than yourself who"s willing to help, or post them in the forums although be aware u met get varying answers, as u will get replies from people that may of had little experience of the situation/problem(s) u post.. [but it still gives insight as to how others think]
Will definitely be posting some hands on here. Ideally I would like to find some hands which go to showdown and involve action at every stage. Admittedly that doesn"t apply to too many hands, but with in excess of 10000 this month, I shouldn"t have to wait too long before something suitable pops up
Post by: monkeyman on January 31, 2011, 22:17:22 PM
Hours played - 87
Hands - 11398
loss - 1180 x bb
Loss rate - 10.35 bb per 100 hands - ouch
Post by: monkeyman on February 01, 2011, 21:56:56 PM
Minutes Played - 122
Hands - 185
Profit - 46.5 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on February 03, 2011, 22:17:31 PM
1) 10 hands in and I"m all-in preflop with Kings versus Aces and I lose
2) All in preflop with Kings versus Queens - win
3) In mid table with Tens and raise. The small blind, who has about a third of a full stack reraises. I shove, he calls and he turns over AK. There are aces on both the flop and turn - Lose
4) UTG +1 with Tens and raise. Player 2 before the button reraises, I shove and he has aces. I lose.
5) I"m on the button with Queens. There"s 1 limper and I raise,big blind min reraises,limper folds,I 4 bet and the big blind calls. The flop is 7c 9d 6s,big blind bets half the pot,I shove and he calls. My opponent has 8d 8c and needless to say has completes the straight on the river. Lose
6) I"m in midtable with ac qc. The cut-off calls, big blind reraises, I call,cut off folds. Flop is 5c 7c :2d: My opponent bets the pot,I shove,he calls and turns over aces. I lose
FFS Betfair, why?
Am I really unlucky or a fish who gets his chips in way too easily? Discuss
Post by: monkeyman on February 05, 2011, 22:24:46 PM
So, onto the poker and today has been a good one. For the first time in weeks I"ve been playing on 888 and I might just hang around for a while as I suspect this is the softest cash site of all.
Time played - 3.5 Hours
Hands - 434
Profit - 112 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on February 06, 2011, 22:12:52 PM
Today"s results
--------------
Minutes played - 168
Hands - 355
Profit - 87 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on February 07, 2011, 22:50:36 PM
--------------
Minutes played - 155
Hands - 296
Loss - 48 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on February 08, 2011, 23:03:46 PM
On top of that, I"ve been doing a bit more investigation in to my proposed trip to Cardiff in June and have stumbled across a bargain. Staying in Wales seems to be completely out of the question due to price, but plan B seems very much on, as I"ve found something in the midlands at a price which I had to look twice at to believe and within a few minutes drive of the G casino in Coventry where I"m thinking about spending the firday night. Anyone know what the tournament or cash action is like at the G on a friday?
Today"s results
--------------
Minutes played - 170
Hands - 333
Loss - 91 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on February 09, 2011, 11:15:51 AM
Back to back losing days, but strangely I"m really pleased with today"s effort as it could have been so much worse. Tonight I had 4 hands where pocket pairs were beaten by smaller pairs, aces cracked by 4 6 offsuit and flopped trip eights beaten by a rivered straight. All that and my loss was less than a single buy-in. I must have done something right.
On top of that, I"ve been doing a bit more investigation in to my proposed trip to Cardiff in June and have stumbled across a bargain. Staying in Wales seems to be completely out of the question due to price, but plan B seems very much on, as I"ve found something in the midlands at a price which I had to look twice at to believe and within a few minutes drive of the G casino in Coventry where I"m thinking about spending the firday night. Anyone know what the tournament or cash action is like at the G on a friday?
Today"s results
--------------
Minutes played - 170
Hands - 333
Loss - 91 x bb
Oh well, maybe the ATAP at Birmingham Airport isn"t such a bargain after all. Ok, the rooms are only £18 per night, but given the probability that I would have to park in an airport carpark with the cost that entails means that I"ve just scrubbed another possibility off my list. At the moment I"m leaning more towards staying in Coventry, at least on the friday night in question on the way to Wales, as there are a couple of possibilities in the £30 to £35 bracket as well as the hotel at the Ricoh Arena for £50 per night.
Post by: KarmaDope on February 09, 2011, 11:58:26 AM
Post by: monkeyman on February 09, 2011, 12:57:35 PM
Thought about Bristol, or Weston-super-Mare?
Can"t say I had although now that you mention it I will have a look. There"s a decent chance I will book separate accomodation for the friday and saturday nights. The event I should be attending, the Speedway Grandprix, starts at 5pm on saturday 25th of June and will run for around three hours. By the time the meeting finishes,I"ve got out of the stadium, got back to the car and found my way out of Cardiff, having to drive two to two-and-a-half hours back to the midlands probably isn"t ideal. So far I"ve looked at a Travelodge on the M4 and a Holiday Inn in Gloucester/Cheltenham but will definitely explore other options.
Incidently, my only previous visit to Cardiff was a couple of year"s ago for an APAT event and I had the pleasure of spending a couple of hours with Liv Boeree sitting to my right. Last night I watched Channel 4"s coverage of the UKIPT and she was doing the expert analysis. Add that to her EPT win and the online victory last week I"m beginning to think that maybe I should claim the percentage I"m entitled to for all the advice I gave her. Maybe.
Post by: monkeyman on February 09, 2011, 20:14:26 PM
Post by: monkeyman on February 09, 2011, 23:34:26 PM
Today"s results
--------------
Minutes played - 94
Hands - 218
Profit - 154 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on February 12, 2011, 21:45:01 PM
Today"s results
--------------
Hands - 693
Profit - 97 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on February 14, 2011, 21:30:24 PM
Results
-------
Minutes played - 117
Hands - 326
Profit - 194 x bb
Post by: Paulie_D on February 14, 2011, 22:12:01 PM
If Chris Ferguson can do it...he would have done it by now!
Then again, I"ve been drinking.
Post by: monkeyman on February 14, 2011, 23:25:32 PM
I"m sorry but perhaps it"s me...but this blog is about as interesting as watch paint dry.
If Chris Ferguson can do it...he would have done it by now!
Then again, I"ve been drinking.
Fair enough. You could always try posting an apology on here before I disappear you miserable sod. If someone acting as a moderator can take a pop at someone who has been on here for as long I as have, this organisation is screwed. Beer is not an excuse.
Post by: duke3016 on February 14, 2011, 23:32:31 PM
I"m sorry but perhaps it"s me...but this blog is about as interesting as watch paint dry.
If Chris Ferguson can do it...he would have done it by now!
Then again, I"ve been drinking.
not your finest moment
Post by: Paulie_D on February 14, 2011, 23:37:41 PM
I"m sorry but perhaps it"s me...but this blog is about as interesting as watch paint dry.
If Chris Ferguson can do it...he would have done it by now!
Then again, I"ve been drinking.
Fair enough. You could always try posting an apology on here before I disappear you miserable sod. If someone acting as a moderator can take a pop at someone who has been on here for as long I as have, this organisation is screwed. Beer is not an excuse.
Me being a mod is irrelevant but you are quite right and I apologise unreservedly
Post by: Paulie_D on February 14, 2011, 23:38:49 PM
I"m sorry but perhaps it"s me...but this blog is about as interesting as watch paint dry.
If Chris Ferguson can do it...he would have done it by now!
Then again, I"ve been drinking.
not your finest moment
Yep....mea culpa.
It had been a bad day and I took it out where it didn"t belong.
Post by: monkeyman on February 15, 2011, 00:31:31 AM
I"m sorry but perhaps it"s me...but this blog is about as interesting as watch paint dry.
If Chris Ferguson can do it...he would have done it by now!
Then again, I"ve been drinking.
Fair enough. You could always try posting an apology on here before I disappear you miserable sod. If someone acting as a moderator can take a pop at someone who has been on here for as long I as have, this organisation is screwed. Beer is not an excuse.
Me being a mod is irrelevant but you are quite right and I apologise unreservedly
Accepted
Post by: Swinebag on February 16, 2011, 22:08:32 PM
Post by: Marty719 on February 17, 2011, 08:28:04 AM
Keep it up.
Post by: monkeyman on February 20, 2011, 22:38:34 PM
Before I get stuck into the real point of tonight"s post, a few words of explanation. When I started writing this blog, I went for a light-hearted vibe. There are one or two pieces of serious writing hidden away in there somewhere, but over a period of time I became bored of what I was doing and to be perfectly honest, there are other people on this site who do that kind of thing several times better.
When I recently restarted posting on here, my poker world was a completely different place. I"ve said this before and I"ll say it again, but after several years of (successfully,profitably) messing around with tournaments, I decided that I wanted to take the game a lot more seriously. I was looking to see whether it was possible to turn something I feel I"m pretty good at into a relatively steady flow of money in to one of my bank accounts. Once I"d sussed that messing around with different variants wasn"t doing me any good and I"d experienced a eureka moment when Hold'em manager was demonstrated to me, I decided I"d turn myself into a cash player. January was a painful month, but I wanted to completely rip my game to pieces and start from scratch, so I was expecting a slow start. February has been a completely different beast and at the moment I"m flying. Yes, it may partly be as a result of lots of good cards, but I also know that I"m not getting involved in situations that got me into trouble a few weeks ago.
So why the concentration on statistics? Well, the reasons are twofold. Firstly, whenever I read of anyone either winning a tournament or a large sum in a cash game, part of me always asks "yeah, that"s all very well, but how much have you lost in chasing that moment of glory? What is your bottom line?". Secondly, its a means of keeping an eye on myself. I will mention my bad days as well as the good days, the losses as well as the triumphs, the errors as well as the genius plays. I feel strongly that if I"m going to post anything at all it has to be warts-and-all, so if sometimes that means this is slightly hard going, that"s too bad, there are plenty of other things to read. With that in mind, if anyone is interested, at the moment I"m only playing 5 cent/10 cent games. Not much to boast about I know, but with me taking a detailed look at my game, I felt I had to start at the bottom and work my way up. I think I"m capable of making money a lot higher that, but rather than just thinking it, I"m going to damn well prove it.
So, onto the results for the weekend and everything is smelling of roses
Combined results 19th and 20th March 2011
------------------------------------------
Minutes played - 350
Hands - 984
Profits - 492 x bb
Post by: duke3016 on February 21, 2011, 00:13:05 AM
so if sometimes that means this is slightly hard going, that"s too bad, there are plenty of other things to read. With that in mind, if anyone is interested
I am keep it going
Post by: duke3016 on February 21, 2011, 00:23:54 AM
Post by: monkeyman on February 21, 2011, 22:34:43 PM
Today"s results
--------------
Minutes played - 69
Hands - 200
Profit - 135 x bb
Post by: Swinebag on February 21, 2011, 23:28:54 PM
What stakes are you playing btw
Post by: monkeyman on February 22, 2011, 15:55:32 PM
You are running well here Simon. Anything particular that you are doing that you weren"t doing before (though you have been a winning player for a while)
What stakes are you playing btw
Stakes - only 5 cent/10 cent at the moment but not for much longer. I"ve certainly been a winning tournament player for some time and I managed to luckbox my way to a healthy profit playing various cash games last year, but so far this year I"ve not played a single tournament other than 2 freerolls and have not played a single hand of anything other than no limit hold"em. In an effort to keep this brief,I"ll try and condense as much as possible into bullet points:
1) Site selection is crucial. I avoid any sites open to USA players and have a strong preference for being able to move funds freely in and out of my account via a debit card. In January the bulk of my hands were on an IPoker skin, but found the default play I fell into revolved around 3 and 4 betting in button v blind situations and little else. 888 players are the worst anywhere, shoving with any 2 cards on occasion and turning it into a game of bingo rather than poker. I"m currently playing exclusively on Betfair not because of the APAT connection, but predominantly the players seem to have a vague clue about what they are doing and are very weak; a combination which I think is perfect for extracting maximum value. Having 40% rakeback certainly helps as well.
2) I never sit down in a seat with anyone with greater than 1.5 times the max buy-in within 2 seats either side of me (unless I"ve played them before and they are exceptionally weak) and always reposition my avatar so that I"m in the same seat at every table every time I play.
3) Remember that AK is no more than a drawing hand. I"m now more ready to ditch it after the flop and probably play it in a similar way to low 1-gap starting hands, except that I"m more inclined to raise Ak in early position than the lesser hand.
4) I almost always raise into a pot rather than limp. I"ll only ever limp to add a bit of variety to my play after I"ve been at a table for a while.
5) I almost never slow play. My experience is that playing hands fast doesn"t lose too many customers and slow-playing is simply asking for someone to catch up and steal your pot. If I flop an absolute monster I will slow-play, but there are very few situations where I will do this to showdown.
6) I will rarely play any pair below pocket tens unless in the final 3/4 seats before/including the button.
7) If the action folds to me in the small blind I raise with any two cards.
8 ) If the action folds to me on the button, I will raise with most holdings. Most players are smart enough to spot this and will reraise, so with this in mind, under these circumstances I will 4 bet with any 2 cards
9) If faced with a single raiser in front of me, I will either 3 bet or fold regardless of whether I have a hand or am bullying. At this level, if someone raises then 4 bets without going all in they have aces. If they 4 bet all in they occasionally have aces, most frequently have AK but could have almost anything.
10) Using hold"em manager to assess 3 bet frequency is invaluable when deciding who to target with 3 or 4 betting.
11) Remember that at lowly levels most players will never give up on a good stating hand, so don"t be too proud to ditch your aces if the board looks as though it could have hit a number of possible decent stating hands and they bet beyond the flop.
12) Be lucky
Post by: Swinebag on February 22, 2011, 16:01:54 PM
8 ) If the action folds to me on the button, I will raise with most holdings. Most players are smart enough to spot this and will reraise, so with this in mind, under these circumstances I will 4 bet with any 2 cards
Post by: Des on February 22, 2011, 18:12:25 PM
7) If the action folds to me in the small blind I raise with any two cards.
When I played a bit, PT highlighted I was leaking a small (excuse the pun) fortune with loose play while in the SB. Quite probably just me.
Post by: Swinebag on February 22, 2011, 21:22:24 PM
Great post, only query I would personally have is with:
7) If the action folds to me in the small blind I raise with any two cards.
When I played a bit, PT highlighted I was leaking a small (excuse the pun) fortune with loose play while in the SB. Quite probably just me.
I think everyone loses in the SB in the long run.
Does making up the blinds count as loose play, because that would be a major leak. I"m pretty sure raising isn"t too bad.
I tend to give a load of walks and will only raise with top 5 hands ;) ;)
Post by: monkeyman on February 22, 2011, 22:46:18 PM
Great post, only query I would personally have is with:
7) If the action folds to me in the small blind I raise with any two cards.
When I played a bit, PT highlighted I was leaking a small (excuse the pun) fortune with loose play while in the SB. Quite probably just me.
Entirely fair comment. The thinking behind this is that playing at a lowly level the players tend to be weak/loose and they don"t often respond unless they"ve got something. As a result, this becomes a play which will never make huge sums but over the long term will produce a positive return. Having said that, I strongly suspect that not too many steps up the ladder when the players are a bit stronger and tend to fight back a bit more, letting the big blind have a walk will become the preferable option.
So onto tonight"s action and I got away with completely misplaying one hand. I was in late positition with pocket Kings and the player to my right limped. I standard raised and he called. The flop was td :3h: 7c, opponent checked, I bet three-quarters pot and he called. Turn was 6h, he again checked, I bet three quarters pot and he check/raised. How dare he disrespect my Kings? I called. The river was qs, he shoved, I called and he revealed pocket threes which of course became trips on the flop. I was furious at not getting away from this one as at this level, players just don"t check/raise without a monster. I really should have folded when I was check/raised. Maybe this is conclusive proof that playing 3 tables whilst chatting to an ex girlfriend on Facebook is not a +EV play.
Today"s results
--------------
Minutes played - 121
Hands - 366
Profit - 42 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on February 22, 2011, 22:48:53 PM
Great post, only query I would personally have is with:
7) If the action folds to me in the small blind I raise with any two cards.
When I played a bit, PT highlighted I was leaking a small (excuse the pun) fortune with loose play while in the SB. Quite probably just me.
I think everyone loses in the SB in the long run.
Does making up the blinds count as loose play, because that would be a major leak. I"m pretty sure raising isn"t too bad.
I tend to give a load of walks and will only raise with top 5 hands ;) ;)
Only raise with top five hands? When did you loosen-up that much?
Post by: ronaldo07 on February 23, 2011, 09:47:55 AM
Is the 40% rakeback on betfair available to existing players?
Great posts btw
Post by: monkeyman on February 23, 2011, 15:56:51 PM
Monkeyman I"m currently playing 5/10 cents nl on boss/ft/stars with varying success.
Is the 40% rakeback on betfair available to existing players?
Great posts btw
I was given the rakeback when Betfair moved from their independent software to the Ongame network, so I don"t think its freely available at the moment.
If you"re playing low stakes cash games, it might be worth steering clear of Full Tilt and Pokerstars. They may well be the two best sites, but they also attract the best players and there is a noticeable difference in standard between them and some of the no-american-players sites. Finding the softest games is as important for a cash player as the standard of your own play, so it might be worth having a look at the Ipoker/888/Ongame networks instead.
Post by: monkeyman on February 23, 2011, 23:29:51 PM
I won"t be able to play for a few days as I"ve got a gig tomorrow (The Go Team),beer and clubbing friday,then another gig on saturday (Terrorvision).
Today"s results
--------------
Minutes played - 128
Hands - 337
Loss - 175 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on February 27, 2011, 21:19:13 PM
1) Apart from myself, two other players were involved in the hand in question and I"d not played either of them before
2) UTG had around a third of the maximum buy-in and the button had me comfortably covered ( I always keep myself topped-up to the max)
3) UTG raised 4 x bb
4) I"m in mid-table with qs qd and reraise to 12.5xbb
5) Button calls
6) UTG shoves
7) I also shove
8 ) Button folds
9) UTG shows ah kc which is what I thought he had
Would anyone have taken a different line?
Post by: Swinebag on February 27, 2011, 22:00:50 PM
Post by: TheSnapper on February 27, 2011, 23:10:37 PM
Post by: monkeyman on February 28, 2011, 20:36:29 PM
3 betting an unknown utg raiser with QQ is not adviseable, mostly you end up chasing away those hands you have value against or playing a big pot versus a range that crushes your hand.
No. Just proves it"s not always aces
Thanks for that guys. As well as what you"ve said, the thing this hand brought home (although not necessarily evident in what happened) was that I tend to be looser when I"m in a pot with someone I"ve got easily covered. Something to work on me thinks. You"ve probably guessed that I lost the hand in question, but probably didn"t guess that my opponents ace became the lower end of a runner-runner straight.
February seems to have flown by and thankfully my results are much better than January. There"s a week in March when I won"t be playing at all, 12th to the 19th, but I may relent and throw in a tournament or two or if things start well, take a look at the nex buy-in up.
February results
---------------
Time played - 50 hours (ish)
Hands - 6925
Profit - 914 x bb
Monthly win rate - 13.2 bb per 100 hands
Post by: noble1 on March 02, 2011, 03:10:23 AM
After a few days of not playing, i returned to a non-event, damp squib of a session, where nothing of interest happened. My profit and loss boiled down to one hand, so without giving my figures for tonight, I thought I"d post the hand in question and invite comment. Ok here goes.................
1) Apart from myself, two other players were involved in the hand in question and I"d not played either of them before
2) UTG had around a third of the maximum buy-in and the button had me comfortably covered ( I always keep myself topped-up to the max)
3) UTG raised 4 x bb
4) I"m in mid-table with qs qd and reraise to 12.5xbb
5) Button calls
6) UTG shoves
7) I also shove
8 ) Button folds
9) UTG shows ah kc which is what I thought he had
Would anyone have taken a different line?
Depending on how loose they open, i'll repop with either a 1:1 nuts:air ratio, 1:2, or even 1:3... all depends on the players behind which ratio i"d use.... a UTG raiser no reads my default 3BET ratio would be - AA KK 45s 56s 67s a 1:1 ratio.. AA KK obv i call any 4bet shove, if my 3bet is called by UTG or by someone behind then if i have 45s 56s 67s which still can flop big, these are +EV in a vacuum because our hand is so deceptive plus hopefully the opponent/s will still perceive us to be on AA KK... In general i"d stick to 1:1 but if the table dynamics allow then i"d expand my air range versus a very loose UTG raiser to 1:2, AA KK still plus adding more SC"s 1gapper SC"s.....
Something for u to have a think about anyhows, especially as u move up in stakes....
Post by: monkeyman on March 02, 2011, 16:20:45 PM
After a few days of not playing, i returned to a non-event, damp squib of a session, where nothing of interest happened. My profit and loss boiled down to one hand, so without giving my figures for tonight, I thought I"d post the hand in question and invite comment. Ok here goes.................
1) Apart from myself, two other players were involved in the hand in question and I"d not played either of them before
2) UTG had around a third of the maximum buy-in and the button had me comfortably covered ( I always keep myself topped-up to the max)
3) UTG raised 4 x bb
4) I"m in mid-table with qs qd and reraise to 12.5xbb
5) Button calls
6) UTG shoves
7) I also shove
8 ) Button folds
9) UTG shows ah kc which is what I thought he had
Would anyone have taken a different line?
Depending on how loose they open, i'll repop with either a 1:1 nuts:air ratio, 1:2, or even 1:3... all depends on the players behind which ratio i"d use.... a UTG raiser no reads my default 3BET ratio would be - AA KK 45s 56s 67s a 1:1 ratio.. AA KK obv i call any 4bet shove, if my 3bet is called by UTG or by someone behind then if i have 45s 56s 67s which still can flop big, these are +EV in a vacuum because our hand is so deceptive plus hopefully the opponent/s will still perceive us to be on AA KK... In general i"d stick to 1:1 but if the table dynamics allow then i"d expand my air range versus a very loose UTG raiser to 1:2, AA KK still plus adding more SC"s 1gapper SC"s.....
Something for u to have a think about anyhows, especially as u move up in stakes....
Cheers
Post by: monkeyman on March 02, 2011, 21:32:31 PM
Post by: ronaldo07 on March 02, 2011, 22:30:35 PM
Ive played a bit on Betfair since u recomended the 10NL on there: +5.5 buyins over 1K hands so far.
Cheers
Post by: monkeyman on March 03, 2011, 19:40:01 PM
Gala Harbourside has a £33 FO 5K chips 20 min blinds.
Ive played a bit on Betfair since u recomended the 10NL on there: +5.5 buyins over 1K hands so far.
Cheers
Worth bearing in mind. Do they play cash at The harbourside or The Grosvenor?
Well done on the profits. Stick with it, there"s gold in them thar hills
Post by: monkeyman on March 03, 2011, 21:27:25 PM
Today"s results
--------------
Minutes played - 136
Hands - 262
Profit - 48 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on March 04, 2011, 21:19:13 PM
First up, we"ve got a band who evoke memories of my first trip to Vegas. I was at Atlanta Airport waiting for a connecting flight listening to an MP3 player I"d borrowed from my brother-in-law. This was the first time I"d heard this band and whenever I hear this track, it takes me back to a few minutes of staring over the runway at Atlanta Airport watching the sun go down, getting ever more excited about the days ahead.
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KazJKjBvyRI[/youtube]
So onto the poker. I tried playing a buy-in higher than usual tonight and it didn"t really work out. I stuck to playing 3 tables and initially I was playing more passively than usual, calling where I would probably have raised normally. I had an accident quite early losing most of my stack by flopping top pair/top kicker against an opponent whose small pair had hit trips, recovered by redicovering my mojo, then ran what I thought was a winning hand into quad kings. I think the lesson from this is that I have absolutely nothing to worry about in terms of playing standard, but I don"t think my bankroll has sufficient depth to resist a sustained bad spell, so for the time being, i will stay where I am.
Tonight"s results
---------------
Minutes played - 106
Hands - 295
Loss - 147 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on March 05, 2011, 21:37:55 PM
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CbAjj80NIM [/youtube]
After last night"s exploratory effort, I dropped back to 5 cent/10 cent level and had another good one.
Today"s results
--------------
minutes played - 245
Hands - 652
Profit - 122 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on March 06, 2011, 21:45:44 PM
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao-Sahfy7Hg[/youtube]
With the safety net of a few extra quid in my Betfair account courtesy of a 14-1 winner at Newbury yesterday, I had another crack at 10 cent/20 cent tonight. This time it went a lot better and I"d like to pretend it was because I"d made further adjustments to my game, but I played like an idiot an got away with murder.
Today"s results
--------------
Minutes played - 125
Hands - 286
Profit - 90 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on March 07, 2011, 23:20:12 PM
I did my best to throw my chips away tonight. First hand folded to the button who raised 5 x bb. I had aces and reraised 15 x bb and the button called. Flop was 9 4 3 rainbow, I c bet, opponent raised, rather than hit the all-in button, I accidently hit fold. Doh! First hand on one of my other tables I managed to get most of my stack in with Jacks against Kings. 2 Hands and already a buy-in down. Fortunately, I could fall in a dung heap and come up smelling of roses at the moment, so managed to turn another tidy profit, again at 10cent/20 cent.
Today"s results
--------------
Minutes - 135
Hands - 428
Profit - 43 x bb - should have been 143 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on March 08, 2011, 21:52:48 PM
Tonight"s Results
----------------
Leicester 2 Norwich 3
Minutes - 112
Hands - 296
Profit - 75 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on March 08, 2011, 23:23:55 PM
Post by: monkeyman on March 09, 2011, 22:34:45 PM
First things first and I have to say how pleased I am that the APAT events are moving to 888. Firstly, Betfair is very much my first choice for cash games, but 888 is firmly in second place. In addition, my experience is that the tables move quicker on 888 than on any other site, so more hands played=more skillful deepstacks in my opinion. Top result that one and I look forward to playing as many of the online nationals as possible.
I didn"t exactly cover myself in glory tonight. Things didn"t really go my way until the last 30 minutes of my session, but my play tonight was weak and I kept getting involved in pots I had no right to play.
Tonight"s results
----------------
Minutes played - 261
Hands - 676
Loss - 91 x bb
Post by: ronaldo07 on March 10, 2011, 07:27:06 AM
They don"t promote their promos very well
Post by: monkeyman on March 10, 2011, 13:59:36 PM
You opted into the raked hand leaderboard promo on Betfair? I didn"t even notice it till last night.
They don"t promote their promos very well
I"ve tried to register on four occasions and each time the software has had a glitch which has menat I haven"t been able to record my interest. My experience of these promotions is that I don"t play enough hands on the site to get onto the leader board anyway so I"m not hugely fussed
Post by: monkeyman on March 10, 2011, 22:41:47 PM
I had one of those sessions I wish I could put in a box and bring out on special occasions. Three monsters in the first 30 minutes meant I didn"t have to try too hard to have my best session of the month so far. Looks like I can afford one of those $50 deepstack thingies they do on 888 occasionally.
Tonight"s results
---------------
Minutes - 88
Hands - 295
Profit - 192 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on March 11, 2011, 22:36:46 PM
Tonight"s results
----------------
Minutes - 117
Hands - 340
Profit - 44 x bb
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTd1SSYYyss[/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on March 19, 2011, 14:07:48 PM
I"m back from Stratford and what turned out to be a very profitable trip to the Cheltenham festival. After one winner (Sizing Australia) and a load of second places from the first two days, day three yielded winning bets on Big Bucks (10-11) and Junior (9-2). Yesterday turned into my best ever day at the festival with winners in each of the first three races (Zarkandar 13-2,Bobs Worth 9-4 and Final Approach 10-1) followed by a return from an each way bet on Indian Daudie (£6.20 place dividend on the Tote).
If I was to allow myself to be constrained by rigid rules governing the control of my bankroll, I wouldn"t play tonight"s online national as it represents a larger than advisable percentage of my account. However, I"ve decided to play in each of the nationals for the following reasons:
1) Cash play is going extremely well at present and over the course of the year, I expect the cost of entering all eight events ($440) to be covered several times over.
2) I have made profit from APAT online events in seasons 2,3 and 4, so I think there is a realistic prospect of returning a profit again this season.
3) If things go really well the potential upside is huge.
I don"t suppose too many other people will be going into tonight"s event having not played a single tournament for 3 months, but there"s only one way to find out if this will affect me.
Post by: monkeyman on March 20, 2011, 02:30:43 AM
Post by: Swinebag on March 20, 2011, 03:17:25 AM
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Post by: monkeyman on March 20, 2011, 07:03:22 AM
Pathetic work simon - 3 final tables in consecutive years and no wins - that is a terrible conversion rate IMO
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Oddly enough, although it was said in jest, I tend to agree that I should have taken down at least one of the three tournaments in question. Two years ago I think I was unfortunate as my departure hand saw me hitting top pair whilst my opponent, Paul Pitchford, hit the other two cards on the flop. Last year, I got my chips in as soon as I hit a flop and think that"s when I missed out on my best opportunity. There was one opponent I had in my pocket and overall the final table in 2010 wasn"t as strong as 2009, so there should have been plenty of opportunities for building my stack early on the final table I didn"t take. Last night I was very lucky. I don"t think I played at the top of my game, but seemed to find a hand whenever I needed one.
Last night"s result at least means I can underwrite the cost of entering the remaining seven nationals and one of them will have my name on it.
Post by: monkeyman on March 20, 2011, 16:48:17 PM
Today"s results
--------------
Minutes played - 73
Hands - 210
Loss - 181 x bb
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOVzXYEU3Bk[/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on March 21, 2011, 22:44:35 PM
After yesterday"s display of advanced muppetry I decided to drop myself back to 5 cent/10 cent level to try and rediscover my mojo. I can"t pretend I was on my "A" game, but I managed to find a couple of players who were even more f***-witted than myself and that"s the important thing.
Today"s results
--------------
Minutes - 158
Hands - 432
Profit - 93 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on March 22, 2011, 23:55:51 PM
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU9vToZ8ti4[/youtube]
Tonight"s session clocked-in at just over the three hour mark and for at least three quarters of that I sucked. I seemed to get back into the swing of things at the end and heaven knows how, I managed to scrape into profit.
Tonight"s results
--------------
Minutes played - 181
Hands - 503
Profit - 2 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on March 23, 2011, 21:58:34 PM
At last I"ve managed to drag my "A" game kicking and screaming back into the daylight. Tonight"s results weren"t spectacular by any stretch of the imagination, but I felt as if I was on the best form I"ve been on for a while.
Tonight"s results
----------------
Minutes - 120
Hands - 353
Profit - 68 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on March 24, 2011, 22:03:08 PM
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I was ticking along quite nicely tonight and then came what I"d planned on being my penultimate hand. I had aces in the small blind, the villain raised from early position with queens and to cut a long story short, I flopped trip aces, he had a straight on the turn and I lost the hand. I can cope with bad beats, but I get bloody annoyed with myself when I lose chips by betting just in case my instincts are wrong. What a plonker. Never mind, I still made a profit but it should have been a lot better. Grrrrrrrrrrrr.
Tonight"s results
----------------
Minutes - 128
Hands - 344
Profit - 18 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on March 26, 2011, 00:24:41 AM
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-AcuIOFmIs[/youtube]
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vyg1E2MaJfs[/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on March 30, 2011, 22:15:54 PM
Over the last few days I"ve had a bit of a change of scene. I"d found that I was playing increasingly poorly, so thought that a change of site might do the trick and it has. I"ve gone back to Winner Poker for the first time for a couple of months and I"m having a whale of a time as the optimum way of playing seems to be way more active than on Betfair. Ongame seems to be best played ultra-tight, but Ipoker seems to respond a whole lot better to a much higher bet frequency. Let"s face it, its a heck of a lot more fun to bully people off pots with precious little than wait for sound hands/situations
Results since switching sites
---------------------------
Time played - 7.75 hours
Hands - 1153
Profit - 489 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on March 31, 2011, 22:10:59 PM
Tonght"s Results
----------------
Minutes - 129
Hands - 402
Loss - 82 x bb
Tomorrow is a night off, as I"m paying a visit to the University of East Anglia (henceforth abbreviated to UEA) to see 4 Scandinavian heavy metal bands including this lot who are 2nd on the bill
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3WJX1cIuY4[/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on April 03, 2011, 22:46:15 PM
This weekend has been frustrating. Yesterday I played at the top of my game yet suffered a load of unfortunate reverses and, all things considered, I am pleased only lost a single buy-in. Today, I was all over the place, yet I hit sufficient big hands to scrape a few quid together. If only I"d had my head screwed-on throughout and resisted the temptation to have that big glass of red wine last night, things could have been so much better
Weekend"s results
-----------------
Time played - 7.66 hours
Hands - 1301
Profit - 68 x bb
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvIRY4vccts[/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on April 05, 2011, 23:50:59 PM
Onto the poker and I"m afraid Mr Tiltmonster came knocking on my door. I don"t know why, but from the word go tonight I was playing in a style I"ve never played in before. It wasn"t so much my bet frequency was higher than usual, but I was playing hands I"d not usually play and playing some hands in a way I"ve never played them. For two hours I was absolutely bloody unplayable, but in the final 18 minutes I suffered a number of unfortunate reverses and decided enough was enough when I started abusing an opponent after his AJ flopped a straight to take a pot away from my all-in preflop AK. Calling him a couple of choice names after surrending a whopping $10 pot suggested it was time to call it quits. OK I made a profit, but if I play like that every day, then I will make wads of cash.
Today"s results
--------------
Minutes - 138
Hands - 404
Profit - 25 x bb
For tonight"s music I"ve chosen a performer who, like a lot of those I"ve posted so far, I"ve had the pleasure of seeing live. A few years ago I caught him in the Norwich Arts Centre which is a converted church. On stage there was the man in question tapping a rhythm on with the heel of his boot, strumming a banjo and singing songs of heartbreak with a voice equal measures as rough as a drunken night in Great Yarmouth and as soothing as a hug from the wings of an angel. As soon as the first song started, my lower jaw hit the floor and it stayed there until my car pulled away from the nearby pay-and-display. I"ve got one of his albums and it has the rare distinction of sending a shiver down my spine no matter how many times I hear it.
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNhbSx8KV9A[/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on April 06, 2011, 22:29:55 PM
To-bleeding-night"s results
-------------------------
Minutes - 175
Hands - 521
Loss - 115 x bb
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzkeeGLhFWY[/youtube]
:"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"( :"(
Post by: monkeyman on April 07, 2011, 21:43:17 PM
Tonight"s results
----------------
Minutes - 150
Hands - 443
Profit - 66 x bb
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1uihI8UOM4[/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on April 08, 2011, 22:16:21 PM
As a matter of principle I tend to avoid the front few in the market and go hunting for a bit of value in the longer priced runners. I can see both State of Play and Character Building plodding round and possibly sneaking a bit of prize money, but I don"t see either as likely winners. One I do like a lot is Skippers Brig. From 9 starts over fences he has 5 wins and 2 thirds and has not yet fallen. In his last race Skippers Brig beat Ballybriggs and using the yardstick of 1 pound in weight equaling 1 length, the latter emerges from that run as a 2 pounds better horse, but carries 12 pounds more tomorrow. With that in mind, I find it incredible that Ballybriggs is 14-1 and Skippers Brig 40-1, so guess which I"ll be backing?
For my second bet, I"m stuck between a choice of two at big prices. I"ve always had a gut feeling that Calgary Bay could go well in a National. At first glance, his record might suggest that he is best at distances short of 3 miles, but there are occasions when he has been staying on at the end of that trip, so bearing mind that tomorrow"s race won"t be run at anything like the pace of a Cheltenham Gold Cup, i think there is every chance that 4.5 miles around Aintree will suit him. His last win was a very convincing one off a handicap mark of 142 in December 2009 at Doncaster and he runs off 146 in the big one. At 33-1 he could be tempting.
My third possible has the least convincing profile, but is a big enough price to make me think a bit. Dooneys Gate has done a fair chunk of his racing at 2 to 2.5 miles, but a check back through his record suggests that the most valuable races he has been aimed at are over further. He has had a clear round over the national fences, 4th in last year"s Topham chase, and whilst I"m not convinced that he is spectacularly well handicapped, his last race was a very comfortable off a mark of 144, so tomorrow"s rating of 154 is fair but not OTT. I think he is much,much better that the 100-1 shot he currently is in places.
Today"s results
--------------
Minutes - 193
Handa - 591
Profit - 132 x bb
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dael4sb42nI[/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on April 09, 2011, 12:19:37 PM
Post by: monkeyman on April 10, 2011, 18:40:50 PM
Post by: monkeyman on April 14, 2011, 21:54:04 PM
Not huge profits, but I feel like I"ve learnt a heck of a lot over the last couple of days. I"ve been concentrating on BlueSquare"s 10c/20c tables and my last 2 sessions have followed similar patterns: go a few dollars up, lose a couple of hands, start to get pushed around a bit, get cheesed-off with myself that I"m getting pushed around,start firing out a few crazy bets, then return to profit. All I"ve got to do now is find the guts to play like a mad thing for 2 or 3 hours at a time and things could get very interesting. If nothing else, its a heck of a lot of fun playing poker when you"re throwing your chips around.
Last 2 session"s results
----------------------
Minutes - 384
Hands - 1222
Profit - 14 x bb
Post by: monkeyman on April 17, 2011, 23:39:24 PM
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P7Zd-x2QXw[/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on April 18, 2011, 19:15:12 PM
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqgXzPfAxjo[/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on April 21, 2011, 21:50:20 PM
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD2D6eter7M[/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on April 23, 2011, 11:50:45 AM
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHM2oozNoSY[/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on April 29, 2011, 23:37:45 PM
Post by: monkeyman on May 01, 2011, 14:22:12 PM
Post by: duke3016 on May 01, 2011, 14:57:21 PM
It looks like fate has decided to play a hand. My current PC has thrown a wobbly, so until a new graphics card and some more memory arrive in the post I"ve got to make other arrangements. I"ve got a choice of either my old PC which has Windows 2000 or my even older laptop with Windows 98. What this all means is that I don"t have access to Hold'em Manager (which requires at least Windows XP), so without that tool to use, I"ll be playing tournaments only. A part of me thinks this is not a bad thing at all
;D watch the results improve ::)
Post by: monkeyman on May 01, 2011, 19:45:15 PM
It looks like fate has decided to play a hand. My current PC has thrown a wobbly, so until a new graphics card and some more memory arrive in the post I"ve got to make other arrangements. I"ve got a choice of either my old PC which has Windows 2000 or my even older laptop with Windows 98. What this all means is that I don"t have access to Hold'em Manager (which requires at least Windows XP), so without that tool to use, I"ll be playing tournaments only. A part of me thinks this is not a bad thing at all
;D watch the results improve ::)
Not playing for a few days would also improve my results!
Post by: monkeyman on May 01, 2011, 21:26:19 PM
It looks like fate has decided to play a hand. My current PC has thrown a wobbly, so until a new graphics card and some more memory arrive in the post I"ve got to make other arrangements. I"ve got a choice of either my old PC which has Windows 2000 or my even older laptop with Windows 98. What this all means is that I don"t have access to Hold'em Manager (which requires at least Windows XP), so without that tool to use, I"ll be playing tournaments only. A part of me thinks this is not a bad thing at all
;D watch the results improve ::)
Ger, you are a genius. Already I have made a whopping $2.95 from a freeroll on Betfred. World domination awaits
Post by: monkeyman on May 02, 2011, 16:39:41 PM
It looks like fate has decided to play a hand. My current PC has thrown a wobbly, so until a new graphics card and some more memory arrive in the post I"ve got to make other arrangements. I"ve got a choice of either my old PC which has Windows 2000 or my even older laptop with Windows 98. What this all means is that I don"t have access to Hold'em Manager (which requires at least Windows XP), so without that tool to use, I"ll be playing tournaments only. A part of me thinks this is not a bad thing at all
;D watch the results improve ::)
Nearly did have something to celebrate. I took that $2.95 from the freeroll and invested it in a $2.40 sng which I won. I then won 2 more which was interesting as there is a bonus of $2000 for anyone winning 4 on the trot. Having won 3, the twelve starting players had been whittled down to 4 when I shoved,got called,hit 2 pair and saw my opponent hit a runner/runner flush. I suppose I shouldn"t complain as I"d had a lot of luck up to that point; its just a shame it happened when there was a lot at stake. Next time.
Cash tables? Pah, nasty things!
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TehFZ38kt6o[/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on May 06, 2011, 23:18:48 PM
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWbNRGV8jL0[/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on May 07, 2011, 18:58:11 PM
Post by: monkeyman on May 07, 2011, 21:48:58 PM
Post by: monkeyman on May 08, 2011, 19:51:55 PM
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbxcwPuYkkE [/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on May 09, 2011, 22:45:42 PM
Post by: monkeyman on May 15, 2011, 19:08:53 PM
As luck would have it I"ve had little time to play in the last few days. I"ve recently decided to do some voluntary work and because I don"t like taking the easy option, I signed-up for the Norfolk Mental Health Befriending service. After CRB checks and training are completed I"ll meet once a week with someone who has a serious long-term mental health condition and who finds themself socially isolated. These people get referred to the volunteer scheme by social workers within the Norwich-based specialist mental health team and mostly have either Schizophrenia or Bipolar disorder. I have no previous experience of dealing with these conditions, but luckily I"ve got some well-informed contacts within Social Services who have been kind enough to point me towards some reference material. Therefore some of what was previously poker time is now being taken up by something altogether more rewarding. Sometimes playing cards just isn"t that important.
Post by: monkeyman on May 19, 2011, 00:18:04 AM
I"m also aware that I"ve been neglecting my blogging duties of late and as its 10 days since I posted my last video by a Scandinavian heavy metal band, here"s another one.
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu2bgwcv43o[/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on May 19, 2011, 17:53:24 PM
Post by: monkeyman on May 19, 2011, 19:16:41 PM
And now for something completely different. Earlier this week,those kind souls at Pokerstars placed a token worth $11 in my account to be used as entry into a SCOOP event. At the time of receipt, there were only 3 tournaments remaining of that value and of those, there was only one I could feasibly play. Tonight"s the night and, joy of joy, its an Omaha hi/lo competition. Like most variants, I"ve dabbled in Omaha hi/lo cash play and had a very successful 2 months last summer before I inexplicably decided to try something else. Having said that, I am also capable of playing the game far worse than any other poker type, so who knows which me will turn up tonight? Maybe I"ll take the safe option and try and fold my way into the money.
Woo hoo. 14 minutes in and I"ve just gone from 5K to 11K in one hand ;D
Post by: monkeyman on May 19, 2011, 21:58:24 PM
Post by: monkeyman on May 19, 2011, 22:57:22 PM
Post by: monkeyman on May 19, 2011, 23:45:56 PM
Post by: jbworldwide on May 20, 2011, 01:07:52 AM
finished 203rd
Post by: Chipaccrual on May 20, 2011, 01:17:11 AM
I"m still in this, did exactly the same as you and used my token
+1
Post by: monkeyman on May 20, 2011, 07:34:12 AM
Post by: jbworldwide on May 20, 2011, 10:17:44 AM
Don"t know about you guys, but I the standard of play in this was terrible
I late regged and just sat there patiently, the general standard seems poor, but then I am not great I am just patient.
Post by: monkeyman on May 21, 2011, 21:49:19 PM
Don"t know about you guys, but I the standard of play in this was terrible
I late regged and just sat there patiently, the general standard seems poor, but then I am not great I am just patient.
Not a bad idea at all. I"ll definitely be keeping my eye on low value hi/lo events in the next series Pokerstars do as so few people seemed to know the basics of how to play the game.I"m no great shakes at them either, but there is definitely an opportunity for some serious money in one of these due to the amount of dead wood
Post by: monkeyman on June 01, 2011, 14:10:26 PM
In 3 weeks I will probably be making one of my rarer-than-a-straight-bloke-who-doesn"t-fancy-Pippa-Middleton forays into live poker. As mentioned previously on this blog, I am heading to Cardiff on Saturday 25th June for the Speedway Grandprix. As I"ve got the preceding week off work, I"m going to make the journey in stages. On that friday, I will be in the Somerset/Severn Bridge area and on the thursday I should be paying a visit to the Grosvenor at Walsall. I admit its my least favourite Grosvenor that I"ve been to (TheVic,Coventry,Luton,Cardiff,Bolton,Walsall - Great yarmouth doesn"t really count as it feels more like a big private home than a casino), but their schedule currently shows a 8000 chip,£25 freezeout on thursday afternoon at 4.30pm and that looks like a pretty decent reason to stop off en route. Shame they haven"t got something like that at Coventry the same afternoon/evening.
Post by: monkeyman on June 05, 2011, 16:33:12 PM
I"m getting dead excited as tonight I"m off to see this lot play their first gig in five years
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRYNYb30nxU[/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on June 12, 2011, 10:15:24 AM
Its not all bad news though as my cash play seems healthier now than it ever has been, so maybe my system problems have been a blessing in disguise. Over the past couple of weeks I"ve been concentrating on Betfair"s 5-handed tables and its been quite a revelation. Over the past few months I"ve had far more profitable than loss making cash sessions, but when I"m bad,I"m really bad. I can honestly say I"ve not made any glaring errors since my recent attempt to play the smaller tables started and all the schoolboy errors I was making in full-ring games (playing for too long,playing when tired,not getting away from big starting hands,tilting too easily) seem to have disappeared for now. Playing 2 five-handed tables for short,sharp sessions seems to be much more me than spending hours in front of 3 ten player tables.
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP67H4qfe5w[/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on June 13, 2011, 12:05:20 PM
Tourney number 2 was a 5 euro deepstack on Ladbrokes at 7.30pm. I"ve not played in it for a while and its a curious beast. Not only is it 8-handed, but the, normally several hundred, players can be divided into 2 camps; two-thirds are utterly incompetent and will happily go all-in during the first level (250xbb starting stack) with either flopped top pair or any pocket pair. Negotiate the first hour, preferably with a double-up and things settle down a bit. If you get to the last 80 or so players the tournament changes character completely, as by that stage most players know what they are doing and the standard of play is worthy of a higher buy-in. I managed to double-up on the second hand of the first level, although as if to illustrate my point about the volatile nature of the early stages, I was only in eighth place when I did! I eventually departed in 23rd place (from 291 starters). With around 12-13 x bb I shoved with pocket jacks, got a caller (pocket sixes) and flopped a full house to put me into 10th place. The next hand I was in the big blind with pocket queens, the action folded to the tournament leader on the button who raised,I shoved he called with aces and it was all over. For around 3.75 hours play I made a profit of 9 euros.
I think both tournaments suggested to me that my tournament play is as healthy as its ever been and there"s a sizeable win waiting just around the corner. World domination could yet be mine. Hmm, maybe.
Post by: monkeyman on June 16, 2011, 22:49:59 PM
258 players started and the payout went to 32nd place. There are 33 players left, I have approximately 26000 chips, blinds are 500/1000 with a 100 ante and I am in 18th/19th place. The action folds to me in the cut-off where I make a standard raise with pocket queens. The only other action is from the small blind, who has double my stack and goes all-in. I look at the list of remaining players and see that in last place is someone with a mere 2890 chips, but I make the call. My opponent has AK. The question is what happened next (answer below)
There was an ace on the river meaning I was eliminated on the bubble whereas winning the hand would have put me comfortably in the top 10. Sigh............ One time. :"(
Post by: monkeyman on June 17, 2011, 23:35:11 PM
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWChhdIgT6Q[/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on June 21, 2011, 17:03:20 PM
Its now only 48 hours until I play my first live poker since last November at Coventry. Walsall on thursday afternoon is the place and much as I disliked the venue on my only previous visit, I"m really looking forward to it. I am currently toying with the idea of getting my specially commisioned, bright yellow "Idrivetractors" t-shirt out of storage to mark the occasion,but I suspect that plan will go the same way as the one regarding the wearing of a Norwich City shirt in Cardiff on saturday; into the folder marked "Not the best idea you"ve ever had"
Post by: thinsy147 on June 21, 2011, 17:31:56 PM
Post by: monkeyman on June 26, 2011, 12:07:36 PM
Good luck in Walsall ;)
Hurrah and Huzzah! I have now cashed in a UK casino outside Norfolk thanks to my 4th place from 21 runners which netted me £50 for my £30 invested. Surely being a Pokerstars pro is now only just around the corner.
Post by: thinsy147 on June 27, 2011, 10:57:48 AM
Good luck in Walsall ;)
Hurrah and Huzzah! I have now cashed in a UK casino outside Norfolk thanks to my 4th place from 21 runners which netted me £50 for my £30 invested. Surely being a Pokerstars pro is now only just around the corner.
I"ve just telephoned Stratton Motor Company (the local Aston Martin dealership for those who wouldn"t know) and told them..........
Not to wait up for you! :P
Post by: monkeyman on July 12, 2011, 10:58:29 AM
In addition, because I"m bored witless of my current job and with continued government attacks on public servants, I"m looking to branch out a little. Starting from almost no capital I"m looking to make a few quid off my own back. Initially I"ll have a few t-shirts printed which I intend selling on Ebay and, assuming I sell anything at all, reinvesting in more t-shirts and so on. Hopefully this time next year I"ll be a millionaire!
Post by: monkeyman on July 12, 2011, 14:30:37 PM
Post by: monkeyman on July 12, 2011, 19:47:26 PM
Post by: monkeyman on July 13, 2011, 19:48:00 PM
Post by: monkeyman on July 16, 2011, 22:05:48 PM
Time for a music video methinks
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FuGSCHECoU[/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on July 19, 2011, 20:35:30 PM
This happened a few minutes ago on a 6-handed cash table on Blue Square and I"d be interested to hear what other people think. The action folded to me on the button with jd td and both blinds called. The flop came 9 6 3 with two diamonds. The small blind c-bet the flop,big blind folded, I shoved and after a delay,the small blind called with pocket tens. The turn was an 8,giving me an open-ended straight draw to go with my flush draw but I failed to hit and lost a buy-in. My question is as I was only a few hands into a stint on a new table against opponents I had no information on, was I too hasty to fire my chips in, or is it perfectly legitimate to do so on the flop with two overcards and a flush draw?
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wws7mnMewPw [/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on July 23, 2011, 19:55:31 PM
Post by: monkeyman on July 23, 2011, 21:00:26 PM
Post by: monkeyman on July 23, 2011, 22:58:54 PM
Post by: monkeyman on November 01, 2011, 14:26:01 PM
Post by: monkeyman on November 01, 2011, 21:35:57 PM
Post by: Santino67 on November 05, 2011, 08:56:39 AM
Post by: monkeyman on November 05, 2011, 12:01:32 PM
Post by: monkeyman on November 05, 2011, 13:08:55 PM
I think I have discovered a tournament designed especially for me, namely the Pokerstars saturday micro $3.30 $30000 guaranteed. The saturday midday start time is perfect as it allows enough time for friday night"s beer to no longer be an issue, its on the only day of the week when I can guarantee I won"t be distracted/disturbed and more importantly if I do run deep, I won"t have to worry about whether I will have to find out whether it really is possible to sleepwalk through a day at work. This has my name on it.
Or then again I may just chuck away all my chips in less than an hour"s play................
Post by: monkeyman on November 05, 2011, 14:31:24 PM
Post by: monkeyman on November 05, 2011, 17:01:53 PM
OK, lets try again. Second on the list for the day is the $20 double stack on Blue Square. No doubt I"l do the same as this morning and throw my chips at anyone who asks nicely for them.
2.5 hours of card dead nothingness from that one. Luckily my departure was 1 minute before the start of the $5 $15000 guaranteed thing on Stars, so I"m going to win that instead
Post by: duke3016 on November 05, 2011, 17:21:10 PM
Post by: monkeyman on November 06, 2011, 23:34:29 PM
OK, lets try again. Second on the list for the day is the $20 double stack on Blue Square. No doubt I"l do the same as this morning and throw my chips at anyone who asks nicely for them.
2.5 hours of card dead nothingness from that one. Luckily my departure was 1 minute before the start of the $5 $15000 guaranteed thing on Stars, so I"m going to win that instead
That"s the spirit - "He gets knocked down - he gets up again" 8)
Unfortunately I won sweet FA on the latter as well. Blue Square"s single table SNGs are an absolute bloody goldmine at the minute though ;D
Post by: monkeyman on November 06, 2011, 23:46:53 PM
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOiLVo8yIJE[/youtube]
Post by: monkeyman on November 07, 2011, 20:38:23 PM
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndzKAaZ3prs[/youtube]
P.S. I"d thought it best to give the music top billing over the poker tonight.I was in the usual $15000 guaranteed affair on Stars and was knocked out when the 10 of my opponent"s A 10 gave him a runner-runner straight and I don"t do bad beat stories, oh no.
Post by: Santino67 on November 07, 2011, 20:48:15 PM
That"s the spirit - "He gets knocked down - he gets up again" 8)
He has a whisky drink, he has a cider drink ;)
Post by: monkeyman on November 10, 2011, 23:10:58 PM
Nevermind, not only is tomorrow my 42nd birthday, but I"m off to see this lot
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4yHyHdJK5g [/youtube]
Post by: thinsy147 on November 11, 2011, 15:34:17 PM
HaPpY BiRtHdAy MonkEyBoY
Post by: Santino67 on November 11, 2011, 16:10:48 PM
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v716/Roundy/Bruce.jpg)
Post by: monkeyman on November 11, 2011, 23:22:54 PM
I resorted to plan C, which was a trip to my local cinema to watch "Tower Heist". Lemmy, its your fault I had to watch that pile of poo.
Post by: Santino67 on November 12, 2011, 01:00:10 AM