More in the Xmas fund...

We were meant to go to Manchester G last night for the £30+£30 but as the day wore on I wore out. I have somethng called pernicious anaemia which means as soon as I catch a cold I get so run down it's a joke. Really didn't fancy playing live poker with double vision and a mouth full of ulcers so the BF went off to try his luck while I went to bed.

Of course there's not much to do in bed by yourself at 8pm (yeah guys I know you can find penty to do in bed by yourself but I wasn't really in the mood) so the laptop went on and I entered the 12.5K on Ipoker. $100 is more than my usual stakes but I haven't played an online MTT for a while so wanted a decent standard, and have had a bit of luck on the 7CS tables (thanks to my flu lol) so figured I'd throw caution to the wind. As usual.

About 130 runners and my first table had a guy on who had read all the books, only watching his chip stack dwindle proved actions really do speak louder than words. He told me off for not raising with AKoff UTG - third hand in, when all the fish are still in spawny silly season and you know you're losing 4k in chips to k10 if you raise. His name was BULLYbjorne and apparently I should raise with AK to maximise my winnings then continuation bet any flop as the aggressor, as my opponent would have to fold under the pressure. I shouldn't have to point out here that while his general theory is acceptable, to me it's not on the third hand in when the blinds are 10/20, and the usual early stage madmen are all in on any flop. Particularly when the flop is 77J. I'm not in love with AK- I'm not in love with any hand if I know I'm behind :) He told me I shold raise to get info about the other players, but couldn't see he was doing it for all of us with his play.

How we laughed as he button raised every time only to fold to a reraise, or raised then bet the flop, only to fold as someone else pushed back at him. He couldn't back it up once, he was determined to try his A game out despite it being far too early, and with no idea of how the rest of the table was playing and it cost him. Anyway I soon had the decent players marked up on my table and was proven right as the final table had 5 of my table's original guys on, including me. I thought this was quite unusual? (The fact 5 of us were there - not that I got to the final table...)

Lost a big pot with AK against QQ, played itself, so having to push decided to do so when one of the original guys raised up. He was a very solid player so I knew he could fold if he didn't have a hand, but he had QQ.. having said that, I'd rather have given him my chips as I know he'll use them well. So I was 7th for just shy of £500, which with us moving house on Monday, is a handy touch.

old ones are the best

This made me giggle at Blackpool last week.

I was out in the smoking cage when The Mole (above) looked up at me - he's about 4'2" - and said "bloody hell you're tall". Nothing like stating the obvious. He then asked the predictable next question that everyone does - how tall are you anyway, you must be 6 foot?

To which I give the standard reply of "No, I'm only 5'12".

The best bit is, he doesn't get that, but all of his mates/onlookers do, so they're all giggling while he thinks about it for a minute. He knows he's missed something but he's not sure what, but then again I reckon a lot goes over his head :)

His (much taller) mate Brain Martin turns to me and says " I've got three inches on you" - the obvious reply here for me was you put your three inches anywhere near me and I call the police.

Of course although everyone else was fallin about laughing Brian actually blushed and looked mortified. (whether I struck a nerve who knows) I spoke to him more over the next couple of days and he was actually a very quiet very nice guy, so Brian - I'm sorry. I'm sorry you have three inch penis. :)

girl flu

This little known strain of the flu virus is often overlooked by people discussing the many perils of man-flu - eg: not able to open his can of lager, inability to put the loo seat down and so on. This shit however is the real deal.

When us women get flu we soldier on looking after you guys, or even if single, we don't moan or take to our beds - we just get on with it. But this flu is definitely Type X, the really deadly strain where your head feels too large and heavy for your body, your legs don't work and there is constant streams of nasty stuff trickling out of your nose. However it has one positive effect amongst all of the side effects, and that is it gives you the ability to play 7 card stud with no outdraws. I don't know how that is, whether the people on the table feel sorry for you as you sniff away or whether they fold as they don't want to touch your contagious chips, or whether you are so stuffed up you can't even see the potential dangers. As much as I feel like shit, I'm hoping to still be ill tomorrow as I increased my sit down by 150% today.

Off topic (like flu is really on topic!) news on the job front - we have a new pub. We move in next Monday and start wednesday which is a bit fast but we'll do it somehow. It's in another town about 30 minutes from Southport (where we are now) so my daughter will stay at her school for now. The area we're moving to is nicknamed "Millionaires Row" and it's a seriously lush place, very affluent and of course full of pensioners, the latter being just like where we are now :).

It's a gastropub rather than a big drinking place but anyone who knows us is always welcome to drop in. Don't know how the poker will go on for the immediate future - we've been lucky enough to play an awful lot recently but as we'll be working silly hours it's less likely, and with Christmas a few weeks away we're gonna be really busy. It's open Xmas Day for food which is a new experience for me as I've always had Xmas at home, but it'll be fun and at least we're guaranteed a good dinner plus no taxi fares home once the after dinner Hennessy kicks in :)

two entries now... :)

Two entries now on the Hendon Mob rankings pages. It's a start right?!

Blackpool lots of fun as usual but have to say not a patch on last year for atmosphere, and I don't think it was just my opinion, as most of the big names disappeared as soon as they were out of the comp, whereas last year they seemed to stick around a bit longer. Cash games nowhere near as busy and as for the side events, they were all full - mainly because the G capped them all at 80 players... some reserve lists were longer than the entry list :)

Momentary brain stew

Here's a good move: Work your way through over 100 players in a £30 Super satellite for the GUKPT's main event by playing solider than a very solid thing, wait till you down to the last few players before the seats kick in, wait once more till you double up your shortish stack, wait til your table breaks and you don't know how any of the players think, wait til someone raises 6 x the BB from early position on what does seem to be a tight table, and then - but only then - find the pathetic AQ off that you have already folded 3 times that day and suddenly imagine it to be the holy grail and decide (with no thought or game plan) to push all your 18BB in with it to watch the original raiser call with AK.

I left the casino shortly afterwards.

I don't know what possesed me, but the worst of it was the bad play I made and the shame factor that goes hand in hand with that. Even if I spiked a Q I would have been the table gimp as it was patently obvious - after the event - that the guy had AK. If I really wanted to play it at that stage I could have simply called to find out where I was but no, I couldn't do anything simple could I. There was a couple of players I know on the table and they were just looking at me as if to say "I thought your game had improved... but I was wrong..." I think I may have actually blushed, which hasn't happened since about 1972.


Decided to play a crappy FO at Leos Gala that night as wanted to be as far away from Blackpool as was possible: I'm driving past the Liver Birds building in the city centre when Andy Booth rang me for a freeroll password.(It was seaside for anyone that didn't have it - unlucky :)) and yeh I know I shouldn't have answered my phone but what can I say, I'm just a rebel. So busy talking to him I shot a red light by the new shopping centre so I'm guessing that's caught on camera. Is saying you didn't see it as you were on the phone a good defence?

Crashed out Leos, the BF came 2nd, but while I was waiting skipped over to the Circus, played 6 hands cash and made £800. I'm not saying it made it any better, but it allowed me to fan my hot flush away in style - with £50s.

Came home and went on updates on AWOP to see how everyone doing and found a picture of myself from the SS looking a little like a Russian Olympic shotputter (albeit with a blonde wig) which didn't really help with the whole blushing situation.

Ah well, back on Thursday for the side event. It can only get worse.

14th...

No not me - Bubs26bs who couldnt even be trusted to look after my chips. Bah!

ace fuckin 8??????????

Won a seat last week into the satellite for the GUKPT package ($8k) worth $300, so was really looking forward to it tonight. started with 2k was doin fine, up to 2800 until i lost about 1k with JJ and AK in two consecutive hands. Started out thinking everyone on the table was a class A player ( I always seem to do this if i think I'm out my league) until hard evidence proved otherwise. The usual raising with K10 UTG then callin for a gutshot (no not me!), reraises with rag ace, you know the sort or game. I was folding hands to reraises where I would have been ahead preflop - and still on the river :(

Anyhow I'm down to 1,800K when i get AQ on button. I havent played a hand for quite some time, every raise that has gone to a flop I've had the goods so I don't look like a blagger, so I hope I can raise the blinds with it, although im owrried about the BB as he is a tit. don't want to mince my words here.

He's been raising 77 when the BB 20 then betting 123 on the flop etc, so I reraised him on the turn then showed J7c which matched nothin at all. Don't think he liked that, resulting in every time I raised he called. I bet the flop, he folded. Strong play hey?

So back to the AQ. I raised just over 2.5 x BB, no limpers b4 me, SB folds. BB calls. I knew he would call anyway, went without saying. Now bear with me here - every time this guy called a raise he would then bet around half the pot then fold. So the flop comes A28, two diamonds. He bets, predictably, half the pot, around 260. I then reraised him to about 600. Is this where I went wrong? My thinking is I know I have the better ace if he has one at all, if he's flushing I don't want him catching, but basically, I know I'm ahead. He then pushes all in which I'm calling for what I have left, with what's in the pot, so I call and yes he has A8. 2 pr, I don't improve and I'm out. I am genuinely gutted. I probably played that hand badly but can't see how the result woudl have been any different - if I'd flat called they all still would have ended up in the middle, if bob was my uncle fanny would have balls. Or something.

So I went into a satellite for the Irish Open and rebought around 9 times in the first 9 hands. I'm still playing it, as you can imagine I have the most solid image on the table so I'mnot pinning my hopes on that one. I like satellites to a satellite, and I'm generally quite good at them - it's the next step up I need to work on. Anyway been moved tables, chance to redeem myslef - later.x

The dog is locked in the cupboard

Redeemed myself playing the $3500 FO (6 seater) on Ipoker in the early hours and cashing. I was helped by Lippo81 (thank u whoever u are) who got so wound up by me he ended up giving me all of his chips for a nice double up that put me 3rd just before the money started lol. He is always a very busy player and if you reraise him a few times he ends up putting them all in as he thinks u havin him off. I wasn't, but he knows that now...

Thankfully got moved shortly afterwards and from then on kept my chat off so people didn't call me with shite through spite - my gob has cost me many a tourny this way. It helped that the dog was exhausted from barking herself hoarse at the local firework display so I had a bit of peace and quiet.

Really need to get some sleep soon as start job hunting tomorrow. The season has ended in Blackpool so we both now out of work. We've been lucky with the nice touches we've had here and there, on average we've been up about 4.5K every month since august, which for part timers isn't bad at all. However I'm not daft enough to assume it will continue like this so need to make sure there is a regular income to do those boring things like put food on the table.

The poor workman blames his tools...

We have a dog. In the words of Supertramp not much of a dog but the only one I've got, only I would happily become a pet free household at this moment in time.

You see, this dog came from a rescue centre, and is the most loving and loyal mongrel ever, with just one major vice. She barks. She barks when someone walks past the house, she barks if you bang a door inside the house, she barks at leaves falling off trees three miles away.

Even more annoyingly, when you tell her to stop barking, usually with a well aimed foot, she continues to growl under her breath, while looking at you from the corner of her eye - the minute you break eye contact - she barks again.

She quietens down at night, mainly I think because her vocal cords are done in from a full day of barking, but of course last night was Halloween, that commercial holiday where snot nosed kids bang on your door looking for hard drugs and money. (I count myself lucky I'm not closer to town where that happens on a daily basis)

Anyway last night we'd done all of our Halloween stuff and the sprog had trotted off with her mate to a party, giving me a couple of hours to play poker. I sat down with the best of intentions, only I made the mistake of not killing the dog before I started.

She sat under my chair barking, whining and growling non-stop as hordes of kids knocked on the front door in close succession. I actually believe they were the same kids all the time who thought it would be funny to hear the mad lady swear again as she falls over the dog trying to get to the front door.

My game was non existent. In fact it was worse than that. So if you were on my table last night - in any of the many games I went out of first - all I can say is.. It wasn't me right?!

Just Bonfire night to get through now...