Day one over and I'm still in thanks to a mad scandie

Well the Liverpool Winter Festival didn't get off to the most auspicious start when I touched up Allan the organiser by mistake.



As I was walking across the card room he came over to greet me and I put out my hand while still going toward him. He leant in to kiss me while also going forward which resulted in my outstretched hand making firm contact with his lower stomach/belt region. Of course instead of taking the easy option and pulling my hand away, I inanely attempted to still find his hand by the power of touch alone, which resulted in me basically rubbing his belly.



I then sat alone in the loo for about 10 minutes cringing with shame waves. Once the blush had subsided to a dull red as a pose to the full on fire engine face I came back out and got on with the task in hand: the poker that is, not Allan's nether regions.



I stayed on the same table all night, which obviously was good as I knew how everyone was playing after a while, but it was a very slow table - full on amatuer dramatics from all the scandies when back raised allin resulted in the clock being called more times than I've ever seen in a tourny. I had Ash Hussein on my left which suited me fine as I had him laughing too much to ever get busy. On my right was a 6foot chinless wonder scandie called Odd (wtf?) who was chip leader pretty much throughout the night (think he was 2nd in chips when they did the count at the end) Apparently he is a notable cash player online but he only served to cement my theory that most online cash players have no social skills or personality whatsoever.



Mark the Chaser from AWOP was three seats away from me, plus Fred the fish from the circus, a couple of young scandies and a bipolar young ginga called Brett Angel who tried to have an attitude but didn't really have the balls for it. Paul Marrow soon put him straight and he shut up for a while.



My own game was very up and down, despite telling myself I wasn't gettin involved the table was so slow and pretty passive early on so it was all too easy to limp in with cards that could get you in a whole world of hurt. First lot of chips really never got going and ended up allin on the last hand before the break. Came back to my second lot, which although was actually 50 BB I played with a short stack mentality which kept me pretty solid. Didn't see many cards, had QQ twice (lost won one won) and AK (no pay) and that was it! Ended up stealing a fair bit which was really good for my confidence as I have never bluffed so much and got away with it. crept up from 6k to 10k purely playing flops and players in the hand without a card. Caught a set with 77 and got paid off nicely, but other than that no decent pots won until towards the end.

Table had got busier and blinds had gone up, on my BB, to 500 and 1k. cut off raised weak, the SB then reraised. I know this Odd guy (name really suits him :) is capable of reraising there with K9 or q10, as he does like his pictures, but I had also clocked, once he calls a reraise he didn't pass. Yes he had the chips to call but he was making some frighteningly bad calls on a flop where he really should have folded. So I had A10 off and pushed my 10BB in the middle. The cutoff passed and Odd called the remaining 5k. Before we turned the cards over everyone thought I had AA with the reraise but as I said at the time, I felt the cutoff was tring to steal and I know Od'd's reraising range is quite wide ie any two pictures and genuinely felt I was ahead. I was, my A10 held up against his KQ and i was doubled up.

Time's ticking on with 12 minutes to go before end of play and I had to make a decision - return tomorrow when the blinds start at 1200 with a short stack or try and double up or bust. Never the shrinking violet I decided I would get busy as my passive table seemed happy to sit on their chips to the end. Odd raised on button I called in SB with A7s, flop came 8 hgh all rubbish he bet 3k into a 9k pot. I know his weak bet means he's weak, he's played the same all night but I'm not sure he'll fold if I put myself allin. Faint heart ne'er won fair lady or something so I banged my 15k in and started to hyperventilate. Odd sat on for ever and ever by which stage my heart rate is off the Richter scale and I'm ready to smash big Jimmy Morgan in the gob as he's commentating away "You can't call that - look he's folding, just fold fella, he's not calling etc" I know the one thing gauranteed to make him call is Jimmy!

He calls me with.. K6. My heart had sank when he said call, and I said, good call, you have me I'm ace high. Then I looked back at the flop to see what he'd hit and couldn't work out what he had called with as there was no K, no 6 and no draw for him? Last 2 cards were dealt and Jimmy said "oo that's brutal, unlucky Caroline". I'm looking at the flop and saying "What's he hit what's he hit?" cos I can't see anything. Thought I was going mental but it turned out Jimmy had misread his cards and thought Odd had hit a flush, but no, my Ace high took the pot! It was a baffling call as he could only hope to be beating K5... I'm not complaining obviously, as he doubled me up, but it didn't win him any brownie points and made me a marked woman as he took the hump, mainly cos I was thanking him profusely he he.

I was up to 40k then lost 10 on the next hand (which was the last hand) when I limped UTG with kqs, knowing Odd will pay me off in his BB if i hit. The SB made up his blind to 1k, Odd checked, flop comes k high, no draw. SB bets 3k? Odd calls, which isn't a suprise, I'm confident that even if the SB has a King, my Q kicker is better than his kicker so I reraise up to 10k. The SB hasn't been at the table too long but when he has a hand it shows in his confidence levels and whole demeanour. I'm expecting him to fold, but he sits back like the cat who has the cream - on his nuts - and pushes all in after a bit of chat. Odd folds, I look at the flop - K 3 8 - and just knew I was behind. I put him on 2 pair on a SB special and folded my cards face up. Everyone seemed shocked at the fold, as if I was ahead, till he turned over.. AK. I had his hand wrong admiteddly, but my fold was right :) I was indeed behind! Even though it took me down to 30k I still have more chips to go back with today than I had all day yesterday, and if I couldn't have folded that KQ I wouldn't be going back at all.
See you later - wish me luck!