running good all the way to the Emerald Isles

Had a very good run poker wise of late, despite personal life being complete opposite. Maybe that's how it has to be - to be able to concentrate on the game do you need to be single? When my partner and I split for about the fourth time early this year he went off to Walsall and managed to win the GUKPT main event, we got back together - nada since.

I digress. I try to stay off internet poker as it is only ever used by me as an outlet for external frustrations and adding the fact you've just done 2k in playing games you are no good at doesn't usually help matters when you're stressed.

But.. in the past two weeks I've actually managed to not only cash but to do it quite regularly! Around 8 final tables in a fortnight plus a package to the Irish Winter Festival in October, which is what I'm most happy about. I also won a satellite at the Liverpool Circus to the £250 game at the end of this month and have had some joy at the live cash as well - at this rate the new plate on the car may well have to be changed. At the moment it reads "T1LT X" :)


Malcolm Harwood aka The Rock from RPO has railed me practically every final table so I was pleased to be able to attend the Betfred Ladies Tour on Saturday up at the Broadway casino in Brum to show a bit of support back. I used to huff and puff about the standard of play, back when I thought I was a lot better than I actually was, but now, although the play hasn't changed, I'm aware that if I want to prove anything, I should be able to play anybody, however good or bad they are. One thing though, it's still the same 6k starting stack that it was 3 years ago, but tournament poker has changed immensely in those 3 years and the starting stack should reflect that. £100 FO are ten a penny, so to speak nowadays so i think Malcolm needs a better structure and stack to tempt in the many ladies who play poker regularly, rather than the Valium Vacuous and lipstick lesbians who currently make up the field.

Played well - ish - and got back from 1k up to 13k and donked it all off one hand after the break when I shoved with a flush draw and missed. The most upsetting thing was seeing on the updates I shoved with AQ on a 5 high flop; get the facts right girls it was q4 of hearts on a two heart flop lol.

On the cash table I met dave Colclough, or rather he met me ;) as i chatted shit for Britain. At one point he min raised, I reraised and he shoved, I passed he then showed me.. a duece.
next hand I find 99, he gay raises again, I reraise he shoves I snap call. I've no idea if I'm ahead and we're both doing a bit of a Mexican stand off with neither one of us willing to declare our hand, in case the other one is better lol. The dealer starts to deal the flop and the first card out is a nine. As the dealer puts it down Dave says "I have Jacks" I'm laughing my head off as I say I have a set of 9s, and flip them over, Dave groans and flips his jacks over, just as the dealer turns the third card and yes it's a jack. Guess who's laughing now? To add insult to injury, he asks if he can get me a drink, as after all, I'm paying for it........ Shafted myself for a further few hundred on the OH table and then swapped back to Texas and ground some cash back.

Stayed overnight with Fran Creed then popped over to Stoke with Lynne Beaumont and Michelle Bricknell, two of my favourite ladies in poker, to play the £100 FO which was a good day out. Stayed on for cash and got a fair bit from the Texas table then moved later to DC where i managed to pull a Bruce Lee and a 5 paduki and got paid, so that took me back up from where I started on saturday morning.

Got a fair bit going on otherwise so probably not much poker until this £250 at Liverpool, although I am popping out tomorrow night to a private DC game which hopefully will top me up a little more.