La La La Manga!

I finally gone and booked it up - 4 nights and 3 rounds of golf at La Manga golf resort in Spain! I've been needing a break soo badly, and I don't have long to wait as I'm off in 11 days :) I'm going with the boy Prior, and got ourselves a decent deal. Trying to practise as much as possibly before then, so off to the range shortly. Need to fit in a few rounds in prep too. Yee haw..

Been spending the last week sorting the garden too, and it's not far off. Just a few tidying up jobs and it'll be all ready for a BBQ. Weather is a bit tosh this weekend though, so it might have to wait a week, but I did see the one that I wanted to get: Monster BBQ!

Getting back to the poker, I've started to ramp things up again. I'm back on the FullTilt trail and playing the $30 again. Doing ok since my comeback and long may it continue :) Still have my accounts on LuckyAce, Pacific, PokerStars, Carbon, and Betfair - I'll save signing up for other sites another time, but there aren't many left. Perhaps PKR and something on iPoker could work.

PFU wise, played the last game of the Session last week, and only went and ruddy won the round :) Crushed the final table knocking out at least 7 of them, just couldn't go wrong and hit the right flops. That result pushed me all the way to 2nd in the table and meant I finished about 30 points behind deserved winner Joe. I did win 3 rounds in total though, so quite happy with that, especially with my largely laughed at tight game :) Session III is definitely gonna be a looked forward to event.

Lastly, went to the casino last night with Toobad again. What an f'ing joke. At the break after an add-on I had 6.9k in chips. Came back to find I was 1k chips down! I complained but they talked to me like I was some degenerate gambler who had miscounted his chips. I was not happy chappy. Blah blah you'll just have to carry on they said. So I told them I wanted my money back for my £20 add on, which after a bit of initial resistance I got back and told them I was done with the place. I carried on with my short stack though not really caring any more. Managed to bump my stack up, but after playing a few hands on a new table I pushed AQ for about 5k. The button insta-called, and then the BB oh'd and ah'd before deciding to call her all in too. Button turns over AJ and BB turns over A6s! Of course the board turns a 6 and rivers a J, and I was on my way home. Complete waste of my time and energy. Might stick to online for a while.

Right off to hit some balls in this crappy weather (that's dedication eh!), before sponging Sunday dinner off my Bro :) Laters...

Playing Tosh

Well it's been a mixed week, with me on the realisation that I've been playing some rubbish poker. It doesn't help that I've got no set poker home at the moment. I opened an account on Lucky Ace but there's just so little traffic flying through there it's difficult to get a game. PokerStars is ok, but I guess I still don't like the GUI much. I even resorted to a game on Carbon and Betfair the other day - madness!

The PFU barraged the new 888 15k challenge on Friday, and a couple of guys went deep, but I didn't get a great deal of joy. Toobad persuaded me to go to the casino again on Saturday, and I bombed out quite early in the £20 second chance, only to win my money back playing the cash game. After giving my bro a lift back from town and chomping on a Miss Millies I got the most unusual phone call - Toobad had only gone and got down to the final 3 and they all did a deal. Top bombing!

Played golf yesterday, but after my recent good form the wheels well and truly fell off! I'm sure I can put it right with a little range session, but it just goes to show how much variance and tilt there is golf. With the sun shining, I'm also on the verge of booking a golfing weekend up possibly in Spain or Portugal. Should be able to get some good deals in June.

Working from home again mostly this week, but am attempting to get the garden up to scratch. Potentially buy a new BBQ and have a bit of a party at the weekend. Be a shame to waste the sun :)

Yee Haaww

It's been another exciting week in the world of Cisco poker :) Shortly after my last post I finally took my A-game to the session and took it down for the second time. It's never an easy one to win, and especially not so versus Idi0 headsup! It was probably the most fun I've had 3 handed also with Mez also making it. Lots of stealing and mind games going on, until eventually he goes all-in with 44 and I pick up AKs. I call and magically hit the straight on the turn - Mez bemoans how he got a horrific beat! Idi0 had a massive chip lead, but this was taken care of just a few hands later when my QQ held up against his JJ (best remember that one!). Then his aggresssive game got the better of him, when i slow played my K with a AAK board, only to catch him for all his chips pushing around 52o! Moves me up the board a bit, but probably too late to catch the leaders. Shame that - roll on Session III...

Next on the hit list was Friday TPC. Series leader Mez was away in Athens, but I don't think that had much to do with the outcome. I gave them all a schooling and ended up beating Dai in the first one, and Charlie (fresh from the gym - not!) in the second. 'Playing for Rent' continued his record breaking non-cashing run, and the luckboxes of Toobad and Pickers couldn't stay away from their loose nature on the night, costing them points and money :) Food at the TPC is never a bore with Pickers in prep for MasterChef serving up some stuffed chicken with ham on a pesto linguine and some parmesan to top if off - Superb! Finished at 3:30am with cash in my pocket and enough points to send me back top - good night's work.

Fresh from a night of poker - Toobad had the poker bug and wanted to go to the casino again. Nearly didn't go, but couldn't resist either. We got there for the early £10 game, but we both bombed out just in time to make the £20 second chance. This one went much better winning the first hand from the SB with 63 hitting a FH. Steady progress was made from there, amassing chips and in good shape by the break. Toobad had gone out with AK, but shared some pizza before going home. I topped up my healthy stack with the addon and was feeling good. I hit some good hands and made some good laydowns. I bullied a table quite well before they moved me on to another with another big stack on my left. Some loose guy was opposite me but unfortunately pushed into my QQ. I called thinking it was going to be enough (11k), but then the other big stack starts thinking! Finally he laid down his TT and loose boy turned over A4 - cha ching! I went to the final table chip leader (47k), and had some good hands in position. Unfortunately though my KQ <>

Then on to Sunday. Watched the Grand Prix, ventured out to watch the boys play American football, then quick hit up the range, followed by watching Man Utd beat Hull with the reserves. A good day on it's own that, but it was topped off with the Forum game vs UK Sharks. After a last minute sustitution Bgood for Joe, it was time to go Shark fishing. We had the tactics spot on, and I don't think there was ever a time we were behind. Cottlad finished them off in the end and good time had by all. It would have been even better if my trip 5s hadnt run into a loose flush on the flop, or my AA <>

A post is not a post without a quick update on the Golf front. Managed to get out on the course Monday after some up and down range sessions. The first hole was a bit dubious but I got away with a bogey. Then something clicked into gear and I hit 2 birdies in a row! I stayed 1 under for the next 4 holes, before finally hitting a loose drive. It should have easily been found as it only just strayed off the fairway, but after 15 mins of looking I finally gave in :( Still the front 9 I went out in just 2 over (37), which is probably the best 9 I've ever put together. We won't talk about the back 9, but finished up with a respectable 85. The game is hopefully slowly coming together. Just had another good range session with Mez (who is fighting his own demons at the moment!), but all going well should be back out there at the weekend.

Back to poker. I've been trying to get rakeback from Full Tilt over the last week or so. They keep coming back that they are hoping to sort it out for current players, but keep being vague and not promising anything. I said I would look elsewhere if they didn't, and finally had to follow through by taking my roll out. They still didn't budge though, and I've ended up opening a Lucky Ace account where I do get rakeback. Problem is that there isn't a great deal of traffic on the there, just like Pacific, so I'm still totting up what's best to do. I've been playing a bit more on PokerStars too lately, and the last couple of days attempting to multi-table more. I'd be doing ok I think if it wasn't for some beats, so time will tell, but I've broken even so far. It didn't help that I had AA cracked 3 times in less than an hour earlier!! Onwards and upwards :)

Round up Round up

Finally a roundup of whats been going on!

Well, the usual grind of SNGs has been slow but steady. I'm at my peak and climbing, but it's fair to say I haven't been playing as much as I usually do mainly down to the fact work have actually had me working! Far too many visits to the office, as well as evening and weekend projects. That coupled in with the nicer weather (important aspect for fair weather golfers!) means I've not had masses of amount of time at the tables.

That said though, the session is still going strong. In the last few weeks I've had one FT bubble and also missed a game. Pretty much puts me out of contention for any major honours, but there's still kudos up for grabs, as well as some last longer bets :)

I've been managing to play a few MTTs lately as well. Mainly spurred on by Siash who's been playing a good number lately too. The two results that spring to mind are a $40 Deepstack where I came 5/72 for $230, and then also a $12 miniFTOPS shootout event where I came 868/15270 (took 5 hours!) for a tiny cash. I also went to the casino this weekend with 'Too Bad' which was a laugh. Busted out of the £20 rebuy, but made money on the cash table. Crazily didn't get home until 3am though, with a tee off time at 10:40am due the next morning!

Talking of golf, things have been going well lately. Since my little lesson and some tips from Mez, I've slowly got back in my groove. I hit a 87 the other week (with plenty of stupid shots lost), and feeling the swing again. Had a bit of a nightmare yesterday though playing with just 3 hours sleep plus the fact it decided to downpour for nearly 4 whole hours! We were in the buggy at least, but it was a miserable day, and the golf wasn't that much better. I did manage a quality 180 handbreak turn that I'm sure would have had us banned for life if anyone else had seen it!

There's also been mixed fortunes on the home front. The kitchen had finally been redecorated with new floor, worktops, and painted etc. But Friday night saw a leak from the bathroom finally make it's way through the kitchen ceiling and turn into a nightmare. Managed to dry it out, but there's now a crack and it looks a mess, so it's an insurance job that I could really do without :(

Back to the poker, I nearly forgot to mention that the PFU have been challenged by another forum (UK Sharks) to a game for kudos rights. I've been put as captain (Pugwash as Siash likes to say), so have picked a motley crew to go shark fishing next Sunday. The game has a slight twist to it in that to avoid any kind of cheating or colluding, it's been agreed that you can cheat and collude as much as you like! Different format than what we are used to, but I'm sure it should be fun, and no doubt we are going to win!

That's about all for now. TPC should be on the cards in the next few weeks, as well as finalising some plans to go to the States. More about that soon!

Giddyup...

Things on the Up!

It's only been a week since the last blog, but sooo much has been happening, especially on the poker front, and a bit on the golf too.

Last Monday I took down the PFU Session game for the first time this series. I actually turned up with my A-game and rode the waves to finally beat Oberlaie heads-up. I'm probably still out of the running, but it was good to put in a good showing at long last.

On to Friday and It was TPC time. We nearly got a rare appearance from the man Dai, but he called off sick at the 11th hour. We were also without chef Pickers, so it was down to me to feed the troops with the sort of gourmet food the TPC was built on - Cisco Nachos :) Unfortunately for me, the food was probably the highlight of the night, as I probably played the worst poker I've seen in a long time! Absolutely card dead, and no let up of calling from fishes Pete and Toobad. It was my first live outing with my new PFU card protector, which I got the piss taken out of me for royally! It is quality though so I'm going to stick with it. The first game saw a cheery Mez playing some loosey goosey poker, Petey went crazy and earned himself 2nd spot and first cash of his TPC career, and luckbox Toobad took home top spot making his previous results start to look like less of a fluke! I finally pushed with A5 on the button to be called by A9 and bomb out quite disappointed. After halftime food I was back with renewed hope, but ended up being dealt complete garbage. I even threatened to walk out of my own house if I got the same cards again after being dealt T6o twice in a row. Of all the crazy things I've ever seen, I actually had to follow through when I got deal T6o the very next hand!! It wasn't to be my night, and I think I went out in 4th. Chazizzle took down the last game of the night in a heated battle with with Mez, proving he's got the game as long as he stays away from the suited connectors. The leaderboard is hotting up also with 4 months gone, with the biggest surprise so far being that Tankimus still hasn't cashed once in 6 attempts!

Then saturday rolled around, and after winning a seat to the 100k on Pacific for $14, I settled in for a long old night. We started with $10k of chips, and I managed to up my stack in the very first hand with KK when someone got fruity and thought they could push me around! After that I folded the night away mostly until I got involved with a hand in the BB. Chips went flying on the flop, for some reason I just knew I was ahead - which I was, but he was on a draw which hit the very next card. So that was that - bit of a let down really.

On to the golf, which is starting to look brighter. I had a leisurely range session on Sunday, which was a prelude to a lesson I had booked up on Monday. It went quite well as it goes, with my grip now adjusted and a better setup I just need to put a bit of time in to make it sweet.

Another PFU session last night didn't quite see the heroics of the previous week, but I did manage to make the final table beating Siash and Mez in our respective bets. I eventually went out in 7th after mixing it up raising with KTs, only to be outkicked when top pair fell. Another hand to stick in the memory bank and try not to make the same mistake again, other than that a good showing. Can't forget to mention midway through the tourny I had KK cracked by KQ when Gaz (I think it was) hit runner runner QQ to take the allin pot - what are the odds of that!

Another epic entry nearly over! I'll just finish by saying I think I might be out of my downswing. It lasted for about $300 (10 buyins) but I'm now happily back again around my peak. To be honest, I didn't think I had been playing that badly, just some very crazy cards, bad beats, and coolers over the last week or so. I'm sure that's about as bad as it could have got too, although I'm always ready for the next bout of variance. All in all, I'm feeling comfortable at the $30 level and hope it wont be long before moving up again.

Variance

It's a funny ol' monster, but the swings in poker can sometimes be quite amusing. I made my peace with variance quite a while ago, and it's improved my game immensely. However, every now and again running bad, especially when on the bubble, makes you realise how poker can be just as frustrating as golf sometimes :) I remember not so long ago this would have really affected me and I would probably have gone on tilt losing plenty more buyins as a result. These days though it's a 'take it on the chin' and move on. Regardless, everyone needs a good humoured vent, so I decided to start a thread (here) on the PFU just for my own games - call it therapy if you like!

Other than that it's been quite a decent weekend. Managed to get out on range on Friday followed by a round of golf on Saturday with Mez. Had quite a bad hangover from a Friday night, so it was buggies or nothing in my state. Another usual round for me carding anything from a quadruple bogey to a sweet birdie. It's been an up and down start to the golfing summer, but I honestly think I'm not far away from putting a decent round together. Maybe I'll sneak a lesson in before the next outing too.

Also managed to get down to the casino yesterday to play in a £20 freeze-out. It was Easter so reasonable quiet but they managed a field of about 42 for the afternoon game. Not surprisingly I was a bit card-dead for most of the day. I picked up the dirties (JJ) in one hand, only to get one caller who hit his set on the flop. Luckily I managed to get away from that one without being completely burnt, but then struggled as the blinds went up quite quickly. Problem with live games is that you get less hands per hour than you would do online. So even though it's 15 minutes per level, it's the equivilent to a turbo online which eventually turns into a crapshoot. I eventually got crippled pushing with ATs only to run into the short-stack's QQ. Finally went out in about 15th hoping to quintruple up with 34s! Good banter nonetheless. I made some money back at skill-bingo on the video machine though - I'm a god at that game :)

Ticking Along

Not a massive amount of poker being played recently - I'm probably going to blame that on actually being busy at work and xbox distraction! I really should get more games in though as I'm playing reasonably well.

My $30 SNG quest is ticking along nicely though, showing a profit and feeling more at ease at this level. There are definitely some serious donkeys out there, and I often wonder how they can keep coming back for more punishment. I guess they are the ones with the bad gambling problems that friends and family keep warning me about when I mention poker! - It's a skill game I tell them, but they still don't get it.

Yet more session action last night (even though I was an hour late!) and I bombed out in 11th losing my usual bets with Mezza and Siash. It was rather harsh though if I do say so myself. Dan had been reraising every (and I mean every!) single time I opened. I finally get dealt the 'dirties' (pocket Js) ready for his reraise, only for him to luckbox being dealt QQ. Shocking lol. Happier with my game though and the banter is always top notch.

3 of the PFU boys are off to the Irish Open tomorrow - L6, Cheesies, and Aaron. It's great that they've won seats and hopefully the forum will be buzzing on the rail. Apparently it's on TV in a few weeks too, so that'll be a good watch. I have to get myself in one of these big live events sooner or later - I guess that wont start happening until I start registering for the sats though! Many things I need to kick myself into gear about, including arranging some bloody 2009 holidays - god knows I deserve one. I've even been into the office about 6 of the last 8 working days - I must be ill.

On a non-poker front, Man Utd have had a few eventful days - coming from behind against Villa in epic fashion to win 3-2 and stay on track for the Premiership. Then they played Porto in the CL and ended up 2-2 but an absolutely cracking game, playing some good football, Rooney looking sharp, just a shame we can't defend for toffee at the moment.

Right, that's me done for the day. I'm just railing Gj and Graeme on Pacific after missing out jumping in the game. I'll hopefully then get more than the 4 hours of sleep I got last night - ah the joys of being a night owl :)

Poker Library

I've been threatening to do this for a while now, so here it is. Just a quick run down of books I have in the collection, and maybe a recommendation or two :)

Harrington on Hold 'Em Tournament Vol I II III

By far the best books I have ever bought. Easy reading and all the examples are clear and have a point. He doesn't preach or dictate how you should play, merely suggests the way he would do things, and makes you think about situations. Although he's known as quite a tight player, the merits of different styles are also talked about. Although his line on things are a perfect grounding for any developing player, I say. Vol I talks about the abc's of poker - cards to play, pot odds, continuation bets etc, Vol II builds upon this first book with adjustments, inflection point, moves, and situational poker, and Vol III is purely an examples book that walks through topics using real hands and great discussion. Quality, if you don't have these books, buy them!

Cisco Rating 10/10

Harrington on Hold 'Em Cash Vol I II

Of course when the boy brought out these 2 new books, I'm had to get them. All the great structure and easy reading of the tourny ones, and pitched at the tourny player wanting to move into cash. He talks about the subtle differences between the two, how big hands like AK lose their value, stack sizes, leverage and much more. The impressive thing about reading these books is that the topics help improve your all-round poker game and not just cash. It gets you thinking about sooo many little things. The examples again are great, and as with all the Harrington books, you can't help but feel he wrote it just for you.

Cisco Rating 10/10

Super System II - Doyle Brunson

Old school poker that just about anyone who studies the game will have in their collection somewhere. Doyle is largely responsible for the explosion of poker, writing one of the first books that taught players the secrets of the game without them having to find out the hard way through years of experience. Some solid poker in here, but I don't think the book is particularly well written in terms of explanation or easy reading. Doyles big thing is 'putting a man to the test for all his chips' in different ways and situations. Still class though, a bit like Star Wars :)

Cisco Rating 6/10

Holdem Wisdom for all Players - Daniel Negreanu

Really basic book that covers a lot of hints and tips for beginners. Probably a bit too simple for me, even at the level I was playing when I bought it. I probably wouldn't recommend this one.

Cisco Rating 2/10

Power Holdem Strategy - Daniel Negreanu

I had big hopes for this one. It was supposed to be the new 'Super System' and up there with the classics, and Negreanu has been a favourite player of mine for a while, so really wanted to it to be great. Unfortunately with that much hype it's always going to be a disappointment. Parts of the book were written by friends and consisted of poker articles at best, added it seemed to pad things out. The best section, as you might imaging, was Danny's insight into smallball poker. It's his style, and a very useful bullet to add to anyones poker gun. If the rest of the book had been at this level it would have been a new bible, sadly though you are left wondering if that's all Negranau has in the tank.

Cisco Rating 6/10

Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide

A compilation of articles written by some of the top pros. Lots of nuggets of information but not a patch on Harrington. Always good to read different viewpoints though.

Cisco Rating 6/10


Caros Book of Tells - Mike Caro

Another old school book. Does a unique job of interpreting body language and poker tells and turns them into a valued edge. Obviously slightly more geared to the live game, but a good read none-the-less.

Cisco Rating 7/10

The Theory of Poker - David Skalassky

One of the first books I bought and highly thought of in poker circles. It's quite a maths based book and Skalassky is not the best writer in the world, but if you can cope with that it's well worth it's reputation. The main 'fundamental theorum of poker' is a great concept to get to grips with, and one that should always be at the core of your game.

Cisco Rating 8/10

Every Hand Revealed - Gus Hansen

This is a book based on Gus's Aussie Millions adventure which he eventually won. After every hand he recorded notes into a dictaphone about how he played, reads he made, and other observations. I think he was always planning on writing a book with it, but it was a bonus that he came 1st. A great read in my opinion - Gus plays a loose aggressive game, which is probably a million miles from my own style, but it's interesting to see how he makes it work. There are some ideas I've added to my play off the back of it too, as it's always good to mix things up a little :)

Cisco Rating 7/10

Winning Low Limit Holdem - Lee Jones

It was probably the first book I ever bought and the only one that I have that covers limit poker. Although it's not really a format I play there are still some good lessons to learn in here - knowing when to get away from hands, leverage, and eeking out that small edge whenever you can all adds up.

Cisco Rating 6/10

That's all I have for now, but I've got an order in for a Hold Em SNG book by Moshman currently, which is suppose to be quite good. I've also got a number of ebooks that I've got to get around to reading, but it's just finding the time.

If you hadn't guessed I love reading about poker and trying to improve my game. Books, forums, articles, discussions, all a big help. I'm a long way off from where I want to be, but hopefully heading in the right direction.

Poker Update

No blog for a week you say! Well I've not really been playing that much - crazily life has just got in the way. A few SNGs have had mixed results, so I guess I'm breaking even on my $30 quest so far. It doesn't help much when I fall asleep and finish 4th, and then play garbage in one today that should have easily cashed in, but got attached to QQ when someone decided to call my PF raise with AT and hits a TT6 board. I still had chips, but ended up bombing out in 4th again when I should never have been in that spot. Onwards and upwards I guess!

It was also the PFU session last night. Probably played some of my best poker in a while in the early stages. Right up until I got bluffed with T7 after I raised it up with J8, hit the J on the flop, and then some crazy betting ensued. I laid it down to the eventual all-in, and he showed it. I finally got my own back later recouping all my chips and then some - he hit TPTK on the flop and I hit nut flush draw and wasn't backing down this time! The beauty club appeared on the turn and I was whisked back to chippo. I couldn't regain my earlier composure though, and chips went flying all over the place until eventually I bombed out in 10th and just missed the final table. Mezza picked up another $6 last longer bet from me, and Siash v$200 (virtual dollars), both extending bragging rights for another week. It pretty much puts me out of contention for any top spots, but I'm definitely gonna sort my A-game out for the rest of the series.

Other than poker, work has been getting much busier lately. So much going on, I think I need a holiday! I did manage to at least get the afternoon off today, and donned the shorts in the sun to play golf. Ropey round to say the least, but hopefully things are starting to take shape for the summer. It beats being in the office anyhow!

Giddyup!

After much faffing around I finally made my mini-target on Full Tilt which now means I'll start playing $30 SNGs instead of the usual $20. I probably should have been there sooner, but slack play, falling asleep, and distraction all cost me quite a few buy-ins!

Anyway, I'm there now and I already kicked things off with a solid 2nd place in my first game. I did lose out in the second game though, but played quite reasonable going out with QQ vs AK. Of course AKx had to come out on the board and was topped off with another K on the river - that's poker I guess!

Other than that, we had another round of the PFU session last night. I played like garbage and threw my chips in with 99 vs a reraise of a limper pre-flop. Unsurprisingly he turns over KK and I'm out in about 18th. It didn't help that I lost my usual last longer bet with Mezza and also v$200 (virtual dollars) with Siash, but I'll make them back. I definitely wasn't on my A-game there, that's for sure. Most likely was down to the fact my laptop decided to die and wouldn't even start properly for 2 days. I've managed somehow a small hack around and am using it in another profile temporarily, but am not holding my breath at it lasting long. Might need to go for the dreaded rebuild :(

TPC Round 3

The Thornbury Poker Classic was back in action this weekend and not to disappoint served up it's usual dose of excitement and controversy! The leaderboard is also starting to take shape with myself and Mezza jostling for top spot.

The night started well with most of us running into each other in tescos stocking up for the long night ahead. No need to go too crazy though, as the man Pickers had made his traditional TPC gourmet, and this month is was thai green curry for one and all. Top bombing, the man can cook, and just about everyone ended up fighting over seconds :)

On the poker front, game #1 saw a TPC first, and after over an hour of play everyone was still in! Chazzizle is usually the first one to go with his crazy plays, but the boy came determined to play tight poker. As the blinds increased and the half time food cooking was wafting across the room, people started to loosen up, and it wasn't long before likes of 'no-good', 'meaty petey', and Pickers were out. Mezza was going through his grump of having no chips, and almost blew up earlier with 10 10 when Pete had hit trip 5s heaven on the turn. In true luck style though, he doubled up with a rash play of pocket 7s allin and couldn't believe it when Pete called with pocket 5s!

Lee 'Playing for rent' by now was about ready to rip some limbs off people, as he hadn't really had much of a hand all night, and the one that he did have everyone folded! For a tournament he used to own, he was now facing a 3rd straight month without cashing. I think it was me who finally knocked him out with a stronger Ace.

With all this going on, there was one man who was fighting the demons from within. Charlie time and time again forced himself to fold his usual low suited connectors and A-rags in a hope of turning his 2009 form around. He was in pains for each and every lay down though! Still it seemed to be paying dividends as his stack was somehow steadily growing.

With 3 of us left and the blinds now massive, there was bound to be some carnage on the horizon. Mez strangely min raised into my BB, and I called with 9Th. Flop comes J8x rainbow and Mez leads out with a feeler bet. Blinds are high, chances are he's missed the flop, I suspect he can't call an allin, and I've got outs if he does. So I ship it in and he slow rolls a big act 'if you have me beat, you have me beat' he says, before flipping AJh! The bloody luckbox had hit TPTK, and they even held up. I was left crippled and it wasn't long before they co-op'd me out (poor form by someone here who insinuated the play - mention no names!). So anyway I was out, but not overly upset with my play - blinds dictate!

That left just 2, and whilst the rest of us were tucking into the ribs and wings, Charlie took it down with a good A10 vs K10 and his first win of the year.

Part of the TPC tradition is all about the food. It all started with the Cisco nachos (still legendary!), but I've recently been out-muscled with the Pickers Choice-of-the-Month. Anything from meatload, chirizo stew, fajitas, and chilli, the boys is amassing a fan club, and there is sure to be a cookbook on the way. Mixed in with that we have the donuts from 'no-good', grapes and yogurts from Lee, and cookies from Pete. A fine mix!

Annnywaaaay, moving on as I realise this post is turning into war and peace. Mezza buoyed with his second place and still topping the leaderboard, was looking for excuses to get out of our usual game #2. Of all the things he could come up with, he blamed it on the fact it was Mother's Day in the morning! It was only bloody midnight, and claimed he was tired - shocking! Not only that, but he persuaded Charlie it was time to go to, who claimed he had training the next day - poor form!

That didn't stop the rest of us playing though, and we kicked off a TPC game for the hard core :) It didn't take so long for someone to drop out this time, with Pickers taking his AA to the river for big bets only to find Stu 'no good' had 43o two pair from the flop! Still unsure how he could lose with Aces, Pickers held on to his final 350 for as long as he could, passing up way too many short stack opportunities before he was blinded out.

Shorty 'playing for rent' was next as his luck downswing continued. Probably chased too many hands after not seeing decent cards all night, but no doubt will be back on form soon enough.

That left 'no-good' and me to fight it out HU, and I wasn't about to let this one slip. I played solid and finally caught him with my 77 vs K8. Another cash and some points in the bag, it's sure to be another epic next month.. I'll see what I can do about putting the leaderboard and some more pics up here of the series, which is soon going to be rivalling the WSOP for sure..

Sleep Pokering

It's a bit like sleep walking, but instead of walking it's playing poker. Not advisable for a good ROI, but if you become an expert like me then you occasionally have the chance of cashing.

I first started sleep pokering back in the early days of playing online when I always seemed to think just one more game before bed was a good idea. At first I would be be totally out for the count and wake up in the morning to see that I had gone out in say 8th and curse myself for not knowing when to stop. This then progressed on to waking up some mornings and finding I'd actually come 2nd or 3rd and cashed! Nowadays my body is used to falling asleep and waking up after x amount of hands, and I'm able to play myself back into the game. I could be chip leader, fall asleep, wake up the short stack, win a few hands, fall asleep, wake up crippled, and then somehow manage to come back and win. It's a crazy hobby / habit (whatever you want to call it!) but it's also addictive :)

It doesn't always pan out for the good as you might imagine, and it's especially unsociable if you invite some boys off the forum to jump into a late sit n go like I did the other night with kara and graeme, only to fall asleep about 15 hands into the tourny! I did warn them, in fairness, that I was on my way out and that they should give me a holler if I nodded off. Problem was that I forgot the little fact that neither Pacific or the PFU have a facility to shout at people through the internet which made the plan a little impractical. That said I did wake up with about 90 chips left, but it was no happy ending this time after I went in with rags leaving myself just enough time to say bye to all!

So there you have it, sleep pokering, it's all a bit underground at the moment, but more and more people are feeling comfortable talking about it, and it's about to take off in a big way. Just remember - you heard it here first :)

Earl Clifton

If there's one person to blame for the amount of poker I now play, it's probably down to Earl Clifton (aka Mezza). A very good friend of mine who keeps me on the straight and narrow if Mr Tilt shows his face. As well as being part of the TPC and PFU (after I invited him!), he also plays golf and xbox and we even played American football together.

Always good to talk about poker hands and strategy with me ol' pal Mez, and we're both responsible for upping each each other's game. Unfortunately he's married and has a boy which he would say hampers his ability to live the free man's life, but that doesn't stop him putting in his fair share of time on the felt, golf course, and xbox - unbelievably understanding wife!

We're probably two of the most competitive people about, and have various prop bets and rivalry all over the place (which can lead to the odd grump!), but it's all in the name of improvement :) A good guy indeed, so thought I would give him a shout out on here.

Poker Friends United

Just a quick post to bring you up to speed about the PFU, and a shout out to all the folk there. I really started playing a lot more poker last summer, and bantering away on the pacific tables as I usually did, I happened to be playing a chap (mccloud) who usually popped up in my games. We got heads up in one and he mentioned about joining up to some poker forum.

That was back in August 08 now, and since then I've met a great bunch of people who all have a passion for poker, and all more than willing to help each other out. It's a great community atmosphere and the place is really starting to take off. It probably consumes quite a bit of my time these days, as I'd like to think I've made some good friends there. Apart from the weekly 'Session' online forum tourny we play, there's all sorts of poker talk going on, plenty of social, and even a Fifa 09 league for the Xbox..

The PFU covers a wide range of people playing different stakes and formats, but there's no poker snobbery in sight. Micro-stakers to Aussie Millions cashers are all made to feel welcome and everyone gives as good as they get in the banter. The session can become monday night carnage at times!

The Session

It's Monday 8pm, can mean only one thing - the weekly PFU session! We are in week 9 or so of 22 weeks, and it's been a mixed bag up until now. Had a few points finishes, but also had some ropey early exits - I blame the larger-than-normal amount of loose crazy luckboxes in the group for that! Sitting 10th in the table I needed to put in a performance tonight, and I managed just that with a respectable 3rd. Probably disappointed with the hand I went out with (allin with Q8o vs BB A10), but the blinds were huge at that point, so I suppose it wasn't a terrible play given the situation. Anyway, there was another plus point to the night, as I won my usual last longer bet with Earl Clifton (aka Mezza), taking a mighty $6 off him and closing the gap in the series. That'll give me bragging rights for at least 7 days - in the meantime I'll just have to kick his ass at fifa!

Other happenings tonight include the news that Boku87 had finally completed his challenge (http://10kpropbet.blogspot.com/) with a whole 36 hours to spare. An amazing feat turning $100 into $10k in less than 15 days. The guy played up to 50 odd tables at a time and about 12 hours a day - It's enough to send anyone crazy, but big kudos to him - hopefully he picked up a fair whack in the sidebets too.

Right, I'm gonna see if I can squeeze a SNG or two in before calling it a night. Stick around and sometime soon I might even post more about the PFU, who Earl Clifton is, and maybe even a book review! Laters...

Weekend

No doubt I'll catch up on how I got to now in other posts, but just time for a quick rundown of this weekend's action. Not masses of poker played as I've been out and about, but I did make it to the casino yesterday to play in a £20 freeze-out. Nothing special about that, but I do enjoy the odd live game to keep things fresh. I didn't get very far though as it turns out - I played pretty tight for about 40 mins before seeing AK spades looking really pretty in the hole. I raised, got an all in reraise, and 'hoped' I was racing after pondering for a good couple of minutes and calling. He turned over the bad news - Cowboys, and I couldn't hit my miracle ace. Was a bit dissapointed with myself really, as it was a hand I felt I was easily able to laydown on reflection. Still, onwards and upwards, I got straight home and fired up some SNGs on Full Tilt and made my losses back pretty quick. Also cashed in a small one a bit later on having a bit of banter with a fellow PFU.

Poker of course is not the only thing that takes up my valuable time. Today was my first golf outing of the year. After a brief range session last week, it was time to unleash on the course. I hadn't played since xmas, and that was a truely shocking round. A ropey warmup on the range was followed by 7 holes of inconsistency, before I started to find my groove. Not quite gonna get my tour card anytime soon, but at least I boomed the Big Dawg driver and picked up some pars. Weather was spot on too, hopefully a good sign for the golfing season ahead!

Back to the poker, I managed to squeeze a few in this evening. Played the 1k on pacific and was looking good until I decided to blow my stack in the space of a few hands. Then played a few $20 SNGs on FT and picked up a 2nd to break me even.

So there you have it. Just dabbling on the tables and a decent weekend in all. Shame I'm back at work in the morning :(

Where to start?

Ok, it's time to get things rolling.. How about a quick overview of my poker 'career' to date?

I think I first got interested in poker back in the day when 'Late Night Poker' used to be on C4. I remember the Devil Fish and a few others, didn't always understand a great deal that was going on, but it was a great watch.

This lead on to a few years later rounding up enough friends for a monthly home game - which still goes on to this day under the banner of the Thornbury Poker Classic (TPC). I remember our first ever game, one of the guys got £200 worth of 5p's from his work finance dept that we were going to use for chips in a low limit Limit Texas Holdem game. It seemed like a good idea at the time, until moving in and out of the pot 5p's in £1 stacks became rather tedious! I think Charlie 'Lucky 7' still has all that change sat in a drawer somewhere! Obviously we couldn't continue like that, so as things developed we got the proper table, the proper chips, and gradually moved to playing tourny NL holdem.

The TPC was definitely our early schooling ground, but shortly after the home games began I decided to try out the online scene. There was lots of advertising for Pacific Poker at the time and I found the site allowed you to get a game using just play money. I knew I was well out of my depth so found it easy to stay clear of the real cash to begin with, but it didn't take long before I was hooked, and after amassing a cool few million in virtual dollar$ I was sure I was ready for the big time. I deposited £30 and started on the $5 SNGs, but after an initial good start I soon ended up throwing it all away. A few more deposits later and I was about $200 down and decided to stop and cut my losses. I was obviously not good enough to win when it came to real cash so I took a break. Determined to get better though I ended up buying and reading some books. I'll list in another post the books I've accumulated up til now, but I'm definitely sure if it weren't for them I wouldn't be back playing poker now.

I was out for about 3 months, but came back to it full of confidence, a plan in mind, and some new skills to put into action. I decided to move down to the $2.50 tables and continue playing them until I had won back all my losses. it took some time, but I managed it, and made $50 before deciding to move up a level. That's pretty much the theory I've stuck to, and I've moved up the levels since. That was about 2 and a half years ago, and I've made a decent profit since, running at about 23% ROI on an average $18ish stake, and roughly about $15k in winnings. I've been comfortable enough to play anywhere up to about $50 and have mixed it up a lot playing HU, triples, some MTTs, but my bread and butter has always been single table SNGs, which I play more than any other format. Lately I've even dabbled for small stakes on Hold Em cash, Omaha, and for a laugh even some 7 card stud!

As to what my best game is though, or where the biggest profits are to be found, or which levels I should be playing at - all seem to be tough questions waiting for the right answer to be found. Lots of thought and discussion has gone into it, but a master plan needs to be drawn up. There's no doubt about it, the dream is to be able to pack in the job and play poker for a living.

So just to round up for now, I've got accounts on a number of sites, but now mainly play on Full Tilt and Pacific. I'm playing $20 SNGs as the main bulk of my games, but I'm close to a target where I'll move up to $30 as a standard on FT.

Boom!

It seems I've finally arrived on this blogging malarki. Everyone else had one, so why not me?

The idea being I have a place to jot down my ongoing thoughts and adventures, mainly with poker, but when things are slow on the tables I'll be throwing in the current state of affairs with life, work, golf, and whatever else happens to be going on in the world.

Will anyone else read this? Not sure to be honest. I'll treat it like some sort of journal for myself, but if anyone sadly finds it of interest I might even make an effort with spelling and grammar!

Stay tuned...