FREE MUNNY!!!!

Thought that if I'm going to leave the blog in suspended animation for a few weeks, I might as well leave it on a massive plug-a-thon. So, as a result, treat yourselves to a copy/paste of a couple of earlier posts, revolving around YourPokerCash and their free $50 bankrolls at Full Tilt, Party Poker, Absolute Poker or UltimateBet, the choice is yours.....




I found this affiliate link while browsing the t'interweb this afternoon, looks very interesting to say the least!! It appears that they are an affiliate that simply offers a one off $50 instead of rakeback to generate custom for the poker rooms. Might be worth a look?

http://www.yourpokercash.com/?addby=b169ae

I'm not sure if it's too good to be true (free money generally is!), but I've signed up at YourPokerCash and applied for the Full Tilt offer. Apparently it's pending at the moment, and may take up to 10 days. I'm happy to wait 10 days for some free poker dollars tyvm!! I've only signed up for Full Tilt to see what happens, if all goes well I'll let you know (and promptly sign up for UltimateBet and Absolute, lol). Possibly a decent link for anyone wanting to sign up for a Full Tilt / Absolute / UltimateBet account during the time that RakeTheRake cannot cover them during the time that it takes the UK Gaming Commission to get their act together? You will forfeit any chance of rakeback at these rooms in the future (unless you can do the old new account trick like at Betfair) but a free $50 is a free $50 and not to be turned down in my opinion!!
Enjoy!!

http://www.yourpokercash.com/?addby=b169ae

**NB When you have signed up for a Your Poker Cash account, you still need to click the blue 'Request' button at the room of your choice. Once this is done you will receive detailed instructions on how to download the software and activate your account.

**EDIT 21st Jan** Received in full, 10.35pm. Let's spin it up then shall we? There is also an extra $50 to be had depending on how many Full Tilt Points you earn, this is released in $5 increments and works out to be equivalent to 35% rakeback. Away you go!!!

**EDIT 22nd JAN** Scroll down a little bit and hit the 'Received Free $50 from Full Tilt last night' post in the Blog Archive, on the left for further info
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<



Congratulations, SG.

Your request for a Full Tilt Poker free bankroll from YourPokerCash has been approved! If your free bankroll is not in your account at the time you receive this email, please be patient as it may take a few more hours to hit your account. Be sure to qualify for our weekly and monthly promotions. Click the "Promotions" Tab on the YPC homepage for more details.

Minimum Activity Requirement:
1. When you receive your Full Tilt Poker Free Bankroll, you must complete 1000 Full Tilt Points before cashing out.

If you have any questions, feel free to send us a message by logging in to your YPC account and clicking the "Support" Tab at the top of the YPC homepage. Good luck building your bankroll!

Regards,
YPC Team

http://www.yourpokercash.com/?addby=b169ae

Bonus!! 10 minutes to sign up, 4 day wait while they verify my details (over the weekend too, so effectively 2 working days), $50 free. Good enough!! The 1000 FTPs works out as $142.86 in rake when playing MTTS and STTs (not sure about cash, FT appear to have a very bizarre rake/points system and I simply can't be bothered to work it out as I rarely play cash anymore), but for every 100 FTPs I earn a bonus of $5, which works out at 35% rakeback, up to 1000 points/$50. I'll have some of those onions tyvm!! The 1000 point mark is to stop people just signing up, cashing out and scarpering, fair enough if you ask me. It also gives me another avenue to explore when it comes to trying to buy a package from one of the poker rooms that has been involved in the challenge......

I'm highly likely to try to ramp it up playing way too high, but as it's a free $50 I'm happy to take the risk. If I lose it all, so be it.

So, there you go people, if you want a free $50 to start playing at Full Tilt, Absolute Poker, UltimateBet or Party Poker

http://www.yourpokercash.com/?addby=b169ae




Righty then, time to see if I can grind another challenge bankroll from the paltry $9 that's left in the Hills account/$8 in Betfair/spam the hell out of the YPC to get a $50 bonus in Full Tilt/if all else fails redeposit a few quid in Hills (AAARGH!! DEPOSIT?? THE SHAME!!!). The plan is to start the blog back up when I'm over $100 again, but hang 'The Rules' and just have a bit of fun with it instead of grinding away, that way the bored gamble-monster should stay away. I reckon it'll be for the best.....

Good luck all, hope to have an update or two over the next few weeks. Keep well, and keep winning :D

Well, that's the end of that then

Three very important rules for poker, gambling and life in general -

1 - Never play when intoxicated
2 - Never play when annoyed from outside influences
3 - Never play beyond your bankroll

Back over $200......

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Off out to support my team mate Dave in the semi and (hopefully) final of the Pool singles knockout tonight so squeezed in a few games this afternoon instead. Glad I did!!

Good luck all!!

So much for playing less......

Decided on a few games of poker at 9pm, and 4 hours 34 minutes, half a bottle of whisky and 21 William Hill Double Your Money STTs later, I'm done. Phew!! Started awfully, having another one of those 'one of them nights' that we all get, where everything you do goes wrong, moves get called, big hands get rivered time after time, you know what I mean, cashed in just two of the opening 8 DYMs. Here we go again I thought, ready to turn it off. Struggled through, and dare I say played very solidly indeed (along with a stroke of luck here and there) to cash in 11 of the next 13 for a total profit of around $29 on the night. Nothing astronomical, but better than a kick in the nethers!! Of course, add to that the $7 rakeback I'll be receiving for the session, and we're edging ever closer to the $200 mark (which incidentally, I expected to hit in mid January. Oh how difficult is doing a challenge when you write a blog about it?). Got to 4 showdowns with JJ, won one, lost three, got to two showdowns against JJ, lost them both (set each time). I HATE JJ!! Even folded it UTG on the bubble of one of the DYMs, I hate it that much lol!!

In other news, I have received contact from a mysterious financial backer, known only as 'Baron Von Megacock'. This is the man responsible for originally lending me the cash to buy my banana car when I saw it up for sale 12 months ago, for which I paid him back with profits from poker last year. He has expressed an interest in the challenge (not least because I owe him $600 for something entirely different) and has agreed that not only will he join me in Vegas for a jolly up when the challenge is complete (he doesn't play poker, however he does drink heavily so jumped at the chance of doing so in Vegas), he has agreed to be my topless back massager for the duration of the time that I'm still surviving in the WSOP. Not quite in the same league as the scantily clad beauties that the pro's pay for, but beggars can't be choosers. Rumours that he has agreed to doing it completely starkers if I reach the Final Table are as yet unconfirmed, but I'm working on it......

Right, time to sleep off the over-indulgence. Good luck all!!

Nothing to report.....

On the poker front, barring receiving my Hills Rakeback for the week, which just happened to be exactly four dollars, precisely what I lost in rake at the weekend lol. As you can see from the SharkScope graph, things have leveled out somewhat following the huge downswing at the end of last month/beginning of this month. Rather a level chart than a falling one though!!

Fishing was very cold, however a few carp were caught and a good time was had, anything is welcome at this time of year. As an added bonus, I had a few quid running onto Portsmouth to beat Preston in the FA Cup, which was on while I was out fishing. Listening intently on the radio, they just about pulled it off, waiting until the 3rd minute of injury time to score the only goal of the game. PHEW!! £174 to the good, that'll be this years car tax paid for then!! I might have run up and down the lake banks, whooping and hollering, finishing off with a goal celebration style chest slide in the mud, however that's another story. Suffice to say, the fella fishing on the other side of the lake must now think I'm completely bonkers....

Not got much to do this week so will hopefully be able to get in a few poker sessions, to tell the truth I've kind of lost interest and am enjoying the break, going back to playing every now and again as opposed to every single day. Let's hope it reflects positively in my play and state of mind!!

Good luck all, thanks as ever for putting up with the drivel and then coming back for more :D

Oh, the joy, the delight, the immense beauty of JJ....

I think it has been well documented that I absolutely hate JJ, without doubt a horrendous bogey hand for me. As such, I now play JJ like a small pair, set mining and chucking it away at the slightest sign of resistance. This is why, from a DYM last night......


Tumble: posts small blind 7
Gare23086: posts big blind 15 That's right, this is level ONE!!
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Gare23086 [Jc Jh]
MrFeeling: folds
Melfice: folds
tibbbi: folds
Kenny7: calls 15
04captain: folds
Karyn82: folds
Mar220785: calls 15
Ste250796: folds
Tumble: raises to 120
Gare23086: calls 105
Kenny7: folds
Mar220785: calls 105
----- FLOP ----- [Jd 3c Ts]
Tumble: bets 1395 and is all-in
Gare23086: calls 1395
Mar220785: folds
----- TURN ----- [Jd 3c Ts][Ad]
----- RIVER ----- [Jd 3c Ts Ad][Kd]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Tumble: shows [Ah Ac] (Three of a kind, Aces, King high)
Gare23086: shows [Jc Jh] (Three of a kind, Jacks, Ace high)
Tumble collected 3165 from Main pot

JJ in my hand, it is cursed, I tell thee!!!

Honestly, what have I ever done to JJ to deserve that? Looooooooooool!!! Dealt out a 5 outer to someone on the river in a different DYM shortly after so karma was restored, not, however, before my wireless router crashed when I had 2/3 of my stack in the middle with KK on a K84 board though!! Darn you Hills and your lack of disconnection protection!!! Decided it just wasn't going to be my night after that, so turned it off having cashed 4 from 8 for a total loss of a mighty 4 dollars. Considering the circumstances, not horrendous, should've been 6 from 8 for $36 profit but I can't grumble, so will leave it there.

I have entry into $36k worth of gtd MTT's tonight, shame I have already had an overnight fishing trip planned for weeks!! I have 50/50 jockeys for the 2 big ones ($10k and $20k respectively), best of luck guys, I wish you well :-)

Big well done to Dests who took down yet another MTT last night, great result, well played!!

Right, time to go and catch some lovely fat carp. Best of luck all!!

WELL DONE DESTS!!!

Almost forgot!! Big well done to Mrs D, who has been having a bit of a torrid time of late. We all knew it was only a matter of time before she turned it around, and turn it around she did, in proper style too. Monday night (which just so happened to be her birthday, added bonus) saw her take down the $13k guaranteed, for a particularly tasty payday of $3640. Great effort, very well played!!!

Nothing particularly interesting to write about....

...bar reaching the Quarter Final stage of the Pool singles knockout without losing a frame then being knocked out in a nailbiting 3-2 thriller by one of my own team-mates, but who wants to read about that? Not poker people, that's for sure!! Not played any poker since Monday, so instead, it's just time for a massive plugathon.....


3 companies that are currently helping me with the 10 to 10000 USD Challenge, in no particular order -


YourPokerCash - Sorted me out with a free $50, no deposit bankroll and a Full Tilt account, which I can have my RTR referal fees paid into. I'm due another $50 anytime soon, so it's time to take a different approach and play Tighty McTight from Tightsville low limit cash with that $50, and use the account just for referral fees once 1000 FTP's is reached. As soon as 1000 FTP's are earnt, apparently I can apply for another $50 at Absolute, PartyPoker or UltimateBet. Bonus!! Click the link and fill in the sign up details (takes about 10 minutes, and you need a digital camera) at top left of page for your very own free $50.


William Hill Poker - 30% rakeback direct from Hills, a nice little bonus every Tuesday, and the Double Your Money STTs have become the mainstay of my poker play at the moment. Having had a few looks through the MTT lobby, they also appear to have a very, very comprehensive MTT schedule of an evening with satellites to all the big tournaments. Add to that the infamous HeadHunter and Scalp Collector Tournaments, and you don't really need to look anywhere else!! Click the banner at the top of the page for a minimum of 30% rakeback direct from William Hill, paid straight to your account every Tuesday.


RakeTheRake - Look after all my other rakeback needs, from Betfair to PKR. Admittedly, I've not used the BF software much this month (only for Eyes Wide Shut satellites), but when I do it's 30% rakeback from them too, thanks to RTR. If you're thinking of opening an account at a new site or are currently using a Betfair account and aren't earning rakeback on it, you'd be silly not to click the RakeTheRake button at the top left of the page...


Right, plugs over, time to think about cooking a special Valentine's dinner, no poker tonight for obvious reasons... Going to get right back on the trail tomorrow though!!!!!

Good luck all!!

My turn to have Aces cracked.....

Just over an hour into a 2591 runner freeroll, 600 left, 5 'sitouts' on a 10 seat table, AA looks tasty to me. Unfortunately, KTo looks equally tasty to my oppo, who hits a dream flop. Who would've thought that he had the only starting hand that could beat me come the river? And there's me thinking he's on a draw or 2 pair due to his massive calling station/suckout history on the table. Oh dear.....

Hold'em NL (150/300) - 2008/02/11 - 21:43:15 (UK)
Table "6474560 - 17" Seat 7 is the button.
Seat 1: Chri20013 sits out
Seat 2: Gare23086 (34121 in chips)
Seat 3: Acoustic sits out
Seat 4: Franzz (11357 in chips)
Seat 5: Fish00002 sits out
Seat 6: skylin3r (1350 in chips)
Seat 7: politistu (26105 in chips)
Seat 8: lindemans (14514 in chips)
Seat 9: TOBY23 sits out
Seat 10: claudix sits out
lindemans: posts small blind 150
TOBY23: posts big blind 300
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Gare23086 [Ah Ac]
claudix: folds
Chri20013: folds
Gare23086: raises to 1200
Acoustic: folds
Franzz: folds
Fish00002: folds
skylin3r: folds
skylin3r sits out
politistu: calls 1200
lindemans: folds
TOBY23: folds
----- FLOP ----- [Qd Js Ad]
Gare23086: bets 1200
politistu: calls 1200
----- TURN ----- [Qd Js Ad][3s]
Gare23086: bets 2100
skylin3r sits back
politistu: calls 2100
----- RIVER ----- [Qd Js Ad 3s][7c]
Gare23086: bets 8100
politistu: raises to 16200 WOOHOO!! Surely he hasn't got K 10? THE CHIP LEAD IS MINE!!!!!!
Gare23086: raises to 24300
politistu: is all-in 5405
Returned uncalled bets 2,695 to Gare23086
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Gare23086: shows [Ah Ac] (Three of a kind, Aces, Queen high)
politistu: shows [Kd Th] (A Straight, Ace high) KNACKERS!!
politistu collected 52660 from Main pot

Aces cracked.....

...... by me and AK off suit, woo hoo!!!!!!

Loose aggressive UTG+1 raises to 3bb, I look at AK on the button and decide I have his raggy ace dominated, or we are at worst racing and as oppo only has another 10bbs left I decide that getting him all in pre would be a good move. I think he wet himself when I shoved, and beat me into the pot lol. "Nice hand" I offer as the flop is dealt, a King gives me just a glimmer of hope. Turn brings another King, BOOYAA!! I bought him a pint, but I don't think it took the pain away.

I made it to just before the 3rd break (12/40), never having really got going, always hovering around as a medium stack. I was down to 7.5bb and Ah8h looked too pretty to resist on a 6 handed table for an UTG move, which I promptly smashed straight into KK UTG+1 and AQ on the button. Flop brought an 8 for a chance, alas the turn King did me no favours, no arguments there. Nice to exit a tournament having gone in with the worst of it for a change :-)

I've decided that it would be a good idea to involve my live play in the challenge, so as a result I'm going to pay for half of each live buy in from the internet bankroll, and half of any winnings will be returned. Seems like a good plan at the moment, only time will tell though.

Kip time for me, I'm absolutely pooped!! Good luck all!!

Apologies.....

......to one and all for the lack of updates, I've simply had nothing of any note to write about!!

Tuesday saw the bankroll take a huge hit when I ignored all the pre-written rules, instead decicing that I would play 30 DYMs, no matter what. It started well, but I then started to play very badly indeed, making poor judgements left, right and centre. I don't know exactly buy ins I dropped, but suffice to say it was a LOT. Final straw was DYM number 27, when the post below happened (the 106,106/1 mayhem). I turned it off after that, and it stayed off, right up until today. I've been running pretty cold for months now, with any luck Tuesday evening was the turning point (it can't really get any worse than 100k/1 lol!!), and that it's now out of the Poker Gods' system once and for all. Ooh look, is that a pig flying past my window??.....

On a non-poker related note, I managed to get through to the last 16 of the singles knockout in my pool league on Wednesday night (our team of 7 has 5 players in the last 16, ship it to the Berkeley!!) and also found out that we'd leapfrogged ourselves into 2nd place (by just 1 point) in the league with just 2 games remaining. 1st are currently just about uncatchable, but 2nd would be a fantastic result, fingers crossed that we can stay ahead!!

Played 10 DYMs today, cashed 7, a good start to rebuilding the battered bankroll once again, let's hope it continues. I even sucked out on the bubble in one, AT vs AK all in pre, flop brought two beautiful 10s. Mustn't grumble!!

Off out to play a £25 ($50) live freezeout tonight so must keep this one short as I have to be there in 10 minutes, usually a good crowd down there so looking forward to it.

Best of luck at the tables,
SG

One for the 'all rigged' crew.......

Lots of HH's I'm afraid, but this really is beyond belief. 'Roomsey' has been sat out the entire DYM, until the point of being blinded away to 200 chips, in the small blind, at 200/400, with 6 left and 5 paid, so time to play it like a satellite and limp into the money, one of the shorties will die sooner rather than later, surely? Macken001 is also short, so is folding his blinds away, and also manages to get himself all in on the blinds pretty quickly. Between them, they win 11 straight showdowns when forced all in, and who bubbles when the blinds get to stupid proportions (500/1000)? Of course.....

*Edit 6/2/08 - Having just run the hands (all pre flop) through the CardPlayer odds calc and Sporting life betting calc, it appears that the 11-fold (of which whoever was all in was 30% once, 25% 3 times, 35% 3 times, 41% twice and a 66% favourite just twice) was a 106,106/1 shot (don't believe me? Try it for yourself.) for one of the other players not to be knocked out before the blinds finally gobbled me up. If I change the 7th hand to the 3% that it was on the flop, needing runners to stay alive, that figure rockets up to 1,332,744/1. I run too good.

Seat 2: Ksu010161 (7033 in chips)
Seat 4: bozzy (1548 in chips)
Seat 6: Roomsey sits out
Seat 7: Macken001 (1170 in chips)
Seat 9: Gare23086 (1684 in chips)
Seat 10: Gstrin001 (3365 in chips)
Roomsey: is all-in 200
Macken001: posts big blind 400
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Gare23086 [2h Kd]
Gare23086: folds
Gstrin001: folds
Ksu010161: folds
bozzy: folds
Returned uncalled bets 200 to Macken001
----- FLOP ----- [4d Ac 9d]
----- TURN ----- [4d Ac 9d][4c]
----- RIVER ----- [4d Ac 9d 4c][Qh]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Macken001: shows [Qd Js] (Two Pairs, Queens and Fours, Ace high)
Roomsey: shows [4s Tc] (Three of a kind, Fours, Ace high)
Roomsey collected 400 from Main pot


Seat 2: Ksu010161 (7833 in chips)
Seat 4: bozzy (1148 in chips)
Seat 6: Roomsey sits out
Seat 7: Macken001 (770 in chips)
Seat 9: Gare23086 (1684 in chips)
Seat 10: Gstrin001 (3165 in chips)
bozzy: posts small blind 200
Roomsey: is all-in 400
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Gare23086 [6d 8c]
Macken001: folds
Gare23086: folds
Gstrin001: folds
Ksu010161: calls 400
bozzy: calls 200
----- FLOP ----- [5c 7s 2c]
bozzy: checks
Ksu010161: checks
----- TURN ----- [5c 7s 2c][Jd]
bozzy: checks
Ksu010161: checks
----- RIVER ----- [5c 7s 2c Jd][4d]
bozzy: checks
Ksu010161: checks
----- SHOW DOWN -----
bozzy: shows [7h Kh] (A Pair of Sevens, King high)
Roomsey: shows [6c 8s] (A Straight, Eight high)
Ksu010161: shows [4s Ts] (A Pair of Fours, Jack high)

BLINDS NOW 300/600

Seat 2: Ksu010161 (6033 in chips)
Seat 4: bozzy (748 in chips)
Seat 6: Roomsey sits out
Seat 7: Macken001 (70 in chips)
Seat 9: Gare23086 (1684 in chips)
Seat 10: Gstrin001 (6065 in chips)
Roomsey: posts small blind 300
Macken001: is all-in 70
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Gare23086 [Qd 2h]
Gare23086: folds
Gstrin001: folds
Ksu010161: folds
bozzy: folds
Returned uncalled bets 230 to Roomsey
----- FLOP ----- [7d 5h Qc]
----- TURN ----- [7d 5h Qc][9h]
----- RIVER ----- [7d 5h Qc 9h][Tc]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Macken001: shows [Th 8d] (A Pair of Tens, Queen high)
Roomsey: shows [Ks 8s] (High Card King)
Macken001 collected 140 from Main pot


Seat 2: Ksu010161 (6033 in chips)
Seat 4: bozzy (748 in chips)
Seat 6: Roomsey sits out
Seat 7: Macken001 (140 in chips)
Seat 9: Gare23086 (1684 in chips)
Seat 10: Gstrin001 (6065 in chips)
Macken001: is all-in 140
Gare23086: posts big blind 600
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Gare23086 [Ac 5d]
Gstrin001: folds
Ksu010161: folds
bozzy: folds
Roomsey: folds
Returned uncalled bets 460 to Gare23086
----- FLOP ----- [8d Js 4s]
----- TURN ----- [8d Js 4s][Ts]
----- RIVER ----- [8d Js 4s Ts][Jh]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Gare23086: shows [Ac 5d] (A Pair of Jacks, Ace high)
Macken001: shows [Td 3h] (Two Pairs, Jacks and Tens, Eight high)
Macken001 collected 280 from Main pot


BLINDS NOW 500/1000

Seat 2: Ksu010161 (5133 in chips)
Seat 4: bozzy (1948 in chips)
Seat 6: Roomsey sits out
Seat 7: Macken001 (280 in chips)
Seat 9: Gare23086 (1244 in chips)
Seat 10: Gstrin001 (6065 in chips)
bozzy: posts small blind 500
Roomsey: is all-in 330
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Gare23086 [2h Kh]
Macken001: folds
Gare23086: folds
Gstrin001: folds
Ksu010161: folds
Returned uncalled bets 170 to bozzy
----- FLOP ----- [8d Jc Qs]
----- TURN ----- [8d Jc Qs][5c]
----- RIVER ----- [8d Jc Qs 5c][7h]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Roomsey: shows [Qd Ac] (A Pair of Queens, Ace high)
bozzy: shows [8s 2s] (A Pair of Eights, Queen high)
Roomsey collected 660 from Main pot


Seat 2: Ksu010161 (5133 in chips)
Seat 4: bozzy (1618 in chips)
Seat 6: Roomsey sits out
Seat 7: Macken001 (280 in chips)
Seat 9: Gare23086 (1244 in chips)
Seat 10: Gstrin001 (6065 in chips)
Roomsey: posts small blind 500
Macken001: is all-in 280
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Gare23086 [8c 7s]
Gare23086: folds
Gstrin001: raises to 2000
Ksu010161: folds
bozzy: folds
Roomsey: folds
Returned uncalled bets 1,500 to Gstrin001
----- FLOP ----- [Ah Qh 2h]
----- TURN ----- [Ah Qh 2h][3s]
----- RIVER ----- [Ah Qh 2h 3s][Kh]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Gstrin001: shows [Qc 9d] (A Pair of Queens, Ace high)
Macken001: shows [3d Qd] (Two Pairs, Queens and Threes, Ace high)
Gstrin001 collected 440 from Side pot #1
Macken001 collected 840 from Main pot


Seat 2: Ksu010161 (4453 in chips)
Seat 4: bozzy (2118 in chips)
Seat 6: Roomsey sits out
Seat 7: Macken001 (1020 in chips)
Seat 9: Gare23086 (1244 in chips)
Seat 10: Gstrin001 (6005 in chips)
bozzy: posts small blind 500
Roomsey: is all-in 160
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Gare23086 [Jh 3s]
Macken001: folds
Gare23086: folds
Gstrin001: folds
Ksu010161: folds
Returned uncalled bets 340 to bozzy
----- FLOP ----- [Kh Js 4d] <<<< Edit 8/2/06 oppo now needs runners to stay alive, and is just 3% to stay alive here
----- TURN ----- [Kh Js 4d][8d]
----- RIVER ----- [Kh Js 4d 8d][6c]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Roomsey: shows [8s 6h] (Two Pairs, Eights and Sixes, King high)
bozzy: shows [Ks Th] (A Pair of Kings, Jack high)
Roomsey collected 320 from Main pot


Seat 2: Ksu010161 (4453 in chips)
Seat 4: bozzy (1958 in chips)
Seat 6: Roomsey sits out
Seat 7: Macken001 (1020 in chips)
Seat 9: Gare23086 (1244 in chips)
Seat 10: Gstrin001 (6005 in chips)
Roomsey: is all-in 320
Macken001: posts big blind 1000
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Gare23086 [4d 4h]
Gare23086: folds
Gstrin001: folds
Ksu010161: folds
bozzy: folds
Returned uncalled bets 680 to Macken001
----- FLOP ----- [Kh 5h 7c]
----- TURN ----- [Kh 5h 7c][3h]
----- RIVER ----- [Kh 5h 7c 3h][3s]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Macken001: shows [9d 6c] (A Pair of Threes, King high)
Roomsey: shows [7d 8s] (Two Pairs, Sevens and Threes, King high)
Roomsey collected 640 from Main pot


Seat 2: Ksu010161 (4453 in chips)
Seat 4: bozzy (2458 in chips)
Seat 6: Roomsey sits out
Seat 7: Macken001 (200 in chips)
Seat 9: Gare23086 (1244 in chips)
Seat 10: Gstrin001 (6005 in chips)
bozzy: posts small blind 500
Roomsey: is all-in 640
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Gare23086 [7c 2h]
Macken001: folds
Gare23086: folds
Gstrin001: raises to 2000
Ksu010161: folds
bozzy: folds
Returned uncalled bets 1,360 to Gstrin001
----- FLOP ----- [4d Qs Qc]
----- TURN ----- [4d Qs Qc][5h]
----- RIVER ----- [4d Qs Qc 5h][6h]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Gstrin001: shows [As 9s] (A Pair of Queens, Ace high)
Roomsey: shows [Th 5s] (Two Pairs, Queens and Fives, Ten high)
Roomsey collected 1780 from Main pot


Seat 2: Ksu010161 (4453 in chips)
Seat 4: bozzy (1958 in chips)
Seat 6: Roomsey sits out
Seat 7: Macken001 (200 in chips)
Seat 9: Gare23086 (1244 in chips)
Seat 10: Gstrin001 (5365 in chips)
Roomsey: posts small blind 500
Macken001: is all-in 200
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Gare23086 [7c 3s]
Gare23086: folds
Gstrin001: folds
Ksu010161: folds
bozzy: folds
Returned uncalled bets 300 to Roomsey
----- FLOP ----- [7s 7h 4d]
----- TURN ----- [7s 7h 4d][2h]
----- RIVER ----- [7s 7h 4d 2h][9h]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Macken001: shows [6h 3h] (A Flush, Nine high)
Roomsey: shows [4c Qs] (Two Pairs, Sevens and Fours, Queen high)
Macken001 collected 400 from Main pot


Seat 2: Ksu010161 (4453 in chips)
Seat 4: bozzy (1958 in chips)
Seat 6: Roomsey sits out
Seat 7: Macken001 (400 in chips)
Seat 9: Gare23086 (1244 in chips)
Seat 10: Gstrin001 (5365 in chips)
Macken001: is all-in 400
Gare23086: posts big blind 1000
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Gare23086 [7d 2s]
Gstrin001: folds
Ksu010161: folds
bozzy: folds
Roomsey: folds
Returned uncalled bets 600 to Gare23086
----- FLOP ----- [8c Ad Kc]
----- TURN ----- [8c Ad Kc][6d]
----- RIVER ----- [8c Ad Kc 6d][7h]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Gare23086: shows [7d 2s] (A Pair of Sevens, Ace high)
Macken001: shows [9s Tc] (A Straight, Ten high)
Macken001 collected 800 from Main pot


Table "6439438 - 1" Seat 7 is the button.
Seat 2: Ksu010161 (4453 in chips)
Seat 4: bozzy (1958 in chips)
Seat 6: Roomsey sits out
Seat 7: Macken001 (800 in chips)
Seat 9: Gare23086 (844 in chips)
Seat 10: Gstrin001 (5365 in chips)
Gare23086: posts small blind 500
Gstrin001: posts big blind 1000
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Gare23086 [4d 8c]
Ksu010161: folds
bozzy: folds
Roomsey: folds
Macken001: folds
Gare23086: folds
Returned uncalled bets 500 to Gstrin001
Gstrin001: doesn't show hand
Gstrin001 collected 1000 from Main pot


Seat 2: Ksu010161 (2953 in chips)
Seat 4: bozzy (2458 in chips)
Seat 6: Roomsey sits out
Seat 7: Macken001 (800 in chips)
Seat 9: Gare23086 (344 in chips)
Seat 10: Gstrin001 (6865 in chips)
bozzy: posts small blind 500
Roomsey: posts big blind 1000
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Gare23086 [Td Th]
Macken001: folds
Gare23086: is all-in 344
Gstrin001: calls 1000
Ksu010161: folds
bozzy: folds
Roomsey: checks
----- FLOP ----- [7h Ah 5d]
Roomsey: checks
Gstrin001: checks
----- TURN ----- [7h Ah 5d][Qh]
Roomsey: checks
Gstrin001: checks
----- RIVER ----- [7h Ah 5d Qh][7d]
Roomsey: checks
Gstrin001: checks
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Gstrin001: shows [Kh Qc] (Two Pairs, Queens and Sevens, Ace high)
Roomsey: mucks hand [Jd 4h]
Gare23086: mucks hand [Td Th]
Gstrin001 collected 1468 from Side pot #1
Gstrin001 collected 1376 from Main pot


The one time I can beat Roomsey is the time that the big stack also takes a shot. Utterly, utterly sickening. It might only be a difference of $20, but what a gutter. The word sick is used an awful lot in poker, but I do feel genuinely sick. What can you do against that?

Nightmare.

Like buses.......

As the old saying goes, you wait for ages and then 2 come along at once :D
Oppo was holding KQ spades and continuation bet the flop, turn brought another spade so he semi-bluffed at that and called my min raise, river came a Queen to give him just enough to lead out for a moderate amount and call my 3 bet. Happy days!!
Hammered it today because I'll not be playing tomorow or Thursday, currently 9/15, for all of $15, from 2 sessions with another one planned for this evening. Not exactly a storming percentage, but better than running at a loss :-)
Also played a 10 MPP 'March Madness' satellite, lasted 1 hand, result!! QQ no match for A7o, who pushed all in pre flop. K54 flop, turn 6, river 8, gotta chuckle. Nice hand, well played, good game, haha.

Good luck all!!

Today was yearly MOT test day for my trusty old Citrine Mondeo....

..... and it only went and sailed through, just needing the headlight aim tweaked!! Bonus!! I had £240 ($480) put by should it have needed any work, but it only cost £65 ($130) in the end, with the test fee itself being £48 ($96) of that, woo hoo!! Just goes to show just how much a bit of DIY preventative maintainence and a touch of effort every few weeks helps to keep a vehicle in tip top condition, bearing in mind it's coming on for being 15 years old and in the words of the MOT tester - "That's the most mechanically and structurally sound Mk1 Mondeo I've seen in years". Well, who am I to argue with that? Praise indeed :-).

This means that no money has had to be siphoned from the poker account to pay for it (which is lucky, as I appear to still have close to naff all in the poker account, lol), so the challenge bankroll still stands at $163. CHAAAAAAARGE!!! DYM time I feel, might even squeeze in a couple of sneaky ones this afternoon while Mrs and Mini SG are out swimming.

Good luck all!!

Betfair Eyes Wide Shut Mayhem.....

Got my rakeback for January (only played on Betfair for about a week in Jan so was a piffling $11.40) on Friday. Wildcat kindly pointed out a thread on the footy forum that highlighted an odds compilation error for one of the Blue Square Conference South games, and to cut a long story short I had a quick look at the form of both sides and thought 'what the hell, it's only $11'. Lo and behold, the final scoreline was 1-5 in 'our' favour, SHIP IT!! That gave me enough dollars in the Betfair account for 3 bites at the Eyes Wide Shut cherry, and the chance to turn $10 into $2500 in less than 4 hours......

BF do two turbo (1500 starting chips, 5 minute blinds) satellites per evening, the first a 9 bucker and the 2nd a 7 bucker. For some reason I've always fared better in the $7 satellite, even though there are less seats per entrant. How does that work then? Anyway, I'd decided to play both satellites and save $8 for another day. The first went particularly well, when 20 minutes in an 'advanced' resteal with 97 on a Q64 flop is no match for KK, and no matter how hard it tried the BF software could only muster up half of my runner runner straight. It's all rigged, I tell thee. Resteal indeed. I read good!! Whoops!!

The 2nd satellite started with a bang, to say the least!! Very first hand is below, and I must admit that when I jammed on the flop I was certain I was behind and just wanted an excuse to walk down to the kebab shop!!

***** Betfair Poker Hand History for Game 308693742 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $7 Buy-in + $0.70 Entry Fee, Level:1 Blinds(10/20-(no ante)) - Saturday, February 02, 22:20:07 GMT 2008
Turbo Sat to Eyes Wide Shut #124250
Table 2 9-max (Real Money)
Seat 5 is the button
Total number of active players : 9
Seat 1: Jenpusa ( 1,500 )
Seat 2: EURO 8876 ( 1,500 )
Seat 3: barleyotto ( 1,500 )
Seat 4: baw99 ( 1,500 )
Seat 5: themainman ( 1,500 )
Seat 6: boysvnh ( 1,500 )
Seat 7: von and ( 1,500 )
Seat 8: JJLehto ( 1,500 )
Seat 9: SG3KSG ( 1,500 )
Tourney Level:1 Blinds(10/20-(no ante))
boysvnh posts small blind [10]
von and posts big blind [20]
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to SG3KSG [ Ah, Kd ]
JJLehto folds
SG3KSG raises to [50]
Jenpusa folds
EURO 8876 folds
barleyotto folds
baw99 calls [50]
themainman folds
boysvnh calls [40]
von and calls [30]
** Dealing Flop ** [ Kh, Jc, Tc ]
boysvnh checks
von and bets [200]
SG3KSG goes all-in
SG3KSG raises to [1,450]
baw99 folds
boysvnh folds
von and calls [1,250]
von and goes all-in
** Showdown **
von and shows [ Kc, Jd ]
SG3KSG shows [ Ah, Kd ]
** Dealing Turn ** [ Qd ]
** Dealing River ** [ Qs ]
** Hand Conclusion **
SG3KSG wins 3,100 from main pot with a straight, Ace to Ten
************ Game 308693742 ends ************


SG in suckout shocker!! Nice to be on the right side of it!! I continued to run very nicely for the remainder of the satellite, this hand in particular helping to see me through....

***** Betfair Poker Hand History for Game 308706965 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $7 Buy-in + $0.70 Entry Fee, Level:6 Blinds(100/200-(no ante)) - Saturday, February 02, 22:48:22 GMT 2008
Turbo Sat to Eyes Wide Shut #124250
Table 2 9-max (Real Money)
Seat 9 is the button
Total number of active players : 6
Seat 1: pasax ( 3,435 )
Seat 2: EthanJohn ( 4,035 )
Seat 3: DIMEFI ( 0 )
Seat 4: merly ( 6,495 )
Seat 5: themainman ( 950 )
Seat 6: boysvnh ( 8,620 )
Seat 7: cushty ( 2,090 )
Seat 8: treborkid ( 0 )
Seat 9: SG3KSG ( 4,450 )
Tourney Level:6 Blinds(100/200-(no ante))
EthanJohn posts small blind [100]
merly posts big blind [200]
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to SG3KSG [ Kh, Qs ]
themainman folds
boysvnh folds
cushty folds
SG3KSG raises to [700]
EthanJohn calls [600]
merly calls [500]
** Dealing Flop ** [ 4d, Qd, Kd ]
EthanJohn checks
merly checks
SG3KSG goes all-in
SG3KSG bets [3,750]
EthanJohn calls [3,335]
EthanJohn goes all-in
merly folds
Returning uncalled bet [415] to SG3KSG
** Showdown **
EthanJohn shows [ Ah, Ad ]
SG3KSG shows [ Kh, Qs ]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 2s ]
** Dealing River ** [ Ts ]
** Hand Conclusion **
SG3KSG wins 8,770 from main pot with two pair, Kings and Queens
************ Game 308706965 ends ************

What, no 4th Diamond? Shocking!! In all fairness, EthanJohn has played this hand very well in my opinion, and got unlucky that I hit the flop so hard. I managed to use the big stack to my advantage and bully and steal my way to a seat in the $55 buy in, $7000gtd Eyes Wide Shut 'proper'.....

14 minutes in, Proviman came online and wished be 'Good Luck' on MSN. I've played 1 hand (AQ in 3rd, 3 bet pre, 1 caller from SB, I bet 2/3 pot on A high flop and took the pot), and find myself with AKo in the big blind with the blinds to rise to 50/100 the very next hand. There is a limp from early, and SB has raised to 300 (blinds are currently 25/50). I see that as quite a big raise, one that doesn't really want a call, so imagine SB to be on a medium pair or A10/AJ/AQ. To smooth call and miss the flop here would cost me 1/5 of my stack, I'm confident of being ahead or at least 45/55, I might even have SB dominated. The big raise doesn't really want a call, it's fairly early on in a $55 tourney, I fancy him to fold, and don't really like the idea of leaving myself 13bbs in a turbo tourney should I miss the flop, so in they go. SB thinks for a bit and calls, and has AQo. YEE HAA!!!

***** Betfair Poker Hand History for Game 308748133 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $50 Buy-in + $5 Entry Fee, Level:3 Blinds(25/50-(no ante)) - Sunday, February 03, 00:14:26 GMT 2008
Eyes Wide Shut $7000 GTD #124251
Table 14 9-max (Real Money)
Seat 3 is the button
Total number of active players : 9
Seat 1: RAMVAS ( 885 )
Seat 2: il tedesco ( 1,785 )
Seat 3: tracey_uk ( 1,210 )
Seat 4: The Sham ( 1,890 )
Seat 5: SG3KSG ( 1,670 )
Seat 6: Oli b uk ( 1,945 )
Seat 7: Gatso ( 1,435 )
Seat 8: piatellas ( 1,730 )
Seat 9: zynth ( 950 )
Tourney Level:3 Blinds(25/50-(no ante))
The Sham posts small blind [25]
SG3KSG posts big blind [50]
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to SG3KSG [ Ks, Ad ]
Oli b uk folds
Gatso folds
piatellas calls [50]
zynth folds
RAMVAS folds
il tedesco folds
tracey_uk folds
The Sham raises to [300]
SG3KSG goes all-in
SG3KSG raises to [1,670]
piatellas folds
The Sham calls [1,370]
** Showdown **
The Sham shows [ Ah, Qc ]
SG3KSG shows [ Ks, Ad ]
** Dealing Flop ** [ Ac, As, 7c ]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 9c ]
** Dealing River ** [ 4c ]
** Hand Conclusion **
The Sham wins 3,390 from main pot with a Flush
************ Game 308748133 ends ************


Gotta love that. Pfft!! I think I used up all my luck on the satellite, like I say I ran very nicely indeed (come to think of it, I don't think I lost a hand that went to showdown, will have to run through the HH in a mo) and was due a bit of a nasty one. Regardless of how I played that pre, the chips were all going in from both sides on that flop, it was just my turn to lose that one. I think I'd have rather the SB had hit the Queen though.....
**Edit 12.15 - During the satellite, I was involved in 10 showdowns, won 8, split 2. Wow. I ran (and dare I say played?) goooood for that hour :D


On the upside, I forgot to mention the small matter of hitting Quads for the first time in ages and getting paid off in a DYM on Hills the other day (Thursday or Friday?). Kerching!! I in fact played 10 DYMs and cashed in 8 of them, bringing my Sharkscope graph back up to an acceptable level after dropping $70 like it was candy towards the back end January, after the 'played 3, won 3' session. Not a massive amount, but nearly half of the challenge bankroll so was a bit scary at the time!!










As ever, good luck to all, and thanks for putting up with the drivel!!

A request....

If anyone who reads this is around the Portsmouth/Midhurst/Worthing area and has a spare 19(ish) inch monitor hanging about that they would like a few quid for, I'm in the market for one. Let me know via the comments or email (at top of page) and I'll get straight back to you. Cheers!!

January Recap

TFI February is all I can say!!

Struggled through January, I think I lost my marbles on 2 seperate occasions, but still (thankfully) managed to make a little profit. Start balance was $74, low point was around a week into the month, $40. High point was around the 20th, before the Full Tilt account went belly up, $211. January has finished with a total balance of $165.64, not exactly on target but a reasonable start considering how badly the challenge started. Fingers crossed for February!!

Off the poker, things that have helped me get through the month include, in no particular order -
My wonderful wife and bouncing baby girl - They've managed to drive me insane and keep me sane at the same time, wouldn't swap them for the world!!
UKGatsby - Cheers for the help in getting the blog up and running, much appreciated.
Wildcat/Chalfontfan and Proviman - Both ever cheerful, forever on the end of my MSN ranting, and always on hand for a bit of advice. Sorry, and thank you in the same breath. As an aside, Provi has had an absolute stormer of a month on Betfair, with no less than 25 MTT Final Tables and 3 wins to his name. Great effort squire!!
CostCutter bacon offcuts - A revelation!! Can't believe I've never discovered these beauties before!!
YourPokerCash - Gave me a free $50, which I managed to keep under control all the way up to a shocking $71.50, then spunked the lot in 2 days when I prematurely moved up levels due to boredom and utter greed. D'OH!!
RakeTheRake - For looking after my Betfair rakeback, hence dodging Betfair's stupid lower limits, and for agreeing to pay my referall earnings into my Full Tilt account as opposed to by cheque, hence saving me a couple of quid on admin fees. Cheers RTR!!
Channel Dave - Top Gear, Bottom, Red Dwarf, Never Mind The Buzzcocks on an almost constant loop. Wonderful background for a few games of poker!!
My Pool team coming back from 4-2 down to win our latest cup game 5-4 last night - Needs no explanation, a cracking team effort, well done guys (pats himself on back for winning 2 of the 5 games, hehe). Could've just given up and got drunk, but no, each and every one of the team knuckled down and grinded out the result with sheer determination. Currently running 3rd in Div 1 and still in the League Cup (all 4 divisons) at the Quarter Final stage. Fingers crossed!!
Wildcat(again)/Haribo/Dibble - Got me onto the Double Your Money STTs on Hills. Many thanks to all three of you, the bulk of this month's profit has come from them. Boring, but profitable, I think the challenge would've died on it's arse without them. Cheers chaps!!
WSOP 2007 on YouTube - Yes, we all know who wins, but watching the coverage in You Tube is keeping the dream alive!! People say how they'd rather play the Aussie Millions or an EPT event because it's 'less commercial'. The commercialism and craziness of Vegas is EXACTLY why I want to go to the WSOP!!!

Thanks to everyone that has taken the time to read in January, apologies for the general negativeness of the posts. I'll try to keep much more positive in February!!