Poker : June summary

I wasn't intending to do a summary every month, but as June was another good month wanted to brag a bit about it :-)    Luckily for me, June has built on my success in May which is fantastic.

My Pokerstars form wasn’t all that great and dropped $82 in the month.  Not sure how it happened but managed to play Omaha HL cash (dropped $13) and 2 Omaha tourneys (dropped $30) so it seems diversity is costing me money at the moment !   My sole HORSE tourney  I managed to bubble out so lost my $6 and the remaining $30 loss came from playing 21 x 8 Game tourneys as I only cashed in 4 of them.     I was particularly pleased to come 7th from 110 players but as the entry was only $2, I only won $5 :-) 

June also encompassed a weeks holiday during which I didn’t play any Poker, so only played 54 tournaments.  I snuck in 1 Pot Limit Omaha HL game, in which I came 57th from 81, so lost my £7.61 entry fee, but the rest were all No limit Holdem.

Total playing time was 40 hours and cashed in 18 of the 53 Hold’em games.   In 18 x 6 seater STT made a profit of £19, 21 x 10 seater STT lost £50, 2 x 20 seater STT won £12, 4 x 30 seater STT won £20 and larger MTT won £255  (came 2nd in 235 player tourney)

My sharpscope stats look like this for end June:

 

So my total profit in US dollars for June was $243 compared to $205 in May (leaving me only $1600 down for the year to date !)

For July I hope to carry on doing the same (but forgoing the Omaha cash games and tournaments !) and still have around 3 sponsored tournaments to enter (when they restart these tournaments after the WSOP has finished)

Music: Marina & the diamonds album

I haven’t bought any music for a while, so took the opportunity of receiving a HMV gift voucher to take a serious look around and buy something.

In the end I spotted the Marina & the diamonds (myspace) album “The family Jewels” for a bargain price.   I had seen and heard a couple of Marina tracks before and quite liked them, so took a chance.  

The most recent time I’d seen her was the Isle Of Wight gig, covered by ITV 2   The coverage itself was very poor, but the tracks they showed were at least pretty good generally.   Marina herself put in a reasonable performance so thought I’d buy her album :-)

I’ve only heard it through once so far, but was a little disappointed that all the tracks seem to sound very similar vocally as she uses the same tone/tricks on every track (so it seems) but there is certainly nothing wrong with the album overall and hopefully it will be a “grower” as I get more into the lyrics, etc…

Certainly don’t regret buying the album and if you like her “famous” songs (“I am not a robot” and Hollywood”) then you should also like the album as well.

General: Holiday

Not so much as a holiday as just taking a week off work !    As it turned out, the week  I picked had hot, sunny weather and the football was on :-)

We decided to just mooch about doing whatever we wanted, so the week started with us going to Basingstoke shopping on Saturday, the highlight being having lunch out in Italian Restaurant Ask which was very nice and relaxed

Sunday saw us out at the Ely having a nice carvery with Steve and Mandy who had come over for the afternoon

Monday we went to take my Mum & Dad out as a Fathers Day treat, ending up at the Beefeater at Tattenham Corner, Epson.  Actually, it was nice grub with reasonable service, all at pretty decent price as well.

Tuesday was a bit of a change, in that we had a Pizza at home lunchtime as we went to Corinne's for tea later in the day.   We took lots of cakes with us just in case, but wouldn’t have needed them (better safe than sorry when it comes to having enough cakes ;-) )

Wednesday saw us back to our normal lunchtime trip out and went to The Bee which I blogged about earlier   We also squeezed in a trip to Lynn’s Mum before getting home in time for the footy.  

Thursday we went to The Inn @ West End which was superb, described in another earlier post after which we needed a bit of exercise so had a walk up and down Ascot high street

Friday was another potential going to the coast day, but in the end just went to Camberley for a bit of shopping, then off to The Carpenters Arms pub for lunch.   Having had lots of “posh nosh” it was actually refreshing to have the more traditional “pub grub”   I really was fancying my Steam & Ale pie with chips :-)

The end of the week has come already, so took it easy over the last weekend.   Saturday watched the F1 Valencia qualifying and ordered take away Pizza for the evening !    We watched one of the DVD’s I’d bought, Iron Man (which was great film)

Sunday was a busy day, with an early lunch at home, followed by the European GP which was a great race, followed immediately by the debacle that was the England/Germany game !     After relaxing in the sun in the garden, we spent the evening watching another DVD bought yesterday which was HellBoy II : The Golden Army  Unfortunately, for me, it was another sequel that failed to live up to the original film.   Was overlong, lazy, unbelievable (compared to the original anyway) and sentimental.   Overall very disappointing.  At least the return of Top Gear did not disappoint :-)

All-in all a very relaxing week off work, so should be fit, refreshed and ready to dive back into the normal routine…. why is it that Monday morning always feels depressing and a huge effort to do anything ;-)

General: The Inn @ West End pub/restaurant

Being on a main road, The Inn @ West End is one of those pubs you can drive by many times without thinking to go in

If you are after great food, in lovely surroundings and excellent service, then it is a mistake to drive by !

It was a warm, sunny day so sat out in the covered patio, but the inside looked just as inviting.  The service was excellent and they really paid attention and judged the timing very well    We had a long leisurely lunch and thoroughly enjoyed all courses

The menu was extensive and had additional specials to choose from, so was spoilt for choice.   The portions were generous and was overall a fantastic experience.

The only down side was that it is pretty expensive, but for that you certainly get great quality and value for money

Definitely a place to come again

General: The Bee pub/restaurant

We’ve been wanting to go to The Bee for a while now, but have never quite got the chance until now…

We went Wednesday lunchtime so was not very busy.   Despite being a hot day, it was a pleasant temperature inside.   Service was adequate, given the ratio of staff to customers, with a small hiccup being that the drinks order was slightly incorrect (Lynn got a pint rather than a half)

The menu was a little limited and this seems to be a key feature of this venue… i.e. the menu changes daily so you are kind of taking pot luck on what choice of food you will get.   None of the starters appealed to either of us, so went straight to the main course. 

The food arrived in reasonable time and was very well presented and certainly tasted good. 

The limitations of the menu scuppered our enjoyment again as none of the deserts appealed either, so that was the end of our lunch !

I was a little disappointed by our experience, due to the limited menu choice.     It also seems if you really enjoy something you stand little chance of being able to order it next time either.    I guess if you were a regular visitor you would find the changing menu a good thing, but for me it just meant I wasn’t able to have a complete meal !

Overall, there was nothing to really complain about as such, but not sure I would risk going there again in case there is nothing on the menu I like!  

General: The Angel pub/restaurant

On Sunday lunchtime we went to The Angel at Woolhampton with Simon and Lil.  It’s easy enough to find as it’s on the A4 !

On arrival at the car park, with boarded up windows and doors, we wondered if it was open !  but as it turned out it was.     Although we had booked a table, it was pretty quiet so were plenty to choose from, both inside and out.   The outside area looked pretty good and also had the function room setup for watching the footy, but we sat in the main restaurant area.  The decor could be described as “rustic” or perhaps “rundown” and had noticed they were advertising for a new chef, so wondered what we had let ourselves in for !

We needn’t have worried, as the food choice on the main menu, bar menu and Sunday roasts gave plenty of choice and were exquisite when they turned up.   The service was a little on the slow side, but wasn’t an issue for us

The tomato soup was fantastic, then the Roast Pork was great… most of us squeezed in a pudding as well, which left us full but wanting to eat more….. couldn’t fault the food at all  (well, other than Lil was a little disappointed she didn’t get a Yorkshire pub with her lamb roast)

The prices reflected the quality of the food, so is not a place to come for a cheap meal but was certainly happy with the choice available, quality and quantity of food.

Well worth a visit if you’re passing and you fancy some posh nosh

General: Mid Year fitness update

It’s been a tough 6 months since my last fitness update but think I have managed to keep up my fitness levels pretty well.

Monday (Running)
Run at 6.5mph for 25 minutes, then 8mph for 5 mins, plus 5 minutes cool down.

Heart rate peak at 169 bpm and average 144 which is pretty much exactly the same as always

Tuesday (Rowing)
My target is 30 minutes at 30 spm plus 2 minutes cool down.   Cover 4.5 miles

Heart rate peak at 159 bpm and average 151

Slightly up since last time, but this is likely due to the increased target 

Wednesday (Cross Trainer and Weights)
6 minutes at level 2 plus 3 minutes backward peddling (or whatever it is you do on a Cross Trainer!)  Then 9 mins at level 4 plus 3 minutes backwards.   21 minutes in total, covering 1.8 miles

Heart rate peak at 159 bpm and average 143

This is better than last time, probably due to my having got used to this machine at last !

Then do one cycle of weights

15 x 2 reps of Chest Fly (2 weights)
15 x 2 Chest Press (3)
15 x 2 Lat Pull Down (5)

Heart rate peak at 138 bpm and average 113

This varies though, depending on how quickly I do the reps and how much rest I have in-between

Thursday (Cycling)
Pedal at around 14mph at level 11 resistance for 20 minutes, then 10 minutes at 16mph at level 13.   Then do 5 minutes cool down. Cover 7.5 miles

Heart rate peak at 156 bpm and average 141

Slightly better than last time, but nothing significant really

Friday (Running and Weights)
Same running as Monday, then the same weights as Wednesday

Unsurprising that my heart rate is the same as Monday and Wednesday respectively

My weight seems steady at 73kg (11st 6oz) so am a lean mean fitness machine :-)

Overall I am happy with my fitness however am starting to suffer a little from my left knee again (when running) and had to see the Physio last week about my left shoulder who has told me to lay off the rowing and weights for the next 5-6 weeks !     Lets hope my poor old body can stand the pummelling it’s getting !

Poker: $2500 GTD $10 MTT

Having come 52nd from 52 runners in last nights league game and lasting less than an hour in the $250’000 GTD tournament last week…  didn’t have much expectation for the $2500 tournament, but it’s quite fun and have done well in this weekly tournament before…

I didn’t make a lot of notes during the game, but was fairly uneventful and easily had my first objective which is to make the top 50%.   There were 235 runners so still quite some way to go !

In the mid game period I did get lucky when I shove A-Q into A-K but hit my Q to double up, but other than that my luck was up and down in equal measures !

I was always struggling to stay in the top 50% of runners, but as the numbers dwindled towards the 30 who get paid, I was just about maintaining mid table.

As we got to the bubble I was able to play very tight and got into the money at around 12th place of 30 remaining.   I was tight/aggressive in this phase and was very happy to be still around 12th when we got down to 20 players.   I got a good run of cards and managed to get into the top 3 before having a couple of hands with poor luck and ended up in 8th of 10 remaining when we got to the final table.

I had already decided I really wanted to get to at least 7th place ($100 prize) and with everyone playing tight was able to work my way up to around 6th without seeing a showdown.  I did get some good cards but also let the other players knock other players out so without even realizing found myself 4th from 6 remaining players all of a sudden !

It got very tough but another run of good cards and good flops saw me get to 2nd chip stack with around 3x the 3rd players chips.   With two huge stacks against two short stacks it wasn’t long before another player went out and another…. so we’re heads up and I am slight chip lead.

The other player is very tight/solid and I can steal some blinds but they’re insignificant compared to our stacks right now (8’000 big blind against 200’000 stack)   I slowly chip away and make some wild lunges here and there, and get a good chip lead.  I then get a little unlucky when I get a load of chips in with A-J on AKQ flop, to see my opponent with A-K !    I then manage to get allin with Q-Q against A-K on a 8xx flop but the A on the turn see’s me crash out in 2nd place

Felt a bit annoyed and deflated for a while, but consoled myself with the $387 prize for 2nd place (was about $625 for 1st though….) and the knowledge that I am able to go deep in a MTT :-)

Poker : Black Belt Poker League V - Leg 3

I'm really hoping to do better than the last couple of weeks, last longer than 15 minutes and get some decent points this time!

With 52 runners it's not a bad crowd so plenty of oppertunity to get some decent points this week, just need to keep focus and discipline.... and maybe get a beer :-)

First hand on SB with 7-3s and make up blind after one limper.   SebastianKat to my left raises so I fold.

Second hand I get Q-Js on button and make 4x raise after one limper.  SebastianKat reraises another 200, so decided to fold.  So far so good for my new attitude, managing to keep out of trouble early on !

Sit tight waiting for a hand, then on tenth hand get T-T on the button and re-raise, but SebastianKat in SB re-raised (again... stats for first 10 hands are VP:60 PR:50 AFq:75 at this point so been very aggro) so decided to launch one and go all-in.  He called with J-J and I am out in 52nd place after 10 minutes.... ho hum, so much for my new attitude :-)

The details of my miserable performance in the league tables, etc are available from the Poker League Group Page

Poker: Home Tournament – June 2010

I was feeling relaxed and confident this month and especially looking forward to the No Limit 2nd Chance format.

It was a surprise and pleasure that Martin turned up for the first time in about a year and he was also the kind enough to be first one out to save anyone else from that embarrassment :-)

My table was quite loose/passive (despite Bill being on my table!)   My game was quite low key to begin with.  I got involved in a couple of pots that I took down on the flop, then got ATo in against Bill’s 4-4 but spiked an A on the turn.   At the break I was exactly on average chips, being 6’000

Went a bit downhill after that… had a couple of stabs at the pot but missed the flop and had to fold.   Then got into a pot with Bill (I think) where he called with something like Q-9 against my A-T and hit 9-9-7 flop.  This left me with 3 big blinds and with time running out I shoved Q-8s and got called by Steve W with A-Q and was second man out !

Actually it wasn’t long before Simon and Lee were also out so we got a cash game going !  (soon followed by Bill and Roger)    The rest carried on playing and although I wasn’t paying much attention, it did seem to be quite a tense affair with 4 players left for the last three hands.  Andy managed to get knocked out in 4th again on the second last hand and the remaining three players were all within a couple of thousand of each other for the final hand.   Jock was small chip lead but dipped out the final hand and ended up being relegated to a respectable 2nd when Steve W had to play his 5-2 against Darren’s A-Q  The Q on the flop gave Darren his first cash of the year

Well done to all, look forward to seeing most next time

Poker: ECOOP VI $300+20 tournament

Tonight I'm playing the ECOOP VI () #10 $250'000 Guaranteed No Limit Hold' em Freezeout tournament on behalf of BBP.  It has 6 player tables, 3000 starting chips and 20 minute levels.

We are starting with only 640 players, so down on the 833 needed to make up the guaranteed prize pool (paid out to the top 80 finishers)... so plenty to play for then !!

Had player to my left who was always aggro when I raised BvB  If I raised he re-raised, if I 3 bet, he 4 bet all-in....  luckily was able to restrain myself but dropped about a third of my stack.  Managed to recoup some of my losses with Q-Q against one of the other players though!

Quite relieved to see more than 20 hands and get to the end of the level for a change ....

L1 : 536 place / out of 617 remaining   2390 chips / 3111 average
L2 : 485/552   1803/3478

Raise from early fairly loose player, re-raise with 9-9 and get 4 bet all-in.  I am pretty sure his range is AJ+ or 66+ so decide to go with the call.  Sure enough he has A-Ko but the K comes on the flop.   To add insult to injury an A comes on the turn also giving him a flush draw which he doesn't need as I miss my 2 remaining outs on the river and am out in 541st place

Damn, didn't even get to the first break and go out on a coin flip with 9's (again!)

I’ll have the opportunity to play another couple of big tournaments as a sponsored player, but really need to get my act together to go deep !

Poker: BBP League V – Leg 2

Poker League V time again (Leg 2)  I am determined to play tight/aggro and have a steady start this time...

First hand I get A9o and limp UTG, then call smallish raise from SB   Hit 932 flop and bet out but bottle out when K hits then a T on river, so just loose 1/3 of my stack, so much for my strategy  :-)

Get TT next hand so call raise and bet out J84 flop.... then bet the 9 turn and take the pot down - phew

Missing flops with AQs and A9s soon see me down to 800 after 7 hands and am 55th from 58 remaining after 10 minutes

Andy took me out after raising AJo and called my allin reraise with 99  The flop of J64 put paid to my chances so finished 56th after 19 minutes on the 13th hand

The details of the league tables, etc are available from the Poker League Group Page