Woke up Saturday at 3am with dodgy tummy, so had to go to the toilet... then again at 4am, 5am, 6am.... you get the (not pretty) picture, wasn't all that bad and could eat breakfast OK but feeling a bit tired from the interrupted sleep !
Saturday was hot and sunny. I drove up to Aldeburgh in Wife's car, so was getting lots of useful hints from the passenger as well as the Sat Nav... like when to brake, when to change gear... :-) but got to the destination in one piece in around 3.5 hours so not too bad considering it was meant to be the busiest day on the road for the weekend.
Stayed in the Wentworth Hotel and the staff were nice, room was clean and functional (with HUGE bathroom) so no worries there
The festivities started with Champagne and had fantastic meal, more than enough to drink (although I actually only had 2 or 3 drinks) and fun and games or entertainment. Ethan managed to win the Horse Racing DVD game we played, despite only being there for the first race :-) We had a nice walk back to the hotel which seemed to go ever so quick, maybe because it's mainly down hill !
Although the hotel bed was comfortable, Sea Gulls seemed to be scrabbling around the roof in the early morning so they woke us up with their calls, so hadn't really fully recharged my body with sleep ! Sunday had dawned with lots of rain and wind so when we went to Emma's to see their new additions to the house, we got a bit wet !! Then back to Margarets for lunch. Luckily lots of people wanted to watch the Grand Prix so saw that as well. Went back to the hotel for a well earned rest!! Back to Margarets for dinner, which was less people but much more good food, drink and frivolity. Despite intending to have only a couple of drinks and an early(ish) night, we managed to stagger back to the hotel around 12:30 (we think!)
Monday was a non-day for me as I didn't feel all that great.... had a dodgy tummy again, which was probably to do with over eating and over drinking with less sleep than I needed but managed to drive home in the wind and rain then sit in front of the TV for the afternoon..
It was a very hectic weekend and wasn't 100% fit all the time, but had a great time and seems everyone else enjoyed themselves as well :-)
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Monday, May 05, 2008
Cars: Donnington Park touring cars
Went to Donnington Park to watch the Touring Cars Sunday. Unfortunately Lynn wasn't 100% so went up in her car so she wouldn't be "bumped about" but it was no big deal as the route was all motorway anyway.....
Got there in time to see the start of the first Touring Car race. Got a good view of the back of the track and saw some excitement.... although of course there was a lot action going on the track we couldn't see. After the BTCC race we walked around the track and watched the Seat Cupra race as we went around. The best view is from the far side of the track, where you can see the Craner Curves and the top of the hill, so watched some racing from there.
They also had some vehicles going round during the lunch break, so saw a new single seater and a white van going round at speed. (the white van having a Jaguar running gear and engine!)
When racing resumed, the rain which had been in the air all day, decided to become more persistent... so we ended up leaving early... but was certainly a worthwhile trip and really enjoyed the bits I saw. Next time we would take our camping chairs (which we had forgot, and assuming we are going in Lynns car of course) as the ground is a bit hard to sit on for any length of time!
Friday, May 02, 2008
General : trip to London
We decided to have a shopping trip to London last weekend, not sure how we decided to go... but nominally to go and buy me a Birthday present :-)
The first bit of excitement was at the train station at Ascot, where we saw the steam train... not sure what it was doing there but obviously some trip somewhere and lots of people were on board having their breakfast !
Once at Waterloo, we went to get the tube, but there are lots of lines closed due to engineering works and also an "incident" on the circle line, so it was confusing and crowded but we ended up at our first planned destination, Portabello Road. Coming out of the tube, there was a queue just to get out! There were hundreds of people walking up and down the approaches to and Portabello Road itself..... We walked up most of it, but wasn't a very pleasant shopping experience due to the crowds
We then went on the tube to Regent Street and found a nice cafe for lunch, then went into Hamleys! After spending a fair amount of time in Hamleys, we walked to Hatton Garden (as it was a nice day . Hatton Garden is the Jewelery quarter so majority of the shops were expensive Jewelry shops !
Then decided to go to Harrods, where we made the only purchase of the day.... a handbag.... no not for my birthday, it's for Lynn :-)
On the way home, we had to change at Ascot and decided to pop in the pub for our evening meal. The food was really nice and pretty reasonable so were pleased with our decision.
All in all a very nice trip out, despite not buying what we went out for....
Poker: Home Tournament - May 2008
It was a bit of a shock for some to see some GIRLS turn up to play :-) We also had Steve W join us for the first time, so welcome to everyone to the bonkers monthly game...
On my table, Bill seemed to start off in his normal style by getting all-in with Andy.... as it turned out his A-K against JJ was a close race but neither improved and Bill is buying in the first hand (now that isn't unusual) There is a lot of limping in (also as normal) so I am getting compelling odds to play quite loose and end up limping in with some rubbish like 6-4 but hit a straight and as Bill has called me, he ends up buying in again and I start building a good size stack. A few hands later, Bill is all in against against my two pair and the turn comes what I think is a blank but the river completed his runner-runner straight and takes a miracle win.... its going to be a long night...
My luck is actually pretty good, as its not long before I get K-7 on blind and flop gives me a straight draw. Alex gives me a cheap card and I hit the straight on the turn which we both check. The value bet on the river gets paid off and my stack is looking healthy again.
As the night progresses Alex builds up a good size stack, as does Andy. My stack starts to go up and down a bit but mainly down....
At the break, I am at around 2500 chips which is a little below average but not anything to worry too much about.
Incredibly, Jon is the first man out on the other table and stands around looking shell shocked.... but he isn't the only one out for long and Jock gets busted out by Andy
As the blinds increase it is starting to get expensive to see flops and Steve W suddenly springs into life by busting out Roger then Bill in quick succession. With a decent size stack he also starts putting in pot sized bets on the flop and suddenly has a huge stack ! Not bad for a beginner (you did say you were a beginner, didn't you ;-) ) Soon after, Viki gets busted out after a good show, so we are down to the final table.....
The final table sees Karen with the chip lead, Mick low stack but on the button and I have just enough for the BB but am one off the BB so have two hands to be all in. Seeing A-7 was enough for me to put my 700 chips. Lucky for me everyone else folds except Steve W who is obliged to call the extra 200 and shows 6-4. Luckily I hit a 7 and take the pot so can afford to put in my BB now ! I have to fold the next hand when there is some raising but go all in with A-4 on SB when everyone except Derek folds. Alex re-raises which makes Derek fold, but am not confident when Alex shows A-8 Luckily for me, the flop brings an A and all high cards, so we end up splitting the pot and I have got a full round to make a move with my 2000 odd chips now.
To my surprise and delight, the action really hots up, with Steve W betting out on all streets against Karen, he has to show a complete bluff on the end against Karen's pair A, so is the first player out from the final table (well done though, good effort) Turns out to be the start of Karen's Juggernaut ride over the table as she takes out both Mick and Simon on the next hand.... Simon with trip Aces was betting big but Karen sitting there quietly with Full House took a HUGE pot (Simon was likely 2nd chip leader at the time) I suddenly find myself in at least 5th place which was unexpected to say the least, but the winner is no longer in any real doubt....
Unfortunately I do not improve as I stick it all in with K-7 and get called by Karen and Andy from the blinds. With no pocket pairs, my 7 pairing the flop put me well in the lead but with Alex and Derek's support, Karen hit a T on the river, taking another two players out and leaving just 3 players.
It is all over bar the shouting as Derek find himself all-in with T-3 but this time it is Alex who is taking a player out
With there only being time for four hands, Karen continues her tight play and takes the well deserved win.
With 16 players it was quite busy, but a fantastic game with lots of action.... next month is the £10 special (no-limit, no-rebuy with 2nd chance) so that one should also be a cracker... can't wait !
On my table, Bill seemed to start off in his normal style by getting all-in with Andy.... as it turned out his A-K against JJ was a close race but neither improved and Bill is buying in the first hand (now that isn't unusual) There is a lot of limping in (also as normal) so I am getting compelling odds to play quite loose and end up limping in with some rubbish like 6-4 but hit a straight and as Bill has called me, he ends up buying in again and I start building a good size stack. A few hands later, Bill is all in against against my two pair and the turn comes what I think is a blank but the river completed his runner-runner straight and takes a miracle win.... its going to be a long night...
My luck is actually pretty good, as its not long before I get K-7 on blind and flop gives me a straight draw. Alex gives me a cheap card and I hit the straight on the turn which we both check. The value bet on the river gets paid off and my stack is looking healthy again.
As the night progresses Alex builds up a good size stack, as does Andy. My stack starts to go up and down a bit but mainly down....
At the break, I am at around 2500 chips which is a little below average but not anything to worry too much about.
Incredibly, Jon is the first man out on the other table and stands around looking shell shocked.... but he isn't the only one out for long and Jock gets busted out by Andy
As the blinds increase it is starting to get expensive to see flops and Steve W suddenly springs into life by busting out Roger then Bill in quick succession. With a decent size stack he also starts putting in pot sized bets on the flop and suddenly has a huge stack ! Not bad for a beginner (you did say you were a beginner, didn't you ;-) ) Soon after, Viki gets busted out after a good show, so we are down to the final table.....
The final table sees Karen with the chip lead, Mick low stack but on the button and I have just enough for the BB but am one off the BB so have two hands to be all in. Seeing A-7 was enough for me to put my 700 chips. Lucky for me everyone else folds except Steve W who is obliged to call the extra 200 and shows 6-4. Luckily I hit a 7 and take the pot so can afford to put in my BB now ! I have to fold the next hand when there is some raising but go all in with A-4 on SB when everyone except Derek folds. Alex re-raises which makes Derek fold, but am not confident when Alex shows A-8 Luckily for me, the flop brings an A and all high cards, so we end up splitting the pot and I have got a full round to make a move with my 2000 odd chips now.
To my surprise and delight, the action really hots up, with Steve W betting out on all streets against Karen, he has to show a complete bluff on the end against Karen's pair A, so is the first player out from the final table (well done though, good effort) Turns out to be the start of Karen's Juggernaut ride over the table as she takes out both Mick and Simon on the next hand.... Simon with trip Aces was betting big but Karen sitting there quietly with Full House took a HUGE pot (Simon was likely 2nd chip leader at the time) I suddenly find myself in at least 5th place which was unexpected to say the least, but the winner is no longer in any real doubt....
Unfortunately I do not improve as I stick it all in with K-7 and get called by Karen and Andy from the blinds. With no pocket pairs, my 7 pairing the flop put me well in the lead but with Alex and Derek's support, Karen hit a T on the river, taking another two players out and leaving just 3 players.
It is all over bar the shouting as Derek find himself all-in with T-3 but this time it is Alex who is taking a player out
With there only being time for four hands, Karen continues her tight play and takes the well deserved win.
With 16 players it was quite busy, but a fantastic game with lots of action.... next month is the £10 special (no-limit, no-rebuy with 2nd chance) so that one should also be a cracker... can't wait !
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Music: SliceThePie.com
I have recently taken up with SliceThePie.com which is a site that allows you to make money by listening to music and reviewing the tracks... what a fantastic idea :-)
The artists are all non-signed (the idea for the bands is to get finance) and you only get 3p per track to start with... but it is great if you want to get into new music. I have done around 50 reviews now, in around 2 weeks of occasional use, and am now a 2 star scout, which means I now get 5p per track review. At this rate, I will make a tenner by the end of the year :-)
The quality of the music is pretty high most of the time. The issue at the moment is that there is a mix of genre in the scouting room, and you have to review tracks randomly assigned to you and anonymously, so you have to listen to all sorts of stuff... country, rap, folk... although mostly indie rock so like a lot of it. I have discovered a couple of tracks which I would not otherwise have bothered to listen to but actually really like (one rap, one weirdy foreign one) so is opening my eyes ot a wider range of music..
All in all, if you have a spare half hour here and there during the week, like listening to music generally and have the patience to listen to then review the tracks, then you may find this interesting yourself.
More info on the FAQ page at http://www.slicethepie.com/About/Default.aspx
The artists are all non-signed (the idea for the bands is to get finance) and you only get 3p per track to start with... but it is great if you want to get into new music. I have done around 50 reviews now, in around 2 weeks of occasional use, and am now a 2 star scout, which means I now get 5p per track review. At this rate, I will make a tenner by the end of the year :-)
The quality of the music is pretty high most of the time. The issue at the moment is that there is a mix of genre in the scouting room, and you have to review tracks randomly assigned to you and anonymously, so you have to listen to all sorts of stuff... country, rap, folk... although mostly indie rock so like a lot of it. I have discovered a couple of tracks which I would not otherwise have bothered to listen to but actually really like (one rap, one weirdy foreign one) so is opening my eyes ot a wider range of music..
All in all, if you have a spare half hour here and there during the week, like listening to music generally and have the patience to listen to then review the tracks, then you may find this interesting yourself.
More info on the FAQ page at http://www.slicethepie.com/About/Default.aspx
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Poker : Annual Satellite 2008 : Heat 3
As the first hand started you could cut the tension in the air with a knife ! Having said that, everyone was eager to get into the action straight away and the first hand was a family pot to the flop. Karen bet out from the small blind (SB) and everyone called except Sean (!!) Only Alex and Karen saw the showdown with Karen's flush beating Alex's top pair to take down a reasonable first pot.
It had to come sooner rather than later, and sure enough we saw the first husband/wife battle on the next hand, with Darren pressuring Viki who very reluctantly folded on after seeing the turn.....
It was all action early on with the next hand seeing Alex check/calling Sean on a 9-9-x flop, but re-raising Sean's large bet on the River but Sean showed A-9 which had Alex's K-K well beaten so Alex's stack was already looking depressingly low.... but hope came the next hand when Alex hit flush on the River to overturn Darren's trip A's
Already into the second level, no-one stopped for breath as Karen bet out against Sean in another domestic.... despite thinking she had two pair a very scared looking bet on the River was called by Sean, who folded when Karen said she had two pair.... pointing out she actually had a flush was just an added bonus.....
There were a couple of hands of relative calm, before Sean and Alex started laying into each other on a K-Q-9 flop. Alex check calling Sean's bets on the flop and turn. When the river came down with a 9 to pair the board, Sean went all-in which was insta-called by Alex who shows K-9 for the full house, leaving Sean with 300 chips !!
The blinds went up and Sean immediately got done for a BB (which was folded to a raise) Lady Luck was obviously with the ladies, as Sean went all-in on the SB but was called by the two ladies..... the flop was J-7-2, another 2 on the turn and T on the river saw Karen take both pots down with her 4-2 off suit, busting Viki's 9-9 and taking Sean out in last place !
Viki was looking short stacked. With the blinds now 125/75 Alex raised to 500 from the button. Viki told Alex off for raising but called and Karen also called. To teach the big bully a lesson Viki bet out another 500, called by Karen but Alex took the hint and folded his A-Q on a flop 4-4-x Viki kept it friendly after that and led out with min bet on turn and checked River, showing A-4 against Karen's A-J, so all had a good hand but Viki made a monster and doubled up
At the break the chip counts were Alex 7000, Karen 6000, Viki 5000 and Darren 2000
Blinds are now 200/100 so Darren needed to get busy... so he raised with K-Q and Karen called with J-7 suited. With Flop of J-T-7 Karen called Darren's all-in bet and the J on the river was not needed and Karen had claimed another victim !
Viki's chips were dwindling again and Karen was getting aggressive with her chip lead and was hammering Viki. Karen picked up big pot by making a straight on the Turn, and a couple of hands later her pair 4's beat Viki's 2's With short stack, no luck and the blinds going up again, Viki was all-in against Alex who had pocket 5's. With no improvement on the board Viki went out a respectable 3rd place.... but she had the satisfaction of doing better than hubby !
The chips were exactly level for the heads up, and both players were being very cagey. Lots of calling and checking (and folding) It needed two good hands to get action going, and it soon came when the flop showed A-8-x all diamonds. karen was betting out but Alex called it down to the showdown, taking it with A against Karen's 8
With the blinds going up to 1000/500 Karen went all-in. Despite feeling he was behind Alex called with T-9 and sure enough was behind to J-3 Karen didn't need the 3 on the river as was ahead all the way to the showdown and took her back to 9'000 chips to Alex 11'000
After a few more hands of calling, check /folding, Karen was down to around 6000 chips and went all in. Alex said he was behind, but again called anyway (why can't you do that when playing me !) Karen was ahead (again) with her A-2 to Alex K-7 but the flop of K-8-3 put Alex ahead and the K on the turn killed it and gave Alex a bravely won victory. We'll see you in the final !
It had to come sooner rather than later, and sure enough we saw the first husband/wife battle on the next hand, with Darren pressuring Viki who very reluctantly folded on after seeing the turn.....
It was all action early on with the next hand seeing Alex check/calling Sean on a 9-9-x flop, but re-raising Sean's large bet on the River but Sean showed A-9 which had Alex's K-K well beaten so Alex's stack was already looking depressingly low.... but hope came the next hand when Alex hit flush on the River to overturn Darren's trip A's
Already into the second level, no-one stopped for breath as Karen bet out against Sean in another domestic.... despite thinking she had two pair a very scared looking bet on the River was called by Sean, who folded when Karen said she had two pair.... pointing out she actually had a flush was just an added bonus.....
There were a couple of hands of relative calm, before Sean and Alex started laying into each other on a K-Q-9 flop. Alex check calling Sean's bets on the flop and turn. When the river came down with a 9 to pair the board, Sean went all-in which was insta-called by Alex who shows K-9 for the full house, leaving Sean with 300 chips !!
The blinds went up and Sean immediately got done for a BB (which was folded to a raise) Lady Luck was obviously with the ladies, as Sean went all-in on the SB but was called by the two ladies..... the flop was J-7-2, another 2 on the turn and T on the river saw Karen take both pots down with her 4-2 off suit, busting Viki's 9-9 and taking Sean out in last place !
Viki was looking short stacked. With the blinds now 125/75 Alex raised to 500 from the button. Viki told Alex off for raising but called and Karen also called. To teach the big bully a lesson Viki bet out another 500, called by Karen but Alex took the hint and folded his A-Q on a flop 4-4-x Viki kept it friendly after that and led out with min bet on turn and checked River, showing A-4 against Karen's A-J, so all had a good hand but Viki made a monster and doubled up
At the break the chip counts were Alex 7000, Karen 6000, Viki 5000 and Darren 2000
Blinds are now 200/100 so Darren needed to get busy... so he raised with K-Q and Karen called with J-7 suited. With Flop of J-T-7 Karen called Darren's all-in bet and the J on the river was not needed and Karen had claimed another victim !
Viki's chips were dwindling again and Karen was getting aggressive with her chip lead and was hammering Viki. Karen picked up big pot by making a straight on the Turn, and a couple of hands later her pair 4's beat Viki's 2's With short stack, no luck and the blinds going up again, Viki was all-in against Alex who had pocket 5's. With no improvement on the board Viki went out a respectable 3rd place.... but she had the satisfaction of doing better than hubby !
The chips were exactly level for the heads up, and both players were being very cagey. Lots of calling and checking (and folding) It needed two good hands to get action going, and it soon came when the flop showed A-8-x all diamonds. karen was betting out but Alex called it down to the showdown, taking it with A against Karen's 8
With the blinds going up to 1000/500 Karen went all-in. Despite feeling he was behind Alex called with T-9 and sure enough was behind to J-3 Karen didn't need the 3 on the river as was ahead all the way to the showdown and took her back to 9'000 chips to Alex 11'000
After a few more hands of calling, check /folding, Karen was down to around 6000 chips and went all in. Alex said he was behind, but again called anyway (why can't you do that when playing me !) Karen was ahead (again) with her A-2 to Alex K-7 but the flop of K-8-3 put Alex ahead and the K on the turn killed it and gave Alex a bravely won victory. We'll see you in the final !
Poker : Annual Satellite 2008 : Heat 2
Oops, nearly forgot to post some words about Bill's heat ! It was a while ago, so only have vague memories.....
It was quite a tense affair to begin with (aren't they all :-) ) even Bill was playing a more considered, tighter game than we are used to seeing !!
We didn't see a casualty until after the break, when Roger got done by Mick. Bill could contain himself no longer by this time and got busted by Andy.
The three remaining players were playing steady and the chips were circling the table, but Andy was next out.
The chips were very even for the heads up, and again was very steady with a lot of calling and checking but Lynns chips gradually got pushed over to Mick, particularly when the blinds went up and Mick took a well fought win
It was quite a tense affair to begin with (aren't they all :-) ) even Bill was playing a more considered, tighter game than we are used to seeing !!
We didn't see a casualty until after the break, when Roger got done by Mick. Bill could contain himself no longer by this time and got busted by Andy.
The three remaining players were playing steady and the chips were circling the table, but Andy was next out.
The chips were very even for the heads up, and again was very steady with a lot of calling and checking but Lynns chips gradually got pushed over to Mick, particularly when the blinds went up and Mick took a well fought win
Friday, April 11, 2008
Poker : Annual Satellite 2008 : Heat 1
My heat was the first to run and turned out to be an exciting affair. The evening got off to a friendly start with everyone limping into the first couple of hands. Overall the play was tight, which made for a tense game.
I started out well and built my stack up, but later played a couple of hands against Lynn where I was drawing and her pair held up to take away my chips putting me back to starting levels, that will teach me to try to fool the wife !
A key hand early on was my AJ against Simons AT when an A fell on the flop. The board cards were a little scary for both of us so the betting was steady rather than aggressive, but my kicker played and got my stack back.
Derek played a large hand against Lynn, but Lynn's inspired calling found her pair holding up against Derek and Lynn had a good size stack as well.
Simon was the first victim when his pocket A's got stuffed by Steve hitting a second pair on the River taking Simon out and giving Steve the chip lead.
At the break Steve was around 6000 chips, I was 5000, Lynn was 6000 and Derek was low stack with about 3000
As the blinds increased, the play became more cautious until two good hands came along. Derek decided pocket Q's was a good hand and decided to play with Lynn calling his raise. The river didn't look too scary so Derek went all in. Lynn thought about it then called with Ax Unluckily for Derek an A came and took him out in 4th.
The blinds went up again and are becoming significant to all players. Lynn called from the small blind and I checked my 7-8 suited. The flop came an unbelievable 4-5-6 flopping me the straight! I bet after Lynn checked but she called. The turn was a 9 giving me a higher straight, but I bet a reasonably large amount and was slightly concerned that Lynn called again. The river was a K with no flush possible so I had the nuts and went all in when Lynn checked. She called again and revealed a Straight draw so I took a huge pot, leaving us heads up
Steve had around 6000 chips to my 14000. Steve played it cool and the battle was tough. My more aggressive style probably gave me an edge (as well as the edge of having twice as many chips of course !) After a bit of give and take, Steve seemed to not get any playable cards, so I accumulated chips from the large blinds. In the end Steve has no choice but to go all-in and I had no choice but to call. My 6-4 didn't look good, but was favorite against Steve's 5-3 !! I hit a 4 on the flop and took the game
Everyone played well so was an exciting game, but I can't wait for the final table now :-)
I started out well and built my stack up, but later played a couple of hands against Lynn where I was drawing and her pair held up to take away my chips putting me back to starting levels, that will teach me to try to fool the wife !
A key hand early on was my AJ against Simons AT when an A fell on the flop. The board cards were a little scary for both of us so the betting was steady rather than aggressive, but my kicker played and got my stack back.
Derek played a large hand against Lynn, but Lynn's inspired calling found her pair holding up against Derek and Lynn had a good size stack as well.
Simon was the first victim when his pocket A's got stuffed by Steve hitting a second pair on the River taking Simon out and giving Steve the chip lead.
At the break Steve was around 6000 chips, I was 5000, Lynn was 6000 and Derek was low stack with about 3000
As the blinds increased, the play became more cautious until two good hands came along. Derek decided pocket Q's was a good hand and decided to play with Lynn calling his raise. The river didn't look too scary so Derek went all in. Lynn thought about it then called with Ax Unluckily for Derek an A came and took him out in 4th.
The blinds went up again and are becoming significant to all players. Lynn called from the small blind and I checked my 7-8 suited. The flop came an unbelievable 4-5-6 flopping me the straight! I bet after Lynn checked but she called. The turn was a 9 giving me a higher straight, but I bet a reasonably large amount and was slightly concerned that Lynn called again. The river was a K with no flush possible so I had the nuts and went all in when Lynn checked. She called again and revealed a Straight draw so I took a huge pot, leaving us heads up
Steve had around 6000 chips to my 14000. Steve played it cool and the battle was tough. My more aggressive style probably gave me an edge (as well as the edge of having twice as many chips of course !) After a bit of give and take, Steve seemed to not get any playable cards, so I accumulated chips from the large blinds. In the end Steve has no choice but to go all-in and I had no choice but to call. My 6-4 didn't look good, but was favorite against Steve's 5-3 !! I hit a 4 on the flop and took the game
Everyone played well so was an exciting game, but I can't wait for the final table now :-)
Friday, April 04, 2008
Poker: Home Tournament - April 2008
Everyone got their priorities right tonight, wives and jobs took second place and turned out for Poker instead :-)
For me, it was one of those nights where nothing seemed to go my way...... everyone on my table seemed to be in mellow mood so lots of limping and calling going on. I got a couple of decent starting hands in the early stages and raised but got called. Raised a couple of times with dodgy hands and got called (and then either got called all the way to the showdown, or I was put under pressure and folded) so my timing was not good !
At the break I had around 1200 in chips but felt good when I managed to double up with a legitimate hand in the first few hands. Just when things looked good and was accumulating chips, I hit two pair on the flop with A-2 in my hand for a A-2-3 flop. Went all-in and got called by Bill who had 9-5 (they were suited) and of course a 4 came of the River to send me out in 10th.
The game got quite bloody very quickly after that and we were soon down to a final table of 7, after Andy trounced his opposition on the other table to me. Incredibly Mick had the foresight to not stick his last 100 chip in when on the small blind and he was on the final table with a minimum of 2 points. Despite a gallant fightback he finished 7th when the Big blind came round
Things settled down a a short while, until Alex got a good hand and busted out Simon and Bill. It was tense for the final four, but then Andy got going again and busted out both Jon and Steve in one go, leaving us heads-up
The final battle was tight and tense, with only 500 chips between them. Most people were watching the action, well at least until free sandwiches were offered, then everyone went to get some grub ! The chip counts remained close for several hands until Alex made a move pre-flop but Andy went over the top. When Alex folded Andy showed pocket A so I was not the only one with bad timing tonight ! After that it was soon over and Andy took a well deserved win.
Despite a disappointing result for me this time, it was a great night of poker and looking forward to getting myself into a league dominating position with a good show next month !
For me, it was one of those nights where nothing seemed to go my way...... everyone on my table seemed to be in mellow mood so lots of limping and calling going on. I got a couple of decent starting hands in the early stages and raised but got called. Raised a couple of times with dodgy hands and got called (and then either got called all the way to the showdown, or I was put under pressure and folded) so my timing was not good !
At the break I had around 1200 in chips but felt good when I managed to double up with a legitimate hand in the first few hands. Just when things looked good and was accumulating chips, I hit two pair on the flop with A-2 in my hand for a A-2-3 flop. Went all-in and got called by Bill who had 9-5 (they were suited) and of course a 4 came of the River to send me out in 10th.
The game got quite bloody very quickly after that and we were soon down to a final table of 7, after Andy trounced his opposition on the other table to me. Incredibly Mick had the foresight to not stick his last 100 chip in when on the small blind and he was on the final table with a minimum of 2 points. Despite a gallant fightback he finished 7th when the Big blind came round
Things settled down a a short while, until Alex got a good hand and busted out Simon and Bill. It was tense for the final four, but then Andy got going again and busted out both Jon and Steve in one go, leaving us heads-up
The final battle was tight and tense, with only 500 chips between them. Most people were watching the action, well at least until free sandwiches were offered, then everyone went to get some grub ! The chip counts remained close for several hands until Alex made a move pre-flop but Andy went over the top. When Alex folded Andy showed pocket A so I was not the only one with bad timing tonight ! After that it was soon over and Andy took a well deserved win.
Despite a disappointing result for me this time, it was a great night of poker and looking forward to getting myself into a league dominating position with a good show next month !
Monday, March 31, 2008
Cars: Mini day at Brooklands
March is always a good month for Motor Sport activities, with the start of the F1 season, but also the first main event at Brooklands Motor Museum that we like to go to... the Mini day.
Although we went to the Mini Day last year it is a good event to go to, as it always seems to be well populated and hundreds of Mini's in attendance, so pretty much every sort of Mini you can think of was there to see..... there were large ones, small one's, old ones, new ones...... you name it, it was there ! The day was bright and dry as well, so perfect for walking around looking at cars (mind you, ANY day is perfect for walking around looking at cars in my view :-) )
After a few hours walking around looking at old mini's, we decided to do our usual trip to Mercedes World as well to look at new Mercedes. Lynn decided she likes the Blue SLK so maybe her next car. (The red one was no good and the AMG SL was too big...) We did disagree on which Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren we would prefer (when we get a spare £350'000 or so...) Lynn preferred the coupe but I would only consider the Roadster... that kind of argument I can cope with :-)
I really like going to Brooklands/Mercedes World as it is actually a cheap day out (unless you order a Mercedes) and there are a lot of cars, planes and Bikes to look at which is always fascinating. There is a real olde-worlde feel to Brooklands, and a real space-age feel to Mercedes world. Might also get around to having a go in those AMG SLK's next time.....they sound MIGHTY !
Friday, March 07, 2008
Poker: Home Tournament : March 2008
The first big game of the year arrives at last. I look forward to all the games, but the no-rebuy, no-limit games tend to be a more tense affair with no-one wanting an early bath, so is a very different game to the rebuy tournaments.
There are 13 players, with Jock and Trevor joining us for the first time. I really hope they enjoyed the game, but it seemed a brutal introduction to the group, coming in for the first time into the no-limit..
The game got under way and battle commences. My table is mainly tight and/or passive players so there is a lot of checking and calling going on. I start quietly and loose a few chips to begin with and ten win a small pot here and there (normally by raising pre-flop and everyone then folding !) Jock is on my table and seems comfortable, but then we see some fireworks with Darren, Jock and Mick seeing an unraised flop which came A-J-J Darren raises and Jock/Mick call. Another A comes on the turn (or river) and all three players are all-in. Unfortunately for Jock his pocket kings are no good and Darren/Mick split the pot with an A each. Jock's remaining 200 or so chips are soon eaten up, but he actually lasted longer than Alex who was first out on the other table (not sure what happened there !)
At the first break I am still at my starting chip level and see to be struggling to accumulate more! I start to get some good cards but still end up winning the pot pre-flop by raising, but suddenly find myself bubbling along at average chip count rather than starting chip count, so that was am improvement. Steve is getting very low on chips, so bully him off the small blind, then a couple of hands later we are all-in together and my hand holds up to give me a good stack of chips and the final table!
The final table starts out with a rash of bush outs. Trevor came to the table with only a few hundred chips, so is all in on the big blind and gets busted on the first hand, but did very well for a first show. Next hand I bust out Mick with Ax against Kx (I think...) as Mick was low stack. My good run continues and a couple of hands later Simon is low stacked and goes in with pocket 9s but runs into my pocket A's which leaves me as chip leader !
Five are left for the last round and the pressure is on everyone with 10'000 the average stack and blinds at 2'000/1'000 no one is safe.
Couple of hands in and Jon's good hand run's into Derek's better hand on the flop and we are down to the bubble. Incredibly I get pocket A's again and Roger obligingly goes all-in with AK, and despite a good draw on the flop, my A's hold up and I have half the chips.
It isn't over yet but we only have four hands to play until the end of the tournament... Darren raises and Derek calls all-in. My Q7 doesn't look that good, even with 2000 already committed, so let them fight it out. As it turned out, Darren was ahead and won with pair 4's... I would have made pair 7's ;-)
The final three hands are heads up, with the chip counts incredibly close... actually only about 500 chips between us (to my advantage) so everything to play for as the blinds need to be won. Unfortunately for me, I get dealt 8-3 twice in succession so Darren just needs to fold on the last hand to win... although we see the flop he duly folds to a bet on the flop so wins by around 500 chips.
It was a hard fought game throughout and very enjoyable. I am happy to cash in and be top of the leader board quarter way through the season, but with Darren, Jon and Derek all snapping at my heels, it should be an exciting season
There are 13 players, with Jock and Trevor joining us for the first time. I really hope they enjoyed the game, but it seemed a brutal introduction to the group, coming in for the first time into the no-limit..
The game got under way and battle commences. My table is mainly tight and/or passive players so there is a lot of checking and calling going on. I start quietly and loose a few chips to begin with and ten win a small pot here and there (normally by raising pre-flop and everyone then folding !) Jock is on my table and seems comfortable, but then we see some fireworks with Darren, Jock and Mick seeing an unraised flop which came A-J-J Darren raises and Jock/Mick call. Another A comes on the turn (or river) and all three players are all-in. Unfortunately for Jock his pocket kings are no good and Darren/Mick split the pot with an A each. Jock's remaining 200 or so chips are soon eaten up, but he actually lasted longer than Alex who was first out on the other table (not sure what happened there !)
At the first break I am still at my starting chip level and see to be struggling to accumulate more! I start to get some good cards but still end up winning the pot pre-flop by raising, but suddenly find myself bubbling along at average chip count rather than starting chip count, so that was am improvement. Steve is getting very low on chips, so bully him off the small blind, then a couple of hands later we are all-in together and my hand holds up to give me a good stack of chips and the final table!
The final table starts out with a rash of bush outs. Trevor came to the table with only a few hundred chips, so is all in on the big blind and gets busted on the first hand, but did very well for a first show. Next hand I bust out Mick with Ax against Kx (I think...) as Mick was low stack. My good run continues and a couple of hands later Simon is low stacked and goes in with pocket 9s but runs into my pocket A's which leaves me as chip leader !
Five are left for the last round and the pressure is on everyone with 10'000 the average stack and blinds at 2'000/1'000 no one is safe.
Couple of hands in and Jon's good hand run's into Derek's better hand on the flop and we are down to the bubble. Incredibly I get pocket A's again and Roger obligingly goes all-in with AK, and despite a good draw on the flop, my A's hold up and I have half the chips.
It isn't over yet but we only have four hands to play until the end of the tournament... Darren raises and Derek calls all-in. My Q7 doesn't look that good, even with 2000 already committed, so let them fight it out. As it turned out, Darren was ahead and won with pair 4's... I would have made pair 7's ;-)
The final three hands are heads up, with the chip counts incredibly close... actually only about 500 chips between us (to my advantage) so everything to play for as the blinds need to be won. Unfortunately for me, I get dealt 8-3 twice in succession so Darren just needs to fold on the last hand to win... although we see the flop he duly folds to a bet on the flop so wins by around 500 chips.
It was a hard fought game throughout and very enjoyable. I am happy to cash in and be top of the leader board quarter way through the season, but with Darren, Jon and Derek all snapping at my heels, it should be an exciting season
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Cars: At last, my mid-life crisis has arrived !
Yes, after what seemed a long process (albeit quite enjoyable!) I chose the car, picked the spec then had to wait for two months for delivery.... and yes the yellow colour really is that bright :-)
After three days I have got used to driving and living with the car, although I haven't got around to taking the roof off yet.....
Luckily I am patient, as I still need to rack up 1000 miles to run the car in before I can check out the full potential. At the moment I can only use half revs (4000 rpm) and half throttle.... but I am still already enjoying my country road route to work and looking forward to the weekend when I am sure I will find somewhere that needs to be visited (round trip to Edinburgh would sort out the running in period as well ;-) )
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Poker : Home Tournament : February 2008
I was looking forward to this months poker (as normal) and felt quietly confident. Everyone was up for the game, especially Jon who had made sure his business trip to US was engineered such that he could fly back Wednesday to be available for the game (albeit slightly groggy)
The early stages for me were quite relaxed. Playing cautiously I took a couple of small pots and built up my chips. I got a good win and nearly doubled up, so could play more freely. Was happy to get all-in against Derek and Roger when my AK hit top pair. Roger had a draw and Derek had K3 so looked good for me when K-K-Q came on the flop. The 3 on the river stuffed me up but luckily Derek was a smaller stack so I took Rogers chips at least to leave me a reasonable stack. After more patient play, I built up some chips again, then called Micks all in bet as I was on the Big Blind. As expected I was behind, but hit one of my 8 outs and took a large stack.
After the rebuys ended, I found myself calling Rogers all in bet. Everyone had checked the flop so I didn't thing Roger had matched the A and my pair T were good - but as it turned out, he had the A so was well ahead of me. Resigned to dropping a fair portion of my stack, I was delighted (but a little embarrassed) to see another T fall on the river, taking Roger out the game
There was some commotion on the other table, with Sean and Simon both being taken out in one hand, when on my table an unraised pot pre-flop saw a flop of 3-3-2 Alex went all in so as I had A-3 wanted to get heads up and re-raised for half my stack. I was a little surprised when Jon asked for a chip count, then re-raised to put me all-in. Mick called as he was getting great value and I really felt I was in front so called quickly. Unfortunately Jon's pocket 2's left me needing a miracle 3, which never came and so Jon took three out and we had 6 players left for the final table.
Jon and Darren were the chip leaders, but Darrens seemed to ebb away. Steve played well to build up some chips from a very low level but his luck ran out to finish a credible 4th
Darren was the lowest chips at around 3000 when the blinds went up to 2000-1000. Andy showed no fear to go all-in against Jon but Jon had him beat and we were heads up.
Jon played very tight and Darren had no choice but to go all-in every hand and slowly Darren built up to around 12'000 chips with 4 hands to play (winning post was 17'000 chips) Unfortunately it was inevitable that Jon would find a hand he liked and check, raised all-in. Darren had to call and at least had 2 live cards, but Jon stayed ahead and we had our worthy winner and runner up. Pehaps playing with jet-lag is the way for us all to go :-)
Another great game and sees our 2007 champion now in pole position in the 2008 league table ! (hopefully not for long ;-) )
Roll on next month, this season look like it will be a scorcher!!
The early stages for me were quite relaxed. Playing cautiously I took a couple of small pots and built up my chips. I got a good win and nearly doubled up, so could play more freely. Was happy to get all-in against Derek and Roger when my AK hit top pair. Roger had a draw and Derek had K3 so looked good for me when K-K-Q came on the flop. The 3 on the river stuffed me up but luckily Derek was a smaller stack so I took Rogers chips at least to leave me a reasonable stack. After more patient play, I built up some chips again, then called Micks all in bet as I was on the Big Blind. As expected I was behind, but hit one of my 8 outs and took a large stack.
After the rebuys ended, I found myself calling Rogers all in bet. Everyone had checked the flop so I didn't thing Roger had matched the A and my pair T were good - but as it turned out, he had the A so was well ahead of me. Resigned to dropping a fair portion of my stack, I was delighted (but a little embarrassed) to see another T fall on the river, taking Roger out the game
There was some commotion on the other table, with Sean and Simon both being taken out in one hand, when on my table an unraised pot pre-flop saw a flop of 3-3-2 Alex went all in so as I had A-3 wanted to get heads up and re-raised for half my stack. I was a little surprised when Jon asked for a chip count, then re-raised to put me all-in. Mick called as he was getting great value and I really felt I was in front so called quickly. Unfortunately Jon's pocket 2's left me needing a miracle 3, which never came and so Jon took three out and we had 6 players left for the final table.
Jon and Darren were the chip leaders, but Darrens seemed to ebb away. Steve played well to build up some chips from a very low level but his luck ran out to finish a credible 4th
Darren was the lowest chips at around 3000 when the blinds went up to 2000-1000. Andy showed no fear to go all-in against Jon but Jon had him beat and we were heads up.
Jon played very tight and Darren had no choice but to go all-in every hand and slowly Darren built up to around 12'000 chips with 4 hands to play (winning post was 17'000 chips) Unfortunately it was inevitable that Jon would find a hand he liked and check, raised all-in. Darren had to call and at least had 2 live cards, but Jon stayed ahead and we had our worthy winner and runner up. Pehaps playing with jet-lag is the way for us all to go :-)
Another great game and sees our 2007 champion now in pole position in the 2008 league table ! (hopefully not for long ;-) )
Roll on next month, this season look like it will be a scorcher!!
Sunday, February 03, 2008
General : Gym update
A new year and a time for reflection on my Gym progress.. (also got a new heart monitor for Xmas, so gotta try it out :-) )
So why so long to update the blog, after all it is February.... well after 3 weeks with no exercise and overeating and drinking over Xmas, I felt pretty unfit for the first couple of weeks in Jan !! Also decided to up my pace a bit so wanted to get into that before measuring very much in a meaninigful way.... but here goes.....
My previous update was in August so hope to compare favourably to my activities then... my weight is just under 12 stone, so still consistant
Monday (Running)
Run at 10 kph for 25 minutes, then 12kph for 5 mins, plus 5 minutes cool down. Total of 5.2 km covered. Heart rate peak at 178 bpm and average 142
Tuesday (Rowing)
25 minutes at around 30 spm, then 5 mins at 35 spm, plus 3 minutes cool down. All at maximum resistance (the hard seat gives me a sore bum, else would do more cooldown :-) ) Cover 6286 metres. Heart rate peak at 169 bpm and average 136
Wednesday (Cycling)
Pedal at around 80 rpm at level 11 resistance for 25 minutes, then 5 minutes at 90rpm and level 12, plus 5 minutes cooldown. Cover 12.6 km. Heart rate peak at 151 bpm and average 133
Thursday (Swimming)
Swim 25 lengths in around 25 minutes. Do alternate breast stroke and crawl, with 1 minute rest after each set of 10 lengths. Heart rate monitor could be used in the pool, but didn't bother this time round
Friday (Running again)
Same activities as Monday, but heart rate peak at 181 bpm and average 152.... it seems harder at the end of the week as well !!
Overall, I think I am doing pretty well and will likely keep the same regime over the long term. I can't get up any earlier and don't want to arrive at work any later... so time is the main constraint. Will be having a BUPA health check later in the year, so will be interesting to see what they say about my fitness and general health
So why so long to update the blog, after all it is February.... well after 3 weeks with no exercise and overeating and drinking over Xmas, I felt pretty unfit for the first couple of weeks in Jan !! Also decided to up my pace a bit so wanted to get into that before measuring very much in a meaninigful way.... but here goes.....
My previous update was in August so hope to compare favourably to my activities then... my weight is just under 12 stone, so still consistant
Monday (Running)
Run at 10 kph for 25 minutes, then 12kph for 5 mins, plus 5 minutes cool down. Total of 5.2 km covered. Heart rate peak at 178 bpm and average 142
Tuesday (Rowing)
25 minutes at around 30 spm, then 5 mins at 35 spm, plus 3 minutes cool down. All at maximum resistance (the hard seat gives me a sore bum, else would do more cooldown :-) ) Cover 6286 metres. Heart rate peak at 169 bpm and average 136
Wednesday (Cycling)
Pedal at around 80 rpm at level 11 resistance for 25 minutes, then 5 minutes at 90rpm and level 12, plus 5 minutes cooldown. Cover 12.6 km. Heart rate peak at 151 bpm and average 133
Thursday (Swimming)
Swim 25 lengths in around 25 minutes. Do alternate breast stroke and crawl, with 1 minute rest after each set of 10 lengths. Heart rate monitor could be used in the pool, but didn't bother this time round
Friday (Running again)
Same activities as Monday, but heart rate peak at 181 bpm and average 152.... it seems harder at the end of the week as well !!
Overall, I think I am doing pretty well and will likely keep the same regime over the long term. I can't get up any earlier and don't want to arrive at work any later... so time is the main constraint. Will be having a BUPA health check later in the year, so will be interesting to see what they say about my fitness and general health
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Poker: Home Tournament : January 2008
I am getting a bit lax in my updates after the poker, but I guess I must still be dazed and shocked by the experience :-)
The turnout of 8 players was a little down on normal, but this at least meant that (a) we all get at least 1 point for the championship :-) and (b) the dynamic was very different to normal, making a different experience for us
Having said that, it all started out as normal, with Bill and Simon W playing the normal loose game and Andy getting an early chip lead (subsequently squandered against Bill)
For me, I was getting some good pre-flop cards early on, so was raising (and being called by about 4 people!) then missing the flop completely. This meant I had around 6 rebuys in the early stages, but eventually I won a decent pot and got some chips I could sit on for a while.
After the rebuys ended I was probably around average chips, but got dealt A-9 in late position so just called the big blind, along with 2 others. When my A hit I was happy to bet out and only get Simon W call me. The chips ended up in the middle and Simon showed pocket Kings, so I took a large amount of chips and Simon was first out. I seemed to enter a purple patch and when Andy went in as a short stack when I was Big Blind, it was an automatic call with any 2 cards, which was fortunate as I had 6-3 o/s against Andy's AJ ! As it turned out, a 6 hit and I took Andy out as well!!
Eventually we got to three players, myself, Sean and Derek with me as chip leader. I took it easy for a while to see how the others would play... luckily for me as Sean raised me on the BB when I had pocket 4's Sometimes I would re-raise back, but decided to fold and Sean showed AA so was happy to dodge those bullets !
Sean went out next, leaving myself and Derek, with me the chip lead by about 2-1 and around 20 minutes to play. It was a tough heads up match and went to the last 3 hands. Both of us played cagey and tight, so inevitably it would come down to the classic race. The first race Derek won, but luckily for me I had more chips so still had a chance. Couple of hands later, I won a race and was back in the lead. The final hand we played was another race... my pocket Tens against Derek's A-Q but my pair held up and I won !!
So it was a small turnout, but actually a very interesting game (especially for me I guess :-) ) Hopefully I can continue my run and continue to cash in but I guess it will be in the lap of the poker gods as normal......
The turnout of 8 players was a little down on normal, but this at least meant that (a) we all get at least 1 point for the championship :-) and (b) the dynamic was very different to normal, making a different experience for us
Having said that, it all started out as normal, with Bill and Simon W playing the normal loose game and Andy getting an early chip lead (subsequently squandered against Bill)
For me, I was getting some good pre-flop cards early on, so was raising (and being called by about 4 people!) then missing the flop completely. This meant I had around 6 rebuys in the early stages, but eventually I won a decent pot and got some chips I could sit on for a while.
After the rebuys ended I was probably around average chips, but got dealt A-9 in late position so just called the big blind, along with 2 others. When my A hit I was happy to bet out and only get Simon W call me. The chips ended up in the middle and Simon showed pocket Kings, so I took a large amount of chips and Simon was first out. I seemed to enter a purple patch and when Andy went in as a short stack when I was Big Blind, it was an automatic call with any 2 cards, which was fortunate as I had 6-3 o/s against Andy's AJ ! As it turned out, a 6 hit and I took Andy out as well!!
Eventually we got to three players, myself, Sean and Derek with me as chip leader. I took it easy for a while to see how the others would play... luckily for me as Sean raised me on the BB when I had pocket 4's Sometimes I would re-raise back, but decided to fold and Sean showed AA so was happy to dodge those bullets !
Sean went out next, leaving myself and Derek, with me the chip lead by about 2-1 and around 20 minutes to play. It was a tough heads up match and went to the last 3 hands. Both of us played cagey and tight, so inevitably it would come down to the classic race. The first race Derek won, but luckily for me I had more chips so still had a chance. Couple of hands later, I won a race and was back in the lead. The final hand we played was another race... my pocket Tens against Derek's A-Q but my pair held up and I won !!
So it was a small turnout, but actually a very interesting game (especially for me I guess :-) ) Hopefully I can continue my run and continue to cash in but I guess it will be in the lap of the poker gods as normal......
Monday, December 31, 2007
Goodbye 2007 , hello to 2008 - a whole new year for playing poker
The end of another year of poker playing, so time to see how I fared... particularly in relation to my intentions from last year !
Financially, 2007 was not a great year for me, being around $650 down for the year (Internet poker) I started well in January (despite playing a lot of HORSE tournaments) but a couple of larger than normal buy-ins (without cashing in) and trying to qualify for Ladbrokes Cruise and Late Night Poker tournaments substantially drained my bankroll.
October was the first month where I decided to follow a more professional approach to bankroll management so my losses were only $25 in the last 3 months of the year, which is much more like it and probably reflects where I feel I am at with my game.
My live casino games in 2007 were two £10 rebuy tournaments (only documented one of these trips) and one £200 freeze-out, but didn't cash in any of them.....
The monthly game was pretty successful in the end, being about £26 up on the year, so am pretty happy with that...... (despite missing out on 2nd place trophy)
So for 2008, my resolutions will be to :-
1. Continue with the stricter bankroll management
2. Apply the bankroll management to the live casino games as well as online !
3. Be more selective about the "special" tournaments I play in (although rule 1 will naturally limit the MTT games I can play in anyway)
I think applying these rules will allow 2008 to be my breakthrough year in terms of financial improvement and hopefully give me a solid basis on which to start pushing my game to a higher level.
Whatever happens, I am sure I will be enjoying it, and is still a cheap hobby :-)
Financially, 2007 was not a great year for me, being around $650 down for the year (Internet poker) I started well in January (despite playing a lot of HORSE tournaments) but a couple of larger than normal buy-ins (without cashing in) and trying to qualify for Ladbrokes Cruise and Late Night Poker tournaments substantially drained my bankroll.
October was the first month where I decided to follow a more professional approach to bankroll management so my losses were only $25 in the last 3 months of the year, which is much more like it and probably reflects where I feel I am at with my game.
My live casino games in 2007 were two £10 rebuy tournaments (only documented one of these trips) and one £200 freeze-out, but didn't cash in any of them.....
The monthly game was pretty successful in the end, being about £26 up on the year, so am pretty happy with that...... (despite missing out on 2nd place trophy)
So for 2008, my resolutions will be to :-
1. Continue with the stricter bankroll management
2. Apply the bankroll management to the live casino games as well as online !
3. Be more selective about the "special" tournaments I play in (although rule 1 will naturally limit the MTT games I can play in anyway)
I think applying these rules will allow 2008 to be my breakthrough year in terms of financial improvement and hopefully give me a solid basis on which to start pushing my game to a higher level.
Whatever happens, I am sure I will be enjoying it, and is still a cheap hobby :-)
Friday, December 21, 2007
Cars: which car to choose.... the final decision !
After a lot of umming and ahhhing.... I decided to go for the Lotus Elise R but without the sports pack and 4 point harnesses.
In a slight twist, after I placed the order it turned out that the 2008 specification has changed (compared to the 2007 spec) in that the Touring Pack is no longer standard on the Elise R, so then had to decide if I really wanted the leather and extra comfort. In the end I thought I better had, as it will be an everyday car. Being given the opportunity to change the order, I nearly decided to go for the Sports pack as well, but have to be a little bit sensible :-)
I am expecting the car in March, but even now am starting to get excited.... seems I made the right choice then :-)
In a slight twist, after I placed the order it turned out that the 2008 specification has changed (compared to the 2007 spec) in that the Touring Pack is no longer standard on the Elise R, so then had to decide if I really wanted the leather and extra comfort. In the end I thought I better had, as it will be an everyday car. Being given the opportunity to change the order, I nearly decided to go for the Sports pack as well, but have to be a little bit sensible :-)
I am expecting the car in March, but even now am starting to get excited.... seems I made the right choice then :-)
Poker: Home Tournament : December 2007 and end of year thoughts
The game went ahead as normal, but unfortunately I got side tracked and only just got around to doing the write up !!
Naturaly I have no recollection of the details now..... so apologies to anyone who avidly reads the write ups, you will have to miss one
Steve made the final table, so got the years consistancy prize.... there was a small worry a little later as there was a possibility he would make the top two and have to give the prize back ! but when he got knocked out in 5th it was no longer possible.... he did take 3rd place in the championship though (bumping me into 4th place in the process and just by 1 point ... dammmittt.... )
Bill got taken out in 6th, and as Jon was still in the match, Jon became undisputed 2007 Champion with Bill in 2nd place. Well done to both, well deserved in both cases and also shows that two opposite styles of play can both do well in the longer term (some may say Bill is just a lucky sod, but you wont hear me saying that ;-) )
Looking back over the year, everyone seems to enjoy the games and so decided to leave the structures as they are for 2008 (why fix something that ain't broke !) The points system is a huge success and although everyone still wants to get into the top three... most are more concerned by getting the points rather than the cash (a good sign I guess) Interestingly the finishing order by cash winnings was Bill, Derek, me then Jon (rather than Jon, Bill, Steve then me by points)
For myself, the year got off to a shakey start, but my run of results in the second half of the year put me into contention for the last game. It all starts again next year of course, so I have high expectations of myself and expect to do well again :-)
Can't wait.....
Naturaly I have no recollection of the details now..... so apologies to anyone who avidly reads the write ups, you will have to miss one
Steve made the final table, so got the years consistancy prize.... there was a small worry a little later as there was a possibility he would make the top two and have to give the prize back ! but when he got knocked out in 5th it was no longer possible.... he did take 3rd place in the championship though (bumping me into 4th place in the process and just by 1 point ... dammmittt.... )
Bill got taken out in 6th, and as Jon was still in the match, Jon became undisputed 2007 Champion with Bill in 2nd place. Well done to both, well deserved in both cases and also shows that two opposite styles of play can both do well in the longer term (some may say Bill is just a lucky sod, but you wont hear me saying that ;-) )
Looking back over the year, everyone seems to enjoy the games and so decided to leave the structures as they are for 2008 (why fix something that ain't broke !) The points system is a huge success and although everyone still wants to get into the top three... most are more concerned by getting the points rather than the cash (a good sign I guess) Interestingly the finishing order by cash winnings was Bill, Derek, me then Jon (rather than Jon, Bill, Steve then me by points)
For myself, the year got off to a shakey start, but my run of results in the second half of the year put me into contention for the last game. It all starts again next year of course, so I have high expectations of myself and expect to do well again :-)
Can't wait.....
Friday, November 30, 2007
Cars: Which car to choose ?
I really want a Lotus but decided to test drive some other sports saloons to see if anything can tempt me away from the Lotus
The Mercedes was a good car, but was auto only, felt bulky and you do feel a little isolated from the driving experiance by the electronics
The BMW was a better, but didn't do it for me
Vauxhall's VXR8 is a serious contender to the Lotus and could be considered a practical option in comparison. It is a big car though.... and doesn't even have a sunroof... but could live with that
So what is it to be ???
Ummmm, still not sure actually..... I need to decide in the next few days......
The Mercedes was a good car, but was auto only, felt bulky and you do feel a little isolated from the driving experiance by the electronics
The BMW was a better, but didn't do it for me
Vauxhall's VXR8 is a serious contender to the Lotus and could be considered a practical option in comparison. It is a big car though.... and doesn't even have a sunroof... but could live with that
So what is it to be ???
Ummmm, still not sure actually..... I need to decide in the next few days......
Cars: BMW 335i M Sport (convertible) Test Drive
I am thinking of the Saloon rather than the convertible, but this was the only demo car they had that was similar. They were only able to give it to me for one night, so have driven it 38 miles in the dark (and slightly dank conditions)
First impressions are overall good, with the biggest problem being the seat ! The wrap round padding for the sides is great and makes you feel really dialed in to the car, but found the padding under the top of the thighs a little uncomfortable and slightly disconcerting. I didn't really get time to fiddle with the seating position to see if it could be improved, but made me wonder if I could live with it or not.
The performance seemed to be pretty good and the car felt stuck to the road. I hadn't got used to the dimensions of the car, but did feel fairly confident in placing the car in the road.
Compared to the other cars, it did seem quite compact and low slung. There was plenty of room for the front passengers but no way would you get anyone behind me in the back and the boot was pathetic (but these would only be an issue with the Cabro)
The only other criticism was the heavy steering at low speeds... I don't see the missus being able to manoeuvre the car unless she takes up weight lifting ! (that might be a good thing :-) )
Overall, a good car with a couple of niggles. In all honesty I am prejudice against BMWs (for no rational reason) and this car is not good enough to overcome these feelings.... so will it be the VXR8 or the Elise ?
First impressions are overall good, with the biggest problem being the seat ! The wrap round padding for the sides is great and makes you feel really dialed in to the car, but found the padding under the top of the thighs a little uncomfortable and slightly disconcerting. I didn't really get time to fiddle with the seating position to see if it could be improved, but made me wonder if I could live with it or not.
The performance seemed to be pretty good and the car felt stuck to the road. I hadn't got used to the dimensions of the car, but did feel fairly confident in placing the car in the road.
Compared to the other cars, it did seem quite compact and low slung. There was plenty of room for the front passengers but no way would you get anyone behind me in the back and the boot was pathetic (but these would only be an issue with the Cabro)
The only other criticism was the heavy steering at low speeds... I don't see the missus being able to manoeuvre the car unless she takes up weight lifting ! (that might be a good thing :-) )
Overall, a good car with a couple of niggles. In all honesty I am prejudice against BMWs (for no rational reason) and this car is not good enough to overcome these feelings.... so will it be the VXR8 or the Elise ?
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