Computers: New Dell running Vista!

I am very excited right now ! I have more or less got my new Dell PC running!

It has 300 GB disk, 4 GB ram and is runnign Vista Home Premium. I went for the 24" widescreen screen and indulged myself with the Soundblaster Xtreame sound and wireless mouse. It flies and is really fantastic !

The "gadgets" feature in Vista is really cool, but otherwise is more or less a new skin for XP (so far as I can tell right now anyway) Google earth satallite images look fantastic as well, so far really glad I bought it

I took the picture of my desk just to test how easy it is to upload pictures.... but I think it looks good too !

I installed and played game of Poker on Poker Stars just now.... hasnt improved my network connection as it dropped just as I was putting a raise in with A4 on a TT4 flop.... after NTL (sorry, I mean Virgin!) dropped the line, I got connection just in time to see another 4 on the turn (after my hand was folded) so would have won a sizeable pot with my full house..... in the end my AK suited lost out to A6 suited when a 6 came on the flop, so my luck hasnt improved either....

Oh well, never mind.... the graphics look fantastic even when you loose

Poker: Annual Satellite 2007 : Heat 4

There were only 4 of the White clan playing but still proved to be an entertaining and thrilling match.

After a tense start the brothers starting winding each other up, with Jon being a particular target by Ant. Ant had Jon wobbling a little bit with baits about Kings, which you probably had to be there to understand, but in the end Ant was the first out. Simon was low on chips and went all in with Darren. Despite being well behind, Simon hit his 4 outer on the river to double up and put him into a strong position.

A weakened Darren struggled to make progress and was next out.

There was then a battle of the titans, with chips moving back and forward between Jon and Simon. The chip stacks were pretty even and each was winning and loosing hands.

It took a monster hand for both to end the match.... Jon hit his K flush on the river after Simon had been betting (relatively) small amounts each round. Simon had flopped a Full House so Jon was always beaten, but had both played well to get to their relevant next round matches.

All to play for in the second place playoffs and the Final table is beckoning !

Cars: Brooklands Mini Day and Mercedes World

Despite loosing an hours sleep (clock changed :-) ) we managed to get out of bed and go to Brooklands for the Mini day. It was a lovely bright day, albeit a bit chilly in the wind.

We hadn't been to Brooklands for some time so it was interesting to see the new layout and entrance. You now loop round Mercedes World to get to the new Brooklands entrance, which is all now very smart looking. They haven't solved the car parking problems though, as the car park was very nearly full when we got there !

Going through to Brooklands itself we immediately came across loads of Mini's. There were old ones, new ones, modified ones, vans ,travellers, shortened ones.... seemed like there was the entire Mini population of Southern England there !

Soon after we arrived we could hear the sound of revving tuned engines, it was time for the hill climb.... so we went to see them roar up the hill (although some cars seemed to only just be able to make the climb !) We wandered up the hill and stood on the bridge to see the cars coming back down the other side and saw the old car parks full to the brim with even more Mini's... certainly was a popular day for enthusiasts

Eventually we had walked around all the Mini's and seen them climb the hill, so decided to go to Mercedes World to see what was going on there. http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedkingdom/mpc/mpc_unitedkingdom_website/en/home_mpc/MB_World_Brooklands.html It is a short distance from Brooklands itself, so made the short walk around and you can also see additional parts of the old race circuit as you walk around which was quite interesting.

Mercedes World is open 7 days a week from 10am- 6pm and looked very smart. The first car I saw as we approached the entrance was a Mercedes McLaren, which looks really smart close up (better than the pictures) Walking in you are greeted by hostesses who are happy to chat about the facilities and we were recommended to start at the top and work our way down, which we did.

The view of the track outside from the top was spectacular, especially as there are AMG Mercedes roaring around and also other cars skating around the wet ring, so was fascinating to stand and look out. The entire place was a huge showroom, with dozens of new Mercedes of all types, shapes and colours available to look at and sit in. Only the Mercedes McLaren and Maybachs are out of bounds (you can look but not touch!) All other vehicles including £100 k S classes and AMG SLKs are available for you to hop into and mess round with.

If you enjoy looking round new car showrooms then you will definitely enjoy Mercedes World, especially as you don't get hassled by any sales staff (they are there if you really want to talk to them) In addition to the new cars, there are some classic and race cars to see, although you can't sit in those.

I did briefly think about having 15 mins on track in a AMG SLK for £25, but decided not too this time, but looked (and sounded) great fun, so maybe something for another day.

All things considering (especially the free admission!) it was well worth visiting and very interesting. I guess we spent around an hour wandering round, but would probably equally enjoy another visit in future

Poker: Annual Satellite : Heat 3

Heat 3 was a riotous affair, starting with Mick's Daughter who was very pleased to see everyone and wouldn't settle to go to sleep (she is only 7 months old!) Eventually she retired home to bed and the real riot started....

Unfortunately Mick departed soon after his daughter, although loosing a few pots to an aggressive Bill, it was acually Lynn who finally took him out

It was all fairly even after that for some time until Derek put in a large bet into a raggidy looking flop. Roger said he had two pair but was convinced Derek had hit his straight.... but still called the sizeable bet. Dereks even larger bet took the pot uncontested and he showed his pocket 3's, pretty much a stone cold bluff ! This gave Derek a fair lead in chips, but was still anyones game.

Lynn found herself up against her husband again (oooerrr missus) but this time Bill had been agressive once too often as Lynn's ATs had already hit an A on the flop so she took Bill out of the running

It was Lynn all the way again, this time with Andy, who had not seen a hand all night, but Lynns AQ had hit two pair to take Andy's one pair with Straight draw out

At this stage Lynn was chip leader, Derek was second and Roger had around 1000 chips left.

Being short staked with large blinds, Roger was soon all in against Derek but Dereks dodgy hand was better than Rogers, and we were heads up already

The heads up match didn't last long, in the end Lynns cautious play drained her chips quite quickly, in the end Lynns pocket tens got taken by Dereks A3 when an A fell on the board.

Very entertaining game to watch with lots of action going on, and the participants seemed to enjoy themselves also....

One more heat to go then we get to the really exciting stuff !

Poker: Home Tourney : March 2007

This month is the first time playing the new rules No Limit, No Rebuy so have been looking forward to this for a long time.

Arrived at the club in plenty of time, luckily as it turned out because as I turned on the lights in the room, they all went out !! They couldn't work out which fuse had tripped, so offered us the committee room instead (upstairs) which provided a good environment to play in, albeit a long way from the bar and toilet. We were also short of the White clan... so was a bit puzzled by their no show and had to keep running downstairs to check they hadn't turned up and not seen the note I left on the door. This wasn't the nice relaxing, focused start I had hoped for.....

When we did start I really had a fantastic few hands.... got dealt KK first hand and two people called my raise. The flop wasn't scarey so bet out and got one caller.... the turn wasn't an A so bet out again and took the pot. Next hand was A9 so saw the flop, although it was no good for me so folded, then the next hand got AA. Luckily Derek went with me to the river so I got paid off and was around 8000 chips (from the 4000 starting point) Settled down after that as the cards dried up. By now Martin had dropped to 2000 chips and was calling Dereks bets to the river. Derek put Martin all-in who called showing a pair, but Derek had trips so took Martin out after less than 20 mins play!

Unbelieveably I got dealt pocket A again soon after and bet sizeable chunk each round. Derek called all the way so thought he must have a pocket pair also. Unfortunately for me, his pocket Q hit a Q on the river and busted my A's putting me back down to around 4000 chips.

Bill looked to be in trouble when he went all-in to Darren. I had already folded my flush draw by then (which hit on the river) but Bill's full house got turned over by Darren's quad 4's ! Bill was left with around 500 chips, but after a couple of double ups (once against me!) he was right back in it.

After that I got some good draws which didn't hit and a couple of moves which didn't go anywhere and found myself struggling. Managed to double up once but by then it was too little too late, and was next out when my A-9 all-in raise got called by Derek and Bill with Derek's pair 4's ending up the winner.

Sean was busted out on the other table straight after me so we were already down to the last 8 players. As this allowed us to open up a cash game I didn't see much more of the main table action, but seemed like there was lots of action going on..

For me a bit disappointing result, but still thoroughly enjoyable.... roll on next month

Poker: Annual Satellite 2007 : Heat 1

I held the first Heat of the "Annual Satellite Invitation Cup" yesterday evening.

Martin turned up with his friend Dave instead of Sally, but they bought beer with them so was no problem :-)

My game plan was to play extra tight in the first hour, try to keep the pots small and see how things progressed. On the first hand I got dealt poker Q's and Darren acting ahead of me raised a small amount. Following my strategy I didn't re-raise and one other called (Lynn I think). The flop came K-x-x and Darren led out with a small bet. Not liking the King I decided to fold, and Darren took the pot uncontested, showing A-J. I was a little shocked Darren led out with a bet with nothing, but maybe that was the shape of things to come.

As it turned out the whole game was very tight and conservative, with little in the way of raising and mainly small raises. The early chips went to the two girls, both picking up some good pots. I gained a few chips here and there, bobbling along just above starting chips levels.

By the first break, Dave and Martin were the lower stacks, but still about half starting levels... Darren was the chip lead, with Viki and myself around starting chip levels

In the next session I found myself with KQ suited and up against Darren who had called my pre-flop raise. I missed the flop but it was high, giving me draws. Darren checked and I bet the pot. After thinking for a while he noted he thought he was ahead but folded, showing pocket 4's (he was right :-) ) A little later, I had pocket 8's and raised preflop and only Darren called. The flop was all lower than 8's so was happy enough to put in a reasonable bet, but Darren called. The turn came J and Darren went all-in. I had about 2200 chips left and it was 2000 to call. After thinking for a while decided I was probably ahead but not certain enough to call so folded and showed my hand..... I think he got me back for earlier as he just smiled... :-)

Incredibly it took until round 7 to lose a player. Martin went all in with a flop of A-Q-x with 6-5 suited. Lynn showed A-T which easily held up to take out Martin. At this stage, Lynn and Darren both had over 6000 chips, Viki was probably around 5000, I had around 2000 and Dave around 1000

Luckily for me the game was still playing tight, as I was on big blind with QT and saw a cheap flop. Wasn't happy to see A-T-x but everyone checked, and was more than happy to see a K fall to give me the nut straight (no flush) Unfortunately everyone checked again so had to bet the river, putting in a pot sized bet (1000) Lynn called me but my straight was good enough. This gave me some breathing space but still had to get more chips. Lynn and I were soon at it again, this time both showing A-T and split the pot (winning half the blinds each)

I then got into a pot with Viki and Dave when I was holding QQ. I was Big Blind again, Viki called, Dave went all-in (for not much more) and I went all-in. Viki decided to call and showed A-? Dave had 99. Luckily no A or 9 came and I took two out at once and got myself a good pile of chips.

Soon after, I was holding 5-3 and hit another straight on the river (after checking all the way down) and again Lynn paid me off when I bet.... so this put me well in contention with Darren, but then Darren took out Lynn leaving us heads up.

Darren had around 16000 to my 8000 and the blinds were just up to 2000/1000 so knew I had to be selective but aggresive to take the win.

The first couple of hands were a bit cagey, Darren folded without completing the small blind, I folded to a raise, Darren folded to a raise.... then Darren called my pre-flop raise and came out betting, so I folded.... then I got dealt 6-2 on the button and decided to take the blind... unfortunately Darren called and the flop came J-8-8. Darren bet 2000 so I looked at my hand as if I needed to make a decision before folding and lucky I did, because I actually had 8-2 !! (had misread my hand before) I did debate for a few minutes as I had 3500 chips left so folding was a possibility if I decided that Darren had an 8 as well (he would have a better kicker) the only other hand holding I was thinking about was A-J I decided to go all-in (which was always going to happen really...) and Darren called. Luckily he had A-J and another 8 came on the turn leaving me firm favorite to take the win. Darren's last 2200 chips went in the next hand which I called with QJ suited against A-5. The Q on the flop was enough and I took the victory

It was a great game and really enjoyed it (winning probably helped enhance my experiance) Everyone had played well and all seemed to enjoy also. I can now look forward to the final table in May and enjoy watching (or hearing about) the remaining heats..... I really feel confident it is my year this year (don't I say that every year) :-)

Poker: Reading Casino "Beginners night"

Myself, Jon, Andy, Bill and Sean all went to the "beginner's night" at Reading Casino last night. Got there 7:30pm just in time for registration. The game was £10 rebuy No Limit Holdem.... the fact you only had to pay £10 a go makes it suitable for beginners apparently :-)

We then hit the tables (well, me and Bill did anyway) My £20 investment in the "drizzle money away" machine that is Roulette was actually very good to me, so managed to walk away with £120 paying for my evening out already !

It was soon time to get down to the serious business of playing in the poker tournament. We started at 8:40pm with the maximum capacity 80 players, so might be a late night !!

My table was fairly tight, but with couple of the guys not afraid to make stabs at the pot. I played 1 or 2 hands in the first 20 as I had absolute rubbish. Eventually I had 9-8 os on BB and saw 8,T,J flop. Decided to bet out and as it was the first time I showed any strength, only 1 player stayed with me, who had A-K. My straight never came, but the 8s were enough to take a pot !

After that I won a couple of pots, then found myself with about 3000 chips and A-8 suited. Four players saw the flop which was A-K-7 I called the minimum bet and 3 players saw the turn which was a 2. Called another minimum bet and was heads up with another 2 falling on the river. The guy bet half the pot, which happened to be all my chips and I was hoping he had A-Q or similar so would be a split pot...... so called..... unfortunately the 2 on the river, which persuaded me to call, gave his pocket 7s a full house so had to buy more chips !

Little later in the game I had Q-9 and flopped top pair. Called a bet and the turn was another Q. I was a little concerned about being out kickered, but called the all-in bet anyway as it left me with chips over, but the other guy had J-9 and had flopped a straight.... only the J on the river would help me and sure enough the poker gods teased my opponents good luck by giving me a J on the river and a split pot.... phew !

By the break and end of rebuys, I was on 3000 chips, compared to the average of around 3500 so not too bad. Jon, Andy and Bill were all around the same Sean just said he had lost count of his rebuys...

After the restart the blinds were now 200-100 so was starting to feel under pressure. Played steadily but wasn't really getting any hands. Limped in couple of times but completely missed flop each time. Blinds were either rubbish hands which missed, or got raised but never really felt like I had a good hand.

I had drizzled my chips away to around 1600 and the blinds were up to 400-200 now. Luckily I was on the button so could relax for a few hands... but no... the management decided to break up out table and I got moved straight into a BB - my luck was definitely not in, especially as my crap hand got raised to put me all-in pre-flop so didn't even get a flop for my money. Similar story on the SB, so sat there fiddling with my single 1000 chip waiting for a hand. Went all-in under the gun, and everyone folded so had the blinds at least..... then went all in a couple of hands later and got called by the lowest chip stack. Although I won the hand, felt a bit cheated that my decent cards didn't even double me up ! Got involved in another hand but had to back out, which put me back down to dangerously low level again.... then to add insult to injury the table got broken up again !

With my chip stack 2 x BB and on a table of 9 players again, I decided to not bother looking at my cards and stick in my chips when I was UTG again. Just got called by the button and the blinds both folded My Q-9 was up against AA ! My luck came back to me as 9 came on the flop to give me some hope, but had to wait for the river to see a Q and a double up.... if I had looked at my cards I may have felt a little embarrassed (perhaps :-) )

In the end, I got no good enough hands to push, so ended up slipping back to all-in blind. This time, although my A5 looked good, my opponents AT hit his T and took my chips, putting me out in 31st place

Only Jon was left playing, so went and played my new friend Roulette again. Managed to build up another £100 profit before blowing it on couple of big 44% chance bets neither of which came in for me.... but still managed to leave (2:30am!!) with a smile and my gambling fund increased

The £200 freezeout tournament looks very tempting now

Finishing positions
Sean : Out first
Bill : Next out
Andy : around about 35th
Mike : 31st
Jon : 12th

(Top 9 positions payed out.... £980 for 1st, £500 2nd, £300 3rd, down to £50 9th)

Poker: Online Poker Sites rating : Ladbrokes

Decided to rate the different Poker Sites I play on, as I often see questions on various forums about what are the best sites to play. I find different sites have different strengths and weaknesses, so will try to summarise my own views in this blog (over time)
Here is the first attempt


Ladbrokes
Good range of games and generally lot of players, so don't have to wait very long for STT or cash game of your choice. Nice range of tournaments including the Poker Million and Cruise !

Interface is OK, but I find it sometimes difficult to see the chip stack numbers and the amount of the bets, as the font is small and shows as white on green background. This is also the only software where I have intermittent but regular horrendous performance problems. Often during MTT but can happen anytime. Only recourse is to reboot PC which is not conducive to relaxed and focused play ! Also difficult to get hand history during the game.

Getting money in and out has good choice of methods and is fairly easy, so no problems there.

Overall rating : fair

Gambling : Betfair "free" bet finally pays off !

Despite my previous losses in Betfair with "free" bets, I decided to take up their kind offer of a free £5 bet, so duly deposit the minimum £10 !

I decide to bet on something looking like a cert, so Chelsea to beat Nott Forest in the FA cup is my choice and makes me 1.43 profit straight away - what a result :-)

Over the next couple of days, start doing my normal mistake of trying to create a book on horse races (funds are too limited to do this) but manage to get some winners and get odds swinging in my favour so build up my funds to around £20 an feeling quite pleased with myself for not crashing out as normal.

The 6 nations gives me a chance to bet on something I know nothing about (as usual!) and decide thast Scotland may beat a weakened England side, and bet accordingly. Fortunatley a chat with Simon (who actually knows a bot about Rugby) makes me change my mind so look at bailing out of my position. As luck would have it, the odds have swung against England so can lay off my bets and will win £1 if england win and 0.40 if Scotland win (just the draw messes my bankroll up) The English victory suits me but shows you should only bet of stuff you know about (didn't I realise this before :-) )

Switched to Greyhounds on the basis there is a 1 in 6 chance of winning, and again because of good odds swings in my favour and a bit of luck picking an outsider to win allowed me to build up my bankroll to around £65 .... not bad for a £10 investment. As I wanted to have another go at the Ladbrokes Cruise, decided to withdrawn my original £10 plus the £40 for the Ladbrokes Cruise... so my luck on Betfair has paid for my Poker bankroll, definately worthwhile :-)

For the remaining monies in my account, I have come up with a system for the Greyhounds which I am trying out at the moment.... so far it has taken me to £27 so seems to be working at the moment.... hopefully will be able to fund some more poker before too long......

Long live Betfair... it is the best thing since sliced bread :-)

Poker: Home Tourney : Feb 07

I was feeling relax and confident this month, right up until the first hand anyway :-)

I was on BB with 9-3o and saw a cheap flop, which brought a 3 but two overcards. Checked but a pot sized bet scared me off and only three players got to the showdown. Sean won with one pair and I was slightly sickened as the river would have won me a huge pot, but thats Poker.... The second hand I had something like T-2o and a pot sized pre-flop raise saw me muck the hand. The flop brought aT but would have looked scarey. Sean and Roger saw the showdown, and Seans pair of tens took it down (I would have split the pot with him!) Few hands later I got AKo and decided to raise the pot.... and five people called me ! I just got a draw to a straight so checked but Simon W put in a bet and ended up with 5 of us all in. Simon W had pocket kings, but Sean hit another 7 for trips on the river (so far as I remember) putting Sean into a massive chip lead and the rest of the table on around 500 chips ! That kind of set the tone for my game and for our table.... Sean kept putting in small raises and mainly winning , I was seeing a lot of middling cards and feeling obliged to see flops as there were so many callers but hit nothing. If I raised pre-flop ( I think I did once more at least) then I was getting lots of callers...

At the break, I had the minimum (double buy in) plus 100, i.e. 1100 chips which was the low stack, but not by much to most of the others. Sean had a huge chip lead with only Andy and Mick (I think) having a few thousand each

Bill the birthday boy was the first to take someone out from our table, but then his new lucky ring let him down and was the 2nd out on our table..... the pool table beckened

Surprisingly, I managed to hold on to my chips well. When all-in on the BB I didnt bother to look at my cards and Roger and Sean called. Sean put in a big bet to scare off Roger, and shows Q-3 (two pair) I flipped over Q-T (also two pair!!) so got about 2500 in chips. Bit of luck at last !

After a lot of cagey play and other peoples all-in's I survived until the 1000-500 blinds levels. Seeing A-8s and being BB next hand, decided to stick in my last few chips (about 1800) Only Sean called being BB and showed Q-3o The flop came with a 3 and so Sean took me out in 9th place ! Just to make it more annoying, Andy W was out on the other table a few seconds later, so had I hung on a couple more minutes would have made the final table.... oh well, when it isnt your night..... :-)

The final table started out tight, but with only about 20 minutes play left, the short stacks had to start playing... and they did ! Alex and Darren got taken out in quick sucession, but left 5 players to play the last four hands.... Sean on the button called, Jon called, but Steve went all-in. Sean then went all-in and Jon had a think Jon had around 6000 in chips so could have folded but put Sean on two overcards to the raggidy flop. Jon called, showing 2nd pair which was leading. The turn came down a Q to give Sean the top pair and with a blank on the river took out two players with three hands to play

Sean had about half the chips, but Andy and Roger both had about quarter each. On the second last hand, Andy and Roger went all-in with Andy taking out Roger and having a tiny chip lead over Sean. Whoever won the blinds on the last hand was the winner, so both players went all-in. Seans 3-4o looked in poor shape against two higher cards, but the turn gave Sean a straight and the win. When it's your night, it's your night :-)

For me it was a terrible night of poker, but did have a few chances so can't complain. I will have to re-think my strategy :-) Next month is our first No Limit, No rebuy of the season so is a different style of play anyway... giving me an extra month to think about how to cope if I get Sean on my table again ;-)

Poker: Ladbroke Poker Cruise III : the journey begins

One new year resolution I made was to try and get myself onto the Ladbrokes Poker Cruise (see http://poker.ladbrokes.com/pokercruise/en/ for details) this year (or onto TV event again)

To this end, I loaded my Ladbroke account with £30 and entered the $5 daily final satellites. With 3 minute blinds and rebuys for 30 mins, you couldn't hang about and the action was fast and furious. It was certainly a lottery rather than a game of poker after the first couple of levels, but I did OK until it got to the point where you were going all in or folding. I ended up 12th from 25 (top 4 went through to daily final) I had another go, but got fed up with the randomness of the poker playing, especially when I lost my all in bet, so didn't bother to rebuy and ended up 22nd from 24 this time.

It seemed to me that earning enough money to enter the Daily Final directly would be a better way forward, although at $66 plus one $25 rebuy and one $25 rebuy, it is not cheap ! I decided to go for the $22 five seat STT to earn enough money and started off very frustratingly with 3 second places, before crashing out early in the next game. With the Daily Final almost upon me, I had to go for the 10 seater hoping to win enough cash, but ended up 5th and only $8 in the account.

This time round I wasn't lucky enough to get in, but will have another go at getting into the Daily Final. My strategy is to play two daily finals and hope to get into the Weekly Final where 1 in 10 players will win a cruise ticket. I think that will be enough to show that I am not lucky enough to get in this year and move onto something else instead.

Will update progress after my next attempt.

Poker: Home Tourney : Jan 07 Flying start to the season

What a great start to the new season, it started out with a "new term" feel with everyone pleased to be back at the tables :-) but soon settled down to a familiar pattern of wild and wacky play with plenty of rebuys ;-)

For me, the game started great with the first hand seeing me all in with two other players and taking down the pot with the best hand. Little later on I got another goo flop on good starting hand and managed to get up to around 5000 chips fairly early on and was able to maintain this level of chips past the cut off break. As players dropped out, I ended up having to move tables and my chips started to dwindle. Couple of good starting hands turned to dust on the flop and wasn't taking huge risks against the White brothers still left in ! In the end, my AJ was looking in trouble when two players called my all in push, and although picked up a nut flush draw on the turn, the river was blank to see me out in fifth place. Because of my early win, I had the luxury of being able to play my normal solid style throughout the game but in the end it was not enough to get into the money, although obviously picked up decent number of points towards the season tally. Only spent couple of quid as well :-)

Other players I noticed in particular was Rogers good play. He didn't seem to get many good hands, until his AQ flopped a full house ! Andy was pot committed and Bill had hit trips, so Roger tripled up and that set him up to get well into the final table. Steve also seemed to be having a mare of a night and was looking for the record number of rebuys, until his fortune changed by winning a large pot unexpectedly just before I moved tables. This run of good cards and good poker skills (backed up by his new found lucky mascot !!) took him to a deserved maiden victory. Ant was playing very aggressively and kept trying to persuade everyone he didn't know what he was doing and making people fold hands by telling them he was going to fold (which was a binding statement :-) ) Whatever he was doing was working as it took him to a good 2nd place.

Please feel free to update this blog entry with your own views and comments about the game

Poker: End of the year so time for reflection

The end of one year and the beginning of a new one is often a time to reflect on the past and look forward to the future.... so further to my previous post "How Long does it take to become good at poker" (http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2006/06/poker-how-long-does-it-take-to-become.html) decided to analyse my previous (Online) poker results with a view to seeing how I can improve for 2007

2003 was a good year, being $250 up for the year, 2004 cost me $50 but 2005 cost me $300 and this year I spent a whopping $1000 !! I was a little surpised about the apparent worsening of my poker game so thought I had better look into why this may be.... is it me playing worse, the opposition getting bettter or what ???? Luckily $1000 is only £500 today, so about £45 a month habit, therefore still a cheap hobby (Motor racing was costing £5000 a year :-) )

Looking back at 2005 I found that I was playing lots of little games and winning overall, but when I stepped up to the $100 or $200 games I would only have bankroll to play one game and didn't cash in, so a couple of big losses effected my whole year of hard work with the smaller wins. This behaviour is easy to correct :-)

2006 has seen me settle into $20 STT tournaments as my "normal" level, so a bad run will see me lose more than previous years but also I am playing less games so this may be putting pressure on myself to "win" rather than just play my normal relaxed game ? Apart from that, this year has seen me play a more diverse range of games (I now play more cash games generally, but also Omaha and HORSE) so for these types of game am back to being a "beginner" so therefore not winning an average proportion of the games. Finally I have played six different sites (three regularly) during 2006 so wonder if this "flitting around" would effect my game, as it takes a little while to get used to a new interface which would distract from playing the games.

So those are all my excuses, what can I do to ensure I don't have a bad 2007 ?

As discussed in my previous posts, will ensure I have correct bankroll for the game level I am playing. This should ensure I can average out my results against bad runs and give more representative picture of my results (if I am still losing all the time will also have to drop down to lower stake levels!) If I have any really good runs, I will try to cash out rather than escalate the stake levels I play at, so this would ensure I dont just lose what I win (there are some gadgets I really want to buy in 2007 so this will be my incentive to win and cash out ;-) )

Will also try to first focus on my "best" game to build up my bankroll, before then spending my "winnings" on the more exotic games that I am trying to learn... also ensure that I only get into the lowest stake levels for these games as well as my win expectation is very low for these games until I get into them more.

Finally, will get around to reading the poker books I bought months ago ! Particularly for the HORSE games as I need help to master these !!

I think this plan will allow me to get my financial results back on track and reflect my level of play better, so lets see how it pans out during the year

In the meantime, thanks for reading and have a great 2007 (although not if you're playing against me ;-) )

Poker: Home Tourney December 2006 (and end of season report)

The 2nd chance No Limit Freezeout format always makes for a tense, exciting game for everyone and this time was no exception. Great plays being made and tight decisions being put on players so a fantastic game for all..... (well as far as I know... let me know if you feel different)

For my own game, I was playing quite tight to begin with, but had a couple of good draws which didn't hit to drain a few chips early on... then I had 5-4 o/s on the blind and flop came a poor looking T-8-5 (or similar) Darren W put in a pot sized bet, but I felt there was weakness and called, along with Simon W. The turn came another 5 so ended up all in against Darren, who show Q-5 and took the chips forcing my 2nd chance rebuy early on. After that things were a bit up and down.... but felt I played fairly well. With the blinds going up and my stack doing down, my K-3 suited looked quite good as I was on the blind but sensibly checked to see a low flop. All 4 players checked and the turn was a K. I thought I was ahead now, but decided to check. The river was a 6 so had no reason to believe I was beat and put in my last few chips, for Simon W to show 2 pair (hitting the 6 on the river!!) so it was all over for me.

The game continued and people started dropping like flies as the blinds became punishing, so we were soon down to 7 players. Play seemed to get more serious as the average chip stack was now 4000 to the 500/1000 blinds, so players had a chance to wait for hands. As I joined the cash game didn't see much of the action after that, but did see Darren W all-in pre-flop with pocket A's against Simon W with pocket K, the A on the flop made the double up for Darren certain.

The last hand of the game saw 4 players still in the game, but all going all-in to decide the places. Simon W took the hand, first place for the night and also the coveted 2006 trophy for league winner

Well done to Simon W for showing great spirit to win the 2006 title


The year stats make interesting reading:
Jon is "Mr Consistant" with 50% money finishes for the year and also average finish position of 4.7 (2nd only to Simon W)

My consolation for the year is third top finished by Average position (hammered by poor finishing the last two games) so looks good for me next year ;-)

Full information at http://www.statsgenie.com/Poker/ (CamberleyBoyz) as normal

Have a great Xmas and new year and hope to see you all bright and breezy on Thursday 11th January 2007 for a fresh start with the new rules

PS - Start telling your friends about the 2007 "Invitation Cup" tournament

Poker: Farnborough Club - November 2006

Went to TC Poker again last Thursday for a No Limit Texas Hold'em £50+5 tournament (2nd chance freezeout, see http://www.tcpoker.co.uk/schedule.htm for schedule)

Managed to get some of the guys together, so ended up with myself, Sean, Bill, Jon, Andy W, Simon W and Andy's father in law (Jo)

This is my narrative of the tournament events as I remember them, although additional thoughts and corrections welcomed

TC's seem to be getting the timings together better now, as the tournament started roughly on time and the breaks were only 20 minutes as scheduled :-)

There were 28 entrants, so making three tables. There were prizes for the top 5 players, around about 600 to first, then 300, 250, 200, 100 (or similar) I was on a table with Andy and Bill, the others were on another table together.

My initial strategy was to get in cheap if possible but otherwise play tight solid poker to begin with and see how things go, especially as the guy to my left I knew from before as a tight agressive player. As I was not getting any hands, it was easy to follow my strategy to begin with, but later on I was on the big blind and Andy put in a raise. I would have folded but he got called by 2 other players before me, so I made a quite loose call with T-4 o/s... but then saw a near miracle flop of T-7-4 albeit with 2 suited cards. With the possibility of a flush draw I decided to make a reasonable bet and to my astonishment Andy went all in. The other players folded but it was an automatic call for me. Luckily Andy had two high cards so I managed to virtually double up early in the game

This allowed me to sit back and relax, waiting for good cards. I kept an eye on the average chip stacks to ensure I wasnt getting below average, but otherwise was playing tight.

Did make one silly mistake when I was raising one hand. I decided to make a standard raise of 3x blind, so put in 1200 chips, but stated "raise 12000" ooops..... of course the dealer wanted me to go all-in (still had around 7000 chips at this point) but the players on the table kindly agreed they knew the bet I intended to make so I only had to put in the 1200. As it turned out everyone folded anyway so it made no real difference... but still decided to keep my mouth shut after that and just stick the chips in !

By the break I had about 7400 chips which was a bit above average

When my chips were dwindling a bit and so when I got pocket 3's decided to make a move so put in a decent raise after a couple of callers. Andy went all-in and the other two players folded. I was getting good pot odd's decided to call and saw Andy with two over cards. Andy hit his card on the flop, so was just putting on my watch to get up and go, when another 3 came on the river to give me the pot... phew ! Unfortunately my good fortune meant that Andy went crashing out

Later on I made another raise when the low stack was in the blind and he went all in. Even with Q9 I still decided to call as was getting good odds and could afford to loose the hand. He showed pocket 3's ! but I hit my 9 on the flop and nothing came to help him so took the hand.

We were down to about 11 players at this stage with the blinds around 1200/600 so was quite expensive to see a flop. Bill called an all-in move by the tight guy to my left, but actually Bill had Kx against Q4. Unfortunatly the 4 on the flop was all that helped either player and Bill was out in 10th place. Someone on the other table was out immediately after, so this left 8 players for the final table.

Myself and Jon were the only CamberleyBoyz on the final table, both with short stacks as well ! When I was big blind, Jon called from late position to see the flop. The flop came down A-5-6 (or similar) giving me an up and down straight draw, but was worried Jon had hit the A. I called his smallish bet on the flop but the turn didn't help me, so had to fold to his next bet. This left me with probably lowest stack at around 14000 chips.

As the blinds had just passed me I sat back to wait for a hand. One before the big blind I got dealt pocket A's ! I put in a normal raise, but the table was playing tight and everyone was folding. Luckily the big blind called.... with a flop of Q-J-6 rainbow, I was happy enough but whilst deciding how much to bet, the Big Blind player put in all his chips so was very happy to call him, especially when he showed K-T. Problem was that he hit a 9 on the turn giving him a straight to turn over my aces. I was definatley very disappointed but there was no other way to play the hand so was happy that I had got all my chips in whilst ahead and just got unlucky

Decided to go home after that, but Jon ended up in 2nd place (in the early hours again I guess) so well done to you

There will definately be a next time so start saving up again ;-)

Poker: Farnborough Club - Oct 2006

Went to TC Poker club (http://www.tcpoker.co.uk/) to play in the £50 NL 2nd chance Freezeout Hold'em tournament last night....well actually, I went to play in the Sit'n'Go games but they are "fine tuning" the games and structures to meet the needs of the players (which is a good thing of course :-) )

The White clan turned up in force as well as Alex, so the CamberleyBoyz were well represented. Luckily for my health and job prospects, there were only 20 entrants so was looking hopeful that the game wouldn't go on to the early hours...

There were two tables of 10, with Alex, Jon, Simon and Andrews father in-law (Jo) all on my table. There was also Samir (a club regular) on my table..... who is a great guy but talks the hind legs off a donkey and seems to play any two cards. Samir and Simon's banter was highly entertaining and almost worth paying £50 just to sit and listen.

The tournament itself was very exciting for me.... around the third hand in I got AQ and raised in early position, the button called then Samir re-raised another 800. I was happy to battle with Samir, but though the button would have a good hand so went all-in. The button folded but Samir showed KK, so I was in trouble. Despite getting a straight draw on the flop my chips were gone and had to use my "2nd chance" to replenish the chips.

The very next hand I got AK so raised. The guy next to me called and the rest of the table folded. When the King hit I decided to bet, but got re-raised all-in. I had to call but was a bit nervous about my prospects.... as it turned out we both had AK so split the pot.... I was quite happy to still have chips !

Couple of hands later I was on the button with 97 suited so called after a couple of other callers. The flop came 9 high rags giving me top pair and a middle pin straight draw, so when it checked to me I put in smallish bet. The big blind re-raised and it folded to me, so I called. The turn came a Q and we both checked.... the river made me a straight so we both ended up all in. Sure enough we had both hit the straight so another split pot.

After that it was a relief to get bad cards for a while, as it is unlike me to be all-in three times in the first 8 hands of a tournament !!

It was all quiet for me until after the break when I got dealt AQ suited. I raised and got called by Simon and Alex. The flop came queen high so when checked to me I went all-in for my remaining 1200 odd chips. Simon thought for a long time then called and Alex called quickly, worrying me for a few seconds until another Q came on the turn! Alex went all-in and Simon called. Simon needed a miracle and Alex has KQ so wasn't far behind needing a miracle, but the river paired the board giving Alex and me a full house and another split pot !! Had I won that hand I would have had over 6000 chips and been well in the game, but as it was I was still the lowest chip count. Oh well, at least I had chips.....

My final hand came against Jon soon after..... I got AK on the big blind and raised 800 into the 600 pot. Jon thought for a while then called, so thought he must have a pair.... the flop came Jack high so I checked. Jon bet 800. Jon was obviously ahead but I was getting 4-1 odds and didn't really have enough chips left back to fold so went all-in. Jon had called my raised with JQ and won with his jacks. I guess he thought I was stealing pre-flop :-)

I was about 16th of 20, which is not a great result but some fun and a story to tell, so will be back

Alex ended up finishing 5th with Jon and Jo both finishing in the money so not a bad night for the Boyz....

However the night was not over for me as there was a cash game going on. I played really tightly as the table was very loose, but didn't really get a hand. After half an hour I hadn't played many pots and never got past the flop when I got dealt pocket J's so raised pre-flop. Got one caller then Joe re-raised for most of my bankroll. Decided to go all-in and only Joe called, showing pocket Aces.... so I went home :-)

General: Ideal Home Show - Oct 2006

Went to the Ideal Home Show this weekend as we haven't been for a couple of years.

Got up at an un-godly hour for a Saturday (7 am!) as we wanted to get the 8:18am train. The journey up was uneventful and was standing outside Earls Court at 9:45am (didn't open until 10am) Quite a few people already there and by 10am there was a substantial length to the queues.

Going in we decided to head for the show homes, as they tend to always have large queues of people waiting to go in. We were slightly taken aback to find that the show was tiny compared to the previous shows we had attended and there was only one show house to look around and it was virtually deserted.....

The floor space of the show was about 1/5 of the previous show we attended so after a couple of hours we felt like we had looked at every stand ! Going around was quite interesting and there were a wide variety of types of stands available, but overall we were both disappointed by the show.

Making the most of the spare time available, we decided to go to Piccadilly Circus and walked up Regent Street, popping into Hamleys of course. The shop was busy but were able to get around and see the goods on offer. There were a wide array of games, toys, models, etc that I would like to have bought, but ended up just buying Lynn her birthday present there (no guesses for what she chose !)

Going along Oxford Street we found the place absolutely heaving and was impossible to enjoy walking along, let alone battling to get into and out of the shops... dread to think what it would be like at Xmas! We ended up walking parallel to Oxford Street and had a nice cup of coffee in Soho Square. This seems to be the place for all the young Goths to hang out as the park there was full of black clad teenagers with died black hair, etc..... The hair-do, clothes and make up I can handle and are sometimes interesting, but their body piercing always makes me cringe and feel sick (must be my age)

After our rest, we made our way to Covent Garden area, which was also very busy due mainly to the street performers, but bizarrely this made it feel more intimate and cosy rather than being overwhelming. Not sure how the knife juggling man in a kilt standing on top of a free standing ladder got past Health and Safety, but he was very entertaining, so well worth a visit if you're around that area on a weekend.

Decided to head back for the train, so walked over Waterloo Bridge for the station. The sun was out and it was pleasantly warm, so was great to stand and take in the views from the bridge.

Once sitting down in the train we both realized we were absolutely knackered, having walked around over 6 hours, the time cetainly flew by.

All in all, a grand day out, albeit slightly marred by the disappointment of the Ideal Home Show

General: Brooklands Museum visit

We haven't been back to Brooklands since the trip in July (http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2006/07/general-trip-to-brooklands-motor.html) but did manage to get to the Morgan Day at Brooklands this weekend. (http://www.brooklandsmuseum.co.uk/)

Went with Mum & Dad as well, who were looking forward to seeing Concorde again

On arriving around 11am, we found a queue of cars behind a huge coach, so initially worried we wouldn't even get in ! As it turned out, they were just taking time to process the coach party so although it was quite busy, there were not huge crowds of people

Our first stop was to buy a ticket to see Concorde, as there are restricted places. As it turned out we would have to wait until 1:00pm to get on board, but this wasn't a problem as there was lots to see.

Being a Morgan day, there were lots of Morgans to look at ! As I get older, I feel more drawn to the Morgans for some reason, very odd..... I still prefer the "funky" looking Speed 8 so maybe there's hope for me yet :-)

Took the parents round a couple of the main displays and the Sultan of Oman's VC10, which I still find fascinating, then it was time for our Concorde "experience" We convened at the "gate" which was some seats under the body, but gave you the feel of waiting at the airport A very knowledgeable guide then took us in via the cargo hatch through to a display of Concorde atrifacts and short videos on PC monitors. We then got taken through to the forward cabin where we sat in the seats and watched a video about Concorde. A brief peek into the cockpit from afar and the trip was over and we exited from the front door. It was very interesting and seemed very quick, although the tour onboard lasted 30 minutes. A good sign, as it leaves you wanting more.

Being lunchtime we had our picnic in the field by the car park, by now the sun was out so it was lovely to have a rest and soak up the suns rays and the unique feeling of Brooklands.

Suitably refreshed we went back round to the planes and had another general look around (and a visit to the shop) before leaving.

Left feeling like we could have spent more time there, so will definitely be back soon.

General: Petworth House (National Trust)

We joined the National Trust this year as we do like to visit places, so in a bid to get our moneys worth went to Petworth house couple of weekends ago. http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/petworth/

Weather forecast was good, so of course on the journey down it poured with rain ! We were thinking we might only look at the house rather than the gardens... but in the end by the time we got there it was bright and warm.

There is a pleasant walk to the house itself from the car park and entering the house you are struck by the grandness of the place (makes sense I suppose) The house didn't take that long to look around, although we could have spent more time looking around had we wanted to study the artifacts in each room more carefuly (especailly the north gallery which is crammed with statues and paintings) For us it was nice to just see the rooms and pick out a few items to look at more closely. Having done the house, we went across the courtyard to the Servants Quarters which now also houses the shop and resteraunts, but it was the Old Kitchens which was facinating to see. You wonder how they got the time to do anything in those days, everything was done by hand and with some very odd looking implements !

Coming out to the gardens, there was extensive grounds so we walked down to the lake and round to the boathouse. It was a bit wind and chilly outside as the landscape was quite open, but this made for fantastic views from the hill top. There are also herds of deer running around which is quite interesting. They are not frightened of humans so you almost have to barge your way through them if you come across a herd.

After visiting the house and gardens, we walked into Petworth villge itself (the house is on the outskirts of the village) It is an old village and a pleasant walk around. Not many interesting shops but plenty of oppertunity to eat or drink if required and very picturesk

We had a very nice day trip out and feel like we have got some culture now :-)

Poker: October 2006 Home Tourney

With a new strategy in mind, I was quietly confident about having a good result this month. Good job I kept it quiet as my plan didnt quite come to fruition ! Had a good hand early on and trippled up when I hit a flush, but then the chips quickly dribbled away and the rebuys started to come along. Just before the last rebuy I had another good flush and had about 3000 in chips at that stage and felt confident again. Unfortunately I raised Bill who called when I had AQ, the flop came jack high so was easy to call Bills all in bet... he had QJ so only an A would help me. Didnt come so most of my chips went ! Next hand Simon went all in and Bill re-raised me all in, so felt I had to go with my A2. Unfortunately (again) Bill's pocket jacks looked good, so I needed an A until the J came on the turn and I was out in 8th. Felt I played OK overall, but a bit disappointed.

The tables seemed a bit quieter tonight,with no wild moves (although Sean wasn't on my table :-) ) but definatetly most enjoyable game of cards you can have for sure.

The final table was a studious affair, with the chips moving around the players.. Derek got a good win when all-in on the big blind and started to look good for another great comeback.... A huge pot with Sean and Bill all-in saw Andy take a huge chip advantage and knocked two players out. Andy and Jon ended up being the last two players with only about 7 mins to go. Couple of small wins to Jon saw him with a small advantage in chips, but then a couple of folds swung it back towards Andy. The last hand of the game saw the blinds as the difference between the players, so whoever won the blinds would win the game. With neither player able to fold all the chips went in after the all low flop. Jons KQ was behind as Andy had hit a pair. The turn was a blank, but the River came with a K giving Jon the game.

Well done to all, can't wait for the next one... will have my new strategy in place by then.....

Posted results to Statsgenie as normal, see some of you at the Farnborough club but otherwise next month

http://www.statsgenie.com/Poker/ (CamberleyBoyz)