Slightly down on numbers this month, but also see the welcome return of Colin to the fold.... and Martin also managed to make it as well.... and with only one of the White clan, the evening had a different feel to it.
My tournament got off to a dodgy start... dealt pocket 3's first hand decided to raise... but ended up with 4 players all-in ! Sean took the first hand and went on to start calling with all sorts of rubbish (normal game for him then ;-) )
My chips kept going down, but got a breakthrough against Roger and managed to get a bit of a stack together, but never really got a stack going through the early levels. In the last session before buy-in I managed to accumulate more chips, so went into the break with around 3000 chips (slightly above average) Alex had been struggling all game and had lots of buy-ins so inevitably needed two buy ins at the break (as did Andy)
After the break Alex raised and I put him all-in with my pocket 4's which he called with A-6 Nothing came to help either of us, so I managed to take Alex out. Couple of hands later I put Andy all-in and we had another race, but this time me having two overcards. Luckily one of my cards came and I took Andy out as well... giving me a decent number of chips. Unluckily for me, I then get a good hand and only Sean calls my raise. My AQ looks reasonable with KQ5 flop, but Sean calls my flop bet and goes all-in on the turn. I decide to call and of course he has the K, and my AQ gets turned over by K-6
The final table is with us quickly this evening due to the number of players and only Mick has less chips than me, but at least I have made it into the points. Two players go out in quick succession and I am roaring up the points positions by not playing a hand. I win one small pot uncontested which leaves me with 2000 chips and the blinds 500-300
I look for a place to go all in and soon get a good opportunity. My 76 on BB sees two 7's on flop. Roger bets the flop and both me and Jon call. The 6 on the turn means I want Roger to bet out again, but he checks. Having only 1500 and a huge pot, I go all in and Jon calls me with a straight against my nut Full house.... so nearly tripled up
A couple of hands later I am lucky to take Roger out when I hit a card on the River and I am chip leader and in the money
It is definitely my night tonight, as I flop a straight draw and Jon prices me in to see the turn when I hit the straight. He bets out and then calls my re-raise but he has no hope and I take a massive chips lead. I even manage to dodge Jons AA next hand, although it got done by Dereks K-5
It was soon all over, when I take out both Derek and Jon, so Jon gets another 3rd place but I make my first win of the year !!
I am really pleased especially as I really felt I was up for it this time round.... and didn't play badly (admittedly did get lucky a couple of times, but hey... :-) )
As ever a great game, but have to wait an extra week for the September game, so looking forward to that !
Results posted to http://www.statsgenie.com/Poker/ as normal, make interesting reading...
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Cars: Car profile
I have always been a keen driver, especially when someone else was paying for it ! So what cars have I owned over the years ? (in some form or another)
- Mini Clubman 1000cc (1980)
Company Car. Engine kept having problems, rebuilt a couple of times. (don't know why, I never revved it more than maximum revs....) - Austin Allegro
Company Car. Surprising how many people you can get in an Allegro
A different Austin Allegro
Company Car. First experience of lift-off oversteer. Luckily Tree wasn't damaged..... car written off. Oops..... - Citroen Athena
Bosses car, used fairly regularly whilst I was "rested" from company car ownership..... first experience of 3 figure speeds (it was socially acceptable in those days) however was unable to think of suitable reasons to explain to boss why his fuel consumption halved whenever I drive his car..... so fun was seriously curtailed after various "discussions" on driving technique. - Talbot Solara
Company Car. Rubbish car, but permanently on the road again! Learnt about weight transfer when swerving to avoid truck pulling out in front of me. Luckily the barrier on the A3 Hook underpass wasn't damaged.... car written off....... probably did car loving humanity a favour though.... - Talbot Solara Series II
Company Car. Very exciting as the first car I had from brand new. Also first one I had with 5 speed gearbox ! (it is some new fanged gadget, will never catch on..) - BMW 316
Company Car. Only had it for a month.... didn't want to give it back, as in those days it was cool to have a Beema - Ford XR3i
Company Car. Ended up with engine on fire when starting it one day, probably petrol leak in engine bay... write off of course (but not my fault this time !!) - Ford Capri 1.6L Laser
Company Car. First real experience of rear wheel drive. Also first experience of a big tank slapper.... luckily didn't hit anything, and my passenger ended up marrying me, so couldn't have been that bad :-) - Cant remember what I had next (1990)
Company car of some sort. - Saab 900i auto (1990)
Company Car. Working in London now. Daily commute, yuk. - Saab 900s manual (1991)
Company Car. - Cannot remember (1992-94)
Company Car. Some repmobile or other probably - Rover 216 (1994)
Changed company, this was obviously a company car ! - Rover SDI 3.5 V8 (1994)
First car I owned myself. Changed company and decided to get car allowance. Only lasted about 7 weeks before it collapsed in a heap of rust and mangled bits (£50 for a car wasn't much even in those days) - Renault 19 1.3 (1994)
My car. Great car actually. - Cannot remember (1996 )
Company car. Doing high mileage so went back to company car. - Renault Laguna 2.0 Sport (1997)
Company car. Sport meant you got the "firm" seats (i.e. - your head doesn't touch the side windows when you turn the steering wheel) - Saab 900 Turbo (1997)
My car again. Changed company just as Tony Blair got into power... bound to hammer company car drivers, so I went for a car allowance. Very quick car (once Turbo has spun up that is, none of this namby-pamby low-pressure turbo rubbish) - Lotus Elise (1997)
"Our" weekend car. until wife wanted to sell her half..... Hmmmm, OK. Absolutely wonderful car though, would love to race one. (we all need to dream) - Subaru Impreza Turbo (1999)
My Car. mine, mine, mine.... one of the most reliable cars in the business, so why did it throw a rod through one of the cylinders then ? Complete engine rebuilt under warranty (luckily) Great car, but refused to be driven sensibly. I must be getting old as started worrying about my Driving License. - Jaguar XK8 Convertible (2002)
My car. Fantastic car, not just for posing in either. Only sold it to provide my racing budget (and some stuff for the house, but hey....) Might own another one again (or maybe an Exige would be better..) - Land Rover Discovery Td5 (2003)
Company Car. To tow my race car of course. Tax liability is a bit of a bugger, but you can't beat it for towing. - Range Rover (2004)
Company Car. Temporary arrangement from May-Sept. Unbelievably, you cannot buy a new Discovery at the moment ! - Jeep Grand Cherokee (2004)
Company Car. Temporary arrangement from Sept 04- Apr 05 Auto gearbox, but fantastic V8 petrol engine. Great for towing and not bad in a straight line :-) - Subaru Forester 2.5 XT (Mar 2005)
Own car Can tow 2 tonnes and goes like stink as well
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Gambling: Blackjack elimination tournaments
I have recently taken to playing the occasional game of Blackjack online, especially after a long Poker session (http://www.ultimatebet.com/blackjack)
Started playing the cash games, but found I either won a little or lost a lot! so now turned to the Elimination tournaments. These last up to 30 hands and are playing for a prize pool rather than putting cash in each hand. At the moment am having some success at the $1 games, so just a bit of fun really.... although there is some high standard of tournament play even at this level
In the main, anyone with good understanding of how to play a tournament (rather than playing normal blackjack) should do well, so will keep you posted as to progress in future posts
Started playing the cash games, but found I either won a little or lost a lot! so now turned to the Elimination tournaments. These last up to 30 hands and are playing for a prize pool rather than putting cash in each hand. At the moment am having some success at the $1 games, so just a bit of fun really.... although there is some high standard of tournament play even at this level
In the main, anyone with good understanding of how to play a tournament (rather than playing normal blackjack) should do well, so will keep you posted as to progress in future posts
General: Harry Potter
Went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last night http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com/
Despite going to the 5:30pm showing, there were about half the audience who were couples without children in tow, so just goes to show the wide age range appeal of Harry (I am not the only big kid :-) )
The film itself was pretty good, no big surpises if you saw the previous films (and read the books of course :-) ) but certainly fan's will thoroughly enjoy the film and not such great fans (like the missus) will sit through it and enjoy it, so overall a winner I think
Despite going to the 5:30pm showing, there were about half the audience who were couples without children in tow, so just goes to show the wide age range appeal of Harry (I am not the only big kid :-) )
The film itself was pretty good, no big surpises if you saw the previous films (and read the books of course :-) ) but certainly fan's will thoroughly enjoy the film and not such great fans (like the missus) will sit through it and enjoy it, so overall a winner I think
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Cars: TVR at Brooklands
Today was a bit of a "Sport" day :-)
Went to the TVR club day at Brooklands Motor Museum (http://www.brooklandsmuseum.co.uk/) to begin with and had a good look (and listen !) to the TVR's that were displaying. There were all shapes and sizes so was very interesting to see. We wandered around the lines of TVR, then they all went and lined up for a photo shoot on the old banking, so we went up to the bridge and took some photo's then had some lunch before wandering around the rest of the cars. I was hoping to see the going up the hill, but didn't look like they were schedules to start until mid afternoon, so ended up leaving without seeing that spectacle.
There was also a Mercedes Club day happening at Mercedes World next door, so had a look around at the exhibits outside (and watched listened to the AMG rides round the track) Lynn wanted to look at the cars in the showroom, so went in but the GP was being shown on their TV's so didn't hang around long
Went home and watched the GP that I was recording, which was also great entertainment, then it was just a case of watching the end of the golf.
All this sport is very tiring so will have to have a little rest now !
Monday, July 16, 2007
Music: Bullfrog band
Simon and Lil came over for dinner this weekend and had happened to see that there was a Rythym & Blues band playing at the Four Horseshoes, so suggested we go over for a swift half and see if they were any good
As it turned out, the band was great and all had a really good time watching the band
Their web site is at http://www.bullfrogband.co.uk/ if you want to check them out
As it turned out, the band was great and all had a really good time watching the band
Their web site is at http://www.bullfrogband.co.uk/ if you want to check them out
Friday, July 06, 2007
Poker: Home Tournament : July 2007
Back to the normal Pot Limit format this month, but a good turnout (14)
Not sure what has happened but everyone seems to have taken a sensible poker pill this month.... :-) Although the action was frantic as normal, we had very small (comparatively) number of rebuys and still had 9 people going into the last 20 minutes ! Everyone was playing good poker and some weird luck was going round this time....
For me, it was mainly bad luck of course :-) I was playing normal style tonight and three key hands ruined my chances... one was against Joe, when I was all in and ahead with Joe looking for one of 8 outs post flop.... of course he hit on the River to complete a middle pin straight draw. Later on Andy W was all in against me and I was way ahead with A-2 in my hand and A on the flop, I then hit a straight on the turn, but the river put a straight on the board so we had a miracle split rather than me winning. In fairness I did then hit one bit of good luck when all-in against Joe with my J-5 against A-9, despite a 9 on the flop I hit runner runner to double up, although I was short stacked which was why I was playing J-5 in the first place :-) My last hand I was A-Q against Bill with 8-2, but the 2 hitting the flop was enough to take me out the tournament.
Talking of Bill, he took out 8 players.. partly though loose aggressive play and partly by pure luck (some people may say) His huge pot sized bet on the River convinced Andy he was bluffing but when the cards came over, he did have a hand (compared to Andy's A high if I remember correctly) but he also flopped a flush, a nut flush, Full House... the list seemed to go on. The chips were certainly moving around the table though
When we did eventually have a final table, the players fell quite rapidly. Alex had managed to cling on to maintain his 100% record of points scoring so far but went out in 8th place this time. Roger made some brave moves as lowest stack but ended on the cash bubble (4th)
The final hand saw Bill and Simon both needing to win at least the blinds in order to win, but as Jon had nothing to loose by going all-in as short stack, we saw all the chips in the middle (except the odd chips Simon had left over) It could have gone to any of the three, but Bill took the lot by hitting one of his cards to make pair 8's to take the tournament win and the lead in the League table as well !
Very close, tense (and in some ways odd) game but highly enjoyable (and cheap) night out
League positions are still very open, so anyone can still get a good run to win ! Roll on next month...
Not sure what has happened but everyone seems to have taken a sensible poker pill this month.... :-) Although the action was frantic as normal, we had very small (comparatively) number of rebuys and still had 9 people going into the last 20 minutes ! Everyone was playing good poker and some weird luck was going round this time....
For me, it was mainly bad luck of course :-) I was playing normal style tonight and three key hands ruined my chances... one was against Joe, when I was all in and ahead with Joe looking for one of 8 outs post flop.... of course he hit on the River to complete a middle pin straight draw. Later on Andy W was all in against me and I was way ahead with A-2 in my hand and A on the flop, I then hit a straight on the turn, but the river put a straight on the board so we had a miracle split rather than me winning. In fairness I did then hit one bit of good luck when all-in against Joe with my J-5 against A-9, despite a 9 on the flop I hit runner runner to double up, although I was short stacked which was why I was playing J-5 in the first place :-) My last hand I was A-Q against Bill with 8-2, but the 2 hitting the flop was enough to take me out the tournament.
Talking of Bill, he took out 8 players.. partly though loose aggressive play and partly by pure luck (some people may say) His huge pot sized bet on the River convinced Andy he was bluffing but when the cards came over, he did have a hand (compared to Andy's A high if I remember correctly) but he also flopped a flush, a nut flush, Full House... the list seemed to go on. The chips were certainly moving around the table though
When we did eventually have a final table, the players fell quite rapidly. Alex had managed to cling on to maintain his 100% record of points scoring so far but went out in 8th place this time. Roger made some brave moves as lowest stack but ended on the cash bubble (4th)
The final hand saw Bill and Simon both needing to win at least the blinds in order to win, but as Jon had nothing to loose by going all-in as short stack, we saw all the chips in the middle (except the odd chips Simon had left over) It could have gone to any of the three, but Bill took the lot by hitting one of his cards to make pair 8's to take the tournament win and the lead in the League table as well !
Very close, tense (and in some ways odd) game but highly enjoyable (and cheap) night out
League positions are still very open, so anyone can still get a good run to win ! Roll on next month...
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Poker: Ladbroke Cruise : weekly final update
Further to my previous post (http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2007/06/poker-ladbrokes-cruise-some-progress.html) I played in the Weekly Final today.
38 players started, giving 3 cruise tickets and 3 cash prizes for the top 6 finishers.
I started the game actually feeling quite nervous, but determined to do well.
The first hand I was on the button and with Q-8 decided to limp in as everyone else had folded. An 8 came on the flop so bet out when the blinds folded and took down the first pot... always a good feeling and gives initial confidence. I got dealt pocket Tens the next hand so raised pre-flop and just got 2 callers. The flop came with two diamonds, so decided to bet out when checked to me but both players called. The turn came another ten, so was confident I must be ahead so bet out again after both players checked, and this time only 1 called. The river was another diamond, and the player before me bet out half the pot...... I knew in my heart he made the flush but had to call and sure enough he had hit his 18% chance so I'm down to 1800 chips already (from 3000 starting point)
I didn't panic at this stage and played steady solid poker and managed to get back up to 2800 before having a couple of bad hands and slipped back to around 2200 again. Then I had some luck.... with an A-8 on the button I limped in and three diamonds came on the flop, and everyone checked. Another diamond came on the turn and I nearly missed I had made a Straight Flush !! To my joy the first player bet minimum amount and was called, so I made a small raise as I thought at least one would call... but no... they both folded so didn't make any money on my massive hand
After that I struggled but maintained over 2000 chips... although this represented the bottom 5 places....
After 50 minutes play, I got pocket nines in late position and although there was an initial raise, this player had been quite loose (he had all my chips in the second hand) so decided to re-raise and only he called. The flop came Q-8-8 so when he checked I decided to bet half the pot, but he re-raised me all-in. I only had around 900 chips back, and although he had been quite bullying on the table suspected I had to be behind.... but decided to call anyway. Sure enough he had A-Q and I went out in 31st place :-(
Bit of a shame it didn't work out, but on the bright side, do have a reasonable amount towards the next daily final... so will have another crack at it.
38 players started, giving 3 cruise tickets and 3 cash prizes for the top 6 finishers.
I started the game actually feeling quite nervous, but determined to do well.
The first hand I was on the button and with Q-8 decided to limp in as everyone else had folded. An 8 came on the flop so bet out when the blinds folded and took down the first pot... always a good feeling and gives initial confidence. I got dealt pocket Tens the next hand so raised pre-flop and just got 2 callers. The flop came with two diamonds, so decided to bet out when checked to me but both players called. The turn came another ten, so was confident I must be ahead so bet out again after both players checked, and this time only 1 called. The river was another diamond, and the player before me bet out half the pot...... I knew in my heart he made the flush but had to call and sure enough he had hit his 18% chance so I'm down to 1800 chips already (from 3000 starting point)
I didn't panic at this stage and played steady solid poker and managed to get back up to 2800 before having a couple of bad hands and slipped back to around 2200 again. Then I had some luck.... with an A-8 on the button I limped in and three diamonds came on the flop, and everyone checked. Another diamond came on the turn and I nearly missed I had made a Straight Flush !! To my joy the first player bet minimum amount and was called, so I made a small raise as I thought at least one would call... but no... they both folded so didn't make any money on my massive hand
After that I struggled but maintained over 2000 chips... although this represented the bottom 5 places....
After 50 minutes play, I got pocket nines in late position and although there was an initial raise, this player had been quite loose (he had all my chips in the second hand) so decided to re-raise and only he called. The flop came Q-8-8 so when he checked I decided to bet half the pot, but he re-raised me all-in. I only had around 900 chips back, and although he had been quite bullying on the table suspected I had to be behind.... but decided to call anyway. Sure enough he had A-Q and I went out in 31st place :-(
Bit of a shame it didn't work out, but on the bright side, do have a reasonable amount towards the next daily final... so will have another crack at it.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Poker: Ladbrokes Cruise... some progress !
Since our cruise holiday (http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2007/06/general-cruise-holiday-round-med-week1.html) I decided I had to try and win a place on the Ladbrokes Cruise again (http://poker.ladbrokes.com/pokercruise)
Of course I had tried and failed once before (http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2007/01/poker-ladbroke-poker-cruise-iii-journey.html) but really want to get on the ship again (it was a fabulous holiday!)
As before I decided to win my stake into the Daily Final (£66 buy in plus one £25 rebuy and one £25 add-on) by playing Cash games. I soon found I am still rubbish at cash games, although some of it may be not having the right bankroll to get into the large stake games.... the low stakes games really do seem to be a lottery ! In the end I decided to stick to what I am best at, so went back to playing Single Table Tournaments (STT aka Sit and Go's). As luck would have it I had a string of money finishes.... so it only took me 2 weeks to get my stake together for the Daily final
I played the Daily final this evening. 24 players started, and most seemed to be playing fairly solidly.. so I was playing my normal tight game. I had a few ups and downs, but managed to get to over double the starting chips (around 4500) towards the end of the first hour when the rebuys stop (thats £25 saved I was thinking to myself) On the last hand before the break I had 3-4 suited but decided to invest 100 chips in seeing a flop, mainly as I wanted to run down the clock to the break... the flop came A-5-J and the three players checked so I checked as well... the turn came 9 and we all checked again. The river was a 2 to make my straight, and to my surprise one player went all-in .... I had the nut hand so called and of course doubled through ! This meant I did not need to add on either as I as near the chip lead (so had only spent the original £66)
Whilst this was a result in itself, I continued to accumulate chips, partly by solid play but also a little bit of luck and people reading (most people were playing ultra-tight or were playing too loose when short stacked..
Making the final table was a breakthrough for me, and was in about 5th place at the time. I managed to take out a short stack which took me to 3rd place, where I stayed more or less all the time right to the end of the game.
The top 3 finishers win a ticket into the Weekly final on Sunday, in which 1 in 10 players will win a ticket to the cruise itself !! (it is a £660 buy-in normally) At the moment there are only 10 players in the final (although this may well go up)
So I will need to make sure I am fit and fresh for the game on Sunday evening... and will be crossing my fingers for a good game and have a chance to win that cruise
Of course I had tried and failed once before (http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2007/01/poker-ladbroke-poker-cruise-iii-journey.html) but really want to get on the ship again (it was a fabulous holiday!)
As before I decided to win my stake into the Daily Final (£66 buy in plus one £25 rebuy and one £25 add-on) by playing Cash games. I soon found I am still rubbish at cash games, although some of it may be not having the right bankroll to get into the large stake games.... the low stakes games really do seem to be a lottery ! In the end I decided to stick to what I am best at, so went back to playing Single Table Tournaments (STT aka Sit and Go's). As luck would have it I had a string of money finishes.... so it only took me 2 weeks to get my stake together for the Daily final
I played the Daily final this evening. 24 players started, and most seemed to be playing fairly solidly.. so I was playing my normal tight game. I had a few ups and downs, but managed to get to over double the starting chips (around 4500) towards the end of the first hour when the rebuys stop (thats £25 saved I was thinking to myself) On the last hand before the break I had 3-4 suited but decided to invest 100 chips in seeing a flop, mainly as I wanted to run down the clock to the break... the flop came A-5-J and the three players checked so I checked as well... the turn came 9 and we all checked again. The river was a 2 to make my straight, and to my surprise one player went all-in .... I had the nut hand so called and of course doubled through ! This meant I did not need to add on either as I as near the chip lead (so had only spent the original £66)
Whilst this was a result in itself, I continued to accumulate chips, partly by solid play but also a little bit of luck and people reading (most people were playing ultra-tight or were playing too loose when short stacked..
Making the final table was a breakthrough for me, and was in about 5th place at the time. I managed to take out a short stack which took me to 3rd place, where I stayed more or less all the time right to the end of the game.
The top 3 finishers win a ticket into the Weekly final on Sunday, in which 1 in 10 players will win a ticket to the cruise itself !! (it is a £660 buy-in normally) At the moment there are only 10 players in the final (although this may well go up)
So I will need to make sure I am fit and fresh for the game on Sunday evening... and will be crossing my fingers for a good game and have a chance to win that cruise
Friday, June 08, 2007
Poker: Home Tournament : June 2007
Fourteen players start this epic battle. The NL Freezeout game has definitely become a much different animal to the Pot Limit rebuy games and everyone is keen to do well and not go home early (although some people are more successful at achieving this than others as we will see...)
On my table, first hand I get dealt KK in the Big Blind so raise 300 and get three callers ! Fortunately the flop comes with a K but has straight and flush draws possible so decide to bet out large and pick up a great pot After that I fritter away chips gradually as no hands come to me.
Roger is playing a blinder of a game and knocks out Andy early on. In fairness, Andy's all in move with nothing more than Ace high may have been a little reckless as Roger's two pair actually wins him a huge pot for a change ! A few hands later I am drawing for a straight on the flop but decide to bet out and only Roger calls. Turn is K to make my straight but is a third spade... both me and Roger check and with the river being a blank I check again and Roger puts in a Pot sized bet. I cannot decide what Roger would have and being 2nd chip leader to Roger decide to fold rather than risk 25% of my chips. It doesn't all go Rogers way when the flop comes three clubs with four players in. After a round of checks, the turn is another club.... and the river makes a flush on the board so everyone takes their money back.... with Roger showing his pocket Aces
My luck kicks in again and start making hands. After raising pre-flop, I make top pair on the flop and bet strongly which only Simon calls. I am wondering what he has so check the turn and river, with Simon showing A high so I take a large pot again.
As the blinds increase we start loosing players but it takes until after the 2nd break before we see the final table (with only 35 mins left to play) I am probably chip leader with around 15000 in chips, Bill is close behind and there are 2 or 3 short stacks with the remaining players having around 3-4000
It is not long before we have our first knockout. The flop comes 6 high with just the blinds in, Simon goes all in with A-6 and gets called by Bill with K-6. It looks like Simon has doubled up until Bill hits his K on the river to take Simon out. Soon after, there are four limpers to a raggedy flop and everyone checks. My Q-6 looks a bit better when a 6 comes on the turn, but still everyone checks. The Q on the river gives me what should be the winning hand, so when Joe puts in 1000 bet I am happy to raise it up, which he calls. My 2 pair hold up and Joe is out in 7th
It starts to become a bit of a crapshoot with small stacks going in all over the place. Andy W goes all-in and I am happy to call with my pocket Aces, but his K-5 cracks the aces when he makes two pair on the river. I also manage to double Jon up so my stack is starting to look vulnerable and a 4th place finish is on the cards for me !!
Luckily for me, Jon doesn't get any luck and goes out in 4th. With 3 players left and three hands to play it gets tense, but Andy goes all-in and my 8-3 goes in the bin to give him a slight lead in chips over me, but Bill is slightly ahead at this stage. The next hand Andy goes all-in again, this time I decide my K-4 is good for a punt and Bill dips out of the big blind. Unfortunately I am dominated by K-Q so have to settle for 3rd. This win gives Andy enough chips to win by folding the last hand and it is all over for another month
I was up and down all over the place, having good luck and bad... but overall am happy to be in the money places for the first time this year. We had it all tonight... bad beats, slow play and general riotous behaviour so another great game, with lots of action.
On my table, first hand I get dealt KK in the Big Blind so raise 300 and get three callers ! Fortunately the flop comes with a K but has straight and flush draws possible so decide to bet out large and pick up a great pot After that I fritter away chips gradually as no hands come to me.
Roger is playing a blinder of a game and knocks out Andy early on. In fairness, Andy's all in move with nothing more than Ace high may have been a little reckless as Roger's two pair actually wins him a huge pot for a change ! A few hands later I am drawing for a straight on the flop but decide to bet out and only Roger calls. Turn is K to make my straight but is a third spade... both me and Roger check and with the river being a blank I check again and Roger puts in a Pot sized bet. I cannot decide what Roger would have and being 2nd chip leader to Roger decide to fold rather than risk 25% of my chips. It doesn't all go Rogers way when the flop comes three clubs with four players in. After a round of checks, the turn is another club.... and the river makes a flush on the board so everyone takes their money back.... with Roger showing his pocket Aces
My luck kicks in again and start making hands. After raising pre-flop, I make top pair on the flop and bet strongly which only Simon calls. I am wondering what he has so check the turn and river, with Simon showing A high so I take a large pot again.
As the blinds increase we start loosing players but it takes until after the 2nd break before we see the final table (with only 35 mins left to play) I am probably chip leader with around 15000 in chips, Bill is close behind and there are 2 or 3 short stacks with the remaining players having around 3-4000
It is not long before we have our first knockout. The flop comes 6 high with just the blinds in, Simon goes all in with A-6 and gets called by Bill with K-6. It looks like Simon has doubled up until Bill hits his K on the river to take Simon out. Soon after, there are four limpers to a raggedy flop and everyone checks. My Q-6 looks a bit better when a 6 comes on the turn, but still everyone checks. The Q on the river gives me what should be the winning hand, so when Joe puts in 1000 bet I am happy to raise it up, which he calls. My 2 pair hold up and Joe is out in 7th
It starts to become a bit of a crapshoot with small stacks going in all over the place. Andy W goes all-in and I am happy to call with my pocket Aces, but his K-5 cracks the aces when he makes two pair on the river. I also manage to double Jon up so my stack is starting to look vulnerable and a 4th place finish is on the cards for me !!
Luckily for me, Jon doesn't get any luck and goes out in 4th. With 3 players left and three hands to play it gets tense, but Andy goes all-in and my 8-3 goes in the bin to give him a slight lead in chips over me, but Bill is slightly ahead at this stage. The next hand Andy goes all-in again, this time I decide my K-4 is good for a punt and Bill dips out of the big blind. Unfortunately I am dominated by K-Q so have to settle for 3rd. This win gives Andy enough chips to win by folding the last hand and it is all over for another month
I was up and down all over the place, having good luck and bad... but overall am happy to be in the money places for the first time this year. We had it all tonight... bad beats, slow play and general riotous behaviour so another great game, with lots of action.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
General: Cruise holiday round the med (week1)
- Saturday 19th May (Leaving port)
Left home at 12:25 to drive to Southampton. Journey was fine until we got within 3 miles or so, so it took about 1 hour to do this last part of the journey ! It took another hour to get on board once out of the car, but overall was quite a smooth experience so far. Slight annoyance was that the documentation said to arrive at 2pm (hence the huge traffic jams) but we could actually have boarded at 1pm
The room was nice and the balcony definitely a bonus worth having. To my surprise we had the lifeboat drill whilst still in port, but at least it got it out the way (good idea really) Had a walk around the ship to explore.... it is a HUGE ship, and has lots of stairs. Saw the ship out of Port then went to the cafe type restaurant (called the Windjammer) which is on Deck 11 with a lovely view looking out from the stern. Saw the Welcome Aboard show, which was very good (amazing acrobats) then by the time we had a drink in the plaza bar, were worn out so had early night.
- Sunday 20th May (at sea)
Woke after a slightly restless night. Squeaks and rattles in the room, caused by the choppy conditions in the Bay of Biscay. Ship is still rocking and Lynn has slight queasiness due to the sea conditions. Had a nice breakfast then as Lynn needed some air we had a wandered around, but is quite chilly outside.
Went for coffee in the Promenade Cafe (deck 5) which is all indoors and looks like a village street with all the other shops and large space. Lots of stuff going on around the ship, so attended a cosmetics talk at 11am, Discover Shopping show at noon (where to shop in Gibraltar and France) then a seminar on "Eat more to weigh less" at 1pm (very relevant on a cruise!) then found there is a series of talks from a Poker professional on improving your Poker at 2:30pm , so went to that.... difficult to fit in all the eating and drinking as we then went to an Ice Show at 5pm but this got postponed due to the choppy conditions, which gave us time to get a coffee and cake :-)
Then went for a game of putting on the 9 hole putting green, before having a rest in the Sun. Out of the wind and with the Sun now out, it was actually pretty hot now.
After a nice rest it was time to get ready for Dinner (Formal night tonight) We had the late sitting which was normally 8:30pm (or 8:45pm some nights) which seemed a little late to eat, but the alternative was 6pm, which seemed a bit early ! We were on a table of 10 people, with 2 elderly ladies (who were a hoot) an elderly lady with her daughter, an older scottish couple and one couple a little nearer our own age (but were probably late 50's) All were very pleasant and talkative so although the meals were around 2 hours, it went quickly and the food was excellent.
After dinner we went to the "American Drifters" show, which was OK but not great (was never a fan of the drifters really) then had to go to the Casino ! The Casino was quite large, with three or four Blackjack and Roulette tables, plus a couple of Stud Poker games as well as one Cash Texas Hold'em table (but this never got going until Midnight most nights) Managed to loose about $100 so went to "The Dungeon" which was the nightclub and had good atmosphere despite never being busy when we went there. After a few drinks and dances, managed to crawl into bed around 1:30am !
- Mon 21st May (at sea)
Woke up at 10:15am and went to Breakfast. Then found spot to lye on deck, but was cloudy and cold. Decided to make our video of the ship (as requested by Julie :-) ) and it took around 75 mins to quickly go around the ship. After lunch the sun had come out so sat in the Sun until it was time for my Poker lecture. Sat in Sun for a while after, then had a swim in the pool. The pool is quite small but is salt water so easy to just float about cooling off before going into the sun again. Then Lynn decided we needed to go to the Gym! The facilities are good, with a lot of running machines, bike machines and weights. They also have separate room for the various fitness talks and classes they run
The show tonight is before dinner, so time for nibbles just before the show which was very good. Popped into the Casino again but only lost $40 (and Lynn lost $10) Dinner was very good, then there was a 70's street party after which we went back to The Dungeon but got to bed not too long after midnight
- Tuesday 22nd May (Gibraltar)
Woke up about 9am and had breakfast. Went for long walk into Gib, up to park by the cable car, but decided not to see the monkey's Walked back via Museum and popped into various shops but didn't buy anything. Mainly cloudy today but with sunny spells, so quite nice to be out and about. Late lunch today (3:30pm!) then went on deck to watch the ship depart. Went to see the delayed Ice Show, which was spectacular and great stunts (probably good job they didn't try to do it with ship moving around a lot) Went to cabin to have a cup of tea and another well earned rest, as we are always using the stairs rather than the lifts to get around.... and we are on the 9th deck !
Decided to have dinner in the Windjammer then catch a movie "Talladega Nights" which was quite funny.... then went to the Casino and lost $50 on Blackjack :-( We were both tired after our excursion and exertion so ended up having an early night
- Wednesday 23rd May (At sea)
Woke up early (8am) and after breakfast went to the In-Line Skating for Beginners, but due to the high winds it was cancelled. Tried to walk around the running track on deck, but going round some corners was tricky as the wind really was strong. Tried sitting by the pool, but a bit windy and got a bit cold so had to move to a sunny spot a bit more sheltered. After lunch (and another rest) had a swim, then went to the Poker lecture, then had another swim and rest in the sun until time for a small snack and game of putting (busy, busy)
Time to get ready for Dinner (formal night) Ready a little early, so did a quick bit of shopping and quickly lost $20 in the Casino ! After dinner went back to Casino and had a longer session, turning my last $75 into..... $75 ! Yes my luck is turning... I managed to walk out the casino not loosing anything.... ! Getting up early tomorrow for a trip so get to bed around 11:30pm
- Thursday 24th May (Villefranche, France)
Up early (7am) and had breakfast in the room. Fantastic views of the land from the ship so looking forward to getting out. Got tender across to the coaches and onto Nice first for couple of hours.. it's VERY hot Walked up & down through market and along coast. Had nice coffee and saw roadies putting together the stage for a Motorhead concert that evening... shame I will miss it ! Went onto Cannes where the film festival was in full swing so very crowded and still very hot. Had expensive lunch (but nice) then wandered around the shops. Only had 3 hours so soon had to go back to the coach.... where obnoxious car park attendant insisted everyone walked around his little part of the car park, and objected to some people sheltering under the the bus stop for relief from the sun.... was quite funny to see him getting so excited about his job.
It was so hot, once back on ship just had time to glug some water before jumping into the pool to cool off.... it was great ! Then had another game of putting which I won (Lynn is still beating me 2-1 on games so will have to play some more!)
Decided to have dinner in Windjammer before going on deck to watch us leave port. It was beautiful to see the lights of the village as we left, but the photo's look rubbish. Popped into Casino to loose $25 then back onto deck for the midnight buffet. We weren't hungry so just took some photos.
- Friday 25th (Liverno, Italy)
Woke up early (8:15am) had leisurely breakfast as our trip wasn't until after lunch. Wandered around for a bit before having a rest in the Sun. Had early lunch then went to Pisa on organised trip. It was baking hot, so not great to be out walking.. Very commercial by the monuments with lots of traders selling stuff, but the buildings are spectacular to see. You don't believe how far over the tower does actually lean, seems to defy gravity. Decided not to go up the tower as it was hot, crowded and expensive (and limited time) but got some good photo's from the ground. Back on board, we had tea then I went for swim to cool off again... good job the pool is there....
Saw the ship leave port then went to Windjammer for dinner. Popped into Casino with $50 and played roulette for a while. Had mediocre luck until decided to load up number 8 and it came in !! Went away with $140 so a good night at the Casino at last ! Went to show at 9pm then went to watch rock band "Adams Rib" who were pretty good (although killed Pink Floyd number) Went back to Casino and played Texam Hold'em for half hour ($2/$5 cash game) and ended the session $14 up Got to bed around 1am in the end
See the next installment in General: Cruise holiday round the med (week2)
General: Cruise holiday round the med (week2)
- (Continues from General: Cruise holiday round the med (week1) )
- Saturday 26th May (Civitavecchia, Italy)
We had decided not to visit Rome itself, so walked into town on our own. Saw market, sea front and town square but not really much to see or do, so back on Ship for lunch and well earned rest.
Cloudy but humid and warm, decided to go to gym again for a run, then wanted to see film, but seemed everyone had the same idea and the screening room was full ! Instead we had nice cup of tea (and cake!) then had a quick kip. I then tried in-line skating for the first time and managed to stay on my feet. After a quick drink went to Dinner in the main restaurant and then to the show. Feeling a bit worn out so had early night (about midnight !)
- Sunday 27th May (Sardinia)
8:30am alarm for our organised trip. Had a photo stop on top of a hill to see the great views. Then walked through the city and saw the cathedral, museum and Roman amphitheater. Got back around 2pm so had late lunch and then a quick snooze (it wears you out all this walking and eating)
Played bingo, which was surprisingly good fun (I suppose because it is gambling!) then watched Ship leave port. Pre-dinner show today, so have to get ready for dinner, see the show then go to the main restaurant. Shows are generally all good quality and entertaining, although not sure I would have bothered if we had to pay extra :-)
Went to look at the British Pub party on deck but is wild and windy (the weather rather than the event) so went to the Casino where I managed to get a game of Texas Hold'em Turned $156 into $60 but time flew and had lots of fun.
- Monday 28th May (at sea)
Been choppy all night and the day dawns dull and cloudy (and very choppy) After breakfast went to a talk about Amber in the shops then hit the Bingo again (third time lucky ? No !)
Had a nice cup of tea (and cake) then Lynn wanted to look at the shops again so I went to the Casino and turned $60 into $160 so have reloaded my gambling bankroll a little :-)
Had a quick lunch then went to an Art Auction, but had to leave early for my Poker Lecture but Lynn stayed in the auction to get a free piece of art at the end of the auction (worth $45 apparently)
Just time for a quick shop and a nibble before we went to a second Ice Show, after which we did even more shopping ! Then had to have a rest, so got a cup of tea and Ice Cream (made a change from a cake) After a quick rest, we got ready for Dinner and then went to the show. Decided to have another early night (midnight)
- Tuesday 29th May (Cadiz, Spain)
Woke up at 9:30am for breakfast. Walked into town on our own. Long walk in the Sun but lots of shade around. Very beautiful city with lots of great sea views and city has warren of medieval looking streets. Accidentally did the coastal walk first (due to rubbish map) we didn't realise we had walked all way round back to our starting point, but managed to get good map from the tourist information point and navigated through the city streets. Had nice cup of coffee and ice cream whilst out.
Got back around 4pm after around 5 hours walking about in the heat., so went straight for a cream tea ! Then watched ship leave port from our balcony before eating in Windjammer. The show was a pianist who was very good, then there was a Mardi Gras in the Promenade deck. Then sat and listened to Calypso band for half hour but they weren't all that good, so had cup of tea and went to bed (another early night - i.e. midnight)
- Wednesday 30th May (Lisbon, Portugal)
Another day, another city tour... Had to get up at 9am for breakfast. Weather was overcast but warm, so actually nice to be out walking in the City. Got back around 2pm, just in time for lunch. Rested in room and watched ship leave port.
Had a quick go in the Casino and won $10 so had to have another rest until time for dinner. After dinner, went to the show, then back to the Casino where I managed to return to my loosing ways and dropped $70
- Thursday 31st May (Vigo, Spain)
Woke up late (10am) and walked into City on our own.... it's drizzling ! Walked through the old town which was very picturesque, then up to the Castle from which there were great views... and it's become Sunny again by now. Came back via shops and had nice cup of tea and a cake in El Carte Ingles, then found lovely park through which we walked back to the ship
Back on ship, had another cup of tea and cake then it is time for Bingo again. Went on deck to watch ship depart, but a bit chilly so went into the bar "19th Hole" on top deck to see the view (and happened to get a beer as well)
Lynn then wanted to shop some more, after which went to the Casino and managed to win $80.
The show was a classic group with a twist "Graffiti Classic" The music was great and their antics were amusing to keep you entertained even if the music wasn't your thing. Then went back to the Casino for Lynn to blow her $17 and I lost my $80, after which we went to see the Rock group for a rest and reflection on the evils of gambling.
There is the grand buffet to see at 12:30 and managed a nibble of a few things, so went to bed feeling very full, and the sea has turned choppy again !
- Friday 1st June (at sea)
Woke up 9:20am just in time for breakfast in the room (booked for 9:30) After struggling out of bed, walked around the shops as the weather is Dull, Cold and windy. Soon time for elevenses, so had cup of tea and cookie. Went to another Art Auction, quick lunch, then back to auction.... although I had to duck out early for my final Poker lecture... from which I had to duck out early to get to the grand final Bingo ($10'000 dollar prize must be won) Managed to miss Lynn, so went to Casino to see if she was there (well..... ) and blew my last $100 on roulette before Lynn caught up with me. Went for tea and cookie before doing our packing.
After nice dinner and show, we went to see rock band for the last time and had some drinks, getting to bed around 1am (but clocks go back one hour, so effectively midnight)
- Saturday 2nd June (going home)
Southampton is bright, sunny and warm.... we just had time for breakfast before being called to get off the ship, and only took 30 minutes from there to be sitting in the car. As its quite early (9am) the trip home is quick and uneventful
- Final thoughts
It was a lovely holiday, sometimes very relaxing and sometimes seemed quite frantic (although this was due to our wanting to do all the activities)
If the last part of the holiday had been sunny and warm then it would have been even better, but there was enough for us to see and do that the slightly dodgy weather on some days did not really intrude, but the Sun would have given us more options of things to do.
All in all, well worth doing and we definitely enjoyed the ports of call. Wonderful ship and crew
All I need to do now is qualify myself for the Ladbrokes poker cruise in January 2008, which is on the sister ship "Explorer of the Seas" round the Caribbean !!
Friday, May 18, 2007
Poker: Annual Satellite - Final table
At last the final table is upon us.... seems ages since I won my seat, but now we are all here and it's time to shuffle up and deal. Just hope that Sean, Jon, Derek and Karen who had all had recent illnesses don't spread more than their chips round the table :-)
I pull out the Ace for seating position which is a good start, and get a chance to see everyones mood before having to put any chips in. The mood seems tense and tight for everyone, but always see a flop, so just call the blinds with my pocket 3's and bin them when three overcards come, and thats my one hand for the first level . Meanwhile Sean decides to go all-in and wins the 50 chips, showing down pocket K's.... so there is some method to his madness.
Level two sees me play another hand, but the flop doesnt help me and three other players in means its an easy fold. Meanwhile, we get some action with a 5,6,7 rainbow flop..... Sean raises to 1000 (pot around 300 at this point) then Darren goes all in. Sean calls and shows trip 5's but no good against Darrens made straight.... and 8 on the turn gives Sean more outs, but blank on the river sees our first casualty... it was just a bit unlucky for Sean he ran into a monster when he had a huge hand.
I find A-T in my hand and raised pre-flop, getting 3 callers (why do I always get multiple callers when I raise !) The flop is A-3-5 and it's checked to me, so bet 500 into a pot of around 1200 with only Jon calling. Jon checks again on the turn of a Q, so I bet 500 again and after a long think he calls. He does seem to be on a draw but can't quite figure out why he's calling me..... so slightly concerned... the river came down with a T so am a little happier, but wonder if Jon made a monster straight or was slow playing AQ With Jon checking to me again, I debate whether he is slow playing, but decide to bet again. After deliberating again he calls and shows A-2 Must admit I hadn't put him on that hand !! but pleased to take a reasonable size pot
At the first break, I have around 6000 in chips, with Darren on around 7000. The restart see's Bill calling Karen's all-in bet and his top pair gets trashed by Karen's two pair and Bill is second out. Whilst it is fair to say our two wilder players (in my opinion) went out first, I must also say they both went out on hands that I would probably have played in similar ways !!
The game goes back to tense and tight, and am a bit vague on my memories here..... I remember that Simon, Jon and Derek are all running at around 2-3000 chips stacks so are struggling a little, Darren seems to be playing ultra tight and I am just not getting any cards to play at this stage
Jon was the first one all-in with KQ and was against Darren with A5 (?) The flop came with a K so Jon shot into the lead.... but then A came so Darren was way ahead.... only to see a T on the river and Jon made an unlikely staight to double up !!
In the end something had to give, and it was Simon. He was being blinded away so had to make a move. Darren must have knocked him out (as he knocked out everyone bar 1 !!) but don't remember the hand.
On the last hand before the break, Jon found himself with low chips and a hand to play with, but Darren took him out and we went to the break with 4 players left. At the break I had around 6000 chips, Darren was in the lead with around 12000, Karen had around 9000 and Derek around 4000 (and the Big Blind of 2000)
Despite four players being left, the blinds would ensure that the action was fast and furious. Darren used his chip advantage to great effect and started frequently raising and betting the flops (and why not!)
I found myself with 3000 chips and on the big blind so called Darrens raise without looking at my cards.... showing K9 to Darrens A5, but no-one improved and I went out in 4th (again!) Derek was left with 1000 in chips so had a choice of playing the button or the big blind, but also failed to get any luck and went out in third. There was also only 1 hand with 2 players and Karen went in behind and inevitably Darren took her out as well
A great game, I felt I played reasonably well but Darrens solid game paid dividends this time round and deservedly took the top prize (and the coveted trophy)
We'll do it all again next year, but for now good bye and good luck (but it;s only 3 weeks to the monthly game ;-) )
I pull out the Ace for seating position which is a good start, and get a chance to see everyones mood before having to put any chips in. The mood seems tense and tight for everyone, but always see a flop, so just call the blinds with my pocket 3's and bin them when three overcards come, and thats my one hand for the first level . Meanwhile Sean decides to go all-in and wins the 50 chips, showing down pocket K's.... so there is some method to his madness.
Level two sees me play another hand, but the flop doesnt help me and three other players in means its an easy fold. Meanwhile, we get some action with a 5,6,7 rainbow flop..... Sean raises to 1000 (pot around 300 at this point) then Darren goes all in. Sean calls and shows trip 5's but no good against Darrens made straight.... and 8 on the turn gives Sean more outs, but blank on the river sees our first casualty... it was just a bit unlucky for Sean he ran into a monster when he had a huge hand.
I find A-T in my hand and raised pre-flop, getting 3 callers (why do I always get multiple callers when I raise !) The flop is A-3-5 and it's checked to me, so bet 500 into a pot of around 1200 with only Jon calling. Jon checks again on the turn of a Q, so I bet 500 again and after a long think he calls. He does seem to be on a draw but can't quite figure out why he's calling me..... so slightly concerned... the river came down with a T so am a little happier, but wonder if Jon made a monster straight or was slow playing AQ With Jon checking to me again, I debate whether he is slow playing, but decide to bet again. After deliberating again he calls and shows A-2 Must admit I hadn't put him on that hand !! but pleased to take a reasonable size pot
At the first break, I have around 6000 in chips, with Darren on around 7000. The restart see's Bill calling Karen's all-in bet and his top pair gets trashed by Karen's two pair and Bill is second out. Whilst it is fair to say our two wilder players (in my opinion) went out first, I must also say they both went out on hands that I would probably have played in similar ways !!
The game goes back to tense and tight, and am a bit vague on my memories here..... I remember that Simon, Jon and Derek are all running at around 2-3000 chips stacks so are struggling a little, Darren seems to be playing ultra tight and I am just not getting any cards to play at this stage
Jon was the first one all-in with KQ and was against Darren with A5 (?) The flop came with a K so Jon shot into the lead.... but then A came so Darren was way ahead.... only to see a T on the river and Jon made an unlikely staight to double up !!
In the end something had to give, and it was Simon. He was being blinded away so had to make a move. Darren must have knocked him out (as he knocked out everyone bar 1 !!) but don't remember the hand.
On the last hand before the break, Jon found himself with low chips and a hand to play with, but Darren took him out and we went to the break with 4 players left. At the break I had around 6000 chips, Darren was in the lead with around 12000, Karen had around 9000 and Derek around 4000 (and the Big Blind of 2000)
Despite four players being left, the blinds would ensure that the action was fast and furious. Darren used his chip advantage to great effect and started frequently raising and betting the flops (and why not!)
I found myself with 3000 chips and on the big blind so called Darrens raise without looking at my cards.... showing K9 to Darrens A5, but no-one improved and I went out in 4th (again!) Derek was left with 1000 in chips so had a choice of playing the button or the big blind, but also failed to get any luck and went out in third. There was also only 1 hand with 2 players and Karen went in behind and inevitably Darren took her out as well
A great game, I felt I played reasonably well but Darrens solid game paid dividends this time round and deservedly took the top prize (and the coveted trophy)
We'll do it all again next year, but for now good bye and good luck (but it;s only 3 weeks to the monthly game ;-) )
Monday, May 07, 2007
Poker: Casino trip for £200 Holdem NL freezeout
The Casino was pretty quiet so just hoped there would be at least 6 people for a game... but 5 minutes to go before the scheduled off, and there are only 3 players ! Luckily there is a late rush of entrants and we have one table of 10 players for the game and kick off at 5:15pm
I had decided to take it slow and steady with my first objective of not being the first one out firmly in mind. We had 10'000 chips to start, 30 minute blind levels and 25/50 starting blinds so had plenty of time. For the first hand I was Small Blind and picked up KJ o/s so decided to play. The button made a minimum raise so thought I may as well see the flop and show my blind was not always going to be stolen ! Two others called and the flop came A-x-x all diamonds. I checked, then checked my cards and sure enough had the Kd All checked to the button who put in 100 raise, and having nut flush draw decided I could call, but everyone else folded. The turn was no help but had to call the 200 raise.... and the river was... no good either, so folded to the 500 bet. After that I had no cards and could relax for a few hands.
One of the players was seeing all the flops and calling down to the river or betting when checked to him (we'll call him "The Joker" as he had to be kidding most of the time). The hands he showed were rubbish starting hands, but was hitting his cards, and his frequent betting often took the pot uncontested so was building his chips nicely. In the first level I got a good hand and raised, with The Joker being the only caller. The flop was all diamonds (again!) but I had nothing When it was checked to me I bet out and surprisingly took the pot... so this put me back to starting chip count. A few hands later I flat called a minimum raise from The Joker when I was on the big blind with QT. Couple of other people called as well, and the flop gave me an up and down straight draw. I checked and The Joker bet a small amount so was getting odds to call, with the others folding. I checked again and The Joker bet out, but decided to call and hit my straight on the river... unfortunately there were also 3 clubs. I checked and The Joker bet out, so re-raised hoping he didn't go all in... but he just called and showed 2 pair.... phew, I had made a large amount of chips and was actually chip leader at this point.
A few hands later and The Joker decided to go all in on the flop when he had K-4 despite having missed completely and having no good draws. The caller of his recklessness had pocket A so he was the first one out (also giving me my first objective :-) )
It went pretty quiet after that with the remaining players all seeming to be pretty solid and mainly tight/aggressive. There was a Chinese chap who seemed to be a bit of a gambler, but even he was picking him moments and well capable of folding to a raise.
I continue my tight play but seemed my blinds were being attacked... unfortunately I was getting absolute rubbish on the blinds so had nothing I could defend with most of the time... I did manage to make a move on one of the chaps to my left when everyone folded to me on the SB, so raised with 8-3 o/s and nicked his blind, but it was tense times with 9 players still. My best starting hand early on was pocket 7's in late position, but the Chinese chap put in a raise to 1000 (blinds around 200 at this time) so decided to fold. Of course we saw a flop and it came 8-7-3 so would have taken a nice pot had I felt able to call.
My game continues to be steady with the occasional raise but the whole table was still tight/aggressive. As the blinds went up people started going out.... we saw AA get cracked by AJ when a 2nd jack hit the board taking a player out. The one lady player (who took out the Joker with AA) showed AA again to take a huge chip lead and cripple two other players chances. AA held up again against KK so the hand quality and play was definitely now of a high standard.
I had managed to maintain chips at around the average stack until we got down to 6 players when I started to slip behind, so tried to loosen up a little and be more aggressive. It was tricky to do, but managed to make a few more chips here and there.
Once the blinds went up to 1600/800 and I had around 10'000 in chips (still!) so time was running out for me... but luckily two more people went out in quick succession leaving 4 players (top three pay out - first place £1000, 2nd place £600 and third gets £400) The guy to my right had almost exactly the same chip count as me (around 8400 by now) I was pleased to see him go all in under the gun, so folded my rubbish. Unfortunately he took the blinds uncontested although he had to put in the BB now. I had almost persuaded myself to go all in this hand and JT looked tempting, but thought someone may have a go at his BB so decided to fold. Unfortunatley just the SB called and the flop came with two jacks ! The SB (Chinese chap) put in a bet but was re raised and he gave the pot to the guy on my right so I was now well down on chips and kicking myself for not going all in :-)
On my BB I looked down at A5 clubs, so decided to go all in..... despite the lady putting in a raise of another 3200 on top. She showed AK o/s and despite the flop coming down with 2 clubs, neither of us improved so I went out on the bubble ! At least it was only 9pm so could go home and have a few drinks now......
Overall I felt I played well and hadn't made any huge mistakes.... even in hindsight I feel I played the hands right, the only mistake I probably made was still going all in with the A5. I should have thought it through more and probably folded that hand, although it was a close decision as I had been raising her a lot when it was her big blind, and she had been raising my BB a fair amount as well.... but I would probably have done the same thing in the end as the blinds were about to go up as well
I had a good, exciting game and although I didn't go in hoping to finish 4th, do feel I had a good chance of winning and gave it my best shot. Worth £200 ? well, having had a good result on my last Casino trip to pay for half the entry fee, it was worth a go and have proved to myself that I am not a complete fish even in the bigger ponds :-)
I had decided to take it slow and steady with my first objective of not being the first one out firmly in mind. We had 10'000 chips to start, 30 minute blind levels and 25/50 starting blinds so had plenty of time. For the first hand I was Small Blind and picked up KJ o/s so decided to play. The button made a minimum raise so thought I may as well see the flop and show my blind was not always going to be stolen ! Two others called and the flop came A-x-x all diamonds. I checked, then checked my cards and sure enough had the Kd All checked to the button who put in 100 raise, and having nut flush draw decided I could call, but everyone else folded. The turn was no help but had to call the 200 raise.... and the river was... no good either, so folded to the 500 bet. After that I had no cards and could relax for a few hands.
One of the players was seeing all the flops and calling down to the river or betting when checked to him (we'll call him "The Joker" as he had to be kidding most of the time). The hands he showed were rubbish starting hands, but was hitting his cards, and his frequent betting often took the pot uncontested so was building his chips nicely. In the first level I got a good hand and raised, with The Joker being the only caller. The flop was all diamonds (again!) but I had nothing When it was checked to me I bet out and surprisingly took the pot... so this put me back to starting chip count. A few hands later I flat called a minimum raise from The Joker when I was on the big blind with QT. Couple of other people called as well, and the flop gave me an up and down straight draw. I checked and The Joker bet a small amount so was getting odds to call, with the others folding. I checked again and The Joker bet out, but decided to call and hit my straight on the river... unfortunately there were also 3 clubs. I checked and The Joker bet out, so re-raised hoping he didn't go all in... but he just called and showed 2 pair.... phew, I had made a large amount of chips and was actually chip leader at this point.
A few hands later and The Joker decided to go all in on the flop when he had K-4 despite having missed completely and having no good draws. The caller of his recklessness had pocket A so he was the first one out (also giving me my first objective :-) )
It went pretty quiet after that with the remaining players all seeming to be pretty solid and mainly tight/aggressive. There was a Chinese chap who seemed to be a bit of a gambler, but even he was picking him moments and well capable of folding to a raise.
I continue my tight play but seemed my blinds were being attacked... unfortunately I was getting absolute rubbish on the blinds so had nothing I could defend with most of the time... I did manage to make a move on one of the chaps to my left when everyone folded to me on the SB, so raised with 8-3 o/s and nicked his blind, but it was tense times with 9 players still. My best starting hand early on was pocket 7's in late position, but the Chinese chap put in a raise to 1000 (blinds around 200 at this time) so decided to fold. Of course we saw a flop and it came 8-7-3 so would have taken a nice pot had I felt able to call.
My game continues to be steady with the occasional raise but the whole table was still tight/aggressive. As the blinds went up people started going out.... we saw AA get cracked by AJ when a 2nd jack hit the board taking a player out. The one lady player (who took out the Joker with AA) showed AA again to take a huge chip lead and cripple two other players chances. AA held up again against KK so the hand quality and play was definitely now of a high standard.
I had managed to maintain chips at around the average stack until we got down to 6 players when I started to slip behind, so tried to loosen up a little and be more aggressive. It was tricky to do, but managed to make a few more chips here and there.
Once the blinds went up to 1600/800 and I had around 10'000 in chips (still!) so time was running out for me... but luckily two more people went out in quick succession leaving 4 players (top three pay out - first place £1000, 2nd place £600 and third gets £400) The guy to my right had almost exactly the same chip count as me (around 8400 by now) I was pleased to see him go all in under the gun, so folded my rubbish. Unfortunately he took the blinds uncontested although he had to put in the BB now. I had almost persuaded myself to go all in this hand and JT looked tempting, but thought someone may have a go at his BB so decided to fold. Unfortunatley just the SB called and the flop came with two jacks ! The SB (Chinese chap) put in a bet but was re raised and he gave the pot to the guy on my right so I was now well down on chips and kicking myself for not going all in :-)
On my BB I looked down at A5 clubs, so decided to go all in..... despite the lady putting in a raise of another 3200 on top. She showed AK o/s and despite the flop coming down with 2 clubs, neither of us improved so I went out on the bubble ! At least it was only 9pm so could go home and have a few drinks now......
Overall I felt I played well and hadn't made any huge mistakes.... even in hindsight I feel I played the hands right, the only mistake I probably made was still going all in with the A5. I should have thought it through more and probably folded that hand, although it was a close decision as I had been raising her a lot when it was her big blind, and she had been raising my BB a fair amount as well.... but I would probably have done the same thing in the end as the blinds were about to go up as well
I had a good, exciting game and although I didn't go in hoping to finish 4th, do feel I had a good chance of winning and gave it my best shot. Worth £200 ? well, having had a good result on my last Casino trip to pay for half the entry fee, it was worth a go and have proved to myself that I am not a complete fish even in the bigger ponds :-)
Friday, May 04, 2007
Poker: Home Tournament - May 2007
There are "only" 12 of us playing tonight... seems hard to remember back to when we played with 5 or 6 players in total now !
I had Bill and Simon W on my table so decided to keep my game tight and solid...... calling with medium hands and raising with good hands. Bills game was his normal aggressive style and was the table banker in the first few hands (buying in 4 times in the first 6 hands!) My first move came when I raised with A9d and got two callers. Flop was bad for me, but bet out around 3/4 of the pot and only Bill called. We checked it down to the end and my A high was beaten by Bills pair 4's (or similar) Despite my early feeling of optimism it looked like being one of "those" nights.....
A couple of hands later I got pocket 8's so played in the same way.. ie raised pre-flop (got two callers - including Bill again!) and when checked to me I bet out, despite there being an A on the flop. This time both players folded and took one of the few uncontested pots of the night !
Mick had a great hand when he got pocket 9s and ended up all in on the flop. Two other players battled it out on the turn and river, but Mick had made quad 9's so tripled up !
There were loads of high hands coming out in the first half hour.... we saw straights, several full houses and flushes abound..... Simon hit quad 5's as well... all we didn't see was the Straight Flush tonight. Having said that, we still saw hands where pair of 3's took a pot :-)
My best luck came when I had J9 and flopped the straight. Bill went 200 and Mick called all-in. I flat called hoping Darren would also come in but he made an inspired fold. Bill and I checked the turn but Bill didn't bet the river either. Having around 500 chips left and the pot being around 600 decided to bet 200 as I didn't think Bill would call an all-in. As luck would have it he did call the 200 and I took a great pot which set me up for the night.
My hands didn't hold up after that and my chips dribbled away. I did make a couple of good folds where I felt like being more aggressive, so think I played very disciplined and on form game. At the break I took the add-on and had around 1400 in chips. I think most people had around the same except Simon who had around 3000 and Bill around the same
After the restart Simon W got busted out by Bill on the first hand of the restart which was not unusual, but Simon W had played what seemed to me like a solid game this month, rather than a more loose aggressive style he often seems to play..... but then it was against Bill :-)
I got dealt QQ under the gun, so made my standard raise which prompted Darren to go all-in. Everyone else folded so Darren showed his A-7 suited. The flop gave a flush possibility to Darren, but the A came on the river, leaving me with around 450 chips and on the 200 Big Blind. The poker gods were smiling at me and gave me KK ! Simon and Mick called the blind and I went all-in. Only Simon called and showed A-9, and yes the A came to take me out in a "how did that happen" 11th place. I really felt like I was playing well tonight and two cruel blows had conspired to take me out implausibly early.
Life goes on and so did the game.... there was a lull in the action until Andy and Andy W got taken out and so we were down to the final 8 players
Simon was quickly out in 8th, then Roger seemed to hit a purple patch and took out two players in one hand and had a huge chip lead. He was also very conscious about tournament strategy and was very determined to finish in the money! So much so he busted out Steve not long after as well !!
The last four were very cagey and the blinds were starting to hurt..... it was a tense last round with the chips passing around but everyone lasted to the final hand.
Darren had least chips and was all-in on the blind anyway... Bill put Jon all-in who called. Roger was guaranteed 2nd place anyway so folded. Unfortunately for Roger, Bill had the best hand which held up and Bill took the win. Jon got the third place, which made a change from 2nd :-)
Another great night of poker for all, with many highs and lows...... we'll all be back to play some more so see you then
I had Bill and Simon W on my table so decided to keep my game tight and solid...... calling with medium hands and raising with good hands. Bills game was his normal aggressive style and was the table banker in the first few hands (buying in 4 times in the first 6 hands!) My first move came when I raised with A9d and got two callers. Flop was bad for me, but bet out around 3/4 of the pot and only Bill called. We checked it down to the end and my A high was beaten by Bills pair 4's (or similar) Despite my early feeling of optimism it looked like being one of "those" nights.....
A couple of hands later I got pocket 8's so played in the same way.. ie raised pre-flop (got two callers - including Bill again!) and when checked to me I bet out, despite there being an A on the flop. This time both players folded and took one of the few uncontested pots of the night !
Mick had a great hand when he got pocket 9s and ended up all in on the flop. Two other players battled it out on the turn and river, but Mick had made quad 9's so tripled up !
There were loads of high hands coming out in the first half hour.... we saw straights, several full houses and flushes abound..... Simon hit quad 5's as well... all we didn't see was the Straight Flush tonight. Having said that, we still saw hands where pair of 3's took a pot :-)
My best luck came when I had J9 and flopped the straight. Bill went 200 and Mick called all-in. I flat called hoping Darren would also come in but he made an inspired fold. Bill and I checked the turn but Bill didn't bet the river either. Having around 500 chips left and the pot being around 600 decided to bet 200 as I didn't think Bill would call an all-in. As luck would have it he did call the 200 and I took a great pot which set me up for the night.
My hands didn't hold up after that and my chips dribbled away. I did make a couple of good folds where I felt like being more aggressive, so think I played very disciplined and on form game. At the break I took the add-on and had around 1400 in chips. I think most people had around the same except Simon who had around 3000 and Bill around the same
After the restart Simon W got busted out by Bill on the first hand of the restart which was not unusual, but Simon W had played what seemed to me like a solid game this month, rather than a more loose aggressive style he often seems to play..... but then it was against Bill :-)
I got dealt QQ under the gun, so made my standard raise which prompted Darren to go all-in. Everyone else folded so Darren showed his A-7 suited. The flop gave a flush possibility to Darren, but the A came on the river, leaving me with around 450 chips and on the 200 Big Blind. The poker gods were smiling at me and gave me KK ! Simon and Mick called the blind and I went all-in. Only Simon called and showed A-9, and yes the A came to take me out in a "how did that happen" 11th place. I really felt like I was playing well tonight and two cruel blows had conspired to take me out implausibly early.
Life goes on and so did the game.... there was a lull in the action until Andy and Andy W got taken out and so we were down to the final 8 players
Simon was quickly out in 8th, then Roger seemed to hit a purple patch and took out two players in one hand and had a huge chip lead. He was also very conscious about tournament strategy and was very determined to finish in the money! So much so he busted out Steve not long after as well !!
The last four were very cagey and the blinds were starting to hurt..... it was a tense last round with the chips passing around but everyone lasted to the final hand.
Darren had least chips and was all-in on the blind anyway... Bill put Jon all-in who called. Roger was guaranteed 2nd place anyway so folded. Unfortunately for Roger, Bill had the best hand which held up and Bill took the win. Jon got the third place, which made a change from 2nd :-)
Another great night of poker for all, with many highs and lows...... we'll all be back to play some more so see you then
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Poker: Annual Satellite - Semi Final playoff
There is only one prize in this game, so was very tentative and tense overall. As the blinds went up the action got a little more exciting but in the main the chips were moving around the table and no-one was taking any big lunges at the pot.
After the break the chips seemed to be dribbling more towards Jon than anyone else, especially when Lynn fell foul of Jon having a better hand and Lynn felt she had to go as her chips were shrinking.
A similar trend continued and soon JOn had 3/4 of the total chips, with Darren and Steve both very low. Darren managed to take out Steve but was still way behind in chips.
An epic battle ensued but it all changed in one hand with Darren sucking Jon into doubling him up and Darren was suddenly chips leader. There was only one hand after the second break, with Darren taking Jon out and earnt his place in the final !
It was an entertaining game, very tense but then the sudden explosion at the end..... Jon seemed shell shocked but another second place in the game afterwards revived some of his spirits but also was depressing as it was another 2nd place rather than 1st ! (I wish my problem in Poker was always finishing 2nd.... I always seem to finish 8th ! :-) )
Results in Statsgenie as always
The final is soon upon us..... see you there
After the break the chips seemed to be dribbling more towards Jon than anyone else, especially when Lynn fell foul of Jon having a better hand and Lynn felt she had to go as her chips were shrinking.
A similar trend continued and soon JOn had 3/4 of the total chips, with Darren and Steve both very low. Darren managed to take out Steve but was still way behind in chips.
An epic battle ensued but it all changed in one hand with Darren sucking Jon into doubling him up and Darren was suddenly chips leader. There was only one hand after the second break, with Darren taking Jon out and earnt his place in the final !
It was an entertaining game, very tense but then the sudden explosion at the end..... Jon seemed shell shocked but another second place in the game afterwards revived some of his spirits but also was depressing as it was another 2nd place rather than 1st ! (I wish my problem in Poker was always finishing 2nd.... I always seem to finish 8th ! :-) )
Results in Statsgenie as always
The final is soon upon us..... see you there
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Gambling: More "free" money from Betfair
I am feeling pretty pleased right now as I decided to take another "free" £5 from Betfair. This time I had to place a £5 bet on any horse race in the next week to be credited with the "free" £5. In a similar fashion to my last "free" bet (http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2007/02/gambling-betfair-free-bet-finally-pays.html) I have to deposit £10, but it always seems a no brainer for me, as I get a free shot at winning some money.... or maybe I am just a sucker for Betfairs marketing ploy!
Looking at the horse races, I found a race with only 6 runners and two clear favorites. Checking Sporting Life's predicted odds for the race, one horse in particular stood out as 5/4 favorite (2.25 in decimal odds) but on Betfair it was currently showing as 3.3, with the other horse at 2.8, so stuck my £5 on that one. Checking the race results after the race, my horse was 4th and had not improved very much on the odds either ! (the horse at 2.8 odds won) Just shows how much faith to put into the predicted odds I guess
I was not too despondent as I had a shot and still have my £10.... but wait, I have got £15 in my account.... not sure why but Betfair have credited me £10.... must be my early birthday present, so decided to use it :-)
My previous experience (http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2006/06/gambling-how-to-go-bankrupt-with.html) has shown me to only gamble on what I know..... I was thinking about using my Greyhound "system" again, but that had lost my money last time... betting on Horses I do enjoy but takes a long time to prepare (to do it properly) .... it is the end of season matches now, so Football started to draw my thoughts (despite my terrible record on football bets!).... but in the end was curious enough to look at the Zero Roulette in Betfairs casino. Basically it is online roulette but without the zero on the wheel.... seems a good investment as I know about roulette :-)
I am a little uncertain how Betfair make any money with these "Zero" games, but decided to transfer in my funds anyway and have a go. The one drawback I found was the minimum bets were quite steep (for a limited bankroll like mine) but ended up staking £10 on the first spin and collecting £15, and managed to repeat this trick on the 2nd spin as well.
As I believe discretion is the better part of valour (and also believing my luck will not hold out much longer!) , decided to withdrawn my entire £25 and so ended up with £15 profit on the deal :-)
Overall I think the "free" bet is a great idea and am definitely a sucker for it, but it has been kind to me overall and have managed to luck into turning a profit most times (I would previously have dropped the whole lot on stupid bets afterwards ) This time round I think I was quite sensible about what I did with my balance (although some may argue that withdrawing my £10 would been an even better idea rather than playing roulette !) so will be pleased for Betfair to give me another opportunity for "free" money in the future :-)
Looking at the horse races, I found a race with only 6 runners and two clear favorites. Checking Sporting Life's predicted odds for the race, one horse in particular stood out as 5/4 favorite (2.25 in decimal odds) but on Betfair it was currently showing as 3.3, with the other horse at 2.8, so stuck my £5 on that one. Checking the race results after the race, my horse was 4th and had not improved very much on the odds either ! (the horse at 2.8 odds won) Just shows how much faith to put into the predicted odds I guess
I was not too despondent as I had a shot and still have my £10.... but wait, I have got £15 in my account.... not sure why but Betfair have credited me £10.... must be my early birthday present, so decided to use it :-)
My previous experience (http://sceaga.blogspot.com/2006/06/gambling-how-to-go-bankrupt-with.html) has shown me to only gamble on what I know..... I was thinking about using my Greyhound "system" again, but that had lost my money last time... betting on Horses I do enjoy but takes a long time to prepare (to do it properly) .... it is the end of season matches now, so Football started to draw my thoughts (despite my terrible record on football bets!).... but in the end was curious enough to look at the Zero Roulette in Betfairs casino. Basically it is online roulette but without the zero on the wheel.... seems a good investment as I know about roulette :-)
I am a little uncertain how Betfair make any money with these "Zero" games, but decided to transfer in my funds anyway and have a go. The one drawback I found was the minimum bets were quite steep (for a limited bankroll like mine) but ended up staking £10 on the first spin and collecting £15, and managed to repeat this trick on the 2nd spin as well.
As I believe discretion is the better part of valour (and also believing my luck will not hold out much longer!) , decided to withdrawn my entire £25 and so ended up with £15 profit on the deal :-)
Overall I think the "free" bet is a great idea and am definitely a sucker for it, but it has been kind to me overall and have managed to luck into turning a profit most times (I would previously have dropped the whole lot on stupid bets afterwards ) This time round I think I was quite sensible about what I did with my balance (although some may argue that withdrawing my £10 would been an even better idea rather than playing roulette !) so will be pleased for Betfair to give me another opportunity for "free" money in the future :-)
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Travel: Business trip to Cairo
Sunday 15th April
All went to plan getting to the airport and arrived at checkin 2 hours before the flight as expected. Had a slight concern when the Egyptian clerk didn't seem able to check me in. After frantically pressing lots of buttons, muttering to himself, he called the supervisor over who pushed a couple of buttons and printed out my boarding card.... phew panic over !
The flight was good and was only 10 minutes late taking off. I was nervous about the arrival process but once in the Air they issues the entry card and customs card to fill out. My Marriott "meet and greet" was immediately visible in the arrivals hall once I stepped off the bus and proceeded to very quickly and efficiently buy my entry visa, get the passport stamped and through to the baggage collection. The bags from my flight were already on the belt but had to wait ages for my bag but it did come eventually. He then escorted me to the Mercedes taxi which took me to the hotel.
The first taste of Cairo driving was very interesting. It was very reminiscent of my racing days and the white lines in the road seem to be used only as a suggestion. Despite there being only three lanes, as there was physically enough room for 4 cars... the Egyptians will be very efficient and create 4 lanes of traffic ! All you have to do is took the horn as you whiz by slower traffic and it seems to ensure everyone avoids each other. You can overtake on any part of the road and dodging in and out of the lanes is essential for best progress. All this at around 120 kph (80 mph)
What I saw of the hotel was very nice, but went straight to the room to unpack and sleep.
Monday 16th
The team manager (Sharif) picked me up from the hotel in his new BMW 320i The state of the majority of the cars and driving style would have discouraged me from owning a nice car, but he was certainly a capable driver and enjoyed his driving.
The offices were on a newly built industrial estate and had shopping mall nearby were we went for lunch. The normal American chains for eating and drinking were there, alongside the Egyptian local brands.
The class started OK and first days training was on schedule. In the evening Shariff drove me back and insisted to take me to dinner. The restaurant was "oriental" which in Egypt means Egytian food. He ordered a variety of appetisers to give me a chance to sample many different flavours. Some were nice and some were not to my taste, but was well prepared and nice ambiance to the restaurant. Didn't feel very hungry and was quite tired after the day so was probably not very good company and didn't eat much.
Tuesday 17th
Went outside the hotel to meet the taxi driver. The cars can only stop to let people in and out the cars briefly, so wasn't sure how it would work so went down 5 minutes early. Then saw the taxi driver walking around with my name on a card... apparently he thought we were to meet at 8am, but wasn't a problem.
In the office things started to unravel as some of the copying (estimated at 4 hours) had failed overnight. Switched the course around so started to talk about day 3 topics, then the power went for a few seconds and they had to restart the copying again ! Went out for another lunch "hour" (more like 2!) and struggled through the day but ended up getting some stuff done so had a chance to catch up tomorrow. Weatherwise there was a sandstorm, which apparently only happens two or three times a year, so there was some debate about where to go for lunch. We ended up in the local mall again as it was indoors.
The Egyptians seemed to expect to be taking me out each evening so seemed surprised when I said I would not go out tonight. I hope this was not taken as a huge insult ! but really wanted a relaxing evening and early night.
At the hotel I nearly didn't bother to even leave my room, but did decide to go downstairs to eat. Had a nice BBQ chicken meal in the American Diner restaurant in the hotel. It didn't come with anything, so was just Chicken but actually was enough for me as still not feeling hungry. Being quite early decided to go to the Casino in the Hotel. Ended up spending 100 USD on the Stud Poker (didn't get any good luck when I needed it rater than bad play) but had an enjoyable and relaxing hour.
Back in the room I utilised the in-room broadband to have an even more enjoyable and relaxing couple of games of Poker (and only lost 4 USD) :-)
Wednesday 18th
Managed to progress on the class during the day and went to lunch in the mall again. The Egyptians often have lunch at their desks, but seem to really enjoy the times they go out !
In the evening three of the lads on the course took me out into Egypt downtown. The plan was to meet at 7pm have a tour around and then eat at 8pm, unfortunately the traffic was worse than normal, probably due to everyone staying indoors the day before due to the sandstorm... It took an hour to get to the spot where we were meeting, and Ahmed was another hour later... so in the meantime we toured around some of the ancient mosques and shopping streets. It was interesting to see although it started to rain slightly. By the time we had finished the rain was more persistent so was getting soaked through, but luckily we could get back to the car to go to the restaurant. We went to a park, which is quite high so got some beautiful views of the city in lights. We first we to the restaurant by the lake, but this restaurant was open air and as it was still raining we went to another restaurant. I tried the Veal Kebab which was very nice. In the end we ate at 10pm but was back in my room by midnight
Thursday 19th
Despite warnings from my colleagues that the rain may mess up the roads (it only rains 3-4 times a year) the taxi picked me up at 8am and was in the office by 8:25am which was earlier than normal.... this in spite of the taxi having an accident just after leaving the hotel.... someone went into the back of us when we had stopped for traffic, I thought it would take ages to sort out, with lots of talking and police involved, but in the end it was a quick conflab then we went on our way. I was also taking photos during the journey and the Taxi driver kindly (but unnecessarily!) pulled over for me to take photos on the equivalent to their motorway. I took a couple of quick photos and thanked him, but didn't feel like taking any more photos in case he stopped again!
The day was bright and sunny so lunch was taken outside one of the cafes in the Mall. Apparnetly the weather is normally too hot to sit outside so was unusual to be able to take in the air this time of year.
In the evening we met up at a French/Italian restaurant owned by one of Sharif;s friends. I was also presented with some gifts from the colleagues I was training and from Sharif himself to thank me for going there and training them. It was most unexpected and generous of them, especially after all the time and trouble they had gone to ensure my stay was enjoyable and entertaining. The food was very nice and even managed some of the desert this time.
Sharif also took me to a local bar for a drink (not all restaurants serve alcohol) which was heaving, as it was the end of the week for most people. Got back at midnight again, but was already packed and ready to go.
Friday 20th
Woke up too early but dozed until the alarm went off. Was a bit nervous about facing the chaos of Eyptian Airports, but was heartened when my taxi turned up just as I walked out of the hotel (10 minutes early). The hotel concierge had suggested it would take 1 hour to get to the airport but the night before Sheriff said it would take 20 minutes. To my astonishment there was NO traffic at all and the streets were clear of people and cars - it was like a ghost town !! Sure enough ended up taking 20 mins so arrived at 8:40am There was a small shock when the taxi driver demanded 100 EGP to pay for the ticket to the terminal but luckily had Egyptian currency to hand.
Walking into the terminal building I faced the chaos. Correctly as it turned out, I assumed you had to take yourself and your luggage through a huge rugby scrum to get through one of the four gates the authorities had provided. You also had to put your luggage through the X-ray and show your passport and ticket to the single guard at each gate. Luckily (again!) they opened up gate 5 as I was queuing at gate 4 so got right to the front of the queue. Even so, it took me about 20 minutes to get to the queue for checking. Checkin was very quick and efficient once I had worked my way to the front. There were lots of desks (all flights from any desk) so it was puzzling why it took so long to process the people in front of me as it took about 30 minutes to process 8 or 9 people for my turn. The counter clerk had given me my "non Egyptian exit card" but I still had to fill in name and passport details, which I noticed caught out some people at the passport desk (the next queue) Again there were only about 10 people in front of me but still took about 20 minutes to get to the front of the queue... and again it took a very short time for the guard to look at my passport and stamp it. All in all it took just over an hour to traverse the chaos and enter the tranquility of the Duty Free zone. It takes about 15 minutes to walk all around the area. It has many good facilities for eating and drinking, not many shops but 2 WiFi zones ! This area seems very quiet and relaxed, with not many people around, so wonder where everyone has gone !
Just when you think nothing else can go wrong, there was one more surprise from Egytpair before I left. The gate for the flight was 2 on my ticket, but checking the main board it said gate 7. I checked with the desk and they said it was gate 2, so went along there. The gate said the flight was going to Paris, so went to gate 7 which said Heathrow so queued up there with some other Brits. We then got told it was Gate 2 after all, even though it said Paris... it wasn't until we got onto the Plane itself that I was really confident about where I would be landing.
Overall the experiance was very interesting and enjoyable. Cairo has many facets to explore and much to see. It would have been nice to have been there on holiday but having the local lads to show me around for the few hours available was definately a huge advantage. I would certainly be happy to go back there again if circumstances dictated, especially now have had the experiance of how to get through Cairo airport.
All went to plan getting to the airport and arrived at checkin 2 hours before the flight as expected. Had a slight concern when the Egyptian clerk didn't seem able to check me in. After frantically pressing lots of buttons, muttering to himself, he called the supervisor over who pushed a couple of buttons and printed out my boarding card.... phew panic over !
The flight was good and was only 10 minutes late taking off. I was nervous about the arrival process but once in the Air they issues the entry card and customs card to fill out. My Marriott "meet and greet" was immediately visible in the arrivals hall once I stepped off the bus and proceeded to very quickly and efficiently buy my entry visa, get the passport stamped and through to the baggage collection. The bags from my flight were already on the belt but had to wait ages for my bag but it did come eventually. He then escorted me to the Mercedes taxi which took me to the hotel.
The first taste of Cairo driving was very interesting. It was very reminiscent of my racing days and the white lines in the road seem to be used only as a suggestion. Despite there being only three lanes, as there was physically enough room for 4 cars... the Egyptians will be very efficient and create 4 lanes of traffic ! All you have to do is took the horn as you whiz by slower traffic and it seems to ensure everyone avoids each other. You can overtake on any part of the road and dodging in and out of the lanes is essential for best progress. All this at around 120 kph (80 mph)
What I saw of the hotel was very nice, but went straight to the room to unpack and sleep.
Monday 16th
The team manager (Sharif) picked me up from the hotel in his new BMW 320i The state of the majority of the cars and driving style would have discouraged me from owning a nice car, but he was certainly a capable driver and enjoyed his driving.
The offices were on a newly built industrial estate and had shopping mall nearby were we went for lunch. The normal American chains for eating and drinking were there, alongside the Egyptian local brands.
The class started OK and first days training was on schedule. In the evening Shariff drove me back and insisted to take me to dinner. The restaurant was "oriental" which in Egypt means Egytian food. He ordered a variety of appetisers to give me a chance to sample many different flavours. Some were nice and some were not to my taste, but was well prepared and nice ambiance to the restaurant. Didn't feel very hungry and was quite tired after the day so was probably not very good company and didn't eat much.
Tuesday 17th
Went outside the hotel to meet the taxi driver. The cars can only stop to let people in and out the cars briefly, so wasn't sure how it would work so went down 5 minutes early. Then saw the taxi driver walking around with my name on a card... apparently he thought we were to meet at 8am, but wasn't a problem.
In the office things started to unravel as some of the copying (estimated at 4 hours) had failed overnight. Switched the course around so started to talk about day 3 topics, then the power went for a few seconds and they had to restart the copying again ! Went out for another lunch "hour" (more like 2!) and struggled through the day but ended up getting some stuff done so had a chance to catch up tomorrow. Weatherwise there was a sandstorm, which apparently only happens two or three times a year, so there was some debate about where to go for lunch. We ended up in the local mall again as it was indoors.
The Egyptians seemed to expect to be taking me out each evening so seemed surprised when I said I would not go out tonight. I hope this was not taken as a huge insult ! but really wanted a relaxing evening and early night.
At the hotel I nearly didn't bother to even leave my room, but did decide to go downstairs to eat. Had a nice BBQ chicken meal in the American Diner restaurant in the hotel. It didn't come with anything, so was just Chicken but actually was enough for me as still not feeling hungry. Being quite early decided to go to the Casino in the Hotel. Ended up spending 100 USD on the Stud Poker (didn't get any good luck when I needed it rater than bad play) but had an enjoyable and relaxing hour.
Back in the room I utilised the in-room broadband to have an even more enjoyable and relaxing couple of games of Poker (and only lost 4 USD) :-)
Wednesday 18th
Managed to progress on the class during the day and went to lunch in the mall again. The Egyptians often have lunch at their desks, but seem to really enjoy the times they go out !
In the evening three of the lads on the course took me out into Egypt downtown. The plan was to meet at 7pm have a tour around and then eat at 8pm, unfortunately the traffic was worse than normal, probably due to everyone staying indoors the day before due to the sandstorm... It took an hour to get to the spot where we were meeting, and Ahmed was another hour later... so in the meantime we toured around some of the ancient mosques and shopping streets. It was interesting to see although it started to rain slightly. By the time we had finished the rain was more persistent so was getting soaked through, but luckily we could get back to the car to go to the restaurant. We went to a park, which is quite high so got some beautiful views of the city in lights. We first we to the restaurant by the lake, but this restaurant was open air and as it was still raining we went to another restaurant. I tried the Veal Kebab which was very nice. In the end we ate at 10pm but was back in my room by midnight
Thursday 19th
Despite warnings from my colleagues that the rain may mess up the roads (it only rains 3-4 times a year) the taxi picked me up at 8am and was in the office by 8:25am which was earlier than normal.... this in spite of the taxi having an accident just after leaving the hotel.... someone went into the back of us when we had stopped for traffic, I thought it would take ages to sort out, with lots of talking and police involved, but in the end it was a quick conflab then we went on our way. I was also taking photos during the journey and the Taxi driver kindly (but unnecessarily!) pulled over for me to take photos on the equivalent to their motorway. I took a couple of quick photos and thanked him, but didn't feel like taking any more photos in case he stopped again!
The day was bright and sunny so lunch was taken outside one of the cafes in the Mall. Apparnetly the weather is normally too hot to sit outside so was unusual to be able to take in the air this time of year.
In the evening we met up at a French/Italian restaurant owned by one of Sharif;s friends. I was also presented with some gifts from the colleagues I was training and from Sharif himself to thank me for going there and training them. It was most unexpected and generous of them, especially after all the time and trouble they had gone to ensure my stay was enjoyable and entertaining. The food was very nice and even managed some of the desert this time.
Sharif also took me to a local bar for a drink (not all restaurants serve alcohol) which was heaving, as it was the end of the week for most people. Got back at midnight again, but was already packed and ready to go.
Friday 20th
Woke up too early but dozed until the alarm went off. Was a bit nervous about facing the chaos of Eyptian Airports, but was heartened when my taxi turned up just as I walked out of the hotel (10 minutes early). The hotel concierge had suggested it would take 1 hour to get to the airport but the night before Sheriff said it would take 20 minutes. To my astonishment there was NO traffic at all and the streets were clear of people and cars - it was like a ghost town !! Sure enough ended up taking 20 mins so arrived at 8:40am There was a small shock when the taxi driver demanded 100 EGP to pay for the ticket to the terminal but luckily had Egyptian currency to hand.
Walking into the terminal building I faced the chaos. Correctly as it turned out, I assumed you had to take yourself and your luggage through a huge rugby scrum to get through one of the four gates the authorities had provided. You also had to put your luggage through the X-ray and show your passport and ticket to the single guard at each gate. Luckily (again!) they opened up gate 5 as I was queuing at gate 4 so got right to the front of the queue. Even so, it took me about 20 minutes to get to the queue for checking. Checkin was very quick and efficient once I had worked my way to the front. There were lots of desks (all flights from any desk) so it was puzzling why it took so long to process the people in front of me as it took about 30 minutes to process 8 or 9 people for my turn. The counter clerk had given me my "non Egyptian exit card" but I still had to fill in name and passport details, which I noticed caught out some people at the passport desk (the next queue) Again there were only about 10 people in front of me but still took about 20 minutes to get to the front of the queue... and again it took a very short time for the guard to look at my passport and stamp it. All in all it took just over an hour to traverse the chaos and enter the tranquility of the Duty Free zone. It takes about 15 minutes to walk all around the area. It has many good facilities for eating and drinking, not many shops but 2 WiFi zones ! This area seems very quiet and relaxed, with not many people around, so wonder where everyone has gone !
Just when you think nothing else can go wrong, there was one more surprise from Egytpair before I left. The gate for the flight was 2 on my ticket, but checking the main board it said gate 7. I checked with the desk and they said it was gate 2, so went along there. The gate said the flight was going to Paris, so went to gate 7 which said Heathrow so queued up there with some other Brits. We then got told it was Gate 2 after all, even though it said Paris... it wasn't until we got onto the Plane itself that I was really confident about where I would be landing.
Overall the experiance was very interesting and enjoyable. Cairo has many facets to explore and much to see. It would have been nice to have been there on holiday but having the local lads to show me around for the few hours available was definately a huge advantage. I would certainly be happy to go back there again if circumstances dictated, especially now have had the experiance of how to get through Cairo airport.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Music: Converting vinyl album collection to CD / Digital
I was on the cusp of ordering the Ion USB Record Deck (http://www.ion-audio.com/index.php) when I came read a review criticizing it for it's price, when an alternative is to simply plug in your existing Record Deck to your PC. I guess this wouldn't appeal to most people (and didn't originally appeal to me) but having unexpectedly bought my new Dell PC with Vista and Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic card (http://www.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=1&product=14066&subcategory=208), combined with the fact that I was trying to get rid of my old HiFi..... suddenly it dawned on me that I probably had everything I needed already. The only inconvenience is the size of the Amp and Record Deck, but then the USB record deck is not going to be small.... so I set out on my mission
I found some step-by-step instructions this URL (http://www.br0wn.co.uk/vinyltocd.htm) Ironically I knew I had the converter for Phono to 3.5mm jack, but couldn't find it.. so bought one from Maplin for a couple of quid (http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=34196&doy=11m4)
I connected up my record deck to the Amp and then the Amp Tape out sockets to the 3.5 jack on my Creative Soundblaster Xtreme card (see photo above) I also ensured I had selected Phono as the recording output and I think that is it.....although of course the phono cable wasn't long enough so had the Amp and record deck on the floor, but ordered another cable from Maplin !! (http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=31700&doy=11m4)
Having got the hardware sorted out, I downloaded some software as per the step-by-step guide.... but then suddenly thought I probably had some creative software already installed.... so a quick search discovered the software (see screen shot above) so just had to figure out how to set it up.
Used the THX Setup Console to switch to Audio Creation Mode mode and got the groovy looking screen when I launched the Console Launcher. I then started playing the record and heard my Album through the PC speakers !! Wow that was easier than I thought !
I found some step-by-step instructions this URL (http://www.br0wn.co.uk/vinyltocd.htm) Ironically I knew I had the converter for Phono to 3.5mm jack, but couldn't find it.. so bought one from Maplin for a couple of quid (http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=34196&doy=11m4)
I connected up my record deck to the Amp and then the Amp Tape out sockets to the 3.5 jack on my Creative Soundblaster Xtreme card (see photo above) I also ensured I had selected Phono as the recording output and I think that is it.....although of course the phono cable wasn't long enough so had the Amp and record deck on the floor, but ordered another cable from Maplin !! (http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=31700&doy=11m4)
Having got the hardware sorted out, I downloaded some software as per the step-by-step guide.... but then suddenly thought I probably had some creative software already installed.... so a quick search discovered the software (see screen shot above) so just had to figure out how to set it up.
Used the THX Setup Console to switch to Audio Creation Mode mode and got the groovy looking screen when I launched the Console Launcher. I then started playing the record and heard my Album through the PC speakers !! Wow that was easier than I thought !
So now to record an album to PC I need to do the following:-
- Launch Creative Console Launcher
- Make sure I remembered to switch on the Amp
- Cue the record to start playing
- In the Console, set the Monitor to "Record" (to make sure I am in the right view)
- Hit the REC button in the Console as I lower the needle to the record
Once captured... I want to dump the output to CD, for which I simply use the Roxio Easy Creator Suite also included with Vista. I can edit the WMA files with WaveStudio (also included :-) ) if I want to... I did first time in order to split up the tracks, but not sure I am that fussed really.... will see how that goes
All in all, Windows Vista and Creative combined have made the task actually quite easy (in my view) !
For my birthday I am getting a Creative MP3 player and Belkin Wireless transmitter so I can listen to more music in the car.... really getting into this technology lark now :-)
Friday, April 06, 2007
Poker: Home Tournament - April 2007
I always look forward to the monthly game, but this month had the added bonus that Simon was driving and there is no work tommorow! Maybe this new strategy (of drinking more) will work for me :-)
The first hand I got KhTd and four saw the flop which was all hearts with the Ah. With the nut flush draw I put in a bet, with Bill calling but Jon re-raising all-in. I felt committed to the pot and had it been anything but the nut draw would probably have folded..... unfortunately Bill had already made his flush and called, Jon showing 2 pair. No-one improved so Bill took a good sized pot.
Second hand gave me AJ o/s so put in a raise. Steven called but Jon went all in again! Felt that I had a good chance and the pot was giving good odds, so called and Steve also called. Jon showed pocket J and Steve had AQ, no-one improved so Jon took a good size pot !
That set the tone of my night, with my good cards getting turned over (Jon's 55 stuffing my QQ), not connecting with any draws and wild stabs at the pot getting called....I did win one good sized pot which gave me some hope but never really got going.
After rebuys stopped it was only a short time before Alex took out three players in one hand! Jon moved tables to balance them up, but a couple of hands later Roger went out giving us our final table.... I had managed to make the final table !! albeit with only around 1300 in chips.
Alex had a massive chips lead with Jon and Simon W also having decent stacks, but actually the rest of us all had low stacks (mostly below 2000) I had drawn the button so had a few hands to wait for an all-in, but Steve on the big blind had to make a move which didn't pay off, so he went first but got a point... Derek followed suit soon after as the blinds went round... and finally it was my Big Blind. Unfortunately my 6-3 o/s couldn't stand a raise so had to fold and the blinds went up giving me a 500 small blind so was priced in when Jon called the BB. After the flop Jon put Bill all-in who duly called. Jon took the pot and took both of us out.
Of the 4 remaining players, Alex had increased his stack with Jon also a good sized stack, so it was no surprise when we were down to these two heads up. My offer to deal was probably immediately regretted by Jon as they ended up all-in and Alex hit his card to take a quick win
Actually we finished uncommonly early so the remaining 6 of us had a cash game for about an hour..... which was as wild and wacky as the main tournament but great fun
So another fantastic night of poker, little bit more expensive for me than normal, but definitely spent more on beer than the Poker :-)
Roll on next time
The first hand I got KhTd and four saw the flop which was all hearts with the Ah. With the nut flush draw I put in a bet, with Bill calling but Jon re-raising all-in. I felt committed to the pot and had it been anything but the nut draw would probably have folded..... unfortunately Bill had already made his flush and called, Jon showing 2 pair. No-one improved so Bill took a good sized pot.
Second hand gave me AJ o/s so put in a raise. Steven called but Jon went all in again! Felt that I had a good chance and the pot was giving good odds, so called and Steve also called. Jon showed pocket J and Steve had AQ, no-one improved so Jon took a good size pot !
That set the tone of my night, with my good cards getting turned over (Jon's 55 stuffing my QQ), not connecting with any draws and wild stabs at the pot getting called....I did win one good sized pot which gave me some hope but never really got going.
After rebuys stopped it was only a short time before Alex took out three players in one hand! Jon moved tables to balance them up, but a couple of hands later Roger went out giving us our final table.... I had managed to make the final table !! albeit with only around 1300 in chips.
Alex had a massive chips lead with Jon and Simon W also having decent stacks, but actually the rest of us all had low stacks (mostly below 2000) I had drawn the button so had a few hands to wait for an all-in, but Steve on the big blind had to make a move which didn't pay off, so he went first but got a point... Derek followed suit soon after as the blinds went round... and finally it was my Big Blind. Unfortunately my 6-3 o/s couldn't stand a raise so had to fold and the blinds went up giving me a 500 small blind so was priced in when Jon called the BB. After the flop Jon put Bill all-in who duly called. Jon took the pot and took both of us out.
Of the 4 remaining players, Alex had increased his stack with Jon also a good sized stack, so it was no surprise when we were down to these two heads up. My offer to deal was probably immediately regretted by Jon as they ended up all-in and Alex hit his card to take a quick win
Actually we finished uncommonly early so the remaining 6 of us had a cash game for about an hour..... which was as wild and wacky as the main tournament but great fun
So another fantastic night of poker, little bit more expensive for me than normal, but definitely spent more on beer than the Poker :-)
Roll on next time
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