The Long Grind

Bob Dylan sang about it, people are scared of it

2015-10-07T17:00:00.000+01:00

I want to start with something big, that a lot of people find really, really scary.

CHANGE

There it is, that thing that makes grown ups angry, confused and frightened!

But why? I have always thought that it is because humans like to be comfortable. They like knowing where things are and how to get them, and when that is changed it brings out irrational feelings that we fear. I have seen this so many times over the years, especially when I had a ‘proper’ job; changes in working practises, change in management, change in shift patterns, change in company goals. Many people dislike it and some try to fight it. The latter always end up looking for a new job and the gold at the end of the rainbow (which is generally in field of Unicorns).

Poker had one of those moments this week. It wasn’t a surprise, we knew it was coming, we knew who was behind it, but yet there are still some surprised people out there when it was announced.

The entrepreneurial Alexandre Dreyfus has finally announced the Global Poker League, which is a ‘franchised’ based poker league, played in ‘The Cube’. For those needing to play catch up at this point, please click on the links to understand what is involved.

Let us look at things this way; you are involved in a very niche industry that can only grow if it has broader appeal and new customers walking in through the door. To get the new customers you have to reach out to them and offer them a vision of your product that interest, excites and motivates them to try it out. If the do, and they like it then they will buy into the product as a whole. For example, Formula 1 fans, may not love NASCAR and Le Mans, but they will watch it as they are Motor Racing fans.

There are too many people in the poker industry who are too keen to bat away new ideas and new concepts. I have always felt that these people are like the ones in my old career who do not like change. Change is bad, change is evil, yet change is what will (I am not going to say grow) keep poker alive. Too many people think it is played in back rooms by grumpy old men, or young kids in hoodies and headphones who sit in silence looking angry, or by mouthy frustrated people who want to berate their opponent for making a bad decision. Guess what, THEY ARE RIGHT!

We need fun, we need audience, we need music, lasers, arenas, T-shirts, LED screens, heroes, villains, laughs.

Why would nobody want that? Why would nobody want new players? Does it matter how we acquire them? Does it matter if someone wants to invest time and money to get them? Does it matter if they need an ROI on getting them?

If you don’t want the change that will keep the game alive, then step back into your provincial card room, shut down your Twitter account and stay out of the limelight. This industry needs change and it needs people who will invest (and get make money) to get there. Maybe a Global Poker League is not the definitive answer, but there is not a line of people with there hands in their pockets, enthusiasm and fresh ideas.

Let’s break the mould and EMBRACE CHANGE. Let’s be better than regular people with regular jobs. Let’s support ideas that can bring new life into our industry.

Heroes can't live forever

2015-04-07T11:53:00.001+01:00

I haven’t blogged since December 2012. I guess there has not been much to say, although there have been some huge changes during this time where I have fallen out of the Poker industry and then fallen back in again, I haven’t been inspired to write.

I haven’t really felt loss (outside of family and friends) that meant anything since May 1994. On a Sunday afternoon at Imola, I found out that your heroes aren’t immortal and people that you were in awe of were just human like the rest of us.

Regardless of personal opinion, the world is a poorer place, with the news that Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott lost his battle with cancer on the 6^th of April 2015. Probably the first Poker player to attract mainstream popularity in the UK, Devilfish had swagger, sunglasses, a cool nickname and a sketchy past. What other ingredients do you need to be a legendary card player in the Nineties?

While the game has changed beyond all recognition, moving from smoky backrooms to Hilton Hotel Ballrooms, Poker is still a card game that is widely perceived as gambling yet there is still an aura around the game, a mystique that is both intoxicating and inviting to those who play or just have a passing interest. I quite often wonder where I would be today if it wasn’t for those backroom heroes from 20 years ago.

Back in 1999 I, like so many others, watched the card game I used to play at school and during my teenage years after it was thrust on to our TV screens courtesy of a little camera hidden under the table.

Yes, we have all seen the interviews where Steve Lipscombe says it was the World Poker Tour that did it first, but those of us who finished work late or stayed up late in the UK have always known it was not true. Channel 4 pioneered poker television, four years before the world had heard of Chris Moneymaker. Watching Series 1 of ‘Late Night Poker’ introduced us to the Devilfish, ‘Mad’ Marty Wilson, Liam Flood, Surinder Sunar, Simon Trumper, Joe Beevers, Ross Boatman and his brother Barny all with commentary from the equally legendary Jesse May.

They were all so far removed from the world I lived in and were playing cards for an eye watering top prize of £40,000 (a number somewhat lower than the multi millions of Pounds, Euros and Dollars that are played for across the felt in 2015), yet they seemed like the most fascinating characters in the world. Sometimes I find it strange that I have met all of these ‘Poker Pioneers’ and socialised with most of them at some point over the last few years. The world truly is a strange place.

Anyway, in case you missed Series 1, the Devilfish won the £40,000 and became, as close to a household name in the UK as a poker player will ever be. I always say if you as an American who has followed poker for 15 years to name a player they will inevitably say ‘Phil Helmuth’, but ask someone from the UK who has followed poker for 15 years the same question they will say ‘ Devilfish’.

To say Dave Ulliott helped bring Poker into the mainstream is pretty much on the money, to say I wouldn’t be doing what I do today without Dave Ulliot is an exaggeration, but the truth is that without these heroes of the game back in 1999 it would not be the multi million industry that it is today.

RIP Fish and thanks for the memories.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (Part 1)

2012-12-11T19:52:00.000+00:00

So this journey covers 22,000 miles by plane, 2,500 miles in cars and 500 by train. It took my from Plymouth to the USA and involved travelling to or through; New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Nevada, California, Kentucky, Indiana, Washington DC, Quebec (Canada), Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, Delaware and Florida. It also means I will be visiting Heartland Poker Tour Las Vegas, World Poker Tour Montreal, The Venetian Deepstacks Extravaganza, Deepstacks Tour Mohegan Sun and Sands Deepstack Extravaganza.

It was a crisp winter afternoon in Plymouth when the first stage of this 2 month marathon business trip began. With a wallet full of dollars and expenses at the ready, I made my first big nitty decision to walk to the train station. As I dragged my suitcases toward the station, thinking of all the stops and meetings I had planned, from Nevada to Pennsylvania and California to Canada, saving 10 quid in the big scheme of things was not my best idea.

Flying Virgin Atlantic is probably the best way to get to the US these days. The American airlines have given up with free alcohol and their in-flight entertainment systems leave a lot to be desired. Automated check in makes things easier as well, you click some buttons and hand in your bags then wander through security at your leisure. As I wandered upstairs in Terminal 3, ready to stroll onto VS001 which was departing in 45 minutes, I smirked at the thought of my mother still living in a world where, “You need to be at the airport 3 hours before an international flight”.

US immigration is always a bit of a ball ache, and the lines at Newark didn’t fail to disappoint. Throngs of international travellers that are tired and in need of nicotine, sleep and desperate to reach their final destination is never a good mix when having to deal with red rape at its most extreme form.

The Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem Pennsylvania was my final stop, at least for this initial part of the journey. They had kindly sent a Limo to pick me up, and as quickly as my bags dropped from the reclaim belt I was sitting in comfortable leather seats with a beer in my hand driving through New Jersey.

Perception is a huge part of poker, as it is in the real world. 12 hours after that long walk to the train station, I am being whisked towards a resort casino by a driver who thinks I am some High Roller that the casino is looking after. I know it would confuse the shit out of him if he only knew how this started today, so I play the jet lagged, “I am working there for a few days” line. Realising if he played poker, he could take that either way, but the answer seemed to pacify him.

If you have never been to the Sands in Pennsylvania (and I know most people haven’t), it really is a different world. Carved out of the old Bethlehem Steel plant, it cuts an imposing sight in the night sky. Casinos outside of Las Vegas and Atlantic City were never as impressive as their cousins in America’s two gambling meccas, but times have changed. The Sands has over 3,000 slots, 120 table games and a 30 poker room. While not posting the numbers of its sister properties, they still manage in excess of $400 million in revenue, with 92% of that coming from gaming. Mini Baccarat tournaments run on a daily basis with 36 tables’ crowded tables that can be 3 bodies deep craning to see the cards. Over 2,000 Asian gamers are bussed in every single day from New York and New Jersey to add to the eclectic mix of customers.

The Poker Room is always busy, with never less than 6 tables running and getting close to its full complement of 30 tables every night with plenty of $1/$2, $2/$5 NLH and $2/4, $4/$8 limit. There is normally a $10/$25 running most nights so plenty of options for all. The sands have only recently dipped its toe into the tournament arena, why would you when you have a full suite of table being used for cash? In recent months the room has expanded and they are keen to expand their offering to include tournaments, so they now host 3 a week and are about to launch the Sands Deepstacks Extravaganza, using their sister property in Las Vegas successful template.

I will be returning here for this series in December, but after a couple of days here, it is time to continue the journey and head for Sin City……..

One Month Down, One Month To Go

2012-06-25T21:31:00.002+01:00

As long as you are not grinding one month in Las Vegas seems to fly past. I am looking after just over 1000 WSOP registrations, and we are already at event number 46, from a total of 61. The number of European players is now steadily increasing and we have seen seven bracelets that will be heading back over the pond. There have been a couple of near misses and deep runs, most notably from JP Kelly and Neil Channing who is one of 19 players left in event number 44.

The logistics behinds the scenes are something to behold. It takes an army of permanent staff, contractors and interns to make a series this size work. It does sometimes have a bump in the road, but the teamwork involved keeps it all rolling along seamlessly.

I have found some time to play poker, although its all been pretty much low end stuff due to bankroll and spare time issues. Obviously having pretty much zero on both of those items make it tough. It's all been pretty much bad beat stories, boat loses to bigger boat, kings can't beat ace queen. The high point was flopping a Royal (in spade) on level one of a Binions Classic event. The low point was only making 13bb from the hand, the high point was the round of applause when I showed.

So, one month to go and things are ramping up. Press conference to do, with some BIG news, loads of events for our partners to help with and the small matter of making sure 350 people make it into the correct day of the Main Event

Its WSOP time

2012-06-06T21:52:00.004+01:00

So what happens when you are sent to Vegas to work behind the scenes?

It’s a great question, especially when you ask it of yourself! Alongside the day to day grind that players face during summer in the desert, life goes on for those who work in event a player support.

As well as my normal duties, this year I am making sure that playing in the WSOP is a straight forward experience for pro team players and qualifiers who can be playing anything from their first event ever to a full schedule of events. Simple it may seem, but don’t forget that some people don’t turn up on the right day, some don’t turn up at all, some people want to change events and some even don’t want to play and would like cold hard currency instead.

At Living it Loving it we are pretty much on for a record World Series. We have over 1000 entries over the 61 events and in excess of 3600 hotel room nights booked. On top of that we have various receptions, parties and activities for clients that means there is not much time to take a breath until the Main event starts un July.

What never ceases to amaze me about this time of year is the sheer volume of games that are available for all levels of players and levels of buy in. Obviously the WSOP is the daddy of them all, but if you did not fancy the $10k Heads Up or the $1.5k Limit Hold ‘Em yesterday, then a quick taxi to the Venetian/Palazzo gets you back to No Limit land with a $2.5k buy in at the Deepstacks Extravaganza. Want something smaller and more quirky then there was a $500 4-Max at the Binion's Poker Classic, across the street at the Golden Nugget, their Grand Series of Poker had NLH for $125 or PLO8 for $230. If downtown is not you thing and $2.5k for the Venetian Deepstacks makes you nervous then you could just settle for a $300 buy in at the Caesar’s Palace Megastacks (No, the real Caesar didn’t live there), or wait until the evening time and you can play the best value weekly H.O.R.S.E. tournament in town for $120 at the MGM Grand.

Daunting can be the buzzword for anyone coming here to play for the first time, even if you are a cash player, the Rio had over 70 tables running last night. If you are form the UK then think of that if you will as 50% bigger than Dusk to Dawn’s entire table capacity. Even someone like me who has been here over a dozen times still smiles when you here, “table opening 100/200 stud”, and yes that is dollars, not cents my friends.

As usual there has been a number of changes since my last visit, but more on that next time, and who knows I might even get time to play…………..

19 Days on tour............

2011-12-19T13:26:00.000+00:00

After 3 months work our showcase event, the Prague Poker Festival was looming closer and closer on my Outlook Calendar. Just when you think that all was well and only the finer details that are applied a few days before need applying the sudden departures of one of my colleagues led to me take on the Paradise Poker Tour as well. While new clients are not an issue, the fact that I would have to bolt on an extra 4 days in Barcelona and then fly straight to Prague was not something that I had factored into my timings. Obviously the poker player in me dealt with it like any other run of cards and headed to the Catalonian capital for the first 4 days of daily hotel-casino commuting, with the only distractions being a nightclub and close shave with two hookers looking for my wallet. Luckily I was carrying 2 pop-up banners which serve as a useful weapon.

Working in the non-playing side of the industry has some advantages, for example you know that you will always get paid at the end of the month, and not be staring at a loss. Sometimes it has disadvantages, the main one being that you are at an event from start to finish so you never get any time to explore the city you are in. Prague was always in danger of being worse than normal as the casino was in the Corinthia Hotel, so there was a distinct danger of not seeing daylight or breathing fresh air for a fortnight!

It is a worrying moment when you arrive in the tournament area 42 hours before the first live satellite to a World Poker Tour main event is about to start, only to discover there is nothing set up in the tournament area (except 500 chairs). As it was Sunday night and all I could really do about this was shout at people, I decided that this would be the day where I would get some fresh air in Prague and handled the situation the only way a Scotsman knows how. This meant was able to answer one of the two questions that most people want to know about Prague, which is less the £1 a pint if you go to the right places.

Casino built, and table’s felted Tuesday’s satellites were well attended with over 100 runners in the second one of the day which generated 18 seats for the main. Day 1a drew 231 runners, which was way above our projected numbers, so we were quietly confident that we could beat the European record for a WPT which we did comfortably on Day 1b with a total of 571 runners. The next few days were 16 hours’ work, 2 hours beer and 6 hours sleep, Andre Pateychuk won some Euros and it was time to make sure that my 12 clients who were playing EPT events were sorted, happy and knew how to get to the Hilton.

It turns out that as much as some players do actually have trouble knowing when they are supposed to be on a certain day, they are better at staying there. All my guys made day 2 and I had to do some frantic withdrawals from side events for them. On a the plus side, they were mostly playing day 1a, so it was back home to the Corinthia to make sure that the big cash game was ready to go. Luckily all this involved was watching a joiner re-felt a poker table, sort out some rather large buy ins and have a quick chat with Jesse May. It never ceases to amaze me when local business men try to take a shot at €200/€400with a double straddle against Luke Schwartz, Dan “Jungleman” Cate, Andy Moseley, Tobias Reinkemeier and a few others. It is good to know that one of those businessmen now has 300,000 reasons not to try again.

48 hours later and we have fully re-branded the casino with GSOP Live banners and tables. Since we took over the management of the tour the numbers have climbed from not many, to over 320 at the last stop in Greece. This would be different again and we knew that 400 players was probably a minimum to expect. With no prospect of adding an extra starting day, we set up tables on the second level, and actually had a queue to buy in at 11am!

At the end of level 4, the strangest thing happened. We had 497 runners and a whole load of people crossing their fingers for 500, the 498^th registered just as the break started, and then after a bit of wheeling and dealing the casino agreed to buy someone in if we did too, to make the numbers up to 500. Obviously this is where a quick knowledge of negotiating deals and percentages comes in handy, as I quickly found myself having 30% of myself in a freeroll and being led to table 1 seat 5, amusingly beside fellow Scot, beer drinker and occasional poker player Niall Farrell. Day 1 was an easy game, and I finished just under average but day 2 proved a little trickier. Now pretending that I was some kind of serious pro, I checked out my new opponents on the Hendon Mob and was less than amused to find the only person not to be listed (and even I have one flag), was the tournament chip leader who was on my immediate left. This concerned me even more the Dominick Nietzsche in the 1 seat, and the fact that Michael Tureniec soon became the man who would be raising my Big Blind. After taking a chunky pot form the EPT winner in the 1 seat, obviously I thought I was invincible, a badly needed double up with KK v QQ followed later and I was less the 20 players from the money. In this spot, sensible me knows that I can fold to a min cash, sadly the “I could win this, it’s an easy game” me came out to play, and my 55 on the button resulted in the big stack on my left entering into a bit of a battle with his 66. GG WP and all of that.

The downside to busting a tournament is normally going to get pissed and think of the next one. The downside to busting a tournament at one of your companies’ events is that you get time for a fag, shout out “ffs” and then get back to work. 48 hours later Aasmaa Raigo won some Euros, secretly I knew that 30% of them should have been mine.

Working live events is a mixture of hard work, stress and funny moments. Working all day and night for 19 days is hard, not being able to find a 5 figure sum of money that is not yours and being told the hotel is fully booked and oversold is stressful, but it’s all made up by the funny moments. Next time we have a beer I will tell you the one about me, an Italian, a Yorkshire man, another Scotsman, and English pro and an EPT winner in a smoky backstreet pub fighting over who is NOT paying the bill, I could go on…….

Anyway, home for Christmas then WPT Ireland on the 4^th of January and back to Prague for the Paradise Poker Tour on the 18^th, then I MAY look at my diary for February.

1 Weeks Work and 22 Minutes of Poker

2011-09-25T16:43:00.001+01:00

So it was off to Malta one week ago to work at the WPT, which was being held at the Casino at Portomaso. It is always interesting when visiting casinos on different countries, as the rules are always slightly different, and sometimes slightly amusing.

If you are Maltese you can drink from 16, and believe me they do drink, but you cannot enter a casino until you are 25. If you are a "foreigner" that you can enter the casino when you are 18. You cannot smoke indoors in Malta, although the casino has a glassed enclosed gaming area that does permit smoking. (All bars and clubs have no smoking signs and there is a €500 for having a crafty puff, although nobody cares and everyone smokes in bars and clubs in Malta). While the drinking law is interesting, and what we would call a "style" bar charges €24 for a bottle of Smirnoff with mixers, there are not heaps of kids falling about drunk and fighting. Maybe it is because there is an international poker tour in town, but there was certainly lots of adults doing the former.

Since this is supposed to be a poker blog, and personal time was in short supply, I should really provide you with the comedy of my week trying to play the game. I took the fancy on Thursday night after dinner that four days of watching, registering and talking about the game meant I was itching to say "raise". I made to 2 minute trip from the Hilton to the casino and the fun really started.

I was told to register with the cashier, easy as pie you may think, until she produces 8 pages of names an membership numbers. "You are not on the list!", comes the short reply as I was offering money buy into the €30 re-buy. This did not fluster me, as I would be compromising the truth if I said that I had not heard those words before. In a previous life as a club manager, I will also admit to proudly saying them as well. The easy solution was to offer to go back to reception in case their record of my arrival in casino had not been processed correctly, although this was re-buffed when I was told to speak to the Poker Room Manager.

I felt sorry for anyone working, or trying to play in their the card room, as they had 4 tables of Italian package winners and sponsored pros throwing chips around like confetti and letting the whole room know about it. Even then, I persevered and enquired about the tournament. Amazingly when holding and international event, they cap the game at 30 players (which I understand), but they do not permit "foreigners" to play. As someone who is rarely politically correct, being called a foreigner in a forgein country does not phase me, and while I thought about doing a great speech about Britain and the Commonwealth, but as there was another casino at the end of the street I kept my sensible head on.

Thinking that a lack of WPT refugees would be at the cash tables in the Dragonara Casino next door was Plan B. Hopefully I could find the usual array of local fish, two holiday makers and the drunk 50 year old American who insists on showing the only female at the table what is the optimal play. In my experience the intoxicated fellow from the larger ex-colony normally does advise the correct thing to do, granted it was the right play circa 1999.

Sadly the lack of cash tables meant I was player 36 in the €25 Freezeout, in the smallest poker room I have been in, on the smallest country I have been in. The standard of player seemed to match my predictions, and I eyed up a player whose blinds I would be stealing from the cut off and hijack, as his seat did not seem to have a fold button, or he had chosen not to learn that word.

So we are in to the action, its a 10k starting stack with a 1k punctuality bonus. I have won a small pot and lost a small pot, and pretty much got a decent grasp on the players, apart from the guy on my left who has not put a penny into the pot, and I sure was ready to fold his BB with 3 limpers! My target who was actively winning pots, mostly with a third barrel when the river was a seemingly harmless card, so I was delighted to pick up the black queens when it was his BB. Level 2 had just started, so I casually opened for 3x, was please with myself when everyone fold to him. I had already folded a couple of small, marginal hand to him, so when he popped me back up I was more than happy to 5 bet for half of my stack. What I had not expected was his reply of moving all his chips over the line. I might not play as much as the old days, but I announced, "Thats a brave move with Ace high", and his face said it all. I called and tabled my queens, and he proudly should AKo. While I was happy to take the flip, I was happier to have made the correct read, and if I win the flip then I have the respect of the table, and twice the amount of chips as everyone else.

When you get the dream flop of 258s to go with your black queens and you opponent has AK in the colour red, it is a satisfying feeling when you know he is drawing to 5 outs and you have more cards to improve your already winning hand than he does. The other thing that never, and I mean never ever, changes is the sting when one of them pops on the river, somehow made worse by the fact it was the Kc which for a fraction of a second could have been the Ks.

So back in blighty and ready for a hectic couple of months as we plan 2 weeks of poker in Prague, and the Regional and National finals of Poker in The Pub to organise and run. It is probably the most interesting job in the industry working across the spectrum of players from grass roots to proffesional. Last week I was on a hotel balcony drinking with a WCOOP winner, an Ex-November niner, a well known TV pro and an online grinder, next month it is pub players with a dream about Las Vegas. I enjoy them both in equal measures, and love talking about and playing the game.

2 Weeks, 2 Games, Malta and Prague

2011-09-17T20:03:00.000+01:00

So playing poker live or online, has taken a backseat to work for the last 2 weeks. While my current dislike of the online game does not seem to have subsided, and the lack of live games of interest has also remained in the status quo, work has pretty much consumed my time. My record since last writing has been played two online league games, didn't cash in either and missed most of the second one!

I am spending next week at WPT Malta, not playing before the questions role in, assisting with players and entertaining some on behalf of a client. I know you may all think that sounds like fun, I have to tell you that it is. The fact that the weather is better than at home, also helps a lot.

The bulk of where my time has gone is the initial planning and marketing campaign for the Prague Poker Festival, which consists of a WPT, EPT and GSOP over a 12 day period in December. This is something that is going to appeal to all level of players from pro grinders who can make a base for 2 weeks of cash and tournaments, down to casual players who can come out for a weekend, play some low buy in events and party until it is time to go home. If you want more info the festival fill in the contact details on the web from, or the one on Poker Traveller

Now I have reviewed the first three paragraphs of this instalment, I am laughing that what started off as my poker blog has become and advert for my company, so I am going to go the distance and stick in some hyperlinks so writing this will not have been a total waste of my time. (Dave if you read this, we can discuss advertising rate

Hopefully next time I will have had some success at the tables, although tempting fate has never really helped me in the past.

Beg, Steal and Borrow that run good

2011-08-26T15:03:00.000+01:00

In the last 2 years where poker has moved from a second income, to hobby and then to a career (although not in a playing sense) those who know me really well know that I will never stop playing live, although opportunities are limited and I am living in a poker wilderness.

This is generally the reason that my own personal reasons for finding tilt tend to come from others. I can handle the consequences of making a bad decision, but the bad decisions of others tilt me beyond the bounds of normal rage. Yes, I understand that level 1 players always have it and you can’t get them off a mediocre hand even if you had a crowbar, yes I know that basic math’s and equity calculations are beyond them but I love to play them as if they no what I am trying to represent. Dealing with this issue is my current personal challenge, the logic of not doing it harks back to Super/System where Mr. Brunson tells us there is no point in trying advanced or trick plays against a low level player as they don’t understand what you are doing. What constituted a low lever player when Doyle wrote this book, given the way the game of NLH played now, is a really scary thought.

So on my last venture to a casino tournament I decided to take @daleroxxu up on his offer of run good by voting for him in the British Poker Awards. If you read my blog I the subject, save the time as epic fail is the term you want. Given that run good is obviously not passed down from you players to someone as old school as myself, I was encouraged to play after receiving a retweet (now an official word!) from Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott. Realising that we had a few things in common, we both use Twitter and have loads of tolerance of others, I should take this as a sign that the old school karma will help me more than a twenty something team online pro.

I was worried that perhaps things were not really going to plan when I had only won one pot before the first break. Given that I had made the nut flush on the turn and "I've got top pair" boy kept on betting in to it, I was happy with an over average stack.

It’s an interesting thing when you elect not to play many hands in a casino game. You watch some appalling play, learn everything about your opponents and watch the luck boxes garner chips. The comedy never stops when you elect to play your first in earnest after an hour, and three people want to come in to a pot with you.

The final table was reached with little drama, although I was nursing the short stack there is always a good spot on the horizon. One of the regulars opened for 5 BBs (his normal PFR, although he has a wide range), I looked down at AA and shoved. The chip leader on my left called, and Mr. 5 BBs ran to the hills. The leader turned AhKs, the board caused no unexpected variance and I was in business. Players got knocked out, the only backwards step was calling a shove with 77, I was happy to see J6o but the running cards to give him a straight was a little irritating.

Everything else ran like clockwork, and I found myself heads up with a chip lead. I then managed to lose an all in pot on a flip, tried to shove with AQ into 1010. Not to worry, I had a tasty profit, a spring in my step and a hand from @devilfish2011

Who said the children is the future?

An old one I enjoyed looking back over

2011-08-07T13:11:00.001+01:00

In the summer of 2009, i made my 10th trip to Las Vegas. I went with a friend, Kerr, who had won the trip from my current employers. It was just as things had turned bad for me in business and the money had run out. I put on a brave face, and escaped from my problems with a now rapidly depleting bankroll. We had fun, and I made a tidy profit on a run of 10 tournamnets and 1 cash session in one week. Although I had been to Vegas so many times before, I had never been when the WSOP was on, or stayed on Fremont street for any length of time. Both experiences are highly recommended

Being a lucky guest of one of the National winners, Kerr Harris, saw me and 19 excited other board our flight to Las Vegas, Nevada on the 6th of June to take part in the Poker in the Pub Final Table, and have a week of fun in the gambling capital of the world.

After a few drinks onboard the flight, several at the Golden Nugget casino bar, and several at the pool bar courtesy of Dave Brannan of @livinglovingit, someone had the bright idea of playing the 8pm NL Holdem tournament at Binions. Not being able to resist a game at the spiritual home of poker and the WSOP, it seemed like a great idea! After an hour it seemed like a terrible idea, when alcohol and jet lag took its toll and most of us crashed out.

Day 2 took us to the PITP final table, which was held at the Golden Nugget in their main convention room which was set up for their own poker tournament. The full report can be read here on the forum.
For all you poker fans, there was no shortage of tournaments at any given time of the day, from $50 up to $10,000 at the World Series (more on that later), and cash games from $1/$2 no limit and upwards. My first cash was at the 9pm $35 re-buy at Fitzgerald’s, pulling down $300 and covering the drinks bill for the first two days!!
Monday stared with breakfast in the hotel, sitting next to Padraig Parkinson and “Mad” Marty Wilson, followed by a whirlwind tour of some of the strip hotels including stops at the Ice Bar at Mandalay Bay, Nine Fine Irishmen at New York New York, the Card Room at Bellagio and finishing with a trip to the World Series of Poker at the Rio.

I had absolutely no idea how accessible the tournament table were, and how friendly everyone would be. There is no hiding from the public and the table are as close to you as this computer is to me. We stood watching the six-handed Holdem with Chris Ferguson on our right, Neil Channing in front of us, and Clonie Gowan on the left. Neil Channing stood up and came over for a chat about poker and Scottish Football. We moved on to the H.O.R.S.E tourney to watch Daniel Negraneu, Mike Matasow and others. As the 7 card stud was down to heads up, we watched until it finished with Jeff Lisandro being presented with his 2nd bracelet in two years.

We made our second visit to the Rio on Wednesday and were spellbound watching the $10,000 lowball draw Championship. Standing as close to the 8 tables as you would be in your own pub, we watched Greg Raymer, Huck Seed, Scotty Nyguen, Andy Black, Johnny Chan, Roland De Wolfe, John Juanda and numerous others fight it out. I even spoke briefly to Daniel Negraneu and Doyle Brunson, while Kerr spoke to Ross Boatman who was watching his brother and Michael Greco battle in the NL Shootout tourney. The days highlight came outside the main entrance having a cigarette with Andy Black telling us wonderful stories about final table blow ups and being beaten by amateurs like us who only play good cards!

All this inspired us to enter event number 19 at the Binions Poker Classic. A field of nearly 200 sat down for NL Holdem which included both Padraig Parkinson and Marty Wilson’s partners Katherine & Veronique and "Oklahoma" Jonny Hale. Kerr lasted until just before the dinner break, and with a bit of skill and some luck, I made it to the money, and held out to reach the final table. I was just starting to realise what I had achieved until my pair of Jacks were cracked by AQ. It was a most surreal experience going “All In” with Padraig Parkinson and Marty Wilson cheering “Scotland, Scotland” from the rail as the cards were dealt out. They also helped to lighten the breaks with Padraig Parkinson tale about his 3rd place finish at the World Series in 1999, or should I say his lack of memory due to after game celebrations, and how they used to sleep 6 to a room back in the day when it was all about getting to Vegas just to play the World Series. Sadly Katherine and Veronique, were knocked out just after me, not a good final table for Europe, but what an amazing experience and a great laugh.

So after 10 poker tournaments, and 4 cashes it was time to go home. Where else can you meet so many Poker people, play so many games and really feel part of the game. Here is to next year and I for one will be doing my very best to make sure I qualify to be on that plane.

You have to start back somehere

2011-08-06T15:57:00.001+01:00

So, decision was made. Leave the office, go to town, and reg for the 8pm at the Plymouth G Casino. Carefully thinking that I didn't want to know if it was re-buy or not as that would colour my decision.

I sat on the bus contemplating a twitter post by @daleroxxu saying that a vote for him in the The British Poker Awards would lead to eternal run good. As I had voted for my own company, Poker in the Pub and @daleroxxu that very afternoon, I should have realised that karma was indeed a real bitch.

So Mr G Casino, what is the point of a £10 freezeout? Do most Friday regulars normally go to Gala Bingo, next door? And why do 54 players think that 40% juice is good value?

Having not played most of level 1 apart from couple of limps on the button and SB, I got involved in my "real" hand at the and of the level. Two players limp from mid position, and I stick in a standard 3x from the button with A10o I got a call form the BB (calling station), another from the 15 year old looking kid, and a fold from the old guy who was now getting 4/1 against a button raise.

So the K 10 4 rainbow flop did worry me a bit, but then the BB checks and the 15 year old 1/2 pot donk bets me, I quickly make the call while thinking how to take it away from his obvious top pair. Obviously the BB calling station really should have left the party, but like an annoying drunk uncle with a cab waiting outside he won't go home.

The 10 on the turn really removed all plans of who to get the kid off the pot, as now I wanted his lunch money. Again he led out for the same bet, 300 into a pot of 1500. While I considered KK, even my real 15 year old son would have raised pre-flop, and probably re-raised my button with that hand, so I know he has a single king and probably no much of a kicker, happy days!

I raised him up to 1300, just to show I wasn't messing about, obviously that taxi driver had not rung the bell, as uncle station called, and then so did the kid. The river was a KING, which fell with what sounded like a resounding thud on the table, the kid leads for 2k without pausing for breath, I stretch back in the seat, swear and muck (while trying to think when I last folded a boat), and uncle station instacalled, and turned over Q10, the kid showed K6 to scoop the pot, and I burst out laughing.

Like a kindly, but confused uncle, the BB asks what is funny. With a pained look I explained, "I folded better than you, as the kid may as well have had a post it note one his head with a big fat King printed on it", he flashed an embarassed look, the kid smiled.

He does not realise that he was about 5% on the turn, and I hope we meet again. It didn't happen last night, the table was broken, I found cards in bad spots, and no cards in good spots. I doubled with JJ v 99, then found A10s on the button, shoved and the SB found AQo, so gg wp.

During the coming week, our companies efforts at running the GSOP live event in Manchester will prove that advertising works as I will be debuting on Red Kings on the Ongame network.

I am sure that nobody has even noticed................yet