Snake's Blog

Took a shot

2011-01-20T02:02:00.003Z

January was going good, took a shot at 50NL and ran pretty bad, so I moved back down to 25nl to ride out the negative variance.

After 26k hands I was doing ok, teach me to move up!

Got the APAT team event at Bolton coming up at the end of the month, if it is half as good as Dublin it will be epic, weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Finally, congrats to Amatay who looks to have found a lively one, wp mate!

Keep attacking everyone!

Rush Update

2011-01-07T00:09:00.003Z

This is supposed to be a Poker blog so a quick update. Been hammering 25nl Rush since the 20th December after putting in $50. Cleared a $100 bonus they gave me in no time, got some decent rakeback to come also. Here is the graph, the red line seems a bit on the low side but fuck that, it's the green one that counts.

[x] Doomswitch activated

Got to go, I need the pester Amatay for some more links to put up.

Gl at the tables folks.

Jon

Down the pan!!

2010-12-27T16:22:00.003Z

I had a bit of a disaster yesterday (Jesus, this blog seems to be one endless bad beat story). I was at work and felt the urge to park a family of Otters at the pool. Ordinarily this would be one of the most pleasurable experiences whilst at work, sat there snapping a turd off knowing that I am getting paid for it, but not on this occasion.

Now, I am one of those people who believes that when sat on the crapper, one should have something to entertain themselves with. Normally this is a newspaper, book or some other piece of literature but on this occasion I decided to take my mobile phone to surf the tinterwebz (not for Frankie Vaughan I hasten to add). Placed phone on top of a towel, bent over to pull strides down in preparation for pebble dashing the back of the pan, knocked towel and mobile phone ends up in bottom of pan ffs (pre depth charge bombing).

Reached in to get the bastard thing out but too late, it was fizzing and constantly on vibrate, plus the screen was blank. Dried it off then finished my dump. Now, this is where it gets interesting. I fired the lappy up and did a bit of research, came across this little beauty of a site here. So I get home, place the phone in a sealed container and covered it with uncooked rice. Placed it in the oven with just the light on and left it for 24 hours. Retrieved it today and put it all back together and the fooking thing actually works!!! Lol saved myself some right dollar as it is one of those expensive touch screen mutha fuckers and I ain't got insurance. The only downside is that it has a huge brown skid mark on the screen, but we can't have everything now can we? :)

As this is supposed to be a Poker blog I suppose I better let you know how things are going. Just playing 25nl Rush atm, playing really well but don't want to doomswitch myself so I will post a graph in a few weeks. Putting into place some of the things that I have read in 'Zen and the art of Poker'. It's a good read, I recommend it.

Happy Festive Season and good luck at the cyber felt to all.

Snake

Finally!!!!

2010-12-20T03:42:00.002Z

We have finally moved house, but fuck my life it was a mission. Firstly, the money was not transfered over until 4pm on Friday. We were sitting on the drive of the new property for 2 hours, just waiting, and waiting, until eventually we got the call and the geezer handed us the keys.

2 hours to unpack the first load into the garage, 20 mins drive back to the old house, 1 and half hours to pack up the van again, 20 mins drive, 1 hour to unpack, 30mins drive to pick kids up, 30 mins drive to return van, 30 mins back to house, put cot up, shower, change, 25 min drive to work starting at midnight until 7am. [ ] Fun times.

Anyway, we are in and the new house is lovely. There is something about a new build that makes it special. Maybe it is because you know that no one else has rumped in it? Also, little things, like having a lock on the khazi door so no one can enter when I am curling one out, make it sooooo much better.

The next mission is to install a loft arial so the kids can watch CBeebies. Then to get online again. Thinking of going with BT as the waiver the £130 charge for a new line if you get a broadband/phone package with them.

When that is sorted I will start to play some pokes again as I got a load of tournie tickets for stars, then I am gonna grind some cash on Microgaming.

Gl all

Snake

P.S Here is a song you will prolly hear a gazillion times over the next week or so.

Life beats

2010-12-15T07:58:00.002Z

Beat one, Missus falls over on ice whilst holding baby. Puts hand down to protect baby, breaks hand.

Beat two, prior to beat one. Missus driving her car, car conks out. Taken into garage, gear box fucked, have a £1000 estimated bill for repair shoved in your eye.

Beat three, completion date for moving is this Friday. As of yesterday the cunts that are Northern Rock state it will take 5 working days to establish the final redemption figure for the mortgage. Wtf!! That means Monday by my calculation.

Brag, spun $30 into $100 on Minted poker in 20 mins pwning a kraut donk HU.

Variance, it's Christmas soon so goodbye 2010

/Rant over

Drunks, moving home, HU pokes

2010-12-11T03:26:00.003Z

Apologies if this post is utter bollocks but I am blogging via my mobile phone for the first time, so the standard may be shitter than normal.

Anyways, it's 03.38 as I compose this master piece of literature. I have been at work since 10pm and I have suddenly got the urge to blog. I put this down to the fact that it has been a horrendous evening. For those of you who haven't made my accquintance I am a Custody Sergeant with an East Midlands Police Force.
I am the person who sits behind the desk and books you in if you have committed a misdemeanour. Normally I genuinely enjoy my role but tonight I have despised it with a passion.

The reason? One word answer, drunks.

Now don't get me wrong, I like a drink and have been drunk on several occasions, but I am a happy drunk. Give me a kebab when I'm pissed then I could sleep on a chicken's lip.
Tonight though, everybody who has been arrested has been mashed. Not only that they have been abusive, incredibly violent and generally obnoxious. Most have been young males but the worst have been female. One even spat at me ffs. Charming, a load of green lag dripping down my shirt. Sometimes I wonder where it all went wrong in this once great country of ours.

Some good news, hopefully we will be moving house on the 17th. We are buying a property in a quite country village, essentially as we need a bigger garden for the kids. It is a new build so has 3 shitters in it. I will be spoilt for choice lol. The only negative is the nearest boozer is 2 miles away, looks like I will have to acquire a pub bike.

Poker wise I have only played a couple of games, both in the epic that is the RTR North v South HU comp. It's all about game selection baby! I have managed to win both matches 2-0, crushing the southern fish Coggs and Rubbish. Well, Rubbish isn't really a southener but he is Welsh so it's just as bad I suppose.

Right, I'm off to have a dump. Don't you love it when you get paid to drop a family of otters off at the pool!

Be good.

Snake

Bidibot, North v South.

2010-11-28T11:53:00.003Z

Greetings a salutations avid reader.

I have registered on a site called 'Bidibot' which is basically a penny auction site that mainly auctions Poker items, such as Stars Tournament tickets, cash credits etc etc. If you register you get 10 free bids and each bid puts the price up by 1c and adds 30 seconds to the clock. I managed to get 20 free bids by putting a code in from Poker Player Magazine and used those bids to win 2 Stars 11 buck tournie tickets and a $22 one also, for the grand total of $2.17, weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! Seems good value to begin with, also the CEO is John Tabatabai who has posted on a few forums to dispel rumours and myths about Bidibot. Nhwp Sir.

On the forum we have a HU challenge between the North and South. It's going to commence pretty soon. Should be an epic battle, with the banter flowing back and forth. There is a bit of a cash incentive but essentially it will be for bragging rights on the forum. You can read about it here.

Laters fish, gotta to go for a dump then get ready for work. More work related anecdotes coming soon.

I am alive/39th best and going 'Pro'

2010-11-15T19:07:00.015Z

Now then faithful reader, I am back and as the title suggests, I am well and truly alive and kicking!!

Got loads of stuff going on at the moment, should be moving house before Christmas,jesus what a grind that fucker is. If I ever come back reincarnated I want to be one of 2 things. Firstly, an Estate agent. Place picture of the house in local paper, make a few telephone calls, collect two grand for your troubles, easy game!!

The other thing I wouldn't mind coming back as is a wasp. Fly around, annoy the fuck out of people, simples.

On the Poker front I've not played much at all online, just been too busy with work/moving etc. On this point I have a cunning plan, that cunning you could stick a tail on it and call it a fox. After Christmas/moving house I will have a bit of a roll saved up. I also have plenty of leave left over, so my plan is to take nearly a month off work and play 'full time' so to speak. I have spoke to The War Minister (Missus) about this and she seemed O.K with it. I will devise a rota that I will stick to and hope to play 5/6 hours a day, 6 days a week. 5 days cash and 1 day MTT/MTSNG.

I will also speak to Amatay, Kenn, Longy, Everton Yorkie et al and get any advice I can. What you think loyal reader? Any thoughts/ideas are welcome.

In the world of live Poker I have managed to get my own HendonMob Database entry lol, The Snake is officially the 39th best amateur in the World :).

Also went with the RTR crew to Dublin for the IPO. The Tournament was a non-entity for me, crashing out in the second level. The good news about this was that I got to drink loads of Guinness with Rubbish and Coggs. We were soon joined at the bar by Amatay, Jakattack, NoShoes and Paul then it all went a bit messy tbh. I can't remember a thing :) Remember boys, what goes on tour stays on tour so sshhhhhhh.

Great fun, beers, pokes and meeting new friends like Greekstein, Barry Carter, Neil Channing and Padraig Parkinson. Going to definatley go next year, quality times.

Leave you with a few piccies of the RTR crew at the IPO.

Two beer swilling poker players

Coggs before I owned his soul at cash

My hero Amatay

Jak in the Bounty game

Mr Channing and The Snake

Anyway, this has gone on far too long and is really boring, Amatay, can I have my $50 please?

Update

2010-06-01T03:51:00.006+01:00

Or lack of one as the case may be. Hardly played any Poker at all recently as I have had to spend what was left of my roll on life schizz. With the missus not working, ok I will rephrase that incase Mair is reading, with the missus staying at home to look after the children, and the current economic climate things are getting tough financially. I suppose they are not too bad as we have just had a lovely holiday in the Lake District and we live a good life compared to some more unfortunate folk, but you have to prioritise and cut your financial cloth accordingly, so the Pokes has to go temporarily.

Got a little bit left to donk around in a few Tournies in the RTR $5 syndicate we have got going on the forum but other than that no Pokes for the Snake for a few months. I cannot moan though, I was speaking to the fish that is BurnleyMik on the phone earlier on today and was moaning to him how bad I run at life etc etc blah blah but we discussed what I have got out of Poker over the last few years. The answer was a new kitchen, new windows for the house and a holiday, not too shabby for a donk who has a bit of a hobby.

Speaking of BurnleyFish, or Max from Phoenix Nights as he is known to his close pals, the geezer is on fire at the moment. Here is his latest post about his May profits, not bad eh?

Here is a picture of the Great Man himself to put on your bed side table.

Anyway, got to bug out, crime don't crack itself.

Laters

两点 (Topical language)

Trip report from Newcastle

2010-05-04T00:59:00.012+01:00

*Warning, long post

Raise The River Team that attended the Newcastle Poker Forum Event this last weekend. Back row left to right, Me, Yorkie Pud, Mr Origami, Tripz, DoV, front row left to right, Rubbish/Please to meet you, HammerHeid, BM, NoShoes, dD.

Right, here we go. I was supposed to travel up with dD who was coming up the A1 but was running a bit late, so I got a call from BM who said he was near Leeds and would do a 180 degree turn and collect me. I think he had an ulterior motive that was trying to peek at my missus's Eartha Kits, so I countered this by waiting at the end of the road for him.

We left my village at about 10.40am and made good progress, landing at the Hotel at about 12.30ish. The other lads had also just arrived, after initially going to the wrong Hotel. When at the wrong Hotel Pud and NoShoes saw some geezers going on the lash in fancy dress. Two fat blokes were dressed in Borat Mankinis and there was a bloke who was a dwarf covered in blue and dressed as a Smurf. I would have pissed my self laughing if I had seen this!!

We jumped a Mini Bus to the G Casino, had a few swifties, then it was down to the pokes. I had a couple of guys on my table that I know are pretty decent players, and also had some pissed up sweaty sock who was the table fish. He was in every pot from the off and was chucking in chips left, right and centre. He got lucky a couple of times and built up a bit of a stack, so I targeted him as the chip donator.

I didn't really play a hand until level 4. I've got about 7000 from starting stack of 7500, blinds at 100/200, fish limps UTG, 2 callers and I look down at ladies so pop it upto 1100. Fish calls, 2 folds and the flop comes Ah4h9x, fish looks over at me, smiles, then shoves his stack of about 9k in the middle. I tank for ages trying to think of a hand he would play like this and can only put him on a heart fd or pocket neufs so make the fold, he showed 99 so I was pleased with the fold.

I had to fold QQ again when I 3 bet one of the better players and he flatted from the CO, flop came AKx and he lead 3/4 pot, with my stack my only options were shove or fold and I didn't think he would lead with anything worse than AJ+, . My exit hand was pretty standard against the pissed up fish, blinds are 150/300, it's folded to me on the button with TT and 5k stack, raise to 800, he insta 3 bets to 2k(which he did loads of times and showed schizz like KJo, T9 and such) so I tank thinking I am miles ahead of his range, shove it all in only to be snapped off with AA LOL. GG me!! As a forum we were pants and had no one coming back for day 2 ffs. Dream of Vegas got deepest for us, winning the £10 last longer bet.

Ended up having loads of beers then decided to play blackjack as the dealer was called Phoebe and was fit as a butchers. Won about £70 then moved onto the £1/£1 cash table, bought in for £100. Unfortunately Mr Mayagi was not on it but there was one older geezer who was bladdered. The first hand i noted him play he was UTG and open raised to £16, yes £16. He got one caller and the flop came Q62. He check raised and the other dude folded. The bloke then stated 'I never raise with nothing' then flipped over Q6 lol. Ended up £90 ish up after winning a few pots, one with a set and the other with AK which flopped Broadway :)

Loads more beer later and I am now regged for the £15/£15 rebuy or add on. Play pretty good pissed up pokes and end up chopping it up 4 ways at 6.30am with me taking $370 and the others £300. I was chip leader by a bit when we did the deal so I was pretty generous but I was absolutely bladdered and also proper knackered. I definitely had 15+ beers, probably closer to 20.

Got up about 11 ish, Mik and Pudster fucked off as they are both under the thumb, so me, dD, Mr O, NoShoes, Rubbish and my roomie DoV went to the boozer next to the hotel and shifted a few pints. We then jumped a cab to the Toon and settle in a bar called 'Players' to watch Chelski vs Liverpool. After consoling Mr O we then had some munch at McTuckyKing, then went back to the G. Fooked about a bit on Blackjack and roulette then regged for the £10 FO/£10 bounty. Never quite got going in this and busted with AQ vs KJ. Congrats to Rubbish who took 4th for £60 plus bounties.

The rest of us went back into The Toon and hit the same bar as before. We sat outside and just drank/stared at the birds. There was some proper fit ones but also loads of munters, pretty much standard but was a good laugh. I hit the wall about 1 ish after my mammoth session the previous day so fooked off back to the Hotel on my jacks, leaving the other boys on the lash.

DoV staggered in at 6.36am on the dot, I know this as the loud twat took great delight in waking me up with his exceedingly loud pissed up snoring!! About an hour later and I am dozing when all of a sudded DoV leaps out of bed and heads towards the bog for what I can only presume is a piss. The only thing is he completely misses the door and walks head first into the wall, ending up on his arse. PMSL!!

Me and dD set off about 10.30ish, uneventful trip home. Bit of a result for me, ended up in profit to the tune of £320, weeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

Great to meet Rubbish, Tripz and Mr O, quality blokes, all the other RTR fish I have met before, all great lads. Really enjoyed the weekend and the company, can't wait for the next meet up. Nice to see Mair, Stan, Mike and Lou, Card Gaurd Kid and Team Dobbs amongst others, all lovely people!! If you haven't been on one of these, or an APAT event, you are missing out big style.

Gl at the tables

Il Serpente

NPF Team Event

2010-04-30T12:07:00.003+01:00

Just a quick update, going to Newcastle this weekend with Raise The River to play in the Newcastle Poker Forum Team Event. Going to be a cracking weekend with the lads, 2 of which are shown above, left is Mik the right is Pud.

Full trip report early next week. Going to be good to see some of the other Bloggers representing other Forums, come over and have a beer!!

Withdrawn

2010-04-21T19:04:00.010+01:00

Took my roll offline the other day for several reasons. Firstly, to preserve the roll as the beats were redik. I began to tilt stacks off and ended up playing weak/passive which is not my game. Secondly, to preserve my sanity as emotionally it was really hard. Working all day then grinding at night only to suffer the two outer river specials, we have all been there, you know what I am saying. Thirdly, I run bad at life. I have got some family issues I need to resolve that take precedence over online poker.

I will have a break from da cash for a couple of months, but I will still play in the Bloggerment if I am not working, I played in it last Sunday as well as Mair's Charity game and really enjoyed myself. The only annoying thing was BurnleyFish constantly 3 betting my azz as he was sat on my left. It was a case of 'I know he is 3 betting me light but he knows I am opening light'. I decided to 4 bet shove him with JTs only for Mik to insta-snap me off with AK lol. Played about 6 of the new $4.40 135 peep sng's on FT the other day, shipping one for $150 and change, good fun and over quickly. I may play a few of these for a laugh during my cash sabbatical.

Going to Newcastle in just over a week for the NPF Forum Team event with the Raise The River geezers, can't wait it will be a good laugh and looking forward to a few beers with the lads!

Enjoy your time at the tables and crush!!

Το Φίδι

(Greek btw)

Rebuilding

2010-04-05T00:12:00.003+01:00

Apologies for not updated this schizz blog, no excuses I am a lazy fucker!!

Right, March was an absolute disaster, ended up 8 buy ins under Ev. Negative variance I realise and it will turn around. Not going to moan too much, just going to grind through it. You kinda know you are running bad when AA is only winning 87% and KK 79%.

I have decided to move down to 20nl on Microgaming to absorb this downswong and to protect the BR. Made a decent start to the month, up about 4 buy ins but KK is again running so bad. Got it 3 times in one session and lost all 3. AIPF vs AA, standard. AI on a flop of T83 vs 99, turn J river 7 fml. Other was versus QJ who called my raise OOP, then c/c 2 streets on a Qxxx brd, river was a queen so I check behind to go with my read.

There is a few decent players at 20nl but overall the standard is shocking. Wish me luck and hopefully I can run better and move back up soon.

Enough of Poker, I have played at the same Rugby Club for 22 years, I will not name the Club for fear of identification but we are still the most promoted club in the history of the League system in England, currently in the Championship, one down fron the Premiership. My first team career ended a few years ago but I still turn out for the lower teams when I can.

Anybody who is a member of a Rugby club will testify what a crack it is. I have loads of amusing stories that all involve loads of beer, some degree of nakedness, various animals and occasionally women.

One of the best gags is when a player gets badly injured and has to undergo an operation, other team members make a competition out of who can give the best 'joke' present.

Several years ago I smashed my cheek bone and have to have it rewired. When I was recovering in Hospital I could only drink through a straw. What did the first lad to visit me bring? A huge box of rock hard toffee.

Well, yesterday I had a phone call from the main ring leader of this game. He was telling me about a former player who injured his leg years ago and has always suffered with it, culminating in a degenerative bone condition that has necessitated in his leg being amputated from the knee down. Pretty horrific you may think, but the one thing is this hasn't come as a shock as he has known for several years that this would eventually happen.

Despite this, one would think that having a leg amputated would mean sympathy from all concerned, including the Rugby lads.

Not in the slightest!! Guess what they gave him as his 'joke' present, a DVD of the 1984 classic starring Kevin Bacon, Footloose!!! Looooooooooooooooooooool, honestly when I heard a little bit of wee came out of the end of my knob :)

Good luck all.

La Serpiente

Taking a break

2010-03-21T08:16:00.003Z

Wow, the downswong continues. As the title suggests I am going to have a few days off and re-evaluate what I am going to do. I have 2 choices, drop down a level a ride it out, or withdraw what is left of the roll, take a month or so off from online poker, use this time wisely to study the game, the return with a bigger bank roll. Tbh at this time I am not too sure what to do. I will probably drop down and play 20nl as I am a degen, plus If I can get through this negative variance then I can get through anything. One thing is I will be mentally a lot stronger.

I will not bore you with the bad beats, there are far too many, but what astounds me is how bad my premium hands are running. In the last few sessions I have had AA and KK busted 75% of the time. Also QQ isn't too good lol. Got QQ 3 times last session, ran it into AA and KK aipf which is standard, but the hand that tilted me was against a retard who min 3bet my open oop, called the 4bet then made a PSB on a low monotone board, I shoved and he called flipping over AKo for no pair no draw. Obv K on the turn, so sik.

The ironic thing is that my downswong has coincided with me purchasing 'The Poker Mindset' lol, I am going to burn the fooker lol.

Gl everyone, keep attacking

Bad Beat Post

2010-03-12T19:13:00.002Z

Warning, bad beat post coming up. Just gotta get this shit off my chest.

Standard on the flop against his range.

$0.25/$0.50 No Limit Holdem • 6 Players

Generated by weaktight.com.

UTG	Sangolten87	$50
UTG+1	balleklorin1	$45.25
CO	8BurnleyMik8	$50
BTN	DRmojo	$60.17
SB	Hero	$50
BB	Terina009	$99.75

Pre-Flop ($0.75, 6 players)Hero is SB

Sangolten87 raises to $2, 3 folds, Hero raises to $7, 1 fold, Sangolten87 calls $5

Flop ($14.50, 2 players)

Hero bets $9, Sangolten87 raises to $22.50, Hero goes all-in $34, Sangolten87 goes all-in $20.50

Turn ($100.50, 2 players, 2 all-in)

River ($100.50, 2 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: $100.50

Hero shows

Sangolten87 shows

Sangolten87 wins $97.50 (net +$47.50)
Hero lost $50

Fck my life, nice call pf!

$0.25/$0.50 No Limit Holdem • 6 Players

Generated by weaktight.com.

UTG	8BurnleyMik8	$50
UTG+1	Sangolten87	$57.90
CO	osama__b	$79.31
BTN	Justaholm	$54.85
SB	DRmojo	$54.15
BB	Hero	$89.85

Pre-Flop ($0.75, 6 players)Hero is BB

2 folds, osama__b raises to $1.50, 1 fold, DRmojo calls $1.25, Hero raises to $7, osama__b folds, DRmojo calls $5.50

Flop ($15.50, 2 players)

DRmojo checks, Hero bets $10, DRmojo goes all-in $47.15, Hero calls $37.15

Turn ($109.80, 2 players, 1 all-in)

River ($109.80, 2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $109.80

DRmojo shows

Hero shows

DRmojo wins $106.80 (net +$52.65)
osama__b lost $1.50
Hero lost $54.15

Standard 2 outer on the river of doom.

€0.25/€0.50 No Limit Holdem • 5 Players

Generated by weaktight.com.

UTG	PlainNaked	€56.69
CO	Big_Rat	€59.64
BTN	relaylaundry	€55.81
SB	DRmojo	€61.13
BB	Hero	€87.09

Pre-Flop (€0.75, 5 players)Hero is BB

PlainNaked raises to €2, 3 folds, Hero raises to €6.50, PlainNaked calls €4.50

Flop (€13.25, 2 players)

Hero bets €8, PlainNaked goes all-in €50.19, Hero calls €42.19

Turn (€113.63, 2 players, 1 all-in)

River (€113.63, 2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: €113.63

Hero shows

PlainNaked shows

PlainNaked wins €110.63 (net +€53.94)
Hero lost €56.69

Seriously, I mean calling PF with Q4s, give me a break ffs, then the old runner/runner str8 weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

$0.25/$0.50 No Limit Holdem • 6 Players

Generated by weaktight.com.

UTG	FozDoIguassu	$16.45
UTG+1	FlashNelson	$130.94
CO	DRmojo	$221.06
BTN	Hero	$50
SB	8BurnleyMik8	$62.76
BB	Sangolten87	$63.49

Pre-Flop ($0.75, 6 players)Hero is BTN

FozDoIguassu calls $0.50, FlashNelson raises to $2.50, DRmojo calls $2.50, Hero raises to $11.25, 1 fold, Sangolten87 calls $10.75, FozDoIguassu folds, FlashNelson folds, DRmojo calls $8.75

Flop ($37, 3 players)

Sangolten87 checks, DRmojo checks, Hero goes all-in $38.75, Sangolten87 folds, DRmojo calls $38.75

Turn ($114.50, 2 players, 1 all-in)

River ($114.50, 2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $114.50

DRmojo shows

Hero shows

DRmojo wins $111.50 (net +$61.50)
Sangolten87 lost $11.25
FozDoIguassu lost $0.50
FlashNelson lost $2.50
Hero lost $50

Same villian as before, easiest call ever until the river of doom!!

€0.25/€0.50 No Limit Holdem • 6 Players

Generated by weaktight.com.

UTG	saintoza	€54.16
UTG+1	aPoStoLch0o0	€50.75
CO	haa	€65.88
BTN	osama__b	€82.75
SB	DRmojo	€60.53
BB	Hero	€50

Pre-Flop (€0.75, 6 players)Hero is BB

4 folds, DRmojo raises to €1.75, Hero raises to €6, DRmojo calls €4.25

Flop (€12, 2 players)

DRmojo checks, Hero bets €7, DRmojo raises to €22, Hero goes all-in €37, DRmojo calls €22

Turn (€100, 2 players, 1 all-in)

River (€100, 2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: €100

DRmojo shows

Hero shows

DRmojo wins €97 (net +€47)
Hero lost €50

Villian is a decent reg, so when he ships I put him on a FD, obv is hits and I fail to re-suckout.

€0.25/€0.50 No Limit Holdem • 6 Players

Generated by weaktight.com.

UTG	saintoza	€119.30
UTG+1	bluefan1914	€58.45
CO	bulota80	€55.20
BTN	Jarva3	€82.10
SB	x-games	€38.50
BB	Hero	€50

Pre-Flop (€0.75, 6 players)Hero is BB

1 fold, bluefan1914 raises to €1.50, 3 folds, Hero calls €1

Flop (€3.25, 2 players)

Hero bets €2, bluefan1914 raises to €6, Hero raises to €19, bluefan1914 goes all-in €50.95, Hero goes all-in €29.50

Turn (€108.70, 2 players, 2 all-in)

River (€108.70, 2 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: €108.70

bluefan1914 shows

Hero shows

bluefan1914 wins €97.25 (net +€38.80)
Hero lost €50

Sik flop, fml!!

$0.25/$0.50 No Limit Holdem • 6 Players

Generated by weaktight.com.

UTG	Anfield777	$33.94
UTG+1	DRmojo	$181.35
CO	Hero	$64.87
BTN	8BurnleyMik8	$164.33
SB	Sangolten87	$50
BB	FozDoIguassu	$30.22

Pre-Flop ($0.75, 6 players)Hero is CO

Anfield777 raises to $1.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $5, 3 folds, Anfield777 calls $3.50

Flop ($10.75, 2 players)

Anfield777 checks, Hero bets $6.25, Anfield777 calls $6.25

Turn ($23.25, 2 players)

Anfield777 checks, Hero checks

River ($23.25, 2 players)

Anfield777 bets $11.50, Hero goes all-in $53.62, Anfield777 goes all-in $11.19

Final Pot: $99.56

Anfield777 shows

Hero shows

Anfield777 wins $65.63 (net +$31.69)
Hero lost $64.87

Standard but annoying.

€0.25/€0.50 No Limit Holdem • 6 Players

Generated by weaktight.com.

UTG	Hero	€87.41
UTG+1	jonnie_bob	€17.26
CO	vanpersik13	€71.15
BTN	Poker_Epic	€61.98
SB	kod	€87.25
BB	Taken	€71.11

Pre-Flop (€0.75, 6 players)Hero is UTG

Hero raises to €1.75, jonnie_bob calls €1.75, 1 fold, Poker_Epic calls €1.75, kod calls €1.50, Taken calls €1.25

Flop (€8.75, 5 players)

kod checks, Taken checks, Hero bets €5, 1 fold, Poker_Epic raises to €10, kod folds, Taken folds, Hero raises to €25, Poker_Epic calls €15

Turn (€58.75, 2 players)

Hero goes all-in €60.66, Poker_Epic goes all-in €35.23

River (€154.64, 2 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: €154.64

Poker_Epic shows

Hero shows

Poker_Epic wins €126.21 (net +€64.23)
kod lost €1.75
Taken lost €1.75
Hero lost €87.41
jonnie_bob lost €1.75

Villian is a huge fish, just look what he calls with PF lol

€0.25/€0.50 No Limit Holdem • 6 Players

Generated by weaktight.com.

UTG	Diabel7Gnuf	€10
UTG+1	bluefan1914	€55.34
CO	fitbrit	€51.63
BTN	terrier1983	€38.20
SB	Hero	€121.36
BB	kisolinec	€50.75

Pre-Flop (€0.75, 6 players)Hero is SB

1 fold, bluefan1914 raises to €1.50, fitbrit calls €1.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to €7, 1 fold, bluefan1914 folds, fitbrit calls €5.50

Flop (€16, 2 players)

Hero bets €11, fitbrit goes all-in €44.63, Hero calls €33.63

Turn (€105.26, 2 players, 1 all-in)

River (€105.26, 2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: €105.26

fitbrit shows

Hero shows

fitbrit wins €102.26 (net +€50.63)
Hero lost €51.63
bluefan1914 lost €1.50

Its a set again in a 3bet pot!!

$0.25/$0.50 No Limit Holdem • 5 Players

Generated by weaktight.com.

UTG	Genevie	$50.34
CO	jooonaz	$109.96
BTN	Fish_4_Life	$70.26
SB	Hero	$50
BB	Arneank	$62.22

Pre-Flop ($0.75, 5 players)Hero is SB

1 fold, jooonaz raises to $1.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $5.50, Arneank calls $5, jooonaz folds

Flop ($12.50, 2 players)

Hero bets $9, Arneank calls $9

Turn ($30.50, 2 players)

Hero checks, Arneank bets $15, Hero calls $15

River ($60.50, 2 players)

Hero goes all-in $20.50, Arneank calls $20.50

Final Pot: $101.50

Arneank shows

Hero shows

Arneank wins $98.50 (net +$48.50)
jooonaz lost $1.50
Hero lost $50

Sigh, all these from last 2k hands, online poker rigged imo lol

Seriously, some of these are just redik, some I have played poor, but I have to laugh as the fish calling with schizz like Q4s and K5s will always be +Ev, so I want these guys in the game, just not to keep sucking out on me.

I also really need a break against the regs, they always seem to flop sets vs me in 3Bet pots, c'mon Poker Gods (amen) shine on me please?

Bangkok Nights

2010-03-02T17:34:00.003Z

Moving away from the subject of Poker, I made a post in the past about a trip I had to Bangkok as a 15 yr old. Memories now, but very good ones indeed!!

Anyways, I promised to recount more anecdotes from my times in the Far East. The back ground to the story is that I was living in Hong Kong at the time as my father was working over there. I played a lot cricket when I was younger, without bragging I was not too bad. Eventually when I returned to the UK I played County 2nd Eleven, even managing one appearance as 12th man for Sussex versus Essex in a First Class game.

Anyway, back to the story, I was lucky enough to be selected for Kowloon Cricket Club to play in an International Six-a-side competition held at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club in Thailand.

The first night we get there we are stopping at the Dusit Thani Hotel, a spit and a piss from Pat Pong, the centre of Night Life in Bangkok.

Prior to going out on the piss, the Captain, a deep thinking man and somewhat responsible for the other players, gave us all a box of matches from the Hotel, with the address on. This was to give to the taxi or ‘Tuk-Tuk’ as they are called, so the driver would take us back to the Hotel.

At about 4am, I am bladdered and stagger out of some random bar, flag a ‘Tuk-Tuk’ down, give the driver the match box, ask him to take me to the place on the box, then promptly fall into an alcohol induced deep sleep.

At 6am I am rudely awoken by the frantic Thai driver. It is now daylight and I have been in the back of his taxi for 2 hours. I open my eyes to see that we are in the middle of what appears to be an Industrial Estate. Wtf!! The geezer is indicating that I have arrived at my destination.

Then it dawns on me, he has taken me to the factory where they make the matches. In my drunken stupor I only went and showed him the wrong side of the match box, which had the address of the factory where they were manufactured, thus the dude took me to this place. I run so badly!!

2 hours later I am safely tucked up in my scratcher to recuperate!!

If you ever get the chance to visit Bangkok, you must go, it is a fantastic place.

Roller Coaster Ride

2010-03-01T12:34:00.005Z

Well fuck me what a month, similar in respects to Mik's
month at the tables. I had a fantastic start to the month, running real hot, hitting all my big draws, flopping sets. At one point I was 1k up after a few days.

Then the rot set in, just could not get a hand to hold up. This time all the draws missed, monsters were all cracked, nothing could hold. It was just variance and in the long run short term results, be them individual sessions or monthly results, do not really count. I will not list any hands as there are far too many, but what I did notice was that certain regs will call 3bets OOP with small pocket pairs and always seem to hit a set.

I haven't had a chance to amalgamate my PT3 databases yet but after a quick scan last night I was -$0.70 after circa 23k hands of 50nl 6max.

Thank fuck for Rakeback!! I made $496 and I also got $60 in the monthly rake race for my efforts for a total of +$556 so not a complete disaster.

I will spend a few days going through PT hands, seeing if I can identify and obvious leaks, but tbh I think I played pretty well over the month, just was on the receiving end of some short term bad luck in big pots towards the end of the month.

The grind continues :)

Swings

2010-02-24T05:15:00.002Z

Well FMl as Coggs would say, Poker is one frustrating game. After 5 days of the month I was 1k up at 50nl on Microgaming. Now I am $300 up, a swing of $700. I am not going to moan though as I am still in profit and obviously I was running golden at the start of the month. I was fully aware the heater would not last.

I have not changed my game, it's just that my huge draws are all missing, I get no action with the monsters and I am still not good enough to fold an over pair in a 3bet pot vs a reg when, if I were to slow down and think the hand through, they clearly have a set.

Just gotta keep on grinding, work hard no dramas.

Gl all

The Poker Mindset

2010-02-13T05:20:00.002Z

I have been reading The Poker Mindset, would recommend it, the book has made me more aware of certain approaches, attitudes and concepts to help me with the emotional and psychological side of this game that we all play.

I have already read it through once, but in order to grasp most aspects I will read it again over the next 2 weeks. The main theory is understanding and accepting the realities of Poker. Poker is highly variant, Poker is a game of small edges, Poker is a game of luck in the short term, skill in the long term. To be successful we must both understand these concepts and accept them.

Setting goals is also something I did in the past, specifically monthly monetary goals. I now realise that this is pointless as a short term goal, as short term luck, both good and bad, can adversly affect the results.

Anyway, enough of that, I've got to make another $500 bucks this month, the money aint going to come in whilst Im sitting here typing this schizz :)

Pokerwise I've played 9k hands and made 1k, been really happy with my decision making process, got some good reads on the regs, rakeback to come as well.

Leave you with a little quote by Sun Tzu from The Art of War

"Victorious warriors win first then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first then seek to win"

Gl at the tarbs, Le Snake

Good start

2010-02-04T05:43:00.004Z

Although this post will definitely be a curse, I have made a cracking start again to the month, just hope it doesn't go tits up like last month!!

3133 hands and $723 up (the Euro table amount you have to multiply by 1.39 to get the USD amount), running at 17bb/100. I realise this is unsustainable but I am going to enjoy it whilst I can.

What has certainly helped me is chatting with BurnleyMik on Skype and sweating each other, it really focuses your mind. I know we keep banging on about it but it really does help in a sense that you don't get spewy for fear of looking a complete Donkey. If any of you other RTR fish fancy it pm me or Mik.

Also, the change to a Eurosite is doing me good, I mean I was doing ok at FTP but why take on the better regs? Realistically I am never going to be a high stakes player as I am simply not good enough and cannot devote enough time to study the game, so why not play on a softer site with a better deal? If I can eke out some profit each month I would be happy. The master plan is to get to 100nl by June then take it from there.

Anyways, must rush, just finishing a night shift and my wanking chariot is calling.

Good luck on the cyberfelt everyone.

Snake

January Round Up

2010-02-01T20:36:00.003Z

January is finally over, thank fuck.

Monthly summary, played 22,380 hands on both FT and PL, losing a grand total of $445, a combination of running bad then spewing some buy inns due to exceedingly bad play.

The good news I cleared $100 bonus on FT and earned $350 rakeback over both sites for a huge $5 boost to the bank roll, weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

The bank roll is all on PL now, gonna buckle down, grind like mad and build the roll again. I need to set some time aside for tutorial vids as well as I have just used my FT points to purchase 3 months membership of Stox Poker. I need to improve on my hand reading skills post flop, hopefully by watching I may pick up some information.

A good start to Feb though, had a session last night and was up $157, so long my it continue.

Good luck at the tables all and thanks for reading, if any of you actually do!!

*Edit* I'm fick as fook me, forgot that I came 26th in the Raketherake freeroll for $135, so a bit better lol

Positive thinking ftw

2010-01-30T12:07:00.002Z

Update post as I have neglected this blog for a while, something I promised myself I would not do as I am using it as a record of where I am going in the Poker world. The answer to that statement at this moment in time is nowhere and pretty fast!!

I continue to run really bad at 50nl cash, getting it in as 70/30 favourite and getting sucked out on, but I will not bore you with any details. I just have to keep telling myself it is just variance and eventually it will even out. It is just frustrating when everyone seems to flop a set against my monsters, when I flop a set, say 888, the board is T98ss and there is loads of action, people call 4bb raise with 53o vs KK and hit a flop of 533 etc etc blah blah. Positive thinking ftw!!

Roll wise I have moved all of what is left onto Purple Lounge to grind it back up as I am on a great deal via The Forum. The traffic is not as good as FT but there are sufficent games in the evenings to get a decent amount of volume. If you are a cash game player sign up through RTR, it is a great offer but you will have to join the forum first as it is only available to members.

Going to have a sweat session with BurnleyMik later tonight just to see if I am spewing in any spots. We have not done one for a while and I am really looking forward to it. Basically, we both go on Skype and use Teamviewer, discuss the hands as we play them. It helps both our games no end. Mik is playing some really good Pokes atm so i am looking for a bit of his 'run good' factor to rub off on me.

Played in the APAT Team event last weekend representing RTR at Manchester. Our team was BM, Kronsdat, DoV, Ant, dD, Hammerheid, Bully and me. Team wise we came 9th out of 20, not too bad for a bunch of fish!! It was great to meet the lads again, the only person i hadn't met was DoV, who proved to be a right good laugh. When he busted he fooked off into town with NoCash, who was playing for AWOP. I will let these 2 tell you the details suffice to say one went missing and the other woke up with no shoes on in the Hotel lobby lol.

In the Tournie I came a decent 60/160. I never quite got going, peaking at 26k in the 3rd level. The only hands of note I can recall are blinds 50/100 4 limpers and I am in the BB with T6o, flop comes 789 rainbow, I lead for 400 into 600, utg calls, rest fold, turn 3d, I bet 800 he again flats, river Ah, I value bet, he tanks and folds.

I then 5bet bluff from the BB against a serial button raiser utilising my 'Ant like' image. He tanked for ages then folded, claiming he had QQ, yeah OK. Doubled up a short time later when, following a raise UTG and 3 callers, I joined the party with A7s from the CO. The button called, sb completed and the flop came a lovely 773, checked around to the HJ who bets 2/3rds pot, I raise, folds back to HJ who obviously thought I was on the make and shoved. Snapped him off and he showed 88 and I held. That was about it, I didn't really get any good spots and was completely card dead. Got blinded right down to 13bbs, found AA utg and was torn between min raising or shoving. I have discussed this with the other fellas all agree I should have shoved as it looks weaker, I agree with hindsight. Anyways, everyone folded and I ended up shoving 56s and the BB woke up with KK, gg me. Good craic though and I am going to play The Newcastle Forum Team Event in May with the gang.

Anyways, thanks for reading fish, gl at the tables.

P.S Amatay, you lucky muthalicka, get posting ffs

Pissed off!!

2010-01-19T09:04:00.005Z

Well, I don't know where to start, January has been an absolute nightmare Poker wise, combination of negative variance followed by bad play has meant the BR has taken a huge hit. Mind, after 5 winning months in a row I was due a downswong. The saving grace was that I peaked at $460 up but atm I am about $350 down, sigh.

I will not post any bad beats as they will bore you rigid, standard shit. What amazes me the most is when I pick up a monster someone flops a set, my KK nearly always runs into AA, AK misses every time lol. I read a great article about variance, the solution being basically to grind like fuck at a game you can beat, so 50nl get ready!!!

Mind you, it might not be that easy, not only has the BR taken a huge hit I am going to have to withdraw a chunk. The reason for this is that my missus car conked out the other day. A trip to my mates garage revealed 2 fuel injectors were fooked and it needed 2 new rear brake pads. He also serviced it so for £300 I cannot moan. This, coupled with the fact that our wooden bay window has virtually rotted away and will cost a bag of sand to get doubled glazed, means Snake's bank account is virtually empty. Thus I need to withdraw to help pay for this schitt, but I am going to still have 30 buy ins for 50nl.

Enough moaning, going to start reading The Poker Mindset to help me through this downswing :)

Spew

2010-01-11T17:16:00.002Z

I have put some dosh on my new Euro site as I get effectively 55% rake back, but I am playing complete shit atm, spewing far too much to the regs, playing pots with the fish with marginal holdings. I am just about to go over hands on PT3 and sort my shit out. I think it is a combination getting used to new software and 'I've beaten the game on FT' syndrome, so I am going to nit it up then crush (apart from BM). Leaving a bit of dosh on FT to clear the end of year bonus then I might ship most of it onto the new site, leaving a bit in case there is not much traffic.

Really looking forward to APAT Forum Championship in Manchester w/e of 23rd/24th this month. Meet up with a few of the RTR fish, get bladdered, win tourney, you know, usual weekend. Also, got a full pass out stamped by my missus in exchange for me booking a luxury cottage in the Lake District in May. Fucking women really do drive a hard bargain. Costing me £475 for a week ffs :(

I have been lucky enough to see alot of the world, living 12 years in the Far East. I was thinking the other day what is the strangest thing I have ever seen?

The answer lies in Bangkok, the capital of a glorious country called Thailand. There is an area of streets called 'PatPong' which is notorious for having girly bars covering every square inch. I am led to believe Coggs' missus Carlos used to work here.

Anyway, I went to Bangkok when I was 16 to play in a Cricket tournament, although this was not too serious. At night the older players took me out into Patpong, first bar I end up sat in a booth with another lad, we order 2 beers, bar man asks if we want a special beer for a little bit more. We obv say 'yes' to which two birds (hopefully!!) come out of a wooden hatch under the table, unzip our flies and start smoking the pink oboe. Happy Days!!

Anyway, the strangest thing I have ever seen was in a bar in Patpong. 2 birds were firing ping pong balls out of their vagina onto the floor of the bar and some local Thai dwarf was putting flags out where the furthest one landed. Fucking bizarre I tell you, especially when the girlfriend of one of the local Brit lads got up on the stage and fired one miles, beating the Thai birds hands down lol!!!

More Bangkok tales later, gl fish :)

Running Hot

2010-01-08T08:46:00.005Z

Quick update post, poker wise doing really well atm, monster hands holding up and drawing hands flopping da nutz!!

Would have been much better if I hadn't gizzed off $170 at 50nl HU to a complete fish German who kept on hitting his outs, it was fucking unbelievable!! This demonstates what I was up against:-

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($52.15)

Sausage sucker (SB) ($228.30)

Preflop:

Sausage sucker bets $2, BB raises to $6, Sausage sucker calls $4

Flop: ($12) 6, J, 6 (2 players)

BB checks, Sausage sucker bets $222.30 (All-In), BB calls $46.15 (All-In)

Turn: ($104.30) 6 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($104.30) J (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $104.30 | Rake: $0.50

Results:

Sausage sucker had J, K (full house, Jacks over sixes).

BB had K, K (full house, sixes over Kings).

Outcome: Sausage sucker won $103.80

Sigh!!

Anyways, gonna put some volume in over the weekend and I have transfered a bag of sand from FT over to the microgaming skin. I really like the software but it takes a bit of getting used to, but the *ahem* rake back is really good so I am going to see how it goes. Traffic is not as good as FT but it is a Euro site so traffic should be good in the evenings when I can play. Just gotta avoid the shark that is BurnleyMik lol

Laters fish, gl at the tarbs

Happy New Year!!!

2010-01-01T16:45:00.005Z

Happy New Year everyone!!!

Bit boring but I'm going to do a review of the year, apologies to Amatay but feck it, it is supposed to be a poker Blog ffs. I will tell you about me shagging the missus up her barking spider in another post mate, I promise :)

Right, firstly I have got to say that I believe my game has improved no end this year, specifically in relation to BR management. After the problems I had when my missus discovered my roll and I had to withdraw it, I have managed to spin the profits of stakeage from the aforementioned Amatay to over 40 buy inns for 50NL, initially by playing $10 45s on FT then lately cash.

I am going to stick to the 40 buy in rule before I can move up permanently to 100NL, although I will be taking a few shots. Anyways, just in case NoCash reads this schitt, I will post my FT graph from when I started playing on the site.

So cash profit was $1229 plus rake back $641 makes a total of $1870 for cash, not brilliant but not too shabby.

Also, here is my OPR stats for the year.

So a grand total of $3094, not quite in the Kennl, Clarkatroid, Amatay or Longy league lol, but I am pleased as most of the cash hands were at 25nl or 50nl. I had to withdraw some of this when I first began the grind but still got the majority online and, barring any huge disasters, I will not have to withdraw again.

Right, what plans have I got poker wise for 2010? Well, firstly I am going to split my roll over a few sites. After consultation with my mentor, BM, I have decided to put some dosh on Everest due to the redik softness of the players, also I am going to open an account on a micro gaming skin that offers RTR members a very good bonus payment deal, keeping a bit on FT to clear the end of year bonus.

I want to be playing 100NL with 40 buy ins at the start of June, although this may be slightly optimistic. I also want to branch out into the live scene, so I am going to attempt to qualify for the GUKPT events on BSq. On that point huge congrats to Ant from RaiseTheRiver who has just shipped a ME package of his choice, weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
I am also hoping to play a few more APAT events, great fun and good to see some familiar faces.

Right Fish, I have bored myself, shagging and drunken debauchery tales next post I promise :)

Spongers

2009-12-23T16:08:00.002Z

Fuck me, its been a week since I last posted. Been really busy at work, this time of year sees a dramatic increase in my 'clients'. Booze related violence goes through the roof, as does shoplifting.

Infact, I found something out the other day that put me on life tilt. One of my regular 'clients' decided to go into a local supermarket, load his trolley up with groceries then walk straight through the checkout without paying. £247 worth of snap and the cheeky fucker thinks he has a right to take it.

Anyways, when he arrived at the hotel, part of the booking in procedure is to do a risk assessment to establish if there are any health risks that have to be managed. He stated he was on heroin, no suprise, but was also on a methadone script. So his Doctor gives him a drug that is supposed to be a heroin substitute and he uses heroin on top of this. Clearly this is not working! Guess who is paying for this methadone, thats right, you, the honest, hardworking taxpayer.

He then goes on to state he was not unemployed but was registered as sick.

Sick!! So heroin addiction is an illness now is it? Oh, forgot to mention that his state benefits are more each week for being 'sick' than if was legitamately out of work. No prizes for guessing who is funding this 'sick pay'. Plus, I wager he has never even thought about doing a days work let alone actually done one ffs! Life tilt!!

Really fucks me off.

Right, rant over, might have to go to the doctors soon. You see, when I was younger and I shot my baby gravy, I had a right spurt, honestly I could have pasted the walls from 6 foot I tell you. But as I have got older, it kind of resembles a sparrow sneezing. Have I got something wrong with me or am I just getting to the bottom of the 2 buckets that you get?

Pokerwise, not played much, only about 2k hands, upto about $400 in profit plus rake back. Had to miss a sweat session with BurnleyMik as my little girl has taken a turn for the worse again, so I nurse her in the night whilst my missus gets some kip.
Hang on a minute, I am the one with a full time job ffs, something wrong here.

Right, will post before Xmas but gl at the tables people

Snake

Update

2009-12-16T00:44:00.002Z

Just a quick update, played nearly 10k hands so far, break even atm ffs!!! Tbh I am very happy with my game I just seem to lose most races, it is just variance. I am continuing with the session analysis using PT3 and have watched Coaching Tree from DC, Balugawhale gives some great advice.

I used to 3bet when IP with suited connectors like JT,QJ but after listening to Baluga I am just calling now as hands like these have so much value post flop as oppose to pre flop.

Gl at the tarbs, gonna try and win some green now.

Happy Days!!

2009-12-11T11:47:00.003Z

Just a quick update as I am still at work then driving to East Midlands Airport to pick up my Mum and 89 yr old Grandma who are coming over from Portugal for a few days.

Running/playing better after a disastrous start to the month. Played about 6.5k hands this month so far, for me good volume. Only 3 buy ins up but got a rake back payment due today to boost profits. Due to poorly child/body clock screwed I have been up at 4am so I have been playing at this time for a few hours. I have found this has increased my win rate as it is about 11pm in the States so plenty of donks on line lol.

Also, I have been playing a bit more conservative with hands such as AQ from OOP, just flatting as oppose to 3betting to keep the pot small. Seems to be a more profitable way of playing from the blinds with such holdings. Obviously If a donk raises then I will 3bet, but this is very much player dependant.

Also been watching The Coaching Tree, a series on DeucesCracked (thanks Gorv :)). Really good series, I recommend it to you. I have made some adjustments to my game after watching only 2 episodes, seem to be working. One interesting point was to over bet the pot when you know you are in front on the river. You only have to get called on the odd occasion to boost the win rate. This could be exploitable at higher levels but at 50nl it works a treat. It is amazing when you over bet the pot with a set and get called by 2nd pair, some people just do not believe you.

Got to go, sorry for the boring post, more amusing tales next time

Gl at the tables

*Edit-Fuck you Full Tilt, played 400 hands tonight and lost all the profit, lol, negative variance ftw

Running Like Poo

2009-12-05T03:20:00.007Z

My first bad beat post, I feel just like BurnleyMik :)

As the title suggests, December has been a pretty frustrating so far. The definaition of variance is the statistical measure of how your results will be dispersed, mine at the moment are being dispersed down the toilet. I just cannot seem to get a hand to hold. QQ seems to be a big loser at the moment, losing to JJ, 53s, 68s. I have also turned the nut flush only for villian to boat up on the river, got it all in with a set vs 2 pair on the flop only for villian to fill up on river for a higher boat. As Coggy would say, 'FML'.
I realise this is just negative variance but it is nice to get it off your chest, now i know what Poker blogs are for!!!

On a plus note, my little 6 month old girl is getting alot better, this new inhaler gizmo is working a treat, she no longer sounds like Darth Vader when sleeping.

Funny couple of anecdotes from work, you people live in a different world I assure you, this stuff is not made up!

1. Shoplifter arrested and brought infront of me(regular, drug addict, first name terms, you get the picture). Arrested for theft of 20 bars of chocolate. He bangs his fist on the Custody desk and says, 'Thats bollocks, it was only ten, they were buy one get one free'. He was not joking.

2. Pissed up bloke phones Police to say he has been robbed. Police arrive for him to shout, 'Its a fucking robbery, I have been charged £45 for these', and holds out 2 ecstasy tablets! True I tell you, Britains dumbest criminal take a bow.

Anyways, gotta go.

Hope you all run good at the tables.

Monthly Review

2009-12-01T20:05:00.004Z

Greetings my fellow fishes.

As this is basically a Poker Diary for my own benefit, so I can track my progress, I will endeavour to complete a monthly review. So here goes for November.

Rake back was $140, cleared $100 bonus at FT and also played 2x 45s, came 2nd in one for a $90 profit so overall profit for November was $915 ish, not bad for 50nl if I say so my self!!

I think my game is coming on well at the moment, good advice from people on the Forum helping my decision making process at the tables. Also, I have a couple of sweat sessions with Burnley Mik which I have really enjoyed and helped my game no end. It is amazing what information you can pick up and how much you concentrate when someone is sweating you. Perhaps this is because you don't want to look a complete fish lol.

I have also really enjoyed sweating Mik, picking spots for him and explaining my thought process, my favourite hand* was when Mik picked up JJ, not sure if he 3bet the fish or the fish flat called out of the blinds, but anyways the board came KKxxx with no draws making it and on the river the fish blasted 80bb, after check calling the flop and turn, no way on earth did he have a K so I 'forced' Mik to call, fish flipped A8s or summat so ship the pot to BM, weeeeeeeeeeeee!!

Away from Poker, managed to give the Missus a couple of nights of pleasure, I was the usual high standard. Not sure if she enjoyed herself but I don't really care, I did.

Had to rush the 6 month old into Hospital last night, transpires she has a viral infection of the lungs called Bronchiolitis, which causes problems breathing. I went as the Missus was knackered from staying up with her the night before. The staff were brilliant at the Hospital, they offered me a room to stop the night but they said it wasn't necessary to stay, I was out of there like a flash. I hate hospitals, full of ill people. There is no medication to treat the condition, just plenty of love and cuddles and it will go in a week or so.Good luck at the cyberfelt you Fish

Snake

*Probably didn't happen like this as i was pissed, but Mik won the pot anyway :)

Life backwards

2009-11-28T02:13:00.004Z

Found this by Woody Allen, made me laugh. I always thought he had a very good sense of humour. Just for KnightmareNick, he was an American Comedian who was a touch eccentric.

Not too much to post about Poker, hitting the tables hard but don't seem to be making much progress, variance I suppose. End of month stats soon :)

Sweaty Betty

2009-11-22T23:02:00.010Z

As this is predominantly a Poker blog I better start posting some Poker updates, but not before I just recount the details of a phone call I made to a local fast food outlet earlier on today. I was ordering some munch for myself and a colleague, who wanted a hamburger and chips, to be delivered to the Station.

I hasten to add I do not normally eat takeaways, despite my physique, but today was an exception as I not eaten a morsel all day and I am working from 2pm through until 7am. Trust me, you cannot make this shit up!!

Details of phone call:-

Turkish Bloke-'Hello ****** take way, can I help you?'

Snake-'Yes mate, can I place an order to be delivered please?'

TB-'Of course mate, what would you like?'

Snake-'A chicken tikka wrap please with chili and mint yogurt sauce (for me, healthy option)'

TB-'No problem, anything else?'

Snake-'Yes mate, a hamburger and chips please'

TB-'Sorry we do not do hamburgers'

Snake-'Err, in the menu it states you do cheeseburgers, can you just do one of these and not put the cheese on?'

TB-'Those are beefburgers, not hamburgers, I will have to ask the cook'

Snake-'Is this a wind up?'

I was pissing myself laughing, un-fucking-believable!!

Poker wise, I have been running reasonably well atm but I am fully aware that variance is lurking just around the corner. I have completed 7.5k hands on FT at 50nl, running at 8BB/100hands for a current profit of $600. I feel pretty good about my game atm, making good decisions, and I feel that alot of this can be attributed to advice I have received from Clarkatroid and Gorvacofin, 2 very good cash game players that post on RaiseTheRiver.

I also have had a couple of sweat sessions with my old mate BurnleyMik where I have played 4 tables on FT. We have utilised teamviwer, where Mik can log onto my session and view my tables and also used Skype, so we can discuss the hands as they are played. You would be amazed at how this makes you concentrate and how it helps your game, I recommend this to any serious cash player. It also helps to run like Usain Bolt when you are being watched, eh Mik :)

Played the $55 80k on Stars as part of a syndicate on RTR Friday night, card dead for nearly 2 hours, blinds are 75/150, I have got 16 BBs. I open raise to from UTG+1 with AQs, 2 callers, flop comes AAT, BB checks, I lead for 600 into 1200ish, one fold, BB jams 23BBs and I insta call, he flips AT and its gg me. At the time I thought I was just unlucky but I think this demonstrates I am not very good at Tournies, as perhaps a decent player could get away from this, what do you think?

Also played 2 x 11 buck 45s on FT whilst playing the 80k, final tabled both finishing 8th in one and 2nd in the other for $112.50, so a good night in the end, $250 profit :)

Anyways, I am boring myself now so I am going, quick mention to my pal KnightmareNick, or Gonickgo as he is known on FT, lol what a ghey screen name, try harder fish :)

The End and a New Beginning

2009-11-18T04:17:00.001Z

Hi Fish,

This is a quick post describing how I came about playing Poker. Basically I used to play Rugby at semi-pro level (blatant brag) but as I advanced in years, it took longer and longer to get out of bed on a Sunday morning, my mind was writing checks my body couldn't cash, ultimately meaning I had to retire from playing competitively. Nowadays I play social Rugby and enjoy a few beers with the lads post match, mind, I always did this bit lol.

Rugby has been very good to me, I was lucky enough to be reasonably gifted at the game, which in turn has meant I have travelled to play Rugby, seen some amazing sites around the world and made some friendships that I will retain for life, all through a game you play with an egg shaped ball.

Thus, I needed something to occupy my time with, this is where Poker came in. Basically 4 years ago a close friend and I both opened accounts at WilliamHill. I knew fook all about the game (still don't) and used to play occasionally after a few beers at the pub. I would deposit £100 and play at 50p/100p table, obviously busting but having enjoyed myself. There was the odd occasion I would make a profit but these days were few and far between.

I stopped playing when my first daughter was born as she developed a few issues at birth, but thankfully everything is fine now. Two years ago I got back into Poker as my mate had continued playing and has developed into a decent social Tournament player, both online and live. I decided to research the game, read a few books, discovered various things like Bankroll Management (still have issues with this lol), Rake back and Poker Blogs. I even managed to win a few low buy in tournies on WH :)

Believe it or not, I searched the Internet and found this ghey blog, which I sadly read from the very beginning. I suppose the only good thing to come out of reading this drivel is that I came across Raise The River. Great place, great people, if you are not signed up, get on over.

I am currently playing 6max cash on FTP as, although I enjoy tournies, they are just too time consuming with family and a full time job. On that point, I've got to get off now as I am at work and some silly twat has decided to get pissed up and get arrested so I've got some work to do, sigh, inconsiderate cock.

Laters and good luck at the tables fishes :)

*Edit, I've just read over this post and its boring as fook lol

Debut post

2009-11-16T09:31:00.000Z

Welcome Fish to my blog. I was going to do an 'about me and poker' post but I cannot do that today, it will have to wait.

The reason is that I played Rugby on Saturday and injured my cruciate ligaments in my right knee, so I have got to go to hospital. I have taken a picture of the injury, which can be found here. Just look at the swelling!!!