I’ve been in London for coming on three weeks now and kind of dipped my toes so to speak into the massive poker scene over here. I had done a little bit of research prior to coming over, checking out various poker clubs online sites etc. I found a joint called ‘The Gutshot’ and the website looked pretty flash so I made it my choice to check out for real once I arrived.
On day one here I took Tarz on a walking tour of London so she could get her bearings a bit – I have lived here before about 7 or 8 years ago but she had only ever visited. I made sure that the tour magically went along Clerkenwell Road (a bit north-west of the CBD) and there, in a nondescript brown-faced building, proudly stood what I hoped would be the place where I would really start my live poker career.
I play a lot of online poker but there is only so much enjoyment you can get out of sitting at a computer and making bets against faceless opponents for hours on end. The real reason I like poker is the social side to the game – to me, a great night can involve little more than having some good friends around, swigging on beers and talking crap as we battle it out for tiny little stakes – the money is irrelevant in games like that as its all about the banter and the smacktalk. Win or lose I always go home happy after a good session of live poker. Also – there is something fun about mucking around with chips that you obviously can’t experience online.
So back to the Gutshot. Now that I knew where it was, I felt it was only a matter of time before I went in to try and ply my trade against the local competition. We had arrived on a Sunday and I was registering with an employment agency nearby on the Tuesday arvo so I figured what better time to go and join up to the club. I wandered over and had a chat to the guy on the desk while I joined up. He was cool and told me to come back that night which was ‘beginners night’. Although the prospect of beginners night didn’t enthuse me, I figured it would give me a taster of what the Gutshot was about without the threat of killing my already almost non-existent bankroll. 6:45pm rolled around and I hit the tube to make my way in to the city for the 8pm ‘Shuffle Up and Deal’ call.
The Tuesday night tournament is a variable buy in freezeout. I’ve never seen this kind of buy in structure before and don’t really rate it highly but each to their own I guess. The way it works is you can buy in for £5, £10, £15 or £20 and you get 500, 1000, 1500 or 2000 chips respectively. I guess this is good if you can only afford the smaller buy ins but I can’t see the point in buying yourself in as a short stack from the first hand. Needless to say I bought in for the max.
The table talk was friendly and although I didn’t play to the peak of my powers (I’m sure I have powers – still waiting to unleash them once I figure out what they are) I enjoyed my first live experience in the big smoke. There was 87 runners and I got busted out in about 45th after I donked most of my chips off on a stupid gutshot straight draw. I don’t usually chase gutshots so maybe it was the whole ‘I'm playing at the Gutshot so I'm making this gutshot’ thing happening. Regardless, it was stupid and I ended up busting the next hand when I pushed my shortstack holding KQ and got no help from the board against his Jacks.
I checked the website the next day and the winner took down about £520 which isn’t a bad return for a £20 investment and a few hours work. I had a great time and with the possibility of taking down 500 big ones for a £20 buy in I’ll def be back. They also have juicy looking cash games and this is my forte (yeah I have powers and a forte!!!) so I’ll be checking them out once the bankroll starts climbing.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Adding some pics
I want to try and make this blog a little more aesthetically pleasing so im gonna slowly add in pics for previous and future posts....
To start with here is my latest ink. Its on my left wrist and speaks for itself.....
To start with here is my latest ink. Its on my left wrist and speaks for itself.....
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Strange Sit n Go result
So I’m playing a few cash tables last night waiting for Tarz to get home from her dinner. I was up about $20 USD after about 90 mins playing two $0.05/0.10 tables. Just for something added, I bought into a single table Sit n Go ($1 buy in).
No sooner than I had been seated, my phone rang and it was Tarz announcing she would be home in a few mins. Seeing as I had been playing for a while I thought I’d just donk off my chips in the Sit n Go until she got home and then finish up.
So I start out making ridiculous bets and taking down some pots. I call a few huge bets with nothing and suck out and win a few more hands. I’m playing so purposely badly that when Tarz gets home I’m the short stack of the 8 remaining players. To try and end it I start a mission of all in bets. I win a few pots by the table folding, a few by having the best hand and a few by sucking out. I’m sure my table image was shot to pieces as I would have just come across as a maniac who has no idea.
But……after a while it was down to three and I was the chip leader – I play for freaking sixind levels like a fool and come out chip leader and in the money already – go figure.
The next 10 or 12 hands were pretty much uneventful as the blinds just moved around between us.
The following two hands ended the tournament.
I think I played the first one badly but got lucky and I like how I played the 2nd to win it all!!!! (well $4.50)
PokerStars Tournament #49359488, $1.00+$0.20 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2007/05/03 - 09:05:14 (ET)Table '49359488 1' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: THE CALLA (3880 in chips)
Seat 6: famouspmac (4830 in chips)
Seat 9: EarthHoney (4790 in chips)
famouspmac: posts small blind 100
EarthHoney: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***Dealt to famouspmac [8c 3d]
THE CALLA: folds
famouspmac: calls 100
EarthHoney: checks
*** FLOP *** [8s Tc Ad]
famouspmac: bets 200
(I put in a min bet - if raised any bigger I would have thrown it but it was a tiny raise in relation to the bet so I didn’t really put him on much)
EarthHoney: raises 200 to 400
famouspmac: calls 200
*** TURN *** [8s Tc Ad] [3s]
famouspmac: checks
EarthHoney: bets 1200
(I’ve now put him on an A or a T – he had been pushing a lot so if he had nothing or 2 pair or more I would expect a push)
famouspmac: calls 1200
*** RIVER *** [8s Tc Ad 3s] [Kh]
famouspmac: bets 2000
(I’m pretty certain I’m in front here so I lead out)
EarthHoney: raises 990 to 2990 and is all-in
famouspmac: calls 990
*** SHOW DOWN ***
EarthHoney: shows [7h Ah] (a pair of Aces)
famouspmac: shows [8c 3d] (two pair, Eights and Threes)
famouspmac collected 9580 from pot
The very next hand……
PokerStars Tournament #49359488, $1.00+$0.20 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2007/05/03 - 09:06:08 (ET)Table '49359488 1' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: THE CALLA (3880 in chips)
Seat 6: famouspmac (9620 in chips)
famouspmac: posts small blind 100
THE CALLA: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS *** Dealt to famouspmac [6s 8s]
famouspmac: raises 200 to 400
THE CALLA: raises 600 to 1000
(no idea what he has here but I suspect a big pair or AK, AQ, AJ – I’ll call just to see if spades hit)
famouspmac: calls 600
*** FLOP *** [2s 8c Ks]
THE CALLA: bets 1000
(I’ve got middle pair with the flush draw and he hasn’t shown much strength so I flat call. Im thinking he is trying to get me off the flush draw)
famouspmac: calls 1000
*** TURN *** [2s 8c Ks] [3s]
THE CALLA: bets 1880 and is all-in
(there is a chance he has the higher flush but the way he had been betting I’m almost certain he only has a pair)
famouspmac: calls 1880
*** RIVER *** [2s 8c Ks 3s] [7h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
THE CALLA: shows [Ts Tc] (a pair of Tens)
famouspmac: shows [6s 8s] (a flush, King high)
famouspmac collected 7760 from pot
No sooner than I had been seated, my phone rang and it was Tarz announcing she would be home in a few mins. Seeing as I had been playing for a while I thought I’d just donk off my chips in the Sit n Go until she got home and then finish up.
So I start out making ridiculous bets and taking down some pots. I call a few huge bets with nothing and suck out and win a few more hands. I’m playing so purposely badly that when Tarz gets home I’m the short stack of the 8 remaining players. To try and end it I start a mission of all in bets. I win a few pots by the table folding, a few by having the best hand and a few by sucking out. I’m sure my table image was shot to pieces as I would have just come across as a maniac who has no idea.
But……after a while it was down to three and I was the chip leader – I play for freaking sixind levels like a fool and come out chip leader and in the money already – go figure.
The next 10 or 12 hands were pretty much uneventful as the blinds just moved around between us.
The following two hands ended the tournament.
I think I played the first one badly but got lucky and I like how I played the 2nd to win it all!!!! (well $4.50)
PokerStars Tournament #49359488, $1.00+$0.20 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2007/05/03 - 09:05:14 (ET)Table '49359488 1' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: THE CALLA (3880 in chips)
Seat 6: famouspmac (4830 in chips)
Seat 9: EarthHoney (4790 in chips)
famouspmac: posts small blind 100
EarthHoney: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***Dealt to famouspmac [8c 3d]
THE CALLA: folds
famouspmac: calls 100
EarthHoney: checks
*** FLOP *** [8s Tc Ad]
famouspmac: bets 200
(I put in a min bet - if raised any bigger I would have thrown it but it was a tiny raise in relation to the bet so I didn’t really put him on much)
EarthHoney: raises 200 to 400
famouspmac: calls 200
*** TURN *** [8s Tc Ad] [3s]
famouspmac: checks
EarthHoney: bets 1200
(I’ve now put him on an A or a T – he had been pushing a lot so if he had nothing or 2 pair or more I would expect a push)
famouspmac: calls 1200
*** RIVER *** [8s Tc Ad 3s] [Kh]
famouspmac: bets 2000
(I’m pretty certain I’m in front here so I lead out)
EarthHoney: raises 990 to 2990 and is all-in
famouspmac: calls 990
*** SHOW DOWN ***
EarthHoney: shows [7h Ah] (a pair of Aces)
famouspmac: shows [8c 3d] (two pair, Eights and Threes)
famouspmac collected 9580 from pot
The very next hand……
PokerStars Tournament #49359488, $1.00+$0.20 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2007/05/03 - 09:06:08 (ET)Table '49359488 1' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: THE CALLA (3880 in chips)
Seat 6: famouspmac (9620 in chips)
famouspmac: posts small blind 100
THE CALLA: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS *** Dealt to famouspmac [6s 8s]
famouspmac: raises 200 to 400
THE CALLA: raises 600 to 1000
(no idea what he has here but I suspect a big pair or AK, AQ, AJ – I’ll call just to see if spades hit)
famouspmac: calls 600
*** FLOP *** [2s 8c Ks]
THE CALLA: bets 1000
(I’ve got middle pair with the flush draw and he hasn’t shown much strength so I flat call. Im thinking he is trying to get me off the flush draw)
famouspmac: calls 1000
*** TURN *** [2s 8c Ks] [3s]
THE CALLA: bets 1880 and is all-in
(there is a chance he has the higher flush but the way he had been betting I’m almost certain he only has a pair)
famouspmac: calls 1880
*** RIVER *** [2s 8c Ks 3s] [7h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
THE CALLA: shows [Ts Tc] (a pair of Tens)
famouspmac: shows [6s 8s] (a flush, King high)
famouspmac collected 7760 from pot
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Some thoughts on Cash Poker vs Tournament/Sit n Go Poker
I’ve been playing poker online for about 18 months now. At first it was just for a bit of fun and I didn’t really care how well or how badly I performed, I was happy just to donate some money into my account and then see what happened. I didn’t take it too seriously and I had a lot of fun.
It was around a year ago that I really got bitten by the poker bug and started playing a lot more. I would stick to mainly No Limit Hold Em Sit-n Go’s with a buy-in of $5 or multi-table tourneys with smaller buy-ins. I was winning a little bit but was mainly up and down and not really turning a profit. Still I was having fun and didn’t mind the fact that I wasn’t making any money.
The last six months have been a bit different. I started playing cash games online and now I think I’ve finally reached the point where I prefer them to Sit n Go's or tournaments.
Let’s say I sit down at a micro limit table (blinds of $0.02/0.05) of No Limit Hold Em with the max buy in of $10. This is the equivalent of say two $5 Sit n Go’s (not including rake) yet I feel my return of investment is much greater. I can sit on the $10 for hours without going broke if the cards are running bad however I could easily blow through two Sit n Go's in no time at all if the cards are running similarly bad. On the flipside, if I win a sit n go of those stakes I can pocket around $22 for a $17 profit. This kind of profit at a cash table is really nothing and easily obtained as long as one has PATIENCE.
I guess for me, it makes more sense to spend 2 or 3 hours grinding away at a few cash games (multitabling) for a $20 or $30 profit with a low chance of busting out than to invest my bankroll in a Sit n Go where one bad hand can bust me out with no chance of getting my money back.
Patience really is the key. In general, I’m not a very patient person. I have had to really focus on it when playing my cash games. The ability to sit there and wait for the opportune moment to maximise my profit in a cash game doesn’t come easily. I will often play 3 or 4 tables at once but I’ve found I perform best when I’m playing at just one or two tables.
So with a firm decision made to focus on cash games, the question remains – what game is my game of choice. I’ve played so much No Limit Hold Em that I think I need a break from it. Don’t get me wrong – I love the game. I love its simplicity yet I also love its complexity. If you don’t know what I mean then you should stick to recreational poker.
So what does that leave??? Draw poker??? Not a chance. I will play the odd sit n go as I can cash in them regularly but I just cant get as absorbed by draw poker as other forms. Seven Card Stud??? Perhaps. I’ve played a bit of Stud but still consider myself a beginner at it. Getting used to not having community cards is something I’ll attack later on down the track. Razz (Lowball Seven Card Stud)??? Enough said about Razz.
That leaves Omaha (well there is a lot more, but of the games I have played over the last 18 months it only leaves Omaha). I stick to the Hi/Lo split and I find I'm really enjoying it. I like the multiple options with the four hole cards and I like the high hand/low hand split – especially when there is no low hand and I scoop the pot.
When I started playing I used to just throw away cash not really understanding which starting hands were of value etc, or chasing down the pot with a crappy low hand and getting pipped for the entire pot by a dude who flopped a wheel (A2345) or something similar. The more I play and read about Omaha though the more I like it and the better I am getting at it (I can gauge this by the fact that I'm now turning a small l profit on the cash tables).
Choosing which limits to play has been another issue I have had to deal with. Like most people, I want to try and win as much as possible and the higher stakes you play the bigger the wins will be in theory. But on several occasions I’ve been punching above my weight and ended up going broke and having to reload the bankroll. Trying to stick to some sort of bankroll management strategy was my New Years resolution and at this point although I haven’t got any management software or spreadsheets in place I’ve been able to mentally monitor my wins and losses and have kept the bankroll slowly increasing.
So with the UK trip pending I’m trying to play a little bit more and get my bankroll up a bit. I’ll probably have a bit more time on my hands over there at first and I intend to have net access so hopefully by the time I arrive my bankroll will be at level which allows me to play a bit higher limits.
It was around a year ago that I really got bitten by the poker bug and started playing a lot more. I would stick to mainly No Limit Hold Em Sit-n Go’s with a buy-in of $5 or multi-table tourneys with smaller buy-ins. I was winning a little bit but was mainly up and down and not really turning a profit. Still I was having fun and didn’t mind the fact that I wasn’t making any money.
The last six months have been a bit different. I started playing cash games online and now I think I’ve finally reached the point where I prefer them to Sit n Go's or tournaments.
Let’s say I sit down at a micro limit table (blinds of $0.02/0.05) of No Limit Hold Em with the max buy in of $10. This is the equivalent of say two $5 Sit n Go’s (not including rake) yet I feel my return of investment is much greater. I can sit on the $10 for hours without going broke if the cards are running bad however I could easily blow through two Sit n Go's in no time at all if the cards are running similarly bad. On the flipside, if I win a sit n go of those stakes I can pocket around $22 for a $17 profit. This kind of profit at a cash table is really nothing and easily obtained as long as one has PATIENCE.
I guess for me, it makes more sense to spend 2 or 3 hours grinding away at a few cash games (multitabling) for a $20 or $30 profit with a low chance of busting out than to invest my bankroll in a Sit n Go where one bad hand can bust me out with no chance of getting my money back.
Patience really is the key. In general, I’m not a very patient person. I have had to really focus on it when playing my cash games. The ability to sit there and wait for the opportune moment to maximise my profit in a cash game doesn’t come easily. I will often play 3 or 4 tables at once but I’ve found I perform best when I’m playing at just one or two tables.
So with a firm decision made to focus on cash games, the question remains – what game is my game of choice. I’ve played so much No Limit Hold Em that I think I need a break from it. Don’t get me wrong – I love the game. I love its simplicity yet I also love its complexity. If you don’t know what I mean then you should stick to recreational poker.
So what does that leave??? Draw poker??? Not a chance. I will play the odd sit n go as I can cash in them regularly but I just cant get as absorbed by draw poker as other forms. Seven Card Stud??? Perhaps. I’ve played a bit of Stud but still consider myself a beginner at it. Getting used to not having community cards is something I’ll attack later on down the track. Razz (Lowball Seven Card Stud)??? Enough said about Razz.
That leaves Omaha (well there is a lot more, but of the games I have played over the last 18 months it only leaves Omaha). I stick to the Hi/Lo split and I find I'm really enjoying it. I like the multiple options with the four hole cards and I like the high hand/low hand split – especially when there is no low hand and I scoop the pot.
When I started playing I used to just throw away cash not really understanding which starting hands were of value etc, or chasing down the pot with a crappy low hand and getting pipped for the entire pot by a dude who flopped a wheel (A2345) or something similar. The more I play and read about Omaha though the more I like it and the better I am getting at it (I can gauge this by the fact that I'm now turning a small l profit on the cash tables).
Choosing which limits to play has been another issue I have had to deal with. Like most people, I want to try and win as much as possible and the higher stakes you play the bigger the wins will be in theory. But on several occasions I’ve been punching above my weight and ended up going broke and having to reload the bankroll. Trying to stick to some sort of bankroll management strategy was my New Years resolution and at this point although I haven’t got any management software or spreadsheets in place I’ve been able to mentally monitor my wins and losses and have kept the bankroll slowly increasing.
So with the UK trip pending I’m trying to play a little bit more and get my bankroll up a bit. I’ll probably have a bit more time on my hands over there at first and I intend to have net access so hopefully by the time I arrive my bankroll will be at level which allows me to play a bit higher limits.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
The Sandwich
A quickfire dinner is often needed and what better than a bbq chicken and other selected sandwich fillers to slot between some slices fresh ploughmans for a quick and easy meal.
The sandwiches on the night consisted of chicken, cheese, whole-egg mayo (the only mayo) lettuce and some spices and I knocked off two of them. Tarz managed 1.5 and the final ½ was wrapped and fridged. I went to bed safe in the knowledge that I had a half-sandwich breakfast waiting for me the next morning.
At some point an hour or so before I was due to even consider rising, I stirred a bit but I remember thinking about the sandwich and falling back into slumber. My subconscious was now aware of the need for the sandwich and soothed my stirring sleep with thoughts of sliced fresh chicken tit, shaved tasty cheese, crisp lettuce and a fair slathering of the old whole-egg mayo.
Tarz was up earlier than me and was gone by the time I got up. I was starving but didn’t rush to get to the sandwich. I knew there wasn’t a massive feast so I didn’t want to rush in and have it be over in seconds. I got my shit together and headed for the fridge.
As I opened the door the first thing I noticed is that the sandwich was not where I had left it the night before. I didn’t panic but commenced a quick scan of the shelves. Halfway through the scan I realized it was futile. The sandwich was gone. Someone had eaten my breakfast and I just kind of stood there not knowing whether to hunt for a second rate breakfast or to cut my losses and move on, perhaps grab a consolation hot breakfast once I got to work.
I was rattled but I slammed the fridge door closed and headed off. One call to Tarz upon arrival at work confirmed my suspicions that she was the thief. Then again it was technically her sandwich so thievery wasn’t really an issue here. Regardless I felt robbed.
All the negative feelings were soon washed away by an egg and bacon roll and a Dare Espresso.
Still, I’ll never forget that sandwich…….
The sandwiches on the night consisted of chicken, cheese, whole-egg mayo (the only mayo) lettuce and some spices and I knocked off two of them. Tarz managed 1.5 and the final ½ was wrapped and fridged. I went to bed safe in the knowledge that I had a half-sandwich breakfast waiting for me the next morning.
At some point an hour or so before I was due to even consider rising, I stirred a bit but I remember thinking about the sandwich and falling back into slumber. My subconscious was now aware of the need for the sandwich and soothed my stirring sleep with thoughts of sliced fresh chicken tit, shaved tasty cheese, crisp lettuce and a fair slathering of the old whole-egg mayo.
Tarz was up earlier than me and was gone by the time I got up. I was starving but didn’t rush to get to the sandwich. I knew there wasn’t a massive feast so I didn’t want to rush in and have it be over in seconds. I got my shit together and headed for the fridge.
As I opened the door the first thing I noticed is that the sandwich was not where I had left it the night before. I didn’t panic but commenced a quick scan of the shelves. Halfway through the scan I realized it was futile. The sandwich was gone. Someone had eaten my breakfast and I just kind of stood there not knowing whether to hunt for a second rate breakfast or to cut my losses and move on, perhaps grab a consolation hot breakfast once I got to work.
I was rattled but I slammed the fridge door closed and headed off. One call to Tarz upon arrival at work confirmed my suspicions that she was the thief. Then again it was technically her sandwich so thievery wasn’t really an issue here. Regardless I felt robbed.
All the negative feelings were soon washed away by an egg and bacon roll and a Dare Espresso.
Still, I’ll never forget that sandwich…….
Friday, February 02, 2007
Australia Day No Limit Texas Hold Em Championships 2007
Well Australia Day has come and gone and I am no better off financially or title-wise after the annual Australia Day No Limit Texas Hold Em Championships.
This year was a bit different with 3 shorter games in which you earned points according to your finish position. At the end, an overall points winner took home a fair wad of cash as well as the shield.
I’ll say it straight up – I didn’t have a great day. I played fairly decent poker but just couldn’t make any real moves and gain chips. I felt like the whole day I was chasing the big stacks and just couldn’t make any headway. In the three games I finished 12th, 4th and 16th (with 23 runners in each) – not high enough to earn cash in any of the games and not enough points to contend for the title. The following hand happened in the first game and it pissed me off - anger isn’t good at the poker table, especially early on in a long day.....Needless to say I donked off many chips in this game after this hand through sheer stupidity....
I get dealt A8 off-suit in early position and have around 2200 (a bit above the starting stack)I just call the big blind (150) as does everyone else
Flop: A-8-8
It’s checked to me and I check again, hoping to get a bet out of someone with the other 8 (or an Ace).
The action gets to the host who bets 500. This guy is a really loose player and will bet with anything. The bet of 500 wasn’t huge and unless he had an A or the 8 then I can't feasibly see him betting that amount on that flop - its just not enough to scare away someone with anything close to the nuts.
So I don’t put him on a bluff but I also know I almost certainly have him beat and am putting him on an A (if he had the case 8 then I'd be expecting a big raise)….. so I sit for a while then push all in for around 2050 (or whatever i had left).
He sits and thinks then starts stacking chips up and counting chips. I look the other way to check out the other tables and when i look back, I'm certain that the stack he was counting was pretty much in the middle with the rest of the pot.....
So I flip my full house and he says “I haven’t called yet'.
I ask why the chips look like they're in the middle and get nothing but a 'sorry mate'.
So I’m furious and obviously he doesn’t call. I ask if he was going to call and he shows me his A (with a high kicker) and says 'Probably not because I figured you had an 8'.
I have played with this guy so much and I just know deep down that he was gonna call the bet if I didnt flip my hand so quick.....
Anyway end result (majority decision) was the he folded and I won the blinds, the pre-flop calls plus his 500 bet.
It’s usually the losing hands that anger me the most but this one is one I’ll remember for a long time...
The moral
a) Wait until you hear the actual players involved in the hand verbally state their action before you flip your cards
That is all
This year was a bit different with 3 shorter games in which you earned points according to your finish position. At the end, an overall points winner took home a fair wad of cash as well as the shield.
I’ll say it straight up – I didn’t have a great day. I played fairly decent poker but just couldn’t make any real moves and gain chips. I felt like the whole day I was chasing the big stacks and just couldn’t make any headway. In the three games I finished 12th, 4th and 16th (with 23 runners in each) – not high enough to earn cash in any of the games and not enough points to contend for the title. The following hand happened in the first game and it pissed me off - anger isn’t good at the poker table, especially early on in a long day.....Needless to say I donked off many chips in this game after this hand through sheer stupidity....
I get dealt A8 off-suit in early position and have around 2200 (a bit above the starting stack)I just call the big blind (150) as does everyone else
Flop: A-8-8
It’s checked to me and I check again, hoping to get a bet out of someone with the other 8 (or an Ace).
The action gets to the host who bets 500. This guy is a really loose player and will bet with anything. The bet of 500 wasn’t huge and unless he had an A or the 8 then I can't feasibly see him betting that amount on that flop - its just not enough to scare away someone with anything close to the nuts.
So I don’t put him on a bluff but I also know I almost certainly have him beat and am putting him on an A (if he had the case 8 then I'd be expecting a big raise)….. so I sit for a while then push all in for around 2050 (or whatever i had left).
He sits and thinks then starts stacking chips up and counting chips. I look the other way to check out the other tables and when i look back, I'm certain that the stack he was counting was pretty much in the middle with the rest of the pot.....
So I flip my full house and he says “I haven’t called yet'.
I ask why the chips look like they're in the middle and get nothing but a 'sorry mate'.
So I’m furious and obviously he doesn’t call. I ask if he was going to call and he shows me his A (with a high kicker) and says 'Probably not because I figured you had an 8'.
I have played with this guy so much and I just know deep down that he was gonna call the bet if I didnt flip my hand so quick.....
Anyway end result (majority decision) was the he folded and I won the blinds, the pre-flop calls plus his 500 bet.
It’s usually the losing hands that anger me the most but this one is one I’ll remember for a long time...
The moral
a) Wait until you hear the actual players involved in the hand verbally state their action before you flip your cards
That is all
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Dubbo & the Gilgandra Speedway
With the move overseas coming up later this year, Tarz wanted to do some more visits to the relos and this time it was off to Dubbo for the weekend. Now as stinking hot as Canberra has been, Dubbo was much hotter and heaps drier. This of course makes sense given Dubbo’s location in central-west New South Wales, but just because it was expected it doesn’t make it any easier to tolerate.
Anyway enough ranting about the weather since its something I can’t change anyway…..yet.
So in a nutshell, we spent the weekend hanging out with Tarz’s sister Melissa and her hubby John and the two boys, Joe and Tom. Nice and relaxing and pretty fun getting to muck around with two little guys aged 4 and 2. Just like playing with my nephews!!!!
The highlight of the trip was the Saturday night trip to the Gilgandra Speedway. As a born and bred Canberran, I had ample opportunity when younger to attend the speedway at Fairbairn Park or Tralee or wherever the hell it used to be, however not once did I head out there. Car racing has never really been the peak of excitement for me let alone watching cars scream around a 400m oval track made of mud and dirt.
Anyway, we drove the 50km to the Speedway which is located on the Dubbo side of Gilgandra. On the drive over there I had this vision of a high tech racing stadium with grandstands and replay screens and super facilities etc. Don’t ask why I envisioned this but I did. I should have realised that Gilgandra isn’t really a thriving example of a big city. We pulled off the highway and into the dirt carpark and I saw the ‘grandstand’ which was a grass/dirt hill all the way around the track. Luckily for Tarz and I, Melissa had brought us fold out seats. So there we were sitting on the hill with all the country folk waiting for the racing to begin.
Even though I'm not the biggest car fanatic, I really enjoyed the evening. The track is supposed to be heavily watered to keep dust down but in this drought they could only put a bare minimum of water down. So as the cars went around, dust was churning and these semi-hard mud balls would fly from the rear wheels right into the crowd.
We probably saw about 20-25 different races of all sorts of different classes of car from juniors (13-16 years old) right up to the NSW State Championships for the Super Sedans. My favourite would have to be the Fender Benders. You basically take any car that has less that 8 cylinders, throw a roll cage in it and away you go. Bumping and spinning other cars is allowed and I believe it is encouraged in this class.
So after five hours of country-style racing entertainment, we left the track at around 11pm. I was still in a singlet and boardies and still sweating – that should give you an idea of how hot it is out west in Australia.
In summary – if you get a chance to do something you have never done before go ahead and do it because you never know how much fun you might have. Even if it is stinking hot.
Anyway enough ranting about the weather since its something I can’t change anyway…..yet.
So in a nutshell, we spent the weekend hanging out with Tarz’s sister Melissa and her hubby John and the two boys, Joe and Tom. Nice and relaxing and pretty fun getting to muck around with two little guys aged 4 and 2. Just like playing with my nephews!!!!
The highlight of the trip was the Saturday night trip to the Gilgandra Speedway. As a born and bred Canberran, I had ample opportunity when younger to attend the speedway at Fairbairn Park or Tralee or wherever the hell it used to be, however not once did I head out there. Car racing has never really been the peak of excitement for me let alone watching cars scream around a 400m oval track made of mud and dirt.
Anyway, we drove the 50km to the Speedway which is located on the Dubbo side of Gilgandra. On the drive over there I had this vision of a high tech racing stadium with grandstands and replay screens and super facilities etc. Don’t ask why I envisioned this but I did. I should have realised that Gilgandra isn’t really a thriving example of a big city. We pulled off the highway and into the dirt carpark and I saw the ‘grandstand’ which was a grass/dirt hill all the way around the track. Luckily for Tarz and I, Melissa had brought us fold out seats. So there we were sitting on the hill with all the country folk waiting for the racing to begin.
Even though I'm not the biggest car fanatic, I really enjoyed the evening. The track is supposed to be heavily watered to keep dust down but in this drought they could only put a bare minimum of water down. So as the cars went around, dust was churning and these semi-hard mud balls would fly from the rear wheels right into the crowd.
We probably saw about 20-25 different races of all sorts of different classes of car from juniors (13-16 years old) right up to the NSW State Championships for the Super Sedans. My favourite would have to be the Fender Benders. You basically take any car that has less that 8 cylinders, throw a roll cage in it and away you go. Bumping and spinning other cars is allowed and I believe it is encouraged in this class.
So after five hours of country-style racing entertainment, we left the track at around 11pm. I was still in a singlet and boardies and still sweating – that should give you an idea of how hot it is out west in Australia.
In summary – if you get a chance to do something you have never done before go ahead and do it because you never know how much fun you might have. Even if it is stinking hot.
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