just finished a hectic weekend. Got up to $760 through playing $25 sng's and then bit off more than i could chew. Played a $20 re-ruy tournie, finished around the bubble. I was had invested about $60 and wanted to make my money back. Oh my i am a cunt. There were chips for the taking around the bubble, and i layed down BIG cards to a huge table bully because i wanted the payout for 28th place. Repeat- im a cunt. I played well up till then, had an astonishing cards and then flapped around like a fanny. Never again!!!! I think i had invested more than i was used to for an MTT and played outside my comfort zone. Iv just been reading Andy Wards spiele, he's a fine writer and i can only hope he does well. Im not gonna get my nose too brown but its nice when someone gives you genuine advice when you ask for it, points you in the right directions and is genreally a nice guy......must be something in the river Lee. He sells pretty cool T-shirts too. getitquietly.blogspot.com.
I started playing the $50 sngs this weekend. Players were weaker than the $25 level. Im not gonna whinge about it too much but i could have done with not getting sucked out on ONCE in a while. Tilted after 4 Bad beats and then lost another $90 in a /.50/1.00 cash game. Penis i am, i know luck plays more than its fair part in this game yet i still cant swallow it. Fuck em. Rich yuppie yank bastards selling daddies share in apple and hitting their fucking 2-outers every time. I might just wait till i flop quads, they are the only thing that doesnt appear to screw me over.....nah theyd propably lose to 6 of a kind.

Played last night in a cash game round robbies house. Im trying to tell this guy to read some literature but he's having none of it. Ah well.....horse to water and all that. Thing is he could be v.good if he engaged the grey matter and applied a little method. Played badly till i got a rush of cards and was up to about £50 (30 profit). Ended up hu against Oli. The bastards way too cute and he absolutely screwed me over in 2 hands, iv christened him Oli "the wordsmith" Nicholls. He took all my money. BUT had the decency to send me a goodnight text at 2am for comfort ;)

Tip of the day. Fattening your lamb before sunday. ADVICE for amateurs only as ever, this is supposed to be advice to my mates that are LEARNING.

IF there is a very aggressive player sitting to your left in the late stages of an SnG with 3 or 4 left, you should know not to complete your small blind unless you have a hand as he will raise and you will be giving him your $. So let the bastard think you are just gonna keep donating to him. you complete small blind, fold to his AI raise. Do this every so often till you get that hand. Any meduim and up pair will do, but a nice one is any Ace/ meduim and up kicker. If he has any sense he will be moving in on you with any Ace. Just trap him knowing that he (more than likely) only has 3 outs as his Ace is dominated. Sadly, it went wrong for me in the $20 rebuy the other day when i checked the hiltons and called his all-in raise. my lqdies got busted as soon as that Ace hit the flop, but...you see what i mean. Let him think ur a fool, poker players like to think they know it all.

Gutshot tomorrow. Tournament should be pretty good fun barring when my AA all-ins get called by the entire table "because i was getting value" and proceed to get snapped by some monkey hand. Cest la vie

Good luck to Dave and Rob tommorow, god damnnit you will need it.

Ok, i wrote over 3000 words yesterday evening for this blog and then proceeded to have this shite internet connection go down. Really annoying as i felt like it was the best material iv written so far. Ok, stats. Iv only really been playing on VC poker. I just havent been available to play at the perfect time for American site gaming, ie early UK mornings. UB site now has $112. VC is looking tasty now at $650. Mostly the profit has been coming from $10 SnG's, up until i hit the $400 mark. Since then i have been playing $15,20 and (mainly) $24 SnG's. Iv been getting ok results, but whenever i am about to move foreward, i get hit by some beats. Iv been playing a few multis as well. Final tabled twice in about 10 attempts at $6-24 buy-in tournies, but a combo of poor cards/bad beats has really hurt. Honestly, nothing hurts more than winning $87 after slogging your guts out for 3 hours, making correct lay-downs, AA on a board of J,Q,6 (i knew he had a set and he duly showed the hiltons)......when you KNOW you were good enough to win the whole caboosh. Had another shocker last night. 150 runners in a $24 buy-in multi. I patiently wait for cards and get nothing until aces in the BB. Im thinking this is good karma for me being patient, after all iv now got detailed notes on every player sitting at my table, and some are way too aggressive with the sucker hands like KJ and worse. And guess what, it gets folded round to me. Great. My stack gets diminished and i have about 1k left from a starting stack of 2k. im UTG and the blinds are 300,150. I have ATs. I decide if i let the blinds pass through me, im dead in the water, so i make a stand and get em in. I get 1 caller and then another player behind comes OTT for another 3k. Original caller also calls. Caller has KQ (what a shit call) and re-raiser has KK. Im thinking, this aint too bad. Rags on flop, turn Q, River, a big fat, red, Ace! I triple up. Now i have a few chips (ave stack), good reads on players at my table, and i like the conditions. Only 20 get paid, and we are down to about 50. I start getting the cards i need. Nothing great, just good stealing hands, 88,KQ,1010, A9. I start to rob em blind (but always with position, and always the 1st raiser, form one of the last 4 positions (9-handed, then 8 handed for a while). I get JJ on the button. The BB, Chip Leader, starts to take his time. I type in "i have Jacks". He calls with QJo, flops a Queen and im out. That pot would have put me into the top 3, with 40 left, effectively giving me a huge chance to win the tournament. Ah well. I maintain composure and display graciousness in defeat by typing "ugly call- good luck in the pond". I do try and remain civil but god dammnit it hurts! I reconsider before pressing enter and type "good game, good luck all, nice hand". I then add him to my buddy list, and write detailed abusive notes. A nice little run in the SnGs after that however. 1st,2nd,1st,8th,9th (KK ran into AA very 1st hand),2nd. That made a nice little profit. The game where i came 8th was a result of this hand. AA in middle pos. UTG and UTG+! both limp while blinds are low (20/40). I raise to 120 to go. UTG+1 calls. Flop comes K,10,7. 2 clubs. He bets 200 into a pot of 300. I reraise 600 more, leaving myself with 500 (im committed to this, if he's flopped a set, good luck to him, he's gonna get paid). He calls?!! im thinking he's very weak. ?He would have raised pre with AKorAQ, KK,QQ,JJ,or 10,10. I put him on about KQ. Turn comes J.He goes Ai fir 300 more. i have to call and he duly shows KJ. FUCKING KOJAK. damn i tell myself, i should have gone ai on the flop. But wait, no i bloody shouldnt. I tried to make the most out of my hand and he's a huge dog post-flop.something like 75/25. This happens in poker, its why they keep playing. Anyways, after that someone types "serves you right for slow-playing the aces". WHAT??!!! I decline to respond. Something form a song i once heard "dont argue with fools, because people from afar cant tell who is who". Instead someone else pipes up "shut-up foold, he raised pre-and post flop". Leave, and tell that guy im rooting for him. Its annoying though, because if i had won that i would have had $800 or so. That would be enough for me to start playing the $50sng's. Ah well, its all practice i tell myself. I spent the rest of the evening educating my brother. He played 5 $1 Sng's. He came second once and third once to just about break even. The plan is when he gets to a reasonable standard, for him to play the opening stages of the multi's for me, until we go deep. He's good at making notes and informs me of whats happening. A big shout out to my mate Rob Apple too. He played in a party-poker satellite last night and by all accounts played well only to have his set of 3's rivered by a gutshot straight draw. Cest la vie.

Cash game tactics

Ok guys, my cash game is running good. I have started to break people. A common misconception is that you need great cards to win big pots. All you need imao is position, a loose image, a deep stack. I sat down with $30 at a .25/.50 6-seater cash game last night to illustrate to my bro how to break people. I started raising with shit, bluffing and showing etc. When i finally got called for $10 by bottom pair i knew i was looking good. I bluffed with the hammer, and then had to show and write "hammertime, du,du,du,du....du,du", JJ my brother wanted to type "cant touch this, but i said we would save that for later. So we changed gears, went back to basics, won a few nice pots then this happened. I have 55 on the button, i raise to $2 pre. BB re-raises to $4. i call. Flop comes 3,4,7. Im liking this. I have him on 2 big cards. He checks, i bet, he calls. magic turn (see why in a min) Q. he checks, i check for the chance of a set or nut straight, which duly plonks down, a nice big 6. River, he bets. I go ai for $65. He thinks im bluffing and types "hammertime?" he calls, i type "cant touch this". Ill never know what he had, but i expect it was AQ or QQ.
Then i did the most important thing. I left with his $.

Tip of the day. In the vv early stages of MTT's raise more than 3-4*the BB with premium hands ESPECIALLY from up front and in the middle. If the stacks are 2k and you raise to 120 pre, someone acting after you can call with a flop+fit hand like a small pair and totally screw you over. I see this so many times, dont go bust with pps if you dont know much about the opposition yet, treat them with respect. Also, in an unraised pot pre-flop with a few limper, top pair on the flop is not big enough to go bust with. If one of the blinds check raises the pot in an unraised pot, ESPECIALLY if the flop is all over the place.....TRUST me he has 2 pair.

Im off to Farringdon on Tuesday, and im going to be playing a lot of poker on Saturday evening and Sunday this weekend. Im due a big MTT win. If i can hit a podium finish for a nice few hundred $ then i can move up in stakes and start playing with the big boys. As a side note, im a smidgeon less confident for the upcoming £50 SnG im playing with my freinds. There are now 3 other players that "kindof" know what they are doing. Im certain ill still win the thing though....how can you beat Alex "cant touch this" martin.

Sorry for not posting in a while guys, been very busy at work. Crunch figures. VC bankroll stands at $512. Ultimate bet $79. Iv been playing very little poker lately, just havent had the time. My SnG form in the $25 bracket has left me. A combination of weak/silly plays in MTT's have cost me $ and overall i feel my poker is not great. So i have stopped playing for a while. Im reading Brunsons "Super System" and i like the style of his poker. In the two cash games i played on the weekend i profited $120 in the space of about 3 hours. My online poker philosophy has changed somewhat in recent months. My tournament game has always been very strong, but my cash game has lacked certain aspects. It is VERY hard to balance all aspects of you NL game at the same time and win. Im gradually finding it easier, however, im playing a lot of poker in the coming weeks so i think a break will be good for my head and give me time to read my key articles again and again. Ill breakdown the way i play online poker now. Firstly, im looking to break opponents every time i sit down. Harsh but in the current global climate, i could not be considered ill-natured by any stretch of the imagination. When i sit down at a table now I GAURANTEE to myself that i will watch for 5 rounds before playing. If it looks good ill join if i dont i wont. Table selection is so massively underrated its criminal. Then, i will update my notes on any known/ new players during the build-up to me starting playing. Finally, i will change my seat at the table (even 6 handed) if it makes sense. Some of my opponents really get cheesed off with this. Then its time to play. I ALWAYS buy-in for the maximum, unless im doubting myself after a recent bad-beat for example. Then, i look for the breaking hands. People in online poker get married to AA,KK pre-flop. On the flop, they get married to non-nut flushes and straights. Therefore, as long as they have a large stack i will always call with position with any pair, and any suited connectors/ gap connectors 4,5 or above. I mix up my play from the word go. Bluffing is probably my singularly most profitable tool long-term at the table. And small pairs as everyone knows are HUGE earners. I know iv made more with 22-99 than with AA or KK. SO easy to play with position, deceptive, manipulative plays ets.....small sets are beautiful. They are such big winners in fact that i dont mind the odd occasion when i get caught out against an over-set. The tables i play it i havent been hit yet. As long as :-

a) the pre-flop raiser has a big stack
b) my table image is nice and loose (please guys, always show ur stupid plays and bluffs, ppl will not give you no further credit in that session,until that is, you break them).
c) the pot is a minimum of 3 way action and im acting last or second form last. You simply MUST give yourself the opportunity to bluff at this pot as you have already been able to somewhat define your oppositions hand. Eg, you put original raiser on 2 big cards, pre-flop caller more than likely also has. There is no way in the world they will call when the flop comes rags unless they have a made hand (ie set or overpair). And they wont have that a VERY large % of the time. And the beauty is, so few of the online players bluff that so can be certain they have a hand. You will have the maximum at the table so they are FAR less likely to try and pull a move here when they know they will have to bet a significant amount to throw you off, and you will have position on them on 4th and 5th street (this is particularly handy when there is a str8/flush draw out there). And go with your instinct man. What would you do if this loose aggy player was eating up your checks? You'd check-raise right, after only getting involved in the 1st place with a legitimate hand. this makes it even better for you. If he check, raises, show the bluff. Or if you want to look like an aquarium licker and the raise aint too big, call the bet and then fold the turn, showing your 5,8s on a board of AK3h. Seriously, withing the next hour, by dropping gear and crawling up the hill in 1st, you will double what you lost from that bit of advertising. Remember, most poker players are smart, but not intelligent. You tell them what they want to hear, or show them what they want to see, and at low-level limits $1/$2- $2/$5 they swallow it down with the worm. Next time, when you hit your top set on the flop, that little devil on their right shoulder will be saying "he's trying a move on you, he's a fish, im a better player, my Top, pair, top kicker is a million miles in front, ill move him in" your job is to rake the chips and see how he reacts. After a bad beat players either tighten up, or go crazy. You move seats to his immediate left. Im not being barbaric or greedy, but NOW you take him to cleaners. Its a hard world out there and i dont remember getting any favours when i lost my first big pot and tilted. I wil draw the line however, at a certain amount. If he sits out for a protracted amount of time and then sits back in, he's re-deposited. Its up to you but i normally type something like,"youve tilted, your angry, you will lose. play again tomorrow. trust me, this is good advice". Now he will probably start berating how you got lucky to hit that straight perfectly to match your J,9os for a $5 raise pre-flop and cut his $200 stack to ribbons. But you didnt, because you know NLH is a game you play on the BACKSIDE with huge IMPLIED ODDS. I wont take his case money ever thoug, unless he has insulted my family. If he brings in $20.46 and calls my mum a slut, hey fuckbag, go redeposit.

I want to go through a few little ideas that have been going round in my head. Firstly, in the ealry stages of a tournament, you must be able to release your big pairs post-flop even on a raggy-looking board against good opponents. SO MANY TIMES in $100+9 buy-ins on UB tournies have i seen aces, kings, indeed most overpairs get crippled, ESP when the player UTG or UTG+1 limped pre-flop with AA hoping to be able to come ott in that betting round. When 7 ppl have a seen a flop for minimum and the Small or big blind comes ott of the AA raiser......90% of the time they have 2 pair on a raggy flop and you are destroying your tournament with a marriage made in hell, 2 FUCKING OUTS, unless the boards pair, which could fill him up anyway!
In the same vein, bet your sets unless board is EXCEPTIONALLY RAGGY. K,8,2 holding KK might be an occasion to slow play, but in these tournament, ($100-$250) the standard is good, any you are letting people in. BET, RAISE, let people (ESP drawing assholes) know you have the goods and they are dead, TYPE "SET OF JACKS" when you check-raise on a board with J,10,4 against move than 2 opponents. AND SHOW. Let them know they are virtually dead, and you win the pot without a showdown which could nail you. And after a while your opponents will give you credit. And they will lay down BIG hands. AA on a board of 98,5. I type "nut straight", if he doesnt have a huge lead, these opponents will later in the game (mid-late stage) fear your raises, and CHECK-RAISES even more (vitally important for those re-steal, semi-bluffs).
AA and KK i believe, should be raised 6*BB in the early stages if you are in early or late position (dscounting the ppl that like to limp with aces in a tight/passive game...why?!!). Why raise so much, because its easy to get married to non-scary looking flops where someone round the back called your pre-flop raise hoping to hit a set, and you got married and lost your tournament.

Mightily impressed with the Arse last night by the way, watched it round my mates house- laucky git has a projector- a full 8ft of football in your face!
We played good, attacking football,that used to be our trademark. Hleb played very, very, well. He holds it up, can pass backwards as well as forewards (something reyes needs to learn) and covered end to end admirably. Eboue was magnificent. Toure had a nice performance. Flamini had a shite game, along with Reyes, who pissed me off because :-

a) he has the integrity of a hyena
b) he misplaced more passes than he completed
c) he regularly "goes down" under flimsy challenges when in great positions to score.
d) he's a greasy spaniard

Senderos looked bright and confident, but his fuck up had a little impact on the way he played afterwards. However, i think i might have been wrong in my original assessment of him as a "sack of shit". Flowers might grow out of the compost in that bag.

Henry- good, but im disliking him more due to his contract renewal crap. It undermines the confidence of the team when the captain is looking to leave.

Bravo however to the rest of the team, who fought hard. Fabregas....probably added 25% to his value after his performance last night. Real madrid- looked like a squad of arrogant twats- with less altruism displayed in the side than an inmate with the last bog roll. We should dick all over them 2nd leg. If they play attacking football at highbury, we will kill em on the break.

Im playing tomorrow night for 5 hours. Saturday night, sunday and Tuesday night (Gutshot). And im playing probably next Thursday, Sunday and Sunday eve. But im also, seeing the missus tonight, playing footie tomorrow and a tournament saturday (hope i feel sharp). I might have a pint after work on Friday as i may be giving up all alcohol for lent and iv got to have a couple of cold San Miguels. Just finished a gruelling 11.5 hour day at work and im gonna hit the gyn for some chest work. then home for the apprentice and Desperate housewives....shit i should of kept that quiet.

Tip of the day. Always counter overtly aggressive play with subtle reverses. I beat my good freind Dave last night for a fiver (i owe him £ after he thrashed me last friday). Key hand was queens with me on the button. raise pre-flop, he calls. Flop comes 10 high. I check, he raises, i go all-in instantly (he would pick up on any hesitation) and he shows bottom pair. No miracles for "Diamond Dave" and i owe him (slightly) less.



GL all. signing out. Alex

Morning all, its update time. Played 2 Sng's and 2 MTT's last night. 1st Sng $10 buy-in. I approached this SnG attempting to try a new style of play, ultra aggressvie once down to 5 players, in the hope of accumulating a mass of chips which would out me at an advantage once it wen heads up. I played tight early as ever, and picked up small pot after small pot, with a mix of plays. Once down to 5 however i had already highlighted who was tight enough to bluff. I raised every time in the cutoff or button 4 rounds in a row, and won the blinds every time. I then won another round of blinds from the button and decided i now had enough chips to drop down a gear, so i showed my 7,10o in the hope of getting action when i next raised with a legit hand. Very next hand i find AKs. I raise 3*BB, and BB goes all-in for another 3*BB. I call and he flips 22. Would he have called if i hadnt just shown the bluff? Anyways, his 22 holds, but im still a big chip leader. We get down to 4, and im about a joint chip leader with 6k. I raise UTG with AJs and the BB goes all-in for another 2k. I call and he flips 33, i win..down to 3. I switch back into aggressive mode as i know they are trying to get in the money, and i want to win :). I steal, steal again, then Raise with AJo on the button. BB has about 3/4 of my stack and goes all-in. Normally a lay-down but i think he's fighting back with inferior goods as he's pissed off with my steals. I call, he flips A,10. Of course a 10 comes on the turn and im crippled. Now i could wait here but clock says blinds going up in about 3 mins so i know i have to move as i only have 6*BB. I wait 2 hands and find 88. Someone raises my BB- bet they enjoyed that, i go all in and they flip AQ. A flops im out, big deal. Got my money in as a favourite twice, and lost twice.......its called gambling for a reason ;) I can honestly say i think that table was relieved to see the back of me. Raising people allthetime puts them under immense pressure and forces them to make mistakes in the heat of battle. I fucking loved it. 1st MTT. $8 with about 250 runners. I played good for a few hands, made some moves, then did something idiotic. With QQ UTG i raise 4*BB. BB was a fishy player. All fold and he calls. I should mention he has a huge stack. Flop comes AK3. Ok, now against anyone else iv ever played against in my life who knew how to play poker this hand is dead to 1 overcard, let alone 2. I check, he sets me all-in. Yuk- i should throw it away, but it looks like such a HUGE raise it might well be a bluff. I call (stupid twat i am) and he shows A,2 off. Yes i added him to my Ultimate Buddy list Straight Away. Fuck that ranks as a wank play. Ok 2nd SnG $15 and i decided to play my conventional ultra-tight game until i get into the money. Obv tight means i will still be stealing when the blinds get high :) I played well, and i can i point out here and now the QQ is NOT a genuine reraising hand. when 7 handed i get Aces round the back. UTG bets 3*BB, 1 limper, i raise to 8*BB, He thinks then goes all-in. The best he can hope for is that i have AK or AQ. Its a situation where i will only call if im beating him right. I call, win, no skill involved but hey, who gives a toss. When down to 4 i open up and begin the most fun part of the tournament, playing ultra-aggressive, re-raising the blind stealer- there was only 1 on this table, and generally letting it be known that i was the top dog here. I raise the BB (short-stack) , he goes all-in for about 1BB more, i call with K,7 and he shows Q,10. I win and he has the audacity to say "lucky". Excuse me mate, but a) you were a dog to my King. b) you allowed yourself to be literally robbed blind, and by the time you realised too late, you made a stand when you didnt have enough chips to push me off the pot odds. Cest la vie. down to 3. Blind structure and chip status mean i dont need to play a hand and can wait to get heads up. I get heads up against the 1 player who has my number. Button raises ensue, tit for tat between us. I lose a big pot with 66 all-in pre flop and double up his AJ. He raises my button for the upteenth time and i find A,7o. I decide to push as he is good enough to slow play and big hand knowing that i will come out betting on the flop if i hit anything. So i slide all-in. Bad move, he has A,9, im a dominated dog and lose. Still 2nd aint too bad and after playing god knows how many SnG's right now i reckon i can get in the top 3 at least 50% of the time. Its not that im any good, its just that the opposition is SOOOO bad. 2nd MTT of the evening, $3 entry for fun while im simultaneously reading a poker book and watching despo housewives.......guess i should keep quiet about that. I know what i have to do here and thats just wait for a premium and get paid by a mug. 3rd hand AA. Guy UTG pushes all-in, another calls, and another. OMG. I just know im gonna get outdrawn but i have to call. they flip, AK,AK,KK. Ok now i am a Monstrous favourite, and take down a huge pot. and i guess each and every player can justify their plays. Possibly in a big,big tournie i could lay down the AK call. 1st player is a guy i know who plays for fun and to him AKs looks like an ordnance survey map of his house detailing a vast oil reserve underneath the downstairs bathroom $$. I then proceed to hit flop after flop. A5h flop comes 3 hearts. Im utg, 1 player raises, 1 goes all-in and im there with the lovely dilemna of should i call with the absolute nuts. both have top pair top kicker (AK) and im there thinking, if you raise pre-flop, i wouldnt have played this shit. Ah well, turn comes a brick and they are drawing dead. no hands for a while but im in a good position so wait patiently. Aha, 10,10 in late position. UTG raises 4*BB, a healthy portion of his stack, probably AK,or QQ,JJ as he's got a little note next to his name that says will mix it up and limp/raise with monsters depending on position. 2 medium stacks call his raise. I call also. Bingo! A,10,7. Now this is where position is your best ally and you can really reap the rewards of patience, discipline and betting skill. Utg goes all-in, 1 caller, 1 folder. A,7 are clubs, but he is good and knows he's not getting the proper odds or a flush draw after Utg goes ai for a little under the pot. I put him on AQ with the Q clubs. So i decide to give him a little more rope. Turn comes Q. He checks, i bet 1/2 the pot, he goes all in and turns over two sevens for bottom set. Original raiser has AK and im sitting pretty when a brick rivers. That was HUGE pot that set me up for the rest of the tournie. Bubble approaches and i decide to be an asshole and raise every set of blinds i can in the last 3 positions with any 2 cards, as i can afford to. I win a ton more before overplaying AJ and doubling up a shorties AK. No bother, i still continue, and win when i flop 222 against BB's AA. He tried to trap me and then fell through his own pitfall and landed on his shit covered stakes. Serves the cocky git right :) Im looking good now, blinds are high, im a huge stack, then i change gear. I literally turn the engine off for about 10 minutes. The reason, my younger brother (17) has set off the intruder panic button and we have the police on their way to our house coupled with the most deafening alarm you will ever hear in your life. Im the only 1 in the house with a modicum of how to handle the situation so i give the security firm a bell, they check it out, give me a code, ring the police and the alarm goes off. I get back to my lappy and "suprise suprise" im at the final table. I get there just in time to see the small blind raise my big blind while im disconnected. My chip status is now much diminished, but it lloks as if these folks have never made it to the final table before EVER. Im in 9th position and let them go at it hammer and tongs. J,9o all-in against KJ call. Soon enough we are down to 4 and I HAVENT SEEN A FLOP. I went all-in to steal the blinds with 7,5s on the button once and that was it. I get dealt 77. I go all-in against chip leader with 60k against his 300k. He types something a bout getting a price (blinds are 15k) and calls with 9,3 off. My sevens hold. Next hand i play is AQs again with chip leader in BB. I go all-in he flips K,10o and hits the flop. He then types "sorry" which i hate but i win $70 or something. I dont mind, i beat AA with 22 in a biggish pot that gave me the chips i needed to steal my way to the final table. All in all a nice evening playing poker, albeit annoying about the alarm. Ill give you the tip of the day later, im off to lunch

Morning all, its update time. Played 2 Sng's and 2 MTT's last night.
1st Sng $10 buy-in. I approached this SnG attempting to try a new style of play, ultra aggressvie once down to 5 players, in the hope of accumulating a mass of chips which would out me at an advantage once it wen heads up. I played tight early as ever, and picked up small pot after small pot, with a mix of plays. Once down to 5 however i had already highlighted who was tight enough to bluff. I raised every time in the cutoff or button 4 rounds in a row, and won the blinds every time. I then won another round of blinds from the button and decided i now had enough chips to drop down a gear, so i showed my 7,10o in the hope of getting action when i next raised with a legit hand. Very next hand i find AKs. I raise 3*BB, and BB goes all-in for another 3*BB. I call and he flips 22. Would he have called if i hadnt just shown the bluff?
Anyways, his 22 holds, but im still a big chip leader. We get down to 4, and im about a joint chip leader with 6k. I raise UTG with AJs and the BB goes all-in for another 2k. I call and he flips 33, i win..down to 3. I switch back into aggressive mode as i know they are trying to get in the money, and i want to win :). I steal, steal again, then Raise with AJo on the button. BB has about 3/4 of my stack and goes all-in. Normally a lay-down but i think he's fighting back with inferior goods as he's pissed off with my steals. I call, he flips A,10. Of course a 10 comes on the turn and im crippled. Now i could wait here but clock says blinds going up in about 3 mins so i know i have to move as i only have 6*BB. I wait 2 hands and find 88. Someone raises my BB- bet they enjoyed that, i go all in and they flip AQ. A flops im out, big deal. Got my money in as a favourite twice, and lost twice.......its called gambling for a reason ;)
I can honestly say i think that table was relieved to see the back of me. Raising people allthetime puts them under immense pressure and forces them to make mistakes in the heat of battle. I fucking loved it.

1st MTT. $8 with about 250 runners. I played good for a few hands, made some moves, then did something idiotic. With QQ UTG i raise 4*BB. BB was a fishy player. All fold and he calls. I should mention he has a huge stack. Flop comes AK3. Ok, now against anyone else iv ever played against in my life who knew how to play poker this hand is dead to 1 overcard, let alone 2. I check, he sets me all-in. Yuk- i should throw it away, but it looks like such a HUGE raise it might well be a bluff. I call (stupid twat i am) and he shows A,2 off. Yes i added him to my Ultimate Buddy list Straight Away. Fuck that ranks as a wank play.

Ok 2nd SnG $15 and i decided to play my conventional ultra-tight game until i get into the money. Obv tight means i will still be stealing when the blinds get high :)
I played well, and i can i point out here and now the QQ is NOT a genuine reraising hand. when 7 handed i get Aces round the back. UTG bets 3*BB, 1 limper, i raise to 8*BB, He thinks then goes all-in. The best he can hope for is that i have AK or AQ. Its a situation where i will only call if im beating him right. I call, win, no skill involved but hey, who gives a toss.
When down to 4 i open up and begin the most fun part of the tournament, playing ultra-aggressive, re-raising the blind stealer- there was only 1 on this table, and generally letting it be known that i was the top dog here. I raise the BB (short-stack) , he goes all-in for about 1BB more, i call with K,7 and he shows Q,10. I win and he has the audacity to say "lucky". Excuse me mate, but a) you were a dog to my King. b) you allowed yourself to be literally robbed blind, and by the time you realised too late, you made a stand when you didnt have enough chips to push me off the pot odds. Cest la vie. down to 3. Blind structure and chip status mean i dont need to play a hand and can wait to get heads up. I get heads up against the 1 player who has my number. Button raises ensue, tit for tat between us. I lose a big pot with 66 all-in pre flop and double up his AJ. He raises my button for the upteenth time and i find A,7o. I decide to push as he is good enough to slow play and big hand knowing that i will come out betting on the flop if i hit anything. So i slide all-in. Bad move, he has A,9, im a dominated dog and lose. Still 2nd aint too bad and after playing god knows how many SnG's right now i reckon i can get in the top 3 at least 50% of the time. Its not that im any good, its just that the opposition is SOOOO bad.


2nd MTT of the evening, $3 entry for fun while im simultaneously reading a poker book and watching despo housewives.......guess i should keep quiet about that. I know what i have to do here and thats just wait for a premium and get paid by a mug. 3rd hand AA. Guy UTG pushes all-in, another calls, and another. OMG. I just know im gonna get outdrawn but i have to call. they flip, AK,AK,KK. Ok now i am a Monstrous favourite, and take down a huge pot. and i guess each and every player can justify their plays. Possibly in a big,big tournie i could lay down the AK call. 1st player is a guy i know who plays for fun and to him AKs looks like an ordnance survey map of his house detailing a vast oil reserve underneath the downstairs bathroom $$.

I then proceed to hit flop after flop. A5h flop comes 3 hearts. Im utg, 1 player raises, 1 goes all-in and im there with the lovely dilemna of should i call with the absolute nuts. both have top pair top kicker (AK) and im there thinking, if you raise pre-flop, i wouldnt have played this shit. Ah well, turn comes a brick and they are drawing dead.

no hands for a while but im in a good position so wait patiently. Aha, 10,10 in late position. UTG raises 4*BB, a healthy portion of his stack, probably AK,or QQ,JJ as he's got a little note next to his name that says will mix it up and limp/raise with monsters depending on position. 2 medium stacks call his raise. I call also. Bingo! A,10,7. Now this is where position is your best ally and you can really reap the rewards of patience, discipline and betting skill. Utg goes all-in, 1 caller, 1 folder. A,7 are clubs, but he is good and knows he's not getting the proper odds or a flush draw after Utg goes ai for a little under the pot. I put him on AQ with the Q clubs. So i decide to give him a little more rope. Turn comes Q. He checks, i bet 1/2 the pot, he goes all in and turns over two sevens for bottom set. Original raiser has AK and im sitting pretty when a brick rivers. That was HUGE pot that set me up for the rest of the tournie. Bubble approaches and i decide to be an asshole and raise every set of blinds i can in the last 3 positions with any 2 cards, as i can afford to. I win a ton more before overplaying AJ and doubling up a shorties AK. No bother, i still continue, and win when i flop 222 against BB's AA. He tried to trap me and then fell through his own pitfall and landed on his shit covered stakes. Serves the cocky git right :)
Im looking good now, blinds are high, im a huge stack, then i change gear. I literally turn the engine off for about 10 minutes. The reason, my younger brother (17) has set off the intruder panic button and we have the police on their way to our house coupled with the most deafening alarm you will ever hear in your life. Im the only 1 in the house with a modicum of how to handle the situation so i give the security firm a bell, they check it out, give me a code, ring the police and the alarm goes off. I get back to my lappy and "suprise suprise" im at the final table. I get there just in time to see the small blind raise my big blind while im disconnected. My chip status is now much diminished, but it lloks as if these folks have never made it to the final table before EVER. Im in 9th position and let them go at it hammer and tongs. J,9o all-in against KJ call. Soon enough we are down to 4 and I HAVENT SEEN A FLOP. I went all-in to steal the blinds with 7,5s on the button once and that was it. I get dealt 77. I go all-in against chip leader with 60k against his 300k. He types something a bout getting a price (blinds are 15k) and calls with 9,3 off. My sevens hold. Next hand i play is AQs again with chip leader in BB. I go all-in he flips K,10o and hits the flop. He then types "sorry" which i hate but i win $70 or something. I dont mind, i beat AA with 22 in a biggish pot that gave me the chips i needed to steal my way to the final table.
All in all a nice evening playing poker, albeit annoying about the alarm.
Ill give you the tip of the day later, im off to lunch :)

Morning all, its update time. Played 2 Sng's and 2 MTT's last night.
1st Sng $10 buy-in. I approached this SnG attempting to try a new style of play, ultra aggressvie once down to 5 players, in the hope of accumulating a mass of chips which would out me at an advantage once it wen heads up. I played tight early as ever, and picked up small pot after small pot, with a mix of plays. Once down to 5 however i had already highlighted who was tight enough to bluff. I raised every time in the cutoff or button 4 rounds in a row, and won the blinds every time. I then won another round of blinds from the button and decided i now had enough chips to drop down a gear, so i showed my 7,10o in the hope of getting action when i next raised with a legit hand. Very next hand i find AKs. I raise 3*BB, and BB goes all-in for another 3*BB. I call and he flips 22. Would he have called if i hadnt just shown the bluff?
Anyways, his 22 holds, but im still a big chip leader. We get down to 4, and im about a joint chip leader with 6k. I raise UTG with AJs and the BB goes all-in for another 2k. I call and he flips 33, i win..down to 3. I switch back into aggressive mode as i know they are trying to get in the money, and i want to win :). I steal, steal again, then Raise with AJo on the button. BB has about 3/4 of my stack and goes all-in. Normally a lay-down but i think he's fighting back with inferior goods as he's pissed off with my steals. I call, he flips A,10. Of course a 10 comes on the turn and im crippled. Now i could wait here but clock says blinds going up in about 3 mins so i know i have to move as i only have 6*BB. I wait 2 hands and find 88. Someone raises my BB- bet they enjoyed that, i go all in and they flip AQ. A flops im out, big deal. Got my money in as a favourite twice, and lost twice.......its called gambling for a reason ;)
I can honestly say i think that table was relieved to see the back of me. Raising people allthetime puts them under immense pressure and forces them to make mistakes in the heat of battle. I fucking loved it.

1st MTT. $8 with about 250 runners. I played good for a few hands, made some moves, then did something idiotic. With QQ UTG i raise 4*BB. BB was a fishy player. All fold and he calls. I should mention he has a huge stack. Flop comes AK3. Ok, now against anyone else iv ever played against in my life who knew how to play poker this hand is dead to 1 overcard, let alone 2. I check, he sets me all-in. Yuk- i should throw it away, but it looks like such a HUGE raise it might well be a bluff. I call (stupid twat i am) and he shows A,2 off. Yes i added him to my Ultimate Buddy list Straight Away. Fuck that ranks as a wank play.

Ok 2nd SnG $15 and i decided to play my conventional ultra-tight game until i get into the money. Obv tight means i will still be stealing when the blinds get high :)
I played well, and i can i point out here and now the QQ is NOT a genuine reraising hand. when 7 handed i get Aces round the back. UTG bets 3*BB, 1 limper, i raise to 8*BB, He thinks then goes all-in. The best he can hope for is that i have AK or AQ. Its a situation where i will only call if im beating him right. I call, win, no skill involved but hey, who gives a toss.
When down to 4 i open up and begin the most fun part of the tournament, playing ultra-aggressive, re-raising the blind stealer- there was only 1 on this table, and generally letting it be known that i was the top dog here. I raise the BB (short-stack) , he goes all-in for about 1BB more, i call with K,7 and he shows Q,10. I win and he has the audacity to say "lucky". Excuse me mate, but a) you were a dog to my King. b) you allowed yourself to be literally robbed blind, and by the time you realised too late, you made a stand when you didnt have enough chips to push me off the pot odds. Cest la vie. down to 3. Blind structure and chip status mean i dont need to play a hand and can wait to get heads up. I get heads up against the 1 player who has my number. Button raises ensue, tit for tat between us. I lose a big pot with 66 all-in pre flop and double up his AJ. He raises my button for the upteenth time and i find A,7o. I decide to push as he is good enough to slow play and big hand knowing that i will come out betting on the flop if i hit anything. So i slide all-in. Bad move, he has A,9, im a dominated dog and lose. Still 2nd aint too bad and after playing god knows how many SnG's right now i reckon i can get in the top 3 at least 50% of the time. Its not that im any good, its just that the opposition is SOOOO bad.


2nd MTT of the evening, $3 entry for fun while im simultaneously reading a poker book and watching despo housewives.......guess i should keep quiet about that. I know what i have to do here and thats just wait for a premium and get paid by a mug. 3rd hand AA. Guy UTG pushes all-in, another calls, and another. OMG. I just know im gonna get outdrawn but i have to call. they flip, AK,AK,KK. Ok now i am a Monstrous favourite, and take down a huge pot. and i guess each and every player can justify their plays. Possibly in a big,big tournie i could lay down the AK call. 1st player is a guy i know who plays for fun and to him AKs looks like an ordnance survey map of his house detailing a vast oil reserve underneath the downstairs bathroom $$.

I then proceed to hit flop after flop. A5h flop comes 3 hearts. Im utg, 1 player raises, 1 goes all-in and im there with the lovely dilemna of should i call with the absolute nuts. both have top pair top kicker (AK) and im there thinking, if you raise pre-flop, i wouldnt have played this shit. Ah well, turn comes a brick and they are drawing dead.

no hands for a while but im in a good position so wait patiently. Aha, 10,10 in late position. UTG raises 4*BB, a healthy portion of his stack, probably AK,or QQ,JJ as he's got a little note next to his name that says will mix it up and limp/raise with monsters depending on position. 2 medium stacks call his raise. I call also. Bingo! A,10,7. Now this is where position is your best ally and you can really reap the rewards of patience, discipline and betting skill. Utg goes all-in, 1 caller, 1 folder. A,7 are clubs, but he is good and knows he's not getting the proper odds or a flush draw after Utg goes ai for a little under the pot. I put him on AQ with the Q clubs. So i decide to give him a little more rope. Turn comes Q. He checks, i bet 1/2 the pot, he goes all in and turns over two sevens for bottom set. Original raiser has AK and im sitting pretty when a brick rivers. That was HUGE pot that set me up for the rest of the tournie. Bubble approaches and i decide to be an asshole and raise every set of blinds i can in the last 3 positions with any 2 cards, as i can afford to. I win a ton more before overplaying AJ and doubling up a shorties AK. No bother, i still continue, and win when i flop 222 against BB's AA. He tried to trap me and then fell through his own pitfall and landed on his shit covered stakes. Serves the cocky git right :)
Im looking good now, blinds are high, im a huge stack, then i change gear. I literally turn the engine off for about 10 minutes. The reason, my younger brother (17) has set off the intruder panic button and we have the police on their way to our house coupled with the most deafening alarm you will ever hear in your life. Im the only 1 in the house with a modicum of how to handle the situation so i give the security firm a bell, they check it out, give me a code, ring the police and the alarm goes off. I get back to my lappy and "suprise suprise" im at the final table. I get there just in time to see the small blind raise my big blind while im disconnected. My chip status is now much diminished, but it lloks as if these folks have never made it to the final table before EVER. Im in 9th position and let them go at it hammer and tongs. J,9o all-in against KJ call. Soon enough we are down to 4 and I HAVENT SEEN A FLOP. I went all-in to steal the blinds with 7,5s on the button once and that was it. I get dealt 77. I go all-in against chip leader with 60k against his 300k. He types something a bout getting a price (blinds are 15k) and calls with 9,3 off. My sevens hold. Next hand i play is AQs again with chip leader in BB. I go all-in he flips K,10o and hits the flop. He then types "sorry" which i hate but i win $70 or something. I dont mind, i beat AA with 22 in a biggish pot that gave me the chips i needed to steal my way to the final table.
All in all a nice evening playing poker, albeit annoying about the alarm.
Ill give you the tip of the day later, im off to lunch :)

Ok, my job is so boring im actually looking foreward to having a haircut tonight. Seriously it needs it, im beginning to look like Tintin ;)
Been on the case today, trying to contact numerous nice folk who have super Blogs. Im playing tonight and will also be playing tomorrow (after footy with the guys from work). Friday night im looking foreward to robbing my mate Dave- who tried a huge move on me the last time i played against him (yes Dave, i called your shocking attempt to push me off with a shite hand) but im doubtful. Trouble is, this guy has no real respect for the moula £ and has a face that is genuinely unreadable. We both play well. His recall of hands is great and there is little point in acting (he's always fucking about putting me on reverse reverse tells, isolating what i think are random betting patterns etc) .If he kept his hand out of the cookie jar he could rob me solidly all day long. Still, he doesnt so i put myself at a 40% dog until he's had 3 San Miguels- when i am catapulted to a 80% favourite. After beating him we shall be gogin up to St. Albans for what promises to be a memorable night.....erm on second thoughts probably wont remember. There should hopefully be a few of us with the lagendary Chris "beany" Bienemann keeping order amongst the rabble (me and dave most likely).

Saturday should be a good occasion to use my time online if the weathers shite- or doing a spot of shooting if its a fine day outside. Might take the missus to the cinema in the evening. Sunday however is going to be dedicated to bankroll building, solely playing SnG's on VC poker. With a little luck ill be in on the Party Poker freeroll by then but im not even sure i want to. Honestly the stuff iv heard about that company would make you cringe. Truly shite site by all accounts with customer service akin to a drunk bouncer at closing time.

So without further ado im going to share a little tip of the day with you. PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS IF EASILY OFFENDED BY WEAK/ well-known ADVICE.
I used this last week and i dont mind it as a play. I am not as refined a player as someone like Andy Ward for example, who knows monster amounts about EV etc. I play players, stacks, basic odds and cards. Im hoping to add a little bit of EV to my play.......ESPECIALLY with regard to playing ultra-short stacks which was a post i found well interesting (cheers Andy, Keith "the camel"). Ok in a typical $20 SnG on Ultimate Bet its down to 7 handed and the blinds are starting to cut. I have an average stack of about 2.5k. Blinds are at about 100/200 (this isnt a perfect memory recall) Im round the back with Pocket 10's and a player under the gun raises 4*BB and has a stack of 1300 left. Now i have notes on this guy, and sadly he has a red dot over his head, but im not prepared to throw this hand away just yet. Why?
Ok, i know that the blinds are going up soon(ish). I know im not going to get great hands all night long. And i know that he knows this and has effectively commited himself to the pot with this raise. I can rule out AA or KK as he would slow-play these UTG. Now i have him on QQ,JJ,AK,AQ,AJ,or possibly 99 or 10,10 too. Now the likelihood of this being AK or AQ is high, and i have him married to the pot with me being a slight favourite, so i could go all in and dance right? But its not in my nature and not my style to play these 50/50's where i could in fact be a huge dog. He plays like me. If the board comes rags and he has an overpair he will check it to me, if he has AK he will slide. So i call him preflop, board comes rags, he goes all-in instantly and now i KNOW he has AK so call knowing im a strong favourite.
Amateur i know but there might be someone out there that likes it.

Morning guys, just about figured out how to get my links up and running. WOOHOO!
god i must be slightly retarded, literally taken me about 3 hours. Going to spend the day doing lots of boring office work.....not. Going to try and get word out to all of the people whose blogs i have been poring over for the last few months, hopefully some of them will be nice enough to slap a link up on their blogs so i can get a few readers and get some actual discussion going on!
Going to play a couple of small stakes multi's $1-$10 and a few $10 SnG's tonight to build on my pathetic bankroll so i can give you guys something juicy once i have enough for a big buy-in to a sunday tournie.........so thatll be in about 6 weeks then. Iv decided that this blog is going to be brutally honest so here goes. In my account on VC poker i have $113. In my account on Ultimate Bet i have $140 and 3 TEC's + a fair few points. Im going to try and hit 1k in both accounts by July. No withdrawals and getting a LOT of hours in and this should be achievable. The Girlfreind wont be happy but hell. I have a theory, if you agree with your woman 2/3's of the time, you ALWAYS stay together as you dont get bored of each other due to vv frequent rows. Let me know what you think- you will be the honoury 1st ever comment on my site :)

Oh and i should mention, i WONT be depositing ANY more cash into either of my accounts.
Ill let you know how i get on later and ill try and stick another post on this avo with a well thought-out "tip of the day".

Hi ladies, just finished reading Ukgatspy's blog, he seems like a nice chap and I will hopefully be getting in on this 50k goldmine at Party Poker for UK only players. Ok here comes my complete history of poker. I began playing at the age of 15. Originally i played 5 card draw with freinds, with crazy shit like aces and jokers wild. I continued to play during the transition over to NLH and hit university just as the online poker pilot started to leave the runway. Before my very 1st holiday with the missus, i realised i needed to take something to read while she was nattering away on the beach. I picked up a copy of Phil Hellmuths book, and another book by an author i honestly cant remember. I read the books, went to Uni, and fell in love for the second time. Poker was beautiful. A nice student loan meant 1 thing for me, i was gonna give online poker a shout. Without being too hasty, i signed up to Royal Vegas Poker, and got hold of the $10 free. I then spent about a week playing micro games, downloading every poker article i could get hold of and generally gaining experience. One night, i bit the bullet and played a $2 0.1/0.2 (or thereabouts) cash game. I did ok and think i won about $3. That was it- i was like a minnow attatched to 8lb line, well and truly hooked. I quickly (2 months) turned that cashish into about $60 and then opened another account on UB. I deposited the minimum on the UB......and lost it playing stakes too high (Bankroll was something akin to E.T.). I deposited again for $25, and lost Again. I then decided to withdraw my cash from Royal Vegas and get involved more on UB, by now i was a weak player, but no longer fishlike.....and i thought i could recoup my losses with the UB reload bonus that was being promoted. I played the same stakes i had played on Royal until i had over $100. I then did the same mistake AGAIN FFS and played at stakes too high for my skill level and bankroll. BUT, in this period i discovered MTT's. I played a few of the small buy-ins, which i funded by simultaneously playing 3 micro-stakes cash games. After a few months and probably over 50 attempts, i cashed. Not just cashed, not just final tabled, but i won the fucking thing. I can remember the jubilations when i told my mates i was playing 1 on 1 in the final for $500. Two of my housemates (who had no idea how to play and probably wanted me to hurry up so they could get out on the lash) helped me to win and BOY did that feel good. The very next day i entered into the same tournie, got heads up again, but then on the break, while short-stacked...........i got locked in a game of pro evo that cost me $300!!!! rofl. Came back after remembering and had barely enough for the Big Blind. Mike Hayden....if you ever read this, you owe me a beer, or 80. So there you have my beginnings. Funny thing is, iv been playing for over 4 years now...all the while thinking i was good, and iv only just started to get real "feel" for the game. At the moment i am playing the best poker of my life. I cant remeber the last time i got my chips in with the worst of it, and have recently been playing ok. Unfortunately i recently took out a fair chunk of my bankroll ($1200) and then had a brief downturn...so im still learning mgt skills. Iv recently been playing well in the fortnightly Tuesday Gutshot tournie i attend (ok definitely DIDNT get my chips in with the best of it here last week....3 coin flips, 3 wins :) ), doing well online when i get the chance. VC poker is great value for Dead money in their MTTs although the structure is crappy. If also been doing ok in my weekly heads-up battles with my work colleague Dave on Friday night (when iv got him drunk) and been doing ok in my monthly tournament held at a well-known furniture store in Potters Bar. I shall make Sunday 5th feb the subject of my initial discussion. If you ever get invited to this ENSURE you come along, its great fun and the play is TERRIBLE. We normally kick off at about 6.30 and play small stakes £5 buy-in for a while. £5 is the max you can buy in and you must have lost what you have infront of you to play. Played nicely, its hard not to here. Soon there was £85 in the kitty, with yours truly holding a nice £55 with only 1 buy-in :) The tournament started at 8.30pm. Its a £10 buy-in, top 2 get £, 10k starting chips, 10/20 starting blinds, fish tank. There are 2 players there with a basic understanding of strategy, (moi et Dave), and the rest are an assorted bunch of gamblers, fishies. 1st few hands (remember blind structure) 1 player (habitual bluffer straight out of Caro's world) gets knocked out by dave who played JJ on the button and then got bet into on a board of undercards. I wait patiently knowing that my cards will come. 10 hands in and after some ugly play, i get a hand. AA in mid position. I raise 6*BB- i dont want too many and these ppl play ANYTHING. guy to my left, normally weak gambler- tonight, tight, aggressive, re-raises me. Big blind calls for 1/3 of his stack. I REALLY dont wanna get sucked out and the only time i will lose this tournie is if i get sucked out on without enough chips to get another go back in. So I go all in. I can see the guy to my left seriously thinking about calling, so i opt for something different. I show him that i have aces. He throws away K,10 of hearts. Player round the front, Rob, leans back. He says he thinks he's gonna get lucky. I tell him he's stupid. He calls with A,9 spades. Im flabbergasted, but realise i dont really mind. Im dealing, flop Ks, 8s, 4h. Great. Turn 9d, River 9c. Great. Im knocked out and it goes down as my worst bad beat ever. Still, i told you this was a good game right. I played a $30 MTT on UB yesterday and finished around the bubble going out in a race with KQs against big stack's (not in blinds) 88. Alas, not my evening. Going to hopefully play heads-up on friday against dave. Fuck he's good heads up, but he's shocking after a beer or 2. :) Hi Dave! Also going to play a few $100 Multi's this weekend and try and use my TEC's. I never want to use them for some reason :). Seeing the missus tonight, so no poker. Football tomorrow finishes at 6 so ill have enough time to beat the stupid Yanks that log into MTT's during their lunch break thinking they can win the thing in an hour and = Dead money. Tip of the Day. (I realise im not THAT good so i dont want a backlash about me being a fucking know-all, i know im not OK). I just think a tip of the day will spark interest and conversation. Tip of the Day. Ensure your password is sufficiently difficult to remember personally that you have absolutely 0% chance of logging in to your account when drunk. Hide a paper copy somewhere near your bed. If your drunk as soona s you get near your bed you will get in it. Also keep an electronic copy in a hidden file for when you actually need your account but cant remember what the fuck it is. Signing out. P.S. Im gonna try and contact a few other bloggers and see if they mind me sticking their links up on this site. I REALLY need to learn about a few bits n pieces. love yall, the chosen 1.

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Hi all, this is the very 1st post of what will hopefully blossom into a full and comprehensive history of my exploits in both the world of poker and life. My name is Alex Martin, and i live in Enfield, London. I recently graduated from UEA Norwich and am currently working in a nice (although mundane) office job. I have a fantastic girlfreind named Suzanne, and my life really is a complete fucking doddle. I will save my poker history for my next post as i wanted to take this opportunity to give insight to my world/life, which will hopefully allow you to see my reasoning behind the many and varied interesting problems we will be discussing. Having read numerous Blogs, some good, some bad, some lacking, some busted......i have decided i will also be posting some of my political views as a sideline- just to break up the monotony of outdraw stories :)

In addition to being a student of poker, i also play football twice weekly (got to get the cardio in),
use a gym 3 times a week, go fishing and shoot ( not fucking pottery either). I used to drink heavily on the weekends, but have found out that this is the singularly most damaging aspect to my life because:-
a)it turns me into a grade B cunt (I save the a's for ppl that really deserve them)........fighting, losing sentimental stuff, etc
b) causes problems with the missus (im a shit when pissed)
c) I turn into a chimmney when really "on it"..... and I NEVER smoke sober.
d) I put on weight (probably because i eat shit food when pissed) and feel like crap. This to me is alien as i normally feel as sharp as a razor.

So now i only drink on weeknights, joking ;)

I enjoy the cinema, pissing about doing random shit, eating like a gorilla, and anything novel.......
im organising the work paintballing trip in the coming weeks. Im attempting to save up enough cash by August to rid myself of student debt and have a nice tidy sum with which to see the world. Im intending on going travelling for a minimum of 4 months in August.


Ok, small talk over........lets start as we mean to go on.