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.