Lo ppl. An eventful weekend. Iv gone back to the grind of cash games in an effort to get back to a respectable level. Combined accounts stand at about $500. I very nearly went broke on one and stupidly decided to spunk my last $50 on a $50 SnG. But I came second so its all ok. Im just annoyed at myself for risking it. Im playing MTTs with Cash game winnings now, same for SnG’s. the $50 SnG’s seem a whole lot weaker than the $20’s where play is good.
Went to Luton on Saturday for their £20 re-buy tournie with my prodigy Rob. 1k starting chips and a slow clock make this a nice evening tournie. Got my stack up to about 4k before this hand. I find 99 and opt to limp UTG+2. Guy to my left raises pot and only I call. Flop comes KK6. He bets pot which is effectively all-in. Iv seen him gamble and I have him on AQ-A10. He went all-in so fast he CANNOT have a king. I call and he shows JJ. Bad play on my part, I should have folded to the raise preflop when he was gonna have position on me. Definitely –EV play I think, id like to hear opinions. Rebuy and add-on just before end of re-buys. Get Pocket queens 3rd hand after re-buy and ram and jam pre-flop. 2 Callers and im all in on a flop of 8,10,6. Im praying for one of them to raise as I know there are a LOT of draws out there. (Table was manic- 1 guy re-bought about 7 times). They clash heads and Turn is a 10 and river a Jack. I think I might be good but alas, some chap wins with 10,8 making a boat o the turn. Feel a little bit sick that iv just blown a days wages but hey NEVERMIND!!! I take the rough with the smooth.
Rob was at the same table with me and had a nice run of cards. He has a pretty aggressive style that worked. Especially when he rivered a 10 to make 2 pair QQ1010 v QK. From there though the boy showed no mercy, crunching out players on his way to the final table (only 34 runners…..a £2500 prize pool!). His final table play was a mixture of aggression and luck. He didn’t get called on a stone cold bluff with A high and a pot of 16k. He bet 1900 on the river and the guy FOLDED!!! We think the A was good anyway. Went to final 3 and on a flop of 9,10,3 with 2 diamonds rob went all in to get called by the nut flush draw. Rob hit King and dodged a Diamond to bust the guy and get heads up.
Im not gonna inflate the guys ego because:-
He said the stuff I write is bullshit- well im still not sure if he can actually read so ill take that with a pinch of salt.
Iv already told him that he played Aces heads up as close to perfect as you can.

He cracked the guy in 4 hands of heads up play and went on to win the whole caboosh for a tidy £1k profit. Nice work lad….he’ll be alright. Not gonna share my secrets with you but watching a guy for 2 hours can do wonders for your counter-strategy.
Played again last night and had great fun. Should of won but broke even. Had my Jacks twisted for a split pot after "the pro" went all in with 9,6 and the board made a straight. Had my J,10 v J,2 on a J high flop beaten by runner runner 2’s and had my top 2 pair on a flush board beaten by the nut flush on the draw. Had fun though and got outplayed on 1 hand..AMAZING. Young lad named Daniel raised preflop I called on the button with KQs and flop came A,10 4 with 1 club. He checked, I Checked. Turn came brick and he bet. I got a wrong tell and went with it and he flipped AQ. Believe me, in the games we play checking ur good ace on the flop ranks as sophisticated. Joker of the night was Mr Oliver Nicholls. A pot of about £10 and he is holding the NUT straight by the river. Young lad (Lenny) puts him al-in with the ignorant end of the straight and Oli folds. Q bursts of laughter from the table.
In fairness he was inebriated.
Tip of the day.
Don’t drink or do drugs before a serious tournament. Saw a couple of older guys at Luton who had had a few jars earlier and they just crumbled at the final table. My mate Dave is like this. Let him have 4 san miguels and he will give you 3-1 on a coin flip, especially if the barmaid has winked at him….
Another + . Looks like I might be staging a home tournament in the coming weeks. I know enough lowlifes now who think they actually have some skill to hold (I think) a 12 person (2 table) £30 buy-in tournie. Im going to wait for feedback but I think ppl will go for it.
Take care, and for christs sake be aggressive around the bubble. J,9 is a re-raising hand if you have chips ;)