So frustrating, made a huge post on Xmas eve and had bloody blogger go down on me as i punched publish. Good job really as it was long-winded and pretty appalling (nothing new there i hear you chuckle) but i was still fuming. Round 2.

1stly happy Xmas to all the bloggers, players, colleagues, donkeys and sharks who know me. Been a very interesting year for sure. Had a cracking Xmas, spent with Zan and her family, just found out about Wii bowling, woop woop. Got some cracking little prezzies, esp happy about my Bose headphones :) In all feel really lucky and spoilt about how life is right now, this christmas was the best.

Sorry for lack of updates lately, been pretty busy on the poker front, putting in substantial hours for the BlueSQ account. 4 long long sessions last week took their toll on me with little time spent with the family and freinds, far less than i should have.

Played a lot of 1/2 and 2/4NL over the last week, even did a couple of 16tabling .50/1 sessions to pass the time when the films/footie games were on. Got poker tracker up and running and have changed a lot of the aspects of my game in the hope of plugging a few leaks. Notably now, when i think im beat but cant see how or what he could have called with. In the past i was a real sucker for the curiosity call and the pot odds call, lately i have been happy to accept that when im beat im beat and im not too bothered about how we got there. It has certainly provoked a lot of thought which im now addressing with long thinking sessions for a couple of hours before and after big sessions. I find it cools my brain off and reinforces beliefs. Standard lines and generic plays are what im used to, but im not happy with where thats taking me and i feel happier (and play better) when i trust myself to do whats right for me in a hand. We should all try to play to our specific strengths and our opponents weaknesses and we sometimes lose that in the sea of strategy advice out there. Holdem feels good atm. PLO on the other hand feels pretty much disgusting. Im not really happy about the luck factor involved tbh but i guess thats just the nit in me coming out. Anyway, running very bad even with the Xmas influx of 2/4 muppets.


I ran pretty average overall during the period in 6MNLH, losing 5 pots over $1k in 2 hours on Sat night wiped out profit for the week, but i was in a good mood and pretty settled so played through it and logged a decent score after being in a small hole. I can only usually do this when im playing a lot and hungry, normally (sadly) i tilt and donk off a bit more when things are not going quite so well, but im working on that. Breaks every hour really help. I need to play a huge amount to "warm-up" and get in the zone which is quite funny. Seriously i need 500 hands before i feel ok. I dont think i could ever play live cash poker 9-handed again. Which is a good thing.

Gonna do another post in a couple of days but just wanted to quickly say a few thankyous for the year, in real Oscar-esque (sp?) style. Firstly, thanks for the BlueSq team (well Pete, Butlin and the main man Jamie) really appreciate all your time and effort putting up with my whining and general degenerate nature. Thanks also to Alun Bowden/Paul Cheung and the Inside poker Mag who are really on the way up in terms of quantity and are probably now the leading magazine in terms of strategy, cheers for putting up with my late submissions. Special thanks to my missus and mum for looking after me and caring for my best interests, even when im in uber-blinkered mode. Also like to thanks all my m8's in the poker community especially the Luton lads (you know who you are) and the blondepoker community who always give honest and cripplingly critical advice and opinion. Thanks also to the blogging community, especially those of you who occasionally comment, but mostly those of you that continue to update. Some cracking reads out there now which is probably why i never get to actually play any poker anymore! Keep up the fine work.

Ok im writing this on a relic of a computer and the mouse is doing my nut in so i shall leave yall with a Merry Xmas and a HAppy new year line. Decent post coming soon.