The rain in spain...

Falls mainly on my table.

Well firstly im going to start with the good news, i made it to the second round of the world heads up championship, yeehaw!

So heres my report on it.

Firstly i arrived early expecting an interview on camera with pete singleton, but we had problems getting into the casino which is a different story...
Anyhow we get in about 30 minutes before my match and i must say, for the first time in a very long time, i felt nervous about poker; maybe more excited than scared. So the seats are tables are drawn and i meet my opponent. First thing i do is shake his hand (which is also the start of picking up tells/body language/what type of person he is), his hand was very cold and sweaty...certainly a lot more than mine, i guess i thought this was a good sign.
When signing the release form i realise he has qualified online which is also good! His chips were stacked in a weird way and he didnt post the blinds properly.

Now lest get onto some poker hands, first hand of note was when i rivered my straight on a A645 flop. Turn was a 9 and river was an 8 to give my 67 the nuts! i bet, he raised and i re-raised for about 3k, i guess this wasnt a huge raise but i still wasnt sure what type of player he was. He had 85 for two pair but i shortly found out he would have probably paid me off for a lot more! This player would chase hard and also bet really aggressive at times that wouldnt make sense, apart from this hand.

Blinds 100/200

Me: 4d6d i limp
Opponent: Check

Flop: Kh Qd Jd

He bets 350 or so and i call.

Turn gives the 9d for my flush.

He now bets 500, so i make it 2100 which i believe is a good sized bet because i think he will call with a 10. He does call.


River Qh.

Board: Kh Qd Jd 9d Qh

As soon as the river hits he shrugs his shoulders, cringes his face and says "EUUUUCHHH!!!" I thought...is this guy serious!!! He now looks at me, smiles, glances at his chips and grabs 5 red chips (5000) and fires it in, i instantly flip over my flush and put it in the muck...he shows 10d2d. WOW!!!! I could have lost a lot of chips on the turn.

One thing led to another when i called a big river bet in a certain pot with bottom pair on a scary board and his chip stack is down to 8k. He then announces to his friend that he needs to go allin soon (which is not true...the blinds are 200 400 and there is plenty of play)

Here is the magic hand:

Me: Limp for 200 on the button with AJo
Opponent: Check

Flop: J85 rainbow.

When i am playing poker i am in a kind of haze...not paying 100% to everything i guess...im really relaxed. Anyhow my opponent says the magic words "ALLIN" My eyes just lit up...i thought "Is this guy serious?!?!" I insta call and put my big chips in and the cameras come over. He turns over J2.

Thats pretty crazy i think, hes bet 8000 into 800 with a hand that can only get called by something hes losing to but meh, whatever, its his chips, maybe he had to catch a flight on thursday who knows?

Turn and river are blanks and i have made it into round 2!


I hope i have kept you entertained so far, if so, read on and listen to how bad the rest of the day went.

Firstly, since i had won the first round so fast i had enough time to enter the €1100 freezeout which by the way is the first big tourney i have bought myself into for a long time! I sit down at a table and out of the first 5/6 hands i raise preflop and take it down either preflop or post flop. So have already built up some chips. Then an interesting hand arose, about 5 limpers and i am on the button. I make a huge raise with my AKo (Which obv looks a huge steal.) and the guy who limped UTG now makes a raise for 2000 (5k starting stack). He threw it in with an angry manner and i know that he is just fed up of me bullying already, i instantly put my chips in with AK and he calls with his 88...i turn a straight and take the pot down when i river a flush too!

Very shortly the one and only Dave "devilfish" Ulliot joins my table...two to my left. Bloody brilliant! One of the most aggressive successful tourney players in the uk is to my left! I soon realise he really is a faboulous player too...taking some of my chips in the process. Well in spain nearly everyone at the table speaks...well spanish! So it was delightful for someone to speak english, infact he spoke to me quite a bit, well, we talked to each other non stop for about 4 hours hehe.

My chip stack lingered whilst dave was around, he made a re-re-raise against me with K2 (I had 24 but he doesnt know that ;)) which also cost him a lot of chips because another player was trapping with AK. He said "you realise you cost me a lot of chips there". He shortly went out after and i didnt play a hand for about an hour. I was at around 15k in chips which was slightly above the average when a really really nice hand arose:

4-5 limpers all in a row and i look down at bullets. Wow i love this...when you raise here people think you are at it! I shove a 3200 bet with 200/400 blinds. It gets round to the big blind who announces allin (He has 14k in chips!). Everyone gives me a smirk since they all think im at it. He flips over KQ and my aces hold up for a massive pot.
Now there is a swedish guy who has been semi-tight and aggressive with a few chips, he has started to make a few raises at me and ive really been putting him to the tests with re-raises.

I then make possibly one of the stupidest moves in a long time, and am really pissed off with myself.

Top 9 paid, 26 left. Average chips 16k, i have 29k.

Swedish guy limps, i limp with 4c7c on the button, sb folds.

Flop 2c5cJh. Swedish guy bets 1200 i call.

Turn Kh. Swedish guy bets quite big, maybe 5k.

I think shortly and get a massive pile of chips and push them in, swedish chap does the same thing and has only 700 chips left...so we get to see a river and i totally miss, he throws his last few chips in and i have to pass my 7 high for the 60k pot...one guy bursts out laughing and i feel really embarressed!!! I have no chips left and end up going out next hand. Hero to zero eh?!?!

Finally i then donk another 600 at 20/40 limit after losing 800 or so last night...ive yet to win a hand at the cash tables!!! What a disaster

If you have read this far, then i am proud!!! I shall most definitly update tomorrow to see how my buddy james atkin does in his first round, good luck to him!

Dan.