Im lazy, newcastle update.

Well im posting this 1 week late! I do apologise but its better late then never eh?

I arriveth in newcastle very excited because its been a while since my last poker festival.

The first tourney is just a 300 quid double chance.

The blinds went up 45 mins and increased quite a lot each step, so a lot of skill is sucked out of the game this way, also only a 7k starting stack.

Anyhow, i won one pot the entire tourney and the pot was about 500 :(. Nothing i can do, i just could not get in any favourable situations! Oh well, let me talk about the main event.

In the first two levels i manage to increase my stack from 10k to 17k without ever putting many chips in danger, i have been playing a lot of hands preflop in late position. As soon as i get back i destroy 8k in chips with a terrible play.

I raise in the CO with JQs. Big blind calls (quite a tight player).

The flop: As 10h 6s

He checks so i obviously bet with my flush and straight draw. I think i bet 600 and he calls.

Turn: Jd And he fires 2k in chips at me. Now he only had 4.5k in chips left, and i should have called since there isnt much fold equity. Yup i raise him all-in and he calls with AJ and i dont improve.


Well over the next 8 hours or so nothing amazing happens, i build up to about 35k in 5 hours but ending up coming to day 2 with 23k. My key hand of day 1 hand to be when mid position raised 3x, guy to my right calls so i also call with 109o using position to my advantage.


Flop: 10d 9s 6d. First player bets, second player bets half his stack, i give it about 30 seconds to see whats going on (i also dont like betting allin straight away here, looks very amateurish hehe). So i eventually go allin, first chap folds and as the second guy calls i say "you can ONLY have two overcards and a flush draw"
Well i was right, and it was the only hand that fit because of his playing style (he was tight and was too unlikely to have 1010 or 99, and wouldnt have called the raise with 66). He didnt improve and that is what kept me alive.

Day 2 is my sob story. I have 2/3 of the chips of average so nothing desperate but i will need to open up early, which i did. The very first hand i open for 3000 with K9o on the button since everyone folded. Both the blinds call me which is not what i wanted!

Flop: K98. Lovely jubbly.

BB fires out 4k at me, making the pot 13k (9k + 4k). I decide the best play here is to go allin, with two spades on board it is too dangerous to call or raise small. So i raise for 16k more allin. The sb folds and BB says "I have to call"

He turns over KQ which is great news i guess, the turn is a 10 and river is a jack making him a runner runner straight, sick!! Infact what makes it worse is im left with 500 chips, not enough to make up the SB!!!!

Well time to throw the 500 chips and go home, infact i do. I go allin with 85 to be raised by 77. First card out was a 7 but i fluke a straight on the turn, yeehaw! Well let's not get too excited since i have 2300 chips now. The very next hand (only the third of day 2) i pick up JQ of hearts "All-in". Call, call, call and call. 5 way action, at least it will be worth winning.

Board: K 10 3 2 and...





Yes the Ace, give me those chips!!! Up to 12k now, i cannot believe this lucky comeback, still, since it costs 2700 a cycle i am nSave Noweeding to throw my chips in again. After folding for one round i bung it in with 93 of diamonds from the CO. BB says "your ahead but i call" and he turns over K8 of hearts (but they were soooooooooooted!). We both make full houses but his is stronger and im out of the tournement.

Never mind, for such high expectations i don't cash, but i do make £3500 in the side games which is always nice.

Next stop, Luton!

WCOOP schedule out!

Well first things first, ive been looking forward to the WCOOP for a while now.

Here is the schedule, ive highlighted tourneys i am playing. I wont be playing anything other than PL/NL holdem and im also away at the end of september for the EPT london.

1	Sep.14	Friday	15:00	NL Hold'em [6-max]	$215
2	Sep.14	Friday	16:30	PL 5-Card Draw	$215
3	Sep.15	Saturday	15:00	PL Omaha [6-max]	$215
4	Sep.15	Saturday	16:30	2-7 Triple Draw	$215
5	Sep.16	Sunday	16:30	NL Hold'em	$530
6	Sep.17	Monday	15:00	PL Omaha w/Rebuys	$320
7	Sep.18	Tuesday	15:00	Limit Hold'em	$215
8	Sep.19	Wednesday	15:00	Limit Omaha H/L	$530
9	Sep.20	Thursday	15:00	NL Hold'em w/Rebuys	$215
10	Sep.21	Friday	15:00	NL Hold'em Match Play	$320
11	Sep.21	Friday	16:30	Razz	$215
12	Sep.22	Saturday	15:00	HORSE	$215
13	Sep.22	Saturday	16:30	PL Hold'em	$530
14	Sep.23	Sunday	16:30	NL Hold'em	$1,050
15	Sep.24	Monday	15:00	7 Card Stud	$320
16	Sep.25	Tuesday	15:00	PL Omaha H/L	$320
17	Sep.26	Wednesday	15:00	NL Hold'em [6-max]	$320
18	Sep.27	Thursday	15:00	7 Card Stud H/L	$530
19	Sep.28	Friday	15:00	PL Omaha	$530
20	Sep.28	Friday	16:30	NL Hold'em Triple Shootout	$530
21	Sep.29	Saturday	15:00	HORSE	$5,200
22	Sep.29	Saturday	16:30	Limit Hold'em	$1,050
23	Sep.30	Sunday	16:30	NL Hold'em Main Event	$2,600

My poker life has been a bit of a bore lately, i went to Walsall last night to play a £15 rebuy just to get back into the live sync. 15th/95 is ok i guess, i wansnt interested in the money, just getting back into live since i havnt played for a while.

Online poker is absoloutly shocking for me, ive withdrawn all my money online for the time being and will just give the odd tourney a shot, im fed up of not making any money online.

Sunday night tourney

Decided just to play the $300 tourney on betfair tonight, its small field of 150 made it appealing to me.

I have never had a lot of chips, ive just been looking on ways to survive may way through.

Nothing special until the bubble comes. 18 get paid 23 left.

***** Betfair Poker Hand History for Game 224979683 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $300 Buy-in + $20 Entry Fee, Level:12 Blinds(800/1,600-75 ante) - Sunday, July 01, 20:39:58 GMT 2007
Weekly $50k GTD #80885
Table 3 9-max (Real Money)
Seat 6 is the button
Total number of active players : 7
Seat 2: Lambohov ( 30,532 )
Seat 3: hankipanki ( 24,380 )
Seat 5: james5tom ( 29,259 )
Seat 6: swansen ( 50,409 )
Seat 7: DollarDice ( 20,104.50 )
Seat 8: merly ( 31,740 )
Seat 9: pot is back ( 19,615 )
Tourney Level:12 Blinds(800/1,600-75 ante)
hankipanki posts ante [75]
james5tom posts ante [75]
swansen posts ante [75]
pot is back posts ante [75]
DollarDice posts ante [75]
merly posts ante [75]
Lambohov posts ante [75]
DollarDice posts small blind [800]
merly posts big blind [1,600]
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to DollarDice [ 8h, 9h ]
pot is back folds
Lambohov folds
hankipanki folds
james5tom folds
swansen calls [1,600]
DollarDice calls [800]
merly checks
** Dealing Flop ** [ 7h, 9d, 5c ]
DollarDice bets [5,325]
merly folds
swansen raises to [10,650]
DollarDice folds
Returning uncalled bet [5,325] to swansen
** Hand Conclusion **
swansen wins 15,975 from main pot

Well im sure a lot of you are thinking, wow what is he thinking folding this. Well, i am probably up against an overpair which makes me a 2-1 dog, i have the odds to call his raise on the flop...but whats the point, i have

Here is what i think about the hand. Swansen is a solid player who has shown down very strong hands so far. It really looks like he has limped on the button with an absoloute monster. If he has an overpair, i am a 2-1 dog, i have the odds to call but to call an extra 5k i will only have 8k in chips. That is pretty devastating if the turn isn't a 6, 8 or 9.

So i thought i would wait for a better spot.

Soon 21 left and i am pretty short stacked with 16,000 chips (I'm in 19th). I plan on pushing a lot here since a lot of people want to protect their chips and increase their chances of making the money (Of course this is -EV though, the top 3 prizes is where its at)

Well, with my strategy i fall at the last hurdle. I pushed with A9 on the button when i was short, the SB had QQ and i didnt improve. GG

***** Betfair Poker Hand History for Game 224989376 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $300 Buy-in + $20 Entry Fee, Level:13 Blinds(1,000/2,000-100 ante) - Sunday, July 01, 20:58:58 GMT 2007
Weekly $50k GTD #80885
Table 3 9-max (Real Money)
Seat 7 is the button
Total number of active players : 6
Seat 2: Lambohov ( 47,172 )
Seat 3: hankipanki ( 23,080 )
Seat 5: james5tom ( 30,084 )
Seat 6: swansen ( 62,059 )
Seat 7: DollarDice ( 20,704.50 )
Seat 8: merly ( 22,940 )
Tourney Level:13 Blinds(1,000/2,000-100 ante)
Lambohov posts ante [100]
hankipanki posts ante [100]
james5tom posts ante [100]
swansen posts ante [100]
DollarDice posts ante [100]
merly posts ante [100]
merly posts small blind [1,000]
Lambohov posts big blind [2,000]
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to DollarDice [ 9c, Ad ]
hankipanki folds
james5tom folds
swansen folds
DollarDice goes all-in
DollarDice raises to [20,604.50]
merly goes all-in
merly raises to [22,840]
Lambohov folds
Returning uncalled bet [2,235.50] to merly
** Showdown **
DollarDice shows [ 9c, Ad ]
merly shows [ Qs, Qh ]
** Dealing Flop ** [ Td, 6s, 2c ]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 5h ]
** Dealing River ** [ Qd ]
** Hand Conclusion **
merly wins 43,809 from main pot with three of a kind, Queens

-Dan