Marathon Man

No I ain't running one but after a 10 hour session last night it feels like I have.

$3.75 up after just over an hour at Pokerroom and I was off to Interpoker to swim with the fishies.

I've only ever played with US Dollars online but decided to have a go at a couple of tables using good old virtual British pound notes. I may need dual nationality because I ended up converting all my bets in my head to $$ as that's what I'm used to online.I may have to finish posts from now on wishing you all a nice day.

Played 2 tables for most of the night and at one point was down to $400 from an $850 starting point after getting all in with AA preflop and getting 'em busted.

Rebought and took the villan for most of his stack with 3 all ins that went my way.He didn't have much luck.He flopped a straight V another villan who made a set on the flop and quads on the turn.

One of my big pots v him was when I had QJ and flopped a straight and he went all in on the river (just as I was pricing my value river bet) with a measly pair of Jacks.I couldn't believe he would be so stupid but said "Unlucky mate.I got a lucky flop". Someone else said "its your own fault" to him but I put my new friend at ease by telling him his luck would change.He thanked me in the best way possible by donating more of his cash to me.I did feel kinda sorry for him but when you got a fish on a hook you have make sure he just thinks he's got a bad mouth ulcer.

Finished my last joint at 7am and red eyed and totally shattered I headed to bed $214 up.I still had hands buzzing round my head for a while before I dropped off.If only I hadn't slow played an A high straight then gone all in when the board paired on the river.If only just one of my pocket pairs had made a feckin' set tonight...

Not complaining though.Its nice to feel you can have a good night without hitting to many good hands.Even watching 2 guys all in with AA and JJ and seeing a 7 hit on the turn after folding 77 only brought a wry smile instead of subtle tilt.

I seem to be getting better at pricing bets and reading what an opponent will call.I used to always "Bet big or go home" and while I still like that adage if you have AJ on a board of A J J 5 K your not going to get Mr KQ or K10 or even Mr AK to call a large overbet on the river.( Mr AK would have gone all in already at Interpoker)

Why do some players not handle having large stacks?Its only natural that if you sit down at at table and one player has 3 or 4 times the buy in that you give them some respect as you know they've either got lucky or have some poker skill.

I find that there's no inbetween.They are usually either skilled decent players or have got lucky and can't wait to get it all in the middle again and give it away.The trick is working out who's who before you get into battle with them.

Of course the best players in my experience just seem very lucky.They keep getting hand after hand and when they get called down its nuts time again.I'm learning how to play at a table with guys like that and stay out their way unless I'm the one with a hand that's nuttier than a nutty thing full of nuts.

You have to avoid confrontation with better players and not get into all that ego stuff that makes you want to prove you can beat them.Just being in that frame of mind gives the villan a 10 yard start.Poker is not a pissing contest but its amazing how often the tables seem to descend into a kind of madness.No need to play at a tight $2-$5 table with a $50 average pot size when there's inferior players throwing that kind of money at pots at $.50-$1nl.

To the football and Scotland managed a creditable 1-1 draw with Italy at Hampden Park yesterday.We did go one up early on and when they scored on 75 mins I had a horrible feeling my prediction would come true but we held on and if ( and its a big IF) we can beat Norway on Wednesday we may still have a chance to go to the world cup in Germany next year.

Scotland have qualified on many occasions but have never made it past the first group stage.We've come very close.In 1978 I was 5 when I got my first Scotland strip and we had a good side.The manager convinced the nation we were going to win it. We didn't. Blew it v Peru and Iran but of course managed to beat finalists Holland 3-2 in the game where Archie Gemmill scored one of the greatest goals of all time. ( Shown in the film "Trainspotting")

The one piece of commentary most Scots associate with our team is "And it's another disaster for Scotland" as some team from a desert Island the size of a football pitch beats us 1-0 with a last minute deflected goal sending us out on goal difference.

I 'll finish with some "Trainspotting" quotes.Sorry about the *.I love swear words but if anyone reads this at work I don't want their Security team to start any "Inappropriate" nonsense.My own employer tried and failed to bag me a few years ago that way so I'm wary.

Anyway it's a great book and film unless you work for the Scottish tourist board...

"Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a f*cking big television, Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance. Choose fixed- interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose a three piece suite on hire purchase in a range of f*cking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing sprit- crushing game shows, stuffing f*cking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing you last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, f*cked-up brats you have spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? "

Tommy and Renton out in the Highland mountains of Scotland:

TOMMY: Doesn't it make you proud to be Scottish?

RENTON: I hate being Scottish. We're the lowest of the f*cking low, the scum of the earth, the most wretched, servile, miserable, pathetic trash that was ever shat into civilization. Some people hate the English, but I don't. They're just w*nkers. We, on the other hand, are colonized by w*nkers. We can't even pick a decent culture to be colonized by. We are ruled by effete arseholes. It's a shite state of affairs and all the fresh air in the world will not make any f*cking difference.


Begbie: Did you bring the cards?
Sick Boy: What?
Begbie: The cards, the last thing I told you was to mind the cards!
Sick Boy: Well, I've not brought them.
Begbie: It's f*cking boring after a while without the cards.
Sick Boy: I'm sorry.
Begbie: Bit f*cking late, like.
Sick Boy: Why didn't *you* bring them?
Begbie: 'CAUSE I F*CKING TOLD YOU TO BRING THEM, YOU DOSS C*NT!
Sick Boy: ...Christ.


Ok in light of my new dual nationality thats more than enough already..