The boy ( acorn) who cried Hammer!

I believed!


** Game ID 348376680 starting - 2005-11-01 23:54:07
** Hurricane [Hold 'em] (0.100.20 No Limit - Cash Game) Real Money

- Kenan83 sitting in seat 1 with $50.95
- borge1 sitting in seat 2 with $0.00 [Sitting out]
- Juice sitting in seat 3 with $26.54
- discodave82 sitting in seat 4 with $7.21
- SMURF1 sitting in seat 5 with $7.52
- duoflow sitting in seat 6 with $15.75 [Dealer]
- godsmaker sitting in seat 7 with $17.05
- andysaabtbo sitting in seat 8 with $12.42
- Elcrillowitc sitting in seat 9 with $8.30
- Acornman sitting in seat 10 with $59.78

godsmaker posted the small blind - $0.10
andysaabtbo posted the big blind - $0.20

** Dealing card to Acornman: 7 of Hearts, 2 of Diamonds
Elcrillowitc called - $0.20
Acornman raised - $0.80
Kenan83 folded
Juice called - $0.80
discodave82 called - $0.80
SMURF1 folded
duoflow folded
godsmaker folded
andysaabtbo folded
Elcrillowitc called - $0.80

** Dealing the flop: 3 of Spades, 7 of Clubs, 2 of Spades
Elcrillowitc checked
Acornman bet - $1.50
Juice raised - $3.00
discodave82 called - $3.00
Elcrillowitc folded
Acornman raised - $9.50
Juice folded
discodave82 went all-in - $3.41

** Dealing the turn: Queen of Diamonds

** Dealing the river: 7 of Spades
discodave82 shows: 10 of Clubs, 10 of Diamonds
Acornman wins $18.37 from the main pot

Bankroll Status: 1st Year Update

Warning this post is more of an update for my own personal records and may cause drowsiness.

These figures include bonuses earned at Pokerroom and a $25 bonus from Ladbrokes but don't include any from Interpoker because I'm still miles from clearing them.Pokerrooms bonuses have never been great but including reloads I'd guess that aprox $500 of my profit has come from them.

I started playing with real money on Oct 31st 2004 depositing $88 ( £50) and losing it very quickly.Put in $88 more.Worked it up and withdrew $385 before building back up to $700 and blowing it at the end of last year.

Last deposit was for $88 at the start of 2005.Built it and blew it again ( not all ) in Feb but still had enough to be able to bounce back and withdraw $500 in April. ( $500 was from $500 tournament winnings).

On May 31st I had $471 at Pokerroom. I did deposit $750 at Interpoker in May having finally caught on to bonus chasing but they'd upped the requirement so I withdrew until they sent me $10 for my birthday in August.I'm still only 61% done on that $200 bonus and have $190 pending in new much easier to clear bonuses.( they changed rake requirement back again).

Ok so I had $471 + the $500 April withdrawl + $385 withdrawl in 2004= $1356 - $264 in deposits = $1092 profit

Oct 31st '04 - May31st '05 = $1092 profit. Actual balance = $471

August 11th balance = $1003 -$385 cashout = $618

31st October '05 balance = $424


Deposited $700 in August at Interpoker and have since withdrawn that full amount.

Actual cashouts: 28th Aug -$667 credit card
28th Aug -$150 cheque
17th Sep -$356 Cheque
13th Oct -$90 credit card


Withdrawn $1866 since I started to buy my Sony PSP,new mattress,washing machine,Fridge freezer, Limo airport transfers on holiday,Champions league tickets and a bung to Mrs A.


This is more complicated than I thought! Here's a simpler breakdown.


Currently have $1735 at Interpoker,$424 at Pokerroom and $478 at Ladbrokes = $2637

$2637 +$1866 ( cashout total) = $4503- $264 deposits = $4239 = £2396 aprox


Pokertracker has me at 400 hours since January.Aprox 40 per month.Assuming the same for last Oct,Nov and Dec = 520.

I would guess at 100 hours at Interpoker since August giving me a very aprox total of 620hours.

$4239 -$500 ( best guess at bonus money) = $3739/620 = $6.03 per hour

Most of my profit has been made since August.I started at Interpoker on Aug 14th and have made $1735. It remains to be seen if I can keep it up long term or have just been lucky but while its not a record that'll send Doyle Brunson into retirement I'm very pleased with my progress.

When I started out I was worried about getting addicted and blowing fortunes and was determined to spend a maximum of £50 per month on my new hobby. A year ago I was a little acorn dreaming of becoming a Mighty Oak.

One year on and the dream is still alive!

Real Money Aniversary

This time last year I logged onto Pokerroom to find they'd shut down the play money tables and were offering bonuses to sign up for scary halloween real money.You won't force me to play for real I thought and opened an account at Pokerstars which I lasted 10 minutes at before heading back to PR to make my first deposit.Played there until August when I discovered Interpoker and looser fishier European players and thats when my bankroll started making more progress.

Not going to try and go into my learning curve over the last year.In the main though I would say that after a years play and tens of thousands of hands that I have become more used to the bad beats and can deal with them far more easily.I used to deny the pain and tell myself it didn't bother me and never noticed I was tilting until it was out of control.Now I accept the blow,feel the hurt and try and move on keep playing my best game.If Im going to enjoy the heart thumping buzz of winning a big pot I have to learn to deal with those soul crushing moments when it all goes wrong. Indeed I keep telling myself that if I can do that then I'll have an edge over many players who are far more skilled than me but tilt easily.


Onto Sundays shannanigans...

Woke up late and had a chilled out afternoon.That changed at about 7ish when I thought I'd make a small deposit at Royal Vegas in time for our mini tourney at 9pm. "Theres been a problem with your transaction".Phoned support who helpfully suggested leaving it 1/2 hour.Errr ok. Still no joy 1/2 hr later or after 3 more calls and more payment methods tried.

8.30pm and the door goes.Pizza has arrived.Door goes again and its next door asking if I'd come and take the new freezer Mrs A has bought from them.Royal Vegas support still on line and getting nowhere.

9pm and with a few runners sat at the private table I created I still can't get in!

Finally I ask for a supervisor and after having explained the situation as politely and as forcefully as I could he finally agreed a goodwill credit of $6.50 to get me started.The fact that he was in South Africa and I was able to give him an update on his rugby team beating Glasgow went a long way to helping I think.Not often having a day job dealing with "high level" complaints helps but I think it did last night.

All this after I started my evening with a chat with The Poison on my yahoo messenger thingy.Veneno has a mic and it was beyond cool( maybe I'm easily impressed) to hear her lovely accent fill my poker cupboard. Gonna have to get a mic too at some point although I have mentioned before that the last time I was in America the Mcdonalds drive thru girl had to get a manager to come out to my car to take my order as they couldn't understand my accent! ( think Billy Connolly!).

The sng didn't fill up as hoped so we moved to another $5 sng which I was too late for! The bloggers kicked ass though and made up 3 of the final 4.

$2 sng next just for fun and this time I finally got to sit down and play some poker! I couldn't even find the damn fold button at first! Thanks Gcox for realising I wasn't taking the piss and actually helping me out there!I chickened out of an early all in with JJ as and folded to The Edges bet on a flop with a Q.Not my A game maybe but I just wanted to hang out some more and avoid yet another sng wooden spoon!
My 99 lost to QJ and I never recovered.The blinds did go up very quickly and we only started with 1000 chips so it became a bit of a lottery after not too long but I reckon we all enjoyed the game which was afterall the main reason for playing.
Hopefully next time we can choose a better site and get more players.

After that The Edge left and Juice and I hit the .10-.20nl full ring table where Juice cleaned up and I made $1.70 for about 2 hours play.No sniggering.I didn't lose and that's nearly 9*bb!!

Finally crashed out at 1am.Would have left earlier but despite being card dead Juices funny patter kept me going.Maybe he was just rambling...

Halloween today and the wee one is going out tonight as a Majorette complete with baton.Here's her trick or treat poem....

Trick or treat,smell my feet,give me something nice to eat... or I'll hit you with my stick.

Hmm the kid is a genius!


Rangers play celt*cs conquerers Art Media Bratislava tomorrow night in the Champions league.The 1-1 draw at home to Inverness Caledonian Thistle was not good enough and even a result tomorrow night may not be enough to save the managers job. To be 10 points behind a very average celt*c team this early in the season is not acceptable.We do have a lot of injured players but should still be beating teams like Inverness Caley.At least we didn't lose I suppose.I remember the famous Sun headline when Caley beat celt*c 3-1 in the cup in 2001.( when Caley were league below us)I still play my dvd of the game every now and then.Happy memories!











Will probably postpone Marks weekly visit as Mrs A worked last night so she can help the wee one get ready for tonight. I'm getting the hang of Ridge Racer on my PSP.The graphic are amazing for such a small machine.I do tilt a bit though if I start a race badly..


Ok just time to say that if you'e not checked out Gcox's new blogging template you should.Created by Tripjax and looking mighty fine.

Back with my bankroll update post ( 1 year on ) shortly.More for my records than any fun reading. Goals and targets for my poker year ahead? Make more money,possibly move up and definitely play more bloggers games.

Deal me in!

Flat line

I've had a mixed couple of nights at the table.On Friday night I won $50 at Ladbrokes and $97 at Interpoker but last night a few chickens came home to roost and I was down by the same overall.Played till 3.30 am late Friday and till 5am early this morning and I don't have a penny profit to show for it.Still up a couple of hundred for the week and no complaints really as I felt I''ve had my share of hands holding up recently.

Last night started well with a $50 win at Ladbrokes but within 20 minutes at Inter I was down a $100 buy in. Villan raised and I smooth called with AA.( 6 max loose $.50-$1nl table). Flop came 8 2 5 rainbow and I bet out.Villan called and I raised all in on a blank turn. I honestly put him on JJ,QQ or KK and expected the call.He did call with 55 and bang goes a buy in!

Left the table and clenched my fists and head and let the wave of nausea wash over me before moving and taking a new seat.I won't go into all my beats but they felt like they were coming thick n fast.QQ turns into trips and loses to rivered straight.66 makes trips with a rivered 6.It had been checked all the way round but lost another stack to a villan who'd made his straight with it.

Kept my nerve and stayed tight and pulled it back to $30 down.It was 5 am ( after the clocks had gone back) and my eyes were just about shut.The "your turn" beep was like my snooze button and I was ready to hit the sack reasonably happy at my fightback when I had my AA busted again this time by a caller with AJ who hit 2 Jacks.

So overall I must have played about 15 hours of poker for profit equal to the square root of hee haw.

I was happy overall with most of my play apart from my first AA loss.I'll maybe also need to reconsider how I play QQ sometimes as its a great hand peflop but always seems to run into trouble post flop.Maybe I'm too keen on those Nolan sisters!

Full 1 year on update coming soon ( for my records and as a cure for anyones insomnia) but I've got $478 at Ladbrokes ( all profit since 14/10) ,$1735 at Inter and $424 at Pokerroom so my bankroll can take the enevitable swings.

My style although tight at 6 max probably encourages bigger roll swings as I do like the bet big or go home philosophy I read in my first poker book.( John Vorhaus "Killer Poker"). I see so many weak bets at 6 max nl it makes me cringe.Unless trying to trap why would anyone bet say 20c into a $5 pot? Whats that all about? Either bet the pot ( or half at least) and if you get raised or called get out if required.

QQ also cost me in Ladbrokes "Cruise " freeroll. I was sitting 8th from 1088 starters when someone made the standard bb steal bet and instead of biding my time I stuck my 12k in the middle and was insta-called by AA and out I went.

Really looking forward to tonights wee tourney.Hell I'm even about to try and work this yahoo message thingy! Honestly GaryC you are a Nasa pc programmer compared to my e-tardiness.
Poor show considering I work at a pc all day and play poker most nights. Burn a dvd using my rewriter.Errrrm don't think so!

I even managed to screw up my Pokertracker by replacing it with the new patch update! Damnit!

See you at the tables...

Tourney Sorted

Ok I've created a $5.50 sng private tourney at Royal Vegas.Under name Acornman.Password:Oak
Its not up yet but their support assure me it will be soon.
Gonna kick off at 9pm UK time. ( http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/) . We get an extra hour of poker tonight as our clocks go back an hour so check above site if any confusion.
Note change from 10pm to 9pm UK time.

I'll try out this yahoo messenger thing tomorrow.( never used it before). Line up so far is GaryC,Tripjax,Jordan,Juice,The Edge,myself and one of my friends.
3 more required. Any takers?

Rush Hour

Enjoyed one of my most satisfactory nights ever at the virtual felt last night.Played a $5 turbo 5 player sng to warm up and came 2nd for a whopping $2.50 profit.Funniest moment was when all four of the other players were all in while I watched smiling.Down to three and soon two but I played poorly heads up and didn't deserve to win.

Moved to a .25-.50nl 6 max table and was simply on fire from my first hand.I decided that as I play a tight game ( usually aprox 25% flop seen compared to 50% table average) that I would bet my draws a bit more.Now I'd done this the other night and got carried away with the idea and maybe if I hadn't made my straight on the river on my first hand the whole session would have been different but it was great to lead out with $3 on the flop,$4 on the turn and get my $12 river bet called when I'd made the nuts.

I turned my $50 buy in into $223 in 2 hours and when I left I had $223 at the table and the other 4 players all had under $20.

I only got AA once and no KK or QQ all night but everything decent I did have connected with the flop.

I'd call a raise with KQ and the flop comes KQ6.I'd raise with AK preflop and hit my A or K.
Raised with AQ,miss the flop,bet out anyway and they all fold.

The sooooted hammer winning and the JJ hand I mentioned in my previous post just went to show how lucky I was getting.

Flops seen 35%. Win % when seen flop 50% .Showdowns won 90%.

I broke my early to bed on a worknight rule and eventually hit the hay at 1.10am.I just couldn't leave the table when I was running so well.

I pondered again though my initial reluctance to start playing poker that I seem to go through most nights.Its a strange affliction but I usually don't start playing until around 10 pm and then when I start I settle into my game and wonder why I never began hours ago.

I think I'm scared! Petrified in fact! Why?

A coupe of reasons.Firstly I'm well aware that nights like last night are not down to me being a decent player but are simply down to good luck and fortune and I think I have a fear that my luck is going to change and I'm going to be stuck on a downward spiral which will eat my bankroll.I don't expect to win every time I have AA or a monster hand but I do dread having the kind of run where my good hands get busted over and over again.

More than bad luck though I think I'm scared of the Tilt Monster within me and how I will cope if luck does desert me completely.Most of my recent success at Interpoker have come after I've had a bad start to my nights play and maybe its a feeling that rather than looking deep within myself to pull it round and avoid tilt I've actually just got lucky.

2 good months prove nothing at all to me about my game.Make it two good years and maybe I'll start to have more faith in myself.

Its not that I think I'm a total lucky donk but just that I'm well aware that a night or run where I put my money in as favourite and get shafted everytime is probably going to hit me soon and I'd better be able to deal with it.

I've got about $2.5k online just now and no intentions of stepping up beyond $1nl unless I can continue my current progress for a long time to come.

If a bad downswing occurs my roll can absorb it but no roll can withstand a full on tilt monster attack.

I do think my play has improved with the confidence my first years profits has given me.I used to always be worried that if I was $600 up I was a "winner" but one bad tilting session or horrible run and hey I'm a "loser".

I know these tags shouldn't be an overriding concern.Afterall I could probably move to .5-.10c nl and even with the worst streaks my roll would be ok and I'd still be a "winner" overall.

Perhaps the fact that knowing that even if I did blow the whole lot I'd still be ahead helps me play a better game.I don't chase very often.In fact Juice asked me if its better to call someone down with 2nd top pair if you think they are bluffing.Depends on the circumstances but in most cases I would urge caution.In cash games theres always another hand.No hurry.

It does depend though.Last night I raised with JJ ( not that hand in my last post) and was put all in for $18 more.Everyone folded to me. I called because I'd taken money from Mr All In just moments before and I thought I was ahead and didn't put him on AA,KK or QQ.
He had AK and my JJ held up.

On another hand I had KJ on the button and was about to raise the blinds when UTG +1 made a big raise so I laid it down.

Ramble,ramble...



Ok I've reactivated my Royal Vegas account and I'm hoping to get this wee sng going for this Sunday.Around 9-10pm UK time if that suits Juice and The Edge and Thomas?
Is late Sunday afternoon ok for you US players?


I read yesterday that ESPN ( the US sports channel) is going big on darts coverage soon.Along with playing pool I love darts.I used to have a board up in my hall in my flat and although I was never great at it I spent many happy hours trying to hit 101 or more with 6 darts or playing "round the clock" with friends. My board complete with wooden cabinet seemed to vanish not long after I moved in with Mrs A.I'm sure Mrs A and my Mum got together and saw to its demise.( would have looked good in our kitchen too).

Have a 9 dart checkout this weekend!

Hammmmmmmmer!!

Having a fine night at Laddies .25-50nl 6 max.$50 buy in.

You know its your night when you raise with JJ preflop and check down a QQKA7 board with 4 players and win.

Here's the highlight of my poker life ....( and none of that "but it was sooooooted" fae anyone!)



** Game ID 345344794 starting - 2005-10-29 00:18:09
** Loch Morar [Hold 'em] (0.250.50 No Limit - Cash Game) Real Money

- Tota sitting in seat 1 with $18.10 [Dealer]
- Acornman sitting in seat 2 with $111.85
- Jembob sitting in seat 3 with $47.00
- MrDe sitting in seat 4 with $59.35
- Bassman2 sitting in seat 5 with $63.99
- Scoopst sitting in seat 6 with $69.62

Acornman posted the small blind - $0.25
Jembob posted the big blind - $0.50

** Dealing card to Acornman: 7 of Clubs, 2 of Clubs
MrDe folded
Bassman2 folded
Scoopst raised - $2.00
Tota folded
Acornman raised - $3.50
Jembob folded
Scoopst called - $3.50

** Dealing the flop: 7 of Hearts, 8 of Hearts, 5 of Hearts
Acornman bet - $4.00
Scoopst called - $4.00

** Dealing the turn: 5 of Spades
Acornman checked
Scoopst checked

** Dealing the river: Queen of Clubs
Acornman bet - $8.00
Scoopst called - $8.00
Scoopst mucks:
Acornman wins $29.95 from the main pot

End of game 345344794

Weekend round the corner..

Feeling a bit pissed off today.Rangers drew at Livingston last night.They are the worst team in the league and we lost a 2 goal lead.Mr Eck has 2 games to save his job because it just aint good enough.

First thanks to Jordan for the interest in the UK/US sng.( enjoyed your Truckin' story too).
Juice mentioned a Ryder cup type event which sounds good but I'd be happy just to get 10 of us together for one game first as what with schedules and times differences its not proving the easiest game to set up.Would this Sunday be suitable for everyone?

First come first served but if your are interested in a $5 Sng,probably at Royal Vegas please let me know soon!

No poker last night.Mark came up and it was Virtua tennis and Ridge Racer all the way.We had a smoke and I must have been smoking because about 0.15am just as he was about to leave I logged on to Ladbrokes and there was Juice at a 6 max .15-.30 NL table!!! Just then Nacho went crazy,Mrs A arrived back from work and Mark hit the road.I went back to the table and he'd vanished.Hope to see you at a similar table tonight Juice! What did you think of the standard of play?

I read yesterday that Scotland are playing the USA at Hampden in a friendly on Nov 12th.Obviously the biggest sporting event of the year for all Americans ( apart from the blogger sng) and I'm sure nobodys talking about anything else over there! We may even get the Nolan sisters to perform at halftime but no ground level cameras as we don't want any more nipple exposure controversies.( they aint getting any younger)

Interesting article in The Times about a landmark ruling due soon in the UK about poker clubs and their legality.The debate centres on the skill v luck element of the game.If its deemed a game of chance then it looks like the clubs will close.Check out the "Join the debate" section for some very wise words from an East Kilbride online player and add your own feedback.

Popping up to say hello to my old folks tonight and to play some poker online with my Mum.Hopefully she'll make her first real money deposit soon but as it could be my inheritance she's playing with I don't want to give too much encouragement until I think she's ready...

Are non slippable plastic cups the way ahead? Apparently so.How our forefathers survived the workplace drinking from dangerous open top containers I'll never know.

Its 20c ( 68f) outside today.I don't remember Glasgow ever being this warm in October.Normally at this time of year it would freeze the balls off a brass monkey but I was able to walk about without my jacket this lunchtime.

I mentioned getting some poker t-shirts done before and I'm making progress.6 done but the designs look a bit small on a couple so they need redone before I get them up on my site.I got a baseball cap done too but it was more the trucker style hat ( which seems to be the fashion) so I bought a couple of the flatter type to try out my designs on.At this rate my site will go live sometime after hell freezes over ( or Juice wins another nl tourney).

Mrs A has started planning Xmas presents already in the Acorn household.I'll probably start my planning around Dec 23rd as usual and do my wrapping on Xmas Eve in between poker hands.
Step A wants a Nintendo Ds dog type thing.Why she wants one of them when we have a real dog she can feed and walk anytime I've no idea.

Oh heres a Step A joke before I go.

Q-What do you call a judge with no fingers???






A- Justice Thumbs

Tourneys N Table talk

Thanks for the comment Garyc.I tried and failed to reset my Royal Vegas password last night but I'll get it sorted tonight and we will get this tourney on!

Oh and no worries Veneno I'll leave the high stakes nl stuff to Sir Waffle!

Looks like the prey in the bounty hunt wont be playing but the main plan of getting a few UK/US bloggers together is still good. Juice and The Edge suggested this Sunday which would be fine by me.A $5 sng seems the best option.More for fun and bragging rights than any money.
Anytime Sunday should be ok with me.Our clocks go back an hour at 2am this Sunday so we'll need to remember that when setting the time.Any preferences?


I'll need to sharpen up though.I played a 50c nl tourney with Juice last night and assumed it would be a loose all in kind of game and bombed out first after my AQ hit an A on the flop and I called an all in.Thought I may be behind to 2 pair but a set of fours saw me off.I'd expected a quick all in type game but with pride at stake it took a lot longer than I expected.

Maybe I lost a bit of my enthusisiam when I spotted a .15-.30 6 max nl table with a $12 average pot and 67% seeing the flop.Bought in for $30 and soon worked it up to $40.How could anyone lose long term with those table stats? A table orbit costs 45c.If you went 20 orbits of the table and never played a hand it would cost $9. Ok variance can kick in but logic says that you will get the best hand on average once every 6 hands so even allowing for variance and swings of luck a patient player must be able to make money and that doesn't take into account making any fancy moves.No need to be any good.Just play patient ABC poker.

All was going well until Juice joined the chat and started on about my blog and how an "nl specialist" bombed out the wee tourney we had played.Now there's no way anyone at the levels I play at is a specialist let alone me but I don't want the competition at my table to know anything about me.That was part of the reason I chose Zagga as a username at most sites.Anagram of Gazza ( my nickname and fav footballer) but also annonymous.I don't even include my birthdate or any info on my Pokerroom profile.Information is power in poker and I aint giving any free!

Weird that I'm happy to chat away at the .25 limit table but to me thats just a bit of fun and the cards and luck seem to play a bigger part than nl.( Probably because I don't know what I'm doing!)

When I go to nl and my stack could be on the line at anytime I need to be in my poker zone and concentrating on the table and players.That's not to say I wont be happy to chat at all but preferably not about poker skills or blogs! I would love to be able to read any blog my opponents write.What an insight that would be.Roll on Sunday!

Thats why I was talking down your tourney win the other night Juice.I didn't want the table we were at to get any idea of the level of your play.

Even Mr Edge writing about PO watching the game made me wince.Maybe they wouldn't know what PO ( poker office) is but I wouldn't want any of the enemy knowing any info about any tools I use to help my game.

Maybe I'm just paranoid!

Labrokes bankroll is at $266 and Mark will be up tonight for our weekly Playstation fest so may not get any poker played.I did play the laddys raked hand freeroll last night and may try and squeeze that in tonight if I've qualified.

Please leave me a comment if you're up for the private sng at Royal Vegas.Mr Edge has a link on his site which pays a $10 bonus just for signing up so that would cover the entry fee.All bloggers and any readers ( are there any?!lol) welcome.Lets make it happen..

If it aint broke....

Don't fix it so they say.A lesson this Acorn will try and heed from now on as I'll get to later.

Mark never came up last night as he is moving house which was quite funny because I didn't even know he'd sold up.Shows up the difference between men and woman.He comes over to my place once a week almost every week and we talk football,games,bit of poker,cars,work stuff and other important topics but trivial stuff like selling up and moving..forget it. I said to Mrs A that if that was her she'd know the colour of the shower curtain in the new place and how well it goes with the new bathroom tiles. He's going to pop up on Wednesday.I checked and him and the Mrs are still together and they've not had any more children since I was last over....

Hit the tables and found Juice ( and Mr Edge observing) at a .50-1 limit table.I was a bit unsure about sitting down as I felt my lack of limit knowledge could cost me dear.I really need to learn the basic maths stuff as most of the time I've no idea if the odds are on my side or not and I'm just guessing at the best decision.Anyway the chat was good and I left just after Juice $3 up.

Went upstairs and talked to the wee one for a while and then hit the $.50-1 nl 6 max tables.I picked my usual loose table with high average pot sizes and decided to mix up my play a bit.I led out with a flush draw on the flop and turn hoping to disguise my hand and make the villan pay if it hit.Lost the showdown and the table got to see my evil plan.

I'd loosened up though and raised with k8 and took down the pot on a k high flop then I made my main mistake for the night.I've mentioned before that playing like a rock means more steals and bluffs and usually I wait until I've established my table image before starting down that route.

A favourite move of mine is to call a postflop raise and if the villan slows down on the turn and river and any scare cards come I bet aprox the pot and half and they fold. eg flop of 2 5 9 and villan bets out with top pair.I call with anything and when a Q,K or A comes on the turn the villan bets the same or less than his post flop amount and I call pretending to trap and then spring my "trap" on the river.Even better to wait until it looks like I've made my flush or straight.

I tried it last night and got called by someone with a middle pair which beat my rags and I pondered where I had gone wrong then it hit me.They'd seen me bet my failed flush draw and I'd raised pf more than usual so instead of appearing like the tight old lady who only plays the nuts I must have looked like your average loose goose so its not surprising I was called down and lost.

Its not a move I make often even at 6 max because most of the time especially at a loose table bluffs get called down and only with the right table image can they be carried off.

Lesson learned.If I'm going to mix up my style and try new ideas remember it will affect the way the rest of the table views me.

My game has really changed over the last few months.I used to seek out passive tables with high flop seen and low pot averages and enjoyed trying to take control and pushing players around.Many times at .25nl my my play and bet sizes would make others uncomfortable and I'd be left on my own at what was once a full ring game.Great for the confidence but perhaps not the best way to win the most in the long term.

Now at 6 max I feel like I play like a rock.I wait and wait and wait and then strike.If I lose when I strike I tend not to tilt as staying tight means more time to recover from a bad beat mentally before I'm next in a pot.Maybe thats why being a true tight/aggressive seems to be where my game is headed.

When I say a rock thats probably only in terms of 6 max at the low levels I play at where anyone seeing less than 30% of flops would probably be considered tight!

Mr Edge sent me a screenshot of what Poker office can do and it looked impressive.Checked the website though and I don't think it supports Interpoker however if I end up playing 6 max nl at Ladbrokes on a regular basis I may just give it a go.Its got a 300 free trial option so I may give that a go first.

Ok so I lost $28 at the $.50-1 nl tabe and decided that as my bankroll is so low at Ladbrokes that I'd be more sensible moving to .25-.50nl 6 max. Pulled back $12 for 1/2 hours play and ended down only $15 for the night.I could move money from Interpoker to balance things up but I think I'll try and be disciplined enough to stay at .50nl and build it from there.Ladbrokes software is ok and while I had a good 2 weeks to get me to where I am I need to take a bit longer in deciding if the players are as fishy as Interpokers.

Either that or I'll take inspiration from Sir Waffle and take it to the highest stakes nl table I can buy in for and take a shot.
I like watching players do that and always feel slightly envious when they buy in for $500 flop a monster and treble up after 3 hands.Just got to remember thats the exception and not the rule and that the old adage about playing with fire and getting burned still applies.

Nice to see Garyc back even if its only been a few days! Hope you get your broadband fixed soon G.

Big thanks to Tripjax for the hint on how to do links.Easy when you know how!

Acorn of Doom

Placed 832nd in the Blogger Tourney last night.Managed to catch up with http://tripjax.blogspot.com/ ( ok Garyc how do you do those fancy link things where you write their name and the link is there?!) and would have chatted longer had I not brought the curse of the acorn with me as he was out within minutes of me saying hello.!Sorry Trip!

Found http://highonpoker.blogspot.com/ and http://www.gcox25.blogspot.com/ who were both sitting out but probably made it further than me and I was playing!
It was actually players sitting out I blame for my demise.How can players not even there cause me to crash out? Well with one live player inbetween us and everyone folding to me I go all in for my last $1000 chips with Q10 sooooted expecting the live guy to fold and me to take the blinds.Live guy insta calls with KK and its goodnight Acornman!

At least I made it past the first break I suppose.

Played a 10 seat $5 sng at Pokerroom and came 2nd after my 88 was busted by AJ after a longish heads up battle.

Huge thanks to http://pokerandglory.blogspot.com/ who has been badgering me to do a bankroll graph for a while now. I'm hopeless at such things and asked Juice if he could do the graph if I supplied the stats.Emailed him at about 1am last night and the graphs were on his blog by the time I got to work at 10 am today.I'll get Mrs A to bake you that loaf asap!

I've been playing with real money for exactly one year on Oct 31st and have just about completed a "Bankroll-1 year on" post which I'll get on the blog soon including Juices graph work. I realise that type of post is more for my benefit and records but hey it is my blog.It can't all be exciting updates on my bonnet catch!

One tip to anyone else doing the same.Do not attempt while under the influence of any herbs or alcohol.Seems I can play fine like that but adding stats in wee columns and working out exact dates for cashouts aint so easy.

Mrs A still off the cigs and going well.Her moods seem to be improving a bit too.I even got a fine bowl of porridge for breakfast this morning.I love porridge.Sticks to your ribs as my Granny used to say.( the inside of your ribs I think otherwise it would mess my shirt up).

She's working tonight so I may pop up to see my Mum and Dad before picking up the wee one and playing PSP and ps2 games with Mark later.

Hey Mondays almost over.( work at least). Its all downhill to the weekend from now on...

Here's a couple of snippets that made me smile:


Jason is also worried about Glasgow's violent reputation. He says that when a performing arts student in Glasgow utters the line, "Is this a dagger which I see before me?", he is more likely to hear the reply: "Aye. Gie us yer trainers."

Purse strings:
WE mentioned the exclusive launch of the latest Louis Vuitton range in Edinburgh attended by 50 of Scotland's leading businesswomen and monied bag buyers. As they left they were each handed a goodie bag, which included a Vuitton wallet. A worried Vuitton executive heard one of the women, from Glasgow, look at the wallet and tell her pal: "This must be worth about £100 – I think I'll take it back to the shop on Monday for a refund."The Vuitton exec was later reassured that this was merely Glasgow humour and the woman would not in fact be seeking the cash come today.

Your Round:
READER Sandra Durning in Oman tells us that her son in Glasgow set off to meet a business contact he had never met in a Byres Road pub. The chap told him he would recognise him as he was "a short, fat, baldy guy". A female friend of her son cautioned him that in a Glasgow bar that could take quite some time to find him.


That's the limit:
A TRAFFIC cop insists that he pulled over a very geriatric driver on the M8 who was causing a huge backlog of cars by only driving at eight miles an hour. When the cop questioned him, he said he thought the signs for M8 motorway was the speed you had to drive at. While the officer was putting him right, he noticed that the old lady sitting next to the driver was looking a bit pale."Are you all right?" asked the officer."I am now," she replied, "Now that we're off the M90."

Squeezed by The Juice

Warming up with a $5 mtt.Played one the other night and came 81st,11 off the money from 693.
I don't usually post bad beats but this one wasn't pleasant.I was about an 87% fav after the money went in.Ahh well 300 chips left...



10.44 PM (ET: 5:44 PM BST: 10:44 PM)

$5+$1 (real money), hand #1,389,763,048
5+0.5 NL Holdem Multi Table Tournament, 22 Oct 2005 10:43 PM
View Previous Next hand for this table.
Seat 1: funkfella ($1,010 in chips)
Seat 2: Zagga [QS,QH] ($3,160 in chips)
Seat 3: John Blund X ($1,680 in chips)
Seat 4: Jon too easy ($2,860 in chips)
Seat 5: ahoenig ($1,470 in chips)
Seat 6: arnoldjo ($1,470 in chips)
Seat 7: QUADZ1LLA ($1,670 in chips)
Seat 8: Laring ($1,740 in chips)
Seat 9: vegaspoet ($3,240 in chips)
Seat 10: Wildbill1980 ($1,170 in chips)
ANTES/BLINDSZagga posts blind ($10), John Blund X posts blind ($20).

PRE-FLOPJon too easy bets $100, ahoenig folds, arnoldjo folds, QUADZ1LLA folds, Laring folds, vegaspoet folds, Wildbill1980 folds, funkfella folds, Zagga bets $250, John Blund X folds, Jon too easy calls $160.

FLOP [board cards 4C,3D,JS ]

Zagga bets $500, Jon too easy calls $500.

TURN [board cards 4C,3D,JS,7D ]

Zagga bets $2,400 and is all-in, Jon too easy calls $2,100 and is all-in.

RIVER [board cards 4C,3D,JS,7D,AH ]

SHOWDOWN: Zagga shows [ QS,QH ] Jon too easy shows [ AC,KH ]
Zagga wins $300, Jon too easy wins $5,740.

SUMMARYDealer: funkfellaPot: $6,040funkfella, loses $0Zagga, bets $3,160, collects $300, net -$2,860John Blund X, loses $20Jon too easy, bets $2,860, collects $5,740, net $2,880ahoenig, loses $0arnoldjo, loses $0QUADZ1LLA, loses $0Laring, loses $0vegaspoet, loses $0Wildbill1980, loses $0

nh sucker!


Played a $5 5 max turbo sng and came 2nd but should have won.Got some great hands and totally dominated until I was heads up and made one daft call with J9soooted.

Ah well off to start Ladbrokes $10 turbo crapshoot.


Bombed out after a reckless play and then joined Juice at a Ladbrokes .15-.30 limit table.Mr J had partaken of a few beverages and I'd smoked my head off so the chat was great.Can't remember a word of it though!

Eventually persuaded the table to play a wee nl tourney which Juice kindly agreed to set up.
Like Baldrick he had a cunning plan and when I saw my first decent hand and went to make a move the only one open to me was a 40 chip raise!! Who stole my all in button?!! It was a limit tourney.Grrrr!!

Down to Juice and me left and the tangerine man took the $8 first prize with a display of poker Doyle Brunson woud have been proud of.I played more like the late Mr Brunson from Grange Hill but was happy to actually place in a limit tourney for the first time even if I did only win $4.

Once again a pleasure playing with Juice and friends.Just a shame Mr Edge wasn't there but a fine night all the same.I did ask The Prey if Royal Vegas next weekend suited him for the Bounty tourney but don't recall his answer! Doh. If you read this Juice could you check with him and any others from Laddys who are up for it. Friday midnight Uk time? If we get more than 10 Pokerstars allows private multi table tourneys and may be our best option.Is it maybe best to get people to confirm by leaving a comment at your blog Juice or here?I couldn't organise a paper folding competiton at an Origami convention so let me know.


After the game Mrs A and I took Nacho a walk.Mrs A is now on her 11th day off the cigarettes and doing very well to stay off them but she has been just a little grumpy.The ground was wet when we left and walked along the path at the back of our house.I decided to show off Nachos legendary obedience skills by clicking my fingers to make him come back. He came running back happily wagging his tail and promptly jumped up on Mrs A leaving a couple of big wet muddy paw prints on her newly ironed clean trousers.As she uttered some choice sweary words I looked away aware that if she saw any signs of the huge grin I had on my face she would strike down upon me with great vengance and furious anger.lol


Got back and hit a Ladbrokes $.50 -$1 nl table 6 max table.These tables seem almost as wild as Interpokers.I mentioned a while back that I thought that the Americans are much better players and that theory has only been back up by the play I've seen at Inter and Laddys over the last few months.

I was my usual tight self.At one point I'd seen 7% of flops but with average pots of $40 and blinds so cheap it pays to be patient and amazingly none of the other loosey gooses seem to notice that I'm betting big for the first time in many hands and the last time I did this I had the goods. If they do notice then I take advantage by starting to steal pots when the board is scary or I sense weakness but generally they don't.

This hand was my main winner and I left for Interpoker $60 up.

** Game ID 341788921 starting - 2005-10-24 02:30:53
** Carnap [Hold 'em] (0.501.00 No Limit - Cash Game) Real Money

- Salvadanaro sitting in seat 1 with $98.46
- Henkka1 sitting in seat 2 with $52.13
- TroutPerra sitting in seat 3 with $33.75
- Acornman sitting in seat 4 with $108.70
- mickster sitting in seat 5 with $113.33
- JimmyCauty sitting in seat 6 with $44.89 [Dealer]

Salvadanaro posted the small blind - $0.50
Henkka1 posted the big blind - $1.00

** Dealing card to Acornman: King of Clubs, Ace of Hearts
TroutPerra raised - $2.00
Acornman called - $2.00
mickster folded
JimmyCauty folded
Salvadanaro folded
Henkka1 folded

** Dealing the flop: 4 of Spades, 7 of Diamonds, Ace of Diamonds
TroutPerra bet - $1.00
Acornman called - $1.00

** Dealing the turn: 6 of Clubs
TroutPerra bet - $9.00
Acornman called - $9.00

** Dealing the river: 8 of Hearts
TroutPerra checked
Acornman bet - $20.00
TroutPerra went all-in - $21.75
Acornman called - $21.75
TroutPerra shows: Jack of Spades, Jack of Clubs
Acornman wins $66.00 from the main pot


Interpoker had some even looser tables.Required a bit of hunting down and a few table moves but eventually found one that suited and left $70 up.Lost $34 in my last hand which was a bit frustrating but another fine night of chat and profit at the virtual felt.

I read an article about how there's more pain when you lose than joy when you win and I think thats very true.I was sitting cheesed off that I'd lost that last $34 despite being $130 up for the night. I was gutted when I bombed out the $10 crapshoot but lose a $10 pot at $1nl and it would hardly register with me.

The article said to be wary of loss aversion.I'll probably be arrested for copyright infringement ( so long as I get a cell with a net connection) but here's the example given :

" Many experiments bear this out. For example, subjects were asked about a one-time fifty-fifty gamble between losing $10 and winning some amount. How large would the amount have to be in order to make this gamble just barely acceptable? Most people (not gamblers) require, on average, $25 to get them to take the bet. Thus, a loss of $10 is about equally painful as a gain of $25 is joyful.."

Food for thought.

Ok only 5 1/2 hours till the Blogger tourney on Pokerstars. 9pm start UK time.Should be good.I wish the start time was a bit earlier but I don't think it'll make much difference.I'd love to be calling the boss tomorrow morning to ask for the day off "cos I'm playing heads up v one of my blogger buddies for a trip to the Carribean" but its more likely I'll be out in time for the weather report at the end of the 9pm news.( If I can resist going all in with the Hammer on the first hand!).

Good luck to everyone playing in it. My username is Zagga ( from pre blog days) but my location is "Acornman" so say hello if you see me.

I have great ambitions for this tourney.I just don't want to come last....

Mrs A 's Magic Bread

04.42am so I've not made it to my bed yet... Was just about to crash out when the smell of homebaked bread filled my munchie sensitive nostrils.Bread and butter.Top drawer.

I put $180 into Ladbrokes intending to take out the same from Interpoker....then I bought into another well researched crazy'ole game and this happened...

* Game ID 341104982 starting - 2005-10-23 04:43:40
** Epicurus [Hold 'em] (1.002.00 No Limit - Cash Game) Real Money

- Acornman sitting in seat 1 with $149.40 [Dealer]
- knekten sitting in seat 2 with $126.24
- sutskoen sitting in seat 3 with $242.82
- kade sitting in seat 4 with $207.18
- Atyeo sitting in seat 5 with $204.00
- redstar888 sitting in seat 6 with $249.98

knekten posted the small blind - $1.00
sutskoen posted the big blind - $2.00

** Dealing card to Acornman: 9 of Clubs, 9 of Hearts
kade called - $2.00
Atyeo raised - $10.00
redstar888 folded
Acornman called - $10.00
knekten folded
sutskoen folded
kade called - $10.00

** Dealing the flop: King of Hearts, 9 of Diamonds, 7 of Spades
kade checked
Atyeo bet - $26.00
Acornman called - $26.00
kade folded

** Dealing the turn: 5 of Spades
Atyeo bet - $114.00
Acornman went all-in - $113.40

** Dealing the river: 2 of Spades
Atyeo shows: 10 of Spades, 10 of Hearts
Acornman wins $308.80 from the main pot

End of game 341104982


And what do you know he's back for more.He said nice hand and left after that.He'd asked in the chat box if I had a 4 before the showdown.Ahhh.Poor bloke.Hope he bounces back( to my table preferably)



** Game ID 341105661 starting - 2005-10-23 04:50:00
** Epicurus [Hold 'em] (1.002.00 No Limit - Cash Game) Real Money

- Acornman sitting in seat 1 with $305.80 [Dealer]
- knekten sitting in seat 2 with $109.94
- sutskoen sitting in seat 3 with $333.97
- kade sitting in seat 4 with $112.68
- Atyeo sitting in seat 5 with $64.50
- redstar888 sitting in seat 6 with $243.98

knekten posted the small blind - $1.00
sutskoen posted the big blind - $2.00

** Dealing card to Acornman: 5 of Spades, 5 of Clubs
kade folded
Atyeo called - $2.00
redstar888 called - $2.00
Acornman called - $2.00
knekten called - $2.00
sutskoen checked

** Dealing the flop: 10 of Spades, 4 of Hearts, 5 of Diamonds
knekten checked
sutskoen checked
Atyeo bet - $8.00
redstar888 folded
Acornman called - $8.00
knekten folded
sutskoen folded

** Dealing the turn: 4 of Clubs
Atyeo checked
Acornman checked

** Dealing the river: 9 of Spades
Atyeo bet - $22.00
Acornman raised - $44.00
Atyeo went all-in - $32.50
Acornman called - $54.50
Atyeo shows: Ace of Spades, 10 of Hearts
Acornman wins $132.00 from the main pot

End of game 341105661

I'm off to my kip after I've made a small withdrawl of the $180 I deposited half an hour ago.

Back to $225 up at Laddies and on $1651 at Inter.$400 at Pokerroom and bonuses to be worked off and most importantly the blogger n bounty tourneys coming up.

05.00 Goodnight Vienna!

3am eternal

Lost $185 of my $200 profit at Ladbrokes after my set of Queens was beaten by a full house made on the turn after the money went in post flop.Well that was $100.Never took stock and calmed my self down.Headed to another table and merrily did in another $100 with a move so fishy I was scraping the algae off my screen.

Raised with K9 ( oops) and bet out when I hit my K on the flop and kept betting and calling all the way down because the villan was the big stack and I was sure he'd got there by pushing people around and I wasn't in the mood for that.KQ kicked my mood into touch and I contemplated my sudden downswing whilst also contemplating another smoke.

Thankfully I came to my senses and started playing poker again instead of the "wish holdem" I'd been playing.Oh and I also moved to Interpoker.The 6 max nl action is like the wacky races.

Anyway I played 2 £1 nl 6 max tables and was holding my own ....

Then this happened.

No great poker skill required though Ezemoney had just lost a huge pot and looked tilty so I thought he'd at least make a loose call but not do what he did.

Right place,right time.


------HAND 14------
Game #1117919233: Hold'em NL (£0.50/£1) - 2005/10/21 - 21:39:00 (ET)
Table "Leeds" Seat 5 is the button.
Seat 1: NutOSteel (£23 in chips)
Seat 2: Bfc1953 (£98.75 in chips)
Seat 3: Zagga (£121.75 in chips)
Seat 4: Ezemoney (£86 in chips)
Seat 5: lurcher (£72.50 in chips)
Seat 6: Nylon (£78.37 in chips)
Nylon: posts small blind £0.50
NutOSteel: posts big blind £1
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Zagga [Ks Kc]
Bfc1953: folds
Zagga: raises to £4
Ezemoney: calls £4
lurcher: folds
Nylon: calls £3.50
NutOSteel: calls £3
----- FLOP ----- [Qh 6c 7d]
Nylon: checks
NutOSteel: bets £19 and is all-in
Zagga: raises to £38
Ezemoney: raises to £82 and is all-in
Nylon: folds
Zagga: calls £44
----- TURN ----- [Qh 6c 7d][Js]
----- RIVER ----- [Qh 6c 7d Js][Ah]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Ezemoney: shows [9c 8s] (High Card Ace)
NutOSteel: shows [Qs Th] (A Pair of Queens, Ace high)
Zagga: shows [Ks Kc] (A Pair of Kings, Ace high)
Zagga collected £126 from Side pot #1
Zagga collected £70 from Main pot
----- SUMMARY -----
Total pot £199 Main pot £70 Side pot #1 £126 Rake £3
Board [Qh 6c 7d Js Ah]
Seat 2: Bfc1953 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: Zagga showed [Ks Kc] and won (£196) with A Pair of Kings, Ace high
Seat 5: lurcher (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Nylon (small blind) folded on the Flop



02.53 am and $185 down at Laddies ( got $15 for my limit education) but $331 up at Interpoker.

I may have to send Interpoker a Valentine card next year.

Gonna hit the hay soon.

Why do I have to take a hit ( bankroll or bong!) before playing my best game? Seems to happen every weekend.I always start late because I just know I'm gonna get cuffed and always wonder if I can dig deep and turn it round and so far so good.Got a good fish radar when I'm not swimming around the bowl myself.


1/2 hr then bed.Its 03.15am...zzzzzzzz


03.28 Found a .25nl full ring table at Pokerroom with an ave pot of $21.99 and 65% seeing the
flop.Happy days!

Up from $25 to $43 after hitting a nice straight on the river and paying hee haw for it.I love players who make weak bets when you'e got a drawing hand

Last smoke then bed.Gotta fight the chair glue...

03.39 Damn they all folded to my $1.50 pf raise with the bullets.

77 gotta run.

03.47am
Down $15 but back up $5 when my 88 sucks out on AA with an 8 on the flop.Must go to bed!

$5 up and 5mins to go.Hmm do I call a $25 all in with K6.Fold That you Mr Edge? lol

cheerio...

The Bounty Hunters

Seems like Juices idea of a tournament with a bounty on an old foe of his may come to pass.Chatted briefly to the prey last night and next weekend ( Fri 28th or Sat 29th) would suit him and give us time to arrange bringing our US Heavy Arms Divison to the table. As mentioned previously a 11pm or 12am UK start time may be best to accomodate our US friends.

Sites? Juice mentioned Royal Vegas.Do they do private tourneys? The prey did ask if he gets the bounty if he wins the sng and while obviously there's more chance of Juice wearing a Spurs top I do think that would be a fair shout.

Me,Juice,The Edge,The prey,Rosie?,Gary C,Trip,Jordan plus 2 more?? ( Will? Sir?Veneno? anyone?)

If we could organise it weekly or even fortnightly with a different bounty on a someone different every time ( good idea Juice) that would also be good.

I'm normally silent at the table and take it all very seriously but I've really enjoyed my wee foray into limit poker at Ladbrokes even if the game itself bores me to tears! So busy watching the chat I keep having to hit the "I'm back" button and as for strategy I'll let you know if I come up with one.....

Did move briefly to a $.50-$1nl 6 max table after Juice left last night but my head was too fuzzy and after 20 mins and a $6 loss when my flopped 2 pair ran into a flopped set I headed to bed.I was actually quite proud of my play in that hand. He'd bet $1 after the flop so I raised to $2 which he called.Same on turn and he bet out $1 on the river surely expecting me to make a big raise but I'd sensed the danger and just called.

Beforehand I took the family up for dinner at my folks place.A fine time and Nacho and Step A enjoyed themselves.Step A is growing up so fast. "You need a haircut" she announced the other day.Duly sorted at lunchtime but me and Nacho have our work cut out dealing with the bossy females in our life!

My cold feels a bit better today but my lack of sleep is catching up on me which means I'll probably play poker till 6am again....

On the car front I aint spending nothing just now.Anyone know if putting 2 1/2 pints of water in your radiator would stop the car overheating? Its seems to have done the trick but the garage said the cooling fins were gubbed.Damn rip off merchants. If the handbrake cable does freeze during the winter I'll fix it then.

Got my £235 bill for my tennants new cooker only they never told me that price excluded VAT.( sales tax). Another £40 plus £95 for the gas leak call out and £95 for a carbon monoxide call out charge.They may aswell wear masks and carry a damn swag bag.Time for a rent increase and a change of letting agency.

My sister is back from her shopping trip to New York and apparently spent over £1k.I don't think I've spent that on clothes etc in my whole lifetime.Of course you'd never tell by my trendy up to date look.( jeans and a t-shirt).
Glad she enjoyed herself.She's had a tough year.

Having friends over next weekend but this weekend will be quiet.Off to see the Rangers beat Motherwell at Ibrox tomorrow.They'd better or the bosses jacket will be on a shoogly( shakey) peg.I've a feeling a certain Mr Scott McDonald of Motherwell (who scored the goals v Them that won us the league) may just get the welcome of his life.So long as he doesn't score against us....

Have a fine weekend.

Flu attack

Ok its probably not the flu but as its a well known fact that men get colds much worse than women do I'm really suffering.( Mrs A disputes this for some reason) Head hurts,nose blocked,eyes watering and palms sweaty.Worst part is not being able to sleep properly because I can't breathe through my nose but at least I'm not the sort to make a fuss about it....

Last nights garbage 0-0 draw at Ibrox didn't exactly cheer me up either.Plenty of chances but none taken.The group we are in ( Rangers,Porto,Inter Milan and Art Media Bratislava) is still wide open.Top two qualify,3rd place gets the Uefa cup place and 4th goes the way celt*c went in July.(out).

Got back from the game and decided there was no way I was up to playing poker as my head was too fuzzy.( did I mention I've got a cold?).

Watched some tv but the poker bug bit and I hit the .15-.30 limit tables at Ladbrokes where I had the pleasure of being at the table with Juice and ( at last) The Edge.I don't know how they concentrate on the game with all the chat going on.Good fun though.

Didn't have much luck.Twice my straights were beaten by a river card my opponents would have paid dearly to see at nl and when I bet preflop with AK soooted and missed the board I wasn't sure wether a continuation bet was worth it at limit whereas in nl I'd have bet the pot and really have asked a question of my opponents.

I'd really need to learn my limit maths if I was to play limit at any higher levels.I know its all about pushing small edges but if you don't know when to holdem and when to foldem that aint good. Quite refreshing to be playing a different game.Never had an urge to play Omaha or any other variety of pokerIt would probably take a lifetime to learn all about no limit let alone another poker game.Played hours of 3 card brag at school but not seen that at any of the sites yet.


Not too bothered about losing a couple of bob though as I had $12 more than I thought in my Ladbrokes account when I logged in and only dropped $4 of that besides the chat was great. Stayed till just past 1am but I knew that I wasn't going to get much sleep anyway ( due the cold I may have mentioned previously).

Juice has placed a bounty on a player he felt was getting ideas above his station which is quite funny.( check http://pokerandglory.blogspot.com/ for details) . I really can't take any so called table experts very seriously at the levels I play at.If they were that good why are they playing at $1nl ( or.15-.30 limit in this case)? I never apologise if I suckout on a a hand.If that annoys the villan even more and puts them off their game then all the better.I also don't let villans annoy me with their "ouch" or "wow" comments when they suckout on me.If they do get under my skin I move table.

Not much of that at Ladbrokes .15-.30 tables.Its all very friendly and more like a sewing club than a poker war room sometimes but I quite like the change in pace and as its fixed limit and very low stakes you'd be hard pushed to lose too much in a session even if your cold decked.
Just need to be careful not to get complacent though because as my Granny used to say "If you look after the pennies,the pounds look after themselves".


Watched a 2 players playing $.50-1nl heads up at Ladbrokes for a while just to see what the standard was like and watched as one player simply ran over the top of the other one.I nearly told the loser to take a break or find another table having made the same mistake myself last weekend but if I'd been the player winning I'd have been raging so I left it.There's so many players out there if one has the better of you make a note and find another table.( or stick a bounty on their heads!).

Hopefully we can get a wee NL tourney going this weekend and Acornman the bounty hunter can try to take Juices swag by netting his prey for him.Juice asked about getting Tripjax,Garyc and co invloved but I don't think Ladbrokes allows US players.

The 5-6 hour time difference means once again I wont be participating in the Heads Up challenge but it would be great to find a site and a time that suits all and try and get a few of us together for an SNG or even a small stakes cash game. I know Pokerstars allows private tourneys and Interpokers sngs's always seem quiet.I'm not the greatest organiser in the world but if anyone has any ideas for a time and place let me know.( all my spanking fan readers welcome too ).

Taking the family up to my Mum and Dads for dinner tonight and will hopefully hit the tables later.I will have to proceed with caution though because the last time I felt like this I hit a bad patch and promised myself I'd learn from it for next time.Just hope I feel better in time for my usual Interpoker weekend 6 max madness but if I don't I wont be playing.

Off to sniffle my way through the rest of the day...

Blues Chaser

Not feeling great last night at all so decided to be sensible and just watch the internet poker on tv and see if I could learn anything.I logged into Pokerroom and tried to find my Mum at the play money tables without success.

Around midnight I went to Ladbrokes and on failing to find Juice or Mr Edge logged into $.50-$1 nl game.It was a full ring game but 3 soon left and it was down to 7 which I liked.

Bought in for $100 and had been up a few $$ and down a few when sitting at $100.87 I decided to leave and be happy with my 87c profit for my 20 minutes work.Of course the player to my right left just as he was due to pay his blind ( my last hand) so having paid and being a tight git I decided to stay for another orbit.

Very glad I did because when the button was mine I was dealt KJ. Now KJ can be a hand which can get you in a lot of trouble in NL.Looks good but is dominated by a lot of hands.
Hand history is below and heres the fishy thinking that went with it.( just in case its too dry for Juice lol).

Ok 1 caller and I'm on the button.Should I raise and try and take down a couple of $$ without a flop or just limp and see what the flop brings.

** Game ID 338907081 starting - 2005-10-20 00:24:39
** Doncaster [Hold 'em] (0.501.00 No Limit - Cash Game) Real Money

- lagersten sitting in seat 2 with $86.25
- skogis_72 sitting in seat 3 with $223.80
- Acornman sitting in seat 5 with $99.37 [Dealer]
- Le-Essex-Kid sitting in seat 6 with $28.56
- gavinalways sitting in seat 7 with $55.50
- Sigmund sitting in seat 9 with $68.75
- otto_k sitting in seat 10 with $75.30

Le-Essex-Kid posted the small blind - $0.50
gavinalways posted the big blind - $1.00

** Dealing card to Acornman: Jack of Hearts, King of Diamonds
Sigmund called - $1.00
otto_k folded
lagersten folded
skogis_72 folded
Acornman called - $1.00
Le-Essex-Kid called - $1.00
gavinalways checked

Ok limp in for $1.


** Dealing the flop: Queen of Spades, 3 of Spades, 10 of Clubs
Le-Essex-Kid bet - $1.00
gavinalways folded
Sigmund raised - $3.00
Acornman called - $3.00
Le-Essex-Kid called - $3.00

Ok Essex kid bets $1 into the $4.50 pot.Why? A cheap steal ? Betting his draw?Otherwise what kind of a weak bet is that?How will that protect a made hand when he's given good drawing odds to any other callers?

Raised to $3 and theres $8.50 in the pot. Someones got the Q and I reckon its Sigmund.His raise makes it easy to read that he' s trying to protect a hand and would probably be happy to take it down there and then.

I call thinking if I hit a 9 or an A then I can win a decent sized pot if Sigmund can't lay down tptk.

** Dealing the turn: Ace of Diamonds
Le-Essex-Kid checked
Sigmund bet - $3.00
Acornman raised - $8.00

I raise because although I know I'm ahead Essex kid could be on a flush draw and I don't want to make it cheap for him.Don't want too raise too much though and scare them both away though.

Le-Essex-Kid folded

Glad he folded.

Sigmund raised - $16.00

I could call but had the feeling he'd hit 2pair ( AQ or A10 ).Us both having KJ also crossed my mind.Time to raise....

Acornman raised - $28.00
Sigmund went all-in - $48.75

Ahhh can't beat someone betting into your nut hand....

Acornman called - $64.75

** Dealing the river: King of Clubs
Sigmund shows: Queen of Hearts, Ace of Hearts
Acornman wins $139.50 from the main pot

Left soon after and went to bed $70 up and a happy acorn.

Couldn't sleep for wondering how I'd have played it in his shoes.He has tptk on the flop and then hits his 2 pair on the turn.Would I have thought myself unlucky or would I have read anything more into the reraise on the turn.

Would I have raised the turn if I was drawing for the flush? Doubt it therefore only trips or the KJ I held could have beaten him.
Maybe he thought I'd raised because I'd hit the Ace on the turn and could even have had A10 and thats why he reraised.


Juice asked about NL starting hands in his blog today.I don't play a fixed set of starting hands.At 6 max or if a full table loses a few players more hands become playable and their value goes up.I like to play the opposite way to the table.I played my KJ in the above hand because I had postion,the table was quite tight and and there were only 7 playing.

At a full table without position I may limp but due to it being an easily dominated hand I'd probably fold it.

In cash games there is always another day and another hand so you can afford to be tight and aggressive.At a $1 NL 6 max game with an average pot of say $20 logic says I should have the best hand at least 1 out of every 6 hands. Even if I go 10 full orbits and pay 10 * $1 for the big blind and 10 * $.50sb that would cost me $15. I just need to win one average pot in that time to stay ahead.Find a crazy game and remain tight.

Its also hard to pinpoint exact starting hands because sometimes what you play depends on the situation or opponent.You have to try and work out what level your opponent is playing at.I've folded AK before to two all ins at .25nl and watched as one turned over A3 and the other K9.
If I'd seen them play like that before then AK would probably be a great starting hand to call an all in of theirs with in future but against more solid opponents its more of a decision.

Hope some of that makes sense.( not sure it even makes sense to me!)


Off to the game tonight.Rangers play the team that humped celt*c 5-0 back in July. If we can beat them home and away in we've got a great chance of making the second stage of the Champions League.It would certainly go some way to making up for the poor start in the Scottish League. 7.45 ko and the place will be jumping.I love Champions League nights at Ibrox.52,000 people going radio rental for 90 minutes getting behind the team.The music they play beforehand sends a shiver up my spine.

Will they win? Will my cold get worse? Will I squeeze in a quick half hour of poker when I get home?

Depends......

Tues Update

Mark left about midnight after a night of kicking alien ass on the PSP.Bought a game called "Coded Arms" and after hating it at first its growing on me.

Hit the Ladbrokes Limit tables to hunt down Juice and The Edge and found the Juice just on his way out.Wasn't staying long myself as its early to bed for Acornman these days but squeezed in half an hour of fine poker with one of my favourite London based bloggers.( ok I only know two!).

Limit Holdem really does seem like a different game to me though.I may have played aprox 500 hours of NL but I can't honestly say I've played more than 1/2 hour of Limit before my recent adventures.

I get 88 and call Juices raise.Now I know Juice is a "by the book" player so his raise must be respected and I put him on a decent hand thinking its either hit the flop or get out.Hit my set on a flop of 8 9 9 and called his flop bet.I waited to the river to raise but is this an automatic raise on the turn? It would have been against anyone else at the table but I reckon Juice can lay a hand down and I didn't want to scare him off.

Enjoyed playing at the .15-.30 limit table.I admire Juice and The Edge for having the discipline to have built their bankrolls at this level and for not taking too many shortcuts.

I had thought that low fixed limit games were mostly "best hand wins" poker but I even managed to sneak river bluff at one point.
Not the cadillac of poker but wether its the chat,the game or just the general relaxed atmosphere at the tables I'll be back for more.

I still hate not being able to get reads from betting patterns and not being able to raise enough to protect my hand but its much easier emotionally when you know your stack is not going to be on the line.

I think being home from my holiday and not having another one booked is starting to hit home.Hopefully a good blast of "Money for Nothing" and "Minnie the Moocher" will help clear the Tuesday blues away.I finish up on Fri 23rd Dec and apart from having to come in on the 29th I'll be off until the 9th Jan so always something to look forward too.

Got told about more jobs ( not mine) going "off-shore" last Friday and we have to start using a new system tomorrow which even the trainer apologised for and will just add to my workload.But hey they've spent a fortune on it and its even more "big brother" like than the last one so its gotta be good.

I asked about the increasing "them and us" feeling about our off shore colleagues but was warned to be careful as we have to embrace diversity.A good politically correct reason not to have a valid discussion. The underlying implication that race is the reason for my objection to this outsourcing made my blood boil but nothing I say will change anything so I didn't pursue it although its a fact that more and more UK companies are bringing jobs back here due to poor customer service abroad).

Waiting for a call to hear how my Gran is.She was getting test results today and the Doc asked the family to attend which is worrying.She's in her 80's and her memory is going a wee bit but she's the only grandparent I have left so I hope she'll be ok. edit:just heard she is ok.She's blacked out a couple of times and while they could operate on her heart she doesn't want that.I'll take Step A down to see her later in the week.

My other Gran died in '89 and both my Grandpas when I was young too.One of my dearest wishes in life would be to be able to meet up with both my Grandpas as although I've got great childhood memories of them I'd love to have known them as adults.

Got a bit of a sore throat.Guess what the non smoking Mrs A blames that on?! I just hope its not the start of a cold or flu.I hate all that nose running and stuff.Never helps my poker game either or makes me particularly well disposed to my ranting and raving public at work.

Ok tomorrows entry will be far more cheerful.....

You'll raise me HOW much?

Handed the car in this morning to fix the bonnet catch and got a call just after lunch that didn't exactly make my day.

As the guy at the garage started to tell me how they'd greased the bonnet catch cable and it was working much better I could just sense the way the conversation was going to go.

He didn't hesitate to make an aggressive raise from the £70 just to look at it to £364 for a new radiator,£103 for new rear break pads and £119 for the new handbrake cables the car apparently requires.

I called his bluff and told him I'd be up to collect it later.Got a couple of cheaper quotes and finally topped up the water.( lets see if it really is the "cooling fins" that are damaged).

A bit of a pisser after having to shell out £235 for my tennants new cooker and £150 for a new window pane but while its put me in a bad mood its only money and not the end of the world.

Paid the £70 fee on my credit card and will probably cash out $140 to cover it from one of my poker accounts.

I'm going to try and work out near my 1st aniversary of real money play on Oct 31st exactly how much I've made in the year since I started.Its not so much I'm having trouble finding a calculator that can handle it but I've cashed out a few times but never really kept any accurate records.Pokertracker is only used on my Pokerroom account.If anyone knows how to work it with Interpoker please let me know.

Called my Mum today to catch up with her after they ( maw and paw) went to Benidorm for a few days sunshine.It put a big smile on my face to have my Mum tell me how she told my Dad she'd be back in a minute and left him at the bar whilst she was off playing poker on the hotels net facilities. I did have to clarify that shes still using play chips and actually fed Euros into the slot for her net access.Talk about paying rake!

I'll have to tell my wee cousin.He still can't believe my mums into poker after all the "you'll go to ruin" stuff she spouted at Xmas dinner last year when me and my Cous were talking poker.

I love the idea that I can go away and have 2 weeks with no poker but mums sneaking away from my dad to play for play money!!

No poker tonight.Marks coming up for our Monday night on the PSP or PS2.Should be good.

Guess what? Mondays nearly over.You ever find yourself wishing your life away? Roll on the weekend.

Fun n Games.Sun Update

Great to finally catch up with http://pokerandglory.blogspot.com/ Juice at a Ladbrokes table.Lost $6 at a .30 limit table before playing 2 nl .50 tourneys.Went out in 9th in the first one.Thought it was a fixed limit game and didn't catch on till I was out.I blame the software...
Won the 2nd tourney with this final hand after Juice went out on a suckout a bit earlier.The chat was great.Look forward to playing with you again Juice.

** Game ID 336753471 starting - 2005-10-16 22:40:41
** THOMAS TABLE [Hold 'em] (800.001600.00 No Limit - STT) Real Money

- Acornman sitting in seat 4 with $5705.00
- Mulline sitting in seat 7 with $3095.00 [Dealer]

Acornman posted the small blind - $400.00
Mulline posted the big blind - $800.00

** Dealing card to Acornman: 8 of Spades, Ace of Spades
Acornman raised - $4400.00
Mulline went all-in - $3095.00
Mulline shows: Queen of Hearts, Jack of Spades

** Dealing the flop: Ace of Clubs, 4 of Spades, Jack of Hearts

** Dealing the turn: Queen of Spades

** Dealing the river: 8 of Diamonds
Acornman wins $7790.00 from the main pot

End of game 336753471

Arghhh.Never mind all that. Just lost $86 all in pf with QQ v AK.Board read 2354.

01.45am. Moved to a £1nl 6 max n bought in for £80.Ave pot £27.57% seeing flop.£4 down and sitting tight in my snipers lair ready to take 'em down.Or get sucked out on.....


01.58am: Up £12 at the table after JQ made pair on the turn and I bet out after a K on the river.Needed it.Been blinded down to £70.JQ is my best hand so far....


02.12am: Up £20 at table after scary 33 hand.3 clubs on flop.I've got 3c and hit my set on the turn and bet out.Another club on the river and bet out again,pot size and the villan folds after the clock runs down.

Drifted back down £9.Time to tighten up...

02.20am £2 down after a poor play on a scary board...

02.30am Down £22.Not hitting anything.Time for Plan b whenever that comes to mind...


03.28am. The actions crazy.2 tabling £1nl 6 max. Lost £80 at one table to a guy who not just had my number but friggin' name,address and shoe size too.Kept raising every pot and always showed a hand down.Hope I learned from him.

Should have moved ages ago. £60 up on both tables now but still down overall I think.

Gotta get some sleep soon...

03.54am: up another £20.Maybe I can break even.Lost count.Yawn.Feelin' in the zone now.Whys that always happen at 4am when I'm wasted?lol
AK! £10 for the kitty.Damn pc keeps wanting to restart too.

One more smoke then bed....

04.17am
Just left the £1nl table with £166 from an £80 start.Check the cashier and the exchange rate is good! $48 up overall for the night plus a few wee sheckles from Laddbrokes earlier.

15 mins to go.....

Damn.Lost $30 when I folded to an all in and would have have hit my flush.... ( had Kc8c)

Pulled back $14.phew


04.43am: Final total about 14 smokes n up $38 at Interpoker and about $10 at Ladbrokes.

Time to go and grind my teeth over a few hands.Zzzzzzzzzzz

Random quote from The Princess Bride:
after Westley rescues her from the lightning quicksand] Buttercup: We'll never succeed. We may as well die here. Westley: No, no. We have already succeeded. I mean, what are the three terrors of the Fire Swamp? One, the flame spurt - no problem. There's a popping sound preceding each; we can avoid that. Two, the lightning sand, which you were clever enough to discover what that looks like, so in the future we can avoid that too. Buttercup: Westley, what about the R.O.U.S.'s? Westley: Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist. [Immediately, an R.O.U.S. attacks him]



Back after a long lie in.Another mad night of poker last night.I must have been down $240 aprox at one point after my $86 loser and then losing £80 at my first £1nl table so I'm pleased I managed to make a profit by the end of the night.It was a long road back.

Realised I didn't post any of the hands that helped my comeback so here's a few.All at Interpoker 6 max NL tables and I'm Zagga as usual.
------HAND 63------
Game #1069304443: Hold'em NL (£0.50/£1) - 2005/10/15 - 22:04:54 (ET)
Table "Larch" Seat 2 is the button.
Seat 1: mavcapone (£236.15 in chips)
Seat 2: Biffab (£39.75 in chips)
Seat 3: Zagga (£103.25 in chips)
Seat 4: Stopit (£22 in chips)
Seat 5: UnclEnz (£105.50 in chips)
Seat 6: ho-lucky (£229.84 in chips)
Zagga: posts small blind £0.50
Stopit: posts big blind £1
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Zagga [Qc Kh]
UnclEnz: folds
ho-lucky: calls £1
mavcapone: calls £1
Biffab: folds
Zagga: calls £0.50
Stopit: checks
----- FLOP ----- [4d Qs Td]
Zagga: bets £5
Stopit: folds
ho-lucky: calls £5
mavcapone: folds
----- TURN ----- [4d Qs Td][7h]
Zagga: bets £12
ho-lucky: calls £12
----- RIVER ----- [4d Qs Td 7h][3h]
Zagga: bets £20
ho-lucky: calls £20
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Zagga: shows [Qc Kh] (A Pair of Queens, King high)
ho-lucky: mucks hand
Zagga collected £75 from Main pot
----- SUMMARY -----
Total pot £78 Main pot £75 Rake £3
Board [4d Qs Td 7h 3h]
Seat 1: mavcapone folded on the Flop
Seat 2: Biffab (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: Zagga (small blind) showed [Qc Kh] and won (£75) with A Pair of Queens, King high
Seat 4: Stopit (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 5: UnclEnz folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: ho-lucky mucked

Took down a lot of £10-£15 pots with AK and hands like this...


------HAND 87------
Game #1069376753: Hold'em NL (£0.50/£1) - 2005/10/15 - 22:18:35 (ET)
Table "Parisina" Seat 4 is the button.
Seat 1: Zacberto (£333.11 in chips)
Seat 2: Zagga (£79 in chips)
Seat 3: buster 65 (£75.21 in chips)
Seat 4: Lstr1987 (£5.50 in chips)
Seat 5: allinn (£49.50 in chips)
Seat 6: gambolero (£41 in chips)
allinn: posts small blind £0.50
gambolero: posts big blind £1
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Zagga [Jc Jh]
Zacberto: folds
Zagga: raises to £4
buster 65: calls £4
Lstr1987: raises to £5.50 and is all-in
allinn: folds
gambolero: folds
Zagga: raises to £15
buster 65: folds
Returned uncalled bets £9.50 to Zagga
----- FLOP ----- [8d 9d 2s]
----- TURN ----- [8d 9d 2s][8s]
----- RIVER ----- [8d 9d 2s 8s][Tc]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Zagga: shows [Jc Jh] (Two Pairs, Jacks and Eights, Ten high)
Lstr1987: shows [Qh Ac] (A Pair of Eights, Ace high)
Zagga collected £15.75 from Main pot

This one helped....

------HAND 100------
Game #1069376833: Hold'em NL (£0.50/£1) - 2005/10/15 - 22:25:21 (ET)
Table "Parisina" Seat 2 is the button.
Seat 1: Zacberto (£336.11 in chips)
Seat 2: Zagga (£84.75 in chips)
Seat 3: buster 65 (£79.71 in chips)
Seat 4: Lstr1987 (£8.50 in chips)
Seat 6: gambolero (£54.25 in chips)
buster 65: posts small blind £0.50
Lstr1987: posts big blind £1
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Zagga [2d Ac]
gambolero: folds
Zacberto: calls £1
Zagga: calls £1
buster 65: calls £0.50
Lstr1987: checks
----- FLOP ----- [2s Qd Tc]
buster 65: bets £2
Lstr1987: calls £2
Zacberto: calls £2
Zagga: calls £2
----- TURN ----- [2s Qd Tc][2c]
buster 65: bets £3
Lstr1987: folds
Zacberto: calls £3
Zagga: raises to £10
buster 65: calls £7
Zacberto: calls £7
----- RIVER ----- [2s Qd Tc 2c][9d]
buster 65: checks
Zacberto: checks
Zagga: bets £25
buster 65: folds
Zacberto: calls £25
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Zagga: shows [2d Ac] (Three of a kind, Twos, Ace high)
Zacberto: mucks hand
Zagga collected £89 from Main pot
----- SUMMARY -----
Total pot £92 Main pot £89 Rake £3
Board [2s Qd Tc 2c 9d]
Seat 1: Zacberto mucked
Seat 2: Zagga (button) showed [2d Ac] and won (£89) with Three of a kind, Twos, Ace high
Seat 3: buster 65 (small blind) folded on the River
Seat 4: Lstr1987 (big blind) folded on the Turn
Seat 6: gambolero folded before Flop (didn't bet)

I would have raised here and got away with it if it wasn't for those pesky kids ( or the Ace!).
I actually thought I was beaten by an Ace with a poor kicker.


------HAND 146------
Game #1069472803: Hold'em NL (£0.50/£1) - 2005/10/15 - 22:53:13 (ET)
Table "Larch" Seat 5 is the button.
Seat 1: Kumar42 (£72.94 in chips)
Seat 2: Biffab (£80 in chips)
Seat 3: Zagga (£143.75 in chips)
Seat 4: Stopit (£73.75 in chips)
Seat 5: UnclEnz (£89.75 in chips)
Seat 6: farum (£79 in chips)
farum: posts small blind £0.50
Kumar42: posts big blind £1
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Zagga [Kd Kh]
Biffab: calls £1
Zagga: raises to £7
Stopit: folds
UnclEnz: calls £7
farum: folds
Kumar42: calls £6
Biffab: folds
----- FLOP ----- [As 9h Jd]
Kumar42: checks
Zagga: checks
UnclEnz: checks
----- TURN ----- [As 9h Jd][6c]
Kumar42: checks
Zagga: checks
UnclEnz: checks
----- RIVER ----- [As 9h Jd 6c][Jc]
Kumar42: bets £4
Zagga: calls £4
UnclEnz: calls £4
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Kumar42: shows [8s Kc] (A Pair of Jacks, Ace high)
Zagga: shows [Kd Kh] (Two Pairs, Kings and Jacks, Ace high)
UnclEnz: mucks hand
Zagga collected £33 from Main pot
----- SUMMARY -----
Total pot £34.50 Main pot £33 Rake £1.50
Board [As 9h Jd 6c Jc]
Seat 1: Kumar42 (big blind) lost
Seat 2: Biffab folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: Zagga showed [Kd Kh] and won (£33) with Two Pairs, Kings and Jacks, Ace high
Seat 4: Stopit folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: UnclEnz (button) mucked
Seat 6: farum (small blind) folded before Flop (didn't bet)


This one looks like I was a lucky fishy but he'd lost a few pots and had been making tilty bets.Thats why I called his all in after he raised my semi bluff continuation bet on the flop.

------HAND 204------
Game #1069625063: Hold'em NL ($0.50/$1) - 2005/10/15 - 23:30:32 (ET)
Table "Sumter" Seat 6 is the button.
Seat 2: Papa_g1 ($16.46 in chips)
Seat 3: Zagga ($73 in chips)
Seat 4: usi34 ($150.75 in chips)
Seat 5: SIR VKR ($44.75 in chips)
Seat 6: Theplod ($25.57 in chips)
Papa_g1: posts small blind $0.50
Zagga: posts big blind $1
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Zagga [Ac 8d]
usi34: folds
SIR VKR: folds
Theplod: folds
Papa_g1: calls $0.50
Zagga: raises to $5
Papa_g1: calls $4
----- FLOP ----- [3c Ts 2c]
Papa_g1: checks
Zagga: bets $7
Papa_g1: raises to $11.46 and is all-in
Zagga: calls $4.46
----- TURN ----- [3c Ts 2c][Ad]
Frosaki joins the table at seat #1
----- RIVER ----- [3c Ts 2c Ad][7h]
----- SHOW DOWN -----
Papa_g1: shows [4s As] (A Pair of Aces, Ten high)
Zagga: shows [Ac 8d] (A Pair of Aces, Ten high)
Zagga collected $31.42 from Main pot
----- SUMMARY -----
Total pot $32.92 Main pot $31.42 Rake $1.50
Board [3c Ts 2c Ad 7h]
Seat 3: Zagga (big blind) showed [Ac 8d] and won ($31.42) with A Pair of Aces, Ten high
Seat 4: usi34 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: SIR VKR folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Theplod (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)


I'll try to stop posting long boring hand histories but I wanted to fill the gap between being down $240 and ending the night $38 up.

I do seem to follow a pattern of getting stuck then pulling it back.Its almost as if I play better after a poor start or that it takes me a long time to get into that kind of poker zone when all my plays are almost automatic and it feels like I belong at the table.

My winnings should have been a lot more but I was too stubborn and stayed at the table I lost £80 at for far too long determined to get my money back from the guy running over the table.
When I did leave it was as if I'd been caught in a storm and suddenly the skies cleared and the sun came out again.Fair play to the villan though.I've rarely felt so outclassed at an Interpoker 6max table before.

Read an excellent post at http://highonpoker.blogspot.com/ where Jordan wrote about how about how his recent wins and losses seem to depend on the cards dealt.Jordan said thats an obvious point and I suppose it is but I think he's spot on.We all probably get our fair share of good and bad hands.I think the difference is how we play them.If I get AA and limp and lose to two pair thats my poor play.If you raise a tilty loose player all in preflop with AA and get beaten by the board making the villan 2 pair from a 93o/s starting hand then then you've still played it well.
Its having the mental strength to make the same play again because you know its right and you know the odds are on your side.

Comes down to waiting for the right cards then making the right decisions depending on opponents and the board and then hoping that you get the bit of luck needed to make your hand hold up or improve enough to win.Of course being patient enough to only play better starting hands than the villans should give you an edge.The tough part is keeping that in mind and sticking to it when your patience has been rewarded by great looking second best hands all night especially if the fish are hitting draws you've made them pay over the odds to see.

As Rangers supporters did last season when we were 7 points behind in the league and all looked lost you just have to Keep Believing in yourself and your game and over the long run your bankroll will grow.

Ok half time and its Rangers 0 Dundee united 0.

To hell with believing just score a damn goal Rangers!

Fulltime 0-0. Damn.

Just checked my ladbrokes account and I had $25 more than I remembered from last night.Must be my bonus. Cashed out $87 (my original £50 deposit) and got $138 left to play with.

Spent the evening trying not to wind up the nonsmoking Mrs A who is currently stomping around upstairs like a small elephant.4 days and counting.

Feeling tired so maybe just a $5 sng before bedtime.No 6 max for me tonight.

Now for the widely awaited bonnet catch update.Car goes in tomorrow morning.Ahhh Mondays don't ye just love 'em?

Before I go I'd like to say hello to my new spanking fans who found this blog after a search for "spanking".That'll teach me to write a post about spanking the .25 tables. Hope you both enjoyed your ( very very short I'm sure) visit.

I'm off to WHIP some ass at the tables....


Won $25 for first place in the $5sng. Got lucky when my AQs hit a J on the river for a straight v KK but otherwise kicked ass.

Off to 25c table for 15 mins....

Funny football Chants

Just back from watching EK Thistle go down 2-0 to Pollock.Decent performance from EK but our top goalscorer was missing and we didn't carry enough of a threat up front.
Listening to the Pollock fans singing "We all live in a Pollock Housing scheme" got me thinking of the funniest football songs and chants I've heard of so here's a few....

Another one to the Yellow Submarine tune.Boro fans when Reid was still in charge at Sunderland:

'In the town, called Sunderland
There lived a man with a monkeeys heed
And they called him Peter Reid
He peels bananas with his feet
Peter Reid peels bananas with his feet
Bananas with his feet
Bananas with his feet'

Chelsea V Norwich: Chelsea fans sung "We've got Abramovich,You've got a drunken bitch" to which the Norwich support replied "We've got a wonder cook,You've got a Russian crook".

"Does your livestock know you're here?"
Colchester fans to Norwich.

"Does your butler know you're here?"
West Ham to Fulham fans.

"You should have banked with The Woolwich!"
Derby fans to Northern Rock-sponsored Newcastle.


Half time, guy gets his girlfriend into the centre circle and drops to one knee to propose........Both sets of fans start singing:"Does she take it,Does she take it,Does she take it up the arse!!!!!"

"You don't know what you're doing!"
West Brom fans after a fan had his marriage proposal accepted by his girlfriend during half-time v Scunthorpe.

"Bill Oddie, Bill Oddie, rub your beard all over my body! Bill Oddie, Bill Oddie..."
Reading fans against Derby - to the tune of Madonna's Erotica.

Man Utd (Black Lace's Agadoo):
"Anderson-son-son, he's better than Kleberson,
Anderson-son-son, he's our midfield magician,
To the left to the right we'll dance the samba beat tonight,
He is class, our midfield brass, and he dumps on Fabregas!"

Pongolle,
Pongolle,
Sinama Pongolle,
he's got no song cause his names all wrong,
Sinama pongolle

Kilmarnock fans singing to Andy Goram days after he was in the paper saying he feared he was suffering from schizophrenia:"There's only two Andy Gorams, There's only two Andy Gorams"

Sung In England after his bad injury:

Eduardo oh oh oh
Eduardo oh oh oh
He used to have the skills
But now he's heather mills

Spurs sang to West Ham when they got relegated:

"Chim chiminey Chim chiminey chim chim cheroo
You used to play Tottenham
but now you play Crewe"

One very fat bloke sitting in a sea of empty seats.The opposition fans started chanting "Have you eaten all your mates?".


"Let's pretend we've scored a goal!"
From Bradford fans then they all leapt about and went crazy.


Arsenal:
"Don't blame it on Henry, don't blame it on the injuries, don't blame it on the referees, blame it on Eboue!"

Here's one we used to sing about an ex Celt*c striker....
There's only one jorge cadete,
hes got hair like spaghetti,
hes portugese,
and he's one of these (whole crowd does wanker gesture)
walking in a Laudrup wonderland....

When Rio Ferdinand was banned for his drug test cock up, the Man City fans were singing to the tune of Duran Duran's 'Rio'"His name is Rio and he watches from the stand".

Manchester united fans to the tune of my old mans a dustman." Oh the megastore is magic, They sell some magic hats, And when i saw the duvey, I said im having that, I even bought the curtains, And dressing gown in white, I follow Man United, Cause they sell a load of shite."

Man City (The Proclaimers' I'm Gonna Be (500 miles)):
"Oh you can freeze 500 million, and you can freeze 500 more, Cos Thaksin's got another billion underneath his bedroom floor, Shin-a-watra! Shin-a-watra!"


"You're just a fat Eddie Murphy!"

Fans of several Championship clubs to Cardiff's Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Also used by Aberdeen and St Mirren fans to Rangers' Jean-Claude Darcheville.


He's big, he's red, his feet stick
out the bed, Peter Crouch, Peter Crouch.

Ro,Ro, Romanov
Bought a team called Hearts
Sold the players, he'll sell the land
And turn it into flats


Scotland vs Italy - "We're gonnae deep fry your pizzas"

A pleasant wee ditty sung by Rangers fans to celt*cs Stillain Petrov :
"The wheels on your house go round and round, round and round, round and round, the wheels on your house go round and round, cause your a gypsy bastard!"

A new Man Utd chant at the moment about Korean player Park Ji-SungPark. to the tune "Care free":
"Park,Park where ever you may be,You eat dogs in your home country,But it could be worse, you could be Scouse,Eating rats in your council house!"

Scotland fans to norway fans:"You only sing when you're fishing"

One we've been singing at the tims (celt*c fans) after they crashed out of European competition after getting pumped 5-0 by Art Media.
"Tell all the tims you know that their giros and euros don't go,
ohh you'll no need your shades
or your bucket and spades,
Inverness is as far as you'll go..."


"We've won the League Again,fly the flag, fly the flag" by the tims at Ibrox last season.Quickly followed this season by:"You sang you'd won the League; where's your flag, where's your flag?"

Scott MacDonald Scored 2 goals - ei ei oh Scott MacDonald Scored 2 goals - ei ei oh With an
overhead kick and a cheeky wee flick -made those Dirty b*st8rds sick,Scott MacDonald Scored 2 goals - ei ei oh

An old favourite of mine...

"If I had the wings of a sparrow,If I had the arse of a crow,I'd fly over Parkhead tomorrow,and shite on the bastards below"

Nakamura ate my dog,( ate my dog),Nakamura ate my dog ( at my dog),
He sliced him, he diced him,he chucked him in a wok,
Nakamura ate my dog...

Or in the tune of the Adams Family, Leeds fans atNorwich…………:"Your sister is your mother,Your uncle is your brother,You all f@*k one another,The Norwich family,der der der der clap clap etc"

Another inspired by the Adams Family tune...
They come fae near Lochgelly
They huvnae got a tellly
They're dirty and their smelly
The Cowden family

When Teddy Sheringham signed for Man U from Spurs they won nothing in his first season at Old Trafford,The first game between the 2 sides the following season the Spurs fans chanted "Oh Teddy Teddy,he went to Man United and he won fuck all". The following season 98/99 Man U won the treble and the first game between the clubs in 99/2000 the United fans answered back with a cracker . "Oh Teddy Teddy,He went to Man United and he won the lot",but quick as flash the Spurs fans replied with the classic "Oh Teddy Teddy,He went to Man United and he's still a c*nt"

Peterborough game last season-

Away "ultras" fan bounds down the stairs toward Peterborough fans when they score, only for the Posh fans to sing "Track Suit from Matalan.....Track Suit from Matalan" (to the tune of Jose Mourinho.....Jose Mourinho.....(Italian tune))

Arsenal to their own player, Pascal Cygon:

He's bald, hes shit
He plays when no-ones fit
Pascal Cygon, Pascal Cygon.

And finally when Spurs thrashed Aston Villa they sung the classic "Is this the way to hammer Villa".

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.