A win is a win ( + quiz answers)

Not feeling at my best this week.Yesterday was Grumpy Monday for me.Maybe due to things being a bit frosty between Mrs A and I or maybe its just the long dark nights and not having a holiday booked to look forward to.Rangers poor form never helps my mood either.Sitting on the balcony late at night looking out to sea with a nice smoke and a Bud seems a distant memory now.

Sandy came up last night around 8.30 and I did my best to give him a crash course in No Limit Holdem.I remember my own confusion trying to understand blinds,bets and the dealer button when I started online.It all seemed so damn fast I never thought I'd understand it.I'd bought in to Pokerrooms "Lucky Dollar" tourney and tried to explain my actions as I went along.Fold a lot was my first tip! I played 2 hands in the first 1/2 hour and.QQ and K10 on the button which made trip Kings by the river for a nice pot.The prize money for making the top 160 was poor but as the blinds got higher further in I think my mate could see where the fun lies in steals,making moves and trying to build a stack whilst surviving. He left around 10.30pm and I finished 84th from 1445 starters for a whopping $4 pay day!

I should have gone further but played my last hand like a fool.I called a small raise from the bb with 10h8h and the flop of 9s,Js,Qc gave me a lovely straight.I checked to the preflop raiser expecting a bet at which point I was going all in,villan calls and I double my $23k stack.He checked too and when another spade hit on the turn I decided I was still good and pushed all in.Stupid to risk my whole stack as he called instantly with 7s8s and my flopped straight was drawing dead.

Moved to a Pokerroom 5 max .50 nl game ( $50 buy in) with a high average pot.Soon realised this was because a maniac on $200 was raising up almost every pot.He busted 3 or 4 players and I can see why a player like that can make money v players who play with their ego on the line.Mine cost me $18 after I stayed in with 2nd best pair and folded to a turn bet which would have put me all in.Rebought to $50 and eventually found a hand in big slick.I limped perflop as I knew he would raise for me.Flop came K J 4 rainbow and he bet out,I called and reraised on the blank turn.He folded and the fightback was on.Left after 1/2 hours play and checked my stats to find I'd made 5 cents for my 1/2 hours play! Hey that's an hourly rate of 10 cents or 1/5th of a BB.

Jordan ran a poker questionaire on his blog.Here are my answers....


What is your favorite poker game to play? No Limit Holdem cash games


What is your favorite non-poker gambling game to play? Football betting

What is your favorite casino? Wabash club,Glasgow ( been twice!)


What is your favorite online casino/card room? Was Pokerroom but now Interpoker/Ladbrokes


Who is your top three favorite poker players? Doyle Brunson,Devilfish,Gus Hansen


What poker player best emulates your style? I wish!

What poker player's style would you most like to have? Devilfish

If you could play poker with any 5 professional poker players, living or dead, who would they be? Hellmouth,Devilfish,Amarillo Slim,Doyle and Hansen.

If you could play poker with any 5 people (who do not play poker professionally), living or dead, who would they be? Bill Hicks,Madonna,Dave Gilmour,William Wallace and Ally McCoist.


How often do you play poker? Daily


.Which do you prefer: live poker or online poker, and why? Only played live poker twice but enjoyed it more than online due to the table chat,tells etc

Which do you prefer: tournaments or cash games, and why? 6 max cash game as that's where I feel most comfortable.Not much tourney experience and too much of a tightass to risk losing more than $5 or $10 in a Sng but will buy in for $100-$300 at a cash game without giving it much thought.Hmmm


What is your favorite poker book? Zen and the Art of Poker

Describe the following in a few words:a. Limit Texas Hold'em- Boring,Yawn fest.slow.

No Limit Texas Hold'em- wild rollercoaster ride of cards and emotions

Stud- No experience Omaha- No clue 5-Card Draw- Classic Crazy Pineapple- Don't eat fruit.


I had to add words ( plural) to the last question.How can anyone sum up No limit in one word?! ( ok maybe "wild" would have done).

Thanks for the idea Jordan.

Ok quiet night tonight before the first of two Old Firm games in a row.Both being played at the big meccano set in the East end of the city. First one is the league cup tomorrow night then the league game on Sunday.Wed night could well be the managers last game and about time.Change is needed.They do say form goes out the window when Rangers meet Celt*c.We will see.

Watching Wednesday nights game on tv and got a ticket ( along with 7000 other Gers fans) for Sundays game.Looking forward to our 7000 outsinging their 50000 wether we win,lose or draw.


Good luck at the tables today.