Weekly/Monthly stats + Bollywood films

Thanks to all for the comments re my Gran.She is now back at my Uncles in York and may be back up the road soon.My folks are looking into the possibilty of a nursing home for her as she has stairs in her own house and these may prove difficult.

Mrs A and I never made our friends house last night as Mrs A had a sore throat and kidneys after her night out the front drinking with the neighbours on Friday.They got a bit noisy and our other neighbour was out shouting at them to keep the noise down.He's a big bald gangster looking type so in honour of the spat I made these wee video clips ... ( an asbo is an anti-social behaviour order btw)
http://www.grapheine.com/bombaytv/play_uk.php?id=1497835

http://www.grapheine.com/bombaytv/play_uk.php?id=1497900

So in my boredom I've added a couple more...

http://www.grapheine.com/bombaytv/play_uk.php?id=1499491

and this one stars Juice, Edge and Rosie the Rottie..

http://www.grapheine.com/bombaytv/play_uk.php?id=1497855

http://www.grapheine.com/bombaytv/play_uk.php?id=1499517

No more, I promise!

To the poker and I've had a couple of decent nights at the tables to finish the month in good shape.As usual though I have loads to say when I have a bad night and not so much when it goes well! I have been stricter with myself and been taking breaks from the cash tables during long sessions.I hope I'm starting to recognise better when my concentration is beginnning to slip as that has always been a leak of mine.I'm still probably playing until too late but the Laddys and Inter tables are goldmines around 4-5am at the weekends and it's hard to drag myself away.I'm not sure whether it's because the house is quiet at that time or the fact I've been playing a few hours and know my table inside out but it's usually during those early hours when I feel as if I'm in the zone and capable of dealing with any beats that come my way.

I nearly opened a £100 table at Inter at 4.15am as I'd been running well for most of the night and felt on good form but I was also tiring fast and made the more sensible decision to play a $5 ,shorthanded turbo sng at Pokerroom before bed.I made an aggressive start,winning the first four pots before putting someone all in on the turn with my two pairs.They called with their flush draw,hit it on the river and I went from hero to shortstack.I felt my inner teenager trying to get out ( it's sooooo unfair,I went all in on a flush draw in the same type of sng the other night and I missed ,yet this fishy hits his) but realised two fishy moves don't make one great move (two wrongs don't make a right as my Mum used to say).

Anyways I played good poker and took 1st to end my night.

Figures are ...Inter $497,Ladbrokes $1212 ,Pokerroom $1050. Total $2759 ( + $155 for week).

June 30th $2429. Profit from July 1st-30th + $330

Ladbrokes 25 hours, Inter 37 hours. Total 62 hours.

Just back from Fir Park where Paul Le Guen's first competitive game in charge ended with a 2-1 win though in truth it was 2 going on 8 especially in the first half.Sionko scored on his debut and Big Dado scored our second after Motherwell had equalised.Allez Les Blues!

Probably back tomorrow or Tues with more nonsense.( may edit figures after tonights play too).

Thanks for reading!

The Lion Rampant

If this was a political blog I'd have plenty to say on the Middle East but as it's not I'll stick to my poker,life and attacking the politically correct society we live in.Read the story in the papers today, about the police asking someone to remove the Lion Rampant flag from their property as someone had said it was offensive. As a Rangers fan I've heard the same nonsense from celt*c fans regarding the flying of the Union flag.Having visited the States and seen the number of US flags proudly on display ,my American readers must wonder just what kind of a nation the UK is,when reading stories like this! Here are the offensive flags.Look away now to avoid offence!








The police have also been busy telling a lady to remove this sign as it is "distressing,offensive and inappropriate". If it's not clear from the pic it says "Our dogs are fed on Jehovahs witnesses".

In my opinion the complainants should be charged with wasting police time and not have their pathetic whining indulged.











To the poker and firstly congrats to Rosie and Miasdad for recent mtt cashes.Fine work!
Miasdad asked if I played many mtt's and after answering in the negative ,I was reminded why as I crashed out an Inter $10 ( $3k gtd) mtt when my flopped set of threes were beaten by a flopped set of sevens.Luckily I wasn't too far in so I didn't waste much time and hit up the £25nl tables and had a reasonably successful hour of play.I actually felt quite lucky ( hit a couple of sets on flop) and it flashed through my mind that poker is about struggling through the bad beats and bad luck to hit those sweet hands that build the roll.

All this was after visiting my Mum and Dads with Step A ( Mrs A was working) for dinner last night.My Gran isn't keeping well and is in hospital in York ( visiting my Uncle n family) after suffering a series of mini strokes.She's 81 and the only Grandparent I have left and I really hope she comes through this.

Tonight is a quiet night in and tomorrow night we are going through to Lanark ( 3/4 hr away) to get wasted and stay over with friends at their new place.On Sunday my cousin and I are off to Motherwell for Rangers first game of the new football season and Le Guens first competitive game in charge.

Vive La Revolution!

Fishy minds

Not too much to shout about at the tables over the last couple of nights.I’ve mainly been sticking to sng’s and have played about six and made the money in three.I never quite made Dadi last night, as unfortunately it’s a 2am start time for me and with it being a rebuy, I couldn’t see me finishing before 3 am.Work at 9am ruled it out.

I played an interesting Sng with Mr Edge the other night at Inter, and gained an interesting insight into the mind of a fish after Mr E exchanged a little banter with him in the chatbox.The fish thought Mr E was female and dished out all sorts of abuse and sexist nonsense.

I couldn’t let Mr Edges womanhood be insulted like that so headed off to Sharkscope to check the big mouths stats and see if they really can walk the walk or are just full of bull.

I like to do that when I come across a table coach/ poker expert ( very strange that these guys are so great they still play $5 sngs or $100 nl and under ).The general rule seems to be that the more obnoxious and abusive they are in the chatbox then the bigger a loser they are according to Sharky.

Anyways Mr E’s nemesis was a huge fish who has lost nearly $2k over 1000 sng’s ,so I told Mr E to ask the fish if he wins at sng’s.After avoiding the question Mr E was more direct and the fish ‘fessed up and agreed he probably had lost about $2k playing.He mentioned he liked to bet on horses too and before long has gone from being an abusive idiot to thinking he was at his weekly gamblers anon meeting!

Something did stick in my mind though and that was when he enivitably crashed out with a weak hand he wrote “ I had to try” in the chatbox.

Next time you get your money in as huge favourite and wonder how on earth the fish could have called with that rubbish then consider Mr “ I had to try” and his sound logic.These players are there to gamble.I doubt they’ve heard the term “poker bankroll” and I wouldn’t put money on them owning even one solitary book on the game, let alone reading forums and discussing hands etc.For them the thrill is in getting the money all in with hands like K7 sooted ,flopping a flush and busting your Aces.Sure it doesn’t happen often and they lose bigtime overall but when it does… what fun!

Off to my Mum and Dads for dinner tonight.Hope to hit the tables later....

Tues update

The S-man was over last night for more pokery fun.Started out by going out of a $5 sng when my J9 in the bb was out kickered by a Queen on a 99 rag flop.Played another and made a loose call for my stack with the nut flush draw after the flop.It was a turbo and I had a 35% chance of taking a big chip stack but if I’m going to play a draw like that I want my money in first.The flop was nine high and it was obvious the other player had an overpair.

From there the S-man logged in under his name at Pokerroom ( balance $10.21) and we played and lost another $5 turbo.Without enough for another sng we sat down with $4.45 at a loose $25nl full ring table.Raises of $1.25 were being called by 3 or 4 callers and a couple of players were abusing each other in the chat so it was turning into a real pissing contest.I mentioned to the s-man that anyone playing textbook 4* bb raises etc preflop would get killed at this table and made sure when we did get involved there was no messing around.

A mouthy fish raised $1.25 UTG, and as 3 others called so did we and managed to bust bullets with 67 on a 4 6 7 flop.We won a couple of smaller pots and were looking good on $16 when we ran JJ into 99.It was an interesting hand though as the 99 player was one of the mouthy ones and had made several $1.25 preflop raises over the last few hands.Again his raise was from early position.Two or three called behind and the S-man and I decided our JJ was definitely the best hand and reraised it to $4.Of course Mr 99 hit his set and cleaned us out but I wasn’t upset with the way we’d played it.A good hand to help demonstrate just how player dependent some decisions are as I don’t remember the last time I reraised preflop with JJ.

There really are a different set of rules at the micro limits when it comes to bet sizes.At $25nl I would tend to lead out with a $1.20 preflop raise but that’s not set in stone and depends what the tables breaking point is ,if I only want one or two callers.With a hand like JJ I want to be heads-up after a preflop raise and not dealing with 4 or 5 callers.If the preflop raise has to be $1.50 or $2 each time to reduce the number of callers then so be it.

Postflop too I want to tell the right story and the majority of the time I will bet out at least ¾ of the pot or more as a continuation bet.If called and I haven’t many outs ,then I won’t throw any more at it, but at least I know my opponent had a hand worth calling a solid preflop raise with, and he/she then thinks it’s still good enough postflop to call another solid bet.This doesn’t mean against some players I wont fire out again on the turn sometimes but unless it’s a decent bet ( to try and force a fold) it’s just not worth doing as it will be called and I’l have no idea where I am by the river.

After busting out the s-mans small roll it was back to Turbo land and this time I won the 5 seat shorthanded sng to leave my Pokerroom account $1 up for the night!

S-man went on his way and I hit up Inters 6 max £50 nl and promptly lost £22 when my boat was beaten by a better boat.Still up a few bucks at Inter ( $4 to be precise!) for the week and looking forward to more later tonight.

Mrs A arrived back today.Apparently she was leaving England at tea-time last night not arriving home here at that time like I expected.Her dad drove them up the road and had to call the AA as his back lights failed.Why anyone would want to drive that far when it can be done by plane in an hour I'll never know!

Ok here's a wee one from the paper.Back later in the week..

Paisley meat-market worker John Sword recalls a colleague who came in one morning to tell everyone of the drama of the chip pan going on fire the previous night and the fire brigade being called out to save their house from going up in flames.He had reached the point in his tale where he said that the family dog had gone for the fireman when an astonished listener, presumably brought up on too many Lassie films, asked: "Your dog ran all the way to the fire station?""Naw," explained the chap. "He went for the first fireman through the door and sank his teeth into him."

Speaking of dogs, yet another reason why police officers should not be routinely armed in this country. New York news channel NY1 reports that police officers were called to break up an argument in the Bronx, and at least one officer drew his gun when the pit bulldog of one of those involved turned aggressive.The outcome? Three of the officers were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds and a fourth with a dogbite.

Shhhh

Don't tell the poker gods but I had another enjoyable ,winning night at the tables last night.I began by coming 20th in a $10 mtt at Inter for $27 and followed that by coming 2nd in a $5 sng.
I also made a small profit at the £25 nl 6 max tables before moving to Pokerroom to blow off some steam with a couple of shorthanded $5 turbos.I was Chipleader for a while in the first one before losing so decided I'd play one last one before bed and this time I was going to play in maniac mode.

I'm far too much of a tightass to be a complete maniac but I had great fun raising every unraised pot and betting whenever checked to me.I also took control pre-flop and raised hands like Q10,J9 sooted and then piled on the pressure if I hit any part of the flop.

It was the most fun I've had at the tables in ages and that style certainly has it's advantages.I don't think anyone stole my blinds once because I was likely to come back over the top of them.Certainly at one point I was forced to go all in with A5 and hit an Ace to stay alive but after that hand I never looked back and won it after showing down the hammer twice after an all in push and the table folded.

I know many people say turbos are just Crapshoots but I disagree.Sure the blinds go up faster but picking the right spot to make your moves is even more vital and in standard sng's it pretty much comes down to an all in pushfest nearer the end anyway.If you think players are all action loving fish at $5 sng's you should try a few turbos!

Mrs A is due back tonight at some point and the s-man will be up for some pokery fun so it should be a good night.

Also took delivery of Doubleas book "Pressure Poker" and can't wait to get started on it.It's been a while since I read a poker book and this is one I'm really looking forward to getting my teeth into.

Back later in the week.Here's a couple of funnies from the paper to be going on with...

A reader tells us of a job application form he saw last week in which, under the section on addresses, at the question "Time at your present address?" the applicant had written "18.45."

Rumour from the Open was that America's Fred Funk went up to Australia's Ben Bunny on the practice green, shook his hand and said "thank you".When Bunny asked him what that was for, Funk replied: "Because I've no longer got the most ridiculous name in golf

Australian plain-speaking continued. Dr Bill Thomson in Bothwell recalls a colleague attending a conference in Australia where he hailed a cab.Instead of sitting in the front with the driver, he sat in the back. The driver merely turned round and asked: "What's the trouble, mate? Have you got leprosy?"

Get Rhythm

Warmed up with a $5 mtt at Laddys last night.I was pissed off I'd failed to notice it was a rebuy tourney after being suckered in by the $1k gtd.I rebought once and went out with a whimper after about 40 minutes.

Moved to Inter and two tabled $25 nl 6 max for a while and was soon $30 up after taking advantage of some really fishy plays.From there it was onto £25 nl and I built a decent stack there too before taking a break ( to watch online poker tv channel). Taking breaks whilst playing cash games is not something I do often enough but I could feel my focus starting to drift away from the game so a 1/2 hr away from the tables was just what was needed.

Played a $10 two table sng at Pokerroom which I thought was a turbo until about 3 levels in! The blinds were up every 7 mins which is quick but not the 3 minute intervals I'm used to in Turbos.Came 4th to just get ITM but failed to place in another couple of sngs there to leave me down a wee bit at Pokerroom for the week.

I actually finished my night with a $5 shorthanded sng there to allow myself to embrace my wild last hand syndrome streak and get aggressive.I actually held a decent lead in that last sng until my AA ran into A7 on a 7 7 K board.I'd made a good sized preflop raise and simply couldn't figure the villain for holding a 7.Went out when my all in with the Hammer was called in two places and busted.Maybe a wee lesson in table image there because at Inters sng's I may make that kind of move and not expect a call as I'm usually fairly tight early on, but in this sng I'd been raising most pots and taking stabs anytime it was checked to me which meant my table image must have been very loose.

Opened Laddys up late on but the juicy $50 nl tables were full so I used my old trick of finding a full ring table which had got short on players and sat down to play some "6 max" at $100nl.The play was quite wild and there were a few big stacks who'd probably been the better/luckier players when the table was full so I was fairly cautious early on.Before long most had left and I was playing heads-up v Mr 70% vpip.We battled back and forth for a while before being joined by another fish for some three handed fun.

We hadn't been playing long when I pick up AcAh in the big blind and after the other two villains limp in ,I raise it to $4 which they both call.They both started the hand with $35 and I had $97.( no short buyins here).

Flop came 9 h 2d Kd and the 1st villainn led out for $10.I put him on KQ/KJ or even a flush draw and raised $40 which was called by them both and had me wondering where the hell I was in the hand.

They were both all in and I could hardly watch as the turn brought an Ad and 4d leaving me sure I was dead to a flush, when the pot came my way as the postflop raiser showed K2 ( flopped two pair) and the other guy KQ.

I can see that three handed any A or K means you have a good hand but to call a 4 bb raise with K2 seems just a little fishy to me and for once it felt like poker justice had been done after he hit his 2 pair on the flop and I hit my Ace for trip Aces on the turn.

They left and from a table of six I was left on my own awaiting any challengers.I know it's only a pathetic ego boost and doesn't help the bankroll but there's something highly satisfying about feeling you've had the measure of a table and they've all known that and left.

Closed Laddys $70 up and headed back to PR for that last turbo sng I mentioned earlier.

The only problem I encountered last night was with my Yahoo chat thingy which refused to work all night and meant no joining my friends for sng's.I had plenty of good tunes to keep me going till 4.30am but I did miss the chat.Having said that I do wonder if perhaps less chat meant more concentration and that was part of the reason I had such a good night at the tables.

There may be something to that but in general it just seemed to be one of those nights when I played well,my reads were good and the cards co-operated.I managed to escape from the passive,reactive game I've been playing recently and whilst not always looking to make fancy moves,I was always looking for opportunities to take the pot whenever possible.

Figures are as follows: Interpoker $441 ,Ladbrokes $1129,Pokerroom $1034.Total $2604 ( + $266 for week).

This week Mrs A may be home early on Monday night at some point.S-man is coming over,Mark will be over on Wed and it's also Dadi week.I missed the last one due to the start time and this one is 2am again but it's a great chance to play some poker with bloggers I read regularly so I'm going to try and make it if I possibly can.
















Not much else going on today apart from the golf on tv.Scots may have invented golf ( along with everything else!) but along with cricket it must be the most boring sport in the world.The French guy blowing the Open a few years back when he tried the shot from the water was great viewing but otherwise I've never been a fan.

Roll on the new football season which starts next Sunday when Rangers are away to Motherwell.They beat Middlesbrough 1-0 yesterday in a friendly and the new season can't start quickly enough for me.


Ok I'm off to walk the dog and play some poker.Hope the link works.Enjoy the rest of Sunday...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrWIgVy8ChQ&search=rooney%20cola%20can

Luxury!

After the joy and happiness in yesterdays post ,its time for something completely different. Had a blast at the tables last night and even managed a fairly civilised bedtime of 3am.Won about $60 at Inter's cash tables late on before playing a little $100 nl at Pokerrooms full ring table ,followed by going out of a $10 turbo sng when my Nolan sisters ( QQ) were beaten in a race by AK.

A bit of Pink Floyd,Bob Dylan,J Cash,The Cure and yahoo's trance anthems were the tunes that inspired ( kept me awake!) me last night.

Aside from playing sng's or mtt's ,I'm not sure I could ever go back to playing full ring poker.Maybe I should have two-tables but it was just such a fold fest I nearly fell asleep.I called one raise with AQ soooted,missed and folded and errrr that was about it.I've done quite well at Pokerrooms $100 nl tables before but I don't see me ever returning there on a regular basis.

Quiet weekend ahead,with not much planned other than a walk in the park for Nacho and plenty of smokin' poker for me.Rangers play Middlesbrough at Ibrox today in a friendly and I was tempted to go as it's Le Guens first home game in charge but as of a few years ago I stopped going to "friendly" games as they are nothing more than expensive training sessions.My cousin and I have tickets for his first competitive game as boss,at Motherwell,next Sunday.My local side ,EK Thistle, are also playing a pre-season tourney today but I don't want to leave the wee man on his own for too long anyways.( a neighbour kept an eye on him in the back garden while I was working yesterday)

Thank's to call who commented on yesterdays post.Tripjax style ,they were Klopzi , S-man and a late entry from Juice who always takes the bait!


Here's one of my favourite Python scripts to brighten up the weekend.I'm off to finish my breakfast ...


The Players:
Michael Palin - First Yorkshireman;Graham Chapman - Second Yorkshireman;Terry Jones - Third Yorkshireman;Eric Idle - Fourth Yorkshireman;

The Scene:
Four well-dressed men are sitting together at a vacation resort.'Farewell to Thee' is played in the background on Hawaiian guitar.

FIRST YORKSHIREMAN:
Aye, very passable, that, very passable bit of risotto.

SECOND YORKSHIREMAN:
Nothing like a good glass of Château de Chasselas, eh, Josiah?

THIRD YORKSHIREMAN:
You're right there, Obadiah.

FOURTH YORKSHIREMAN:
Who'd have thought thirty year ago we'd all be sittin' here drinking Château de Chasselas, eh?

FIRST YORKSHIREMAN:
In them days we was glad to have the price of a cup o' tea.

SECOND YORKSHIREMAN: A cup o' cold tea.

FOURTH YORKSHIREMAN: Without milk or sugar.

THIRD YORKSHIREMAN: Or tea.

FIRST YORKSHIREMAN: In a cracked cup, an' all.

FOURTH YORKSHIREMAN: Oh, we never had a cup. We used to have to drink out of a rolled up newspaper.

SECOND YORKSHIREMAN: The best we could manage was to suck on a piece of damp cloth
.
THIRD YORKSHIREMAN: But you know, we were happy in those days, though we were poor.

FIRST YORKSHIREMAN: Because we were poor. My old Dad used to say to me, "Money doesn't buy you happiness, son".

FOURTH YORKSHIREMAN: Aye, 'e was right.

FIRST YORKSHIREMAN: Aye, 'e was.

FOURTH YORKSHIREMAN: I was happier then and I had nothin'. We used to live in this tiny old house with great big holes in the roof.

SECOND YORKSHIREMAN: House! You were lucky to live in a house! We used to live in one room, all twenty-six of us, no furniture, 'alf the floor was missing, and we were all 'uddled together in one corner for fear of falling.

THIRD YORKSHIREMAN: Eh, you were lucky to have a room! We used to have to live in t' corridor!

FIRST YORKSHIREMAN: Oh, we used to dream of livin' in a corridor! Would ha' been a palace to us. We used to live in an old water tank on a rubbish tip. We got woke up every morning by having a load of rotting fish dumped all over us! House? Huh.

FOURTH YORKSHIREMAN: Well, when I say 'house' it was only a hole in the ground covered by a sheet of tarpaulin, but it was a house to us.

SECOND YORKSHIREMAN: We were evicted from our 'ole in the ground; we 'ad to go and live in a lake.

THIRD YORKSHIREMAN: You were lucky to have a lake! There were a hundred and fifty of us living in t' shoebox in t' middle o' road.

FIRST YORKSHIREMAN: Cardboard box?

THIRD YORKSHIREMAN: Aye.

FIRST YORKSHIREMAN: You were lucky. We lived for three months in a paper bag in a septic tank. We used to have to get up at six in the morning, clean the paper bag, eat a crust of stale bread, go to work down t' mill, fourteen hours a day, week-in week-out, for sixpence a week, and when we got home our Dad would thrash us to sleep wi' his belt.

SECOND YORKSHIREMAN: Luxury. We used to have to get out of the lake at six o'clock in the morning, clean the lake, eat a handful of 'ot gravel, work twenty hour day at mill for tuppence a month, come home, and Dad would thrash us to sleep with a broken bottle, if we were lucky!

THIRD YORKSHIREMAN: Well, of course, we had it tough. We used to 'ave to get up out of shoebox at twelve o'clock at night and lick road clean wit' tongue. We had two bits of cold gravel, worked twenty-four hours a day at mill for sixpence every four years, and when we got home our Dad would slice us in two wit' bread knife.

FOURTH YORKSHIREMAN: Right. I had to get up in the morning at ten o'clock at night half an hour before I went to bed, drink a cup of sulphuric acid, work twenty-nine hours a day down mill, and pay mill owner for permission to come to work, and when we got home, our Dad and our mother would kill us and dance about on our graves singing Hallelujah.

FIRST YORKSHIREMAN: And you try and tell the young people of today that ..... they won't believe you.

ALL: They won't!

It ain't me, babe!

I strongly believe in the saying "laugh and the world laughs with you,cry and you cry alone" but it's my blog and if I feel like a good moan and whinge then that's what I'm gonna do.I've had a really shitty week at work.It's bad enough dealing with complaints for a living at the best of times but the intense scrutiny our team are under is making the job almost intolerable.I've never looked forward to the end of each day as much as I have in the last week or so.On the bright side the pay is pretty good but believe me it has to be or I'd have left years ago.

I was feeling tired and scunnered when I logged on to play poker last night and lost a $50 buy-in at Laddys after a failed river bluff. I'd made it due to the sheer frustration of not getting any playable hands.I don't usually get that way but tiredness and just a general feeling of gloom meant I was miles from my best game last night.Also lost a little at Inter too and went to bed feeling annoyed at myself for playing poker in the wrong frame of mind.

Maybe an additional part of the problem was a lack of focus and concentration partly caused by tiredness but also by a lax attitude at the tables.I've been playing at $25nl 6 max Inter tables recently and whilst that's the right level for my Inter roll it's the same level I was playing at nearly 2 years ago and to be honest it aint much fun.Felicia wrote that low stakes nl is simply "wash,rinse,repeat" poker and for the most part I agree.Sure you can get fancy and "make moves" but in general it's wait for a monster hand/flop and try and clean up against weaker players holding worse cards.

I hate feeling gloomy though.I feel as if I've no right to feel like that when I'm a healthy guy with a great family and loyal friends.I think I just have this feeling sometimes like I should be making more of life and that somehow I'm just a spectator as the time flies by.Of course maybe my blood sugar is just a little low just now and I need my dinner!

Ok that's enough moaning.I am tired and probably need a few days off but it's nothing a nice dinner,good smoke and a winning session can't cure!

To end on a bright note it was great to see the mighty Juice has his pc fixed and is back at the tables at last.Dead money is always welcome....

Brokelads

Been reading Gcox’s post about being stuck in a rut and while I reckon Mr Cox’s output is as good as ever ,his post rang a bell when I thought about this little corner of cyberspace.

Maybe it’s just the nature of blogs that some days there seems to be loads to witter on about and at other times I’m wondering where my next post is going to come from.

On the poker front there isn’t too much to report from play over the last couple of nights.I played at Laddys $50 nl 6 max and only really got into the game after dropping $16 through playing far too much of a passive and reactive kind of game.I’m trying to correct the urge to jump in and start making plays when I don’t have any reads but I’m finding it too easy to slip into a tight ,passive routine for too long.Last night the wild table had high average pots but the maniac was slightly more controlled and laid down a lot of hands when someone came back over the top of him.

The turning point came when in the middle of a hand I had been passively tagging along in I realised I was probably ahead and after a giving myself a mental slap I made the reraise required and the two villains folded.I had a bad run of beats at Inter recently and there’s no doubt that suffering too many of these in a short time means it’s easy to slip into the wrong mode of play and cost myself even more money!

Left $6 down at Laddys and $15 down from a few failed sng’s at Inter.Mrs A is off down to England for her brothers wedding tonight and wont be back until next Wednesday so it’s just me and my boy ( Nacho) until then.

Looks like I'l be spending a lot of time at ...




Ok that's all for now....

Bring me sunshine

The sun is shining in Glasgow this week and so far the poker has been going well too.There always seems to be loads to write and analyse when on a downswing but I feel rather short of content after a decent couple of days.I won $90 at Inter on Sunday night and $60 at Ladbrokes last night mainly due to my decent hands holding up and a few speculative hands hitting the flop hard.

I could moan that all my dominating hands in recent sng’s have been soundly beaten and as a result my sharkscope form is now officially “tilt” but I’m really not too bothered by this as I know I’m ( on most occasions) still getting my money in as favourite.

I did have a laugh on Sunday night at my 6 max table.I played until 3.30 am as I was only in work for a few hours yesterday ( local holiday) and just after entering my last table orbit I picked up 77.It was a wild table and I called the initial raise and then watched as three players ( inc initial raiser) went all in before it was back on me.No point writing about last hand syndrome and not doing anything about it I thought as I folded and watched two more sevens hit the board!.Still as Rosie reminded me,it is all about correct decisions and folding there was correct.

Not much else been going on really.Took my car back to ATS who say that they’ve checked the exhaust over and that’s not what's causing the problem.They reckon its the engine management system.The MOT is due in August so I may try book it in early to get it sorted.

Enjoyed S-mans visit last night.I hope to get him playing with real money online one day.Anyone who has the patience to play a Party freeroll with 9000 players and come in top 300 must have a chance at this game!

It's 27c outside and tomorrow could be Scotlands hottest ever day.If only I wasn't working....

Losing with a smile

Inter $217 ,Ladbrokes $ 1067 , Pokerroom $1054. Total $2338 ( - $139 for week).

Ok so perhaps I'm not exactly smiling about losing but I've played enough online poker to recognise a run of bad luck and that's what I've been going through recently.Last night at Inter''s £50 nl 6 max tables was almost laughable at times as I continued playing patiently ( 20 % vpip) and yet had hand after hand snapped off by nasty rivers etc.

After my 1010 had been beaten by AK ( all in on a low ragged flop,K on river) I was down to my last £45 at Inter but kept plugging away and eventually pulled back enough to keep the wolves from the door at that site.

I titled the post "losing with a smile" because nearly two years of experience has taught me that running bad happens.It can happen for weeks or months but it will pass and it's simply part of the game and has to be accepted.

All the usual sensible stuff we say to each other when running badly seems to have really sunk in with me to the extent that I really mean it when I say I'm not overly concerned.I've looked at the big hands that cost me on Pokertracker and with very few exceptions I know I played them aswell as I could and that's all anyone can ask of themselves at the table.

I did play past my self imposed curfew till 5am last night but the table I was at was so juicy it was hard to leave.I'm working five hours tomorrow ( double time n half) as it's the Glasgow Fair.Looking forward to a long lie and a 12pm start.Tuesday morning will see the car going back into ATS to ask them to check over the new exhaust.There be a couple of strange misfiring noises coming from that there vehicle!

Mrs A is off down South on Friday for her brothers wedding so we're hoping to go see The Da Vinci Code on Wed night and maybe grab a meal out.Mrs A is stomping around today in a helluva mood because the grandkids were supposed to be staying with us but her boy never called to cancel.Mrs A missed my sisters party and we also cancelled a night over at friends to babysit.

Just watched Rangers lose 2-0 to the South African champions in a pre-season friendly.It was pretty much a second choice team the Gers had out but the players who did play didn't stake much of a claim for place in the team.

Ok that's all for today.My plan for tonight is to win and look miserable....

Pressure Poker

I've been an avid reader of Doubleas blog for a while now and I've finally got around to ordering his book "Pressure poker" from the link on his site.I've read a few books and a lot of poker strategy stuff over my two years of playing and it's posts like Doubleas "pressure points" that stick in my mind and have a real practical application at the table.Not sure how long it will take to ship but hopefully not too long.

My poker week has been fairly flat so far and it feels like I'm stuck in mud with my wheels spinning fast just now.The sng's continue to go well but I just can't seem to sustain any kind of run at the cash tables.JJ and KK getting busted saw me down $50 on Thursday night before I pulled back $30 when I called a min raise with 56 sooted in BB and made a straight on the turn.

Last night I started well at Laddys and had hoped to book a nice wee win until my last half hour of play where the cards didn't fall and I probably made the mistake of loosening up too much,leaving me down $7 there overall. I did at least stick to my 4am curfew though which should mean no matchsticks needed to keep my eyes open today.

I've noticed I seem to have slipped into a very passive mode of play at 6 max cash tables until I'm ahead, then I open my game out more and try and take pots nobody seems to want.I think I'm trying to learn from the days where I'd sit down at a new table with no reads and lose money by overplaying and almost trying too hard to force things to go my way.It's a balancing act for sure.Usually after 10-15 mins of very tight play I can open up a little and make a steal or two to pad my stack.A lot depends on the table I suppose and last night I was back at the 6 max tables with the highest average pot and at these tables a slightly loose ( aprox 33 %vpip) passive/aggressive approach seems to work best.

Later I also played a $10 mtt on Inter but despite wearing my new Inter cap ( pulled down to avoid giving away tells) I had KK busted again to finish out of the money.This time it was all in V QKsoooted and AQ with the soooted monkey flopping a flush and and Ace on the river ensuring I didn't even get the remaining small sidepot.

Not all poker last night as I was out earlier on at the pub for my sister surprise birthday party which went really well and saw a good turnout.Feeling a bit skint though as my exhaust repair ended up costing £620 and the car still isn't running well.It seems to be losing power when I put my foot down and not responding as it should.I can't overtake sometimes in case the power doesn't come which is very frustrating.My Dad reckons the engine needs tuned but I'm not so sure.I had hoped the new exhaust would help but problem seems worse now.It's almost like the engine is running cold all the time.I may take it back to ATS on Monday and ask them to have another look.

In other news I had to laugh at one of the "Nat West three" whose been extradited to the USA for an alleged complex fraud.Gary Mulgrew could only afford £11k of the £55k bail demanded so he offered his shares in Celt*c Fc to make up the difference.Very classy. hehehehe.

Apparently there's an alleged mountain of evidence against this guy ,yet the media in this country are playing it as if the three are somehow victims.Though the extradition agreement with the US may not be the most balanced,if these guys are guilty then I hope they get what they deserve.

Ok going out enjoy the sunshine...

Free Parking...

Not too much to report on the poker front over the last two days as I’ve not played much. I won $40 in a short time on Tuesday night and lost $5 during a quick ten minute session last night,after my weekly Halo fest.Mrs A is working tonight so I should be able to squeeze in some play.I’m going to try and use some self-discipline to stop playing until 5.30-6am every weekend.I’m so tired sometimes at the start of the week I can barely keep my eyes open and this can’t continue.I was feeling quite down at the start of the week and it was nothing a few good nights sleep couldn’t cure.

I took my car to ATS and they have quoted £580 for the new exhaust which is still expensive but £100 cheaper than the last quote I had.I also pay a fortune for a car parking space near my work in Glasgow city centre but all that is going to change.From now I’ll simply hand my car in every morning to ATS for a “free check” and tell them I’ll be back to collect it at the end of the day.I reckon if I can get the brakes,Tyres,exhaust,shocks and battery checked once a week on different days I’ll save a fortune…

Just joking but things do seem to be piling up financially at the moment.I’ve got the car repair,my sisters birthday,money for Mrs A’s trip to her brothers wedding,Step A’s new bike and a holiday in September to pay for and I’m desparately trying not to just give in to temptation and stick it all on my credit card.I’ve just over $1k at Pokerroom and rarely play there these days and may find myself having to raid that account soon.

Onto to happier news and I had a good laugh at the IRA'S athletic wing ( celt*c fc) getting slaughtered 4-0 by DC United last night.Apparently it was four going on ten and apart from Rangers winning there's nothing better in life than that lot getting gubbed.

Arrived home from work to discover a baseball cap from Interpoker in the mail.Life just doesn't get any better!

Dinner,a long walk for Nacho and poker await....

Shine on you Crazy Diamond

I was saddened today to hear that Syd Barrett,founder of The Pink Floyd,has died aged 60 from complications related to diabetes.He was the "crazy diamond" referred to in the song of the same name and the man who started it all before dropping out of the spotlight due to mental health issues ,probably caused by heavy lsd use.RIP Syd.

I didn't have much joy at the tables last night, which was my own fault for playing when I was so tired after late nights at the weekend.Oh I did have one minor moment of triumph when I came back from 67 chips at a $5 sng ( blinds 400/600) and came 3rd when my comeback luck finally faded but that was it.

If I'd been feeling sensible I'd have gone to bed after that ( around midnight) ,but nobody that knows me could ever accuse me of being too sensible,so I hit up a £25 6 max table at Inter.I lost an early gamble early on when I called a tilty players £12 all in,with me holding A10 soooted v his 99.Even being willing to take a gamble like that should have told me I wasn't in the right mood to play but I stumbled on and lost the rest of my buy-in on a bluff gone wrong.( I was 52% v 48% dog in the A10 V 99 match-up)


On the bluff hand I'd called a typical preflop raise ( can't even remember what I had!) and missed the flop.When the original preflop raiser bet out instead of folding I decided to call and try and take it away from him on a later street.The flop was Jack high and the way the betting was going it was obvious he had a high premium pair of some sort.When another Jack came on the river I decided the villan would be worried I'd made my set and reraised his bet,only have him insta-call with QQ.

Part of the problem was that I was new to the table and hadn't established the right table image for a move like that.They'd just seen me call an all in with A10 afterall so I can't have had the tight image I usually use to steal.I also had no idea whether or not the villan was capable of laying down a hand like QQ on a that kind of board because table image/how the board reads isn't relevant if the villan isn't paying attention.

I did at least see sense and went straight to bed after that hand,waking up early enough to take my car exhuast in to get looked at.I'd budgeted on a £250 repair and nearly fell off my seat when they called me to say I was looking at £680 as the whole exhaust apart from the Cat needed replaced.I've had other quotes of £580 and will be seeking a second opinion but it's getting noisier and nosier and I can't wait much longer to get it done.

I'm off to E-bay the dog....

Forza Azzurri

Congrats to Italy who won the World Cup on penalties last night after Zidane was sent off in extra time for a headbutt.It looks like he was provoked by something Matterazi ( Italian defender) said to him.Unless it was something really disgusting like "I hear you're signing for Celtic" then I can't understand why he lost the plot so easily.

Not a memorable final from a quality point of few but dramatic at least.The best game of the WC was the Italy 2 Germany 0 semi-final a few days ago which was great advert for the beautiful game and how it should be played.

Logged on to play some poker after the game and ended up pulling my hair out after registering for an Interpoker sng then not being able to connect due to the gameserver being busy.I'm waiting on Inter's support getting back to me regarding a refund although I'm not sure I can do much about the effect a missed sng will have on my Sharkscope stats.( I know it's only one fecked up sng but one too many for me!).

I spent forty minutes trying everything to get it working but to no avail.My connection was fine so I moved to Laddys but quickly lost $40 as nothing seemed to be working and I was getting more and more steamed.I then found a $100 nl 6 max table with an average pot of $52 and jumped in to give it a whirl.Moving up to $100 nl at a crazy table certainly focussed me and I managed to pull back $60 in a fairly short time before taking my profit and running after MiasDad mentioned using a stop/win method.

Interesting concept as I've never used any kind of stop/loss or stop/win method in the past.Sometime I feel I actually play better after a bad start and there must be loads of nights at the weekend where I'll be way down by 1am but waaaay up by 4am.Stopping play after winning a preset sum is something I'll certainly consider strongly in future as a way of avoiding such long sessions.Playing till 5.45am at weekends just can't be healthy!

Back soon...

Curse of the Cowboys

I had a frustrating night at the tables last night losing around $60 at Inter and making a tiny profit at Laddys.I played a $10 mtt ( $1k gtd) and went out in 24th ( top 20 paid) when my KK was busted by 1010.( 10 on turn).Two hours of play and out on a suckout.Hmmmf!

Moved to 6 max and two tabled £25 nl for an hour or so ,treading water and not making much progress.Opened a £50nl table where a huge fish was donating and patiently waited for my shot at him.He left before I'd had a chance to make any moves and two others left leaving the table 3 handed.At this point I think I became a victim of some other plonkers "last hand sydrome".Bottom line was that my KK was sucked out on by 33.Flop was 6 6 5 and I bet out hard.Turn brought a 2 and the river a 4.Thankfully I was last to act and only called the villans teaser bet on the end and didn't reraise but it was a real sickener.

I had a whine about it but at least managed to shut it out of my mind and continued to play my game.I didn't see many premium hands and even the two sets I made were on flops with three sooooted cards so had to be played hard.

I've been playing long enough to know that ( in the words of the great philosopher,David Brent) you have to "accept that some days you are the pigeon and somedays you are the statue".Now before I go and get a warm wet sponge to wipe the crap off here are my weekly stats...

Interpoker $329 ( inc $100 bonus) , Ladbrokes $1089,Pokerroom $1059. Total $ 2477. ( + $123 for week).

Watching the Fedderer v Nadal final this afternoon before going to pay my Gran a visit.I hope tonights World Cup final lives up to it's potential.I did previously tip Italy but I'm edging towards one last great Zidane performance before he retires.Here's hoping it's a belter.

Sat update

Started the weekend by taking Mrs A to the Auldhouse Arms for some of the finest steak pie around before coming home and hitting the tables.

I had been on a bit of a downer due to finding a lump "downstairs" during my morning shower,but thankfully ( not too much detail to follow I promise) it's just a nasty infected thing where a hair has come out.Probably a poker injury caused by hours of sitting at my pc.It's feeling much better now and I wont mention it again but after what my sister went through last year,I'm more paranoid about these things than ever.

To the poker and my sng run continues.Two first places,a third and a 6th were my finishes last night.I'm sure it will even out a bit over the longer run but for now I'm quite proud that my Sharkscope stats say: Games played Av. Profit Av. Stake Av.ROI Total profit
55 $4 $5 63% $227

When I check out other players stats at my tables I'm stunned at some of the losses incurred.Some of these players have played thousands of games and lost thousands of $.Do they never learn,improve or think maybe this just isn't working?

Moved to Inters cash tables and finally worked off my $100 bonus to leave my Inter account at $396 including that $100.Played a little at Laddys too but ended up down $35 there after a good start which cheesed me off a bit but I did at least go to bed at a semi-sensible 4am,after a long night at the tables.

Watching the ladies Wimbledon final just now followed by the Germany v Portugal 3rd place World Cup play-off game.I reckon the Germans will win tonight and the Italians will do the business in the final tomorrow night.

Couple of quickies from the paper afore I go.Back Sunday with weekly stats...

For sale on eBay: one England football team, hardly used. The seller, from Dundee, has gone all out to tempt buyers by listing their usefulness as a sleep aid, but he's having trouble selling the team as ajob lot. Surely there's a shed builder out there who could put 11 planks to good use?

Never let it be said the Glasgow workie has no sense of chivalry. A Bearsden lady was at the dump, shaking a bag of hedge trimmings into a huge skip. She realised the cuttings were too heavy, and if she didn't let go of the bag, she would be going in as well. She apologised to the three young attendants for contaminating the green waste with her black bag. "You should have given us a shout," said one "and we'd have held your ankles."

Small edges

This week seems to have flown in so far.Thoroughly enjoyed the Italy win over Germany on Tuesday night with two superb goals right at the end of extra time settling it.It may have been 0-0 for the first 128 minutes but the footballing quality on show was a joy to watch.Ex Rangers man ,Rino Gattuso, was my man of the match and covered every blade of grass on the pitch.

Nice to see my other prediction come true last night and France make the final.The game was nowhere near as good as Tuesdays but it should make for a fascinating final on Sunday.Unless Zidane puts on another masterclass I’m going for the Italians to win as their quick short passing and movement has been beautiful to witness at times.

The only downside was having to listen to the English commentator state during the Italian game that there’s an Englishman on the pitch as one of the Italians lived in England until he was 6, and that Italian was born in the same town as ’66 World Cup hero,Geoff Hurst. This was followed by the impartial BBC’s John Motson saying he didn’t mean to be spiteful but that “Carvalho had been involved in the Rooney incident” after Carvalho got a yellow card, which would have meant he was suspended for the World Cup final if Portugal had made it.He certainly was “involved” as he was the player who had his crown jewels stamped on by Rooney!!

Juice asked me ( after a little gentle ribbing about Ingerland crashing out) if I wanted a bet on Scotland qualifying for Euro 2008. No chance! I doubt England would qualify either from a group which includes the two World Cup finalists and Ukraine.Scotland are building a decent young side but qualifying for the next World Cup has to be the aim.

Not played too much poker after the football over the last two nights and Mark visiting for last nights Halo fest but I did squeeze in an hour of cash play at £25nl and won £20. I did laydown one hand I was unsure about at the time but subsequently regretted.The upside was I got the fishies money anyway in another hand when my 2nd pair,good kicker beat his 3 pair.

Only 14 more player points to go to release my $100 bonus and I’m looking forward to getting it cleared and adding it to my Inter balance.

Online poker is all about small edges and I've mentioned previously that I like to check the lobby of the site I'm playing at to see which players at my table are multi-tabling.Multi-tablers tend to have the goods when they raise,rarely bluff and generally play abc poker.I've never been hot on stealing blinds at cash tables and working out who gives them up easily but I will open up the other table the multi-tabler is playing.I do this firstly to see what kind of stack he/she has but also to steal their blinds if they are involved in a hand at the other table.It's not going to make me rich but any edge I can find,I'll take.

Speaking of edges I tried to get one over the wee one by finding out more about "emo" after reading an article in The Times about the latest teenage craze.It seems to involve listening to depressing music,wearing leopard prints,thick glasses and have a presence on My Space.I've read the article,googled it and I've still no idea what it's about. I must be getting old!

Ok,back tomorrow or over the weekend...

News Just In!

Saddam Hussein Found Guilty!!

Sentenced to death by firing squad.He has one last request.






















He chose Lampard, Gerrard and Carragher from 12 yards ;-)

Challenge latest

Not much to write about Sunday evenings poker hence the lack of a post.Lost $10 but last night was more productive and I came 2nd in a sng before hitting a $25nl 6 max table and going on a nice wee run.It was only $25 nl ,the cards were kind to me and ego has no place in poker but it felt good to be crushing the table.My first check raise set the tone and eventually I had shortstacks going all in with hands like Q8 v my AJ through sheer frustration.It helped greatly that aswell as good cards the other players all had less than half a buy in and insisted on making bets of .25 into $3 and $4 pots.

I mentioned checkraising and this was a move I only used to use when I had a monster type hand but which I now use to protect more marginal hands and to try and take a pot there and then.For example at last nights table I had K8 in the BB and check raised on a ragged K high flop.My logic was that if I’d bet out I’d only get called by someone probably with a King and better kicker and would likely take the pot uncontested.By letting the button try and steal it ( which based on previous hands I thought he would) I got the money he had bet when he folded to my checkraise.I was most likely ahead anyway but maybe my good sized check raise would have scared off k9/k10 aswell giving it added value.

There is a danger in being too fancy at $25 nl when bet big or go home abc poker usually wins the money but a little deception always helps confuse the fish further.Only 30 more player points to release my $100 Inter bonus.My current $50 challenge total is $214 ( excluding bonus).The progress has been more slow and steady than spectacular but I have enough to feel I’ll avoid busting now ( at Inter) though I’d like to have enough to move up to my more regular $50nl 6 max game.

Funny that until recently I felt I needed my $4.5 k bankroll yet now I’ve got $214 at Inter I feel safe from busting out there.I have missed my regular 6 max $50 nl at Laddys and will be heading back there at some point but for now I’m enjoying the $5 sng’s and $25nl games at Inter.

My Mum and Dad are visiting tonight for dinner ( though I’ve asked them up nice and early so I don’t miss Germany V Italy) ,it’s France V Portugal tomorrow night and Rangers first friendly game V Linfield is live on tv on Thursday but I doubt that’ll stop me hitting the tables at some point.

Quick one from the paper before I go..

Last word on that tragedy…..Well, at least until tomorrow. Thanks to all the readers who nearly crashed the diary's email with their expressions of sympathy for England. John Glackin best caught the mood of "a nation in mourning" when he told us of an offer made to the devastated team – a holiday of their choice, anywhere in the world. Beckham chose Blackpool, where at least they would get to travel in an open-top bus.

Live Poker report + Sunday update

Just back from Glasgows' Wabash poker club where I played in the £5 nl rebuy tourney with 40 of my bestest friends and my wee cousin.

Started with 1500 chips and built a nice stack at my 8 player table.AJ hit a J on the flop and I won when the other two drawing players missed.I limped with 44 and slowplayed the 664 flop even checking the river to induce a steal but the poor villan had made trips and a straight and was crippled after that.

There was one very tight player,a loosey goosey and a few in between at my first table.I had 29 k in chips when I folded 66 to a raise from the tighty .The big stack next to me went all in on a draw and the tightys AA held up.I would hit my 6 and gone from 29k to nearer 70k in chips but I was happy with my laydown.The tight player was busted by QQ when she had AA again at the final table and looked distraught so I told her about the 66 hand hoping to cheer her up a little.

I had paid £5 entry,£5 towards the bounty for knocking a player out and rebought once.I didn't bother adding on as I had more than the average stack when the rebuy period ended but at my new table I had two large ( 80k) stacks to my left which made stealing difficult and with the blinds rising it was squeaky bum time trying to make it past the bubble.The only ( and best hand) I played was K10 and it held up v Q10 to keep me in.

We played 4 handed at our table and 5 handed at the other for what seemed like forever before someone crashed out and I made the final table of 8.The payments are very top heavy .Pos 8-5 paid £20,4th was £60 and it rose sharply from there.

I was 2nd shortstack at my new table and got lucky pushing from late position with K9 and hitting a nine V A5 TO stay in before going out a few hands later when I raised 20k in chips ,leaving 6k to look weak, with KK and one of the big stacks from earlier called and bet my last 6k on a J high flop.She had AJ and hit an A on the river to knock me out but no complaints as I really enjoyed my time playing and after four visits ( two in the money) I'm starting to feel more comfortable at the table and more confident in my ability.

Sorry I can' t provide more detail on hands played but I have the opposite of a photographic memory.

Back to online poker and last night was a big improvement on Fridays in terms of results.I won $44 at Laddys and $45 at Inter for my nights work to leave my figures as follows: Inter $185 ,Ladbrokes $1110,Pokerroom $1059. Total $2354 ( -$15 for week).

It was actually a breakeven week as I transferred $15 from Pokerroom to Rosie to go towards my share of our Sharkscope account.I love Sharky and wish I could remember which blogger first pimped it so I can pass on my thanks.Interesting to put a few names in and see how people are doing.Nobody playing sng's should be without it.

This week it's World Cup semi-final time and for those following my uncannily accurate predictions I'm going for an Italy v France final. Looking forward to watching more Wimbledon tennis too.It's quite funny that last week English tennis fans were shouting "Rooney Rooney" at Scotland's Andy Murray because he had the cheek to say he wasn't supporting Ingerland in the world cup yet as soon as England go out Murray becomes a great "British" player according to the commentators.I still can't believe a scrawny looking Scot's teenager beat Andy Roddick in straight sets but as I've mentioned previously it's the unpredictable nature of sport which makes it so fascinating.

Enjoy what's left of the weekend...

Bottle

After the football yesterday I hit the tables and played for 20 minutes at Laddys ,winning a nice pot with quad nines before playing a few sng's at Inter.Came 3rd and bubbled in a $10 sng ,then moved to a cash table where my set of tens fell to a flush within a couple of hands.Inter challenge sits at $139.

Left Inter $13 down and moved to a wild Laddys 6 max $50 nl table where the average pot was $29 and there were regularly pots over $100.

I'm well aware of the high variance nature of these late night tables and found myself down three buy-ins more through bad luck than bad play.One of the three table maniacs caught me when I raised with AcKs,he called reraised with QQ and the flop came Qc Kc 7c and I pushed when he bet thinking I was ahead and never hit my flush.( thought I had a lot more outs too).

A10 fell to A3 when a 3 hit on the turn blady blady blah!

Two players also flopped two pairs on me aswell but I'm not going to whine and moan because that's the nature of wild games where three players are calling stations with Vpip of over 65%.If players didn't call raises with J8 then I wouldn't be sitting watching the tennis on my new 37" tv ...

At the wild table it was a game of cat and mouse between the three tight trapping players and the three wild maniacs who were hard to put on a hand when they did hold the nuts but overbet when they didn't.I love that kind of game even if it does bite my arse occasionally.

At my new table I won a little back before heading to bed around 5am.

Looking forward to the big game today....but I don't think Andy Murray has quite enough experience yet to get past a player like Roddick yet.Watching an old hero of mine,Agassi,play Nadal just now and would love to see Andre get through( 2 sets down just now though).Tennis reminds me of poker in some ways as it seems to be a mental battle as much as anything else at the top level.

Edit: Gaun yersel wee man! Murray beats Roddick in straight sets.Bottle,heart and skill.
Now for Brazil v France...


England and Brazil are my tips to get through to the semi-finals of the World Cup today though I reckon Brazil will have far too much for an over hyped England team if they do meet up.

Fitba' ,tennis,poker and a long walk for Nacho on the cards today.

Back tomorrow with weekly update....