Saturday, May 27, 2006

Out on a high!

Canny do screenshots and it's not the lottery but I managed to turn my $7 satellite qualifier ticket into a $250 win at a Pokerroom $50 turbo 10 player sng.I came 2nd in a warm up $10 turbo and wondered if I'd ever actually close the deal again.
36 minutes from start to finish.Gotta love turbos!

Off for a herbal refreshment to celebrate....


1

Zagga

Real $250.00

2

MAU58

Real $150.00

3

Bubbatkas

Real $100.00


Finished the night about $130 up at da 6 max cash tables.The crazies are out tonight.Happy pokering...


















Friday, May 26, 2006

Monthly Update

As this will be my last post for a week here are my monthly stats ( which may be adjusted later if there are any large swings). I made a mistake last week by posting my Interpoker total as $1046 instead of $1146 which is nice because other than that I've made $10 profit since last Sunday.$110 looks far better even if it was just a mistake. edit 6th June:balance was $1046! Doh!


I've spent more time playing raked hands freerolls and $5 and $10 sng's this week than cash games which probably explains the lack of profit.

***Edited after sng and cash play profit on Fri night.**** 4.45am gg gnite....

Monthly Total = 52 hours cash game play. Ladbrokes $2241 Interpoker $1046,Party $268,Pokeroom $1065. Total $4620 ( + $424 for week) Total profit since 30th April = $783

I'm happy with my stats for just now though I'm quite glad of the weeks break coming up as my focus at the tables this week has been quite poor.I think that's probably why I didn't play very much 6 max.I've been reading Rizen ( now there's a player) blog after following the link from Will Wonka and he always takes a couple of days complete break from poker every week.I realise I'm only playing small fry nl micro stakes but 6 max is an intense game and a couple of days of no poker at all would probably do me more good than just slowing down at the start of most weeks after marathon weekend sessions.

Have I really been blogging a year and have I really posted almost 300 times? Yes indeedy!

I said in answer to Trips quiz that I started this blog to keep a record of my thoughts and play.That is still the case but its also been a fantastic way to meet new cyber friends from all over the world and on a practical level take some of the best bloggers advice and improve my game.My game and profits have improved greatly since I started blogging.I began the blog with a $471 roll and while I'm never going to be a poker superstar I could never have envisaged the progress I would make or the fun I would have doing it. The ROW v US tourneys were great and the recent Dadi tourneys etc have taken it on to a whole new level.

Still packing for tomorrow and I'm keen to squeeze in some poker so I'll cut this short.Before I go though I'd like to say a big Congrats to Hoyazo for taking down nearly $10k in a Party Mtt.I enjoy reading his blog and mtt analysis and I'm really pleased he pulled this one off.

Ok unless I win a Zillion or tilt my roll away tonight that's all folks until June 4th at least.Joe Speaker will be in Glasgow sometime around when I get back and I'm looking forward to meeting the man and his hair!

Until next time thanks for reading and remember not to sweat the swings....

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Live Blog Special!!!

Going away on Saturday ( have I mentioned that?) with Mrs Acorn and Step Acorn.My Mamma and Papa Acorn are away just now and sister Acorn is just back from her honeymoon with brother in law Acorn.I'll get to the hand history later but you know playing poker last night very much reminded me of one of my favourite books.People were lion at the table,I didn't know witch cards to play and after losing my shirt I hid in the wardrobe.No prizes for guessing the book but all comments welcome!!!( I may even pay a small buy-in fee as a prize) .

I was thinking this would be my last post before my holiday but as a special treat for my readers I may well live blog my $50 sng for your delight and pleasure. As a micro-stakes player be sure to note I will include all my deep level one thoughts as I progress."Look they're both the same colour" and "never raise with rockets" are just two of the areas for exploration.Oh and don't worry as it will be a No-Limit holdem sng I'm playing in as I learned my poker from the television and have no time for those kid on poker games like Omaha 8. If I make the money I promise to post a cute photo of Nacho looking all fwuffy and sweet.This blog DELIVERS!

Oh ok I'm just have a bit of fun after reading Felicias latest post.Couldnae resist a badly written,poorly thought out bit of fun.



Not much to write about last nights play.I finished down $7 at Laddys ( includes $11 late night crapshoot fee) and up about the same at Pokerrooms 5 max tables. I was quite happy to break even after losing a buy in with QQ v AQ after getting the fish to commit preflop.Damn Ace on the turn stuck it to me there.

Quick one from the paper before go off for dinner and poker...

A reader catching a bus from Glasgow's city centre to the Victoria Infirmary asked what the fare was, and was told it was £1.10. Without the right change, all he could do was put two one-pound coins in the ticket machine, accepting that he would not get any money back.The driver looked at the coins and told him: "It's no' a savings scheme I'm running here".

WE overhear two businesswomen sipping champagne in Rogano with one explaining her latest financial coup."It was difficult getting through to their chief executive," she declared, "as his secretary was blocking his calls."But the next time I phoned, and she asked who was calling, I simply said it was the clinic. I was put through straightaway."


Dinner calls.The hand history can wait!

Poker Panic

Just realised I have only three more nights of poker before my weeks break to Majorca.I'm actually looking forward to the break from the tables rather than panicking as I've enjoyed playing far more each time I've come back from previous breaks.My mate is moving house tonight ( yes I did offer to help!) so some pokery fun will be squeezed in tonight after this post.

After so much play at the weekend I've been easing my way back in gently this week so far.A nothing night last night really after winning $15 at Ladbrokes and losing $17 at a Pokerroom 5 max game.Pokerrooms 5 max tables were where I first got the short-handed bug and realised I could win at micro-stakes 5 max nl.I only played there for about 20 minutes last night and felt I'd just begun to get a handle on the tables ego-maniac but my sensible head was on and I headed off to bed.

I love playing players who think they are tables appointed poker superstar and who make large overbets and showdown rubbish to try and tilt the table.Last nights example raised preflop and then went all in for $64 on a low ragged board and showed AK when the table folded.He soon lost most of his stack when one of his fancy plays with 2 sooted cards cost him v a player with 2 higher sooted cards.These guys can actually be quite easy to bluff because if your playing a tighter game than the table they think they have you pegged as a predictable player when I finally make a move on him ( whilst representing something obvious on the board as it has to be kept simple for him).

Bought my final book for going away with.Christopher Brookmyres new one "A tale etched in blood and hard black pencil" has only been out for a few days and I can't wait to get started on it.He ranks alongside Carl Hiassen as my favourite author.I hope Mr Hiassen has a new one out soon too.I need my fix! Also taking "Freakonmics", "Long way Down"-Nick Hornby,"A man called Cash"-Steve Turner and that highbrow intellectual book that I'm sure schools will start using soon instead of Shakespeare ....Robbie Fowlers autobiography.

Ok here's a couple of snips from the paper which made me smile....

Last laugh: A reader tells us about an office night out at a comedy club where quite a reserved chap made the mistake of going to the loo during the main turn, and was verbally lacerated from the stage. The heat from his face, apparently, could have powered a three-bar fire.Our reader was then amazed when another chap stood up and walked to the loo, only to be bawled at by the turn: "Where are you going?"But in a Glasgow accent he gruffly replied: "I'm going for a pee before the comedian comes on," which left a deafening silence from the stage.

A Gourock reader just back from a cruise to the Canaries tells us that, sadly, there were a couple of deaths on board owing to the elderly nature of many of the holidaymakers. Rumours on board had spread, however, that the death toll was even higher, so when our Gourock chap found himself sitting next to the ship's doctor for dinner that night, he asked if the rumours were true."When you get ice cream for breakfast," the doc told him, "you'll know the fridge is full."

Pulling rank: Spotted recently in Kosovo, a large sign outside a US army base which, in the flamboyant military manner of our trans-atlantic cousins, announced the location of a unit claiming to be "Second To None". A mile down the road, the sign outside a usually understated British base was hastily changed to "None".

Thanks for reading and please visit Flopyjt's new poker blog,the latest quality addition to my sidebar...

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Nice Tuesday

Another case of the moody Monday blues meant I stuck to my Mums old adage of “if you don’t have anything nice to say,don’t say anything at all”.

Full of niceties today so here goes…

I’ve been playing a few more tourneys as I’m going to use my $50 sng ticket this week.Came 2nd in a $5 turbo,then 7th before going out of a 20 player $5 turbo on the bubble for the second time in a row.My A10 was well ahead of the villans A9 and after a 9 10 3 flop I felt fairly safe.A blank turn card and Pokerrooms software showing I was a 95% fav going to the river meant nothing when the 9 fell.Got some sympathy from the table but really wasn’t too bothered.I’d much rather suffer these beats in low $$$ sng’s than at a ring game with my stack in the middle and besides 5 % of the time I’m expected to lose so I suppose that was part of the 5%.The other player didn’t deal the cards and if they were all so good they never made bad plays I wouldn’t win as often overall.

Played in Laddys $2.5k daily raked hands mtt last night and came 49th for $12.50.I had some luck when I won a few early coin flips before making a play with AJ from early positon.I was one of two big stacks at the table and hadn’t played a hand so I was hoping to take the blinds.The other big stack ( I had covered) in the bb called and we saw a flop of A Q 9 with two clubs.I bet,the bb raised all in and I tried to consider all her possible holdings in the allotted 30 seconds before deciding she could have anything from a flush draw to a smaller Ace or lower pp or even trip nines.Without any reads of any sort I called and was drawing nearly dead to AQ.The same player then stole my big blind and called my all in later when I held AJ again only this time she had QJ and my hand held up.Thanks to Mr Edge who was there to wish me luck for my last few hands.

I normally act quite quickly at the virtual table but I may just use the “I’m going to fold but make you sweat” delay from now on.Someone raises and you intend to fold but let the clock run down first.I wonder if it’s an attempt to make the raiser think twice about picking on that persons blinds in future especially if they are prone to stealing.

Headed off to Laddys 6 max after that and won $15 despite a mistake I made whilst still in tourney mode.I had 33 and had called a very small all in from one player who got one other caller too.The other caller was quite a loose aggressive player and checked post flop.I checked too and we ended up checking it down until he caught a Jack on the river with his AJ and I made the crying call.Both our hands beat the all in player and if I’d been thinking I should have bet when he checked to me postflop.

Counting down the days now till we go away.Mrs A has the cases packed already and I was designated the job of getting our digital camera working.The guy at Jessops said the memory card was full and as I thought we had all the photos from it I had it wiped only for Mrs A to tell me there were pictures of her oldest boy getting married on it.Ooops. Thankfully Mrs A is not the type to go radio rental over something like that.In fact we rarely argue or fight at all about anything.Mrs A knows to leave me be when I’m tired or hungry and I know when to stay out of her way.

Ok I'm home,I'm tired and I'm hungry! Get outta my way....

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Sat Night Fever

Well what a damn fine night last night turned out to be.Didn't start well after crashing out of Laddys $100k raked hands mtt after less than 5 mins when I had K9 in the bb and couldn't get away from the 9 high flop in an unraised pot.Small blind had A9 and that was that for another week.

Took a break for dinner and to watch some tv with Mrs A before joining my blogger friends from across the pond for a game.I've added a load of links to the folks on IM last night and a few more.I'm very laid back about links.Any other bloggers I've missed who would like linked only have to ask and if I've linked you here and you wish it removed just let me know.
Anyways welcome kaellinn,Duggle Bogey,Drewspop,Katitude,Mookie99,Falstaff,Bloody P,Scurvydog,Drizztdj and Iamhoff to my sidebar.

Played a Pokerstars sng with Tripjax and GCox and we were later joined by Jordan at a high stakes .10c-.20 c fixed limt game for which the only reason to play was the chance of being the table paid out the bonus every few thousand hands in their Billion Hand promo ( aswell as for the fine company at the table) .I think I played about 65% of my hands and ended up getting very attached to anything soooted to try and liven up pokers most boring game.Good times and good chat.

After finishing there it was time to go to work at the 6 max table at Laddys.Pleased to say the cards fell for me last night and I won $95 whilst chatting to Juice and then headed off to Interpokers £.25-£.50 tables to seek out the fish.

I also switched my IM chat back on and joined the US blogger crew as they played down to the final table of a blogger freeroll.Checked Jordans blog today and he finished 2nd for $450 profit.Considering it was a blogger mtt that's a fine achievement.I don't have Absolute poker so I was unable to railbird properly but the tension and chat as the mtt went on helped break up the monotony of my fold fest at the cash table.I hope nobody minded me posting the hand history below in the chat box.I wasn't try to brag about it.It was just nice to have people to share it with in real time just after it happened.

-----HAND 5------
Game #2443183464: Hold'em NL (£0.25/£0.50) - 2006/05/20 - 23:25:18 (ET)
Table "Sunflower" Seat 5 is the button.
Seat 1: Zagga (£70.91 in chips)
Seat 2: CruS (£104.85 in chips)
Seat 3: Tits_out (£100.70 in chips)
Seat 4: MongoUgg (£69.36 in chips)
Seat 5: oldman100 (£44 in chips)
Seat 6: Herve2903 (£38.76 in chips)
Herve2903: posts small blind £0.25
Zagga: posts big blind £0.50
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Zagga [4s Kc]
CruS: folds
Tits_out: calls £0.50
MongoUgg: folds
oldman100: calls £0.50
Herve2903: calls £0.25
Zagga: checks

>BB special coming up....


----- FLOP ----- [4c Ac 4h]
Herve2903: checks
Zagga: bets £1.50

>>Tits_out was playing almost every hand and I was sure if he wouldn't peg me for the 4 if I bet out.

Tits_out: raises to £4

>> Ok he's trying to find where he is in the hand.No problem with that reraise.


oldman100: folds
Herve2903: folds
Zagga: raises to £20

>> You're in trouble Tits out!

Tits_out: calls £16

>> I thought he may have 4 with lower kicker and it was time to see if I was right...


----- TURN ----- [4c Ac 4h][9h]
Zagga: bets £50

>>> If he's on a flush draw he's gonna pay for it...

Tits_out: calls £50

----- RIVER ----- [4c Ac 4h 9h][2d]

Zagga: bets £0.41 and is all-in
Tits_out: calls £0.41

----- SHOW DOWN -----
Zagga: shows [4s Kc] (Three of a kind, Fours, Ace high)
Tits_out: shows [Ah 7h] (Two Pairs, Aces and Fours, Nine high)
Zagga collects £139.82 from Main pot

----- SUMMARY -----
Total pot £142.82 Main pot £139.82 Rake £3
Board [4c Ac 4h 9h 2d]
Seat 1: Zagga (big blind) showed [4s Kc] and won (£139.82) with Three of a kind, Fours, Ace high
Seat 2: CruS folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: Tits_out showed [Ah 7h] and lost
Seat 4: MongoUgg folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: oldman100 (button) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: Herve2903 (small blind) folded on the Flop

I got a slight case of "I'm the man" tilt afterwards when I moved down to a £.15-£.30 table and dropped £25 to set with JJ on a board of undercards.Too over confident and cocky after a nice pot.To be fair to myself I'd also been playing most of the night and my concentration was starting to slip.5 am and I decided on a quick last hurrah at Party before going to bed.I was up $30 within minutes when I called someones bluff.Probably a case of being too keen to play at my new table rather than any great read on the bluffer so after I lost a $15 pot I said cheerio to da broggers and finally hit the hay.

To the Sunday figures and I'm happy to report I've broken through the $4k barrier after a decent weeks play.I did deposit $50 at Stars last night but wont be counting that as I'm only going to use that for Dadi events etc and wont be playing there regularly.If/when I lose that $50 I will use it in my bankroll figure that week.

Here they are....

Ladbrokes $2079, Party $268 , Interpoker $1046,Pokeroom $803. Total $ 4196 ( + $465 for week).

Enjoy what's left of the weekend...

Saturday, May 20, 2006

High on Pussy ( cats)

Yes sometimes I do have too much time on my hands.Saw these links and thought of Jordan and his cat sitting.

http://www.stuffonmycat.com/

http://catsinsinks.com/

Always wanted a bee dog....

http://www.beedogs.com/index_files/page0001.htm



Mrs A and I enjoyed our meal out last night at the local Indian restaurant.I had the chicken Karahi with nan bread and rice and it really hit the spot.I love most Indian food.Cooked properly there's not much to beat it.( though steak n chips is still the daddy)


Strange old night last night at the tables.Got suckered for $9 at Party before crashing out of a $10 sng ( non turbo for a change) when I called a raise with 1010 and lost to Rockets.

Headed over to Laddys and had a fairly poor time of it at a full ring .15-.30 table with Juice.I was seeing around 27% of flops and my strict fit or fold policy had me folding nearly every hand as I missed flop after flop.

Played another $5 sng to no avail and then moved to a .15-.30 6 mx table where the obvious fish sucked out on me twice first busting my Aces and then hitting his flush ( nae odds!) .He was seeingh 86% of hands and it was just a matter of time ( variance beeeetch willing) before he gave it back.Got a chunk back but was still down about 200bb for the night ( at .15-.30) when Juice headed off to bed.Kids these days have nae stamina!

I immediately moved up to a $.50-$1 6 max table and bought in for $100.I was seeing 29% of flops compared to a table average of 48% ( pot ave was $65 at one point) and soon reloaded for another $25 after missing yet another flop.Time was marhcing on but I just knew that with 2 looseys ( vip over 63%) ,1 calling station,a rock and me that with patience I'd get my chance.

Won a $30 pot with 1010 on a board of undercards then set out my red triangle and waited on the poker night recovery vehicle to arrive.

At 04.55 am I pick up the Nolan sisters ( QhQd ) and raise to $8 prelfop.As mentioned this was a very loose table and I had no doubts that despite raising very few pots preflop ,I would get at least one caller.The big stack ,a loose player who'd just won most of his stack with q10 v tinny888, called me and had position on me going into the flop.

Flop came Jd 4s 5s and I bet $14 into the $18 pot whcih the big stack duly called.
Turn was a 5c and I wasn't too worries as I put the villan on the Jack or the flush draw.I bet $17 which may have been a little weak but I didn't want to lose my customer at this stage.River came the 3h and I had to trust my read that he wouldn't have called my preflop raise with a hand like 67 ( though at this table anything was possible) and had been chasing the flush or had AJ/KJ,J10.

I bet $40 and he folded giving me a nice $117 pot and an overall profit for the night.A $94 winning night tonight ( I really shouldn't tempt fate like this) would see my roll break $4k.Variance willing I'd like to at least hit that before heading off to Mallorca next Saturday.

Qualified for Laddys $100k raked hands freeroll at 6.10pm tonight.Not done much in that Mtt for a while and it would be great to make the money there.On that subject big congrats to Rosie for coming 2nd in a $10 mtt yesterday for a $500 payout.Rosie has a solid game at the cash tables but tourneys really seem to bring out the best in her game and it really doesn't come as much surprise that she has cashed again.

Not a lot else going on this weekend.May hire a dvd for tomorrow night and will definitely go and visit my Gran again.

Great to see the return of The Champ to answer Tripjax's quiz questions.I nearly posted the Champs URL in a chatbox at a table recently.On Laddys your are allowed a "personal profile" which other players can click for your information. There was a guy whose profile must have been stolen from Neverbluff complete with LOL's. They are out there!

Ok enjoy the rest of the weekend.I'm going to try and lighten up tonight and get on the IM thing.Greed is good but I often think to myself that I'll sign into it later as I'm playing an intense 6 max game and then never get round to it.I do have plenty of ketama left so just don't expect much sense if I do see you on the chat!

I'm off to find Nacho's bee costume.It's time for walkies!

Friday, May 19, 2006

Friday at last

Had fun at the tables last night.Played in Laddys freeroll and crashed out to a suckout.Did I get angry and stomp my feet like a little girl because the cards fell the wrong way or my opponent made a goofy move? No I persuaded Juice and Mr Edge to join me in a $5 sng and kicked everyones ass to win it even finishing off with quad Aces to take out the last two challengers.

Anyways the best part of that sng was that everyone at the table was English bar apart from myself and one Swede. I tried to tilt the table by wishing Sweden ( in Englands group) all the best at the World Cup.Seemed to work!


Joined Mr Edge and Rosie after that for another $5 sng and this time my 22 fell to A10 when the villan rivered a 10.All good fun and nice to see rosie go on and take 2nd.

Please visit my sponsor! Yes I have finally agreed to place a poker source ad on my blog.Big thanks to Juice for helping with where the code had to go as I’m hopeless at these things.

There is some great blogging going on out there. Doubleas latest post about playing too conservatively for bankroll size got me thinking and digging out the calculator.While 6 max requires an even more conservative bankroll approach the reminder to keep pushing on was a good one.

Scurvydog has yet another excellent post up regarding his feelings towards the game and they echo my own to some extent.Usually find myself nodding along in agreement at his output and would recommend anyone who doesn’t read him to sort that out.

Gcox’s post “on blogs” was superb and a fine read while Tripjax’s quiz was fun to take part in.

Ok that’s enough ass kissing for one post!

It's Friday night and Mrs A and I are off out for a ruby murray ( curry) .Hope to hit the tables later.

Have a good one...




It's an England thing: News from the internet where spoof instructions for the BBC's World Cup commentators are circulating. They include: Within one minute of kick off in the opening match (Germany v Costa Rica), the commentator must mention England. All Scottish members of our commentary team must continue to refer to England as "we" and "us". For matches not involving England, we must only discuss the players that are playing in England (eg – Holland v Argentina should be referred to as Van Nistelroy v Crespo). Each match involving England should begin with the phrase "England Expects". When England bow out after the first stage, we must emphasise that it is a massive blow to football and a serious loss to the World Cup.hehehe

Thursday, May 18, 2006

TripJax's quiz

A decent week at the tables continues.I won $110 on Tues night and $7 last night at $50 nl 6 max at Laddys.My Maw and Paw are off to Florida today so I popped over last night after work for a while.My Mum was panicking because she’s had her 45 days at Party’s beginners tables and they are now closed to her! She managed to turn her $50 into $104 at the $5nl tables and when she gets back from holiday will be logging on at Laddys or Pokerstars to continue her real money adventure.I showed her the link for Erics flop calculator ( told her to make a donation too) on Grinders blog.When she asked what Grinders site was I think I muttered something about an online poker diary and clicked Erics link.My blog aint exactly full of classified information but first and foremost its my personal diary and who’d want their Mum to read that?


I watched Barcelona beat Arsenal 2-1 in the Champions league final when I got home.Not much of a game after the ref sent off Arsenals keeper which was a pity but at least the best team in Europe won.My mate came over after the game for our weekly Halo fest and it was after that I hit the tables for my $7 profit.

As my folks are away I got the call from my Gran this morning to say her tv isn’t working so I’m heading there first after work before picking up Step A ( Mrs A working tonight ) and heading home.

Just back ( typed above earlier) and it was quite sad visting my Gran as there was nothing wrong with the tv.She must have just hit the av button by mistake.Quickly sorted but had to show her several times how to change the channel despite the instructions taped to the back o fit.Getting old is shit.I want to stay 33 ( ok 27 if I had the choice) forever.


Not much else to blog today so big thanks to Tripjax for coming up with his questionnaire.Why answer in his comments when I can waste a whole post answering here!

1. What is the biggest mistake people make at a NL table?

Making minimum bets and playing too many hands. ( don’t tell ‘em though)


2. What is the biggest mistake people make at a Limit table?

Playing that yawnfest in the first place


3. Why do you play poker?


For da money baby!


4. If you weren't playing poker, what would you be doing?


Watching rubbish on tv or playing Ps2/Psp.



5. What is your favorite poker book and why?

“Killer Poker” by John Vorhaus.My first poker book and the bet big or go home philosophy has stuck.

Recently “Making of a Poker Player “ by Matt Mattros has impressed me.


6. Who is your favorite poker player and why?

Devilfish because he is fearless.

7. Which poker player do you dislike the most and why?


The last player to suckout on me at the tables.

8. Do your coworkers know about your blog?

No.


9. What is the most you have won in a cash game or MTT (both live and online)?

Biggest pot won is $810.

10. What is the most you have lost in a cash game or in one day total (both live and online)?

$500 online.


11. Who was your first poker blog read?

Sir Waffles

12. What satisfies you more, your aces holding up for a big pot or a bluff working for a big pot?

Got to be the bluff.Always feels great.



13. Why do you blog?

Makes me even more virile and attractive to women. Errr ok to keep a record of my poker play and life.


14. Do you read blogs from an RSS reader like bloglines or do you visit each blog?

Bloglines but usually end up opening the blog too.

15. Would you rather play poker for a living than do what you currently do for a living?

Yes

16. Do you wear a tin foil hat on occasion?

No but I love my tin foil kilt.


17. If you had to pin it down to one specific trait, what does a great poker player have (or do) that separates them from an average player?

Resilience



18. Is Drizz the coolest person on the planet for naming his baby Vegas?

For now until I name my first born “Hammer”.


19. What is your primary poker goal and are you close to accomplishing it?

Play in Wsop main event and win consistently at $1-$2 nl and above. Just dreams for now.


20. What is your primary online site and why?

Ladbrokes for the juicy games + good banking system

21. What site do you dislike and why?

Pacific. Great players but I find the software unplayable.

Thanks for reading....

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Table Selection

Still not played my $50 sng yet.I was trying to get some sng practice in by playing a couple of $5 turbo sng's.I was disconnected during the first one.Horrible to be gazing at the screen wondering why an opponent is taking so long over a simple decision and then realising it's not them but me that's been booted! Came back to find half my stack left and still managed 2nd place.Only managed 6th in the other one. I was actually fairly calm over the disconnection.Doubt that would have been the case if it had been my $50 shot!


I used the title "table selection" as a reminder to myself to stop being so damn lazy and find a table that suits my style.The first 6 max ( $50 buy in) table I sat down at was tight.After 10 minutes I checked the lobby and found the table with the highest average pot ( $19) and moved there.Vpip for anyone not familiar ( probably wasting my words here) stands for Voluntarily put in pot percentage and is a figure used to determine how tight/loose a player/table is.Using Pokertrackers gametime plus I can bring up an overlay which shows the vpip aswell as the percentage of times a player raises preflop and other useful stats.

My second table last night had ideal table conditions.No names but here were my tables stats:

VPIP Preflop raise % Number of hands

85% 33% 34

29% 0% 59

71% 9% 34

69% 15% 26

33% 11% 80

33% 6% 34 ( me!)

One average player,one rock and two loosey gooseys made for a fine table and $59 profit in less than an hour.

The pokertracker 6 max autorate rules I use are excellent but I think they must be made for $100 nl upwards as my average Vpip of 33% is actually relatively tight for the micro-stakes 6 max tables but PT classes me a slightly loose player.

Very loose tables like last nights require a certain style I feel.Forget about bluffing most of the time.I actually tried a semi-bluff post flop which would probably have worked at my first table but resulted in the whole table calling ( apart from the rock who'd folded preflop).That made me smile and realise how much a "horses for courses" game poker is.I do post hand histories here on occasion and enjoy reading "You decide" type posts but in general I think you have to be there in the moment to be able to take in the zillion factors,conscious or unconsious,that go into making a decision.

I made a lot of ( for micro stakes) profit late last year by selecting the wildest tables I could and playing a very specific style to maximize my profits.On reflection I think my bottle went too quickly after a bad run and I should have stuck to my gameplan.The variance and stress levels/burnout factor may be high but the rewards are worth it.It's probably done my game no harm to get used to other types of 6 max games but it's not been as profitable and the bottom line is that $$$ earnings are how we keep score in this game.

Wee bit worried that hackers managed to hack the chat at Ladbrokes again last night.It happened the other night too and the poker manager was soon sending messages reassuring people their accounts are safe.Last nights pop-up was directing people to a "ladbrokes winners" website where the first to open link would get $10k.Once again a counter message from Ladbrokes appeared telling players to ignore the pop ups and not to click link.Ladbrokes is a huge name in the UK and I'm not overly concerned but the fact that it's been hacked at all let alone twice doesn't exactly fill me with confidence.

Laddys is currently my favourite site to play at but I'm also unhappy at their rakeback offer for May as it only applies to nl players at $1-$2 and above.I know rakeback doesn't exactly offer fortunes to micro-limit players but anything is better than nothing and even just now there's 5 tables from 20 at $1-$2 that have a lower average pot than the $.25-.50 table I was at last night.

Ok enough for today.Go select a juicy table....

Monday, May 15, 2006

Mr Cab Driver

I spent ages carefully choosing "Flight Plan" last night as most of my choices involved deaths/dying and I wanted to let Mrs A escape into a movie for a wee while without being reminded.First scene in Flight plan is set in a morgue!! Arggghhhh! We had a laugh when I told her that but I think the reality of losing her Mum is just sinking in and there were plenty of tears last night too. We did both enjoy the film though.

After Mrs A had gone to bed I played a hour of poker at a .15-.30 6 max table and left the table 6c better off.I bought in for the max $30 and a lucky catch from Mr 86% vip saw me reloading for $12 fairly quickly before earning my .06 profit! I stayed because I was sure the big fish at the table would donate and though he did eventually lose his stack it wasn't to me.

As I mentioned in yesterdays comments I think I will probably opt for a standard $50 sng at Pokerroom although after Jestocosts mention of the European Daily I'm currrently keep an eye on it to see how many play it and what the total prize pool is.

I was so tired today I almost felt dizzy at times so tonight I'll play the Laddys raked hands freeroll but don't intend playing much poker after that.

Not much else happening today in Acorn land.Had fun when I stopped at the traffic lights tonight on the way home.I heard the car next to me revving it's engine and inching forward.I glanced across and there were two young lads in their pimped ride eagerly awaiting the lights changing to green so they could shoot off.Now I'm far too mature to get involved in that kind of nonsense so as soon as the lights changed I hit the gas and left the wee fuckers trailing in my wake.I had time to slow down and pull into a garage for petrol just as they caught up and sounded their pimped horn as they passed.

Strange how when I was younger I pushed crappy cars to the limit and enjoyed racing around the country roads whenever I got the chance yet when I finally buy a powerful beast of a car I drive it like a Grandad most of the time!

Lifted this from Jack Malverns article in todays Times. Read then enjoy the clip.The look on his face is priceless! Worth reading.


The Times
May 13, 2006
BBC falls for 'expert' cabbie's banter:
The driver was interviewed on TV after being mistaken for a specialist on music downloading
It was not until midway through the live television interview that the BBC interviewer started to grow suspicious. The man whom she believed to be an expert on internet music downloads seemed to know precious little about his subject.

Not only that, but the stocky black man with the strong French accent bore little resemblance to the picture on the expert’s website, which showed a slim white man with blue eyes and blond hair.

The corporation’s News 24 channel apologised to its viewers yesterday and admitted that its interviewee was not Guy Kewney, the respected editor of Newswireless.net, but a local taxi driver.

The cabbie, who is better qualified to talk about traffic jams in Shepherds Bush, answered questions for several minutes on Apple Computer’s victory at the High Court against Apple Corps, the record label for the Beatles, The Times has learnt.

Karen Bowerman, the BBC’s consumer affairs correspondent, asked the driver what the implications were for Apple Computer, which is allowed to continue using its name and symbol for its iTunes music download service. He gave a rambling answer about how people would be able to download songs at internet cafés.

Ms Bowerman was nonplussed, but persisted. What about Apple? “I don’t know,” the driver replied. “I’m not at all sure what I’m doing here.”

It later emerged that the driver had been waiting for a client at the BBC Television Centre in West London, when a studio manager mistook him for the expert.
Confused but co-operative, he agreed to follow the manager to a studio, where he was promptly fitted with a microphone and placed in front of a camera.

Mr Kewney, meanwhile, was still waiting in reception when he saw the taxi driver being introduced under his name. “Anybody would have been fascinated to see me introduced live on air, as the expert witness in the studio,” he wrote on his weblog. “Me? Not fascinated; astonished! What would you feel, if, while you were sitting in that rather chilly reception area, you suddenly saw yourself — not sitting in reception, but live, on TV?” He added that it was especially surprising because the man, who spoke with a French accent, looked nothing like him. “I’m not black. I’m not-black on a startling scale; I’m fair-haired, blue-eyed, prominent-nosed, and with the sort of pale skin that makes my dermatologist wince each time I complain about an itchy mole.”

He was amused at first, but realised that anyone watching would think he knew next to nothing about Apple Computer, online music or The Beatles.
When the driver was asked how the interview went, he replied: “Well, it was OK, but I was a bit rushed.”

He had been waiting at reception when the studio manager arrived to ask for Mr Kewney. The driver, whose visitor’s badge was marked with Mr Kewney’s name, raised his hand. According to Mr Kewney, the stage manager said: “To be honest, I did think it couldn’t be you. I mean, I’ve seen your picture on your website, and he didn’t look like you. So I asked him who he was, and he said, ‘Guy Kewney’ and I said, ‘Are you really Guy Kewney?’ and he said, ‘Yes’.”
The driver’s sang-froid slipped only when Ms Bowerman introduced him. In a video clip, which BBC staff can access through the corporation’s Jupiter cuttings system, a moment of realisation flashes across the man’s face. “Unfortunately we did make a mistake and the wrong guest was briefly interviewed on air before we cut to our reporter,” a spokeswoman said. “We apologise to viewers for any confusion.”

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/video/cabbie.wmv

Sunday, May 14, 2006

$50 Question

I like Pokerrooms new qualifiers for Sit n goes.I paid $7 + $1 to enter a 42 player mtt qualifier last night.The top 5 got a ticket into any $50 sng on the site.I won ( crapshoot once we got down to final five) and now need to decide where to use my ticket.I don't remember ever playing a sng at that level before so I was considering a 5 or 10 player turbo.Then again to get the most play out of it possibly a standard 10 seat sng is the answer.Any suggestions appreciated!

Weekly figures are Interpoker $870, Ladbrokes $1784,Party $261, Pokerroom $ 816.
Total $3731 ( + $101 for week)

I should have taken a break after winning that $50 sng ticket.Stepped in to a Laddys 6 max table and lost $45 in a matter of minutes leaving me thinking about how I'd just played so well to get that $50 ticket yet spent $53 since I sat down to play.I kept my focus and pulled back a little but not a lot to show for a long session which ended around 4.30am.I actually did best at a full ring .15-.30 nl table.I sometimes feel I'm stepping down and don't play my best game at .15-.30 but when the pot average is $15 and 4 players have a vip% of over 60% then there's no point in turning down an opportunity like that.Bought in for $30 and left with $80.

Strategy wise at the .15-.30 tables you can throw your poker book in the bin.It's usually 4-5 players or more seeing every flop and several players playing 70% of hands.Limping is the name of the game.I played 30% of hands last night and only raised preflop once.Hit the flop hard then make 'em pay.When drawing so many players make min raises ( .30 into a $5 pot etc) that even with middle pair it can be worth a call post flop due to the implied odds.The bet big or go home idea is made for these tables.People don't seem to know or care about pot odds.Even my Mum is learning them now!


I moved to Party for my last 15 minutes of play and got suckered on the river when a fish hit his low kicker when we shared the same pair to drop $25.Told myself that players like that are the reason I can smoke fine herb all night and still win money at this game! After last week it was just nice to be back in profit.Only this week and next week to go before Majorca calls.I'd like to make it up to $4 k before I go ( winning a $50 sng would do nicely!) but the poker gods can be fickle so I'm not going to push too hard for the $269 I need.

Funny how I'm gunning for $5k in order to move up yet when I took a look at some of my posts from late last year I was already playing $100 and $200 nl and posting some fine wins.It was only a few horrendous beats/plays around Xmas time which slowed me down.I do sometimes wonder how much progress ( if any) my game is actually making.Having listened to the Chris Ferguson podcast on bankroll management ( link at Guinnessandpoker) I think I am taking the correct approach.Maybe I could step up to the higher levels just now,get on a roll and never look back but there aint no back up bankroll.I didn't build it to where it is to lose it to the certain swings that no limit poker bring.

Mrs A has left me in charge of renting a dvd for us tonight as she's out at her Dads just now.She does seem to be coping a lot better with losing her Mum and has seemed a lot more like her old self despite the depression she is going through.

Still I'm sure renting the "World Series of Poker 2005" or "Rangers greatest Games" will lift her spirits....

Friday, May 12, 2006

Winning night

Back to winning ways last night winning about $90 for a few hours of play despite Juice being at my table!

I was $40 up when I managed to double up by getting all in preflop with AA which held up.Funny how when I lose I can write a whole rambling post about it but when I win a couple of sentences seem to sum it up.There always seems to be so much more to analyse after a bad night.

Spoke to my Mum last night and she has hopefully disembarked from the reload train for good! She’s turned her $50 into $87 playing the Party $5 nl tables and feels she’s getting more used to playing for real money now and wants to move up.I think the next step up at Party is $25 nl and Mum doesn’t have the bankroll ( or game) for that yet so I may suggest a move to another site with $10 buy in nl tables.She even said she was starting to try and work out basic pot odds after months of telling me it was all too complex for an old lady like her!

Popped into Borders at lunchtime to look for books for my holiday in a couple of weeks time. Nearly bought Phil Gordons “ Little Green book” but the £15 price tag for a book I’ll probably read in a day put me off slightly.Flicked through “Harrington on Holdem” too ( £21!) and it seems a solid read.At least I know what the mysterious “M” bloggers are posting about means now.( not Muppet factor!).

Currently considering my bankroll options.My Dad was telling me about their trip to Florida next Thursday ( my folks love St Petes beach area) and how they were getting great value due to the weak dollar.I mentioned my poker roll and he asked if it earned interest. Between the falling value of the Dollar and the lack of interest earned I'm wondering if I should open a separate bank account and keep my roll there in ££. I only have $3.6k online so it's not as if I'm missing out on fortunes but an extra few bob every month for nothing is always welcome.

Heard a funny one today.A guy phoned a Scottish radio chat show to complain about fat woman wearing "mumbles".The presenter was baffled and asked what the heck "mumbles" were.They are another name for "Leggings" the DJ was told. "Why do you call them mumbles?"
"Because you can see the lips moving but can't work out whats being said" was the reply.....

No plans for the weekend other than to chill out with Mrs A,smoke some of the fine Ketama I've just got my hands on and play some poker.

Right the weekend starts now....

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Nota lota poka

The curse of Juice struck again on Tues night when I dropped $40 at his table.To be fair I lost most of it late on when my Queen flush was beaten by a King flush.I'm going make a "nut flush only" post-it note to stick to my forehead for a while.

Last night I played a $5.50 sng at Pokerroom and came 3rd before switching off my pc and joining Mrs A on the couch to watch the final of The Apprentice.I don't watch much tv these days but that was one show I'd rarely miss.Good to see the Ice Queen beat the Badger! ( not just cos she is a babe!)

Hit the sack after that and played no more poker.Not another hand.Nada,nowt,nuffink! I wasn't in the mood to play so I didn't.A revolutionary new tactic for me.I'm usually on auto-pilot and log on to play whether I feel like it or not which can't be as profitable as only playing when I feel I'm at my best.

Three paragraphs in and I've not even mentioned that Scotland horsed Bulgaria 5-1 today with Boyd and Burke ( of Rangers) scoring two each.Best result in years.I used to go and watch Rangers reserve team play every week and wee Burkey was a star then.It's great to see him finally make his Scotland debut.I hope Le Gaffer finds a place for both of them within his revolution.

Bollocks blogger just ate the rest of this posting.Grrrrr.

Ok I'll start again some other time.

For now I'm itching to hit the tables. Stop by new blogger Mias Dad and say hello.It's already a much better read than some downmarket blogs I've read...

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Tues update

I'll keep it short after a long day if that makes sense.Got my tooth taken out today and then attended Mr A's Mum's funeral.There was a large turnout and the weather was sunny.Just wish there was more I could do to help Mrs A but I guess time is the only healer.

Played poker after Mrs A went to bed last night and despite my toothache managed to have a decent night,winning $25 at Ladbrokes and $40 at Interpoker.The hand below was my favourite of the night.I was going to value bet the river but decided if the villan had a 7 or a high heart I may get called so moved in...

* Game ID 494214119 starting - 2006-05-09 00:33:49
** Withams Road [Hold 'em] (0.250.50 No Limit - Cash Game) Real Money

- lee_arama sitting in seat 1 with $42.95
- NICKTG1 sitting in seat 2 with $13.59
- Charliexxu sitting in seat 3 with $47.08 [Dealer]
- lager15 sitting in seat 4 with $22.52
- Acornman sitting in seat 5 with $68.15
- big_hilts sitting in seat 6 with $33.24

lager15 posted the small blind - $0.25
Acornman posted the big blind - $0.50

** Dealing card to Acornman: Jack of Clubs, 8 of Hearts
big_hilts folded
lee_arama folded
NICKTG1 folded
Charliexxu called - $0.50
lager15 folded
Acornman checked

** Dealing the flop: 7 of Spades, 7 of Hearts, 6 of Hearts
Acornman checked
Charliexxu checked

** Dealing the turn: 5 of Hearts
Acornman bet - $0.50
Charliexxu called - $0.50

** Dealing the river: 4 of Hearts
Acornman went all-in - $67.65
Charliexxu went all-in - $46.08
Acornman shows: Jack of Clubs, 8 of Hearts
Charliexxu shows: Queen of Hearts, Jack of Diamonds
Acornman wins $91.41 from the main pot

I'm off to liquify my dinner....

Monday, May 08, 2006

Small Potatoes

After a poor week of poker last week I began last night with Laddys daily raked hands freeroll and made the top 50 for another $10.

Bought in for $50 at a 6 max table after that and won $30 before hitting the sack around 12.30am.

I did wonder if I should start to set win/stop limits.Win say $30 or $40 then pack it in for the night.I do tend to let the chair glue get me and my sessions ( especially at weekends) are too long to expect full concentration.Decided against that as some tables are just too juicy to leave.I've probably written this many times but I am going to try and take more breaks during my sessions and cut out playing at all if I'm not in the mood or so tired I can barely focus.

Mind you I think a tooth has cracked or a filling has come out because toothache is agony just now.Dentist at 11.30am tomorrow before Mrs A's Mum's funeral.A sensible person wouldn't attempt to play whilst in agony but no-one could ever accuse me of being sensible! I've registered to play in the Laddys freeroll again tonight and will try and stay away from the cash games afterwards.


Ok Here's a wee snippet from the paper which made me smile before I go...

One potato, two... A female reader tells us that she came across an exercise for the more mature person, to build muscle strength in the arms. She tells us: "It seems so easy, so I thought I'd pass it on. Begin with a kilogramme potato sack in each hand, extend your arms straight out, and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a full minute, then relax. Each day, you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer.After a couple of weeks, move up to 2.5kg bags. Then 5kg bags, and eventually try a 10kg bag in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute. "Once you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each of the bags."

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Bye Eck

Party $ 285 , Pokerroom $ 819, Interpoker $857 ,Ladbrokes $ 1668 .Total $3630 ( - $207 for week )

Inter total includes a $90 bonus which I finally cleared.

I probably shouldn't have been playing at all last night due to my hungover state but began by coming 14th from 80 in a player points Wsop qualifier at Inter.Top 7 qualified for the next stage ( where top 2 get Wsop package).My AQ running into a fish with Q8 soooted who spiked his 8 sent me to the rail.The standard of play was pretty poor all round.

Sat down for some 6 max at £.50-£1 and got into trouble with A10 on J 10 10 flop.I bet into the preflop raiser who called with AQ and took my stack when a K hit on the turn.He had a 65% vip figure and although him holding AQ crossed my mind as plausible I wasn't able to lay down my trips.There's a fine line to walk between always fearing monsters and not being able to accept my hand was beaten.I'm going to have to learn to respect my opponents a little more at the higher than usual ( for me) buy in levels without playing scared and only committing with the nuts.

Read an interesting post at This is not a poker blog ( check April 24th for it) which was about sittin down at a $100 nl table( no reads or info) ,getting 1010 in the bb and calling the small blinds all in after raising the sb's initial $3 bet to $8.

Most people said folding to the all in was the best option but the number 1 reason given for making the call was due to the poor quality of play Chris has witnessed at $100nl and while I can understand that reason I think that's the kind of thinking that's got me into trouble over the last week.I think with no read/info folding 1010 is probably the best move.

Moved from Inter to Party and won about $70 there at $50 nl before heading to Laddys to take on the late night loonies.Found myself down $200 after more marginal calls from me when my opponents had twice flopped the nuts.QJ on a Q J 10 board lost to K9.I wrote recently about putting opponents on a range of hands rather than just one but I had the loose villan pegged for J10 on that hand and lost another buy in.

I logged out of Laddys after that and sat with my weary eyes closed for a while before telling myself to cut out the pathetic self pity,get a grip and get back to playing my best game.Went back to Laddys and through decent plays and my luck holding ( my KK held up v JJ for one buy in) I managed to pull back most of that $200 loss.

I've been playing more often at $100 and $200 6 max in the last week or two.I did promise myself I'd wait until I had a $5k roll first but have begun testing the water at these levels.( its hot!).

Part of my problem in moving up is that I don't do change well and I'm not sure what I should be changing or adjusting at the higher level.Go ahead and bluff me this week though because I'm promising myself I need to make more laydowns as that seems to be the first area for improvement.

Ok time to put a pish week's figures behind me and focus on the week ahead on the poker front.

Got a bit of toothache and a very noisy exhaust to get sorted this week aswell as taking Tues afternoon off for Mrs A's Mums' funeral.

Rangers beat Hearts 2-0 today in the last game of the season at Ibrox.
Also great to see Graham Dott show off his World Snooker trophy at half-time.He must have got one of the loudest cheers of the day and he fully deserved it.A true champion indeed and not afraid to wear his colours on his sleeve.I think that win means he's now ranked in worlds top 5 which is some achievement for a wee guy from just down the road.

Goodbye big Eck,hello hello Paul Le Guen.Eck should have gone last November but is a good guy and a blue nose and I wish him all the best.His son also works with my sister and presented her with a framed signed Gers top when she came back to work after her illness last year which was a touch of class.( especially as she has passed it on to me as a present for doing a reading at her wedding!).

Thanks for 7 trophies and Helicopter Sunday last season in particular and good luck wherever you end up.

Can't wait for Le Gaffer to get started though.

Vive La Revolution!

Saturday, May 06, 2006

Simply the Best

Had one of the best days of my life yesterday at my wee sisters wedding.She looked fantastic and the whole day just flew in.My reading went well with no stumbling or sounding as if I'd swallowed a kilo of speed.The speeches at the reception were surprisingly good too.My sister presenting her new hubby with an "Under New Management" t-shirt was a touch of class.

I know most Americans don't get it but football ( round ball!) is the international language of communication for most men,transcending language/ culture barriers and allowing conversations to be struck in the strangest of places, however it seems poker is taking over or at least gaining ground judging by the number of friends and relatives I talked to yesterday that play the other "beautiful game".So many in fact that my next home game may be an MTT!

We gave one of my sisters friends husbands' a lift down to the reception.He's from Charlottesville,USA and was good company despite me struggling a little with his strong accent...
His kids loved the scramble which is where the groom throws money away ( lots of coins) just before the wedding car leaves the church and all the kids scramble for them.I mentioned it had been a poor week at the tables but while I'm just a little acorn ,elbowing those little bassa's aside to get to the cash was definetly an ev+ proposition.( or it would have been if I'd not supplied the bag of coins in the first place!)

I was really pleased Mrs A made it to the wedding after enduring a horrendous week.She was an absolute star and looked amazing in her dress and Step A managed to stay on her best behaviour too.

The highlight of the night for me was dancing with my sister.It was around this time last year she was told she had cervical cancer and to see her looking so radiant and happy ( and thankfully still cancer free since her op) brought a tear to my eye.I'm Scottish and male and don't cry very often but I was just so proud of her.( jings I'm getting wet eyed writing this!).


Only managed to play a little poker on Thursday night thanks to the thunder and lightning which kept causing me to get disconnected.Maybe the poker gods were trying to tell me something after a shitty week results wise at the tables.

My head hurts and my legs are sore today.Not sure whats with my legs.The hotel last night is right beside Ayr racecourse and I vaguely remember drunken talk of all the lads running a furlong or two but I'm pretty sure we never actually did it.I'm only 33.Surely I'm not so old that just he thought of excercise causes pain?!

With my head being so fuzzy I'll probably stick to sng/mtts tonight or stick to my mattress and sleep.

Read my fav gastronome s' post on low limit poker bloggers and had a laugh.Surely it's simple.If you don't like then don't read.If you read,don't like and keep reading then more fool you.I don't think you have to always like or respect the person to enjoy reading their blog.Human nature is funny that way.Like the rubber neckers at car accidents or the millions of people who say they have no interest in the latest kiss and tell stories yet strangely tabloid editors pay a fortune for the rights and sales go through the roof.I may think da gastronome comes across as a bit of a twat but if he wrote a diatribe ripping into a different blogger each day I'd probably read it.In real life I'd stick up for friends in the firing line and I can understand why people want to do the same for people they've got to know online.Personally I reckon I'm fairly thick skinned so by all means come and have a go if you think yer hard enough!


I started this blog for myself to keep a record of my play and life.Making new friends and meeting new people ( well Juice so far) have been added bonuses.If that upsets the gastronome or anyone else I really couldn't give a toss.Get it right round ye as they say!


I can no longer access any blogs from work due to restrictions.More than a bit frustrating but possibly liberating too.I do always try and bear in mind that other people may read this whilst at work and try tone down language/content accordingly but from now on I may be more frank!

Actually that whole internet at work censorship thing is a fuckin' joke.( I'm starting already!) Not allowed to look at gambling sites or any semi-nudity etc yet the canteen can sell lads mags "Zoo" and "Nuts" and nobody blinks.I read today about a guy leaving his job and his workmates hired a stripper to go topless in his office on his last day.Now the company are investigating and can't condone it blah blah blah.Have they never seen a pair of titties before? Was any real harm done? Is the whole world just looking for an excuse to take offence or deem something "inappropriate"? Seems so to me.

Errr what was my point again?hmm.

Worst part about posting from home is finding time.Recent posts have been made when just I'm just home and very tired,hungry and not really in the mood for it.I like to post daily if possible ( even if the content is bollocks) because I'm a lazy git and if I miss more than a few days I may not be arsed posting again.

Maybe I should only post when hungover.The content may still be bollocks but hey there's a lot more of it....

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Better Night

Logged on last night and couldn't decide where to start playing.Ended up choosing a 6 max $5 mtt on Ladbrokes with 259 others and finished 10th for $24.70. The luck I felt deserted me on Wed night was certainly with me last night as I won my coinflips and was even on the right side of a couple of nightmare suckouts.I'll usually type "ul" in the chatbox if I knock someone out after getting lucky on the river but after Wed night all I could muster was an "indeed" when the departing villan mentioned it was a "lucky catch". Mood I was in he was lucky it wasn't an "fu".

I've played better and picked better spots to make moves but overall I was happy with my play and profit.That was the first 6 max mtt I've played in and I like the format.

Thanks for the comment Klopzi.Sensible stuff.I will be taking a break from online poker.My sisters wedding is tomorrow so no poker tomorrow night.( unless I can get a live game going at the reception!). Hey one night counts as a break!

Collected my Kilt today and I'm all ready for my sisters big day.Mrs A's Mums' funeral isn't until Tuesday and Mrs A has decided to come to the wedding which I'm really pleased about.

We're staying over at the Western House hotel in Ayr tomorrow night so no posts here until the Sunday update.

Ok there's a steak pie with my name on it shouting on me....

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Hmmmm

Lost $220 at the tables last night.I realise after posting about yesterdays mini-tilt that it'll probably seem to anyone reading this that I continued on tilt last night but I don't feel that was the case at all.I was playing at £.25-£.50 and later £.50-£1 6 max and swings are to be expected.I actually posted the hand-history below to show I was on top of my game as the shit was hitting the fan .My losses came from 5 hands where my bet big or go home philosophy bit my ass as it's prone to do every now and then.

Lost with 99 to 1010 to a loose player on a board of undercards.My flush with KdQd was beaten by Ad4D ( thanks for calling my pre-flop raise!) and I had the another villan suckout twice on the river.No complaints about losing the first two hands.Not bad beats and a better player may have got away from them but the river suckouts later did seem like the icing on the cake as far as my luck was going last night.

My vip stayed around 29% for most of the time ( I usually average 33% at 6 max) so no loosey goosey tilt in evidence.

I have come a long way in 18 months of playing.The buy-ins last night were £50 and £100 ( aprx $100 and $200) and a drop of $220 is not going to throw me off track as that's why I have the roll I do.Sorry if I've used that line before but a bad night doesn't become a desparate race to claw it all back when you've taken the time to build a bankroll.

Unlike this time last year when a $220 hit would have had me doubting my ability to beat the micro-levels I now have 18 months of results that say I can.

The good news is that I only need 12 more raked hands to clear a $90 bonus at Inter so that'll help give my roll there a wee boost.

Here's my laydown.He was obviously pleased with his quad beeeetches but would have probably got more money from me if the last 7 hadn't fallen on the river.


------HAND 4------
Game #2235828004: Hold'em NL (£0.25/£0.50) - 2006/05/02 - 18:11:02 (ET)
Table "Kanu" Seat 3 is the button.
Seat 1: Bedder002 (£73.88 in chips)
Seat 2: MrMojo sits out
Seat 3: Alexius-T (£45.10 in chips)
Seat 4: ASSIM (£20.20 in chips)
Seat 5: Zagga (£43.12 in chips)
Seat 6: grosse (£51.65 in chips)
ASSIM: posts small blind £0.25
Zagga: posts big blind £0.50
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to Zagga [Jh 5d]
grosse: calls £0.50
Bedder002: calls £0.50
Alexius-T: folds
ASSIM: calls £0.25
Zagga: checks
----- FLOP ----- [7c Jc 5h]
ASSIM: checks
Zagga: checks
grosse: bets £1.50
Bedder002: folds
ASSIM: folds
Zagga: calls £1.50
----- TURN ----- [7c Jc 5h][8s]
Zagga: checks
grosse: bets £3
Zagga: raises to £6
grosse: calls £3
----- RIVER ----- [7c Jc 5h 8s][7d]
Zagga: bets £7.50
grosse: raises to £25
Zagga: folds
Returned uncalled bets £17.50 to grosse
----- SHOW DOWN -----
grosse: shows [7h 7s] (Four of a kind, Sevens, Jack high)
grosse collects £30.40 from Main pot
----- SUMMARY -----
Total pot £32 Main pot £30.40 Rake £1.60
Board [7c Jc 5h 8s 7d]
Seat 1: Bedder002 folded on the Flop
Seat 3: Alexius-T (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: ASSIM (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 5: Zagga (big blind) folded on the River
Seat 6: grosse showed [7h 7s] and won (£30.40) with Four of a kind, Sevens, Jack high

Ok just back from my sisters wedding rehersal.Time to climb back on the poker horse...

Mini tilt

After arriving back from the football last night and spending time with the Mrs I fired up a Laddys full ring .50-1 table to keep me amused while I watched Graham Dott beat Peter Ebdon to become the World Snooker Champion 2006.Ebdon had pulled back most of Dotts' lead so I was delighted to see the wee man win 18-14 in the end and its been confirmed today he will bring the trophy to Ibrox on Sunday to show off to 50,000 Gers fans.One sport us Scots ( as Juice will confirm!) are good at is snooker.Stephen Hendry,the greatest player ever to lift a cue,set the standard after Davis dominated the 80's.

Title of the post is mini-tilt because I did have a slightly tilty night last night.Before I played the ring game I played in Laddys $10 latenight crapshoot and despite doubling up with Aces very early I also went out early when my 2 pairs ran into trips.Won $18 at the full ring game I mentioned but I'd been annoyed at my slack mtt play and the delayed tilt kicked in when I moved to an Inter 6 max table.Nothing too major,I just pushed small edges too hard and realised I was playing like the players I like to seek out! I was very tired and poked my finger viciously at the "off" button before heading to bed.

Only cost me $30 ( - $23 for night inc Laddys profit) and it wasn't full blown tilt by any means but I will be keeping an extra eye out for any borderline tilt play over the next few days.

Off to watch the Hibs v Rangers game just now after taking Mrs A over to her Dads to be with the family.

Back tomorrow...

Monday, May 01, 2006

Holiday Monday

A frustrating night at the tables ended with me winning $3 overall for my efforts.Played in Ladbrokes daily raked hands mtt with 719 others and came 8th for $43.Went out with 77 after raising preflop and getting a call from a villan with A8 who hit an 8 on the flop and put me all in.I felt I had to call with so much in the pot but folding would have left me about 30k and still in with a shout so maybe in future I'll hold back a bit if I feel I'm beaten.

I felt as if I'd played fairly well for most of the mtt.Check-raising the big stack just off the bubble with Kc8s on a Ks 6h 7 h because I felt he was stealing was probably my boldest( daftest!) move.The prize money up till 10th place was only $12.50 so while I wanted a high placing I wasn't going to fret over being 35th or 11th so that probably allowed me to open up slightly more than usual.

Thanks to Juice for donning his mini-skirt and pom poms and cheerleading me during my short time at the final table!

Played around 300 hands at Laddys 6 max and was doing ok until a fish hit a 5 on the river with his K5 to beat my KQ with a K on the board.Cost me a buy-in at $50nl.Finished at Laddys $6 up and moved to Interpokers 6 max tables.Moved up to $200 nl 6 max and played till 4.15am losing $3 but gaining a load of raked hands towards the $90 bonus I'm clearing.Amazing how much more quickly those points rack up at $1-$2nl.

It did take me time to adjust at the $200nl buyin level especially as I'd picked a very loose table.I folded K7 post-flop on a 7 3 5 rainbow board ( blanks on turn and river) and watched a $160 pot go to a loose player won with with J7.

I think if I was a footballer I'd be the type the manager would have to encourage and build up before a game rather than the type that needed a kick up the arse all the time.

It's illogical and silly but just playing at the DADI5 at the same table ( for about 10 minutes!) as Doubleas,Wil Wheaton,Joe Speaker and Tripjax has given my game a real confidence boost.I'm starting each game with much more of a positive expectation than I did previously.I'm not moving up yet but my small dabbles at $100 and $200 6 max nl will probably ( unless I take major hits) be more often in future.My worry is/was that while there's no hiding place at $50 nl for the fish I play ,I would be in the same situation myself if I was severley out-classed at $200nl.The more I dabble ,the more I think there's less to fear than I thought so long as I'm at my best.

Being at my best means I'll probably have to put a 3am limit on my weekend sessions.I was up again last night until around then and have to admit my concentration had slipped a little by 4am after numerous smokes! That in itself is another issue.Da herb has always helped me pick up on and read the mood of the table/players very well but at $200 nl I need to be more aware and sharper re all the variables in a hand.I very rarely play without a smoke but it may be something I'll need to watch as I attempt to move up.

I like smoking! Fuck it.I'm staying at da micro levels!!

Mrs A came home last night and is back over at her Dad's today.We should find out when her Mums funeral is tomorrow.I have a busy week with my sisters wedding rehersal on Wed before her big day on Friday.

Cheering on Scotsman and Rangers supporter,Graham Dott, in the World Snooker Final from the Crucible.He's 13-7 up just now and it's first to 18.Hope he can finish Ebdon off and bring the trophy ( fuckin' only one this season!) to Ibrox to show it off. Gaun yersel wee man!

I'm off to the Showpark for EK Thistles' last and biggest game of the season against Clydebank at 7pm.If we win we are promoted to the Super First division which considering the club have little money and average crowd of 50-80 would be a great achievment. Lose or draw though and we miss out and have to try again next year.It is a holiday Monday and I hope the people of East Kilbride get out ( it's only raining slightly!) and get behind the team.

Edit: We ARE going up,say we are going up!!! Won 3-0 tonight.Stagecoach Super League First division,here we come! If Clydebank beat L'Gow on Wed night we could even go up as Champions! Either way roll on next season!




Thanks to CC ( great post today worth checking out btw) and Juice ( rubbish post today but worth a look ;-) for the comments yesterday.Much appreciated.

Here's a couple of funnies from the paper before I go...

Architect Bob Menzies was telephoning a firm in the English capital for a catalogue where the sarf London receptionist asked for his name. After carefully spelling out his surname, which can be somewhat tricky to some folk, he then added: "R for Robert."The catalogue arrived addressed to Mr Arfur Robert Menzies.


Sharp exit: Scotland should support England in the World Cup, says John Grant of Cumbernauld. The reason? "It's the only way we can guarantee that England will be papped out at the first stages," says John, who wins tickets for Bob Doolally's show at Glasgow's Stand comedy club.Other suggestions gratefully received.

Someone not quite clear on the concept: Reader Andrew Martin tells us of a discussion at work on the merits of left-footed footballers, left-handed people and so on. A female colleague finally chipped in with: "I'm glad I'm not left-handed."When asked why, she replied seriously: "It would be terrible. I cannae do anything with my left hand.









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