Britbloggerment 2 + end of month stats

Password:Donkament
Time: 4pm EST

Don't forget to register!


To the poker and I'm not sure if my wee rant in my last post worked but last night was one of my best nights at the table for a while and this came after I won $40 at a very fishy $30 nl 6 max game at Laddys on Fri night.I also had a blast playing at Katitudes birthday tourney on Full Tilt where I scraped 7th place from 26 after I pushed my K7 into QQ when folded to my short stack.

I write here about taking a shot at $100 nl and above and forget that I was playing fairly regularly at those stakes and higher over a year ago.Just as I felt I was starting to get used to my forays up to levels like $2-$4 6 max nl ,I hit a really bad patch and never really recovered to play those stakes again.

I began by playing a player point Sat to Ladbrokes $50k freeroll on Monday and eventually made the top 29 from 296 to qualify.It was amazing the number of players who had no idea of the format and one big stack ( who had continued to play almost every hand despite being guaranteed a seat) was shocked and ask "is that it?" when the chatbox was full of "wp" etc when we beat the bubble.Oh and after folding one ( folded the hole cards) a few months back I was delighted to get my third ever Royal Flush during that Sat.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?954527 Royal


After the sat I took a break and watched the excellent "Red Eye" with Mrs A before she began watching her favourite crap Horror Zone channel and I hit the tables again,this time at Party poker.

I wouldn't have called the initial raise here if there hadn't been another caller along for the ride.I was also in the big blind which made it slightly cheaper and as ever I was at a high average pot table and reckoned my chances of getting paid off if I hit were high.The villain was unlucky to hit his set and go down to my flopped straight but I was just happy to maximise my profit on the hand.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?955131 $50 hand


I was still at the same table when I was dealt 55.I was happy to call a 4bb raise and even happier when I flopped dem quad biatches! Doublesas book "Pressure Poker" once again paid for itself ( although not easy to screw this hand up !) as I led out with a weak lead bet into the raiser hoping he's put me on a flush draw and raise.He'd raised with 910 preflop and the 10 on the turn and 9 on the river ensured he paid me off.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?955163 5555!

My Party table eventually tightened right up and I spent a while studying the lobbies of all the site I play at seeking a juicy table.Found one at Laddys and won another $16 before that table died and I headed to a $100 nl game at Pokerroom.

It was getting very late by then but I felt like I was in my poker groove and I managed to avoid any suckouts and leave $40 up as my table seemed to be the one players came to take a shot at.Perhaps another advantage (especially late on at weekends) of high average pot tables is that they seem to attract the tilted and stuck players who are quick to get their money in the middle and leave.

Stats time and I'm going to include my 'Stars roll for the first time.

Ladbrokes $1351,Pokerroom $780,Party $553,Full Tilt $1217,Stars $317. Total $4218.( +$439 since 15/3 and + $548 for month)

Oh and on another note I remember reading Mr High on Pokers "Jordans everywhere" post about the people who share his name and resisting the urge to post a link to the UK's very own Jordan.Well watch out America because I believe one of the US stations ( E -entertainment) has bought the rights to her reality show.She may have a couple of healthy plus points but I reckon it will still be a show made for the mute button.

Ok,time to go try and find a wee car for Mrs A.Hopefully see y'all tonight at the Blogger tourney....

The Good News!

I forgot to mention I reached the 500 post mark on March 25th and I'm really pleased and proud that the post just happened to be the one from last Sundays first Brit bloggerment game.Just seems fitting to me.I never thought I'd stick at this blog but here I still am churning out nonsense far too often each week.I keep meaning to cut out the drivel and shorten my posts,cut out all the "buts" and maybe add a comma or two but I guess this is just the way I roll.Thanks to everyone who reads this here space and thanks to my sponsors too.

Two other pieces of good news.My remortgage is through and we can start looking for a wee car for Mrs A.She has still to pass her test though she did take lessons years ago so has some experience.

The best news is that my wee cousin ignored my advice and posted small parcel back from the 'Dam last week.He's just phoned and will be popping round later with a small Dutch dog.No need to see a man about a Scottish dog this week.Shhhhhhhmoking!

Poker is pissing me off!

This was going to be a longer post but I read Rosies latest offering and my feelings on the game right now ( I'm a fickle bassa and a big winning night may change things-hint hint poker gods) are almost identical.

I've written before about wondering why I don't seem to start playing until late on, yet once I'm in my groove I feel like I could play forever, and I've never been able to put my finger on the reason for this.I now realise that much of the time I'm not getting a lot of pleasure and fun from my poker.Getting my money in with the best of it ( most of the time ) and getting beaten is all part of the game but in recent days I've noticed I'm getting far more emotional and hacked off than I used to get about it when I get sucked out on.A cold dead heart is required for cash games and the only emotion needed is empathy and even that's just to allow me into my opponents head and allow me to take more money from him.

Of course great players from pros like Matasow to quality blogger players like the Rottie,Hoyazo and Waffles all like to rant occasionally and it doesn't seem to do their game any harm.Perhaps I should try letting off steam in the chatbox but to be honest I hate the thought that anyone at the table thinks I can't take the beats without whining.Someone crashed out the Late night Crapshoot on an awful one outer last night and when the chatbox remained silent I was thinking "well done on coping without an outburst". Almost a full thirty seconds passed before he typed "just a joke".Ahh well!

Perhaps I just need to show more character and backbone when it comes to my poker game.Making money is never usually easy and there's no reason why poker should be the exception to the rule.

This post was not triggered by any brutal beats.Last night I was chip leader at a $15 ,18 player turbo when I reraised the other big stack all in with 99 after he made a decent sized preflop raise.He folded and when he made the same move a few hands later I had 1010 and decided to repeat the trick.He was a decent player and I put him on any pair,AK,AQ,AJ and hoped if he did call that my hand would stand up against most of his range.His AA won and my all in on the next hand with A9 when folded to me in the small blind was called by the other shortstacks 107 and of course he hit his 7.Hero to zero.

Tiredness is probably also a factor in how I'm feeling about my game just now.I crashed out of the Late night crapshoot having thought I'd limped when I'd actually called a large raise.Mrs A had just arrived home and I was chatting to her but my 67soooted was busted by the villans AA as I talked and struggled to stay awake.

Ok,I've managed to witter on far longer than intended.( for a change!)

Don't forget to register for the Britbloggerment 2 game at Stars ( under tourney/private tab) this Sunday at 9pm BST.Password:donakment and if you're free late on tonight....

Until next time make mine an awfuckit call.....

Make mine a Donkey call

We didn't get gubbed 4 or 5 nil by Italy but were beaten 2-0 by the better team so no complaints.Well at least no complaints until I hit the poker tables later on....

I began by bombing out of the Late Night Crapshoot when I called a large overbet all in by a stack slightly bigger than mine.It smelled like a fishy bet but I was never going to be too far ahead of K5 with my 44 and the 5 on the board by the river sealed the deal.

Actually I didn't begin with the Crapshoot at Laddys ( just can't be arsed rewriting that sentence) but at a Party $50 full ring table where I won $30 when a donk couldn't laydown AK ( Ace high) v my QQ.

After the Crapshoot I sat down at a full ring $100nl table and folded 73 off in the big blind on my first hand followed by Kd6d in the small blind to a raise,the bb reraised and I watched the board come all diamonds Ace high and a large pot develop, whilst telling myself that playing Kd6d out of the small blind for a raise and reraise is not good poker. I had been considering a raise to steal the bb if folded to me.

Two hands later and I'm dealt pocket rockets ( two seats from the button) and I start to hope for a raise before it gets to me.Two players limp ( including one guy I've seen around at Laddys and respect as a solid player) and I raise 4 1/2 bb to $4.50 hoping to also have position post flop.No such luck as the ( played every hand of the five I've seen) button calls and the other two limpers called too.

The flop was a rainbow 3 9 10 and I'm still unsure over my postflop bet.I've been reading Phil Gordons "Little Blue Book" and rather than a pot size bet to try and take it down based on the big hands win ( relatively) small pots theory ,I bet $10 into a $21 pot to deny odds to anyone drawing to the straight and to encourage a weaker hand to make a mistake by calling me.With four callers to my initial raise a pot size bet would probably have made more sense.


Only the button called and a 6 fell on the turn filling a possible straight draw if he held exactly 78 but otherwise seeming fairly harmless.I led out for $26 into a $41 pot and was reraised all in leaving me ( I had him out stacked to start with) to call $31 to stay in the hand.Although I simply couldn't see him holding 78 ,my instinct told me I wouldn't get reraised all in unless my Rockets were beaten, however I was getting around 4-1 to call ,and although it was only over five hands, the villian had already seemed fairly loose and willing to bet big. I made the crying call and after a blank river, he showed 66 for a set of sixes to win the hand and leave me pondering where it all went wrong.

I can only assume ( if he's not a total donkey) that he read my post flop bet as weak ( he maybe put me on an AK/AQ/AJ type hand) and that's why he hung around to hit his two outer.Either way I could have saved myself money if I'd listened to my instinct.

I left straight away and headed to a 'Stars $50 nl 6 max cash table to lick my wounds.I then played like a donkey and won $40...which is nice! I'm not going to be too hard on myself because I totally dominated the villain preflop with my AK v his AQ.The flop was a rainbow Q 10 3 and when I made the continuation bet of $4.50 ( I'd raised 5 bb preflop) I faced a reraise to $13 which I called.I checked when an Ace fell on the turn hoping if he had a hand like KQ or a lower pair then I could take the pot with a checkraise.He duly bet out $16 which I raised to $32.He went all in and with only 15 cents to call I wasn't making the laydown!

A beautiful King came on the river and I yelled ship it and went to bed only $15 down overall for the night.It was certainly a little tilty and poorly played but the books say even the best ( and I certainly aint that) suckout sometimes!

I've decided to cheat a little and will be including my 'Stars roll as part of my main bankroll stats from now on.I've built $15 I'd forgotten I had there in January to $349, mostly through turbo sng's and although I planned on using it to "take a shot", my conservative bankroll managment head says I already am taking a shot just by playing $15 turbo's on it.

Dinner soon and then I'm going to try and play some decent poker tonight with no donk calls when I know I'm beaten!

Don't forget to register for the Britbloggerment 2 $5 sng on Stars this Sunday at 9pm BST.Password is donkament! Only six in so far.

Hopefully see you there.....

C'mon Scotland!

I had a nasty night last night at the tables.It began well at a $15 turbo ( 18 player as usual ) when I doubled up with AA v QQ on the first hand.

I was feeling good at the final table until my KK was beaten by 88 and I went out when my 66 fell to A4.Before I did crash out though I was using Sharkscope to full effect and folded when I had bet out with AQ and been reraised by a Shark ( as rated by Sharkscope) and I also called an all in raise with AJ after a mega tilting fish ( thanks Sharkscope!) raised all in under the gun with A9.( My AJ held up).

I moved to Laddys and felt I played quite well in the late night Crapshoot but didn’t make the money after my pocket nines were beaten by AQ just at a crucial stage.I hit a cash table after that but couldn’t get going at all and after calling a few raises with pocket pairs ( and missing) I was getting even more frustrated.I folded top pair decent kicker to a large reraise and decided to leave ( $30 down overall) as it just didn’t seem to be my night.

Party has been good to me recently so with that in mind I opened a full ring $50 nl table and managed to lose a buy-in over the course of two hands.I lost $20 on the first hand when some donkey muppet called all the way to the river to hit his flush draw.Thankfully he checked and I checked behind as it was obvious he was chasing it and had hit.

I was dealt JJ in the very next hand and instantly typed “hehe” in the chat box to make the table think I was still steaming from the last hand.I like doing that when I suffer a beat and get dealt a monster on the next hand but unfortunately I was steaming a little and JJ may be a top 10 hand but it isn’t a monster to go to war with at a table I’d just joined and where I had no reads at all.

The flop came low rags and I bet the the pot,the villain called and I bet the pot again when a King fell on the turn hoping to represent AK ( or a the high pair I’d been representing on the flop).I was out of position and the silly tilty mistake I made was to go all in for my last $18 when a blank fell on the river.I was called by the villains QQ and immediately switched off my laptop and went to bed.

I’m not too bothered as nights like that are all part of the game and have to be sooked up and put in perspective when taken against my overall bankroll.

Mrs A is working tonight so I’ll be looking after Step A and watching Scotland take on World Cup winners ,Italy,in their own back yard tonight.We got a great result at the weekend when we beat Georgia 2-1 and are currently top of a qualifying group that includes the other World Cup finalists France and quarter finalists Ukraine.There seems to be an air of optimism surrounding the team just now which probably means we’re in for a 4 or 5 goal beating tonight!

Still there are no easy games in international football,unless yer playing England of course... :-)))

Blair will be there....

As usual I took a bit of time to warm up my poker ( pea) brain last night,starting with being knocked out of a Stars $2 triple shoot out,before ,moving to Laddys late night crapshoot and playing like a complete donkey.

I raised with 88 from the cut off when it was folded to me ,got one caller who put me all in on a ragged Jack high board.I had been just about to make a decent sized bet if he checked to me based on the logic that it was unlikely he hit the Jack and despite his all in bet changing everything about the hand, I was too stubborn/bored to fold.That left me with 550 chips and with the big blind already 150,I pushed when it folded to me with Qd10d and the big blind called with A9 and deservedly knocked me out.

I’ve mentioned that playing when hungry can be a leak for me as my concentration levels drop and I can begin to tilt slightly, so I registered for a laddys freeroll, and enjoyed donking out with a daft move on the first hand.I ate a bit of chocolate and hit up a Party $50 ,6 max cash table for a while,winning $25 before heading to bed.

I actually really enjoyed that last Party session and I think my love for 6 max cash games is returning at last.Perhaps the old “tourneys for show,cash for dough” mantra applies because unless I start multi-tabling $15 sng’s then I can’t see how they will ever be as profitable as the 6 max tables where opponent weaknesses seem easier to exploit.

I thought I’d share a few notes from last nights table.At 6 max it’s so much easier than full ring games to get decent reads simply because it’s so intense that it becomes harder to disguise a leaks and a players general poker style.

1) Raises with weak Aces and will play them to the river.

2) Makes min raises on all streets

3) Passive calling station who plays most hands,also made “typical party poker hands” comment when he lost with AK on a K high flop to trips.May tilt.( and did!)

4) Solid tight player who only plays prem hands.

The beauty of being able to act on this information at a cash table is that it brings in real cash profits rather than just the pleasure of knocking them out of a sng.

All kind of obvious really but it did strike me when explaining a move to the S-man recently that all poker hands are totally dependent on so many factors, many of them are almost subconscious and just feel right after you’ve played many thousands of hands, and been in similar positions.
The reason for some moves is clear such as folding my AQ on the button when the solid tight player finally made a move last night or even my move a week or so ago when I called an all in raise made by a total tilty fish with only A10.( lost to his J9 but that’s not the point!).

I enjoy people posting hands and giving their thought process during the hand but I don’t usually contribute too much to these discussions simply because I feel that it’s almost impossible to say what I would do in a seemingly marginal situation unless I was actually in the hand.
The point? Hmmm,I'll get back to you on that!

Ok,that's all for today.I'm nice and relaxed after my holiday ( apart from a sore throat) so I'll spare anyone reading a rant on how completely stupid it is that Tayside Fire and Rescue officials are looking to discipline a hero firefighter who dived into a river and saved a woman from drowning because he broke health and safety rules.Apparently he should have used the "talk reach and throw" method, which considering there were no poles etc hand to throw would have consisted of shouting "Please don't drown" at the poor young girl in trouble!

Thanks for reading....

Thanks and Congrats Miami Mark ( Al Eleven)

I’ve got to start by saying a huge thankyou to everyone of the 22 people who registered for the Britbloggerment tourney last night.Even the s-man ( sookraboaby) sitting out for the whole game and still lasting longer than me didn’t dampen my spirits!

Congrats of course to my mate Miami Mark ( Al Eleven) who played a patient aggressive game and eventually beat Cadmunkey ( who is back blogging again) heads-up to take the first BB title.Miami Mark is a busy man but I’m hoping he’ll get the chance to do a wee write up on the game and also that he can make it back next Sunday to do it all again ( losing HU to me this time though!) at 9pm BST on ‘Stars.

It was an absolute joy to finally see the tourney come together and 22 people battling it out at three tables and I’m thoroughly looking forward to next weeks game.Register now!!

My own tourney game was a little strange as I very rarely play MTT’s and all my sng experience is playing turbos.It was strange because early on I was dealt some decent hands and was caught a little between playing ‘em hard and fast and realising that there was no need to commit all my chips too early on.

I did make one decent laydown when I folded 1010 on a low ragged board when Juice held KK but my play felt a bit rusty after a few days away from the virtual felt.I eventually crashed out in 15th when my AK was busted by AQ.( nae feckin' tilt there BM!)

Juice persuaded me to play another standard speed sng but then never registered on time, leaving me to go on and win it whilst also watching the HU battle at the BB tourney.

The win was actually quite satisfying because it came against a fishy table captain type who typed “weak” in the chat box whenever he lost a hand.I’m usually ( stop by next weeks Britbloggerment tourney to find out!) a gracious winner but this time when he called my all in with K8 V my A10 and lost ,I had the pleasure of typing “weak” back to him.Ahh the pettiness of poker sometimes!

I managed to win $20 at a Laddys cash table after that and I also forgot to mention I won $60 at Laddys cash tables the night before I went my holidays.I was also up $50 at Party and was ready to post an "Out on a high" post about how I'd won more in one night than the previous two weeks until I lost that $50 Party profit in one nasty horrible hand.Poker seems to have a way of never letting me get too far ahead of myself.

Ok,that's all for today.Check out the links on the right for some excellent Britbloggerment tourney reports. Oh and before I go here's a quick pimpage of Katitudes private tourney this Friday at Full Tilt.It's a 2am start but it is the weekend so I'm hoping to make it.Good luck with it Kat!

Tournament #15387473, Katitude's Poker Night

Password: martini

Date: Friday, March 30

Where: Full Tilt Poker

Time: 9:00 EST ( 2AM BST)

Buyin: $10+ $1

Game: NLHE

Blogger Tourney..9pm BST

Just a quick reminder that today is the day of the Britbloggerment tourney at 'Stars.15 people registered so far.Do not delay!

Thanks to Juice for producing this latest excellent banner.Now I'm off to say my prayers at Rosies shrine before tonights game...

Trip Report

Tempting to simply write "Yes I did" as my trip report as that would sum up events in Amsterdam extremely well.

We arrived at Schiphol airport about 5-ish on Tuesday and jumped on the first train. Unfortunately for us it wasn't the first train train to Dam central , but to some distant suburb.I'd like to say it's not the kind of mistake a person makes twice but I recall Miami Mark and I doing the same thing a few years back.Doh!

The first night's smokin' was probably the best as we sampled the some of the Dam's finest herbs and got into our groove.On the second night my cousin managed to make pavement pizza ( he spewed bigtime) but thankfully managed to avoid being sick in the coffee shop we were in.

On Thursday evening we tried some philosophers stone shrooms and stayed in the room for most of it and laughed and smoked the night away.Last night we were on the Hawiian shrooms and they were much heavier ( maaaan) and resulted in large chunks of time simply vanishing.

Other highlights of the holiday were the man dancing around outside one coffee shop with a plant pot on his head and one funny moment where I joked with my cousin that the Thai looking young-ish girl with the much older guy was probably a mail order bride.The older guy took a quick photo and smiled smugly, she smiled back and then turned away from him ( facing towards us) and mouthed "I hate you" at him.A loving relationship....

My cousin had a great time too and lost his Amsterdam cherry to a hooker.I had to laugh when he came back to the Old Church coffee shop where I was waiting to tell me the tale and he insisted on running back to the window to ask her name.Ahh the innocence of youth!

We took cards and poker chips however only managed one game and I don't remember much about it.I did use the net for a few minutes at the Floyd coffee shop but it wouldn't let me leave blog comments or log onto my Pokerroom account for some reason.

Ok,I'm home,I'm tired and I'm ready for the blogger tourney tomorrow! Thanks to all who commented on my last post and especially to Kat for pimping the game on her blog.If I hadn't been away last week I would have emailed Tripjax,GCox25 and Jordan to request some top US pimpage.It may be a Brit blogger game but the whole world is welcome! I would also have organised a few bounties too but I suppose for the first game I should just be happy that 13 people have backed the idea so far and signed up.( thanks!).

Still ,I am just as impressed as dD that poker blogging legend Al Can't Hang is playing tomorrow evening.There's still time to register......

Blogger Tourney + Breaktime

Big thanks to Tan for producing the excellent banner below for the blogger game.

We have eight registered and I'm sure there's a few more ( dD for a start) to come so it looks like we're going to fill at least one full table which is the dogs dangly bits.Keep up the pimpin'!

On the poker front I began with a FT freeroll which was basically a qualifer to another sat which started when I'm away to the Dam.On the first hand I was dealt Kd8d and everyone ( bar one) went all in and I decided to join 'em.I made a winning flush and knocked out seven players at once before moving to a new table with a $12k stack.I began playing Laddys late night crapshoot and tried to donk out of the freeroll ,only to win big hand which took me to $65k in chips.Only 1st qualified and I soon managed to donk out and focus on the crapshoot.( finished 80th).

I played six $15 ,18 player turbos at 'Stars after that and managed a 3rd and 2nd after going out of two others on sick beats and one when I ran 44 into QQ.Sometimes I wish there was no flop and we just flipped our cards up preflop and whoever had the best hand won there and then.

I made a good call with AQ soooted via a loose player who had played 47% of flops and was pleased to see him turn over j10 only for a 10 on the turn to send me to the rail.I think winning at least one race is required to stand a decent chance in these games of making the last few but they are so soft that one guy who was sat out for the whole game came 9th( from 18)!

Ok,last post before I head off tomorrow for a few days.After reading about the cost of wi-fi in Amsterdam hotels at Marks blog the laptop is staying at home.I did buy Medal of Honor heros for the Psp though so that'll be coming with me.

It's great being off work this week.I did forget to tell the tale of the stand in manager we had last week telling us how wonderful he is with customers.He was just adding that he had "no special skills or talents" when a voice from the back shouted "Aye,that's coming across well".Maybe you had to be there...

Check out Yorkshire Pud's latest post if your looking for laughs.He has a new blog too dedicated to his days behind bars which is also worth checking out.I worked behind the bar downstairs at the Barrowlands concert venue for nearly ten years.I saw some great bands on my break and have a few tales of my own I could tell.

One happy memory was of the rowdy punter at the bar who was being a nasty prick.We called over the bouncers and just as he was getting thrown out my workmate motioned to the prick to move closer and whispered in his ear that immortal Glasgow line "Go smell yer Maw" ( Maw meaning mother!).Well the prick went ballistic and as he was being carted out with his feet in the air ,head first he was shouting "Did you hear whit he said? He telt me tae smell ma maw".( meanwhile we were all pisssing ourselves laughing).

Ok,thanks to all for reading this here blog,don't forget to register for the blogger tourney and I'll be back at some point if I manage not to completely fry my brain over the next few days....

The $164 ave pot table ( $50nl) + stats

Mrs A was out last night so after my pizza I hit the tables with the s-man.I played five $6 turbos and only came out on top in one of them when I beat the s-man heads up with a highly skillful move, when I knew an Ace was coming on the river and suckered him and his cowboys into going all in preflop.A quick "nh sir" from the s-man and we moved on.(and if ye believe that...!)

I managed to win an $11 turbo after that before taking my own advice on table selection and checking out Ladbrokes lobby for any laddies maddies.I'm glad I did because I found a 6 max $50 nl buy in table with a $74 average pot.That wasn't a typo,it really did average $74 and that pot average peaked at an unbelievable $164 at one stage.The s-man witnessed it and sent me the screenshot above.( thanks s-man)

I watched in amazement as one player ( haue76) simply moved all in on every hand and rebought time after time when he busted.I was on the waiting list in number 1 position and almost had to wipe the spittle from my keyboard I was drooling so much in anticipation.I encouraged the s-man to join too and he was very unlucky to get it in the middle with A10 V A4 as the villain hit his lucky 4 to knock him out.

It was an unusual game in that all I had to do when I caught a hand was limp and then call the enevitable all in that followed.I berated the s-man for raising preflop ( 44 I think he had) because Mr All-in manaic simply folded to anyone else aggression preflop and the s-man took the blinds with his bet.( sorry s-man!)

So just what hands do you play when a maniac is all in on every hand? Any Ace and pocket pair? KQ? K10?

Well I won with 88,A9 and Aces twice for a sweet $240 profit.At one stage the maniac had over $600 and although he slowed down a little that meant he only raised $10 preflop and usually pushed no matter what the flop was.

He called me a fish and begged me to call several times before showing his nasty side and telling me I would die within 2 days."I hope not,I'm off to the Dam on Tues " was my jovial reply.All I was concerned with was keeping him at the table and managed to keep him sweet after a couple of others at the table made daft aquarium tapping comments."Are you usually a high stakes player?" I asked."What do you think" he replied. "Thanks for swimming with us fishies" I typed back.

I added him to my buddy list and want to thank him for his one man mission to make sure I stayed in profit after a not very spectacular two weeks at the tables since my last stats update.Table selection,table selection ,table selecton! Don't leave home without it!

I joined Rosie for a wee $10 standard speed sng and neither of us made the money before I won $10 at a 'Stars cash game and broke even after 20 mins at Party.

We're heading over to my parents place shortly for a mothers day/birthday meal ( Mrs A B/day on Tues) and plan to watch Blood Diamond on dvd when we get back.I'm looking forward to a long lie in tomorrow morning before I take a wee blogging/poker break for a few days.( did I mention I'm off to Amsterdam?!)

Here are my latest stats: Ladbrokes $1349,Pokerroom $747, Full Tilt $1236, Party $447.Total $3779. ( + $109 since March 4th)

Seven registered so far for the Britbloggerment $5nl tourney ( under private tab) at 'Stars on Sunday 25th at 4pm EST ( 9pm UK time).One week to go! All welcome and the password ( lower case) is donkament.

Ok,thanks to The Cloud for his last comment. I think I've got the start time sorted.It's damn confusing because the US clocks have gone forward already and our ( UK) clocks go forward next Sunday at 1am.

Soooooo the sign up time at 'Stars will always show as 4pm and on the day ( Sun 25th) we'll kick off at 9pm thanks to the clocks moving forward earlier that day.( at 1am).Sorry for any confusion.

In fact ( I'm sure he wont mind) here's The Clouds fine banner to clarify...Nice work!

Lost the plot

Thanks to everyone who has shown an interest in the blogger tourney so far.Four registered ( remember it's 4pm est ,9pm Uk time as the US put their clocks forward early this year and our clocks go fwd next Sun at 1am) and plenty room for more!

The post title sums up my night last night.Thankfully I made a good start by winning an $11 turbo sng at Full Tilt and later won a little cash there too. After that though I witnessed too many flopped monsters after I had folded ( my main tilt trigger) and lost a big hand at a Stars cash table when a bigstack chased his flush to the river and hit.I was annoyed at myself for paying him off ( for $15 more) because the river card completed the straight draw too and there wasn't much left my AA could beat.

At Party I lost a hand all in preflop ( cost me $25 as the villain had already donked off half his buy in) versus a total fish who pushed with Jh9h.I knew I was gambling by calling with my Ah10h ( can' t recall ever calling an all in at a cash table with A10) but to get my read right that I was ahead and to see him suckout a 9 on the river really hurt for some reason.

I was soon off to Pokerroom and lost a $50 buy-in when I played 88 to the river on a K high board because I was certain the villain didn't hadn't paired the King.He didn't need to as he had Aces...

So my Aces were cracked earlier,a villains held up and it was all ( as Step A would say) just so damn unfair! Normally I have the testicular fortitude to deal with the crap that the poker gods throw at me but sadly not last night.

I lost a further $20 at a Laddys full ring $200 nl table before making the sensible ev+ decision to go to bed.

I don't tilt like that too often thankfully and I'm feeling a lot better today in general so I don't envisage a repeat tonight.I certainly wont be taking my laptop to the Dam though as the break will probably do me good and leave me fresh to beat all you fishies in the blogger tourney on Sunday 25th!( gotta start the trash talk sometime eh!)

The man flu seems to be lifting ,Rangers beat the sheepshaggers ( Aberdeen) 3-0 with a Boyd treble and I'm about to order some pizza.

Make mine a might meaty....

Blogger/Reader Tourney!

BurnleyMik,Yorkshire Pud and I are delighted to announce ( feck me that sounds a bit formal ,we aint getting engaged !) the inaugural UK Blogger/reader tourney on Sunday March 25th at 9pm BST.( 4pm EST ).No fancy banners as yet ( any volunteers?) though the name for the first one in the lobby ( any name suggestions welcome too) is Britbloggerment and can be found under the tourney /private section of the lobby at Pokerstars.The password ( lowercase) is donkament and the entry fee for this No Limit holdem game is only $5.50.

It's about time us Brits got our act together and ran a few games.The US bloggers ( who along with the rest of the world are more than welcome to play in our game) have regular tourneys and I'd be there most weeks if they didn't start after midnight most of the time.

Please support this tourney ( feck I sound like I'm begging now!) and if your a blogger feel free to pimp it up!

Thanks and hopefully see you there....

Fri Update

Being the brave blogging martyr that I am, man flu will not prevent me updating my poker exploits.Not much to report really as I’ve sensibly not played very much.Money not lost is money saved in this case as the games I did play were fairly half-hearted efforts.I did play one $15 turbo last night and instead of my usual raise or fold game I was tempted into limping more often and calling raises which is not my usual style and didn't work very well.

I have mainly stuck to $6 sngs with only a wee 3rd place in an 18 player game to show for the few I’ve played.I did win my first table at a $2.20 Sunday Mill triple turbo shootout but I managed to blow it heads-up in the second when I slow played my flopped J9 on a J 9 4 board,only to allow the villains J10 to hit a 10 on the river to knock me out.

Mrs A is working tonight so I'll be hitting the tables later for some donkery.I'm off to the Gers game on Sat and on Sunday Mrs A ,Step A and I are heading to my parents for dinner as it's Mothers day and also Mrs A's birthday on Tues.I might still be a bit stuffed up with my man flu but at least I'm not back to work until the 26th.( did I mention I was going to the Dam?!)

Ok,I'll save my rant on why I think us motorists should be allowed to attach AK47's to our cars and use them to mow down cyclists who ignore red lights and act as if they've never read a highway code for another time.

I wont harp on either about the inane pathetic training package I completed at work this week on the new age discrimination laws ,which said nobody should even send a birthday card with
a jokey type "You're over the hill" message, as the receiver could be offended and disciplinary action could result.( ok my blood sugar must be low so I damn well will harp on!).

These days taking offence has become a feckin ( better not write "fuckin" incase someone gets fired for reading an inappropriate word at the workplace) national pastime for the weakminded."Ahh but it's all about how a person perceives a comment" ( or birthday card to use the example) they say.Rubbish.Use common sense,get a grip and as we say in Glasgow "Gies peace".

I could go on and on ( oh yes!) but it's time for some dinner and poker.....

Man flu....

Stop the world,Acornman has man flu again.I suppose at least this gets it out the way and I should be fighting fit for next Tuesdays 4 day trip to the ‘Dam.I’ve been playing poker long enough to realise my game is shot when I don’t feel well so I’ve been sensible enough to stick to a couple of sng’s and a few FT freerolls.

I did play in Laddys late night crapshoot and although I donked out when my 88 was called by Mr A5 who flopped a straight I made back the entry fee at a $50 nl cash table.Despite feeling like I’m at deaths door ( it is man flu afterall) I was quite enjoying my cash table last night and only reluctantly switched off because it was getting too late.

Rangers play Osasuna tonight in Spain and take 1 -1 draw into the 2nd leg.I’m not overly confident because the Spaniards have a fine home record and our best player ( Ferguson) is suspended.Mrs A is working so I may hit the tables after the game if I feel I can focus on the table properly.

I enjoyed watching Mark from Plan3tgongs poker vid of some of his bubble play even if I couldn’t make out the names/stack sizes.Mark explained things well and I’m looking forward to more.His reassuring Airline pilot voice helped although I kept expecting him to tell me what altitude we were cruising at and how the weather was looking at our destination!

Ok I'm off,the fitba has kicked off....

Blogger game writeup

Yesterday seemed to encapsulate the poker bloggers dilema perfectly.Dull results based posts are a yawn and getting it all out there after a night of bad beats just seems like moaning and that’s not much fun to read either.Then again my blog is my personal record of my play and results and if lady luck has deserts me on occasion then I have to post about it in one way or another.

Happily last night after watching Osasuna draw with Valencia ,I began an 18 player $15 turbo at ‘Stars to warm up for the bloggerpod freeroll and was still playing at the final table when the freeroll began.

I always have my option set to show an uncalled winning hand which is probably a waste of time as I rarely show.Still it has it’s uses and I enjoyed showing a 6 high bluff ( I was in big blind with 56) after floating in a hand until I made a decent reraise on the turn representing trip sevens.” Sick staying in to hit that other 7” was the chat jibe after the villain folded and my ego couldn’t resist showing him how wrong he was.I’m not sure I liked doing that as my tight image was partially blown and I was wary about stealing from that table afterwards.

Luckily I got a move and by the time the final table came round I had a decent lead and I managed to hang on for a nice wee win to boost the roll.Turbo sng variance really isn’t for the weak hearted.My ‘Stars roll which reached a low of $252 on Sat night is now back over the $400 mark ( for now!).

After that game I concentrated fully on the blogger freeroll and enjoyed a rollercoaster ride before going out 12th.Only a few key hands really and I began with a hammer bluff which I had to give up on the turn after I’d fired two bullets.I think I took Kat out when my big blind special of K4 flopped two fours and I didn’t get involved again until I won after a huge suckout when my 99 spiked a 9 on the river v 1010 after I’d raised preflop and gone all in post flop when it came a low rainbow.I was trying not to play in sng turbo mode but I definitely overplayed those nines.

I made a tough laydown a bit later which I’m still not sure about.I had raised ( 4 bb I think) preflop with KdKh and the big stack ( who seemed a solid player) flat called.The flop came all diamonds including the Ace and the big stack checked to me.I was tempted to take the free card and try and hit my nut flush but having raised preflop I decided to make a decent 600 stab at it to try and take it there and then and then faced an all in bet for my tourney life.

My preflop raise was probably not large enough to scare off suited connectors and hands like AK,AQ and of course he could have made a set.I decided my only clean outs were diamonds and with only a 35% chance of hitting my flush,I reluctantly folded my cowboys to await a better spot.If it was a bluff he picked his spot well!
Edit: home from work and pleased to see the player I reckoned was solid took it down.Well done Schaubs.

AQ v 95 sooted bit me when the villain made his flush before I was reduced to stealing from position to simply stay afloat.The antes had kicked in too and eventually I got caught when I pushed with A5 when it was folded to me and was called by 55 and 66.( not enough fold equity to push ‘em out).All good fun though and it was a pleasure playing at the same table as Katitude,Irongirl and the mighty wafflemeister.

Ok,back later in the week..

The Wall

The Wall is the title of one of my favourite Floyd albums but unfortunately it was also the story of my poker night last night as one hand after another seemed to get sucked out on no matter how much of a favourite I was when the money went in.I blame Miasdad as I'd just read his post about bad beats before mine started!

To be fair many were simply races where I was only a slight favourite but I saw some crackers too including my QQ falling to Mr JJ flopping quads,Aces cracked by AQ and 46 soooted,KK gubbed by KQ ( two queens on flop) and a couple of set over set nightmares.

In between most of these suckouts I was chatting to Mrs A and resisting the urge to say "just give me a minute babe" and then sticking my head out the window to scream at the moon.( before gently closing the window and calmly retaking my seat as though nothing happened!)

I did lose most of my races last night and I do wonder if I was seeking out too many of those situations too early in some of the games I played.Yes my chips went in as favourite on most occasions ( I did run into better hands a couple of times too) and in turbo's chipping up when ahead in the hand is vital ,however I do think I was so disbelieving of how badly my luck was running,that perhaps it was almost a masochistic desire to feel sorry for myself and lose another race just to reinforce my negative feelings.

I must have played about 14 turbo sng's and it was only after a long break from the tables that I managed to grab a couple of 3rd places ( 18 player,top 4 pay at 'Stars) and a second to prevent me from feeling the night was a total disaster in poker terms.

The break was to watch the derby match between Barcelona and Real Madrid from the Nou Camp.It really was El Grande Classico and finished 3-3 after an injury time equaliser by 10 man Barca.I've no real preference for either side but was cheering on Barca due to the prop bet with Mrs A on the outcome.( the draw means I'm off breakfast cooking duty next weekend).

We also watched the superb "Last King of Scotland" on dvd last night and I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for a quality movie.Some of the lines were great though with Mrs A being a redhead ( no hair,just a red head...!) she wasn't too impressed with "Idi Amin's" view on gingers.hehe.

I played some cash ( down $20) at Laddys before finally crashing out around 6am so it's going to be struggle to stay up for the blogger freeroll tonight at 12am on Full Tilt.I may even try and grab an hours sleep shortly.Yawn!

Can you hear the Celt*c sing? Nooooooooo

Just back from the Piggery where an overhead kick by Ugo Ehiogu two minutes into the second half won us 3 points and our pride back after a poor season.They probably had the best of the first half but we dominated the second after we scored.Our manager Walter Smith had a fine record in games against them during his first spell in charge and hopefully today is a sign that normal service has been resumed and we can get back to our winning ways next season.The team still needs a lot of rebuilding and both teams will buy new players in the summer so I'm counting any chickens yet.A great day out for us Gers fans though and singing songs like "Kaka Kaka ha ha ha ha ha"( he scored Milans winner against them last week) , "No tims in Europe" and that old favourite "what a shitey home support" mean it'll probably be the middle of next week before I get my voice back.We are the People!

Blogger Freeroll

I can't seem to get the wee banner thing to work but hopefully providing these two links to Pokeronamac.com and the Bloggerpod page will be enough to get me registered for their excellent blogger freeroll at midnight on Sunday.

Registering for that one and reading a recent post on BurnleyMiks blog has got me in the mood for a UK bloggers tourney.If the US bloggers can organise several blogger games every week then surely us Brits can manage at least one.Rather than the usual endless debate on how much/where and when ,I think I'm going to simply set one up,post details and see who ( if anyone!) turns up.Watch this space....

Last night was a good laugh.The s-man and Miami Trout ( his new name after busting me heads-up in a sng after calling my all in with K9 and busting my QQ!) and I played a load of turbo sng's and some cash tables.It wasn't a great night for my bankroll as I made a poor play or two due to the sheer frustration of some of the beats I took.I did make up for it a little later on by doubling my buy-in at a Party $50 nl 6 max table when my trip Kings took home the bacon.( which was nice...)

Not a lot of poker to be played today as Mrs A and I are watching "The Last King of Scotland" tonight and as she was very good about my loud ( who me?!) night on the skype last night,I'd better not push it too much!

Earlyish start tomorrow as my cousin and I are off to visit the meccano set in the East End to watch Rangers play our great rivals celt*c ( 12.30 ko).They have won the league by a distance this season and our new management team need to lay down a marker for next year by getting a result.Still at least Rangers have another European game to look forward to next week unlike c*ltic who crashed out last week :-)))

Follow ,Follow.....

Micro-limit Strategy

I've been thinking about tackling this for a while and I think it would be better to give general advice as to what has worked for me ,rather than a list of starting hands from each position.I don't use any kind of starting hand guide as each game and hand needs to be judged on it's own merits depending on a host of factors.

Poker is a game of edges and any edge that can be gained over an opponent is vital ,therefore I would start by making sure you have all the best software tools at your disposal during play.I use Pokertracker with Gametime +,Poker Indicator and the lobby.

The lobby is very important as the information given allows you to select the game which best suits your style of play.My personal preference is for high average pots and a high % of flop seen as these allow me to play a trapping game and the high flop seen % means there's usually not large preflop raises to deal with.

You can also use the lobby to check for multi-tablers as they usually stick to fairly rigid starting requirements and bluff a lot less.At 6 max this can be taken to the extreme by blind stealing when they are in big hands at their other tables.

Empathy is a useful tool for poker too.If a player loses a big pot and rebuys then look for signs of tilt and frustration and be ready to take advantage.Players giving free info by letting the table know that they are so "good" they folded QQ on a King high flop can be useful too ( and table captains in general) as they usually play by the book and don't want to look stupid making the wrong call.

If I have a premium hand then I will raise and not mess about either with 3-4bb.If it's a .10-.20c nl table then I will generally raise to $1.20 and that bet big or go home philosophy has served me well both pre and post flop at micro-stakes.These limits can be utterly soul destroying and I'd rather take a small pot against 1-2 players with my top ten hands than make a min raise and face a lottery against 7 or 8 players.

The value is in noting the players who make min-raises both pre and postflop and taking advantage of this.Quite often there will be 6-7 players to each flop and whilst I won't play complete rubbish, if I know I can get in cheaply then I will look to play hands like 78sooted and Ace sooted.These are easy to play because unless I hit the flop hard I will fold and if I do hit a nice draw then hopefully it will be against a serial min raiser who will give me great pot odds to catch my hand on the turn or river.

Actually,I don't even need a "nice" draw against a fishy min raiser.If I call his min raise with A4soooted and the flop comes a 4 8 J rainbow I may even hang about in the hand if I feel I will break him ( or other villains in the hand) should I hit a cheap 4 or Ace.It's easy to forget the average winning hand in holdem is 2 pair when your holding AA/KK preflop and at micro levels many players don't look beyond their own hand.That is another good reason to avoid bluffing very often as most of the time the other players are not aware of what you are trying to represent and will call you down.

Sets are golden at Micro-limits so forget all the poker book advice to lay down low pairs from early position and call most raises and reraises with any pair from any position as long as the villain has a big enough stack to make hitting 3 of a kind worth it.

If I'm at a full ring micro-stakes game I like to limp a lot and I'm aware this again goes against most of the by the book advice.Why raise with 1010 when you'll get six callers and have no better idea where you are in the hand? I may raise at a loose wild 6 max table with 1010 but at a full ring table inhabited by passive calling stations I believe in lethal limping especially from position.

My average Vpip % ( voluntary put in pot %) over 22k hands at Micro stakes is 32% and my preflop raise is 6.83%.( 8% for 6 max only).Loose passive play is usually the sign of a fish but can be very effective when combined with a taking a very aggressive post flop stance when I make a hand.In comparision to an average micro nl table my 32% vpip figure will probably not be that loose and this means that you'll still be playing better hands than the table most of the time.

My default mode when new to any table though is usually uber-tight and I fight the urge to get involved too much before I know the table too well.

Reading back over this post it's fairly basic stuff and nothing earth shattering.I think my overall point is that the game, especially at $25 nl and below, in no way resembles the type of game most noted poker authors are thinking about when they write their books.I think it was just by luck that the first poker book I read was "Killer Poker" by John Vorhaus and it just so happens that his "bet big or go home" philosophy works so well at micro-stakes.

It's very hard to get an actual thought process written up in a blog post as so many factors are relevant in each hand.The other tough part is that poker can never be solved as there isn't one "right way" to play.I folded AJ to a $3 raise last night at a $50 nl table.The raiser had 1010 and bet it all the way on a Jack high board only for the big stack to reraise on the river and take it down with QJ.Don't go broke with top pair,top kicker but pay attention and know your players because at Micro-stakes the rules go out the window.( On the previous hand he won with trips fours v QQ on a low ragged board )

Ok, I hope some of the above makes sense.Feel free to rip it apart...

Wed Update

I can't believe it's Wednesday already.Just a quick update as the s-man will be over soon and I haven't had my dinner yet.Not been a great week so far on the poker front.I'm down about $50 at Laddys including a couple of failed late night crapshoots and I've bombed out of my last few turbo sng's too.

One in particular was frustrating because when it was checked round to me I went for the steal from the small blind with A6 against the solid player in the big blind.He must have checked my sharkscope stats and realised I wasn't a total idiot but was capable of stealing with a fairly mince hand so he reraised me.I knew he knew that and reckoned he was making a move back so we both ended up all in with crap hands.Sadly his 108 beat my A6 and my read meant nothing.

Last night Mrs A ,her Dad and I went to see "For the love of Mrs Brown" at the theatre in Glasgow and very funny it was too.Brendan O'Carroll was brilliant once again as foul mouthed Irish Granny Agnes Brown.

I only had time for one joyless $10 sng at Pokerroom when I got back and I think I only played it out of habit rather than a real desire to play which is never a good idea.

It's the Rangers game tomorrow night so I'll probably be back posting at the weekend.My strategy post ( micro-limits cash) is almost ready to go and hopefully I'll get that posted over the next few days.Until then good luck at the tables...

ITM Full Tilt $11k Gtd

Big thanks again to Dr Pauly for stopping by and commenting on my last post.I've been an avid reader of his blog and writings for ages and I felt like I'd been visited by blogging Royalty when I saw his message.I'm looking forward to taking the Docs advice.Just over two weeks to go before I hit the Dam.

I mentioned back on Feb 18th that reading a Gcox post had inspired me to win another $26 token at one of Full Tilts $8.70,18 player turbo sats,but I still hadn't had time to use it until last night when I decided to tackle the $11k gtd at 11pm long with 563 others.

I started out playing a tight game from early position and saw a few cheap but fruitless flops from the cut off and button.My table was quite fishy apart from a shark on my right so stealing opportunities were few and far between and I had to pick my spots and players to steal from very carefully.I stayed at my first table for most of the MTT and that meant I had a chance to really get to know the villains and that helped me keep my stack at a playable level.

With 180 left I was still hovering around near the bottom of the pile, but hanging in and making aggressive moves whenever a decent opportunity came.Around this time I was moved to another table and to the immediate right of the tourney chip leader calling station and his 100k stack.This wasn't good news at all and I was forced into shove or fold poker just to stay alive in the game.At least pushing all in gave me some fold equity and I began to steal quite blatantly as we neared the top 54.

I seemed to be doing quite well and then my mindset changed from going all out for the final table to looking to jump another couple of places.I suppose this is where my lack of MTT experience came into play and before long although I'd been in the bottom 10% for nearly the whole game,I found myself nearing the final table.The blinds were getting huge and as I'd cut out my stealing and wasn't catching anything playable I moved all in (when folded to me and two hands away from being eaten by blinds) with K8.A villain raised to isolate,showed 55 and I finished 12th for $148.

I really don't play many Mtt's and when I do go out of any I do play it's usually with a few regrets but apart from a wee window in the game where I possibly tightened too much,I felt I played decent poker and made the most of the situations I found myself in.I never had over 20k throughout the whole game so I don't feel I was hard donr by in not making the final table and the better prizes.

Donked off $40 at a Laddys cash table afterwards after making a daft river call before winning back just over $40 at a Party $50 nl game when I chased a flush and got paid off on the river after making marginal calls on the flop and turn.( overcards and flushdraw v loose tilty player I felt would pay me off if I hit)

Ok to the stats and I'm just happy to have made a profit over the last fortnight after a host of bad plays and a few nasty beats.My 'Stars roll will remain outside my main BR for now.

Pokerroom $814,Full Tilt $1174,Ladbrokes $1262,Party $420.Total $3670 ( + $103 since Feb 18th)

Just watched Rangers beat Hibs 2-0 at Easter road with two fine goals from Charlie Adam.I've got a theatre trip on Tuesday night followed by the 1st leg of the Gers Uefa cup game v Osasuna
on Thursday.

Back soon....

Welcome Home

I've gotta start by saying it's great to see The Blogfather back at his old home and firing out his speciality Uber posts again.Bonus code Iggy on Party poker,damnit!

My next piece of news is that my wee cousin ( well he's 25) and I are off to Amsterdam on the 20th for four nights.I've been about 7 or 8 times before and we're staying at the same hotel I stayed in last time, which is only a few minutes from Central station.This will be my cousins first visit and I'm looking forward to taking him on a tour of my favourite coffee shops.I'll be bringing the cards for some HU holdem with my cousin although I plan to try and learn the rules of Chinese poker so we can do the Dam trip Dr Pauly and Change 100 style.

I didn't play too much poker on Wednesday night and on Thursday night Mrs A and I watched Saw 3.It was excellent and better than Saw 2 which was probably the weakest of the lot.Let's play a game...

Last night I went out for a few beers straight from work at 3.30 ( flexi is great) with a few workmates.We headed out to The Primary pub in the westend and sunk a few before I headed home slightly pished at about 8-ish.I'm much more of a smoker than a drinker but it was good to sink a few jars and chew the fat.

Mrs A had friends in, so I joined the S-man and Miami Mark and hit the tables when I got back.I wasn't sure my judgement would be any good and that was confirmed when I flopped a Heart flush,made a big bet,got one caller I put on the Ace of Hearts and then called his reraise when another heart fell on the turn.The "Awfuckits" struck again!

Played a few turbo sng's with no joy before winning a wee $6 ,18 player at 'Stars.The S-man went off to bed and Miami Mark left too so I did the logical thing for someone who could hardly focus on the screen and moved to Laddys to seek out drunker ,stoneder players than myself.

I found a $15 ave pot at a $30 buy-in table and won a nice wee pot with this hand to get me started.This wee all in v a shortstack made me wonder if it was going to be one of those nights and I left to try my luck at a $100 6 max table with an average pot at one point of $88.Honestly I'm not makng that up!A couple of the players seemed to be all in for $100 each with hands ranging from K2 preflop to 2 pair v 2 pair post flop.

I was only there for less than 1/2 hour and I didn't mess about when I did hit a hand.The other villain ( who folded after the $16 bet) claimed he had K10 in this hand and possibly I did bet too much, but overbetting for value Fuel55 style was the right move here as the table was so wild.

I'm not sure if I played this hand correctly as I've been trying to mix things up with sets and having been leading on the flop if I hit.The fact the villain had raised preflop and the board was fairly harmless led me to check but I think I should have checked on the turn and tried to induce another bet.My feeling was that if he had the big Ace he represented then hopefully he would reraise and as I'd been tight I didn't think he'd put me on the nut 67.With hindsight I don't think he had an Ace at all and he probably wasn't putting much more in the pot.

I'm nowhere near writing up the strategy post I promised and to be honest although I'm a winner ( $1123 profit) at them over 646 sng's ,I don't have anywhere near enough experience to start telling others how to play 'em.( That probably won't stop me having a go!).

I do have a decent number of first places and one of my wee tricks when Heads up, which seems to be working recently, is to limp and fold to a raise several times against an aggressive ego driven player, and then limp again when I pick up a strong hand.I won't slow play and will push all in over the top when he makes his bet and at the levels I play at most times they seem to call.

I'd love to write more about HU play etc but so much of it is based factors like feel,instinct and how the momentum in the game is going.

Ok, back with a stats update tomorrow....

Oh does anyone know what's happened to Derbywhite and his blog? My Chinese aint so good!