Monthly Stats + Hats off to Pokerstars!

As much as I try and focus on volume and not short-term results I do still check the Cashier on a regular basis during my sessions and last night when I logged on I did seem to have a slightly higher balance than I remembered.Now considering I was remembering the balance I'd last viewed at 3am after many many smokes,I didn't think much of it.

I've just checked my emails and found one from Stars support letting me know I've been refunded $67 as I played against other players who were breaking Stars terms and conditions.The nature of the rule breaking is confidential ( I'd love to know!) but well done to Stars for picking up on it and issuing refunds.

Now all they need to do is create a $15 6 max hyper turbo level as the jump from $7 to $30 is too much.

Stats for Dec 1st-31st: Pokerstars $4736 ( + $749) Party $604 ( =)
Volume = 1127 games.( mostly 6 max hyper turbos) Total Profit $749
Total Bankroll $5340.

Managed to come close to my record last night,playing 106 sngs over the course of the evening.It gets a bit fast and furious but I can now 8 table the 6 max hyper games ( in one stack) and if I can 8 table those games I reckon I could probably play 10-12 full ring turbo's/Mtts.

I'm only 246 vpps from Goldstar status this month and with an exciting Hogmanay at the tables planned I may just achieve that by midnight.

Thanks to everyone who has read my witterings over the last 12 months and especially to those who take the time to comment.This blog may not be read by millions but with an aging population and the number one spot on google for the phrase "senile old bassa" the only way is up.

Enjoy your Hogmanay and may you have a healthy and happy 2012 with plenty of run good at the tables.Back soon....

Funeral Songs+Ramping up the Volume

Just a wee post today and I'll stick one up tomorrow with my monthly stats.I had a great Xmas with my folks and discovered that eating a curry for Xmas dinner beats the crap out of the traditional turkey meal.My wee nephew ( 18 months) loved his toys, although I think the adults were keener on the wee toy plane that turns when it reaches the end of a surface and never falls off.

My dating run good continued before Xmas when Rugby Shirt girl sent me a text an hour before we were due to meet to say she was still in her home town and running way behind schedule.I sent her one back suggesting we meet up another time and hopefully we'll do that early next year.With my 40th and impending mid-life crisis coming up next year I intend to step things up on the dating front and try and step outside my comfort zone a bit more in general too.

My football teams run good has also run low after losing the Old Firm game to our bitter rivals the other night.We did score a goal which was wrongly not given ( ball was over the line but ref didn't see it) but overall we didn't create many chances and probably didn't deserve to take anything from the match.We're now 2 points behind them in the league although we're only half way through the season and have two more games against them.

On the poker front I've played 425 sngs since Dec 23rd and I even had another night of Mtt's where I managed 6th place in a $25 Hyper turbo game for $600.( just under 600 runners) That was my only Mtt cash though and with all the other buy-ins included I was only up a couple of hundered $$ that night.

I mentioned I've been reading the latest book by Devilfish and although most of it contains wild stories about his life and poker play I have taken one lesson from it from it.He writes about how when a degenerate gambler wins money he doesn't see it as banked winnings but as fuel to be used to try and win even more cash.Although I don't aspire to be a degen gambler type I do like that way of thinking about my bankroll.

I've been trying to persuade myself to get down to the casino to play some more live tourneys.I do enjoy live poker but it's just so slow and playing one £22 game for 4-5 hours live when I can wager a couple of thousand per night playing hypers just doesn't have much appeal.Perhaps stepping up and playing a £50 buy-in might get my juices flowing a bit more.

Without wishing to get too morbid I was asking my parents about funeral arrangements etc the other week.Like anyone I dread anything happening to my folks, but I would like to be prepared and know their wishes etc.Anyway they asked what songs I would like played if anything happened to me and as I've not written anything down anywhere I thought I'd use this space!

I'll resist going for Highway to Hell/Road to Hell type stuff and instead if I bite the dust in 2012 I'd like the Pink Floyd songs "Brain Damage" and "Eclipse" ( the last two tracks on Dark Side of the Moon) played followed by Cat Stevens "If you want to sing out" with Frankie Millers "Caledonia" to finish!

Thanks for reading.Back soon...

If I had the wings of a sparrow...

I mentioned the girl I went out with a couple of times in September has been back in touch and we've been exchanging text messages all week.Without going into all the details the text chat started out with her telling me about seeing Pandas and building bears with her niece and somehow moved on to her telling me that experience would get her a job as Santas helper and me saying she'd look cute in an elf outfit or a few other outfits I could think of.

To skip forward a bit I said I was jealous that she finished at 2pm tomorrow as I had to work until 4.15 before finishing up until Jan 4th.She replied saying that she would come and sit under my desk tomorrow afternoon and that 4.15 would come in no time.Lots of winks and smiley faces in our texts and more were exchanged along similar lines.

She knows I work for a big company and I certainly never gave her the impression I have my own office or anything and that made todays text message exchange even funnier.

I sent one this afternoon saying I'd made space under my desk and that I just needed to get her a security pass,adding that I hoped she was still free tomorrow afternoon/evening.I stuck the obligatory smiley face thing at the end of my message.

I was in a bookshop at lunchtime reading the new book on Dave "Devilfish" Ulliots life when her reply came in ( no smileys or winks this time) and I was cracking up with laughter all the way back to the office.

"Really?! Are u wanting me under your desk tomorrow?"

Maybe you had to be there! We've arranged to meet up tomorrow after work so I'll see how that goes...


No poker content today but I will have a quick rant about the stewards at tonights Spurs v Chelsea game wearing cameras built into their headgear.Now while I would entirely agree there's no place for racism or discrimination in any walk of life, apparently they will also be looking to root out fans who are guilty of using foul language.

WTF has football become? There are family sections for those with young kids and besides even without those areas of the ground it didn't do me any harm to hear big bad sweary words whenever I persuaded my Dad to take me to games as a kid.

Football is a passionate game and although the clubs treat us as customers these days and the authorities would much prefer us all to remain seated and silent,it's a tribal game and a big part of that is being allowed some freedom to let off steam,sing songs that wind up opposition fans and generally contribute towards the kind of atmosphere that's in danger of being lost in todays society where looking to be offended has become a national pastime.

I have a season ticket to watch Rangers at Ibrox and apart from one area of the ground where a lot of younger fans get together and create a fantastic atmosphere, most of the ground is sadly fairly quiet on match days.The only exception to this is the Old Firm game and even then I much prefer being part of the away support when visiting our rivals.( Two Pies and I have tickets for next weeks game at the Piggery!)

There's just something about being part of 7500 people making a noise and drowning out 50,000 Celtic fans rustling their sweetie papers.( and I'm sure most Celtic fans would probably say the same about visiting the home of the Champions!)

If I had the wings of a sparrow....

It's Everywhere

Text message exchange with my Mum yesterday.

Mum 4.52pm : Black Ice everywhere.Be very careful

Me 4.54pm: Okdokay

Mum 6.12pm : Are you home yet?

Me 6.13pm :Out at shops but don't worry I'll be home soon

Mum:6.13pm: Good.Watch for black ice.It's everywhere.

To be fair to my Mum, both my Dad and brother in law both slipped on black ice this week.Not much of a shock really.I hear it's everywhere...

To the poker and I did step up to the $30's at the weekend, although I stuck to four tabling and took a few wee breathers whenever I went a set or two of games without cashing.There didn't seem to be quite as many complete spew monkeys at the $30's and although it's only a tiny sample of 82 games I didn't feel out of my depth as far as the level of play is concerned.Not that it matters over 82 games, but I did finish up $74, with two wins and a second place in my last three games of the weekend helping me come out ahead.

In terms of knowing if I can beat the $30's I may need to play thousands of games but even the fact I wagered $2460 and didn't lose most of it helps me feel more confident about playing at that level.

Away from the felt I'm just about set for Xmas.I also got a text out of the blue from the girl I went out on a couple of dates with back in Sept.She went off to New Zealand to watch Scotland play in the rugby world cup for seven weeks and I didn't think she would be in touch again.

I'm pretty hopeless when it comes to all that stuff.It was far easier at school where if you fancied a girl you would simply ask them to "go out" with you and if they said yes you were boyfriend/girlfriend until someone got dumped.Even dumping someone is now called "sacking" apparently!

These days it's "Well I'm looking to date, nothing serious though and I'm not just looking for a shag".Wtf does that mean?! Means you are just looking for a shag but you'd prefer a few dates of wining/dining to try and pretend otherwise!

Right,I've stayed up far too late writing this pish.Back soon...and if not then have a great Xmas!

Zimmer not a Winner!

It's been a bit frustrating at the tables so far this month over nearly 450 hyper turbos.Although I'm just about even at the $7's,I cashed in $75 of "stellar cash rewards" and didn't cash in any of the three $30 games I played with the money.

With $3950 online at Stars I could afford to give myself 100 buy-ins to step up and really try the $30's.I did flirt with the idea of hitting them at 3am last Sat night after a poor run at the $7's but I didn't want to play them in a "chasing losses" frame of mind and I'll maybe give them a shot this weekend instead.

Away from the felt I'm nearly organised for Xmas.My Mum has got the poker bug back recently and has asked for a renewed Sharkscope subscription as a Xmas gift.I thought after buying her a "Build your own Zimmer frame" for her birthday last week that she would be happy for me to choose her present but apparently not...

I'm doing my bit to help reduce youth unemployment by paying Step A to clean my flat as I write this.Apart from everything being "retarded" she's doing a fine job!

Dudley sent me a text earlier to ask about using Explorer 9 with Blogger.I haven't a clue as I haven't upgraded yet.In truth I'm not a big fan of upgrades or change in general.A recent highlight in my exciting fun-filled life was discovering the local supermarket was stocking "original" Shreddies instead of the crappy "new flavour" ones they brought in a few months ago.

Ok,thanks for reading.Back soon...

While Stocks Last....

I've been off work sick this week and I doubt I'll be going in tomorrow or Friday either.There's not too much wrong with me,( some would debate that)however I needed a week off or my head was going to explode.

First of all I had an email from my manager stating I was getting coaching ( which can lead to performance plans and eventually the sack) as my stats were well under the site average.When I pointed out they had my stats wrong and I was only .35 short of target I recieved an apology for any upset caused which I accepted with good grace.A couple of days later they tell me I'm getting coaching anyway as I'm still below the average,even if only by a tiny fraction.

I also waited all last week for the big boss to come and speak to me about what he is going to do about the guy telling lies about my internet use and nothing happened there.

Enough bitching about work! The girl who asked me to go to the school reunion this Sat has sent me a text to say she can't go as she is too skint.She said she could still send me the details, but Sat night is also when the two best football teams in the world clash in El Clasico and it's live on Sky Sports.Both Barcelona and Real Madrid are in good form at the moment and I reckon I'll invite Two Pies round for the occasion.

On the poker front I had a go at some $30 6 max hypers last weekend and after a poor wee run I've gone back to the $7's and won back most of the buy-ins I lost.

I'm still getting a lot more out of Jared Tendlers book than I ever thought was possible.I did see a forum comment which said it was great value at £17.99 for the kindle version. ( the one I have)Although it's more than paid for itself already in terms of improving my mental game, and compared to other poker books it's an absolute bargain,I still can't get my head round £17.99 being great value for any ebook as it's essentially still just a very long email!

I did watch a documentary on Facebook and it must be even more of a licence to print money than e-books.Some bozo playing a virtual pet game actually paid $1 for a fancy duck turd picture which he proudly displayed in a presentational box on his game page.Please take up poker Sir.You could have such fun...

Anyway I've tried pressing a few buttons on my keyboard and as the "virtual dog walk in the freezing cold and snow" button doesn't seem to be working I'd better take Nacho out for real.I'll be taking my pooper scooper with me though and if any virtual pet game fans would like a real piece of turd to stick to their laptop screen I'm undercutting Facebook and going with a 50 cent opening offer while stocks last...