Why bonuses and promotions are important to a grinder!

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This is just a quick post to show how (at the stakes I am playing at the moment) bonuses and promotions can make a difference in your earning ability!

Monthly Stakes - 2446.06

Monthly returns - 2651.36

Monthly Profit - + 205.3

Monthly ROI - 8.39%

Now add in my Promotions and Bonuses

Gladiator Promotion - +16.43

Monthly Leaderboard - +29.93

10K Gladiator Freeroll - +76.47

Weekly Leaderboard 250 freeroll - +0

Total Monthly Profit - +328.13
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Total Monthly ROI - 13.41%
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And this doesn't take into account the points earned which are contributing to my reload bonus that will mature later this month.

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So as you can see, qualified tournaments and leaderboards can make a vast difference to your statistics. They can turn a losing month into a break even one or a winning month into a better one.
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Do not think any bonus is too smalll to be earning ... you'll be surprised how they will add up over a lifetime of poker.
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Until Next Time
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Keep it Tight!

Bad weather hits me in the pocket !!!

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Until now the snow had been a welcome break from my dundrum, hotel life in London. It meant I had an excuse to go home and not go back until the weather cleared.

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However as a "semi-proffessional" gambler ...

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... yep that is what I am now calling myself as about half of my earnings now come from gambling!

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I'm not saying I can live like I used to ... my monthly income is about 1/4 of what I used to earn, then again my monthly outlay has dropped considerably too!

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Still I am always looking for additional markets to add to my portfolio.

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So with many of the race meetings and sporting events being called off because of the weather it means my only source of income during this inclement weather will be poker. Which, incedentally, is giving me the least return for my efforts.

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So heres hoping for a warm spell to clear the grounds and courses all over europe ... otherwise i may be sitting beside our dog waiting to see what scraps i can pick up!

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Until next time

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Keep it Tight!

PartyPoker.FR Leaderboard Pays Off

Not a big pay off but a nice little bonus.

I finished 56th in the monthly tournament leaderboard for a 35 euro bonus ...

... and for finishing in the weekly leaderboard I again got to play in the weekly leaderboard 250 euro freeroll.

Despite doubling up early with JJ against 3 opponents and then losing most of my stack KK against AA, I managed to manouver my way to the final table as the short stack.

From there on in I was never going to win it but I did manage to push and fold my way to 4th place for another 25 euro.

So how many sit and goes did I have to play to get to this position?

A measly 503 SnG's in the month...

... I don't think I can play any more than that with the time I have ...

... but I will try!!!

Until next time

Keep it Tight!

Is this what they mean when your "On a Heater"

What an unbelievable run of form I'm on at the moment.

Its as if I'm in tune with the game!

If I have a big hand I can get it paid off ...

If I have to bluff, its the right amount to get a fold ...

When I have to push I get called by a worse hand ...

... and when I need some luck I'm getting it.

These moments have led to me having my longest ever run of 20 double up SnG cashes in a row before losing one.

This is when Poker is at its best!

So now .... now that I have probably cursed my game by airing this joy ....

... I must remember to re read this post when I hit my next downswing.

You can't win them all ... but this feels damn close to it!

Until Next Time

Keep it tight!

Made it ... but Oh No!

Yep I made the PartyPoker.FR weekly leaderboard ....

Yes it was relatively easy to reach ...

Yes I got my entrance to the 250 euro guaranteed ...

Yes there were only 43 entered ...

... a great chance for just under 100 euro first prize!

But OH NO!

I had to go out the evening of the tournament.

Basically I could squeeze 45 minutes out of the tourney, and after 30 minutes I was sitting in 9th.

So my plan was to try a gamble double up and then see if I could leave the tournament running and fold into 6th place prize money.

Just my look when I push my A7 suited as I was leaving for the pub that another player called with QQ. Despite two of my suit on the flop his hand held up and I was out.

So the moral of the story is ...

If you are going to try and qualify for a tournament, at least know you will be able to play it.

Until Next Time.

Keep it Tight!

Going for the PartyPoker.FR leaderboards

This week I have decided to try for the French Weekly Leaderboard. This starts on Mondays at 00:01 and finishes Sunday night at 00:00.

Top Player gets 250 euro

2nd and 3rd get entry to the 250K guaranteed

4th to 150th get entry into the 250 euro guaranteed tourney

Up until Yesterday I had played every night from about 8pm until midnight 4 tabling 3 euro Double Up STT. This had gotten me into 84th position. However I didn't play at all yesterday as I was travelling back to the UK, now I have dropped to 135th.

So still on target for my target 250Euro tourney entrance.

At present on these stakes whilst still building my French bank roll there is no chance of reaching positions 1-3 .... I'll save that for a later challenge.

The side effect of this effort is that I was also 85th on the monthly leaderboard where cash prizes are paid to 100th. However after my little break yesterday I have dropped back to 109th.

So my new target is to also hit the top 100 on the monthly leaderboard.

To give you an idea of how my French Bankroll is progressing (now just over 300 euro with bonuses from my initial deposit of 100 euro) I have posted my latest Sharkscope Graph.

So heres to another afternoon of SnG grind!

Until Next Time

Keep it Tight!

Slowly coming to terms with the French game!

After a couple of months on the small stakes tables I am finally making some progress on PartyPoker.fr.

As you can see from my sharkscope SnG graph I am at last making some profit. Add this to my small multi tournament 3rd out of 51 last night my account is sitting at 185 euro (initial deposit of 100) and I am 80% of the way through a 40 euro bonus.

So I am feeling a little more at home on the poker tables here in France.

All I need to do now is start increasing the stakes I'm playing at ... same old story eh?

Until Next Time

Keep it Tight!

A small live win!

At last I have got another live win to add to those of Gala Casino Leicester circa 2008 and Paris Casino Las Vegas circa 2007.
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Yes it is the Victoria Inn Truro Thursday night pub league.
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First off a little about the Pub ...
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It is in a village called Three Milestone just on the outskirts of Truro City. A very nice pub that has previously been ticking over ... until recently.
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Under new management it has had a full refit of TV's in the Pool room, new carpets and a splash of paint in the bedrooms.
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The food there has always been fairly good but has now got a very reasonable Tuesday steak menu to add to their existing varied offerings. In addition to this the new management are starting to add a few events to the weekly calendar and this Thursday I was able to sample the new Thursday Poker League.
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Now I have played pub leagues before but it has to be said that this one is one of the better ones I have played in.
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Firstly the guys that run it have 4 good quality poker playing surfaces with padded edges, non dog eared packs of cards and a reasonable set of chips.
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Secondly the people that play in it want to play poker and not just hold 2 cards whilst they drink. You can hear from the table chat that they play regularly together a few times a week and enjoy their games.
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The format is a NLH freeze out, £4 buy in for 2150 chips starting blinds of 25/50 with about 1/2 hour for the first level then 10 minute (approx) for the rest of the levels. You have to bear in mind the game has to be finished by closing time and with 32 players max the levels have to be quite short.
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So on Thursday they had a full complement of 32 players (sign in at 19:30ish to get a place for an 20:00 - 20:15 start).
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I just took it steady for the first couple of levels not winning any hands at all until, with about 1500 chips left, I got into a hand by completing in the SB after the lady on my right had called in the BB. Three to the flop I had AK and on a flop of A## all hearts I didn't like the fact that I didn't have a heart (no pun intended!). The lady put a small bet in so I called, no heart on the turn and she goes all in for 700 more, I deliberate then call. Q of hearts on river and I think I'm dead but am forced to call leaving me 400 chips. She had AQ no heart ... gutted!

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AK pre flop should be reraised I know ... but we would have ended with the same result!
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Anyway with the blinds raising immeadiately after to 300/600 I couldn't wait for a decent hand and had to put my chips in. Luckily I had AJ on the button and managed a triple up. Then I had another triple up before the blinds had reached me again holding a better A high than the next highest A7 high.
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Then came the hand that gave me the chance to the final table:
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A lad who had been raising with weak holdings raised to 1800 and only the SB and BB were behind me. I look down at A9 and thinking the lad was 1800 all in I raised my stack all in to isolate him. The blinds fold and then the lad asks how much is it ... he moves his arms aside and there I saw enough chips to have me covered ... whats more he'd called .... Damn!
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Any way he had A2, I dealt the flop turn and river really quickly not wanting any agony and my A9 held ... wow! ... I had masses of chips.
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With high blinds and plenty of short stacks I didn't have to play a hand to the final table of 9 players.
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On the final table I just played my usual game until 5 left (which was the money) and having identified the tighter players on my left just raised in position to keep me afloat with the blinds.
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I did get very unlucky ... then lucky with 3 left when I put a guy all in holding 99 and he made a stand with 9T ... T on the flop and I was feeling crushed ... 9 on the turn saved my depression.
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So going in to heads up we did a deal on the £60 first place £30 2nd place by having £40 each and playing for the last tenner with very even chip stacks.
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First hand I get AKos - all in he calls with K7s ... I win the hand and he hasn't enough left for the blind. All his chips are in and my any 2 card hand beats his for the victory.
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Not the WSOP ... but still beating 31 players holding 2 cards.
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Until Next Time
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Keep it Tight!

Settling in and underway

First off a little about France ... (if this bores you just skip to the next section where I will be talking poker) ...

We've been here almost a month now and are settling in nicely .. it is great not getting up until 10am every morning (despite wanting to get up earlier). The problem with getting up later here is that by the time you are washed, dressed and breakfasted all the shops are closed (between 12.00 and 2.00 pm). So I will soon have to set an alarm so that we can get more things done.

We have made a lot of headway with the garden and our attached small building (this needs completely renovating) ... oh yeah and we have already smartened up the bedroom with a fresh coat of paint.

I have lots of photos on my phone but am unable to get them onto the PC so I will post a few in later posts.

However in an attempt to NOT make this my "French Adventure" blog I have also been playing some poker.

As I have posted before, France have introduced some new internet gambling laws. This doesn't stop the individual from playing on non approved sites but it does make it illegal for sites to open accounts with french residents (at least thats the way I think it works). In response most of the major sites have initially blocked French IP addresses so as not to Pee off the French government in the hope that they may get a legal license.

The whole thing is run by an association called ARJEL and a full list of approved sites is available on their website ... http://www.arjel.fr/

So I have opted to initialy join PartyPoker.fr under the affiliate pokerlistings.fr until I have done some more research on affiliates to find out who offers the best benefits. However they are very hot on ID etc so if it wasn't for the fact I have a French bank account I may not have been playing in France.

So far I have started on the low limit tables - up to 6 euro buy ins - and have had a bit of a culture shock ... just look at this sharkscope page of a typical evenings SnG quality (even at the low levels) ....
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First off my initial 100 euro deposit fell to 50 euros.
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However I have played 3 of their 250 euro guaranteed and had 3 cashes -a 16th, a 12th and a final table 3rd out of an average of about 250 entrants per tourney.
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So now with those cashes and a few heads up wins my balance is sitting back at 110 euro.

I am also keeping my eye on the leaderboards and do want to attack the weekly SnG leaderboard just once to see where I can get.

So for now I am very happy with the move, extremely happy with the pace of life here but frustrated at not being able to play the bonuses I am constantly sent by email from my UK gambling sites.
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Some of that will be rectified next week however because I am back in the UK for a couple of weeks; one for work and one for pleasure.
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So Until Next Time

Keep it Tight!

Here we are in France - Not without unforseen events!

So we have arrived in France safely ... that was not the unforseen event!

The engineer turned up to install the telephone line 3 hours early and the internet connection was live the same day ... that was not the unforseen event!

All happy with my connection it was time to fire up Betfair and test the connection speed!

Enter username ... enter password ....

"You are trying to access Betfair from a restricted country!" said the screen.

WHAT! I connected last time I was in France ...

Opened up a poker site ... Ladbrokes ... same message ...

Onto google to see what is happening!

With not much surfin I find out the French government have introduced a new online gaming law (begining of July for Betfair how about that?) allowing only approved sites to allow access from French soil.

Damn .. this is costing me £20 a day.

So what to do ....

First off I have joined http://www.partypoker.fr/ with a 200 euro deposit bonus to get me underway.

Secondly I am investigating whether or not a UK VPN will help .... one thing I do not want to do is something that can get my broadband cut off, so whatever I do needs to be legal.

Thirdly will be awaiting the Betfair european enquiry as to whether the French move is legal under European Law.

If any of my readers have any views of what I can do let me know ... it would be much appreciated.

So from my new life in France ... slightly marred by the unforseen gambling restrictions ... I will sign off this post.

Until next time

Keep it Tight!

White Van Man

This weekend is the one where I finally move to France.

Currently I am sitting in a hotel writing this in waiting to get on the Ferry tomorrow.

For the final leg I have decided to buy my own white van (for two reasons).

1 - This will allow us to take (almost) the last of our things over with us without having to return back with a hire van.

2 - The white van might also be a little part time earner whilst in France; either returning with items for other people or bringing things back for them!

So I have purchased an Iveco Daily - 100,000 miles on the clock (to which I am told the engine is a baby). Drives nicely but so far I haven't had the smooth run in I wanted.

The first weekend I used her for a trip up to Yorkshire. When I got back there was an oil drip around the gear box. Now I know very little of these things, but the garage had a look, cleaned it up and said it looked like residue oil from the service - I wasn't convinced!

So the next trip I went to the boat out by Colchester, and, when I arrived .... yep .... there was an oil drip. So I did what I needed to do and then got it back to the garage for a second time. It ended up to in fact be a diesel leak from the injectors ... which they fixed! So far, there are no more leaky drips ... but ....

The rear tyre now seems to have a slow puncture, although no one can be blamed for that. I may have picked up a tack or something at the boat yard! However ... Damn! Damn! Damn! ... there is no way I am going to get that fixed before 9am tomorrow (when I am due on the ferry) and I doubt very much if I can get it changed on a Sunday in France, mainly because France shuts at the weekend!

So it is going to be a limp ... pump up .... limp .... pump up for about 350 miles ... (well it did get me the 180 miles here on one pump up).

And now to add to my van worries it is making horrible metallic noises in the lower gears - like a grinding ... no idea what that is but if it is a problem it sounds expensive ...

Really hope I haven't bought a pain in the ass van!

Anyway, van worries aside ... I have an Orange engineer fitting a telephone line next Tuesday and then hopefully Internet access within 15 days after that!

So the Poker withdrawals might not be too harsh ... the Van worries will probably keep me occupied ... aagghhh they were supposed to be aside ....

Until Next Time

a bientot

Oh ... and

Keep it Tight!

WSOP near miss!

For anyone whos been reading my Twitter you will know that I have been trying to qualify for the WSOP via Pokerlistings on Bet 365.

I earnt enough points to first enter a 34 player sub qualifier : 1-6 won a super satelite $500 ticket, 7-12 won a $215 WSOP Main event rebuy ticket.

Well in that one I won the $215 rebuy ticket.

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I then also got enough points to enter me for a 34 player freezout winner takes all main event qualifier - this was to be my best chance?

As it happens I went out of the freezout in 14th after a really uneventful tourney.

The rebuy was to be my chance ... 39 entrants ... winner takes all $20,000 package.

I wasn't going to rebuy (at a further $215) and I wasn't going to add on (at a further $100). But patience is my game.

After 3 hours of play there were about 18 left ... and I was the short stack.

However I do think my strongest point is short stack play!!!

Somehow I managed to get myself to the final table with 5 left and the position you see in the picture below as NoEi8ht (I can't even remember how I got there!).

5 left and I have a great image, everyone believes I have it when I bet ... so I bet!

Short handed I obviously open up my range, and for a start they still believe me, then I get the pre flop 3 bet, and I fold (mistake number 1).

It happens again (mistake number 2) and suddenly I go from being a bet dominator to a bet foldinator. With no cards, i am a lost soul on the poker table.

However I then end up getting a JJ and an AA to take me to second in chips with 3 left. At this point, after about 5 hours of play I can hear those Vegas bandits a jingling.

With the big hands and my image restored I manage to play the chip leader d0dd087 off of a couple of pots without having to worry about ZZ1000 who was being really tight passive ... d0dd was my target and if I beat him I have the Vegas prize. On the button he raised any 2 cards, consistently. On this occasion he raised a little bit bigger which made me think midish pair ... ZZ folded and I sit with A5spades. I thought about folding then called thinking that there are going to be plenty of cards to scare him with my read. The flop paired J77 - no spades. First to act I checked and he continued with a 1/3 pot bet ... I thought for a while and check raised ... (mistake number 3 ... I have little to no outs, just a complete bluff), he called. Turn brought a card that meant nothing. I half pot bet ... (mistake number 4, I have completely nothing with little or no outs) he thinks then over the tops all in ... I have to fold (his mid pair would be good at this point!) preserving about 25,000 in chips.

So my whole tournament hinged on getting too deep with a bluff ... poor play.

The coup de gras that saw me going out 3rd was when d0dd rarely folded the button and ZZ went all in on the SB - desperate I call with 9Tos.

Flop 289 ... turn blank river 8 - he holds A8 - Boom! Gone as was my Vegas dream!

Third was not too bad was it in a rebuy and add on with just my starting chips ... ?

I am sorry I didn't win but I can however take away some plus points from this:

... I don't think these players were muppets and I held my own.

... Don't get involved in a hand with a complete bluff unless you have to!

... It makes me want to qualify for something big!

Soon people I will do something big .... SOON!

Until Next time

Keep it Tight!

WSOP Qualifier ticket

Just finished a WSOP Sub Qualifier on Bet 365 and won a $215 ticket to their rebuy satelite ($13,000 WSOP Main Event Package).

This will probably be my best chance at a shot of getting to the WSOP although I should have a ticket to a winner takes all $20K WSOP package on the 15th June.

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Playing as "NoEi8ht" on Bet 365

Anyway fingers crossed.

Until Next Time

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Keep it Tight!

Love it or Hate it?

Imagine Phil Helmuth as a jar of Marmite ... what side do you think his peers come down on!

This is a preview from the Pokerstars.net Big Game to be aired on June 14th.

I personally like marmite!

Until Next Time

Keep it Tight!

Those Eureka Moments

Unlike the Ancient Greek Mathematician my breakthrough didn't occur to me in the bath. It occurred to me at my Poker Laptop, playing a 10 man STT Turbo tournament with Poker Stove by my side.

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Until recently I didn't realise how stale my game had gotten. Playing the same hands the same way. This was even more evident due to the fact that I was in a turbo tournament (something I do not usually play).

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In these tournaments you obviously can't sit and wait for a hand, you have to get some chips quick - SO HOW?

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Well I realise now that you have to use position, hand strength and a knowledge of the opponent.

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Nothing different here than to a normal tournament then eh?

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Of course not:

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I know how to play different opponents ...

I know where the strongest positions to play from are ...

... and I know what the strongest hands to play are!

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What I didn't know however was the strength of hands in position against the right opponent.

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Not making much sense am I ... what do you expect! Archimedes was a genius with total command over complex mathematical equations. I however only have a rudimentary command over the written word!

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All I can say is I need to do some more poker study with the great poker tool that can be found at www.pokerstove.com.

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I'm sure most who read a poker blog can:

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Calculate their number of outs

Calculate their pot odds

Calculate their implied odds

Make a few moves (squeeze plays, stop and goes etc)

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But do we all understand the percentage chance of any particular hand winning in any situation? I certainly do not!

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So with Poker Stove you can put in your starting hand and the hand you think your opponents may have and Poker Stove will calculate your percentage chance of not losing.

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It isn't automated, and will not give you live information on what you should do in any given situation ...

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... but it will help you predict outcomes and aid analysing past hands.

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I feel it is going to help take me (with a lot of hard work) on to the next level of my poker game.

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I strongly suggest you download this free piece of software and give it a whirl ...

... just don't learn to much from it if you are going to sit at my tables!

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Until Next Time

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Keep it Tight

Can I play this differently?

Yesterday in the Ultimate Bet $4K Guaranteed Rebuy I had a hand about 15 places outside the money that I don't know if I got maximum value out of - I would like some suggestions on how others might have played in this situation.
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The Setup
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Blinds at 600 / 1200 with 100 Ante.
I was short stacked at the bottom of the pile with 14,000 chips after posting SB.
I was dealt AA.
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There were already 4 people in the pot before it got to me making the pot 6,200 as below:
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I went All In hoping to get one caller - all folded and I took down the pot.

A wasted opportunity to get more?

I'd like some differing views on what might be other plays in this position.

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Until Next Time.

Keep it Tight!

1st quarter Multi Tournament Results

Every Month I update the "Jesters Book of Records with my multi tournament performances.

Below I have posted the detail behind those stats.

Click the image to expand the view.

Until Next Time

Keep it Tight!

Getting down with the NET

Yes finally I have succumbed to the "twitter".

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You can follow my "tweetings" at:

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http://twitter.com/PokerWannabe

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In fact there is a method in my madness ...

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Instead of aimlessly surfing the net or watching youtube I am hoping that poker commentary may help my game.

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We'll see.

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Keep it Tight!

A Quick Update

I haven't had much time or willingness to post recently due to a serious illness in the family.

However my Mum is now on the road to recovery and I am starting to get my life back in order after the turmoil and worry of the whole situation.

For now I have just updated the records section at the right of my page to include the games I have played last month.

So I haven't deserted blogging and normal posting service will be resumed shortly.

Until Next Time

Keep it Tight!

Grand National Day

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Yes today is one of the racing highlights, if not the racing highlight of the year. It is also one of the days where I have a pure gamble (no betting in running today ... so expect a loss). I will be doing it old style, off to the bookies and then watch the race in the pub!

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I thought this time I would put my picks down before the race, then when I win my millions you won't all think I've been making it up.

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Nothing new strategy wise this year, I have still used my usual philosophy:

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If the horse hasn't run 30 furlongs or more ... scrap it.

If the horse has been pulled up in its last 5 outings ... scrap it.

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This has left me the following 9 runners:

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1. Tricky Trickster

2. Big Fella Thanks

3. Niche Market

4. Irish Raptor

5. Arbour Supreme

6. Hello Bud

7. Joe Lively

8. Comply or Die

9. King Johns Castle

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So I have chosen what I think is the best of the above an have decided to dutch the following each way to the following amounts:

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1. Tricky Trickster £3 ew

2. Big Fella Thanks £4.50 ew

3. Niche Market £3 ew

4. Irish Raptor £1.50 ew

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So any placed horse will show a small profit.

Any two placed horses or more and it will be my round next!

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I also have a real gut feeling about Joe Lively - which is likely to go off at around 66-1. So not ignoring this feeling I will be wagering £5 win and £2.5 ew.

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Good Luck All

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Until Next Time

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Keep it Tight!

I know I said I don't like rebuys .... but ....

-

-

I have been playing mostly cash games recently with very little success.

So last night I was sitting watching TV and had the need to play a multi tourney.

I scanned UB to see what was available and found that the $4K guaranteed rebuy had just started and was accepting late registration. With only 192 players registered at this point I threw my $3.30 into the pot and was prepared for the usual all in fest that was likely to ensue. However I was mildly surprised to find that the play was a little more solid than I was expecting. After the 60 minute rebuy period I had just used my initial buy in and my double add on to get me to around average chip stack (for a total buy in of $9.30).

During the late registration period the field had expanded to 419 players but was already reduced to about 320 remaining players. Now I like my chances with a reasonable stack compared to the blinds and a 300 or so player tournament that is now a freezeout with over a $4K prize fund.

Anyway I just played my usual game in between watching TV and surfing ebay and watched as the other players went to war .

With about 100 or so players to go and prizes paying to 45th I was sitting firmly in the bottom two players and was looking for a double up.

In a short stack situation I never panic knowing that a double up will take me only one more double away from the average stack. I use an "If you wait they will come" approach.

As if on cue whilst in the BB and with the pot folded to the aggressive big stack on the button he does his usual raise and I all in with my AKos. He calls and I double up number 1.

Well I don't know how many times I did this (it must have been 3 or 4) but I managed to nurse my short stack to the final table ... from 100 out.

Hitting the Final Table

Do not let anyone tell you patience doesn't pay off.

I feel I played really solid to the final table and then let myself down with a badly played 77 with 9 players still left.

In mid position I raised 3x and got called by the BB. The flop dropped QTT. The BB checked and I bet 3/4 pot. The BB re raised me all in. Damn ... why didn't I check and let him try and extract chips if he has the monster, who knows my 7 may have come on the turn.

So now I was the very short stack again with just over $50K in chips.

Once again "If you wait they will come."

Once again a few carefully chosen all ins and all in calls and I unluckily went out 6th with my AK losing out to the big stacks AT. A win in this pot would have seen me with about $250K in chips and aiming four 4th place at worst.

I feel a little unlucky going out with the hand I did, but still $207 added to my poker fund.

Has this rekindled my love for rebuys?

Only if they are not all in fests as I would expect them to be.

Until next time.

Keep it tight!

Pokerlistings $1K Freeroll on Titan Poker

Once again I have hit the final table of the Pokerlistings $1K Freeroll.

I got to the final table with one of the lowest stacks but thanks to the big stack in the BB and me getting KK in the SB I managed to double up to take me into fourth position.

Thats when the cards dried up and I was unable to make any moves into unopened pots.

Still a few of the players obliged by taking each other on and I finished a respectable 5th out of 652 starting players.

Thats a free $50 for my time; a welcome contribution to an otherwise struggling month of poker.

Until Next Time ...

Keep it Tight

I don't like rebuys ... "tell me why?"

I really do not like re buy tournaments, in fact I go out of the way to avoid them.

So imagine my dissatisfaction at winning a ticket to the Pacific $12,500 guaranteed tournament only to find that it is a re buy.

I just can't get my head around the fact that players play with abandon in the hope that they might double up and then just buy in again when they are unsuccessful.

Using that philosophy even Leicester City could win in the premiership if they could replay all their matches and keep only the best results (well perhaps not ... but you know what I mean!).

I just can't play in that manner ... and I guess to beat them you have to join them!

So the fact that the majority of the "guaranteed big prize tournaments" on the net are now re buys to get the prize fund near to the guarantee leaves me frustrated for value in qualifying for MTT's. Either that or they finish at 5am on a Monday morning!

I will have to read the small print a bit better before I enter any future satellites.

On another note though ... bonus whoring pays off again.

A while ago I joined paddy power but never really played there and my account has been empty ... until recently. I got an email saying that there was a free amount waiting for me in Bingo. BINGO?!!

Well I logged on and found a free £1. So I bought 6 free 10p tickets and won a great £50. Still leaving me a free 40p for a bag of chips and a bus ride home!

You see, being tight sometimes can pay!

So until next time

Keep it Tight!

Never been so tired!

Last week was the first week of moving our possessions to France.

We had a quotation of £2700 to move us entirely ... HOW MUCH!

So in my wisdom I decided we can do it cheaper by hiring vans and driving the distance ourselves.

Well our trip last week took the route of a Newhaven Ferry to Dieppe.

Collecting the Van on Friday afternoon we then spent the evening loading what we could and retired to bed early to finish loading on the Saturday. Loading had gone really well and continued to go well on Saturday with all of our items fitting nicely without any room for movement, much like a real life game of Tetris. That was until we got to the mattress. Why are those things so damned heavy. Anyway glad that it was one of the last things to load we managed to set off for Newhaven at about 3:30pm to catch our 9:30pm ferry.

We got there OK and on time and were looking forward to our 3-4 hours sleep in the cabin we had booked. After a really good but short sleep we disembarked 2:30am France time and hit the completely deserted roads.

It really is great driving in France with clear roads and 85 mile an hour speed limits on the motorways.

At about 4:30am the tiredness set in and I could hardly keep my eyes open, and added to the that the van was being buffeted by the storm that was hitting the west coast (we later found the storm had been responsible for over 50 deaths at the coastal towns).

The only thing I could think about was sleeping. Have you ever tried to sleep in the cabin of a long wheel based transit. The seats are very upright and it is freezing. The only way I could get to sleep was for Susan to sleep across the seats and I slept in the foot well.

Anyway we made it and got to the house at about midday. We even unpacked it all in about 3 hours (even getting the mattress upstairs). Mind you I paid for it the next couple of days, I ached and was completely exhausted.

We have saved some money (the trip cost us about £700 - £800), but we have got to do it again to take the rest of our things.

Still if we can save a £1000 then it will be worth it in the long run.

Until Next Time

Keep it Tight!

Stats for January just in!

I can't believe it! .... January is already over!

Where is the time going?

Anyway I have still managed to play a bit of poker in January, despite all the work that has been going on trying to get the house in France sorted.

In fact most of the month has been spent playing a free $50 that Party Poker have given me. I have been playing the .10 / .25 tables there and finally exhausted the bonus at the beginning of this month for a $112.00 free cash out (plus a few more party points that get me closer to another free $10). However this profit will not figure until next months stats.

So of the games that I did play and record in January ....

I played 8 multi tourneys (5 of these were Pokerlistings freerolls) however I cashed in 4 of them including 1 final table.

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I also played a host of cash games where I now earn rakeback.

However not much $$$$'s profit for my poker playing efforts.

In addition to this I have managed to add some bonuses to my bankroll ...

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... some of which is rakeback from http://www.raketherake.com/

... and some of which is winnings from a little Betfair bet which is now giving me a constant, if small, return. Why am I adding betfair wins here?

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Just to explain ... firstly it is only half of my betfair winnings that are being added to my poker bankroll. Secondly, as it is my intention to play higher up the stakes, I need (and want) a bigger playing bankroll ... hence the Betfair cash is being added here as a bonus.

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So, in reality, my graphs are now monthly betting winnings rather than just poker winnings.

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I know the graph looks a bit complex this month but if you have a closer look you will see that it is imperative that all small stakes players should be playing at least one reload bonus AND get rakeback at all times ... it makes a great difference.

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Next post I will detail my newly thought out bankrolling methods and explain why I need more "cash in my roll" to go from the .10 / .25 level to the .25 / .50 level.

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... a level to which I am not far away!

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Until then ...

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Keep it Tight!

Bonjour Mon Ami!

I said this was going to be a very busy year with many changes and so it will be!

The first big change to my life is that I got engaged at Christmas to my girlfriend.

So raise a glass ...



... and join me in a drink to celebrate the great news!

The second big thing happened last weekend.

We have been making frequent visits to france over the past year and these haven't just been holidays. Finally, after months of negotiating and paperwork we are the proud owners of a village property in South West France.



Whats more this isn't just a holiday home ... its going to be permanant!!!

I am really looking forwards to trying a new life there, but have still not yet got the crucial things in place ... i.e. BROADBAND!!!

I also hope that the new gambling laws that the French keep tabling will not get through, otherwise I may be constrained to using just French poker sites. I am sure even then though there will be ways and means.

Luckily I am still managing to play a bit of poker and will give an update on how that is going for the start of the year in my next post.

I hope my new Nationality will not put you valuable readers off, and don't worry, my posts will not be written in French from now on. In fact my French is far from good at the moment.

I will however see if I can check the live poker scene out at sometime in the second half of this year.

So please still keep reading.

For now I'll just say ...

Until Next Time!!

Keep it Tight!

Excitement for the year ahead!

So 2009 is gone and 2010 is here.

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I have put a summary graph of last years poker performance below.

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Thankfully I managed to turn a small profit. However looking back I really did mess about at the small buy in levels ... possibly too much time. As I mentioned before I have tweaked my game a lot and I think I am a far more rounded player with many more facets to my game ... so perhaps this time hasn't been completely wasted.

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I have noticed a trend though over the last 3 years that my profits have been dropping so either I am playing differently or the online world has become a much tougher place to play.

In 2007 I made about $3.5 K profit, 2008 I made $2K profit and this year only $1.3k profit.

So any new years resolutions? Not really, nothing more than I have got to try and play higher.

I am taking half of my profit back to spend so at least I can show something for my hard work. This leaves me a playing pot of about $600. So I am going to use the "20th of my bank roll buy in method" for all games in the hope that I will slowly climb the levels.

In addition I have now found a rakeback that I can achieve so we will see if that small drip feed of "bonus" will aid me in climbing the buy ins.

Away from the poker table 2010 is going to bring many changes but I should still find time to play enough of this game that I love.

All that remains now is to wish everyone good luck for 2010, and heres looking to a prosperous future.

Until Next Time

Keep it Tight!