I make my way down to the casino just after the Liverpool match is over, and we tank Marsielle 4-0 and they never got a sniff of the ball. Great result for a change by the Pool. So got to the Casino about 10.45pm and went downstairs to the Poker Room to see what action was happening.
A bit of joy a different Poker Room manager was on, a female - who was drop dead gorgeous. There was 2 tables going 1) €20-€40 FL 2) €5-€10 PLO. And there were 7 names down for €2-€5 NL, and I pulled the Poker Room manager over to put my name down, and asked her when the table would open. She said it will go ahead once 10 players have there names down, which was good news before I even got started. So off I went as usual to have my dinner, me being very fussy and not very risky on the food front - had yet another steak.
Once I finished my dinner, I dandered over to see what was happening and the table was just being opened. I bought in for €300 to see how the table was playing etc. first of all and we were off and running. I had an American fella to the right of me who didn´t shut his mouth for 1sec, a loud texan who could speak fluent Spanish due to the fact that he lived so close to the Mexican border in his day. I also had a couple of Stuggart fans who were over for the match and thought they could play a bit of poker - total donks. As well as some other horrendous players and the odd decent one. Anyway i´ll keep it short and sweet as i´m about to get my taxi for the Airport home here in 10mins.
I was involved in 3 key hands during the course of the night. First one being early days, I had KJd, called €20 from the SB and 4 of us went to the flop. Flop came down Qd 6d 4d, I checked expecting some action behind me. Check, Check, Check. (sigh) Turn came down 9c
I lead out on the turn for €40, and got 2 callers. River came down a 5s and I bet out €80 hoping for a call or two and giving them the right odds to make the call. Fold and a call and I was happy to take a couple of hundred Euro early doors and it give me a bit of confidence to build on.
So I´m now sitting with over €500 and I get dealt Ah Kc on the button, 5 limpers in and I make it €30, BB calls, and 2 other limpers make the call (including the yank), flop comes Kd 6h 5h and they all check around. I bet €70 into the €120 pot, and they all folded except the yank who didn´t hesitate and moved in for around €160 which I called instantly and said to him flush draw and he said yes, and cheered when he seen a heart hit the turn, but didn´t cheer so loudly when another heart hit the river to give me the Nut Flush.
...and finally my 3rd main hand of involvement was the hand of the night for me. I´m sitting with around €780 and look down to see Ax Ax UTG and make it €25, 2 callers and a Finnish guys make it €100, I hesitate for a minute or two and decide to make it €375, he flat calls immediately and has about €1k behind him. Flop comes Qx 9x 8x and I move all-in and he calls instantly and turns over K K and thankfully the turn & river were no help to him! ...phew :) So there you have it my biggest pot in live poker history - €1,590 (minus the scandless €20 rake which is mental) everytime a pot reaches €500+
After I scooped that pot I shut up shop for about an hour rarely getting involved and ended up cashing out €1,430. Which meant I was €1,130 up for the sesson and on top of last night's €815 profit it was a surreal 2 days of poker making €1,945 in the process and managed to test myself out at both Hold'em / Omaha. I still don't think it has sunken in yet. I didn't make any extravagant moves, just bided my time - played my hands aggressively and my cards held up - I couldn't ask for much more.
...and not a bad omen for my 1st time being in a casino, hopefully my 1st of many successful nights to come.
Adios!
Wednesday 12 December 2007
Tuesday 11 December 2007
Day 1 in Barcelona
Well I can't say i'm new to Barcelona as i've been plenty of times and stayed in Las Ramblas plenty of times and visited all there is to do - apart from the Casino really until last night.
...and you don't have get your eyes opened. I walked down to it from my hotel "H10 Marina" and got there for about 10.45pm and had a nosey about watching people playing blackjack, roulette etc. and more importantly seeing what action was happening in the Poker Room.
So I decided to get something to eat first of all - Excellent steak served on a sizzling dish and chips all for about €18 which you can pay with Cash Chips, which is too handy. :)
So went back into the Poker Room to then see what was happening and there was 3 active cash tables, after asking what they were - 1) was €5/€10 PL Omaha 2) €20/€40 FL and 3) was also €20/€40 FL. So I looked on the waiting list board and noticed there was 7 names down for a €2/€5 NL Hold'em table, so I made it 8 names and pulled the Poker Room manager to see if he was going to open the table, and he stubbornly said "No" and give no explanation. And a few spaniards even pulled him a couple of times and refused point blank. What the fuck was the point in having it up on the board then? Or is there not enough rake in it for them? So anyway that was a bit annoying, so after contemplating for a bit, there was only 3 seats available at the FL and the Omaha was full with a waiting list of 2 people. So I went to the cashier and got €1k and took a seat at the FL only buying in for €500 first of all. I sat down and not being a big fan of limit, I got easily pissed off and fired a few barrels bluffing early doors and cost myself €100 in the space of the first couple of hands. 10mins later and I was down €300 and wondering at this rate, how long it would take me to piss the €1k. Anyway just in time the Poker Room manager comes round the tables asking where "Sparky" was... and after letting him know - he said there is a seat available at the Omaha - which I said yes to. So I think after watching Omaha for a bit and seeing that the average pot must have been around €300 - €400 that my measly €225 wouldn't get me very far, but what the heck - I had €500 in my pocket for another crack at things, if they did go tits up.
So I sat down and for the first few hands I had absolute garbage. And then my first real hand of the night came up, I limped with As Js 3d 5d in MP and the SB completed and BB checked, with 5 in total in the hand. The Flop came out Ax 2c 4c and the SB bet Pot for €50 and the BB immediately called. So as it got to me I moved my €205 in, and couldn't believe it when both of them mucked. But I wasn't complaining to be honest as there was a flush draw on board. So that was the start of things suddenly I have about €350 and things are looking up.
Another round or so passed and I got Ah 10h 8x 9x and limped on the button after 2 people had limped in before me, the SB completed and the BB made it €30 in total - which is just utterly pointless as everybody is going to call regardless, I suppose he's building the pot up but in these circumstances it's just madness. So the flop came down 7x 6x 4x ...which gives me plenty of outs with any 5, 8, 9 or 10 giving me the nuts. So the BB kicked on betting out €80, to which I flat called and so did one other player. Bingo the turn came down a 5x ...and BB bets out €140 and I move all-in for my last €250 or so, the other player gets out of the rode and the BB feels obliged to call as he turns over Kx Kx 8x 4x - no suited cards. Madness and the river came down a blank and I scooped about €780 pot. At this stage I was buzzing, Having recovered a severe loss into a profit in the space of just over an hour.
So over the next hour I sat rock tight and limped in with numerous above average starting hands and couldn't flop anything at all - it was depressing, but unreal to watch the action that unveiled at the table. A Romanian fella named Chuck to the left of me had reloaded for about the 6th time and was in for about the guts of €4k whilst the fella who he pissed all of his chips to had about €6k in front of him, all sorts of coloured chips, coloured blocks representing €1k chips and on top of that he was a cocky prick who sat back reading the newspaper most of the time. But it is hilarious as you sit there at the table and the chit chat is constant between them all "Singing" and having a laugh, as they sing British Songs "Somewhere over the Rainbow" & "Don't worry be happy" and the odd time the conversation would spill into English. So it wasn't too confusing to pick up on things.
So at this stage of the night it's about 3.30am and my mate who I travelled with to the Casino was playing Blackjack, Roulette, Craps etc. had came back to the table who see how I was doing etc. and explained my recovery and he was telling me he made €150 or so, which was to good to see he was in profit anyway. And at this stage I was sitting with similar profit as I had a stack of €660 and told him I'd make it my last round of the table. So my last hand was to be UTG and I looked down and seen 10x 10x 8h 5h and limped in, not a good starting hand at all IMO, but last hand of the night and all that - and I was yet to flop a set, so I thought why not.
So about 7 players in total are in the hand, as the flop comes down 7d 9h Qc and I have an open-ender, the SB bets Pot for €70, the BB calls, I call and Chuck the Romanian Reloading Machine calls. The turn comes down Jd and I've hit the 2nd nut straight and there's only one hand out there beating me obviously. Being K 10. So the SB bets out €50, the BB folds and I announce Pot for €500, Chuck then hesitates for a second or two and then calls. So at this stage i'm thinking to myself he obviously hasn't got K 10 or maybe he's hollywooding his K 10 and trying to get the SB interested, but to be honest I hadn't got him on K 10, probably a set / draw. But my worst nightmare came true at the 9c hit the river. And just out of pity I threw in my last €80 thinking it was dead money anyway. Chuck hesitated and tutted and then mucked. Jesus Christ what was he playing, I just mucked too and scooped in the €1,350 pot and stood up from the table. The timing was perfect. So 1st time in a casino, had a great time and what an end to the night.
So all in all made €815, and leaves me in good stead for going back tonight and knowing how a few of the regulars play etc. and what all to expect. Although I'd still prefer the €2/€5 or €5/€10 NL Hold'em to open up.
Anyway i'll hopefully have tonight's story up this time tomorrow.
Stay lucky.
...and you don't have get your eyes opened. I walked down to it from my hotel "H10 Marina" and got there for about 10.45pm and had a nosey about watching people playing blackjack, roulette etc. and more importantly seeing what action was happening in the Poker Room.
So I decided to get something to eat first of all - Excellent steak served on a sizzling dish and chips all for about €18 which you can pay with Cash Chips, which is too handy. :)
So went back into the Poker Room to then see what was happening and there was 3 active cash tables, after asking what they were - 1) was €5/€10 PL Omaha 2) €20/€40 FL and 3) was also €20/€40 FL. So I looked on the waiting list board and noticed there was 7 names down for a €2/€5 NL Hold'em table, so I made it 8 names and pulled the Poker Room manager to see if he was going to open the table, and he stubbornly said "No" and give no explanation. And a few spaniards even pulled him a couple of times and refused point blank. What the fuck was the point in having it up on the board then? Or is there not enough rake in it for them? So anyway that was a bit annoying, so after contemplating for a bit, there was only 3 seats available at the FL and the Omaha was full with a waiting list of 2 people. So I went to the cashier and got €1k and took a seat at the FL only buying in for €500 first of all. I sat down and not being a big fan of limit, I got easily pissed off and fired a few barrels bluffing early doors and cost myself €100 in the space of the first couple of hands. 10mins later and I was down €300 and wondering at this rate, how long it would take me to piss the €1k. Anyway just in time the Poker Room manager comes round the tables asking where "Sparky" was... and after letting him know - he said there is a seat available at the Omaha - which I said yes to. So I think after watching Omaha for a bit and seeing that the average pot must have been around €300 - €400 that my measly €225 wouldn't get me very far, but what the heck - I had €500 in my pocket for another crack at things, if they did go tits up.
So I sat down and for the first few hands I had absolute garbage. And then my first real hand of the night came up, I limped with As Js 3d 5d in MP and the SB completed and BB checked, with 5 in total in the hand. The Flop came out Ax 2c 4c and the SB bet Pot for €50 and the BB immediately called. So as it got to me I moved my €205 in, and couldn't believe it when both of them mucked. But I wasn't complaining to be honest as there was a flush draw on board. So that was the start of things suddenly I have about €350 and things are looking up.
Another round or so passed and I got Ah 10h 8x 9x and limped on the button after 2 people had limped in before me, the SB completed and the BB made it €30 in total - which is just utterly pointless as everybody is going to call regardless, I suppose he's building the pot up but in these circumstances it's just madness. So the flop came down 7x 6x 4x ...which gives me plenty of outs with any 5, 8, 9 or 10 giving me the nuts. So the BB kicked on betting out €80, to which I flat called and so did one other player. Bingo the turn came down a 5x ...and BB bets out €140 and I move all-in for my last €250 or so, the other player gets out of the rode and the BB feels obliged to call as he turns over Kx Kx 8x 4x - no suited cards. Madness and the river came down a blank and I scooped about €780 pot. At this stage I was buzzing, Having recovered a severe loss into a profit in the space of just over an hour.
So over the next hour I sat rock tight and limped in with numerous above average starting hands and couldn't flop anything at all - it was depressing, but unreal to watch the action that unveiled at the table. A Romanian fella named Chuck to the left of me had reloaded for about the 6th time and was in for about the guts of €4k whilst the fella who he pissed all of his chips to had about €6k in front of him, all sorts of coloured chips, coloured blocks representing €1k chips and on top of that he was a cocky prick who sat back reading the newspaper most of the time. But it is hilarious as you sit there at the table and the chit chat is constant between them all "Singing" and having a laugh, as they sing British Songs "Somewhere over the Rainbow" & "Don't worry be happy" and the odd time the conversation would spill into English. So it wasn't too confusing to pick up on things.
So at this stage of the night it's about 3.30am and my mate who I travelled with to the Casino was playing Blackjack, Roulette, Craps etc. had came back to the table who see how I was doing etc. and explained my recovery and he was telling me he made €150 or so, which was to good to see he was in profit anyway. And at this stage I was sitting with similar profit as I had a stack of €660 and told him I'd make it my last round of the table. So my last hand was to be UTG and I looked down and seen 10x 10x 8h 5h and limped in, not a good starting hand at all IMO, but last hand of the night and all that - and I was yet to flop a set, so I thought why not.
So about 7 players in total are in the hand, as the flop comes down 7d 9h Qc and I have an open-ender, the SB bets Pot for €70, the BB calls, I call and Chuck the Romanian Reloading Machine calls. The turn comes down Jd and I've hit the 2nd nut straight and there's only one hand out there beating me obviously. Being K 10. So the SB bets out €50, the BB folds and I announce Pot for €500, Chuck then hesitates for a second or two and then calls. So at this stage i'm thinking to myself he obviously hasn't got K 10 or maybe he's hollywooding his K 10 and trying to get the SB interested, but to be honest I hadn't got him on K 10, probably a set / draw. But my worst nightmare came true at the 9c hit the river. And just out of pity I threw in my last €80 thinking it was dead money anyway. Chuck hesitated and tutted and then mucked. Jesus Christ what was he playing, I just mucked too and scooped in the €1,350 pot and stood up from the table. The timing was perfect. So 1st time in a casino, had a great time and what an end to the night.
So all in all made €815, and leaves me in good stead for going back tonight and knowing how a few of the regulars play etc. and what all to expect. Although I'd still prefer the €2/€5 or €5/€10 NL Hold'em to open up.
Anyway i'll hopefully have tonight's story up this time tomorrow.
Stay lucky.
Saturday 8 December 2007
Barca on Monday
I've heard the stories, now it's my time to strap a set on.
I'm for Barcelona on Monday to experience my 1st time being in a proper casino and boy am I excited, I've heard they have the juiciest cash games you could possibly wish for. Especially the €5/€10 PLO and €2/€5 NLH. But I think the Omaha will tickle my fancy, I want to try and win a few quid so i'll take the more gambly option.
So gonna bring a few grand with me and try and double it up if I can catch a few cards and play my usual A game.
I'll keep you posted, good or bad.
I'm for Barcelona on Monday to experience my 1st time being in a proper casino and boy am I excited, I've heard they have the juiciest cash games you could possibly wish for. Especially the €5/€10 PLO and €2/€5 NLH. But I think the Omaha will tickle my fancy, I want to try and win a few quid so i'll take the more gambly option.
So gonna bring a few grand with me and try and double it up if I can catch a few cards and play my usual A game.
I'll keep you posted, good or bad.
Where do I begin....
Well it's about bloody time, I finally turned 18 on 27th November.
I'm officially legal to play this bloody game, even though I've been playing online poker for around 7 years - which is more than most people i've talked to throughout the years. I've also been playing live poker since I was 14 thanks to the Northern Irish poker scene never being legalised it allowed me to underhandly join in on the fun and have a lot of success for being so young. So i've been hooked since I was no height.
I feel i've grasped the game brilliantly over my time and have a vast knowledge now, not only in the game but paying attention to many poker forums such as PocketFives, 2+2 & Boards.ie ...and of course my pride n joy which I owned for 3 years and sadly closed this year 1808 Gang Poker Forum where I learnt from such class players as Hectorjelly (Daragh Thomas), badpab2 (Paul Foltyn), sexygee (Dave Gent), Jehovah (Jerome Bradpiece), Moorman1 (Chris Moorman), bullitpete (Pete Haslam) and probably one of Europe's most successful players collins2 (none other than Stuart Fox) ...so i've had the pleasure of being able to pick so many top class player's brains for advice along the way.
Anyway that's enough of me, time to get blogging!
My aim really is to post what goes on in my world of Poker, from online to live and a bit of my social life all wrapped into one.
I play the majority of my online poker at Green Joker Poker which is part of the iPoker network and is by far the best skin on the network offering HUGE Sign-up bonuses, Terrific support and tremendous VIP schemes!
I'm officially legal to play this bloody game, even though I've been playing online poker for around 7 years - which is more than most people i've talked to throughout the years. I've also been playing live poker since I was 14 thanks to the Northern Irish poker scene never being legalised it allowed me to underhandly join in on the fun and have a lot of success for being so young. So i've been hooked since I was no height.
I feel i've grasped the game brilliantly over my time and have a vast knowledge now, not only in the game but paying attention to many poker forums such as PocketFives, 2+2 & Boards.ie ...and of course my pride n joy which I owned for 3 years and sadly closed this year 1808 Gang Poker Forum where I learnt from such class players as Hectorjelly (Daragh Thomas), badpab2 (Paul Foltyn), sexygee (Dave Gent), Jehovah (Jerome Bradpiece), Moorman1 (Chris Moorman), bullitpete (Pete Haslam) and probably one of Europe's most successful players collins2 (none other than Stuart Fox) ...so i've had the pleasure of being able to pick so many top class player's brains for advice along the way.
Anyway that's enough of me, time to get blogging!
My aim really is to post what goes on in my world of Poker, from online to live and a bit of my social life all wrapped into one.
I play the majority of my online poker at Green Joker Poker which is part of the iPoker network and is by far the best skin on the network offering HUGE Sign-up bonuses, Terrific support and tremendous VIP schemes!
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