I am Judith Chalmers!!

Well i'm back from our short break,we got a good deal at the Copthorne Hotel in Windsor (strange,it was actually in Slough but they obviously think Windsor sounds better!!!) 3 nights b&b and 4 family passes into Lego Land. The kids loved it,loads of good rides for them,the only problem was i'm scared shitless of heights!! and the kids wanted to go on every scary roller coaster thingys there! fair play to them,they loved them all,and being super dad i had to try to look like i was having a great time,not looking like i was about to have a major heart attack just after cacking my wack!! any how,i,d recommend Lego Land if you;
1.are a real man,not a spineless wuss like me!
2.dont mind 1 hour queues for a 3 minute ride! (tricky to avoid if you have to go half term like we had to)
3.take your own food in,i'm not tight but food/drink in there is a fucking rip off!
4.book a local hotel so you can do all the rides and keep the kids happy!

So back to work/school etc. Monday night back to poker,same old story,$5 stt,bowling along nicely,get KK,i shove AI after a hefty raise,matey calls with 88 & rivers an 8! then a $10 stt,on the bubble but a bit short so i shove AI with 99,matey calls with A4,i flop a 9 to make me un beatable,unless the clown catches 235, which of course he did! wp coco & gd nite!
o well,at least i had a nice break, gd luck all..... laterz

Off on hollybobs!!!

Gd couple of nights for me,a huge $20 up in 3 stt's!!! now only $5 from where i started from!! may not sound to good but up to $270ish then had a dodgy spell and went down to $165ish,i cant sustain $100 down swings so lets hope i can carry on up! no poker now till monday at least,going away with wife and kids ,the break should do us all good,i hope to come back refreshed and tear up the tables!! gl all... laterz

They think its all over,it is now!

3 quick stt's last night,won 2,ballsed up the other! i did however register for the laddies Player Point freeroll tourney that started at 9.30. had a fag after the stt's,got another pint of... and prepared to take this baby down!! 743 other people also had the same idea so this could be tricky i thought.I always start ultra cautious but in hand 3 (yes 3) i get AK suited late,matey before me raises to 120 so i call hoping for a good flop,sure enough the flops K high,yeeehaaaa! matey slaps a 200 bet in which i suspect is a c bet so i raise him double,he then shoves the lot in,now whats the chances of;
1.. he's got AA
2.. i call
ans..good and good!! And that was that,not sure i was first out but i must be fairly close to 1st!! not to worry,ive still got enough PP's for another go soon,maybe i'l bust out 4th hand for some improvement!!! gl all laterz.

Nurse,Doctor....Heeeeeeeeeeelp!

Week off work now so i thought i'd slip a couple of games in this afternoon,1st one a stt,i finished in top 5 for a stella $10!! looking at the tourney schedule i registered for a $5 mtt,78 runners,gtd $300. 2nd hand i land JJ so thought a swift re raise should help....Except i couldnt as it was a poxy Fixed Limit game!! O no,ive hardly got half a scooby playing NL let alone fixed!! so i bet the piddly amount and 5 people called! was i pleased to see a KJ7 flop!! the player before me raised so i just reraised him all i could on every bet and scooped large style!! a few more lucky hands and before i know it i'm 6 0f 69!!! level 4 and by some miracle i'm up to 3rd!! this didnt last of course,i had to tighten as i realised most people hang around like a dogs fart until the river and hope to catch!! i'm used to being a bit aggro with the right cards (and with the wrong ones!!) so FL is a bit alien to me,i eventually run top pair top kicker far too hard and matey does me with a set at showdown,that cripples me and i exit in 40th. o well.NL in a while!! gl all laterz

Not a happy Chappy!!

Before i start moaning it was possibly my fault tonight for watching the rugby and playing at the same time! But that doesnt help when my AA gets crushed or i go all in well ahead but lose to shitty hands!! i even played 3 HU matches just to break things up...and yes lost all 3,1 on a dodgy play but 2 were when i was ahead,we all know shit happens and ive got lucky a few times,but its fucking irritating when you've tried hard to build up and it goes in 2 nights!! 5 weeks of trying to get better and improve my skills/discipline goes Pete Tong in 2 nights,so thats it,i'm slightly down overall so i'm quitting poker for ever..............well,till monday night!! Seri0usly,its a right arsehole of a game sometimes,ive just got to tighten up a bit for a while and get my bank up,i just hope i can. gl all laterz

I'm a laydeee dont you know!!

1st the bad news! i lost the $30 i won last night,$20 went when i was on the bubble,the blinds were sky high,i raised aipf but my A9 could not beat 1010! a $5 stt went west purely because of my bad play! My 1st game was a deep stack 5000 chip $5 stt,i was going very well,level 3 and i'm 4th with 7.5k. this was due to me getting JJ and finding someone who called 3 big bets of mine with zilch,the pot was 3500,i even bet only 350 on the river to get a raise but he mucked! a 10 to 1 bet and he mucked,very strange!! he got his own back when i shoved all in with top pair only for him to out kick me,i was out soon after that! So i wasnt best pleased but roll on tomorrow! the good news was the chat on the deep stack game,1 of the players was very busy berating a few other players and justifying it by saying he only wanted a laugh. He then asked if there was any girls on the table,so i said yes, me (this would come as a bit of a suprise to my wife,3 kids & the chaps at work!!) From then on he was as nice as pie,until someone outdrew me and he let rip at them!! every time i won a hand he put 'well played babes' with a few x's!! i'm sure he mucked a few hands to me (which was sweet of him!!!) he asked if i minded being chatted up on line,of course i said no! he was very sad when i busted out,'ul,gd nite babes etc!!'
mind you,i'm taking the piss but he probably went on to win,i didnt hang around in case he wanted some pictures!!( of my 6"2' 15 stone body,now that would have shocked him!!) Very childish i know but i thought it was funny! hope he doesnt read this fucking blog!! gl all laterz.

Dirty 30!

Well it seems like i'm on a mini-stake mini hot streak!! played 1x $10 & 1x $20 stt last night & finished top 5 in both (pays top 5 2x buy in) The $20 game was actually the easier 1,got a few hands early that got paid off so i had a cushion and didnt have to risk shoving with fa as the blinds got dizzy! With the blinds at 200/400 the last 2 players to go had only about 1k each so they had no choice and got picked off!! The $10 game wasnt quite so easy!! Like a retard and forgetting all my ideas of discipline i tried a huge bluff that went badly wrong-AGAIN! Its only the 1st level and i get 78 suited in late position,i raise to 120 and 2 people call,the flop misses me by about 3 years!! its checked to me so i fire a c/bet of 240!! 1 goes but the other 1 calls! the flop was 510K rainbow by the way.If he had paired his K i reckon he'd raise so bollox to him,i whack 600 in,that will show him!! except he goes all in! far too late i realise ive played like a moron who has only got 500ish left,i cant beat bugger all so i fold and type 'nh' and he shows me 88!!! so with only a small stack the outlook is bleak tbh but with some tight play i some how win a few pots (AIPF with AK and 99 helps) and eventually squeeze through to the last 5! I didnt deserve it & 'honest guvnor',i wont try that cunning stunt again.....well not for a while!! Bank now at $277, gl all laterz

Dead to the Reds!

What a bunch of tossers!! dont blame the pitch,injuries,time adjustment or any other bs,just put that shirt on and have some pride!! right,rant over!!
Back to a mini win last night,$20 stt and i manage to make all the right moves for once!! tight early on,level 5 and i'm sitting pretty, above average and only 2 to knock out before its $40 to the remaining 5. i get AhQc and the flop comes JQ7,all diamonds,matey's only got 850 left and shoves,i hope hes on the draw so with some trepidation i call,lose & i'm shortish,win & i'm laughing,he has Ad5c! laddies do me a favour & he blanks so i scoop! No messing about know as i take out the last player with 44 that holds to his QJ all in,i ty,$40 to me! While i'm doing this i'm also in a $5 30 player sng (god,i'm the multi table king!!) this goes ok till i pair my J with not much action,try to take it there and the c/l calls my huge overbet with K high! this time laddies shaft me by putting a K on the river so i'm out in about 20th.o well (sh)it happens!! i would love to play more multi player sng's but laddies hardly have enough small stake action (should i jump ship back to Stars etc,all comments welcome!) Just to get that $5 buy in back i sail through a $5 stt with no bother! BR on just under $250. gl all laterz!

Give me carrots & sugar cubes!!

When you play like a donkey you deserve to lose and there's no excuses!! I played 2 micro stake stt's last nite,the 1st $5 i ballsed up by completely over playing 44!! you know how it is,raise pre flop,the flop has an A so i bet heavy to represent it only to find out Mr call station's got the ace and calls for a large part of my stack!! This is quite late on and the blinds are huge (200/400) so i have to shove with QJ that gets done by K5.Totally my fault for not being patient!! Next game was even sadder play by me, i flop A10 suited in the BB,its limped to me so i raise to 150 (only level 1 so 10/20) folded round to c/o who re raises to 500! i consider he's having a chuckle so push the lot in (about 1250),he calls with AJ. Oooooooo fooooooook!! its only a $2 game but thats not the point,i played like a donkey!! England v Ruskies later so may not play till tomorrow. gl all laterz

Moving on up!

1st game tonight & i decide to play a $20 stt,it nearly backfired as i didnt get a hand all game! i had to work really hard to survive and hope the others knocked themselves out,luckily they did,why late on 2 of the big stacks went to war with each other i dont know,in this format the last 5 get double the buy in back,there was 7 left,2 of which were down to about 3xBB,this helped me to hold on for my $40 return,ironically after we had all cashed,my next 2 hands were AA & 10 10!! could have done with them earlier to stop me sweating! Next game was a disaster,only $10 and full of lemons! i waited for ages then got AK suited,i raised early to 150 and got 1 caller,the flop was 48Q,hoping it missed him i bet 300 more,again he only called,the turn was a 10,so i bet 400,and yes he called again! river was a 5 but i'd given up by now,i knew he'd do whatever i would,we checked and he had 87 for a pair,all that fucking way,all those calls and he couldnt lay down a poxy pair of 8's!! Maybe i,m the lemon for overplaying AK but maybe not!! a little while later & i,m all in for my last 500ish again with AK that fails to out do QQ! Ho Hum,next plz!! Finally a $5 game (no $10 or $20 available) i start slow as i keep getting A5,A3,KJ etc but dont want to risk it too early,the standard here is dire!! 2 medium stacks go all in and both show the same hand KQ o/s! Maybe when the blinds are high and players are short but its not a hand i'd risk that early!! Eventually we lose a couple,i'm in the BB with A7 suited & shorty goes all in for his last 450, he could have anything as he's near death so i call,he has A6,WHAT A CALL,I'M GOD!!! Except for the 6 on the turn so i kindly double him up!! however i remain calm and when another small stack goes for it,i call with AQ,looks like i'm Father Fucking Xmas again when he shows AK but i spike a Q and he's out,most players go ape shit when they get out drawn or get sucked out but seem to forget when they go in behind only to finish on top!! that lucky Q put me nicely safe and its not long till the 6th player exits, 2 from 3 isnt bad,i'm now on $234. Progress is painfully slow but its only been about 5 weeks on Laddies,much more to come i hope!! gl all, laterz

Three little ducks!!

A couple of small stt's tonight,1st a huge $2 game!! no problems here,more important for me to be disciplined and wait for hands(strangely enough i was dealt A9 o/s 3 times in a row in the 1st level,all early position and didnt play them once!! hows that for low stakes discipline!!!?!) for $2 most players will call any bet so bluffing is fairly pointless! next a $10 game,finish in the top 5 for double the stake etc. to start of everyone was tight (must be reading the same books/forums as me!!) then at level 3 (25-50) half the table goes loopy! i just wait for a biggy and go 'loopier' knowing i'm miles ahead and will get a call! 10/10 and a A104 on the flop was enough to double up,matey called my all in with A7 off,ty fishy! i then tightened up again,played hands hard when i got them and let the others spew their chips!!ty,give me my $20!! i said that this week i want to play higher,maybe stick to $10 games and knock the $2 & $5 ones on the head,the level of play is no more of a threat to me but the rewards are more (even these are small,must multi soon or play mtt's!) BR is $222 (hence the blog title!) gl all laterz.

WSOP glory!!

Well it was actually on the tele as i played!! a couple of quick $5 stt cashes, 1 $5 loss,then a $10 stt win.gg me, as they are equal top 5 payouts its not a fortune but my BR is now $215, i only lost the one game because of getting outdrawn,the rest of my wins i thought were fairly easy!!
maybe from next week its time to up the stakes again or try multi table sng's. its a tricky call,i know i'm good enough but all it takes is a bad run at $20 tables for my $200 BR to dive pretty quick,of course i could win!! gl all laterz!

Doctors and Nurses

Never did get the home game going,wifey was taken poorly so i had to cancel,will have to re arrange it soon.I did play on line of course,won 4,lost 2!! it was the equal payout to the top 5 stt's, the 1st ($5) one i ballsed up by betting far 2 much with 66,matey waited till the river to get his flush! i was out soon after when my 99 all in was beaten by 10 10! 2nd game ($10) in the 1st level i got JJ, there was 2 all ins before me (even that early!) i guessed AK & maybe 10,s or the like,well it was AK and 66, with my luck that early in the game i mucked!! the flop had a K but the river was a J!!! could have had a right result,oh well. then in level 3 i get the dreaded KK! no messing i'm all in and get 1 caller with JJ,again the river has a J!! & thats good night for that game!! poxy KK,it never holds for me!! from then on (game 3) it went better,winning 4 on the spin,allthough 2 were only $2 games. i actually went all in with KK and they held (about fucking time!!) so i ended on $202.

Not winning,but winning!

hi all,only managed 1 game yesterday,a piddly $2 stt where the top 5 get equal payout ($4),hardly a fortune but it killed 20 minutes! obviously at these levels players tend to be errrrr....whats the word? .........oh yes ....SHIT!!! (sorry but they are!!!) in the 1st level 1 went out after calling an all in with KJ,and by level 3 there was only 7 left! the good thing was i was 4th in chips and i hadnt won a hand!! in fact i'd only played 1 hand,mucking A8suited on the BB after my 120 bet was re raised all in (i was probably facing 84 off but who knows!!) so after the 6th player donks all his chips off we all get $4,1 hand played all game,i hope to meet these players at $5,$10 & the $20 stt's!! no lappy poker tonite,a homegame at mine,will let you know how it went. laterz

Reading and learning!

Only had time for 1 $5 stt last nite,i have been reading loads of forums (the excellent raise the river.com and a few others) and poker sites for any ideas to improve my game. i seem to be playing pretty much as they suggest,being very patient for the 1st few levels then opening up as the blinds increase and numbers fall. I still beleive i can beat the larger stake stt's but with only a $200 BR it seems i should stick here and maybe $10 for the time, again advice from the forums. last nights game was a bit of a doddle tbh,the only hand i played in 3 levels was 10 10,i bet 4x BB (25/50) pre flop,the BB called,flop came A5Q,not good with overs so i just called,like me he hadnt played a hand so when he bet 250 i mucked and showed my 10's and he showed his AK! Saved a few chips there!! i was quite happy to play tight until level 5,(folding if i suspected i was behind or if a draw was missed) a few people had been rash and payed the price so i waited for a biggish hand and doubled up,its good to appear weak with a mini raise etc,people then try and blast you off the pot,i re raise and they pay no attention at all before shoving what they have left which then becomes mine...ty!! the last hand before we all got $10 shows the level,SB goes all in & the BB calls, its 5/7 suited against 22!!! Neither of them were desperately short but another player didnt have enough to complete both the blinds when they got round to him!! A bit of patience and they would both have been ok. Crazeeeee!! oh well thats their fault,long may it continue!! Bank is $200,no play tonite,roll on wednesday.gl all, laterz

I Khan do it!!!

Great telly 2nite,watched the French do the All Blacks then Amir Khan clinically dispose of a slowly moving punch bag!! Love or loathe the French,they were behind and getting outplayed but came back strong and showed guts and determination to end up winners (is that a lesson to all of us when we are going through a rough time on the tables!!) We face them next sat in the semis,should be a good one!! anyway after that i could only be bothered to play mini $5 stt's. at that level its a good exercise in patience,you know half the table hasnt got a fucking scooby and will call anything,so i sat through 3 levels,picked my spots and moneyed twice. the only hairy moment was going all in against the chippy with 99.he called and showed QJ. 50-50 i guess till he flopped a Q!! but hey presto a turned 9 came to my rescue. to end the night i nipped down to a $2 game (what a big hitter i am!) i was taking the piss really,raising nearly every pot if i had any part of the flop or any decent 2 cards pre, then bluffing like a loon if i was anywhere late! i made the last 5 after about 20 mins & took $4!! so 3 games,3 cashes for $24(minus $12 buy ins) BR now at $195,still a fraction down but i'm learning to be more disciplined/aggressive as the situation needs it. gl all laterz

Kids,dogs and hamsters!!!

I thought i'd have a multi table experience last nite so i loaded 3 sngs and waited to cane them all!! however 10 minutes in and my lovely kids decided now was the time to wake up and disturb lovely dad!! they are normally in bed and thats it but last nite was a nightmare! they wanted a pee,drink,cuddle,story etc before going back up! doing all that made playing 3 tables tricky to say the least,then my 2 dogs wouldnt settle so i had the right hump,i was up and down from the lappy for ages,my concentration was shot!! just when it all quietened down my boy came down again and complained that his hamster was making too much noise!!! In all this commotion i managed to cock 2 games up by not being able to pay full attention and the $20 table (which i should have breezed through!) ended when i shoved on the button and got out flushed!! so $40 down,time for a break,fag and regain my composure before i did any more!
Finally peace at last,time for 2 $20 sngs,i REALLY concentrated this time and finished in the top 5 both times to recoup my losses (- a bit of fees) Tonite there will be 1 table at a time,only $20 tables (lower 1's are full of idiots) and no play till i'm convinced the kids are well and truly asleep!! gl all. laterz.

How many times can lightning strike ffs!!!?

After getting shafted last night it was straight in for more torture! i started with a $10 1 table sng,level 3 and i'm 1k above average & playing well. 2 hands in & i'm gutted! KQ in my hand,the flop goes 3KQ,soooooooper!! i raise to 450 to show a bit of strength,1 caller(the chippy),turn is a j,now i dont like that card,if mateys got A10 i'm up the creek. so as ive got 4k left i shove 1k more,another call,rivers a low card so if mateys on the draw he's missed ( i hope!) another 1k gets thrown at the pot but this time matey goes all in for 7k.gulp! this could be a go at getting me off! so like a div i call.... and see the JJ. fooook! for the 2nd night i get it all in with what i think is the winner,only to be against a set- o well,gg,gl,blah blah!!!(up till then i was convinced i could get top 3 no sweat so i had the right hump!!) still peed off i play bollox in the next 1 and go out quickly. next a $20 sng,plays the top 5 $40 etc. i tighten up and stroll this without even remembering any key hands!! a bit here,a bit there etc and i'm back!! as its late i play the same format but $5. i really should multi these,its a doddle,20 mins later and ive got double the chips of the 2nd geezer,10 mins later and a huge $10 is banked! all i did was wait for any thing half decent and hammer it,you cant bluff at these pissy limits,every numpty calls,patience pays off! right,i'm over sulking about the cooler hands,bank is $187 so tomorrow i must get it back up. gl all.

Queens are Bitches!!

Ok,i lied!! While waiting to see the goals that Chelsea thrashed Valencia with,i hit a $20 single table sng,and what a mistake that was!! for 20 minutes i sat and folded (no hands and extreme patience!) into level 3 and im down to about 1400 (any raise and i didnt even try to defend my blinds!) so i,m in late position and get 10 10, hurray,a fairly ok hand!! its called round weakly to me so i raise to 250 (blinds at 25/50) only one caller. flop comes Q105 rainbow,yippee fucking do!! cant scare anyone off but i do want to build the pot so another 250,again matey calls.turn is a 7,i check to get a bluff from him,hoping he's got AQ,A10 maybe 2 pair. It works,he goes all in and i call (ive got him covered) the sneaky tw@ has got QQ for the bigger set,how the hell else should i have played this,i'm destined to lose whatever i do but thats 3 nights on the spin that i'm down and i'm not happy!!! roll down to $182!! laterz

Give it a rest guvnor!

well after monday nights calamity tuesday wasnt a lot better!! 1st game i managed a 3rd in a 6 seater $10+ 1 sng for a mighty $12! (that will be a $1 profit then!!!) i then procede to run bad through 3 more games before finally winning $10 in a piddly sng,not very good so i wont play tonite, BR down to $213 so i dont want to be on the slide!! laterz

Ooops i did it again!!

Reading various blogs (RTR etc.) it seems like monday is a pretty shitty day on line!! It was last week for me and last night was a right mare! 5 sngs ($5 & $10 single table) and not 1 cash finish!! Maybe its the low stakes but i cdnt have won a game if i'd have carried on till xmas!! 1 game i went all in with A9(i was the shorty) on a A57 flop only for matey to have A5 so i'l let him off,but the rest was pure pants! I'd get QQ raise 5x get 2 callers then the flop would have A & K! got beat set over set etc. Last game when on the bubble i give it the bejeezus with 99,only to be faced with 10 10!! just 1 of those nights i suppose! get over it and make them pay!! BR down to $230. laterz