Aspers 1-2 PLH on a Friday!

The Night is young...

I decided I was gonna go back to Aspers Casino in the gate Newcastle after a lengthy absense. I hadn't played in aspers for ages due to the fact that Circus casino has been offering the best value in both cash and tournament poker.

I figured that going and playing some £1/£2 PLH Cash on a friday night had real potential to make a few quid with the amount of pissheads aspers attracts on a weekend. So that was the plan.

It got to like 7-8pm and was ready to go out. Knowing fine well the cash action in Aspers doesnt really start till like 11pm I needed something to fill a few hours in. I thought i'd play a friday night tournament and had only two options. 1. Play £20 NLH F/O at aspers with 130+ runners "or" 2. £15 + 1 rebuy or topup NLH game at circus with about 40-50.

Clowns in the Circus...

I went for the Circus game to pass some time until going to Aspers. I dont wanna go into too much depth about the tourney as it turned out to be one that I would like to quickly forget. lol. After experiencing a table full of fish for the first few levels I made it to the break with about 12.5k and and average of about 9k, so was getting by.


I came back from the break with the intention of loosening up and playing in an aggressive way to try and intise some of the fish to gamble. First hand after I sat down i looked down at KQ on the button. With the blinds at 100-200 and only one limper before me i made it 900 to play. The Small blind passed but the Big Blind shipped all-in over the top forcing me to pass my K-high.

The very next hand and two limpers action gets to me in the cutoff. I look at my hole cards to find exactly the same hand! KQ. I decide to take the same line and make it 900 to go. This time both blinds pass, as does an early limper. Yet i recieve my one caller. We both see a flop of 3-K-10. He leads out for 400 and i raise to 1400. He insta-pushes his stack of 15k in the middle after announcing hes "all-in". I think for a while and reluctantly pass my top pair as its for my tournament life and dont have too many hands beat. I show my K and he shows QJ for an up and down straight draw. Nice to know I was getting respect for my raises. lol.

Ok, after losing a few thousand in the first two hands we were onto the third hand after the break. There was an early position limper (Jed - anyone whos played with this bloke knows all too well his play is limp-fold or check- call all the way with even undercards. total salmon, tuna and stickleback rolled into one.) and action passed to me in late position. I squeeze out my hole cards to my amazement! KQ again!! 3 hands in a row!! So this has now become comical and decide to bet out again for the same amount as the other two hands. 900 to play. The blinds both pass and action is on Jed. He announces "You raise everyhand!" and pushes his stack into the middle and im re-shoved for the third time. I now think they're taking the piss here like and my tilt cant take it. I cant pass here although i should. So I ship my stack in and table my KQh. Jed waits a few seconds and turns AA for a little slow roll to add salt to my brutal wounds. Obv he wins the hand leaving me with 3K. lol

By this point I've lost any enthusiasm for this game and just wanna get out of this Clown filled Circus. Very next hand I look down at one card and see a K! I chuckle to myself and believe the other card could be a Q for comedy value. Anyways I ship my 3k in after only seeing one card and Im promptly called by the monster that is A4. lol. I turn both cards over and hold Kc10d
The board is fired out and as it turns out I make a four-card flush with my K for the second nuts. Would of been sweet if the A4 hadnt been the Ace of clubs. I managed to laugh it off after my earliest ever exit from a live tournament.

From Fish to Sharks.....

I went up to Aspers with GotTilt4 at about 12pm to play cash. We started off a feeder table that was quickly filled. The main table looked pretty tough and full of sharks although I still wanted a seat as I had no idea how any of the players at the feeder played. I sat down with £140 and were joined by unknowns apart from a few I knew that were waiting for a seat in the 5-5 game (Michael Tedder and Latif). I was card dead for most of the game and didnt really get involved at all in the feeder table.

GotTilt4 got involved in one hand with Latif that was a little tasty. Latif straddled to £4 and GotTilt4 raised the pot after a few limpers. Then Latif re-potted from his straddle and the usual speech play started. The re-pot wasnt really a re-pot at all it was an overbet. Of course in PotLimit H this cannot happen but as usual Latif owned the table and stopped the dealer sorting it out announcing "Leave it if the lad is calling he is pushing anyway!" this was a valid point as if GotTilt4 was to call he'd be pot commited anyway. GotTilt4 thought for ages as Latif is soooooo unpredictable. In the end all money went in pre-flop and GotTilt4 found his QQ behind to Latifs AA. No help and Latif scooped. Soon after Latif moved to the 5-5 game where later on lost a £2000 + pot to Raj that looked canny fruity.

My stack at the feeder never really moved after remaining card-dead and was praying for a hand against the now sat down geordie pissheads. I eventually caught a hand heads up against one of these lads and was called on every street with a gut-shot str8 draw only to get there on the river. typical.

My seat was ready for me on the main table and hoped for some real poker. I had to reload another £80 to sit down to give myself a chance against some stacked players. After moving tables my run of shitty cards continued but was involved in a few small pots that kept me a float.
Sqeeeezeee (sure ive been here before)......

A massive hand for me occured quite late on where I found a perfect spot for a big squeeze that failed me misserably at "High Stakes Poker - the opening night" a few weeks earlier. After 5 limpers into an unraised pot action is to me in the small blind with 8-9. I call the extra £1 and plan to see a cheap flop. The Big Blind makes it £10 to play and I plan to pass. Only one other player passed as all limpers called giving me great value to call. So i called the extra £9 and knowing action couldnt be repopped. We see a flop of 6-2-6 rainbow and i check. The BB fires a continuation bet of £30 into the middle. The open limper calls and everyone else passes. Now the action is on me and the sqeeze is perfectly set up for me if I can find the bollocks to make it. I put the BB on some sort of picture hand anything from AK-Q10 and the open limper on an overpair between 7-7 to 10-10. I manage to find my balls and ship my stack into the middle which is roughly another £150 to play with 9 high. The BB (C-better) instant passed as planned and action was on the flat caller. I know this bloke as i've played with him a few times before and know he's a decent player I also think that he thinks i'm a bit of a rock so my table image is perfect for this move.

He seems to take a lifetime over his decision and with my arse pulsating and my armpits becoming swimming pools I was praying he'd pass but knew he had better than I had anticipated by his speeches. After an age he passed and showed my K-K for a massive overpair and said I must of had 2-2 or a 6. So i scooped a decent pot roughly £240 for a move that worked yet was so dangerous. weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

I picked up a few more pots after that hand as my run of awful cards seemed to fade although I ended up a 6- hour cash session with once holding any premium hand. No big pairs, no AK-AQ and thank god no decent-marginal hands like KQ!!!!

Finished the night just in profit after a weird session but good to show my face in Aspers once again!!

DreamDobbs from the NPF does Britains Got Talent

As i touched on funny posts on the NPF in my last post. This is a great example of some great craic and funny shit from one of its members DREAMDOBBS.

Just couldnt resist adding this.....

NPF 1st Annual Awards

The Newcastle 1st Annual Celebration game was held at circus casino last night. This was a celebration of one year of the NPF existance and to get everyone together for a great night of poker. Unfortunately I was unable to attend due to work commitments. I was chuffed to find out tho that I was nominated for one of the awards.

NPF 1st Annual Awards Nominations

These are the final nomineesfor the 1st Annual NPF Awards.

The winners will be announced during the interlude at the NPF Birthday party on Saturday 9 May.

Cardroom of the Year - Aspers Casino, Circus Casino, Grosvenor Casino.

Poker Achievement of the Year - #1_Fish - Winning Full Tilt Monday, $1000avkid - Winning PokerStars Sunday million, Roll001 - Winning PokerStars UK & Ireland Open, teamdobb - Winning NPF Live League 2009, xenocode - Winning NPF Championships 2009.

Most Improved Poker Player - CanOnlyGetBetter, Irishimi, Mark Trett, MR ENTERTAINMENT, mrs card guard, teamdobb.

Most Constructive Forum Poster - Apokerlypse, Full Tilit, Jimmyb, Looseman, s2c,

Funniest Forum Post - Koyte's "The Chosen One", Phlmc's Happy Hour in Blyth, Roscopiko on Knighty Poker Theory, the card guard kid's unwanted items for sale, Varzee's Weird things can happen on public transport

Outstanding Contribution to the Forum (Special Award)

I didnt win the award as phlmc scooped it but was chuffed with the nomination. This is my post -

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Weird things can happen on public transport!

Ok, i had an experience on a bus a few weeks ago that i guess will probably never happen again! After the event i immediately wanted to tell people as it felt as though had the potential to be a decent tale. Wot stopped me was the fact that no-one wud probably believe me. Well im sorry im gonna put an end to it and post the event so 1. its off my chest (no pun) 2. hopefully make at least one person chuckle a little.

I decided i was gonna venture to Aspers for the 10+10+10 game on a wednesday. I dont drive and hadnt spoken to anyone else who wanted to play as well as picking me up, so the obvious choice was the bus!

When i got on the bus, it was pretty empty. I walked towards the back automatically going to sit at my usual spot (backseat). I always sit there so if i felt the urge to have a little pick ov my sneck or owt i wudnt face the embarrassment of been seen. lol. There was already sum1 there "Twat" i thought "no pickin 4 me!" so i made myself comfy in the four seats. For those of u who never uses buses these r the seats in a group of four with two facing each other. I was happy enough just chillin waiting to arrive in the toon for a game of cards.

About 15minutes into the journey the bus stopped at Dunston, near the Metz bar i think (Yes where gazzas normally seen mortal). I noticed there were two people gettin on. Two charvas! Well a m/f couple in their late twenties who looked rough as. Both badly dressed, looked as though they'd had a few n the can of special brew each was all the evidence i needed to support my opinion of these clowns. When they got on they came and sat right behind me! The seats between the back and the four seats which i was sat. Mighty stange place to sit when they had a full bus to choose from. Nevertheless i never thought much more of it.

Another ten minutes on id forgotten about these divvys and was thinkin about things that had previously happened that day, when i heard the charva lass say "U taking the picture of my tits properly?" My current thought process immediately ceased and wondered wether id really heard what i thought i had. Curiousity was getting to me but i remained diciplined and carried on minding my own buisness lookin 4ward and resisting temptation to turn around. The reason for this was i cudnt be arsed with a war with a pissed charva on a bus when all i wanted to do was play cards. Riskin a war for the sake ov a possible quick peak at someones tits wasnt giving me the correct odds. lol

Couple of minutes later the lass stood up an sat right in front of me! Staring straight at me "Hear we go" i thought. I automatically switch into defensive mode and was prepared for a war of some sort but it wudnt ov been the first time so i was sweet.

Staring into my eyes the lass said "Can u hold this for me" i looked up and she was holding her can ov special brew. "Ok no probs" i said. While she just smiled and began takin her mobile from her pocket. She then grabbed my knee n said in a crokey but charva like voice "U mind taking a picture of my tits?" I was stunned cudnt believe wot i was hearing and found myself in a no win situation. > 1. I agree n her lad (whos sitting behind me) starts kickin off which means i gotta put him on his arse and get myself banged up>2. I refuse n she kicks off then if i put her on her arse i definately get banged up. It was shit crack.

I realised i cudnt get away from this so i quicky decided to face it head on. I turned around to her lad "Is she for real? she wants me to take a picture of her tits". "Yea go for it if thats wot she wants i dont mind" he replied. Oh well quess its titty picture taking time for me!!!

I had just turned around and this charva lass had revealed all. She'd got her tits out! Im not talkin just bra in shit they were out in full glory with her looking as casual as you like waiting for me to take some photos. So i got on with the task at hand and took a photo. "there you go is that alreet for ya?" "well its a bit blurry can u take another?" "Ok if thats wot u want" i said. This time she was tryin her best to be sexy pouting her lips and licking her tit. I took another photo and without biggin myself up i took them like a pro. might have something to do with the fact my test subject happened to be one of my interests!

After she thanked me the charvas got off the next stop and seemed oblivious to the fact that they stunned my usual character traits into a 12-year old boi in a free sweety shop. WOW!

I spoke to the bloke whom id earlier called a twat for knicking the backseat for the remainder of the journey about whether wot had just happened was real! We had a few giggles to say the least.

I hope you enjoyed the tale and realise i wud have to be outta my mind to make this shit up! Oh n btw i finished 14th at aspers that night. Must ov had a couple of other things on my mind to make the final table!
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This post was wrote in September 2008.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HeKn1y-FsI

^VIDEO OF AWARDS

High Stakes Poker - Opening Night

Well... after alot of hype and aticipation "High Stakes Poker - the opening night" arrived.

This was a Grosvenor Staff home game that was played and organised by me with the intention of a regular game to be played every 3-4 weeks.


The game was set as a £0.10/£0.25 cash game with a min sit down of £5 and a £30 max.

Everything was ready: the table, chips and people. Now for the game! Start 6.30pm

If you build it they will come... - and that they did there was a total of 21 people there for the opening night of High Stakes with 17 players! This was many more than expected, as I had accounted for a few drop outs a few early exits. None of which happened so with a jam packed house and chips to be won theres only one way to go...

The Show must go on... - The following people were there from the start - Myself, Jess, Ryan, Glen, Paul, G-spot, Gus, George, Sparky, Jon, Rob and Kelvin (12). That meant the game got under-way with myself and Ryan railing the table waiting for a seat. Eveyone sat down with the max buy-in of £30

Blue Lights, Camera, Action.. - The game got underway with two action thirsty players Gus and Jon ending up all-in on the first hand! No exact details but after Gus' strong bet on the turn Jon pushed his stack in only to be met by a snap call by Gus with the nuts (nut flush). Jon immediately reloaded and an exciting start to the game. Not sure this was a great influence on the game tho as it sort of set a precident for the whole game with opening raises far too big in proportion to the blinds and alot of early gambling.

Reload, Reload, Reload - After alot of crazy action that I could meerley observe. More players seemed to be going bust and frequent reloads seemed to be occuring. This wasn't a problem as we had plenty chips and actions good but you could see this was getting a little bit too juicy. By this time more people were arriving and still no seats. In the end the extra players were Mark, Allan, Jim, Candice and Nathan. A "If ya go broke, ya back of the waiting list" policy had to be enforced just to guarantee that all players got a game!

Empty Bottles - By 9.30pm as well as the action the drinking was well underway. This became evident as huge preflop raises as well as multiple callers was taking place, so-so that i've seen less gamble on a roulette table. lol. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, winning/losing themselves a few quid and getting pissed at the same time. I still hadn't had a taste of any action but had plenty to occupy myself as i found myself chatting to the waiting players and introducing my daughters to everyone. With the house choca-bloc I couldnt really relax as much as i'd of liked.

Enter the Dragon (or dragonfly on this occasion) - I eventually got sat down at the table at 9:45pm at started my action with an immediate bet from early position. I didn't play a hand for a while until I was dealt pocket 10's. There had been a straddle two limpers an opening raise and 4 limpers before me so I shipped my stack to hopefully take it down or isolate. I wans't called on this occasion although the opening raiser (Ryan) said he nearly called me with K10 saying he knew i had nothing. I later told him I had 910.

I hadnt played a hand for over an hour as the action was just too feirce with overbets and 5 callers a regular occurance everyone was in the gambling mood. Problem was i wasn't picking up anything other than marginal holdings at best. There were hardly any spots to pick and floating was definately out of the question! I eventually picked up QQ in the big blind. The action went as follows - Opening bet, call, call, pass, call, call, call, pass, call. Action was on me and I was in no mood to mess around with my Queens and wanted to be up against just one player, so yet again I shipped. As everyone had a decision to make i felt as tho nearly everyone was hollywooding their decision. The original better (Jon) passed, but i got my caller (Sparky). We immediately went on out backs and Sparky tabled KJ! No help for him on the board gave me my double up and room to manouvre.

Juice, Loose, Aboot this Hoosse! - Some decent conflicts occured between players including Sparky and Jess, as well as Gus making steady profit from decent holdings. George seemed to run into brick walls everytime he ran into Jess and G-spots raises always seemed to be outdrawn forcing him to pass. Glen was the craziest calling alot and always outflopping his opponents it seemed as tho his lager was to him as spinich is to popeye! I was keeping well outta the way with unless i was prepared to gamble with some of the maniacs. (no offence lmao). Gus got the upper hand on Kelvin after calling his all-in bet with AJ. Kelvin tabled 9-9 only for the river to produce the J to brake Kelvin and bring an end to his night.

Squeeeeeezze - I was enjoying the atmosphere and banter at the table but was becoming increasingly frustrated at my lack of action. It was just before 1am and I hadnt played a hand for ages! I found a perfect opportunity to make a move. The Squeeze! Jon lead out in the pot for the usual large bet to which Glen flat-called. The action was on me and look down at 9-5 hearts. I decide to go over the top with my stack to take the pot down there and then for a £20 pot. The bet was £37 more and Jon entered the tank. Bare in mind i hadnt played a hand in ages had only shown three hands at this point two of which were QQ and the other K9 that was a small pot in which i won at showdown. I figured Jon has to have a monster in this spot to call, with Glen behind him to worry about also. To my amazement Jon called the all-in and glen passed. At this stage i can only put him on QQ or KK as he took too long for him to have Aces. Jon tabled his hand that revealed AJ diamonds! I was amazed that he can call here (unless he had a super read on me. yea right. lol) but thats ok as he has put his money in. I still wasnt THAT far behind and waited for a miracle board to get me out of this spot. The board actually brought two Jacks which was irrelavant anyway as Jon was ahead but killed any chance of salvaging something. Nice hand sir just hope you call me next time with AJ. lol ; ) I quickly reloaded and continued to grind it out. The worst thing was Jon left at 1 which meant our big hand was his last that didnt give me any chance of re-couping any of the money i donated to him. (To be fair to the lad he did say he was leaving at 1am before we even started the game so couldnt complain)

More Tilt than The Eiffel Tower - After the disappointment of the previous hand, the fact most of the money just left and the fact i hadnt really played sent me on Tilt. I was now in gambling mood and didnt really care about my A game which I clearly wasnt playing. To make matters worse Glen the most pissed person in the room was falling all over his stack but not only that was the biggest stack. It was a perfect opportunity to recoup my losses as he was calling anything and everything. But once again still couldnt pick up a hand. Jess took a canny bit off him and even took pity at one stage checking behind with her top two to win a big pot. Must point out that Glen is a top lad but on this occasion was errr just say a little tipsy.

With the night drawing to a close I got involved in a hand with Nathan. Nathan is a good player and a top lad and played with him before so i should of known better. Glen opens the pot with some ridiculous bet (as always) I look down at QQ. I raise and hope that Glen will pay me off. Nathan then re-raises me and alarm bells ring. I reckon ive got Nathans range in this spot just about nailed. lol. He knows i can play and knows Glen calls regardless. So he must have KK or AA here. I felt aces but waited for the action to get to me. Glen passed (which in itself is amazing) and action returns to me. This is where my biggest disappointment lay as ive made these types of laydowns hundreds of times. So really i should raise or pass. Because I thought he had aces i should pass. I done neither and flated. We both see a 9 high flop and instead of waiting for him to do it (obv it was coming) I shipped on the flop only to hear the expected words "i call".
I looked at Nathan and said "You've got Aces havnt u?" Nathan nodded his head and seemed disappointed in me that I couldnt spot it. The Fact is I did but from my frustrations all night and the gamble in me desperate to escape this time I couldn't manage the right thing and lost my buy-in. Fully deserved. I was so annoyed at myself, but hey even the best of us can play bad. LOL (huge heed).


Over and Out - All in all the night was a huge sucess and a great kick off that promises to be a sucessful run of High Stakes Poker nights to come. From now on the nights will be limited to a set 10 players that will play for the whole night and players can change on different Poker nights. I think this way the game will be more about the poker and less a piss-up it sort of turned into.

The big winners from "High Stakes Poker - Opening Night" were : Jess, Jon, Gus and Glen - Big Well Done to all those players and to everyone else for their excellent behaviour and showing respect for the fact they were in my home and my family were there. Really enjoyed you all been there and feel lucky to have you lot as pals.

Next Time on High Stakes....... The next game is booked for the 2nd of June "The 2nd Sitting" and the following players will be taking part - Myself, Jess, Ryan, Jon, Paul, Gus, George, Sparky, G-spot and Nathan.

Those of you who havn't played in this game yet will get plenty of opportunity in future weeks as different people will play each time.

Looking forward to the next game and check back for future posts about

HIGH STAKES POKER

"The Second Sitting"

My Perfect Poker Table

I recently built my own poker table with a little help from my brother-in-law (ok alot of help). When I decided I wanted to make my own table I wanted it to be special so that not only would it impress others but something I would be proud of.

I planned the table and how it would be completed and although some ideas changed along the way, I am more than happy with the end product and the pictures dont do the product as much justice as it deserves.

This is a step by step guide on how we built the table and cant wait to get it in action for a game that makes its debut on the 6th may. This game will be £0.10-£0.25 cashgame at my house and will take place on a monthly basis. Stay tuned for the first post of "High Stakes Poker Episode1"

First Buying the Products - I bought the products from BnQ, Ikea and Grosvenor Casino.

1 x MDF Board measure to fit requirement of standard size table

3 x 2 Metre radiator pipe covers

1 x Black tape

1 x Insulating tape

1 x Staple gun with staples

1 x Roulette cloth

1 x GUKPT poker cloth

1 x Set of 10 Blue L.E.D. lights with round silver frame.

Step 1 - Measuring the Wood

Measuring the wood is probably the most important part. Using actual measurments taken from a poker table in the Grosvenor Casino. The curves were marked using the old method of a peice of string attached to a pencil.

Step 2 - Cutting the Wood

We cut the wood using a jigsaw making sure markings were followed to give an accurate shape.

Step 3 - Drilling Holes for L.E.D. Lights

After measuring the circumference of the table we divided that by ten marking out 10 places for the holes to be drilled giving an exact distance between each light.

Step 4 - Laying the Underlay

Laying the underlay was a little tricky but using a staple gun we wrapped the cloth as tight as possible around the wood making sure there was no loose or uneven cloth.

Step 5 - Laying the GUKPT Cloth

Once we were happy with underlay, next was the GUKPT Cloth. We used the same method as the underlay pulling the cloth really tight before stapling it down.

Step 6 - The Rail

We first fit the railing around the outside of the table cutting it to size as it went on.

After Cutting the rail to size we removed the railing table it together using the insulating tape.

Step 7 - Taping the Rail

We then taped the whole rail using black tape to give it a sexier look. We then slotted the rail back onto the table making sure it was a tight snug fit.

Step 8 - Fitting the L.E.D.s

We fit the L.E.D.s easily by poking a small slot in the cloth and pulling the lights through so the metal frame of the lights sat flush to the table. This worked so well.

After this we taped the excess wires to the bottom of the table using tape to just tidy things up.

Step 9 - The Finished Table

We were finished! We mounted the table onto my glass table in my living room thinking we would have to come up with a solution to fasten it down.

This wasnt a problem as the table sits pretty snug and is steady and weighty enough to just sit without extra support. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee

So all that is left is for a game. The debut game is the 6th of May. For what I have named as "High Stakes Poker" watch this space for future posts on what happened at this game.

Played my first online tourney in 3 months last night on Party Poker. Online I just play cash but fancied a shot.

Tourney $9 entry to 5k guaranteed

618 runners - Finsished 3rd for £375 shiiiiiiiiiippppppp

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Thanks for my railers in Jess and Stevie G

(Sorry for the lack of details)

£50 First Tuesday Game at Circus

£50 Freezout in Circus on the first Tuesday of every month is one of the best games in the north-east and with a decent structure and prize pool is one that is a must for poker enthusiasts.

Luckily for me I had already won a seat playing the £20 double chance freezeout taking the tourney down as well as the seat that is awarded with the first prize. FREEROLL

Im posting this a 3-4 weeks after the event so unfortunately i'm not going to go into as much detail about the tourney as I would of liked but certain hands aren't fresh in the mind and dont want post incorrect information.

Anyway, as I was freerolling the pressure was off for this game and could go into this game to just enjoy the action. There was a really good turnout with 129 runners + £500 added to the prizepool. Starting stack of 8,000.

Action was slow to start with until the third level when after picking a few good spots managed to increase my starting stack to about 13.5k. I had a couple of players on my table who I knew could play (A.Virabi and Ridla) but apart from the table seemed pretty weak.

First Major Run-in - Ok, the fella to my left seemed the rich business type whom didnt really care bout the game spending most of his time on the phone not even present at the table and generally not giving a fuck. On a whole his play was ridiculous. So action folds around to me in the SB with this phone geezer in the BB. I look down at AQ and decide to just limp to disguise my holding. He announces "I should raise but i'll check for you" So we see a flop of 27A. I check and he pushes his remaining 6.5k into the pot without any thought. I was stunned at this play. There was like 300 in the middle and he pushes for 6.5k lol. Ok I think for a little while coming to the conclusion he aint pushing with AK, Aces up or a Set in this spot and anything less I have beat. So I call and pleasantly suprised to see him table A10. A Queen on the turn has him drawing dead and a nice scoop for me. weeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Unusual for me to get my money in Behind - This hand was an interesting hand and took place pretty deep into the tournament. With only 40 players remaining out of the 129 that started the blinds had got pretty big and running antes well under way. This was an awful time to become card-dead. I had been moved tables and hadnt tabled a hand. In fact I nevver played a hand for over an hour apart from the odd blind steal. This table had quite a few well known players some of which had huge stacks and were respected players. Most of the action on this table was bet, pass, pass, pass or bet, raise, pass, pass, pass. Until the hand in question. UTG player limps and with that comes 4 callers to me on the button. I look down at 9 6 hearts and call for value. SB makes it up and the BB checks. Flop come 10 8 Q with two spades. Action checks to player in mid position who bets half 3/4 of the pot. I think for a while and think I can float if another spade comes or get paid massive if I hit my double belly buster of a 7 or a J. I call and everyone else passes.The turn brings the Ace of Spades. Bringing me no help to my draw. The player checks which gives me the perfect opportunity to represent the flush draw (given my tight image) and take down this already decent size pot. I bet 3/4 pot. The player in question immediately cringes and realises he's making a decision for his tournament life as his stack was the size only x3 my bet on the turn. I was aware of this and thought this would help me in taking down this pot. After about 4-5mins in the tank the player announces im all-in and reluctantly pushes his stack over the line. Now im the one in the predicament. Calling this players all-in would take a chunk out of my stack leaving me with about 10k which isnt much more than the starting stack and at this stage isn't great. After weighing up my options I decent im getting too good pot odds to pass, been positive he hasnt got the flush i know 8outs is enough. I call and table my 9-6 to his amazement as he tables his A-9 for top pair (no 9 spades btw). He starts to celebrate as the river is been dealt. BANG "Jack" on the river gives me my straight and a monster pot to go with it. It takes the lad a while to realise hes beat after convincing himself he made a great push on the turn. I believe his push was hopeful (soul read lol) and not a read on me regards my bet. Either way he was right but unfortunatly for him the pot was too big for me to pass. I got lucky but hey, cant complain.

Slow-Roll To The Max -After some big hands and a couple of hours I found myself in the final 24 of the tournament with a very healthy stack. I had 80,000 chips whilst the chip average was only 40k. I was in a position to walk my way to the final table or at least a cash as the top 18 places were paid. I was second in chips at my table only to have the luckiest player I have ever witnessed on my table. I'll paint the picture - Young Lad, Pissed, First Live Poker Game, Doesnt know what a BB. Im sure you've met the type. I asked this lad if it was his birthday or something as he's calling peoples all-ins with A3,K4,J9 and hitting everytime and eliminating player after player for fun. With him sitting with over 100,000 I was praying for a monster against this kid to wipe the smile from his face.

The hand started with the UTG+1 platyer pushing all-in for his remaining stack of 16,000 in relative to the blinds+antes this wasnt huge and not much more than the average opening raise at this stage. The crazy kid smooth calls as everyone expects and action is passed to me. I peel my cards and squeeze out "POCKET KINGS". Against any other player I would more than likely go down the route of calling the all-in and checking the remainder of the hand with the other player just to increase the chance of elimination of the UTG+1 pusher. Plus there is no reason I need to get involved with another bigstack. Against crazy kid I think he'd probably call with any old shite and pay me off massive. I could smell the double up of 80k to 160k and if i win that Ive gotta be one of the favourites to take this down.

So after some thought i ship my full 80k into the middle announcing "Im all-in". Action back on crazy kid and starts groaning, putting his hands over his face and muttering "I really dont wanna play a hand against you, I just dont know what to do" Once the lad announces that I know i'm miles in front and screaming for him in my head to call. After about 6 long minutes of groaning the lad says "If i dont play these cards, no point in playing" and calls. I immediately table my Kings and hope for no suckout until crazy kid eventually tables his cards and says "unlucky" FUCKING ACES! my jaw dropped and heart sank i didnt know wether to laugh or cry. I was gutted. I immediately stood up in disgust. By this time there was already a crowd of people around the table in shock from what they were seeing. No help on a board i cannot possibly remembervand thats it OVER.

If it was a player I knew or a player who knew what they were doing I probably wudda floored tha twat for the sickest slow roll eva but as the crazy kid had no idea what he was doing and I genuinly believe he nearly passed his aces I let it go. Looked at the lad, gulped, and said "Nice Hand". Taxi for Varzee please. lol

Overall was a cracking game and was pleased with the way I played the night was scarred by that last hand and maybe I was been greedy but in those circumstances would probably do the same again.