Thorpe Park and a mammoth Sunday

I haven't managed to hit the tables again since my last outing, instead being drunk, in arguments, on roller-coasters, being ill and doing airport runs! Its been quite a busy few days.

It started on Weds when a friend finished his last exam. I promptly got a call at 11am demanding my presence at the pub. I arrived at half 11 only to be fed sambucca. Ugh. The day was only going one way. In the end it was a pretty sweet day to be honest - it was kind of a steady drunk and we travelled to various bars and made sure we ate so nobody was entirely smashed. Sophisticated or what? By 2pm myself and 2 others had also randomly booked Thorpe Park tickets for the following day. This was and is hilarious, as none of us can remember how the hell we came about having the conversation or booking the tickets lol. I literally just bought 2 people tickets via the phone in this bar and that was it, we were leaving from mine at 8.30am and off we go (didn't leave at 8.30am obviously!).

I then went to the bar we used to work at and had apparently been barred lol, for not turning up to my last shift. I told them what I thought. They eventually let me in. Every manager was fine with me and said hi, no animosity at all. One power crazy twat just took exception to it, basically a personal grudge but whatever, he got over it.

So anyway, we then went out in brick lane and met some real cool people, although an entirely odd mix. An Irish guy, a guy from Brighton and some randomly silent girl from somewhere. It was odd cos they had just met themselves and it just led to an entirely unique conversation. I can't explain it, it just epitomised Brick lane and London I think.

Things took a turn for the worse cos I had actually woken up a tad ill, swollen glands and was feeling it a bit later, although they all assured me I was just a lightweight etc. I wasn't drunk or showing sings of being drunk so fuck you all. Nonetheless I woke up at 7am ready for Thorpe Park only to feel like absolute horse shit and not in a hungover sense. I postponed and we eventually left at 10.30am. It was worth it. Mid-week and pretty shit weather, we did everything multiple times. The new Saw ride is fucking awesome, Nemesis Inferno equally as good. Stealth - OMFG. And one other I forget the name of, began with C. Anyway, all round awesome day after getting lost. I came back feeling worse having been drenched by Tidal Wave however. Probably near death to be fair.

Friday was pretty lacklustre in comparison, filled with odd jobs and airport runs. The good thing to come out of that is I have a set of keys to a place in Bulgaria. Schweet. I could be heading out there the week after next and then through to Greece and Turkey, a friend is also keen on driving the Bulgaria - Greece - Turkey leg so that would be cool. Unconfirmed as is everything however. We'll see.

SO, COME ON ENGLAND. That's, unsurprisingly, what my day consists of today. More on that later, as well as my mammoth session tomorrow. 1pm onwards I reckon. Au revoir.

Blah

I've put in two decent sessions over the last couple of nights and seem to be average at a cool $120 loss each time over some 20 odd tournaments. Sigh.

I think I managed 1/2 cashes on Monday night and perhaps double that last night, including a nice run in the $33 on VC, only to bust in 16th. Sigh.
I can't complain too much however as I made some truly bad decisions in a couple as the night progressed. This was probably out of frustration, a willingness to go and do other things and just general tiredness. I also had a crazy hour and a half between about 7 and 8.30 when I had 16/17 tables on the go, something I couldn't handle. I'll have to kerb that but I was unable to start at the initial 3pm I intended, 6pm instead, so I just went crazy between 6 and 9pm. Its all trial and error however and eventually I will have perfected as good a schedule as is possible.

Speaking of trial and error, Ladbrokes has now been and gone also! I played the €5.50 rebuy and was registered for a few others before quickly un-registering. There aren't enough games for me so it ends up being a pain cos the laptop has to run another program along with all the add-ons that Ladbrokes seems to have and all for like 3/4 tournaments a night. The software isn't great either. So, I'm now running with the ethos - "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". The skins/networks I play on now are adequate, I'm used to them and there are a lot of positives to them. I'm probably unlikely to be able to put in a consistent amount of volume that warrants adding a fourth site anyway. That, and, the fact that the schedule across the three sites I do play in is more than enough for me, in the evenings. The problems lies with any daytime sessions as the euros are pitiful in the department but Ladbrokes offers nothing in a way of a solution to that.

Not entirely sure when I'm next going to be able to hit the felt but I'll certainly find the time for another 2/3 sessions this week. I'm meeting a friend in a pub at 11.30 this morning, as he will have finished his exams. This is clearly a horrible idea lol. Nonetheless it means I won't be playing today! Hopefully I can limit any, inevitable, hangover and put in a decent session during the day on Thursday. I don't hold much hope however!

GL.

Ready, Set....

I've sorted out my schedule now and planned my week sufficiently well to allow for some serious hours of poker.
I downloaded Ladbrokes and Betfair software but the latter quickly got disposed of soon after installation. I've had their representatives on the phone numerous times in the past twelve months telling me how great the software now is and how they are making improvements to it on a weekly basis. BULLSHIT! Its the same as it was some two years ago - horrific. The interface is awful, the guarantees are comical and it immediately seemed to slow my laptop down so our relationship clearly wouldn't have worked out.

Ladbrokes is a bit better, as I knew, the only downside is the lack of volume that I'd be able to put in on there, particularly as its a soft skin. Alas, it will have to do.
I'll just add Ladbrokes to my arsenal for now but may, at a later date, depending on various other factors, decide to put some money on another site.

I won't write out my entire schedule and all the fine details of it as its pretty pointless and will only bore you! Effectively, during the allocated hours of play I'll be registering to every $5.50-$33 MTT with a guarantee. This isn't entirely accurate as having any more than 12 tables going at a time becomes -EV for me imo. However there isn't enough options on the euros to make this entirely probable.

This week:

Today - I'll be starting at 5pm and commencing the usual evening session. I can't play on Ladbrokes until tomorrow as they have to approve the amount I wished to deposit, it wouldn't let that particular sum of money just go through. That means I'll only be on VC, Bwin and Stars tonight...

Tomorrow - The same again, plus Ladbrokes. I'll start a little earlier however - 3pm and finish registering at 9pm, due to things going on on Wednesday.

Wednesday - Been roped into meeting a few people at the pub at midday as they finish exams. Needless to say, I won't be playing. Online at least.

Thursday - Depending on my state I may put in an evening session. I fully anticipate being insanely hungover but as I'll be drinking from midday I also anticipate being in bed earlier lol and starting the hangover earlier! I'll remind myself to drinks tonnes of water!

Friday - I'll put in a daytime session this time as I'm busy on Friday night with airport runs. Will be interesting to see how that goes.

Saturday - That will be my day off, particularly as its the England game.

Sunday - I'll put in a mammoth session on Sunday, regging from like 2pm onwards, providing I don't go home and have to mess about driving back or via a train.


Hoping to play a solid 100 tournaments at least this week and hopefully earn some pennies! GL and can't wait to get back into it!

GO GO GO

As the title suggests, its now all systems go on the poker front and summer effectively starts tomorrow.
I've finished exams, attended many a mandatory celebratory party and completed various things that needed doing. I've also managed to secure work placements and with no holiday forthcoming I can take poker into account within my lifestyle. The only remaining anomaly is accommodation and whether I grind in London full-time or in the West Midlands, with my parents, part-time. That should start to click in to place once my exam results come in however. Hopefully all goes well and we can begin a cracking year on all fronts. Things are on the up and I'm chuffed!

Had a bit of a beat over the last few days as my girlfriend moved out due to commitments requiring her to be elsewhere as of next year - as well as a financial burden. I won't go into details. It shouldn't make too much of a difference as we effectively have two homes between us and are still half an hour apart. Its an odd feeling nonetheless.

Anyway, the positives. I effectively have "my pad" back and its pretty awesome, especially with the World Cup starting. I've re-organised things today and its effectively injected a new lease of life in me. I even dug out my massive England flag and put that out on the balcony so all those travelling on the A12 during rush hour can wake me up with the sound of their horns at 7am! It best be worth it - Stevie G lifting the cup a week before my 21st would be a peach and make my endeavours with the flag seem worth it!

So, I'm all sorted and raring to go. New, flash, "look at me" suit bought, flat spotless, work sorted, exams completed, parties ongoing. Life is sweet. I hope it continues.
One of my aims is to hit the gym intensively now. I followed up FAR too many take-aways over the exam period with some serious consecutive drinking sessions for 10 days after exams. I now feel pretty unhealthy! So not only do I want to get back to the gym to feel better but I also think it will help with the discipline during some mammoth grinding sessions.

I intend to ease myself into it this week with about 5 full-day sessions. That will either be regging from 5pm onwards or doing two split-sessions. I'm not going to entirely isolate myself and will go out if I am asked to in advance. I am also wary of a few mates finishing exams this week so anticipate some more drunken antics ensuing and that might jeopardise the schedule a tad this week. However, I am definitely in London until mid-July, if not beyond, and most people start working down here in about 7-14 days and when that happens I can be left to my job of grinding, in between work placements etc. Until then I'll be playing a flexible full-time schedule, if that makes any sense whatsoever!

I'll comment in more detail on the poker schedule tomorrow. I intend to sort out Ladbrokes and Betfair tomorrow and then devise several playable schedules which will enable me to adapt accordingly

For now, I'm back and raring to go!

Mammoth Session tl;dr

OK, I'm going to get a lot of my thoughts down, starting with a brief review of an epic session I put in last night.

I started playing at 3.30pm yesterday and eventually finished at 7am this morning. Although I was up for the night its not as exciting as it sounds! I played 39 tournaments and managed to profit about $530, with two 4th places on ipoker and bwin, for $350 and $300 respectively. Then at 7am, having been 1-tabling for a couple of hours I bust 11th in the Stars $5.50 2R1A for $150 ish. SIGH!

I also had the 3 SCOOP events, none of which went particularly well unfortunately. What became readily apparent is the stark difference in ability between the likes of the $22s and the $215s, or even just the $109. The $109 was the main event and on par with the $250k in terms of field size so you get your fair share of fish but as we got deeper and approached the bubble there were a lot of capable players on show and I don't think they become obvious until well ITM in the $250k. The $215 was something else altogether, with you effectively needing to 5-bet to see a flop lol. I exaggerate but yeh, I was definitely outplayed and out of my depth so I know not to bother with them again! It was an experience though and I managed to learn things. I felt comfortable in the $109 also but these are minute sample sizes to compare with anyway!
That said, I only managed the one $90.64 cash in the $22 1R1A so it meant a loss for the series - apologies to those that staked - next time!


I'm pretty happy with how the night went generally - earning money is a plus always, whatever the amount and the amount itself is respectable in this case. It's always frustrating to ft bubble, particularly as it was on Stars but that would be stupid to get downbeat about it! The main talking point comes from the session in its entirety however and the fact that I played for 15 hours. Its literally destroyed me! I mention it because of my plans to start playing full-time as of a few weeks. Although my schedule would be different and it was only late last night due to SCOOP, whether or not I could hack that night after night remains to be seen and whether I could hack it during any downswing remains to be seen! Can but try I guess...


On that note. My last exam is a week today so I won't be playing any more poker until that but I will be playing that night before going out the following night. It then gets a bit tricky as my girlfriend's mum is coming to stay with us for a few nights and I've then got a couple of trips etc planned. I hope to be able to put in the odd session but its going to be anything but consistent. I will then be free as of 09th June so intend to hammer it out then.
However, it gets even more complicated! I'm flatmate-less, so as of mid-June, unless any alternative is arranged, I'd have to pay the entire rent myself. This clearly isn't feasible for too long and not worth it so I'm not sure what to do and what I can do. Its all well and good sorting something temporary for the summer but it could all change as of September depending on whether I decide to go back into halls. It may be that I keep the flat until mid-July, grind full-time until then and then move home for the rest of the summer before moving into halls in September. The problems then however are that my internet at home is utterly useless and I wouldn't get the privacy anyway. The internet in halls also wouldn't be able to handle 12 tabling for 8 hours. Further, I made the mistake of being a tad anti-social during first year so I best not do it to the same extent!
A lot to think about on that front as well as arranging it around any holidays.


When I am able to start playing full-time again I shall be using Betfair and Ladbrokes as well, adding them to my toy chest! I'll put the money I withdraw back on via those sites, which brings the roll just shy of $10k. I'm not too sure about the Betfair software but they ring me on a monthly basis and are adamant that improvements are constantly being made, so I'll try. I'm also attracted by their satellites to live events - something that was in my list of goals for 2010!
I'll be sorting out a schedule next week so will look at it in more detail then but I think I'll be registering for everything within br from like 4pm-10pm every night and then putting in the odd afternoon/morning session where possible. I'll just have to chop and change it i.e. when there is a WC game I'll play during the morning/day. The need for flexibility is paramount I think and a benefit anyway.

We shall see!

Some not-so-fun times...

Well its been a while since my last post so I thought I'd provide an update, especially as there are a couple of things around the corner, on the poker front. Plus, I'm just bored!

I'm right in the thick of exams at the moment, having finished 2/5 as it stands, with two more next week before the fifth and final one in two weeks time. Its been ridiculously stressful, exhausting and downright anti-social! I just hope to god I have done enough to get what I need in the first two and remain focused to get some good results in the final 3. Anyway, I won't go into details of that, Liverpool failing to reach 4th (despite my prediction!), or the General Election. Instead, I'll keep it poker-based in the main!


So, I haven't played a tournament since my 4th place (I think) in a $5 turbo on Stars a month or so ago. I have messed around on cash tables with a couple of friends on the odd occasion but other than that I haven't manage to get near the felt! In all honesty, I haven't had that much desire to either. I've tried to be really committed with my exams and pull my head out the clouds, so much so that I just haven't even wanted to play. That's beginning to change now however. I was going to play tonight but I'm exhausted so intend to just get an early night for a change. I have also had 2/3 of my full credit exams this week (yeh ok I said I wouldn't ramble about it...). So, touch wood, and without sounding complacent, I have two of the half credit exams next week which don't require as much information across the subject area as a whole, just more specific knowledge on a particular topic within the subject, which I find slightly more manageable, again, furiously touching wood.

So, based on that and the fact I have an eleven day gap I will be playing a few SCOOP events next week. I was gutted to see it clash with the exams themselves so I'm happy to be able to play a few events next week and at least take a little part! Hopefully its 3 final tables in 3 nights.... ONE TIME!

If anybody reads this and would be interested in staking me then comment on the blog. I will set up a 2p2 thread at some point over the weekend. Firstly offering it to friends and fellow grinders I know.

Anyway, the schedule, with adjusted times (GMT):

* May 14th - 7pm: $22 1r1a NLHE ($250,000 GTD)

* May 16th - 6pm: $22 NLHE ($200,000 GTD)
* May 16th - 6pm: $215 NLHE ($750,000 GTD)

* May 16th - 2 day Main Event: $109 NLHE ($1M GTD)


Total Buy-In: $412

1% = $4.12

5% = $20.60

10% = $41.20

20% = $82.40

25% = $103


I will only play the $215 if I manage to sell at least 50% of my action but other than that, I will be playing regardless. I think I will sell 50% easily, for the record. The structures are insanely good and I just think it would be stupid to miss out on playing when I can just about afford the time.


I'll be playing a normal full schedule on those nights but they're the only SCOOP events I am able to play unfortunately. Beyond that I will then be taking a break again until exams finish in their entirety. When I start my full-time esq schedule is also debatable. There are multiple holiday ideas flying around at the moment (which again I will refrain from rambling on for multiple reasons) as well as my need/desire to obtain a vacation scheme-come-internship. Again, I should know more on this come the end of the month but I still have the same aim in so far as I want to play as much as possible in June and over the summer generally.

After the next round of exams next week I'll also post my thoughts on the schedule and resultant ideas I have for June, when I do get round to playing full-time. Until then, good luck all!

Hello again...

Its been quite a while since my last post I think and rightly so really. I haven't played any poker or done anything worthy of a mention. I'm trying to remain focused with revision, just for another 8 weeks or so before I can hopefully let go of all things uni-related for a few months. Although, I did manage to make it home for a week last week so it was good to get a change of scenery in that sense - although, the revision took precedent once again!


Anyway, I found myself itching to play again over the last few days and after an absolute diabolical train journey back to London on Saturday, whereby, briefly, someone committed suicide on the line and all services were terminated and stuck in random stations meaning it took me >5hours to do a 2.5 hour journey, I felt like playing on the Sunday evening. I got back pretty exhausted and frustrated on Saturday night so that might Sunday was a waste of time so I just booted up about 5 tables on Stars I think.

It felt good, that much is for sure! Although its only a couple of weeks or so since my last outing I'd been talking about it to various people so playing again was nice. I cashed in 2 but most notably, and like London buses, I got another Stars FT! This wasn't quite as nice as the first but nonetheless I managed to run like Usain Bolt in the $5.50 turbo and manage a 4th for $2k. That was really good and again a nice boost, as I now take a full amount of time out. My next session will be on the 24th May :(. To wrap up my poker endeavours: having withdrawn $1k the other week for a forthcoming trip, the roll is now at $8300. I intend to put $600 of that withdrawal back on however when I deposit on Betfair and Ladbrokes in preparation for going full-time. Until such time as any decent holiday or something materialises then I think I'll just keep the money on there, so that means a $9000 roll.

In other news, I have set up a thread on 2p2: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/92/travel/poker-house-london-uk-757764/
where I'm looking for a 2p2er and fellow grinder to take on a spare room in my flat for at least a month in the summer. More than anything I just don't want to pay all the rent as my current flatmate moves out. However, I also saw is at an opportunity to make June all about poker, in conjunction with my desire to play full-time. I think that should be good for my game and also a pretty cool period of my life.

I'm flying to Berlin later this evening with the girlfriend for a few days. Starting to regret booking it in some respects due to the ridiculous schedule and the adverse effects it will have on revision! Starting to worry a little bit despite doing what I think is quite a lot. Just have to continue plugging away I guess. Anyway, Berlin is to mark our 2 year anniversary and we've been away on similar sorts of occasions so it will be good. Its not somewhere that has massively interested me in all honesty but she's always wanted to go there and I managed to convince her that it was worth staying in a suite in this hotel and possible letting me play 1 tournament if it fits in with our plans - just want to play abroad! We'll see how it goes but I'll report back on Friday!

Finally, big congrats to Fenix35 who was back on the live circuit again recently. After deep runs in the Irish Open main event and side event he finally managed to get that elusive live final table in the UKIPT Coventry. Although losing those crucial flips still managed to haunt him and shipping the thing didn't come through! Next time..
Jon on the other hand isn't having so much luck, with the crucial flips being lost all over the place. I watched him on a couple of final tables last night and it was the same familiar story with AK < AQ being the highlight.
Its incredibly frustrating for him but also me, not only because the element of friction that is inevitably caused when results go for me and not him (when we both go at it together effectively) but also because its something we've always had a passion for so if we both had a string of results going then I'm pretty sure we would have some baller times and a cracking summer! Sincerely hope he manages to get some run good together this Easter and set us up for a sick summer! GL to you pal...

Anyway, I'll stfu, I always manage to create these stupidly long posts when I'm not blogging regularly! I'll summarise the trip to Berlin when I get back. Although its only 2 nights so how much there will be to mention is debatable! Have a good week and good luck!