Last Thursday - reminder of a lost youth!

Due to continued laptop gremlin issues, my HEM has continued to be knackered, causing me to stay away from online poker until my IT help desk (Brenos) arrived up at the weekend. This meant that I spent most if last week lazing around / watching poker videos, feeling better about the fact I'm improving my game without actually having to put it in to practice to prove it.

As I was still unable to work properly, I was also able to have a few shandies on Thursday night to celebrate a flying visit by long lost Rogers - a true legend. Back in the day (2+ years ago), I spent a lot of weekends out on the town with the boys, before I saw the error of my ways and settled down with K. Friday and Saturday nights usually involved us lot watching a snake-hipped Rogers schmooze his way in to a girl's heart on the dance floor, before he'd kiss and run, the dirty dog.

As he's still a young 'un, he dragged me and Brennan with a few of his mates from Manchester to Digital for Stone Love, and Indie night I used to 'love' back when I was at uni. Alas, I'm not a student anymore. I'm 30. And everyone else in there was clearly a student, or under 22 at least. Although it was great seeing Rogers again, this was pretty much how I felt I looked:

As I'd only started drinking late doors after playing awesomely in a 20-4 win at 5 aside, I was sober enough to realise that I should probably leave the whipper snappers to it. As Brenos is also nearer 30 than 20, he was easily persuaded to join me at Circus for late night cash table action. We played until the wee early hours, leaving at 5:30, and I banked a tiny profit to cover my expenses for the night.

Blog Curse Returns- Never Publish Winning Sessions!!

I celebrated my wins too early.

I've been here before, most of the time while I was in Thailand, so I should have known what was going to happen. Cue loss of $350 of last night's $480 win :-(

I was actually up for the evening at midnight but decided to log back on for one last session, figuring I'll catch the drunks and tired fish. Turns out I was more tired than I expected and donated my chips around a few tables.

Looking through hands now, I don't think that there are that many terrible plays. I went with a read on one hand with QQ on JT4 board, 3betting all in on the flop when I would normally slow down / fold to a raise, but as I had notes that he slow plays trips I put him on a draw that was trying to outplay me (we have a lot of history). He had 44 so $100 dropped there. I then lost a flip with AK vs QQ for another $100 and then got oudrawn by QT on a T42 board in a 3bet pot, getting half stacks in on flop onlny for him to spike a Q for a third $100 beat in quick succession.

I played a couple of hands after that while on tilt for 20 BB then 30BB and never got the monster double up I needed to get my momentum going. C'est la vie.

I'm off to NFL tomorrow so unlikely now to get any hands in before Monday night at the earliest. This month was looking really promising profit wise, but back to grind fest next week now to try and hit my mental target of £1.5k. I'm running at £1k profit so far before rakeback so on track but would have loved to of had a monster month this month following the spendathon of Paris / U2 / Macau / Vegas.

Time to get pwning and run good next week - just one time!!

And boom goes the dynamite......

Shazam!!

No, I did not just get my leg over. Pretty good news though. I've just about recovered from evil man flu, and now healthy enough to be certain of heading to London for the NFL this weekend. Been looking forward to this for a while, and although I'm not as much of a New England Patriots fan as Briggs is, I can't wait to see all the yank razzamatazz on show.

I'm also running good again at poker. I've just finished probably my most profitable evening's play in the last couple of months, winning $480 before rakeback. It's amazing what winning a few flips can do for your bankroll, especially at NL100.

Anyway, gone 1 am here so time to crash. Been a while since I said it, so GL to all those playing out there :-)

Sniffle Sniffle

This is me.

I've been laid up with flu for the past couple of days, so not played any poker since my losing sessions on Saturday. I just don't feel as though I can concentrate on anything for more than 20 seconds so this is probably a +EV decision, so I'm spending my day on the sofa watching the NFL on Sky Plus with lemsip. Not the worst way to spend the day....

All going wrong

Can't find a winning session for love nor money. Lost about $500 now in the past 2 days and my confidence (and monthly profits) are fast disappearing up in smoke. Grim.

I should force myself to play tonight versus the drunks but just not feling the confidence. It's not helping that flu has taken hold and I'm my head is feeling all groggy, so it's probably a good idea to take a break. I'll see how I feel in a couple of hours.

Oh - in response to Brennan - he did do the majority of the PC fixing. Therefore if anyone has a PC problem please feel free to contact him and he'll happily remove any viruses / worms / problems your PC might have following any illegal downloads of movies, music or 'other'. The reason mine crashed was just due to bad luck of course due to an excel file being corrupted :-)

Rough 2 days

I think I'm getting the man flu, which everyone knows is the worst type, and I think my laptop was feeling left out so it decided to get a virus of it's own. 24 hours ish with no poker and constant texts / phone calls / emails to my technical advisor (Brennan) still left me a bit screwed, with no HOLDEM Manager and looking like I might be booking myself some unwanted time off while it got fixed properly. I then try a last ditch attempt of turning off my wireless router and back on again and hey presto! - my PC is back to working order. Who needs to have an IT degree..... (thanks though Brennan)

In some ways though I wish it didn't work. I've since managed to lose $200 on the poker tables, through bad luck, set ups and one or two loose plays. Not helped by my drowsy state of mind, but I do need to get my head sorted out before I play again tomorrow.

Good luck to mighty Spurs over weekend, although have a nasty feeling we'll come a cropper at Fratton Park. We rarely (never) win there, and they'll be well up for it against 'Arry. Our most influential player (Palacios) has also been round the world on World Cup duty with Honduras, and last time he did that before the Man Utd game he was crap (for him), putting in the worst performance of his Spurs career. Without him, we're average with no backbone. In fact, I think I've just talked myself in to an Azz style back against my team bet on Betfair....

Weekend, Azz Home Game and Circus Freezeout

I haven't had much of a chance to post on here as have been ridiculously busy over the past few days. On domestic front, we had Katrina's family here for the weekend and went out Friday night for her sister Lindsey's birthday in town for an Italian (Sabatini's I think). Thumbs up for the pizzas and the steaks, but I don't think that Mr and Mrs Jones would send out too many recommendations for the fish or chicken dishes!

Azz Home Game

Saturday involved getting beaten (just) in a 11 a side cup match, then an evening of poker round Azz's house. The first game can be summed up as follows:

• Carl tries to bluff Brennan who snap calls with 7Q on K72 board - 'I have nuts versus your range Carl' - rebuy Mr Richardson
• Carl gets all in versus Brennan again with jack high - rebuy Mr RichardsonCarl raises with KQ and can't get away from my squeeze shove - AA rock Holmes - rebuy Mr Richardson
• Another rebuy Mr Richardson
• One more rebuy Mr Richardson

Chips go back and forth as the alcohol and peanut consuming clan tries to outplay each other, and Brennan's monster chip stack is dwindled to a short stack by the end of rebuys as he runs in to a couple of monsters and getting himself pot committed with trash.

Carl is the first casualty after rebuys, as he calls my raise with 88 and flops 389. After slow playing the flop, he gleefully calls my check raise, only to find me holding 99 for the nuts, and his one out doesn't come. With 3 paid and 5 players left, a 3 way all in pre flop sees me and Briggs - the only 2 not involved - looking good for a cash finish. Gav's QQ is facing a flip versus Azz's AK, with luckbox Brennan needing a miracle to stay alive with 55. Flop of TAQ gives Azz hope then takes it away in 2 cards, with Brennan all but dead. But wait..... The miracle could still be on for as Azz picks up more outs with a K turn - and yes - it happens when the J comes on the river for a 3 way split. Grim for me and Briggs.

Brennan grinds back in to the money, after I vanish in 4th after being chip monster on the bubble. Gav raised early, Briggs took ages before calling from SB so I presume my big overshove from BB will just pick up the pot after Gav folds without any further incident. I wasn't counting on Briggs putting me on a bluff though and calling me with AQ. My KK still looks in great shape, especially as Gav tells us he's folded an ace, but not to be as the flop brings 2 aces and I'm back to short stack poker. No luck as my SB shove runs in to Gav's JJ on BB and I'm doomed. In true Ad King style, I take the poker beat very well and run off to the front room to play guitar hero rather than watch the rest of the action - although I know Briggs won (again) by beating Gav heads up.

Second Omaha game was a bit of a drunken blur, but I do know that I was out 2nd after I slow played my turned full house to sucker Carl in with his flush draw, only for him to hit his nut out on the river and obviously call my 'bluff' shove with a better full house. I think Azz won this game, but again by this time I was playing guitar hero in the front room with Brennan - which is near on impossible after 8 cans of stella, but even more so when the blue button is knackered Good evening entertainment though as always....

Sunday Evening

Sunday would normally have been a recovery day, however me and K had been invited to a (Canadian) thanksgiving dinner at our friends house. Steve and Kathleen put on a mint roast dinner for 6 and after putting their son Oliver to bed we got down to the serious business - playing Risk. For anyone that's not played this board game before I'd thoroughly recommend it, it's basically an excuse to pretend to be Napoleon / Roman Emperor / George Bush by invading the world and killing off your mates after making (and breaking) alliances. After being crushed in the last game by the Hass / Hass axis of evil, the Holmes / Jones alliance of the free reigned supreme and I took home the glory of 1st place. They'll be after revenge again soon I'm sure.

Poker

On poker front - I nearly shipped 2nd casino tournament 2 attempts when got knocked out in 4th of the Circus £30 game last night after heading there with Azz and cameo Cuswao. Rich threw his chips away at 12 when he sensibly realised that the game would be going on very very late, and that his work the next morning couldn't take a sleep deprived team leader. I'm sure they could of, but he does insist on telling me he's good at his job....

Anyway, me and Azz short stack our way to the final table, getting lucky and picking spots, before finally losing 'races' - Azz's K7 UTG shove losing to a dubious KT call from the SB to finsih 7th, then my KT losing when short stacked to a SB shover with AQ. £70 profit for the night for me, but don't think I'll ever play another midweek / weekend small stakes game as I didn't get home until 4:30 am and therefore slept through til 1:30 today, missing my online morning grind too.

Online has actually been going pretty well this month, and I'm about £700 up so far before rakeback. Long may this good form continue....