Final Considerations

 ACTION PLAN FOR 2011

As the starting line approaches, I've made a few adjustments to my initial plans and I just need to outline a few points to show clearly where this is going:

1.   I will start off playing $50nl and $100nl with a starting bankroll of ~$5K.
2.   I may move up to $200nl and make a $3K top-up to bolster the bankroll.
3.   I'll keep to the stakes outlined in my "Bankroll Chart" dated 14th December 2010.
4.   I will start off playing exclusively on the PKR website.
5.   I will blog my progress and put up a progress report at the end of each month.
6.   Progress reports will come in the form of HEM or PokerOfficer graphs.
7.   I'll stick to my "Dos nd Don'ts" list as per my post dated 23rd December 2010.
8.   The only deposit I intend to make, if any, will either be a $1K or $3K top-up.
9.   All bonuses and rakeback payments will be added on as profit.
10. I will also keep a tally of my live results.

NOT A PRO

Please remember that my main source of income comes from  my full-time job in education and I am NOT a professional poker player. I don't put in nearly the volume of hands that is required of a professional player and I probably don't play at the right stakes either; this is why I feel I can be more open about my results. As a predominantly cash game player, my ups and downs will not affect my ability to pay the bills or my lifestyle or standard of living; although it may effect my mood.

Through 2010 I played somewhere in the region of 50K cash game hands. Around 80% of these hands were at $100nl and $200nl and HEM revealed that I was a fairly solid player over that sample. (You can see a breakdown of these results at my "Dividing Up The Results" and "Stats For 2011" posts made on 10th December 2010.) Over the last 3 months I have barely broken even and I'm under no illusions that my results can nosedive - this is why I have slowed right down in December and have mainly been playing $25nl. However, even if my progress starts to plunge it's all about playing my best and just trying to keep the blog interesting for the readers. The challenge is really less about money and more about integrity and making the pathway interesting and fun.

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I hope you will enjoy the journey with me and maybe pop back in from time to time to check my progress while taking a break from the tables. As they say: put your seat belts on, we're in for a bumpy ride!!

A Bit Of A Swizz (Where Did My £190 Go!?)

Now don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have just over $5k in my PKR account for the new year, but I can't help thinking that this whole exchange rate business is just an excuse for some enormous fat cat to take a slice of pie that doesn't belong to him.

To have a $5K deposit on PKR you have to pay ~£3320. No problem. Now if I wanted to withdraw that amount today (that I've just put in over the last few days), they would give me back ~£3130. Meaning somewhere along the line I have been ripped off somewhere in the region of £200!! It's a bit like going to a casino and exchanging £330 for chips, wandering around a bit without playing anything and then only getting back £315 when you cash them out!

With a generous points system, bonuses, rakeback and the best online poker software out there, I'm prepared to forgive - but still ~£200!?

I Have Done The Deed

On this day, Wednesday 29th December 2010, I have completed the deposits needed to set me on the new road for my fresh (blogged) online poker journey which starts on 1st January 2011. I now have the $5K in my PKR account which is what I feel is needed to start me off on this path and I'm thoroughly looking forward to my first few steps in the new year.

The initial plan, as outlined in the "My Plan For 2011" post, was to deposit $2K at first and then to add the extra $3K later but I just feel I need to plonk down the full amount for Day 1 before diving in with gay abandon!! I'll still probably start by single / multi - tabling 50nl, but then I intend to move up quickly to 100nl when I really start getting my teeth in. The decision when (or if) to enter the $1/$2 game will be decided as I chug along.

The only thing I'm struggling with is holding back and forcing myself not to play until 1st January - it's very difficult! (I may just plonk in a cheeky £20/$30 and play low-stakes just to see me through until the end of the year - you know how it is.)

Four Fine Poker Venues In London

Say what you like about living in the big city but the great thing about living in the capital of England is that it does give you a great choice of venues when it comes to playing live poker. Another thing I suppose you could say I am grateful for about being English are the common-sense gambling laws of this country. For a start, as a UK player we are actually ALLOWED to play online poker; not only with fellow countrymen but with anyone from around the world!! Now this may sound bizarre but so many poker players worldwide, including those from quite a few large European countries, are simply not given this basic freedom (human right some people might say). Secondly, UK players can put money into a site and actually withdraw from it - TAX FREE without any problems or hidden charges (save for the few negligible amount that some sites may charge for small withdrawals). Again, as well as the rake to contend with, many players from many countries, again including quite a few from Europe, have to put up with charges from their government for the privilege of winning money from poker. In fact, while talking to many overseas players about the laws of their country regarding both online and live poker, the UK has probably the most liberal laws when it comes to gambling and I have to say I'm pretty damn pleased to be a British poker enthusiast.

Now while this all may sound very arrogant and smug, I make no apologies for it. London is not only a great place for choice when it comes to playing live poker but it's just a great place to play full stop - and that's that.  In no particular order, here are the Top 4 venues when it comes to playing small stakes (£1/£1 and £1/£2) live poker (and I'd say that the majority of regular London players would certainly put at least two of these in their top lists as well). All, with the exception of The Empire, require ID to play but if you cash out big at The Empire they may ask for photo ID for the transaction to go ahead..

1.   The Vic - Edgware Road (Near Marble Arch Tube)

While strictly speaking, a casino, this is one of the oldest well-known poker establishments in London. The poker room is definitely the most comfortable, roomiest and plushest of the four with a sparkling and tasteful decor. It is very well run and being open 24-7 you'll almost always find a game but be prepared for a wait sometimes at the busy times of day. It does contain a lot of old regulars but it has plenty of character and should definitely be on your schedule if you're coming to London for a poker trip. 

+ Comfortable and classy.

+ Many limits catered for.

+ Drinks are very reasonably priced.

+ Very well run.

- You sometimes have to wait a long time.

- The low buy-in MTTs are the worst donkfests in town.

- Low buy-in MTTs are still self-dealt!?

2.   International Poker Club - East Road (Nr Old Street Tube)

This is the new home of The Gutshot Poker Club. If you want glitz and glamour then look elsewhere but if you want MTTs with a decent structure then this is worth a try. If you're coming to London for a poker trip then it's worth a one-off visit but the venue itself is really nothing special and its quite dingy. It's location is a bit out of the way of central London and the place itself is effectively a converted basement. Yes, it's all dealer dealt but, as might be expected from an out-of-the-way venue, it can seem very old-school and very "regular-friendly" with the regular players tending to dominate the atmosphere and the proceedings. Cash games are a bit hit and miss and can be hard to come by but only really get going later in the day.

+ Well-structured MTTs.

+ The £1/£1 cash game is known for being quite soft.

+ It has computers for those who want to play online. 

- Dominated by many regular players - not newbie friendly.

- Out of the way location and not very glamorous.

- Hidden charge for MTTs - Pay dealer for extra chips when seated but cash does not go towards prize pool.

- Expensive bottled beer - no draft beer.

3.   Empire Casino - Leicester Square (Nr Piccadilly and Leicester Square Tube)

This is THE place to come for £1/£2 cash games. £1/£2 is practically all that is played here (with the odd donkament getting in the way) and you get every type of player under the sun and all sorts of interesting characters, particularly on its very busy Friday and Saturday nights. Its location is slap bang in the middle of the tourist area and it's just a great place to play, particularly most evenings and definitely at the weekend. The poker room itself has been separated from the casino but is open 24-7. It's a little bit on the small side although it has become slightly more spacious with the removal of one or two tables. The lighting is just right, it is well run and there is ALWAYS a game on. You just might want to avoid it in the afternoon when there seem to be a high percentage of sharks at the tables. It is just 5-10 minutes walk from The Fox Club. You don't even need ID to play but may be asked for it if you cash out a large sum so come prepared.

+ Lively tables during evenings and weekends.

+ Nearly always a table available (may have to wait 20-30 mins max).

+ No ID required, just walk in and play.

+ Central location and only 5 minutes from The Fox if you need to slow down a bit.

- Drinks are expensive and waitress service is notoriously poor. 

- You get some very tough tables in the afternoon.

- MTTs just get in the way and means less cash tables can operate.

- May be asked for ID if you cash out large sums.

4.   Fox Poker Club (Nr Piccadilly and Leicester Square Tube)

This is a new club that has just opened up along Shaftesbury Avenue. It is much more MTT orientated and caters more for the small buy-in tournament player. It posts its full schedule for the month on its site and holds two MTTs per day plus three on Sunday - and each one for a flat fee of £5 regardless of the buy-in. Its Saturday £30 freeze-out is always a sell-out! Like The International, its cash games seem to be slow to get started and don't really pick up until later in the day. These tend to be the £1/£1 games with the odd occasion when a £1/£2 game is running. The amount of cash game tables running seems to be on the low side and the £1/£1 table has a 10% rake policy which is not ideal. In saying that, its tourney structures tend to be good for the buy-ins and it's definitely a good place to come to spend a low-risk poker session or just a place to slow down if you're on a downswing but still need to feed your poker fix. Incidentally, it seems its maximum buy-ins at the cash tables have recently been increased - which is nice.

+ Good value low buy-in MTTs with good structures - throughout the year.

+ A great central location and only 5-10 minutes from The Empire (Golden Nugget is also literally across the street)

+ Fine for a "pop-in" low-risk cash game session (if a table is running).

+ Newly opened  - very clean.

- Cash game tables are a but thin on the ground and 10% rake on the £1/£1 is not good.

- Can be a little cramped in some places.

- Bottled beer is expensive - no draft beer.

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There are, of course, plenty of other venues in London to play poker but if you come to the city for a poker trip and don't visit at least two of the above places then you will have missed out on part of the full live poker experience that London has to offer.

PKR Live 5 - Sunday: Side Games

With my early exit from the Terminator Tourney done and dusted, it was time to take advantage of the drinks vouchers, hit a few cash tables and have a bit of fun. Now among this company you may think that being dumped out so ignominiously in the two events with zilch to show for it plus a bit of heavy drinking on top is not the best build-up to hitting the cash game tables and you would be right - it isn't. That's why the only way to approach this stage of the weekend, for me, was with my "can't lose" system: simply put, I bring a stop-loss amount of £400 with me, leave my cash cards at home and just play for fun and excitement and see what happens. For this session, I was prepared to blur the line between business (winning some cash) on the one hand and pleasure (just donking around) on the other. As it turned out, a bit of a blur it ended up being, and I mainly just played safe and folded practically every hand!

Cash Table Number 1 Please (£1/£2)

At this table I just played about 3 orbits or so before leaving when they announced there were 3 places left for a £20 SnG. Gameplay-wise, I think I just played tight but did manage to take down a small-sized 3-way pot on the flop. The highlight though, was meeting WongaMan and finding out, once and for all, that he's NOT the fella in the advert that he keeps using in his blog. In fact, he looks absolutely nothing like him. He was a fairly quiet presence at the table but was clearly doing very nicely for himself judging by the huge stacks of chips he had in front of him.

Cash Table Number 2 Please (£1/£2)

This was both a fairly short-handed affair and a very brief one. By this stage, I had played a crazy SnG (details below) and must have knocked back a hell of a lot of beers. Fortunately, I was still sober enough to realise that the best strategy was probably just to fold everything and not get involved - which is pretty much what I did. This time, the unlucky person next to me (or lucky - depending on how you look at it) was Rhymenoceros. Also at the table, among just one or two others, was a young lady called Smoov and another young chap who calls himself kickofff. Nothing particularly out of the ordinary happened and I think I must have left after two or three orbits. I'm still a bit annoyed with myself that I didn't bother to get Smoov the couple of drinks she asked for though.

Cash Table Number 3 Please (£1/£2)

By this stage, the last thing I should have been doing was playing poker; particularly when the likes of welllbet, Twister86, flesicher123, GolgeJ, Walkman, PirateNation, ilcurioso and later japete and siggen333 were sitting at the table. To be honest, there is no way I would sit down at an online table with all these players at the same table so God knows why I chose to sit with them live. Well, I do know really, just for a bit of fun innit? As it was, I just fell back on Plan A and stuck with it through the session - Yep, I pretty much folded every hand!! With the exception of flesicher123 and PirateNation, the players were fairly quiet and business-like - and seemed to stay professional to the end rather than choosing to muck about. Flesicher123 and PirateNation were pretty much dominating proceedings with their own patter and having a little party of their own while chucking chips around like confetti between each other on their little side-bets. Bless 'em.


SnG (£20)
This little SnG, between cash table sessions, was a pretty wild affair but very enjoyable. Dealt by PKR_Marc, at first, we had an interesting little selection of players. The most lively by far, of course, were two very enthusiastic Greek chaps called Potatosalatas and betonme; both, pretty good players (with Patatosalatas making a final table finish in the main event). As it happened, Patatosalatas' tactic of throwing his chips around like confetti gave him a massive chip lead but then he over-reached himself and was knocked out in about 5th place. (Sounds familiar?) A very distinctive and distinguished looking gentleman called INFRASCHALL was also present but he went out early. The highlight, for me, at this table was that I finally got to say hello to a chap called jdnorway - one who writes well-thought out and considered posts on the PKR forum. Anyway, he headed for an early exit. For me, in line with how things were going, I bubbled out in 4th place and left the table with an excited Patatosalatas dealing for his fellow countryman betonme, a very pensive BUCKFASTer and a French guy whose name I can't quite remember.

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Away from the tables I caught up briefly with a few regular forum contributors such as jimmyfizzels, gaztheyorkie and ForFoxSake and I also managed a cheery wave from my SnG table to Tigerrr who was on the adjoining table. One player who also came up to me and said hello was a Belgian player who goes by the username of zanzibax. I remember him crushing me at one online session. Anyway, all-told, I barely broke even from my exploits at the cash table and the SnG but, bearing in mind the session was alcohol-driven, it could have been a hell of a lot worse.

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Overall, if you are a regular player at PKR then it's definitely worth trying for a place at PKR Live if only to see the faces of all those characters who are trying to win money off you week in week out. The main event is quite a tense affair with players, perhaps unsurprisingly, taking it very seriously indeed. The follow-up event on the Sunday is a much more relaxed affair and thankfully the fun element starts to kick in a little bit more - although there are still plenty who take it deadly seriously. Contrary to popular belief, the cash game tables afterward are anything but easy-money. To unwind at PKR Live, after getting knocked out, I would have to recommend a good drink and a relaxed SnG anytime.

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Five of the Rest

My previous post outlined the five most popular online poker sites. In this post, I'll give brief reviews on five of the rest:

LADBROKES POKER (MICROGAMING NETWORK)

My understanding is that Ladbrokes have now joined the Microgaming network. When I was registered with them a few years back they used the Microgaming software but functioned independently. The site I did use, who were attached to the Microgaming group, was Bet365 but they've now migrated over to iPoker. For me, I found the Microgaming software to be fine but seemed to bump into a lot of knowledgeable players. The site offered a solid experience but the traffic was slow and, because it tended to house good players, table selection was a long process and usually resulted in me just going elsewhere. I've got no reason to think that is different nowadays. There is no rakeback here for me either.

POKER HEAVEN (INTERNATIONAL POKER NETWORK)

This network has only recently had its name changed from The Boss Network and, for me, has the most classy-looking, well-designed tables of the whole lot. Obviously, each site has a slightly different colour-scheme but its shiny and sleek look just puts it on the top as far as table design is concerned. When it comes to the software, the lobby filters are extremely temperamental and on many occasions just don't work. Unfortunately, the account balance is inconveniently shown only in euros and you have to faff around to get the dollars or pounds equivalent. For me, competition is acceptably average and they do offer a rakeback deal if you rake in excess of 100 euros a month. As far as I know, I think this may be on offer to all new players - which is very nice.

888POKER

Like Party Poker, this site (formerly known as Pacific Poker) had a reputation for housing plenty of poor players. However, it does seem to have tightened up and you will see plenty of regular players at the $1/$2 cash games. In saying that though, my MTT record at this site is superb. Its software has the reputation for being atrocious and I'm sorry to say this is 100% justified - it's awful and easily the worst of the bunch even after its long-awaited upgrade. Unfortunately, I don't know of any rakeback scheme so for the odd distraction and change of scene, this may well be worth the odd visit on a small deposit for the occasional MTT only. 

  PKR

With its unique selling point being a game that replicates the live game, this 3D site is not exactly for those who put winrate or hands per hour on their top priority list. For those who like to take it easy, or for beginners who like a slow and leisurely single-table experience, PKR is certainly online poker with a pleasant difference. For one, the human avatars give it character and really add substance to the gameplay. Be aware though, the site still attracts its share of multi-tabling solid regulars. As you might expect the software does require that you have a meaty system if you want to enjoy the graphics on the top settings or wish to multi-table smoothly. It has a forum for its members and a very generous reward system.    

 

ABSOLUTE POKER (CEREUS NETWORK)

To be honest, it's been a long while since I played at Absolute Poker, maybe around three years or so, and it's only really included here to make up the numbers. On going back for a peak, there don't seem to be any wild changes. Its lobby has a similar look and colour scheme to Full-Tilt, while the tables and chips resemble the look of Poker Stars. For most players, I think, ever since its credibilty came into question due to the indiscretions of its sister site (Ultimate Bet), Absolute Poker has really been in the shadows of Stars and Full-Tilt.

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By the new year, I'll post the final instalment of my PKR Live 5 experience. I also need to give some thought to my bankroll management plan for 2011 as posted in my "Plan For 2011" post. It may need just a slight tweak but nothing substantial.

The Top 5 Online Poker Sites

To get a ranking list of the top online sites by popularity, you just need to have a look at Poker Scout. Below, are my personal reviews of the Top 5. After this I'll do "5 of the Rest." All of these sites are well-established and very reputable. I have had accounts in all of them and would trust them with keeping my funds safe and easliy available for withdrawal.

POKER STARS

In the States, Poker Stars and Full Tilt practically have a monopoly on the online poker industry. Worlwide, they serve about 60% of the overall traffic. Out of that, Poker Stars has double the traffic that Full Tilt have; making Poker Stars an absolute monster. As you would expect, their choice of games is enormous and waiting time for SnGs is minimal so if you're after variety and speedy access to games this is definitely the place to come. Their software is very well designed and stylish with plenty of features, filters and options. You can personalise your avatar with a picture from your own files. The customisation of the lobby and tables also means you can hone your online experience nicely. The site attracts and contains plenty of serious players including knowledgeable USA players. Personally, I found the site to be quite tough in terms of competition.

 FULL TILT POKER

In the popularity league, Full Tilt occupies a place all on its own. Traffic-wise, it is light years ahead of any other site except Stars but in comparison to Stars it is way behind. As opposed to Stars, its design is not as stylish and refined; the customisation is more restricted and the lobby just seems less user-friendly. It has plenty of backing from big-name pros (not that this is a huge plus) and the choice and speed of access to games is very good. For me, like all US-friendly sites, I tend to avoid it now because of tougher opponents. Further, on a personal level, this is one of the few sites that asked for ID from me, up-front, before I could get access to my money. On the plus side, it is the only US-friendly site that offers a generous monthly rakeback payment.(Not that I take them up on this offer.)

  PADDY POWER (iPOKER)

Party Poker, the Ongame network and the iPoker network are the Big Three of the European based sites and together have about equal amounts of traffic. Even added together though, this still falls well short of the volume that Full Tilt has. The software of the iPoker network, although fairly basic in design, is fairly stable and delivers a no-nonsense swift experience at the tables. However, the filters in the lobby can be very temperamental at times and can even be quite frustrating in narrowing things down as they simply don't always work. Personally, in general, I have found the competition to be fairly straightforward to play against and have achieved quite good results on Paddy Power. Earlier in the year I found there to be a lot of shortstackers but it looks like they have upped the minimum buy-in to 30% now. Unfortunately, I don't have a rakeback deal with this site although if you put the volume in they do have a reasonably generous VIP (points) program.

    PARTY POKER

This is one of the original sites, which, according to all the old-timers was a veritable aquarium back in "the good old days." The crying from the US players on the 2+2 forums, when this site was no longer open to them, could be heard for miles! Nowadays, like all sites I would say, it's no longer the push-over it may have been but still attracts allsorts of players from the spectrum. There are plenty of German players, it seems, and perhaps not so many from the traditionally "good poker playing nations" like those from Scandinavian countries. The software is actually quite similar to the iPoker network and offers a similar experience. Personally, I don't get any rakeback from this site and so don't put in a great deal of volume.

    BETFAIR (ONGAME)

Until fairly recently Betfair had their own independant network and, although pretty tough with lots of knowledgeable players, a very nice experience it was too. Now they are part of the Ongame network which, for me, is the least pleasant software to play on out of these five. Their short-handed tables, for 5 players, still have places for 10 players - which I always find mildly annoying; the chips, text and figures etc are far too small compared with everything else and the audio just sounds tacky. It takes a long time to start up and you are also given no information as to where your opponents are from. On a positive side, Betfair's rakeback deal did carry forward from when they were independent so it's nice to get that privilege and also my balance is always shown in pounds (£) and the dollars alter accordingly. However, after all is said and done, I'm not exactly thinking of rushing back there any time soon.

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In an upcoming post, I will review the best of the rest. These will include Absolute Poker (Cereus Network), Ladbrokes (Microgaming Network), 888Poker, PKR and Poker Heaven (Boss Network).

Dos And Don'ts For 2011

These are my personal dos and don'ts for 2011. They come from the perspective of a cash-game player. Self-control and discipline gets the job done: 

DO:

1.    Keep accurate and honest records for the live and online game throughout the year.
2.    Keep studying the game and always make sure you learn from mistakes.
3.    Play only when you bring your "A" game to the table.
4.    Leave the table when it's clear that it's -ev if you stay.
5.    Keep the blog going through the good times AND bad.
6.    Try to get PokerOfficer working properly and/or invest in Holdem Manager.
7.    Recognise when you're tilting and either slow down bigtime or stop playing for awhile.
8.    Play the games you're bankrolled for and try to avoid playing lower stakes excessively.
9.    Pay more attention to opponents' tendencies and make more meaningful notes on them.
10.  Make sure you stick mainly to cash games.

DON'T

1.    Sit down at a tough table because it's the only one available.
2.    Enter more than two fast-structured low buy-in MTTs per month.(They waste time!)
3.    Take shots when way under-rolled or because of tilt.
4.    Play blackjack - ever again!
5.    Play more than one live freezeout tournament per month.
6.    Make decisions based on emotions.
7.    Let short-term or long-term loses put you on tilt.
8.    Make decisions so quickly. Think tough decisions through CAREFULLY.
9.    Spend so much time on the PKR forums and spend more on the 2+2 forums.
10.  Multi-table or play anything over $200nl with distractions going on - especially junk TV.

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There are many other personal ones to do with leaks and various bad habits I've got into at the table but, for now, I'll keep these to myself.

Top 10 Poker Books (Plus 2 More)

The following list is of my Top 10 Poker books of all time. It's true, there is definitely great strategy guides and helpful hints out there on the internet but this is for those who don't have a screen handy and just want a good read. This is more like a desert island selection - the only 10 poker books you will ever need. It's heavily weighted towards cash games because that's the bag I'm into at the moment. It covers five areas: (1) General Strategy. (2) Psychology. (3) MTTs. (4) SnGs. (5) Cash Games. I've also added two more books that I picked up today from the High Stakes bookshop.

1. GENERAL STRATEGY

"The Theory Of Poker" by David Sklansky

This is your first building block when it comes to understanding some of the key concepts in poker. Most of the older pros would certainly have read this and most decent players would have given this the once over. Up there with Brunson's "Super System" it's almost considered to be "The Bible" for a lot of players. For me, it certainly was a good read for getting to grips with some of the more aggressive elements of the game but some of the heavy maths parts did have me struggling. 

"Killer Poker Online 1 & 2" by John Vorhaus"

This is just one of those reads that are good, solid nourishment for a long plane or a coach journey. The writing style is very informal but it's an absorbing read and is particularly good at teaching the beginning player about attitude towards the game. It's fairly light reading, it won't teach you a thing about strategy, but it does deal with all those psychological issues about being composed and freeing yourself of the propensity to tilt.

2. PSYCHOLOGY

"The Poker Mindset" by Taylor & Hilger

This one reminds me of Allan Carr's self-help book; "Easy Way To Stop Smoking." A book that stated the bleedin' obvious but was just something that smokers needed to be told (yet again) about why it might be a good idea to give up. "Mindset" really states what most people already know about discipline and self-control but, like Carr's book, just strikes the right chord and reminds people in the right way. For making sure you're being steered in the right direction - it's worth picking up.

3. MTTs

"Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand At A Time Vols 1 & 2" by Lynch, Van Fleet & Tuner

This one is the next in line on the evolutionary scale to the, now almost obsolete, "Harrington On Holdem" books. They are very well-presented and accessible to the reader who likes to unpick the thinking process behind successful tournament players. It is critically acclaimed and, I believe, Volume III is on the way. A good read.

"Poker Tournament Formula 1 & 2" by Arnold Snyder

This one is a bit of a mind-blower if you're still chugging along with Harrington's out-of-date principles. It's almost exclusively directed at the fast-structured online MTTs but its layout and readability factor are superb. For those players who are still putting the importance of survival over chip accumulation in the donkfests of today then it's time to wake up and smell the coffee. This one is for winners and most definitely not for wimps.

4. SnGs

"Sit 'N Go Strategy" by Collin Moshman

This comes very close to Phil Shaw's "Secrets of Sit 'n' Gos" but it pipped Shaw's to first place in the SnG category because, personally, I'm always a bit wary of quizzes - which totally ignore the other hidden variables that are at work at the table. Anyway, this one does the business and is a pretty solid read. Again, personally speaking, although I'm sure there is money to be made at this form of poker, I've kind of had it with SnGs.

5. CASH GAMES

"Harrington on Cash Games Vols I & II" by Dan Harrington

As a beginner's guide for anyone making the switch from MTTs to cash, then I would say that this book is essential reading. It is great for divulging the basic principles and will stand you in good stead for the short term and for finding your feet. Unfortunately, as is is often the case with Harrington's books, evolution moves fast in the world of online poker and sticking with these principles will possibly get you run over by astute opponents. Yes, read and absorb - but be prepared to up your game and move on.

"No Limit Hold 'em: Theory And Practice" by Sklansky & Miller

As far as depth goes, this is just a step deeper than Harrington and just asks that little bit more from the reader. I think if you're willing to go with the authors though, this book can give you the rewards. I'm really beginning to like Ed Miller's style (see below) but with Sklansky on board, those maths sections do leave my mind a little fuzzy. Nevertheless, this definitely comes recommended.

"Secrets of Short-Handed No Limit Hold'em" by Danny Ashman

This first edition copy got absolutely ripped to shreds by some of the 2+2 forum people for its inconsistencies and grammatical mistakes. Luckily, for the more pedantic, a new edition was published just a week ago. Much in the same vein as the "Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand At A Time" series, this lets the reader follow the thought processes behind some of the decision-making skills of a top-notch winning player.

"Harrington On Online Cash Games: 6 Max" by Dan Harrington

This is another great read for the player who is just starting out in the cash game arena but who is beyond the micro-stakes level. This book is ahead of the others in that it does put the tracking software stats in some kind of perspective and it helps the player to understand the significance of some of those numbers. It gives plenty of food for thought but it can get a little monotonous and it's possible to get a little bogged down. Anyway, definitely worth a whirl.

6. LATEST ACQUISITIONS (CASH GAME BOOKS)

"Small Stakes No-Limit Hold'em" by Miller, Mehta & Flynn

This is a very recent purchase so I can't really comment in any depth at the moment. It's geared towards the $1/$2 player and what I have read would certainly make it worthy of a Top 10 place. Muggings here paid £22 for it but you can snap it up cheaper online. 

No Limits: The Fundamentals of No Limit Holdem by Wallace and Stemple

Similarly, this book was purchased not 12 hours ago. From a skim read, it looks like a good, fresh read and probably worthy of a Top 10 place. It's also good for the $1/$2 player. No expense spared with the publishing costs - the cards have colour!

Christmas Shopping

Today, I'm off to get the annual chore that is Christmas shopping completed and done and dusted once and for all. My dad is a horse-racing enthusiast and so I'll be off to The High Stakes bookshop on Great Ormond Street to look for an up-to-date book for him on the subject. This is my favourite bookshop in the whole of London because ever since The Chess & Bridge Centre closed down on Euston Street it's the only one, as far as I'm aware, that actually specialises in poker books. In contrast to places like Waterstones and Foyles, their selection is actually pretty damn good and if you ever pay a visit to old London town be sure to check it out. Unfortunately, I think they close at weekends now and are only open from 12-6 but still, it's well worth a visit. (I know internet shopping is all the rage now but it's nice to be able to try before you buy and actually shop in the traditional way once in a while.)

On the subject of poker books, it is my intention to do a couple of Top 10s before 2011 arrives. The first Top 10 will be my own rundown of the best poker books money can buy. In the meantime, you can catch a sneak preview of my personal Top 10 right here. In addition to this, I want to do a rundown of the Top 10 most popular networks. To see how they rank in popularity you just need to visit Poker Scout. I shall probably start with the Top 5 first; Poker Stars, Full Tilt Poker, Party Poker, The iPoker Network (Paddy Power) and The Ongame Network (Betfair). After this I shall write about 5 of the rest, namely; The Microgaming Network / Ladbrokes, 888Poker (formerly Pacific Poker), PKR, The Boss Network (Poker Heaven) and The Cereus Network (Absolute Poker). I'm really looking forward to doing this because I like to mess around with images and screenshots and stuff.

At some point, I'll also finish off my retrospective report of PKRL5 where I'll be writing about some of the side game action. I would like to get all this done before the new year so I can then start concentrating on and improving my own game.

Ok, I'm off to face the madness. Until next time, take care...Uncle Wobble.

PKR LIVE 5 - Sunday: Terminator Tournament

The Terminator Tournament was a $150 buy-in that all L5 qualifiers were automatically eligible to play in if they weren't still in the main event. The principle is simple: you get one "life" (in this case in the form of a cheap red poker chip) and whoever knocks you out gets given that chip. Each chip is worth $50 (or it may have been £50, I forgot) and you cash them in at the end. The rest of the prize pool is distributed in the customary way.

For this, the atmosphere was definitely lighter. Indeed, I had come, hangover-free, with a full book of drinks vouchers which I thoroughly intended to use. Results-wise the tournament was awful; I played pretty badly and I didn't get my hands on anyone's bounty. For me, I just become short-stacked very soon and committed the cardinal sin of just allowing myself to get blinded away so much that I become a zero-force at the table. In the end I think I put my 2-3BB stack in from early position with something like 9 5o. A bit embarrassing really.

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Anyway let's have a starting table round-up:

Seat 1 - pockets31: This was a very young guy in his late-teens/early twenties who seemed to play very standard ABC poker. His sharkscope stats are quite impressive (a near $8K profit at the time of writing) with the little wriggly shark jiggling away next to his name. Although he seemed to like a joke, he was definitely there more for business than for pleasure in my opinion and he cashed in 12th place for a $250 payout.

Seat 2 - Kusken777: This confident Swedish fellow has a fairly solid game and came with a good, steady set of MTT results. I asked about his name and its the name given to the horse-drawn carriage which (the dealer helpfully pointed out) is used in what the Americans call trap-racing. He's apparently an enthusiast, Kusken that is, not the dealer. Anyway, this guy was definitely into increasing his stack early and was becoming more dangerous as his stack increased. I've forgotten how he was taken out but quite relieved when he was.

Seat 3 - KKowboy: KKowboy was someone who I had met at The Fox Launch party and who outwardly is not someone who takes the game too seriously (although I'm sure he does). He enjoys the banter and played the entire game with a huge PKR patch attached to his forehead. He is a forum contributor and, like myself, was asked to take part in their player profile section. He did let slip that he had a bit of a chatbox war with jlmgyou, who was sitting at seat 10 at the table, but it was good to see them laugh this off.

Seat 4 - Wobblebottom: This is just some fat bloke who let himself get blinded away.

Seat 5 - maikie80: This guy had come over from Holland and while his sharkscope graph suggests he is a consistently good, solid player (a very steady upward graph in excess of $15K at the time of writing) he just didn't seem to make much of an impression at the table. He played the game in a good spirit and was chatty and friendly but I just can't remember any memorable hands that he played.

Seat 6 - welllbet: Welllbet, as most PKR players will know, is now a PKR pro. She has been around on PKR for quite some time (I remember playing against her in the early days) and I was quite surprised to hear that she had won over $60K by multi-tabling the $50nl/$100nl tables. She has a very quiet and composed, inexpressive, unassuming presence at the table - but she did give the table a nice little dance (emote style) when she finally won her first hand. At this table she never really got out of the blocks and headed for an early exit.

Seat 7 - weplayany2: This guy had a very thick Geordie accent and I wondered if any of our European friends at the table could understand him. He was quite a character - good-natured and fairly confident and he entertained the table about his grievance with one AlanPartidge who is a regular at the full ring $200nl cash game at PKR. He played a high variance game and was not frightened to throw his chips around.

Seat 8 - *EMPTY SEAT*

Seat 9 - Rhymenoceros: This guy has a huge presence at the $400nl+ cash game tables at PKR and gets a lot of respect from the regulars. He has the appearance of being the boffin of the classroom and he could pass for your friendly regular maths teacher or the local vicar. He has a very quiet unassuming table manner (just like all the good players) is very composed and goes about his business in a calm, business-like way. At this table he never really got going but you could tell he was only really here for the cash games.

Seat 10 - jlmgyou: This player did not seem to have a great grasp of the English language. He was French but was of far-Eastern origin and just played quietly and very solidly. It was clear he was just here for the poker. I recognised his name from when I played some of the $20-$30 SnGs in the past and I remember him as being pretty solid then as well. He managed a 14th place finish and, with bounties, bagged $350.

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One advantage about just hanging on in a tournament, with just a few chips, like a big girl's blouse is that you do get to see various players come and go at your table. In my case I got to say hello to two more big-name players. PatIvey (with back to back wins plus a 3rd in The Masters) arrived at the table but his stay was fairly short-lived; he got knocked out in the same hand as welllbet when a fella called IQSwarri caught the pair of them out with his AA. Tigerwing, a popular pro player, also arrived at the table and I congratulated him on his win in The Fox Club's £300 buy-in main event MTT.

Finally, a fella called jaywhat arrived and was at the seat next to me for what must have been for all of two hands. This guy is mainly an omaha player but manages to get into more scrapes on the forum than any other contributor. I even had a slight ding-dong with him a while back. Still it was nice to say a quick hello.

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In my next and, probably, last post about PKRL5 I shall write about the SnG game I was involved in and the three cash game tables that I visited as the event wound down.  

Forgive Me, For I Have Sinned

I knew I was going to find it hard to resist temptation but I have come here to confess: yesterday I sat at a $100nl cash game table and played a few orbits!! I know...I said I was going to steer clear of anything above 50nl but I just couldn't resist it. The place was there, the table looked right and I plonked myself down. Ok, I did manage to turn in about a $20 profit but I was very good about the whole thing. I played quite solid (although I missed value-towning a calling station on the flop and river in one hand) and I scarpered when a regular or two sat down at the table. Unfortunately, I got rightly punished later at a $50nl table when the $20 profit got deservedly wiped out and then some.

I went ahead with my plan to withdraw my balance  from Betfair. I did a full cashout from there and put £70 of the profit from there straight into my PKR account. With this amount ($330), I consider myself free-rolling now until the end of the year. It's a small sum but it allows me to scratch that poker playing itch when I get the urge. The bankroll management book goes out the window with this roll. I may even resist temptation, lose control again and just blow the lot on a few 100nl sessions, it's the season of goodwill after all, - but as it's not part of my proper 2011 challenge, I'll not be too downhearted if it gets wiped out.

4 Inspirational Poker Songs

In the cut and thrust world of poker you need inspiration and here are four songs that give that to you in spades (as it were). They've got me through a few MTTs I can tell ya:

The Long Journey Of Poker  

"Heavy Cross" by Gossip.

The Ups and Downs. A Chip And A Chair.

"Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba

Poker On A Sunday

"Beautiful Sunday" by Daniel Boone

Soul-read Opponents

"Darkside" by Trystero

PKR Live 5 - Saturday: The Main Event

Before I give a summary of my experience at this event, I would just like to throw up; throw up an image of the ID card that they issued me with at the beginning of the tourney:

So I woke up on the Saturday morning feeling a little worse for wear and made my way down to The Fox Poker Club in the west end of London. I checked in and, being a platinum member, received a voucher of 20 drink tokens entitling me to twenty free drinks - nice. Pity I was far too hungover to actually use them. Anyway, I milled around a bit and then took my seat at Table 2, Seat 2. Along with the aforementioned ID card, a very nice scarf was sitting there at each place, lovingly folded for each player - a very nice gesture. (I'll do an image of the scarf later.) I'd already done my research on the players and figured that, on paper, I was sitting at a pretty mean table. I'd even tried to convince anyone on the forum, who was remotely interested, that I was on The Table Of Death.

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You can check out PKR's official photos for L5 right here. In the meantime, here's a rundown of my starting table:

Seat 1 -Rattus: This fella, whose username is an anagram of his real name (Stuart), is a fairly regular face at The Fox and he was on very friendly terms with one of the dealers. He said I was less fat than he'd thought I'd be - which was nice. He came to the tourney with a good few recent results at live MTTs. His girlfriend was a constant source of support and although not quite off-putting did seem to be on the scene every five minutes taking his photo and whatnot. His manner at the table was friendly and he was willing to chat about this that and t'other.

Seat 2 - Wobblebottom: Just some fat geezer who thinks he's better than he really is.

Seat 3 - ScottyStarburst: This young, round and happy-faced chap is known as a high-stakes online pro player at PKR and even wrote a double-page (four-page?) spread in the WPT magazine on how to win a pot limit omaha tournament. I think he's popular with the in-crowd and certainly knows his stuff. At the table, he was a fairly quiet presence ( I thought he'd be louder) and it was clear that he was trying to build an early stack lead. He played many hands loosely from early position, never got going and went out early.

Seat 4 - Trymean77: Trymean77 has an excellent record at MTTs and won The Fox Launch party event soon before L5 kicked off. You only have to check out her sharkscope graph and her appearance on page 15 of Issue 6 of Stacked to see that she knows the game. She brings to the table her trademark dyed red hair and fairly strong (Swedish) accent. At this table she was clearly knocked back by getting involved in a flush-heavy board against japete and never really got back into it. Soon after, her AA got cracked by Rattus's QQ and she headed for an early exit.

Seat 5 - tebby1: This guy had no real record to speak of but played a fairly quiet, solid game. He may have been playing his hand strength a lot but I didn't really get involved with many hands against him. Like Ablazemusic in Seat 9, he didn't seem like a regular high-stakes live player or anything like that. He crashed out when his set of 9s got caught out by Ablazemusic's full-house on the river. 

Seat 6 - ZONE52: This guy just looked like the new kid from a different country who had just joined the classroom. He never seemed to get to grips with the chip denominations, had to be constantly reminded about the state of play and just seemed to be at a loss as to what the hell was going on. In saying that he lasted a long time and was quite hard to read. 

Seat 7 - japete: I only got involved with one hand against japete and when I did, I took the opportunity to ask him how he pronounced his username; ja-pet, ja-peet or ja-petty and he said any would do. When I asked him his real name it sounded like "Yolb" but I've since learnt it's Jaume. (You pronounce the "J" with a "Y" to make "Yome.") Any well-informed PKR player knows this man's credentials - pay a visit to the PKR website and he is revered as a cash game king. He's almost a PKR pro-in waiting and he has a feature in the latest issue (Issue 11) of Stacked. (No link available yet.) Look at his sharkscope graph and you can see that he's smashed the MTTs as well. His table manner is what you'd expect from this highly popular player - a very warm personality and an absolute gentleman! He grabbed 2nd place overall by the way. Wow, I almost felt like writing that the sun shines out of his arse as well but that would just be rude.

Seat 8 - siggen333: As a regular multi-tabling presence at the $200nl+ cash game tables and a player I had respected, I was expecting this guy to be MEAN and he didn't disappoint. He looks pretty mean and scarey in his appearance and his table manner is very similar. Business-like, no-nonsense, tough to get a read and he raised my blind so much (as expected) I was thinking of buying some ribbon during the break so I could gift wrap the chips for him. I can't say I was disappointed to see him go when his AQ failed to improve against Rocken's AK.

Seat 9 - Ablazemusic: Much like tebby1, this fella was a bit of an unknown quantity beforehand but seemed to play fairly solidly. However, he just seemed to lack that confidence or spark that you see in a real contender which is all the more reason why I was so annoyed at donking off a load of chips to him and letting him off the hook in a major hand that really messed me up (see below). He was still going strong when I exited and I think he may have even grabbed a cash place.
 
Seat 10 - Rocken1900: This very mild-mannered fellow spoke zero words at the table and was almost a non-existant presence who seemed more than happy to be off the radar. He played as tight as the Rock of Gibraltar, got involved with very few hands but, as someone at Number 1 in the all-time money list with winnings of over $200K, commanded 100% respect from the rest of the table! There was no way you could get a read from him but you could sense he was always sussing out the table, like a cobra, waiting to see when the moment was right to pounce. Top man. Top player.

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As play continued a fair few more players came to the table, far too many to mention (and I apologise if I've missed you out) but two characters stood out. One was a French player; tall, distinctive, stylish and with the look of Brad Pitt about him. His name was HappyApple and he was known, on the PKR forum, for being involved in the biggest pot ever played for in a PKR cash game. I'm not going to dig out a link but it was for a pretty penny I can tell you. The other was an Italian chap who I sometimes see at the $200nl cash tables at PKR and who has a very good MTT record as well (approaching $30K profit). He goes by the name of ilcurioso and you can read a profile about him in an issue of Stacked. Check out his double page spread in Issue 9 of Stacked (p16-17) and his photo as he poses majestically while looking mysteriously into the distance.     

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-----PKR and The Fox Club are not big fans of my face but they love my arms. You can see part of my right arm in the picture of Rattus and a bit of my left arm in the picture of ScottyStarburst in the official set of PKRL5 photos.. You can see my right arm behind LockeLamora's hat and glasses at the far right of the screen in this youtube clip at 0:49 and you can see more of my arms in Seat 2 (2 to the right of Hardeep and his turban) at 1:06.-----

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Well, to be honest, my performance reminded me of those chess tournaments I used to play many years ago. I'd take hours to get to the place and then sit down playing good, solid chess for hours, even making a few inspirational moves that a master would be proud of; then......I'd throw it all away with a blunder of epic proportions and wonder why the hell I'd even bothered in the first place!! This is just what I HATE about MTTs. Well, my event was very similar to that. I was ducking and diving, wheeling and dealing very nicely right up until when the table dynamic changed, after about 5 or 6 hours when we were down to about 50 or so players, with the gradual arrival of three or four new players who'd been transferred from other tables. 

The key hand occurred when I was on a fairly reasonable stack, but I can't remember if I was acting after the villain or not or if I was on the button or in the blinds or what; I just can't remember. I looked down at 6 7s and my villain raised preflop in late position. I made the call and the flop came Q Q x, giving me a flush draw. My read was that my opponent hadn't hit anything and was just cbetting the flop and turn with nothing. I just called on both streets (not good) and when my flush failed to come in I just gave up and checked it on the river (totally bad)!! Needless to say, he showed A 10 for an ace-high hand and my table image crumbled right there.

Not going with my read and not putting him all-in on the river was just criminal - I'm sure he would have folded to an all-in. Anyway, this kind of annoyed me and I was down to about 12BBs. I know I still have a lot to learn with MTTs because the annoyance with my bad play really tilted me and I just completely lost my balance. (This just doesn't happen to professional players.) I just didn't want to play this tournament with a short-stack and something in my head pressed the "panic button" far too early. I know this. Soon after this hand I looked down at 44 in late position and I told myself I was going all-in if it was folded to me. Lo and behold, it folded to me, I went all-in but got called by someone holding 10 10 in the small blind and that was it - thank you and goodnight. I was so pissed off with my play that I couldn't bring myself to hang around for any sort of cash game action - and I headed straight for the bus journey home.

It can be very disheartening, to walk away from a tournament table knowing that you've played well but that you got knocked out cos the villain got lucky - but it's a hell of a lot worse when you leave the table knowing that you've played like a complete donkey! (Even if it's just the one or two hands.) Anyway, in a later post I will sum up the final day which consisted of the Terminator Tourney and lots of SnG and cash table action. I'll give you my take on the players at my table in that tourney (plenty of pros and interesting characters) and some of the characters I met at the side-games afterwards,  including some of the regular mid to high stakes PKR cash game players.

Most Famous Person At My Table

Loads of people ask me if I've ever sat at the poker table with anyone famous. ( Well, they don't really, I just wanted to name-drop.) Well, with all due respect to Ashley Hames, James Sudworth and Tom Fleischer (ashleyhames1, james666 and flesicher123) the most recognisable name/face who I've had the pleasure of sitting with at the table is Hardeep Singh (or as I like to now call him, "Hardeep"). He was at my table at The Fox Poker Club and if you can't quite place him then here's a picture of him:  

And if you found that one offensive, here's another one for you:

PKR Live 5 - Friday: Free Drinks At Tower Bridge

**For this trip report, I will refer to players by using their PKR username.**

Prior to the two days of poker that were lined up at The Fox Poker Club the good people at PKR had organised a social gathering with free drinks for all, for all the L5 qualifiers and their guests, at Tower Bridge. Now while this may sound pleasant and glamorous and no doubt would have cost a pretty penny, most players, it turned out, would much rather have been playing a little poker. Nevertheless, here is my report of the evening:

Being my first PKRLive, the amount of people I knew beforehand (apart from the handful I had met briefly at The Fox Club launch party) came to precisely zilch. After a very wet journey to Tower Bridge and a few lagers on the way to loosen up, I arrived at the entrance to the north west tower. Inside, there was a small foyer along with a few PKR representatives and promo girls. After confirming my name, it was up in the lift to the corridor at the top. There is a very Victorian feel to the place as you exit the lift but when you take a right you get to the corridor, lined with purple and blue lighting, which links the two western towers together. Not knowing anyone, I grabbed a couple of bottles and just slowly sauntered to the end of the corridor while trying to recognise some of the faces. As it turned out I recognised A LOT of the faces but was happy to sip my beer and take in the view of London.

As time ticked on I thought it might be a good idea to strike up a conversation and I soon got talking to a chap who goes by the name of Robublind. We chatted away about the main event but what struck me the most was this guy's resemblance to Mike Matusow. He could have been his twin brother for sure! Anyway, I then spotted my guest who goes by the username of MrDickie and grabbed his attention. (As a qualifier you are allowed to invite a guest and as none of my friends or relatives were up for this, I offered my guest ticket to anyone who wanted it from the PKR forums.) We chatted away for a short while and the subject turned to PKR players. On mentioning the fact that I had never met Chivalrousgent, he immediately introduced me to the man himself. Never mind Mike Matusow's twin brother - right there was Chivalrousgent's very own twin brother!! Anyway, among this group were SOTVandy (a previous winner of The Masters) and also a chap called Philip Conneller (username: escalope) who was the first winner of PKRL (L1) and the editor of Bluff Magazine.

Well, after I told him how much I enjoyed his magazine and that its articles were the meatiest and most informative out of the whole crop of poker mags you can buy (the truth by the way, this wasn't flattery), I did mention my view on their front covers. Namely, that they nearly always contain a picture of a "hunky" bloke or two and that they look like gay mags for gay men. Surprisingly, he told me that he was aware of this but then asked me what else you would put on the front to make it less gay. Unfortunately, I was not able to supply him with a satisfactory answer at the time. (Maybe have poker related stuff with no blokes on the cover or, at least, don't make them look like models or porn stars?) I also asked him, as he had won L1, why he wasn't a presence at the PKR tables anymore, but he was tight-lipped on this one. He did let out though, that PKR weren't too pleased that he kind of did a runner after that success.

Anyway, shortly after, I had a short chat with Mumbolungo (Elvis hairstyle/strong Scottish accent) about strategies for the main event and then said a quick hello and goodbye to vd12345 (rotund fellow and winner of L3). As I left, the lager was telling me it was still early days and that I should see what was going on at The Fox and I'm sorry to say, I didn't resist this temptation. On the way down in the lift I saw Brutusnr1 and told him I was a big fan of his. As I passed him on the street later, I just punched my fist in the air and yelled "Sweden!" He probably thought I was some sort of stalker because I did the same when I saw him later at The Fox.

So I'm at The Fox, I'm a bit tipsy and I buy £200 in chips for a cash game!! Luckily, these just slipped into my pocket and were never used again until I cashed them the next day - thank goodness. I then nip out to the smoker's area for some fresh air and see Brutusnr1 again with a serious looking chap who goes by the (almost spoonerismically vulgar) username of BUCKFASTer. This guy just looked seriously unhappy about something all the time. Anyway, before Brutusnr1 really takes me for a disturbed stalker I figure it's probably best to let him know my PKR username. Thankfully, he recognises it and we're merrily chatting away. He then introduces me to some more forum favourites and familiar names including Trymean77, Azurecoil and TheMightySwe.

By this time though, things have started to get very blurry. I recall saying a quick hello to the likes of petrafyde, Soxfan73, KKowboy and I remember chatting away with Oscartpot. Unfortunately, by about 1 o'clock, I'm flagging and I head for a bus for the long journey home. I get in at about 2 o'clock in the morning and the realisation dawns that this is probably the worst preparation you can have for the main event!!

Apologies for the lack of detail and just the roll of names at the end but this lack of attention to detail may just reflect my drunken state at the time. Nevertheless, in my upcoming posts, I'll write about how the main event went and give an insight into the table manner of some of the players who were sitting at my table.

Live Poker Bad. Online Poker Good.

We're just beyond half-way through December now and I feel the need to report on my "winding-down" sessions for this last "winding-down" month of the year. For those who haven't read my previous blogs, September through to November were rubbish for me when it came to online poker so I am using December as the month to slow down before I plan to move up a gear or two in the new year.

In short, this is how my live sessions have gone this month:

1) 4th Dec: £35 freeze-out at The Fox plus cash games at The Fox and The Empire -£130
2) 5th Dec: £55 freeze-out at The Fox -£55
3) 7th Dec: Cash game session at The Fox -£140
4) 11th Dec: £35 freeze-out at The Fox -£35

TOTAL LIVE POKER BALANCE SO FAR THIS MONTH: = -£360.

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Not really very good truth be told. Let's swiftly move on to my online exploits where I've mainly been playing 25nl up to 50nl:

1) Betfair Deposit £325. Current balance = £400. +£75
2) PKR Account = +$90 (rakeback payment) PLUS +$160. Current balance = $250. +$250  OR  (+£150)

TOTAL ONLINE POKER BALANCE SO FAR THIS MONTH = +£225

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GRAND TOTAL SO FAR FOR THE MONTH -£135 OR (-$200)

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Ok, the downside is that my live game looks awful; the upside is that I've managed to go from $0-$250 in two weeks at PKR (albeit with a rakeback boost) by playing a few $25nl and $50nl cash games.

Swings and roundabouts. Swings and roundabouts. I'm thinking of withdrawing the £400 from Betfair and zonking £75 of that into my PKR account to be effectively free-rolling till the end of the year. Thing is, you won't believe how strong the temptation is to play a little 100nl.

PKR Live 5 - Qualification

PKR hold a live tournament twice a year. Presently, it is only open to PKR players and, to my knowledge, there are only three ways to get in:

1) Qualify online through their satellites.
2) Be a PKR pro player.
3) Get invited to buy-in direct (as a VIP player) using a surplus ticket after the bulk of the places have been awarded.

The first four "PKR Lives" were held at the Loose Cannon near Cannon Street Station and proved to be a very popular venue. Since then, PKR drummed up a sponsorship deal with The Fox Poker Club on Shaftesbury Avenue and subsequently decided to hold their forthcoming live events at this new venue. Over the next few blogs, I'm going to write about my experience of the PKR Live event (hereafter referred to as "L5") but I'll start with how I qualified:

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Satellites for this start about 3-4 months in advance. You can have a crack from the bottom rung which starts at around $4, the middle stage for about $28 or you can have a stab at the final stage for a direct buy-in of $160. To my mind, anyone who is available at the time of the event and who can get to London for it and who has a sufficient bankroll should have, at least, a couple of pops at it. It's nice.

My path for this started out the same way as my other woeful efforts to qualify for past PKRLs. Previously my personal best for L4 was a bubble finish at Stage 2 (pipped, among others, by a Scottish chap called Modge). And the closest I came for a place in L3 was second place, out of a few hundred runners, in a lottery for a place in the final stage; second, that is, to the eventual winner of L3 whose name is vd12345. Anyway for L5 I had no joy at the three or four efforts at Stage 1 and zero joy at the three or four efforts I made at Stage 2 and so I initially just chalked this up as another fail. 

Then there was a lifeline. One advantage of perusing the PKR forums is that you do sometimes get to see certain news of events before some of the other players and in this case it was the announcement that there was going to be a "Last Chance" satellite to qualify for L5. Now at this point, because my poker playing had gone up the spout, I had emptied my entire bankroll earlier and had $0 in my account. However, I just had this feeling that this could be the one. I made a one-shot $162 deposit so that I could enter the last chance saloon. I had a feeling that I should enter quickly as I felt sure these places would be snapped up quickly.

The satellite itself held places for seven players and out of about 34 odd players there were a lot of familiar names at the tables. I started off terribly and fell shortstacked fairly soon but, fortunately, I doubled up a few times at the right moments and just felt like I was going to be ok. Down to about 14 players I made a suspect call with something like K-8 in the BB to a SB all-in bet from a shortstacked Trymean77. Her ace held and I think that was her ticket in the bag. After a few tussles with the likes of Modge, petrafyde, Kingand77 and L4's runner-up, JJbird22, we got down to the final table.

Practically all the players on the final table were forum posters (friedagaric, Modge, ForFoxSake, petrafyde, Trymean77, Chivalrousgent, JJbird22 and yours truly) and maybe this accounted for why there were around 50 or so raillers! Anyway, soon enough I'm pretty much chip-leader and in the enviable position of being in "fold-to-the-seat" mode. However, I look down at KK in mid-pos and see friedagaric go all-in a few seats before me! Yep, good play says I fold but, hell, I never said I was any good and so I make the call. She flips over 44 and my KKs hold up. We're down to nine players and Modgie-babes falls by the wayside. Then, for some some reason JJbird22 is playing so loose and crazy, you really have to wonder what the hell he is doing. Anyway, after another suspect all-in from him, he gets called by Mr Huge-Stack and he's gone and we're all celebrating. (No worries for JJbird22 though - he still made it to L5!)

I would like to thank jdnorway for the above screenshot.

It's a very strange feeling qualifying for one of these. You win a relatively huge prize, which is the envy of many PKR players, yet you haven't actually won a single penny! Still, with it being talked-up so often, and with all those big name players involved, I really looked forward to my first PKRL. In a later post I shall talk about the Friday Drinks Party which occurred on 12th November and which was the curtain raiser to their Main Event which started on Saturday 13th November.