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Magical Mystery Poker Tour    Friends

End of Year

Date: Thu, Dec 23, 2010 Professional

Well, a disappointing year on the poker front comes to a close, my first losing year so far. It would have been worse had it not been for a good visit to Vegas, but basically there were far too many alcohol fueled late night cash sessions, which damaged the bankroll.

One positive was that I registered a second place in the latest edition of our WSOP league, so at least I am now housed in midtable and can have a decent crack at it in the final six events next year.

Happy Christmas to all and have a prosperous New Year.

Jimbo

P&L GBP 2010
Live Tournaments (710)
Live Cash (3,367)
Online Tournaments 834
Online Cash 92
Poker Festivals 0
Rake (1,917)

Total (5,068)

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A smidgen of points

Date: Fri, Dec 10, 2010 Professional

Registered some minor improvement at the League this week night placing 5th, not good enough for any cash, but at least securing 30 points as opposed to my usual 10. I'm still lurking in lower mid table though and need to try and score heavily in the six double points games in the new year.

A few hands I remember:

Hand 1
Playing 8c9c the board reads 67TK on the turn and I bet 200 into 300 and all pass :(

Hand 2
Blinds 150-300 Jody makes it 900 UTG, I make it 2700 with KK. Jody calls and we see an all low board. I shove my last 3k and Jody calls with 99 and I double up to 11k or so.

Hand3
I raise 7c9c at 200-400 to 1100 in cutoff and Alistair calls in BB.

Flop is Axx, nothing for me.

I bet 1600, and Alistair calls.

Turn is 6. Still no draw.

Check, Check

River is another non helpful card, Alistair checks, I bet 2200 and Alistair calls for the win with 2 pair. Not a good hand for me, losing nearly half my stack.

Hand4
Blinds are 300-600 and my 7k stack is starting to feel short. I find A9 second to act and shove. Mike snap shoves and Jalfont calls in the BB after some deliberation.

I'm in dire straits against QQ and AQ, and my tournament is over.

The cash game ended with a small win for a couple of hundred, but this was a decent result seeing as I was in a losing position for nearly the entirety of the evening.

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Monkey Drums

Date: Thu, Nov 18, 2010 Professional

I was on tilt before I'd even played a hand at the Punch the other night. Somehow I'd managed to remove the wooden separators from inside our chip box and the chips had gone everywhere. It took me about 15 minutes to get it back it, during which time I suffered three splinters and two cuts from loose nails. Naturally I was getting more and more irate, and Nemo commented that it was like when a scientist gives a chimp a puzzle to do and he ends up whacking himself on the head with it :(

Anyway - the game went well, which was welcome considering I lost nearly a grand last time out, and I came away with a £600 win before going for dinner at Lutyens with Shazbo.

I gather the Baron and Jody hit the Empire afterwards, and when both of them registered big wins it meant that all five of us were well up for the evening - a first surely?

Also I'm told in one hand at the Empire the Baron moved all in with 9 high, was called, and WON(!) Somebody called him also with 9 high but with a worse kicker. Good grief :)

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Poor Night at the League

Date: Sat, Nov 6, 2010 Professional

I was eliminated from the League tournament in short order as is the standard. I played the hand badly - I decided to limp AQ UTG and then when it was raised and called in a few spots opted to flat call again. I think I should have just shoved here as it looks so much like AA/KK.

Anyway, flop was Q, T, X and I shoved over a chunky lead from one of the flat callers (Slider) and he had a set of tens to leave me drawing very thin indeed.

I also drank far too much, and promptly spewed off £960 in the cash game, to leave me back to square one in so far as cash games go since I returned from Vegas.

Maybe I'll learn one day :(

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Suited Gappers

Date: Fri, Oct 29, 2010 Professional

I played at the pub again last night and continued my upswing with another £600 win. I realised when I dealt myself pocket Jacks, that it was the first premium pair I had seen since my second last Luxor session in Vegas - that's quite a barren run! However, in this pot limit deep cash game, big pairs are almost a liability, and I'd much rather play something like 68 or some such. You normally know where you are in the hand, and don't have to make those tough decisions that happen when you hold Aces in a deep cash game. Check raised by Nemo on a flushing board when you still have 400BBs behind :)

Anyhow, I lost the JJ hand, but made up for it by hitting an unlikely sequence of trips and getting paid off. Nemo and the Baron seemed to feel the game was too small and actually cross booked themselves. I've never seen this outside of a tournament, but the rules were whatever Tom won or lost by a cut off time, would be settled in cash ON TOP of the actual cash wins or losses.

I'm fairly buoyant after my good run, so now I turn my attention to breaking another hoodoo - the WSOP league, where I have performed poorly so far (although getting AA cracked all in preflop twice hasn't helped). I'm languishing down in 15th spot, so really need to pick up some points.

Big pairs certainly help in that game, so hopefully an avalanche of Kings and Aces are heading my way. I'm due :)

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The Moderator

Date: Wed, Oct 27, 2010 Professional

The pub game was fun last night. A nice gentle £1/£1 game with a max buy in of £100. It being a pub, of course, the game results were registered solely on paper and no money exchanges hands on the night itself. Nemo and the Baron were the usual opponents, alhough Jody and Ioannis also arrived later.

I enforced the buyin/blind rules strictly, but I could see the players straining at their seat belts. Twice I came back from a cigarette to see a lightening £2/£5 hand in progress in my absence.

For the record, I registered a £600 win to continue my good form. Things didn't start promisingly, as I was 3 buyins down within a couple of hours, the Baron calling my re-raise when I held pocket nines blind, and held the 3 when the board was 533 or some such. Obviously :)

However things started to pick up in the final few hours, and I had my big hands hold up when favourite and all in, scooping even when running it twice.

I also got a big bluff through with 5 high against Nemo. I bet pre-flop and on every street, and when the flush card arrived on the river, I closed my eyes and shoved and Nemo thankfully found a fold. In these short handed games you need to take these risks once in a while, otherwise you are simply relying on flopping well.

I'm staying out in Northwood this week, so my pre-booked cab arrived at 11pm and took me home. After my calming absence had been removed from the game, all hell broke loose. The game turned into an unlimited buy in four handed game, with compulsory blinds of £5/£10/£20/£40, with Nemo ending up winning over £4,000.

So much for a friendly Tuesday night.

As Nemo said this morning "When Jimbo is the voice of reason, it's time to worry"

:)

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Back to The Pub Game

Date: Tue, Oct 26, 2010 Professional

So, from the glitz of Vegas to four handed mayhem. Wonder if my favourable run will continue on this side of the Atlantic? Seeing as one of my opponents tonight is the Baron of Rungood it would seem doubtful.........

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Vegas - two final shorties

Date: Sat, Oct 23, 2010 Professional

1)

Had just finished dinner in the over-rated Jasmine at the Bellagio and left the table for the toilet. Opened the door stretching, with my eyes shut, before turning round to lock the door. Then realised it was a single seater and there was a gentleman sitting on the toilet who had forgotten to lock the door. He looked genuinely alarmed (presumably because I had walked in purposefully and locked the door).

Hello handsome. You ain't going nowhere.

2)

Shaun has just cashed out of Caesars and has three $100 bills and three $10 bills in his pocket (you can probably guess where this is going). Taxi back to Luxor, fare is $24. Shaun gives him the three $10s and tells him to keep the change.

Cabbie: "Sir you are a gentleman! You have a nice day (jabs finger) YOU HAVE A NICE DAY!"

Taxi rockets off into distance.

Neil "He seemed like a jolly chap"

Shaun "He did didn't he?......Hold on" (Checks wallet)

"Bollox"

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Vegas - Time to leave

Date: Thu, Oct 21, 2010 Professional

The last day of Vegas had little to write about from a poker perspective. I couldn't get motivated to play another cash game so just played the Hollywood 2pm tournie, and busted in 7th after losing AJ v 77 and then QQ v AK. In a tournie structured this fast you obviously can't afford to lose these races.

One amusing hand early on in this tournament, blinds are 400-800 and I have a stack of 4800. I open shove cutoff with 6s9c.

Big blind dwells for a good while and then folds, flipping up pocket Jacks. (!)

Dinner at Aquaknox was excellent again, making up for the rapid deterioration shown in the service at previous favourite haunt Koi.

Off to airport in a couple of hours.

Jimbo out.

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Vegas - more Luxor fun

Date: Wed, Oct 20, 2010 Professional

I put in a 3 hour session in the Luxor cash game yesterday with more fun and games.

I normally try to establish a stupid image cheaply, but I took it a bit far this time. I 4 bet some guy to $150 with 2h4h when we were playing effective stacks of $220 (wasn't paying attention) and he shoved on me. Meh. I call and beat his AT.

Another highlight was raising with 8d6d, betting out on flop AKJ. I get flat called by KKK (trappy trappy). Check, check on turn and fortunately the runner runner diamonds get there and he calls an over-sized bet on the end.

Two gentlemen are dressed completely inappropriately for a shallow stacked $1/$2 game. They are not saying a word, wearing MASSIVE sunglasses and headphones. Lol. When they leave on says to the other - "Man - I can't believe we didn't win in that game" :)

This was actually a losing session of $325 for me, after I lost a jumbo pot near the end. I'm fine with how it played out though.

Game is quite deep at this point.

Lady raises $10 playing $100
Shazbo calls playing $325
I call Ac6c on button playing $470
Shaun calls SB playing $900
Tight BB guy makes it $30 more (he has stack of $450)
Lady calls, Shazbo folds, I call, Shaun calls so pot is about $170

Flop is 2c4c8h

Shaun leads $30, BB guy makes it $105 and I shove for $440. All other pass, and the BB guy tanks for 5 mins and then calls with JJ and it holds. I guess I have 12 outs plus a couple of runner runner options so its almost a coin flip. Given the amount of time he took I guess I had some decent fold equity as well, although I think my hand looks pretty much like the nut flush draw and then over to him to decide if he wants to risk his stack.

Last day today - not sure what the plan is. Feel pretty pokered out and ready to head home.

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Vegas - Spa

Date: Tue, Oct 19, 2010 Professional

Jimbo talking to prim and proper spa American lady:

"Well it would only take 5 seconds if you waxed my chest"

Shazbo:

"Not if they did your arse it wouldn't"

FFS Shazbo :(

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Vegas - a good day

Date: Tue, Oct 19, 2010 Professional

Yesterday went very well with only 4 hours of poker action.

Chopped the Treasure Island $50 tournament for $200 when we were 4 handed and everyone had about 3 big blinds. Not much to write home about though as I had to buy into the tournament 3 times before getting anything going!

Myself, Shazbo, Shaun and Niel sat down in the Luxor for 2 hours before we went to Aquaknox for dinner. I followed my usual plan of playing like a lunatic for the first hour, losing a buy in. However, with an image of the table dunce, when I did start hiting some hands, I ran my stack up from $200 to $1300 in the last hour of play, because nobody would fold any longer to any of my bets at this stage, and I started betting two or three times the pot when I had the nuts :) Shazbo won a couple of hundred as well, although our massive bill in Aquaknox soon swallowed up the profit.

I even won $200 at roulette which is unheard of. With only two days to go, it would take a massive misstep to leave Vegas with a loss, although I'm sure I'll give it a good go ;)

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Vegas - Quad Run

Date: Mon, Oct 18, 2010 Professional

No poker yesterday, as Shazbo arrived in town and I was pretty drained after the Luxor game the other day. However, we did play "3 card poker" on the tables and had some good fortune.

First Shazbo was dealt JJJ and then the dealer completed the 6 card bonus with his hand with another J. That was good for $900 or so with all the various bonus combinations.

Soon after I folded my rubbish hand of 953 and placed it at the top. However, you still get to play your 6 card bonus, and the dealers hand was 555 for quads again :) Only $500 for me because my other boxes were non live, but still nice on a hand I was almost certain to lose. I'm still down for table games though even after this.

We also tried out the Chinese restaurant Jasmine at the Bellagio for dinner and I thought it was very ordinary. Nothing particularly wrong with it, but for a tasting menu the dishes were uncomfortably big portions and a couple of them were either bland or too sweet. I'd avoid personally - it came to $350 for two I think with a glass of wine with each course.

Playing the Venetian midday tournament today before dinner at Aquaknox.

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Vegas - roulette slowroll

Date: Sun, Oct 17, 2010 Professional

Myself, Shaun and Neil were playing $100 each on roulette whilst waiting for our seat at the Steakhouse in Luxor.

Myself and Shaun had both busted, but Neil had about $150. It was time to go, so instead of betting his usual spread of $20, he put the entire $150 down, about $30 on number 6.

I was close to the wheel and watched the ball slowly drop.

I exclaim "IT'S A SIX!"

Neil is out of his chair jumping, shouting and high fiving every one, totally pumped at his $1k win.

Jimbo needs to learn the difference between a "6" and a "9".

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