Well where do I start? Arrived at Loose Cannon sauna centre Saturday morning to play main event, I know a few people disliked the venue, but i found it quite quirky and charming, the main problem was basically the heat and lack of ventilation. Started the main event well and had a 40k stack at about 7pm, unfortunately it was downhill after that losing 3 big races (one with certain “Ramchip” fella) when my JJ lost to his AQ AIPF, didn’t mind too much as it was another EMS`er and a race is a race. Went out shortly after that. Watched Scottie win his STT game to qualify for the final the next day and decided that I would enter the Terminator MTT on Sunday instead of having another go at the STT title id won in Newcastle previously.

Terminator began Sunday, it was a £30+3 buyin with £10 of that going on each players head as a bounty, my kind of game you could say. Sat down at first table with Jeff to my immediate left thinking to myself well one of us is going to double the other at some point lol. Began like an absolute rack, 1st 3 hands i had was QQ AA KK, unreal!!! Opposite me on table was a middle aged Chinese guy and a good player, I’d watched him make a few moves but picked up a “tell” on him, basically when he had a big hand he sat back, it was that obvious!. Was in BB and dealt AJ hearts. He raised 4xBB and it folded to me, i smoothed him. Flop came K 7 3, all hearts, i looked at him and he sat back, BINGO!!!. I checked (obv) he bet pot, and i flatted. Next card was Q clubs, i checked and he bet 3/4 pot, I dwelled (whilst counting his stack trying not to be noticed) and then I pushed in, I thought I had him covered but he had 100 chips left dammit, he called and turned KQ, thankfully river was another 3, and I doubled nicely again and crippled who I considered one of the better players on the table. Next hand I get A* suited in sb, Jeff is in BB and its folded round to me, I raise 4x and Jeff shoves in!!!! &^%*^&% I’m thinking to myself, the git prob has nothing so i insta call him, he turns 77 lol. Flop and turn are nothing then i hit 8 on river (sorry jeff). I’ve now got a big stack and decide to have some fun and turn on the JAG ATTACK mode raising from any position with anything half decent and shoving in pre flop when I had any big hands, this worked like a dream as I began knocking people out left right and centre.

Final Table. Was imo some good players on the table, IanUk was to my immediate left and 4TKNOX was on my immediate right. I had a nice stack and decided to read the table for a few rounds. IanUk was the aggressor early on and was playing exceptionally well in position, i decided that I would try not to get involved with him unless I was huge, I knocked a few other players out with some good TAG play then Ian went out, cant remember his hand tbh. Then we were down to 5, now its my kind of table, 4 quite tight players and the maniac that is me lol. I started bullying big time and took out 2 quite quickly as they had got short I was prepared to have a go at them with basically anything connecting or suited. Got down to the last 3, 4TKNOX was still there and A N other, 4TKNOX got a bit short and went out 3rd. Well played Mate. So know were heads up, and whatever happens now I’m going out betting, I had a good chip lead over guy and we showed each other respect, for about 15 mins. Then i got 89 suited, a hand I like, i bet 4xBB and he called. flop was J2J. We both checked, turn was 8, I thought about it a while, and decided it was good enough to have ago, I didn’t put him on a J or better as he didn’t raise my bet preflop. I bet half his stack, basically committing him, he dwelt for what seemed a lifetime and shoved all in, I already decided i was going to call so I insta call him, he turns over 78 and I’m 90% there, river comes another 2 and he thinks its a split, but my 9 had come into play and the title was mine!!!!

I would like to thank everyone who’d railed after RoyalScot had got knocked out ME final table, you guys don’t realise how much it helps then your all there. I rushed off to put on my EMS shirt for the Photos, I hadn’t worn it that day cos it was a bit smelly from the heat the day before lol, but I wanted it on for the photos whatever. I’m proud to be a part of EMS and the win is for us all as well as myself.
Congrats to RS for a great display and to Scottie for runner up in the STT final (still gutted for you).
Well done for everyone for yet another great EMS performance over the weekend. I hope to see you all at the EMS Championship in November at DTD

TWO TIMES!!!!!!!

After endless attempts at live tourneys and always busting out just before the cash I thought I would take a break from the weekly trip to DTD to play the Wednesday £30 freezeout, during this break I spent a lot of time reading up on tournament play and watching as many online videos of tournament play as possible just watching how hands played out and picking up some tips along the way.
Anyway one Wednesday I find myself online playing the £1/£2 cash game and decided that if I could double up on my buy-in then I would use that profit to buy into the tourney online. First hand I pick up K,K on the BB and get my re-raise called by 1 player in mid position, flop comes rainbow 10 high and after betting ¾ pot I called his shove to find out I’m against Q,Q, my hand holds up and I double my buy-in on the first hand, I sit out and enter the £30 freezeout hoping that this 1st hand double up was some kind of a sign.
The tournament starts at 8pm and I get off to an ok start doubling up during the first level, I then sit back a little as the table becomes a bit of a coin flip contest. After about 2 hours of play I pick up 5,5 OTB with 1 preflop raiser in early position, I call and the flop comes 2,5,10 rainbow, after flatting the post flop bet a second club hits the turn and the preflop raiser announces an all-in, after taking a minute to play the hand through in my head I decide that I’m most likely in front and he perhaps has an over pair and is possibly putting me on a draw. I call and find myself against A,K of clubs, after a 3rd club hits the river I find myself very short stacked with only 4BB left. I decide my usual tight play was going to get me nowhere now and I decided to shove a few hands and hope to get back to at least 10BB from stealing off the tighter players BB, my first shove with A,Q received no callers and I get up to around 6BB, my next shove with A,Q again does get called by the SB with A,9 and I double up sat with around 14BB at this point and I had a bit of a chip stack building now. This was the point I should have gone back to my usual game but stupidity got the better of me and I found myself shoving in early position with K,Q and get an insta-call from someone just after me, after flopping a K and hitting a Q on the river I crack his A,A and I return to my seat with a respectable chip stack again.
For the next 2 hours I play my usual game stealing when I felt it was right and playing the hands when I got them and I soon find myself down to the final 2 tables and nearly in the money, I had already made up my mind that I wasn’t going to sit and wait for the money like I used to do allowing myself to get blinded and anted out of the game so I started shoving again hoping people wouldn’t be calling light risking their tourney and bubbling, I shoved my A,Q in the cut off and got a lose call mid position with A,9 and I double up, the next hand I look down at A,9 UTG and once again stupidity got the better of me and I shoved my average stack over the line getting a called from the same guy this time with A,10, the first card out is a 9 which holds up and I double through the guy again. At this point the guy looks extremely angry and I wasn’t surprised to see him reaching for chips on my BB, after stacking up a 5xBB raise he starts putting them over the line to which the dealer announces a string bet and its folded round to me in the BB with K,2 clubs. The flop comes K,3,6 and I check to him, he pushes in a over sized bet on the flop and I sit back deciding what to do and what hands he might have wanted to raise preflop with. As I watch the guy sitting forward looking rather nervous with his arms crossed and his eyes fixed on the flop I decide that I’m going to play my K,2 and announce an all-in with the guy having ½ his stack in the pot already, he eventually calls and shows Q,Q and in 3 hands I go from short stack on the table to well over average and knock out my first player of the evening. I sit back for ½ hour and make the final table.
Sitting about 3rd in the chips I decide to sit back and wait for my hands not wanting to steal for the sake of it, I soon find myself with A,K and get a reraise all-in from someone in late position, getting 2-1 for my money I make the call which if I lost would leave me over average in chips still, race against J,J and hit an ace on the turn taking the first player out of the final table. Only a few hands later I find myself with A,K again in the BB and shoved against the OTB raiser, this player came to the table short stacked and I had seen him double and triple up after shoving weak aces so I figured A,K was good here even if he did call, He makes the call and I find myself in a coin flip against his 6,6, after flopping 2 pair I was feeling quite confident but I almost knew it was coming when I saw a 6 hit the river. I find myself sat with 13k left and with the blinds at 5k/10k pot committed on the SB, OTB flatted and I shoved blind knowing I could triple up, the BB and button called the extra 3k and we saw a flop.. K,K 6, OTB made it 30k to go and the BB got out the way. OTB shows K,Q and I turn my cards to see 5,5 which I was happy to see as I wasn’t totally dead and when a 5 hit the turn I made my triple up and went on a stealing mission for the next 2 hands shoving my A,X which soon turned my 45k into around 90k.
I find myself down to the final 5 and back in the running with everyone having pretty even stacks, after a few more stealing missions I have moved into 3rd in chips and with another player being eliminated we are nearing the end, the blinds reached 8k/16k with 1.5k ante and only 100k average stack and the table became a game of OTB shoving, the last hand of the night I picked up 7,7 and made the call against the buttons 2,2 which held up and put my chip leader by just a few thousand and when the chip count was offered at 3:30am I gladly accepted, taking home some nice prize money and my 1st ever live win.
A week later I try my luck again at the £30 freezeout, once again I get off to a great start, getting to 7,000 in chips from a starting stack of 3,000 after the first 10 minutes, for once I was actually getting some cards and managed to pick up some big pots with K,K on a K,6,4 board against a non believer with 7,7 and A,8 against A,6 after both flopping the A and my 8 kicker holding up. I find myself sat with 12,000 with an average stack of 4,500 and decide to sit back a little to play some premium hands and get as much information from the other players as I can.
Shortly after the first break I pick up 10,5 and make the call in the small blind with 1 preflop limper, the big blind checks it and the flop comes Q,4,5, the BB fires out a ½ pot bet and after the limper folds I make the call, a 2 hit the turn to change nothing and once again he fired out with a little over ½ pot bet, I again make the call hoping to improve on the river but a 9 on the river was no good for me and as the BB reached for more chips I sat back to think, if I made the call and lost I would only be down to average stack, after watching for a minute or two I decided that the nervous BB really wasn’t that strong and figured if I had called the flop and turn thinking my 5 was good I should probably be making this call which I did and was rewarded by seeing the BB turn over A,4.
A few steals kept my chip stack around double the average going into the second break of the night and for once I was actually feeling comfortable in a tournament not having to short stack the whole way through. As we got nearer to the final table everyone tightened up and I decided to make the most shoving light on the button and small blind increasing my stack every round, I then pick up A,A in the SB and with a raise UTG I decided to shove again hoping I would get a call after I had been shoving so many hands, after a long think he passed and I showed my hand hoping to improve my wreckless image. The very next hand UTG shoved for his whole stack of around 28k with the blinds at 2k/4k and once again I look down at A,A on the button and make the call, the aces hold up and im sat with around 110k with an average of 40k.
After just 4 ½ hours I had made the final table and all was looking well having more then double anyone elses stack on the table and after calling a shove from the button with A,4 in the small blind against his A,3 I made my flush knocking another player out and building my chip stack even more. A few hands later I pick up A,A and have a raise and a reraise all-in in front of me and decide to shove getting my headsup with A,8 and I increase to 180k in chips with just 4 people remaining.
1 hour later we were down to 3 and after passing the BB from person to person playing raise the button we decided on a chop with the stacks at 225k, 96k, 89k and I had made my second win in 2 visits to DTD.

SKY POKER UK TOUR DTD - 13^th Sept 2008

Saturday afternoon finds myself and Bill (Bill4343) sitting down for a shot at qualifying for the Sky UK Tour National Final to be held at DTD next June with a guaranteed prize pool of £25K.

Among the 120 pre-qualifiers are a selection of pros and celebrities including Maria Demetriou, Tom McCready, Richard Orford, Norman Pace, Dave Compton, Michelle Orp and several top amateur champions. We shuffle up and deal at 2pm and battle commences with a 5000 chip stack. I am on a really tight table which includes Tom McCready (the guy who plays the ‘baddie’ on the Sky Dictionary videos) with little action in the early stages which actually suits my style and after just collecting the blinds with AA and KK the first hour finds both myself and Bill with average chip stacks. I finally get some action with QQ on a raggedy flop and increase by 2000 chips just before the first break. During this period, quite a few go out including Richard Orford.

The next 2 hour section, I see little action but manage to stay around average by ducking and diving here and there. Bill has a crash when his AK runs into TT on a ATx flop and loses half his stack and at the Dinner break the field is down to around 60 with more big casualties including Michelle Orp.

We return after dinner and it starts getting serious – unfortunately Bill departs soon after the break as he is forced to make big moves with the blinds and antes kicking in. I have my first ‘big’ hand - with the blinds at 300/600 and only 8500 chips I pick up A9 suited in the big blind and hear the button raise to 2400. By this time I had decided that I wasn’t going to try and limp into the money but battle for the final table to secure a place in the Grand Final, so I shove and get an insta call with KK against me. I am fortunate to hit 2 aces on the board and I double through to just shy of 20,000 chips which is just above average with 40 odd left.

Thirty left now, I have Norman Pace on my table – the blinds are 800/1600 plus antes and I call an all-in with AK suited and find find myself in a race with JJ which I lose. Disaster, I am left with just 2000 chips so I shut my eyes and shove blind and leap to a massive 8000 chips when my T9 sucks out! Down to 24 with 20 paying and everything tightens up with the small stacks winning all the all-ins as usual, but after a further 45 minutes, somehow I find myself scraping into the money with a small stack.

For the next hour I play solid poker, shoving in position and at 11pm I am fortunate to have made the final table with second shortest stack. The final table comprises Maria, Tom McCready (who has been on my table the whole tournament) and mostly a host of DTD regulars.

The next hour I have 2 big hands which takes me to chipleader. I shove a raise with AK which wins the race against JJ and then I attempt a steal with 97 club suited only to be called with 66. The flop comes J85 with 2 clubs on board giving me loads of outs and I am fortunate to hit a 4c on the river to put me on 200,000 chips. Another 45 minutes of grinding, we reduce to 5 players including Maria and Tom and I find myself with 2^nd biggest stack. We dont see a flop for around 30 minutes before Maria sucks out a couple of times knocking out Tom and Scott Winnard. Its 1am and down to three.

I have second stack (about half of Maria’s) and we all grind a bit longer with the blinds at 10000/20000 and antes 1600. I’ll be honest and tell you that I dont have a great deal of heads up experience and didnt want to make a fool of myself against Maria so when a chop was suggested at 1.25am, I was happy to take second place. I was shattered by this time and was really happy with my performance and, of course, the £1200!

I would like to end my saying that Sky and DTD put on a flawless performance as usual and I must thank the Sky team who railed me pretty much the whole tournament offering support and encouragement and they were at least rewarded with a genuine Sky player in the top three.

Best thing about the day was the numerous new aquaintances made!