An attempt at a new Blog.

[Scousebill]

Raced home last night but turns out I didn"t need to, late reg around 8:20 rather than 8:00. Didn"t get a playable hand for nearly an hour then it was only A 10 against two small all-ins.... The 5 7 manages to hit a straight...
Shortly after I stayed in chasing a straight which fell on the river but I couldn"t convince Erimus111 (Brian) that I was bluffing so he didn"t call my 3K all-in...
It was a hard table for a while with Brian, Rodders, Tom Clark, Sandyeos, and then shortly after Steve Redfern arrived. Never really got any hands at all but was managing to pinch some blinds every now and again. Then shortly later in two hands I had gone from roughly 5K to 24K.... JJ All-in got me through and the very next hand was AA. I think one of those two hands was against Steve who took a big hit. Not long later though he was on about 35K...
It was a hard game and the cards just did not fall for me at all...
Another good night playing APAT though and no real complaints about how I played.

Another strange betting story now though....

I got home rather the worse for wear on Friday and logged onto Corals and put a £10 correct score 3-0 for some team from Chile called Everton. I watched the telly for a bit then was about to log off when I thought that I still haven"t done the bet so I stuck the tenner on.
Off I go to bed and just as I settle down I thought I"m sure I have put that bet on twice.
Get up in the morning and check and unfortunately I did put the bet on twice.
Fortunately though, Everton won 3-0 so instead of £170 returned I actually got £340..... Ha ha

[Scousebill]

It"s better late than never so "Happy New Year" to all APAT players...

What a better way to start the year than to find out my Rankings. Very surprised to see myself sitting in 75th place in the Top 200 All Time.
And then to see what APAT star players I am sitting with in 47th place in the APAT Main Event Rankings. As well as I have done to get that ranking I would not like to be sitting at that table #41 to #50 any other time than the Final Table.
Played Issy"s New Years Day £30 Tourney and was very happy to finish second. Only a few APAT players played but the LPPL players are of the same high standard so it was a nice result.
Haven"t played any live poker for a while but the online stuff has been a bit up and down.
Trying to get a seat for the DTD event at Old Trafford but twice now I have bubbled it in 11th and 13th places.
Doing rather well at the football betting lately so that is numbing the pain of not winning much at poker but I would it sooner be the other way around.

Wish the WCOAP schedule would hurry up and arrive so I can work out what I am available to play.

Enough waffle from me.... Roll on Season 10

[Scousebill]

While I was out getting slowly drunk on 19th January for my 51st Birthday I was sitting in The Brewdog Bar drinking a rather strong Black IPA when my mobile rang. Tom Brady, now that"s odd....
"Hello Bill, Corals have been onto me and they are having you in their team, are you available..?"
"No, but I will be.... Give me a few hours and I"ll let you know..."
After a day of asking all around work I finally got the time off...

APAT Team Challenge Luton here I come....

[Scousebill]

The New Year Resolution of playing at least one APAT Tournament sober failed at the first hurdle as yet another poker event was played with copious amounts of alcohol inside of me...
Luton was the destination and APAT Team Event was the Tourney. Very happy as posted previously about being selected, or pushed, onto the sponsors Coral Team, but however it came about I was very grateful.
The game was very nitty, or at least it was on Table 15 as players are doing things different in a team enviroment rather than just playing to benefit themselves. Don Roberts was the only person I knew on the table and I was actually the only person he knew. Unfortunately, as the day wore on we all came to know "Mono" Monoghan from Geordie Poker.
Now I know we have all been on table were people have been drunk and have slowed the game down a bit but this idiot totally ruined the game. He was absolutely ****faced. How Don never launched him I don"t know.
Partly because of his drunken ways disturbing others and a bit of me not concentrating fully I missed an ideal chance to get rid of him.
I had   and the a flop of   . I bet and got a fold or two and Mono called. A on fourth had us both check eventually once Mono has firstly stacked his chips then knocked them all over again and tried to stack them again. This is were I went wrong. I didn"t look at the last card. Mono takes his time and checks and I check behind him without looking again at the river. He takes about two minutes looking at his cards because he would not let go of the pint in his other hand and slurs "I have a fookin nine"... I push my two queens in face down and say "I had two bloody Q... Hold on the board has paired, I have a Full House"....... Everything goes quiet for a second or two then all the chips come my way..
Right or wrong dealer decision I don"t know but poor by myself for not watching the game regardless what is happening around you that might put you off. I am certain that if I had seen the FH earlier and put Mono all-in that he would have called and the next hour or so until the lunch break would of been far quieter and more hands would have got played.
That apart, I think I played most of my hands correctly...
Won a three way all-in near the end of the night to take me up to around 72K but never won another hand for about the last 90 minutes to leave me with 27K for the second day.
Drank too much after the poker finished, drank too much when I finally found my Easy Hotel room.
Day Two, played my all-in one hand too late.. I couldn"t bring myself to shove with   but somehow though   was worth shoving. Realistically, with still having about £20k I should have sat around until at least the blinds reached me if nothing landed then shove... If"s and buts... Always learning in this game... Another day will come and get another result...

Thanks to all who organised it and thanks to all who made my weekend enjoyable....

[Zozzy]

You probably had more drink inside you than he did but it doesn"t seem to affect you Bill.
Regarding the dealer"s decision he was right to award you the pot because "cards speak".  If you put your cards face down as though you are folding and then realize in time and turn them over before they touch the muck they are still
"Live"

[Scousebill]

Cheers Craig.... It was just a pity that I wasn"t fully concentrating as I am sure he would of called an all-in shove and that would of almost certainly of had him covered and out...

Unfortunately March is going to be a quiet poker month for me.
With the LPPL now playing and then the WCOAP staring soon I have to go on holiday.
I did ask at the time of booking the holiday is there any chance of going later in the year but on this occasion the cost element and not arguing with the Mrs won the day. So while all you poker pals are grinding hard at the tables I will be slumming it on The Brittannia in the Caribbean Sea. A 13 night cruise starting in Barbados and sailing back eventually docking in Southampton on Good Friday...
I know they have a casino on board but do you think they will have a card room...?
Anyway, looking forward to it and maybe the break from poker will do me good.
What"s going on with the online poker scene...?
Corals changed, Grosvenor also changed and Genting going at the end of the month.. Genting could be a good thing for me as I would prefer to play a live satellite locally to a bigger tournament than play the shove-fest donkeys online.
That"s enough for now to keep this blog alive.

Good Luck to all playing at the LPPL and WCOAP this month, wish I was playing but nevermind...

[Scousebill]

Back from my cruise and taking time to get back onto poker. Thirteen days of drinking takes it"s toll on both the body and the brain and playing poker needs some of the brain not to be pickled. I spent a few days reading about the WCOAP and some good results by Tom Clarke, Dawn Cooke and Ian Thompson amongst others... Looks like a good time was had by all and gutted that I missed it, slumming it in St.Maarten was a good choice though.
As Season 9 finally draws to a close with the WCOAP Online Main Event tonight I will try my best to get at least a point so that my POTY defence will not be a pointless one..
Good luck to Steve and Brian on your challenge for POTY and whoever wins will be a worhy winner..
Finally...
While I"m typing this I hope that an amazing miss by Leicester does not cost them the three points...

[Scousebill]

Season 10 finally here... Newcastle... I have just spent the last twenty minutes typing up the weekend have managed to delete it. Not typing it all again.
Brief version.
Table draw has me on Tom Clarks right. Not good. He proves that after about two levels when he spikes a King for KJ two pair when I was holding Q9 with a Q and straight draw on the board. Still learning when it comes to reading Tom.
Won a nice hand and played it very well when AK flopped the straight. Got what was likely to be the maximum chips possible without overbetting. Happy with that play.
Not so happy when hitting a Full House and betting too heavy when all I would have been up against was likely to be a flush.
Lost with JJ v QQ.... J on the flop, HIGH, Q on the river, LOW.
Lost with AK v KK.... I raised and he went All-in. Couldn"t bring myself to fold and took a big hit. Tom later said that he put the other bloke on a very high pair as he hadn"t played many hands. Something I still need to pay more attention to.
Ended first day with 16,300 chips. Praised by Del Sterland for showing so much patience with my short stack. Should have used some of that on the Sunday.
Midway through the second level I had about 20BB. Reraised a bet to 6400 and when the next bet was putting me all-in I did actually think about folding. Should of thought about it a bit longer. The fold would still have left me with over 10 bigs but I called with AJ. Up against QQ. First four cards give me the chance of a flush. Need a heart or Ace. Neither. I"m out.
Great weekend. Thanks to all, players, organisers, Tom and Lucy.
Looking forward to my next available weekend.

[LombBomb]

Season 10 finally here... Newcastle... I have just spent the last twenty minutes typing up the weekend have managed to delete it. Not typing it all again.
Brief version.
Table draw has me on Tom Clarks right. Not good. He proves that after about two levels when he spikes a King for KJ two pair when I was holding Q9 with a Q and straight draw on the board. Still learning when it comes to reading Tom.
Won a nice hand and played it very well when AK flopped the straight. Got what was likely to be the maximum chips possible without overbetting. Happy with that play.
Not so happy when hitting a Full House and betting too heavy when all I would have been up against was likely to be a flush.
Lost with JJ v QQ.... J on the flop, HIGH, Q on the river, LOW.
Lost with AK v KK.... I raised and he went All-in. Couldn"t bring myself to fold and took a big hit. Tom later said that he put the other bloke on a very high pair as he hadn"t played many hands. Something I still need to pay more attention to.
Ended first day with 16,300 chips. Praised by Del Sterland for showing so much patience with my short stack. Should have used some of that on the Sunday.
Midway through the second level I had about 20BB. Reraised a bet to 6400 and when the next bet was putting me all-in I did actually think about folding. Should of thought about it a bit longer. The fold would still have left me with over 10 bigs but I called with AJ. Up against QQ. First four cards give me the chance of a flush. Need a heart or Ace. Neither. I"m out.
Great weekend. Thanks to all, players, organisers, Tom and Lucy.
Looking forward to my next available weekend.

Just the one pair I had in the hand in question Bill when I paired my K, although I had flopped the open-ender.  Thought you played your AK well when you flopped the nuts, raising pre and getting 3 streets of value that early on is great.  Was a good table and even more so when James joined.  

[Scousebill]

Late reg for the Online Get a few good hands then have KK... Raise then call a re-raise puts me all-in... Yep, against AA.
No joy... OUT

[Scousebill]

I was going to try and filter out all the Las Vegas posts but realised I would not have anything to read as there were so many.... Jealous is not the word...
Well done to Tod Wood for his cash in The Millionaire Maker. Well done to Ger for winning his tourney at The Golden Nugget... I believe Brian Yates got a good cash also... APAT, LPPL & BCPC appear to be having a good time in Las Vegas..

Main reason for this post..........

I think I have been given the green light for Luton... Find out tomorrow when I let Lynne know that the Easy Hotel is £47 for the Saturday night.... Can"t afford the Friday also unless somebody can let me share a room for a few pints....

Luton, here I come.............

[Scousebill]

Countdown to Luton.............

Very tired today as was up earlier than normal. National walkout in jails around the country and I"m the Union Chairman. Went okay, had a good turnout and we stuck to our side of the bargain by only being out for one hour.
Tomorrow I hope everything goes just as smooth but would be looking to last longer than an hour...

[Scousebill]

Luton... Horrendous journey, roadworks down to less than 40 mph and rain cutting visibility down so only doing 65 - 70 for out an hour.
Sat at a nice table, as it turns out the winner came from this table. This was probably one of the best games I have played for long time. Picked my spots and didn"t lose any big hands. Got paid when I hoped to also.
Had Aces in one hand and had two callers... Flop gives possible flush and straight draws. I bet and they both call. Next card improves the straight chances and the river gives me the nut flush. Very lucky as they both hit the straight and I get paid.
Have a pair of queens later and manage to hit another queen on the river with 44 also on the board. Raised the bet to 4k and couldn"t get the guy to call.
Flop a flush and manage to end up calling a roughly 15K all-in from the lad to my right. He has two pair and as he turns them over he says "You got the flush?"..... I did and managed to avoid one of his cards for a nice double up. Collecting chips nicely now and by the dinner break I am round 40K.
We lose one as the tables go nine handed and then we lose two very quick. A few minutes later we gain three. Craig Dawson, Steve Rodders and Rich Baker back again change the dynamics of the table massively. Sat for a while folding and bet one or two hands to fold on the turn or river so my chips a slowly whittling away..
Find KK and raise to 1200, folds to Craig who calls and others fold. Flop comes up something like 3 7 8 so I check and so does Craig. Turn is another 8.... I bet 4K and Craig raises to 13K. I sit for a bit and for some strange reason I shove all-in. This is for about 33-35K. Craig snap calls and shows an 8. King doesn"t come on the river and I am out.
Annoyed with myself as a bigger open bet would probably have got the fold. Maybe even a large bet on the flop might have got Craig to fold top pair. It is just that the 13K bet and how I know Craig plays he was almost telling me he had the set of eights. The only poor decision I made all day cost me the lot. Even a fold and I would have still had enough chips to play with, any amount of chips is better than none isn"t it. Always room to learn in this game.

[Scousebill]

Signed in for the European Online last week and was playing well for a while. Got a nice few chips building until I had two nice hands absolutely hammered by two better hands. Can"t recall what they were but I lost the lot within 3 hands....
Had a right face on myself and reluctantly signed into the Vegas sat at full price. It wasn"t until I started playing that I thought I had made a mistake paying the full amount as my credit card bill is due and using the £82 to play cards instead of withdrawing it to pay the bill was annoying me a bit.
Anyway, long story shortish.... After Craig taking some of my chips I fought back and got a nice hand from him with just a pair of KK when the board looked as if I might of had more and I think we checked a good down with Ace high and my kicker was better. The table split and I found myself with Issy, Craig, Graeme from LPPL and for a short while Paul Haycock...
To say the cards were good to me that day was an understatement... I lost count of the amount of times I had AA, and won with it every time. Sometimes small but once or twice very well paid..
Just on 3 hours or so later I find myself 4 handed with 72K, Graeme and Issy with 22K and the fourth place who went out a few hands later with about 5K... Three handed I just raised to 6K each time for about 4 hands, AA once and AK also didn"t get any callers. I then won a bit off Issy before Graeme knocked her out. I think Graeme raised All-in first hand of heads up while the chips were about 25K to 78K.. I didn"t want to let him chip away at me so when a hand or two later I looked at 99 and he went All-in again I had to call. The nines held up and I"m going to Vegas again....
It"s not often that you get games where the cards do all the work for you but what a time to get that game....
Many thanks to the usual APAT team and Grosvenor for the prize..

[Scousebill]

Slowly getting back on the poker train. Noticed a strange thing about this blog and on some other peoples, there are blank posts. I know mine weren"t blank and I"m sure that other peoples weren"t. Maybe the admins aren"t aware of this oddity. If I post regular on here again I will keep an eye on it and report if needed.
APAT Team event last night was going fine after I was able to get onto the Grosvenor site. Some people are having horrendous problems logging on lately but I appear to have had only a few issues.
Team Effort fielded a full four man team and three of us scored points. Unfortunately I was the one who never scored any.
I had "sleeves" to my right, and I think it was "XTRIPPSX" Tony Trippier to my left. Played okay at the start and took a fair few chips off "sleeves" early on, just couldn"t get him to call my large raise, probably too large when I had a full house.
Ticking along nicely until I look at   . Raise to 900 and get four callers. Bigger raise here maybe gets me through and collect the initial raise and the blinds. Flop comes down Q high with two diamonds. I shove just over 4K and get three folds around to "sleeves" who has me covered but still took his time to call. He shows two mid diamonds. Not looking good but still have a chance if I can avoid the single diamond, two would be nice for me. Only one on 4th and no help with the river.
Went out in 69th so no points scored but still enjoyed the game up until that point.
Team Effort scored okay, 14th place with 75.4 and looking forward to next weeks game.

Vegas next year and I think I have booked the last few days of May and the first week or so of June. I am off work at the moment so can"t check until I get back in next week but I should be able to change if I need to.

Been doing something very enjoyable lately. I have been following a Non-League football team called City of Liverpool FC and have been having a ball. They play in the North West Counties Division One, which is what is known as Step 6 in the football pyramid. If anybody knows anything about this level of football they will understand why this level can be enjoyable. It is only a fiver to get in. You can drink while you are watching the match. And not many people go to watch so nobody is in your way. Well, not many go to watch unless City of Liverpool FC are involved. We had a home game in the FA Vase against local rivals Litherland REMYCA and 711 turned up. REMYCA won, but in the next round at their place they had a gate of 47. Over 350 have turned up to each of CoLFC"s home games and four of our five away games have been that teams highest crowd of the season so far. Obviously it helps that the team are also battling it out at the top of the league so maybe we will have something to shout about come the end of the season.

Thanks for reading, if anybody does and good luck at the tables.