Wow doesn"t time fly I have not updated this for nearly a week, thought it was a few days. The forum really seems to have picked up lately lots of blogs getting updated again. Good to see of course and this weekedn I am looking forward to following the IPO and APAT Ireland. Hopefully the traffic stays up for this.
APAT Ireland is one of my favourites and being along side the IPO is a great idea and last year was one of the best tournaments that I played. I will be mostly supporting JP Round and Glenn Laming along with whatever other regs are travelling. I like the idea of having the game in the same place as we are staying, especially as there is a very nice bar for food and beer at The Regency. Didn"t have enough holiday time left from work to make this weekend as well as having two weeks off later this month and a week next month (our holiday year goes from Jan - Dec). The APAT / Degens tours are taking up a lot of time lol I looked at what I want to do next year and it is worse than this year. Will make do with following Ireland online. Then playing the online version the following week.
I went to the football on Tuesday, not been able to get to many game this year which is a bit of a shame as the team is obviously struggling badly. It will be a big surprise if we stay in the football league. The team looks happy to fight for every point to be fair but is just not good enough. We were playing Barnet on Tuesday and it would not surprise me to see them also hit the drop, although Leyton Orient are surprisingly bad as well, I actually had them down for promotion this year. An additional concern with winter coming is the state of the pitch we have already had two games postponed and there are likely to be more in January / February time. Maybe the transfer window will help but at the moment relegation from the league seems more likely than not.
So with Vegas less than two weeks away we are ready to go but still getting the poker game in place.
http://www.boomplayer.com/en/poker-hands/Boom/21256491_42DDD7D3BEThis is a kind of interesting hand against a player who has 4-bet a few times from the button. I quite like my light 5 bet shove in this spot. I was surprised he called but it is a good call by him I THINK. I was happy enough with the hand he had as it was just a flip anyway. It is this kind of spot you have to be careful with, it is usually right to just fold to the 4-bet but after you get a few right you can get over confident. I will be trying to aviod that of course. Not as good of a move in tournaments as in cash anyway.
http://www.boomplayer.com/en/poker-hands/Boom/21206446_B6D355AED9Interesting hand this one. Preflop is standard. I 3-bet with AK and get called in two spots. The flop is very good as I have flopped the nut flush draw and two overcards. I bet $6 into two players the pot is $8.16. I think I get a good few folds here but then the player shows on me for the rest of my stack which was $33.13. So about 132BB. So it is $33.13 to win $86.38. I think I can be ahead here as he can have a flush draw or a staight draw. I am well ahead of hands like TT or JJ, sets don"t usually shove here (although it is possible). I think a lot of the time my Ace and King are good for outs. The hand he has is not ideal as it removes some of my outs but is the kind of hand I would expect. I think this is played OK by me, his shove is OK as well, he does not mind winning the pot there and has good equity against the overpairs that are certainly in my range and he can get some folds as well.
http://www.boomplayer.com/en/poker-hands/Boom/21206349_E87C131766This should be quite a standard hand I think. My hand is pretty standard preflop. I make the raise in position and I get called in two spots. I hit top pair and get bet into. I COULD raise here due to the draws thjat are out but I can then get put in a really tough spot where I don"t know where I am if he 3-bets his draw and I have to fold so I am happy to call there. THe turn is a good card for me I don"t put him on a 7 that often and his bet size still looks weaker so I think I can call again. Every draw misses on thE river and again I think it is a pretty easy call. Quite happy with how I read that one as well.
So happy enough with the above. Time to start playing some tournaments in the build up now get in the right mindset for that.
Can"t wait to be in the limo travelling to the strip now. Having the Mandalay Bay and the amazing MGM Grand coming into view. Going past and seeing New York New York with the Statue of Liberty. Then seeing the Monte Carlo and Planet Hollywood before passing all of them and seeing Paris, then Las Vegas really comes into view as you see the Bellagio possibly with the fountains going and Ceasars Palace. Not long after that we will see Mirage and I get my first look at Linq. Then we will be delivered to Harrahs. A quick check in, drop stuff in room, get a replacement players card (it 3 years since I have been to Vegas and I have lost mine) and then it will be TO THE BAR where will will be meeting Tom (the Scottish version) and with a bit of luck Curly, Debbie, Ian and anybody else who is out there, UK time this is likely to be around 10pm. It will still be before 2pm Vegas time I am sure that the sensible heads that will have preveiled the previous night will be well and truely removed and mayhem will commence.
The competition is which of these will actually happen before midnight:-
1) Curly will have a beer
2) Deb will be excited that everybody has arrived
3) Ger will play 3-card poker
4) Sneaky Joe will tell somebody to "fornicate under consent of the king" off in a loud voice (abbreviations also count)
5) Tom will predict a win for Scotland against England on Friday and get laughed at
6) Ian turn up and will drink a cocktail or a short
7) Rodders will fall to sleep (leaving before midnight counts as falling to sleep)
Matt (Stu"s Brother) will have a bet in the sportsbook
9) Stu will play at least one hand of poker (cash or tournament not a table game)
10) JP Round or Glen Laming will arrive in Vegas
You have to declare how many will happen before midnight Vegas time on the day we arrive. Do you know your apaters?
I am saying 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZXGqclG58U