APAT UK TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPFriday 21st OctoberIt's been quite a while since the Team championships and I've just found the time to jot down a few memories from Luton, I'm sure there will be a few memories that will have slipped my mind due to the inability to walk from the casino after the Luton Home Game on Friday night but now I know, finally, the correct preparation for a live APAT event..........
Firstly I would like to thank James Barber (JB Worldwide) the APAT Forum captain for giving me the nod to join the Forum Team after James Eccles had unfortunately had to withdraw , I know this must have been a blow for both James's but a fish is a fish and I was very happy to fill the gap and along I glugged!
I met up on the Friday night at the Travelodge prior to the Luton Home Game with my Forum teammate David Llewellyn(Daiboot) and we had a quick drink in the hotel bar before departing for food at the G Casino and drink!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The following APATERS also turned up as arranged at the casino Phil Tompkyfish(BORO TC) and JP Round (Ace on the River), John Lynn (RicayBoy), Jo Sharp (JooJoo) Stuart Fordham , Stuart Aitken, Sharon Roberts, Don Roberts (Hammerite), Ian Matthews (The Geezer), Warren Fenwick (Waz1892), Richard Baker (Curlarge), Mark Lassman (JayteeJack), Richard H, Will Baker, Paul, Ralph, Mark and Paulie D, Grant and Annie Apple arrived a bit later after their flight and if I've missed anyone out I'm sorry as it all became a haze not too short a time into the game!!
I think I can remember a conversation with RicayBoy about the size of my pint and dropping a pint glass on the floor and being amazed that it was still upright albeit less full and I think I may have recalled being fairly disappointed at being left out of a round by TC! To cut a long story short the evening was fantastic and the home game was eventually split by Sharon Roberts and Paulie D, I think this was a great prelude to the weekend.
I can recommend the chilli nachos with cheese they were excellent, generally the food is always pretty good at the G, although banging both fists on the bar singing "I want food, I want food" isn't the best way to get the bar tenders attention !(I cannot recall any of this I was reliably informed)
Thank you to JP and Waz for the invitation to attend the home game, good fun! Now for the rest of the weekend.....................
Satuday 22nd OctoberI awoke at OMG o'clock and received an alarm call from Dai, who appeared to be waking me to inform me he was going back to sleep................ Thanks m8 I'll catch you later! Eventually headed to the G and refused all offers of alcohol and plumped for the all day breakfast with Dai, the chef obviously wasn't on top form for mine and I left the fried bread to one side, which went missing?
We were awaiting the arrival of a shipment of shirts from the North West of England as were the champions' team, fortunately someone had had the foresight to put Scouse in charge of logistics so the shirts turned up late but intact! The thought of playing skins was something I would not have been happy with nor I think the fellow players at my table, I'm not exactly svelte!
James Barber proceeded to hold a pre tourney team meeting at the bar, present were JB, myself, Ian Burnett, Don Roberts, Grant Speirs , Phil Tompkinson, Dai Llewellyn and Suzanne Hayward he got all of his points across, whilst Don got the first beers in, ahhhh happy days! ..... Not so happy for Don
Andy Kingan suddenly appeared with our shirts and we did a quick strip down in the bar area and poor old James lost his cod-piece (Dr Dre headphones in a box type thing), many people were sought to help look for James's cod-piece and Claire McGregor was quite enthusiastic to help!!!
Time for the off we wished each other good luck and vowed to see each other later at the bar, MUCH later we hoped.
My first table was actually pretty daunting in as much as they were all very good players good players :-
SEATING DRAW TABLE 17
1. Mike Martin London Poker Meet up
2. Stephen Boyd Apat Champs
3. James Lee Elite Amateur Poker League
4. Rodney Buckman Gambling Network Forum
5. Ian Thompson Forum
6. Adam Sharples Black Belt Poker
7. Steve Rodderick Blonde
8. Allan Macdonald The Hendon Mob Forum
9. Kevin Corcoran I Love Playing Poker
I didn't get involved too much early doors The Mole was entertainment personified and he kept recalling event which had occurred in the recent WSOPE in which he had been seated next to an American guy who was quite chatty and during a break a mate had said that's Alec Baldwin the famous Hollywood actor. Break over the Mole sits back down and says to Baldwin " I know you, you're that famous Hollywood actor................ Will Smith"! The irony completely lost on Baldwin, replies "wrong colour man" meh.
On finding out that I had replaced Eck "Oh that's sad I would have had a much better time with Eck" Paul Mac came to rail the Mole at one point and it was quite amusing as the Mole pulled out a list of styles of play of the people at the table and nodding round arrives at Rodders and looks back at Paul and says no? Really? Then says to Rodders "I would never put you down as a nit". The banter carried on regardless.
I had a few hands of note during day 1, after Michael Martin had departed, Kay the Pilchard from AWOP sat at his seat and he raised 5 pots in a row pre flop and got them through, a bit later he raised again from UTG+1, I look down at K K, I 3 bet and back round to Kay he smooth calls. Flop is pretty innocuous 6 t 8 He bets I 3 bet he shoves I call he turns over QQ I turn over my cowboys and double up.... Bit of a stymie by the dealer trying to do me out of chips but I was correct and I never looked back from that point and then we had a buffet, which was very well received, free and very good quality, I thanked a couple of the guys on duty for the buffet as it had been unexpected. Well done G Casino!
I continued to play conservatively and correctly, I got involved in a few hands with Allan McDonald from the Hendon mob, spoils shared ish! I can't recall exact details but I picked up Q Q in mid position with the blinds at 400/800 and raised it up to 2200 the action goes back round to Mikey Boy Scothern, who had just moved to the table and proceeds to shove for his remaining stack, folded back round to me and I start to tank, you may ask why? I was looking at it from a team point of view, if I call the remainder where do I stand? Do I get felted? Well, no to that and what am I up against? I didn't put Mike on as weak a holding as he had but I eventually made the correct call and he turned over 9 9 and he was pretty shocked that I turned over Q Q. There is a thread in the academy re this hand and it establishes that I am a nit of the highest order. I discussed this hand on a break with Mike afterwards and explained that it was never a slow roll just a case of thinking too much about the cons rather than the pros!
The night continued on and we were soon close to the top 50 which was the target for us as per James's instructions! I am UTG +1 and look down at AA, I raised to 2.5 x the BB then called the 3 bet shove from the SB by Andrew Coulthard . He had KK and there was no improvement, I just happened to get lucky that time, another hand of note Del Boy(Derrick Andrews) gets moved to seat 6 for a short while not much happens then I again get QQ on the button I make the usual button steal raise and he moves all in from the SB, BB Rodders folds and I say "call", to which Del Boys says "No you Don't"
and shows 6 8. My Queens hold and I get moved to table 16 with only minutes to go and raise the first hand I'm dealt from Mid Pos and get it through, next hand is taken by a raise from a guy from Hetton. The next hand is called the last hand of the evening and the guy in seat 2 some bloke called Nick Mazur says, "It'll be a good time for Aces"(he is in the SB). I look down at goo........relief, fold. Seat 7 makes a 2.5 x raise and Dan Owston on the button shoves, Nick in SB shoves? BB from Eat my Stack shoves ....WTF..
Nick Mazur has AA. BB has AK and Dan is in with 6 8 .....Aces hold and triple up virtually, Dan is out and the BB is coming back for Day 2 with 9.5kish........ Must point out Dan had outs on the river for a sweat for Nick Mazur...
I am sitting in 3rd position with 90k odd chips, Sam Swannack from Bristol poker is 2nd with 110k and some maths teacher who has been getting a lot of air time recently via Pokerstars is leading the way with 235k. There are just myself, Phil TC and Grant Speirs remaining from the forum team and we do still have a chance to win the team event, but the guys are low chipped and so need to double up pretty quickly. We all have a chat and a drink together and we try to get some idea of where we are and why the bar has run out of cider and Guinness, a recurring theme at APAT events!
JB the skipper is sitting at the £1/£1 dealers choice table, this table was one of the most incredible tables I have had the pleasure of railing, The Mole, Scouse and a couple of locals have enough moneysitting on the table to put all my kids through university........after the fees get hiked!!
Dai, Grant and Annie Apple grabbed a taxi back and my room mate Phil and I stayed behind with Suzanne, Don, Ian(Haworth Bantam) and Steve Maskell to watch JB increase his pile of chips and argue about the drinks
Got a lift back with Phil and James to the Travelodge and was intrigued by the message from James to us at the unearthly hour stating that there was a half naked man asleep in the 1st floor hallway???
Was Jack Prime here???
We decided to investigate, we tip toed down to the 1st floor and saw the white bundle in the hall, we walked slowly up to the body and found a youngish gentleman asleep on the floor with just his trousers on, we checked he was breathing whilst I and I'm sure Phil were suppressing the giggles, all of a sudden the bloke sits up like the monster in Frankenstein movies and says "It's alright she's kicked me out", I don't know who he thought Phil and I were and I don't know how he thought it was alright to bring bedding in to the hall but still he probably got a better nights sleep than Phil or I, but that's another story
Sunday 22nd OctoberI awoke refreshed and hungry and with a bit of time to kill, Red Bulls all round then shower and plans. Phil and I arrange to meet Dai, JB, Grant and Annie Apple in the rear car park where we split up into Phil and Dais' motors down to the G, this can be a lot more fun that it sounds, but I'll spare you!
All day Brunch in Wetherspoons for myself and Phil whilst Dai and Mark Lassman decide to have steaks. Very good value and I leave none of this meal for the rail. We were sitting at table 13 which I shall consider now for future events as the routine...
At the casino we discuss the possibilities of where we would like to end up and how deep can we go, Lady Luck needs to smile now qd
I sit down in the BB and we're off Darren Newton(Eat My Stack) in the SB doubles up first hand but a few hands later I manage to get lucky and take him out, the hand I forget but we soon break and I move to Table Swindells..... Rob and George Lawson(NPF) have taken over one end and the chips are remaining down there in seats 7 and 8, which isn't a problem as long as I don't get involved, the two of them seem to take it in turns to raise and 3 bet and nothing untoward goes on, I took another player out, I think it was Rick Gilby with AK. I called his 3 bet shove, he shows
and I bink, then unfortunately Grant tries another all in, again with AK, up against Sam Swannacks'(BPMU) pocket 9's and he doesn't hit, which leaves us(Apat Forum) down to me, as Phil gets very unlucky too and is out at pretty much the same time. Fortunately for me I have the ever reliable Ian Burnett keeping me posted as to who comes where and where I need to be and we soon break down to 2 tables and I get moved back to my almost original position of table 17 seat 6 and Rodders is still in seat 7. The cash bubble is 19th and to be fair I'm not considering that but you never know and I manage to get a few raises through due to the period of play. I am now reliably informed that Mark Lassman is a FISH and that is why he has penguins as card guards...
Obviously Mark is at the table and a whole bunch of fun as are most of the rest of the table, I didn't get to know everybody properly over the two days but I'd like to think that we can all have a drink together at a future event, that's the way APAT works.
It's all moving along pretty well for a wee while and then the cash bubble bursts when Steve Rodderick(Blonde) and Gary Roberts(Hetton) are removed on the same hand, to add to the confusion the TD, who is watching our table, informed Gary he had cashed which made him feel a bit better for a few minutes until he had that info corrected ?.
We soon are down to 11 players and we have a key hand between Andy Overton and John Murray. It's all in pre and we're looking at pocket 5's for Andy and A 4 for John.....The A 4 4 flop gives John a bit of a lead and we lose Andy in 11th.
Soon after we have a raise from the vocal Mark Lassman and its All of it as Jordan says and there's a bit of a dwell from Nick Mazur BBP and he calls with A 9 which he thought was above Marks range, even so this is good for Apat forum as Marks AJ is dominating and we need to finish 3 ahead of Nick to get the 3rd place team prize and this will put him down to air!! Ace on the flop is good, blank turn ok but the river 9 gives Nick the hand and eliminates Mark in 10th for the Luton team. VWP m8....
FINAL TABLE
We redraw for our positions and I draw the last card which puts me in seat 9 and then we go off for a much needed break.
1 George Lawson Newcastle 277000
2 John Murray LPPL 148000
3 Peter Newton Newcastle 149000
4 Gary Peniket Hendon Mob 219000
5 Phil Laws GNF 104000
6 Nick Mazur BlackBelt 195000
7 Karl McDonald AWOP 170000
8 Rob Swindells GNF 353000
9 Ian Thompson APAT Forum 167000
We return from the break to do battle, I'm one of the short stacks so probably need to get busy quickly but that's not possible as Phil Laws shoves for Britain for ever
.... well probably 2 or 3 times but from the off it seems loads. He makes another raise but Nick shoves over the top, Phil called with K K, Nick has A A and they hold and Phil is out 9th.
A few hands later I look down at pocket 10's UTG and raise to 27k it's folded round to Peter Newton who shoves for 131k, back round to me, I'm not sure what he's got if he had a big pair he may have 3 bet and I ask if he wants a call, he said I'm not bothered I've already committed 20% of my stack and make the call he has AK, my 10's hold and Peter is out 8th.
The very next hand I'm in the BB with JJ and it's folded round to Rob Swindells in the SB who makes a raise to 2.5 the BB, I make a re-raise and Rob shoves and I call he has A 3 my Jacks hold and we lose Rob in 7th. The only problem with the players going out is Nick Mazur is still in and is looking good to gain the 3rd place team spot for BBP.
Another round goes by and I'm back in the BB and look down at AA... Happy Days , George Lawson makes a raise UTG to 21k, Gary Peniket 3 bets to 45k, it's folded round to me and I 4 bet to 90k, George gets out of the way and Gary has a dwell then 5 bet shoves for his remainder, I insta call and my Aces hold up and Gary goes out 6th.
Just after this point I have a big chip lead and I look down at JJ Nick Mazur shoves all in and I call for about 450k more
George Lawson went out 5th to Karl MacDonalds KJ suited and John Murray who had played exceptionally well to reach yet another FT went out 4th on the medal bubble to Nick Mazur , who had Aces again and had gained the 3rd place overall team prize for BBP by this time.......VWP.
I think we went on a break and I had some time to think about things, me and thinking are probably not a good idea, lets get back to the cards. I raised with pocket Jacks and Nick shoved for his stack, I counted out the necessary chips about 450k and call, he has AQ. An Ace on the flop and turn and my lack of a 2 outer on the river means a new chip leader in Nick :"( .
I now make a big mistake I am on the button with 9 10 Hearts and instead of raising I fold. Nick makes a raise and Karl calls. Flop is 9 T A, bet from Nick call from Karl, I'm thinking oooh I could have made some chips here...... turn is 9 and I'm thinking FML, Nick checked and Karl checked, river OMFG 9
Nick checks, Karl bets and Nick check raises the river and takes it down, I mentioned my hand and Nick said he would have paid me off as he had an Ace......sigh............
Karl McDonald went out 3rd with pocket 10's against Nicks' AJ, Jack on the flop and river sees Nick win the hand and I'm heads up with Nick now and I have a bit of a disadvantage but I do get it back to only 3/2 defecit when I look down at KJ and make a raise which is duly called the flop come x 4 J, I make a continuation bet of about 90k in position which is called, the turn is 4, Nick checks and I bet he shoves and I have to call and he turns over
, funky, I miss and Nick takes a deserved individual victory in the APAT UK Team championships in which I have had the priviledge to compete in, can't wait for the next one if I make a team.
I absolutely enjoyed the weekend to its' fullest and to be part of the Forum team was a fantastic experience, my colleagues were and are out of the top drawer and I only hope we all get the chance to do it again and to Phil TC........ the pleasure was all mine....LOL
Thanks once again to Richard and Des for their hard work and thank you to Ian Burnett for keeping me in the loop during the last few tables, a big thanks to the cardroom and TD and thanks to all the dealers who became part of the event and played their parts to a tee
By the way JB found his cod-piece
Toooooooooooooooooodaloooooooooooooooooooooo
