50k

Didn't last long my kk ran into AA early on virtually wiped me out. AQ a few hands later finished me off when it lost to a pair o 5's.
Not to sure what to make of the payout. Was expecting around a 10k 1st prize, only pays 5k.
Still all the final get 1k+ and top 100 get $100+. The top 300 payout which seems a little excessive so i'm undecided as yet.

Oh my Oh my

Blogger tour finally got under way last night. After a few weeks anticipation we finally managed to get started. A few decent hole cards that missed the flop by a few hundred miles saw my stack slowly dwindling down to less than half the initial 2000 starting chips. Finally a couple connect and I manage to claw my back what i had lost. In this time watching a donkey stealing most pots, just can't catch right to take advantage. But then.........


burnley1 Posted Small Blind 50
Stormswift Posted Big Blind 100
Dealing CardsYou Were Dealt (Kh, Kc) Could this be the hand, Hmmmm


lightning36 Folds
ViezeMan Folds
RaisinYa Folds
bergeroo Folds
Kipper01 Folds
Illotus Folds
OhioMike Folds
DedMansHand Folds
burnley1 Calls 50 Lets try and get alittle out of him

Stormswift Raised to 500
burnley1 All In for 8,630 EEk Whats this another steal

Stormswift All In for 1,565
-------------------------------------------------
burnley1 has (8d, 9s)Stormswift has (Kh, Kc) Things look as expected STEALING lol
-------------------------------------------------
Dealing Flop (Ac,9c,5s) My only worry, did he have A-rag
-------------------------------------------------
Dealing Turn (Ts)
-------------------------------------------------
Dealing River (9d) You have to be kidding, What a joke. Chip leader curse strikes again
-------------------------------------------------
6,665 Returned to burnley1 from pot 2 If you chip leader call anything you cant lose!!!!
-------------------------------------------------
burnley1 Wins 4,130 from pot 1 with : Three of a Kind, Nines
Stormswift OUT


Just too much for words, thankfully he never made the money but has done a little harm to my qualifing for the final WHAT ON EARTH

Hope things go better in the 50k Sunday

A hard days work

What a horrid day Sunday was just about everything I played conspired against me. I tried various tournys during the day but to no avail. Starting with the $10 mtt at 3am no cards of note so a very very tight game kept me in the hunt for either the $10 or 1 of the $60 coupons. But alas right at the end on the bubble, dealt KQoff Q rags flop I re-raised allin only to see AQ against me..... Is this the start
The 200teed, 300teed and the 1kteed just not getting a chance this dosen't bode well for tonites 2 10k's.
I decided to leave well alone till the 10k freeroll. Once this started I found that I was starting to catch, things are changing lol. Was doing great till the break after which the hands just dried up a mix of chasing and bad luck sees me out around 220th doh 150 to money. Meanwhile the 10kteed has started and in a similar vain it starts of very well. I manage to get up around 10k in chips then the hands start to dry up. As there are only 28 players left in I tighten right up after all that has gone before today. Determined to at least get into the money. Although I have no hands of note and the blinds are starting to bite my stack is high enough to money. Now to try n improve. With antes and blinds now eating into my stack I make a call at the wrong time dropping down to 17th and last 5k left the blinds 600/1200 with 100 antes means I wont last long. Having to wait for the right moment to try now and double up. But alas nothing comes. I know have just 400 chips still 17th and resigned to getting $100. I push all in on the next hand 10J. I hit a st8 getting 4x my stake. Then another allin push and another brings me back to 10k. A few hands later a pp loses a big chunk of my stack again, but I have at least made it to 11th. I have A8 off and push allin it is stacked round to the same guy who has taken my chips all night. After a long pause he calls 45 suited. On the other table a player exits. I'm now 10th. We all join together at the final table. Flop turn and river he catches a 5 and so as soon as I join the final table I'm out. Still I made it to 10th and $175. Much more than I expected when I was 17th and holding 400 chips.
What a hard game. Alittle over 500 points now needed for next Sundays 50k freeroll. Hope I get the chance to do well in that

Points?

I have managed to amass enough points for a bash at my first 10k freeroll on Sunday. Along the way winning a $60 coupon to enable me to enter he $10k guaranteed also on sunday. This could be a nice day, or not depending on how the cards fall lol
It also puts me well on the way to the end of month $50k tourny, I only need another 1300pts 500 of which ill get when i play the $10k guaranteed so looking good for the big one.
Heres hoping to money on Sunday....

New points

The new freerolls and their point requirements have once again lured me back to the tables. The enticement of the $50,000 tourny each month is just too great.
So far I have been having mixed results, up a little then down a little. Slowly losing a little each day or so. Just can't seem to make a profit often enough. Perhaps its because I'm point orientated at the moment?
I have stumbled upon another way to gain the points.......
The Aussie Mils Sats. Their are currently $2 sats short handed, 5 players, winner takes all a $11 coupon. These tables give 30 points. After winning this you have a coupon to enter the $10 short handed sat, again 5 players, winner takes all a $60 coupon. This pays out 150 points. This coupon can then be used for any sat, mtt ect. So you can either go for the Aussie final coupon, or use it for entry to Sundays $10k guaranteed. The Aussie sat is a 10 player SnG that pay's a $275 grand final coupon and 750 points. The $10k is a Mtt with a $10,000 prize pool guaranteed that gives 500 points. So for a few $2 games potentially theres a lot of points to be made.

A cap

Oh well holidays all over now. Time to get back to the grind.
Interesting to see that there's a lot of changes to the site . A new lot of freerolls and some altered while others lost....
But the main prize is what seems a monthly 50,000 dollar freeroll with I have to say a very lenient comp point entry.

Oh and I ordered a Cap to go with the blogger goodies i recieved. That has arrived, and so I have been wearing that all day since. Even at work, lol, lots of advertising for poker.com on the buses to and from birmingham this week

Nearly holiday time

I've been spending the tme before my holiday comes analyising where I should be using my time. I have decided after checking out a few differing tournys that for time being I shall try and concentrate on the $1000 guarenteeds. These generally have about 40 - 60 players which makes for good value. Being a guarenteed they are made up for 100 players so you get the payout but have less players to beat.
I have also tried a 10k again, my second. Came about 65th had only 3 hands TT won, AKo all stacked and QQ which lost to a pairedK. All in all another disapointing time as I saw lesser hands of mine winning pots, but I had already stacked they. So I must try to find a way to play these but I play too tight in the large tourny's lol.
There is to be another change to the large freeroll eligabillity criteria, hopefull this will enable me to once again get into the 20k I really miss this one.

There here......

Finally got my goodies from the recent blogger tour @ poker.com . A nice array of things to use and wear. A t-shirt, "thongs", key ring, coasters, cards..
The only disapointment was the fact there was no cap. Oh well something to use my comp points on.
There's a winter starting up soon with even better prizes i've heard so get blogging and sign up at poker.com to stand a chance to end up somewhere wonderous playing in a live event.
Our team mate Egon, winner of the last blogger tour, managed to last for 8 hrs in the main WSOP event. An awesome experiance I bet, meeting and playing with some of the worlds best

A nice break

I've had a few weeks break from poker, what with the good weather over here at the moment and the need to recharge the batteries after playing every spare moment since January.
I have only been on site to play any required league fixtures. Once again I can inform you that our league team won. Retaining the season 4 crown we won, also the staff match resulted in another Bullies win. The team goes from strength to strength. Unfortunately one of our number has had to resign this season, personal reasons. So into the fold comes a regular spare and all round a very good player, Ramster. Welcome to the fold Den.
I started playing again last weekend and tried my luck in the intercontinental championship. A $25 buy, the most I have bought in I haven't been in any over $10 yet, just 45 players entered and a guaranteed prize pot of $2500 made for good odds. Top 5 payed out $1k 1st prize down to $200 for 5th.
All went quite well for the first few rounds, picking up a few good pots to increase my stack fairly regularly. Watching as people started to drop out. For the first few blind rounds I was in the top 10. My luck took a turn for the worse about lvl 6, 400/800 blinds and 25 anti. Sitting BB the table folded round to the SB, fairly short stacked with a habit of stealing, who goes allin. Reading this as a steal I called with A9 off, SB shows J3 off. I am in a good position especially when the flop was of no use to either of us. Neither did the turn help, but a 3 on river give the SB a quarter of my stack. Getting now descent hands now started to deplete my stack with the increasing blinds and anti. With the occasional steal I managed to make the last table but being severly short stacked, holding only 6k with my nearest rival on 22k, and a few hands of lvl 7 blinds left(500/1000 (50) ) was not confident of making the money. Sitting tight saw 2 players exit fairly quickly add a couple of steals and I have started to increase again. A couple of A high hands hitting anA on the flop also help to increase to about 20k. Although still last in chips I am starting to get closer. This is made all the harder by the chip leader going allin on my BB all the time. As eveyone folds to him he simply goes allin to steal my BB and the SB inbetween us, who is now also getting low in chips. On lvl 8 blinds in BB I finally get a hand to test the chip leader. As always an allin bet, SB folds, this time holding JJ I call. Sure enough a steal. He shows T3 suited, my jacks hold up and I double up. I am now up to 3rd.
The rest finally fall by the wayside and I am in the money. 5th place already payed, there are 4 of us left. Back and forth it goes for a while till the crunch comes.
Chip leader allin AK off, I call KQ suited in BB. Chip leader catches trip A's. I'm out in 4th spot and $300 richer. Nice return considering how I entered the final table.
The very next hand
Chipleader AQ off, BB 88 both allin and the chip leader catches again. 2 gone in 2 hands to the chipleader???????
What odds 2 very descent hands shorthanded, with the same player catching both times to win........

Oh well as I say I'm happy. Could have been happier but hey nice return to the game.

Blogger final

Finally we get to the final of the blogger. All in all it has been a great experiance. I managed to place 14th in the final, unfortunately not high enough for one of the major prizes on offer. Still a goodie bag from poker.com is winging its way to me. I'll look forward to playing online with my poker.com cap etc on.
The top prize a WSOP package was won by a member of our league team, a Blind Bully EgonOlson. I'd like to wish him the best of luck in the live vegas tourny.

While we're on the league subject. The final game of season 5 has now been played and we, The Blind Bullies, have retained the crown we won in season 4. Well done to all involved. i look forward to the season 5 staff game, also the new season. Alas we will lose a player this season for personal reasons. But we have a ready made replacement waiting to kick off with us.

A coupon arrives

The last chance event. This is the last time to be able to aquire a coupon to the blogger grand final.
Problem.......It kicks off at 19:30 lobby, thats is 1:30 in the morning where I am. After all the other events kisked off at 9:30pm here, this was somewhat of a shock..... But!!! there was more to come. Having played in a good few of these, as you may have read, I have seen a lot of places go unclaimed as they were "won" by players who already have coupons. When I querried this at one of the tournies, I was told not to worry as any unwon coupons would simply be added to the last chance game. imagine my surprise when I register to see the description. Top 10 players will be manually awarded coupons? What happened to the other 12 places that were re-won.
So no easy ride then, was hoping to try and get to about 20-21st place then off to bed in the knowledge I would recieve a coupon.
So at 1:30 am we kick off 40 players some with coupons all vieing for their chance of the coupon and a share of the $500 prize pool. Things went along very slowly till the blinds started to take effect. Eventually I managed to win alittle/ hold out alittle till I finally managed to arrive on the last table, short stack or very near. Safe in the knowledge now I am in the final on Saturday. The final table was very tight so I don't know how I managed to scrap my way into 4th spot to top off the night or should I say morning with a $60 prize.

Now for Saturday, 5000 starting chips. Another very long game instore I think. Still at least I know I have some poker.com merchandise but who knows maybe an Ipod, 30"LCD or even A trip to vegas. LOL did I say that out loud. How awesome that would be my first ever live game the WSOP. I told you it started late last night, I'm still dreaming now....
Wish me luck

Last chance saloon

Oh my god......
Looks like I have been banished to the last chance saloon, the last blogger tourny and....... I'm out. Whats worse after just half an hour. Kept on or slightly over the 2k chips. Then had a little run in lost a few hundred chips and got moved. First hand or so on the new table KK. 300 the bet to me so I raise to 600, all fold bar 1 who re-raises allin I call.
They show QQ, flop oh dear me a Q Duh!.. needless to say left me 250 chips lasted 1 rd till the blinds caught me. So I have but one more chance, in next Saturdays last chance tourny. Oh well...

Just a trial

Ok this is just a little trial blog. To see if I get this picture adding right.


These are the finishes I have so far in the smaller tournies.
Sundays $1000 guaranteed.

My 3 wins so far. Unfortunately I don't have a jpeg of the freerolls I have moneyed in which is a shame. 2nd + 7th in the $4k = $610 and 4th + 7th in the $20k = $1600. Plus various other placings from $5 - $200.

All in all not to bad a return. Hopefully I can continue to improve and so get the elusive $20k + $4k ribbons........

Saturday sees the blogger tour move into its last event. The as far unsponsored event 8. Having got a 5th, 6th and 7th I'm begining to wonder if I will ever manage to get that final push into the top 4. Its getting mighty close now, just the last chance tourny to go after this on the following Saturday. So wish me luck I think I'm gonna need it...

Tourny win......

Finally, I've managed another tourny win. I have won a couple of small tourny's $5 buyin quite small so more like SnG's. Sunday I managed to win a larger one entry wise, $300 Guaranteed. Wasn't too bad a weekend as i managed to get on 4 final tables. Along with this Guaranteed there was the Blogger, see previous post, along with a satallite for the $10k on saturday earning me a coupon for entry into it. Unfortunately I didn't get very far. Its a little slow, a little more demanding than the others I've played. Still I played the satalite for it on Sunday to again getting to the final table and gaining another entry coupon. So I'll try again this coming weekend.
I think I might try and find a way of posting the winning pics and keep them update, as a kind of log. Not sure if I can or not so have to be a post that keeps getting bumped......

Whats it take to get a ticket

Yet another blogger tourny, yet another disappointment.
Once again I have not managed a top 4 finish in the blogger tourny. Once again adding insult to injury another ticket will go begging. Or should I make that 2........
I managed a 5th place finish this time my highest to date. 1 place to low, but one of the top 4 finishers has again already got their ticket. So only 3 again this time. Unfortunately there was a 5th on offer as a bounty on the sponsor. But it is she who has made the top 4. It was this that finally curtailed my chances this time around. 6 players left I'm dealt 22 sb, all fold back to me. I raise 2x BB. the sponsor (in BB) goes all in. I call, she shows AQo. we both miss the flop, turns a brick but isn't it always.......the river's a Ace. Never of guessed that.
Oh well 2 more weeks to wait for the next chance.
Wonder if there will actually be 4 tickets won for a change..

Season 4 Champions

We managed to hold on. The Blind Bullies are the new forum league champions for season 4. Although it was a nervous affair, with the first game seeing both bullies going out in last place and 8th, the lead we had amassed over the previous 3 weeks proved to be more than enough. Even with 3 of "the Probables" in the top 3 the 28pt lead proved too much. The winning margin eventually whittled down to 13pts.
Now with a League under our belt we can now focus on the seasonal invitaional against the poker.com staff. More news as it occurs...........

Season 5 gets underway on Saturday with 1 team dropping out (although most have reformed a new team) and 3 new additions. So 7 teams now to play, this gives us a reduced fixture list each so allowing for much needed breathing space between games.

It may prove to be the hardest season yet to win, but now we have proven to be worthy champions I know we can hold on to our crown.

On a side, we ( the Bullies ) managed a clean sweep. Drugsarebad (who unfortunately has to use his time now on more mundaying things has reluctantly had to move to the spares list. This has made room for our newest addition Jupite. Welcome......) won the "easy week" individual title. Cymru won the league individual title. Beating me into second place by 2pts. We also had 2 other players in the top 5. So all round an excellent season for the Bullies. Lets keep our crown and beat the Staff.
Good Luck all.

One more Round to Go

A monster set of games this week end for us in the league.
First up was the MTT, all 6 players did us proud. All lasting out till the last 12. We then managed to hold out for a 4th place and 1st. A very long game that sent us straight into the SnG's for Sat. A 5th n 7th in the first games folded by 3rd n 4th in the last. Saturday saw us increase our lead on the chasing pack by another 8 pts.
4 more games Sun all SnG. The first pair went well gaining a 1st, 2nd and 4th pulled us another 5 pts further in front. Followed up by a 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the last pair has given us a huge lead to take into Weds final Pair of SnG's.
With just 2 games to play and a 28 point lead, we are virtually unbeatable now. Only the intervention of a really cruel dealer can stop us from claiming the League . Fitting as we had "Won" it the last season, only to find that unfortunately a scoring teething error ripped it from our grasp.
Still that gave us an insight to what it will be like on Weds when we are crowned champions.
Allowing us then a chance at playing the poker.com staff in the challenge match.

So far the staff are 2 - 1 up.
The River Demons beat the staff in the season 1 match.
Having retained their title in season 2 the Demons again played the staff but this time lost.
Season 3 saw new champions to attempt the staff, The Probables (should have been us *sob*)
but they to fell to the wrath of the staff going down by just 1 point.
Hopefully in season 4's match we can level the scores. But first we have the formality of winning the league on Weds. Good Luck all Bullies involved on Weds keep it tight we still need to get at least 11 pts to guarantee the title.

A League Win?

I have been a member of the forum league since its inception. Being a Blind Bully throughout. At the start things were a little difficult with team members committing time to what is only a month long "season". Still things seemed to have settled down nicely now. We have a stable team all willing to commit. Thankfully in the main to our captain Housekat, who has struggled through trying to keep the team together, organising spares to fill vacant slots. Also managing to get together a selection of players that now form the team as it is now.
Last season we "won" only to have victory snatched from us on a recount. All above board, a clerical error. Still it hurt. This season, however, we find ourselves on top by a few points running into the last weeks games. Hopefully we can keep hold of it. Hopefully we can push further away from the rest of the teams.
Season 5 looks to be even bigger, with the addition of perhaps 2 more teams?

Where to go now

I think I have a fair understanding of the game now. Problem is I need to find out now about the complicated things that go hand in hand to improve your game.
So far I have done fairly well, mainly in the big freerolls, with little more than basic knowledge along with with what many professionals would frown at- intuition. Now reading what I can online I realise that the game is more about long term strategies than the short term fix. A little like investing in the stock market, yes you can make some good gains short term but invariably you will lose with this attitude. To this end I am know looking into finding some better literature to try and help explain and teach me these more complicated elements.

A big zero

$80,000 up for grabs in three tournaments and I can't get a single $. Not for the want of trying, It would be a little helpful to at least have a few hands to be able to play. All three went the same way, take the $10k as an example. I have just been knocked out 47th I think. After two breaks and 2 1/2 hrs of waiting 120 hands 9 won. Had only a few hands worth noting, AQo layed down to an allin pre flop raise. Good call K flush won. QQ, JJ both won small pots with 1 BB raise after the flop. 99 flopped AA9 but river and turn were 5's luckly no one had an A. Finally the last hand 99 preflop allin only 1700 left, 1caller AQs pair 77's flop turn no help to either then of course the river is an A. Oh what a surprise.
Time to try and learn a little more to help improve my game before I get too disenchanted. All the fuss and build up to the B'day tourny only to be let down by having to just sit and watch your stack dwindle away........
Suppose there's always the 2nd B'day only 364 days to go