19 Days on tour............

After 3 months work our showcase event, the Prague Poker Festival was looming closer and closer on my Outlook Calendar. Just when you think that all was well and only the finer details that are applied a few days before need applying the sudden departures of one of my colleagues led to me take on the Paradise Poker Tour as well. While new clients are not an issue, the fact that I would have to bolt on an extra 4 days in Barcelona and then fly straight to Prague was not something that I had factored into my timings. Obviously the poker player in me dealt with it like any other run of cards and headed to the Catalonian capital for the first 4 days of daily hotel-casino commuting, with the only distractions being a nightclub and close shave with two hookers looking for my wallet. Luckily I was carrying 2 pop-up banners which serve as a useful weapon.

Working in the non-playing side of the industry has some advantages, for example you know that you will always get paid at the end of the month, and not be staring at a loss. Sometimes it has disadvantages, the main one being that you are at an event from start to finish so you never get any time to explore the city you are in. Prague was always in danger of being worse than normal as the casino was in the Corinthia Hotel, so there was a distinct danger of not seeing daylight or breathing fresh air for a fortnight!

It is a worrying moment when you arrive in the tournament area 42 hours before the first live satellite to a World Poker Tour main event is about to start, only to discover there is nothing set up in the tournament area (except 500 chairs). As it was Sunday night and all I could really do about this was shout at people, I decided that this would be the day where I would get some fresh air in Prague and handled the situation the only way a Scotsman knows how. This meant was able to answer one of the two questions that most people want to know about Prague, which is less the £1 a pint if you go to the right places.

Casino built, and table’s felted Tuesday’s satellites were well attended with over 100 runners in the second one of the day which generated 18 seats for the main. Day 1a drew 231 runners, which was way above our projected numbers, so we were quietly confident that we could beat the European record for a WPT which we did comfortably on Day 1b with a total of 571 runners. The next few days were 16 hours’ work, 2 hours beer and 6 hours sleep, Andre Pateychuk won some Euros and it was time to make sure that my 12 clients who were playing EPT events were sorted, happy and knew how to get to the Hilton.

It turns out that as much as some players do actually have trouble knowing when they are supposed to be on a certain day, they are better at staying there. All my guys made day 2 and I had to do some frantic withdrawals from side events for them. On a the plus side, they were mostly playing day 1a, so it was back home to the Corinthia to make sure that the big cash game was ready to go. Luckily all this involved was watching a joiner re-felt a poker table, sort out some rather large buy ins and have a quick chat with Jesse May. It never ceases to amaze me when local business men try to take a shot at €200/€400with a double straddle against Luke Schwartz, Dan “Jungleman” Cate, Andy Moseley, Tobias Reinkemeier and a few others. It is good to know that one of those businessmen now has 300,000 reasons not to try again.

48 hours later and we have fully re-branded the casino with GSOP Live banners and tables. Since we took over the management of the tour the numbers have climbed from not many, to over 320 at the last stop in Greece. This would be different again and we knew that 400 players was probably a minimum to expect. With no prospect of adding an extra starting day, we set up tables on the second level, and actually had a queue to buy in at 11am!

At the end of level 4, the strangest thing happened. We had 497 runners and a whole load of people crossing their fingers for 500, the 498^th registered just as the break started, and then after a bit of wheeling and dealing the casino agreed to buy someone in if we did too, to make the numbers up to 500. Obviously this is where a quick knowledge of negotiating deals and percentages comes in handy, as I quickly found myself having 30% of myself in a freeroll and being led to table 1 seat 5, amusingly beside fellow Scot, beer drinker and occasional poker player Niall Farrell. Day 1 was an easy game, and I finished just under average but day 2 proved a little trickier. Now pretending that I was some kind of serious pro, I checked out my new opponents on the Hendon Mob and was less than amused to find the only person not to be listed (and even I have one flag), was the tournament chip leader who was on my immediate left. This concerned me even more the Dominick Nietzsche in the 1 seat, and the fact that Michael Tureniec soon became the man who would be raising my Big Blind. After taking a chunky pot form the EPT winner in the 1 seat, obviously I thought I was invincible, a badly needed double up with KK v QQ followed later and I was less the 20 players from the money. In this spot, sensible me knows that I can fold to a min cash, sadly the “I could win this, it’s an easy game” me came out to play, and my 55 on the button resulted in the big stack on my left entering into a bit of a battle with his 66. GG WP and all of that.

The downside to busting a tournament is normally going to get pissed and think of the next one. The downside to busting a tournament at one of your companies’ events is that you get time for a fag, shout out “ffs” and then get back to work. 48 hours later Aasmaa Raigo won some Euros, secretly I knew that 30% of them should have been mine.

Working live events is a mixture of hard work, stress and funny moments. Working all day and night for 19 days is hard, not being able to find a 5 figure sum of money that is not yours and being told the hotel is fully booked and oversold is stressful, but it’s all made up by the funny moments. Next time we have a beer I will tell you the one about me, an Italian, a Yorkshire man, another Scotsman, and English pro and an EPT winner in a smoky backstreet pub fighting over who is NOT paying the bill, I could go on…….

Anyway, home for Christmas then WPT Ireland on the 4^th of January and back to Prague for the Paradise Poker Tour on the 18^th, then I MAY look at my diary for February.

1 Weeks Work and 22 Minutes of Poker

So it was off to Malta one week ago to work at the WPT, which was being held at the Casino at Portomaso. It is always interesting when visiting casinos on different countries, as the rules are always slightly different, and sometimes slightly amusing.

If you are Maltese you can drink from 16, and believe me they do drink, but you cannot enter a casino until you are 25. If you are a "foreigner" that you can enter the casino when you are 18. You cannot smoke indoors in Malta, although the casino has a glassed enclosed gaming area that does permit smoking. (All bars and clubs have no smoking signs and there is a €500 for having a crafty puff, although nobody cares and everyone smokes in bars and clubs in Malta). While the drinking law is interesting, and what we would call a "style" bar charges €24 for a bottle of Smirnoff with mixers, there are not heaps of kids falling about drunk and fighting. Maybe it is because there is an international poker tour in town, but there was certainly lots of adults doing the former.

Since this is supposed to be a poker blog, and personal time was in short supply, I should really provide you with the comedy of my week trying to play the game. I took the fancy on Thursday night after dinner that four days of watching, registering and talking about the game meant I was itching to say "raise". I made to 2 minute trip from the Hilton to the casino and the fun really started.

I was told to register with the cashier, easy as pie you may think, until she produces 8 pages of names an membership numbers. "You are not on the list!", comes the short reply as I was offering money buy into the €30 re-buy. This did not fluster me, as I would be compromising the truth if I said that I had not heard those words before. In a previous life as a club manager, I will also admit to proudly saying them as well. The easy solution was to offer to go back to reception in case their record of my arrival in casino had not been processed correctly, although this was re-buffed when I was told to speak to the Poker Room Manager.

I felt sorry for anyone working, or trying to play in their the card room, as they had 4 tables of Italian package winners and sponsored pros throwing chips around like confetti and letting the whole room know about it. Even then, I persevered and enquired about the tournament. Amazingly when holding and international event, they cap the game at 30 players (which I understand), but they do not permit "foreigners" to play. As someone who is rarely politically correct, being called a foreigner in a forgein country does not phase me, and while I thought about doing a great speech about Britain and the Commonwealth, but as there was another casino at the end of the street I kept my sensible head on.

Thinking that a lack of WPT refugees would be at the cash tables in the Dragonara Casino next door was Plan B. Hopefully I could find the usual array of local fish, two holiday makers and the drunk 50 year old American who insists on showing the only female at the table what is the optimal play. In my experience the intoxicated fellow from the larger ex-colony normally does advise the correct thing to do, granted it was the right play circa 1999.

Sadly the lack of cash tables meant I was player 36 in the €25 Freezeout, in the smallest poker room I have been in, on the smallest country I have been in. The standard of player seemed to match my predictions, and I eyed up a player whose blinds I would be stealing from the cut off and hijack, as his seat did not seem to have a fold button, or he had chosen not to learn that word.

So we are in to the action, its a 10k starting stack with a 1k punctuality bonus. I have won a small pot and lost a small pot, and pretty much got a decent grasp on the players, apart from the guy on my left who has not put a penny into the pot, and I sure was ready to fold his BB with 3 limpers! My target who was actively winning pots, mostly with a third barrel when the river was a seemingly harmless card, so I was delighted to pick up the black queens when it was his BB. Level 2 had just started, so I casually opened for 3x, was please with myself when everyone fold to him. I had already folded a couple of small, marginal hand to him, so when he popped me back up I was more than happy to 5 bet for half of my stack. What I had not expected was his reply of moving all his chips over the line. I might not play as much as the old days, but I announced, "Thats a brave move with Ace high", and his face said it all. I called and tabled my queens, and he  proudly should AKo. While I was happy to take the flip, I was happier to have made the correct read, and if I win the flip then I have the respect of the table, and twice the amount of chips as everyone else.

When you get the dream flop of 258s to go with your black queens and you opponent has AK in the colour red, it is a satisfying feeling when you know he is drawing to 5 outs and you have more cards to improve your already winning hand than he does. The other thing that never, and I mean never ever, changes is the sting when one of them pops on the river, somehow made worse by the fact it was the Kc which for a fraction of a second could have been the Ks.

So back in blighty and ready for a hectic couple of months as we plan 2 weeks of poker in Prague, and the Regional and National finals of Poker in The Pub to organise and run. It is probably the most interesting job in the industry working across the spectrum of players from grass roots to proffesional. Last week I  was on a hotel balcony drinking with a WCOOP winner, an Ex-November niner, a well known TV pro and an online grinder, next month it is pub players with a dream about Las Vegas. I enjoy them both in equal measures, and love talking about and playing the game.

2 Weeks, 2 Games, Malta and Prague

So playing poker live or online, has taken a backseat to work for the last 2 weeks. While my current dislike of the online game does not seem to have subsided, and the lack of live games of interest has also remained in the status quo, work has pretty much consumed my time. My record since last writing has been played two online league games, didn't cash in either and missed most of the second one!

I am spending next week at WPT Malta, not playing before the questions role in, assisting with players and entertaining some on behalf of a client. I know you may all think that sounds like fun, I have to tell you that it is. The fact that the weather is better than at home, also helps a lot.

The bulk of where my time has gone is the initial planning and marketing campaign for the Prague Poker Festival, which consists of a WPT, EPT and GSOP over a 12 day period in December. This is something that is going to appeal to all level of players from pro grinders who can make a base for 2 weeks of cash and tournaments, down to casual players who can come out for a weekend, play some low buy in events and party until it is time to go home. If you want more info the festival fill in the contact details on the web from, or the one on Poker Traveller

Now I have reviewed the first three paragraphs of this instalment, I am laughing that what started off as my poker blog has become and advert for my company, so I am going to go the distance and stick in some hyperlinks so writing this will not have been a total waste of my time. (Dave if you read this, we can discuss advertising rate

Hopefully next time I will have had some success at the tables, although tempting fate has never really helped me in the past.

Beg, Steal and Borrow that run good

In the last 2 years where poker has moved from a second income, to hobby and then to a career (although not in a playing sense) those who know me really well know that I will never stop playing live, although opportunities are limited and I am living in a poker wilderness.

This is generally the reason that my own personal reasons for finding tilt tend to come from others. I can handle the consequences of making a bad decision, but the bad decisions of others tilt me beyond the bounds of normal rage. Yes, I understand that level 1 players always have it and you can’t get them off a mediocre hand even if you had a crowbar, yes I know that basic math’s and equity calculations are beyond them but I love to play them as if they no what I am trying to represent. Dealing with this issue is my current personal challenge, the logic of not doing it harks back to Super/System where Mr. Brunson tells us there is no point in trying advanced or trick plays against a low level player as they don’t understand what you are doing. What constituted a low lever player when Doyle wrote this book, given the way the game of NLH played now, is a really scary thought.

So on my last venture to a casino tournament I decided to take @daleroxxu up on his offer of run good by voting for him in the British Poker Awards. If you read my blog I the subject, save the time as epic fail is the term you want. Given that run good is obviously not passed down from you players to someone as old school as myself, I was encouraged to play after receiving a retweet (now an official word!) from Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott. Realising that we had a few things in common, we both use Twitter and have loads of tolerance of others, I should take this as a sign that the old school karma will help me more than a twenty something team online pro.

I was worried that perhaps things were not really going to plan when I had only won one pot before the first break. Given that I had made the nut flush on the turn and "I've got top pair" boy kept on betting in to it, I was happy with an over average stack.

It’s an interesting thing when you elect not to play many hands in a casino game. You watch some appalling play, learn everything about your opponents and watch the luck boxes garner chips. The comedy never stops when you elect to play your first in earnest after an hour, and three people want to come in to a pot with you.

The final table was reached with little drama, although I was nursing the short stack there is always a good spot on the horizon. One of the regulars opened for 5 BBs (his normal PFR, although he has a wide range), I looked down at AA and shoved. The chip leader on my left called, and Mr. 5 BBs ran to the hills. The leader turned AhKs, the board caused no unexpected variance and I was in business. Players got knocked out, the only backwards step was calling a shove with 77, I was happy to see J6o but the running cards to give him a straight was a little irritating.

Everything else ran like clockwork, and I found myself heads up with a chip lead. I then managed to lose an all in pot on a flip, tried to shove with AQ into 1010. Not to worry, I had a tasty profit, a spring in my step and a hand from @devilfish2011

Who said the children is the future?

An old one I enjoyed looking back over

In the summer of 2009, i made my 10th trip to Las Vegas. I went with a friend, Kerr, who had won the trip from my current employers. It was just as things had turned bad for me in business and the money had run out. I put on a brave face, and escaped from my problems with a now rapidly depleting bankroll. We had fun, and I made a tidy profit on a run of 10 tournamnets and 1 cash session in one week. Although I had been to Vegas so many times before, I had never been when the WSOP was on, or stayed on Fremont street for any length of time. Both experiences are highly recommended




Being a lucky guest of one of the National winners, Kerr Harris, saw me and 19 excited other board our flight to Las Vegas, Nevada on the 6th of June to take part in the Poker in the Pub Final Table, and have a week of fun in the gambling capital of the world.

After a few drinks onboard the flight, several at the Golden Nugget casino bar, and several at the pool bar courtesy of Dave Brannan of @livinglovingit, someone had the bright idea of playing the 8pm NL Holdem tournament at Binions. Not being able to resist a game at the spiritual home of poker and the WSOP, it seemed like a great idea! After an hour it seemed like a terrible idea, when alcohol and jet lag took its toll and most of us crashed out.

Day 2 took us to the PITP final table, which was held at the Golden Nugget in their main convention room which was set up for their own poker tournament. The full report can be read here on the forum.
For all you poker fans, there was no shortage of tournaments at any given time of the day, from $50 up to $10,000 at the World Series (more on that later), and cash games from $1/$2 no limit and upwards. My first cash was at the 9pm $35 re-buy at Fitzgerald’s, pulling down $300 and covering the drinks bill for the first two days!!
Monday stared with breakfast in the hotel, sitting next to Padraig Parkinson and “Mad” Marty Wilson, followed by a whirlwind tour of some of the strip hotels including stops at the Ice Bar at Mandalay Bay, Nine Fine Irishmen at New York New York, the Card Room at Bellagio and finishing with a trip to the World Series of Poker at the Rio.

I had absolutely no idea how accessible the tournament table were, and how friendly everyone would be. There is no hiding from the public and the table are as close to you as this computer is to me. We stood watching the six-handed Holdem with Chris Ferguson on our right, Neil Channing in front of us, and Clonie Gowan on the left. Neil Channing stood up and came over for a chat about poker and Scottish Football. We moved on to the H.O.R.S.E tourney to watch Daniel Negraneu, Mike Matasow and others. As the 7 card stud was down to heads up, we watched until it finished with Jeff Lisandro being presented with his 2nd bracelet in two years.

We made our second visit to the Rio on Wednesday and were spellbound watching the $10,000 lowball draw Championship. Standing as close to the 8 tables as you would be in your own pub, we watched Greg Raymer, Huck Seed, Scotty Nyguen, Andy Black, Johnny Chan, Roland De Wolfe, John Juanda and numerous others fight it out. I even spoke briefly to Daniel Negraneu and Doyle Brunson, while Kerr spoke to Ross Boatman who was watching his brother and Michael Greco battle in the NL Shootout tourney. The days highlight came outside the main entrance having a cigarette with Andy Black telling us wonderful stories about final table blow ups and being beaten by amateurs like us who only play good cards!

All this inspired us to enter event number 19 at the Binions Poker Classic. A field of nearly 200 sat down for NL Holdem which included both Padraig Parkinson and Marty Wilson’s partners Katherine & Veronique and "Oklahoma" Jonny Hale. Kerr lasted until just before the dinner break, and with a bit of skill and some luck, I made it to the money, and held out to reach the final table. I was just starting to realise what I had achieved until my pair of Jacks were cracked by AQ. It was a most surreal experience going “All In” with Padraig Parkinson and Marty Wilson cheering “Scotland, Scotland” from the rail as the cards were dealt out. They also helped to lighten the breaks with Padraig Parkinson tale about his 3rd place finish at the World Series in 1999, or should I say his lack of memory due to after game celebrations, and how they used to sleep 6 to a room back in the day when it was all about getting to Vegas just to play the World Series. Sadly Katherine and Veronique, were knocked out just after me, not a good final table for Europe, but what an amazing experience and a great laugh.

So after 10 poker tournaments, and 4 cashes it was time to go home. Where else can you meet so many Poker people, play so many games and really feel part of the game. Here is to next year and I for one will be doing my very best to make sure I qualify to be on that plane.

You have to start back somehere

So, decision was made. Leave the office, go to town, and reg for the 8pm at the Plymouth G Casino. Carefully thinking that I didn't want to know if it was re-buy or not as that would colour my decision.

I sat on the bus contemplating a twitter post by @daleroxxu saying that a vote for him in the The British Poker Awards would lead to eternal run good. As I had voted for my own company, Poker in the Pub and @daleroxxu that very afternoon, I should have realised that karma was indeed a real bitch.

So Mr G Casino, what is the point of a £10 freezeout? Do most Friday regulars normally go to Gala Bingo, next door? And why do 54 players think that 40% juice is good value?

Having not played most of level 1 apart from couple of limps on the button and SB, I got involved in my "real" hand at the and of the level. Two players limp from mid position, and I stick in a standard 3x from the button with A10o I got a call form the BB (calling station), another from the 15 year old looking kid, and a fold from the old guy who was now getting 4/1 against a button raise.

So the K 10 4 rainbow flop did worry me a bit, but then the BB checks and the 15 year old 1/2 pot donk bets me, I quickly make the call while thinking how to take it away from his obvious top pair. Obviously the BB calling station really should have left the party, but like an annoying drunk uncle with a cab waiting outside he won't go home.

The 10 on the turn really removed all plans of who to get the kid off the pot, as now I wanted his lunch money. Again he led out for the same bet, 300 into a pot of 1500. While I considered KK, even my real 15 year old son would have raised pre-flop, and probably re-raised my button with that hand, so I know he has a single king and probably no much of a kicker, happy days!

I raised him up to 1300, just to show I wasn't messing about, obviously that taxi driver had not rung the bell, as uncle station called, and then so did the kid. The river was a KING, which fell with what sounded like a resounding thud on the table, the kid leads for 2k without pausing for breath, I stretch back in the seat, swear and muck (while trying to think when I last folded a boat), and uncle station instacalled, and turned over Q10, the kid showed K6 to scoop the pot, and I burst out laughing.

Like a kindly, but confused uncle, the BB asks what is funny. With a pained look I explained, "I folded better than you, as the kid may as well have had a post it note one his head with a big fat King printed on it", he flashed an embarassed look, the kid smiled.

He does not realise that he was about 5% on the turn, and I hope we meet again. It didn't happen last night, the table was broken, I found cards in bad spots, and no cards in good spots. I doubled with JJ v 99, then found A10s on the button, shoved and the SB found AQo, so gg wp.

During the coming week, our companies efforts at running the GSOP live event in Manchester will prove that advertising works as I will be debuting on Red Kings on the Ongame network.

I am sure that nobody has even noticed................yet