Well what have I been up too over the last couple of weeks
Meeting some of my best "online" poker friends. Woohoo I met Mousy at long, long last. It ws so great to see him in the flesh, with clothes on LOL.
I knew he was coming to see me on the Wednesday before we all headed off for the Wass Live Weekend in Stoke. Pajasen was also coming and was flying in from Sweden especially for the weekends poker. DM went to meet him at the airport and they decided to drop by and see me on the way through to Oxford and Scotladys\Jax international Hotel. They arrived at mine and I was so excited to see Pierre\ Pajasen again and to meet Mousy for the first time, that I ran out the front door and nearly took Pierre out with a full body blow. I then rush round to the other side of the car to bearhug DM. Oh My God it was awesome. They come in and I make us all a nice cuppa. Well Pierre was in England (again) now. We were having a good old chin wag when Jax gets me on MSN. "Have they arrived yet". Poor thing was so nervous. I siad they had arrived and would be heading to hers shortly. Well 2hrs at least just flew by and before I knew it they were heading to Jax. They head off after me giving them more bearhugs. Damn it was only Wednesday. It was gonna be Friday before I would se them again.
OIOIMALLOY, calls my mobile, "alrite Jo. Im in Stevenage but I can't find ya" Woohoo Hi Nick lol. I try and give him directions to my house, after I eventually establish where he is. He finds me and we chuck my suitcase on the backseat and head for Jax. She (apparently) having a nightmare with her hair, going through the colours of the rainbow before evenetually finding 1 she liked LMAO........... LICKS Jax. When we eventually get to Jax, sure enough she is a complete bag of nerves. We go in and there is Mousy, Pierre and a MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE in the HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE. Leafy68 had flown in from Canada for this weekends poker. Talk about world wide. It was awesome. Kelly was a laugh a minute and her accent is just the greatest. Full English\Scottish Brekkie later we are ready to leave for Stoke. Yeeeeehaaaaaaa here we go guys and gals.
We all arrive safely in Stoke and the first people I spot are Blueorchid and Salome. We head inside after parking up and we soon head to our rooms. I have a twin and I had asked for a double. Back to reception to complain. "No Problem" tehy say and give me a new room. MMMMMMMMMM marvellous, thats a lot better. I dump my suitcase and head back down stairs and to the bar. I go outside and find a mass of people all drinking, smoking and hving a great time in the warm sunshine. I sit down and start chatting to Maz\blueorchid. Times goes pretty fast adn it also turned pretty cold and windy so I head upstairs to take a shower and get ready for the nights poker game.
It was fantastic and so much fun. We got to the hotel and to make sure we had our priorities straight we checked out our rooms and then headed to the bar. A few drinks later and the place started to fill up with poker players. The sun disappeared and so did all of us to get tarted up for the evenings events.
The casino was only a short walk from the hotel but OMG the hill we had to go up and down was a killer. It was sooooooooo step. The Friday night game was due to start at 9pm but it eventually got underway at about 9.30pm.
69 players at 7 tables and its bounty night. £10 buyin and £10 in front of each player at the table. Starting chips were 3000 and it was going to be a long night. everyone was playing really tight at the start and it was a good while before the first few players were out. I am not getting any cards to call with and then I get Q9 in the sb. Everyone else had folded round to me accept UTG who had just flat called. I can see a cheap flop (75) so I decide to play my Q9. Flop comes down 9J10, I raise to 400 and UTG calls. Turn is 7. I make the call and an 8 hits the river. I have hit a straight and bet out enough to put UTG all in. UTG calls it and cards are turned over...................................OOPS ive cracked his AA and taken my first bounty of the evening. I am now classed as a fish but hey what the hell. I had outs and I take the gamble and it paid off. I then go back to being card dead and jsut keep folding. I am making a little progress but not enough and its getting to the stage where I need to start winning a few hands. The tables are slowing folding down to the last 20 players and yes both me and DM are still in but now we are both getting pretty short stacked. DM is to my immediate left and we are both just trying to hold on in there. I decide I need to make a push and with my little stack of 1300 chips (not even enough chips to sit and shuffle) I get 10Q and as I am gonna be blinded in fairly soon I decide to push allin UTG with it. 2 callers and the flop comes down 1010J, Oh my god yes yes yes, turn is a K and river A. I take down a pot and my little stack of 1300 is now 12k and I look up at the board to see there are 13 players left in. I am gonna make the FT now if I play wisely. I get 44 and push allin. 1 caller who is holding AQ. flop comes down 4Q7, turn 5 river Q.................FH thank you very much and I double up. The next hand Mousy announces all in and he also gets a caller. flop comes 458 turn ? river 5. He was holding 44 and takes down the pot with a FH. We just look at each other and laugh. ME and DM both make the FT.............................Woohoo to us.
So we move to the FT and the Chip leader is way out chip leader. She is so drunk though and can hardly see her cards or even sit up. It didnt matter what she called with she was hitting. I go to the FT with just a little under 6k after getting hit with the BB and SB just before the FT. (I had also misread a hand and had to put 1400 more chips in the pot to make the call). Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I was pretty gutted I had made this mistake because after I had put in the other 1400 in Mousy then pushed allin and I had to fold. He took down the hand. Back to the FT and I am now really struggling to stay alive. I then get A5d and decide I have to push. I go allin and get 2 callers. Miss chip leader calls and so does Pastieman. Flop comes down 34K, turn ? river is a 2. I've hit a straight and take down the pot. By this time a lot of the other players are watching the FT and its down to the last 7 or so players. ( sorry so tired its hard to remember all the details accurately). I am still struggling to stay alive as the blinds are now 1000 and 2000. I have about 12K but its not enough and I know its not. I then get crap in BB and SB and know I need to make another move soon. I am gonna be blinded in very soon so I push allin with my remaining 5k. I have Q10o and I dont hit a thing and go out in 6th place. I leave the table happy proud and feeling good with my performance. DM went on to finish in 4th place but I wasn't close enough to the table to see what happened. He did great and we both left the casino after 7hrs of play feeling happy and pleased with the way we had played.
I eventually flopped into bed about 5am and as I did my mobile went off. It was Drummy calling me from Dublin airport. He was going to be in Stoke for day 2 and I couldn't wait to see him. He had been in Ireland for a funeral and I had asked him if he would please come to Stoke for day 2. Well he turned up about 9:30am and it was fantastic to see him. The DO NOT DISTURB sign was put on the door.......
Saturday nights game was due to start at 6pm and eventually got under way at about 6:30. 62 players started with me going out fairly early on. I was getting nothing and then got 56d in the sb. I flat called and the bb checks. Flop comes down A82d. OH yes oh yes oh yes Ive flopped the nuts. I push all in with just under 2k and bb calls. With their cards on their backs the table is all oooooooooooooooooooing at my flopped flush. BB shows A8o and hits an A on the river to take me out with her FH. I leave the table in disgust and don't acknowledge a single person. I go outside to have a ciggie and a good old swear and then return and find my opponant and congratulate her. I then head to the bar and shortly after I discover that DM is also out so we then both go outside for a special smoke and to compare notes. My man is also there after flying in from Ireland that morning and he is now flying at the tables and is soon the way out chip leader. He is not known by any of ther people there and he is playing a very clever game. When the break finally arrives and everyone has left the tables to get drink, food, have a smoke etc he is getting me to walk around the tables with him so I can put names and faces to the big stacks at each table. He was then making mental notes on each player that he felt he might encounter at the FT.
He gets to the FT as chip leader but then becomes card dead. He waits to make a move and in the meantime he watches a few of the short stackes get eliminated and is now in the last 5. He pushes allin UTG and takes the blinds, which at this stage are pretty high. He is down to 14k in chips and doubles through a few hands later and then he watches as the new chip leader starts taking out the smaller stacks. Drummy (my guy) is now un the last 3 and is sitting with a better looking stack then he was a few hands previous. He now HU with chumley and its all to play for. Drummy asks for a chip count while he has a bathroom break and the whole place is like HUH????
He is quite within his rights to ask for a chip count and even asks chumley if its ok with him if he has a bathroom break. He was actually playing a mind game with chumley and it was starting to show. chumley was looking a little on edge even though he had the chip lead. The chip count was done and it revealed that chumley had 96k and drummy had 90k. There was all to play for but to have watched drummy lose his stac and then get it back the way he did was awesome and it was a great HU. Drummy then gets A10o and pushes allin and gets called by chumley who was holding QJo. Flop no help to either player but then a J hits the turn and its all over with chumley winning and my drummy getting 2nd place. He took a prize pool of £250 and if it had been bounty night he would have also have taken the most bountys. I think he took out about 14 players along the way and he just played like a pro. I was told by quite a few players that Drummy was by far the best player at the FT if not the whole tournament and it really showed. He played a mind game, he played the way a big stack shouold play and he also played with confidence and pure style.
All in all it was a fantastic weekend and I met some great people too.
Roll on the next live event.
a few picturs of some of the guys at the event
Photo 1...DM and Pierre behind him
Photo 2... Drummy and Pastieman at FT. Drummy in the blue top
Photos 3 and 4...Me at the tables
