Dusk Till Dawn Weekend

I decided to make 2 trips to DTD this weekend as it is my last chance before I go to Australia.

Friday £75 Freezeout

On friday I travelled down with Fran for the £75 Freezeout which attracted 67 runners. I managed to grind it down to the last 20 odd but was swallowed up by the blinds and antes after the lack of any decent cards. I didn't bother playing cash and we headed back up the M1 empty handed.

Sunday £100 Freezeout

Sunday was to be my last trip to DTD and I made the journey with my Mum to play the £100 Freezeout which attracted 59 runners with an overlay of £600 as it is guarenteed at £6.5k. I started of pretty well winning a few pots and building my 5k stack upto the 8k mark. Early doors I was getting some decent cards and using position well to take down a few bluffs. I got to the first break with around 5k after losing a few pots and having to lay down pocket kings on the turn on a very tricky board. Into the middle stages of the competition I doubled through with AK vs 66 a king being the first card out, and the I lost a 50/50 to the eventual winner with AQ spades against 4 4 which some how managed to avoid a lot of bullets, which crippled me and was down to less than 10 BB. i managed to hand around for a little while but eventually busted out in 13th (top 7 being paid) with the blinds and antes swallowing me up. I always enjoy the DTD experience and cant wait for by next visit hopefully to make a final table.

Moortown £20 Freezeout

Last night I headed off for the £20 Freeze out at Grosvenor Moortown, 20 players started on 2 tables with several on the alternate list. I found myself on table 1 with Ma aka my Mum and my Uncle John. I decided to change my game a bit and become a bit more aggressive than normal as I thought I had the right table to do so, I used position well and raised in spots with any 2 cards often getting through but once or twice getting caught with my fingers in the till. I reached the break with a little over my 10k starting stack. After the break I grinded away picking my spots until I doubled up with AK vs 99 the flop was a blank but an A on the turn then a K on the river was enough to ship me the 20k+ pot. I then played 2 big hands against Paul (the guy who smokes pens) he was to my right and raised to 2k and I picked up a tell of weakness on him so I re popped him to 6k with 8 3 os, everybody folded round to him and after a short dwell he mucked his cards. Then a couple of hands later Paul limped from the SB (500/1000), I raised up to 4k with pocket 7's and Paul min raised it to 8k, I then insta pushed all in and after a think about it for a while he mucked saying he folded AQ. I was up to around the 30k mark and we were soon down to the final table with the top 5 being paid. The first hand of the final table I looked down at 66 in UTG +1 and I raised to 3600, it was passed round to my mum on the BB who looked me up, the flop came A Q x and she checked, I bet out 6k and she folded 7 7 face up so I couldn't resist showing her my under pair lol. I then played a big pot with Mark Lewis (from Gala £25 double chance) he raised it up on button to 3200 which I called with Ac Jc from the SB, flop came A A 4 (2 spades) I checked he bet out which i flat called, a blank on the turn and it goes check check, another blank on the river so i checked and he bet 8k on the river which i just flat called in case he was holding AK or AQ, he actually had J 2 of spades for a busted flush draw. I then made a squeeze play with 6 6 after a few limper's on my BB which got through. Then Justin raised 3 x BB and I moved all in against him with JJ he passed pretty quick. We were soon in the money then my Mum doubled through by taking Justin out with J 9 against his Q 9. We were then down to 3 which consisted of David Bielby, my Mum and Myself. I called my Mums SB raise from the BB with 7d 8d, flop came 2 diamonds and she moved all in which I called she showed A Q and I hit my flush on the river sending her to the rail in 3rd. WP Ma Unlucky. (No colluding when we are at the same table!) Heads up lasted no more than 10 hands after i had JJ busted by a flopped flush and straight draw which hit on the river and I came 2nd for £145. GG and WP.

Congratulations to Richard Hawes on his Victory at DTD.

Well done to Richard Hawes for taking down the Tuesday £50 re buy down at Dusk till Dawn last night. Rich made that win number 3 down in Nottingham beating Marcus Bebb-Jones and Julian Thew along the way to scooping £2.1k for his nights work. Nice going Rich!

New Gala £40 bounty tournament.

I decided to try out the new scheduled bounty tournament at Gala last night and with £30 going into the prize fund and £10 as your bounty i thought it was good value for money with a 30min clock and 15k starting stack. I decided to deal and could deal myself and hand, I managed to bluff a few pots and get to the first break losing just 800 from my 15k. After the break i had to fold my best hand of the night AK against Derek aka "Wheels" after i missed all streets and he fired out on the river. Then I was getting short and I pushed in mid position with K Q os only to be called by "Wheels" in the BB with Q J which i was delighted to see until the flop came 8 9 x giving my opponent a gut shot which he hit on the turn as I dealt the 10, I needed a J on the river which blanked out for me. I didn't claim any bounties but i thought i didn't make any mistakes and was happy with how i played.

A small cash game had broken out so as I waited around for my mate on the final table I sat down with £40, a few hands in I found AA in the BB I got heads up and all my money in the middle on a 9 10 J Q K board, I rivered the straight beating my opponents J Q for turned 2 pair. I then payed off 2 players after I miss read the board (all under cards to my JJ but any 7 made a straight) a river bet of £20 by player A was called by myself and player B, the both showed the 7 and were puzzled by my call with the JJ, I explained that I missed the straight, which shouldn't of bothered them as they made an extra £10 each out of me! I then saw a multi way flop with K 3 os and flopped top pair, another K on the turn gave me trips which was good enough to win a nice pot and I left the table with £90 making back my tournament entry money which was better than nothing.

Gala £25 Double Chance.

Tonight I am going to try and make it back-to-back final tables at Gala. More to follow soon.........

I went to tonight's game feeling confident of matching last weeks final table although I was a little under the weather but I felt good. I lost my first 7.5k with Ac Jc on a J-high flop, all the money went in on the turn of a 10 and my opponent tabled 10 10 for trips and made Quads on the river just to make sure. I re-bought for 7.5k and I managed to make it through to the break with 12.8k. After the break I kicked on and eliminated Ed 'The Crazy Yank' with AK vs A3 I checked and he pushed all in on a xAx flop and I insta-called him, turn came another A and he failed to hit his 3 on the river. I then eliminated another player with AK on a AxA board, turn gave him an open ended straight draw which he committed all his stack with, I called and the river bricked out sending me over 30k. I then moved tables and it went quiet for a while, we were down to 2 tables and with blinds at 800/1600 I limped in mid position with 4 4 with 4 players to a flop of K x x, it got checked round and a heavenly 4 came on the turn, a bet from a tight player in early position, quickly followed by an all in from me was called by the tight player with KJ saying "why did i let you see the turn" a J on the turn gave him a few outs but a blank on the river gave me the pot. A while later after being blinded down to around 10xBB I pushed all in against the same player with the 4 4 from earlier after he had raised in early position i thought he would lay it down as he said "id call anybody but you" but he found the call and my Kh 10h was in bad shape against his A 10, but a K in the window sealed the double up and I was back in it. We were then down to 2 tables and I felt like I could make back to back final tables unto this hand came up, it was passed round to me on the button and i held Ac 10c and raised it up to 18k (blinds 3k 6k) SB folded and Mark Lewis a very good respected player called the extra 12k, I thought he is going to push on any flop and I was prepared for this, the flop came 7 4 7 rainbow and as I thought he moved in for 35k, I thought he wouldn't push all in with a 7 and if he has a 4 then I've got over cards and I thought I was in front so I made the call and he showed 6h 5h for an open ended straight draw, I was happy with my read and he said "nice call", the turn was 9h giving Mark a flush draw and a dirty 5 on the river gave him a pair and left me with a bowl of rice, which i went all in with next hand with 9 10 against Marks A 10 and another short stacks A 8 so I was in bad shape an 8 on the flop and 10 on the turn gave Mark the pot and eliminated two of us to make it the final table. I was happy with the way I played all night and only made 2 mistakes all night but if that hand would of held up i was in good shape for the final table.

Gala £25 Double Chance 5 way chop.

As I felt like I was running good and I just had one of those feelings like I was going to do well I headed off to Gala for the £25 double chance tournament. I found myself on WSOP Bracelet holder Lawrence Gosney's table which is always interesting. I was in seat 9 but offered to deal for the guy. I got to the break with 15 600 after my add on. After the break I knocked a player out with 10 10 vs 8 8 and then took another player out with A Q hit top pair on the flop against his straight draw, I made trips on the turn and he missed the river and I was upto around 40k. I dealt myself some decent hands and took a few pots down pretty much uncontested, then i got K K and raised 3x BB and got 2 callers, the flop came down K K A for flopped Quads! I could hardly contain myself! I was unable to get much out of it though. Shortly after I was moved tables and managed to drop 10k in chips before I was moved back to my original table when the new dealer kindly dealt me QQ to know another player out followed by AK which i raise 3 x BB and found a raise by the previous player who was on my direct left before I was moved, I put him down as a tight player but had not much experience and it was his first time in the Gala id seen him take a few pots down with strong hands so I put him on QQ JJ AK or AQ and could maybe out play him when the flop came down, the flop was A J x (2 hearts) I check he bets, I call here because he has me covered and want to take the minimum risks, turn comes Q hearts I check again and he bets bigger I flat call again here as now I have a straight draw to go with my top pair, the river is a 10 making me the nut straight, I move all in and he goes into the tank, I start giving him some chat saying i didn't want him to call and don't want him to go home, I now no he's not got a flush or a full house or he would of insta-called my all in so I'm happy if he calls, I call the clock on him and after he says Ive put too much in Ive gotta call he calls me with a set of Q's and I scoop the biggest pot of the night and go chip leader with 140k and were down to 2 tables. I dropped about 70k and were hand for hand when i found As Ks and pushed in for about 50k and was called by Derek a slow rolling old boy in a wheel chair, he calls me with K K and I spiked an A on the flop and we were down to 10 for the final table. I started the Final Table with 114k and drew seat number 3 which is the worst seat as you start in the BB, we got down to 6 players and I picked up QQ and raised to 40k, a guy re-raise all in and after I counted my chips we had exactly the same amount and I called and he flipped over 10 10 and with no help from the board he was out in 6th and I was chip leader with 193k but we were all around the high 100's and a 5 way deal was suggested, the deal was for £495 each which was just short of 2nd place money so I was happy as I needed the cash. If i had of been in a better financial situation the I would of played on for the win but I did not want to risk it.

Pokerstars $4.40 180 man Sit & Go.

After a slow start and again on my Mums account (i run better on this account than my own) i managed to grind out a 5th place finish for $57 i felt really good and felt that i was running well so i decided and with a bit of persuasion to go to Gala Leeds for the £25 double chance.

Well Done to Nick Carter.

Another good result for Nick Carter down in Nottingham at Dusk till Dawn in the Thursday £50 freezeout. Nick chopped 4 ways and took home a tidy £1600 to go with the £2.5k he won this month. After a poor February Nick has turned it around and is playing a very good game.

Best online result to date.

Saturday the 15th and it was back to a bit of online poker. I played under my mums account and i entered the Pokerstars $11 $100k guaranteed tournament, with 3000 in chips and a 15 minute clock i thought that was good value for money. I ran really well and doubled up with AA early doors, and won every 50/50 i was in, mid way through the tournament and at a make or break time i found JJ and was all in Vs AA flop was a blank and i had 2 out to hit, bring on the turn J and just to make sure the case J appeared on the River for runner runner Quads! That set me up and i gathered momentum from there and was chip leader for most of the time with 30 or so left and reached over a million in chips at one point! I reached the final table from over 3000 players and over 7 hours into the tournament i made two mistakes which cost me a bigger win but i cashed in 9th place for $300 which is my best result to date! I was happy with the way that i played and wished i could of made it to my goal of 6th place which was over $1000 but the blinds were high and it was pretty much all in or fold.

Withdrawal Symptoms

Friday the 14th of March and I Cracked! I couldnt resist the offer of a trip to Dusk till Dawn and so i headed off down to Nottingham with a friend of mine Fran Plant for the £75 freezeout. My bad run continued as i never got above my 4000 starting stack. I paid off a straight with 2 pair on the 2nd hand and dwindled my stack down to peanuts from there on in! My fate came at the hands of this last years WSOP finalist John Kalmar. I also had Top Lady Player and all round nice lady Beverley Pace sat at my table, she was there with funny man husband Norman Pace. Fran busted shortley after i did so it was back up the M1 we went talking about how bad we had played.

Month off from Casino

On monday night i decided that i needed a month off from live poker and was going to concentrate more on playing online and saving a bankroll to pay me into £100 DTD tournament.

Poor Day Online

Yesterday wasn't the best day online, with sick beats combined with a few bad plays i dropped over $30 for the day!

I started with $63.72.

$2.25 NLH Sit & Go (6 Man)

Played: 14
1st: 1
2nd: 1
Other: 12

$3.30 NLH Knockout (464 Runners)

My best result of the day was in a $3.30 NLH Knockout Tournament with 464 Runners, I managed to Double UP on the second hand of the Tournament with KQs vs K3c on a board of Kd 4d 9s Kh 8d, took down several uncontested pots, then doubled up I limped on the button with Qd Jh on the flop of 9d Qc 6s a player in late position moves in and i call he shows Qs 10s Turn was 9c River was Jc, I ended up finishing 17th for $8.12 and $1 in bounty's.

Total for the Day: - $30.78

Back to grinding away online

After i got home from Leeds i decided to try and take down some $2.25 NLHE 6 man Sit & Go's.

I started with $49.62.

$2.25 NLH Sit & Go (6 Man)

Played: 6
1st: 3
2nd: 1
Other: 2

Total for the Day:
+ $14.10

Dealers Choice Cash Game

Tonight i am going to Gala in Leeds where there is a Dealers Choice Cash Game being dealt by Nick Carter. Games include, Texas Holdem, PLO Omaha Hi and Hi/Lo, Irish, Pinapple, and Padooki. If there is enough for two tables I am going to deal for Rake and Tips. More to follow soon...........................


Tonight wasn't a good night at the felt! I started off well picking up 4 of the first 5 hands and adding a few pounds to my stack, but i was soon felted by my lack of Omaha Hi/Lo Knowledge. I re-loaded for a further £60 on top of the £80 that i started with. Again i was schooled in Omaha Hi/Lo and decided not to start chasing the money and I headed off home with my tail firmly between my legs!

On the way home i decided that i was going to have 1 month off of live poker and save up to play in a Dusk till Dawn event before i go to Australia. So im going to concentrate on grinding away at $2.25 Sit & Go's on Full Tilt.

Cash Tables: - £140

Trying to Build my Bankroll

Today I am trying to build by Full Tilt Bankroll, I have started with a Bankroll of $53 and im going to concentrate on playing $3.30 90 player Knockout Sit & Go's and $2.25 9 player Omaha Hi and NLH Sit & Go's.

$3.30 NLH Knockout Sit & Go:

Was down to 1645 and moved all in with JJ vs AQ and my Jacks hold up for a change, then I have AK os and there has been a raise to 900, I moved all in for 3200 and was called by the raiser with Jh 6h, he flopped a 6, i turned an Ace and he rivers a Jack for 2 pairs. NH donk!

$3.30 NLH Knockout Sit & Go:

Down to 2955 from the 3k starting stack, UTG raises to 80 (20/40) I re-raise to 300 in UTG+1, 1 caller in Mid Position, BB moves all in for 3360, raiser folds, I make the call putting him on AK/AQ, and he turns over AK. Flop, 6s3sQd Turn 10d River 5c doubling me upto 6310. The very next hand im UTG with KdKs I raise it to 150, UTG+1 moves all in for 1750 SB is all in for his remaining 380 and i call the extra 1600 and im up against SB Ad4h, UTG+1 AsJh. Flop QhJdKh Turn 6c River 5h and im upto 8515 and collect $1 in bountys. I then drop around 4k with 88 on a 4sKs7d4d7c board, i bet every street and was called by the table donkey who moves in on the river so i passed. Down to 2850 and call 240 in mid position with KQos, Mid Position Donkey calls SB calls and BB checks, Flop Kd6s3d, Blinds Check i move in for 2585 more, Donkey calls with Jd 2d Turn is 4d which gives him a flush leaving me drawing dead. Time to try some Single Table Sit & Go's.

$2.25 NLH Sit & Go (6 Man)

Played: 3
1st: 1
2nd: 0
Other: 2


$2.25 PLO Hi Sit & Go (9 Man)

Played: 2
1st: 0
2nd: 1
3rd: 0
Other: 1

Total for the day:
- $3.38

Congratulations to Nick Carter

Congratulations to Nick Carter who took down the Sunday £100 Freeze Out at Dusk till Dawn.

Well done Nick who scooped £2485 for his efforts.

Grosvenor Moortown £10 Double Chance

Tonight i am going to Grosvenor Moortown to play in the £10 Double Chance and possibly partake in some Dealers Choice Cash. More to follow soon........................................................

Tournament:

Moortown attracted 60 runners and 2 alternates for tonight's £10 Double Chance generating a pot of £1130 after add ons. I started off well picking up a few pots and turning my 5k stack into 8k. With 3 hands announced before the break i raised UTG to 800 (Blinds 100/200) with AKos and got 4 callers including the SB+BB. Flop comes 8 A 8 Blinds both check and i lead out for 1500 leaving 2k behind and it gets folded round to the BB who sets me all in for the 2k more, i call as i still had my re buy and he flips over the mighty 10 8 os for a flopped set, the turn gave me outs for a flush but a blank on the river sealed the deal and i re-bought for 5k in chips.
After the break 2nd hand in and i find AA in mid position and i decided to limp for 400 and there was 6 players to the flop of K 5 5, it got checked to me and i pushed for 4.6k more, i got called by A 5 and with only 1 out remaining my tournament was over. (I was going against the way I play Aces! I always raise but I thought id limp because I thought id get a raise then I could re-raise as I needed to try and get chipped up.)

Cash:

With a few loose fish at the cash table i decided to sit down and try my luck, i sat down with £80 but i was getting garbage and i couldn't get a piece of the loose drunk guy who was donking all of his money around the table. I stayed patient and managed to grind my money up to around £130 at one point courtesy of Olly. I was dealt Ad Kd and saw a flop of 10 J x 2 diamonds, turn came another 10 and a blank on river left be down to peanuts. I managed to grind away for another hour and re-loaded another £30. Then i was dealt AQ os and limped in, i joked that i was going to be all over the flop, the flop came A Q x 2clubs i said that i had nailed the flop and Justin told me to check it as i was first to act, i checked as did Justin, Olly bet £15 which i was waiting for, Stuart and Chris Rhodes both flat called the £15 and then i moved in for £35 total. It was folded round to Chris who called the extra £20, I flipped my AQ and Chris said he had a massive draw, runner runner clubs came and i knew he had hit the Flush, he showed Ks JC, Sick! and my Cash night was over.

Tournament: - £20
Cash Tables: - £110

Girgy85's Poker Blog is Born

Today i decided to start a Poker Blog to keep up with my Live and Online performances. I am currently playing on Full Tilt and Pokerstars under the alias Girgy85 and i sometimes use William Hills for Poker alias Girgy83 and Sports Betting.

I prefer to play Live Poker and i usually play at either Gala Leeds or Grosvenor Moortown with the occasional trip to Dusk till Dawn when i can. I usually play the Small Competitions and Cash Games and have recently started to play a bit of Dealers Choice Cash at Moortown.

I am going to be moving to Sydney Australia for 12 months in April so i am going to be visiting the Star City Casino in Sydney and im going to be searching out the local clubs for all the fish games.