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.