WCOOP, WSOPE, EPT and fucked by Matchroom.

Tuesday, 20 October 2009

WCOOP

A lot has happened on the British Poker Scene in the last few weeks, but firstly l have to just cover how it went for me in the online extravaganza that is the WCOOP hosted by the best online site in my eyes, PokerStars!

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I went close to cashing in alot of events but none offered big substantial reward except one where l finished very deep in Event 38 which was the $500 (1rb and add on) which Elky won. The pot where l went out is still horrific to talk about as it was definitely a bad call by me, aided by someone else's input. I have learned not to listen to anyone from now on especially in an event of this size, the pot would have been a Chip lead pot and would have meant a 5 figure payout at least. The nightmares are still frequent, believe me!

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The Mixed Games Events where great and overall the WCOOP was fantastic, can't wait for the next one which I'm sure won't be far away!

WSOPE

Only played one of the WSOPE events this year and if l'm being honest l probably won't play any next year. Although they offer you the chance of a bracelet this side of the water, the negatives far out way the positives. As with last year the venue is shit, not an awful lot of value in terms of players and the chip allocation leaves much to be desired. I had a bit of craic on my starting table in the £1k Event as l had James Keys and Paul Bracken on there, two good lads and as usual Bracks is great for a laugh.

EPT London

Well what a fantastic Event this was and to move it to the Hilton Metropole is no doubt going to make it grow and grow. There are a few niggly disadvantages which could be tweaked for next year like maybe getting a food voucher for a start, giving out free water or maybe even free Wi Fi whilst in the Hotel. The events where run brilliantly by Thomas Kremser's outfit, but l suppose for 3% of the prize pool you would expect this to be the case. The Grosvenor team where also in attendance making sure payments and administration ran smooth, which it did from what l seen with Rabby, Graham and a few other managers from the Vic.

I only went to the Vic for a few cash sessions which where profitable, recently though l have lost the will to go there and play cash as they can't get a decent Dealers game going and Jeff is just an ignorant jobsworth. l often reckon the guy that looks after the toilets giving out paper towels could do a better job than Jeff.

The trip was not profitable overall but it wasn't a disaster as l managed to qualify for the Main Event, l lost most of my chips in that event when l had a Full House against a higher Full House of Eric Cajelass. I played all the Mixed Games Events and the HiLo, going close in the £500 Mixed Game with a ninth place finish. These EPT's are definitely worth attending and all my efforts will be focused on them from now on, the 30k chips in the Main is sick. Whilst at the EPT, l played with Men the Master in a cash game which was enjoyable and for the first time ever l tangled with Paul Zimbler in the 8 game mix which was a real pleasure, he had just recovered from his Heads Up Record Breaking effort at the WSOPE which must have took an amazing effort.

World Open

I have played this Television Event run by Matchroom Sports the past two years, as l have reported on the blog before. From a few months ago when l heard the Event was going to have a better structure with the addition of more chips and that the location was been moved to the Palm Beach, l was really looking forward to playing it. The numbers where being reduced to 48 players and the buy in was increased so l made sure l had contacted Matchroom reference reserving a seat. With rumours going around close to the WSOPE, l once again started contacting the person responsible and even seen him at a coffee shop in Leicester Square at the WSOPE and HE ASSURED ME SEATS WHERE BEING FREED UP for regular players. As you can probably work out now, l never got my seat for the World Open!

I don't mind a lot of things and yes I'm no Angel but l am right fucked off about what really happened here, this is a case where sponsors and big names took precedent over the everyday punters who have supported this Event in the past. I know for a fact that Matchroom have struggled in the past to fill events like this, but evidently this time has passed and they can now pick and choose who plays. One player they will never be seeing playing an Event that they host in the future is me, l couldn't give a fuck if l won the WSOP next year, l wouldn't give the two faced fuckers the skin of my shit. These Events normally sponsored by 888.COM and Partypoker don't offer fuck all anyway, why are they even called Sponsored Events when they don't add a penny to the prize pool. I am going to have a much closer look at these so called Sponsored Events in future Blog Entries.

Too Much Poker

All I've heard in the past few months is about how this new Government Levy is killing card rooms, so now the players are paying for this through increased Registration and monster Rake charges.Surely someone must be making money out of Poker because there is different events popping up every week and the British/Irish Calender is now becoming totally saturated with more and more new events being introduced in the coming months. Multiple events in Europe also mean there is no lack of opportunity every week to get your fix.

Personally l don't think this is helping poker's advancement in the UK one bit, firstly too many events means less players at each event, which then reflects in the size of the prize pool. Lots of Events are affected at the minute and l think this will continue to happen much more often over the next Year or so with reduced numbers turning up. Although 10% of the field will always get paid it might as well be 4%, as only the top four or five in that Event will make the trip worthwhile. An example of this at this weekends GUKPT:

Nick Slade travels from up North to the Thanet Leg where he finished 12th for £1300, his travel expenses must have been at least £120, food and drink for the trip £130 and a Hotel for around £250 and finally entry if he paid directly £1060. This makes the total expenditure £1560 and his 2 days graft means he is £260 down for the trip, was it worth it?

These GUKPT's need at least 300+ runners to make them worthwhile attending and this will happen less and less in the future if the current trend continues. Needless to say in these smaller fields more and more weaker players will continue to miss the money and dreams of that big score will whither away with their bankroll over a shorter period of time. Yes, new players will come and go but not enough to sustain the current saturated market. Very few people can make profit from playing live tournaments in England and although Ireland is a quick hop on a plane with lots more weaker players, it is not financially viable to travel there for poker anymore for numerous reasons. I don't know for certain how this will affect the future of tournament poker here but l reckon it won't be good!

Out and About

Big well done to Steve Holden who won the Liverpool leg of the Gala Tour, l was surprised at the low numbers even though there was lots on as events around that area are usually not lacking in numbers. It will be interesting to see how many Blackpool gets for it GUKPT in few weeks. I know Steve will be well chuffed with his result whatever the numbers as he gets a seat into the Gala Tour Winners final later this year!

As mentioned earlier, Paul Zimbler recently set a New World Record for non stop Heads Up Poker, mad bastard!

Amatay has just been to Dublin for the IPO, his next Blog entry will no doubt be worth reading!

Talking about GUKPT's, the WSOPE and the WCOOP, l have to give a big mention to Jeff Kimber who l often slate, but credit where credit is due he is having some year with 11 Cashes in Ranking Tournaments already. His record in Omaha this year is brilliant and l for one am jealous. Not content with the Live scene, Jeff has also done well in a few WCOOP events. I reckon Jeff is definitely one of the very very few players in England who makes tournament poker pay, good luck to him!

Irish Puppy Derby

One of Keith's dogs managed to win this last week in an absolutely brilliant race which meant the 30k Euro and the Perpetual Trophy came back to Melton Mowbray. What a prospect for next years English/Irish Derby he is, you can watch the race here, Tully is in Trap 3.

Cheap Shirts and Slow Rolls.

Monday, 14 September 2009

Uttoxeter Races

Had an invite to the races with Betdaq earlier this week, the day didn't start well as l had been playing online most of the night and the struggle out of bed at twenty past twelve wasn't an ideal start. Now as alot of you know l'm not into trousers, shirts and shit like that, so when l looked in the wardrobe for some gear it was no surprise to find it all shoved in a corner folded up, fuck.

I hitched a lift to town where Greenwoods (suit shop) is the only decent clothes shop and l got a few bits and peices, its amazing how many deals there is for clothes at the minute, the trousers where £29.99, but for £35 you could get two pairs. The deal on the shirts was just as good with one for £19.99 or three for £30, happy days. One thing that was a bit of a shock for me was the fact that l had to get trousers with a waist size off 41in, for fucks sake its finally hit me, as well as a tight fucker, l'm a rite fat bastard, a wee bit more about that later on. I arrived at the Racecourse with 10 minutes before the 2.20 (first race) which had McCoy on the Hot Favourite. Before l arrived at the gate l had already done a chunk, as my esteemed guests for the day, Neil Blatchly and Kev Smith had put me on a cart donkey at Doncaster which l reckon was pulling stone out of a quarry in Hull the week before.

I was met at the gate with a big smile from Betdaq's rep. Tom Sloanes, a mackem in a suit, Jesus what next. This guy was great and a credit to Betdaq and he insured that me and the lads had a day to remember! Getting back to the first race and McCoy, as l was walking up the stairs to our box which was in the top tier of the Grandstand, l laid McCoy as l was on Tilt after the Doncaster donkey. l arrived at the Betdaq box which was the best on the course for views of the course, but the first view l found when l looked out was Blatch, Kev and my other guest Ken shouting McCoy across the line, Irish fucker he is. I don't how much Blatchly had on that winner but he showed me a ticket later in the day for a 7/2 winner which he had a bag on, old golden balls. The box was great and we had lovely food served by our personal host with free drinks all day, later in the day l judged the Best Turned Out in the ring and presented the prize to the Race Winner. I got out off it for the day with a 6/1 winner called Celtic Boy and overall it was a fantastic day which l thourghly enjoyed. My thanks to Betdaq, Tom, Russell, Andy, the other bloke who's name l've forgot and Uttoxeter Racecourse who made it a memorable day.

Spivver's World Open Satallite.

After the racing l travelled to Bridgenorth with Neil to play this Satallite for the $10K World Open. First time l've been even though l have been invited many other times, It was good craic for the most part and the majority of the lads are a great bunch. Mad Marty was there in fine form, Paul Jackson, Karl Marhenholz, Gez Bailey, Paul Grummit and a few of the Brummy regulars. I love playing with the Brummies as they are great craic and always very gracious when knocked out, but one bloke, Graham who l think was the Pub Landlord was a disgrace with his constant slow play, idiotic gibbering and slow rolls. I wont be rushing back anytime soon, that said, Spivver ran it all very well and its a cracking pub.

Irish Greyhound Derby 2009

Well Larky didn't make the final but did run on Saturday night in the Consolation Final finishing second. As alot of you will know now College Causeway won the Derby in exquisite style coming from 10 lenghts off the pace to pick Gingers Dog up on the line. After watching it 4 or 5 times this was a simply breath-taking run and l would rip my arm from the socket to watch him run against Westmead Hawk at Shelbourne's 550. At least l can say one off the greatest of all time stayed here at the kennels!

On a sad note l must give a mention to Ben"RookieITB"Turnstill's dog who broke his hock at Oxford the same night and was unfortunately put to sleep. I had the pleasure of meeting "Rodney" when Ben brought him to Luton Grosvenor one night. He was a lovely dog from a good litter and l know he will be sorely missed by Ben's family, RIP Rodney.

International Main Event

Played this last week and wish l hadn't bothered, very small field, more rules than an EPT Main Event in Colditz during the War without the bling. I was going well but fell foul to Nathan Lee who tried to make a move on the turn when l was holding Trips, he had a Straight Draw and hit on the river. Thank fuck as l couldn't wait to get out of the place, another place l won't be rushing back to. It amazes me sometimes, do the people who run these joints not realise the monstrous competition there is to get Poker Players through the doors, from the time you walk into the place, the experience should be a memorable one for the right reasons. My last memory of my time there was getting into a mini cab who they kindly called for me, so recommended by the Club, this bloke had a State of the Art SatNav and still ended up getting lost going to the Vic, the cab was stinking and he charged me the same as a Black Cab.

Blog - A - Lot

Amatay is a Blogger star at the best of times and recent posts haven't disappointed although l wouldn't be directing my mother there for any poker advice. The fact that his knob is stinking in his latest post adds a wee bit of spice!

When I'm coaching Online, which is once every three years or when people are really desparate, l always harp onto players about the importance of Mental Stability and Focus whilst playing. I know for a fact that this is a significantly weak part of my game when playing online and sometimes live. I will be reading Barry Carter's articles with interest as he talks with psychology expert, Jared Tendler.

Well known Irish player Dara"Doke"O'Kearney travelled to Dusk Till Dawn for their recent Dusty Bin weekend with Mick McCloskey and Liam Flood. I don't think he was all that impressed if I'm being honest, check his blog to see what he said.

The winner of the Dusty Bin event, James Keys is selling percentages for the Euro Championships, so give him a bell if you want a piece of this Ex Blackbelter.

Golf mad Steve Holden is getting a Blog facelift and is starting to pick up a few cashes after a lean spell, long may it continue.

The like able James Atkin hasn't updated this week as his newly born baby has finally arrived. Best of luck to him and his family, he deserves all the luck he gets as he is a lovely fella and I'm sure the entry telling us all about the new arrival will be worth waiting for.

Blonde favourite and recent FTOPS winner Richard Kellett is back and selling a few chunks for the upcoming live comps in London, he says the Blog will be updated regularly and when he gets to London he will be doing it daily, should be interesting if this talented young player has matured and learn't from his mistakes in the past. I keep saying it, Poker is a small community!

WCOOP

So far it has been bad but not really expensive as l have Satellited into most stuff, my best result so far has come in the $200r/b 2-7 Single Draw where l finished 31st after l made a bad call with a decent 8 low, he had a perfect 7. I got $1600 for the kitty, but was disappointed.

Next entry l'm going to talk about a system of Weight Loss l might be trying, it is my last option before l use a nail gun to staple my gut or l have a buttock removed. For now though l am off to sleep where l will be dreaming of winning a WCOOP event, because l have no chance of doing it in real life as l suck shit online. Nighty Night....

Very big night in Ireland.

Saturday, 5 September 2009

Well my good friends, tonight is a massive night for my good mucker, Keith. Slip the Lark will walk into the centre of the immaculate Shelbourne Park Greyhound Stadium in Dublin to limber up for an attempt at an almost impossible task, trying to reach a consecutive Irish Greyhound Derby Final. This is something that very few dogs have achieved and it would surely stamp his name in the history books, the dog definitely deserves it after last years heartbreak and words can't explain how Keith would feel about a second year in the Final. Good luck to all runners tonight, especially Larky! Click here to see him finish second last year, painful.


The Irishman

When l was a young lad, a great Uncle from America would come and stay regularly and tell us many stories from the States. One particular tale that always stood out for me was about his boss when he worked on the docks after arriving from our little village all them years before, the boss man was called Danny Greene and even though he never spoke with an Irish accent, his family roots where never in question. He would always wear green stuff, his car was green and he even wrote his subs for the workers in green ink. Uncle Patsy talked very fondly of how this big beast of a man looked out for the Irish!


At the time he was about, the Mafia was trying to take over all the various rackets and control the Union's but Greene stood up to them and after numerous bomb attempts on his life they finally got him outside his dentists. Greene killed a few Mafia hitmen before he went though and his story is remarkable, he is even credited with bringing the Mafia family in Cleveland to its knees and making them a laughing stock in the criminal underworld at that time.



The reason l mentioned this story is that my Great Uncle would always sing a song about Danny Greene and his courage, although he was a mobster Greene died potless as he always looked after the local Irish Community. I was mumbling the song a few months ago on the Golf Course with some friends and one of them says that they seen Vinnie Jones was making a film about some bloke called Danny Greene. As soon as l got back to the house l started GOOGLING and sure enough a film about Danny Greene, played by Ray Stevenson will hit the big screen later this year. It is called "The Irishman" and it has a few big names, l really hope they do a decent job as this is a great story about a real hard bastard who stood up to a bunch of bad fuckers.


Cardiff GUKPT

Very poor numbers this year and l can understand fully as there is a massive saturation of events at the minute, both here and Europe. The WCOOP doesn't help either, but after speaking to Raaby yesterday he was as upbeat as ever and l think he has every reason to be as they did still get a brave few for the Main Event. Jonathon did tell me that Cardiff is likely to be a Summer Series Event next Season and he was very excited about Grosvenor's recent additions in Coventry and Sheffield. This GUKPT will never die as long as Jonathon and his team are behind it, there is real passion to improve every year which is great for the customers. Unfortunately l didn't bother this year as l am a rite lazy bastard and couldn't be bothered with the 3hr drive. I will train it to London tomorrow however to give the International Main Event a crack.

WCOOP

I started tonight as l was banjaxed last night, l am concentrating on the Mixed Games and will post my results as and when l get any, so don't be holding your breath. Crap in the Omaha earlier but I am still in the $200 rebuy 2-7 Single Draw as l write this with 70 left, so l might get of to a good start.

Old Dogs and a Great Room!

Friday, 28 August 2009

The Poker Show.

By the power of Gay Skull, old Mick McCool found his way onto the Internet air waves the other night, when l was invited to voice a few comments on The Poker Show. I didn't really know what to expect as l'm all too aware that Jesse, Matt and Padraig can hold their own when the banter starts winging its way in and out off the studio. At the start of the interview all my chat strategy and plans of not sticking my hoof in my big gob went down the pan, as l was forced to talk about my exclusion from Dusk Till Dawn, again! After a few minutes blubbering about DTD and Casino Juice, l had a bit of a handbag session about Channing's Audio Biography the other night and then finished with a wee bit about one of Europe's Leading Poker Theorists and writers, The Dean;-) You can listen to my full interview here!

The New Coventry "G" Casino.

What can l say about this joint except "WOW, this place is the dogs bollocks". I had heard about it when it was under different management, but there was never a reason to visit for poker so Thursday was my first visit. To say l was impressed by the layout would be an understatement, the place is like a Vegas Style Casino with the space to match.

The staff l encountered during the night where a mixed bunch with some work needed to bring them up to scratch if they are to host a GUKPT. The food was nice but was brought out a little cold and there is a limited selection on the menu after 10pm because of the kitchen being closed!

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I have to give a mention to the card room which is great, tables are fantastic and there are plenty of screens about. Zak (Reg. GUKPT Tourney Director)was running the £200 last night which meant it was run as slick as ever and the dealers weren't too bad. If you have a spare £330 get your ass down there today as the 10,000 chips and 45mins clock makes for a very appealing event hosted by this excellent establishment.

One thing that did grip my shit was an incident that happened after the Tournament had bagged up the chips for the remaining 12 players. The Card Room director who was left in charge, came to a cash table l was on to settle a protest regarding pot totals. This guy talked a good solution but he was totally incompetent, after 15 mins and no sign of the situation being resolved, we might as well have gone to Coventry City Centre, grabbed an old dirty tramp, washed and shaved 'em, stuck a pin stripe on him and l'm positive he could have handled the situation better. This bloke needs moving to washing dishes in the back or sending on a comprehensive training programme in Cardroom/People Management!

I have no doubt that once Grosvenor Group have complete control of this Casino it will go from strength to strength and become a monster cardroom. Quentin, the Manager, who l remember from Walsall knows what time of day it is and l expect he will easily bring this place to the top of the tree in Midland Casino's!

The Old Dog still has it!

Whilst playing the £200, l was moved to a table with Martin Silke and Micky Wernick sat to my left. I had to mention this hand as it was a corker and it proves the Old Dog Wernick still has a few weapons left working in the oul arsenal.

Martin in the Small Blind raised Micky in the Big Blind to 800 (blinds 150/300), Flop Qh, Jh, 4c, Check to Micky who bets 1k, Martin Calls. Turn brings the As, Martin leads out with 2k and Micky pauses for a few seconds and calls. The River runs out the 10s and Martin puts Micky ALL IN with a stack of Blacks(1k's), Micky has 8k left(Average 12,300). I'm not going to start slobbering on and on, but as alot of you will know many other factors are involved in a hand. l'm sure he won't mind me saying, Micky, like many others is struggling at the minute with the cards treating him badly, so any result is significant for survival. Also he had just ordered a meal which was coming and we are down to 40 players with a break looming! Micky thinks about it for ages and he then says to Martin "l think you have none of that and l can only beat a bluff", those immortal words! After a few more minutes Micky says "fuck it, l call" and he flips a pair of Red Sixes and Martin says "good call Micky" with a cheeky grin. It was great poker by both players and it shows that Micky has still got the guns............................but he was still playing in the cash game with me a few hours later the old dog!