The worst call ever made by the biggest Donkey!
Was by me :(
I decided to go to Sheffield for the main event £750 Double Chance Freezeout on Friday and see if it was possible to last more than the 30 minutes I achieved in Blackpool. Starting chips 5k with an option to add on within the 1st hour if need be ok here we go.
I settled in very well in fact I’m never nervous at these ‘live’ events I enjoy them that much I just can’t wait to get going to be honest. Now talk about card dead it was unreal I never got anything worth playing for over 3 hours so basically I just sat studying my opponents and waiting patiently, at least I’ve lasted longer than Blackpool I tell myself.
The blind structures at these events are getting better and this one started at 25/50 with 45 minute increases so you know you can be patient and play the game. One player on the table I noticed as the ‘Station’ constantly in pots calling them down to the river and his stack was swinging that much I thought the table would subside at one time. He raises (minimum) in mid position and after another two callers I call for value out of the BB with 6s 4s. Flop comes 9 6 4 rainbow and I check round to the raiser who bets 800 into the pot followed by one more caller before it’s back to me. I decide I’m happy just to take this pot down if possible so I grab my stack and ‘All-in’ to the middle, Raiser ponders and scratches his chin (I know he can’t fold, and I know I’m in front) then calls the other caller mucks. On their backs and he shows A 9 and my 2 pair hold up and double me up to 8k with still 5k in the kitty.
Bits of tit for tat poker then I collected my other 5k and on the last hand just before the break I get AsJs OTB. I lost 3k in that pot to a clever player who flopped the nuts and checked it down to the river leading me to believe I was in front with my 2nd pair when he over bet the pot. Oh well his cards marked for later. . .
Down to the last 30 players or so and I am now pretty short stacked holding about 6k and in need of chips. I have been very patient and disciplined and I am pleased with my performance but that doesn’t win you the money so I’m looking for opportunities now the blinds are 200/400. I get JJ in mid position and raise to 3 x BB 1200 and everyone folds to my earlier friend ‘MrStation’ himself who calls all then fold round to a player who I recognised immediately and now know as Malcolm "the Rock" Harwood, seen him plenty of times on late night poker rocking it up and moving with AA minimum he announces "All-In", oh dear dilemma time. I count his stack he has about 7.5k and could be making a move here himself, I say that anyone else pushing I call straight away but I know I have to respect his raise as ‘something’ so I leave it a few seconds before I gambooooool and ‘call’. MrStation calls also say’s it’s for value and they go on their backs. Malcolm "the Rock" Harwood shows A K ‘MrStation’ grimaces no wonder when he shows A J and my JJ holds up to treble me up and back in the tournament.
We are 6hrs into the tournament and I am really tired and the caffeine has sent me on one of those had too much and head is in bits syndrome. Mixture of extreme lethargy and Amphetamine type alertness (not a good mix) I feel shitty here but I have a monster hand and need to disguise it. I lose my composure totally whilst trying to hide my excited ness and whilst in a near hallucigenic state I decide I am going to check/call the turn and put him all in on the river. Can you see where I’m going yet? I decide I am going to check/call the turn WTF the turn has already been played we’re now on the river. The river (which I think is the turn) is 8s and he bets 5k, now I start a bit of an act ‘should I shouldn’t I’ and then throw my 5k into the middle ready for the river. He flips his cards over and shows 8 6 off suit for a full house 8’s over 7’s and at first I think what’s he doing but it’s just a split second before I realise I just made the worst call in my poker playing life and embarrassingly show my 10h Jh for a str8 flush to the raised brows of the table (ground/swallow springs to mind here).
He’s over the moon and I know he couldn’t fold there if I had put him all-in and that would have left him with 6k he was gone with the wind. I was too exhausted to tilt but to say my head was shot to pieces is an understatement. Poker is a simple game on the surface and being alert in EVERY hand you play is a fundamental rule of the game, I just got burned by the simplicity and it hurt. One thing that did happen here is my head cleared back to razor sharpness and I was back playing again, what a bad time I picked to go into an altered state of mind and in hindsight thank Fuk it’s not the WSOP because I would never live that one down in a million years.
Onwards upwards and 4:15am player goes out on the bubble and we are down to the final table. Play resumes the next day at 3pm and I am in 3rd place in chips with 61,800 chip leader is my ‘surviving villain’ on 71k not much in it blinds at 800/1600 now let me get some sleep.
Final Table:
‘surviving villain’ is 2 to my right and that’s my only qualm because I know he’s going to be having a pop at me and my blinds through the stages but otherwise I'm pretty happy. There are 3 short stacks and the TV cameras are there I’m just glad I did my hair today. Cut a long story short 1hr into the game I have been in a couple of pots and 2 players have departed 8 left now and I’m confident I can go very deep here. Then the following hand occurs with my nemesis ‘surviving villain’…
8 players left blinds 1000/2000 no ante.I'm on the BB with Ah 10d nursing a relatively healthy 56k in chips. Every player folds round to the Button ‘surviving villain’ who has just won a few pots and is chip leader on about 90k. To re-iterate, I have played against him the previous night and with position he likes to get in with virtually ATC (connectors etc) with a limp or sometimes a raise - I have also noticed he over-defends his blinds and thinks everyone is 'AT IT' when they raise when he's in a pot. I feel I have the measure of him now and have outplayed him a few times post flop (and outplayed myself).
He limps OTB into the pot for 2k and the SB folds.I raise the pot from the BB to 6k and he ponders then calls (not unusual)
Flop comes Ac 7c 4dI bet 9k and he thinks for a bit and calls
Turn 4c
I bet 12k and again he thinks for a bit and asks me how much I have left, I state "20500".. He toys around for a bit then puts me all in....
Here's my thinking at the time 'OH FUKK' sorry forget that here's my thinking - The limp was weak pre-flop and I have seen him raising with A 10 upwards no limping - but he will limp with connectors etc so maybe A rag. Possible limp with AA KK but he's not coming over the top with KK surely so Ace rag is more likely in my opinion. Now if he has limped with A rag and flopped 2pair or FH I'm obviously in bad shape but I have a distinct feeling he's at it here so now I think I have put 30k in the pot I can still play 20k and chuck this hand... However it’s niggling me that he doesn't look to confident and I can’t seem to put him on a hand that beats mine.
The Valet comes over whilst my brain is doing 100mph and asks if anyone wants a drink, I say “yes, Double JD and coke please” she says jokingly “it’s no problem” but I say “no a coffee will do” and a player comments “he must be folding and hanging round a bit longer”. However, in the meantime I have decided I’m calling because I think my hand is good. I call and his face is a picture of misery and he’s holding his cards to himself till I flip over and show Ad 10h and he laughs and shows As 10c wow and phew! and people on the table say good call etc...
He has the club draw and I don’t think I deserve a club on the river after making that call but the cards have no compassion and the river brings a cruelly devastating Qc and he four flushes me out of the tournament.
I have beat myself up a few times about certain things like straight flushes etc. But I can only learn from these experiences and learning I am doing at the minute at a pretty fast rate.
Tikay from Blondepoker.com sponsored by 425 asked for an interview for poker channel 425 which is actually channel 835 and I accepted for my 1st TV appearance gracefully. However, I talked a complete load of garbage and how anyone will ever make sense of how I try to explain my exit hand beats me…
Good luck
My next venture for stardom is the Poker Million on Ladbrokes…
I decided to go to Sheffield for the main event £750 Double Chance Freezeout on Friday and see if it was possible to last more than the 30 minutes I achieved in Blackpool. Starting chips 5k with an option to add on within the 1st hour if need be ok here we go.
I settled in very well in fact I’m never nervous at these ‘live’ events I enjoy them that much I just can’t wait to get going to be honest. Now talk about card dead it was unreal I never got anything worth playing for over 3 hours so basically I just sat studying my opponents and waiting patiently, at least I’ve lasted longer than Blackpool I tell myself.
The blind structures at these events are getting better and this one started at 25/50 with 45 minute increases so you know you can be patient and play the game. One player on the table I noticed as the ‘Station’ constantly in pots calling them down to the river and his stack was swinging that much I thought the table would subside at one time. He raises (minimum) in mid position and after another two callers I call for value out of the BB with 6s 4s. Flop comes 9 6 4 rainbow and I check round to the raiser who bets 800 into the pot followed by one more caller before it’s back to me. I decide I’m happy just to take this pot down if possible so I grab my stack and ‘All-in’ to the middle, Raiser ponders and scratches his chin (I know he can’t fold, and I know I’m in front) then calls the other caller mucks. On their backs and he shows A 9 and my 2 pair hold up and double me up to 8k with still 5k in the kitty.
Bits of tit for tat poker then I collected my other 5k and on the last hand just before the break I get AsJs OTB. I lost 3k in that pot to a clever player who flopped the nuts and checked it down to the river leading me to believe I was in front with my 2nd pair when he over bet the pot. Oh well his cards marked for later. . .
Down to the last 30 players or so and I am now pretty short stacked holding about 6k and in need of chips. I have been very patient and disciplined and I am pleased with my performance but that doesn’t win you the money so I’m looking for opportunities now the blinds are 200/400. I get JJ in mid position and raise to 3 x BB 1200 and everyone folds to my earlier friend ‘MrStation’ himself who calls all then fold round to a player who I recognised immediately and now know as Malcolm "the Rock" Harwood, seen him plenty of times on late night poker rocking it up and moving with AA minimum he announces "All-In", oh dear dilemma time. I count his stack he has about 7.5k and could be making a move here himself, I say that anyone else pushing I call straight away but I know I have to respect his raise as ‘something’ so I leave it a few seconds before I gambooooool and ‘call’. MrStation calls also say’s it’s for value and they go on their backs. Malcolm "the Rock" Harwood shows A K ‘MrStation’ grimaces no wonder when he shows A J and my JJ holds up to treble me up and back in the tournament.
The worst call ever made by the biggest Donkey!
Over the next couple of hours I play solid aggressive poker and keep myself about 10k above ave stack taking the blinds with position and not much of a fight. Then the following hand occurs… I am in late position every player folds round to the BB I have played against him for a few hours and with position he likes to get in with virtually ATC (connectors etc) with a limp or sometimes a raise - I have also noticed he over-defends his blinds and thinks everyone is 'AT IT' when they raise when he's in a pot. I have Jh 10h and I raise blinds are 400/800 and make it 2400 to go. Now I think my image will get me through but of course he doesn’t care about image and calls from the BB. Flop comes 7c 8h 9h what a perfect flop and a perfect opponent to flop against. He checks and I think that a bet will look better than a check so I make a just under the pot sized bet and he calls. Turn comes 7h and after looking at the flop 10 x I realise that it isn’t going away and I have the absolute nuts against one of the chip leaders with an attitude. I decide I really need to trap him here this is my opportunity to take hold of the tournament he checks the turn and I check it back.We are 6hrs into the tournament and I am really tired and the caffeine has sent me on one of those had too much and head is in bits syndrome. Mixture of extreme lethargy and Amphetamine type alertness (not a good mix) I feel shitty here but I have a monster hand and need to disguise it. I lose my composure totally whilst trying to hide my excited ness and whilst in a near hallucigenic state I decide I am going to check/call the turn and put him all in on the river. Can you see where I’m going yet? I decide I am going to check/call the turn WTF the turn has already been played we’re now on the river. The river (which I think is the turn) is 8s and he bets 5k, now I start a bit of an act ‘should I shouldn’t I’ and then throw my 5k into the middle ready for the river. He flips his cards over and shows 8 6 off suit for a full house 8’s over 7’s and at first I think what’s he doing but it’s just a split second before I realise I just made the worst call in my poker playing life and embarrassingly show my 10h Jh for a str8 flush to the raised brows of the table (ground/swallow springs to mind here).
He’s over the moon and I know he couldn’t fold there if I had put him all-in and that would have left him with 6k he was gone with the wind. I was too exhausted to tilt but to say my head was shot to pieces is an understatement. Poker is a simple game on the surface and being alert in EVERY hand you play is a fundamental rule of the game, I just got burned by the simplicity and it hurt. One thing that did happen here is my head cleared back to razor sharpness and I was back playing again, what a bad time I picked to go into an altered state of mind and in hindsight thank Fuk it’s not the WSOP because I would never live that one down in a million years.
Onwards upwards and 4:15am player goes out on the bubble and we are down to the final table. Play resumes the next day at 3pm and I am in 3rd place in chips with 61,800 chip leader is my ‘surviving villain’ on 71k not much in it blinds at 800/1600 now let me get some sleep.
Final Table:
‘surviving villain’ is 2 to my right and that’s my only qualm because I know he’s going to be having a pop at me and my blinds through the stages but otherwise I'm pretty happy. There are 3 short stacks and the TV cameras are there I’m just glad I did my hair today. Cut a long story short 1hr into the game I have been in a couple of pots and 2 players have departed 8 left now and I’m confident I can go very deep here. Then the following hand occurs with my nemesis ‘surviving villain’…
8 players left blinds 1000/2000 no ante.I'm on the BB with Ah 10d nursing a relatively healthy 56k in chips. Every player folds round to the Button ‘surviving villain’ who has just won a few pots and is chip leader on about 90k. To re-iterate, I have played against him the previous night and with position he likes to get in with virtually ATC (connectors etc) with a limp or sometimes a raise - I have also noticed he over-defends his blinds and thinks everyone is 'AT IT' when they raise when he's in a pot. I feel I have the measure of him now and have outplayed him a few times post flop (and outplayed myself).
He limps OTB into the pot for 2k and the SB folds.I raise the pot from the BB to 6k and he ponders then calls (not unusual)
Flop comes Ac 7c 4dI bet 9k and he thinks for a bit and calls
Turn 4c
I bet 12k and again he thinks for a bit and asks me how much I have left, I state "20500".. He toys around for a bit then puts me all in....
Here's my thinking at the time 'OH FUKK' sorry forget that here's my thinking - The limp was weak pre-flop and I have seen him raising with A 10 upwards no limping - but he will limp with connectors etc so maybe A rag. Possible limp with AA KK but he's not coming over the top with KK surely so Ace rag is more likely in my opinion. Now if he has limped with A rag and flopped 2pair or FH I'm obviously in bad shape but I have a distinct feeling he's at it here so now I think I have put 30k in the pot I can still play 20k and chuck this hand... However it’s niggling me that he doesn't look to confident and I can’t seem to put him on a hand that beats mine.
The Valet comes over whilst my brain is doing 100mph and asks if anyone wants a drink, I say “yes, Double JD and coke please” she says jokingly “it’s no problem” but I say “no a coffee will do” and a player comments “he must be folding and hanging round a bit longer”. However, in the meantime I have decided I’m calling because I think my hand is good. I call and his face is a picture of misery and he’s holding his cards to himself till I flip over and show Ad 10h and he laughs and shows As 10c wow and phew! and people on the table say good call etc...
He has the club draw and I don’t think I deserve a club on the river after making that call but the cards have no compassion and the river brings a cruelly devastating Qc and he four flushes me out of the tournament.
I have beat myself up a few times about certain things like straight flushes etc. But I can only learn from these experiences and learning I am doing at the minute at a pretty fast rate.
Tikay from Blondepoker.com sponsored by 425 asked for an interview for poker channel 425 which is actually channel 835 and I accepted for my 1st TV appearance gracefully. However, I talked a complete load of garbage and how anyone will ever make sense of how I try to explain my exit hand beats me…
Good luck
My next venture for stardom is the Poker Million on Ladbrokes…
posted by MrDigital at 1:54 pm
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