A New Career In A New Town

At last, the position I was born to take up, sadly not paid, but the power to play ones own peculiar brand of crap music to a captive audience is irresistible.

Poker is definitely not the new career though after another appalling night chez Chandos. I blame the cards again, didn't get a single pocket pair all night. We started playing at 19:30 and I didn't win my first hand until 10:55. Exasperated at my steady trickle of losses, chasing flops with garbage, I finally went all in pre-flop with the first decent hand I'd had all night; AK. Sadly someone with a crap hand matched me (more out of sympathy then anything) and ended up with two pair, while I ended up with ace high. Bolleux.

Sevens Full Of Queens

Better game than last time, won a few decent hands, and was £15 up when we sat down for the final half an hours play. Unfortunately I agreed to put the blinds up to 50p/£1 which soon ate away most of my meagre winnings. However the real turning point may have been a hand earlier in the evening:
I just got too excited when I saw my full house come up on the turn, Sanjay bet 50p and I raised it to £10 which caused him to fold. If I'd slow played it, and called his bet, then when he hit his (lower) full house on the river, I could have won a huge pot. Another example of how it often seems to be that there's one hand that can send you home a winner or a loser.

I'd Rather Go Blind

Without doubt my worst performance by far, It took me over four hours to win my first hand, and that consisted of just the blinds (60p), and I only won one more hand (two quid or so) before we quit at 01:00 am. I just couldn't get anything on the flop, I saw as many as I could but if I had high cards, then low ones would flop, and if I had low cards, then picture cards would flop. I had one pocket pair (two's) all night, which I foolishly took to the river and lost with to a pair of eights. I wasn't being reckless just getting very poor cards. I guess statistically that has to happen occasionally.

Beware Two Floppy Queens

Deluxe Poker time again, got off to a good start winning a big hand within the first 10 minutes, and another decent hand shortly after, and then settled in for a long period of gradual decline. I Was getting decent cards but failing to get anything on the flop. When I finally caught a hand this is what happened:


Before the river Matt went all in, he was already well into the whiskey by this point, and I thought this was an inebriated attempt to push me off the pot, but sadly not. He went on to win the next 3 hands all of which were equally huge.
That cleaned me out, and so I bought in, making the foolish mistake of buying in for £10 only. Doh! Twenty minutes later the roles were reversed:


Andy C. was counting out a £20 bet, but I only had about £7 left by then so that was all I could bet against him. I could have been back in profit if I'd had more. So next time "I must not buy in for £10", that really is pointless. If you get a hand you need to have the cash to back it up and most games revolve around a couple of crucial hands, when other people have also got good cards, and if you can't maximise your winnings in those situations you can never expect to win.

Flushed With Success

I hardly put a foot wrong all game. Won a fiver on the first hand with an Ace flush. Got another Ace flush on the third hand winning big against someone with a lower flush, so after 10 minutes I'd already doubled up. I hardly seemed to have a hand worth folding pre-flop all night. Had a nice win right at the end against my nearest rival. He was betting big with:


Especially when the flop came down:


He bet £3 and I called.
The turn was nothing special:

And he bet another £3, and again I called.
The final card was:

As can so often happen he was blind to any other options and could only see his top two pair. He bet £5 and I raised to £20, he didn't even pause to think, and called me straight away, and was gobsmacked when I turned over:


I was dead lucky to get the Jack on the river, but that was just the way things were running for me all night.

Poker Frustration @ Chandos Ave

Horribly frustrating night. Constantly betrayed by two pairs. I started with a couple of small wins, but then lost two big hands when I had two pairs, which is a decent enough hand, and there were certainly bigger pots being won with a lot less. I had to buy in before we ate at 21:00, but after that came back and was ahead again for a while. Then I failed to meet an all-in bet from Sanjay when I again had two pairs, and there was a potential straight on the board. He subsequently told me he was bluffing, and with a pot of £60 I could have ended the night well ahead.
My last two pair disaster was on the very last hand. It is customary on the last hand for everyone to see the flop to build the pot up.
I had:

So when this flop appeared:

I was looking OK. Matt was v.pissed (four cans of lager and a bottle of wine) and without looking at his cards bet £6. Most people folded at that point. I stayed in as did Gareth, who is normally very cautious so that should have tipped me off. The turn didn't bring anything very scary:





Then the river came up with:






Giving me another two pairs .I was pretty confident, as there was nothing much else on. Matt went all in (which was about £12) and Gareth and I matched him. Matt turned over:





I was chuffed until grinning Gareth showed his pocket pair:






Bloody Bastard Bollocks.





Meanwhile just around the corner:

Poker Nite

A good night last Wednesday, popped the shades on when I had a hand that I was prepared to bet with, which seemed to intimidate people. Ended up 50 squids up. Just as well as massively over-drawn after recent hols.