Late pm 1st March

1st March late pm,

Things aren't that good for me at the moment. I went back to the hospital Yesterday and having time to digest what they told me It sent me deep into my depressive state. The reason being I was told I have to attend a programme at the hospital for 2 weeks in July, the course is quite intense and then after you can then have the Operation which is the Spinal Cord Stimulation. But........ I was there yesterday and all I had to do was some simple excercises. Stretch there crouch here sort of thing but hell did I suffer afterwards with real bad pain and I have to go through 2 weeks of intense stuff. There is no way I can cope with it, there on about reducing the pain control as well. Hell its just been increased to combat the ever raising pain. I sleep between 12 to 16 hrs a day cos of the strength of the pain control and during this 2 week course which is staying at the hospital by the way I have to be up and ready and had Breakfast by 8-30 and it finishes everynight at 5pm. So thats why I am so depressed at the moment knowing there is nothing else after. You HAVE to attend and DO the 2 week course in order to have the Op that would reduce my pain level, so they say. Hell it might not even work for me this Op. Its for really back Sciatica down the legs and I dont have that sort of pain. So its Killing me at the moment.

Well after all that I was amazed to play any poker at all, but with it being a new month and not hitting my €100 rake last month I do get anything back. Which at 55% is a hefty some. But meh can't do anything about it now. So like I said I started playing a bit this afternoon and suck out city was the correct word, only not for me but them Villains. But it wasnt long before I had to sit out and that was that for that session. I think just 40 minutes I lasted. But after evening tea I started up 8 tables for a while knocking it down to 6 when I had other things to play but while I was in those other tourney's I kept the 6 tables open. It got worse before it got better and I was down about 3 buy in's at one stage when my AA were cracked within 30 secs of each other. I did claw a huge chunk back when I flopped a flush King high with 2 all in's after the flop, Lucky for me the board didnt pair and the turn was the Ace of my flush. I also just sat there when I was holding KK and the board come Kxx and the guy to my right over-shoved all in with AK. Those 2 hands pulled it back for me and when I finished I thought I was defo still down but suprised to see I was up. Yeah not much but green is defo better than red.

Played a total of 1382 hands today with the tracker telling me just short of 3.5 hrs playing. I did notice my stats when I was out of my other tourney's and they were so tight it was unreal. On 1 table I was playing 7 Vpips with 0 PFR. Wow that's insane so I did pick up from there raising loads of pots and wouldnt be suprised if thats the reason the Villains did what they did.

Overall still deeply down and hopefully trying to update the blog on a more regular basis might be the therapy I need.

1st March challenge updates.....

Well I waited all day for someone to Propose to me but @ 8-30 pm its likely now I won't be asked. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Another 4 years until the next one :grin: Well back to it then. 23rd Feb arrived and really didn't have any will to play so kept putting it off and off until 10pm I thought meh best try and get this rake over the 100 mark so I played a stt you know the score, 5 seater Speed €3.30 1st hand QQ happy days, but folded round to my raise. 2nd hand AK and ended up all in and boom met AA and although I flopped the king and turned a nut flush draw I ended up bricking and that was that bar 30 chips from the blinds I picked up the hand before. Fired a couple more up in a quick session 1 was €5 the other €15 and both were speed. The difference between speed, Turbo and Normal is, Normal is 8 min blinds, Speed is 5 min blinds and the turbo 3 min blinds. Although I love hypers for the sake of the challenge I found it a bit too spewey, so go for the Speed and 5 min blinds. I do play these quite well and I think it was Mike who said the stt's have almost been mastered now, so its obv pretty good for me that the other 4 players haven't quite got there yet....... Anyways 10 min laters and there both in the bag for a nice €52.50 and €17.50. I should play more of these to be honest...... But again I don't know why I don't.

Feb 25th and again not much happening so Played a €1 hyper tournament and surprised myself with a 4th place finish for €17.20. Sort of played about 5 hands and then after that because the blinds were so fast you were all in whenever its your blinds and then pure luck. So makes a small increase in the overall ROI with the result. But really struggling to grind any length of time on the cash tables, but what can you do if your in bits with pain after playing an hour?

So whats the worst thing that can happen after reading the last couple of lines above ? Thats right you end up having the biggest tournament win of the challenge so far the day after. Fantastic !! Let me explain, Feb 26th was a Sunday and Normally Sundays are a minefileld with those all in 1 Jobbies for the Sunday €50k. But I have been very good with holding myself back from playing these over the last month well Feb at least. But I still take the odd shot for the evening's €8k if I see the all in sat nearly full. Its not like stars were they fill really fast and it can takes hours sometimes to fill a 10 seater. So if I see it nearly full I normally take my shot for €3.30. Well 1st attempt Boom ave it, thats me in tonights game and cant recall the last time I played this. But while sitting there chuffed with my luck I see it almost full again and chance my arm again...... Boom OMG thats twice in 2 sat's I win with the best hand. Well actually not true, I chopped the 2nd so we had to have another hand which I won with my 2 3 v AQ. So because I am in it already I get the cash in my account thank you very much for the extra €33... So I have my seat and @ 8pm the cards are in the air.2000 chips and 12 min blinds. 2nd Hand I get dealt AK on the button and with 1 limper already in the pot I make it 90 to go and all 3 see the flop of 2J4 with the 2&4 both spades. I have the Ace Spades and its checked round to me. The pot is 290 and I make it 217 to go and just the BB call. The turn is the 7 clubs making 2 flush draws out now with the Jack on the flop being a club. Again he checks to me, I dont like checking here because has soon as I do I virtually give up the hand. BB could of re popped pre with any biggish hand to get me off my Button bluff but I often fire twice with AK to avoid just that. There is 724 in the pot and I make it 362, looking back I think it was a bit too low, but I remember at the time anymore and it screams I want him out of the hand. Once he calls again I pretty much knew he was waiting for the Spade flush or an open ender str draw. Anyways he just calls again and the turn is an harmless 10 Diamonds. I have 1331 behind with 1448 in the pot. I consider jamming if he doesnt but once he checks again I can resist the urge to fire the 3rd Bullet. Get it wrong and its pretty much game over but I just bet half the pot leaving 607 behind. I must of thought I could get back in the game with a bit of luck and promptly smile when he folds....... So I'm off and win some more chips with AK on the 5th hand.

30 mins in I take my 1st bounty with 10 8 suited when UTG shoves for 10bb and I call it in mid Position. Happy to take the chance here, I have 3833 in chips and pretty certain I should be live here. Not happy to see the guy to my left call as well like but at least he didnt shove to isolate..... Flop 492, I check and he checks, turn 6 to give me a gutshot and I check again and again so does the guy to my left. Boom the river is the Nut str card 7 for me and promptly bet half the pot and for the Brucie Bonus the guy calls and shows AJ for Ace high, Hmmmmmm Not sure on that one but happy days. All in Guy has AQ and he's toast. Thats my 1st Bounty and worth €12.50. Always good to get the 1st one because I dont buy into this so if I play its cos I won the sat for either €6.60 or €3.30 so its all profit from here.

I wont bore you with all the juicy hands after that, but it stood me in a good Position to go a little deeper. The top 40 were paid and when I made the cash I was sitting pretty in 11th. Cashing in a bounty game is no big deal because the amount is pretty low with I think €19.78 ish for 31-40 and not much higher for 21-30 and even 10th only collects about €62.

However my wheels well and truley fell off. I lost half my chips a few hands back when on the BB holding 20bb and calling a shorty shove for about a third of my chips with Q6 Suited when he had KQ and then 2 hands later on the button had to fold after the SB shoved to my raise.

Amazing, just checking back on the HH I actually call a min raise while in the BB with just 4 BB left and fold after I miss with my 8 9. I know why I called because someone was all in for less than 1 BB and just had to see the flop.......

So I am 31/31 with 3BB left and not 1 like I worte in the 1k thread. I checked on the tracker just now, but I was defo 31/31 and on the button with QJ knowing full well it was going in. Were 6 handed so just had to be done. I'm up against KQ off & A9, the Board comes 4 8 10 turn 6 so any 9 or Jack, B O O M jack, takes me back to 11 BB.

Few hands later I'm in again K2 suited on the button v A10 BB, hit the King on the river and knock out a big bounty for €45.

I make the Final table sitting in 7th out of 10 and double up in the SB with 3 7off v AJ on a flop of 3 7 J flop, That puts me in the mix and then AK v AQ with a Q on the flop but a river King sends me top of the pack with 6 left.

I sit back and really want to land 3rd min for a €482.62 + bounties cash and before I know it I am Heads Up. Totally knackered, my back in Peices and well and truely zonked. HU was going great for me and then boom back to were I started, which was a 2/1 dog. Again after 15 mins I almost get it back to 50/50 and he sucks out again. Its 2-20 am and to be honest I give up. I wanted 3rd min to reach 2nd was a bonus and thats why I took a stand with just a gutshot and I called an all in with it. He had top pr which of course held. Yes given different times and a different night I would of hung around grinding him down. But meh with the bounties I take home a very nice €814.50 and all for €3.30 ave it.........

I did manage to win a €6.60 sat to play on the 28th Feb but luck was not my side and went out without any Bounties. They also had a couple of special tournaments on the 29th Feb. One was a €5k added €5.50 and the other was a €5k freeroll for playing 250 hands or more during the Month of Feb. It was a nice surprise but thats all it was after the Donkey's decided to enter both of them and it wasn't long before I was of both.

Well thats the tournaments covered I guess I had better start on the cash tables I managed to rip up since my last update. Has mentioned earlier I am finding it harder and harder to grind the tables so its always bits here and there. But overall it was a good month and I recouped all of January's losses and make a bit more on top. I have posted both screenshots of my playing days with profit and although I only played 14 days out of 29 it was a feeling knowing I only had 2 losing sessions. The BadBeat tables are back up and running and I do try to play more because when it goes that would be that and the challenge complete. Anyways you can also see my Stats and carrying on from the last update I have been aware more of my playing Stats and did look to raise more pots and do different things in Postion and after seeing the stats I was pretty chuffed about them. Yes there is still room for improvement but dont forget I only play full ring games and not Short Handed cash games.

So I made a total of €146.69 on the cash tables this month and not bad considering I only played 677 hands on the 12/25c tables. So 15 buy in's up over the month is again pretty good going I hope you agree.......






I am hoping for a good month in March with nothing really getting in the way. I visited family in the Middle of Feb for 8 days and all appointments have freed up March as well, I just hope I can grind a bit more than the last 2 months. But I did say I wanted to play at least 5k hands in the year...... So thats been smashed and 12k hands in 2 months is good going for me.

I forgot to mention about the rakerace that I was so looking forward to and I did a bit of checking and found Opoker wasnt the only poker site to be running it. Its not a network race it was an independant race, anyways having checked it earlier in the month found it totally bollocks and never attempted in the end. Fail !!!!



Now for the big totaliser.............€2935.90, just €65 to make the 3k mark........ and my New year's poker goal will be complete. Once again thanks for reading and hopefully next update will be the Magical €3k

OMG I'm back...............

Wow, I cant believe its been nearly 12 months since I last blogged. So sorry for not updating it sooner, but meh not been able to really...... I'd better explain what has happened over the last 12 months of my life then....

Well thepeople who know me know I love my gran to bits and would do anything I could to make her life any easier. So I was in total shock when I was told she had been rushed into hospital and was almost dead. She had contracted a virus and it had wiped her out almost and was not expected to pull through cos she was so weak. Anyways she did pull through but it was a very slow process and it meant I had to stay up north more than I would of wanted to, but if needs must needs must... During that time I to was still suffering with my back complaint, and my medication was getting increased to combat this, but there has to be a limit and over the last 12 months I have virtually hit that limit of daily Morphine I am able to take daily, but meh I'll survive.

So my time spent up north was worth it because my family got to see me more than they or I could of imagined, and of course well I like to think so anyways my gran pulled through and I think it was down to me being there for there. I would visit twice a day in hospital, she was there for 3 months or so and then she was moved to Glossop for re-habiltation, basically because she had spent so long in bed that she needed physio and other things to be then able to leave.
The problem with Glossop is that its miles from her home, and me having the car I then would take my family on different days of the week to see her, but I would go everyday with someone else ie Mother, sister & brothers. She was in there for over 2 months so you can see were my time had been spent. But it was worth it, like I said my family got to see me more but that meant Jo didnt, but I took the trip back home every 3 weeks or so to re charge my batteries and spend some time with Jo, who was so understanding and it could not of been nice for her and me knowing how much she hated her job but to then come home to an empty house, but she and I coped because we had to really.
So that was summer been and gone, and then gran decided she didnt want to go back to her flat, so it was discussed and she and I decided she needed to go into a nursing home. So after looking into it and trying to get her into one near home it was an achievement to get her in and accepted into the one we wanted.
I had the task of then trying to empty her flat of everything and by the time all that was sorted it was mid Autumn. Yes I could finally go home and chill out with Jo..... Was it worth it, yeah of course it was. It brought me and my brother closer along with my mum. Me and my other sister made up after something like 15 yrs of not seeing her, and now knowing that my gran was being looked after and was getting the care she needed.
All of that had basically killed me off never mind my gran, so I needed to help myself now. I starting seeing my counsellor again, and I had to start again with my hospital treatment after missing 2 appointments. But that was due to me not being to well and over sleeping. I mentioned the meds had been increased but the also the side effects had gotten worse to. I can sleep for anything from 12 hrs to 16 hrs everyday, which on its own is scary, but added to that are the constant nightmares I have, the hot sweats and coldness are common practise now. I still suffer with the sharp pains and I try not to move anywhere quickly.
I am now on 7 different kinds of med's which need to be taken daily. The depression is also a killer, so trying to find any amount of time to be able to play poker is really rare, but I do manage to still play. Its nothing like I use to, and need to take breaks about every 90 mins max, so the long tournaments are a thing of the past now.

So what do I have going for me then...... Well I am still on this Jesus challenge. One of my poker goals was to play at least 5k of cash hands in the yr, yes I said in the year.... So I was thrilled to pull it off by the end of Jan. I have a great rakeback deal on a boss skin which is 55% and its supported by Sporting Odds so there is little chance of it going bump. So that takes up most of my time now. I have just joined Pokerstars.fr and there are some real good tournaments without the 1000's of runners like on normal stars. I have a couple of OnGame sites going with some good incentives, its just trying to find enough time to fit it all in.

So the challenge is back now, and although I have suffered somewhat regards a losing streak it is still over the 2k mark. thats € and not $. So trying to gain some sort of forward momentum. I will break down some sessions and go into some details in the next update. But just wanted to let you know I am back, and fingers crossed it wont be another 12 months before the next update....

Well it finally arrived..........

Well after about 4 weeks my Bankroll finally arrived. But I then decided to buy myself a new computer. All fine and Dandy but I now need to transfer all my PT3 data onto the new computer. But I really have not had the time to do it with other things going on at the moment......

First of all I lost my car keys and I turned the house upside down so many times it was dizzy and still no joy. Has I speak I have a locksmith trying to open the car door and then he can cut me a key, but not for much change out of £300 though....

Also been away last weekend playing a team challenge and along with my other 5 team mates we battled for 2 days and eventually were declared the winners of the team challenge and we collected $34k. We decided to take the money and run instead of the package to Vegas and each of us collected $5.8k.

So the cash challenge has rather taken a back foot over the last 3 to 4 weeks, but I have managed some poker on the challenge. I have played over 400 hands since I received my Bankroll back and made a tasty profit to. Well over $70+ and I also played a couple of Mtt's and went deep in one for $30+. So its been going pretty well pokerwise. I have now got my b/roll back on both scores, 1st being the challenge and 2nd being my b/roll across all the poker sites from the team challenge. I must try harder not flutter it away in the online casino's which is my vice..... But I have taken steps to try and curb it by banning myself in writing at the local bookies for 5 years and 2 other bookies near by to me......

So I need to sort my PT3 out with the data on the other computer and I am all good to go again.

Yes my health still plays a part of my playing ablity, and I have been increased yet again in the amount of Painkillers I take. They decided to increase the amount by another 50% which to be honest kills me. I sound and look like a zombie at the moment. Its a very strong dosage I have now and the side effects are of course 50% worse than before. I am constanly wanting to sleep and its a struggle trying to stay awake, but hey there's no pain when your alseep :-0

But the big news is I have now turned the ripe old age of 43 now....... Once again thank you to all the well wisher's.............

Piss Bollocks Fuck........

I did promise updates every 2 weeks on here, But without a bankroll to play with I cant do anything......

They were moving over to Ongame and I like many others decided to leave my funds on there and carry on after the Migration. My account was moved over yesterday but the funds are nowhere to be seen. Its apprent that I am not the only one who have not received there B/rolls. They say it's because Boss Media are delaying in making the Transfers over and there is nothing they can do. So at the moment I am wondering if I will see my funds again. So until then I can not play. I have voiced my concerns on facebook like others have done. I guess that's what you get for trust !!!

Will update more when I know what's happening. But its €1550 which is also now going to be exchanged into Dollar, so I need to re think what to do when I do finally get the funds.....

Time for a change.......

Has Promised I will be updating this blog at least every 2 weeks. My last blog was to inform you that Euro Super Poker have decided to move over to Ongame which is the same site as Betfair, Bwin, Betsafe and Hollywood Poker. But its best known for Pokerroom before they merged.

Well it all should of been done and dusted on the 7th Jan so I thought nothing of leaving my Bankroll on there and waiting to fire up on the new network. I fired it up on the 7th and was told the old site is now closed, but however the switch had hit a snag and it was now not going to happen until the 13th Jan. Was slightly worried because they didnt inform us until the 9th which was a full 2 days of worrying about my Bankroll and if I had been hoodwinked! But eventually read about the delay on there facebook page. So I guess I can nothing until the 13th Jan now and hopefully get up and running from then on in. We have been promised some sort of compensation, so will forward to that if any...... But they have some good promo's lined up and hopefully should be able to kick on with the challenge.

I have been playing a little cash on the new software on another skin, and the play seems to have improved and the points actually mean something on the new site to. I just have to wait and see if I can retain my 45% rakeback deal. I really want to hammer the hands on this challenge, but everytime I gear myself up for it I find I lose the will to continue either due to the medication kicking in and not being able to concentrate well enough, or I find lots of other sites offering better promo's, and because there on the same site I can see its going to cause a bit of a problem later on. I have been looking at how to run 2 sites at once and I think it can be done via a virtual PC. But I need to speak to my cousin when I next go up north......

Bugger !!!!

Well it didnt take long before the new year decides to throw the challenge up in the air. I have just received an email saying they are now moving to a different network. At this time I dont know anything about my rakeback deal regards still being able to collect my 45%. All I know is they are moving over to Poker Network which is the same as BWin and Betfair poker. Its not that bad to be honest, and I guess the traffic is 3 times as much, with some good tournaments. I also guess the standard will be a bit better to. Once its all migrated over and new account set up I will of course update this thread. The only problem at the moment I think will effect me is the currency I play in. On the current network mine is € but I know they play in $ on the new one, so I need to decide what to do there.

The end of the year 2010

Ok so the year is over and its time to reflect on the year. Considering my illness and its cost me a fair amount of time with non playing I feel I have played very well when I have played.

Over the time I have had the tracker, which was April this year I did managed to play and log almost 43k hands over the time. Its shows an overall profit of €230.32. But since this time last year I have made an overall profit of €415.07. I am very chuffed with that amount. I never thought it was that much, but just goes to show what can be done if you put your mind to it.

My goal for 2011 is to make the €2000 figure, and based on the last 12 months and considering I was playing on the lower limits for most of the year it really should not be a problem.

Top are my screenshots of my Euro Poker account with the amount shown and the PT3 with my stats since I have had the tracker. The tracker has made a huge difference and its now a must for me because it tells me who are the muppets and saves me writing notes on everyone.
The next screenshot is the amounts played and the blind levels played since April.

Another Month goes by

Another month has been and gone, and still I have yet to break the €1500 barrier. It didnt help taking a week off to visit family up north, and me falling ill for the last 2 days of the month stopping me from playing.
Since the last update I infact only managed to play 3 days in total and played just 1290 hands. I show an overall profit since the last update of €1.38, but I can tell you I was up and down like a brides Nightie to end up at that figure.......
With the 29th October being a particular up and down day. Although I managed just 354 hands and at one point was showing a loss of almost €60 after just 83 hands when some muppet chased a gutshot 4 outer and caught it on the river with me holding a set and paying him off. But then got Lucky myself while Yes slightly tilted from that hand holding KK and 3 betting only for the raiser to shove all in who happen to have back 3 buy ins to his name and me calling it preflop and turning a king to his AA. That pot put me back in front but just 30 hands later while playing a total of 6 tables I then get outdrawn while holding AA and the other guy hitting the set of 7's to again drop me back to a loss of €30. I crawled some back but ended the day for a loss of €18.06 and I thought I played pretty well to claw some of the losses back.

But overall for October I made my biggest profit for the month since I started using the tracker which is now 7 months on with a total profit of €83.43. Mainly playing the 12/25c tables and the odd 25/50c tables. I did rake according to the tracker €104.65 but I dont know if its the same figure they have at Euro Super Poker for the 45% rakeback. I so wanted to play the last 2 days to make sure but like mentioned I was just not well enough to do so.

I still love doing this challenge and I still have 2 months to try and break the €2k barrier although it looks like not being done. But I dont think anyone would begrudge me knowing what I have been through this year. But I will crack on and hopefully play more than the 16 days I managed to play in October and try and make an overall profit for Novemeber somewhere near the €150 mark.

I will update in 2 weeks time, and thanks for reading.

How to run Realllll Bad.........

Another week played and gone. Well actually not really true. I lost a few days with the back playing up and a couple of appointments took it out of me. Gutted to still be losing days but at least I have managed to play some poker on the challenge.

Overall I had a losing week, which could not really be helped and will give you the hand in question in a second. But I played some aggressive poker and managed a bit of respect from a couple of players who I mentioned were always 3 betting me pre. I got round this by 4 betting and if called, pot bet the flop if out of Position or shove the Continuation bet if in position. I don't get too much hassle now. I didn't manage to play any 25/50c this week and played x4 tables on the 12/25c tables and the total rake for October at just short of €80.

So overall it was a losing week and the figures are played 1865 hands this week and I am down €11.59 for the week, but still up €70+ for the month. But losing 3 days to pain didn't help matters, and next week I am up north to visit family via the train, so there will be no poker till the 26th Oct.

Ok the hand that broke the camel's back......
Funny enough it involves AA which seems to be a pattern. I guess with AA your more than likely to win a major pot or lose it.......
So I 3 bet when early Position player raises and guy next to me calls with the other player also calling. The flop comes J 9 2 rainbow and a check for early guy and a pot bet by me is called by the guy next to me and the early guy folds. I put the player on AJ ish or set 9's or of course 2's. The turn is another 9 and we both check, I check because I wanted to look weak with the check knowing I beat any 2 pr. The 9 doesn't really scare me and I don't put him on Jacks, but still set 2's is still there though. The river is another 9 giving me 9's full with Aces. I beat a set of 2's now and me not thinking hes got Jacks puts a half pot bet out, and he thinks and shoves. Happy Days hes prob got 9's full of jacks now and I have beat. Pretty chuffed that I played it well.
But to my horror he shows 9 7 off. W T F how can you call a big 3 bet pre with 9 7 off...... Not knowing what the 1st raiser was going to do. So he ships the pot and its not long before I close it down with fear of going on tilt. I don't know how the hell I ran so bad all night on all sites but I did and closing it down was the right thing to do.

There was a hand earlier in the week which I was quite pleased with, which involved 6 3 off and me calling the raise pre and seeing a flop of A J 7 rainbow. He bets out and I raise and he thinks for a while and calls. The turn is a 2 and he checks and I again bet about 60% of the pot and again he calls, leaving not much behind for both of us. The river brings a nothing 4 and he checks and I shove. He thinks for an age and folds telling me he's got KK..... Happy days..........

So I will update the blog in 2 weeks when I have returned from up north and fingers crossed it doesn't take too much out of me.

So the 1st week back..........

Well I have been playing at higher stakes after I changed the rules, and straight away I noticed the play was very different to the €10 buy in tables I had been playing.

Still with very good BRM, I elected to play the 25/50c tables, and straight away I was rewarded with the biggest pot of the challenge so far. Yes I did get lucky when my AA rivered the higher set of 8's which he flopped. The final pot was €108 which I managed a punch the air with delight moment.

It then proceeded to go downhill from then on and 8 days later after that pot I am now just €11.60 up for the month. I peaked at €66 up from the 2nd Oct and have currently played 4477 hands.

I have noticed like I said at the start the play is far much tougher, and at the moment I don't feel comfortable playing 25/50c so moved down to the 12/25c tables normally playing x4 tables at a time. I am currently trying to release a bonus on PKR at the same time, so this stops me somewhat opening and playing further tables.
But even on the 12/25c tables players are 3 betting all the time preflop and I have 1 guy who 3 bets me everytime I raise a pot, which of course is a problem when I raise light anyways. I need to show him a bluff or 2 to stop him dead. There are still good spots and I take advantage of these. But overall I am happy with the play now it just means I have to start over again with the note taking.

Although not really important my rakeback deal is much better for me playing these limits, and have raked a massive € 54.25 so far and still only the 9th day of the month.

I will update again sometime in the week, but overall happy.

Its been a while................

Hello people.
Its been a while since I blogged, and truth be told the depression was really bad. I have not played any of the challenge for a while now, and one of the reasons apart from the depression was because the play was a struggle. I struggled to reach the €100 rake required for rakeback and no matter how hard I tried I just could not win enough to get out of that level.

So After I brief re-think I have decided to alter the goal posts some what.

I am still very B/roll orientated, but the main change will be the buy in into a cash game.
Before it was I could not sit down to any table unless I had 100 times the buy in, ie €1000 in order to play a €10 cash game.
So now I am going to stick to what Jesus Ferguson did, and that was to play with no more than 5% of his B/roll in any cash game.
This now enables me to play the higher games of 25/50c tables until I reach €2000 and I can then move up to the €0.50/€1 tables.
I am also hoping I dont have to grind it out so much either trying to reach the €100 rake.

Also, I have decided to update this blog every so often, and not everyday. Again I started to struggle updating this every night and became a chore in the end. I am still going to be updating, but now only twice a week.
I hope this gives the reader a bit more insight into how I play and not have to read daily blogs of basically the same thing over and over again.

These are positive changes, and I want to have the hunger back that I first had when I began this challenge.

Still no play.........

Having had a few days off, I still don't feel to good and still not up to the Multi-tabling poker at the moment. Although I have bought myself x2 Samsung 24" TFT Monitors which arrived today and look the dogs Bollox I just can not keep a clear head. Unfortunately Poker requires you do just that, and would be suicide to attempt to play in my frame of mind. All the work I had put in during the month is to no avail now.

I think I might have a look at the tournaments on offer and play some to try and keep the account ticking over. Will let you know, and might even try the 10c rebuy I love so much.....

Pain Stopped Play.......

No play today. Although my brother who made the trip down to see me still went ahead like Planned, but when I went to meet him I broke down more times than a VW Beetle. Returned back home, and I was still bad. I did try and play a brief bit of poker but the pain was to great no matter what position I tried to get comfortable, so I give up in the end. I want to try and make up for lost time, and will look to play some extra hours next week and hopefully some extra tables to. Sorry Folks, just couldn't be helped tonight and I am frustrated with the level of pain that's hit me today with no underlining cause.

Bad Plaza - Bad Plaza.......

Yes I am a bad Plaza.......

I really should not of fired 4 tables up while playing a Heads Up Tourney on the forum in the PPP WSOP event 4. It cost me dear and before I knew it I was broke on 1 table, after failing to spot a tight player raising me on the flop only for me to shove with top Pair top Kicker holding AJ on a Jack high Board. He had KK and that was that.... It then gets worse when I am sure I can get this player off a button steal because I noticed he had done it 3 times running, so I 3 bet him and he calls I am holding 8 9 off. Flop comes down 3 5 7 with 2 spades, and I fire a pot bet out and he calls. Hmmm OK, turn brings the 9 spades, and again I fire 3/4 pot bet out and he calls, and the river is an 8 giving me top 2 pair. Now thinking I am beating AA KK QQ JJ so I then check hoping he shoves, and he does and I call it, he flips AK spades and I wave another buy in gone. But it gets worse, if it could of course. I miss flop after flop, I miss up and down straights, I miss flushes, I miss sets when calling with Pocket Pairs with 4 in the pot preflop. Whatever I had I missed, and whenever I bluffed I was called. It is prob one of the worse days I have had in the challenge.

I have just counted 10 pots of over 20 BB I lost tonight in separate hands. I played 1024 hands tonight, and the games have just finished at 1-30 am. I was still playing 2 tables waiting for them to break, but I had to come off in the end. The damage is €26.29 down and that's with doubling on 2 hands ! Again another button steal attempt but this time I got lucky holding A3 suited in the BB and 3 bet and he calls. Flop comes down 2 5 7 rainbow and I pot bet it expecting him to fold, but he min raises and I still have outs so I call and the turn is an Ace. I check and he bets about 3/4 pot and I call, still waiting for the miracle 4 to come. River is another ace, and I just jam it in, and he calls and mucks. He starts calling me, but I cant be bothered to read it. I guess I outdrew him prob with KK, I dont know nor care.......

I should of knocked it on the head tonight when the HU tourney started for sure, and yes I will next time. I was wreckless tonight, and maybe I got an image of being a bit reckless after all that. I was determined to crack the €1.5k tonight as well, but whenever I try, I always seem to fail at the goals, so just going to plod on and if it works its all good.....

Now played 7839 hands for the month of August, and although still up for the month, its been reduced to €29.73, which is still 3 buy ins. Still a way to go till the end of the month.....

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside.....

Went to Worthing, but it was too much and we had to come back earlier then expected. But had a good time while we were there. Got back home and not really up for any poker but by 8pm I thought Bollox to it I'll play for a couple of hours.

A couple of hours it was to, and played 412 hands in that time. The good news is I pulled back the losses I had over the last 3 days playing and stopped the streak of losing days with the key hand being KK UTG and I just limped, only for someone in late position to pot bet it with 4 limper's, and of course I put a big 3 bet in and hes the only 1 who calls it. Don't like the flop of Queen high, because he could have QQ. I check ( I don't know why either, it was the wrong play I know ) But he also checked and the turn was the money card, yes the King. I check again, and he takes the bait and 3/4 bets the pot and its a simple shove to put me all in, and he thinks and calls. The river is nothing and the pot comes my way, not knowing what he had.

I started a few bluffs tonight, which I said I was not going to do, but amazingly they worked tonight. One being a 3 bet call along with 2 other callers after I raised with 7 8 diamonds and the board comes down AD 3 5D. I bet just half the pot and all fold faster than well you know what !

I start to feel like shit with tiredness and a pounding head and decide to call it a day happy with the nights work. I turn a profit of €9.54 for the day and well on my way to the magical €1500 mark. Its just €20 to go and hope to close it out before the end of the week. I would write more, but I truly do feel like shit at the moment, so its off to bed at just 10-40pm ( I must be bad....... ).

That was a long shift !

I had to go to the physio today, so I could not do what I did yesterday and play some poker in the afternoon. So I waited until after tea and set my stall out with the 4 tables, fully expecting it to be another hard long slog, while again playing a forum PLO game in the series that's currently running which is the PPP WSOP. Anyone wanting to get involved, click the link on the right hand side on the blog !

For some bizarre reason the tables started closing after an hour which is a first, so I had to go hunting for some more tables. Tonight had everything...... Flopped quads, flopped boats, missed with huge hands and of course donkey calls by me.

I say Donkey call it wasn't really but I should of known. I had JJ on the button and its folded to me and of course I raise and the SB 3 bets me, hes just sat down and no stats on him, so I elect to call and let him hang himself. Flop comes down 8 9 10 rainbow and yes he bets the pot, so I just shove and OMG he calls turn blank river blank, and he flips AA. Buy in gone. I run quite well in the forum game and eventually end up HU so trying to play x4 cash NL games, and also a freeroll opens up that I forgot about, so its 6 games on the go, and things are a bit mad for a while. I get beat HU in the PLO game and start to concentrate on the cash tables, and I know I am down at least €15 on the day, never getting back the buy in and also losing again to shorties, and I promise myself I am folding anything up to KK to a shorty stack from now on. The amount of times they just wait for AA is unreal, and then hit and run straight after. I try a couple of bully plays towards the end, and they seem to work and eventually I decide enough is enough for 1 night. I click the re-fresh on the tracker, and I honestly can not believe it when I see it. Nothing stands out over the last 80 hands but I was €15.70 down 80 hands from the end, and I double check to see I am just €1.37 down having played almost 6 hours and 1144 hands. I defo take that and still amazed I turned it round.

Yes it does make 3 losing days in a row, but the fact its nothing more than €3 at a time, and with yesterdays bad luck and today's bad read I got to be a happy chappie !

I'm away tomorrow till later on, so the hand count will be low. Going to Worthing on the train for a bit of sea air.........

1 hand is all it took !

I played so so well today, and have really run unlucky as well today.....

Everything starting good, I put in a 400 hand session this afternoon and was holding my own, even though I met QQ v KK and KK v AA and QQ v AA. I should of been well behind, but pot control saved me a bigger loss, and I ended the afternoon session virtually even which I was glad about.

So after a little rest and some food, I then started the nights play, just playing x4 cash tables because I had a little tournament on the poker forum going on tonight, which I wanted to concentrate on. Then it happened......... The 1 hand.....

For some bizzare reason I still dont know, but I just felt I was good with my 66 on the BB to the button raise. The flop come down 8 high and I pot bet it, and he raises me, and I call it. Turn is the Queen and again I bet, and he shoves. I think hes still at it and call it now putting him on AK, but AQ was my dread. The river is a blank and he shows KQ, and I lose a full buy in. Lesson today was why try and bluff or try to get someone off a hand, when you dont know how they play. I had no history on the guy, and should of give him the benefit of the doubt, and watched him for a little longer. rather then thinking I can push him off it......

I then spend 3 hours trying to get the loss back, and yes I did take the odd risk in some cases, which is not how I want to be perseved at this level. I was doing ok just playing my game and getting paid off when I hit something. I double another shorty up with me holding QQ, and although I pretty sure I am beat, I still call the huge raise and the shove on the flop, and yes he was holding AA. I do win a €10 pot when Blind v Blind and Im holding AK, and the flop comes down Ace high, and he shoves. I dont know what hes holding but I pick it up. Then the games start to close down at 11-30 ish and I call it a day.

I check the tracker and slightly puzzled, but overall happy I guess. I thought I might of lost a lot more than I did, and yeah surprised to see just a loss of €2.67 for 1103 hands played today. I am pleased with the volume I played today, with an ease I enjoyed.

It all depends if I can manage to wake up earlier I suppose, like today was 10AM, but I had a GP appointment. But going to bed tonight at a reasonable hour, so hope to wake up early again........

Yup it had to happen !

All good things must come to an end, and so does my winning streak for August. I actually had a losing day, and the 1st bit of red is now sat on the 8th August. But I guess its not all so bad, because I really did not want to play today. Sunday is becoming a day of pain and suffering which is caused by the weekly shopping trip into town and then followed later by the daily walk and its starting to take its toll on me. I had to rest in bed after the salad I had for tea, and I promptly fell alseep only to be woken by the sound of Big Brother finishing. There was a relief to say the least....... So that made it 10-00pm and still not played an hand of poker all day. I felt a bit better so instead of playing my usual $1 tournies tonight, I cracked open x8 tables for old times sake, and I managed almost an hour before they started closing down faster than the speed of the National Debt raising, and thats fast......

I was surprised that in the 50 minutes I played x8 tables I had managed 328 hands in total. Nothing worth of mention really. I bluffed a few pots early on and was then 3 bet most of the time, so went back into my shell taking mental notes for future references for profitable poker when we meet again. I think my biggest pot of the night was blind v blind who had raised me when I first sat down when I was holding AQ, and let it go after he fired a 3rd barrel on the river and I didnt have anything apart from the shove maybe. Anyways Its an Ace high flop giving me a flush draw with my 2 4 suited and I bet 3/4 pot which is only 18c and he min raises me and I call. The turn brings a 2 and I check for him to pot bet it, and again I call. The river is a 4 giving me bottom 2 pair. I put a little bet out and again he min raises, and I call it and he mucks and I dont know what he had. But I got lucky on the river I guess, or maybe my bottom pair was good, who knows, or cares really......

So the tables break and I look at the damage, and I am down €2.92 for the day. Saw nothing, bluffed a little, and chased a nut flush draw with 5 calling a turn pot bet by some player and I missed, but I was looking at it as a +EV spot if hit.

I hope I feel a bit better tomorrow, because today I struggled !

So the week is over - Lets have a look !!!

I feel like the host on the Generation game..... Good Game Good Game.......

The week is over and yes I made it. Made what I hear you say.....

I finished the week without a losing session, and well pleased overall with the week.

Tonight's session was again a struggle to start, and it took a while before I managed to get x4 tables running, but the bad new is, they all started breaking up about 10-30pm. That's 90 Min's before they normally start to close. I can not remember them closing so soon before, but with the holidays I guess it must effect it sometimes. I will be able to gauge it better this time next week, but it looks like I might have to up the amount of tables I play. But of course that takes away some of the $1 Tourneys I have started playing. I guess you cant have your cake and eat it all the time.

Overall the tracker says I played just over 19 hours for the week. Granted it was me who decided not to play till after the evening meal and sometimes go for a walk. But it looks like I might have to play a couple of hours or at least an hour during the day, and hope it does not become a chore, which is what I don't want. Also have to consider the rake back I am getting as well. It needs to be over €100 a month for me to receive 45% back, and unless I play either more tables or more hours I will be short. Not much but I would rather be over the amount with some comfort rather then relying on the tracker records of the rake back, because I know they can be off.

So tonight's session was just over 2 hours before the tables started breaking up. I managed to get in over 440 hands but the important stat is it was another winning day making a total of 6 days running. Not a great deal stands out really apart from raising the button raise with 66 and he shoves. I normally fold and don't want to gamble and he was a short stack 20 BB Muppet as well. But I did call v his AK and I took that. I did luck out v another short stack who shoved all in again for 20BB after I raised with QQ to just 2.8 BB. I didn't think he would show KK, but I took it after flopping the Q for a set. But I would not of folded that.
Another hand that springs to mind is another suck out. But I only have his word for it though. I had KK and rivered a straight and he folded to my river bet saying he had AA, and I got lucky. I finished up €9.90 which is 10c short of another buy in.

So been a good week, and below is the graph for the week. My overall bankroll is now €1475.92

If you click the graph it zooms in to see !