May 20th - €50+€10 NL Hold'Em - Fitzwilliam (Dublin)

Well its been one of those weeks! Although I won many small hands tonight for small pits I couldn't catch things when they really mattered.

At one point I had 25 points left which I went all-in with three times on the run (44 - hit a set, AK - King flopped, 75 - hit a straight) and got back upto 1500 points.

Three hands later I get TT, go all-in, get called by player with KJ and with a flop of A-A-K-K-8 I was into rebuy mode!! An interesting hand then came up. I got 7c 6c on the button and before it got back around to me there were 3 people all-in for 3000.

The pot odds looked too good so I called leaving myself approx 700 points left. So with 12000+ points in the middle the flop of 3-5-3-2-J brought no happiness for me!

Some player had slow played KK and scooped the lot!! There were three hands to go before the break and I was not in a mood to play with 700 points AFTER this so went all-in with Kc 4c. Unfortunatly for me there was a player with AK and on a flop of A-A-K-7-4 I was toast. As I said...its been one of those weeks!

74 Entries - ??? - Win $0 - Loss - $143 (1 rebuy) - Acc Total -$652.11

May 19th - €50+€5 NL Hold'Em - Red Cow Hotel (Dublin)

Sixteen hands is all it took tonight for me to be blown out of the water. Mind you...with a round of the table taking 40 minutes to complete because of the inexperienced dealer I was there almost 2 hours!!

The first defining hand was when I got 99 in the hole and raised to 800. Some kid went all-in for 2200 and when it was time for 'on their backs' he flipped 22 and scored all my chips when a set appeared for him on the river. I

t was then an all-in fest wherever possible and people were playing with all-sorts! My 16th and final hand came when holding 55. I dumped all my 2100 in chips into the middle, get 5 callers, and see a flop of Ac-8s-7s-6s-7d win with a player holding As-2s. The rest were holding QQ / AT / A6 and a pair of 4's. Ah yes...it was that kind of tournament!!

206 Entries - ??? - Win $0 - Loss - $136.50 (1 rebuy) - Acc Total -$509.11

May 15th - $200+$15 HL Hold'Em - Pokerstars

I think that anyone getting through to the prize money on the Sunday night game on POKERSTARS where over 2500 runners usually congregate deserves a round of applause. So I'll give myself one!

During the 3 hours and the 154 hands I was involved in I played a total of 6 hands to either a showdown or otherwise. I won 5 of them and as such scraped into 255th place for a nice profit on what was a satellite won event!

I played As 7s which turned into a full house, AA once, KK twice, Ac Jc which I went all-in on with a flop of Qc Tc Qd, (That cleared everyone out) and my final hand of the evening was Kc 8c which got beat on the river when a King had arrived on the flop.

If nothing else it does go to prove that if you're patient enough then the cards will come for you. Even though there wasn't enough to see me higher up the pay scale I still consider it a great acheivement!!

2649 Entries - 255th - Win $317.89 - Nett win - $102.89 - Acc Total -$372.61

May 13th - €50+€10 HL Hold'Em - Fitzwilliam (Dublin)

You'll probably notice that in every game you play there will be one hand that either makes or breaks you. You'll either win the hand and move on upwards or you'll lose the hand (and the will to live) and then generally tilt off the rest of your chips in rapid order.

Tonights 'tilt then exit hand' for me came about when we were down to the last three tables. I get 99 on the button and with blinds at 300/600 there are 5 limpers into the pot before it gets to me. I decide to take the 3000 points on offer and go all-in for 8K.

Now what usually happens in situations like this is that people will decide to give up the ghost at this point, moan a bit, then pass. I get 1 caller for 5k and the usual '...its time to go home anyway' speech and he flips Kh Jh.

Well in order to win tournaments you need to win more than your fair share of 50/50 balls and on this ocassion...I didn't as a King appeared on the flop. Hmmmm!! So now with 3K left and blinds at this 300/600 level I'm looking to get busy.

Next time I'm on the BB I get 3-7. Crap at the best of times but there's been no raise and 2 callers including the SB. The flop is 2-3-10 rainbow and once the SB checks I go all-in. This would work in all cases where nobody had hit anything but unfortunately for me the 'non blind' caller had Q-10 and called. Another unproductive day at the office then!!

60 Entries - 26th - Win $0 - Loss - $143 (1 rebuy) - Acc Total -$475.50

May 6th - €50+€10 NL Hold'Em - Fitzwilliam (Dublin)

Its a tough old game. At the break I was the probable chip leader with over 20k in chips but once the break had come and gone the hands dried up and I couldn't win any toss-up hands in order to progress to the final table.

I did get VERY lucky with one hand. Holding Ac Kc I flat called a 3000 opening raise from across the table and saw a flop of A-J-7 rainbow. My opponent checked, I bet 5000, he went all-in, I called for all my chips (some 19k) and he flips 7-7 for a set. Oh dear!

The turn card is a TEN and the river card a QUEEN giving me the most unlikely straight in history of my Hold'Em career. So...upto 40K in chips and you would have though life was easy. Nope! I lost 5k when my 6-6 went up against Q-7 and a Q fell.

Lost 8K when my Ac 9c went up against K-T and a King flopped and my last 17K raising all-in with Ah 3h on the SB. The BB decided to call with KQ and guess what...a KING fell on the flop and I was toast in 14th place!

For all those of you who read these 'diaries' you'll know just just how it feels. There are just TOO many traps and COIN TOSSES to win in order to be a success at this game. All we can do is to keep on trying!

83 Entries - 14th - Win $0 - Loss - $143 (1 rebuy) - Acc Total -$332.50

May 1st - €50+€10 NL Hold'Em - Fitzwilliam (Dublin

Perhaps Hold'Em isn't my game after all? I'm suffering so many beats at the moment I'm really getting fed up with it all. It must give me some kind of massocistic pleasure to keep spending all my spending money on tournaments that I can't ever seem to do better than half way in! I was watching an episode of the World Poker Tour this afternoon where Dan N. calls a $2M all-in bet with K-7 on a 4-6-7 flop against Humberto Brenes and his 8-7. Not for Danny boy does he have to suffer an EIGHT coming off the deck or HB having a higher pair. No siree! In my life though it never is that simple. Last night I had a total amateur calling me all the way to the river on a J-J-6-4 flop with nothing but a pair of 2's. I had T-T and when a 2 appears on the river its rebuy time! I got T-T again later on. With 3 callers before me I raise to 1300. No passes. The flop comes 3-5-7 2 clubs. All check to me and I bet 3000. 'Raise' comes a voice, 'another 10K'. Figuring he'd make this bet with a high flush draw I call. He flips 7-7 and, as usual at the moment, I'm not lucky enough to pull a TEN out of the fire and I'm heading home. Its just TOO dangerous out there people!!

77 Entries - 44th - Win $0 - Loss - $273 (3 rebuys) - Acc Total -$189.50