May 26th - €50+€5 NL Hold'Em - Fitzwilliam (Dublin)

My visit to Dublin, to collect some personal belongings, co-incided with the Fitzwilliam Club poker festival. The SDPT tour event was to have been the centrepiece event but just like the event at the Gutshot the event failed to attract a decent number of entries (20) so it looks like this is one tour that'll be heading down the pan in fairly short order.

Anyway...I wasn't about to cough the €5k to play that! Instead my aim was the much more modest €50 rebuy event that took place on the Friday night. A modest enough entry of 50 runners but with it being a rebuy then the prizepool would eventually exceed €6k.

With 2000 points to start and an add-on of 4000 (obligatory) the tournament was to provide much in the way of entertainment but little in the way of prizemoney.

I spent €105, with no-rebuys, but in the end I chased a draw that didn't get there. Mind you it wasn't ANY old draw!

At the break I had around 8k in chips. This despite losing 4k of my chips in the hand before the break when my A-K failed to get there against 7-7. Never mind...with the 4k top-up I was back to 12k and ready for action. Trouble was it came quicker that I imagined...

Holding Qd-Jh I flat called the 200 ante in MP and along with two other players we saw of flop of Qh-6h-3h. Hmmm...top pair...nice flush draw. I immediately bet out 700 but this was then raised to 2000 by the player on my left. Not being one for mucking around I immediately went all-in causing my opponent to sit back into his chair to think about things.

After a couple of minutes, by which time he'd counted down his chips several times and realised he had me covered, he called flipping Qc-Ks.

Oh well...I still had several outs!

The turn was the Kd...the river the 5d...blah!

I was out and it was fun while it lasted...as it always is!

Entries -> 50 - Place -> ??? - Loss -> €105 ($131) Profit/Loss for 2006 -> +$12212

May 24th - £300+£30 NL Hold'Em FREEZE - Western Club (London)

Almost but not quite! Thats the verdict after my adventure at the Western Club where I played in the £300 NL FREEZEOUT tonight and finished TENTH...one out of the money!

With 5000 points to start and a 30 minute clock then this was a much better tournament to play in than the £20 jobbie at the Vic last night. Plenty of play and plenty of places to pick your spot but it all comes down to winning the 50/50 races and to this end my score tonight was 2-2.

After five 30 minute levels I had 5200 in chips. I then get K-J in EP and for some reason or other decided to go all-in with them. Needless to say a player holding Q-Q called! The flop came A-9-K-K-4 and I'd double through to average chips. Nice!

I continued to tick along picking up the ever rising antes where possible but not quite managing to get the hands that made many chips. At two tables left I held 15k in chips...then the fun started.

By this stage the move was generally all-in or fold so holding Qd-Jd in LP I decided to uphold the tradition and announced all-in. The BB decided to call with A-Q but a flop of A-K-10 gave me the straight off the bat and it looked as though I'd cruise to the final table unhindered.

I then started to get excellent hands and with them the need to play them. My Q-Q got through unscathed but my next hand (10-10) caused more of a problem. With blinds at 1k-2k I raised to 6k in MP. The player who'd lost to me with A-Q went all-in for 13k and I was obliged to call the remaining 7k. All looked great on a flop of 8-8-9-6 then a pissy KING turned up on the river and I was back down to around 26k in chips!

Three hands later and I get A-K. There are now 10 players left in the tourny...you know whats coming...and once again I move all-in knowing that anyone behind me MUST have a bloody good hand with which to call. Unfortunatley the same player who'd lost with A-Q and won with K-J woke up with K-K and called.

A totally dead flop, for my A-K anyway, followed and I was gone!

Twice in three big tournaments I've gone out with A-K against a massive pair behind me...now just what ARE the chances of that??

Entries -> 73 - Place -> 10th - Loss -> £330 ($610) Profit/Loss for 2006 -> +$12343

May 23rd - £20+£2 NL Hold'Em - Victoria Club (London)

Ok..so its Tuesday night in West London. Where to play?

The Western Club is currently in the midst of its festival and the £750 event there tonight was too rich for my bankroll. Luton had a 'rookie night'...er no thanks..so it was off down the Vic to play in the £20 NL Hold'Em rebuy tourney.

I was one of 45 runners and let me start by saying that compared to Brighton it all went a bit quick for my liking!

For £20 you get 1000 points! Antes went up every 20 minutes. Urgh!!

Okay...I may have been spoilt getting 1500 points and levels at 30 mins in Brighton but it really didn't feel the same at all.

At the break I had circa 3500 points. I added-on (another £20 for another 1000 points) and got as high as 6300 before the curse of the small pair attacked me again and I finished in 16th place.

The biggest problem I found was that there came a point where that there was NO PLAY LEFT! By that I mean that it was either go all-in and double up or go all-in and lose..as my small pair indicated! With so few chips in play and it taking 15 minutes for a round of the table there really wasn't much more you could do.

I'll have to re-think Tuesday nights as I don't think I had any sort of value at all for my £82 tonight!!

Entries -> 45 - Place -> 16th - Loss -> £82 ($152) Profit/Loss for 2006 -> +$12953

May 19th - 21st - Various

Busy weekend what with one thing and another.

Friday I finally moved back into my 'old' home in West London after battling with the tenant there to get him out. (Never rent your home out to foreigners) The place is in a bit of a state and it'll take a few weeks to get things sorted but at least I'm in now so thats the main thing!

Being in London now gives me several more options as regards a game of cards. Friday night and it was off to Luton for the £100 NL Hold'Em FREEZOUT. If I had a preference I prefer these formats to the re-buy ones as there can be no just going 'all-in' unless you're serious about a hand.

Mind you after last weeks 5-hand blast where my 5k in starting chips seemed to disappear in double quick time I tried to play that much tighter. That worked...for 40 minutes anyway.

I then get A-Q on the BB and there are three callers of the initial 100 blinds as it gets back to me. Not wanting to see TOO busy I raised it to 500 and get two callers. The flop comes a nice looking A-2-3 and I review my options.

One thing I had noticed about the players at my table was that they were prepared to gamble it up if they thought they had even a SMALL chance of taking the pot. To avoid this I said...'I'll go all-in to prevent any of you guys outdrawing me!', and all-in I went fully expecting my two opponents to pass.

'Too late', came the voice of one of my opponents, and he called my all-in bet. The other guy passed and my opponent flipped 4h-5h for a made straight. Some hope was given to me when the turn card came another 2 but it all came to nothing and I was out on my ear! Crap!

Saturday dawned and today was the '7-2 Offsuit World Championship' down at the Western Club. The 7-2 club is part of Londons Poker Meetup group (http://www.londonpokermeetup.co.uk/). A group of likeminded poker loving souls who like nothing better than home games for a fiver and the chance to play. Their 'World Championship' was a £100 NL Hold'Em Freezout event with 10k in starting chips and a 1 hr clock.

Forty runners took part and I finished around 30th after deciding that small pairs were gold and bet them up to the hilt on medium boards. Needless to say that when you have people raising you on 10-9 o/s and the board comes 6-9-4-10-Q its too scary to contemplate. My pair of 2's obviously not enough.

As this championship had started at 1pm and it was now only 4pm I decided to shoot back upto Luton for a pop at their £20+£2 Pot Limit Hold'Em game. Seventy-Three runners produced a prize pool of almost 6k and believe it or not I finished 3rd for £730. Big moments in the game were me making a move with 6-7 against A-J pre-flop. He called and I hit a 6 on the flop giving me 17k in chips and, at the final table, getting all my chips in with Q-Q only to be outdrawn by another player holding A-J.

Ho-hum...we take the rough with the smooth I suppose. Anyway...after a weekend of poker I finished up in profit to the tune of £408. Better than a kick in the bollux!

Entries -> --- - Place -> --- - Win -> £408 ($755) Profit/Loss for 2006 -> +$13105

May 17th - Players League Final - LCI (Brighton)

Phew...the drought is over!

Tonight was the final of the players league held at the LCI in Brighton. Twenty-six runners showed up (one on holiday) with an average starting stack of circa 9k and a 30 minute clock meant that there was no rush to get involved.

There was a prize pool of 12k and 9 prizes to play for!

For the first 90 minutes I played like a rock. Not like me at all really. Then came the hand that I undoubtedly got lucky with.

With blinds at 75-150 I got Qs-10s in the BB. There was one caller by the time it got back around to me so I raised to 600. My opponent called.

The flop brought an unremarkable 3-6-7. I checked, as did my opponent, and a 10 fell on the turn. Now the fireworks started!

I bet 600...it was raised to 2600 by my opponent and I went all-in, for another 6200, convinced I was ahead and it was a ploy by my opponent to make it look as though THEY had a good hand. My opponent sat back in his chair...hummered and arred...then passed...flipping K-10 in the process! Phew!

From that point on, for the next two hours, I hardly moved. With the bigger blinds I managed to start stealing. Hands like 8-3 and 7-4 were obvious shite but players weren't prepared to call all-in bets with them for 12k or more when I found myself on the BB and limpers all round.

With 11 players left a deal was done to give 11th £110 and 10th £250 before the final table. Then this happens...

UTG I get A-A (first of the night) and with blinds at 800-1600 I raise to 3200. Its passed around to the small blind who looks at his cards, looks at his chips then announced ALL-IN for 15k! Weeeeeeeeee!!!

Needless to say I call and he flips A-Q which gets nowhere near and we're down to 10.

At 1am its final table time!!

With the average stack now close to 30k we all do a deal where that the 3 current short stacks all get a guaranteed £900 whilst the other 6 of us get a guaranteed £1250. Once that deal is agreed it becomes a free for all and I go out in 8th place with my 10-9 hits top pair on the flop but fails to improve to a player holding 10-10.

£1250 is clear profit on the night and is better than 4th place money. I leave Brighton with the realisation that it may be a while before I return there...if ever!

Entries -> 26 - Place -> 8th - Win -> £1250 ($2312) Profit/Loss for 2006 -> +$12350

May 16th - £20+£2 NL Hold'Em - LCI Club (Brighton)

My dry spell (10 days now) continues with last nights £20 NL game at the LCI being a massacre in the first 15 minutes as my K-K all-in got beat up by Mr Newbie and his A-7, my set of 10's on the flop being smashed up by a pair of 8's when he made a flush on the river and my other 10-10 got smacked about by another newbie and his Kh-5h.

So three rebuys down inside 10 hands and as my budget for tonight was 4 rebuys it was looking as though it'd be an early bath. Luckily I then steadied the ship. My 2c-3c on my unraised BB made a straight against Kc-Qc on a board of Q-4-5-6-8 and my A-K took down a nice pot with another straight.

My chips all disappeared again when my A-Q all-in bet was met with resistance from a guy holding 7-7 so with my last 1500 in chips I decided to play super tight.

I then got As-8s on the SB and with a flop of Ks-Qs-8s I doubled through against a player who held Js-9s (unlucky son) and at the break I had 4300 in chips. Not the worst by a long way!

After the break I knew it was probably going to go all-in soon enough so when I got A-K in LP I brace myself. With blinds at 200/400 there's a raise to 800. I push all-in and called by player holding 8-8. It looks good for me as the 2nd card of the flop is an Ace but with the third card being an EIGHT it was all-over!

This was my final night of regular poker at the LCI as tonight (Wed) is the final of the league. I finally finished in 18th place and will go into the final with approx 8k in chips. The leader will have around 21k but its a 1/2 hour clock and anything can happen.

I finally move back into my house in West London on Friday, after 3 months of pratting about with my ex-tenant who decided it was better to wait to be evicted rather than leave of his own free will, so its au-revoir to Brighton and hello to the Western Club, Luton and the Vic as of Friday night!

Entries -> 47 - Place -> 28th - Loss -> £102 ($189) Profit/Loss for 2006 -> +$10038

May 9th - 14th - Various

Since my last update last Tuesday I've had a very poor week by way of results and spent a fortune on buy-ins etc. Luckily for me I won £3k at the Gutshot or by now I'd be worried but it goes to show that if you're not running well then there's little, if anything, you can do about it.

A quick look back on the week then...

Tues 9th May - £20+£2 NL Hold'Em - LCI (Brighton)

No joy at all in this one and burnt through my £100 budget fairly quickly. As always on a Tuesday night you have to gamble it up and hope you hit a couple of hands but no joy for me and I was home by 11pm.

Fri 12th May - £10+£1 NL Hold'Em - LCI (Brighton)
If nothing else I'm continuing to accunulate points for the league which ends on Sunday. I'm in a comfortable 20th spot so the 5 points I picked up for tonight & Tuesday helps to the tune of another 250 start points for next Wed's final.

As for tonights game though another poor showing with again my £100 budget going west fairly quickly. With only 1000 points for a tenner its a case of going all-in every chance you get. In the end I lost a race with 4-4 versus A-Q and so to another early bath.

Sat 13th May - £300+£20 NL Hold'Em - Grosvenor (Luton)

I was really looking forward to this event. Proper play...proper structure...blah blah blah. I lasted 5 hands!

Hand 1 : Got 6c-3h UTG and passed.

Hand 2: Got 4-4 in the BB and called a pre-flop raise to 250 along with two others. Passed to a bet on a K-J-9 flop.

Hand 3: Got 4-4 again in the SB. Called a pre-flop raise to 200 and passed to a bet on the flop of K-6-3.

Hand 4: Got Kh-10c on the button. No raises before back to me and so I flat called the 50. Flop was 9-9-2. Everyone checked. Turn card a 10. Checked around to me again and I bet out 250. Get one caller to my right. River card a King. Player to my right bets 675. I think he's not as strong as my two pair (K's & 10's) so go all-in. He calls and flips K-9! Urgh. I have 475 left!

Hand 5: Got A-Q in LP. One or two flat callers. I go all-in for 475. One caller who flips Qh-7h. Flop is 3h-8h-Jc-5h-9d. TY&GN!

Sun 14th May - £10 NL Hold'Em - Poker4Charity - Western Club

Handing over a cheque for £500 wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. This was the result of a losing bet I had with Joe Beevers, of the Hendonmob, where I'd bet the £500 that Blackburn Rovers would finish 9 points or better than West Ham in the Premier League. As it turned out Blackburn finished EIGHT points better than W.Ham so I had to cough!

To go alongside this 'presentation' there was a charity poker event. The £10 NL Hold'Em attracted around 40 runners and several million rebuys of which I had 20 by which time I'd had enough :)

Sun 14th May - £50+£5 NL Hold'Em - LCI (Brighton)

Final night of the league and another 5 points to my overall total which means I'm in the final 27 for Wed nights final.

I had one rebuy and lost all my chips to a flush draw that got there but couldn't match my opponents higher flush draw.

Lets hope my luck changes for the better in the next few days as I'm back to skintsville again!

Entries -> -- - Place -> --- - Loss -> £931 ($1722) Profit/Loss for 2006 -> +$10227

(now using £1 = $1.85 as the exchange rate as opposed to £1 = $1.75 prior to this)

May 8th - £30+£3 NL Hold'Em - LCI (Brighton)

After the weekends excertions at the Gutshot I took my seat in the £30 NL game at the LCI for the points on offer for the league only.

The poker league at the LCI in Brighton finishes next Monday with the top 27 then playing for the prize pool of circa £13000 next Wed.

Currently I'm on 282 points and in 19th place. The leader has 803 points but I can't worry too much about that.

After 4 buy-ins and no cards then enough was enough. I'd spent almost 18 hours looking at no cards on Sat-Sun so fely necessary to play them tonight and it got me where they were supposed to do and that is nowhere.

Never mind...I got my 5 points for entering.

ntries -> 34 - Place -> ??? - Loss -> £268 ($) Profit/Loss for 2006 -> +$11949

May 7th - Gutshot £500 NL Hold'Em (Day 2)

So in the end it came down to a coin toss! But before that piece of drama lets go back to 3pm and the start of day 2!

With seats redrawn I still found myself to the immediate right of Mr Dave Shallow. As I'd sat with him for the majority of day 1 I knew he'd attack every pot and go for broke so even with 51k in chips I still had to play slow!

My first encounter of the day came against Mr "Eastender" Michael Greco. His all-in bet of 15k couldn't make me pass my A-Q. He flipped 6-6 and one another 6 had appeared on the flop then I was down to 34k. Encounter no. 2 came a short time later. Again an all-in from across the table and this time I held 7-7. Well...you gotta win a race or two so I called for another 17k. My opponent flipped A-Q but again no Ace nor Queen fell and I was back to my start of day chip count.

Shortly afterwards I find A-A in MP. There's a raise, to 20k, before it gets to me and I decide not to fuck around so go all-in. Luckily for me, and not the original raiser, he has A-K and calls. Needless to say I scoop and I'm up to 81k.

The next 2 hours passed slowly. I couldn't find a hand to get involved with and with Dave S. lurking behind me I play safe.

Finally, after almost 4 hours of play, we're into the last 18 (payday). Again we redraw seats and AGAIN I get Dave S. immediately to my left. He's chipped up and looking for action.

I lose a pot when my A-2 gets outdrawn by K-9 after a 3-4-5 flop (he made a flush) and suddenly I'm not looking so strong.

I go all-in with Kh-10h and Dave calls with A-7. I hit a 10 and I'm upto 54k. I go all-in with A-J. Again Dave calls, this time with A-10, and again I double up. Dave self destruct and goes out and I now have over 100k.

Down to 10 and I get A-J again. In MP I raise to 20k. Richard Gryko, who's just joined the table flat calls from the BB. The flop is 9h-10h-Jh. He goes all-in. I call. He flips Q-J (no hearts) and once an Ace and a 5 falls to complete the board I'm upto 163k and its final table time!

Fourth in chips at this stage with 2 short stacks (50k or less) at the table I'm hoping to see the back of them before I want to get involved. It works out that way as 3 people go within 20 mins and we're down to 6.

And so to the coin-toss...

Antes are 4000-8000. I'm in MP and look down to see A-K. The player UTG raises to around 25k. I'm not gonna mess around and go all-in. To my surprise the player to my immediate left goes all-in as well having slightly more chips than me. Of course everyone now gets out of the way and he flips Q-Q.

So there you have it...I need an Ace or a King in 5 cards or I'm history. The flop is 9-6-2-8-7 and I'm out in 6th place for a £3063 payday.

Could I have played it any different....probably not. Do I regret anything....no! Am I unlucky...no! After all...after 14 mins of play on day 1 I was one card away from being eliminated.

Entries -> 123 - Place -> 6th - Win -> £2413 ($4223) Profit/Loss for 2006 -> +$12217
(includes the £150 I lost in satellite fees on the Friday night)

6th May - Gutshot £500 NL Hold'Em (Day 1)

Of course the implication of having a (Day 1) heading means that there must be a Day 2...and of course you'd be right!

With 10k chips and a 1 hour clock this is really the sort of tournament that everyone should play in. I felt kinda sorry for the guys who'd choked up almost £3500 to play in the Gutshot 'Showdown Poker Tour' event as only 23 runners started. (They're down to 9 with day 2 approaching) There were 123 starters for the £500 game.

In all honesty I should have been on my way out of the door after just 14 mins play although I don't see how I could have avoided it.

With blinds still at 25-50 I'm on the button and look down to see 4s-5s. Not the greatest starting hand in the world I know but as everyone else (3 players) had limped into the pot I thought that a small raise was in order so I popped it to 250. Everyone called!

The flop came 4-5-6 giving me two pair. It was checked around to me and I bet out to 500. I get one caller in Sue Jones (I found out later). The turn card was a 2. Sue bets 1500. Now there ain't no way I'm putting her on a 3 or even a pair of 3's so I figure she's on a higher pair than whats on the board. I go all-in and she calls me in a flash. Oops! She flips 6-5 for two higher pair than me!!

I'm about to stand up when a 3 hits the board and we split the pot with a straight on board. Phew!

After this it gets a bit easier. I button call with A-6 to see the flop come 6-6-8. There's a bet to 500 which I call. The turn card is my gin card, the Ace, and I bet out 2500. I get a call. The river card is a King. I bet out to 5500 and get the call. He huffs when I show him my A-6 and I'm upto 16k.

I get another lump when my 2c-4c hits a flop of 2-2-K and I'm paid of another 8k as my opponent hts two pair on the turn holding K-10.

Time ticks on and I'm under no pressure. I'm on 28k when I get dealt Kh-9h in MP and flat call the blinds (1000). Three other players in. The flop reads 9-8-2. I bet out to 4k and I get one caller in Dave Shallow who's been the most agressive player at the table by far and has around 70k in chips at this time.

The turn card is a 6 and I'm not giving him a chance to go any further so go all-in. After a bit of speach play he calls and flips 8-7. A harmless 2 falls on the river and I'm at 63k.

With about an hour to go before the end of play I pay off a guy with A-A (who goes all-in pre-flop) with my A-K for around 12k but get a bit back when my K-8 beats up A-7 when an 8 falls on the flop.

With ante's at 600-1200 it costs 2.8k to play 10 hands and I see nothing of interest in the last hour of play to get me involved.

I'm on 51,000 in chips with day 2 about to start. Ante's will be 1000-2000 with a running ante of 150 (I think). There's 20k to the winner and they pay 18. There are 30, or so, of us left!

May 2nd - £20 NL Hold'Em - LCI (Brighton)

At some point in any tournament you have to take a view of what your opponent may, or may not do, in the event of you yourself going all-in.

Two examples from last nights £20 NL tournament at the LCI in Brighton illustrate the precipice we all face when deeming that our opponents WON'T call your bets.

Example 1: Its after the break and I have 9k in chips. Blinds are 200-400 and I'm in MP holding A-Q. An EP player raises to 3k. So what do I do?

EP raises are usually one of strength. After all there's a lot of ground to cover between you, as an EP player, and the button so it ensures than only good quality type hands are likely to call. Being re-raised all-in though usually means the EP player is in trouble, even with KK, so to call an all-in bet in this position is, usually at best, a 50/50 shot.

Ok...so I go all-in and Mr EP calls flipping J-J. Its race time. In this instance I win it when an Ace appears on the flop. You NEED to win races in order to win ANY tournament.

Example 2: Its an hour later. Blinds are 600-1200. I have 19k in chips and, again in LP, I get 4-4. Its passed around to me and I raise it to 3k. Mr Big Blind, who happens to be table chip monster, calls and we see a flop of 10-8-6.

There's no doubt that being table chip monster gives you certain rights at any time over the rest of the table and calling a raise of 1800, to the 1200 BB, is one of them.

After the flop he bets out 3k immediately. Usually, if you've hit the flop in EP, you'd check in order to give your opponent the chance to throw some chips into the middle thereby giving you the chance to re-raise. The fact an immediate bet came in screamed two picture cards and he was hoping to slow me down by betting out first.

Of course I wasn't having any of it and moved all-in, for another 13k. He hummed & harred...counted his chips about 6 times then finally called...flipping J-9 in the process.

A King came on the turn followed by a dreaded Jack sending me out of the tournament.

In both examples I believe I did the right thing as I both maximized my chances of doubling up whilst believing the risks were minimul. One win & one loss = tournament defeat but remember...you not only have to do the right things but get lucky as well in order to win ANY tournament you're in.

Entries -> 61 - Place -> 30th - Loss -> £42 ($74) Profit/Loss for 2006 -> +$7994

Apr 28th - May 1st - Various

Well its Tuesday and as I look back to the 4 days of poker I've played since my last update I'm not TOO disappointed in the results but realise that night after night play is not good on the concentration levels.

To give you the story of the weekend might be easier if I did it via the cash in my pocket story. On Friday night, just prior to registering for the LCI tourney, I had £610 in my pocket. On Monday night, as I left LCI, I had £590 in my pocket. I'd spent £20 in 4 days and this included all meals, petrol and entry fees. (Good old roulette!!)

Friday night was a washout. Seventy six runners and I couldn't get out of first gear. I spent £101 in rebuys & top ups. I ended up going all-in with As-10s against Mr 'I know I'm behind but its my favourite hand' Bollux's J-10 (of course he hit a ten) and that was that really.

Saturday I had high hopes for as it was the £500 event at the FULLHOUSE. In all honesty though the club overreached itself in that it couldn't attract the numbers to make it REALLY worthwhile. Only 18 runners and four prizes but I suppose if you're a 4/1 shot to make some money then its not all bad.

I doubled up early, from a start stack of 8k, and looked good to do well. Holding 10c-10h in EP and with blinds still at 25-50 I raised it to 350 and got one caller immediately to my left. The flop was 10d-8c-4c. Not wanting to give my hand away I bet 500 and was quite surprised to hear the word 'raise' come from my opponent. '2500', he said as he pushed in his chips. Now I'm a great believer that if you can SEE you're winning you make your opponent pay for any draws they might be looking for so I didn't hestitate...'all-in'.

To my even bigger surprise my opponent called and flipped A-A. I turned my 10-10 and when no help came for him he congratulated me...moaned about there being only 18 runners...then left the building!

Well with 16k in chips and no rush to get them involved I sat back and bided my time. Trouble was as 18 became 9 I was STILL only holding 20k (average I know) but the blind levels were now 400-800 and I had the monster stacks (40k / 38k) immediately to my left. Not the best place to attack!!

Well 9 became 8 became 7 became 6 and I have only 14k left after finding zero hands to get involved with. I pick up A-3 in MP and raise to 2800. Monster stack, to my left, calls and we see a flop of Ad-10c-7d. I go all-in and Monster stack calls. He flips Qd-10d and I stand up just in time to see the 5d arrive on the turn and finish me off in 6th place...just out of the money! Doh!

Sunday night was better. I finished 4th for £700 in the £50 rebuy event at the LCI and picked up 26 valuable points towards the league thats currently going on for another two weeks. That pushed me up to 20th spot! When 5 of us were left we did a 5 way split for the £700 each and played on for an extra £400 + league points.

My biggest play tonight came when I held the Qc-Jc. I'm sat on 12400 points at the time and, with blinds at 100-200, I raised to 1000 to be called by a player from across the table. The flop came A-K-10 giving me the nutty straight and, like the night before, went all-in with the best hand at that moment.

Luckily for me my opponent had slow played his K-K (giving him trips) but couldn't house up on the turn or river! After that little double up I was on easy street. I spent £155 so ended up with a £545 profit!

Finally onto Monday nights £30 NL event. Forget about it! I spent £180 on 5 rebuys before giving up the ghost. My concentration had gone and I was bored.

So...by the numbers then...

Fri - Spent £101 - Win £0 - Loss £101
Sat - Spent £500 - Win £0 - Loss £500
Sun - Spent £155 - Win £700 - Win £545
Mon - Spent £183 - Win £0 - Loss £183
Tot - Spent £939 - Loss £239

Entries ->??? - Place -> ??? - Loss -> £239 ($418) Profit/Loss for 2006 -> +$8068