Crooked bookies in Wimbledon

Four weeks ago on the Gutshot forum Nick Scott (Nick S.) took up my request of odds of 5/1 that I would make a final table in the Gutshot ESOP festival.

The bet money was t/f'd into his Pokerstars account ($200) on the Tuesday prior to the ESOP starting. I duly finished 6th in the Omaha event thereby 'winning' the bet!

The day after I won the bet Nick Scott disappeared from the Gutshot forum. I sent several PM's to him asking for payment but no reply came forth!

The following week Nick S. once again appeared proclaiming that he'd been in hospital and that the debt would be paid 'face to face'.

In following PM's to Nick S., and on that forum, I gave him the benefit of any doubt and asked him to meet up at the Western club where he would pay over the £600 owing upon which I would donate £100 of my winnings to the 'Lynda McMillan Cancer Fund' by way of the jar that sits on the counter at the Western.

I have a PM from him confirming this arrangement.

Nick S. never showed up and never paid any monies owing.

Again he disappeared. Another week passed and OMEN666, another forum member, came onto the Gutshot forum and publically announced that he, himself, was sure of Nick S.'s intent to pay and proclaimed that he would settle the debt himself if Nick S failed to pay within 14 days.

The 14 day deadline passed as of yesterday, Thursday 28th June.

I have contacted OMEN666 on THREE ocassions this past week informing him that the money was to be paid and that there could be no further deadlines.

OMEN666 did not respond to ANY of these PM's.

Nick S. has STOLEN £100 ($200) of my money.

Nick S. has STOLEN £100 from the Lynda McMillan Cancer Trust Fund by not turning up at the Western, as agreed, and paying the money over then!

OMEN666 has been, at best, misguided in his attempts to back up his mate and therefore by association has become tarred with the same brush.

There can be no excuses for what Nick S. has done.

He has had 4 weeks to pay over the money owing.

He has had my contact details (phone & email) and had shown no interest or decency in sorting this matter out!

I asked the administrator of the Gutshot forum to ban Nick S. from the forum for life for being a thief and a crook. Instead they decided to ban me for exposing Nick Scott as a common crook & a liar!

I also emailed Barry Martin & Derek Kelly to express my anger at this situation whereby one Gutshot forum member can rob another without even a shred of regret or remorse.

If Nick S. ever appears again on ANY forum I shall hound him till the day he leaves!

He's a fucking disgrace to honest poker players everywhere!

Jun 26th - £110 NL Hold'Em (Western)

June can be written off as a complete disaster as far as my play, both on-line & live, is concerned.

Tonight at the Western I never got going and when my chips went in with Ad-Jc I found myself up against Qh-Qd. Lucky me I hit my Ace. Unlucky me he flushed out when a 4th heart hit the river. I'd lasted just shy of 5 levels.

I'll write a bigger blog at the weekend with a few stats from the period Jan - June.

Despite everything I'm still a winner during 'live' play tournaments for this period but a lot down on the Internet side where the software never seems to like me and I get done over like a kipper time and again.

Entries -> 41 - Place -> --- Loss-> £110 Profit/Loss for 2007 -> £163
(As from 20th April 2007 rate of exchange is calculated at £1 = $2.00)

Jun 19th - £110 NL Hold'Em (Western)

Last week I left you with shortened details of my 'out hand' at the Western.

If you hadn't guessed then I was holding 6c-4c and hoped my all-in shove at the end could convince my opponent to lay down his K-Q. Well it nearly worked :)

You have to be in a particular frame of mind to play in live poker tournaments. Having spent 90 mins prior to this weeks £110 FREEZEOUT on the Internet playing 70 hands an hour its a big step down to suddenly playing 25 and I was fidgity from the off!

For the first hour I saw very few playable hands (out of the 25 dealt) but I suppose getting K-K, 3-3, 4-4, 2-2 and Qh-Jh meant I had an interest in around 25% of the hands dealt so it could have been worse.

A big leak in my game in recent weeks has been the tendency to bluff at pots more than I should. I always try to start games with the 'if it hits I'll play...if not I'll pass' mentality but my out hand tonight was probably me trying too hard to get a guy off a hand that he was never ever going to lay down!

Holding Kh-10h in LP and with blinds at 100-200 I raised it upto 600 to a) pump up the pot and b) nick the antes if I could. I got one caller from across the table.

The flop was J-7-4. My opponent immediately bet out 300. Now smart players will use this tactic in order to a) slow down the original raiser from putting out a big bet or b) bluff themselves in the hope that if their opponent (in this case me) has missed the flop themselves they might fold altogether.

I couldn't see that a 300 bet meant anything so duly raised it upto 1500. I now had 2500 left. I was called.

Now this is where the red lights should have started flashing and a 'DO NOT BET ANYMORE' sign should have appeared alongside a big ding-dong bell. Instead I took the call to mean that my opponent was trying to pull a fast one and I'll soon show him har har!!

Another 7 fell on the turn. Now my opponent checked. Ha...got him...I thought and so lumped in the rest of my chips on nothing more than King high. My opponent shrugged his shoulders and called.

Of course I stood up and prayed for a King as he flipped A-J but an 8 arrived and I was back home in time for Big Brother!

Perhaps I should lay off the speed game mentality of the Internet prior to playing here as I'd just pissed another £110 up the wall!

Entries -> 52 - Place -> --- Loss-> £110 Profit/Loss for 2007 -> £273

(As from 20th April 2007 rate of exchange is calculated at £1 = $2.00)

Jun 12th - £110 NL Hold'Em (Western)

Some people can't bluff to save their lives. Some bluff far too often for their own good. I tend to take the middle road and attempt bluffs when, and only when, an opportunity presents itself.

The very first hand of tonights £100 NL event at the Western saw me get Ad-Jd on the button.

With blinds at 25-50 a player to my right, in MP, raised it to 150. I re-raised it to 350. Only he called and we saw a flop of A-K-10.

First to act my opponent checked. It was a good flop for me and I bet out to 750. After some initial thought my opponent re-raised me another 1k. What to do?

If he'd slow played A-K then I still had outs. A-10 was unlikely but A-Q was a possibility as was K-K, Q-Q and J-J. It was also possible he had a smaller pair and was attempting to see where he was at. After all a flat call here, on his part, was probably the worst of the three options available to him once I'd bet out.

I decided to semi-bluff and re-raised him all-in. If he called I could still win with a Queen for a broadway straight. He sat back in his chair and puffed out!

Well that was good news...he wasn't as strong as all that. After much deliberation he flashed A-J and passed. Nice!

I chipped upto about 7k when the following hand came up. I won't name my hand (answer next time) but was I right to do what I did??

I was in the SB. Blinds were 50-100. The guy to my immediate right raised it up to 375. I looked at my cards and called as did the BB...no doubt for value!

The flop was K-5-7. I checked as did the BB. Original raiser (OR) puts in a bet of 800. I called. BB passed.

Turn card was another 5. I checked. OR bets out 2k. I called. River card was another 7 making the board K-5-7-5-7. I pushed all-in.

Panic stations for OR where after much thought he called and took down the pot with his K-Q.

I was out. Any thoughts anyone??

Entries -> 45 - Place -> --- Loss-> £110 Profit/Loss for 2007 -> £383

(As from 20th April 2007 rate of exchange is calculated at £1 = $2.00)

Jun 5th - £110 NL Hold'Em (Western)

Never got out of first gear tonight as my highest stack size was 5600 if that.

My table was in 'terminate' mode. For the opening 30 mins or so until the table broke there was always someone 'all-in'. I include myself in this as my As-Js got the better of J-J but that allowed me to get my stack back upto the starting level of 5k and I'd lost 2400 fairly early on chasing a flush draw that didn't get there.

At the first break I had 4600 and at my new table most players had around 8k+.

Timing is everything in poker. If you're there from the off then you can scoop large pots whilst everyone around you calls you a lucky so and so (see my Omaha event last Friday). If your timing is out though you just find yourself shaking your head thinking 'if only'.

So anyway...after the break I was in 'move-in' mode. Holding 8c-5c I moved in on a flop of 4-5-6 figuring I was ahead. Indeed I was and everyone passed but a player at the far end showed A-7 as if to say 'nearly'.

My next attempt at a move came soon afterwards and brought about my demise. Holding 6-4 in the BB four of us saw a flop of 3-6-7. I checked, as did player 2. Player 3 makes a bet of 600 (blinds were 150-300) and I moved in for 4900. Player 2 called, as did player 3. Player 2 flips 10-10. Player 3 has A-7.

I have numerous outs but can't catch any as the turn and river cards are both Jacks!

Ah yes...timing is everything.

Entries -> 46 - Place -> --- Loss-> £110 Profit/Loss for 2007 -> £493

Jun 3rd - £100 Satellites to the Poker Million

Sunday morning. Its 10am and I'm pulling up outside Leyton Orients football ground for a shot at qualifying for this years Ladbrokes Poker Million event.

You wouldn't think that there'd be that many poker players up and around at this time on a Sunday but you'd be wrong as over 40 players had converged in order to take part in 'one-table' satellites to the bigger £1000 satellite event taking place later this afternoon.

I'd come armed with £300, for three gos, and felt confident enough that I may do ok. Of course confidence comprizes half the solution. The other half is entirely dependant on the cards you get and the five that follow!

The satellites were 50k starting stack, 15 min blinds and blinds started at 1k-2k and went up from there.

Satellite 1:

Early doors I get 8-8 and raise off with A-K for 20k. I lose. I then raise off for the rest of my chips with Ah-Qh v Ad-6d v Kc-Qd. I lost that one when Mr Ad-6d makes a flush on the river!

Satellite 2:

Early doors I get 9-9 in LP. There's a raise to 8k. I call. Flop is A-8-9. Raiser bets 10k. I flat call. Turn card a 6. Raiser goes all-in. I call. He flips A-10. I'm on 100k.

I then get 6-6 which doesn't improve and lose 15k. I then get A-3 on the button and make it 15k to go. The BB makes it 30k. I shove (doh) and he calls flipping A-K. He has me covered. That was that!

Satellite 3:

I'm in LP with 6-6. Barry Hearn (owner of Leyton Orient) makes it 8k to play from the button. I flat call. Flop is 10-7-3. I go all-in. He calls and flips A-10.

Just not my day :(

Loss-> £300 Profit/Loss for 2007 -> £603

Jun 2nd - £525 NL Hold'Em (Gutshot)

For tonights £500 Gutshot main event I decided to be brave a do a 'live' report on my progress.

You can see the thread I generated on the HendonMob forum.

I got bogged down early, got a bit lucky later, then disappeared down the plughole as I was firstly 'outdrawn' then decided that the value was there with two players already in for 3600 (I held Qd-Jd) but couldn't catch up to A-10. Ah well.

As far as the festival went its been an ok sort of time. Finishing 6th in the Omaha helped my +/- a little although I did end up down on the weekends 3 events overall to the tune of £415. Could have been worse I suppose.

Still I won my bet with Nick S. to the tume of £600 (£100 @ 5/1 for reaching the final table at Omaha). Now all I have to do is collect :)

Entries -> 104 - Place -> --- Loss-> £525 Profit/Loss for 2007 -> £903

Jun 1st - £215 PL Omaha - Gutshot

Only 45 runners for tonights PL Omaha event and half the players had not one clue as to how to play the game.

Having said that though you'd still need a great deal of luck to get to a final table where my 'bonus' money (see May 31st) awaited.

With only 5k in chips you were gonna be pretty much pot committed afer a couple of pre-flop raises so hand selection was gonna be pretty much the key. Not that I saw that much in the way of hands in the first hour or so and was unable to make any 'big' bets as such. Then I got lucky.

Holding A-Q-7-4 (suits unimportant) I flat called a raise from across the table. Usually when raises come in pre-flop in Omaha it points to a high pocket pair. My brain had gone into 'mush mode' in calling the raise. The flop was 9-5-4. So I had a pair of 4's...big deal.

The anticipated continuation bet came in from my opponent and for whatever reason I decided to call for all my chips!! I was up against A-A-K-7.

The poker gods smiled and a 4 fell on the turn giving me trips. A blank fell on the river and I was upto 8k. Wow!

Once again though my chip stack fell away. I saw no hands again until I get 3-4-5-6 and flat call the 200 blind. The player immediately to my left decides to 'pot' the pot and another player also decides to call for all his chips! Decision time!

If the 'potter' has A-A (highly likely) then I'm gambling to see a low flop. I decide that I should chance it and call.

Flop is 5-10-7. I have an open ended straight and a pair of 5's. I decide to gamble and pushed all-in which is duly called. The original 'potter' does indeed have A-A in hand along with two other random cards not associated with the flop.

The turn is a King, changing nothing, but a lovely 5 appears on the river giving me trips. Not so lucky for me was that the other caller in the pot also had a 5 with a higher kicker (9) so took the main pot whilst I got the side pot. I made 1k on the action :(

Anyway...I'm upto 10k with 20 players left. I had to sweat it out.

Player numbers continued to trickle down. At break 2 (8 levels played) there were 12 of us left. I had 9k in chips but with tables now short handed and blinds at 600-1200 I really couldn't afford to sit around and sweat out losing 3 more players (final table was 9). I needed a hand or two or preferably a double-up!

I then get Ks-Js-Kd-4h and decide to make a stand so raise it up. Another player calls. Flop is Qs-10s-8d. I immediately push and get the call. My opponent holds Q-J-x-x. Two blanks fall and my K-K doubles me through. Phew!

I then get 'really' lucky. Holding A-A-2-6 theres a raise and a re-raise all-in for 10k. I push all-n myself (15k) and the first raiser passes flipping K-K-x-x. My 'all-in' opponent holds Ks-Kc-Js-8c so all I have to do is avoid a black flush!

Flop is 9c-6s-4s (ruh roh)....As.....(doh)....4h (weeeeeeeeee) for a full house!!

Eleven players becomes 10 becomes 9......its final table time!!

Its a different game now. Mr Gryko goes out in 9th, Barry Martin 8th, Brian McDonald 7th.

I get 9-10-J-Q and call a pot sized opening bet from across the table. Flop is Qs-7s-Jh. I bet out 10k. My opponent goes all-in and I duly call.

He flips As-Ks-Kc-x. The 4s appears on the turn (completing his flush) and I cant make the full house by the river. I'm out in 6th for £540.

Oh...and plus the £600 from Nick S. which at the time of wring I await with anticipation appearing in my Pokerstars account :)

Entries -> 45 - Place -> 6th - Win-> £325 Profit/Loss for 2007 -> £1428
(As from 20th April 2007 rate of exchange is calculated at £1 = $2.00)

May 31st - £215 No Limit Hold'Em - Gutshot

And so to the start of a very busy weekend with me playing 3 (maybe 4) events between tonight and Sunday.

For those of you that read the HendonMob & Gutshot forums you'll know that I saught odds of 5/1 on me reaching any final table of the Gutshot events with me wanting to put £100 on. Nick S., a forum member from Gutshot, kindly took me up on the offer. Now all I had to do was to make it happen!

So back to tonight then and when all was said and done 107 runners started off this event, with a 7k start stack, at around 8pm and I was in the thick of the action before you could say boo!

On about the third or fourth hand of the night I got 10c-Jc in MP and flat called the 50 point blinds. Three of us saw the flop of 8c-3d-Qc and I was seeing a big chip stack in my mind!

Someone led out the betting, for 300. I duly called and we were heads up.

The 8h fell on the turn. Again my opponent led out, this time for 600. Whilst I wasn't thrilled at that bet I still thought that any club (especially the 9c - yum yum) would win me the pot so called. The 4c fell on the river. Surely now the pot was mine?

My opponent led out AGAIN! This time for 1600. Of course I'm now committed to calling so do and he flips Q-8 for a full house. Oops!

So my stack is squished before we get going!

For the next while my stack size gets worse and worse. I'm down to 3.5k.

I get dealt 8-9 in the BB and with no raises we get to see a flop of 8-9-9. Nice. It gets better when I get someone betting into me and before you know it I'm all-in, my opponent calls, and I'm doubled up :)

So...back to 7k I can start again but I then get plenty of playable hands (K-10s, A-Js, A-Q) but can't connect with any of them as my stack size dwindles on down!

I'm down to 3k again before you can whistle dixie and I decide that A-8 is a great hand to try and take the blinds + 2 callers. Unfortunately one of the 'callers' decides that my feeble attempt to nick needs looking up so calls with 5-5.

A 5 appears on the flop and I'm off down the Vic for a cash game by 9pm.

Entries -> 107 - Place -> ---- Loss -> £215 Profit/Loss for 2007 -> £888
(As from 20th April 2007 rate of exchange is calculated at £1 = $2.00)