I Know When To Run Bad.

I pitty anyone all in pre-flop versus me in the next £20 comp I play at the G Coventry as they have no chance. Working on the theory that these things even themselves out I am due a lot of run good in the very near future.

I've already posted about the bad beat I suffered for £1000 on the Wednesday night (see 13th Oct post) and then it got worse.

On the Thursday I played the £200 +£25 6 max tournament. Now I used some of my GUKPT vouchers that I won via the Goliath satellites so I was effectively free-rolling but anyone who paid into this event using their own money must have been insane.

I was blissfully unaware that the clock was a mere 20 minutes otherwise I would never have "wasted" the free money let alone used real cash.

6 max is fast paced in any case and to add a turbo clock into the mix as well was just plain crazy. The event started at 7.30 with 68 players and I finished in 9th spot ( 8 prizes) @ just prior to 11.30. 60 bust outs in less than 4 hours play tells it's own story.

Real agony for me as with 20 players left I was one of the chip leaders in with a great shout of making a real deep run, and at least a final table.

I was very pleased with how I played this event and if I have to use a word to describe my play the word would be "fearless".

Whenever it's your turn to act the options of call, fold, raise or shove all-in are open to you and I have to say I was opting for the raise or shove options more than in any other tourney I've ever played.

I'd decided right from the start that I was going to come out swinging and it was nearly my immediate downfall as I was down from 7.5k starting stack to 2k at the first break at the end of level 3.

Chaz Chatta

I had Chaz Chatta on my table btw and he seemed a really nice guy. He looks class though he never got started and was out soon after the play resumed from the break. By the time the second break happened (3x 20 min levels later) I had 35k in chips as my all out aggro style was paying dividends.

With just the 2k I win a flip to double to 4k then 3 bet shove with 5,5 to get snapped by 8,8.

I hit the 5 though to go to 10k.

After that I just kept winning till I got to the 35k mark. Then I just lost a couple of crucial all ins (not me all in).

I lose with J,10 versus A,8 for a huge pot. He opened and I shoved over the top and he had to tank for his tournament life. It was the longest tank of the night (we were all aware of the clock) but he eventually called. I hit a J on the flop but he rivers the Ace. If I win that pot I have over 50k instead of which I'm back to 20k.

I win some more pots and get back to 30k and then I shove over the top of another opening bet with 6h7h. He calls with K,J and again I hit a pair on the flop but he rivers the J. Again I'm down to 20k instead of upwards of 50k.

With the total of the chips in play the chip average when the final table started would be 85k so I was trying hard to get up to a really big stack so I would not be in danger around bubble time.

Although it seems mad for me to be 3 bet shoving with 6,7 and J,10 type hands ( these plays are not anywhere near my range usually) I'd been doing it all night and it was working 95% of the time. Obviously looking and talking the way I do my table image is granite, and to be fair that's not far from the truth normally.

I only failed to pull the trigger on one occasion all night and if I could turn the clock back I'd do it now in a heartbeat. Our table had not long been joined by the eventual winner Andrew Hulme and he had a big stack. He was active right from the start and when he opened a pot for maybe the 2nd or 3rd time I felt 100% he was at it. I had Js,9s on the button (about 12-15 bigs)  and I knew it was an instant shove.

For the one and only time all night my natural rock-like survival instincts won the battle in my head and I folded. I could see the finish line of the prize pool and was keen to have something to positive from the week.

There were 12 left by this time and I thought that I'd either get a better spot (unlikely on reflection) or a genuine hand, but I didn't and that was my chance gone.

When we were down to 9 players and on the bubble I was unlucky to be on the 4 handed table, so with the blinds being ridiculous at this stage I was in them 50% of the time! I shoved all in without looking at my cards 3 times and it got through every-time but I was just treading water and still the shorty.

With the short stack I was a dead duck and I knew my fate, though I at least went down fighting for all I was worth.

I have in the past bubbled bigger comps than this but I was sick driving home. Not for the money as even when Adam Wilkinson (one of my favourite players from the Broadway) tried to talk about a saver for 9th I didn't even enter the conversation. As the short stack I don't feel it was my place to be begging for a saver.

The deal was a non-starter anyway as Andrew Hulme flatly refused after a cursory glance at my stack but for me I was only interested in an official prize not an unofficial one.

The next hand AH opens and I shove from the bb with J,8 and he calls, after some deliberation with Q,7. We both miss everything and the Q wins.

I was disappointed not for the money but because I really wanted to go deep for bragging rights in the G Cov!

Steve Owen was the only other Cov regular left in and he finished in 8th spot. Like me was very disappointed that he didn't do better as he also had a big stack in the mid stages of the tournament.

One thing I will say was apart from the ridiculous blind structure the way they balanced the tables up was crazy at the end. I know it's a six max but I'm sure I've seen others where at 2 tables of 4 when they lose one they have an unofficial final table of 7. GUKPT said though that they would not do this and it would be a 4 and 3 till they get down to 6.

It didn't in the end make any difference to me but that must be massively unfair on the 3 table especially if you are the short stack!

So my 6 max tips are a) don't play them with 20 minute blinds unless the buy-in is £10 or less. b) don't ever consider folding J,9 suited when you have 15 bb's or less. c) practise winning flips and 60/40's because you are gonna need to be good at that.

Main Event Day 1

So after running like pooh on Mon, Wed and Thursday (day off Tues) it was now Friday and the Main Event! It had 145 runners including some pretty big names bearing in mind that the WSOPE was going on.

Yucel "Mad Turk" Eminoglu

I played the flight 2 @ 6.00pm which had the most runners of the 2 flights. (81). My seat draw didn't look the very best (me seat 1) as I had Yucel Eminoglu affectionately known as "Mad Turk" to my left in seat 2.

Turk is a very dangerous opponent for several reasons first he is as crazy as they come and secondly he is not nearly as crazy as he makes out. He can actually play great poker when he is on his game and he is never ever frightened to put his chips over the line.

He is always entertaining and you are guaranteed some laughs with him on the table.

At one point in the early stages he said to his opponent, who was tanking Turks river bet, "you know I'm stealing the pot but you can't do F all about it". Two minutes later the guy calls and Turk shows the nuts!

I have always got on great with Turk and really enjoy his company. I used to play a lot at the Broadway which is Turks main poker home these days. He has had some good results over the years and it's no fluke.

Apart from him though the rest of the table turned out to be fine and there was no one else that worried me. Everyone was playing "honest" poker, raising when they had a hand and checking/folding when they didn't.

Jon "Skalie" Kalmar

After an hour Jon Kalmar turned up and was seated to my immediate right (well the other side of the dealer) in seat 9. For anyone who hasn't heard of him he is known as "Skalie", and finished 5th in the WSOP main event in 2007 for $1.2 million, and has won just under $2 million worldwide through tournament poker.

So I knew things would get a little more difficult, and sure enough he was opening nearly every pot. As far as Turk was concerned we largely kept out of each others way and he was very low in chips from very early on as the Chinese guy in seat 7 was hitting every flop against him (and me) and was a huge CL on our table.

Turk flopped 2 pair versus the Chinese guys set and lost a lot of chips.

I was down to just 7k at the first break (15k start stack) having done nothing wrong, except flopping top pair a couple of times and losing to two pair etc. I also ran what looked like a great bluff but somehow got called.

Turk said to me afterwards that he would have folded to me as the way the hand was played he couldn't believe I didn't have the goods.

On the break I gave myself a talking to and was determined to grind it out and be patient. I hadn't been playing in full 6 max mode but I was probably seeing more flops than I should and I'd hit sod all.

The blinds were 75/150 after the break and I still had 7k so there was no need to panic with nearly 50 bb's.

I knew there were some very easy spots at the table and as soon as Skalie folded any hand I felt it was easy.

Turk was short now, down to 4.5k and a Cov regular opens with JJ into Turks big blind. The Turk tells him "If the flop comes low you are in big trouble" and makes the call from the big blind.

The flop comes 445 and the Turk checks but warns him not to bet as the flop is low. He ignores it and bets the pot. Turk ships in and the guy calls with the JJ.

Turk shows 7,4 for trips but the J hits the turn and Turk is unfortunate to be out.

On a personal note I was sorry to see him go, but from a poker viewpoint it made my job a lot easier.

Apart from Saklie who I had position on in virtually every pot, the rest of the table looked great for me. I won't give a run down on all the players as some of them were Cov regs and that wouldn't be fair.

Seat 8 I will mention though, I'd never seen her previously but she was an elderly lady and she did not play a pot for the first 3 hours of the tourney. Then she made a 3x raise and the entire table insta folded in unison. 16 hole cards hit the muck simultaneously!

She showed AA and proceeded to moan that no one had called her! In all she raised or 3 bet on only 3 occasions prior to a crucial hand, for me, much later in the night. Those 3 hands were AA, AA, and QQ. She limped with JJ and 10,10 etc. The reason I relate that fact is for when I embarrassed myself in a hand later.

Anyway I was feeling OK after the break and I pick up 9,9 on the button and my tourney took off! Blinds are  75/150.

A Cov regular opened for 600 (4 bb's) UTG, an active guy UTG +2 called as did the Chinese guy, as did Skalie.

Now my read was as follows the Cov regular 100% has to have AK, (maybe AQs) or a pretty big pocket pair almost certainly over 9's.

UTG+2 had a wide range all night so he was much harder to place though I'm sure he has NOT got AK or a pretty big pocket pair as he would undoubtedly 3 bet. The Chinese guy is pretty much the same he had loads of chips by now and would defianetly have 3 bet a strong hand here.

Skalie has a weak hand here as again he 3 bets loads and so I figure he has maybe a small pocket pair or 6,7s type hand that he's hoping to hit the flop with.

Now I'm in a great 3 bet spot if it wasn't for who the opener is. I know if I 3 bet and he 4 bets really big I have to fold, so I just call and hope to set mine. I feel it's a bit weak but with only 7k I didn't want to start 3 bet folding even this deep.

Flop comes 9c, 2h 3h. Bingo!

Opener bets 1k into about 3.5k, UTG + 2 calls, Chinese folds, Skalie calls, I shove in for about 6.5k. I figure if anyone's gonna hit their flush they are going to have to pay for it, and if the opener has AA or KK  inc the heart he'll definitely be calling.

The opener folds, he tells me after that he had 10,10. UTG+ 2 re-shoves over the top of my bet so Skalie also folds. (He said after the hand that he had 2 hearts)

I turn over my hand and UTG +2 tables Ah5h. (Board 9c,2h,3h)

In my mind I'm thinking "no heart, no heart, no heart". I'm concentrating so much on this that when the 4 of spades is turned over I actually don't spot that I'm behind to a turned straight!!!! To be honest I'm actually trying not to look at the flop and just have a quick glance and see it's black.

I was therefore blissfully unaware and thought that when I hit the boat on the river (4 of diamonds on river) that I was never behind in the hand :)

The guy who lost seemed more annoyed by the fact that I hadn't realised he'd hit a straight than the fact that I'd got "lucky" on the river! I'm glad I didn't realise as it saved me the worry!

He seemed frustrated that a local donkey had crippled his stack! Mind you he called off his stack after getting 3 bet shoved on by the old lady in seat 8 when she woke up with Aces for the second time! He made the call with Jacks and like that hand was ever likely to be ahead of her 3 bet range? The whole table was laughing at him when he said himself "how could I make that call?"

Anyway I spoke to him the next day and he seemed a really nice guy.

Now I was sat with 18k and was well above average stack and feeling good.

What pleased me was that I had no difficulty in knowing where I was in any pot for the first 6 or 7 hours and had no tough decisions at all. I was worried that the step up in class would be huge and I'd be out of my depth from the start but my easy table draw and having Skalie on my right meant I was surprisingly comfortable.

Skalie at this point had missed every flop and had slowly been leaking chips. He opened yet another pot and I 3 bet him with 88. He called and when the flop came QJ4, he checked and I bet. He called again and the turn was an Ace. He checked and I bet again and he sighed as if to say "I know you've hit that Ace" and folded.

So things were going great but they were about to get a whole lot tougher.

After the next break we were moved inside and put on the live stream table. The seat draw was kept as it was on the outer table so still in s1 and Skalie s9.

I was up to 25k at this point when the chip average was 18k at 300/600/50

At this point things went bad for me for 2 levels. That's two hours of poker and when you don't win a pot for two hours it has a really negative effect on your confidence as well as your stack.

Harvey Butters

As time went by we started to lose players off our table and they were being replaced by really good players with big stacks! Two new additions were Harvey Butters (HB) and Jamie Sykes (JS) in seats 3 and 4 respectively.

These guys were very good and just the sort of player it is so difficult for someone like me to play against.

It was a great to watch though and there were some great spots that they put each other in. Between them they were opening every single pot. Then it got that they obviously had me tagged as a rock (I'd been card dead from when they joined) so HB was opening versus my blind every time and JS was insta 3 betting him knowing full well that HB had nothing.

The second time when HB folded JS showed a "deuce" when he folded, much to the tables amusement. Based on this recurring theme I made my best play of the whole week.

Me bb, HB opens for 1,250 (blinds 300/600) JS makes it 2,100 and when it's folded to me I make it 4,100 with 9h,10h. They both snap fold!

Jamie Sykes

Every fibre of my being wanted to turn my cards over and show what I had, but I fought the urge and mucked as I was aware that if things got desperate later I might need to do that again.

To cement my image when JS asked me to show, I said "Trust me if I'd love to turn a deuce over, but unfortunately my lowest card is a King"

Things were getting very tough now though and I was getting into awful spots against some really good players every time I ventured into a pot.

At this point I had a new seat 2 who was fairly easy, the old lady (still hanging on) in seat 8 and me! So there were only 3 soft spots at the table and I was one of them!

Hours later I was right down in chips and believe it or not the 3 of us got to play a pot versus each other with every one else folding!

Me sb, seat 2 bb and it's amazingly folded to the lady. She makes it 4x. Which is a huge raise in comparison to the way the table had been playing. Pots were being opened for a min raise + 50 or 100.

I sigh as soon as she raises as this is raise number 4 from her in 8 hours of play. (following AA, AA & QQ)

Anyway I look down and see KK. I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry inside

I just flat as does the bb. The flop comes J,3,3. I check, bb checks and she ships all in for her remaining chips. Now this is a HUGE overbet of about 12k and I only have 18k left.

I really hate this spot as I feel she very likely to have AA or QQ. Though I doubt even she would shove if she'd flopped a massive boat with JJ so I discount that option. I also have the horrible knowledge that the bb has A3 well within his range.

After a short tank I know logically that I cannot fold but for some reason it takes a while for my emotional brain to catch up with the logical side and I eventually shove.

The bb folds and she astonishes me by turning over J,10 off-suit for just top pair. I hold and almost double back up to 35k.

I felt very embarrassed by my terrible tank but the other newer players at the table hadn't been on her table for 8 hours like I had. This of course cemented my image with the table as a complete idiot.

It's great if people think you don't know what you are doing when you actually do, but not so good when they are spot on! Anyway I didn't feel embarrassed for too long.

I then in the last hour feel that I do not want to be a very short stack on day 2 and I am keen to get chipped up or get KO'd.

I get very unlucky when I 3 bet with AK and double a shorty up with A,10 and I also 3 bet shove on a shorty with 7,7 and lose to A,9.

So I'm down to 14k when they announce last 3 hands of the night. Blinds are 400/800/50 and will be 500/1000/100 the next day.

I really am hoping for something but have to fold my bb to a 5 bet! Seats 3,4,5,6,7 and 8 (lady gone replaced by a top player) and Skalie 9 were all just playing all out attack style poker.

Anyway the next hand I'm in the sb and seat 3 opens and Skalie shoves in from seat 9 with As,10s. Now I've been playing a long time and I've lost count of the number of times I've thought to myself, just prior to looking at my cards, "this would be a good time to pick up Aces". It's never happened, till this time. I look down and see AA. Happy Days.

I shove in, I have 1/2 Skalies stack and the opener folds. Even though there is a 10 on the flop I hold and I more than double back to 33,900.

I ante up and fold the last hand so finish on 33,800 with the chip average about 40k.

All in all I really enjoyed the day, one hand I played made me look like an idiot which everyone got to see and another made me look like a superstar which sadly no one saw. Also in between there was some pretty good solid play and a blind structure that suited my game.

Main Event Day 2

Julian "Yo Yo" Thew

My seat draw was probably easier if anything on day 2 as although I had the eventual winner Julian Thew to my left he hadn't at that time got many more chips than me. There were obviously some very good players on the table but the game seemed much quieter than the last couple of hours of day 1 when Butters and Sykes were very active.

I exited after 45 mins sadly. I was involved in just 2 hands and didn't feel I did too much wrong with either one.

Hand 1 I'm in the bb and Carlo Citrone opens for 2.5k (500/1000) I make it 6.1k with JJ and he flats. I hate the flat call. Now he is a Sky Poker sponsored pro but I think it's based on past form rather than current. If I had to label him I'd say he is more old school than new.

The flop comes Q,xx and I fire a cbet. He flats again, which I hate even more. When the turn is an Ace I check and he shoves all in. He has me covered but not by too much.

I have a think and fold.

A short time later David Jones opens for 2k (min raise). He had been far and away the most active player on the table and when I looked down and saw 10,10 I had no hesitation in shipping in for about 18.5k.

He had me covered and snap called which worried me but he turns over 9,9. If I win this and I should 80% of the time then I'm back up to over 40k and right back in the game.

My run like a drain week continues however and the door card is a 9, and even though it was 9,6,5 and a 7 on the turn gave me some more outs I missed and left after just 45 minutes of day 2.

To be honest there were much better players in the event than me and I was a long shot to win it but with luck like that you are never going to win any tournament.

I was disappointed to leave so soon as you definitely learn a lot playing against better players and I at least felt that with a bit of luck I could have made a nuisance of myself in the event to some of the other players.

I was pleased to see that Julian Thew went on to win it as he really is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet  round a poker table. He has now won 3 GUKPT main events to go with his EPT title and you don't do that without being some player.

I left the G Coventry and bumped into Dalma (the cardroom waitress) and said I won't be back in for over a week as I'm sick of the place.

So of course I was back there Sunday night to play the £100 Head-Hunter Bounty Tournament.

Head-Hunter Bounty

So my last chance to do anything in the GUKPT festival and when I got there things looked really good for me. I could hardly spot anyone in the event who doesn't play at G Cov normally.

I was only there to use my last free vouchers up but when I saw the field I was glad I made the effort.

I started on an easy table and compared to the main event it was a walk in the park!

I was the one opening loads of pots and I quickly went for the 7.5k starting stack up to 10k while we had played 25/50 and 50/100. (25 min blinds)

Then my run bad continued.

Me, Ah3h v AQ flop Ac3s6h chips all go in on the flop. Turn Kh giving me a flush draw and river Kc giving the lucky sod a counter-fitting 2 pair.

Then I'm big blind and 4 people limp on to my big blind. I shove for my last 3k with A,J.

2 of the limper's call with A,10 and 10,8 respectively. Even though they both have a 10 they still hit a 10 on the flop to bust me. So frustrating as if I win that pot I'm right back in the game.

My mate was still in the comp so I went on the roulette to let off some steam and after a slow start hit a few numbers.

I took the winnings and sat in a cash game and I did really well. I won virtually every single pot I contested and left after an hour and a half with a very decent win.

It was good to end the week on a positive as overall my week had been a "close but no cigar" type week.

Bad beat to miss a £1,000 in the 2nd satellite, bubbled the £200 6 max, lost an 80/20 in the main event, and donked by idiots in the Bounty Hunter.

In all the week had actually cost me nothing as I won all my vouchers for next to nothing and various satellite seat entries for free as well. Also whilst trying to get to final tables to win vouchers I also won the normal Saturday night tournament just before the GUKPT started and finished 4th in the Friday one.

If I'd actually paid into the events I'd be suicidal now and I'm not sure how people, no matter how good they are, can make a living travelling round playing live poker events. Although I hate on-line poker there is a lot to be said for the fact that you don't have hotel/travel expenses etc.

Anyway that's me done with live poker till the weekend, when I'm off to represent EatMyStack poker forum in the APAT team event at Luton. 25 teams, 8 players per team, it will be a lot of fun.

Wish me luck!

P.S. All photo's taken from the Blonde Poker Forum, Live Tournamnet Updates: http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?board=2.0