Not Such A Good Day At The Track . . .

Meaning of course that my run of form and cashes in the HORSE came to an end today. I played the earlier $2+20 buy-in and the usual $3+30. Burnt out mid field in the early game, about 15th from a field of thirty. Bigger than the regular games and paying 5 places I`m not sure how much value there is in playing it. Time will tell I guess . . . Crashed out 13th from 14 in the later game. I think I was too impatient pushing with some hands I should`t have. Not that I had many great cards in fairness to myself.

After that disaster I decided to kick back and watch some TV until the league OM8 game started. Fortunately for me England were playing Tonga in the Rugby World Cup so I watched us achieve a pretty nice win. We were favourites no doubt but given our recent form and the Tongan`s indominatable spirit anything was possible. Tonga actually took an early lead but The Chariot was soon rolling with a beautiful cross field kick by Wilkinson and resulting try by Sakey (unsure of spelling, I apologise if wrong, very nice try :-). We were pretty solid after that and although the Tongans were allowed a consolation try we looked pretty good. Of course things change when we come to the Southern hem. teams but it was a sign of progress and future hope, if not in this WC then for the next.

After that success I hit the red wine . . . A Montepulciano to be exact. A full bodied cheeky little number from Italy. I hit the league tourney shortly after. All-in-all I feel I played rather well. At the final table I tried to take out a player and failed. A little later she pushed again and I was left with the choice of calling or giving her the decent number of chips in the pot. It would cost me a third of my stack to call but eliminate a player and give me a decent stack if I won. Now I`d already called the BB and I was thinking of what to do, call or fold. The thought that I would call if I were playing a regular MTT went through my head but also the reasoning that I should be cautious because it was a league game. Fortunately selfishness won out and I called and won.

The bubble burst pretty quickly and I never looked back from that point. I played strictly to win but couldn`t overcome the evil one and took 2nd. Evil666 likes omaha and although he apparently doesn`t play hi/lo much he had the larger stack and although I took the lead once he won out in the end.

Late Night Update

Or should that be early morning? What-ever, which-ever, who cares? Frankly I don`t and I`m guessing neither do you.

Enough of the rambling, why am I here? Why are we here?

That`s just too deep an issue to get into right now so I`ll stick to saying I`ve just topped off the day with a nice 2nd place in the Affiliates Tourney. Didn`t bag a bounty but I did pick up $40.




It wasn`t that I played a great game, I was just lucky enough to be able to pick up a lot of blinds from the sitouts. I then tried to play it cautious to reach final table and have a shot at the last available bounty. It nearly backfired, they couldn`t seem to eliminate a short stack and I was dwindling away. Fortunately I survived and played my short stack very well to finish 2nd. I was massively out chipped HU and it never looked likely I would win. Makes for a good day at the tables for me.

Changes, HORSE and Other Oddments

No results for the last couple of days largely because of schedule changes at Poker.com. They removed the 7 stud and HORSE tourneys I`ve been playing. Fortunately they`ve added more HORSE and a Razz tourney. Played the razz today and bubbled from a field of eight. Made a stupid steal attempt and crippled myself. I put that down to playing HORSE at the same time. Fortunately I managed to sneak 3rd in the HORSE



I`ve just finished my second HORSE tourney for the day and guess what?



Yup 3rd again. I`m pleased to keep cashing but I really need to turn some of these places into wins.


As I mentioned I haven`t played too many tourneys but I have had a few ring game sessions at Ultimate Bet. I had to deposit there for the OFC so I`ve played two sessions of HORSE and one of 7 stud hi/lo. The first HORSE session went well, the second I lost and went back to even apart from a couple of bonus dollars I earnt. The stud hi/lo went better, I chased the first hand all the way to 7th, played pretty loose and then got lucky on a hand. My opponent was none too happy at his loss so I told the table I was new to the game. The action I got after that was pretty good and I finished the session nicely ahead.

It`s only 5c/10c but I`m clearing bonuses, making a few bucks and getting a lot of hands in at games I`m less skilled at. Actually from the stud hi/lo being one of my least liked games it`s becoming a firm favourite. There`s a lot of subtlety in it if you make the correct choices for starting hands. The great thing is that most players don`t seem to have much of a grasp on it.

Bodog Bloggers

I played in this for the second time. Bad result of 8th, largely down to Lightning cracking my aces with 77. Still I won my buy-in back and had fun playing good solid poker.

Check out the details and come along.

Copied and pasted for your pleasure...


Please post or forward this information to fellow poker Bloggers.
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Articles and Poker Blogs to Check out!

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12 suit up for this week's Bodonkey
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Beer, Bodog, and Birdies
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Ok I Admit It . . .

I`m kinda hooked on HORSE. I`ve played every day since Wednesday apart from Sunday when the league took precedence. A solid 6th from 48 in that. One off the money but decent points. But I digress . . . The HORSE game is just so entertaining and such a challenge. The field ranges from 25 down to 14 and a lot of the players are fish just waiting to be snapped up. Most of them don`t play well at more than 2 or 3 games so with a decent grasp on all five there`s money to be made in this tourney. My stud hi/lo has improved, I seem to be getting a grasp of good hands to play and my om8 is proving up to the task. In fact it`s proving one of the most profitable rounds for me. The only round I`m not too keen on is the HE.

Saturday I finished mid field, 11th from 22 if I remember rightly. Today was better although it took a little luck to make it through. That wasn`t helped when some idiot bet out during the Razz with a player having just 30 chips left, and not just any player. It was Mad4Cards who is probably the best HORSE player there. I had a decent hand but I didn`t want to call 600 and folded, this joker had 2 pair and gave Mad over 1k in chips rather than letting me probably take her out and eliminate a player. Fortunately I finished the job a couple of hands later in a close race. The joker got his just rewards finishing on the bubble and I took another 3rd place.



So still looking for that elusive win but as long as this tourney remains +EV for me I`m happy to continue playing.

Still Horseing Around

For Friday`s HORSE I set myself the target of cashing. After my 9th place I considered a cash within my expectations. It didn`t start well, the only pots I won were small or split and I was in terrible shape. I made final table though and through a series of lucky and well timed breaks actually achieved my goal for the day.



Seven card stud was a disaster, finished 13th from a field of 14. Ran my ace flush into a boat. I should have laid it down, I have a great read on this player, just stupidity or pride made me call.

Saturdays HORSE and I get a decent start before finally hitting a few hands in Razz and stud. I scoop a beauty of a hand in 7 stud hi lo, take out two players and set myself for the final table. That arrived soon enough and only three of us had decent stacks. It was largely a matter of steady play trying to wipe out the hangers on. That done we settled down to play for 1st. It wasn`t to be for me. I over extended myself running a bluff in the HE section and finished 2nd. A satisfying result but I`m annoyed not to have won.




The 7 Stud was no more than a 5 seater sng in effect. One poor player, one LAG, one solid, an unknown and me. Unknown player gets wiped out by LAG who proceeds to bleed off his chip advantage. Poor player gets sent to the rail in third. I settle back to wait to trap the LAG but the other player gets him. My opponent has over 4k, I have less than 1k and I`m unable to fight my way back finishing 2nd.

Rollercoaster Ride

I`ve already detailed my HORSE and 7 card stud results below but I ended up playing a couple more games at Poker.com. First up was a $5+50 buy-in $1k GTD only 182 entrys. I sat back expecting to wait but QQ popped up whilst I was in the bb. With 5 limpers I raised from 10 to 75 and got 3 callers. The flop was 9-x-5 rainbow. I`m first to act and put a pot sized 350 chip bet in. I get one caller. turn is a 6. I don`t think my opponent has a set. maybe A-9 or 10-10 J-J. He calls and flips over 7-8 os. Yes this is another Murry Moment, this guy had about 1200 chips when he called that 350 with nothing more than a gutshot draw. I was out the following hand trying to double up with 66. Ran into AK and AQ, Q hit . . . go figure. Exit stage left for a disbelieving mouse.

I was going to call it quits but saw Blue Lizard Lounge had a $50 added $5+50 buy-in. Field of fifteen, money added, that`s my kinda game. I started well and was up whilst short-handed at 7. The final table saw me drop, climb back up and then almost plummet to the rail.

I picked up AJ, raised 5xbb and picked up the blinds.

Next hand I get AA in the sb. I`m praying for action, specifically I want the aggressive and loose player to raise. I`m chanting at the screen "raise to 600, you know you want to, RAISE!". Miracles do happen, he raises, he raises to 600 too, spooky huh? I consider smooth calling but I don`t want to give him a chance to hit and I raise to 1300. I only have around 600 chips left and he thinks for a while before folding.

Very next hand AQos, a couple of limpers at 200 each, I pop it to 1,000 and bb goes all-in. There`s 4,100 in the pot and it`s a crucial decision for me. If I fold I`m damaged but in ok shape. Call and miss and I`m virtually dead. Of course if I hit I`m in fantastic shape to win.

I call, he has 99 and I get no help. My head started to drop a little but I avoided depression and tilt and clawed my way back to still be in the final five. I took out the aggressive player with KK into his AA. I had him covered by a little but thought I was dead when I saw his hand. Flop was 9-10-J and I was praying for a king or queen. My lucky arrived on 5th street and I was chip leader.

We lost 4th and 5th together so there was no long drawn out bubble battle. It was even with 3 left but the first hand after the break in the bb I`m dealt 4,5os, utg calls and sb completes. The flop comes 7-6-2, I fire out a min bet and utg re-raises min. Sb folds and I re-pop it to 3,600. He calls and the turn is a 9. I push and he thinks before folding. Puts me in a great position and it`s only a couple of hands later we`re HU even stacked.

The HU was back and forth but eventually I had about a 2-1 advantage. My opponent was pushing hard to recover chips and all-in time after time. When I saw K-10 and he pushed again I decided to call, he had KQ and it held up. I ground away for a while but that stupid decision cost me the win. Nice cash for 2nd though I guess.

HORSEing Around And More Stud

I finally remembered to play the $4+40 HORSE buy-in at Nordica today. Started off strong in the HE and Om8 rounds and was chip leader from early on. Razz is one of my favourite games and I was looking to consolidate my lead over what are my strongest games. It didn`t work out like that though, I bled off chips throughout Razz and 7 stud and began to drop down the field. I had a brief resurgence at 7 stud hi/lo before being wiped out over two hands by Mad4Cards who wins the HORSE a lot. Tough way to lose I flopped a boat, 2nd nuts, Mad also had a set and of course hit her Ace on the turn. Exit the Mouse in 9th/21.

Seven stud, what can I say? I had the full run of luck both good and bad. I was all-in before 4th street at least 4 times and won them all. It even looked like I might be able to challenge for the win but it wasn`t to be. I finished . . .drumroll . . . 3rd, yup 3rd again. You can`t get much more consistent I guess. Can`t complain though it`s a plus EV tourney for me that keeps the bankroll ticking over.

A Few Results

I haven`t played a ton since I returned from my trip but I`ve managed to put together a decent collection of trophies.

Sunday saw my return to the pokercs.com league as a member of Cracked Aces. Another 48 seater and a solid 3rd place finish. I was up against two team mates so it was always going to be tough to take 2nd or 1st.



The QCAP game started whilst I was still at the final table of the league game. I pretty much ignored the early hands but once I was out of the league game I was fired up and determined to win. Aggression and some good cards saw me through. A peach of a final hand won it for me. HU I raise to about 3xbb with 3-5os, my opponent calls and flop is x-3-5, I check she bets, I re-raise and she pushes and flips over A-3. No help and I regain my trophy.



Monday and I crashed out of the 7 stud finishing 13th from 14. A shocking result. I played a HU tourney at K9. Lost 1st round playing too aggressive against a loose opponent.

Then it was onto Porkrind`s Monday Night Football League. Two games, the first a freeroll for a $60 satellite ticket. The second a regular buy-in. I took 5th in the buy-in but played a solid and aggressive game to win the sat coupon.



Tuesday. More 7 card stud action. Ran into chasers who improved and ended up crippled on 120 chips. Just a few hands later I was in 2nd place and was looking good for the win. Ran my full house into a bigger one but escaped with 1,000 chips. May publish the hand history from this. Pretty pleased that I didn`t go bust on it. Grimly fought back and managed 3rd



Played my first game against the bloggers at Bodog. Small field of 11, a $10+1 buy-in double stacked. There was $125 added to the prize money. I started off well but my KK was cracked by 99 and after that I just ground my way back into things. Finished 4th, normally the dreaded bubble but in this case I got my buy-in back because of how the extra money had been added.

Enjoyed the game and will try and play next week. Solid players, why aren`t you playing these Murry?

Wednesday. More 7 stud shennanigans, not much else to say . . . consistent at least

Stoke . . .

Not usually a name to inspire much excitement in the average person . . . unless of course they are rapid Robbie Williams fans or have an interest in ceramics. But, for about 70 frenzied poker enthusiasts the location of the Wass and Pokercs.com (we kinda sneaked in) live game. The tourney for Friday night was a £10+£5 buy-in with each player also having a £10 bounty on their head.. I think it was 72 that started, I just sat back and settled in for most of the first hour, I won a small pot or two and at the break I was sitting with what I`d started with give or take a few chips.

The second hour was steady too, I didn`t see many good cards or positions and I was still at pretty much my starting stack, down a couple of hundred as I recall. The evening kinda blurs from here. . . No I hadn`t passed into an alcoholic haze, in fact I was on coffee all night . . . Time just drifted by, I know I had a few hands, AA and KK for sure but I never really managed to accumulate many chips.

It must have been 3 or 4 hours into the tourney when I moved seat for the first time. We were down to two tables but I was still very short-stacked. Sat next to me, on my right was Novice49 and a very drunk girl on my left, with a large stack and a boat load of chips. (sorry I couldn`t resist)

Novi had a similar stack of chips to me and was all-in with 44 just a few hands later and spiked a set to double up. The very next hand I look down at 44 and with the rapidly approaching blinds push. I`m horrified to get 3 callers but they hold up, I may have hit a set, I forget. Definitely the key hand of the tourney for me, it gave me enough chips to pose a threat.

Finally the bubble bursts and we`re at the final table. I`m still pretty short-stacked as is Novi but drunk girl is on a roll taking out players left, right and centre. Novi finishes in 6th and I claw my way to 4th for a £60 cash plus £20 of bounties. Drunk girl of course won the entire thing . . .

Considering it was only my third live tourney I`m pretty pleased with that result. Saturday night was a washout for me though. I finished 40 something from 62 I think. I made a move with top pair and no kicker and ran into top pair ace kicker. Frightening thing was he limped with A-10 whilst he was short-stacked. . . still it worked out nice for him. I didn`t play great, I never really settled and we had an upset at our table over a called bet that was allegedly short. I should explain that our dealers were volunteers not casino staff. It was a screw up and she got stiffed over it. We lost almost a full level of play getting it sorted and it broke my concentration I think.

I`ve got more stuff on Stoke and the days after but I don`t feel like doing it right now. I may post a few results later.

Quick shot of me doing my thing at the table.



I`m the one in the black baseball cap with his back to the camera lol.