Selective-Retrospective

Absolutely shameless lol

2012 APAT UK Team Event - Luton

The usual suspects!

Finished 39 / 200 with a sweet third place finish for the team :)

APAT World Championship of Amateur Poker - D2D

Played the HORSE event at the APAT WCOAP March 2013 and binked it :)

APAT UK Championship of Amateur Poker - D2D

Played the PLO event... decent run, but a bit disappointed to go out in 4th place :-(

Omahahaha

Last Sunday, I entered the UKIPT Nottingham Pot Limit Omaha side event at Dusk til Dawn. I was playing 50% of the tournament for myself, with the other 50% backed by seven top individuals from the Hendon Mob Forum.

I’d been looking forward to the tournament all week. Sunday arrived and it was a beautiful sunny day outside… an excellent opportunity to ensconce myself within a darkened poker room. I had a large fried breakfast for an early lunch, topped up my energy levels (apparently) with a banana, and headed out to Dusk til Dawn.

I dutifully arrived an hour before the start of the tournament, as advised by Pokerstars… a good three minutes later, I was all signed-up and ready to go! I grabbed myself a pint, had a look in the Marquee Bar, and then neurotically alternated between smoking cigarettes and checking the registrations board for new runners (the tournament finished-up with 62 runners).

We kicked off at 1pm, and I got myself sat down at the table quickly, so I could have a good look at everyone else at the table. I was sat in Seat 2 between a couple of old fellas in Seats 1 and 3 who seemed to know each other. Seat 4 was a middle-aged chap, Seat 5 was a young woman, and Seats 6, 7 and 8 were occupied by younger men who looked like your stereotypical internet players (hoodies and headphones). I tried to figure out what I looked like to my opponents, and had a nagging suspicion I looked like someone with a bowel problem. I assumed my standard poker-game scowl and wondered why nobody was talking me at the table.

We started with stacks of 8,000 chips, and blinds of 25 / 50. I only played one hand post-flop during the first level – holding 6789 single-suited, flop was AT6 giving me an inside straight wrap with a backdoor flush draw. The hand was checked to me, I bet out and got one caller. I turned the nuts with AT6-8, bet about half the pot and got a call. The river paired the board (AT68-T) hand was checked to me, and I checked back – nervous about a possible check-raise with a full-house, but easily took down the pot with the straight. I’d won the first real pot I’d got involved with and felt a lot easier at the table with that under my belt.

The next hand I got involved with post-flop was towards the end of the second level, with blinds at 50 / 100. I was dealt A245 double-suited, and saw a cheap flop in position with several limpers ahead of me. The flop was great for me A3Q giving me a pair, and a straight-wrap. After the hand was checked to me, I made a raise of about half the pot, and got one call from one of the younger guys at the opposite side of the table. The turn was a beautiful-looking four, completing my straight. I made another raise about half the pot and got yet another call. The river was a two, and my opponent immediately put me all-in. I tanked and tanked and started to feel uncomfortable about not making a decision. I tried to think the hand through like I’m supposed to – 56 would give my opponent a higher straight and he’d have had an open-ended draw on the turn. Still I hesitated… my head was telling me to fold the hand, but my heart diagreed… eventually I came to a decision and called – my opponent turned over AQxx for two-pair – I turned my hand over in what felt like slow motion (NOT a slow roll!)… one of the old fellows muttered something darkly about two-pair having showdown value. I was up to around 17K in chips, and stood up from the table to have a much-needed cigarette break.

I had a quiet third level (blinds at 75 / 150). My plan (hastily decided upon whilst having my cigarette break) had been to mix-it-up a bit more now that I had playing chips, but the circumstances were never right. I was dealt a succession of unplayable hands; then I was dealt QQxx single-suited in position, but someone raised from early position, and the old fellow to my right re-raised pot. I [obviously] folded, and the old fellow advertised his Aces when the hand was folded back to him. I had a couple of runs in my hand, but never caught enough of the flop to continue. Finally, in the last hand of the level, I was dealt another QQxx hand, and made a small raise, which caught a couple of callers. Flop came down KKx, I checked first, and both opponents also checked. Turn was a third King giving me a Full-House – I bet out and took down the last pot of the third level.

I finished the third level with around 19K chips and was feeling pretty comfortable. We had a quick break before the start of the next level and then play got underway with blinds at 100 / 200. It was another quiet level for me – I lost count of the number of rainbow hands I was dealt, and nothing was working for me post-flop. A couple of players were eliminated by other players on the table, and we were joined by a player from another table with a hefty stack – he quickly began to splash them around, and won several pots with marginal hands, he made a pot-sized re-raise against one opponent on a paired flop, and showed the bluff. My stack began to decrease noticeably, although I finished the level with around 14K chips.

The fifth level kicked-off with blinds at 150 / 300, and fairly quickly, I got involved in my final hand of the tournament. Holding 8TJQ double-suited, I made a raise from mid position and got one call, before the player with the hefty chip stack re-raised. I called, as did the other caller. Flop came down AJ8 giving me two-pair and a flush-draw in hearts. I raise, the caller folds and the chap with the hefty stack calls. Turn came down AJ8-J giving me the full house. I check the size of the pot, it is just slightly more than the 8K I have left behind so I shove it in the middle. My opponent snap calls and shows two Aces for the nuts, leaving me drawing dead to the case Jack. I hold my breath and visualise the Jack. Time slows again, and the dealer turns over… a 6.

I’m not really sure how I feel about the last hand, I don’t think I’d ever give my opponent credit for Aces given his play at the table so far; but by the turn, I’m not sure anything other than Aces, was going to call my shove. I think I’d have been better off checking and letting my opponent bluff his chips away (except obviously he did have Aces); but all things considered, I don’t think the hand would have finished any differently on the day.

On the plus side, I really enjoyed the tournament, and it was a great afternoon; but it was over too soon for my liking, and it was a bit of a let down for the people that had supported me in the tournament.

Flip Mode Squad

Flip Mode Squad, '98
Raw Deluxe, Check it out y'all
Busta Rhymes, Fire it up / Turn it up Remix

I've played a couple of nice cash sessions on Genting Poker recently. A couple of weeks ago, I found myself at a 'nice and easy' table with a couple of 'new' players on it - Joe Beevers, Barny Boatman and Ross Boatman of The Hendon Mob!

Anyway, last Thursday evening, I had about fifteen minutes to spare, and I noticed that a couple of the regular players from The Hendon Mob Forum were playing No Limit Hold 'em, so I dropped in for a couple of hands, and loaded up £5 to give myself a whopping 20 big blinds!

Bogus (IFlipUhaha) was playing, and we ended up doing some flips [for kicks]... it went 'quite' well for me. We got things started off when I was holding A6 - 'flip?' suggested Bogus. I agreed, and shovelled in my stack to see AK in my opponents hand. Nice - all-in and dominated - it was to be a foreshadow of later hands - but this time things turned out as they should, and my stack slid over to my opponent.

I re-loaded another £5 (last of the big spenders), and soon enough Bogus suggested flipping again. This time I had Ace Ten suited in my hand, so I agreed - pushing my chips in to see Ace Queen in my opponents hand this time! I was already dominated, and my opponent made two-pair on a flop which also gave me a flush draw... the third diamond on the turn evoking a manic fist-pump in my front room!

A few hands later we agreed to a third flip. Yet again I turned my hand over to see I was dominated by my opponent. Yet again I edged ahead with another unaccountably lucky board for me!

We then played a few hands where we managed to get to the flop without putting our entire stacks in the middle. This hand providing another double-up, with yet another flush completing on the turn. I was now officially 'on a run'... and it's definitely best to run with these things when they happen!

Everything was going my way now - I hit two-pair on the flop in this next hand, and the [ice-cold] deck decided to drop my opponent a lower second pair to ensure the money went in again:-

By this time, I'd run my 20 big blinds to over 200 big blinds in little over ten minutes, but I needed to pack-up and didn't want to look like I was hitting the table and running. 'I'm heading off in a minute', I informed the table, 'time for one more flip?' I suggested. Bogus agreed and suggested we just play the next hand all-in. Well... I hadn't loaded up with much money, and easy-come is easy-go in poker. I was dealt King Three off (a mighty hand to go to war with) and pushed my stack into the middle. My opponent called and turned over Ten Two off - I was ahead for the first time when flipping! Five blanks later I collected my final [almost] double-up to scoop a nice £100+ pot.

An unbelievably lucky run for me - not bad for fifteen minutes work! My apologies (of course) go to Bogus - who is a total legend and unrelenting to play poker against.

I'd rather be lucky than good

Vernon Louis 'Lefty' Gomez

What am I?

Guest Article by Carl "The Dean" Sampson

Some people ask me what the hell am I supposed to be? Am I a poker player, sports bettor, writer or what…….just what in hell are you? Well it is true that I do many things but then again that is how I like it because it keeps me sane. My last post discussed grinding and I still haven’t played any poker that I set out to do. Think I may need to re-read Dusty Schmidt’s book again Treat your poker like a business which is a book that I have read numerous times and I advise anyone to read.

I spent Christmas being ill although that meant that no one came to see me because they didn’t want to catch anything. End result was that I had a pretty miserable Christmas and ended up whiling away the hours on the exchanges while the missus visited friends and family. Still, I am not complaining as I won a few quid but it kind of left me feeling a bit flat going into January.

I have worked very closely with betting firms, odds compilers and professional punters down the years and so I have built up a huge amount of knowledge about all things gambling. Most of it is crap mind you and useless but it also means that I am probably the country’s worst gambling anorak. I try not to be a boring sod in other peoples company and never speak about gambling to anyone…….if you do then half of them see you as low life anyway and don’t understand.

Next week will see me back on the virtual felt (promise) and so I may have a few results to report back although I don’t find anything remotely exciting about quoting cash game results. Is it any wonder why they don’t get televised to any great level unless they are high stakes? Except for Sky Poker who do show their cash games regularly and I frequently switch between Sky Sports News, At The Races and Master Cash on Sky Poker during the day when I am stuck with some downtime………what a boring life I lead.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson plays poker at www.pokerstars.co.uk  

A Tough Way to Make an Easy Living

Guest Article by Carl 'The Dean' Sampson

Just like to say that I will be placing a few guest blogs on Leon’s site this year and so I hope that a few of you will be happy to read some of my dubious ramblings about all things poker. First off, I am trying desperately to get back to being some kind of poker player again on a semi-permanent basis. I was listening to an interview from Neil Channing the other day and he said that he would be grinding 60 hour weeks again down at the Vic.

All I can say is WOW……just how do people put that many hours in? Well I know the answer to my question because I used to do it once but many moons ago. It just needs motivation and a large dose of discipline which is sadly something that I have been missing over the past year. I stopped trying to kid myself that I could hack it in high-stakes levels a couple of years ago and that multi-tabling levels like NL100 and even NL50 would be my thing.

But I suppose a little of me died with it when I realised that this was all I was ever going to be based on how much time I could devote to playing poker. You simply cannot compete against players who eat, sleep and breathe the middle limits 24/7 and I have better things to do with my life than grind for hour after hour and spend heaven knows how many hours watching for value to appear. But grinding is an acquired skill and condition almost like building muscle and I have become very flabby this past year.

I played an eight hour session last week and it near wasted me the following day as all I felt like doing was watching At the Races. I often envy the tournament players who seem to live much more glamorous poker lives even if very few are +EV. But when a 3-4 hour session feels like mega-grinding to me these days then I know that I am going to have problems building that back up to a 40 hour week. But anyway…….hope you will tune in to listen to a few more whinges from me in future.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson plays poker at www.pokerstars.co.uk

Syndicate Serendipity

Last Tuesday, I capped my recent run of decent poker results, with my best ever poker win! It doesn't seem a long time since I was bemoaning my poker performances with characteristic depression, but I've gone all the way from thinking I was playing badly, to thinking I was playing well but not getting the results I deserved, to getting some decent results and feeling vindicated, until now when I feel that I've probably over-achieved in the last couple of weeks.

As I've probably [!] mentioned in my previous posts, I've had a few decent results recently, playing cash games with The Hendon Mob, and some of the regulars from The Hendon Mob Forum. So feeling flush with a bit of extra cash in my bankroll, I decided to enter a Syndicate to send a player to The Fox Poker Club leg of the Genting Poker Series [GPS]. The structure was straightforward - ten of us would play a Single Table Tournament, with the winner going on to represent the syndicate in the £430 Main Event in Leg 2 of the GPS in London. Everyone involved would have a stake in the tournament, from 35% for the winner down to 4% for those knocked out first.

I'll be completely honest, and state right now that I didn't give myself much of a chance on this table. It was tough competition from some of the regular contributors to The Hendon Mob Forum - players that are regularly  involved in tournaments beyond anything I play in. But, as they say, 'you've got to be in it to win it', and the opportunity to play for a seat in one of the GPS Main Events was too good to pass over.

On the night of the tournament, after some mental preparation (which mostly involved shadow boxing in front of the bathroom mirror), and a strict (but seasonal) diet of pancakes and beer it all began...

The first hand I was involved in, that went to showdown, didn't necessarily seem to bode well:-

Chopping the pot, playing the board, with pocket nines against pocket sixes! On the other hand, few chips were invested, and no stupid errors were made.

A little further in to the tournament, with ten players still remaining, I got the first indication that things might be running my way that evening:-

From a dominated position pre-flop and hitting a dangerous top pair, I caught a couple of beautiful runners on the turn and river to snatch the pot from under my opponents nose!

Things weren't running only my way though - I also got caught in a similar spot myself, when my opponent snagged both a straight and a flush on the river:-

Both these hands, were checked on the turn, allowing draws to develop, which perhaps indicated a commitment to disciplined pot control, or maybe indicated a cautious approach to the game.

I certainly felt cautious, but managed to maintain a fairly even stack as play developed. Ten players remained in the game until this hand - a double elimination!

Over the next half hour, I picked up some chips from hands that didn't play to showdown (ideal), and edged my way into first place. My confidence was growing. The next hand I got involved in, was played badly, but again seemed to indicate that the wind was in my sails:-

Pocket Tens are very nice, but probably were a hand that should have been discarded to the 3-bet pre-flop. I hesitated, not wanting to let my hand go, and eventually settled on making a call out of position. Catching a set on the flop was beautiful - I'd now bungled my way to a significant advantage over the rest of the field; but it was also a warning to settle myself.

I took the warning to heart, and played more steadily, maintain a fairly even stack of around 16K chips, as the blinds rose to 50/200/400, and the field was reduced to four players with reasonably even stacks.

The next big hand I was involved in was another lucky escape for me - although (this time) not one I feel was played badly:-

Picking up a reasonable hand on the button, I made a small raise and was called by the big blind. The big blind flopped a straight, and I flopped a straight-draw and a flush-draw. I made a small stab at the pot, and was check-raised by the big blind - I didn't want to let the hand go, so I pushed the rest of the chips in and saw I was behind. Yet again I got lucky, making the nut flush on the turn! We were now down to three players, and I'd crept a step ahead of the other two.

It wasn't all plain sailing for me - I took a knock back with this next hand, but fortunately I had plenty of chips to spare at that point:-

However, as play continued - thmfstowjon gradually picked up more and more chips, and levelled the playing field... finally I picked up a decent hand, and my other opponent (the short stack) played into me:-

My hand held up, and Jon and I were heads-up for the game! I had a small advantage at that point, but nothing to write home about. For about fifty more hands, play went back and forth. I gradually moved ahead and built a decent lead on my opponent. Picking up a pocket pair heads-up and facing a raise, I committed my chips:-

It didn't work out well for me - Jon made a full house by the river, and things were suddenly much more even than they had been.

Two hands later, and I picked up King-high on the big blind - calling a small raise pre-flop, I caught the King on the flop:-

I'd had more than my fair share of luck throughout the game, and managed a most-unlikely victory! I'll be going to London to play the Genting Poker Series Main Event in March, hoping to make a decent score on behalf of the syndicate 

Happy Valentine's Day

It all started with a bag of sugared jelly hearts... the first gift from my girlfriend on Valentine's day - but it was later on in the day when she showed me that she really loved me - when I broached the sensitive issue of the Valentine's Day Triple-Stacked Hendon Mob League game.

I'd softened her up with flowers, champagne and earrings; then cooked her one of her favourite pasta dishes... but it was still with some trepidation that I opened the discussion:

"There's something I need to mention about tonight, darling."

"Oh", she replied ominously, "what's that?"

"You know it's Tuesday, and I've got my league match tonight"

"Oh, that", she said, "I knew you'd be playing your league game", which could be interpreted in a number of ways!

"You don't mind, do you darling? I'll probably be out before that first break anyway", which is certainly a reasonable statement based in recent results.

"I don't mind that at all", she finished, almost miraculously, "enjoy your game"!

Anyone who read my last blog update may have picked up on a dip in my tournament poker confidence [!] So I thought I would approach last nights game from a novel perspective - betting decent hands in decent spots, and folding if I thought I was behind! Not my usual game, and not [really] even a winning game, considering the frequency of decent hands in hold 'em poker. Still it was a deep-stacked, full ring, tournament, so I would have plenty of time to pick my moments.

If poker was really that simple, I'd be a winning professional poker player... unfortunately, so would everyone else, which is why poker isn't as simple as that... but fortunately for me, things got off to a nice steady start. In the first session, I had a couple of decent hands - nothing premium, but a couple of Ace Broadway combinations and a couple of medium pairs. I'd managed to accrue a few chips and was slightly above average going into the first break (so much for my earlier assurance to my GF!)

I played pretty much the same game during the second session, and had similar steady results. Closing in on the second break, I had a lucky escape - picking up Ace Ten suited in position, I saw a raise followed by a re-raise. The third bet enabled me to let go of my hand, the rest of their money went in pre-flop, andthe hands were pair of Jacks, and Ace King suited - thank you position! A few hands later, with the blinds at 25 / 125 / 250, I got my best hand of the evening so far - Ace King. Following a 750 raise in front of me, I 3-bet to 1,750, and my opponent shoved the rest of their stack to make it 5,525 total. With just over 13k behind at the start of the hand, this was an ideal shove to call with Ace King, so I got it in and was pleased to see Ace Queen suited. A Ten and a Jack on the flop made the turn and river slightly sweatier [!], but my hand held up, and I won a decent chunk of chips, going into the second break in second place.

During the third session, the field started to thin considerably, and I managed to keep picking-up chips steadily. As the third break approached, there were twelve players left on two tables. The blinds had increased to 120 / 600 / 1,200 and play had become very cautious. No-one wanted to miss out on the final table, obviously; but nobody wanted to pay those blinds uncontested, when the table was six-handed. Somehow, torturously, I made the third break. The girlfriend and I were in bed at this point, and she even commented on a couple of hands - mostly to say "how could you fold that?!"

The fourth session kicked off, and before long we were down to the final table. I felt really pleased with my performance, and then the suck-out happened. Everyone needs to suck-out in a tournament sometimes - I was surprised I'd managed to make it to the final table without already doing so. To be fair to me, I picked up my best hand of the evening, and I wasn't all-in on the hand - even though I would have been crippled if I'd lost.

Suck-out (sorry)!

Obviously the suck-out happened on the river - as, almost inevitably, it does. It's hard to describe the mix of feelings when the Queen appeared on the river. Sympathy, ELATION, and guilt; sat in bed with a lap-top, and a ridiculous grin on my face. It's important (but not always easy) for me to remember these moments when I'm on the receiving end of this shit. I'd been feeling sorry for myself (poker-wise), but it only takes one hand like this to change that all-the-way around to feeling like I was the luckiest guy in the world. My apologies go to TarquinFtang out there, but I needed this one; and (bloody-hell bolderick) I only gone and got it!

It was quite a final table to sit at - with Joe Beevers and Ross Boatman from the Hendon Mob; along with Hackett, one of the forum regulars that has generously supported my poker playing (always showing more confidence in me than I do in myself!)

Mostly by keeping myself out of the firing line, I made it all the way to heads-up against Hackett, but that was as far as I made it. My first league win still eludes me, but with renewed confidence, I feel like it could be just around the corner. My sincere congratulations to Hackett for a well-deserved win. I was really, really pleased myself with the $115 and 25 league points for second place.