In the words of Stan Hibbert, "I'm here all week"!

I'm getting quite poor at updating this. I kinda feel its not worth while for some reason. I think generaly blogs are never going to get coverage in comparisson with say a thread on boards. I dont mind updating it when I have an interesting tale to tell but at the moment its all a bit "meh" as Gordon would say. Mellor says its good karma if I write a blog entry so you can guess the reason why I'm writing here today. If it works well, in the words of Stan Hibbert, "I'm here all week"!

Poker has been good and bad over the Christmas period although mainly of the latter column. It can be such a tough game when all is not going as planned. The last week or so has been a stong case of this where it seems I just cant put a winning session in online. Today was the first day that it actually got to me emotionally though. I've dropped down to 1/2 from 2/4 and I did feel I was getting back a bit of form. I played for about three hours and my graph was a bit of a strong, sustained gallop folowed by a sudden crash in the closing yards. I really needed that winning session for my confidence but alas it wasnt to be. I'm going to keep plugging away at 1/2 until I get some money back. I've had plenty of bad beats in the last 10 days and they can only rock you as a player. Thats why I think its important to drop down as soon as possible when you are losing more than you should. Something I hope to put into practise more in the new year.

Speaking of the NY, I havent taken part in any of the resolutions/aspirations thread that have been so popular lately on boards. I planned on writing one in here but to be honest I'm not sure what I should be aiming for. I would like to progress both as a player and in levels online next year. Obviously I'd like to make similar strides to those I've made in 2007 but that is somewhat impossible considering the progress I made in almost every area of my game last year.

I believe that online is firmly where its at for a poker player and beating 6-max cash online at 1/2 or higher is vital for me personally. Live, I'm not so wrapped up in. I would however like to play one decent tourney a month just to keep my hand (and especially my big head) in. Live cash is something I feel even more indifferent about thanks to the crazy hours that Peter Maughan and the likes put in. I'd like to be at least matching them if I was going to do it and I think I probably am a bit off that standard.

The other goal I have for this year is to get involved more in the poker media. Updating, blogging and articles are all things I enjoy and putting myself out there in this area of work would be something I'd love to do more of in 2008. I'm reporting for pokernews.com this weekend with Nicky O' D in Galway and I'm really looking forward to it. It will almost be a case of "I'm here all weekend" Also cardplayer should be printing an article of mine real soon which is a nice bonus. I've only ever made the mnagazine once so heres to hoping I at least double that figure this year.

Thats pretty much it for the moment. Thank you for reading the most "me" entry to date. I have found it quite dull for the most part as I am physically incapable of talking about myself as much as I try!

Happy 2008 and good luck at the tables (unless you are playing on the same one as me in which case I wish you lots of bad luck-LOL)

All I want for Christmas is fooooood baby!

The end of the year is getting closer, there's no doubt about it. I mean it's the 13th December after all, so I think it's not ridiculous to suggest it. In fact I would go as far as say we are within touching distance of the end of the year. At least in comparison to the 13th March we are.

Poker has been going well for me lately (touching some wood here). I came 2nd in the aforementioned tournament of my last blog entry, the €300 end of month game in the Jackpot. It was an intriguing affair getting to play with Norwich Fan Robert, Halibut2, and of course Roy the boy. It's fantastic to have him on the Dublin scene more as he's such a cool character. I believe he's as good a poker player you as will find in this country and he has a top personality to boot. More importantly though for the boy, it seems the curtains have been drawn on operation Ben and Jerry's overkill once and for all. I must get some tips. You see I'm no stranger to this eating lark myself!

The tourney itself took me down memory lane a bit. Having gone down the route of pub games and onto the Merrion Freerolls and other such cheap casino tourneys, there has been a lot of faces I've met and seen since then. Many I got to know and many I didn't. But a lot of them I have lost contact with or haven't seen. One player got to know at this stage was Donal O Connor.

At the time I thought of him as a top tournament player. One of the first tournaments I played in, he was there, giving me a bit of needle. It was great to play with him again last Friday as we've had almost identical transitions through poker. How apt it was that me and Donal would end up heads-up for the tournament come the end of the night. It was like the freerolls of old all over again. My opinion of him hasn't changed since the very first time we played. I think he's a top player and one of the best up and coming players we have in this country. Let hope he can continue the transition to become one of the most feared players period in years to come.

Elsewhere in Irish poker it appears everyone has gone to Prague (although many didn't appear on the entry list for their ME???). All the jackpot 2/5 players seem to have gone anyway. I went in last night for a game and all I got was a meal. Don't get me wrong, the pasta was worth the trip. Also it put to bed an old myth. "There's no such thing as a free lunch".

Although I suppose it wasn't exactly lunch either at 9.30pm. Damn. Thought I was on to something there. Congrats to Nicky Power on another good performance of those who did play the ME. No cash but the performance is what counts and he's showed he can mix it with the big boys for long periods of these tournaments.

Not much else to report as of yet. I may drop this blog a line over the weekend.

Until then here's an Xmas vid to get ye in the spirit

I am not McLovin!

One thing which I have yet to touch on in this blog is a subject which annoys me! I've been trying to sweep this under the carpet for over a few months now but just like a bad joke it keeps resurfacing. I do not look like McLovin from Superbad, nor have I ever looked like him at any stage in my illustrious. When I saw the film with a friend some time ago now, he immediately pointed it out. At the time, I fobbed it off quick-smart as being nonsense and it stayed that way 'till I played Waterford. I believe it was Mike Lacey who began spreading these stupid rumours (lets be frank I don't look like him) to updates site blondepoker.com and now everybody is bloody calling me it! It is a myth that everyone wants to believe but just isn't true, kinda like Peter Maughan owning more than two hoodies.

Speaking of hoodies a new thread started on boards today by robdcu seeking a "paddypower, boylesports or poker stars hoodie". A refreshing post by the newbie boardster who clearly doesn't jump about when it comes to pullovers. He knows what he wants and he wants it now. Me wonders weather he'd "take" a Green Joker or Ladbrokes hoodie. Anyway the whole thread brought me back to a bizarre incident that happened in the Sporting Emporium last summer. It was so weird I decided to write an article about the incident on poker Ireland. Check it out its quite a bizarre story.

Elsewhere it appears my blog is nominated for poker blog of the year on boards. I'm delighted people are at least reading my blog let alone that they like it! Thank you indeed for the nice comments, it keeps me motivated to keep up the writing that's for sure. As regards the award I think its gonna be very tough as players like Big City Banker and Nicky Power get a lot of hits and are very popular guys indeed. Then you have guys like rounders and el stuntman who have been writing excellent stuff and of course the ever-controversial trippie's blog. It all makes for a wide-open contest.

No crackers this Christmas especially for Norwich Fan Rob...

So its Monday eve now and I'm just getting settled again after my trip west. Seems to take a few days to get this jet lag lark out of your system. I suppose it didn't help landing at 8.30am on Friday. It was a great trip though, a lot of people hate Vegas with its fakeness and in most cases the blistering summer heat but I didn't find it that way. Namely cause it was November and not July but also cause I was prepared for the money monster American attitude of big business casinos. The town will never be genuine, if you understand that you will appreciate it more for what it is. Know that you'll be tipping the taxi driver, cocktail waitress', concierge, maids, tour guides and lollipop lady before you go instead of grunting when you see them standing there with palm outstretched. People are working for tips, its as simple as that so tip them and get over it.

So December is all about the holiday season (gotta get this yankness outta me). Christmas only comes round once a year but that's still one time more than the Paddy Power Christmas cracker in the Sporting Emporium. Its a tragedy they aren't hosting it this year as I would have got to play it for once! I remember thinking about it as early as June as one for my poker calender. It was one of the only (if not the only) added money tournament of the year outside the Irish Open another Powers event.

Elsewhere established poker pro and tournament hotshot Rob Taylor is in lukewarm water having put a premium on his EPT Prague shares. With traveling expenses for a week and his undoubted above average expectation I think a €500 share for €600 is a very fair price. Others disagree but I'm fully behind Rob on this one, best of luck in Prague.

Speaking of Prague, Mike Lacey got my hopes up in Waterford recently when he told me I could possibly be going to the Czech capital for the EPT. I was very quick to inform him that ladbrokes were not sponsoring me this year and that I'd be delighted for greenjokerpoker.com to buy me in and..... What you mean blogging? It was in fact doing some reporting for poker news that he was on about. Flattering none the less! Alas it wasn't to be however as the more experienced Nicky O' D got the gig. Hopefully my day will come...

So not much else to report only that in general I'm running goot at the moment and plan on playing the 2/5 game tomorrow night and then the 300 freeze out in the jackpot on Friday eve. All going well then its off to Shelbourne on Saturday for the semis in the Comerford Cakes National Puppy Stakes (has a ring to it doesn't it?) for some mindless gambling. Anyone interested in heading along for a night at the dogs feel free to give me a shout.

Till next time...

It's been a busy old time lately..

It seems like quite a while since I've posted here. I've had a hectic two weeks which kicked off in Waterford and then off to the gamblers Paradise that is Las Vegas, Nevada. I'm not sure where to start. Perhaps at the beginning methinks sure 'tis the best place to start.

Waterford was a good weekend for me. I was quietly confident going into it but still felt I played below bar. I'm finding it very difficult to get motoring at the crucial stage in tournaments. I had a decent chip-lead on my opening table at one stage and didn't use it effectively. There was a lot of poor players opening pots and winning them uncontested which is bread and butter stuff I wasn't doing not to mention taking theses poor players on with 4 bets etc. I love playing post flop and should have been more than eager to get into pots but alas lacked the courage once again. I put it down to lack of table practice and overall sharpness. I want to play consistent regular poker online and live, otherwise I'm out of sync. I played Waterford out of practise and it cost me at the crucial stages I reckon.

Las Vegas was a blast. I played poker most mornings in the 2/5 game in the Bellagio. I found the game relatively straight forward with a few working pros who made no secret of what they were doing which was a nice heads-up for me. Saying that the "pros" were very one dimensional who just played extremely tight and then somehow got paid off when they had a hand after 16 orbits of folding. Overall the standard was my fave, loose passive. When I bet they called, When I checked they did too, its nice for a poker player when YOU set the tempo and I did just that. The week was profitable which is all I can ask for.

As many of you know I like to gamble too at times and my trip to Vegas was unsurprisingly no exception. I played a lot of slots and even more craps. I'm under no illusions about the gambling nature of these games but its sure is fun testing lady luck. I went on a small sick-run on the craps table which netted me about $1200 but gambling being gambling the casino had it back before long. The house always wins and what a fine house they've built too.

I did the helicopter thingy to the grand canyon which was obviously a must-do but I was largely uninspired. Perhaps my expectations were too high but it seemed all too anti-climatic. Its just a load of big red rocks. What I did enjoy however were the fabulous shows. KA at the MGM is quality but the Beatles show at the Mirage was tops. I'm a Beatles fan which probably helps but I think even the faintest of fans would appreciate the show. Very impressive all together.

Anyway there plenty more that happened but I'll save it for now.

More laters.

Waterford festival preview....

So I'm off to Waterford for the four day festival. It will be my first time playing the festival, but I heard many good reports from last year's event. With the weekend starting here it will be a poker Marathon of sorts for me having never really played consistently for four days in a row, which I hope to do this weekend.

With regards my expectations this weekend, I am quietly confident I have to say. I'm gonna use the satellite as a chance to acclimatise with the place and get to scope out the local players. I've played in Waterford before for Neil's team event and I remember the play being quite different than the equivalent tournaments in say the Emporium. Playing on the Thurs is also beneficial as it means I wont have to be rushing about the place on Friday trying to get down and check in and eat and everything. That will be all done by the time the ME starts which is nice. The ME event looks like a superb tournament, probably the best I've ever played in. I think any proper poker player would be excited about playing such a fab tourney. One glance at the entry sheet confirms this with players like Roy Brindley, Dave Colclough and Irish Open winner Marty Smyth all in attendance. With a €500 entry fee the tournament would have to be extra special for players like these to enter. Kudos to Neil Kelly.

I've had some bets for interest on the event. The first being the already mentioned Irish Open winner Marty Smyth @ 80/1. He has all the credentials you would want going into this tournament and I cannot see why there is a dozen or so players ahead of him in the betting. The other three were Jen Mason(100/1), Oz Osbourne(150/1) and some fella with a weird name(225/1). I must write it down in case he does well and I don't realise!. Its mainly for fun and I don't really expect to be collecting, merely contributing to Paddy Power PLC once again.

That's my lot for today, report to follow on Sunday. I wish everyone playing over the weekend (especially the raiding Dublin contingent-lol) the very best and lets hope there's a worthy winner. A final thanks to Nicky O' Donnell and Marc McDonnell who've shown their faith in me with their pockets by taking the 225/1 about me winning on Sunday. I'll try my very best lads and I hope you're right!!

Over and out.

What to do, what to do??

Haven't been playing much poker at all lately due to many things including a family wedding last weekend and lots of cramming in college. From what I've heard Jayminator has been continuing his impressive form with another nice result in the Fitz at the weekend. Ollie Boyce also did well in what was a nice warm-up for the Waterford game next weekend. Speaking of the city down south I cannot wait for next weekend. I reckon it'll be as big a weekend in Irish poker as we've seen all year with the notable exception of the Irish open. The craic and atmo (very trendy blog speak-excuse me) is what makes poker great rather than sheer money and greed. Like a certain event seemed to be in Dublin recently.

I'm 21 years old tomorrow. Although with my bros wedding over the weekend and other things I haven't even realised it creeping up. At this point I'd like to brag about the fact that I've been a member of the Sporting Emporium for the last two years without actually being 21. It's been such a secret for so long I was afraid to say it to anyone in case they took me off the members list! Now they cant do anything. Ha! I'm not sure what to do for my birthday though. 21 is supposed to be significant but I certainly haven't treated it accordingly. Tues is a pretty irrelevant day too so I don't wanna annoy people into doing something on such a dull day but then again I wont be around this weekend to celebrate. I dunno really. Might just buy a birthday cake and smash my head through it.

Or maybe I'll ask Gordon what I should do.

Or maybe (for my safety) not

If at first you don't succeed try and find more French

A lot of people learn how to play poker in college. I however did not. I never even played there except the odd crap shoot tourney. Today was different. I played a one table 6 max STT for $100 because I "hacked" through the system. At least that's what the geeks would say. I'm not a geek. Or a nerd for that matter. Anyone know what the difference is?

I wasn't alone in this mission though. I had Marc (AKJQ10) with me for moral and lunatic aggressive support. We made a good team. A mixture of hyper aggression and uber-passiveness will always win out in the long run. Everyone knows that. I cant remember who was which? Today was not our day though as we ran horribly. There was one french fella who we had all in three times as huge favs and got undone each and every time. (I will eventully get the french that keep outdrawing me). To make it worse, the Spanish fella who didn't play a hand folded his way into 2nd position. I hate the way people do that in STT's. Ah well its the play that counts and our play today was in fact salubrious.

I was in the Jackpot last night taking my third "shot" at the 2/5 game. It was my second losing night of the three but overall I'm enjoying the experience. It makes for a change from playing drunks with €50 that's for sure. I also got a free dinner with Conor Doyle courtasy of the jackpot, kudos indeed.

There was one incredibly funny incident a la the Gordon stunt involving gholimoli and Conor Doyle. With four clubs and a paired board, Eshan called Conor's river bet with the Ac only for Conor to announce "full house". The jovial smile on Conor's face went unnoticed by gholimoli who was too busy trying to muck his cards! The penny dropped for Conor who realised the joke had been lost on his opponent in what had turned out to be one of the greatest potential angle-shots ever seen! Conor quickly blocked him in his now infamous ways and very sportingly awarded him the pot. Will gholimoli ever learn!?

I'm planning my trip to Waterford next week. I'm not sure what to bring other than a packed lunch or two. How big do the games play down there I wonder. The 1/2 games are getting ridiculous lately in Dublin with stacks of 300 big blinds deep now becoming common theme in live play. I'll play the main event for sure and probably the satellite the previous night. After that, I just don't know!

Suggestions welcome.

Heads-up, Gordon and Annette......

So the heads-up league never really took off did it? I'm not sure why. The idea was good, the players were of a decent standard and everybody paid their entry before the deadline. We are now eight weeks into it and the average games played per player is around three. This is ridiculous. Why didn't everybody just play their games? I mean we had 8 weeks to play 8 games yet still little progress. Mr Pillowtalk just backed out completely. What is so unimportant about this competition that means people can write off $250 and not even play for the pride and glory that this league is all about? I've been quite bad at getting my games played too but I blame it on the sheer lack of enthusiasm as a whole inside and outside the league. To this day, some 75 days since the league started I could not tell you any results from games other than my own. Or indeed any stories, hands or general hype. I mean some of these games should be getting 100 rail birds, yet not even the participants seem interested. I dunno.

The aftermath of the Gordon affair is still simmering over the poker scene it appears, with story after story resurfacing of questionable etiquette with it. It's quite a delicate issue but I'm with the vast majority who do not support this messing. Just play your cards the right and proper way if you consider yourself a poker player. Otherwise be a hustler and go play ping-pong with Amarillo Slim and a bottle of coke (no cross-reference-puns relating to characters involved intended). I gave up on the idea of the Q&A with Gordon as to be honest I'm bored already and would be more interested in questioning "Bad Beat Joe" about misfortune at the poker table.

Amazingly, Annette Obrestad did not win the EPT despite a commanding chip lead in Dublin yesterday afternoon. This setback is a rarity to the recently turned 19 Norwegian pro and proves that she is in fact human after all. Reuben Peters of the USA (I hear they're good at poker there) beat Annette in what was quite a turn up for the book(ie)s. I still think she will develop to be the best poker player that ever lived as discussed in my newest poker-Ireland piece.

I wonder what she makes of angle shooting?

Over and out.

The Gordon/Gholimoli affair

Boards went into overdrive yesterday morning when a very dramatic thread was started by Gholimoli with the heading being "Warning: all live Irish poker players must read this". Within this thread Gholimoli made the point that he was very close to being "cheated" out of a €3,000 euro pot on one of the cash tables at the EPT in the RDS.

The other player involved in the hand was Gordon whos user name is "trippie" on boards. This is roughly what happened in the hand. Please excuse any errors as this is relayed completely through memory. Basically Gordon (when asked) deliberately announced the wrong hand while the turn and river cards were being dealt and both players were practically all-in less €400. In this case, Gordon announced "straight", when in actual fact he only had bottom two pair. By announcing the wrong hand, he hoped his opponent would muck his hand which Gordon knew full well was ahead. Gordon maintains this is standard live play or "angle shooting" and apparently is to be expected in live cash games.

Following a ruling, gholimoli was allowed turn over his hand. His hand had been folded, face down and over the line but according to the table of players, was nowhere near the other cards ie the muck. Gordon argued that the winning hand of KK775 was in fact dead and that the pot was his. Gholimoli was awarded the pot.

The thread sparked outrage amongst the poker community with every tom dick and anonymous man giving their 2c. The thread was left open for Gordon to respond and closed immediately afterwards. Gordon's response (I believe) was vague and dubious as he harped on his reputation being damaged. I was disappointed with his response and feel he could have answered the allegations better. I would like to see him clear the air somewhat with an open and frank apology which people could read for themselves.

At this point I propose a Q&A session with Gordon this afternoon on this blog to answer some of the burning questions which were left behind.

Feel free to post a question for Gordon here:

The sickos day out....

Last night was the final of the Jackpot cash league. With 66 qualified, the numbers were down slightly on last time. I'm just glad there wasn't 666 runners as it was worrying enough with the clocks going back, the monsoon rain and the "cursed" trophy. (Rest assured the latter would come into play later on in the night.)

All the regular faces were there for a night's sickness including a very notable appearance by a certain Lucky Lloyd. Although not playing in the tournament, Lloyd made his presence felt with an entrance even Stone Cold Steve Austin would be proud of. Knocking a glass or two en route to the registration desk, O' Farrell was in the house. It was nice to catch him in good spirits and I for one would like to see him on the tables more regularly.

The show last night was however all about the jackpot sickos of the last 3 months. I was one of the earliest casualties as I tried a four man squeeze with pocket fours in the hold'em round. (hey I taught it was fate!). It got through three players but Dermot made a good call with 55 on the end. I should have sensed something was up as I was the third man employed to mind the trophy and it was only level three after all! The previous victim of the post was a certain Big City Banker. An untimely bluff into a temporary card-rack did the damage. The table did get a classic Hayes one-liner though as he was asked if he "had any outs". Noel replied that his only out was "the door" at this point. Well said sir!

Emporium regular but jackpot visitor for the evening Mick Stephens was another early casualty much to my delight as I got to play cash with him! He's so pleasant and funny to have at a table I just wish he'd play with us sickos (I'm aware it's the third time I've used this word to describe the jackpot regulars but I just think its so apt) more. He gave the "ah jaysus are you all in too-I call-cause I've got the nuts" merchant some funny looks that had me in stitches! In fairness to Mick, he seems to get little luck in running in Montague Street. He had some horrid luck last night while I was there but I'm sure he's had worse days, hopefully it improved after I left.

Gordon, Sammy and Keith Rooney were towards the front of the chip-counts going into the final, but as so often can happen, none of them brought home the trophy. I often pity players in that scenario. Being a chip leader going into the events brings a lot of undue pressure and expectations. Gordon I felt was a victim of this. He stated in his blog that a final table finish was compulsory, this I believe was a mistake. He is however not the first man to hit this wall I hasten to add. Marc suffered a similar faith last time around, as did Alan Sexton in the JP final. He should have just played the tournament with no expectations and just concentrated on playing quality poker. Speaking of Marc McDonnell, he certainly had his head in gear and his mind on the game. In stark contrast to the previous cash league final, he came through the field rather than slipped behind them. He's in scintillating form at present having came a cruel 3rd in the Emporium EPT qualifier, he followed it up with a 7th place finish last night for his second €1,000 plus payday this week. The other big winners on the night were Conor Broomfield, Sam Ali, Dermot, Mick and Paddy O Neill who won it.

That's your lot for today, my online poker screen is getting fed up beeping at me!

The Jackpot IS the nuts!

Ya know what, the jackpot is still my favorite place to play cards. The people, the staff, the atmosphere and inevitably the poker is all top notch. Its the most welcoming place around I believe and the last couple of nights plays example to that. Friday night was great craic for instance. Having familiar faces around is really tops when it comes to a night's poker. I'm getting on with Gordon like a house on fire (no pun intended) at the minute and long may it continue. Keith Rooney also deserves a notable mention as I reckon he exemplifies all that's cool about the Jackers. He should become their P.R. manager!

I just don't get that in the emporium. The SE can appear cold and a little too business-like at times. I seem to be out of the loop anytime I play there and this is primarily the reason why I haven't been frequenting it much. It seems to lack banter, randomness and a sense of reality lately. Theres a possibility I could just be playing there on bad nights I suppose.

Saturday I played the JP free roll which quite frankly was a mistake on my part. Firstly I had planned on playing in Luke's for their quality tourney at 6pm. Now with JP's game starting at 1pm I should have foreseen the possible over-lapping but foolishly I didn't. Come 4pm I'm beginning to get anxious about getting out. I've a below average stack, I'm not enjoying the game and I'm going to miss the game that I intended on playing all along. Que attempted chip dumping. Conor Broomfield (who I know quite well from the jackpot) I taught could do with a top up as I'm forever pissing the poor lad off. Que bad beat for Conor, followed by some swearing at me. I'm not sure whether he hates me or if he just takes bad beats really badly but either way I always seem to be on the other end of his verbal. I got my commupons with an exit which perfectly coincided with getting knocked out reasonably near the bubble and Luke's tourneys shuffled up and dealt.

I played the big game in the Jackpot on Sunday. Some stacks of 2k plus to welcome you was kind of intimidating but I don't mind. I just play my game and my stack and let the others worry about theirs. Peter Maughan (who is an absolute gent for buying me dinner and isn't such a bad guy anyway!) was in flying form both on a and off the felt. I also met a much more somber and philosophical Conor Broomfield. All three of us seemed to have nice winning sessions with Peter inevitably taking the biscuit (I suppose he did buy dinner). I didn't recognise any of the others, probably cause they play bigger games than me, but one lad clad with ipod, sunglasses and any other poker stereotypical paraphernalia had a huge stack of Blacks/Greens. It makes a change from the old red/blues anyway.

Not much else to report by and large it was an enjoyable and successful weekend for me I'm glad to report (although I did lose a bit online today-but hey its bloody poker, cant win 'em all!). This just leaves me to give out song of the day Today's vid is Oasis singing "Hello". I was kinda singing this in the Jackpot this weekend so its apt! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omiMzQgbA5I




Is it just me or am I in no position to be giving out songs of the day!?!?!?



More gos soon.....

Oh no we don't need another Tony Fenton!!

I'm trying to make amends at the moment. I was going through some sort of a lull last week that I can't quite explain! I just got fed up of the slow and sometimes boring live game. Hopefully I'm over it now, it feels like I am. I wana be good and galvanised for Luke's on Saturday, thats for sure! Its the first proper, decent buy-in freeze out I've played in months.

Ironically enough I got a text yesterday about a 21st celebration, you can pretty much guess what day he's having it! I'm just so fed up missing great tournaments because of these needless parties. Then I have to settle with below par tournament that I'll just play crap in cause I'm not interested. Then I'll come on here and moan about losing interest in poker with the only reason being the €60 pub games I'm playing in working against me. A vicious circle indeed. I'll be playing Luke's this weekend even if it meant missing my own 21st party. (Edit to say-the Saturday of my 21st will probably be the one weekend I won't be expected to appear at a party!)

I've been trying to think of new features for my blog. If theres anything you'd like to see, give me a shout. One I'm going to try out for the next while is s song of the day. Today's is "Temptation" by Heaven 17 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jSODuSo6x8. If you have any requests, let me know!

I'm happy to report I won my latest game of the heads-up championship against Niall "ocallagh" O' Callaghan. A victory is always nice but this was extra special as I've always thought a lot of Niall as a player and I can remember a time when I'd get mullered by him quite handily. That means I'm two wins from three in the competition and very much in with a chance again. I do however think 8 from 11 will be required to win the league. Here's to bagging another six!

I've had a good stint online these past few weeks I'm happy to report. I'm knocking on the door now for having a very adequate bankroll for 2/4. I will continue to play 1/2 until the end of the weekend and will then consider moving up levels next week. If anyone has any advise with moving from 1/2 to 2/4 I would really appreciate it.

That's your lot for today, thanks for reading....

Gary

I'm losing the hunger quite rapidly.....

My hunger for poker is depreciating at an alarming rate. The last three times I've went out to play live (The JP Sunday game, the IPO and some S.E. cash) I've been most unhappy for the duration of my time there. I really can't figure out what is causing this but I think the speed of the game is getting to me. 20 hands an hour just seems so boring. I'm constantly yawning, checking the time, trying to talk to other people, pretty much anything other than concentrating on the poker action.

I had a mammoth battle earlier this week to clear a bonus online which I duly did and made some money to boot. I did however find it a chore putting so many hours each day and the entertainment value is quite low at this stage. I don't know what I need to do to get back the desire I had for the game and to succeed, I just hope its a temporary lull.

I've played a tiny bit today but again have ran into the same problems. I'm not enjoying it and it feels like a chore. Tomorrow I'm doing something different and playing the JP syndicate game for the EPT Dublin. Its a nice tournament and either way I'm guaranteed to get a piece of somebody in the EPT if I don't win it., Hopefully I'll have a bit of banter and bring back the good times (LOL-how naff does that sound) at the red cow tomorrow.

Till next time....

A busy weekend for some, an even busier one for Gordon...

Wow its been quite a hectic weekend. Hectic for me anyway but I suppose it was a cakewalk in relation to Gordon's. I'm sure he'll walk you though his weekend adventures himself but I personally just do not know how he does it. Playing from Friday evening, straight through to Sunday morning just seems like too much. I dunno maybe he's an athlete, I for one cannot comprehend it...

Speaking of Gordon he got off to a cracking start this weekend by taking down the Jackpot monthly game. In true Irish fashion (that I dwelt on in my last blog entry) there was three big tournaments all on this weekend. This clashing is becoming common practise it appears and I sure hope its not deliberate.

The other big game in town was held in the Emporium on Saturday evening. The reliable tournament specialist Ollie Boyce landed the winners prize so congratulations to him. The €200 monthly game is by far my favorite on the Irish scene and I'm pretty annoyed I missed it once again. I remember thinking at the start of this year that I was going to enter all 12 in 2007. So far I've played four and cashed twice. The thing that annoys me about that statement is that I should have played 10. I didn't go away for the summer I just keep clashing my arrangements. Lack of planning I'd like to conquer.

I managed to play at least 3 hours today online which was nice. I'd like to be able to play everyday to be honest even if it was just for an hour. Practise is important in anything and this business of playing for 8 hours and then not logging in again for a week is annoying me greatly. I have the money and I have the time to be playing and it's a damn shame that I'm not taking advantage off this. Anybody else having trouble keeping regular commitment to playing?

Not much more left to report on today. Full I.P.O review tomorrow....

A real treat for you today...

We are within hours of the IPO and I am quite excited (see IPO preview article)! It's going to be a fun day for all us poker players with action aplenty in the RDS from 10am. Betting, poker exhibitions and plenty of pre-tournament chatter is to be had on the most important day in Irish poker. I just hope everything goes smoothly and Stephen can pull off what is already proving to be an historic event for poker in Ireland. Oh and if you see me there, come say
'hello'!

I've done a quick betting preview on the Poker Ireland site, which is available for reading right now. I take a look at the main challengers this weekend and who could land the spoils in a €100,000 mega-tourney. Take a look and critizise my judgement accordingly!

Finally today I have something different for you all. Its a video of me playing a 'bit a the arrers' down in Waterford earlier this year. I don't play darts as the video will suggest but boy was it fun trying! The video is a little like a 'butlins' tape but bare with it it, it becomes increasingly cringe-worthy towards the end. My partner in the game is pro player Adrian Lewis. We are playing doubles against a Waterford local and Dennis Priestly. Enjoy the crapness!

It's getting closer and closer......

Today was my first decent poker session in some time. I played for about 5.5 hours straight this morning at 1/2 and I'm ever so glad I did. I felt I had got into a solid groove which I haven't felt for a while and I played well as a result. I wish I could have more structure to my play.

A more consistant game seems to be a more profitable one for me. Even if I could play for something like 2 hours in the evening 5 nights a week I'd be happy. I just haven't been putting in consistent hours since September and I want that to change. Is anybody else having trouble with this? If you've any advice for me, leave a comment.

The bonus I'm trying to clear is worth $300 and I need joker points fast. I have till the 10th October so it really will be hit or miss. but with a bit of commitment I should be able to do it...

I'm in the process of writing a new article for Stephen's site today. Its based mainly on the betting market for the IPO and my take on the value to be had in both individual and team markets. Check out the site tomorrow for the tipping guide and see if you get a mention!

I have also learned today that the SE €200 monthly, the €100 CHL freeze out and the Jackpot €300 monthly games are on this weekend. I will therefore be missing all of them, some things never change!

I don't need the cheese or the car keys boy I like you just the way you are!!

Just a short update on what's been happening. Today I took a shot at 2/4 which was profitable, up a buy in or so which is nice. Going to continue playing 1/2 though and just take a shot once a week or so as I ain't got a great bankroll for 2/4. I'm fairly happy at 1/2 and seem to like things just the way they are.

Laddies Poker Million on tonight which is always a nice addition to a Tues Night. A buddy of mine Phil Laak (not really-I doubt he'd even remember my face let alone my name) is on, as is Patrik Antonious. Word has it its a good heat so is certainly worth a watch for those struggling with their highlighter pens and TV guides.

I'm really looking forward to the start of the IPO on Saturday. Should be a cracking event by all accounts and I can't remember a time that so many of the regular players that I know will all be in the one room. Whatever the result I'm looking forward to the occasion more than anything else at the moment. Come say "hello" I'd be glad for the chat.

Not much been happening on boards today other than an explosion of new deconstructing threads. Would be pretty frustrating if you're Smurph, Olly or Brianmc as I can't imagine they'll get a good grilling with so many to get through!

Paul Macspower (not his real surname) has started a new blog which im just rreading now and can be found at http://demac-blog.blogspot.com/.

My taste in music is diminishing even more as you can see by the title but hey its a catch lyric!

More blabbing tomorrow.

A pint of Tetley's please...

The daily updates are over I guess. I'm delighted as there's no pressure now to update daily. It seems like an easy thing to do at times but at other times it's just totally unfeasible. I went on my brothers stag this weekend in Madrid so there was no hope of me updating from there as I'm sure you can appreciate! I do like doing it most days and will just update as often as I can from here on in. Thanks to Mellor for the nice words, I'm glad to see people ARE reading it besides myself hehe.

Having been away all weekend I'm not sure whats been happening. Marc text me about his touch in the jackpot cash game on Saturday night. All the same he wasn't as eager to tell me that I wouldn't be on his team for the IPO. I asked him and Mick Stephens a week earlier but both seemed more interested in keeping it on the QT. Not even a response, they just got a team together of "good" players.

Gholimoli won the JP monthly game. A chip leader throughout the day, Eshan pressed his advantage home to score for a €3500 payday. Congratulations to him. Ozpoker, bottom feeder and Norwich Fan Rob were all notable final-tablists in what was hailed as another "super event" by all on boards. For such a great game its a wonder how they only get 40 runners. Considering the International Poker Open has 700 fully paid Internet registrations and Neil Kelly in Waterford (which isn't convenient for most) has another 400 for his game, It makes little sence.

The last time I played the JP game I must say it was a most unpleasant experience. I was late arriving to the game that I tend to do from time to time and it has never been a problem. Sunday’s game was different. I was assigned to a non-dealer dealt table with a bunch of absolute Muppet's. I've never deliberately wanted to get knocked out of a tournament until this game. I literally couldn't wait to get out of there.

Non-dealer dealt is a nightmare I had forgotten. I know JP was let down by dealers (he's not the only one it appears) but that's not my fault. It makes the games so sloppy and unprofessional. The standard of players seem to be getting worse in the Red Cow with people more interested in swearing at players 3 tables away, slurping pints and generally being repulsive. Also the live match of Chelsea V United reminded me of watching Ros Na Run at the back of Irish class. It was a useless monitor with dreadful sound and just like the Irish soap, difficult to understand.

I have a great deal of respect for JP hence why I wrote the article on the poker-Ireland website but I was not happy with that game at all. The Sunday game really has a "pub game" feel to it. This is fine; i understand the concept of "pub games" more than most. The JP Sunday game however I thought was going to be different. It was going to tackle the casinos and really challenge them for numbers. The €60 entry, the drink trays everywhere, the boisterous crowd and the sometimes lack of a dealer is bad news for JP's "rolls-Royce" game of the week. Maybe I'm only guaranteed one top class game a month now.

It may seem like I'm on the Tetleys today but that's just the way I feel. This is my blog and I'll cry if i want to.

More tomorrow.

Olly was right!

Olly was right. This blogging everyday can be really tough. Its quite hard to commit to anything on a daily basis seven days a week unless you were born doing it, like eating, walking etc. Most days its fine making an entry as I've the free time to do it but this week has been tough. It's becoming a bit of a chore and I'm not sure if I'll be able (or want to) keep it up.

Last night I watched the Poker Million with John Duthie and the rest. I taught it was a reasonably enjoyable episode with some funny hands between Duthie and our own Peter Roche. John Duthie was playing wildly but still backing himself into hands and Roche (now sporting a Phil Laakesque hoodie was the only one taking him on as such. The eventual winner Harry Demitrieu seemed to be gifted first place thanks to big hands at the right time. Overall though an interesting poker show and I will continue to watch the series with interest.

I played for about two hours last night. I was playing 1/2 hold'em just and it went well. Approx $300 up for the night which is always welcome! I always feel I play better in regular short stints such as last night than say not playing all week and then attempting a 5 hour session on a Friday night or something. Last night proved that.

Congratulations today goes to LuckyLucky. One of many Irish poker players with the O' Callaghan's surname in toe, Barry is rocking in Serie A. After his opening round victory over me, he has now defeated Norwich Fan Rob, Valor and is 1-1 with Daithio. A 100% record in these tough games stands him in good stead for outright glory. Wp Barry!

Elsewhere there's not much happening on the Irish scene. Stephen McLean is busy plugging the I.P.O ahead of next weeks big game, check out www.pokerireland.ie.