A Poker Day in the Life of the Cloud (2)

Saturday 28th October

Awake early today. The baby is due today, so without opening my eyes, I listen for any moaning noises from my wife - but no, the baby isn’t coming yet. So downstairs I go, put the laptop on, switch the kettle on, and then try to take advantage of some late night American players.
I have an AA which gets beat by two full houses, and that is the end of my morning play.

Eating lunch - and then my wife suddenly shouts out “Jay!!”. I look round startled, expecting to find a Jay standing behind me, but apparently it’s another boys name she has thought of. This starts an hour of her saying different names and me saying “No“, “No“, “No“, “Nope” and “No No No”.

I risk a Single Table Tournament after lunch (wife assured me she wasn‘t going into labour in the next hour), and manage to win it, recouping my losses from the morning session, and making a little on top - which soon goes when I dip my toe into the water of another cash game - where I was getting great pot odds - but no cards to go along with the pot odds.

Late afternoon, and I make sure I am prepared for the impending labour. The phone is charged, the bags are packed, the car has petrol and it’s facing the right way - and we have some painkillers (not for the wife - I have a minor toothache - so I think that should take priority).

Spend two hours flicking between the X-factor and Strictly Come Dancing, and then jump on the laptop again. Couldn’t risk a Multi Table Tournament, as I don’t think the wife would want to get in a cab to the hospital if I made the final table - so I played another cash game.
Fishy Fish McFish was at my table, and I got AK. The flop was a rainbow K 7 3, so when he went all-in I swiftly followed. Fishy Fish McFish was holding K 3. Half of my stack gone. Got him back five hands later - I go all-in with JJ, which gets called by his 8 9 unsuited. A few hands later Fishy Fish McFish goes out when his 3 8 fails to beat another players A A - and that is when I decide to call it a day. Level for the day.

The Players - Episode Four : The Quiet Man

Your best moment in Poker?
The 3 that stand out are winning Punterslounge trip to WSOP, winning Sporting Odds Champions League which earns me a trip to the Midland Masters at the end of November and finally becoming BPP in Punterslounge.
Your worst moment in Poker?
Not being able to go to Las Vegas for WSOP because it clashed with a family holiday. (ended up receiving a cash sum, but it wasn't the same)
What is your main goal in Poker?
I want to win BIG money and have recently started to play Satelites for some of the bigger buy-in tournaments.
A one line word of advice you’d give to a new player?
Play at a level where you feel you can make the money.
Your favourite hand??
I still get a buzz when I see AA and know I'm ahead with a chance to get some chips.
Favourite Poker site?
I still feel most comfortable on Sporting Odds - there was a time when Sharpe thought I owned the site.
Which TV/Film actor would play you in a movie?
Paul Newman.
Favourite football team, and best moment with that team?
Aberdeen FC - winning European Cup Winner's Cup in 1983 beating Real Madrid in the final.
Favourite film??
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Worst record you have ever bought?
My first one was pretty dodgy, 'Dance with the Devil' by Cozy Powell' around 1974 when I was 11.
You’ve just won the lottery. What’s the first thing you buy for yourself ??
A large house in the country with room for a couple of golf holes for me and the kids to practise on - maybe the wife would start playing then

Poker Perspectives

It was hot. Damn hot. Two hours he’d been going - and his brain was frazzled. The five minute break was a godsend. He shot upstairs, splashed water on his face, ran downstairs and opened up another bottle of Bud. He held the cold bottle against his forehead, and then took a few deep gulps. He felt the cold liquid hit the back of his throat, and his nerves were calmed.
He sat down again – the lights were off, and the only light in the room was the glow of his laptop. The time was counting down, and he braced himself.
There were eleven left, and only the top ten got paid.
He looked at his cards. Three Nine.
“Shit” He folded. Maybe too quickly. He needed the cash, needed the final table.
Ace Four – early position. Another fold.
The blinds were coming round – and he didn’t have enough chips – he had to push.
It was getting desperate.
Ace Ace.
Fantastic. His throat was dry. “How do I play it??”
His mind was made up for him. The first player to act goes all in – he was second to act – a no brainer.
He goes all in too.
The other player turns over Two Seven off-suit. Got him.
Flop – Two Six King.
Turn – Queen.
River - Seven.

He hangs his head. What happened?? Did he really get beat by Two Seven off. He sits there, staring into space. He hates this game. He really hates this game. He slopes upstairs to bed.

- An extract from “The Diary of a Non Punters Lounger” – after playing in the Sporting Odds $1 challenge


Got Two Seven off. Had to play it. Got lucky. "Result!!!!!"

- An extract from “The Diary of a Punters Lounger” – after playing in the Sporting Odds $1 Challenge

A day at the Races

A few pics from the PL Race Day at Worcester

A full write-up here

Around the Lounge

TheQuietMan remains at the top of the PL player rankings, a position he has now held for a total of 15 days. BurnleyJoe and Pistonbroke hold positions two and three.
Interestingly LouSaban holds position twelve and MSaban holds position fifteen, although I'm sure they will both be very gracious about one another's position.

The October Sporting Odds MTT league is now three tournaments down, with one to go. Daftpegasus has a healthy lead at the top, with TheQuietMan and Redfear sitting in second and third. Valiant is sitting in fourth, but having played one less event could find himself moving up with a good result in the last event.

The Titan league series was won in dramatic circumstances when the Riversnotmyfriend snatched the league from MCFC66 by winning the last event, and taking the league by 370 to 365 points. TheQuietMan (why does that name keep popping up) finished the league in third.

Mansion have decided to sponsor the a PL league series starting on the 26th October, with mansion adding $1000 to the overall prize pool. There will be six events on consecutive thursdays. This is the second big sponsorship deal Mansion have been involved in recently, after securing the shirt sponsorship deal with Tottenham Hotspurs.
They now sponsor superstar players who are dominating Europe with their dazzling skill, and they sponsor Tottenham.

Some creditable performances from PL'ers in the Sporting Odds Masters Pro-Am Freeroll from Elmcroft, PocketLady and TheCroc - with TheCroc finishing a fantastic fourth. The event included persuading Tikay to join the Punters Lounge - welcome Tikay!!

The Cloud came third in a $5 STT two weeks ago - which gets my vote as the performance of the month.

The Scariest Person in Poker

With Halloween approaching the scary season is upon us, so it is time to decide who is the scariest person in Poker. Here are the three nominees.

"Eyebrow Man"

The scary guy from Party Poker. Eyebrows are a little too close together in my book. And his eyes are the same colour as his hair - and that thin mouth. All very very scary. Turn your back for a second and there is an axe in your back. But that is not the worst of it. What kind of man wears a red rollneck?

"Imelda"

Full Tilt's very own goddess - the kind of woman you really don't want sitting at your table. She sits down, and tries to seduce any man back to her place - but fortunately no man would agree - as it means certain death. Unless you are a Punters Lounger with 4 pints and a couple of Jack Daniels inside you. "Hiya Babe, you wanna see my pocket pairs."

"The Artist"

Betfred's finest. He doesn't look very scary, but look past that. Firstly he's wearing a beret. It's 2006, no one wears a beret. He'll ask you back to his studio, so he can sketch or photograph you - but look in his dark room, and there's hundreds of pictures of YOU.

The Players - Episode Three : Penelopeys

Your best moment in Poker?
I have two: an online moment and a live moment. Online: When I won my first champions league tourney at SO, a trip to Vegas for 2. That was my biggest win at that point and huge to me! Live: When I played the Betfair Live Final in London, and kept surviving, ending 3rd having a gigantic PL crowd cheering me on... that was AMAZING... never experienced anything like it!!
Your worst moment in Poker?
Same tournament; Champions League the month after. I was HU in the last tourney and had a quite big lead. If I came 1st I was going to win my 2nd Vegas trip, but I froze completely and played like a fool. I had the winning hand at some point, and he had a good hand as well, but I was too scared to go all in and win the tourney. Instead of winning the whole tournament I came 5th and that really haunted me for some time.
What is your main goal in Poker?
My main goal in poker is to qualify for WSOP and get very far in the tourny aswell... mostly because I want to try and play against the big guys, and see how good they really are ;o)
A one line word of advice you’d give to a new player?
Never play for more than you can afford to lose.
Your favourite hand?? (If you want to reveal it!!)
45 of hearts, beautiful hand!! (once won me a giant cash pot!!!)
Favourite poker site?
Sporting Odds
You enter the Big Brother house – who would be your three ideal housemates??
Hmmmm, I am not much into celebrities. I really think I could have a great time with Paul Ross, PocketLady and Valiant. (give us some poker chips, a lot of drinks, a few decks of cards and we'll be just fine )
Which TV/Film actor would play you in a movie?
Hmmm, tough one... a cross between Lisa Simpson and Bart Simpson.
Paul Ross v Penelopeys – heads up. Who wins????
Now... that's a silly question, me of course ...no, seriously... any of us, I know he would play like a maniac, and I am sure I somehow could use that as my advantage!
What is your pornstar name? (Name of first pet followed by mothers maiden name)
BølleDilling
Worst record you have ever bought?
Erm... I don't have any horrible records.
You’ve just won the lottery. What’s the first thing you buy for yourself ??
I would gather a few girlfriends and treat us all to a day with spa, massage, facials and what comes with that.

Bloggers Freeroll

Thursday October 12th.
Betfair Poker.
7.30 PM.
45 Bloggers

The usual freeroll build-up, that included last minute attempts to get in by new members of the forum, blogs set up with no content (not mentioning any names - Carnivore), and a google search of "punters lounge blog poker freeroll password" (which unfortunately for the searcher only found this blog).

The battle started.

Strangely Burnley Joe started the event with a chocolate bar filled with a chewy coconut centre balanced precariously on his head. (I promised myself I wouldn't make the bounty joke - but I had to, just had to.) Although a few minutes into the game, the Cloud took it off his head, and won himself £20 (a good player that Cloud is).

The game continued - there was dismay that Carl was doing so well - there was threatened bra-throwing - and players were going by the wayside.
Paul Ross took out Daft Pegasus on the river, and then Gazblades done the same to Paul Ross.
Cloud lost a load of his chips when he called an all-in with KK, to be met with Milou's AA (I took it well, and it was one of those things, but my efforts since to have Milou removed from the Punters Lounge have fallen on deaf ears).
The game went to the final 6. Unfortunately Jones12345 bubbled - and the rest were now battling for the cash. Btugero finished 5th and Runadrum got 4th place - and it was left to Teazz, Milou and Gazblades to fight for the big prizes.
Teazz went first and took the £75 third prize - and the heads up battle was won by Gazblades over Milou, so Gazblades is the first PL Bloggers Poker Champion.

An enjoyable event all around - thanks to Paul Ross for setting it up - and to Betfair for hosting it.
Now where did I put that bounty????

New Moderators

The PL Poker forum has now doubled the amount of moderators to reflect the growth of the forum - and here they are :-

Around the Lounge

You'll be pleased to know that this post is about the Punters Lounge, and not my own lounge - although a post describing the TV, the sofa and the rather nice vase upon the table containing some rather lovely daffodils might be appetizing to some.

BurnleyJoe has taken over at the number one spot in the player rankings, after a thirteen day stay at the top spot by The Quiet Man. Slapdash, Valiant23 and Galronix make up the other players in the top 5.

Theriversnotmyfriend won last weeks Titan league event, to push him up to 2nd in the standings - and the HappyHornet was a happy hornet with his second place in one of his first PL events. Third place went to Red Fear - and Pistonbroke leads the way, with two very high finishes in the two events so far.

Daft Pegasus won the opening event in the October Sporting Odds MTT League series - with Valiant 23 and Philossify finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively.

The MTT daily winnings thread is now up to $13,000, which is a great effort all round (well to the players who have actually made a contribution, which is most of them, in fact it's probably all of them - apart from one - 5 letters, begins with C and ends with D, and rain falls from one - any ideas??)

Some creditable PL performances in the Absolute online forum challenge part three. BurnleyJoe and Spurman finished in the money in the first event, to give team PL a 4th place finish. 6ooner and Teaulc made the money in event number 2, with team results yet to come.

Thursday night sees the first Punters Lounge Bloggers event takes place on Betfair poker. Any PL'er with a blog and the appropriate links will take a seat. Personally, I think it's all a bit sad - what kind of person would want to write a blog about themselves and publish it on the internet for all to see. Really, some people..

October Caption Competition

1st Place :

"By controlling 4 of the final 5 hands of the table, it was no suprise Bubbles got the bracelet" - Msaban

2nd Place :

"Just call me the chimp leader" - BigAndy

3rd Place :

"By the smile on his face and where his hands are I`d say he`s holding the nuts" - McGoatski

2016 World Series of Poker

Well, another successful season at the WSOP has ended, and once again, Punters Loungers have dominated proceedings. Of the 52 bracelets on offer, 51 went the way of the PL - unfortunately Event no. 38, the No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball w/re-buys wasn't won by a PL'er, as no-one could understand the title.
The first event - the employee event went the way of Gotafancy (The WSOP chief statistician) after an epic battle with the Cloud (WSOP Official blogger).
Early events went to a variety of Pl'ers - including Slapdash, BurnleyJoe, Heniek and Pistonbroke - and Mike and Lou Saban made history by both winning bracelets.
An interesting heads-up in event 13, when legend Doyle Brunson took on Jaded - and Jaded won. Brunson later complained about "Jaded's strange all-in strategy".
Pocket Lady took down her husband -Valiant heads-up in event 16, and other winners included Newbie, Jeffers, Laidbackbloke, Robilaruk and Phillosify.
The first big event won was the $100,000 entry H.O.R.S.E event. The final table was all Punters Lounge, with the bracelet being won in a furious tussle between Phil Ivey, The Quiet Man, Morlspin and Gazza271 . Phil Ivey, who joined the Punters Lounge in 2011, said, "I became a much better player after joining the PL."
Galronix, Eltrev, Washman and the Croc all won bracelets, as did Penelopeys, Avongirl, Hedonist, Tax Monkey and Teaulc.
Staffy won event no 43, in a game marred with controversy. One of the final table players got thrown out after taking an item of clothing off every time he lost a hand. Swampster protested his innocence - "Last time I won a competition, everyone was doing it!!!".
Red Fear, Hodgey, 6ooner, Moface, SlickMick, BigAndy, Runadrum, Pokerose, Kevshat and Sharpe1ne all won bracelets in the run up to the main event.
The main event was the biggest ever again - 34,000 runners over 4 and a half weeks. Last years champion, McGoatski, went out early - and the final table saw such poker luminaries as The Quiet Man, Ronay, Slapdash, Laidbackbloke, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Valiant 23, Staffy and Gotafancy - as expected, an all Punters Lounge table.
"A big step up from the dollar up!" comment from Phil Hellmuth had the table in stitches.
The final table, televised live for the first time on PLTV, was a resounding success - with a mix of some outstanding play, and some strange raises with 2 7 off, which were always shown. The event was finally won by Daniel Negreanu (says Cloud sitting on the fence), when his KK held up aginst against Phil Hellmuth's AQ.
"The whole event was a fantastic experience for everyone," said new WSOP commisioner Paul Ross.

The Players : Episode Two - Valiant23

Your best moment in Poker?
I’d like to say discovering PuntersLounge and its Poker forum. A new player who wants to learn the game can do so without being afraid to ask questions. However, in my fledgling poker career I think it was when I won the same daily tournament four times in the same week (the $500 added 1cent buy-in on Mansion). To win the same regular tourney more than once is an achievement, so I think I have every reason to be proud.
Your worst moment in Poker?
This was also on Mansion. They have qualifiers for the Poker Dome where you get flown to Vegas and play a 6 seat STT and the winner gets $25,000. The closest I’ve got to the US is when I went to Lands End. I was dominating this particular qualifier, and playing some of the best poker I’ve ever played. I never took the win for granted but I knew I was the best player that night. However when Heads Up came around I lost. The winner got a seat worth $7,000 and I got nothing. However disappointed I was not to go to Vegas I was ecstatic with how well I’d played.
What is your main goal in Poker?
My main goal in poker is for it to remain self sufficient. I have other goals such as the WSoP etc, but as long as I’m a winning or profitable player I’m happy.
A one line word of advice you’d give to a new player?
Don’t risk any money by using poker sites freerolls to learn the ropes.
Your favourite hand?? (If you want to reveal it!!)
94 off suit is a hand I like to play. The number of times that I fold it on a raise and the flop would have hit is countless.
Favourite poker site?
I like Sporting Odds because of the variety of promotions, but my favourite is Pokerstars. At first the amount of different tournies available can be a bit daunting, but once you get used to that it is easily the best. The connection very rarely fails, the tables can be resized and you can customise the background and cards.
You enter the Big Brother house – who would be your three ideal housemates??
How many are in The SugarBabes? Seeing as my wife may see this I’d better say someone else though. This is probably the toughest question. Matt Groening, Dave Grohl and Jack Black.
Which TV/Film actor would play you in a movie?
Troy McClure. You may remember him from hosting such as The Simpsons 737th anniversary episode. However my second choice would be Bruce Campbell.
Which football team do you support – and favourite moment with that team?
Port Vale, and my favourite moment came in 1993. I promised as a child that I would never visit Wembley unless it was to see Port Vale the first time I went. I started to regret that as I got older, but my moment came when we reached the Autoglass Trophy final and Play-off final in the same season, which meant I ended up going twice on consecutive Saturday’s. On the Thursday in between my wife (Pocket Lady) also gave birth to my youngest son.
What is your pornstar name? (Name of first pet followed by mothers maiden name)
It’s a rather pathetic, Lady Bithell.
Favourite Film?
White Men Can’t Jump, although I love watching a good comedy. Arsenic and Old Lace is probably my 2nd favourite film.
You’ve just won the lottery. What’s the first thing you buy for yourself ??
Well, now that Robbie Williams has bought Port Vale from under me I’d have to say I’d buy tickets to the next Oakland Raiders match, then pay for a long holiday in Vegas.