Losing, just

Went to the Grosvenor (Walsall) tonight for the first time in a while. £15 rebuy tournament with £4000 guaranteed prize pool. Good value since the place was the quietest I've seen it: only 40-odd sat down to play, though quite a few bought in late. In the end they managed to collect about £3300 from the players.

Although I got knocked out not long after midnight - as usual I started badly but I'd settled in okay, and my short-stackedness would've ended if my 77 hadn't been crushed by 66 hitting a set on the river - I made most of my layout back on the roulette table. My little bets were the smallest of small fry compared to one guy who was putting down £5000 of chips on every spin, and seemingly taking the casino to the cleaners. He was focussing on 8, 11 and 30, and those numbers were hot.

(Un)lucky 13

Played moderately well in the £30 triple-chance freezeout at the Grosvenor last night. There were a couple of big hands I missed out on through being too shy to put my chips in, but after being down to 2,000 chips soon after the break, I got up to 30,000 plus and a strong position. Only 7 places paid, and I finally went out around 2.15 a.m. when my QQ was mashed by AK. (I'd carefully avoided going up against the other big stacks, but QQ was irresistible.) Oh well, 13th place.

Then, having caught the roulette bug, I put £10 down and went home with £50, mainly through betting on Odd and the ball landing on 13.

Time out

After a run of losses I've taken a break except for the odd dabble. Sky Poker has been revamped and they've cut back on the expenses: no studio guests on quiet nights, and no broadcast on AtTheRaces cable channel. Tonight my pocket tens just held up and I've gone into the break in the top ten. :-)

I've been down to the Grosvenor a few times, just for fun, and got nowhere. A couple of times I was doing okay until I got rivered. Waiting around the other night, I played roulette for the first time, sprinkling my £10-worth of chips around the table. Beginners' luck: ten minutes later I had £40.

GUKPT in town

Today is the first day of the Walsall leg of the Grosvenor Poker Tour, and I went over this afternoon for a £50 (with rebuys) satellite into the main event. I played siht, but I was happy with my last hand. I was shortstacked in the SB with 6-8 clubs and there was lots of limping so I went all-in. One guy called with K-9 spades and I overtook him on the flop only to lose to a flush on the river.

I'm going to try and get over there again for a £100 freezeout tourney later in the week.

A Night Out

To the Grosvenor at Junction 10 for the £30 Treble-Chance Freezeout tourney. Plenty of runners and a £1000 first prize. After three hours I went out calling all-in with KQs against Ace-rag. It was half past midnight and half the field were still there, so, two hours later, I'm sure they're still playing. That's the trouble with normal tourneys - they take a long time. I don't like the two hours that are virtually wasted at the start of a rebuy tournament, and this tourney was just as bad - registration closed at 9.15 but by 11pm absolutely no-one had been knocked out. I know most people (me included) want some entertainment for their £30 but this is crazy.

Anyway, I was reasonably happy with my play. Early on a girl called Kelly won a pot with KK and the next hand I raised all-in in front of her with TT and she called. Yup, she had kings again and I used up one of my chances. Undeterred, soon after I raised with 58s, flopped the flush and showed my cards. I made the break with average chips.

Gradually things got more lively. My end of the table was quiet and full of rocks, but at the other end there was one aggressive player, who was joined by another and then another as people were moved between tables. A couple of times before the break I chickened out a bit, in situations that online I would've bet. But no damage done.

The third of the three was a very good loose player. Just after he arrived, low stacked, he pushed all-in with a gutshot, and the guy who called him wasn't best pleased when the magic card came on the river. After that Mr Loose took the table by storm - he had the gift of the gab and took full advantage. In one hand I had pocket fours and bet postflop even though I didn't connect - the girl and Mr Loose called. The I bet again and Mr Loose called again. This reminded me of a recent hand in The Open, where I'd eventually called all-in with 44 and I was right - the other guy was bluffing with an ace. But this time I just couldn't go through with it.

Anyway, I was grinding pretty well and maybe avoiding risks would've seen me into the money. Dunno. I do know that I played okay and I'm looking forward to going back soon.