Pud's Poker Progress / Matthew Pitt / 28 December 2011 / 1

Mid afternoon yesterday I decided, on a whim, to go and play some live poker in Leeds. Despite the fact both my live and online game is rustier than a 1972 Ford Cortina I was really looking forward to sitting down at the felt and putting into practice all the things I have seen on the World Poker Tour this year.

As mentioned I only decided to play around 90 minutes before the tournament was due to start, it was a little bit of procrastination that lead to me making the trip to my home town. You see, I had just written a story for SportMoose (a project I am working on at the minute) and was checking out Facebook when I saw a status update from Mel Lofthouse. Although I have never met Mel, until yesterday at least, I know she is a poker supervisor and has been part of the game for an age, so when he status said she was in Huddersfield (10 miles from me) and was involved in a "20/20" tournament I made some enquiries.

Plenty Of Added Value

To cut a long story short it turned out Mel was in Huddersfield but was actually working a tournament at Gala Leeds which was a £20 Second Chance with £2,000 added to the prize pool and an expected turnout of at least 250. This sold it for me, people on Christmas holidays, a decent prize pool to start with then £2k added on top meaning around £4,000 FTW. Ship it to the Pudding!

At the casino I signed up for membership with a pen that the woman had obviously found at the very back of a drawer somewhere as there was a big blob of gelatinous black ink on the end that refused to budge no matter how much I picked, rubbed and nipped. At least it made my illegible handwriting even more incomprehensible so the chances of me receiving spam to my inbox has been drastically reduced. Anyway, after my ink-related mini drama I bought in and after sinking a glass of Pepsi that cost £1.95 and tasted the same as the free Pepsi given out by every other casino I have ever graced with my presence I took my seat on Table 19 Seat 6.

We started with 5,000 chips and played to a 25-minute clock where the blinds started at 25/50 then went something like 50/100, 75/150, 100/200, 150/300, 200/400, 300/600 and after that I'm unsure because I busted out but it is safe to presume 400/800. You get the picture. My table looks pretty good, one 25-ish dude who gives the early impression he could know what he is doing, an Indian dude with big biceps to his left, a gormless looking 30-something to his left, a 40-year old baseball cap sporting PokerStars T-shirt wearing Cockney in Seat 4, a spectacled 40-year old geezer to my right, a granddad to my left, a young lad with an Emo haircut in the eight seat, a 50-year old bloke in the nine seat and some young pup in the last seat. Yes we were ten-handed, not ideal but whatever.

And We're Off

First hand I look down and see 7c3h staring back at me and I fold from under the gun. For some reason I hate having a playable hand on the first hand so was quite happy to find rags in the hole. I was also very happy to see three limpers and then a 1/4 sized bet on the flop from the first limper on a ten-high board. If that pleased me imagine how happy I was to see the gormless looking bloke open from the cutoff the very next hand to 7bb and receive two callers! As 70% of the table had decided to use their second chance I requested chips and took on the mushrooms 200bb deep.

My first and only playable hand of the first level saw me make a mistake. I opened 3x with 6s6d from UTG+1 and was called in three spots. The flop came down Ks-10s-4c and for some unknown reason I c-bet and all three villains called. I check-folded the Qc turn and saw the hand eventually won with Ts9c. I made amends in the next level when the baseball cap wearing man open-limped in middle position then called when I raised it up with AhKh. He check-called a bet on an all low rainbow flop, then again on a Qs turn but he check-folded my bet on a Ad river stating he thought I had king-queen.

Then in the 100/200 level it all went downhill rapidly. The baseball cap dude two to my right had continued to open-limp so I raised it up to 600 with the monster that is 6c3c, only to see the young pup move all in for 1,250. Limper dude folded and I said something like, "this should be good for my image" and called. Young pup shows As9s, flops an ace and fades the club flush draw. "You have an image?" quizzed Limpy McLimpalot, "I have a red nose in the car you can borrow if you like." Quite the joker.

Ooops! I Did It Again

Young pup then chases a flush draw and misses leaving himself with around 1,200 again when I get into the Christmas spirit and double him up again. He open-limped from early position and the guy to his left, the only one at the table who seemed to know what he was doing, min-raised to 400. It folded to me in the big blind and I called with 7d5d only to see young pup move all in. The decent lad glanced at me before folding and Limpy Limperson said, "will this be good for your image too?" I call and find I am against QcJs, really, and although I take the lead on a Tc-7s-3d flop the turn is a queen and I drop to 8,300.

I then make a really stupid call on the flop when I opened from the hijack with 8h7h and then called a three-bet from the nine seat (small blind). He checked to me on a Ks-Qs-7d flop and I checked behind. The turn was the 3d and he now leads half pot and I should have folded I suppose but called. The river was the 6c and he fires again and I get out of the way.

That left me with 4,550 at the break with the blinds 200/400 upon our return. After slurping another overpriced Pepsi the break was over and I discovered I had lost the racing off of the 25 chips so was on 4,500. The granddad told me my 11bb stack "still had plenty of play in it" and that all this moving in with 10bb stacks was completely wrong because you luck can change any second. OK. I fold complete rags for a couple of hands before open shoving from middle position with Th7h and I pick up the blinds. A couple of hands later and I am on the button and a fellow shorty, a guy new to the table, open-limps two to my right and I jam JdTd and pick up another pot. An orbit later another player new to our table, a 75-year old man, open-limps from the hijack and I find 9d8d on the button. I was going to shove on him but couldn't pull the trigger. My spider-sense must have been tingling because he had open-limped pocket kings it turned out.

My exit hand came just as the blind were about to increase to 300/600. Everyone folded to me in the cutoff and I moved my 14bb stack with AsTc and the granddad to my left snap-reshoved, covering me by around 1,000 chips. The blinds fold and granddad flips over red queens, which hold and I am busted something like 203/274. Not my finest hour that is for sure.

Regardless of the tournament not exactly going to plan I did enjoy it and will certainly be playing live a lot more in 2012. Until then it is back to the online grind!

Join Betfair Poker Now

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>

(1)

1. Rossi | 28 December 2011

   matt

   hope you had a good christmas and all the best for the new year mate.

:

:

:

?

: