UK Poker

I've not blogged about my poker playing for a while here but thought it best to provide an update on where I'm at. Basically I've not played a lot but am looking to get back into the poker scene.

My new blog is located at http://www.pokernations.com/ian

Try Poker Nations out if your a poker player looking for somewhere new and different. I think it's great.

Labels: absolute poker, play, social networking

It's a real shame but 2008 hasn't been a good year for my poker playing exploits. The little I've played, I've mainly lost and I'm struggling to get time to either update this blog or play any poker.

It's been a busy year though. I've been mega busy with work things and I've had three new daughters to add to the fold which has left little time for anything else.

Hopefully the girls will start sleeping next year and allow me a little free time at nights to get back into this poker playing thing and hopefully improve my game.

Here's hoping!! Have a great 2009!

Labels: 2009, poker, poker playing

I'm enjoying playing poker again although I'm still on a losing streak, having lost probably in the region of $150 over the past 2 weeks. Still, my loss per game is less than before and I'm playing less hands which is where, I think, most of the problem lay.

The last 2 games have actually seen me turn a minute profit finishing off with about $20 to the good, which seems to make a (nice) change these days.

Still, I'll plod on and once I get back into winning form (did I ever really have it) I'm going to continue to try and improve.

Labels: losing streak, poker, profit

Just a very quick update tonight.

I've played a few cash games at Absolute and emptied my account. My lack of playing seems to have sent my game into a downward spiral, the abyss of bad poker if you like.

Anyway, onwards and upwards as they say. I'm going to persevere and hopefully I'll get back to at least breaking even fairly soon. I'm determined to get better and start making some cash, but we'll have to wait and see.

I'm sure after a little more practise, my bad poker play will start to improve and I can get back to enjoying the game more.

Labels: bad poker, poker

It seems like ages since I've been playing poker but I've decided that I'm definitely going to set aside a hour or three each week to play, even if the babies are all screaming. Well maybe if they're not screaming but you get the point.

Last weekend I played on Friday and Saturday nights for a while and although I won about $30 on Friday, I lost it again on Saturday.

I'm back to playing at Absolute Poker, since I found I still had about $130 in my account and I've decided, for the first few games at least to play $0.50/$1 No Limit Holdem. I'm going to take the minimum $40 into each game in case my play is way off and see how things work out from here.

I'm also going to try and play more aggressively than I used to and try to concentrate more. I'll either make more this way or go bust but I'm willing to give it a go and see.

I've typed this up during a game and now that it's time for bed, I've finished up with nothing!! I was up to 2.5 times my buy-in but all-in with Kings caught a straight and I'm probably off to bed a little earlier than I had imagined.

By the way, Absolute Poker have started awarding Credit and Fame points which I'm sure is grat new and if I ever bother to find out what they are, I'll let you all know.

Labels: absolute poker, playing poker, poker

It's been ages since I had a game of poker. I've probably lost the very few poker skills I was gaining it's been so long. I must be due a game fairly soon but the time seems to just pass me by these days. This poker blog hasn't been updated for ages!

First I built a new house then my Wife and I had triplets, so you can start to understand why poker has been taking a back seat. With four hourly feeds there isn't much time, day or night, to get a decent game.

Going to try again very soon though. Now if only I can remember which accounts still have money in them!

Labels: poker blog, poker skills, triplets

Ok, this weekend, I've decided to try something different and I'm going to try playing Rummy. I've been reading up on the rules and how to play Rummy at www.rummyonline.com.

The rules seem fairly simple and I've already downloaded the Rummy client. I haven't had a game yet but have been told that it's more skilful than poker and that poker players love Rummy - so that'll do me!

Anyone else tried playing online rummy before? There have been many Rummy games available to play online for years but it's only recently that cash games have been available to play with others from around the World.

If you want to try playing then click Rummy, this is by far the best site I've come across and seems to have all the information that a new player would need to get started playing.

Labels: play rummy, rummy, rummy online

Played a few games recently but forgot to post in this poker blog how I got on. Anyway, a summary follows:

Won - $80 at PKr in .5/1 followed by another $20.86 in the same type of game.

Then I lost $40 at Poker Host when 3 x Ace was beaten by a higher kicker.

Then I switched to Absolute Poker where I played in some $1/$2 Limit games. The first game I won $39 then lost $20.

The second game should have been a dream game. Everyone at the table was playing with nothing and my idea was to sit it out until I caught decent cards, which I did. Of course, nothing runs that smooth and because all the other players were very fishy, they were calling everything - all of them!!! Of course, 9 times out of 10, one would river a straight, flush or triple up a small pair. Very frustrating as I didn't think I played that badly, you just couldn't shake them off when you had something worth playing and the law of averages says that with everyone in the hand someone else will have a fair chance of getting better cards that you. This style of play was worse for me as I couldn't tell when another player had a better hand, making it difficult to get out of the hand. Of course the pots were big but unfortunately, I didn't manage to catch that many.-$80 in a limit game of Texas Holdem at Absolute Poker. This was a complete waste of time, constantly good cards weren't catching anything and I only won about two or three hands all night.

I may as well have thrown the money out the window.

Anyway on the whole and despite a few large-ish losses, I more or less broke even with a loss of 14 cents. Couldn't really complain in the end and the total of my poker playing figures added up much better than I thought.

Labels: absolute poker, poker, poker blog, texas holdem

Absolute Poker - $6 + 0.60 3rd place $10.80
Absolute Poker - $5 + 0.50 136 from 199 when my pair of 10-10 and my all-in was called by two players with no real hands and one of them made a straight with the river card.
Absolute Poker - $10 + 0.50 86th place from 199, again put out with a made straight on the river after making two pair. That's enough punishment for one night.
Went back to Pokerstars as I haven't been there for a while. Twice I was beaten by the same guy with the same cards and my pairs of Kings and Queens couldn't stand up to Four of a Kind Aces now could they. Talk about bad beats!! Anyway my account is now $80 lighter after a very short period of time. A sad bunny right now.

To finish off I player a Pokerstars $1/$2 Limit Holdem table. Started with $40 at the table. Finished with $74.50.

Overall this post has cost me $57.30. Oh well, next time!

Labels: absolute poker, poker, pokerstars

My first foray into the Poker World tonight consisted of a $10 + $1 Sit N Go game of No Limit Texas Holdem Poker. How long did I last. You really shouldn't ask!

First hand I was out after my QQ didn't stack up against an all-in with KK. Well it was quick anyway! I've decided to play at Absolute Poker tonight and may play another tournament but I've other things to do so I'll see later.

Labels: absolute poker, KK, poker thing, QQ

Well I managed 42nd Place from 321 players in the Caveman Qualifier Tournament at Poker Host. No Las Vegas for me then!

We started with 5000 chips and I was in the game for 3 3/4 hours, which is the longest single tournament I've ever played. However my trip Aces didn't hold up to a full house in the end.

Gutted is the only way to describe it, as it's probably the best poker I've ever played and certainly the highest quality players. Still it was enjoyable.

I played well though and didn't make many mistakes. I've noticed the difference in my game when I concentrate and do nothing else, rather than check emails and muck around at other bits and pieces.

Labels: poker host, wsop main event, wsop qualifier

Well the warm up isn't going too well so far. I've just lost $68 in the Betfred Poker rooms playing $1/$0.50 NL Holdem. Not catching the cards tonight at all so will go to bed and start my warm up for Monday nights tournament again tomorrow.

Labels: betfred poker, poker rooms

Since I last updated this poker blog, the first night I made a $3 profit after a fairly abismal couple of games. First of all I went down $25 at Absolute Poker before my PC crashed and bombed me out of the game. After that I played at Pokerstars when I was down $50 at one stage before winning a few hands and coming back to just above evens. Both games were $2/$4 limit games and I quite like playing at that level. There doesn't seem to be as many fish as there are at the $1/$2 tables and it makes for a more interesting game.

However, after not playing so well to finish up at all is a blessing. A Turbo tournament with Coral costing $5 + $0.50 didn't reap any rewards when I went out in 14th place. Only the top 5 were paid.

The weekend before last I went out in 238th place at a BetFred Texas Holdem tournament ($5+$0.50) when my three Queens didn't hold up to a King making a straight on the river card. I was playing ok before that as well. Oh well, that's poker! That night I also played a $15 Freezeout Tournament at BetFred Poker. 262 players. 111th place and also a $15 Freezeout Tournament at BetFred Poker. 250 players.230th place. Simply Hellish!!

Things looked up after that though. I tried a new poker rooms called Poker Host that run as part of the Microgaming Poker Network. I played in an invitational freeroll and actually managed to put out one of the bounty players making me $100. I came second overall and this earned me a qualification into a WSOP Main Event tournament this coming Monday night. The top 5 players will go to Las Vegas to play in the Big One! Can't see me getting anywhere but a slice of the $50,000 added cash would be nice!

An update on this after I've played it but I'm going to practice a little this weekend and hopefully get up to speed again. Overall taking all this into account, and thanks to the bounty, I've made a profit of $67.50.

Labels: absolute poker, poker host, wsop main event

It's not often that I post about a site I've found when scouring the internet for information to try and make my play and strategy a little better. I do try to read a fair bit when it comes to playing online poker though and the site, Poker River Online caught my eye and my attention.

As a brief overview of the site, it contains loads of top notch information for anyone interested in playing poker. It's mainly aimed at online players with a wide range of poker bonus codes and other specific online information, however, for players who like a home game, there is still lots to read to help your poker gaming skills and hopefully make you better than the others at the tables!

I found the Poker Tips and Strategy articles fantastic and a great help when brushing up on some of my playing tactics, or certainly the tactics I'd like to use if I ever stay in a game long enough! The range of articles to help your play is wide ranging and covers many different topics from betting and the odds of poker through to freeroll tournaments and mistakes in poker. I was especially tickled by the Dealers Choice games, including Murder, Blind Baseball and 7/27, none of which I'd ever heard of before by sound like fun variations of the more popular poker games.

The NL Heads Up article was especially appealing to me as I think that's where most of my problems when playing lie. I do ok thoughout the tournament before crumpling at the end. Story of my life really but I've now got some new ammunition to hopefully fire up my game a little at the end.

The Poker River site is also in the stages of setting up a poker forum which, if the rest of the site is anything to go by will be the nuts and should make for some worthwhile discussions.
There is also a Player Profile section covering biographies of some of the leading players in the World which is nice reading. I doubt I'll never make it there but it's nice to dream as well and this section coupled with the Funny Poker Videos makes for some lighthearted entertainment and compliements the strategic and thought provoving articles of the Poker River Online site perfectly.

I'll no doubt be visiting this site again and I've added it to my favourites. One of the better online informational sites and if you're looking for somewhere to play online then the Poker Bonus section will always come in handy.

Labels: player profile, poker bonus, poker river, poker river online

$3 profit after a fairly abismal couple of games. First of all I went down $25 at Absolute Poker before my PC crashed and bombed me out of the game. After that I played at Pokerstars when I was down $50 at one stage before winning a few hands and coming back to just above evens.

Both games were $2/$4 limit games and I quite like playing at that level. There doesn't seem to be as many fish as there are at the $1/$2 tables and it makes for a more interesting game. However, after not playing so well to finish up at all is a blessing.

A Turbo tournament with Coral costing $5 + $0.50 didn't reap any rewards when I went out in 14th place. Only the top 5 were paid.

Out in 238th place at a BetFred Texas Holdem tournament ($5+$0.50) when my three Queens didn't hold up to a King making a straight on the river card. I was playing ok before that as well. Oh well, that's poker!

Not played a lot of poker recently. I've not really had the time but am hoping for a few games very soon.

I did try a $27 entry into a Sunday Millions Satellite where one player gets a place in the finals. I was relieved of the responsability of playing in such a big tournament and finished in 11th place.

I followed up with a $1/$2 cash game at Absolute Poker and made a small profit of $10.

Overall, a loss of $17.

Labels: sunday millions, sunday millions satellite