So I played my first game of live NL this weekend, before it has been tourneys or PL cash. It was $1/2, 7 handed or something. The level of player is just awful, absolutely awful. The venue was the Grosvenor Casino, Victoria, London. It's where I met Roy and Phil and where the London leg of the EPT is held.

Anyway, so I was drunk, which obv means a -EV evening but it wasn't a bloodbath at all. In fact, I was only $220 down after 4 hours because of the following hand.

It's about 30 hands into the session, and my only observation is that there WILL be 3 or 4 limpers on every single hand. Generally, it goes limp, limp, raise, fold fold fold call call. No-one has shown down a strong hand yet. 10 hands earlier I busted aces with purely because you're allowed to limp these hands in games like this. I hit two pair on the river after calling a flop bet, checking the turn and VB'ing the river. Anyway..

I get 33 UTG+1 and obv limp, 4089627 limpers after me. Flop of I check, planning to CR or get away if a comes and I get heat. Checks around. Turn is the a very good hand for getting paid. I lead full pot, C/O more or less min raises, I insta shove and he turbo calls, I say "if this is set over set pal, good for you" he shows pocket aces and drags. Of course I decide this is gonna be like shooting fish in a barrel and settle in.

I get next to fuck all in the way of cards for the next 4 hours, except two hands. I raise JQo UTG because the limping is getting our ot hand. I get one caller, the female half of a German couple who are both probably the worst players in Germany. Flop is J29r and I lead, she calls. Turn bricks, she calls my 3/4 PSB. I shove bricked river, she calls, I think she must have KJ or AJ but could just as easily have 88 but no, she shows

Yeah, they really ARE that bad.

I get QQ in the C/O, 3 limpers and make it 7 x the BB as 5 x the BB raises are getting called by 2 sometimes 3 players. It seems the blinds think they are priced in,no matter what their cards. I get one caller, BB, Asian guy who is the biggest fish/station on the table. He has gotten lucky with hitting 2 pairs at least twice, and other times shown down donkey hands.

Flop is K23, two spades, and I lead full pot, he calls. Turn bricks, check check. River is a new King, and he fumbles around with his chips, and puts a bet in that offers me over 3-1. I say "I'm almost sure you have a king, but I can't give it to you for that bet" he proudly shows K5o and scoops. Nihan sir, nihan.

Nothing else happens really, I wonder if I could LAG it up for a bit, I raise 72o from the BTN after the standard 6 limpers, they all fold and I show, got a few laughs but I decided being a LAG at a table full of stations was the receipe for a raping and cashed up and left.

I'm 100% going back there as often as I can, I really cannot explain how bad the standard of players are.

So I played a bunch of donkaments yesterday, and won one, a $1500 GP, about 300ish entrants, I scooped $414 for top prize. Made a small cash in one of the others for like, $9 or something.

I completely lucked out when HU on the FT, hit a 2 outer for a massive pot. It made up for all the previous beats and coolers including a flush over flush. So maybe luck does even itself out in the end. It couldn't of evened itself out at a better time. My opponent for the HU was so weak and passive it was just a matter of time before I nailed him anyway.

Run pretty deep in all my tournies but just couldn't get the cards when I needed them and ended up with Harrington's "first in vigourish" tactic, eventually you will get called by a big pair and bust if you don't get a big pair yourself. In one tourney I 4 bet shoved absolute trash and ran into the BB's pocket Kings, obv just wasn't meant to be.

Still, ended up the evening around $320 after buy ins so a pretty good result.

I honestly feel I have a big edge in these low buy in tournies, I make donk moves occasionally but have an decent abilty to know when to press the trigger and when to pass when I'm not getting the cards.

I run deep in nearly all the tournies I play and one area I need to work on is chipping up when the cards are not coming my way. There's a bunch of videos on CR regarding this exact passage in a tourney so will watch a few of those over the coming days.

No doubt there will be spells where I don't cash at all but the wins and good place finishes make up for it and all the while I manage to run deep in my tournies I give myself a good shot at cashing.

So I played a bunch of live games yesterday. I'll convert the amounts to dollars for ease of understanding.

I went to Gutshot for the 2pm $10 rebuy, and forgot that the first Saturday of every month they run a $40 rebuy satellite to the evening tournament, which is a $600 freezout. Fuck it I thought, I'm here, I'll play.

Around 35 entrants, 7 seats after the rebuys but I busted pretty soon after the rebuy period, was fairly short and ended up in a BOB battle with K8, my QJ missed. Done $160 in rebuys and one add on, not terrible.

So then I moved on to the Grosvenor casino. Unfortunately they had a big tourney on, like $6,000 buy in, 4 day event type tourney, so 6 of the 12 tables were taken up with the tourney, which also meant they was running no 1/2 games. So I put my name on the list for a $2/4 game, figuring the players couldn't be much better. I was right.

I finally got seated after an hour, and 3 hands in, check A2 in the BB and watch the flop come down AAA. Checked, one guy stabbed, I called and he shut down, I made like $16 or something.

One orbit later, I check 52o in the BB, and the flop comes down 595. 4 in the pot, I lead and the BTN calls. Turn is an offsuit Ace. That's either a great card or a disaster. I lead full pot, now around $50. BTN calls again. I am now genuinly concerned he has A5. Turn is a 6, and I lead 1/2 pot hoping he doesn't raise, as I'll almost certainly have to fold to a big reraise, he just calls and amazes me by showing

Nh sir. So that could of been worse.

I quickly observed that the table was full of loose/passive/passive types, so I started lagging it up a bit with the intention of showing down a few bluffs and then tightening up and playing TAG. Mr 5Tc makes it $20 after 3 limpers, I'm OTB with and make it $60 to go, folded back to him, he mumbles and moans and gives it up, I show.

I make a few other moves and then people start playing back a bit, so I switch to TAG. I 3 bet to $75 with JJ from the SB after the BTN made it $20 to go, again after 3 or 4 limpers. Everyone else folds, BTn has about $100 left and sticks it in, I obv call, flop, turn and river all low rags, I flip, he mucks, I drag. He tells me after the hand he had AT, I believe him.

I get OTB, and raise 4 limpers to $24, one caller. This guy is decent, but loves to play S/C's and chase draws, he bets draws too, and plays them aggressively. I would consider him a competent player, and he also tells me he's a reg at the casino.

Flop comes down and he checks, I pot (around $50ish) and he insta check raises to around $200, and splashes the pot with his raise. I'm desperate to call him, but I figure he could have KJ, 33, a bunch of draws, and maybe even KQ for the split. I really can't see that there's any hand I'm a big fav too, I'm massively behind 33, KJ and flipping with his favoured hand, the flush draw, so I muck.

I get TT UTG+1 and make it $22 to go. MP loose goose calls and we're HU. Flop of and I bet full pot, villian calls. Pot is now around $100ish. Turn bricks, and I bet $100. He has about $130 behind, and starts fumbling with his chips. At this point I have him on JJ, an underpair to my tens, or a FD. I think he reraises AA/KK preflop and def reraises QQ-AA on that flop. I say "whatever the river comes, I'm putting you all in, so if you're gonna call me, stick it all in now" he fumbles and doesn't look happy but eventually sticks it in, I call the extra $35. River does not complete any flush he may of had, I flip my TT and he mucks after 10 seconds or so. So I guess he had that FD. Another nice pot.

After that we get a few new players and my cards go cold, so I decide I have won enough and leave.

I sat down with $400 and cashed $920. All told, the profit for the day after the donkament was $200, should of been nearer $400. I wont play that rebuy again thats for sure.

For 2 hours, I was without any doubt, the best player at that table. I had a basic ability to switch gears and the table couldn't cope or figure it out what I was doing. I had some good reads that all seemed to be right, and I made some fairly big laydowns when it was staring me in that face that I was beat.

I had a great time.

NV, you're gonna fill ya boots when we go, mate.

I played a few tournaments last night, finished very early in the first two but final tabled the 3rd, a $10r, 30k gteed.

I busted on the 2nd hand after the final table was grouped, and I'm fucking annoyed about it.

Firstly, I was tired, and not thinking straight.

Folded to me in the H/J with the blinds are 25k/50k and no antes. I have just over 500k, so I'm nowhere near safe mode. I make it 200k to go, and unexpectedly, the BTN, who has me covered by 1k in chips, pushes. Blinds fold and I'm left with just about bang on 2-1 to call. I call fairly quickly, as I tell myself putting in nearly half a stack and folding is retarded, I have a hand, lets go. BTN shows KK, and the flop is and I nearly fist pump, I'm now a favourite and will have just over 1 million in chips.

My 12 outer whiffs and I'm gone. Very disappointed, first prize was just under $8k and that would of been my roll to start playing $1/2.

I cashed $398.

Money's money I guess..........

Met up with Northview and his mate Dec at The Vic, started out on a $2/4 table but wasn't getting anywhere really so switched to the $1/2 table to donk it up with NV and Dec. I do my standard thing of lagging it up to start with, planning to switch as and when needed. I stack someone with 64o when I flop an OESD and nail it on the turn, he had QQ. Wot, no reraise PF?

I got stacked when holding a set of flopped 3's AGAIN. Yup, 2 live sets in 3 sessions, stacked twice. Villian limped 45o for a flopped straight. He hit and ran too. Nh sir.

I stacked Dec when I flopped top two after I limped after 3 limpers, and hit top two, so maybe I should complain too much about being stacked when holding a set. I felt bad stacking Dec as he was broke then and went home but I CR the flop, and led turn and river, I thought he'd figure his pair was no good but alas, he called me down and showed me K9. Just wish it was someone else at the table instead of Dec.

Thought I played OK, made a couple of fairly sick superhero calls, one versus this middle eastern guy, who was obv a bit of a degen, and just wanted to gambol. He called my PF raise for about $16, and shoved a raggedy flop for another $60 or something. It all seemed a bit bluffish, I called, and he said he missed, I felted AQ and he mucked, god knows what he had.

And I get in the BB, 986517 limpers, I check. Flop like and its checked round, to the BTN who stabs, gives me decent odds to call so I do, everyone folds. Turn is a jack of some decription, check check. River is another 6, and he bets around $60 into a $50 pot. Nothing makes any sense about his play, he doesn't have a house, I'm sure of that, he could have like, JQ or some nonsense but his bet is stupid, its not value, it's not well.......anything. It looked and felt to me like I was ahead, and he bet that amount 'cos he didn't know what else to do. I tanked for a bit and decided to call, and he showed 22. Nice call sir, was happy with that one.

Funniest moment was NV mucking the winning hand. I think this is how it went down though I'm sure he'll correct me;


Reasonable attractive lady limps along with 82 billion others I fold, NV calls OTB and the flop is 8K8, NV and attractive lady end up HU, turn bricks, river 7, and she shows K7, and drags, with NV saying "Yup, 2 pair's good" and mucking. As the cards are being gathered up ready to be shuffled, I say to him that the 7 was counterfitted, and two pairs Kings and Eights were the winner, looked over at him and he had this miffed look on his face, I ask him if he had a king, he said yer, KJ, I tell him he just mucked the winning hand.

I lolled.

Noob.

I won $690 for the session. Thats almost 3 1/2 buy ins.

Ship it.

I just took 1st in a 5k guaranteed rebuy tourny, 696 players, paid $9 in rebuys and add ons and cashed $1398.66.

It just shades my biggest ever tourney win by about $40.

Last HU hand was sweet, I had 2.5 million in chips and villian had 600k, I completed AA from the small blind, we saw a flop of jack high, and got it all in, he had KJ. It's nice when a plan comes together.

The funny thing is, is that I got into a debate with some guy in the rebuy period, when he limped UTG, I shoved with AT, he called with QQ and I stacked him when I hit two pair on the turn. He started giving out to me, telling me how I had too many chips, how I was a donk, how I'd give it all back soon.

I am now lolling, obv.

My ROI in tournies for the last two months is now sick, like 400% or something.