Aight, so thought I'd write a little something here...
I've been in Vegas for almost a week now - having a pretty sweet time.
The journey here was quite daunting...all was going smoothly until JFK...it's just not a very nice place, is it? Considering it's NYC's main airport they could really do with enhancing it. I guess it's tough going there after being in Schipol, Amsterdam earlier in the day - it's infinitely better. We had a two hour delay after we boarded the plane, cos they hadn't properly loaded the fuel tank - not cool! I really didn't feel well and was relieved when we finally touched down. The view flying into Las Vegas at night is incredible - window seat ftw!
So I eventually arrived in Vegas around 3am pacific time, Monday 13th; I took a cab to the hotel, checked in at the Orleans and hit the sack.
After five hours of much needed rest, it was time to get up - my first WSOP event was kicking off at Noon. I got some good stuff in me at the breakfast buffet, then made my way down to the Rio. It was pretty exciting to finally arrive at the venue of the world's greatest poker series! Walking down the corridors you feel a sense of history - I knew I was at a special place.
My first event was the $1500 PLO. I felt very comfortable at my table and managed to build nicely on my starting stack of 4500 - getting up to around 8000 when I busted the table's most aggressive player; my set of 6's crushing his set of 4's. I took a pretty big knock soon after though; after check-raising with the nuts on a KJ9ss flop, I picked up one caller and had to make a reluctant fold on the turn, when he shoved after the third spade arrived. Pretty sure I was drawing dead.
Around level 4 of the day (each level lasts for one hour and the blinds go up accordingly at the start of each new level) I was moved tables. I had British pro JP Kelly two to my left. I made a nice play when I trapped a dude on an A55 flop (flat calling his flop bet with my trips) and only taking the lead on the turn, when a J arrived - improving my hand to a full house. He tanked/reluctantly made the call, complimenting me on my enticing bet size.
Unfortunately I couldn't get too much going thereafter. I saw a couple flops but wasn't hitting a great deal or finding the right spots to try and outmaneuvre opponents off better hands. PLO is an intricate game, which requires a lot of thought and brings so many different hand possibilities on each street.
My run came to an end midway through level 5...after flatting in position with AJ84 double suited, I raised my opponents c-bet on a 1075dd board - he called putting me at risk. With a gutshot to go with my flush draw, I was about a 45-55 dog against his two pair - he held.
The disappointment of busting the event was negated by the feeling that I'd played well and I felt good about my prospects going forward. As it happened, my buddy Rafe Kibrit went on a sick run in the same event - eventually taking 2nd place for $181k. It was a really fun rail in the Amazon room, with Sherif, Lee, Serg (our backer) and a bunch of Rafe's friends. Heads up he was against a French guy and there was some pretty good banter between everyone and a great atmosphere. The main stage in the Amazon room is awesome - the lighting, live commentary and all the action makes for great theatre. I'm determined to make a great run this Series - it would be a great thrill to play on that grand stage.
On Thursday I played my second event - a $1500 NLHE. It was actually similar to my PLO tourney; started really solid, ran up my stack, then got chipped down a bit and eventually lost a flip (AQ-88) to bust.
Aside from the tournaments, I've been playing quite a bit of Omaha cash - and doing well. It's good to have the balance between tournaments and cash. The latter is a little less intense; I have a few drinks when I'm playing and engage with the other players. I've played some really sick hands so far - and won a couple of very nice pots (most notably with a royal flush and another where I made quad aces!).
Away from the felt, I have picked up my media pass and now have official access to the interview room - the plan is to get a couple interviews with some big name players while I'm here and write up some articles based on these for Poker Player magazine.
It's not all poker though here in Vegas. We have a huge pool at the Orleans and I like to spend some time relaxing outside, catching the rays. It's 100 degrees plus every day in LV...it's awesome but I do tend to stay inside during the hottest part of the day. Mid-late afternoon is a nice time to get out there. I'm hoping to sport a nice tan by the end of my trip.
I've also had some really good food here; my best meals so far have been Asian cuisine; we've been to a couple ace Japanse/Korean restaurants in town.
Vegas is an awesome city. The poker is great; the atmosphere is electric, the girls are gorgeous and the air is hot! I'll be playing my third WSOP event tomorrow and hope that I'll be immersed in that for the next three days. Whatever happens, I know there will be plenty of fun to be had...never a dull moment in Sin City!
Saturday 18 June 2011
Sunday 12 June 2011
Vegas 2011
Today I embark on my big trip to Vegas - for WSOP 2011!
It's going to be a huge journey. My scheduled departure from Edinburgh is @ 13.35 - first stop is Amsterdam (that is kinda the wrong way, right?!) - but at least Schipol is a cool airport. Then I have an eight hour pond-hop to JFK airport, NYC. And then - providing I successfully navigate the immigration authorities (not always an easy task!) - I will catch my third connection, to McCarren International, LV.
All being well, I should arrive in Vegas around 12.30am local time on Monday June 13th. I'll be staying at Orleans Hotel & Casino; I'm looking forward to checking out what looks like an awesome pool and fitness suite. I believe they also have some pretty sick amenities, such as an eighteen screen cinema! I'm hoping I get a room with a great view as Las Vegas is stunning by night.
Ok, time to get some breakfast and make sure I have everything I need. Hope you enjoy my Vegas blog.
Peace
It's going to be a huge journey. My scheduled departure from Edinburgh is @ 13.35 - first stop is Amsterdam (that is kinda the wrong way, right?!) - but at least Schipol is a cool airport. Then I have an eight hour pond-hop to JFK airport, NYC. And then - providing I successfully navigate the immigration authorities (not always an easy task!) - I will catch my third connection, to McCarren International, LV.
All being well, I should arrive in Vegas around 12.30am local time on Monday June 13th. I'll be staying at Orleans Hotel & Casino; I'm looking forward to checking out what looks like an awesome pool and fitness suite. I believe they also have some pretty sick amenities, such as an eighteen screen cinema! I'm hoping I get a room with a great view as Las Vegas is stunning by night.
Ok, time to get some breakfast and make sure I have everything I need. Hope you enjoy my Vegas blog.
Peace
Thursday 17 February 2011
The February ride so far
Well this is for Jesus - imjeeesus, that is...he quite correctly pointed out that I hadn't updated my blog in a while. But, alas, here I am and that is all about to change.
As I mentioned in my first post, 2011 will be a lot about poker - 'the business.' I took over the management of Sharkstaking earlier this month - and it's been a fascinating ride so far. One of the first things I did when I assumed the helm, was a review of our players' performances - this led to some tough decisions. Some of our guys were simply not good enough - quite frankly, it amazes me that they were still involved in the company. Losing players are not profitable for a poker staking business - so it was time to say 'adieu' to a certain few.
At Sharkstaking, we have a relatively small but very solid group of guys who are all have the ability to produce really good results. It's my job to help get the best out of them and make sure they are confident and in the right frame of mind to play winning poker. Another fun part of the job is player recruitment and our vision is to expland the company considerably with talented and motivated sharks - cause there's a whole lotta fish out there ready to ship it.
The last couple weeks I've also been hunting down some ace coaches and recently added three NLHE MTT 'supastas;' aka 'Betgo,' 'BigDShaggyJ' and 'mlagoo.' Search any of these tournament beasts on OPR and you will see some pretty sick stats. I'm delighted to have added such a high calibre of player to our coaching staff and, in doing so, I believe it shows the ambition I have to take Sharks to the next level. So for any of you poker stars out there who want financial backing and some top notch coaching to boot, drop me a line and you too could become part of the team.
On the playing front, I've been kinda quiet until recently. I have been devoting most of my time to the site and this has obviously impacted on my playing time. The past week or two, though, I've been back on it: I took a shot at FTOPS events 1 and 2; I ran my 5k starting stack up to 25k in the PL08 $200k GTD but my dreams were soon in tatters as I lost two huge pots with AK23 and AAQ4. It was really disappointing to bust this event without even cashing. I really felt like I was going to run super deep but sometimes the cards just don't fall your way - such is life.
Since then, my focus has continued to be on MTTs. I have been hitting up some pretty big NLHE tournies; the SM, nightly $162, etc. I feel like my Hold Em game is evolving and improving all the time. I'm becoming a more creater player and think really good things will start happening soon. I've also started working with a coach and look forward to progressing even further as he helps develop my game.
My Omaha Hi-Lo playing time has been reduced somewhat. I did take a 4th place finish in one of the $22 PL08 MTTs the other night - but have barely played SNGs this year. I did put in a few thousand hands at cash the past couple days though, which was fun once I cut out the mistakes and got really focused. I need to make sure I cut out these mistakes - cause just one or two bad decisions in big pots can be the difference between posting a winning/losing session. I'll get there.
Away from the table I'm currently nursing a nasty bout of tonsillitis; literally so sick. This is prolly going to put a dampner on my weekend as I try and rest up and get my body back somewhere close to 100%. I can't wait to feel good again - I miss working out and playing sports and these are things I'm excited to get back into soon.
I've also started thinking about travel plans for 2011. Dubai and Thailand are potential lads trips; I might do some more Euro-hopping in Summer and I'm still hopeful of making an appearance in Sin City come WSOP time. Also, given my boss is based in Frankfurt, I might have a little weekend trip to Germany on the horizon. Travelling FTW in my humble opinion.
So that's all for now, folks. Time to knock myself out with some more ibuprofen. You'll be hearing from me soon - promise. Ciao.
As I mentioned in my first post, 2011 will be a lot about poker - 'the business.' I took over the management of Sharkstaking earlier this month - and it's been a fascinating ride so far. One of the first things I did when I assumed the helm, was a review of our players' performances - this led to some tough decisions. Some of our guys were simply not good enough - quite frankly, it amazes me that they were still involved in the company. Losing players are not profitable for a poker staking business - so it was time to say 'adieu' to a certain few.
At Sharkstaking, we have a relatively small but very solid group of guys who are all have the ability to produce really good results. It's my job to help get the best out of them and make sure they are confident and in the right frame of mind to play winning poker. Another fun part of the job is player recruitment and our vision is to expland the company considerably with talented and motivated sharks - cause there's a whole lotta fish out there ready to ship it.
The last couple weeks I've also been hunting down some ace coaches and recently added three NLHE MTT 'supastas;' aka 'Betgo,' 'BigDShaggyJ' and 'mlagoo.' Search any of these tournament beasts on OPR and you will see some pretty sick stats. I'm delighted to have added such a high calibre of player to our coaching staff and, in doing so, I believe it shows the ambition I have to take Sharks to the next level. So for any of you poker stars out there who want financial backing and some top notch coaching to boot, drop me a line and you too could become part of the team.
On the playing front, I've been kinda quiet until recently. I have been devoting most of my time to the site and this has obviously impacted on my playing time. The past week or two, though, I've been back on it: I took a shot at FTOPS events 1 and 2; I ran my 5k starting stack up to 25k in the PL08 $200k GTD but my dreams were soon in tatters as I lost two huge pots with AK23 and AAQ4. It was really disappointing to bust this event without even cashing. I really felt like I was going to run super deep but sometimes the cards just don't fall your way - such is life.
Since then, my focus has continued to be on MTTs. I have been hitting up some pretty big NLHE tournies; the SM, nightly $162, etc. I feel like my Hold Em game is evolving and improving all the time. I'm becoming a more creater player and think really good things will start happening soon. I've also started working with a coach and look forward to progressing even further as he helps develop my game.
My Omaha Hi-Lo playing time has been reduced somewhat. I did take a 4th place finish in one of the $22 PL08 MTTs the other night - but have barely played SNGs this year. I did put in a few thousand hands at cash the past couple days though, which was fun once I cut out the mistakes and got really focused. I need to make sure I cut out these mistakes - cause just one or two bad decisions in big pots can be the difference between posting a winning/losing session. I'll get there.
Away from the table I'm currently nursing a nasty bout of tonsillitis; literally so sick. This is prolly going to put a dampner on my weekend as I try and rest up and get my body back somewhere close to 100%. I can't wait to feel good again - I miss working out and playing sports and these are things I'm excited to get back into soon.
I've also started thinking about travel plans for 2011. Dubai and Thailand are potential lads trips; I might do some more Euro-hopping in Summer and I'm still hopeful of making an appearance in Sin City come WSOP time. Also, given my boss is based in Frankfurt, I might have a little weekend trip to Germany on the horizon. Travelling FTW in my humble opinion.
So that's all for now, folks. Time to knock myself out with some more ibuprofen. You'll be hearing from me soon - promise. Ciao.
Friday 7 January 2011
Getting started
Having seen a bunch of my fellow poker players doing this, I thought it was time I gave it a shot.
I'm sure most poker players who visit this will know who I am, but if not, here is a little background:
I started playing poker at my first year at University - aged 18 - and now, six years later, much of my life revolves around it. In 2010 I started playing semi-professionally; initially, as a PL08 SNG mass-multitabler combined with MTTs - mainly NLHE and Omaha 8. I had a pretty successful start and hit my targets up to the end of May. Then, after deciding I would be travelling Europe in the summer (and using my savings to fund this), I decided to join a staking company. On the recommendation of chknpotpie - one of my poker buddies and a regular in the mid stakes cash games on Poker Stars - I joined SharkStaking (http://www.sharkstaking.com/). Not only did this offer me greater financial security - I would no longer have to fund my poker career - it meant I'd also receive coaching from chkn, something I knew could really help me to start improving my cash game and take my play to the next level.
What followed was a pretty incredible few months - but not at the poker table. Seven weeks of amazing weather, sightseeing and partying in mainland Europe; followed by a ten week tour of America. 2010 was definitely an exciting year for travelling and meeting people; many of whom will be friends for the rest of my life. I even enjoyed my best tournament result while I was Stateside - $3200 for placing equal 1st (we made a deal three handed) in an $11 NLHE tournament. This felt really good as I'd had so many deep runs in Hold Em MTTs but always come up short. Hopefully there will be many big results to come in 2011.
As 2010 neared a conclusion, I was approached by the hierarchy at SharkStaking and asked to join the staff. This is a pretty cool new opportunity for me and I'll no longer be relying solely on my playing abilities for my income. And before the year was out, I managed to hit Supernova status after a sick VPP grind in December.
2011 will see some of my focus shift to the business side of the game - in my new role with SharkStaking. But I fully intend to continue improving my game as I work towards becoming an even better and more successful player. This year I will play more cash games - playing as many as 24 tables at a time. At present, I mainly frequent the .25/.50 and .50/1 tables but I'm always pushing myself to move higher and working closely with my coach to make the transition as smooth as possible. I'll also be trying to play as many $215 MTTs as I can and look forward to the big online tournament series and potentially making my debut at the WSOP. That would be really exciting.
Wishing everyone a happy and prosperous 2011 - hope you enjoy following my progress.
Giffordonian
I'm sure most poker players who visit this will know who I am, but if not, here is a little background:
I started playing poker at my first year at University - aged 18 - and now, six years later, much of my life revolves around it. In 2010 I started playing semi-professionally; initially, as a PL08 SNG mass-multitabler combined with MTTs - mainly NLHE and Omaha 8. I had a pretty successful start and hit my targets up to the end of May. Then, after deciding I would be travelling Europe in the summer (and using my savings to fund this), I decided to join a staking company. On the recommendation of chknpotpie - one of my poker buddies and a regular in the mid stakes cash games on Poker Stars - I joined SharkStaking (http://www.sharkstaking.com/). Not only did this offer me greater financial security - I would no longer have to fund my poker career - it meant I'd also receive coaching from chkn, something I knew could really help me to start improving my cash game and take my play to the next level.
What followed was a pretty incredible few months - but not at the poker table. Seven weeks of amazing weather, sightseeing and partying in mainland Europe; followed by a ten week tour of America. 2010 was definitely an exciting year for travelling and meeting people; many of whom will be friends for the rest of my life. I even enjoyed my best tournament result while I was Stateside - $3200 for placing equal 1st (we made a deal three handed) in an $11 NLHE tournament. This felt really good as I'd had so many deep runs in Hold Em MTTs but always come up short. Hopefully there will be many big results to come in 2011.
As 2010 neared a conclusion, I was approached by the hierarchy at SharkStaking and asked to join the staff. This is a pretty cool new opportunity for me and I'll no longer be relying solely on my playing abilities for my income. And before the year was out, I managed to hit Supernova status after a sick VPP grind in December.
2011 will see some of my focus shift to the business side of the game - in my new role with SharkStaking. But I fully intend to continue improving my game as I work towards becoming an even better and more successful player. This year I will play more cash games - playing as many as 24 tables at a time. At present, I mainly frequent the .25/.50 and .50/1 tables but I'm always pushing myself to move higher and working closely with my coach to make the transition as smooth as possible. I'll also be trying to play as many $215 MTTs as I can and look forward to the big online tournament series and potentially making my debut at the WSOP. That would be really exciting.
Wishing everyone a happy and prosperous 2011 - hope you enjoy following my progress.
Giffordonian
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