A week and a half on...

Since the unbelievable win in the Sunday Million, something that I still haven't really got my head round and it will be a long time before it does sink in, I have had a pretty relaxed few days, getting some rounds of golf in, seeing family and playing a few bits and pieces of poker, building up stacks in a few SCOOPs but letting my 6max inexperience make me a bit too aggro!!

A lot of people have asked me what's next, with views being split between staying where I am stakes wise and moving up, and whilst I have had a massive bankroll boost I have withdrawn the majority with a view to buying property or keeping some earning interest whilst me and louise get the opportunity to travel the world. So, for at least a month or two I am happy to play the same 100 and 200 levels, and I definitely want to get my way to 570s+ on ability and be good enough as a 5k+ downswing would dramatically affect my mood so I want to build myself up mentally before I progress upwards! A lot of people have also suggested playing more tournaments, which I really need to make sure I do!

Thanks to everybody who has been reading this blog or congratulated me on facebook or pokerstars, I will be playing a few more SCOOP events before heading up to Nottingham mid-month for the UKIPT, something that I am really looking forward to! I am currently considering whether or not to head to WSOP and have been planning my year abroad with louise and sorting out a family holiday. I am glad that I hvent lost my buzz for poker in any way and am happy to get back grinding soon with more shots at tournaments along the way, guess I've got the bug now!!!

I IV VII

ONE TIME!!!!!!! $hipped the $unday Million! 1/8776

Hey all (maybe more readers than last time!!), sorry I've a lazy motherblogger recently, the life of a HUSNG pro is really quite dull, and though I did have a fun trip to Vegas I didn't really feel in the mood to write about it!

Obviously, everything changes when you have a sizeable win and writing suddenly seems a lot more interesting, so I'm going to try to post key hands on my ridiculous run to fulfilling a dream and winning the Sunday Mill in just the 7th time I've got my lazy arse to play it!!

Throughout the tournament I was one tabling (apart from maybe playing some heads up games at times) as other games were already busto, and after running bad in the FTOPS heads up tournie and tilting my way out of the Turbo Takedown I thought the Sunday Million would be another wasted buy in, though using 13500fpps to play never feels like money anyways!!

I kind of decided right, you're feeling quite awake, let's just focus on this one table and play well and try to see what happens. Throughout the tournament I obviously had to run like God and had some really nice hands in nice spots, but as will be obvious some people were just keen to donate as well which made things very nice!!

So, here's a group of interesting and crucial hands, I hope you enjoy! All the support from friends, people inside and out of poker has been amazing and I am very grateful! The post is taking a long time to make because I am trying to filter out the rubbish but post a decent hand guide without making you click through pokerhand links and see unnecessary things so bear with the fact that some might have mistakes where i've not included stack sizes or what they had, and believe me that all information I write in is genuine!!

The win took 731 hands overall and I managed to finish before 8:28am GMT so Ptevey and Matt Gamble could watch, aren't a nice guy!!

Reading through the HH, at the 50 hand mark I was at 10150, it was pretty much locked up from then I guess, surely something interesting early on must have happened!!

Establishing my table image....funny I think!!

Dealt to 147_star [Qc Kh]
147_star: raises 470 to 770
All fold to LaMartina:
LaMartina99 said, "770 ?? why not 800"
LaMartina99: folds
147_star said, "why not lamartina100?"

4hands later, hand 59...

*********** # 59 **************
HOLE CARDS ***Dealt to 147_star [Ah Ac]
folded to...LaMartina99: raises 600 to 900
147_star: raises 1570 to 2470
everyone folds to LaMartina99: raises 10430 to 12900
147_star: calls 7500 and is all-in
*** FLOP *** [Qh Kh 4h]
*** TURN *** [Qh Kh 4h] [6s]
*** RIVER *** [Qh Kh 4h 6s] [7d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***LaMartina99: shows [As Ks] (a pair of Kings)147_star: shows [Ah Ac] (a pair of Aces)147_star collected 20390 from pot

A small pot but a momentum builder and a very nice read, based mainly on his speed of calling on the turn.

*********** # 75 **************
Seat 6: uyra99 (5600 in chips)
Seat 8: 147_star (17350 in chips)
HOLE CARDS ***Dealt to 147_star [Qh 7h]
uyra99: calls
147_star: raises 875 to 1275
uyra99: calls 875
*** FLOP *** [3h Kc Tc]
147_star: bets 1999
uyra99: calls 1999
*** TURN *** [3h Kc Tc] [Ks]
uyra99: checks
147_star: bets 2326
uyra99: folds
Uncalled bet (2326) returned to 147_star

Getting in LaMartina's head blind on blind, definitely val here for later on...

*********** # 105 **************
*** HOLE CARDS ***Dealt to 147_star [8d 7s]
LaMartina99: raises 600 to 1200
147_star: raises 1798 to 2998
147_star said, "it's not aa"
LaMartina99: calls 1798
*** FLOP *** [Kc 3h Ts]
LaMartina99: bets 1800
147_star: raises 2999 to 4799
LaMartina99: folds
Uncalled bet (2999) returned to 147_star
147_star collected 9821 from pot
147_star: doesn't show hand

Picked on his limps a few times before now...

*********** # 128 **************
Dealt to 147_star [8c Ah]
Vlad989: folds
zfahmie: folds
LaMartina99: calls 800
147_star: raises 1250 to 2050
Jaguar: folds
Fulbert101: folds
AxGoM: folds
DavidGarrard: folds
bmalick19: folds
LaMartina99: calls 1250
*** FLOP *** [5h Ac 3d]
LaMartina99: checks
147_star: checks
*** TURN *** [5h Ac 3d] [Js]
LaMartina99: checks
147_star: bets 2400
LaMartina99: calls 2400
*** RIVER *** [5h Ac 3d Js] [9c]
LaMartina99: checks
147_star: bets 6600
LaMartina99: calls 6600
*** SHOW DOWN ***
147_star: shows [8c Ah] (a pair of Aces)
LaMartina99: mucks hand (he had JQ)
147_star collected 23750 from pot

Another great spot for me against the same opponent who was pretty tilted by now...

*********** # 130 **************
*** HOLE CARDS ***Dealt to 147_star [Ah Kc]
LaMartina99: calls 800
147_star: raises 1550 to 2350
folded until LaMartina99: calls 1550
*** FLOP *** [2c 5s 5h]LaMartina99: checks 147_star: checks
*** TURN *** [2c 5s 5h] [6s]LaMartina99: checks 147_star: checks
*** RIVER *** [2c 5s 5h 6s] [Ac]
LaMartina99: bets 1600
147_star: raises 6000 to 7600
LaMartina99: calls 6000
*** SHOW DOWN ***
147_star: shows [Ah Kc] (two pair, Aces and Fives)
LaMartina99: mucks hand (he had A10...lucky me!!)
147_star collected 21550 from pot

Up til now these hands are fairly insignificant seeing as my stack at the end was 86million+, but I think early play is crucial as an extra 10k chips early on doubled thru several times is huge, and at the time these hands were fantastic momentum builders.

Next hand, though after a 5min break, I manage to finish the same guy off...he shouldn't have questioned my fruity raises!!!

*********** # 131 **************
Dealt to 147_star [Ad Qd]
147_star: raises 900 to 1700
Vlad989: calls 1700
LaMartina99: raises 5491 to 7191 and is all-in
147_star: raises 48509 to 55700 and is all-in
Vlad989: folds
*** FLOP *** [Ah 8d 4s]*** TURN *** [Ah 8d 4s] [8h]*** RIVER *** [Ah 8d 4s 8h] [7s]*** SHOW DOWN ***
LaMartina99: shows [As Jd] (two pair, Aces and Eights)
147_star: shows [Ad Qd] (two pair, Aces and Eights - Queen kicker)
147_star collected 16932 from pot

LaMartina99 [observer] said, "du schwulle hure"

...I think that means nice play sir or "you will win"?! Any translations?!

*********** # 166 **************

Won a 40k flip with QQ > AK, QKx flop!
Stack 80k, blinds 600/1200...

..at this time I think I requested my one time, available from the VIP store for my soul, seemed fair!

This was a pretty sick double barrel against this guy...

*********** # 184 **************
Seat 6: zfahmie (75774 in chips)
Seat 8: 147_star (77356 in chips)

Dealt to 147_star [2h 9c]
folded to zfahmie (in cutoff): raises 1799 to 3299
boxen: folds
147_star: raises 5557 to 8856
zfahmie: calls 5557
*** FLOP *** [5h 6c Qs]
147_star: bets 8351
zfahmie: calls 8351
*** TURN *** [5h 6c Qs] [3d]
147_star: bets 12345
zfahmie: folds
Uncalled bet (12345) returned to 147_star
147_star collected 36514 from pot

Another momentum builder...most of these happened to be right that night luckily...

*********** # 195 **************

Dealt to 147_star [5s 9d](ON THE BUTTON, 1k/2k blinds)
folded to 147_star: raises 2250 to 4250
Mattazz: folds
nuizizi: calls 2250
*** FLOP *** [Js 8s 9c]
nuizizi: checks
147_star: checks
*** TURN *** [Js 8s 9c] [2d]
nuizizi: bets 6000
147_star: calls 6000
*** RIVER *** [Js 8s 9c 2d] [4s]
nuizizi: bets 10000
147_star: calls 10000
*** SHOW DOWN ***
nuizizi: shows [Kd Qh] (high card King)
147_star: shows [5s 9d] (a pair of Nines)
147_star collected 43300 from pot

200th hand = another cooler for me to get pretty huge...

QQ > JJ all in preflop after he shoved his 17bb stack against my open and was unlucky...73k pot surging me to 124k

201st hand = aj > a10 against a shortie for 40k pot, all seem to be holding!!

213th hand = About time I hit a set imo as I'd had a few small pairs/hit another set, ridic outdraw 66 . JJ for 73k pot against a shortie who had 3xed it from like 11BB stack so I should have got away! Up to 177k!

236th hand= Chip up another 90k pot shoving 45 in the small blind to the BB's 10BB stack and holding vs A10!!!

Made my first real mistake in the 246th hand, thought the blocker better would fold the river and couldn't read the spike...probably a bad flop check by me.

*********** # 246 **************

Dealt to 147_star [Kh Td]
all folds to 147_star: raises 4068 to 8068
dollarMI: folds
buzzzarrrd: folds
davidd267: calls 4068
*** FLOP *** [Jc As 4d]
davidd267: checks 147_star: checks
*** TURN *** [Jc As 4d] [5c]
davidd267: checks
147_star: bets 8800
davidd267: calls 8800
*** RIVER *** [Jc As 4d 5c] [7c]
davidd267: bets 12000
147_star: raises 40700 to 52700
davidd267: calls 40700
*** SHOW DOWN ***
147_star: shows [Kh Td] (high card Ace)
davidd267: shows [7d 5d] (two pair, Sevens and Fives)
davidd267 collected 144736 from pot

Next hand, hand 147+100, I managed to hit my 52 outer to get back to huge stackville!

*********** # 247 **************
Dealt to 147_star [7d 8d]
folded to 147_star: raises 4100 to 8100
dollarMI: folds
buzzzarrrd: folds
147_star said, "<----had a good read that you didn't have an ace ;) "davidd267: calls 6100 spirit2242: calls 4100 *** FLOP *** [6d As Qd] davidd267: bets 12000 spirit2242: calls 12000 davidd267 said, "yea i was lucky" 147_star: calls 12000 *** TURN *** [6d As Qd] [5h] davidd267: checks spirit2242: checks 147_star: bets 95000 and is all-in davidd267: folds spirit2242: calls 42531 and is all-in Uncalled bet (52469) returned to 147_star *** RIVER *** [6d As Qd 5h] [4h] *** SHOW DOWN *** spirit2242: shows [Ac 3c] (a pair of Aces) 147_star: shows [7d 8d] (a straight, Four to Eight)147_star collected 148962 from pot *********** # 265 ************** Lose around 1/4 of my 200k stack with AQ <>If nobody wants this pot, I'll have it...

*********** # 272 **************

*** HOLE CARDS ***Dealt to 147_star [Qd Td]
Jesaja04: folds
supernova9: folds
147_star: raises 5216 to 10216
eaw1104: folds
sluppermann: folds
HAZZZZA: calls 10216
tugamts: folds
gresuay: folds
cardlo69: calls 5216
*** FLOP *** [Jh As 3d]
cardlo69: checks
147_star: bets 17500
HAZZZZA: calls 17500
cardlo69: calls 17500
*** TURN *** [Jh As 3d] [6c]
cardlo69: checks 147_star: checks HAZZZZA: checks
*** RIVER *** [Jh As 3d 6c] [5d]
cardlo69: checks
147_star: bets 32500
HAZZZZA: folds
cardlo69: folds
Uncalled bet (32500) returned to 147_star
147_star collected 90148 from pot

*********** # 292 **************

Lose 35k from 240k stack, blinds 3k/6k with A3 <>First key clash with Hoodini10 goes his way, his aggression and fearlessness has been noted though, and given the situation/stack sizes (I have 200k) I was tempted to call thinking I may be good

*********** # 302 **************

Dealt to 147_star [Th As]
folded to cutoff
hoodini10: raises 9750 to 17750
147_star: raises 26443 to 44193
babina_greda: folds
triggerjoe1: folds
hoodini10: raises 207681 to 251874 and is all-in
147_star: folds

*********** # 313 **************

KK > AQ for 130k pot and back to 211k blinds 4k/8k

This one was a call I was pretty proud of, it was the second time he had shoved against me and I thought he was doing it fairly wide.

I have 250k, he has 158k...

Dealt to 147_star [As 2s]
AceQuad: folds jnpn: folds GetDowAndGo: folds benstunner: folds hoodini10: folds
147_star: raises 12500 to 22500
-benWU-: folds
Derby Status: raises 134860 to 157360 and is all-in
Zippus: folds
147_star: calls 134860
*** FLOP *** [Ac 4d 7s]
*** TURN *** [Ac 4d 7s] [Kh]
*** RIVER *** [Ac 4d 7s Kh] [2d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Derby Status: shows [Kc Qc] (a pair of Kings)
147_star: shows [As 2s] (two pair, Aces and Deuces)147_star collected 333720 from pot

Up to 430k now, blinds 5k/10k, when this stupid hand comes along!

Dealt to 147_star [Jc Js]
-benWU-: folds
Hohojirozame: folds
Zippus: folds
kremlin72 [observer] said, "v tough table
"AceQuad: raises 11366 to 21366
GetDowAndGo: folds
benstunner: raises 52294 to 73660 and is all-in
Kilah Priest is connected
hoodini10: raises 345107 to 418767 and is all-in
147_star: folds
AceQuad: folds
Uncalled bet (345107) returned to hoodini10
*** FLOP *** [5h 3s 4d]
*** TURN *** [5h 3s 4d] [Kc]
147_star said, "ridic i had jj"
*** RIVER *** [5h 3s 4d Kc] [Qd]
*** SHOW DOWN ***hoodini10: shows [9h 9c] (a pair of Nines)
benstunner: shows [2d 2h] (a pair of Deuces)hoodini10 collected 186686 from pot

I don't like his shove much and think maybe he is a bit too laggy and aggressive from that hand, and regret the fact it wasn't blind on blind one time he's 4bet jammed me in that situation once already.

*********** # 353 **************

I take a 100k dent from 430k back to 330k after a 3xer from mid position jammed on my button 3bet (I had KQ, he claimed KK)

*********** # 369 **************

Getting pretty deepish now, I have this huge flip go my way against my nemesis Hoodini!

Dealt to 147_star [Ah Td]
Hohojirozame (SICK JUST REALISED HE GETS TO THE FT): folds
Zippus: folds
AceQuad: folds
vonchamier87: folds
tomoscas: folds
hoodini10: raises 18750 to 33750
147_star: raises 232050 to 265800 and is all-in
-benWU-: folds
hoodini10: calls 232050
*** FLOP *** [5s Kc As]
PompYouUp [observer] said, "aaa"
*** TURN *** [5s Kc As] [2h]
PompYouUp [observer] said, "aaaaaaaaaaa"
*** RIVER *** [5s Kc As 2h] [Jh]
*** SHOW DOWN ***147_star: shows [Ah Td] (a pair of Aces)
hoodini10: shows [7h 7d] (a pair of Sevens)
147_star collected 558600 from pot
147_star said, "ty pomp ;)"

Pompyouup is a sick player btw who finished top 20ish and got horrificly 5outered on the river for a monster stack with a couple of tables left, really feel sympathy towards you man, you'll have your time.

This hand, just 4hands later, was a fairly tough decision but luckily I made the correct one...

Dealt to 147_star [5h 5c]
vonchamier87: folds
Zippus has returned
tomoscas: folds
hoodini10: folds
147_star: raises 15600 to 30600
-benWU-: folds
Hohojirozame: folds
Zippus: folds
AceQuad: folds
PapaGreggio: calls 15600
*** FLOP *** [Td 4c 4d]
PapaGreggio: checks
147_star: bets 37500
PapaGreggio: raises 52499 to 89999
147_star: calls 52499
*** TURN *** [Td 4c 4d] [Ts]
PapaGreggio: bets 175013 and is all-in
147_star: calls 175013
*** RIVER *** [Td 4c 4d Ts] [6d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
PapaGreggio: shows [Qc Kd] (two pair, Tens and Fours)
147_star: shows [5h 5c] (two pair, Tens and Fives)
147_star collected 612224 from pot

Up to 870k now, blinds 7500/15000 and feeling good!

Somebody finally notices my raise intentions in some chat that I've only just noticed now, thanks a lot mate for staying up and watching all night, I appreciate it!

kremlin72 [observer] said, "getting rid of your stack inequality. lol. OCD FTW"

Another awkward decision but as I think Zippus is a gortina99: calls 800
147_stcall.

Dealt to 147_star [7d As]
vonchamier87: folds
tomoscas: folds
hoodini10: folds
147_star: raises 20200 to 40200
-benWU-: folds
Hohojirozame: folds
Zippus: raises 209178 to 249378 and is all-in
AceQuad: folds
HCclubhopper: folds
147_star: calls 209178
*** FLOP *** [2c Ac 5s]
*** TURN *** [2c Ac 5s] [7h]
*** RIVER *** [2c Ac 5s 7h] [3s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
147_star: shows [7d As] (two pair, Aces and Sevens)
Zippus: shows [8h Kd] (high card Ace)

Luckily when I made the right reads Pokerstars was in a mood to reward and hands were holding nicely at the right times and I was on over a million chips and pretty close to first place!

This was an annoying hand where I was confident I was ahead and trying to eek out some more value until the river meant I paid him off...

*********** # 395 **************
Dealt to 147_star [Kc Qc]
call110: folds
AceQuad: raises 22223 to 42223
HCclubhopper: folds
vonchamier87: folds
tomoscas: folds
hoodini10: folds
147_star: calls 32223
Hohojirozame: folds
*** FLOP *** [Qh 6d 2d]
147_star: checks
AceQuad: bets 41233
147_star: calls 41233
*** TURN *** [Qh 6d 2d] [6c]
147_star: checks
rchan5 is connected
AceQuad: checks
*** RIVER *** [Qh 6d 2d 6c] [Ad]
147_star: checks
AceQuad: bets 86444
147_star: calls 86444
*** SHOW DOWN ***AceQuad: shows [Ah Tc] (two pair, Aces and Sixes)147_star: mucks hand

The following hand, with perhaps a hundred people left, was the hand that made the most nervous of any in the whole tournament...I knew me and this guy would clash, and he we were with a blind on blind scenario...my heart was racing a ridiculous amount here it's not even safe!!

*********** # 402 ************** Level XXIV (12500/25000)

Seat 3: hoodini10 (782504 in chips)
Seat 4: 147_star (959178 in chips)

Dealt to 147_star [Ad 7c]
hoodini10: raises 42500 to 67500
147_star: calls 42500 [I JUST FLAT HERE BECAUSE HE 4BET SHOVES SO OFTEN]
*** FLOP *** [6c 7d 4h]
hoodini10: bets 87500
147_star: raises 126678 to 214178
hoodini10: raises 498326 to 712504 and is all-in [AFTER A HUGE DWELL]
147_star: calls 498326 [I WANTED THIS SHOVE AND DECIDE AGAINST HIM IT'S A CALL]
*** TURN *** [6c 7d 4h] [5h]
*** RIVER *** [6c 7d 4h 5h] [Qs]
*** SHOW DOWN
***hoodini10: shows [As Tc] (high card Ace)
147_star: shows [Ad 7c] (a pair of Sevens)
147_star collected 1582508 from pot

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! Genuinely the most nervous I have ever been at a poker table in any given scenario...sick heartrate as he spent a minute before jamming! I planned the hand out in my head before he jammed and luckily it went pretty much according to script.

I stay at around the 1.7-1.8m mark until this hand in which I don't dislike my play as the chip lead villain had flatted and reraised on the flop a few times now but perhaps calling would have been better on the flop

*********** # 424 **************

Dealt to 147_star [Ts Ks]
147_star: raises 30500 to 60500
AFROSUPERMAN: folds
JSchnett: folds
call110: calls 60500
AceQuad: folds
HCclubhopper: folds
vonchamier87: folds
Eduts: calls 30500
*** FLOP *** [3s 5s 4h]
Eduts: checks
147_star: bets 86500
call110: raises 113499 to 199999
Eduts: folds
147_star: raises 199999 to 399998
Akeen is connected
call110: raises 2522542 to 2922540 and is all-in
147_star: folds

*********** # 456 **************

Seat 4: 147_star (1147000 in chips)

In the bag from there really!!! :D

This was a huuuuuge bluff to keep my stack nicely above the 10-20BB region and mean I could afford to raise/fold and dominate where possible...

*********** # 467 **************

Dealt to 147_star [Js Tc]
PompYouUp: folds
147_star: raises 52500 to 102500
RaZe_U: folds
kdk1111: folds
ship_it_cfb: folds
klorinho1: folds
mick_allin: folds
EXTRA84: calls 77500
Enigmatic Em: calls 52500
*** FLOP *** [8c 2c 3h]
EXTRA84: checks
Enigmatic Em: bets 50000
147_star: raises 162501 to 212501
EXTRA84: calls 212501
Enigmatic Em: folds
*** TURN *** [8c 2c 3h] [Kc]
EXTRA84: checks
147_star: checks
*** RIVER *** [8c 2c 3h Kc] [5d]
EXTRA84: checks 147_star: bets 699999 and is all-in
EXTRA84: folds

I AM SUCH A DUMBASS, I HAVE BEEN HAVING SUCH TROUBLE PUTTING THESE HANDS OVER ON HERE AND I'VE JUST WORKED OUT HOW MUCH EASIER IT WOULD HAVE BEEN DOING IT ALL IN WORD AND THEN PASTING THE WHOLE THING ACROSS.......VARIANCE IMO!!!

Anyways, on with the action...I really hope this isn't boring, all of these hands were crucial to me and really changed the dynamics of how I could take pots uncontested. In a tournament of this size, these pots are the ones that prevent you having to win 100's of all ins and give you scope to cope with some outdraws/coolers, not that I had many at all!!

*********** # 478 **************

In this hand I made a dubious and debatable call with A5suited to a guy's 9BB middle position shove after it's the second hand he's taken in a row and whilst i've just moved here it seems like he jammed a hand just before that other one to take a pot as well. He had 10s and held an I am back down to 500k and have 10BB's again.

Then the standard insta-reprieve happens!!

*********** # 479 **************

Dealt to 147_star [Kh Kc]
Pechtis111: folds
147_star said, "fml"
147_star said, "bad call ffs"
ssinna: folds
Ronigoal: folds
PHHSkid99: folds
panormogr: folds
VieTLoKo: raises 102456 to 162456
batlerbm: folds
147_star: raises 307165 to 469621 and is all-in
deglingue: folds
VieTLoKo: calls 307165
*** FLOP *** [7c Qc Ts]
*** TURN *** [7c Qc Ts] [9c]
*** RIVER *** [7c Qc Ts 9c] [6h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
147_star: shows [Kh Kc] (a pair of Kings)
VieTLoKo: shows [Js Jh] (a pair of Jacks)
147_star collected 1053242 from pot

Over the next 10-15 hands made a couple of standard re-shoves with A8 as I was using my 12-15ish BB stack to get other people out of raised pots and stay afloat.

Then a couple of my spots were taken away from me over the next few hands by deglingue, who played very impressively and was very aggressive, 3betting me wide, and I had to wait until this resteal opportunity from heaven popped up...obv the call gave me extra value when I hit!!

*********** # 503 **************

Dealt to 147_star [9s Kd]
deglingue: folds
Pechtis111: folds
ssinna: folds
klorinho1: raises 80000 to 160000
PHHSkid99: folds
panormogr: folds
VieTLoKo: calls 160000
RaZe_U: folds
147_star: raises 817499 to 977499
klorinho1: folds
VieTLoKo: calls 568442 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (249057) returned to 147_star
*** FLOP *** [3c Kc 5h]
*** TURN *** [3c Kc 5h] [Jd]
*** RIVER *** [3c Kc 5h Jd] [6c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
147_star: shows [9s Kd] (a pair of Kings)
VieTLoKo: shows [8d 8h] (a pair of Eights)
147_star collected 1728884 from pot

This was another nice call which earnt me a few extra bluffing chips!

*********** # 508 **************

Dealt to 147_star [3h Ah]
RaZe_U: folds
147_star: raises 83942 to 163942
deglingue: folds
Pechtis111: folds
ssinna: folds
klorinho1: folds
PHHSkid99: calls 83942
*** FLOP *** [4d 9d 8d]PHHSkid99: checks 147_star: checks
*** TURN *** [4d 9d 8d] [4h]PHHSkid99: checks 147_star: checks
*** RIVER *** [4d 9d 8d 4h] [7c]
PHHSkid99: bets 280000
147_star: calls 280000
*** SHOW DOWN ***PHHSkid99: shows [Qd Kh] (a pair of Fours)
147_star: shows [3h Ah] (a pair of Fours - Ace kicker)
147_star collected 983884 from pot

After dropping a few chips to deglingue's brilliant aggression, I make the call with K10hh and have my luckiest moment in the tournament...

*********** # 520 **************
Dealt to 147_star [Th Kh]
folds to small blind RaZe_U: raises 2212072 to 2312072 and is all-in
147_star: calls 1639500 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (572572) returned to RaZe_U
*** FLOP *** [6c Ad Td]
*** TURN *** [6c Ad Td] [5h]
*** RIVER *** [6c Ad Td 5h] [Tc]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
RaZe_U: shows [6h Ac] (two pair, Aces and Tens)
147_star: shows [Th Kh] (three of a kind, Tens)
MSU10s [observer] said, "binkkkkk"

That was a massive bonus as I thought the dream was over but I was still in it and feeling like it could well be my night!

I think maybe there were 21 people by this point when I completed Raze_U's night with this reshove on the small blind against him.

*********** # 536 **************
Dealt to 147_star [Ah 7d]
klorinho1: folds
PHHSkid99: folds
FUTURE102: folds
extasyman: folds
RaZe_U: raises 1562144 to 1692144 and is all-in
147_star: raises 1633856 to 3326000 and is all-in
deglingue: folds
Uncalled bet (1633856) returned to 147_star
*** FLOP *** [Qh Js 3h]
*** TURN *** [Qh Js 3h] [Tc]
*** RIVER *** [Qh Js 3h Tc] [Kc]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
147_star: shows [Ah 7d] (a straight, Ten to Ace)
RaZe_U: shows [6c Kh] (a pair of Kings)
147_star collected 3605288 from pot

This put me up to the dizzy heights of 5m+ chips, over 40BB's and comfortable, although as I said to my mate Luke, l_usher87, legend, if deglingue keeps re-raising me I'll end up shoving...!

*********** # 537 **************

Dealt to 147_star [7d 7s]
PHHSkid99: folds
FUTURE102: folds
extasyman: folds
L_Usher87 [observer] said, "nh"
BigPapaLind [observer] said, "w0000000000000t gogogogogoo"
147_star: raises 136144 to 266144
Benjamin89 is connected
bcforrest is connected
Parky 32 is connected
deglingue: raises 523855 to 789999
klorinho1: folds
147_star: raises 4436145 to 5226144 and is all-in
deglingue has timed out
deglingue: folds

It has to be your night when you avoid a horrible flip due to the situation going mad in front of you...

*********** # 541 **************
Seat 6: extasyman (6266401 in chips)
Seat 7: Parky 32 (7855914 in chips)
Seat 8: 147_star (6185143 in chips)

Dealt to 147_star [Kd Ad]
147_star: raises 132143 to 262143
deglingue: folds
Benjamin89: folds
bcforrest: raises 523463 to 785606 and is all-in
klorinho1: folds
PHHSkid99: calls 12411 and is all-in
FUTURE102: folds
extasyman: raises 523463 to 1309069
Parky 32: folds 147_star: folds
Uncalled bet (523463) returned to extasyman
*** FLOP *** [6h 5d 5c]
*** TURN *** [6h 5d 5c] [Jd]
*** RIVER *** [6h 5d 5c Jd] [5h]
extasyman: shows [Td Th] (a full house, Fives full of Tens)
bcforrest: shows [Ah Qh] (three of a kind, Fives)
extasyman collected 1913711 from side pot
PHHSkid99: shows [Qd Qc] (a full house, Fives full of Queens)

This hand is the first of two sick ones against this villain, he has three bet me a couple of times by now and has now 4-bet me but I still think he must be strong and I try to disguise my hand to some extent with the shove but he doesn't buy it..

*********** # 552 **************
Dealt to 147_star [Kh Ks]
TUT07: raises 130000 to 260000
klorinho1: folds
FUTURE102: folds
extasyman: folds
ktaburn [observer] said, "lol"
Parky 32: folds
147_star: raises 404500 to 664500
deglingue: folds
Benjamin89: folds
TUT07: raises 635500 to 1300000
147_star: raises 3814000 to 5114000 and is all-in
TUT07: folds

This, against the same guy as before, is one of the most ridiculous hands I have ever seen!!!!!!!

*********** # 560 **************

Seat 2: TUT07 (6171587 in chips)
Seat 8: 147_star (6669000 in chips)

Dealt to 147_star [Ah Ac]
klorinho1: folds
extasyman: folds
Parky 32: raises 170000 to
147_star: raises 323000 to 653000
deglingue: folds
Benjamin89: folds
TUT07: raises 722000 to 1375000
Parky 32: folds
147_star: raises 860701 to 2235701
TUT07: raises 3919886 to 6155587 and is all-in
147_star: calls 3919886
Ince 24 [observer] said, "fireworks"
*** FLOP *** [2d 4d Qc]
GarotoPoker [observer] said, "wow"
BeethSymNo5 [observer] said, "LOL j6 hahahaha"
*** TURN *** [2d 4d Qc] [3c]
*** RIVER *** [2d 4d Qc 3c] [9s]
kremlin72 [observer] said, "wow"
rockymtnpro [observer] said, "lol"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
TUT07: shows [Jh 6h] (high card Queen)
147_star: shows [Ah Ac] (a pair of Aces)

What a ballsy motherbluffer and whilst it didn't work out there just wow for even trying it...think that's a time when the supernova stars certainly worked in my favour, and that elevated me in a to a big chip lead wowoowowowoooooooooooooooo!

Again two big hands save me from a cooler (IF BY COOLER I MEAN QUADS)!

*********** # 564 **************

Dealt to 147_star [Tc Th]
Benjamin89: folds
Hohojirozame: folds
klorinho1: raises 2182934 to 2342934 and is all-in
Eduts: folds
lumpicat: folds
extasyman: raises 1531678 to 3874612 and is all-in
Parky 32: folds
147_star: folds
*** FLOP *** [7s 2d Ts]
*** TURN *** [7s 2d Ts] [4d]
*** RIVER *** [7s 2d Ts 4d] [Td]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
klorinho1: shows [Ad Qs] (a pair of Tens)
extasyman: shows [Kd Kh] (two pair, Kings and Tens)

LMAO, some classic chat that I've just seen...

BeethSymNo5 [observer] said, "Hey 147 Star, I just went out and bought you new underwear after seeing J6hearts and remembering that on PokerStars, anything is possible"

Here the guy calls my 3bet, leads in to me and then I hit a dream river to make sure I get paid...

*********** # 581 **************

Dealt to 147_star [Th Ah]
Hohojirozame: folds
Eduts: folds
lumpicat: folds
extasyman: folds
Parky 32: raises 220000 to 420000
"147_star: raises 436201 to 856201
deglingue: folds
Benjamin89: folds
Parky 32: calls 436201
*** FLOP *** [2h Ad 6s]
Parky 32: bets 1000000
147_star: calls 1000000
*** TURN *** [2h Ad 6s] [4d]
Parky 32: checks
147_star: checks
*** RIVER *** [2h Ad 6s 4d] [Jh]
Parky 32: checks
147_star: bets 1899801
Parky 32: calls 1899801
*** SHOW DOWN ***
147_star: shows [Th Ah] (a pair of Aces)
Parky 32: mucks hand (HE HAD JQ)

So my lead builds and I have a chance to dominate now as the final table bubble approaches, I have the other table open and see one guys, the_blues totally crushing it and people are getting knocked out from either table at a fairly quick rate...all that's in my head is one time and the nervous cough has died down for the last couple of hours as I'm just focussed on the win and taking it home.

This next was big as it dented the guy who had been giving me the most trouble...now I felt I could have taken the pot away from him but once I hit the ace I thought I'd try to extract some value and have some pot control in case he had the K, 77 was pretty much exactly where I thought he was at..

Dealt to 147_star [As 9d]
lumpicat: folds
extasyman: folds
Parky 32: folds
147_star: raises 202003 to 402003
deglingue: calls 402003
Benjamin89: folds
Hohojirozame: folds
BeethSymNo5 [observer] said, "J6hearts"
Eduts: calls 202003
*** FLOP *** [Kh 4h Ks]
Eduts: checks
147_star: checks
deglingue: bets 329999
Eduts: folds
147_star: raises 400001 to 730000
deglingue: calls 400001
*** TURN *** [Kh 4h Ks] [Ah]
147_star: checks
deglingue: checks
*** RIVER *** [Kh 4h Ks Ah] [Js]
147_star: checks
deglingue: bets 999999
147_star: calls 999999
*** SHOW DOWN ***
deglingue: shows [7s 7h] (two pair, Kings and Sevens)
147_star: shows [As 9d] (two pair, Aces and Kings)
147_star collected 4926007 from pot

Suddenly I have 100BB's and in a position to totally dominate.

This next hand I flop a really nice flop after he prices me in to call and on the turn his bet just screamed weakness...

*********** # 593 **************

Dealt to 147_star [Ks 7s]
147_star: raises 204150 to 404150
deglingue: folds
Hohojirozame: raises 345850 to 750000
Eduts: folds
lumpicat: folds Parky 32: folds
147_star: calls 345850
*** FLOP *** [Kd As 3s]
147_star: checks
Hohojirozame: bets 650000
147_star: raises 9349999 to 9999999
Hohojirozame: folds

POPPOPPOPPOPPOPPOP of the final table bubble in classic run-like-god style for me!!

*********** # 595 **************

Dealt to 147_star [Ad As]
Hohojirozame: folds
Eduts: raises 297500 to 547500
lumpicat: folds
Parky 32: folds
kremlin72 [observer] said, "wow, sick pot on other table 32>AK aipf for 16 mil"
147_star: raises 707299 to 1254799
deglingue: folds
Eduts: raises 4896317 to 6151116 and is all-in
147_star: calls 4896317
*** FLOP *** [Ts Ks 6h]
HealthySoul [observer] said, "Q"
*** TURN *** [Ts Ks 6h] [3s]
*** RIVER *** [Ts Ks 6h 3s] [3c]k
remlin72 [observer] said, "hold!
"walter rod1 [observer] said, "oh"
***SHOW DOWN ***
147_star: shows [Ad As] (two pair, Aces and Threes)
Eduts: shows [Jh Ah] (a pair of Threes)

So, BOOOOM, I would start the final table of the biggest tournament online with a 28m stack,and 120 BB's...I knew from this point that with the ladders jumping up so sharply I had such a huge advantage with these chips and people just couldn't find it in them to play back at me...

I won't continue with the hand reviews as a video with highlights of the win is available at http://www.pokerstars.tv/poker-video-5356-online-poker-show-sunday-million-april-25th-2010.html, and better still for the poker fans who are interested in the dynamics of a final table or like me want to see what the other guys kept folding the full replay of the final table will be shown on Pokerstars at 6PM GMT from Wednesday!

If there are any questions, queries, congratulations or anything else please comment and I will try my best to respond!

This post has taken me over 3hours as hotmail and blogger was truly playing up and re-reading every hands and thinking which ones were worth blogging or of interest, but I really hope it has been worth it for anybody who has read this or just scanned down, and thank you so much for the support everybody has given me, it has been unbelievable!!!!

I will post more frequently in future and I will update people as to what I may be doing with the money when I work it out...thanks again everybody, and $h1p 1t 1m0!!!xxxxxxxxxx

147_shine

Janaury was a bit meh...

Didn't really get much chance to play in January as I have been taking driving lessons 3-4 times a week and tried to not play on evenings before a lesson. As such, when I played I was chasing profits a little too much, and combined with running bad for several sessions and some of this being at $230's, I didn't make much but with rakeback (in terms of FPP's) and bonuses still had a reasonable month.

I also learnt a valuable lesson, nobody wins on FT...I put $600 on and this went within 50minutes, losing to a 2-outer, a 3-outer and 3 flips plus getting cut off for one game...never again (well maybe for rush poker but that's an acceptable waste!)

I really wanted to hit the last Sunday schedule pretty hard but had a 6 hour driving lesson to look forward to the next day so missed out on Bowburn (DthestudentJ) putting in a heroic run to get 23rdish out of 20k ish people in the Sunday (2) Million for a nice score, but 22 people later he would have shipped $550k...if only I was online I could have persuaded him to take a 23 way chop or at least propose it!

Fortunately, I intelligently booked my driving test for 14:05 today, and it was basically pass and the fairly poor month is justified...fail and Feb may be a struggle as well. I had a couple of traumas including pulling away uphill at traffic lights only to have to stop and not roll back when two fire engines whizzed through...still somehow I negotiated this and despite some obvious minors when I was asked how I thought I did and glanced at the clock showing 14:47 I inwardly said wp and got the good news! I'm still a pretty bad driver tbh but I can learn to drive soon enough and get my own style, so hopefully I can nail the poker in Feb and starting doing well again.

5HIP IT!

Blogggger Tournaments...let's ship them all!


Update wise nothing much has happened, had a standard drop $1500 get back to evens (and then slightly lose) night last night and haven't played much at all in 2010, putting in perhaps 4 or 5 half-hearted sessions. I have been relaxing after a big month in December, have been on holiday in the Lake District and am finally learning to drive which I'm not sure I like tbh...I hate doing things I'm not good at (unless it results in self-satisfaction!!!!) so making stupid mistakes tilt me and I have had 6 hours so far and I'm not quite at ease in a car yet...hopefully that changes soon!


So, I've only made a little bit this month though this has been helped by quite a few more fpps which I've used to invest in a ps3, an ipod nano and some other random junk like clothing and scarves and hats! FPPs rack up fast as a supernova which is nice, and I have been playing $230's and want to mix them in on nights where the action seems softer.


2010 is waiting to be a massive year I hope but it will probably have to start once my driving is out the way as I'm doing a sort of intensive driving programme spanned over a few weeks and I don't want to be out on the road without much sleep. 9am sessions won't be conducive to good driving, and neither will finishing this pos

2009 review, poker and life, and 2010 aims and dreams!!

Well, I can honestly say that 2009 has been a very successful, surprising and on the whole an incredible year with so many achievements and experiences, and I hope I can recap a few of them now! It's going to be epic but it will be my last for a while and I feel that 2009 is worth writing quite a lot about!!

First, I'll discuss life successes/failures and progress...

Despite a bit of a struggle throughout Uni in terms of keeping on top of the workload and being apart from Louise, in the third year I had set myself a reasonable platform from which a 2.1 was very possible. By this stage I was starting to take poker more seriously and had already replaced my part time job with poker but I knew that I had to give myself a sound basis if poker didn't work out. It has always been the same when I was considering taking snooker/football more seriously that I had to have something to fall back on, and poker is certainly in the same bracket of indefinite activities that can disappear as quickly as it appeared. Now, this was difficult, after the biggest win of my life I had to settle down the next day and work on a summative assignment, and whilst all I wanted to do was play and try to win more or go out and celebrate I did manage to knuckle down and prove to myself that I can get through exams and not let people down. I learnt that if I put my mind to something I can succeed and it's reassuring to know that I am lucky to have a good brain on me and I am determined to use it in whatever capacity necessary to succeed.

I have in some ways taken a step back in life by living back at home again after graduating, but financially this makes sense and it's nice to see my family and be able to spend time with my sisters and treat them as often as I like. I have turned my once childish and messy room into quite a nice place to relax and play poker, and have a comfortable chair and a nice monitor, along with a luxury in terms of Sky to help me work optimally. I think I have developed maturity in this time, and have become more placid in terms of poker and life on the whole. I miss Durham and the make-believe happy place it was but as with all forms of life you meet a select few who you see afterwards and make effort to really keep in contact with and they are who matter the most...the fake lifestyle of getting on with everyone at Uni is great and makes the place what it is but that's not the lifestyle I crave. It's nice to be back home, playing snooker and golf more regularly, though I do miss my housemates and the poker games from the last few years!!

I have been very lucky to experience new things this year, and have managed to go to Las Vegas, Malta, Edinburgh and almost everywhere across the British Isles which has given me a bug to go travelling and that is something I hope to do next academic year. I have also been more financially secure than ever before and have enjoyed treating people when I can and of course treating myself...Louise has had a tough time this year keeping on top of her finances and it is a proud feeling knowing that I am helping her out and establishing a nice nest-egg on which we can base our future. I am now one year closer to moving in with her and starting my life with her, and to be honest have been lucky that she and my family have been understanding with regards to me playing poker professionally.

In many ways, the money I have made from poker has enabled a lot of the things in 2009 that I enjoyed, the trip to Vegas, the balla hotel, trips away with Louise and family treats, and whilst I have splashed quite a lot of it on things I don't need, I have put some away safe which I can dip in to for things I need such as driving which I hope to be this month!

In terms of poker, SharkScope informs me that I played on 47% of days in 2009, which isn't that much compared to most of the HU regs. I played <200 games from April - June, and overall in 2009 played 4939 SNG's and a pathetic 130-odd scheduled tournaments, with only 3 Sunday Millions and 3 Weekly HU tournies.

It's easiest to review the whole year by dividing into before October 1st and after, as that's when I effectively became a "pro".

Pre October, I had some ridic run good in tournies, taking 50% of $8k from the Weekly HU tournie, $4.5k from the Sunday 250k and $4.5k from a $55 tournie, adding to around $12.5k I won from HUSNG's.

From a couple of thousand games I won around $28k and took home $24k, largely thanks to the big scores in the tournies. At this point I was still pretty much stuck at the $57.50s and a bit scared to move up to bigger games. Whilst my volume was fairly low, as I made sure I enjoyed Uni and worked when I had to , I had managed to work up the bankroll to make a big decision and play poker professionally for a year. Without some luck I probably would not have been able to make that decision, so I am lucky that I run well to get an opportunity to give it a go full-time.

Since October, I have played around 2.9k games and taken home around $21k profit, earning about $1k a month rakeback from the FPP's. I should really always use them in the HU shootouts to the Sunday Mill but I play too many 280fpp hyperturbos to blow off steam and they are pretty neutral EV. My ROI is only around 6% which can be increased, and mixing in regular speed games has helped increase that ROI. December was the breakthrough month which I hope I can progress from as I worked my ample arse off to make just under 12k from 1240 games, learning a lot about the best way to win which I hope I can take in to the new year.

So, doing some overall calculations, first up, I think if I can continue to win at a similar rate then poker is a viable career for a while. I am losing employability whilst I am out of work, but the tax-free winning at the minute is better than I would get from a job.

I have managed to win around $49k in 2009, give or take, and can add $1k from Vegas to total $50k, of which I gave $4k to backers. With only playing 47% of days in 2009, I am very proud of this total and I hope to add to it in 2010. Also, I managed to grind it out to make supernova, and I read from somebody's blog that 300k vpps with the new FPP and VPP system would equate to around $21k rakeback so I am going to try to maximise my volume to get as much money as I can get!

Aims...in life and in poker!

Travel and plan for possible trip to Aus, Thailand and NZ.

Put in good volume and keep learning.

Move up the stakes when I'm ready to take shots...I've taken a few shots at the $230s and want to continue to do so and beyond.

Play many more tournaments as they are ridic value and big scores can happen...especially Sunday Mill, FTOPS and WCOOP events.

Start driving and go on road trips to different casinos.

Get down to below 18 handicap at golf.

Make at least 4 century breaks in snooker.

Final table and preferably win a live event.

And, being bold, I have worked out that I would need to save my FPP's from 31k 115's to get the 3m FPP's to get a Porsche...if I can start to move up and play higher games, I think I can get a Porsche, so I will use this incentive to spur me on to put in good volume...if I can break even then I will have a healthly living just from the perks of being a Supernova and great FPP system...let's smash the profit as well and be actually able to afford to run the Porsche!

And, most importantly, make sure that any incredible job opportunities are looked into as getting on the employment ladder could become essential at any time!

Right, all the best for 2010, gl everyone!!!!

Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo SUPERNOVA AVONREPUS ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooW

Yay, I've finally made it to supernova...I'm exhausted, my head is killing me and this screen is ripping my brain in two but I've got there! December has somehow been a ridiculously good month, with the total profit just under $12k which is unprecedented for me since I've been playing heads up (and only ever happened apart from this from tournie scores). I have run well on the whole I think but I think the key has been avoiding the stupid tilt and putting in a good level of volume when I'm feeling good. Also, 1200 games is an awful lot so that has contributed!

Looking forward to earning a nice 5.5vpps instead of 5vpps for every $$ next year which should make FPP earning and reaching supernova again a lot easier, and therefore I'm very glad that I have put in the hours to get here! I'm just about to have a lot what is in the supernova VIP store, wooop!

I feel like I've learnt a lot working so hard to get to this target, though Ptevey and others will be disappointed I reached it this comfortably and didn't have to 29table at 4.59am our time on New Year's Eve to reach it...still I can have a nice relax tomorrow evening now and probably get fucked!! Better remember to put the 24hour block on my poker account!

66 games to go...

I played exactly 100 games tonight, so I need 66 to reach supernova. Ran like God tonight and played pretty well as well to average $30 a game and bring home $3k. Looking forward to having a nice rest from poker as soon as I can get my 5stars by my empty space where somebody interesting would put a picture.

NightNight.

166 games to go...

If my maths are(is) correct, I need 166 games raking $5 each to reach supernova...that should be very possible and I hope to get as close as I can tomorrow. Also, I had a lovely $100 bonus come through from stars for cashing in two turbo takedowns in a row which I had no idea would happen, the site just goes up in my estimations all the time!!

Started off tonight winning 8 in row, then was back to evens, before ending up $1780 up from 101 games...think quite a few regs are away on holidays at the minute as lobbies are easier to come by and the games seem a little softer. Wondering how much money I've left behind at the tables all the times I've won a bit at the start at then gone to bed without playing a decent volume.

I'm nackered all the time atm but I hope supernova will be worth it.

!$&

Getting closer to supernova!!

The other day I needed 13k vpps and it was looking difficult/ nearly impossible to achieve...from now I need 7.3k vpps and it should definitely be made now!

Somehow, playing 4 tables at once hasn't broken me, and since the last post I have made around $1.9k, including having the worst spell of my life earlier where I lost 8 in a row despite getting it in good or flipping around 16 times overall in that particular spell! Losing 9 flips in a row and 14/15 + 2 overpairs v underpairs would have caused me to ridic tilt before but I hope I have a bit of new found maturity and confidence that things will turn around now so can control the tilt better. The night only finished with a small loss so that's not too bad!

Right I'm nackered and hoping to hit the sales in a few hours time...merry xmas everyone!
7,3k vpps to go!!

Late dash for supernova...!

As some of you may know, from late November and early December I started becoming aware that reaching supernova was a possibility, and at the start of December I needed 30k vpps to reach the target! I haven't been able to play every night and at one point thought I wasn't going to bother as it may cost me a fortune trying to get it, but now with around a week to go, I need just under 13k vpps, which is definitely possible! The only problem is the fact that I'm probs going to have to put in a 5hour shift on xmas day!!

I've managed to make 2k vpps tonight 3/4 tabling for a few hours and then ending the evening one tabling for a bit so repeat this 6.5 times and I will be there! I think I need to play around 520 games to reach the target which is seeming pretty difficult atm!

Touch wood I think I'm playing some of my best stuff now, and despite a monstrous >$2k downswing in one ridic 24hours running the worst I have probably ever run (apart from in that dream everyone has where the car is coming straight for you but you can't move), I have managed to bring home a few k a month, but I can't post much more as I've decided to carry on playing to get some more vpps!!

Run well, xxx

Stats Available!!

I've unblocked my SharkScope as I was curious as to how it was looking. I thought I might as well let people check it out...I'll probably be blocking it again in a couple of days so check it out whilst you can!

147x

Meh iphones lol!

Ok, so I don't know how to use iphones properly yet! :-( here is the post intended to accompany the last post!

Apparently I don't know how to copy and paste into blogger from hotmail so I am writing it again..ffs!

Obv have to say wp to keys first of all who destroyed another live tournament, quite a nice name and story to drop into other conversations, and I loved showing off the receipt from the two bottles of Dom Perignon we enjoyed to anybody within 10 metres!! Congrats mate. (If you ever want some heads up lessons I can lend a hand ;-) )...quite funny really how balla the time in Estonia would have been if I wasn't "scared", but the butterfly effect might have meant Keys didn't cash so I don't suppose I was missed! Could be tempted if I'm invited to the PCA!

On a personal level I just completed my first month as a poker pro and it was a huge learning curve! Of course, as always, there is a direct correlation between winning and enjoyment, but touch wood I have been a lot better at handling swings recently and though the start of the month was tricky things have picked up since! I now rarely get joined by regs so have easier games as a result, and I think I'm earning the resepct of other heades up pros! I have had a few requests to pair up with people in 4mans, one of which I accepted in Padgenuts, a big heads up winner and person who has a similar feel for the game style rather than mainly mathematical which has been succesful. We have only had one session at the 4mans but started on fire, winning 6-0 but then both ran so so bad to lose the last two and called it a day! This has good promise I hope and I might hit supernova which is 41k fpps away! I hope to pair up with a reg in the daytimes as well to mix in 4mans with heads ups.

The first month was tough to start with but I managed to pull in £3k which I'm pleased about...that was helped by shipping $1075 in Sunday Million sats from the fpps I've earnt...I hope that can be a good rakeback from the FPP's I make on the way to supernova. I look forward to increasing my poker associate base and making friends with Americans always has value in terms of greater access to Vegas!

The one good thing about this long post is that all my posts are like this but I now blog less regularly you only have to disregard it once or twice a month!

Cheers lads,

poker147star (my aim name!)

Settling in...

yo yo, yo yo, it's off to work I go...

Evening troops, I have "officially" taken the step of calling myself a professional poker player, and it has been a tricky learning curve so far! I have been joining the tables first and had to contest with quite a few regs joining me initially making the transition pretty tough, but the more I played I started getting more offers for chops which helped. I now pretty much play exclusively $115's and it has been testing but rewarding...if I can avoid hero call mode I can hope to make a nice amount at this game, so I'm working on that. I think I'll get TournamentManager or some other type of software on my desktop when that's set up to help regulate how I'm doing and work on flaws.

Overall, it's going ok but really swingy...last Sunday was a prime example, where I was 4-tabling the $115s and running like God with the quality of the opposition but kept getting raped by the deck...I have had a few $1k swings which is tough to deal with and am currently a little bit under $3k up since my pro status became facebook official (the benchmark of everything!) which I think is a good start but definitely subject to change for the worse given the nature of the beast!

I have been keeping my volume fairly high and hope to be building a nice base of FPPs to work off at some point for a reasonable return...I might give the 4man 3600FPPs hu shootouts to the Sunday Million a go as I think that would work to my strengths, and to be honest my ROI at the heads ups' has been mediocre but a different class at the 4mans...they are so much softer it's ridiculous.

I am making plans with regs to pair up to crush the 4mans, and hopefully this will guarantee a steady profit whilst I can make other money on the side playing several tables.

Whilst poker is good, life is fairly tough tbh...daytimes are pretty lonely and every fucker is "working", which means I haven't got much to do...I have planned trips to keep myself occupied and have joined a golf club which gives me something to do in the day, but without Louise and friends I'm lost a lot of the time as I like to keep busy. Hopefully I'll work something out on that front!

So, life is fairly dull but the grind is on so I'll keep anybody who is interested posted.

.gp_7827 (work this one out!)

The best call of my life!

We went to watch "O" yesterday evening. It was reasonable, some of the acrobatics were amazing but there probably wasn't enough of that and the storyline was confusing! The way the stage moved around was ridic though and the fact that the Bellagio buffet preceded it made the evening a positive one in the end!!

On the poker front, I have played a few tournies and gone fairly deep in all of them, but ran bad at the wrong time with an AQ v AK cooler with 20 left in the Venetian 7PM and limp shoving 210dd v the table aggressor in the blinds only to be met by AK...I didn't hold up and went out the Caesar's 12pm in 9th with 7 getting paid but the cash only making 4figures for 1st place and $170 for 7th.

Cash is going better, and yesterday I made the best call of my life! I got the table drunk on major tilt after smiling when he swore at me for calling a small bet when he had the best hand and then showing him a bluff, so when he shoved his last $150 into a $28 pot, I faced a tough decision with my AQ on a KK2 board...I dwelt for a couple of minutes and called, and he didn't show. My Ace high was good on the river and I shipped a massive pot v his J5....o wait, o no I didn't, some guy said "o he has the K and I embarrassingly muck my cards before noticing just as they hit the muck...fml fml fml fml fml fml what a stupid King Cnut I am...I was definitely on monster tilt!!

Luckily, my story has a happy ending as I rebought and isolated him again making it $40 pre with AK and getting the call for him...the flop was A22, he led $40 and I flatted....and then he shoved the 7 turn and I called and he showed q5 to be drawing dead...thank fuck for that or my day and life would have been ruined...I don't think I will ever make that mistake again...but now it's a good and happy story I can tell people!!

2day we are going to loiter around the MGM for the Mayweather fight and lap up the post-fight value at the tables...either that or get wankered, depending on how we feel. We have learnt craps and now just need to put our knowledge into action...how do you bet again?!

Poker, 'O', Grand Canyon and a change in fortunes!

I've finally stopped dwelling over my $1080 pot!!

I played a $120 tournament in the Venetian the next evening and was very pleased with the depth of the tournament and the quality of the opposition...it was the type of game where it is possible to make plays and get credit but also get value from hands....the sort where you feel like you can control your opposition to some extent and people make a stand by calling instead of re-raising. I busted after the break shoving top pair into a pot-sized donk bet by the big blind that I hated but shoved on and ran in to an overpair. I made around that money back at cash that evening but wasn't playing that well...the first fishy table had led me to make too many bad, gambly calls pre that weren't connecting. I then lost 2 BI at the Bellagio, largely due to having a tough table, missing everything, getting moved on on every one of my bluffs and being shit at cash! I think the fact that I may have had my sunglasses behind my cards showing the reflection of what I had for an hour before I realised what a retard I was contributed to that loss!!

So, $600 down for the trip, no means a bad thing but not what I wanted, I played a little online and won around $300...I decided to go the Venetian cash tables, standardise all my actions, chuck on the shades and make a proper go of it...now I don't know if I gave away a million tells, or if my eyes said exactly what I had, but since then I have been running sick.

I made $450 playing cash, playing solid aggressive poker and that was including checking behind what may have been the second nuts thinking that he had a flush which Isaac informs me wasn't actually out...downside to the sunglasses I guess!!

Then I came 4/97 in the $120 Venetian 7pm, building a stack early after Pteveying it up to 1350 from the SB with 57cc vs a 300 raise and 2 flats (blinds 50/100) and growing some making it 2525 on a QJx board and getting two folds! I kept picking my spots and never really put my stack and risk, and picked up the unwanted chips when I could. The final table arrived before long and I steadily stayed around 10-12-15BB, which was average at the time. With 4 left, talks of a deal had been suggested but I was happy to play on...pay arrangements were

1st $3080
2nd $2k ish
3rd $1.3k ish
4th $737

I then had my "ALL IN MOMEMT", reshoving QQ vs a button raise, chucking out the fake shakes as if I was bluffing and after tanking A7ss made the call...he missed the flop and I felt it was my time, but the A on the turn ended my dreams and left me with a 3-figure cash instead of a 4-figure cash. That was the last hand of the tournie after they constructed a deal but I was still happy with the result and no regrets etc.

So, I was finally up for the trip, and cashing out $960 from $200 in the Caesar's Palace game yesterday boosted them figures....the starting table was dreamville and I had hands which got paid off. So far, I'm up on my spending money and hopefully will maintain a winning game and keep running well which I have done. Dreams of living in Vegas for a few months are growing and I am very tempted, these next few days I'll be making enquiries I think and speaking to regs who live there.

In non-poker terms, and poker has only been in the evenings, we have seen the Grand Canyon which was ridic, spent a fair amount of time in the immense pool area and eaten a few nice buffets and checked out downtown and done the Strat. Some people want to leave Vegas after a short amount of time but I love it, and feel home playing poker every evening. We are seeing "O" in the next few evenings which promises to be quality, and the other lads watched Santana the other evening which they enjoyed. We haven't really gambled yet because we are all rocks, but we are going to the 4-8pm Strat drinkfest and having a punt on craps at some point so it's planned hammered gambling...run good one time!

Today we are going to the ESPN zone in New York New York to watch some 9ball, and on Sat we are hanging around the MGM as Mayweather is fighting there...sandwiched in between we will do some shopping at the outlet centRE and maybe catch the beach volleyball at Mandalay Bay as we all follow that sport religiously! Vegas is sick, our hotel is very nice and the food is meaty...all in all I am really enjoying it and want to be out here again soon and maybe for a longer time...DUPS year in Vegas??

> $1000 pot!!

Out in Vegas atm and it's absolutely sick!! The "tip trick" worked, and we have a sick room as a result! The third person we basically haggled with was desperate for our cash..."if you can help us we can help you" was a line that made us all realise we were definitely in! An upgrade to the Palazzo with a strip and pool view was the result and it is so ridiculous...it looks great, especially at night!

The weather has been hot but fairly comfortable as the pool areas are quite spacious, and the food is fit...Outback steak last night was 20oz of pure pleasure! Pokerwise has been really enjoyable...the first night playing $1/$2 I was making plays and running good/faster than usain bolt sprinting from the back to the front on a 100metre long concord in full flight at top speed with minimal wind resistance and a 1470mph tailwind.

Eg 1: - Checking J2 in the big blind, a flop of 235 wasn't too appealing...checked round and the J turn gave me two pair. I bet and when I was re-raised was cautious, though the J on the river helped!! I check raised up to $85 and unfortunately the tightest player I've ever seen (he checked the bottom end of a straight flush in position!!!) just flatted with his 22!!

Eg 2:- Standard Vegas hand...a raise to $12 and 4 callers...I have K4hh in the BB and speculate. Flop K high, I check raise to around $87 against the rock thinking I'd get credit...he flatted and I was ready to shut down. The 4 on the turn kept me interesting and I ended his misery stacking him and was around $500-$600.

Then, some not so run good!! [2-3 hours later...same table]

I had 66 and a stack of around $540. Two limps, I limp with 66...fish who has me covered raises to $20...call call so I join the run...dream flop of J62 and I check raise his $50 up to $127 (pot around $310 when he calls). There was some metagame as I'd shown a big bluff against him two rounds ago so when he called I thought he was fairly light and wanted to suck him in. The turn was an 8 and I fired $147 in to the pot, only for him to insta-shove...horrible hand as he was bad and could have had an overpair, but it felt horrible and I reluctantly called off my last $200....he tables 88 and I lose a $1080ish pot...fml! Avoided tilt and stopped for the night, and since then I lost in a $120 tournie when I played so well until I shoved top pair and met an overpair, and made around $130 in cash to be a BI down which is fine.

Loving it out here, making all sorts of sick plans in my head to live out here for a couple of months, maybe May-June next year...anyone up for a different golf trip this time round?!

$147

1200 FPP = $4,198

For anyone reading my blog they must think I am millions up for the year, but the sad fact is when I'm losing I really can't face talking about it and would rather play, so that's partly the reason why it has been a while and I only really post when I'm winning. I'm not sure whether this should be a reason to stop blogging to avoid looking like a show-off twat (even more than usual!!) but I think for now I will keep writing and I enjoy reading other peoples posts so I can't be all selfish!!

I didn't find much time to play in July, struggling to balance leisure with "work", and probably made just under £1k which isn't enough to justify not working! I was doing really well but went on a downswing, losing a few BI at $115's and a couple more at $230's in quite horrible fashion. I kept it together but after shelling out for Vegas and sorting my room out it was technically a losing month and encouraged me to play more this month, which I have been trying to do!

I had been plugging away at the HU, but unfortunately the rematch feature is temporary unavailable (and has been for the last 2 weeks!) so that's cost me some EV. I mainly find value in the 4mans, and enjoy them despite the tilt when I lose the second round. I was plugging away quite nicely, up around $2.5k for the month, and then I did a Ptevey!!

I spun FPP's up to a big score, first winning a 1200FPP sat into a $55 tournie and finishing 6/2332 to take home just under $4.2k. Again, I'm not sure my final table strategy was that good as it was probably too aggressive, but I guess I played the whole way staying above water playing that way so it's hard to justify a change. I ended up busting after shoving Q5 with 9BB utg and getting called by AJ, only for his A to outdraw my Q on the turn. A couple of keys pots I was on the wrong side of....one monster bluff where I double barrelled and was 97% sure my opponent hit his flush on the river which he did so technically I got rivered!! The other I called an aggro opponent with third pair in a pot I should have avoided. Apart from that I played as I would want to, and was pleased to be so fearless, even if it perhaps was too fearless. Either way, I'm chuffed as with the score, mainly due to a 4week profit drive for Vegas me and Isaac were having with $50 on the line which I should hopefully ship now unless I crumble or he hits a good score.

With another 48kFPP's in the bank, I look forward to another $160k if I can carry on at my current conversion rate...that's not too ridic is it? Ty for everybody who railed, I appreciate it, and now I'm just going to keep grinding until myself, Isaac and Gamble hit the 5-star Venetian Hotel in Vegas for a ridiculous time for the first time in the NHV (Nits Hit Vegas) series!!

147_*

gg, gg, gg gg gg gg gg wp gg gg gg gg

Nothing much to say really but I'll try anyway! I have been playing and mainly just reggin for the $57s or $115s depending on what I fancy, which surprisingly recently has been more towards the $115 side of things. Have been running very well I'd say, and have brought the profit since July 5th up to nearly $3k which I could never have expected! I have probably played between 24-30 hours since I've been back as I still have the problem of quitting when running good, and I'm losing badly at tournies but winning at HUSNG's, where the true value of the rematch button has really been highlighted since I've been back. My intelligent post title is basically what I wrote in the chat box after I won any hand of significance against a fish on my way to 5 straight wins against him where he tilted like mad but kept rematching....fuck morals imo, gg ftw!

The money I am winning this month will go towards the Vegas fund which despite the difficulties [i.e. Gambon;-)] organising it should be go go go!! I have a half a circle just thinking about it!!

Next target....stop being such an ungenerous vagina and play the $215 weekly HU on stars....

Q: What degree did u get? A: A 2.1., was really pleased. Q So what now, law? My A: Yeah, a year out and then maybe. Real A: Fuck law, poker ftw!!

Happily I luckboxed my way to a 2.1. in law which is exactly what I wanted, really helped by a strong mark in my dissertation which may have just about justified missing out on the sick Pokerstars promotions around the time I was procrastinating my way to completion. The most annoying one to miss was the "play 22 hands and become a Supernova promotion" which apparently can reap extra rewards in freerolls as well (VWP Nath/pg, ridiculously good mate, so pleased for you, definitely deserved that so much!) Another massive factor that allowed me to get 2.1 was the lecturer for my Wednesday 9:00 being so inadequate that enough people complained about the quality of his handouts and tutorials that the exams were generously moderated to give us a good mark. Considering I hadn't been to any of these lectures after week 2 that was an incredible bonus and a massive lifesaver after that exam was probably my worst in 3 years as I sat scrambling through my notes in an open book exam where I wrote less than a page for the last answer...thank fuck for moany people!!!

So I'd have to say that overall Durham was a massive success. A couple of marks less and I'd probably have to say the sacrifices I had to make in terms of time away from my family, Louise and earning wasn't worth it, but the 2.1 is what I need to try to distinguish myself from the thousands of other law graduates when I finally enter the world of work. It was very tough being away from home and Louise at times, but I got through and used poker to keep myself occupied. So, on an academic front I can be proud and whilst I think the 6 hours / week (4 hours / week in third year) was a joke and not very stimulating, it allowed a lot of time for poker which was helped by meeting successful players from Durham Poker Society.

I played many different styles at uni but had plenty of time to learn, and shortstacked and hit and run Crypto cash games for a year whilst grinding 6man turbos before the world of Stars and ideas of bankroll management were brought into my world by Durham nits such as James Skolsuper, Richard Bowburn and Ptevey sm1le. Some loose cannons, i.e. Matt mgamble4456(such a standard fish name fwiw!) and later on Rahl Benjamin Blake recommended all sorts of degenerate antics but I made sure I avoided these bad vibes, and didn't once risk drinking Hannes' "non-alcoholic" beer!!

So, I'd learnt about bankroll management and whilst I preferred to have 750,147 BI for each level instead of around 20-50 I was actually able to play it more as a job. Live cash games were ridiculous at times, and in the third year I made a regular habit of winning and losing close to a hundred in alternate sessions at the mighty £10nl. All the poker I learnt from everybody at Durham helped my develop my own style and on reflection poker was my degree and law was my part time job.

Now, as I have left uni, I have a long summer ahead of me which I hope to play loads of poker, get fit and grow up...I'll try to post how these things come along, with maybe a picture of my ripped 6pack as a post title when I put Peter Andre's washboard abs of the Kiss the Girl era to shame.

Since I've been a "graduate" I have started my "year out to play poker" well and made around $1350 in three sessions, and enjoyed playing so much! I've dropped around $200 at tournies and I'm just not ready to concentrate for several hours yet but I'm loving my poker and can't wait to talk poker and learn more for a year...it's exciting, if not an awkward response when asked what I plan to do with my degree/life or what I'm doing this year. What is almost certain (though nothing is booked yet) is that I'm going to Vegas with a few Durham fish early September and can't wait for that, will be so good and if it goes well may sort out another trip out there to make the most of my freedom whilst I still can. I am hoping that being the youngest-looking person in any casino could act as huge implied odds and really help me rape the fellow tourists and possibly win money from them as well to try to run at a profit for the trip.

Until then, I will post if anything exciting happens, but as I play HU which is very dull to talk about that might be a while away, so I guess next time I post will be when I knock in another hole in one, which must be due soon!!

Goodnight and peace, wish me luck for the year ahead! :-)