32Red Poker Blog

After the travelling of a bleak mid-winter to remote parts of Holland and France, tomorrow’s poker brings a welcome relief. The Grosvenor Poker Tour hits our local cardroom, and the first place that I ever played a poker tournament nearly four years ago. I’m really excited about the Walsall GUKPT, as it brings together two successes from the past.

Despite having played at every poker stop in the country and many in Europe, the two ranking tournaments that I have won have been at this stop just down the road from me. The only tour I have run well in has been the GUKPT, making two of the last five final tables, and it would be really sweet to have a chance at adding to this record.

I’m looking forward to playing and updating tomorrow, but will also be watching eagerly today for Day 1A. Good luck to my brother, Tommy Rutter!

The Main Event

Yesterday was really enjoyable, and really nice to combine all the banter of the UK tour with going back to our favorite and local casino. Here is a time-line of what happened:

1:00 I had got lucky with the table draw, and built up to 12k on a non-threatening table. An Irish player raised to 325, and I called with Ah10h in position. The flop came AQ10 rainbow, giving me two pair. He checked, but something unusual seemed to be going on, so I checked behind. The turn came a beautiful ten, and I raised his 600 to 1,700 with my full house. He called, and a queen was a disgusting card to see on the river. He bet 2,200 and on a really sharp day this would be a pass, but I called, hoping for some kind of stopper bet with AK or J10. He showed ace-queen, and that the pot had been even more crazy than it seemed!

1:30 After spending a couple of minutes cursing my luck about these set-up hands, I was made to feel a little guilty. I had the dream not only of picking up aces, but on the button, where I had been playing fairly wildly. A short stack with 4k had the unfortunate ace-king, and the damage was repaired.

2:15 I raised to 375 with pocket queens, and was called in position by a strongish young player and Nick Hicks, who is a very good solid player. A flop of 986 rainbow is one I always hate with the overpair, but I had to bet my hand for 800. Both players called, and we saw a blank four on the turn. I did not like it, but I felt I had to bet a protecting 2,000. The kid raised to 6k, and he was standard enough to make it an easy pass. I showed, in the hope that he might oblige, and he was kind enough to show 99 for the flopped top set. The pot was a blow, but the poker was getting interesting.

3:00 This is the ugly one. I raised with 9d8h, and the Mad Turk called from the small blind with a massive stack of chips. The flop of 8d5d2x gave me the top pair, and the Turk checked. I have never been sure just how mad he is, or indeed how to play him, and did not know what range he would check-raise with here. I made a horrible check behind, and we saw a king of diamonds on the turn. He bet 800, and I called with the 2nd pair and a flush draw. The river was a blank 3, and Mad Turk threw in 2,000 as soon as it hit, and started nattering. I should probably have read his talking simply as showing confidence, and not made the bad call. He showed K9 for a really stomach churning moment.

4:50

I was back up to 11k, and Sunny Chatta raised to 1,100 on the button. I decided to 3-bet with the ugly Kh5d to 3,200, which was a bad mistake as he quickly moved all-in. Down to 8k

6:15

It had not been the best day’s poker, but I was really enjoying it, and desperate to get back into the action. I was moved to a new table where Paul Parker moved all-in for his 6,500 on the cut-off. I had ace-king on the button, and pushed the rest of my stack in. My worst fears were confirmed; he had the silly hand, and ended up hitting a full house with 105 offsuit.

6:18

I was left with a sick feeling in my stomach, and a bowl of rice. My 1,400 went in soon after with Kh7h, and I couldn’t get lucky with 99. Dreams were over, but after a few mintues I was smiling again and embarking on the short journey home.

The record-keepers will have had it as stack that never really got above 10k, and had a fairly unspectacular six hours of play, and pretty standard demise. However, for a Brummie lad at his local casino with Mum and girlfriend watching, it felt like a tough blow.

The luck was pretty rubbish again, but that’s not the tough thing to take. I just didn’t play well enough yesterday, which is a real disappoinment on such a big day which presented lots of testing pots. It’s difficult to say why. It would have been sweet for the ace-king to hold, but it would be wrong to blame the poker gods when I could have followed a path that would never had needed me to rely on them.

Time to take stock, and reflect on a bad performance. It will be a very busy week, and then the excitement will start all over again. Next stop, Dortmund.