32Red Poker Blog

Yesterday, I finished in fifth place in the GUKPT Grand Final at the Vic, cashing for £36,900.

Today, I woke up, and the crazy mix of emotions that poker brings was running through my head. Delighted to have had a good result in a big one; beating myself up about the final hand; gutted to have had the chip lead and seen it disappear; happy for my friend Pab to have taken it down. Wow, I thought, this poker malarkey is emotional. (more…)

For all the good things about poker, the great thing is hope. I’ve had a disappointing year in live poker, such miserable luck, and yet every new poker tournament brings such hope. If I could have chosen one to run good in at the start of the year, it might just have been this one. This is effectively the English Final of poker- the GUKPT Grand Final at the Vic- and it means so much to me.  (more…)

I’m very unusual for my age; I spend more hours playing ‘live’ poker than playing online. However, in almost every respect, I would consider myself an online player. This is largely because people my age are expected to be so, but also to do with my playing style, and the way I think about the game. I guess it would also be true to say that I have played far more hands online, even if recently I have spent less hours there. (more…)

I’m not going to write much today, but everything I do write on this blog will be exactly how it is; there is no point messing around.

I love this game, it creates so much enjoyment and excitement. But boy, can it bring some lows. At the moment, today feel like one of the lowest of the lows. I came back with 60,000 today, and having been eliminated within the first hour and a half, I am absolutely gutted on two counts. Firstly, in this never-ending bad luck that the last 28k went on another damn race, but above all with myself. The first 32k went on an absolutely horrific laydown. (more…)

Well, I guess just a usual day of poker really. Full of ups and downs, and alot of fun with a bunch of nice people. Oh, and as always seems to be the case, one older guy whose ego just can’t deal with someone playing aggressively against him. You come to expect this, however, amidst a whole lot of pleasant people, and a tiny bit of needle maybe even adds to the fun. (more…)

Well, I’m on my home from Amsterdam, this morning, after a disappointing day in the big one, the Master Classics of Poker.

It was another frustrating time really, where I did not at any point get above the starting stack, and ended with the disappointment of yet another lost race, my AK vs QQ, about seven hours into play. I realise just how lucky I am to be able to play so much tournament poker, but if I had to give it up, there is definitely one thing that I wouldn’t miss. The feeling of being so gutted, where one moment you are alive in the tournament and the next have lost everything, is really tough to take, and does not get any easier with time. (more…)

The Main Event at the Master Classics of Poker in Amsterdam starts tomorrow, and I can’t wait to be getting on my 10am flight tomorrow. I’ll be running daily updates on here, watch this space.

I’ve been thinking alot about last weekend’s poker, particularly that final Kings vs set of fours bust-out hand. The other big thing I remember poker tournaments by, however, is the friendliness and atmosphere of the occassion. I hope I can have a little effect in making the table a more pleasant place to be. Within the whole atmosphere of cold decks, bad beats, and ultimately of money, I think friendliness counts for a lot. (more…)

I’ve had the idea of keeping a running notebook of my biggest mistakes from ‘live’ events. It’s sure to fill up quickly! I hope it will be a useful thing both for me, and for you, the readers, and I’ve love to hear your thoughts on the hands. (more…)

My main aim in this blog to communicate how I’m feeling, as this is what I hope will make it interesting. The problem is that poker often makes it difficult to know how you are feeling, let alone to say. Once again, poker this weekend has thrown up its usual bizarre mix of emotions. (more…)