Let the games begin

I stumbled across this earlier ... very strange! A fantasy stock market for blogs. Anyone like to shed some light?

Its been a good week so far on the $10/$20 PL Omaha. I've been giving some thought to my style of late and have made a few adjustments which seem to be paying off. Alot of the time i have been playing shorthanded which requires a whole new strategy... especially when you are playing opponents who raise 90% of hands before the flop.

Yesterday was another fun day of swings. After ten minutes i was up £1000. After and hour i was £2000 down. After three hours i was down £3500 and also was in for £2500 on the two tables that i was playing on. Then i went on a rush, hit hands and played a big stack reasonably well and after a six hour session ended the day up £3000.

Here's a thought for any Omaha players out there. Is playing in the small blind/big blind such a disadvantage on a full table, that you should sit out those two hands and post both the big blind and small blind on the button? Would it be bad form to do this or does anything go on the net?

I am kind of tempted to play in the £1000 Celeb Poker tournament at the Palm Beach casino in London this Saturday. I managed to watch an episode of celebrity poker on ITV last night and i think that may have put me of ever playing a celebrity at poker. It was just so bad - an embarrassment to poker.

Next week is the Vic. Here is my schedule.

The European Championships

Monday - £1000 NL Holdem freezeout
Tuesday - £250 PL Omaha Hi/Lo Rebuys
Wednesday - £200 PL Holdem Rebuys
Thursday - £1000 PL Omaha double chance freezeout
Friday - £5000 No Limit Holdem freezeout
Sunday - £300 No Limit Holdem freezeout

Round in circles

Just like in Vegas when i had a really bad few sessions online then recovered, the last couple of days have been similar. Thursday - Saturday last week i lost £5000. Yesterday i won £2200 and today i have won £6000. I wish i could put together a run of good sessions like i did a few months ago. Its all very up and down at the moment.

Key hands today... and of course i was hitting big style to win £6000.

$10/$20 PL Omaha shorthanded (three players)

- I have AAragrag unsuited. Call a raise of $100 from ultra aggressive player from the small blind. Flop ATT. He bets $300 i call. Turn a J. He bets $900. I call (alarm bells anyone??). River a 2. He bets $1300 to put me all in. I call. He shows KKxx. Interesting.

- I raise with KKAT. Agressive player reraises from the big blind. I call the $350. Flop 557 rainbow. He bets $350. I call. Turn a T. he bets $400. I reraise and he passes.

- I call a reraise to $300 preflop from the big blind with 89TJ double suited. Flop 782 rainbow. I raise and my opponent goes all in for $1000. I call. He turns over and shows 89T4. Turn a 9 and i scoop another decent pot.

$10/$20 PL Omaha (six players)

- Everyone limps. I check in the big blind with JJT3. Flop JT2. I bet out $120. Get reraised to $400. I jam it. He goes all in for $2100. He shows TT74. Turn a Jack to give me quads...

- I call a small raise with 569A double suited. Flop 45T which gives me the Ace flush draw. Aggressive player raises to $250. I call. Turn a 2. We both check. River an A to give me two pair. I check. He bets $750. Against this player this is an instant call. He has two smaller pair.

$10/$20 PL Omaha (four players)

I had a two hour break then started up with $1300.

- I call a raise with TJ89 from a player i haven't played with but was raising preflop every hand.
Flop QKA rainbow. He bets $200. I call. Turn a 9. He bets $600. I go all in and he passes.

- Have $1700 when this hand happened. I raise on the button with AAJ9. He reraises from the big blind. I hate playing all in lottery Omaha preflop so i decide to call. Flop A22. Nice. He bets $300. I call. Turn a T. He bets $900. I call. River a 9. He moves all in for $850. He turns over TTxx for a smaller full house. Nice turn.

- I make it $100 from the small blind with 9TJA double suited (very unlike me to raise from the small blind). All the other three players call. Flop QK7 with gives me the nut flush draw on top of the wrap. I bet out $400. I get reraised to $1600. Hmmm i am slightly better than even money against trips 55%/45%. Do i want to gamble? Yes i am hitting today. All in. He calls and shows KKxx in a $6000 pot. Turn gives me the nut flush and no pair up on the river.

I hardly lost any big pots at all today. If i did they were all lost in the haze of all the hands i was hitting and getting paid of on. Tomorrow is a strict no poker day. Don't want to push my luck.

Wild Form

I guess every player goes through one of those runs where everything goes wrong. It seems like the poker gods are frowning on me at the moment.

I played three hands yesterday where i flopped the nuts with improvements... all the money went into the middle and i lost each of them. Each of the pots was over $5000 and i was at least a 65% favourite in each of them *sigh*

The worst of the lot happened the day before. On a flop of K72 with two spades i had KK and the nut flush draw. I was reraised on the flop and my $2500 went in. My opponent had K78T. Turn 9... river a Jack. You know you should retire from playing when that happens.

Considering the run that i have had the fact that i have lost less then £5000 is a blessing i guess. I am currently multitabling and am £2000 up today so maybe the tide has turned.

I was browsing pokerineurope yesterday and see the schedule for Barcelona in September has been released. The festival has the start of the Headsup Poker Circuit which is a €2500 event and the first EPT season 2 which is a €4000 event. That is a festival that i can't wait for......

Back in London

I haven't played that much poker since returning from Vegas. I still am yet to sort out my accommodation in London so at the moment i can only play in internet cafes. I got a strange look today when i jumped around in excitement when someone called me down with a six flush in a big pot in Omaha :-)

It was good to see Willie Tann win the $1000 NL Holdem WSOP event and pick up a bracelet. He has been off form of late so i know how much the win will have meant to him.

Tournament wise i am looking forward to the festivals in Luton and the Vic. Hopefully the EPT schedule for season two will come out soon as well.

I was watching the updates on the final table of the WSOP. For someone to with $7.5 million is just incredible. Next year will there be 10000 runners? Or perhaps they will raise the buy in to $25000 or even $50000.

One thing i am really missing is playing Dealers Choice. I couldn't find a decent game in Las Vegas and i haven't played in one for at least three months now. So i guess a trip to the Vic may be in order next week.

When i do get myself connected to the internet i am keen to try out some new ways of making money online. It will look like this:

Week 1 - Pot Limit Omaha
Week 2 - Single table tournaments
Week 3 - Multi table tournaments
Week 4 - NL Holdem

I just fancy a bit of a change from Pot Limit Omaha. So if i put the same hours into each i will be able to see if i can make a decent profit at the others.

I did post this interview with Phil Hellmuth on Blondepoker but if you haven't watched you just have to.

Las Vegas Updates - Days 10 + 11

The final result of my Vegas challenge:

Cash Games = +$9212
Online = +$10355
Tournaments = -$11200
Overall = +$8367

I hardly played any poker in the last few days of my trip to Vegas. Just a quick session on the $10/$20 Omaha tables on Betfair. Feeling extremely jet lagged today after returning to London. Decided to return home a few days early as it was a bit of an anti climax after being knocked out of the main event. Vegas was fun and i will definitely be back. Considering my losses in tournaments i was very pleased to still end my trip showing a profit. I believe from scanning the guesses to my challenge that Mel Lofthouse is the winner.

Whats next? WPT Paris maybe.... definitely the Vic and Luton festivals. As soon as i have decided my schedule i will post it on here.

Las Vegas Updates - Day 9

Cash Games = +$9212
Online = +$9755
Tournaments = -$11200
Overall = +$7767

Despite my disappointment at getting knocked out of the main event i still have to have to try and earn some money on this trip. I played a long session of $10/$20 PL Omaha and it was a successful one.

These were the key hands.

- I am on $2200. I check raise preflop to $200 preflop with 8s9sThJh which is one of favourite hands. Flop 567 rainbow giving me the nuts. Loosey goosey checks to me. I bet $500. He goes all in for $1800. I call. He shows 7AQK and has just 3% chance of winning the pot. My hand stands up. I mention the 3% as that was the same odds i lost a $10000 pot with earlier in the week. He made a bold play and was probably thought that i was bluffing on that board after reraising preflop.

- I liked this hand. I call a raise preflop in early position with 9TJK. Flop TQ4. I call a $250 raise on the flop. Turn an A giving me the nuts. I bet $750. He calls. River a K. I assume we both have the same hand now. I pause then check as betting scares of any slight chance he may bluff. He bets $2250. I raise to put his last $120. He passes.

- The big one. Loosey goosey has managed to get up to $4700. I call a raise to $60 with TT22. Flop T34 rainbow. I check and smooth call his $200 bet planning on check raising the turn unless the board pairs. Turn an A. Rainbow board. He bets $600. I am pretty certain he doesn't have the straight or AA so reraise $2400 and he goes all in for around $3800. I call. River a 2. I hate that card. He shows K98A and was drawing dead in a pot over $10000.

I then lost this hand before i finished. Called a raise preflop with 7d8c9cAd. Flop 9dTd3s. $3000 in the pot on the flop. He has QQT4 and wins with two pairs. Had a whopping 77% of winning that hand.

Las Vegas Updates - Day 8

Cash Games = +$9212
Online = +$2400
Tournaments = -$11200
Overall = +$412

Out of the main event. Started with Gus Hanson to my left and it all went well as i accumulated 22000 by end of level two. I was then moved to another table with three calling stations to my left. In over 6 hours of play i saw two pairs (2s both times) ... I saw pots over 30000 chips with people in with an underpair to the board.... i have truly never seen poker like it.

Eventually i found AK suited and walked into KK. Then with 12000 left i had KK v AA... both against the same guy who would just as easily throw all his chips in with a pair of tens!

The guy to my left hit a set 7 times and still went out before me.... insanity.

I know with any kind of decent cards i could have been up to a huge stack of chips as my table was so favourable... instead i am just gutted about my luck.

*Update*

As i a blogger i guess i should report how i won and lost my chips... here goes. I made these notes on my mobile.

WSOP 2005 - $10000 NL Holdem report

Level 1 - Blinds 25/50

Apart from Gus Hanson and Elvis everyone else at my table was visibly nervous about the WSOP. My tactics were to try and accumulate chips by taking as few a risks as possible.

- I limped in late position with Qd9d. Flop Kd4dJd. Wow thats a great flop for me. I call 400 planning on check raising the turn. Turn brings a fourth diamond and my opponent bets 300. I call. River a blank and he bets 2000. I pass. He shows Ad5d. I may have lost all my chips there if the fourth diamond didn't appear. Down to 9300

- I limp on the button with 7s4s. Flop 753. I raise and pick up one caller. Turn a 7. I bet 400. Called again. River a 2. I bet 500 and called. Opponent shows TT. Up to 10500

- I raise to 125 to play with AQ in late position. Flop A79. I get check raised to 700. Gus calls and so do i. Turn a 2. They both check. I check. River a 3. Again they both check so i bet 700 and get called. Up to 12700.

- I raise to 150 to play with QhKh. Flop Ad8h9h. Two pre flop callers check to me. I bet 400. Bruce Atkinson "Elvis" calls. Turn a 4h. He bets 800. I just smooth call. River a rag and he bets 1500. I call and take the pot. I was probably overly cautious on that hand. Up to 16000.

Level 2 Blinds 50/100

- One limper and i raised to 500 to play on the button with KdKs. Two callers in the blinds. Flop 559 with two diamonds. Checked to me. I decide to overbet the pot to knock out anyone playing for a flush draw. So i bet 2500. Small blind starts thinking. he says, "That bet sounds like you don't want a caller." He goes all in for 7000. I call. He shows TT and i am up to 23000.

- Raise in late position with TdJd and get two callers. Flop 8d9dKh. I bet 600 as my draw is massive. One caller. River a blank Ace. I decide to try and win it there and bet 1900 and get reraised. I passed. Down to 20000.

- Raise to 500 to play in middle position with AdKh. Two callers. Flop 2d5d7d. First player checks... i check, then Gus bets 1200. First player calls and i decide to make a semi bluff and raise to 5000. Both pass. Back to 23000.

Level 3 Blinds 100/200

Didn't play a pot over 1000 chips. No cards. Down to 21000.

Level 4 Blinds 100/200 running 25 ante

I got moved table now and saw chips flying around very fast and wanted a piece of the action.

- Early position player makes it 700 to play. I reraise to 2500 with AsKs. He calls. Flop 5s6s7h. He checks and i bet 5000. He passes. No pairs or Ace with a decent kicker for the rest of the level.

I had three calling stations to my left that would play nearly every pot to a reraise of 3000 with any two pictures or small pair. Now was the time to get the odd decent hand in 100 minute levels surely.

Frustration growing. There was not even any point in trying to nick the blinds due to the calling stations to my left. Still i was being very patient and had an ultra tight table image. Still had 21000 so no hurry.

Level 5 Blinds 150/300 running 50 ante

I witnessed so much loose play on my table but these were my two favourites.

- Player one has 19000 chips before this hand and raises to 1200 in early position. Late postion guy with a load of chips makes it 5000 to play. Player one calls. Flop 569 rainbow. Player one bets 5000. Player two calls. Turn another 9. Player one bets 7000 leaving himself 2000. Player two calls. Now i am thinking that they both must have a set/house/straight/overpair e.t.c. Pot is around 30000. River a T. Checked down. Player one shows TJ and wins with his pair of tens. Player two shows 33 and mucks his hand.

- Another 30000 pot develops on a Q78 flop. Again i am sitting there thinking a set v AQ maybe. No way. One guy has 99 and the other JJ.

It had now been five hours of play since i picked up a pair over 22 (which i had twice)

Level 6 Blinds 200/400 running 50 ante

I had 19000 chips at the beginning of the level. Still ok. Remember patience, patience, patience.

- Wow i picked up AsKs on the button. I have a ridiculously tight table image by now. I had raised pre flop two or three times in about six hours due to the trash i was getting dealt. Middle position guy who raises about 80% of the time if everyone folds to him makes it 1700 to play. He has 7000 so i put him all in. He has KK and doubles up. I know he would have called with hands like A9, JQ, AQ e.t.c. despite my table image *sigh*

- A few hands later i won 2000 back with AA when i limped and then reraised.

- Was at 12000 when i picked up KK on the button. I was desperate for a double up so when the usual raiser made it 1500 to play i decide to slowplay them. Anyway the end result would have been the same as he had AA. I had joked to Mike Lacey earlier that when i get KK someone will probably wake up with AA. I was out.

I walked back to my room feeling very frustrated. In the last four levels (nearly six hours) i had four premium hands (JJ or better) and lost with two of them. No middle pairs or even AQ. I hit a set once in ten hours of play, a flush twice and no straights.

I will be back for sure. I know that in poker you can go months when your form is out and then *bang* you are on fire again. I would be far more disappointed if i played badly or made the wrong decisions on key hands.

I'll be rooting for the remaining Brits from now on. Think i may return to the UK a few days earlier than planned as i haven't been back for over six weeks now.

Las Vegas Updates - Day 7

Cash Games = +$9212
Online = +$2400
Tournaments = -$11200
Overall = +$412

For some reason i thought it was my seventh day yesterday. In Vegas its easy to lose track of days as each day is very much the same.

I checked out the tables on Betfair to see what was going on this afternoon (night UK time) and a couple of the players were playing that i know i can trap if i hit cards. I decided that it was worth investing £1000 just to give it a shot. I wasn't going to risk another -$10000 day though. With the blinds at £10/£20 i played it like it was a freezeout tournament so played alot less aggressive short handed than i normally do. I got my first double up when i called a preflop raise with 89TJ double suited. It flopped 579 with two diamonds which i didn't have. My opponent bet £180 and i just called as the flush potential killed many of my cards. Turn a 8 hearts and i check raised all in and he had a smaller straight.

I then won another big pot when i held A99J double suited and it was £100 to play. Five of us took a flop which was 7T2 with two hearts giving me a Gutshot and nut flush draw. I had the button and the player before me bet £500. I called even though i thought about raising. Turn a heart.... He checked and i bet him all in for about £1500. He called and had the King flush.

I was then lucky enough to make a straight flush against an Ace flush. My opponent passed on the river as he knew i would not have reraised £2000 without having the nuts. All the other players on the table would have called.

I was up to £7000 and decided the next pot i lost i would call it a day. I called a raise with TTJK from the small blind of £150 and five of us saw a flop of T45 rainbow giving me top set. An ultra aggressive opponent bet £500, one other player called. Normally i would have just gone for the pot reraise of over £2000 here. I am extremely glad that i didn't. Turn an A to bring a possible small straight. Aggressive player raised £2000 and the other went all in. I passed

Player 1 had 2367 and player two had 236Q so i would have lost all of my £7000 as the aggressive player would never have passed such a big draw. Phew.... that was my sign to get up and leave $8900 up.

The Rio is now buzzing with anticipation about the start of the main event. I have heard alot of players discussing their tactics for the main event. I have thought alot about how i am going to play. With a two hour clock i will play very cautiously to begin with. I'll be looking for extremely favourable situations to commit my chips. Then again if someone goes all in first hand and i have AA it may only last a few minutes. I'll be giving it my best shot whatever happens.

Las Vegas Updates - Day 6

Cash Games = +$9212
Online = -$6500
Tournaments = -$11200
Overall = -$8488

Hmmm i had a bit of a disaster online yesterday. Played the big Omaha game on Betfair and dropped about $10000 in a few hours. Not going to go into details but lets just say my foe was extremely lucky in a $10000+ pot which sent me bang on tilt.

I have got my draw for the main event. Day 1 which i am pleased about. I am going to clear my mind and relax before Thursday. Latest i heard is that there are 5200 players registered.

Las Vegas Updates - Day 5

Cash Games = +$9212
Online = +$4435
Tournaments = -$11200
Overall = +$2477

It was a very quite gambling day by Vegas standards and i played for just 20 minutes online. One hand i played accounts for my sudden profit. I held 6c Jd Ad Jc and was playing against a player that my notes said, "Drop everything and play him."

He had reraised preflop and it came 3c Ts 7c

I raised and he reraised to make it $200 to play. I called

Turn a Js to give me top trips. He bet $220 and i raised to $1120 and he moved all in for $1507.79 with Ah 7h 3h 5h for bottom two pair. Bonus!

I found out i have been drawn to play in the main event in day one. Time to focus on that....

Las Vegas Updates - Day 4

Cash Games = +$9212
Online = +$2275
Tournaments = -$11200
Overall = +$287

I was going to take a day off as i was still a bit down about how the cards went dead on me in the Omaha tournament. But after spending some time by the pool i decided to go and play in the $1060 mega satelite.... 130 players so 13 were due to win $10000. Here are the hands that eventually led to me being near the bubble. I finished 16/130...

We started with 3000 chips. These super satelites are great value i reckon from what i saw. You know you have a chance when this happens first hand.

- Blinds 25/25. I have KK. Raise UTG to 75. Late position guy reraises it to 250. I make it 800 to play. He calls. Flop 237. I move all in and he calls... does he have a set? No 66 so i double up.

I played some good poker to eventually get myself to 20000. I reckon you needed about 35000 to coast into the money. Blinds were 800/1600 and i picked up QQ on the button. All pass to me and i bet 5000 hoping one of the blinds would think i was on a steal. Bingo the big blind moved all in and i called. He had 8A. First two cards on the flop 88... i was short stacked then and soon exited. I was quite disappointed as that hand cost me $10000.

I can hardly say i am that unlucky when this happens online though.....

I decided to play a £300 NL Holdem Sixpack on Betfair. Was down to the last two and the blinds were 300/600 and i moved all in on a blind steal with 24 offsuit. Got called straight away by A5. Flop 234.. turn a 2. My opponent made a comeback and we got all in again. This time my A3 crushed AQ when the first card was a three.

Today i may play in the $1000 NL Holdem with rebuys. I can't make my mind up. You kind of have to rebuy immedietly and then have a double add on when the buy ins finish. So it could get messy. Not sure if i like getting only 4000 chips for $4000. We shall see.... if i don't play i will decide how it affects the profit/loss challenge that i set.

Las Vegas Updates - Day 3

Cash Games = +$9212
Online = -$110
Tournaments = -$10200
Overall = -$1098

Just got back to my room after getting knocked out of the $10000 PL Omaha after 4 levels with around half the field remaining. Had a tough table to say the least. Ross Boatman to my left then Phil Helmuth, Sonny Nijran, Shah, Chau Giang, Hoyt Corkins, Andy Bloch and a couple of unknowns. They must have over $10 million in tournament wins between them and Sonny is one of the best Omaha players around.

In 6 hours of play i can hardly recall any memorable hands. I flopped two sets in the whole period and had the nuts just twice. The biggest pot i was was when i held 567A and it flopped 48K and i called a pot bet and hit the straight when a 7 came on the turn. Eventually i flopped the Ace flush draw and with only 2700 left in front of me i got three way action when i moved all in. It just wasn't to be though. I'd be more disappointed if i was unlucky but i wasn't really. The cards just weren't working for me.

My favourite moment of the tournament wasn't even winning a pot. It was a quote from Hellmuth when he got knocked after Sonny Nijran made a good call against him with two pair, "You really don't know how to play this game do you."

I just updated the profit/loss again as i decided to play online for a while. Won $2890 on Betfair playing the £10/£20 Omaha... i saw much better cards in an hour there than in the whole tournament today. Still thats poker i guess.

Las Vegas Updates - Day 2

Cash Games = +$9212
Online = -$3000
Tournaments = -$200
Overall = +$6012

It was a bit of a strange day yesterday. Played online for an hour or so and lost $3000 before heading to the casino and lost three big pots where i was at least 60% in all of them. The worst was when i was all in with 7QKA with the nuts and a flush draw on a TJQ flop and my opponent had QKA4 so i thought i was freerolling till the turn and river came 44!

I decided to play in the 10/25... possibly due to the fact i was already down $3000 for the day. I sat down with $7000. One of my bluffs got called early when i held KK88 and it flopped 67T rainbow. I bet the pot... turn a Q. I had the blockers on both straights so bet again and got smooth called. I put my opponent on a set so when the board didn't pair i bet $900 on the river and got called with a set of sixes. I was later told the guy was a complete lunatic... i wish i had known before i bluffed off $1300. Literally the next hand i held Ah4h5sKd when it flopped 3h7hQs to give me the nut flush draw and a Gutshot. I called $100 on the flop and the turn came a Td. My opponent bet $250 and i called as i now had two gutshots on top of my flush draw. River a 9h and he checked to me. I bet $300 hoping for a call and he reraised me $300. I then bet the full pot and pot instantly called by the King flush.

I then tangled with the only lady sitting at the table. I raised pre flop in middle position with KsKcJsTd and she raised to $400 on the button and i called as did one other player. It flopped JQ4 with two diamonds. The first player checked to me and i decided to have a stab at the pot knowing that the reraiser pre flop probably had Aces and would lay it down to a pot bet. So i bet $1200 and she called. The other player passed. The turn was a 5h. Now how to proceed? If she had a flush draw then surely she would pass to another big bet as she didn't seem that happy about calling on the flop. I decided to bet the full pot of $3600. She went into the think tank and eventually called. Now that was a call i hated. I only had $2400 to bet on the river. I should have left more to bluff if i missed my draws. The river was a Qd to pair the board and bring the flush draw. I had already invested over $5000 in the pot so i couldn't just check it whatever card came. So i bet my last $2400 and she stared me down for a few minutes before passing and saying nice flush!! Wow not sure how i got someone to pass for $2400 in a pot over $10000. There were a few people on the rail calling for me to show my cards so i flipped them over and she was disgusted that she passed her hand. She later told me she had AA9T.

Today is the $10000 PL Omaha event. I imagine the field will be very tough and there will probably be around 200-300 runners. I'm really looking forward to it and hope i can catch some cards and make day 2. I should at least be able to last a few rounds with 10000 chips and a 90 minute clock.

Las Vegas Updates - Day 1

Cash Games = +$5112
Tournaments = -$200
Overall = +$4912

I finally arrived in Vegas after a short delay and had to wait for my luggage for one hour. If that had disappeared i would have begun my stay at the Rio on tilt. It was an amazing experience driving in the taxi along the strip. I had no idea how big all the hotels were. I entered the Rio and quickly headed down to the poker room around 10pm. The room is huge and i wandered around for 10 minutes in a bit of a daze looking for a familiar face. It took a while but i eventually spotted a couple of Brits. I really didn't want to start of my trip my playing in a massive cash game and losing so thought i would take it easy. I nightly $200 NL Holdem tournament started so i thought i'd give that a go for some fun. Was sat next to Vicky Coren and i spotted more and more Brits as the evening progressed. My tournament lasted just 10 mins as i lost to a straight with top pair.

I decided that i fancied a bit of Omaha cash so joined a $5/$5 table. I sat down with $2000 as i prefer to play a big stack whenever possible. The game was seemed quite good. A few young guns and a couple of Americans. The first decent i won was on a semi bluff. I raised it to $50 to play with AQJK and picked up two callers and it flopped Q78. I bet £125 after one of the players checked and got two callers. The turn was a T and i bet the pot which was enough to get both players to lay down their hands. I still had a 9JK or A if someone did call or reraise me. I then won a few small pots and hit a high of $3500 then went down to $2500 again after losing the following pot. I was in the live straddle of $10 and had JJTT double suited. Everyone limped and i made it $45 to play. I picked up 5 callers and it flopped J8A with two spades (I had no spades) and i bet the pot of around $300. A tightish player then went all in for $1000. Due to the nature of the flop i put him on a wrap and maybe a flush draw. As he limped and then didn't reraise when i raised preflop i didn't put him on Aces. He did have Aces and it shows the advantage of just calling with them sometimes to disguise your hand. If he had reraised preflop it would have made my decision easier on the flop.

Soon after i raised in middle position to $70 to play with 8h9sTsKh. The small blind reraised to $250 and i called as i had position on him and was certain he had Aces. It flopped KK2 and he checked and i bet $300. He called. The turn was a 3h to bring a back door flush draw. He checked again and as i didn't want to give a free card i bet $1100 which he called all in. I was sure i was beat and needed to hit when he called so quickly. The river a black 7 and i showed my King and he tapped the table. Turned out he had AA45 with hearts so was looking for an A6 or a heart. I was up to $4000 and the table started playing alot more aggressively. I found TJJK in the small blind and called a $50 raise along with 5 others It flopped KQ3 rainbow. I checked as did everyone else. The turn was a 9 to give me the nut straight. I decided to check hoping to reraise if someone did bet. Everyone checked again. River a 7 and i bet $200 and got not one but two callers with trips. There were a few short stacks at the table and i took one of them out when i called with TJ56 and it flopped T56. I reraised him all in for $450 and he missed his draws and i was on over $5000. I then pulled off a few more bluffs and won a pot of around $800 when i check raised with AK97 on a AK2 flop. Turn was a 8 and my pot bet got my opponent to pass.

In the last couple of hours a couple of loose Americans joined the table. I won a few $200-$300 pots against them and hit a lovely flop when i raised to $50 preflop on the button with A789 double suited and it flopped 456 rainbow. Everyone checked to me and i bet $150 hoping that someone would think i was stealing and reraise. Someone did and i just smooth called hoping for a blank so i could reraise him on the turn. Turn was a blank and he checked and passed to my bet of $1000. Didn't have any other hands that i remember the details of but i finished up with $7112 so i am very happy with how it went.

As far an an Omaha session (8 hours long) goes it was pretty much smooth sailing. I never really had to get lucky. My bluffs were hardly ever called and i had good positon on the weaker players on the table. I was taking my time with big decisions and calculating my odds. After so much online action i have tended to make decisions too quickly when i have played live recently. For the time being i am going to stick to the $5/$5 game as i can play exactly the way i like with a big stack. In the bigger games its much tougher facing decision for a couple of thousand dollars though i am sure to give it a go at some point.

On a side note it was great to see Lawrence Gosney become the first Brit to win a bracelet this year... Doyle Brunson also won his tenth bracelet and there was a huge buzz in the room whilst ESPN were filming that.