Got a whole day off work so woke up late with a hangover and lay around watching Luton v Liverpool in the FA cup instead of immediately playing poker. I grew up only 10 miles from Luton and although i'm an Ipswich fan (we got dumped out yesterday by the footballing equivalent of a bad beat from the referee who inexplicably sent a player off) the first game I ever went to was Luton - Coventry on boxing day 1985 or 1986 so I always follow their results. Great game and Luton deserved more than a draw.

played a couple of stt's - no luck on Laddies - down to a miserable 50$ roll there now - but won one on stars for 45$.

Was looking forward to the sunday hundred grand but went out after about 50 minutes - had KK in the BB and called a 4xBB raise - flop JK9 with 2 clubs. Lovely jubbly. He has position so I check and call a big bet pretending to be fishing for the flush. 2 on the turn and this time he doesn't bet. River brings a ten and he's hit his straight with AQ and it's goodnight manic. I know I was sort of slow playing it trying to be greedy and get everything out of him - could have won the pot by raising his bet after the flop or by betting on the turn but to be honest I think i'd do the same every time.

Played the Laddies 10 rebuy as a freezout but went out about 70/200 - getting very low on there now and the stt's are beckoning again. Came 32/352 of Mansion in a 10 freeze for 26$ as well.

Fuck me i'm 2/555 in a 50$ freeze on stars - shouldn't have played it but was annoyed at going out of the 100k so early. had AA about 4 times and getting very lucky and hitting everything. Just made a disciplined fold with AK though - don't want to risk half my stack when i'm so far ahead - turned out I would have lost. Just won a race with AK v QQ - K on river - if i'd lost i'd have been left with 10000 chips - blinds 400/800 so wouldn't have been a disaster. Can't see how I could fold though - unless I just fold everything and get into the money. Keeps me 10/239 now - 180 paid. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM - up to 5/117 calling a 3 way all in with QQ - would still have had about 30 BB's if I lost so was worth the risk. Came up against tens and sixes and it held.

KK in the cut off - I have 96k with blinds at 1000/2000 so raise to 10000 - button goes all in - the only guy at the table with more chips - he shows QQ and a Q on the flop and just to rub it in there's one on the turn.

SIck sick game sometimes - as if we didn't already know.

Don't know why I fucking bother sometimes. Couple of minor quick blinds mtt's and thye 5 rebuy on stars with nothing to report but the main event of the evening was the 10 rebuy on Laddies with 290 odd runners. Didn't rebuy or add on and with 100 left had built up a huge stack and was chippie - hands held up and AK hit its flop 3 times. Card dead for an hour but was still about 18/57 when I bluffed a lower stack after missing my flop with AQ and he thought for ages before making a good call with JJ. Ok no problem - got to try these things - still got enough chips to wait for a hand which duly came when I found KK in mid position. Now a guy called A_B_C went all in from UTG with 11000 chips when blinds were 600/1200. I think I mentioned him in a bad beat post the other night.

So what hand do you go all in with from UTG with 10 BB's left? I can't think of one. With a big PP it's a standard raise hoping to get re raised and get them all in or to all in after the flop unless any really obvious dangers.

AK? maybe - but still better off raising. It's just ridculous. I'm willing to have my mind changed but just now I can't see what hand would justify that. Anyway another guy called my all in and it ended up with my KK v JJ v dickhead's QJ off. 2 queens on the flop and i'm now very low. To make it worse I pushed with 66 (4000 chips left after that debacle) and the same guy hits his A with A5.

I would put it down to a Saturday night part timer but the scary thing is that this guy is new to Laddies and i've noticed he's been winning a few tournaments. Seriously tempted to go and rail him and get a chat ban.

Anyway that ignonimous exit coincided with the start of the graveyard which is out of my bankroll range but of course I'm playing it anyway. In the time it's taken to type this i've moved up to 16/83 from 100 starters with a set of sixes and a JJ which won some chips on a low flop so time to sit in, get drunk and go deep. Lucky I'm not the type to tilt but really hope I run into him later on.

Had built up a decent stack in the GY and was about 19/47 just after the first break when i got QQ UTG - flat called to see who I was up against and got a 4xBB raise followed by an all in by a guy with about 1000 chips ( I have 3800 and the initial raiser had 400) Decided to go for it as although I don't like 3 way all ins I only had to beat the bigger stack to do ok - turned out I was up against AK and 95. A on turn leaves me very low stacked but still got 8 BB's and the blinds are 15 mins. Maybe should have waited for a better spot but could also see it as getting the race I wanted and losing it.

Just missed an opportunity there - had 34 off in the SB with 950 chips left - 46/47 and blinds 150. With 6 callers I would have been putting 75 chips into a 900 pot and hoping for a miracle flop. I had ticked autofold and was gutted to see the A25 flop. Lack of concentration accounts for that - could have been right back in it.

LMao just got moved table after BB to UTG - then got AA and doubled. Wouldn't say i'm back in the hunt but doubled up to still be in last place. Right I refuse to go out of this. Hmmm. Well I did go out - I have 780 chips and blinds are 150/300 - from the SB my K6 off is a hand I will be pushing with every time with that stack and all folding to me. Shame it ran into A9 which hit 2 Aces on board.

Pretty bad evening - played ok but nothing to show for it apart from a decreasing bankroll. Ah, well, tomorrow's another turnip and all that so i'm off to wreak whiskey inspired havoc in the newly discovered QI forum.

Just the 4 tourneys tonight - managed to resist playing the GY and too many other games. 5$ 2nd chance on laddies - came about 120/500 without ever really being in contention - 5 rebuy on stars - can't remember much but think I got into a race somewhere towards the end of the 2nd hour and lost and never recovered. 1200/2700 ish.

Muffs leaderboard on Ladbrokes came 3rd out of 20 - seem to do well in this game for some reason - probably the big stacks and the fact that you get the chance to recover if a bluff goes wrong etc. Did get lucky this week though - raised with KQ suited when lowish stacked and short handed awaiting FT - had to call the extra ten per cent or so and beat AK with Q on flop. Nice to get the compliments from others as I'm ahead in the leaderboard but doesn't really mean that much in terms of getting a decent cash in a tourney which is the ultimate goal. Good game with a great bunch of people - shame i can't make it next week.

Still playing the 10$ rebuy - just starting 4th hour and i'm 21/38 from 291 runners - didn't rebuy or add on as the bankroll won't allow it and anyway I was doing ok.

30 places paid and to be honest the 44$ for 30th would be a significant boost but I won't be playing to creep into the money - i'll be using the old school motto of 'fuck the bubble'.

Been relatively card dead since the break (20 mins ago)- not calling big raises with the likes of KQ though - 26/33 at the moment and down to 9 BBs. Might be one of those tourneys where I really have to sit tight and pick a spot even if it means getting very low.

Just got into a situation I really hate - A10 in the BB - SB puts in min raise - although i'm not playing for the bubble there are only 2 more out before we're paid. If I put him all in he might fold - or he might muff me - he might even be ahead. As it was I called and missed the flop - he bets out - I have to fold. Read somewhere recently that BB is the biggest losing position and I can see why with situations like that.

Into the cash places now so can really go for it. For fuck's sake. I am SB with AQ - UTG calls - folds to me - short stacked with 4 BB's - he is obviously going to call so i'm hoping for a race or even better A rag suited - he has 22 and I missed the board. Fair enough I suppose but would have been nice to get further. Still it will me nice to get some sleep before work tomorrow - got to miss my favourite day of the football season with the 3rd round of the FA cup on but i'll be back in time for the 10 rebuy again and a couple of hours reading up on the footy news. Hopefully i'll come home to the news that the might Ipswich Town have beaten premiership Pompey.

Back from work at 9am - very tired as although I'm allowed to sleep at work i never get more than a couple of hours. This genereally results in me getting home tired, opening a beer, and then seeing what tournaments i shouldn't enter.

Today this was a 3$ mtt on stars - currently 120/239 from 888 runners and the breakfast club in ladbrokes - a ridiculous decision to enter a 40$ buy in tourney when my bankroll was only 140 to start with - guess that's where greed comes in - I sometimes can't get motivated to play when there's no decent prize to be won.

Started badly - JJ 2nd hand so I called from mid position to a raise from UTG - rag flop so I called his small bets - he'd hit his set of twos on the flop - and to be honest he could have had more from me - found out later he was a self confessed donk with too much money playing on a mate's account. Got a few back when AK called by an extremely short stack with K6 then got involved in a pot against another guy who was pretty loose and calling anything. I missed my flop and unfortunately he called a biggish bet intended for him to fold - I then put him all in when I had nothing and that bet was big enough to push him off nothing - pretty lucky as he'd have called with not much. So currently 27/43 from 65 runners with first break approaching.

20/41 going into 2nd hour of BC - GL me.

Just had a bit of fun on stars - getting lowish (12 BB's) so raised from MP with KQ - when the SB went all in I knew I was behind but though fuck it - and lost to AQ leaving me with 4 bb's - 87 suited next hand was enough to get it all in and with 2 spades and an up and down straight draw on the J69 the other 2 guys went all in with AJ and I hit my spade on the turn. Out soon after though when 77 ran into 99

Just doubled in the BC - AK suited in the BB so called a 4 x BB raise from MP - tenA3 rainbow flop so i bet the pot - matey goes all in so I call hoping he hasn't got A10 - his AQ wasn't good enough so i'm now 4/36.

Cut off just raised - he had just under half my stack so thought i'd test him with my AK - the blinds were very low so no danger there - his 44 was looking good until the river K - now 2/33 but a long way to go as blinds still low.

Card dead but hanging around with the odd raise and steal etc - some people on my table will call anything so will have to be careful. 11/17 at 2nd break though so all is not lost. Will probably bubble. Very tired so will have to focus on making the right decisions.

fuck it - out 14th - 7 BB's left and KQ suited in BB - SB makes min raise so i push all in - he calls with A8. Maybe should have flat called as I might have been able to bluff bet the J92 flop. Ah well time for a kip and we'l see what happens later.

Not much going right - haven't cashed in a stars tourney for ages - negative variance starting to catch up. Plus some pretty mad beats - runner runner F/H beating my flopped nut flush - wasn't even slow playing it. Mansion bankroll going down slowly - can't be bothered to play there really as i'm too comfortable with stars and Ladbrokes.

6/110 in the afternoon 3 rebuy on Laddies yesterday - kept me ahead for the day - table kept freezing on ft but probably helped as I expected to have to make a move and probably go out 8th but logged back in and found i'd placed 6th.

Played a few low buy in mtt's this morning - going to have to get used to those with new work patterns - finished ever so slighlty up after cashing 3rd in a 24 runner 10$ freezout. Not much else apart from some stt's and turbo stt's - hopefully little by little i can build up a bit of cash.

well fuck. played shit all day and didn't lose much. finally played well and heading to the cash in laddies ten rebuy when AK in BB loses to AJ cutoff bigger stack wanker.
About a minute after in the graveyard my pre flop raise with AK is called by 53 and the the 467 check check flop then the A on turn did for me. fuck off.

Well 2007 was my first year of poker - i'm not going to be able to give an exact account of it but by my reckoning i'm pretty much even - probably about 100$ up over all but going to call it zero as for the amount of mtt's i've played it's a very small percentage.

So starting with a clean slate for 2008 my poker balances are as follows

Ladbrokes: 220$
Pokerstars: 216$
Mansion: 457$