2 HEATS TO GO!!!

The WSOP LEAGUE is getting very competitive, with quite a few players in with a shot at the last few places. Someone seems to get bumped off the top ten at each heat as players lurking just below the top ten slip ahead after picking up a few points.

Good win for Garret tonight, who is climbing the leaderboard again. I managed to pick-up another 7 points going out 4th when Garret's Ace, 10 hit a set to kill my pocket 7s.

Three straight flushes came out on the tables tonight and I witnessed a small pocket pair hit a set on the flop only for the bigger pocket pair to river a bigger set at least twice!

If tonight's final table had been online, you would swear it was a fix!

This is how the leaderboard currently stands along with the players just out of sight who could still feasibly enter the top ten with a win or consistent final table appearances at the final 2 heats:

Justin Thorne - 117,000

Nigel Holliday - 87,000

Alan Mason - 85,000

Gordon Troy - 81,000

Garret O'Brien - 78,000

Gary Whipp - 65,000

Soxy - 40,000

Ewan Le Marquand - 38,000

Nick Atkins - 29,000

Danny Paxton - 29,000

And catching-up:

Ricky Weir - 23,000

Phil Da Silva - 21,000

Mick Le Noury - 21,000

Charlie du Feu - 21,000

Craig Hartley - 15,000

Dougie - 15,000

Kev Hodkinson - 14,000

Nelio - 13,000

Kleber - 12,000

Good luck on Sunday at HEAT 19!!!

Booyah!!!

Big hand in tonight's WSOP LEAGUE...

I pick-up the gutshot straight flush draw on the flop and bet it. Nick calls and another club on the turn feels good for me. Nick bets and I shove all-in. Nick calls and I know he has a better flush. And sure enough he does, so I am dead to the 9 of clubs on the river for the straight flush and BOOM! Nail it...

Went on to win too, so not a bad night.

Intense few weeks of poker!

Last weekend was awesome in terms of poker.

Friday night was a WSOP league, and I won the heat picking up 10 points for the leaderboard.

Saturday was Planet Pool's Quarterly Big One, £160 Freezeout and I won my seat for £15 at one of the Satellites Ady runs in the build-up. It was an awesome day of poker, with 30,000 starting chips, low blind levels and about 40 runners so £5000 in the pot!

Unfortunately I went out somewhere in the middle, but great news for the Club72 crew with Soxy winning the tournament, Garret coming second and Nigel just creeping into the cash at 6th place... well done lads!

Sunday was also good as it was the SUMMER SERIES £1000 final table and congratulations to Helen for seeing me off in 4th place, Soxy off in 3rd and her hubby, Dougie in 2nd!

We have 4 heats left for the WSOP $5000 package table, one tomorrow at 5pm, one on Friday, one on the Sunday and then the following Friday and that is it! We will have our 10 players ready to get it on for the Vegas trip.

I extended my lead last night to 100,000 starting chips but the players at the top of the pack aren't that far behind me.

Phil Da Silva is holding onto the 10th seat with 21 points, but 4 heats is plenty of time for the players just outside the leaderboard to catch-up.

The following could slip ahead for one of the final seats:

Ricky - 19 Points

Nick Atkins - 19 Points

Charlie - 17 Points

Craig Hartley - 16 Points

Dougie - 15 Points

Kev Hodkinson - 15 Points

Nelio - 11 Points

Any one of the above could catch a win or hit final tables in the next 4 heats to crash into the leaderboard...

Remember, the next heat is TOMORROW (Sunday) at 5pm.

SUMMER SERIES FINAL TABLE AND CHIP COUNTS...

After tonight's heat, 10 points is no good!

The £1000 final table next Sunday at 5pm looks as follows:

Dougie Prentice - 28,000 Chips

Gary Whipp - 21,000 Chips

Nelio - 18,000 Chips

Ewan - 17,000 Chips

Soxy - 16,000 Chips

Charlie du Feu - 15,000 Chips

Justin Thorne - 14,000 Chips

Helen Prentice - 12,000 Chips

Kleber - 12,000 Chips

Nigel Holliday - 11,000 Chips

If anyone can't make it, please let me know asap.

jT

WSOP LEAGUE

Nine tournaments left for the WSOP LEAGUE, with HEAT 12 taking place tomorrow at 5pm.

Dunno if you're reading this Nigel, but I've just slipped into the lead by a smidge with my 3rd place finish last night.

I went out when I pushed with Queen, 10 and Gordon called with 5, 6 "Just for fun" and hit a full house.

People seem to do strange things in Re-buy tournaments. I shoved all-in with Pocket Kings after seeing a flop of 6, Jack, Queen (two hearts). Leigh thought I was at it and called the 5000 or so with 6, 7 and hit a 7 on the river. Ah well.

Actually, the Ruderhams looked like they were going to be slugging it out for the top spot as they both hit the final table (Simon and Leigh that is) with healthy chip stacks. Poker can be a cruel master though, and Simon had Ace, Queen followed by pocket Kings crushed to go out 8th and Leigh's luck also turned when he ran into back to back monsters, including Soxy's Aces when Sox shoved blind as a short stack!

At one stage when I was down to the final three, I picked-up Aces in the small blind and shoved them all-in. God knows what Gordon could possibly fold when he's calling me shortly after with 6, 7 but fold he did.

The toughest decision I had all night was when we were down to 4 players and I'm in the small blind with Ace, 10. The flop is Ace, King, 8 rainbow. I check and Garret shoves. This is what I wanted him to do but for some reason I can't call and I fold after tanking for a few minutes. He shows Ace, 3. He goes out a hand or two later with the same move, but Phil Evans finds the guts (not to mention the chip stack!) to call with a paired Ace and takes him out.

Not sure I can play on Sunday although I will be there to set up, but at least nobody can take my lead from me... at least until Nigel gets back!

jT

WSOP LEAGUE UPDATE

Well, Friday was interesting. We are nearly half-way there through the WSOP LEAGUE for the $5000 package and things are getting competitive.

Congratulations to Nelio for picking-up his first league win in what can only be described as a rampage of luck, and a strategy of calling with pretty much any two cards! Our table could hear the groans from Nelio's table as we slowly ground down towards the final ten. The 'Mediterranean Machete' eliminated one player after the other with rags, hitting two pair every time against pocket face cards or over cards. I dealt for the final 3 and feel for Danny who shoved 60,000 or so with pocket 10s, only for Nelio to insta-call with Jack, 3 suited and of course he turned the flush... wow, I hope he bought some lottery tickets yesterday!

I went out 6th with Ace, 10 on the button. I shoved and the small blind re-raised to isolate me with pocket 6s. I was happy to see a 10 on the flop... not so happy to see a 6 on the river, especially as it was his only out as the other 6 was folded pre-flop.

Anyway, despite Nelio's insult to 'poker nature', not much has changed at the top of the league although Danny Paxton has entered the top ten, knocking Soxy off the leaderboard!

Remember, at the end of the 20 HEATS, the top ten players in the league will fight it out in a FREEZEOUT for the $5000 VEGAS PACKAGE! We will multiply their points by 1000 to define everyone's starting stacks.

Nigel is still racing ahead and has built up a healthy lead just in time for going on holiday for a couple of weeks. I am hot on his heels and with three heats taking place whilst he is away, I may just catch him!

Just for info, only two players have managed to hit the final table in every single heat for the WSOP package. Nigel and yours truly.

Of course the difference is, Nigel tends to win them, I just turn up for support!

The leaderboards for the leagues are always in the side panel >>>>>

But it currently looks like this:

Nigel Holliday - 57,000

Justin Thorne - 41,000

Alan Mason - 34,000

Garret O'Brien - 33,000

Gary Whipp - 29,000

Gordon Troy - 29,000

Ewan Le Marquand - 18,000

Charlie du Feu - 17,000

Craig Hartley - 16,000

Danny Paxton - 16,000

Oh, and of course, Friday was also pretty good because we had the CLUB72 MASSAGE GIRLS in the house, dishing out massages at the poker tables for £1 per minute... I think I had three, and managed to spend more money on that than poker!

Also (FINALY!) turned around my losing streak in the cash game, turning £100 into £600 at closing time... and managed to squeeze in one more massage from Chloe he he he!

See you at the tables...

jT

Sometimes Poker Sucks...

Tonight was one of those nights.

I picked up some points so can't complain but when it mattered, i.e. when I was all-in, I just got dicked every time.

I turn the nut flush and check, Garret shoves with trips, I snap him off and the board pairs on the river.

I hit a KK9 board with KJ in the hole and Nigel is holding AK.

I shove with pocket Jacks on a 10, 9, 7 board and get called by 10, 8 and of course I hit my set on the river giving Ricky a straight.

Finally, I shove with two pair on the flop and Nigel rivers the nut flush.

Fuck you very much poker Gods...

I move to joint 3rd place for the WSOP final table with 14 Heats left... Nigel is way out front and should have done enough to secure his place and Garret isn't that far behind.

I need to pick up some points on Friday for the SUMMER SERIES as I missed HEAT TWO.

jT