Record Breaking Pots & We Have Our Final Table For The Mourant Series

Even with Kermit and Renzo being pussies (shame on you both, may you never see pocket rockets again), we still had a record turn out for the home game at Casa Fish. 

Three newbies in the form of Cowboys O'Brien, Dark Horse Daynes and Jakey, joined myself, The Fish, Ian, Poker Princess, BT and Scrooge McDuck for some massive pots.

Previously in home games, the largest pot was £140, taken down by myself at Kermit's Birthday Bash, but last night saw £130 in the first game and £140 in the second game. Nice one.

The first game was pretty lively, and I lost a chunk of my chips in the first few hands when my pocket  Jacks are crushed by the Fish's Ace, Rag (Ace on the flop). I doubled-up soon after though, when I called a pre-flop raise from the Dark Horse, only to flop a tasty straight with a raggedy 5, 7 with a flop of 6, 9, 8. Dark Horse bets and I push all-in. He calls eventually and flips over pocket Aces. Another 9 hits, which means he could fill a house with another 9 or an Ace but my straight holds.

At the end of the re-buy period, three players are all-in, BT, Jake and Dark Horse (I think). BT and Jake just want to go bust so they can re-load with a full stack but Dark Horse has a nice hand with pocket Queens. BT's 7, 3 off-suit, turns a sick straight, giving him a HUGE chip stack and leaving the Dark Horse very jaded about pocket face cards!

I get to the final four, with Cowboys in the lead and myself, BT and Scrooge about even in chips. I get Ace, King suited (clubs) under the gun so push all-in. The only caller is Scrooge, with Queen, 8 suited (diamonds). I'm looking good, Scrooge is about a 2-1 dog to lose (my hand will win 64% of the time) but when the flop springs two more diamonds, I find myself the 3-1 dog (Scrooge's hand  will win 84% of the time in this situation) and he hits on the river taking me out and giving him the chip lead. I steam like a motherfecker, appalled at his pre-flop call with Queen, 8 but that's poker.

BT is taken out soon after and Cowboys and Scrooge chop the pot £65 each way.

I'm still steaming over my Ace, King being dogged so play tight aggressive in the second game and start sucking up chips. The Dark Horse flops a straight but I flop a better straight, so I double-up early.

I then keep hitting hands and soon I own about two thirds of the chips in play and call the short stacks all-in moves. I take the Fish out when he pushes all-in on a draw, I had paired a deuce and it held. Jake was way ahead on a board that gave me a possible straight on the flop and I risk all my chips and river a King. I take Jake out later on with second pair.

I trap Ian beautifully when I call his pre-flop raise with King, 10 suited. I flop a King and check... he pushes all-in and I insta-call. He turns over pocket Queens so my Kings take him out. I take Scrooge out soon after and I'm left heads-up with the Dark Horse.

While we are playing, BT and Scrooge go heads-up for the final seat at the Mourant Charity Series Final Table. Their match lasts three hands! BT flops top pair and Scrooge middle pair. BT's 10 holds so he is our 10th finalist for the 22 August!

When Dark Horse and I start I have a 10-1 chip lead. He doubles-up pretty quickly and moves in again a few minutes later with Queen, 4. I call with Ace, 9 and pair my Ace on the flop. He rivers a straight and we are pretty much even in chips.

I try and avoid pre-flop all-ins as I know I can trap him after the flop. I get King, 8 in the big blind and the flop is King, 8, 7. The turn is a blank and the river another 8, giving me my full house. I push all-in and he calls with a King. So I take down the biggest pot.

Welcome to the game boys, see you next week!

jT

Leaderboard Update

Click on the image below:





I've just slipped ahead of Kermit in terms of league points (3 points for a win, 2 points for second place and 1 point for third) and maintain my lead in terms of equity at £355 up. Kermit's consistency at placing in the top three is always dangerous and Pokerbrat is only a few wins away from sneaking ahead.

Tony Two Cards' immense win ratio is going to be hard to beat but can he maintain it considering how few games he actually plays... we shall see! Can't argue with £200 up!

Kermit's Invitational

No Fishhook home game this week, but Kermit put together a game on Friday in honour of his birthday.

The Fish and myself were there, and it was always going to be lively with Tony Two Cards also in attendance.

The first game was going okay, although there were no re-buys, so we were playing for a £60 pot.

I got myself into a situation in the last hand of re-buys against Tony, and it was a dilemna as I could take Tony out, allowing him to re-buy but if I lost, I would be left with only 6000 chips and no re-buys.

Anyway, I called with King, Queen and Tony turns over Ace, 2. He flops two pair and my worst fears are realised. I'm sat on the short stack with 7 big blinds left to my name.

I grind it out and get back to a decent chip stack with about 40,000 chips. I look down at pocket 10s and push all-in. Tony calls me with Queen, 10 and the first card to hit is a Queen. I'm out of the first game and I'm pissed-off as I spent so long grinding back the chips.

The Fish is out soon after, leaving the Birthday Frog heads-up against Tony.

Tony takes it down.

In the second game, we have 7 players.

There is an insane amount of re-buys. I double up and take down a few pots giving me just under 90,000 chips.

Tony, The Fish, Kermit and one of the other players find themselves all-in pre-flop. I throw away Ace, Queen. Tony has the same hand as I had so it might be tough for him to improve. Kermit has pocket Jacks. The Fish has King, Jack and the other player has nothing and is gambling. The Jacks hold, so Kermit is sitting on a nice chip stack.

The beeper goes after the cards have been dealt, so players have to go bust in this hand in order to re-buy. The Fish has already re-loaded once and only has about 9000 chips so I am expecting him to push all-in. I look down at my cards and am very happy to see pocket 8s.

The Fish pushes all-in as expected and Tony calls, I call, Kermit calls and the other two fold.

The flop brings an Ace, rag and my trip 8. Beautiful! I am first to act so I push my remaining 80,000 into the middle. Kermit calls, The Fish is all-in anyway and Tony calls... I am delighted, although only Tony has anywhere near the same number of chips as me. I flip over my cards, showing the trips and both Kermit and Tony show their Ace, rag. Only one Ace left in the deck so I am confident. The Fish only has a King, rag so I am looking good.

The 8s hold and I scoop in just under 300,000 chips, a ridiculous stack. Kermit, Tony and The Fish re-buy and I am VERY happy with my chip position, especially considering we are now playing for the largest home game pot ever - £140.

Despite my stack, I don't play too loose, I am more than happy to let the others fight it out for the remaining 100,000 chips.

Kermit finds himself in a big pot with Tony and by the turn card, a MASSIVE pot. Tony pushes all-in and Kermit finds himself with a real dilemma. I am out of the hand and Kermit shows me he is sitting on two pair. There is so much on the board, straights, flushes and I would probably throw it away for my tournament life. Kermit folds and let's Tony showdown with another player. Both have absolutely nothing! On the turn, Tony had King high and his rag hits on the river and he takes down a massive collection of chips. Kermit is furious and walks it off, grabbing some KFC and pizza on his way back... good man. This is by far the bluff of the night.

A few hands later, The Fish and Tony are all-in against Kermit and the frog takes them all out with a straight. Kermit is heads-up against me with enough chips to keep me sensible. One double up and we would be even.

Kermit plays a good game, applying plenty of pressure, and he grinds away at my monster stack. We both know I am being patient and we both know I like to trap.

I stick to my usual heads-up strategy of calling any two cards in the small blind and sure enough, I flop two pair with some ugly rags. Unfortunately for the frog, he flops top pair with a great kicker, so when I push all-in, he insta-calls and I take down the second game and a pot that is going to look GREAT on the stats tomorrow!

The third game is only three-handed with surprise, surprise, Kermit, myself and The Fish.

With my big win in the second game, I'm keen to apply pressure and take risks during the re-buy period. The other two have already made it clear that they wouldn't be re-buying so I take advantage. I push all-in with King, 10 and The Fish calls me with Ace, rag. He takes it.

A few hands later, I push again with Ace, Jack and The Fish calls again, this time with pocket Jacks... they hold.

Now I'm pissed-off! I've got £30 invested in the pot and The Fish is sitting on 120,000 chips against Kermit on 40,000 and me on 40,000.

Kermit applies the pressure with a horrible board that has two Aces with the flop and the turn out there. He pushes all-in and after thinking for a while, The Fish calls. Not surprisingly, Kermit shows his Ace. The Fish paired a 3 but has a draw too. The river throws out another 3, giving them both a full house. Kermit doubles through The Fish, spreading the chips out a bit.

I grind away and build up a nice stack myself and we're almost all even again.

The Fish is put under pressure when Kermit pushes all-in after the turn card. I think Kermit had two-pair, including an Ace. After a while, The Fish can't help himself and he calls, chasing a 10 high flush. The Fish misses and Kermit is heads-up for a third time!

I don't count my stack by I have more than I think when I double-up, leaving Kermit with about 30,000.

I stick to my game and again, Kermit grinds away some chips, slowly building them back. I flop a full house, but Kermit never catches up and on the river, I make a better full house! I bet the minimum 6000 and am happy when he calls.

Kermit grinds away, and I wait. I flop a crappy flush with 8, 3 suited (the board has a 10, 7 and 2 of spades) and I figure I'm going to check through to take down the blinds again. An Ace comes on the turn and I hope Kermit hit. I check... Kermit checks. The turn brings a Jack and I bet 6000. Kermit pushes all-in and I sit bolt upright and insta-call!

Poor frog was holding King, Queen and hit the nut straight, so he is gutted when I show my 8 high flush.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KERMIT!!!

I'm £120 up on the night, Kermit is down £20 and The Fish is down £50.

I'd say that's one of the best birthdays I've ever been too, heh heh heh.

jT

Kermit is the Man! - Well... the Frog!

Still buzzing from the great game on Wednesday and the ultra hot deck that night, at 4pm yesterday I emailed Pokerbrat with the following:

"Dunno if I can wait until Wednesday for another game!"

The brat came back with:

"Alriiiight... get two more players, jT and we've got a game."

Within minutes, Mountain, Scrooge McDuck and Renzo were onboard with Kermit keeping his options open... we had a game!

At Pokerbrat's place, Renzo arrived, and shortly after - Kermit! Mountain was gonna show at midnight but there was no sign of Scrooge... we shuffled up and took McDuck's blinds.

Kermit's losing streak has been going on so long, we were almost starting to feel sorry for him, and true to form, he re-loaded in the re-buy period.

With the re-buy period over, I needed a double-up and I was more than happy to look down at pocket 10s. I moved all-in and only Renzo called.

He flipped over Queen, King and we had a classic race on our hands. The flop was good for me, but ultimately, Renzo managed to catch a runner, runner, runner straight... my trips were what killed me when the 10 on the turn was followed by a Jack and then a 9.

I think Renzo was busted by the brat, when the brat flopped a straight, and so we had Kermit heads-up against Pokerbrat.

What followed can only be described as the Muppet Show. Sure, the brat wasn't catching any cards, but Kermit totally dominated. Every time the brat made a move, Kermit came over the top. Every time the brat called, Kermit had the best hand. It wasn't long before Kermit took the chip lead and shortly after, he took the brat out. On a couple of occasions, Kermit pushed the brat out of the hand with absolutely nothing... the name has stuck but Kermit has found his game and has mixed his style up, no longer super tight. It was the best poker any of us have seen from the frog.

Just before we started the second game, Mountain let us know he wouldn't be making it, but we were joined by Scrooge McDuck and The Professor, so we had a big pot, a steaming brat and Kermit full of confidence.

Renzo got busted early and decided to call it a night, and the brat had to re-load shortly after - not once but TWICE!

Kermit took the brat and The Professor out, and I found myself in a hand with top pair (King) and a crap kicker on the flop. Kermit moved all-in. I put him on Ace, King or even King, 1o and despite being sure, I called and sure enough, Kermit flips over Ace, King. I need to hit my 2 but it doesn't come and Kermit finds himself heads-up against Scrooge McDuck.

Kermit laid on the pressure until Scrooge was forced to call against a stronger hand and the second game was all over, with Kermit taking down two out of two!

I'm looking forward to checking out the leaderboard tomorrow, as the brat has slipped behind again and of course Kermit has eaten into his losing streak.

In the third game there were no re-loads. I took the brat out with a flopped two pair against his top pair and managed to avoid his better kicker.

I took Kermit out shortly after and then eroded away at Scrooge McDuck until he was forced to make a bluff into the nuts.

Great night for Kermit, and I'm back at the top of the leaderboard with £185 V the brat's £140.

Wednesday should be competitive as the brat is only one win away from knocking me off the top spot again and BT is back and no doubt hungry for a win.

jT

Incredible Hands...

... just kept coming... and coming at Wednesday's home game. Pocket Aces hit ten times, and that's no exaggeration - we started counting after they hit for the third time!

We also had numerous pocket Kings, Jacks, Queens and Tens.

Renzo is definitely back, he was on top form in the first game, aggressively building his chip stack with dogged determination.

The fish was also in fine form, sucking out flushes to beat pocket pairs and flopped pairs, much to the chagrin of the brat.

The brat had to re-load three times in the re-buy period making him more determined to win.

Lethal took me out by sucking out a flush, fish-style and Kermit and Fish were out soon after.

The brat was out third, leaving Renzo and Lethal in the heads-up. I thought we were up for another long session of Renzo's luck, as Lethal kept jamming straights with one card or pairing low cards.

In the end though, after a bad call from Lethal, Renzo took it down, really clawing back his cash stats.

The second game saw me re-buying twice in quick succession when my pocket pair was beaten by an overcard and then again when Renzo's 10s held against my Ace, Queen.

I was almost out completely after the re-buy period, again to Renzo, but clawed back some chips when my Pocket Aces converted into a full house (Aces and Kings no less).

Kermit nearly took me out with, yes, pocket Aces, but my flopped pair turned into two pair on the turn and I doubled-up.

Pokerbrat was on top form after re-loading during the re-buy period and just seemed to suck up chips. He took Renzo out with a better kicker when they both flopped a King and then Kermit, calling his two paint cards with 8, 2 and pairing his 8!

The Fish and I had less than 100,000 chips between us, putting the brat on more than 170,000 chips. The last thing we needed was for the brat to put either of us out.

I took a slug of chips off the Fish before the Brat took him out completely, leaving me with 30,000 chips to the brat's 200,000+!

I doubled-up, putting me back in contention, but the brat's aggressive play and the 4000/8000 blinds had me bleeding chips back down to 50,000. I needed to double-up and quick.

I'm dealt King, Queen in the big blind and the brat moves all-in. I take my time and I hate being in this position. Any Ace and I'm in big trouble.

I call and the brat turns over Ace, 8. The dead man's hand.

The Fish stayed to deal and he lays out the cards.

The first card is a Queen - Good times.

Second card is an Ace - Bad times.

Third card is another Queen - Hard on!

The turn is another Ace, giving the brat Aces Full and me an inferior Queens Full... BASTARD!!!

To be fair, the brat went in with the strongest hand and the best hand won.

AMAZING poker tonight and amazing run of cards.

In the grand scheme of things, the Brat is now in first place on the leaderboard and is the man to catch.

Quickest heads-up, Longest heads-up and a Straight Flush...

That's pretty much how the home game went on Tuesday.

Bad night for me, I was out third in both games, and had to re-buy in both games too!

Pokerbrat and Renzo were the heroes this week.

GREAT to see Renzo back in the game and on his game for that matter.

Lethal called me down on a couple of big bluffs in the first game and took most of my chips.

I had to re-buy shortly after, but doubled-up with the first Straight Flush ever at the home game. Pokerbrat re-loaded and didn't look back from then on.

I think Lethal was out first, then Renzo and with me crashing third, Kermit was the man to take on Pokerbrat heads-up... it lasted one hand! Pokerbrat taking down the win.

In the second game, the Brat re-loaded and then went out for a second time. He cut his losses and went home.

I went down to 3000 chips and brought it back to over 100,000.

The chips moved back and forth for a while but I chased too many straights. I did have one good hand, doubling through Renzo with my pocket Kings. He had 7s in the hole but the cowboys held.

The heads-up between Renzo and Kermit lasted a monstrous 2 hours!

Every time Renzo went in with the best hand, Kermit would hit and double-up. Renzo would then grind himself back to even, take the lead, then lose to a bad beat... over and over again. It was incredible.

In the end, a big hand held for Renzo and he won the second game.

Pomme

I'm really pissed-off with my game on Thursday night at the Pomme. I started off really well, making a call that could have sent me home £200 down in the first hour. I was dealt Ace, King and hit a King on the flop.

Pikey Chris makes a £51 bet and I re-raise another £51. He moves all-in and I'm already commited to calling so push all my chips in. He's chasing a straight and a flush but he misses and I river trip Kings. Phew!

So now I'm sat on over £400 in chips and I'm looking forward to grinding out another big win at the Pomme.

30 minutes later and I'm dealt pocket Aces, one of which is a heart. Eddie bets the pot so I re-raise the new pot. He calls reluctantly and when the flop hits he pushes all-in. I insta-call and find he is chasing a heart flush. It hits the turn so I need another heart to give me the nut flush. It's a rag, so I lose over £100 with pocket rockets to Queen fuckin rag.

I tighten up but every time I think I am making the right play, I'm beaten. For example, the Gay Blade who usually plays tighter than Kermit, is heads-up against my pocket 8s. The flop is 7, 5, 5 and I figure the guy only plays Aces and Kings so bet out. He calls me down all the way to the river and turns over 5, 6 - he flopped trips and was flat calling me all the way.

I'm starting to tilt a bit as I know I'm not playing my usual game. I pair a 7 on the flop against a regular who has been away (and I've never played against). He seems tight, in fact he folded a low flush when I had the King flush in an earlier hand, which is an amazing lay down! Anyway, I river another 7 and bet out £50 (there's well over £100 in the pot) and he calls, showing a straight I didn't even see on the board.

I'm now completely tilting and I'm left with £75.

I pair a Queen on my final hand and move in. I get two callers and watch them play against each other and ultimately one of them turns over a full house.

I leave really pissed off.

Tomorrow is a £75 freezeout at the Pomme so I'm going down to play in that and later on the cash game... this time I'll down a couple of Relentless and keep my head in the game.

AVjT

Fishhook Leaderboard

Check out the Fishhook Home Game Leaderboard - Click on the image to see it properly.

The rankings are based on games won, but don't let that fool you - check out who is in the money and who is chasing to get back in the black!

Another indication that we have a strong player, is their return on investment. This is calculated based on the return (as a percentage) players have received from all their buy-ins. For example, if a player had played two, £10 buy-in games, and was currently £20 up, their ROI would be 100%.

From the 1st July, we'll implement a point system, similar to the charity game. We'll still track the above stats, but players will also get points for winning games, coming second, and coming third (3 points for a win, 2 points for second, 1 point for third) - that way we can keep an eye on solid players who keep getting to the heads-up, but can't seem to nail it (Cough**Kermit**Cough).

jT

A Professor and The Mountain becomes a Volcano!

It was short-handed this week at Pokerbrat's, as BT and Poker Princess broke down with a flat tyre... a likely story!

Anyway, it was down to Pokerbrat, Kermit, myself and Pokerbrat's girlfriend, who've I've nicknamed The Professor... as she's a teacher and a solid player.

Mountain turned up an hour into the game, missing three re-buys!

Kermit busted-out, and I lost all my chips twice in the space of ten minutes! First time, my pocket 8s were cracked when Pokerbrat's Ace, Queen caught two aces on the board, then when my own suited Ace, Queen failed to improve against the Professor's pocket Kings. It was looking like the first pot was staying in Casa Pokerbrat one way or the other as I doubled up both of them early on!

My game was shithouse from then on, even with a re-load to 30,000 chips. I was out first when I gambled as the short-stack with Queen, Jack only for Professor to catch an Ace on the flop.

Kermit got VERY lucky when he pushed all-in with Ace, rag, got a call from Pokerbrat, who turned over pocket Queens. The board gave Kermit four clubs and he doubled-up with the nut flush.

Mountain was slowly but surely building chips and Professor was making some moves but not getting any callers.

Pokerbrat pushed all-in after a raise from Kermit and after thinking about it for a year and a half, Kermit called with another Ace, rag. The brat turned over pocket Jacks and this time they held, crippling Kermit until he eventually lost to Mountain's outside straight.

The brat had come back from nothing to almost even chips with Mountain, and after taking out the Professor, was dominant again.

It has to be said, Mountain was blinding away, and often folded his small blind. Eventually he was forced to move with an average hand and the brat took down the first game and an £80 pot.

Fairplay to Mountain, he turned up an hour into the game, played solid and made it to heads-up in only his third game with the Fishhook crew! The Professor was also solid in her debut and it will be interesting in future games if we get Lethal, Poker Princess and the Professor at the table... Probably Kermit's worst nightmare!

Second Game

Pokerbrat was busted early when he pushed with his top pair and walked straight into Mountain's trip 7s... the Mountain was now chip leader!

The brat came back strong, gradually stealing chips and winning showdowns with some solid play. It has to be said, he was on form and every time his chips were in the middle and in jeopardy, he always had the strongest hand. Of course his luck didn't always hold out, but his decisions were bang on.

The re-buy period ended and I was chip leader with the brat only 9000 or 10,000 behind me. The blinds were 1000/2000 and I was dealt Ace, Queen off-suit. A nice starting hand. I tried to limp-in but the brat raised it up to 4000. I was the only caller and the flop brought a couple of clubs, in 10, Jack, rag. I was looking good with the straight draw, so called the brat's bet of 12,000. The turn was another club and I was surprised when the brat pushed all his chips in the middle.

I turned my cards over, showing my Ace, Queen and of course the Ace was a club so I had straight draws and flush opportunities. I worked out quickly that I had at least 12 outs, any King, any club or and maybe even pairing my ace should do it, unless the brat already had the flush of course.

I counted my chips and if I lost this one, I'd be left with 9000 chips and of course, Pokerbrat would be almost certainly unstoppable with over two-thirds of the chips in play.

I took my time, or as we like to call it... I took a 'Kermit Pause'.

Eventually I pushed my chips in and as it was my deal, I stood-up, burnt a card and then flipped over a King of clubs... YES!!! The nut flush!

The brat turned over his pocket Queens, gutted.

What's incredible here, is the odds of the Pokerbrat having pocket Queens again, only to have them cracked by a club nut flush again, that needed four clubs on the board, AGAIN!!! I'd love to know the odds of that!

Once again though, the brat had his chips in the middle when he was ahead.

Kermit didn't last too much longer, so Mountain was down to the heads-up two out of two!

With my chip lead, I didn't think it would be long, which was a big mistake because the Mountain was a 'move' machine, pushing all-in nearly every hand and really putting pressure on me. Before I knew it, he was ahead of me in chips, so I knew if I made a stand, and it went wrong, I'd be out the game!

He made some amazing moves, in one hand for example, I'd flopped top-pair (Jacks) but had a shitty kicker. I threw it away when Mountain pushed all-in, convinced he was on Ace, Jack or King, Jack and the bastard turns over pocket 2s!

We called him 'Mountain' because of his Rocky debut and yet here he was throwing his chips in with any face card.

Eventually I dropped about 10,000 chips behind and I had to make a stand. I was dealt Ace, Ten and when Mountain pushed, I called. He flipped over Ace, 8 so at least I was ahead. To my relief, they held and a few hands later, my paired 7, took Mountain out... Phew!!! I thought it was going to be an expensive night as far as the home game goes, but the £50 pot left me £10 up.

Fairplay Mountain, heads-up twice and almost nailed me in the second game.

jT

Pokerbrat & AnteVirusjT Heads-Up Twice!

It was a great home game tonight. We played two, deep stack , £10 buy-in games with re-buys in the first hour.

In the first game it was a tough field with newcomer, John 'The Mountain' Michel joining us for the first time, Pokerbrat was on top form, Kermit was making some moves, the Fish was fishing, Scrooge McDuck took early chip lead, Lethal was playing tight and I kept hitting the cards.

My streak gave me the chip lead towards the end of the first hour and I'd trebled-up before the re-buy period ended. Kermit and The Fish had to re-load in the first game taking the pot to £90.

I have a chance to take Pokerbrat out and call his King, 10 with my King, Jack. He hits a 10 on the flop and I hit my Jack. The turn gives him another Ten and he doubles-up. This is bad news as he's dangerous with chips.

Kermit made a gutsy all-in call with Ace, King and was happy to see Pokerbrat with Ace, 5. The flop brings dead cards, but the brat turns or rivers a 5, taking Kermit out.

I'm desperately needing a double-up and I push with pocket 7s, when Pokerbrat raises pre-flop. The brat is the chip leader by some way so I'm hoping for a call, as I get to double-up and take some of the brat's chips. I get my wish and I'm pleased to see Ace, Jack as I always prefer to have the pair going into a coin flip. I flop my trips and river a full house so am back in the game in terms of chip stack.

Pokerbrat takes out two guys in one hand and by the time it gets to heads-up, he is a 2-1 chip leader.

We both adopt a push or fold strategy and rarely get to see a flop. I work my way back to even chips and then it's crunch time. I'm tempted to give it the Scotty Nguyen "If you call it's all over baby." Pokerbrat pushes all-in and I turn over my first card - King, so I insta-call and turn over my second card, 4... shit!

Pokerbrat has King, 2 so I am slightly ahead and breath a sigh of relief. Bastard flops a 2... shit! I turn a 4, putting me ahead again and I think the river brings another King, so I take down the first game and a £90 pot (after Pokerbrat takes his buy-in back for coming in second).

Extremely happy, I play too loose in the six-handed, second game, and have to re-load twice. Scrooge McDuck's luck is just as bad and his double re-load takes the pot to £100. At the end of the re-buys, I'd doubled-up but was way behind the chip leader, Chris the Fish, who had been enjoying some crazy calls. Before one of my re-buys, I move all-in with suited Ace, 2 and Fish calls me with King, 8.

I hit a two on the flop, so I'm looking good but you guessed it, the Fish rivers his King, AGAIN!!!

Kermit and me are in a similar position chip-wise and after my raise pre-flop, he pushes all-in. I'm looking at Ace, Queen but with Kermit's tight (as a frog's ass - hence the nickname) image, I wonder if it's enough. I take a long time to make a decision and start drawing tells from the frog. He doesn't seem to want the call but is acting like he does. The problem with Kermit is, he's so negative sometimes, he could be sat on pocket Kings and he's convinced you've got Aces so genuinely gets nervous in these situations anyway. I turn my cards over and ask him how he feels. To be fair to him, he doesn't give much of a reaction but he does reach for his drink, which I take as an insta-call, so push my chips in.

He turns over Ace, Queen and we watch a flush-less board hit, and split-up the pot, both a little relieved.

Kermit is taken out soon after the re-buy period and Scrooge McDuck is unlucky against Pokerbrat with four cards to the nut flush on the flop, a potential straight and the potential royal flush on the board for him! Any Jack would give him the straight, any heart the flush, and the Jack of hearts the royal flush! With two cards to go, he would be mad to fold and he calls only to see black cards turn and river him out of the second game. 8 or 9 outs and he misses! Unlucky.

The Fish is in the chip fryer soon-after, although he looks-up the brat repeatedly, revealing some big moves and giving us all some free information on the brat's range of cards that he's happy to risk his chips with, but it's the Pokerbrat who out-fishes the fish in the end! Good for the rest of us, bad for the Fish and the brat.

Mountain played really well in the second game and using a combination of the table image he built-up during the first game, and some good cards, he makes it to three-handed with Pokerbrat and myself. I need to take Mountain out to bring me about even in chips with the brat.

Mountain makes the fold of the night, when his flopped flush is crushed by a fourth club that gives me the Jack-high flush. I bet big on the river, and he folds his six or seven high flush. He lost a lot of chips as he bet-out right through to the river but he's still in it and made a great fold.

I'm on the big blind and The Mountain calls the 8000 to see the flop. I decide to try and outplay the newcomer and raise without even looking at my cards. The flop is 10, 10, Jack. Mountain bets 12,000 and I call without looking at my cards. The turn is a Queen. Mountain bets most of his chips and I decide it's time to take a peak at my cards. I have a Jack and an 8 so I have top pair and a potential straight. I call the 12,000 and see another Jack on the River, giving me my full house. Mountain pushes all-in and is really unlucky, as he shows pocket Aces. Although out the game, The Mountain has shown some sophisticated play in his debut, making an incredible fold and slow-playing pocket rockets, which could have paid off for him if the second Jack hadn't hit.

Pokerbrat and I are heads-up again, for £100 this time. In the second game it's winner takes all, as there will be no third game and the house rules are that you only get your buy-in back if you play the next game.

It's getting late and all the other players have gone home so the brat and I face-off with 150,000 each.

It goes back and fourth for well over an hour and by 4am, it's not looking like anyone is giving up their chips. I fold pocket tens on a suspicious board that could have trips or a flush but apart from that, we don't get involved in any major hands.

The sun is threatening to peer over the horizon so we agree to split the final pot straight down the middle, leaving me £100 up for the night and the brat £40 up.

We both hate splitting the pot, but respect wins out and we know it could be a long slog!

Great games tonight with some solid poker, plenty of moves and some monster hands.

Welcome aboard, Mountain, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to fellow-founders, BT and Renzo Hansford!!! You were missed!

jT

Hook, line, and sinker!

How to catch a fish…

A couple of week ago we were all at jT’s for our weekly home game. It was half way through the night and I was bleeding chips, we all started with 30,000 and I was down to 15,000.

Chris ‘The Fish’ was dominating; he had generated a massive chip lead and started knocking people out of the game at will. The blinds were 400/800, I am the small blind and ‘The fish’ is the big blind, two people call, in my hand I have King and 5 of Clubs, so I call. The flop is the 10, Jack, and 8 of clubs. I have flopped the King high flush. Everyone checks and I bet the blind (800). Everyone folds apart from The Fish who, as always, loves chasing a draw. At this stage I have him chasing a possible straight, or he is 4 to the flush. The turn card is the 2 of Hearts, we both check.

The last card is the Ace of Clubs, which gives me the nut flush, and if my instincts are correct, ‘The Fish’ will either have a flush or a straight (10 – Ace). I gesture to move all in by placing my right hand on my chips and move them forward slightly, I then quickly pause before they cross the line and say: “I think you have the flush or the straight.” After 10 seconds I push all in, ‘The Fish’ thinks I have two pair, so if he has a straight or a flush, he thinks he has me beat. He calls, before I reveal my cards, I said the following:

“I flopped the King high flush, which turned into the nut flush on the river.” I turn over my cards and his jaw hit the floor. ‘The Fish’ turns his over, and he had the 6 high flush. He doubles me up, and within three hands; ‘The Fish’ is knocked out of the game.

The Lesson
More often then not, a fish will always take the bait with a little bit of misdirection. But beware of ‘The Fish’, he has a powerful bite.

One for the ladies!

And I'm not talking about pocket Queens for once.

At last night's homegame, Leonie cleaned-up, bluffing a few of us into monster hands. In the end she split the pot £50-£40 with Chris the Fish, who was nearly out-fished for once!

There was some good poker last night although not from me in the first game.

Kermit took a chunk of my chips with a straight and then Leonie wiped me out completely.

I'm dealt pocket Kings and raise it up pre-flop. Barry 'Scrooge McDuck' and Leonie call and I'm loving the flop of 8, 4, 2. I move all-in and McDuck folds pocket 9s, a great laydown but Leonie calls me and turns over pocket Aces! Gutted, I put the kettle on and take the expected piss-taking on the chin.

Leonie was on fire and shortly after pumping me, she outplayed Paul the 'Pokerbrat'. Paul leads out the whole way, making medium to large bets but never enough to shake Leonie off. The flop brings 9, Ace, rag and Paul bets the flop and the turn. I think a Jack hit the turn and another 9 rivers.

Leonie must have made a face on the river, as both Pokerbrat and Kermit laugh at her reaction and confident she missed her hand, Pokerbrat moves all-in for close to 50,000 chips. At this stage Leonie is the chip leader anyway and we're all floored when Leonie calls and turns over a 9!

Pokerbrat was relying on his Ace to take down the whole pot and he got pumped on the river. He didn't take it too well, in fact he kicked himself over his bet on the turn being too small but personally, for me, it was the all-in move that was his mistake. If you thought someone had missed, why move all your chips in? A bet of 10-20K would have shaken her off if she'd missed and if she did turn out to have the nuts (as she did!) she would have got value, but not all your chips!

Pokerbrat went home in a huff and Leonie was now dominant.

Kermit and McDuck lasted a little longer but by heads-up, Chris the fish and Leonie were sitting with about 150,000 each in chips, so they split the pot and played high card for the remaining £10!

WELL DONE LEONIE!!! Her third game with the crew and her first win.

The second game was pretty quick, Chris managed to fish (there's a surprise!) Kermit out of the game when Kermit's two pair was voided when Chris rivered a King, giving him a better two pair!

Chris then made a questionable call when I flopped a 3! The flop was pretty bad, 3,8,9 pairing my 3 and I also had a Jack so I moved all-in hoping to take the pot down with a 'move with outs' (the blinds were 1000/2000 at this stage). Chris called with King, 6! My 3s held and he doubled me up giving me the chip lead.

I took him out with Jack, Queen in the next hand (he had Jack, 2)

I'll be playing at the Pomme on Sunday night at the cash game from 8:30pm and next week's home game is at mine from 7:30pm.

jT