LIVE at the Glasgow Apollo - pt 2

welcome back, gentle reader.

I really don't know where to start ... under a bit of pressure, since I know my hot tottie favourite exile reads this ... sometimes ... :))

lets do a little Tarantino ...

I had a really really enjoyable night. Acorns company was excellent and we got on well which helped calm me no end, thanks Acorn !! another relaxing factor, all the boys and girls I played with were friendly and had no probs explaining things and generally pointing me in the right direction. Excellent stuff all round and I'd recommend it to anyone.
Glasgow, it was my pleasure.
There was one guy who seemed a little obnoxious, but he was on table one and busted early. And there were plenty of regulars there who seemed ... willing ... to keep him in line :) One guy at the final table summed him up " ... he is a fcuking arsehole and only plays here 'cause he is barred everwhere else ... " always one I suppose :)

At the beginning I suppose ?

drove into town to meet up with Acorn, arrived at 7pm prompt. No one in sight ... no other parked cars ... the "club" is all locked up ... oh great thinks me. Now, the club is not in the greatest of areas and normally I'd stroll about and walk off the excess nervous energy, not here baby, I was sittin tight in the jalopy ... doors locked, eyes on full scan mode !!

10 mins later the mobile goes ... Acorn, running late, be there in 15 says he ... whew !!

At exactly the same time, a guy has driven up and starts unshackling the front door, of what I assume is the club. This is not your big casino with huge glass frontage and more lights than blackpool .... on the outside its a small industrial type unit, door on the left of a large roller shutter, not a sign or light in sight. Initially this had me running scared but Acorn had assured me it was a lot better on the inside !
True to his word Acorn turns up in his shiny new sporty car ! nice wheels mate !
We both get out and the introductions made. Glad to say my initial assumptions were correct and Acorn is indeed a nice bloke.
Is that a bit girlie ? ok ok he is cool and top bloke ! better ??
We amble in and inside is indeed a lot lot better than the outside would suggest :)
At the "desk" the bloke checks Acorn is still on the database, and he is, I fill out a registration form and that's it.

Welcome to the Wabash Club.

We then ask ... need to stop this "we" shit ... Acorn did all the talking ... me ?? I was as nervous as coo in the abattoir ...
he is told no £5 stt tonite ... £20 freezeout ... yikes !! why do I suddenly feel like this is turning into a baptism of fire ?
anyway, we have half an hour or so to kill before the tourney starts and Acorns been workin late with no dinner, so we jump in his car and "zip" into town for a bite to eat ... wheeeeeee !
No point taking my car, its a 1.2 Punto roughly 0-60 in 3.5 days !
I know I refused your offer of some chips last night, next time I'll be wolfing in there !

Back we go. Inside things are ready to roll, we pay our £20 and the next thing there's a sheet on the wall detailing table number and seat position.
19 runners so 3 tables of six six and seven. I'm table 3 Acorn table 2 both 6 handed as table 1 has seven. Oh oh thinks me ... short handed tables ... bugger ... and to make matters worse there is one guy missing from my table ! so we start with only 5 of us.

before I prattle on any further some game details.
£20 freezeout NLHE with t10,000 starting chips and a free t10,000 add on to be taken anytime during the first hour. blinds start at 100/200 with, I think, 30 minute levels. and the tables are all self dealt.

back to the table. I could not have had a better starting table. Three older guys and a guy about forty and all very friendly, excellent stuff. And some of the banter ... straight off chewin the fat ... brilliant, very relaxing ... welcome to live poker indeedy ! Quite funny really since the other 17 runners all new each other on first name terms ... Acorn and I stuck out like sore thumbs I suspect ... so all the guys introduce themselves and ask my name. they all remember my name but the only name I remember from my first table is the guy who was missing ! and he turned up about 15 mins later.

Dont remember any specific hands from the first table but I do recall raising with AK and two callers ... missed the damn flop completely ... sooooo easy to make a c-bet online .... almost checked it but I had position, there was a Q on a ragged rainbow flop so I bet out and the other two folded ... whew !!

That was one of the very very few hands I played. I was playing super tight. Probably to tight if I'd picked up a monster I think the others would have folded. and before I know it the first hour is over, and I'm handed my t10,000 add on without even asking !
Right about then or shortly after the tables were balanced. One guy from Acorns table ? and two guys ?? from the very very loud table 1 had busted and we are down to 16 runners so two tables it is.

I get reseated at Acorns table with t25,000 amid friendly calls of "watch it, these too are friends" .

Acorn got short stacked here and pushed twice I think, once on my big blind and I folded a Q rag. The third ? time Acorn pushed, not sure if it was my blind but I had AJs and called for half my stack ....
soooooo my mighty AJs v ....... A4o ........
up pops a damn 4 but I am quite happy to see my man take it and stay in. but that drops me to t15,000 or there abouts and I am quickly blinded down to t8,000 and then along come these two hands ...
sorry Acorn not sure if you were still in or not and rather remiss of me not knowing when and how, exactly, you went out .... the second and third hour are a bit hazy ...

ok so down to t8,000 and I pick up Q6s UTG and manage to limp to the flop for 2k
a Q on the flop the bb ckecks and I bet 2k ... he calls ... bugger, I have a six for a kicker
sure he has the Q and a decent kicker if not a J then certainly a T
on the turn a beautiful 6 ... he checks I bet 2k ... he calls ...
river is a blank and he checks and I bet 4k and he calls ... shit !!
I think my two pair are good and bearing in mind Kenns live lesson re slow rolling ... the guy in the big blind flips over a Q and looks at me ... I quickly turn over both cards declaring my hand ... its good, whew !!

back to t15,000 ( probably closer to t20,000?)

an orbit later, same guy in the bb and I pick up AA ... wheeeeeee
I bet out 5k all fold and bb stares at me and calls
yesssssss an A on the flop ...... oh fuck !! all hearts .....
the bb checks ... I bet 5k .... sod it, not a bad hand to go bust on ... he only calls ...
oh my fucking god ... the other A pops out on the turn ....
I contain myself, I think, he checks and I bet 5k ... he calls
the river is another heart ....
I almost collapse ... I may have misread the cards but I'm sure the four hearts are AJQ9 ...
giving him two shots at the straight flush ....
the bb checks ... I cannot lay down quads ... I bet 10k ... fully expecting to get rolled !
he folds !
back to t35,000 or there abouts.
the blinds got up to 2k/4k and I must have stole a few and got up to t45,000 before both tables dropped to 4 players and

welcome to the final table !

so i am doing ok, a lot more folding. once had 99 and folded to a big raise and a caller. no 9 appeared on the board so a good fold.
the only other thing, sorry two things, I remember from the final table ...

The Classic New Guy Mistake.

still 8 handed, I am on the button. blinds 2k/4k sitting about 6th position chip wise and it folds round to me with A4s. I decide to limp and state "call" and throw my 4 chips in the middle, the small blind does a double take and folds pronto
...the bb rips off his headphones and says "you said call" ... I nod my head ... he pushes all his chips in with a fucking big grin ...
wtf ?? seriously wtf ??
the table explodes into a riot of noise ... some laughing, some exclamations ( the quiet italian on my left silently shakes his head ) the railbirds are squawking like fcuk ...

and yours truly is the centre of attention ...

after the big blind pushes, the dealer turns back to me and says "33k on top ..."
I sit there completely confused ....
the old guy on my right says, quietly, "you called 4k but threw in four 5k chips ... you raised 16k"
and I sit ... well gobsmacked really ... couldn't talk ... grin and bear it baby ... fairly sure I blushed as well.

ooops ... apparently chips speak louder than words ... motherfukker, you dumb motherfukker dD !

in hindsight, I should have called, but at the time I thought, two wrongs do not make a right.
next time baby, I am pushing back.
so half my chips gone in a lapse of concentration. doh ! doh ! doh !

I hang in there for a couple more orbits, two guys bust and we are 6 handed.
The blinds go up to 3k/6k and I am down to t14,000 and UTG ...
last chance to push ...
A8o and I push and the only caller is th bb with his K9s ...
a 9 on the flop and u lose dD

and it might ... should ... have been so much different