will be returning soon with regular updates
England Poker League
I had a very enjoyable poker experience yesterday. While walking home I stopped into one of my local pubs to use the cash point, I noticed a poster stating that there was a Texas Hold-em poker tourney there that evening, offering a chance to win a seat at the WSOP in Las Vegas, it also told me to check out www.englandpokerleague.co.uk online. I did so when I got home and from the website gathered that the tournament was free and open to anyone, you gained points for your final positon in the tournament and if you came top ten in your national leaderboard, top five in your area leaderboard or top two in your venue leaderboard you are awarded a place in the grand final, where the winner wold walk away with the WSOP seat, not bad for a few nights at the pub!
So later that evening me and a friend made our way to the pub and, a little later than promised due to a motorway accident, two gentlemen arrived and set up a table top poker table and counted out chips. Now the pub was dead and after thirty minutes of pleading with local drunks me and my friend were the only two registered, so we decided to play a 4 way £10 sit ‘n’ go, winner takes all, with the points for the league up for grabs between three of us.
the two poker guys had driven from Manchester, one was a North West manager for the league, and so was not eligible to play for points, and the other was a previous season winner who now helps out and plays as well, they proved great company and really made me think about what you miss out on when you play online compared to live.
We played for a few hours, I was first out with few playable hands I decided to push wid AQ to be called by JK and for my opponent to flop a straight! Never mind, unlike at home where i might have been tempted to throw my laptop across the room, a hearty handshake, a few words of commiseration and a trip to the bar for a pint set me straight and i settled in to watch the rest of the game, my friend was next out and the two from Manchester played Heads-up for the money.
During the game we found out that the league was hugely popular, despite the turn out last night, and that the Grand final usually consisted of around 150 players. However due to new gaming commision rules they were no longer able to offer the WSOP and instead this years winner would get a £3000 GUKPT seat and there would also be a prize pool to be shared between the rest of the final table thanks to Blue Square.
All in all it was a really good night, hopefully more people will turn up next time but if not there are other venues locally that we were told got between 15-20 players a week. So if you’re looking for a good poker night out without breaking the bank then check out their website for your local venue and good luck!
WiseGuy
Premiership Betting Saturday 03/05/08
A few interesting games this weekend and a few very hard to call games. Villa at home to Wigan should win but with Wigan needing points to stay up, it could be a tough game and as i’m hoping Villa don’t pip Everton for fifth I won’t be touching this one! Fulham V Birmingham is a game where any result is possible, Fulham should be high on confidence but Birmingham know this a big chance to get points to help their survival push. Middlesborough V Portsmouth again is tough, Boro did not build on their result against Man U but Portsmouth will likely have one eye on their FA Cup final so again I won’t be touching this one. Reading V Tottenham is also a no bet for me, Reading need three points to be safe this season and Spurs have nothing to play for, but again I can’t call it, Spurs could easily win or draw this game if they play near their full potential. Bolton V Sunderland is the other game that I won’t be betting on, Bolton are getting results, their not playing particularly well but they are getting results and Sunderland are safe and looking towards next season, this will either mean they get well beat or play with the freedom that teams who are safe sometime play with.
Now, to the games I will be having a punt on. The first is Manchester United V West Ham. Manchester will be buzzing after beating Barcelona to the Champions League Final, they now need to focus on retaining their Premiership title, now even on points with Chelsea anything less than three points will be seen as disaster here. West Ham are safe and are another team with nothing to play for. It is probably the best way to come into a game at Old Trafford, with no pressure or expectations, but the Reds will be fully focused and I believe they will have far too much for this West Ham side. I will be looking to back Man United -1.5 at 1.59 (www.betdaq.co.uk).
The other game I like the look of is Blackburn Rover V Derby County. Derby have been a great source of income this season, having been roundly battered nearly every week. They are down and have been for a long time, and with all thoughts turned to next season I cannot see anything other than a Rovers win. Blackburn are a very good side with a very good manager, if they keep all their players and maybe get a few new ones in next season they will no doubt be pushing for Europe. Santa Cruz has to be the buy of the season and with players like Bentley, McCarthy and Pedersen they should have no problems seeing off this Derby side. My pick here will be Blackburn -1.5 at 1.74 (www.betdaq.co.uk).
Pick - Manchester United -1.5 - 1.59 - www.betdaq.co.uk
Pick - Blackburn Rovers -1.5 - 1.74 - www.betdaq.co.uk
Good luck to anyone following my picks.
WiseGuys
Fiorentina V Rangers UEFA Cup Semi-Final 01/05/08
After the goalless draw in Scotland, tonight will decide which of these two sides progresses to the UEFA Cup final in Manchester. Rangers still have many injuries but the return of Barry Ferguson and Kevin Thompson in midfield and David Weir in defence should boost confidence and give Rangers a more balanced approach to the game.
Fiorentina have been solid at home in this competition. Their side is balanced and in Mutu they have a constant threat, they will be morethan confident they can progress to the final. Even though they must not lose sight of qualifying for the Champions League through their position in Serie A, I think that a UEFA Cup final will be seen as a positive distraction rather than a negative one.
Rangers no they have a tough task ahead of them, playing away to Italian sides has never been an easy task, and I would guess that Walter Smith would snatch your hand off if he was offered a 0-0 draw in normal time and the chance to go to extra time. With this in mind I imagine we will see a very defensive minded Rangers side, with 10 men behind the ball for the majority of the game and look to hit Fiorentina on the break. I do not believe this tacticwillwork, Fiorentina are a very good side and will be prepared. They will look to not commit too many players forward. Adrain Mutu, who has already scored six in this competition, will look for his seventh goal tonight which will see him take his place in the Fiorentina history books as the clubs highest European scorer.
With this in mind, I believe this will be a low scoring affair, 0-0 or 1-0, and as such my bet tonight will be under 2.5 goals.
Pick - Under 2.5 Goals - 1.70- www.betdaq.co.uk
Chelsea FC V Liverpool FC 30/04/08
Second leg of this semi-final tonight and no matter what the result we are guaranteed an all English Champions League final. The game stands at 1-1 with Chelsea grabbing a undeserved away goal at Anfield thanks to a own goal by Risse in the dying moments of the first leg. With the advantage now firmly in Chelsea’s corner, Stanford Bridge faithfuls will be expecting their team to progress as a home win or a 0-0 scoreline will see them through.
Chelsea are extremely solid at home and are rarely beaten, and I believe that tonight they will be finally exorcise their Champions League Liverpool demons. Twice before Liverpool have knocked Chelsea out over two legs in this competition, but both time the second leg was at Anfield. Chelsea will be hoping their crowd can match the fiery atmosphere that they have endured before at Anfield and combine this with home advantage to progress to the final.
Chelsea had a tough game on Saturday, beating Manchester United 2-1 and Liverpool rested most key players in their 2-2 draw with Birmingham. Despite maybe being slightly more tired the Chelsea players should be full of confidence and it remains to be seen whether resting players actually does help or hinder a teams progress.
Liverpool have been excellent in this competition under Benitez and he has proven to be a master tactician on European nights. I doubt they will change their approach for tonight’s game from that of at Anfield but I think we shall see a different Chelsea approach, they can not allow themselves to be bullied again and I expect some of the bigger name players such as Drogba, Ballack and Cole to stand up and be counted for tonight.
Overall I think Chelsea will nick this tonight, Liverpool must go looking for a goal and Chelsea will look to have lots of possession and counter attack when they can. Conditions may play a part, as it is raining heavily at the stadium and this may lead to a scrappier affair, but with plenty of players willing to fight for this place in the final, it should be a good game.
Pick - Chelsea Home Win - 2.22 - www.betdaq.co.uk
Good luck to anybody following my tip.
WiseGuy
Manchester United V Barcelona FC 28/04/08
The stage is set, all eyes fall on Old Trafford tonight as we wait to see which team will progress to the final of the Champions League. The tie hangs on a knife edge and it continues to be hard to pick anything between these two sides. The first leg at the Nou camp ended 0-0, with Barcelona dominating possession but rarely creating clear cut chances and Manchester defending well and blowing the chance of a crucial away goal with a missed penalty by golden boy Christiano Ronaldo.
Tonight’s game will no doubt be very different, Manchester United at home will not be on the back foot and indeed if they wish to progress they will have to be put the Barca keeper under some pressure tonight and find that elusive goal. Ronaldo is the type of character that will be looking to put his penalty miss behind him and put in a good 90 minutes tonight. There are doubts over the fitness of Rooney and Vidic tonight, two crucial players. I believe that if these two do not play tonight then Barca will win. Vidic is under-rated in my opinion, he cleans up everything at the back and is a real no nonsense centre back which compliments Ferdinand’s more skillful approach to defending. Rooney is essential too, he works hard, hustles defenders and generally makes a nuisance of himself, which frees up space for the other attackers to score and obviously he can get a goal himself if needs be. The latest news on the pair is that they are hopeful to play which I reckon means they will both undoubtedly be starting tonight.
Barcelona will have Puyol back this evening and he will replace Marquez at the centre of defence. Messi will likely play the full 90 minutes tonight and he will be the key to unlocking the Red devils back line. I think Barca are good enough to put the loss of the league title behind them and will be fully focused on making this final. Their team has quality all the way through it, especially in attack, and I think they’ll be good for at least a goal tonight, remembering that a goal draw will be good enough to see them through.
It is hard to choose between the two sides, United are at home but if they go looking for a goal tonight they risk being picked off on the break. I don’t think Barca will go two games in this competition without scoring, the threats are there, they know what they have to do and a lot of pressure will be on Manchester to win this at home, which will suit Barcelona.
As i said before a score draw will see the Spaniards through and I’ve got a gut feeling that this is how this tie might end. My bet tonight will be for Barcelona to qualify at 2.34 (www.betdaq.co.uk), this is a good price and covers the scoreless draw again just in case.
Somebody has to step up and take this tie by the scruff of the neck, it could be any number of players from either side, with Messi or Ronaldo being the likely suspects. I think that Messi is better than Ronaldo when it comes to big games, either because better defenders single Ronaldo out or maybe it is just their attitudes, but sometimes against bigger teams Ronaldo can be quiet compared to his usual high standards.
Pick - Barcelona to qualify - 2.31 - www.betdaq.co.uk
I will have a smaller bet aswell if in the unlikely scenario Vidic and Rooney do not play tonight;
Pick - Barcelona to win - 4.6 - www.betdaq.co.uk
Good luck to anyone following my picks.
WiseGuy
Profit From Heads-Up Poker
I read an interesting article in this months Inside Poker(May) and I thought I would share some of the ideas. The article focused on the most profitable no-limit hold’em games, the part of this article that interested me the most was the look at heads-up no-limit hold’em Sit ‘n’ go’s. I’m a big fan of the sit ‘n’ go and fully believe that there is consistent money to be made playing these games and I would guess that they make up at least 80% of my online play. Heads-up sit ‘n’ go’s are a variety of the format that I have only just begun to play regularly and I recommend them to anyone who wishes to either improve their heads-up play, which is vital if you intend on winning big money at multi-table tournaments, or anyone looking for a sit ‘n’ go format that demands that you are constantly thinking and allows room to play ‘real’ poker.
The article in Inside Poker(May) pointed out that with a $2,000, or £1,000, bankroll, a decent heads up player, playing two $22(£11) heads-up sit ‘n’ go’s at a time, could realistically look to double their bankroll in five weeks, working out at roughly winning three out of five tournaments at a go. This figure was worked out by assuming the player plays roughly 200 of these tournaments a week, but with multi-tabling this figure could easily be reached or even exceeded.
Now an extra £1,000 a month sounds fantastic to me, but if you’re after more then the money won could be left as your bankroll and you could move up through the limits. At the $33(£16) level Inside Poker reckons that $600(£300) can be obtained a week, playing the 200 games. After 12 weeks your bankroll will be able to sustain the $55(£22) levels, where the earn rate would jump to $1,000(£500) a week.
The whole concept really interests me as I find that Heads-up allows a good player to adjust his play according to his opponent, it is a lot easier to determine one players style of play than it is 5 or even 9 players. It also allows a lot of room to ‘play’ in terms of bluffing, trapping and other more advanced poker plays. The heads-up nature of the tournament also, i find, forces you to really concentrate on what you feel your opponent has, rather than what you have. It doesn’t matter if you’re holding 7 2 off suit with a board of 9 k 9, if you can put your opponent on a hand you can win the pot and when you do the feeling that you have just outplayed your opponent is fantastic.
I have started to play heads-up sit ‘n’ go’s, not with intention of proving this system right, as my bankroll for this system is not £1,000. I have deposited £200 just for playing these tournaments and I will endeavour to show you my progress, win or lose, through this blog. I am playing the £10.50 tournaments on William Hill Poker, and although I am aware that this is terrible bankroll management, I am confident in my ability to at least not go bust, or fingers crossed at least!
I started playing today and below is a list of the games I played;
28/04/2008 Tournament win payout 20.00 GBP ID=7066704 (1 GBP = 1…. - 20.00
28/04/2008 Tournament win payout 20.00 GBP ID=7066691 (1 GBP = 1…. - 20.00
28/04/2008 10.50 GBP entry fee (1 GBP = 1.000 GBP) 10.50 -
28/04/2008 10.50 GBP entry fee (1 GBP = 1.000 GBP) 10.50 -
28/04/2008 Tournament win payout 20.00 GBP ID=7066568 (1 GBP = 1…. - 20.00
28/04/2008 10.50 GBP entry fee (1 GBP = 1.000 GBP) 10.50 -
28/04/2008 10.50 GBP entry fee (1 GBP = 1.000 GBP) 10.50 -
28/04/2008 Tournament win payout 20.00 GBP ID=7066422 (1 GBP = 1…. - 20.00
28/04/2008 10.50 GBP entry fee (1 GBP = 1.000 GBP) 10.50 -
28/04/2008 10.50 GBP entry fee (1 GBP = 1.000 GBP) 10.50 -
28/04/2008 Tournament win payout 20.00 GBP ID=7066068 (1 GBP = 1…. - 20.00
28/04/2008 Tournament win payout 20.00 GBP ID=7066087 (1 GBP = 1…. - 20.00
28/04/2008 10.50 GBP entry fee (1 GBP = 1.000 GBP) 10.50 -
28/04/2008 10.50 GBP entry fee (1 GBP = 1.000 GBP) 10.50 -
28/04/2008 Tournament win payout 20.00 GBP ID=7066033 (1 GBP = 1…. - 20.00
28/04/2008 10.50 GBP entry fee (1 GBP = 1.000 GBP) 10.50 -
28/04/2008 10.50 GBP entry fee (1 GBP = 1.000 GBP) 10.50 -
As you can see I played ten games, paying a total of £105. I won 7 of these and so £140 was returned to my account, giving me a profit of £35. I played two games at a time, as i was comfortable with two, I may play more in the future. Each game lasted about 20minutes, so I played for roughly 100 minutes, but i think in reality i played much less than an hour and a half, but £35 for under two hours work isn’t too bad!
I will keep you updated with my stats and progress, and any queries, comments and success or failure stories with this type of tournament would be greatly appreciated. In the future I will also comment on opponents level of play and style of play at these £10.50 levels.
WiseGuy
Poker Terminology
I’ve been playing Poker for several years. Something I have noticed in live and sometimes online games is that beginners understand how to play, betting rules etc. However, they are often intimidated by ‘poker speak’. Sometimes this affects intermediate players who for reasons only known to them have not picked up the lingo as they have gone along, yet they still play a fairly decent game. Not only that, but I have found that often people are afraid to ask what, for example what a ‘Wheel’ is (Straight from ace through five) as they feel it is a sign of weakness. Thus, I have decided to compile a ‘Poker Gloassary’ if you like, including some of the most important and some of the more obscure Poker Lexicon.
First of all, allow us to consider the names of each drawn set of community cards.
The 1st three are ‘The Flop’.
The 4th card is ’The Turn’ (sometimes referred to as fourth street)
And the 5th is ‘The River’.
You may have also heard the term ‘Burn’ or ‘Burning’ cards. This refers to the cards that is placed face down before each stage of the community cards are dealt. Ie: Burn, flop, burn, turn, burn, river.
Now let us consider, in list format some other terminology that may prove useful.
K
Rangers V Fiorentina UEFA Cup 24/04/08
More football tonight, with the end of the season fast approaching games are coming thick and fast. Tonight’s game comes from the UEFA cup semi-final, where Rangers face an in form Fiorentina side. Both sides have done well in this competition and both would love to add some silverware to already impressive seasons.
Rangers are second in the SPL, 2 points behind Celtic with three games in hand. Tonight will be tough on Rangers, the crowd at Ibrox will obviously have a positive influence on this side but they have been hit hard by injuries and suspensions. Allan McGregor, Lee McCulloch, Kevin Thompson, Damarcus Beasley, Charlie Adam, Steven Naismith and more importantly skipper Barry Ferguson will not participate in the game tonight. Ferguson’s influence in the centre of the park will be sorely missed and the Gers will have to look elsewhere for leadership on the pitch.
Fiorentina are a good side, I watched them lose to Everton earlier on in the campaign at Goodison Park and have followed their progress in Serie A, where they sit fourth and are pushing for a Champions League place. They will no doubt play a cautious game tonight and be very solid at the back, as Italian sides tend to be. Cesare Prandelli, their manager has expressed concerns over the pitch at Ibrox after it was relayed in January and his side have not practiced on the surface due to fears of injuries, so whether this effect their style of play is yet to be seen. Fiorentina will fancy their chances against this depleted rangers side and with the deadly Adrian Mutu up front along with Vieri an away win is not out of the question. This side are used to playing in intimating stadiums and will no doubt fancy a lead going into the second leg in Italy.
In terms of betting on this game I think the absences in the Rangers side mean that they will simply look to not lose tonight and hope to have a stronger side going into the second leg. Fiorentina would love an away goal and this match is set up for them to get one, but they will not go gun ho as they do not want to get caught out on the break and it is not in their nature to play that style. On paper Fiorentina are the better side, but as they are away from home and Rangers are resilient I am opting for Fiorentina (0) 1.8 (www.betdaq.co.uk). I do not think Rangers will win tonight and that is the basic reasoning behind this choice.
Pick - Fiorentina (0) 1.8 - www. betdaq.co.uk
Good luck to all betting!
WiseGuy
