Times they are a changin!

Today sees the launch of the new BF stand alone site. They have split from Crypto and going it alone. I had an advanced look at the new site last week for a freeroll tournie. I have to say I think BF have got it wrong here. The site looks ok but suffers from some fundamental flaws. For a start I will not play on a site where there are no hand histories stored, not only does this mean I can't use poker tracker but it also means I've got no easy means of auditing monthly progress.. hands played etc.

The screen format is also an issue. I do most of my 'work' laying on my arse on the sofa playing on the laptop and the screen resolution will only support two tables max on the new BF site as it does not allow you to overlap tables. 90% of the time I'm playing on 3 tables so I'm dropping 30% of my productivity by making the move. There are a few other niggles as well, the interface needs some work and it's a pain in the arse to try and raise by a specific amount. Software aside, I have had no doubts that BF now offer one of the best 'poker' packages to the serious UK player. Their promotions, support , RB deals and general sense of community are second to none. I also do genuinely believe that BF listen to their customers and will be updating the new site as soon as possible to correct these problems. I come from a business IT background and it's all too easy to say BF should have put these changes in before they launched the site. I think they would have liked to but I'm sure that things like severance notice with Crypto were also driving the deadlines and what they could achieve in the timeframe. It's also a concern that if they rush the changes in then the system stablility will be comprimised. They have some nice promos to keep people sweet as well but a few hundred quid is not going to swing the issue .... for the time being I can not play on this site.... at the end of the day it's business!

The problem I've got now is where do I play? The Mrs has hijacked my Hills account, it will be interesting to watch the player liquidity levels on Crytpo over the next few weeks to see how much the BF move hits them.. the big fear is that there will not be enough players to support a decent number of cash games on either site. This would be a disaster... it's my livelihood that's being messed around with here!! Add to the mix the turmoil caused by the Gambling bill in the US and it makes for interesting times ahead!

On a happy side note I played a £200 six pack on Friday... i never play sixpacks ! But I played like a looney in the latter stages and won, heads up i got it in with A8 (my lucky heads up hand) vs AJ and spiked two pair on the river! Whoohooo!

A nice problem to have

Keeping a decent P&L account and a careful eye on my bankroll is all well and good. But these sat wins have left me with a small dilemma. How do I account for a $8k package win on the P&L spreadsheet?

Do I stick the full value down in the + column? What happens if I don't cash? Do I then take it out? I don't want a big $11k loss in November because I didn't cash in Singapore or St Kitts do I? I could wait and just stick down any concrete returns from the events? But I want some recognition for what I've won each month... it's nice to look back and the end of each month/year and review the final figure, it gives me a warm glow... usually!!

And then what about all the odds and sods that come with the packages, the spending money, the flight money, the hotel money!?! Do I account for that or not? I'm guessing not but come the end of the year I will have won $20k+ worth of sats and could end up showing nothing for it on the balance sheet. That can't be right ,can it? If I were not taking the family to Kitts then I'd have to fork out a few £K on a holiday from savings and surely that saving should be recognised in some way? And what about the extra money I spend while on the trips on beer, stuffed donkeys and bottles of XO in duty free? .... does that come out of the poker roll or my (joint!!) current account !? Dunno!

I'm starting to see why the guys who play live a lot have such trouble drawing a line between poker bank roll and day to day living money to pay the bills/buy dinner with. I know… It's a nice problem to have, but feel free to let me know if you have a solution.

Another day... another seat!

Well last week was interesting! Lots of cash games with some moderate success and two tournaments, the 1st being a freeroll to the BFAPT in Singapore in November and the second being another BFAPT satellite using 4000mpps (reward points on crypto) to buyin. I've got more MPPs that I know what to do with so I thought why not?!

As with the previous weeks WH Grandprix I was feeling pretty confident in the freeroll and building up a steady stack, I look down to see AdKd and make a reasonable raise from an early position with 1 caller .

Flop comes 4d 9d 8d ... lovely! I lead off and get raised..lovely...i flat call... turn Jd .... I lead off with a modest bet and he calls... river As .... all the money goes in and he flips Jd7d for a turned straight flush!!!! LOVELY


Sunday comes along and there are about 80-90 runners in the MPP tournie all chasing 2 seats. It's not a freeroll as such and people have to play a bit to get 4k MPPs so there were a lot of familiar names in the line up and not too many muppets.

I tick over nicely without looking at the tournament window and after an hour or two I see the field has halved and I'm mid table. Again, i'm feeling pretty good about my play and only took one serious hit for about 40% of my chips when I pushed with a nut flush draw into a short stack who'd already flopped a full house and rivered quads... oops!

It didn't take long to recover and I'm sitting ok with 20 runners left, as one or two more get picked off I'm starting to dwindle a little in chips and decide it's time to move up a few gears... a double up with KK vs AQ helps me along a little but I'm still a little short. I pick up the monster that is T3os in the SB. Everyone folds to me and I push in for 9k to pick up the 2k blinds and antes... but oh no the BB whos also playing 9k decides that this is the time to make a stand and calls with A6!!!! Shocking call imo and he gets what is deserved with a 3 on the flop and a 3 on the river.

I work it up to an above average 26k by the time the final talbe is underway. I'm in the SB and pick up TT ... Mavis is on the button playing 13k and raises to 3k.... I push in (again!! ;o) ) and Mavis dwells for a second or two and makes call with his tournament life on the line with A8os! No help for mavo and im sitting pretty with 40k in chips (about 160k in play and 8 left) , again I don't like this call at all.

I decide to sit tight for a while and let the short stacks donk it out , I also went pretty card dead at the same time... about 6 orbits go by and I don't find a card. Funds are getting towards 30k and I've got Deejay on MSN thinking I'm starting to bottle it and dare not play a hand... as if!?

A Rag raise from early position looking for some respect and I can't call an all in for 18k... down to 25k. A bit of up and down and I'm still on about 30k with 4 players left.... a shortie pushes for 10k on my BB and I've got 2.5k in there already and make the call with pocket 6s. KT is shown and 5 cards later he’s out and it's 3 handed.

I'm on 40k, the guy to my left is on 90k and to his left 30k. This remains as the status quo for a long time, I'm struggling to get at the shorties BB as I can't afford to take the big stack on with a marginal hand. As such I give a lot of my SBs to the big stack uncontested, this is fine as the shortie is getting hammered on his BB and he wasn't attacking my BB much as I'd moved over the top a few times. The net result was I was bleeding chips... but he was bleeding them faster.

This was all fine and dandy until the big stack gifts him a double up and the situation is reversed and I'm on 25k and hes on 37k!! Time to find that gear again and before long i'm on 35k and he's on about 30k with the blinds starting to hit hard at 4.5k every 3 handed orbit.

It's wasn't going to be long until all the chips were in.... I look down to see Ad8d ... now I won the Vegas sat with A8 , i won the CPC seat with A8, karma was calling an I stick them from the button on the shorties BB. He calls in a flash and turns over AKos .... ooooops!

--- FLOP ----- [2d 2h Qc]
Paired board gives me a small life line!

----- TURN ----- [Qd]
Shocking turn for him..splits the pot unless he catches one of two aces or two kings, but I've still got 12 outs to win it...

----- RIVER -----][Td]
Rivers me a nut flush and a $8k seat to the BFAPT.... Had to feel for the chap! Ridding my luck a lot in this one I know, but fortune favors the brave!

Results in these sats are now getting silly.




Cheers,

Jim