Interview out.

My interview with http://www.davegambler.com/ is out now.  Think it reads OK let me know.

I now have the legendary Kathy Leibert following me on twitter.

Thats not her, come on google imagesThats better.

Things are on the up but still no seat.  I declined any payment for the interview, instead asked to pass on any monies to the Cancer Research charity.  The interview has also been forwarded to a well known poker magazine who may publish it, so the word is out big time and i'm going to look a bit of a knob if I dont get to Vegas now.
I have decided the trip should have a larger meaning than just little old me off to Vegas on a jolly so IF there are any profits then Cancer Research will get a healthy cut.
I am also wondering if one of the bigger sites might want to put me into a smaller event at the WSOP whereby we can put all profits to the charity.  Some need a good press right now.  If anybody has any good contacts let me know and i'll get hassling.

In case anybody is wondering, YES, like many, my close family as well as extended family have had numerous run ins with the big C,  mostly happy endings but not all i'm afraid.  My sister-in-law is running the New York City Marathon in November, so if anybody has any big wins and is feeling generous then you could donate through her to Cancer Research - http://mskcc.convio.net/site/TR?px=1974408&pg=personal&fr_id=1460&et=YoUnEjFFxduJKVPOKB3aqw..&s_tafId=12204

Good Luck Lisa, rather you than me.

I am looking to book my Vegas flight after this weekend, mayber Thursday but I have a couple of good chances at bagging my seat first, one is the survivor contest live, and the other a 1 seat in 10 final on PKR on Wednesday (if I can get time off work - and only 11 played this week).  So still plugging on.  Looking forward to the start of the new month so I can get focused again, but having a few days off to spend with family and freshen up my live game.

Glad the payments have started to get sorted in America, lets hope they can get you all playing again ASAP.

Good Luck all.

Getting closer !!

At the first time of asking I have qualified to the weekly final on PKR.  1 in 21 win a WSOP package but unfortunately they only seem to ever get 15 or so.  That is a bit disappointing, I would prefer to try for the top 10 from 210 but obviously i'll be going at it 110%.

Now I have informed you that recently I have turned down two opportunities to coach poker players.  I think if I was going to coach, it would be for low to medium stake intermediate players.  I feel that I could teach additional skills and improve the players all round capabilities.  The reason I have turned these individuals down is solely because of my time consraints but then I was hit with a new conundrum. ---

I am always trying to impress on my eldset son (11) that it is probably beneficial for him to narrow down his choice of career as early as possible so he can work towards it as he goes through his studies. ----

April 22nd 2011 "Dad, I have worked out what I am going to be when i'm older"  "Nice one son, what are your plans" - "I am gonna be a poker player dad.  If I start practising now, imagine how good I would be and how much money I could make when I turn 18".
So, suddenly I am a coach after all.  Now my boy is no ordinary boy, he is top of all his classes at his primary school, was reading books I could not read now, at the age of 6 and is one determined boy.  I don't know how he is so academic, he certainly does not get it from me but hey.



 So in the first 3 days of his training he has read the NLH sections of an old Hellmuth book as well as Super System 2.  I have let him onto an old European site which I dont play on anymore and he promptly qualified through a freeroll to a larger tournament with some old points I had on there.  1700 people started that, $1300 to the winner and top 300 getting paid.  3 hours later 290th position and my boy makes his first cash for $5.90.  He then settles to play 3 x 10c Sngs's where he finishes 2nd, 3rd and nowhere, balance over $6.  Maybe I can retire soon.


Problem is, I have no idea, really, how to teach a complete beginner, when I write it on paper there is so much to pass forward but I will just overload him if I tell him it all straight away.  So do I let him play without all the skills or will that ingrain bad play in him which I wont be able to change later.  For now I think Forums, basic strategy videos, as much play as possible and some ghosting sessions with dad is the best way forward.  If anybody has taught a complete beginner from scratch, successfully, previously, please post some tips.

I am hoping to book my Vegas trip once we enter May and it is looking like it will be the first week of July to take in event 54 and some main event sats while the Deepstacks at the Venetian will also be rolling.  My profits on these other European sites has been slightly disappointing but the bonuses have helped.  I am looking forward to get back on Full Tilt tho.  My sharkscope there is so much better that the other sites.
Only four weeks of grind left before I go on holidays and relax with my family and switch off from poker for a while so I will try and put in some volume for the next four weeks and I will be adding some MTTs hping for a big score so I can stay somewhere nice.  Not fancying Imperial Palace now its getting close to booking it.  We will see.

No Americans have taken me up on my offer of coming to the UK to play here while the troubles there rumble on but the offer remains open.  I understand one of the Americans in question is going to the Bahamas.  I guess if you have a choice of the Bahamas or the UK the Bahamas will win everytime.
Good luck to you all -.

Leo

What a week!!

No, not my poker play, just poker in general.  More on my views later. 
 
  I have had lots of contact with people I have never met this week.  I was contacted to tell me my blog was depressing.  I have been asked for more coaching and I was also asked for an interview for a website.  This was the second interview I have been asked for lately but I rejected the idea of one and answered some interesting questions for the other which I did decide to do.

                                                           

  I am not sure I am worthy of an interview really but some people obviously do, so instead of rejecting them immediately I decided to research who wanted the interview.  The interview I did was for http://www.davegambler.com/  I am not sure about the name but the site and info on it is 1st class.  It is run by a few guys who offer advice and tips on betting strategy and select picks for sporting events around the world.  There are multiple updates weekly, its all free and after going back a few posts it looks like they gamble sensibly and for profit as well as being quite successful.  Now being somebody who loves to bet sports I am will be a regular vistior to the site and follow them on twitter.  I am told the interview will appear soon so I guess I am looking forward to that.  I dont think I came across as a twat, but you tell me.

  Back to the mission.  Poker is going ok, I am not setting the world alight and my volume is way down but I am enjoying it again and the profits are slowly creeping up.  I guess total BR is about $4600, but it's spread out quite thinly now.  Still no WSOP seat but two good opportunities have come up.  In the last couple of weeks I won thru to a satellite final where 10 won a WSOP package from 200 and I finished about 58th but I played well enough.  The new opportunites are coming from PKR who have some great MTT step tourneys which I think I can crack if I can settle down with the software as it is absolutely shocking.  Another opportunity exists whereby a live tournament will be played as usual but anybody that signed up thru the associated poker site will partake in a survivor type WSOP battle whereby who ever lasts longest wins a package.  I believe only 100 people will enter the tournament anyway and only about 15 have entered through site so far, so i'm hoping not too many more sign up and I could be in with a real shout.  Once this live tourney is out of the way I will look at booking flights to Vegas and pinning myself down to certain tourneys which may include WSOP and/or Venetian Deepstack and/or a few local tournies on the strip or downtown.  Plus the Rio satellites of course.

  If I dont manage to get a package in the bag I will go on a bargain basement trip.  I have enough airmiles with Virgin for a FREE return trip to Vegas which still costs £280 in taxes?  I will then probably look at the Imperial Palace at about £200 for 8 or 9 nights or maybe stretch to the Monte Carlo if I a feeling generous with myself.  I will then go on a coupon hunt and make sure my outlay is minimal, so I can maximise profits.  I have stayed at Caesars Palace and a few other nice ones, so it isn't like I haven't treated myself in the past but this is a different mission.  If I can manage to claim a package through PKR, I will take the Mrs because then we will be staying at the Cosmopolitan and PKR know how to party and treat their qualifiers.

 

  Well, what else is there to say about Black Friday?  Personally I am seriously worried.  I think the French can only play amongst themselves now and if the US follow suit, surely the Uk will copy as we do with everything else American.  I dont really know enough about it but if the UK is left to fend for itself, we wont survive, we just dont have the numbers the US can generate.  I have tried to carry on regardless but have withdrawn most of my BR from FullTilt, just in case.
  This has also effected the horses I am staking.  One is American and he has gone AWOL so that looks ominous and of course the staking opportunites are now a bit thinner on the ground. 
  I actually feel terrible for the professional grinders in the US because suddenly their whole futures are in the balance and that is scary.  I wanted to help out if I could so I have contacted a couple of Pros - unknown to most of the world, and certainly not massive names as I am sure they are all ok.  I have offered my home and my internet connection, so in the short term they can come over and play until they sort themselves out.  I have offered this free of charge and hope to gain some valuable knowledge in return for my good will.  Nobody has taken me up yet, but I think poker players from around the world should open their homes to assist if it is needed.  They probably think I am a nutter as I dont actually know these people to talk too but if they are reading this they can rest assured it is a completely serious offer.

I can offer very spacious accomodation with wireless internet and I will take as many as I can squeeze in.

                                                

  Well, with things on the up I am going back to the tables.  Good luck to you all, thanks for reading.  I am going to blog a bit more regular now as a) I have been asked and b) for some reason people are interested and have continued to follow my journey.

Speak soon,
Leo

Plugging on

A quick update this time - I cannot work out what is up with my game, i'd love to blame it on variance and maybe it is, but I am not comfotable with it at all.  I am all over the place with game selection, back and forth between turbos, regular, 9 man, 30 man, DoN.  Without a precise calculation, profits have been minimal but are still there - just.

  Very confusing.

WSOP seats are getting a little closer tho.  I played in the Full Tilt $1 thing last Sunday and from a massive 39000 entrants, I placed 980 or something.  Not bad but I dont see that as a feasible way to win my ticket.  Although it wont stop me playing it every chance I get.

Won a ticket to a freeroll with 655 players.  Top 125 progressed to the next and final level where 200 players would fight for 10 WSOP packages.  Qualified comfortably to the final but could only place 56th.  I was pretty card dead, had my AA cracked and finally went out with KQ against K10.  Nevermind.  I will get another chance at this in May but I think they only have 6 packages then tho.

I am thinking about playing in a live event where the online entrants will win a package in a longest survivor type contest.  Unfortunately it is about 5 hours drive.  I have played there once in the English Heads-Up Championships a few years ago when I lost in the final, so I have a good record there and fingers crossed I will keep that going.  (I beat Surinder Sunar in the semi-final and Arshad Hussein in the quarters--  BRAG)

Personal life is like a car crash right now, in fact it was a car crash

This wasn't the actual crash I was involved in, it was a lot more lame than this one but I needed to see the Dr and get some pain killers and may need some physio.
And it was not in my new car either, luckily I have not picked that up yet and I was at work when it happened too so it was in a job vehicle.

For now I will try to continue releasing my bonuses while winning even if its only small.  I have a few other ways to qualiy for the WSOP coming up so thats all good, however the bad news (on the poker front) is Florida is booked, Butlins is booked so the end of May all the way thru to the end of June will be very hard to play any poker.  This will hurt the challenge quite a bit which is a shame especially as thats when the WSOP sats will be reaching its climax.  I am still hopeful of reaching my goal is some form or another.

My staked poker players are currently losing my money but they are working hard to rectify the situation so I'm hopeful as these guys have turned a profit for me before.  I am going to be offering somemore staking opportunities in the way of a competition soon on parttimepoker.com, whereby hopefully we can split some profits and make some donations along the way to the Japan fund.

I'll fully update with BR etc the next chance I get.