tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76231552024-03-24T16:32:13.583-07:00The Camel RuminatesThe Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.comBlogger155125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-6533996055977616922011-10-11T13:12:00.001-07:002011-10-11T14:26:00.330-07:00Bookmaker Give Away Lots of Money!Back in the early days of internet poker one site was the place for action.<br /><br />The $25-50 PLO games were legendary, with fortunes being won and lost daily.<br /><br />And of course where there was action, there were Scandies, gambling it up with the best of them.<br /><br />Sadly those days are long gone.<br /><br />That site's poker action is a thing of the dim and distant past.<br /><br />But something strange happened, and no-one at the bookmakers HQ could understand it.<br /><br />A group of the Scandie player left huge amounts on deposit even though there was never any games for them to play and they were heavily limited in their potential to bet on sports.<br /><br />Rumour has it that 7 players left over £1,000,000 each in their accounts.<br /><br />Had they simply got so much money that they had forgotten about it?<br /><br />Oh no.<br /><br />For five long years these guys exploited a loophole that the bookie was too stupid to notice.<br /><br />If you want to bet in the bookmakers sportsbook you do so in sterling, if you want to play poker it's in dollars.<br /><br />This site set their exchange rate for the day at 8am.<br /><br />If during the previous day the pound had strengthened against the dollar the Scandies would transfer their entire roll from the sportsbook to the poker room at 7.45am.<br /><br />At 8.15, they would transfer back at the new rate.<br /><br />If the pound had gone up as little as 0.2%, that's £2000 profit on £1million for half an hour.<br /><br />If we can guess that the pound went up roughly 50% of individual days by an average of 0.05% that is a risk free profit of £456,250 each over the 5 years.<br /><br />Not bad work if you can get it!<br /><br />If only they were as generous with their real punters...The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-15042679174060167432011-09-21T18:23:00.000-07:002011-10-11T13:34:33.282-07:00Awesome Photoshop<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUmwA32SyGO4apRFawtcsxU_WeiWUpzMf19Y3juyrPR70slXq3Fth36gPI7nrzDUZl1vQ8Vq3m2EZnt01m9p5e3bH20rfVT83aQuIbqn3U3LcLbS4vsrzMN-shPCsScurvUnIy/s1600/chrisfergusonhandcuffed.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 408px; height: 427px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUmwA32SyGO4apRFawtcsxU_WeiWUpzMf19Y3juyrPR70slXq3Fth36gPI7nrzDUZl1vQ8Vq3m2EZnt01m9p5e3bH20rfVT83aQuIbqn3U3LcLbS4vsrzMN-shPCsScurvUnIy/s1600/chrisfergusonhandcuffed.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-86558239949984301322011-09-06T16:27:00.000-07:002011-09-06T16:34:04.531-07:00Separated at Birth (Part 3)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.coinflip.com/resources/images/ulliott_1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 600px;" src="http://www.coinflip.com/resources/images/ulliott_1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />Lemmy<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.peoples.ru/art/music/rock/lemmy/lemmy_3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 368px; height: 398px;" src="http://www.peoples.ru/art/music/rock/lemmy/lemmy_3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />DevilfishThe Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-76338896279941634832011-01-10T03:48:00.000-08:002011-01-10T03:49:46.634-08:00Back, I GuessHave I got anything new to say?<br /><br />Not sure really.The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-55494037369319934402010-01-24T20:47:00.000-08:002010-01-24T20:49:52.227-08:00Me and Warney<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkUxQ-5IO4GbmqfzF6lVJdIaqAHJZvBHeo-ctsemERNHbAVl8_yphbEOJjMg9DIaFnOF_qo1D0xvVEqLXTk2cb5je7xK6sP4aXgxKdWHsos5UIybd3sJ6M7KJn67ciQ0OjXGmmSQ/s1600-h/warney+and+camel.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkUxQ-5IO4GbmqfzF6lVJdIaqAHJZvBHeo-ctsemERNHbAVl8_yphbEOJjMg9DIaFnOF_qo1D0xvVEqLXTk2cb5je7xK6sP4aXgxKdWHsos5UIybd3sJ6M7KJn67ciQ0OjXGmmSQ/s400/warney+and+camel.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430535085282248626" /></a><br />I'm not often starstruck, but I sat next to a living legend at the Aussie Millions.<br /><br />Really nice bloke but pretty terrible poker player.The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-31158461470037817802008-12-06T14:50:00.001-08:002008-12-06T14:50:48.735-08:00Couldn't Have Happened to a Nicer Guy...http://www.argusleader.com/article/20081206/NEWS/812060304The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-37700945571695536082008-08-12T16:04:00.001-07:002008-08-12T16:14:40.823-07:00Separated At Birth (Part 2)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLOUxHpB2Gr1LTEgdHtCLcQOCiJikOL_X_vu_dUUyKxS7mDU8T7UlS_CoJGXs3gftx4oIQuBFX3r3x5fxp2o4yr9HDMZYLziyHoC0vtwHGX4cV-lfjTFaS26ilcE7i1LOw74PfxQ/s1600-h/roland.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLOUxHpB2Gr1LTEgdHtCLcQOCiJikOL_X_vu_dUUyKxS7mDU8T7UlS_CoJGXs3gftx4oIQuBFX3r3x5fxp2o4yr9HDMZYLziyHoC0vtwHGX4cV-lfjTFaS26ilcE7i1LOw74PfxQ/s400/roland.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5233772551837951330" /></a><br /><br /> Big Chris<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyv55fCk7xwGQsW99gjAZUKehdJd3WJBCQJULXVFVW_8SWhtf6RuyCQR0ktGIPaxCqLU-Aw7KYwdbZ03B5blrJAPMj_RJH0uPB6y-NXBfdaSIjyvIS2atOWqOhaccNFTusaY9k-g/s1600-h/big+chris.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyv55fCk7xwGQsW99gjAZUKehdJd3WJBCQJULXVFVW_8SWhtf6RuyCQR0ktGIPaxCqLU-Aw7KYwdbZ03B5blrJAPMj_RJH0uPB6y-NXBfdaSIjyvIS2atOWqOhaccNFTusaY9k-g/s400/big+chris.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5233772182252851106" /></a> <br /><br /> Roland De WolfeThe Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-50637184407348526052008-05-16T13:20:00.000-07:002008-05-16T13:31:51.204-07:00"Factotum""The Florida State Department of Employment was a pleasant place. It wasn't always as crowded as the Los Angeles office which was always full. It was my turn for a little good luck, not much, but a little. It was true that I didn't have much ambition, but there ought to be a place for people without ambition, I mean a better place than the one usually reserved. How in the hell could a man enjoy being awakened at 6:30am by an alarm clock, leap out of bed, dress, force-feed, shit, piss, brush teeth and hair, and fight traffic to get to a place where essentially you made lots of money for somebody else and were asked to be grateful for the opportunity to do so?"The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-40564408926499434782007-10-03T18:13:00.000-07:002007-10-03T18:14:57.867-07:00I Just Reread my Whole BlogIt was pretty good for a while there.<br /><br />Wasn't it?<br /><br />Oh to be young again.The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-1163476958739515742006-11-13T19:45:00.000-08:002006-11-13T20:03:09.086-08:00Alternative Wikipedia EntryI found out there was a wikipedia entry about me a couple of months ago. Like alot of wikipedia submissions it is riddled with mistakes. Anyone who uses wikipedia as a serious source of information is an idiot.<br /><br />Anyway, I was alerted today that a few months ago someone edited my entry. These changes led to a far more entertaining and accurate representation of me than the stuff that is there at the moment.<br /><br />I reprint the edit here in full:<br /><br />"He supports Barnstaple Town F.C. and is a passionate angler. He once made an unsuccessful appearance on Going For Gold and his favourite TV programme is Catchphrase. Keith is also the founder member of the "Dave Hill Appreciation Society".<br /><br />His favourite food is lentil stew with salad, which he regularly makes for his best friend Vinnie Jones, using his favourite Delia Smith recipe. He was best man at Vinnie's wedding and godfather to all of Delia's thirteen children, including three Somalian refugees adopted by her.<br /><br />Keith is an avid fitness fanatic and thinks nothing of running a half marathon before breakfast. In 2002 Keith ran a total of 4000 miles non stop in order to raise money for his favourite charity, Kentucky Fried Chicken. Keith managed to raise a staggering £4.50 and with his proceeds bought a large Zinger Tower Burger meal and shrewdly swapped the drink for a corn on the cob. He met his hero, Jimmy Saville, during this run and they have often been seen on TV running the London Marathon together. Infact they both buy their garish gold tracksuits from the same mentalist tailors.<br /><br />His favourite film is Titanic, and every Sunday you will see Keith of the bow of a P&O Dover to Calais ferry, recreating the famous 'I'm the king of the world!' scene, as played by Leonardo Di Caprio. Infact many people believe that they are twins, separated at birth.<br /><br />Keith's extensive working life has been fullsome and highly producitve. In 2002 Keith excelled himself whilst working for bucket shop online bookmakers, www.bluesquirrel.com. During a highly pressurised and intensely busy evening shift, Keith was charged with full responsibility for the three upcoming ladies tennis matches taking place in some pointless ATP event. Given very specific instructions by his boss, best friend and mentor Steve Tucker, that read very clearly: "All you have to do is suspend three matches. Thats it. Nothing else. Just suspend three matches when they start. It could not be any easier Keith".<br /><br />Through sheer hard of watching TV and playing online poker, Keith successfully missed the start times of all three tennis matches, thus leading to utter chaos and carnage. Infact the losses amounted to nearly £1.6bn pounds, forcing the bookmakers to cut back on lunch expenses to a maximum of half a banana per staff member. Customer services had to emply 1400 new staff just to deal with the mess left by Mr Hawkins. This was by and away his most productive and successful day during his glorious spell at Blue Squirrel."The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-1161699530728635672006-10-24T07:13:00.000-07:002006-10-24T08:19:13.073-07:00The Return of the Poker Quiz!Just one question.<br /><br />Which famous (maybe that should be infamous?) poker player was recently sent for 12 year holiday at one her Majesty's hotels?<br /><br />On a totally unrelated note: has anyone seen my old mucker Craig Grant recently?The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-1154397199330944052006-07-31T18:45:00.000-07:002006-07-31T18:53:19.400-07:00QualityWhile I play a spot of online poker I have a rerun of an old poker tournament (the Monte Carlo Millions consolation event from 2004) blahing away.<br /><br />Adam Schoenfeld is a highly amusing co-commentator and he came up with this gem when talking about the number of sunglasses Jac Arama brings to the table.<br /><br />"I think Arama mistakes wearing sunglasses for having a personality"<br /><br />Boom boom.The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-1145516189424489832006-04-19T23:09:00.000-07:002006-04-20T00:50:43.006-07:00WPT Championship - Day 1Well, I am lucky I can title this blog "Day 1", which at least suggests there might be a Day 2 to blog about. To be frank I played so badly in the first 3 levels I pretty much deserved to be out. If it was a 10,000 chip event I would certainly have hit the rail sometime inthe first two hours..<br /><br />Anyway, here is a brief synopsis of intresting stuff which happened (comments on any of the hands are welcome):<br /><br />Took my seat in the regular cardroom, rather than the Fontana Lounge where most of the tournament action takes place. Only two players I recognise are Mark Seif (two to my right) and David Chui (on my immediate left).<br /><br />I soon find out the geeky looking guy in seat 2 invented the game "Grand Theft Auto" and was worth a zillion quid or something. He moved allin twice when the following hand came up after about 30 minutes. Blinds are 50-100 GTA (as I will call him) raised to 400. Seif reraised to 2000 and GTA called. Flop came 89J with two spades. GTA checked and Seif bet 5k. GTA immediately moved allin for 48k. Seif made a ballsy call with two red kings. GTA had KT spades and was clear favourite to win the pot. But he missed his draws and Seif doubled up.<br /><br />Soon after I raised to 300 with AK. Chui reraised to 800. I called. Flop KJ2 rainbow. I check called 1000. Turn a 7. Now I check called 2500. River another 7. I check called 6000 to be shown a house of jacks. Horrible play by me. I should have check raised on the flop and when Chui either called or rereraised had nothing more to do with the hand. Wasted well over 6k in this spot.<br /><br />Early on during the next level (100-200) I limped with Jc8c. A very tight and seemingly inexperienced player now raised to 800. I called. Flop came Qc8s3c. I check called 1200. The turn was a juicy 6c. Now I check called 5k. My read was he had KK or AA with the appropriate club. I was planning to bet the river quite heavily if no club arrived. But just before the dealer showed the last card the guy grabbed a whole bunch of chips and looked manacingly at me, trying to intimidate me into checking. 99% of the the time this action means the guy is HOPING you will check and will meekly check behind you. Therefore you should bet any even haf decnt holdings, let alone the third nuts. But, before I had even given myself 3 seconds to think things through I had checked and he, sure enough checked behind me. He showed KK and I won the pot. Urgh.<br /><br />I lost an yucky pot during the next level when I raised with AK and saw a flop of AKT. I bet quite heavily but was disappointed to see that the one caller was rewarded with a jack on the turn and led out with a huge bet and flashed me AQ when I passed.<br /><br />Overall I played weak, timid poker throughout the first 3 levels, I was really nervous, which I haven't been at a poker oturnament since my first couple of attempts at the WSOP. I didn't think clearly and acted too quickly.<br /><br />During the early stages of level 4 I moved to the Fonatan lounge and was greeted by a table featuring Brian Wilson, TJ Cloutier, Mike Gracz and Joe Sebok. They were all safely to my right however. I arrived with about 35k in chips and a resolve to play more positively and aggressively.<br /><br />Let me describe a beautifully played hand that I wasn't involved in. I have no idea of the context, because it was within the first 15 minutes of my arrival.<br /><br />200-400 blinds. TJ raised on the button to 1500. Sebok now reaised to 5k (leaving himself 24k). TJ called. Flop was 732 rainbow. Sebok bet 10k. TJ pushed allin. Sebok passed to be shown AT by TJ.. Sebok starts shaking! A great read by Cloutier...<br /><br />Here's an interesting situation: With the blinds still at 200-400 someone opens for 1800. He gets 4 callers... and I squeeze AA out in the BB. I have 32k and all the players have me comftably covered. What should I do?<br /><br />Now onto the last level of the day... two final key hands. Now we are playing 300-600 and I have 40k. Gracz opens in late position for 1800. I call on the button with 44. The flop comes 752 with two diamonds. He checks and I fire out an exploratory 3k. He calls. I am pretty sure he just has overcards, possibly with the flush draw. The turn is another 7. He checks and I bet 7k. He agonises and calls. When the river comes 6d he bets 9k. Hmmmm. Would he have called so much on a flush draw? Although I think it was a bad call by him, I decided he did. And he flashed me the AKd.<br /><br />Then with 5 minutes remaining and 19k in chips TJ opened for 1800 on my sb. I called with AT. The flop was AK7 rainbow. I checked and so did he. With a pretty ten (which made 2 clubs on board) on the turn I bet 3k to be greeted by the question "How many chips do you have left?". When he called I was almost certain he had a draw of some kind... Probably a flush draw. The river was another ten. Now, the only way I could see getting paid here was to check and hope TJ bluffed at me, which he did by moving in and I beat him into the pot and doubled up.<br /><br />Tomorrow is another day. I have 37k in chips which is plenty to work with as the blinds are just 400-800. I really played horribly for the most part but was pleased with the final two hands. Game plan for tomorrow is as always dependant on the table draw, but my focus will be on aggression..The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-1144257316365197932006-04-05T10:05:00.000-07:002006-04-17T12:45:23.516-07:00Cameluck II - Finally Something to Blog About...(This blog has been half written for about 2 weeks. I just couldn't be arsed to complete it. I will leave the detail I have already written but become alot briefer as I've forgotten most of the hands/incidents from the Vic already!)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Before I forget all the relevant going ons (or is it goings on?) I better complete the Vic festival week..<br /><br />Friday: Met Joe, Claire and the twins for lunch. Lola and Millie are so delicate and tiny it was impossible not to fall in love with them.. It is frightening to admit I can barely remember Jake at that age..<br /><br />Anyway, here is the gratuitous pic:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3168/478/1600/DSCN0253%20%282%29.0.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" asrc="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3168/478/400/DSCN0253%20%282%29.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />(This pic seems not to be working for some reason, I will reload it when I get home from Vegas)<br /><br />Cue jokes about Joe holding a small pair etc etc...<br /><br />A couple of hours of kip followed by the free(!) buffet at the Vic and into action...<br /><br />As I was meandering into Darlo yesterday my mind went back to my exit hand of the £750... I'm afraid I misreported it in the last blog. It was even worse than I portrayed. When the sb bet out on the flop, I was so concerned the limper had a big hand I just called his bet and then called again when the limper moved allin. Yuck. So, on contemplating my plan of action for the main event I decided to just trust my instincts and play poker the way I used to. I felt I haven't played my best for at least 18 months, probably the disappointing finish in Amsterdam in 2004 left more of a mark than I originally thought. I can almost see people like BDD and Andy Ward laughing their collective heads off, but I wanted to play the way I used to. Put pot odds, position, value betting and all the techncal stuff on the back burner and just play the way I used to. Pressure the table from the off, try and make them worried about what I was going to do before anything else. If a guy makes a bet at me, I wanted to look at him and feel if he had a hand or not, and if he didn't to raise him regardless whether I had goods.. <br /><br />My table draw wasn't exactly favourable. I had 3 ultra agressive players sitting directly to my left: Mads Andersen, Rob Yong and John Hewston. But I got a late Christmas prsent from a Scandie when I turned a nut straight with JT (Board AQ6,K)and he called my raise and then led out with A3 when he rivered two pair! This meant I could really mix it up. I probably played more pots in the first three levels of a major tournament than I have ever before. Then I got a full double up from John Hewston when I called his raise on the button with 9T and was gratified to see a AT9 flop. I called his flop bet and when a 7 came off on the turn and he checked I knew he had AK or similar. He called my bet of 3000 and checked again when I housed up on the river. John has alot of qualities as a poker player but being able to lay a down a hand isn't one of them. So I simply moved in. He called with AQ and I was off to the races.<br /><br />I played as well I can remember on day 1. Everything fell into place and my timing was spot on. I wasn't called on a siungle bluff and when I had the goods I was paid off. I ended the day in excellent chip position and hopeful of a good result.<br /><br />As well as played on day 1 I played badly on day 2. In my defence I had monster chip leader Marc Goodwin on my immediate left and he was calling everything all day. I felt handcuffed. On my right was Stephen Pearce who could quite possibly claim to be the most annoying player I've ever faced. The rub down he gave Alan Vinson's young son after outdrawing him in a huge pot was almost unforgiveable.<br /><br />Cameluck came into play half way through the day when John Kabbaj, who was on my table and similarly stacked, asked me whether I wanted to swap 5%. I think he's one of the best players in Europe and I hestitated for about 0.000001 seconds before agreeing.<br /><br />After strugging all day, Goodwin finally gave me a double up when I tried the old stop and go move on him and it failed spectacularly but I had the best hand and it held up. Then much to everyone's amusement Pearce wanked away a huge stack before finding KK against a perfectly played AA. He missed the money.<br /><br />Next morning we met DY for a spot of lunch:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3168/478/1600/DSCN0257.0.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3168/478/400/DSCN0257.0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Before going back to the Vic, pretty short stacked for the third and final day. I got a pretty quick double up when I took my QQ against Tim Flanders T8 flopped straight draw and it held up. Then a little later another double up with AK v AQ. I moved into a lovely position with about 18 players left. But, alas it wasn't to be. I doubled up El Blondie, who asked for a saver soon afterwards (Cameluck rides again) which I agreed to obviously..<br /><br />Then the fatal hand for my chances occurred. I raised in middle position with TT and Tim Flanders defended (as he usually does against me) in the BB. I was watching him pretty carefully as a flop of Q43 with 2 hearts arrived. I was pretty confident he didn't hit the Queen. He checked and I bet about 3/4 of the pot, which was roughly half my stack. He immediately moved allin. I took a long time agonising over my decision, but finally laid it down. He showed T8 hearts. Ok, he might have hit his flush, but I was really pot committed and should have gone with my instincts and called him. Oh well. I lost my remaining chips in a coin flip and went out about 14th. Disappointing for sure, but I was pleased with my overall performance and then very pleased when my two swapees managed to make the top 3. Lucky old Camel.<br /><br />Alot of bullshit was talked at the time about the structure of this tournament. I wrote an article for Blondepoker about it. If you are interested you can read it <a href="http://www.blondepoker.com/index.php?q=node/1559">here.</a><br /><br />Then it was home for a few days to prepare for Vegas and the Bellagio. On route to Gatwick we stopped off to Luton for the main event there. Said hello to JP Kelly before proceeding started and he asked to swap 5%. Really Phil Ivey and Barry Greenstein should be begging to swap a % with me here at the Bellagio for the big one. I'm such a lucky bastard.<br /><br />As for my tournament it was a non event really. I had the most rocky table I've ever encountered in a Luton tournament. I stole my way to 12k before playing my first big pot, when I flopped 2 pair and "the geezer" flopped a set. I should have laid it down but I wasn't in the mood.<br /><br />Off to Vegas on the Tuesday. Shared a plane with Tony Bloom, El Blondie and Roland De Wolfe and interesting chats with all of them. Played the $2500 and got pretty much cold decked. Turned a King Flush against a ace flush. Ho hum. Decided to play a $1000 side event the next day. Cracked kings with JT early. And had a healthy stack most of the way. Made a nice call with third pair against a very aggressive player for all my chips. The bubble lasted nearly 90 minutes as we fought tooth and nail to get in the money. Finally a guy found 66 impossible to pass for a reraise. A nice rush of cards 6 handed left me one of the chip leaders. And with 3 guys patently not playing a hand against each other when a chip count deal was offered I accepted. These are massively in favour of the chip leaders and my $22k was probably 10% more than I would have accepted especially as the other players would have colluded against me if I objected to the deal...<br /><br />I said when I came here that if I won enough money I would play the main event. Now I've actually got the dough I'm not so keen. I am prepared to put some up and sell some. So, if anyone wants to buy a piece let me know. I would need a small premium, say $2500 for 7.5% (or pro rata) to help cover expenses. I honestly feel like I'm playing the best poker of my life.<br /><br />On Saturday came the event I really wanted to blog about... Tony Bloom rang me and asked if Katharine, Jake and I would like to come out for dinner "with a few friends". We didn't have anything planned so we accepted.<br /><br />The "few friends" happened to include Billy Baxter, his wife and son. Now, if you haven't heard of Baxter you really should have done. He is an absolute legend. He has 7 (count 'em) WSOP bracelets despite not playing holdem events until the late 90's because he was partners with Doyle Brunson and let Doyle play those. He staked Stu Ungar into the third WSOP main event he won. Oh, yeah, he's also probably one of biggest 3 sports betting winners in the whole world. I commented to Harry Demetriou that if some bookmakers knew that Bloom and Baxter were in the same restaurant at the same time there was a good chance they would set fire to the place!<br /><br />It was one of those evenings you just don't want to end. Conversation drifted betwen internet poker, the merits of Phil Ivey, the WSOP past compared to present, sports betting and living with a gambler.<br /><br />It was like having dinner with Pele, Frank Sinatra or Neil Armstrong. An evening I will never forget. It was the biggest example of Cameluck ever that I was lucky enough to be invited...The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-1143593129775314192006-03-28T10:45:00.000-08:002006-03-31T12:07:23.663-08:00CameluckBy my new "stay at home, put my slippers on, light up my pipe and play on Pokerstars" lifestyle last week was pretty damn hectic.<br /><br />A quick rush through the nine day week...<br /><br />Saturday: Catch an unhealthily early train down from Darlo to Kings Cross for the R's make or break game with Brighton. It's not make or break for the players of course. With the R's safely ensconced in mid table and the Seagulls needing an act of Parliament to stay up the players couldn't give two shits about the match. But for me it was huge. Assuming Reading don't fuck up totally I have just two long term bets running on the Championship. I am short of Brighton points at 46 (Yum yum) and long of R's points at 64 (Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww). A real six pointer for me. Rangers pretty much played them off the park for the first half and should have been 3 or 4 up. They weren't and when Kevin Gallen got sent off for swinging an elbow in the amusingly named Paul McShane's (first rule of comedy yada yada yada) face it was always going to be a nervy last half hour. Brighton never really threatened until Marcus Bignot launched a perfectly placed header into his own net with about 5 minutes left. Cunt.<br /><br />Alcohol was always going to be a pretty big part of the day. I met Andy Ward for a pint before the game (he even defied his super wimp status by having one himself!) to congratulate him over his wise decision to leave the dark side and give up work. Best of luck mate.<br /><br />After the game it was off to leafy North London for Tony Bloom's birthday party. An eclectic mix of guests included various poker players and gamblers who arrived at regular intervals after getting busted out of the £200 tournament at the Vic. There were also a couple of the marketing types from Pokerstars who got very very drunk and spilt all sorts of interesting secrets about the company and some of their players. Undoubted highlight of the evening was watching Alex the Gent dance to Wham! I only wish I had some way of capturing the image. He looked like a goldfish on speed doing the breatstroke. Highly amusing. I also had the following exchange with someone I hadn't seen for about 3 years.<br /><br />"Oi, Camel why are you ignoring me? You've walked past me 5 times and not said hello"<br /><br />It wasn't that I was being rude on this particular occassion.. It was only when he opened his mouth that I recognised him. The guy had lost about 8 stone. Amazing. He looked about 10 years younger too. If Jake isn't incentive enough for me to lose weight nothing is. So, if anyone sees me in the process of eating a pie, a cake or some chocolate, do me a favour and snatch it off me. It's very hard, but I am determined to do it.<br /><br />Sunday: Had to move hotels. The Marrriott Marble Arch is 10 times better than the Metropole and much closer to the Vic. But it didn't have any rooms for Saturday so I had to switch. Arrived 5 minutes late for the super satellite and was told I can't buyin as entries close 30 minutes before the tournament starts due to "new computer system". I begged and pleaded with the poker guys and they managed to squeeze me in if I promised not to be late again.<br /><br />Lifetime I am many thousands down at supers and I managed to fail to win a seat again even though I tried much harder than usual. I only had three rebuys and had an above average stack when I lost as 1-3 favourite three times in quick succession. Ho hum. Stupid game anyways.<br /><br />Monday: Played the £750 NL tournament at the Vic. As I took my seat I waved hello to Julian Thew. He waved back and mouthed "Do you want to swap 5%?". He's a fish, but a pretty lucky one, so I nodded yes.<br /><br />I soon discovered I had drawn a very juicy table. Only James Vogl posed a potential threat in my mind although he was two to my left which is about as bad as it gets.. But, he pretty much kept out of my way so I could get on my merry way.<br /><br />I must admit, with so many chips on offer I played a little too tight and didn't take full advantage.<br /><br />One interesting hand sticks in my mind. I raised under the gun with KK to 600 at the 200-400 stage . A fairly loose player minimum reraised me in middle position. Hmmm. I wasn't passing but I was concerned he had AA. So I called (We both had approximately 8000) and saw a JJ2 flop. I checked, hoping to check raise. He checked behind me. Curiouser and curiouser. Turn is a 9. I'm confused now and check again. He follows suit. WTF? The river changed nothing. I honestly have no clue what he's got. I probably should have bet but checked. He bet 1000. NOw I thought he had quad Jacks. But I called, and he showed me the boots! I don't know who played the hand worse!<br /><br />I moved upstairs to a very interesting table. Three to my left was Paul "Action Jack" Jackson. I must admit I took an instant dislike to Mr Jackson when I first met him, mainly because he put a horrid outdraw on me when he made a terrible play against me two tables out in a big tournament at Walsall which he went onto win. But also because of some misogynist ramblings by Paul in a Poker Europa article. But, after sitting and playing with him for a couple of hours it seems I was wrong. He has a sharp sense of humour at the table (always a plus point in my book) and seems quite congenial company. He also proved in an mpeg you can see on www.tillerman.net that he is a truly excellent player in hand with Phil Ivey at the Monte Carlo Millions. Possibly the most remarkable hand in the history of televised poker. Check it out.<br /><br />But, I'm afraid I can't be so nice about Mark Teltscher who was to be frank a bit of an arse. He never once shut up and bored the table rigid with his inane nattering. I have no clue about his playing abilities but when he dissed Chris Bjorin after the Swede got knocked out, he proved he has no clue about poker. Chris has already won more than Teltscher will ever win.<br /><br />I got a nice treble up at the 600-1200 level when Colin Kennedy moved in late position, the guy in the cutoff did likewise and I found the boots on the button. But, at 25k that was as nice as it got. I wanked away about half my chips when a tight player limped on my BB. The sb made up and I picked up AK in the BB.. The caller shook a little as he limped and I half fancied he had a big hand. The flop came K63. Much to my surprise the sb led out with a pot sized bet. I only had 10 bb's so it was pretty much now or never I felt. I moved in. The limper beat me into the pot. He had flopped trip 3's. Another misplayed hand..<br /><br />Tuesday: I took the Darlo flyer back home for a couple of days. Received a rather nice text message on the way which said Thewy had chopped the £750. Nice work mate. Katharine had an important poetry reading and I didn't want to miss it.. Plus a week away from the little fella would be just too much. K and J would be coming down for the weekend.<br /><br />Wednesday: Katharine's reading, with Jake in attendance for his first poetry performance. We drove through the night to arrive at the Marriott at about 5am, only to be told our room had been sold to someone else because we were "non arrivals". This was despite the fact I told Marriott when I booked the room the earlies we would arrive was 3am, and possibly much later. They let the room go at 1am. Luckily someone else had failed to show, so we had their room...<br /><br />Thursday: The Vic pretty much let you choose which day you played in the £1500 tournie and knowing I would be knackered after a long drive, I chose Friday. So Thursday was left to a long lay in followed by getting jake to meet up with some poker glitterati for drinks and dinner..<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3168/478/1600/DSCN0240.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3168/478/400/DSCN0240.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Jake looks a little less thrilled by meeting Vicky Coren than vice versa...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3168/478/1600/DSCN0242.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3168/478/400/DSCN0242.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />I'm sure Francis Rohan would like to "get locked up" with this group.. From left to right: Me; my poker mentor "Backdoor" Bob Coombes; "Taliban" Bob Pigg; Vicky Coren holding Jake and Neil "Bad Beat" Channing.<br /><br />To be continued...The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-1142565059235505212006-03-16T19:08:00.000-08:002006-03-20T05:19:30.396-08:00Annual Meeting of the "National association of Impoverished Punters" (NIPs)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3168/478/1600/DSCN0234.3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3168/478/400/DSCN0234.2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Cheltenham Branch.<br /><br />Update: Amazingly, I understand from feedback noone recognises many of the faces in this particular rogues gallery who met up on Champion Chase day at Cheltenham..<br /><br />So, from right to left: Tony "The Hat" Conner; Katharine; Jake; Tony's wiser half Tessa; Alex "The Gent" Goldie and Stevie "The Bald Beast" Bennett (who scared the living daylights out of Jake with his removing hat routine!)The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-1141927364984112542006-03-09T09:49:00.000-08:002006-03-09T10:04:31.440-08:00Basically.......I couldn't give two shit's about the poker circus anymore.<br /><br />Some stuff happened at the Deauville EPT which two or three years ago would have got me saddling up on my high horse and riding into more controversy. And where would it have got me? At least 2 more enemies and possibly banned from EPT events in the fuure. I am not going to cut off my nose to spite my face ever again.<br /><br />As for laying off The Ambassador, well, I don't even care very much any more what happens to him. If he can look himself in the mirror and feel happy, good luck to him. I just felt a bit sorry for the Aces Poker investors who lost their cash and would dearly like to be playing in Monte Carlo, the WSOP, the Bellagio etc but can't afford it because they lost all their savings in this venture.<br /><br />By the way Richard, in no way was I taking the piss out of DW for playing a £5 tournament. I wasn't angry at Mr G for suggesting I couldn't afford the buyin for Monte Carlo. There is no shame in not being able to afford 25 lumps in my book. I think it's DW taking the piss, playing these huge tournaments while the investors look on.<br /><br />From now on, if it's controversy you want, I suggest you look at DPommo's blog. Rory Liffey is great bloke and doesn't deserve the abuse Pommo gives him. As for me, I will just be happy getting my wages on 'Stars and keeping my head down..<br /><br />And here, now nearly aged 6 months, is the reason for my serenity:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3168/478/1600/jake1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3168/478/320/jake1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-1140477376927266332006-02-20T15:06:00.000-08:002006-02-20T15:17:28.046-08:00Glimmer of Light for Aces Poker Investors!Well, the intrepid few who lost several pocket loads of cash investing in Aces Poker might finally have some good news..<br /><br />The Ambassador himself, Aces Poker supremo Dave Welch who was last spotted in a £5 rebuy tournament in West Bromich will soon apparently be playing in slightly more exaulted company.<br /><br />According to the grapevine he has found himself a backer who is going to put him in at Monte Carlo, the Bellagio and the WSOP amongst other events.<br /> <br />Investors can cling to the hope if the great DW has a right result he will pay back the money lost.<br /><br />Hang on, what's that in the sky? It looks very porcine to me....The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-1139083253821480532006-02-04T11:06:00.000-08:002006-02-04T12:10:35.306-08:00Tidying Up AgainI don't post for about 3 months and when I hear a story that might amuse some people I get one hell of a negative reaction. And you wonder why I haven't bothered blogging recently?<br /><br />For the record I didn't post the name of the hack involved for 2 reasons. Firstly, if I did it would have pretty obvious where I got the story from and I didn't want that to happen. Secondly, while the hack was obviously a bit naughty, I don't think it was the most heinous of crimes. After all he was only taking advantage of the publicity hungry site effectively trying to bribe him into giving them a good review. In the world of scams like Aces Poker I think what the hack did was a mosquito bite. As an aside I am happy to confirm the hack invoved wasn't Nic Szeremeta. Why DY went out of his way to say this in the comments I don't know. Nothing I suggested in the orginal post pointed it to being Nic and it wasn't.<br /><br />As for hand I described I took longer to decide what to do than ever before on Stars. Finally I erred on the side of caution and folded. He showed me 86! Hats off for a top class moody. Shame I beat the fucker anyways!<br /><br />Badbeat reckons the reason I stopped blogging was to leave my Reading tip at the top of the page. What a cynical fellow. Still it was a good tip by my standards and I think it's time to reinvest some of the potential winnings.<br /><br />I have had a pretty dismal season on the NFL. But the Superbowl gives me the chance toget out of it. I really fancy Seattle to win outright but in what promises to be a very tight game the 4 points start the odds men are offering are just too juicy to turn down.<br /><br />I could give you detailed reasons why it's a good bet. But I can't be bothered. Just get on.<br /><br />55 points Seattle (+4) to beat Pittsburgh in the Superbowl.<br /><br />Off to Deauville for the EPT next week. Going to try the Ferry/Driving on the wrong side of the road route this time. Wish me luck! I don't drive very well on the correct side, heaven knows what I will be like on the wrong side!The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-1138216273958257682006-01-25T11:04:00.000-08:002006-01-25T11:11:13.970-08:00What Would You do Here?Had an interesting situation come up yesterday. What would you have done in my position?<br /><br />I have played about 3 minutes of a $500 heads up match on Stars with someone I've never played before.<br /><br />The chips were for all intents purposes level (1500 each) when this hand transpired:<br /><br />He has the button and the small blind of 10. He raises to 60 and I call with A8.<br /><br />The flop comes AJJ rainbow.<br /><br />I check and he bets 80. I call.<br /><br />Turn card comes a Queen. I check again and he bets 140. I call. (I know, I am just a calling station!)<br /><br />River comes another Jack.<br /><br />I check and now he types "Chop, chop".<br /><br />Then, much to my suprise he moves allin!<br /><br />Would you call or pass? And why?The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-1138056651785610652006-01-23T14:34:00.000-08:002006-01-23T14:53:53.806-08:00Here's a Strange Tale...I heard an interesting story at Luton at the weekend.<br /><br />An unnamed writer for a poker magazine (you can make your own educated guess as to who it is, but please don't make those guesses in the comments section!) contacted a poker site and told them he was writing an article about online poker and would they care to open him an account and deposit $1000 so he could try out their software and report on it for his eager readers.<br /><br />The ever publicity hungry site readily agreed.<br /><br />The next day they received another email. Our hero had lost the grand and hadn't really tried everything out. Could they furnish him with another large one?<br /><br />Reluctantly they agreed.<br /><br />By the fifth day they were not so forthcoming. They decided to have a look into his hand history.<br /><br />One hand in particlar shone through.<br /><br />Playing heads up our hero raised with AA and got a caller.<br /><br />The flop came AAx!<br /><br />Hero bets all his stack except $1.<br /><br />The caller raised the odd dollar.<br /><br />Three guesses what our intrepid hack did next....The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-1135217362716380702005-12-21T18:07:00.000-08:002005-12-21T18:09:22.730-08:00Look, a Polar Bear!<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3168/478/1600/polar%20bear.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3168/478/400/polar%20bear.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Happy Christmas!The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-1131494036974519252005-11-08T15:53:00.000-08:002005-11-08T15:53:56.990-08:00Good News!I've just found my lucky socks.<br /><br />Amsterdam will be a doddle now!The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-1129910262413945762005-10-21T08:55:00.000-07:002005-10-21T09:15:04.863-07:00Get On!Haven't got much time so I'll keep this brief. (Hurrah! I hear you rejoice.)<br /><br />Reading are quite simply an each way gift for the Championship at 11/2.<br /><br />Fill yer boots!<br /><br />50pts each way Reading for the Championship (11/2 Hills 1/4 1,2,3)The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623155.post-1129818219063199172005-10-20T07:14:00.000-07:002005-10-20T07:25:41.740-07:00Prostituting Myself...The for sale sign is up.<br /><br />I'm looking to sell a bit of myself in the main event at Amsterdam in a couple of weeks.<br /><br />Now I've got an extra responsibility I can't go round playing 5 grand tournaments every 5 minutes s I've decided to try and sell a bit of my action for the Master Classics.<br /><br />They are adding 45k so it should be a good value tournament and I have got decent course and distance form, I've played the event 4 times and made the final table twice. If I don't bottle it this time I might even finish better than seventh...<br /><br />To help cover expenses I am asking for a small premium: 500 Euros for 8% is fair I think.<br /><br />If you aren't interested, do you really think it's worth your time posting abuse in the comments below? I have heard everything you could throw at me many times before, thankyou.<br /><br />If you are interested, email me at thehawk67@hotmail.com.<br /><br />End of sales pitch.The Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10787091599820193211noreply@blogger.com1