As I write this my plane to Vegas for the World Series leaves in 11 hours.

I have to write a poker article I haven’t started yet, I have about 4 money moves to sort out online and not only have I not packed a single thing my suitcase isn’t even out the airing cupboard.

It looks like I’ll be getting a completely pointless 2 hour sleep….which is roughly average for my night before rest on any Vegas trip.

It’s not as bad as it sounds – you sleep on the plane (and in the cab on the way to the airport and going through security) and arrive in that slightly spaced out state you’ll spend most of your time in during your stay.

 I’ve been lucky enough to visit Vegas many times and spend a lot of time there. Ever since I first visited 15 years ago it’s been a unique place for me. It’s always felt incredibly comfortable and almost peaceful for me. It’s something that’s tough to describe as it’s a feeling more than anything else – while everyone else was saying how much they enjoyed visiting Vegas but it was a bit much after a while I was busy making my retirement plans there.

Not much has changed – I don’t get the same excitement about going as I used to but once I’m there it’s like slipping into a pair of comfortable slippers….that have neon on them.

 This year I’m playing the World Series Main Event for the first time. I’ve tried many times to satellite in but have burned my way through a tonne of money and never made it. This year – with the help of Virgin Poker – I’m buying in so no chance of not playing.

When I play it’ll be weird as it’s been a dream to play it for so many years of poker playing. I’m sure a few hands in it’ll be just another poker tournament. I’m guessing there’ll be about 7000 runners so anything in the top 20 is acceptable

 The great news is in the last two weeks I’ve been playing badly and running badly….so I’m heading out there with no form whatsoever!!

Oh well everyone knows the great ones have a bad dress rehearsal before the main event…. Please baby Jesus

 I’ll talk to you again from the promised land

Play well – run better.

This Sunday in a radical change to my normal routine I was doing almost nothing – for once I’d decided to give Church, my daily 6 mile run and B&Q a miss. Slumped on my sofa I enjoyed Roger Federer crushing some Scandinavian unfortunate to claim his world beating 38^th Grand Slam. Surrounded by a variety of Sunday supplements and the debris of lunch I was starting to zone out as the two sweetest words in the English language ‘nap time’ beckoned.

Then one of the commentators quoted a late great tennis player from ‘the art of lawn tennis’ – I know you’re all familiar with it and it’s in your top 3 favourite toilet books but just in case the quote goes; ‘“Champions are not born. They are made. They emerge form a long, hard school of defeat, discouragement, and mediocrity, but they are endowed with a force that transcends discouragement and cries ‘I will succeed.’”

Somehow it permeated my slumbering brain – what a quote it is. I’d heard the first bit but never the full quote. I love the idea of struggling against mediocrity and discouragement no matter who they are or how good they are. I always knew Roger and I had more in common that our flowing locks and ability to cry like a ‘new man’ should.

Anyway it struck me that this quote is applicable to almost everything we do or want to do. Of course most of the time we won’t be ‘champions’ but that’s not the point the point is how do we get great results – and, tragically, they don’t just happen by rocking up and going through the motions

My quest to learn Pot Limit Omaha (or Omm-ah-haaaaa as its correctly pronounced) has lasted about 7 or 8 months of serious effort. Everything I was promised about the game has been true, it’s far more fun that Holdem, far more frustrating and – at it’s best – far more lucrative

I’ve made nice money so far this year but the last month or two I’ve hit a slight wall. I’m still up but nothing like I should be. It’s been a combination of running badly, not adjusting to tougher games and not playing or working hard enough.

I’ve had to take a look at things and really reapply myself. I know I’m a far far better player for the study and time I’ve had to put in and I’m expecting great results over the next few months.

The point is – Patrick Antonius aside – improving at poker, like most things, isn’t about turning up and allowing your talent to carry you through. It’s about hitting walls, having bad results, and dealing with disappointment. Whenever that happens in poker or in anything in life you have to ask yourself whether you’re going to take your licks, grit your teeth and overcome or pack up you’re playing cards/tennis bat and go home.

It was pointed out to me by someone who thinks they’re clever that the thing that decides whether you battle on and have the will to say ‘I succeed’ is probably innate so in fact champions are born not made. Which took the gloss of it a bit…but you get the point

Play well – run better

June……and all is peaceful

Suddenly (can this happen suddenly) life has gone a bit quite and I’m alone with my thoughts….. a dangerous thing!! Much like homer mine amount to a dancing monkey.

anyway its good because im getting to play a lot of poker this month

its been really up and down recently. PLO wise i seem to be trapped between .5/1 and 1/2 - i crush .5/1 for a really high win rate which i’ve sustained over a decent amount of hands - enoough to be confident i crush it. 1/2 is very different - i’m basically break even. its frustrating because the games are tougher but not that much tougher. i have run badly but there are also things im having to work on

the key difference is that the regs (and some of the casual players) are more aggressive and adjusting to that aggression has taken a bit of time though. i think i’m a much better player than i was two months ago though and results are starting to pick up so i’m hoping i’ll be killing it soon

plo is a real test of your poker character - the downsings and variacne can be brutal - you can just have these horrible days where you can’t win a pot and keep running into the nuts…it’s got to build character….or something!!

i’ve just realised we’re only a few weeks from the series and the main event. it hasnt really sunk home im finally playing it but - as someone has just pointed out to me - i am and it isnt the world championship of omaha so i better actually do something to prepare

ive played 2 live tourneys this year - which definitely isn’t enough. i’ll play some deep stack events in vegas before the biggie but a couple more over here wouldnt be a bad shout - or some online - or watch some tourney vids…..or do something man!!!!!!

Just a quick blog about moving down.

I’ve done it this week and played about 8k hands winning a ludicrous 16 buyins

Obviously I’ve run well but i’ve also played well and really fixed the problems with my game. Even more important than that i’ve got a lot of confidence back generally.

The main problem was I’d let my aggression slip and stopped thinking during hands. I was giving up too easily, not winning uncontested pots then foccusing on the big pots I was losing rather than the small/medium pots I wasn’t taking down I should have

i’m actually proud of myself for choosing to move down. as i said in my last blog this was a playing decision not a bankroll one. its tough to do in terms of your ego but i really really cant recommend it enough - playing in a game you know you can beat is great for your confidence but more than that it allows you more freedom to experiment and check what things work and what don’t.

anyway i’ll finish my self enforced 10k hands tonight then move back up this week.

in other news britain’s got talent has happened. i have to confess being totally sucked in having never watched it in previous years. its been terrific in every way - of course its manipulative, the people (including judges) not necessarily that talented and its all pointelss but seriously - what a great show

the susan boyle story is a strange one which may be looked back on as a watershed in terms of reality shows and fame generally, i just hope her story doesn’t end sadly as its become perfectly obvious she isnt equipped to deal with whats happened to her.

diversity were awesome of course - their coreographer is borderline genius (and this comes from someone who thinks most modern dance coreography is a bit silly - seriously look closely next time a music video is on, without the other people and lighting effects they’d all look pretty retarded)

that said the highlight of this or any other show this year was the dad from stavros flately running onto stage with a look of messianic determination…. i almost cried with giggles

If you’ve been playing for a while you’ll know how brutal poker can be

It’s brutal in a very particular way - it let’s you think you’ve got it tamed and that you’re it’s daddy then just when you’re winning big and everything’s easy it’ll knock you on your ass and stamp on your throat…it’s a lot like women; as I’ve always said poker is a fickle mistress

After things going really well for the first few months of this year with my PLO journey I’ve had a super rough two or three weeks. I was beating 1/2 and felt I had a good edge in the games but that’s all changed lately.

You join me on a 16 buy in down swing…which is not pretty. Luckily I’m handily rolled for the games and still well up for the year so that side of things is fine but the losing side is not fine - actually it’s really depressing. Playing in games where you think you should be crushing and its not happening is no fun.

The good thing is I know the problems and can fix them. I’ve become too passive and I’m not thinking enough when I play. I call auto piloting ‘zombie tilt’ TM and it’s something that can affect all online players. Just playing your hands, clicking and not thinking. The fact is I’m just not good enough at PLO to get away with that and it has to end….NOW god dam it!!!

Anyway I’ve decided to do something I’ve done a couple of times before in poker and drop down a limit. Im going to play 10k hands at .5/1 and focus on playing them really well and aggressively. This is more of a confidence rebuilding exercise than anything - I’ll let you know how I get on

Also if I can get my act together I’m going to head up to DTD this week and play the big 1k WSOP style event so I’ll keep you all in touch with that

Run better than me!!

hello team

hope you’re all sucking the nectar out of life and that

i worked the ‘black belt’ poker bootcamp this weekend. it was a good couple of days - its always share ideas about poker and see people learn. the star guest was phil laak - whose one of those people that, aprat from being a really nice guy, (over used phrase that is actually a big compliment) is also a really interesting different person with his own unique ideas. listening to him was extremely interesting - it rammed home to me that playing online over live you do lose the human side of the game a bit and those small subtle things that can make the difference in a hand

poker is strange for me at the moment - still playing a tonne of PLO. enduring a down swing in the cash games which is frustrating as i feel i have a good edge but i obviously have to look at things and work harder. im still having a good year though thanks to a couple of great plo tourney results - a win in a small tournament then 10th in a big $500 event for 6.5k which was pretty nice. People can play PLO so badly its scary…and really cool

I’m planning on playing the 1k at dusk til dawn in a couple of weeks as a warm up to the WSOP but that depends on me staying free of work so we’ll see

finally me and rich orford have been putting together a comedy podcast and its now up on the site (www.ontherail.co.uk if you’re reading this elsewhere) - check it out and let me know what you think

right this is a semi tedious i did this…then i did this blog as im tired and not feeling entertaining …. perhaps you could fill in some jokes of your own??

have a magnificent week

I had no eggs, did not attend church and did play 6k hands of online Omaha…weeeeeeeeeeeeee

I ran at 7bb/100 playing 1/2 which is really pleasing. I haven’t played enough 1/2 hands yet to be convinced of how well I’m beating the game but I feel really comfortable at the level and there are enough weak players to mean picking up easy money isn’t a problem.

If everything goes to plan I’ll take some shots at 2/4 next month. I’ll post some hands here at some point - not sure how many of you will care as its Omaha but you’re getting em anyways!!!

Of course I know none of you care about me right now - what can I say about Kara.

Her result in the Irish open was just phenomenal and added to her amazing tournament record. Theres not much I havent already said about her after her deep WSOP run but frankly I couldn’t be more proud of her. From the first week she worked in the poker industry shes been determined to become a good player and shes getting the results to prove it. Im sure it hasnt sunk in for her yet - as it hasnt for me - its such a great result.

As many of you know I once taught Kara how to play - now I fear when we meet at the table it’ll be like Darth Vader and Obi Wan…’once you were the teacher….

One final thing I would like to point out how clever of her it is to win a boat load of cash just a few days before my birthday

This one’s a bit different as I’m blogging from Granada studios in Manchester

I’m here doing some ‘bread and butter’ work for Eammon on an ITV show called the feelgood factor. As I’m a lucky boy I’ve been doing this kind of thing for 4 years or so now and a lot of the novelty / excitement has gone

However I’ve been struck today by how different it is for people that aren’t used to it. I was watching the audience come in and was reminded of how exciting a TV studio can be if you haven’t been in one before…after all this is where magic is made! (sometimes anyway). The first time a line I’d written was read out on a studio show it gave me one of the bigger thrills i’ve had. (i can still remember the specific joke).

Of course it can all be a bit much if you’re not comfortable. One poor woman on this show got a bit phased. Bear in mind it’s about losing weight, she and her friends have been dieting for 8 weeks and she’s had a rehearsal just before the record. Eammon asks her ‘what’s the situation after 8 weeks with the team?’ - she stares at him and replies ‘what with our weight?…. and Eammon instantly replies ‘no with your holidays’. She was slightly mortified. Very funny - man is a legend - fact! Sadly this won’t be making it to your screens!

I think it’s a bit sad how films and TV have been demystified by dvd extra documentaries, green room shots, behind the scenes stuff and so on

I’ve also realised that shows like this - shiny floor studio shows - are probably a dying thing. They’re expensive and need big audiences and those audiences are getting less and less as people watch content online and so on. I should enjoy the studio magic while it lasts!!

Hey everyone

Hope 2009 is treating you really well

I’ve given up the apologising for not blogging thing - -after a while, if you keep sinning, apologies just become lame…

My start to the year has been a bit frantic. After taking my trip to America and the Bahamas I’ve also been to France and (sunny, glamorous) Manchester. I think I’ve only been at home for a couple of weeks. Gotta love the travel but I’m looking forward to being at home for a while. Life, work and everything seems all over the place at the moment and almost slightly nearly out of control; part of me likes the uncertainty (I was the boy that fled the 9 to 5) but it would also be nice to feel more settled.

Anyway my thoughts on life, work whatever would be far to random at the moment so I’m going to blog about poker!!

I’m super happy to report that I’m playing a lot, going through one of my ‘in love with it’ phases and winning. As you all probably know (assuming this isn’t your first time here) about 6 months ago I embarked on a mission to learn PLO and move up through the limits. Towards the end of last year I was stalling in my attempts. I was playing .5/1 and knowing there was money to be won in the games but after almost 30k hands at the limit I was only a marginal winner.

The new year arrived and so did a bit more determination and focus. I also managed to get some quality time with my mentor Brian Townsend. We quickly found some pretty big problems with my game. First I was playing too tight pre flop - principally I wasn’t opening enough hands in late position. Second I wasn’t 3 betting enought; there’s a lot of money to be made 3 betting pre flop then putting the pressure on after the flop. Next I wasn’t anything like aggressive enough post flop; I particuarly focused on turn play and putting more pressure on weak players on the turn. Before this year I was allowing them to make their draws or showdown weak hands too often. Finally I’ve gained a greater appreciation of post flop equity in the game - i.e. when I have too much equity to fold. I still make mistakes with this which is a hang over from Holdem where you can so often be crushed post flop - not so in PLO.

As a result I’ve been playing better and I’ve also been running really good.

Here are the results at .5/1 this year

(I’m a complete computer spaz and can’t get my Poker tracker results on here - help someone!!!)

Hands - 14,585

Profit - + $3,128

Win rate - 10.72/100bb

Obviously I’m pretty pleased to say the least. The win rate is high and I think my good running accounts for a bit but I do think a win rate of 7-8+ is sustainable at this limit - there’s just sooooo mcuh dead money. I think a good player could easily beat the games for 10+ - I still have some mistakes/knowledge gaps to work on.

In my Virgin poker challenge to make 5000 dollars from Omaha before the series I’m only just under 1500 bucks away from my target. Although a downswing can happen at any time so I’m not counting any chickens.

I’ve started playing at 1/2 - it’s early days but there are definitely fewer complete fish and the regulars are more aggro which is going to mean adjustments by me and probably more variance

Right enough bragging hope your poker 2009 is going as well!!!

Let’s catch up soon - don’t be a stranger

<insert Nick’s useless apology for not updating blog here>

Happy Holidays one and all.

It’s that limbo time in between Christmas and New Year that’s always about a day longer than you think. They need a name for this bit – earlier today I had no clue whether to wish someone happy Christmas or happy New Year or what… I settled for ‘see you soon’. Given that it was the lady at the supermarket fish counter I’m not sure I nailed it.

Hope you’ve had a great Christmas. Mine was really nice but they are all starting to blend into one. I think you get to a certain age and you need to have kids involved for that special Christmas magic. Next year I’m hiring some for a week to magic it up a notch.

I’m writing this in a bit of a hurry trying to get everything done before popping off on my travels. Lucky boy that I am I’m working the PCA in the Bahamas (they made me) so I’m leaving early to stop off in the states for a few days. I’m spending New Year’s eve in New York which should be a great experience then I’m squeezing in a few days in Vegas before going down south.

It’s pathetic really – I happen to be on the same continent so I have to visit Vegas. 15 years since I first sampled it’s neon infested delights I still can’t shake the need to go and play.

Word on the grape vine is that things are not good in Vegas as the credit crunch bites. It’ll be interesting to experience how things are there – it seems inevitable it’ll really suffer in the down times but we’ll see.

One thing’s for certain I’ll be playing in some really tight poker games. It’s that ‘beginning of the year’ phenomena. Every poker player’s slate is wiped clean as 2008s misfortunes or misplays are forgotten and everyone starts the year trying to play well – which in most people’s minds is playing tight. It’s like everyone’s at the start of a session. We’ll see if I can winkle out a profit and pay for the trip – I’ll keep you updated….. okay I shouldn’t promise that. I’ll update you in retrospect in a month or so!

One final note my site for poker stuff – ontherail.co.uk – will be up and running in 2 or 3 weeks. We’ve been working hard on it and it should be a fun place to visit for you poker nuts! The only downside is that I’ll have to update my blog at least weekly… any bets on how long that’ll last?!

Happy New Year to you all – hope 2009 brings you everything you could wish for