Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Olly was right!

Olly was right. This blogging everyday can be really tough. Its quite hard to commit to anything on a daily basis seven days a week unless you were born doing it, like eating, walking etc. Most days its fine making an entry as I've the free time to do it but this week has been tough. It's becoming a bit of a chore and I'm not sure if I'll be able (or want to) keep it up.

Last night I watched the Poker Million with John Duthie and the rest. I taught it was a reasonably enjoyable episode with some funny hands between Duthie and our own Peter Roche. John Duthie was playing wildly but still backing himself into hands and Roche (now sporting a Phil Laakesque hoodie was the only one taking him on as such. The eventual winner Harry Demitrieu seemed to be gifted first place thanks to big hands at the right time. Overall though an interesting poker show and I will continue to watch the series with interest.

I played for about two hours last night. I was playing 1/2 hold'em just and it went well. Approx $300 up for the night which is always welcome! I always feel I play better in regular short stints such as last night than say not playing all week and then attempting a 5 hour session on a Friday night or something. Last night proved that.

Congratulations today goes to LuckyLucky. One of many Irish poker players with the O' Callaghan's surname in toe, Barry is rocking in Serie A. After his opening round victory over me, he has now defeated Norwich Fan Rob, Valor and is 1-1 with Daithio. A 100% record in these tough games stands him in good stead for outright glory. Wp Barry!

Elsewhere there's not much happening on the Irish scene. Stephen McLean is busy plugging the I.P.O ahead of next weeks big game, check out www.pokerireland.ie.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Learning new games, pushing people down wells and missing the boat with Ashlee Simpson!!

My online action has frozen this past day as I'm having trouble with neteller. I'm trying to transfer $1000 into full tilt to play low-limits in PLO and Omaha H/L. I'm looking forward to playing something new and experimenting in the four card format. I've had little or no experience so it could be a rocky road to success! If anyone would like to help me out with a good book or a good site for tutorials I would appreciate it a lot. I hope to play some hold'em as well and keep the hand in but at no higher than 1/2.

I'm a little lost with this blog at present. I'm not sure what to write about in terms of topics of discussion. I plan on just running with the same, a bit about me and then a bit about the Irish poker happenings. If there is any additions that people would like to see just give me a shout. I'd be glad to diversify a bit!

One of my pals got back from Vegas today and was telling me about his experience. He ran up quite a bill on his c/c but said he had it large, WP sir! Leaving no nightclub unturned, he lived it up in the city of sin for 15 days. The highlight of his week (well it would have been for me) was spotting Ashlee Simpson on his travels. I'm pretty jealous!

Elsewhere there was a €100 game on last night in the Emporium. Marc got himself another solid finish in 10Th for token money and tony "flushdraw" went a couple spots better for 4th. No reportage on other positions as of yet.

The Boards folks are trying to shove another man down the well. I'd personally like to hear from macspower for the sheer uniqueness of his poker ventures. JBravado would be an entertaining one too. We'll have to wait and see who gets the hot seat!

More musing tomorrow.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Omaha High-Low?!?!?!

I'll get my stuff out of the way first and then a natter about whats been happening on the Dublin scene.
Yesterday I ventured out to the JP game to get away from my diminishing balance on the computer screen. He was running a new game €60+€60 which I wouldn't be mad about. Its a bit too much like his other games. His Sunday game was supposed to be different to the midweeks ones but it plays just the same it seems!

On the online front, I've dropped back down to 1/2 following a bad weekend on the 2/4 tables. Theresalwaysone asked me in my last post "am I a winning player at 2/4" and the answer is yes. i'm a token winner of about $2000 over 3500 hands but its my bankroll which is the problem. I don't have enough money to take the swings so I'll shelve the game for another while.

Interestingly I've taken some of my hold'em money out to play on full-tilt again (yay toughest site ever!) and dapple a bit in the Omaha and Omaha high-low. Just for small stakes, It's a fun experiment for me and gives me a chance to take breaks from hold'em and learn new games.

On the Dublin front well done to Marc and Big Dragon on their success in the
Grudge Match part deux. A nice result for the Balinteer lad putting him back on the scene with some dough. Watch out Gordon et all! A warm congratulations also goes to Bogey man on his victory in the boards heads-up championship. Defeating Olly 3-2 in a nail-biting finale to the comp, may I be one of the first to congratulate the new champ. Unlucky Olly, a great effort to get so close.

That's your lot for today folks, more poker-news tomorrow.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

I should have twigged it when I'm backing 6-0 losers....

It was quite comical really. In an attempt to liven up my blog I start giving woeful tips! East Sterling duly trounced 6-0 in what I truly felt was bet of the day material. This is a poker blog however and giving "tips" (with the inverted comma's being most welcome here) for part-time Scottish teams is pretty uncalled for and uninteresting let alone how appalling they were! With that type of start to the day I should have known something was amiss...

With my first free Saturday in a long time I had an array of options. Having seen Frank Skinner the previous night (and East Sterling the following afternoon) I had enough laughs for the moment and wanted to play some poker. My online account I feel has been neglected this past while and felt it merited some play. A nasty spell midweek had also left a sour after-taste which I wanted to change.

I planned on playing throughout the night. 10pm till 3 or 4am sort of thing. I was hoping to catch a few drunkies and obviously a few Frenchies. I got both and boy did they have a good one. From $500 up at 1am to $600 down just before 2am. Not pleasant its fair to say having started well. I'm now at least $1500 in the red for this week and am going to drop back down to 1/2.

The 2/4 can get a little bit too tasty of a Saturday night especially when the French log on and I wont be rushing back too soon. Maybe when I get a more solid BR together of 10k will I try again.

Off to play JP's game now for a change of scenery. Check tomorrow for more of my trials and tribes and hopefully some gossip from elsewhere too.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Saturday, Saturday Saaaaturday

Today is Saturday. Saturday is my fave day of the week. Saturdays are great for Racing, great for Football and of course great for poker. My poker plan for today is to do a couple of hours online, play this eve live for a few hours and basically have a great Saturday!

I am currently team less for the International Poker Open and am Jose Mourinhoing it and looking for a team. All offers (cause there is going to be hundreds based on the amounts of hits/comments this blog gets) can be sent via email to gary.clarke@pokerireland.ie. I will update here accordingly the offers I get so please at least somebody offer me a place cause I will appear v unwanted otherwise!

On a side note there are only two teams you should be backing today. Watford and East Sterling. The mighty East Sterling need no introduction I feel and the prime reason they are worth backing is the fact that they are playing. Watford are leading the championship and flying high at the mo. QPR on the other hand are shaky and vulnerable. Get on the double with your local friendly bookmaker (they're always friendly to me for some reason anyhow) and a tenner bet will return you approx €48 (incl stakes)!

This blog is kind of becoming the all things poker and otherwise isn't it?

Friday, September 21, 2007

The not so controversial blog a week on.....

Today Gordon told me I'm not "controversial" enough in my blogs. I'm not quite sure how to be controversial unless I'm just being controversial for the sake of it. Gordon claims that being "controversial" starts arguments and gets you more views and even a higher profile. I presume he's using somebody like Eamon Dunphy as a yardstick. I'm sorry Gordon but I am not Eamon Dunphy and don't want to be to be honest.

Poker has again been put on the shelf by moi. I feel I'm nowhere near in tune with the game as I'm not playing anywhere near as regular as I used to. I do hope to change this situation back slowly and I hope to play live on sat night in the jackers and will start squeezing in some online play to boot. I will try write about whats happening then even though I find it very tough to talk about myself. I find in boring writing it and can only imagine the reader is equally if not more bored reading it.

Hectorjelly did appear last night on Primetime and did a sterling job as I taught he might. I never realised the giant sums he won or lost in a day and I look forward to hearing more about them next time I see him! The gambling argument seems to be still very much a delicate debatable issue but I cannot see the legislation changing anytime soon.

Not much else to say on the one week anniversary of my "uncontroversial" blog. Other than well, I hate Gordon! :)

More tomorrow.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

$1000 in 1000 secs

I played poker for the first time in 10 days last night and boy did I suffer. In what seemed like a heart-beat, I had blown $1000. It started when I jumped straight into a 2/4 game and got eaten alive. I did not believe that consistent practice is vital for your game but last night certainly gave me a wake-up call.

If Tiger Woods takes two weeks off and then plays an in-practise successful pro, Tiger would be making a big mistake to play for big dough. I should have played a lighter/lower limit game to get me back in the swing at least for a week or so. Jumping head-first into a level that I'm barely bankrolled for is unsafe to and very much an unwise decision. My plan from here is to play again tomorrow and throughout the weekend at 1/2 and hopefully I can get back in the groove somewhat. Here's to hoping!

Elsewhere congratulations to Joe (goodluck2me) who took down the €40 game in the jackpot last night for a well deserved €800. The Vegas road-tripper has been nurturing his game over the past while and his progress was evident last night in his victory.

In other poker news, JP poker has got a complete lineup for his EPT satellite syndicate game which will now take place on October 14th. The 25 strong line-up will leave one player with a ticket to the Dublin leg of the European Poker Tour and 55% of any winnings. The other 24 finishers will hold the other 45% of the action divided up based on their finishing positions in the satellite tournament.

Finally hectorjelly looks set to appear on Primetime tonight you will be pleased to hear! The expected 5-10Min's interview will at last leave poker in a favourable light for once following Monsieur Duffy's debate at lunchtime today re: online gambling. If you missed it needless to say the whole of Ireland are addicted to gambling and it will eventually ruin the economy. Have you ever heard such tripe I ask?

That's your lot for today, more gos tomorrow.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

There's no such thing as a free lunch but there are free poker books!!

Okay okay so Hectorjelly wasn't on Primetime last night. I can only report on what I am told and report on it I did. The interview will now be be shown on Thursday evening (worryingly however these are the words of the same source!). Maybe they are shooting more content or extended interview footage? Maybe they are doing a piece on Northern Rock's impact on the poker community> Daragh could be playing the role of disgruntled poker player/Northern Rock customer? I think he just got his dates mixed up.

There was some poker-related television shown last night that went ahead in the shape of the Ladbrokes Poker Million. Much to my annoyance it was the customary celebrity heat episode that was aired. Ex Westlife member Bryan McFadden landed the spoils in a typically novicey affair. The best of a bad bunch, McFadden I believe has as much chance of going on to win the poker million as I have with fellow heat contestant Danielle Lloyd. Lets hope Roy and Jesse will deliver some quality poker action next week with the competition starts proper.

Last night I played some poker in an online qualifier for the Padraig Parkinson Simon Community tournament. It was a $20 re buy affair and I donated somewhere around the $100 mark. I didn't win the sat in fact I didn't even come close.

Thank you to Paul "macspower" for donating some poker books to me. A nice gesture from a top bloke, all I can do is say thank you and may the poker gods let you start winning with AA! The books by Cloutier and McEvoy (who incidentally are not qualified to talk about poker according to LuckyLloyd. He claims their teachings are dated). Perhaps you can recommend me some Lloyd? I for one would have taught their knowledge was useful. Maybe I'm wrong...

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Primetime for Hectorjelly and the return of Poker Million.....

Today is all about TV poker. Or to be more precise poker on TV. First up this Tues eve we'll be treated to a chat with Daragh about his poker career on RTE One at 9.30pm. I find it interesting a programme as popular and mainstream as Prime time is delving into the world of online gambling and indeed Internet poker. Naturally I feel Daragh is a fitting choice for the programme not least because of his skills but also his well-mannered accent! Also we could be in for a special of his with limped KK taking down a huge pot!

Elsewhere on our TV screens tonight we'll see the return of Roy "the boy" Brindley and Jessy May for the ladbrokes Poker Million. Its got a colossal revamp this year with way more poker pros from much broader parts of the globe. The performances of the William Hill GP II and Premier League Poker have obviously raised the bar in televised poker for the UK and Ireland market. More importantly however lets hope they re-vamped the crapshoot structure so the audience can see some quality action.

I'd love to give a report on my own poker news but quite frankly I haven't played a hand in a few days or so. There is no reason for this other than that I didn't feel like it! I plan on getting back in the swing of things tomorrow so I'll update accordingly then!

Until tomorrow folks.....

Monday, September 17, 2007

Jinxing heads-up matchs and dreaming about Vegas....

I managed to put the absolute mockers on myself yesterday by reporting in my blog that I was leading in my game against LuckyLucky. I've no idea why I even mentioned the game. I ended up losing the game 2-1 in a typical Andy Black style fall from grace!

LuckyLucky deserved his win though on all evidence. He was the aggressor in all three games and was the one making things happen. I waited a (little too patiently) and it cost me the game. I was getting raised every hand from Barry and there was only so long I could wait to trap before he's taken a significant portion of my stack. The defeat was a lesson for me and re-emphasises how difficult Serie A will be. The experience of the competition can only be of benefit though I believe.

I haven't been playing much at all other than the heads-up game so nothing to report. In my spare time I've been looking into trips to Las Vegas for the end of the year. I plan on going for a week or so in November. It will be my first time there so I'm quite excited to say the least! I have heard many stories from people about it already so it'll be nice to be able to see the town for myself.

Elsewhere on the Irish poker scene there has been little to report. Macspower has been busy altering from maniac LAG to super nit in the past couple of days with mixed success. I propose doing an interview with him this week to delve into the mind of this Internet poker junkie. I'd like to hear his tales of woe but more importantly learn of the happier moments, times of break-through etc.

If there is anyone else who my readers (is there any?) would like me to interview post me a comment and I'll get cracking on it. Would be interesting to hear the views of a few of the Irish characters such as macspower.


That's it for today folks. Check back tomorrow for the next installment....

Sunday, September 16, 2007

The crowd is roaring.... Ian Wrights scoring....









Poker coming up but lets look at the main happening of the last 24 hours shall we? That's right it brings me great joy to report Arsenal are back where they belong on the top rung of the Premier League. It's been quite some time since they occupied the top spot (October 2004) and the occasion has brought me back to a happier time in my childhood when the great Ian Wright was banging them in. There was a funky Jamaican pop song out at the time by Aswad called "Shine" which featured a rather random yet welcome lyric about the crowd roaring and Ian Wright scoring. Very few people even noticed it as he says it very fast and could be easily missed. Download it and let me know if you remember song or lyric!

On the poker front it has been a very quite time for me personally the last 24 hours, especially considering it was a Saturday. The 21st that I absolutely had to go to was indeed next weekend much to my (I'm being really sarcastic) delight. I now have to take two sats to celebrate a 21st I don't even wanna be at, LOL!

I'm just playing Lucky Lucky as we speak and am 1-0 up at halftime. I win either of the next two games and I'm home and dry for another 2 points. Still though there has been a lot of 2-1 results so still have plenty to do. In other poker news Michael Muldoon (who will not be mentioned twice incidentally) was at the business end of another monthly game. Having won the SE 500, its two big scores in a row for the London EPT 2nd placer.

Check back tomorrow for more poker gos....

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Day Two in my blog

Can I go a whole month of making one entry a day?

I could theoretically say a couple of words each day but I'm really talking about substantial posts. As in something that takes more than 30secs to read. Olly reckons it will be tough and could well come to an end within 3 days, tut tut! He is a solid judge though as he made many a post in the mustard form for the guts of a month too. A much harder chore indeed! Lets see how far I make it......

So today is a Saturday which generally means watching the footie and a few races on channel 4 and then playing poker afterwards for the early eve if not the whole eve. Today however my plan has been slightly scuppered.

Rod Stewart says two out of three ain't bad but I think it depends on which one it is your missing. In my case its poker. I will not be getting my poker fix today thanks to the Holocaust that is 21st birthday dos. I'm currently in the middle of silly-season when it comes to these sort of things as every Tom, Dick and Mary is celebrating em. They are always "must go or be frowned at till their 40th type" arrangements and have an uncanny ability to take place at weekends.

Long story short I am now missing CHL €300 making it a clear 6 weeks since I've played my last quality tournament. This is most frustrating for me as I try make a conscious effort to play one of Droghada, the SE or now CHL monthly games. The past month I have missed all three due to one reason and one reason only, 21st birthday disasters.

I wish all the regs luck in the game and hopefully someone I know can take it down. Update accordingly on boards and you will get a mention here tomorrow. And hey if I like you you might even get mentioned twice.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Paintball + poker players =?


So what's been happening today I hear you ask?

Well so far I've been scanning
boards as usual this morning. It's fair to say that this is the main Irish poker playing portal, if not the only one. It's very handy for keeping up with the gos anyway. Lots of poker talk on there.

I notice JP poker (who was subject to one of my latest Poker Ireland articles) has a shiny new website on the inter web. Very fancy indeed. The resident DJ/website designer Niall O Callaghan appears to have done the job and a very swanky job it was too.

As usual the boardsies are having their say, with one macspower noted having a 3am discussion. The amounts of hands that man plays of poker in a week is really incredible. I could write a whole blog entry about Paul I'd say. Maybe I will someday but considering this is my first entry I wont...

Elsewhere on the Irish scene I see hectorjelly is organising a paint balling trip. Paint balling is a strange choice of entertainment I taught. What with the sheer aggroness of most players this could well have many such as cardshark or valor (thanks to their "to-the-point" argument styles) leaving in casts/slings. Not my cup of tea though. I'll probably be more interested in the
3.15 at Doncaster.

On the topic of people trying to cripple each other, there was two poker games on last night. They were both €100 freezes on in CHL and the SE. (I'm sorry but D/C is a fancy name for a freeze in my eyes). No reports from the SE on boards which can only make me assume boardsies were unsuccessful. In CHL Marky came 7th after getting "punished" for being more aggressive than the tight players around him. Dom was left in the remaining six but as of yet no reports on his finish.


On the me fein front I managed to beat Devore in the first heads-up game of Serie A. It was a repeat of last years heads-up final meaning it was somewhat of a Charity Shield style affair. He actually won the 1st game in 6 hands after I flopped a nut flush draw against his jacks and we got all the money in. The two games that I won were messy to say the least. I actually felt he played better in both but kept losing his crucial 50:50s. My performance you could say was more of a horrible Chelsea performance. Winning but winning badly. But that's how you win leagues apparently, I just hope I can play better in my next game (probably against Lucky Lucky).

So there you have it! My insight on Friday the 14th. I hope to do v regular updates of this so keep posted for speils on myself and of course the Irish scene.

My 1st day blogging....

I'm going to give this blogging thing a try. I know a lot of people do it on the Irish scene like BigCityBanker, El Stuntman, Trippie etc so I'm going to have my 2c as well. I'm going to have my cake too you could say. I'm not sure what it is exactly you are supposed to say in these things other than talk about whats happening on the poker scene I suppose. Hopefully I can add something from my perspective anyway.

As you may or may not know I have been writing articles for Stephen McLean on his site http://www.pokerirteland.ie/. They can be found under "Gary Clarke Articles". This gives me a chance to write in a more formal format than that which I will be posting in my blog.

Anyway that's my introduction done so know all I have to do is talk crap, yay!