Playing another daytime $5 STT. If I dont win anything here then I’ll only be left with enough money to play a 3$ Multi Table Tournament. Fingers crossed.

First ten hands are going slow. People are raising to about 200 before each flop so I’m kind of leaving them to it. So far I’ve been lucky as the flops have not been advantageous to me. Had a couple of small wins though so I’m slightly up. I’m in third place, with two empty chairs. Now three empty chairs. Now four! Its so aggressive but I seem to be playing correctly.

Not much going on on my front but other players are being taken out. If I can just sit back until a good hand comes along. Now 4th out of 4, can I hold on?

Great, just went all in and doubled up. I had KQ clubs and they had pocket tens. A K and Q came up on the flop. And for the next hand I win again. Now in 2nd place with 6000 chips! But its all going off. Now all three of us are on 5000 chips. Its getting frantic - and I dont want third place again.

And then finally it all goes well. I get up to 10000 chips by being a bit of a bully and then its easy to take the others out. I’m the winner!!!!! At last The bank is now at $29

Check out the Astronomy Picture of the Day from Nasa.

Down to my last $5. So playing a $5 STT. $25 for the winner. Maybe I can make some money out of this.

Nothing for the first 8 hands then I get two pair and win a big pot. Going well. Then I lose 700 with pocket Q’s, the other guy gets a flush draw. It could have been worse.

Gah, a straight on the river beat my two pair. Down to 900 chips which is the lowest on the table.

Now down to 450, I have eight deals left where I’m gonna have to go all in on one of them. After 6 deals I’ve had no cards. Now got a Q and J I have to go all in. And I win! Back to 900!! The blinds are going up though so I’m pretyy much back to the same position, where I need to go all in again soon.

I go all in with A4, my opponent has A3. An A and 4 turn up on the flop and I’m up to 1300! But still under pressure. A small win takes me up to 1600 with 6 players left. Still not good, blinds now 400.

All in with AQ and I win with three As. Up to 2000 and not last anymore!! I win again and I’m on 3000. Now on 3500, its going well. Need to keep my head. Its fast and frantic.

Excellent, I’m in the last three!! The blinds are 1000 now which makes going from chip leader to last place take about 20 seconds and vice versa. But then I’m out Oh well, I won $10 which puts me back in the overall game. Seems I have much more luck on these $5 tables so I’ll stick to them for now. My bank is at $10.

Oh, and anyone interested in playing some poker online should eMail me. Me and you will get commission if I sign you up. ($25 for you!)

Rubber Johnny directed by Chris Cunningham. Probably not safe for work. Very disturbing

I was unlucky during the last daytime game. I got a bunch of Swedes and an unlucky hand. Maybe it’ll be second time lucky. So I’m gonna play a $10 STT again. And great, the table I’m on is predominantly British.

Five hands in and I win 400 chips. It could have gone anyway so there’s a bit of luck on my side. Current chip leader!! But some real aggressive raises going on. I’ve got to careful. Its a marathon not a sprint.

Great, I’m on 4000 chips as two others go all in and I end up with three of a kind (3s).

Just had JQ of clubs but was asked to go all in. Good job I didn’t as the winner had three Jacks. Playing good at the moment. The aggressive raisers are being knocked out - my cautious strategy seems to be working. Still chip leader - seven players left.

Gah! I’m out. My two pair K5 didn’t beat three fives. I was sure he was bluffing. That one was my fault.

Its about time the fish fought back. Contains actual video. * Sorry, looks like the video is down at the moment.

Sideways: Great movie. The two diametrically opposed characters are what make this work, as not much actually happens storywise. I kind of saw the main protagonists as the two sides to my personality, the devil and angel on my shoulders - even though thats one grumpy angel.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: I gave this a chance but as with Wes Anderson’s other movies, such as The Royal Tenenbaums, it left me cold. Its an interesting movie but its as if the movie tries too hard to be good, and fails.

National Treasure: It was raining, I just wanted a popcorn flick, so I rented this. As these kind of movies go I really enjoyed it. Cage fulfills the modern Indiana Jones role well and the pacing is excellent. A good action adventure.

I ‘Heart’ Huckerbees: Now this is more like it. I may of called this the best movie of 2004 if I’d seen it then. This film manages to do so much in such a short space of time. All the main players get slowly deconstructed by existential detectives (Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin) in completely outrageous manners, yet its not a heavy movie at all. I just thought there were so many well acted, funny scenes which actually manage to knit together producing one of the best comedies I’d seen in a long time. And you get a lot to take away with too. Superb.

Lost $3

I saw this at B3ta.com

Here’s the link to that graphic’s thread.

Okay, change of tactic. I’m now gonna play a Multi Table Tournament (MTT). This is where instead of just the one table there are loads of them. Its only a $3 entry but you can win an awful lot if you end up in the last 5. This is also a Turbo Tournament which means that you only have 10 seconds to make your mind up; call, raise or fold, usually you have 30 seconds.

I’ve played a few MTTs and done okay but I’ve never been in the last 10, although I’ve managed to double my money some times. These games can go on for about three hours and you get a little rest break after each hour.

The number of players for this tournament are 441. And the best 40 get paid so thats less than a 1/10 chance of making some money. 40th place gets you $7, 5th place gets you $90 and 1st place wins you $380. But you have to keep reminding yourself its only a $3 stake. And playing aggressively is the key here.

Good start. 4 hands in and I take someone out with two pair Q and Ks. They went all in to scare me off but I had the goods. I’ve now doubled my chips. Stats say I’m in 50th place out of 350 players.

I take another player out with a running flush, my first ever. I’m now past 4000 chips and in 30th place out of 250. People are going “all in” all the time. Its mayhem.

I’m lucky again and my chips go up to 6000. Was offered all in on my three of a kind but pulled out. Lucky as the guy had a straight. Another close shave. He could have been bluffing. And now a guy has been moved to our tabel with 20,000 chips! I hate that.

Had two pairs of fours in a row and lost both times. Now down to 2100 chips. Need to make someone pay now. This is where you have to be a bit reckless. It’s now 900 to see the flop so I’m all in soon.

Gah, I’m out in 117th place. I had KQ diamonds and went all in. Someone had an ace and it came up on the flop so he won with the top pair. Its a mugs game! My pot is now $32