Come On You Foxes!

Well I am trying to keep up my promise of writing more than I have of late, although there isn't much I can tell you of interest, it still feels like I am only playing with 2 cards against the 7 of my opponents! 

I went to the local casino in Leicester on Friday, mainly for a few beers and a bit of fun more than anything. I played the £25 tournament and had a yo-yo stack throughout before finishing in 12th place with 8 paid (although they did a deal to pay 10 places in the end!). I played well and was picking up chips but every time I got into a big crucial pot I lost and found myself short again.

Anyway after I bust I went to play some £1/£1 cash as the standard is normally bad although it is very high variance due to the players there. I sat down with 120bb and didn't get involved in any big pots for nearly 2 hours. I did however share the same table as Anthony Knockeart, who is a French footballer currently playing for Leicester City. Last season he scored an injury time winner for us against Nottingham Forest to get us into the play-offs at the very last second. However in the play-offs he missed a last minute penalty that resulted in us missing out on the play-off final. He is very highly thought of at Leicester and things are going a lot better this year for The Foxes!

Knockeart celebrating after scoring late winner versus Forest!

When I first sat down I thought it was him but was unsure as I expected him to be in France as Leicester didn't have a match last weekend and I know he often goes home to see his family. It wasn't too long though before he started talking to his friend in French who called him Anthony and confirmed who he was. We didn't really talk much (I don't like to bother celebrities when they are not in their work environment) although he did ask me what time the Arsenal v Everton game was at as he was going to watch it (this was about 2am when he asked, the game kicked off at 12:45 the next day).

The table was a typical live casino table where there would often be several limpers in a pot preflop, and occasionally one of the two French players would open to 17x or even more!  So 2 hours in and I had a tight image mainly as there was little value in trying to bluff anyone as they rarely folded, in fact I was yet to win a pot. I pick up A6o on the cut-off and with 4 or 5 limpers in front I chuck a £1 chip in, the button and blinds all call. The flop is K64r and it checks to me so I bet and the button raises, it folds back to me and I decide to call as I have seen the button get overly aggro and bluffy. The turn bring a T and I check, he bets fairly big (about 75% of the pot) and I call. The river is a nasty looking Q so I again check. He fires a big bet and I decide to call as I have seen him bet big as a bluff and smaller when he has a hand. I win the pot and it remained the only big pot I got involved in until a couple of hands before I was going to leave (about 5am) when I get A4s in MP, there are a couple of callers so I decide to call (it is always a mistake to raise these type of hands in these games IMO). The flop is a good looking AT4, it checks to me, I bet and get one caller. The turn brings the Ks so I now have the nut flush draw as well, my opponent check calls my bet and the river brings another Ace. He checks and I bet fairly big (thinking he likely has the other Ace and will pay me off). He calls and I table A4 for a full house, he waits for about  5 to 10 seconds then turns his hand over to also show A4. Needless to say I wasn't entirely happy about it but I ended the session with profit even after deducting the tournament buyin. This was despite not having any premium hands (my best pair was 33 in over 4 hours and I had AQo once) on a loose calling station table with a chunky rake.

I have a few live tournaments lined up in the next month or so, this weekend I am heading off to Sheffield to play a side event at the Genting Poker Series (sadly work commitments mean I can't get the Friday off to play the main GPS event). On the last weekend in March I will be playing the PKR Live Mix Max at Aspers in London, I am hoping to do better than I have done at previous PKR Lives but given my recent form I am not banking on it. On the weekend 11th - 13th April there is a Grosvenor 25/25 event at Leicester which I intend to play (given it is in my hometown it would be rude not too!). Then on 13th - 15th June there is a PKR meetup in Southend on Sea, which is always a lot of fun. If you haven't been to a PKR meet before and are considering it then I highly recommend you do. After that I may head off to Vegas, although this isn't certain yet. With any luck I will be able to add to my live record in one or more of these events, but more important is that I can play well!

Crazy Golf and drinking are on the agenda again for Southend on Sea!

Lastly it looks like Leicester City are destined for a return to the Premier League next season, they have a good lead over 3rd place, hopefully March and April will be a good time for foxes all round! Maybe the next time I write a blog it will be about a good live score and The Foxes having confirmed promotion :)