Bad beat/Moan/Venting Thread - BBV Archive 1

[max_power]

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 5.5 Tournament, 500/1000 Blinds (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP2 (t3790)
CO (t37628)
Button (t50583)
SB (t8399)
Hero (BB) (t33487)
UTG (t31310)
UTG+1 (t36225)
MP1 (t28382)

Hero's M: 22.32

Preflop: Hero is BB with J, J
5 folds, Button bets t2200, 1 fold, Hero raises to t6999, Button raises to t50483 (All-In), Hero calls t26388 (All-In)

Flop: (t67274) 7, 10, 6 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: (t67274) 2 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t67274) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t67274

Results:
Button had 2, 2 (three of a kind, twos).
Hero had J, J (one pair, Jacks).
Outcome: Button won t68074

For fucks sake uggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[LuckyLloyd]

http://tomkinstimes.com/2011/01/hodg...e-but-himself/

In any season, some ‘winnable’ games will not be won. You can’t win ‘em all. Sometimes, **** happens. C’est la vie, as Robbie Nevil put it. But having dropped points at home to Blackpool and Sunderland, and away at Everton, Wigan and Stoke, the fixtures against Newcastle, Wolves, Bolton and Blackburn were supposed to be where the balance was redressed. “We’ve played the hard teams” was the (semi-valid) excuse at the start of the season, even though performances were often well below acceptable standard, with timid tactics and aimless hoofing.

While not perfect, the Liverpool squad – and especially its strongest XI – should be good enough to do much better than the uninspiring, turgid dross that’s being served up. It’s so bad that there were 10,000 empty seats at Anfield for the traditionally well-attended New Year’s Day fixture – it was the worst weekend attendance at Anfield since 1997, when the Anfield Road end was being redeveloped. And now, for the first time in Premier League history, the Reds’ superb traveling support did not take up the full allocation for Ewood Park; one-third went unsold (even after that win against Bolton). People are voting with their feet.

Within three games of last season, just months after Liverpool’s best league campaign for two decades, the knives were out for Benítez. In the end, he was replaced, after the team finished 7th. Of course, there was more to it than that, but in almost all of the media post-mortems, the league position was deemed unacceptable for the squad at the manager’s disposal, and his time had been called in the press and on TV since the autumn of 2009. The same people telling us this were largely those who believed Roy Hodgson was the answer. Well, some of us didn’t believe it then, and certainly don’t now.

Benítez’s football was ‘boring’; yet the side never scored so few goals as they are doing under Roy. He ‘rotated too much’; yet Roy left out Agger and Aurelio away at Blackburn (as well as Kuyt), in order to bring his favourites into the back four: far less-cultured defenders. Kyrgiakos was bought to be the 4th-choice back-up, not to play ahead of Agger, while Konchesky can neither defend nor attack with any real conviction.

And as a result, both Wolves and Blackburn have claimed they set out to stop Liverpool passing from the back. Why? Perhaps because Hodgson picked only one technically gifted defender. Perhaps Agger was tired after the Bolton game, but as he was fit days earlier, he could have played against Wolves and Blackburn and maybe sat out the one in between. Instead, he played just once, with Hodgson insisting he ‘rested’ the big Greek. To make matters worse, Hodgson says the team was too ‘offensive’ in its approach at Ewood Park.

Konchesky, of course, is simply not Liverpool class. As Hodsgon brought him with him from Fulham, he probably gets more criticism than he deserves – blame, by proxy – but he does symbolise all that’s wrong about the new manager’s methods – it’s just so glaringly mid-table. The fact that he thought Konchesky would be good enough, and that he cost around £5m (which, at 29, makes it even more expensive, relatively speaking), says a lot.

At Blackburn, Fulham and Liverpool, Hodgson’s league win-percentage hovers around (or below) the 35% mark; it seems that you’ll get the same results with the 2nd-most expensive squad in the country (Blackburn, 1998/99), the 5th most-expensive squad (Liverpool, now) or the bargain basement buckaroos at Fulham. Is it really all a coincidence? Is it really a coincidence that he won only one away game with Fulham last season, the same amount he’s won at Liverpool? With the Reds averaging fractionally over a single goal a game, is it a coincidence that Fulham only scored 39 goals in each of his full seasons there, a low total even for a mid-table team?

Hodgson claims he wants to build the team in his image, but the players he has brought in, and those from the squad he favours, go together with his game plan to produce the dullest brand of football possible. His one good signing, Meireles, has been inexplicably stranded on the right wing in several games where points were dropped. And he (along with Christian Purslow) let go Aquilani and Insua, two of the Reds’ top assist-makers in the league last season, and players younger than any of Hodgson’s own purchases. Cole, who was supposed to replace the clever Benayoun, has had very little impact.

A team in Roy’s image, you ask? Well, he took a large chunk of Kenny Dalglish’s title-winning Blackburn side, and managed just nine points from the first 14 games of the season they got relegated. Remember, Blackburn’s relegated side was by then very much ‘Hodgson’s team’.

Despite it being ‘his’ team – and not only that, he had set the tone with the first third of the season – somehow Brian Kidd gets the blame, even though he won 26 points from his 24 games that followed. So, Hodgson escapes the blame retrospectively there, even though he was in charge for the most important part of the season (the start; it’s not like he left the summer before). On Match of the Day last night, the commentator said that “Hodgson led Blackburn to 6th in his one full season”, with no mention of his role in the relegation.

Now at Liverpool, despite making several signings and releasing several others, it’s all Rafa’s fault? Who is making the team defend so deep and kick so long? Whose job is it to organise and inspire internationals from Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Holland, England and other established footballing nations? As I’ve said before, Benítez got his share of the stick last season; he was sacked for doing far better than this, at a time when the divisive ownership issue was still a cloud over all our heads. Hodgson hasn’t even got that excuse anymore.

Rafa didn’t bequeath a top three side, partly because Gillett and Hicks turned us into a selling club. But even with Hodgson yet to spend fortunes, there’s enough top-class talent to do better than 12th in the table in January. A large portion of this squad finished as runners-up 18 months ago.

I actually thought Liverpool were fairly impressive against Bolton, even though their opponents were always in the game, and had chances to add to their goal. But to hear Roy Hodgson speak, you’d think the slip-ups versus Wolves and Newcastle were the exceptions, and us fans were being fickle. Well, with just seven of 20 games won, unfortunately it is victories that are the clear exception.

“If fans are going to expect to [beat the bottom-of the league team] that’s very dangerous. If they’re going to do that they’re going to be in for a lot of disappointments,” said Hodgson to reporters after the defeat against Wolves. “I don’t think one should be so disrespectful to [Wolves], to say it’s unacceptable to lose to another team in the same league.”

This is ‘respect’ gone mad. Liverpool never lost to such teams at home in the previous six seasons. Wolves had the worst away record in the country, and one of the worst records at Anfield of any visiting team. And yet, in Roy’s world, “if we’d beaten Wolves, you [the press] would be asking me about the Champions League”.

Yes, he did indeed say that.

A few days later: “If Steven Gerrard had scored that penalty [against Blackburn] we might have salvaged it.”

Now, ifs, buts and maybes are something we all call upon from time to time. But in Hodgson’s example, the first ‘if’ needs to be ‘if we had not been completely abject’ in the first place. I’ll allow an ‘if’ to people who are unfortunate.

‘If’ Liverpool hadn’t lost nine league games, and won only seven, things might be better. But they’re not. The Reds currently sit 11 points adrift of the top four, 10 adrift of the top five, and 20 adrift of first place; by contrast, West Ham, at the bottom, are only five points behind.

I keep hearing about ‘deadwood’ in the squad – apparently (as I can’t bear to watch it any more) that was the excuse made for him on The Sunday Supplement at the weekend – but it was very much Rafa’s team that beat Bolton, with the best football played when ten of his signings (plus Gerrard) were on the pitch. (In fairness, Hodgson re-signed Aurelio.)

With Konchesky and Poulsen bombed out, Cole on the bench and Hodson’s one good signing, Meireles, limping off, it was a chance to see what the ‘deadwood’ could do. (I guess the supposed deadwood includes Maxi, who was inexplicably dropped vs Wolves, in a tactical own goal: defensive midfieder played on the wing in his stead…)

But at Blackburn, it was back to route one. The back four was back to its most basic, brutal form. If you don’t put passing players into the team, you will concede too much possession.

To hear Roy speak after the Bolton win, you’d think all the ills of the world had been remedied. But it was still a case of falling six further points behind Spurs over the festive period. The gap to 4th was five points, but it quickly became eleven.

After 10 games, I awarded our season’s performance three out of 10, in keeping with the number of league victories. After 20 games, there’s a slight improvement (seven wins), although as these were easier fixtures on average, you could be even harsher. However you look at it, it’s still, on average, a case of winning one out of every three league games. At best under Rafa (two seasons) we won two out of every three; at worst (last season) we won 1.5 out of every three.

Most Liverpool fans knew Hodgson was wrong to start with. While he didn’t get an especially warm welcome, he was afforded enough grace to impress the Kop before its fears were confirmed. It’s easy to say that we’re ‘turning’ on him, but he was an appointment driven by the media, many of whom were London-based and therefore not necessarily trusted around Anfield.

Elsewhere, Martin O’Neill isn’t being blamed for Gérard Houllier’s struggles, despite a similar fall, and similarly dull football. No-one was blaming Hodgson when Fulham was in the relegation zone. And as I noted earlier, Hodgson escapes blame for a relegation that was not only his team, but he was behind the failure to win more than two of the first 14 games. He dug the enormous hole, not Kidd.

And when Benítez inherited a squad and a team that in my opinion was worse than the one he left behind (the Reds won fewer league points in Houllier’s final season than Rafa’s), he reached two cup finals, one of which – the Champions League – was won. And this was from a manager who obviously didn’t ‘know the league’ like Hodgson did; after all, Bolton weren’t going to surprise Roy. He’d spent the last three years working in the Premier League.

Six years ago this month, there was a ‘crisis’ at Liverpool. The Reds were 5th in the league (more-or-less where Houllier left them: 5th in 2003, 4th in 2004), 1-0 up in the semi-final of the League Cup (2nd leg to come) and in the knockout stages of the Champions League. But they lost away at Burnley in the FA Cup. Benítez was castigated for not understanding English football.

When Benítez finished 2nd in 2009, the line was that the league title was ‘blown’ – even though, based on the cost of the side, the Reds had massively overachieved. Rafa was ‘negative’, he ‘drew too many games’ – despite winning 25 and losing only two that season.

This isn’t about Benítez, but comparing the way that ‘good seasonal performance’ in recent times were slated, and ‘bad seasonal performance’ now is being excused. What’s the benchmark? What’s acceptable for Liverpool FC right now?

Last season, 7th was seen as a ‘disaster’ for the club (and I acknowledged that it wasn’t good enough), whereas now, 12th is somehow the fault of the previous manager and the squad he left. Top international players like Reina, Torres, Gerrard, Carragher, Kuyt, Johnson, Maxi, Aquilani, Skrtel, Agger, Mascherano …

But it’s not just the league position. It’s the agricultural football. It’s the defeatist utterings. It’s the criticisms aimed at the fans. It’s the kowtowing to his mates in the LMA. It’s the constant self-protection and self-aggrandisement that saw him lie about the relationship between Benítez and Dalglish, not to mention the way Kenny was dismissed as a candidate for the job in the summer.

Though we’ve seen little of it, deep at heart Hodgson may well be a decent man. And at the right club, he’s more than a decent manager. But at the wrong club – where victories are expected more often than once in every three games – he can be dreadful.

As ever, I will be discussing the article with Subscribers of The Tomkins Times in the comments section.

Good summation of the whole situation, and really the right question to ask re the media coverage of the whole sorry debacle.

[The Situation]

Back in the days when Football Italia with James Richardson was essential viewing.

Yeah 10 o' clock every Saturday morning after inspector gadget, back in the days were you could wake up early at the weekend without hangovers.

[tylerdurden94]

Not played live in ages, will try make a few apperances soon, love the wednesday game. Usually play when im tilting from online but things online been going ok so no need. Its when ur feeling really poor at poker a trip to the Jackpot will put things into perspective.

Yeah its certainly a nice little game but it was very cold in there last night as the heating was busto.

Keep up the good run online so

Fuck you man. I explained the moral fart dilemma to Danny and we agreed I took the right course of action.

Dunno how we swindled that deal either. Worked out really well from our point of view as the 2 short stacks.

Yeah was pretty cool was a little surprised that the dude who had been getting hit with the deck and pretty much chipleader for the whole thing to offer it and the other chip leader to agree to it, I was gladly taken close to 2nd place money.

Sorry I didnt say good night when leaving need to go and grab some grub was really hungry.

[Denny Crane]

http://tomkinstimes.com/2011/01/hodg...e-but-himself/



Good summation of the whole situation, and really the right question to ask re the media coverage of the whole sorry debacle.

I have to wonder why you expend so much time on something that just makes you angry!

[AndyFatBastard]

Results:
Button had 2, 2 (three of a kind, twos).
Hero had J, J (one pair, Jacks).
Outcome: Button won t68074

For fucks sake uggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Gruesome stuff.

[Kayroo]

Yeah was pretty cool was a little surprised that the dude who had been getting hit with the deck and pretty much chipleader for the whole thing to offer it and the other chip leader to agree to it, I was gladly taken close to 2nd place money.

Sorry I didnt say good night when leaving need to go and grab some grub was really hungry.

Do you chop that yoke 4 ways every week??

I only chop 4 ways when I am the shortstack and the deal is LOLbad for the chipleaders.

Have to say I was amazed they both took the deal eagerly.

That guy on my right though Danny, some of the nonsense he was talking during the night was just unreal. Funny stuff though.

[DeadParrot]

Today is Christmas day in Russia.

orthodox xmas day.
I've a few mates in Poland having a big 12 course feast today

[Zuroph]

RE: Car Park, crowne plaza northwood are usually quite cheap and have a good shuttle service.

[Denny Crane]

just figured out how to hide people joining groups/likes on fb. probably the most productive thing i've done so far today.

[RasTa]

RE: Car Park, crowne plaza northwood are usually quite cheap and have a good shuttle service.

Cheers, remembered I'll be drinking and back the same night so will get ze bus

[Flushdraw]

RE: Car Park, crowne plaza northwood are usually quite cheap and have a good shuttle service.

You mean that you don't see the likes of Mick Smith likes 'Being on your own so you can fart and nobody hears'

Please do tell

[The Situation]

Tentative bit of word for Cheney manor3.10 Huntingdon

You'd have to worry about the young lad riding him, he's never won a race jumping, surely Nicky would book someone more experienced if he had high hopes for it?

[CHDad]

just figured out how to hide people joining groups/likes on fb. probably the most productive thing i've done so far today.

Share plz.

[Denny Crane]

You mean that you don't see the likes of Mick Smith likes 'Being on your own so you can fart and nobody hears'

Please do tell

took me a while to work out what that post was about! I presume you're talking to me though.

http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/8861

[CHDad]

So our reserves just spanked Spurs reserves 7-3. Sturridge getting 5 and Kakuta playing well and scoring 1. How the fuck does Anelka get a game. ffs.

[Flushdraw]

took me a while to work out what that post was about! I presume you're talking to me though.


http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/8861

LOL yeah i was giving an example of the sh1t that shows up on your page and was asking if this is the stuff you can block! e.g

[Trippie]

for anyone of the gambling kind. Id take the 3-1 for cagliari at half time to beat milan. Milan have been awful and have no creativity whatsoever and cagliari have already hit the post and should of had a penalty.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

...

[Downtown]

http://www.boylepokerblog.com/latest-blog/boarding-flight.php

Bita Bloggage for anyone interested.

[Guest]

Having all manner of hassle with a reviewer for a paper I submitted. I'm so tempted to sent him a picture of the David Thorne spider as my final revision and go to a different journal with it.

[Keane]

less than 24 hours to go my man

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-BYzaDwNoE[/ame]

[Tek]

Share plz.

If you're using Firefox or Chrome FBPurity is the business.

http://www.fbpurity.com/

[Raoul Duke III]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-BYzaDwNoE

more like this imo

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVUCiWDLavY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVUCiWDLavY[/ame]

shame we didn't double up on our top runscorer bet. Bell actually had a good series but I was hoping for him to be moved up to No 4 to have a real chance. Never going to be top scorer from 6 (even with the poor form of Collingwood). Cook was unreal in fairness to him.

[Emmet]

I'm only up 4 hours and I feel like a nap is necessary.

My bodyclock better realise I've lectures 9-6 Mon and Tues and react accordingly.

[Raoul Duke III]

the future of social welfare?

I like nearly everything about this concept

[Keane]

shame we didn't double up on our top runscorer bet. Bell actually had a good series but I was hoping for him to be moved up to No 4 to have a real chance. Never going to be top scorer from 6 (even with the poor form of Collingwood). Cook was unreal in fairness to him.

All Greek to me bar the "Bell didn't win" bit

[Dice75]

http://www.boylepokerblog.com/latest...ing-flight.php


Bita Bloggage for anyone interested.

Kinda sums up 95% of players in Ireland i'd say - myself included.
Suppose it depends if its a hobby or a job.

[Denny Crane]

the future of social welfare?

I like nearly everything about this concept

I thought you were against giving it in cash form though?

[DeadParrot]

http://www.boylepokerblog.com/latest...ing-flight.php


Bita Bloggage for anyone interested.

great post.

[Raoul Duke III]

All Greek to me bar the "Bell didn't win" bit

so basically you know nothing about cricket and just put down the dough based on my ruminations here?

interesting, never knew I had so much power

I'll get back to you with our next coup. It will be a political bet.

[V for Vendetta]

Fuck you VHI, Fuck you very much.

You know you can switch insurer at any time right? And get a rebate of a portion of your annual premium already paid.

I switched to a Quinn corporate plan equivalent to plan B options with excess for the two of us. Came in around 1350 if memory serves. A few quick phonecalls is all it takes really.

[Raoul Duke III]

I thought you were against giving it in cash form though?

I am but unfortunately no-one agrees with me

so this is the next best option

[Emmet]

the future of social welfare?

I like nearly everything about this concept

Interesting idea alright, implementation is pretty excellent there too.

I'm at a loss as to its transferability to Ireland though? Surely we are "too developed" already for something like this to work? Unless it was viewed as an ancillary scheme to be used alongside current methods?

What kind of conditions would be suitable? Its a pretty cool ideal though, socialism and capitalism mixed very well. Mutually beneficial agreements ftw!

[Raoul Duke III]

Surely we are "too developed" already for something like this to work?

good one

we're a third world country in disguise

[Emmet]

good one

we're a third world country in disguise

A third world country wearing Brown Thomas suits and drinking Lattes.

@Happy Dude, this your work?

http://www.gumtree.ie/dublin/39/71164239.html

Or is this the same guy that tipp86's girlfriend had issues with?

[robinblinds]

You were right first time. Zamorano was a genius for Madrid in the early nighties and he scored a huge % of his goals with his head. Salas was more of an on the ground man

Non.

Salas was a beast for a lad only 5ft6".

Absolute savage in the air

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmYtNJLr3GQ[/ame]

[robinblinds]

His goal against England at Wembley is an all time great

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc8WkvlHxbk[/ame]

[Keane]

Interesting idea alright, implementation is pretty excellent there too.

I'm at a loss as to its transferability to Ireland though? Surely we are "too developed" already for something like this to work? Unless it was viewed as an ancillary scheme to be used alongside current methods?

What kind of conditions would be suitable? Its a pretty cool ideal though, socialism and capitalism mixed very well. Mutually beneficial agreements ftw!

It would be very applicable to some of the worst areas in Limerick and Dublin particularly I would have thought.

[Emmet]

It would be very applicable to some of the worst areas in Limerick and Dublin particularly I would have thought.

Yeah definitely true, fwiw, I'd love a system like this where they could possibly tailor conditions to situations better. As opposed to having "catch-all" conditions.

Pretty impossible to implement though.

I guess I'm dreaming too big.

[Keane]

so basically you know nothing about cricket and just put down the dough based on my ruminations here?

interesting, never knew I had so much power

Yeah just totally copied you - hope you don't mind

The idea was basically that I knew people would be talking about it in here and thought throwing a few roubles on it would make me interested enough to watch it.

Little did I know the fucking thing went on for six weeks and that all the matches were on in the middle of the night

I'll get back to you with our next coup. It will be a political bet.

Don't trick me ok!

[The Situation]

lovely move from Milan, big impact from Cassano. Pretty undeserved in truth.

[Denny Crane]

I'll get back to you with our next coup. It will be a political bet.

details plz!

Yeah definitely true, fwiw, I'd love a system like this where they could possibly tailor conditions to situations better. As opposed to having "catch-all" conditions.

Pretty impossible to implement though.

I guess I'm dreaming too big.

Do you think so? the school one would be reasonably easy to do (in theory maybe not with our civil service). Schools all take attendance, and keep a database. Add in a bonus for something like getting x points in your leaving cert.

[CHDad]

Threw a small bet on Milan to win 10 mins ago. The team in white score and it tilts me, then they say Milan 1-0 up. Turns out they are in their away strip and I need glasses.

Hold now plz.

Obv late equaliser on the way.

[Bubbleking]

Theres 2 ways that should be used to judge a persons character

1. how they take their steak

2. if they get priority boarding, stand like a plonker in the que or sit and wait to be the last one on

[Emmet]

Do you think so? the school one would be reasonably easy to do (in theory maybe not with our civil service). Schools all take attendance, and keep a database. Add in a bonus for something like getting x points in your leaving cert.

Maybe didn't explain my thinking properly, I meant that individual families would have different conditions, different areas/different rules etc, and that this would be impossible to implement, not that the scheme posted would be.

The basics are very very easy to do alright.

Sure we have attendance taken in college and if we miss too many classes they cancel the student visas!

(Non EU students)

[Raoul Duke III]

Theres 2 ways that should be used to judge a persons character

1. how they take their steak

2. if they get priority boarding, stand like a plonker in the que or sit and wait to be the last one on

3. if they watch any form of reality TV

[ghostface]

Theres 2 ways that should be used to judge a persons character

1. how they take their steak

2. if they get priority boarding, stand like a plonker in the que or sit and wait to be the last one on

Jesus people queing to get on airplanes tilts teh fuck out of me!!

[Emmet]

3. if they watch any form of reality TV

With the exception of Jersey Shore

which teaches us exactly how to treat women

[Denny Crane]

Theres 2 ways that should be used to judge a persons character

1. how they take their steak

2. if they get priority boarding, stand like a plonker in the que or sit and wait to be the last one on

I remember coming back from Germany the plane was delayed for 30mins. I sat perplexed watching so many people queue. After that they had to wait on the plane until I got on. Sat up the front, guy sat beside me until the plane started to move then he switched to the outside seat. we just nodded to each other. Then at the end of it all we got off first. Bizarre.

[Raoul Duke III]

how to treat women

let me know the answer to that one some day

[Emmet]

I remember coming back from Germany the plane was delayed for 30mins. I sat perplexed watching so many people queue. Then they had to wait on the plane until I got on. Sat up the front, guy sat beside me, until the plane started to move, he switched to the outside seat and we just nodded to each other. And then at the end of it all we got off first. Bizarre.

He was "The One" imo.

That was your shot

[Trippie]

no cheating but guess on this guys age?

[RichieM]

Theres 2 ways that should be used to judge a persons character

1. how they take their steak

2. if they get priority boarding, stand like a plonker in the que or sit and wait to be the last one on

Intrested in the second part of this as a sit around waiting person. Obviously anyone who doesn't eat steaks rare is an animal and so cant have a "persons character"

[Bubbleking]

Would someone mind posting rorys blog entry please i cant access it from my phone

[pgodkin]

3. if they watch any form of reality TV

4. If they need facebook to constanlty update there status! or indeed use facebook more that 4 times a day, seriously people everyone doesnt need to know if you seen a lovely little cat! man up and to the women, Les up and ref to the manning up bit!

[Denny Crane]

He was "The One" imo.

That was your shot

I'll meet him again don't worry, sitting in the departures lounge most likely.

[CHDad]

Would someone mind posting rorys blog entry please i cant access it from my phone

Since I started playing poker seriously in 2008, I have struggled with the word "grinding". I'm a spin merchant, taking shots wherever they present themselves. 2010 saw a change in my ideology as a poker player.

This change didn't happen until May but I believe it is a major milestone in my development as a poker player.

2010 started in the same unprofessional manner that was consistent with the previous two years. I played live cash, won buy-ins into the bigger live MTTS and took a shot. I would bust the tournament, be close to broke and play some more live, cash and rinse/repeat.

I came close to some decent scores. I was unlucky in a side event in JP's Masters where I bust just before the final table, losing a big flip.

Losing big flips at the crucial time is another theme throughout 2010. I played the European Deepstack and hung in well, building a stack before losing a flip for a healthy stack late on day 1.

It was around May that John O'Shea pulled me up yet again on my work ethic. Over the last two years John has become a close friend but that doesn't make me immune to his lashings.

He said that I was going around in circles and never going to get anywhere in this game, destined to a wormy existence of spinning up some sort of roll and then busting it taking shots.

John asked if I was going to be coming to Vegas for the WSOP to which I replied "I'll know the day before". My reply was my wake-up call that John was indeed right and I needed to get serious if I wanted to continue playing.

I am in college and poker has been my only source of income for the last two years. I have always judged my success on whether I can pay my rent and keep my fridge full of beers. I have been able to achieve that with relative ease but I've never been able to build on any success.

John said he would stake me for Vegas. I was delighted and jumped at the chance. However, he wanted to stake me online at micro and small levels for a month before Vegas.

It was a strange challenge because I was rolled to play the games I was now being staked into. I felt like I had something to prove and I really did know my heart was in it. I started off grinding tenner re-buys and freezeouts on iPoker.

After a week I had nearly bust the initial €500. I decided to look around and game select a bit better. Like anyone lucky enough to be friends with Doke online, I saw day after day how well he was doing.

I noticed that the games Doke was doing well in weren't massive buy-ins or massive fields and were on different sites. I thought I would try a similar schedule and moved the remaining $300 over to a soft site.

This proved a genius stroke and I was soon starting to be a decent winner. For awhile there it seemed like I had a FT at least once a day. The lads were already in Vegas and gave me great support railing most FT's.

I got the account up to $3k by the time I was due to fly out to Vegas. I felt good about the grinding and it really changed my mind on how to get by at this game.

That challenge that John put up to me was the most significant moment in my poker career for sure.

Vegas was just awesome. It was a lot different from 2008 when myself and Donal Norton rolled in wide-eyed and flush, a recipe for disaster which duly ensued.

I feel privileged to have stayed in our house. My housemates were eleven of the best poker players in Ireland and there was no doubting some were among the best in the world.

I put my head down and worked hard. I didn't go out for the first week I was there. Vegas was a struggle, I didn't make a day 2 in ten tournaments. I gained a lot in terms of learning about the game. Finally in the last week my online run continued to go well and I when I left Vegas that account was over $8k.

I came home and took some time off; I went on holidays with my girlfriend and then started a new post-grad in September. I played the UKIPT Dublin leg and although I busted out early days I was delighted to see Tom Kitt come 3rd.

Tom is a classy player and great friend, it was only a matter of time before he had a major result. His 3rd place confirmed to everyone what I had known for a long time. I had 20% and that would prove to be my biggest cash in 2010! I came close in the side event there, again losing a big flip just after the bubble.

All in all, 2010 was another winning year. I won in live cash, I won in online MTTS. I lost big in live MTTS and won small in online cash and managed to come 2nd in a World Championship (Blinds Man Bluff).

However, I still haven't managed to build on my bankroll. 2011 will see me continue the online grind. I will try and sort out my "life leaks" which are now stopping me from building on my bankroll and hopefully have better luck in live MTT's.

2011 has gotten off to a good start already; I took down the Sports Monthly game the other day and was very happy with how I played.

It's easy to believe your own hype in the Irish poker scene. Easy to get sucked in to thinking you are a great player and you feel like you have to play every big buy-in event to cement your status. I was sucked into that thought process for a long time, but now I see that only one thing matters and that's the bottom line.

Good Luck to all in 2011

Opr

[Raoul Duke III]

Would someone mind posting rorys blog entry please i cant access it from my phone

"I suck at poker and am a busto rentboy. My nickname-choosing skillz could also use work"

[pgodkin]

Intrested in the second part of this as a sit around waiting person. Obviously anyone who doesn't eat steaks rare is an animal and so cant have a "persons character"

lol cook the f'ing through that was fire was invented!