Im not neglecting you all!

I know I have not been available to post any stories of my escapades at the poker tables of late, this is due to me be a good for nothing ragged bag of shite, a position useally held by thedefman (www.butitwassuited.blogspot.com).

Apart from taking all the drugs I can get my hands on (for my back) I have found it very difficult to focus an many things as I have become the lucky owner of an XBOX360.

I am a gamer, I have been for many years, since I was 12 (20+ years) and as long as I can remember I have played computer games. Elite, rainbow island, commando, goal, kick off, fifa etc, now its poker.

With the introduction of the 360 (hereafter known as my baby) I have another meaning in my life, I sit mentally playing Project Gotham 3, one of the most detailed racing games I have ever played. Call of duty 2 which just blows me away and Quake 4 which, to be honest, is not my cup of tea, Im going to trade it in at the weekend, probably for fight night 3!

Anyway, my baby has the abilty to link up with an XP or media centre PC for file sharing, but can I get it working? No, of course I cant, that would be to perfect! I spoke to XBOX techie support, who were great, apart from having to call 3 times to get to the same point each time untuil John. John helped a lot, although it did not improve the situation. John suggested I call Microsoft techie support as I might have an issue with windows. He gave me a reference number to pass onto them sop I wouldnt have to go through all the same run around again.

"Hello, Microsft tecghnical support. how can I help you", the voice at the end of the phone answered. The accent was not English.
"Hello, I have a problem connecting my XBOX 360 to my PC for file sharing, can you help me? I have spoken to XBOX technical support and they have given me a reference number, would you like it?" I asked
"Firstly, may I have your name?"
"Yeah, sure, its David"
"Good afternoon Mr. David, can I have the reference you were given please"
"Not a problem, 123, 456, 789"
"Im sorry Mr David, thisd number is not a valid Microsoft number, the number has to be preffixed with SRZ for it to be a valid reference number"
"Thats the only number they gave me"
"Mr David, you will need to call them back and ask for a SRZ reference number and then we can log your call and continue with your request"
"Cant you contact XBOX technical support and get the information for me?"
"Unfortunatley we do not have any outside lines, so we cannot do that for you Mr David"
"Okay, I'll call them back and get you the reference you need"
I call XBOX technical support back and speak with John again, who tells me that Microsoft Technical support has access to their databases and the number he gave me is the only reference he has to give me, there is nothing else he can do and suggests I call Microsoft technical support back and tell them to look harder, Which I do.
"Hello, Microsoft technical support, how may I help you?"
I explain everything
"This is not a valid reference, you need to contact xbox..."
"I have explained to you that I have already done this, there must be a way you can do this for me?"
"We do not have these reference numbersa, it must be a SRZ number"
"As you said before and I told you the guy at XBOX technical support said you can access his database, can you do that?"
"I will need to call my supervisor who will look into this for you, can I take your number?"
"Sure, how long will it take?"
"It should be within 24 hours"

I am still waiting, I will give them until tomorrow night and then I will call again!"

Microsoft works! My arse!

D

F*CKING YES!!

West Ham have made it the last 4 in the FA cup and what a joy it was to watch.

We sat down (Defman and I) with a huge bucket of fried chicken and chips and stuffed ourselves solid. Whilst watching this game I reflected on the last game we had playeed against city, in which we were beaten.

"This could be very painful" I said
"What, the game?" Defman asked
"No, I havent eaten this much in a long time"

I was very nervouse about the game and could not wait for the game to be over, the 1st half was a good game half and the goal at the end of the 1st half was fantastic.

After the break we played some stunning football, city had a red card, now reduced to 10 men we took control of the game and scored a 2nd goal when city decided not to put the ball out of play to allow a West Ham player the opportunity to be treated for an injury.

About 10 minutes from time Musampa scored a cracking goal for city, a volley from about 20 yards out. The last 15 minutes (inc. Injury time) were very stressful as city mounted attack after attack.

The draw for the next round of the FA cup will be on Friday, there is no one we are scared of!

BRING IT ON!

D

At last a 1st place finish!

I have been plugging away at low limit STT for a while now and had reletive success. However I have just had a period of finishing 4th (just outside the money). Earlier this week I finished 9th, 8th and 6th, ehich at £1 buy in I really should be doing better.

I entered a £3+60p table last night, the first two rounds pass without a card worth playing, a few K highs and a suited connector was about it! I started to keep track of the cards I was receiving:
2, 3o, 6,7spades K,Qo (which I doubled up with when I hit 2 pair on the flop), 2,3o, 5,8o 3,9 diamonds, AA, took a player out here, T,J everyone at the table folded to my preflop bet, A, 2 clubes again all folded to my bet.

At this point I stopped recording the hands I was having because it really didnt back up the theory that I was receiving worse cards than normal.

I ended up winning the game with 8,9 suited in the BB, my oppo saw the BB, I flopped top pair,8s, and he checked, I checked, the turn was a 9, I checked, he went all in, I saw his all in and won!

YES, finally!

D

Slow playing aces? What would you do?

"Aces are larger than life and greater than mountains" - Mike Caro

When I first stated to play poker I was introduced to slow playing, now this was explained as a way to trap people into betting against you thinking you didnt have a hand, on the whole this works.

However, when it goes wrong, it goes wrong!

This tactic is not limited to aces and can be transfered to AK, KK, QQ and a veriety of other hands.

I think the most imporatant time to do this is when you flop a set or 2 pair, you can really get a massive pay off if played this way.

I never slow play low PocketPairs such as 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, (<----I limp with those) 77, 88 anything higher can be slow played, 99, TT, JJ and I never slow play QQ, KK, AA as this often ends up with a bad beat.

My advice: Play these cards as you see fit, always try to get maximum reward with these cards, always slow playing will only work sometimes, as will raising or reraising with them. I always try to stop people getting drawing hands (flushes or straights). Would you know where you stood if the flop hit with 3 suited cards or J, Q, K ?

Try different varieties of seeing thingsw before the flop, try raising, checking, reraising (although I wouldnt reraise with 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, thats just me.

Happy trapping!

D

I should have pretended to sleep!

I woke up at 5:45 this morning, my wife was getting ready for work. I didnt need to get up as I am off work with a stomach bug (I will not go into detail) and could have stayed in bed for a few more hours.

I went for a pee and then decided to go to the the kitchen for a drink, when my wife got to the kitchen she asked my to get one of the boys sports bags (backpack) for her to put some sports clothing in for a departmental game of basketball she was taking part in today. I went and had a look and couldnt see anything, no wonder considering what a state the room is in!

I said she would need to take a carrier bag, she suggested I empty the eldests backpack so she cold use his bag, as he has another much bigger bag that he could use himself, I said no thias was unfair and she should use the carrier bag.

Apparently the carrier bag would be to heavy for hewr as she would have to hold it in her hand? rather than over the shoulder. She then announced she would get herself a small sports bag for such occasiosns (which are every 6 months or so), like the one she already bought herself but cannot find.

It is probably me but when she left pissed off and spitting and almost snapping my head off, I still cant see what I did wrong apart from get out of bed to get a drink!

Any clue? Was it tghat I was there? Was it that I couldnt solve the problem for her?

I remember a line in White men cant jump where the female carachter says "Just cos I tell you Im thirsty doesnt mean I want you to get me a drink, I just want you to know I am thirsty" does this apply? I want you to know theres a problem without fixing it? Why tell me if you dont want me to fix it? Or was this one of those occasions where I was ment to fix it?

Im sure this whole situation is my fault and Ill either apologise for it later and it will be my fault because I dont know what I will be apologising for, or I will bite back and it will be my fault because I was not sensitive enough when she needed me to be understanding?

We will have to wait and see.

D