Hendon Mob League: Game 9

After being postponed for 2 weeks the Hendon Mob Poker League's Game 9 started at 9pm with 55 players.

Ram Vaswani started this one and was on fire. Easily becoming chip leader with aggressive play. In the end he finished unlucky 13th. I got busted in 49th. I knew it wasn't going to be my night before the game even started. When you are that negative going into a game it's inevitable that you will self destruct.

The first hand that screwed me was AK. I call a preflop raise in the SB and flop an ace. I decide from that point that I will let the original raiser, btstorey, bet the hand for me all the way - he's probably drawing to 3/4 outs. Sure enough, I check, he bets the flop and I call. Repeated on the turn - although I think about check raising it here. River a 9. And I check again hoping to induce another bet. The size of the bet worries me somewhat but I have to call. Unfortunately, he hit a set of nines! beep ;)

The hand that busted me was QQ v KJ. Almunia, who's main game I think is Omaha, raised it 4xBB with KJo it turns out. I am in the SB with QQ and reraise it to about 11xBB. Almunia calls. I'm thinking that he's trying to hit a set, an ace or a king so the JJx flop doesn't really bother me. I lead out just over half the pot and he reraises me all in. He knows that I don't have a Jack (and that's what I wanted him to think by leading out) and could easily be making a move with a middle pair or AK - if he is that sophisticated and thinks I'd fold an over pair. If I had more chips (say I hadn't lost with AK) I might have folded but I basically give up and call. Couldn't be asked anymore and if he somehow has a Jack in his hand then good luck to him. I would have been the tournament short stack if I folded anyway and it would have been a long slog from there.

Why was I negative before the game even started? Answer: Another incredible bad beat on Blue Square.

I have played a few MTTs there, nearly all of them Blue Square League games. Fishy play has been hugely rewarded each time and I have been busted or crippled when dominating nearly every time.

Tonight I had JJ and raised after an early limper. Couple of people saw the 2 suited Jack high flop. I manage to get got all my chips in on the flop against some fish with AJ who hits runner runner for the straight! Unbelievable.

Having played 3 games in the current Unusual Suspects Blue Square League, I have been busted or crippled when ahead every time. 33 v AQ, KK v AK and JJ v AJ. I quit during the last league too after getting fuct by bad beats each and every game.

Tonight I said a big F.U. to Tribeca.

So, this month: I have been mostly tilting. Having witnessed and suffered thousands of bad beats due to my goal of winning BugsysClub tournament League, it's unleashed a trash talking, needling and aggressive poker variable in my game which no doubt can be a powerful weapon under the right circumstances if properly controlled. That won't happen until Nov/Dec and then in the new year, after attending the Maxim USA trip that they are supposed to be organising for me as part of winning the King of Poker tournament, I will be looking to step it up.

See the Hendon Mob League Top 10 Players.