Poker Articles

Written by: Dave Colclough  BET365 

Starting to Play for Real Money
Texas Holdem Intro
Slow Playing to Maximise value
Poker Diary with Dave Colclough at 2004 WSOP
Heads Up Play
Short Handed TV Tables
100 Up
Basic Reminders & Contradictions for NLH Tournaments
Odds and Probabilities - Part 1
Odds and Probabilities - Part 2
Post Flop Probabilities
Post Flop Probabilities - Part 2
Playable Hands
Playable hands Part 2
World Speed Championships Estonia
Five Diamonds
7 Card Stud
Omaha High
Stars and stardom
Whos the Daddy

Whos the daddy

My last event of the year was the $15,000 entry Five Diamonds Main Event at the Bellagio, Las Vegas. Finding the full 15 big ones for the entry fee was a dent in my bankroll. In the past, I have always done remarkably well in satellites or super satellites, and nearly always win a seat in US main events. If anyone were visiting a US festival, I would highly recommend playing in as many super satellites as possible. The standard of play is usually the easiest that you will find anywhere, and they are often played in a much more jovial atmosphere.

Almost 400 dreamers coughed up this huge entry fee to battle for a first prize of over $1.7 million. Now, that's life changing! And anyone can win, or so they say. Not this time. The best all round tournament player in the world, Daniel Negranau, added the loot to his petty cash account. Daniel also secured the US Player of the Year title at the same time, whilst I finished a threatening 200th or so.

I had been having a good first day, building my chips up to 60,000, before slipping back to 50,000. Daniel neatly extracted 10,000 chips from me, having turned a 'set' of twos. Calling Daniel for 6,000 on the river was one of possibly three mistakes I made in this event. The other two mistakes were not winning enough chips when I had the best hand.

When I am not producing regular good results I get very analytical of my play, and very critical. I believe these attributes are vital to remain a profitable player. Since winning the £100,000 event at the London Victoria in July, I have only made 2 final tables in almost 70 events, compared to a 25% average in the first half of the this year, and an incredible 33% average last year. Keeping records is also mandatory in my book. These tell me something is clearly going wrong.

It would easy to say I was just running unlucky, having finished just outside the final table in around 15 of these recent events. A little bad luck usually leads to a few minor mistakes as well though. It is important to recognise and minimise these before they lead to regular and bigger mistakes. You would be amazed at how many full time professionals, or ex-professionals, declare that they were unlucky every single time they are knocked out of a tournament. Devilfish, possibly the best tournament player in Europe, is actually a prime example of this. It is never his mistake.

Anyway, at the end of the first day I am sat with around 50,000 chips and looking at Aces in my big blind. David Chui raises in late position and Kido calls. I re-raise three times the previous bet, and they both pass after long dwell ups. The very next hand, I look at two Queens on the small blind, and Kido raises in late position.

It's late in the day, I was comfortable, Kido has more chips than me, and had position. So, I don't really want to play a flop. (If an Ace or a King hits the flop, I would have to check giving him opportunity to steal). So I decided to over raise almost 5 times his raise, hoping he will pass, and I will just pick up the chips in the middle. He thinks for a long time (so I assume he doesn't have Aces or Kings) and then calls. The flop appeared 9,9,3 and looked relatively safe. Surely he wouldn't call with a pair as small as threes?

He had called me pre-flop believing I didn't have a second, consecutive big hand. So, I decide to trap check him. He obliged by betting 13,000; something close to the pot. So I now move my whole stack in, to be immediately called by his 9,10 of diamonds. This hand I do consider unlucky. It wasn't a bad beat. The majority of the chips went in when my opponent had the best hand. However, it was an unlucky sequence of events that allowed me to lose all my chips.

The reason for mentioning Kido, who owns a dental empire in Texas, and Devilfish in the same article though, was so that I could recall one of those funny poker moments that seem to follow Mr. Ulliot about. It happened in the early hours of the morning in a huge Omaha cash game. Kido and Devilfish were the two big winners in the game, and both had over $30,000 in front of them. They are both very out-going characters that had been enjoying the banter all night.

A huge pot developed where Devilfish had raised Kido $20,000 with 'the nuts'. Kido though, had a huge flush and straight draw. Devilfish started to goad Kido, "go on call, if you lose I will give you half back". I assume Devilfish was doing this because he thought that he was a huge favourite, with one card to come. Kido though, was not to be out done, "I'll call for sure, under one condition. If I win the pot, every time you meet me in the card room, you have to say "Hi Kido, you are the daddy !" and he picked up his chips ready to call, if he got Devilfish's nod. After 30 seconds of thought, Devilfish decided the risk of humiliation wasn't worth 20 large. It was only dollars anyway. And he told Kido to pass his hand. . . I guess money isn't everything, even at the biggest poker tables.

'a set' is an oft used American term. If you sit with a pair in your hand and the flop shows a third, then you have 'a set'.

'the nuts' is the best possible hand at that time.

Stars and stardum

For those of us who are not living in the United States of America, it is hard to grasp just how big the poker explosion has been there. My latest trip to Los Angeles had me shaking my head in disbelief. The National Hockey League players strike has led to the cancellation of their season. Has anyone noticed though? They certainly would have noticed if the LA Poker Classic had been cancelled.

Upon arrival, the cab between LAX and my hotel passed numerous freeway billboards such as, 'Watch Hold 'em on TV, Play Hold 'em at The Commerce Casino', 'The Moneymaker', 'Wednesday Night is Poker Night on The Travel Channel'. A string of huge advertisements for online casinos, live cardrooms, poker on TV and even a poker soap called 'Tilt'!

Having collapsed into bed for 8 hours recovery sleep from the long haul, my wife turned on the TV the following morning. Flicking through the channel she came across some peroxide blonde geezer wearing a bright green bet365poker shirt. I was on ESPN 2! She was well impressed. Right now, the American public just cannot get enough poker. The WSOP Omaha final table has been repeated between two and five times a week constantly since it first showing last June. How on earth can you watch the same final table twice? Surely the result is the same every time?

I walked into the Commerce to register for the 'PPT' freeroll event. For me, it was just a free entry with a shot at winning part of a $500,000 prize pool. An unthinkable opportunity two years ago. I was in for a surprise though. It is much more than that to the American public. Invites to PPT (Professional Poker Players Tour), are restricted to the 200 top ranked poker players in the World. To the American public, this was an all-star tournament. TV cameras were everywhere (well there were at least four anyway). My biggest surprise though, was the groupies clutching their 'Poker Aces' books. The blonde hair probably made me the easiest recognisable player in the book, but none of the autograph hunters had a chance of pronouncing 'colclough'.

My head had swelled to the size of an average planet by the time the tournament started. 180 of the top poker players in the world inter-mingled with half a dozen wildcard entries. Only 6 places to be paid though. A very tough prospect indeed. We were seated within a cordoned off area with a crowd of several hundred watching. Each table had it's own little red flag which read 'all-in'. There was also one 'feature' table with swing boom TV cameras and individual hole card cameras.

Phil Helmuth of course arrived late. It's traditional that he gives the field a few blinds start nowadays. A sort of sporting chance you might say. He did pull out all the publicity stops upon arrival this time though. Just to give the TV cameras their moneys worth, he requested that the dealer dealt him the *!%! in. Bearing in mind that all stacks are always dealt to in tournaments, and that bad language is being clamped down on; it was no surprise when the tournament director issued him a 20-minute penalty. A few more blinds head start for the field. A perfect TV interview opportunity for a Poker God.

Within half an hour we saw our first red flag rise, and the dealer called 'all-in'. The action had been stopped so that the mobile TV cameras could rush over, along with cute dolly bird presenter. The all-in player was duly interviewed and asked what his chances were. His red-faced embarrassment didn't need the verbal confirmation that he was in the mire. He wasn't wrong, and we had our first casualty. The normal manner would be to skulk off stage left at this point, but not so on the PPT. The poor victim had to explain on TV how he had managed to finish 'last', and then go on to 'sign out' at the PPT desk. The sign-out procedure was so that the organisers can log the result on their database. Statistics and Rankings to follow, no doubt.

I made good progress straight from the off and was soon chip leader at my table, without any major confrontations. Phil Gordon's aggressive style was yo-yoing above my stack and back down again as the hours progressed. Interestingly, later in the evening, poker enthusiast Toby 'Spiderman' Maguire is allowed through the cordon to watch the play. Film stars watching poker stars. An interesting hierarchical structure for the home of Hollywood? He watched as Phil Gordon and Doyle 'Texas Dolly' Brunson tangled in a big pot. Phil being the 'all-in' red flag recipient. The TV cameras rushed over to record his good fortune as he got the better of the legendary Doyle on the river.

The US poker phenomenon has embraced the 75-year-old Doyle as a grandfather figure. He is probably the most popular player, well ahead of all the young guns. The crowd were not happy with Doyle becoming the short stack at the table.

Two hands later and Doyle was small blind 200, whilst I was big blind 400. Running antes of 50 and a limper added to the blinds, made a pot worth stealing (1450). Doyle moved all-in for his last 2800, a slight over-bet but probably the correct play. I looked at my hole cards in astonishment, as they were two Aces. I reluctantly called after pondering for the mandatory 30 seconds (in this company it's best to take the same amount of time when making all decisions. These players will be watching for tells. The biggest tell of all, is how quickly you act. So I try and maintain a consistent 30 seconds regardless). I was calling in the hope of trapping the limper into the pot as well. He had a much larger stack than Doyle. Unfortunately, this didn't work and the limper passed.

Perhaps the limper knew what was involved, and didn't want to be the bad man who knocked out the old hero. The hole cards were on their backs, the red flag was raised and the attractive female presenter rushed over to interview the King. Doyle's 10 J suited didn't look too healthy she enthused, but the poker gods favoured the great. The crowd held their breath as a QK gave Doyle an open-ended straight. The TV cameras zoomed in and a huge roar greeted a 9 on the river. Doyle stays in the game with a straight. Fortunately, I was not asked for an interview.

An hour later, and I had another deja vu attack. This one was not as disturbing as usual though. My big blind 600, Doyle's small blind 300, running ante's of 75 and two limpers for 600 a piece. Surprise, surprise, Doyle moves all-in for his remaining 3900, and I look down at my hole cards. I wait for 30 seconds before reluctantly calling. The limpers aren't fooled this time either, and quickly pass. Doyle looks at me as the red flag is raised. The grin spreads across his face. He knows I have the two Aces again. This time his KQ does not get lucky. The crowd can only clap politely, and the TV cameras are left with some foreigner with bleached hair in a bet365poker shirt stacking the King's chips.

The hours passed. Phil Gordon finally fell along with a host of other red flags and broken dreams. After 12 hours of play an end was called to the proceedings. Only a fifth of the field was left standing for the following days proceedings. Peter Costa and Tony Bloom were the only other 2 Limeys left, assuming that Sheffield's Asher Derei still claims to be Israeli. Funnily enough, the three of us were to be drawn together for the next day's play.

Tony and Peter were in fact both early casualties the next day. The players were re-drawn again as we dropped to the last 3 tables and 27 players. At last I was drawn with Daniel Negraneu on the feature table with the TV cameras. I believe there are 3 players who appear to be 'the best' at the moment. Daniel, Eric Lindgren and John Juanda appear to be playing slightly different to the 'old school'. Daniel's term, not mine. The only way to learn from the best is to play with the best, so I was glad to get further opportunity to study Daniel's game.

As it happened, Daniel was to retire into his slow gear for the next few hours. He had built his stack, and was sitting on it. Alternatively, I had seen my stack shrink on a day of few hands. Now, on the feature table, the tide changed direction though. I managed to put a re-raise on Andy Bloch when I thought he had a marginal hand. He passed suspiciously, and I collected an average pot.

A few hands later on my small blind I found AQ suited. Everyone passed around to Andy's button. He duly raised, and I quickly re-raised. Andy was sat with A3 and obviously thought that I was picking on him. He decided to call the re-raise. The flop was KQ3 and I decided to check. Surprisingly, Andy now moved his whole stack in. I am pretty sure he would have made a smaller bet with top pair, so I called. The red flag was raised as Andy squirmed. My pair of Queens stood up, I scooped a big pot, and I was now one of the big stacks again.

When we dropped to 18 I was moved off the feature table, and sat with my other two piers: Eric Lindgren and John Juanda. Hmmm. I could now smell the money. I had a big stack, and wasn't so keen on being given a learning experience any more. Especially, at my expense.

Perhaps, my head wasn't right, perhaps I was a victim of circumstance, but when we dropped to 9 players I was no longer a big stack. John Juanda had been sat on my left and just basically outplayed me. This isn't something I remember admitting to for a long while. I didn't clash much with Eric, but marvelled at the way he turned a small stack into a monster in barely an hour. He had nerves of steel, as he called bets on the flop, turn and river. Most players would have folded or raised at much earlier points. The pots he won were therefore, considerably bigger.

So here I was at the final table of the PPT with all three of them. Eric and Daniel were the two chip leaders. John was a small stack like myself. We were to play down to 6 players, who would make the money.

The action was fast as we lost one player, shortly followed by John Juanda. 7 left, and I was definitely the shortest stack. I moved all-in with an AQ and got called by a pair of 9s. The cameras zoomed in as an Ace hit the flip. Yabbadabbadoo! My joy was short lived though as a 2 on the river gave a board of A2345. Split pot with a straight, and I am still the man under pressure.

I only had 58,000 chips left which would not last me 20 hands. So when I was dealt a pair of 6s, they were all deposited in the middle. It was Chris Bigler's obligation to be executioner. He called with a pair of 8s, and I didn't get lucky. I was out on the so-called 'bubble'. No consolation money for 23 hours of mental anxiety, torture and pain. I struggled to string a sentence together on my exit TV Interview. The attractive, cute presenter felt sorry for me. I was gutted . . . but I did wake up the following morning with a smile on my face. It had been fun. I think?

Omaha High

The more adventurous beginners amongst you, will have noticed the Omaha tables on bet365poker.com. This article is a brief introduction to the subtleties of Omaha High. A future article will concentrate on Omaha Hi-Low, which is a completely different game.

The principle difference between Omaha and Hold'em is that the dealer gives each player four cards in Omaha, as opposed to two. The game is then the same as Hold'em as far as the communal board goes; an initial three 'flop' cards, followed by 'the turn' and then 'the river'.

The other principle difference is that the players must use exactly two cards from their hand, and three from the communal board. So if a player holds AKK9 and the board read A K 4 6 J, the player's best hand is three kings (using the two kings from his hand), and not a full house (he can not also use the Ace from his hand as well).

The extra cards in each player's hand, result in the average winning hand being far greater in Omaha than Hold em. This is the problem that most Hold em players fail to get to grips with when playing Omaha. With the above hand, three kings would normally win in Hold'em, whereas it would often lose in Omaha to someone holding 10Q (a straight).

You have to therefore be slightly more careful when playing Omaha. When holding the three kings in the above example, it would be prudent to check on the river, especially if you are facing more than one opponent. Omaha is usually played Pot Limit as opposed to fixed Limit. So, often, the player may be faced with a very tough call should an opponent bet the full pot on the river.
Competition Omaha is vastly different to cash game Omaha in that it provides opportunity to play many more starting hands. If you wish to try the Bet365poker.com Omaha cash tables as a change to the usual Hold em though, again it is best to be very selective over your starting hands. So here are a few pointers:

The best starting hands are considered to be AAJ10, AAKK, AA9,10 'double suited', which mean that you may have A9 of spades and A10 of hearts. This is a very powerful hand where you are drawing at two 'nut' flushes, top trips (Aces) and several straights with the 910.

All other starting hands should be 'connected' in some way, such as 5689, 9JJQ, JQKA. Again it is best if these hands are 'double suited'. 'Connected' hands have more winnings combinations; it's as simple as that.

Avoid 'danglers' such as JJ93, where you are playing a three-card hand. (the 3 is the 'dangler')

Double paired hands such as JJ88 are also reasonable hands to play. Your chances of flopping a 'set' are greater than 28%. You have to be careful though. Omaha often produced three Jacks against three Kings scenarios. And of course a 'set' is far from a guaranteed winner in Omaha.

Broken hands such as 46JQ should be dumped at the earliest opportunity.
Communal boards which show a pair such as A K 4 6 6 will probably result in a player showing a full house to take the pot.

If a communal board shows three of a suit, then the winning hand will usually be at least a flush.

The winning hand will usually be a straight, if a board reads J Q K 6 4. A player will show 9,10 or A10. The winning hand will certainly be a straight if the board reads 10 J Q 4 6. There are now three straight possibilities; 89, 9K and KA.
If you don't have the 'nuts' think twice before you open the betting.
If you are calling with a drawing hand on the flop, make sure that you are drawing at the 'nuts'. Don't call with a King flush draw only to find another opponent was calling with an Ace flush draw.

The usual problem that Omaha rookies face is the temptation of playing too many hands. Don't do it. Give Omaha a go. It's interesting... but let's be careful out there

7 Card Stud

Just for a change, here are a few notes on one of the other variations of poker. Nowadays, Texas Hold'em is by far the most popular game, but 7 Card Stud used to hold that title in the not so distant past. When I started to play poker competitions in the casinos of England almost 20 years ago, there would be twice as many 7 Card competitions as opposed to Hold'em competitions. Although it has steadily declined over the years, it is still often played, and I find it a very enjoyable change. So if you fancy having a bash on the 7 Card tables on bet365poker.com here are a few pointers.
Whilst trying to get everyone up to a reasonable level at Hold 'em, I have laboured on about starting hands. The reason for this is because most beginners at poker want to play every hand. When you are starting out, discipline is the most difficult attribute to master. Unfortunately, 7 Card Stud is similar. You really don't want to go to war without some decent armoury.

Again just like Hold'em the type of staring hands you can play varies considerably depending on the amount of players at the table.

If you are playing 8 handed then I would suggest you need:

a high pair of Kings or Aces
a medium pair with an ace kicker
three cards of the same suit including the ace
If you were playing 4 handed then I would suggest
any pair is playable
any three cards to a suit (providing they are 'live')
any three high running cards (providing they are 'live')
AK or AQ with any other card

And obviously if you are playing 5, 6 or 7 handed then you have to find a balance between the two examples. The importance of the ace kicker in the first example, and the ace within your flushing cards, is obviously that you may hit an Ace. A pair of Aces, or Aces up is very strong in 7 Card Stud. (When you are playing 8 handed, you have to be very careful with Kings, and Queens are very dangerous.) Often in 7 card you may start trying to make a flush or straight, but end up winning the pot with two pair. The chances of this happening depend on how 'live' your cards are:

7 Card has an interesting additional factor. You can see everyone's open card. This is valuable information concerning your hand as well.

If you can see that two of your opponents have an Ace showing, and you have one hidden, you know it's unlikely that either of them have a pair of Aces. More importantly though, there is much less of a chance of you pairing your ace. It is not 'live'.

If you have been dealt three spades, but you can see three of your opponents were dealt an open spade as well, the chances of you making a flush is greatly diminished. I don't play flush draws if I can see two others from the same suit dealt to my opponents.

Should you be dealt 10,J,Q, you may be trying to make a straight, but if you can't see any 10s,Js or Qs then you have a very 'live' hand, and could just as easily make a winning two pair or full house.

7 Card also has the same positional similarities to Hold'em. If you have been dealt a pair of Kings, but two of your opponents behind who haven't acted yet, are showing an open Ace, then you have to tread very carefully indeed. As your opponents have been dealt three cards as opposed to two cards to start, the chances of someone having Aces are far greater in 7 Card than Hold'em.

Where 7 Card becomes interesting though, is when the game progresses through the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th cards. As the cards are dealt, you are constantly being fed information. The odds on your opponent having improved are there right in front of you. And of course the odds on your hand improving are changing depending on what cards you can see.

A typical starting hand may be J,J, Ace showing. You suspect your opponent may have a pair of Aces, but there are no open Jacks. It would be really nice to be dealt a Jack to match your hidden cards. There is no way your opponent can read you for three Jacks, and you will probably get paid all the way. It may well be correct to call on third and fourth street because you cant see any Jacks. But often you will then see one or both the remaining Jacks pop out being dealt to opponents on your right and left. Very frustrating, but it now makes your hand an easy pass. The chances of you making a winning hand have now shrunk enormously.

Likewise with your flush and straight draws. If your first four cards are 8,9,10,J but you can see two 7s and two Qs out, then you will be lucky to make your straight. Conversely, if you can't see any 7s or Qs, then you have to fancy your chances, and it is probably worth gambling against better hands.

Have a go, 7 Card Stud is fun.

Five Diamonds

My last event of the year was the $15,000 entry Five Diamonds Main Event at the Bellagio, Las Vegas. Finding the full 15 big ones for the entry fee, was a dent in my bankroll. In the past, I have always done remarkably well in satellites or super satellites, and nearly always win a seat in US main events. If anyone were visiting a US festival, I would highly recommend playing in as many super satellites as possible. The standard of play is usually the easiest that you will find anywhere, and they are often played in a much more jovial atmosphere.

Almost 400 dreamers coughed up this huge entry fee to battle for a first prize of over $1.7 million. Now, that's life changing! And anyone can win, or so they say. Not this time. The best all round tournament player in the world, Daniel Negranau, added the loot to his petty cash account. Daniel also secured the US Player of the Year title at the same time, whilst I finished a threatening 200th or so.

I had been having a good first day, building my chips up to 60,000, before slipping back to 50,000. Daniel neatly extracted 10,000 chips from me, having turned a 'set'* of twos. Calling Daniel for 6,000 on the river was one of possibly three mistakes I made in this event. The other two mistakes were not winning enough chips when I had the best hand.

When I am not producing regular good results I get very analytical of my play, and very critical. I believe these attributes are vital to remain a profitable player. Since winning the £100,000 event at the London Victoria in July, I have only made 2 final tables in almost 70 events, compared to a 25% average in the first half of the this year, and an incredible 33% average last year. Keeping records is also mandatory in my book. These tell me something is clearly going wrong.

It would be easy to say I was just running unlucky, having finished just outside the final table in around 15 of these recent events. A little bad luck usually leads to a few minor mistakes as well though. It is important to recognise and minimise these before they lead to regular and bigger mistakes. You would be amazed at how many full time professionals, or ex-professionals, declare that they were unlucky every single time they are knocked out of a tournament. Devilfish, possibly the best tournament player in Europe, is actually a prime example of this. It is never his mistake.

Anyway, at the end of the first day I am sat with around 50,000 chips and looking at Aces in my big blind. David Chui raises in late position and Kido calls. I re-raise three times the previous bet, and they both pass after long dwell ups. The very next hand, I look at two Queens on the small blind, and Kido raises in late position.

It's late in the day, I was comfortable, Kido has more chips than me, and had position. So, I don't really want to play a flop. (If an Ace or a King hits the flop, I would have to check giving him opportunity to steal). So I decided to over raise almost 5 times his raise, hoping he will pass, and I will just pick up the chips in the middle. He thinks for a long time (so I assume he doesn't have Aces or Kings) and then calls. The flop appeared 9,9,3 and looked relatively safe. Surely he wouldn't call with a pair as small as threes ?

He had called me pre-flop believing I didn't have a second, consecutive big hand. So, I decide to trap check him. He obliged by betting 13,000; something close to the pot. So I now move my whole stack in, to be immediately called by his 9,10 of diamonds. This hand I do consider unlucky. It wasn't a bad beat. The majority of the chips went in when my opponent had the best hand. However, it was an unlucky sequence of events that allowed me to lose all my chips.

The reason for mentioning Kido, who owns a dental empire in Texas, and Devilfish in the same article though, was so that I could recall one of those funny poker moments that seem to follow Mr.Ulliot about. It happened in the early hours of the morning in a huge Omaha cash game. Kido and Devilfish were the two big winners in the game, and both had over $30,000 in front of them. They are both very out-going characters that had been enjoying the banter all night.
A huge pot developed where Devilfish had raised Kido $20,000 with 'the nuts'**. Kido though, had a huge flush and straight draw. Devilfish started to goad Kido, “go on call, if you lose I will give you half back”. I assume Devilfish was doing this because he thought that he was a huge favourite, with one card to come. Kido though, was not to be out done, “I'll call for sure, under one condition. If I win the pot, every time you meet me in the card room, you have to say 'Hi Kido, you are the daddy,' and he picked up his chips ready to call, if he got Devilfish's nod. After 30 seconds of thought, Devilfish decided the risk of humiliation wasn't worth 20 large. It was only dollars anyway. And he told Kido to pass his hand... I guess money isn't everything, even at the biggest poker tables.


*'a set' is an oft used American term. If you sit with a pair in your hand and the flop shows a third, then you have 'a set'.

**'the nuts' is the best possible hand at that time.

World speed Championships Estonia

Keith Sloan is a well respected Tournament Director from down-under who, like all Aussies, has mastered the art of subtlety. So it was no surprise that to launch his 'World Speed Poker Championships' he promised uncompromising paint ball sessions, and a bevy of beautiful models (disguised as 'clock' girls). As usual, I fell for his patter, hook, line and sinker, and made my way over to Estonia.

The paint ball was a bluff, but the bevy of beauties was not. They were not the only pleasant welcome in Estonia though. The event was held at 'The Monte Carlo' casino, which was right next door to my Scandic Hotel. To add to this convenience, they kindly placed a sauna behind the shower in my room. (I may have even lost weight on the trip!) Generally though, the thing I noticed most was the attitude of the taxi drivers, hotel staff and bar staff. Everybody was nice, pleasant, and always smiling. What a refreshing change from Blighty. Even the bar staff were pleasant when I couldn't speak the local lingo! Errrr, just like Paris?

Most players had got exactly the wrong impression from the title of 'The World Speed Poker Championship'. We thought the word 'speed' referred to the structure, and that the event may be a bit of a 'crapshoot'. This could not have been further from the truth. Each player was only allowed 15 seconds to act. So when we had 30 minutes for any given level, instead of getting the normal 10 to 15 hands in the half hour, we did in fact get approximately 40 hands in half an hour. So there was in fact more play in the tournament than usual. (So I have no excuse for finishing a lowly 7th).

The speed of the game, combined with playing short handed, brought an extra level of intensity to the play. There were no stoppages in play (a second dealer would shuffle a second pack while the current hand was in play), no concentration gaps, and the five minute toilet breaks every hour were most welcome. The funny thing was that when all the players got into 'the flow' of the game, most decisions were instantaneous, and unfortunately, this meant that the clock girls were rarely used. Although the models may have got a little bored, the Players didn't. Every player who took part in the tournament loved it.

I should add that the winner was a very nice chap from Norway: Henning Granstad. He played an excellent balanced aggressive game, and was thought of as a worthy winner by everyone I spoke to. Yes, the best player won. How unusual?

Hopefully in the future, normal live tournaments will find some way of incorporating a player decision time clock. It will certainly help the TV Producers. Not to mention the poor old viewers. Of course, this has been standard practice, and one of the great advantages of Internet tournaments, since their inception... Look out Carlo and Surinder, this is the future...

Playable hands Part 2

As stated in the previous article, the following are suggested guidelines for an average 9 handed $2/$4 Limit Hold 'em table, where it is neither an aggressive or very tight line up. Slight adjustments would have to be made if the game became too tight, and likewise if the game became a little wild.

Pocket Pairs were discussed in the previous article.

The following is advice for 'suited' starting hands, i.e. both cards are of the same suit:

* AK - Play and raise at every opportunity in any position, only put the brakes on against tight opponents
* AQ - Play and raise in any position. Don't re-raise
* AJ, A10, KQ - Play in any position. Raise in late position. Raise in the blinds heads up
* A9, A8, A7, KJ - Call in un-raised pots. Preferably in mid or late position. Only raise in the blinds heads up against weak opponents
* A5, A4, A3, A2, K10, K9, QJ, Q10, J10 - Only call in late position in un-raised pots. Pass in raised pots or in bad position. Only raise in the blinds heads up against weak opponents
* K8, K7, K6, K5, K4, K3, K2, Q9, Q8, J9, J8, T9, T8, T7, 98, 97 87, 86, 76, 75, 65, 64, 54 - Only call in late position in un-raised pots. Pass in raised pots or in bad position.
* Q7, Q6, Q5, Q4, Q3, Q2, J7, J6, J5, J4, J3, J2, T6, T5, T4, T3, T2, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 85, 84, 83, 82, 74, 73, 72, 63, 62, 53, 52, 43, 42, 32 - Pass these hands. They are unprofitable.

The following is advice for un-suited starting hands, i.e. both cards are of a different suit:

* AK, AQ - Play and raise in any position. Re-raise in late position.
* AJ, A10, KQ - Call in any position. Raise in late position if the pot is un-raised.
* KJ, A9, A8 - Call in any position in un-raised pots. Raise in the blinds heads up
* A7, A6, A5, A4, A3, A2, K10 - Pass in early and mid position. Call in late position. Raise in the blinds heads up
* QJ, Q10, Q9 ,J10 ,J9, T9, 98, 87 - Pass in early and mid position. Call in late position.
* K9, K8, K7, K6, K5, K4, K3, K2, Q8, Q7, Q6, Q5, Q4, Q3, Q2, J8, J7, J6, J5, J4, J3, J2, T8, T7, T6, T5, T4, T3, T2, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 86, 85, 84, 83, 82, 76, 75, 74, 73, 72, 63, 62, 53, 52, 43, 42, 32 - Pass these hands. They are unprofitable.

Playable Hands

In an earlier article I suggested the sort of hands that you should, or should not be playing. In the next couple of articles I will deal with starting hands more specifically. As with all aspects of poker there really aren't any specific rules, so the following is only a suggested guide. It is also more relevant to Limit Hold'em, where playing the correct cards will grind out a winning strategy most of the time, if your discipline can outlast the 'luck rollercoaster'. In No Limit Hold'em it could be argued that you can play any cards if the position, state of the game, and depth of chips is great enough. Even in NLH though, it is probably best not to waiver too far from the following... unless your name is Gus Hansen or David Ulliot.

I'll split the hand types into three: pocket pairs, suited cards and unsuited cards. The following suggestions are probably most suited to an average 9 handed $2/$4 table, where it is neither an aggressive, or very tight line up. Slight adjustments would have to be made if the game became too tight, and likewise if the game became a little wild.

Pocket Pairs and Limit Hold em.

* Aces, Kings, Queens - Play, raise and re-raise at every opportunity in any position, any amount of players. Don't 4-bet Queens against very tight opponents
* Jacks, Tens, Nines - Play and raise in any position. Only re-raise in late position against 1 opponent. If there are three or four opponents after the flop, you will need to be holding an overpair or a set.
* Eights, Sevens - Play in un-raised pots. Only raise in heads up situations such as the blinds. Heads up, you are likely to win with just the pair of eights. Against two opponents or more, you need help on the flop.
* Sixes, Fives - Pass in early position to a raise. Pass in early position if there is likely to be a raise behind you. Call in late position, preferably against several opponents where you are getting a good return should you flop a set. Only raise in the blinds heads up against weak opponents.
* Fours, Threes and Twos - Pass in early position. Only play in pots where there are at least three opponents (e.g.two limpers and a big blind). Always try and avoid playing these hands unless you are last to act after the flop

Post Flop Probabilities - Part 2

Post Flop Probabilities

The last couple of articles concerned pre-flop probabilities. These are most relevant to NLH tournament play. This is because most chip movement occurs pre-flop in NLH tourneys, whereas, with Limit Hold 'em and Pot Limit Omaha, most of the action takes place post flop. The next couple of articles discuss post flop odds and probabilities. These are equally interesting to the NLH player, but they will have less opportunity and situations to take advantage of this knowledge.

Possibly the most useful probabilities are those surrounding a flush draw. If you hold two cards of the same suit, you will flop a made flush slightly less than 1% of the time. If you are all-in before the flop, the chances of completing your flush with all five cards are somewhere around 6%. More useful though is the situation when you flop four to your flush: two hearts in your hand with two hearts on the flop, or one heart in your hand with three on the flop.

Many NLH players will commit their whole stack heads up in this situation, but the odds say that really you shouldn't. You will only complete the flush around 35% of the time. So if a player has moved all-in, in front of you, for a large bet of greater than pot size, the correct play is probably to pass. You are not getting good pot odds. You will often see players making bad calls in this situation. It is of course different if you move all-in first to speak. You may only win the pot a third of the time if someone calls, but of course you may win the pot 50% of the time, uncontested, if everyone should pass.

In Limit Hold 'em of course, you will rarely win the pot uncontested, but the pot odds will be different. In many ways Limit Hold 'em is much more complicated here. In a $2/$4 game, four players may have seen the flop. The player in front of you bets $2 on the flop, and you can easily justify the pot odds as you are now calling $2 against a $10 pot. However, there are variables to consider: how much more you may have to call to see the final two cards, and how much more can you win if you hit the flush. Firstly, a player may raise behind you and the original bettor may re-raise. Now you are risking $6 against $20. The odds aren't as good but are still favourable. But of course, the flush may not arrive on the turn, and you may have to call another $4. Now the risk is $10 against $28, or possibly $10 against$24 if play becomes heads up. You are in fact still getting pot odds, but only just. The second variable is of course when you hit the flush, how much will you get paid? If the player will call a $4 bet on the end, or better still, a two bet situation may emerge, then you are of course reaping the real benefits of your draw. Flush draw flops are usually a profitable venture in Limit Hold 'em.

Remembering all these situations and odds isn't as hard as it initially looks. You will constantly hear players refer to 'outs'. A flush draw is 9 outs. If you have an open ended straight draw, you have 8 outs. Most top players just count their outs, and know the probabilities of hitting these outs. Next weeks article will include the 'outs' table and further explanation.

Odds and Probabilities - Part 2

• It is 16-1 that you will be dealt a poker pair (go to the back of the classroom if you assumed it was 12-1), and
  
• It is 220-1 that you will be dealt any specific pair, such as Aces. (I know it can often feel like it is a lot longer odds than that!)

• An opponent with a pocket pair is about 15/2 to flop a set (or quads.)
  
• Fortunately an opponent with two odd cards is almost 40-1 to flop 2 pair. They may also have straight and/or flush possibilities though.

• As discussed earlier, the odds on pocket Kings or Aces being out there are variable depending on the number of dealt hands. The odds will be at least 12-1 on a full table though.
  
• Again this article has already outlined the dangers of a small pair out-flopping you.

Odds and Probabilities - Part 1

One often quoted poker statistic goes as follows...

• 2,2 will beat A,K 53% of the time,
• but 10,Js will beat 2,2 over 50% of the time.

• A,K is a 63% favourite against 10,J.
  
  The above statistics are very interesting, and can certainly convince your opponents that you a complete bore, but are they of any use? How can you take advantage of this information? The easy answer is you can't. In this case, I will quite happily commit my whole stack with A,K before the flop in NLH tournaments, but would have to be under extreme pressure to do it with 2,2 or 10,J. The reasons for this are simple. If you should get called, and you have to win the hand to stay in the tournament, what might your opponent have?
  
  
  • If you have 2,2, then you are never going to be a big favourite against any possible hand unless it has a 2 in it. (You are very lucky if your opponent has A,2, and then you are only 1/2 favourite). If he has any two over cards, you are in some sort of coin flip. If he has an over pair, you are a 4/1 underdog.
  • If you have 10,J , then you are probably in almost as much trouble. You will not have been called by any hand that you are a significant favourite against. If you have been called by a big pair, or A,J, A,10, then you need a miracle. The best you can hope for, is a coin flip against a lower pair.
  • With A,K there are only two possible dominators : You will need a miracle against American Airlines, and you are a 2/1 dog against K,K. All the other pairs are coin flips. With this hand though, there is an upside. If you are an aggressive player, or you are playing against some loose callers, you may get called by many hands that you dominate: A,Q, A,J, A,10, K,Q.
  
  
  Remember though, when moving your chip stack in with any of these three hands, the best result is that your opponents fold. Then you win 100% of the time!
  

Basic Reminders & Contradictions for NLH Tournaments

Patience is the hurdle most beginners struggle with. The biggest mistake is usually playing too many hands. If they have not seen a hand for 20 minutes, all of a sudden A4 looks like a monster in any position. Don't do it. Patience is everything.

Secondly, watch ! Watch how many hands someone plays and how they play them. Make mental notes. Watch. Ask how you can take advantage of what they are doing. Watch. Ask yourself are they doing something worth copying. Watch and keep thinking about it. Most experienced players don't ! That's why you can catch up and pass them. Put the effort into the thought process and you will be rewarded.

Respect a re-raise. If you have raised with AJ, and someone has re-raised, then they probably have you well beat. Learn to swallow. Pass. (The exception to this, is in major championships. Good players will re-raise with anything in a major event. You need to know which will though, and which won't.)

When you reach a reasonable standard and start playing with better players, mix it up. When the whole table knows you are passing A4 in early position and raising AQ in late position. Try mixing it up. Raise with suited connectors occasionally. This can have several benefits. You can often steal when the flop comes high. Secondly, you often get called when you hit the flop.

Now we are majoring in contradictions, let's contradict the patience argument. Be aware of your chip stack compared to the Blinds. Don't let yourself get too low. A lot of good cash players can't win tournaments because they blind themselves to death. If you have less than 3 times the big blind, you are in trouble. Make a move before this happens. Even with A4 when needs must.

100 Up

• There are actually only five hands that would have put me in a very awkward spot : AA, KK, QQ, AK or AQ. All of these would give me less than a 20% chance of winning the pot, and would constitute a horrendous call. Against AJ or similar, I would be an underdog but still win 42% of the time. Against any pair from JJ down, I would be a lesser underdog, winning 47% of the time.
• A lot of players in this situation would assume Frode had Aces or Kings, but I thought it was unlikely. Once there had been an early limper, I was sure Frode would have raised with any pair from 10s up, trying to create a heads up pot. I was sure Frode would not have re-raised me with suited connectors or AJ for that matter either. So all the indicators were that Frode had been limping with a pair. Again, I am sure Frode would consider it too risky to re-raise with lower pairs, 2s to 6s. So he must have one of three hands : 7s, 8s or 9s.

Short Handed TV Tables

I don't know how many of you stayed up to watch my banana backed, square eyed poker performance on last weeks Sky Sports Poker Million – The Masters. A few friends of mine did, and suggested it wasn't so easy to follow what was happening. So here's a few hints and explanations of what was going on, or more accurately, why it was going on. They also hold true for one table competitions. (You can play one table competitions on bet365poker.com at any time during the day. 5 handed - similar to the TV series and 9 handed tables are available).

What happened in my TV Heat was quite typical of many TV Heats, but probably not as likely to occur in normal one table competitions. Just because it is on TV, most players do not want to make fools of themselves, and especially don't want to be first out. So generally they play very passively for the first three or four levels. In my heat this resulted in no-one being eliminated early.

Meanwhile the blinds are obviously going up. When we reached level 5 without any eliminations, the blinds were very high (8000/16000) in relation to the average chip stack (100,000). If we had eliminated 3 of the 6 players the average chips stack would have been 200,000 and the blinds v average chip stack ratio would be more normal... So what?

Well, should you have dropped below average, to say 72,000 - you are now in dire need of a hand to play. All your chips will whittle away in three rounds of play. So that is why on TV you suddenly see some of the professionals moving all-in with K6, whereas earlier they had passed A10. The pressure of the blinds is beginning to take its toll.

Also should you have gone another round and let your stack drop to, say 40,000, another situation occurs. Let's say you pick up 2 Kings and move all-in. The big blind has already invested 16000 in this pot. When the action reaches him, he has only 24,000 to call, whilst he can see 64,000 on offer in the middle. Excellent pot odds. So you will then see many of the professionals calling with unlikely looking hands such as 6,8 off-suit.

Conversely, if you have allowed your stack to dwindle to 40,000, you can expect to be called. So now it is very difficult to make any semi-bluffs with hands like 9,10. You know you are probably going to get called, so it is only the right move if you want to gamble.

At the end of my heat, the blinds were 30,000/60,000 and the average chip stack was 300,000. Lets assume I always make up the small blind, because the pot odds are 3-1, and I have the button. Then I only have 5 hands before all my chips are in the middle. And I only have 2 hands before I can expect a mandatory call from my opponent. Thus, I end up in a situation where I try and bluff move all-in with 9,3 off suit, while my stack is big. Perhaps not quite as ridiculous as it looks on TV?

Many of the professional will point out that Jimmy White was lucky to win the first Poker Million – The Masters. The other main reason he won, was because the blinds v average stack ratio got to the stage where the professionals were forced to gamble in situations they would rather avoid. When the ratio is high, the luck content in poker is equally high. It could of course, be argued that we professionals should play these TV one tables much more aggressively, thus avoiding this situation. Then Jessie May could really get excited.

Confused, you soon will be.

Heads Up Play

Well after six weeks in Las Vegas, I needed 2 weeks off to acclimatise to the real world again. Eventually I dragged myself back onto the European Tour again, and flew down to Barcelona (it is such a hard life). The major competition of the week was the Worlds Heads Up Championship, with a first prize of 100,000 euro. Not bad for a week's work, but it wasn't to be.

Heads Up poker is completely different to 9 handed or even 6 handed poker. If you fancy a change, try it on the Bet365poker.com 1 v 1 tables.

My first round opponent was Daniel Holm, one of the young Scandinavians that are changing the way poker is played in Europe. Generally they play considerable more aggressively, raising considerably more starting hands than I would. If they suspect any weakness after the flop they will fire away trying to pick up the pot. There have been players like this in the past, but certainly not the same number.
Personally I dislike playing against this type of player, because I much prefer to be the aggressor myself. I prefer to be the one who dictates when I want to play a big pot (preferably when I have position and good cards). I am not quite so keen on playing big pots every third or fourth hand. But this is inevitable against some opponents.

My strategy for playing against this opponent is to rarely raise myself but to call with big hands and marginals such as suited connectors or say K7. (King high is much stronger heads up than you may think. The average starting hand for Heads Up play being only Jack high). I would then tend to do a lot of check calling until my opponent realises that he can't steal too many pots from me.

The first round match went very much along these lines. I took an early chip lead when I called a raise with A10. I flopped an Ace, checked to my opponent and called his bet (which turned out to be a bluff). After about 30 minutes, I flopped top pair against his flush draw and the rest of his chips went in. Fortunately for me, he missed his flush and I progressed to the next round to face the intimidating Rob Hollink.

In my opinion, Rob Hollink from Holland is one of the top ten all-round players in Europe. He plays live cash games and competition poker equally well. He is a prolific winner on the internet, and is also one of a very few players who repeatedly win Omaha competitions (myself and the great Dave 'Devilfish' Ulliot being the only others who spring to mind). He won last years online WCOOP Heads Up Tournament. So I knew I was in for a Battle Royale….

Wrong! Rob raised the very first hand. The blinds were 100/200 and he raised 300 more. I looked down at Kd4d and called the 300, as there was already 700 in the middle. The pot odds were good and the hand was average. The flop came down 10h4h3d. I had second pair so thought I was probably in the lead. There was 1000 in the pot. I checked and called Rob's bet of 700. Making a pot of 2400. (I don't think either of us wished to be playing a pot this big on the very first hand). The turn card was 10d, so I now had 10s and 4s with a King kicker. Surely I was in front? So I trap checked, as I had also picked up the flush draw. Rob bet 1700 and I quickly raised all in. I nearly fell off my chair when he called. He had 10J and my only out was a diamond. It didn't arrive, and now I am the proud owner of another record: the only player eliminated from a WHU match on the first hand.

Well the only moral I can pass on this week, is that Heads Up is tough, Very tough. But try it. It is fun.

Poker Diary with Dave Colclough at 2004 WSOP

Day 1- 22/4/04
So here I am at the 2004 World Series of Poker. Binion's Horseshoe has been taken over by new owners... at long last. That is not the most obvious change that greeted me though. America has gone Poker mad, mad, mad. An astonishing 343 have just paid an amazing $25,000 to play the main event at the Bellagio. And yesterday I walked into Binions satellite area and couldn't believe my eyes. Last year there would have been maybe 3 or 4 tables running. This year there were 23 or 24 tables buzzing with excitement. Hordes and hordes of new players. God bless America, god bless the WPT on the discovery channel, and god bless Chris Moneymaker. This is Poker heaven !

I managed to win a seat for the $2000 No Limit Hold em event in a one table satellite. I got lucky when I slow played pocket Kings catching both blinds who both flopped top pair. As an added bonus, I was given a poker lesson by a very attractive young lady with a large bosom. She explained how dangerous it was not to raise with Kings before the flop. Bless her ! Anyway I tripled thru and managed to outlast the rest to gain a seat in the NLH event for a paltry $230.

Day 2- 23/4/04 - $2,000 No Limit Hold'em
Wow. Big Deal. So it only cost me $230. I only lasted 28 minutes ! Some players were still signed up and hadn't even sat down... and I was walking out.

Yet again, an internet player got me. For years now there has been a standard way of playing. The blinds are 25, 25 and players would raise between 75 and 125 to try and get a little action. My exit was typical of how things have changed recently. I am on the big blind. There is 50 in the middle, and the internet player opens for 450 ! I have 1400 chips left an AK in the hole. Everyone else has passed, so I position all my chips in the middle. And so does the original raiser with his pair of jacks. The flop is low and I skulk out the door... In the past this would have been a 300 dollar pot at his largest. Welcome to the future… or should I say the present !

One advantage of getting knocked out early, is that the failures can play in the Super Satellite at 3pm. And boy did I get lucky. I got personal when someone raised my big blind for the third time in a row. I called with 3,4 of clubs, intending to bluff the flop. The flop came, and hold on a sec, I can't possibly bet this. A,2,5. The other player bluffed again, and I called (after a small think of course). Then the poor guy turned a 7 to match his pocket pair. And we proceeded to re-raise until all our chips were heaped in the middle. We turned over the cards, he fell of his chair, the river didn't pair, and I coasted into a $10,000 seat for the big one.

Not a bad start at all.

Day 3- 24/4/04 – $1,500 Limit 7 Card Stud
I love playing 7 Card Stud. I don't know why. God only knows why, but I do. I did considerably better than yesterday's tournament, lasting almost 3 times as long. Another embarrassing episode in my 7 card career. How on earth did I win 7 Card Stud comps in the early 90s? I'm buggered if I can remember how? Off to the 3pm super sat I go...

And ran very close again. The last 6 players remaining get seats…I finish 7th. Ouch.

One thing I have worked out. These super satellites are going to provide about 700 entrants to the big one at this rate. There is also a claim that 700 players will qualify thru the internet. Will we reach 2000 players for the big one?

Day 6- 27/4/04 – $1,500 Pot Limit Hold'em
Ok today I was determined to make a little more effort. Pot Limit Hold'em. The British game. But what an opening table, Barney, Huck Seed, Scotty Nguyen and Johnny Chan. Doh!

As it happens it was Johnny who got me started. I raised his BB (for the third time) with pocket nines. The flop was Q92 and I checked even though I was last to act. The turn was another Queen and I bet weak. He called and we saw a Jack on the river. He led out betting 500 on, what I assumed was a stone cold bluff. But I raised him 500 anyway, and he promptly went all-in with another raise. I showed my 9s and the two times world champ exited stage left… And my ego is now as big as my mate Phil's.

I built big chips in this event and almost made the dinner break. But then the Lizard got me. Tony Bloom and I were the two chip leaders at our table, and as we are great friends, it was unlikely that we would clash. That is until we picked up a couple of monster hands. His J K suited was way to strong for my 72 off-suit… and off he went to the final table while I played the 7.45 super satellite (without any success this time).

Day 7- 28/4/04 – $1,000 No Limit Hold'em
Wow. Over 600 runners for a 1000 NLH with rebuys. Somehow Daniel Negranau manages to rebuy 26 times. The competition has cost him a paltry $27,000 in entry fees ! I start well, get a few chips, and don't need to top up as I have 5000. Unfortunately, the field soon passes me by. I hang on with a short stack for hours, until Mike Laing arrives at the table drunk with huge chips. He bluffs me out of his first hand and shows me 6 3…and then doubles me up twice and gives his whole mountain away to the rest of the table in less than 60 minutes. God bless Jack Daniels.

I get well into the money until one of those hands arrives. The flop read QsJd10s. I had raised on the button with J9 spades. The big blind had called with Q10. Needless to say the felt nearly caught fire as we both tried to get all our chips in the middle as quick as possible. My 17 outs didn't materialise and I was eliminated in 15th place at 3.20 in the morning, 3 minutes before the end of the days play… just in time to be able to play the following days Pot Limit Omaha event.

Day 8- 29/4/04 – $2000 Pot Limit Omaha
Pot Limit Omaha, and what a breeze. Every time I take on Aces, I crack them. Lady Luck was with me all day. I was never all-in, hardly ever put half my stack in the middle and never had one pressure crucial hand. I love Omaha. Finished the day with second largest chip stack behind the magnificent Robert Williamson.

Day 9- 30/4/04 – $2000 Pot Limit Omaha Final
The PLO Final was being televised by ESPN, so the day started with an ESPN interview and surprisingly it went well. For a change the interviewer seemed to understand poker. This is America. Everyone understands poker.

The final was one of my biggest poker disappointments. I couldn't pick up a hand that even I would play. And I play more than most. I finally found 7,10JQ double suited on my big blind and re-raised Robert Williamson's raise. He would probably drop Kings and many other hands in this situation, but of course Robert had Aces. I made a flush but this was no match for Robert's four aces. Fourth and $45,000 isn't bad, but still I'm sad.

Day 10- 1/5/04
One of those strange 'it's a small world' coincidences happened again today. I sat down in the Super Sat. and the geezer next to me sits down and stares me out. 'I've got the same surname as you' in a New York accent. 'I've seen you on Late Nite Poker !'. He rolls over his players card and it says Sean Colclough. (My daughter's name is Sian and everyone insists on mis-pronouncing her name as Sean). He is the only Colclough in the New York telephone directory, and of course he qualifies for a seat in the big one. And everyone is asking me have I got a younger brother...

Day 11- 2/5/04 - $2,000 Limit Hold'em
I lasted a long way down the field and went out around 45th, but for no return. The highlight of the day was sitting next to my mate Phil though. And unsurprisingly enough, it didn't take long for sparks to fly. I am assured, on good authority, that he is a great guy away from the table, and have no reason to disbelieve this. At the table though, he just loves to try and belittle everyone. Speech play goes in America and it can add to the fun, and the spectacle from a TV point of view. But for some reason Phil insists on talking down to all the players, telling them they are idiots playing a certain way. Surprise, surprise, this has a habit of happening after he loses a pot of course. Eventually I couldn't listen to him any more. After making derogatory comments about the dealer for the second hand in a row, I tried to explain that the dealer had no control over what appears on the flop. (and none of us would want to play in a game where they had !). As usual my timing was off, and Phil blew his top. The self proclaimed best player in the world, was now proclaiming to the whole room that he was more of a man than I'll ever be, and that goading someone after losing a pot was totally un-excusable. And I hadn't even realised I was goading him. Well I was speechless (honest guv, I was lost for words). This was one of those times when American and English were completely different languages again. I honestly had no idea what planet he was coming from. There are definitely some major cultural differences here. I went to bed on a little bit of a downer for the first time since I arrived.

Day 12- 3/5/04 - $2,000 Limit Hold'em Final
My close friend and fellow Stokie, Paul Maxfield, somehow made the final of the Limit Hold'em. This was the first time Mad Max had played a Limit Hold'em competition. So it was quite a stunning performance. (He also knocked my mate Phil out in the later stages of yesterday evening). Paul had only $7000 in chips with the Big Blind of 3000 just two hands away. Somehow he survived through to a very creditable 4th place. And everyone still thinks he can't play...

The big white board now reads 520 paid entries for the big one. It's looking like 2000 runners!

Day 13- 4/5/04 - $5,000 No Limit Hold'em
Well I spent the whole day in the big event looking for a hand. Eight hours of survival and the biggest pair that I held was jacks…and they lost ! So I wandered over to the Super Satellite, paid my 200 dollar entry, and promptly picked up Kings three times in the first 20 minutes. Oh my, how the poker gods laughed.

Then the geezer next to me asks me “what's spiderman play like ?” Now is he about to tell me a joke ? No. Don't think so. “Toby. Whats he play like ?”. “Coby ?” “No, Toby. You were sat next to him in the 5000 event. The actor who plays spiderman.” “What the young kid who doesn't even look old enough to be in the casino ?” “That's the one.” Geez. I guess I am getting old.

Somehow I manage to make good use of the chips I gained from the Kings, and qualify for another seat in the Super Sat.. Which means I get paid $10,000 in poker chips this time… I guess I'll let the poker gods have their little joke at my expense. They ain't so bad.

And now there are 614 paid up entries for the big one. It surely is going to be the biggest tournament in history.

Day 14- 5/5/04
My girlfriend, Rhowena, has arrived and I take a day off. Just to prove to myself that I am not addicted…Sick. But not addicted. So after sampling the best salad in the world at Hugo's, we wander down to the Freemont Cinema to see Kill Bill 2. Her choice, not mine. But at least it's a change from Peter Pan... And of course it happened. There was a trailer for the new Spiderman movie. And I was staring at the face I had been chatting about poker to, for eight hours the previous day... Another it's a small world experience.

Day 16- 7/5/04 – Limit Hold'em shootout
240 players in the shootout, which meant 24 tables. They paid 24 places which meant you had to win your table to get in the money, and of course I finished second on my table. No reward for that day's hard labour.

I also bashed away at another super satellite before finding Kings and running into Aces with them. By my calculations I have Kings v Aces only 4 or 5 times a year and will win with them once. So in a way I'm lucky it only happened in a super satellite. Well that's one way of looking at it anyway. Nevertheless, I have that slight worry that one of those little hiccup bad runs, is in progress.

Day 17- 8/5/04 – No Limit Hold'em shootout
400 Players in the shootout, which meant 40 tables in the same format. You have to win the table to make the money. I had quite an easy table and was chip leader with about 65% with 3 players left. Then I tangled with an old adversary, Billy Duarte. I lost 5 consecutive hands to him. 4 of which he was all-in, and 4 of which I was a big favourite in. Ouch. Now I am a little worried.

Day 18- 9/5/04 – Omaha Hi-Lo Split
Yet again I managed to run close to the money, but just missed.
974 runners on the board for the big one! We are still on target for 2000.

Day 19- 10/5/04 – Pot Limit Hold'em
Just to compound the fact I was running a little bad, I decided to start playing bad. Having not seen any semblance of a hand, or an opportunity in the first two hours of play, I somehow manage to get myself involved with K10 suited, and an exit hand of Q6 (on my big blind).

There's a new game in town. The Bellagio is now spreading 1,2 limit Hold'em. That is, $100,000 / $200,000. Minimum sit down 10 million dollars! A Texan banker has flown into town and is playing the worlds best in a heads up match.

Just to try and have things a little his way, he insists that each days play starts at 6am. A dozen or so of the top professionals have clubbed together so they have a bankroll that is big enough to take him on.

Day 20- 11/5/04 – $5,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Split
I feel I played today's tournament a lot better. The best way to play most limit tournaments is to play very tight and to select only the premium starting hands. I survived a long time before eventually hitting a sequence where I lost with Aces twice. I then missed, after flopping 6,7,K two clubs to match my A,2,3 nut flush and unbreakable low draw. I don't get anything out of this pot and I'm out again.

Devilfish was on the same starting table and struck a last longer bet with Mike “I'm the best Omaha split player in the world” Mattusow. Both convinced that they will make the final. They reported to the rail first and second out within three hours play. If ever the Poker Gods get an opportunity to cut us down to size, they don't usually miss it.

Day 21- 12/5/04 – $1500 No Limit Hold'em
Having flopped three Jacks over Ross Boatman's three 6's, I got off to another good start. Over 800 runners again. I managed to get down to the last 100 within sight of the money when it happened again. Did I say I only get Kings v Aces four or five times a year? Bushey reckons it happens to him every week. Anyway, Brad Dougharty's Aces stand up and my Kings send me to the super satellite, where of course I pick up Kings v Aces again. But this time I flopped a King. To no avail though, as I went out about 12th short of the money. I have a horrible feeling I may be eating these words later. If my exit hand from the main event is Kings v Aces, I will never write a diary again!

Day 22- 13/5/04 - $5000 7 Card Stud
The slump continues. I make a slight profit during the first two levels but overplay and lose with Aces and then Kings during the next two levels. I didn't even make the second break, which of course meant I was in time for the Super Satellite.

Super Satellites are fun. I enjoy them more than any other form of poker. I don't know why, but they keep throwing up great situations and great stories. And this one certainly brought a smile back to my face. To add to the ambience, Gazza 'The Whacker' Bush was heckling me throughout from the nearby rail, bemoaning the fact that I seem to have 5 times as much luck as him. 'Blessed, you are Colclough' is his favourite quote. Anyway, it transpires that we agree if I win another $10,000 in tournament entry chips, I will enter him in tomorrows Pot Limit Hold'em comp.

So eventually we are down to the last 7 players. They are giving away 6 seats. There are 5 huge stacks (my friend Robin Keston having the biggest of them all) and here are 2 tiny stacks. Me and seat 7. One of us two will miss out. When my big blind gets raised yet again, I calculate I can just about throw this hand away and the next two, and seat 7 will then run out of chips in his blinds. Seat 7 passes each hand expecting me to make a mistake, but I don't. And eventually he is all-in on his small blind. I have only 3 chips left and would be all-in next hand. Each of the big stacks calls to gang up on poor old seat 7. Excellent, 5 v 1. I like it… Then my good friend Robin from London, looks down and finds two Kings. And of course he does the stupid thing, and raises. The other players are screaming blue murder at him, while I am crying on the floor. You don't get anything extra for being the biggest stack. All 6 survivors get the same. So of course, it makes sense to gang up on one gu all the time… But Robin wanted the glory of course… Fortunately, this Kings story has a happy ending. They stood up. Seat 7 was eliminated, and I won another $10,000 with only 3 chips left. And of course with Robin's 103,000 chips, he also won a $10,000 seat.

So I enter myself, and 'The Whacker' in the Pot Limit Hold'em competition.

Day 23- 14/5/04 - $3000 Pot Limit Hold'em
At last I hit a few flops, start like a train, and probably produce my best game for a week or so. I mixed it up well and was probably chip leader after four levels, having turned my 3000 staring chips into 36,000.

Unfortunately, the dinner break also signified a break in my luck. I managed to lose a third of my stack in a blinds skirmish (Jacks v Queens). Eventually we were down to 37 players and I was sitting on an average stack of 25,000. We were playing hand for hand, one out of the money, when I picked up AK under the gun. I smooth called, looking for a re-raise opportunity, but was outplayed. The flop came A67, which was a lot more help to the button's pocket 6s than my big slick. I somehow managed to play badly enough to lose my whole stack, and exit one of the money. Disgusted with myself I left and went straight to bed without the obligatory Budweiser or two.

Day 24- 15/5/04
I chose not to play the Razz and got up late… with a very nice surprise waiting for me. The Whacker had made the final of 3000 PLH. I spent the rest of the day with The Camel and a dozen or so other football hooligans on the benches next to the final table. Unfortunately Ram was out early, the Mexican wave was pathetic, the crowd was too busy drinking to roar… but Gary 'The Whacker' Bush was at his best, finishing a very honourable second. Err, landing the pair of us a hefty $120,000 to boot. Yabba dabba doo!

Day 26- 17/5/04 - $5,000 Limit Hold'em
My personal playing slump continues as I exit the event on the fourth level. Ted Forrest was on fire beating me up in 6 pots out of 6. Financially it has been a very rewarding trip, but I really would like to make one more final table to be happy.

Generally, all the Europeans are now in town. The board now reads 1100 registered entrants for the main event, and don't go betting under 1800 if you like money.

Day 27- 18/5/04 - $3,000 NoLimit Hold'em
It happened again! Level 2, 70 minutes in, I pick up my first big hand : Kings. I don't think I need to spell any more out. My, how the poker gods laughed as my opponent turned over the two aces. It looks like Bushey is right! Kings v Aces four times in a fortnight. Ho, hum. At least it happened early. I didn't get any opportunity to build false expectations.

This tournament turned out to be unique. Almost 650 players with 3000 chips produced too many chips to enable a result in 2 days. For the first time in WSOP history, the final three couldn't force a result, and quit at 3.45 am after 2 days hard labour. Unfortunately, the break worked against the two remaining brits, Ram Vaswani and John Kabbaj, who had to settle for third and second respectively.

As there are now over 1400 signed up entrants for the big one, I wonder if we may have to endure similar long gruelling days. There is a common thought around Binions that this years winner may have to be young and fit just to have enough stamina to last the distance. Who would have ever thought fitness would come into play at a poker table?

Day 28- 19/5/04 - $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha
This was undoubtedly my biggest disappointment of the trip. A first prize of half a million dollars, in an Omaha competition. I got started built up to 35,000 chips quite quickly but watched helplessly as I lost three times after setting my opponent when I had the best of it. But that's Omaha. In fact, that's Poker. It's important to remember that 65% favourites lose almost a third of the time.

So here I am winging away. I have $50,000 more than I arrived with. And all I am worried about, is the fact I didn't get close to a girlie's bracelet. What a strange breed we are

An Introduction to Position

The boss has spoken. He wants more advice and less drivel in the column (what's the difference you may well ask). He just doesn't care about whether my fridge was empty at the end of January… So what if my 5 year old daughter couldn't go to the cinema to watch Peter Pan? What's wrong with a good game of noughts and crosses? Exactly. So, here's probably the minimum I can get away with on the subject of 'position'.

'Position' is just plain common sense. The further you are from the Big Blind, the more information you have. It is commonly believed that having the best position is always being in last position. In fact, my mate Brad who has an IQ of 180, insists that being last to speak is always the best position to be in. It is in fact one of the few statements he has made that is completely incorrect, wrong, short sighted simplistic rubbish…but for the time being we will assume he is right.

Let's assume that we have all been good boys and girls, and we are s