Journey South

Off down the M5 on Monday for a second (and I am assured last) interview. A 400 mile round trip.

Update

Ok, interview over. Haven't really got a clue whether it was good or bad. I find out in the morning if I've got a second interview. If I do it will be on Monday in the home town of Rosie and the SS Great Britain.

Today's the day

Interview today.

I am much more nervous about this interview than the one earlier in the year. I suppose it is because I feel that this is the last chance with my current employer. If I don't get this job then I will start looking elsewhere.

Blue badge rant

Regular readers will know that my wife has had some major health problems. This means that if we go out shopping she has to use a wheelchairs. As a consequence, she has a blue disabled parking badge. The main problem with this is that all the disabled spaces in the car parks are often full.

The reason we need a disabled space is not to do with closeness to the shops (though I like that when I'm pushing the chair!), it is all about the width of the space, allowing the car door to open fully, and the wheelchair to fit easily between cars.

On Wednesday we had a trip to the Trafford Centre. We found a disabled space, next to the lift, on the end of a row, so cars alongside my wife's door weren't an issue anyway. We went off and did our shopping (credit card is hurting now) and came back about three hours later.

Parked next to our car, not in a proper space but in the roadway at the end of the row, parked so close that I would be concerned getting in myself without banging the door, was another car. A car with a disabled badge. A car with a notice in the passenger door requesting people not to park to close because they used a wheelchair! How can somebody who is a wheelchair user themselves park so as to so badly inconvenience another disabled person? There appears to be a small number of disabled badge holders that give the rest a bad name. They use their parking privileges to "abandon" their cars wherever is most convenient without any thought to other road users or pedestrians, and other people won't say anything for fear of being thought uncaring.

Unfortunately I didn't have a pen on me, or there would have been a very snotty note left on their windscreen. We also reported them to the centre staff, but I suspect nothing would be done.

Why don't they fold?

Continuing my efforts at bank roll building on Mansion, I've got stuck in the $60-$70 region. I'm playing $0.05/$0.10 cash games. The problem I'm having at the moment is the idiots who chase their draws to the river. However, it does sometimes work to my advantage. The following hand is an example. I know the guy will see a flop with any rubbish (having previously been beaten by his 8 3o!

ANTES/BLINDS Hero posts blind ($0.05), .jackrymer68 posts blind ($0.10). PRE-FLOP Mejram folds, IceManQQQ folds, sebequino calls $0.10, xrajka calls $0.10, Hibachi13 folds, joza111 folds, Baggers59 folds, Hero bets $0.35, .jackrymer68 calls $0.30, sebequino calls $0.30, xrajka calls $0.30. FLOP [board cards: QS,7S,9C ] Hero bets $1.50, .jackrymer68 folds, sebequino calls $1.50, xrajka folds. TURN [board cards: QS,7S,9C,7C ] Hero bets $2.95 and is all-in, sebequino calls $2.95. RIVER [board cards: QS,7S,9C,7C,5D ] SHOWDOWN Hero shows [ QC,KC ] sebequino shows [ 8C,TC ] Hero wins $10.

SUMMARY Dealer: Baggers59 Pot: $10.50, (including rake: $0.50) Hero. bets $4.85, collects $10, net $5.15 .jackrymer68, loses $0.40 Mejram, loses $0 IceManQQQ, loses $0 sebequino, loses $4.85 xrajka, loses $0.40 Hibachi13, loses $0 joza111, loses $0 Baggers59, loses $0

Cash at Last

Played in tonights Brit Bloggerment for the first time for a while. And, for the first time ever, I made it to the money, finishing third.

I certainly had my share of luck along the way, but I don't think I made too many donkey calls. I managed to practice some of the restraint I've been learning in the cash games; I only saw 12% of flops.

I left HullJimi and BrainMc fighting it out for victory.

Update: Congratulations to HullJimi, who took the tourney down after 2 hours 44 minutes.

A right to free speech?

I went in to Blackburn town centre today with all the family. My daughter's favourite dress had had an accident involving an iron, so we were off shopping to replace it.

As we walked into the main pedestrianised area, we were confronted by two people addressing the public with amplifiers.

On the right was Jack Straw MP, Minister for Justice, and someone who, despite being a cabinet minister for many years, takes his constituency responsiblities seriously. Once a month he goes into the town centre, stands on a box, and invites his constituents to ask him questions. Whilst we were passing today he was promising to take up an issue with the Chancellor, and was going to respond in writing to the questioner. Whilst I may disagree with many of the things this government has done, and Jack Straw has been a major player since they were first elected, I cannot but admire him for putting himself out there for his constituents to harangue.

On the opposite side was a man with a board proclaiming him to be from a presbyterian church. What he was doing was rather less praise-worthy. In the middle of a very multi-cultural town, and a time once again of heightened tension due to events in Sudan, he was bellowing offensive comments about Muhammad and the Pope. So much for good will to all men at Christmas. I am pleased to say that the only person appearing to listen to him was his colleague trying to hand out leaflets. However, he may have attracted more of an audience if Jack Straw hadn't been there.

Whilst I believe everyone is free to believe what they want, I don't want my children exposed to this poison. At the moment they don't notice skin colour, and show interest in, not contempt for, the various world religions.

Stephen Fry, supergeek.

I recently stumbled across actor/presenter Stephen Fry's new blog. It really isn't what I would have expected. It is nearly all tech related. He owns a load of Macs, and also runs Ubuntu, Red Hat and Yellow dog linux distributions. He talks knowledgeably about the history of PDAs and smartphones, he compares the Palm OS to Pocket Windows, and writes scathing reviews of new media playing phones. As a result of the blog he's even been given a tech column in the Guardian.

His latest post is a review of a clockwork mp3 player!

Mansion Update

My free $20 is now up to $65. Shortly after my previous post on the subject, my bankroll started dribbling away alarmingly - I couldn't hit a flop, and my bluffs weren't coming off. However, over the last week things have changed.

It started, strangely enough, with me losing a full $10 buy-in at the 0.05/.10 cash tables within 5 minutes of sitting down. Now, normally if I lose a buy-in I stop playing, to limit my losses, however, this time, I didn't. I bought straight back in again, and with half an hour I had won my $10 back plus another 10. Most of it came from two people. The table nearly broke up, and for quite a long time there was only 3 of us playing. One guy kept buying in with just $1, I presume to minimise risk, but I just kept taking that dollar off him, and he'd buy in again. I think that happened at least 6 times. The other guy at the table had around $15 at the start of this session, and I took most of that.

I am staying away from the SNGs. I just can't seem to make any headway there at all. The cash games, whilst providing less opportunity for one big win, allow me to steadily grind away, taking two steps forward, one back, without the tilt provoking bad beats which finish you off in a tourney.

If I get the bank roll up to $100, I'll probably step up a level. At the level I am playing now it is a matter of playing ABC poker. Don't get too clever, because it can go straight over the heads of a lot of the people at the table, They just keep calling, and they'll catch something on the river. Of course whenever you get dealt AA in the big blind, everyone folds pre-flop.

Another door opens...

Back in January I wrote about the company I have worked for since I graduated 16 years ago being taken over by a large public company, and how I applied for, and narrowly missed getting, a General Manager's position at another site within the group.

Well now the General Manager's post at the site I work where I work is becoming vacant. It's sad in a way, because it means someone I've worked with for the last 12 years is leaving, but, it's an opportunity for me. I've been told by two other managers at the site that I should apply (people that report to the GM), also by some of the people that report to me now. Perhaps part of that is "Better the Devil you know!" but it is encouraging.

My CV didn't need much updating, since I'd done that in January, so the day after the vacancy was listed, my application was in. Closing date isn't until the end of the month, so I will be stewing for a while yet.

The £100 PC

Actually it's $199, and only available at Walmart in the States, but, this is a great package. It does it by running Linux rather than Windows. It doesn't need all the power just to run the operating system, so can be built from cheaper components. From the reviews on the website, it's won some converts to Linux. It has sold out online, but if you're in the US and want one, you might be able to pick one up in store.

Bad beats and royal flush draws.

Kat and Burnley Mik both been on the wrong end of a bad beat (Mik have you upset someone in another life, that is one hell of a run?).

Meanwhile, things have been going well for me over at Mansion. The $20 the gave me a few days ago is now $46, just from playing the $0.05/0.10 no limit cash tables. Hands like this certainly help!

*** Blind Bet Round *** :
rastaralle2 : Post Blind ($0.05)
-tordy- : Post Blind ($0.10)
TonyV1885 : Post Blind ($0.10)
Dealt to Hero: Ah
Dealt to Hero: Jh
*** Pre-Flop *** :
david-jr : Call ($0.10)
LECSO7373 : Fold
Lisa_K38 : Fold
jonna92 : Fold
TonyV1885 : Check
PeTiKe22 : Call ($0.10)
Hero: Bet ($0.35)
nmseg72 : Call ($0.35)
rastaralle2 : Fold
-tordy- : Fold
david-jr : Call ($0.25)
TonyV1885 : Fold
PeTiKe22 : Call ($0.25)
*** Flop *** : Qh 10h 8d
david-jr : Check
PeTiKe22 : Bet ($0.25)
Hero: Raise ($1.50)
nmseg72 : Call ($1.50)
david-jr : Call ($1.50)
PeTiKe22 : Fold
*** Turn *** : [ Qh 10h 8d ] Ks

david-jr : Check
Hero: Bet ($7.35)
Hero: All In ($7.35)
nmseg72 : Call ($5.65)
nmseg72 : All In ($5.65)
david-jr : Call ($3.70)
david-jr : All In ($3.70)
Dealt to Hero: Ah
Dealt to Hero: Jh
Dealt to nmseg72: 10s
Dealt to nmseg72: 4s
Dealt to david-jr: 6h
Dealt to david-jr: Kh
*** River *** : [ Qh 10h 8d Ks ] Ac


*** SUMMARY ***
Pot: $22.10 | Rake: $1
Board: [ Qh 10h 8d Ks Ac ]
LECSO7373 lost $0
Lisa_K38 lost $0
jonna92 lost $0
TonyV1885 lost $0.10
PeTiKe22 lost $0.60
Hero bet $9.20, collected $22.10, net $12.90 Shows [ Ah Jh ] (a straight, Ace high)
nmseg72 lost $7.50 Shows [ 10s 4s ] (a pair of tens)
rastaralle2 lost $0.05
-tordy- lost $0.10
david-jr lost $5.55 Shows [ 6h Kh ] (a pair of Kings)


It's a lovely feeling when you're all in on the turn, the cards show, and everyone else is drawing dead. Of course, the decision to go all-in would have been much less stressful if the King on the turn had been a heart but, as that was in one of the other guy's hands, that wasn't to be.

I looked back at my history on Mansion from last time I played here, and I did well then too. For some strange reason I withdrew my roll and moved it all to Pokerstars! I think I'll see how far I can take my free $20. Next stop $100!

Money for Nothing..

.. but no chicks ;)

Mansion have given me $20 to go back and play on their site. It's probably 12 months since I last played there. I had a reasonable amout of success, but I eventually withdrew my roll and moved it to 'Stars.

Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I've re-installed the Mansion software, and am giving it a try.

There's a new, clean looking user interface, but, unlike Pokerstars, the size seems to be fixed. The range of games is also more limited than 'Stars. Anyway, I'll give it a go, and see if I can turn a profit.

Maudie's new home

Maudie has moved her blog to www.pokerperspectives.com. Drop in a say hi.

Wandering Monsters

Any of you guys play MMORPGs or D&D? Take a look at this Encounter table.

Don't you love it when this happens?

A lesson I've learnt the hard way - beware of the paired board!

sparkie545: posts small blind $0.02
conngent: posts big blind $0.05
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to stephenrhall [9d 9s]

>>000'>J: folds

marquelyn: folds
FlitzeAAA: raises $0.10 to $0.15
TheOne2006: calls $0.15
astralfunk: calls $0.15
ionut_steaua: folds
stephenrhall: calls $0.15
sparkie545: folds
conngent: folds
*** FLOP *** [3h 8h 8d]
FlitzeAAA: checks
TheOne2006: checks
astralfunk: checks
stephenrhall: bets $0.35
FlitzeAAA: folds
TheOne2006: calls $0.35
astralfunk: folds
*** TURN *** [3h 8h 8d] [4c]
TheOne2006: checks
stephenrhall: checks
*** RIVER *** [3h 8h 8d 4c] [9h]
TheOne2006: bets $13.19 and is all-in
stephenrhall: calls $3.57 and is all-in
*** SHOW DOWN ***
TheOne2006: shows [Ah Th] (a flush, Ace high)
stephenrhall: shows [9d 9s] (a full house, Nines full of Eights)
stephenrhall collected $8.11 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $8.51 | Rake $0.40
Board [3h 8h 8d 4c 9h]
Seat 1: ionut_steaua folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: stephenrhall (button) showed [9d 9s] and won ($8.11) with a full house, Nines full of Eights

Inspiration

I try to set an example to my children, to encourage them to strive to better themselves, to do their best at whatever they attempt.

Yesterday the tables were turned.

I took the kids cycling in Grizedale Forest. It's the first time that we've done that sort of thing together. To be honest, I haven't done any serious cycling for years. In my early teens I would think nothing of cycling 50 miles; today I wouldn't want to think about such a distance.

Towards the end of the day, we're slogging up a hill. My son has already given up and is walking, and I'm seriously considering joining him. I look up the hill to see how far there is to go, and, ahead, I see my 8 year old daughter, moving her bike up the hill through the force of her own stubbornness. At that point I can't get off and walk. She's going through the pain of moving that bike up the hill, with 6 gears less to go at than me, and a lot less strength and experience (though admittedly an awful lot less excess weight too!). I drag myself and the bike to the top of the hill, and then thankfully call for a rest to wait for my son, heart bursting with pride in my little girl.

And they're off

The big event has started. I was sharing a table with Lou Saban, but got moved after one hand. Rosie has an interesting seat - left of Dr Pauly.
13 minutes in, 32 out.

Update 1
Looks like I gave Rosie kiss of death - she's out in 1311th place.

Wil Wheaton is sharing a table with BurnleyJoe. Any relation Mik?

Otis has shown up as commentator, under name of Blogger Brad!

Playing steady so far. Not taking any risks. Slightly up on starting chips.

Update 2

Playing hardly any hands. I've seen two flops, won 3 hands!

Dropped in on Acorn. He's about level too. BM Similar.

Update 3

Just had a double up on my table, AA takes down KK.
Burnley Mik down to 7000.

Update 4
AQh and I make my first raise for ages. No takers.
Limped with A3h and flop AA3! Only BB in hand. I can't get him to raise, and he folds to my raise on turn.

Update 5
ResdentEvil was all in with a flopped straight and he doubles up.
Wil Wheaton has just dropped the HAMMER!

Update 6
Pauly is out. SuffolkPunch is down at around 8000, as is BM. I'm down to 8800. Nothing I can make anything of.
Two big stacks at table. I've pushed with JJ. One big stack calls with 99. Flop gives him a 10 high straight draw. Turn and river are blank and I double up.

Update 7
BM up to 14000 as he rakes in the chips with AA and another rocket on the flop.

Update 8
First break over, back to folding. I'm being a bit of a masochist, I'm playing Britbloggerment too.

Update 9
This time its me with 99. KK on the flop. I put a couple of small raises in. One person limps along, and I take the pot. Next hand 77 not so lucky, and I lose a few.

Update 10

I raise pre flop with TT. Two callers. Flop is AK4. One instant all in. Must be AK. One instant fold from me. One insane call with AQ. It was AK. It holds up.

Dealt 84 in BB. One limper. flop is 824. Limper pushes. I easily have him covered, so I call. A 9 on the turn and another on the river, counterfeiting my hand and giving him the higher two pair. Down to 11000.

Update 11
Now outlasted half the field, but low on chips.

Last update.
Out in 655th place.

Here are the fateful hands.

Dealt to stephenrhall [Qc Jc]
biobakje: folds
IAMB67: folds
PanamaStone: folds
stephenrhall: calls 600
bbmart60: folds
bighair83: calls 600
Catalina_Day: folds
Leraner: calls 300
quintiliano: checks
*** FLOP *** [3h Jh 4s]
Leraner: checks
quintiliano: checks
stephenrhall: bets 4925
bighair83: raises 4925 to 9850
Leraner: folds
quintiliano: folds
stephenrhall: raises 721 to 10571 and is all-in
bighair83: calls 608 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [3h Jh 4s] [Ad]
*** RIVER *** [3h Jh 4s Ad] [5c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
stephenrhall: shows [Qc Jc] (a pair of Jacks)
bighair83: shows [6h Ah] (a pair of Aces)
bighair83 collected 23316 from pot

quintiliano: posts small blind 400
biobakje: posts big blind 800
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to stephenrhall [Ks Ts]
IAMB67: folds
PanamaStone: folds
stephenrhall: calls 113 and is all-in
bbmart60: folds
bighair83: folds
Catalina_Day: calls 800
Leraner: raises 4125 to 4925 and is all-in
quintiliano: folds
biobakje: folds
Catalina_Day: folds
*** FLOP *** [Td 5d 2d]
*** TURN *** [Td 5d 2d] [6d]
*** RIVER *** [Td 5d 2d 6d] [3s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Leraner: shows [Kd Tc] (a flush, King high)
Leraner collected 2348 from side pot
stephenrhall: shows [Ks Ts] (a pair of Tens)
Leraner collected 565 from main pot

World Blogger Championship

The event starts in less than three hours now. Registration is open, and entries are passed 400 and climbing rapidly.

Plenty of familiar names signed up - Dr Pauly, Mookie99, Kronsdat, ResdentEvil, Mike and Lou Saban, Hammerheid, Kattitude...... No sign of BurnleyMik, Acorn or Cloud yet. I presume they'll be along later.

Dead Hamster

Got a phone-call this morning from my wife, saying that the hamster was dead. This was quite a shock, as it is only two months old, and it was running around on my hands the evening before.

Of course the kids were devastated, and went to school almost in tears.

An hour later I get another call. The hamster is alive! She had gone to put it in a plastic bag before putting it in a box to bury it, and it had moved. It was breathing about once every two minutes.

Turns out that because we had moved it from the lounge to the dining room, the slight drop in temperature, along with the lights being on less, had sent it into hibernation. A quick google for hamster hibernation, and we find that we need to warm it up, give it sugary water and mushy food. The warmth was easy - just plonk it down on the laptop PSU! Much TLC later, and we have a very grumpy, but awake hamster.