"......I read the other day that a fantastic player from a little while ago has gone and got himself a job. I read that he maybe felt that the game had passed him by a bit. How and why do you think that this can happen?..."
Well that'll be young Thewy.
And yes, he now has a proper job, technical draughtsman (architectural) or somesuch. It was what he did before poker. He designed the extension to his own house 5 or 6 years ago, too. And that was some extension, almost a complete new house, we are talking £300,000+ worth. (Thanks to EPT Baden).
There were several factors in his decision.
First up, he was ahead of the curve for a long time. Of late, though, he started feeling that he could not boss tables any more, people were doing things he could not grasp, & he just lost that "buzz" poker gives us. The game has changed amazingly, & so quickly, too. To me, I was chuffed to bits that he grasped that nettle - so many don't or can't, & become all rather sad to see.
I'm convinced - just by reading their posts, & observing their general demeanour, that many full time MTT players don't actually enjoy the game, but that's a whole other topic.
I used to be able to play to what was then a tidy standard, but not any more, as I never worked on my game. Now I play small ball, have an hourly of about a quid - I kid you not - but am totally at peace with what I play & I've never enjoyed it more. Adapt or die, so to speak.
Another major factor for Jules is that he has 4 kids between 10 & 3 (roughly) & a lovely, caring wife, but she worries about the ability to pay the bills & get the kids the stuff they want, give them nice holidays etc. For those with a full time job that means a guaranteed income stream, the paycheck hits the bank every month. For a Pro MTT player, much as we all want to be that man, try to imagine having 4 kids & a wife, & not knowing when the next bink might be? He did VERY well indeed, but he often went 12 to 18 months without a significant bink. Him & Amanda must have worried themselves to bits.
Another very nasty nettle to grasp another day is the situation of a full time MTT player who has a wife & kids to support. Quite hard to square that equation in some respects. Not enough money to take the kids to Disneyland, but Dad plays poker every day. That must generate some awkward silences during a downswing.
On a quick Thewy side-note - all 4 kids were born between mid December & mid January, & Amanda's birthday is in January, too. Think one of the kids has a birthday on Xmas Eve, or Boxing Day. And they ALL expect a Birthday pressie AND the regular Xmas pressies. Try to imagine THAT.
CxE1 posted yesterday about his youngest Daughter, Shreya, who is 10 I think. She presented him with her Xmas wish-list - on 2 sides of a piece of A4 paper. He may have embellished the tale a little, but you get the drift.
And what would an average parent spend - per kid - on Xmas presssies? £10? £50? £100? So Jules has FIVE lots of Xmas pressies & 5 lots of Birthday pressies in a month.
The mind boggles.
We remain close friends, & always will. We were before, during, & after his time with Sky Poker. And in all his time here, despite the worry that he & I may find ourselves in awkward spots, as we sat on opposite sides of the table, we never had a fallout or any awkward moments.
There are very few guys in poker I respect more than Julian.
Fascinating stuff. Thank you for spending the time to write such a lengthy reply.
Julian gave me a William Hill rakeback card at Gala one night. I'd only just started playing and had never played online.
I thought he was a weirdo.
Back in the day when Alex Goulder played the same levels as me, he commented that he thought I looked a bit like Julian. He then added "Do you know who he is?"
I found that a bit patronising and also disagreed that I looked like Julian. I said he looked a bit like Ken Doherty. He didn't know who he was.
Ha. Julian was really persistent with those WH Rakeback cards.
The guy that signed both Julian & myself - for different roles, obv - with Wm Hill back in 2005 or thenabouts was called Phil Quayle, who posts on another forum as "Bobby1", a very shrewd sports bettor & a smashing bloke. He manages the "in-running" Golf book for Bet365.
Quick sidestory whilst we are here. I went to Vegas with WH & Phil in around 2005, made a bunch of friends, & we all still keep in touch. One of our qualifiers finished 18th in the Main Event, which was quite something. (John McGrane).
Anyway, Phil got married, & have two lovely kids, aged 6 & 4 now, I think. The lad, Connor, then developed some learning difficulties, & so life changed suddenly & it was all a bot of a shock. In some ways, the saddest thing ever, & it knocked Phil for six, but now they have all adjusted to it, & it's fine, everything is perfect.
I'll reply to the others as & when, over the next few days I hope. Long day yesterday, with the Show & some stuff that needed sorting, da de da, so I'm a bit whacked at the mo.
Forgot a question Who's bright idea was it take the fxxcckjng filters off for chatbox comments? Surely no good can come of that Posted by Jac35
I was not aware that they had, & if they are now removed, I'd be pretty sure it was unintentional. They don't inform me of these things unless I ask, but I'd be extremely surprised if they were removed deliberately.
Not doubting you, but how do you know they have been removed, & when did you first notice it?
In Response to Re: Can an old dog learn new tricks? : I was not aware that they had, & if they are now removed, I'd be pretty sure it was unintentional. They don't inform me of these things unless I ask, but I'd be extremely surprised if they were removed deliberately. Not doubting you, but how do you know they have been removed, & when did you first notice it? Posted by Tikay10
They've been removed for a good while now.
Think I first noticed when Rainman let me know in no uncertain terms what he thought of a call I made.
In Response to Re: Can an old dog learn new tricks? : They've been removed for a good while now. Think I first noticed when Rainman let me know in no uncertain terms what he thought of a call I made. Posted by Jac35
I've asked the question.
I'd be extremely surprised if that were done by design, it's a fundamental here that a civil atmosphere is maintained, within reason.
In Response to Re: Can an old dog learn new tricks? : I've asked the question. I'd be extremely surprised if that were done by design, it's a fundamental here that a civil atmosphere is maintained, within reason. Anyway, let's wait & see what they say. Posted by Tikay10
Everything true other than my memory may have played tricks on me and it wasn't Rainman
In Response to Re: Can an old dog learn new tricks? : Everything true other than my memory may have played tricks on me and it wasn't Rainman Posted by Jac35
I had assumed that, anyway......but I did need to find out when you had noticed.
Anyway, the Office have replied, & were unaware, nobody had reported it previously, so they ran a test. (They have "invisible" Test Accounts for this sort of thing). And you were correct.
No idea how long this has been, or why - but it was certainly not by design, or known.
So it WILL be restored soonest. I've no idea when "soonest" is, a ticket will be passed to the techie guys, & until they open the bonnet, there's no way of knowing if it's an instant fix, or needs a bit of work.
Sadly, that means until it is fixed, it'll be open season from Team Smartarse to say what they like. Except it remains the case, if players cross the line in the chatbox, & it gets reported, they may well lose their chat rights, whether the profanity filter works or not.
In Response to Re: Can an old dog learn new tricks? : Thanks, killjoy. I shall have to ensure I let you know what I think of you before the censorship is restored. Posted by hhyftrftdr
Remarkable session last night, winning the first 8 on the spin, & 14 of the first 15. The one I lost was the only £11er that ran in the first 15 games......
The next £11er went rather better. I was not watching it, as it was Level 1, so it was tucked away bottom right of my 6 tiled DYM's. Suddenly, up pops that white screen - "Congratulations, you finished 3rd for £20".
No idea what happened, Tuney came onto another table & asked "what happened there?".
Not sure, but I think eon was responsible for the carnage.
oioi.
My next 15 games never went quite so well, losing 5 of them, but a great night overall, with 24 wins from 30, & £64.30 profit. Few more nights like that would be nice, but variance will want revenge shortly, without a doubt.
I had the opposite last night, the 60p games were filling so slowly, I must have registered for one while I was playing a £3.30. I shut the computer down a couple of hours later and when I started it up this morning I found that the game filled up at about 11:00 and of course I blinded out.
In Response to Re: Can an old dog learn new tricks? : I had assumed that, anyway......but I did need to find out when you had noticed. Anyway, the Office have replied, & were unaware, nobody had reported it previously, so they ran a test. (They have "invisible" Test Accounts for this sort of thing). And you were correct. No idea how long this has been, or why - but it was certainly not by design, or known. So it WILL be restored soonest. I've no idea when "soonest" is, a ticket will be passed to the techie guys, & until they open the bonnet, there's no way of knowing if it's an instant fix, or needs a bit of work. Sadly, that means until it is fixed, it'll be open season from Team Smartarse to say what they like. Except it remains the case, if players cross the line in the chatbox, & it gets reported, they may well lose their chat rights, whether the profanity filter works or not. Anyway, thanks for the nudge. Posted by Tikay10
I was just nearing the end of my usual rambling reply to that when a "pop up" Message came, & as per usual, once that comes, you can't get rid of it, & the would-be post is completely lost.
And the pop up Message?
"MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY! HO HO HO!!!"
I mean, every single character, symbol & sentiment in that yanks my chain.
"Merry Christmas". What? WHAT? Can't we find a more original & meaningful way of sending a Christmas message?
"Ho ho ho"? Are you kidding me? I'm not 4 years old you know. Bah.
And then. AND THEN. Not one (which would be one too many), not two, but THREE chuffing exclamation marks. What is it with everyone & exclamation marks? I saw a e-Mail the other day - very interesting it was, too. But FIVE sentences & FIVE exclamation marks.
Comments
We'll start with the easiest one.
"......I read the other day that a fantastic player from a little while ago has gone and got himself a job. I read that he maybe felt that the game had passed him by a bit. How and why do you think that this can happen?..."
Well that'll be young Thewy.
And yes, he now has a proper job, technical draughtsman (architectural) or somesuch. It was what he did before poker. He designed the extension to his own house 5 or 6 years ago, too. And that was some extension, almost a complete new house, we are talking £300,000+ worth. (Thanks to EPT Baden).
There were several factors in his decision.
First up, he was ahead of the curve for a long time. Of late, though, he started feeling that he could not boss tables any more, people were doing things he could not grasp, & he just lost that "buzz" poker gives us. The game has changed amazingly, & so quickly, too. To me, I was chuffed to bits that he grasped that nettle - so many don't or can't, & become all rather sad to see.
I'm convinced - just by reading their posts, & observing their general demeanour, that many full time MTT players don't actually enjoy the game, but that's a whole other topic.
I used to be able to play to what was then a tidy standard, but not any more, as I never worked on my game. Now I play small ball, have an hourly of about a quid - I kid you not - but am totally at peace with what I play & I've never enjoyed it more. Adapt or die, so to speak.
Another major factor for Jules is that he has 4 kids between 10 & 3 (roughly) & a lovely, caring wife, but she worries about the ability to pay the bills & get the kids the stuff they want, give them nice holidays etc. For those with a full time job that means a guaranteed income stream, the paycheck hits the bank every month. For a Pro MTT player, much as we all want to be that man, try to imagine having 4 kids & a wife, & not knowing when the next bink might be? He did VERY well indeed, but he often went 12 to 18 months without a significant bink. Him & Amanda must have worried themselves to bits.
Another very nasty nettle to grasp another day is the situation of a full time MTT player who has a wife & kids to support. Quite hard to square that equation in some respects. Not enough money to take the kids to Disneyland, but Dad plays poker every day. That must generate some awkward silences during a downswing.
On a quick Thewy side-note - all 4 kids were born between mid December & mid January, & Amanda's birthday is in January, too. Think one of the kids has a birthday on Xmas Eve, or Boxing Day. And they ALL expect a Birthday pressie AND the regular Xmas pressies. Try to imagine THAT.
CxE1 posted yesterday about his youngest Daughter, Shreya, who is 10 I think. She presented him with her Xmas wish-list - on 2 sides of a piece of A4 paper. He may have embellished the tale a little, but you get the drift.
And what would an average parent spend - per kid - on Xmas presssies? £10? £50? £100? So Jules has FIVE lots of Xmas pressies & 5 lots of Birthday pressies in a month.
The mind boggles.
We remain close friends, & always will. We were before, during, & after his time with Sky Poker. And in all his time here, despite the worry that he & I may find ourselves in awkward spots, as we sat on opposite sides of the table, we never had a fallout or any awkward moments.
There are very few guys in poker I respect more than Julian.
^^^^
Ha. Julian was really persistent with those WH Rakeback cards.
The guy that signed both Julian & myself - for different roles, obv - with Wm Hill back in 2005 or thenabouts was called Phil Quayle, who posts on another forum as "Bobby1", a very shrewd sports bettor & a smashing bloke. He manages the "in-running" Golf book for Bet365.
Quick sidestory whilst we are here. I went to Vegas with WH & Phil in around 2005, made a bunch of friends, & we all still keep in touch. One of our qualifiers finished 18th in the Main Event, which was quite something. (John McGrane).
Anyway, Phil got married, & have two lovely kids, aged 6 & 4 now, I think. The lad, Connor, then developed some learning difficulties, & so life changed suddenly & it was all a bot of a shock. In some ways, the saddest thing ever, & it knocked Phil for six, but now they have all adjusted to it, & it's fine, everything is perfect.
I'll reply to the others as & when, over the next few days I hope. Long day yesterday, with the Show & some stuff that needed sorting, da de da, so I'm a bit whacked at the mo.
Not doubting you, but how do you know they have been removed, & when did you first notice it?
He has a wonderfully descriptive & distinctive writing style - he writes EXACTLY as he speaks.
I try to do the same, but it's a bit of a fail.
I'd be extremely surprised if that were done by design, it's a fundamental here that a civil atmosphere is maintained, within reason.
Anyway, let's wait & see what they say.
Anyway, the Office have replied, & were unaware, nobody had reported it previously, so they ran a test. (They have "invisible" Test Accounts for this sort of thing). And you were correct.
No idea how long this has been, or why - but it was certainly not by design, or known.
So it WILL be restored soonest. I've no idea when "soonest" is, a ticket will be passed to the techie guys, & until they open the bonnet, there's no way of knowing if it's an instant fix, or needs a bit of work.
Sadly, that means until it is fixed, it'll be open season from Team Smartarse to say what they like. Except it remains the case, if players cross the line in the chatbox, & it gets reported, they may well lose their chat rights, whether the profanity filter works or not.
Anyway, thanks for the nudge.
I shall have to ensure I let you know what I think of you before the censorship is restored.
Week ending 20/12/15.
£3.30, P76, W43 = 57%
£5.50, P80, W42 = 53%
£11, P45, W27 = 60%
TOTAL P201, W 112 = 56%
Profit on the week = £109.33 (includes £20 Promo winnings, & £12.98 Rewards payment)
So that was a weird week - only won 56%, but had one of my biggest winning weeks ever.
That was due to a good week at the £11 games. 45 ran on the 6 nights I played, which must be a record in itself.
For balance, in the two previous weeks of December, my profit/loss was exactly.......nil. So all of December's profit came last week.
Monday I chased that Promo, & played 46 games. I often lose money when chasing promos, but I made £29 that night, plus the £20 bonus.
Wednesday was a whopper, £57 profit.
Thursday was another whopper - £37 LOSS.
Friday was flat, small loss.
Saturday was huge, £41.40 profit.
Sunday was around break-even.
Ain't variance a beaut?
I suppose with more games at £11, the swings & swongs will get bigger. Scary.
Anyway, the bankroll is ticking along nicely, tick tock, tick tock.
(PS - lost £29 last night, marv).
Remarkable session last night, winning the first 8 on the spin, & 14 of the first 15. The one I lost was the only £11er that ran in the first 15 games......
The next £11er went rather better. I was not watching it, as it was Level 1, so it was tucked away bottom right of my 6 tiled DYM's. Suddenly, up pops that white screen - "Congratulations, you finished 3rd for £20".
No idea what happened, Tuney came onto another table & asked "what happened there?".
Not sure, but I think eon was responsible for the carnage.
oioi.
My next 15 games never went quite so well, losing 5 of them, but a great night overall, with 24 wins from 30, & £64.30 profit. Few more nights like that would be nice, but variance will want revenge shortly, without a doubt.
^^^^
I was just nearing the end of my usual rambling reply to that when a "pop up" Message came, & as per usual, once that comes, you can't get rid of it, & the would-be post is completely lost.
And the pop up Message?
"MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY! HO HO HO!!!"
I mean, every single character, symbol & sentiment in that yanks my chain.
"Merry Christmas". What? WHAT? Can't we find a more original & meaningful way of sending a Christmas message?
"Ho ho ho"? Are you kidding me? I'm not 4 years old you know. Bah.
And then. AND THEN. Not one (which would be one too many), not two, but THREE chuffing exclamation marks. What is it with everyone & exclamation marks? I saw a e-Mail the other day - very interesting it was, too. But FIVE sentences & FIVE exclamation marks.
Sort it out, Sky.