With the New Year in sight I am starting to think about how to approach poker in 2019. I really want to make a concerted effort to have a strategy with regards to what my poker playing looks like and I think it comes down to 4 options and would really appreciate any input to help me make that decision.
1. Play cash on SkyPoker, starting at 10nl and adhering to 25 buy in BRM before moving up. 2. Play cash on STARS, starting at 10nl and adhering to 25 buy in BRM before moving up. 3. Play MTT's on SkyPoker, playing at a max buy in of £10 until we hit the £1k mark. 4. Play MTT's and Multi Table SNG's on STARS, playing at a max buy in of $10 until we hit the $1k mark.
First choice is Cash or MTT's. Although I think I am better at MTT's when you actually look at the stats I am actually worse. I do enjoy the thrill of the MTT but also get fed up with the variance. Cash I have never given a sustained real effort and have always thought the ability to come and go would be beneficial to my life / work style. When it comes to STARS or Sky I really get torn. I prefer STARS software, the full ring MTT's, the ability to use a HUD and the greater liquidity of games. Sky has the benefit of the community and the friendliness of the tables, the shorter MTT running times but suffers from a limited amount of tables and MTT's running in quieter periods, not having the potential 'HUGE' win and the cash games seeming very reg infested. In a lot of ways my ideal may well be cash games on STARS with the ability to update my journey on here. Would this be OK?
So here we go, 4 tabling $0.08/$0.16 full ring cash tables on Stars. Starting with a Bankroll of $160. Will post how I get on until someone tells me to stop.
Firstly Happy New Year to you all and may it be a prosperous one for everyone. So New Year, new start, new resolutions and hopes. On the Poker front this means that I resolve to stick to the Full Ring Cash games I have just started playing on Stars. So far it has been OK with a profit of $25 over the first 1,200 hands. First target is to get to $500 so I can move up to $20nl. Second resolution is to stick to the cash tables, ignore the lure of the 'huge win' on the MTT tables and stick to the steady, lower variance route. On the live poker front I will not be able to play SPT Manchester this year as it clashes with work but will definitely be trying to qualify for the Nottingham leg in March. In personal bits it is to get down to 13 stone by end of April. As I am off this coming weekend and have a couple of nights out planned I will start in earnest on Monday 7th Jan with the only way I lose weight, counting calories. Scan everything and stick to under 1890 calories a day. Stick to it and the weight will come off! Would love to see Villa go up in 2019 but beginning to think this may not be happening, too many draws, too many injuries, real lack of bite in defence and midfield and we are missing real opportunities to get in the frame. Never say never in The Championship but the doubt is creeping in and the continuing rumours of Tammy leaving in this window don't help with the optimism. Work will be very interesting this year with the probable merger with Sainsburys and the opportunities this could create. Partly hoping that redundancy may be an option as there are only so many Christmases the body and mind can survive once you are the wrong side of 50, and in a management role. Will probably start having a look at the job market in summer once my current 3 year share-save has matured, unless the perfect opportunity came up.
"get down to 13 stone by end of April. As I am off this coming weekend and have a couple of nights out planned I will start in earnest on Monday 7th Jan with the only way I lose weight, counting calories. Scan everything and stick to under 1890 calories a day. Stick to it and the weight will come off!"
Wise words @68Trebor. We could use someone like you in Fat Club 2019, here;
Food Retail is getting harder and harder, hence my decision to apply for an Area Manager role at Ladbrokes. Villa fans are nearly as fickle as Spurs fans. Give Dean Smith the time he needs to get it right. Our lass has purchased a 2015 Vauxhall Mokka, a nice car although not really a driver's car. Wish I had a dog all my life, really are a man's best friend. Skiing in February is going to kill my legs. Not played a lot of poker but have managed 1,660 hands for a profit of $1.10.
Villa aren't going up this year. Skiing in February is going to kill my legs, have been doing some pre-ski exercises but still going to kill. I have lost 4lbs since starting the calorie count. The house seems really quiet tonight as my daughter has returned to Uni today. Surprise, surprise I am changing direction again with regards to poker. After breaking even on Stars cash tables, then playing 26 MTT's on Sky for a loss of £143, I am going to give the 5p/10p tables another go on Sky, starting with a £100 Bankroll.
I have played very little poker over the last week or so and the majority of what I have been playing has been on the 8c/16c 6max tables on Stars. Would of posted a screenshot of my results but unfortunately this is not possible at the mo. This would of shown a profit of $53 over 1,850 hands. Been really enjoying it and also found that the time constraints and ability to start and stop when you like have been helping with the work / dog commitments. As my son and his girlfriend flew to Berlin on Thursday evening for a long weekend, returning Monday night, I have had the pleasure of looking after Charlie, his 4 month old Border Collier. Although he is a real bundle of energy and a bit overwhelming for our Willow I have enjoyed having him and the house seems very quiet this afternoon without him. Not going to miss having the 2 muddiest dogs in the UK as they loved to do nothing better than roll around and around in the fields. Work is now very quiet and the focus is all on wages, warehouse standards and landing CAP, the latest invention to get great availability for the customer. Was supposed to be off this coming weekend and had a pre-ski all day session arranged for Saturday. The Regional Manager has decided to visit Sunday to see what a 'great' warehouse we have and has asked for me to be there so he can spend a bit of time with him. Bang goes my weekend off. Only 4 weeks on Sunday until Andorra though and I am sure I can make up for it then. The good news is that snow seems to be forecast for the next 2 weeks in the Grandvalira, Andorra and this should lead to the conditions being ideal by the time we arrive. Can't wait now and on the countdown. Villa seem destined for another season in The Championship and this is probably a good thing as it will give Smith the time he needs to overhaul the squad and get us into a position to challenge next year with a younger, hungrier and ultimately cheaper squad. The start of this seems to be the return of Bolasie to Everton, £70k a week is far too much for a loan player who is only here for the short term. Really hope the Villa faithful give Smith the time and support he needs. Definitely the right man for us and hopefully the start of us being run in the right way rather than just chucking money at an unsustainable strategy looking at the short term all the time. Off out with Willow now and then off to the Kaye's Arms for tea with our lass and my son and his girlfriend where I can hear all about Berlin. Seems a really interesting place form the photos he has already posted. Then probably return to the cash tables at Stars to see if I can maintain my current decent little run.
Seems longer than a week since I last updated so might explain why I have a fair bit to say. 'SORRY'. At work I have had a pretty successful week that started with the final store P&L's being published along with the bonus each colleague receives. Mine will end up around the £1,200 mark following deductions and as usual this will go towards my spends for the forthcoming ski trip. The 'Big Cheese's' from Walmart also flew in last week and decided to announce that every Asda Employee will get an additional 5% bonus as a result of our performance in the last year in a very tough market. I then had my appraisal yesterday and was given a score of 4 out of 5, which basically equates to 'exceeding expectations' and as this scores dictates your annual pay rise percentage, is good news for the bank balance as well. Probably also good news for you as well as it means I have more money to burn on the poker tables. On the poker front I just can't seem to get anything going, having made about $50 on the cash tables and losing a few hundred on the MTT tables. Back on SkyPoker tonight playing a few MTT's. One thing I have decided to do is play the £1k Gtd at Huddersfield casino on Friday 15th Feb. Playing as our lad is desperate to play live again and I said I would go with him. Went through a phase a couple of years ago of playing there regularly and did pretty well so we will have to see if it rekindles my passion for the live game. On the weight loss front I have made a pretty successful start to 2019 and I am currently at 13'9 down from 14'2 at the beginning of January. Have to say I have found the 'Fat Club 2019' thread in The Rail has really helped with the motivation. Villa are just doing what Villa do. Threatening to do something but never quite managing it. Watch Scott Hogan start knocking them in if his move to Sheff Utd goes through. Willow continues to delight and there really is nothing better than taking her for walks, especially on mornings like today, and seeing her thoroughly enjoy herself running around and chasing sticks.
On the holiday front, and on the back of my bonus, I have booked 2 excursions for our cruise this summer. Will be visiting the Peterhof Grand Palace, Hermitage, Yusopov Palace and taking a canal cruise during our 2 day stop in St Petersburg. Although we are not keen on organised excursions and prefer to do our own thing it is soooo much hassle and quite expensive to sort Russian Visas that it is just easier to do the cruise company organised trips and be covered by their visa. Went out for the day last Saturday, with the ski group, and had a really enjoyable, if somewhat intoxicated, afternoon and evening. Started off at 1pm with Tapas in a bar in the town and that was really nice, particularly their lamb and mint meatballs, and ended with a whisky in some pub in town at 11.30pm ish. Only 3 weeks on Sunday until we go and the conditions are set to be perfect with lots of snow over the last few weeks and more forecast.
So after a 7 day working week consisting of a few 14 hour shifts and several 12 hour ones I am now on a much deserved 4 day break (Thurs - Sun). With regards to work I have made the somewhat life changing decision to step down from my current role of Deputy to the role of Trading Manager. This was obviously a decision not made lightly and was made for a few reasons. The main one being that I wasn't enjoying the role of Deputy and was finding the role, if I am honest, to demanding mentally and physically. What it will mean is an easing of responsibility, the associated pressure and the demands on my time. What it also means is the end of any desire to progress my career further and a slowing down in general. I have always been an advocate of doing what is right for you, and have told people who are unhappy in their work to do something about it. I have followed my own advice and after discussions with my Regional team, who have been unbelievably supportive and expressed their admiration in my decision, I will 99% be taking the role of Customer Trader in the same store I was Deputy. Not only that they have agreed to leave me on my current salary, although I will be Red Circled for the forseeable future. Really couldn't ask for much more so I am extremely happy and relieved at the moment. Villa will be in The Championship for another season, enough said. It is only just over a week until Skiing and the current forecast is for wall to wall sunshine and temperatures between 0 and 10. Luckily there has been plenty of snow over the last few weeks and with up to 2 meters of snow at the top of the mountain the slopes should be fine despite the warm weather. Must remember to pack the suncream as this is definitely tanning weather. Following Manchester SPT on social media made me realise how much I miss the odd live game and will be rectifying that this Friday night when I will be playing the £40 buy-in £1k Gtd at Huddersfield Grosvenor. Hoping that I can get to at least one SPT this year and will probably be homing in on the Nottingham leg. Online I have started playing at Party and had a couple of decent results without landing anything major. I do, however, have 2 x $55 tickets in my account that I have won through Satellites and hope to see a return on these, starting tonight. After having had my IPhone 6 for over 3 years the battery decided it didn't want to play anymore and so I had to re-invest in a new phone. With some trepidation I have made the jump from Apple to Android and got a good deal on a Samsung S9. After the intial 'what have I done, I hate it' I have become a big fan and when you bear in mind for the same money I would of only been able to get another IPhone 6 it really was a no-brainer. So plans for the next 4 days involve - Thorough clean of car today (the sun is out!), win The Gladiator tonight with one of my $55 tokens, tomorrow is an eye test in the morning and taking Willow to the Salon followed by Huddersfield Grosvenor, Saturday morning in Huddersfield with Our Lass for a bit of shopping then a good walk and a few in the local with Willow and the better half, Sunday is a trip to Darwen for a meal with the Mother in Law and invited guests for her 80th followed by the usual Sunday evening online. Here's to an enjoyable weekend and a better life / work balance going forward.
A very brief update on the poker front. Withdrawn just over £200 from Party, deposited on to Sky and going to be playing 10nl for the forseeable future.
A very brief update on the poker front. Withdrawn just over £200 from Party, deposited on to Sky and going to be playing 10nl for the forseeable future.
So last night I visited my local casino in Huddersfield to play live for the first time in about a year. I entered the £40, £1k GTD event and took my seat at Table 1, Seat 2. I had been sat there for about 10 mins, just getting back into the swing of things when guess who appeared and took seat 4. None other than Pompeynic's favourite player from SPT Manchester. To be fair to him he was alright apart from the odd rant when he obviously knew best. In the end I busted when getting it all in pre with QQ against KK. Having busted quite early, about 11.30pm, and as my lad was still quite deep in about 5th place, I decided to head to the cash tables with £100 in chips. Would you 'Adam and Eve it' but about 10 mins later who sits down but 'our friend ' again. We ended up playing £1/£1 NLHE with the odd hand of 5 card PLO thrown in. It really was your typical Saturday night at the local casino with a few players who thought they were Phil Helmuth ( I'm sure you all know one of them), the odd tight aggressive reg, the 'I've had too many to drink', a couple of taxi drivers, a restaurant worker and a loose aggressive maniac, oh and me. The problem with these nights is that you know you have a definite edge over some of these players and you also don't want to leave in case you don't take advantage of that edge. Hence I didn't leave till 4am and took away £144, making a massive profit of £4 on the night. It has got me thinking though, and I know that £1/£1 live cannot be compared to 50p/£1 online. But would I be more profitable 1 or 2 tabling say 25p/50p or 4 tabling 5p/10p. Definite food for thought. Get to the cash tables tonight, bearing in mind I have been sat in The Grove for the last 2 hours with Willow, to find the answer to the question.
Although I expected, along with most others, the CMA to put some stringent pre-cursors in place for any deal to go through I am surprised with the severity of these and the apparent desire of the CMA for the deal not to progress. This is particularly surprising when you consider that no restrictions were put in place for the recent Tesco / Booker deal. In terms of how it progresses now is anyone's guess. Sainsbury's have really put all their eggs in this basket and need the deal a lot more than Asda do. Asda on the other hand are a tiny part of Walmart (Walmart in the US sells more dried herbs and spices by volume than the entire Asda business) and Asda are currently performing well within the market. There are rumours that Walmart already have a Plan B involving a private equity group in the UK and this may seem a cheaper and easier path for Walmart to follow. For the deal to go through in its present format seems a hurdle too high to jump and with too many stores to be sold really takes away from the original purpose. Will it affect me personally? Only time will tell. I have seen a list of the 690 locations that the CMA are concerned about and I am currently in one of those locations. Am I worried? No. At the end of the day I cannot influence the final outcome and it sits in that little 'SOD ALL' box we all have in our lives. Anything in that box isn't worth worrying about as there is sod all you can do about it. Should be an interesting few months with the final outcome due on 20th April.
The answer to the question is don't go to The Grove and then sit down at 50nl tables, you ain't good enough. Blew majority of my £200 and it is now back to playing MTT's on here, Stars and Party. Been a hectic few days at work with a couple of high profile visits yesterday and today. Now on countdown to my hols with only tomorrow and Saturday to work, with the Store Manager on days off and touch wood no visits. Then I fly out to Andorra first thing Sunday morning for a week of sun, blue skies, snow, beer and meat, oh and the odd bit of skiing. Looking likely that on my return I will be starting my new role as Customer Trading Manager and hopefully as a result will have a bit less stress to deal with.
The answer to the question is don't go to The Grove and then sit down at 50nl tables, you ain't good enough. Blew majority of my £200 and it is now back to playing MTT's on here, Stars and Party. Been a hectic few days at work with a couple of high profile visits yesterday and today. Now on countdown to my hols with only tomorrow and Saturday to work, with the Store Manager on days off and touch wood no visits. Then I fly out to Andorra first thing Sunday morning for a week of sun, blue skies, snow, beer and meat, oh and the odd bit of skiing. Looking likely that on my return I will be starting my new role as Customer Trading Manager and hopefully as a result will have a bit less stress to deal with.
The answer to the question is don't go to The Grove and then sit down at 50nl tables, you ain't good enough. Blew majority of my £200 and it is now back to playing MTT's on here, Stars and Party. Been a hectic few days at work with a couple of high profile visits yesterday and today. Now on countdown to my hols with only tomorrow and Saturday to work, with the Store Manager on days off and touch wood no visits. Then I fly out to Andorra first thing Sunday morning for a week of sun, blue skies, snow, beer and meat, oh and the odd bit of skiing. Looking likely that on my return I will be starting my new role as Customer Trading Manager and hopefully as a result will have a bit less stress to deal with.
Who is going to look after Willow?
That will be the wife's responsibility for the week. Going to miss Willow more, but don't let Our Lass know 😉
The answer to the question is don't go to The Grove and then sit down at 50nl tables, you ain't good enough. Blew majority of my £200 and it is now back to playing MTT's on here, Stars and Party. Been a hectic few days at work with a couple of high profile visits yesterday and today. Now on countdown to my hols with only tomorrow and Saturday to work, with the Store Manager on days off and touch wood no visits. Then I fly out to Andorra first thing Sunday morning for a week of sun, blue skies, snow, beer and meat, oh and the odd bit of skiing. Looking likely that on my return I will be starting my new role as Customer Trading Manager and hopefully as a result will have a bit less stress to deal with.
Who is going to look after Willow?
That will be the wife's responsibility for the week. Going to miss Willow more, but don't let Our Lass know 😉
What a week! Had an unforgettable time in Andorra with wall to wall sunshine and blue skies for the week.
Not a bad view from our room either.
It was a real fun, if tiring, week, with the highlights being the weather, the skiing, the food, the guiness and the banter which always ensues when 5 blokes are together.
Mixed Grill, Andorra style. Ribs, Wings, Steak and Crispy Pork Belly all cooked on an open fire.
Happy Hour, Andorra style, 4pm-6pm with a live singer.
Whilst away I had time to reflect on my poker and have this morning deposited £150 into my account and will be trying to stick to a bit of BRM by only playing MTT's with a max buy-in of £7.70, including sats. Really need to stick to this and try and build a BR, with the first target being to reach £300 at which point I will start including £11 buy-ins. On the football front I have only 2 things to say. 1. Jack Grealish is the most influential player in The Championship. 2. We will not, despite what other's think, reach the play-offs.
Comments
With the New Year in sight I am starting to think about how to approach poker in 2019.
I really want to make a concerted effort to have a strategy with regards to what my poker playing looks like and I think it comes down to 4 options and would really appreciate any input to help me make that decision.
1. Play cash on SkyPoker, starting at 10nl and adhering to 25 buy in BRM before moving up.
2. Play cash on STARS, starting at 10nl and adhering to 25 buy in BRM before moving up.
3. Play MTT's on SkyPoker, playing at a max buy in of £10 until we hit the £1k mark.
4. Play MTT's and Multi Table SNG's on STARS, playing at a max buy in of $10 until we hit the $1k mark.
First choice is Cash or MTT's. Although I think I am better at MTT's when you actually look at the stats I am actually worse. I do enjoy the thrill of the MTT but also get fed up with the variance. Cash I have never given a sustained real effort and have always thought the ability to come and go would be beneficial to my life / work style.
When it comes to STARS or Sky I really get torn. I prefer STARS software, the full ring MTT's, the ability to use a HUD and the greater liquidity of games. Sky has the benefit of the community and the friendliness of the tables, the shorter MTT running times but suffers from a limited amount of tables and MTT's running in quieter periods, not having the potential 'HUGE' win and the cash games seeming very reg infested.
In a lot of ways my ideal may well be cash games on STARS with the ability to update my journey on here. Would this be OK?
So here we go, 4 tabling $0.08/$0.16 full ring cash tables on Stars.
Starting with a Bankroll of $160.
Will post how I get on until someone tells me to stop.
Bankroll $160.
"In a lot of ways my ideal may well be cash games on STARS with the ability to update my journey on here. Would this be OK?"
Absolutely fine.
GL mate.
Firstly Happy New Year to you all and may it be a prosperous one for everyone.
So New Year, new start, new resolutions and hopes.
On the Poker front this means that I resolve to stick to the Full Ring Cash games I have just started playing on Stars. So far it has been OK with a profit of $25 over the first 1,200 hands. First target is to get to $500 so I can move up to $20nl. Second resolution is to stick to the cash tables, ignore the lure of the 'huge win' on the MTT tables and stick to the steady, lower variance route.
On the live poker front I will not be able to play SPT Manchester this year as it clashes with work but will definitely be trying to qualify for the Nottingham leg in March.
In personal bits it is to get down to 13 stone by end of April. As I am off this coming weekend and have a couple of nights out planned I will start in earnest on Monday 7th Jan with the only way I lose weight, counting calories. Scan everything and stick to under 1890 calories a day. Stick to it and the weight will come off!
Would love to see Villa go up in 2019 but beginning to think this may not be happening, too many draws, too many injuries, real lack of bite in defence and midfield and we are missing real opportunities to get in the frame. Never say never in The Championship but the doubt is creeping in and the continuing rumours of Tammy leaving in this window don't help with the optimism.
Work will be very interesting this year with the probable merger with Sainsburys and the opportunities this could create. Partly hoping that redundancy may be an option as there are only so many Christmases the body and mind can survive once you are the wrong side of 50, and in a management role. Will probably start having a look at the job market in summer once my current 3 year share-save has matured, unless the perfect opportunity came up.
Bankroll $185.12.
Wise words @68Trebor. We could use someone like you in Fat Club 2019, here;
https://www.skypoker.com/secure/poker/sky_lobby/community/forums#/discussion/174459/fat-club-2019
Quick Update.
Food Retail is getting harder and harder, hence my decision to apply for an Area Manager role at Ladbrokes.
Villa fans are nearly as fickle as Spurs fans. Give Dean Smith the time he needs to get it right.
Our lass has purchased a 2015 Vauxhall Mokka, a nice car although not really a driver's car.
Wish I had a dog all my life, really are a man's best friend.
Skiing in February is going to kill my legs.
Not played a lot of poker but have managed 1,660 hands for a profit of $1.10.
Villa aren't going up this year.
Skiing in February is going to kill my legs, have been doing some pre-ski exercises but still going to kill.
I have lost 4lbs since starting the calorie count.
The house seems really quiet tonight as my daughter has returned to Uni today.
Surprise, surprise I am changing direction again with regards to poker. After breaking even on Stars cash tables, then playing 26 MTT's on Sky for a loss of £143, I am going to give the 5p/10p tables another go on Sky, starting with a £100 Bankroll.
Bankroll £100.
I have played very little poker over the last week or so and the majority of what I have been playing has been on the 8c/16c 6max tables on Stars. Would of posted a screenshot of my results but unfortunately this is not possible at the mo. This would of shown a profit of $53 over 1,850 hands. Been really enjoying it and also found that the time constraints and ability to start and stop when you like have been helping with the work / dog commitments.
As my son and his girlfriend flew to Berlin on Thursday evening for a long weekend, returning Monday night, I have had the pleasure of looking after Charlie, his 4 month old Border Collier. Although he is a real bundle of energy and a bit overwhelming for our Willow I have enjoyed having him and the house seems very quiet this afternoon without him. Not going to miss having the 2 muddiest dogs in the UK as they loved to do nothing better than roll around and around in the fields.
Work is now very quiet and the focus is all on wages, warehouse standards and landing CAP, the latest invention to get great availability for the customer. Was supposed to be off this coming weekend and had a pre-ski all day session arranged for Saturday. The Regional Manager has decided to visit Sunday to see what a 'great' warehouse we have and has asked for me to be there so he can spend a bit of time with him. Bang goes my weekend off. Only 4 weeks on Sunday until Andorra though and I am sure I can make up for it then.
The good news is that snow seems to be forecast for the next 2 weeks in the Grandvalira, Andorra and this should lead to the conditions being ideal by the time we arrive. Can't wait now and on the countdown.
Villa seem destined for another season in The Championship and this is probably a good thing as it will give Smith the time he needs to overhaul the squad and get us into a position to challenge next year with a younger, hungrier and ultimately cheaper squad. The start of this seems to be the return of Bolasie to Everton, £70k a week is far too much for a loan player who is only here for the short term. Really hope the Villa faithful give Smith the time and support he needs. Definitely the right man for us and hopefully the start of us being run in the right way rather than just chucking money at an unsustainable strategy looking at the short term all the time.
Off out with Willow now and then off to the Kaye's Arms for tea with our lass and my son and his girlfriend where I can hear all about Berlin. Seems a really interesting place form the photos he has already posted. Then probably return to the cash tables at Stars to see if I can maintain my current decent little run.
Seems longer than a week since I last updated so might explain why I have a fair bit to say. 'SORRY'.
At work I have had a pretty successful week that started with the final store P&L's being published along with the bonus each colleague receives. Mine will end up around the £1,200 mark following deductions and as usual this will go towards my spends for the forthcoming ski trip. The 'Big Cheese's' from Walmart also flew in last week and decided to announce that every Asda Employee will get an additional 5% bonus as a result of our performance in the last year in a very tough market. I then had my appraisal yesterday and was given a score of 4 out of 5, which basically equates to 'exceeding expectations' and as this scores dictates your annual pay rise percentage, is good news for the bank balance as well. Probably also good news for you as well as it means I have more money to burn on the poker tables.
On the poker front I just can't seem to get anything going, having made about $50 on the cash tables and losing a few hundred on the MTT tables. Back on SkyPoker tonight playing a few MTT's. One thing I have decided to do is play the £1k Gtd at Huddersfield casino on Friday 15th Feb. Playing as our lad is desperate to play live again and I said I would go with him. Went through a phase a couple of years ago of playing there regularly and did pretty well so we will have to see if it rekindles my passion for the live game.
On the weight loss front I have made a pretty successful start to 2019 and I am currently at 13'9 down from 14'2 at the beginning of January. Have to say I have found the 'Fat Club 2019' thread in The Rail has really helped with the motivation.
Villa are just doing what Villa do. Threatening to do something but never quite managing it. Watch Scott Hogan start knocking them in if his move to Sheff Utd goes through.
Willow continues to delight and there really is nothing better than taking her for walks, especially on mornings like today, and seeing her thoroughly enjoy herself running around and chasing sticks.
On the holiday front, and on the back of my bonus, I have booked 2 excursions for our cruise this summer. Will be visiting the Peterhof Grand Palace, Hermitage, Yusopov Palace and taking a canal cruise during our 2 day stop in St Petersburg. Although we are not keen on organised excursions and prefer to do our own thing it is soooo much hassle and quite expensive to sort Russian Visas that it is just easier to do the cruise company organised trips and be covered by their visa.
Went out for the day last Saturday, with the ski group, and had a really enjoyable, if somewhat intoxicated, afternoon and evening. Started off at 1pm with Tapas in a bar in the town and that was really nice, particularly their lamb and mint meatballs, and ended with a whisky in some pub in town at 11.30pm ish. Only 3 weeks on Sunday until we go and the conditions are set to be perfect with lots of snow over the last few weeks and more forecast.
So after a 7 day working week consisting of a few 14 hour shifts and several 12 hour ones I am now on a much deserved 4 day break (Thurs - Sun).
With regards to work I have made the somewhat life changing decision to step down from my current role of Deputy to the role of Trading Manager. This was obviously a decision not made lightly and was made for a few reasons. The main one being that I wasn't enjoying the role of Deputy and was finding the role, if I am honest, to demanding mentally and physically. What it will mean is an easing of responsibility, the associated pressure and the demands on my time. What it also means is the end of any desire to progress my career further and a slowing down in general. I have always been an advocate of doing what is right for you, and have told people who are unhappy in their work to do something about it. I have followed my own advice and after discussions with my Regional team, who have been unbelievably supportive and expressed their admiration in my decision, I will 99% be taking the role of Customer Trader in the same store I was Deputy. Not only that they have agreed to leave me on my current salary, although I will be Red Circled for the forseeable future. Really couldn't ask for much more so I am extremely happy and relieved at the moment.
Villa will be in The Championship for another season, enough said.
It is only just over a week until Skiing and the current forecast is for wall to wall sunshine and temperatures between 0 and 10. Luckily there has been plenty of snow over the last few weeks and with up to 2 meters of snow at the top of the mountain the slopes should be fine despite the warm weather. Must remember to pack the suncream as this is definitely tanning weather.
Following Manchester SPT on social media made me realise how much I miss the odd live game and will be rectifying that this Friday night when I will be playing the £40 buy-in £1k Gtd at Huddersfield Grosvenor. Hoping that I can get to at least one SPT this year and will probably be homing in on the Nottingham leg. Online I have started playing at Party and had a couple of decent results without landing anything major. I do, however, have 2 x $55 tickets in my account that I have won through Satellites and hope to see a return on these, starting tonight.
After having had my IPhone 6 for over 3 years the battery decided it didn't want to play anymore and so I had to re-invest in a new phone. With some trepidation I have made the jump from Apple to Android and got a good deal on a Samsung S9. After the intial 'what have I done, I hate it' I have become a big fan and when you bear in mind for the same money I would of only been able to get another IPhone 6 it really was a no-brainer.
So plans for the next 4 days involve - Thorough clean of car today (the sun is out!), win The Gladiator tonight with one of my $55 tokens, tomorrow is an eye test in the morning and taking Willow to the Salon followed by Huddersfield Grosvenor, Saturday morning in Huddersfield with Our Lass for a bit of shopping then a good walk and a few in the local with Willow and the better half, Sunday is a trip to Darwen for a meal with the Mother in Law and invited guests for her 80th followed by the usual Sunday evening online.
Here's to an enjoyable weekend and a better life / work balance going forward.
A very brief update on the poker front.
Withdrawn just over £200 from Party, deposited on to Sky and going to be playing 10nl for the forseeable future.
Bankroll £200.
So last night I visited my local casino in Huddersfield to play live for the first time in about a year. I entered the £40, £1k GTD event and took my seat at Table 1, Seat 2. I had been sat there for about 10 mins, just getting back into the swing of things when guess who appeared and took seat 4. None other than Pompeynic's favourite player from SPT Manchester. To be fair to him he was alright apart from the odd rant when he obviously knew best. In the end I busted when getting it all in pre with QQ against KK. Having busted quite early, about 11.30pm, and as my lad was still quite deep in about 5th place, I decided to head to the cash tables with £100 in chips. Would you 'Adam and Eve it' but about 10 mins later who sits down but 'our friend ' again. We ended up playing £1/£1 NLHE with the odd hand of 5 card PLO thrown in. It really was your typical Saturday night at the local casino with a few players who thought they were Phil Helmuth ( I'm sure you all know one of them), the odd tight aggressive reg, the 'I've had too many to drink', a couple of taxi drivers, a restaurant worker and a loose aggressive maniac, oh and me. The problem with these nights is that you know you have a definite edge over some of these players and you also don't want to leave in case you don't take advantage of that edge. Hence I didn't leave till 4am and took away £144, making a massive profit of £4 on the night.
It has got me thinking though, and I know that £1/£1 live cannot be compared to 50p/£1 online. But would I be more profitable 1 or 2 tabling say 25p/50p or 4 tabling 5p/10p. Definite food for thought. Get to the cash tables tonight, bearing in mind I have been sat in The Grove for the last 2 hours with Willow, to find the answer to the question.
Bankroll £205.45.
@68Trebor
What's your take on this, & will it affect you personally?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47303166
Although I expected, along with most others, the CMA to put some stringent pre-cursors in place for any deal to go through I am surprised with the severity of these and the apparent desire of the CMA for the deal not to progress. This is particularly surprising when you consider that no restrictions were put in place for the recent Tesco / Booker deal. In terms of how it progresses now is anyone's guess. Sainsbury's have really put all their eggs in this basket and need the deal a lot more than Asda do. Asda on the other hand are a tiny part of Walmart (Walmart in the US sells more dried herbs and spices by volume than the entire Asda business) and Asda are currently performing well within the market. There are rumours that Walmart already have a Plan B involving a private equity group in the UK and this may seem a cheaper and easier path for Walmart to follow. For the deal to go through in its present format seems a hurdle too high to jump and with too many stores to be sold really takes away from the original purpose.
Will it affect me personally? Only time will tell. I have seen a list of the 690 locations that the CMA are concerned about and I am currently in one of those locations. Am I worried? No. At the end of the day I cannot influence the final outcome and it sits in that little 'SOD ALL' box we all have in our lives. Anything in that box isn't worth worrying about as there is sod all you can do about it.
Should be an interesting few months with the final outcome due on 20th April.
The answer to the question is don't go to The Grove and then sit down at 50nl tables, you ain't good enough. Blew majority of my £200 and it is now back to playing MTT's on here, Stars and Party.
Been a hectic few days at work with a couple of high profile visits yesterday and today. Now on countdown to my hols with only tomorrow and Saturday to work, with the Store Manager on days off and touch wood no visits. Then I fly out to Andorra first thing Sunday morning for a week of sun, blue skies, snow, beer and meat, oh and the odd bit of skiing. Looking likely that on my return I will be starting my new role as Customer Trading Manager and hopefully as a result will have a bit less stress to deal with.
Going to miss Willow more, but don't let Our Lass know 😉
What a week!
Had an unforgettable time in Andorra with wall to wall sunshine and blue skies for the week.
Not a bad view from our room either.
It was a real fun, if tiring, week, with the highlights being the weather, the skiing, the food, the guiness and the banter which always ensues when 5 blokes are together.
Mixed Grill, Andorra style. Ribs, Wings, Steak and Crispy Pork Belly all cooked on an open fire.
Happy Hour, Andorra style, 4pm-6pm with a live singer.
Whilst away I had time to reflect on my poker and have this morning deposited £150 into my account and will be trying to stick to a bit of BRM by only playing MTT's with a max buy-in of £7.70, including sats. Really need to stick to this and try and build a BR, with the first target being to reach £300 at which point I will start including £11 buy-ins.
On the football front I have only 2 things to say. 1. Jack Grealish is the most influential player in The Championship. 2. We will not, despite what other's think, reach the play-offs.
Bankroll £150.