1) Who would be your choice for the new England manager? If the answer is Harry, which I suspect it will be, 2nd choice? 2) What would your starting 11 for the first Euro2012 game be if you had to pick it right now? (assume everyone is fit, but obv suspensions still apply) 3) Do you play/follow any other sports? 4) If you were set a challenge to eat as many bigmacs as you could in a 3 hour period, and were paid £1,000 for each one, how much do you think you would be able to make? Posted by DOHHHHHHH
1) Got to put Harry out of the equation. I'm a Spurs fan who was until recently a very big England Team man as well. The last World Cup and particularly the attitude of the players and management towards the shirt have really shaken my love of the English Football team. Personally I think Roy Hodgson is a great fit if he got total support from the FA and was allowed to take on a five year project, clearing out nearly all of the old guard. Hodgson has so much experience, set him up with Pearce as an understudy and they might be able to build something.
2) Starting line up:
Hart Walker Richards (yes I'd move him inside to Centre Back) Ferdinand Cole Parker Carrick Young Downing Gerrard Welbeck
Dawson and Defoe were very close for me. Defoe is just not getting enough game time right now and while I think Dawson is a much better defender than Richards, you'd need pace at the back alongside Ferdinand who is vital just to organise the back line.
By the way, I wouldn't take Rooney or Terry at all.
3) I follow nearly every sport. I used to play Tennis as a junior to a county level. I watch any sport going from Cricket (Go Essex) to American Football (Chiefs FTW, although that rarely happens).
4) Tough one. I think that's all about pacing, if you race off too soon you'll really suffer in the later stages. I'd go for an average eat time of 10 minutes (which would include puke time, not the greatest Big Mac fan) so I think I can manage 18. Maybe 20 if I go for it towards the end.
Epic worst/best moment story...puts mine to shame. You think you were actually going to quit if you had lost the 2x 22 DYM's? Posted by rolfus
In my mind I was done. I really think I would have quit for at least a few months. We all know if I did bust that after a while feelings may have changed and I may have gotten back into the action, but the feeling I had at the time was that this was it and if I bust I just didn't want to play anymore.
Suppose its pobably been answered with your mention of the 2 x 22 DYMs but I would like to ask you, if there was a Eureka moment. As you say you ran bad played bad to get to that point. But was there a specific time when you thought, hang on, this poker game, I can do this, I can stop messing around and actually make some serious dough. Was there a point when you suddenly stopped thinking as a recreational punter and thought this could be a potential goldmine. Give hope to us small fry with big dreams if you can Dave
lovely stuff tommy, a great tale. & no way Ferguson ever gets another endorsement deal, inconceivable! Posted by yoyo
TYVM Sir
On Ferguson, I really wouldn't be surprised to see him get a deal from a new room. Picture the scene, it's the HQ of new American poker room 'StackedInOurFavourNowThisIsLegalAgain.com' The business suits who are not poker players are discussing pros to endorse.
'Hey, who's that guy with the long hair who could cut a carrot with a card'
'Chris Ferguson, but we can't sign him, he was involved in that Full Tilt stuff'
'But he was a World Champion, and the vegetable cutting stuff would look so good on a commercial'
'But people don't trust him because of Full Tilt'
'I've got a report here that a load of people ran back to the new Full Tilt bought by a convicted fraudster offering a 50% first deposit bonus. Do you really think poker players are that discerning? What's this guy's nickname?'
'Jesus.'
'Great, we'll run that deposit bonus we were going to run anyway, but now we'll line it up with signing this Ferguson guy and call it the Jesus Resurrection Bonus, marketing will eat that up. People will love it. Anyway, people blame that chubby veggie bloke for Full Tilt. How does a vegetarian get that big anyway?'
Not much of an update tonight, I still have to write about Tuesday night's shenanigans. I will do this tomorrow, hopefully.
I realised tonight that even if I did bink a huge score by poker or lottery I really don't have the mentality to be a ruthless pro. A forum reg who I quite like sat with me tonight at a level they don't normally play as far as I know. He's already been mucking about with me, winning a couple and getting a gentle slap on the wrist in another couple.
Then I get Aces in the BB. They open, I 3bet and say to myself 'don't call XXXX, I've got it.' They call.
Flop 8 3 Q two diamonds. I lead and say to myself 'Don't float me this time XXXX, I've got it.' They call.
Turn is the 3 of hearts. I bet and say to myself 'Don't bluff now XXXX, I've got it.' They jam, I call.
They have 52 Diamonds, river is a brick.
The reg will probably read this, I'm not digging you out mate and i won't reveal who it is. If I was a shark I wouldn't be having these reactions. I think I'm more of a dolphin.
Weirdly that's twice today I've had someone run 52s into me when I'm holding Aces. Been a funny old day.
Nice diary so far not a poster more a lurker. I notice when you have a decent tourny score you go play cash 1/2 + but eventually revert back to playing the odd DYM and more MTTs, is this because you take money out at some point for personal stuff and drop to a comfortible level or the other obvious reason which i won't say .
Also i think i read you have a son ? if not my mistake but is that the reason you don't play many live MTTs. As an all round STT reg for the last 4 years now your one of the very few people i don't like on my table / avoid if totally possible so why not just stick to them and grind a lower variance profit over X space of time?
^^ last post about not wanting to take money off someone you know i can relate to alot. Im quite sure thats why i play STTs and not cash as i know alot of the cash regs on this site and just think meh i don't want to take money off X or lose it to Y.
Do you have any problems logging and calling it a night when your down ? I still can't leave when i'm down over a certain amount unless i can't get a game hence me being on this late ha ha . Would you say you was a competative person in the sense that you hate losing at anything from poker to just random stuff as i hate losing at anything it drives me alot and especially at this game over the years.
In regards to taking money of other people Tommy, I completely understand how you feel. The only way to get round this is to either A) Be a ruthless *&%$* (you either are or your not) or Try and remember that they would take any money they win of you
As long as it's a fair game and no-one is being set up then it's a war
In Response to Re: Many Rivers To Cross. A Diary. : 3) I follow nearly every sport. I used to play Tennis as a junior to a county level. I watch any sport going from Cricket (Go Essex) to American Football (Chiefs FTW, although that rarely happens). Posted by TommyD
On Tuesday night James Atkins was a very fine guest on 865. The last hour of the live broadcast was Mastercash and they took hands from the 30p/30p table. I was on that table. Carnage ensued.
This might take a few posts to go through as I don't really want to have one huge post, people don't read them in truth.
Dealing with the most important thing first, I, along with James Hartigan, were accused of gently mocking the studio guest in the chatbox on the official show thread. This did not happen. Yes there was banter, after I got carnaged for flatting J8 on the button (I had my reasons which I'll go into later) I joked in the chat box 'I'm going to flat every button now no matter what.' Obviously I didn't. Also after James A expressed a perfectly valid opinion of not just playing the player and ignoring your cards in cash, which is a totally valid point of view, I put in the chatbox 'SnG mentality.' That was certainly not mocking and I still think what I said was true, that in a SnG mindset you very rarely play the player. James A is a SnG master so that is why he would have that opinion in that spot.
More on the chatbox banter, James H and me were mercilessly taking the micky out of each other. This was totally banter and neither of us took any offence. What a lot of the internet generation will have to learn is there is a huge about of ribbing and banter in poker, but real poker players know where the line is and whlle they sometimes try to step on the line they never go over it.
On the last Sunday Roller show I FT bubbled in a massive cooler (33<66 BvB on a 2263 board). Luke Swartz was the Studio guest alongside Carlo. They were close to wetting themselves with laughter as the cooler ran out. I didn't take any offence from this because they are coming from a place where they have had this happen to them and the laughter is coming from how ridiculous poker can be, how sometimes you can't get your money in fast enough only to realise you're drawing dead.
An opinion I have long held is that, at most big international football tournaments, there are 8 teams that can win it - in many ways a bit like the FA cup. Yes, occasionally Portsmouth (Greece) surprise us, but it's just that - a surprise. England is one of those 8 teams. Now we won the world cup in 1966 (home advantage and all that), and have failed since. Yet, at every championships it seems the press build and build England up - probably in anticipation of the crash and burn. England will win a major football tournament again - it may well be the European Championships this year, or it might be the 2030 world cup. The secret is to enjoy (or not as the case may be) and participate.
Rugby Union - England
Last world cup. Was it a debacle?
I watched an England side struggle to beat 4 of the 5 teams in the 6 nations (an lose convincingly to the other), yet going out in the last 8 of the World Cup was seen as a failure, and player shenannegens was cited as the cause. What rot. A poor team performed poorly - off-field antics were only in the minds of the press-room.
I'm not sure if this fits in this diary, but I thought I'd share it anyway. Great read so far, Tommy.
As an aside, my original note on you (at the tables) simply read "calling station" - maybe it was during your downswing. (it has been amended)
Football - England. An opinion I have long held is that, at most big international football tournaments, there are 8 teams that can win it - in many ways a bit like the FA cup. Yes, occasionally Portsmouth (Greece) surprise us, but it's just that - a surprise. England is one of those 8 teams. Now we won the world cup in 1966 (home advantage and all that), and have failed since. Yet, at every championships it seems the press build and build England up - probably in anticipation of the crash and burn. England will win a major football tournament again - it may well be the European Championships this year, or it might be the 2030 world cup. The secret is to enjoy (or not as the case may be) and participate. Rugby Union - England Last world cup. Was it a debacle? I watched an England side struggle to beat 4 of the 5 teams in the 6 nations (an lose convincingly to the other), yet going out in the last 8 of the World Cup was seen as a failure, and player shenannegens was cited as the cause. What rot. A poor team performed poorly - off-field antics were only in the minds of the press-room. I'm not sure if this fits in this diary, but I thought I'd share it anyway. Great read so far, Tommy. As an aside, my original note on you (at the tables) simply read "calling station" - maybe it was during your downswing. (it has been amended) Posted by Eyeman
Firstly, this totally fits in my diary. Because everything fits. I want people to post what they want in here.
On the whole your point about the press is valid. However there have been notable exceptions, mainly under the reign of the late, great Sir Bobby Robson.
Under Sir Bobby there was a weird dichotomy from the Press. At times they loved him, at others they destroyed him to the point of him deciding to announce his resignation before Italia '90. The press really laid into him during the warm ups and the awful Euros performances England had, yet at Mexico 86 and Italia 90 they were fully behind him and England. They hailed them as heros after each tournament.
We should have won Italia 90. Yes in typical England fashion we bumbled through the group, but they were getting better and better. If Chris Waddle's shot in extra time against Germany had just spun in off the post instead of breaking the laws of Physics and spinning out we would have picked off an aging Argentina in the final.
Regarding the Rugby reporting, there are two factors here. One is the press need a story to sell papers, that's not personal it's just business. The English Rugby team, including one who has married into the Royal family, going to a club where there is Dwarf bowling is a story that people eat up. The second factor is the English people will forgive a multitude of sins of their sports stars if they are deemed to give 100% on the field. This applies to both the Rugby and Football team as in their recent efforts the general feeling was that neither really gave their all for manager or country. Then you read them up to all sorts. There are so many sports fans in this country who would sell their soul to represent England, to wear the Three lions, that seeing people lucky enough to have this talent treat what they deem to be a huge privilege so lightly is offensive. It sickens people. And frankly i can see their point.
Finally change your note back, I'm still a station
Sol Campbells disallowed goal vs Portugal say no more, England need to run better
Personally i dont think we can win the Euros this year, we have a slight chance but the whole squad and manager are a bit of a joke at the mo IMO
It was correct to get rid of Muppet man, but should have been alot sooner. The timing of the sacking is the biggest joke we have 4 months roughly to get ready with no proper manager so we really are on the backfoot.
On the subject Harry is the only man for the job, always wanted him and Pearce as his no2 since Svengate my starting line up less Rooney as he's banned:
I just think there's a lot of confusion between "playing for your life on the pitch" and "going dwarf bowling on your days off". The two are not remotely linked, and a bad performance does not nevessarily mean lack of effort. The England RU team last year was a poor side - no-hopers.
When a golfer has an off-day, bo-one thinks he's not trying his best - yet with team sportsmen we jump to this slightly bizarre conclusion.
P />S> I agree no Terry (too old and slow anyway) or Rooney (you fon't take a banned player for 2 games). Far too often in the past have England managers collapsed to press insistance of taking a player that is unfit (Beckham and Rooney) only for us to see that player performing well below their abilities. A fit and available Rooney is worth any player in the country, but an 80% Rooney isn't better than a Campionship player.
P.P.S. - I lied - I never changed it, you station.
Sol Campbells disallowed goal vs Portugal say no more, England need to run better Personally i dont think we can win the Euros this year, we have a slight chance but the whole squad and manager are a bit of a joke at the mo IMO It was correct to get rid of Muppet man, but should have been alot sooner. The timing of the sacking is the biggest joke we have 4 months roughly to get ready with no proper manager so we really are on the backfoot. On the subject Harry is the only man for the job, always wanted him and Pearce as his no2 since Svengate my starting line up less Rooney as he's banned: Hart Walker, King(if fit), Rio, Cole Parker, Wilshere, Gerrard A Young, Bent, Rooney(A Johnson) Posted by YOUNG_GUN
Or Sol's disallowed goal against Argentina in extra time at France '98. Twice the poor guy got done when both goals were good.
I'm not starting Bent. Yes he's a very good striker and has a great club record when he is the number one guy up top. But in tournament football sometimes it comes down to one chance in the last ten minutes, the crucial chance that's the difference between going through and going out. I'd rather have Welbeck on the end of that than Bent. In fact I'd rather have Crouch on the end of that than Bent.
In Response to Re: Many Rivers To Cross. A Diary. : Or Sol's disallowed goal against Argentina in extra time at France '98. Twice the poor guy got done when both goals were good. I'm not starting Bent. Yes he's a very good striker and has a great club record when he is the number one guy up top. But in tournament football sometimes it comes down to one chance in the last ten minutes, the crucial chance that's the difference between going through and going out. I'd rather have Welbeck on the end of that than Bent. In fact I'd rather have Crouch on the end of that than Bent. Posted by TommyD
Do any of you actually think we have a chance in the Euro's. Are we just going to get all the usual pre tourny hype and optimism only for England to fail again! Lets be honest here, we just ain't good enough, let's prepare ourselves for the worst.
No way have Wellbeck over Bent, defo not Crouchie lol
Wellbeck can only play with Rooney, as he has shown at united he has come on well this season but i dont think he is the world class striker England need. Rooney has to go even if he is missing the first couple, he would be crucial if we get through the groups. it is unthinkable not taking him IMO. I agree in the past managers have taken injured players who shouldnt but as long as Rooney is fit hes going.
Crouch is alot better then people give him credit but he isnt the poacher which we need, Bent is! Also Defoe is but Bent has more of an all around game, he has shown not just at club level but he has been scoring for England of late correct me if im wrong? Surely your whole misconception of Bent is when he missed the sitter then Sir Harry slagged him off, but he was your top scorer that season even tho played less then other strikers incuding Jermain Defoe(if my memory is correct)
Crouch will not go, the biggest debate is what to do without Rooney maybe Wellbeck can play as a front 3 instead? or defoe and Benty uptop? Parker is going to be a big player because he should allow for gerrard & wilshere to play their own games.
All we can be sure its going to be a nice rollercoaster and plenty of drinking will be done during by us England fans
Comments
1) Got to put Harry out of the equation. I'm a Spurs fan who was until recently a very big England Team man as well. The last World Cup and particularly the attitude of the players and management towards the shirt have really shaken my love of the English Football team. Personally I think Roy Hodgson is a great fit if he got total support from the FA and was allowed to take on a five year project, clearing out nearly all of the old guard. Hodgson has so much experience, set him up with Pearce as an understudy and they might be able to build something.
2) Starting line up:
Hart
Walker
Richards (yes I'd move him inside to Centre Back)
Ferdinand
Cole
Parker
Carrick
Young
Downing
Gerrard
Welbeck
Dawson and Defoe were very close for me. Defoe is just not getting enough game time right now and while I think Dawson is a much better defender than Richards, you'd need pace at the back alongside Ferdinand who is vital just to organise the back line.
By the way, I wouldn't take Rooney or Terry at all.
3) I follow nearly every sport. I used to play Tennis as a junior to a county level. I watch any sport going from Cricket (Go Essex) to American Football (Chiefs FTW, although that rarely happens).
4) Tough one. I think that's all about pacing, if you race off too soon you'll really suffer in the later stages. I'd go for an average eat time of 10 minutes (which would include puke time, not the greatest Big Mac fan) so I think I can manage 18. Maybe 20 if I go for it towards the end.
As you say you ran bad played bad to get to that point.
But was there a specific time when you thought, hang on, this poker game, I can do this, I can stop messing around and actually make some serious dough.
Was there a point when you suddenly stopped thinking as a recreational punter and thought this could be a potential goldmine.
Give hope to us small fry with big dreams if you can
Dave
On Ferguson, I really wouldn't be surprised to see him get a deal from a new room. Picture the scene, it's the HQ of new American poker room 'StackedInOurFavourNowThisIsLegalAgain.com' The business suits who are not poker players are discussing pros to endorse.
'Hey, who's that guy with the long hair who could cut a carrot with a card'
'Chris Ferguson, but we can't sign him, he was involved in that Full Tilt stuff'
'But he was a World Champion, and the vegetable cutting stuff would look so good on a commercial'
'But people don't trust him because of Full Tilt'
'I've got a report here that a load of people ran back to the new Full Tilt bought by a convicted fraudster offering a 50% first deposit bonus. Do you really think poker players are that discerning? What's this guy's nickname?'
'Jesus.'
'Great, we'll run that deposit bonus we were going to run anyway, but now we'll line it up with signing this Ferguson guy and call it the Jesus Resurrection Bonus, marketing will eat that up. People will love it. Anyway, people blame that chubby veggie bloke for Full Tilt. How does a vegetarian get that big anyway?'
'I don't know. I just don't know...'
I realised tonight that even if I did bink a huge score by poker or lottery I really don't have the mentality to be a ruthless pro. A forum reg who I quite like sat with me tonight at a level they don't normally play as far as I know. He's already been mucking about with me, winning a couple and getting a gentle slap on the wrist in another couple.
Then I get Aces in the BB. They open, I 3bet and say to myself 'don't call XXXX, I've got it.' They call.
Flop 8 3 Q two diamonds. I lead and say to myself 'Don't float me this time XXXX, I've got it.' They call.
Turn is the 3 of hearts. I bet and say to myself 'Don't bluff now XXXX, I've got it.' They jam, I call.
They have 52 Diamonds, river is a brick.
The reg will probably read this, I'm not digging you out mate and i won't reveal who it is. If I was a shark I wouldn't be having these reactions. I think I'm more of a dolphin.
Weirdly that's twice today I've had someone run 52s into me when I'm holding Aces. Been a funny old day.
As long as it's a fair game and no-one is being set up then it's a war
This might take a few posts to go through as I don't really want to have one huge post, people don't read them in truth.
Dealing with the most important thing first, I, along with James Hartigan, were accused of gently mocking the studio guest in the chatbox on the official show thread. This did not happen. Yes there was banter, after I got carnaged for flatting J8 on the button (I had my reasons which I'll go into later) I joked in the chat box 'I'm going to flat every button now no matter what.' Obviously I didn't. Also after James A expressed a perfectly valid opinion of not just playing the player and ignoring your cards in cash, which is a totally valid point of view, I put in the chatbox 'SnG mentality.' That was certainly not mocking and I still think what I said was true, that in a SnG mindset you very rarely play the player. James A is a SnG master so that is why he would have that opinion in that spot.
More on the chatbox banter, James H and me were mercilessly taking the micky out of each other. This was totally banter and neither of us took any offence. What a lot of the internet generation will have to learn is there is a huge about of ribbing and banter in poker, but real poker players know where the line is and whlle they sometimes try to step on the line they never go over it.
On the last Sunday Roller show I FT bubbled in a massive cooler (33<66 BvB on a 2263 board). Luke Swartz was the Studio guest alongside Carlo. They were close to wetting themselves with laughter as the cooler ran out. I didn't take any offence from this because they are coming from a place where they have had this happen to them and the laughter is coming from how ridiculous poker can be, how sometimes you can't get your money in fast enough only to realise you're drawing dead.
Think that's the serious stuff addressed now.
An opinion I have long held is that, at most big international football tournaments, there are 8 teams that can win it - in many ways a bit like the FA cup. Yes, occasionally Portsmouth (Greece) surprise us, but it's just that - a surprise.
England is one of those 8 teams. Now we won the world cup in 1966 (home advantage and all that), and have failed since. Yet, at every championships it seems the press build and build England up - probably in anticipation of the crash and burn. England will win a major football tournament again - it may well be the European Championships this year, or it might be the 2030 world cup. The secret is to enjoy (or not as the case may be) and participate.
Rugby Union - England
Last world cup. Was it a debacle?
I watched an England side struggle to beat 4 of the 5 teams in the 6 nations (an lose convincingly to the other), yet going out in the last 8 of the World Cup was seen as a failure, and player shenannegens was cited as the cause. What rot. A poor team performed poorly - off-field antics were only in the minds of the press-room.
I'm not sure if this fits in this diary, but I thought I'd share it anyway. Great read so far, Tommy.
As an aside, my original note on you (at the tables) simply read "calling station" - maybe it was during your downswing. (it has been amended)
On the whole your point about the press is valid. However there have been notable exceptions, mainly under the reign of the late, great Sir Bobby Robson.
Under Sir Bobby there was a weird dichotomy from the Press. At times they loved him, at others they destroyed him to the point of him deciding to announce his resignation before Italia '90. The press really laid into him during the warm ups and the awful Euros performances England had, yet at Mexico 86 and Italia 90 they were fully behind him and England. They hailed them as heros after each tournament.
We should have won Italia 90. Yes in typical England fashion we bumbled through the group, but they were getting better and better. If Chris Waddle's shot in extra time against Germany had just spun in off the post instead of breaking the laws of Physics and spinning out we would have picked off an aging Argentina in the final.
Regarding the Rugby reporting, there are two factors here. One is the press need a story to sell papers, that's not personal it's just business. The English Rugby team, including one who has married into the Royal family, going to a club where there is Dwarf bowling is a story that people eat up. The second factor is the English people will forgive a multitude of sins of their sports stars if they are deemed to give 100% on the field. This applies to both the Rugby and Football team as in their recent efforts the general feeling was that neither really gave their all for manager or country. Then you read them up to all sorts. There are so many sports fans in this country who would sell their soul to represent England, to wear the Three lions, that seeing people lucky enough to have this talent treat what they deem to be a huge privilege so lightly is offensive. It sickens people. And frankly i can see their point.
Finally change your note back, I'm still a station
"...Finally change your note back, I'm still a station
Did I ever mention that you called me once with a 3 flush?
PS - Stunning diary, great balance, & I hope you keep it going.
When a golfer has an off-day, bo-one thinks he's not trying his best - yet with team sportsmen we jump to this slightly bizarre conclusion.
P />S> I agree no Terry (too old and slow anyway) or Rooney (you fon't take a banned player for 2 games). Far too often in the past have England managers collapsed to press insistance of taking a player that is unfit (Beckham and Rooney) only for us to see that player performing well below their abilities. A fit and available Rooney is worth any player in the country, but an 80% Rooney isn't better than a Campionship player.
P.P.S. - I lied - I never changed it, you station.
I'm not starting Bent. Yes he's a very good striker and has a great club record when he is the number one guy up top. But in tournament football sometimes it comes down to one chance in the last ten minutes, the crucial chance that's the difference between going through and going out. I'd rather have Welbeck on the end of that than Bent. In fact I'd rather have Crouch on the end of that than Bent.
Are we just going to get all the usual pre tourny hype and optimism only for England to fail again!
Lets be honest here, we just ain't good enough, let's prepare ourselves for the worst.