SkyPoker.com Online Poker Blog

Yes, it’s true - with nearly 3 weeks to go, all the Seats have now been sold for our “Sky Poker Live Three” at Brighton Rendezvous on June 7th.

Spectators are welcome - sorry - “railers”! - but the Tournament is now completely sold out.

Those who have secured their Seat, please remember, you will need to be Members of the Rendezvous Brighton Casino, & if you are not, we strongly recommend you Register Online - NOW! You can do so here……

Too late to play this one? No worries. There will be plenty more of these, & we hope to visit all parts of the UK.

The vibes from Brighton look good already, & we are all set for a terrific day of bish-bash-bosh poker fun.

More news soon…

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A few weeks ago, I gave some Live Poker Tips (no’s 1 to 6) to help those of you not familiar with Live Tournament Play.
 
With Sky Live Three in Brighton just a few weeks away, I thought it’s time I gave a few more handy hints on the etiquette of the Live Game, especilly for those of you that only play Online.
 
A few years ago I shared a Table, at the Deauville EPT, with one “Elky”, & he made a complete fool of himself, because although he was at the time the world’s most successful Online Player - & still is, by the way - he had no “Live” experience. He soon learned though, & now he’s one of the most successful Live players in the world. Etiquette Rules, OK?
 
7) Win - & Lose - with dignity.
 
Whooping, table-banging & hollering when you win a big Pot or bust someone Online is hunky-dory, but in Live Play, it’s the epitome of bad form. I know, you’ve seen it on Telly, in the WPT & WSOP, but it’s one of the most demeaning things to do to a fellow player. Would you like to be on the receiving end of it? I thought not. Don’t do it. Please. Win or lose, just accept it gracefully, like a grown-up, & move on. Next case.
 
Sit-Down!
 
In Online Poker, If you are not seated at the Table when the cards are dealt, no problem, as long as you “act” in time. In Live Poker, it’s different. It’s no good trying to rush to the Table & play your hand - your hand is DEAD. You can “sit-out” if you wish, no problemo, but to be involved in the current hand, you MUST be seated when the cards are dealt. OK?
 
9) Moving Tables.
 
Online, when the Tables get “balanced”, you just find yourself at another table, easy. In Live Poker, you have to physically move your belongings, including your chips, to your new Table. You must go STRAIGHT to your new Table, & not divert via the Bar, or the Toilet. And do NOT put your chips in your Pocket, or handbag. And if you ignore that? Easy - you are disqualified from the Tourney, there & then. In my first Festival Tourney, I was Chip-Leader, & popped to the Loo on the way to my new table, with my chips in my pocket - & promptly got disqualified! “Why?” I asked incredulously. I was told that I’d “left the arena”, & I’d placed my Chips in my Pocket. Both disqualifiable actions. If you need help to move your chips, just ask the Dealer, & he’ll get the Floorman to help you. Pop to the loo, or Bar, by all means, but NOT until your Chips are  your new table. Go straight to your new table, & do not pass go.
 
10) The Dealer is your friend…..
 
Please remember that Dealers are just flesh & blood, the same as you & me. We sometimes think it’s their fault that we get bad cards, or resent being cautioned for improper behaviour, & I’ve seen players be seriously rude to Dealers. You can be given a Time-Penalty for being a smart-arse with the Dealer - I’d give you 2 years! - but more importantly, it’s bad karma. Mess with the Dealer, & you are gonna get well & truly bust. Life’s like that!
 
So there you are, tikay’s Ten Etiquettey Tips for Live Play.
 
Brighton is gonna be lovely if you follow them. And if you don’t? Don’t even think about it.
 
Enjoy your game, & remember you have a duty to ensure everyody else does, too.
 
Now behave. OK?

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Well, the planning for Sky Poker’s Sky Live Three at Brighton on 7th June continues apace.
 
We have room for about 120 players, & there are just a few seats left, with nearly a month to go, so safe to say we will, as with Sky Live 1 (Birmingham) & Sky Live 2 (Bristol), be maxed out.
 
We are still running Online Satellites for Brighton at £6 a pop, so if you fancy a whirl, try the Sky Poker Lobby… 
 
The folks at the Rendezvous Casino in Brighton are all as excited as we are. We’ve been down to see them, & excitement is high.
 
We hope to have a few local “Big-Name” players present, too, including Online Super-Bloke James “Royal Flush” Dempsey, & the evergreen Paul Parker, who’s played the Pro-Poker Circuit for longer than almost anyone I know. He can’t ‘arf talk, mind, but he’s huge fun.
 
We have booked a Film-Crew, & we plan to do a TV interview with every single player who’s wants to be on Telly - or at least, as many as we can. Arrive early, so we can get you “in the can”!
 
And remember, please try & register for Casino Membership Online, before you travel, it will save a lot of time “on the day”. New Members MUST take valid ID with them - only a Passport, or “picture” Driving Licence will do. I’m sorry to say, & I must warn you, that new Members who fail to bring Valid ID will NOT be permitted to play the Event - that’s the Law!
 
We will confirm which Presenters & Analysts are attending in my next Blog, but I’m pretty certain we will have Kara Scott, Matt Broughton, Nick Wealthall, & Richard Orford on parade. The whole purpose of them being present is to offer you help with your poker game, if needed, so don’t be shy, just ask them, & they will try & give you some one-on-one coaching. (I’ve booked 10 minutes with Kara Scott already…….). They will all be playing the Tourney, too, so you might just get to share a Table with them. In fact, why not try & bust them out? I’m relying on you…..
 
I gave a good few details about Sky Live Three in Brighton a week or two go, & it contains all sorts of useful info you may find helpful - just go one back to my previous blog entry.

We have also found a few more Hotels for you, too. There are two Travelodges quite nearby, one is here, on the A23 as you enter Brighton…..
 
Another is on Brighton sea-front, here…..
 
Book early, is my advice, as Brighton gets busy in June!
 
The Tourney starts at 3pm, & should be wrapped up shortly after Midnight, but we’ve oganised non-stop Sit ‘N Go’s & Cash-Games for you, so you won”t be short of poker fun if you bust out early.
 
Don’t forget, try & Register for Casino Membership now, to save hassle on the day, & if you plan to stay over, book your Hotel soonest as spaces are scarce in June.
 
OK? OK!

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So you want to be a foot-soldier Pro in the Poker Game? No worries, it’s easy. But you better be prepared to travel, live in Hotels, & leave a note for the milkman, as you’ll be away more than you’ll be at home. Oh, & not have a wife!
 
On Sunday evening I travelled down from my home in Derbyshire to Luton, where I played their Sunday night Freezeout. Did I win? Don’t ask. But add in the cost of a local Hotel, & I began the week £100 down, Sheesh.
 
Early on Monday, I continued South, via the M1 & M25, to the Sky Poker Offices in Feltham, where I & others spent the day tying up details for Sky Live Three at Brighton, June 7th, which is all coming together very nicely.
 
In the evening, huge Bragging Rights were on offer, as it was the Sky Poker Staff Pub Quiz, in Tedddington. To cut a long story short, of my Sky Poker Team-Mates Richard Orford, Michelle Orpe, & Producer James Taylor, only the last-named was of any help at all, & our Team finished 11th. Of 12. A 3 hour drive beginning at Midnight had me back home by 3am. Oh, & add the cost of a tank of juice for the jalopy. This week is not going well….
 
Tuesday I played the DTD £50+£50+£50 rebuy in Nottingham, almost next door to my home, & although I never cashed (do I ever cash, you must sometimes wonder?) at least there were no expenses to cover.
 
Wednesday I played the £100 + £100 Omaha in Nottingham, no luck again, but then I nicked a small profit of £800 in the Dealers Choice Cash Game, so at least we were now holding our own financially on the week. It’s always a relief to pocket some mullah when you start the week badly.
 
Back down to Feltham on Thursday, that’s 180 miles, but I was there by 11am, & we had a great day, recording another Sky Poker Pilot Show - we have no less than four new Shows at the Pilot Stage lined up for Sky Poker Channel 846, it’s really buzzing there now.
 
To round off a good day, I did the Sky Poker Five-O Live Sumulcast, which airs on Sky Sports, as well as Channel 846, in the evening.
 
Finished by 1am, & I stayed at Jury’s Inn, at nearby Heathrow, & was back in the office by 9am Friday, more bleary-eyed than bright it’s fair to say.
 
Another good day in the Studio, filming a Pilot Show with Richard Orford, & then doing “The Open” in the evening, which runs for just over 3 hours, & goes out live. There’s a huge adrenelin rush when you do Live TV, & fatigue & tiredness don’t really figure.
 
The moment the Show ended, I headed back home to Derbyshire, & was home in 3 hours flat.
 
Saturday it was a 7am start, catching a flight at 10am from East Midlands Airport to Edinburgh, for the APAT Scottish Amateur Poker Championship at Gala Maybury. I’m fortunate to be APAT Chairman at present, & I adore these APAT Events, with their warm atmosphere. Obviously, I do not play them, I just help look after the Members, & do a spot of commentary, which I happen to enjoy very much too. When Day One had finished, at 1am Sunday, (we began at 2pm Saturday) I wandrered across to the nearby Marriott Hotel, & slept in my 5th different bed in 6 days. Alone, I hasten to add…..
 
Sunday was APAT Day Two, we began at 2.30pm, & were wrapped up by 10.30pm, & after  a spot of relaxation with the lads, I was back at the Marriott by 11.30pm, tired but happy.
 
Monday morning it was a 5.30am alarm call, & I caught the 0830 flight back to the East Midlands.
 
So that was, in the week, Derby, Feltham, Teddington, Derby, Nottingham, Feltham, Heathrow, Feltham, Derbyshire, Edingburgh, Derbyshire.
 
And this week? Rinse, repeat.
 
You sure you still want to be a small-time poker pro?
 
I gotta go, I have a train to catch. Take care now.

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“Well, planning for £5K Brighton Live is well underway, & we’re looking forward to seeing many of you there. The Sky Poker Live Days at Bristol & Birmingham were huge fun, & this will be more of the same.
 
The Date?
Saturday June 7th. Easy to remember, it’s Derby Day. We might even have a little fun sweepstake on the winner!
 
Where?
The Rendezvous Casino, Brighton. It’s right by the Marina. If you want to take a virtual look at the place, click here and visit their website. Membership can be obtained on the day, providing players bring a Passport/or ID-type Driving Licence (with a picture), but it takes several minutes to process new Membership.
 
It’s better to register online, & then it’s much simpler & faster at the Casino on the day, & just requires the casino to take your photograph. 

The Tourney
We will release the Structure & Prize Fund shortly. In the meantime, you can qualify for the Main Event on Sky Poker, we have plenty of cheap satellites running. But hurry, seats are going fast, & we only have room for 140.
 
We shall organise plenty of the “fun” Sit & Go’s afterwards, & for those who take an early bath from the Main Event.
 
A camera-crew will be there, & everyone will be invited to say a piece to camera. These interviews will start to air on Sky Poker within a week. You can be on telly!
 
There’ll be a nice buffet, too, & we look set fair for another great Sky Poker Day.

Who will be there from Sky Poker?
We’ll tell you next week. But one of them is a female Presenter, who lives in Brighton. How much more of a clue do you want?

More about the Venue
Easy to get to by train or car, the Postcode is BN2 5UT - try Google Maps, just type in BN2 5UT for directions.
If you want to go by train, it’s Brighton Station (fast, direct services from London Victoria), thence a £4 Taxi ride.

Car Parking at the Rendezvous.
Totally FREE, in the Multi-Storey right opposite, or by Valet Parking by Casino Jockeys, also free.

If you want to make a weekend of it? 
Hotels are in abundance in Brighton, but it’s probably best to book a B & B, of which there are thousands. There is a Hotel right next door to the Casino; it’s called Seattle Hotel. It is, however, not cheap & is usually booked up months in advance by boat owners.

Better value can be had at the Thistle which you can visit by clicking here. Still expensive though (its Brighton seafront), but it’s only a fiver in a taxi to the Rendezvous from there.
 
Another option would be Jury’s Inn, near the Town. Personally, if transport is available (car), I prefer to stay a few miles out of town when doing Brighton, at Hickstead. It’s much cheaper, is very countryside-ish, has its own little nature reserve, & the Staff are friendly. 10 minutes is all it takes, & I plan to stay there. It has a little bird sanctuary, with ducks, geese, cormorants, swans, & some rare gamebirds. No shooting them though, please! Take a look by clicking here. 
 
So go on, get qualifying.
 
Good Luck!

Tikay

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Well, at last the big night arrived last Thursday, & the first ever Sky Poker - Sky Sports Simulcast took to the air. 50 runners, £5,000 Guaranteed, & the Tourney was maxed out with hours to spare.
 
It was all a bit tense in the Sky Poker Studios before transmission, but with Richard Orford as Presenter, confidence in a good Show was high.
 
I got off to a bad start, misreading the demonstration hand - oops - a practice best avoided in front of all those Sky Sports viewers! But we recovered, & I think the Show went pretty well. The Final was a right corker, too, & it was as good a Tourney as we dared hope.
 
Earlier in the week, on the Monday, I’d done the regular “Open” & viewers need not worry, as “The Open” will always remain as part of our Schedule. 650 runners almost every night tells it’s own story.
 
Sunday saw the “Sunday Night Showdown” Final, & the Trophy and Bragging Rights went to Dave “Compo” Compton, a relatively new addition to the Sky Poker Team. Dave has a very odd playing style, & in Vegas last year, was nicknamed “Tolstoy”. Because he’s difficult to read…….
 
On Wednesday, I went to DTD in Nottingham to play their £100 + single rebuy Omaha Tourney. Only two Tables, but packed with class - World Heads-Up Runner-Up Simon Nowab, the legendary Paul “ActionJack” Jackson, said to be the finest Online player ever, Pete “Runner-Runner” Linton, Kim Costa etc. I managed to get Heads-Up with Paul Jackson, but he had a slight chip lead over me. There were 105,000 chips in play, & he had 104,400 of them……So, I only needed to double up x-teen times & the Winners Trophy & glory was mine. I fell at the first hand, but was more than happy to take home nearly £600.
 
That apart, I never Cashed all week, though I only played 3 nights. That’s why it’s very important - crucially important - to manage your Bankroll with care. The ratio of Finals to Tournaments is never likely to exceed 25%, even if you are a special & extremely talented player, so be very careful, as “Variance” is a weird & wonderful thing.
 
To overcome Variance, you should consider playing regular Cash Game sessions. The Variance here is much less. If you choose the right Table & Buy-In Levels, you should be able to beat the Game 3 nights in 5, minimum, just by playing A-B-C poker. Why don’t more people win then? Because thy get greedy, & move up the Levels too quickly. Just grind away, little & often, & it’s amazing how simple it is. The Sky Poker Cash Tables are getting busier by the day, & there are tables to suit every pocket. I’ll be playing the Cash Tables on Sky Poker regularly soon, & I hope you’ll join me there. Want my money? Come & get it. I’m all yours.

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Another busy Sky Poker Week, my word, they have so much new stuff in the pipeline.

I managed to play a Tournament in Luton on Monday, I try to play as much Live Poker as possible, & I always seem to bump into a bunch of Sky Poker regulars, of which there are 10 or 12 at Luton. The atmo at Luton is just lovely, everyone tries to play the game in the right spirit, and that’s so important to all of us who care about the game. I was on a run of four successive Live Finals, & was determined to go for 5 on the bounce. But you can’t force things in Poker, & hard as I tried, I just could not garner the deep-stack I needed to navigate through the oh-so-treacherous semi-Final stage, & I eventually bubbled - the worst spot of all to exit any tournie. But it happens, & we have to remember it’s just a game. If losing a poker game hurts, then it’s time to pack it in. Nobody ever won at Poker without some luck along the way, & I guess I’m due a run of bad luck now. We can’t have it both ways!

A days rest on Tuesday, & on Wednesday I did the Show (The Open) again, a regular Show, so to speak, but Thursday, which I also did, was special.

It was our final “dry-run” for a new Sky Poker Show entitled “Five-O”. Five-O is limited to 50 players (Five-O, get it?), at £100 a time, so £5,000 (Five-O again!) is guaranteed. It was Richard Orford in the Presenter Role, & he is just the supreme TV Pro, a delight to work with. The Show, starting every Thursday from the 17th, will simulcast on Sky Sports, which is a huge coup for Sky Poker. But in technical terms, it’s quite difficult to adjust to different transmission guidelines. The standards of professionalism are different - not better, or worse, just different - so we have to get our head round these, & adjust accordingly. And the audience we are addressing is quite different, & we do try to keep the Show focused on our core community, so it was all quite awkward at first, but we got there in the end. You can see the first “Five-O” simulcast this Thursday, April 17th, on Sky Poker, Channel 846 - or Sky Sports. How cool is that?

So, on Friday, I was itching to play some real Poker again, & I trotted across to DTD in Nottingham, my local cardroom. 83 runners, & I was running well, but it’s No-Limit Poker, & one slip can be fatal. And it was! With 14 left, and now looking to Final, I misread my hand, & shoved all-in, thinking I had J-J. I got looked up, no problem, but when I tabled my hand, it has magically become 9-3. How do these things happen?

Such is life, such is poker. It’s a lovely game, but just remember, you need, in poker, to pick a pocket or two. But 9-3?……

Reach for the Sky by all means, but I’s stick to Sky Poker if I were you. Beats 9-3 every time.

See you next week, & we will know how that simulcast went by then. Will we have Reached the Sky Sports faithful? 

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They say you should enter every Poker Tourney convinced you can & will win it. They are wrong. Poker does not work that way, it just does not.

In poker, you need heart, & spirit, & backbone, because even the world’s best Tournament players cannot achieve better than 1 Final - thats Final, not victory - in every 4 attempts. (Assuming large fields). The legends such as Hellmuth & Ivey have a win rate of about 1 in 20 at best. So we must be realistic if we are to enjoy the game, & not become disheartened by a string of no-cashes. If I played Sky Poker’s “The Open” 7 nights a week, I’d be more than happy to cash once a week, delighted to cash twice. Win it? Once a month maybe. If I got lucky.  

The Great Mickey Wernick - recently on Sky Poker’s “The Open” - went 18 months without making a single Ranking Final a few years back, & he played 7 days a week. Then, overnight, he went on a run which saw him make 24 Ranking Finals in 9 months, & went on to become European Player of the Year. See, it’s about persistence, perseverence, & patience. It’s not a game for the faint-hearted.

My favourite Mini-Festival (Live) takes place every month in Nottingham, & it’s called the “3-2-1″. “3″ for £300 No Limit Hold ‘Em Main Event on Days One & Two, “2″ for £200 Omaha on Day Two, & “1″ for £100 Hold ‘Em on Sunday night.

It’s a veritable feast of poker, & I always look forward to it, hoping the Gods of Poker will be kind. Make no mistake, though, if they are not, you won’t win - it’s just not possible. You need to avoid bad luck, & be in receipt of copious amounts of good fortune to win a Poker Tourney - the books never tell you that, but it’s a fact.

So, I sat down in the £300, bursting with hope & enthusiasm. A 40 minute clock & 10,000 chips means you may only play two or three hands every Level - call it 4 hands an hour! - so patience is paramount.

I stayed at or close to my starting stack for the first 3 Levels, & was happy enough - it’s not a race. Sat to my immdiate right, was WSOP Bracelet-Winner & good friend Lawrence Gosney, & he kept me on my toes, he’s a very tricky guy to play. So it was pleasing to take my first big pot against him, but how much skill did I need to play this hand? We were BOTH dealt Queen-Ten, him in spades, me in diamonds. The flop came Q-high, two diamonds. I’m liking this, more so when Lord Gosney bet out! The turn was a diamond, giving me my flush, & Lawrence bet out once more (I just called, hehe….), & then he shut down. And the Dealer shipped me the 3,000 pot, very nice. Luck, or skill? You judge.

I then found 8-8, & it looked good on the 7 high-flop, so bet out. How could I possibly know someone was sat behind me with the dreaded overpair? Well I knew after I bet out, & he re-raised me all-in. Pass, groan.

Then I found QQ, but I ran them beauties into K-K - I did well to get off that hand, & so it continued, all evening.

It was a 2 day  Event, over 18 hours of play. I did nothing wrong, & was history after 6 hours. Sometimes it just goes that way, which makes the days it goes our way seem so blissful. 

So I entered the £200 Omaha, & bubbled, extremely unluckily, one spot before the Final - & you know how that hurts! 

So that just left the 77 runner £100 jobbie, & I safely negotiated a path into the Final of that. I decided to try & boss the Final Table, & was very fast out of the traps, raising the first hand with air. And getting my Q-2 bust. 9th, I netted £250 or so, & that was that. My 3-2-1 “we have lift-off” became a damp squib. Still huge fun though.

So no matter how hard we try, or how bad we want to win, we have to take defeat & bad luck in our stride. Even on Sky Poker. Try to savour defeat as well as victory. The wins will come, & will be all the sweeter.

And that’s the beauty of poker. Nobody is good enough to win all the time. Everybody can win now & then. How else do you think I get by?

Be lucky.

between 0000-00-00 and 9999-99-99  

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Etiquette & Poker. Not two words you often see in the same sentence, Nope, I agree. But they should. At the level we play it at, poker is a game where it’s so important to remember that everyone’s enjoyment is affected by the way we conduct ourselves.

And to those of us reared on Internet Poker, it can come as a surprise to realise that there are certain rules & conventions in Live Poker that don’t exist in Online Poker. I seem to meet Sky Poker players at every venue I play, & they always seem eager to learn these basic “Live Poker Rules”, so I thought I’d jot a few down to aid your enjoyment when you next venture onto the Live Scene.

It looks like a list of “don’ts”, but really, Live Poker is the most relaxed and fun you can imagine, so a few minutes boning up will do no harm.

1) Pass out of turn - before, or after, the flop.

Passing out of turn is unfair on other players in the hand who are yet to act, as it gives away valuable information in a hand in which you are no longer involved. If you are in seat 7, with 8, 9 & 10 still to act, those in Seats 1-6 have the advantage of knowing one player will not be calling or raising, & those in Seats 8,9 & 10 are unfairly disadvantaged. Online, Passing out of turn is impossible.

2) Show your cards to the player next to you during a hand

This is not cricket, or even poker. It’s not permitted, & your hand may be declared void. Your hole cards MUST be kept private until mucked, or exposed at Showdown. Impossible Online.

3) Show One, Show All.

The most-repeated saying in Live Poker! After the hand has finished, you have bet your opponent off the hand, & have not had to show your hand, it’s common for a player to sneakily show his hand to his mate sat next to him. This is considered to be cheating. Why so? Because your mate has access to information that the other players have not had access to. Impossible Online.

4) Keep schtum!

If you are not in the hand, you must never, under any circumstances, offer advice to players still in the hand. It’s deemed unethical. It can entice them to bet, or Pass, or Act, as it aids their decision. If you say “it’s only 2,000 chips to call, the pot is 10,000, you have the odds” you have passed on information he may not have considered, which you may consider really jolly helpful. But what do you thnk his opponent thinks of that? And imagine you were in his position, you’d not be a happy-bunny. This CAN be done Online, via the Chat-Box, but it’s a big no-no, & you may be revoked or penalised by the Cardroom.

5) How much is in the Pot please, Dealer?

Sorry - in No-Limit Poker, you may not ask that question. (This does NOT apply in Pot-Limit or Limit Poker). It’s the players job to keep a tally of the Pot at all times. The intonation in the Dealers voice when they reply may give a clue. “Only 3,000 Madam” can be construed as enticement to bet or call. You CAN ask the Dealer to “spread the pot”, to give you a better sight of the chips in the middle, & if in doubt, this is what you should do. All this information is always readily available in Online Play.

6) Touch the Chips in the Pot.

Once your chips cross the Bet Line, they are deemed “in the pot”. They are no longer yours to mess about with, & you may NOT touch them, make change from them, pull them in after winning, nothing. It’s the Dealers job to control & manage the Pot - leave it to them. If you mess with “chips in the middle” you may well receive a Time Penalty - 10, 20 or 30 minutes in the Sin-Bin, or even disqualification. You are unable to touch the Pot in Online Poker - look at it that way.

Well there are just a few of the peculiar, weird & wonderful Rules of Live Poker, & I’ll bring you some more shortly. In short, Online these things are are not possible, because Online Poker is better organised & managed - MUCH better! 

So, next time you play Live Poker, remember those simple things, & it will aid not only your enjoyment, but save you the embarrassment of the Table Bully telling you off. We don’t want that, now do we?

So I hope to see you at the Live Tables soon. And if you can’t cope with those strictures, well, there’s always Sky Poker, eh?

Enjoy!

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After playing so much Live Poker last week, it was back-to-work time this week, & Sky Poker have kept me nice & busy. People see the nightly Sky Poker Open & The Club, but much, much, more is happening, & Sky Poker’s output will increase & change a great deal very soon.

After doing Sunday’s Show, I stayed in London for the night, luckily as it turned out, & I got given the Show on Monday, a “spare” for me, as Mark Banin was not too well. The Monday night Sky Show is one of my favourites (although I admit to having 7 fave nights…), as it’s Bounty Hunter night, & Sky donate no less than FIVE Bounties.

But there was off-screen Sky work to do, helping out behind the scenes with the next Sky Live Day, (Sky Live THREE), which we hope to announce very soon. Also, early discussions have begun about Sky Poker maybe sending some of their players (who win Super Satellites on Sky) to Las Vegas at WSOP time. So all this pretty much took up all of Monday & Tuesday.

Wednesday was a big Sky Poker day too. We have a bunch of new Shows in the pipeline, but these don’t just magically appear, they have a long gestation period. I was helping out with rehearsals for one of these Shows, along with Norman Pace, & we were in the Studio at 9am sharp, & never finished until nearly 6pm - some day! It was, in fact, the fourth rehearsal day for this Show alone, & that’s not counting several days of “technical rehearsals”, where the Camera Crew, Directors & Producer choreograph everything.

Fingers crossed, the finished product - a weekly affair - will hit the Sky Poker Screens in May. The plan is that all the usual Team of Sky Poker Presenters & Analysts will do these Shows on rotation, so you will see your favourite Sky personalities on all the new Shows.

A 2 day break followed, then it was the Sky Show on the Saturday. Unfortunately, this clashed with the first overseas foray of APAT (the Amateur Poker Association), who were in Austria for the European Amateur Poker Champiojnships. I am Chairman of APAT, an unpaid but very prestigious position, but it’s important that those of us lucky to have some spare time give something back to poker. Anyway, I had to duck the Austria trip, which was sad, but Sky Poker always has to get the nod, because they look after us all so well, & it’s just so exciting to be part of their future plans. At least, until they rumble me!

Sunday it was back to poker, & I went to Luton & managed to chop the Sunday night Tournament. Three of us took £2,000, & 2 got £1,500, so I got a nice little result to round off the week.

One way & another, a lovely week for me.

See you soon, & behave. OK?

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