I tried writing a poker blog a couple of years ago but it went the way of many blogs - I was eager at the outset but then would post less and less frequently until things came to a halt in April 2008.
Will this blog go the same way? Probably. Let's see what happens between now and then though.
So a little about me and the games I play. I play live poker 4 or 5 nights a week. Local games range from £2 buy-ins at my local pub to £33 at the casino. I've also had a shot at playing bigger games this year, up to £500 buy-ins. I enjoy playing the game, regardless of the standard of opposition. Sure it is fun to play against excellent players, but there is also a lot to be said for kicking back, having a drink and a laugh with a bunch of guys in the pub over inconsequential sums of money.
This year I played five out of the six legs of the Coral British Masters Poker Tour. This sprang up as a result of a last minute decision to play the opening leg of the season in my home town of Bristol. I rather surprised myself by finishing second in the main event for a £9000 payday. Previous to this my biggest win had been approx £850 in a bizarre tournament in Uganda. I was spurred on to try the further legs by the tour’s sponsored pro who said I had the game to compete at that level. I’d always suffered from self-doubt when taking a shot at bigger games (which for me at the time were in the realm of £50-100 buyins). I went on to make two further Main Event final tables in the tour.
My hope for 2011 is to continue playing the £500ers, possibly with some UKIPT events thrown in to the mix as well. If I don’t get any results then I have no problems at all dropping back down to the sub-£50 buy-in games. Whatever happens, I’ll document things on here.
This blog won’t solely be about poker though. My other passion in life is Tanzania. I have been out to a village there four times, totalling over a year. I’m involved with several groups of people out there, most of whom are blind. I’ve sorted out the funding for 12 children to continue their secondary education this year, have started over 20 small businesses which have been passed to families to generate incomes from, supplied countless white sticks and talking watches, built several houses for the poorest of the blind and been involved with well over a hundred small projects ranging from supplying exercise books to getting people cancer treatment. A fair chunk of what I do out there is funded from poker. Some friends have also become involved and contribute money directly or help raise money through things like raffles, poker challenges and half-marathons.
I’ve also set up links between the school for the blind in the village and a regular London primary school. The children have written letters to one another, held conference calls and made friends. They do a sponsored walk in the summer and that raises a healthy amount of money. I’ll be back out in March with a bundle of cash raised in this way and I’ll also be able to see how the projects are proceeding whilst I’m in the UK.
So should you decide to follow this blog, then expect a mix of the two things. And now to click ‘publish'and make this blog live.
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