It Wasn't Like This in 2008

It’s pretty safe to say my form has hit an all time low. It’s September now, and I’d estimate that I’ve played 20-25 tournaments this year with only two small cashes, both of which came in two of the smallest events that I’ve played.

I’m also behind a little playing online, only slightly though since I rarely play anymore. I remember saying at the end of 2008, when I had just won three major titles, that if luck evens out in the long run then I was due about 10 years bad luck. It’s starting to look like that might be the case.

In truth I can’t really blame my fortune since then just on bad luck. I don’t feel like I’ve played any better or worse since 2008 than I did before then. I’ve played badly in some tournaments and well in others, but that was always the case. I really think that the only difference between things now and things two years ago is that the general standard of my opponents has gotten much better, and that I’m not running quite as well.

If there’s one experience that highlights how badly I’ve been running lately it was last week. Two years ago I went to Maidstone for the World Open. I can’t remember a lot about the hands that I played, but I remember winning a 50-50 early in my heat when I was all-in against John Magill, and another big flip when heads up against Kevin O’Connell.

I then won another huge 50-50 to get through the semi final, making me chip leader in the final. I went on to take the title after beating Neil Channing in a cooler of a pot at the heads up stage, where the money was going in whichever way round the hands were. That was just how things used to be in 2008.

I can’t claim to have been unlucky this year in the World Open, since I had to win a 50-50 and survive an all-in with A-7 v 8-8 to even reach the heads up stage. I then won a close-to-a-flip with K-Q v A-6 to give me the chip lead and then got all my money in with 4-4 v K-5 to finish him off.

I was still ahead with one card to come, but he hit the river and went on, not only to win the heat, but to win the entire tournament. Fair enough really. I’d already used up a good bit of luck by the time of the last 50-50, but it was still an annoying way to lose. Things like that didn’t happen in 2008.

That was only the beginning of my misery that week. Because I’d come 2nd in my heat I had to come back over to play the runners up heat on the Friday. I briefly held the chip lead at 230,000 with 3 left, but couldn’t convert and busted in 3rd place.

I then entered the £3,500 English Poker Open on Saturday since I was in town and busted late on day one, meaning that coming 2nd in my first round heat had cost an extra £4k in tournament entries, flights and hotels.

Slightly deflated by this stage, I made my way to Gatwick airport to fly to Dublin with Ryanair. I haven’t flown with Ryanair in ages (and never will again if I can help it) so I was completely unaware that you were supposed to have your boarding cards printed off before you arrived at the airport. You can still board the flight of course but they charge you £40 to print off your boarding pass for you.

I then arrived in Dublin an hour later looking forward to getting out for a game of golf in the sunshine, only to find that Ryanair had lost my luggage. Nice that they charge you £40 for the inconvenience of having to print off a boarding pass for you, but don’t offer any compensation for your inconvenience of being without your clothes for two days.

Anyway, I spent a few hours in Dublin at the Burlington and had a few Guinness over the course of the charity tournament, before getting the train up to Belfast. I was just starting to come off Ryanair-tilt, when I walked through the door to find a letter from the Police.

The letter advised me that I’d been caught doing 41mph in a 30mph zone and could either choose to go to court, where I could receive up to a £1000 fine and 3 penalty points, or else enroll on one of their new ‘Speed awareness courses’ which costs £85 and lasts 4 hours.

THINGS LIKE THAT DEFINITELY DIDN’T HAPPEN IN 2008.

I’m too tilted to write any more at the minute, but I’ll post another blog in a few days with a couple of hands from the World Open, and hopefully some good news from the WSOPE pot-limit Omaha tournament which I’m playing on Thursday. I’ll be updating from the PLO as per usual.