15 February (S&L's house) £20 loss – “Attack and Leave”

Game 1 (1st Charlie, 2nd Dave, 10 players)

No complaints on this game. Hit full house JJJ77 on the flop in the second or third hand and tried an over-bet of £10 to Lee hoping he’d call / go all-in but he wisely chose to lay down a pair of Aces with a low kicker. Got lucky against Marc with A10 versus 99 and 3467 already out. Needed a 5 to split or A,10 to win and hit the miracle 5 to split the pot. Eventually called an all in against Dave with AK (Andy had just lost with AK, so I thought it might be lucky) after the flop. Dave had top pair and won. The Borehamwood contingent was obliterated in just a minute. Dave managed to win with a 6 kicker and then the following hand with a 5 kicker against Marc. Heads-up Dave had a large lead and threw the majority away with an all in manoeuvre with nothing but draws. Charlie had second pair 55 and incredibly called to set up his first (and last) victory of 2006.

Game 2 (1st Dan (but doesn’t really count as he wasn’t playing a second game), 2nd Bridesmaid Dave, 8 players)

Sharon was just getting ready for bed having just said goodnight-all when she heard Barry leave with a Byee – cue hysterical laughter. Played well early on and hit a few cards but got little call-age from other players. Got shafted yet again by Dave who was right to call with the amount of chips he had but only had a few outs after the flop. A8 versus A5 and a 5 hit. The ‘dirty bastard’. Gutted. Marc played well for third place but was clearly on tilt and feeling the pressure following a message from Ruth. Dan who insisted throughout that he wasn’t playing the second game won the heads-up battle. At least you’ve earned back the extra tenner you lost last week.

Conversation topics

Conversation was nothing special. Topics included the smoking ban, identity cards and Lee’s Valentine dinner. An attempt by me to liven things up by discussing two depressing TV documentaries I’d seen – one on Progeria (premature ageing) and the other on a baby entombed in a concrete block did little to lighten the mood.

Barry gave a textbook demonstration of his trademarked ‘Attack and Leave’ manoeuvre to everyone’s amusement. Dan provided some wonderful insight into cause and effect at the poker table to even more amusement. Did you know that if a 567 would have come instead of AAK Dan would have made 4 to a straight? Fascinating stuff – Accenture is one lucky company.

It was a night for new faces with Marc (desperate to steel a few blinds) and Dr Andy taking advantage of the Jayson holiday to secure spots at the final table. Both showed their inexperience by sitting either side of me – the farting machine.

Finally, with the minor building works to the loft nearly complete (everyone had a good nose around), the more pressing work can begin to develop the poker room in the garden.

BJ rating
N/A
JJ’s unluckiness rating (10 = most unlucky)

7