Haunted by the ex-girlfriend

Its a bad poker player that blames random external things for the reason that he or she loses spectacularly on the poker tables. Well, I must fit that bill because I truly believe that certain things, people, or astrophysical happenings can affect your luck. If this is not the case why did the Romans devise a word for mad stuff happening when there is a full moon?

The word lunatic has its roots from the Roman word for the Moon and it is luna. Women’s menstruation period is in time with the Moon cycle, waves are dependent on the moon so why not peoples mood swings?

In the licensing trade a publican has a monthly stress cycle when there is a full moon because people act like nutters when they are drunk when the moon is full in the sky. Hospitals report a monthly spike when there is a full moon. So do the police and from what I understand the hooligans in the police force sometimes request for duty when the moon is out and about, as it gives them a chance to take out their pent up anger on the miscreants.

Anyway back to the main theme of this post. I experienced the effect of a person bringing bad luck to my game. In this instance an ex girlfriend who was more than fit but had a very bad temper and even worst luck. she worked in a bookie – where I met her, and, was forever bringing a downer on my betting and drinking. This was a bit of a problem since I met her in a betting office, where she worked, and, I was a pub manager at the time!

I can talk about her without any comebacks because she hated the idea that I wrote about poker since she has a deep seated hatred of gambling and subsequently will not be reading this post. But knowing my luck she will look at the website out of curiosity and see this post and stick a knife in me the next time she sees me – and I am not joking about sticking a knife in me! She once tried to bash my head in with a baseball bat I kept as a welcoming present for burglars. Luckily I managed to disarm her and keep her on lockdown until she calmed down.

The minute she said hello I dropped my McDonalds chicken wrap which I just brought. I should have said hello and goodbye leaving my phone number if she ever gets lonely, and, run as fast as I can from betting offices and poker tables until it was safe to come out of the woodwork before I dabble in the sports/cards market. Unfortunately, she looked extremely hot even in the unflattering uniform she has to wear .

I ended up chatting about this that and another. While I was doing that I had a bet on several dogs and each got beaten in a very sick manner. In the end she did not want to come a drink as it goes to her head and she wanted to get home. After trying unsuccessfully to arrange a hook up I decided the next best thing was a game of live poker – bad move!

I literally did not get a hand to get my chips in. I slowly lost my chips because of the big blind allied with rubbish starting hands like 7-4 suited or 9-2 off suit. When I finally got a decent hand (JJ’s) while on the button. I gone in with my solitary 1000 chips got called and when we  turned over my rival had A-5 suited against my JJ’s. Obviously he got the ace and I was sent packing.

Of course this was down to me meeting with my ex. She works in a betting office but hates everything about gambling. Once the evil eye makes a move you are truly kebab-ed.

The news that Isildur1 is back on the high stakes online poker table at Full Tilt, has got the hearts and mind of the blogosphere all a twitter. Who is he or her? What is he? Where does he get his money from?

Well I can tell you from my observations and reading between the lines that:

a) Its more thaan 1 person.

2) Its a marketing ploy.

You may find my first asumption quite real but the second a bit contentious. Well the reason why it is or I should say a marketing ploy is that having major big games online will eventually lead to the ‘whales’ finally giving up playing live casino – where they can be recognise, and, start to play online casino where they can remain anonymous.

You can tell that online casino is the big thing for online betting because there is no restriction to the hours and frequency of visits. A visit to a online casino can happen while a person is using the toilet, on a train journey etc. The thing that scares people from online casino is whether it is fixed!

At the moment online casino is seen as very dodgy, so the need for great publicity is paramount. In the UK we have betting offices, shops where you can go and place a bet on horses, football etc. In these shops they have machines called fixed odds betting terminals or fobts’. These machines are online casino machines, and, are like crack cocaine for gamblers.

 Instead of waiting 10 - 15 minutes for the next race etc, you can have a bet every 10 - 15 seconds! The most popular game on these fobts’ is cartoon roulette and they are just massive cash generators which can have automatic re-load so you can play the same number/s again and again without going through the rigmarole of physically putting chips on. 

A friend who is a betting office manager said to me that if his bosses had their way they would get rid of betting on football etc and have the shop filled up with these fobts’. Now imagine a world where you can have your own personal fobt? Yes we have them now but you can tell by the bonuses that are offered that people are not rushing to join them. Yes the are making money but the competition for casino players is tough.

Can you imagine if those whales got onto online casino losing 3% profit per spin every 20 – 30 seconds – happy days for the online casino owner!

Hence my supposition that isildur1 is a marketing move because as soon as this gets into the main stream media – which it hasn’t as yet – then there will be media frenzy to know and plau against this person. Onviously the more the online poker sites can keep the real name/s out of the public arena the better.

Who is isildur1? Who cares, as long as we don’t know the better for the online casino brands.

IPC: We are the True Voice of Publicans

The newly formed Independent Pub Confederation last night told a meeting of MPs that it and not the BBPA was the true voice of publicans and lessees and set out a clear set of proposals which it believes will deliver the change required to secure the future of the British Pub.

Speaking at a meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Beer Group convened to discuss the recent pub trade mediation, the ongoing BESC inquiry and the OFT Report, members of the IPC unveiled the umbrella group’s manifesto for change. The BBPA refused to appear alongside the IPC and the two group’s briefed MPs separately.

Kate Nicholls the Secretary of the IPC said:

“The BBPA’s failure to debate the issue openly with the IPC in front of MPs means that they have forfeited the right to be considered the voice of the publican. We stand ready to debate and work with any interested party – any time, any place, anywhere.

“The IPC is the body which is standing up for the long-term interests of pubs. We have set out a clear list of changes which the industry needs to deliver to fully respond to the concerns of the Business and Enterprise Select Committee. These include ensuring that tied agreements offer tenants clear and quantifiable benefits by allowing tied tenants the choice of going free of tie when leases are renewed or at rent reviews and ensuring that rents are set at a level which takes account of the need of tenants to earn a living from their businesses and ensures that tied tenants are not financially worse of the than free of tie tenants.

“We challenge the BBPA be clear about the changes they are proposing to deliver this. To date, they have yet to do so or even openly publish their revised code. In the absence of meaningful proposals on these issues, we can do nothing but concur with the Business and Enterprise Committee conclusion that that Government intervention in the market is required, including a reference by Ministers to the Competition Commission.”

At last night’s meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Beer Group CAMRA made it clear to MPs that they rejected the response of the OFT to their super-complaint and would be working with other members of the IPC to refer ties to the Competition Commission.

Jonathan Mail, CAMRA’s Head of Policy and Public Affairs said:

“The OFT has spectacularly missed the point that restricted competition in the wholesale market will inevitably harm consumers. Their analysis established that prices in tied pubs were 8 pence a pint higher than prices in free of tie pubs but concluded that this difference was marginal. The OFT perversely excluded lower managed pub prices from this analysis; did not take into account that greater competition would bring down prices across the board; nor did they consider differing levels of amenity.”

“It appears that the OFT have misdirected themselves as to their responsibilities under the Enterprise Act 2002 and that they have failed to take reasonable steps to properly understand the pub sector. CAMRA is therefore lobbying Government to overturn the OFT’s decision and to refer the issue of supply ties to the Competition Commission for a market investigation.”

Having walked out of a job because the office resembled something out of ‘The Office’, with all the characters represented, I decided to mess about on a $0.10 buy-in internet poker tournament and I could not believe it when I was playing with people who would not take risk! So when in a situation like this (1st place prize money a grand total of $41!) I went mad and played literally every hand I was dealt. In one hand I went all in with 8 of hearts and 5 of diamonds and hit a pair on the river, the guy who called me could not believe it and it put all the other players, who quite clearly knew and were communicating with each other into melt down – serve them right for trying to stitch up the tournament

It was pure helter skelter and I resembled a guy who was in full tilt mode however after 10 or 11 re-buys and at various stages I was down to minimum chips I found my self at the final table with the chip lead – happy days! Amazingly the players were still playing conservatively and after 5 long hours I made up my mind that there was better things to do than act as if I was at the final of the World Series and kept on with my tactic. Ultimately I made second place and felt vindicated when I took home the princely sum of $27 LOL.

With this I decided to go into another tournament which was free and guess what I had a taste of my own medicine when I was called all in while having pocket Ace’s by a guy who had Ace – 7 of diamonds and guess what he got the flush on the river – live by the sword, die by the sword. Peace!