45 handed SNG on Pokerstars ($0.25 buy-in non-Turbo)
Bust out hand - Pocket 8's vs QT suited (I shoved pre-flop and got called). Lost a big hand just before busting out with AJ vs AQ.
Finished in 23rd place (no cash)
STT ($1.50 buy-in non-Turbo)
Bust out hand - A5 vs AQ. (I shoved pre-flop and got called)
Finished in 4th place (no cash)
Freeroll for the Marbella Poker Festival (Turbo - UK and Ireland players only)
Bust out hand - KT suited vs QJ (I shoved pre-flop and got called)
Finished in 105th place (no cash)
Freeroll for the Marbella Poker Festival (non-Turbo)
Bust out hand - Pocket 8's. Open shoved from UTG pre flop with two callers. Board ran out 3c 5h 4d Kc 5s. Winner had 76o (yes someone call a UTG shove with 76o!!!)
When a year doesn't have many high points or many low points it doesn't give you a lot to write about.
That just about sums up 2011 for me and is reflected in my poker playing over the course of the year.
With regards my bankrolls on the various online poker sites I play on, The only one that's really been going in the right direction is my Pokerstars account. The rest (on various sites like Titan Poker, Blue Square Poker and Betfair) have remained stagnant and on PKR it has hit a large downswing (well, large for me anyway) simply through (mostly) bad beats. When you shove with AKo and get called by 10-2o and lose, well you know that not much is going to go your way.
I have now also set up accounts with Party Poker and 888 Poker. I set up the account with Party Poker as they have an association with the WPT and hold a lot of satellites for WPT events. I know this might be big thinking for someone playing micro stakes but there's always the chance. Anyway, I have been left extremely disappointed as, apart from the affore mentioned WPT satellites, there is very little else on offer for micro stakes players, particularly those that like playing non-turbo SNG's (aka Me!).
888 Poker was a pleasant surprise. They were (and I think still are) running an offer for $8 free when you sign up with them. It's not much but does give you enough to get a feel for the site and the type of games they offer. Whilst the interface is not the most sophisticated around, it is easy to get to grips with and they seem to offer a nice variety of tourneys and SNG's. I will watch 888 with interest as they are currently the sponsor for APAT (the Amateur Poker Association and Tour) who hold a series of live tourneys with quite a low buy-in and hold satellites on 888 for these events (Here's hoping I can get into one of the events this year!)
Here's a list of the highlights of my 2011 in online poker:
As you can see, not too much to write home about this year. Here's hoping for a better 2012.
Happy New Year!!!
Does a country (and therefore it's Government) have a duty of care towards it's citizens?
If it does, what needs to happen when a country fails in this duty of care?
And how does a country serve out this duty of care in the first place?
As I'm heading for the big 4-0 next year, so in all likelihood I am now over half way through my life on this mortal coil, I think now is probably the right time to start writing a bucket list. So here goes my first attempt (you could probably call this an Alpha version):
The great British public recently had a chance to make history in this country and change the way our MP's were elected, from an out dated, heavily biased system called First Past the Post (FPTP) system to a slightly less out dated and slightly less bias system called the Alternate Vote (AV). Alas, with the Prime Minister sticking his oar in (I think that's the expression), and using his party's rather substantial resources (apparently), he managed to persuade (scare, frighten, intimidate etc.) the majority of the country that it's best to stick with what the country knows and what best suits his party, the First Past The Post system.
Having read Victoria Coren's article on the Guardian website (Luvvies or lads. What a choice) about her experience of the whole thing, I've finally realised that the whole process was doomed to failure from the outset.
The question that was asked on the ballot paper was asked as follows:
"At present, the UK uses the "first past the post" system to elect MPs to the House of Commons. Should the "alternative vote" system be used instead?"
So the response is either Yes we should change to the Alternative Vote system, or No we should keep using the First Past The Post system. This is why you ended up with the two opposing sides called the Yes2AV campaign and the No2AV campaign.
Basically, for those wanting electoral reform the question was asked in the wrong way. Why, you say?
Well while reading Vicky's article she mentions one important thing about the way the majority of Britain thinks. She says:
"Shall I vote no, then?" I wondered. "Everyone else will. And I am British, after all. I hate and fear change of any kind. I didn't like it when the newsagent got a new window display."
To put this another way, people these days are for nothing and against everything. Should we have wind farms to provide our power requirements? Not in my backyard. A just say No attitude to everything. And this attitude appears to have manifest itself in the way that people voted in the referendum.
In that case, how would people have voted if the question that was asked was the following:
"At present, the UK uses the "first past the post" system to elect MPs to the House of Commons. Should we keep this system or use the "alternative vote" system instead?"
If the question have been put this way, the response is either Yes we should keep the First Past The Post system, or No we should change to using the Alternative Vote system and the two campaigns would then have been the Yes2FTFP and the No2FTFP campaigns which would have meant that those in favour of keeping the current system would have had to but more work into justifying why to keep the FPTP system instead of spending most of their time scare mongering about change.
Alas this thought comes far, far too later to make any difference but looks like the next opportunity for electoral reform may come sooner that some might think. The House of Lords is in urgent need of reform and it would be fitting if that reform could be of a democratic nature, an elected chamber. And what about the system used to elect this new second chamber? How about some kind of proportional system may be?
Sign FAIL - Epic Fail Funny Videos and Funny Pictures
This had me giggling. It conjures up an interesting image.
"As many - EFF included - have been saying for years, filesharing is not the reason that the recording industry has fallen on hard financial times. In fact, the recording industry’s complaints that the sky is falling really only apply to..."
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/03/it-s-time-recording-industry-stop-blaming-piracy
