Pochre

Y'know, I could get used to this professional poker-playing lifestyle, 2.30am and all that gufff, not worrying about work in the morning.

Then again, shooting to an (at one point) $1600 downswing in just two and a half days is not the most enjoyable experience. Got back to 1250 down and just got another hundred back (net) at Pacific, despite going $130 down early on. After what seemed like forever of never winning anything more than the blinds with AA (that or getting them cracked), I was saved by the Late Night Poker Moron contingent.

$0.5/$1 Blinds No Limit Hold'em - *** 04 11 02:19:54 2009

Table Cardenas ( Jackpot - New type ) (Real Money)
Seat 9 is the button
Total number of players : 9
Seat 1: iOWNuHA ( $205.17 )
Seat 2: onetwo81 ( $33.56 )
Seat 3: DMax3333 ( $411.05 )
Seat 4: srecni_as ( $186.51 )
Seat 6: Shinybinary ( $99 )
Seat 7: FullOnTILT ( $85.25 )
Seat 8: Hero ( $91.53 )
Seat 9: JOKAFCP1 ( $139.11 )
Seat 10: toniocar ( $92.46 )

toniocar posts small blind [$0.5].
iOWNuHA posts big blind [$1].

** Dealing down cards **

Dealt to Hero [ Ad Ac ]
onetwo81 calls [$1.5]. (Pacific can't get hand histories right to save their life!)
DMax3333 calls [$1.5].
srecni_as folds.
Shinybinary folds.
FullOnTILT folds.
HERO raises [$5].
JOKAFCP1 calls [$5.5].
toniocar raises [$22.5].
iOWNuHA folds.
onetwo81 folds.
DMax3333 folds.
HERO raises [$36].
JOKAFCP1 calls [$36].
toniocar calls [$18].

$122 in the pot and I have $50 left. I'm even shoving a flop of JT9 single-suited with those proportions.

** Dealing Flop ** [ Ks, 8h, 4h ]

toniocar checks.

Hero bets [$50.53].
JOKAFCP1 calls [$50.53].
toniocar folds.

** Dealing Turn ** [ 5d ]
** Dealing River ** [ 9h ]

** Summary **
Hero shows [ Ad Ac ].
JOKAFCP1 shows [ 6c Kd ].
Hero collected [$223.06].

Inspired.

Mind you, I'm still $310 down for the day, but I think that it was more than $900 at the nadir. Added to a lumpy loss yesterday and a severe hit on Wednesday night after starting well and, well, it was a big downswing.

However, unlike in 2006 or May 2005, I'm not haunted by doubts of "What if I'm not good enough?" or "What if I've been found out?" I may need to make a couple of adjustments at the $200 BI level, but all in all it's just been a bad run. Yes, opponents CAN always connect the flop for days on end.


+++++

The Times this week had a piece on Wrexham & Shropshire Railway, which has been running a profitable rail service that offers last-minte tickets at a rate somewhat less than extortionate.

Wrexham & Shropshire offers return tickets between Wrexham and London for £53, while Virgin charges £201 for a similar ticket.

W&S also showed that there was a demand for direct services to London from Shrewbsury, a route which Virgin Trains dropped some years ago because of so-called lack of demand (equals "doesn't match or required return on capital employed").

Anyhoo, The Times first reported that, mysteriously, Virgin Trains had suddenly decided that it COULD run direct services to Shrewbsbury from London after all. And that it was applying to the Rail Regulator for permission to reopen the route.

A Virgin spokesman denied that it was trying to force W&S out of business. He said that the Virgin trains, due to start in December, would complement those of W&S. “We think it provides greater choice throughout the day for the people of Shropshire,” he said.

without explaining why this "greater choice" had been taken away by the same company in 2004, when it withdrew the service.

This was blatantly a case of big Virgin baching little successful company and Mr Pickle clearly saw that this was one additional public relations cock-up that he could do without. So, it's now reported that:

Virgin Trains abandoned plans to compete with Wrexham & Shropshire, which runs trains between north Wales, the west Midlands and London,


Virgin said it wouldn’t compete because analysis revealed no necessity for additional service, the Times said.

+++++++++++

Night night.

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