2009 Review

So FTP is 2 months old now having being launched on November 2nd 2009 & were both very enthusiastic about maintaining it in 2010 & keeping readers up to date w/our poker exploits so I’ve taken the time to write up a “2009 Review” which TBH I will warn you is really long so your forgiven if you don’t get it all read but if you get a chance take a look over parts of it as a number of NPFers & FTP followers get a mention. In January I flew out to LV for my 5th trip since turning 21 in December 2005 although I was especially excited about this adventure as it was for MT’s 30th birthday & I was accompanied by TFTP (excluding ST & Mrs. DT) & family friend Kieran “DOGG” Beaney all with the exception of PT & myself were making there 1st visit. So after spending the night before at Plaza, Manchester we woke bright an early to catch our 11:00am US Airway’s flight which connected in Philadelphia before arriving LV approximately 18:00 PST.

After checking into MGM Mirage & freshening up we all decided to dine at Denny’s which was around a 5 minute walk from our hotel…we then had a few beers @ Carnival court before GT, KT, PT, & DOGG decided to head back to the hotel & Myself & MT headed for “Wynn” to enjoying some of there $1/$3 NLH action. We both sat w/$200 which was approximately 70BB’s & for the next 12hr’s enjoyed the complimentary drink’s & outstanding company of our table M8’s many of whom were both still friends w/on facebook;

Matt “Denver” Manes
Diego “Carlito” Salem
Katharine Salas
Asaf “Israel” Shneiderman


We were both drinking quite heavily & looking to enjoy ourselves so needless to say it allowed for some very loose fast play particularly on my behalf which meant after sitting down around 10:00pm & leaving around 1:00pm the following afternoon we left w/$1500ish profit between’s us but more importantly having met 4 fantastic people. I entered Bellagio $1000 NLH F/O that weekend which only attract 34 players but still ensured a 5 figure payday if I was to TID. This MTT has the following structure;

Starting Stack: 10,000
Clock: 35 Minutes

1) 25/50
2) 50/100
3) 75/150
4) 100/200

Which IMO is the best weekly structure available in LV, I was playing relatively tight throughout the early level’s just looking to play small ball & slowly chip up. So about 50% of the field had fell victim by 400/800/100 level & I had around 20,000 which was around CA when I got AIOTF w/JJ vs. LV local’s William Gaffney’s KQd on a 610Jdd board so I had around a 60% hand w/TP set vs. OES+FD & diamond OTT left me drawing to a house OTR which didn’t come…William went on to split 1st & 2nd place w/billionaire Blake Buffington for $11,500 each, sigh NVM maybe next time. Some notable results/achievements during the trip worth mentioning;

- Myself, MT, & GT all FTing @ Caesars w/MT & I splitting 3 ways.
- Myself & KT FTing @ Stratosphere finishing 3rd & 1st respectively.
- GT & KT FTing @ Harrah’s & both involved in a 5 way chop.
- MT FTing @ Harrah’s & Planet Hollywood in same night.
- MT & PT FTing @ Mirage finishing 5th & 2nd respectively
- PT FTing Mirage again w/another 2nd.

February 1st so MT find his 1st 4 figure payday after taking the lion share of the 2 day Aspers £100 (+£10) NLH F/O which saw 73 entrants create a prize pool of £7300. The FT was heavily populated w/an array of talent including;

Cindabella (Split)
Ross Ramsey (Split)
Stevie Sensation (Split)
spoona999 (Split)
jonlundy (6th)
BOTR (8th)
Dom (10th)

IIRC MT took £1500 for holding a commanding CL w/4 others taking £1000. February 6th & I decided to make the trip to Liverpool for Circus’s “Winter Festival” for there £500 (+£50) NLH D/C ME, NPFers in the field;

teamdobb
s2c
CanOnlyGetBetter
Hollywood
Georgesam

Had also made the 3hr journey south. I drew T11-S4 w/no notable names or recognizable faces so I had to quickly breakdown players styles. I slowly chipped up through day 1 always staying around CA until the final level of the day when CA was 50,000 & I got 55,000 in OTT for 110,000 pot w/910 vs. QQ when board read x910J so I had 65% hand for huge CL & river J counterfeited my 2 pair & I plummeted to 10,000 which I took into day 2. So after going into day 2 w/SS I knew I had to get going & within 1st orbit I moved AIPF w/33 & was looked up by James “Hollywood” Browning w/AKd so when flop fell xxKdd I was dead to the 3c which didn’t come & I was sent on the long journey north. FYI MTT updates can be found over AWOP in the “Live Poker Updates” section under 3 separate threads to correspond to all 3 days;

Liverpool Winter Festival…..Live updates and Live Stream
Liverpool Winter Festival… Day 2
Liverpool Winter Festival… Final Day


6th March & MT & I travelled to Leeds for Gala‘s £200 (+£20) NLH F/O DS, unfortunately only 21 people had showed up for this event but as we had made the 2hr journey we decided to go with the flow & took our seats. I shared the same table w/WSOP bracelet winner & an online pro;

Lawrence Gosney
Tom “#1_Fish” Middleton AKA hitthehole

I had met Tom whilst he was studying in Newcastle around 2005ish but had since lost contact with him so it was great to catch up & hear how well he was doing w/his online exploits. Giving him the respect he commands at the poker table I laid AA down on a xx8 flop after he C/R my CBET me to be shown 88 which gave me the confidence to go FTW & I finished up splitting w/5 others for around £800 w/Gosney getting £1000+ for holding a commanding CL. Tom bust out after getting QQ AIPF vs. Gosney’s AK & final board read Kxxxx & MT who made the FT also got AIPF w/QQ vs. Gosney’s 97 & board ran 97xxx to send him to the rail 2 before the bubble. A month later & on 28th April MT & I travelled to Teesside for Gala’s £100 (+£10) NLH F/O which again was disappointing numbers w/26 but again after making the journey we decided to play. I was sharing same table w/NPFer & circuit follower;

Paul “swampy” Gardener
John Bousfield

Unfortunately neither of us were in the spoils as MT bust out early holding 88 vs. AA on a flop of x8A & I bubbled in 6th when getting AIOTF w/T2P vs. swampy’s FD for a huge CL pot, sigh NVM. 10th May was the NPF’s 1st birthday & we celebrated by getting all NPFers together over at Circus & packing out there cardroom for a £30 (+£3) NLH F/O MTT, NPF awards ceremony, NPFs got talent show, buffet, & a few drinks. FTP had 2 runners for this celebration;

Myself
Mark Trett


We were also both fortunate to be nominated for awards as I was up for “Most Constructive Forum Poster” & MT “Most Improved Poker Player” however we both fell short as the winners were as follows;

Cardroom Of 2009: Circus Casino
Poker Achievement Of 2009: teamdobb “Winning NPF live league”
Most Improved Poker Player: mrs card guard
Most Constructive NPF Poster: Looseman
Funniest NPF Post: Koyte “The Chosen One”
Outstanding Contribution to NPF: the card guard kid

Congratulations to all of the above who are all worthy winners of there individual awards. Although this was a celebration the MTT was as competitive as ever, I was drawn T3-S10 w/following;

1) IrishAndy
2) simpa
3) Tingate
4) roscopiko
5) Quietman
6) Nutflush
7) mugpunt
8) PJB_ACES
9) kiddha
10) Myself

I have no hand details but vaguely remember I lost around 50% of my 6000 starting stack when I ran a set of 9’s into a PJB_ACES flush. I was moved around a number of table’s & had an opportunity to sit & catch up w/NPFers;

madasawasp
king keith
Fatpants
Knight1874
omahaha
knerrad

At some point during the afternoon/evening. Again I have limited details of my exit hand but distinctly remember I had opened w/1010 from EP which was called by CAPTAIN KIRK who had limped UTG & flop fell xxJhh & I went AI which was called & CAPTAIN KIRK showed KQh which made a flush OTT to give him the best hand & send me to the rail approximately 25th. Special congratulations to spoona999 who because he was a Circus employee meant he could play but couldn’t compete for any $$$ still showed no lack of enthusiasm to go FTW & this showed as he beat simpa HU to assume the NPF title “NPF Birthday Champ“, WP GG…the NPF did award spoona999 by contributing $$$ to give him a chance to play in a couple of GUKPT side events that followed a week later & he FTed 1 so further congratulations. MTT FT updates can be found over the NPF in the “Live Tournament Updates” section created by s2c titled “1st NPF Birthday Party - Final Table” if you want to read about spoona999 cruising to victory check it out at;

1st NPF Birthday Party - Final Table

So yes a week after the NPF birthday the 2009 GUKPT visited Newcastle for leg 5 & MT decided to take a week off work & play the full festival w/the exception of the PLO, this was MT’s GUKPT schedule;
18/05/2009 - £200 (+£20) NLH F/O
19/05/2009 - £300 (+£30) NLH F/O
21/05/2009 - £100 (+£10) NLH F/O
22/05/2009 - £1000 (+£60) NLH F/O ME
24/05/2009 - £100 (+£10) NLH F/O

Unfortunately MT failed to get ITM in any of these event’s making his GUKPT 0/5 however the experience & hunger for the bigger BI game’s would prove invaluable just 2 months later when he travelled to Teesside for the CBMPT. I scrolled through NPF archive’s & can’t find any MT hand details for the opening £200 (+£20) NLH F/O or the closing £100 (+£10) NLH F/O bounty events but the following live MTT updates for other 3 event’s can be found here & include MT‘s exit hands & his thoughts/other NPFers thoughts on his line;

19/05/2009 - £300 (+£30) NLH F/O
21/05/2009 - £100 (+£10) NLH F/O
22/05/2009 - £1000 (+£60) NLH F/O ME “Day 1a”
22/05/2009 - £1000 (+£60) NLH F/O ME “Day 1b”
22/05/2009 - £1000 (+£60) NLH F/O ME “Day 2”
22/05/2009 - £1000 (+£60) NLH F/O ME “Final Day”

Another epic thread can be found in the “General Poker Discussion” section of the NPF by Mark Trett titled “My GUKPT Main Event” which goes into a lot of detail regarding the MTT & causes 21 pages of debate involving a large % of the NPF, this make’s interesting reading & can be found here;

My GUKPT Main Event

In a nutshell in the ME MT got AIOTT for 98,000 chip pot w/75%+ hand holding set of 6’s vs. Finn Stewart FD which get’s there OTR, sigh NVM UL MT GG…on a positive note fellow NPFer and absolute gentleman Peter “JuicyOranges” Smithson went on to finish 5th in this event collecting a VN £9,050 for his efforts, GG WP M8. June saw GT flying back out to LV this time to compete in the $1,000 (+$100) WSOP #43 seniors NLH world championships w/2707 runner’s & the following NPFers;

Dave “teamdobb” Collins
Peter “JuicyOranges” Smithson
James “Hollywood” Browning

& amazingly from 2707 runner’s GT shared the same starting table as our NPF moderator teamdobb, which when I read updates from CGK on the NPF prompt me to quote Norman Chad “This is beyond fairytale its inconceivable”. I spoke to GT immediately after he went bust & I understand he had KQ vs. KK on a Qxxxx & AJ vs. QQ on a Jxxxx which were both unraised PF putting him in a couple tricky situations, UL GT…finally congratulations to teamdobb who came through the huge field to finish 97th & collect $2,734, WP GG Dave. MTT details can be found over the NPF posted by CGK under “Live Tournament Updates” titled "event 43 wsop - seniors";

event 43 wsop - seniors


11th July was “Circus’s Pub Poker Championships” which was a £110 per team NLH F/O & the teams were to be 6 strong which included 1 substitute, so FTP entered;

Myself
Mark Trett
Steven Trett
George Trett
Paul Trett
Kevin Trett

After going in as 1 of if not the favourite’s FTW a very poor collective performance ensured we were all out within 3hrs & ultimately finishing 17/20 overall. I kind of take responsibility for the rotation system I opted for which created a good team spirit ensuring everybody got involved but meant no individual could get a feel for the table before moving onto another so lesson learnt for next team event for sure. Congratulations to “Walkers Sensations“;

GazWalker
Stevie Sensation
NRH
Irishimi
FarmerDave

Who are all good friends of mine & deservedly went on to win the event, the cash, the trophy, & collect an individual plaque each, WP lads GG. MTT details can be found over the NPF posted by mrs card guard under “Live Tournament Updates” titled “Pub team event circus”;

Pub team event circus


Last weekend in July & the CBMPT visits Teesside for it’s 3rd leg, I had decided to play the opening £200 (+£20) event & the ME w/MT opting to remain fresh for the ME he missed the opening event. I intended to play the £200 event fast due to the structure (7500 chips w/30 minute clock) however I never really got going as this hand came up at level 2;

£200 (+£20)
Blinds: 50/100
Chip Ave: 7500
Me: AA
Villain: 22

I was in the BB w/CA when LAG UTG player opened for 5xBB making it 500, he’d showed no interest in passing hands PF so I knew for sure a 3BET was best way to get action w/AA & of course he obliged by 4BETing me AIPF & I of course called, 80% hand for double CA stack was quickly a 0% hand when final board read 2xxxx. Congratulations to fellow NPFer & Cub Richard “madasawasp”
Whitmore who I shared the same starting table & he went onto do a 4 way chop for £4000, WP GG M8. So the ME arrived & FTP had DT & MT in the 100 (+Alternates) runner field among many other north east locals & NPF members. I drew T7-S6 w/following respected local players/NPFers occupying seats on the same table;

2) Steve “Lucky” Liu
3) Stephen Sung
4) Dom Mahoney
5) Dave “teamdobb” Collins

& MT drew T2-S8 w/only recognizable faces;

1) Simon Zach
10) Ganesh Rao

Among other not so recognizable faces. MTT details can be found over the NPF posted by xenocode under “Live Tournament Updates”;

tees-side main event

But basically the MTT was decided when MT who played perfect poker for 2 days straight got HU w/Dom Mahoney & played this hand;

£500 (+£50) ME
Blinds: 10000/20000
Chip Ave: 500000
Mark: J5s
Dom Mahoney: 82s

HU had been reached so there was no running ante, Dom Mahoney flatted PF & MT CK his option w/40000 ITM flop comes 9d10sAd & goes CC. Turn is Js, MT CK which is followed by Dom PSB & Mark C/R 2BETs AI which after consideration is called by Dom on there backs & MT has 65% hand vs. Dom’s 35% OES+FD & 5c OTR improves Mark’s hand to 2P & give’s him the title “British Masters Poker Tour Teesside Champion”, £12650, the CBMPT trophy, & earned himself a place in a 8 man STT for a 2010 sponsorship deal worth £10000 which is to be held AWOP HQ, Blackpool on November 19th. VWD Bro, KUTGW. You can read MT’s review exclusively on FTP in our “Live Events” section entitled “MY CORAL BRITISH MASTERS TEESSIDE MAIN EVENT” here;

MY CORAL BRITISH MASTERS TEESSIDE MAIN EVENT


August 25th & FTP decided to go away on a midweek break to Amsterdam & turn the DFDS service from Newcastle-Amsterdam into our very own poker cruise playing a number of £10-£20 NLH STTs & £1/£2 NLH sessions, unfortunately MT + Mrs. DT could not make this trip but the rest of FTP were in attendance & accompanied by family friends;

Steve Bone
Ross Bone
Robert Flett

Although poker wasn’t the main priority on this trip like anything involving FTPers it got competitive & w/drink flowing & the excitement of Amsterdam it made for a great trip.


September & I somehow found myself back in LV for 2009 round II staying at “Hooters Resort & Casino”. This was a last minute decision & by last minute I mean I was out drinking on Friday evening in Newcastle, UK w/friends & by Sunday morning I was waking up LV, NV w/very vague memory of any travelling or anything. Unfortunately the 2 people I travelled w/began to get home sick so decided after 3 day’s to head home for Newcastle, I was like WTF??? & declared in no uncertain terms that I was staying the week, end of story. I have a few friend’s out there & met some cockney’s who were over on holiday so when I wasn’t camped out in Bellagio card room I spent most nights w/them drinking over at Hard Rock, Palms, Sapphire, & 1 very memorable night for me would be when I was in Spearmint Rhino strip club & I bumped into 2 old school friends Kirk Wilson & Chris Phillipson so after all the excitement of cuddling each other & all the other greetings I spent rest of night getting drunk w/them & spent $1000+ on drinks & dance’s, D’OH NVM was well worth it absolute fantastic night & only in LV.


Whilst I was there I played 4 MTT’s all over at Bellagio 3x daily $300 (+$30) NLH F/O & 1 WPT Festa Al Lago $500 (+$40) side event. You can find an interesting thread I posted over the NPF under the “Hand Advice/Discussion” section titled “The Bellagio Card Room” which details 6 key hands during the course of the 4 MTTs & gives fellow NPFers thoughts & views on my line;

“The Bellagio Card Room”


Although I was 0/4 ITM’s I as always thoroughly enjoyed playing at the Bellagio & fortunately recovered my MTT’s losses w/a couple of SCA $2/$5 NLH game’s whilst I was playing. I was fortunate to sit w/following respected LV locals, pros & cockney boys who were both great poker players & guys whilst playing at Bellagio;

Paul “Tosh” Ridgeway
Wayne Patton
Jimmy Fricke
David Levi
Thong Tran
Stanislav Alekhin
Motoyuki Mabuchi


So all in all although a very random unexpected trip but certainly a memorable 1 & 1 that I will take some fond memories & close friends away from. Look out for my “Las Vegas 2009 Trip Report II” which is in a chronological queue behind my prior LV TR’s but I hope to release it at some time during 2010 & I hope my LV shenanigans provide good reading as well as give you a good insight into what to expect from “America’s Playground”. Halloween 31st October & it was time for the 2nd annual NPF Championship’s which saw 100 of the finest NPF players all turn out for this magnificent event. I’ve blogged about this event on 2nd November 2009 in FTP’s “Live Events” section titled “NPF Championships 2009” check it out at;

NPF Championships 2009

This goes into a lot of detail & make’s good reading but in a nut shell I was bust out by level 3 when I ran set of 7’s into Faetzy OESD & our very own NPF moderator Dave “teamdobb” Collins was the deserved winner, WP Dave. This was followed on 14th November w/Grosvenor Team Game & I’ve blogged a review of this on 16th November 2009 in our “Live Events” section titled “Grosvenor Team Game” again feel free to check it out at;

Grosvenor Team Game

This again ended in success for Dave “teamdobb” Collins as he done the double & guided his beloved Teamdobbs to 1st place just edging out Walker Sensations by a single point, special mention to NPFer Samj19 representing Walkers Sensations who all though 2nd in the team game went on to win the individual honours including trophy & $$$…WD everyone.


On Thursday 19th November I accompanied MT down Blackpool where he was going to be playing in a 8 man WTA STT for a £10,000 Coral sponsorship package that he qualified for by winning Teesside CBMPT £500 (+£50) ME in July. Read MT’s full review posted under “Live Events” section of FTP on 1st December 2009;

CORAL BRITISH MASTERS £10,000 SPONSORSHIP PLAY-OFF

But here is a brief overview, MT took his seat alongside the other 5 ME leg winners, online qualifier, & the top money earner for the tour;

1) Chris Brammer “Nottingham” (3rd)
2) Jim O’Connell “Edinburgh” (7th)
3) Tom McDonald “Leeds” (8th)
4) Richard Lewis “Top Money Earner” (5th)
5) John Gardener “Bristol” (2nd)
6) Steve Holden “Liverpool” (6th)
7) John Littler “Online Qualifier” (4th)
8) Mark Trett “Teesside” (1st)


James Key’s opened a book on AWOP w/MT way over priced at 10/1 FTW but unfortunately was only accepting bets of up to $30 so I got max $30 on at 10/1 & MT got max $30 on the following day but by then he had came into 9/1. Live MTT updates can be found on AWOP posted by "The-Tower" under the "Live Poker Updates" titled "BMPT PLAY-OFF FINAL……LIVE." however these are very brief. Action for MT was slow 1st few levels as he didn’t pick much until getting 10Jd AIPF vs. AQo & board ran xJx10J to give MT a FH & much needed double up which gave him the boost to get HU w/John Gardener who he got AIOTF of 2310cc w/66 vs. 57c & when no help OTT+R MT was crowned champion of CBMPT 2009 & collected the £10,000 2010 sponsorship. VWD Bro & GL in 2010, Go Go Go.


December 6th was the date for “FTP’s NLH F/O Christmas Party”, a full MTT & evening review can be read in FTP’s “Live Events” section posted by yours truly;

FTP NLH F/O Christmas Party

But in a nutshell all but ST were present at “Killingworth Arms” from FTP for what was an awesome evening that included poker, drinks, buffet, & endless amounts of piss taking. WD to MT, GT, & PT for getting on the FT & ITM & particularly to MT who finished 1st & was crowned “FTP 2009 Christmas Champion”.


The following weekend was the “Circus Grand Final £4,000 Freeroll”, a full MTT review can be read in FTP’s “Live Events” section again courtesy of myself;

Circus Grand Final £4,000 Freeroll

Again briefly FTP had GT (20,000), ST (12,500), & KT (6,000) in the field, the difference of starting stacks were to correspond w/their individual league POS. ST & KT both unfortunately went bust OOTM but GT proudly flew the FTP flag wearing his new “FTP Hoodie” & went on to make the FT finishing 5th for £300, WD GT…congratulations to Andrew Mellor who beat Dom HU for the trophy & title “Circus Grand Final Champion”.


Thursday 17th December was opening event of “Circus Christmas Schedule” which was the “Staff Bounty Night” & Monday 21st December so their annual “Tag Team” MTT both of which were populated w/3+ FTPers & you can read about both in our “Live Events” section;

Circus “Staff Bounty” £25 (+£3) NLH F/O
Circus “Tag Team” £30 (+£3) NLH F/O

Ultimately across both event’s ST was the only FTPer w/any success finishing 3rd on “Staff Bounty Night” for £200, WD ST KIU. CBMPT hosted 6 festival’s across the UK in 2009 w/£500 (+£50) NLH F/O ME;

May: Edinburgh
June: Leeds
July: Teesside - Detailed report of Teesside leg above
August: Nottingham
September: Liverpool
October: Bristol

I played 1st 4 under the alias CT & was unfortunately 0/4. Edinburgh was a blind on blind confrontation when I got 1010 AIPF vs. Chris Woods’s JJ, Leeds I had KQo vs. Jamie Sykes QJs which got AIOTR when I was holding T2P vs. Jamie’s flush, Nottingham was most disappointing as I went into day 2 w/100k+ w/50k average & only 15 players remaining however after running AQ into AK twice I promptly exited in 13th 2 from the bubble. I travelled to Liverpool but unfortunately due to it coming to light that I wasn’t CT I was denied entry so instead opted to smash the £500 drinking around Liverpool w/NPFer & close friend James “BOTR“ Howard who also didn‘t get in as he had forgotten his passport & we had some fun whilst MT grinded the CBMPT ME. MT played 3 of the event’s Teesside, Nottingham, & Liverpool. Nottingham MT was SS & tried a S&G w/A10o on Neil Blatchley after he opened MT's BB from MP, flop came Q86r & Mark moved AI which was called by Neil w/KJo & J OTT sent MT packing towards tail end of day 1, Liverpool MT went into day 2 w/56k which was around CA before losing a couple of flips & being forced to shove 8BBs from the BTN w/K2o only to have BB wake up w/KK sigh. Bristol was a little further south than either of us cared to travel so we didn’t make the journey for this leg.

2010 Plan

Ok after reviewing 2009 I guess it would be appropriate to forecast some goals/targets for 2010;

Full Trett Poker
Since the birth of FTP on November 2nd 2009 I’ve been very enthusiastic about maintaining it & entertaining our readers w/"Trip Reports", "Annual Reviews", "Live Events" etc & I hope to carry this enthusiasm into 2010 by introducing new section’s including
"Interviews" & "Tips & Hints" which I hope will continue to keep our followers tuned in. Anybody who has seen either myself, MT, or GT over festive period would probably have noticed FTP have released some winter “Hoodies” & in 2010 we hope to expand our collection w/summer line of long sleeve t-shirts/polo shirts & look to get all TFTP wearing the gear & promoting FTP.

Travelling
I’m making my 7th visit to LV as well my 1st trip to Macau in 2010, I’m really excited about both but particularly Macau as it begins w/3 weeks in Pattaya, Thailand before finishing my time in Asia w/4 day’s staying at “Venetian Resort” Cotai Strip, Macau. I’m hoping to review any MTT’s $100+ (or HK$/MOP equivalent) in our “Live Events” section & go through some of my HH’s explaining my thoughts & looking for feedback on my line, as well as comprehensive TR’s for both in our “Trip Reports” section detailing my exploits both on & off the felt for your reading pleasure.

Table Etiquette
Whilst planning 2009 I made a conscious effort to improve my table etiquette as when I 1st arrived on the NPS in 2003 I was only 18 & like the majority of naïve young newcomers I had an arrogant cockiness about me that often resulted in me berating villains to help build my misunderstood ego. This both live & online was only accelerated as I watched my BR boost & was unfortunately a trait of mine for a number years which TBH at the time I quite liked the image I was portraying, thankfully I matured & seen the error of my way’s & have since attempted to be more gracious towards villains irrelevant of their standard of play. However nobody is perfect & IYAM their’s always room for improvement so during 2010 I will be looking to act 100% professional win or lose & AFAIC the top most consistent players are those that have absolute control of their emotions so in theory better ethics should result in a better performance.

Live
IDK for sure what COA I’m going to take towards playing live, TBH I’m having a tough time w/MTT’s ATM which IMHO is due to my lack of discipline & patience which stems from my game selection. I play weekly to socialize & catch up w/friends & family but of late I haven’t been enjoying small stakes MTT F/O’s thus resulting in my bad practice & reflected in my poor results which ultimately has meant I’ve had my 1st live -ROI year since 2004, D’OH. So in an attempted to combat this boredom I’ll be looking to concentrate on MTT’s w/£50+ BI unless it’s a novelty game for example “NPF £30 Birthday MTT”, “FTP £30 Christmas MTT”, “Circus £30 Tag Team MTT” etc. AFA following any festival’s go IDK if I CBA to travel up & down UK again this year paying for travel & accommodation, I’ll more than likely play “CBMPT Teesside” (Gala membership permitting), “GUKPT Newcastle Summer Series” & look to invest in a % of MT as he follow’s the circuit w/“Coral Sponsorship”.

Online
Since 2005 I’ve been grinding the BR ladder w/6-T FR cash NLH/PLO & TBH I CBA anymore, I significantly dropped my volume during 2009 & concentrated on other ventures away from poker. Similar to live I’ve kind of lost the interest I had for the game many years ago, but surround by it more than ever ATM w/the influx of all family coming into the game early 2008...I guess subconsciously that’s kind of why I launched FTP in a hope to reignite my passion for the game we all know & love. Moving forward I’ve been concerned that all though 6-T FR is the best use of my BR for optimal HR figures that I’ve been neglecting my SH & particularly my HU practice resulting in my game being kind of polarized, so in an attempted to both regain some enjoyment & polish my SH/HU I’ll be looking to play a lot of 4M, 6M, & HU NLH, PLH, & PLO both cash & SNG’s throughout 2010.

All The Best Everyone From Team Full Trett Poker,
Happy, Healthy, & Prosperous New Year All.