A Poker Education

For the first time in a while I actually got some decent time at the virtual tables on Friday night.

The late night was hardly worth the effort since the play was so flat. I was pretty much card dead throughout, and my few decent hands didn't generate much action.

I've seen it suggested elsewhere that January is an arid month for online players, since many of the biggest donators are skint after Christmas, and don't reappear for a while.

This makes a lot of sense to me. Logic would dictate that the loose fishy players who are the key contributors to my online bankroll are probably the sort of feckless types who max out the credit card and overdraft in December, with no clear plan as to how to pay it off.

Of course, since they are losing players, they have no Neteller reserve to dip into to reload their poker accounts, so they need to await the arrival of the January salary to provide more funds to lose online.

Much more entertaining than Friday's online efforts was Saturday's outing to The Cincinnati Club in Glasgow.

Dave Colclough has overhauled the management of the cardroom, and introduced a £100 rebuy on Saturday's - which Littlewoods had sponsored by making it a £10k guaranteed prizepool.

I wasn't playing, but a few friends were, so I went in to railbird and enjoy the festivities.

My mates didn't cash, but we did get to spend some time with a few of the southern softies who had come up to support Dave in his new venture.

Chief amongst them were Rob Yong, Simon 'Chubbs' Nowab, and Nick Whiten.

Let me tell you, if those guys played as good as they talked, there would be no point anyone else turning up!! They probably drink so much for medicinal purposes - to keep their throats lubricated.

They're very good company, and generous to a fault. If anyone wants a new perspective on the WSOP, check out Rob's diary from 2005 on Blonde Poker. A cracking read.

The highlight of the night (sometime around 5am) was seeing Rob, then Chubbs, take on Dave Colclough heads up.

It's not often you get the chance to see such serious players at close quarters. Not only seeing every hand, but also hearing the speechplay, and seeing their mannerisms and reaction as the game ebbed and flowed.

I was shattered by that point, but the poker was gripping, and I'd consider it a priceless learning experience.