Last Chances To Qualify! Failed!

Having now dropped out of the top forty I have only a handful of chances to qualify for the Betfred Social League Final this Sunday and a shot at the £1000 first prize. As the league has progressed the number of daily entrants has increased to just short of two hundred. To move up the league table you need a final table spot which clearly is not easy. I have been more focused over the last few days and have given myself a chance to do that on a couple of occasions but ultimately have fallen short. If I don't make my third final table appearance of the league by Saturday I will simply not qualify for the final. Given there are probably only one hundred regular players, not making the top forty would be a big disappointment and an opportunity lost. 

If I don't make it good luck to those who do.

............................

I write this as the worthy finalists prepare to do battle for the £1000. On the final day of qualifying I did it, I made another final table and finished seventh. However my prediction that this would be enough was as impressive as my overall play in this league series - pretty poor. Whilst I have not seen a final overall league table I expect my final position was around forty-fifth. I made a pretty good fist of it over the last few days of the competition but it was not good enough. The three positives I take from it are as follows:

Playing this early at night is not a good idea.

I returned around £45 from £25 invested.

It reaffirmed the need get stuck in and play to win in tournaments. 

I am taking a few days off poker to lick my wounds and re-focus on my Maui Jackpot strategy.


Good Luck

Storming Result And Betfred League Update

Last Sunday I played in the weekly Sunday Storm $11 tournament on Pokerstars. In coming 1754th of the 35269 entrants I cashed for $42 but more importantly found some renewed confidence in my multi table tournament game.    One of the main reasons I played was to help me focus on the latest Betfred league game running at the same time. Strangely when I am playing only one or two games at once I easily lose focus especially if they are low buy in games or freerolls, so I had six games open and enjoyed a profitable few hours. The Betfred league is now at the halfway point and I am starting to struggle after a good start. In the first five games I had two final table finishes (8th and 3rd) which established me in the top ten overall. However the last week has seen me slip down the table as I have failed to put in any solid results. I have not given the games the time they deserve, I have been distracted and also sometimes a bit unlucky. To qualify for the final and a chance to win the £1000 first prize I need to remain in the top forty. I need at least another couple of solid finishes to make it. Part of my problem is that these league games run quite early for me and coincide with other stuff going on in the Tomlinson household. For example the early tournament stages run alongside the kids bedtime. This can be a stressful time not conducive to playing A-game poker and reminds me why I tend to play poker when everyone else is asleep! Sometimes as a result the poker and real world combine in a bizarre way. One minute I am deciding push or fold, the next ham or corned beef for tomorrows packed lunch!   Not really complaining about my situation which is generally wonderful but as a family we can be guilty of trying to fit too much in. Me playing these league games is an example of that. I don't really have the time - but I do like a cash generating challenge.   Corned beef please.

Betfred Poker League Returns

Under the new title Social Poker League a new league based challenge has returned to Betfred. I do enjoy this kind of structure and am planing to get very much involved. Over twenty five nights you compete in a tournament with added cash in the prize pool. Over the league your best seven cashes count towards your final league position. The top forty UK league players then play in a final league game with £2500 added including £1000 to the winner. This final also includes the top ten players from a Rest Of The World league.   Given the league structure and the top heavy cash payouts in the daily tournaments the key is to get to the final table, (hopefully seven times) so it is worth taking a few chances to go deep and secure a good score. Two things help this approach. Firstly, there are some poor players taking part. Secondly, the structure does allow for some play so there is no rush to make your move. After playing two games I have made one final table (finishing 8th) and now lie 14th in the table overall. With around one hundred playing each night so far and £100 added each game the games are good value in every sense. Went the game starts you are instructed to "Enjoy the table banter and the free cash." This I guess is what makes it a social league. So far the social element seems to be a mixture of berating each others bad play, complaining about the software favouring donkeys mixed with the occasional polite good wish. I will see how the banter develops and take the cash with a smile, hopefully the £1000. Cheers and good luck.