After round one of the Bowls Bet Premier League season we are one win up. Last Friday nights game against the Mt. Lewis Lion’s was a real test and it was good to see that the Magic could keep its unbeaten run against the Lions over the last 6-7 years intact. The Lion’s recruited very well and it was a bit intimidating seeing them turn up with the like of Wilkie, Rice, Trezise, Jeffreys, Willis, Wilks and Co. I really believe that over the last few years it has been the overall strength of our team that has gotten us through. Very rarely did they hold shot before their top end played and our top end matched it against the Lion’s superstar skips and thirds.
Last week I drew one of the worst cards in the history of a pairs tournament. It was always going to be tough at Port Macquarie but with two cards left on the table I said to Shane Garvey ‘you go’, he said, ‘no you’, so I went forward and picked a card versus two World Champions Wayne Turley and Ali Forsyth and two Commonwealth/Asia Pacific champs Mark Casey and Shane Globits. Andrew Waddell was not surprised when Jesus Christ and Muhammad turned up to play the third game. Needless to say it was close and despite being up 8-0 the two staged a miracle comeback to win by a couple.
That was how our day went. First end against Turls and Ali, I trailed a jack into the ditch for 4, but from then on we were outplayed on a couple of key ends. Against Casey/Globits it was very close and probably our best game of the day. Plenty of spectators came to watch a pretty exciting finish. We were always 1-2 ahead or behind and on the last end we held shots but were down one in the game. We covered the re-spots and back wood one side of the rink. Casey trailed it into the ditch on the other side, top corner pocket, for game with his last bowl to win. There was no way I could make two. That game we played shots to knock in touchers 3ft out from the ditch onto the jack in the ditch and precise trails that swung the shot difference. Casey played an unbelievable shot on the 2nd last end going away from the clubhouse with his last bowl. I moved it for 2 in a well protected spot and he just came up with a bomb to clip the jack 3 feet sideways for 2 up, he misses we win simple as that.
Meanwhile always on the rink next to us, Garvey is playing two 80 year old champs and losing his first game and then two 18 year old champs from Dubbo and ended up qualifying for the second tier play-off. Congratulations to Ryan Bester and Andrew Todd from Cabramatta BC via Canada, Australia, New Zealand winning the Platinum for 12k, Alan Wares in the Gold tier, Nathan Rice and Brett Wilkie in the Silver. The structure and prize pool is unmatched in Australia and I hear it will be bigger and better in its second year.
From there on Saturday morning I played the Zone champion of champion final against Mick Harry. I really was on a high after winning literally hours before against the Lions and seemed a little slow to start. There was actually a crowd on the Friday night and Steve Glasson dressed up as ‘Larry the Lion’ entertaining it! So to turn up at Northmead the next day I was a little down compared to the night before. There was still huge motivation for me in many ways but I couldn’t pick myself up and play at the level Mick played.
Usually I pride myself on being able to increase my concentration levels or arousal or calm myself down etc. This game was very frustrating and was the first time in months I felt like I didn’t have control of the game. Mick played his last bowl well and when I won an end he nailed it with his first, very simple. This was even though the conditions were way different to the week before, still windy on top of the hill but half the pace, strange for Northmead. He consistently outdrew me early but towards the middle I definitely out-rated him on the draw but this was the time when he drew the absolute with his last. I tried extreme long and minimum but he stood up to the test. He is a deserved champion in not only the singles in our zone but also the pairs which he won with his brother. He also won all club championships at Toongabbie and is doing a great job as Secretary there. He is leading his team into the Premier League for the first time this year and I wish Mick and the Titans all the best.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
It's Tricky
Trying to get the best out of yourself and your team can be hard work. I personally find motivation to be a tricky subject to approach. I will try though.
With so many events on the calendar how do we remain motivated to perform well throughout the year. Limiting the amount of commitments we have could be one thing we try. Focussing on key events is another.
In life and work people make things happen. To get the best results we all need to share common goals in a team or workplace. When we lose sight of the goal (or not even know what it is) this is when we lose track of the direction we are heading.
Wandering through life can be a very freeing experience. This is not without substance and can be a source of growth and discovery within oneself. However, when things need to be done or you have something special you personally want to achieve, then smart decisions and goals need to be set.
I have learnt that balance is key to enjoying the things we achieve and a catalyst for potential future growth. There are times when stepping back and realising what we have already made gains in can motivate us even more. Keeping good records helps to maintain steady progress and work out our strengths and weaknesses.
Good record keeping helps us to work out which future direction is most viable. Good records are not biased by the outcome. There are times when we can make all the right moves and fail. There are also times when amatuer mistakes or accidental actions can be rewarded. We need to give ourselves the best chance. Don't be sucked in by results-oriented decision making. Be honest and open with yourself and your team.
A good friend once said, “If a million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.” Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn't make it right. Work through what you do with experts in your field. Take bits and pieces from the best in areas outside of your specialty. Don't be afraid to experiment and be different.
With so many events on the calendar how do we remain motivated to perform well throughout the year. Limiting the amount of commitments we have could be one thing we try. Focussing on key events is another.
In life and work people make things happen. To get the best results we all need to share common goals in a team or workplace. When we lose sight of the goal (or not even know what it is) this is when we lose track of the direction we are heading.
Wandering through life can be a very freeing experience. This is not without substance and can be a source of growth and discovery within oneself. However, when things need to be done or you have something special you personally want to achieve, then smart decisions and goals need to be set.
I have learnt that balance is key to enjoying the things we achieve and a catalyst for potential future growth. There are times when stepping back and realising what we have already made gains in can motivate us even more. Keeping good records helps to maintain steady progress and work out our strengths and weaknesses.
Good record keeping helps us to work out which future direction is most viable. Good records are not biased by the outcome. There are times when we can make all the right moves and fail. There are also times when amatuer mistakes or accidental actions can be rewarded. We need to give ourselves the best chance. Don't be sucked in by results-oriented decision making. Be honest and open with yourself and your team.
A good friend once said, “If a million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.” Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn't make it right. Work through what you do with experts in your field. Take bits and pieces from the best in areas outside of your specialty. Don't be afraid to experiment and be different.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Magic Happenings
In the last couple of weeks since returning from Queensland quite a few things have happened. Firstly, as a part of the Merrylands Magic number 1 pennant team we travelled to Windang (South Coast near Wollongong) for the State number 1 Pennant Play-offs. Traditionally in bowls this is the big deal. The top 16 teams from around NSW play-off in 4 sections of 4 and progress to a knockout semi final and final.
Our team played very solidly throughout the initial section. We won all 3 games and won on all 3 rinks in 3 consecutive games. We entered the semi final against the favourites Cabramatta. It is widely known that they have 6 internationals and a solid group of Sydney based players in their team. We started well with one of our 3 rinks leading 11-1! Overall the score levelled and then they accelerated with explosive and accurate driving and pin point accurate sit and stay shots. They continued to grind us down and consistent draw bowling extended their lead.
Our team had very strong and vocal support. We never gave up and it was only in our supporters voices breaking that revealed any cracks in our resolve. As the game neared its end Cabramatta led by 25 and it was a very convincing win by our opponents, who did in fact, end up winning the overall championship. They defeated a very strong team form the Central Coast, Halekulani, in the final.
At the Club Merrylands I have had a very good year. I played with Paul Webb a 17 year old junior from our club in the Major Pairs championship. We won the final 22-7 after getting off to a handy 14-2 lead. The win probably lands me the overall points for bowler of the year which was extra motivation after winning the singles earlier in the year. In itself I am very proud and happy to be playing well within a strong club but I am mainly happy with my role within the club and the team. I feel very much a part of the players developing at our club and I can’t wait for the next few years as we have the makings of a very strong club throughout the grades.
I managed to play a home game of poker after the Major Pairs championship on Sunday. I won’t mention names of people or amounts without peoples permission so I will go ahead without too much detail. There was a fair bit of niggle in the game and it really got the juices flowing. I actually felt nervous due to adrenaline pumping as there was both money and pride riding on every hand. After playing for so long I really never have had that psychological/physiological response in a while. I feel it really made me play at another level.
Finding your optimal level of arousal (in terms of performance) is widely explored in sports psychology texts. I was surprised to find within myself an extra level through this nervousness, extra pressure and sudden challenge in what has otherwise been a pretty much straight forward game. Many times in this game I have been bored, tired or otherwise uninterested mainly due to the stakes and nature of play (mainly social), I think after playing many hands at once online (8-12 tables) it seemed very unstimulating.
Live games however have a whole other skills set besides basic bet sizing, position and history between players. Physical tells, cues and timing of elements greatly influence players decisions. Many people are aware of physical tells and more sophisticated players throw out reverse tells all the time. What can be difficult is when a player who is terrible over rates or under rates there hand and throws out every physical and verbal cue that contradict the actual strength of their hand.
There are some situations where you have to ask yourself is this guy just plain bad, terrible bad, no idea bad or genius. They could be a genius, who knows, who am I to judge? One such situation came up where a player (we will call him Nigel) raised in late position with pretty deep chips compared to the blinds. I re-raise with KQ suited on the button and he calls. The flop drops 3 88 with two clubs. He bets about half the pot I call. Turn is a 10 of clubs making my flush. He checks and in position I bet about 2/3rds the pot. He minimum raises me. I call. The river drops an ace that is not another club and he bets the rest of his chips which is about twice the amount that is in the total pot. Now just on basic betting this is scary, whenever people minimum raise the turn it is usually a huge hand but then to shove the river for twice the amount of the money in the middle I was just like, what!?
So whenever this happens you have to go with what you feel and the cues, tells and what ever interrogation skills you have. In online games I would fold this to most unknown players (really I don‘t play many cash games online, mainly live cash and online tournaments). It really looks like a full house with an over bet on the river to make it look like a bluff. If it is a bluff it is pretty good too. I probably wouldn’t bet so much on the river if I was bluffing.
So the guy is holding up his cards physically in both hands in front of his face so other people can see them. I find this usually means a huge hand or complete bluff. I say to him that I can see his cards in the mirror in the background (which I can’t really) to which he doesn’t even flinch (I think he is not that stupid, but it is always worth a try to get some reaction). I end up deciding that it is not worth it as he bet twice the amount in the pot and I continue to believe it is either a full house or nothing so I fold after some pressure from the table after most of them have seen his hand!
After I fold he shows me A10 for a rivered 2 pair on a paired board and 3 flush. Remember the board 8h8c3c 10cAd. I think I would have respected his play if he had been bluffing. I asked him if he thought on the river (when he put all of his chips in) that he had the best hand or was bluffing. He had real trouble answering. He really had a few ideas for example, ‘I thought you maybe had a single ace of clubs and you missed it on the river.’ If I really had missed as he had stated wouldn’t he have been better check calling and letting me bluff. In reality it is a very scary board. With a hand like his I would see it as a check calling hand on the river. I really am only calling his over bet on the river with a full house or rarely a nut flush.
Very soon after I am against the same guy and he raises in late position again. I am in the small blind with AQ off suit and re raise him in a 6 handed game. Earlier we were playing 9 handed but a few people left/lost money. He calls the re-raise along with someone who has limped who also has hundreds of big blinds in there stack. The flop drops Qc 3h5h, I bet about 80% of the pot as there are draws (flush and straight), these guys are limp calling 2-4 and 4-6 no doubt as well as pocket 3’s and 5’s. Any suited cards like Kh9h are always played as well. The first guy folds and Nigel calls after physically spreading/touching my chips and saying how much?
At this stage I will let you know now that he has K9 of hearts…so he has a flush draw. I think by betting such a high percentage of the pot he refrains from re-raising me and he just calls. So the turn comes out a Q of hearts giving him the flush and myself trips, now obviously if the board pairs on the river my full house beats his flush. This is very, very similar, almost identical situation to the hand that played out between us previously but in the exact reverse.
I cannot believe the irony in the situation as he then bets a tiny amount (20-25% of the pot) when I check my trips hoping to fill on the river. I call and the ace falls on the river not only giving me a full house but the best hand other than aces full on the river. This guy always re-raises large with aces ( I have seen him open fold KK pre flop to a 4th re-raise and the guy actually did have AA), and the way he has played it I am 99.9% certain he has a flush or smaller full house like 33 or 55 in his hand. I shove the river which is in the end an over bet like his bet earlier and he snap calls, does not even think about it and loses all of his chips. We play about one more hand where I make a straight and get paid and the game ends. The guy who I stack is still going on about it as we finish he and seems a bit drunk and aggressive. I go to shake his hand and he says we will talk outside. I was like yeah right! He gets a lift home and I wait then drive home.
Usually things like that do not happen in a game where immediate reverse karma happens. When it does it is so sweet. I was so pumped as I won that pot. It wasn’t the biggest or most difficult hand I have played but my adrenaline was pumping from the ‘verbalisation’ going on between hands. If he was paying attention he would have noticed my hand physically shaking and a crack in my voice as I said 'all in' on the river.
Our team played very solidly throughout the initial section. We won all 3 games and won on all 3 rinks in 3 consecutive games. We entered the semi final against the favourites Cabramatta. It is widely known that they have 6 internationals and a solid group of Sydney based players in their team. We started well with one of our 3 rinks leading 11-1! Overall the score levelled and then they accelerated with explosive and accurate driving and pin point accurate sit and stay shots. They continued to grind us down and consistent draw bowling extended their lead.
Our team had very strong and vocal support. We never gave up and it was only in our supporters voices breaking that revealed any cracks in our resolve. As the game neared its end Cabramatta led by 25 and it was a very convincing win by our opponents, who did in fact, end up winning the overall championship. They defeated a very strong team form the Central Coast, Halekulani, in the final.
At the Club Merrylands I have had a very good year. I played with Paul Webb a 17 year old junior from our club in the Major Pairs championship. We won the final 22-7 after getting off to a handy 14-2 lead. The win probably lands me the overall points for bowler of the year which was extra motivation after winning the singles earlier in the year. In itself I am very proud and happy to be playing well within a strong club but I am mainly happy with my role within the club and the team. I feel very much a part of the players developing at our club and I can’t wait for the next few years as we have the makings of a very strong club throughout the grades.
I managed to play a home game of poker after the Major Pairs championship on Sunday. I won’t mention names of people or amounts without peoples permission so I will go ahead without too much detail. There was a fair bit of niggle in the game and it really got the juices flowing. I actually felt nervous due to adrenaline pumping as there was both money and pride riding on every hand. After playing for so long I really never have had that psychological/physiological response in a while. I feel it really made me play at another level.
Finding your optimal level of arousal (in terms of performance) is widely explored in sports psychology texts. I was surprised to find within myself an extra level through this nervousness, extra pressure and sudden challenge in what has otherwise been a pretty much straight forward game. Many times in this game I have been bored, tired or otherwise uninterested mainly due to the stakes and nature of play (mainly social), I think after playing many hands at once online (8-12 tables) it seemed very unstimulating.
Live games however have a whole other skills set besides basic bet sizing, position and history between players. Physical tells, cues and timing of elements greatly influence players decisions. Many people are aware of physical tells and more sophisticated players throw out reverse tells all the time. What can be difficult is when a player who is terrible over rates or under rates there hand and throws out every physical and verbal cue that contradict the actual strength of their hand.
There are some situations where you have to ask yourself is this guy just plain bad, terrible bad, no idea bad or genius. They could be a genius, who knows, who am I to judge? One such situation came up where a player (we will call him Nigel) raised in late position with pretty deep chips compared to the blinds. I re-raise with KQ suited on the button and he calls. The flop drops 3 88 with two clubs. He bets about half the pot I call. Turn is a 10 of clubs making my flush. He checks and in position I bet about 2/3rds the pot. He minimum raises me. I call. The river drops an ace that is not another club and he bets the rest of his chips which is about twice the amount that is in the total pot. Now just on basic betting this is scary, whenever people minimum raise the turn it is usually a huge hand but then to shove the river for twice the amount of the money in the middle I was just like, what!?
So whenever this happens you have to go with what you feel and the cues, tells and what ever interrogation skills you have. In online games I would fold this to most unknown players (really I don‘t play many cash games online, mainly live cash and online tournaments). It really looks like a full house with an over bet on the river to make it look like a bluff. If it is a bluff it is pretty good too. I probably wouldn’t bet so much on the river if I was bluffing.
So the guy is holding up his cards physically in both hands in front of his face so other people can see them. I find this usually means a huge hand or complete bluff. I say to him that I can see his cards in the mirror in the background (which I can’t really) to which he doesn’t even flinch (I think he is not that stupid, but it is always worth a try to get some reaction). I end up deciding that it is not worth it as he bet twice the amount in the pot and I continue to believe it is either a full house or nothing so I fold after some pressure from the table after most of them have seen his hand!
After I fold he shows me A10 for a rivered 2 pair on a paired board and 3 flush. Remember the board 8h8c3c 10cAd. I think I would have respected his play if he had been bluffing. I asked him if he thought on the river (when he put all of his chips in) that he had the best hand or was bluffing. He had real trouble answering. He really had a few ideas for example, ‘I thought you maybe had a single ace of clubs and you missed it on the river.’ If I really had missed as he had stated wouldn’t he have been better check calling and letting me bluff. In reality it is a very scary board. With a hand like his I would see it as a check calling hand on the river. I really am only calling his over bet on the river with a full house or rarely a nut flush.
Very soon after I am against the same guy and he raises in late position again. I am in the small blind with AQ off suit and re raise him in a 6 handed game. Earlier we were playing 9 handed but a few people left/lost money. He calls the re-raise along with someone who has limped who also has hundreds of big blinds in there stack. The flop drops Qc 3h5h, I bet about 80% of the pot as there are draws (flush and straight), these guys are limp calling 2-4 and 4-6 no doubt as well as pocket 3’s and 5’s. Any suited cards like Kh9h are always played as well. The first guy folds and Nigel calls after physically spreading/touching my chips and saying how much?
At this stage I will let you know now that he has K9 of hearts…so he has a flush draw. I think by betting such a high percentage of the pot he refrains from re-raising me and he just calls. So the turn comes out a Q of hearts giving him the flush and myself trips, now obviously if the board pairs on the river my full house beats his flush. This is very, very similar, almost identical situation to the hand that played out between us previously but in the exact reverse.
I cannot believe the irony in the situation as he then bets a tiny amount (20-25% of the pot) when I check my trips hoping to fill on the river. I call and the ace falls on the river not only giving me a full house but the best hand other than aces full on the river. This guy always re-raises large with aces ( I have seen him open fold KK pre flop to a 4th re-raise and the guy actually did have AA), and the way he has played it I am 99.9% certain he has a flush or smaller full house like 33 or 55 in his hand. I shove the river which is in the end an over bet like his bet earlier and he snap calls, does not even think about it and loses all of his chips. We play about one more hand where I make a straight and get paid and the game ends. The guy who I stack is still going on about it as we finish he and seems a bit drunk and aggressive. I go to shake his hand and he says we will talk outside. I was like yeah right! He gets a lift home and I wait then drive home.
Usually things like that do not happen in a game where immediate reverse karma happens. When it does it is so sweet. I was so pumped as I won that pot. It wasn’t the biggest or most difficult hand I have played but my adrenaline was pumping from the ‘verbalisation’ going on between hands. If he was paying attention he would have noticed my hand physically shaking and a crack in my voice as I said 'all in' on the river.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Ballina & Arriving at Bribie Island
We arrived yesterday at Bribie Island as part of an NSWIS team entered in the Queensland Open. I have some great pictures to post. We are right on the beach and the place we are staying in is modern and for sale at around a million. After my Ballina flight to Sydney, I woke up early to catch a flight from Sydney to Coolangatta. We hopped in a hire car and went for a roll up at Bribie Island Bowling Club and Pine Rivers BC for a practice session.
The Ballina Invitation singles event was amazing again. It is the third time I have been and this time I made it to the semi finals. There are 32 entrants (4 sections of 8) My first section included Rowan Brassey (25-17), Steve Halmia (25-24) and Brendan Egan (25-23). After a series of comebacks and close wins I managed to get through my section. In the quarter final I played against Kris Leitfeld and won 25-22. In the semi final I drew David Holt. He started well and kept a 5 shot lead until he got stuck on 20 where on 3 consecutive ends I converted with my last bowl. The crucial end came where I had last bowl and the score was 20-17 and I had 2 good seconds and just missed tight with good weight with my third. With my final bowl I could have ripped the bowl out for 2 or try to sit or trail with the same weight I used with my third bowl. I opted to use 2 metres of weight and as I delivered I instantly knew it was very close to the target. As it came down the breeze held my bowl onto the jack and I trialled it the 2 metres I required. The jack however caught on David’s back bowl, like an intercept pass, bounced forward 2 feet and my bowl continued passed another metre. This left me an incredible 4 down due to the forward rebound off David’s bowl. The next end David won a close measure and the game was over. David Holt went on to win the final comfortably. Holty raced out to a 22-3 lead against Mark Casey and went on to win the title.
Whilst at Ballina I met an acupuncturist Tony who is friends with Craig Teys. I stayed with the Teys’ whilst at Ballina and one night came to the club after the Calcutta (player auction) and met a few of the locals. I was introduced to Tony the next night and we started talking about when his treatments were best applied and how to best improve performance. Interestingly, Tony worked with race horses and greyhounds before humans. I ended up winning some money for him in the Calcutta by finishing in the top 8 and he offered to treat me for free before my 5pm flight out of Ballina at his clinic. I had never been to an acupuncturist before. I am interested in the holistic approach to treatment and he was very professional and very good at what he does.
Yesterday when we arrived at Bribie Island we spent some time at the beach. I went to take of my shirt and realised I had huge marks on my back, like tennis balls, from the suction caps placed over the needles throughout the acupuncture session. We found on the beach a carved out a lounge with tv, cup holders and foot rests in the sand.
Congratulations to Aaron Teys who today won the Junior State Singles. I flew down with his Dad to Sydney from Ballina and I know how much time and effort both boys put into their sport. Last time I met up with them was at the Dubbo Master Pairs where they invited me to stay with them next time I was in Ballina. Aaron is in all the junior events and if I had posted this blog last night I would have been right in predicting his victory in the singles. Good luck in the rest of the events.
I am sleeping so well. I had a glass of red wine with pasta last night and instantly fell asleep. Tonight we are cooking a barbecue at our accommodation. Everyone has settled in well and I am feeling the strongest and most confident I have ever felt leading into an event. Ballina was a great lead up and my preparation has been excellent.
The Ballina Invitation singles event was amazing again. It is the third time I have been and this time I made it to the semi finals. There are 32 entrants (4 sections of 8) My first section included Rowan Brassey (25-17), Steve Halmia (25-24) and Brendan Egan (25-23). After a series of comebacks and close wins I managed to get through my section. In the quarter final I played against Kris Leitfeld and won 25-22. In the semi final I drew David Holt. He started well and kept a 5 shot lead until he got stuck on 20 where on 3 consecutive ends I converted with my last bowl. The crucial end came where I had last bowl and the score was 20-17 and I had 2 good seconds and just missed tight with good weight with my third. With my final bowl I could have ripped the bowl out for 2 or try to sit or trail with the same weight I used with my third bowl. I opted to use 2 metres of weight and as I delivered I instantly knew it was very close to the target. As it came down the breeze held my bowl onto the jack and I trialled it the 2 metres I required. The jack however caught on David’s back bowl, like an intercept pass, bounced forward 2 feet and my bowl continued passed another metre. This left me an incredible 4 down due to the forward rebound off David’s bowl. The next end David won a close measure and the game was over. David Holt went on to win the final comfortably. Holty raced out to a 22-3 lead against Mark Casey and went on to win the title.
Whilst at Ballina I met an acupuncturist Tony who is friends with Craig Teys. I stayed with the Teys’ whilst at Ballina and one night came to the club after the Calcutta (player auction) and met a few of the locals. I was introduced to Tony the next night and we started talking about when his treatments were best applied and how to best improve performance. Interestingly, Tony worked with race horses and greyhounds before humans. I ended up winning some money for him in the Calcutta by finishing in the top 8 and he offered to treat me for free before my 5pm flight out of Ballina at his clinic. I had never been to an acupuncturist before. I am interested in the holistic approach to treatment and he was very professional and very good at what he does.
Yesterday when we arrived at Bribie Island we spent some time at the beach. I went to take of my shirt and realised I had huge marks on my back, like tennis balls, from the suction caps placed over the needles throughout the acupuncture session. We found on the beach a carved out a lounge with tv, cup holders and foot rests in the sand.
Congratulations to Aaron Teys who today won the Junior State Singles. I flew down with his Dad to Sydney from Ballina and I know how much time and effort both boys put into their sport. Last time I met up with them was at the Dubbo Master Pairs where they invited me to stay with them next time I was in Ballina. Aaron is in all the junior events and if I had posted this blog last night I would have been right in predicting his victory in the singles. Good luck in the rest of the events.
I am sleeping so well. I had a glass of red wine with pasta last night and instantly fell asleep. Tonight we are cooking a barbecue at our accommodation. Everyone has settled in well and I am feeling the strongest and most confident I have ever felt leading into an event. Ballina was a great lead up and my preparation has been excellent.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Going to Coffs, Ballina and then the Gold Coast
Tomorrow morning I am driving upto Coffs Harbour with Mat and Alan. I will then being travelling on to Ballina for the Wintersun Singles and then onto Bribie Island for the Queensland Open.
I cashed out some poker funds and loaded up my debit Mastercard so this trip should be fun. Strangely, I had to book a one way flight from Ballina back to Sydney to catch a flight to the Gold Coast. It was just the way arrangements were made and the order in which entries were accepted that I have had to back track. We will be travelling as a team to the Queensland Open with the NSWIS.
I plan to be completly ready to play by Saturday. I will prepare at Coffs while the Park Beach singles is on. I seem to go deep there but really want to avenge my Ballina Singles runner up a couple of years ago. I really was not sure if I would go to Coffs but in the end I will be there but not playing. It will be strange to spectate but I really hope it will motivate me to perform well at Ballina and the Queensland Open. I should be peaking at Bribie Island, going for the win there.
I cashed out some poker funds and loaded up my debit Mastercard so this trip should be fun. Strangely, I had to book a one way flight from Ballina back to Sydney to catch a flight to the Gold Coast. It was just the way arrangements were made and the order in which entries were accepted that I have had to back track. We will be travelling as a team to the Queensland Open with the NSWIS.
I plan to be completly ready to play by Saturday. I will prepare at Coffs while the Park Beach singles is on. I seem to go deep there but really want to avenge my Ballina Singles runner up a couple of years ago. I really was not sure if I would go to Coffs but in the end I will be there but not playing. It will be strange to spectate but I really hope it will motivate me to perform well at Ballina and the Queensland Open. I should be peaking at Bribie Island, going for the win there.
Since my holidays started I have been back into training and focussing on getting ready for a series of tournaments along the East Coast. I played in a few zone events and went out pretty early but played fairly decently. I got my gym program renewed at the Institute of Sport and did well in testing today at Homebush. I feel really fresh and excited.
In poker I had a few ups and downs and near misses. I have built up 'W' dollars on Pokerstars (special events credit) to enter the Queensland ANZPT event. I could buy directly in or qualify in the satellites online. Last week I had my first really huge swing where I realised that I am stating to deal with reasonable sums of money. I reached some goals including playing 5k SNG's and 10k profit since Christmas.
My Uncle has traded on the stock market for a living for over 15 years and he set me the task at Christmas to reach 5k profit in poker online and to then see him. So I got to 10k and and I am going to use some money to develop my skills on the market. My Uncle and Aunt got pretty lucky recently and won a car in a raffle! They only bought one $50 ticket. It was a Mercedes!
At the start of July Alan, Mat and myself went of a bit of a road trip to Shelley Beach. The place that we stayed at was a six bedroom, four bathroom behemoth right on the golf course and near the water. I didn't even know what to expect of the place, as Alan had not been before to this place was a pleasent surprise. His neighbours rent it out and at this time of year it was empty. All we had to do was pay for cleaners to come in after.
We quickly entered into a series of bets on random items, activities and things. This all began when we were on a bowls trip to Adelaide last year and we bet on how long we thought a hotel staffer had been working at the same hotel. It was a lot of fun and has quickly built up to plays that lead us to asking random people questions about themselves to see who wins.
One particular series I got crushed where we asked a girl if she still lived at home. We also made a bet about who had bought her the braclet she was wearing. I bet on her or her parents purchasing it (as it looked rather expensive) but her friend had bought it for her and I lost. Nice friend. We have got to meet so many people doing this, and mostly people arn't purturbed by our prying. The more random the better.
By the time we got around to bowls bets I had lost at golf (giving Mat a 15 shot start over 9 holes). Mat grew up on a golf course and it came down to the last hole. Mat rebounded off the club house on a short par 3 and still ended up 10ft from the hole. He sunk the putt for birdie and sunk my chances of even tying.
By the time we had made it back to the house it was dark. On the way home we had procured a Monopoly board from K-Mart after being inspired by the McDonald's promotion on at the moment. I was obviously very determined to make back some of the money ($200) and a pair of Lee jeans that had been won from me when we started up the game of my life.
I was extremely focussed and everything flowed. I seemed to land on the right spots and set up pretty early with some properties. I made some good deals and had a corner plus the railways monopolised...Eventually Alan made a huge play loaded up the dice and landed up on my land busting him! I finally won a bet!
The house was equipped with a darts set and a foosball in the garage. We did not spend as much time as we would of liked. There is a definite return trip in line. We went out to a few clubs and we all had a great time. I think Mat has spent a considerable amount of time travelling between Sydney and the Central Coast in the last few weeks...
In poker I had a few ups and downs and near misses. I have built up 'W' dollars on Pokerstars (special events credit) to enter the Queensland ANZPT event. I could buy directly in or qualify in the satellites online. Last week I had my first really huge swing where I realised that I am stating to deal with reasonable sums of money. I reached some goals including playing 5k SNG's and 10k profit since Christmas.
My Uncle has traded on the stock market for a living for over 15 years and he set me the task at Christmas to reach 5k profit in poker online and to then see him. So I got to 10k and and I am going to use some money to develop my skills on the market. My Uncle and Aunt got pretty lucky recently and won a car in a raffle! They only bought one $50 ticket. It was a Mercedes!
At the start of July Alan, Mat and myself went of a bit of a road trip to Shelley Beach. The place that we stayed at was a six bedroom, four bathroom behemoth right on the golf course and near the water. I didn't even know what to expect of the place, as Alan had not been before to this place was a pleasent surprise. His neighbours rent it out and at this time of year it was empty. All we had to do was pay for cleaners to come in after.
We quickly entered into a series of bets on random items, activities and things. This all began when we were on a bowls trip to Adelaide last year and we bet on how long we thought a hotel staffer had been working at the same hotel. It was a lot of fun and has quickly built up to plays that lead us to asking random people questions about themselves to see who wins.
One particular series I got crushed where we asked a girl if she still lived at home. We also made a bet about who had bought her the braclet she was wearing. I bet on her or her parents purchasing it (as it looked rather expensive) but her friend had bought it for her and I lost. Nice friend. We have got to meet so many people doing this, and mostly people arn't purturbed by our prying. The more random the better.
By the time we got around to bowls bets I had lost at golf (giving Mat a 15 shot start over 9 holes). Mat grew up on a golf course and it came down to the last hole. Mat rebounded off the club house on a short par 3 and still ended up 10ft from the hole. He sunk the putt for birdie and sunk my chances of even tying.
By the time we had made it back to the house it was dark. On the way home we had procured a Monopoly board from K-Mart after being inspired by the McDonald's promotion on at the moment. I was obviously very determined to make back some of the money ($200) and a pair of Lee jeans that had been won from me when we started up the game of my life.
I was extremely focussed and everything flowed. I seemed to land on the right spots and set up pretty early with some properties. I made some good deals and had a corner plus the railways monopolised...Eventually Alan made a huge play loaded up the dice and landed up on my land busting him! I finally won a bet!
The house was equipped with a darts set and a foosball in the garage. We did not spend as much time as we would of liked. There is a definite return trip in line. We went out to a few clubs and we all had a great time. I think Mat has spent a considerable amount of time travelling between Sydney and the Central Coast in the last few weeks...
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