Lots of news to catch up on at Team BB, including the news that we have been busy over the summer signing up a bevy of new and returning players. Blue Blood is a broad church of very different people, united by only a passionate love of poker played to the highest possible level and with the highest possible standards.
We’re delighted to welcome, in no particular order, the following:
Liam Pickering, from Malvern – Liam met Mark England at the infamous Black Country Poker Club and got chatting about Blue Blood. He’s a keen player who works on his game and exemplifies the qualities Blue Blood players need to have: an all round nice guy who leads at Sea Scouts and a youngsters’ football team when not at the felt. He’s already deputised as the bounty in the Monday night Coral Bounty game, which is a bit of a thankless task at the best of times. Good to have you with us mate.
Tristan Chaplin is a well known player with a big reputation around London and the South-east with a host of results including an APAT gold medal and a World Series cash. He has an aggressive and fear-inducing style, as your correspondent can attest having run into him a couple of times on the tables.
Hamish Morjaria is another really decent player with a series of results including a $31k first place at Planet Hollywood in Vegas. He played the same $300 event 2 days before and finished 29th for a grand, then went back and won it. He’s got a host of other four-figure results in London, Luton and Spain too. We’re looking forward to having him back on board.
Lindsey Rogers had met Di Farrell in Vegas and they met up again at the Goliath (of which more later) and Di didn’t hesitate to recruit her – including the following rather bizarre initiation ceremony. And then she cashed and we all, um, didn’t. She’s a neonatal nurse who, work depending, manages to play three times a week (sleep when you’re dead), and at time of writing has won five out of her last six tournaments. So well played her and welcome aboard.
Michael Kossov has a Hendon Mob page as long as your arm, including a Caesar’s Palace win for $3.5k, a 25/25 second place (for a mere £8.6k) a GUKPT 6-max 3rd and a load of other four-figure cashes. Good to see you back in the fold.
Stuart Sewell is mostly a cash game player at Dusk Till Dawn and Leicester, with some notable results including a 8,000 euro chop in Marbella and a $2.8k win at the Wynn in Vegas during a trip a couple of years ago when he came home $7,000 in profit. I know he doesn’t get as much time as he’d like to play, juggling working as a kitchen fitter and renovating his house, but he’s still managed to ship a few smaller tournies at the G in Leicester – I see he shipped a £30 for £580 jus the other day.
Jeremy Brown, another returnee, has a great long list of Hendon Mob cashes, at first glance most of them for a tenner at a restaurant in Sheffield. But take a deeper look and of course he’s got a World Series cash (never ever easy, as your correspondent can attest) and a £7.5k cash for 5th at a 25/25 just last year, so he’s playing at a really decent standard. Good to have you back with us. We’re absolutely delighted to welcome his fiancee too: Susan Goldswain, about whom I’m afraid I know absolutely nothing yet other than she cashed the Goliath last year (which is more than your correspondent managed). Welcome both, and more details to follow I’m sure.
>* STOP PRESS * STOP PRESS * STOP PRESS *
I’ve just heard some amazing news: Blue Blood has managed to re-recruit TV star player and long time professional Ian Simpson. Ian appears monthly as the featured pro on Sky Poker Live on the telly and has nearly a million dollars in lifetime live earnings, including a win and a fourth in the Irish Open for 265,000 Euro and 107,000 Euro respectively, 2nd in an UKIPT for £107,000, three WSOP cashes including top 300 in the Main Event in 2014 for $33k, a WPT 5 Diamond Classic win for $50k and a whole host of other big cashes in the UK and all over the world – France, Belgium, the Bahamas, Latvia, Spain, Denmark … and I gather that as I write this he’s running deep in a bit tourney in Ireland again. More details next time.
Ian says that he was a live MTT pro for 4 years – a ridiculously hard way to make a living which only the top elite manage to make pay – and has now been grinding as online pro and poker coach for a year or so. We’re really excited to have him aboard and we’re all looking forward to working with him to improve our own game. A very big welcome Ian.
Results
It’s been a long time since the last update so edited highlights of the summer follow!
Blue Blood attended the Grosvenor Goliath week at Coventry mob handed – the week started with a 25/50 series, £220 entry, 2-day tournament. Phil Stein, Mark England and Steve Ball all won through to Day 2 from a couple of different day ones, Phil short with about 60k, Steve just ahead of average with 122k from memory, and Mark well set with 159k. Phil was unlucky to go our early on Sunday, making no mistakes but missing his hands,
but Steve managed to win through to 23rd for £830, eventually three-bet shoving short stacked blind vs blind with I think Ace-5, to eventually get called by Ace-6. It looked for all the world like a chop until the other guy rivered a 6. Well played Steve anyway.
Mark arrived into Day 2 running into the card room full tilt as the cards were being dealt after a hold-up on the motorway, and was all over the place on the first hand when he looked down at pocket aces. He duly won the hand blind vs blind but missed a ton of value out of position on the river by not firing a third bullet at KQ22 rainbow. He still can’t explain why he checked. He then messed up a turned set vs KK and missed a river bet there too. Two hands that he won, and a stack now way over 400k among the leaders in the room, but should have been over another 100k more and he was feeling frustrated. Those chips he missed would have helped a few hours later when, on the final two tables he was super card dead and ended up 3-bet shoving KQ suited from the small blind over eventual winner Peter Wigglesworth’s button open. Peter had close to the top of his range with AJ off and that was it for Mark, 17th for £930. Still, a good run.
The rest of the Goliath week consisted of the usual suspects firing bullets at one of the many Day 1s in the biggest tournament in the world outside America. Phil Stein, Reem Ahmed, Matt Wood, Di Farrell, Simon Hyde , Dawn Cooke, Mark England, Gordon McArthur, and John Burberry (sorry if I’ve missed anyone) all tried to make it to the cash, some of them several times, and all failed. Lindsey Rogers finished 369th for £300 and was recruited to Blue Blood during the tournament so we’re claiming one cash at least. David Trigg was there too – working as a dealer on the circuit – but it was great to meet up.
Picnic in the ‘Park’
There was a lovely meet up for a picnic in the car park on the Friday after Di did a supply run to the supermarket, enjoyed by everyone. I’m not sure if she started on the prosecco then or later, but she was spotted running between the Goliath and the Deuces Wild competition trying to play both tournaments at once later that evening. I think we can safely assume that it didn’t end well, but as long as she enjoyed herself ….
Gordon Gimac McArthur has been absolutely crushing tables live and online recently: 3 final tables in 3 weekends, including 8th from 159 in the 25/25 series at Stockton for £850 plus a last longer bonus of a £550 GUKPT seat, then 8th (again! Unlucky on the final tables) from 355 runners at the Grosvenor Summer Sizzler. He then won the Stockton monthly PLO for £450. Gordon’s a very strong Omaha player and recently also came 5th from 350 in the $109 Saturday Omania on Stars for $1700. And then back in July he took down a Hot $109 on Stars, first place of 379 for a cool $6644. Just the other day your correspondent had the pleasure of railing Gordon on Stars when he was on a two final tables at the same time in two different variants – NLHE and PLO8. I do believe the old chap is becoming a degenerate. He’s won the PLO8 comp four times in the last 3 months for a total of about $1800. Nicely done sir.
Simon Hyde had a great run on Party a few weeks ago, playing a tiny $3.01 satellite to win a $5.50 seat, then a $22 seat and then a $109 seat and then a $530 seat … which he sensibly tried to cash in. But they wouldn’t let him so he played the high roller anyway and finished 12th for $1350. What commitment that is – a long haul on a tight bankroll but shows what is possible. And what an ROI too. Impressive stuff and well played sir.
Matt Wood has been crushing live again – this time he went into the final table of the £220 Genting Poker Series mini at Birmingham’s Star City as chip leader and had half the chips in play with 5 left only to hit a couple of horrible hands to crash out fourth. It looked pretty unlucky to me, he says he messed at least one of them up, so I suppose opinion will have to stay divided. Still, 4/318 for £4215 and a GPS seat worth £440 is a good weekend.
Lots of other players have won lots of other monies too – I know that Di Farrell has had a couple of final tables online, and one at Stockton but not sure for how much, and cashed the Sizzler for I think £250, I saw John Burberry hit a final table on Stars, Liam Pickering played as the bounty on the weekly Blue Blood bounty tournie on Coral and won it, and therefore the bounty too, Will Messenger also managed to win that lately too but missed out on the bounty, and Mark England has been accumulating steadily on online: I saw he had a final table for $452 last month in an $11 mtt. Heartfelt apologies if anyone’s had a big result and your correspondent missed it – let me know directly next time to save me scrabbling around on Hendon Mob!
And finally, Steve Redfern has been playing no poker whatsoever. Normally not news, but in his case it’s for a very special reason: he’s been in Rio supporting his daughter and honorary Blue Blood member Rebecca Redfern in the Paralympics. We are delighted to announce that our newest member swam her heart out in the SB13 (visually impaired) category 100 metre breast stroke to win a silver medal. We couldn’t be more proud and many many congratulations from your new teammates at Blue Blood.
