It’s been a very long time since an update on the day-to-day progress of the Blue Blood players out there in poker-land, both live and online. Sorry about that. Rest assured that they have been grinding away and there are a lot of significant wins to report. Edited highlights only reported here otherwise we’re going to be here all week, frankly. If I’ve missed a big result from anyone huge apologies and let me know and I’ll stick it in next time.
Phil Stein played the 11th Anniversary Cup in Luton many months ago and turned his £220 entry into 10th place from 292 and £810. He also played the £150 November Superstack at the Vic in London (see how long it is since an update? Oops) and was 22/459 there for £485. A chunk of Blue Blood players were at the Party Poker Grand Prix at Dusk Till Dawn, including Mark England and Liam Pickering, who both didn’t cash. (If you’re in any way bothered, you can dredge into the murky depths of the internet to find Mark going out of the TV table KQs vs AA on a K high flop button vs small blind. If you’re bothered. No? Thought not). Cashing the event however were Jeremy Brown 75th from 473 for £900, Michael Kossov 15th in the end for an impressive £2250. Well played gents.
Gordon GiMac McArthur has been cashing left, right and centre as usual. Edited highlights: 24th in a Big $215 on Stars (I think) for $528 after satelliting in for $27 and 15th in the $11 8 max at the same time (your correspondent has tried this getting deep in two tournaments at once online thing and it didn’t go well, it’s extremely hard so particular kudos to GiMac here); binking a $27 PLO for $525 from a field of 56, and live he’s been continuing his fabulous run in the Grosvenor 25/25 series with 17th, 27th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 9th places since 2015, the latest two in Newcastle and London for £450 and £590. He’s liking Blackpool at the moment too: won the tournament during the APAT as reported previously, and last November came 7th out of 80 in the GUKPT £150 tourney for £540. He’s just recently added a Gibraltar flag to his Hendon Mob, popping over for the weekend to come 8th from 223 in the £150 Superstack for £769.
Tournament director for the Gibraltar tournie was our own David Trigg and when not working in the poker industry he’s been busy playing too: 2/95 in a £30 in Manchester for £600, 4th in the Bradford 25/25 for £4000 after a deal – nice result chap – 4/69 in £45 in Salford for £450, 22/665 in the Bolton Xmas Cracker for £470, and a 3-way chop in a £30 in Salford for £395.
David was also on hand in a professional capacity at Grosvenor Birmingham Hill Street, dealing in the £220 25/25 tournament in which Mark England slogged through the field to chop heads up for £6500. He dealt Mark a double up twice just when he needed it too (fix!). Several Blue Blood members had percentages of Mark in this tourney too, turning £22 stake into £650, and he’d like to tell them that as far as he’s concerned he hasn’t had enough beers back yet. Mark has been busy elsewhere too: members travelled down to Bristol for the funeral of our much-missed brother Simon Hyde and it seemed fitting to go afterwards to play poker locally. The only casino in Bristol that seems to offer poker is The Rainbow, and very late that night short-stack ninja Mark finally did a deal for 2nd place from 93 starters in a £40 entry tourney for £970. He’s very grateful to his non- colourblind assistant Liam Pickering for stacking his chips late on in the tournament; if it wasn’t for him they’d probably still be there now. Online he’s been busy too: 13/5209 in the Big $22 for $528 and he finished 3rd twice in one week in the Big $16.50 on Stars for over a thousand dollars each time.
Di Farrell has moved to the States, and in her new home-state of Georgia there’s no legal live cash poker. Sad times. She’s been playing bar-room poker for non-cash prizes with great success though (we’ve seen the photos), and did travel across state lines for the $250 WSOP Circuit Seniors event at the Cherokee in North Carolina (apparently you must qualify for Seniors’ events at age 35 in the States) and came 29th for $892. Well played. It was great of Di to come back for the APAT as reported below (and as she was taking the photos she doesn’t seem to be in many of them. Sorry about that) and she went over to Gibraltar too so she’s making the most of her time here. At the time of writing she’s in yet another tournie just cashing at Dusk Till Dawn, and has become a grandmother again, so many congratulations to her.
Liam Pickering has an incredibly full schedule so it’s a miracle he manages time to play poker at all. Amongst his many other commitments he’s started a pub poker league in his home town of Great Malvern which your correspondent attends and can confirm that it’s a brilliant little game. He has managed to find time to do a couple of final table deals: £805 in a £50 tournament at Genting Resorts World (which is the Birmingham NEC to you and me. Resort? Hardly. Still) and £220 at a Grosvenor Birmingham Hill Street £25 tournament.
John Burberry has managed to find time to get married (at his age! Well played Sir!) and become a grandfather again. His recent move to East Anglia seems to be paying off poker-wise, he tells me that the standard at Great Yarmouth isn’t Great at all – he’s had scores of I think £500, £780 (in which he came back from nowhere) and £440 in recent weeks alone.
Matt Wood hasn’t been well lately – all the best for your recovery mate – but has still been out playing, specifically in Sheffield for 4/60 in the £55 Sunday Classic for £300, 18/301 in the GPS mini £220 for £1100 and 3/134 in the £72 Xmas monthly for £1600. I feel slightly guilty about having to report that in that last one he was offered a deal for £2300 but declined it because he thought he had an edge. Mmm. Probably right but that’s still £700 he’s not going to see again. Unlucky mate.
Dawn Cooke has been playing regularly at Aspers at the Olympic Park in London: she’s played the £40,000 guaranteed several times, coming 6th, 15th and then 3rd from 205 for £1300. She also cashed the Xmas Cracker, 30th in the end for £465.
Lindsey Rogers just went to Vegas and played a lot over there all I keep seeing on her Facebook feed is her playing pub poker, but I can only find one result recently; I couldn’t not include her in the write up though so here it is: 9th out of 57 in a £26 rebuy in Leeds for £80. A cash is a cash, well played mate.
Much to look forward to for the team in the coming weeks too: there’s the Easter Beast £110 tournaments happening in Grosvenor Casinos country-wide, and the APAT World Championship of Amateur Poker coming up in Manchester on the second weekend in April which several members will be punting at, with lots of mixed game tournaments and different variations. And the next team event is the Black Country Poker Club Team Championships on May 20 in the West Midlands – Blue Blood are hoping to put in two teams of five; Mark England is organising on the teams’ behalf so let him know if you want to be considered.
Apologies for any results I’ve missed; until the next time good luck us….
