Nick is a cash game player, content creator and part of 888poker’s Stream Team. Each week he shares his thoughts and experiences as a player dedicated to the daily grind. This week, he takes on the locals in a low stakes live cash game at the other end of the country, and instantly feels at home…
Last week I spoke of the remnants of hope I was clutching on to from a spirited yet mediocre result in this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event. Heading into the first of four back-to-back stops in the 888 UK calendar, Manchester in the north west of England was my first chance to put together an early score.
And while it didn’t materialise in the manner I was hoping for in the form of a deep Main Event run, I’m choosing to (uncharacteristically) take the positives once more as we move into yet another event this week, UKPL in Leeds.
Those that know me will be aware that even the smallest of setbacks can leave me feeling totally helpless. Nevertheless, I headed into Manchester feeling a faint degree of optimism that maybe, just maybe, I could pull something together.
The plan was to arrive the night before the Main Event, and take the night off to reacquaint myself with my teammates and settle in. As it was, I was lured to an open seat at a £1/£2 game on Wednesday evening. I consoled myself with the fact that I had every intention of following my original plan to avoid the tables until the following day, but I could feel this particular game calling to me.
More specifically, it was the guy in seat 4 proclaiming ‘I’ll make it £15 blind’ that coaxed me over. I’m not one to pass up such opportunities, especially in the midst of a gnarly downswing and several thousands in makeup to my backer.
Thriving in the chaos
Regardless of my current mental state or my feelings toward the game as of late, there is one situation I will always back myself in: live cash. It doesn’t matter how badly things are going online (pretty badly), or how many tournaments I’ve bricked in a row (a lot), something about sitting down at a low stakes live cash games with the locals brings out my supremely confident side. I just feel good there, and I’m more often than not pretty self-assured in my decision making.
Even so, I’ve taken several hits in the live cash game environment too recently, but it’s probably the one form of the game where my faith in my abilities is borderline unwavering. After a bit of a weak start, I pulled myself together and played some pretty insane pots against a myriad of opponents. These cash games can be the wild west of poker, and I like to think I thrive in the chaos. I can’t do some of the hands justice here, but keep an eye out for the vlog on my YouTube channel in the next few weeks, because I can promise you they are worth a look.
The best I’ve ever played live?
To cut a long story short, after one particularly absurd hand, some hero calls and a timely bluff, I’d won nearly £1,200 in just three hours. I’d like to be able to say I was disciplined and took my leave of my own accord, but I might have been there all night if the table didn’t break after the latest casualty. It was something of a relief when it did, though, as I got to book the win and get some sleep before Day 1B of the Main the next day.
As any poker player will tell you, a winning session can change your entire outlook, and I’m no different in that regard. I was ready to battle.
The Main itself was exactly that, a battle. I started out on the feature table and found myself misplaying a strong hand early on which was particularly disappointing, but that didn’t stop me finding my groove again. As I mentioned last week, I had been feeling a strange aura of clarity around my decision making in the live arena since Vegas, and I picked up where I left off in Manchester.
I pulled the trigger on some seriously adventurous bluffs, and generally felt confident and composed in the way that I had hoped. I may have made some mistakes, but my logic was clear and I wasn’t at all afraid to make whatever move I felt was right.
Eventually I succumbed to some poor distribution, and a fairly standard cooler, but nothing happened to deter my feeling of hope that a deep run of some description is on the horizon. This is the best I’ve ever played in a live environment, and I’m ready to turn it up a notch.
Next stop, Leeds.
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Additional images courtesy of 888LIVE
