Greg is one lucky son of a gun!

[Mike Haven]

Greg Raymer's luck strikes again!

Five left in the British Poker Open Final, live on UK TV, now. (Sky 265.)

A guy bets 30,000 with QQ.

Greg bluff-raises all in with Q8o.

Another guy calls all in with his AKs. First guy calls all in.

Greg is 7% to win. He's chatting with the other guys saying he needs four hearts or 88 in the middle for him to win.

Flop is J96r.

Turn is T.

River is a blank.

Greg smiles calmly and rakes it in.

That's how it's done.

[AncientPC]

And it makes for insanely profitable poker.

[Sheriff Fatman]

I had the pleasure of briefly meeting Greg on Saturday during his visit to Oxford. He gave a very enjoyable presentation (aimed primarily at students but I blagged my way in) in which he talked through a few key concepts using hands from the WSOP final table.

The lesson demonstrated above ('Get very lucky every now and then') was one he clearly kept back for his own personal use!

Since the turn of the year I've now managed to play Greg heads up online and also managed to shake his hand and share a few words with him. I greatly enjoyed both experiences, although its a depressingly close call as to which lasted longer of the two! /images/graemlins/blush.gif

Sheriff

[Vex]

[ QUOTE ]
Greg Raymer's luck strikes again!

[/ QUOTE ]

He also got a bit lucky in the semifinals. In one hand (which they showed a clip of during the broadcast of the finals) I bet into him on the flop with top pair and he pushed all in with overcards and a gutshot. I called, he hit a king on the turn and knocked me down to about 30K chips (out of 100K starting).

Thanks to some decent cards and a couple risky blind steals, I came back from that beat over the next 45 minutes or so. I even bluffed Raymer out of a pot by pushing about 60K chips in on the flop with nothing but a flush draw. Later, I was at about 120K chips, and called a preflop all-in from another player at the table for about 40K. I was ahead preflop and a slight favorite to win, but that player also hit, knocking me back down to about 80K.

After that, I had 80K and Raymer was maybe about 130K or so. I made a standard preflop raise with QQ and he pushed all in with A2 offsuit. I called, the A came on the flop. Busted.

On the top pair hand, I was able to make the call because I'd watched his entire qualifier live on TV and saw him make that same all-in bluff and get people to lay down good hands more than once. It only took about 20 minutes for me to figure out that he was playing the same game in the semifinal. Since I had him covered I figured it was worth the risk. I did make a good call, but an outcome unfavorable to me was in the cards.

We chatted and shook hands afterwards and he said I played very well. Having sat at the table with the Fossilman (having outlasted Howard Lederer, Jesus Ferguson, and Andy Bloch in the qualifier), and gazed back into the basilisk stare of those godawful shades of his, I can say that unless you've been really put to the test for a large chunk of your stack with a large amount of money in the prize pool, you haven't really played poker yet.

This isn't sour grapes by any means; I had some good luck in the qualifier (I took down big pots with KK, AK, and was holding AA during the last hand). I know I played some good poker and it was an honor to sit at the table with all those big names in the British Poker Open.

[daveymck]

Was it at the Randolph hotel?

[Sheriff Fatman]

[ QUOTE ]
Was it at the Randolph hotel?

[/ QUOTE ]

The presentation by Greg was actually at the Museum of Natural History on Saturday. The main tournament, the Oxford Cup, was held at the Randolph the next day.

Good fun it was too - got to share table time with Jac Arama, Tony Holden and Mad Marty Wilson over the course of the day.

Sheriff

[Rah]

A while ago, in a swedish newspaper, a journalist challenged Greg in a headsup match. The journalist ended the article, praising Greg's skill, by describing how Greg went all in on the river with a pair of fives. The journalist called with ten high and lost.

[daveymck]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Was it at the Randolph hotel?

[/ QUOTE ]

The presentation by Greg was actually at the Museum of Natural History on Saturday. The main tournament, the Oxford Cup, was held at the Randolph the next day.

Good fun it was too - got to share table time with Jac Arama, Tony Holden and Mad Marty Wilson over the course of the day.

Sheriff

[/ QUOTE ]

I was under the impression it was for the students only?

The randolph was featured loads on inspector morse but I hope you didnt buy many drinks as you would need a new bankroll afterwards, the one time I was there was £20 for a bottle of bud and two malibu and cokes.

[Sheriff Fatman]

[ QUOTE ]
I was under the impression it was for the students only?

[/ QUOTE ]

I was too but I asked the question and got in!

[ QUOTE ]
The randolph was featured loads on inspector morse but I hope you didnt buy many drinks as you would need a new bankroll afterwards, the one time I was there was £20 for a bottle of bud and two malibu and cokes.

[/ QUOTE ]

Pint of Caffreys - £3.50! After that I decided sobriety during the tournament was a good thing.

Sheriff

[stigmata]

Damn, I'm living in Oxford and I knew nothing about this /images/graemlins/mad.gif. Any other organised poker events around here that I don't know about?

[daveymck]

If there is I have missed them the last two years I have been working there.

There is a student poker society but as far as I now thats it, the Oxford cup happens once a year and there are student tournaments run on VC every now and then. I'm around another 4 months if you hear of anything let me know.

Once I get a room sorted I will probably stay every other weekend and either goto Luton or Gutshot for a bit live play.