Lynne Beaumont’s blog

 

January | February | June | October

 

October 2009

 

I don’t know if anyone ever reads these blogs because I never seem to get any feedback, but here is the ongoing saga of Lynne Beaumont.

 

As you can see from my last blog, Las Vegas did not live up to expectations…  I was very excited going out there and expected to get a few cashes – hopefully some significant ones.  However, I only had one small result, though cash games softened the blow somewhat.  I ran so badly – either getting horribly outdrawn after the chips went in, or running KK into AAs or blah blah blah…

 

I had such a great start to the year with several good cashes in ranking events and was doing well in the points leader table, so felt a bit deflated after Las Vegas.  With the World Women’s Poker Open and Las Vegas taking such a large chunk of my sponsorship, I thought I would save the rest for when I started running a bit better. 

 

However, it’s now October and I’m still waiting!!

 

Since returning from Las Vegas, James and I took Jamie, his son, on holiday to Spain, so I have only played in three ranking events – the £100 freezeout at GUKPT Luton, £1,075 main event at Dusk Till Dawn with a £250k guarantee and £500 Coral tour Main Event in Nottingham.  Luton was no good, and I was determined to do better in Nottingham.  However, as my run continues, I raised with KK under the gun quite deep in day one, only to get re-raised by the button of Pete Linton – a very aggressive player who has been re-raising the table for fun continually since I got moved there.  Happy days, or so I thought…  I moved all-in and got insta-called by Pete showing AAs!!  I have thought the hand through many times, and against other players maybe I could have played it slower, but against him, I think I’m miles ahead…. Wrong!

 

Dusk Till Dawn had the best structure I have ever played – copying last year’s main event structure of the WSOP – a two hour clock and 20k chips.  I got a bit creative early on at a VERY tough table, and got put in my place, so then had to be very patient and wait for a spot to double through to get back in the game.  Eventually, I picked up JJs under the gun and limped – I think ALL at the table limped after me, and the big blind raised pot size. I shove all in over the top, and he calls with AKo.  JJs no good…   Can’t remember which hit, but I’m out and am pretty disgusted with myself for being knocked out of such a slow structure tourney this early.  However, I’m not alone as the field was decimated way too quickly for an event such as this – which goes to show that as most people have a lack of experience with really slow structures they cannot comprehend just how much time they have. 

 

Anyway, so other than the above tourneys, I have concentrated on playing locally waiting for things to change.  I analyse my game a great deal and hopefully learn from situations, and feel I’m playing at a different level to a year ago so things will come my way eventually.  I have had several cashes to keep me going, but I so want to do well for Betfred to show them that they have a worthy double Champion playing on their behalf.

 

I have played in all the Betfred legs this year in an effort to win my seat at the final again.  I got to the final table at Swansea with the chip lead I think, but as we all know, things change very quickly and I had to fold a big hand to Carey Hollick when ace ace blank came on a flop I had raised and she check-raised all in.  Then I made an AWFUL call against Kim Jagger with straight over straight, and was now fighting for my life!  I moved all in with AQo and got called by two players – one of which had KKs….  Great!  I finished a lowly seventh.

 

At Birmingham, again I accumulated a lot of chips but lost two big races against AK with JJs all in preflop and was again knocked out before the final.  So I was now DETERMINED to take my A-game to Spain for the 7th leg of the Betfred Ladies’ Poker Tour in Calahonda.

 

It wasn’t the best of starts when I arrived at the airport to be picked up by what I thought was a complimentary lift to the hotel.  I only took 300 euros with me to play a bit of cash maybe, and for food and drink, so it was a bit of a shock to be asked for 45 euros one-way when I could have organised a car-hire for the whole weekend in advance for, I think, 56 euros!  I know I wasn’t the only person who was caught by this, but anyway, so now to the hotel.  This was where it REALLY got interesting! 

If they had made Fawlty Towers in Spain, the Night Manager at my hotel was guaranteed a BAFTA award in the part of Basil Fawlty!!  It was now midnight, and so I ask to check in to my room.  The room that as far as I was aware, my partner James Browning had booked and paid for on his credit card in advance (as I had had to forgo my trip to Ireland for the £250k guaranteed Ladbrokes Irish Poker Festival that I had won as a bonus in a tourney in Brighton way back in January or February. 

 

James kindly bought the 950 euro package from me (at full value(!)), and so paid for my flight and hotel in advance.). 

 

Basil Fawlty said “that will be 112 euros”.  I explained that I had already paid by credit card, so no monies were due.  He got rather heated and said that nothing had been paid – just a payment toward the room to book it.  Well, we have been caught like this before, so I tried to explain again that nothing more was due.  However, he clearly was having none of this, so I took the cash out my purse to pay him thinking I would sort it out later with the Manager in the morning.  I think I made some flip comment about being feeling fleeced by the “free” taxi and now I was having to pay twice for a hotel!  Well he completely flipped…  Saying “if you don’t like it, go and find another hotel” – well me, being VERY tired and just wanting to crash, immediately bit back and said “fine – where can I find another hotel?” and marched out of the lobby. 

 

As the lovely warm air outside hit me, I thought “what am I doing???  It’s midnight, and I’ve got nowhere to go, AND he has at least got my deposit!”  I went back in, and told him that he couldn’t have it both ways – if I have not paid for the whole room, and he was refusing to have me stay in his hotel without paying again, then I would like to have my deposit back please…  Well he started ranting and raving over the top of me in Spanish, with the only bit of English I understood as “get out of my hotel and stay somewhere else”, I did what so many tourists do, I started talking to him VERY loudly as somewhere in my tired brain, against all logic, I believed he would then understand what I was talking about!!!  Lol…

 

Anyway, the short end to this sorry tale is that I then sat at the chair in the lobby and asked him to call the police, as I refused to move until this was sorted out.  He carried on ranting in Spanish to no-one in particular and then spoke to his boss on the telephone who clearly told him to give me a key!  (When I eventually saw the Manager to sort things out, she explained that Basil Fawlty had caused problems like this before so she was not surprised, but apologised profusely!).

 

Having unloaded my gear in the room, I thought I would go and find the card room to play a bit of cash, though I was still shaking with fury at the idiot on the front desk!  On the walk down there, I bumped into Michelle Bricknell (who has already won her seat to the final) and her family sitting outside a bar enjoying (several) drinks.  I think it probably saved me from tilting off the little cash I had with me when I joined them, and we knocked back a few too many “putting the world to rights” beers.

 

I played in the tourney the next day, after a lovely refreshing sleep and some relaxing sun-bathing in the morning, and got to the final table.  The card-room was quite small, and was pretty much full.  However, the tables were very high quality and the dealers were excellent.  It made a nice change to have a lot of play at the final, so I tried to play mainly small pots to edge forward.  Eventually we got down to three players with me second in chips, and Lisa Scotney in second with a pretty weak stack.  I finally found a pair of jacks, and the big stack of Alyson Chadwick limped on the button.  I moved all in and Lisa folded, leaving Alyson to insta-call with AAs.  She had been limping a lot, so I don’t really think I have done anything wrong with my move, but it was very disappointing…  So near, and yet so far!  Never mind, it was a fun weekend and has given me enough points to have a sliver of a chance to win my seat to the final again as top points winner!  If I come second at the Weston, and Sue Adams does not make the final, and three other players don’t either, then I can win, or obviously just win the Weston event anyway for my seat!!  It sounds a bit like the butterfly beating its wings on the other side of the world setting off a chain of events resulting in a tsunami!!!

 

On arriving back in England very late on Sunday night, I had a night’s sleep in Swindon then travelled to the EPT Ladies one day event in London.  It attracted about 120 entries, and we started with 5k chips with a 25 minute clock.  I came out of the traps running, and just kept flying up to 13k very easily.  It was generally a very weak field, though there were some VERY good players, including Vanessa Rousso. 

 

But as usual, I hit a bump.  A lady who had about 4.5k raised to 900 when the blinds were 150/300, an aggressive player called, and I called on the button with 9 10 spades.  The flop came down 4 7 8, with two spades!  The initial raiser moved all in, and the aggressive player, with a stack of about 6k called.  I moved all in, and she insta-called with trip 88s.  Of course, I hit my flush on the turn, only for the board to pair up on the river…  If that hand holds up I am on about four times the average! 

 

So, down to about 7k I start rebuilding again.  I am still above average so no problems rebuilding to 11k quite quickly.  My table gets broken up, and I am on a table with Mel Lofthouse, another Betfred final table qualifier.  The blinds are now 300/600 with an ante of 75.  It folds around to the small blind with a stack of about 6k who pays 300 to make it up.  From the big blind, I move all-in on her with KJo.  She says “I don’t mind giving you my chips Lynne”, and calls with K9s.  A king on the flop, and on the turn she is calling out for a nine – I say “a seven is good for you too” (giving her a runner runner straight) – it duly comes on the river… How many times can this keep happening???  I raise up with an ace and have to fold to a re-raise all in – she shows me QQ, and now the blinds have gone up to 400/800 with an ante of 100.  I push and get called and beaten…  End of day and a long journey home to Whitley Bay!  Such a shame, it really was there for the taking, and I will definitely play it next year.  Good result for Cara Moore, another Betfred player who cashed in 10th I think.  

 

It looks like being a very interesting final this year, and so I really do hope to be able to join the ladies there to try and defend my title.  In the meantime, I am going to do some events in Thanet at the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour next week, and hope to do the whole week in Blackpool in mid November again on the GUKPT.

 

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