I remember a couple of months ago during an STT on Betfair Poker, someone posted in the chat "When this Buzzer runs out of luck he will go broke". Well, I'm afraid that I won't go away that easily. I've been consistently winning since turning pro 15 months ago, and I'm actually doing better now than ever. Recent highlights include winning $210,000 in an online tournament and on Monday I managed to win 6 STTs on the trot.

Where I am still lacking the big breakthrough though is in live tournaments. Sure, yesterdays win in the Pot Limit Omaha event in Vilnius was very nice, and I have won c.$70,000 in prize money during the last year. But to be honest I have invested about that in buy-ins and if you add flights and hotel costs to the mix, then I am actually down in live tournaments. Qualifying for several events through satellites at Betfair Poker was a big help and I will certainly continue to play them, as they're great value and often offer an overlay.

Apart from continuing to aim for a 'jackpot win', modesty aside, I also feel that I have pretty much perfected my STT and online MTT play. So to actually improve my game to the next level, I feel I have to take on the 'big guns' on a regular basis, even if that actually has no value in the short term. As an investment for the future I will continue to re-invest parts of my online winnings into those live events.

I failed to make the prize money in all 7 WSOP events that I participated in, but I was actually really happy with my play for the majority of the time and in retrospect, I feel that I learned a lot from the whole experience. I will refrain from posting my bad beats (and the odd bad plays) here, but I do want to outline a hand that I feel I learned something from.

Chip Jett raises :

During the $5,000 short-handed NL Hold'em event in the WSOP I had managed to build a respectable stack of about 13,000 chips when I was re-seated at a new table that included the chip leader Chip Jett. At blinds of 100/200, I found QJ d UTG and 6-handed you could make a case for raising, limping or folding that specific hand in that spot. I decided to test the waters on the new table by limping in for 200. Sure enough Chip Jett, whose stack was so big he could hardly see over it made a tiny raise of 200+325=525. The next guy 'Jeff' flat called, both blinds folded and I called.

The flop came J33 rainbow (one diamond). I checked to the raiser planning to check-raise. Sure enough Chip Jett bet 1,500 into the pot of 1,825. Jeff re-raised to 5,000 and all of a sudden my hand looked worthless and I folded. Chip Jett thought for a bit then flat called. The turn was a 7 and Chip and Jeff both checked. The river brought another blank, the 2 of spades. Now Chip Jett bet 20.000 into a pot of 11.825, a massive over-bet, especially taking into account the 'blanks' on the turn and river.

Jeff thought for an eternity then called. Chip Jett showed 36 off suit for trips, Jeff angrily mucked and later claimed he had AJ for TPTK.

This is a typical play for the 'superstar pros'. His raise had the following purposes:

• Deceive his hand. He could have all kind of hands, but 36 off suit would surely not immediately spring to mind.
• Take control of the hand. He had position over me anyway as he was seated behind me, as well as having chip position by being the big stack at the table. He also added the psychological advantage of being the raiser. Now I really had to hit the flop, or would have a tough time proceeding in the pot.
• I am certainly not recommending making that play to the average player, but I do find it well worth sharing. It really shows with what supreme confidence these "stars" act and how they constantly try to put pressure on the whole table, even with cards like 36 off suit.

By the way, having again played with Chip Jett in the London Poker Open, I saw him make a similar over-bet after the river with 9 high.

Exposed cards in Bregenz:

During one of the events in February in Bregenz, all folded to the SB who limped into the big blind. The lady in the BB squeezed and bent her cards so strangely that they actually flipped up into the air and where exposed. They were QT off suit. As Bregenz handles the rulebook rather generously, she was allowed to continue the hand but her hand stayed exposed. The flop came Q32 giving her top pair, but the SB immediately did go all in nonetheless. What could that mean? Why would he do that? The lady seemingly did not believe him and called pretty quickly. The SB turned over 33 for a flopped set and won the hand. The lady's face turned red as she left the table.

Exposed cards in Amsterdam:

During one of the side events in Amsterdam 2004 I multi-limped JT off from middle position and the Scandinavian action player raised from the BB as he had done numerous times before. I decided to try to hit the flop or otherwise outplay him. The flop came 853 with 2 hearts, not exactly what I had hoped for. He fired a big bet as he had done every single time he had raised pre-flop and I smooth called. The turn came the 9h at least giving me the open ended straight draw and the flush to represent. Now he bet out small, a bet that cried out weakness in my opinion. I made a medium raise, putting all my chips in bar one 1,000 chip. He thought for a bit then called. The river brought a total blank in the form of a black king and he immediately turned over 22 for a pair that faced 5 over cards and a possible flush. Actually, he had thought I had gone all-in on the turn and stated that he only called my raise for that reason anyway. Well, I felt this was a good spot for a bluff and bet my last 1,000 chips holding Jack high only and the guy had to fold. I could not resist showing the bluff and the table burst out in laughter. The guy totally tilted and busted on the very next hand.

See you at the tables,

Buzzer