For those of you playing the GUKPT blackpool

Playing up in Blackpool

The town famous for its tower, the pleasure beach and miles and miles of sand. The stag and hen do seaside haunt guaranteed for a fun day and night out.
Seemed like a long journey worth making and combine it with some poker sounds like a perfect trip.

Three casinos all doing poker plenty of tournaments and cash games available all sounded perfect, but then a little comment made me wonder.

Upon arrival I was told that there were a lot of private games and a lot of the players preferred them to going to the casino. Weird me thinks rather than going to the casino and picking off the fresh fish, that were no doubt arriving weekly on their various stag dos and parties, they would rather stay in a play against the same people and just pass their money around in the same circle.

The Grosvenor casino Blackpool or G as they are now known is a very nice looking place, good restaurant, plenty of room, evening entertainment sensibly priced and looked pretty much like a decent night out.
The poker room looked modern and spacious so I paid in to what is a very low stakes event the £25 bounty tournament which eventually managed 50 odd runners.

Playing all over the world you come across a wide spectrum of characters and standards of play you get the chatters, the starers, the comedians, the ill informed and the sulkers but never in my life have I come across a card room where moodies, rule bending and breaking, swearing, abuse and intimidation seems to be as rife and unchecked.

I have been a newcomer to many places over the years I have been playing and quite possibly the most difficult thing for any player is to make that 1st step from playing online to stepping into a card room and playing live.

To be welcomed warmly by the regulars and treated with courtesy is the least a new player should expect unfortunately someone forgot to tell this to G regulars.

The 1st incident occurred when a guy shoves all in and exposes one card which happens to be top pair with people still left to call and starts rubbing down the other guy saying “I know I’m ahead you cant call just fold” hmm not against the rules but bad etiquette for sure.

Incident two occurred in a four way pot short stack all in on the river there’s no side pot and I make a small flush, the two guys with chips behind check so I make a small bet as one guy could not fold any part of any board so thinking I might make a few chips.

The other guy in the pot then says why are you betting I was going to check it down you don’t know what your doing right in raising and put in a fair sized raise. I have to call and he shows the bigger flush. He then starts abusing me saying I’m really bad and starts telling all his mates very loudly how he was so good and got paid off.

Being unsure whether this guy was a knob or just being a poor imitation of Mike the mouth I tried to explain the benefits of creating the side pot but real poker play but they were clearly lost.

I disappeared for a cigarette only to return to table to see him and another guy he had fondly referred to as fish nose to nose after the fish had been donked by the guys masterly call all in with bottom pair the flop only to out draw the fishes top pair top kicker.

This must be the norm as although I am unschooled in the local lingo the 4 repeated words between the two translated pretty well but the staff seemed to just let get on with it until eventually in calmed down with an apology from the donk.

Incident three occurred after the was a limp from utg short stack shoves from about 1400 I have 400 or 600 in on the BB and have 20 odd thousand and call with 98 suited the limper calls and on a mixed board showing a 9 we check it down and my 9 wins v the 2 others both holding J10.

“98 that’s a nice hand” comments the limper “you wont last long” and continues in that vein for a good 10 minutes more.

Along the way whilst playing with my stack before betting I was told by a very nice lady she had spotted my tell through her 30 years of playing and experience, shame her experience didn’t make her keep it to herself as she announced it to the table apparently fiddling with my chips during action was a sign a had a good hand.

Not long after her experience somehow sent me all her chips when on a J55 flop she thought I was bluffing and shoved all in over my re raise with KJ my A5 held.
By far the worse behaviour was on the final table where one guy seemed to target 2 players for unacceptable abuse.

While constantly referring to fellow players as blondy and baldy may not be classed as abuse as no swear words were used both players were also constantly berated for their play told not to dare call and told they were bad players.

The worst incident occurred when one of the friends of the load mouth came and stood right next to him, got involved and had a go at the Blond lady. He was ushered a few feet back but commented several times ”I can say wtf I like to anyone”

Both the lady and the young lad on the receiving end were so intimidated they both passed their big blinds to limps without realizing and the lady was visibly shaken.

I doubt either of the abused players will go back.
Immune to the abuse seemed to be the other locals who if they won a hand all that was said was “nice hand”.

We had several dealers and the odd pointless visit from what appeared to be a dealer running the tournament, but in all cases the behaviour was left unchecked and to be honest anywhere else this would not be accepted.

Mr. loud was clearly doing everything in his limited ability to put the players off to make up for his lack of game and in the end after knocking off the others; me with QQ AQ and KQ; him with an array of total banana hands we were left heads up.

Now his attention turned once again to me and various weak comments and poor excuses for rubdowns occurred despite this I reduced his 2-1 chip lead to even stacks over the next 10 hands.

After a few minutes a jockeying he finally realized he was never going to beat me and decided to call me 165k all-in preflop bb 6k with 107 off (he had me covered by 5k chips) and promptly spike his 7 to claim a hollow victory.

If it the Gs intention to run a mates only poker room full of people that all believe its their club and no one else is allowed they have succeeded.

The dealers have no control over the tables and there was no sign of an overall person running the poker room.

I was told that the GUKPT satellites there used to generate over 10 seats and now only generate 2 and I can see why. Unless the locals change they way they treat new people and the management stop this inappropriate behaviour that card room will die.

Ive asked for a comment from the G and they informed me that it was being looked at

cmon, dont hold back, tell us what you really think Jon m8...

Seriously tho, interesting read, cheers

Oh and nice cash wp

blackpool is a sh1thole compared to what it used to be