GPS Leg 1
What a fun weekend and a great start to a great new tour!
If you can come back from a poker tournament without cashing, and still feel a happy buzz and a spring in your step, then you know that Genting are doing more than just putting on a great series of tournaments.
Every single person who took part in leg one of the GPS will have a different story to tell of their experience, here is mine.
My original plan on the Thursday was to go out for tea with my friend then after tea drive to Birmingham after, ready to play day 1b on Friday. So I throw my suitcase in the back and jump in my car….but it won’t start. I hate cars! I have had about 10 years worth of bad car luck in around 4 months. I got out and dragged my suitcase to the tube and figured that I’ll get the next train from Euston to Birmingham.
Checked into the hotel; the Ramada Encore. Genting looking after us as always have got me a nice room with internet and breakfast, and the hotel has a 24/7 bar! What more can you ask for.
I get a taxi to Star City. Got there and saw lots of friendly faces that I know.
I saw a bookie that I know called Mike Hill who stops me to ask me a question.
Mike Hill: ‘There were a total of 118 runners on day 1a, Maylis, how many runners will there be on day 2?’
Me (pondered for a while, take re-entry into account) answer, ‘over 200’
Mike Hill ‘Ok I think your way out so we can have some money on it. I will give you over 192 and anything under you lose’.
I feel like I have been tricked into taking a bet by a bookie, the odds must be against me, but wasn’t a lot of money and I had faith the guarantee would be smashed so I shake his hand
I go to the card room to meet up with Chaz. Chaz is literally one of my favourite people in the world! He is such a bright light and so full of kindness and goodness, a very nice person. I was so happy for him when he came runner up at WPT Ireland recently. Although he was unlucky and should have won, 145k is still a very nice pay day, and a brilliant achievement. Especially as he has just won GUKPT Luton as well!
He introduced me to his friend Gari and we went and sat in the bar with some others and got a bit merry. To be honest its such a good atmosphere in Star City that the fun kind of takes over you so getting merry is more than likely. I really like the Star City venue, it is a very social place, the lay out is good and I always have a good time there.
We stayed in the bar until about 3.30am, then on the way back to the hotel the boys decide McDonalds is a good idea. I am on a diet like always and 4am McDonalds is probably the worse diet crime that there is, but I am a bit drunk and have no willpower. Chaz and Gari order so much stuff, like 3 meals each, sssooooo much stuff! They drop me at the hotel and say good night. McDonalds in hand I try to relieve my guilt by offering the guy on reception my chips, but he declines. I am back in my room and get a distressed message of Chaz saying that the fillet of fish burgers they ordered weren’t in the bag. At the time I was like oooo what a scam, poor Chaz deprived of 1/3 of his burgers lol. But 3 days later he still hadn’t got over it! That’s what amused me the most hahhhaaa.
Friday came and my time to play day 1b. £146k confirmed prize pool, 365 runners. That means 247 runners for day 1b and that i won the bet by an absolute mile yyyaayyyyy 
Read it and weep Mike
Here is a video they did of me at the start of the tournament.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZj-iL-qpbg
I was seated on a table in the ‘Vegas room’ downstairs. I was one of 3 ladies on my table. Mick Fletcher was also on my table, who I like, but he had position on me which I wasn’t too thrilled about.
I didn’t have many hands early on and it was quite a loose aggressive table. I played one hand where the board came 4 spades, I didn’t have a spade but i had position on a player also clearly didn’t have a spade and checked his cards pulled a face checked the river. I bet the river and he thought about it and called me with middle pair which was kind of ridiculous. Mick put his head on the table and gave me a sympathetic look that just said ‘how can he call?’.
I played another hand where I was dealt QQ utg, with about a 22k stack at the time, 25/50. The guy to my left was 3 betting me and the two other ladies (who were both on my right) every time we raised. I raise 200 utg, utg +1 makes it 650, I make it 1750 (at this point I thought he’d fold or flat), he made it 5150, urgh. I just flatted; flop came 5h 6h 10h (I didn’t have a heart). At this point after his 5ber pre i have to put him on AA or KK or at minimum AK. I think about c betting but I’m going to have to c bet at least 6k which will leave me with 11k behind and if he calls or shoved on me then I know I’m behind, and I believe I am anyway so seems like a bad idea. I check fold, he makes some comment of relief saying something about it not being a good flop for him. This tilted me a little bit and made me feel like I should of c bet. Maybe he did have AA or KK and just didn’t like the flop because it was all hearts, or maybe he had AK and bet because I checked.
One of the dealers Joe Prince told us he recently won 2k in pool games vs James Akenhead. This is a pretty good achievement seen as James used to be a pro pool player. Beat him 7/0 too!
At the dinner break me, Chas, Sunny and Gari went to Oodles of Noodles which was really nice spicy food. My friend James came to meet us for a drink and because it was his birthday that day I got them to send a cake over.
Back at the tables I struggled all day really and none of my efforts to chip up worked. Towards the last 3rd of the day I got moved tables with about 10bb. I was sat between Richard Kellett, who plays a lot of the bigger live tours and is from Chorley near where I am originally from, and a guy who’s really nice and I’ve seen him a few times but I can’t remember his name. Anyway I shoved and got it through a few times. I was on about 13bb when I shoved blind on blind with 75o vs the nice guy who woke up in the BB with Aces. First thought is ok sigh that’s me gone, then somehow I manage to make a straight and double up! Poor guy lol.
Feature table
When the table got split I got moved upstairs to the feature table. I don’t mind being on the feature table but it’s a bit annoying to be on there was a really short stack because I basically only had one move. I was seated in seat 2 with Karl Mahrenholz and Ben Jackson on the right. Me and Karl get seated next to each other pretty much every time we are in the same tournament. He always seems to be on my right and he always owns me in every pot (probably because he is a million times better than me).
I shoved a few times and got through picking up some blinds. Then I managed to get it in with 1010 vs QQ and hit a 10 on the river so I was still slightly below average but up to 40bb. Then I got into a hand with Karl where he raised in the cut off, I had an ace and knew he would be raising light in late position so I 3bet him, he then 4bet me a really small. He had put 8k in the middle and left himself 11k behind so I figured he must have a decent hand and is trying to trap me. I’d already put 5k in and it was only another 3k to call or I could shove. Because he had left himself with no fold equity I just called. The board paired, he checked, I c bet, and he shoved. I had to fold. I found out later he had 96 and had hit a pair on the flop. This seems weird to me that he would leave himself so short if I had shoved and if he hadn’t hit would he have shoved then. I’m pretty confused about his thinking process behind this hand, but he won and I was down to 20bb again.
A few hands later I found aces utg and min raised, someone shoved and I held. That was right at the end of the day so through finding things just when I needed to I managed to make day two. It was a grind and I had no chips all day but somehow I made it!
Its quite funny because you can hear Mad Marty talking about you in the commentary box behind and he was massively singing my praises, you have to love Mad Marty 
After the day had finished I was bagging up my chips when Paul Zimbler came and introduced himself. I was aware of Paul and his poker achievements but I didn’t know he was at the event or in commentary box with Marty until then.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzvMM_kfLss&feature=player_embedded#!s
For those who dont know much about Paul, he has been on the circuit since 1996. Predominantly a cash game player but he has played in most of the major televised tournaments such as Late Night Poker, Full Tilt Poker Million, 888 UK open, as well as many other major tournaments all over the world. He is also known for his writing and currently writes strategy for Bluff magazine. Forget all this, I think his proudest life time achievement is the fact his ex girlfriend is famous model, actress, hostess and pro poker player Lacy Jones. Lucky man right.
Me, Paul and Ross Boatman went to the bar and Ross told me about his acting career. I had no idea he was a successful actor as well as poker player! He told me about his 8 years on the programme Londons burning and the west end shows and movies he has done. It was very interesting. I get on with Ross the best out of all the Hendon mob guys, he has a great character, great sense of humour and there is just something about him that makes him very interesting and captivating.
That night it was Caroline Coves birthday so the bar was pretty rowdy. Ben Jackson was the most animated ive ever seen him and appeared to be having a great time. This is some of the drunken antics
On the day 2 I had around a 15bb stack. I was card dead for a couple of orbits then I found KQs in late position so I shoved. Got called by pocket 4’s and they held. When I bust I did a few hours of commentary with Paul and Marty. It was really fun! Paul and Marty are both very good speakers, they are fun, quick witted, light hearted and just all round great at what they do. They make excellent commentators in my option.
When I first met Marty I didn’t really know what to make of him. But they more I get to know him the more I like him. He is a genuinely nice person and great fun to be around. On the Sunday his first wife came to Star city to see him. At the end of the night he brought her over and she came and sat with us in the bar. She is hilarious. Between them two they are the best comedy duo ive ever seen in real life. She is totally hilarious and had me in stitches several times.
Marty always makes crazy statements of things he will do if a certain action takes place at the table. On this occasion he stated that ‘if the Mad Turk calls he will run round Star City in the snow naked’. Brilliant right, and obviously he makes the call. Marty tried to backtrack but after some serious pressure from the people viewing the stream he kept his word.
Hilarious! He is such a good sport.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2squaE854U&feature=player_embedded#!
I think it was a great weekend, the poker was great, the structure is brilliant, saw lots of friends and made some new ones. I am really looking forward to leg 2.
Congratulations to Ruslav Vlasov, the champion.
So that is my story, if you haven’t got one of your own then you are missing out. Make sure your at leg to in London Fox Club. See you there. XXXxxxXXX
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