by Julian Thew
Poker is a pretty unique career path to take. I remember when I took the plunge and went pro nearly six years back. Earnings were the primary reason for the decision but I
recognised that the flexible working hours would really enhance our lifestyle. And that's pretty much what happened; the money was good, we got to travel to and see some great places and I was probably at home for nine days out of fourteen; a pretty sweet ratio, free
to do as I pleased.

I didn't play any live cash or any online poker back then, for me there was just no need, I was sponsored and the European tournament circuit was proving lucrative.

As a Team PokerStars Pro I'm expected to play 20 hours a week so this year, whilst still focusing on the big live events, I wanted to apply myself to the online game. Going from zero to 20 hours a week was quite daunting at the start. It's meant proper time management and if nothing else at least the wife now understands that when I go into the
office it's to 'work' as opposed to 'play'.

My office sits right behind the kitchen/living room area and whilst this is very handy for access to the kettle and toaster combo it does have its drawbacks. When the three boys (2, 4 and 7) are kicking-off it's like World War III; now as a parent this is of course what I should expect and now be very used to (I mean my Dad just had to look at me in a certain way and my chin would wobble) but if you couple those moments with a few beats on the cash tables the old blood pressure really does get a thorough working-out.

Live & online are like chalk and cheese, and whilst frustrating at times I've really enjoyed the learning process. Tools likes Holdem Manager & Table Ninja are real eye openers and it's thanks to a heap of good friends that I at least now understand the basics.

So here I am nine months on and what a journey it's been. I always viewed 2010 as a transition year, and although I'm not there yet I've learnt more this year than I have in my
previous five as a pro. I've dabbled in most disciplines but you'll mainly find me on the 6-max $0.5-1 & 1-2 NL cash games.

My live tournament volume is way down this year and I was really hoping to play the last few EPT's of 2010, but we're expecting our fourth child in January and that's meant it's been a tough call to jet off for a week here and there.

The good news is that the tournament circuit isn't about to go anywhere soon and I know I'll be raring to go come spring...after all, baby needs new shoes.

by Julian Thew

The summer holidays are over, EPT Season 7 is well underway & we are just two weeks away from the UKIPT Grand Final, aka EPT London.

I skipped EPT Tallin & EPT Villamoura as we were either holidaying or had had family over to visit but I'm hoping to get the last four events of 2010 (London, Barcelona, Vienna & Prague) before a new edition to the family arrives in sometime in January. This means, once again, no PCA but I'm sure it'll be there for many years to come.

It would seem that I'm stuck in neutral for the 2010 season & thus far I've struggled to get much traction. Self-belief and hope are two great assets though and a lot of work has been done away from the tables; I'm confident that some form isn't too far away. I'm addicted to training videos and fortunately I know one or two very nice people who are helping me get back into the groove with some online coaching.

London was the first EPT I played way back in 2004. I remember having all the chips with nine players left, but my willingness to gamble saw me run into aces twice and I was the TV bubble boy. Lessons like that are the ones that you tend to remember and whilst it was far from the last time I bubbled a major final table I at least feel I know how to tiptoe around the potential pitfalls.

Those early EPTs were two-day events and it's amazing to see how quickly it's ballooned. EPTs offer the player a chance to change their lives forever if they play their cards right over a thirty to forty hour period.

With that in mind, these days it's not enough to just roll up at the venue and take your chances. Whether or not you liken poker to a sport, believe me it's worth preparing for it as an athlete would aim to peak for a world-class event.

That means well rested, with a clear head, capable of making the right decision after the right decision, all the while experiencing a rollercoaster of emotional swings. That's my plan anyway, buckle up and hopefully our paths might cross at the final table.

by Julian Thew
Well I'm just back from my annual fortnight in Vegas and whilst it wasn't as profitable as my last two visits I really enjoyed throwing myself into two weeks of solid poker. The Brits had a great WSOP this year with five friends all winning bracelets... inspiring stuff!

For me, the first week was a mix of tournaments, a Binions Mini-WSOP Main Event, a few of the Deepstack comps at the Venetian and two WSOP shots over at the Rio. Cashing in three from ten probably isn't a bad ratio, but they were min cashes and it wasn't really much to write home about.

My biggest disappointment was another poor show in the WSOP Main Event. It's always gutting when you get knocked out of that one, it's just so big, but I always find it a double whammy; there's the initial numbness you feel as you shuffle out to the taxi rank but that usually ebbs after a day or so. Then, usually when I'm home and when the field gets down to its last hundred runners or so, the disappointment flows again as you follow the fortunes of the last few who battle with monster seven-figure stacks for a seat at the biggest of
final tables.

I guess six Main Events isn't a huge sample size, but just once I'd like to get some momentum going, get my paws on some chips and go deep. This year I played pretty well on Day 1, the table was OK, the only problem was that no one was giving it away and we didn't lose one player. I finished on my starting stack, 30,000, and given the super slow structure I was fine with that.

Day 2 saw a couple of raise and c-bets getting re-popped and it wasn't long before I was down to 20,000. With blinds at 250-500/250 I was far from panicking but prepared to gamble if the right spot presented itself. A tight player in the cut-off made it 1,225, the SB called and I jumped in with 3-3; the problem was when I looked back at my stack I spotted that I was missing one orange 5,000 chip and suddenly realised I'd made it 5,225 by mistake. I let out half an 'oh...' before I shut-up but I'm pretty sure everyone had spotted my gaff. The cut-off folded but the SB (who had me well covered) moved all-in. I instinctively knew he would do this, I mean my mistake is just so exploitable by a big stack. I'm pretty stubborn at times and called pretty quick, but when he flipped up 9-9 I knew it was over.

In hindsight, I'm still OK with my call in most events, but this was The Main Event, like Christmas an event that comes just once a year, an event that is paced so slowly that you can grind a short stack for days. Reflecting on it now, I just really wish that in the moment, I'd seen the bigger picture, accepted that I'd made an error and just swallowed the loss.

The second part of my trip was spent playing $2-5 cash and a handful of STT's at the Venetian. On the whole every table had a lot of soft spots and it was quite satisfying to win back all my tournament buy-ins.

The first half of the PokerStars UKIPT season is behind us now and it's time to start planning an assault on the second half. First stop will be the Edinburgh leg of the UKIPT followed swiftly by Season 7 of the EPT. Wow, has the EPT really been running for six years? Time flies when you're having fun...

by Julian Thew

The past two months have seen me put in some significant hours at the tournament tables on PokerStars. I've yet to dazzle but it has been profitable & I'm pleased to have a few final tables under my belt. As someone who has always just played live tournaments I'm feeling a bit like the kid in the candy store, there's just so much choice!

The hours I've been putting in are definitely helping me tune into the flow of the online game & I'm feeling my play is slowly getting more competitive. I'm sure there are many exploitable spots that I'm just not recognising but hopefully they'll start to jump out at me as I put more time & effort in.

I haven't played the SCOOP or WCOOP festivals before but it's something I'm really looking forward to. The high buy-in events are a little too steep for my fledgling online bankroll so I'll be playing the low & medium ones, which will mean huge fields & (hopefully) long hours. I'm probably going to play seven or eight nights & there's just one evening that starts super late at 1am, but hey, poker players are great at adapting to odd hours so I don't think it'll mess me up too much.

It's great that there are three start times; here in the UK that means we can choose between a 4pm, 7pm or 1am start & with registration open for an hour it offers a lot of flexibility. With three young boys charging around the house the 4pm slot would be hard work & I'm usually need of a stiff drink once we've got them all in bed by 7pm. That means I'll probably be opting for an early cat nap (I'm gifted with an ability to be able to sleep anytime, anywhere) & then hopefully an all-nighter or two commencing at the 10pm slot.

That's the plan anyway & whatever happens, I'm sure I'll learn a thing or two along the way.

The second leg of the UKIPT took place at the G Casino in Manchester a few weeks ago. The event had sold out at 360 a fortnight earlier and luckily for another 160 players or so, the cap was increased.

The most apparent difference between the PokerStars UKIPT tour and other UK-based tours was the variety of players. I'd hazard a guess that the field was made up of 30-40% of overseas competitors, a truly international affair.

Considering that this was my debut as a Team PokerStars Pro I doubt I can remember a more lack lustre performance in quite some time. I mean a Level 1 cooler would have at least meant that I was shooting at a double the average 30k pot, but no, it seemed that I was destined to plod for nine one-hour levels. Every steal attempt was completely transparent for what it was, every draw seemed to improve on the turn and evaporate by the river... you get the picture. At some point during a tournament you do need to show up with a hand and I just couldn't muster one up.

Fellow Nottingham, UK, lad and EPT Budapest champ Will Fry got moved to my left later on in the day and we had a nice natter, all the while seeing who could fold more hands. I did have some fun later on in the day as my stack approached the perilous '10 Big Blind danger zone'. I moved all-in about 80% of the time it was folded to me; whilst this did give me a little breathing room it was only a matter of time until I ran into a real hand and then it would be a case of whether I could perform some sort of a suckout; K-6 on the button was at least live against the BB's A-A but it wasn't to be.

That disappointment aside, my first day as a Team PokerStars Pro was fun. As well a few photo shoots and some video blogs I got to help out Nick Wealthall and Michelle Orpe with an 'Introduction to Live Poker' seminar, free for PokerStars qualifiers. Nick's a pretty slick front man and if you get a chance to partake in one of these seminars you might recognise his dulcet tones from the excellent and informative EPT Live broadcasts.

Speaking of which, my next outing in Team PokerStars Pro colours is the newest leg on the EPT tour: Berlin. It's one million euros up top... fingers crossed for a good run at it.