For a taste of your whiskey, I'll give you some advice...

Anyone who plays poker knows about tells. Some are very obvious, others not so much. You also might think that when, or if, you play online that you can't possibly have a tell because no one can see you while you're playing poker. That simply isn't true. Betting patterns also produce tells, and there are many of those that you can pick up if you pay close enough attention online. I was playing online this past week when I ran into a player at a table that displayed a "tell" and I was able to take advantage of that tell in a couple of hands.



Before I go in to too much detail about the two hands I just want you to know that there are lots of tells you can pick up from online players' betting patterns. I'm not going to produce a list of all the ones I've come across, but a couple of my favorites are:

1. Betting the "odd' chips off of your stack. In online play, there is never a need to round chips up during a tournament or at a cash game, and ties will happen or people will bet unusual amounts causing players to have unusual amounts in their stacks (e.g. 13782 chips insted of 13700 or 13800, or $143.75 instead of $140 or $145). Sometimes I'll see a player bet the "odd" amount. Using the numbers in my example, a player bets 782 (or 1782 or 2782...you get the idea) of his 13782. When a player does this they are almost always willing to throw their hand away if they face significant resistance. They're telling you that "I'll bet these odd chips, and if I win, great, but if you play back at me I don't really need these odd chips". I've taken several pots away from players when I was holding absolutely nothing because they've bet the "odd" chips at me.


2. The long pause. In online play you have a set amount of time to make a decision, and after part of that time has elapsed a timer usual counts down your remaining time. Sometimes players will let their timer run down and then raise near the end of the time. This almost always means that they have a strong hand. The player is trying to give the illusion as though they are thinking about it because they're unsure of their hand, but they usually have a very strong hand. Think about it...you're unsure what you're going to do so you think about it, and then you decide to raise? If you were really, truly unsure of the strength of your hand most people aren't coming out raising. If I'm that unsure, I'm usually folding, or maybe calling. Now, this tell isn't 100% foolproof, as the delay can because of other factors such as a bad internet connection or playing multiple tables, but I've seen this "tell" produce accurate results for the most part.

To set up the scenario for these two hands, I had observed this Villain while playing against him online. He had a large stack at the table, and was using his stack to bully players (which is something you should do). His "tell" was when he would bet exactly what his opponent had in their stack. The first time he did this his opponent called him, and he was on a complete bluff. He then did it a second time and his opponent didn't call, but in that hand I had folded what would have been the nut hand, so although it wasn't aboslutely certain he was bluffing I was somewhat confident that he was bluffing the second time, too. Part of the reason I noticed this was because it is direct contradiction with what I've run into with some of the "regulars" that do this exact thing at the stakes I play. Normally what I've observed is that when a player bets to "set you all in" it is usually a sign of confidence. Not with this guy! That's why I noticed it so quickly I think. That brings me to the hands where I got involved with him. Something else to note about this player was that he was getting involved in about 40-45% of the hands. At these stakes, most "loose" players might get involved in about 27-35% of hands, so this player was also very loose in his starting hand selection. OK...got all that? Here we go:

Full Tilt Poker Table Padre Field - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:30:10 ET - 2009/01/30
Seat 1: Hero / Button ($141)
Seat 2: Player Seat 2 ($74)
Seat 3: Player Seat 3 ($400), is sitting out
Seat 4: Small Blind / Player Seat 4 ($557)
Seat 5: Big Blind / Player Seat 5 ($556.10)
Seat 6: Player Seat 6 ($70)
Seat 7: Player Seat 7 ($400)
Seat 8: Player Seat 8 ($406)
Seat 9: Villain ($997.10)
Player Seat 4 posts the small blind of $2
Player Seat 5 posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [5d 4d] [A "not so bad" hand. At least I'm on the button. Let's see the action.]
Player Seat 6 folds
Player Seat 7 folds
Player Seat 8 folds
Villain raises to $9
Hero calls $9 [Well, I've got position, and it's only the really loose guy in the hand right now. I decided to call.]
Small Blind / Player Seat 4 folds
Player Seat 5 folds
*** FLOP *** [8d 6c Js]
Villain bets $33
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero calls $33 [This may appear like a loose call, but because this guy is so loose I have a decent chance of getting paid if I hit the straight. I was 99% certain I was behind at this point.]
*** TURN *** [8d 6c Js] [5s] [interesting turn card! It's only bottom pair, but I've picked up a couple more outs to improve my hand!]
Villain bets $99
Hero has 15 seconds left to act [He bet exactly what I had left. Based on what he did earlier I thought he might be bluffing. I don't like calling almost $100 with bottom pair but even if I'm wrong, I have the remaining 5's and 4's to improve my hand along with a 7 to make a straight, so I decided to call.]
Hero calls $99, and is all in
Villain shows [Kc Th] [Yee Haw!! Gotcha! The tell is dead on! Now I just have to fade the three Kings and three Tens]
Hero shows [5d 4d]
*** RIVER *** [8d 6c Js 5s] [5c]
Villain shows a pair of Fives
Hero shows three of a kind, Fives
Hero wins the pot ($285) with three of a kind, Fives
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $288 Rake $3
Board: [8d 6c Js 5s 5c]
Seat 1: Hero (button) showed [5d 4d] and won ($285) with three of a kind, Fives
Seat 2: Player Seat 2 is sitting out
Seat 3: Player Seat 3 is sitting out
Seat 4: Small Blind / Player Seat 4 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: Player Seat 5 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: Player Seat 6 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: Player Seat 7 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: Player Seat 8 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: Villain showed [Kc Th] and lost with a pair of Fives

So I did very well that hand. Unfortunately, before my next big hand with this guy I got involved with pocket Kings against someone else's pocket Queens in a hand where the flop put out a Queen, so I lost a significant amount of my stack. Then, about 30 minutes after the above hand occurred:

Full Tilt Poker Table Padre Field - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:03:44 ET - 2009/01/31
Seat 1: Hero ($167)
Seat 2: Small Blind / Player Seat 2 ($76)
Seat 3: Big Blind / Player Seat 3 ($406.70)
Seat 4: Player Seat 4 ($515)
Seat 5: Player Seat 5 ($1,053.20), is sitting out
Seat 6: Player Seat 6 ($644)
Seat 7: Player Seat 7 ($143)
Seat 8: Player Seat 8 ($94)
Seat 9: Villain ($506)
Small Blind / Player Seat 2 posts the small blind of $2
Big Blind / Player Seat 3 posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [Qs Qd] [Nice! A big starting hand!]
Player Seat 4 folds
Player Seat 6 folds
Player Seat 7 folds
Player Seat 8 folds
Villain has 15 seconds left to act
Villain raises to $15
Hero calls $15 [The Villain had been just calling a lot of reraises. I didn't want to shove my whole stack because he probably wouldn't call unless he had a monster himself. If I had reraised I knew he would call anyway so I didn't think I would be learning anything by reraising since I'd still have to deal with him after the flop.]
Small Blind / Player Seat 2 folds
Big Blind / Player Seat 3 folds
*** FLOP *** [8h Ad 7d] [Ugh! That lousy Ace had to hit the board, didn't it?!?]
Villain has 15 seconds left to act
Villain bets $152
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero has requested TIME [Well, I was going to consider folding if he had made a pot-sized bet, but since the pot was only $34, this is a huge overbet. Also, the $152 he has bet just happens to be exactly what I have left. This is tough...I mean, even a bad player is going to hit a hand every now and then. I thought a little bit about it more than I usually do (I usually don't request TIME when playing online), and after some thought, I decided to call going with the line of thinking that his bet (the "tell") could be a bluff...again. Even if I'm wrong, I got the backdoor flush draw with my Queen of diamonds...right? (that's a joke...well...sort of...really...)]
Hero calls $152, and is all in
Villain shows [Kc Tc] [Wow. I can't believe this guy keeps bluffing in the same style and as often as he does. WOW...WOW!]
Hero shows [Qs Qd]
*** TURN *** [8h Ad 7d] [8c]
*** RIVER *** [8h Ad 7d 8c] [Jd]
Villain shows a pair of Eights
Hero shows two pair, Queens and Eights [Woo Hoo! I fade the Kings and pick up a nice pot...again!]
Hero wins the pot ($337) with two pair, Queens and Eights
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $340 Rake $3
Board: [8h Ad 7d 8c Jd]
Seat 1: Hero (button) showed [Qs Qd] and won ($337) with two pair, Queens and Eights
Seat 2: Small Blind / Player Seat 2 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: Big Blind / Player Seat 3 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: Player Seat 4 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: Player Seat 5 is sitting out
Seat 6: Player Seat 6 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: Player Seat 7 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: Player Seat 8 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: Villain showed [Kc Tc] and lost with a pair of Eights

The Villain ended up going near broke about 15 minutes later when he tried the EXACT same play against the player in Seat 4, who happens to be an excellent player that I play with quite often at these stakes. In that hand on the turn the Villain bet $524 into the player in Seat 4. It was exactly what that player had, but this time the player in Seat 4 had an easy decision as the turn card had given him the 2nd nut flush. There was no reason to sit at that table after that since the money had be redistributed to either myself or players that I didn't really think I'd be able to get it out of so I called it a night shortly after that.

So, just because you're playing online, don't think that you don't have tells. Your betting patterns produce tells. Mix it up a little...unless you're at my table, then just keep the bets consistent and decipherable.

Also, for those that have their speakers on and are picking up the music I'm now adding to the blog, I'm trying to keep the music appropriate for the post, but as I did a search for "poker" in the music library online I came across something by "Foamy the Squirrel", and as you know, since the Squirrel is one of the readers of the blog I had to put it in the playlist. That one's for you, Squirrel. It doesn't sound like her in the playlist, but I'll bet it's what she's thinking sometimes...

Brrr...it's too cold to go outside, so...

...I may as well play some poker, and share a couple of hands with you! It has been a little chilly outside (one day it was -16F/-27C with windchills in the -40F to -45F range). The online poker tables weren't nearly so cold to me, though. In fact, I've been running very well online lately. The two hands I'm going to post for you here have nothing to do with any skill on my part though. I thought I'd put these hands here because all too often I see people make this mistake...they give the blinds a free look at the flop. Now, if you happen to be giving ME a free look at the flop I still encourage you to do this. Don't change they way you play just because of this post. I like to see flops. In fact, every now and then I'll even give the blinds a free look at the flop, but when I do that, I'm also willing to throw my hand away if the situation warrants it.

The first hand of the two I'm going to post is one I probably wouldn't have gotten away from myself if the situations had been reversed, but I'll be real honest, I wouldn't have just limped with what the villain limped with, either. In the second hand of the two, you get to see what I would call "the perfect storm" of poker hands and draws. It's just insane!

I've changed the names of the players to "Hero" for myself, "Villain" for the opponent, and the other players are named "Player #" or by position, or both. For those of you that may not be familiar with some of the abbreviations or position names: UTG = Under the Gun, Button = Last to act after the flop, BB = Big Blind, SB = Small Blind, Cutoff = one position in front of the button, the Hijack = one position in front of the Cutoff. As usual, I will try to interject my "thoughts" as the hand progresses:

Full Tilt Poker Game Table Hollow Pine - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em
Seat 1: Player 1 ($97.40)
Seat 2: the Hijack / Player 2 ($423)
Seat 3: Cutoff / Player 3($390)
Seat 4: Button / Player 4 ($400)
Seat 5: SB / Player 5 ($72)
Seat 6: BB / Hero ($72)
Seat 7: Player 6 ($98)
Seat 8: UTG / Player 7 ($364.90), is sitting out
Seat 9: Villain ($509)
Player 5 posts the small blind of $2
Hero posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [Th 5h]
UTG folds
Villain calls $4
Everyone else but the Cutoff folds. The Cutoff also limps for the $4
Hero checks [The 5h Th isn't a great hand. I'd like to see a flop, please.]
*** FLOP *** [8h 7h Jh] [Yahtzee, baby! Even if by some miracle I'm losing, I've got a draw to the straight flush]
Hero bets $4 [The pot is only $14 right now. I'm hoping to entice someone who may have hit top pair to raise or call, and I don't want to scare them off with too big a bet.]
Villain raises to $14 [Doh! Got a live one, here!]
The Cutoff folds
Hero raises to $68, and is all in [Just in case he has a big heart, I want to give him the opportunity to fold here with a big bet as I don't want them drawing. If they already have me beat so be it. It's a 119 to 1 shot to flop a flush after all!!]
Villain calls $54
Hero shows [Th 5h]
Villain shows [Ah As] [Wow! I guessed the big heart, but not pocket rockets! Let's see if I can fade the 6 hearts that beat me (remember, the 9h gives me the straight flush)]
*** TURN *** [8h 7h Jh] [Ts]
*** RIVER *** [8h 7h Jh Ts] [4s]
Hero shows a flush, Jack high
Villain shows a pair of Aces
Hero wins the pot ($147) with a flush, Jack high

If the villain raises preflop, there is a 0% chance that I call there. I won't call with T-5, suited or not, when facing a raise. I think he would have liked winning the blinds as opposed to doubling me up, which is what he did.

Here is the second hand. Once again, the names have been changed using some of the same abbreviations as before:

Full Tilt Poker: Table Padre Field - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em
Seat 1: Button / Villain #3 ($257.60)
Seat 2: SB / Player 2 ($400)
Seat 3: BB / Hero ($74)
Seat 5: Player 3 ($415.70)
Seat 6: Player 4 ($503.60)
Seat 7: Player 5 ($58)
Seat 8: the Hijack / Villain #1 ($288.55)
Seat 9: Cutoff / Villain #2 ($235.85)
SB / Player 2 posts the small blind of $2
BB / Hero posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BB / Hero [6d 3d]
Player 3 folds
Player 4 calls $4
Player 5 folds
the Hijack / Villain #1 calls $4
Cutoff / Villain #2 calls $4
Button / Villain #3 calls $4
SB / Player 2 folds
BB / Hero checks [I've got a bad hand with the 3d 6d. I'd like to see a flop, please.]
*** FLOP *** [5d 4h 2h] [Yahtzee!! I just flopped the nuts! I decided here that one of these players will probably bet at this flop. It was my plan to then check-raise and play the hand against that opponent heads-up or take it down right there.]
BB / Hero checks
Player 4 checks
the Hijack / Villain #1 checks
Cutoff / Villain #2 bets $12 [Aha! Here's my sucker!]
Button / Villain #3 calls $12 [Hmmm...I don't want to play this against two people, since at least one of them will be drawing to something like a flush or straight here]
BB / Hero has 15 seconds left to act [After briefly pondering my options, I decide to just shove and hopefully either the "squeeze" will get both players out or I'll probably be playing against just one of the two villains]
BB / Hero raises to $70, and is all in
Player 4 has 15 seconds left to act
Player 4 folds
the Hijack / Villain #1 has 15 seconds left to act
the Hijack / Villain #1 raises to $140 [????! This is a guy who limped preflop, and checked after the flop and is now re-reraising?!? This almost has to be a set or another player with 3-6. Geez, the 'ol limp-check-re-re-raise play...that's a new one...]
Cutoff / Villain #2 has 15 seconds left to act
Cutoff / Villain #2 has requested TIME
Cutoff / Villain #2 calls $128 [Ummm....helloooo....you've just been check-check-raise-reraised, and now you want to just flat call?!? I definitely do not like this. Although I've got the nuts right now, one of these two yahoos has to have a set, which means I need to avoid the board pairing, and if one of them has two hearts, I need to dodge all the hearts, too...yikes.]
Button / Villain #3 has 15 seconds left to act
Button / Villain #3 raises to $253.60, and is all in [O.K. Seriously. I've got the nuts. Not you. I am now firmly convinced that I'm going to be dead in this hand. Also, before any more action even occurs, I already know that no one is folding because the pot odds are too good for any hand at this point. Let's hope my straight holds up!]
the Hijack / Villain #1 raises to $284.55, and is all in [as expected.]
Cutoff / Villain #2 calls $91.85, and is all in [as expected.]
the Hijack / Villain #1 shows [2d 2s] [Well, here's a set. OK...don't pair the board!]
Cutoff / Villain #2 shows [6h 7h] [Wow. An open-ended straight draw along with a flush draw. Now along with the board not pairing, I need to see no hearts on the board or a 3 or an 8. That's a lot of cards to dodge]
Button / Villain #3 shows [Ah 8h] [Wow. The nut flush draw! At least that takes away two of the hearts, and also an 8. I'm holding a 3, so that's another card wiped out. OK...here we go!]
BB / Hero shows [6d 3d] [See?!? I have the nuts!]
Uncalled bet of $30.95 returned to the Hijack / Villain #1
*** TURN *** [5d 4h 2h] [Js] [Hooray!]
*** RIVER *** [5d 4h 2h Js] [Kd] [Hooray! Hooray!]
the Hijack / Villain #1 shows three of a kind, Twos
Button / Villain #3 shows Ace King high
the Hijack / Villain #1 wins side pot #2 ($43.50) with three of a kind, Twos
Cutoff / Villain #2 shows King Jack high
the Hijack / Villain #1 wins side pot #1 ($485.55) with three of a kind, Twos [I'd say Villain #1 cleaned up pretty nicely, all things considered...]
BB / Hero shows a straight, Six high
BB / Hero wins the main pot ($299) with a straight, Six high

Wow. Now that is the perfect storm of hands there. It's hard to believe that everyone could have hit as heavy of pieces of the flop as they did when it comes 5d 4h 2h, but hey, I guess that's poker. I was so intrigued by this hand that I was curious to see what the percentages were for winning the hand after the flop. Here they are:

Me: 28.41%
Button /Villain #3(nut flush draw): 20.98%
the Hijack / Villain #1 (set): 36.59%
Cutoff / Villain #2(open-ended str8, losing flush draw): 12.32%

I wasn't even the favorite to win after flopping the nuts! In fact, I was barely ahead of the guy with the nut flush draw...

the numbers get a little better after the turn:

Me: 50%
Button / Villain #3(nut flush draw): 12.5%
the Hijack / Villain #1 (set): 25%
Cutoff / Villain #2 (open-ended str8): 12.5%

At least I was a coin flip to win with one card to go. I'm very happy my hand held up to win. Just keep limping in on my blind, please. I like to see flops...

Bases Bay & CCPL Circuit Event #2

The Thanksgiving weekend provided me with the chance to play live poker not just once, but twice as a friend of mine, Bass, had his annual Blackjack & Poker tournaments, and then on the following evening I was hosting the second Cream City Poker League circuit event at my place. Bass likes to refer to his "casino" as the Bases Bay Casino. I have yet to come up with a name of my "casino/poker room", so if anyone has suggestions please leave it in your comments...and yes, I'm serious.


I haven't played live poker in over a month. With the way my work schedule has had me shuffling I just haven't had time or the opportunity, so I was really looking forward to some action. Bass had his blackjack tournament first, and of the 30+ players I took 9th. Unfortunately, Bass was paying 8 players in the blackjack tournament...Doh! We ended up having about 40 players for the Texas Hold 'em portion of the evening. The tournament started at 8:30pm. I did very well early in the tournament, catching some big hands and getting paid for them, too. I made the final table, and I was probably 3rd in chips when we started the final table. I didn't get very many hands at the final table, though. I had enough chips and got just enough hands to keep me floating until we got to 4-handed play, and then I started to get short stacked. I managed to pick up a couple of pots, and eventually I was able to get heads up with Tim. Tim had a fantastic run at the final table, and even though we played 4-handed for what seemed like an hour, Tim propmptly knocked out Tesch (4th), Adam (3rd), and myself (2nd) all in about 10 minutes. The tournament wrapped up around 2:40am, so it was very long tournament, but it was a good time. Tim's final hand (A6) of two pair, Aces and Sixes, beat my hand, pocket Fives, in a classic race situation. Nice job, Tim!


The following evening I was participating in the second event of the Cream City Poker League (CCPL). I missed the first event while I was in London, so I was itching to play. I was almost too eager as I found myself down 750 chips out of the 2000 chips with which we started when I got a little over involved with 4th pair on a board of 5-6-8-3-K. Oops! I was able to double up a little later though when I the following hand played out between myself and Anne:


Me: 2-2 Anne: A-7 blinds 25/50 (3rd level) Me: approx 1450 chips Anne: approx 1600


I limped with my 2s, Anne limped along with me, and the blinds both called. The flop was: 7d-6c-2c, giving me the bottom set. The blinds checked, and so did I. Anne bet 150, the blinds folded, and I decided to call. Even though there was a potential flush draw out there, I don't always mind giving a card when I've got a set since there are so many outs to a full house or better, too. Well, the turn was almost a perfect card for me: 7c! This gave me the full house (2-2-2-7-7), and if Anne was playing the flush draw she just hit it on the turn. I checked again, and Anne bet 250. I would only have about 1000 left if I just called, so I decided to move all in for the remainder of my stack. Anne called with her trip 7s-Ace kicker, and I was fortunate to dodge any Aces, Sixes, or the remaining Seven to win the hand.


Play would continue through the evening. I wasn't doing a good job of keeping track of hands like I normally do since I was doing shots of cold Southern Comfort more often than needed when Adam decided that I should be doing them every time I voluntarily played a hand. We were all having a good time. I do remember the Pizza Delivery phone call prank that we played on Jim, the father of one of the players at the game. That was awesome! Very well done! I also remember seeing quad Kings during play (sorry, Igs) that was pretty impressive. Eventually, play got down to heads up play between myself and Ken. Ken got pocket Jacks when I got pocket 6s to double him up once, and then right after that I got pocket 6s again when Ken got Ace-King, and he hit the necessary card to eliminate me in second place...again! Two second place finishes in two days isn't bad.


There was one hand I did want to go over that I thought was kind of interesting. It took place between Jeff and one of the newcomers to the CCPL, Melissa. It was interesting in the way it played out and I had the opportunity to talk with Jeff about it during a break.


Jeff: KK Melissa: JJ blinds 10/15 (1st level) Jeff: approx 2000 chips Melissa: about same


These are two very big hands for seven-handed play. We started the tournament with 7 players at our table and that hadn't change here yet. Jeff raised preflop, and if I remember correctly, Melissa just called. The flop hit the board 9-x-y (I remember it was 9-high). Jeff bet, and Melissa called. The turn was either a 7 or 8. Jeff bet again, and Melissa called. The river put a T (10) out there, and now Jeff checked. Melissa bet, but her bet was only 150. With all the action up to this point the pot was about 700 or 800 chips. Jeff called, and showed his pair of Kings to Melissa's pair of Jacks. I commented at the time that the river check was interesting by Jeff. After discussing it with Jeff and thinking about it some more, I guess it wasn't the river check that was interesting as much as it was that the pot didn't get a lot larger earlier than it did. Had it been me with a 9-high flop, I probably would have done some more raising with the Jacks at the flop, which I think would have led to both players getting it all in on the flop or turn. However, once the whole board was put out, I guess the thing to keep in mind (and Jeff mentioned this, too) is that he only had a pair of Kings. The board did have at least one potential straight, and depending on what you put your opponent on for a hand, if they were playing connectors and had hit the flop, there was a decent chance that two pair could have been in play there, too. By checking you give yourself the opportunity to throw it away if the river bet is too much, but you can still call if your opponent value bets the river like what ended up happening. The other thing to keep in mind was that this was the first level of the tournament, and with the blinds as small as they are in relation to the starting stacks you've got room to maneuver and it's not necessary to get over involved in a pot where the whole board is showing if you only have a pair. One pair with the whole board showing isn't exactly a monster hand. Preflop, obviously it's a lot different, but that wasn't the case here. Anyway, I thought the hand was interesting and thought it merited some discussion here.

Bath and Trowbridge

After having difficulty getting to Stonehenge in daylight hours I realized that I would have very little time to get to anywhere during daylight hours. I was here for work, and was usually finishing up somewhere between 4 and 5 o'clock PM. The people I was working with (Tony, Andy, Pete, and Vicki) all recommended that I should go to Bath and so that is exactly what I did the first evening. What a town! Fortunately they have the really neat buildings very well lit. The whole city has some very interesting architecture. There is the Royal Crescent and the Circus. When viewed from overhead they form the shape of a question mark. The Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths are a classic example of buildings having stood the test of time. The only thing I didn't like was that I was seeing all of this at dark!! I made sure to stop at a couple of pubs, including the "Saracen's Head" and the "Rat and Parrot".



On Wednesday, Tony and Andy took me to a local pub during lunch called the Royal Oak. I sampled another bitter and was encouraged to try one of the local ciders. The two have a very sharp contrast in taste!! I actually enjoyed the cider very much, it just wasn't exactly what my taste buds were ready for after having sampled a bitter. Good stuff, though. That evening, I returned to Bath, and being a little more familiar with the city's layout I did a significant amount of walking around. I went down the steps near the Pulteney Bridge and took a walk along the River Anon. I was able to visit a couple more pubs, stopping in at "Grapes" and the "Pig and Fiddle". The signs that are hanging outside the shops and pubs are pretty cool.

For lunch on Thursday Tony and Andy took me to another local establishment called "The Kicking Donkey". I had some fish and chips there along with some more bitters. I just can't get enough of that stuff! There are numerous Indian restaurants all over the UK, and that evening, a colleague of Tony and Andy's was taking a large group out to eat to one such restaurant in Trowbridge called "Tale of Spice". It was a group of about 10 of us. The food, drink, and conversation were all fantastic. I got to meet some other people (who could forget the Welsh, Paul?). There were definitely some characters there. I was "the American" for the evening. We stopped at a local Trowbridge pub called the Courthouse and took in some football (not American, mind you) while sampling some of the local bitters and ales. All in all it was a very good evening. Thanks again to Tony and Andy for asking and to Colin for picking up the tab!



Friday I wrapped things up with my group a little early and I had wanted to make an attempt to see Wells Cathedral, so I drove to Wells. Along the way to Wells I could see in the distance Glastonbury Tor, and the remains of St. Michael's church at the summit of the hill silhouetted against the setting sun. It was a really neat visual of which I wish I could have snapped a picture. I made it to Wells and found the cathedral and grounds. After walking around a little and snapping some pictures I headed in to Bath for the evening again. I managed to check off the last thing I had on my list of things to do while I was in Bath, too, which was to see the new James Bond movie "Quantum of Solace". Awesome movie!! It doesn't get released until November 14th in the U.S., and being a big Bond fan I wanted to see it while in the U.K. I had already made the determination that I would return to Bath Saturday morning before heading home so that I could see some of Bath during daylight hours. That morning I also was able to purchase a ticket to see the Roman Baths. I didn't have a lot of time to spend in Bath though, so I made quick work of the Roman Baths and then began the drive back to Heathrow. No incidents with the vehicle, and I got to Heathrow in plenty of time to catch a bite to eat before the 8+ hour flight back to Chicago. The flight home went well, and overall it was a good trip. I could have done without the car incident from last Saturday, but it was still a good trip.

On to Trowbridge!

I had a long drive from London to Trowbridge to meet with my customers on Monday. Because of the hotel's location on the far east end of London I had to drive pretty much entirely across London, and on Monday morning it was real busy. Once I was outside of London the drive was pretty easy, and I was definitely getting more comfortable driving on the left side of the road with the driver's seat on the right side of the car.

I got things set up at my customer, Virgin Media, and afterwards I checked in at the hotel I was staying at, the Old Manor Hotel. The Old Manor Hotel is a Bed and Breakfast that also has packages that serve dinner, too. It's a very old converted farmhouse. It was originally built about 500 years ago, and was altered extensively around 1700. It's really neat. There are multiple buildings that have all the rooms, and it has a nice restaurant and small bar with a parlour/waiting room in the main building.



I thought I still had about an hour of light left so I thought I would try to get to Stonehenge and see it since it was only about 40 minutes away. The overcast sky, and the fact that there was less light left in the day than I thought meant that when I drove near to Stonehenge I could only see the large stones as dark silhouettes from the road. I was wiped from all the driving so I went back to the hotel for a late dinner that evening. I was looking forward to getting in to the town of Bath over the next couple of days.

A Sun-day in London

After what had happened Friday night and all day Saturday I woke up Sunday morning expecting it to be pouring buckets outside and unable to really enjoy walking around London. I was pleasantly surprised to find it sunny outside. After grabbing an early bite to eat I made my way towards the river and towards Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. Since I was on the far east side of London my plan of seeing the city pretty much involved starting at Tower Bridge on the east side and making my way towards Harrod's on the west end of London.



After getting some nice pictures of Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, and some other nearby buildings (see above), my next stop was St. Paul's Cathedral. On the way I stopped by the Monument that commemorates the Great Fire of 1666. Normally, you can go to the top, and I had done that the last time I was in London, but it was being refurbished and was closed to visitors. I went through Paternoster Square, and the cathedral is just outside that square. With it being Sunday, the cathedral was closed to tours, but you could walk in the back of the cathedral and look around if you weren't disturbing the worship services. Unfortunately, they don't want you taking pictures inside the cathedral, so my only pictures are of the outside and surrounding area.



Next, it was off to Trafalgar Square. I hadn't been to the National Gallery before, so I thought I would visit there and take in some of the paintings they have there. The Gallery is separated by time periods, and it was very interesting to see how artists in general changed the overall appearance of people in their paintings as it got nearer to our time. Some of the artwork dated back to the 1200's, and let me tell you, when artists painted people back then people ended up looking creepy. Anyway, lots of good stuff there, but once again, you cannot take pictures inside the Gallery.



After taking in the Gallery, I headed towards Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey. I was able to get some nice pictures there. From there I headed towards Harrod's and the Hard Rock Cafe. I've been to the Hard Rock in London before, but it's the original, so I had to go back. After eating there, I made one more trip over to King's Cross Train Station to get a picture of "Platform 9 3/4". If you've seen the Harry Potter movies then you'll know that's the platform that the students use to board the Hogwarts Express. I thought my niece would appreciate seeing that pic. Finally, I headed back towards Piccadilly Circus and then back to the hotel. I was pretty satisfied with all I got done today, especially since I lost a day because of the car incident on Saturday. I did walk near the Thames to get a nice evening picture of Tower Bridge, too. Then it was time to get some rest for the 2 1/2 hour drive to Trowbridge Monday morning.

A Tale of Two Days (in London)

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. OK, it wasn't either of those, but it certainly wasn't fun. I had a work trip planned that was taking me to the United Kingdom, and I was leaving on Halloween. The flight from O'Hare airport to London Heathrow was just over 7 1/2 hours long. That flight was actually the best part of the two days. I landed, picked up my luggage, and started to make my way to the hotel that was supposed to be connected to the airport. I managed to discover that it was located near a different terminal so I headed to the train and took that towards Terminal 4. As I was getting off the train someone knocked my laptop bag off of my suitcase, and as I made an effort to save it from hitting the ground something happened to two of the wheels on the suitcase that basically made the suitcase un-wheelable. So now I had to carry/drag this bag to the hotel. The hotel, where it is connected to Terminal 4, really isn't all that close. They have a long walkway that connects the two together. Anyway, eventually I was able to get to the hotel, check in, and get up to my room.

Once I arrived in my room I discovered that I didn't have any mobile phone service. To be real honest I wasn't too worried about this except for the fact that I had to contact the customer (ironically, a mobile phone provider) on Monday via phone, and I also had a 2 1/2 hour drive to Trowbridge where who knows what could happen. I called my cell phone service provider to see if they could help and of course they couldn't. Oh well, time to pick up a mobile "pay-as-you-go" phone for the week. Not a problem. I wish that had been the end of the issues, since it really wasn't too bad so far. Not great, but not absoultely horrible, either.

The next morning I went to pick up my car at the car rental. Lucky for me, they still had an automatic available. Most vehicles in the UK are manual transmission, and with the steering wheel on the right, I don't think I would've gotten comfortable trying to shift with my left hand. Unfortunately for me, Heathrow is west of London, and my hotel was on the far east side of London near Tower Bridge so I had to drive across all of London to get there. The driving was going OK, even though it felt awkward to be on the left side of the road. The real problem I was having driving in London was all the scooters and motorcycles weaving in and out of traffic. It was this that caused my next dilemma. As I was making a right turn near Piccadilly Circus, a scooter was weaving between me and another vehicle in the lane next to me when he suddenly cut over in front of me. I thought I was going to hit him so I swerved to my left, striking the curb hard and bursting the front left tire. Because I was on one of the busier streets in London, I turned as soon as I could and just parked where I could find a spot for the vehicle.

This vehicle didn't come with a spare, it only came with a repair kit, which wasn't going to fix the blown sidewall I had (see picture). Without a working cell phone I was going to be forced to leave the car and find a way to get assistance. I used one of the phone booths (Thank goodness for those old red booths!!) and was able to get a hold of the rental agency's road assistance personnel, who said they'd send somebody out and that they'd be there within the hour. I waited at the nearest intersection per their instructions, and once I saw their vehicle I flagged him down and pointed out where my vehicle was parked. As I approached the vehicle I found another person staring at it. I didn't recognize the person at first, but it turns out it was a police officer that was writing out a ticket for my vehicle! Are you kidding me!?! I tried to convince the officer about my issue, but he informed me there was nothing he could do because the ticket was "written" out in his hand-held computer thing already. Awesome!!

...and now the piano falls out of the sky and lands on me...



Just kidding, but you can probably see how I felt. Just one thing after another. The road assistance gentleman tells me he can't do anything about the tire and will need to call for a tow, and because Budget's only rental facilities near London are at Heathrow and Gatwick airports, the vehicle will need to be towed back to the rental agency, which is completely the wrong direction for me. The tow eventually shows up about 3 hours later, and after the 1 hour tow ride back to Heathrow and filling out new paperwork for a new vehicle, I was able to do the drive all over again, now only it's dark and raining out, too!

...and now I get in accident number two, right?

Nope, no incidents on the second drive through London, but it was pretty much a wasted day for me. Instead of getting out in London for all day Saturday I didn't even get checked in until almost 8pm. My body was still getting adjusted to the 5-hour time difference, too. I took a short walk near Tower Bridge, found a nice pub nearby the hotel, sat down for some bitters and some fish & chips, and just called it a night. Not a fun day, but I planned to be well rested for spending all of Sunday out and about in London!

It's all OK now, the trip got better on Sunday, and I've still got the week in Trowbridge and Bath to go. More pictures to come...