It’s Saturday morning, although the concept of weekends is beginning to elude me.

So far, the WCOOP has not been a personal success. I’ve had a couple of money finishes. A minimum cash early on and $1,850 in the $300 Hold’em on Tuesday. But it’s been a catalogue of “nearlies”.

I’ve already mentioned the pain of my exit from the $300 Hold’em. I was in terrific shape with 100 runners left (out of 2,500 entries). I was chip leader with 500k (original chips of 5k). Losing a few small pots set me back to 325k with 45 left, still above average. On the button with 4T diamonds I continued to be aggressive to try and steal the blinds. The tight player in the SB called my raise and then check called the whole way with AQ (on a Q high flop). Fair enough! And that was me. Will that teach me a lesson? I hope so!

More frustration in the $500 rebuy on Thursday. A slow start saw me in for $2,000 (an immediate rebuy, a second and then an add-on). However I then cruised up to 100,000 chips, above average for the money. With only a few to go before the cash, I managed to get it all in with JJ on a 578 flop with two diamonds. He called my re-re-raise all-in (not unreasonably as he is a slight favourite) hitting two pairs on the turn and the flush on the river.

The WCOOP can be rather lonely and depressing. Starting times are chosen to accommodate US players (even if they are playing illegally) so it is 9.30pm here usually. The money starts somewhere between 4 am and 6am - they are just finishing off last night’s $500 as I’m writing this (11.30 am), after starting at 9.30 pm last night. Playing through the night can be surreal. TOH is pleased with the cups of tea arriving at 7am (although there have been only two so far!).

I’ve been sweating Miros fervently - fun but nerve wracking! His chips move around quickly and he must be a nightmare opponent. He’s had a few near misses too and must be due!

The Coach has had a more successful run and has cashed in three tournaments accounting for most of our winnings.

With only the Main Event left we’re behind. We’ve spent $12,000 on the events, returning a slightly disappointing $7,700. I hope we can turn a profit on Sunday with $15k at risk between the three of us. Two cashes would ensure another breakeven month for Team Withnail!

Withnail