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Twittering

I like to be ahead of the curve where technology and trends are concerned and as such I’ve signed up for twitter. It’s an interesting social media application that may or may not catch on but I like to be on the cutting edge of things so I’m giving it a go. Apparently I’m the 277.667,323^rd person to give it a go.

If you’d like to follow me please do I’m @nickwealthall (www.twitter.com/nickwealthall)

In the meantime I’ve been trying to handle UKIPT withdrawal syndrome. There was no tour event in April which is very distressing. However Cork is just a couple of weeks away so the shaking should stop soon.

I’m writing this from Edinbugh one of my favourite towns on the planet. Recording a live poker magazine show following the SCOOP with the very funny Joe Stapleton. If you want to watch our nightly ‘who can put each other off better with funny stuff and not follow the actual script’ athon do it here http://www.pokerstars.tv/poker-video-9110-inside-scoop-daily-web-show.html

I’m filling my freetime with NBA playoff goodness. It’s one of the better sporting series I’ve seen – surpises, quality play, real drama it’s got it all. Also there’s a villain; it’s really hard to watch the Miami Heat without wanting them to lose! Anyway I’ve had a rare sports bet on Oklahoma to come out of the west and to win it all. They have a shot and were a huge price with English bookies…. You’ve got to have an interest right!

Hope to see many of you in Cork

Honour and Obey

Spring is here….the clocks have changed…daffodils have sprung and everyone’s juice is up

I’m going to dedicate my spring and summer to finding ways not to be in these dismally cloudy isles for next winter…it’s been a slog! I’m hoping I won’t need to resort to a huge one off bank job pre escaping to Rio but who knows…watch this space

There’s a royal wedding on. Astonishingly it seems people still care about that sort of thing. Don’t hate me royalist but I’m a life long republican. As such I find it absolutely impossible to relate to anything to do with the royal family and their shenanigans.

However I’m excited to report I’ve found a way to get through the royal wedding if you’re in my camp. You can bet on it! Actual wagers on things that happen during the blessed day. You can bet on the colour of the Queens hat (yellow is favourite), how long the train will be, the colour of the dress (black is only 100/1 ….I mean seriously I know bookmakers have to make a living but you’re saying 1% of the time the Queen-to-be will turn up in front of the eyes of the world in a black wedding dress……). Anyway the ‘finding money on the street’ bet of the year is that Kate will say ‘obey’ in the vows…as in ‘honour and obey’. I can’t see anyone in line to the throne doing anything as progressive as changing the vows – especially ’45 year old trapped in 25 year olds body’ Kate. I think the true odds of her saying it are about 4 or 5 to 1 on…actual odds 8/11 on…..get on board!

Saw a top film the other day – ‘source code’ – a complete surprise in how well done it was. Except it goes on 90 seconds too long. They almost had the best ending of the year then they wimp out…go see it you’ll see what I mean

There’s no UKIPT event in April – I miss it. They’re on Channel 4 every Tuesday though…hope you’re enjoying them

We need a bigger boat

So it turns out I can’t get a little bit pregnant. I seem to be incapable of having a passing interest in anything.

I’m binary….I’m bi-winning

If I like something I can’t just read the odd article about it or watch a TV show occasionally … I need to know everything about it, constantly be receiving news about it and basically distil whatever it is into liquid form and slam it into a major artery.

The latest thing is the NBA….basketball …from Amercia.  I’m not the only one the NBA is on the up and up with a ‘golden generation’ of stars and teams coming together this year and for some years to come. I’m a Boston Celtics fan but not set in stone yet as I have soft spots for other great players and teams. Tragically I’m on the ‘I hate the Miami heat’ bandwagon – you’ve got to have heroes and villains haven’t you and they fit the bill. I think they should embrace it and play up to it but they don’t seem capable of that they seem a bit like spoiled kids who have been indulged all their lives and are suddenly disliked and can’t adjust. Anyway I’m spending a lot of time trying to understand why Lebron doesn’t go to the rim more……however they other day I did learn the difference between pick and pop and a pick and roll so I’m all over it

I’m writing this from UKIPT Manchester which is another sell out and another ‘cap buster’. I swear this tour will eat itself –despite both the last events being sold out I think they could have been even bigger….they’re going to have to start building bigger UK card rooms!

Nottingham, Charity & Oscars

So the Nottingham UKIPT was bordering on the nuts. 1058 players for a new UK live poker tournament record field – and this with a 500 buy in which is not a lot in the poker world but is a lot to the casual player. I was amazed and delighted to see the lines out the door on the first morning.

Now that the tour is in it’s second year and on Channel 4 I wouldn’t be surprised to see the same situation at each event. This tour will take over the world…okay the UK and Ireland. I won’t be resting until we have 10,000 players at the O2 with live coverage instead of the news at 10…..

I got lucky at the pokers in Nottingham. There was a charity poker tournament as we have at many of the ukipt stops and I got super lucky to win it. Having said that I did start trying after a couple of hours and really the others shouldn’t have bothered going through the motions of playing and just conceded defeat… The final table was full of banter and I used my superior skills to get dealt pocket 4 times. If I was a less grateful person I would ponder how that happens in a UKIPT charity event and not the WSOP main but still.

Anyway I was able to make nice donations to the charity the tournament was run for – Help 4 Heroes and to Bernardo’s who are my fave charity through my sister who is running the marathon for them.

Quick plug if you haven’t done a charity gift recently then here is my sister’s link; it’ll be her 3^rd marathon for charity – she’s a super star. Bernardo’s are awesome in every way and brilliantly run (up to 95% of donations goes to children in difficulty) so give your donation, no matter how large at:-

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=KJLeat&faId=76190&isTeam=false

Finally it’s Oscar night tonight. The Oscars are odd – they are utterly awful. Boring, predictable – becoming more predictable every year with the winners predetermined by previous awards shows and absolutely no reflection on the merit of each film. And yet they are somehow still captivating and I still pull for the films I want.

To me Toy Story 3 and Inception were the best films of the year – closely followed by True Grit and The Social Network. It looks like being one of those years where a film will win and then people will look back and be baffled by how it beat the other quality films that year. I like Kings Speech but it’s disposable tea time entertainment due for Sunday 5pm screenings on the BBC for the rest of time.

Oh and for Nolan not to be nominated for best director at the expense of Aronofsky and his self important Black Swan mess is a ruddy travesty

Hibernate

Hibernation is ending

I hibernate in January

It’s a close run thing between August and January as to which month involves me doing the least

I don’t really trust people who ‘hit the ground running’ in the New Year – I put them in the same bracket as people that go literally running at 6am. It’s ironic we do our ‘new year’s resolutions in January as it’s the worst time to do new projects; the days are short, the weather is awful and we’ve just come out the holiday season.

Take it from me in future hibernate in January – do the minimum, eat comfort food and stay indoors a lot; the spring is where you want to be kicking butt.

In other news the Nottingham UKIPT is round the corner next week – I expect it will be huge; and I can’t wait. Apparently

For those who don’t know we’re on Channel 4 this year. Wooooooo is the correct noise to make at this point. Tuesday’s at midnight – set your series link immediately. I’m exstatic to be presenting a show on “4” (as the kids call it) but also thrilled for the coolest regional tour in poker history!

Finally part of my January hibernation has been buying the complete box set of the West Wing. It’s brilliantly written (although every single character is super intelligent, witty and can guess what people are going to say before they’ve said it), fascinating, moving and amazing to watch. American TV has been killing our TV for years now.

Trying to decide whether Sopranos or West Wing is the pinnacle of man’s efforts to entertain on TV…..this could take most of February

Merry New Year!!!

Merry New Year!!!

Okay Trading Places is about 20 years old but me and my sisters still shout Merry New Year at each other so you’re getting it too

Hope you’re festive period was one full of presents, fun and copious food and drink that out weighed the inevitable family tension and ‘what in God’s name am I doing with my life’ introspection that it can also bring.

I spent the holiday season conducting a one man experiment to establish whether or not After Eight mints contain the requisite nutrients and minerals to sustain life. Almost 4 boxes done – solo – and I’m still here so I’m going with yes and intend to make them my food of choice from now on. I’m sorry but those waifer thin minty bastards kick the arse of porridge and all the other ‘breakfast’ foods – hard.

For those that care I’m having a quite January. I’m going to try not to travel too much and try not to take on too much new work stuff. Don’t really go fo this ‘hit the new year ground running’ mullarkey. As far as I’m concerned this is the hibernation point in the year where time is best spent inside with the football or poker or the playstation…optimism and productivity can wait for the spring …or any point where it isn’t constantly drizzling 5 degrees and dark just after lunch.

Deeper into the blog now and I feel the overwhelming pressure to reveal my goals and resolutions for 2011.

Or at least to have some

First up I’d like to resolve whether it’s ‘twenty – eleven’ or ‘two thousand and eleven’. This should take until mid- March I reckon. I’ll look for some new goals after that.

My resolution is to give up smoking. In order to achieve this I will have to start smoking and maintain it for a long enough period of time for it to be an achievement giving up – so look for my celebratory I finally quit blog around July

My prediction for 2011 is that it will be a bit ‘meh’ for the world

Prove me wrong twenty eleven you magnificent new shiny fool.

I hope it’s your best year yet.

UKIPT season 2 and Lord Sugar’s tiny beard

We’re nearly at the end of the year. For most people that’s 31^st December – for everyone in ‘media’ it appears to be something closer to the 14^th as that’s when it all grinds to a halt!

I’m in ‘just get things done then we can have holiday’ mode – it’s a magnificent tick box, standard slipping state which probably partly made this country great

Season 2 of UKIPT has already started we’ve had the first event in Galway. The presence of TV cameras made it all the more exciting; as did the presence of ludicrous amounts of snow in England and Ireland. A lot of players couldn’t make it on time so we delayed the start and all spent the time having snowball fights, drinking hot chocolate (it was Guiness) and playing online. Environmental problems aside a lot of players still made it, more than last year and enough to give the event it’s great atmosphere. We got some great stories too, nearly getting our first female winner and actually getting our first two time winner. Next stop is Nottingham and time to dust of my Robin Hood tights…its nice to be able to wear them with non-arrestable excuse

It took me ages to get a sky plus box (other hard drive recording boxes devices are available) but now I have I love it to the point of a deep sexual longing. It means I’ve missed less episodes of good stuff like the Daily Show and American sport. The Apprentice gets my nomination as best show on telly ever. Just get some people that take themselves very seriously, make them do stupid stuff, point the camera and let them make themselves look ridiculous. The few minutes of tv in the penultimate episode where ‘the brand’ was brutally fired and then Jo magnificently validated was as good as telly gets.

My favourite sequel ever

So my blog has become a bit like the door handle that goes into my living room that barely works and come out it’s socket in your hand 20% of the times you use it.

It’s needed writing for ages like my handle needs fixing and there’s nothing stopping me writing it but the longer it goes the more of a chore it feels.

There’s a scene in friends where Rachel meets a doctor whose a gynecologist and shes put off him because he expresses that what he sees all day at work he doesn’t want to see in his free time… I think blog writing is like that for me – I write all time so it’s more writing….

Anyway let’s jump off the introspection band wagon….

We’re between UKIPT seasons and I feel a bit naked without it. Season 1 ended in London and I won’t do the commercial bit about how well it all went but .um…it really did go very well. I loved the whole season; ukipt events have their own atmosphere and they really do kick other poker events ass….royally…from above. Season 2 will be on us soon (first one in Galway first week in December) and I have a sneaking suspicion it’ll be bigger and better and sexier than season 1…just you see if it’s not.

Things are going great away from the tour thanks for asking. It’s weird when you’re freelance and there’s no structure or plan but after a period of some frustration earlier in the year things are happening on lots of different writing and performing projects. I’ll ‘blog’ about them when they’re certain but it’s a fun exciting time. …which is nice.

In other news here are things I like at the moment….

-        the Apprentice…christ it’s good. I like to take a drink everytime someone says ‘skill set’ – mullered by 9.35. Last week someone actually said to a person’s face ‘I look forward to dialoging with you later’….genius

-        the NFL. Loved it years ago and I’m right back into it this season. Helps that it’s one of the most competitive seasons in years and that my childhood team the Raiders have their first decent outfit for ages

-        Red wine. Have started to frickin love the stuff. Think it’s a sign of being old but who cares. I know a tiny bit about it and want to keep it that way – I think knowing more about it would spoil it for me. Currently working with Malbecs….tremendous!

-        Sky + HD recorder (other HD recorders are available)…was very late to this party but it really is the shizzle. Espcecially when you’re into watching North American sport

Not much else really – you’d think after a couple of months break I’d have more to say but to be honest deep down I’m a very shallow person. I guarantee the next time we speak the door handle won’t be fixed because where as I can type if I try to do anything DIY related ever not only will the initial problem not be fixed but 14 more will be created.

Edinburgh and all that

Summer is over and I ended it with a bang…well a binge to be more accurate.

I spent 10 or so days in Edinburgh and re-discovered the student within me.

Not sure how many reading this will have been to the Edinburgh festival or to Edinburgh full stop but if you haven’t then do! I haven’t been everywhere but of the towns/cities I’ve visited in the UK and Ireland it’s by far my favourite  – if we could move it a couple of hundred miles south I’d be there in a shot.

I was there for the latest leg of the UKIPT and then for some quality comedy festival time. The tournament went very well especially considering it was a brand new event for Scotland – next year I think it’ll be even bigger.

The festival was great except for deciding to torture my liver by drinking every night. I’m a complete lightweight and never really ‘drank’ when I was the age you’re supposed to drink so it was all a bit silly but a lot of fun. The comedy was very mixed – there are a lot of comics around these days who clearly belong in rock bands (as in they just want to be famous) and don’t actually have any material. But then there are also geniuses like Emo Phillips and the God that is Tim Vine. When Tim was told he’d won the best joke at the festival award he replied ‘I’m so excited I’m going to Sooty’s barbecue to have a sweep stake’…genius.

I have ‘a lot on’ at the moment. Lots of big poker tournaments are coming to London this month and the WCOOP is happening on line so there’s plenty of poker work . Also I’m working on some comedy projects and probably a couple of TV shows so it’s all a bit full. With all of that there isn’t much time for poker at the moment and I’ve reached a plateau with Omaha so I’m taking a break until I have time to focus on it properly. Will be playing a couple of live events in the next 6 weeks so I’ll let you know how those go.

Think that’s about it…..hope summer isn’t over for you and you can cling onto it for a few weeks to come!

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