I want to be an EPT guest blogger because….
Although the buy-in for this event is exactly the same figure as my bank account (bar the minus sign), I’m always intrigued at everyone’s style of play. Particularly what the pros do. It’s easy to play properly but when you get a bunch of good players on the table (along with a couple of bad ones…) you get to see their thinking processes and how they react (as well as seeing the bad players donk off their chips to them or run bloody good!). I want to learn how they thought about the hands (and even know how the bad players donked off their chips, even if all they say was ‘I had a hunch’) I may not be able to buy-in directly unless Daniel Negreanu is nice enough to lend me £5k (if he’s reading this, can you lend me £5k?) but blogging at the tables would be the next best thing.
Let’s face it, if you’re going to interview a pro, it would be fun to ask David Vamplew ‘How much did you lose?’ straight after winning £900k from EPT London just to see how they’d react. But it’s not as fun unless you ask him directly at his face. I also want to ask many questions to the poker professionals. Such as asking Vicky Coren if winning an EPT is a direct route into the Have I Got News For You panellist and also asking the Professor WHEN WILL I GET MY MONEY BACK?!!
I attended EPT London last year actually, I passed by Edgware Road and got to the hotel but stopped right at the cashier when I found out they don’t take play money chips as currency! Obviously, security escorts me out. But I did see Jesse May along the way and if he wasn’t on the phone to someone, would’ve done a brilliant commentary of my noble walk out to the rail. (By rail, I mean railway station… they wouldn’t let me in to the tables either). If I’m a blogger this year, I’ll have my excuse to being there at a discounted rate!
So pick me and I’m sure it’ll be a fun day for everyone as well as me. I’m already preparing my questions to ask Liv Boeree already!
Friday 30 September 2011
Tuesday 21 June 2011
Spew Up Spew Down.
THe last 2 months I made my first ever final tables. One on Full tilt in a $50 tourney and the other in a Stars $4 bounty tourney. I felt very happy about them because playing MTTs and not making the final tables are awful.
May was also my biggest ever winning session. Partially from final tabling the $4 on stars and taking $500 from it. But also min cashing in a UKIPT satelite for £720 and also playing in the Sunday Million for the first time ever and cashing $700. that accounts for over $2k in tournament winnings.
Since MTTs are such high variance, I was considering to reduce this by playing live tournaments and small tourney satelites. With MTTs, there's only one place that makes profitable money and that's making the top 10. Especially when you get fields of thousands and making the min-cash is not worth your time. Live tourneys are generally soft and I can treat these like small field sit and gos. (With more money to make out of them)
June has been awful for me so far. I cashed out some of my winnings to buy a new laptop and other bits and bobs. But also lost a lot playing live cash. It does tilt when you flop sets and flop the nut straights only to get sucked out by people out drawing. The best you can say is that you played it right and it just hasn't been going your way.
Anyway, I think I've done enough damage for this month so will probably not play anymore for the rest of the month until July to recouperate my bankroll.
May was also my biggest ever winning session. Partially from final tabling the $4 on stars and taking $500 from it. But also min cashing in a UKIPT satelite for £720 and also playing in the Sunday Million for the first time ever and cashing $700. that accounts for over $2k in tournament winnings.
Since MTTs are such high variance, I was considering to reduce this by playing live tournaments and small tourney satelites. With MTTs, there's only one place that makes profitable money and that's making the top 10. Especially when you get fields of thousands and making the min-cash is not worth your time. Live tourneys are generally soft and I can treat these like small field sit and gos. (With more money to make out of them)
June has been awful for me so far. I cashed out some of my winnings to buy a new laptop and other bits and bobs. But also lost a lot playing live cash. It does tilt when you flop sets and flop the nut straights only to get sucked out by people out drawing. The best you can say is that you played it right and it just hasn't been going your way.
Anyway, I think I've done enough damage for this month so will probably not play anymore for the rest of the month until July to recouperate my bankroll.
Thursday 16 June 2011
Day 2
After a late night playing cash. I got up still recovering from shingles (oh wait, I forgot to mention that I had shingles throughout my trip but didn't want to tell everyone).
Realising that I may have a shot of going to vegas this year, I decided to up my game and keep my usual poker rituals. No alcohol or performance enhancing drugs (except coffee, cola and red bull). It would be interesting if you got tested for drugs in poker. Would've been hilarious to see that Phil Ivey would've been denied his bracelets because he used brain pills to boost his thinking to outplay his opponents :P
Getting in, I make a prop bet at 3-1 for me to outlast the Perry. I had 3-1 chips compared to him and thought I was feeling quite confident in my play today. I also made a 5% trade with a warwick friend of mine since we were on similar chip stacks and so we had a sweat if one of us made vegas.
Coming in, I find out I'm 2nd chip leader in the tournament and ready to build my pyramid stacking once again. coming in with 147k. I immediately lose a 30k pot after after I call with Kx because it was a shove for 5 BBs into my BB so I thought I could afford the call. THen lost another pot with A9 into A8 and he outbinks me. I already lost half my stack after the first two orbits from playing like a maniac.
I then wake up under the gun with aces with just under 80k left and make my standard 2.5x raise (I think blinds were 1k/2k so I raised to 5k). Folds to the big blind who 3-bets me to 14k. I tank. My thinking was do I overshove and make him call lighter or do I make a small 4-bet and give him room to go over the top. He had me covered but not by much and I couldn't rate how well he played but I assumed if he's 3-bet me, he has a hand. I decide to 4-bet to 36k.
The guy seems quite frustrated. Decides to announce 'All-in' and obv I snap call. He has AK and is crushed. Back up to my starting point :).
The rest of the hands didn't really have nothing special. Other than some kid who slowrolls by slowplaying kings and tanks for ages before calling a donk bet on a 77x board. I just thought lol.
Another hand I had to think about was a few hands later on. Apparantly I've been getting this image that I'm some sort of maniac (I have no idea where they get this from :P ) and raise from the CO with KQs and the BB calls.
Flop comes something like Q93 with 2 diamonds (and I have none of them). He checks and I c-bet do something like 40% of the pot (roughly 20k in the pot, I have 180k at this point, other guy has about 120k and I bet 10k). Villain tanks and raises to 26k. He took a while to make this raise. It was quite an awkward spot to be in. I've only played one pot with this person and there wasn't any information about it. I thought he would have raised with a premium hand so QQ, KK, AA and 99 were out. I didn't class him as a crazy dude who would play odd cards like Q9, Q3 or 93. so it was either going to be a queen, a draw or a set. I don't think I can call this because I'll be facing some sort of shove on the turn or river and I don't want him to outdraw me. I think I could also throw him off AQ as well here so I decide to go all-in. The guy tanks for a long while asking me why I'm shoving. Takes a while but the shove gets through and I take down the pot.
(thoughts?)
Anyway, with my 200k stack, I made a light 3-bet with Janiner against a limp and a raise and it got through. (lol). and then knocked someone out with kings. I then make the worst bluff throughout the whole tournament by donk-betting on my gutshot on the turn and river. The other chip leader calls with middle pair and it's good. lost about 90k making that bluff.
At this stage, it instantly became deepstack to crapshoot after the blinds when from 1.5k/3 to 2.5k/5k which was a very big jump compared to the stack sizes.
I spent most of the time shoving and folding but I also made a stupid 3-bet fold with a 17BB stack with KJo and showed. Villain shows QT which did sort of tilt me not because of him but for me not calling with the odds.
Anyway, slipped down to 110k before it went down to 2 tables. I made some more chips afterwards from stealing and shoving and got to 150k at 4k/8k blinds when I wake up with AJ in MP and make a small raise. Button reships it who has me covered by about 40k and I go into a loooong tank....
I hate calling with AJ here because I'm either crushed or flipping. I was getting about the right odds to call I guess but was going to hate myself. Asked the rail to borrow a coin off someone and I flipped it 3 times. In my head I said to myself, two heads would be a call, two tails would be a fold. Came Tails, Heads, Tails. Just before I was about to fold, my heart said 'FUCK IT' and I called.
Run into 77 and lose the flip. FML for not trusting the coin.
But cash for 165 quid but I was more interested in the package than the money but I couldn't be too downhearted. Afterall, the whole 3 days paid off my overdraft and the trip overall so bought a round of drinks in for my rail crew :)
ok UKSPC trip report done.
I should get back to present soon.
Realising that I may have a shot of going to vegas this year, I decided to up my game and keep my usual poker rituals. No alcohol or performance enhancing drugs (except coffee, cola and red bull). It would be interesting if you got tested for drugs in poker. Would've been hilarious to see that Phil Ivey would've been denied his bracelets because he used brain pills to boost his thinking to outplay his opponents :P
Getting in, I make a prop bet at 3-1 for me to outlast the Perry. I had 3-1 chips compared to him and thought I was feeling quite confident in my play today. I also made a 5% trade with a warwick friend of mine since we were on similar chip stacks and so we had a sweat if one of us made vegas.
Coming in, I find out I'm 2nd chip leader in the tournament and ready to build my pyramid stacking once again. coming in with 147k. I immediately lose a 30k pot after after I call with Kx because it was a shove for 5 BBs into my BB so I thought I could afford the call. THen lost another pot with A9 into A8 and he outbinks me. I already lost half my stack after the first two orbits from playing like a maniac.
I then wake up under the gun with aces with just under 80k left and make my standard 2.5x raise (I think blinds were 1k/2k so I raised to 5k). Folds to the big blind who 3-bets me to 14k. I tank. My thinking was do I overshove and make him call lighter or do I make a small 4-bet and give him room to go over the top. He had me covered but not by much and I couldn't rate how well he played but I assumed if he's 3-bet me, he has a hand. I decide to 4-bet to 36k.
The guy seems quite frustrated. Decides to announce 'All-in' and obv I snap call. He has AK and is crushed. Back up to my starting point :).
The rest of the hands didn't really have nothing special. Other than some kid who slowrolls by slowplaying kings and tanks for ages before calling a donk bet on a 77x board. I just thought lol.
Another hand I had to think about was a few hands later on. Apparantly I've been getting this image that I'm some sort of maniac (I have no idea where they get this from :P ) and raise from the CO with KQs and the BB calls.
Flop comes something like Q93 with 2 diamonds (and I have none of them). He checks and I c-bet do something like 40% of the pot (roughly 20k in the pot, I have 180k at this point, other guy has about 120k and I bet 10k). Villain tanks and raises to 26k. He took a while to make this raise. It was quite an awkward spot to be in. I've only played one pot with this person and there wasn't any information about it. I thought he would have raised with a premium hand so QQ, KK, AA and 99 were out. I didn't class him as a crazy dude who would play odd cards like Q9, Q3 or 93. so it was either going to be a queen, a draw or a set. I don't think I can call this because I'll be facing some sort of shove on the turn or river and I don't want him to outdraw me. I think I could also throw him off AQ as well here so I decide to go all-in. The guy tanks for a long while asking me why I'm shoving. Takes a while but the shove gets through and I take down the pot.
(thoughts?)
Anyway, with my 200k stack, I made a light 3-bet with Janiner against a limp and a raise and it got through. (lol). and then knocked someone out with kings. I then make the worst bluff throughout the whole tournament by donk-betting on my gutshot on the turn and river. The other chip leader calls with middle pair and it's good. lost about 90k making that bluff.
At this stage, it instantly became deepstack to crapshoot after the blinds when from 1.5k/3 to 2.5k/5k which was a very big jump compared to the stack sizes.
I spent most of the time shoving and folding but I also made a stupid 3-bet fold with a 17BB stack with KJo and showed. Villain shows QT which did sort of tilt me not because of him but for me not calling with the odds.
Anyway, slipped down to 110k before it went down to 2 tables. I made some more chips afterwards from stealing and shoving and got to 150k at 4k/8k blinds when I wake up with AJ in MP and make a small raise. Button reships it who has me covered by about 40k and I go into a loooong tank....
I hate calling with AJ here because I'm either crushed or flipping. I was getting about the right odds to call I guess but was going to hate myself. Asked the rail to borrow a coin off someone and I flipped it 3 times. In my head I said to myself, two heads would be a call, two tails would be a fold. Came Tails, Heads, Tails. Just before I was about to fold, my heart said 'FUCK IT' and I called.
Run into 77 and lose the flip. FML for not trusting the coin.
But cash for 165 quid but I was more interested in the package than the money but I couldn't be too downhearted. Afterall, the whole 3 days paid off my overdraft and the trip overall so bought a round of drinks in for my rail crew :)
ok UKSPC trip report done.
I should get back to present soon.
Thursday 2 June 2011
UKSPC Post Day 1....
Ended day 1 but I was still in the gambling mood so with my prop bets already taken down and money given, I decided to blackjack it up. A few friends have been trying to tempt me into a friend called 'Martin Gale' but I wasn't having any of it. Although it gave one person a very interesting night...
Anyway, after busting some money playing BJ (and baccarat...) I looked to see for a space at the cash games. 1/2 was full and I was on the waiting list so the only games available were 5/5 omaha or 1/2 omaha. Clearly I am not degenerate enough to join the 5/5 game so played 1/2 omaha for a while. I don't know omaha too well but most of the table seems like they're on the same level so I seemed fine. Decide to buy in for 50BBs. I start playing tight and wait for quad aces for a while when I realised that's impossible and a terrible hand so went and loosened my range for a bit. Came out up 100 primarily through flopping 2nd nut straight and holding to some draw.
Anyway the hold em game opened up and I transferred my winnings over to the next table. thought I'd play my standard move. The usual suspects were there, the sickos, the nits, the fishes and Rob.
Came out up 600 in the end. The only really special hand in the night was early on a few hands in. I flat to a button raise with J2suited (those wondering why, it's because sometimes, I don't like money). Flop comes 962 rainbow. I c/r to 30 quid to the OR's 8-9 quid bet. He tanks and decides to shove for what was just under 40 quid more to me. I'm thinking 'Fuck, I'm committed and this non-alcoholic drink is getting to me!'. Plus also thinking that I can't fold to such a tiny shove a cried and called thinking I had at least enough outs to justify a call (which I guessed was about 3-1 odds in my head. Turns out it wasn't...).
Anyway, the board fully runs out 9626J. The guy sighs and says 'Ace high?'. I turn the J2over and the table becomes shocked at how I won it. In my head, I'm thinking they must be shocked at the amazing call. But obviously I'm aware of how terrible the call was.
Way to go for me to run good.
But anyway, I finish at 6am and realise I gotta be up in 6 hours again to play day 2!
TBC
Anyway, after busting some money playing BJ (and baccarat...) I looked to see for a space at the cash games. 1/2 was full and I was on the waiting list so the only games available were 5/5 omaha or 1/2 omaha. Clearly I am not degenerate enough to join the 5/5 game so played 1/2 omaha for a while. I don't know omaha too well but most of the table seems like they're on the same level so I seemed fine. Decide to buy in for 50BBs. I start playing tight and wait for quad aces for a while when I realised that's impossible and a terrible hand so went and loosened my range for a bit. Came out up 100 primarily through flopping 2nd nut straight and holding to some draw.
Anyway the hold em game opened up and I transferred my winnings over to the next table. thought I'd play my standard move. The usual suspects were there, the sickos, the nits, the fishes and Rob.
Came out up 600 in the end. The only really special hand in the night was early on a few hands in. I flat to a button raise with J2suited (those wondering why, it's because sometimes, I don't like money). Flop comes 962 rainbow. I c/r to 30 quid to the OR's 8-9 quid bet. He tanks and decides to shove for what was just under 40 quid more to me. I'm thinking 'Fuck, I'm committed and this non-alcoholic drink is getting to me!'. Plus also thinking that I can't fold to such a tiny shove a cried and called thinking I had at least enough outs to justify a call (which I guessed was about 3-1 odds in my head. Turns out it wasn't...).
Anyway, the board fully runs out 9626J. The guy sighs and says 'Ace high?'. I turn the J2over and the table becomes shocked at how I won it. In my head, I'm thinking they must be shocked at the amazing call. But obviously I'm aware of how terrible the call was.
Way to go for me to run good.
But anyway, I finish at 6am and realise I gotta be up in 6 hours again to play day 2!
TBC
Tuesday 31 May 2011
UKSPC Day 1
My Stars and tilt account finally reopened this month after putting a LOOONG self exclusion on my accounts due to revision and spew limitation. It was also done so I could learn some live poker as well. I havent posted long so let's start from April:
April:
Played UKSPC in birmingham. I wasn't that impressed at a 2-day 30 quid freezeout so I proposed a few prop bets with dannyg1989 and daveyboy for 30 quid each. They both busted 8 hours in and I managed to make day 2 with 150k and 2nd chip leader (1st was a good friend of mine from warwick).
It's hard to explain how I managed to 15x my starting stack in a day. I went from starting to 14k and then down to 4k in the first hour. Managed to make a hero call with ace high on a low paired board and it was good. Thinking about it now, it was probably a bad call.
I moved tables 4 hours later with a 50k stack. People aweing at my massive stack and the chip pyramids I was building with them. On the 2nd table, I spewed down to 30ish thousand after making too many light 3 bets. Managed to spin back up to 70 after making another hero call with 2nd pair on an AJxxx board (although I was distracted by chatting to my friend while playing the hand) and it was somehow good.
Moved table another few hours later. Again, people I recognised from Warwick. With a huge chip stack, I started to play more hands in position and 3-betting more out. Even mixing up my game by slow-playing kings. Managed to get to 130k after I cold-called KK in the CO from a MP raise. Flop was empty something like 257 or something. He checks behind, I value bet, he makes a huge over-shove (something like shoving 70k into a 6k bet). I'm thinking 'lol' and snap call. Shamefully shows QJ. WP by me i guess :)
Ended the day by counting my massive chip pyramid and decided to play jenga with my stack (to the displeasure of the other players around me. oops).
April:
Played UKSPC in birmingham. I wasn't that impressed at a 2-day 30 quid freezeout so I proposed a few prop bets with dannyg1989 and daveyboy for 30 quid each. They both busted 8 hours in and I managed to make day 2 with 150k and 2nd chip leader (1st was a good friend of mine from warwick).
It's hard to explain how I managed to 15x my starting stack in a day. I went from starting to 14k and then down to 4k in the first hour. Managed to make a hero call with ace high on a low paired board and it was good. Thinking about it now, it was probably a bad call.
I moved tables 4 hours later with a 50k stack. People aweing at my massive stack and the chip pyramids I was building with them. On the 2nd table, I spewed down to 30ish thousand after making too many light 3 bets. Managed to spin back up to 70 after making another hero call with 2nd pair on an AJxxx board (although I was distracted by chatting to my friend while playing the hand) and it was somehow good.
Moved table another few hours later. Again, people I recognised from Warwick. With a huge chip stack, I started to play more hands in position and 3-betting more out. Even mixing up my game by slow-playing kings. Managed to get to 130k after I cold-called KK in the CO from a MP raise. Flop was empty something like 257 or something. He checks behind, I value bet, he makes a huge over-shove (something like shoving 70k into a 6k bet). I'm thinking 'lol' and snap call. Shamefully shows QJ. WP by me i guess :)
Ended the day by counting my massive chip pyramid and decided to play jenga with my stack (to the displeasure of the other players around me. oops).
Friday 13 May 2011
Quick Catch Up: WaSOP.Part 1
I've been meaning to finish these articles so let's go. The next few blogs are a few catch up blogs that I should've done ages ago but decide to do now since I have the free time.
March was one of the maddest times of my poker game. I began playing 50p/1quid cash games at G casino in Blackpool after realising I can crush this so easily by running good. (Up about 1.2k over the month). But it was also me coming back to my old uni and visiting old friends again.
But anyway, Warwick's taught me a lot of things. Probably more on poker and less about my degree really. But saying hi again to all my degenerate friends was a nice thing to do. That and playing the annual Warwick Series of Poker. Noticably cut down this year on numbers but didn't really stop me.
Friday, I decide to play the Omaha. Nothing special. I reship AAQT double suited into KKxx with her spades covered. Flops a king for a set. sigh.
Saturday was Main Event day. Going to isle brought back a few memories of my sick blackjack run and also my 2 year streak of never making day 2. This year however, we flip things round and I go on the WORST ever blackjack run (which i thought was never possible) and somehow made day 2 as chip leader!
I probably had a feeling things were going my way when I 3-bet Janiner (PS I hate the person who made this hand the best hand in poker...) and managed to bluff everyone off on the river. Was worth a laugh at least.
From starting stack of 10k, I span up to 24k from knocking out Rob Cockerill, who decides to check/raise into me when I had the nuts on the turn. So that's a small thanks to him.
Went up to 35k without much effort and making nice calls and good folds aginst players. Also failed to make Chris Payne fold AQ on a draw heavy board. and quite standardly decides to shout 'BOOM' as he realises it's good.
Bout 4 hours in I got up to 60k from a huge hand when I wake up with AA UTG, and Matt Curtis, another Warwick mate of mine, has 88s but we get set-over-set after I decide to make the most unusual play with the nuts on the board.
During the day, I noticed people were trying to bluff into me more. either becuase i was the chip leader or playing against some bad players. Probably a mixture of both reasons. But I ended up chip leader, ending the day with 70k. Didn't seem so bad :)
March was one of the maddest times of my poker game. I began playing 50p/1quid cash games at G casino in Blackpool after realising I can crush this so easily by running good. (Up about 1.2k over the month). But it was also me coming back to my old uni and visiting old friends again.
But anyway, Warwick's taught me a lot of things. Probably more on poker and less about my degree really. But saying hi again to all my degenerate friends was a nice thing to do. That and playing the annual Warwick Series of Poker. Noticably cut down this year on numbers but didn't really stop me.
Friday, I decide to play the Omaha. Nothing special. I reship AAQT double suited into KKxx with her spades covered. Flops a king for a set. sigh.
Saturday was Main Event day. Going to isle brought back a few memories of my sick blackjack run and also my 2 year streak of never making day 2. This year however, we flip things round and I go on the WORST ever blackjack run (which i thought was never possible) and somehow made day 2 as chip leader!
I probably had a feeling things were going my way when I 3-bet Janiner (PS I hate the person who made this hand the best hand in poker...) and managed to bluff everyone off on the river. Was worth a laugh at least.
From starting stack of 10k, I span up to 24k from knocking out Rob Cockerill, who decides to check/raise into me when I had the nuts on the turn. So that's a small thanks to him.
Went up to 35k without much effort and making nice calls and good folds aginst players. Also failed to make Chris Payne fold AQ on a draw heavy board. and quite standardly decides to shout 'BOOM' as he realises it's good.
Bout 4 hours in I got up to 60k from a huge hand when I wake up with AA UTG, and Matt Curtis, another Warwick mate of mine, has 88s but we get set-over-set after I decide to make the most unusual play with the nuts on the board.
During the day, I noticed people were trying to bluff into me more. either becuase i was the chip leader or playing against some bad players. Probably a mixture of both reasons. But I ended up chip leader, ending the day with 70k. Didn't seem so bad :)
Monday 9 May 2011
Top of Google!
Type in Ho Train Poker on Google and My blog pops up! Wow! I'm surprised there is no one else in the world called ho train and plays poker!
Anyway, I broke out of my overdraft at the start of march and immediately back in again After a very big losing session live which put me on tilt, my online accounts have slowly been opening up again (I self excluded myself so I could revise). Went back on full tilt using the FTPs I had and made my first ever MTT online final table! Unfortunately, I ran bad and came 9th for 560 dollars.
Being the spewtard that I was (hence the title of this blog), I immediately sat down heads up at a 3/6 game. Unfortunately, my opponent clearly knew I was the equivalent of Tom Dwan with a much smaller bankroll and sat out. Instead I played 10 minutes of 2/4 against some other guy. Came out with an extra $50 from betting a lot I guess.
Other things, My stars account is reopening in time just before SCOOP finishes so I might try to buy myself in to the Main Event and play a few satelites to big tourneys if I'm lucky. Also got a freeroll WSOP seat to take down as well.
Hopefully, this month should be my 'ship it' month. Then again, we all like 'ship it' months every month!
Anyway, I broke out of my overdraft at the start of march and immediately back in again After a very big losing session live which put me on tilt, my online accounts have slowly been opening up again (I self excluded myself so I could revise). Went back on full tilt using the FTPs I had and made my first ever MTT online final table! Unfortunately, I ran bad and came 9th for 560 dollars.
Being the spewtard that I was (hence the title of this blog), I immediately sat down heads up at a 3/6 game. Unfortunately, my opponent clearly knew I was the equivalent of Tom Dwan with a much smaller bankroll and sat out. Instead I played 10 minutes of 2/4 against some other guy. Came out with an extra $50 from betting a lot I guess.
Other things, My stars account is reopening in time just before SCOOP finishes so I might try to buy myself in to the Main Event and play a few satelites to big tourneys if I'm lucky. Also got a freeroll WSOP seat to take down as well.
Hopefully, this month should be my 'ship it' month. Then again, we all like 'ship it' months every month!
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