When the offers get above £30k, then my usual caution gets increased unless the board is ultra-strong and it would have needed another 2 5-figure amounts on the board today for that to be the case.

I must admit the analogy i used comes from the banker!! hes used it in a game to get a player to deal a few times!

Mad Mark, I know I've been a bit harsh on you when there's been (in my eyes) an unaviodable low blue win but that post is why I'd give you respect any day. Well said.

(sadly I agree with you about when your non-mad namesake returns but we'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it I guess)!!!

The forum seems a much more serene place today. Wonder Why?

Thought Ali played the game well, The £40k at 8 box was a very good offer, he may have had 4 of the power 5 still in play but there was no back up and a bad round would inevitably knock the offer down considerably. As it turned out £28k wouldn't have been a nice safety net, and I assume from the BG that the Banker would have offered around £40k again at 2 box - in which case I would have been willing him to deal

Mark Dade banned! Aside from Wales losing this has been a very good day!

Expect today's (Sunday's) game thread to be much quieter, and maybe even only 2 pages long

I agreed with Ali's deal, it was pretty generous compared with a lot of other offers on that board (especially Lance (£17.5k), Suzanne and Tony from April), he was just unlucky to have a big number in his box really. It probably woudl've taken a Kerry-Anne to accept the banker's gamble at the end

Thank you for the kind words, James . I've no harsh feelings towards you, despite your criticism over the years.

The whole banning of Mark Dade has opened my eyes about many things, including the fact that I myself have some shaping up to do, and that management doesn't take crap from anyone. I'm not really a troll; I just do it for laughs, mainly. Mark Dade is a real troll, and I imagine we'll be saying goodbye to him for good when he returns in a week's time.

In fact, as a means of distancing myself from the other Mark as much as possible, I am seriously considering a username change. I've been Mad Mark for six years and counting. It hasn't really done me any favours. I'm not actually "Mad" per se. In fact, I used to use that name as my on-air handle when I did radio work. But after six years, I'm probably due for a change.

I don't know what my new username will be, but it probably won't contain the name Mark. That name is linked to an obstinate individual, who, as I said, I wish to distance myself from.

Well he is one of the ones who can be really rude and actually calls early dealers who have a bigger number in their box all sorts I wont repeat here. Its true as well, when a deal goes right, they dont show up on facebook forum. To be honest the Mark on this forum has never been quite as rude as some of the ones on facebook, he was just obnoxiously blinkered into thinking going all the way is the only way to play the game.

I know you cant really judge a book by its cover but if you have a look at that srwilson's profile pic, and some of the other ohos, they dont strike me as being particularly brave looking individuals, and their posts appear to be full of the sort of bravado which I think is designed to highlight them as serious players to the banker; much in the same way as the people who go out of their way to be sweetly nice to ALL the players, I think they are of the opinion that these sites are looked at by the production team for potential players, but I think in both cases they are deluded, especially people who have a serious go at the players.

Anyway, whatever they feel at this point watching the games, speaking as one who knows and who did think at one point if the quarter of a million was still in play I would chance going on, as soon as you are standing there, and the money becomes real in your head, its a different boxgame all together.