Congratulations to Nicky Power who took down the hotly contested €300 Charity event in his usual i
nimitable style. 127 players contested this event and the action was thick and fast from the start. All the travelling players, professional and amateur alike, madeit their business to support this worthwhile cause.In the end, a final table was made in the early hours of Monday morning and included some well known faces such as Anto O'Callaghan, Trevor McGoona and Nicky Power. After a fiercesome heads-up battle between Nicky and Anto, Nicky was to eventually emerge the victor and claim the €7,500 first prize.
It was the second year a Waterford man triumphed in the event with Pat Storan having lifted the honours in 2008. Power also follows in the footsteps of former world champion Noel Furlong who won the event in 2007. The €330 event, of which €100 went directly to homeless charities in Ireland, raised €18,200 for Galway Simon and once all pledges are collected is expected to reach €40,000, with Dublin Simon and Brother Kevin of the Capuchin Day Centre the beneficiaries.
Padraig Parkinson, one of the organizers of the event, added, “We’d like to thank everyone who played and all the companies who contributed financially to the success of the event. Without them it wouldn’t exist and we’re deeply grateful.”
I hit the bar after my exit from the IPC main event so was in good spirit when the "Poker for the Homeless" event started at nine. I never drink when playing larger buyins these days which is very different from when I started out but allow myself a few drinks for the last game of festivals. Having said that I wasnt going to throw my chips away as this event carries more prestige then the entry fee merits. The fact that my buddy Pat Storan was the defending champion also added a little spice to the event for me.
With a 6k starting stack it was going to be a fast enough structure and I got the perfect start when Dave Masters doubled me up early when I held the rockets. The tourna
ment defining hand came for me when 50 or so of the 130 starters remained. You know the Father Ted episode where Dougal sees the big red "do not press" button on the plane; its a bit like that. Blinds 300/600 100 ante, I'm playing 20k in SB when UTG raises 1800 and gets three callers. I'm small blind with J9os and about to fold when the do not press button appears in my mind and off course I shove. UTG calls and I four flush his AK on the river, luclkbox.This gives me a nice stack to cruise to the last two tables where I get a big double with QQ just before the final table. Chip leader going into the FT but the structure is fast with about 12 bigblind average and I think six of the nine are within four blinds of me. The line up included Trevor McGoona Anto O'Callagham, Adam Fallon and Rory Hogan who finished second to me in a tournament in Limerick last year.
The FT went well enough for me I made a big call with A10 to knock out the 4th place finisher and was in a good position when I took a hit three handed. Rory pushes the button for 100k Anto playing 200k called as do I playing 400k with KQs. Flop comes Qk3 with two of a suit and Anto folds to my bet. Rory has 108os so is drawing fairly slim but hits running tens. I get HU with Anto eventually and we split the cash for €6,000 each but both of us want the trophy. I win it in a race with A10 verses 66.
KQQ, decent flop for A10
Theres a $1,000 freeroll on Thursday with a $200 bounty on my head which should be a bit of craic on Brucepoker at eight. Also looking forward to the Brucepoker.com sponsored Lakes of Killareny festival; Details here. This festival was absolutely brilliant last year, fantastic structure and the hotel catered for every need at a super price for the quality of the place.
