More people have commented to me in person on my last post then any other I've made since I started the blog. I didn't think it was that negative but I guess it can be seen that way when people are used to me being generally upbeat about poker. In level five of this years IPC I went card dead and it feels that I've been looking at 94os for the last nine months since that point. I don't care who the fuck you are you cant win that much at this game if the only ammunition your getting it tripe to play with, hence the last post. Subjective perspectives in poker are the reason so many bad players keep playing the game. I like to think I'm objective and realistic about having a terrible distribution of starting hands all year but could be just kidding myself without stats to back it up; either way I definitely ran much better then I have been in Killarney the weekend.
I have yet to play in a better venue for a poker tournament then the INEC Killarney and a fantastic 750 players started the main event. I would rather of not had Paul Lecky with direct position on me but apart from that I had a good starting table. I ran top two into a set early, shortly after flopped two set in quick succession. It was all rather insignificant though as the hands occurred in the unnecessary 25/25 level and none of the pots were bigger then 4k.
For most of the day I wasn't above 17k or under 13k so pretty uneventful stuff. I got a table move just into the last and picked up a good pot with aces. Heading into the last 30 minutes I knew many players would be locking up for the day so decided to up it a gear and chip up. I raise 5h3h in early position, two callers including BB. Flop comes 662, I lead for 2200 get re popped by BB to 7100. Now I think I can fold out a lot of hands here but when my 26k shove get called A6 isn't one of them. Its one of those ones that when you walk into a hand you look tick but I'm happy enough with it. So off to the bar for a very long night.
It was touch and go weather I even entered the €300 side event; I was glad I did in the end. Didn't seem like I was going anywhere in this and dropped to 6k into level two. Twice in that level I was all in on the river with total air. The first when I double floated a scandi and shoved the river when he checked. Second one was a triple barrel against an older guy chasing down a flush draw. Got a table move and cant remember any hands but got the 13k i arrived with to 50k by the end of play when 60 of the 275 starters remained.
Fairly good table coming back with myself and Derek Murry being the most active but in general not tangling with each other. I got a good stack when I cracked aces with kings for 50% of my chips but gave them back as soon as I got them, running into aces again. When the money broke I was short enough but that average blinds were about 15 so it was about running good from here on in. I won a race against Oz three tables out and one against a young lad from Tralee on the second last table.
When the final started I was one of the lower stacks. Vivian Hyland and Derek were on the FT which being the superstitious fool I am; I took as as good omen as the last time I shared a FT with both I won ( winter festival Cork 05 ). When my first raise was snapped off I was left with 89k, blinds 6k/12 2 ante. Easy stack to push and by the time we hit 8k/15k I had pushed to about 230k. I then doubled when I pushed over Paul Carr from Limericks open with AJ and ran into a good Scottish lads KK; sweet A on the flop.
I then take out Paul when I raise 8h10h utg, he calls from the blind and I check behind a 10 5 2 flop. The turn is an eight giving me top two, Paul check raises me all in with a flushdraw and I hold. The Scottish lad Richard got Derek in a race and shortly after knocks out the 4th and 3rd leaving him with about a 5/1 chip lead for the heads up which was pretty epic if over quickly. In the space of six hands I turned around the 5/1 disadvantage to a 5/1 lead and was back to where I started, when he offered a 15/13k split in his favor. It was about €1,200 more then my chips were worth and wining the title didn't mean anything to me so I was happy enough to deal. All in all delighted with the result. 13k is a decent result in an Irish tournament, Its the equivalent of what 4th got for the Irish Classic this year and over twice what I got for 13th in the winter festival last year; so a super return for the €300 entry.
My heat of Late Night Pokerstars heat went out Sunday night. I missed it as was still playing in Killarney but caught it Monday. Happy enough with how I came across, I was a bit worried as I had been on the beer before they shot it. John Higgins got a load of stick on boards for being pissed. John made the mistake of thinking he could out drink Parky. I arrived in the city west at 3 and the lads were having a few at that stage. The filming of our heat was to start at 7 but didn't get going until nine by which stage a few of us were well oiled but John was twisted. I went for a piss about 15 minutes before filming started and John was asleep on a sink in the jaxx. John was great craic all day and hey, who hasn't got a little caught up in the beer at a poker event in the city west from time to time.