State of the nation

Hope everyone had a good Christmas. I usually do a long annual review but I'm just not in the writing rambling mode ATM and feel it wouldn't be interesting for me to write or for anyone to read. 

I didn't have a great year poker-wise, but I didn't really play that much poker over the year compared to previously.

The Hendon Mob database will show six cashes for a total of $30,000. I probably did about $20,000 in buy-ins over the year if even that, and wouldn't have played more than 15-18 tournaments that register on the HMD.

 It's not as abysmal as last year anyway, and the fact that Boyles sponsored me for my tournament entries mean that at least the $30k was profit.


The highlight of the year was a semi-deep run at the Irish Open. I had a lovely stack deep into Day 2 but made a big call, which was wrong and saw me return day three with a playable 30 bigs. I got unlucky in a hand with four tables remaining and bar that a final table was a definite possibility.

The year was going very bad for me punting wise and doing €25,000 in May sports betting more or less meant no Vegas - I really couldn't face doing another 25k over there and I'm sure that's what would have happened had I went as the noggin wasn't in the right place.

I hit a punting downswing for six months in the middle of the year that was character building. Thankfully things picked up significantly from October on or I could have been busking to get over the Christmas.

In general I think 2011 was a very good year for Irish poker, mostly down to Eoghan and Dermot final tabling the WSOP & WSOPE main events. There were more events than ever played in the country and generally numbers held up well in very difficult financial times for people.

Hopefully, this remains the case for the year ahead - I'm really looking forward to kicking it off with Ireland's first WPT next week, what better way to start the year then a major buy in at City West. Anyhow, thanks to everyone who read the blog over the year, I wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year!

Macau Winter Festival

If I'm ever feeling poker isn't going great, the answer is always to go and play in Cork.

There's number of factors in play here, good banter at the tables, I generally run well and I pass the accounting practice I used to work in on the drive to Cork.

An office environment was never really for me, I'm much more suited to gambling and golfing everyday, and passing that place always brings into perspective how lucky I've been to be able to do what I like everyday for the past six year since I left that job.

I arrived at about 45 minutes into level one and proceeded to add 30% to my starting stack the very first hand I sat for. I raised Qc10c, hit queens full of tens, and got 120 big blinds of value from the hand.

My starting table was decent with plenty of banter. John Keown & Lucky Jimmy McSweeney are always great craic and good action players so it was a very enjoyable table for me.

We were only playing seven levels on day one and I got a big double in the last level where I made a call for all my chips on the turn with top top against Tony 'the coo' Cooneys 75 big blind check shove. I felt I was good and this was the case, so I had a nice stack to head back with on the Saturday.

I had played Thursday and after Friday's Day 1B play 45 was returning of the 94 starters with me lying third in chips. With15 players left I had a 1/4 of a million and was feeling pretty good about things. I had a steady enough day without ever being under any pressure. I then lost 170k pot to the eventual second AsQs v his KK, the QSS flop looked well but I didn't improve.

It had bee a long day and I was anxious to watch the golf from Dubai the next morning so I suggested to pay two extra places so we could get finished for the night at about 2.30am. Everyone seems happy enough with this, our table was very closely matched in chips and no one was really going to be able to run over the bubble.

I was home at 4.15 and up at 8 for the golf. I got a nice little scoop from Quiros on a spread market, but that was to be the highlight of the day. I had 153k returning, which was above average, but I just couldn't get anything going in the first two levels of the Sunday.

My seat draw wasn't great, Albert Kenny on my direct left, the shove happy Mark Spellman next and then eventual winner Jamie Flynn. Spellman must have shoved over 80% of my opens in those first two hours and with the blinds rising I was left with a shoving stack myself. My 19 bigs went in over a Jamie min open holding 33, he had 1010 so out the gap.

Obviously disappointing to bubble the final table, but it hasn't changed enthusiasm for playing poker in Cork and nice to end the year with a cash. I still had an interest with 10% of Bops who put in a good performance to finish 5th. Well done to Jamie on the win, I flagged him as one to watch earlier in the year in the blog and know the [W] meant a lot to him.

It's an addiction

I suffer from a golf watching addiction, if there's golf on the TV from anywhere in the world I cant not watch it. This time of year it's all from Asia and the Southern Hemisphere so I'm pulling a lot of all nighters. 

I had a good bet on Germany each way in the world cup last weekend. They looked a bit off the pace going into Fridays third round, which suited me as I had to head up to Dublin early Saturday morning to do the commentary for the IPO Final table.

I went to bed about two, was reading for a bit and decided to check the scores on the phone before I slept. Germany were -6 through nine holes and joint leaders. This meant getting up to watch the rest of the round, and heading to Dublin with no sleep.

I enjoyed covering the final table with the legend that is Padraig Parkinson. The three Irish lads put in great performances, huge well done to Rory, Paul and Mark. Considering they were the bottom three in chips going into the day, to finish, 6th, 3rd & 2nd was super stuff. Also, congratulations to 2011 IPO champion Luke Martens.

John took over from me at around six to allow me head into the Fitz for their festival main event. If I'm honest I'd have rathered go home to bed as I was fairly shattered. As it turned out this would of been a good move, as I never got going in the event.


I exited in the 300-600-25 level shoving 22 big blinds with 22 over an UTG raise. A very questionable shove and staying with a trend in recent tournaments for me, I walked straight into the aces again. I got home about 1 am and there was only one thing to do - stay up all night again watching the golf!

         

WSOP's

It seems there's been a poker festival in one form or another every weekend for the past four months in Ireland and quiet frankly something had to give. Unfortunately it gave at one of the best value, best structured and most professionally run tournament of the year, JP's mini WSOP.

JP must be puling his hair out trying to fathom why his numbers are down so much; he really does focus on players needs first and provides excellent events. Having said all that, and even with a 40% reduction in numbers, I can't praise this festival enough, such a great weekend.

My tournament went the way of recent events for me and I walked into aces again early enough, so out the gap. The taker of my chips was very happy anyway going by the screaming and hollering she did after the hand, , it’s was exactly the reaction I always wished I could get from women, WP Michelle.

I did indulge in a lot of alcohol after my exit and had a great night. JP is some man in fairness, I left his room at 9 am after a messy drunken sit and  go and he was still playing with the lads. Yet he was somehow like a new pin in his TD roll at two pm just five hours later.

I on the other hand was spent and couldn't face playing any side events, so I headed home to watch the breeders cup & the golf from China. Thankfully Kaymer rediscovered his form and booked me a nice touch.   

I feel I've definitely played two many low buy in festivals over the last few months and it's something I'm going to have to look at. I love the game, however you need play with enthusiasm and you need a competitive drive, I have been going to tournaments with neither. I'm not playing badly but I do feel I'm just going through the motions a lot of the time recently, and not giving 100%.  As I said it's something I need to think about.

Like every other poker player in the country who wasn't in Vegas, I was glued to the live stream as Eoghan O' Dea lived out all our dream at the WSOP final table. Eoghan can be very proud of how he played and how he carried himself through out the event and especially last night. He showed a lot of class and was a great ambassador for Irish poker players.     

 



   

IWF

The weekends Irish Winter Festival was a bit of a non event for me, disappointing as it's one of the best chances of a touch each year.

I knew 2009 IWF champ Micheal O'Sulivan and Tom Kitt on my starting table, the rest were a mixed bunch, but none were throwing their chips away. There was an active German who was in a lot of pots and I still cant decide whether he was good or not but apart from him it was a stagnant enough grind of a table.

I lost two decent pots in the early levels. Pot one I lost the least with a flopped set against a turned flush.  The second was more expensive with AJ on an AAxxx board verses the Germans AQ. This saw me drop to 6k, but I chipped back up to starting in two hands where I pulled fairly dangerous tournament ending moves if I got called.

I dropped to 12k in the level after dinner and the table broke. My new table looked a different preposition with a chipped up Mick-G on my right and Niall Smyth and a busy English player I had played with at the IO on my left, both with stacks.

I'd say the average stack on the table was 25k and after two rounds I had 10k and an old American guy open shipped 24k UTG, I look down at AhKh in the cut off.

It's an 80 big blind shove that I really don't have to call and my gut says no. I then start thinking this is the best hand I've seen in six hours and I need a chip at this table.

I've seen some funny shit at the tables in my time so talk myself into the call, sure enough the guy turns over the aces and I'm out.

Great to see an Irish 1-2-3 in the event and a big Congratulations to John, Noel & Chris on their performances.

This weekend it's the JP mini WSOP  game in the Maldron Hotel, This event is the best structured mid-low buy in of the year with an enormous amount of play for the €360 buy in. If you want to experience a tournament run like clockwork with a major events feel for a fraction of the price, do not miss this.    

      

 

       

Oh what fun we had ....

I think  it's fair to say that last weekends IPO was a resounding success, it certainly ticked all the boxes for my own criteria for a magic poker festival.

The team IPO deserve huge plaudits here as amazingly the main event produced the 2nd largest field ever assembled in the history of European poker, just falling just shy of IPO 2009, which holds the record. Almost 1400 souls turned out in the Regency, which just goes to show how much the poker community love this event.

My own tournament didn't go well, I started badly dropping to 10k, I rallied to 30k fairly quickly, and then lost them as quickly going out in the 300-600 level.

Cal McCarty my mentee in the Boylepoker mentor challenge involving John and myself; thankfully managed to hang in a good bit longer and we scooped that one at least - so big well played to Cal, great working with you through the event.  

My early exit freed me up to do some promotional duties for Boylepoker. I suppose some may question whether drinking copious amounts of the black stuff constitutes a duty. However I feel it's very important to meet people at the various bars during the event.

I did partake in a number of commentary stints over the weekend and if I say so myself, we did a jolly good job on that. The stint I did Saturday night with John and Ciaran will probably go down  as a benchmark moment in live streaming poker history. We certainly moved the goal posts from what is the norm; it was some craic doing it with the lads and the feedback was very good so hopefully we didn't offend too many.

One deplorable incident I witnessed while in the commentary booth on Saturday evening needs to be brought to people's attention. Mick McClosky coolered Iain Cheyne in a hand to knock him out. Upon Iain leaving the table Mick leaped from his seat and performed a number of pelvic thrusts. A truly horrid scene and one I hope to never to witness at a poker event again.

I do have to apologies to one punter over another incident in toilets. I was entering a cubicle and chatted briefly to a lad at the sink when John made it known that he was in the cubicle next door, with cottaging references.

Aghast at such a suggestion I decided while washing my hands, I'd throw some water over John's door. At the exact time the water flew over the right cubicle, John emerged from the left one. We obviously legged it.

It really was such a great few days and after a plethora of nondescript events, this was an Irish poker festival at it's very best. A huge well done to team IPO for producing a tremendous event, and congratulations to the final eight, all who cashed, and indeed all who partook -  roll on IPO 2012.          

   

         

     

             

     

It’s the IPO !!

Well it's time for another Boylepoker IPO festival, or 'the peoples tournament' as I call it. This is probably my favorite poker weekend of the whole year.

The tournament is simply a celebration of the game of poker and a wonderful time is always assured. Win or lose this weekend, everyone goes home with a smile on their face.

If you haven't gotten you place already there's 10 IPO Seats guaranteed tonight in the IPO mega sat at nine and direct buy in registration is open until Thursday.

After the glut of events in September I've been taking it easy last couple of weeks. I did play the John Hennessy memorial tournament in The Poker Lounge, Waterford on Saturday night. This was a €110 freezout with €20 of the buy in going to charity.

There was a good few faces from around the country in attendance, including Jason Tompkins, Paul Lucy and Derek & Phil Baker. I flopped a couple of early sets in the game and got a good stack, eventually chopping it four way for €900.


It was a really good atmosphere in the club, and on the nights over €5,000 was raised for the local Hospice, a fantastic effort and well done to everyone involved, it just goes to show the generosity of the poker community.


Phil Baker deserves a special mention as he did a super job as auctioneer on the night and definitely added at least 25% value to the items sold with his harassment of the bidders.

One class moment occurred when the bidding was on an overnight stay with Dinner for two at the moorings Dungarvan valued at about €160. Someone was slagging Tommy Walsh, and Tommy gave them the two fingers; Phil snapped in straight away with sold to Tommy for €200.