Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Quilted


I was in Galway (briefly) last weekend for the Eglington’s Casino, rather grandly named Chieftain of the Tribes tournament. It was a €350 game with 110 runners and a very good structure.

I only lasted into the fourth level, bluffing off my stack shoving on the river, when I didn’t think I’d get called; I did. I felt it was a good spot the way the hand played out but I picked the wrong client who had rivered top pair when in the hand on a flush draw.

I had gotten of to a good start adding 25% to my starting stack in level one, but a few reversals had me playing my exit hand with 75 big blinds. Typing it here now it’s becoming clear that it was probably an unnecessary risk I was taking in the hand.

Not having booked anywhere accommodation wise I didn’t hang around. Galway was booked out the weekend, I had checked a few online sites and the likes of travel lodge were priced at €500 a night. Upon further investigation I found out the scarcity of rooms was because of a huge influx of people for the International Quilting Festival.

Not being familiar with the term Quilting, but assuming it had some sexual connotation, I checked the ‘Urban Dictionary’. This defines quilting as  The act of removing one's clothes as a professional stripper”. Could it be every hotel in Galway was filled with stripper for the weekend? Nope I’m afraid not, it was filled with people who made or had interests in fabric quilts.

Big shout out to tournament director extraordinaire JP McCann or as I rather refer to him “the Irish Elky”. JP became a player for the weekend and put in a splendid effort to finish 4th, in the poker tournament that was, not the quilting.

I played the WSOP mega satt on Boylepoker Sunday night. Got off to a flyer in this and was 2nd in chips a few hours into the tournament. Hopes were high of binking one of the 20 x $13,500 packages, but I lost a big flip AK v JJ just inside 80 players, exiting shortly after.

Finally it’s the US open this week and at the risk of being unoriginal I’m backing Kaymer EW and 18/1 top European. As much as Augusta doesn’t suit Herr Kaymers swing; this place is made for it, with fading the ball off the tee a must.