I am teh win!!

Success!! Glorious and unexpected success. In short, my luck held for the last two days of a spectacular tournament to give me my first noteworthy tournament victory. I had said in my last update last Friday that I would need to not get unlucky to do well. I didn't. I got an incredible stroke of good fortune at the start of day two and, from then on, never got my entire tournament on the line without being a big statistical favorite - and held up every time. I would rather be lucky than good though - right?

Now this is going to be long. I will write about day one here in this first section. It will probably be the most boring section to read about but has real significance for me as the difference in how I felt on Friday night to Saturday night is something I will never forget. Also, I may get the minute details of some hands wrong. Please forgive me for my brain does try hard.

Day One

My first decision of the weekend happened to be an excellent one. Taking the day off work after four days of stressful overtime was most definitely + EV. I had a good lie in and a relaxed breakfast and gradually felt my way into the day. Jeff (DIT Poker on Boards) was dealing on the Friday night along with a couple of good friends of mine (Richie and Anto). It was a relief to not have to worry about trains and taxis. It was also nice to have a couple of mates to chat with on the way up. We went for an unnecessarily indulgent Eddie Rockets, played some Pro Evo as the lane (my Play Station incantation is an even dodgier goalkeeper than me...!!) and watched the Final Table of last summers Tournament of Champions. It was funny watching Andy Black blowing a gasket on TV (more of him later) - and Mike Sexton is one hell of a bloody player.

Got to the Hotel, registered and checked in. Gathered my thoughts and found Aenghus, Paddy Tobin and one of the Mayfair (Aenghus' card club in Arklow) regulars having a pint in the bar. I was horrendously nervous so I figured a pint or two would be a good idea. Those two rushed off to the tournament area and, like a clever fox, I moved over to Ehsan, Eoin Olin and Len to have another couple. It was with (rather well concealed) shock that I greeted late arrival Niall O'Callaghan's news that the tournament had started. Here was I boozing in the bar at 20:30, with the biggest tournament of my life going on in another part of the hotel. Sigh.

I eventually arrived to find the tournament a couple of hands in. It was really dark in the poker room for reasons unknown to me at the time (apparently a slide show had taken place). First table - not too bad. Brendan Walls and Adam Smith were the only two players I recognized. Brendan has been running very well and was off the back of an impressive result in Singapore. I was in seat three though, and he wasn't such an immediate factor for me from seat 7 (when I had excellent position, he would be OOP and vice versa). Seat two had what turned out be a very tight player - he played premium hands quite well but it was easy enough to figure out where I was with him. The two players to my left seemed slightly nervous, though there was a younger guy in four who gradually found his way into things and would be playing quite well by the fourth level. Seat eight had an older Northern lad - "Junior". He was a dangerous, aggressive opponent. he was very active early on, played position well and was fighting hard for every chip he put in the pot. One of Nicky Power's lads was in nine. I assumed that he would be very aggressive as Nicky had commented on this feature of the Waterford lads not so long ago on Boards. he played quite slow however, and I would be happy enough to know where I was with him.

While playing my first few hands Jeff wandered up catching me unawares. He shoved €50 in my pocket and noted that he had 5 percent of me. Sure Jeff. Sucker.

I started badly it must be said. I was getting involved OOP, was getting outplayed on the later streets and wasn't planning my hands well. I was all over the place to be honest and missing every flop I saw wasn't helping. A few minutes into the second level and I was down to 11,500 chips. I think I might of stolen a small pot before finally doing something well. I was dealt J7 (the magic J7!!) on the button. There were a couple of early position limpers including Adam Smith (seat 1). He had been active early on and seemed to have quite a range. He had bullied me off a pot about 20 mins in and was firing bullets on the later streets. The flop came A - 7 - 3 with two diamonds. It was checked around to me and I gave a free card. Turn was an offsuit eight and it was checked around to Smith who bet 400 (pot 500 on turn). I had a feeling that he wasn't that strong and I had position so I called. The river was another non - diamond eight. Only Smith and I were left. He bet 1000. Mmmm. I had promised that I would think things through in this tournament, so I didn't make the obvious insta - muck. I began to analyse the situation. If he has an A on a two diamond flop he should bet, right? I though he might check an 8 on the end as he likes to be tricky. I began thinking my seven was good. Call. He stops and taps the table and I flip over my rubbish pair, rubbish kicker. Oh boy. He wasn't happy about that I can tell you. He starts making faces and sweats me by re - examining his cards for about 40 seconds before discarding them without showing. He along with Junior at the other end of the table started sniggering and making sly comments that read: THIS MAN IS A FISH. Grand so said I. But inside my head there was a little man who was clenching his fist and telling me that I had every right to be here. First break I was back to 14,000 - which wasn't bad considering that I had struggled early doors.

15,000 would become some sort of Everest for me over the next couple of hours. I would get up a bit and sink back down. I played a bad hand against Junior when I went against my internal logic and paid off his two pair on the turn with pocket 77, and then failed to bluff the completed flush when he checked to me on the river. Got back up a small bit and found AhAd on the small blind. Limper, raise to 700, I make it 2000. Small Blind deliberates for a few seconds before re - popping me to 7,000. YIPPEE!!!! Folded back around to me and I go AAAwwww IIInnn. He insta - calls and turns over two Black Aces. FFS. It is funny what effect this has on you. I was pretty card dead and in need of a boost. When he re - raised me I thought KK and double up time. Instead, all I got was a measly 300 chips. Boo!!

However, I was murdering poor Adam Smith. 88 in early position. He limps, I make it 650. Flop is A - K - 4 (2 hearts). He checks, I bet 1100. He calls. River is a dangerous off - suit 10, lol. He checks and I fire 3000 into the pot. He clearly doesn't like that, but I figure he can't call with what I presume is a flush draw or weak A. He mucks. I'm feeling good. Over 15,000 at the second break and Joe "the show" gets moved to the table. We are both wearing DIT poker hoodies which is good for a laugh or two (considering we have absolutely no affiliation to the place - we're sponsored like!!). Joe is heavily involved as usual and gets very lucky in a pot to keep him alive. Bob Battersby then gets moved to our table and a heavily debated pot (between Jeff and Anto that is) takes place. I get JJ in mid position. Folded to me and I make it 1600 (blinds 200 - 400). Short stack in five after being unlucky to Joe shoves in for 3600 (grand). Bob (who has a huge tank over 40,000) flat calls. Oh - no. In that spot, I would have thought that a flat call from 75% of players in the field would mean an absolute monster. He knows I have raised, and he still flat calls. Now, as pointed out on Boards - against Bob I should have insta - shoved. Simple as. If I was unsure about where I was I should still have seen a flop given the monster odds, as it would probably have been checked to the end anyway. However, I decided I needed a set to beat Bob and folded. Made the mistake of showing it too (I'm a muppet). Short - stack shows KK and Bob shows 88. Flop comes J - 6 - 6 to roars of derision from Joe.

I get moved table soon after to find Andy Black to my immediate left at a table that has a few big tanks and a recently relocated Adam Smith (excellent for me that) at the other end. In my head I was thinking that I had thrown away my chance to accumulate chips and get into this thing. I am all at sea so to speak. I have a terrible hour. I try to chop around in a few pots without any success. With blinds at 300 - 600 in the cut - off I find A - Js in the cutoff after it is folded round and raise to 2,000. Blind is that of a tough Dublin player named John (not sure of surname). He thinks for quite a while before putting out enough chips to stick me in (11,500). I am in a place at this point where I could just throw it all away. And I want to. He is the kind of player capable of a move. I nearly call, I really do. However that little guy wags his finger and reminds me that we didn't come to this thing to go out calling behind. I'm not sure so I fold. He doesn't show but was to tell me at the dinner break on the Saturday that he had A - K. At the final break I am left with just over 8,000 chips. I am feeling slightly ill and very hard done by. Head back to the Hotel room to try and pull myself together. Decide that I am not going down without a fight. Lets go.

I come out firing and start open pushing to take blinds. Get up to 11,000 or so. Make it 2,500 on Adam Smith's blind with 44. He calls. The two of us see a flop of 5-5-k. He checks, I check. Turn is a 10. I know he is going to bet and I know that I am going to push. Its a simple game really. He bets 3,500 and I push my remaining 8,500 in after a slight hesitation. He dwells for a long time but finds a fold declaring that "a King is no good there is it?". I tell him it isn’t while mucking. So, 25 minutes after being dead I'm up to 19,000 chips - my chip high of the tournament. Andy has taken a couple of hits and has 8,100 chips left. I find AQ UTG plus 2. Make it 2,500. Andy insta - pushes behind me. Folded back around. I decide his range his big and that he either has a weak A or a small pair. Eventually I find a call and he turns over A9o. I tap the table only to see a powerful ugly 9 appear on the flop. AAAAaaaaaaGGGGGGhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! Within a half an hour Andy has 45,000 chips in front of him as he tries to convince me that it was a race: "I had 3 outs five times - and that’s not counting the straight or flush draws". FFS. I am slinking out of this tournament and decide to take something out of it by chatting to the great one for a few minutes about the psychology of poker. Andy Black is quite a character it must be said. Slightly bonkers but really interesting. Aenghus is briefly moved to my right and says that he is having a tough night before we are broken up (he will exit when he gets it in 1010 vs. AA pre - flop). I shake Andy's head and note that it was a pleasure. And it was, in a manner of speaking.

Moved to a table that has monster stacks 10 minutes into the 500 - 1,000 level. Brendan Walls is briefly to my left before he is unluckily busted by Leonard from the Fitz after cleverly getting himself in the middle with AA against QQ. Q on the flop. Sick. Kevin Fitzpatrick is two to my right, while Willow is short - stacked and referring to me as "Mark" for some unknown reason. Nice fella Kevin.

I have 8,000 chips and am pushing or folding. It is hard though as the table is quite active and aggressive and doesn’t want to feed the Bear (me). I open push with anything half - decent if folded to me late but get no action. And I am so card dead, that I never find a hand to make a stand with in my blinds or when there has been a raise or a couple of limpers. I open push with KK (the one hand I find) in early position and get no action. The day is wrapping up fast though as play will end with either 63 left or the end of the eight level. In the end, 63 comes first and I am left utterly dejected on 5,700 chips. It really is a case of what might have been. I played the JJ hand all wrong and threw away a good spot to get chips. I eventually found some rhythm and was about to get 28,000 chips infront of me when Andy had the temerity to suck - out. However, I tried to look on the positives. I made some good moves on Adam Smith. I didn't see much in the way of starting hands or "you complete me" flops. I was still there. Two weeks earlier after a Lane match, Stephen McClean had told me that just being there on the second day was good. At 5:30 on Saturday morning - I couldn't have disagreed more.

Back to the hotel and it was impossible to get a drink or a sandwich. Why wouldn't a hotel take advantage of idiot poker players with more money than sense? When anyone asked how I am doing I referred to myself as "on a life-support machine with full ventilator". I got to my bed hungry and depressed, and fell asleep to the HOH section on how to play "Red zone M" poker (M of 1 - 5 - mine would be under four).