Ive decided to go play the Prague EPT. We are flying out next sunday, and staying for 1 week. Its a good schedule, as well as the 5k main event, theres a 2k, 1k and 500 side events, and im in good tourney form, so hopeful of some sort of result.
As its a big buy in, ive sold 50% of my action, i posted a thread on boards about this , and have a great response from backers, i coulda sold well over 100%. Im happy to play for 50% myself, as its such a huge prize pool, it will still be a tremendous touch. With travel costs and hotel fees, its basically a 6k buy in tourney for me, so ive sold at €600 for 10%. I feel i have an edge over the average player in this field, so it should hopefully still represent value for investors.
Anyway, never been to prague before, so it should be nice to see, although i believe its actually quite an expensive place nowadays, not like it used to be.
Nicky Power is going, he won a seat online, so is cash game player Gavin "valor" Kelly, Mike Lacey and Nicky O Donnell are going to report, and kp is coming with me to play the omaha cash games, so theres a fair gang of us going over.
Anyone wondering about my online challenge, well , i still havent started it, been too busy with all the live play, will take it easy this week id imagine, preparing myself for Prague.
I will however be taking in the 10k gtd, €300 freezeout in the Jackpot on friday, in a bid to get the few ranking points i need to go top of the standings.
Also, the boards poll for offline player of the year should be out tomorrow, ive been nominated for that, and its always nice to do well in such things, so get your voting hats on !!
Finally, a big thank you to all of you who have supported me in my Prague mission, and hopefully i will have a nice result to bring home next week. Updates for this event will be found on most of the leading update sites, such as blondepoker and cardplayer.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
the betfair cork open
Took wednesday off and headed down to cork on the train with kp on thurday. We got there mid afternoon, checked into the lovely Clarion, then went for a swim, jacuzzi, ordered a nice meal into the room, and a nap. Its a quality hotel, except for their internet policy, which basically, whilst they advertise free access via wireless in all rooms, they block you from most sites you would be vaguely interested in surfing, including all poker sites. Apparently this is "to save the reputation of the hotel", although, what we do in our own room on our own laptop, is our business in my opinion. Anyway, we were aware of this policy, which basically stops us from working, as its our profession, from the last time we stayed there, and with no intent to play online at the moment, we went there again anyway.
Headed over to the Macau, which is 5 mins walk away, a lovely club, with a nice design, nice tables, good dealers, and they even do decent food, its also well ran by Ken Corkery in my opinion, however, its fecking roasting in there, probably on a par with the albeit slightly below temperature sauna we briefly also tried a few hours earlier.
The super sat scheduled for 7pm had just started, bang on time and with 165 runners and a full house, this generated 17 seats for the main event. I played ok to be honest, and with 34 left, and me just below average, but needing one more sizeable pot to secure a ticket, i got all in with KK vs someones QQ and got spiked out on on the turn, meh. Played some cash after this and won 310, to finish 200 up on the night.
Friday came around and the main event started at 7. 128 runners i think there was, and with 75 minute clock, and 15k stack, i was ready to settle in for another long night. I had a nice starting table, apart from vivian hayden on my right and nicky power on my left, there were also 2 huge and 1 large fish at the table. I never really got going though, and still had more or less starting stack when this got broken about about 3 hours, which was fine. My new table including John from the SE, Bill o Keeffe, and the guy who runs the celtic poker tour, along with several randomers. Table was playing looser than the previous one. About 5 hours in, im on 13k, not seeing anything, and struggling to get going, but, still fine as average is about 16500, when someone raises to 600, i have position and look down at AK suited, i re raise and he calls. (hes only playing about 6500-7k). Flop comes KKQ and i we manage to get all in , he has QQ and i lose. Im down to about 6k, and not too happy, when a donk min raises my big blind, i have 53 of spades, im thinking he may be strong here, and have a big pair , anyway, i decide to call the extra 300 to flop big and try and bust him and get back to near starting stack. Flop comes an interesting looking 235, he leads, we get all in , he has A4 off, and im out, not good.
Next day i play the 300 side game, 84 runners, and i play well in the main, easily getting down to the 2nd last table , with one of the bigger stacks. At this stage, the blinds are huge, and it becomes a complete crapshoot, twice i run into raises after opening in position and having to fold, and then, with 5 bbs, which was still more or less average, i have to close my eyes and push the button and cut off a few times to survive to the final table. i finish on 47k, with average 67k, but 4 other people actually shorter than me, and Donal the TD promises to roll the blinds back a few levels for the next day, to give us some play, so im hopefully of a result. Its quite top heavy with 10k for the winner.
Ive calculated i need 4th or better to go top of the irish rankings, so thats another goal for sunday afternoon. 3rd hand in, i make it 10k to go in the cut off with AJs (blinds 2-4k now), and the sb calls, flop comes 345 and he jams, so i have to fold (he claims 77). I make a few steals etc and im back to 68k, with 7 level, and back in the game, when the following hand happens. Its my big blinds, blinds are now 3k-6k with a 500 ante, so about 12k in the middle dead, the cut off, has 30k, so hes playing only 5bbs and is under pressure, he jams on my bb, i look down at AhTh.
I decide he prolly has to push any pair, or any ace with his stack, so make the call of another 26k, even though its a lot of my stack, thinking i could be ahead, and with the structure in play, you cant dodge races especially with the price im getting. He has 88, i flop a 10, turn 2 hearts and still lose to his non heart 8. Now im very short, and when folded to my SB, i auto shove KQ into Shermans AJ on the bb, i lose that one also, and im out in 7th for €700.
A couple of hours break, and im back in the 200 freezeout, 70 odd runners this time, and im playing well, destroying the 2nd last table, and on 90k with average 38k and 11 left, when i have my first accident. The 2 guys to my left were incredibly tight, and both were playing 20-25k. I was having their blinds at will, and had seen them fold the likes of 77 or AJ to my raises.
I tried again with Q6s and make it 12k to go, std raise, this time the SB wakes up and james for 20k, obv i call, and he has 99. I flop a Q, and im sailing towards almost 120k, with 2nd in the tourney on about 60k and the final table looming, when he rivers a damn 9. Then, on the next lap i get A8s and the bb does the same move with AK i lose that, on my next BB, the button raises, hes now got a big stack, and is not a tighty, i re jam with an ace, he has J6, and i find i cant win a showdown. Finally, i get AT on clubs, this time, im down to 24k so i jam, tight sb wakes up with KK, nightmare, from cruising and smashing the table to out on the FT bubble, grrr. In hindsight, i shoulda slowed down a bit, and just got to the 10 handed FT with the lead, coulda locked up a 5th or 6th place finish to take me top of the rankings at least.
Oh well, on tilt a bit, i then donked off a few quid playing cash, and after hotel expenses etc, the whole weekend away cost me close to 2k. Kp did well at his cash games and made a nice few quid. We got the train home on monday afternoon.
Headed over to the Macau, which is 5 mins walk away, a lovely club, with a nice design, nice tables, good dealers, and they even do decent food, its also well ran by Ken Corkery in my opinion, however, its fecking roasting in there, probably on a par with the albeit slightly below temperature sauna we briefly also tried a few hours earlier.
The super sat scheduled for 7pm had just started, bang on time and with 165 runners and a full house, this generated 17 seats for the main event. I played ok to be honest, and with 34 left, and me just below average, but needing one more sizeable pot to secure a ticket, i got all in with KK vs someones QQ and got spiked out on on the turn, meh. Played some cash after this and won 310, to finish 200 up on the night.
Friday came around and the main event started at 7. 128 runners i think there was, and with 75 minute clock, and 15k stack, i was ready to settle in for another long night. I had a nice starting table, apart from vivian hayden on my right and nicky power on my left, there were also 2 huge and 1 large fish at the table. I never really got going though, and still had more or less starting stack when this got broken about about 3 hours, which was fine. My new table including John from the SE, Bill o Keeffe, and the guy who runs the celtic poker tour, along with several randomers. Table was playing looser than the previous one. About 5 hours in, im on 13k, not seeing anything, and struggling to get going, but, still fine as average is about 16500, when someone raises to 600, i have position and look down at AK suited, i re raise and he calls. (hes only playing about 6500-7k). Flop comes KKQ and i we manage to get all in , he has QQ and i lose. Im down to about 6k, and not too happy, when a donk min raises my big blind, i have 53 of spades, im thinking he may be strong here, and have a big pair , anyway, i decide to call the extra 300 to flop big and try and bust him and get back to near starting stack. Flop comes an interesting looking 235, he leads, we get all in , he has A4 off, and im out, not good.
Next day i play the 300 side game, 84 runners, and i play well in the main, easily getting down to the 2nd last table , with one of the bigger stacks. At this stage, the blinds are huge, and it becomes a complete crapshoot, twice i run into raises after opening in position and having to fold, and then, with 5 bbs, which was still more or less average, i have to close my eyes and push the button and cut off a few times to survive to the final table. i finish on 47k, with average 67k, but 4 other people actually shorter than me, and Donal the TD promises to roll the blinds back a few levels for the next day, to give us some play, so im hopefully of a result. Its quite top heavy with 10k for the winner.
Ive calculated i need 4th or better to go top of the irish rankings, so thats another goal for sunday afternoon. 3rd hand in, i make it 10k to go in the cut off with AJs (blinds 2-4k now), and the sb calls, flop comes 345 and he jams, so i have to fold (he claims 77). I make a few steals etc and im back to 68k, with 7 level, and back in the game, when the following hand happens. Its my big blinds, blinds are now 3k-6k with a 500 ante, so about 12k in the middle dead, the cut off, has 30k, so hes playing only 5bbs and is under pressure, he jams on my bb, i look down at AhTh.
I decide he prolly has to push any pair, or any ace with his stack, so make the call of another 26k, even though its a lot of my stack, thinking i could be ahead, and with the structure in play, you cant dodge races especially with the price im getting. He has 88, i flop a 10, turn 2 hearts and still lose to his non heart 8. Now im very short, and when folded to my SB, i auto shove KQ into Shermans AJ on the bb, i lose that one also, and im out in 7th for €700.
A couple of hours break, and im back in the 200 freezeout, 70 odd runners this time, and im playing well, destroying the 2nd last table, and on 90k with average 38k and 11 left, when i have my first accident. The 2 guys to my left were incredibly tight, and both were playing 20-25k. I was having their blinds at will, and had seen them fold the likes of 77 or AJ to my raises.
I tried again with Q6s and make it 12k to go, std raise, this time the SB wakes up and james for 20k, obv i call, and he has 99. I flop a Q, and im sailing towards almost 120k, with 2nd in the tourney on about 60k and the final table looming, when he rivers a damn 9. Then, on the next lap i get A8s and the bb does the same move with AK i lose that, on my next BB, the button raises, hes now got a big stack, and is not a tighty, i re jam with an ace, he has J6, and i find i cant win a showdown. Finally, i get AT on clubs, this time, im down to 24k so i jam, tight sb wakes up with KK, nightmare, from cruising and smashing the table to out on the FT bubble, grrr. In hindsight, i shoulda slowed down a bit, and just got to the 10 handed FT with the lead, coulda locked up a 5th or 6th place finish to take me top of the rankings at least.
Oh well, on tilt a bit, i then donked off a few quid playing cash, and after hotel expenses etc, the whole weekend away cost me close to 2k. Kp did well at his cash games and made a nice few quid. We got the train home on monday afternoon.
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