The PaddyPowerPoker.com Irish Open 2010: A Sole Survivor’s Tale

Out of all the live events it is possible to win packages to via online satellites, the Paddy Power Poker satellites to the Irish Open must provide the most value. One hundred and thirty players qualified this year, all of whom were then automatically part of the Sole Survivor promotion. The last man standing of the 130 would win a €100,000 package consisting of €75,000 cash and €25,000 in tournament buy-ins to live events over the following 12 months.

This year that Sole Survivor was me.

I made a steady start on day one of the tournament (in a record-equalling 708-strong field), running my 10,000 starting stack up to 40,000 at the close of play. I remember winning one key race late in the day to knock out a dangerous player, Mikael Johansson — my A-9 offsuit beating his 4-4 on a Q-10-2-Q-10 board.

I was happy to get through to day one with a decent stack, as the four live tournaments I had played to date in 2010 had all resulted in day one exits.

As day two progressed I didn’t think about the Sole Survivor promotion at all. However, the same could not be said about my tablemates. As we played down to the money more and more often players were asking me how many Sole Survivors were left in (I had no idea). I had increased my stack to 75,000 when two similarly key hands occurred. With 74 players left and 72 places paid, we were playing hand-for-hand. Scouser Ste King, who had been getting away with larceny for hours, opened to 6,400 in mid-position at 1,500-3,000 with a 300 ante.

Keith “The Camel” Hawkins, table chip leader with more than 200,000 in chips, then three-bet to 22,000 on the button. I would expect Keith’s range to be massive here, in fact it could (and maybe should) be any two cards on the money bubble. So when I looked down at Q-Q in the big blind I had a very easy decision. All of my chips crossed the line, the original raiser folded quickly, and Keith, after a brief think, folded A-K offsuit face up. I can only think the fact I was wearing a Sole Survivor top influenced his decision here, as given the dynamics with him as table chip leader and the original raiser opening very frequently, A-K offsuit should be an easy call here getting 2/1.

Soon after this, the money bubble burst and I was sitting on 110,000 in chips, just above average, thanks to the previously mentioned hand. I then picked up A-K suited in early position, raised to 7,000, and it was folded around to the big blind who three-bet to 22,000. Although the big blind appeared the tight, conservative type, I am not one to fold A-K suited preflop so moved all in again. After a tank the big blind folded J-J face-up. In those two hands I increased my stack from 75,000 to 140,000 when both times I could have been all in with around a 50 percent chance of being knocked out of the tournament.

Soon after this day two was complete and I took 140,000 in chips through to day three.

Sixty players started on day three, and with seven Sole Survivors in the mix, it was too early to consider “surviving” to win the €100,000 package.

In my first key hand on day three I found A-Q offsuit in mid-position and opened to 14,000 at 3,000-6,000 blinds with an ante of 600. Another Sole Survivor then insta-shoved for 100,000 total in the small blind. I felt I was in trouble here even though he had a re-shove stack, but I was never going to fold and made the call for the majority of my stack. I was in bad shape when he flipped over queens, and things were looking grim on a 10-7-6 flop. However, poker can be a cruel game at times and this was one of those times for my opponent as a beautiful red ace slid out of the dealer’s hand on the turn. So I shipped the 210,000 pot with the average at around 175,000 and 40 players left, and then I felt I had a real shot at the tournament.

The next few hours are a bit of a blur — with 25 players left we were down to three Sole Survivors, I had around 250,000, another had 100,000, but unfortunately for me the third had 500,000. I decided that with one player having 500,000 I still wasn’t going to consider survival too much, and in any case now I was this deep I didn’t want to focus just on surviving and thus blow any chance I had of the €600,000 first prize.

Three tables gradually became two, and the third Sole Survivor was eliminated. Then what seemed like just a few hands later the second place Survivor was gone. I heard the announcer say he was all in with A-K against kings. No ace appeared and I was delighted to win the €100,000 package.

Soon after this, I flopped a set and got paid, and was up to 750,000 with 11 players left and just over seven million chips in play. Shortly after, I ran J-J into Q-Q and was back down to 360,000. Two eliminations quickly followed, and with nine players remaining, two tables became one. We played maybe 10 hands ninehanded, the only hand I played was when I looked at A-J offsuit and with 20 big blinds shoved over a mid-position raise and got a fold to add 25 percent to my stack.

The ninth-place finisher unluckily found queens against aces, and we were done for the night. Eighth place prize money was €56,000, so with the Sole Survivor package I was guaranteed €156,000 — not bad from a €250 online satellite.

I didn’t sleep much that night; this was going to be the biggest final table of my life. I started sixth in chips out of eight remaining, and with seven left got the double up I needed with A-J suited against A-9 (blind against blind). Now I had one million in chips out of the seven million in play and anything could happen. I then played a hand poorly that I will regret for a long time to come.

With just five players remaining I raised from under the gun with A 10. Only the big blind called — a Finn, who I had not played with prior to the final table and had a lot of chips coming in to the final. He had defended his big blind often, but appeared to be playing fit or fold, check-folding the flop often. The flop came J-8-3 rainbow, he checked, I bet 110,000 into the 170,000 pot. He called rather quickly. The turn was another jack now putting two hearts on board, giving me the nut-flush draw. He now led into me for only 135,000 into the 390,000 pot. With 800,000 behind, my first instinct was to shove. But somehow under the intense heat of the TV lights, I didn’t shove; I didn’t even call, but folded. I always trust my instincts in poker, but this time I didn’t follow them and it may have cost me dearly. The Finn later told me he held Q-10; I felt he had a hand like this rather than trip jacks, but somehow levelled myself in to folding. I suppose I will learn for next time…

Down to 800,000 I had a perfect re-shove stack at 20,000-40,000 blinds. Ben Roberts busted in fifth, and I was ready to re-shove with a very wide range against the Finn and (eventual winner) James Mitchell. However, in a period of 12 hands, my best hand was something like J-6 offsuit; I just couldn’t find a re-shove with 8-3 offsuit and the like, and my stack dwindled to 500,000. I then found the monstrous K-Q offsuit in the small blind, and ran into A-10 in the big blind. Although Dena the dealer gave me a flush draw and gutshot draw going to the river, a black king didn’t cut it against the A-10’s flopped two pair, and I was eliminated in fourth place for €163,000, plus the €100k Sole Survivor package of course.

All-in-all not a bad Easter’s work, but as any tournament player will tell you the over-riding emotion at a fourth-place finish is one of disappointment not joy, although of course it is an excellent result.

I was delighted to win the Sole Survivor contest, it’s especially nice when the €100,000 prize money is put up by the sponsors not the players, and I look forward to representing Paddy Power Poker over the next 12 months at least.