Chasing Craic, Cash, and Champions at the Irish Winter Festival

The word you might often hear being thrown around the place at Irish poker events is “craic”. This is not to be confused with “crack”, although one could be said to be as addictive as the other sometimes. The Irish have trouble translating the word accurately to English, the word “fun” doesn’t quite do it justice. But if you want to get some idea of what the term is all about then just make your way to an Irish poker event, particularly a Paddy Power Poker tournament. They really know how it’s done. From beer pong competitions to the Blind Mans Bluff World Championship, there was something for everyone at the recent Irish Winter Festival, held at the Burlington Hotel in Dublin.

The Festival took place over the Halloween bank holiday weekend and although many a memory was made off the felt, all eyes were on one event, the €1,000 + €100 Irish Masters. Players turned out in droves to take part including big names from both the online and live realms with many making the trip to the Emerald Isle from elsewhere in Europe and Scandinavia to see for themselves what all the fuss was about.

There was added excitement with the presence of November Niner Eoghan O’Dea, who at the time was playing his last tournament before jetting off to Vegas for the final of the World Series of Poker main event. He was one of a total of 395 players who took their seats on day 1, creating a prize pool of a little under €400,000. The field also included 135 Sole Survivors who were prepared to fight until there was only one PaddyPowerPoker qualifier remaining, earning him/herself a €20,000 package on top of any money won.

Smyth Tries For Triple

When day 1 wrapped up there were 121 players remaining. Not included in that bunch were Eoghan O’Dea, Neil Channing, John O’Shea, Nicky Power, and Padraig Parkinson. One player determined to make his mark early on however was Paddy Power pro Niall Smyth. The 2011 Irish Open and Irish Poker Festival champion looked as if he had his heart set on a third title and ended the day seventh in chips with 114,300. Leading the way into the second day of play however was David Rudling with 176,200.

Day 2 had to find a final table of nine from the remaining 121 and with the bubble hovering over everybody’s heads it was going to be a long night. In fact, it went on so long that play had to eventually be called a day at 4 a.m. with 12 still remaining. Of the 40 who made the money but fell by the wayside before end of play were Reggie Corrigan, Feargal Nealon, Collette Murphy, and Philip Peters. David Rudling could not continue his success of day 1 and busted in 34th place for €2,200. The player who took his place at the top was Noel O’Brien with 882,000 in chips. He was followed by 11 hopefuls including Niall Smyth; another Irish player having success on the circuit of late, Chris Dowling, and Matej Kokalj who finished fourth in this very event in 2009.

O’Brien’s Overture

O’Brien went on to cause destruction on the final day, cutting Smyth’s tournament life short and sending him home in 11th place for €5,800 with pocket aces versus the young pros’ pocket sevens. Kokalj mirrored his 2009 efforts and once again left in fourth place, this time with €28,750. There were a lot of hopes placed on Dubliner Chris Dowling to take a major title down but late session O’Brien was there to finish him off also. Dowling had a difficult day finding himself short and then among the leaders quickly after, only to finally go out so close to glory in third place.

Play then peaked at the final when Northern Irishman John Keown was crowned the 2011 IWF Sole Survivor after outlasting all other PaddyPowerPoker qualifiers. Keown then went on to stare down southern Irishman Noel O’Brien for the last stand. Five countries had been represented at the final table but in the end it turned out to be an all-Ireland final with the battle of north versus south lasting just over an hour. Heads-up play began with O’Brien in the lead but after some dramatic swings to and fro, Keown eventually crippled his opponent in a hand where he raised to 500,000 on a flop of 5 4 3 and O’Brien moved all in with 8 3. Keown called with Q 7 and hit the 9 on the turn for the flush. O’Brien did manage to make a comeback, doubling up twice immediately after, but it wasn’t third time lucky when Keown’s A 5 beat O’Brien’s K 6 to make him this year’s winner.

King Keown

Keown received the €20,000 Sole Survivor package made up of 50 percent cash and 50 percent tournament buy-ins, on top of his first-place prize winnings of €100,000. O’Brien complimented Keown and left with his head held high and his pockets weighed down with €57,950 for second place.

Here are the final table payouts and results:

First John Keown €100,000
Second Noel O’Brien €57,950
Third Chris Dowling €35,750
Fourth Matej Kokalj €28,750
Fifth Michael Mazilu €22,750
Sixth Brian Warren €18,550
Seventh Damien Quinlivan €14,400
Eighth Ville Salmi €11,750
Ninth Colm Hayes €8,700

Head 2 Head With O’Brien And Keown

The IWF 2011 heads-up was a demonstration of just how the game should be played and how players should treat each other on and off the felt. There really weren’t any dramatic pauses or over-the-top reactions; O’Brien and Keown just got on with it until the job was done. It was nice to see a heads up between two, should we say, more distinguished players than the usual online whizz kid battle that is more common nowadays. Card Player caught up with both players after the fact to find out more about them.

The Fearless Noel O’Brien

Kicking things off with Noel O’Brien, this year’s runner-up. The 59-year-old, flooring company owner and managing director, played formidably at the final table, and proved himself to be one of the nicest players you could meet. O’Brien laughed and joked off the felt and in between play, but displayed the most intimidating, stone-cold poker face during the action.

The Clonmel man enjoys golf, handball, and snooker and has been playing poker for 40 years. Of that time, he has only been playing hold’em for two, but plays a lot of cash and tournaments and has been raking in the results of late.

Rebecca McAdam: Noel, you don’t play full time, so how do you keep up with the game and those who are playing it professionally?

Noel O’Brien: It doesn’t bother me about full time players or pros as I find it easier to play against them. The thing I find about heads up is that it’s 25 percent of your brain, 25 percent bottle, and 50 percent luck… and I have plenty of bottle!

RM: Have you noticed changes in the game over the years?

NO: Everybody seems to be a pro! But 98 percent of them don’t ever seem to win anything.

RM: What was your best poker experience?

NO: Heads up at the Paddy Power Poker Irish Winter Festival.

RM: You’ve been doing very well recently, what do you think it is about your game that has been working for you?

NO: I have been at three final tables this year and the reason being is I have no fear of anyone!

RM: What was your Irish Winter Festival experience like?

NO: I got some lucky breaks, which you have to get to win these tournaments.

RM: Who was your toughest opponent?

NO: There hasn’t been anyone yet.

RM: How did you find the heads up?

NO: I really enjoyed it. Especially playing John Keown.

RM: Do you have any poker goals?

NO: Just to make more final tables.

The Gambler — John Keown

Next is John Keown — originally from County Fermanagh but now living in County Down, Keown is definitely a player that has been steeped in poker and gambling all his life. The bookmaker is interested in any kind of sport, just as long as it can be gambled on.

Rebecca McAdam: When and how did you get into poker?

John Keown: It all started back in the early 80s when the snooker revolution swept the country in its popularity, with Hurricane Higgins, and I took an enormous interest in the game, and like all reputable snooker clubs St. Michaels reading rooms in Enniskillen always had a lively cash game in the corner with games like five card draw, five and seven card stud, southern cross and the likes being played with the rake going to the parish coffers. So it wasn’t long before the lunch money was being wagered at both games before, after, and er… during school hours. A misspent youth they called it back then!

RM: What is your poker experience — Are you a cash/tournament player? What games and stakes do you enjoy to play the most? Do you play online?

JK: I only really started playing hold’em when I moved back to Ireland from a 12 year stay in New York city working as a bartender in a variety of Irish bars, and like a lot of people thought the Late Night Poker show was a very clever concept in that you could see the hole cards of the Devilfish, Surinder Sunar and co. and see the different thought processes they had in different hands. Not long after this I was playing in
Belfast’s Cavendish Club run by the irrepressible Sean Murphy. To this day it is an enormous loss to the poker playing people of Belfast and the surrounding area as during a £200 + £20 re-buy/add-on tournament [in 2006] the club was raided by armed police and never to open again afterwards. With a few successes at this level I guess it progressed to tournaments around the country, and eventually to play tournaments such as the Irish Open was the goal.

I’m a tournament player but on occasion I like pot-limit Omaha cash games. I have no set stake; I enjoy going along to Ivan Donaghy’s Bridge Club in Banbridge where the buy-ins are small and the craic is good, but I mostly enjoy the bigger buy-ins with bigger stacks and 60-minute levels. I frequently play online in tournaments and satellites for bigger events such as the IWF on Paddy Power Poker.

RM: Did you ever take the chance to go pro? If not, why not?

JK: At the moment I am too busy to play in a professional capacity but if there was another score like the IWF I would have to reconsider. It’s a tough game to make a living at!

RM: As a recreational player, how do you stay on top of the game to be able to compete with players who are full-time?

JK: Being a recreational player doesn’t do my game any harm and I find that I have a much greater appetite for the game when played less frequently than on a daily or weekly basis. I think the fundamentals of my game are good and knowledge of odds and probability in hands mean I can compete against the pros on any given day.

RM: What was your best poker experience?

JK: I would say obviously has to be this win at the IWF but my deep run in the ‘08 Irish Open has to be next best.

RM: How did you feel about your ninth place at the 2008 Irish Open? Did it just make you hungry for more?

JK: The run of ninth place in ‘08 was a great experience for me. The eventual champion Neil Channing gave a masterclass in tournament poker and perhaps if I played then how I play now I may have done better, who knows, but I guess at the end of the day you always want to win and no matter when you go out you are disappointed to some extent. It definitely made me hungry for more success in the game, I think any sport that involves a gamble and gets the adrenaline running through you will always keep you coming back for more and with every success is a yearning for bigger and better.

RM: So you learned from that experience and improved your game or could it be also that the luck was not on your side back then?

JK: I’ve definitely improved my game since ‘08 and the game itself has changed so much in that time. Keeping abreast of changes in strategies and styles of play is a constant reminder that you will never stop learning about the game; luck is just something that determines results on a daily basis, in the longer term as has been proven year in and out the cream of the game comes to the top and they will be the big winners in the game.

RM: Tell me about your journey to first place at the IWF.

JK: My journey began when I played a satellite the week prior to the event and despite getting dogged three times managed to win a seat in the main event. My tournament started very slowly but quickly gathered steam when the blinds and antes were introduced and by the end of day 1 I was second in chips. Day 2 started well but half way through the day I woke up with Q-Q on the button, early position moved all in with an ace only for an all-in behind with J-J and I was never laying down the hand. First the ace came on the flop, then the jack came on the river and I lost a massive pot. I battled my way back and got lucky with all my chips in the middle on the turn with two pair, behind to a king-high flush, only to hit my house on the river to which I cried out, “my name is on this one boys!” Little did I know I was speaking the truth.

Day 3 saw me just hang on to get into the money and once the bubble burst I opened up and won a couple of races but the two key hands were both against Chris Dowling. With two tables left, Dowling, to my right, raised my big blind and I flat called with K-J, the flop came K-J-5 with two clubs on board and Dowling and I went to war. It turned out to be a cooler for Chris with K-5 in his hand. The second encounter was at the final table when Dowling raised my button and I re-raised with Q-Q and Chris moved all in. When my hand held up I knew I had a good chance of winning the tournament.

RM: Who was your toughest opponent?

JK: My toughest opponent had to be Chris Dowling because he never takes his foot off the gas and puts the gun to your head in every other hand. I was lucky to hit a couple of key hands against him; I didn’t fancy playing him heads up for the title.

RM: What has the reaction been like to your win?

JK: Unbelievable, I have had so many people congratulating me and wishing me well, it was a heart warming experience to know that so many people were glad to see me win.

RM: Do you have any poker goals?

JK: My goal now is to get a second big score and the holy grail ultimately would be to win the Irish Open! ♠