The Irish Winter Festival Part I

I went to dinner the night before the Irish Winter Festival main event with some of our Paddy Power Poker VIPs at City West Hotel. It was one of two gatherings that was taking place that night and both events featured some of the very best and loyal players that our site is lucky enough to call its own.

So while Eric, Mike, and I were busy entertaining in the City West, Noel, Ross, Paul and Margot rounded up and took all the online mavericks / qualifiers to the Guinness Brewery in the City Center.

Now … can you imagine the amount of the 'black stuff' that was consumed that night!

Anyway, according to all the reports that were in and judging by some of the faces that I saw the next day, a hangover was definitely had by all! Yes folks, this is the fun, fair, and friendly service that you get when you win your seat on PPP.

On to poker…

The morning started off with Marty Smith, the 2007 Irish Open winner, and myself doing a joint interview with reporter, Ben Wilson. Ben was writing a piece called "Pro on Pro" whereby two Pros (in this case Marty and I) would discuss and answer lots of questions regarding everything from poker to the price of a pint. We also got to banter about what it was like to be two Irish lads that happened to be World Series of Poker bracelet winners. We mentioned too how proud we both were to be on the same Irish team earlier this year in the Poker Nation's Cup. For those of you that don't know … we were a bit unlucky in the end not to win it as we finished in second place behind Great Britain. Anyway, the interview went very well and was a lot of fun.

The Main Event

After we finished the interview I was off to get my seat assignment and find my table. By this stage now I was starting to get excited and even a little bit nervous, but by the time I got to my table, I was ready to go.

Now, I'm sure it is many a time you've heard me say this before; when I first sit down at my table, I typically start out by sizing up my opponents and giving EVERYONE at the table the respect that they deserve … and they continue to have my respect … until they prove otherwise. It is often the case that I find myself like a mirror reflection of my opponents, as their styles will possibly dictate as to how I'm going to approach and play at that particular table.

For those of you who are seasoned players this all comes as second nature to you, as you can typically spot the novice amongst the crafty pros after only a few hands. However, for those of you who are just starting out and are learning the game, or maybe not used to live play, I would stress that you consider taking note of the last paragraph as it has a lot of truth to it.

Ok – enough of the preaching and back to my table…

I had what I'd consider a nice table draw to begin with. No, not because I felt the opposition was weak but more because the table had a good vibe and nice feel to it, and for me it's always a bonus when people are not only playing poker but also having a good time – especially in the smaller buy-in events. Plus it was Paddy Power Poker that was putting the event on!

After a couple of rounds everyone had settled in and it was down to work. The one person that I first recognised at the table was this Irish lad who I had met and played with a few times before. Unfortunately I can't remember his name but if he reads this he'll know who I'm talking about. This lad is a very good player and his game was one that I respected a lot. So when he asked me if I wanted to swap five percent, I was happy to do so! Other than him I wasn't sure if I had played with anyone else at the table.

Another thing I noticed is that I had a VERY aggressive lad to my right, which as we all know is nice, because it can sure make the day a lot longer when the crazies are on your left. I think it's fair to say in the first hour that he was in at least half the pots that were played. To be fair he was a sound enough bloke. He was quick to tell me and the others at the table that he was the Danish Champion, but also acknowledged that he did not really want to go to war with me and suggested that we stay out of each other's way. I suppose it was a back-handed compliment, but all I wanted to do was to play some cards and let the chips fall as they may!

Besides, with the amount of lies that are told at the poker table … you're never really sure who to believe!

Ciaran