How I Won The Irish Poker Open Part IV

Check out the previous parts of this blog.

Final Table

I went into the final table as chip leader. I can remember looking at it on the Paddy Power Poker blog the night before and thinking, “Is that really me there with 2 million in chips?”

Before the tournaments starts I see my seat draw. I have the three most aggressive and big stacked players to my left. OUCH. The first big hand I play is with A-K. I had just raised the hand previous to steal the blinds and raise this one to 2.4, when John Eames three-bets me. We were both pretty deep so I decide to four bet him and after a long think he folds. I felt this was a big hand for me as it showed even though I was inexperienced I wasn’t going to be run over.

About one hour in I get J-J and Niall McCann who was very short shoved K-J and I held. Although the win was good I didn’t take any pleasure in knocking him out as we’d got on really well the day before. But such is poker; there really aren’t any friends on the table, only off it.

Most of the rest of my accumulation of chips happened in pre-flop play. One of the most crucial hands I played all weekend was against Seamus Cahill when we were four handed. I limp from the small blind with 10-7 clubs and Seamus checks behind from the big blind.The flop brings a 9 and 4, with two clubs. I bet and he thinks for a minute and calls. The turn brings a 7, so after Seamus called the flop I was pretty sure he’d bet if I checked.

After this happens I decide to move in and he calls with 7-4 for a turned 2 pair. The river brings the 3 of clubs and Seamus is unluckily out.

Eventually we get down to heads up. The trophy is so close I can almost feel it. Is it possible? Can I live my dream of winning the Irish Open? That’s when my nerves start to get to me a bit; I need stop thinking too much. I eventually settle down and we get stuck in to play.

I thought that Surinder was a very tough player heads up and he was certainly getting the best of me for the first hour. I’d gone in with a nine to three million chip lead. The most eventful hand of that first hour was when I had a Q high flush draw against his 5 high flush draw with a pair. We get it all in on the flop and he holds. We are now even in chips. He starts chipping away at me and I’m getting a little frustrated. We get to the first break and he has an 8-4 million chip lead. I walked off like a man possessed, raging at myself for how bad I was playing. Some of my friends got a hold of me and calmed me down.

I went back to the table and realised that it wasn’t all that bad. I won the first hand back after the break which helped. I also put back on my sunglasses and stopped engaging Surinder with any talk. After two hours or so the classic race situation occurs I’ve got 9-9, he has A-K, we get it all in pre. The flop brings a 9, the turn pairs the board and I’m back in the chip lead with momentum.

After this we just took a few small pots off each other but I think I’m up a few more chips. When the blinds went up to 100-200k it turned into push/fold poker with the effective stack sizes in play. I look down at Q-5 and put Surinder all in. He calls quickly, so I know I’m behind and I’m wondering by how much. He shows A-9. I’ll take it.

The flop misses both of us, as does the turn. We go to the river. What was less than a minute felt like an hour as the dealer waited to turn the last card. RIVER 5…

I give a fist pump, and then stand up in shock. My head is filled by a million thoughts in an instant. I compose myself enough to shake the hands of the man who has terrorised me for the last three and a half hours. I walk over to the rail (the best supporters anyone could ever ask for when playing a poker tournament) to join in with the celebrations.

This was my biggest regret of the tournament. I finally realised what Dave O’Leary meant when he said his biggest mistake after scoring the winning penalty against Romania was standing in the same spot. I received the biggest beating of my life but it didn’t matter I was the Irish Open winner.