Grand Prix Poker Tour Win

As many people would have already seen by now I managed to bag myself a pretty big online result this month when I won the Grand Prix Poker Tour online leg on partypoker.com. 3,892 players bought in for $109 and first prize was worth $51,891. What’s more Dusk Till Dawn decided to give away a $25,000 Las Vegas package to any UK player who won it. The final 4 players were all from the UK and so all eligible for the $25,000 package, meaning the heads up match was for over $45,000. This is by far my largest online result to date and I couldn’t have done it without the support of my friends and family, especially the lovely Emma, who rather enjoyed being woken up at 5am to hear the news of me winning almost $77,000!

I wrote a little while ago about being on a downswing, and this was caused by simply not working hard enough at the game. I never really used to do the online grind. I tried it briefly just as I was starting out playing professionally but didn’t feel the love for it, probably because my live strategy at the time was easily countered by the online hot shots (call, call, call, win). Being so aggressive has its merits playing live for a big buy in, but online there are a lot more people willing to counter it with light calls, especially when they have plenty of other game options should they bust. I’ve only countered this downswing with one thing and that’s hard work. I try and make a point to never blame variance for my losses as there is always refinement to be made to one’s game. Since working with #teammeow, a group of enthusiastic poker players who are a great support network for each other, and putting in a decent volume online, my game has improved a lot. I can’t overstate how important a good rail is and having positive people in your life to work at the math problem that is poker.

Before the GPPT I put in 8 consecutive online grinds before heading out to Malta for a festival being held there, I also did some online grinding in Malta winning an $8k Caribbean package onpartypoker.com in the process. I got home for less than a day before flying out to Dusseldorf for a stag do and jumped back on the Sunday online grind to try and make day 2 of the GPPT. Having failed to do that on the Sunday I started playing at 3pm on Monday to play the last few day 1’s to get myself into day 2. After all this I was so exhausted. I’m really looking forward to just being lazy with my wife for a few weeks, before the WSOP starts, especially since she has been working so hard as well in her job as a teacher getting the kids ready for their GCSE’s.

Speaking of Malta, this was one of my favourite poker trips I’ve ever made. My package covered 4 nights in a really nice hotel, but my flights meant I needed to stay a few more days than that. David Lappin, an Irish pro whom I have a lot of respect for was kind enough to offer me his spare room at his place in Malta. Because of this I got to spend a couple of days with “The Firm” a group of Irish pros who I’ve always looked up to and their lovely other halves. We swam in the sea, ate the fantastic Maltese food and chased flags together. Jason Tompkins and David Lappin were successful in bagging a Maltese flag after making final table appearances in the €250 side event.

I spent two nights online grinding with “The Firm” both of which went well. I played a $109 phase one satellite on partypoker.com to try and qualify for phase two which would normally cost $,1050 which would get you 300,000 chips. I made it through phase one with 570,000 chips with phase two starting the next day. I had a woeful start, dropping to under 200,000 but managed to spin it back up and win myself an $8,000 Caribbean Package, which includes a $2,750 buy in and an all-expenses paid holiday. My grind finished a few hours earlier than Lappin’s, and he was kind enough to let me watch him play over his shoulder. He was down to 5 tables, so I missed out on watching him annihilate his usual 20+ games at a time! (I’m currently an 8 table man!) I learned a lot and really enjoyed seeing him apply his thought processes especially around the bubble of the competitions he was in. I also got to see a little bit of Dara O’Kearney’s grind when he was with us on the Sunday, although it was quite embarrassing when one of the best satellite players I know looks up from his grind to catch me counting on my fingers whilst trying to figure out if I should call someone off or not!

The best part of the trip for me was after Lappin closed out his grind, we decided that margaritas were in order. We stayed up until 6am talking about philosophy, a subject that I had no idea Lappin had a doctorate in. A lot of poker players come from maths backgrounds, or never finished university, and I myself come from a science background so it was really interesting to see how David’s education shaped his view on life when it is so different a background to that of most poker players.

I’ve got a lot to look forward to in the next few months. I’ve got the WSOP calling my name in less than two weeks and after that I get to spend a relaxing summer with the Lovely Emma. Once she heads back to work there are a lot of great poker festivals to sink my teeth into, including the Caribbean Poker Party which I won the package for.

As far as the money goes a lot of people have asked what I’m going to spend it on. I’m not going to really change what buy in’s I’ll be playing. I’m really careful with money and a big chunk of it is going to be put away for a rainy day. Although that won’t stop me from treating myself. The boys and girls who play in my 5p/10p home game cleared me out of Johnnie Walker Blue Label, so I’m sure they will be glad to hear I’ll be replacing that empty whiskey bottle shortly.