Tournament Trail Q and A -- Kara ScottScott Talks About Being Off the Screen and on the Felt at the Irish Open |
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Kara Scott is probably known for her time reporting on poker events more so than playing in them. But to underestimate her on the felt would be the last move a player makes. When Scott does play, she usually makes an impression, and her time at the PaddyPowerPoker.com Irish Open 2009 has been no different. Card Player spoke to Scott shortly after day 2 wrapped up and she had built herself a nice chunky pile of chips. Now heading for the meatier end of the money, she has her eyes firmly fixed on her goal — Irish Open champion.
Rebecca McAdam: Tell me about your journey on day 2?
Kara Scott: I started about average in chips, and it was a bit of a struggle. I went up and down, and ended up on the feature table for a couple of hours, and that was a little bit nerve-wracking, but I managed to make a few chips, so that was great. Then I moved off the feature table where it really took off. I was fairly tight, and I dwindled down to about 20 big blinds, and I was trying to find spots to shove over people. I was trying to work the stack sizes, but the table was really awkward because just to my left were some really tiny stacks, so I was like, “How do I shove on them when they have no equity to fold?”
I had about 60K, and a big hand that doubled me up was when Dave Colclough raised and I shoved over the top. He called with A-K, I had K-J, so not great, but unfortunately for him the jack hit on the turn and that doubled me up to about 120K, and then, just about after the bubble burst, some guy on a short stack shoved in ahead of me for about 22K, and the blinds were 2,000-4,000 at that point, so I made it a little bit more than a min-raise, I made it 48K. I had a big stack, so it looked a little bit scary, and that was the point — to try and isolate the short stack. A guy thought about it and agonized for ages, and then folded. It came back around and we flipped it over — I had nines, he had eights, which is great. The guy that folded had jacks, so thank God for that, and a jack hit, as well, just to rub it in! He had just moved to the table, so he was giving me so much credit, which no one else at the table was doing at that point. I ended up just over 151,000. It’s wicked!
RM: What’s the plan for tomorrow?
KS: Just suss out my table and see what happens.
RM: Are there any players that have been impressing you?
KS: I just don’t know many names, but Karl Mahrenholz, he’s a great player. There are a lot of good players here.
RM: Have you ever played the Irish Open before?
KS: No. I’ve always wanted to play the Irish Open, and everyone says it’s the most fun, and you just have to go to Dublin. I love it!
RM: What do you think about it so far?
KS: It’s very relaxed and with everyone staying here in Citywest, they're in the bar afterwards having a drink, and it’s very convivial and everyone’s having a really nice time. Everyone we know is here, so it’s nice to be here playing.
RM: You’re usually on the other side of things, in the media, do you get much time to play?
KS: Not as much as I’d like to, to be honest, but PokerStars.com has been amazing to me, they put me into this, they sponsored me, and they put me into a couple of EPTs, as well, this year, and to the World Series in the summer last year. So, I’ve had an amazing chance to play some big events that not everyone gets to play, and I know how lucky I am and I’m very grateful.
RM: Do you play much online?
KS: I do! Not as much as I should but usually when I get home from a trip, like from the EPTs, I’m so knackered I’m not playing. I need to play more. I keep getting told off by people for not playing enough, so it’s something I’m working on.
RM: Do you still have poker ambitions now that you’re so busy with everything else?
KS: I want to win the Irish Open (laughs).
RM: Would it really mean something to you?
KS: It would be amazing to win a big prestigious title. I won the PartyPoker.com Sports Stars Challenge last year, and that was great, but that was like a six-seat shootout style, which I’ve done really well at. But I’d love to win a big MTT [multi-table tournament]. That would mean a huge amount to me, it would be an incredible feeling.
RM: You’re one of two women left, and you’re just ploughing through the field now...
KS: Someone came up to me and said, “Wouldn’t it be great if a female won the Irish Open?” and I said, “Oh yeah!” It’s always great when a woman wins a big event. It makes it more possible for other women out there, they look at it and maybe think they’ll play and have a go.
RM: I think then maybe the question should just be — wouldn’t it be great if Kara Scott won the Irish Open!
KS: Kara Scott would be very happy!
Scott and the remaining players of the 2009 Irish Open can be followed on Paddy Power's blog live at IrishPokerOpen.com.
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