Irish Open Dublin - Main Event

I arrived in Dublin on a hot streak, after having a lot of £300/£400 winning weeks on the bounce (almost enough to pay for the Warsaw event), so I was feeling pretty optimistic. In addition I was staying in the same hotel where the event was to be staged (The Burlington) so it was very convenient just to pop downstairs to play, and have all my stuff up in the room.

Whereas Warsaw was a pretty low key event, Dublin was rammed with famous faces. Dan Harrington, Phil Laak, Jennifer Tilly, Antonio Esfandiari, Roland De Wolfe, Dave Colclough, Ram Vaswani, Andy Black to name but a few.

I sat down on my table with my 10k in chips. The table looked reasonably easy - a few locals, a few internet qualifiers but an ominous empty seat next to me.

Sure enough a few hands in, WSOP bracelet winner Max Prescatori arrived complete with Italian bandana and Azzuri football shirt. Most Italian players are a pretty poor standard but not this chap - as illustrated by his 2006 Vegas win.

Max actually busted very early - I got the feeling he was getting some big hand like AK but kept missing. I didn’t get involved in any pots with him, but he got frustrated in the end and went out on a bluff (first man out).

By this stage I’d worked up to 11,000 with pretty small pots, and then the first big action of the day. I get KK and limp UTG. Irish guy raises and it’s called by a shortish stack at the end of the table (this is good for me as if and Ace doesn’t flop its quite likely I’ll get the shorty’s chips). I flat call to disguise my hand. Flop is 8, 6, K with two spades.

Magic! I check. Irish guy bets pot. Shorty goes all in. I go all in to get rid of any flush draw as the pot is big enough. It works and the short stack show KQ, I’ve eliminated my first player and I’m up to about 17k in chips so a good first couple of hours for me.

The next few hours are pretty boring - I lose a few 2,000 pots when I’ve got top pair but mediocre kicker, but the table is a good bunch and most of us are involved in the banter.

After dinner I’m card dead, and the blinds are starting to bite. I’m down to about 8k in chips, when I get big slick. Blinds are 300-600 and someone raises to 2400. I decide to go all in (probably a bad move) and everyone folds round to the raiser who calls. He has Aces. It’s all over surely? No - I flop a straight with a Queen on the river and luckily eliminate my second player. I apologise to him and he takes it pretty well.

Buoyed by this stroke of good fortune, I start to play my “A” game and win a lot of small pots and fine myself with about 35k in chips. This put me probably in the top 40 with only 280 of the 700 runners left, so I’m in great shape.

There is 1 hour of the day to go and I should have shut up shop for the night, but I am playing well so I decide to keep being aggressive. I get Q10 off in mid-position. Its folded round to me so I make it 4000 to try and steal the blinds and antes (4,000 in the pot total). I get a caller from the big stack.

Flop is A, K, J with 2 spades.

I’ve flopped the nut straight. He checks and so I give him a free card hoping to trap later. Turn is another spade. He checks.

I am worried he has a lone spade in his hand so I bet out 8000. He flat calls which is really worrying. River is a blank. He bets out 15000 into the pot of about 28000. The beat screams of nut flush - he’s not trying to steal, he wants me to call or go over the top. I should have folded and stuck with 23k stack and a lesson learned.

I think about how many chips I’ll have if my straight is good (error) and I’m frustrated how I’ve played the hand. I call and I’m left with a stack of 8k after he shows me the nut flush. Fuck. Blinds are 800, 1600 so I’m really in trouble.

At that point our table is broken and I’m on the move. A horrible moment as instead of arriving at the table as “the daddy” with 35k I rock up with a meagre handful of chips. I sit out an orbit so I’m down to about 5k when I get K4 on the button and its folded to me. I steal but am called by big blind with A9. I’m happy with this as my cards are live and I need to double.

No-one hits on the board though and I’m done.

Overall, I played well, but the one mis-played hand cost me dearly. Will have to learn for next time.