Well, off I went to Tramore. Great preparations as I was planning a quiet night in before heading down with Dave Curtis but I ended up pissed and being thrown out of a hotel at 11am. Dave wasn't going till near 4pm, so I decided to get the bus with some girls I know from Waterford who were up in Galway for a concert.
So nearly 7 hours later I make it to Waterford and Tom, Chubbs and Mark McDonnell pick me up. The Grand Hotel in Tramore is a cross between Fawlty Towers and the Hotel from The Shining!! It wasn't exactly 2* but well it had character.
So I get stuck at the hardest table to kick off with. Ah yeh normal enough for me at this stage! That's a sign of how I'm running- like a fat Asian kid with Tourettes. So Smurph to my left, Albert Kenny to my right and Big Al knocking around somewhere in the middle. JP McCann was rattling away there also and some other faces I recognised! Had a great time at the table, spent mostly with Albert and me exchanging loose and lewd stories!
Wasn't long before Big Al ruined my dreams. Crushed me like a bully trampling his younger sisters My Little Pony! Just the set for me and bingo he hits his guterball to send me to the bar!
The bar is where I stayed for the majority of the weekend. Except to entertain the monkeys in the cash games. It was like feeding time in there for them, jumping up and down, banging their heads together. The constant buzzing noise they make as they try and match the symbols and learn what we call poker. Ah Bless those little monkey fuckers.
You can probably guess that the cash games weren't kind to me! Well i won. That's the good news, the bad news is that I was on an hourly rate close to the guy who cleans up the wanking booths in dodgy Amsterdam video stores. Fuck all. The biggest monkey of the all, the king of the monkeys if you will has to be that BOPS muddefucker. Like honestly that guy is possibly the worst poker player I have played with that isnt mentally retarded. I don't normally go all out attack at monkeys here on this blog but BOPS has had it coming. He sucked me off so bad after hours of avoiding slippery banana skins that these guys were throwing. Basically its a 1/2 game, 4 limper's and I make it 25 with JJ. The monkey called with 85 off and pings the 883 flop. Now I know you say he was calling to stack the fish on that 883 flop who can't get away from an over pair- Bullshit. The guy is in bits. Simple as that!
Anyway, Tom played his heart out and was lucky and unlucky to finish 5th. He was hit in the face with the deck but played the first 2 days flawlessly and got max value out of every situation. The final Day was prob just a bit too much too soon and despite making some mistakes he would normally never make he battled hard to finish 5th and I have no doubt he will be back soon.
Bit of craic on the Sunday night, where a group of us had a fair few pints and ended up with a swim in the Tramore waters at 7am. Keith McFadden is a hardy buck alright, no problem jumping straight in. Chubs, Tom, Danny Diamond and myself were next in! Seriously good fun. Went back to the hotel then for breakfast and some sleep.
Went to Galway for a few days. Its race week there and the place is buzzing! The Eglington which has become my official card room is so chilled and relaxed. They were running a festival in conjunction with the Galway Races. Obv, I got sucked off again and again. Sure you wouldn't believe it if I didn't have eye witnesses. My team mate from the team formally known as Team Whoring, Doke saw me with 22 players left in the €100 122 player game, get it in with AA pre against Jude Ainsworths bird with QQ. Obv she spanked the lady on the flop. It was a 20BB pot so it was for a massive chip lead! That last bit is actually not a joke! That being said Galway was well worth while as Andy Black gave some great words of encouragement and advice to myself and Tom over a beer on Galway's Quay Street.
Well, I have been on the road playing poker for the last 3 weeks and have come home with some profit but nothing I couldn't of got slugging away in McDonald's! Next up is Cork Id say and try and sat in or sell some %. I'm playing so well, so if i start to run well these monkeys won't have a chance!!!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Back to Basics
Ok, so basically in case you didn't realise, I was nearly busto. I gave my Dad 10k for my masters. This was really important that I do this as it gave me a sense of achievement from all those hours of degeneracy!! That left me with the guts of 15k. Which I pretty much spent the last 2 months losing nicely! I was fully in bits, no question. I have been so lucky with this game that I have never experienced such violent downswings that make your stomach turn and your ATM card reject you.
Anyway, I came home for awhile and re-assessed. I couldn't go to Vegas now, I never thought Id be in this position after such a good start to the year. I have identified a few reasons why I went close to broke.
1) I didn't play enough. Simple, I played bits and pieces. This was due to my exams and end of college partying. Whenever I did play it was sporadic and I lacked 100% concentration.
2) Bad Bankroll Management. Ugh this again. How many times do we have to mention it before we cop on! I played every €500 + tournament since January. Went something like 11 without a cash. Which is normal enough. However it was about €9k in buy in I spent and add in the hidden factors of hotels, travel and a few beers and I was looking at a -€13k deficit since February! My roll cant handle that!!
3) I wasn't playing that well. Again this happens from time to time. Its a vicious cycle, I was playing bad because of reasons 1 & 2.
Anyway, I needed to do something. I could cut my losses, take whatever surplus I had left and get a normy job. I thought bout this, wondered if I had the dedication to grind again. Had i lost the enjoyment for the game?
I decided that I hadn't lost the enthusiasm, I just had to get smarter about it. You look at the likes of John O Shea, and Doke and they have such excellent work ethic and Roll Management that they make it look so easy at times. If anything had happened in the previous year , I had proved to myself that I can do this for a living and that I can compete with every player and hold my own. I believe I'm good at this game, well at least alot better than 80% of the field, which is what matters.
I went up to Dublin, Stayed with Tom Kitt and we grinded the cash games. I needed 30 hours to qualify for the cash league. I had 3 days to get them. I got the hours and despite running so bad, I won small in the game. Then the cash league came around. I started with the shortest stack. I played some excellent poker and never felt uncomfortable. Myself and Tom refused a deal from as many as 14 out. We chopped it up with 3 left. We got €1500 each. Add that to what i picked up in the cash games and just shy of €3k for the week. So nice week. Just need to be a bit more careful with my roll. John was telling me that when he had a 20k roll it was a huge decision to play a monkey game. He's rather grind it in cash. So I think that's what I'm gonna concentrate on now.
Next up is Waterford, Its a 40k GTD tournament with only about 200 players. Hopefully I can get a result there and steady the ship a bit more.
Anyway, I came home for awhile and re-assessed. I couldn't go to Vegas now, I never thought Id be in this position after such a good start to the year. I have identified a few reasons why I went close to broke.
1) I didn't play enough. Simple, I played bits and pieces. This was due to my exams and end of college partying. Whenever I did play it was sporadic and I lacked 100% concentration.
2) Bad Bankroll Management. Ugh this again. How many times do we have to mention it before we cop on! I played every €500 + tournament since January. Went something like 11 without a cash. Which is normal enough. However it was about €9k in buy in I spent and add in the hidden factors of hotels, travel and a few beers and I was looking at a -€13k deficit since February! My roll cant handle that!!
3) I wasn't playing that well. Again this happens from time to time. Its a vicious cycle, I was playing bad because of reasons 1 & 2.
Anyway, I needed to do something. I could cut my losses, take whatever surplus I had left and get a normy job. I thought bout this, wondered if I had the dedication to grind again. Had i lost the enjoyment for the game?
I decided that I hadn't lost the enthusiasm, I just had to get smarter about it. You look at the likes of John O Shea, and Doke and they have such excellent work ethic and Roll Management that they make it look so easy at times. If anything had happened in the previous year , I had proved to myself that I can do this for a living and that I can compete with every player and hold my own. I believe I'm good at this game, well at least alot better than 80% of the field, which is what matters.
I went up to Dublin, Stayed with Tom Kitt and we grinded the cash games. I needed 30 hours to qualify for the cash league. I had 3 days to get them. I got the hours and despite running so bad, I won small in the game. Then the cash league came around. I started with the shortest stack. I played some excellent poker and never felt uncomfortable. Myself and Tom refused a deal from as many as 14 out. We chopped it up with 3 left. We got €1500 each. Add that to what i picked up in the cash games and just shy of €3k for the week. So nice week. Just need to be a bit more careful with my roll. John was telling me that when he had a 20k roll it was a huge decision to play a monkey game. He's rather grind it in cash. So I think that's what I'm gonna concentrate on now.
Next up is Waterford, Its a 40k GTD tournament with only about 200 players. Hopefully I can get a result there and steady the ship a bit more.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Why Bother!!
Well I have no excuses for not posting in awhile. I have just been lazy to be honest. After a year now of blogging, I have to say I find it to be tedious sometimes. Overall its been good though, to vent some anger, rejoice in some wins and generally share some good times.
I got my exam results and did very well, so I'm happy bout that. Don't know how I did so well considering I spent the last 3 years studying poker!
Ok so onto the Poker!! Well I took a chunk off Party about 4k and decided I would grind some live. I played the €1100 European 6 max in the old Jury's Hotel at the start of June. I sold a bit of action to some friends after failing to win a ticket in the 2 satellites I played in.
No good for me there unfortunately, I had a decent enough table draw and was playing quite well but never managed to get going. I always seemed to have the best hand and be constantly outdrawn, which made for a sharp exit. I was pretty down but I was feeling good about my game. I went straight home and got into a $700 20 man WSOP main event package sat. I got down to the last 3 and was pretty short. I played quite tight, opting for the re-steal instead of trying to steal from the button. I still had some fold equity in my short stack. With a few resteals I was back in. I was soon HU and at a 4-1 chip disadvantage. I played pretty well. The lads were watching over in Jurys and they were of the opinion I played too tight. I disagree to some extent, I certainly wouldn't be known as a passive player. I chipped up to a 3-1 lead. Then I played one hand poorly and was back at a 3-1 disadvantage. I disconnected and came back with only a few blinds. It was heart breaking. That would of set my summer up nicely.
Running bad happens. Simple as that, and when it happens yo just have to ride it out and try not to lose more by tilting. However what i cant explain is that it always seems to happen at the worst possible time! Just when I needed to run well before Vegas and the Summer....Boom I'm in hot soup. Played some live and constantly dropped buy in after buyin. I played the PLO game in the fitz and was up 1500 and then got involved in a pot with the Coo for all the bananas. I was a good favourite. Probably about 67% and we ran it twice. We chopped the first and he won the second! Pretty normal to be honest.
I came home for awhile to Galway. Well its where my parents live. Ive spent the last week surfing everyday and working hard on my golf game. I hope to get down to scratch soon. I am hitting it well and enjoying the time off.
My lifestyle was so horrible for the last month. I was out grinding till 6am and then up at 4pm everyday. Missing the Sun and everything else. Its not so bad when you are winning but it really is soul destroying when you are losing!! Been out drinking alot lately too and thats usually 2 days recovering before I have the focus again for poker.
Anyway my plan is to go back to Dublin next week and start grinding again. I don't think I'll go to Vegas this year now. It will realistically cost me between $8-$10k and I can not afford to come home broke!
Anyway hope everyone is well. Sorry for not posting in awhile, Hope you guys are still reading!!
I got my exam results and did very well, so I'm happy bout that. Don't know how I did so well considering I spent the last 3 years studying poker!
Ok so onto the Poker!! Well I took a chunk off Party about 4k and decided I would grind some live. I played the €1100 European 6 max in the old Jury's Hotel at the start of June. I sold a bit of action to some friends after failing to win a ticket in the 2 satellites I played in.
No good for me there unfortunately, I had a decent enough table draw and was playing quite well but never managed to get going. I always seemed to have the best hand and be constantly outdrawn, which made for a sharp exit. I was pretty down but I was feeling good about my game. I went straight home and got into a $700 20 man WSOP main event package sat. I got down to the last 3 and was pretty short. I played quite tight, opting for the re-steal instead of trying to steal from the button. I still had some fold equity in my short stack. With a few resteals I was back in. I was soon HU and at a 4-1 chip disadvantage. I played pretty well. The lads were watching over in Jurys and they were of the opinion I played too tight. I disagree to some extent, I certainly wouldn't be known as a passive player. I chipped up to a 3-1 lead. Then I played one hand poorly and was back at a 3-1 disadvantage. I disconnected and came back with only a few blinds. It was heart breaking. That would of set my summer up nicely.
Running bad happens. Simple as that, and when it happens yo just have to ride it out and try not to lose more by tilting. However what i cant explain is that it always seems to happen at the worst possible time! Just when I needed to run well before Vegas and the Summer....Boom I'm in hot soup. Played some live and constantly dropped buy in after buyin. I played the PLO game in the fitz and was up 1500 and then got involved in a pot with the Coo for all the bananas. I was a good favourite. Probably about 67% and we ran it twice. We chopped the first and he won the second! Pretty normal to be honest.
I came home for awhile to Galway. Well its where my parents live. Ive spent the last week surfing everyday and working hard on my golf game. I hope to get down to scratch soon. I am hitting it well and enjoying the time off.
My lifestyle was so horrible for the last month. I was out grinding till 6am and then up at 4pm everyday. Missing the Sun and everything else. Its not so bad when you are winning but it really is soul destroying when you are losing!! Been out drinking alot lately too and thats usually 2 days recovering before I have the focus again for poker.
Anyway my plan is to go back to Dublin next week and start grinding again. I don't think I'll go to Vegas this year now. It will realistically cost me between $8-$10k and I can not afford to come home broke!
Anyway hope everyone is well. Sorry for not posting in awhile, Hope you guys are still reading!!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Putting in The Hours
I haven't posted in awhile. That's due to several reasons. I have been sitting exams and not been playing much poker. The exams went well I am happy to say. I also have had some personal drama that has been tough for me. Playing when emotion is high is never a good idea, so I avoided playing for awhile.
I played the IO and was gone mid way through day 1. I played well but didn't get above my starting stack and had a tough day as I always seemed to have the second best hand. No body that I knew in Irish poker seemed to do well. There's always next year and hopefully we can have a bigger Irish challenge.
On the Sunday of the IO, I lodged $400 onto Party Poker to relieve some stress playing a 2/4 PLO game. I won small in the game and went to bed. The next day I decided to try and grind the now $600 in a real amount of money. I was inspired by Pete Murphy's multiplier that he had just completed on Boyle Poker. I played alot of MTT's and grinding PLO cash. Always playing within my bankroll. I quickly moved up the levels and now I am happy to say, some 4 weeks later I have met my first goal of $10,000.
I plan to go to Vegas in early July and play some of the smaller events and the Venetian Deepstack series. I am not sure if I will play the short-handed €1k event this week in Dublin. I'm currently in Galway at home trying to get my thoughts together and grind up some more on Party.
Finally, took a trip down to Celbridge to Chris Dowlings club. It is a nice spot, good action and they sure do look after you. Wish him all the best with it.
Right till later.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Grinding, Galway, GUKPT
Grinding..............
That's exactly what Ive been doing lately. However without much profit. Its funny how poker works. A year ago and I would of told you I was a cash game player, NLH was my best game and I'm a loser in tournaments. In fact I would of even gone as far as to say that i hated playing tournament poker, I didn't rate tournament players either. I was the usual mix of arrogance and ignorance that are most "cash game specialists"!
Well whats changed?
I think I now love tournaments because I've had success with them! There is no buzz in poker like going deep in a High Stakes MTT. I've only had fleeting experiences and can only image what its like to FT a WSOP, be HU in the poker million or IPC as some of my good friends have. Its like a drug and I crave more.
My cash game must have suffered. I have lost nearly all my live cash game sessions since January. Prob losing 10 out of 15ish. I have been winning at cash online but not alot as I'm not putting in the hours. I'll be trying to address this situation and get back to winning ways.
Since my last post I have played a good bit. I went to Dundalk for the BrucePOker game. Its a great game and every young/learning player should be playing these. 25k chips and half hour levels give you so much scope to play.........too much. I busted out in 11th after having over 12% of the chips in play with 25 left. It was a weird enough game. I caught some mulchie cheating. This guy had already got his re-buy for 15k chips and then at the break got his top up to for a further 15k. I noticed this but had my own demons to fight. This turnip plucker hadn't a scoobies of the game of poker. Every time the board came out he was constantly checking his cards against the board like he was matching symbols. I was directly to his right, It was clearly in my interest that he have 30+k instead of 8k! Seen as I'm such an honest decent bloke I informed Paul Smallwood of the cheating bastard. I was fairly diplomatic to be honest but when he starts going on "No one cares if I got extra chips, its only fun etc" I lost it with him. Needless to say after the IPC Im a little sore when it comes to cheating at the poker table!
Anyway, I ran riot for a few hours and once I scooped the 18man last longer for 1k I started to get busy and only had eyes on the 6k first prize, wasn't too upset being knocked out in 11th for €400 plus the last longer money meant I scooped more than 4th. Also it was 6.30am and Id been playing since 5pm!
Ok what next! Oh yeah Galway and the Eglinton Team Event. Prob the best weekend Ive had in Poker. Was tickled pink to be asked on Tilty Taylors team. Rob himself, Doke, Cat O neill, KP and Paul Coyle. Its always nice to be in such company and I just didn't want to let the team down. So much for that, BOOM I was gone in the first few levels. Wasn't the worst play in the world but when Im at my best I would of still been in the game after the hand. Instead I was lining up Jagerbombs with Flipper Walsh. Staggered into the bar at 5am and was delighted to find out that the team was cruising and that we would prob get second. Agh yeah, thanks lads!
We def would of won the award for the creepiest looking team. Doke had brought his pedophile shades and Tilty Taylor went for the beanie under the panama hat look. Albeit Cat brought some glamour to the team we were behind in the fashion stakes. Team Bundy had the legit hoodies on show. Saturday night was an epic piss up of all proportions. Flipper buying shots like no body's business, O Dea creeping out some girls. Noel Hayes dismantling TVs in the clubs and Fallon couldn't of been in anymore bits even if he tried.
We recovered the next day and watched the Scotland match. We watched Reesy play some PLO above.The Team had managed second and I was handed a nice wad of 50's (1200) for my couple hours play! Ah yeh normal stuff. Oh yeh O shea managed to get his monkey off his back and win a live tourney.
The highlight of the weekend was finding Donal Nortons finger. Those of you that don't know, Donal lost his finger in an accident involving Tony Cooneys eye. Anyway we found it in a club in Galway but it is happy with its new life driving rickshaws around Galway.
I won a GUKPT ticket the other night but can't make London as I have exams on this week. Pretty disppointed as I was really looking forward to it. Someday.
Over and Out!
That's exactly what Ive been doing lately. However without much profit. Its funny how poker works. A year ago and I would of told you I was a cash game player, NLH was my best game and I'm a loser in tournaments. In fact I would of even gone as far as to say that i hated playing tournament poker, I didn't rate tournament players either. I was the usual mix of arrogance and ignorance that are most "cash game specialists"!
Well whats changed?
I think I now love tournaments because I've had success with them! There is no buzz in poker like going deep in a High Stakes MTT. I've only had fleeting experiences and can only image what its like to FT a WSOP, be HU in the poker million or IPC as some of my good friends have. Its like a drug and I crave more.
My cash game must have suffered. I have lost nearly all my live cash game sessions since January. Prob losing 10 out of 15ish. I have been winning at cash online but not alot as I'm not putting in the hours. I'll be trying to address this situation and get back to winning ways.
Since my last post I have played a good bit. I went to Dundalk for the BrucePOker game. Its a great game and every young/learning player should be playing these. 25k chips and half hour levels give you so much scope to play.........too much. I busted out in 11th after having over 12% of the chips in play with 25 left. It was a weird enough game. I caught some mulchie cheating. This guy had already got his re-buy for 15k chips and then at the break got his top up to for a further 15k. I noticed this but had my own demons to fight. This turnip plucker hadn't a scoobies of the game of poker. Every time the board came out he was constantly checking his cards against the board like he was matching symbols. I was directly to his right, It was clearly in my interest that he have 30+k instead of 8k! Seen as I'm such an honest decent bloke I informed Paul Smallwood of the cheating bastard. I was fairly diplomatic to be honest but when he starts going on "No one cares if I got extra chips, its only fun etc" I lost it with him. Needless to say after the IPC Im a little sore when it comes to cheating at the poker table!
Anyway, I ran riot for a few hours and once I scooped the 18man last longer for 1k I started to get busy and only had eyes on the 6k first prize, wasn't too upset being knocked out in 11th for €400 plus the last longer money meant I scooped more than 4th. Also it was 6.30am and Id been playing since 5pm!
Ok what next! Oh yeah Galway and the Eglinton Team Event. Prob the best weekend Ive had in Poker. Was tickled pink to be asked on Tilty Taylors team. Rob himself, Doke, Cat O neill, KP and Paul Coyle. Its always nice to be in such company and I just didn't want to let the team down. So much for that, BOOM I was gone in the first few levels. Wasn't the worst play in the world but when Im at my best I would of still been in the game after the hand. Instead I was lining up Jagerbombs with Flipper Walsh. Staggered into the bar at 5am and was delighted to find out that the team was cruising and that we would prob get second. Agh yeah, thanks lads!
We def would of won the award for the creepiest looking team. Doke had brought his pedophile shades and Tilty Taylor went for the beanie under the panama hat look. Albeit Cat brought some glamour to the team we were behind in the fashion stakes. Team Bundy had the legit hoodies on show. Saturday night was an epic piss up of all proportions. Flipper buying shots like no body's business, O Dea creeping out some girls. Noel Hayes dismantling TVs in the clubs and Fallon couldn't of been in anymore bits even if he tried.
We recovered the next day and watched the Scotland match. We watched Reesy play some PLO above.The Team had managed second and I was handed a nice wad of 50's (1200) for my couple hours play! Ah yeh normal stuff. Oh yeh O shea managed to get his monkey off his back and win a live tourney.
The highlight of the weekend was finding Donal Nortons finger. Those of you that don't know, Donal lost his finger in an accident involving Tony Cooneys eye. Anyway we found it in a club in Galway but it is happy with its new life driving rickshaws around Galway.
I won a GUKPT ticket the other night but can't make London as I have exams on this week. Pretty disppointed as I was really looking forward to it. Someday.
Over and Out!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Calm after the Storm.
Ok, Having got some feedback on my last blog. Most of which has been concern for my safety! I think I should clear up a few things.
I wrote that blog at 10am after a massive drinking session with some of the lads followed by a drunken losing session in the Sports. Then we went to the Jackpot at 5ish and having now sobered up (partly because of some arrogant fuck in seat 2 who had over a k in front of him raising and re-raising every pot) I started to play quite well. We soon got a ROE game going and I liked the table, lots of money on it. I got lucky and trebled up when my AA85 cracked other Aces and held against some random hand.
So I was playing 1200 now and playing well. Chris Dowling had moved to the table. I know his game very well as we have had a habit of going deep in the same tournaments. Our styles clash, simple as that and even if we try and avoid each other we seem to be always locking horns. I think he is a great player and always enjoy the challenge. Neither one of us has ever gotten the better of the other. My plan was to try and avoid pots with Chris and take pots off the other opponents at the table.
Ugh.....so much for that plan. During the PLO round Chris raised from the BB. I knew he had AAxx, because he raised from this position. Flop comes QJ5 all diamonds. Chris leads for pot. I had flopped the 10high flush here. I was in SB. The player to my right folded and as he did, I saw the K of diamonds flash. So I had the second nuts here. I played this hand horribly and to be fair was completely out played by Chris. I re-raised and he then moved in on me. I know he is good enough to be doing this with the lone A of diamonds! I decided to make the call........Great call, obviously Chris has the nuts here! What a donkey I am at times.
To show the character of Chris, he came straight outside to me and asked if I was Ok and if I wanted money to get back into the game. I could tell he genuinely didnt like winning that pot against me. Top guy and top player, alot of mutual respect there and I wouldnt be at all surprised if he backs up his IPC result with a showing in GUKPT or the IO.
I was sickened for many reasons. When I got home I assessed the situation again. I was upset about a number of things and these things inspired me to write that blog.
1) I was upset about the money. Not because I lost it, just my attitude towards it. I have had some recent success with nearly 40k in winnings over the last few months and have completely lost all respect for money. I have no mortgage, no kids, no wife, no responsibilities. I just spend, spend spend, gamble then spend some more. Without a care in the world. In this current climate, I felt guilty about it. I felt guilty about putting 1200 euro on the line just because I didn't want to be outplayed!
2) I was upset about my game. Chris is a top player and we have history. I hate being outplayed by him as I'm sure he hates being outplayed by me. Ego's have no place at the table and my ego cost me here. An amateur mistake. I thought I was better than that and that was hard to take. Outplaying an opponent sometimes is to fold. I firmly believe now that you will never be a top player unless you make the wrong folds for the right reasons now and again!
3) I feel like I have lost a small amount of direction in my poker life. I havent moved on from my recent results, rather just basked in the limelight of it all. Taking the adulation and congratulations without being motivated to move on to bigger and better things. If you aren't improving you are being passed out!
I am a really lucky guy. I have everything I could possibly want and I owe it all to poker. Getting upset now and again is OK but I'm a happy guy so no need for concern!!
I plan on getting back on track this week. Im gonna grind online at 2/4 NLHE and PLO. Also I plan on playing lots of MTT's and lots of IO sats, GUKPT sats. The week will finish in Galway where I play the team event. I really fancy our team with Dara O kearney, Rob Taylor, Kp, Cat O Neill and Paul Coyle.
I wrote that blog at 10am after a massive drinking session with some of the lads followed by a drunken losing session in the Sports. Then we went to the Jackpot at 5ish and having now sobered up (partly because of some arrogant fuck in seat 2 who had over a k in front of him raising and re-raising every pot) I started to play quite well. We soon got a ROE game going and I liked the table, lots of money on it. I got lucky and trebled up when my AA85 cracked other Aces and held against some random hand.
So I was playing 1200 now and playing well. Chris Dowling had moved to the table. I know his game very well as we have had a habit of going deep in the same tournaments. Our styles clash, simple as that and even if we try and avoid each other we seem to be always locking horns. I think he is a great player and always enjoy the challenge. Neither one of us has ever gotten the better of the other. My plan was to try and avoid pots with Chris and take pots off the other opponents at the table.
Ugh.....so much for that plan. During the PLO round Chris raised from the BB. I knew he had AAxx, because he raised from this position. Flop comes QJ5 all diamonds. Chris leads for pot. I had flopped the 10high flush here. I was in SB. The player to my right folded and as he did, I saw the K of diamonds flash. So I had the second nuts here. I played this hand horribly and to be fair was completely out played by Chris. I re-raised and he then moved in on me. I know he is good enough to be doing this with the lone A of diamonds! I decided to make the call........Great call, obviously Chris has the nuts here! What a donkey I am at times.
To show the character of Chris, he came straight outside to me and asked if I was Ok and if I wanted money to get back into the game. I could tell he genuinely didnt like winning that pot against me. Top guy and top player, alot of mutual respect there and I wouldnt be at all surprised if he backs up his IPC result with a showing in GUKPT or the IO.
I was sickened for many reasons. When I got home I assessed the situation again. I was upset about a number of things and these things inspired me to write that blog.
1) I was upset about the money. Not because I lost it, just my attitude towards it. I have had some recent success with nearly 40k in winnings over the last few months and have completely lost all respect for money. I have no mortgage, no kids, no wife, no responsibilities. I just spend, spend spend, gamble then spend some more. Without a care in the world. In this current climate, I felt guilty about it. I felt guilty about putting 1200 euro on the line just because I didn't want to be outplayed!
2) I was upset about my game. Chris is a top player and we have history. I hate being outplayed by him as I'm sure he hates being outplayed by me. Ego's have no place at the table and my ego cost me here. An amateur mistake. I thought I was better than that and that was hard to take. Outplaying an opponent sometimes is to fold. I firmly believe now that you will never be a top player unless you make the wrong folds for the right reasons now and again!
3) I feel like I have lost a small amount of direction in my poker life. I havent moved on from my recent results, rather just basked in the limelight of it all. Taking the adulation and congratulations without being motivated to move on to bigger and better things. If you aren't improving you are being passed out!
I am a really lucky guy. I have everything I could possibly want and I owe it all to poker. Getting upset now and again is OK but I'm a happy guy so no need for concern!!
I plan on getting back on track this week. Im gonna grind online at 2/4 NLHE and PLO. Also I plan on playing lots of MTT's and lots of IO sats, GUKPT sats. The week will finish in Galway where I play the team event. I really fancy our team with Dara O kearney, Rob Taylor, Kp, Cat O Neill and Paul Coyle.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Cheat
I haven't posted in awhile. The reason for that is I have been experiencing the worst downswing ever. I have to say that this is pretty much all self inflicted. From playing drunk, taking shots at bigger games, lending money and playing bad, Ive done it all.
Its so frustrating, I used to pride myself on being level headed and even frowned on people who couldn't keep it together and got themselves in these positions.......well now I know how easy it is to loose your sense of purpose, lose your morals towards money, believe that it when the worms say I'm the next big thing.
Time to be honest here. Over the last few months I've had some good results, but not great results. The kind of results that just steadily build the bankroll. I haven't even won a fucking tournament for Christ sake. Ive been spending money like its going out of fashion. I have been living life as if I won the WSOP! Its great to hear some of the really nice things people are saying bout me, seeing myself on TV. Its a great feeling to start being recognised and respected when I walk into a card club or jump into a game......Bottom line is I have achieved nothing and worse I have started to believe my own hype. I have acted frivolously, behaved like a big shot, a high roller. I am none of these things. I am the fraud I never said I would become. I am just a decent enough young player who has shown potential. How many before me? How many after me?
I need to cop on and get back to working hard which I prided myself on. Its what got me to where I am. John O Shea recently called Hollaments out because he believed him to be a fraud. John and Reesy were getting pissed off with all these young guys thinking they are the business, lying about levels they play and getting the plaudits without putting in the work. I'm not quite at that level but I'm in danger of being one of those "nearly made its" that you see in every card room in Ireland. Bitter and broke with only the praise and adulation from the worms to console them.
The lads have always thought me hard work pays. Something I knew myself from spending hours after hour on the range hitting balls trying to iron out a swing fault time and time again when i was younger. In golf the guys who worked the hardest usually came out on top. I wasn't as gifted or talented as a lot of guys but I sure worked harder and could compete. I feel in poker that I do have the natural ability so if I marry that with work ethic I should be very good, but right now I'm just a cheat. In the end only cheating myself.
Time to keep my head down and work my ass off if I'm to get to where I want to be.
Its so frustrating, I used to pride myself on being level headed and even frowned on people who couldn't keep it together and got themselves in these positions.......well now I know how easy it is to loose your sense of purpose, lose your morals towards money, believe that it when the worms say I'm the next big thing.
Time to be honest here. Over the last few months I've had some good results, but not great results. The kind of results that just steadily build the bankroll. I haven't even won a fucking tournament for Christ sake. Ive been spending money like its going out of fashion. I have been living life as if I won the WSOP! Its great to hear some of the really nice things people are saying bout me, seeing myself on TV. Its a great feeling to start being recognised and respected when I walk into a card club or jump into a game......Bottom line is I have achieved nothing and worse I have started to believe my own hype. I have acted frivolously, behaved like a big shot, a high roller. I am none of these things. I am the fraud I never said I would become. I am just a decent enough young player who has shown potential. How many before me? How many after me?
I need to cop on and get back to working hard which I prided myself on. Its what got me to where I am. John O Shea recently called Hollaments out because he believed him to be a fraud. John and Reesy were getting pissed off with all these young guys thinking they are the business, lying about levels they play and getting the plaudits without putting in the work. I'm not quite at that level but I'm in danger of being one of those "nearly made its" that you see in every card room in Ireland. Bitter and broke with only the praise and adulation from the worms to console them.
The lads have always thought me hard work pays. Something I knew myself from spending hours after hour on the range hitting balls trying to iron out a swing fault time and time again when i was younger. In golf the guys who worked the hardest usually came out on top. I wasn't as gifted or talented as a lot of guys but I sure worked harder and could compete. I feel in poker that I do have the natural ability so if I marry that with work ethic I should be very good, but right now I'm just a cheat. In the end only cheating myself.
Time to keep my head down and work my ass off if I'm to get to where I want to be.
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