KP goes Nutz in Ireland

That was my first time to lose a winner-takes-all qualifier, having won 2/2 previous times heads-up, and let me tell you it is particularly heartbreaking! Unfortunately, twice this month I have had similar experiences, finishing 2nd in Betfair Poker’s 8,000 Aussie Millions qualifier a couple of Saturday’s ago, two days after I finished 3rd on another site for a €30,000 Monte Carlo Millions package! UL KP. GG. TY.

It hasn’t all been doom and gloom since the last Deal, however. The Dublin EPT event produced a weekend to remember, with my fellow Betfair Poker player dpommo playing a stormer all weekend, despite a very late night out on the Friday. Pommo (David Pomroy) was playing his first big live tournament and finished 3rd of 248 runners for €89,000.

And he did it in style too. I was knocked out midway through the first day (the less said about that the better; basically I overplayed my pocket KK and should not have gone broke despite having over pair to the board and K-high flush draw on turn when all the money went in), so I grabbed a much-needed early night on the Saturday.

I arrived at the Merrion Casino early on the Sunday afternoon to support Pommo and stood behind him throughout the afternoon and early evening, until proceedings moved to the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) for the TV final table. I could see Pommos hole cards almost every hand and without giving too much away, I have to say he played an absolute blinder.

Sometimes, it was hard to tell if Pommo had actually looked at his hole cards, even when he was making big raises on turn and river, such was his confidence in his ability to read the other players at his table. And his table opponents were of the highest calibre, including probably the two greatest ever Irish players, Donnacha O’Dea and Andy Black.

Fellow Betfairians, Ariston, Dubai Millenium (sic), Kinghawko and Reactive were also supporting Pommo enthusiastically all day, although Dubai was often busier than the EPT tournament director as he frantically tried to get as much of Pommos prize money spent as possible, long before the final table. At one stage, Pommo actually feared he would have to land the 1st prize of € 370,000 to break even on the weekend, not that Pommo was ever gunning for anything other than 1st prize anyway!

Shortly after Andy Black was knocked out in around 20th, and with Pommo still just about tournament chip leader, all in attendance at the last three tables in the cellar of the Merrion could hear Dubai booking not one but two white stretch limousines for the long night ahead! Dubai: Yes, Joe, its Dubai here, I’m on KP’s phone. That will be two limousines please. And please have five bottles of champagne chilling in each! Good man! TY

Then Dubai started trying to contact my friend Kevin who runs the Ely Wine Bar in Dublin, where we had enjoyed a couple of meals over the previous couple of nights. The Ely was shut that Sunday, but when we had been there before, Dubai had espied a couple of FIFTEEN-LITRE bottles of Cristal there and now wanted to buy both and any bigger ones that Kevin might be able to supply for us to get our lips around LOL.

Anyway, onwards and upwards to the RDS for the final table. Pommo was obliged to travel in a bus with the other finalists, friends, supporters, dealers and tournament officials. We made our own way there, in a LARGE Mercedes (as we booked the limousines at such short notice, they weren’t going to arrive until a little later)!

Eventually the final started and Pommo got knocked out in 3rd place, but the highlight of the final for me was when telly totty Natalie decided she needed to interview a member of the crowd and chose me (OK, you guessed it, she’s a friend of a friend)! I can’t remember much of whatever gibberish I spouted to her, but I certainly wasn’t looking at the camera much! Anyway, you will almost certainly never get to see this interview, thank god I will happily wager five grand at even money that this footage ends up on the cutting-room floor where it belongs!

By the time Pommo was finished doing his own exit interview and taking care of other formalities, our limousines had been parked outside the RDS for over three hours. Just as well I had a grand on me to give the drivers upfront before they came in to watch the poker on our slate, because Pommo and Dubai had a total of 54 euro on their persons all day!

Anyway, we soon made up for stalling time and hit the road in convoy, the limos filled with well-bevvied Betfairians (free bar in the RDS), now including The Genius (Michael), Norwich Fan (Rob) a and a couple of freeloaders we picked up in the RDS including two good poker friends of mine, David O’Callaghan and Eoghan O’Dea (whose father Donnacha was, ironically, knocked out of the EPT earlier that day by Pommo!).

First stop was Reynards night club, then it was off to Lillies Bordello can’t remember many details of the night really (as if I would write them here if I did!) except that a very large proportion of it was spent in uproarious laughter and high jinks! Pommo was buying champagne five bottles at a time, and liquor by the bottle! It was our waitress Hayley’s birthday, she claimed, and the way she was tipped by our table that night, lets just say all her birthdays came at once!

At around 5am, we swung by the Merrion to pick up the balance of Pommos prize money (balance of €84,000 they had given him € 5,000 pocket money in the RDS, which was by now well spent!). While Pommo was getting fixed up, I made a quick fire € 1,500 on the cash Pot Limit Omaha tables, my only good results on the poker table that weekend were both under the influence, I had made a quick fire grand in the Fitzwilliam early on the Saturday morning with a 4-high flush on the PLO table there...

So, we jumped back into the limos and off with us to Total Pokers Dublin HQ with a dozen bottles of wine (yes, we did try unsuccessfully to procure more champagne)! And it was a tired and emotional motley crew that staggered, bleary-eyed, out of Pommo and Dubai’s penthouse suite shortly before 9am on the Monday morning!

Actually, come to think of it, thanks be to God that I’m not going to St Kitts with that pair of jokers. I’m not sure I could survive a full week with Total Poker!

Until next time, GL all!

KP Nutz