It’s the day of the main event and after lunch we took our seats. With over 750 entries the room was packed to the rafters yet was still a very comfortable environment to play.
There was a 1hr clock and 15,000 starting stacks. With the blinds starting at 25/25 the structure was absolutely fantastic, the organisers were determined to give us our money’s worth but I was concerned how the hell it would finish by Sunday night.
>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/wi6E8
The 1st two levels were quiet and I reached the break with just 12,500 chips. Not in bad shape and I had already seen which players on the table were likely to donate chips to me. Unfortunately candidate number 1 gave them to someone else the very first hand we got back.
A player to my left got very busy, raising my big blind under the gun twice. Both times he rivered me for tasty pots once with 23 of hearts the other 78 of hearts. I was now down to less than 8k.
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With the blinds at 100/200 I find AQ on the button. Rivvver (A Ladbrokes regular) had limped under the gun. I raise to 600 to find where I am and he flat calls. The flop comes A 8 2. He checks and I bet 900, hoping he comes over the top. I am sure he doesn’t have AK, if he’s flopped the set, well I guess I am going out. He dwells for some time and eventually flat calls. I am now sure he has a pocket pair, probably somewhere between the 8 and ace, 10’s or jacks’s maybe. The turn is a blank and he checks to me. If I bet now, he will fold and I get nothing more. He knows me and he expects me to continuation bet the flop whether I hit or not. I check, knowing he will either bet the river or at least call a bet from me thinking there is a good chance I am bluffing. The river is again a blank and he checks to me. I bet 2000 which he calls and he shows me his pocket kings. If he’d re-raised pre-flop I was gone. Phew!
The guy to my right, called Joseph had been harping on about a dog all day. I have an almost perfect record when it comes to backing horse and dog tips. If I back ‘em they lose, if I don’t, they win. Simple. I had tried to resist the temptation of knowing about it. However when the dinner break came he reminded everyone again that it was running at 9.25 and the whole table assured him they were backing it, including the old dear (Vera) to his right. I now had no choice, if I came back from the break to hear the whole table celebrating a win I was sure to tilt. I had to consider the bet as a life insurance policy.
Julian and Traff joined me for dinner at our hotel where we discussed the days play and the bet (of course). Traff wasn’t interested but Julian and me rushed back to get our bets on. It was only 6/4 so we had 200 each on and stood around waiting for the start of the race. At 9.30, 5 mins after the off someone informed us it was some far out Irish track and there wasn’t gonna be any coverage so we rushed back to the tournament. By the time I got to the table everyone was celebrating, it had indeed won. Sweet.
Without any major battles or large pots I had battled my way to over 20,000. On my table was Rory Brown, a young lad who I first met in Galway of January of this year. I knew he had moves and his read of the game is good. We locked horns a little and it was only a matter of time before we played a critical pot.
With the blinds at 150/300 He raised under the gun to 1000. I find pocket Jacks and re-raise to 3000. He contemplates his next move. He knows I could be squeezing but he doesn’t want to risk pushing all in, but his hand is good enough to at least see a flop and calls. The board is 7 4 2, perfect. He checks to me. I bet out just over 4,000. I know he has around 11,000 and I hope he feels I will fold to a push. He dwells before indeed pushing all in and I make the call. He flips over pocket 10’s and when the turn and river are blanks I have over 35k and am very much in the game and taken out the one player on the table who might have had me worried.
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I started to use my newly found stack to apply pressure. And things are going well. With the blinds at 200/400 I raise with Kd6d on the button to 1150 and both blinds call. Oh, well just a set back. The flop comes 9 Jack high all clubs. Checked to me and I bet 2000. The small blind passes and the big blind checks his cards and calls. I know he has a big club, probably the bare ace and when the turn is a red Jack he checks to me again. I now bet 4500, he only has around 20k and would be foolish to call. He calls, obviously. The river is a King of clubs. He checks and I check hoping I had read the hand wrong and my pair of kings would be enough. NOPE! The clown does indeed have the ace of clubs for the nuts. Not only does he call without pot odds, he had called with no implied odds. Does he really think I am stupid enough to bet the river when the club comes? Sickening when some people may as well turn their cards face up and you still can’t beat them.
The day wrapped up around 1am with still over 400 players remaining. I had around 38k, chip leader for my table and in a good spot. The great news was there would be no redraw and I would get my shot at the same players again.
My friend Steve Trafford has also made day 2 on his first ever major tournament and was obviously delighted. A good effort indeed. Kila had been less than fortunate. After a hefty pre-flop raise with AQ she was all in and out on a flop of Q K A. Her opponent attached to his monster 10 jack.
All that was left was preparation for day 2, so to the bar then.
Friday 2nd October
Thursday 15 October 2009
Thursday 8 October 2009
Interview with Thomas Rolfe (r0lfus) - Winner of Irish Poker Festival 2009
Thomas took home €100,000 from the Ladbrokes.com Poker Festival in Killarney in the early hours of Monday morning having qualified through one of our Killarney Rake Races in August, playing mid stakes. Thomas is only 22 and has been playing full time poker for a year and a half, since he finished University at Loughborough. We managed to catch up with Thomas, and asked him a few questions to see how he is feeling after an intense weekend of poker and how he will be spending his winnings.
>> See the final table video footage: http://bit.ly/Qdmzo
Adam: So how does it feel to win and be €100,000 better off, at your first attempt?
Thomas: It feels amazing! Didn’t realise how much I had won at the time, it didn’t really kick in till the next day what had just happened and what I had been through, it’s a massive amount of money and feels great!
A: What have you done since the early hours of Monday morning to celebrate?
T: Well we had a few drinks with the Ladbrokes guys and then finally got to bed about 8am and then don’t think any of us were up until 5pm Monday evening. But we took it easy and I treated the boys to a meal in the hotel. I’m saving my main celebrations until the weekend, when I’m going out in Nottingham with a group of friends.
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A: What was the atmosphere like at the final table?
T: Well I have made a final table once before, I finished 3rd it at the Venetian back in February. But that was nothing like this…it was no way near the same, towards the end nearly every hand got the crowd off their seats, which added to the atmosphere and pressure.
A: You seemed to be very calm at such a young age, how did you deal with the crowds and the long hours?
T: Generally I calmed myself by chatting to the other players at my table, but in general I found myself calm throughout the tournament. I felt the banter increased amongst players as the tournament went on; it was very quiet to begin with.
A: How did your family react when you told them?
T: Ha ha, I text my mum and her first response was a text saying “DON’T LOSE IT!!” and that was shortly followed by another one saying “don’t buy a car!!” Since then I have had loads of texts and facebook messages from friends and family.
A: What are you going to be doing with the money?
T: Short term, I’m going to play more high stakes, cash games and hopefully get involved in a few more live tournaments. But long term, I’m looking to buy a house in Nottingham.
A: Apart from winning, what was your favourite moment of the weekend?
T: Umm…wow that’s hard one. I did enjoy one specific big hand on day 2. I had a pair of Ace’s and this other guy had 6/4 off suit. The flop gave a pair of 6’s and he bet very aggressively but I was never going to fold holding Ace’s. Then an Ace came on the River, I doubled my chip stack, winning about €95,000, so that was nice.
A: Have you been on any other VIP events with Ladbrokes?
T: No this was my first, as I’m quite a new VIP, but hopefully not the last as I had an amazing weekend and have heard good things about Ladbrokes VIP events from other players.
A: Have you played poker since Monday morning?
T: No not yet, but will probably play later today. Whilst travelling home we played some stupid games, flipping a coin for money and things like that but only small scale stuff.
A: Did you make any new Poker friends over the weekend?
T: Yeah I met a few nice guys. I had arranged to meet up with Alexdb before hand on the Ladbrokes chat, as we have played together on a few occasions and he is a strong player, so yeah it was good to finally meet up with him.
A: What’s next for you in the near future, any holidays? Or just more poker whilst your on a high?
T: Just more poker, nothing crazy planned as yet.
A; You had some great support at the final table, would you like to thank anyone specially?
T: Yeah I think I had the support of all the English….well all 3 of them at the final table, but yes I would like to thank Simran (D33pincider), Chris (GARY888) and Alex (Alexdb) for all their support.
A: Will you be back next year?
T: Definitely, to defend my title!
A: So are you looking forward to the Cruise, you also won?
T: Yeah I can’t wait, to be fair, when I won I forgot about the Cruise package but to realise after, that I will be going to places such as Jamaica is great. Really can’t wait and hopefully a few of my friends will win packages through Ladbrokes too.
Report by Adam F. - Ladbrokes Poker Team
>> See the final table video footage: http://bit.ly/Qdmzo
Adam: So how does it feel to win and be €100,000 better off, at your first attempt?
Thomas: It feels amazing! Didn’t realise how much I had won at the time, it didn’t really kick in till the next day what had just happened and what I had been through, it’s a massive amount of money and feels great!
A: What have you done since the early hours of Monday morning to celebrate?
T: Well we had a few drinks with the Ladbrokes guys and then finally got to bed about 8am and then don’t think any of us were up until 5pm Monday evening. But we took it easy and I treated the boys to a meal in the hotel. I’m saving my main celebrations until the weekend, when I’m going out in Nottingham with a group of friends.
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A: What was the atmosphere like at the final table?
T: Well I have made a final table once before, I finished 3rd it at the Venetian back in February. But that was nothing like this…it was no way near the same, towards the end nearly every hand got the crowd off their seats, which added to the atmosphere and pressure.
A: You seemed to be very calm at such a young age, how did you deal with the crowds and the long hours?
T: Generally I calmed myself by chatting to the other players at my table, but in general I found myself calm throughout the tournament. I felt the banter increased amongst players as the tournament went on; it was very quiet to begin with.
A: How did your family react when you told them?
T: Ha ha, I text my mum and her first response was a text saying “DON’T LOSE IT!!” and that was shortly followed by another one saying “don’t buy a car!!” Since then I have had loads of texts and facebook messages from friends and family.
A: What are you going to be doing with the money?
T: Short term, I’m going to play more high stakes, cash games and hopefully get involved in a few more live tournaments. But long term, I’m looking to buy a house in Nottingham.
A: Apart from winning, what was your favourite moment of the weekend?
T: Umm…wow that’s hard one. I did enjoy one specific big hand on day 2. I had a pair of Ace’s and this other guy had 6/4 off suit. The flop gave a pair of 6’s and he bet very aggressively but I was never going to fold holding Ace’s. Then an Ace came on the River, I doubled my chip stack, winning about €95,000, so that was nice.
A: Have you been on any other VIP events with Ladbrokes?
T: No this was my first, as I’m quite a new VIP, but hopefully not the last as I had an amazing weekend and have heard good things about Ladbrokes VIP events from other players.
A: Have you played poker since Monday morning?
T: No not yet, but will probably play later today. Whilst travelling home we played some stupid games, flipping a coin for money and things like that but only small scale stuff.
A: Did you make any new Poker friends over the weekend?
T: Yeah I met a few nice guys. I had arranged to meet up with Alexdb before hand on the Ladbrokes chat, as we have played together on a few occasions and he is a strong player, so yeah it was good to finally meet up with him.
A: What’s next for you in the near future, any holidays? Or just more poker whilst your on a high?
T: Just more poker, nothing crazy planned as yet.
A; You had some great support at the final table, would you like to thank anyone specially?
T: Yeah I think I had the support of all the English….well all 3 of them at the final table, but yes I would like to thank Simran (D33pincider), Chris (GARY888) and Alex (Alexdb) for all their support.
A: Will you be back next year?
T: Definitely, to defend my title!
A: So are you looking forward to the Cruise, you also won?
T: Yeah I can’t wait, to be fair, when I won I forgot about the Cruise package but to realise after, that I will be going to places such as Jamaica is great. Really can’t wait and hopefully a few of my friends will win packages through Ladbrokes too.
Report by Adam F. - Ladbrokes Poker Team
Tuesday 6 October 2009
We got a WINNER: Thomas Rolfe cashed in €100K at Irish Poker Festival 2009
FREE entry Thomas Rolfe was celebrating after coming through a mammoth five and a half hour final table to land the Ladbrokes.com Irish Poker €100,000 first prize, last weekend.
>> See the video from Final Table: http://bit.ly/Qdmzo
The Nottingham-based player (alias ‘r0lfus’) plans to invest his biggest ever win in property after capturing the six-figure sum when his AQ vs. AK hit the flush to consign local favourite Emmet Gough to the runners-up spot.- The four day festival attracted over 750 players.
Rolfe said: “I’m really pleased to have won this event. It’s a big stepping stone and a chance to invest in a new house.”
The 22-year-old, who won his place at Killarney in a rake race on the firm’s site, added to his joy by securing the first Ladbrokes Poker Cruise IV package.
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Stay tuned for latest news and promotions at http://poker.ladbrokes.com/online-poker/ & follow Ladbrokes Poker instantly through Twitter: http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker or Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ladbrokespoker
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Satellites for the cruise are due to start in December, exclusively online at Ladbrokes Poker.
Kate McLennan, Head of Poker, said "This tournament has once again been a huge success and is a fitting place to launch the Poker Cruise. It's nice to see familiar faces and also welcome some first-timers.
“We're already planning next year’s Irish event, though I think it’s going to take 12 months to recover from the weekend’s festival!"
An additional package for the Poker Cruise was won in the Ladbrokes qualifiers’ prize draw-selected by Boyzone’s Shane Lynch-by Laddies legend Richard Clarke. (Alias ‘KrackedKings’, formerly ‘richlizard’).
Lynch and Irish football legend Ronnie Whelan were on hand to impart their pearls of poker wisdom to proceedings at the event.
Ladbrokes Pro’s Jonas ‘Nebuchad’ Danielsson and Jon ‘Skalie’ Kalmar represented Scandinavia and UK respectively in the fun showcase tournament held on stage – with Nebu taking the prize and the bragging rights in the UK vs. Scandi vs. Irish team competition..
Multi table tournament king and recent Vegas casher ‘daddymac’ won the festival’s €300 side event and picked up €18000.
>> See the video from Final Table: http://bit.ly/Qdmzo
The Nottingham-based player (alias ‘r0lfus’) plans to invest his biggest ever win in property after capturing the six-figure sum when his AQ vs. AK hit the flush to consign local favourite Emmet Gough to the runners-up spot.- The four day festival attracted over 750 players.
Rolfe said: “I’m really pleased to have won this event. It’s a big stepping stone and a chance to invest in a new house.”
The 22-year-old, who won his place at Killarney in a rake race on the firm’s site, added to his joy by securing the first Ladbrokes Poker Cruise IV package.
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Stay tuned for latest news and promotions at http://poker.ladbrokes.com/online-poker/ & follow Ladbrokes Poker instantly through Twitter: http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker or Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ladbrokespoker
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Satellites for the cruise are due to start in December, exclusively online at Ladbrokes Poker.
Kate McLennan, Head of Poker, said "This tournament has once again been a huge success and is a fitting place to launch the Poker Cruise. It's nice to see familiar faces and also welcome some first-timers.
“We're already planning next year’s Irish event, though I think it’s going to take 12 months to recover from the weekend’s festival!"
An additional package for the Poker Cruise was won in the Ladbrokes qualifiers’ prize draw-selected by Boyzone’s Shane Lynch-by Laddies legend Richard Clarke. (Alias ‘KrackedKings’, formerly ‘richlizard’).
Lynch and Irish football legend Ronnie Whelan were on hand to impart their pearls of poker wisdom to proceedings at the event.
Ladbrokes Pro’s Jonas ‘Nebuchad’ Danielsson and Jon ‘Skalie’ Kalmar represented Scandinavia and UK respectively in the fun showcase tournament held on stage – with Nebu taking the prize and the bragging rights in the UK vs. Scandi vs. Irish team competition..
Multi table tournament king and recent Vegas casher ‘daddymac’ won the festival’s €300 side event and picked up €18000.
Monday 5 October 2009
Irish Poker Festival 2009 – Final Day in the Main Event
57 Players returned for the final day's play in the Main Event. With the bubble now a distant memory players began to exit the tournament rapidly. A late finish was in store when the final table began at 11pm.
>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/Qdmzo
The first player to exit was Jerry Cosgrave. The play slowed down considerably and Ladbrokes cash game player Thomas Rolf was doing his best to keep the Irish crowd quiet by taking the chip lead. However, the final table ebbed and flowed and by the time there were three players left it was England v Ireland. Michael Murphy finished in 3rd place collecting €35,000 leaving local Emmet Gough heads up with Rolf whose alias is r0lfus. The former student who is just 22 years old held a significant advantage as the heads up battle began. However, Gough chipped away at his lead and turned the game around.
A large gathering of spectators watched on into the early hours until the crucial hand played out to leave Rolf the new champion. With all of Gough's chips in the middle it was Rolf's AQ that improved against the dominant AK of Gough. It was a harsh blow for the young Irishman who was dignified in defeat. Emmet Gough won a fantastic €65,000 for his weekend's work.
Rolf celebrated with friends before moving straight to the bar for a well earned drink, grasping the new trophy and a cheque for €100,000. In addition to the huge cash prize Thomas also picked up the added 2011 Poker Cruise package.
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Stay tuned for latest news and promotions on our website http://poker.ladbrokes.com/online-poker/ & follow Ladbrokes Poker instantly through Twitter: http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker
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Congratulations must also go to Ladbrokes regular Richard Sinclair (daddymac) who played superbly to take the €300 side event. daddymac defeated Nicky Power heads up and took the €18,000 forst prize and continue his recent run of fantastic results.
Ladbrokes Poker would like to thank all those who have tried to qualify for the Irish Poker Festival as well as those who followed the daily updates.
As you may be aware the 2011 Poker Cruise (http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/poker-cruise ) was announced this weekend and a prize draw was made for all new registrations and online qualifiers to this year's Irish Poker Festival. The winner of the package was Richard Clarke (richlizard / KrackedKings). Nice one Richard!!!
>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/Qdmzo
The first player to exit was Jerry Cosgrave. The play slowed down considerably and Ladbrokes cash game player Thomas Rolf was doing his best to keep the Irish crowd quiet by taking the chip lead. However, the final table ebbed and flowed and by the time there were three players left it was England v Ireland. Michael Murphy finished in 3rd place collecting €35,000 leaving local Emmet Gough heads up with Rolf whose alias is r0lfus. The former student who is just 22 years old held a significant advantage as the heads up battle began. However, Gough chipped away at his lead and turned the game around.
A large gathering of spectators watched on into the early hours until the crucial hand played out to leave Rolf the new champion. With all of Gough's chips in the middle it was Rolf's AQ that improved against the dominant AK of Gough. It was a harsh blow for the young Irishman who was dignified in defeat. Emmet Gough won a fantastic €65,000 for his weekend's work.
Rolf celebrated with friends before moving straight to the bar for a well earned drink, grasping the new trophy and a cheque for €100,000. In addition to the huge cash prize Thomas also picked up the added 2011 Poker Cruise package.
———————————————————————-
Stay tuned for latest news and promotions on our website http://poker.ladbrokes.com/online-poker/ & follow Ladbrokes Poker instantly through Twitter: http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker
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Congratulations must also go to Ladbrokes regular Richard Sinclair (daddymac) who played superbly to take the €300 side event. daddymac defeated Nicky Power heads up and took the €18,000 forst prize and continue his recent run of fantastic results.
Ladbrokes Poker would like to thank all those who have tried to qualify for the Irish Poker Festival as well as those who followed the daily updates.
As you may be aware the 2011 Poker Cruise (http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/poker-cruise ) was announced this weekend and a prize draw was made for all new registrations and online qualifiers to this year's Irish Poker Festival. The winner of the package was Richard Clarke (richlizard / KrackedKings). Nice one Richard!!!
Jonas Danielsson, AKA Nebuchad busted at Irish Poker Festival 2009
I just have to press "b" and the word "Bust" comes up. It saves me a little time, lol.
I am fairly happy with how I played. Big pot which made me lose my stack was when the button limped, I completed with Qs-5s in the small blind and big blind checked. Blinds were 500-1000 with a 100 ante.
>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/Qdmzo
The flop came Ah-Js-2s, giving me a flushdraw. I bet 2500, BB folded and the button raised to 7k. The button is a really loose player (looser than me actually) and even though I could see him limping an ace I still thought it was rather unlikely. This makes this flop a really good flop to be aggressive on since its unlikely he would limp any strong hands like A-A, J-J, A-J. He would probably raise 2-2 as well just to take the blinds. J-2 I consider is to weak to limp there. So there are not really many combos that can stand a push from me. A-2 is probably the only one and maybe he would raise that from the button as well. In short, I thought that he himself could have a flushdraw or just a pure bluff most of the time. My range from the SB is a little bit wider than his limping range since I get really good pott odds preflop with anything. Also I have seen him raise alot of top pairs with weak kickers on the flop just to take the initative so any type of weak ace I also put in his range but I thought I had fold equity over those.
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Stay tuned for latest news and promotions on our website http://poker.ladbrokes.com/online-poker/ & follow Ladbrokes Poker instantly through Twitter: http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker
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I pushed for 35k into 13 500 basically repping only J-2, 2-2 and A-2 but I still kind of liked the play since in a tournament people are not that range conscious. He called with A-10 and I am not really sure about his play here. I would not push a flushdraw lower than a ten-high (because of the risk in bumping in a higher flushdraw) and that actually makes my range a slight favorite in this spot. There was however enough money in the pot for him to call but considering I had been playing pretty tight I think he could find a fold because he also has to consider that I might call with a good flushdraw instead of pushing. I guess its a pretty close spot all in all.
Now I am going to have a few guiness and tomorrow I will try to see some of those green litlle leprechauns the Americans come here to look for ;)
I heard that at the end of the rainbow is a good place to start.
Author: Ladbrokes Poker Pro – Jonas Danielsson, AKA Nebuchad, Saturday 3 Oct 2009
I am fairly happy with how I played. Big pot which made me lose my stack was when the button limped, I completed with Qs-5s in the small blind and big blind checked. Blinds were 500-1000 with a 100 ante.
>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/Qdmzo
The flop came Ah-Js-2s, giving me a flushdraw. I bet 2500, BB folded and the button raised to 7k. The button is a really loose player (looser than me actually) and even though I could see him limping an ace I still thought it was rather unlikely. This makes this flop a really good flop to be aggressive on since its unlikely he would limp any strong hands like A-A, J-J, A-J. He would probably raise 2-2 as well just to take the blinds. J-2 I consider is to weak to limp there. So there are not really many combos that can stand a push from me. A-2 is probably the only one and maybe he would raise that from the button as well. In short, I thought that he himself could have a flushdraw or just a pure bluff most of the time. My range from the SB is a little bit wider than his limping range since I get really good pott odds preflop with anything. Also I have seen him raise alot of top pairs with weak kickers on the flop just to take the initative so any type of weak ace I also put in his range but I thought I had fold equity over those.
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Stay tuned for latest news and promotions on our website http://poker.ladbrokes.com/online-poker/ & follow Ladbrokes Poker instantly through Twitter: http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker
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I pushed for 35k into 13 500 basically repping only J-2, 2-2 and A-2 but I still kind of liked the play since in a tournament people are not that range conscious. He called with A-10 and I am not really sure about his play here. I would not push a flushdraw lower than a ten-high (because of the risk in bumping in a higher flushdraw) and that actually makes my range a slight favorite in this spot. There was however enough money in the pot for him to call but considering I had been playing pretty tight I think he could find a fold because he also has to consider that I might call with a good flushdraw instead of pushing. I guess its a pretty close spot all in all.
Now I am going to have a few guiness and tomorrow I will try to see some of those green litlle leprechauns the Americans come here to look for ;)
I heard that at the end of the rainbow is a good place to start.
Author: Ladbrokes Poker Pro – Jonas Danielsson, AKA Nebuchad, Saturday 3 Oct 2009
Sunday 4 October 2009
Irish Poker Festival Day 3 - €250,000 Guaranteed Main Event
The Ladbrokes.com Irish Poker Festival Main Event was underway at 1pm today. 462 players returned hoping to still be in with a chance of scooping the €100,000 first prize. The field started to shrink rapidly and by 10pm it was bubble time. With 78 players being paid the unlucky player in 79th was Lee Rabbit. The Irishman was to find his luck to change though as Ladbrokes offered Lee the very first seat in 2010's event.
>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/wi6E8
By the end of the day's play there were 57 players remaining. The average stack was 190k. The chip leader is Brian O'Keefe who has approximately 700k. When play resumes on Sunday the blinds will be 5000/10000 with a 1000 ante. Notable Ladbrokes players left in the tournament include mickjagger1 (238k), _db_ (115k) and Marky147 (200k).
The €300 side event also got underway on Saturday and will conclude on Sunday. Of the 275 runners who started only 53 remain. Notable Ladbrokes players in with a chance include bigTR and 4thnoxx from Norway.
In addition, Ladbrokes announced yesterday the 4th Poker Cruise http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/poker-cruise scheduled for January 2011. Further details on how to qualify for this much anticipated event will be available shortly, here: http://bit.ly/PokerCruiseIV
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Stay tuned for latest news and promotions on our website http://poker.ladbrokes.com/online-poker/ & follow Ladbrokes Poker instantly through Twitter: http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker
———————————————————————-
>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/wi6E8
By the end of the day's play there were 57 players remaining. The average stack was 190k. The chip leader is Brian O'Keefe who has approximately 700k. When play resumes on Sunday the blinds will be 5000/10000 with a 1000 ante. Notable Ladbrokes players left in the tournament include mickjagger1 (238k), _db_ (115k) and Marky147 (200k).
The €300 side event also got underway on Saturday and will conclude on Sunday. Of the 275 runners who started only 53 remain. Notable Ladbrokes players in with a chance include bigTR and 4thnoxx from Norway.
In addition, Ladbrokes announced yesterday the 4th Poker Cruise http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/poker-cruise scheduled for January 2011. Further details on how to qualify for this much anticipated event will be available shortly, here: http://bit.ly/PokerCruiseIV
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Stay tuned for latest news and promotions on our website http://poker.ladbrokes.com/online-poker/ & follow Ladbrokes Poker instantly through Twitter: http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker
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On to Poker Now! - Irish Poker Festival 2009 by Ladbrokes
The day started with a huge field of 752 players. I was really ready to play and I so much looked forward to playing. I started on a really good table with a lot of limpers and a couple of calling stations. It was mostly Irish players and only one other Nordic player, a Swede with nick “Polarbear” on Ladbrokes. I was not going to bluff much at this table. That was for sure! But I was going to see quite a few flops since I felt my post flop game was better than average on this table.
>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/wi6E8
I played well from the start, and I got a lot of good cards as well. I wish poker always was as easy as this. I got a lot of medium and low pocket pairs. Normally they are quite hard to play, but I played them quite carefully and risked little.
On level 2 (25/50) I got a pair of 3’s. I limped in as the second player and the big blind, a female player that was the most aggressive player at the table, raised to 350. Normally I would have folded at this point since 300 more is way too much to hit a two outer. But I knew that I could get paid very well if I hit, so I ended up calling. The flop was the very beautiful A-K-3. She bet 550, which I only flat called planning to raise on the turn. The turn was a ten. Not a bad card, but it could be a bit dangerous. She now bet another 550. I raised to 1550 and she called. On the river, an eight, she checked. I bet out 2800. She took some time but ended up calling in the end. When I showed here my hand she only showed an ace. A very nice pot for me and a very good start as well.
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I lost a few pots after this one. Among them a hand with pocket jacks against 2-3 off suit! On a 10-6-4 board I was called only for a five to come giving the opponent a straight. I also had to fold 9’s on a low flop once. This time the opponent showed pocket queens, so it was a good fold.
On level 4 (50/100) I was on the cut off with an absent big blind. I raised to 300 with 8-5 offsuit and got called from the button and the small blind. The flop was K-8-4. It was check to me and I bet out 600. The button folded and the Swede in the small blind raised to 1200. At this point I felt weakness from him. I put him on K-J or maybe K-10. I thought I could take the pot by reraising here, but why reraise now if I can wait a bit and take down a bigger pot? So I called with plans of stealing the pot on any turn card. The turn was a queen. The Swede bet out 1500. I followed my plan and raised to 4100. He folded quite fast. Well played, Andreas!
Soon after this hand it was dinner break. I had 38.550 in chips and was really happy about that. I had dinner with fellow Norwegian Tobias Holmeide and tournament specialist James Browning from UK. We talked about a lot on things, including the very bad tax system in Norway for poker players. Both Tobias and James had come back from a rough start to now be well above average. Just as expected from these two players that really are among the better players down here.
Very soon after the dinner break my table was broken. I didn’t like this, of course, but that is a part of playing tournament poker. My new table was a harder one. And I got no cards at all. It took one full hour before I won my first pot! And another 40 minutes before I won the next. I was bleeding!
I ended up bluffing away 12k in one bad played pot, and nothing seemed to go my way. Poker was not as fun anymore.
I had about 20k left in my stack when it was 15 minutes left of the day. The blind was 200/400 with 25 in running ante. The cut off, a new guy at the table, raised to 1000. I had 9-8 of spades and wanted to win the pot. He could very easily just try to steal the pot. So I raised to 2800. He called. The flop was K-K-Q, with to spades. He checked. I would bet out here nine out of ten times, but I suddenly felt some strength from the other guy. I don’t know why, but I ended up checking behind. The next card was the seven of spades. Nice one! He checked again and I bet out 5000. He raised to 15000 and I moved all-in. He showed aces with the ace of spades. I asked if he did call my all-in before I showed my cards. He didn’t realize that the 15000 bet was not enough to put me all-in. He of course called. The river card was a king. His full house crushed my flush and I was out of the tournament.
Damn it, I hate to bust on the last level!
Author: Ladbrokes Poker Pro - Andreas Hoivold, Saturday 3 Oct 2009
>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/wi6E8
I played well from the start, and I got a lot of good cards as well. I wish poker always was as easy as this. I got a lot of medium and low pocket pairs. Normally they are quite hard to play, but I played them quite carefully and risked little.
On level 2 (25/50) I got a pair of 3’s. I limped in as the second player and the big blind, a female player that was the most aggressive player at the table, raised to 350. Normally I would have folded at this point since 300 more is way too much to hit a two outer. But I knew that I could get paid very well if I hit, so I ended up calling. The flop was the very beautiful A-K-3. She bet 550, which I only flat called planning to raise on the turn. The turn was a ten. Not a bad card, but it could be a bit dangerous. She now bet another 550. I raised to 1550 and she called. On the river, an eight, she checked. I bet out 2800. She took some time but ended up calling in the end. When I showed here my hand she only showed an ace. A very nice pot for me and a very good start as well.
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I lost a few pots after this one. Among them a hand with pocket jacks against 2-3 off suit! On a 10-6-4 board I was called only for a five to come giving the opponent a straight. I also had to fold 9’s on a low flop once. This time the opponent showed pocket queens, so it was a good fold.
On level 4 (50/100) I was on the cut off with an absent big blind. I raised to 300 with 8-5 offsuit and got called from the button and the small blind. The flop was K-8-4. It was check to me and I bet out 600. The button folded and the Swede in the small blind raised to 1200. At this point I felt weakness from him. I put him on K-J or maybe K-10. I thought I could take the pot by reraising here, but why reraise now if I can wait a bit and take down a bigger pot? So I called with plans of stealing the pot on any turn card. The turn was a queen. The Swede bet out 1500. I followed my plan and raised to 4100. He folded quite fast. Well played, Andreas!
Soon after this hand it was dinner break. I had 38.550 in chips and was really happy about that. I had dinner with fellow Norwegian Tobias Holmeide and tournament specialist James Browning from UK. We talked about a lot on things, including the very bad tax system in Norway for poker players. Both Tobias and James had come back from a rough start to now be well above average. Just as expected from these two players that really are among the better players down here.
Very soon after the dinner break my table was broken. I didn’t like this, of course, but that is a part of playing tournament poker. My new table was a harder one. And I got no cards at all. It took one full hour before I won my first pot! And another 40 minutes before I won the next. I was bleeding!
I ended up bluffing away 12k in one bad played pot, and nothing seemed to go my way. Poker was not as fun anymore.
I had about 20k left in my stack when it was 15 minutes left of the day. The blind was 200/400 with 25 in running ante. The cut off, a new guy at the table, raised to 1000. I had 9-8 of spades and wanted to win the pot. He could very easily just try to steal the pot. So I raised to 2800. He called. The flop was K-K-Q, with to spades. He checked. I would bet out here nine out of ten times, but I suddenly felt some strength from the other guy. I don’t know why, but I ended up checking behind. The next card was the seven of spades. Nice one! He checked again and I bet out 5000. He raised to 15000 and I moved all-in. He showed aces with the ace of spades. I asked if he did call my all-in before I showed my cards. He didn’t realize that the 15000 bet was not enough to put me all-in. He of course called. The river card was a king. His full house crushed my flush and I was out of the tournament.
Damn it, I hate to bust on the last level!
Author: Ladbrokes Poker Pro - Andreas Hoivold, Saturday 3 Oct 2009
Getting to Ladbrokes Irish Poker Festival 2009 in Killarney
Yesterday I arrived in Killarney, after having a trip that really should make me stressed. Lucky for me I don’t stress too much, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t react at all. I needed no less than three flights to get to Killarney and all of them were delayed. I met with Vibeke from Ladbrokes Norway in Oslo, and we travelled together from there.
>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/wi6E8
After about 13 hours of travelling I finally was in Cork and our original plan was to take a taxi from Cork Airport to the train station and then take a train to Killarney. But when we were on the way to the train station Marios from Ladbrokes in the UK called and said he wanted me in a small tournament here in Killarney and he asked us to take the taxi all the way to Killarney. Good for us, of course. It should take about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
We asked the driver to go to Killarney instead of the train station. He said that was no problem, but he seemed a bit insecure. He said he had to turn around to get there, which for us seemed fair. After driving for about 45 minutes on really small roads we started wondering where the driver was taking us. He then asked us to show where we should go on his map (!). He also now for the first time used his GPS. Wasn’t that a bit late for that? Of course it was! The GPS told the driver to drive right on every crossing. He didn’t obey and the GPS was “recalculating” quite a few times.
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Finally he ended up obeying. Only to get on a road that became smaller and smaller. A dirt road that looked as it was taken from a bad horror movie of the 80’s. I started joking to Vibeke about dying in the forests in Ireland. I don’t know why, but for one reason or another she didn’t like it.
After being on this road for a while the driver decided that this was the wrong way. And he turned around. He told us that the GPS wasn’t working. This was of course rubbish. But anyway, we continued on the same road for a while before Marios called me again. We had a few minutes before passed a sign that told us it was still 82 kilometers to Killarney and I told Marios that it would take another hour before we arrived. The taxi driver said “No, no, no, it will not take that long”. Little did I know at the time that he was right. It should not take an hour, it should take two!
We had in fact taken the southern way to get there via Bandon, Bantry and Kenmare. So we ended up using three and some hours to get from Cork to Killarney. I spoke to some others that said they used exactly one hour. The taximeter ended in the 330’s but we “only” paid 150. In my opinion he should pay us!
Well, enough about travelling. On to poker!
Author: Ladbrokes Poker Pro - Andreas Hoivold, Saturday 3 Oct 2009
>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/wi6E8
After about 13 hours of travelling I finally was in Cork and our original plan was to take a taxi from Cork Airport to the train station and then take a train to Killarney. But when we were on the way to the train station Marios from Ladbrokes in the UK called and said he wanted me in a small tournament here in Killarney and he asked us to take the taxi all the way to Killarney. Good for us, of course. It should take about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
We asked the driver to go to Killarney instead of the train station. He said that was no problem, but he seemed a bit insecure. He said he had to turn around to get there, which for us seemed fair. After driving for about 45 minutes on really small roads we started wondering where the driver was taking us. He then asked us to show where we should go on his map (!). He also now for the first time used his GPS. Wasn’t that a bit late for that? Of course it was! The GPS told the driver to drive right on every crossing. He didn’t obey and the GPS was “recalculating” quite a few times.
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Finally he ended up obeying. Only to get on a road that became smaller and smaller. A dirt road that looked as it was taken from a bad horror movie of the 80’s. I started joking to Vibeke about dying in the forests in Ireland. I don’t know why, but for one reason or another she didn’t like it.
After being on this road for a while the driver decided that this was the wrong way. And he turned around. He told us that the GPS wasn’t working. This was of course rubbish. But anyway, we continued on the same road for a while before Marios called me again. We had a few minutes before passed a sign that told us it was still 82 kilometers to Killarney and I told Marios that it would take another hour before we arrived. The taxi driver said “No, no, no, it will not take that long”. Little did I know at the time that he was right. It should not take an hour, it should take two!
We had in fact taken the southern way to get there via Bandon, Bantry and Kenmare. So we ended up using three and some hours to get from Cork to Killarney. I spoke to some others that said they used exactly one hour. The taximeter ended in the 330’s but we “only” paid 150. In my opinion he should pay us!
Well, enough about travelling. On to poker!
Author: Ladbrokes Poker Pro - Andreas Hoivold, Saturday 3 Oct 2009
Nation against nation at Ladbrokes Irish Poker Festival 2009
The day after the fun night we had before i would like to mention a nice call in the nation against nation tournament in Killarney yesterday. We were heads up and had about 50k each (he covered me slightly). I had the big blind of 3k and my opponent limped in from the small blind (which is pretty unusual).
>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/wi6E8
Now two hands before he had done exactly the same but then I had pushed all in pre-flop (with rubbish) and he folded. This time I had Kd-3c off and decided to check the big blind. The flop came Ks-Qc-5c. I checked and he checked behind. Turn came 10c and I bet out 4k, my opponent raised to 12k. Now I had a real decision. I thought he might be on some sort of flush draw and I wanted to re-raise him but the stack-sizes felt a bit awkward here. I also had outs with my 3 of clubs if he had me beat. So, I called and the river came a blank 6x. I checked and he made an overbet all-in for about 36k. I could really only see J-9 that beat me at this point, since he would bet a flush draw on the flop and he would raise A-J, K-K, Q-Q and 10-10 preflop. This was my info at the moment and if you only can see one hand that beats you its usually correct to call. Also the overbet was a bit supicious, right?
Anyway, I told him that I could only see one hand that beat and said that I probably have to call. Then he wanted to flip his hand over and asked the dealer if "I probably have to call" was binding, lol. That really screwed with my head and I had to re-think the situation. After ages I decided to call and he showed 9-9. You might think that if he flat calls preflop with nines he could also do it with A-J+ and that is the case but the given info at the moment pointed to the contrary. He did it to trap me where as I excluded that he had that in his play book.
I am through day 1 with 29 125 chips and now I am going to bed. See you!
Author: Ladbrokes Poker Pro – Jonas Danielsson, AKA Nebuchad, Saturday 3 Oct 2009
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>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/wi6E8
Now two hands before he had done exactly the same but then I had pushed all in pre-flop (with rubbish) and he folded. This time I had Kd-3c off and decided to check the big blind. The flop came Ks-Qc-5c. I checked and he checked behind. Turn came 10c and I bet out 4k, my opponent raised to 12k. Now I had a real decision. I thought he might be on some sort of flush draw and I wanted to re-raise him but the stack-sizes felt a bit awkward here. I also had outs with my 3 of clubs if he had me beat. So, I called and the river came a blank 6x. I checked and he made an overbet all-in for about 36k. I could really only see J-9 that beat me at this point, since he would bet a flush draw on the flop and he would raise A-J, K-K, Q-Q and 10-10 preflop. This was my info at the moment and if you only can see one hand that beats you its usually correct to call. Also the overbet was a bit supicious, right?
Anyway, I told him that I could only see one hand that beat and said that I probably have to call. Then he wanted to flip his hand over and asked the dealer if "I probably have to call" was binding, lol. That really screwed with my head and I had to re-think the situation. After ages I decided to call and he showed 9-9. You might think that if he flat calls preflop with nines he could also do it with A-J+ and that is the case but the given info at the moment pointed to the contrary. He did it to trap me where as I excluded that he had that in his play book.
I am through day 1 with 29 125 chips and now I am going to bed. See you!
Author: Ladbrokes Poker Pro – Jonas Danielsson, AKA Nebuchad, Saturday 3 Oct 2009
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Saturday 3 October 2009
Ladbrokes Irish Poker Festival main event was finally here – Day 2
The Ladbrokes.com Irish Poker Festival main event was finally here. Following last year's phenominal turnout another 752 players turned out in the hope of capturing the first prize of €100,000.
Players from all parts of the globe including Bulgaria, Poland and Latvia joined the masses from the UK and the Nordics hoping to emulate 2008 champion Jimmy McSweeney's dream win.
>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/4A9pBd
The day's play was preceeded with the usual introductions, rules and well wishes.
In addition, Ladbrokes announced the 4th Poker Cruise http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/poker-cruise scheduled for January 2011. Further details on how to qualify for this much anticipated event will be available shortly, here: http://bit.ly/PokerCruiseIV
Back to the tournament and the play was understandably slow and cagey with the opening blind level of 25/25. All the more incredible was that it took one player all of 8 minutes to lose his 15,000 starting stack. The call from the floor was met with gasps of amazement from the rest of the players and the watching public. Notable players to exit during the evening included Martin Stalros and Julian Gardner. By the time play finished at around 1am there were still 462 players still in with a chance of winning. The average stack is now 28,000 and the players will come back today at 1pm for Day 2.
Here are some chip counts from the first day:
• new1home - 4000
• biglad - 11000
• Radfar - 20000
• T8MML - 22000
• banksoir - 25000
• skalie - 37000
• __db__ - 45000
• RIVERMAID – 67000
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Stay tuned for latest news and promotions on our website http://poker.ladbrokes.com/online-poker/ & follow Ladbrokes Poker instantly through http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker
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Players from all parts of the globe including Bulgaria, Poland and Latvia joined the masses from the UK and the Nordics hoping to emulate 2008 champion Jimmy McSweeney's dream win.
>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/4A9pBd
The day's play was preceeded with the usual introductions, rules and well wishes.
In addition, Ladbrokes announced the 4th Poker Cruise http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/poker-cruise scheduled for January 2011. Further details on how to qualify for this much anticipated event will be available shortly, here: http://bit.ly/PokerCruiseIV
Back to the tournament and the play was understandably slow and cagey with the opening blind level of 25/25. All the more incredible was that it took one player all of 8 minutes to lose his 15,000 starting stack. The call from the floor was met with gasps of amazement from the rest of the players and the watching public. Notable players to exit during the evening included Martin Stalros and Julian Gardner. By the time play finished at around 1am there were still 462 players still in with a chance of winning. The average stack is now 28,000 and the players will come back today at 1pm for Day 2.
Here are some chip counts from the first day:
• new1home - 4000
• biglad - 11000
• Radfar - 20000
• T8MML - 22000
• banksoir - 25000
• skalie - 37000
• __db__ - 45000
• RIVERMAID – 67000
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Stay tuned for latest news and promotions on our website http://poker.ladbrokes.com/online-poker/ & follow Ladbrokes Poker instantly through http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker
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Who won the poker international game at Irish Poker Festival 2009?
So, there were just two players left in the international invitational game arranged as a prelude to the Ladbrokes.com Irish Poker Festival. With Ireland already out of the running it was left to the English team represented by bbmoney and the Nordics represented by Nebuchad to fight it out heads up for the €1800 and more importantly the bragging rights and pride in the picturesque Irish town.
>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/4A9pBd
With the chips stacks marginally in favour of bbmoney the crucial hand was played out in front of may spectators that had gathered to see the climax of a fun night's poker. Following bbmoney's limp in the SB the flop of Ks Qc 5c was checked by both players. The turn was 10c and Nebuchad bet 4k only to be re-raised to 12k by the Englishman.
After a short pause the Swede called still looking perplexed. The blank 6x on the river was met with another check from the Swede. bbmoney then pushed all in for his remaing 35k+ stack and the decision and pressure was firmly on Swede's shoulders. Following a long pause and much table talk Nebuchad called.
The players flipped the cards with Nebuchad first showing Kd 3c for top pair and bbmoney showing pocket 99s. The hand crippled the England team and the game was soon up - as in the very next hand the Nordics claimed victory. Noisy celebration followed but above all mutual respect was on show as all the players shook hands and applauded what was a suitable start to what is the friendliest of poker festivals.
The crucial call will be debated for days to come and I am sure we have not heard the last of it until the teams get it on at the next Ladbrokes event.
http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/irish-poker-festival-2009
>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/4A9pBd
With the chips stacks marginally in favour of bbmoney the crucial hand was played out in front of may spectators that had gathered to see the climax of a fun night's poker. Following bbmoney's limp in the SB the flop of Ks Qc 5c was checked by both players. The turn was 10c and Nebuchad bet 4k only to be re-raised to 12k by the Englishman.
After a short pause the Swede called still looking perplexed. The blank 6x on the river was met with another check from the Swede. bbmoney then pushed all in for his remaing 35k+ stack and the decision and pressure was firmly on Swede's shoulders. Following a long pause and much table talk Nebuchad called.
The players flipped the cards with Nebuchad first showing Kd 3c for top pair and bbmoney showing pocket 99s. The hand crippled the England team and the game was soon up - as in the very next hand the Nordics claimed victory. Noisy celebration followed but above all mutual respect was on show as all the players shook hands and applauded what was a suitable start to what is the friendliest of poker festivals.
The crucial call will be debated for days to come and I am sure we have not heard the last of it until the teams get it on at the next Ladbrokes event.
http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/irish-poker-festival-2009
Friday 2 October 2009
Ladbrokes Irish Poker Festival 2009 got underway in Killarney last night
The Ladbrokes.com Irish Poker Festival 2009 got underway in Killarney last night. See the latest videos & action updates here: http://bit.ly/zZt33
The traditional super satellite set proceedings in full flow with 182 players trying to capture a seat to today's €250,000 main event. Many of the Laddies regulars were in attendance with some already having secured their seats through online qualification. However, many viewed this as an opportunity to cash in on another seat or maybe even reward a friend or relative with one of the sought after tickets. Play commenced at 7.45pm and players were still seen buying in after the first few levels - an indication for the thirst for poker amongst the Ladbrokes community as well as the many locals who were trying their luck. The extraordinary number attempting to win a seat meant that there were a total of 37 main event seats up for grabs following the rebuy and add on stages of the satellite. Play ended well past 1am with a deal eventually being done amongst the final 40 players. Laddies tournament regulars Our-Peg and Icepack were among those fortunate enough to win a seat.
Whilst the serious business of the super satellite was unfolding there was an element of real fun taking place on the main stage. An invitational challenge between the Nordics, England and Ireland in the form of a team event stimulated much interest amongst the spectators. Captains Roy "ROYTHEBOY" Brindley, Martin "Michelin" Stalros and Jon "skalie" Kalmar led their teams of 6 in a 3 table shoot out under the lights of the INEC. ROYTHEBOY was the first player sent to the bar in what was proving to be a war of pride and bragging rights. All the players contributed €100 to the prize pool meaning an €1800 windfall for the winning team. The format was a shootout with 2 players progressing from each table. By the time of the final table nothing could split the teams with each having 2 players through. In a nervy and tense final table, the 2 Irishman fell in 5th and 6th places meaning it was a straight fight between England and the Nordics. England were represented by Alexdb and BBMoney whilst the Nordics had Nebuchad and Michelin battling for glory. The drinks flowed and the players were becoming ever more serious in trying to secure bragging rights for the weekend. Out in 4th was Alexdb, he was closely followed by Nordic captain Michelin. What followed was a sensational few minutes of poker and theatre as BBmoney and Nebuchad produced a fantastic climax. To find out who came out on top and claimed glory visit us again here tomorrow along with a review of the first day's play in the main event.
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Stay tuned for latest news and promotions on our website http://poker.ladbrokes.com/online-poker/ & follow Ladbrokes Poker instantly through http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker
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The traditional super satellite set proceedings in full flow with 182 players trying to capture a seat to today's €250,000 main event. Many of the Laddies regulars were in attendance with some already having secured their seats through online qualification. However, many viewed this as an opportunity to cash in on another seat or maybe even reward a friend or relative with one of the sought after tickets. Play commenced at 7.45pm and players were still seen buying in after the first few levels - an indication for the thirst for poker amongst the Ladbrokes community as well as the many locals who were trying their luck. The extraordinary number attempting to win a seat meant that there were a total of 37 main event seats up for grabs following the rebuy and add on stages of the satellite. Play ended well past 1am with a deal eventually being done amongst the final 40 players. Laddies tournament regulars Our-Peg and Icepack were among those fortunate enough to win a seat.
Whilst the serious business of the super satellite was unfolding there was an element of real fun taking place on the main stage. An invitational challenge between the Nordics, England and Ireland in the form of a team event stimulated much interest amongst the spectators. Captains Roy "ROYTHEBOY" Brindley, Martin "Michelin" Stalros and Jon "skalie" Kalmar led their teams of 6 in a 3 table shoot out under the lights of the INEC. ROYTHEBOY was the first player sent to the bar in what was proving to be a war of pride and bragging rights. All the players contributed €100 to the prize pool meaning an €1800 windfall for the winning team. The format was a shootout with 2 players progressing from each table. By the time of the final table nothing could split the teams with each having 2 players through. In a nervy and tense final table, the 2 Irishman fell in 5th and 6th places meaning it was a straight fight between England and the Nordics. England were represented by Alexdb and BBMoney whilst the Nordics had Nebuchad and Michelin battling for glory. The drinks flowed and the players were becoming ever more serious in trying to secure bragging rights for the weekend. Out in 4th was Alexdb, he was closely followed by Nordic captain Michelin. What followed was a sensational few minutes of poker and theatre as BBmoney and Nebuchad produced a fantastic climax. To find out who came out on top and claimed glory visit us again here tomorrow along with a review of the first day's play in the main event.
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Thursday 1 October 2009
Lady Gaga invited to the Irish Poker Festival by Ladbrokes
Singer Lady GaGa could be set to don her PokerFace for real after being invited to play for €100,000. The controversial celebrity is set to embark on her fame Kills tour with fellow American Kanye West. But it's hoped she'll take time out to play at the Ladbrokes Irish Poker Festival in Killarney next month. GaGa has been invited by organisers Ladbrokes, who have already secured the services of another pop star.
Newly appointed Head of Poker Kate McLennan said: "There's a break in her tour dates which would allow her to play in the tournament. "It would be great if she could come and we'll even make room for Kanye!" PokerFace singer Gaga is believed to be a big fan of the Texas Hold 'Em version of the game. So too, is Boyzones's Shane Lynch, who will be taking on the professionals after learning to play before his recent comeback tour.
Ladbrokes are now running a book on the two performing an impromptu duet at next weekend's event. McLennan added: "The question everyone wants to know is if Lady Gaga can make sweet music on the green baize." The tournament, which runs between 2-4 October, has a first prize of €100,000
Check out more info about Irish Poker Festival: http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/irish-poker-festival-2009
Newly appointed Head of Poker Kate McLennan said: "There's a break in her tour dates which would allow her to play in the tournament. "It would be great if she could come and we'll even make room for Kanye!" PokerFace singer Gaga is believed to be a big fan of the Texas Hold 'Em version of the game. So too, is Boyzones's Shane Lynch, who will be taking on the professionals after learning to play before his recent comeback tour.
Ladbrokes are now running a book on the two performing an impromptu duet at next weekend's event. McLennan added: "The question everyone wants to know is if Lady Gaga can make sweet music on the green baize." The tournament, which runs between 2-4 October, has a first prize of €100,000
Check out more info about Irish Poker Festival: http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/irish-poker-festival-2009
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