#148: “No Pancakes But Plenty of Bacon”

Tricked by my friend and Irish Eyes Team Captain Dara O’Kearney, I attended my first ever EMOP last week. I can’t tell you how disappointed I was to find that we weren’t going to the European Mansion of Pancakes (‘Euro-IHOP’). Turns out the EMOP was just some poker tournament in Lisbon. A 10am flight on Wednesday meant caffeine replaced sleep for the poker vampires as we made our way to the exclusive little town of Estoril (the Dalkey of Lisbon) via aircoach, plane and the €80 taxi-ride of a local hustler. We checked in and then ventured out to a local sushi restaurant and then onto pub where we played pool and drank mojitos. My original plan was to hustle Dara who is both unco-ordinated and colour-blind but that was put on hold when Irish poker players Gary Clarke and Kevin Spillane walked through the door. A very accomplished pool player, Kevin threw down the gauntlet for a ‘Best of 9′ Team Challenge Match. Dara and I were paired together and after falling 4-2 behind, we clawed it back to win 5-4.

On Thursday, we played Day 1A. The field was pretty soft so I set about playing ultra loose. My new policy in the early stages of MTTs is to leave my i-pod and headphones in the bag and really get studying each and every player at the table. I am gaining a new respect for the ‘live’ elements (although I still think their importance is generally overstated) and I think it pays dividends to remain fully engaged with the game and its shifting dynamics.

Plenty of aggression, a few high-wire bluffs, a couple of sick calls (one of which can be read in this week’s strategy section of Dara’s ‘Letter From Doke’) and one huge double-up with a flopped set versus Nuno Capucho (not the footballer) meant that I ended the day as chip-leader with 179K. Dara ended with 90K, good for 10th place with 78 remaining.

Despite an early set-back on Day 2, I rebounded well to chip up to 320k come bubble time. I had everyone at my table covered so with 32 remaining and 27 getting paid, I opened up completely and was met with no resistance. Over the course of 80 minutes, I opened 22 of 26 hands, winning 21 of them, building up to 530K by the time the bubble burst. We played down to 13 and when it was time to bag up, I had 690K and was sitting 2nd in chips. Unfortunately, Dara had one of those days when nothing worked and he eventually went out in about 45th place.

Day 3 was fast and furious as the tournament became a bit of a turbo. 13 became 9 in 16 minutes and it was suddenly final table time. I was still 2nd in chips with just under a million after I got mixed up in a three-way pre-flop all-in with AA vs A2 and 77. The board played out K74-9-A and even I afforded myself a ‘BOOM’ as the river ‘one-outer’ was dealt.

Play was cagey at the final table and as the short-stacks survived their double-ups, the spread of chips became more even. I lost my first skirmish but remained reasonably loose, opening a bunch of pots and 3-betting the guys in 2nd and 3rd whenever I had a legit spot. This allowed me to chip up to 1.2 million without showdown over the course of the first hour. By the time the dinner break came, we were down to 6, the shorties having finally succumbed. One shorty remained in the dangerous shape of Tomi Huuskonen from Finland and on our return, he went on a heater, going from 2.5bbs to 30bbs and the chiplead over the course of a single orbit. We lost another player and then it was the turn of fellow-Fin and recently signed I-GAME pro Joni Jouhkimainen to get the rub of the green. Unfortunately, it was to be at my expense.

Looking down at JJ on the button, I min-raised to 80K, he reshipped his 13bbs from the Big Blind and I snap-called. He showed pocket 8s and I was 84% to win a pot that would give me 40% of the chips at the table. The flop came A74, providing no backdoor possibilities for Joni. I was 93% but alas, an 8 on the turn and a blank river meant I was crippled. A few hands later Joni 4bet shoved A10 for 19 bbs and was called by the AJ of chipleader Martin Dahlqvist of Sweden. Joni turned a 4-flush and suddenly Martin found himself on the short-stack. Martin and I took turns to shove, keeping our stacks afloat but the situation was becoming perilous for both of us.

With the button, Martin shoved for 4BBs. I looked down at A6s and figuring he was shoving almost any two, this was an obvious +EV spot and an opportunity to knock out a player and ladder in the process. I shoved 5BBs from the SB but when Patric Mattsson (also of Sweden) in the BB over-called, I knew I was in trouble. Martin flipped up 78 but Patric showed 1010. The flop came J78 and Martin let out a roar. This was as bad as it could get for me. If Martin held, I would be eliminated in 5th. An ace would win me a tiny side pot and I needed runner-runner to win the main pot. The turn brought a glimmer of hope in the form of a 4. The four 5s in the deck would win it for me but any J, 10, 9 or 4 would give me the consolation of a money jump.

The river came a 10 and both Martin and I were eliminated. The 4th place finish bagged me a little under €14K and I celebrated/drowned my sorrows Cuban-style with several mojitos and a nice Cohiba. Dara was in the process of coming 2nd in the PLO side event so I stuck around the casino to rail him (and help him with some short-stack PLO strategy), mingling with the lovely and hospitable people from I-GAME, in particular their charming VIP co-ordinator (and semi-retired top poker-pro) Johanna Pyysing. Joni went on to win the tournament, eventually beating Tomi after a lengthy heads-up battle. Really nice guys with big futures, they represent a new crop of talented youngsters coming up through the ranks of Finnish poker.

It would be a lie to say I’m not a bit disappointed with the result but overall, I’m very satisfied with how I played. There are a lot of live tourneys on the horizon (Irish Open, Nottingham UKIPT, Bulgaria EMOP, Dublin UKIPT) and while I still consider myself an online player, I guess these occasional appearances on the live circuit do break up the ennui of a life spent pushing buttons. Lisbon may not have delivered any pancakes but €14K was a nice bit of bacon!