#181: “Live Poker, Petty Theft & Breakfast with Buzz”
The UKIPT Edinburgh was a fantastic event in a beautiful city and the fact that it snowed throughout the weekend made it all the lovelier and more special, even if it did on one occasion cause me to be up-ended in rather embarrassing fashion. The poker didn’t go as planned as I had my Aces cracked in the fifth level of Day 1 in a 3way 7bet all-in pot versus the other AA and KK. A King on the turn meant I would be grinding the side events but I never really got going in any of them and bricked the entire festival. Luckily, the Balmoral Hotel was a gorgeous place to stay, boasting the friendliest and most helpful staff I have ever encountered. As Chris Dowling quipped on the second night ‘They’re so nice that I actually believe they care when they ask me how I’m doing’. My only criticism (and probably only one that a poker player could make) is it was probably too fancy.
The buy-in for the Main event was £770 and the cost of the hotel was over £1K. This is just silly as it makes the tournament completely unprofitable in the longterm. I mean, the live poker scene is expensive enough. Not only is the average live buy-in a lot more than it is online but the associated costs with traveling (hotels, flights, restaurants) stack up. I am a pretty frugal person and was a little dismayed when I realised that live poker related expenses accounted for 40% of my outgoings in 2012. When you consider that I made 6-figures online but failed to even make 5-figures on the live circuit last year, it begs the question: Why would I ever leave the house to play poker?
There are a number of answers to this question:
Firstly and most importantly, I play a lot of satellites as I feel that optimal satellite strategy is still an area that eludes even competent players. The majority of these satellites have live target events so I have no choice but to play them.
Secondly, I view a monthly live poker trip as a five-day hiatus from the online grind and an opportunity to see a nice city.
Thirdly, live poker has a larger social aspect. I will almost always travel with friends, meet others at the venue and make new ones along the way. On the last night in Edinburgh, Dara and I had the pleasure of dining with Kevin Williams, Jamie Burland, Neil Raine, Tom Hall and several others who I would regard as the cream of the up and coming crop of English pros.
Fourthly, the live main events that I play are my shots. They are my once a month opportunity to hit a big one.
Fifthly, I don’t ever have to buy soap, shower gel, towels or other toiletries as I relentlessly and shamelessly pilfer them from my hotel rooms. I regard this as a form of live poker rakeback, a defense that was lost on my good friend and room-mate for the weekend Rob O’Connor as he walked into the room and caught me measuring out the bedside lamps in my Ryanair-approved suitcase. (They didn’t fit!)
Sixthly, if I stay at home all the time, there is exactly zero chance of having breakfast next to second-man-on-the-moon Buzz Aldrin.