#212: “The Best Laid Plans Of Fish And Sharks”

Posted Literature/PoetryPoker Players

I wrote a piece for PokerNews a few weeks ago which they never published. They asked me to choose a case study from the Irish & UK poker scene that flew under the radar but whose story deserved a bit of coverage. I chose Irish online phenom ‘UWannaLoan’ because, well, he might just be the best. Paul asked me not to use his sirname in the piece so I didn’t but do a quick google search with the keywords ‘Sky’, ‘Poker, ‘Championships’ and ‘Final Table’ right now and you might find yet more evidence of this lad’s prowess on the felt.

 

Originally written on January 24th 2014:

“Methinks I am like a man, who having struck on many shoals, and having narrowly escap’d shipwreck in passing a small frith, has yet the temerity to put out to sea in the same leaky weather-beaten vessel, and even carries his ambition so far as to think of compassing the globe under these disadvantageous circumstances.”

Has there ever been a more perfect description of the mindset of a poker player, a more eloquent simile for the audacity and fearlessness of the tilt-oppressed brain? The Enlightenment philosopher David Hume (currently turning in his grave at the thoughts of having his lovely words re-appropriated for my poker purposes) believed that reason was ultimately a slave to passion and had he been still knocking around his hometown last week, a visit to the Edinburgh Assembly Rooms, the venue for the Scottish leg of the UKIPT, would have presented a plethora of perfect case studies.

Among them was a young man from Mountmellick, Co. Laois who flies largely under the radar of the UK and Ireland poker scene, a passionate, dedicated grinder who started 2013 with his back to the wall, an aborted 2012 Supernova Elite grind costing him all but the bare barrel-bottom of his bankroll. Dropping down, way down, to the $7 180-mans was a humbling experience for the then 22-year old but one that Paul accepted with the pragmatism of a veteran. “I always knew that it was possible that the aggressive route I was taking might mean having to drop down at some point, so I was fine with it”. Within a month, he was rolled for some bigger MTTs and by March, he was back grinding mid-stakes where his loose and aggressive style out-smarted and out-maneuvered villains and in at least one grindhouse in Portobello, Dublin, gave rise to the phrase (in the most complementary way possible) “F**k You uWannaLoan!”

Indeed, Paul was back and, with a flawless work ethic and the wind now behind him, he moved up through the stakes. By April, he was taking bigger shots and in May, he came 5th in Super Tuesday for $31K. The Summer was relatively sparse but September brought the heater. Over the space of a month, Paul won the Big 8.80 for $12K, took 5th in the $320 SuperKO for $9K and came 8th in the $109R for $8K. He also got 2nd in the Nightly $162 for $7K, 5th in WCOOP#51 for $75K, 1st in the Kick-Off for $27K and 2nd in the $265KO for $13K. By October, Paul had reached the $250K mark, an extraordinary achievement but the best was yet to come. Bizarrely, his biggest bink of the year while came while he was catching Zs in a hotel room in Prague. Yes, while he was dreaming of a deep run in the Eureka or EPT Main Events, his close friend Shaun ‘sincinaty118′ Hegarty of whom he had 50% was taking down one of the biggest Sunday Millions in history to the tune of $422K. Needless to say, the rest of December was a blur for Paul and his posse as they partied hard in their hometown of Galway, rightly taking some time away from the felt to savour the spoils of victory.

I caught up with Paul in Edinburgh where I told him that I thought his was the story of the year in Irish poker. Modestly, he pointed to the huge results for other Irish players. Of course it was a stellar year for many of the Irish beasts – Jude Ainsworth, Gavin O’Rourke, Tom Geleziunas, Mick Graydon, Dara O’Kearney and Daragh Davey – but I told him that, as a wannabe screenwriter, I’m always drawn to a dramatic narrative and nothing could top that of emerging poker superstar ‘uWannaLoan’. Paul laughed. It’s not in his nature to court the limelight. He is not even likely to initiate a conversation with you at the table. He values his privacy but it would be wrong to confuse this for a lack of confidence. Paul has a quiet swagger and an uncanny ability to be both imposing and unimposing in the same moment. His live results testify to that. Without headlines, fanfare or mainstream blog coverage, he has cashed three of the six UKIPT Main Events so far this season and I fully expect him to make a real splash on the live circuit in 2014.

So, the best laid plans of fish and sharks don’t always go awry (I may as well bastardise another great Scot while I’m at it) as methinks Paul, having struck on many shoals, and having narrowly escaped shipwreck, began 2013 in the leakiest and most weather-beaten of vessels but boy, did he finish it as Phileas Fogg.