U2, the Cranberries and Ian Paisley

I'm not convinced that whining about running bad is plus Ev, but after doing so in my last blog, things have definitely taken a turn for the better. I had decided to play Event 28 the next day, so took it easy on Wednesday. I got up late and played a couple of live stts, winning the second one to bank my first actual winning day here this year. Live stts are the only thing I've never managed to find a way losing money at over here, so I really should play more.

Event 28 was eventful to say the least. I won a decent pot first hand with AK but then dipped as low as 2k before catching a heater. I had 18k a couple of hands before the break, but one hero call gone wrong later I was down to 6k at dinner. Dipped down to 4k again before I found a good spot to triple up to 12k: maniac number one opened in early position, maniac number two 3 bet just behind, I find AQ in the small blind and shove with no fold equity. Maniac two had ATo and I held. A few hands later, maniac one opens again, I reship for 20 bbs with nines, but this time he has a hand, tens, and I'm on the rail.

The highlight of the event was a gangster from New York who popped up at my table. He really did look and sound like he'd walked off the set of the Sopranos ("I'm in construction, it's a legitimate business") and was most entertaining as he told us How The World Works According to Pauly ("I got three 21 year old goilfriends. I set em up in different condos in Manhattan. That's all it takes with the ladies") and reacted to a kid from Montreal who kept three betting him with muck ("Benny, this kid don't seem to understand, get the baseball bat!").

After I busted, I had dinner in the Poker Kitchen with Parky and Scott Gray. Both were in fine fettle as they had a couple of sweats in play, including Mike Sexton on the final table of the 7 Card Stud HiLo split. Parky was as hilarious as ever and had some great tales and gossip that I'd love to repeat here but won't as I'm pretty sure I'd be sued if I did.

It was just before midnight so I headed into the live stt room. There was nothing appealing on the immediate horizon so instead I jumped into the nightly turbo just before late reg closed. I do love a good turbo and as I pointed out to Parky and Scott, if turbos were main events, I'd now have an EPT, an Irish Open, a JP Masters and a few bracelets :)

That meant coming straight in with a shipping stack which suited me fine. Someone asked me recently what was the best thing about my game and I was forced to admit to him and myself that it's that I play 20 bbs or less more or less perfectly as far as the math goes. That's ok though: as flashy as the big bluffs and the hero calls and monster laydowns are, most tournaments at the business end come down to 20 bbs effective or less.

5 hours later I'm getting paid after shipping another turbo. I won this twice last year and it pretty much paid for the trip. In theory I'd probably be a lot better off if I just played this and the other tourist trapaments while I'm here but there's no glory in that so I prefer to play just enough to pay for the free shots at a bracelet. Speaking of which, next up is tomorrow's 1500, and if that doesn't work out, Sunday's 1000.

While I was playing my first final table in the nightly turbo, in another part of the Amazon room Elky was making a Lazarus style comeback to win a bracelet in front of a boisterous French rail. I like Elky: he looks like a rock star but without the ego. I like the discipline and seriousness and intensity with which he approaches the game. In the words of my favourite song, there's nothing "as ugly as a teenage millionaire pretending it's a whizkid world". In a world overpopulated by ugly teenage millionaires taking their behavioural cues from Hellmuth, Elky stands as a welcome reminder that to be the best, you don't have to shout "I'm the best" at every available opportunity.

At one point the Italian gangster asked me where the flag on my Irish Eyes shirt was from. When I said Ireland, the dealer said, "Ah, U2....the Cranberries....Ian Paisley". I wonder how Paisley feels about being the third best known entity from Ireland.

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