blonde poker forum

We know that this isn't exactly standard procedure, but we're going to try to bring something extra to an event that, any minute now, will be broadcast live on TV.  I'm curious about the format in general - for example, do they have hours of fascinating interview footage on hand in case there is a 6-way all-in first hand?  Will they make the blinds stupid if they go on for five hours?  How long is the hole card cam delay?

But we'll see, we'll see.

Snoops and I are on a very comfy sofa in the hall in front of a nice flatscreen telly showing Skysports.  Nice.

Don't take it too easy Jen, I hear there's a price on your head

Ah yes, of course at least a small part of my concentration will be held by the determination to play like the rockiest rock ever to preserve the precious blondepoker tournament bounty I heard about today... It's both an honour and a responsibility.

The TV has yet to tell us anything poker related, but as soon as possibly you'll be in the loop.  If you can watch it, well, you might just get some amazingly iinsightful commentary from snoops and myself...

chuffing speedway still on grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

The speedway is over running on Sky at the minute (Coventry v Wolverhampton has gone to a race off, if any of you are interested).

Does this mean they'll be holding things up in Dublin till the speedway is over?

speedway is garbage

About 20 of these big old TVs on stilts have been wheeled out all down the corridor and throughout the card room.  At the moment SkySports2 seems to be showing dirt bikes of some sort, but I think the poker should be on shortly.

Thanks for doing the updates, Im at uni, and being a student dont have sky in my house! So am looking forward to reading about the hands. I spoke to Jon Wong earlier, he's excited about the game, and I think he's in for a good short, despite being just below average.

It's adverts at the moment - Wayneo I know all about not getting more than about 3 and a half channels - will hopefully be able to bring you most of the action.  Good luck to Jon Wong and the other five...

Oooh, intro!

how far away from the cardroom are you?

Go on the updaters, do it for the Skysportsless

Wooooooooooooooohooooooooooooo

I'm in!!!

 ;letsparty;

Is there a dodgy shirt competition tonight.................Ian Woodley will win hands down lol

They're doing this great montage kind of thing made up from highlights from the earlier days.  Snoopy's already got in the background of some of the shots!

1  Vincent Melin
2  Conor Smith
3  Jon Wong
4  Ian Woodley  " a dangerous English pro"
5  Paul Daly
6  Brendan Ruane  "the underdog"

They were filmed walking down the corridor in a swanky marble-coated place as they made their entrance...

Commentators Padraig Parkinson and Simon Trumper are getting comfy on their barstool type things.  They could have at least given them a sofa. 

Do you know who else might be stepping into the commentary box? Jesse May unavailable?

Its jesse may and roy "the boy" at the minute

Tournament Director Gentleman Liam Flood is introducing the players to the (pretty sizeable) audience, sat in the spacious surroundings of the Royal Dublin Society.  I seem to remember that being the setting for the EPT final too, and very nice it was.  I am glad we're down the road in the bar, though, as I seem to remember power points being buried in dusty bookshelves and making a worrying fizzy noise.

Seat 1 -- Vince Melin



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Here's an interesting story about Vincent Melinn... he knocked out Rumit with a bad beat against his Aces (with KQ) - and said that he'd bet £250 on himself at 250 to 1 - and would be sharing some with his unlucky opponent should he come out on top!

Seat 2 -- Conor Smith



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Seat 3 -- Jon Wong



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Seat 4 -- Ian Woodley



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Seat 5 -- Paul Daly



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Seat 6 -- Brenden Ruane




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Paul Daly plays Ian Woodley (7c Tc) all-in with Td Jc... so far ahead all-in preflop, but here's what happens when they're on their backs...

Flop: Qh Jh 3d
Turn: 7h
River:  6s

And he - Paul Daly - doubles up pretty much straight away.

Vincent Melinn is the current chip-leader with 871,000

What have you been up to today beagle?

stupid question.

how long is the delay to stop cheating ?

Vince Melinn appears to be raising with Qd 5d preflop... we were warned by other players who'd sat with him that he was a Raise, Raise, Raise type. 

It seems to have been working so far - George says, "He raised everything against me..." and Jon Wong is making a move after passing for a while... with 2c 6c!

I think it's five minutes... but perhaps if there's a really lengthy hand that wouldn't be enough.  I guess 15 minutes.  Oh, OK, I don't know.

If ever there was a chance for a caption comp...



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Paul Daly all-in with  Ahrt 2h
Ruane has Qc Jc

Flop:  Kd Qh Ks
Turn: 6s
River: 3c

And the Sixth place finisher is Paul Daly, winning €50,000

The crowd screamed for more as he did his "I'm a little teapot" song.

I am going to go for John Wong to win this!

So far the coverage is great.

Big thumbs up to Paddy Power's set-up in the Jurys Hotel.

This is a huge plus to poker in the UK. :) ...and hopefully the 1st of many live poker tournaments to be broadcasted in the UK.

H ewas at 40/1 yesterday, good odds.

Melinn -- 902k
Ruane -- 788k
Woodley -- 770k
Smyth -- 522k
Wong -- 423k

i said hed wear a pink shirt ,but thought it would be checked

 ;iagree;

We really have been well accomodated for during out stay this week.

Top job.  :)up

Sn00py, I have a bone to pick with you

he:ll put weight on

Woodley makes his first raise...

with 8-4!

all fold

He must have misheard. It's 7-4 Ian!

Interesting situation.

Melinn announces raise, but then realises that he's on the big blind, not under the gun.

Raise still stands though.

Hmm, if anything is going to scare the table...

Grins all around.

Blinds = 8/16k

What is worse I think he was expexcting a round of applause

Commentators say they have never seen this before this is one I have in my repetoire when I have a CL but blinds are appoaching I may do this when I have nothing to see if I can scare others away  :D

Seriously, every time I post it seems to stop the hole thread, it cannot be on this one :hello: :tikay: >:? :redcard: :cheers: :cheers:

see I told you  ::)

Hi Dewi... we've had an ad break with some nice snippets of Elvis, if that is in any way illuminating.

They've got Mike Caro in the box as a special guest, who says that he rates Jon Wong, whom he played with in the comp.

Does anyone else watching this think that on TV Ruane looks a bit like a cross between Channing and Woody Deck?

Conor Smyth raises on the cutoff, and picks up the blinds.  And the crowd go wild!!!  Not kidding, the audience is nice and loud and it must be nice for the players to feel the live support.

Melinn -- 946k
Ruane -- 835k
Woodley -- 736k
Smyth -- 513k
Wong -- 375k

def a woody deck lookalikey :)

Could be some action now...

A-Q v 9-9

Q high flop hits.

Melin bets 50k, called by Smyth.

Could be some action now...

A-Q v 9-9

Q high flop hits.

Melinn bets 50k, called by Smyth.

The board between Smyth and Melinn is now 2d 5c Qd Qs 5h

100k on the river from house-holding Melinn and after Smyth called bets on the flop AND turn he's thinking hard now... and doesn't pay him off with his Nines!

We're back on - this may be a dumb thing to say but I don't know if they players stop playing for the ad breaks... what if one went out while we were watching an infomercial?  That must be weird.  Although this particular setup is a level above most I've seen, if I were one of the last five I might find the whole flow of the game disrupted a tad if that's the case. 

Televised tables in general are annoyingly slow for a pile of reasons.  Although these guys are putting on a great show.

And Woodley picks up the  Aspades Ac!  But the others smell a pointy rat and pass to his preflop raise.  He has 772,000 currently, lying in third.

OMG RTB just said "One day I'll go broke and write a book"  ;tightend;

Flop: 4d 3h 5d
Turn:  7s
River:  3d

Conor Smyth is literally grinning, having ended up with a flush in against Jon Wong - bet 100k into the 50k pot on the river, and just took it there.

c'mon woodley!!
played with jon wong on friday - great game & presence, my tip to win, with a little luck

They won't be playing during the breaks - live televised poker can take ages. I wonder how many hands per hour we're going to get - I'd say no more that 15-20.

Going back to the 99 v AQ hand, Simon Trumper mentioned the checking out of turn, which meant that Smyth may not have put Mellinn on the Queen. He didn't then make the extra leap to say that when it came to the river, Smyth may well have thought there was a good chance Mellinn had a 5, his betting pattern would fit this.

If that last card had been a blank, I think Smyth was calling a river bet.

Woodley calls 50k with his Ks Jd preflop heads up with Melinn, who holds Ac 2h.

9c 7d 8h  - Woodley bets out from the big blind, and after making him sweat for a good long while Vince lays it down.

Jon Wong appears to be the only one who is checking the reactions of players even when he is not in a hand.

He is now my pick.

Vincent Melinn is up to 1,136,000 already.  You're looking at an agressive chip leader, too, so even if we only get the expected 15 hands an hour or so they will not be raise-y fold-y types at least.

Vincent Melinn picks up Ts Tc and re-raises Jon Wong preflop, who found himself with Ad 5d.

Conor passes Ac 6s immediately in the middle, and Jon takes his time making clicky noises on the glass bit of the TV table.  The opinion of the big row of people watching our TV is "He's gonna fold."  I agree.

Yes.  He did.  "What a great Laydown!"  pipes in Jesse May. 

Ir eckon Jon must be getting fed up with Vincent.  Every time Jon makes a raise he is re-raised by vince.  I wonder if he thinks he is being bullied?  But we know watching the TV that vince is raising with decent hands.  I can see fireworks before the next commercial.

I agree with this - it was a strange hand.  Do you think he might have liked his Nines more if Melinn had checked the turn, regardless of the river i.e. called the (smaller, necessarily) river bet?

lol

Probably, but Jon doesn't look the sort to allow his head to explode from frustration at this type of thing.  Although that would make amazing TV.

You should see some of the chats we have on msn! He knows to keep it cool today tho!

And Wong's made his move - all-in with 7s 7c.  Ruane raised in front of him with Aspades 5d and quite sensibly threw it away.

:hello:

Please could you list the Prize monies.

So 347,000 to Jon Wong and current fourth place.  He's certainly impressed quite a few players over here, and could do very well indeed...

But Woodley's just picked up Kd Kc!  I didn't know so many big cards existed.  Must be cool to see those kinds of hands on the final, even if you're only getting the blinds with them.  But here Melinn is thinking about calling the big old pre-flop bet, or just dwelling for fun.  It's hard to tell.  I think it's the former though.

Melinn passes.

1st  €350,000

2nd  €180,000

3rd  €100,000

4th  €70,000

5th  €60,000

6th  €50,000

In case you think Snoops is being weirdly quiet, it's his wifi card.  No, really, he's not slacking off, he's working just as hard as me sitting on this sofa.  We'll do shifts, so you don't have to just listen to my wittering.

Possibly. Checking the turn would, as you said, have resulted in Smyth facing a smaller river bet, which he would probably have called to keep Vincent honest.

When Smyth calls the flop bet, the extra Queen on the turn changes nothing - if he was ahead, he's still ahead and if he was behind, he's still behind. The 5 on the river means there's a chance Melinn overtook him, hence the fold.

The hole-card cameras look up through a pretty large glass panel, and when they film the players from under there they look like giants or like you're a hamster or something in a glass cage.  Just for those without the benefit of visual stimulation.

Ian's just cracked the 1 million chip point.

I think to be overworried by the paired fives is probably not such a great idea - Melinn is very agressive which could mean that a)his flop bet was an autobet and b) he might even think Ace high is OK

I don't reckon he was folding because the five was such a scare card (trip queens is beating him just as much as any kind of house) but maybe three confident bets finally convinced him that he HAD been behind all along ("....if he was ahead, he's still ahead and if he was behind, he's still behind..." etc as you said)

In any case, more stuff is happening, and it's Snoops' turn to bring it to you live and direct for a bit.

Put £50 on Ruane at 7/2, about 35 minutes ago.

Go on my son! Show Woodley how to play!  8)

 Jd  4c - thats how to play a flat tire! :)

just watched the news ,dawn french has been arrested  trying to go through

customs at manchester airport with no knickers on ,

she fell and was instantly arrested for 40lb of crack

sorry i know this is the wrong thread but

What I like about it being live id you get to see the crap hands and not just the ones full of action.

Brendan Ruane is playing well.  And since my family are originally from Ulster I would like to see him sneak it next time I am in Bundoran I might even try and track him down for a game.  :D

Howdy ho folks.

I'm back.

Anyone know any good lappie repair shops, my is in tatters across the other side of the room.  ;technophobe;

He can't possibly put him on a five, unless he's psychic os course, and even then, he'd still be wrong.

Live is definitely the way forward in my eyes. Imagine watching players like Ivey, Hellmuth, Negranu, etc in a set-up like this.

soon to turn into a crap shoot snoopy?

It's not so much that Smyth would conciously have put Melinn on a 5, but that, facing the river bet, if Smyth had any loss of confidence in his hand, he'd be looking for an extra reason to fold. The 5 falling allows Smyth to convince himself he was a) correct not to believe Melinn had a Q and b) also correct to fold.

Of course, he could have just bottled it.

J-Q for Woodley.

Looks like he's coming in for a raise.

Do we know what the clock is for this, or is it all a bit fluid because of the TV stuff?

Nope, Brenden got in first, and Melinn reraises with A-J.

Melinn takes the pot.

Seiko I believe, but don't hold me to it.

Do you think that they may go to a ten minute clock to get the cartoon horse-racing on ?  ::)

blinds = 10k/20k

Jesses commentary is showing why he stopped playing..... all these "fantastic lay downs" are a bit annoying...lol

Who's the err"curly-haired" chap with Padraig and the presenter ?

Richard Orford is a much better presenter than that Rhodri eejit who did the Poker Million.

Karabiner, the moptop is Mick 'Sideshow Bob' O'Brien.

ooh ooh fingers crossed

Melinn -- 1,120,000
Ruane -- 894,000
Woodley -- 890,00
Wong -- 314,000
Smyth -- 187,000

thanks snoop, wondered what was occuring. This looks like it's going to go on beyond my bed time!

Woodley wakes up with Ks Qs

He must fancy a raise here.

Anyone want to watch a more exciting game than the Irish Open?  I'm about to go heads up for a place in the Scotland team for the PokerStars World Cup of Poker!

Just waiting on the other match to finish, 57 down to 3 now.  Tournament's been running for 3 and a half hours.  Think I've actually been playing for about 15 mins!

Any Blondes in their country's team?

Good work on the updates as usual.  Also have it on the TV.  Thought the cameramen were getting pretty bored, shots through the trophies and all that.  And I hope they clean the glass around the hole card cameras at the break!!

Melinn dwells with pocket sixes.

but he's a believer and folds.

"There's a new Sheriff in town, and it's Ian Woodley"

Conor Smyth moves all-in under the gu nwith 5-3 (!!!)

oops, Brenden finds Big Slick

Board = 6s 9c 9s Aspades Jh

Therefore...

Get in Brendan!

:)

It wasn't all cut and dry... Conor had a spade.

how can he pass the QT suited but push with the 3/5 off??

I really don't get that!!!!

...and QJ suited!  ;tk;

Very inexperienced player - wonder what his ID is on Tribeca, til I add him to my buddy list.

There was a raise in front of him with the former and he was first in with the latter.

Shorstack Wong finds pocket nines and moves all-in.

sometimes it's better to push blind than as good as call all-in with a QJ or such....gettin the chips in first can be crucial

The only arguement I can see is that if he is called when holding QT or QJ is that it's very possible that he'll be dominated. Whereas if he's holding two raggy cards at least they'll be live. (Doesn't work if someone calls with a medium pair though... ;))

Melinn ums and ahs with K-T off

but folds

just hamming it up Deal Or No Deal style I reckon.

or at least thats what tk keeps tellin me...

Wong moves all-in again with K-J

Brenden folds T-9.

2 pots in a row for Mr Wong.

First stupid move by Brendan.

FFS, 9 10o

all in - all in -all in first one will win it

Eek. Brenden sits in the big blind with A-Q.

Woodley limped in with 6-7.

Brenden shoves in some chips.

Woodley releases...

which is probably a wise move.

Big Slick for Jon Wong.

will we see the all-in move?

Nope, but he saw no action anyhow.

Brenden moves in 60k preflop with 8-9 suited.

Melinn reraises with A-2, Brenden calls.

Crikey. Action flop maybe?

Q-8-A

Blimey.

Melinn isn't messing around with his top pair.

Announces all-in, Brenden folds.

1 all in#

which means Vince Melinn is the chip-leader with 1,108,000.

I don't like the call of the re-raise, unless he hits the flop square on, Melinn could've have just pushed in and Brendan has to fold.

Wow.

We're seeing a cheap flop.

Wong and Woodley.

7s 4c 9s

One for the Wilson then...

check check

Js turn

Woodley bets 65k.

Bleurgh - didn't like Brendan's call with the 89s. Vincent had already put nearly a quarter of his stack in the pot.

Also didn't like Vincent's all-in. Surely Brendan's only going to call with an Ace - as Roy said, let him have a pop at the pot before check-raising, if you think your Ace is good.

Wong passes a flush draw, Woodley wins with 2 pair 4-J.

Could have been messy.

I didn't like Vincent's all-in either. If he believes he's ahead, then surely it would be worth prising some more chips off Brenden.

Ian Woodley practices his 'I like my cards' face...

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/16/Fredmbe.jpg/180px-Fredmbe.jpg)

Okay, just qualified for Team Scotland in the PokerStars World Cup.  I can get back to concentrating on the TV!

Great to see all the hands live AND have commentary on the key hands from experienced players here on Blonde...

Boy Vincent loves A 9!

...and Wong finds A 10!

Wong moves all-in.

A-T v A-9 I believe.

called!

Board = 8-K-4-J

wait for it...

I bet you can't guess what came on the river...

Evening all - just home from a 425 gig for the Main Event Final at Sunny Brighton. A very strange Final it was, too. I took the train down to Brighton, & I have loads of fascinating train stories for you all. But you'll have to wait.

This Update is surreal. A Live Update of a Live TV Show of a Live Poker Tourney. Bizarre.

But, as expected, our Jen & scooby have adapted & triumphed.

And that Jen exposes some pretty interesting, & deep, hand analysis of that 99 v AQ jobbie in a fascinating exchange of views with the equally erudite Andrew T (dunno what erudite means, but it sounds good).....  Maybe she can play a bit......More of that sort of Hand Analysis interaction please, I loved it. Though it's tricky for the snoopster, as his game, like his hair, has limitations.

And I'm glad to note that the Boy Thewy has been listening to my advice. I'll make a player - of sorts - out of him yet.

NINE!!!

I think I would have thrown up on the table if I'd been Wong.

O U C H

Ul he had make some great laydowns and then went in with the best hand but lost. WP.

SICCCCCCCCCK!

I feel for Wong big time, played his heart out.

Very very unlucky!

You'd have thought Vincent Melinn would look a bit happier after spiking that nine on the river...

(http://newsfeed.tcm.ie/images/people/alexeisaylePA.jpg)

yup he was playing great. Very unlucky! Could see it coming though.

Whata hand!!

Jesse May got so excited, I got so exciting OMG live TV poker is so exciting!! I could almost feel the nerves!!  :D

Just for a bit of formality (yes, I'm back after a 10 minute snooze until That Hand woke me up):

Finishing in 4th place for €70,000 is Jon Wong

So that puts the counts at:

1,314,000 for Melinn
1,296,000 for Woodley
795,000 for Ruane.

The board comes 7c Ks 7h 8s and it's Woodley with 8h Th vs Ruane with 8c Qs

River:  4s and Ruane bets, leaving Woodley to think for quite a while before calling the "ridiculously cheap" river bet.  Chop chop sirs.

Inexperience showing in Ruane now big time :(

My investment is drying up...

Woodley's nearly educating him how to raise in poker.

Awful betting pattern and very amateur-ish.

This room is getting very hot and shouty - great atmosphere and we're all the way down the road.

 Kc Kd

...he's setting the trap.

And Woodley gets into a smallish pot with no hand whatsoever against Brendan Ruane who has An Absolutely Huge Pair Of Cowboys!  Sorry, hard to stop that once you get in the mood and everyone else is doing it.

Flop: 6s 9c Qc  Nothing more to report.

Vincent Melinn is calling a preflop raise of Ruane's again (he's got  Ahrt Kc) with his little 8 2 just to play some more with Ruane.  And he hits it too...

Flop:  2h Tc 4s  Ruane bets 60k and we're wondering why Melinn isn't raising... oh, wait he just put Ruane to the test

Ruane is All-IN!  It's all happening now...

*clap clap*

Ballsy move.

 ;goodvevil;

He just wasn't going anywhere with that AK - that's one of the fastest bets he's made.  I am sure that Melinn isn't liking that, but I hear Rumit say, "He's crazy enough to call this."

RTB does an amazing volte-face, they went from clueless to top class in an instant  ::)

Surely there's no way that kipper can call with 82o after a pre-flop raise.

I love the way Roy berated Brendan's bet sizes as inexperienced, the described his all-in reraise with the AK as 'poker of the highest echelon'.

Make up your mind Roy.

Well, I don't know Brendan at all, but opinion is definitely divided, or just altering hand by hand as all the sofa pundits like us try to form opinions ;)

He's certainly got a following here, there's been a lot of shouting at the TV.

There's shouting at the TV here too, and I'm the only one here  >:?

I have a very good investment in Brendan at 7/2 for £50 as a wee interest.

So I'm shouting at the TV, whilst playing online.  :D

Now 6/4f :)

I have to say, though, that having the full final played live, although there are differences from 'normal' (the speed of it, whatever the hole card cams' influence is) does give you a better idea of the actual betting patterns of the players, and knowing what happened immediately before a certain hand is great - it used to confuse the hell out of me when a smooth cut would reveal that a player who'd just been chip leader now had average chips - and you'd then see him play without the benefit of knowing whether he was bad beat, a bit of a muppet, or what.

I cant believe Mellin went all in with KJ on a flop of A7A, ok so he was still dominating against Q9 but with woodley calling a 100k raise there was every chance he would have an ace

Oh, so thats where you've been is it, well thanks for telling us!

He doesn't call, he doesn't write.......

This is astonishing play........ astonishingly good or bad.......... its one of the 2..... lol

That hand was in the McCrirrick class !

I know what you mean Jen. Televised live poker is a lot like watching Test match cricket. In the same way that someone can appreciate an LBW which nips back at the batsman better when they saw the bowler deliver the previous four balls on exactly the same line, only to see the ball move away, they can understand the thinking behind player actions more fully when they have witnessed exactly what the player has. The shown hands, the small pots taken down without a fight, even the raises which only win the blinds, these all help set the rhythm of the game, and influence what the players do in future hands.

Roy berates the bet that gets both the better hands off the pot.

"Danger everywhere," says Jesse as play restarts.

Melinn raises to 100k on the button, gets some blinds.

"Still a long way to go," says Jesse.

I just wrote the story of the last hand (long to short - Ruane gets a few chips) but realised I'd mixed all the players' hands up.  I have to turn my head a whole ninety degrees to see the TV, you know.

Why don't you and snoopy create a system of mirrors to avoid straining your necks?

I agree-I wish there would be more live tournaments like this-its great for fish like me to try and learn unlike thinking its cool to be like gus hanson and go in every 2nd hand with 10 7os. Also-theres nothing on the telly at this time of night anyway

Not necessarily - there are only two more Aces in the deck, it's far more likely Woodley doesn't have an Ace. Vincent was playing the percentages - Ian would find it very difficult to call without an Ace.

Roy has said on more than one occasion that Vincent will fall on his sword with his big bets and bluffs, but it's also likely that an opponent could choose to call when Vincent does this with a monster as well.

That cricket analogy was, I am sure, a good and succinct parallel.  But it sounded like some sort of sport code - I am quite Anglicised but still don't understand the game at all.  I think live final tables is the Future, however.  Down side:  all the new players who start off playing like Gus Hansen in heavily-edited TV poker will, er, stop.

You know, you must have had that thought at exactly the same time... uncanny.

And they're as even as James Bond's heart rate while he's standing in a queue for the supermarket checkout.

1,000,000 and a bit for all three.  This could go on a while.

Vincent Melinn bets on the 4s 7c 3d 3h board, and Ruane raises.  Melinn moves (with his other three, I think) and that's nice and quick.  Next hand.

is that not the point

right am shattered up for work in 5 hrs am away on the couch with my duveta nd if I fall asleep hey ho!!

Does anyone know if its against the tourny rules to make a chop at the final table-I presumed it was as is usually with these big tourny televised events but couldnt find anything in the game rules on paddypoker,

but its a heck of a difference between 1st and 2nd (170k) for what could be down to the turn of a card- would be especially sore if it was a bad beat like wongs that you lost that 170k

Also, ive just realised my keyboard doesnt have a euro symbol  :D are all keyboards like this??

Alt Gr + 4 should sort you out

(Alt Gr is usually the right hand alt key).

€€€

Night night GB... Writing about something I can't directly see reminds me of being behind the Press Curtain behind the stage behind the final tablists at last year's WSOP Main Event.  You'd think it would be better not to have to actually look at anything or run around, but it's easier to get confused.  On second thoughts, it could be the blonde updaters burning that candle at both ends, and in the middle too.

Was thinking along the same lines...

Can anyone clarify the rules?

It is compulsive viewing, but im worried I might start playing like that......... at least Gus Hanson is aggressive......... this is a complete mixture of everything..... Gus would destroy this table..

I like his small bet, he makes a bigger one, then one of them definately call, it looks like a value bet from a strong hand. I don't like the commentators being too critical until after the hand is finished. I'd just like it a little more if they present both sides of the arguement for a small/large bet.

€ - You learn something new everyday :)

Cheers for the Alt Gr + 4 (€) tip!

We're getting the distinct impression that there have been no deals (and that it is discouraged).  Of course, there's absolutely no way to stop one player giving a little present to another player after they win, so when it comes down to it, we're unlikely to be aware of any business done on this one.

It also doesn't help that we can't just go and ask the players, Like at Luton!

€€€€€€€€€€€€€-amazin  :D

I would say that having added €50k PP might be within their rights to prevent deals IMO

Well its live so they cant really make deals without us seeing unless play stops at the adverts or the players are advised its the break on telly, cuz they definately wouldnt have made deals before the play had started today because you just dont know how its going to play out between 6 players

Hi guys.  :hello:

Bullets for vince!!!

Bullets baby.

Vince raises and Brenden goes to move all-in!!!

But he's just messing around and folds.

Vince shows he bullets (pow pow)

Jesse May near shit his pants, when he seen Brendan move towards his chips jesting.

Priceless.

 :blonde: for Jesse...

Brenden finds A-K.

Woodley is giving him the Woodley once over.

Cockiness starting to show in Brendan.

Not his usual pose, he's now grinning like a cheshire cat and asking for a call.

Stop it Brendy! I've got £50 invested in you!

No action.

Only a matter of time be4 2 big hands clash.

Right, some of us have school in the morning so it's off to bed.

Have fun kids.

My tip:

1st -- Woodley
2nd -- Brenden
3rd -- Vincent

And u can take THAT to the bank.

Ruane raises in the small blind with  Ac Qd, Melinn calls with  Aspades Ts right away. 

Flop:  6h 2d Kc  Ruan bets out 200k and that's that.  I have to say, our press corner kind of expected a firework or two, but like Jesse May says, "there's more than one way to skin a cat."

Double or quits ?

Naw, Vincent must win......... hes getting the cards and the luck!!

No, we learnt that there's almost as much resting for ads and stuff as play on the final.. plenty of opportunity.  There's always the loo too.

And Ian Woodley pushes preflop against Melinn, who lets his A2 go.  We are sometimes having to work out their hands from the percentages on the bottom of the screen, as we're often only shown the hole cards for a few seconds.  Apologies if we get it a bit wrong sometimes.

I just thought of something.  You know in Speed Poker where they have two nearly superhuman dealers keeping two decks in rotation - well, I reckon that would speed up the action on the final and could make up for some of the lag in other respects.  You don't need to make the game itself 'speed,' just nick that idea.

They were doing that at this year's British Poker Open tapings also, despite in not being speed.

Cheers.

Vincent Melinn raises with  Aspades 5c from the button and big blind Ruane calls with Kh 7d.
Flop: 9c 9s 6h and a large overbet gives Melinn the pot.

Then:

Woodley gets a raggy old Queen on the button and lets it go, again.  Ruane with Qh 9d goes for it though - hitting the 9c 5d 3c flop.
Melinn has 9s 4d and goes ALL-IN as a re-raise.
Ruane, though dominating on this hand, goes into the tank.

Oh.  OK then.  Well, it's still a good idea :)

Go on Brendan! ....make that call mate. :)

And Brendan Ruane has to make the call for the lot.. but no.  He's not going for it.  Rumit says, "I would probably fold, but I don't know what kind of nutter he is."

No such luck...

too tough a call to make but great move by mellin, ruane obvious thinkin hes getting dominated by A9 or a set or even a slow play high pocket pair. man I was shouting at the telly for him to call tho-if he doesnt win it he'll be thinking to himself what if... when he sees it on replay when its all done

Current odds from PaddyPower:

Vincent Melinn   11/10
Ian Woodley   2/1
Brendan Ruane   5/2

What sort of a call was that?

Talk about zigging when you should have been zagging........

We're fortunate that the cafe here serves until 4am as we're very hungry indeed now and the last three show no interest in knocking each other out.

We're thinking of more people that Brendan looks like a cross between - add to previous mix:  Val Kilmer and Stephen King.

OK - back to it:

Vincent Melinn plays the old 7c 2d hoping to Drop The Hammer.  And he actually beats Ian's 2c 4c.  Unlikely.

then:

Brendan with Kh Qh raises and Vincent Melinn sitting with 4d 4h on the small blind calls, encouraging Woodley to go in too with Jd 8c.

4s 2c 9c the interestin flop (well, for Melinn anyway).  Woodley fakes a bet move which sends the crowd wild over here, and they check to Brendan who bets.

Perhaps surprisingly - OK very surprisingly - Melinn immediately pushes all in, and everyone else off.  Even with the clubs, might he not have been just a tiny bit tempted to -

Hang on, Ruane calls!!!! 

Turn:  Td
River:  Tc

Making Brendan Ruane the 3rd place finisher, winning €100,000

Snoopy is less than flattering in his descriptions of the both of them at this point...

Astonishing.......... hope this isnt going out worldwide..... they will think we are all insane...

Snoopy says he might have been thinking:  "this is going to be the greatest call ever if he's got KJ."

hilarious.........

His mindset was "ok, Phil Ivey isn't the only one good enough to call all-in with KQ, I can do just as....oh f***..."

Was Padraig saying "This guy's going to inspire so much craic in the pubs" or "this guy's going to inspire so much crack in the pubs"?

I CANNOT believe how badly played that last hand was.

First off, I'm shocked that Vince didn't consider trap calling with his set.

If Brenden has an overpair then he's still going to pay him off on the turn, but if he has a hand like A-K, then surely you need to let him catch up.

And how about that for a call? What was he thinking?? Has to be one of the mos remarkable calls I've seen. Even if he is ahead against a drawing hand, he can still be looking at seeing off a host of outs.

An early all-in already!!

Called!

A-3 v Q-8

Come on Ian!

8-Q-7-Q-7

Full house!!!

woodley gives a celeration dance and takes the double through.

Remarkable!

Unbelieveable.......... lol

Incidentally, they are only scheduled to play for another 15 minutes... otherwise they'll over-run

There used to be skill in poker............... wasnt there?...........

They gonna reduce the levels to five minutes like they do at certain casinos then? ;)

Chop Chop anyone???

We have a flop...

2-9-8

Woodley's A-9 versus Vince's K-2

check check

Turn = Ah

Vince check raises all in?

I love the way every1 in this room is a poker expert.

LOL

Woodley bets, Vince passes.

Next!

Woodley is your current chip leader with 1,929,000

Noiiiiice

and Vincent Melinn has 1,509,000

"Take a look at that Manhattan"

With the benefit of the visible hole cards, we get to see the filth they're getting dealt pretty much every hand.  I quite like the realism of it all - that's what unedited heads up poker is really like when the blinds don't kill the game.

We're on to what must be the 60th ad break now.  I reckon the next instalment might see the end. 

And Vincent Melinn has inched his way back into the lead with 1,715,000 - but it's too close to care call...

No - that's not true, I am still impressed with this experiment in live-ness and there's a lot of cash still floating about, especially if there's no deal.

Woodley raises with Tc Jc and Melinn calls with Qd 6d

Flop: 5c Aspades Kh and the turned 3c brings a flush draw, with the river Td propelling Woodley firmly ahead.  The hands get shown, and Woodley wins.

Djinn,

you should take this moment of ponderance to encourage you and your fellow mods/reporters etc to fill in a profile for the (unsurprisingly) blonde profile page. I notice that tight-end has performed said task, but the mods in general are conspicous by their absence on there.

Live poker is the only way to go, almost a good as live updates (You cant talk back to the telly)

(Well you can, and I do,but it doesn't listen) bit like Sno0py really


BTW wheres YOUR profile?

Just wanna publicly thank Jen for being a bounty tonight - done whilst reporting!  ;applause;

I was gonna ask Snoopy but I fugured you blondites wanted a challenge?

I did one a while back - typically for me - a long one - but I disconnected & lost it. Guess I ought to have another try.....

 ;hide;

Woodley has Ad Js and Melinn finds 7h 7d at the same time... we're getting excited

Tan tan taaaan!!

Typical, just decided i'd stop watching and head to bed and then something happens...

Sleep... at last! Unlucky Ian.

Woodley moves a huge stack in - Vincent pushes and... CALL!

Flop: 6h Ts 2d
Turn:  Td
River:  4h

And Vincent Malinn WINS THE PADDY POWER IRISH OPEN and €350,000

While Ian Woodley is Runner up for €180,000!

Apparently the winner's trophy was made by "this artist dude, and is like a one-off."  It's cool, but more so is the GIANT cheque, gianter than any I've seen before.

It's been a long day and we just have enough time to eat a juicy steak before bed and flying home tomorrow afternoon.

I thoroughly approve of live poker on TV.

You have done a fantastic job of sitting on the sofa watching telly guys ;applause;

Only on blonde!

It just remains to thank Brendan from Paddy Power for this blessed Wifi and a great time has been had by the blonde press over here.

Congrats to all who played so well and I hope to revisit at the soonest possible opportunity.

Nighty night.

"gianter"....JEN! Your English gets worserer by the day.

And a BIG thank you from all the blondes to Jen & snoopy. But Do try & get some sleep tonight, eh?

Reminds me of a book I once read "English as she is speak"

Great stuff guys!

Thanks again.

Great coverage Blonde.

I definetly enjoyed the live coverage - and hopefully the PPP Irish Open is the first of many live events to be broadcast in the UK.

Just a pity my man Ruane - didn't have the nerves to make the right call at the right time with the Q9.