Ed has not posted for four hours which means;
a) is deeply involved in a splashy cash game where he is winning so much he hasn't time to stack his chips and recount hand histories to both readers of this blog. [ X ]
b) has met Dave Nicholson and decided to have a few beers and has now no recollection of why he is in Galway [ ]
c) has retired to his student gigs with the realisation that he has not taken enough money to survive 5 days in the company of 200,000 Irish blokes in Galway for a weeks racing and 'the craic'. [ ]
Sort of. Not a massive win but a nice start to the trip.
Will get some pics of the venue etc. today but for those interested in a little background (saw Mitch asked in another thread re: the games) I would suggest it's not as busy as they anticipated/hoped. That's not to say there aren't games running, but the place wasn't jumping floor to ceiling.
I think at peak count (was there 7pm-3am) there were probably 15 tables running - around 6 1/2 NLH, a couple of 1/2 PLO then maybe a 2/5 PLO, a 2/5 NLH and a 5/10 NLH pretty much.
In terms of the clients frequenting the establishment....when I arrived I was pretty mortified. I joined a 1/2 table that was infinitely more reminiscent of an online game than a game at the Hippodrome or the Empire. Fold, fold, fold, fold, CO raises to 6, Btn folds, Blinds fold. I mean, really?! It's live poker, where's your hutzpah?!
Last race yesterday was at 815pm so I kept spirits high that at c9pm they'd be arriving by the (proverbial) boatload. Certainly some people arrived post racing but not hundreds. I would say that they probably accounted for 3 people/table at peak. This said, there were also numerous locals there enjoying themselves, the race week and the poker festival so don't think it's 5 wizards and 3 punters (tables play 8-handed
) At times last night my table was pretty bonkers, though as always this ebbed and flowed with the mood/fortunes of its participants.
All in all perhaps a little quieter than I would have hoped, although not entirely more quiet than I was expecting. It takes a lot of heart and commitment to the game to make it from a racecourse to a poker club c4miles away, especially when there are any number of great fun looking watering holes en route. Did get a tip off that the local casino to be at this week is the Eglington, so considering a jaunt there at some point to see what the craic is.