Dublin ..from the rail.

[Colchester Kev]

Thursday arrives and the long anticipated trip to Ireland begins. I manage to get to Stansted airport with none of the traumas of the trip to london .. maybe thats because I managed to cadge a lift from a pal and didn't have to rely on the train.

Through check in and through the security check again far too smoothly for my liking, i was fully expecting something to go wrong soon ! ... I always like to leave myself plenty of time when travelling, I hate rushing, I'm built for comfort, not speed.
So there I was all checked in and sitting in the departure lounge with a full hour and a bit to kill before my flight boarded, hmmmmm what shall I do .. I pop into WH.Smiths and get a paper and then it hits me ... this aroma drifts towards me like a message from heaven, its a smell that I instantly recognise as a freshly baked pie !! I use all my years of previous experience and chase the heavenly aroma around the departure lounge and find the source .... A PIE SHOP !!! freshly baked pies in a wide variety of delicious fillings.... EUREKA !!!  I plump for the steak one and decide to accompany it with a bottle of diet Coke with lemon (It tickles my sense of humour to see people looking and thinking "Look at that fat bloke eating a huge pie and drinking diet coke"

Before I know it the flight is announced and I head towards the gate hoping that I might have a bit of that steak stuck in my teeth so I would have something to munch on during the 1 hour flight to Dublin. The flight itself was quite painless, and although I am normally a big tart when it comes to taking off, I was sat next to a guy and his son who was about 9 and the little lad was so excited about flying, I couldnt let him see me being a nervous wreck, so it was with great effort that I managed to keep my eyes open for take off and try not to give a huge tell of how nervous I really was.

During the flight I got talking to the guy next to me, and it turns out that he was an exiled irish national that was returning home to visit his parents for easter, he like me had made many trips back and forward to ireland, and we had a laugh when we recalled tales of early crossings on the ferry/cattle boat that we had both experienced as kids, believe me, you have never made a worthwhile journey until you get the ferry across the Irish sea ...think of the scariest roller coaster and multiply it by 1000, awful, truly awful, We finally agreed that these kids have no idea of what we had to endure in our day, they just turn up at the airport, get on a plane and within an hour they are in Dublin.

So here I am in Dublin airport and only just short of an hour to wait until the flight from manchester arrives and my good friend Burnley John Falconer arrives along with another good pal Kevin O'Connell and his lovely partner Leonna arrive.

John won this event last year, (NO DEALS WERE DONE) and Paddy Power had invited him back to defend his title at their expense, they paid his entry into the main event, and gave him air fair and accomodation for 2 people (cheers John )
I really believe that every main event winner should be invited back at the sponsors expense to defend his title, it is good PR for the sponsor and it is also good for the competition.

My friends arrive on time and we get a cab to the hotel, again check in is so easy and quick,  before we know it we are all unpacked and heading for the bar.. a few Jack Daniels later and we decide to head down to the merrion casino so John and Kev can register for the 400 rebuy which was the first comp of the festival.

We arrive at the merrion, and enquire about any comps that are on tonight, a 20 euro freeze out ...  IM IN . It turns out it is student night, but we are welcome to play it and I draw my seat... phew I manage to avoid burnley john's table and sit down at a table full of young guys all asking me about John, and I am amazed at how many people recognised him ..that is until I look around me and see his ugly mug plastered all over the walls in the marketing material for the Irish open lol. Even the goodie bags handed out by Paddy Power at the main event included a pack of cards and a mousemat with Burnley's mug plastered all over them ... I took one but I will never use the mousemat, everytime I lose a hand and look down to see him looking back at me I am bound to go on major tilt !

Back to the game and we get underway with just over 90 runners, our table has one empty seat for the first couple of hands, before it is filled by a young guy in a very smart suit and tie, he stood out like a sore thumb amid a room full of casually dressed guys and I couldnt help but give him a bit of stick ,  "Just come from court ? " I asked, he smiled politely while the rest of the guys on the table were laughing ... that seemed to open up the table for banter, and before long everyone on the table was laughing and joking and I was really enjoying myself... before long my table was broken and I was moved to another, again it was a good table, but somehow i missed my new friends from the previous table and felt kind of like the new boy, but it didnt last long.

Burnley John seemed to set the precedent for his trip over here when despite all the players being in awe of him, he managed to get busted first hand with KK against A9 john bets the 9 high flop other guy goes all in and John doesnt hesitate in calling with his over pair ...turn brings an Ace and with no miracle on the river John stands up and the young Irish guy says "Thats it, im retiring.. I have just knocked the reigning Irish open champ out in the very first hand, it can only go downhill from here" LOL  ... As for me, I manage to get down to the last two tables and with about 15 players left I find a pair of jacks in early position, I raise and get re raised by the BB all the chips go in and I face AQ ... he hits a Queen and my first game in Ireland is over. It was a great game though, played in a very friendly spirit and guess who won it ??   Yep the accused !! the suited man was the eventual victor and after the comp he shared a drink with me and thanked me for helping him to relax as he had been very nervous about playing his first live game !! .

Back to the hotel for a nightcap, and then we find out some very distressing news, we were absolutley devastated .. Kevin O'Connell was close to tears ... It must be a mistake we thought ... It cant be true...  ALAS it was true... NO ALCOHOL WILL BE SERVED THE FOLLOWING DAY DUE TO IT BEING GOOD FRIDAY !!!

I smiled in an evil way when I realised that most of the other circuit regulars were arriving tomorrow and wouldnt be aware of the no alcohol law ... Ha ha ha ha ha ...


TO BE CONTINUED.

[Karabiner]

Just your normal smile then Kev 

Great start, keep 'em coming.

[The Baron]

Thursday arrives and the long anticipated trip to Ireland begins. I manage to get to Stansted airport with none of the traumas of the trip to london .. maybe thats because I managed to cadge a lift from a pal and didn't have to rely on the train.

Through check in and through the security check again far too smoothly for my liking, i was fully expecting something to go wrong soon ! ... I always like to leave myself plenty of time when travelling, I hate rushing, I'm built for comfort, not speed.
So there I was all checked in and sitting in the departure lounge with a full hour and a bit to kill before my flight boarded, hmmmmm what shall I do .. I pop into WH.Smiths and get a paper and then it hits me ... this aroma drifts towards me like a message from heaven, its a smell that I instantly recognise as a freshly baked pie !! I use all my years of previous experience and chase the heavenly aroma around the departure lounge and find the source .... A PIE SHOP !!! freshly baked pies in a wide variety of delicious fillings.... EUREKA !!!  I plump for the steak one and decide to accompany it with a bottle of diet Coke with lemon (It tickles my sense of humour to see people looking and thinking "Look at that fat bloke eating a huge pie and drinking diet coke"

Before I know it the flight is announced and I head towards the gate hoping that I might have a bit of that steak stuck in my teeth so I would have something to munch on during the 1 hour flight to Dublin. The flight itself was quite painless, and although I am normally a big tart when it comes to taking off, I was sat next to a guy and his son who was about 9 and the little lad was so excited about flying, I couldnt let him see me being a nervous wreck, so it was with great effort that I managed to keep my eyes open for take off and try not to give a huge tell of how nervous I really was.

During the flight I got talking to the guy next to me, and it turns out that he was an exiled irish national that was returning home to visit his parents for easter, he like me had made many trips back and forward to ireland, and we had a laugh when we recalled tales of early crossings on the ferry/cattle boat that we had both experienced as kids, believe me, you have never made a worthwhile journey until you get the ferry across the Irish sea ...think of the scariest roller coaster and multiply it by 1000, awful, truly awful, We finally agreed that these kids have no idea of what we had to endure in our day, they just turn up at the airport, get on a plane and within an hour they are in Dublin.

So here I am in Dublin airport and only just short of an hour to wait until the flight from manchester arrives and my good friend Burnley John Falconer arrives along with another good pal Kevin O'Connell and his lovely partner Leonna arrive.

John won this event last year, (NO DEALS WERE DONE) and Paddy Power had invited him back to defend his title at their expense, they paid his entry into the main event, and gave him air fair and accomodation for 2 people (cheers John )
I really believe that every main event winner should be invited back at the sponsors expense to defend his title, it is good PR for the sponsor and it is also good for the competition.

My friends arrive on time and we get a cab to the hotel, again check in is so easy and quick,  before we know it we are all unpacked and heading for the bar.. a few Jack Daniels later and we decide to head down to the merrion casino so John and Kev can register for the 400 rebuy which was the first comp of the festival.

We arrive at the merrion, and enquire about any comps that are on tonight, a 20 euro freeze out ...  IM IN . It turns out it is student night, but we are welcome to play it and I draw my seat... phew I manage to avoid burnley john's table and sit down at a table full of young guys all asking me about John, and I am amazed at how many people recognised him ..that is until I look around me and see his ugly mug plastered all over the walls in the marketing material for the Irish open lol. Even the goodie bags handed out by Paddy Power at the main event included a pack of cards and a mousemat with Burnley's mug plastered all over them ... I took one but I will never use the mousemat, everytime I lose a hand and look down to see him looking back at me I am bound to go on major tilt !

Back to the game and we get underway with just over 90 runners, our table has one empty seat for the first couple of hands, before it is filled by a young guy in a very smart suit and tie, he stood out like a sore thumb amid a room full of casually dressed guys and I couldnt help but give him a bit of stick ,  "Just come from court ? " I asked, he smiled politely while the rest of the guys on the table were laughing ... that seemed to open up the table for banter, and before long everyone on the table was laughing and joking and I was really enjoying myself... before long my table was broken and I was moved to another, again it was a good table, but somehow i missed my new friends from the previous table and felt kind of like the new boy, but it didnt last long.

Burnley John seemed to set the precedent for his trip over here when despite all the players being in awe of him, he managed to get busted first hand with KK against A9 john bets the 9 high flop other guy goes all in and John doesnt hesitate in calling with his over pair ...turn brings an Ace and with no miracle on the river John stands up and the young Irish guy says "Thats it, im retiring.. I have just knocked the reigning Irish open champ out in the very first hand, it can only go downhill from here" LOL  ... As for me, I manage to get down to the last two tables and with about 15 players left I find a pair of jacks in early position, I raise and get re raised by the BB all the chips go in and I face AQ ... he hits a Queen and my first game in Ireland is over. It was a great game though, played in a very friendly spirit and guess who won it ??   Yep the accused !! the suited man was the eventual victor and after the comp he shared a drink with me and thanked me for helping him to relax as he had been very nervous about playing his first live game !! .

Back to the hotel for a nightcap, and then we find out some very distressing news, we were absolutley devastated .. Kevin O'Connell was close to tears ... It must be a mistake we thought ... It cant be true...  ALAS it was true... NO ALCOHOL WILL BE SERVED THE FOLLOWING DAY DUE TO IT BEING GOOD FRIDAY !!!

I smiled in an evil way when I realised that most of the other circuit regulars were arriving tomorrow and wouldnt be aware of the no alcohol law ... Ha ha ha ha ha ...


TO BE CONTINUED.

Blog worthy.

[tikay]

"built for comfort" indeed.

A lovely read Couch - can we put it, & the sequel, on the Main Site please, as a Trip Report or summat?

[turny]

great read kev 

[Colchester Kev]

Good Friday, and the prospect of a "dry" day means i wasnt best impressed when my hotel phone rings at 10am (the plan was to sleep til early afternoon so as to minimise the hours spent not drinking) .. I ignore the phone and am just dropping back off to sleep when 26 people start hammering on my door in unison !!  well it was only Simon Nowab really, but he made enough noise for 26 !!

The reason for the wake up ??  he was bored and had no one to have breakfast with, he received a volley of abuse but then i thought sod it, im awake now and he can pay for breakfast for having the nerve to wake me up. a full monty and copious amounts of toast later I almost forgave Simon as he picked up the tab .

By now hoards of excited poker players were emerging and the most enjoyable part of these tours are when everyone is staying in the same hotel, the crack and banter is awesome, plenty of good humoured micky taking and tales of past conflicts can be heard from every corner of the hotel.

Tonights comp is the 400 euro rebuy, nothing much to report except Burnley made the cash and Ash continued his monte carlo form by winning it and picked up a healthy 40k euro.

Onto Saturday and the day of the main event, the massive ballroom has been carpetted and looks particularly grand, plenty of room for us railbirds to walk among the tables.

While waiting for the event to start i spot Phil Peters in the lobby on his lap top, he is a big sports/spread player on betfair... I have to offer him a tip for the day and tell him to get his entire stack on Spurs to win at Everton that afternoon, "7/4 they are, and its a knocking bet" i told him, He checked on betfair and told me that they were a shade over 7/4 on there... He asked if it was a sure thing and when i relied yes, he said well if you want a bet i will lay you 6/4 ...what ??  I laughed and told him that if he offered 9/4 i would have 40 euros. he accepted and the bet was placed .... A Robbie Keane penalty was the only goal and Mr Peters duly paid up and confessed that he had made a few quid on the game himself  AYYYYYYAAAAAARRRRR !!!

SHUFFLE UP AND DEAL, well it was when Liam flood had finished his speech, lovely bloke, but a voice that makes nigel mansell sound positively hyper active ...

Jen and snoppy are in place with the lap tops to keep all those at home updated on happenings, and I am given the camera to take player pics and as many Norkage snaps as i can ... plenty of choice in that department, although many of my norkage pics didnt find their way onto the updates thread, some did, and the one with the girls in black cocktail dresses could have earned me a fortune, at least a dozen players asked for copies, and loads more kept coming over to update corner to look at the pic on the forum LOL.
The young guy that eventually finished 4th in this  John Wong was accompanied by his lovely girlfriend Heidi, and she was happy to pose for a few pics, only one made the forum, but im sure snoppy is keeping the others for his own personal use

I also got to meet Dana, Jens best bud and flatmate, that girl has hidden depths, we got on famously and she has a wicked sense of humour. She also told me a few things about Jen that really shocked me, dont let Jen's innocent exterior fool you, she definately has a dark side

Word reaches us that despite there being an alcohol ban , the residents bar is open, and provided that you dont take drinks away from the bar area you will be seved AAAAAAYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAARRRRRRR  needless to say i make use of the facilities and spend the rest of the night flitting between the bar and the card room. The no smoking law is a right pain though, a drink without a smoke is so alien to most of us, and the pathway from bar to outside smoking area was a well worn one.

The hospitality at the Jurys Hotel was first class, free tea & coffee on tap, and the buffets were actually a full sit down meal, big rooms with fully dressed tables and very nice food indeed, a choice of main courses and sumptuous desserts were well received by everyone (except snoppy, that boy needs to start eating, im sure if he had to run anywhere his stick like legs would rub together and make fire !! )
A big thumbs up to whoever was responsible for the hospitality, it certainly puts places like the Vic to shame when they charge top juice and still have the nerve to charge £10 for a crappy buffet !!

As for the poker, it seemed to whizz by, Paul King suffered a horrific beat when he got all the money in with top trips on the flop and his oppo called with bottom pair and made runner runner straight !!! He found his way to the residents lounge and on his return to the cardroom he had clearly had a few to soften the blow of his bad beat, maybe he had one too many, as he took me out to the cash desk and promptly bought me in for Sundays 300 euro freeze out .. top gesture from a top bloke and i was well chuffed, though the nerves and anticipation were already starting to bite ... I didnt want to make a mug of myself and bust out early, but at the same time i didnt want to be a rock and just blind away.... oh well the days play had finished and i went to bed dreaming of what might be the next day .....


TO BE CONTINUED ...

[turny]

another excellent read kev 

[Karabiner]

We need to see proof of these "other" norkage piccies 

Good read Kev, keep 'em coming 

[vinni]

built for comfort,

you remember the pilsbury doe advert it was modeled on kev

[I KNOW IT]

Good read Kev, keep it up.
Will you be at Walsall tomorrow?

[Colchester Kev]

im trying to "steal" a car mate, i have been offered a room share, but the transport is the problem, i might turn up yet !!   can you get a whip round going for my petrol money

[booder]

dont blue square supply you with transport ? 

 

[SwedishBlonde]

hello kev and co. just signed up...finally!

Dublin was great had a wicked time...shame about jons bad beat on the final table but thats poker he played really well so im v.proud of him...watch out he's the news talent!

hope 2 see every1 at the next big up coming events

Heidi

[tikay]

Heidi - it's ALWAYS a pleasure to see you, you know that. We discussed Jon's bad beat on Poker 425 this week, I mentioned you too, but his turn will come, for sure.

But get Jon to put you in a few Events, you have the game, I saw that on the Cruise.

xx

[tikay]

..and to save everyone asking, YES, the Avatar IS Heidi.