IRISH OPEN 2011 DIARY

Hi guys, this is Diego, the VIP Account manager here at LuckyAce Poker. It’s with great pleasure that I’ve been given the chance to tell you about our experience at the Irish Open Poker event in Dublin where two great LuckyAce players managed to qualify via our site for this prestigious European Tournament. Please allow me introduce “Mr Sylvain aka “huforroll” and Mr Hrvoje aka “MitricAA”. 

21st of April - The Meeting at Burlington Hotel

I left Southern Spain early in the morning with a heavy rain but after a 3 hour flight I discovered with great surprise that a beautiful sunny day was waiting for us in Dublin. ‘Top o’ the morning!’ as they say in Ireland - oh yes!

So I took a taxi from the airport and the Irish driver wisely described  the city in every detail, in exchange for good tips of course! 30 minutes of Dublin schooling later, I arrived at the colossal Burlington Hotel, the place where the Irish Open will be held.
At reception, I met Sylvain (Huforroll) who was barely alive after a 15 hours journey from Canada (no, he didn’t walk!) But why let jetlag ruin our first day in Ireland! So after few formalities we decided to hit the bar for a cool Guinness in the sun.  It was definitely the best Guinness I had in my life, especially because I am used to drinking imported beers – this time I imported myself!
At night we had a memorable dinner with other players from the Network qualifiers and we had the pleasure to sit in the same table with the Poker Legend, Dan Harrington, where we exchanged Poker theory and listened to early Tournament strategies from the man known as Dan “the Master”.

 
I realized it was 1:00 a.m and we had  a player missing - where is the elusive “MitricAA”?  

I was a bit worried that he wouldn’t make it but he finally arrived at the hotel around 1:30 a.m and it was while we were having a cheeky glass of champagne to celebrate his late arrival, that we met Tatjana Pasalic… one of the most attractive presenters on the Poker Circuit (along with Mr Devil Fish of course!). (Here is a picture of me, MitricAA and the titillating Tatyana with Devil Fish floating about on the right).

22nd of April - BIG DAY – MAIN EVENT -IRISH OPEN - $3500 Buy-in

After a nice Guinness-aided sleep at the Burlington Hotel I walked down to the Casino around 11:00 to our meeting point and met our qualifiers for a nice energetic breakfast. All was ready in Ireland for the big day and our two qualifiers were impatient to play and show their skills at the tables.
The atmosphere was superb. In fact, most of the players I used to see on European TV or videos were there with us. We saw, for example, Andy Black, Dan Harrington, British poker legend Surinder Sunar, Neil Channing, Devil Fish, William Thorson and many others so I managed to take a couple of pictures with  few of them, like the one below with Dan ‘The Man’ Harrington.
 

The tournament started with 615 entries, $20,000 starting chips and 1 hour levels. This is a very deep stack structure, which gives a lot of space for Poker maneuvers so it generally benefits the most skillful players.
 Unfortunately despite a good start and many battles our Canadian player, Sylvain “Huforroll”, run into AA against his KK and he didn’t manage to spike a K on the flop even if I asked the Tournament director for the famous “ONE TIME”!  “MitricAA” was also suffering from a early cold deck and when he finally pushed all his chips in with AQ vs QQ there was no A  on the flop! No ‘luck of the Irish’ for him!  Below are a couple of pictures of our LuckyAce Poker players who played with honour even without achieving a big score!

Sylvain  aka “Huforroll”

Hrvoje aka “MitricAA”

22nd-25th - The Finish

If you end up short in the Main Event there is always another chance with many Side Events (NL Texas Holdem, PLO, Limits Events or there are always plenty ‘Cash Game’ tables for players to have a chance to redeem themselves – and their money!

While Huforroll and I decided to grind on the Cash Tables and splash the pots like Teddy KGB in the movie “Rounders”, MitricAA decided to try his luck on the $1K NL Side Event and was interviewed by the beautiful presenter Tatjana Pasalic – so he already got lucky!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mebZiMmKghI

When he was close to the cash zone he picked up AA after a 3-way action, so the short stack of the table moved all-in and a big stake behind went also all-in over the top. MitricAA quickly pushed all-in from the BB and after few seconds of excitement waiting for the favorable scenario, he saw the bad news when the big stake made a runner-runner straight with KQ on a Jx9x8x2x10x board.  So our player, like a gentleman, shook everyone’s hands and made his way to the exit… next time MitricAA!

The last couple of days in Ireland were also very exciting because Dublin is a "Party Town", once even known as Europe's Number One in this regard. So we headed to Temple Bar, which is one of the city's most charming (or should that be ‘drinking’!) neighbourhoods. We went to cobblestone streets, historic bars, modern caf?s, art galleries and enjoyed how the architectural splendour harmoniously blends with old streetscapes and eco-friendly new schemes. In general the people were lovely, the music was great and the traditional Irish dancers were TERRIFIC. It was really an unforgettable time.

Watch out soon for the next LuckyAce Poker promotion for your chance to live your dreams!

 

Irish Open Main Event 2011

Hello LuckyAcePoker.com Community, this is Diego, the VIP Account Manager, and I am pleased to introduce you to our Qualifiers that will represent LuckyAcePoker.com in Ireland for the prestigious Irish Poker Open. They are: 1. Sylvain L. (Username: 'huforrol') 2. Hrvoje M. (Username: 'mitricAA') Before I tell you more about them, let me first give you some information about this event. The Irish Poker Open is the oldest No Limit Texas Hold'em poker tournament in Europe and second longest in the world after the World Series of Poker, Las Vegas. First organized in 1981 by Terry Rogers, a well known Irish bookmaker, the tournament has experienced tremendous growth over the years. Well known for the electric atmosphere and character like no other, this poker festival is now a firm fixture on the international poker calendar and a 'must attend' for many of the top poker players in the world. The Irish Open 2011 will take place from 22-25 April 2011 in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin. The buy-in for this event is €3,200 + €300 and players will see a radical change to the structure in that the starting stack will increase from 10,000 to 20,000 chips. Let’s take a closer look at our LuckyAcePoker.com players that will have an important mission in Ireland! Will one of them take down the Irish Open 2011? Sylvain L Username"'mitricAA' Age:31 Have you ever won any Live Event Packages? Nope, it's my first time. It's actually going to be my first ever live event! I played in a casino cash game once which was fun but it wasn't worth a 3 hours road trip. It's easier and better playing on LuckyAcePoker.com. I can't wait to get to the IPO (Irish Poker Open). No matter how it goes, I will get plenty of experience which can only be a good thing, and with some luck I'll hopefully finish in the money! How long have you been playing poker and where did you learn? I don't know how long I've been playing poker, but it's been a while. I played live poker games with friends before starting to play online. learned/discovered poker because of a player called 'muckdude' (a LuckyAcePoker.com player too). He was playing live poker with some people and I asked him how to play. He began by telling me about hand strengths etc. He then went on to teach me the basic rules like building a hand using hole cards and board cards etc. From there we started playing live games with friends and I eventually registered online with LuckyAcePoker.com. He continued to coach me, and that's how I got started in poker. What do you think of LuckyAcePoker.com? I like LuckyAcePoker.com! The software is nice, the players are nice and the action is good. Because I am a Diamond VIP member I get to enjoy certain privileges that other players don't, like my VIP Account Manager, Diego. If I ever have any questions or concerns I simply send him an email and he replies very quickly. No matter what I need, he always does his best to deliver. It's a very personal customer service because he knows me and I'm not just a random player. LuckyAcePoker.com cares about their players, and it shows! What is your poker goal for the future? My poker goal for the future… hmmm, I don't really have one. I just want to continue playing good poker while working on my game and improving. I do wish I could stop going into huge swings though and find a way to control the variance. Maybe if I do well in the IPO I'll try to play in more live events and tournaments. I'm not a big fan of tournaments though, simply because you are stuck in one place for a long time and may only win a buck after playing for 4 hours. I much prefer to play cash games so I can leave the table when I want. What is your favourite quote? "No pain, no gain" Hrvoje M. Username: 'mitricAA' Age:31 Have you ever won any Live Event Packages? Last year I won a WSOP Main Event package on another poker site, but this is my first package with LuckyAcePoker.com. How long have you been playing poker and where did you learn? I have been playing poker for a long time… since I was in high school. Back then I mainly played Draw Poker with my friends, but moved to Hold'em around 2001 when the movie Rounders came out. I started playing poker seriously online about 3 years ago. What do you think of LuckyAcePoker.com? I think that LuckyAcePoker.com is a great site with a great future ahead of it. What is your poker goal for the future? My poker goal is to win as much money as possible. What is your favourite quote? Winston Churchill: "I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me."