Make a plan to support good tourneys!
Gary Clarke, 15/04/08 | Print this article
Ireland has some of the best value, player-friendly poker tournaments in the world. Do we realise this and are we supporting them?
I often wonder how an Irish poker player plans his
schedule. Do poker players have schedules? I have always
been quite ad-hoc when it comes to my poker exploits.
I suspect that others are the same. Is there an
argument for having a poker timetable? I believe it is
important to have structure to when you play, how much
you play for and how long you play for, well in
advance. Rather than stumbling into a tournament, why
not plan ahead?
There is a certain amount of structure to when I play
cash games. That is, I play twice live and about 10-15
hours of cash on the Internet in a given week. It
suits me as I’m still in college and is about the most
I can squeeze in without becoming a total recluse
from everyday society. Live tournaments though is a
different hurdle all together. Many players would not
go one week without getting a poker tournament in. I
know because I too was one of them. I was convinced
that tournament poker was the only discipline of poker
available. Side games was merely for gambling and were
far too “dangerous” to get involved in. Little was I
to know that my thoughts on cash games were so
incorrect. Ironically such a vague description would
sit all together more comfortably in a discussion about
tournaments!
So what tournaments in Ireland are the best to play?
Any player worth his salt will understand the
importance of a good structure. From what I can see we
have some excellent player-friendly tournaments in
this country. We are lucky to have these and I’m not
sure if people realise it. With players from as close
as the UK commenting with envy about our tournaments I
believe it is essential to take advantage of this.
Case in point would be the JP Masters next month in
the Red Cow Hotel. For €750 you can play in a
tournament which is every bit as good a structure as
an EPT or WSOP leg and it is quite remarkable. As a
player it is important to realise this and make a
conscious effort to support these events. Otherwise, we
will end up back with 5,000 chips and 20 Min’s blinds
and poker will not be poker again. Even if the €750
entry fee seems steep, there is no excuse. With
satellites on the Green Joker Poker site starting from
as low as nothing, to $5 up to the $50 weekly final
all pockets can be part of the action on the 3rd May.
Speaking of action, the Student Poker Championships
took place in the Regency earlier this month with 300
hungry young players taking their chance to land the
rent, meal and booze budget for the year in one
swoop. The tournament which was run by the good
people at Poker Ireland and was won by James Scullion
who netted €4000 and now takes James Cosgrave’s title
of Student-Poker Champion of Ireland for the next 12
months. In what was a prestigious affair I must say for
us students, many were lost and flummoxed by the
surroundings. Clean carpets, waiters and central
heating in a ballroom is a far cry from the DIT
canteen I must say. Well done to the organisers on
pulling off another fabulous tourney. Roll on the
International Poker Open!
Gary Clarke can be contacted at gary.clarke@pokerireland.ie
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