Online Qualifiers

Name: Oliver Boyce
Country: Ireland

What do you like about playing on paddypowerpoker.com?
Its one of the first poker rooms I played and I really like the idea of playing against local people from Ireland. It’s also the site I had my first wins on so it holds a soft spot in my heart.

When did you start playing poker online?
About 3 years ago. I logged onto PPP one day and have been playing ever since.

Where did you learn to play poker?
Most of my family play poker and we spent our holidays as kids playing poker with my Grandmother. We used to count the days to our holidays so we could play cards with the family and if we won a pound we thought we were millionaires.

What is the most memorable hand you’ve ever played?
When I flopped a set of 10’s at the World Speed Poker Open in London – I bet the flop, checked the turn and got all the chips in on the river. That hand gave me the chip lead at the final table and was worth a lot of money which allowed me to take control of the table.

What advice would you give to someone looking to qualify for a major live tournament on ppp.com?
Depending on your bankroll, try to qualify as cheap as possible and don’t spend more then 10% of your bankroll on qualifying on any one event as theirs always next year. If you get to the final table, open up your game as there is usually only one prize, so go for it.

What do you think your chances are in the Irish Open 2008?
I’m very hopeful, I’ve a baby due on the 29th February, so I think the excitement of that plus the hunger to win should get me deep.

You are on the bubble in the Irish Open. You have 30,000 chips. You raise to 10,000 with AK and your opponent puts you all-in. Do you fold into the money or do you try and build a stack to make a run at the title?
I’m always looking to build, I never try to make it into the money, winning is all that matters. This is the reason I got knocked out of the WSOP in 2006 near the bubble by playing over aggressive, But if I’m behind to a pocket pair, than this should be a easy fold.

Describe your style of play.
Solid but aggressive when I need to be and I have plenty of gears.

Who do you think would win heads up – Bertie Ahern or Gordon Brown?
Bertie, he’s a very sneaky person and is better at handling cash sorry chips.

Name: Stephen Dahl
Country: England

What has been your biggest online win?
The biggest win I have had online is about £2000 in a MTT on paddypowerpoker.com with 1100 people.

How many satellites did you enter before you won your ticket to the Irish Open 2008?
I was really lucky I only had the one attempt, which I nearly never entered because I forgot about it, I think I registered with one minute to spare, I’m glad I did now though ha–ha.

When did you start playing poker online?
I think it was around my 18th birthday, I have always been a bit of a gambler and played none cash poker since I was about fifteen or sixteen, so one of the good things about turning eighteen was being able to play online.

Have you ever shouted at your computer screen?
Oh yeah all the time, especially when I’m all in or hoping for someone to fold to my bets.

What’s your perfect night out?
A night out with my mates down to the casino for a game of poker and then off out to the clubs in Liverpool. If we can’t remember what happened but we still have money and our clothes the next day it’s been a good night.

What do you think your chances are in the Irish Open 2008?
If I have a chip and a chair, I have just as good a chance as anyone – but the ultimate dream would be to win it.

Who is your favourite poker player?
Daniel Negreanu – his reads on people are awesome or Dave devilfish Ulliot he is definitely the best British player and one of the best in the world.

You are on the bubble in the Irish Open. You have 30,000 chips. You raise to 10,000 with AK and your opponent puts you all–in. Do you fold into the money or do you try and build a stack to make a run at the title?
I call every time as long as I don’t have my opponent on aces, I need the chips if I want to win. I am in for the win not the places.

Describe your style of play
I like being involved in pots but only with the right cards, so I can be a pretty aggressive player.

What is your strategy for Day 1 of the Irish Open?
Hopefully win a few chips and stay in the tournament.

1. What do you like about playing on paddypowerpoker.com?
It’s the first site I played on. I like playing against people from all over Ireland and there is good banter at the tables.

2. What has been your biggest online win?
The Irish Open ticket is my biggest win so far.

3. How many satellites did you enter before you won your ticket to the Irish Open 2008?
One super sat with ten seconds to spare!

4. What games do you play on paddypowerpoker.com cash/tourneys/both?
Mainly freezeouts and Sit’n’Go tournaments

5. When did you start playing poker online?
In Christmas 06 when Santa brought us a new computer!

6. Where did you learn to play poker?
All off my family love poker and always played the game every chance we got. Also Colm Feeney gives me some lessons

7. What is the most memorable hand you’ve ever played?
In the Red14 club in Armagh I flopped the nut flush, checked it down till we got it all–in on the river and I took the chip lead.

8. Have you ever shouted at your computer screen?
Yes all the time! Hasn’t everyone?

9. What is your perfect night out?
First Monday of every month at the Madden Club for poker. You can’t beat it.

10. What advice would you give to someone looking to qualify for a major live tournament on ppp.com?
Good luck! It’s not easy.

11. What do you think your chances are in the Irish Open 2008?
As good as chance as anyone. I’ll turn up see how we go.

12. Who is your favourite poker player?
After Phil Ivey, it has to be Gary Robb. Two legends.

13. Do you play much live poker/ What is the name of your local cardroom?
As much as I can, I play more live games than online. A new club has opened in Armagh called Red14, it’s a nice place.

14. You are on the bubble in the Irish Open. You have 30,000 chips. You raise to 10,000 with AK and your opponent puts you all–in. Do you fold into the money or do you try and build a stack to make a run at the title?
Go for title! There’s nothing to lose and I’m a gambler at heart anyway.

15. Describe your style of play?
Like to see flops cheap, and love bullying with plenty chips aggressive.

16. Sunglasses and iPods? Good or bad for the game?
Very bad, they should be banned.

17. Have you ever been to Las Vegas?
No, but someday I will.

18. Would you like to be a professional poker player?
That would be a dream… maybe Paddy Power Poker will sponsor me?

19. Are you superstitious? Do you have a good luck charm that you bring with you to the table?
No, the more chips you have the more luck you get.

20. What is your strategy for Day 1 of the Irish Open?
Play my own game, just enjoy it and don’t get nervous.

21. Who do you think would win heads up? Bertie Ahern or Gordon Brown?
Bertie of course… we all know why!

Name: Dara O’Kearney
Country: Ireland

1. How many satellites did you enter before you won your ticket to the Irish Open 2008?
One. And I actually qualified from that from the first super satellite that I played.

2. What games do you play on paddypowerpoker.com – cash/tourneys/both?
Both, but primarily sit–and–go tourneys.

3. When did you start playing poker online?
Last March.

4. Where did you learn to play poker?
My brother Sean (the current World Face up Champion) who has been semi–pro for a few years thought me in March last year. We’ve always been good at games; we were both international class chess and bridge players when we were younger, so it seemed like a logical thing to try.

5. What is the most memorable hand you’ve ever played?
First live tournament I ever won, final table. It was only my third live tournament ever and I was still pretty nervous. There was one loudmouth at the table who kept coming over the top of my raises and telling everyone else how he had a read on me. Even as inexperienced as I was, I could work out he had me pegged as a folding rock.

I picked up pocket kings and put in the standard raise. He came over the top again. I flat called. Flop came 9 high, no legitimate draws, and I bet my standard continuation bet. He called. King came on the turn. I knew he was looking for weakness so I visibly flinched when I saw the king, and timidly checked. He moved all in with nothing, and found himself called drawing dead. I nobly resisted the temptation to say “Good read, sir” as he left.

6. Have you ever shouted at your computer screen?
All the time: things like “Fold!” “Go away”, “Call”, “I bet your mother’s so proud of you now” and “Are you sure you don’t want any soup?” Unfortunately, I sometimes do that in live play too.

7. What’s your perfect night out?
Running through the night. I’m the current Irish 24 hour running champion, an endeavour that involves running non–stop for 24 hours through most of one day, through the night, and into the next day. Running in darkness when you’re already exhausted from running for 10 hours is the ultimate trip.

8. What advice would you give to someone looking to qualify for a major live tournament on www.paddypowerpoker.com ?
If you’re a good player with discipline, work out your strategy in advance and stick to it. The one that worked for me was early on, play your normal game (tight aggressive in my case) and try to accrete chips by the break without too much risk. If you’re short–stacked, don’t panic. Your Q doesn’t really matter at this point, only you’re M. I was down to 700 chips (from 2000 starting) with half the field gone and was actually last in the tournament for a long period until I picked up a hand to double up with. Don’t panic and start pushing with garbage: so long as you have more than 6 or 7 big blinds, you can wait for big hands that will double you up. This being Ireland, your all–in will almost always gets called by someone at this point, so you’d better have a hand.

In the medium stages, you need to be aggressive. Work out who has tightened up and target them, so long as your stack is big enough to hurt them. If you have the big stack, you can just min raise most hands and coast into an unassailable position. If you get reraised, assume your opponent has queens or better. Don’t get sucked into stubborn calls. Pride has no place at the poker table.

As you get near the bubble, your stack size dictates your play. If you’re big, keep the pressure on the small and small–to–medium stacks. If you’re medium, tighten up, but look for stealing opportunities against others who have tightened up to the point they’re folding everything. Don’t call any all–in from a smaller stack unless you have Aces or you can afford to lose the all–in and still be in good shape.

If you’re small, come over the top of hyper aggressive players raising most pots with any decent hand. You simply can’t let yourself get blinded down to the point where the whole table can call your all–in. Target the other small stacks or any of the medium stacks you can hurt if they’ve clammed up totally.

On the other hand, if that’s all boring technical stuff and you’re just here for the fun and to gamble, then go for it. You’re not going to outmanoeuvre the better players who are used to playing strategically sound poker so you might as well fling your chips in with merry abandon and be prepared to gamble. You might luck your way all to a ticket, it’s probably your best chance anyway, and your chances probably aren’t that much worse than those sniffy snobs like me who think they’re better players than you. Be prepared to bad beat your way past them on the way to a ticket and listen to them whine about what a donk you are. Anyone, no matter how good or bad, has a chance, and everyone needs to get lucky at some point, but if you’re not in, you can’t win.

10. Who is your favourite poker player?
Dead heat between my brother and mentor Sean O’Kearney, and Vicky Coren, who combines being drop dead beautiful with a keen card sense, the ability to be interesting about poker, a wicked sense of humour, and the very rare ability to more than hold her own when bantering with the men.

11. Describe your style of play.
My natural personality tends towards loose aggressive, but I’ve learned the hard way that tight aggressive is more effective, particularly early doors, at my level of experience (I still have L plates). But I can change my style to take into account of stack sizes, what my opponents are doing, and tournament position etc.

12. Sunglasses and iPods – good or bad for the game?
Bad. They make us all look like idiots. The glasses I can almost understand but the iPods make no sense to me. There’s nothing more annoying than some muppet playing in a 20 Euro tournament wearing an Ipod because he thinks it makes him look like a real poker player, when all he’s doing is slowing the game down because he can’t hear the dealer telling him the action is on him, or another player asking how much he has behind. If it was up to me, I’d have the dealers muck their hands for not responding.

13. Are you superstitious? Do you have a good luck charm that you bring with you to the table?
Not really superstitious, and don’t have a lucky charm, but I’m tempted to believe in beginner’s luck. I won my first ultra marathon (in New York), became national 24 hour champion in my first 24 hour race, was second in my first online tournament (Ladbrokes freeroll with 6000 starters), and second in my first live tournament in the Fitz. I qualified from my first super satellite and satellite for this tournament, so I’m hoping for that kind of luck in my first Irish Open.

14. What is your strategy for Day 1 of the Irish Open?
I’ll probably play my normal tight aggressive game early on, trying to accrete chips without taking too many risks. But it depends on what the other players at the table are doing, and I won’t be afraid to get all my chips in if I think I probably have the best of it. In my experience, the only thing worse than no plan is having a plan that’s too rigid.

15. Who do you think would win heads up – Bertie Ahern or Gordon Brown?
Bertie, easily. Gordon’s too straightforward and unimaginative and easy to read. Bertie’s a sly one with that touch of the devil to him that every good player needs.