DUBLIN BELLYBUSTERS

Three months ago, Patrick 'Dr Fill Good' McAllister made the FTOPS Main Event final table. Supported by all his Dublin Bellybuster and BadBeatsPoker.net friends, Patrick looked set for a massive life-changing score. 1st prize was a cool $480K and Patrick was sitting pretty on an above average stack. Disaster struck, however, as he got into a big pot early on versus one of the other big stacks. Always aggressive, Patrick fast-played (3-bet) his A10 of clubs, the nut-flush draw and two overs, on a flop of small cards but ran himself headlong in his opponent’s flopped set. Neither the turn nor river bailed him out and he was left with a stack of just 2 blinds. Seemingly dead, Patrick mounted a fantastic comeback over the next 5 hands, tripling and doubling up several times to find himself back in contention with a playable stack of over 20 big blinds. The very next hand, his hopes were dashed as he lost a race that would have put him amongst the leaders and exited in 9th spot for $28K – a tidy score but by no means the ‘big one’ for which he was hoping.

Since then, Patrick has had to endure daily reminders on how he 'over-played' that A10 of clubs. The source of those reminders? Well, me of course. (I did have a decent % of him so a win for him would have been over $20K for me!) Always boxey, I know I would never have stuck my penis in the pot with that much money on the line. Sure, his line would probably have gotten medium pairs to fold. Sure his line is the aggressive line and poker should be played aggressively. I just know that I would have had my eyes glued on the pay-ladder and recognising that each place represented a 'butt-load' (Patrick's phrase) of money, I would have been happy to call the raise to hit my draw and shut-down on the turn if I missed, leaving me an average stack with which to work.

That's one of the main differences between Patrick and I. When it comes to big paydays, it's not that I play scared but I am more conservative as I place a huge importance on the subjective value of the money. Moving up into the top6 would have given him the type of bankroll boost that would allow a player of his skill to become wealthier in a more reliable fashion. In the capital-sensitive game that is poker, more money equals bigger buy-ins and thus more opportunities to increase one's net-worth. However, Patrick saw the opportunity to apply pressure on his opponent and potentially become the chipleader, from where he could secure a top3 finish and some serious money. I admire his courage but I still believed a daily skype-reminder of how he 'blew it wih a10' was necessary.
On February 14th last, Patrick played Event #8 of the most recent FTOPS. Thirteen hours into that indevour, he emerged as victor, $136K richer, claiming it to be the 2nd best Valentines Day ever. (The 1st must have been something/someone really special!) It was the effort of a consummate professional. He got chips early and spent much of the tourney in the Top20. After the bubble burst, he faded back into the pack but always maintained an average stack. With 300 left, he made his move back up the leaderboard as a few big hands held. With 100 left he lost some crucial showdowns and a big coin-flip. He had half the chip average and for the first time in the tournament was ‘All-In-Or-Fold’. Picking his spots well, he kept himself above water for several orbits before getting it in with a dominant Ace and holding. He doubled again an orbit later as his QQ held versus AK all-in pre-flop.

By 50 remaining, he had manoeuvered him self into the Top10. The beneficiary of a huge set-up, his Aces held versus Kings in a pot with one of the other big stacks. Patrick had the chip-leader and he never gave it up. Avoiding showdowns where possible, he picked on the medium stacks and chipped up relatively risk-free. By Final Table time, he held a commanding chip lead and was not about to lose momentum. Raising and 3-betting, he applied constant pressure to his opponents, keenly aware of the leverage bet in every hand. While they jostled for position and an extra place up the money ladder, Patrick’s focus, as always, was firmly on 1st place and the FTOPS jersey. He rode his luck 4-handed as his 77 overcame the JJ of his opponent. With two-thirds of the chips in play, he kept his foot on the gas and when his K10 overcame A5, he was heads-up with Kakafoni. The two made a sporting deal and played on for $8K and the jersey. Patrick had 80% of the chips and closed out the victory within 10 hands.

Since the win, Patrick has enjoyed some positive press. Fellow Dublin Bellybuster Michael Craig has penned a nice article on him in the Full Tilt Poker Blog:

http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/poker-blog/2010/02/970-ftops-recap-two-of-the-good-guys-won.php

He has also enjoyed the plaudits of his peers on several threads on BadBeatsPoker.net, he is the subject of this blog (massive readership!) and I have even promised to stop randomly texting him with the words 'Ace Ten'.

Well done pal - it is a tremendous achievement you deserve your piece of the spot light!

Apologies firstly for how few and far between blog entries have been recently. Time to write them has been scarce as I have been rushing to get everything done before I make my way back the US next week. Over the past 5 weeks, I have been to the hospital 4 times (stomach/digestion issues), I have had my kitchen/livingroom completely re-modelled and refurbished, I have put in decent hours through SNGMentors with my two students Sibist and Drk Confdant, I have got the wheels in motion for a settlement in a longstanding court-case and I have begun writing a one-act play entitled 'Happier Days', all while still maintaining a 40-hour poker playing week. January was nothing special as I grinded out some average money in the 45 and 90mans (2nd place in the BadBeatsPoker.net $48 90man challenge with an ROI over 100%), made a couple of K playing cap-limit cash ($2/$4, $3/$6 and a little $5/$10) and dumped over 1K in MTTS. My MTT drought refuses to end and I am now looking at a $7K+ downswing in that department. Blechhh!

It should be an exciting few months in Connecticut. Michelle and I have opened a Kids Consignment Store in West Hartford and (now that the manual labour phase is over,) I am keen to get back there to help out. It's a bit of a Dublin Bellybuster production actually as the third member of our 'Max & Lily's Closet' team is Patrick 'Dr Fill Good' McAllister. We opened our doors last Monday to take in consignments and we hope to open for business proper by the first week of March. The wager here is that West Hartford, a pretty posh suburb in a pretty posh state, is sufficiently affected by the recession to make it more open-minded to what is already a billion dollar industry in America. Rents have come way down, making a low-yield business model viable in this affluent area. The average Joe is tightening his belt and even the more well-off Mums and Dads are looking to save a buck where they can. Also, a culture shift is apparent in the US with the 'green' message getting more airtime and 'green' businesses rightly being supported by the people. Max & Lily's Closet is the brainchild of Michelle who has, ever since I first met her, dreamed of bringing an environmentally conscious Consignment Store to her neighbourhood. Now, thanks to a good year on the green baize for Patrick and I, the investment needed is finally able to match the will.