The final, final table of EPT season 5 and it’s a Grand one! Play starts at noon today and I’m staggered that someone will be walking away with 2.3 million Euros. Seriously, what on earth would you do with that amount of money?! Monte Carlo has been a really great trip for our final leg of the tour. The weather is glorious and there is a real buzz in the air here. We do this ‘filming the poker’ lark so much and it’s our job and all but even the crew are feeling the excitement of this one. Maybe it’s the beauty of the venue as well. Just being in La Salle des Etoile is incredible. What a fabulous room, such a beautiful setting. It really makes me want to play here next year and be part of the tournament in a whole new way.

As much as it’ll be great to have some time at home now before the WSOP, I’ll really miss all the crew that I work with. I think I’ve been incredibly lucky to work with such a stellar bunch of people and over the last 2 years they’ve become friends who I care about rather than just colleagues. Not seeing them for a few months will be very very strange.

But, I’ve got other things to focus on. For one, I need to quit smoking again. Bah. I quit in November for a few months as I had a bet on it with Ryan Daut. I managed that and got through the hardest part of giving up and then stupidly started again. What an utter twat I am. Wish me luck, it’s going to be difficult this time I think….

San Remo EPT came and went and now the crew are all in Monte Carlo for the big Grand Final. I arrived a couple of days ago but most of the TV crew and a lot of the journalists came straight from Italy after an Italian Championship that happened right after the EPT and so people are utterly exhausted. You can see the ‘end of season lag’ on people’s faces and I’m feeling it a bit myself as well! I’m glad I got to go home, even if it was only for a couple of nights as I never sleep as well in a hotel and the extra two nights rest is going to help A LOT this next week.

There are some interesting faces here already signing up for the Main Event which starts today. I bumped into Andy Black and Michael Greco yesterday and some of the celebrities who flew over for Ante Up For Africa are staying on as well to play. I got to interview all the celebrities and gauge their poker knowledge. The event raised over 250000 Euros for the crisis in Darfur and it’ll be televised at some point as well. There was a lot of banter and funny chat at the tables so I’m sure it’ll be entertaining to watch As a teaser, Kirsty Gallagher was there and utterly gorgeous, smart and funny (and tiny!), Pepe Rainer charmed absolutely everyone and was refreshingly down to earth. I tripped over my words when I met the actor who played Smith Jarrett on Sex & The City and I asked the rapper Nelly if it was ‘getting hot in here’… Well, when would I get a chance like that again? And the highlight for me was meeting James Kyson Lee who plays Ando on Heroes. I’m a big fan of the show so it was great to be able to chat with him and, once again, I can confirm that he was a real lovely guy.

I was totally prepared to have to deal with showbizzy type celebs but in truth, everyone was pretty damned nice and there weren’t the big egos that I expected. Nelly did have an ENORMOUS body guard though and that made me giggle.

So now it’s the Main Event for Monte Carlo and the grand final for season 5. It’s been a busy year and it’s so strange that it’s coming to an end now. I’m going to miss everyone but catching up with my friends at home is top of my list of things to do when I get back, and I really can’t wait.

So I had a good Easter weekend

First of all, thanks to everyone who watched the feed and commented and sent their best wishes and luck. I really do appreciate it. It blows me away really to have so many people behind me, wishing me well. I feel like I won a lottery and at the same time, I feel like my game is improving and I’m generally getting better at the poker. I think because I learned how to play basically in public, playing on the TV tables at Poker Night Live back when I didn’t even know if a flush beat a straight, that I’ve always felt like I have a lot to prove. Particularly as Nick is the one who taught me and has mentored me through my journey as a player.

And now, what a damn result!

I think the whole thing is still sinking in. I flew straight back to London the next morning for work and spent the day in the studio doing stuff for the EPT and didn’t really have a chance to think about it. Over the last few days, I keep having these ‘blimey’ moments that really stop me in my tracks. Realizing that I won a fair bit of money, I went shopping of course. Except, of course my mother taught me well and so I went to the Farmer’s Market in Brighton and bought cheese rather than hitting the shoe stores. Nice cheese though, if that makes a difference.

And now, it’s back to the job and we’ve got San Remo and Monte Carlo coming up for the EPT and then the season is over. After that, who knows! It’s a great summer stretching out in front of me. Hopefully I’ll be playing at the WSOP and of course I’ll be there railing as well.

But thank you all again. Really. I’m just…. overwhelmed.

Kara

I wrote this last night but couldn’t find my log in for the blog section - doh! Here it is a day late

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Tomorrow - final table Irish Open

I’m still a bit over-excited but I played through Day 3 here in Dublin and have made the final 8 for tomorrow. Un-BE-lievable considering the day that I had.

I sat down with Albert Iverson to my left and spent a lot of the day watching him accumulate a lot of chips. He’s a really good player and very nice to be sat beside if you’re not actually playing him. I got to chip lead at the table but then lost almost all of it on a move that went wrong. I made a bad read and was left with less than 10bb only to find pocket 10s a couple of hands later and get two players to call my shove. They checked it down with four to a flush on board but my 10s held (I’d hit a set as well - luckbox) to triple through and was back in it.

Now I’m at 700k which is 5th in chips going into tomorrow and am going to try to get some sleep. I’m still a bit over-excited as it’s my first really big final table, but I need to get some sleep!

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And nope, I didn’t get as much sleep as I could have but hey, I think the adrenaline will carry me through. I lay down but found sleep next to impossible and then my eyes popped open at 8am this morning and there was no getting back to sleep. Play starts in two hours, I’m going to do my best and let the results sort themself out. 8th or 1st or somewhere in between, I’ve had a brilliant ride.

K

Hello from Dublin!

I have somehow managed to find myself going into Day 3 of the Irish Open in an hour and just wanted to post a quick blog to update you guys. I had a really up and down day (as usual) yesterday and was short stack grinding for a lot of the last half of the day. I think my game lacks aggression in the later stages. I like the early stages and I know what to do with a shot stack but I’m certainly learning things about my mid-game that need work.

I got quite lucky yesterday but think the moves I made were good ones. Dave Colclough got really unlucky against me and is going into Day 3 as one of the shorter stacks now. I sucked out on him heinously with my KJ vs his AK and it really seemed to deflate him.

So another day here in Dublin. We’ll see how I can do. I was chatting with Jon Kalmar and his wife last night after play stopped and he was giving me some really good advice for play in these stages. We’ve got about 64 players left in I think and are playing down to the final 6 tonight so wish me luck and the courage to play aggressively (but not too aggressively

K

Gasp! I’ve been accused of being a slacker by not updating my blog so here we go… not a lot to tell though but you’ve LANNERS to blame for a boring update

I got back from the Virgin Festival in Newcastle a couple of days ago and have been trying mostly to get stuff done here before heading to Dublin tomorrow for the Irish Open. I feel really REALLY out of touch with poker at the moment as I’ve not really been playing that much. Although I spend most of my time around poker, when I’m not playing myself I find my game just nose-dives. My reads are off and my understanding of close spots is really hampered. I fired up some SNGs last night on Stars and played and will be doing that again this afternoon/evening. Out of 6 SNGs that I played, I won two, came 2nd in one and 3rd in the last. Considering I was out of practice, I think I was running good but hey, I booked a win and I’ll take it!

I didn’t do very well in the Newcastle tournament as I was out pretty early on and consigned to losing at the Heads Up and Cash Tables which I did with aplomb. I had to leave before the final table finished but was really glad to hear that one of the Poker Player Magazine boys won it and I expect to see him on their next cover.

So next stop, Ireland! Hopefully I’ll have better news for you from there…

So I’m off to Dortmund for the antepenultimate EPT for season 5. I’m on the coach to Heathrow (yes, this is how I roll) and am reveling in the miracle of mobile broadband. I know, I know - where have I been for the last couple of years? But I’ve only just gotten myself around to buying one of these mobile dongle things and I’m like a kid at Christmas.

I’ve been having some trouble setting up broadband in my new place. When I say ’some trouble’ I mean it’s been a hideous nightmare and BT are evil bastards who seem to delight in making things harder than they need to be. Nearly two weeks on, I’ve finally managed to get them to set up a home phone line but now it appears that they’ve assigned me a number which is still attached to someone else. So no broadband for me. And they won’t fix it. Seriously, they Simply. Won’t. Fix. It.

So I’ve got one of these fancy dongle things and am waiting them out. Its a war of attrition and I’m sure they’ll win but by god, I’ll put up a good fight.

EPT Dortmund has started and I’m on my way there now to eat schnitzel and talk to poker players. Not a bad job, really. And with any luck the hotel I’m in will have wifi which will be a step up from the connection situation at home.

Otherwise, the settling into the new place is going well. Wealthall came over for a Sunday Roast on the weekend and gave his approval to the spare room (his new weekend getaway) and as a rather random sidebar; I’ve started doing Salsa classes with my friend Rachel. We weren’t sure what to expect but we had a hell of a good time. Soon I’m sure I’ll be good enough to challenge Nick to a dance-off. I can but dream….

Honestly, I shouldn’t be allowed to win at poker as I’m a ridiculously bad winner. I was at a charity poker evening last week at the 50 Club in London for Variety Club and was there as a bounty and ’special guest’. It was mostly city boy types with their wallets out for charity alongside a smattering of pop stars and a couple of Gladiators (Doom and Enigma - very cool) Most of the people playing had only a little knowledge of the game and given that it was the usual charity rebuy structure it was a lot of bluster and bravado at the table. The guys I was sitting with decided that the best way to break me was to buy me bottles of champagne and get me drunk to impair my judgement. I guess they didn’t read my blog on how alcohol seems to help my game…. Instead of making me play worse, it just brought out the gobby side of Kara. Ugly.

Generally the guys were a lot of fun and I learned that there are MANY similarities between poker players and traders. A love of silly prop bets for one. One poor bastard who went by the moniker “Hamburger Tim” had bet the others earlier in the day that he could eat 7 Big Macs in a half hour or something ridiculous like that and was still looking a bit queasy. A man with a voice and demeanor straight out of The Godfather decided that it was up to him personally to bring me down. We pitched an almighty battle on the felt with our final all in having the added pressure of a prop bet where he stipulated in his gravelly voice that I would have to go and work for his brokerage for a certain amount of time if I lost. Given that he’d thought we were playing blackjack for the first few hands, I thought it was a good bet on my part and thank god I did win. And thats when the truly ugly side of Poker Kara came out. I recall (through the mists of champagne and shame) standing up as the last card fell and making it clear to the room that this man was now my bitch. And then I leaned across at him, pointed my finger in his face and exhorted him to “say thank you, bitch”.

My mother would be so proud. Sigh. Thankfully this man wasn’t out of The Godfather and didn’t have me whacked there and then. In fact, this is apparently the way to speak to traders and get respect. I won the table and was immediately accepted as one of the boys. A lot of money was raised for the Variety Club that evening and although I’d initially been a bit nervous about being there on my own, I had a ruddy brilliant time. I really should learn some manners though….

I’m back in old Blighty again after EPT Copenhagen and just getting things sorted out for my move next week. They say moving house is one of the most stressful things you can do…. Whoever the hell ‘they’ are, they’re not wrong.

The final table for Copenhagen was really damn good. I enjoyed seeing it from the viewpoint of the commentary booth with Rikard and Nick and am hoping to get a chance to do that again. Generally I’m out on the floor doing the work for the TV broadcast but Copenhagen wasn’t one of the televised locations so I had a chance to stretch myself in the booth instead. Scary! Afterwards, a few of the Stars bods and the bloggers went for dinner and Nick brought up the idea of the ‘gap’ between what we know about poker and what we actually do at the table. Most people have a fairly significant gap which makes it easier to be an armchair warrior analyzing play from a distance, than it is to sit there under the lights with all the pressure and play optimally. On the reverse of that, I find it a lot harder to commentate than I do to play (although, given how spewy I’ve been the past couple of days I wouldn’t say I’m playing very well either!) Ever since I first started in poker, I’ve had a very hard time talking about it with others and giving my opinions. I’m nervous about backing my judgements or going out on a limb when I commentate and thats why I stick to the color side of commentating. And yet, doing EPT live was great! After the initial terror where I was certain that I’d say ‘bet’ instead of ‘raise’ or neglect to call a spade, a spade - I found that I really enjoyed trying to figure out what people were doing at the table and what their hand ranges could be in different situations. EPT live (no hole cards revealed) is damned good fun to watch and even more to do.

So I’m home now and surrounded by boxes - ugh. I escaped last night to go and watch my friends Sillo, Ernie and Jim play some music at a pub in Brighton and I think I’ll do the same again tonight. One of the best parts about living here is the live music scene. My mate Sillo is the head of songwriting at the Brighton Institute of Music and his students are doing a session tonight to show off their skills so I’m going to head down there and try to fit in with the painfully hip young college things.

After a nice quiet few weeks, the poker scene is revving back up and I’ll be hitting quite a few tournaments in the next few months. Unfortunately I won’t be playing many of them as I’ll be working at them instead, but I’ll fit a few hands in I’m sure. Next up is EPT Dortmund in early March followed by the CANNOT MISS “On the Rail” tournament on the 17th of March. Nick and I have really good bounties on our heads so don’t miss that one. Its a password protected online tournament so listen up to the next OTR for that. The Virgin poker festival in Newcastle at the start of April is one that I finally get to play in (so can’t wait) and then I think I’ll be going down to the Irish Open for a few days before EPT San Remo kicks off on the 20th April. A few days off to recover and then it’s straight into the Grande Final for EPT season 5 in Monte Carlo. Phew! Before you know it, it’ll be time for WSOP again!

So thats the plan for the near future. Hopefully I’ll see as many of you as possible at the On The Rail tournament. If I’m still playing as donkishly spewy as I am at the moment, my bounty won’t be too hard to get. Ugh.

The in depth coverage of the last 40 runners in EPT Copenhagen starts today at 2pm local time on the European Poker Tour website through Pokerstars.com. Nick will of course be his usual entertaining and insightful self and they’re letting me get behind a mic as well early today so wish me luck. I’m going on in the ‘analyst’ spot but will be doing more color commentary than anything else. There’s just no way I’d be comfortable dissecting the play of others at this level but I’ll do some research and scouting around to try to find interesting tidbits about the players we’ll be highlighting.

Scandie legend of poker (and really nice guy) Thor Hansen is still in with a shot at the title as is lovable Welshman Roberto Romanello who recently took down a European title and is in great form.

The weather here is still rubbish for those of you who are desperate for a weather update. It is winter though…. it snows in some places in the winter. Shocking, I know. We’ll be in Dortmund, Germany in a few weeks for the next PokerStars EPT so it’ll be snow snow snow for the time being.

Have a listen to EPT live if you’ve nothing else going on today and send in some emails please - it’s always great to hear from you. Best forum ever imho and I’m really disappointed that Eat My Stack didn’t get a mention in Inside Poker. I’ve always tried to mention this community whenever possible and am really proud to be a part of it.