Swimming with the fishes at the IDP's Deepstack Classic

Unlike the Irish Deaf Open in May... this weekend belonged to the fishes. I never saw so many sick beats and stupid calls in my poker experience!

Friday night the IDP committee pulled out all the stops to provide a great night of 8-max Sit-n-Go's with an international feel with over 55 players from 6 different countries on 7 tables playing various levels. And we didn't have enough tables to satisfy everyone! I was working for most of the night; but managed to join the last €30 game of the night...

A quick look around the table showed a Finnish TAG (had observed him playing earlier); three aggressive Swedes, a 'it's-my-first-time' player (IMFT) who got very lucky cashing 2nd in previous €10 & €20 SnG games to bragged her way into the €30... A fellow Irish who bluffs more hands than he has and a sleeping Brit who folded 90% of his cards! He folded so much that people FORGOT he was there! He won a pot by default after a Swede mucked his cards thinking he had won, with no callers to his raise!!! LOL! And me...

After getting my raises holding 10 10 and QKs called by IMFT and the Bluffer King, both who bet out continuation bets with the board showing Aces. I folded both times. Then I got AK suited, UTG, in the first hand and raised 250... Was called by the IMFT and one Swede. Flop came out A45 two suits. IMFT bet out 250, I reraised her 800... Big raise but I wanted her out of the pot; but no... She called! The Swede folded. Turn was a K... I bet out 1200, IMFT called. River 4; putting her on a raggy Ace I shoved... she called to show 54 off and I was out(!) FFS! The Sleeping Brit later told me that she had been playing like this ALL night and getting lucky with the board.

Sweet Nick from the UK had been asking me all night to play a game with him... I hunted him down for a game, and offered to play HU with him 'after' his current game. He replied 'really?! Well then...' and insta-shoved his stack into his opponent "I really wanna play with Jules... lets finish now?", the opponent agreed calling with 55, Nick had something like 93o and board came out with 33(!) LOL! But in HU with Nick - I was totally card dead, folding to every raise :( ... didn't want to play for money again; I really need the HU practice so offered to play a couple more HU with Nick - for the craic, the practice, no money right? And I won 'em both... typical! Afterwards moaning about my unlucky night, Sweet Nick ever the gent he is, offered to buy me a drink to make up for it... the pet! Before the gossip mill starts: he's already committed (lucky girl!) And I have NO notions on him!

The day of the Deepstack in the Fitz started with a buzz - everyone was milling around ready to go! Susie Woosie drummed up 8 players to play cash as I assisted with the seating plan - I wasn't to ensure that I was not on the same table as any of the calling stations or, indeed, IMFT! In the end the biggest Calling Station in the world (Vincent McArdle) turned up late for the game only to get the last seat going.... on my right(!)

Vincent proceeded to play in every hand - limping in with both weak and strong holdings and calling EVERY raise only to get lucky; he became the immediate chipleader! Although I played ultra-tight, having position on Vincent is NOT an asset. He checked down to the river with QQ on a Q high board, reducing one of the better Swede players to a short-stack (!) I woke up with KKs in SB when blind were 100/200 and raised to 1000... Vincent who had called the blind in CO, along with 3 other limpers was my only caller. JJQ board had me checking down to the river, with Vincent checking after me. On the river I threw out 2500. And he called showing J3 off(!) FFS! After this I was practically playing short stack game, with less than 6k and folded for the next few levels til after the dinner break.

After the dinner break, blinds were 300/600, in my very first hand I found AK suited UTG... and shoved, Vincent wasn't back on the table so I got the blinds! In the next hand I was BB, button raised to 1,800; Vincent called from SB, I checked my cards and found KK... and shoved for 5,400. Button (Swede) tanked for a moment then shoved his stack. Vincent picked up his chips, looked at me... I smiled sweetly at him and urged him "Go on! Call me! Go on!" Looked at the Swede... who started to copy me "yeah... c'mon! Call!" Poor Vincent panicked and folded! The Swede tables QQ and my kings’ hold, phew!

One more level later and I was on 17k, Vincent had been moved to another table, but I before anyone could take advantage of his departure; a very strong Finnish player Kalle joined our table sitting to my immediate left with 35k, 2nd overall tournament chipleader. He proceeded to bully the table, reducing several stacks and increasing his own, I even lost 3k to him in one pot folding the better hand, I was furious when he showed a bluff. Finding AQ in CO I raised to 3xBB, Kalle re-raised me on the Button for 50% of my stack, as the rest of the table folded back to me. I insta-shoved the rest of my stack over the line. Kalle called showing K10 suited. Ace on flop, Queen on turn, with two suits and I was so sure I was finished... but thankfully my pairs held and I was up to 25k. For the next two orbits I was card dead, Patrik (Swedish player and over all chip leader) joined the table and sitting between him and Kalle was tough. Falling back to 13k after losing a race with a short-stack on 66 versus my A10s, I was getting despondent; blinds was 500/1000 I was in SB with 55. Kalle (who raised every time he was UTG!) threw out 3k, the table folded to Patrik (in the CO seat to Vincent's right) who smelled a rat, and re-raised to 9k. I just saw red! I insta-shoved the rest of my stack then mucked my pair without showing as both Kalle and Patrik folded; quizzing me for information 'what did ya fold?' "A pair of twos" I replied to much laughter! Kalle patted me on the back patronising... 'Very good, you are catching up now!' he signed. 'Yeah...' I replied 'soon I will overtake you!' Kalle laughed shaking his head. Grrrr! I made a vow to put him out of the tournament but never got the opportunity as I was moved to table 1; with 9 strong Irish players including Frank Grace (the shortest stack on 15k), Justin Smith and Susie Woosie (on 35k)!

Blinds had increased to 1k/2k, and finding 66 UTG I raised to 6k leaving me with 20k left. Got one caller who raised me to 12k, then Frank (BB), pushed the rest of his stack over the line... I thought for a moment then folded my pair reluctantly, immediately regretting it when I saw the flop: Frank showed AKs and other caller had a middle pair; board showed A6xxx and Frank doubled up. Meh! Falling back to 20k meant I was in an 'all-in or fold' mode... very next hand I found AdJd in BB. Nick D who was in mid-position raised to 4k (2xBB); Susie in CO-1 re-raised to 10k; as the action folded back to me - I was already committed to a shove and pushed. Nick D folded then Susie Woosie tanked for aaaaagggggggeeeeeesss before calling me with AK off. The flop had two diamonds but turn and river didn't bring the 3rd diamond I desperately needed, Susie won with high card plus king kicker... I was out in 25th place. I was soooooo upset, I exited the room immediately.

While I'm still bitter with the way my play went, calling stations and fishes galore, I'm sooooo glad I lost my final race to a good player on a better hand!

Susie eventually exited in 12th place having lost a big pot before getting blinded out; Kalle bubbled in 11th (ha!); the sleeping Brit (ultra-tight Doke style player!) Exited in 7th place; Patrik (chipleader for the entire tournament til the final table) crashed in 6th place and our Frank Grace ended up in HU against UK's Henry McD.

Henry (who came 7th in the UK Deaf Poker Open last February, in which I was 6th and bombed out in 17th place at the Irish Deaf Poker Open in May) played an amazing short-stacked game after losing 30k to IMFT in a sick beat: She called his raise pre-flop holding 73 off and Board showed 77 to burst Henry's queens. That pot made her joint-chipleader with Sweden's Patrik at one point (!) Henry was then moved to my table and tangled with Kalle, winning his final race to double back up to 15k (approx) before he was moved back to IMFT's table. He shoved twice and IMFT (table chipleader) called both times, Henry won both races and eventually kicked IMFT out of the tournament in 29th/30th place! Go on ya good thing!

I didn't see the final stages of the tournament as I succumbed to temptation and joined the cash tables. Frank later told me that himself and Henry ended HU, into a showdown with Frank all-in holding AKoff and Henry called with Q2 suited, and won with a straight on a KJ10Ax board. GG Henry! Well done!

On the cash tables, another Deaf Swede (who was kicked out of our tournament in 70th place, during the very first hand on bluff!) turned €200 into €1,550 while making loads of enemies along the way! More than what our Deepstack winner won! Several people on the cash tables were calling him the 'Deaf Fish'! Ouch! But he was so proud, he taught them all to sign fish as in 'flapping gills' LOL! The very next day when I went back to the Fitz - several players asked me using that sign - "where is the 'Deaf Fish' today?!"

At one stage, he kept pushing me off pots I was getting annoyed - chanced my arm calling his raise holding 5c6c and flopped a flush draw/straight draw... he bet pot (€7) pre-flop, I had position on him and called; SB called too. Flop came 8c10c7x. Deaf Fish called pot and started signing to me that he had a good hand and 'don't think of calling it... trust me... I got the best hand here' but I pointed out 'tough, I have a good hand too' and called pot, covering his raise twice over. SB called while complaining that the signing was 'unfair' that we could be 'collaborating' in the hand and the rest of the table agreed - leading to the dealer asking us to stop signing. Deaf Fish tried to re-raise me but dealer wouldn't let him (threw out a €100 chip without saying raise) and the turn brought the 3rd club I needed for a flush. Deaf Fish checked looking at me; I called for Pot, SB went all in and Deaf Fish folded showing rest of table 88 and I pushed rest of my chips over. SB tabled AA and I got the pot,”That's the REAL Deaf Fish" DF quipped pointing at me in disgust! One hand later and he gave me a hug congratulating me on the €400 pot I won, and left.

Several players stopped by my table to see how I was doing and giving me updates on the Deepstack final stages, saying their farewells, giving me hugs, kisses etc. After Henry won, he came down with Sweet Nick; just as I hugged and kissed Henry in congratulations for his win, one cash player shouted over "hoi - that's enough hugging and kissing here!"

I gradually built my €50 into €480 with the aim to go home once I hit €500... But lost it all holding Qd7d (which I limped in with on the button) on a Qx6dJd6x9d board against Ad3d (American in BB) who raised on all the streets then checked-raised the flush on river to put me all in (!) Meh! I put another €100 on the table and got up 3 hands later with €250 - after getting a 5 high straight flush! I was exhausted had enough beats for one day, and was glad to leave with €30 up after putting €150 on the table and €70 buy-in for the IDP Deepstack... not a great show for 13 hours playing poker but I reckon it’s better to go home with something than nothing at all!