12.55pm: Nealon loses the battle, may yet win war
Fergal Nealon wins multiple seats to every UKIPT event and is usually a chatty presence at the table. — NW

2.25pm: Back in their seats
poor beat stories, debatable folds and big pots were the likely fodder of the first break. EPT grinders tend to favour the hoody or occasionally the Steve O’Dwyer-esque beanie.

I missed the pre-flop action but there was already 4,300 in the pot before the flop of [4d][3h][Jc] was dealt. — NW

12.45pm: Ireland demographics
Tournaments here in Ireland are quite different from anywhere else in the world. “Will you show whether I fold,” he proffered but was met with stony silence. Both players have increased their stacks. Action is now back underway as level three begins.

Who will be joining Zandvliet (foreground) and Silver (centre)?

The action is due to start at noon in the cavernous Citywest conference centre. The original raiser led out for 300, Trumper made it 700, that was flat called by the player claiming ace-queen, the original raiser next made it 3,000, Trumper raised to 7,000, the ace-queen folded, the original raiser moved all-in and Trumper, with the nuts, called. — RD

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 50-100

1pm: Simon ‘Aces, Aces, Aces’ Trumper
“Who’s doing the blogging? It’s mamas old fashioned recipe for my fav dish: all the chips, or no chips #UKIPT.” Talking of tweets, you can follow @pokerStarsBlog and we’ll ping you level updates as they come.

Last year’s runner-up Chuck Fabian

Meanwhile…
“I’m up to 18,000, grinding properly,” said Rob Jong, who had wandered by to media row to have a chat with some of the pokerStars staff. From the big blind, Heesbeen led out for 2,600, Csire clicked it to 5,200, Heesbeen moved all-in and Csire made the signal.

Heesbeen: [Ah][Kh]
Csire: [As][Ad]

The turn was the [10c] giving Heesbeen some slender outs, but the [7c] completed the board to send the pot to Csire.

pokerStars Blog reporting team in Dublin (in order of arrival at breakfast): Rick Dacey (10.45am, several portions) and Nick Wright (didn’t turn up, gave his ticket to someone else: “I had a banana!”).

However, an O’Briens sandwich wagon is set up at the near end of the tournament floor (we’ve been told it’s like Subways, just better – the Ballymaloe tangy relish is not to be missed) and there’s a vending machine which dispenses cans of beer.

And amongst the many latecomers is Team pokerStars Pro Jude Ainsworth, he’s taken a couple of early hits and is down to 14,000.

Jong is owner of the Dusk Till Dawn poker club in Nottingham and is playing the event after that epic event last month. He’s grinding away slowly in the corner, now up to 17,000 from his starting stack of 15,000. Stay with us for the next nine hours or so for the early skirmishes, banter and inevitable poor beat stories (we will not publish the poor beat stories) as they come. All that will be interspersed with three 20-minute breaks (and no dinner break). We all know about the craic – perhaps the less said about that the better that soon after noon – but how else does it differ?

In comparison to the pokerStars European poker Tour it’s got a higher percentage of caps*, I can see 11 in the field of approximately 150. UKIPT Cork champ and universal jet setter Sam Razavi is additionally quietly grinding, a most strange state of affairs for the all-singing, all-dancing Brit. As he took the pot Boatman tapped the table but showed just the [Qs] leaving everyone wondering whether he had it or not. — NW

1.40pm: Chip counts
Although the tournament is only 90 minutes old there’s been plenty of chip movement amongst the names and notables: Rob Yong (18,000), Owen Robinson (17,500), Rebecca McAdam (18,700), David O’Connor (17,000), Ross Jarvis (12,600), Richard Haile (15,800), Thomas Ward (15,600), Tom Hall (28,000) and Surinder Sunar (16,600).

There was no sick suck-out on the turn or river and with that set by set coup Trumper is up to 30,000 early doors. – NW

1.20pm: Keep on chuckin’
Chuck Fabian finished runner-up to Joeri Zandvliet in that event last season.

2.35pm: Exits
There’s no easy way to say that but whether you’d logged to read updates about: Joe Cameron, Barry Carson, Philipp Wiesinger, Mark Simpkin, Nathan Gallagher, Ciaran Carter and Ivan Tononi thereupon that is the only one they’ll be in as sadly they’re all out. — NW

2.05pm: Was Boatman bluffing?
You can’t buy experience, nous or card sense, three things that Barny Boatman has in spades and in that specific had the queen of spades.

The board was showing [2s][Qc][Ad][5s], Boatman fired out a bet of 1,500 and his lone opponent, William Champion, folded pocket kings face-up. I’ve got a hand for you,” said Simon ‘Aces’ Trumper as he approached media row. — NW

1.50pm: More chip counts
Some Irish based chip counts now for you: Jason Tompkins, who’s sat two to the left of Max Silver and finished fifth here last year has 18,800, the ever so consistent Dara O’Kearney has 13,000, satellite specalist Fergal Nealon, who is at the same table as Simon Trumper and Ross Boatman is up to 20,000 and the talkative Nicky capability is up to 22,000. He tweeted: “Couple of clowns and couple of superheroes on my table. — NW

2.10pm: Break time
The first two levels are in the books, players are now on a 15 minute break. He’s off to a good start as I just saw him double up through the wonderfully named Hendrikus Heesbeen. — NW

“You’re not smiling, you’re not smiling, you’re not smiling anymore…”: Nick Abou Risk

12.20pm: Tasty tables
Most tables are only six or seven handed at the moment but that hasn’t stopped some interesting match ups being created by the random table draw.

UKIPT champions Max Silver and Nick Abou Risk are on the same table, Risk was on the front cover of CardPlayer Europe that month. That interview was written by Rebecca McAdam who is additionally playing today. “Ah, he had that beat,” said a tablemate. No aces versus kings on the first hand. It was another aces versus kings all-in pre-flop match-up but Levinskas, who had the kings, spiked a third on the flop to score an early double up. “How about we both show our hands that’ll construct it easier,” he added.

He soon after tanked for about another 30 seconds before saying: “Ah it’s too early for that s##t,” and folded [Ac][10c] face-up. Indeed he did:

Under-the-gun opened to 125 with pocket sevens, Trumper next raised to 425 with pocket aces, he got flat called by another player (who later claimed ace-queen) and under-the-gun came along too.

The three of them saw a flop of [5][7][A] and that is where the action took off. We’ll find out on Monday. Here is the breakdown of the UKIPT structure upon which we’ll be reaching the 300-600, ante 75; that’s eight levels of fun/grind/painful folding. — NW

1.30pm: Csire chips up
Only Joeri Zandvliet and Chuck Fabian bettered Robert Csire at UKIPT Dublin last year as the Hungarian finished third for a €30,700 payday. He’s here with the club’s poker director, Simon Trumper.

As I wandered past his table he was facing a bet of 800 on a flop of [Qs][As][4c]. Today begins an epic five days of poker with side events and cash games aplenty, all crowned, like that white slice at the top of a pint of Guinness, with the €770 UKIPT Dublin main event.

This is leg three of Season 3 and we will once again be playing two Day 1′s, a proper grown up structure for a proper grown up tour. Richard Haile (eighth UKIPT Galway S3) and David O’Connor (second, UKIPT Cork S2) are side by side with O’Connor having position.

The tournament clock is showing that there are 150 players but expect that figure to rise as there’s a steady stream of latecomers at the registration desk. — NW

12.10pm: And so it begins…
A little late, but play has begun. — RD

*There are plus two flat caps. — RD

11.30am: Once more, just like before
Welcome back to sunny Dublin, the spiritual home of poker played at 3am with a drink in your hand and a song in your heart. They have not been included.

Rebecca McAdam: surely that’s not her poker face?

12.35pm: Abou Risk out – kings into aces
Two day UKIPT champion Nick Abou Risk is an early casualty of Day 1A here in Dublin. The part-time player was chip leader at that event for a while last year but finished 55th for a small cash.

In addendum to Nick Abou Risk’s bust out, it sounds like he’s had a very successful staking campaign in the first half of SCOOP, which included 5% of Sam ‘SamSquid’ Grafton who chopped SCOOP-2-H for $234,193. Will it be a have-a-go hero who joins them or yet another UKIPT reg? He’s one table on from Max Silver’s, a player from their local homegame. Chip riffling is already chirruping across the room. He told me: “I six-bet called it off with kings and he (Anthony Rodrigues) had aces. She’s sharing a table with, amongst others, Owen Robinson and Ross Jarvis.

And two players who have style in the Irish legs of the UKIPT are seated together. Unlike the EPT, the field is nearly nearly exclusively Caucasian male with, at the moment, just two female players; one of which is Rebecca McAdam (mentioned below). It smelt like aces but I couldn’t fold.”

Risk was not the first exit though; a few minutes earlier Laurynas Levinskas Shaun Hegarty. What more could you want?

This event has traditionally been won by a UKIPT stalwart; three-time final tablist Max Silver won the inaugural event and last year was won by double winner Joeri Zandvliet.

[Source] Rick Dacey

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