Staying on the party

So, the blinds were 6k/12k, and that i had about 300k in late position. I USED TO BE at the button and Josh Hart raised to 25k, as he'd done the prior two hands. I looked down and (ding!) AK. I promptly shipped in my 25 blinds. It folded back around to Josh, who snap called with pocket queens. The board ran out nothing interesting and that was it.

I was out of the UKIPT Isle of Man main event, and man was I disappointed.

Now, do not get me wrong. I had just busted out 14th out of 402 runners for £4100. My 22 held up versus QQ for all my chips on day 1, my 44 held up versus pocket rockets late on day 2 for all my chips, and that i avoided an A8 sucking out on my A3 for many of my chips early in day 3. In short, it was about time for a couple to meet up with my overcards1.

And here's the object - it is not that I ACTUALLY wanted more cash. I'm never going to show down four thousand pounds, nevertheless it wasn't life changing money. I USED TO BE disappointed because I needed to leave the party.

See, if most folks are completely honest, poker tournaments aren't really concerning the money. I mean, if you happen to seriously expect to make final table money while you enter a big poker tournament, well, I WANT a few of whatever you're drinking. Even those people who fancy our chances ("I'VE £1000 equity for my £770 buy-in") better not do any calculations of what hourly rate that works out to be.

So really, it is all concerning the party, isn't it?

I've only played two UKIPT events, and they've both been incredibly fun. At every table here within the Isle of Man, we had interesting individuals who had great stories. We told jokes and laughed. After all we were taking the poker seriously - there has been £65,000 for the eventual winner - nevertheless it seems that the majority of the folk I played with knew they'd to get value at the way. I had the fortune/misfortune of getting Gary Whipp from Jersey (the unique Jersey) on my immediate left for many of Day 1. He has approximately a zillion tales, and that i loved hearing every one2. I say "unfortunately" only because he was an active and tricky player - having him on my immediate left was no fun (from a poker perspective).

I got to satisfy poker players from all over, or even sit on the same table with Vicky Coren for the primary time (an honor to not be missed). Then I got to sit down at a table with Fatima de Melo, which was equally joyous. And yes, it was I who knocked her out, calling with A3 at the big blind when she shipped 8-10 blinds from the button. Yes, I binked a 3 at the river to bust her, and that i knew immediately that all the Internet would hate me. But weirdly, I USED TO BE kinda bummed myself. See, I'D have still had (a couple of) chips if she'd won (as she should have), but Fatima would have still been on the table, being herself and livening up the entire scene. As I tweeted on the time, never have I been so ambivalent about busting an opponent.

Though again Fatima showed enormous grace by tweeting that my call have been "standard."

I mean, who desires to be the fellow who made the lifetime of the party leave?

And then I got invited to a different room on the party, just by virtue of sticking around long enough. At this room, they have got lights and cameras and microphones and so they broadcast your table on the net. What's more fun than a celebration if not a celebration that's being webcast? So when my AK didn't out-race QQ (yes, on the feature table), I USED TO BE bummed. Everybody else got to stick on the party and that i needed to leave. But still, I WOULD NOT have missed this party for anything - it was awesome.

All I WILL say is, the following time the uk & Ireland Party Time comes near you, get a ticket. It is a glorious time and oh, you can still win money, too.

1 Yes, I DO KNOW. That last paragraph was all pure tongue-in-cheek. I USED TO BE joking, son.

22> We had played together at Blackpool a few years ago. Make sure to ask him in regards to the story involving the cowboy hat and the University of Tennessee women's basketball team.

Lee Jones is the pinnacle of Poker Communications at PokerStars. He first joined the corporate in 2003 and was focused on the pro poker industry for over 25 years. You'll be able to read his occasional tweets at @leehjones.

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