Q&A with NickyOD

Lafortezza

Next up is Nicky. Standard stuff applys as with the other threads.

1) What games/levels are you playing right now?
2) How many tables at once?
3) Are you running good or bad in the last few days?

4) Who do you think is the biggest knobjockey on the poker forum?

5) M&M's, with peanuts, without peanuts?

ntlbell

Do you think you're starting to loose your love for poker?

Have you any regreats about going pro?

What was the hardest thing about turning pro?

What's you're opinion on the current state of poker in Ireland?

What part of your game do you spend most time on trying to improve?

On a scale of 1-10 how do you rate your reading ability in...

NLHE

LHE

Who on the poker scene in Ireland do you admire most and why.

How highly do you rate Keiran Walsh? Have you played against him much? if so was it cash/tournaments

Who is the most "creative" poker player you know personally.

If you have music on in a tourney what are you usually listening to?

How did you get involved in writing poker articles?

Have you considered it as a full time job?

How do you rate K4o?

shoutman

1)What is the best hand you have ever played?

2)What is the most memorable hand you have ever played?

3)If there is one hand you would like to have played differently what is it and why?

4)Do you think you have good bankroll management?

5)Is there any mistakes that you know you are making but can't seem to stop making?

6)At the final table of a EPT event and everyone at the table has exactly 10bb left. You are in the bb, every player up to you has gone all in and you look down at kk. Do you call? or hope to get headsup with a distinct chip disadvantage but with a healthy amount of money in your pocket for coming at least second.

7)What is your favourite post-poker tourney late night snack food?


cheers

LuckyLloyd

This post has been deleted.

handsfree

do you feel you have improve or disimproved since taking your job in the casino

NickyOD

lafortezza wrote:

Next up is Nicky. Standard stuff applys as with the other threads.
1) What games/levels are you playing right now?

Right now I'm playing 50 1 on Tribecca and Irisheyespoker. Before I did my brains in Vegas I was comfortably beating 1-2 and 2-4 on Party.

lafortezza wrote:

2) How many tables at once?

I'm 3-tabling at the moment. I used to 5-table, but I'm still not totally confortable with more than 3 tables on the Tribecca interface. When I started on GJP I 4 or 5-tabled and made lots of mistakes.

lafortezza wrote:

3) Are you running good or bad in the last few days?

I'm running really well right now. As everyone probably knows I was broke not so long ago. About 3 weeks ago I put $500 online again and since then I've made about $2200 on top. I've been very unlucky not make more, as I've taken a couple of nasty beats when close to 4 figure cashes in tourneys. One was the 20K Gtd on Party and the other was the 20K Gtd on Stars where I was 12th of 3078 runners when I lsot with AJ V AT AIPF. My confidence is very high right now. I can't remember when I've played better to be honest.

lafortezza wrote:

4) Who do you think is the biggest knobjockey on the poker forum?

lol! haven't heard that term in a while. An uncle of mine used to think "Have you got a jockey" was a good chat up line and for some reason you just reminded me of him.

Honestly I think think there is almost no one on this forum that I dislike, and that really says a lot about boards coming from someone like me. If I had to pick one person who posts here, I would have to say Pokerevents is the biggest knobjockey.

lafortezza wrote:

5) M&M's, with peanuts, without peanuts?

I like nuts.

El Stuntman

Hi Nicky,

I enjoy reading your blog - it's painfully honest!

and now for de questions.....

what factors led to you going broke?

what have you learnt from going broke?

can you see it happening again?

have you any defined poker goals for the next year?

have you ever been to the Sin Bin?

NickyOD

ntlbell wrote:

Do you think you're starting to loose your love for poker?

I love poker now more than ever. I write about poker for pokernews every week which is great because its different, I enjopy writing and its a chance to do somthing creative. My new poker room in Ennis will be in full swing before Christmas so now would not be a good time to lose my love of the game.

ntlbell wrote:

Have you any regrets about going pro?

None at all. I have regrets about many things I have done in my life but that is one decision I will always feel was the right one.

ntlbell wrote:

What was the hardest thing about turning pro?

The change to my sleeping habits and the effect it has had on my social life has been the most difficult thing to deal with. I used to go swimming before work every morning and play football at work twice a week. Now I'm really out of shape, I don't exercise enough and you're as likely to find me awake at 4am as 4 in the evening. That's obviously very unhealthy and something I need to change.

ntlbell wrote:

What's you're opinion on the current state of poker in Ireland?

I think its great. You can find a game almost anywhere now. The only problem I have with Ireland is the difference in standard between the way things are done in Dublin and outside of Dublin. Dublin have very good dealers, the cardroom managers know what they are doing. Everything is done to a very professional standard because its expected of them and players realise this. Outside of Dublin there are a lot of very poorly run games, dealers are not being traned properly, they are very sloppy, the games are bad value and worst of all players don't seem to expect better service. That's not to say there aren't good poker rooms outside of Dublin. There are some excellent ones with fantastic people involved but unfortunately the terrible games far outnumber the good ones.

ntlbell wrote:

What part of your game do you spend most time on trying to im
prove?

Recently I've been trying to speculate more and make more aggressive moves in tournaments. Players are getting better and harder to read, so when the ABC TAG approach doesn't cut it, you have to try and be more creative in a tournaments.

ntlbell wrote:

On a scale of 1-10 how do you rate your reading ability in...
NLHE
LHE

Tough Question. I think I have to give myself a 9 for No Limit. I think it's the strongest part of my game. Limit is entirely different and reading players isn't as important. Making big folds on the river is the last thing you worry about in that game. I probably give myself a 6 because I don't play limit so much any more.

ntlbell wrote:

Who on the poker scene in Ireland do you admire most and why.

I like colourful characters because they are needed in the game, and I like those people to be thick skinned because you need to be to survive in Poker, and they need to have some gamble in them to be winners. Dave Masters probably fits that mould perfectly, although I don't know Dave very well I think if I had to pick the next Irish player to have a breakthough in a major tournament he would be the most likely. I also think anyone who wants to know how a poker room should be run perfectly could learn a lot from Luke Ivory.

ntlbell wrote:

How highly do you rate Keiran Walsh? Have you played against him much? if so was it cash/tournaments

I've never played with Kieran. I remember when Keieran, Fatboydim, Damien Kavanagh and I made the second day of the Main event at the E-WSOP in Vienna. I got to know him a bit then. I think he's probably one of the nicest guys in Irish Poker. I have a lot of respect for people who are as graceful in defaet as they are in victory and that's why I like Kieran. Like I said though I have never been at his table so I can't comment on his play.

ntlbell wrote:

Who is the most "creative" poker player you know personally.

Pat Coleman. No question. He is the fiercest and most fearless cash game player I know. The **** he pulls makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and he is no fish. He's a winning player and he probably sees over 60% of flops 9 handed.

ntlbell wrote:

If you have music on in a tourney what are you usually listening to?

In a live game I usually listen so pretty heavy stuff. Rage against the Machine, Foo Fighters, Skunk Annasie, AudioSlave, that sort of stuff. It helps keep me awake and focussed.

At home when playing online I prefer to be much more relaxed. There I listen to a lot of Reggae, and more chilled out stuff like Morcheeba, Zero7 and I really like Blur.

ntlbell wrote:

How did you get involved in writing poker articles?

At the Pokerevents festival in Dublin back in June I met Paul Sandells weho is the editor for UKPokernews. I knocked him out of of the 800 event, then we were both at the final table of the 300 event. Then I spotted him in a cash game in Vegas and went up and said hello. We were staying in the same hotel and got talking. After Vegas he sent me a message asking me to cover some irish tournaments and it grew from there.

ntlbell wrote:

Have you considered it as a full time job?

No, not at all. I'm not good enough. I was so afraid of writing a piece of **** article that i'd get flamed for I asked Vicky Coren to give me some pointers and she was really helpful. I'm no journalist, but I'm getting better. There's not enough money in it for someone like me anyway. You have to be exceptional for it to be worthwhile financialy and even a writer as good as VC has said its almost like doing "charity work".

ntlbell wrote:

How do you rate K4o?

It's fourking ****e[/QUOTE]

NickyOD

shoutman wrote:

1)What is the best hand you have ever played?

It's hard to pick one hand. I remember it took me about 3 seconds to fold Kings preflop against James Browning. He showed me Aces. That wouldn't be the one I'd pick though.

My favourite hands usually involve making plays for pots from the blinds, trying to represent raggy or paired boards. The hand I played against Ocallagh in the recent boards game where I 3 bet the turn and he called me down with Queen high and won (He had QJ, I had Q9), that was a lot of fun.

Here's one on the bubble ont he 20K Gtd on Stars the other night that I enjoyed. The Villain said he folded A-9.

PokerStars Game #7261440704: Tournament #36701433, $3.00+$0.30 Hold'em No Limit - Level XIII (1000/2000) - 2006/12/01 - 23:27:33 (ET)
Table '36701433 43' 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: KGBCI (11060 in chips)
Seat 3: Socks0814 (12847 in chips)
Seat 4: superman1975 (111923 in chips)
Seat 5: jp28810 (40076 in chips)
Seat 6: NickyOD (34885 in chips)
Seat 7: TomWy (16900 in chips)
Seat 8: slcikjim (28770 in chips)
Seat 9: cousinb1971 (22515 in chips)
KGBCI: posts the ante 100
Socks0814: posts the ante 100
superman1975: posts the ante 100
jp28810: posts the ante 100
NickyOD: posts the ante 100
TomWy: posts the ante 100
slcikjim: posts the ante 100
cousinb1971: posts the ante 100
jp28810: posts small blind 1000
NickyOD: posts big blind 2000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to NickyOD [ 2c 6h]
CardShark_yB is connected
TomWy: folds
slcikjim: folds
cousinb1971: folds
KGBCI: folds
Socks0814: folds
superman1975: folds
jp28810: raises 2000 to 4000
NickyOD: calls 2000
*** FLOP *** [Ac 5s 5h ]
jp28810: bets 2000
NickyOD: calls 2000
*** TURN *** [Ac 5s 5h ] [Ts]
jp28810: bets 2000
NickyOD: raises 6000 to 8000
jp28810: calls 6000
*** RIVER *** [ Ac 5s 5h Ts ] [Kh]
jp28810: bets 2000
NickyOD: raises 18785 to 20785 and is all-in
jp28810: folds
NickyOD collected 32800 from pot
NickyOD: doesn't show hand
CardShark_yB said, "nb"

shoutman wrote:

2)What is the most memorable hand you have ever played?

Smooth calling a raise with Aces from Nick Gibson in Vienna when he raised my BB for the 3rd time and then talking him into to calling down with 3rd pair. He's so tilty it totally changed the dynamic of the table afterwards. There's also hand I played against Badgirl which I remember for all the wrong reasons. Let's just say I somehow found a way to overplay T-7o.

The biggest cash game pot I won was about €2100 and was with Queens full in Omaha. I'll never forget that one because the villain in the hand was somone I dislike very much.

shoutman wrote:

3)If there is one hand you would like to have played differently what is it and why?

Another hand form the E-WSOP. This guy went on to come second in the Main event. He was overaggressive and he probably pegged me as being too tight. (which was probably right at the time). The very first hand of the second day he button raised my BB and I reraised with AT. He thought for a while and then pushed all in and covered me. It was the longest I've ever dwelled over a hand in my life and I took 5 minutes to fold. To this day I still think I should have called.

shoutman wrote:

4)Do you think you have good bankroll management?

Yes I definitely do. My problem isn't playing above my limits its my spending habits away from the poker table.

shoutman wrote:

5)Is there any mistakes that you know you are making but can't seem to stop making?

Misplaying AK from the blinds.

shoutman wrote:

6)At the final table of a EPT event and everyone at the table has exactly 10bb left. You are in the bb, every player up to you has gone all in and you look down at kk. Do you call? or hope to get headsup with a distinct chip disadvantage but with a healthy amount of money in your pocket for coming at least second.

Ugh! I hate these question because I often end up changing my mind later. I would fold because i'd expect someone to have Aces, and even if they don't i'm getting positive equity from the huge jump in money. You should fold Aces here. Plus if I am at a table of 9 players with equal abillity then my chances of coming first should be 1 in 9 which should be the same as the odds of wining heads up with a 8-1 chip disadvantage., but in the second scenario I make a lot more money, so yes I definitely fold.

shoutman wrote:

7)What is your favourite post-poker tourney late night snack food?

pancakes. the lemon and raisin ones you can buy in Tesco are fantasic

NickyOD

LuckyLloyd wrote:

Do you have long - term ambitions within poker? By this I mean - can you see yourself using poker as your sole source of income (whether it be writing about it, running a card club, playing etc) in the long - term or do you have plans to move onto something else?

i don't want poker to define my life, but I'm sure it was always be a huge part of it. I'm very ambitious and I won't be totally happy unless I win an international event, but I can think of 1000 more important things to worry about. unless the poker bubble bursts at some point I think I will be working in poker and playing poker for the rest of my life, but I wouldn't rule out anything else, except IT. I'll never go back to working in IT.

LuckyLloyd wrote:

From a purely playing perspective, do you believe that grinding out a living would allow you to maintain an interest in the game, or is it a case that you would need to move up levels and start taking big tourney scores to still have a desire to play in 10 years time?

Grinding sucks if you''re a professional. Your brain would crack if you kept it up for too long. It would just take over your life. You've got to have other interests or other ideas brewing to keep your mind active. From a playing perspective, you've got to keep trying to raise the bar, test yourself and keep trying new things. While I would always rely on a solid cash game as an income from poker, I defintely always have the urge to try and win a big tournament.

NickyOD

handsfree wrote:

do you feel you have improve or disimproved since taking your job in the casino

I feel like i'm getting better all the time. I still play a lot even though I don't play as often. Plus you can actually learn a lot from watching begginners play from the common mistakes that they make, then using that to your advantage when playing similar oponents. Some new players can surprise you. I dealt a game last night where a player folded Kings against Aces preflop and he was getting seriously good odds to call. He was a beginner but he read the villain perfectly. That really impressed me. A lot of begginers can really surprise you like that sometimes and when they do you learn something new and can add it to your own game.

kincsem

Good evening captain.

I hope you are keeping well.

Do you take any lengthy breaks from poker? I'm talking weeks and months.

At all times are you aware of how interested you are in the game, the effort you are putting into it, and your tilt angle?

Do you have someone to offload your bad beats to, or to discuss the game in general?

Like all Limerick people, do you go to work on a horse?

Happy Christmas, cos I'll probably not see you until you are playing a tourney in Dublin.

NickyOD

El Stuntman wrote:

what factors led to you going broke?

Basically it was Vegas. The funny thing about it was. I didn't go broke playing poker I actually broke even in Vegas from poker thanks to a big tournament win at caesers. I lost a fair bit in a few brutal cash game sessions bt overall I tihnk I was even or up slightly from playing poker in Vegas. My downfall was the table games at the Rio, mainly Craps and Texas Holdem Bonus Poker. I did not have one good session. It was so bad that at one point where i was shooting dice with a couple of Boardsters They would bet together I I would bet against them for a while and I would lose, then started betting with them and we would all lose, then I'd switch back again and they'd start winning and I'd continue to lose. It was awful.

When I returned from Vegas I still had enough money to generate an income from poker but I was suffering from burn out and was lacking confidence. I overspent on a few things, I didn't play much poker to compensat for my spending habits and eventually had to relinquish my online backroll to pay the bills.

El Stuntman wrote:

what have you learnt from going broke?

Basically that I need to manage my money better I guess. Also when you are at the point of being so broke you're living off bread and soup it helps you to appreciate that there is are lot more important things in life than poker, and that having money is actually more important than I thought it was. That sucks actually. I'm not a material person, I like spending money but I don't have a huge desire to be rich. I guess the most imprtant thing I've learned is that no matter how good thinfs are going for you, you always have to have a plan B. I didn't have one at the time. In future I will always have a back up plan.

El Stuntman wrote:

can you see it happening again?

Nope, Statistically Variance has to swing my way the next time I go to Vegas, so next year I am devoting my entire bankroll to hammering the craps tables and I'm certain I will take the house down.

El Stuntman wrote:

have you any defined poker goals for the next year?

Play more big festivals. Get more European Ranking points. Win a big event. Firstly though i need to get back to being bankrolled to play 2-4 online.

El Stuntman wrote:

have you ever been to the Sin Bin?

[/QUOTE]

Yeah a couple of times. I hate the place. Every night at the Sin Bin is Grab-a-Granny night.

NickyOD

kincsem wrote:

Do you take any lengthy breaks from poker? I'm talking weeks and months.

Last year I took a month off and when I came back i had the best month ever online. After the first year and half I played online. I took a break of almost 9 months (during which I almost got married). Before then I was a losing player. When I became single I started playing online again. I didn't make another deposit for over 2 years.

kincsem wrote:

At all times are you aware of how interested you are in the game, the effort you are putting into it, and your tilt angle?

I guess there isn't a day that goes by where I don't think about a poker scenario. I'd prefer to take a couple of weeks a year off completely but at the moment I don't have someone to spend that time with.

I'm not sure what you mean by tilt angle? I don't think I ever go on tilt. I have gotten very upset through poker but I've rarely let that change the way I play. I think I'm one of the best players at putting others on tilt though.

kincsem wrote:

Do you have someone to offload your bad beats to, or to discuss the game in general?

Yeah I have a couple of friends who I share my poker stories with. They are obviously poker players too. It's a two way thing. It wouldn't work otherwise. I think if I met a non poker playing girl who would still look at me with loving eyes when I told her I just got my Kings cracked by 7-4o I would ask her to marry me on the spot.

kincsem wrote:

Like all Limerick people, do you go to work on a horse?

I live in a 4th floor aprtment and there isn't enough room on the balcony for the sulky, plus I don't think the landlord would let me keep my horse in the front room so unfortunaltely not.

By the way not a lot of people on boards realise this but i actually consider myself more of a Donegal man than from Limerick since that's where I grew up.

sikes

why dont you post advice as much as you used to on boards? you were one of the players i took a lot from when i started playing a year ago and i delved into the archieves for some very good threads.

El Stuntman

NickyOD wrote:

I took a break of almost 9 months (during which I almost got married). Before then I was a losing player. When I became single I started playing online again. I didn't make another deposit for over 2 years.

I'm confused

Are we talking about sex here?

NickyOD

sikes wrote:

why dont you post advice as much as you used to on boards? you were one of the players i took a lot from when i started playing a year ago and i delved into the archieves for some very good threads.

I try to, but I guess there are lot of better players here now who get there before me and i'd just be repeating what has been said many times before. I'm actualy embarassed by a lot of those old thread. I don't think i've always given the best advice, but I definitely tend to put a different spin on hand analysis sometimes which is a good thing.

NickyOD

El Stuntman wrote:

I'm confused

Are we talking about sex here?

no i think that was about 2 months, but I'm willing to answer questions on any non poker related topic too.

DeVore

Favourite memory from playing poker (or poker trips)?

DeadParrot

even though you are pro, do you still pull the scratcher?

RasTa

Do you watch the Sky News interview at least once a month?

NickyOD

DeVore wrote:

Favourite memory from playing poker (or poker trips)?

My most vivid memory is probably the first time I walked into the Fitzwilliam card club, which was actually only in April 2005, so not that long ago really. I had been to the Macau a few times before that but back then it was smaller and the players in the Macau have never come across as very welcoming IMO.

But my first time in the Fitz was a different story. I played the Saturday €15 round of each rebuy and came 4th. It was the first time I'd been around what I would have considered real characters of the game like Vivian and Player X. The kind of players who frighten the crap out of you. In Limerick at the time i was afraid of no one because they were all the biggest donkeys ever. Back then there was no player in Limerick that I knew who had real character or staying power. I was at a different level to everyone else and I was only a very average player at the time. When I first played in Dublin I was a just little fishy really, playing with the big boys, so this was a new experience. That weekend was also the first time I played Pot limit cash games and did really well. for a month afterwards all i could think about was going back to the Fitz again. It was the first time I felt I knew that I wanted to be a professional poker player.

NickyOD

DeadParrot wrote:

even though you are pro, do you still pull the scratcher?

I looked this up in the urban dictionary and I still don't know what it mean's. I always just thought a scratcher was a bed but apparrently it means a lot more.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=scratcher

NickyOD

RasTa wrote:

Do you watch the Sky News interview at least once a month?

I've never watched it again. I hated it. The TV3 one was better, but the Sky News one was really negative. It was a stitch up really. They asked me a lot of good questions, then only aired the negative ones, relating to gambling and addiction, then brought out some idiot psychiatrist who said all these people playing poker are just degenerates who are fooling themselves. I'll never do an interview for sky again. lol! I'm just waiting for that phone call so I can say no to them. It should be any dny day now.

dacman

Hi

1. As a poker pro describle a normal day.
2. Whats you biggest tourney win.
3. Are u tight with money or are u the guy that always buys the last round.
4. Whats your favourite poker move if u are card dead to accumulate chips.
5. Whats the best online tourney in your opion at the moment.

Cheers

Dac

Daithio

NickyOD wrote:

It was so bad that at one point where i was shooting dice with a couple of Boardsters They would bet together I I would bet against them for a while and I would lose, then started betting with them and we would all lose, then I'd switch back again and they'd start winning and I'd continue to lose. It was awful.

LOL. That was hilarious. Betting against you on that table was probably the reason I DIDN'T go broke in Vegas, cheers Nicky!:)

Lafortezza

How do you think the poker forum could be improved?
Do you think the mods do a good job? Should they be harsher? More lenient?

DeadParrot

NickyOD wrote:

I looked this up in the urban dictionary and I still don't know what it mean's. I always just thought a scratcher was a bed but apparrently it means a lot more.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=scratcher

Apologies, some of our Dublin posters may have got it, are you on the Dole, with your years of PAYE, you should be entitled. I was just wondering if pros are also on the Dole.

califano

1.)What did you think of the book 'Angelas Ashes' by author Frank McCourt?.

2.) Did you ever bonk into a swimming pool or cinema or public facility without paying and what was your modus operandi?.

3.) How long ago was the last physical fight you were involved in and what was it over?

NickyOD

dacman wrote:

1. As a poker pro describle a normal day.

I don't really have a routine because i'm involved in a lot of different things right now. I basically play when I find time. Usually at night time. Also because I have a deal with pokernews to write for them every week I sometimes just start writing as soon as I think of an idea. That could mean getting up at 3 in the morning, writing until breakfast time, then I might go out and get breakfast and afterwards go to bed until the afternoon. I do that at least twice a week. Other days I might have a normal 9-5 schedule. I'm also travelling to and from Ennis a lot at the moment, and won't be moving there until the new year. My sleeping patterns are all over the place right now.

dacman wrote:

2. Whats you biggest tourney win.

4.5K on party. I've probably had about 15 4 figure cashes in the last 2 years online, so i'm a little unlucky not to have had a bigger win. I don't really play many tournaments anyway. My online income is about 80% from NL cash games.

dacman wrote:

3. Are u tight with money or are u the guy that always buys the last round.

I love spending money. I have very expensive tastes.

dacman wrote:

4. Whats your favourite poker move if u are card dead to accumulate chips.

It would usually involve some sort of speach play. One that I tried recently is moving in after the flop after I've faced a bet. i'd have a bit of a dwell up and then say something like "I think you have pocket Jacks". Then move all in on some sort of dodgy draw. Only a very clever player or a very stupid one will call me with worse than Jacks.

dacman wrote:

5. Whats the best online tourney in your opion at the moment.

The 250K on UB is pretty sweet. UB have their online championship at the moment with over 2 million in the prizepool. I'd rate their structure higher than stars, because there is so much play early on. I also really like Full Tilt. A softer blind strucure with running antes. I always feel like I have lots of room to meneuvre in their tourneys.

NickyOD

Daithio wrote:

LOL. That was hilarious. Betting against you on that table was probably the reason I DIDN'T go broke in Vegas, cheers Nicky!:)

Well I glad you won it and not TJ Cloutier. Apparrently he actually went o cash out $26 in chips. Even I wouldn't bother with that. He probably needed it for the cab fare.

NickyOD

lafortezza wrote:

How do you think the poker forum could be improved?

I don't like the bad beat/lol etc etc junk sticky. I think we should have an of topic sub section. A lot of the off topic and humour posts deserve their own threads.

lafortezza wrote:

Do you think the mods do a good job?

The mods here are better than on any forum I know, and its not an easy job. I think I'd make the worst moderator ever. In fact I'd hate to be one, because I like trying to see how much I can get away with.

The poker forum seems to have mods with the perfect personalities to do what they do. There are mods on other boards forums who are idiots.

lafortezza wrote:

Should they be harsher? More lenient?

They're always very fair and on the ball from what I've seen.

NickyOD

DeadParrot wrote:

Apologies, some of our Dublin posters may have got it, are you on the Dole, with your years of PAYE, you should be entitled. I was just wondering if pros are also on the Dole.

i've never drawn the dole. I definitely should have though. I would have begun drawing the dole recently if it wasn't for the new job in Ennis.

Hitman Actual

NickyOD wrote:

In Limerick at the time i was afraid of no one because they were all the biggest donkeys ever.

You're kinda famous for making these statements about poor players. Has this led to much animosity with the players in question? Also, do you think that they try extra hard to break you the table? (Something that's possibly an advantage for you).

Do you have a good selection of poker books, or do you bother much with them? Do you think players are better off learning through experience, or should fast-track their learning by reading tech books, posting on forums, etc.

What's your opinion on 'tournament survival'? Does tourney live have any real significance to you?

Toughest tournament tables you were ever at, both in Ireland and abroad.

Opinions on Jamie Gold. (Dont bother with that one, I think we know .)

betonit

do you think if you removed all the poor players there would be enough in the prizepool for you and others like you to turn pro.


Do you accept as along as a player is playing by the rules that he/she is entitled to do what they will with their cards and thats the game.

NickyOD

rounders123 wrote:

1.)What did you think of the book 'Angelas Ashes' by author Frank McCourt?.

I think Frank McCourt is a really bitter little man with a lot of personal issues he needs to get help with. He came from a family that was considered to be well off for the time he grew up in. I can't believe his protrayal of his childhood could be accurate. The film was worse again. He cashed in on doing a lot of damage to the image of the city and everyone in Limerick seems to dispise him for it.

I love Limerick, and I hate all the bad press it gets. I've spent a fair bit of time in every other city in Ireland except Waterford and IMO Limerick is the safest city to live in. I live right in the city centre. You can see right up O'Connell Stree from my balcony. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't a nice place to live.

rounders123 wrote:

2.) Did you ever bonk into a swimming pool or cinema or public facility without paying and what was your modus operandi?.

I had a "bonk" in a jacuzzi once but I didn't have to pay for it, but if what you mean is did I ever sneak in to places without paying, then yes I did. I used to mitch off from school and sneak into the Savoy Cinema on Bedford row. It was really easy to get in without paying. Sadly the Savoy has since been knocked down and I haven't come up with a way to bypass the other cinemas' security yet.

rounders123 wrote:

3.) How long ago was the last physical fight you were involved in and what was it over?

lol! I was 18 and it was 2 weeks before my leaving cert so I was under a lot of exam stress at the time. I went to Ard Scoil Ris which is considered accademically to be one of the best schools int he country (We won Blackboard Jungle once!!) so every exam year srudent would have been put under a lot of pressure in that school.

On this partiular day it was lunchtime and we were discussing a charity fund raiser that was held the previous night. It was a night at the dogs and everyone was lieing about how much they'd won lost etc. (even back then I was a degenerate). So anyway this particular guy had always bullied me verbally. He called me pretty much everything nasty that a bully would ever say. Just constant putdowns. "Shut, up O'Donnell you bleep.. etc etc." We used to play football with a tennis ball on the basketball court and he would constantly try to clip my heels and send me tumbling ont he tarmac.

So we were discussing the greyhound racing and he said that you should always bet on the No 6 dog because he sees the hare first. Of course me being me said that this was bull because the dogs would just just instinctively fly out of the trap as soon as it opens. Then off he goes with the "shut up", and the putdowns and the name calling again so I just snapped and flattened him. He got up about 5 times swinging his fists wildly and I kept punching him and knocking him down again. Then the last time he just got up and stood their speachless, his face in bits. I just walked away. I didn't see him again until the next day when I was brought before the principal, my year head and his parents. No joke his face was such a mess it looked like a giant blackcurrent. Only for the fact that I always got on well with my year head I would have been expelled on the spot. 3 other students were expelled that month from my year so I'm amazed I got away with it.

That was probably the only playground fight I ever won to be honest. I used to get the pulp kicked out of me in Donegal. Thankfully I've never raised my fists to anyone since and I never will. I think you have to be a really classless individual to resort to that sort of thing unless you are provoked under serious circumstances.

RasTa

Do you still play on stars actually? If so do you think it's better since the ban and if not, why not! Those swedes are craaaaaazy.

NickyOD

lenny_leonard wrote:

You're kinda famous for making these statements about poor players. Has this led to much animosity with the players in question? Also, do you think that they try extra hard to break you the table? (Something that's possibly an advantage for you).

I had a similar discussion about this on the PE forum and what I said was. this. If I was to say that Donegal hurlers a ****ing ****e, do you think anyone in Donegal would give a damn? Of course they wouldn't. But when I say something similar about Limerick Poker players then all of a sudden it's a major contraversy. Ridiculous.

I don't think I've ever actually mentioned any individual and If I have spoken about a particular player I would never ever mention his name.

It's definitely had an effect on the way people play against me. Its amazzing the effect speachplay has on bad players. The more you talk to them the more they just want to call to see what you have. It's gotten to the point where they will call with any crap just because they have the oportunity to knock me out.

lenny_leonard wrote:

Do you have a good selection of poker books, or do you bother much with them? Do you think players are better off learning through experience, or should fast-track their learning by reading tech books, posting on forums, etc.

I think there has been a bit of a lull in the last year in terms of good new releases. Also since you can download poker books from the web now thats what I do instead and take what I can from them. I haven't read all of HoH 3 yet but I actually like what I've read in it. Even though I don't think it has enough advanced concepts in it, its a pretty good book for a player who is past being a beginner.

For me poker forums are the best way to learn. I've learned more from reading hand analyssis from superior players than I have from any other learning tool.

lenny_leonard wrote:

What's your opinion on 'tournament survival'? Does tourney live have any real significance to you?

Every tournament table is different. I never really have a plan. My plan is to react properly to whatever situaiton I find myself in. If I feel my best way to go deep is to gamble on a race then I will jam with a pair and a flush draw every time. If I feel the table is very weak and the structure will allow me to wait for hands then that's what I'll do. I think the stage of the tournament is important too. I'll gamble early, tighten up in the middle, then get aggressive around the bubble. I tend to tighten up a lot, possibly too much close to the final table bubble because I think I'm a very good final table player and feel really relaxed when I'm there. I have loosened up a lot more lately though. If you look at the EPT and WPT tournament winners they are mostly gambler type players, who speculate with a whole lot of **** cards and see lots of cheap flops. It's really sick watching Michael Mizrachi play. I think he is so bad sometimes and doesn't know when to draw the line, but his record is amazing.

lenny_leonard wrote:

Toughest tournament tables you were ever at, both in Ireland and abroad.

Toughest Irish table. Definitely in the Fitz 500, but its possible that was just one of those days where I kept walking big hand into bigger hand. I laid down Queens twice preflop before the break. once I was shown kings. The other time I know I was behind. My table image was ruined and everyone kept coming over the top. I got knocked out just after the break and I actually think I did not win a single pot in the whole tournament.

Abroad I remember this 2-5 Omaha cash table I played in Vienna. It was really funny because it was me and 7 chinese guys and not one of them was a fish. I'm not kidding they were all very good Omaha players and IMO were all playing at a professional level. It was a lot of fun. I rememeber one hand I pulled a huge bluff because I had straight blockers without actually making a straight and I'm sure I got him to lay down a set. I think my hand was 88TT and the board was -Q-9-7-5-K and I moved in on the river. No one has ever begged me to show a hand more than that chinese guy did. He even tried to buy me dinnner. It may have been the only pot I'd won in that game. I only lost €200 in 3 hours and I left the casino early because it was such a tough table.

lenny_leonard wrote:

Opinions on Jamie Gold. (Dont bother with that one, I think we know .)

There will never be a future World Champion that will be disliked in the poker community more than Jamie Gold.

NickyOD

betonit wrote:

do you think if you removed all the poor players there would be enough in the prizepool for you and others like you to turn pro.

No. Stupid uestion. how can it be profitable to play only against good players?

betonit wrote:

Do you accept as along as a player is playing by the rules that he/she is entitled to do what they will with their cards and thats the game.

Yes, sir, that's the game. Have you played?

NickyOD

RasTa wrote:

Do you still play on stars actually? If so do you think it's better since the ban and if not, why not! Those swedes are craaaaaazy.

Almsot never. but I depsoited recently to play the limit BCOOP event and then played a tourney on stars which was way softer than what I remembered. I think any site is much softer without the americans on it.

dvdfan

Why did you become a professional poker player, money? the love of poker? the hatred of a 9 to 5 job?

Do you have targets each weeks of how much you want/need to make, will you put in overtime to make up for losses or not making a target or just accept the loss?

Do you put aside money to cover pension's (not sure of your age?), sick days, extra money for christmas and holidays etc, will you take a percentage for savings/living costs etc from each months winnings or how do you work it?

Do you play poker when your abroad on holidays that isnt vegas, do you have any mates that are not into poker and if so does this affect your social life with them as in their birthday clashes with a big tourney or paddys day etc?

Is professional poker player a long term thing or are you just taking every day as it comes?

Can you remember what you used to do to pass time when you werent into poker, keep it clean please:D?

What kind of money were you making on average monthly before going pro and now that you are pro and are you happy with this (if you dont mind sharing:o ) And what kind of hours did you put in compared with what you do now as a pro?

Have you ever had someone approach you to teach them to play poker because theyve heard youve been making good money?

Lastly, what reaction did you get from family and non poker friends when you told them you were going pro?

Atlas_IRL

1. Why did you hate your IT job?
2.Have you ever regretted giving up work for poker?
3.On a typical night at a cash game(1/2 live) what you you normally sit down with and leave with? Is there a set amount you would gladly leave the table with as soon as you reached it?

phantom_lord

When you go to sit down at a live cash game do you give yourself specific goals, ie leave after you make x amount, or do you plan to stay for a set amount of time, or just as long as the game is profitable?

NickyOD

dvdfan wrote:

Why did you become a professional poker player, money? the love of poker? the hatred of a 9 to 5 job?

Here's a cut and paste answer from the same question on poker.ie

By the summer in 2005 I had been working in a very secure and very good IT job for about 5 years. I had broken up with my ex-fiancé about a year beforehand and was going through quite a tough period in my personal life. Working in IT didn’t interest me any more and I didn’t feel motivated enough to try and further my career or my qualifications. I knew I needed to make drastic changes to my life for the sake of my own health and my future so I took a huge gamble and quit my IT job with nothing else to fall back on but my poker earnings. At that point I had gone through a period of about six months where I was making the same amount from poker in my spare time so financially I was in good shape. It didn’t feel like such a huge risk at the time because I felt like I had nothing to lose. I knew if I stayed in the job I was in I would go crazy and I didn’t want to be one of those people who stayed in a dead end job because they didn’t have the courage to follow their dreams. If down the road things didn’t work out people would say I was very stupid but that didn’t matter to me because I was very proud of myself for rolling the dice. It’s like when you gamble on a big draw in poker, you have to shove all your chips in the middle and have no regrets about it when you get called, miss and go bust. You know you did the right thing and that’s all that matters. You only get one life and it’s very short.

dvdfan wrote:

Do you have targets each weeks of how much you want/need to make, will you put in overtime to make up for losses or not making a target or just accept the loss?

I never set targets any more. I play when I feel right and whatever profits I have at the end of the week I take out. If I'm having a bad eun then obviously I'll try and put in more hours. Right now I'm not putting in more than 20 hours a week. Not so long ago it was twice that.

dvdfan wrote:

Do you put aside money to cover pension's (not sure of your age?), sick days, extra money for christmas and holidays etc, will you take a percentage for savings/living costs etc from each months winnings or how do you work it?

i'm 28 and very disorganised when it comes to money. I'm very good at spending it though. If I have a plan to buy somehing. I will have the money put aside well in advance. I had my trip to Vegas paid for in January. That's how far ahead I usually plan things. I definitely need to put some money aside though. If I meet a hot accountant I think I'll ask her to marry me. She'd be very useful.

dvdfan wrote:

Do you play poker when you're abroad on holidays that isn't vegas,

No, it wouldn't really be a holiday if I did. I have been very annoyed with myslef for spending too much time playing poker n my last 2 poker trips. I didn't take in enough of the tourist sites in Vienna or Vegas.

dvdfan wrote:

do you have any mates that are not into poker and if so does this affect your social life with them as in their birthday clashes with a big tourney or paddys day etc?

Yeah of vourse i have friends hwo don't play poker. I would never chose poker over them unless it was somthing big that I'd already booked or planned ahead.

dvdfan wrote:

Is professional poker player a long term thing or are you just taking every day as it comes?

Since I'm going to be managing a poker room now then playing the game will no longer be my sole source of income. My plan is to enjoy the poker boom while it lasts and hopefully find a long term niche for me to work in. I would still consider myself a pro player. I think anyone who plays poker at a level where they are good enough to play for a living should be considered professional. I don't think it has to be your only job.

dvdfan wrote:

Can you remember what you used to do to pass time when you werent into poker, keep it clean please:D?

I played junior soccer and was pretty decent. I was on my school Team. I played for Aisling Annacotty and Wembley rovers in the Limerick League. When I lived in Shannon I played for Newtown F.C during a time where I was plagued with ankle injuries and never really recovered. We made the last 16 of the FAI cup once one year. I coached Soccer at L.I.T. I've tried just about every sport from martial arts to Squash. One thing I've kept up for years though is swimming.

dvdfan wrote:

What kind of money were you making on average monthly before going pro and now that you are pro and are you happy with this (if you dont mind sharing:o ) And what kind of hours did you put in compared with what you do now as a pro?

As a techy I was on a yearly salary of about 34K. I put in probably 45-50 hours a week when i was the Network admin at the Limerick School of Art.

I the subsequent year, I made about 35K (euros) from oline poker putting in about 70% of the hours I put in as a technician.

It was never about the money though. For the first year I played for a living I couldn't care less how much I made. As long as I could pay the bills and didn't have to answer to anyone I was happy.

dvdfan wrote:

Have you ever had someone approach you to teach them to play poker because theyve heard youve been making good money?

Not very often. Only a couple of guys have and they were almost absolute beginners. There was one guy I used to coach via email but I just got sick of listening to him whining about bad beats. He was such a baby. He wasn't even happy when he was winning.

dvdfan wrote:

Lastly, what reaction did you get from family and non poker friends when you told them you were going pro?

My parents have never approved of it. They worry about me all the time. I think my friends have a lot more faith in me though. (blind faith maybe!)

NickyOD

Atlas_IRL wrote:

1. Why did you hate your IT job?
2.Have you ever regretted giving up work for poker?
3.On a typical night at a cash game(1/2 live) what you you normally sit down with and leave with? Is there a set amount you would gladly leave the table with as soon as you reached it?

Already answered 1&2 I think.

phantom_lord wrote:

When you go to sit down at a live cash game do you give yourself specific goals, ie leave after you make x amount, or do you plan to stay for a set amount of time, or just as long as the game is profitable?

I'd normally buy in for 500 and have a nother 500 with me. i'd call it a night if I ever lost a grand. I think I've only lost a grand on one night, but I actually went home for more money because I was so determined to get the guy.

I'd never have a set target. I'd play while I felt comfortable, and leave when I felt tired or I felt there wasn't much value on the table. (I usually stayed until the chinese players busted out of the game ) I wouldn't mind leaving if I was only up €100 if I just felt tired. I was never one for staying until 8 in the morning. I didn't feel it was healthy to do that so I would normally leave by about 3 or 4.

Doc Farrell

Are you going to Vegas in 07?

will you be folowing in the footsteps of Luke re: banning scumbags or
re: other places and allowing scumbags the run of the place?

If you could grow a full head of luxuriant hair re: me would you keep it short or shave it off?

breadmonkey

What do you think of the latest audioslave album?

Marq

This has been a fantastic read Nicky. Your honesty about the game and your love for and struggles with it are what I think people need to hear from someone that's been so heavily involved in poker recently. Best of luck in the future.

I have one question:
Do you still play Golden Tee for money?

RoundTower

In the interest of fairness I've decided to ask you the same questions I had for bops (even though I know some of the answers here).

Do you think it's a bad idea to risk all your chips on a draw in a poker tournament, especially early in the the first few levels?

Several noted professionals have commented on how they fare better against stronger opposition. Do you find this is true for you?

Do you consider yourself a lucky player? If you think of the four or five biggest pots you've ever played in cash games -- or the most crucial points in tournaments -- have you been lucky or unlucky overall?

Do you know how to play mythical or klag? Would you like to play some time?

What table selection techniques do you use while playing online?

Suppose you are playing a heads up cash game with blinds €1-€2, and €200 stacks. You are on the small blind and you get dealt AK. While you are thinking about what to do you accidentally flip over your cards and your opponent sees them, however you are still allowed to play the hand. Should you go all in? Or fold and wait for a better spot? Would it ever be better to do something like raise to €7, just to mix up your play?

NickyOD

Doc Farrell wrote:

Are you going to Vegas in 07?

I'm 50/50 at the moment. I'm going to try my best to qualify for the WSOP next year. i did say that last year but I never really put the effort in.

Doc Farrell wrote:

will you be folowing in the footsteps of Luke re: banning scumbags or
re: other places and allowing scumbags the run of the place?

I've actualy already had to ban a palyer from the club. There are others who were barred under the previous owner who will come back that I will have to watch out for. Because the club has snooker, pool and touch betting also then it tends to attract that kind of crowd but if they want to make the step to live poker then they can either behave or go elsewhere. Everyone else I've met at the club though has been really nice and all seem very excited about live poker. I already knew a lot of the punters there from the PE games or from the Gold CLub.

I have a very low tolerance level for rude or aggressive people though, but I think I am a very fair and approachable person. I made a lot of mistakes during my time at the Gold Club in Limerick but I don't make the same mistakes twice. It was a good learning experience.

Doc Farrell wrote:

If you could grow a full head of luxuriant hair re: me would you keep it short or shave it off?

lol! I actually had long blonde hair until I was a about 14. I even had a pony tail!! But if I had a sudden "miracle growth" now, so to speak, then i'm pretty sure I'd keep it short as that's the current fashion and I'm a very trendy guy.

NickyOD

breadmonkey wrote:

What do you think of the latest audioslave album?

I actually haven't bought it yet. but now that you've reminded me I'm going to get it tomorrow. I have the first two albums and I'm big a Cris Cornell fan so I have everything by SoundGarden. He has done a lot for that genre of music. It's a real sign of the times when he ends up getting the Soundtrack for a Bond Movie.