In The Well: Q&A with Padraig Parkinson

califano

Hi Padraig great well and thanks for doing it youve always been a bit of a legend in my book.

The 50k pot you mentioned earlier, can you explain it in greater detail like location, opponent the hand itself etc?

Are you as free with your comments away from the felt?, tell us of a recent quip of yours that happened away from the felt?

There was talk way back then in the 'poker media' of yourslef and Scott Gray going 50/50 in dublin games, is this true and when did that aggreement end?. How did your association with Scott start?.

Is there anything on the tv or any tv series you make it your business to watch?. Any favourite films? name 3 anyway!. What was the last film you went to see in the cinema?.

Whats the biggest insult you recieved at the tables?. Whats the best repost you made to a similar insult?

In the early days when you went on the road to a tournament what was the worst lodgings you remember?

What was the worst tournament director decision that went against you and where did it happen?.

Details of the biggest pocket pair you folded pre flop?

You eluded earlier to Noel Furlongs storys. Describe a memorable story or two of Noel Furlongs if you would?

Thanks for this Padraig

micko10

micko10 wrote: »

Hi Padraig,

The best and worst well known pro you've ever played cash and tournament?

Who do you most respect in the irish poker circuit and why?

I remember reading a story Mike Sexton wrote about being broke in Paris and i think you helped him out he said. How did youse two become friends and now that he is flying does he see you right?;)

Thanks for doing this Padraig i remember watchin the old LNP and thinking you were the man way your shades:D:D

In case you missed this.

Cheers.

Padraig06

micko10 wrote: »

Hi Padraig,

The best and worst well known pro you've ever played cash and tournament?

Who do you most respect in the irish poker circuit and why?

I remember reading a story Mike Sexton wrote about being broke in Paris and i think you helped him out he said. How did youse two become friends and now that he is flying does he see you right?;)

Thanks for doing this Padraig i remember watchin the old LNP and thinking you were the man way your shades:D:D

LOL
Id love to answer that one anonymously!
best? Ivey,Stuey and some young French lad from this years IPO
worst? OMG I cant

The dealers.Would you deal to us?

I met Mike in the bar in the Metropole hotel in 96 and we stayed up all night while he told me about his vision of the future for poker.Quite understandably I took a liking to him as I assumed he was off his ****ing head completely and weve been good friends ever since.Hes invited me to the Hall Of Fame dinner on Saturday which I consider a bit of a windup to be honest.

thedini

Thanks for the cracking read. You are obviously an avid sports fan, a few questions.
Matthew Simmons did a week in jail over the Cantona(Kung-Fu) incident, the King shook hands for 2 weeks(community service) surely Simmons should have got longer?
Why don't sports bettors arm themselves with more information the way pokerplayers do(2+2, books etc/etc)?
Who is the biggest sportsbetting degen that you know?a few tales?
What's the biggest bet you have placed, any joy?
Thanks again.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Great read Padraig, enjoyed the few drinks and banter in the Gold Coast last year in Vegas i knew i was fcked when you said take it easy on the beers or i would miss my flight:o

anyhows

1) Who would win a 100m race between you and Liffey after 10 pints.
2) WSOP side event bracelet or scooping the Irish Open

Best of luck
Fran

connie147

Hi Padraig,
I didnt click the thanks button on any of your answers because I would have had to "thank" them all, and I'd become one of them "serial thankers".
But i do have to say, its been a fantastic read so far, and Ive laughed out loud a few times at it already.

Now, a few questions of my own:

You seem o have a big "gra" for Fintans IPO. Even though it was always one of Ireland most popular tournaments, how much is Pokerstars involvement going to add to it?

Andy Black is getting a name for "blowing" big stacks at the buisness end of big tourneys. Any views on that, and on Andy as a player?

Is helmuths arrogance for real, is is it just put on for publicity?

Whats your fav card room in Vegas?

Cant think of any more right now, but I probably will later!!
Thanks for doing this well. Top man.

Connie o sullivan

ianmc38

Great read. Thanks Padraig.

jbravado

Great read so far.

Have you read Jesse Mays book? What did you think?

Have you ever tried/wanted to stop playing poker/punting?

Whats the biggest rush you have went on?

Any aims for the future poker wise?

bottom feeder

Hi ya Padraig, fair play taking the time out to do this / great read

i know you answered about your high points in poker so was goning to ask about your lowest point/s in poker and in life & how did you manage to over come it.

Cheers
Wes

dangerousdavid

What did you do with all my chips that you mis-counted at the IPO?? (99>KK)

Padraig06

YULETIRED wrote: »

Well this post proves you have a sense of humour anyway.


Good Read padraig, one thing I forgot, how do you feel prop betting
is effecting poker at the top end

thanks
When bookies are betting on poker they make sure that they dont let guys bet enough to make it worth their while to try to influence the result by skulduggery and of course theyre right. In terry Rogers day he laid a guy to lose a million in the main event whereupon guys were bought off all over the place and carnage ensued.(there was less than 100 runners).It went assways but its probably best not to lead guys into temptation cause that apple can look very ****ing juicey!
Im not for a moment suggesting that the likes of Ivey,Daniel,Barry etc are anything other than 100pc straight so for now its fine but sooner or later something real or imagined involving less trustworthy gentlemen is likely to bring the integrity of the game into disrepute and weve had enough of that already.
Anyway isnt the pot big enough ?

Padraig06

dangerousdavid wrote: »

What did you do with all my chips that you mis-counted at the IPO?? (99>KK)

Lol
Im genuinely sorry about that! Fair play to you for the class you showed both at the table and in your amusing post here afterwards.
Youll be pleased to hear I lost most of them several hours later to KP and that time I got dogged(AT v A8)

Moneymaker

Hi Padraig, great well so far. Always love your commentary, makes whatever mundane game going on 100 times more entertaining.

Questions, apologies if i've missed these being answered already;

1 - When and how did you start playing poker?
2 - Any other standout hands from the 1999 WSOP?
3 - Why were you so against hole card cams back in the days of LNP to begin with?
4 - You seem to constantly rip on Hellmuth. Bit of needle/history or is it just cos he's so easy to wind up?
5 - What do you think of this FullFlush guy?
6 - Do we have a prayer against France?
7 - Favorite place to go away on holiday?

Cheers again Padraig.

Padraig06

jbravado wrote: »

Great read so far.

Have you read Jesse Mays book? What did you think?

Have you ever tried/wanted to stop playing poker/punting?

Whats the biggest rush you have went on?

Any aims for the future poker wise?

I think its a masterpiece. Unfortunately so does Jesse and hasnt been kind enough to give us another treat.I suppose to be fair its impossible to top.

No

Biggest rush was 28 straight winning days in paris and 30 on the net.

More live cash play,hopefully a lot of it in Ireland.I miss the craic too much!
I also plan to spend more time in the US but havent told Vero yet

Padraig06

HeeHawsCantona wrote: »

Brilliant read so far, class act!
What is your most favoured format of poker for both Cash and Tournament?

cheers
used to play a dealers choice game in paris where everyone anted.That was great fun.
I kinda liked the WPTs in the Bellagio(I have a terrible record there) and the Borgata.lotsa chips ,play for 8hours,bagged up and dinner at 8.Very civilized!

Fatboydim

I can't think of anything intelligent or witty to ask. So I'll just have to post an hello and say how much I am enjoying this well.:D

Padraig06

RichieLawlor wrote: »

You always seem to be mocking jesse may in the commentary, well not mocking but taking the piss, is that intentional or do you just react to some of the stuff he comes out with

Its just a bit of a laugh but he does leave a lot of open goals(he is American after all!)
When we used to do the UK Open wed be stuck in a box for 10 hours a day for a fortnight watching a lot of crap most of the time so we took every available opportunity to enjoy ourselves.

Flushdraw

Great read so far Padraig,

Who is your favourite player to watch/commentate on?
Is there any player that you constantly own/owns you in live games?
Is there one particular hand you played that sticks in your mind? (be in the worst or best hand you played)
Have you any poker regrets?
Marty, Don, Roy the boy, Andy, Liam and yourself. Who's the fish?
Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

Cheers for taking the time,

Tony

aya14

This is a dialogue between me and you at a Tourney in dublin(not sure which one) 2 years ago.
Note: you were quite inebriated as was I.

I walk into lift as do you.
Me: Evening Padraig
You: how are ya?
Me: grand, any luck today?
You: yes, all bad mind.
At this stage you've pressed number 4 on lift dial and I've best 5.
Me:I'm Ken by the way
We shake hands.
Me: Bet you $50 I can make us stop on the third floor without pressing number 3.
You:huh?
Now I press emergency stop on lift as it hits number 3 on the little panel.
Me:told ya
You:Ok I'll buy you a pint I never took your bet.
Me:fair enough pal.
you now exit lift.

Any recollection of this?

Patrick Antonius or Tom Dwan?
Barry Greenstein or Chris Ferguson?

If you could live your life by one motto what would it be?

Thanks great read so far, you are a fantastic embassador for Irish poker and the game in general.

Padraig06

rounders123 wrote: »

Hi Padraig great well and thanks for doing it youve always been a bit of a legend in my book.

The 50k pot you mentioned earlier, can you explain it in greater detail like location, opponent the hand itself etc?

Are you as free with your comments away from the felt?, tell us of a recent quip of yours that happened away from the felt?

There was talk way back then in the 'poker media' of yourslef and Scott Gray going 50/50 in dublin games, is this true and when did that aggreement end?. How did your association with Scott start?.

Is there anything on the tv or any tv series you make it your business to watch?. Any favourite films? name 3 anyway!. What was the last film you went to see in the cinema?.

Whats the biggest insult you recieved at the tables?. Whats the best repost you made to a similar insult?

In the early days when you went on the road to a tournament what was the worst lodgings you remember?

What was the worst tournament director decision that went against you and where did it happen?.

Details of the biggest pocket pair you folded pre flop?

You eluded earlier to Noel Furlongs storys. Describe a memorable story or two of Noel Furlongs if you would?

Thanks for this Padraig

cheers
Pot was in the ACF on a Saturday night.It was a 500 buyin that had got a bit out of hand which was partly my fault as I was trying to make it a little uncomfortable for the rocks.Then this omaha pot kicked off .There was 6 or 7 hundred in the pot and I flopped the nut flush and bet it and all hell broke loose.I did nothing after that except call and theres was 50000 in there before the turn.It wasnt like I did anything.Id like to make it a hero story but it wasnt.Ill make one up next time!

what you see is what you get

Scott and I teamed up in about 95 but only when we were on the road.At home it was every man for himself.It worked out pretty good(we came close to nailing the ME twice) but only because we were good friends anyway and I can honestly say there was never a harsh word over anything that happened over the years.If one of us made a mistake we just got on with it.
It never really ended.We just had different things going on in our lives.Scott wanted to be at home and I wanted to take on the Americans.

tv,The Sunday Supplement ,Have I got News For You
movie? I think Raid on Entebbe was the last movie I saw in the cinema

I dont give a **** about hotel rooms and dont understand the obsession some poker players seem to have with them.

Funniest decision I got was in LA.I told two guys to lay off the dealer(they were being ridiculous) and remarked to the dealer that she wouldnt have to put up with that fcking **** in Ireland.She called the floor and I got a penalty for the fbomb.Strange place LA

careca

Great well, really enjoying it.

Any truth that yourself and Scott went to Vegas, arriving fairly late. One of you went to bed (not sure which), whilst the other played a 'little' poker to wind down. When the sleeper came down for breakfast, your combined roll was bust????

dangerousdavid

Padraig06 wrote: »

Lol
Im genuinely sorry about that! Fair play to you for the class you showed both at the table and in your amusing post here afterwards.
Youll be pleased to hear I lost most of them several hours later to KP and that time I got dogged(AT v A8)

Good to hear that, thanks for the well.

hotspur

Very enjoyable read. I think what Yuletired meant with the prop betting question was that if you watch, say, the recent Poker After Dark the Cash Game with Ivey, Antonius, Eli, and Ziigmund were playing props for so high that they dwarfed any of the pots rendering the poker hands almost an irrelevance.

They were playing 300/600 and props were running at mid 5 figures per hand, and they were limping or raising based on whether they had, say, 2 red cards and were on for red flops to manipulate whether a flop was seen or not. It pretty much ruined it as a TV poker spectacle for a lot of people.

Are these top guys so wealthy / degenerate that single tabling live 100k buy in cash games are too boring to them to get them interested?

Padraig06

thedini wrote: »

Thanks for the cracking read. You are obviously an avid sports fan, a few questions.
Matthew Simmons did a week in jail over the Cantona(Kung-Fu) incident, the King shook hands for 2 weeks(community service) surely Simmons should have got longer?
Why don't sports bettors arm themselves with more information the way pokerplayers do(2+2, books etc/etc)?
Who is the biggest sportsbetting degen that you know?a few tales?
What's the biggest bet you have placed, any joy?
Thanks again.

At least life .He cost us the title.To be fair to Cantona he certainly got the right guy. If more players acted as selflessly as Eric instead of waiting for suits to start dogooder movements the world would be a better place.Itd be great for golf ratings (or any sport where the combatants are armed) if players sorted things out themselves rather than have some posh guy saying "quiet please.No flash photography" and **** like that.Archery could become payperview overnight.
The serious ones do.I personally prefer to bet on what Id like to see happen rather than be professional about it.Otherwise its a futile exercise.
Ask me this one in a bar some time
this one too!

Padraig06

Mayson Drab Dog wrote: »

Great read Padraig, enjoyed the few drinks and banter in the Gold Coast last year in Vegas i knew i was fcked when you said take it easy on the beers or i would miss my flight:o

anyhows

1) Who would win a 100m race between you and Liffey after 10 pints.
2) WSOP side event bracelet or scooping the Irish Open

Best of luck
Fran

LOL
Ive missed more flights than a pacifist kamikaze pilot!
1) liffey cant drink 10 pints and walk
2)Irish Open.Itd probably be bigger though the bar bill might level things out

BigCityBanker

great read Padraig - thanks for taking the time to do this.

I took a trip to Paris last week after the IWF, I arrived and was walking around town when it dawned on me that I should have asked you for some pointers - anyway i live and learn.

who didnt make it but really should have?

the best 5 players which you played with outside of say the acknowledged greats i.e. ivey, stuey, hellmuth, flipper etc.

if you could do it all again, would you?

if you could do it all again, what would you do differently?

what annoys you most when you go to poker tournaments?

If you could pick 5 people alive or dead to share an evening of dinner, drinking and banter with - who would they be?

Cheers,
Noel.

Padraig06

connie147 wrote: »

Hi Padraig,
I didnt click the thanks button on any of your answers because I would have had to "thank" them all, and I'd become one of them "serial thankers".
But i do have to say, its been a fantastic read so far, and Ive laughed out loud a few times at it already.

Now, a few questions of my own:

You seem o have a big "gra" for Fintans IPO. Even though it was always one of Ireland most popular tournaments, how much is Pokerstars involvement going to add to it?

Andy Black is getting a name for "blowing" big stacks at the buisness end of big tourneys. Any views on that, and on Andy as a player?

Is helmuths arrogance for real, is is it just put on for publicity?

Whats your fav card room in Vegas?

Cant think of any more right now, but I probably will later!!
Thanks for doing this well. Top man.

Connie o sullivan

Hiya Connie
wtf is a thanks button?
Thanks for the IPO plug!
Ive been a fan of Fintan"s since he willingly did his bollox putting on our first Poker For The Homeless event when he wasnt going too well himself and it helps that Galway is a marvellous spot for a poker tournament or indeed anything else that involves lots of Guinness and craic.
pokerstars first addition to the IPC was to move the dates from position A on the fairway into a large bunker dateswise and their decision not to televise it is hardly a plus either
On the positive side Fintan is pretty sure therell be over 100 online qualifiers which is a massive increase on Party"s efforts and is certainly a great start towards making it a success .Im giving it a spin for sure.Hope theres a band!

Andy has certainly got both hands on the blowup title! Itll be hard to beat as nobody else is as good as Andy at getting into that position in the first place and all his critics conveniently forget that.Andy certainly has a huge ammount of talent and just needs to calm down when hes in those positions.Maybe just stopping for longer than a nanosecond before decisionmaking might help.I honestly believe that when he does win a major he might stop trying too hard and reel off a few.Hell be insufferable but gl to him

Padraig06

Fatboydim wrote: »

I can't think of anything intelligent or witty to ask. So I'll just have to post an hello and say how much I am enjoying this well.:D

A wise man once told me that it takes a wise man to know his limitations!
cheers len

Padraig06

careca wrote: »

Great well, really enjoying it.

Any truth that yourself and Scott went to Vegas, arriving fairly late. One of you went to bed (not sure which), whilst the other played a 'little' poker to wind down. When the sleeper came down for breakfast, your combined roll was bust????

Ill sue the man that spread that malicous rumour
It wasnt Vegas.It was Tahoe
It wasnt Scott.It was Metal Micky
And it was blackjack
so there!

Flipper

hey Padriag,

first off, I just wanted to say thanks for doing this well. I know it's a pain in the arse but it's appreciated by both the people posting in the thread and also the 100's of lurkers just browsing. I don't really have much in the way of interesting poker questions but here's what I've got to offer.

(1) Do you agree/disagree with the decision to lower the buyin in the IO from €4500 to €3500 this year? What do you think it's ideal price-point is?

(2) I went to Paris on holidays for 5 days and stayed just off Rue de Rivoli but never really found any cool bars and nightclubs. Were we miles away from them? Where is the best area to stay in the next time I go? I did go to some big coffee/restaurant place on Rue de Rivoli called Angélinas. Is this actually the most expensive place on earth?

(3) Do you sports bet much? What is your particular area of expertise?

(3) If poker had never found you, what would you most likely be working at now? Could you see yourself being happier than you are right now?

(4) Outside of poker stuff, do you watch TV? What do you watch?

(5) If there was a film to be made about your life, who would you want to play yourself?

(6) Who would win an arm wrestle between me and Nicky? If you say him, can I get action on that?

(7) Bit of a vague question, have you any general advice you could give me? You may use both sarcasm and actual content...

Thanks for answering these. Hope to see you in Galway in December for pints.