Le Monde du Poker.

AppId is over the quota
October 04 2011, Chad Holloway

Although it seems like an eternity, it was only in July when the 2011 World Series of Poker November Nine was set, igniting a nearly four-month hiatus. During this time, the 2011 November Niners have been traveling, playing tournaments, and preparing for the biggest final table of their lives.

In anticipation of the final table, PokerNews is touching base with the November Nine to get the lowdown on what they’ve been up to the past couple of months. We’ve already talked to the chip leader, Martin Staszko, and the short stack, Sam Holden, so this week we thought we’d catch up with Eoghan O’Dea, who begins the final table second in chips.

If the name O’Dea sounds familiar to you, it should. The 26-year-old poker pro from Dublin, Ireland, is the son of poker veteran Donnacha O’Dea, who is regarded as one of the most popular Irish poker players after making two WSOP Main Event Final Tables and winning a bracelet in a preliminary event in 1998. Eoghan obviously comes from good poker stock, evidenced by six WSOP cashes of his own, including four this summer.

His biggest score, aside from this year’s Main Event, came in the 2007 WSOP Event #33 $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha w/Rebuys, where he finished in 26th place for $16,001. While the younger O’Dea may have flown beneath the radar, his performance in the Main Event has brought him out of his father’s shadow and into his own poker prime. Interestingly, 20 years after his father last made a final table (1991), Eoghan made his own to make him and his dad the first father-son duo to final table the WSOP Main Event (though Barry and Jeff Shulman final-tabled the WSOP-Europe and WSOP Main Events respectively).

What was the one hand that was most responsible for your deep run?

There’s one good hand on Day 3 where I was all-in with . It was kind of a funny hand because I didn’t have many chips and I check-raised under the gun. There was a few limpers and I called. Somebody raised, and a few people called, then I check-raised. The initial raiser called and the small blind, who had loads of chips, moved in and it was back to me. I thought for a long time. I just didn’t really see him, at the time he was playing pretty solid and he announced to the table that he wasn’t getting involved in any big hands and stuff.

So I called and the other guy folded with queens I think, and [the small blind] turned over pocket fives, and it came . I doubled through, or more than doubled through. I think the other guy might have knocked me out in that hand. I never expected the guy to turn over fives. After that, he blew up.

After the final table was set, what did you do the rest of the night? We understand you went out and celebrated hard, subsequently missing the WSOP interview the following day, is that true

Yeah, we finished pretty late at 4 a.m. At this time I was really low on sleep, but I really wanted to go out and have a few drinks. One of my Irish friends was still around, so we had a few drinks in the Rio. [Then we] headed out to a club and bumped into some friends. We were there quite awhile I think. [Laughs] Yeah, there was no chance I was ever gonna make the interviews the next day, I mean they’re at twelve, and once I had a few drinks, you know, I was pretty tired. I’m surprised everybody else made.

Did you get in any trouble with the WSOP for missing the interviews?

No, I don’t think there really were. I mean, I think they should do it a bit later than 12 o’clock, because you finish 4 a.m. and you go have a few drinks, considering a lot of people haven’t gotten much sleep over the last few days, I think it’s pretty hard to make that time.

How long did it take for the fact that you made the November Nine to sink in? Has it yet?

Yeah, it has. Maybe like, oh I don’t know, maybe like a week I suppose.

What was the reaction of your family and friends?

I received loads of really good comments, and obviously my parents, sister, and everybody was really happy, delighted it seemed like.

What have you been up to since the WSOP has been on hiatus?

I haven’t been playing any poker really. Well, I played a little bit. I started playing maybe the last couple weeks a bit again, but for August I didn’t play at all really, just a couple of times. I’m kind of taking it easy, I was playing a little bit of tennis, and I did a triathlon at the start of September with two other friends. So, there wasn’t too much poker.

I just arrived in London this week, there’s an EPT on Friday, so I’m going play that, and then I go to Cannes after the EPT. For the next three weeks I’ll be playing a bit more poker.

Who will you be bringing to Las Vegas in November to support you? Will your father be in attendance?

I think quite a lot of people. I imagine like 60 people coming. He’ll be there, yeah.

As someone with final table experience, has your dad given you any words of wisdom?

No, he hasn’t. He said to me, you know, if you’d like any advice you can ask me whatever, that kind of thing, but we really haven’t talked about it much at all. I haven’t really brought it up too much.

What’s more important: money or the Main Event bracelet?

I’d probably have to say the money. I think years ago it was a different story, you know, it was more prestigious to win 15 to 20 years ago. It’s kind of changed, because there are 7,000 people in it and not necessarily the best player in the world wins the thing, like in the old days with Doyle [Brunson] and [Johnny] Chan. There’s a lot more luck in the tournament, and [winning] wasn’t as big as it was 20 years ago. Obviously it’s still massive, and it’s a huge amount of money, but I don’t think it’s as prestigious as it was back in the day.

As part of making the November Nine, you’ve already taken home the ninth-place prize of $782,115. Have you made any big purchases with that money? If not, what do you plan to do with the money after the final table?

No, I haven’t. Probably change my car. Not sure what I’ll get, but if I win it I’ll definitely get a new car.

Other than yourself, who do you feel has the best chance of taking down the title?

The guys who are pretty close in chips to me, like behind me, Phil [Collins], Ben [Lamb], and Matt [Giannetti], they all have a very good chance, and of course the chip leader [Martin Staszko], as well. Obviously a little tougher for the guys around 14 to 16 million, but Ben Lamb is probably the most confident player, you know what I mean. He’s like Player of the Year and running and playing really well, so he’s going to be the most confident going in. All the American guys have a very good chance. Matt Giannetti just won a WPT in Malta...it’s always nice to win a big title.

Who would you want to be heads-up with for the bracelet in November? Who would you least like to face?

Yeah [laughs], I’m not going to mention that. Least, probably Ben. Apart from playing so well, he’s running well, as well.

What are you doing to prepare? Are you getting lessons or advice from anyone notable?

I don’t really think I’ll do that. I’ll go through the videos. I think I’m back home for two weeks before I go back to Vegas. I’ll have two weeks to go through the videos and just prepare. Not much apart from playing a lot of tournaments and going through a few videos. I’m not really going to get any coaching, I don’t think.

Does that include looking at your opponent’s weaknesses? Are you scavenging all the information you can get about your opponents?

Yeah, maybe myself as well to see if I do anything strange or whatever.

Did you have the chance to become close with any other November Niners?

I would have preferred to play it straight through, but I mean it’s fun this way, as well. If I had the option, I would have preferred to go straight through. I think my chances would have been better if we played it straight through.

Did you have the chance to develop relationships with any of the other November Niners?

No, I haven’t. I haven’t bumped into any of them yet. I think they’ve been playing a few tournaments in Europe and stuff, I think all of them, but I didn’t play any tournaments during all of this, so I haven’t bumped into any of them.

Do you have your entrance music picked out yet for the final table?

[Laughs] No, I haven’t thought about that at all actually.

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AppId is over the quota
September 13 2011, Chad Holloway

One of the most memorable players from the 2011 World Series of Poker November Nine is the amiable Sam Holden of Sussex, England. Easily recognizable thanks to his lofty curls and his bright blue 888 Poker patch, Holden is a member of Team 888Poker and one of three players at the final table 22-years-old or younger.

Needless to say, making the final table of the Main Event is the biggest accomplishment in Holden’s young career; in fact, he had only $11,311 in tournament winnings before playing in his first WSOP this summer, including a win in the UK & Ireland Poker Tour Newcastle 6-Max No-Limit Hold’em in June for $5,785. Obviously Holden took that momentum to Las Vegas, and final tabled the WSOP Main Event, and he is now guaranteed to walk away with a minimum payout of $792,115 (ninth-place money).

Holden will begin the final table as the short stack with 12,375,000, though a quick double would tie him for third place. PokerNews recently sat down with Holden to find out what he has been up to in the past couple of months, and what he has been doing to prepare for the biggest final table of his life.

What was the one hand that was most responsible for your deep run?

There’s one hand in particular. I did double up on Day 2 I believe when I got it in with a pair and a flush draw against a set actually, and got there. So obviously that was really, really lucky and the way things worked out, that was a huge moment. You know, anything can happen after that moment and it was obviously a series of events that led to me somehow making the November Nine after that.

After the final table was set, what did you do the rest of the night? Did you go out and celebrate?

I actually didn’t. I had a flight booked the day after, and we also had media stuff to do the morning after. So what I did was went to my room and talked to everyone back home, on Skype or social media, and replied to whatever I could on there. I had to pack up my room — this is obviously all at 3 a.m. I packed up everything in my room and had to check out at 11 a.m. I got a few hours of sleep, and then went to the media stuff we had in Vegas, and then flew home that afternoon. I saved the celebration for when I got back to England.

Kristy Arnett spoke with Holden the day after he cemented himself in the 2011 November Nine.

How long did it take for the fact that you made the November Nine to sink in? Has it yet?

I think so, it’s difficult to tell. At the point it happened, and for the week after, it certainly hadn’t set in it all. At this point, it’s becoming a little more real and, you know, doing lots of media stuff becomes more normal. At first, it was so unusual for me having never experienced things like this before. So yeah, at this point it’s just about sunk in and I think that puts me in a position right now to put in lots of preparation and hopefully be in the right mindset come November.

What have you been up to since the WSOP has been on hiatus?

I just got back from Paris for the World Poker Tour. I got knocked out on Day 2 there. I’ve done a few other things, I had a trip up to Edinburgh for a smaller tournament and played a made-for-TV tournament, which I can’t talk about the results, but that airs in October. So yeah, I’ve been playing a little bit of poker and obviously played a little bit online, but there has been a lot of media stuff and life’s been very different. It’s been very busy, but a lot of fun.

What was the reaction of your family and friends?

Well, they were all pretty shocked. Most of them don’t really follow poker that much, I mean they know that’s what I do, but they don’t really know a huge amount about it. Poker is less in the culture here in England, and people there rarely know about the World Series, obviously all poker players do, but there are some people that don’t know anything about poker, so for them it was like a learning experience before they could quite realize what I had done or what I was part of.

Who will you be bringing to Las Vegas in November to support you?

Well, I’ve got a lot of friends coming out. Several of them have a piece of the Main Event, so obviously they’ve got two reasons to cheer me on. My parents are coming, my uncle, and a few family friends, you know, my girlfriend obviously. There’s a good group, a mixture of non-poker players and then a lot of poker guys that mostly have a piece of the winnings, so it should be a fun group.

What’s more important: money or the Main Event bracelet?

I guess the most money comes with the bracelet, so, I guess you kind of get both or neither, but the money is incredibly important to me, having a score like this is mad. I already feel incredibly fortunate to have won the amount that I’ve won. At this point, I’m not looking much at the jumps. We’ve already won a lot of money, so it’s less of a big jump. We’re all looking for that bracelet, so being the World Champion of poker is a pretty incredible thought. Clearly a lot of money comes with that also, so it’s a combination of both, that’s for sure.

As part of making the November Nine, you’ve already taken home $782,115 (ninth-place money). Have you made any big purchases with that money?

Nothing crazy. I’m moving house next week, so it was quite nice to be able to get a nice place in London, and just pay all the rent for that upfront, that was quite cool, and paying off all of my student loans. Other than that, no crazy purchases just yet. I’m gonna wait until November to see how much money I’ve got to blow before I start buying anything too crazy.

Other than yourself, who do you feel has the best chance of taking down the title?

Interesting. I think Martin Staszko being the chip leader, I think obviously he has a fantastic chance, and I think he seems like a great player. To be honest, I think they’re all fantastic players, I think everyone has a chance, and I think Martin has the best chance because he has the most chips. I think he handles himself well, and he’s also got a good seat draw with Ben Lamb on his right. So yeah, to be honest I really think anyone can win it, and the chip stacks are all relatively similar, so I think anyone can get it, everyone is capable.

Who would you want to be heads-up with for the bracelet in November? Who would you least like to face?

[Laughs] I think I’ll answer them both at once by saying that I really don’t mind, if I’m heads up, I really don’t care who I’m up against. I’m relatively confident with my heads-up game and as I’ve said, they’re all great players, so I’m not going to single anyone out as a big threat or anything. I’d be very, very happy to be heads up, and really don’t mind who it is, I just take it in stride and do the best I can with each hand.

What are you doing to prepare? Are you getting lessons or advice from anyone notable?

Well, obviously I’m putting in some preparation for November. I’m not going to give too much away for obvious reasons. I don’t want to give information I don’t have to to my opponents, but it’s really important to look at your own game, and this is an opportunity for the final nine to make as much progress in their game as they can before the biggest tournament of their life. So, I’ll be doing as much as I can. As I say, it’s always important to look at your weaknesses as a player and that’s something I always try to do.

Does that include looking at your opponent’s weaknesses? Are you scavenging all the information you can get about your opponents?

Yeah, that’s definitely a part of it, you know, trying to gain any information I can from my opponents. I expect their games to change a little bit as well, be it through thoughts they’ve had between July and November, or changes they’ve made to their own game. I expect the table in November will have a very different dynamic than when we left it in July because players will have changed. The experience that people have between July and November will change their mindset, so there will be a lot of information to be gained when we sit down in November. Obviously I will try to gain as much information that I can before then, as well.

Did you have the chance to become close with any other November Niners?

It was interesting actually. The nine of us, when we had our media meetings the day after we made it to the November Nine, we spoke about the camaraderie within the group. Obviously it’s just sort of a friendly rivalry, but at that point we’d played nearly 80 hours or something of poker, and we were together for that period, so the last few days we were likely playing against each other and at the table for several hours. I don’t think any of us are particularly close, but there is a good camaraderie and it’s all an experience we’re all going through together. I’m looking forward to November, and after that hopefully I’ll see them around the scene and be able to have more of a relaxed friendship as opposed to now, which is obviously an intense rivalry because we’re in the middle of this huge tournament.

What other events are you going to play between now and November?

I’m going to Cannes for the World Series of Poker Europe, and then I’ll be playing the EPT London, which is over here. I think they’re going to be my only big tournaments before November. At this point, I don’t want to travel too much, there’s plenty of other things to be doing, and so I’ll save most of my traveling for after November.

Do you have your entrance music picked out yet, assuming the WSOP does it again this year?

No, do we get entrance music? That’s cool. I’m a big fan of a band called Arctic Monkeys. They’re a British band that I don’t think people know much about in America. So I think I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t choose something by them, but I’ll have to have a little think about that and find something that’s relatively poker orientated.

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