Taking place at the Regency Airport Hotel in Dublin, the Poker Open will not only be a poker tournament but also will be an excellent chance to learn about the game from top professionals. On Friday (Oct. 17th), 2005 World Series of Poker final table participant Andrew Black will host a seminar on tournament poker that should give tournament players key tips on preparing for such a large event. The seminar will be followed by a Q&A session with Black, who has nearly $4 million in earnings in his poker career.
On Saturday, Boylepoker.com professionals Marty Smyth, the 2008 WSOP Pot Limit Omaha World Champion, and veteran poker player Padraig Parkinson will discuss playing at the final table of a tournament. The two forums will be held each day at the Regency at 2:30 PM (local time) and are free for players in the tournament.
The tournament itself promises to be one of the largest poker events held in Europe. It has already sold out its 1200 seats and, with its €135 buy-in, has generated a prize pool of €162,000. Boylepoker.com is adding to this by pushing an additional €20,000 into the total prize pool and – in an interesting twist that hasn’t been done before – is also sweetening the pool by contributing 20% of all rake generated at Boylepoker.com by pre-registered players. As of press time, this has generated a prize pool of over €194,000 (approximately $280,000 American).
It won’t be easy to capture the top prize of the Boylepoker.com International Poker Open, however. Along with Black, Smyth and Parkinson, 1999 WSOP World Champion Noel Furlong joins Andy Ward, Dave Callaghan, Faiz Khan, Ian Frazer, Jeff Duvall, Jesse May, John O’Shea, Ken Doherty, ‘Mad’ Marty Wilson, Neil Channing, Ray Panthaki, Rory Reece, Rory Liffey, Ryan Fronda, Scott Gray, Surinder Sunar, Maria Demetriou and Jen Mason as professionals set to play in the tournament. Irish sports fans will also recognize Kilkenny hurlers Richie Power, John Tennyson, Martin Comerford and James Fitzpatrick, and Dublin footballers Paul Casey, Shane Ryan, Stephen Cluxton and Thomas Quinn as they step from their sports onto the tables at the Regency.
The battle for the Boylepoker.com International Poker Open title, awarded on Sunday, October 19th, will be one of the most competitive contests in European poker history, and the additional workshops by the professionals will prepare those in the fight to be at their peak. For more details on the International Poker Open, visit Boylepoker.com.
