What started off as a hobby has landed one Sligo entrepreneur the chance to win up to €5 million.
Sligo man, Paul Roper (34) of Cliffoney who calls himself “The Last Hangman” has become the first in the country to qualify for the richest poker tournament in Europe, the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour.
But it has only been eight months since he took up poker and he admits being surprised at how fast things have happened for him.
The Poitin Still pub in Sligo town was where he first learned his poker skills and after being encouraged to enter competitions, Paul admits he was hooked on the game.
“It started off as a hobby that I took up in the pub. I really enjoyed it and took to it pretty fast. But after other people noted how fast I took it up, they suggested I try entering competitions.”
Now that he has qualified for the finale of the poker tournament, which takes place next March in Monte Carlo, he stands to take home up to E5 million.
“The best of the best will be at the tournament and I am really excited about it.” Only 250 competitors will get the chance to take part.
Paul, who runs three companies, believes that the key to playing poker well is to try out different moves and see how they work.
“You need to have a good game plan. I like trying out new moves to see how they work but obviously I won’t be trying anything new when I get to Monte Carlo,” he jokes.
Paul qualified for the tournament after only two weeks of playing online poker. Up until then, he was playing in pubs with friends and doing well in various competitions.
So what does his family make of his growing stature as a poker player? “My mum Anne doesn’t understand the game but thinks it brings out good qualities in me. My dad Michael tells me he is very proud.” Michael Roper is a schoolteacher in Grange.
When Paul is not playing poker, he enjoys walking on the beaches of Mullaghmore and quad riding with his sons Paul and Lee and stepson Dale.
But with a name like Roper, Paul has used it to his advantage. “I am ‘The Last Hangman’ in Ireland but will execute only on the card table!”
His big ambition is to one-day turn professional. “That would be a fantastic achievement and it is what I am aiming towards. My biggest aim at present is to knock out the newly crowned European champion, professional poker player Jan Boubli when we meet in London.”
Paul plays a lot with good friend and fellow poker player Sligo town based dentist Patrick O’Connor.
But “The Last Hangman” has his sights firmly set on Monte Carlo. The stakes are high but this doesn’t phase him. The grand finale takes place in Monaco from March 8-11, next year.
I used to play poker online for play money and I seemed to be doing pretty
well so I eventually decided to try my luck for real money, as I expected
it was not quite so easy and I soon found myself several hundred pounds
down :eek: despite my best efforts.
Anyway I decided to have a look at my game and I discovered where I was
going wrong, I soon cleared my arrears and I am now several hundred pounds
in profit, and I make a steady £100+ per month which is useful.
I play fixed liimit poker though, not the no limit poker where you can go 'all in',
which is the game usually played in tournements, hence I have not tried the
tournement stuff yet.
There is a lot of luck in it though, even if you play well you can still lose
money, I recently lost £65 in 3 days, although I won £30 back last night :D.
I find the luck evens out over a month though (depending on how many
games you play). Same goes for tournements, if you have bad luck you
won't win no matter how good a player you are.
I have considered playing for higher stakes (I usually play 25p/50p) but
you will find the players are better (if indeed there are any players at those
stakes) and of course when you have a run of bad luck/cards you will lose
more money, my £65 loss would have been £260 at £1/2, plus you increase
your risk of having a heart attack :eek: :D
The best thing about it is that I win 'twice' in that I win the money I make
at poker and I don't lose the money I would otherwise lose at other forms
of gambling where the odds are stacked against you ie horses/football betting
where at best 90% of the money paid in is paid out (can be as low as 75%).
The 'rake' in poker is only 5%, so if you play 6% better than the other players
you are guaranteed to make money, in the long run.
27/10/2005, 2:29 AM
dahamsta
What's a pound? Is that one of those outdated things we used to have over here? :)
I used to play Victor Chandler quite a lot for play money with a view to progressing to small-stakes tables, but tired of it after a few weeks.
I've been meaning to host a meatspace game since I moved into my new gaff a few months ago - actually have a suitable table now - but I never get around to getting chips. Anytime I ask about them online I get recommendations from people with vested interests - lots of "I know a guy" - or pointers to stuff on eBay and the like that could be excellent quality, could be garbage.
But I'll chance it here again on the off chance: Anyone know of a good place to buy a set of genuine, quality, clay chips and decks? Plainer the better, I don't like lots of decoration.
(I just noticed on SpecialDays that the 9 gram chips are more expensive that the 13.5 gram chips, why is that? Which are used at professional level?)
