There was plenty of hustle and bustle around the Regency Hotel in Dublin for the opening day of the Irish EPT. Tournament organiser John Duthie looked particularly over-worked during a frantic start to the day, putting the finishing touches to the set and shaking countless hands.

Meanwhile players were milling around looking for a place to relax whilst waiting for the tournament to begin. Amongst them online poker pro and Pokerstars golden boy Luca Pagano who said: “I always try and have a full meal before I play. It helps keep you calm and focused.”  Going to work on a full breakfast, many considered him to be a serious contender during the weekend.

The atmosphere was one of angst and general suspense but not for one man who had flown plenty of miles to get here, WSOP champion Chris Moneymaker. “I try to play approximately seven tournaments around the world each year, the EPT being one of them,” he told interested bystanders.

Moneymaker, who has his finger in several pies, is busy running his poker related businesses when not playing at the tables.  Here he did plenty of early damage when running his Kings into Aces.  Down to only 1,700 in chips he never made it far up the long and steep road back into contention and was one of the earliest casualties on the day.    

The arrival of Jesse May and Padraig Parkinson definitely lifted spirits of the somewhat degenerate crowd of onlookers.  Both with their own unique take on things, they make a fine double act.

Jesse May being the undoubted “voice of poker” thanks to his commentary on British poker which echoes all the way back to the classic Late Night Poker days and, of course, Padraig Parkinson for his jibes at the British poker players and indeed Irish ones such as Rory Liffey.

The main attraction of their presence was the unique site of a one table sit-and-go, which included both commentary and dealing by Jesse! The eventual winner being none other than 2004 WSOP champ Greg “the fossil man” Raymer.

Greg seemed delighted by his win and indeed the substantial prize fund of €50, kindly donated by Padraig. Perhaps it wasn’t quite as impressive as his World Series victory but a significant feat none the less!

Day 1A was a day when liberal doses of bad luck and bad beats were evident. It is often said in poker that to win you need to get lucky on a couple of occasions. Mel Judah is one who can surely do with some of that medicine as his luck at present is appalling.

Trying a sneaky raise on table 14 with ‘pocket rockets’, Mel must have been delighted to see some action from the last man left in the pot. To add to what he thought was good fortune, his opponent check-raised him on a K-5-4 board.

“Let’s get the chips in now” thought Mel. “Sure he will probably call me with his King, sure it’s probably Ace-King. That 4 and 5 couldn’t have helped him”.

As his opponent turned over his cards Mel was amazed to see no King. “What? He called a pre-flop raise with 4-5?”  The well-travelled Australian reached for his jacket as another 5 hit on the turn giving his opponent the full-house.  It goes to show how poker can be a cruel game.

Another casualty on the opening day was Liam Flood. The retired bookmaker pushed all-in with KQ following a raise in early position. His timing was off unfortunately as he ran into AQ. No miracle King meant “the gentleman” was heading for the door.

Flood, who sported a very trendy Steve Austin type baseball cap, will no doubt be moving back to the traditional John Wayne style cowboy hat for his next tournament appearance.

Another Irish legend who didn’t last long was 1999 WSOP champion Noel Furlong. Having been so successful in Vegas only a couple of years ago, Furlong is considered one of the best Irish players on the scene.

Today wasn’t to be his day and he never really got going. Pushing his chips forward with an open-ended straight draw and missing, it caused the majority of the damage to his stack.

One Irishman who was certainly going well was the Buddhist monk himself, Andy Black. Finishing the day seventh in the chip standings, Black broke from the gates well and accumulated chips early on. Furthermore, steady progress throughout the day gave him a sterling chance for the weekend ahead.

Perhaps it was the meditation or the nicotine breaks, either way Andy had to be happy with his performance today. Echoing the class which saw him do so well in the 2005 WSOP, Black is always one to keep an eye on.

The internet qualifiers were not having such a good a time of it. Perhaps it’s the cold winters in Ireland that they’re not used to, either way the top 20 in the end-of-day chip standings was something of a pro poker players ‘who’s who’.

The name of the day must surely go to internet qualifier Maximiilianus Trigas. This Greek actually had a solid day finishing up on 41,800 in chips and creeping into the top 20 bracket.

A relative unknown on the scene, Trigas will more than likely be referred to be his surname from now on. Perhaps this weekend’s winner won’t just be an unknown but an unknown with an unpronounceable name!

The eventual chip leader of the entire field was Norwegian Jonas Helness. Finishing the day on 117,000 in chips, Jonas would be looking to enforce himself over the coming days and cash for some big money.

He was followed closely by Englishman Marc Goodwin in second place but, essentially, it was wide open with a long way still to go.