Cool World #2

	In Vegas we were playing 50K a hole from 8am until it got dark

The big boys have landed – time for some serious golf action. Message on my phone says ‘Hi Marc, this is Phil Ivey. I’ve just landed, looking for some action on the golf course; I’m seriously jet-lagged and there’s no telling how much you can win, call me.’

Don’t you just love those sorts of messages? Golf is the number one gambling game among the poker pros on tour and I like to think that with my golfing partner Ram Vaswani we have an edge. So I pack a case and I’m off to London four days earlier than planned. Day one doesn’t go to plan – we drop $40k. We play $20k a hole, and yes, you’re right, it’s sick. Day two – win $30k; day three – win $45k. So we’re back on track. Playing Phil for $10k a hole, his partner for $5k a hole and $10k a hole per man in a team match. (This is a small game actually, as in Vegas we were playing $50k a hole from 8am until it got dark.)

Poker now gets in the way of the golf and we have to play in the European Poker Masters. After our last golf game we sit in the clubhouse discussing how we can get knocked out fast and still get a day’s golf in. We decide to have a bet, the winner being the first one out! Phil says he’s going all-in first hand, as we all will, but I think I have an edge as he probably won’t get called and I will. I say I’m going to use the tactic of going all-in and then accidentally showing my cards to the table so everyone can see I have nothing and call. They point out that I may incur a 10-minute penalty for that and lose the bet. Gus [Hansen] says he’s sure his all-in bet will be called. We all agree that’s a no-brainer, so we cancel the bet. (Phil actually went all-in first hand with 8-3 against A-10 and won).

Gus gets out a pack of cards and deals us all-in for Chinese poker at $2k a point (I told you we were sick). I’ve only played once but figure the worst I can do is lose some of my winnings. First hand I have quad Jacks and win 19 points, the small matter of $38k. Oh shit, what have I gotten into? ‘That’s me finished, I didn’t know it was so big,’ I declare. ‘Sorry, winners can’t quit – it’s an unwritten rule’ is the reply. About 20 minutes later I finish all square and Ram is down $96k; ffs – he was the one who didn’t want to play.

Back to the poker and 12 hours later in the European Poker Masters we’re at the final table. Phil is chip leader, Gus second and myself third, all sitting next to each other. Maybe we’ve stumbled on a winning strategy – try to lose and you win? It seems to work for the Swedish players…

Marc Goodwin is one of UK’s finest poker players and MANSION Poker Ambassador