Cool World #5

	True to form I manage to donate my stack on the second hand

Hot from the Aussie Millions in Melbourne I head back to the somewhat colder climes of my home town, Birmingham. The first port of call, as always, is the Broadway Casino, which I think is probably the best casino in the UK.

I sit down for the first event, which is a £50 Omaha/Hold’em rebuy (one round of each) and find out it’s a onehour clock. I know I have no chance of not rebuying for the next hour and, true to form, manage to donate my stack on the second hand. It could be a long expensive night. I am a big fan of correct structure and antes but once you get used to playing the grandstand events it’s hard to get your head round a £50 buy-in.

I bomb out early, which is no disgrace, as anyone who plays there will tell you; it’s like trying to win the World Series every night. The standard of play in Birmingham is exceptional and has been for the last 30 years. You only need to take a quick look at the players in the private cash games of the 1980s to give you a clue – Dave Colclough, Mickey Wernick, Surindar Sunar, John Shipley, Lucy Rokach and Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott are just a few of the names you may have heard of and there are another 20 players you won’t have heard of who are just as good.

I make the final of the £300 competition with 300k of the 700k in play and am fortunate not to be first out. I struggle to make sixth after a series of bad plays and bad beats. I go from that final straight into my seat for the £500 tournament and crash out on the first hand much to the amusement of a large number of players. I make a hasty exit to the chorus of ‘Thanks for coming’ ringing in my ears.

I take a seat in the cash game knowing that these days I have a bounty on my head. The ‘local boy made good’ coupled with ‘he’s no better than us’ creates a ‘let’s get him’ attitude! And it’s a good point well made. I’m just another fish here! The Omaha game is very lively and I love it. It’s my favourite game and the opportunities to play elsewhere in the world are limited, but here in Birmingham there are two tables of action nearly every night. It’s great to get together with all my mates from the early years and find out what everyone is up to – and winning a bit is nice too.

Praz Bansi ends up winning the main event after winning the first leg of the GUKPT last month and getting a bracelet at the WSOP in July. What a beautiful thing form is and his game has come on a bundle as a result. Player of the year? Looks like it’s already been decided.

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