In November, Ireland’s Dara DokeO’Kearney (pictured) finished second in the PokerStars Sunday Supersonic for $36,000 after a heads-up chop. He has had a blockbuster 2015, finishing second in a World Series of Poker event in Las Vegas and final tabling another one in Berlin. O’Kearney has been a member of PocketFives since 2010, so we wanted to catch up with one of our favorite Irishmen.
PocketFives: Great job in the Supersonic! How are you feeling about it?
Dara O’Kearney: Pretty good. It had been a frustrating Sunday to that point. I had built a lot of stacks, but not converted anything and even my bread-and-butter satellites had gone badly. I wasn’t feeling great, so I was thinking of skipping the later stuff. Glad now that I didn’t.
PocketFives: Talk about chopping the Sunday Supersonic with fellow PocketFiver Ravic85.
Dara O’Kearney: When I saw the final table, I decided I’d happily chop at any point, so I had the “Deal” option clicked throughout. Generally, my policy is that I will chop with other regs, but I rarely, if ever, actively ask for one. When we got heads-up, I saw Ravic85 had a similar lifetime record as me, so I didn’t think either of us had much edge. And in that game in particular, it being so shallow, I think it makes sense to chop.
He had a big chip lead throughout, so I guess he went for the quick kill first. When that didn’t happen, he must have checked “Deal.” It was pretty much the easiest chop ever. Neither of us insulted the other by haggling for more.
PocketFives: How did Ravic85 (pictured) play? He has been a very successful PocketFiver too and is ranked #17 worldwide.
Dara O’Kearney: He played perfectly from what I saw. It was a really high-quality final table, so it didn’t seem likely that anyone would make a big mistake. I watched the replay today with all the hole cards and that reinforced my opinion.
PocketFives: You finished second in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em WSOP event this year. Congrats on that! Talk about that experience.
Dara O’Kearney: I went into that final table as one of the shorties and was short throughout, so I could really have gone out much earlier than I did. Having gotten heads-up, obviously I’d love to have won, but with such a big chip deficit it was going to be tough. I gave it my all and got within two flips of the win, but lost the first flip. At that point, we were basically just playing for the bracelet, so that removed the financial incentive, but it’s still nice to win a bracelet. You can’t really expect to get close very often, particularly at my age.
PocketFives: You’re 50. Does being older affect you poker-wise?
Dara O’Kearney: I don’t think it affects me personally other than having to work out how it affects my table image. Players who know me from online tend to have a very different image of me than players who don’t, so I always need to figure out who knows me and who doesn’t. Sometimes they find out at some point at the table too and that changes the dynamic. But in terms of my own performance, I don’t think it affects me.
I put a lot of work into staying mentally and physically fit. I eat very well. I still run nearly every day and run 25 to 30 miles every Wednesday I’m home, so I don’t think my age is a factor yet, but it will be at some point. If nothing else, it means I have potentially less time than, say, a 20-year-old.
PocketFives: You run 25 to 30 miles every Wednesday?
Dara O’Kearney: Yes, once a week. I used to be a 24-hour runner, so it’s just a natural talent I have: stamina. I had to cut back when I retired from running competitively, but last year I made the decision to get fitter again, so I started increasing my long runs until I got back to 30 miles.
A 24-hour runner is someone who runs non-stop for 24 hours. It’s a competitive sport, albeit not one that gets much mainstream coverage. I started as a marathon runner and then moved to the longer stuff. I won some races that were longer than marathons and ended up representing Ireland a few times at the World 24-Hour Championships.
PocketFives: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Dara O’Kearney: Just that I feel very lucky to still be able to play poker for a living and be having probably the best year of my poker career with the result in Vegas, the deep run at WSOP Europe, playing and cashing the last two EPTs, and final tabling the UKIPT High Roller. I put a lot of work into my live game this year, so it’s nice to see some tangible results.
Also, a shout out to my friend Padraig O’Neill. I used to never play the Supersonic, as I thought playing a hyper with a $215 buy-in seemed a bit punty, but he persuaded me to start playing it a couple of months ago. He is known in our group as a nit, so when he suggests you might be a little too nitty in your game selection, you listen. This was only the fifth or sixth time I’d played it and I think this was my third or fourth cash.
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