Unibet Dublin Poker Festival Features 55 Events in 18 Days
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Dublin, Ireland is the place to be this February if you’re a fan of poker tournaments. Why? Because Unibet Poker is sponsoring the Dublin Poker Festival and hosting its own Unibet Open, which makes for an incredible 55 tournaments across 18-days of intense poker action.
The Bonnington Hotel is where it’s at from February 13th through March 1st. The venue will be packed to the rafters with talent from the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Europe who are all striving to kick 2020 off in style.
David Lappin, a Unibet Poker Ambassador, will be in attendance with his fellow sponsored pro Dara O’Kearney and already knows which events he is planning to take down.
“That’s an easy one. Winning a Unibet Open on home soil would be the dream. It will also be the biggest prize pool of the festival. There’s a €250,000 guarantee, but my guess is we’ll smash that and get €400,000 or more. If I can’t take that one down then I guess I’ll have to make do with winning one of the other two Main Event, one of the two High Rollers, or one of the other 50 side events!”
The Unibet Open Main Event Lappin eludes to is a €1,100 buy-in affair featuring a trio of starting flights. Day 1A and Day 1B shuffle up and deal at midday on February 27-28 with a turbo-structured Day 1C running at 9:00 p.m. on February 28th. Its champion is crowned on March 1st.
There's No Place Like Ireland For Poker
Playing poker in Ireland is great fun. The Guinness flows morning, noon and night, you have the famous Irish craic, and Lappin describes the Irish poker scene as loose, loud, and rambunctious.
Fifty-five events (including satellites) over 18 days is a monster of a festival, so planning your attack is crucial to success.
“My approach to these kinds of longer festival is just to go hell for leather,” explained Lappin. “I’ll take a couple of days off before it starts, no days off during and then rest when it’s over. In all probability, I’ll play next tourney up throughout. I love the grind.”
In addition to the Unibet Open Main Event, there is a European Deepstack Main Event costing €570 to get involved in. This tournament is always well-attended thanks to its affordable buy-in and superb structure. Succeeding in either the Unibet Open Main Event or the European Deepstack Main Event needs alteration to your usual strategy if you’re used to playing the faster-paced structures online.
“Patience is certainly a virtue,” said Lappin when asked how to approach these two events in particular. “I’d recommend turning down skinnier edges early on. Adjusting to the pace of live poker can be very tough if you’re used to online so maybe bring your headphones and listen to some episodes of ‘The Chip Race’ when you’re not in the hand!”
Dozens of satellites, both live and online, are running around the clock, giving players the chance to play in the higher buy-in events. Online, Unibet Poker has Dublin Main Event satellites every Wednesday and Sunday, with European Deepstacks and ACOP satellites on Monday and Tuesday. Now could be the time to treat yourself to O’Kearney’s Poker Satellite Strategy book.
Full Tournament Schedule
| Date | Time | Tournament | Buy-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 13 Feb | 4:00 p.m. | Day 1A – ACOP (Amateur Championship of Poker) | €230 |
| 00:00 | Midnight Madness | €10 | |
| Fri 14 Feb | 4:00 p.m. | Day 1B – ACOP (Amateur Championship of Poker) | €230 |
| 00:00 | Midnight Madness | €10 | |
| Sat 15 Feb | 12:00 p.m. | Day 1C – ACOP (Amateur Championship of Poker) | €230 |
| 8:00 p.m. | Day 1D Turbo – ACOP (Amateur Championship of Poker) | €230 | |
| 00:00 | Midnight Madness | €10 | |
| Sun 16 Feb | 12:00 p.m. | Day 2 – ACOP | |
| 2:00 p.m. | One Day Classic | €120 | |
| 8:00 p.m. | NLH – Progressive Bounty Freezeout | €120 (€50 bounties) | |
| 00:00 | Midnight Madness | €10 | |
| Mon 17 Feb | 5:00 p.m. | Irish Seniors Championship Day 1 – NLHE – Strictly Over 50s | €220 |
| 8:00 p.m. | 20/20 Poker Challenge | €80 | |
| 00:00 | Midnight Madness | €10 | |
| Tue 18 Feb | 5:00 p.m. | Seniors Championship Day 2 | |
| 8:00 p.m. | NLH – Progressive Bounty Freezeout | €120 (€50 bounties) | |
| 00:00 | Midnight Madness | €10 | |
| Wed 19 Feb | 4:00 p.m. | Evening Warm-Up | €80 |
| 7:00 p.m. | 20/20 Challenge | €80 | |
| 00:00 | Midnight Madness | €10 | |
| Thu 20 Feb | 12:00 p.m. | Day 1A – European Deepstack Main Event | €570 |
| 9:00 p.m. | NLH – Progressive Bounty Freezeout | €120 (€50 bounties) | |
| 00:00 | Midnight Madness | €10 | |
| Fri 21 Feb | 12:00 p.m. | Day 1B – European Deepstack Main Event | €570 |
| 2:00 p.m. | Turbo – NLH | €120 | |
| 00:00 | Midnight Madness | €10 | |
| Sat 22 Feb | 12:00 p.m. | Day 2 – European Deepstack Main Event | |
| 2:00 p.m. | EDSPC 300 NLH – 2 Day tournament | €300 | |
| 4:00 p.m. | High Roller Day 1 - €50,000 Gtd | €1,000 | |
| 8:00 p.m. | Nightly Turbo | €120 | |
| 00:00 | Midnight Madness | €10 | |
| Sun 23 Feb | 12:00 p.m. | Final Day – European Deepstack Main Event | |
| 12:15 p.m. | Final Day – High Roller | ||
| 12:30 p.m. | Final Day – EDSPC 300 NLH | ||
| 1:00 p.m. | EDSPC 20 NLH | €200 | |
| 4:00 p.m. | Pot Limit Omaha | €120 | |
| 7:00 p.m. | Nightly Turbo – Irish | €120 | |
| 9:00 p.m. | Last Chance Saloon | €100 | |
| 00:00 | Midnight Madness | €10 | |
| Wed 26 Feb | 2:00 p.m. | Unibet Open-er | €225 |
| 6:00 p.m. | Unibet High Roller Day 1 | €2,200 | |
| 7:00 p.m. | Tag Team Championship | Invitational | |
| Thu 27 Feb | 12:00 p.m. | Unibet High Roller Day 2 | €2,200 |
| 12:00 p.m. | Unibet Open Main Event Day 1A | €1,100 | |
| 1:00 p.m. | Unibet Open-er Day 2 | ||
| 4:00 p.m. | NLH Turbo | €165 | |
| 7:00 p.m. | Unibet Battle Royale | Invitational | |
| Fri 28 Feb | 12:00 p.m. | Unibet Open Main Event Day 1B | €1,100 |
| 8:00 p.m. | Flipout | €30 | |
| 9:00 p.m. | Unibet Open Main Event Day 1C Turbo | €1,100 | |
| 10:00 p.m. | NLH Hyper Turbo | €110 | |
| Sat 29 Feb | 12:00 p.m. | Unibet Open Main Event Day 2 | |
| 1:00 p.m. | Pot Limit Omaha | €165 | |
| 1:00 p.m. | #QUEENRULES Ladies Event | €100 | |
| 3:00 p.m. | Unibet Super Stack Day 1 | €330 | |
| 6:00 p.m. | Unibet Community Freeroll | Invitational | |
| 7:00 p.m. | Flipout XL | €50 | |
| 8:00 p.m. | Irish Poker | €165 | |
| Sun 1 Mar | 12:00 p.m. | Unibet Open Main Event Final Day | |
| 12:00 p,m. | Unibet Super Stack Day 2 | ||
| 12:00 p.m. | Mini Main Event | €110 | |
| 4:00 p.m. | Progressive Knockout | €220 (€100 bounties) |
With so many events on the schedule, it’s unlikely you’re going to get much downtime, but Dublin is a superb city if you want to have fun or explore. If anyone knows how to enjoy themselves in the Emerald Isle’s capital it’s Lappin.
“The bar in the Bonnington will be buzzing and the pints will be flowing throughout, but if you’re travelling to Dublin from abroad I would recommend taking a day off at some point to do some sightseeing. The Biking Splash Tour is fun, the Guinness Storehouse has a great tour, Grafton Street is great for shopping, and Temple Bar is the nuts for nightlife.”
Still not convinced? Here’s a parting shot from Lappin, “Unibet runs the best live festivals in Europe and Dublin is the nut poker destination so I’d tell them to get off the feckin’ fence and book that flight!”
