“No good holiday ever starts at Luton Airport,” I thought to myself as a Bratislavan pigeon shat on my copy of the Slovak Spectator.
Stepping out before the Crowne Plaza Bratislava I must have looked as English as a beefeater wolfing down fish and chips to the sound of Rule Britannia. The opportune taxi driver collected his off-meter extortion and did a poor job of concealing his smug grin whilst he hauled our bags to the hotel porters.
Co-commentator Henry and I impressed during a stint in the booth at London Cash Game Festival (CGF) and had been invited back to keep the Twitch audience entertained in Bratislava. I knew the games were soft so I invited Oliver and Eddie, both top tier Sky Poker cash game regulars, who agreed it could be lucrative for them alongside time away from the computer screen.
The city of Bratislava was a vivid juxtaposition of beauty and oppression. Turning left out of the hotel, Old Town had you embroiled in medieval churches carved into the Slavic skyline, intertwined with funnelling cobbled streets and proud foreign embassies. Old Town was a peacock surrounded by pigeons, the latter morphing into a grey blur in the periphery of it’s striking features.
The true severity of the city’s contrast in offerings became apparent later. A cohort of CGF folk and I, slashed by the dagger of Captain Morgan, searched for a local greasemonger to satisfy our rum-fuelled hunger. Downtown Bratislava was a concrete purgatory, crowded by hooded figures grappling with boosted serotonin levels on the doorways of derelict buildings. Hostile youths slunk past, firing incoherent grunts at the female members of the clan whilst stray foxes ripped through abandoned waste in the moonlight.
The effortless energy that the CGF brings to each stop cannot be understated. Friendly faces, engaging personalities and open-minded outlooks frequented the poker room at each festival. 32red poker manager Nick Diaz, who I dubbed 'the best bald head in poker', was often the life and soul of the nightly discussions, reading us philosophical thoughts from the notes section on his phone that provoked entertaining exchanges. Jason Glatzer, an omnipresent figure on the European live poker circuit as editor for PokerNews, was another prominent member of the group and we teamed up for this interview.
With the MPN Poker Tour running alongside the week also attracted tournament players. Unibet ambassadors Dara O'Kearney, Ian Simpson and David Lappin were all in attendance so I decided to break the ice with them by throwing out the idea of karaoke bar adventures, to which they politely declined. I hovered to ask questions they had undoubtedly heard a million times but remember being charmed by the warm enthusiasm and attention to detail each offered in response. They ended up missing out on some hilarious antics, for Jason had later stolen the show with a hearty effort at Eminem's The Real Slim Shady that brought temporary life to the streets of Bratislava's gloomy after-hours scene.
Towards the end of the 5 day commentating marathon the stream culminated in a ferocious €2/5/10 game. Chips were flying around faster than a brawl in a Scouse kebab joint, steered by a wildcard recreational player from Los Angeles. I noticed the game spill over onto an outer table and quickly sold 50% of my action, sitting with €500. ‘Mr Gloves’, dubbed for his hygiene-conscious donning of black latex gloves, was a lawyer by trade and it was apparent in his approach to Texas Hold’em. Every pot I entered with him felt like I was in the witness box, his relentless style akin to a line of questioning, probing for any hint of weakness.
Over the course of the night I profited healthily from the encounters with Mr Gloves, to the disgust of the other players. We engaged in flowing chatter and playful banter and swapped e-mail addresses after. I realised that the outrageous action he gifted me had nothing to do with poker strategy and everything to do with enjoying himself. He had consistently given up versus other players in spots where he fired outlandish bluffs against me.
This concept of engaging the fun player is something that most poker players understand but rarely put into action. The last thing a recreational wants to experience is the arrogance of 8 stoic faces around the table, often favouring the bright lights of the casino floor as a more entertaining form of gambling.