I was born the youngest of three kids in the great town of Carrigaline in County Cork. It was a mighty spot and was where I spent my youth, hanging around with some of the most colorful and fascinating characters that Ireland had to offer. The town had everything that one would need, from Pubs to a couple of Butcher shops, from a Post office to a Creamery and of course we mustn’t forget… a betting shop!

There’s no denying that some of the greatest characters out there are gamblers, and my father fell squarely into that class. He was a greyhound trainer for as long as I knew him so there was absolutely no escaping the noose for me! Much of my childhood was spent accompanying him from the dog track to many of the various betting shops across County Cork.

Now I’m sure if you were to look up the word “Gambler” in the dictionary, the word “Poker” would have to be close by. They are linked together… like fish ‘n’ chips or bangers ‘n’ mash - like Caine & Abel or Paddy & Power. So it shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that it wasn’t long before I was introduced to - or should I say seduced by - Poker.

I remember watching the big game on Sundays at the pub, and we’re not talking about United vs. Liverpool here - it was the big game of Poker and it would take place every Sunday at the Stables bar in Carrigaline. I was probably only about seven years old at the time but I was well aware of the magnitude of the occasion and the amount of money that was at stake.

I figured out - just like anything else in life - in order to have a big winner there must be a big loser. So I learned early on in my life that one man’s sorrow was another man’s joy. I remember the heaps of money stacked up as high as could be, with all the different colour notes, fifties, twenties, tens and fivers. And in that pub in Carrigaline the game of Poker was born for me; “eleven pounds – ten pence” to be exact. I know what you’re thinking: small pot… but a big baby! That was the amount I took out of my first game of poker and I was ready to keep going!

I learned a great deal of what I know about Poker from my late father and many of his friends. They set me up on the right path and showed me the ropes with such quotes as; “you need to able see inside your opponent’s soul to know if they’re bluffing or not”, and one of my favorites; “son, if the only mistake you make is folding the best hand when you’re not entirely sure if your hand is good or not – then at least you keep your money for the time when you know for sure!”

One of the great things about Poker is that although players may speak different languages, they all understand the same game. The most important thing is to enjoy playing. Some play this game because they want the money, others play to make history; I play because I believe love of cards to be wound within every strand of an Irish person’s DNA!

Be sure to check in sometime soon for the next part of this story (My Poker Journey)

My first memory of the World Series of Poker was back in 1989. I was in a pub in Carrigaline with a couple of friends and they were showing a re-run of that year’s WSOP Main Event on TV – the year Phil Hellmuth won it. I remember him being a tall skinny fella who was definitely very passionate about the game – of course winning a million dollars will do that for you! I remember thinking to myself, ‘I’ll win one of those bracelets some day’.

I went to the United States in 1997 with a good friend of mine, Dave Halpen. We arrived in Boston and were staying in the North Station area, which had a lot of Irish- and Italian-Americans. I remember one night seeing that a card game had started up with a few lads that had just got off work. They must have thought I was easy pickings as they had no problem letting me into the game. But after a couple of hours and one very big pot (set over set) their opinions had changed as I was now ahead almost two and a half grand!

Realizing that I had won most of their wages and wanting to get out of there alive, I thought it might be wise for me to throw a nickel ($500) to the barman for the lads in the game, so they could at least eat and drink on me for the night. Well, this was a good idea as it turned out – I went from villain to hero in a matter of seconds! I remember they said to me as I left the bar; “You’re welcome back here at anytime, but there’s no way we’re letting ya back into the game.” “No bother”, says I, and off I went.

Soon after I was on the way to the West Coast – California to be exact! I definitely wanted to see some of the country along the way so I thought what better way to do it than by train? It took about four and a half long days to make it from Boston to California, and I couldn’t help but think of so many of our great ancestors who had made the treacherous but beautiful journey – many of them laying the tracks for what would later carry a young lad from Cork without a care in the world!

The train ride ended in Oakland, California and I got a bus the short journey over to San Francisco. I’ll never forget the view coming over the Bay Bridge as long as I live; it was truly an amazing sight. With San Francisco staring me in the face and with Alcatraz off to my right, it was like I was in a movie - these were great days!

1997 – this was the year that the late great Stu Unger won the WSOP Main Event; it was also the year they decided to hold the final table on Fremont Street outside Binion’s Horseshoe. This year was the first that I went to Vegas, and lads, ‘hear me now, for what I say is true’, it was absolutely incredible! Now the WSOP was well over by the time I got there but I still wanted to get down and check out the famous casino where it all started. I remember getting a bus down the Strip and I felt like a kid again. The place that I had only seen in movies was now right here in front of me and I could hardly sit still!

I made my way to Binions. It’s a place that is so steeped in history that if only the ancient chandeliers could talk, who knows what jaw-dropping stories they would tell? Tales of gangsters and gamblers, millionaires and entertainers and told in such a way that would leave you gasping for more. Yes sir, there’s no better place in the world to be if you’re a poker player than Binion’s Horseshoe. Now on this particular day (it was around noon if I remember correctly) the casino was reasonably quiet and any employees who I happened to make eye contact with were only too happy to accommodate me with a “can I get you anything sir?’ or “anything we can do for you sir?” Lads, I felt like I was Lord Muck! “I’m only looking for where they play the poker”, says I. “If it’s poker you’re after, just head down towards the back”, replied the waiter.

Then I spotted it; the wall that had the pictures of all the past champions. What a sight it was! Right there in front of me, Johnny Chan and Jack Strauss, Sailor Roberts and Dan Harrington, Doyle Brunson and of course the 1989 Champ, Phil Hellmuth. It gives me goose bumps right now to recall it. I was happy just to be there!

The thing that struck me is that more money had passed through the casino doors than those of most major banks. It was decades since the World Series of Poker was only an idea in Benny Binion’s head, and who could of ever imagined that he, along with some of the game’s greats, could somehow turn Poker into the second most played game in the world? Thank you indeed Mr. Binion, we are forever in your debt.

Be sure to check back soon for the next part of My Poker Journey, where I’ll give you the scoop on what it was like to play at my first WSOP in 1998 and what it was like to win my first bracelet.

Big C

I mentioned in my last piece that 1997 was the year I came over to the United States. It was also the first year that I set foot in the Horseshoe in Las Vegas. However, it wasn’t until the following year (1998) that I got to experience my first World Series of Poker and believe me folks, my memories of it are as fresh as ever!

It was a hot day, absolutely roasting, though it felt even warmer inside the casino sitting down beside some of the best and most intimidating players in the game. I remember thinking to myself "what in the hell am I even doing here?” It sort of felt like these folks were just laying in wait, licking their chops at the thought of me, a young Irish lad, wandering in off the street and sitting down at the table with them "like a young calf going in to see a bunch of butchers." It was brilliant!

Now as I remember, the first game that I played in was only a $220 satellite but it still was loaded with some of the best in the business. Keep in mind that going back ten years ago, there wasn’t anywhere near the heaps of money in poker like there is now, not to mention the crowds of players.

Anyway, I ended up chopping the satellite with this big Texan bloke – this fella was huge and he was a pure gent! He wore this big cowboy hat on his head and a big smile on his face and the funny thing is I don’t think he understood a word I was saying!

He had me out chipped slightly, but was only too happy to chop it down the middle. Wow, I felt like I was king of the world! There I was, in the mighty Binions Horseshoe in Vegas, at my first WSOP and I’d just picked up $1000. Yes sir, life was good indeed!

Some of the other younger lads that you would see down there walking around the room and playing at that time included the likes of Daniel Negreanu, Eric Lingren and Mike Matusow. All of whom then were only just starting to make a name for themselves. Daniel of course went onto win his first bracelet that year and would never look back!

There were also a handful of great Irish players who made the long trip out there, Padraig Parkinson, Scott Gray and Donnacha O’Dea just to name a few. The Irish always brought a great deal of skill to the World Series, not to mention a wealth of personality. They were fun times!

It was a great time for me being around poker then, because there really weren’t that many younger lads who were playing. It was mainly the older gentlemen that made up the bulk of the players, but I think at the same time, they weren’t entirely sure what to do with us young lads. We probably had a bit more gamble in us than the older boys. We either broke fast or went broke even faster!

The game was a bit different then too. The older lads liked to limp in a lot and see the flop – it wasn’t uncommon for them to then check it down. Typically if it was raised and re-raised before it got to you and you didn’t have QQ or better, then you might consider folding. As opposed to nowadays, lads are three betting it with only mid pair!

Now don’t get me wrong lads – there were aggressive players back then but the style they used was "selective aggression" as oppose to the new style of "constant aggression." People always played their position strong but typically folks were patient and prepared to wait for a quality hand while making a few moves along the way. Yes - it was small pot poker!

Bracelets at the time were something that I really didn’t consider that much; not to mention, I didn’t have the money to fork out for the big buy-ins. Whenever I made a small score in a satellite, I would cash in the chips and go on to the next one. They would hold tournaments almost every evening which were cash-only pay outs (no bracelets); they were about $330 to play. I did fairly well in those down through the years, winning or chopping up at least five or six of them. The crazy thing was back in those days, they didn’t even ask you for your last name when they paid you. Still though – money is money and a win is a win!

Check back in week or two for the final part to My Poker Journey and I’ll tell ya what it was like to make history by winning the WSOP event and my 1st bracelet!

As I have already mentioned, up until this point in My Poker Journey, winning a lot of the smaller poker tournaments down through the years definitely helped me with my belief that I could play the game at the highest level. Just watching how people would react to me at the table and seeing the respect that I would routinely get from people that I didn’t even know all helped fuel my passion for the game. My main focus in my earlier years when visiting Vegas was more making a profit while risking small amounts of money than putting up a big chunk and playing for bracelets. Also keep in mind that there wasn’t really a lot of value in those events at the time, because most of the people who played were all very, very sharp players.

However, everything started to change around 2002 and in particular 2003 after Chris Moneymaker crashed onto the poker scene, taking down the biggest title in the world of poker along with a cash prize of three and a half million dollars! Here was this down-to-earth, run-of-the-mill style of player that defied all the odds in capturing the prize, so it’s no wonder that heaps of people decided to take a closer look at our great game!

And in what seemed like only over a few months, there were thousands of new players that began to play! Not only that, but it also brought back many of the older lads who used to play the game but had given it up, but upon seeing all the new money pouring into the game they decided to come back to the felt!

Ya know, without doubt I think it is fair to say that Moneymaker’s win injected so much life back in to the game that it turns out poker would never look back!

Of course it’s important also to mention that my good friend Bryan Watkins led that ’03 main event with only forty players remaining! It was only after a horrible beat combined with running into a couple of big hands when making a move did Bryan lose his lead, unfortunately getting knocked out with only twenty players remaining. Bryan is a great player and is a good friend, and even to this day we always think about what could have been for him!

That’s poker, my friends!

Anyway, in 2004 I was in great form and was able to win three seats for the main event. So after keeping my first seat and selling my other two things were looking good! A quick note; in ’02 or ’03, Binions changed the rule by making anyone who won a seat via satellite keep it and play it as opposed to recent years when you were given only a token or some chips and allowed to sell it!

As it turned out, the ’04 event started of very well for me and I was one of the chip leaders late in day one, I folded pocket Kings to Humberto Brenes on a ten high flop, with only he and I in a small blind / big blind scenario and let me tell ya, when I folded my Kings face up he jumped up out of his seat and showed me his pocket Aces in disbelief :-) What can I say, when you’re in the zone sometimes things seem very clear!

After a table change I ended up at the same table as Gus Hansen who was running soooooo sick and was out-drawing EVERYONE! In one particular heads-up hand against me his 97 off suit beat my beautiful pocket Aces; nasty, this crazy old game! And as faith would have it he knocked me out in the final level in day one on a Queen high flop, I had AQ but what did he have…pocket aces of course – just sick! I hit what I consider to be a perfect flop for my hand; I had raised preflop and he just called but as it turns out it was a great flop for him as well, because I hit my Queen, shoved and of course he called. Nasty! And I was off to the bar!

Fast forward now to 2007 and in a field of 2,998 players it would be my time. Indeed, it seemed that the Poker Gods collaborated and felt that Ciaran Big C O’ Leary had suffered enough and I was able to come out on top. It really was an incredible experience for many reasons; the bracelet, the title, being a world champion, the money, the satisfaction that I was able to validate what I had always believed - that I was capable of winning at biggest stage of all, the World Series of Poker!

Let me tell ya, it wasn’t easy! We played the first day for about fourteen hours and if I remember right I was in 47th place at the end of play. Then we played on day two for over eighteen hours to get down to the final table of nine. By this stage I was in sixth place with about 650,000 in chips with the leader Alex Jacob sitting very comfortable with over three million! By the time I got to bed it was 8am and I was exhausted.

I didn’t really have plan for the final table, I just decided to play it by ear. And as it turns out that this was all I could do, as I was completely card dead, I mean I’m talking rigor mortis here, and I can’t usually even spell the word ? Granted being card dead can sometimes that can be ok, as it can keep you out of trouble. However, given the fact that the blinds at this stage were extremely high, I was getting close to panic mode!

I can say that the big hand where I got VERY LUCKY was when I was forced to move in with pocket nines with only 210,000 in chips (the blinds were 15,000/30,000 with a 5,000 ante) and although I didn’t have a good feeling about the hand that my opponent had (Paul Evans), I felt that this is it. No sooner had I had my money in he said you’re not going to like it Ciaran, because I have Kings!

Now I’m 4/1 dog against his hand, so I’m going to need a lot of help! I missed the flop but somehow I came back from the dead on the turn when I spiked a nine :-) I know - I got lucky but what ya gonna do! After this hand momentum seemed to be sucked my way and I doubled up a couple of times and was on top of the leader board with only three players remaining. It was crazy, considering that we had started three long days ago with almost 3,000 players - at the time this was the biggest event in the history of poker outside of the ’05 –’06 main events. I ended up knocking Alex Jacob out with what many felt was the hand of the final table.

Paul Evans had the button and folded, I was in the small blind with 77 and rather raising I decide to just call and complete the bet. Alex had the option to raise but elected to just check. At this time I knew two things; he would not put me on a pair because I didn’t raise preflop, and the fact that he himself didn’t raise either ruled out him having a pair or even Ace or King high. I checked before the dealer turned over the flop (checked dark). The flop came A-4-2 with two clubs. Remember now - I’m not worried about the Ace.

Alex made a bet of 150,000 (almost pot) and I figured that he was trying to take it down there and then, so I raised it to 600,000, and after some thought… he called. So now bells start going off as to what he must have and I believed that it’s most likely a four. Here comes the turn, it is …a King. Now, again I’m not worried about him having a King either so I think if I move in he might put me on a bluff and if he has a four he may call! So that’s what I did, I went all in! Well he deliberated over it for what seemed like forever and eventually called…and sure enough he had a four with a nine kicker. The river was a blank and he was gone.

It only took me two hands to beat Paul and I was the champ. My winning hand was K-10! :-) I tell ya, I was wrecked tired for about ten days afterwards but I still get chills my friends as I write this today. As I said already it was just my time – it was meant to be, and I hope you too can someday have the same good fortune, possibly capturing one those coveted gold bracelets and a World Series of Poker title!