Interview: Poker ace Eoghan O'Dea on his World Series success

WHERE WERE YOU at 26? You may have been emerging from college or slogging away for minimum wage in your first job.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, 26-year-old Irish poker player Eoghan O’Dea had the best moment of his professional career.

The young man from Dalkey, Co Dublin won himself a place in the final of the World Series of Poker.  He’s guaranteed at least $782,115 and the overall champion will pocket a tidy $8,711,956.

O’Dea stayed ahead of the pack throughout the final days and soared into the final nine, finishing second with over 33 million in chips.

I speak to O’Dea at around 2am Las Vegas time – he is set to fly home in the next few hours. Over the crackling phone connection he sounds exhausted but very calm. He hasn’t slept properly in days but there is no sense of urgency in his voice; he laughs wearily at first while we make small talk.

ESPN has described O’Dea as “About as cool as they come.”

He has been playing poker since he was 16. He describes how he used to play poker for pounds with his friends in Riverview Tennis Club.  At 17 he lied about his age so he could play in casino tournaments and online. His poker career may have started dishonestly, but it started well. He won the first tournament he entered “I think I won £1,700, ” he tells me, giggling.

This might seem like a lot of money to most of us but not for the guy who has his sights on nearly $9million.

Pedigree

O’Dea has poker blood running through his veins; his Dad is accomplished Irish player Donnacha O’Dea. Eoghan says that he probably wouldn’t have got into the game if it wasn’t for his Dad. However his father didn’t encourage him to become a professional. “He didn’t say much when I started, my Mum wasn’t too happy. I’d say he was happy but he didn’t want to say either way. My Dad couldn’t say he wanted me to do it, it’s not a good career choice but he didn’t say not to do it either, he let me decide.”

What mother wouldn’t be worried if her 17-year-old son decided he was going to become a professional gambler instead of going to college? He admits that choosing not to attend college was tough: “I missed out on good fun, if you get a degree it can be interesting and useful for the future but I don’t have any regrets.”

They call Donnacha O’Dea ‘The Don’ in poker circles, his son however swears that he doesn’t have a poker nickname.

He was called ‘the silent lamb’ in Vegas this year however, though he doesn’t think that will catch on. A couple of years back when a few of his friends started trying to play professionally, they called him ‘The Captain’.

“I was ahead of them at the time but things have evened out now – we’re all on an even footing.  I have seven or eight friends who play professionally,” he comments modestly.

Since he was 17 things seemed to have gone O’Dea’s way.  He’s reported to have won over a million in prize money; he also owns his own home and car.

This year however, has been a tough one for O’Dea. “I thought this year was going to be my worst year ever, I was losing a lot of money – the games got really tough.” He assesses why he thinks Vegas went so well for him this year, it was because he cut out boozing. “I only went out drinking twice which is a lot less than usual. I went to the gym most days and tried really hard which kind of paid off.”

Las Vegas is obviously a playground for any 26-year-old and O’Dea is no exception.

“It’s a bad place and obviously with the World Series you need to take it seriously but in this city it can be so easy to have crazy nights out.” The main event of the World Series last year didn’t quite go to plan for him. O’Dea explains that he went out drinking the night before and busted out of the tournament fairly quickly. “It wasn’t great playing hungover and with $10,000 of your own money,” he says casually.

So what would a 26-year-old do with $8.7 million? O’Dea is adamant that no matter how much he wins he’ll never quit.

“What would I do? I want to be on the go and I don’t want to put my feet up or go out drinking. I want to be working. I don’t see myself ever retiring, even when I’m 60 I’ll always want to play a lot.”

“It’s only first that counts.”

His ambitions as far as spending were surprisingly frugal. He toys with the idea of getting a new car if he wins, maybe an Audi Spider. Mostly he wouldn’t mind getting a new wardrobe “I’m tight when I go shopping, I might get nicer clothes, most of poker players are pretty conservative.”  What about girls I ask, will he be ladies man now? While laughing he spoke about how he’s already had some interest.

“I got a few Facebook emails from random American girls asking me if I’m still in Vegas and saying they saw me on TV. I didn’t write back. Some girls are obviously like that. I have never had a serious relationship with anyone, I wouldn’t dive into anything.  I think poker players are selfish, they are always looking to play.” I asked if poker is his only priority at the moment “Yes” he answers firmly, without pausing to think about it.

The ‘November Nine’ will lock horns again at the final table in Las Vegas. O’Dea tells me he doesn’t have many plans between now and then. He’ll play a bit of tennis and then start preparing in September by playing more poker and studying tapes of his competitors.  Obviously luck has a huge part to play in this game and O’Dea doesn’t deny that. “People say it’s 80% luck 20% skill and that’s probably right. We all have 80% luck but I don’t really believe in luck really. I think it evens out your whole life, it always comes around.”

Getting to the final table was such an unbelievable achievement, I wonder will O’Dea mind if he doesn’t go all the way? “In poker, if you come second – I’ve come second twice in big tournaments and you still feel gutted. At the time even though it’s a big pay day, you feel like a loser…” he trails off for a moment “It’s only first that counts.”

It sounds like ‘The Captain’ is back.

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