QUALIFIERS - Ed O'Brien

What's your home town?
Tampa, Fla.

How about your education?
I graduated from Villanova University with a degree in finance in 2002.

What's your marital status?
Single.

What do you do for a living?
Producer for a nationally syndicated financial radio talk show.

How long have you been playing poker?
I began playing poker shortly after graduating from college. I started off playing mostly Sit and Gos and transitioned to multi-table tourneys about two years ago. 

What or who inspired you to start playing?
I've always loved playing cards... from Gin Rummy to Spades to Crazy 8s and even War - but NL Holdem just grabbed a hold of me from the start. I think it’s mostly my competitive spirit that drives me to succeed. I'll go on amazing streaks where I'm running extremely hot and winning all my races, and then I'll go through one tough night and I'll just be livid. Being as competitive as I am, it’s difficult to accept that I can lose four out of five tourneys and be an amazing player. In MTT you really need accept the fact that you'll experience many more losses compared to your wins and I'm still adjusting to dealing with those losses with a better mindset. The mental battle between players is what I really love about poker and what has kept me fascinated with the game.

How long have you been playing at Bodog?
Last April I deposited $100 and won a $5 rebuy within the first few days for $900 which really helped me get started. I had an amazing first month and I was instantly hooked on Bodog. I like the smaller MTT fields that provide less variance. Variance in tournament poker is just ridiculous, especially when you are playing in fields of 1,000 or more, which is why I prefer field sizes from 100-500 people that Bodog is perfect for. 

Tell us about your best poker win...
Last May I won the Bodog $50K Guaranteed for $12K, which was a great win, but I think I'd have to say winning a seat to the World Series this year is probably the most rewarding. Over the last two years I think I've been the bubble boy for a $12K package six separate times, on one occasion blowing a 4-1 lead heads up. It was getting to the point that it was comical how close I would come over and over, and it’s a huge relief to have finally won myself a seat.

How did you win your seat?
It was a Saturday afternoon Main Event Satellite that I bought directly into for $270. I was fortunate that there were only 31 entries, providing a nice overlay. I came into the final nine with a nice lead but lost a monster pot along with way with A-Q vs. 5-5 on a Q-7-5 flop. Fortunately I was able to come into heads-up play pretty evenly stacked and caught a nice flop of K-J-J while holing K-J vs. my opponent's K-6 to end the tourney.

What do you think your chances are of winning the WSOP*?
Dan Harrington described tournament poker very well once. It takes a tremendous amount of luck, regardless of how good of a player you are, to do well in any tournament. If there are 6,000 people in the main event, it’s essentially like a 6,000 person raffle - except my skill would hopefully allow me to have five or six tickets to that raffle... so maybe 1/1,000 or 1/2,000.  Realistically I'm going into the tourney knowing that I'll have to get tremendously lucky to even cash, but I couldn't be more excited about playing in my first $10K event.

Who is your favorite poker player?
Daniel Negreanu is a tremendous player who has a great presence at the tables.  His ability to read players has always astounded me, and his aggressive style at the tables is one I try to replicate. In the poker world, where many players make a name for themselves with their attitude and table antics, Daniel always handles himself with class and his results do all the talking necessary.

What would you do if you won?
If I won the Main Event I would seriously consider moving to Las Vegas to pursue a poker career. I'd probably take a nice vacation for a month or two and buy a house, but beyond that I'd invest most of the winnings. I don't think you'd see me on “High Stakes Poker” the next year risking 1/10 of my winnings on one night of cards, but I'd definitely be playing plenty of the $10K events around the world.

What would your tagline be if you turned pro?
I don't think a tagline would really fit. We'll just go with Eddie O'Brien.

What single story best defines you and your life?
There's no way that one story defines me or my life, but if I had to choose it would be winning the 2008 WSOP* Main event… LOL. One story that may not define my life but definitely taught me something was when I was trapped in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. My father and I were there for business and we were fortunate to be staying at a big Sheraton Hotel - not one of the smaller French Quarter hotels. When everyone realized that New Orleans was going to get hit we tried to change our flight or rent a car but it was too late and everything was booked. We figured we'd just stay a couple of extra days, no big deal. The hotel brought everyone into the Main Ballroom during the hurricane and then we were stuck in our hotel for about three days before we were able to pay someone with a car to drive us out. We had been gambling so we were lucky that we had a bunch of cash on us, because all of the ATMs were down and people who had no cash were trying to trade their jewelry in exchange for a ride out. 

There was no running water or electricity but our hotel provided the local police with a base to work from (since their office was flooded) so our safety was never in question, and the hotel had generators they could use to circulate air occasionally and provide three meals a day. We were obviously very lucky compared with many of the other areas of New Orleans that experienced much worse flooding, but it was still a very traumatic experience. Most of the smaller French Quarter hotels had to close and kick their guests out because they just had no way to take care of them with no electricity and no water, as well as having to let their staff go. I remember seeing families with children and their bags walking the streets with no idea what to do next. The really messed up thing is that we were literally able to drive from our hotel lobby out of New Orleans once we found someone with a car, yet there were thousands of people stranded that the authorities claimed they could not evacuate. We had even found a boat that we could pay to pick us up but the Coast Guard had cut everything off. Police from neighboring counties began blocking off exits from New Orleans fearing that the rioting would spread. It was a pretty surreal experience to feel so helpless and stranded. 

It just showed me that when times get tough you really can't rely on anybody but yourself to get you out of a jam... even something as drastic as Hurricane Katrina. Things got worse in New Orleans before they got better, and a day after we found a way out there was an innocent man killed by police on the very bridge we drove out on. If we hadn't been so active in trying to find our own way out that could have been us on that bridge the next day. Waiting for someone else to help you in a tragedy like this, or in most aspects in life, is not always the only option and you should always be prepared to take care of yourself. 

How will you spend your time off in Vegas?
I have a few friends coming to Vegas with me, and I hope to meet up with some of the Bodog regulars that I play with on a nightly basis but have never met before. Nights in Vegas usually seem to run themselves once they get started. There are so many great clubs and bars that I expect we'll be doing a variety of things. One place I always like to head to while in Vegas is the Irish bar in NYNY, Nine Fine Irishman. Great live Irish music and beers and Captain and Coke... gotta love it!

What type of player are you?
I'm a fairly aggressive player, which I think is necessary to be successful in tournament poker. Each stage of the tournament requires a different skill set and a different mentality, which is what makes it so exciting. Anybody can be aggressive but what separates good from great is the ability to react to your opponents and play accordingly. Depending on the players at your table it can sometimes be correct to only raise hands that you will call an all-in with, whereas at other tables it may be correct to raise any two cards from late position. A lot of the table dynamics that go into tournament poker rely heavily on reading your opponents and capitalizing on their tendencies. The great benefit of playing aggressively is that not only are you able to steal the blinds and antes, but you are also much more likely to get action from the other opponents when you do pick up a prime hand.

Have you ever been to Vegas before? If so, any good stories?
I've been to Vegas many times, and although it’s always a great time with practically no sleep, there's no one story that sticks out in my mind. I usually gamble till 8 p.m., go out with friends till 4 a.m., gamble till 10 a.m., eat a big brunch, sleep till 4 p.m. and then do it all again. If I lived in Vegas I think my sleep schedule would just be insane.