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Steve O'Dwyer: I still want to win more, there are never too many trophies
How are you enjoying this year's EPT Prague? Did you play anything else here besides the Main Event?
"I played all the High Roller tournaments, unfortunately unsuccessfully. So now I would need a good result. So far so good (ed. Steve finished 19th in the European Championship for €36,780)"
Can you concentrate 100% after those unsuccessful High Rollers?
"Oh yes. EPT Main Events are very special for me, I love them. Regardless of the buy-in, I always try to play them to the best of my ability. I've been at the top of the PS Live All Time Money List for a while now, and I'd like to keep it up."
The EPT seems to hold a really special place in your heart.
"Yeah, definitely. In my opinion, it's one of the best organised festivals in the world. It has a long history of almost twenty years. I love the people here and all the venues where the EPT takes place. Triton is similarly special for me, those are two tournaments I never want to miss."
Speaking of those venues, when you travel for poker, do you take the time to check out those locations a little bit as well?
"Yes, I always try to find one. But not this time. I've been to Prague for every EPT since 2011, except for last March, because of the covid. I've spent a lot of time in this poker room, I've spent months in total in this hotel. Every December. There are other big tournaments around that time, but I never even think about it and I always come to Prague."
Do you prefer playing these big Main Events or High Rollers?
"I like both. I often play the High Rollers with my friends and that's what I enjoy, even when the stakes are high. I also put pressure on myself in the Main Event, but it's more relaxed. These events are long and you always want to fight it out to the end. I think this is the first time in about 10 years that I've been this deep in the Main Event in Prague. I won EPT Monaco in 2013, and I don't think I've been in Day 4 at all since then. It's exciting for me to play here. One day I'd like to be one of those few players who can say they've won the EPT Main Event twice. My friend Mike Watson won his second one this year and I'd love to join him."
In an interview you said you were an introvert. But now you say you like playing High Rollers because you play them with friends. Does that mean you're sociable at the table?
"It's different. It's different when I'm playing Triton, where I basically know everybody. The community of people who play Triton events is pretty small, about 60-70 players play it every time. I've known those people for about 10-15 years."
How long have you actually been playing poker?
"This month is my 20th anniversary. I played poker for the first time in December 2003. I started playing live poker in 2007, and some of the players I met then still play with me. Like the aforementioned Mike Watson, I first met him at the table in about 2009, which is a really long time. So I'm really relaxed with players like that on the table, and I'm not introverted then. But when I'm playing, for example, a Main Event like this at a table where I don't know anybody, that's when I'm 100 percent focused and I don't converse."
People tend to take stock on anniversaries. Do you think about it these days?
"Now about ten minutes ago I was like wow, I've been playing for 20 years, that's crazy. I've had it in my head for the last few days. Before I started playing in 2003, I watched poker on TV for a few months. And then I signed up for Pokerstars in December 2003, where I had my very first account."
What's the most valuable title you've personally won during your career?
"Before that I always said the EPT Monte Carlo, but since I won the Irish Open it's impossible for me to choose. That was very special and personal to me, I have Irish citizenship and my grandmother spent a lot of time with me for the first 15 years of my life. Then there's the fact that the Irish Open is the second oldest tournament in the world, after the WSOP. It's really special for me to win a tournament with such a long history. It's as old as I am. It's not a High Stakes itself, so it's not attractive enough for a lot of people. But for me, with my Irish heritage and interest in poker history, it's special. Plus, it's definitely the most fun tournament I've ever played. Until you've been there, it's impossible to understand. I highly recommend it."
The Irish are generally known to be a nation that likes to have fun. So are they specific about that at the table as well?
"There's a very relaxed atmosphere, they talk a lot, a lot of 'trash talking', but well-meaning. People have fun there. A lot of people are drinking, it's just all more relaxed."
You've had a lot of wins this year, how would you sum it up like that towards the end?
"For me to be honest this year has been a bit disappointing, I've cashed quite a bit. But I want to win a Main Event every year and I didn't manage to do that this year. I won two High Rollers where there was a pretty small field of players. One of them was a Triton, which I'm sure is special, but it wasn't a Triton Main Event. I always want to win more, there are never too many trophies. I won two Main Events last year. I won the Irish Open and the Party Poker Main Event in the Bahamas, that was great."
I've read that you're not motivated by money in poker.
"Of course I need the money. But I would still play poker if the biggest tournaments were for 500. I would play any limits because I love the game. Fortunately, I can play high limits. But I like to play anything. This summer, while everyone was in Vegas for the WSOP Main Event, I was playing for play money in Japan at my friend's poker room in Tokyo, just for the sake of the game's promos. And I took it just as seriously as I would have played anything else. I love the game, I love competing. It's great that I can play High Stakes, but even if I couldn't, I'd still play."
Do you have a routine that you follow alongside playing to keep yourself mentally and physically fit?
"Some people have, I don't. Yeah, a lot of players do yoga, run 5 miles... I just get up, have a coffee. Sometimes I go for a swim. I don't eat a lot during the game, then I'm tired. But no meditation and stuff like that."
Do you have a favourite poker site?
"That's pretty hard to pick. I like Monte Carlo. I always get up there and feel great. The resort there is very nice, as well as the poker room. All the EPT stops are great, but Monte Carlo makes me feel really good. Triton Montenegro is also great, it's beautiful there. Small resort, but very good food, nice beach. Triton in Vietnam was also great this year, it's a brand new resort, the people were great and friendly, also the food is very good. My least favorite is probably London. I've been very successful there, but I don't like that city. It's too crowded and dirty."
If my information is correct, you are the highest ranked player on the All Time Money List who is still missing a bracelet.
"It's hard to win a bracelet when I haven't played the WSOP in years. I stopped going to the WSOP for the whole summer ten years ago, and eventually I stopped enjoying the Main Events. The last one I played was in 2016. I don't like the WSOP brand, it's always crowded there in my opinion, it's stressful for me to play. You often spend a lot of time in taxis and moving to the poker room. I like places like this where if I have a break, I'm in the room in 20 seconds. It was also hard for me in Ireland last year when I had to drive an hour to the casino."
Would you reveal some of your private life to us? What do you like to do in your spare time?
"I play video games, watch a lot of TV, YouTube. I have a fiancée, we're getting married next year. When I'm not playing poker, we do whatever she wants. We like to travel, we spend a lot of time in Japan, for example."
Final question, what are your next poker plans?
"Next month I'm going to play an event that my friends from Triton started just last year. They've called the festival Poker Dream and it's supposed to be something similar only lower down, for people who can't afford Triton but would like to experience it too. So I'll be playing a few events there in Majalsia. They will also have a stop in Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan. It's a lot of fun and it's being done in nice places. And then I've got the EPT in Paris and the next Triton, which will be in Korea."