MBSOP Exclusive Interview with Mick Doyle
Q1. Thanks very much for taking the time to answer a few questions for the blog http://thegmanworld.blogspot.com/ Mick. Have you ever had to do any interviews before?
No problem Gary it’s my pleasure. I have only had to do one previous interview in my career. That was the opening night of the MBSOP when I managed to take down my first bracelet. I was extremely nervous as it was a live interview which can now be seen on our MBSOP channel. I prefer this kind of intimate interview though.
Q2. With 4 bracelets/wins already notched up, how happy are you with your progress so far?
I am quite pleased with how things are progressing so far but even so you always still have that feeling that you let one or two more slip away. Like last fridays game I was actually the first player out and it was really my fault. I ended up having a flush draw, an inside straight draw and 2 overcards to richies pocket 9’s on the turn. I had a feeling richie had a middle pair but i was afraid to fire a third bullet on the end and go all-in. richie admitted he probably would have had to fold if I did but I chickened out and it cost me a huge stack of chips. Having said that my game is good at the moment and I actually won my first tournament in the casino just last night so happy days.
Q3. Do you think you have what it takes to go all the way and be crowned the first ever Main Boys Series of Poker Champion?
I seriously hope so gary and I do think I have the game to do it but the opposition is very tough and getting tougher by the week as everyone gains more experience. Richie is playing some cracking stuff and paul creane is really running into form now to. Also a few of the players have been really unfortunate so far and a first bracelet is certainly not far away for people like Owen Robinson, Ruairi O’ Leary and Tony Duggan.
Q4. With a lot of heavy hitters underperforming/starting slowly and with the exception of current leader Richie Thomas, are you surprised at how many wins ahead of the pack you already find yourself?
I am a little surprised alright but we are not even at the half way stage yet and like I said previously there will certainly be a few new bracelet winners in the coming weeks. You need the luck to go for you too and some people just having been getting their fair share while I have had mine at times but as they say that’s poker folks
Q5. You may not have been one of the favourites going into the tournament but your game has risen in leaps and bounds within a relatively short time-frame. Are you happy with how your game is progressing?
I am very pleased with how I am developing as a player. I spend a lot of time reading poker books and watching strategy videos online which i feel is improving my game dramatically. Also I have recently starting playing in the casinos which has given me coonfidence too. I could still improve a lot in online cash games though and I am focusing a lot of attention on that at the minute trying to address the problem
Q6. From a spectators point of view, have you noticed any personal rivalries developing over the weeks?
Ah there is a few friendly rivalries as you would expect. Myself and Richie I suppose have a bit of a rivalry going as we are out front at the minute but it’s a rivalry with a great deal of respect too. Paul Stafford has a rivalry with everyone as he gets very aggresive at the table and thinks everybody is out to get him. Between me and you I think he is a paranoid person. Also myself and Emma have a bit of history going to back to me bluffing her off a hand with the worst hand in poker 72 off-suit and then repeating the dose a few weeks later to get her off an even bigger hand for a very large pot. She hasn’t forgivven me for that!
Q7. A new MBSOP table has added a touch of class to the proceedings. The tournament was not rated internationally back in January but do you think, given another few years, that some of the worlds big players could soon want a part of the action?
I think the new table will certainly help attract some of the worlds top players eventually but we need to build bit by bit. At the minute our prize pool is not quite strong enough to attract the likes of Dwan, Negreanu or Ivey but I think given time we might be able to make MBSOP a serious national event and then maybe we can hit the world stage after that
Q8. The walking talking ego that is Paul Creane has just taken a second bracelet. Do you think it was just the law of averages or do you see him as a genuine threat?
A bit harsh maybe?? LOL He is beside me now as we speak winning another sit and go online. No Paul is a great player. No disrespect to any of the lads but probably the player I look up to most in the MBSOP. He was the person who really encouraged me early in my career and gave me a lot of tips to help me get started. And as a threat he is a major one. He is in some serious form at the minute too winning games left right and centre.
Q9. Current leader Richie Thomas has raised a few eyebrows and some MBSOP players have described him as, but please do not quote me word for word on this one Michael, a “lucky, jammy bastard”. Would you agree?
LOL. I don’t where you heard that one Gar but I can’t agree with that. Five time bracelet winner speaks for itself. Richie is a bit looser with the hands he plays because he is a very good player after the flop. That is a great strength in his game and one of the main reasons why he is doing so well.
Q10. Do you like fishsticks?
Are they the same as fish fingers if they are I love them
Q11. What are you?Some kind of gay fish?
?????????
(Mick obviously has not seen the new Kanye West episode of South Park)
Q12. Has the new celebrity status changed your lifestyle in anyway?Does it get to you sometimes?
Not at all it’s nice when people notice you as mick doyle the poker player rather than mick doyle the unemployed, short bald guy with no girlfriend. I hope to pull some broad soon and I am hoping my poker will help and if not my poker earnings can buy me some woman love (wink wink amsterdam)
Q13. You have a tendency to “retire” your mobile phone/laptop/various electronic equipment at a whim. Like Wayne Rooney, do you feel that if you ironed out these reactions it would affect your overall game?
I have been known to lose my temper at time alright gary lol. you didn’t even mention the firing of a remote control at a liverpool fan when chelsea beat us in the cup final a few years back or of a full pint at the wall in bradys when ashley coles penalty went in in the shoot-out in last years champions league final lol. But in all seriousness at the poker table I have learned to keep my temper in check most of the time. Obviously some times after a bad beat you might tilt for a while but usually I am able to control my emotions at the table
Q14. Is Goose actually crazy?
100% nuts Gary. I can’t even begin to tell you some of the things to back it up but some that spring to mind are the batgoose video(check youtube), getting his penis out whilst standing on the kitchen table new years eve and the legendary goose freak-out during an MBSOP game a few months back(I will let him tell you about that if he gets an interview off yourself lol)
Q15. What venue has brought you the most luck?
Well most of our games now take place in my house on the new MBSOP table and I have won quite a few games here recently so probably here
Q16. What drives you on in head to heads? How do you keep your cool? How Mick how?Pray tell…
Heads up is a part of the game I enjoy most of all. It’s a totlally different animal to playing at a full table. I like to try and keep the pots small, see flops and try and take hands down that way. you have to mix your game up and bluffing is a crucial aspect. you obviously want to raise your good hands but knowing when to limp in and catch your opponent in a trap is a crucial skill. I love it!
Q17. Name your top 5 artists that you like to play cards to?
A tough question gary but i would have to say in no particular order
Tom Waits
Bruce Springsteen
Mick Flannery
Modest Mouse
Jimmi Hendrix
Q. So…………………………………………….all in?
All-In pocket high flush