1 - WHO ARE YOU? Paul McCarthy
2 - POST A PICTURE OF YOURSELF OR A LINK TO ONE (APAT OR OTHER)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/smileriraq/sets/72157594436289195/3 - WHERE DO YOU COME FROM? Cwmbran/Newport S Wales
4 - TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF?mid 30s married one kid , Used to play american football now coach it for kids. Also play basketball , started poker as a means to have a hobby that didnt require physical prowess to excel as while the spirit is willing to run around like a maniac on the field the body is starting to get a bit pissed off about it.
Love to travel and have been around the world a fair bit highlights being a 2 month backpack round OZ
5 - WHAT IS YOUR POKER BACKGROUND? Learnt to play in 2004 when a member of my platoon taught us to play with worthless iraqi coins. Came back only to find that whilst I had been away all my mates had gotten into the poker craze, slowly learnt the nuances of the game but was wary of becoming a "gambling addict" , paid in £10 a month to an online account when it was gone i didnt play for the rest of the month after the 3rd month I posted a profit and have been playing with my winnings ever since
6 - WHAT IS YOUR PLAYING STYLE? started of with Tight/aggressive but as I learnt more and more i like to think ive become more adaptable depending on the table
7 - WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE POKER PLAYER AND WHY? like negranu tho starting to think he is becoming a bit of a poker snob as he is very dismissive of the holdem now its boomed, still like him tho also barry greenstein for his charity work
8 - WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ONLINE POKER SITE AND WHAT IS YOUR POKER ID THERE? blondepoker - smileriraq2
9 - WHAT ARE YOUR POKER ACHIEVEMENTS? Won a poker player magazine freeroll which qualified me to go to a final 12 table where I managed to come a respectable 5th, also played in one live tournament in cardiff where I came 4th. Also whilst i only play low stake SNG and cash games most months I post a profit (anywhere between $15 and $90) and my worst ever month I was only $9 down for the month
10 - WHAT DO YOU DISLIKE ABOUT LIVE POKER CURRENTLY, THAT YOU WOULD CHANGE? I dont get much opportunity to play live but I cant stand the poker wannabes wearing shades, hoodies and ipods etc in a £5 sit n go or even in a freeroll pub tournament
11 - HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT APAT? Darren Shallis (Newportlad) and Steve Roderick who play at a much higher level than i do but I like to test myself against them and I do ok
12 -WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT APAT TOURNAMENTS, STANDARD OF PLAY AND STRUCTURE? never been so cant comment
13 - HAVE YOU PLAYED AT AN APAT LIVE EVENT AND IF SO, WHAT WAS MOST MEMORABLE ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE? Ive heard its good but finding the time and justifying the buy in is difficult (mainly the former)
14 - WHAT ARE YOUR MAIN INTERESTS OUTSIDE OF POKER? US Football (playing and coaching) Basketball , Territorial Army , My wife and son Im a HUGE CHICAGO BEARS FAN
15 - WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK OR FILM?Way WAY too many to mention but currently 28 Weeks later/knocked up for films and any book written by David Gemmell.
Poker Books i reccomend - Harrington on Holdem Trilogy / Read em n Reap Jo Navarro (excellent book on poker body language which Ive found very useful im my admittedly limited live career )
16 - WHAT THREE MUSIC ALBUMS WOULD YOU TAKE TO A DESERT ISLAND WITH YOU?
Green Day - American Idiot
Muse - Black Holes n Revelations
Jon Bon Jovi - Destination Anywhere
17 - FINALLY, WHAT MESSAGE WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEAVE FOR YOUR FELLOW APAT MEMBERS?
At the end of the day its only a game and if you cant accept losing/bad beat then your playing at too high a level but over a period of time the cards will fall your way