Andew Black on 8 million and on last table of Poker World Series

international | miscellaneous | news report Friday July 15, 2005 14:55 by Joe

You don't get many sport stories on indymedia but is poker a sport

Ex student activists from the late 1980's might remember the name of TCD student and general trouble maker Andrew Black. Well tonight he is on the last table of the Los Vegas 'World Poker Series' with some 8 million dollars in chips sitting in front of him. This puts him at a real chance of winning as the table leader is only on 10 million. The prize money if over 2 million but getting to the last table will gurantee him at least 300,000.

Andrew will be remembered by other indymedia readers who were active in that period as a bit of a nuttier who spent quite a while going around with half a beard on one side of his face. He was one of the ring leaders of 'the collective' a loose libertarian grouping of students who stoked up the heat on a few USI marches, and occupied Fianna Fail and the National Art Gallery (Haughey was opening something or the other).

Those who took part in the 3 week 1987 occupation of the Accommodation building in TCD will remember the debate towards the end of it when Andrew argued that we should keep escalating our demands (the college had agreed to the inital set) and never leave.

He has been in the poker World Series the last few years after a spell as a Buddist. The World series is basically a huge winner takes all elimination game of 'Texas Hold Em'. The inital entry is 10,000 (which many players raise by playing a pre-winner takes all of 10 players with a stake of a grand each).

Each initial table of 10 is played until one person has all the chips and that person then moves onto a table where each of the 9 players has won their table. Then the winner of that table moves up in turn until only one table it left.

Play resumes at midnight Irish time you can catch up with key hands and hear an interview with Andrew (which will confirm the story to those of you going - it can't be) at