We’ve arrived in Punta del Este full of optimism after two dismal showings in Vegas and Australia. Although the LAPT event in Uruguay is the smallest tournament we’re playing with a buy-in of only $3,500 and an expected field of around 300, it should also be the easiest to win as not many top pros will make the long trip when there are other major tournaments nearer home. At least that’s the plan!

I’ve done a little research into Uruguay. Before the trip, the only thing I knew about the country was that they won the inaugural World Cup in 1930 (and won it again in 1950). If you can believe Wiki it’s one of the most affluent countries in South America and the least corrupt. This came as good news, my only other experience of Latin America being Mexico City where all the shops have armed guards outside! Over half the country’s three million people live in the capital Montevideo and the main economic activity is agriculture. When you fly over you can see why. It’s green and flat with lots of rivers!

The last week has been fraught as Pokerstars, the online poker site that organises the LAPT (as well as the European Poker tour, the Asian Poker tour and now the newly established North American Poker tour) insist we buy-in in advance through them. This involves wiring money to their German bank account which means going to the bank with all the related hassle. When I went to wire the money from my branch of Lloyds TSB they asked me what it was for. Of course, with my background I’m aware of the increasingly rigorous money laundering regulations imposed on the banks but it still irks me that they want to know what I’m doing with my own money (well, Withnail’s money!). Nevertheless I answered like a good boy and told them that it was to buy in to a poker tournament. “Can you prove that?” they asked. “WHAT?” Because the amount was over £10,000 they required documentary evidence. I went ballistic. The banking system’s gone nuts but that’s another story. The upshot was that I could buy in for only two of us and we were travelling 7,000 miles in the hope that we could find a hotel room for The Coach and persuade Pokerstars to allow our third team member to buy in directly.

So it’s a relief to be knocking back a couple of beers on the eve of the tournament with three of us housed for the week and safely bought in! We’re sat outside by the pool despite the most impressive torrential rain I’ve ever seen. The barman tells us this is why the steak tastes so good in Uruguay, because it rains so much.

The Coach is in confident mood and eager to avenge his disappointments in Bellagio’s and the Aussie Millions. He was going really well in both before hitting a brick wall. And there’s nothing he likes better than a soft field.

I’m pleased that my good friend Neil Channing has agreed to come down to Uruguay. I’ve known Neil for nearly 15 years and no-one has experienced more of a rollercoaster ride than the true gambler’s life that he’s led since leaving school. I first met him in one of the troughs. At his peak he owned a string of bookmakers’ pitches spread across the country’s top racecourses. He was the bookies’ bookie and was mates with Victor Chandler and Barry Dennis (if you see Neil ask him his Barry Dennis story). He was full of legendary stories of triumphs and disasters. Unfortunately the disasters triumphed and he was forced to sell his pitches at fire-sale prices (the advent of Betfair had dramatically reduced their value) to pay off his debts. He had to start all over again and after a couple of years Neil had reinvented himself as a professional poker player. I think he learned about discipline from his years as an on-course bookie and this provided him with a firm grounding in his new trade. He’s now one of the UK’s most successful pros and is one of the few players to succeed consistently in both forms of the game (tournaments and cash). He has most recently set up his own business, Blackbeltpoker.com. If you want to play online it’s a great place to start as they offer training and friendly blogs with lots of advice.

One of the great things about travelling with Neil is that no effort is required. You can just sit and download. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of everything he takes an interest in and you can just start him off and listen to him for hours. It’s great!

Let’s hope we can get three of us through to Day 2.

Withnail