I wanted to shine a light on one of our most loved players on the Irish Poker Tour Colette “Smurf” Murphy.

 

If you’ve played any stop, you already know Smurf. She brings the craic, the stories, and the kind of energy that makes live poker what it’s all about. She’s also been a huge supporter of me personally and always shows up for my women’s events, which means a lot.

 

I asked Colette a few questions and, as expected, the answers didn’t disappoint…

 

What’s your worst poker habit? 😅

Colette admits she can sometimes get a bit too fancy, overthinking spots, trying to outplay opponents when the simple option might be best. And of course, she’ll be the first to say she can get a bit chatty at the table… sometimes realising a bit too late when her chips have disappeared.

 

What’s the craziest poker moment you’ve been involved in? 👀

Her Vegas 2023 story says it all. After winning a package to play the WPT Main Event at the Wynn, things didn’t quite go to plan, so she jumped into the Ladies Championship.

 

What followed was chaos. Sitting beside a player with an emotional support Husky (yes, really), dealing with cameras at the table, getting a penalty for language, being offered “shrooms” mid-session, and trying to hold it all together while just wanting a Long Island Iced Tea to survive the madness.

 

Eventually, after all that, she got it in with AQ suited and ran into pocket 8s and that was that. Not your standard tournament experience.

 

If you could pick one IPT stop to win, which one is it and why? ❤️

For Colette, it’s Donegal. Her roots are there, and it’s where her love of cards really began. Watching family games growing up, she finally got her chance to play only to learn a very quick (and expensive!) lesson and end up back watching TV with the rest of the teenagers.

 

It’s those kinds of stories that make poker more than just a game.

 

That’s Colette full of personality, always great for the table, and a big part of what makes the IPT community so special.

 

As for me… I’m not long back from Spain 🇪🇸 I went over to play in the Pokerstars Open Malaga to take on the Women’s Event which ran in the Casino Torrequebrada. I end up placing 5th for €670 in the Women’s Event and in the Last Chance Deepstack placing 34th for €1,150. It felt great getting back to the felt, testing myself, and soaking up the atmosphere as there is always something special about playing these international events.

 

Next stop for me is Sligo €20K In A Day on the Saturday 11th July in the Adelaide Casino. Since it’s my birthday weekend I’m making a weekend of it visiting Sligo and I’m excited to get back to one of the Irish Poker Tour Stops 🫶

 

 

My own Women’s Event later on this year will be running on Friday 16th October in the Gleneagle Arena as part of the Killarney Festival 2026. The full festival runs from Tuesday, October 13th through to Sunday, October 18th, with a massive €750,000+ guaranteed across the series.

 

 

It’s always an incredible week with great poker, great people, and of course plenty of craic.

I’d absolutely love to see as many of you there as possible for the women’s event… let’s make it a special one.

 

Tanya

Queen of the Felt 💜