PokerNews caught up with traveling Tournament Director and poker player Mike Murphy, better known as "Murph", to learn more about his poker background.
"So my dad was the youngest of 10, and we would go back to Cincinnati to visit family, and they had a big card game, literally on the kitchen table. It was a penny ante game that everybody played, and the kids were allowed to play on the rule that you had to use your own money. So my dad at about five years old, taught me how to play poker. He said, go get your piggy bank and come out and I'll teach you to play so you can play in the game. And in the course of about one hour, he took every penny I had from my piggy bank, and I said great, can I have my money back? And he said, no, that's how poker works. Now you understand. And while he probably snuck it back in at night, that was my introduction to poker."
Although Murph is widely known across the poker community as an accomplished Tournament Director, working with both RunGood and the WSOP, he is a fierce competitor on the felt when he swaps his suit for a hoodie.
"Well, first of all, it's kind of you to say that I'm a good poker player. I like to think I'm a pretty good TD, but poker, as everyone knows, is a constant learning process and you're always trying to get better. I've had some success in the last 5 or 6 months, so that's always nice."
"I've had some RunGood stops I've got to play, which is nice because I work so many of them. Obviously when I'm working, I don't get to play them. So it is always enjoyable to be able to come to the RunGood stops. Something that Tana does a very good job of is making the stops enjoyable. Poker's a social game and should be fun, and it's nice to see these stops are fun for everybody. When I'm working, I try to help with that as well. So I'm glad to be able to come and get to enjoy them on the other side as well."
Back in October, Murph took down the $250 NLH 6-Max Ring Event at the RunGood Grand Prix New Orleans for $5,772 and the RGPS ring. When asked about what the ring mean to him, he explained:
"Well, it was very enjoyable to be there playing. I was very proud to win a ring. It's nice because I see all these other wonderful people that come out. We get to see them on a regular basis traveling our circuit stops and winning these rings and to win one myself was a real pleasure and a real joy. It was the six-max tournament, which can be a tougher one. I got a little run good, to be quite honest, and it worked out well."
In regard to whether or not working as a tournament director has helped his poker game, Murph mentioned that it has indeed been beneficial.
"I think it's important for one, the players to know the rules, and two, I'm very lucky that while we stay busy as a tournament director, at the same time, there are points where we can watch the game and get to see some really great players playing and hopefully pick up a little bit of knowledge from that as well. Not to mention some of the conversations, because I travel so much, I get to talk to a lot of these players and get into some good conversations about strategy."
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