The philosopher, Alain de Botton, once said, in his fabulous little pocket book Relationships, that ‘we may believe we are seeking happiness in love, but what we are really after is familiarity.’
All of which means, if you are one of the best poker players in the world, it’s not a bad strategy to fall in love with someone of the same ilk – advice put into practice by four high rollers stalking the halls of the L.A Poker Classic.
Sweethearts Rainer Kempe and Maria Ho have taken down both $25,000 buy-in High Roller events at the Commerce Casino. Kempe was the first couple crusher after conquering a field of 27-entrants to win the $270,905 first prize, including Josh Gordon in heads-up action.
Kempe, who is ranked #4 in the Global Poker Index (GPI) has had a ridiculous start to 2019, winning the $50,000 Super High Roller and $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo events at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), and the AUD 25,000 Challenge at the Aussie Millions.
The 2018 GPI Player of the Year for Germany has now won 16 live tournaments and amassed close to $20m in career-earnings.
The second $25,000 High Roller attracted 28-entrants, and the top two female players in the GPI, Kristen Bicknell and Maria Ho, battled it out for the title, railed by boyfriends Alex Foxen and that man Kempe.
At the end of a competitive tussle the title went to Ho, who captured the $276,000 first prize on her birthday; her second most significant score behind the half a million Ho banked for finishing runner-up to Allen Bari in a $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em event at the 2011 World Series of Poker (WSOP).
It’s not the first time the tag team of Kempe and Ho has waltzed out of an event with a bag full of silverware. In October, Ho conquered a field of 387-entrants to win the $69,166 first prize in the ZAR 13,500 WPTDeepStacks Main Event in Johannesburg, and Kempe won the two high roller competitions for a combined haul of $100,000.
ITM Results
1. Rainer Kempe – $270,905
2. Joshua Gordon – $180,600
3. Jeremy Ausmus – $127,320
4. Ali Imsirovic – $96,040
ITM Results
1. Maria Ho – $276,690
2. Kristen Bicknell – $180,070
3. Sean Winter – $117,190
4. Tamon Nakamura – $76,270
5. Manig Loeser – $49,640
Category: My news, views and fun facts
Steffen Sontheimer would make an excellent swimmer. The length. The grace. Or perhaps, a tennis player. Yeah, I can see him sending 100 mph serves down the middle of Centre Court at Wimbledon.
But he chose poker.
An inspired choice.
He’s bloody good at it.
In 2018, Sontheimer won the inaugural Poker Masters, and at the time, Daniel Negreanu told the world that Sontheimer was the best. The Americans gave him a purple jacket. It’s in his mother’s wardrobe next to her scarves, dresses and unloved bony looking hangers.
“I like trophies,” says Sontheimer, “I have a couple next to my working spot in Vienna. I like looking at them when I am working. It’s inspiring.”
The last trophy Sontheimer won was in November 2018 when he took down the $250,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller Championship at the partypoker Carribean Adventure in the Bahamas, but it wasn’t his first.
“When I was a kid I loved table tennis and running,” Sontheimer tells me. “I won a tournament in table tennis, and I remember that felt great. Athletics was different; we won medals and not trophies. But I did win an 8km race called The Midnight Run. It was my first running trophy, and I still have it around here somewhere.”
Here somewhere is in his mother’s house. Sontheimer lives in Vienna, Austria. If Kim Jong-un ever decided to use the gaff for a spot of nuclear war target practice, then the poker community would lose most of the best players.
Apart from the fact that every woman is beautiful, and that Ultravox once sang a song about the place, what makes Vienna so unique?
“When living in Europe, the two things you need to consider are whether poker is legal, and the tax situation,” says Sontheimer. “So, for the German players at least, it’s either England or Austria. I lived in Brighton, England, but decided after two years that it wasn’t for me. Some so many guys play online and live who live in Vienna. We have a Skype group with more than a hundred people. I believe Vienna got into one of those Greatest Cities to Live in the World lists. It’s a great place.”
Back to that $250,000 trophy, and it’s worth noting that, cup aside, the records book show that Sontheimer won $3,685,000, a tad more than he would have picked up for winning that table tennis tournament. I imagine it ranks as a career-high alongside his Poker Masters triumph.
“It’s doesn’t rank that highly,” says Sontheimer. “It was just one of those small field tournaments that I won. Obviously, there is this big number, and it felt great because only my friends had action. It was a tough tournament, and tough to sell to big investors. I like to sell to one or two parties to make things easier. This was the one where everyone had 1%, and it feels good to go to people and say ‘hey take your $30k, and you take your $30k’. It feels so much different than sending a weird amount of whatever portion of millions to a party I have never seen.
“The two years I grinded Supernova Elite, that was an accomplishment. I had to put a lot of effort in at that time. I was happy about the first tournament I ever won in Velden. Honestly, throughout the years it’s whenever I play on the stream and feel satisfied with my performance. This is where your image comes from, and how people rank you. I have run hot in these events, but I have made some good consistent decisions.
“Things are changing for me. During the Baha Mar event, when you look back at the action, you can see it. When I get it in AK v AQ versus Sean, I want it to hold, but there is no celebration moment – no sign of happiness. Scoring in soccer triggers a bigger feeling. It’s become a job. There are no more euphoric moments.”
I wonder if the world-renowned rational and logical German efficiency has blowtorched the shit out of the emotional side of the game.
“Definitely, and it’s a minus for every poker player,” says Sontheimer. “I have always had a goal, when it comes to my non-poker playing friends, excluding my close family, and my girlfriend, that I don’t let them see how the game affects me. Most of my poker friends will tell you that I am a whiny guy. It’s my way of getting things out. I write to one or two groups complaining about how bad I run, and then it’s gone. When my team scores a goal in soccer, yeah I am happy, but it’s not like it was ten years ago. Something within me has changed over the years.”
Some poker players want to leave a legacy; others want to win all the money, and for others, it’s a job where the goal is to play each hand as optimally as possible.
Sontheimer?
“There was a time when I loved the problem-solving aspect of poker,” says Sontheimer. “I don’t like studying the game as it is nowadays – looking at charts – that’s not my sport. I’m looking for other stuff that is interesting for me. I don’t think mid-term long-term about poker at all. I have no real goals.”
I wonder if financial security lessens the need to have clearly defined goals.
There’s no rush.
“It plays a role,” Sontheimer confirms. “Whatever I have earned so far – it’s buying me time. I don’t want to be the guy who is financially secure forever, who goes to the Maldives and enjoys life. I have bought myself time through the effort I have put into poker. I want to find stuff that I am as thrilled about as I was with poker in 2013.
“This is how I think about poker. Firstly, how should you play? You can use solvers. Secondly, what is the villain doing wrong? Thirdly, what’s the right exploit? ‘I know this guy has done that wrong and he doesn’t know about it, and I am exploiting that right now’. That still feels great. But poker got tougher and tougher, and now you have people sitting around trying to copy the same charts while waiting for someone who does it for fun to turn up. I don’t even feel like the people who play for fun are having fun. It’s a weird industry.
“When you think about the good old times it’s like having photos in your mind. Sure this was fun, and that was fun, but grinding a ten hour day, no one can say that is fun. The ARIA tournaments are different. They are very fast, often six-handed and you know most people. There is a crew of guys who live in Vegas who play them all of the time. If I was playing in all of these tournaments in Vienna, in the same place, with six of my friends, and we could all sit and have a laugh in German, then that would be great for me. But the overall grind…I don’t know.”
It sounds like ‘doing the work’ is a prerequisite of being a world-class poker player, but Sontheimer doesn’t find that part of the grind fulfilling, while at the same time realising that if he doesn’t ‘do the work’ he will fall down the pecking order quicker than a fireman down a greasy pole.
So is it time to find something else?
“I know how to do all the ‘solver stuff’, and I am good at it,” says Sontheimer. “The reason I started playing poker was that I loved sitting there with a pen and a paper thinking about problems. I was recently tidying my room, and I found some old papers where I was working on poker problems. I was good at that. Nowadays it’s way easier. Poker switched from studying maths to studying business. You have that book with a thousand pages and have to learn it by heart by next Monday for an exam. It’s more for hard workers now. I don’t want to sound arrogant, but for me, it’s way closer to work, and it’s ok to be working, but I prefer to do something that I love.
“I compare it to video games. I played Warcraft back in the day. I didn’t play well, but I loved it. I loved the strategy, and in poker, it wasn’t about money in the beginning. It was about making the next level. Moving up in levels – it was insane. I never touched the money, so it didn’t mean anything. It was a high score. Poker feels like a job – like I am trading time for money and time is so valuable. Finding out what it is that you want to do is freaking tough.”
Sticking with the gaming analogy, and it feels like Sontheimer has played the game for so long, and so well, that he’s reached the highest level.
There are no more levels.
The only way is down.
So is the poker grind worth the sacrifice of lost time?
“I had an interesting talk with Fedor {Holz} about this,” says Sontheimer. “He’s the type of person who finds an interest in everything. He has kind of retired for poker, but it’s still a good way for him to make money. It comes back to the 80/20 rule. If you have put in 20% of the volume, you get 80% of the money. He chooses wisely. He’s not the best in the world anymore, but giving up 80% of the work doesn’t decrease his level too much. Those fields he still plays in, there are a bunch of incredibly good players and a few businessmen. Being a little underdog against some of the regs – that’s fine, and he sees it that way, and that fits within the job aspect of it. Optimise that trade between time and money pretty much.”
So poker began as a hobby, turned into a vocation, became a career, and is now a job.
So what’s Sontheimer’s new vocation?
“I am looking.” Says Sontheimer. “I guess I am waiting for it to fall in my lap.”
Until his new vocation falls into his lap where does Sontheimer love to play poker?
“You have to look at the two sides of poker,” says Sontheimer. “The business side: how many recreational players are in the game. And then you have the enjoyment factor. Number one is Triton; they are the most enjoyable events. From the moment you arrive at the airport to the moment you leave – everything is done for you. And then on the business side, they provide so many recreational players, and everyone is always having a great time. ARIA is number two in that sense. The tournaments are fast. They have the best TD in Paul Campbell and have introduced “no rake” for people who start on time, and that produces a different atmosphere. The one minus is they give you the feeling they don’t give a shit about the Europeans.”
And how does poker make Sontheimer feel?
“Overall, poker provides me with a rollercoaster of feelings. I am pissed when I run bad, and happy when I run well.”
Well, he does like his running, and he has the trophy to prove it.
The first event of Poker Central’s 2019 High Roller Triple Crown is in the books, and David Peters came from nowhere to pinch the title from Sean Winter and Stephen Chidwick.
Only 12-players could win the US Poker Open Championship with the $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em event in abeyance.
Here they were.
US Poker Open Overall Standings
1. Sean Winter – 540 pts
2. Stephen Chidwick – 540
3. Nick Schulman – 410
4. Brandon Adams – 365
5. Koray Aldemir – 340
6. Cary Katz – 340
7. Bryn Kenney – 240
8. Lauren Roberts – 240
9. Jordan Cristos – 240
10. Ali Imsirovic – 200
11. David Peters – 200
12. Ben Yu – 200
Lauren Roberts, Jordan Cristos, Ali Imsirovic and Ben Yu skipped the event meaning only eight players could win the title going into Day 1.
The Day 1 Action
The defending champion, Stephen Chidwick, was the first contender to fall by the wayside when he moved all-in on the river, showing a set of fours on a Ts4d3sKs9s board, only for his opponent, Nick Petrangelo to be sitting behind the full force of the nut flush. Chidwick would buy back in.
Koray Aldemir began the tournament in fifth place after a victory and a runner-up finish, but the German would invest $200,000 during his quest to become the 2019 US Poker Open Champion after Justin Bonomo busted the man with a set of aces versus a rivered two-pair hand.
Sean Winter came into the event in pole position and had an up and down Level 8 after doubling through Jason Koon AA>AK, before handing those chips to Jake Schindler when ATcc cracked pocket kings.
Cary Katz began in sixth place after three final table finishes, but he hit the rail in a hand against Nick Schulman and Chris Hunichen. Schulman opened the action with an 8,000 raise from the cutoff and Hunichen (small), and Katz (big) both called from the blinds. The flop rained down Jc7s5c, Hunichen checked, Katz moved all-in for his remaining 8,000, Schulman called, Hunichen raised to 30,000, and Schulman called. The 7d hit the turn; Hunichen bet 22,000, and Schulman called. The 6c finished the action on the river; Hunichen checked, Schulman moved all-in for a tad over 100,000, and Hunichen folded. Katz showed Js3d for top pair, but Schulman’s Q9cc beat him when the flush got there on the river.
Brandon Adams began the day in the fourth position after making money during three events, but he too would have to invest a second $100,000 bullet if he was to earn the grandest title of all. Chris Hunichen opened from the cutoff and called when Adams moved all-in for 51,000. Adams was ahead with KdQh v Js5s, but Hunichen flopped and rivered trip jacks to send Adams to the rail.
At the end of registration, we had 33-entrants.
Only five players would make money and pick up leaderboard points.
Here were the players in with a shot.
Sean Winter
Stephen Chidwick
Koray Aldemir
Bryn Kenney
David Peters
Schindler doubled through Winter for a second time when T8hh beat A6dd after rivering a heart flush.
The 2019 US Poker Open title would not be going to Germany after Koray Aldemir fell in the 11th Level. The winner of $50,000 event opened to 14,000, and both Martin Zamani and Jason Koon made the call. The dealer planted KcQs9s onto the flop, and Aldemir continued with a 24,000 bet. Zamani bumped it up to 100,000, Koon folded, Aldemir moved all-in, and Zamani called. Aldemir showed KsQh for the top two pairs, but Zamani had flopped the nuts holding JdTd. The board didn’t pair, or provide Aldemir with successive spades, and he was out.
Bryn Kenney doubled through Petrangelo AQ>A9. Ryan Riess doubled through David Peters AK>KQ. And the favourite to land the US Poker Open title, Sean Winter, left Jake Schindler needing a life support machine when his KQ beat the crap out of KJ.
Bryn Kenney doubled through Peters 44>AJ, but Peters would exact revenge, sending the Aussie Millions Main Event winner to the rail when QQ beat KJ in a five card race.
Then we lost the defending champion.
Chidwick opened to 22,000 from the hijack, Zamani three-bet to 88,000 from the small blind, Chidwick four-bet all-in for 43,000, and Zamani called.
It was a massacre.
Chidwick turned over AJ, and Zamani showed aces.
Five community cards later and the only players in with a shot of being crowned the US Poker Open Champion were Sean Winter, Nick Schulman.
Final Table Seat Draw
Seat 1: Jason Koon – 630,000
Seat 2: Keith Tilston – 1,300,000
Seat 3: Chris Hunichen – 1,790,000
Seat 4: Sean Winter – 375,000
Seat 5: Ryan Riess – 340,000
Seat 6: Martin Zamani – 805,000
Seat 7: Nick Schulman – 125,000
Seat 8: David Peters – 640,000
Seat 9: Justin Bonomo – 595,000
Day 2: The Trials and Tribulations of Sean Winter, Nick Schulman and David Peters
Nick Schulman put himself into contention to become the US Poker Open Champion after winning the $25,000 Mixed Game event, and finishing fifth in one of the earlier $25,000 events, but his challenge would fizzle out without a murmur on the final day of the series.
Chris Hunichen opened to 35,000 from the hijack seat, and Schulman defended the big blind. The flop was AhAc8c, Schulman checked, Hunichen bet 25,000, and Schulman check-raised all-in for 115,000. Hunichen made the call and was ahead with Js8d for two pairs versus the T6cc for the flush draw. The 5h and 6h finished the action, and Schulman was out leaving Sean Winter and David Peters as the last potential winners.
Winter knew that a fifth-place finish, or more, would have locked up the title, but he never made it that far after busting in eight place. Winter moved all-in for 255,000, and Keith Tilston made the call from the big blind. It was a race with Winter’s ATcc needing to catch something to beat the pocket fives of Tilston. The flop of 7d6c4s handed Tilston an open-ended straight draw. The 8c on the turn completed that straight but gave Winter flush outs. The 3h on the river was a brick for Winter, and he left the competition after a fantastic series.
The math was simple, if David Peters was to win the event, he would surpass Winter at the top of the leaderboard by 10-points, and would be declared the 2019 US Poker Open Champion.
After Jason Koon exited in seventh place, Justin Bonomo became the official Bubble Boy of the tournament after his QJ failed to improve against the dominating AQ.
The five remaining players had secured $264,000 in prize money.
David Peters doubled through Hunichen 66>KJ, but Zamani took a chunk from Peters when AK beat AJ. Peters then returned the favour when he got maximum value from a straight versus the two pair hand of Zamani to take the chip lead.
Keith Tilston disposed of Ryan Riess to take the chip lead from Peters when JJ beat 99 all-in pre-flop, and Tilston continued to build the biggest stack in the room when JJ beat the AT of Zamani to send the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) $25k winner home in fourth place.
Winter had a reason to chew his nails when Peters got it in with Tilston KQ v 88. Peters flopped a second queen to take the chip lead at a critical time, and he never looked back.
Tilston was the first to feel the full force of a pent up Peters after losing KQ versus A6 with all the chips in the middle. That knockout left Peters facing Hunichen with a 4.855m v 1.745m chip lead for the US Poker Open Championship.
Heads-up didn’t last long.
Hunichen limped from the button, Peters raised to 320,000, Hunichen moved all-in for 2.65m, and Peters made the call.
Peters: 9d9c
Hunichen: Ah8c
Peters had to dodge an ace or an unruly combination of cards to become the US Poker Open Champion, and that’s what happened when JhJcTs8d6d landed on the flop, turn and river, calling time on the 2019 US Poker Open.
Peters became the champion after making the final table of three of the ten events, finishing runner-up in the $10,000 Short-Deck, fifth in the $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em, and winning the big one.
The win is Peters’ 25th of his career and his eighth seven-figure score. The former Global Poker Index (GPI) Player of the Year has now earned $31,590,261 in live tournament earnings with only four more players winning more.
Final Table Results
1. David Peters – $1,320,000
2. Chris Hunichen – $858,000
3. Keith Tilston – $528,000
4. Martin Zamani – $330,000
5. Ryan Riess – $264,000
US Poker Open Overall Standings
1. David Peters – 550 pts
2. Sean Winter – 540
3. Stephen Chidwick – 540
4. Nick Schulman – 410
5. Brandon Adams – 365
6. Koray Aldemir – 340
7. Cary Katz – 340
8. Bryn Kenney – 240
9. Lauren Roberts – 240
10. Jordan Cristos – 240
11. Ali Imsirovic – 200
12. Ben Yu – 200
Koray Aldemir has become a contender for the 2019 US Poker Open after taking down Event #9: $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em.
The young German star added a win to his runner-up finish in Event #3: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em where he failed to get past Lauren Roberts in the final hurdle.
Aldemir has now won eight live tournaments, with the last three coming at the ARIA. All told, he has earned $11,246,093 in live tournament cashes.
41-entrants paid the $50,000 buy-in fee, and after 16-Levels, Day 1 ended with a final table that looked a little like this.
Final Table Seat Draw
Seat 1: Ryan Riess – 1,185,000
Seat 2: Sean Winter – 2,020,000
Seat 3: Alex Foxen – 1,005,000
Seat 4: Koray Aldemir – 1,185,000
Seat 5: Seth Davies – 270,000
Seat 6: David Peters – 535,000
Only Ryan Riess was making his first ITM finish of the series. Alex Foxen, David Peters and Aldemir were making a second appearance, Seth Davies a third, and Sean Winter an incredible fifth final table.
Here is how the action went down.
Seth Davies was the first casualty.
Davies moved all-in for 270,000 in late position, and Alex Foxen called in the big blind. Both players turned over ace-queen, with Davies holding a couple of diamonds and Foxen with a pair of clubs. The flop contained two clubs, and a third on the river sent Davies to the rail in a cooler and a half.
David Peters fell in fifth place.
With blinds at 15k/30k/30k, Peters raised to 60,000 from the cutoff, Foxen three-bet to 255,000 from the big blind, Peters moved all-in for 815,000, and Foxen called. The pair got on their spikes with Peters holding pocket eights, and the Global Poker Index (GPI) #1 holding AK. An ace appeared on the flop, the snowmen stayed in the deck, and Peters was out.
Foxen took the chip lead after that hand, but after a succession of hands where the tearaway doubled up most of the table he got it in a dominated position with A8 versus the A9 of Riess, and five community cards later he was out in fourth place.
Three-Handed Chip Counts
Ryan Riess – 2,600,000
Koray Aldemir – 2,540,000
Sean Winter – 1,010,000
Winter doubled through Riess when his JT beat K2 when all in blind on blind. A jack on flop sorting that one out. Riess then doubled through Winter K6 versus A4 – again in a battle of the blinds – and Riess flopped two pair, and turned a boat to win that one.
Then we lost the dangerous Winter.
Winter raised the button to 430,000, Riess moved all-in, and Winter called for the remainder of his stack. Winter turned over J9ss, and Riess was ahead with AK. Winter did flop an open-ended straight draw, but a pair of fours completed the turn and river action to send Winter out in third place.
Heads-Up
Koray Aldemir – 3,600,000
Ryan Riess – 2,600,000
Two hands of note happened during heads-up.
In the first hand, with blinds at 60k/120k/120k, Aldemir limped into the pot holding Js3c, Riess checked holding QcTh, and the pair were soon checking a Kc7d6s flop. On the Jh turn, Riess checked, Aldemir bet 180,000, and Riess called. The river was the Ks. Riess checked, and then folded to a 540,000 bet, leaving the German with a 2:1 chip lead.
Then came the final hand.
Riess open jammed for 1.17 million, and Aldemir made a quick call. Riess showed Kh7s, but Aldemir dominated him with KcQh. The flop, turn, and river was devoid of any computational lifesavers for Riess, and the former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion was out.
Final Table Results
1. Koray Aldemir – $738,000 (200 pts)
2. Ryan Riess – $492,000 (140)
3. Sean Winter – $328,000 (100)
4. Alex Foxen – $205,000 (80)
5. David Peters – $164,000 (60)
6. Seth Davies – $123,000 (40)
The following players could still win the 2019 US Poker Open if they take down the $100,000 Main Event.
US Poker Open Overall Standings
1. Sean Winter – 540 pts
2. Stephen Chidwick – 540
3. Nick Schulman – 410
4. Brandon Adams – 365
5. Koray Aldemir – 340
6. Cary Katz – 340
7. Bryn Kenney – 240
8. Lauren Roberts – 240
9. Jordan Cristos – 240
10. Ali Imsirovic – 200
11. David Peters – 200
12. Ben Yu – 200
The 2019 US Poker Open is sprinting like a track and field star towards the finishing line, the defending champion Stephen Chidwick is ahead by a neck with a gaggle of stars ready to stamp all over his Achilles heel.
The last time we touched based with you, Chidwick began the defence of his title in sterling fashion, overcoming a field of 90-entrants to win Event #1: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em. Jordan Cristos took down the 64-entrant Event #2: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, and Lauren Roberts became the first female to win a US Poker Open title when she outlasted 91-entrants to win Event #3 $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em.
Sean Winter took the lead when he made his fourth successive final table taking down Event #4: $10,000 Short-Deck, with Chidwick nestled in second place after making three final tables.
The stakes increased for Event #5: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em, and the reigning Poker Masters Champion, Ali Imsirovic, took down a 59-entrant field, including defeating Cary Katz, heads-up.
Katz would have another stellar run in Event #6: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, once again finishing second, but still, the headlines belonged to Chidwick, who won his second title of the series, defeating 39-entrants to win his first PLO live title.
There was no sight of Chidwick, Winter or Katz at the final table of Event #7: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em. A rare sight, indeed. Not that either of them would have made a difference, as a fresh and funky Aussie Millions Main Event Champion, Bryn Kenney, steamrollered the place in less than an hour to take maximum points.
The last winner’s photograph showed Nick Schulman sitting in front of a pile of chips and KTo. Schulman conquered a field of 20-entrants in Event #8: $25,000 Mixed Game Championship. Only three people made money, with Brandon Adams finishing second, and Chris Vitch taking third.
So who is in with a chance of winning this thing?
At the time of writing, Sean Winter has made the final table of Event #9: $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em as the chip leader. None of his rivals joins him. So should Winter finished third or higher he will take the lead going into the $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship.
As it stands, there is a maximum of 550 points available for Winter and the people joining him at the final table of Event #9 (Ryan Riess, Koray Aldemir, Alex Foxen, Seth Davies and David Peters).
All of this means that our 2019 US Poker Open winner will come from this stock:
1. Stephen Chidwick (Defending Champion)
2. Sean Winter
3. Ryan Riess
4. Alex Foxen
5. David Peters
6. Seth Davies
7. Koray Aldemir
8. Nick Schulman
9. Cary Katz
10. Bryn Kenney
11. Lauren Roberts
12. Jordan Cristos
13. Ali Imsirovic
14. Ben Yu
15. Brandon Adams
Scoring System
Mixed Game Championship/Main Event
1. 350
2. 245
3. 175
4. 140
5. 105
6+. 70
All Other Events
1. 200
2. 140
3. 100
4. 80
5. 60
6+. 40
US Poker Open Standings (After 8-Events)
1. Stephen Chidwick – 540 pts ($705,950)
2. Sean Winter – 440 pts ($419,900)
3. Nick Schulman – 410 pts ($390,000)
4. Brandon Adams – 365 pts ($314,750)
5. Cary Katz – 340 pts ($580,200)
6. Bryn Kenney – 240 pts ($477,000)
7. Lauren Roberts – 240 pts ($263,400)
8. Jordan Cristos – 240 pts ($206,200)
9. Ali Imsirovic – 200 pts ($442,500)
10. Ben Yu – 200 pts ($262,800)
Remaining Events
Event #9: $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em (Feb 21)
Event #10: $100,000 No-LImit Hold’em Main Event (Feb 22)
Forget the predictable headlines of ‘Winter is Coming’. Winter is not coming. Winter is here; he’s been here since the beginning, and he’ll be here until the end.
The man for all seasons has taken down Event #4: $10,000 Short-Deck, beating a 42-entrant field for his first US Poker Open title, and now holds a 100-point lead over the defending champion, Stephen Chidwick.
Judging by the fall in numbers from the vanilla flavoured Pot-Limit Omaha (64) and No-Limit Hold’em events (90 & 91), many are afraid of testing the new format, but Winter wasn’t amongst them.
“I was trying to figure it out on the fly,” Winter told Maria Ho after his win. “Everything is just flowing well. I’m focused, feeling mentally strong and I’m getting lucky in the right spots and getting away with things in others,”
The Action
Day 1 consisted of 14-Levels, and David Peters, Seth Davies, Ben Yu and Ben Lamb made their first final tables of the series. Winter was making his fourth appearance, and Chidwick was making his third.
Final Table Seat Draw
Seat 1: David Peters – 5,450,000
Seat 2: Seth Davies – 3,250,000
Seat 3: Ben Yu – 1,795,000
Seat 4: Sean Winter – 1,135,000
Seat 5: Ben Lamb – 325,000
Seat 6: Stephen Chidwick – 645,000
Day 2 began with Ben Lamb doubling through David Peters after rivering a straight holding 9c7d against the AKdd of the chip leader and then got lucky again to double through Ben Yu when AJ beat AQ, rivering a jack.
Then the two favourites for the US Poker Open title clashed with devastating effects for the reigning champion. The action folded around to Chidwick who moved all-in for 725,000 holding AsQc and Winter moved all-in to isolate him holding pocket kings, and they stuck to send Chidwick out in sixth place.
Yu must have been stroking Lamb’s head for luck because he doubled through Peters after getting it in on KhJdTh holding AhTs for a pair of tens with a redraw, and Peters holding Qd9c for a straight. The 7h on the turn gave Yu a flush draw, and the 9h on the river was the perfect card to keep Yu in the competition.
Yu’s new lease of life didn’t last long.
After losing a critical hand against Lamb, Yu once again ended up short and shipped it holding KQcc. Seth Davies called with Ac8h and ace-high was enough to send Yu out in the fifth spot.
David Peters still had the lead, heading into the first break of the final table.
1. David Peters – 5,190,000
2. Seth Davies – 4,090,000
3. Ben Lamb – 1,840,000
4. Sean Winter – 1,480,000
Winter doubled through Davies when his pocket queens dodged a gutshot on the flop against the AdTs of Davies, and then we lost Ben Lamb.
Winter limped into the pot holding pocket kings and called when Lamb moved all-in with QhJc. A third king arrived on the fourth street to confirm Lamb’s elimination and hand Winter the chip lead with three remaining.
Davies doubled through Peters AJ>A7, but he couldn’t repeat that feat in a fatal hand against Winter. The pair got it in pre-flop with Davies holding the lead with AJdd versus J9cc, but Winter flopped a two pair hand to send Davies to the cash desk to pick up his $67,200 third place prize.
Heads-Up
Winter – 9,090,000
Peters – 3,510,000
Peters struck first blood when his Q9dd cracked the pocket aces of Winter, rivering a flush. Winter then won back-to-back pots to extend his chip lead before finishing off the job.
Winter moved all-in holding K9cc, and Peters called holding Jd9s. The couple both hit a piece of the AcKs9d flop, but neither would improve on the turn or river leaving Winter with the best hand, a title, and the overall lead at the top of the US Poker Open rankings.
Final Table Results
1. Sean Winter – $151,200 (200 pts)
2. David Peters – $100,800 (140 pts)
3. Seth Davies – $67,200 (100 pts)
4. Ben Lamb – $42,000 (80 pts)
5. Ben Yu – $33,600 (60 pts)
6. Stephen Chidwick – $25,200 (40 pts)
2019 US Poker Open Standings
1. Sean Winter – 440 points
2. Stephen Chidwick – 340 points
2. Jordan Cristos – 240 points
4. Lauren Roberts – 200 points
5. Manig Loeser – 180 points
The second event of the 2019 US Poker Open is in the books, and a World Poker Tour (WPT) Champions Club member leads the way after taking down Event #2: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO).
At the end of 20-levels of fiery four card action, Jordan Cristos fought through a field of 64-entrants to earn the right to start Day 2 with the chip lead, and what a lineup the former WPT Champion led.
Final Table Seat Draw
Seat 1: Sean Winter – 760,000
Seat 2: Manig Loeser – 1,295,000
Seat 3: Cary Katz – 1,525,000
Seat 4: Adam Hendrix – 900,000
Seat 5: Jordan Cristos – 2,445,000
Seat 6: Martin Zamani – 1,180,000
Sean Winter and Martin Zamani enjoyed a beautiful January in The Bahamas with both players collecting wins in $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em events at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA).
Manig Loeser and Cary Katz had prosperous times at the Aussie Millions with Loeser losing an all-in blind hand to finish runner-up to Toby Lewis in the AUD 50,000 Challenge, and Katz won the AUD 100,000 Challenge.
At the top of Day 2, two players could replace Stephen Chidwick at the top of the series standings. Winter had finished runner-up to Chidwick in the opening event, and Cristos finished 11th.
As it turned out the experiences of Winter and Cristos were the polar opposite.
Winter was the first to fall, and it was Cristos who pushed him. With blinds at 30k/60k/60k, Cristos opened to 200,000 on the button, holding KcTs8d7s, and Winter called with KhJcTd7h. The flop fell AsJsTc, Winter bet 275,000 and then called for 375,000 after Cristos put him all-in. The Qc gave both players Broadway, but the Qs on the river gave Cristos a flush, and Winter was out.
Cristos eliminated Katz in fifth place.
With blinds at 40k/80k/80k, Katz opened the button to 280,000 holding AsAdKcTc, and Cristos defended the big blind with Th6c5h3s. The flop of Kd6s5c gave Cristos the lead with a two pair hand. Cristos put Katz all-in, and the call came. The turn was the 6d, giving Cristos a boat, and Katz aces and sixes. Katz needed an ace on the river, but it never came, and the Poker Central founder was out.
Adam Hendrix quickly followed Katz to the rail, and once again Cristos took the role of hatchet man. The action folded to Hendrix in the small blind, and with blinds at 40k/80k/80k, he opened to 240,000 and then called when Cristos put him all-in from the big blind.
Cristos: 8d7s3s3c
Hendrix: AcJdTc6s
Board: Kh9h3d6hAd
Cristos flopped a fatal set of treys, and Hendrix was out.
We entered heads-up play with Cristos holding a 100% final table knockout record after eliminating Zamani in third place. The pair got it in during a blind on blind battle.
Cristos: Ts7c5c5d
Zamani: 9s4s3h2c
Board: Jc7h7dJd6h
Once again Cristos flopped a huge hand, this time with trip sevens, and Zamani was drawing dead.
Cristos entered the heads-up fight with Loeser with a 3:1 chip lead, but Loeser doubled into the lead when his turned two pair cracked Cristos’s aces. The couple would exchange the lead twice more before the final hand played out.
With blinds at 150k/300k/300k, Cristos opened to 750,000, holding Kc9s6h5c, and Loeser called holding QdTc7d4c. The flop was Qc7c5d giving Loeser two pairs, and a whole bunch of draws for Cristos. The couple got it in with Cristos the mathematical favourite and eventually won with a stronger two pair hand when the K2 hit the turn.
“There were 50 players in the field, and I was probably the 44th best player, honestly.” Said Cristos after his win.
It’s the seventh time Cristos has won a live tournament, the second at ARIA, and the first win since taking down a 3,755-entrant WSOPC side event at the Bike in 2016. He has earned $2.5m in lifetime earnings and takes the early lead in the US Poker Open race, but I doubt you will see him competing in the big buy-in events.
Final Table Results
1. Jordan Cristos – $179,200 (200 points)
2. Manig Loeser – $128,000 (140 points)
3. Martin Zamani – $83,200 (100 points)
4. Adam Hendrix – $64,000 (80 points)
5. Cary Katz – $51,200 (60 points)
6. Sean Winter – $38,400 (40 points)
Here are the other ITM finishes: Brent Roberts (7th), Dan Shak (8th), Ben Yu (9th) and Anthony Alberto (10th).
2019 US Poker Open Championship Standings
1. Jordan Cristos – 240 points
2. Stephen Chidwick – 200 points
3. Sean Winter – 180 points
4. Manig Loeser – 140 points
5. Joseph Cheong – 100 points
To win something once is a beautiful thing indeed. To win it again, now you’re talking some next level nonsense, right there.
Take the English Premier League (EPL) for example. Not since 2008/9 has a team defended the title.
Poker is even more complicated given the enormous fields that the giants of the live tournament genre seem to churn out these days. Even in the higher echelons of poker power, with smaller fields, you’re still more likely to see Daniel Negreanu staying at the Holiday Inn than a successful title defence.
Take the US Poker Open, for example.
Stephen Chidwick won the inaugural series back in 2018, making five final tables and winning two events. If the man leading the All-Time Money Earned list in the UK wants to repeat that feat, then he has to collect more money than anyone else throughout the ten series follow-up.
When you consider how much his opponents would have improved in the past 12-months, the hunger of those players, and the possibility that personal motivation levels may have dropped a tad after becoming the 2018 champion – it’s a Jack and the Beanstalk tall order.
No-one has told Chidwick.
The US Poker Open Champion has taken down Event #1: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em. The man from Deal in the UK who loves the cadence of the PokerGo Studios, calling it the ‘best place to play poker anywhere in the world,’ surmounted a field of 90-entrants to collect the $216,000 first prize, including beating an in-form Sean Winter in the process.
Let’s see how it went down.
Day 1 consisted of 20-levels, and by the time the players were reaching for their toothbrushes, Joseph Cheong was barking and howling at the top of the chip counts with only six players remaining.
It was a final table rammed with talent from the USA, with only Chidwick spoiling the perfect picture, and it also contained more Joseph’s than the manuscript of the Technicoloured Dreamcoat.
Final Table Seat Draw
1. Stephen Chidwick – 1,950,000 (200 points)
2. Sean Winter – 1,190,000 (140 points)
3. Joseph Cheong – 2,885,000 (100 points)
4. Joseph Cappello – 1,380,000 (80 points)
5. Lazaro Hernandez – 2,195,000 (60 points)
6. Joseph Orsino – 1,635,000 (40 points)
The first player to leave without donning his final photo bow tie was Joseph Orsino. With blinds at 30k/60k/60k, Joseph Cheong opened to 175,000 with AcTh from the cutoff, and Orsino defended the big blind holding QdTc. When Orsino saw the AdQsTs flop, we imagine he was a tad excited. Such a shame then, that Cheong had flopped a stronger two pairs. The pair got it in, and the Floridian was first out, albeit with a personal best ITM finish of $54,000 decorating his Hendon Mob page.
Sean Winter looked likely to fall next when Lazaro Hernandez took chunks, leaving him with six big blinds, but he was able to double up through Stephen Chidwick A6dd>T7o. Hernandez wasn’t as fortunate. Soon after giving Winter a hangover, he ran into a champion in inspired mood.
With blinds at 40k/80k/80k Hernandez limped from the button holding A9dd, Chidwick raised to 325,000 from the small blind holding T9hh, the big blind folded, Hernandez raised to 650,000, and Chidwick called. The dealer cut 8h7c6c out of the deck to give Chidwick the nuts, and Hernandez ace high with an open-ended straight draw. The pair got it in, and after a worthless turn and river, Hernandez fell to 9 big blinds, which Chidwick gobbled up several hands later when AJ beat AT all-in pre-flop. Like Orsino before him, the $72,000 that Hernandez banked for his fifth-place finish was also a personal best.
Winter continued his Lazarus impression by doubling through Chidwick a second time when pocket tens beat the pretty looking 54dd, but at the end of Level 23, Chidwick still held a big lead.
Chip Counts
1. Stephen Chidwick – 6,765,000
2. Joseph Cappello – 1,570,000
3. Joseph Cheong – 1,570,000
4. Sean Winter – 1,350,000
After a brief break, Winter doubled through Cheong KQ>KT, and Cheong doubled through Cappello AQ>77 after flopping an ace and a queen to leave Cappello with two big blinds. Cappello survived his first all-in when he found pocket tens to double through the KJo of Chidwick, but he wasn’t so lucky when he moved all-in holding A2, only for Chidwick to wake up with A4 and a call. The split pot possibilities evaporated on the flop when Chidwick picked up a pair of fours. The former World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) Main Event Champion was out in fourth.
Winter maintained his miraculous run of evading the razor blade after hitting a miracle river card in a chaotic hand against Chidwick. Winter was in beautiful shape when he got it in with pocket kings against the Q9hh of Chidwick only for the defending champion to turn a two pair hand; then with one card to go, the board paired to give Winter a stronger two pair hand, and a great chance of winning the event.
Cheong then doubled through Chidwick when moving all-in on the flop with a flush draw versus a pair of sevens, and the draw got there on the turn, only for Chidwick to claw them all back and more when his AK beat the A2hh of Cheong when all-in pre-flop.
The heads-up encounter between Chidwick and Winter began with Chidwick holding a 2:1 chip lead, and it lasted as long as a politician telling the truth. Chidwick limped with 75dd and then called after Winter raised to 650,000 holding pocket eights. The dealer placed Ks9s6c onto the flop to give Chidwick a gutshot, and he called after Winter c-bet to 375,000. Then the card to end all competitions arrived on the turn in the shape of the 8s. Winter had a set, and Chidwick had a straight. The pair got it in, and the defending champion had begun the defence of his title with the exuberance of a poor man looking forward to his Christmas bonus.
Final Table Results
1. Stephen Chidwick – $216,000
2. Sean Winter – $157,500
3. Joseph Cheong – $112,500
4. Joseph Cappello – $90,000
5. Lazaro Hernandez – $72,000
6. Joseph Orsino – $54,000
Other veterans of the high roller scene that made money include Jake Schindler (9th), Bryn Kenney (10th) and Erik Seidel (13th).
Meeting Igor Kurganov is like peeling the label off a bottle of kombucha that’s spent the last hour soaked in ice. He’s not a ‘quick shot’ type of guy, more chilled; a slow burn; a lie in the bathtub, a towel wrapped around your head, candles burning, incense rising kind of guy.
If you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with, then it’s not a bad idea to clone the guy, five times, and sit with the quintet, daily.
Poker.
People.
Presence.
We get into all three, and much more, during this interview, taken during the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) where Kurganov made four final tables in the toughest tournaments on the planet.
We start by discussing the $25,000 PokerStars Player’s No-Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC). I ask Kurganov where he would take this extraordinarily valuable event?
“This will be something that the Stars people need to figure out,” says Kurganov. “Given that it was a great success, I would be surprised if it was completely eradicated from the future.
“I would make it a little bit smaller, and try and do it yearly. I think giving away 320-Platinum Passes was insane. I think 100 would be enough, and you could add a whole lot of perks to the experience. Something needs to happen though because the experience was great.”
Kurganov is known for sticking a plastic gun in the backs of the greatest players in the live high roller scene, but there was a time when he had to grind it out online with every other dreamer. In the past few months, Kurganov has returned to his old stomping ground to compete in the PokerStars High Roller Club games.
When I picture Kurganov preparing for an online session I have this image of him sitting in a Herman Miller Aeron with 20 massage therapists rubbing each digit; a Buddhist monk in the corner banging a gong, and Tom Cruise creating a cocktail of kale, ginger and dragon fruit.
“I used to prepare as you describe during my two years of grinding up the stakes while going to university,” says Kurganov. “I would wake up, play all day, watch, read, do some poker content, eat a ton of frozen pizza, go to bed and wake up and do it again.”
I hope the frozen pizza had cauliflower crust.
“These days it’s a little bit different,” says Kurganov. “I Like what the High Roller Club provides, which is a few tables within a short amount of time. I live in the UK. I can start at 7 pm including the early 1k, or 9.30/10 pm. If I start later, with 4-5 tables of $500/$1000, I have an average play time of 1.5/2 hours. So it’s a short session, and even if you win it’s like four hours, so it’s neat. I enjoy jumping in, trying some stuff that I have studied, and playing against good players who consistently grind those.
“I don’t have rituals. I don’t touch my little cactus or stroke my monitor, but I like a clean workspace. I don’t want to have distractions within my visual field. My tables are very black, for example, so the information is the only thing that jumps out at me. I want to have had a good sleep, have coffee in me, close all the tabs, and make my workspace distraction-free.”
Talking about playing ‘distraction free’ poker, Kurganov has begun streaming his action on Twitch, which seems as ‘distraction free’, as trying to play as someone repeatedly presses the car cigarette lighter into your forearm, so I ask him how it’s affected his game?
“There hasn’t been an improvement in my game from streaming myself,” says Kurganov. “It’s true that if you teach or talk about your game over time, it will improve it, but I am not smooth enough on Twitch where I can focus on speaking, and that be valuable for me.
“I like the audience interaction, so it’s less about the game because we talk about life, science, Liv. It’s a lot about life and Liv. I talk about the game, but given the audience, it’s low-level explanations. I explain simple things first. I try to add complexity to it, like the PKO’s, I think quite a lot of people make a bunch of avoidable mistakes in those. I enjoy that part of it. I like the idea that there is a set of people interested in poker that make a lot of avoidable mistakes if they just had ten x two-minute sentences that could help them quite a bit, I think it evens out the field a little bit, and I think that would be better.
“By itself, it’s a live stream of ‘whatever’ with the ability to interact with the audience. That allows for pretty much anything. It would be even better if the audience interaction could be better. I was seeking to have more interpretable feedback for me along the lines of putting out a poll so people can vote, and I can adjust what I am talking about to suit. You could have thousands of people watching you, and a large percentage of people could answer those polls.”
I ask Kurganov if he had the chance to watch two players throwing bricks at each other during a heads-up duel, who would he like to see and why?
“For me, as long as I can see the cards, and it’s mostly about poker, I want to look at the best in the world playing against each other. All of my opponents play live or stream games, so I get to see how they are thinking about the game. It’s a great learning tool for anyone who wants to improve.
“If it’s about other stuff then Elon Musk playing against the Dalai Lamai. I would want them to play very slowly, and have lots of conversation.”
Next up, meditation.
What does Kurganov’s meditative practice look like?
“I used to do it more {meditation}, and more yoga, but then I fell out of the habit. It hadn’t built up strongly I guess,” says Kurganov. “The thing that stuck was general mindfulness when doing things, which is relatable. Trying not to have too many thoughts of the past and future when walking, and while eating food that’s pleasurable. It’s a nice way to receive happy experiences because you are there. You could be worrying about things, but instead, you are choosing to focus on the beauty of the moment.
“Another thing I do is s 30-60 second resets, where I try to calm my mind. It could be at a poker table, or during a break. Liv meditates more frequently than me. I’ve tried the Calm and Headspace apps. They are nice. I do like guided meditation. It’s easier when you have something to focus on.”
From meditation to podcasts.
Who is inside Kurganov’s ear daily?
“I listen to Sam Harris,” says Kurganov. “I used to listen to Tim Ferriss but stopped because I care about other things these days. With Sam, it depends on who is guests are. Listening to Sam’s voice is nice. It’s pleasing. I met him at TED and had dinner with him. Many people are against some of the points he is making and put bad ethics into his mind, and I think that’s ill-founded. He’s clearly a good human at heart.
“My favourite podcast is 80,000 hours with Rob Wiblin. They are closer to the EA community, and they frequently talk about far future thinking, existential risks, ethics, technology. They get top professors within their fields frequently, and other amazing guests. Rob is very smart and has good conversations with people. He had one with Hilary Graves that I liked, one with Amanda Askell, and they recently republished the one with Toby Ord, and Toby is fantastic. I also love Julia Galef’s ‘Rationally Speaking’ and Daniel Schmachtenberger’s ‘Future Thinkers’.
“Even if you don’t care about effective altruism and the other topics; they challenge your thinking. They think through topics they are discussing and are trying to be very careful about the statements they are making, and it’s a great exercise in how to think about problems, and to listen to people who are geniuses within their fields.”
Another excellent podcast to listen to is Seth Godin’s Akimbo Podcast, and recently Godin spent a few episodes, talking about the world’s broken education system.
I ask Kurganov for his thoughts on the subject?
“I haven’t dived too deeply into the topic,” says Kurganov. “It seems that we have an ill-devised system for the jobs that will exist in the future. You can educate yourself a lot online these days. Maybe the suboptimal education system might not be that bad as long as the social aspect is still at the forefront for the students. They can learn any course online, and read or watch whatever you want. Lectures can be interactive, where you can pause and answer multi-choice questions. It’s amazing. I am curious where it’s going to go.”
I ask Kurganov to describe some of the milestone moments in his life where he has changed?
“I got into effective altruism 5-6 years ago, and I have constantly been growing my interest in it. Therefore, I am doing more of the things I am interested in, and am very fortunate to be in this position. I thought I would have been more involved in classical business, or a start-up, and it might still be the case. I am releasing an app for bad accounting in poker — things like double confirmation from both sides, securing swaps into a legally binding contract. We will release a beta in a few days and have a full version out in a month or so.
“I’ve noticed some weaknesses in myself that have sustained over the years. I have flakiness. I get distracted by a topic, and I leave things behind. I couldn’t be in the founder or CEO type role. I need people who are more consistent, and I can sometimes jump in, and advise on something I have knowledge in.”
Kurganov has faced and conquered some of the best players in the world, but what about fear? What is the fear that Kurganov has overcome?
“I did a guided meditation in 2014 that exposed some of those with Shay Matthews in Australia,” says Kurganov. “He helped me find the state that I am the happiest and unhappiest, and noticing the fears that were present. I don’t believe there is one true self; I think there are many versions of me and it depends on the environment, etc.
“What came out, was there is not enough time, and that I am not good enough. So my fears are around sending out a blog post that’s not perfect, unfinished, non-perfect texts or messages, and it costs me too much time. It also relates to an ego that wants to appear smart or something.”
Continuing along the same theme, I ask Kurganov what’s been his toughest transition?
“I’ve been lucky,” says Kurganov. “I haven’t had any hard transitions. Poker allowed me to do the things I wanted to do. There has been no hard thing I have had to stick with. Hard things excite me. Maybe it’s a mindset thing, but mostly it’s because I don’t have to do hard things.”
I know that Kurganov has a strong network of friends, but I wonder if there was ever a time that he was lonely, and what his thoughts are on loneliness both in poker and life?
“Fortunately, it’s something we are talking about more. It’s not often noticeable from the outside, and it can eat away at you for years. I suffered loneliness during the first year at university because I didn’t connect as I came in later. Other periods of isolation I’ve experienced was when I had a huge downswing – won my first million and lost it. I didn’t do the things I wanted to do back then, but that’s still quite weak in comparison to what loneliness can be. Losing your whole community, that’s rough.
“When I was in school in Germany I worked at a soup kitchen. Germany has a great welfare system, and anyone who lives on the street can get a home, and are helped with work and a minimal amount of money. We still had a few homeless people. I learned the reason was that these people had a community, and if you give them shelter or a home they are no longer a part of this community, and they become lonely.“It seems it’s worthwhile to not have a home rather than be lonely.””
Moving on from loneliness, I ask Kurganov for his views and advice on building a strong network.
“Different things work for different people,” says Kurganov. “There are some who are methodically getting connected to people, and that’s all fine, but I like a different approach. If you incrementally work on oneself, then things fall into place. If you do interesting things, you will meet interesting people. You might not meet someone directly, but you will meet someone if you go Bouldering for example. It’s a great sport where everyone is super helpful and kind, or maybe a yoga class.
“Loneliness is often connected to depression, and it’s harder then to connect. A friend of mine went through it where everything went bad. What he did was grind away at every aspect of it. He started on the meaning, interests and mental fortitude. He read more interesting things rather than watch Netflix. He became interested in the world. On relationships, he tried harder to make the first connection. And for the wealth he was trying to grind lower stakes, study the game. I think it’s about incremental improvements. If there were one thing, it would probably be falling in love with the ideal partner, but you’re less likely to have an interesting relationship with your partner if you haven’t worked on your self. Yoga, mindfulness, meditation, thinking about interesting problems, learning a new language, coding – it applies to everything.”
Kurganov is the founder of Raising for Effective Giving (REG), a non-profit that helps reduce suffering in the world. I ask him how it makes him feel to serve others?
“When I was at the soup kitchen, I could see the people I was helping. My charity is more removed from the empathetic aspect, but I believe in the numbers that it works, and the numbers make me happy. I am redefining it because of the word ‘serve’. I am not there to give the thing at the end, but you don’t need to be to feel that you’re contributing or are actually contributing. Overall, the thing that helped me the most was at different times going through a downswing, not being sure about poker, at least I know some good comes out of the experience. Something scary happens on a plane journey, at least my life wasn’t for nothing. It helps me be happier, calmer, and it’s recommended if you feel bad about yourself to go and have a walk in nature, work on your long term project, and call your grandmother and have a five-second conversation to make her happy. You see your value then. It’s good to feel good about yourself doing good things.”
Links
80,000 Hours Podcast – https://80000hours.org/
80,000 Hours Podcast Featuring Hilary Graves – https://80000hours.org/
80,000 Hours Podcast Featuring Amanda Askell – https://80000hours.org/
80,000 Hours Podcast Featuring Toby Ord – https://80000hours.org/
Julia Galef’s Rationally Speaking – http://
Daniel Schmachtenberger’s podcast Future Thinkers – https://futurethinkers.org/
Seth Godin’s Akimbo Podcast – https://www.akimbo.me/
Raising for Effective Giving – https://reg-charity.org/
I hope someone from Hasbro was watching the Aussie Millions Main Event livestream because it produced a cracking Trivial Pursuit question for when Santa’s little elves start chucking them into his sledge come December.
Question: “Name the person who won the Aussie Millions Main Event without eliminating a single player.”
Answer: “Bryn Kenney.”
822 LAGS, TAGS and WAGS competed in the AUD 10,000 Main Event smashing its attendance record for the second successive year. Kenney started the final table with the shortest stack of the lot (18 bb) but doubled up twice to put him amongst the favourites to land his first Main Event title.
The chip lead didn’t arrive until he was three-handed, and it was during his fist fight with Andrew Hinrichsen and Mike Del Vecchio (who was making the final table for the second successive year) that the action stopped. The trio stepped away to cut a deal, and Kenney returned as the champion in a damp squib of a final scene.
Final Table Results
1. Bryn Kenney – $923,269*
2. Mike Del Vecchio – $922,953*
3. Andrew Hinrichsen – $796,410*
4. Clinton Taylor – $350,417
5. Mathew Wakeman – $275,908
6. Gyeong Byeong Lee – $224,180
7. Hamish Crawshaw – $175,571
*Indicates a three-way deal
Kenney jumped straight into the AUD 100,000 Challenge but wasn’t so lucky. The event pulled in a 42-entrant field, the third highest in the event’s 14-year history, and Cary Katz won the $1,066,867 first prize after beating Johannes Becker, heads-up.
It’s the second time Katz has won a $100k event after winning the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) version in 2018. Rainer Kempe continued his excellent run of form finishing fourth to take the early lead in the Global Poker Index (GPI) 2019 Player of the Year race, and it was fantastic to see the GPI Ladies #1, Kristen Bicknell, firing multiple AUD 100k bullets on her way to a sixth-place finish.
Final Table Results
1. Cary Katz – $1,066,867
2. Johannes Becker – $681,610
3. Abraham Passet – $444,528
4. Rainer Kempe – $325,987
5. Jack Salter – $329,280
6. Kristen Bicknell – $207,446
And there was an AUD 25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event for the first time. 67-players gave it a shot, and Anton Morgenstern beat the lot to win the $382,061 first prize after beating Farid Jattin, heads-up. It was another excellent performance for Jattin, who made the final table of the $25,000 buy-in PokerStars Player’s No-Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC) finishing seventh for $746,000.
Poker Central Power Rankings; Run It Once Launch; And More
Bryn Kenney’s victory in Melbourne ensured the top berth in the Poker Central Power Rankings this week.
Sitting in second place is Phil Galfond, who finally launched Run It Once (RIO) Poker in public beta mode, and Chris Kruk was one of the first players to live stream RIO Poker action on Twitch, and the former partypoker MILLIONS $25k High Roller winner agreed to hand all donations and subs to Dan Smith’s next Charity Drive.
Daniel Negreanu made the number three spot without doing anything (perhaps they gave it to him for NOT creating a war on Twitter?) Cary Katz picked up a fourth place spot for his performance Down Under, and I assume Phil Hellmuth made the top five because of this:
And then this happened!! One shot, no practice, cold, in the dark, college three pointer…$7,000-to-$1,000. BUT banks didn’t count!! #BadNegotiation pic.twitter.com/azH3DdgAK8
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) February 5, 2019
Poker Central Power Rankings
1. Bryn Kenney
2. Phil Galfond
3. Daniel Negreanu
4. Cary Katz
5. Phil Hellmuth
Eli Elezra Successful But Painful, Book Launch; Bill Perkins Celebrates 50-Years on the Planet and Joins Vegan Debate
With Negreanu having a quiet time on social media, the baton in the race to piss people off fell to the unlikeliest of poker players.
Eli Elezra hopped onto 2+2 to host an Ask Me Anything (AMA) in a bid to market his new biography ‘Pulling The Trigger,’ and what a disaster it turned out to be.
Quick heads up, if you owe a lot of people money probably don’t publish a book with your story, and then promote the book answering peoples questions where you say you always pay your debts.
I know it looks good on paper but its not worth the hassle.
— Doug Polk (@DougPolkPoker) February 5, 2019
Here are the cliffs:
Someone asks Ezra where he got his money from to play high stakes, and during his response, Ezra comments that he always has 100% of himself, and always pays his debts – cue Cole South.
South comes onto 2+2 and states that Ezra owes him $40,000 of a $100,000 loan given to Ezra in 2010. It then emerges that Ezra also owes Shaun Deeb some money. Then Abe Mosseri breaks radio silence and tells all and sundry that Ezra owes him $853,000 and that Ezra had threatened his family.
Ezra eventually makes a statement on 2+2; talks to PokerNews and the ChipRace Podcast to confirm that he does owe South the money and they have since come to a satisfactory arrangement. Ezra admits that he does owe Mosseri that obscene amount of money and that his safety has been threatened, pointing the finger at Mosseri’s partner.
During the statements, Ezra also said that he is on good terms with Deeb despite owing him some money, but I wonder if that’s still the case after Ezra appeared on Poker Central’s Dolly’s Game where each man pays $50,000 to take a seat.
So nice to see @elielezra1 can find a buyin for this @PokerGO game yet not pay me back in full yet #magic
— on hiatus (@shaundeeb) February 4, 2019
Bill Perkins is celebrating his 50th birthday in style this week. Most people book a room in a pub for a birthday party; Perkins rented the entire Necker Island from Richard Branson.
It takes time to blow out 50-candles, so Perkins decided to hop onto Twitter and get involved in the vegan debate started by this tweet from Doug Polk.
Vegans – If you dont want to eat any animal products, that’s fine. You have a right to choose what you eat and if it makes your life better thats great. But please spare everyone else the misery of being talked down to, we have always eaten meat and dont care you prefer tomatoes.
— Doug Polk (@DougPolkPoker) February 4, 2019
The tweet got the effective altruist community in a headspin with the likes of Liv Boeree and Justin Bonomo duelling with the outspoken carnivore. Somewhere along the way broadcaster, David Tuchman, suggested a vegan prop bet, asking how much people would need to go vegan for a year. Dan Smith was briefly in the running at $200,000, but eventually, Jamie Kerstetter fell into the crosshairs saying she would give it a bash for $10,000. Perkins took the bet. Should Kerstetter fail then she has to do 100 hours community service at Perkins’ pleasure.
And we will end with a vegan high roller as Andrew “LuckyChewy” Lichtenberger took a timeout from producing YouTube videos on emotional intelligence to stream a few online poker sessions on twitch, and won a tournament playing on WSOP.com on only his second night.
And that’s this week’s Pinnacle.