Tags:
Events/live poker, Satellites
PKR Live II Main Event: despair for tigerwing (right) on the final hand
The two-day $500 Main Event of PKR Live II in April saw Team PKR Pro discomonkey defeat good friend tigerwing in a thrilling grandstand finish. But how did they and other accomplished players find their way to the final table, over 14 hours of gruelling play? In a series of interviews, we ask various PKR Live Main Event finalists how it's done. First up, PKR Live II runner up Simon 'tigerwing' Wing, who walked away with $12,000 for his efforts...
Danski: Simon, tell us how you got to the second day, and what first- timers can expect from Day one of the PKR Live III Main Event…
Simon: Day one for me was a real struggle! I lost over half my stack in the first ten minutes when my K-K ran into a set of nines on a low board. After that I pretty much had to play the whole day as a short stack, picking my spots to steal whenever I could. I must have been in the bottom three or four for the last three hours of day one and was fortunate enough to get past the bubble by winning a couple of all-in flips and shoving all-in pre flop against the tighter players.
What can first timers expect from day one? Well, I'm pretty sure there will be some nerves [this year it's a $1K buy-in) and also a real buzz of excitement. The venue is ideal, the atmosphere is great and the structure of the tournament makes for some great poker.
D: How big was your stack when you reached the final table, and what was your game plan?
S: I came to the final table about seventh or eighth in chips. At this point I was pretty suprised and relieved to have got so far, given how much of a struggle day one had been, but now I had made it this far I blocked all of that out and just focused on how I was going to take this down. My game plan is always the same in any tournament and that is to just play the situation as optimally as possible. I was pretty card dead early on which was fine because it gave me the opportunity to work out who was who on the table and how they were reacting to different situations. My final table game was pretty flawless in that I didn't lose a pot where I was the aggressor and of course winning flips versus shorter stacks helped. I had nothing else on my mind except winning.
D: I know you did a deal with disco when you reached heads-up, so the money jumps weren’t massive, but how (if at all) do you think your (poker) life would have been different had you won?
S: Difficult to answer this as I don't think much would have changed. Obviously the added exposure would have been the biggest thing and like most full time players, the dream is to bag yourself a sponsorship deal and this would have gone a small way to raising my profile.
D: Give us a couple of tips for those players who may have never played a live event, let alone a two-day $1K buy-in live event, before
S: 1 - PAY ATTENTION! You can pick up so much information about your opponents in a live tournament, especially when there is a deep stack structure. 2 - BE PATIENT! If you lose a chunk of your stack early on, don't give up and play reckless poker in the hope of doubling back up straight away.
D: How has your game progressed since PKR Live II, and what you think about your chances at PKR Live III?
S: My game progresses every year I play, as I never stop learning. A lot more information is going through my mind before making a decision now and of course I have more live experience under my belt, including a GUKPT side event win. As for PKR Live III's Main Event [Simon won his $1,700 package last weekend], if I didn't think I could win, I wouldn't play! I normally run good at this time of the year and fortunately my friend and foe discomonkey is running terribly right now, so thats one threat down ;)
D: Simon, we wish you the best of luck in going one better this time round!
Read champion discomonkey's own take on succeeding at PKR Live III. Next up, Team PKR Pro callmebabe talks about his blowup at PKR Live I's Main Event in November 2008...
Qualify for PKR Live III for just $11!