With the June, 2010 issue hitting card room floors this week, Minnesota Poker Magazine officially celebrates its first birthday.

Thanks to everybody who has picked up a magazine, played in an MSPT satellite, or even stopped by MNPokerMag.com for 30 seconds.

Inside this issue:

- A 12-month retrospective
- The top 10 tournament players over the last 12 months
- “babyshark33″ among the world’s best

Click here to download, or click the cover photo to the right.

Click here to subscribe for $2/issue.

The 2010 World Series of Poker begins today and runs through the middle of July. If you plan on heading out to Las Vegas, be sure to keep in touch via Twitter or email. We’d love to track your progress.

Here is the recap from last year’s WSOP, as seen in the August issue of Minnesota Poker Magazine.

2009 World Series of Poker Recap

Minnesota went without a bracelet in 2009, but local players left their marks in other ways

By Phil Mackey

2009 was another historic year at the World Series of Poker, which saw approximately 60,000 entrants fight for a share of nearly $200 million in prize money over 57 events from May 27 – July 12.

The preliminary events featured dominating performances by household names such as Phil Ivey and Jeff Lisandro, who won two and three bracelets respectively. Online pro Brock Parker also took home two bracelets,. Unfortunately, of the 56 bracelets handed out this summer (the 57^th will be awarded at the Main Event final table in November), zero went to Minnesotans.

Even so, a handful of local players made deep runs and/or came home with compelling stories from the Rio in Las Vegas.

Mike Carlson, a fixture at Canterbury’s Fall Poker Classic over the past few years, won $41,640 for his 10^th place finish in event 11, a $2,000 buy-in no limit hold’em tournament. Jason Loehde from Minneapolis went deep in two Omaha events (#46 and #48), taking home over $16,000. Paul Dominski of Minnetonka earned $19,658 for his 26^th place finish out of 2,791 players in event #7, a $1,500 buy-in no-limit tournament.

Roughly 250 Minnesotans entered WSOP events, according to WorldSeriesofPoker.com, tallying nearly 50 cashes for almost $400,000 in prize money.

Of those Minnesota entrants, 21-year-old Andrew Radel of Forest Lake took quite possibly the most heartbreaking beat.

Catastrophic River

Andrew Radel

In event 20, a $1,500 buy-in pot limit hold’em event with 633 entrants, Radel found himself with a massive chip stack at a final table that included Erik Seidel. In fact, the only player who had him covered was John-Paul Kelly, who sat directly to Radel’s left.

Action folded to Radel, who looked down at  in the small blind and made a standard raise. Kelly re-raised from the big blind and Radel made the call. 

“AQs is a very strong hand HU and I figured I was ahead from the start,” Radel told Minnesota Poker Magazine after the tournament. “Kelly and I had played a few large hands together the past couple days so I had a little history on him. Due to my position at the final table when the hand started I really did not want to have to (coin) flip against the only player that could knock me out.”
The flop came  and Radel led for half the pot.

“Once the ace hit the flop with two other non-threatening cards I knew I wouldn’t be able to get away from the hand,” Radel said. “So the goal at that point was to make him put his chips in with the weakest range possible. I led into for half the pot to look like I had an under-pair to the ace and was just trying to take a stab at the pot. Kelly folding to that bet would’ve been pretty weak because it really looks like I didn’t have the ace. Kelly was the type of player who would pick-up on that weakness.”

Just as Radel suspected, Kelly sensed weakness and moved all in for 4-times Radel’s bet. Radel made the call and Kelly flipped up , drawing nearly dead!

“The play worked and he shoved with the worst hand,” Radel said. “At that point all I was worried about was AK because he would’ve played AK in the same way.”

Of course, in a perfect world, the hand would be over at that point with Radel taking an overwhelming chip lead. However, because poker is brutal, the  fell on the river to give Kelly a set. Radel was left with nothing but felt.

“Generally you expect to win the tournament about as often as the percentage of the total chips you have. The pot would’ve given me about 40% of the chips in play with seven left. As that big of a chip leader I should’ve been even a little more of a favorite than that because there were a couple players that seemed like they were just trying to move up the money ladder.

“I just got unlucky.”

Brutal. Radel earned $21,082 for his eighth place finish, and he later cashed in event 42 for $14,545. Still, a 2-outer on the river for the chip lead at a WSOP final table is about as sick as it gets.

Minnesota Nice

Speaking of Erik Seidel, he received a little taste of “Minnesota Nice” at the WSOP during the $10,000 buy-in heads up event.
Upon reaching the 3^rd round, Jason Senti, an online professional from St. Louis Park, MN, found himself matched up against 8-time bracelet winner Seidel. The only problem? Seidel didn’t show up to the table for 15 minutes.

Now, the WSOP tournament staff doesn’t sit around and wait patiently for players to show up. Even legends like Seidel. The tournaments begin when scheduled, regardless of empty seats.

At this point, the obvious option was for Senti, who plays online as “PBJaxx,” was to steal Seidel’s blinds and build an early chip lead. That’s probably the path most people would choose.

Instead, however, Senti chose to stall.

“I actually knew that he was in the building playing another event, as a friend had text me that,” Senti told Minnesota Poker Magazine. “I wasn’t really sure what the proper etiquette was in the situation. I knew that the other tables with missing players were just stealing the blinds, but I felt that if he was likely to show up soon, I should give him some time.

“Basically, I decided I would give him up to 20 minutes to show up, and then I would have to play. The deeper structure in the beginning of the match is where my edge is biggest, so I didn’t want to go too long during that period without playing.”

Senti’s act of sportsmanship drew plenty of attention from PokerNews, Cardplayer and other poker news outlets. “Senti Stays Classy” and “Classy Move By Jason Senti” were just a couple of the headlines.

“In the end, I did what seemed to be right in the situation,” Senti said. “I wouldn’t fault anyone for stealing the blinds. We are there to win, and the winner of this match was guaranteed $18,000. Obviously that is a lot of money, but I followed what I decided was proper etiquette.”

As it turns out, good karma followed Senti, and he knocked Seidel out with  against , all in preflop on the final hand. The victory earned Senti a $17,987 cash before he was bounced in the 4^th round.

After the match, Seidel wrote on his Twitter page, “Busted in the Heads Up vs Jason Senti very tough young player.”

Senti’s feelings toward Seidel were mutual.

“So far, all my experiences with the well known “live pros” have been very good,” Senti said on his blog after the match. “Despite what Joan Rivers thinks, most poker players I have met seem to be good people.”

Living the Dream

Minnesota Bar Leagues have always provided players with unforgettable experiences at  big tournaments, and this July was no different.

The Bar Poker League sent four players to the WSOP; Dave “hangman” Lentsch from Glenwood, Steve “jackjunk” Gehr from New Richmond, WI, John “jlc” Cadwell from New Hope, and Jason “dalejr88” Brummond from Truman. Lentsch and Gehr earned direct buy-ins to the Main Event, and both made it to day 2 before hitting the rail.

The Bar Poker League players also spent time prior to their tournaments partying and schmoozing with some of the top poker players in the world, including World Poker Store figureheads Marcel Luske, Hoyt Corkins, Johnny Chan, and others.

On top of that, the Bar Poker League players also had the opportunity to attend multiple poker parties, including the Everest party at Caesar’s Palace, the Bluff party at Sapphire, and the Doyle’s Room party at the Wynn.

“We take care of the players while there,” said Greg Needham, COO of the World Poker Store. “We meet them at breaks and reserve seats and buy dinner for them at the Rio and The Palms restaurants. During breaks it’s impossible to get a real meal unless someone has a seat waiting for you. Most are relegated to fast food and long lines, but we have a nice seated dinner with drinks and also pros eating with us during the breaks.”

Not to be outdone, the Little Poker League also sent a player into the Main Event. Jason Sanderson, from Bemidji, MN, checked into his hotel before day 1d, took down $400 in a cash game, then went to work in the WSOP.

Sanderson made it through day 1 with just over the starting stack of 30,000 chips, but early on day 2 he ran pocket nines into pocket queens on a rag flop to lose a ton of chips. A short while later, Sanderson pushed all in with AK but was called by pocket aces. Still, Sanderson had the time of his life.

“All in all it was a great experience,” Sanderson said, “and I’m excited to have the memories!”

Talk about the ultimate WSOP experience.

For more information about the Bar Poker League, visit www.TheWorldPokerStore.com. For information about the Little Poker League, visit www.LittlePokerLeague.com.

From FreePokerNetwork.com

This past weekend at the Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen, MN, six Minnesota Poker League players won their way to the 2010 World Series of Poker!  Each one will play in Event #54 while also competing in the FPN National Championship where the winner will be crowned the new National Champion and play in the $10,000 WSOP Main Event! The lucky winners (pictured front row left to right) were Tomi Hamilton from Trackside in Wadena,Nels Peterson from Ultimate Sports Bar in Waite Park, Jon Stern from 50 Lakes Bar in Emily, (back row left to right) Bill Long from Courtney’s Comedy Club & JC’s Corral in Moorhead and Dilworth, Jim Buchite from 50 Lakes Bar in Emily, and Kevin Rousser from the Whistle Stop Tavern in Lonsdale.

It certainly wasn’t an easy victory for any of the six winners, especially with a starting field of more than 200 players from all across Minnesota, not to mention the 11 past champions sprinkled in the mix. One extremley lucky player, Dale Umbriet from the Rusty Nail in Thief River Falls, was even dealt the grand supreme Royal Flush early in the day, only to go out within the next few hours of play. After nearly eight hours of hot and heavy (and sometimes downright aggravating) Texas Hold’em action, we were finally down to the final 10 players.

The lucky and skilled 10 players and their starting chips stacks at the final table were:

1. Bill Long — Courtney’s Comedy Club, Moorhead, and JC Corral, Dilworth — 674k
2. Kevin Rousser — the Whistle Stop Tavern, Lonsdale — 331k
3. Tomi Hamilton — Trackside, Wadena — 290k
4. Nels Peterson — Ultimate Sports Bar, Waite Park — 220k
5. Jon Stern — 50 Lakes Bar, Emily — 194k
6. Greg Buchite — 50 Lakes Bar, Emily — 139k
7. Kye Longtin — Louie’s, Shakopee — 121k
8. Robb Kjenstad — Route 65 Pub & Grub, East Bethel — 117k
9. Deno Torkelson — Spot Lite Bar, Hawley — 63k
10. Jim Buchite — 50 Lakes Bar, Emily — 59k

At this point, there were a few notable stories about this group of players. Firstly, cousins Greg Buchite and Jim Buchite were both hoping to take home a prize package to become the first family winners in Minnesota Poker League history. But with Jim’s short stack it looked like it might be his cousin Greg who would take home the trophy for the family and win exclusive bragging rights. Secondly Tomi Hamilton from the Trackside in Wadena managed to make her way to this final table by winning Trackside’s Wild Card Night and making it through regionals. She’s a perfect example of how awesome and important playing in those Wild Card Nights can be! ThirdlyNels Peterson from the Ultimate Sports Bar in Waite Park was looking to pick up his second Minnesota State Championship title to join the exclusive club of multiple winners.

When three-time state champion Clay Lipke, who went out just after the first break, started the final table action as a “guest dealer”, he had high hopes of “transferring” some of his luck and skill to the group of players looking to win one of the six prizes. And with six of the 10 players enjoying their first final table action, it looked like some of them might need any help they could get. It didn’t take long however to lose our first three players Deno Torkelson, Greg Buchite and Kye Longtin. To kill the pain (especially Greg’s who lost his lead to cousin Jim who was down from the start), we sent them off with some hot FPN gear and dreams of making it this far again during our next promotion Gold Rush 2.

Now down to the final seven, each player was at the edge of their seats to see how the final action would play out. And before we knew it we were in the midst of the final hand. Early positioned Robb Kjenstad of Route 65 Pub and Grub in East Bethel went all-in pre-flop with suited A-4, only to be called by Nels Peterson’s pocket 5s. With Kevin Rousser and Bill Long left to act, Nels’stare down seem to urge them to call and go three against one to end it. But both folded leaving it on Nels to become–or take down–the bubble. Luckily for Nels, his 5s held up and the next Minnesota State Champions were crowned! Congratulations to Tomi, Nels, Jon, Bill, Jim and Kevin our new champions! And thanks to all of you who came out for this memorable event!

Most people who follow the Minnesota tournament poker scene are familiar with “3-Putts” — a man who has earned well over $100,000 since spring of 2009.

But there’s another ‘Putts who has been doing pretty well for himself lately.

Tony “2Putts” Phaysith, a 36-year-old who came to the United States via Thailand in 1985, has started to make some noise.

I first met Phaysith on day two of the inaugural Minnesota State Poker Tour event at Canterbury Park in December, when he made a sick laydown with two tables remaining.

Nursing a short stack, Phaysith laid down pocket Queens preflop to an opponent and proclaimed, “I’m folding these because I know you have Aces.” He was right. The opponent turned over Aces.

Phaysith was unable to fully harness the momentum of that big laydown, eventually finishing 14th for $2,235, but lately he’s been running hot in the lower buy-in tournaments at Running Aces Harness Park.

On May 1, Phaysith chopped the Saturday $65 tournament heads-up for $1,700. On May 5, he won $1,400 for reaching the final table of the Cinco de Mayo $125 event. And on May 8, Phaysith took down another $65 tournament for $1,600.

Not a bad week.

“It was sick and pretty crazy, alright,” said Phaysith, “Very proud of myself that I can play like this within one week. Pretty lucky there.

“I was laid off from work recently, about eight months ago. Then I took poker pretty seriously, and started to play live cash game in Canterbury and Running Aces, sharpening up my skills.”

Phaysith, who currently resides in Plymouth, graduated from St. Louis Park High School in 1991, and Mankato State University in 1995 with a double major in Accounting and Finance. He speaks 3 1/2 languages — English, Thai, Laotian, and some Vietnamese.

“I started to learn how to play poker when I was in a refugee camp in Philippines,” Phaysith said. “I was sent over as a translator to help out the Asian refugees to be prepared to come settle in the U.S. back in 1996. I was in the refugee camp for about one year, and I’d met up and was working with (a man named) Don Rock, who was a U.N. peace Corp. there.

“One weekend there in the refugee camp I was pretty laid-back and relaxed, nothing much to do. Then Don came and knocked on my door and asked me if I know how to play cards, for fun and killing time. Almost every weekend Don would ask me to play poker with him.”

And now, as often as he can, Phaysith is grinding the local tournament scene.

We’ll see if Phaysith’s hot run at Running Aces in early May translates to a big score in one of the many $1k events coming up this summer.

I have a feeling it might.

Ryan Swanberg, who flew to Minnesota from just outside Detroit, Michigan, is the 2010 Minnesota State Poker Champion.

Swanberg, who turned 30 years old at the stroke of midnight, entered the final table as chip leader, and he wound up defeating James Nytes heads-up for the victory. The final hand saw Nytes raise to 120k from the button with blinds at 20/40k. Swanberg moved all in with QJ, and Nytes called off his remaining 500k with A6.

The river brought a J, shipping $45,000 and the championship to Swanberg.

Click here to read through the live coverage from Canterbury Park.

Look for a full feature in the July issue of Minnesota Poker Magazine.

Results:

1st – $45,394 – Ryan Swanberg

2nd – $23,383 – James Nytes

3rd – $16,506 – David Webb

4th – $12,379 – David Jones

5th – $8,253 – Wayne Martinson

6th - $6,877 -  Charles Costanzo

7th - $5,502 – Gary Loeffler

8th - $4,126 – Matt Kirby

9th - $2,751 – Jeff Henkel

10th - $1,375 -  Dennis Stevermer

11th - $1,375 – 3 Putts

12th - $1,375 – Jeremy Dresch

13th - $1,375 – Mike Reich

14th - $1,375 – Paul Cross

15th - $1,375 – Blake Bohn

16th - $1,375 – Quon Tran

17th - $1,375 – Tom Wessling

18th - $1,375 – Jeff Havenor

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Minnesota State Poker Championship Tournament Updates

11:55 – UPDATE: It’s over. Swanberg wins.

Swanberg first built his stack back up by doubling through Nytes, 99 vs. 22 on a 5, 4, 3 flop. After that hand, Swanberg had 1.3 million chips, while Nytes and Webb had 400k each.

A couple hands later, Nytes moved all in with 33 in the small blind and Webb called with A10. The board brought no help and Webb — who one held a massive chip lead — was down to his last 100k. He would bust shortly after, leaving Nytes and Swanberg to battle heads up.

Heading into heads-up play, Swanberg had 1.4 million to Nytes’ 900k. He took 400k off Nytes after making a huge call on the river with K7 on a AKQxx board. On the next hand, Swanberg pushed all in with QJ and Nytes called off his stack with A6. The river brought a J, shipping $45,394 and the State Poker Championship title to Swanberg.

11:08 – UPDATE: After some back and forth action for several minutes, we finally had a massive 1.4 million chip pot. With the blinds at 15/30k, David Webb raised to 100k from the small blind. Ryan Swanberg moved all in from the big blind for 1.1 million. Webb snap called with AJ, and Swanberg flipped over A8. The board ran clean for Webb, who doubled up to 1.4 million on the hand. Swanberg fell to 400k.

Two hands later, Webb and Nytes saw a 7,6,3 flop in a limped pot. Nytes bet, Webb raised, and Nytes shoved all in for 350k total. Webb called, turning over 9-7. Nytes showed 44.

The turn came a 5, giving Nytes a straight.

Chip counts:
Webb – 1.05 million
Nytes – 700k
Swanberg – 450k

10:35 – UPDATE: David Webb continues to roll. He just busted David Jones to scoop a 700k pot, with 99 against Jones’ 77, all in preflop. Webb now has over one million chips. 1.1 million, approximately.

Ryan Swanberg has 500k, and James Nytes has 450k.

Last two eliminations:

4th – $12,379 – David Jones

5th – $8,253 – Wayne Martinson

10:15 – UPDATE: Last few eliminations:

6th - $6,877 -  Charles Costanzo

7th - $5,502 – Gary Loeffler

8th - $4,126 – Matt Kirby

9th - $2,751 – Jeff Henkel

David Webb is the chip leader with approximately 800k, and Ryan Swanberg has about 600k.

10:04 – UPDATE: Jeff Henkel just went from second in chips to busto in the first 10 minutes of the final table, courtesy of David Webb.

Web first won a massive pot off Henkel. Webb flopped a set of 4′s on an 8-high board, and Henkel tried making a move with QJ. Henkel dropped to 200k, and Webb jumped up over 400k.

Two hands later, Henkel ran KK into Webb’s AA to bust.

- On the very next hand, Webb knocked out Matt Kirby in 8th with AQ vs. A10, all in preflop. Webb now has over 600k of the 2.1 million chips in play.

- Shortly after that, Gary Loeffler’s 44 and short stack were eliminated by Ryan Swanberg’s AK when a K hit on the turn. We’re down to six, just like that. Swanberg and Webb each have about 600k.

9:54 – UPDATE: Final table chip counts (by seat):

1. David Jones, 160k
2. Charles Costanzo, 110k
3. Wayne Martinson, 260k
4. David Webb, 200k
5. Gary Loeffler, 80k
6. Matt Kirby, 200k
7. Jeff Henkel, 400k
8. Ryan Swanberg, 530k
9. James Nytes, 140k

9:41 – UPDATE: 3-Putts has been eliminated in 11th place. ‘Putts shoved 125k in late position, with blinds at 8/16k, and was called by A10c. The turn brought a club flush, and ‘Putts hit the rail.

We are now down to the final table.

Last five out:

10^th – $1,375 -  Dennis Stevermer

11^th – $1,375 – 3 Putts

12^th – $1,375 – Jeremy Dresch

13^th – $1,375 – Mike Reich

14^th – $1,375 – Paul Cross

9:25 – UPDATE: The two most well-known players remaining in the tournament continue to collide. Jeremy Dresch shoved his final 91k all in preflop, and 3-Putts called off his final 57k. Dresch turned over KJ, and ‘Putts turned over A10. The board ran out clean for ‘Putts, who doubled up over 100k. Dresch is on life support once again.

On the next hand, 3-Putts open raised, but a player behind him moved all in over the top. ‘Putts folded, and now sits with just over 90k.

Dresch was eliminated in 12th place a short while later by Matt Kirby.

9:04 – UPDATE: Jeremy Dresch, who hit a five-outer last level to stay alive, just eliminated Paul Cross’s Q10 with JJ, all in preflop. Dresch chipped up to approximately 200,000 chips, with blinds at 6k/12k.

Two hands later, Dresch lost 70k to go back down to roughly 130k.

8:50 – UPDATE: Last four out:

15^th – $1,375 – Blake Bohn

16^th – $1,375 – Quon Tran

17^th – $1,375 – Tom Wessling

18^th – $1,375 – Jeff Havenor

8:40 – UPDATE: 15 Players remain.  1st place pays $45,394.  10th – 18th is $1,375.  The current chip leader is Matt Kirby from Bemidji with roughly $270,000 of $2.1 million in play.  2nd in chips is James Nytes with $245,000.  About 10 minutes ago, Jeremy Dresch shoved a short stack from the button with A5, 3-Putts called from the small blind with pocket 8s.  Dresch rivered an Ace to stay alive, 3-Putts is crippled.

Minnesota Poker Magazine is at Canterbury Park today covering the Minnesota State Poker Championship. $1,100 buy-in, 143 players entered today, 34 remain.

Among those still standing are Jeremy Dresch, 3 Putts and John Alexander.  Keep checking back as we will post more photos and updates as we get closer to the money.

With the 2010 State Poker Championship taking place at Canterbury Park today, it’s only fitting to take a look back at last year’s tournament, which was won by 22-year-old Alec Anderson — a professional poker player who recently moved to Georgia.

Anderson outlasted 3-Putts heads-up to take home the title in April, 2009, and also nearly $66,000.

Alec Anderson wins Minnesota State Poker Championship

By Craig Dirkes and Phil Mackey

Some 22-year-olds would shout to the heavens, hoot and holler, and go on a massive spending spree after winning $66,000 in a poker tournament. Trade in that rust bucket car for a shiny upgrade, fill a shopping cart with Xbox games, and send “What’s up now?” messages on Facebook to all the girls from his past.

Alec Anderson is a different breed. Hootin’ and hollerin’ just isn’t his style. Upon winning Canterbury Park’s State Poker Championship on April 26, the 22-year-old was stoicism personified, barely cracking a smile while gathering his $65,955 prize. The money, he says, will be dumped into his bankroll for future tournaments, both live and online.

A month before, Anderson was working four days a week as a saw operator, making $15 an hour.

“When I was there I just thought about poker all day,” says Anderson, a Plymouth native who began playing poker in 2004. “I would think about different scenarios and imagine myself winning.”

The daydreaming is over, and the winning has begun. And if it wasn’t official before, it sure is now: Anderson is a full-time, full-on professional poker player.

Minutes after winning the state championship, Anderson sat down with Minnesota Poker Magazine to explain his winning strategy, his future plans as a professional, and why he listens to classical music during tournament play.

MNP: You were the chip leader heading into the final table ($320,000), but your stack dwindled down to almost nothing as time progressed. Were you card dead? Missing flops? Hand in the cookie jar?

Alec: The first big hand I lost, there was a button raise to $30,000 (by Duane Mann), and I was in the small blind. I re-raised to about $80,000 with A-10, and he instantly shoved. He and I were almost even in chips when the hand started.

MNP: The real action started with four players left – you, Duane Mann, “3 Putts” and Jeff Havenor. You were the short-stack, but picked up A-Q against Mann’s A-6 for the double up.

Alec: That was the hand, once we were shorthanded, that got me going. Before that I wasn’t getting any hands. I was just dwindling. I was at about seven or eight big blinds at that time, and I was just waiting for any hand to get it in with. (A-Q) was way above average, I would have shoved a lot lighter than that, probably.

Duane Mann

MNP: Were you bracing for a bad beat? A 6 out of the window, perhaps?
Alec: I’m always bracing for it.

After you doubled up, you changed gears right away and took a massive pot from 3 Putts.

Alec: I had K-9 suited (on the button), and the flop was 7-high. He checked, and I know he’s pretty aggressive, so I didn’t want to just bet with King-high and have to fold if he re-raised. So I just checked to keep the pot under control. Keep it small, give myself a chance. I had two overcards, but no value, and if I bet and he raised, I can’t do anything.

I checked, hit the King (on the turn), and he bet like I expected. He bet $60,000, and I had about $250,000. I was pretty confident my King was good. I mean, I don’t think he has an overpair. he could have a better kicker, but that’s a chance I was willing to take.

(Editor’s note: 3 Putts folded to Anderson’s all-in on the turn, allowing the 22-year-old to take the chip lead just two hands after being the clear short stack.)

MNP: At what point did you think you were going to win the tournament?

Alec: After I won the hand against Duane Mann. My confidence was all the way up right there.

** Alec is talking about the hand where he backdoored 3,3 for trip 3s, crippling Mann, who held second-pair of 10s.

MNP: Once you build a large stack, is your strategy to be more aggressive?

Alec: I like to keep the pots smaller and go deeper, play the flop, turn and river – instead of betting huge and have somebody re-raise me. Then I can’t see the flop because they bet so much.

3-Putts

MNP: What do you do for a living, and how often do you play poker?

Alec: I actually quit my job a month ago to play poker online full time.
MNP: Oh yeah? What job did you quit?

Alec: I was a CNC saw operator. It wasn’t a bad job, it was just kind of boring…and it was just doing the same thing over all day every day. I was working by myself, which I don’t mind because I’m not the most social person anyways.

MNP: What led to you essentially turning pro?

Alec: I told myself I wanted to have a $20,000 online bankroll, and once I got there I started seriously thinking about (going pro). January and February were my two best months – I made $8,000 each month. I was only making $15 an hour at my job, and I made quadruple that playing poker, and I was only able to play two days a week because I had to work four days a week. So I figured I should give it a shot. Plus, my work sounded like they might lay off some people in a few months, so it wasn’t that huge of a risk.

MNP: Online cash games? Tournaments? What’s your game of choice?

Alec: Pretty much all multi-table tournaments.

MNP: You seemed completely “in the moment” the entire final table, even though 3 Putts was jabbering the whole time, and your chip stack took a couple major swings.

Alec: I was listening to my MP3 player. I like to listen to classical music and just relax myself. When I play at home I’m playing all the time, so the best thing I’ve found is to listen to classical music because it’s really relaxing. You get a lot of bad beats when you play like 10 tables at once online, so you just want to be calm and take it as you go.

MNP: Is this the biggest cash you’ve had?

Alec: Yes.

MNP: By far?

Alec: The biggest online was probably $7,000.

MNP: How often do you play live tournaments?

Alec: I try to play once a week now since I started playing fulltime, because I don’t want to play in front of a computer all day.

MNP: Where do you typically play?

Alec: Running Aces. Last Wednesday, I won the $100 tournament, and when I was playing that I told myself if I won that I was going to buy in to this tournament…I figured it’s a freeroll pretty much.

MNP: What next?

Alec: Just go back to grinding online I guess. I don’t know any big tournaments that are coming up really soon.

MNP: Other than that one that starts in Las Vegas at the Rio pretty soon.

Alec: I don’t have a big enough bankroll for that. Basically, I just try to practice good bankroll management. At minimum, 100 buy-ins for tournaments. This one (MN State Championship), I was going to try to take a shot at, but it’s only once a year so it’s not that stressful on my bankroll if I don’t cash.

Jackpot Junction recently concluded its WSOP Main Event seat series and Mike Ochs (pictured) took down the sweet prize.

The series consisted of weekly tournaments over the past several months where players competed for not only cash, but points as well to determine the champ.

Along with the $10,000 WSOP Main Event seat, Ochs will receive $2,500 in cash for travel and expenses.

Al Ahmann won a $1,500 seat in a WSOP event.

Congrats and good luck to Mike & Al!

Joe Matheson (left) and Everett Carlton

With Canterbury’s State Poker Championship coming up this weekend, followed by the Minnesota State Poker Tour event at Northern Lights Casino in three weeks, there are plenty of Player of the Year points up for grabs.

Not to mention, current leader Everett Carlton will be playing in Las Vegas for much of the next two months, allowing players the chance to close the gap.

Here are the updated standings:

Chris Jagerson, North Mankato, took third place in mini FTOPs event 23 last Friday for $12,000. Jagerson, who plays online as ‘AAbsolutely,’ competed at a final table that included noteworthy pro Lee Watkinson, who finished fourth.

Jagerson, who reached the final table of the Diamond Jo $50K Bash back in September, also finished third place in the Full Tilt $32K tournament last weekend for $4,800.

Jagerson is a former sports writer for the Mankato Free Press, where he covered Minnesota Vikings training camp, among other events.