Congratulations to Martin who has made the final table of the APAT OnLive Championship, which will be played at the Grosvenor Victoria Casino on December 15th. In a series of interviews with each finalist, APAT Media Director Richard Prew caught up with Martin for his views on the event to date, and his thoughts on the London final table.Poker Background: I have been playing poker for a couple of years, at first with guys at work then progressing into local live games, then online in $10 SnGs and MTTs up to about $30. During last year i heard about the APAT from a couple of poker playing friends. I joined in July but due to work and a lack of really playing much at the time I only played in the online series once season two started even then work has got in the way of the amount I"ve been able to play.
Poker Successes: Winning a 172 player mtt on William Hill. Going to the final tables of 5/6 150-200 player mtts on PKR. Winning the satelitte seat to the OnLive event and the Onlive event so far. Live i have a couple of decent finishes in 25-40 player live games, my best being probably a 3rd place in a local special event with 35 runners at £80 entry. Also during the year i won a private satellite with 7 mates for a seat in the GUKPT Plymouth. I missed out on making the saturday but had a great time and got to sit with Jeff Kimber and Scott O"Reily and was then moved to a table with Barry Neville and Charlambos Xanthos. I really enjoyed the whole day and it has made me decide to use the internet to try to qualify for as many high profile live events as possible.
The Online stage: I dont really recall any specific hands except when; with seven left, there was an all in and a call. I think the all in hit a miracle card on the river to stay alive and my heart sank a little as I really thought that was it. I had a strategy going in to the tournament that the money was nice but getting to London was much much nicer. I think this helped to relive the pressure towards the money bubble (where I often dont play well) and when it got down to the final table I felt confident and relaxed. I had decided to pressure anyone with a stack smaller than mine and avoid any one who could knock me out luckily I picked the right spots and with 8 and 7 players I really pushed hard and made some bold moves. I also found some nice hands but really with such big blinds it was only 3/4 key moves that got me the chip lead. The pressure game is usually one I shy away from as I much prefer to climb the ladder so to speak but it worked and I enjoyed it.
Were you ever in trouble? I was never seriously worried about my stack, more about the size of the blinds, especially towards the end game when the blinds were large chunks of stacks. I just kept hoping for the right situations to crop up and nice hands to come in.
Your finalist opponents? I can"t remember playing early on with any of them. Obviously later on in the tournament had the chance to sit with them for a bit.
Thoughts about the Live stage: I am really looking forward to it. I"m very excited as it will be my first time at the Vic. I like the idea of starting with relative chip stacks from the online game but would be interested to know if the blinds will be rolled back and if so how far back.
And the Onlive concept? I really like the concept. It is a great idea. I know it is basically an online satellite to a live game but by combining the two and carrying over the stacks, it really feels like a great two part tourney. This waiting period is a bit like half time in a Football Cup Final.
And your hopes? Well earlier on I said about the tournament that making london was much much nicer than geting to the money. Now London feels nice but getting to vegas would be amazing - just unbelieveably amazing! As i didn"t really play much of a part in season one it was definately the WSOP seat that attracted me to the event and forced me to leave my very conservitive style behind to give myself a good chance of winning overall. Also the Title World Amateur Champ [editor - I"m afraid the title will be APAT OnLive Champion on this occasion], Cup and coveted Gold Medal would also mean heaps and probably never ending bragging rights with my mates.
Your strategy? I have a strategy in mind but I"m fighting with myself as it seems there are two clear ways to go high risk offering a good chance of winning but also a good chance of going bust rapidly, or going back to conservative "up the ladder", hoping for good hands to take it down. I"ll probably stay aggressive as it"s got me this far.
