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Jeff, not sure if congratulations or commiserations are in order. Are you pleased with the cash?
I'm really pleased. Straight after losing I was obviously disappointed, but I went outside with the boys on the rail, Karl Mahrenholz, Praz Bansi, J.P. Kelly and the rest, and they told me how well I played and how I couldn't really have done much more when I went card-dead heads-up, especially against a world class opponent.
You’ve had some Omaha success in the past, with a few GUKPT side event cashes. Have you upped your Omaha game at all recently?
I play mainly PLO cash online, but Omaha comps are few and far between so it's difficult to play that many. I did ship the $1k PLO in the ECOOP in December for over $40k though and I'm pretty confident in my PLO game, especially tournaments. I'm still not sure what the optimum strategy is in PLO comps though, there are so many times you could stick it in and gamble or re-raise someone light in the knowledge you're never that far behind.
Does seeing other Brits win bracelets spur you on or are you too busy concentrating on your own game?
It definitely spurs the rest of us on. J.P. Kelly is like a little brother to me; I've known him for years and always look out for him. When he got heads-up in the event he won there were about 20 of us there to cheer him home. He also wins the prize for looking most hungover at the presentation ceremony the next day.
What’s it like coming up against JC Tran and how does he compare with pros you’ve played against before?
JC is quality, both as a player and a fella. I've played him before two years ago, which he remembered, and also knocked him out of the $2500 PLO/NLHE tourney earlier in this WSOP. He's up there with the best I've played definitely, although I think I'm a better PLO player than him, his poker sense and tournament skills are really impressive. As a gentleman, hearing him say in interviews that he definitely had the better cards and the luck and that I played well against him was particularly touching, great humility from a superstar player.
Were there any hands at the final table you’d have played differently?
I played the first hand I raised badly, calling a re-raise with 9-T-J-x against Dallas Flowers and calling his al-in with my flush draw versus his top set. That left me short and I shouldn't have played the hand, but having said that, Ross Boatman doubled me up soon afterwards and that hand would probably have played different if we were both still deep. Other than that, I think I played pretty well, and if I hadn't gone so card-dead heads-up maybe I could have gone all the way. |
