Friday, October 28, 2016

In My 3rd Video from Punta Cana I Talk to a Young Player from Missouri


I love meeting players at poker tournaments who are experiencing the thrills of an action packed live tournament for the first time.  In the third episode of my Living the Dream: Punta Cana Poker Classic 2016 videos I aught up with Tyler, from Missouri.  This was his first big tournament -- in fact this was his first time in a plane and first time out of America! He won his way to the Caribbean in an online tournament at Americas Cardroom and is thoroughly enjoying living the dream at the Caribbean poker tournament.



“I’ve never even been on a plane before, and I’ve only ever played poker online, so I sure was nervous coming down here,” Tyler told Living the Dream host, Larry Colcy (aka TheGamblogger). “But I’ve got 71,000 chips going into Day 2 so I’m feeling pretty good about now!”

Last year the winner of the tournament pocketed over $185,000 of the $500,000 prize pool. Like many players, Tyler has already thought about what he’ll do if he wins some money at the tournament.

“If I just place, that’s good enough for me. But if I win I guess I’ll buy some stuff for my car,” said Tyler. “Folks back home won’t be surprised to hear that! I guess I’d invest a lot of it – and set some aside to go to the WSOP and try my luck in Las Vegas!”

For a tournament newbie, a big event like the Punta Cana Poker Classic, and all the professional players that it attracts, can be a bit frightening.

“I was pretty nervous at first. I was playing really tight. After a while I started opening up. My image made everyone think I must have something, so I was winning most of the pots.”

My full interview with Tyler is on the Americas Cardroom poker news blog. On the Winning Poker Network, Americas Cardroom is one of the biggest and most trusted US facing poker rooms.


Playing the Punta Cana Poker Classic is a Big Deal for Young Americas Cardroom Player

I don't think I've met a poker player that’s living the dream quite as truly as a player I chatted with last night at the Punta Cana Poker Classic. Tyler, a young player from Missouri, won his way to Punta Cana in a satellite tournament at Americas Cardroom, the biggest US poker room. He more than survive Day 1 -- he’s got over 70,000 chips and thinks he's is in the Top 20 heading into Day 2!

My video today has highlights of our conversation.  The full version is on the Americas Cardroom poker news blog.


Tyler’s never played an action packed live tournament like the Punta Cana Poker Classic. In fact, he’d never even been on a plane before this epic trip!

“If I just place, that’s good enough for me.  But if I win I guess I’ll buy some stuff for my car,” said Tyler.  “Folks back home won’t be surprised to hear that!  I guess I’d invest a lot of it – and set some aside to go to the WSOP and try my luck in Las Vegas!”

There's lots of young guys playing here this week, but Tyler's gotta be about the youngest.

“I guess if I start to feel too intimidated I’ll just put on my sunglasses,” he laughed.

“This next day could be a little difficult, since the antes and the big blinds… But as long as I play good – not too tight and not too aggressive – I should be fine.

I'll keep my eye on Tyler through Day 2 tonight and, hopefully, will see him at the Final Table on Sunday.  I'll have one more video episode with final results on Monday.