Pascal LeFrancois

Pascal LeFrancois plays online at Full Tilt Poker

Pascal exploded on to the world poker scene in 2010 when he walked away with a coveted gold bracelet and $560K in prize money in the WSOP $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Event #8. He not only won the event, he dominated, building a massive chip lead and cruising through the final table. Following the event, he ripped his shirt off and posed bare-chested for the traditional winner’s photo shoot. It was the first time in the history of the WSOP that a winner posed shirtless. "It was an inside joke with my friends," said Pascal. "They were all cheering for me to take off my shirt. I was excited, so I did it."

While winning one of poker’s most coveted prizes might have been enough for most young players in one WSOP showing, Pascal immediately followed with a deep run in the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event. Pascal built his stack as the field of over 7,000 players was whittled down to the final two tables. He even managed to hold the chip lead at one point, before finishing in 11th place to pocket another $635K.

Not too bad for a 23-year-old college student in just his second World Series of Poker.

Pascal grew up in Deux-Montagnes, on the north shore of Montreal in Quebec, Canada, playing competitive hockey from a young age. He started playing poker with his hockey teammates in 2005, and went on to study finance at the University of Montreal.

He began playing poker online in 2006 and, after initial success in small stakes tournaments, he quickly moved up to the mid to high stakes events. His bankroll really started to expand when he hit the high stakes heads-up tables by 2007.

Pascal plays both cash games and tournaments, but for different reasons. He likes tournament play for the chance to come in first. "The best feeling in poker is to win, and the feeling of winning a big tournament is bigger than having a good cash game session," he says. He likes the flexibility of the cash games, however, and the fact that he’s not forced to commit himself to long stretches in front of the computer.

Maintaining good bankroll management was paramount to Pascal’s early success, and he recommends that beginners not "skip the steps." He believes that too many people overrate their abilities when they start and jump into games that are too big for them. "Good bankroll management is very, very important," he says.

According to Pascal, the most important skill for any poker player to acquire is to control their emotions. "Even if you are very good player, if you go on tilt easily you’ll end up losing" he says. "Always being in control of your emotions is probably the most difficult thing to do."

He plans to focus more on his poker career over the coming months and years. With his success so far, there is little doubt that Pascal is well on his way to becoming one of the rising stars of the poker world.

Highly competitive by nature, Pascal continues his love of hockey. He still plays the game for fun and is a dedicated Montreal Canadiens fan. He also enjoys playing golf and hanging out with his friends, and enjoys any type of game that involves competition.

You can find Pascal playing online at Full Tilt Poker.