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An Interview with John Juanda
John Juanda went into today’s final table with $147,000 in chips. With blinds of $8,000 and $16,000, there wasn’t a lot of room for him to play. He busted in eighth place after taking pocket Queens against Can Kim Hua’s Ace-King. John won $37,606.
JG: John, can you tell me how the day went for you?
JJ: I played one hand. The blinds were so high to start with that I had to find a good hand and go with it. Unfortunately, I found two Queens. There wasn’t much I could do there.
JG: Do you think you’re playing particularly well right now? Does this bode well for the rest of the series?
JJ: I was playing well yesterday. I wasn’t catching any cards at all. I was just hanging in there. I was picking my spots carefully. I hope to be able to play like that for the rest of the series. I’m confident that I’ll do well and make some money here.
JG: How do you feel? Are you exhausted after playing two long days?
JJ: I’m disappointed. I was hoping to play for a little longer. But it’s not the end of the world. I still made some money. I’m ahead for the series.
Someone was going to bet me a lot of money that I wouldn’t end up ahead at the end of the series. I was going to bet him $100,000 but I couldn’t find him. Too bad. I would have been in really good shape.
I’ve been playing [the WSOP] for nine years and I’ve only had one losing year.
JG: Are you going to take a break and take the day off tomorrow?
JJ: Come on, man! It’s only the second event! I’m still very pumped up, very high in energy.
JG: Good luck for the rest of the series.
JJ: Thank you.
