FULL TILT POKER BLOG

Meet the Qualifiers

Posted by jgreenspan | Filed under Uncategorized

This afternoon, Full Tilt had a party for their 400-plus online qualifiers. It was a chance for these online players to mingle and chat with the pros. Rafe Furst, a recent bracelet winner chatted with a number of people, Erik Seidel signed autographs, and Chris Furgeson answered questions and posed for photographs.

What’s amazing is that most of the people here talk of qualifying for trivial sums of money — $6, $52, $0. With a combination of skill and luck, they made it through the qualifying tournaments and now, with almost nothing invested, they’ll have a chance at $20 Million (the $10 Million first prize, plus the $10 Million bonus for qualifying through Full Tilt).

Who are these players? They represent a wide variety of age groups and geographic regions. But looking around the room, one can’t help but be struck by the predominance of youth. To my 38-year-old eyes, they look like a bunch of kids.

Take Tam Phan. He invested a total of $52 in satellites. He’s 22-year-old student at San Jose St. University. He calls himself a “pretty serious player,” and during his summer break, he’s putting in a lot of time in the local card rooms and online. This is his first $10k event, but he seemed calm, not at all bothered by the enormity of the task that might lie ahead.

Bryan Runnels also seemed relaxed. A student at Kansas University, he stood by the bar with a friend, drinking a draft beer. Runnels spent nothing to get here — $0. He played a single freeroll and won it. To date, his biggest cash is $1,800, so any cash here would be a significant victory. He talks like a seasoned player. When asked how he’ll approach the big day, he offered, “I’ll do whatever the situation dictates.”

By the bar a trio of trio of young men talked and drank. A student, an options trader, and a gun-shop owner from Dublin (who assured me that he doesn’t sell to the IRA), none was older than 24 and none invested more than $150 in qualifying. When I asked the group what skills they thought would serve them well in the days to follow, they said, almost in unison, “patience.” If the were at all nervous, it didn’t show. They were enjoying the day, looking forward to whatever might be ahead.

What would this group do with the proceeds from a significant win? The options trader said, “I’d fly a bunch of people out and give them $10,000 in cash, and they’d have to spend it before they left. It would be a good time.”

“There’s a lot of ways to spend it,” said the Irishman. “Helicopters and cars – my bankroll would be out the window.”

Stacy Fee from Elkorn, Nebraska, put in a significant chunk of time looking to qualify. For the last five months, he’s been playing satellites. It’s his first big tournament, and he’s sharing the experience with his wife, who accompanied him on the trip. He plays in local leagues – as does his wife – and a couple of friends managed to qualify as well. Now, there are a dozen folks from Elkorn soaking up the atmosphere and looking forward to playing the Main Event.

“It’ll be fun,” says Fee. When asked if he’d be intimidated by playing with pro – an Ivey or Hansen – he replied, “No, it would be great. I’m here for the experience.”

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