Jonathan Tamayo has some simple advice for those looking to follow in his footsteps as a World Series of Poker Main Event champion.
“Fold the queen. Play 8-3 off (suit).” Tamayo said with a laugh..
After making headlines early in the main event for her controversial decision to fold pocket queens preflop, Tamayo The largest field in the history of the World Series of Poker Win $10 million.
The 38-year-old from Humble, Texas, won out of 10,112 competitors in a head-to-head contest against Jordan Griff.
“I sat down on the first day and just thought, ‘OK, I’m going to end up losing this tournament. It’s not going to be a good result, it’s not going to feel good,’ and I just carried on with life and mentally prepared for it,” said Tamayo, filmed by Card Player TV. “I can’t believe I didn’t get eliminated in the main event.”
Tamayo’s journey to the bracelet may be most memorable for a decision he made before the final table (nine players) even began.
With only one elimination left to qualify for the final group, and all nine players standing to win at least $1 million in prize money, Tamayo was given a strong starting hand of pocket queens.
Tamayo, who had $31 million in chips, chose to fold after the big stack raised him to $3.2 million with aces and sixes offsuit.
The decision surprised many, as pocket queens are the third-strongest starting hand, and Tamayo, who had around $28 million left after a potential call, had not committed to the pot at the time.
However, he opted to play conservatively, perhaps because he knew he only needed to beat one more player to reach the final table and win an additional $200,000.
The decision paid off, as another player was eliminated, putting him in with the seventh-most chips at the nine-player table.
Tamayo then maneuvered his way through the match, flopping 8-3 offsuit to win the tournament.
“Everybody who’s good at poker is in this tournament and somehow I won and I still can’t believe it,” Tamayo said. From ESPN“A lot of us start playing for the money and then when we get good we start playing for the fame. This is both.”
