Friday, 29th March 2024 07:22
Home / Uncategorized / Nanonoko: That time I won $368,000 in SCOOP

It’s been almost one year since I played the 2013 $1,000 SCOOP-M Main Event. I was ecstatic to have accomplished a huge score both on the live and online felt and I can remember all of the key hands I played that day. You would think that a player who has played as many hands as myself–a player who has played some of the highest stakes around–would not have any pressure at all, but it wasn’t quite what you may expected.

My heart was racing throughout that final table. I knew that this opportunity was going to be a special one, and I needed to make the best decisions I could with all eyes on me. No pressure? Yeah more like all of the pressure in the world!

I was so use to playing 24 tables at a time, but I couldn’t fathom the idea of making a mistake. So, I decided to play just one table. Wait, I didn’t decide to do that, I NEEDED to do that!

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Yeah, this many tables just wasn’t going to work…

Some decisions that may have seemed trivial took some extra thought because I wanted to make sure I thought through and trusted my instincts. I remember making big laydowns and aggressive plays throughout the tournament that some people may have overlooked. I wasn’t going to let this tournament end on a regretful decision.

The interesting thing, though, was that the biggest decision on that final table was whether I wanted to strike a deal or not. I ended up declining a deal when there were six players left for $236,083.28. It was a very bold move by me (I was the short stack), but I had to go with how I felt best. That was to play on.

Eventually, it was down to four players, and we discussed a deal again. We all agreed! I had secured my biggest-ever online winning day for $368,445.01! I eventually busted out in 4th place, so it ended up working out for me. I felt pretty good about it despite coming short of the title.

Luckily for you guys, I recorded a ton of footage from before the final table all the way to the very end. It’s a lot of footage (10 parts to be exact) but trust me, it’s good stuff! I go through all of the hands that I played. Actually re-watching them myself has reminded me of the good things I did back then. I talk through the deal-making process and really just played some great poker that I’m proud of.

The funny thing is that before I got to the final table. I thought to myself, I need to record this. Why you may ask? Because I knew that my fans wanted to me to win. That energy that I got from reading the support from the very beginning of the tournament to the end all over Twitter and Facebook made me realize I’m lucky and happy to be who I am. I wanted to make them proud and prove to myself that I can do this.

Now that the 2014 SCOOP is right around the corner, I’m excited to get right back into it and outdo last year’s performance. I want to win a SCOOP title! I’m pumped and I’m ready to play the majority of the NL events for the low, medium, and high buy-ins. I hope you learn something from my videos to help you on your quest to a SCOOP title. If I see you on the virtual felt, I wish you good luck. Now it’s time for us to shine!

*****

To watch Randy’s videos in order, head on over to PokerSchoolOnline and start with part one of his journey.

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