"It Feels Great to Start the New Year With a Big Score"
On the very first Sunday of 2015, Mat Checktrap11Cuthbertson (pictured) chopped the PokerStars Sunday $100 Rebuy two ways and walked off with $47,000. There were 942 entrants that day and Cuthbertson, who has almost $1 million in career online MTT winnings, took home 17% of the $276,000 prize pool. The London resident was kind enough to sit down with us to talk about it.
PocketFives: Congrats on your chop in the Sunday $100 Rebuy. Tell us how you’re feeling.
Mat Cuthbertson: Thanks. It feels great to start the New Year with a big score. Obviously, I ran pretty well, but I was really pleased with how I played overall. I’d say it’s one of toughest fields online and there are always a lot of talented regs going deep, so it’s a nice confidence boost to chop heads-up and get the win.
PocketFives: Can you walk us through how the chop went down? Are you still happy with it?
Mat Cuthbertson: As soon as we got heads-up, we both agreed to look at the numbers. While I had the chip lead, he was a very good player who specializes in high-stakes heads-up cash, so I was more than happy to do a deal. I got $43,500, he took $41,000, and we played for the extra $4,000. The ICM numbers worked in his favor given the stacks, but I didn’t mind too much given his edge heads-up. Thankfully, I coolered him a couple of times to lock up the extra cash.
PocketFives: Can you walk us through how the tournament went before the chop?
Mat Cuthbertson: I got off to a really good start during the rebuy period and was able to chip up nicely during the early to middle stages. I won a few decent-sized pots and then a big one when my aces held against a straight draw to find myself with a 135,000-chip stack with the average around 35,000. It meant I could put a lot of pressure on the smaller stacks as we approached the bubble.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing, as I lost a few pots deep to come into the final table as one of the short stacks. I managed to ladder a few spots before picking up some big hands, hitting flops when it mattered, and I took the chip lead with four or five players remaining.
PocketFives: You’re almost at $1 million in tracked online MTT winnings. Talk about that.
Mat Cuthbertson: I don’t really pay too much attention to total cashes. People who don’t play many tournaments or are less familiar with poker think it’s a huge amount, but it’s a bit misleading and not always a good indicator of someone’s success. I’m much more concerned with my total profit which, while healthy, is unfortunately a much smaller number.
PocketFives: What was the most helpful person or thing for the development of your poker career?
Mat Cuthbertson: There have been lots of people who have influenced my game over the last few years, although I feel I’ve made some big improvements in the last six months. I went to Las Vegas for the WSOP Main Event last year and while I busted on Day 3, I shared a house with some really talented players including the eventual winner, Martin Jacobson.
Discussing hands with some of the best players in the game and being involved in a couple of the online simulations before the November Nine taught me a great deal and has helped develop my game immensely.
PocketFives: What advice do you have for people just coming up in poker?
Mat Cuthbertson: Tournament poker is tough and it’s getting harder. I wouldn’t advise anyone to pursue tournament poker as a full-time career. Those who are smart enough to succeed in MTT poker could better apply themselves to something else while treating poker as a profitable hobby. For those starting out, I would encourage putting time aside to study hand histories, use forums and friends to discuss hands, and always practice good bankroll management.
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