He's been playing in major tournaments online for six months and, as luck would have it, his plans to go out of town last weekend were scrapped. Instead, Homan buckled down for a Sunday filled with poker. He candidly admitted to PocketFives.com that his late change of plans paid off in a big way: “For whatever reason, I was probably more focused on playing poker than I had been any other day. I have no idea if that had anything to do with my good fortune.” The result: Two Sunday Major final tables and $80,000 to show for it. To put the cashes in perspective, his previous best result was a runner up finish in the Full Tilt Poker $65,000 Guaranteed for $16,000. He also recorded a $10,000 payday for winning the $55 buy-in $50,000 Guaranteed on PokerStars.
Homan commented that his ride through the Warm-Up diverted some of his attention away from the $750,000 Guaranteed over on Full Tilt Poker. He recalled, “The $750K Guaranteed was a bit of a roller coaster. I have no idea how I ended up accumulating the stack I did, as I was so focused on the Warm-Up.” On his success in the PokerStars tournament, he explained, “In general, everything was just clicking, good spots kept coming up, and the big hands held at the right times.” He faced enormous fields in both tournaments, as the $750K attracted 3,937 players and the Warm-Up drew a talented group of 4,722. During the marquee tournament on PokerStars, he was crippled with A-10 against A-9 before returning the favor with A-7 against A-K. On his final hand, his K-9 was bested by his opponent's Q-10.
I asked the PocketFiver if running well in one tournament could boost his confidence in other events at the same time. He commented, “It always feels great to run well. Confidence is something that is easy come, easy go in poker, as downswings are always prevalent. After a day like Sunday, it's hard not to feel somewhat confident, but things like that don't happen every day.” You can find him battling it out under the alias “auhoman” on Full Tilt Poker. In tournaments that are tracked for the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings, he raked in $27,000 in February in 54 qualifying cashes.
Final tabling two Sunday Majors in the same night is a tough act to follow. However, Homan is ready to step up to the challenge. He told PocketFives.com, “I think the biggest goal for me is to win a Nightly or Major. Cracking the Top 100 in the Rankings would be a honor and I certainly want to play in the World Series of Poker, although I won't be able to make it this year.” Instead of participating in the 57 event WSOP beginning on May 27th, he'll be getting married in June and then traveling to Europe for his honeymoon. It's a trip that has been in the works for a while and Homan will head straight to the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta after he returns.
So how is his fiancee reacting to Homan's success? Pretty well! He explained, “She supports me 100% and has enjoyed the success, but we both understand how fortunate I've been over the last three months. We certainly had a good time celebrating after the tournaments last weekend.” He plans to take up orthopedics or surgery in med school, but is still weighing his options.
Juggling school, a family, and poker will certainly be a daunting task. On how he plans to balance the trifecta of activities, he told PocketFives.com, “School and my wife will come first, so poker will certainly be on the back burner. I hope to continue to be able to play, but obviously on a much lesser schedule than now.” He has had no thoughts of turning pro despite his recent success.
So what does the future hold for Chris homanga Homan? Will we finally see that Sunday Major win? Check back to PocketFives.com to find out.









