PocketFives.com member Kyle KJulius10 Julius (pictured at right) got the month of March started off on the right foot. The Illinois poker player chopped the UB.com $200,000 Guaranteed, a tournament with a buy-in of of $200+15. A total of 1,006 players showed up and Julius banked $34,000. The final table of the contest was chalk-full of members of the PocketFives community, including Triple Crown winner subiime and Indiana’s Aaron_Hacker. PocketFives.com caught up with Julius to relive the excitement of the UB.com $200,000 Guaranteed victory.Despite running pocket kings into pocket aces and losing a key coin flip, Julius hung tough in the $215 buy-in CEREUS Network poker tournament. He told PocketFives.com, “The key was having enough chips to lose one of those and still have enough to get myself back into it. When we were full ring, I definitely played a lot nittier. When more and more people got out, I would apply more and more pressure.” He’s been on a hot run in 2010, opening the new calendar year by finishing second in the Sunday Second Chance for $31,000.
Other key scores throughout his career include two $36,000 cashes on Full Tilt Poker and wins in the $40,000 Guaranteed and $70,000 Guaranteed on PokerStars. On where the UB.com Sunday Major title ranks among his poker achievements, Julius explained, “It’s definitely a big accomplishment. It has to be close to my biggest, if not the biggest, so far. I just hope there are bigger ones to come.” In February alone, Julius raked in nearly $80,000 in tournaments that are tracked for the Online Poker Rankings.
Assembling at the rail of the Sunday Major were several members of the online poker community. Julius noted that their presence helped propel his run to the finish line: “A lot of my friends were watching and cheering me on. It always makes it more fun when you have people cheering you on.” Julius can be found under the user name KEJULES10 on UB.com.
Julius attributes some of his recent success to his brother, Ryan RJules12 Julius (pictured at left). A successful player in his own right, Ryan Julius notched a fourth place finish in a $215 No Limit Hold’em tournament held during the 2009 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) for a whopping $97,000. He’s also taken down the PokerStars Nightly Hundred Grand, Nightly Seventy Grand, $40,000 Guaranteed, and $55 rebuy. The UB.com $200,000 Guaranteed champion broke down his relationship with his sibling: “We talk and give each other feedback all the time. If I do something dumb, he won’t hesitate to let me know.”
One piece of advice that his brother has imparted is to tone down the aggression. Julius commented, “The biggest thing he’s taught me is not to force the issue and instead just let things flow. There’s no need to try to win every single pot. My aggressive style is what helps me win tournaments, but it can also be my worst enemy.” Also influencing his game have been Mark dipthrong Herm (pictured at right) and Nick Grip Grippo, both ranked players.He attends North Central College in Naperville, Illinois, home of the Cardinals. Despite school and a robust basketball career, he’s made it a goal to expand his live game going forward and will be in Las Vegas in a few months’ time for the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP). There, his tournament schedule is still very much up in the air: “It all depends on what my backers want to put me in. Obviously, I’d love to play everything possible, but it will all depend on my success online from now until then.” In October, the WSOP Circuit made a stop in Hammond, Indiana, just east of Chicago, for a 13-tournament series. The casino is in the midst of holding the Chicago Poker Classic.
Congratulations to Kyle KJulius10 Julius for chopping the UB.com $200,000 Guaranteed. Visit UB.com for more details.
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