The 23rd event of the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker, or WCOOP, was a $10,300 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Eight-Max 2X Chance Two-Day tournament that brought out a crowd of 276 players. Nearly $3 million on the line meant six people walked away with six-figure paydays, including Matt Stone, who is better known as GINS FINEST on PocketFives.

“I am happy with the score, but I’m disappointed in how it went down,” Stone told PocketFives in an exclusive interview. “I started Day 2 as the chip leader. I played really well until the final table, which I started one of eight. Then, I got fifth place. Also, I was really happy with the way I played up until the final table. During the final table, I think I could have done things a little differently.”

There are only a handful of online poker tournaments that span two days. Stone broke it down for us: “The structure was pretty cool. I liked that it was eight-max instead of nine-max. The structure was similar to a live tournament in the number of hands you are playing each level.”

He was gifted $163,000 for his efforts and officially took fifth place. When asked what his plans were for the money, Stone responded, “I have no immediate plans. I love to travel, so I’ll do more of that.”

What’s the difference between eight-max and full ring in practice? Stone said he preferred the former, so we asked why. His response: “When the tournament is getting deep, the tables get six-handed or seven-handed instead of seven-handed or eight-handed and it definitely adds up. Especially near bubble play, the tables felt like they were six-handed or seven-handed.”

Fellow PocketFivers Pudge714(pictured) and Zaya were among Stone’s competition at the eight-max final table. “Pudge714 played well,” Stone told us. “I think he’s a good cash game player. Zaya played tight up to the final table and he was at my table for a chunk of Day 1. At the final table, he tried some things, but I do not think they were good.”

Outside of poker, Stone enjoys playing sports, especially basketball with friends. He has also been diving into meditation. He added, “I travel a bunch. If I’m in a country with sick trekking, I’ll do that. If I’m in a country with cool biking, I’ll try that. I also like going out with friends.”

How about the meditation? Is it useful in his poker career in any way? Stone commented, “A friend recommended it and I tried it out and think it helped me. I used to tilt rather easily, so when playing heads-up, if you tilt easily, it can cost you a bunch. Meditation has helped in that department for sure.”

Stone got into poker during the Moneymaker boom and won the PokerStars Sunday 500 in 2010 for $91,000. He also turned in a pair of top-two finishes in the Super Tuesday last year for over $150,000 combined officially. “Ninety percent of my volume is in heads-up sit and gos or capped cash games these days,” he relayed.

“I have a better understanding of 75 big blind play and under heads-up than most people. I am also able to exploit weaker regs on the fly in heads-up sit and gos, but I’m getting a good idea of their true ranges and frequencies really quickly and constructing a decent game plan to counter. I’ll often change my default ranges and frequencies really fast.”

He is on the cusp of crossing $2 million in tracked cashes in his PocketFives profile and can be found on PokerStars under the user name old time gin.

The WCOOP and other big-time online poker series run on PokerStars. If you don’t already have a PokerStars account, sign up through PocketFives’ linkand make a deposit to get one free month of PocketFives MTT Training. You’ll also get a 100% up to $600 sign-up bonus. Click here for PocketFives’ PokerStars link.

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