The 2009 calendar year is only a few days old. For many people around the world, this week marked the return to normal, as office phones began lighting up once again and the holiday rush at airports around the world subsided. Santa has returned to the North Pole in preparation for another holiday season. For one PocketFiver, however, this week has been anything but normal. Rusty rustyhanson Hagenbuch took down the PokerStars Sunday Million to the tune of $180,000, chopping the enormous prize pool when play was three-handed. A chunk of the money will be earmarked for his eight week-old baby, Riley. All told, his world has been turned upside down in the last few days. The member of the online poker community who resides just outside of Nashville, Tennessee spoke with PocketFives.com.
His previous best online cash was a $13,000 payday for taking down the $100 buy-in $25,000 Guaranteed on PokerStars. That record stood until Sunday, when his win in the Million earned him 14 times that amount. He told PocketFives.com what it felt like to record his first six-figure win: “I ran pretty well and got paid off when I had big hands. It was like everything fell into place. I only had one person play back at me and, other than that, I chipped up.” He summed up his emotions by exclaiming, “It’s still surreal!”
Surreal would be an appropriate adjective to describe success by a family man and retail manager who is from the state that produced one of the most famous names in all of poker: Chris Moneymaker (pictured at left). Why he decided to enter the Sunday Million, which comes with a $215 price tag, is even more unreal: “I was reading a post by SCTrojans and he said that people should take a chance on the weekend tournaments. I just thought, ‘Why not?’ I played a few $11 double shootouts and one a Hyper for the seat.” Sure enough, his investment paid off. Another PocketFiver who was involved in the eventual three-way chop was Prom Queens, who officially finished third.He also noted that the idea of playing for hours on end just to burst the money bubble seemed like a chore. Hagenbuch commented, “I play the turbo sit and gos and the idea of playing three hours and not being in the money was not my cup of tea.” However, on Sunday, the online poker scene was different for him. Not only did Hagenbuch play in (and win) the Sunday Million, but he also took a stab at the Warm-Up, although he didn’t cash in the $750,000 prize pool tournament.
Imagine leaving for New Year’s and then returning to work on Monday only to learn that one of your co-workers won nearly $200,000 while you were gone. Hagenbuch describes the reactions by his friends and family to his new-found riches: “My wife was up doing something for the baby and I asked her to help me decide if we should take the deal or play the tournament out. She said I should do what I wanted and she was headed to bed. My parents still don’t believe me and my friends are amazed.”
Hagenbuch manages 80-90 convenience stores and resides in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. He joined PocketFives.com three years ago and revealed what his plans are for the money: “I just want to do more of the same. The new baby gets all of my time. I’m not going to play in the rebuys or any crazy tournaments. I’m just going to be humble. I actually just played a double shootout to win a seat to this weekend’s Sunday Million.”
Hand histories and discussions posted on PocketFives.com helped him learn and grow as a player. In return, he has tried to post a few of his own. In the middle of 2008, he received his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Middle Tennessee State University, located in Murfreesboro. Prior to entering the MBA program, he served in the Internal Audit Department of his retail company.
As you can tell, he has a lot on his plate, especially with the new arrival into the world. He told PocketFives.com that poker, his newborn, and work have him stretched to the limit: “Last weekend in the Warm-Up, we were three hours in and still not in the money. My daughter was in her swing and I didn’t want to play anymore, so I donked off my stack. She has me wrapped around her finger.” On being a father for all of eight weeks, he explained, “It’s more than you can ever imagine. As you get more comfortable with the idea of having a child, it gets easier. Once she smiled at me, I was hooked!”
Congratulations from all of us here at PocketFives.com to Rusty rustyhanson Hagenbuch, who has found a brand new bankroll to kick off the Year 2009.
-----
Canada
United Kingdom
Costa Rica
Australia
Mexico
Denmark
Russian Federation
Sweden
Brazil
Germany
