The International Poker Open recently wrapped up from the Alpine Palace Hotel in Saalbach-Hinterglemm in beautiful Austria. A bevy of qualifiers from Everest Poker made the trek to the popular hotel and, at when the smoke cleared in the tournament, PocketFiver Gael lil gaz Dauphinais landed in second place, earning $27,000. PocketFives.com sat down with the cash game player from Quebec who scored a five-figure payday in his very first major live poker tournament.Dauphinais surpassed his previous best for a tournament score by a wide margin. In fact, his largest tournament payday prior to the Austrian contest was $3,500, which he posted by chopping a $3 rebuy online. He entered a $100 satellite to the International Poker Open and told PocketFives.com why he decided to take a shot at winning a tournament entry: “A $2,850 package was guaranteed and there were only two players registered five minutes before it started, so I had no choice but to try it out because of the overlay.” Sure enough, the PocketFiver entered the qualifier on a whim. The result was a once in a lifetime trip to Austria on Everest Poker’s dime plus a shot in the high-dollar feature event.
The International Poker Open has a title that was well-suited to its turnout. Players who either bought into the tournament or qualified online turned out from across the European continent and around the world. Labeled by Dauphinais as “the best ski place in Austria,” the Alpine Palace Hotel boasted a truly unique international flair. Dauphinais’ tournament also had no shortage of action. With blinds of 1,000-2,000 and a 200 chip ante on the final table bubble, a Danish player at Dauphinais’ table sitting with a stack size of about 60,000 raised to 6,000. A German player on the short stack flat called and Dauphinais peeked down at his hole cards to see two jacks in the big blind. Dauphinais shoved for 30,000 and was called by the Dane, who admitted he had made a mistake, but flipped over pocket kings anyway. The German player folded and the flop gave Dauphinais trips, which held. Entering the final table, he would hold the second largest chip stack.
Once the final table rolled around, his run of cards continued. He was dealt A-K, pocket kings, and pocket jacks on back to back to back hands, three betting each time and winning them all without showdown. He commented, “The rest of the final table was pretty much me waiting for the monster chip leader to bust everyone else.” His second place finish was worth $27,000. Not bad for his first major live tournament. He logged a third place finish in a $22 buy-in tournament on PokerStars last year for $507.
Online, you can find the PocketFiver battling it out in $200 No Limit Hold’em cash games. He admitted that playing in the International Poker Open represented uncharted waters for his poker career: “It was my first real live tournament besides a few friendly home games. I plan to go to Las Vegas this summer and play in a couple of the Venetian tournaments.” He is currently a student and will graduate next year with a degree in business management and marketing. He told PocketFives.com what he plans to do after graduation: “I really have no plans. Working in the marketing department of an online poker site would be nice, but I don’t know if I’m ready for a 9:00am to 5:00pm job quite yet.”
His friends were elated over his second place finish in Austria. His mother, however, had a different reaction. Dauphinais stated, “My mother just hopes I don’t give up school.” In the meantime, he’ll receive quite a bankroll boost for his efforts. He wanted to send a shout out to those who supported him while at the Alpine Palace Hotel: “I’d like to thank everybody who followed me on the live coverage of the tournament and the people who supported me at the final table. It was really appreciated.” Outside of the poker scene, you can find the PocketFiver taking in some of Hollywood’s latest movies.
Congratulations from all of us here at PocketFives to Gael liz gaz Dauphinais for his second place showing at the International Poker Open.
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