In the February 28th running of the PokerStars Sunday 500, a field of 998 players turned out. Coming in third place was none other than PocketFives.com blogger Tristan Cre8ive Wade, who banked $47,000. Wade hails from Florida and has been a member of the online poker community since January 2007. His Sunday 500 score was the largest of his career. PocketFives.com sat down with Wade to relive his success.Wade’s defining moment of the Sunday 500 came when he tripled-up with pocket aces after flat-calling a raise preflop. Wade found himself up against A-K and pocket queens and his hand held up for the win. Heading into the money, his stack dwindled, but he drew out on A-K with K-J for his tournament life and then scooped a sizable pot with Q-J against K-J.
With 40 players to go in the high-stakes Sunday Major, Wade picked up pocket jacks and put in a 3-bet for the second consecutive hand. Another player 4-bet with A-Q and Wade shoved for 60 big blinds. His opponent called and Wade’s pair survived the coin flip. Then, he doubled one more time in a race with pocket sixes against A-K on the final table bubble to enter it fourth in chips.
He ultimately finished third, admitting, “I was really lucky to get third place. I didn't have many good opportunities at the final table and was very card dead. I had loose/aggressive players to my left. Combine those factors and I was handcuffed. Third isn't the place I wanted to finish, but I am grateful and realize how lucky I was to make it to that position.” PocketFives.com member ANIMAL5050 took down the Sunday 500 title to the tune of $87,000.
On his $47,000 bankroll boost, Wade told PocketFives.com, “I barely outdid my largest online cash, but I feel like I still have a lot to prove in the poker world.” Last December, Wade triumphed over the field in the PokerStars $100 rebuy for $25,000. Two weeks later, he won the same tournament for another $20,000. To open the 2010 calendar year, Wade signed on as an instructor at DeepStacks University.Despite his success in the world of poker, as Wade alluded to, there are still many tournaments and championships to come. He told us, “A Sunday Major would be nice, but there is just so much variance when you play against thousands of people. Sundays are tough. I would definitely like to hit a six-figure score or win a huge tournament like a WSOP bracelet.” Since 2010 began, Wade has amassed $88,000 in tournaments that are tracked for the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings.
Wade is also in the process of transitioning to cash games. Overall, he’s one of the most positive thinkers we’ve ever interviewed for a front page article on the site. He exudes optimism and explained, “I try to be positive. Poker has so many ups and downs that it's best to be emotionless. Optimism is by far better than pessimism and you have to have a good mindset to deal with the roller coaster that is poker.”
Wade has been incredibly active in the PocketFives.com blogosphere, authoring blog after blog about his adventures in the world of poker. Recently, he even offered $50 to anyone who could create an aesthetically-pleasing logo. On feedback that readers of his poker blogs have given him, Wade commented, “There has been some criticism. That's just the nature of the internet. The poker community can sometimes be really negative as well. We're all hiding behind our computers. You can't let any of that bother you; it's just how it is.”In fact, for more details about Wade’s run through the Sunday 500, you can check out his latest blog entitled “Biggest Online Score (Barely).” The post comes complete with graphics and hand histories with the professionalism that we’ve come to expect from Wade’s blogging efforts. Visit PokerStars to sign up to play in this week’s running of the tournament.
Canada
United Kingdom
Costa Rica
Australia
Mexico
Denmark
Russian Federation
Sweden
Brazil
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