By
Dan |
Published
Dec 30 2008, 10:17 PM
Recently, Matt All in at 420 Stout coughed up $500+30 to enter the Sunday 500 on PokerStars one week ago. He was one of 1,168 entrants, creating a total prize pool of $584,000. A few hours later, Stout emerged victorious, finding his bankroll over $105k bigger for his efforts. The past few months have seen the PocketFiver take down both the Sunday 500 and the Sunday Warm-Up on PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker room. He also took down the $200 rebuy in between for another $44,400. Stout has experienced success in the live poker world and makes his home in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the gambling Mecca of the East Coast of the United States. Stout spoke about his marquee tournament win as well as the development of his game.
Stout ended the 2008 calendar year with a bang, taking down the Sunday 500 on December 28th for a six-figure score. On November 9th, he won the Second Chance on Stars to the tune of $50,000. On how his game has come together recently, he told PocketFives.com, “I’ve been doing a lot of analysis of my game and talking with a lot of players who I respect because prior to the sick tear I’ve been on since October, I was on the worst run of my life. That always makes you take a step back and start to look at your leaks and shortcomings as a player.” His self-assessment has paid off dividends, as he took home $106,000 in tournaments that are tracked for the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings in November and another $133,000 in December.
He described his run through the Sunday 500 for his largest online poker score to date: “I started running really hot towards the middle of the tournament and was one of the chip leaders for a long time. Once we were down to three tables, I was getting run over a bit and never quite had it, but I showed a big river bluff against my friend Shaun Deeb and it really gave me my momentum back.” On the final table bubble, he played a big pot with Big Slick against pocket queens for 2.5 million chips, giving him the extra boost to go the distance in the event. In the final hand, his pocket kings held up against bboooommmmmm’s pocket eights. PocketFiver Cliff JohnnyBax Josephy finished fifth. Stout described the former number one ranked player as “really tough.”
Stout finished 13th in a $3,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event during the 2008 World Series of Poker and pocketed $19,000. He won a $500 buy-in tournament at a WSOP Circuit Event stop at Caesars Atlantic City, right in his backyard, for $59,210. He also made a deep run during the 2007 WSOP Main Event, ultimately landing in 118th place for $58,570. He took 35th in the World Poker Tour’s recently-completed Festa al Lago event for $26,000. He talked about his live poker tournament growth: “I may be stronger live than I am online, but whenever you try to work on your game, even if you’re focusing on one or the other, you usually make yourself stronger in both areas.”
Five Card Draw is a game that many poker players first got their feet wet in. After all, just like Hold’em, it’s easy to understand. As a youngster, Stout embarked on his journey to stardom playing this kitchen table game. He told PocketFives.com, “I learned Five Card Draw from my sister when I was four years-old, but I really got into the game when a friend invited me over for a $0.25/$0.50 Limit Hold'em game in his living room. I grinded out $4.25 in a few hours and was immediately hooked.” In early 2006, he finished as the runner up in a $500 buy-in WSOP Circuit Event in Atlantic City for $32,000. His first WSOP cash gave him the confidence, bankroll, and momentum to launch his career.
After so much success, what keeps a player like Stout heading back to the tables day after day, week after week, and year after year? He revealed, “The thrill of winning a tournament. I don't know if I would still be happy grinding it out after a few years of playing professionally if I were a cash game player. The thrill of making a final table I've never made and especially taking the whole thing down is what I live for. It's what drives me. It's what I love and it's what keeps me coming back.”
His demeanor at the tables has also garnered him an esteemed place in the poker world. His “All in at 420” persona even led him to schedule the interview with PocketFives.com at 4:20pm ET. A Podcast call is also scheduled for the same time. We’ll look forward to more big things from Stout in the future.
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