By
Dan |
Published
Apr 30 2009, 03:12 PM
The PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) featured events fitting the needs of three different bankrolls. Consequently, every PocketFiver had a chance to claim their share of the $30 million total guaranteed prize pool. Officially taking down the low-stakes version of Event #6, a $22 Pot Limit Omaha Six-Max Cubed event, was none other than PocketFiver Kok Wai mrnyne Ho. A Netherlands native, Ho was part of a four-way chop of the tournament, which attracted 4,344 players. He took home $18,000 immediately and the quartet played on for $1,000 and the title of SCOOP Champion. PocketFives.com sat down with Ho to break down the tournament and talk about the poker scene in the European country.
Five-handed, PocketFiver cnew27 was the chip leader when talk of a chop began. He held over 10 million chips, whereas Ho’s stack was around six million. Then, cnew27 busted another player, growing his stack to 14 million. The two short stacks at the table each had below three million. The chop awarded $28,000 to cnew27, $18,000 to Ho, and the two shorter stacks each earned $12,000. On his decision to agree to the chop, Ho told PocketFives.com, “I was getting really tired and, if I doubled up one of the short stacks, I would be in trouble. If I got unlucky, I would take fourth place and $9,000.” Earning $18,000 immediately, Ho went on to boost his bankroll by another $1,000 and receive recognition as the event’s champion.
Several key hands helped his case in the Omaha tournament. In one, he was dealt 10d-9h-7d-10s and called a raise from another player who made it 18,000 to go with blinds of 3,000-6,000. The flop came Jd-Qd-10c, giving the PocketFiver bottom set and a flush draw. On his opponent, Ho recalled, “I thought about his hand and basically had him on a straight maybe with A-A-K-X, so I raised pot. When we were all-in, he showed Qs-Ac-Qh-Kd, for the nuts with top set.” On the turn, a diamond fell, giving Ho his flush and his hand held.
In a separate hand, Ho had a stack of 660,000 and raised to 30,000 pre-flop with a pocket that included two sixes. The flop came 6-Q-10, giving Ho bottom set once again. His opponent check-raised him on the flop. The turn brought a king and Ho led out for one-third of the pot. This time, he was just called and both players saw an ace on the river. His opponent checked and Ho put him all-in for about half the pot. He explained, “I think a straight would raise the turn because he would be out position on the river. Why not make me pay if I have a set or draw?” His semi-bluff paid off.
He works as a Texas Hold’em dealer in The Netherlands and, as a result, sees his days completely revolve around poker. He commented, “The hours are insane sometimes. I think I once dealt for almost 24 hours. I try to play online only on my days off, but they are two different things. When I deal, it's like I'm a robot; the movements are the same every hand. When I'm playing, I have something to lose.” The Netherlands has been described by some as having an extremely laidback approach to poker, fronted by players like Marcel Luske (pictured at left) and Rob Hollink. Ho elaborated, “Where I work, there are a lot of different kinds of people: grinders, gamblers, and sometimes even criminals.”
He began playing at a home game several years ago. When a new game started up, its organizers approached Ho and asked him to come deal. Now, he stated, “My goal is to build my bankroll and start playing professionally online and live.” At the end of April, he finished third in the $109 buy-in $50,000 Guaranteed on PokerStars for $5,100. In early March, he grabbed a win in the site’s $33 buy-in $8,000 Guaranteed for $2,300. Since the beginning of 2009, Ho has taken home $41,000 in tournaments that are tracked for the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings.
Congratulations to all of us here at PocketFives.com to Kok Wai mrnyne Ho for his SCOOP chop.