I Drastiq I Final Tables PokerStars $100 Sunday Rebuy
There are nine members of PocketFives who call Saint Catharines, Ontario, Canada home. The lakefront community rejoiced last weekend as one of its own, Jamil I Drastiq IWakil, final tabled the PokerStars $100 Sunday Rebuyfor $34,000. Although it was a healthy payday, Wakil has actually done better, as in May, he won the $750,000 Guaranteed on Full Tilt for $123,000. PocketFives caught up with the Canuck to get the inside scoop on his latest claim to fame.
We started off our exclusive interview with Wakil by asking how the Sunday $100 Rebuy final table compared to his $750,000 Guaranteed victory. “It doesn’t really compare in my mind,” asserted Wakil. “The $750K was for a lot more money, but the fact that I got first place in that is really what made it extra special for me. If I had gotten first place in the $100 Rebuy, then it could have definitely compared. The $100 Rebuy is known for having one of the toughest fields and although I really feel I should’ve won it, the third place finish still feels good.”
A chop between PokerStars member wijken and PocketFiver joscha45 ended matters in the December 12th PokerStars $100 Sunday Rebuy, while Wakil took third. He recalled, “Throughout the tournament, you always have a few tough players at your table, but I felt I was lucky, as when it got down to the final few tables, the field was not as tough as it could’ve been. The final table had some average regulars, but no standout players.”
Longtime PocketFives member Jay SEABEASTKinkade (pictured) is Wakil’s backer. Kinkade is a four-time PocketFives Triple Crownwinner and stands at #81 worldwide in the Poker Player Rankings. “He is very hands-on for a backer,” Wakil told us about Kinkade. “A lot of backers just give you money and let you play, but he likes to constantly be in contact with his horses and often holds group hand history reviews where everyone discusses a tournament someone has gone deep in. The variety of opinions is a great thing, as it lets you get multiple perspectives on a hand.”
After his uncle turned him onto card games like Five Card Stud and Hold’em, Wakil got into online poker courtesy of x.UnLuCkY.x. He started playing small-stakes and then “it just grew from there. Once I won my first MTT, I was pretty much hooked.” He’s on the verge of cracking $800,000 in tracked online poker earnings and is ranked #67 worldwide.
Unlike other professional poker players, Wakil does not make use of a Heads-Up Display, or HUD, when he competes online. Why? “My maximum number of tables is usually no more than 10, but I pay a lot of attention and take very detailed notes. To be honest, I play on a Mac and tried Poker Copilot for a brief period and then it stopped working. Because I never found it to benefit me drastically, I never tried to get it working again.”
He qualified his lack of a HUD, however, by saying, “It will be somewhat beneficial to have a HUD up for those times when you need it, so I am going to try to start using one again in the near future.” Both Holdem Manager and PokerTracker are on the verge of rolling out brand new commercial versions.
Finally, we turned to Canadian poker. There are a rash of quality players from Canada, including the likes of Daniel Negreanu (pictured), Griffin Flush_EntityBenger, and 2010 WSOP Main Event champ Jonathan Duhamel. When asked which Canadian player he admires the most, Wakil quickly answered Negreanu.
“I just love how laid back he is and how much fun he has playing the game,” Wakil said about “Kid Poker.” “I really admire him for admitting that his generation of poker players has been trumped by the younger generation and that he has put in a lot of work into learning the new way of poker and improving his game so that he can keep up with the new style of play. I think most Canadians like him, but I can see how his table talk can get annoying at times.”
If you want to keep up with Wakil’s latest antics, you can follow him on Twitter under the handle @UnreaLJamiL. He closed by saying, “To all those players out there that see the same people winning over and over again and wish they could do that, if winning at poker is one of your goals, don’t give up. Everyone’s time will come and with enough dedication, persistence, and hard work, you will be able to accomplish your goals.”
Visit PokerStars to sign up for the next $100 Rebuy.