For Kyle Adamo (pictured), known on PocketFives as Van Razor, a win in the PokerStars Sunday Million II earlier this month was worth an outstanding $177,000. He outlasted nearly 5,700 entrants, the top 810 of whom made the money. His six-figure score will go a long way toward paying for diapers, formula, clothes, furniture, and higher education for a soon-to-be-born baby boy. Double congrats to him!

PocketFives: Congrats on your Sunday Million win. Tell us how you’re feeling about it.

Kyle Adamo: Thanks! I’m still in a bit of a haze about it. It doesn’t seem real. The caliber of players who run deep is pretty amazing, so I feel on top of the world right now.

PocketFives: Do you have any plans for the money? And what has everyone’s reaction been?

Kyle Adamo: My wife and I are expecting our first child, so he’ll be born with a bankroll intact. I think we’ll call him Ace, or Trey, ha ha. A chunk of the money will go to his college fund and some toward a basement renovation that we’re about to begin. You know, adult stuff.

As far as reactions from people, that’s tough. I don’t really associate with people ‘in the know’ about poker. It’s sort of a clandestine operation. I’ve told a few people and some family. Of course, nobody actually gets how impossible a feat it is to win that tournament. The only poker-related response I got from a friend was related to the final table video on PokerStars.tv: “You re-raised all-in with 3-3?” That hand played itself.

PocketFives: Can you walk us through how the tournament went in general?

Kyle Adamo: I started about an hour late and managed to build a stack early on. I was above average for most of the tournament, which is nice. Sometime after the money bubble, I made a ridiculously aggressive move with an open-ended straight draw. It turned out to be the wrong move, as he had K-K with a flush draw. I spiked a six-outer, which set me up for the rest of the run.

PocketFives: Do you normally play the Sunday Million and other Sunday Majors? How have you done in the past?

Kyle Adamo: I pretty much only play on Sundays. It’s rare that I can sit down for a long stretch that runs into the wee hours of the morning. I normally fire up some $10 to $50 Turbos around 1:00pm as well as a larger buy-in and see how it goes. I’m only capable of two or three tables at once, as I don’t use a HUD.

I set my sights on the Sunday Million at some point in 2012 and thought it would be nice to final table it. I knew I could do it. I’ve come close in the past (15th), but I run so badly when I’m deep. I knew some day I would run like a god and make it. I’ve probably played that tournament around 20 to 30 times.

PocketFives: How did you get started in poker? Who or what has been the most influential person or thing on your game?

Kyle Adamo: My first game of poker was in 1998 when I worked as a guide at a fishing resort. We’d play some sort of Stud variation for beer money. I got into online poker around 2005 playing $1/$2 NL cash on Full Tilt and built a decent bankroll.

When I found PocketFives in 2006, I started to check out MTTs, as I liked the idea of being the victor among a crowd of many. So, I proceeded to slowly lose that bankroll over the next few years learning MTTs while I buffered it with cash wins.

The most influential things on my game have been online forums like PocketFives. I have no poker friends who can dissect hands at this level, so I like to read hand histories and hear other people’s opinions.

PocketFives: What do you do away from the game?

Kyle Adamo: Away from the game, I work. I’m part of a small software firm and am a VP of Software Development in Toronto. We work our asses off, so there’s little time for hobbies. Hanging with my wife and friends is pretty much my only other hobby.

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