"Obviously I Need to Cooler the Heck Out of People at the Final Table"
Two weeks ago, Mexico’s Dan Eich64Eichhorn (pictured) drove to a second place finish in the PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up. His reward was a blistering $78,000 and he nearly defeated a sizable field of over 3,300 entrants. Eichhorn is up to $613,000 in tracked cashes in his PocketFives profile from over 2,000 in the money finishes.
—
Follow professional sports tipsters, make your own betting tips, and compete for real cash prizes. Tipdayis the ultimate sports tipping resource. Check it out.
—
“It feels great,” Eichhorn told PocketFives in an exclusive interview. “It’s nice to run well when it counts and I feel like I’m playing as well as ever.”Count_NN won the un-chopped Warm-Up that week for $105,000 and the top 495 players landed in the money. It was Eichhorn’s largest tracked cash since a Full Tilt Poker Double Deuce win in 2010 that was worth $34,000.
Last year, Eichhorn went on a major downswing, so the money from the Warm-Up will go to replenish his bankroll. He said of his 2013, “Last year was really a struggle, both online and at the World Series of Poker. At least this year is starting off well. I’ve been on a heater for a few months now. I have an interesting backing deal where I play mid- to low-stakes on my own and majors for my backer, so I’ve been winning for myself lately and it’s nice to be almost out of make-up.”
What’s the key to success when it comes to righting the ship and finishing second in the Warm-Up? “I woke up a little late and registered about an hour in,” Eichhorn said of the blockbuster Sunday. “In the beginning, I was just trying to feel out the table and pick spots. When we made the money, I was down to about five big blinds, but I feel like I play the short stack well.” He went out to celebrate at a local bar in Playa del Carmen where many poker players head to after a long Sunday grind.
Eichhorn’s fortunes have certainly turned bright. He is the 43rd-ranked online poker player in Mexico and described his recent run: “It started in the beginning of December when I got second in the $11 Rebuy, fourth in a $16 Turbo, and had a nice $10,000 day. A few days later, I finished second in the Hot $44 and then chopped the Speedway a few weeks ago. Before December, my bankroll was on life support and I definitely cut down on living expenses.”
Now that he’s on the up-and-up, it’s important to sustain that momentum going forward for the rest of 2014 and beyond. “To keep it up, I need to keep working hard on improving,” Eichhorn relayed. “I need to watch videos and talk with friends. There are so many great poker players here in Playa del Carmen, Mexico that I’ve been able to learn from and obviously I need to cooler the heck out of people at the final table too.” He said the last phrase with a grin, by the way.
The poker community camped out in Playa del Carmen is extremely talented. PocketFivers with the beach town entered as their location include Randal RandALLinFlowers (pictured), Jon PearlJammerTurner, and buckguy 2200, who is its top-ranked player. There are 26 PocketFivers in Playa del Carmen who have PLB scores.
Away from poker, you can find Eichhorn hanging out with friends, playing basketball and tennis, and indulging in the food scene in Playa, a city of 150,000 people. If you’re looking for a recommendation for a low-key bar, according to Eichhorn, check out Club de La Cerveza.
The Sunday Warm-Up and other big-time tournaments run regularly on PokerStars. If you don’t already have a PokerStars account, sign up through PocketFives’ link and make a deposit to get one free month of PocketFives MTT Training. You’ll also get a 100% up to $600 sign-up bonus. Click here for PocketFives’ PokerStars link.
Want the latest poker headlines and interviews? Follow PocketFives on Twitterand Like PocketFives on Facebook. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed.
