In the immortal words of Jordan JWPRODIGYWestmorland (pictured), “We are who we are.” Well, we think Ke$ha might have said it too, but who’s counting? Westmorland is one of a handful of Thailand pokercommunity members on PocketFives and finished in third place in the PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up on April 8, booking a $57,000 payday. On May 2, he claimed his $1 million cash badge, so we thought it was time for a sit-down interview.

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PocketFives: Great job. Tell us how you’re feeling about the score and what the reaction from everyone else has been.

Jordan Westmorland: It’s a great feeling to get a Sunday Major under my belt finally on PokerStars. It has been plaguing me for a while and it’s nice to get the monkey off my back. A lot of people have shown the love and congratulated me, which is also validating.

PocketFives: Was it a tough final table or not too bad?

Jordan Westmorland: There was a guy on my direct left who I have seen traveling around Australia doing really well in live tournaments as of late and plays insane, so I had to be a lot more cautious than I usually am, but for a Sunday Major, I’d say it was relatively soft.

PocketFives: Can you walk us through how the final table played out in general for you?

Jordan Westmorland: All of the fireworks really went off with two or three tables left and I got involved in some huge pots. The final table was more relaxed because I had a great stack. I could sit on it, wait for spots, and didn’t need to manufacture small edges anywhere.

PocketFives: This has to be a timely momentum boost heading into the World Series of Poker and Spring Championship of Online Poker, right?

Jordan Westmorland: It’s massive with SCOOP right around the corner. Now, I have enough funds online not to have to worry about moving money around to play what I need. I am undecided on the WSOP at the moment for a lot of different reasons, but after playing the WSOP Asia-Pacific in Melbourne, I’m thinking I might just go play the Main Event in Las Vegas.

These recent weeks have been super uplifting for my confidence. It’s insane what stringing together a few scores can do for you. I know myself, and when I go on the inevitable downswings, it feels like I’m shitty at my job, so getting out of the downer and getting my game back on track is liberating. I love the way I’m playing, but I’m always trying to learn from others because what I’ve learned over the past few years is there are so many different ways to win.

PocketFives: Speaking of ways to win, what’s the best piece of advice someone has given you, poker-wise or life-wise?

Jordan Westmorland: I have a buddy who says, “Once a phene, always a phene.” If we break it down, I like it a lot: we are who we are. Currently, I’m a professional poker player absolutely loving what I do.

PocketFives: We enjoy talking to you because you’re one of the few players we have interviewed from Thailand. What’s going on there now?

Jordan Westmorland: I have been traveling playing live poker for two months, so when I get back, I have some serious packing to take care of due to the fact that we just moved into a place that I haven’t spent nearly enough time in. I’m looking forward to getting back to the chill, laid-back lifestyle and getting back to grinding on a desktop.

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