Support Your ‘Local’ Hero!

(Photo: Cardplayer.com)

Big sporting events are always more interesting when you have a player or team to follow, but being Scottish usually rules out soccer and poker unfortunately! Andy Murray at tennis? Sure, but he’s a miserable sod! So, when the November Nine started last night I needed someone to root for, someone to sweat as they call it in poker, but who to pick?

Fernando Pons, the least-experienced, shortest-stacked and a rank outsider? Everyone loves a ‘long-shot’! Cliff ‘Johnny Bax’ Josephy, one of the best-known to make it to the final table, and also the chip leader? Hmmmm, no, his reaction to Kassouf’s antics put me off him completely. No, there could be only one…

Living in Prague for the last year has been lucky for me in many ways, not only in poker, but it also meant that Vojtech Ruzicka was a logical choice - the talented 30-year old from Liberec who plies his trade out of the King’s Casino in Rozvadov… and with me smack-bang in the middle of the two places, well Mr. Ruzicka it was!

So, I’ve got my horse in the race, but what could I expect from him and how did he get on when play kicked off at the Rio Casino’s Penn and Teller Theater in Vegas?

Ruzicka is one of those guys who makes the most of what he’s got. Not hugely-experienced, but still a regular casher at the last few WSOP’s, as well as playing EPT events and regularly doing well at his home casino on the Czech-German border. So he knows his way about a poker table.

His summer run in the Main Event was a mixed affair – a decent start, a heart-stopping middle on day 4 when he 3-outered the river to survive, and then a polished performance as the numbers dwindled where he was always within the ‘chip-lead posse’ rather than the ‘struggling stragglers set’.

And so he came to the final table in 6th spot out of 9, with a reasonable 27,300,000 chips to his name which is about 50 BB, certainly enough to play with. And play he did!

The final table begins!

As early as the 2nd hand, ‘my man’ Ruzicka showed he was serious about his final table hopes, raising from early position and taking down the pot with another bet on the flop. Then a dozen hands later the Czech showed his savvy when he called a pre-flop bet in the Big Blind from Belgian Kenny Hallaert, check called the flop, then check-shoved the turn! Hallaert, likely on a steal, folded and Ruzicka was up to almost 38million chips within half an hour.

When Pons departed, as expected to be honest, in 9th spot when his Ad 6c was out-flopped by Josephy’s Kh Jc everyone else became that little bit richer, but Ruzicka didn’t rest on his laurels – taking down two small pots from Griffin Benger and then a much bigger one when his J J proved better than Josephy’s Ad 8d on an uneventful board.

So within 25 hands my Czech horse was up to 86BB, over 50 million in chips, and sitting comfortably in 3rd spot behind Josephy and new chip leader Nguyen!

And it would get even better when Jerry Wong found pocket jacks when short-stacked – but Ruzicka had pocket queens! The board bricked for Wong and he was out in 8th and Ruzicka was the new chip leader!

When Griffin Benger, Kassouf’s co-star in the ‘check your privilege’ showdown which made it to the national newspapers, hit the rail courtesy of Vayo, there were six men left standing, and pay jumps were starting to get serious. Roughly $1.5 million for 6th, then $2million for 5th, $2.5 million for 4th – a jump to $3,.5million for 3rd, $4.5 for 2nd and the biggie they are all aiming for - $8million and a place in history!

Of course, there will always be setbacks, and watching Ruzicka lose a 31million chip pot to Gordon Vayo was painful, Vayo’s turned nut flush knocking the Czech back down the chip ladder. But he jumped the money ladder soon after when Belgian Kenny Hallaert decided his AQ was good enough to shove against Nguyen’s re-raise, only to stare down the barrel of pocket rockets – the queen on the flop not enough to save him from a 6th place exit.

And that was that for the day! Down to 5 and my man Ruzicka sitting nicely in 3rd spot with 62 Big Blinds, sandwiched between Josephy on 63BB and Vayo on 58BB. Way out in the lead is the very impressive Qui Nguyen on 128BB while in the danger spot is Michael Ruane down to 23BB.

To be honest, once Ruzicka got going, there was very little sweating on my part! Along with Nguyen he was one of the best at the table – calm, collected and playing very well. I’ll be back this evening to see if he can take it all the way to the bracelet!

As they say here in Czech ‘do toho!' Do toho Vojtech Ruzicka!’ Go on!