Have you ever heard about Joe Cada? I hope yes because Joe Cada became famous in the world of Texas Holdem poker. And if you do not know who is he it means that you are ignorant or just do not care about poker at all. Joe Cada is a professional payer from PokerStars team. He is a newly-fledged champion of Main Event World Series of Poker. This person is enjoying his great success. He has got everything: fame, money and love of fans. Today I’d like to present you the short interview with the new ME WSOP champion.

Tell us please about the period from July to November. Of course, you were thinking much about the upcoming game at the final table. So, were your hopes realized?

Well, I hoped to increase my stake in the very beginning. And I was going to play more hands in position. But unfortunately it was not possible. Most of the time I had to use 3bet. And it seemed like I was just balancing. And several times the situation was really dangerous. But I was lucky.

Were you surprised how much did it take to eliminate players from the table?

Actually I was shocked. 8 competitors were playing approximately 10 hours! I expected that it might take much time, but not so much.

Did you watch ESPN translations to get ready to the final of WSOP and learn more about tactic of your opponents?

Yes, I did. But they cut out too many hands. I just knew for sure that the day was going to be long. I also knew that my opponents will adjust to the final. Some of them hired coaches, others, like Phil Ivey, changed Texas Holdem style and started to play tighter. Therefore I adjusted to my opponents only at the final table, but I didn’t try to predict style of each opponent.

And what’s about “Phil Ivey Factor”? Did you feel the pressure because best Texas Holdem player was sitting next to you and competing with you for gold bracelet? Did you take into account Ivey during building your own strategy?

Not really. He didn’t have many chips . He was limited by small stake. I considered Ivey as a regular competitor. I have already faced many great online Texas Holdem players who had huge experience. Maybe Phil Ivey is the best player in the world, but a game with short stake is totally different.

No doubts you and Darvin Moon who could not become WSOP champion, played really well at the final table. What can you say to those who think that you captured the gold bracelet only because of the luck?

Yes, everything went well, we didn’t have bad-beats. And I successfully bluffed several times using 4bet. Actually I hoped that ESPN will show my bluff. It would be beneficial for my image If I decide to play more tight in the future. When you play many hands, range of suitable cards becomes wider. I am not against calls and I am not afraid of being all-in if fold-equity is attractive. The example is pocket deuces of Antoine Saout. There were three of us and I started the game. I expected Saout to place 3bet but he was thinking much to call or not when he had A-K. Saout is a dangerous Texas Holdem opponent. He can start a game with J-2 of a different suit. Therefore I thought that he will try to steal the pot with help of 3bet. I had relatively strong cards. So, in my opinion Saout had to fold all small cards like 2,3,4,5 etc. Basically, eights are as weak as deuces. And when he showed his 88 against my AK after several hands, the situation was almost the same… So, I am not going to say that the luck
didn’t help me. Of course, I was lucky and I have to thank the Fortune. But at the same time I am pleased with my own performance.

Also recommended:

1. Shulman defeats Negranu in ME WSOPE 2009
2. Hall of Fame 2009 candidates: middle-class
3. WSOP November Nine: James Akenhead