Continued from Lap Two...
With the live final just moments away, we thought the path was clear to publish the third lap of Peter Vasiliou’s journey through the Poker Pitstop. Today, as well as the usual quotes, key hands and photos, we bring to you two more videos of Peter’s session with Neil Channing and co. at the Grosvenor Victoria in London.
In the following videos, Peter is given advice on a number of topics such as laddering and the value of moving up the prize money, three-betting ranges, table image and strategies for heads-up play. Accompanying Neil and Peter, as well as Nik Persaud, was Brown Belt and recent World Heads-Up runner upper, James Mitchell. “It’s important for him to not be intimidated by people in the game,” advised James. “The structure is not so great and you’re not going to be getting outplayed often because of the stack sizes, so you’ve just got to keep calm.”
To hear more from Peter Vasiliou’s Pitstop at the Vic, click play on the videos below:
Semi-Final #1 - Line-up…
September 09, 2009
Top three qualify for the live final.
Seat 1: Tony Bloom
Seat 2: Annette Obrestad
Seat 3: Peter Vasiliou
Seat 4: Luke Schwartz
Seat 5: Nam Le
Seat 6: Paul Zimbler
Seat 7: Juha Helppi
Peter Says…
“I was sandwiched between Luke Schwartz and Annette Obrestad and couldn't believe it, I thought I was in big trouble now and that Annette would be raising all the time, which she did. I was also up against Tony Bloom again, who had beaten me heads-up in the first heat. He's another great player and very intimidating when he gives you the staredown.”
Results…
=1st Peter Vasiliou
=1st Luke Schwartz
=1st Juha Helppi
4th Tony Bloom
5th Paul Zimbler
6th Nam Le
7th Annette Obrestad
Key Hand…
Although his elimination of Nam Le with Q-Q versus A-K was clearly a pivotal moment, perhaps the crucial point was actually the disposal of Paul Zimbler in fifth as it led Peter to the bubble with a comfortable stack, and one that would eventually see him through to the live final.
With five players remaining, Paul was the shortest stack with just below 100,000, whilst Peter wasn’t too far behind with around the 110,000 mark. When Zimbler moved all in preflop with Ah-8d, the decision lay on Peter in the big blind with As-Ts.
With the gleam of the cameras and the heat of the light, making supposedly straightforward plays isn’t necessarily as easy as one might think, but fortunately, Peter did indeed make the call, and was rewarded by seeing his hand hold up on an ensuing Kc-Ks-7c-Qd-5d board. With the chip lead and over 200,000 in chips, Peter was in great shape, and after Luke Schwartz eliminated Tony Bloom with J-J versus K-Q, Peter had achieved the seemingly impossible and made it through to the Poker Million final!
Peter Says…
“There are no easy tables in this tournament, and the semi-final was no different. Luke Schwartz was an interesting character. I've seen him play on these kind of shows before and I've read so much about him on forums and magazines, but despite what some people say, I actually found him to be a pretty nice guy and even now I chat to him on Facebook. In fact, I chat to a load of famous players now on Facebook, it's totally surreal. All these guys I used to watch on TV, and now people like Gus Hansen are dropping me emails and offering me advice.”
Chip Counts Heading into the Final…
Luke Schwartz – 397,000
James Akenhead – 338,000
Taylor Caby 202,000
Dag Martin Mikkelsen 160,000
Peter Vasiliou -- 154,000
Juha Helppi -- 149,000
Craig Wakeham 100,000
Peter Says…
“When I saw these episodes back on TV, I didn't like it, and hated watching myself during the interviews. I also found myself shouting at the TV, telling myself to raise at various points. Roy Brindley gave me a bit of a grilling in the commentary, which wasn't nice, but it hasn't knocked my confidence. I know I'm a beginner compared to all these guys, but I'm giving it my best shot, and although a lot of people might say I'm tight, I was actually prepared to start making moves with no cards, it's just that I managed to get good hands at the right time and managed to make my way into the final. I'm not bottom, Juha's got less than me, so I'm delighted with how it’s worked out and can’t wait to play the final.”
Photo of the Day…
Peter Vasiliou & Luke Schwartz
Credit for the image goes to the good people at Matchroom Sports, the photographical prowess of the beautiful Mickey May and Peter Vasiliou’s Facebook page.
The Aftermath…
“I've got the poker bug now, and I'm already planning to go to Vegas next summer for the World Series to play a few events. I'm guaranteed 50k already just for making the final, which is just amazing. I already feel like I've won, anything else is just a bonus, especially because I freerolled in. If I win the half a million first prize, then I'll give myself a 100k bankroll for poker and then use the rest to buy a house. I haven't decided whether or not I'd keep my job or not, that's a difficult one. I'd love to go and play the Aussie Millions in January, but work won't let me. Having said that, I have a good job, and I like working there.”
The Full Tilt Poker Million live final is taking place as we speak. Tune in to Sky Sports now!