Although a heads-up online specialist, Keith ‘The Camel’ Hawkins is also a wizard of the live felt, having amassed almost a million in tournament winnings. Apart from a fourth place finish in the 2006 Amsterdam Master Classics, Keith also finished 75th in 2008’s WSOP Main Event as the UK’s highest placed finisher.
Hawkins on…
… Prematch Strategies:
I had no plan of action heading into the Main Event. For me, I think going in with a preset strategy is definitely a mistake. I totally and utterly go in flexible depending on the other players because there is such a huge variety of players in the Main Event You'll have no idea if they're going to be wanting to play lots of pots and gambling or playing a nitty game. You need to go in open-minded and adjust to whatever set of players you come up against.
… Starting Tables:
I remember one year I had Russell Rosenblum, Hasan Habib and ‘Mad’ Marty [Wilson] all sat directly to my left, therefore making it a nightmare starting table. In these situations you just have to play super nitty because every time you raise, they'll reraise behind you.
In 2008, however, I had the table draw from heaven - it was absolutely brilliant and a major part of why I did so well. They were a combination of passive and tight, which are the perfect people to play against in a deep stacked tournament. I didn't face a good player until Day Five.
Again, there is such a broad range of players in the Main Event that you never know what to expect from your initial table.
… Gambling Early On:
I’d definitely advise against gambling early on to build a stack. The tournament actually plays more like a cash game. You're playing so deep and with such a slow clock, that you can do things that you can't do in any other tournaments. You can prepare plays for two hours later, which is something you can’t really do on the UK poker tour too often.
… Triple Stacks:
I'm ambivalent to the increase in starting stacks really. I've talked to a few people about it and they're mixed on whether it will mean people will play super tight because they think there've got so many chips that they don't need to gamble, or gamble more because they have got 30,000 and will say, ‘OK, if I lose a third of my stack, I’ve still got 20,000.’ Again, a fixed strategy going in will be a mistake, because you don't know what they'll be like until you start playing.
As for so many pros winning this year, I think that’s just variance rather than there being more chips at the start, they double the blinds anyway. There may be a touch more play, but I doubt it makes that much difference. I read a golf book once by Keith Elliott that suggested if a golfer sees his peers doing well in a major tournament, it makes them think they can achieve the same too. I'm sure that's what happened this year with the Brits.
… Dealing with Fatigue:
In 2008, the days were very short and we never played more than five levels, so fatigue wasn’t really much of a problem. I went swimming every morning, which was relaxing and helped a lot. I also had a massage so I didn’t get too tense and was able to relax more. To be honest, the days went really quickly, probably because I had a big stack and was enjoying it. It can feel like you’re being strangled when you’re short, which is never as can make the day feel like a bit of a drag.
I think people not wanting to exit on the final level was more of a factor. The key for me was that it felt like the end of each day was a bubble because people were thinking about going back to their shitty job in Idaho or wherever, where if they survive the day, they might get another few days off work. They play significantly tight during the final level of each day, and that's where I made a lot of my progress. I got really aggressive at these times. Obviously, you have to be careful of people picking up on this though.
There was one hand in particular during the final stages of the day that I'll never forget. I'd just moved to a new table right at the end of Day One, and I had around 70,000; I was in the top five percent. They'd only lost one player on that table the whole day, so the biggest stack was 30,000 and everyone else had between 10,000 and 30,000, so it was just a great table to be on. Having raised eight of the first ten hands, this guy opened for 1,200 at the 200/400 level and received three callers. I was on the button, threw in 6,000 and announced raise. Everyone folded immediately, except this one guy seated next to me who picked up his cards, showed pocket jacks and said, “I know you've raised eight of the last ten hands, but I think you've got something this time.” I had 9-2, but he was obviously just so desperate to make Day Two that he was happy to fold a massive hand. Any other tournament there and he'd just shove because he only had 15,000 and there was a load of dead money in the middle.
… Antes:
I think one of the big things about this tournament is that there are so many bad players, that they just don't adjust to the various changes that occur during the tournament, such as the introduction of the blinds. They come into the tournament thinking they want to play good, which for most people means playing tight. Hence, they don't change their game as the game itself changes and continue to sit and wait for cards. The great thing is that you're normally on the same table for ages, which whilst can be bad if you have someone like Hasan Habib on your left, is, on the whole, great for making an image against bad players. In no other tournament can you use your image to such extent than the WSOP Main Event. They can think you're a rock, and when the antes come in, you can pick up a lot of chips using that image.
… Playing the Pros:
I played with Paul Wasicka on Day Two, and he just bluffed off all his chips to me when I flopped a full house. I had Q-Q on a J-J-Q flop and he just bet, bet and moved in on the river; I never had to put a bet in. Overall, I didn’t come up against too many pros. I played with Mike Matusow for a bit, but he played very, very tight. I ran into Gus Hansen for a short period, and he played well. I did play David Benefield for a long time on Day Five, and out of everyone, he was definitely the toughest opponent I came up against.
Half way through Day Five, I got moved to this table which was absolutely amazing. The average was a million and I had 1.2, but there were three guys with well over 2 million who just could not play. They really were terrible and I felt this was my chance of winning it because I knew if I could find some hands, they would pay me off because they were complete stations. If I'd held hands on that table, I could have finished the day with 5 or 6 million when the average would have been 1.5. 9 out of 10 flops were 3-handed, so this was a dream table, but I never found any hands. It was pointless bluffing.
… The Bubble:
I lost a huge pot about 50 before the bubble, and for the first time since level one, I went well below average. That was when I had Gus on my table. I'd just lost with jacks versus kings blind on blind, then moved to a new table only to have Gus sitting on my right. He had a huge stack and because we were near the bubble, he was opening every pot, and I never had a spot where I could come over the top of him. He had me covered 5-1, so it felt like he'd call me down light if I made a move. I was never in danger of making the money, but it made it harder to accumulate chips because I couldn't abuse the bubble in the same way that he could. The bubble is actually very similar to the final levels of the day; players completely rock up.
… Laddering:
I never looked at the money once; laddering was of no interest to me and I could have earned another $15,000 if I'd folded the hand I went out on. Being the last Brit was of no interest to me either. While a few us were still in, Jeff Kimber, Big TR [Trevor Reardon] and a couple of others, we did chat during the breaks and cheer each other on.
… Exit hand:
I was down to 20 big blinds and this guy, who’d been playing mega aggressive, raised it up preflop. A tight played called, and I squeezed with J-9 of hearts. The initial raiser made the call with A-K. I was sad to be out, but it was the most fun I’d ever had in a tournament, so I wasn’t too down. I didn’t regret the play I made either, it was the right play at the right time. The blinds had started to become a major factor, and apart from the bubble, it was the first time that my stack hadn’t been comfortable.
… Whether He Learned Much:
I don’t think I learned too much because I just played my normal game. If I was to give one piece of advice, though, it would be that it plays more like a cash game at the start, meaning you can make plays that you wouldn’t necessary make in another tournament. Settle in, get over your nerves, watch your opponents carefully, and then target those weak spots and take advantage of that slow structure.