When it comes to poker geniuses, Michael Addamo is one of the players to watch out for in a poker tournament. The popularity of the Canadian based poker player has stemmed largely from the fact that he never appears to make any mistakes on the poker table.
During the latest Super MILLION$, Addamo came to the final table with the highest number of chips among all the finalists. By the time the table was being folded, he had in his possession all the chips that had been on the NJ poker table. This means that he stripped the 8 opponents sitting with him of their wins from the previous rounds.
This is not the first time Addamo is winning the Super MILLION$ championship; he had taken the victory home three times in the past. The latest one earned him a cash prize of $325,957. Number two of this championship walked away with a win of $254,559 while the lowest prize on the table was $45,100.
What we cover
The highlights of the Super MILLION$ final table
The first player to be bundled out of the final round was Aleks Ponakovs who at the time of sitting down to play this final round held the third highest number of chips. This move raised Addamo’s hold to 100,000. Having pocket jacks early in the game gave him confidence which saw him calling Ponakovs bet. The flop by Ponakov was unlikely because it was open ended but it happened anyway by missing the river and turn.
The next round to be placed on the final table ended with the exit of Ludovic “Gr4vyB04t” Geilich. The game was dominated by Addamo and Sosia “Aunty_Ninja” Jiang but it was Geilich that called the game. The win went to Addamo, saving Jiang but kicking out Geilich
The next round saw Bert Stevens bowing out in the hand of Addamo – at this point, it was clear that Addamo was out to massacre any opponent in his path. The action began seemingly in favor of Stevens which led him to raise his bet. When Addamo called in the game with a queen and king of hearts combination, the axe handed heavily of Stevens’ fortunes because he had community cards in his hands.
By this level in the game, Addamo had accumulated 8.5 million chips put of the 14.5 million chips on the table. Remember how Jiang held on in the second round? She would be eliminated next when her ace and king combination was downplayed by the jacks held by Yuri Dzivielevski. Adammo had a nine and four combination which cemented her ouster from the game.
The quest for more chips
The fifth player to exit the final round of the Super MILLION$ was Francesco Benitez. This is also the first player of the tournament to be walking away with a 6-figure cash prize for poker win. Addamo was at the helm of this round and he was responsible for busting Benitez which led to his win of $121,247.
There was a superstar among the final nine players of the Super MILLLION$; Isaac Haxton is the ambassador of Team PartyPoker. He held on to the game until his exit. By the time the fourth round began, Haxton had the second largest stack of chips on the table, second to Addamo. The hand would predominantly feature moves by Haxton and Addamo but in the end, ended in a loss for Haxton.
The seventh round featured 3 players; Addamo, Dzivielevski and Judd trump. It started out with a heads up from Dzivielevski causing him to crash and eventually burn. Addamo opened the round with a bet of 240,000 and an ace of jacks’ combination. Dzivielevski made the first call with a ten of jacks but check-called an additional 120,000. The win for Addamo came when Dzivielevski checked prior to calling and this led him straight into Addamo’s jam.
The last round of the tournament would be between Addamo and Trump but the writing was already on the wall by the time that game begun. Addamo came to the final round with a chip lead of 11,374,872 against 3,225,128 that Trump held. For many online poker fans, this clearly meant that Addamo was more likely to carry the day.
The final round however still had to be played to allow the two finalists to contest for the championship. After winning this event, Addamo had to his name 4 titles from the same tournament. If he was putting away the entire lot of prize money, his last win would have added up his savings to $2,619,905.
How are poker geniuses made?
For a long time, poker was a game for old, conservative casino players. Poker players would bet on money they had in their pockets, farm animals, produce to be obtained from their harvest and in some cases personal possessions such as slaves. As people discovered that the game required more than luck, a new crop of poker players emerged. What we see today as poker are tournaments that bring together professional players from all over the world.
Some influential casino brands have been on a mission to sensitize casino players and the public in general of the benefits of playing poker. Players not only get to network with like-minded individuals from across the world but they also try their luck on a game whose outcome is dictated by hard work over luck.
Final Thoughts
Emerging as a winner in a game of poker happens by a stroke of luck for some people but the returning winners have a pattern that even the clueless poker player can adopt. If you enjoy watching how other poker players execute strategy and make moves in a game, then you have the potential to become a champion poker player. Try predicting moves for your favorite players or analyzing poker games to establish what some players would have done to stand a better chance of winning.
