Champion Spotlight

Name:Joshua Pedretti

Age:26

Hometown:Elk Grove, CA, USA

Nickname:“The Josher”

Joshua “Josher” Pedretti has been a regular on the podium of events at the Walker Hill Poker Room.  The California native most recently scored a huge prize in the 500,000 Buy-In in November with 10,500,000 KRW taken home that day.  With over 10 cashes,  and multiple titles in virtually every event at the Walker Hill Poker room, this Combat Medic is more than deserving of the Champion Spotlight.

Occupation:  Combat Medic, US Army

Online vs Live: Oh man, that’s a tough choice. They are each so unique and fun for different reasons it’s hard to choose. Online is convenient and VERY juicy.  But when push comes to shove Live is just much more fun for me.

How did you start playing poker? My friends made me play a poker tourney when I was 18 at a buddy’s house. I took 2^nd and was hooked as most people are if they win their first time. I was hooked and starting learning as much as I could as fast as I could.

Favorite Hand?55-About 4 years ago I bought a puppy(named Champ) with winnings from an online score. A couple days later my buddy Brandon and I were grinding online and my pup comes up to us with two cards in his mouth facedown.  Brandon turned to me and said whatever hand he brought us we would refer to as the “champ” hand. Flipped over 55 and the rest was history.

Do you consider yourself a Cash game or Tournament Player?  Without question a tournament player.  I love the competition. Growing up I played a lot of competitive sports and I believe that has a lot to do with it. Going deep in big tourneys is exciting and what poker is all about.  Plus over my career I’ve had a lot more success at tournaments. I’m good at knowing situations and what people are trying to do and why they are doing what they do.

What do you consider the most common mistake new poker players tend to do, and what is your opinion about it? New players tend to think on a very basic level that any advanced player can easily seeand counteract. They give too much away. No discipline. You can’t take hands off. Especially in tournaments, you have to be paying attention and on your game from break to break.   

What advice can you give to the new players?  Keep learning. Never stop studying the game and trying to improve yourself. Read a book, go over hand histories, watch videos, play with friends, practice situations in your head and how you would react. When I lay down at night I like to put myself in tough situations and try to figure out the best way to play it. You might not see immediate results but if you continually try and progress your game the results will come.

Your thoughts on Walker hill Poker:  I honestly love the tournament setup Walker Hill provides. The deeper structures favor the better players and you see it as many of the same faces go deep in the same tourneys. Having 4 different types of tournaments a month keeps a nice variety as well. Throwing in a bigger buy ins now and again is nice too because you will see the top players around participating.

Poker Philosophy/Strategy:Tight-Aggressive. I like to stay quiet and not give away too much. Table image is extremely important to me so a lot of times I make certain plays to make myself perceived as one type of player. Especially if there are good players at the table.  If most players at the table are novices table image is more of a moot point.

Regarding the 500,000 Buy-in, did you have a different approach to the tournament?Well, I honestly wasn’t going to play until I saw the tournament structure. Deep structures like that one are fit for my style as it gives me a lot of time to work my chips. My strategy was to stay comfortable until the dinner break and once we got down to 2 tables play more aggressive when play allowed it. I had a tight image so I knew I could pick on small stacks trying to hold on to make the money. Once we made the final table I wanted to stay tight till we got to 4 people then open up and put pressure on players and go for first.

What was going through your mind when you flopped two pairs in the 20 Million Won Guarantee?  On that hand UTG(under the gun) limped around to me in the SB and I called with 107 and BB checked. K107 flop and I decided I was going to check shove on whoever bet. Well Ivan Milin instantly went all in on my check and UTG called fairly quickly. When Ivan shoved I was confident he had QJ/89 or a small flush draw.  The UTG player I had on at least KQ. My thinking was that I was going to have half the deck drawing at me twice for my tournament life and I didn’t want to bust in that spot. Blinds were at an hour and I was 3^rd in chips at the time I believe.  After a few minutes in the tank I felt mucking was the best choice. Ivan flipped 36 flush draw and UTG had pocket Kings for top set, I was drawing dead. Luckily it played out the way it did as the turn was a 10 and I would have gone broke.

Your thoughts on the final hand of the tournament?

The last hand of the tourney, I was on the button and raised with AQ and he called. The flop came 997 and he checked,  I bet and he called. The turn was an Ace and he shipped it (Went all in ). I tanked for about 2 or 3 minutes and called.  From his pre-flop call on I had put him on a weak ace. When the turn came and he shipped it I put him on A10 or lower as his range to shove there. He had really loosened up heads up and I felt he would venture for more of a value bet with his nine on the turn to get me committed for the river (if he had a 9). Of course I was wrong, he had the 9, and the rest was history!