CHAMPIONS HISTORY

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!

Name: Kirby Lee

Age: 30

Hometown: Los Angeles

Nickname: “The Kevin Song Killer”

No player in 2011 will be able to match what Kirby Lee has done in the first half of the year. From his nickname alone you should get the idea of how much success he’s had knocking out the WSOP champion out of several bounty tournaments (over 1,500,00 KRW in bounties alone). Back to Back 10K titles in March and May (April’s was canceled), as well as another top 10 finish in the 10K this year. With well over 10,000,00 in tournament winnings alone this year, he is certainly deserving of the Champion Spotlight.

Occupation: Marketing and Sales Manager

Online vs Live: Live

How did you start playing poker? With friends in middle school.

Favorite Hand? 6-4 suited

Do you consider yourself a Cash game or Tournament Player? Tourney these days

What do you consider the most common mistake new poker players tend to do, and what is your opinion about it? Not calculating the return on investment. In another words when it is heads up chasing against the odds. That is what we want but sometimes we get burned.

What advice can you give to the new players? Kicker makes a huge difference in the long run. Also in tourneys think about the bad hand you called and how those chips could have been used for a stronger hand.

Poker Philosophy/Strategy:Play tight, learn your player’s habits, be patient. Also reading books can help.

Your thoughts on Walker hill Poker:For the number of players they are running a great operation. They have a bad beat jackpot, different range of buy-ins and a variety of weekly tournaments.

Name: John Marshall

Age: 45 (Korean age 35 haha!)

Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

John “Dirty” Marshall has emerged as one of the hottest tournament players in Korea. The US Army Military Intelligence officer commands a lot of respect at the tables, as he has chopped several times when getting near the end. Recent success includes Top finishes in the APPT Sydney Satellite, Bounty and Re-buy Add-on in January, as well as multiple wins in the new and popular free rolls (4/6). While starting as a recreational activity, it has now developed into a serious boost to retirement fund.

For John’s strategy and tips click Here for the full interview.

Online Vs. Live: Definitely Live – on-line sucks! Too many set-up hands, and seeing your quad deuces get sucked out happens with frequency!

How did you start playing poker?: Poker started as a recreational activity when I was deployed to Afghanistan – it was a good way to pass the time and make some money. I played with a lot of Europeans who are extremely aggressive, which had its benefits in molding my thought and analysis process.

Favorite Hand?: Other than AA, I would have to say big suited connectors, but my favorite is JTs.

Do you consider yourself a Cash game or Tournament Player?: Tournament – tournament play is more forward versus cash. In cash games, depending on how deep your stack and pockets, you can do more chasing. In tournaments you have to be concerned about your chips and chip count. Chasing a flush for all your chips in a tournament can be, and usually is, the end of your tournament.

What do you consider the most common mistake new poker players tend to do, and what is your opinion about it?: The most common mistake is playing weak hands out of position. I would estimate this is due to watching more experienced players calling with what the new player deems weak hands which, turn into winners so the new player figures they can do the same. Being out of position obviously violates one of the basic tenants of playing good solid poker and when you compound playing out of position with weak hands, the results are disastrous.

What advice can you give to the new players?: The best advice I can give to new players is to be patient and use your position to your advantage. Use the P-O-P-P principle; Patience, Opponent(s), Position, Predictability. Be patient and don’t get in the habit of playing too many hands. Once you get in the habit of chasing and playing too many weak hands you will drain your stack quickly. Know your opponent and his tendencies. Use position to your advantage. Don’t be predictable – sometimes you will have to raise or re-raise with garbage. When you have a big hand, do not slow play. You can’t let players who are drawing see free cards so you have to push.

Your thoughts on Walker hill Poker: I’ve been playing at Walker Hill for almost 3 years. The games are lively, aggressive and very competitive. I’ve witnessed a steady improvement in the level and skill of the games over the past year. Also, the poker room definitely takes care of the players and offers lots of incentives and free rolls – offering food isn’t bad either. The bad beat jackpot is more attainable versus poker rooms in the States. They know how to treat the customers and how to keep them coming back. The staff is experienced, friendly, and all my favorite dealers are cute!

Poker Philosophy/Strategy:

For cash, I play a wider range of hands but try to use position when I have that advantage. I also try to take advantage of any statistical edge I may have and push it. I value smaller pocket pairs more in a cash game versus tournament. Depending on the game I will use two competing strategies. If the game is more aggressive I will play more cautiously because even though you may have a statistical advantage, aggressive players will tend to play more drawing hands, especially when the pot starts to get large. With 5 or more players seeing a raised pot, one will inevitably draw out on you. If the game is more passive then I will push my advantages much harder. Playing your opponent is much more critical in cash versus tournaments.

For tournaments, decisions when to raise and when to attack the blinds are much more of the focus. Conserving and building your chip stack is the key to tournament play. I limit my chasing opportunities much more in tournament play versus cash. I will also push all-in much more in tournaments versus cash games. Putting more pressure on your opponents in tournament play returns more of a profit versus a cash game. Cash players have a tendency to call your all-ins without a made hand as long as they have a draw to a better hand. As a result, the all-in is more powerful in tournament play and you usually don’t have to worry about being sucked out on as much.

Name: Mark Spencer

Age: 21

Hometown: Hinesville, Georgia, U.S.A.

Nickname: Turk, C - Bear, Minnow, Phil Ivey

Mark Spencer is a Air Force Medic, stationed at the Osan Air force Base. Mark started his poker career off the usual way with small $5 dollar tourneys with friends at home games, just playing for fun. After enjoying some success and building confidence, to celebrate his 21st birthday he decided to try his luck in the big time, and hit the tables in Las Vegas. Unfortunately his luck would soon hit reality. “I got destroyed at the tables.” This Vegas experience changed Mark’s game and outlook overnight. With this new taste of reality, Mark changed up his game and things started to click for him, and he hasn’t looked back. Recent success in 2010 includes titles in the March Bounty, May Spring base tourney, 1st place chop with Ron Kluber at the 2010 Satellite, and three other top 5 finishes.

Online vs. Live? Live always!!! If I wasn't in the military I would say online. So I could do other recreational activities while playing, if you know what I mean.

What were your expectations of poker in the time you started playing? Make money and have fun with friends, and improve my skill.

Favorite Hand? Pocket Jacks!!! If you don't like them, it's because you play them wrong!!!

Do you consider yourself a Cash-game or a Tournament player? Neither, I suck at both! But I suck less at Tournaments.

What do you consider the most common mistake new poker players tend to do, and what is your opinion about it? I feel that new players don't see the big picture in poker. Poker is so much more than just a game. I think that new players need to start bankroll managing and be patient.

What advice can you give to the new players? No matter how good of a player you are, you are going lose. You will have ups and downs session after session. You have to do your best to learn from your mistakes. “I have had some good cash game sessions, but have been on the bad luck end of a lot of hands. But that's poker. I try my best to analyze hands and learn from it.”

Your thoughts on Walkerhill Poker:

“I started playing at the other rooms, but the difference I see in Walker Hill is a lot better for the people. It's a friendly environment that truly caters the guests. Walker Hill has the nicest casino, with the best food, and best looking women. The tourney set ups are the best. They switch up the type of tourneys and come out of pocket to show appreciation to the players. No other casino does things like that.”

Name: Ron Kluber

Age: 49 yrs. old

Hobbies: Skeet and trap, fishing

Favorite Movie: Forrest Gump

Cashes: 2

Total Winnings: $315,678

Ron Kluber, AKA "The Colonel" AKA "Phil Helmuth of Korea" is widely recognized by the poker community in Korea as one of the country's best tournament players. Ron consistently makes final tables during the monthly tournaments held at the Walkerhill Poker Room but his biggest win came in 2007 at the WSOP where he took 29th place for an impressive cash prize of $285,678. Ron has won multiple satellites to the WSOP in the past and is the current Walkerhill WSOP satellite point leader for 2010 and you can be sure that he will be a force in this years WSOP satellite tournament on the Sunday the 20th of June at 3pm. You can take your shot for 550,000 won.

Name: Kevin Song

Country: USA

Occupation: Poker Player

This Korea native has had some major poker success while staying somewhat under the radar. Kevin Song has made numerous final tables at the World Series of Poker, and won a bracelet in the 1997 limit hold'em event. He is considered to be one of the best limit hold'em players in the world and currently resides in Hacienda Heights, California.

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