Party Poker Qualifier Finishes Third at prestigious competition
Wednesday 28th April 2004
Twenty-six year old student, Matt Matros, is a testament to Internet gaming’s ability to root out real champion poker players. Matt booked himself a seat at the World Poker Tour by qualifying online with PartyPoker.com, and last week did online players everywhere proud by finishing third overall, netting himself $706,903 in the process.
Matt, a graduate student in fiction writing at Sarah Lawrence College in New York who has written a book about poker, even thinks that players who have learnt online may have an advantage over traditional card sharks who may have become set in their ways.
'Sometimes the right hand is not the traditional hand,” he explains. “Traditionally, if you have the best hand, you raise or call and then fold if you don't. But if you learn online at sites like PartyPoker.com, you'll soon figure out that it's more about the odds and the range of cards in the hand ... It's really about your equity, not about the best or worst hand.'
Matt has never won more than $5000 dollars playing poker is thrilled at his performance. 'I still can't wrap my head around making it to the final table,' he said. 'It's just a dream come true. With my best friend and poker mentor sitting in the very seat next to me -- what are the odds of that happening? It's just unbelievable.'
Twenty-six year old student, Matt Matros, is a testament to Internet gaming’s ability to root out real champion poker players. Matt booked himself a seat at the World Poker Tour by qualifying online with PartyPoker.com, and last week did online players everywhere proud by finishing third overall, netting himself $706,903 in the process.