Full Tilt Poker Montreal: Pahuja Discusses the Main Event, Grinding Abroad, and More
Vinny Pahuja is among the leaders on Day 3 of the Full Tilt Poker Montreal Main Event, and is looking to add even more to his already impressive poker r��sum��. Pahuja has nearly $1.5 million in career tournament earnings, with his largest score coming in 2008 when he finished runner-up in the Borgata Summer Poker Open Championship Event ($289,800). Vinny's brother Mukul recently recorded the biggest score of his life, finishing third in the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $10 Million Guarantee for $872,625.
Vinny was kind enough to talk with us during a break, discussing a crazy hand, grinding abroad, and more.
PokerNews: You��ve chipped up to two million already on Day 3, thanks to a crazy hand where you had aces. How are things going?
Vinny Pahuja: I don��t know what it was. I��ve never played with the guy before and he just six-bet shoved all in with 10?9?. I couldn��t even figure it out �� I thought for sure he had kings. I held, which was huge, and I got to 2.4 [million]. Then I kind of ran into ��it�� a lot. There were a couple of guys that were really nitty three-betting a lot, and I don��t think that they were ever light. Then I doubled Gavin [Smith] in a spot that was close. He shoved with a few blinds and I called with KxQx. He had Ax4x and held. It was pretty trivial. So I��m back down to two million, but I��m still fine. I love the table, I have a good idea of how they��re all playing now, so I��m just going to try and run good.
It seems like there��s a pretty stark dichotomy between professional players and amateur players right now. Do you see that too?
Yeah, I��ve been fortunate that I have had more table draws with amateurs and satellite winners. Yesterday, I went into the bubble with 500,000 and left with 1.2 million, and I only won one showdown. I was punishing them on the bubble because I knew a lot of them just wanted to cash. You just have to pick your spots, and hopefully I can avoid some of the good players left.
Are you enjoying your time at Playground?
I love Playground. This is my third or fourth time here. They run great tournaments. This one is kind of dragging out a bit �� I think they could��ve finished in in four days �� but it��s fine. I love the room. I love the floor staff. The dealers are great. The wait staff is beautiful [laughs]. Everything about this place is great.
You��ve been in Canada for a while grinding WCOOP. How much time do you spend in Canada and abroad playing online?
That��s a good question. Before the year started, I wanted to make a conscious effort to play online. I��ve been a live player for so long and I don��t think it��s efficient use of my time. When the year started, I was down-swinging pretty hard and I was kind of over live poker, so I made an effort to play more online. I went to Toronto for SCOOP prior to the World Series, and I missed the World Series due to my injury, and now I��m here in Montreal for WCOOP.
I think it��s important �� if you��re a tournament grinder, it��s important to get online. Not only do you get better, but you give yourself that many more shots to make money.
Are you enjoying your time in Canada?
Yeah, I love Canada. I come here quite a bit. Last year, I went to Vancouver to play a couple events, and obviously I was in Toronto. It��s just so easy from New York, it��s an hour flight. So for me it��s super easy to come here and play.
Your brother Mukul finished third in the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $10 Million Guarantee, and I asked him about the relationship you two have. He said you had a big influence on his tournament poker game. What have you taken away from it?
We constantly talk about the game and strategy. We��re always bouncing ideas and hands off one another. It��s great to have someone who knows what you��re going through and knows how you think, and then can approach the game. He��s really come a long way since he started. It��s something that is important for both of us, we��re passionate about it, and it��s great to have that support system in your family. I can always ask him about a hand. He��ll be in the middle of dinner, or we��ll just text one another a hand. It��s great.
Where are you off to after Montreal?
I��m going to go home. I need a break. I��m kind of burnt out, and that��s the truth. I��m going to go back to New York, I��m going to get some more physical therapy for my leg, see a couple of doctors, make sure everything is OK, and take care of some real-life stuff like bills and what not. Hopefully I can make a run in this and the rest of the year I don��t really know. I��m not going to Europe, I��m going to be laying low, and just taking a break. It��s been a sick run these past couple of weeks so I��m looking forward to going back home and seeing family.
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