Diego 'D-Train' Cordovez Wins Largest Limit Hold'em Tournament in Poker History

Recently at the L.A. Poker Classic at Commerce Casino, Diego Cordovez won the $1,500 buy-in limit hold'em event and almost $570,000. With its $1,539,000 prize pool, this event stands as the largest limit hold'em tournament in poker history.

Following his victory, Diego sat down with me to talk about that tournament and other aspects of tournament poker.

Jeff Shulman: Diego, congratulations on winning the largest limit hold'em tournament in the history of the universe. What do you plan on doing next?

Diego Cordovez: I thought about going to Disneyland, but will go to Costa Rica instead. I heard the no-limit hold'em action is much better there than at Disneyland.

JS: What is your nonpoker background, and when did you start playing poker?

DC: Prior to the working world, I went to Stanford University for my undergraduate work, and then received a master's from Stanford's school of engineering. I have been living in Palo Alto ever since, and for the last 15 years I have been in the high-tech industry. I co-founded a software company that was acquired last April. Since then, I have been traveling, playing poker, and assembling a team for my next venture – another Internet company.

I started playing poker 12 years ago. For the most part, I play live games in the Bay Area, but do play in a handful of the big tournaments each year. During the tournaments I don't play any live-action poker, because it is such a different game, and I want to focus on the events. I do play one-table satellites, however, which I believe help my final-table play.

JS: It is quite amazing how much success you have had based on the limited number of tournaments that you've played. You won the $2,000 no-limit hold'em event at the 2000 World Series of Poker, came in third in the $5,000 no-limit hold'em championship at the 2000 Legends of Poker, won a big rebuy limit hold'em event at the Legends the same year, and cashed at the Tournament of Champions the last two years. How do you choose which events you play in?

DC: I like events with very large fields, where my patience is an asset and where an overlay may exist. For months I told everyone I play with in the Bay Area that the $1 million-guaranteed limit hold'em event at Commerce Casino was going to be gigantic, and would be a great opportunity to win a big prize. The funny thing about the event was that I came prepared to rebuy as often as I needed, because I knew the prize pool was going to be well over $1 million. Luckily for me, I had to make only one rebuy, and I didn't need to add on. I think you put yourself at a major disadvantage if you are not willing to rebuy in these events. If other people at the table sense that you aren't prepared to rebuy, they tend to play much more aggressively against you and you may become easy to bluff.

JS: Good point. Please walk me through the tournament and tell me your thoughts throughout.

DC: After I sat down, I went through my first $1,500 in chips rather quickly. I took some terrible beats, but I won't bore you with them. I rebought, got involved in a big pot, and called with my last chips when I could only beat a bluff. I won the pot, put the rebuy money that I had in my hand back into my pocket, went on a rush, accumulated about $10,000 in chips before the break, and decided that I didn't need to add-on because I was one of the chip leaders. It's a huge advantage having a lot of chips in tournament events. It is much more of an advantage in no-limit, but it's still important in limit. I continued to build my chips, and was the tournament chip leader from four tables left until we were threehanded.

JS: I know there was a deal proposed with three players left, and the payouts were $569,430 to first, $292,410 to second, and $146,205 to third. That is more than a $400,000 difference between third and first. What was going through your head as you turned down the deal?

DC: I had a slight chip lead. I think I had close to $600,000 and the other two players had around $500,000 each. Both of my opponents were very good players, but I usually prefer not to make deals. I was extremely focused, getting lucky in terms of hitting a bunch of hands, in stroke, and playing as well as I am capable of playing. I thought a deal might make me as well as the others play differently, and I didn't want to change how things were going. The key thing was that everything was going perfectly for me, and I didn't want to take the chance of changing anything. I also thought that I would play my best under the pressure of having $400,000 on the line, and I really enjoy shorthanded and heads-up poker.

JS: Let's backtrack a little to last year's championship event at the World Series. Weren't you the bubble boy, and how did it feel going out on the bubble when you seemed to have enough chips to make it into the money?

DC: Many people have said to me that I should have played differently. Perhaps I could have made the money, but my goal was to win the tournament. If my goal was to win only $20,000, I wouldn't have put up $10,000 from my own pocket. Sometimes a willingness to go out on the bubble goes hand in hand with putting yourself in position to win a tournament. Unfortunately, you can't have your cake and eat it, too. You have to be willing to gamble at certain stages, and you have to accept it if you get knocked out close to the money. Right after I busted out that night, Chris Ferguson told me that he had been knocked out on the bubble in the same event three years before he became the world champion, and that, therefore, I would probably win in 2004. It was great of him to say that, and it made me feel much better. David Pham also reminded me that he had gone out on the bubble at the TOC. It shows that good players often go out on the bubble when taking chances to win. If you play to win the whole thing, you must live with and accept these situations.

JS: Diego, I have sweated many final tables with you in big events. How has doing this helped you?

DC: I have learned a lot from final tables and always watch when successful players are there. I have watched most of the final tables at the World Series over the past three years, and I have learned plenty in two ways: First, observing strategies and plays that the winners use. I have incorporated some of them into my own game. And second, watching specific players whom I don't know well and taking notes on their betting patterns and other tendencies. This may have helped in this event, because I ended up at Eli Balas' table late on the first night after never having played a hand with him before in my life. Eli is a great player, and I watched him three years ago at the $5,000 limit hold'em final table at the World Series when he was heads up against Annie Duke. I had heard about both of them, and figured I could learn a lot from watching them. As it turns out, one of my key hands in the tournament was against Eli, and having watched him closely three years ago helped me play the hand. Instead of going into the hand now, I will write an article on it soon.

JS: Were you ever extremely lucky in any hands?

DC: There was a bunch of hands in which I got lucky, but one stands out more than the others. I raised with pocket fives from middle position, a short-stacked player reraised, and a loose big-stacked player smooth-called the three bets on the button. I called, but I didn't like it much. The flop came ragged. I checked, and they both checked behind me. Using my supreme reading skills (laughing), I put them both on big, unpaired cards. The turn was a blank, so I bet with what I thought might be the best hand. The short-stacked player raised all in, but it was such a small raise that I was forced to call with what I now knew was probably not the best hand. We turned our cards over, and he had pocket aces. My neighbor announced to the table that he had mucked a 5, so I was drawing to a one-outer. Presto, the 5 came on the river. I had a lot of chips at the time and could have afforded to lose the pot, but winning in this incredible way made me begin to think that this might indeed be my lucky day.

JS: OK, I have heard enough about you and how lucky you are. In all of the interviews I've done, this is the third, I have asked players whom they respect the most as a player and as a person. You don't have to include me, because that is a given (laughing).

DC: I respect a lot of people in the poker world, but I will talk about one. David Chiu is a great live-action player, a great tournament player, and a great gentleman, as well. He represents the very best qualities in poker. The night before we came back with the final 27 players, I had a dream that I was playing heads up with David for the $569,000. Unfortunately, when reality hit the next day, I got lucky and knocked him out with two tables left.

JS: What meant more to you, winning the largest limit hold'em event in history or winning a bracelet in 2000 at the World Series? I know that you won a few hundred thousand dollars more this time, but which experience had a larger impact on you?

DC: Even though I won less money, nothing in the poker world compares to winning a bracelet, and the fact that it was in no-limit hold'em makes it even more special for me. However, what makes this win sweet in its own way, besides the money, is being able to share it with so many people. When I won at the World Series, I was somewhat of a newcomer to the tournament scene, and I didn't know too many people. This time, I was able to celebrate the victory with many friends and fellow players. It really meant a lot to me to have so many people cheering me on at the final table. It made the whole experience even more special. I appreciate it and will never forget it.

JS: We played in a few one-table satellites the following day, and everyone was giving you a hard time.

DC: I just really enjoy the challenge of poker. One tables are fun, and great practice for tournaments. I won back-to-back stud eight-or-better satellites that day, and I was pumped. It isn't a matter of money – it's the feeling of being in competition that is great.

JS: Thanks, Diego. We'll look forward to reading your article about the hand with Eli Balas.