Final Table Takedown -- Yevgeniy Timoshenko

Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko went on a mad rush in the fall of 2008 when he won his second live tournament, the Asian Poker Tour $5,300 Macau main event for $500,000, and finished second in a $2,930 PokerStars Barcelona European Poker Tour event for $133,076. In 2009, he added the $25,000 WPT Championship title to his resume, and took home $2,149,960. Online, the 21-year-old wunderkind has been a dominating force, winning numerous major events over the last few years, including a PokerStars Sunday Million event for $250,202 in 2006.

Event 2009 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker main event
Players in the Event 2,144
Buy-in $5,000
First Prize $1,715,200
Finish First

Hand No. 1
Jovial Gent – 13,626,010 djk123 – 10,291,231
Blinds: 60,000-120,000
Antes: 15,000
Players Remaining: 4

Key Concepts: Table image; bet-sizing
Jovial Gent raises to 281,010 from the button with the K K.

Craig Tapscott: What was your strategy going to this final table?

Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko: I never have a preset strategy. When I play tournaments, I’m constantly making adjustments and rethinking my strategy based on the players and dynamics at the table. At a final table as tough as this one, and with djk123 on my immediate left, all I could do was play solid poker and pick my spots well.

CT: And this was a big hand against a very tough opponent — Dan “djk123” Kelly.

YT: This was probably the most crucial hand in the WCOOP for me. I made a standard preflop raise when it was folded around to me.

CT: Had there been any history/metagame between the two of you during this event? Also, are you expecting him to play back at you here?

YT: We actually hadn’t tangled much at the final table, and prior to the final table, I don’t recall playing with djk extensively. However, our history and images play a big role in this hand. I don’t expect him to play back at me here, but I know that he’s definitely capable of it.

Djk123 reraises to 844,444 from the small blind.

CT: What do you make of this reraise?

YT: Djk123 is a very aggressive player, so he could be doing this with a wide range of hands.

CT: So, how do you play this to get the most value?

YT: Well, he’s a very smart player. So, I think fast-playing my hand is better than slow-playing, because he’s going to give me credit for having a big hand if I just call his three-bet, and he will shut down on a lot of flops. So, I decide to …

Jovial Gent reraises to 1,800,000.

CT: What’s the reasoning behind this bet-sizing?

YT: I decided to reraise a small amount to make it look like I could be bluffing and possibly leaving myself room to fold.

Djk123 moves all in and Jovial Gent calls; djk123 reveals the 10 10.

Flop: K J 4 (pot: 20,732,462)
Turn: 3 (pot: 20,732,462)
River: Q(pot: 20,732,462)
Timoshenko wins the pot of 20,732,462.

Hand No. 2
Jovial Gent – 33,134,867 Udon Wannit – 9,745,133
Blinds: 60,000-120,000
Antes: 15,000
Players Remaining: 2

Key Concepts: Position; value-betting; assigning hand ranges

Jovial Gent raises to 300,000 from the button with the Q 7.

YT: It’s not a great hand, but it’s better than an average hand, so that’s why I decide to raise.

Udon Wannit calls.

YT: At this point, I put him on a decent but not great hand. He’s very aggressive, so I think that if he had a big hand, he would’ve three-bet me.

Flop: 9 9 4 (pot: 630,000)

CT: Automatic continuation-bet here?

YT: Well, because this flop is very dry, it’s unlikely that it hit my opponent. So, I make a continuation-bet to try to take the pot down.

Udon Wannit checks. Jovial Gent bets 300,000. Udon Wannit calls.

CT: Could he be slow-playing the 9? What range do you put him on?

YT: I think that if he has a 9, he’s going to check-raise most of the time, because he’s a very aggressive player. And if he has a pair, 5-5 or better, he probably three-bets preflop most of the time. At this point, I mostly put him on a 4 or A-X. He also could have strong K-X hands, like K-10, K-J, and K-Q.

Turn: 7 (pot: 1,230,000)

YT: The turn is a very good one for me.

Udon Wannit checks. Jovial Gent bets 720,000 for value. Udon Wannit raises to 2,222,222.

CT: Do you ever get any reads from this type of deliberately sized bet?

YT: No; people have different betting styles. Some click the bar, and some type their bets in. Udon Wannit always bet these types of amounts, so I couldn’t pick up a tell.

CT: What hands are you wary of at this point?

YT: The only hands I’m worried about are trips and fours full. I think he would check-raise these hands on the flop a lot, so …

Jovial Gent calls.
River: 7 (pot: 5,674,444)

CT: Not a bad card.

YT: Now the only hand that beats me is a full house with a 9.

Udon Wannit checks.

YT: Now I am very confident in my hand. The problem is, my hand looks really strong, and he usually has just a high card in this spot. If I make a standard value-bet, I think he surely just folds his hand. So, I decided to underbet the pot. I tried to represent one of the turned draws that missed on the river.

Jovial Gent bets 1,800,000. Udon Wannit calls and reveals the A 8. Jovial Gent wins the pot of 9,274,444.

CT: Can you share a few keys to navigating your way through a tough final table? You have a track record of closing the big ones once you get there.

YT: I think one of the most important keys to being successful in poker tournaments is adjusting to the table. It’s important to make adjustments based on your opponents, their chip stacks, your chip stack, the structure, the payouts, and so on. These factors are usually most important when determining how I’m going to play a final table.

CT: Please share some tips for playing a short stack, and the flip side, going to the final table with a huge stack.

YT: When I’m short-stacked, I’m usually playing tight-aggressive. I don’t see as many flops as I do with a big stack, and I don’t enter as many pots; instead, I look for good spots to get my chips in to try to double up. Conversely, when playing a big stack, you have a lot more freedom and flexibility to do what you like. You can play aggressively and enter lots of pots to try to accumulate chips and steal pots while others are trying to survive and move up in prize money, or you can sit back and play tight, and wait for others to bust out. Both strategies can be effective, depending on the dynamics at the table, so it’s your job to figure out which approach is the most effective.