Final Table Takedown: Shiina Okamoto Wins Ladies Championship Year After Finishing Second

It wasn’t until the summer of 2021 that Shiina Okamoto scored her first recorded tournament cash, banking a whopping $295 in the first event of the WSOP Online series. Later that fall, she picked up another two min-cashes at the live series.

She leveled up the next summer, notching a final table at the Venetian DeepStack and even making a deep run in their main event. After scoring big cashes on the European Poker Tour, Asian Poker Tour, and at WPT Australia, Okamoto narrowly missed out on WSOP gold last year, taking second in the $1,000 buy-in Ladies Championship.

It was a score worth $118,768, but it was still the silver medal, as noted by Okamoto on her Twitter/X profile. Incredibly, the Japanese poker standout was able to make it back to heads-up play in 2024, this time securing the title, the bracelet, and $171,732. (Oh, and she got to add the gold medal to her profile!)

Okamato shared the news of her redeeming victory with her followers on social media (roughly translated).

“There is always a second chapter. I am the 2024 Ladies Championship winner! I was able to get what I left behind.”

Okamoto would then follow up her first bracelet with a win at the Red Dragon Poker Tour in Jeju, banking another $64,564. She now has more than $550,000 in earnings over the last three years.

Although she doesn’t speak English, Card Player was able to ask Okamoto some questions about her victory with the help of a translator.

Craig Tapscott: You played great last year and finished second against a tough field. It’s very impressive that you would come back this year to the same event and take it down. How often do you play back home in Japan and how do you go about studying the game?

Shiina Okamoto: Actually, I haven’t studied tournaments a lot. I’ve studied cash games much more. I study cash-game strategy with my friends about twice a week online using GTO wizard. I really don’t play that much.

Event: WSOP Ladies Championship
Entrants: 1,245
Entry: $1,000
Payout: $171,732
Finish: 1st

Stacks: Shiina Okamoto – 4,300,000 (107 BB) Villain – 800,000 (20 BB)
Blinds: 20,000-40,000-40,000
Players Remaining: 21

Okamoto raised to 80,000 from the lojack holding A 10. Villain in big blind called.

Craig Tapscott: What was the table dynamic between yourself and the Villain in the big blind. What kind of player did you perceive her to be?

Shiina Okamoto: I had a lot of chips to start this hand with three tables left. The Villain knew that I had finished second in the Ladies Championship last year. I thought she would be thinking that I would raise preflop with a value or a bluff hand and be well balanced to some extent. At the same time, I knew her game pretty well, and I perceived her to be a very aggressive player.

Flop: K Q 9
Villain checked, and Okamoto bet 40,000.

CT: You flopped a gutshot and backdoor clubs. What were your plans of how to proceed?

SO: Given that she was short-stacked and on this type of board, it should be very suitable for me to put out a continuation bet.

Villain called.
Turn: 5
Villain checked, and Okamoto bet 125,000. Villain minraised to 250,000. Okamoto called.

SO: I continued to put pressure on the Villain in the big blind after she checked, but I was check-raised.

CT: What were your thoughts at the time when you decided to call her raise?

SO: Usually, I would snap fold in this situation as it is difficult for the big blind to bluff on such a board with high cards. And she’s a short stack, so I considered this decision deeply.

CT: You had some experience playing with her up to this point. What’s your read?

SO: I knew that this Villain would check-raise with marginal hands and also often she could be bluffing here. Of course, she may have a good hand this time. But I thought most female players would go all-in on such a wet board to avoid seeing a scare card on the river. She, however, just min-raised me.

In addition, in the beginning of the day, I heard that a player had advised her to bluff in a situation where no one would usually bluff. Given all the information I shared above, I decided to call.

I called partly supported by the fact that I had position and did have a straight draw.

Okamoto called.
River: 10
Villain checked.

CT: She really put on the brakes by checking the river. It was a dangerous board.

SO: Yes. It was fortunate for me that she checked. I had confidence that she didn’t have a very good hand now. I think most players can’t really have a check range there with good hand, so, the possibility that she has a marginal hand is very high.

CT: Was there anything else that factored into your river decision?

SO: Actually, there was. She checked so quickly. Usually, if she had some showdown value, she would take the time to consider and challenge what possible bluffs I could have on this river.

Okamoto moved all-in, and Villain folded. Okamoto won the pot of 720,000.

SO: I thought my pair of tens was not good, so I went all-in on the four flush completed board. Fortunately for me, she folded and showed a king.

Stacks: Shiina Okamoto – 11,000,000 (91 BB) Jamie Kerstetter – 13,000,000 (108 BB)
Blinds: 60,000-120,000-120,000
Players Remaining: 2

Kerstetter raised to 250,000 on the button. Okamoto called in the big blind holding A 2.

CT: What did you notice about your heads-up opponent this time around?

SO: I felt my opponent was playing a little passively and the possibility of her bluffing was going to be low.

Flop: 9 7 2
Okamoto checked, and Villain bet 200,000. Okamoto called.

SO: I flopped bottom pair and a backdoor nut flush. I’m going to continue.

Turn: 2
Okamoto bet 400,000, and Villain called.

CT: Why did you lead here having turned trips?

SO: I didn’t think she was very aggressive, so I didn’t expect her to continue betting here. I expected her to check behind. That’s the main reason I chose to lead.

River: A
Okamoto bet 1,500,000.

CT: You had to be excited to see the ace on the river. How did you go about choosing that bet sizing for value?

SO: Generally, women make tougher calls, so I actually decided to use a large bet size for value. She had a big stack so she could afford to call.

Kerstetter raised to 3,500,000.

CT: What now? What did you make of her raise?

SO: When she raised me, I thought 60 percent of the time that my hand was not good in this spot. But after considering all the possibilities, I couldn’t fold a full house.

Okamoto called, and Kerstetter revealed 10 8 for a busted open-ended straight draw. Okamoto won the pot of 8,820,000.

SO: I was surprised to see her large bluff as I had not thought she was so aggressive. Fortunately I had a big hand that couldn’t fold.

CT: What was the takeaway for you after the last hand was dealt and you walked away with the bracelet. It had to be very exhilarating after such a close call last year.

SO: Just after I won, I felt relieved rather than happy. I was very nervous last year given my first experience at a final table in such a large and honorable tournament. I couldn’t show my best play either because of a few bad beats.

This year, I made a strong effort to keep my mind stable. I give thanks to the experience I gained during last year’s Ladies Championship. ♠

Follow Okamoto on Twitter/X @shiina_pkr

*Photos by PokerGO