Final Table Takedown: ACR Team Pro Katie Lindsay Wins Moneymaker Tour Caribbean Event

Katie Lindsay has been playing and working in the poker industry for almost 20 years. While she was once an agent for poker players, she has become a professional herself and an ACR Poker ambassador in recent years, stringing together over $2.1 million in online winnings and nearly $1 million live. 

Lindsay won her first WSOP Circuit ring in 2022 and recently had a deep run at the Triton Jeju high roller series in March 2024, cashing in the $25,000 event.

In October, Lindsay became the first woman to win a Moneymaker Tour main event, which she took down for $102,915 after topping a field of 325.

Craig Tapscott: Can you share what it was like during the run up to the final table and then taking down the win?

Katie Lindsay: I actually didn’t expect to get so emotional, but it just kind of happened. I think while I was playing, I was just so focused on doing my best. The minute it finished I was able to breathe a sigh of relief, and it all came out.

I really did want this win, especially as it had been several years since I won a live event and had been having a bad run with poker lately. Our successes in this career are really only quantified by wins, so when you go awhile without one it can make you question a lot of things, and you can feel lacking a bit in purpose.

CT: I saw your ACR Team Pro buddy Chris Moneymaker teasing you back and forth on the social posts.

KL: (laughs) Moneymaker is the best. He is an incredible and kind human and a wonderful ambassador of the game. I watched him win the World Series of Poker main event on ESPN in 2003 and I was hooked immediately. I knew I wanted to learn no-limit hold’em and started devoting all my time and energy into the game. It is pretty surreal to now win his namesake tournament as he is truly the reason I am playing this game.

Event: Moneymaker Caribbean Poker Series Main Event
Buy-In: $1,500
Entrants: 325
Prize Pool: $438,750
First-Place Prize: $102,915

Stacks: Katie Lindsay – 4,700,000 (78 BB) Duff Charette – 7,460,000 (124 BB)
Blinds: 30,000-60,000 (60,000)
Players Remaining: 4 

CT: What has the dynamic between you and Duff Charette been like at the final table and leading up to it?

KL: I know Duff from Kristen and Alex Foxen, so we have always had a friendly rapport. We didn’t play together too much prior to the final table but came in pretty much joint chip leaders. He had a hot start knocking out a few players and winning some big pots so initially he had chipped up a bit.

CT: Let’s talk about this spot with two players at the table with less than 10 big blinds. What are some tips you can pass on to players that aren’t quite as savvy as you are regarding ICM strategy at a final table? And what is your plan in this particular spot vs Charette?

KL: I’m never really thinking about the money when I am playing and honestly, I rarely even look at what is up top. But you do have to be cognizant of ICM and be careful not to put yourself in a tricky situation where your opponent can take advantage of it too much against you.

My plan with these two stacks at the table was to just take each hand as they came and be careful to not get into a spot where I can allow Duff to exploit me.

Charette opened from the button to 130,000. Lindsay called from the big blind holding K 9.

CT: As you well know he’s the chipleader and his range should be pretty wide in this spot.

KL: I think generally speaking you should just be calling most decent hands here, folding marginal ones and three-betting very few.

Flop: J 10 3
Lindsay checked, and Charette bet 100,000. Lindsay raised to 300,000.

CT: What were you thinking when you pushed out this check-raise?

KL: I decided to check-raise my gut shot and one over card because I hadn’t really taken any line like this at the final table. And I felt it was a good spot with some equity. I can fold out his ace highs and take the lead on the hand against what I think should be a wider range for him to be opening, thanks to the ICM pressure on me with the two much shorter stacks. 

Charette called.
Turn: Q

CT: You must be psychic. Nice turn.

KL: (laughs) Yes. I binked my gutshot and dream card.

Lindsay bet 400,000, and Charette called.
River: 3

CT: How did you go about getting the max value on that blank river?

KL: I decided to bet big, targeting a big hand, and hoped I’d get value.

Lindsay bet 1,900,000.

KL: Charette said out loud, “I told myself I would call on a three river.”

Charette called and showed A A, and Lindsay won the pot of 5,550,000.

KL: That was a huge pot and swung the momentum and chip lead my way which enabled me to put a lot of pressure on him with the two remaining shorter stacks still there. 

Stacks: Katie Lindsay – 9,270,000 (116 BB) Duff Charette – 3,730,000 (46.5 BB)
Blinds: 40,000-80,000 (80,000)
Players Remaining: 2

CT: When you were heading into head-up play with Charette, did you have any specific plan after watching him so far in the event?

KL: I felt like he wasn’t getting out of line too much and was playing pretty solidly. Since I had the chip lead against him, I intended to keep the aggression up and keep the pressure on him. He was limping every button, and I was raising every button. When I was making hands, I was betting big and balancing between my bluffs.

Lindsay raised to 160,000 from the button holding Q 6. Charette mis-clicked the call and accidentally raised to 255,000. Lindsay called.

CT: What happened? How did he mis-click?

KL: I mean I think he just intended to throw in a call, but he threw in an extra 100k chip accidently and it was ruled a raise. I could tell it was a mis-click by his reaction, which helped me to range his hands a bit more.

Flop: K 8 3
Charette checked.

KL: I didn’t believe he would be checking a king here, so I decided to bet to see if I could go ahead and take it down after his mis-click preflop.

Lindsay bet 175,000, and Charette called.

KL: Now this felt like he could have the eight or even perhaps the three here. 

Turn: Q
Charette checked, and Lindsay checked behind.

KL: I decided to check back here, and pot control a bit. 

River: 10
Charette checked, and Lindsay bet 400,000. Charette check-raised to 1,200,000. 

KL: I decided to go for some value and bet, and now he decided to raise.

CT: What now? What value hands could he have here?

KL: I tanked for about a minute thinking through any value hands he could check-raise river and I couldn’t find any. I just didn’t believe he would play a king like this, and even if he had 10-8 and rivered two pair, I didn’t believe he wouldn’t bet the river after I checked the turn. In the end it felt like an eight that he decided to turn into a bluff.

Lindsay called. Charette revealed J 8, and Lindsay won the pot of 3,340,000.

CT: Great call.

KL: Thanks. This hand gave me huge momentum heads-up and I got him down to 26 big blinds. From there I was able to keep the pressure on and eventually take the win.
 
CT: Let’s talk about your thinking process when you broke it down on the river and found no value from Charette. What should players be going over in their mind when facing this spot specifically?

KL: I think you just have to take all the information you have been given and try to make the most sense out of it. I had to run through any hand he could have played this way that beats me. Conversely, I think this is super important to do when you are running a bluff. What story am I telling here? Does it make sense? His story just didn’t make sense to me and that is why I called.

Find Katie Lindsay on IG @katelindss and X @katelinds.