World Series of Poker Main Event Final Table Profile -- Jeremy AusmusAusmus Caps Off Eight Cash WSOP With Main Event Final Table Appearance |
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This week, Card Player will be looking at each of 2012 World Series of Poker main event final tablists, starting with the shortest stacks and working our way up to the chip leader. Be sure to check back each day to read more about the October Nine.
Despite entering the final table as the shortest stack, Jeremy Ausmus remains confident in his ability to battle back and play his way into contention for the title and the $8,527,982 first-place prize.
At the age of 32, Ausmus is surprisingly the third oldest competitor left in the tournament. The Colorado native now calls Las Vegas home, and has been grinding out both cash games and tournaments, live and online for the better part of the last seven years.
“This whole experience has been incredibly exciting, but there were times when that feeling wore off a bit, when I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming,” Ausmus said. “For a while, the final table just felt so far away. Now that it is just a week from happening, that anticipation is starting to build back up along with the nerves.”
The Colorado State University graduate turned pro in 2005 and has since cashed for a total of $375,000 in online tournaments under the name “TheTaker” and an additional $425,000 in live tournament earnings. No matter what happens on Monday night, Ausmus has already locked up an impressive $754,798 for ninth place, which will nearly double his career tournament winnings.
“I’m not going to lie, the pay jumps, even from ninth to eighth are huge and would definitely be great, but I’m in a good financial position to go for the win,” said Ausmus. “Half of the players at the final table don’t play for a living, so they’re more likely to sweat the jumps. While the initial jumps are big, they are not nearly as big as the jumps in the top three spots.”
His 2012 WSOP campaign was already his most successful to date before becoming a member of the October Nine, cashing an impressive eight times during his summer run. That being said, he hasn’t exactly put in a bunch of hours on the felt since.
“I’ve had a lot of distractions since the WSOP wrapped up,” he admitted. “My wife and I just had our second child, a boy, who was born six weeks early and spent almost a month in the hospital. I had originally planned to go to Europe to play the WSOP events over there, but obviously I’m glad I decided to stay home so I could help my wife with her bed rest and take care of our two year old. After the series, I took almost three weeks off from playing, got back into it for a short period of time and then took another five weeks off for my son’s birth. So, I really haven’t been able to hire a poker coach or run simulations like the other guys are doing. I’m sure that I’ve played the least out of anybody at the final table during our off time.”
Even though he took a prolonged break from the game, Ausmus likes his chances heading into Monday night’s finale.
“I don’t feel rusty or anything. I’ve put in a ton of hours over the years and I know that I can play situational poker quite well. Some of these guys have been going over various scenarios over and over again, but I know I’ll be able to adapt. I have the worst, maybe second worst seat at the table with the two biggest stacks sitting on my left. With 33 big blinds, however, I’m not in any real danger. I’m the shortest stack, but I’m not short stacked. It’s going to be an uphill battle. I know I’m an underdog to win, but there’s not really an overwhelming favorite to win either. If I can get a double up, I’ll be right back in the mix.”
Ausmus was one of the more fortunate players to capitalize on his position as a member of the October Nine, signing sponsorship deals with Hog Wild Poker, an online poker league community and TTAGIT, a web application that allows users to group online forum and social network comments under a single profile.
For complete coverage of the summer poker festival, check out our WSOP landing page.
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