Anton Morgenstern Looks To Not Blow Up Again Deep In World Series Of Poker Main Event

Getting one great shot at a main event final table could happen once in a lifetime, but for German poker pro Anton Morgenstern it’s going to be two opportunities in as many years.

Morgenstern entered day 6 of the 2015 main event on Monday with 4,200,000 in chips, good for 17th out of the remaining 69 players. The starting field was 6,420.

In 2013, Morgenstern had amassed an incredible stack with 24 left. He had nearly 30 million. If he had just maintained that stack as the field whittled down to the November Nine final table, he would have sat second in chips. That’s how huge his stack was with three tables remaining.

But he couldn’t hold onto the chips, exiting the tournament in a disappointing 20th place for $285,408 when the top prize was $8.3 million. The nail in the coffin was when he doubled up Mark Newhouse in what was then the largest hand of the tournament. It was a spot where it was ill-advised to risk that many chips with a hand that was essentially a bluff-catcher.

“He sort of lost his consciousness,” Newhouse said of his opponent back in 2013.

The hand involved Morgenstern calling Newhouse’s four-bet all-in with A-J on a A A 2 3 board. It was draw-heavy, but it was unlikely Newhouse was bluffing for his tournament life. Newhouse ended up turning over pocket deuces for a flopped full house, and it held up with a 4 river to send Morgenstern to the bottom of the chip counts.

Morgenstern told Card Player during a break in play on Sunday night that he’s “trying not to get too excited” this year, and his goal is to focus on one hand at a time.

Though, he admitted that his Achilles heel of losing his concentration and playing overly-aggressive is still something he’s concerned about.

“I couldn’t keep my cool on the last day [in 2013],” Morgenstern said. “Right now I am feeling fine. If I make it [deeper], we’ll see what happens. I think I have a good shot at keeping my cool this time.”

For more coverage from the summer series, visit the 2015 WSOP landing page, complete with a full schedule, news, player interviews and event recaps.

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