Card Player Profile: John RacenerRacener Talks About His Success in Atlantic City, What Helps Him Stay Focused, and How He Handles Bustouts on the Bubble, |
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John Racener began his poker career by playing tournaments online, and he easily made the transition to live play once he was of age. He recently turned 22 years old, and his first year traveling the tournament trail as a pro brought him more than $800,000 in earnings. More than $500,000 of that was won during various events in New Jersey, even though he lives in Florida. Racener’s most recent cash was at the 2008 Borgata Winter Open in Atlantic City; he finished in 24th place in that World Poker Tour event.
Lizzy Harrison: Last month you cashed in the 2008 Borgata Winter Open, and you cashed in that same event last year. Is there something about Atlantic City that brings out your best?
John Racener: It is funny that you ask that, because, looking back, it does seem like all of my biggest cashes have been in Atlantic City. It is just that the Borgata Winter Open is a really great event; I think it is the best tournament of the year. It is really deep-stacked, and that makes it a very skilled event; I always do well there. I don’t know why all of my biggest cashes have been in Atlantic City. I don’t think there is anything special about Atlantic City, I just do really well there, and that’s it.
LH: You’ve mentioned in the past that you get more aggressive once you are in the money. Is that how you played at Borgata?
JR: Yes. In fact, I am very aggressive at all points in a tournament. Even when I am in the money, I do not want to get to the final table with no chips, and so I am always trying to build a big stack. I did play very aggressively during the whole tournament, and, yes, once we were in the money, I did play even more aggressively.
LH: If you could go back and change the way you played one hand in that tournament, which one comes to mind?
JR: There was this one hand at Borgata that I played against a player I knew. I called a raise with a K-Q from the big blind; it had folded around to him in the cutoff, so when he raised, I called. The flop came queen high. I check-called him on the flop, check-called him on the turn, and check-called his big bet on the river. He happened to have pocket aces. I had about 70,000 in chips at the start of the hand, and after that hand, I was down to about 20,000. It was a very big pot; if I had won it, it would have put me at about 200,000 in chips. I wish that I had folded on the river, or maybe even on the turn, because I knew my opponent, and he is a really solid player. I know he wouldn’t try any moves on me, because he has complimented my game before. I wish I had folded there.
LH: You had a nice run in Tunica last month at both the Gold Strike and the Grand. What helped you stay focused during all of those final tables?
JR: Up until recently, I would go to tournaments, stay up drinking at night, and then wake up the next morning feeling like s---. I don’t do well when I do that. This year, I decided, as one of my New Year’s resolutions, to try not to do that anymore. I didn’t go out the night before any tournaments in Mississippi, and it helped me to keep my head on straight. In Tunica, there is nothing to do, anyway, so I really stayed focused there. I did not drink at all, and because of that, my game was really tuned; I was eating and sleeping really well. I think it helped me, because I was really refreshed, and I felt good all of the time. The first three tournaments that I played there I made the final tables of. I had a confident start, and then I bubbled the main event of the World Poker Open.
LH: Which final table do you think had the toughest competition?
JR: It was probably in the Omaha tournament [the pot-limit Omaha event during the 2008 World Poker Open]. That was the first final table that I made in Tunica. It was a $500 buy-in tournament, with rebuys, and I have to say it was the toughest one. There were quite a few known Omaha players in that event. I don’t really know who they were, because I don’t usually play Omaha tournaments, but when I asked around about the other players at the final table, before I played it, I was told that they were solid. I thought it was tough, because they were all really good players and they all knew what they were doing. It was not like there were any donkeys in the Omaha tournament.
LH: You came close to the money in the World Poker Open; how do you stay positive after you play for a few days and bust on the bubble?
JR: It honestly does not really bother me at all. It is going to happen. Things like that happen and you just have to move on. I am not trying to just cash in a tournament. It won’t change my life, money-wise, if I just cash in a $10,000 buy-in tournament. I want to hit for at least $100,000 or a couple hundred thousand; that is what I am playing for.
LH: This past December you won the World Series of Poker Circuit event at Harrah’s Atlantic City, how rewarding was your first major victory?
JR: That was wonderful; it was a really good feeling because it was my first big win. I mean, it was not a huge win, but I did win the first-place prize, so it was really exciting. That helped me to get off to a good start in ’08; I am on the right track.
LH: Was there a point in that tournament when you knew you were going to take it down?
JR: Going into the final table, I was very confident. I was second in chips when the final table began, and I was not really afraid of anybody at the table. David Fox was at that final table, but he did not have very many chips, and we kind of stayed out of each other’s way in that tournament, because there were so many bad players that we could take chips from. So, I would say that I was pretty sure, going into the final table, that I would finish in the top three. The win was definitely a good feeling.
LH: In 2006 you finished third in that same event. Did you expect to come back and win it the next year?
JR: Not really. It was pretty shocking. I mean, of course I did feel confident going into the tournament, because I always do well in Atlantic City. But we started the tournament with 20,000 in chips, and I was down to about 7,500 pretty early. So, I was not feeling great right off the bat. I actually made a big laydown early in the tournament; I could possibly have been out in that hand. I figured that since the blinds were still so small, I would fold and try to build my stack back up. And I did; that was good.
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