WSOP: Bracelet Winner Q and A --- Jose-Luis Velador

L.A. cash game pro Jose-Luis Velador came into the final table with a massive chip lead and with relatively ease took out most of his opponents to claim his first WSOP bracelet. Velador had a bit of trouble putting away second-place finisher Anthony Signore, but ultimately his big stack prevailed as he took home the nearly $600,000 first-place prize.

Velador spoke to Card Player shortly after his win to discuss final-table strategy and his plans for the future.
 

Question: What did you think of the overall field in this event?

Jose-Luis Velador: Well, there was a lot of dead money, but there were some good players, too. Don’t get me wrong, I got hit by the deck yesterday, and I just ran over the players. I had great starting hands and almost all of them got paid off.

Q: You took a big lead into the final table and remained aggressive.

JLV: Yes, that was the game plan, to put pressure on people with the short stacks and basically play well. Against the large stacks I just wanted to have a hand if I have to show it down. These players were obviously good, but I told one of my friends about Odie, [Osmin Dardon] and how he kept coming over the top of me every time I raised. I told myself that I was going to bust him. I got a lot of big hands, but I didn’t have a problem. With a lot of players, I know when they are good, and I know when they are trying to pull my leg. I’ve played with some of these guys for years.

Q: What did you think of your heads-up opponent, Anthony Signore?

JLV: He was a good player. The few hands in a row where he went all in, I didn’t think it was necessary, but I was just going to wait for a good hand and bust him. The final hand was tough, but I just figured I had the best hand. I gambled a bit, but made the right decision.

Q: So, are you going to be playing bigger events now, or will you continue to pick your spots?

JLV: Maybe, but there are a lot of tough players there. I'm not here just to play. I look around at those fields and I don't know. I play the cash games here, and if it's good I jump in. But in some of these tournaments there are a lot of good players. I don't see any value. There's nothing but pros.

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