Tournament Trail Q and A -- Hafiz 'Hafizzle' Khan

Tournament pro Hafiz "hafizzle" Khan got started with poker six years ago after a friend got him hooked with a home game. He spent a few years working for a software company but ultimately felt he could do better in the cardrooms. After spending a year in isolation to study his growing obsession, Khan ventured out onto the live scene and has since become a regular on the tour.

Khan started the year off with a bang by finishing runner-up to Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier in the EPT PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. The field of 1,136 was no problem for the 34-year-old as he navigated himself to final table score of nearly $1.1 million.

While the rest of the year didn't go quite as planned, Khan remained confident in his game as he went through a stretch of close calls and deep finishes. Recently, Khan got back to his winning ways with two Bellagio Five-Diamond World Poker Classic final tables, the second of which he finished fourth in to pocket another $50,000.

Card Player spoke to Khan shortly following his elimination to discuss his 2008 success and his plans for the future.


Julio Rodriguez: This was your second final table of the series, but you've had some trouble closing.

Hafiz Khan: I wouldn’t say it’s the frustration of not being able to close. I think I’ve done a very good job this year of putting myself into situations where I can take it down, but a bad beat here and there has kept me from finishing. At this final table, I thought I played really well, and if it wasn’t for [Tim Bullard’s] A-10 cracking my pocket kings, I might have been the one with the bracelet.

JR: You've been close to some great finishes in Europe but some bad luck kept you from the final table. Can you talk about those tournaments?

HK: I don’t play very many live tournaments compared to the other pros, but I did travel a bit this year after qualifying online for some EPTs. In Barcelona, we were down to the final four or five tables when I got into a huge three-way all in with Jason Mercier and a local. I had aces, Mercier had A-Q and the local had 7-5. Of course, the local makes quad sevens and ends what looked to be a promising tournament for me.

London was the same situation. I was deep once again and in position to make a run, but my opponent hit a two-outer on the river to bust me on the bubble. So, even though I haven’t been able to achieve the same success I had at the PCA, I’m really confident in my game and happy with the decisions I make. I know that it’s just a matter of time.

JR: Was it tough to get motivated for tournaments after winning so much money?

HK: A little bit. After my big score in the Bahamas, I wasn’t as motivated to grind online anymore. There was that feeling of accomplishment for a bit, but you have to get motivated again so that you can put forth your best effort. Online poker is a bit of a struggle for me, anyway. I have a hard time spending 8 or 9 hours in front of a computer monitor, just letting the time go by. So I’ve naturally cut back on my online play. But I love to play live and interact with the other players. In 2009, I really want to play a full schedule of live events and see if I can top my 2008.

JR: You've done well at Bellagio so far this series, even though the competition level is much higher than in other parts of the world.

HK: They are really tough, but I think that the tougher the table is, the better you play. Sometimes when you are at a table full of amateurs, it’s hard to know what they are thinking. You can’t really put them on a hand in a crucial situation, and all of a sudden its up to the cards to decide whether you pick up chips or go home. As long as there are a few soft spots at the table, I’ll be fine. I just hate attacking a table full of people who make moves with no rhyme or reason behind them.

JR: Do you think there will ever be another influx of dead money into the poker economy?

HK: Poker is growing everywhere but in the states, so I’m willing to travel to all of the nice spots in order to find what little dead money is left. Once the economy improves, things will get better over here, but until then I’m going to head back to the Bahamas, then to Australia before playing in some more spots in Europe.

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