SpadeClub Member Wins Seat in the World Series of PokerGeorge 'Ares' Ali Takes Home a $12,000 World Series Prize Package |
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On Feb. 11, SpadeClub’s anniversary, the first of four VIP $12,000 Reward events was held. With more than 5,700 players, there was a lot of tough competition, but Exclusive member George “Ares” Ali took home the first-place prize. Ali received a $12,000 World Series prize package, including a $10,000 seat in the World Series main event and $2,000 to use toward travel expenses. Ali is excited to be able to play with some of poker most elite professionals at the 2009 World Series.
When asked if he was excited, Ali replied, “Excited? Are you kidding? This has been a dream of mine since I started playing poker 10 years ago. I still can't believe that this is going to happen. Me, playing with the likes of Brunson, Negreanu, Ivey, and all the other pros, is overwhelming, and I have SpadeClub to thank for sending me there. When I told my friends about SpadeClub, four of them joined that weekend.”
Card Player had the opportunity to ask Ali a few questions about his tournament strategy and his life outside of poker.
Card Player: Tell me a little about your life outside of poker.
George “Ares” Ali: I guess there's not much to say about my life outside of poker. I'm retired right now, but I used to be a hairstylist and owned my own salon at one time. I still cut a few of my friends’ hair once in a while. I actually spend a lot of time playing poker on SpadeClub.com.
CP: Can you tell me how you won the VIP $12,000 Reward event? What kind of strategy prevailed?
GA: I only follow three rules when I enter any tournament or sit-and-go. The first rule I follow was said by Chris Ferguson in one of his articles a while back, and I never forgot it. He said, “Stop trying to force things to happen. Just concentrate on playing solid poker, and let the chips fall where they may.” I really believe in that statement. Secondly, I never go all in early in the tournament. It's just not worth it. My third piece of advice would be to play slightly tighter in early stages of the tournament and then loosen up towards the later stages.
CP: You took down SpadeClub’s largest tournament field so far of 5,798 players, how does that make you feel?
GA: Winning a tournament of this magnitude is too much to comprehend. I am still on cloud nine.
CP: Who was your toughest opponent in the event and why? What aspects of their games made them tough to play against?
GA: There were a few names that popped into my head that I thought might be a threat for me to win: sharri7s, righty0130, tshort1,limogod, and YAZ. It's really hard for me to say which of the players was the toughest. I think at the final table, all of the players were very tough and capable of winning. I still want to thank them for the support that I'm receiving from them.
CP: Was there a particularly key hand that you played in the tournament that helped lead you to victory?
GA: Yes, I remember one specific hand that I think turned the tournament in my favor. The only problem is that it was earlier in the tournament, and I forgot the exact cards that were played. I remember having Q-Q in the hole. At the end of the preflop betting, five of us were all in. I think the four opponents’ cards were 8-7 suited, A-J. A-9, and 10-10. The flop came up A-7-x, I really thought I was dead at that time. The turn was a 7, and the river brought a queen. I couldn't believe that I won that hand. I guess it really wasn't a suckout, because I did have the best hand going in. I made the top 10 and stayed there for almost the entire tournament. If anyone remembers the hand and I put the wrong cards in my statement, sorry, that's all I can remember.
CP: How did the early stages of that event go?
GA: I don't think that anyone would believe what happened to me during the first half hour of the tournament. At 9 p.m., I logged on to SpadeClub and my computer either froze or locked up. I really started to panic, because I thought that after a certain amount of time they eliminate you from the tournament. After turning my computer off twice and trying to reboot it three times, I finally got it running well enough to play the tournament. I think I really fixed the problem during break time. What a nightmare it could have been.
CP: What is your method to go about piecing together what kinds of hands your opponents could be holding?
GA: I am probably not the best card reader on SpadeClub. I just follow the betting patterns of people preflop. Then, when they start betting after the flop, I put them on a range of hands I think that they could have. I'll throw out a couple of feeler bets to see if I am correct, and I take it from there.
CP: What kinds of really big mistakes did you see people make in the event?
GA: I will repeat what I said before: I don't think that going all in early in the tournament is the smartest move to make, especially when the blinds are just 10-20. Even if you have A-A and three or four players call you, you're less than 50 percent to win, and the majority or these players never make the final table, anyway. Stick to skill.
CP: What do you think is the key to success when a tournament gets down to heads-up poker?
GA: When it comes to heads up, I think being very aggressive is the way to go.
CP: How long have you played poker, and what got you interested in SpadeClub?
GA: I think I have been playing poker for about 10 years. I used to only play stud. There was a game called Texas hold’em, and it really caught my attention. The first time I sat at a no-limit hold’em table at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, I remember someone had to tell me what blinds were. Last year I was reading Card Player magazine and kept seeing ads for this new site called SpadeClub. It really sounded good, and in August I was hooked. Most of the people on the site are extremely friendly and nice. Not like some of the other sites where they are cursing and berating you like you're a piece of garbage. One time on SpadeClub, I tried to tell someone how to play his hand. I want to apologize for that, and believe me, that will never happen again. I now understand that SpadeClub players are here to have fun and meet new friends. It's like playing at a home game.
CP: What advice can you give to other SpadeClub members who are looking to go deep in these tournaments?
GA: The only thing I can say about that is to play a solid game early and don't take too many chances if it's going to cost you most of your chips.
CP: Have you participated in any of the community features of SpadeClub? If so, what do you think?
GA: I really haven't participated too much in the community, but now that I see how easy it is to chat with all my new friends, I will definitely be using it more.
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