Player Turns $250 Into $52,500 WSOP Payday! Epic Day 5 Disaster & Comeback Story
From Singapore to the Strip
The first step towards winning the WSOP Main Event is getting there. With a $10,000USD buy-in, travel and hotel expenses, plus money for food and maybe some entertainment, it’s a goal that most people will be hard pressed to achieve. That’s one of the reasons GGPoker offers the Road to Vegas, which includes your buy-in plus a bit more to help with the rest of the costs. Overall, it’s a relatively inexpensive way for anyone to achieve their goal of making it to the Main Event. One such player who managed to make it through the Road to Vegas was Tian Liu.
$250 Satellite to Main Event Glory
Tian qualified for the Main Event through a $250 satellite directly into the Main Event. This would be his first time coming to the USA, and with the cost coming from Singapore, where he currently lives, this was the best way it could have happened.
“I didn’t start playing poker until after COVID. Before that, school, work, and my responsibilities took all of my time. When life settled down a bit, and I found myself with some time, I decided to give poker a try. GGPoker was the first site I downloaded, and it is my favorite. I have tried some of the other sites, but the user interface on GG is just so much better and easier to use. GG is still my number one choice.”
Day 5 Disaster and $52,500 Silver Lining
Unfortunately, Tian was knocked out near the end of day 5, finishing 235th, earning $52,500 for the efforts. While not the championship he wanted, it’s still an incredible ROI from his original $250 buy-in. “Day 5 was bad for me. I was card dead for the first three levels. Then early in level four, I flopped top set and lost about 70% of my stack to a turned straight. From that point, I was able to run it back up to about 1.5 million. The average was about 1.9M. Then, with about 10 minutes left in the day, I completely misread a rec player in the big blind and got it all in with ace-queen against his ace-king.”
Although saddened by the turn of events, Tian was happy he got to come to Las Vegas and play in the Main Event. “Oh, I’ll definitely be back. I absolutely loved my time here. And I got to play for a while with Leo Margets. She’s a nice person and amazing player.” The joy was clear on Tian’s face, and we are sure he will be back, although getting live experience could be difficult for him, as Singapore does restrict poker for locals.
WSOP+ App Revolution
“I love the WSOP+ app. It’s absolutely amazing. I heard stories from people I know and players at the tables, about how bad the line-ups and registration used to be. When I first went to register I thought that the lines were ridiculous, but hearing the stories, I didn’t realize how bad it was. I think I joined the WSOP at the right time. I’ve been told that the app is a massive revolution from what it used to be.” Obviously a fan of the new integrated app, Tian is just one of thousands of players who are ecstatic to have the opportunity to avoid long waiting times and walking through crowds with entirely too much money in their pockets.
Zodiac Trophy Hunter
Tian has spent hours playing online, with over 200,000 Rush & Cash hands in his history, but now prefers to play multi-table tournaments. He has final tabled the GGMasters, but his current favorites are the Zodiac Series. “I really enjoy the Zodiac tournaments. It’s perfect for where I live, and I really like the trophies. There was one day that I was playing, and my girlfriend asked why my picture looked different. I showed her the Zodiac trophies and explained how to get them. She now wants me to win them all, something that was a goal of mine. I want to be the next person the collect all of them.”
There was one piece of advice he offered to anyone playing, whether they are just getting started or have been playing for a long time, “Managing your bankroll is the most important thing you can do. If you are going to become an expert in any aspect of poker, bankroll management is the most important thing. Without good bankroll management skills, it doesn’t matter how good you are at the game because you will eventually have a bad run. There is nothing worse than going broke and having to start the grind at the bottom again.”
While Tian’s first foray into the World Series of Poker may not have been what he dreamed of, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and one he wants to have again, one we are sure he will have again based on his results this time, particularly with his view towards bankroll management. For now, he cannot wait to get home and share his results and fortune with his girlfriend and family.
Article written by: Shawn Altbaum
Photographs by Tim Ash and are owned and are the exclusive property of GGPoker.
