Poker Pro from Lakewood, California moves up another spot on the all-time ring leaderboard with a win in $2,200 High Roller
August 11, 2017 (Cherokee, NC) - Before the 2017 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, the players who traveled the WSOP Circuit knew just how talented the Scott Stewart was. The four-time ring winner put his talents on display a few weeks ago on the biggest stage, finishing 13th in the WSOP Main Event.
Less than a month after his $535,000 score, he’s back at the Circuit felt and proving why he’s one of the best around. He continued his hot streak by winning the $2,200 no-limit hold’em high roller event in the early hours of Friday morning.
“The heater has been going on for a while,” said the Lakewood, CA poker pro. “10 months or so. The main event was an unreal experience. I don’t think I’ve ever been as physically or mentally tired from a poker tournament in my life, but there was also adrenaline. It was unbelievable.”
He now has enough Circuit rings to fill out one of his hands. He defeated a field of 114 entries to win $63,399 and his fifth Circuit ring.
“It feels like one, two three, four, fif!” said Stewart with a laugh, alluding to a Dave Chapelle skit from several years ago. “I’ve been waiting to say that for a couple years. It’s kind of funny. A couple friends that have passed me have been needling me about it and now that I’ve won a fifth, hopefully a couple more come. It’s always good to start off with a bang.”
Stewart is generally one of the more fun-loving poker players you can find on the Circuit. He’s usually laughing, joking with other players and enjoying a couple cocktails. Even at the final table of the biggest buy-in of the Circuit stop, Stewart was enjoying some beers and getting other players to join in on the fun.
“You know, having fun at the table is half the game, you know,” said Stewart. “I don’t want to sit here like a robot and not talk to anyone. You have that option and sometimes you get a table like that, but the more fun you have at a table, you can’t really beat it.
“Today, me, Peter [Hernandez], and Michael Sanders were all trading Michelob Ultra rounds. Just round for round. You know, we were drinking all day, having some fun. It always makes it more fun. If you are doing well and having fun, it’s always great. If you bust, that happens. It’s part of poker, but having fun at the table is a lot to me.
Over the course of Stewart’s heater, he’s definitely been on the right side of variance, but Stewart also feels like he’s been making changes in his game for the better. An emphasis on paying closer attention to body language coupled with his experience of running deep in the WSOP Main Event is what Stewart thinks has been and will continue paying huge dividends.
“I’m just on top of things,” said Stewart. “The more you play, the more experience you get, you know? It’s not a secret to the people that know me that I either have a bunch of chips or no chips. It’s just how I play. So, the Main Event was actually a test of playing with few chips, which I know how to do, but it’s more fun to have chips. It’s a testament to that and I’ve been working on reading people better. I feel that I’m picking up more tells and people’s mannerisms are really standing out to me.”
Most of the high roller events on the Circuit are two-day events with 40-minute levels throughout. This stop, however, implemented a different structure for the high roller. It was a turbo one-day format.
Stewart may be a little biased since he ended up with all the chips in play, but he embraced the changes and enjoys turbos in general.
“The format is cool,” said Stewart. “Especially if you want to play both the high roller and the main, which if you are coming out here, you probably want to do. So, you don’t get stuck in one and only get to play one day of the main. You can play two days if need be. I really like what they did and turbos are always a little bit more fun.”
Stewart’s fifth ring moves moves him closer to the $1 million mark for career WSOP earnings and ties him with some of the Circuit’s most recognizable names on the all-time ring list. He now has over $900,000 in earnings at WSOP event and joins Brandon Fish, Kevin McColgan, Cody Pack, Josh Turner, Mark Smith, Kurt Jewell, Caufman Talley, Roland Israelashvili and Mike Leah with five rings each.
Final Table Results:
1st: Scott Stewart - $63,399
2nd: Bradley Phillips - $42,276
3rd: Todd Mercer - $30,101
4th: Michal Mrakes - $21,865
5th: Peter Hernandez - $16,197
6th: Iverson Snuffer - $12,228
7th: Craig Jones - $9,405
8th: Raymond Hall - $7,367
9th: Nicholas Power - $5,873