It has been an impressive calendar year for Jeremy Ausmus. He has posted top ten finishes in bracelet events in Melbourne, New Orleans, Las Vegas, and now in Paris, he has finally captured his first gold bracelet. He defeated a field of 184 tough players to pocket €70,324 and the hardware.
Amazingly enough, Ausmus claims he isn't much of a PLO player. It is true that Ausmus' other results have come in No Limit Hold'em, but his innate poker instincts proved to be enough to defeat a tough final table that included two PLO bracelet winners, Jan-Peter Jachtmann and Jason Mercier. Ausmus battled back from the short stack heads-up to defeat Juha Helppi of Finland after an epic heads-up battle.
In the span of just a year, Ausmus has established himself as far more than just a guy who final tabled the WSOP Main Event. The Colorado native who now resides in Vegas had a slew of results prior to last year's final table, but this past year, he has taken it to another level. He final tabled the WSOP APAC Accumulator event, took eighth in the WSOP National Championship, took third in a Mix Max tournament in Vegas this summer, and now can call himself a bracelet winner.
It is fair to say no one thought Ausmus would be a Main Event and WSOP one-hit wonder, but even he can admit that there is a certain validation that comes from being "bracelet winner Jeremy Ausmus" as opposed to "October Niner Jeremy Ausmus."
"It is a huge deal in this industry to have the bracelet. It is all about the bracelet, it is funny. I'm really, really glad to have a bracelet," Ausmus said. "I feel like I've done some things besides just make the [Main Event] final table. Some guys you just never hear from again and I think I've left my mark and now even more so."
It is somewhat surprising to see that Ausmus left the biggest mark in this PLO tournament. All of his other brushes with the bracelet have come in No Limit Hold'em, but he managed to get the job done in a game he hasn't logged a ton of hours in. While PLO is far from his strongest game though, Ausmus did think he had a good sense of what it takes to do well in a PLO tournament. However, even he can admit the victory is somewhat unexpected.
"It's pretty ridiculous, honestly," Ausmus said shortly after his win. "I don't feel like I'm a great PLO player, but I feel like I understand PLO tournament strategy well. I got fourth in a WCOOP [PLO event] not like that means anything, and I've cashed in a couple of other ones, so I think I have a decent tournament strategy."
The strategy paid off, but it was not an easy road as, more than once, Ausmus had to double up to stay alive. At a table with so many PLO specialists, Ausmus used his poker instincts, honed over several years of life as an online and live cash game professional, to help him in tough spots.
"Anyone who is good at poker, they're going to find themselves in spots, even in unfamiliar games, where they can take the pot away or make a good fold. Instincts are a big deal and I think that came through in a couple hands today," Ausmus explained.
Today was Ausmus' day to shine, but he will have to wait until he returns to the States before he can celebrate with the family. When asked how he and his wife and two young children might celebrate, Ausmus explained that his kids, a three-year-old and a one-year-old, don't exactly put as much emphasis on poker's most coveted piece of jewelry. In fact, they have no clue what it might mean for their dad to have his first bracelet.
"We'll probably go have some ice cream," Ausmus suggested. "[The oldest] will love that, she won't care what we're celebrating, she'll be pretty stoked."
While ice cream is always a great treat, for now, Ausmus will have to settle for a new piece of jewelry and a nice payday.
Ausmus' win marks the seventh time a November Niner has won a bracelet after making the final table. He joins the ranks of Ylon Schwartz, Scott Montgomery, Phil Ivey, Michael Mizrachi, Eric Buchman, and Matt Jarvis. With Ausmus' victory, there are now 11 November Niners with bracelets to their credit.
This €1,650 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha event drew 184 entries and generated a prize pool of €270,480. The top 21 finishers made the money. Some of the notables who cashed include Max Pescatori (21st), Fabrice Soulier (17th), Mohsin Charania (14th), Tommy Vedes (13th), and Dan Kelly (11th).While the final table livestream only featured the top six finishers, the top nine are all credited with making the final table, as this was a nine-handed event. So, while Jonathan Little (7th), Yohann Aube (8th), and Ryan Chapman (9th) busted on Day 2, they still will be credited with a WSOP final table appearance.The final table featured players from a number of countries including France, the United States, Australia, Germany, and Finland. It also had two bracelet winners in the line-up with Jason Mercier and Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who finished fourth and third respectively. Here are the final table results from the €1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event:1st: Jeremy Ausmus - USA - €70,3242nd: Juha Helppi - Finland - €43,4413rd: Jan-Peter Jachtmann - Germany - €31,3674th: Jason Mercier – USA - €23,0365th: Martin Koslov – Australia - €17,2106th: Michael Schwartz –USA - €13,0777th: Jonathan Little – USA - €10,1028th: Yohann Aube – France - €7,9339th: Ryan Chapman – USA - €6,335