2011 November Nine Profile: Pius Heinz

PROFILE
Name: Pius Heinz
Age: 22
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Online Handle: MastaP89

Pius Heinz used his fearless style to become the first German ever to reach the World Series of Poker Main Event final table. The 22-year-old has an extensive online background, having won numerous tournaments on the virtual felts before playing in his very first WSOP in 2011.

Among Heinz’s biggest online accomplishments include victories in the Full Tilt Poker Sunday Mulligan for $61,000 and the PokerStars $150,000 Guarantee for $29,000.

It didn’t take long for the online grinder to make a splash in the live arena. Heinz made a WSOP final table in one of the very first events he played over the summer, taking 7th in a $1,500 No Limit Hold ‘em event for $83,286 — his first live cash.

Despite the limited experience, Heinz hasn’t let the big stage get into his head.

“I don’t feel any pressure at all,” he told ESPN after securing a seat in November. “The field left is really strong (and there are) a lot of really good players left. My tournament went pretty smoothly for the most part and I’m just happy to be here. Whatever happens, happens.”

Heinz enters the final table seventh in chips with 16,425,000.

HOW HE GOT THERE:

Day 1: 89,550 chips
Day 2: 256,000
Day 3: 395,000
Day 4: 1,887,000
Day 5: 4,699,000
Day 6: 5,695,000
Day 7: 7,510,000
Day 8: 16,425,000

KEY HAND: After it’s all said and done, Heinz might best be remembered for a seemingly misguided shove he made against John Hewitt on Day 8.

With the blinds at 150,000/300,000, Hewitt raised to 650,000 from under the gun and Heinz moved all in for more than 8 million from the button. Both blinds folded, Hewitt called instantly, and Heinz’s tournament life was on the line:

Hewitt: Ah-Ks
Heinz: Kc-Jc

Heinz was drawing thin, but the 10c-8h-7h flop gave him some additional outs with a gutshot straight draw. The 6h on the turn eliminated two of those outs as Hewitt picked up a flush draw, but the 9d river gave Heinz his straight and a pot worth nearly 17 million. Heinz was criticized by many armchair quarterbacks for the overshove but, as we’ll discuss later in this bio, it’s all part of a strategy that Heinz has followed during his lucrative poker career.

Hewitt, meanwhile, missed his opportunity to take the chip lead and ultimately landed the unfortunate honor as the bubble boy of the Main Event final table.

WHY HE CAN WIN: Heinz is a game theory specialist and his tournament game is virtually unexploitable. In poker terms, that means he makes decisions that prevent his opponents from gaining an edge on him in the long run.

While this strategy is far from unbeatable, it makes him a nuisance as an opponent. You’ll rarely (if ever) see the youngster make negative-EV (expected value) plays and he’s almost always putting pressure on players to make critical decisions. As a short stack, Heinz may not be considered one of the favorites. But he has the end-game experience necessary to win a tournament of this magnitude.

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Poker jargon:

DECLARE - In high/low games, declaring one's hand as high or low or both ways (usually done with chips in hand). Usually played in home games; casinos tend to play CARDS SPEAK.
STAKE - The amount of a player's BUY-IN, or the amount of money they are willing to play with in a given session. Compare: BANKROLL.
DOOR [CARD] - A player's first upcard in stud games.
LIVE ONE - The best kind of opponent, a poor player with a lot of money to lose and in a hurry to lose it.
SPLIT [THE POT] - To split the pot between two or more players. Related term: QUARTER.
NUT / NUTS - The best possible hand of a given class. Not a LOCK unless all cards have been dealt. The "nut flush" is the highest possible flush, but might still lose to, e.g., a full house. Usually used in Hold'em games.

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