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NOVEMBER 12 - 22, 2020
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NEWS |
INTERVIEW
WITH JOE HEBERT CHIP LEADER 2020 WSOP MAIN EVENT
FINAL TABLE:
GCP: So let's get started how excited are you
basically living every poker player's dream: chip
leader heading into the final table of the Main
Event?
Joe: I'm stoked, it's been a crazy ride since day
one to the final table. I can't wait to finish it
off and bring it home to Metairie.
GCP: You've long been an active player in the
Metairie bar tournaments, even as you've traveled
the local circuits, and played for much higher
stakes. Those are a bit of your roots. Have you
heard from those folks?
Joe: Yes. People have been texting me and asking
for all the ways to follow at home. When will it be
televised, will it be streamed is there a way to
follow it.... Unfortunately, I won't be able to see
them until after the tournament as I'm staying in
kind of a bubble in Vegas until the final table. I
flew my fiancée Victoria out here and my son Kole to
spend Christmas together. It was Kole's first time
flying and he got to come into Vegas at night and
see the strip lit up. I made sure to get him a
window seat on that side. He gave the flight a 5
out of 5.
GCP: What are you covid plans? Or better put, what
are your plans to keep from getting it?
Joe: So, we have just gotten the house and are
holing up. I bought food from Walmart and did the
pick up. We'll be here not seeing anybody until we
have to. On the 26th I have to go to the Rio and
get my first test. Then quarantine there. Take
another test on the 27th. We play on the 28th.
GCP: So with the rules this year, we were talking
beforehand, ironically before we knew it would be
our friend who was the chipleader and would be in
this exact scenario--just how insane it could be if
somebody had a big chiplead and then tests
positive. In that case the WSOP takes your chips
out of play and pays you 9th place money. Which are
the rules this year if any of you test positive for
the virus. Especially for you that would be so
unfair. If your stack was in play and just blinding
out your opponents couldn't just wait you out. Who knows
where you'd finish but most likely not 9th.
Joe: Yeah, I mean I think it's unfair they wouldn't
let stacks blind out but they already had a player
not show for the GG final table in Europe and that's
what they did. I've heard most of our final table
are from, or played in, New Jersey. Think most of
them, 7 maybe, are traveling right before hand. I'm
lucky I came out here to play and could just stay.
GCP: Not 100% sure why they do it that way. It may
be they thought it would make for bad tv, with just a
stack and an empty seat there. Although arguably it
would create it's own uniquely 2020 drama and
intrigue. It'd add such a compelling level of
strategy, right. It'd probably be interesting to
see how people adapt to that dynamic.
Joe: Right and what if you test false positive. I
think that's why the test us twice to make sure.
GCP: Yeah, don't catch covid and you got to fade
the false positive. Such a strange format.
We
didn't follow as much as we normally would have
because we didn't think too many local folks were
out there. We knew Corey Harrison was playing and
we looked for his name and didn't see it on day two.
Then I got your text that you were like 26th out of
28th, and so we jumped on that twitch feed to
watch. How does it feel to be the chipleader in the
Main Event in the context of this weird year where
nobody can be there in person for your rail?
Joe: It's insane and is weird. You know my son
asked me what we are going to do while he's out
there and I said I have to leave on Saturday to go
quarantine and he said, what do you mean? I'm told
him I have to do that to go play this final table.
It's crazy, I can't have a rail. I have shirts made
for it, thanks to Tana Karn of RunGood, and I can't
even see the people wearing them.
GCP: You know your rail would have been rowdy...
Joe: Haha, Yeah. Also a disadvantage for us in that
other years you'd be able to go to your rail and get
hands histories but this year none of that. You
can't go back thirty minutes and find out the hole
cards and see what people are playing.
GCP: It is strange also this year in that you win
your final table but you don't get a bracelet.
Essentially you have to win two heads up matches.
Joe: Right. Damian Salas has already won the GGPoker table,
I think he's finished 6th or 7th in a Main before,
and he'll play our winner for a million dollar
freeroll and the bracelet.
GCP: It is certainly a 2020 format.
Joe: Yes, it's been a crazy year. You know this
summer in July, I came out here to play the online
WSOP and my roommate Mike Lech won a bracelet. We
celebrated and it was so much fun. I won a satellite
into the $3200 event the next day. Was chipleader
with 36 left and finished 34th. I was super stoked
that I got that deep. I flew back home on the 25th
of July. My mom was excited I was coming home and I
had texted her video of Mike dancing when he won. She was super
excited for him.
I texted her I wish I could have gotten a bracelet
and I didn't know how many more chances like that
I'll get. She texted back what will be will be.
Then she passed away three days later from a
pulmonary embolism. I did not get to see her in
those three days after getting home. I just saw her
in the hospital. I saw her last her when she took
me to the airport to go out to Vegas. We pretty
much talked every day so it's been a rough ride. I
had to take a two month break from poker. My first
return to poker was when I saw you guys in Pearl
River Resorts for your recent event there. I chopped
a tournament there with Preston McEwen, got the
trophy and I finished 7th in the Main Event as well.
2020 has been so strange. I started it with a great
run in January at the Beau and I thought I was going
to have a great year poker wise and then all of
sudden covid happens and then my mom passes away.
To somehow end it with a win for her would mean the
world to me. So now it's #ForLinda. And now "and
Pops."
GCP: Pops, that's another loss for you. He just
passed. Joseph Tiguero (pictured above) was a
dealer and a fixture in the local bar games that you
were close with too.
Joe: Yes, everybody loved Pops. He was just a great
guy with a huge heart. It's really sad. 2020
has been rough .
And of course Ron Held passed away earlier in the
year from Covid. I was so happy that he got his ring
before he died.
GCP: We were talking to his son Ryan and he
mentioned how if his Dad was alive he'd be on the
computer hitting refresh over and over cheering for
you Joe and he said it's sad his dad can't be here
to rail. Ron (pictured left) was one of those guys
if somebody local or from the region was doing
something he knew about it and was following them.
Just a great supporter of the poker community and
always there with a word of encouragement.
Joe: Yes, exactly Ron would text me all the time.
Saying you got this Joe or he'd be one of the first
to congratulate me after a win.
GCP: So you have been carrying a lot of emotional
weight and still produced good results this year.
Has it somehow helped you play better?
Joe: I think it has... you know all of day two I
felt like my mom was there with me. And I felt like
she was telling me to fold. I started the day like
41 or so out of 72 and for the first couple to three
hours, I really never had any playable hands and my
stack just dwindled and dwindled. I kept surviving.
I never went all in. Then I was 24 out of 26 and
out of nowhere I went on this crazy heater. I woke
up the next day I was chipleader, it was almost a
blur.
GCP: It did seem like you kind of started running
over the tables a bit.
Joe: It felt like players started playing not to
lose and I was able to open it up a bit. I think I
was able to take advantage of people tightening up.
GCP: What are you doing in the meantime?
Joe: I'm going to be watching videos. Playing online
on WSOP.com. I'll be talking to Michael Lech
(pictured after bracelet win). I met Lech in
2015 in Punta Cana and we started traveling together
in 2018. He's been a great role model and he's a
great guy. Also, got BJ McBrayer in my corner as
well.
GCP: Think highly of those guys. BJ is another
great player in the region we
 have
a lot of respect for both as a player and a person.
JOE: A few other guys from our area have been
influential like David Nicholoson has been helping
out as well and Scott Hall from Arkansas. And Dan
Lowery. You know Dan's a crusher. Also need to
mention Michael Hallen and Pasha Esfandiari.
GCP: That's a great group of players to have in your
ear. Personally have played with Michael Lech three
maybe four times and what stood out is he played
different every single time and played well in every
style. More so then maybe anybody else I've played
with. He was lethal as the most aggressive player
at the table and just as dangerous as a passive
player.
JOE: Michael adapts. He's great at playing against
what the table is doing. Its why he's so good.
Something I hope rubs off on me. And Ben Thomas is
so good with the numbers and the math. I had told
my mom how much they helped me out and how grateful
I am they came into my life.
GCP: Ben, from Baton Rouge (pictured below) is
certainly a staple on the live scene in the region,
and always seems to be going deep in tournaments.
JOE: And he's a really good guy too. Ben's been a
very pivotal player in my life. I just feel like
since I started traveling with him around 2017 and
we started talking poker it just started to make so
much more sense. And you guys as well. Ya'll have
been there through it all. I can't leave you guys
out either. It's been a journey.
GCP: Thanks, Joe. It's pretty impressive
considering all the things you've had to deal with
this year. Just the loss of friends and family but
you've probably also had one of your best years
poker wise...
JOE: 100% it's been one of my best years poker wise
even with the break I took and covid limiting
everybody's options.
GCP: Do you think you've gotten better and now are
seeing the results?
JOE: I think I've gotten be tter
and it's more just understanding poker more and what
goes into it. You can play a hand correctly a lot of
different ways, but if you can understand a player
and the logic he's using then it changes
everything. Especially live you can see and do so
much more in terms of changing table dynamics. I
feel like I've gotten so much better in that
regard.
GCP: We feel like this is something you deserve,
you've earned and this isn't beyond you. You'd be a
worthy Main Event champion and we think you are
going to do really well at the final table.
JOE: It's tough to even think you can be that good
to win the Main Event. You know I'll never think I'm
the best or some great player. If I win this I'll
still be playing at the bar games. That's just me.
GCP: It's funny we've talked about these
hypothetical scenarios and you are living it.
Chipleader at the Main Event. We've always said a
similar thing if we ever were lucky enough to do
what... you could do (!) what would we change? We'd
like to think not much.We'd joke people would think
we were broke because we'd still be playing the
local weeklies and lower No limit cash games because
we love it and enjoy the people we play with.
JOE: For sure.
GCP: Let's get into the action on day two--as we
haven't really talked about any hands. One of the
hands I remember the under the gun player put like
95% of his chips in. Gets to the small blind who
rips and then you in the big blind with... Ace King
rip and then that dude has a decision. Because I'm
pretty sure there was a pay jump. 15K?
JOE: Yeah, tough scenario for him and a tough spot
for me with Ace King for me. He called. And I won that big hand. But it went the other way
when I doubled up Ryan Hagerty when I had Ace Queen
and he had King Jack in maybe a 6 million chip pot.
I get to 13 million then if I hold and he's out. I
wasn't that worried about it at the time because I
was running hot. Right after that I got right back
in and after it.
GCP: It looked like you were in one of those zones
where you were kind of seeing everything at that
point. If ya'll played it out that night feels like
you would have won.
JOE: I felt good at the end as I was chipping up. I
couldn't sleep the night before, I was nervous
because as ya'll know I satellited in for $325. I
was also chipleader in a ring event with nine people
left just before this and I ended up getting ninth.
We were all pretty short stacked in relation to the
blinds. I had queens on the button. Small blind
raised and big blind jammed all in and he was second
in chips and I was first.
I called it off and he had AK. He hit a king on the
river. So pretty deflating and it crippled my
stack. If I win the hand I'm in great shape. But I
had the same exact hand happen in the main. I had
Queens in the hijack open, button raises and big
blind shoves. I call it off and he's got Ace King.
But this time the Queens held. I'll take that all
day. Lose the flip there but win it in the Main.
GCP: The butterfly effect in poker is so weird to
play out scenarios. Crazy thing is you win that flip
there you probably don't final table the Main this
time. Everything is different. Maybe you play a
different satellite, register at a different time
who knows?
JOE: Right, sometimes in a specific tournament you
make one good fold you end up winning it, you make
one bad fold you lose it. There were so many spots
where I could have jammed in the Main and I just
held off--and I would have lost. The hands are
shown and I would have been out. One time I had Ace
ten suited in the hijack where I'd normally jam with
12 big blinds. I just thought about it for a bit
then I folded. Button wakes up with queens and big
blind with Aces and yeah that would been it.
GCP: Any other big hands that stood out?
JOE: There was a pivotal big hand in the beginning I
had like 28 bigs, and this guy was playing pretty
wide open I felt, so he opened again, somebody 3bet,
and I shoved with fives. He called with sevens and
thankfully I turned a five. That kind of put me on
my way.
GCP: Yeah we were going nuts back in New Orleans and
Houma for sure as we followed late. I scared my kids and my dogs
hooting and hollering. How do you think the
transition will go from online to live? You'll be
comfortable in a live setting right?
JOE: I think it might even help me out. We shall
see. Some of these guys have played a lot of live
tournaments too. Definitely got my work cut out for
me.
GCP: Thanks for your time Joe, we and a lot of other
people will be pulling for you. Do it #forlinda
(Joe and Linda pictured right) #forpops #forron! |
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