Reliving the 2014 WSOP Main Event with Jorryt van Hoof

Dutch poker pro Jorryt van Hoof joins the podcast to talk about the run he made in the 2014 WSOP Main Event. Van Hoof relives some of the most important hands of his run, and focuses, on one hand, he calls “the worst hand he played in 15 years of being a poker pro.”

• 2:30 – The start of the interview: What has Jorryt been up to lately, and what does his life look like right now?
• 5:09 – Going to the 2014 WSOP with the intention of just having a vacation, did that influence his state of mind when playing the Main Event, and how did going deep in the Main Event compare to his usual high stakes cash game grind?
• 7:36 – Getting back into grinding after an extended break, and why cash games will always be his favorite.
• 9:36 – Looking back on the peak of his online poker career, his routine, how he became so successful and how he rates his own game versus the best players.
• 16:12 – The 2014 WSOP Main Event. Looking back on it now, can he be satisfied with his third-place finish?
• 19:57 – The start of the event, big moments from the early days and how he almost missed the tournament altogether!
• 22:25 – Why the WSOP Main Event is unlike any other tournament, and how Jorryt experienced the lights, cameras and buzz surrounding the event.
• 24:15 – The massive coin flip between Jorryt van Hoof and Dan Smith with 20 players remaining in the Main Event: The strategy considerations that went into it, and the emotions during and after the hand.
• 35:02 – Busting Andrei Zaichenko after flopping a straight versus his aces, how Jorryt kept track of everything else that was going on in the tournament with only two tables remaining and busting Eddy Sabat with the nut flush versus his jack-high flush.
• 39:26 – Being the Main Event chip leader with 15 players remaining, dominating the bubble and using aggression to exploit the November Nine bubble.
• 43:45 – What would’ve happened if the final table was played out in the summer as opposed to in November?
• 46:33 – Working on his mental game with Jared Tendler, and improving his short-stacked tournament game.
• 49:19 – Jorryt’s video game rating as a poker player.
• 53:13 – The start of the WSOP Main Event final table.
• 55:56 – Mark Newhouse gets eliminated in 9th place, bluffing off all his chips to William Tonking.
• 58:40 – The big bluff versus Andoni Larrabe, turning two pair into a bluff.
• 1:02:12 – The rush that started with the elimination of Dan Sindelar with ace-three of hearts versus pocket jacks followed by busting Andoni Larrabe.
• 1:05:27 – Did Jorryt ever think he was going to win the WSOP Main Event?
• 1:07:09 – Doubling up Felix Stephensen with pocket jacks versus ace-eight: The first crack in Van Hoof’s armor.
• 1:12:12 – Jorryt van Hoof’s biggest regret, a painful memory of a hand that didn’t even make it onto the broadcast.
• 1:20:02 – The final day: Martin Jacobson, Felix Stephensen and Jorryt van Hoof are guaranteed to take home at least $3.8 million and play for the $10 million first prize.
• 1:26:20 – Doubling up Felix Stephensen with middle pair versus his second pair, turning the tables leading to Jorryt’s elimination.
• 1:29:29 – Reliving Jorryt’s elimination in third place, what happens in the moments after leaving the set, and how people still recognize him on the streets as the famous poker player that he is.
• 1:35:53 – Did winning $3.8 million change Jorryt’s life?