Poker News

It isn’t often you hear that a young 20-something is semi-retired, but Leo “Pechorin” Wolpert is just that.  Wolpert went from being a full-time online poker player to a law school student at the University of Virginia.  Wolpert hasn’t given up on poker entirely, but he has cut back drastically on cards while interning with the Nevada chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and finishing up law school.  One of the events he found time to play in at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em, which he won after four long days and nine individual matches.  Wolpert took some time to discuss his strategy in the event and his plans for the rest of the 2009 WSOP.

Poker News Daily: Congratulations on your bracelet.  You had to get through nine matches to win it.  Which matches were the toughest?

Leo Wolpert: It’s tough to choose.  I would say definitely John Juanda.  He’s at the top of the list.  He’s just amazing all-around.  He really gets tournaments inside and out.  Also, with all of his live experience, he could probably pick up on all my myriad tells.  I had to flip for my tournament life against him and luckily I won.

Jamin Stokes played really well.  He was really tough.  He really trapped me well with pocket kings against his top pair.  I mean he just totally owned me that hand.  He made me think he was floating me and I just spazzed off with the hero call.  Kudos to him for playing that hand really well.

PND: You’re friends with Steve “MrTimCaum” O’Dwyer, who played your final opponent, John Duthie, in the quarterfinals.  Did he give you any tips heading into the finals?

Wolpert:  He gave me a few tips.  One was not to really value bet super thin.  Another was that he suspected, but didn’t really know for sure, that Duthie’s betting range was rather polarized, so I could feel a little more comfortable calling him down light if it was one of those boards where there is the nuts out there and he could be trying to represent it, but just couldn’t have it.

PND: We know you were initially planning to play a limited schedule of events.  Does the bracelet change those plans now?

Wolpert: I haven’t really decided yet.  I might play in a couple more, but I might actually play in a couple less because I am just not as motivated for the $1,500s.  As for other games, I am pretty much terrible at everything but Hold’em and [so playing other events] is essentially burning money.  And I’m not going to play any of the weekday events because of my internship [with the Nevada ACLU].  I’ll probably try to play in a couple more events, like the $5,000 Shootout, and see if I can make the final table again.

PND: Oh that’s right! You have to defend your third place finish from last year.

Wolpert: Yeah, maybe I’ll play that.  Or, maybe I’ll just stay home and grind online (laughs). Maybe I’ll just play the Main Event, though.  Who knows?

PND: If I remember correctly, after you final tabled the Shootout last year, you basically said, “Yeah I’m here for the money.  I don’t care as much about the final tables and the titles.”  Now that you have the bracelet, have you changed your mind?

Wolpert: Not really, I’m still really all about making money by playing poker.  The bracelet’s really nice and I’m proud to get it.  What actually motivated me a little more was almost, like, redemption.  I felt like last year was going to be my one big chance to get the bracelet.  So, even though the bracelet means not quite as much as making a good living from poker, just having the opportunity to go for it and knowing I didn’t blow the opportunity again feels really good.

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