Poker News

PokerStars, the largest poker room on the planet, sponsored the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) for the second consecutive year, which just concluded at the end of April. The largest tournament was the Main Event from Mar del Plata in Argentina that hosted a field of players from around the world. One of the noteworthy names in the event was Zach Hall, a cash game grinder who received a lot of attention from spectators and media alike because he wore an umbrella hat. His fame caught on like wildfire to the point where on-site media outlets gave his stack updates ahead of poker pros like Joe Hachem and Chris Moneymaker.

PokerNewsDaily.com caught up with Zach “Umbrella Man” Hall to talk about his LAPT experience and find out what it was like going from an online cash game grinder to playing in a live Main Event set in a foreign country.

PND: Can you give a brief introduction of your poker experience?

Hall: I’m mainly an online full ring cash game player and currently play $1-$2 and $2-$4 No Limit Hold’em. I started playing in home games a few years ago and online about a year and a half ago. This was my first big live tournament.

PND: When did you decide that you wanted to play in the LAPT’s Mar del Plata event and how did you get in?

Hall: Almost too late. I was talking to someone online who was going and just thought it looked like fun. I’d had a great month at the cash game tables, so figured I’d splurge on a vacation. I was able to sell half of my action in the tournament to friends, so that helped with the cost. PokerStars was great about responding to my e-mails and making everything work even though I basically booked it a week before the actual event. I wasn’t able to get a flight in until Day 1A, so I needed to make sure I could play on Day 1B; the staff at PokerStars was great about handling that specific request.

PND: We heard reports that a lot of players had trouble getting to the casino and going to extreme measures to get in.  What was your travel experience like?

Hall: Very smooth. I left myself a few hours in between each flight, so I sat around in airports a bit, but it all went according to schedule. The rush hour driving in Buenos Aires is a bit ridiculous compared with what I’m used to, but the driver got me there fine.

PND: How did you come into possession of the now famous umbrella hat and what possessed you to wear it during the tournament?

Hall: During orientation in my freshman year of college, we had one part where we went around to various departments of the university. During the tour, these departments had goodies they gave out, varying from a candy bar to a water bottle to … an umbrella hat.

I actually decided initially to bring it and said if I made the final table, I’d wear it. I found out that a few big news sites and PokerStars.tv were reporting live from the event. After reading about Day 1A I figured if I wore it the first day I played in and knocked out someone famous, they’d mention the hat I was wearing. I didn’t realize it’d turn into as much as it did, but it was kind of fun.

PND: Playing in Argentina in a PokerStars sponsored event seemed to bring out a highly diverse field of players and nationalities. At your first table, four different nations were represented. What was that experience like?

Hall: It was a very unique experience just being there and interacting with people from so many different countries. As for playing, the one minor problem was the language barrier. Not all of the dealers spoke English. I knew some numbers, but I didn’t want to try to say a number, mess up, and have it be binding, so I’d say it in English and use my fingers to make sure and someone at the table would translate. Of course, if I had the chips, I’d just put in my bet in and not worry about verbalizing it. It was also different because almost all of the table talk was in Spanish, which I don’t understand.

PND: You got a lot of attention from poker sites while in the event, including a video interview with the PokerStars.tv crew. Were you prepared for all of the attention that the umbrella hat would bring you?

Hall: Not at all. It was fun, but I thought one reporter crossed the line by shoving a microphone in my face while I was sitting at a table during a hand.

PND: Your popularity during Day 1B was to the point where updates of your stack were being mentioned right alongside players like Joe Hachem. What was the strangest thing that happened due to your newfound popularity?

Hall: Honestly, not much at all. I realized I was getting more interviews than other people, but didn’t realize that I was being reported on as heavily as I was and only found out about the “Umbrella Man” persona during the dinner break. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get past Day 1B or perhaps I would have seen some more.

PND: What was your impression of the field and how did you run overall until busting out?

Hall: I always run badly in tourneys, so this was nothing new. In all seriousness, it was nothing special. I did not see any horrible players, but I can say without a doubt that the average player at a $1-$2 full ring No Limit Hold’em game online was better than the average player I saw in this tournament.

PND: Unless the pain is too fresh, could you talk about the hand you were eliminated on?

Hall: The final hand was completely standard. I was on the button with J-9 and 12 big blinds, which was about half of the average stack with antes. The action was folded to me, so I shoved, the big blind woke up with J-J, and obviously called. What made it worse was that I had shoved Q-Q and A-Q earlier and got no action.

PND: Will we see a return of Umbrella Man as you play more major live tournaments?

Hall: I won’t be 21 years-old until June of 2010, so I won’t be playing in the World Series of Poker until then, but I have been looking at the possibility of playing in the Asia Pacific Poker Tour and plan on playing in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure next year.

PND: Since you’ve gained fame and notoriety within the poker industry, do you have any words for your fans?

Hall: I can only hope my next step of fame is from winning a tournament rather than my apparel at the table. I’d rather be recognized for my success, not for my unique choice of headwear.

PND: Did you have a chance to do any sightseeing?

Hall: I explored a bit of Mar del Plata, but not speaking Spanish was a bit tough. Despite the language problem, I still managed to get to the beach, walked around the city, and ate at some of the local restaurants, which were all amazingly good and extremely cheap compared with similar food in the United States.

PND:  Now that the LAPT is done, what do you think is the biggest thing you’ve taken away from the entire experience?

Hall: I went into it knowing that I probably wouldn’t cash, but was hoping that it would just be a fun vacation to get away and do something different. Mission definitely accomplished and on top of that, I was able to meet a number of other online players, several who I had played with in the past.

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