By now, the only people who don’t know that 21 year old phenomenon, Joeseph Cada, is new World Series of Poker Main Event champion are those who call a cave in Wales their home. This resident of the State of Michigan not only won the WSOP’s top prize, but also became the youngest Main Event Champion in World Series of Poker history. The PokerStars pro took some time to talk with us about the WSOP and poker in general.
LaunchPoker - Anyone who watched you playing heads up against Darvin Moon saw a pivotal moment in the game. With Moon up almost 100 million chips, and a board of 10-10-9-5, he aggressively made a bet that would put you all-in if you called. You of course called, and won the hand with a pair of nines. The rest is history. What did you see that told you putting your entire tournament hope on two pair (9s and 10s) would probably go in your favour? Joe Cada - I went through his range of hands and all the possible hands he could have at the time. I also went through the size of the bet compared to the pot size and how he played previous hands in the past, and thought about how I played the hand in his viewpoint along with a few other variables.
LaunchPoker - You started off in the middle of the pack, had a chip lead on Moon going into the last day, and lost your advantage. What kept you going when Darvin took the lead back? Joe Cada - I was low in the main event a few times towards the end so that helped me out a lot. I still had a ton of chips compared to the blinds and knew I had to stay focus, adjust, and continue to play my game.
LaunchPoker - Some reports say you started to really become interested in poker at age 16. At 19 it has been reported you were travelling out of the country to play poker. When did you know that a life as a professional poker player was what you wanted?Joe Cada - Life as a professional poker player is something that I always wanted, but didn’t necessarily think that it would work out. When I was 18 I started playing for a living and had a lot of success at an early age. I just happen to do really well at this point.
LaunchPoker - How did your parents take your career choice?Joe Cada - They were very sceptical at first but after they saw my success playing poker they accepted it.
LaunchPoker - It has been reported that while you were travelling to places where a 19 year old can play in a casino, you were putting away money for college from your winnings; a professional plan B? What would you have taken up in college?Joe Cada - I was taking accounting and business courses in college because I eventually wanted to start my own business. I had a lot of money at the time and always had the money for my college fund set aside if poker didn’t work out.
LaunchPoker - Some of your friends have done interviews and taken credit for teaching you to play. Did you really learn from them, or did you cut your poker teeth playing online?Joe Cada - I learned from several resources. Including some from online training sites, other friends that play professional, and through experience.
LaunchPoker - Is this the first opportunity you have had to play against some of the giants in the sport?Joe Cada - No, I have played a lot of good online poker players in the past and even Phil Ivey even before the WSOP.
LaunchPoker - What player would you most like to test your skills against?Joe Cada - I prefer to not play against better players.
LaunchPoker - Which player would you least like to play against?Joe Cada - Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, Patrick Antonious
LaunchPoker - Now that you have won the biggest prize that the sport has to offer, where do you go from here? What is your next goal?Joe Cada - My next goal is to win another major tournament and to have success in the bigger cash games. I want to stay around for a while and not just be a one hit wonder. I want to be a true ambassador for poker and represent PokerStars well.
We congratulate Joe on his historic win and look forward to seeing what he will do in the future.
