From entering a satellite to cashing over R50 000 in the WPT Deepstacks Main Event at Emperors Palace, Concept Poker Club vice-chairman Vicky Moodley’s recent run was a Cape Town poker dream.
Vicky Moodley has been one of the most consistent poker players in Cape Town in recent years, but he’s never had the bankroll to enter the big tournaments elsewhere in the country. With flights and accommodation expenses, it’s tough for most poker players in the Mother City to have the funds to compete among South Africa’s best.
However, Cape Town had a satellite for the WPT March 2019 series at Emperor’s Palace, which allowed three of our very own to win seat and accommodation packages. Vicky, Imraan Khan and Shameegh Suarez managed to secure their spots worth R20 500 each. This included a Main Event seat and three nights stay at the Doreale Five Star Hotel.
“I was very excited to have won a seat. I’ve only played in one WPT before and felt that experience would help me do much better if I ever had second go,” explained Vicky. “There’s a lot for Cape Town players to adapt. The WPT has an aggressive field… Joburg players love playing position and a wide range of cards, so you need to watch your spots. The big blind ante is also something to get used to as many of our Cape Town tournaments don’t have this sort of structure.
“But with my previous experience, I was feeling good and confident going into my second WPT Main Event.”
Vicky started on a house on fire, flopping two sets and playing big hands to emerge as one of the early chip leaders on day one. By the end of play, he had built a competitive stack of 130 000.
Day two proved to be a rollercoaster, which included a big loss due to a bad beat – QQ vs KQ, the King flopping after huge pre-flop action.
But his fortune changed when he got lucky with K9 suited. He committed his last 29 000 in late position to try and steal the blinds, but the big blind woke up with Aces and called, leaving Vicky in bad shape.
The flop ran out K high, giving him hope. And he struck the 9 on the river to win with two pair for the crucial double-up.
From there, Vicky was able to build up a monster stack with momentum. He eventually peaked at 800 000 (a Top 5 stack) going into the the final 45 – IN THE MONEY! A notable achievement considering over 400 entries.
“Making the money was a huge relief!” said Vicky. “I was almost eliminated earlier on Day 2, so to get there was a great feeling. It was a proud moment for me and the other Cape Town players who managed to make it. We were a small Cape Town group, but many of the guys managed to make the money, which proves Cape Town poker is strong.”
Unfortunately, the cards just didn’t fall for Vicki thereafter as he fell short of the WPT Final Table. He finished in 17th place, cashing out R50 000.
“Once I made the money, my next goal was playing towards a final table spot. Unfortunately, I was not able to get there. But I am happy with the result… from winning my seat in a satellite to cashing R50 000, I really enjoyed the journey.”
While Vicky fell short, Cape Town had a strong presence on the final table. In fact, 50% of the group hailed from the Mother City.
Riyaad Khan (pictured above) – Concept league member and brother of current log leader Imraan Khan – rewrote history as he became the first South African player in years to make back-to-back WPT Main Event final tables. He followed his second place finish in 2018 with a ninth place finish on this occasion to cash R82 500.
Michael Cupido (pictured above) finished in 7th place for a cool R122 500 cash. He unfortunately ran QQ into AA to lose a big portion of his stack during the early stages of the final table, but held on for a respectable finish.
Levi Dare (pictured above) – who became a poker pro after a full-time move from Cape Town to Joburg – finished in sixth place to cash R148 000.
One of Cape Town’s top players Nawaal Jaftha (pictured above) finished in fourth to seal a cool R228 000. It was an impressive WPT overall for Nawaal, who cashed in five of the six tourneys she played, including the Semi-Big Roller and the High Roller Deepstack.
Vicki says these results are encouraging for Cape Town poker as he hopes to enter the next WPT in November.
“I must say a big thank you to Gareth Duncan and other organisers for creating these satellite opportunities. Many of the Cape Town players have the budget to play in these big tourneys, but travelling and accommodation expenses just become too much,” he said. “I believe Gareth is planning several satellites before the next WPT in Joburg, so hopefully Cape Town will be sending a bigger group for the next WPT.”
Gareth Duncan added: “A story like Vicky’s journey at WPT should inspire many more Cape Town players to compete at the big tournaments.
“I am in touch with the WPT organisers and we are busy planning a good series of satellites for Cape Town. This should build great excitement for the next WPT. This is all done for the good of Cape Town poker.”
– To stay up to date with the WPT satellites in Cape Town, contact Gareth Duncan on 082 485 6941 (Whatsapp).