PROFILE
Name: Martin Staszko
Age: 35
Hometown: Trinec, Czech Republic
Online Handle: filfedra
Martin Staszko seemingly came out of nowhere to claim the chip lead going into the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event final table. The pro from the Czech Republic takes 40,175,000 chips into November and is one of the more mysterious members of the 2011 November Nine.
Staszko was an unknown going into the summer, but that’s changed after five cashes at the WSOP and a brilliant run on poker’s biggest stage. The 35-year old worked as an auto factory painter before taking a shot at poker in 2010. His biggest cash coming into the Main Event was $50,208 for an 11th place finish at the European Poker Tour’s stop at Deauville. He’s guaranteed at least $782,155 for making the November Nine.
While he’s the leader now, Staszko’s journey through the Main Event was far from smooth. According to poker pro Erick Lindgren, Staszko’s stack had dwindled down to just 12,000 on the money bubble (with the blinds at 2,500/5,000) after folding “40 consecutive hands” in order to make the money. He then went on a rush and finished the day with nearly 400,000 chips.
Now, he’s become the first player from the Czech Republic to make the final table of the WSOP Main Event. If he wins the title, he’ll surpass Jan Skampa, Martin Kabrhel and Martin Hruby as the country’s all-time winningest poker player.
HOW HE GOT THERE:
Day 1: 74,950 chips
Day 2: 105,500
Day 3: 94,500
Day 4: 394,000
Day 5: 2,433,000
Day 6: 2,550,000
Day 7: 6,380,000
Day 8: 40,175,000
KEY HAND: Staszko eliminated Khoa Nguyen in 11th place to create the “unofficial” Main Event final table and the biggest bubble in all of poker. Already among the chip leaders, Staszko raised to 675,000 (blinds 150K/300K) from under the gun, and Nguyen three-bet to 1.75 million from the hijack. Action folded back around to Staszko, who moved all in, having Nguyen’s stack covered. Nguyen called, and a pot worth close to 15 million was on the line:
Staszko: Kh-Kd
Nguyen: 10s-10c
Staszko wandered away from the table as the board brought Ah-5d-2d-6c-6h. Nguyen was sent to the rail and Staszko increased his stack to more than 30 million with one elimination remaining before the November Nine was set.
WHY HE CAN WIN: Coming from a chess background, Staszko is highly analytical player who is constantly looking for small pieces of information he can use in the future. According the World Chess Federation, Staszko has a chess rating that is equivalent to the “expert” class in most national rating systems, one level below a “master” rating.
If history tells us anything, chess players transition well to poker (see: Dan Harrington, Chris Ferguson, Jeff Sarwer). Staszko is a game theory connoisseur and is now a serious threat to capture the 2011 WSOP Main Event. He holds a 6 million chip lead over Irishman Eoghan O’Dea and is a good bet to be there until the end.
