A Tale of Two Marias in the WSOP $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em
It's been a wild few days for Maria Ho, who finished third in the $3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown delayed final table last week before heading across town to the World Series of Poker. She was already off to a great summer by any standard, and then she went and final tabled her first event of the WSOP, Event #11: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em.
"I'm just thrilled," Ho said after bagging for the final day. "It's pretty surreal because you don't come in to the WSOP and expect great results right off the bat, so I'm very very happy. I feel very very lucky."
Another Shot for Maria Ho
Asked if she's feeling the momentum this week, Ho responded: "100%. I studied pretty hard for that final table. I was pretty coy about it leading up to it, but I definitely put in a lot of time. So now I feel like I'm ready for this, you know? I was ready for another final table spot but who knew it would come so soon."
In addition to momentum, Ho has some other magic working on her side, as she final tabled the same $5k event in 2011 where she finished in second.
"I was ready for another final table spot but who knew it would come so soon."
"Actually, someone has Time Hop and showed me, today was the day that I made my first WSOP final table which was in that event. So to be back here again, it feels a little bit like destiny, so I'm just gonna go with that."
While she admits winning a bracelet or any other major title would mean a lot, having a shot in her first WSOP event of the summer and coming in as one of the short stacks takes the pressure off somewhat.
"To be honest, I feel like I have nothing to lose because I wouldn't have expected to make it this far in the first place and I don't have one of the bigger stacks, but I know how to play the stack I have. So I feel like I'm freerolling."
You can watch Ho try to run up that 18-big blind stack live (on delay) today, June 6 on PokerGO and CBS All Access starting at 1 p.m. PST.
Another Maria Joins the Fray
It was no typo - there were in fact two Marias on the unofficial final table, the other one being new to the scene.
"She came to one of our academies," Christian Soto of Solve for Wh(Y) told PokerNews on the rail just after Maria Mcalpin was eliminated in seventh place for $48,377. "She's one of our better students and it was a lot of fun watching her."
"I was dating somebody who thought that I took forever to answer any question, so he said 'You should play poker' - and he was right!"
With three cashes to her name prior to this year's series, Mcalpin is a bit less experienced than her fellow Maria, but no less driven. Nearly brand new to tournament poker, the Idaho-based grant writer had some heavy hitters in her corner. When you have Matt Berkey in your group text, you know you're probably getting some good tips along the way.
"[The Solve for Wh(Y) guys] are amazing; They were helping me out yesterday and today too."
Mcalpin started out playing $1/$2 cash in Idaho 3.5 years ago after trying out poker per a suggestion from someone who knew her well.
"I was dating somebody who thought that I took forever to answer any question, so he said 'You should play poker' - and he was right!"
She worked her way up the stakes and decided to take up tournament poker 1.5 years ago. In March and May, Mcalpin took the Solve for Wh(Y) tournament and cash game academies in March and May of this year, "And here we are!"
Training and Support
Since taking the course, Mcalpin is two for two. Her decision to buy into the $5k was a last-minute one that followed her elimination in the money on Day 2 of the BIG 50 event. Feeling good about her play, Mcalpin went right from payouts to registration and ponied up the $5,000 buy-in.
"I felt ready to go so I just plunked down the $5,000 - and I immediately wanted it back. I wanted it back like right away, and I wanted it back the second day still because we had the whole day to go before the money."
Playing her first big tournament was putting a lot of stress on her, coupled with the fact that she already hadn't been able to sleep during her run in the Big 50. Luckily for Mcalpin, she had some experienced players to help her through it.
"I just plunked down the $5,000 - and I immediately wanted it back."
"I was texting some of the guys from Solve for Wh(y) and they've just been really helpful with my mindset also, so not just the content, but also just very supportive to help me have the right attitude toward this really long tournament process." She continued: "They've been amazing. Matt Berkey was giving me advice yesterday. I got short on Day 2 before the money and I was down to like 22 big blinds and he just reminded me of some of the stuff that we learned, and I just did it! Yeah, it was really cool."
While disappointed just after being eliminated in seventh place, one spot short of the streamed final table, Mcalpin was pleased with the result and the experience. She was especially thankful for all the support she received, from the Solve for Wh(Y) crew, her poker friends from home, the Real Grinders group on Facebook, and her non-poker friends and family who were following along and rooting for her.
"I think probably my favorite part of playing is all the new friends I've made," she said.
Asked if she'll be playing more events, Mcalpin joked, "I mean, I might just call it good, two for two... I don't know if I want to ruin my record." After giving it a few seconds of thought, she continued: "We'll see. I don't know if I'm ready yet - that was exhausting. I'm so tired, I couldn't sleep for like four days - it was intense."
Watch Maria Ho go for WSOP gold on the Amazon Main Stage at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino as the final table is streamed on CBS All Access and PokerGO from 1 p.m. local time with hole cards up.
