Interview: Marc McLaughlin Hopes to Take Bracelet Home to Canada
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Marc McLaughlin is one of five Canadians still standing in the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event. McLaughlin made it through Day 5 second in chips with 6,695,000, just 300,000 short of chip lead. He's joined in the field by fellow Canadians Jason Mann, who sits in third with 6.58 million, Alexander Livingston (3.63 million), Yann Dion (2.27 million), and Umang Dattani (2.03 million).
If McLaughlin were to win this championship event, he would become the 11th Canadian to win a gold bracelet in Las Vegas this year, setting the record for most bracelets won by a country other than the United States in a single summer.
We caught up with McLaughlin before the start of the day to discuss why Canadians are crushing, as well as his competition remaining in the field, and his Main Event tournament history.
You and Jason Mann are in the top three chip counts. Do you want to see both of you, as Canadians, make it to the final table?
Of course. My friend Yann Dion from Montreal is also doing really well. Hopefully the three of us will make it to the final table. I think this summer we as Canadians are gaining a reputation as being tough competitors so I would like to see us go far.
There have been 10 WSOP bracelet winners from your country this summer. Why do you think the Canadians did so well?
I think we are just really good at this game. I can’t speak for everyone but I’m from Quebec. We may be a small group of players but we are very good at what we do. It’s our profession for a reason, because we are very successful. We put in a high volume of play and talk a lot of hands. We immerse our lives into the game and I think by devoting ourselves to the poker, it has helped us become better players. Playing a lot may have a lot to do with it as well. You can get through a lot more high more quick than if you were just playing live. The more you play, the more you learn, and the better you get.
What do you think of the field now in Day 6 compared to Day 1?
Day 1 had a lot of older, recreational players who were just hoping to get lucky. Today, you see a lot more young players. A lot have an online background or have been playing for many years. That reason makes the field tougher because everyone knows how to play the game really well. You can’t get away with a lot of things because someone will pick up on what you are doing. You have to play smarter and be more focused. Plus, the days are long and it can be very tiring. Many players have been playing all summer and it’s getting tough. But I think the younger players are in better shape mentally and even physically to go far in this tournament.
You finished 30th in the Main Event in 2009, 86th in 2011, and are now on track to do as well or even better this year. Why do you think you are so successful in this tournament?
I have a better stack this year. I think in 2011 I had about 660,000. This year I have a much larger stack with about 6.6 million. So this year I am in much better shape to run deeper. I have a lot of experience playing deep. I’m not that good with a short stack but when I have chips I am in control. When you are deeper you can really take advantage of some spots and put yourself in a position to grow your stack even more.
There are some notable players still remaining. Is there anyone you are not wanting to face in on the final table?
I don’t think I know any of the players. Do you have a list of names? To make things interesting, I would like to see the other four remaining Canadians at the final table. It would give us a better chance to win another bracelet for our country. We look up to Jonathan Duhamel who is also a French Canadian. He won in 2011 so we want to keep that tradition of winning the biggest tournament alive. Go Canada!