Tuesday March 24,2015 : AUSSIE ACCOUNTING PROFESSOR TAKES DOWN MAJOR POKER TOURNAMENT
"The Doctor" bests a field of 444 to claim A$183,000.
When it comes to numbers, University of Newcastle accounting professor Jim "The Doctor" Psaros (56) showed his opponents in the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour main event a thing or two Monday when he bested a field of 444 other players to win the main prize of A$183,000 after two final table chops.
His victory in Sydney was all the more remarkable when viewed against his previous tournament performances, where he had hitherto managed to earn just under A$14,000.
Psaros served early notice that he was determined to win, entering the final table as chip leader and maintaining a healthy lead right the way through to the heads up despite facing talented players like Emanuel Seal, Denis Sekuloski, Murray Roach, Li-Tsa Hsu, Zhi Hong Ma, Tom Rafferty, Shaneel Chand and Chung Liew.
By the time play reached the three-handed stage, Psaros, Emanuel Seal and Denis Sekuloski were ready to hedge their bets with a three-way chop, and the game paused whilst an agreement was reached, Shortly thereafter Sekuloski came short in a spirited clash with Seal and headed for the exit and a well-earned third placing reward of A$90,000.
Settling in to the heads up, Psaros was holding a slim chip lead over Seal, but the duo were soon on an equal footing and paused again for a further two-way chop of A$175,000 apiece, with just A$8,000 left on the table for the winner.
Play resumed once the two had agreed, but thereafter it took only 30 minutes to finish the game as Psaros gained the upper hand and finally dispatched his last opponent.