Champion Qualities
The 2008 European World Series of Poker came to a dramatic conclusion the other day when American online poker superstar John Juanda finally won. The final table featured another big name – Daniel Negreanu — as well as some other intimidating opponents. Ivan Demidov, who made the final table for the American World Series of Poker was among the players, as was Stanislav Alekhin from Russia.
This final table proved to be record setting. It lasted 22 hours and consisted of 484 hands, half of which were heads-up between Juanda and Alekin, after Demidov was eliminated in third place. Imagine the tension and fatigue experienced at this heads-up final table, where every hand is a psychological battle and luck looms large in the eventual outcome.
Juanda won the bracelet, then took off to play in the PokerStars.net European tour, where he managed to place second — after grinding out the European World Series win earlier in the week! His notable performance is a reminder to all poker players of how important patience and perseverance are in the game. Poker players must continually remember to practice these two virtues if they want to make to final tables and go on to win the top prizes.
