Poker Tournament Trail -- Jason MercierMercier Discusses His Strong 2009 and Adding Mixed Games to his Repertoire |
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Jason Mercier (pictured right) finished 2009 with 4,109 points in the Card Player Player of the Year race, which puts him in seventh place overall. Following his breakout performance in 2008, this year proved to be an exceptional sophomore season for Mercier, and the future looks bright for the young Team PokerStars pro. Mercier has added pot-limit Omaha to his potent arsenal, and he won his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet in a $1,500 pot-limit Omaha event this summer. He is also improving his skill in all of the H.O.R.S.E. games and he won his first H.O.R.S.E. title in a $5,000 buy-in event at the Five-Diamond World Poker Classic at Bellagio in December.
Another highlight from Mercier’s year included an appearance at the WSOP Europe main event final table, where he finished in fourth place. Mercier made nine final tables in 2009 and he won five poker tournaments in all. He earned $1,245,876 playing tournament poker for the year and he should be a factor in the POY race for years to come. His combination of skill in many different poker forms as well as his ability to win consistently in both the U.S. and Europe always make him a threat to win a tournament. Card Player caught up with Mercier at Bellagio and he talked about his year at the tournament tables.
Ryan Lucchesi: You have been a factor in the POY for the majority of the year and it looked like you were having a lot of fun playing tournament poker. Do you really enjoy getting to play in as many live tournaments as possible?
Jason Mercier: I really enjoy playing live, especially in tournaments. I probably played more tournaments than anyone this year, or I’m in the top five. I just really love coming to play every day, and I always look forward to it. I hope to do the same thing next year.
RL: You have performed well in both preliminary and championship events during the year. What strategy has made you successful against such a wide variety of opponents?
JM: I don’t really know, I feel like I have a good grasp of the game, and I feel like I always try to play well. I always try to put myself in a good position to win. When I’m feeling good and playing well I feel like I will make the right decisions and things will line up.
RL: Do you feel like you will play in more tournaments in 2010 because you are now a Team PokerStars pro?
JM: That has a little bit to do with it; you know the more tournaments I play in, the better terms I will be on with PokerStars. I want to keep making big scores and doing well in these tournaments. I enjoy being a PokerStars pro and I hope to be one for a long time.
RL: Do you feel that some young players like yourself are starting to branch out to other games like pot-limit Omaha and H.O.R.S.E.?
JM: Yeah, kind of, you can get by right now only playing no-limit hold’em but you get a little more respect if you can win some of the other events in other games. I have been playing PLO for a while and I just took to PLO tournaments really well so I’ve had some scores in that. Now I’m trying to learn some of the H.O.R.S.E. games and the other games. I already won a H.O.R.S.E. event here. I feel that I played well and I’m just going to keep trying to get better at those games.
RL: Do you feel that your ability to perform in European events just as well as U.S. events adds to your edge during the course of an entire year?
JM: Yeah I guess, I think it’s partially because I’m not used to being on a regular sleep schedule so I don’t really get jet lag. The last 10 days I didn’t have more than six hours of sleep in any one night and I pulled an all-nighter one night. The last four days I have had between 10 and 13 hours of sleep. You get used to playing when you’re tired though, and you are able to just play when you’re tired and not let that affect you. You just try to have a good mind set and play well.
RL: What tips would give to no-limit hold’em players that are looking to learn pot-limit Omaha?
JM: They just need to play a lot of hands. Cash games are obviously different than tournaments, but cash is what you’re going to play if you want to practice playing PLO. You just need to play a lot of hands and find a few good players that you can talk hands with, and also you need to learn the math.
RL: How much do you need to open your aggression coming into pot-limit Omaha from no-limit hold’em?
JM: You have to take advantage of whatever situation you’re in and try to make the most money or chips.
