Meet The Dreamteam

Every Season the 888PL crowns a new Dreamteam.  The leader of the Dreamteam Scoreboard wins the coveted Gold Chip Medal.  Read below and meet some of our past winners.

Season 1, 2010 Meet Our Dreamteam Scoreboard Winner & Gold Chip Medallist Mike Subacius

 

Mike recently took some time to give players insight into the experience of winning the Dreamteam Scoreboard.

Tell us about winning the DT scoreboard?  What was it like?
Winning the Dreamteam was truly an awesome experience.

Although there was a lot of stress between the end of the season and the announcement of the final scoreboard as the changes to the 888PL scoreboards meant that every score had to be checked and re-checked.  Finally getting confirmation on the website was a great relief. (I think I used up my download limits on the internet just by hitting refresh on the scoreboard.)

I guess the only person suffering more stress than those of us on the leader board was Garth. I sure am glad he doesn't suffer from fat finger syndrome or anything could have happened. Good job Garth at working it all out in the end.

Overall the journey was even more fun than winning the Dreamteam, the players I met throughout the season and the recognition and support from them was wonderful.

There were times that I wondered if I could even play poker, bad beats, suck outs and a few mistakes can quickly add up and make you doubt yourself and your own abilities. However when the dust had settled and it was confirmed, I was able to look back and realise that yes my game is improving and I can mix it with the best in 888, I will continue to make mistakes and have bad beats but I can learn each game to help me get to the next level.

Playing at venues which I don't normally go to I had lots of fun and played against some of the best in the league, although there are too many to name I would like to mention Sinitster (Phil), JMACK007 (Jo), teztime74 (Teryl), Ipumpfishes (Scott), athat1 (Edith), RoyalRoutine (Carmine) Swanky126 (Darryl), Destinyxo (Sam), your all awesome players.

The birthday cake that Papabear1 (Pete) and Redheadsrock (Lisa) got me was a fantastic highlight and certainly shows that even though we were very competitive at the tables we could still be good friends. Thanks guys.

Were you tracking your competition closely or just worrying about your own game?
I didn't even know who most of the competitors were at the beginning of the season, I had seen some of them around at some venues and bigger competitions but didn't know who they were online, I was only worried about my own game.

As the season went on, I started to make an effort to find out who these people were, asking their online names. Attending the 888PL Grand Final I met a lot of online players from Victoria and was able to put a lot faces to online names.

In the last few weeks you could say I was tracking their performance if only because all of us were going to same venues each night I couldn't help but notice their performance. 

What was your preferred game during the season?
The games that put me ahead in the Dreamteam were the AK and Murrins the early to mid stages of these games require a lot of luck as lots of players are playing any two suited cards, but as the game goes on, the final 20 usually contain a lot of good players and it becomes more about playing the player than the cards.

Online there are a lot of strong players both interstate and at home and often it seemed like the final table was made up of the same players, everywhere I turned were the likes of Polecat78, protege888, roytrudgeon, briggsyb, Harps, Gizmo, prok8, queenofluck with everyone having their own unique style and game.

Did you set out at the start of the season to win or did you hit a hot streak and decide to go for broke?

I started out the season just wanting to play a better game of poker, so I went online found a few tools that could help me improve, read a few books and started listening to some audio books  (Phil Gordon's "Little Green Book" is one I would highly recommend).

It wasn't until about half way through the season that realised that I was doing so well and decided to make a big effort to keep myself in the top 5, I looked at my scores and felt that playing more venues would give me the greatest chance of winning. Almost every night from then on was travelling to different venues across the city. 

I've noticed a big improvement in the calibre of players both at live venues and online, it certainly makes me think that 888PL is heading in the right direction, and having competitions such as the Dreamteam really does make the league stand out in the industry. Thanks to all the 888PL staff for making this such a great league.

 

 

Season 2, 2009 Dreamteam

Meet our Gold Chip Medallist - Jonas McDonald

How did you feel winning the Dreamteam scoreboard?
Winning the Dreamteam Scoreboard is an absolutely fantastic feeling. It was the culmination of a very long 15 weeks of intense focus. The fantastic respect and support from the other players in the last few weeks of the season really made me feel great as well.

Did you set out to make that your goal at the start of the season?
Yes, absolutely. After being part of 'the chase' for the Dreamteam in the first season and finishing 4th, it left me with a bit of a taste, but also a feeling of 'unfinished business'! I really wanted that number one, and when I achieved it last season, it was extremely satisfying.

Who was your main threat?
Chris Trudgeon from TAS was the man to beat. I thought he had it until a couple of good results went my way at the pointy end. I already knew his brother Leigh, who was also a member of the original Dreamteam, and have great respect for both of their poker games. My good mates Carmine De Sciscio & Dave Larcombe were right up there as well, which kept the local competition really exciting. Carmine is always very solid and finished a well deserved 3rd. Sanchez Chu from VIC and local gun Samantha Dodd also did really well with late charges to make the top 5 as well.

What was the strategy that served you best in tournament play?
That's a really difficult question to answer, as each tournament is unique and requires subtle changes in the way you play. I think the best advice I could give is to keep your focus and always be aware of how the players around you are playing. Never be afraid to ask for advice (places like the forum are great for this).

The guys at 888pl have been fantastic. Garth Kay, Tim Harry, Sarah Franklyn, Alex Kidd (he'd never forgive me if I didn't mention him!), and the entire crew make our poker league a stand out in the industry, and they really go out of their way to make being part of the Dreamteam a great experience. I wish everyone the best of luck in the coming seasons

Dream Team Honour Board

The inaugural winner of the Dream Team Score Board was Aaron Kleemann from South Australia.  Here's what Aaron had to say about the honour.

What winning the DT was like?

In a word, awesome. It was a culmination of the time and effort I had put into poker over the last few years. And particularly the long grind of last season. It was nice to be the first ever DT winner, too.

What sort of strategy did you use for tournament play?

I didn't have one. I just played my cards and my opponents. Position, board texture, hand/shoving ranges etc. Not until the latter weeks did I employ any kind of strategy - which was minimal at best. All I could do was take dab tournament as it came.

How did you get it through it all?

It wasn't easy. There were times when I wanted to throw it all away. But I kept reminding myself what I had been fighting for all season - the prestige, the $5,000. Encouragement from the lads on the forum was a big help.

How you felt at the end of the season?

Relieved. The last month was a rollercoaster. I had issues with 888 and my account was locked for 2 weeks, in that time my lead dropped from 30 points to 5. After having a comfortable margin all season, this was quite worrying. So yeah, when I had the win locked up it was a very nice feeling.

How you felt when Mike (Mike Raines our second place getter) was on your tail?

I have great respect for Mike as a player. On one level, I actually enjoyed the challenge he gave me as it made me strive to win, pushing me forward. The camaraderie between us was great and in time we became good mates. I have no doubt that had he played an entire season he could very well be on top. But there were times when I wanted him to <nick> off 

Dream Team Members

The inaugural winners of the 888PL Dream Team were presented their certificate and prizes at the 888PL Grand Final by Shane Warne and Full House Groups CEO Garry Nicholson and General Manager Customer Products Brayden Haynes.

The members of the team all received the 888PL Dream Team ring and a personal invitation from Shane to his Aussie Millions Party being held in Jan 2010.  Stay tuned for pictures from the event!

Position	Name	State	Qualification Method
1st	Aaron Kleemann	SA	Dream Team Scoreboard
2nd	Mike Raines	VIC	Dream Team Scoreboard
3rd	George Webb	VIC	Dream Team Scoreboard
4th	Jo McDonald	SA	Dream Team Scoreboard
5th	Leigh Trudgeon	TAS	Dream Team Scoreboard
6th	Peter Dolheguy	VIC	VIC Challenge Semi-Final
7th	Ali Kublay	VIC	VIC Foundation Semi-Final
8th	Chris Jaszcz	SA	SA Challenge Semi-Final
9th	Peter Gouzis	SA	SA Foundation Semi-Final
10th	David Wellington	TAS	TAS Semi-Final
11th	Nicole Dilaveris	VIC	1st in the 888PL Grand Final
12th	Peter Solm	SA	2nd in the 888PL Grand Final
13th	Paul Wright	SA	3rd in the 888PL Grand Final

DREAM TEAM SCOREBOARD RESULTS - Season 1, 2009

1st	Aaron Kleeman
2nd	Mike Raines
3rd	George Webb
4th	Jo McDonald
5th	Leigh Trudgeon
6th	Liam Donoghue
7th	Gayle Andrews
8th	Trishan Naidoo
9th	Mustapha Wahab
10th	Ben McDonald
11th	Carmine De Scisco
12th	SM Chu
13th	Clint Medcraft
14th	Tom Jenkins
15th	Chris Briggs
16th	Michele Collins
17th	Tanya Puppa
18th	Shayne Casey
19th	Jamie Dolan
20th	Callum McIver