Martingale Strat Pays Off For Conor Beresford in $50,000 7-Handed ($436,812)
A big gamble doesn't always result in a big reward, but sometimes it does. It did today for the United Kingdom's Conor Beresford as he took down Event #19: $50,000 7-Handed at the 2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) at Baha Mar Resort for $436,812 after late-regging the tournament on Day 1.
Beresford, who takes home his biggest live cash, reached an ICM deal with heads-up opponent and fellow Brit Ben Heath ($446,020) following the elimination of American Dan Smith (3rd - $229,550), while Timothy Adams (4th - $165,950) and Juan Pardo (5th - $134,200) also made the money.
The red ponytailed and jovial Brit had never cashed an event at this buy-in level when he sat down among the 28 other entrants — among them Stephen Chidwick, Michael Addamo, Sam Greenwood, Daniel Dvoress and Mikita Badziakouski — but that didn't stop him from making his way to the final table and ultimately taking home the trophy.
“I’ve played quite a lot of them but this is literally my first cash in any $25k-plus live, and I’ve played at least 20 or so," Beresford told PokerNews in a winner's interview. "Got my money back finally, essentially!”
Beresford sized up the field on Day 1 and while he admitted it "didn't look amazing," he decided to give it a shot. "It’s all the best players in the world, so I just wanted to gamble a bit."
$50,000 7-Handed Final Table Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | COUNTRY | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Conor Beresford | United Kingdom | $436,812* | |
| 2nd | Ben Heath | United Kingdom | $446,020* | |
| 3rd | Dan Smith | United States | $229,550 | |
| 4th | Timothy Adams | Canada | $165,950 | |
| 5th | Juan Pardo | Spain | $134,200 |
*Denotes heads-up ICM deal
Day 2 Action
Just 18 players were in the field on Day 1 but several joined the ranks during the late registration period extending into Day 2, including $100,000 PCA Super High Roller champion Isaac Haxton, Adrian Mateos and Orpen Kisacikoglu, whose presence was short-lived as he ran his top pair into the flopped flush of Pardo immediately upon sitting down.
Kisacikoglu wasn't the only player who had a rough Day 2. Greenwood entered the day as chip leader but lost most of it early and was riding the short stack until he busted on the final table bubble in a double knockout that left Adams richer and sent Greenwood and Mateos packing.
Making the final table didn't guarantee a piece of the $1,412,532 prize pool as only five places paid. Vogelsang and Haxton both fell ahead of the money before Sean Winter went out on the money bubble after three-bet shoving with king-queen and getting looked up by the ace-queen of Heath.
After that, Pardo went out in fifth place when the Spaniard's pocket eights couldn't improve against the pocket aces of Smith. After the elimination of Adams in fourth place, Smith doubled through Heath to take the chip lead before a pivotal hand that set Beresford up for victory.
Out of position in a three-bet pot, Beresford bet each street on the board of 
before Smith raised him all in on the river. It was an easy call for Beresford as he held 
for aces full, losing only to quad sixes. Smith didn't have that and he quickly mucked after flashing his hand.
“That was a wild one," recalled Beresford. "It always feels so strange when you have aces in a spot like this where you have the full coverage of the board, essentially, so you don’t really know what to bet. So I just bet 10%, 10%, 10%, because I don’t know what else to do! How else do I get the money in?”
Once Smith fell, it didn't take long for the two Brits to decide on a chop rather than play out the 15-minute turbo format.
“I don’t really see the point in playing for an hour a so," said Beresford. "Just move on and get in the next event, or maybe celebrate a bit.”
As for what Beresford will play next in this series, your guess is as good as his.
"I don’t pick out events that I want to play," he admitted. "I play what I can, essentially. What I deem to be the right thing to play, which is usually the lower-stakes stuff. But then when I bust the lower stakes I usually (go higher). Martingale strat, essentially!”
That wraps up coverage of $50,000 7-Handed, but be sure to check out the PokerNews live reporting team's coverage of Day 3 of the $10,300 PCA Main Event and other events here at the 2023 PCA.