In 2008, Kelly Kim burst onto the poker scene after making the final table of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event finishing in eighth for a $1.3m payday, but since that win Kim’s presence on the international circuit has been fairly muted, although there is a history of cashes in tournaments played at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel & Casino.
“I’m really good friends with the guys who run the poker room, so I spend a few months a year here. Everyone is very accommodating and the games are good. I’ll play anywhere between $10/25 and $50/100.” Said Kelly before continuing, “As far as tournaments go I haven’t played many in the last few years. The overall grind is getting much tougher, especially since Black Friday and I like to play when the games aren’t so tough.”
Kelly seems to have cracked it. The place has the sun, the food, the women and the added bonus that he can play poker every day in fields he has the edge over.
“I have found a good balance in my life in terms of my happiness. There is so much knowledge available online with training sites and the likes, so the game is definitely evolving and the players are improving all of the time, so it’s important to pick your spots better.”
It’s interesting that Kelly should draw attention to the availability of online training sites after the furor that was kicked up after Ben Sulsky joined Run It Once; something I myself wrote about on this very site.
“I think if Ben isn’t joining Run It Once then somebody else is. People who are successful like to give back, no matter how you look at it the new players that take the game seriously are going to use these tools, so it’s going to happen if Ben joins a site or not.”
Kim didn’t have the success he would have liked in the €4,400 bwin WPT Merit Cyprus Classic after being eliminated on Day 1B; but undeterred he is settling down to play in some of the side events before heading to Ukraine for the Russian Poker tour – chasing the value and picking his spots.
