By Kyle Kitagawa
SUMMER IS COMING, and I’m free rolling it after my latest tournament score. For those who haven’t followed my journey to this point, I am a full-time cash game player trying to make a splash on the tournament circuit. I have been following the World Poker Tour DeepStacks circuit across the country since January and have been playing other various $1k+ tournaments along the way as well.
I have gained momentum in my latest two tournaments, with a 16th place finish in the WPT DeepStacks Thunder Valley Main Event for $4,785, and a 3rd place chop at the WPT DeepStacks Central California Main Event at Turlock Poker Room for $17,500. I went back to back as the Day 1 chip leader in both of these tournaments which helped me cruise late into Day 2.
I now have two cashes on the WPT DeepStacks tour this year, and I still have a shot to play for the POY package worth $20,000 in tournament buy-ins for the 2018 season. My 3rd place finish at Turlock Poker Room is also my second year in a row cashing in this event. This place is probably one of the smallest WPT venues in the world, but it doesn’t surprise me at all. Management and staff at Turlock Poker Room is professional and inviting. You can tell that they are truly excited to host this event each year and they spend months in advance satelliting almost 80 players into the Main Event. I’ll be back to try for a three year win streak.
I am now over $40,000 in tournament cashes for the year and looking forward to summer. My next stop will be Southern California for the WPT500 at Gardens Casino at the end of May. From there I head to Las Vegas for the Venetian $2.5 Million Guaranteed June 5-9. Next, Ill fly to Tampa for the WPT DeepStacks at Seminole Hard Rock Tampa from June 14-20, and then come back to Las Vegas. Stay tuned!
Follow me on Instagram: @Cali_Kidddd
Follow me on Twitter: @KyleK_Poker
Photo by Dan Ross, Hold’em Radio
