Ross Jarvis talks about his Unibet Open Heads-Up victory
Our very own Strategy Editor Ross Jarvis managed to finish this years Unibet Open London Heads-Up Championship undefeated en route to claiming the title and the £4,000 first prize. With the victory still fresh in his mind we ask him about his hugely impressive run.
PP: How would you rate your heads-up game?
RJ: I’ve always really enjoyed playing HU cash online and generally feel pretty comfortable against most opponents so was looking forward to the tournament. There aren’t too many live HU MTTs around – unless you want to pay $10k at the WSOP – so it made for a really nice change from the usual.
PP: What were your impressions of the new format?
RJ: The format was quite complicated on the surface but the fact we had to play five matches meant that we could lessen out variance a little and the more skillful players should in theory advance. I was surprised to see some really good pros like bracelet winner Craig McCorkell in the field but in a way that was quite motivating too.
PP: Who were your toughest opponents?
RJ: My first match was very straightforward and I got off to a nice easy start. The second one lasted over an hour and I definitely ran well to win – from there though I felt really confident in all the matches I played. With so much poker experience now I feel like one of my main strengths is adapting to game flow, which is crucial during HU. On a lot of occasions I was able to 3-bet people with air just because I sensed there was a high likelihood they would fold due to their hand and the stage of the match we were in. This also helped set up an aggro image for the times I actually had a hand and in two separate matches people 4-bet jammed on me with hands like A-2 and A-7 when I had monsters. I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have done this if I hadn’t set up such a good game dynamic previously.
PP: What are you going to do with the money?
RJ: It’s always great to win a tournament. While £4k isn’t a big score the money is still very much welcomed! I’m getting married in May 2013 so the majority of it will probably go on that and the honeymoon. In a major piece of run good my fiancee Hattie had bought her wedding dress just the day before my win so there’s no chance she can now upgrade to one that would bankrupt me!
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