By Matt Clark
Darryll Fish knew he was going to win the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship. Through a process of internal visualization and a career full of final table experience, Fish broke through in Florida last week to capture his first World Poker Tour title.
The closer victory came into view for Fish, his premonitions turned more into reality. Fish spent part of Wednesday morning before the final table thinking through what his emotions would be when he was the last player left standing from a field of 911 entries. The practice of victory made Fish patient. He didn’t want to rush what he knew was guaranteed.
“Today, I woke up and did some visualization,” Fish said. “I got myself prepared to win. I knew it was going to happen, so it’s just a matter of ‘take it slow, don’t mess up, and stay present.’ Let things come to you because they will eventually. Clearly, I was right, I guess.”
Fish defeated Aleksandr Shevelev in a heads-up match that lasted more than four hours. Upon gaining a chip lead he would not relinquish near the end of the tournament, Fish proclaimed that “destiny is unfolding in whatever way it does.”
During the final table, and especially in heads-up play, Fish maintained an intense focus. His posture of one arm on the table and an erect back never changed. Fish’s mind was filled with nothing but concentration on the moment he worked his entire poker career to achieve.
The 31-year-old Fish credits a routine that started first thing in the morning to give him the mental form required to play a grueling final table of 209 hands.
“To me, it’s a bunch of little things that come together and allow you to feel good with whatever you’re doing during the day,” Fish told WPT.com. “For me, morning routine is huge. I made a point to get up early today and take care all of my things. I felt really focused at the final table, maybe more than usual.”
Armed with a strong rail of supporters, Fish gained insight on his opponents through his rail relaying information from watching the live stream. One of those supporters is WPT Champions Club member and online heads-up specialist Jonathan Jaffe.
The two talked strategy on breaks and Jaffe made the appearance on his own volition. Their brief conversations gave Fish the extra leg up he needed to defeat the pesky Shevelev.
“I didn’t ask him to be here,” Fish confirmed. “For him to show up was a blessing because he’s the best heads-up player I know. Him being able to give me some advice definitely helped. [Jaffe] reassured that a lot of things I was doing already were correct. That feels good to have validation from someone I know is better than me. It added more to my confidence than anything.”
Jaffe’s advice had an impact on Fish’s game as he made few mistakes against a difficult opponent.
Fish could finally exhale when the final river card hit to confirm his status as the newest member of the prestigious WPT Champions Club. The patience Fish disciplined within himself paid off during his sixth career WPT final table. The visions he saw in himself were officially laid out in front of him.
“I won, so that’s kind of how I envisioned it,” Fish said. “I got myself prepared to win, to feel the feelings and just see it all. In the past, I’ve kind of tried to visualize myself winning and I try to think positive and all that. But this time, just things in my life have fallen into place in a lot of really weird ways.”
Next up on Fish’s tournament list is undetermined. He grabbed 1,200 points in the Hublot WPT Player of the Year race but doesn’t expect to put in the volume required to catch Art Papazyan, who sits atop the leaderboard with 2,400 points and a cushioned lead thanks to two World Poker Tour victories in Season XVI. Fish has cut his overall travel down as of late.
“I’ll have to take look at what it would take to win [Hublot] Player of the Year,” Fish said. “At this stage of my life, I’m playing less poker than I ever have. I plan to continue that. If anything, this almost helps me play less. My confidence is high, I’m running good. I’d be silly to not take advantage of that. I’ll play some, but I’m not going to travel the circuit or anything.”
Seminole Hard Rock is the home of great moments on the World Poker Tour and Darryll Fish’s run is now part of that select company.
The win was inevitable, according to Fish, but in the immediate moments after the tournament, he felt a relief.
Only Darryll Fish knows what his immediate next steps are, but as evidenced by his performance this week, when he knows something great will happen, the odds are it will.
World Poker Tour Returns To Seminole Hard Rock in April
Whether or not Fish decides to travel the circuit following his triumph, including making the trip up to Atlantic City to play in the Season XVI WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open, he’s a virtual lock to compete in the Season XVI WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown in April.
Right in his backyard where he just won his first WPT title and has had numerous big scores, Fish will have the chance to battle with poker’s best once again at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino come April 13, 2018. That’s when the Season XVI WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown kicks off, and the $3,500 buy-in event should once again produce a massive field and huge prize pool. For more on the event, stay tuned to the event’s hub right here on WPT.com.
Photography by Joe Giron / PokerPhotoArchive.com
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