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Fresh from his participation in Grindhouse 3, Charlie Chiu has been taking the game by storm. This time it was on the live scene in the WPT Cambodia Main Event where he finished 4th for $60,000, almost doubling his previous best live score of $31,000 from July 2022. Our Community Success Manager Adam sat down with Charlie to discuss his experience at the final table, what future live events he’s going to be playing and life after Grindhouse 3.
At some point we’ve all tuned in to the TV coverage of a WPT final table and thought to ourselves; “one day, that will be me sitting there”. Well, this day arrived for Charlie after less than three years playing major live circuit events, which is impressive.
Reaching a final table is always an exciting feeling and one that’s filled with so much optimism, but after finishing 4th Charlie had mixed feelings. “I felt a little more disappointment than joy after finishing in 4th place because deep down I knew there were one or two decisions that I could’ve made better.” Despite nearly doubling his previous best score, it shows that Charlie’s ambition and drive is to be the best poker player he can be. “I’m not too satisfied with my performance at the final table, overall.”
It’s understandable that when you reach a major final table, all you can think about is winning the tournament and nothing else will suffice. Curious as to whether nerves played any part of Charlie’s decision making, his response quickly put that to bed. “I’m actually feeling pretty calm when I was playing the final table. All the study I did before, such as ICM ranges, final table preflop really boosted my confidence.”
He delved deeper into the one or two decisions he could have changed. “I think the part I didn’t do well was adjusting. The final table probably only had 2 regulars and 6 recreational players. Most of them are not playing GTO ranges at all. I don’t have enough experience to make the proper adjustments, like going out of line or tightening up than what theory suggests in some spots. The part that I'm satisfied with was not being scared about the money. I’m very rational and thoughtful and I made some pretty good bluffs here and there.”
It’s clear that Charlie has unfinished business when it comes to live poker and reaching the WPT final table has just ignited the fire inside to get back to that stage and finish where he left off. “I’m pretty confident that in Asia or the States, I have a very decent win rate playing anything below $1k. Although the player pool in Cambodia is a bit tougher, it’s definitely beatable”
With less than three years experience on the live stage, his results so far have been amazing and there’ll be plenty more opportunities to add to his growing resume. “I’m planning to play APT Taiwan in early May, APPT Cambodia mid May and the entire WSOP series from June to July. I’ll still be grinding online and studying hard before these live events.”
As you can see, Charlie plans on playing a lot of events in Asia and the game is slowly becoming more popular in that region. “I’m especially excited about APT Taiwan because we have a new bigger venue. With the legalization of poker tournaments in Taiwan, there are more and more people playing poker and players from other countries are coming to play as well!”
He might not realize it himself, but Charlie’s online presence in the YouTube world prior to Poker, combined with his appearance in Grindhouse 3 has gained a lot of traction, which is bringing more exposure to the game in Asia. When Charlie was asked about the poker landscape developing in the region, he had a lot of positive things to say. “I think Taiwan will become a big poker stop in Asia in the future. We’re in the middle east of Asia, so it’s very convenient for players from other countries to visit. We have a lot of relatively young and new players and the enthusiasm for poker is extremely high.”
Participating in Grindhouse is something that all Pokercode members would love to do and Charlie got that opportunity back in September 2022. The experience resonates with people in different ways, whether that’s on or off the tables. “It was crazy when I was playing in Cambodia, there was a European guy that I’ve never met before who said to me; “Hey, you’re Charlie, right?”. I thought to myself “how does this guy know me?” Later I found out that he’s a Pokercode member and watched the Grindhouse series on YouTube. We became friends afterwards.”
Charlie has clearly had an impact on Pokercode community members through Grindhouse, but he’s looking to use that experience to take his game to the next level. “I think my biggest growth after Grindhouse was the understanding about ICM and my mental game. I learnt how to use study tools such as HRC Beta and GTOWizard properly. So, I did a lot of work and study and the growth of my game has skyrocketed. It pushed me in a way that I want to make it really bad. I want to become a high stakes player and compete at the highest level in the future.”
The future is bright for Charlie and it’s clear that his motivation is there to become one of the best in the game. It can be easy to be motivated after reaching a major final table, but when asked what advice he would give to himself right now from an outside perspective, he gave a reassuring response. “The perfectionist aspect you have is an advantage for you to go far in Poker, but try to give yourself more credit. Keep up the attitude of thinking you’re not good enough and it’ll drive you to grow more in the future. Enjoy the process no matter its ups or downs. Be patient, one step at a time and you will make it. I believe in you.”
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