November 1-14 will see the poker superstars rock up to Monte Carlo for the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series. This is not going to be a series for the under-rolled; of the 16 events on the schedule, two will have a buy-in of $25K - and they’re the cheap ones. Five events have a six-figure buy-in, and there’s even a $60K turbo for those in a hurry.
It’s not a series that just anyone can play, then, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a fun sweat, and even make some money of your own, with ACR’s Fantasy Poker League (FPL).
As we wrote previously, pick a team of eight crushers in either the $25 or $109 buy-in leagues and you’ll receive points for all their results during the series in Monte Carlo. Players have $250 virtual dollars with which to draft their team, and if your players score enough points you’ll win a chunk of cash.
The FPL draft is open in the ACR Poker client until October 30, but who are going to be the most profitable players to pick?
We asked some of the poker brand’s biggest ambassadors - Chris Moneymaker, Tom Dwan, Chris Moorman and Nacho Barbero - for some insider tips.
Note: Some had more useful advice than others… ;)
What strategies do you recommend for success in the upcoming Fantasy Poker League: Monte Carlo?
Chris Moneymaker: The key to the Fantasy Poker League Monte Carlo is going to be figuring out which players play the most events.
Most of the players in Monte Carlo are going to be good. Obviously you want to focus more on the pros, but even amateurs that play all of the events are more valuable than pros that are going to play a select few. Take me, for example, I’m probably only going to play, like, three or four events. If you have an amateur that will play 15 events, obviously that amateur is going to be more valuable.
Chris Moneymaker picked up a Triton Super High Roller title earlier this year, but is unlikely to play a heavy schedule.Chris Moorman: Make sure to pick players who will play all of the events to have the best chance of accumulating the maximum number of points.
Nacho Barbero: I think a good strategy for the Fantasy Poker League Monte Carlo is to look at how the player has been running. For example, say you think this guy is better, but the other guy has been running insane and winning everything. I’d pick the guy who’s on a streak, even if you think the other guy is better.
I’ll give you an example. Stevie [Chidwick] is going to be a very easy pick, right? I don't want to make it too obvious, but let's say you pick between Stevie or Adrian Mateos. They always say you should pick Mateos, because he’s always winning everything. But also look online to see who’s been doing really well in tournaments, both online and live. That’s a good strategy I would use. I think running good in poker is almost as important as being really good.
Tom Dwan: Erm, what is ‘Fantasy Poker League’?
What advice would you give to newcomers participating in the Fantasy Poker League: Monte Carlo?
Dwan: See above. What is this ‘Fantasy Poker League’?
Moorman: Try and have a well-rounded team, maybe 3x $50 budget players and 5x $20 budget players is a good way to structure it.
Barbero: I’m not too sure how the system works but I would pick players that play everything, like PLO and Hold’em. It’s probably better to pick players that are really good in Omaha.
Chris Moorman says go for a well-rounded team.Who are the players to watch in the upcoming Super High Roller Series in Monte Carlo? Who would you pick and why?
Dwan: Me.
Moneymaker: You’re going to be looking for people that are in the hunt for Player of the Year at Triton. It could be Danny Tang, it could be Jason Koon. You also need to make sure they play PLO, that they play short deck. Phil Ivey is a very good candidate for this, but the problem with Phil Ivey is he sometimes gets bored. I haven't seen him get bored at Triton before, but at the WSOP he’d take off and not play many. But Phil has definitely been playing more and more of the Tritons here recently.
You’ll get someone like Tom Dwan or Nacho, those guys are going to be playing a full schedule for the Fantasy Poker League in Monte Carlo, so you might want to focus on those guys.
Moorman: Obviously there are so many great players, it’s hard to go wrong. I like Stephen Chidwick or Adrian Mateos best for the $50 players, and Justin Saliba and Alex Kulev for the $20 players.
Barbero: Adrian Mateos - he’s the best in the world, in my opinion. I’d also pick Juan Pardo Domínguez; I like his style, and I think he’s up there too, maybe the second best. Then there’s Danilo Velasevic. They would definitely be in my top picks right now.
Nacho Barbero knows just who he'd pick for his top three.I’d also pick some players that are good at board games, like Jesse Lonis - he's very smart, plays a lot of street poker, and he’s, like, number one on the GPI. Also, Stevie [Chidwick] could be a good pick too.
And to have an all-rounded team, it would also be good to have players that make a lot of difference, even if they don’t always close. For example, Seth Davies is pretty solid. He’s been so close in tournaments lately, travelling a lot to win some tournaments. I think he’s a good pick because he is very solid and runs deep, and now he’s been running good and winning some tournaments, which is very important for morale.
What tips do you have for assembling a competitive fantasy poker lineup?
Barbero: First, make sure to find out if the guys are going. Don't pick anybody who isn’t, because it will cost you. Just look at the stats from previous Tritons, see who’s participating and who is not. Guys like Mario Mosbock tend to do very well; he’s a really good pick, and you know he is going to play everything. Others like Fedor Holz and Matthias Eibinger are always performing on the stops, so I would consider them.
Moneymaker: Try to figure out who has got the busiest schedule during that time, who is going to play the most events, and focus on getting those guys.
Dwan: Bet on me.
ACR Poker's FPL draft is available in their client until October 30. The Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Monte Carlo runs from November 1-14 at Monte Carlo Sporting, Salle des Etoiles.
Additional images courtesy of Joe Giron/pokerphotoarchive.com/Triton Poker/Neil Stoddart
