Francis Anderson's run in the WPT bestbet Scramble Main Event came to an end on Monday night in eighth place — short of the maiden WPT title that he said would be a "lifetime accomplishment."
But it was another strong finish in 2024 for Anderson, who tallied a second career WPT final table this weekend. His first was back in 2019 when he finished sixth at the WPT Seminole Rock & Roll Poker Open for $111,895.
After reaching a WSOP final table in 2022 and 2023, Anderson finally got the proverbial monkey off his back in 2024 with a win in the $800 Independence Day Celebration, topping a field of 4,263 players to take home a career-best $501,040 and his long-awaited first bracelet.
Anderson has since eased off the poker grind a bit after a summer of success, deciding to focus more on travel and fitness. However, he still finds time to play a lot of major events in between.
Just before his run came to an end, Anderson spoke to PokerOrg about what a WPT title would mean to him as well as how his life has changed post-bracelet.
Anderson at the 2023 WPT World Championships. Your second (unofficial) WPT final table. What’s the tournament been like for you so far and can you point to any big hands that put you in this position?
So, Day 1 was a little bit shaky but I went on a bit of a heater towards the end of the night. At the beginning of Day 2, I made a big bluff with 9-8 after defending in the big blind. The flop came 9-6-2 and went check-check. Turn comes another 6, I lead small and he calls. River is an 8, I have top two pair but there are a couple of sixes out there. I bet about one-third pot, he raised, I really thought he had a six so, since I blocked a lot of boats, I decided to go all in and he eventually folded.
Right after that, a guy 5-bet shoved A-4 suited into my kings and I held. Won a bunch of small ones and then I won AA vs. KK at the end of last night. Obviously huge. But yeah, every time I’ve made a move, it’s worked out.
Today hasn’t been that great. I’ve been pretty card-dead all day. But here we are, 13 big blinds, anything can happen.
So, after coming in sixth in 2019, how would it feel to win this after such a long wait?
Oh, it’d be amazing. That was right before COVID and my first-ever WPT run and I haven’t made a final table since. I play just about all of the WPTs and winning would be a lifetime accomplishment.
How does WPT compare to WSOP and other poker tours?
For me, it’s a very close second just under WSOP. WPTs are a lot more fun. You go basically to play one big tournament and come with a pool of friends. You’re only there for a weekend compared to WSOP, where you’re grinding every day for seven weeks. So it feels really fun to come to these WPT stops and travel a little bit. I usually come with a fun group of friends and if we have a day off, we usually go have some fun and explore the city a little bit.
You documented on Twitter your “disaster” 2021 at the WSOP. You’ve since made a final table each year, capped off with your first bracelet this summer. Tell us about the rollercoaster that must have been on your mental game.
So, in 2021, I only cashed three times and fired 73 bullets. I’d show up for work every day and it was pretty deflating. In 2022, two weeks in, I finished third in the $1,500 Monster Stack for what was my biggest-ever score at the time ($449,912), and then 2023 I didn’t really have a great summer but my second-to-last tournament I came in fourth in the $1,979 Hall of Fame Bounty ($131,324+bounties). Then this summer, I finally won my bracelet and immediately ran deep in the Main Event (227th, $50,000).
My confidence is much, much higher than it was in 2021. I have a nice group of friends that I talk poker strategy with and I’ve been a lot more aggressive the last three years. My confidence is higher, I played a lot more, and I’ve been regularly playing against better competition.
What were those bracelet celebrations like? Did you get yourself something nice?
So, I won the bracelet and literally nine hours later I was playing Day 1D of the Main Event. About a week later, I finally got to celebrate. I went downtown with a bunch of friends, including David Coleman, he had just won the WPT Alpha8 Trifecta for $730K. We all had a wild night out.
I also bought myself a Tesla and I got my mom a car too.
Anderson bought himself a Tesla after a big summer. What would mean more? A WPT title or a bracelet?
It’s extremely close. I think I rank a bracelet slightly higher but the WPT is so prestigious. You get your name on the Mike Sexton Cup and it’s a bigger buy-in against much tougher players. Both of them are right about even.
As far as poker and life goes - what are your immediate goals? Can we expect to see you at events like EPTs and Tritons in the future?
I’m pretty sure I’m going to go over to play in Asia on the Asian Poker Tour at the beginning of the year. But really, I’m pretty good just playing tournaments in the United States, mostly in California, Florida, and Vegas. But I really want to go over to Asia, travel, and explore the world more.
I’ve also been working on my fitness a lot more. I hired a personal trainer, I’m a lot healthier now, and I think I’m in the best shape of my life. I also don’t play poker as much anymore either. I’ve still been studying but I’m taking a lot more time off and traveling a lot more. But yeah, less poker, less stress, but I’ll still travel for a big tournament if I see one coming up.
Photos courtesy of World Poker Tour/Katerina Lukina/Joe Giron
