Our newest #teamfade member made some major waves this weekend at the World Series of Poker circuit events up in Tulsa!

Playing in the ladies’ ring event, it was a ho-hum start, but she stayed patient. She had just over starting stack at the first break two hours in, and she was at a super aggressive table early with people trying to build stacks. On a thread with the team, Mario chimed in:

“Make your adjustments. Always have a plan and remember it’s your show. You control the action, pot control is key, and what story are you telling?” 

Quickly after, she picks up two cowboys in the small blind – and the rush was on! Or….so we thought. Unfortunately, she gets chased down with a river A and was all the way down to less than twenty big blinds. But did she punt and give up? Of course not! Survive and spin, survive and spin. She went into the second break with slightly below a starting stack, but, SHE WAS NOT OUT. After break, she found a double up with two queens against pocket tens and then the real spin was on.

With 15 people making the money, and 26 people left, the pressure heated up. She only had 48,000 chips at this point – average was 76,000 - and this is really where the support of the team kept Buddy in a good mental spot. Yvette decided to chime in, having been in this spot many times before:

“Pick your spots and play position. Be aware of how open or tight the ladies are at your table to make a move.”

From there, the countdown was on – 22 left, 19 left, 18 left and redraw…and then boom! A well timed double up with pocket tens (this time on the winning side), and she was in the money! She only had half the average stack at this point, but, she was fully on the grind. She accomplished the first goal – in the money – and now it was time to climb that ladder! She spun one more time – this time with A8 of SPADES against…you guessed it…pocket tens (!!!), and she is now above average starting at the final table! It was time for dinner break, and she had grinded and fought and clawed all the way back. What a roller coaster. I asked Grecia – how did it feel at dinner break?

“I felt pretty confident – I had just come off a double up so my stack was healthy but still slightly below average. I feel good playing from behind.” (note: clearly!)

After dinner, she really heated up, and before you know it, they were down to the final table and even moved to the feature table! Unfortunately though, she did hit a really rough stretch of being card dead at the final table, and ended up busting out in 5th after a long nine hour slugfest.

Upon busting, she had this to say:

“I was a little disappointed considering I had a very healthy stack coming into the final table but realized 2 cashes on 2 tourneys after not playing in years is something to be proud of.”

What a run, especially given the roller coaster of riding a short stack for much of the day. The entire team enjoyed the ride, and a ring is coming soon for Grecia Garza! Welcome to the team, Buddy. #teamfade