David Apostolico of West Chester, PA won his first ring for $16,977 on Monday evening at Harrah’s Atlantic City, and may have used some ancient wisdom in his bid to conquer the field.
'If you know the enemy and you know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt,' so wrote Sun Tzu in his legendary book The Art of War, over 2,000 years ago.
The 62-year-old Apostolico, a corporate lawyer by trade, knows well how this famous quote from The Art of War relates to the game of poker. After all, he is also a poker author who has written three books, most notably Tournament Poker and the Art of War, published in 2005.
He used this methodology to best 134 enemies who were waging war at the table against him at WSOP-C Atlantic City, in Event #5: $600 NLH. The most testing battles came at the final table, as four-handed play would last for a grueling three hours. Several times, Apostolico was down and out in the trenches with a short stack, but each time he was able to battle back against his enemies.
The mano-a-mano battle of heads-up play against Ryan McDonald required the most thorough understanding of the art of war, as Apostolico was forced to search for his enemy's weaknesses and devise the best strategy for victory. After rallying from a chip deficit and then surviving a back and forth duel, Apostolico was able to enjoy the spoils of a battle well won with a WSOP Circuit ring as the prize loot.
After the win, he talked about the books he has written and his poker strategy in general.
“My writings were more philosophical about understanding your opponent. You could have all the solvers and theory in the world, but you have to know the deeper mental side behind the game. I like to look at poker that way, the mind aspects which make it fascinating. It also relates to business and has been a big help in my professional career to look at things in this same vein.”
Like father like Sun Tzu
Watching the entire eight-hour final table of Apostolico's ring win was his son Ryan, who is looking to forge his own path on the battlefields of poker. Having just turned 21 in March, he had a milestone of his own here in Atlantic City this weekend as he cashed in two different events for his first career cashes.
Ryan credits his dad with getting him into poker from an early age.
“He taught me the game. I was playing when I was 5 years old. He loves to talk about poker and always talked to me about it when I was growing up, so I couldn’t wait to play when I got old enough.”
Ryan is a current student at the University of Delaware and was unable to play more events during this circuit series thanks to the new fall semester starting up soon.
Apostolico senior talked about how special it was to be able to play in the same tournaments with his son.
“It’s great. It adds an element of extra fun to it for sure. I was so glad he was able to cash in his first tournaments.”
Apostolico’s win of nearly $17K more than doubles his previous career total of just over $15K.
"I don't get to play that much, with five kids and everything. I play about once or twice a year, if there's a Circuit or something. I have a pretty good cash record when I do play, though."
As Sun Tzu writes, 'He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.'
Again, it's wisdom that Apostolico seems to be taking on board; 'once or twice a year' seems to be working out pretty well for him.
