A wise man once said that good things come in pairs, and such was the case for Aaron Pinson at the WSOP Circuit at Horseshoe Baltimore.
The Baltimore native started off the series with a victory in the Opener event, claiming his first ring to go along with $16,058. However, this was just the beginning for Pinson.
Having already booked a trip to The Bahamas by winning the ring, a new opportunity presented itself after the WSOP announced that the winner of the Baltimore Main Event would receive a seat to the $26,000 buy-in Super Main Event in December.
The $1,700 Main Event here at Horseshoe Baltimore attracted a total of 332 runners to generate a prize pool of $502,980, along with the added seat to first.
The chipleader after Day 1? Aaron Pinson. The chipleader after Day 2? Aaron Pinson. And the player with all the chips by the end? You guessed it, Aaron Pinson.
Pinson returned for the final day with a small lead over the four remaining players. However, it would take just 55 minutes of play as he went wire-to-wire to take down the title, earning his second-biggest career score by winning the first-place prize of $102,668, adding to his over $2 million in earnings.
All-Maryland final
It was a local battle on Day 3 as all returning players called Maryland home, but it was Pinson who came out on top after a fortunate run in all-in situations.
“Variance was really on my side, it’s kind of nuts,” the 41-year-old Pinson admitted shortly after the victory, “But I think the plays were standard.”
Despite holding a commanding chip lead going into the final table, there was a point in which Pinson was the short stack five-handed, but he maintained his belief and composure.
“People who gamble sometimes feel unlucky, but I’m pretty good at recognizing that the hand that happened an hour ago worked out for you,” Pinson elaborated, “When a hand doesn’t work out for you, some people think their luck is so bad, but I just remember that I won the hand an hour ago or yesterday.”
“I’ve been playing a long time, I’ve lost a lot of hands. I’m used to losing, it’s just keeping the same mindset and just taking each spot as is.”
Harder falls
The most pivotal hand of the tournament took place early in the action today four-handed when Christian Harder opened from the cutoff with ace-king. Pinson would jam on the button covering the table with king-queen suited, and Harder quickly called off his 20 big blind stack. A queen would appear on the flop, and Pinson took complete control from that moment.
“Because of the $26k [seat], it made it very top heavy,” Pinson explained regarding his approach, “While I had the chip lead, the goal was to apply pressure, and just accumulate while other people laddered.”
The champ had only good things to say about his Day 3 opposition with whom he has shared many hands with in the past.
“I have tons of respect for opponents. Jimmy [Born] beat me heads-up once, and he’s a good player. Josh [Mischel] I’ve known most of my poker life, and [Christian] Harder I’ve always looked up to.”
On the final hand of the tournament, Josh Mischel jammed his final 13 big blinds from the button with ace-jack and Pinson called with ace-four. A four would appear on the flop, and a second one came on the turn to seal the title.
Pinson was quick to give a shoutout to the support system around him following the six-figure score.
“Thanks to my girlfriend Kim, and family and friends and everyone locally. I’m extremely grateful for all the positivity, all the good vibes, and even a little bit of the hater jealousy vibes fuels you too.”
“I know I’m a luckbox, what am I going to do? I’m a lucky guy.”
WSOPC Baltimore final table results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aaron Pinson | $102,668 |
| 2 | Josh Mischel | $68,489 |
| 3 | Jimmy Born | $46,792 |
| 4 | Christian Harder | $32,759 |
| 5 | Matt Richardson | $23,516 |
| 6 | HArrison Dobin | $17,320 |
| 7 | Dennis Grizzle | $13,097 |
| 8 | Anthony Mcie | $10,175 |
| 9 | Changfeng Fan | $8,128 |
| 10 | Thomas Barry | $6,681 |
