Just three weeks ago, Michael Esquivel was considering quitting poker and finding a better means to provide for his family. In the midst of a significant downswing and with just one five-figure tournament score since winning his first WSOP Circuit ring in 2022, poker was providing neither the joy nor the money he needed to continue.
But Esquivel decided to take one more shot to see whether his poker story really was over.
“It’s been a long journey. The story is about the life of a father who’s struggling to make ends meet, and his only way out is cards, poker. I’ve always believed I could do it. I’ve always trusted my instincts to be in a position where I am now, and it paid off.”
Patience pays big
The trust paid off. Since deciding to play the WSOP Circuit series in Tunica three weeks ago, Esquivel’s poker story has seen an incredible new chapter written with two more WSOP Circuit rings and almost $230,000 in winnings.
“Three weeks ago, I decided to show up and play some cards, and we’re here. I wasn’t really thinking about coming back and playing, but I guess I’m just destined to do this. You know, you hit adversity and there’s two ways to go about it. You either stop doing what you’re doing because it’s not working out, or you do it again the next day, and you fight.”
Esquivel’s latest triumph Thursday night came after a rollercoaster of a final table that saw him overcome immediate adversity as he was down to less than four big blinds six-handed after holding the chip lead. He fought back to get heads-up with Eric Kim, then overcame a 3-1 deficit there to claim his second title of the series and its $108,705 first prize.
'Here we go again.'
After winning the 6-Max event on Tuesday, Esquivel was overcome with emotion after the final card fell and he had claimed victory. This time, his reaction was far more subdued. He shook hands with Kim, accepted congratulations from his fallen opponent, and then got a hug from friend Preston McEwen.
He explained the difference in his winning reaction and discussed how a similar but very different moment with McEwen was a significant part of it.
“The first final table, I was feeling the pressure, because of what happened in Tunica last week. I got second, it hurt. Preston (McEwen) came over, and he hugged me, and he was like ‘I know the feeling, brother’, and so I just kind of told myself, here we go again, I might get second again in 6-max, so there was a lot of doubt.”
With that doubt now gone after his 6-Max win and buoyed by an immense sense of relief, Esquivel said he felt he was freerolling in the Monster Stack and would have been fine losing heads-up.
But he didn’t, and Esquivel is now a three-time Circuit champion with a much happier story to tell. One he can purely enjoy.
“I can definitely play poker without pressure now. I’m free.”
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