This is all déjà vu. Darryll Fish spoke to PokerOrg a year ago when he final tabled the 2023 World Poker Tour Rock ‘N' Roll Poker Open Championship. A year later, the same two people, in the same corner of the room – probably wearing the same hoodies – are again, ‘Flowing with the Fish.’
“I’m fortunate; it’s kind of crazy how good I seem to run in these things,” Fish says. “My day was kind of rocky until recently (26 players remaining). I was hoping for decent spots but was at some really aggressive tables, so it’s been tough.”
“Then, I just kind of caught fire when I got short,” he adds. “I tripled up with nines, and then it’s all been uphill – wait, downhill? The good one [laughs], I had AK against kings, where I got a big lucky double up.”
Same bat time, same bat channel
Fish is one of the final 16 players returning to Day 4 of the $3,500 World Poker Tour Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Championship on Tuesday. He returns in the driver's seat as the chip leader.
In the year since his sixth-place finish, he’s added 27 tournament cashes, three in the WPT, and over $185,000 to his bankroll.
While the storyline begs for Fish to look for redemption or close out unfinished business, he’s appropriately laid back about it. “I’ve won one [WPT title] before, so I don’t feel like anything is owed to me, but yeah, last year I finished sixth,” he says.
Playing to his strengths
“I felt like I could have done better there,” says Fish. “I’m always trying to do my best. I treat each tournament as its own thing. I’m just trying to not make mistakes; I know I’m not the best player remaining in the tournament.”
Fish’s strength in tournament poker is a third-eye awareness of actions around him. He focuses on paying attention to table dynamics.
“These days, guys like Jesse [Lonis] and some other real sickos study the game and play more high-stakes tournaments than I do,” Fish says. “So, I just try to stay in my lane, play solid, and wait for decent spots.”
Fish has a reputation for ranging from unflappable to grinning from ear to ear. He never lets emotions get the best of him. “The only time I scream on the inside is if I make a big mistake and it costs me my stack. Before I get out of the room, I’m beating myself up,” he said. “But I never externalize my anger like that; I’m too grateful to even go this deep.”
All photos courtesy of World Poker Tour.
