EPT Deauville: Cody Makes His Picks

It’s official! Jake Cody (GPI: 230) is the most popular man on the GPI Fantasy Poker Manager Facebook App as the deadline nears to make your picks for EPT Deauville.

I recently had a short conversation with Cody discussing his GPI FPM team selections and he informed me that his roster wasn’t based on EPT Deauville but rather the whole 2013 season as he is involved in a prop bet.  That is actually crucial information as most will make their selections based on the upcoming tournament but for some, like Cody, will make their selections for all of this season.

Strategy Tip: Although most will be tempted to change players in and out at each FPM tour stop, it’s important to note that you are charged a 5% “agent fee” each time you drop a player – this could prove to be costly once October comes around!

Now back to Cody and his picks … will he, like almost 30% of you, add himself to his squad?  Here is a review of TeamCody:

BERTRAND “ElkY” GROSPELLIER (FRA) | GPI #4 | FPM 484,030
Best EPT Deauville Result: 2010, 9th, €51,500
Career WSOP, WPT, EPT: 3 wins, 38 cashes,  $6,187,872

The bid dog on Cody’s team.  You’ll notice that he’s the only player who carries a market price over 100K.  And it’s a serious investment of 484K by Cody but let’s be honest, ElkY delivers the goods each and every year.  He travels well and is a genuine poker superstar.  ElkY is a no-brainer and allows Cody to make a few risky picks further down the line.

ANTON WIGG (SWE) | GPI #163 | FPM 86,640
Best EPT Deauville Result: Never cashed
Career WSOP, WPT, EPT: 1 win, 8 cashes,  $838,006

Like Jeffrey Rossiter did yesterday, Cody adds former EPT Copenhagen Champ Anton Wigg to his squad.  Wigg also has collected several side event victories on the EPT circuit.  He had a monster lead with 18 players remaining in the France Poker Series Main Event yesterday, but, shockingly, finished in 13th position.

RAMZI JELASSI (SWE) | GPI #173 | FPM 77,750
Best EPT Deauville Result: 2010, 53rd, €12,500
Career WSOP, WPT, EPT: 1 win, 13 cashes,  $1,472,905  

This is where you will start seeing a trend in Cody’s selections.  Not only is he filling his roster with players who have won major championships, he is taking players who have recently won a huge event.  Coincidence?

We start this streak with Ramzi Jelassi of Sweden.  After a few years on the live tournament circuit, Jelassi finally broke through winning EPT Prague to end 2012.

YANN DION (CAN) | GPI #201 | FPM 57,430
Best EPT Deauville Result: Never cashed
Career WSOP, WPT, EPT: 0 wins, 5 cashes,  $270,940

His live tournament winnings may not be earth shattering but, do not underestimate Dion, who recently won the “inaugural” FTOPS Main Event and followed that up with a final table appearance at the PCA.  Dion could be one of those players who offers tremendous value when all is said and done.

JAKE CODY (UK) | GPI #230 | FPM 47,410
Best EPT Deauville Result: 2010, Champion, € 857,000
Career WSOP, WPT, EPT: 3 wins, 11 cashes,  $2,773,569

Like many of you out there, Cody picks himself – and why not.  A triple-crown winner at less than 50K?  Yes please!  Cody seems on the verge of something big again – the fact that 3 out of 10 people in the FPM have Cody on their teams.

LUDOVIC LACAY (FRA) | GPI #233 | FPM 45,900
Best EPT Deauville Result: 2010, 40th, €14,700
Career WSOP, WPT, EPT: 1 win, 21 cashes,  $2,796,986

Back to the recent winner strategy.  Lacay won one of the most entertaining final tables of 2012 at EPT Sanremo, surviving a strong final table field that included Jason Lavallee, Jason Tompkins and Micah Raskin.

Lacay is another pro that isn’t afraid to travel the world to play in the biggest tournaments.  He plays all over Europe and sets up shop yearly at the WSOP in Las Vegas.  Lacay has years of experience on the circuit and has over 2.7M in career winnings.

JOHN EAMES (UK) | GPI #246 | FPM 35,290
Best EPT Deauville Result: Never cashed
Career WSOP, WPT, EPT: 0 wins, 16 cashes,  $522,251

Eames was also part of Rossiter’s team.  Eames is a solid pickup for sure and offers great value at 35K.

RUBEN VISSER (NED) | GPI #321 | FPM 16,450
Best EPT Deauville Result: Never cashed
Career WSOP, WPT, EPT: 0 wins, 7 cashes,  $431,774

Visser is a solid addition to TeamCody.  Although he lacks a WSOP, WPT or EPT title, Visser does have the ability to cash in a lot of events so he could provide great depth on a team filled with win potential.

ONDREJ VINKLAREK (CZE) | GPI #374 | FPM 10,500
Best EPT Deauville Result: 2012, 53rd, €15,000
Career WSOP, WPT, EPT: 0 wins, 3 cashes,  $71,728

Certainly a very interesting pick here – I’m willing to bet that not many people have Vinklarek on their shortlists heading into Deauville.  It looks like he played all of the EPT’s last year so, despite the fact that he may not have the big results, Cody may be onto something here.  Plus, Cody may have insider information on the player.  One thing is for sure, the pick is a creative one.

Former EPT London Champ David Vamplew was quick to point out that Vinklarek won EPT8 Player of the Year plus he is currently listed as a Top 10 player on Pocket Fives.  I didn’t mean to make it look like Vinklarek wasn’t a talented player but that he is not a name that most will have ranked high on their player lists.

BENJAMIN SPINDLER (GER) | GPI #395 | FPM 10,000
Best EPT Deauville Result: Never cashed
Career WSOP, WPT, EPT: 1 win, 10 cashes,  $2,499,732

To pickup a player with close to 2.5M in live career tournament winnings is never a bad thing, especially when he’ll only cost you 10K.

Spindler is a very solid addition to Cody’s squad; his only score in 2012 was a big one – winning the EPT Sanremo High Rollers event, collecting € 253,000 for the win.  He is only 16 months removed from his EPT London victory.

I really like the team that Cody has assembled.  He has plenty of players that have serious win potential; has a strong potential points producer in Visser and goes way off the board with his Vinklarek selection (and that’s really not a bad thing).  You can bet that Jake take his FPM team seriously – who cares what type of money is at stake in his prop bet – there are serious bragging rights on the line for the triple-crown winner!

Hope you enjoy playing the GPI Fantasy Poker Manager, Jake!

Scout your players now and head on over to the GPI Fantasy Poker Manager you have until Tuesday (start of Day 2) to get your EPT Deauville picks in!

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