May 25 2013, by Eric Danis

GPInterview: Ryan Eriquezzo | The Road Ahead

Ryan Eriquezzo GPIIt should have been the greatest moment of Ryan Eriquezzo’s poker career.  The young man from Connecticut had it all.  Money, fame and brand new WSOP gold bracelet following his WSOP National Championship victory.

Unfortunately, things weren’t all that rosy for the National Champ.  Soon after the win, Eriquezzo knew that he needed to make a major change in his life – he was in trouble and he needed help.

Shortly after leaving Vegas, he announced that he was stepping away from poker in order to focus on his recovery.  You can read all about it on his blog, including this post which talks about abandoning instant gratification.

Eriquezzo returned to the game a few months ago, in fact, today marks his 10th month of sobriety.

We chatted with Ryan earlier today who opened up about life, his recovery and his return to the WSOP:

 

Ryan, it’s that time of the year again. The WSOP is right around the corner, are you starting to get butterflies in your stomach?

I wouldn’t say butterflies necessarily … those I equate with being nervous. I would say I’m really excited for this summer.  Probably more so than I have ever been for any series in my career. I’m clear headed, sober and playing the best poker of my career, so I have big expectations of myself and hopes for success this summer

You won one of the last bracelet events of the 2012 WSOP in Las Vegas, the WSOP National Championship.  You were in a very different place then. Was that victory sort of bittersweet given where you were at in your life?

Well, I didn’t know at the time that I was going to go into recovery at the time I won the Bracelet.

It was more the realization after I did win that it didn’t fulfill me or make me happy. I knew that I had to do some things for myself and take some time away from poker to address some serious issues. I ended up taking six months off of poker entirely to get sober and address some of those issues

How are you doing with you recovery?

Recovery is the best decision I ever made for myself. I still struggle sometimes with real life things, but for the most part my life doesn’t even resemble the life I used to have. My personal relationships are being restored and I am honestly hopeful and happy for the first time in my life.  I actually have been 10 months sober today 🙂

Who has supported you most in your road to recovery?

Both of my parents have been extremely supportive. So have so many friends and family members. There are way too many to name. The entire network of sober people I have back home has been instrumental in my staying sober for 10 months. I could have never done it on my own

You didn’t qualify to play the WSOP National Championship this year. As the defending Champion, do you think that something should be in place to assure that the defending champ automatically qualifies for play the season after his/her win?

I definitely think that most prestigious events such as the National Championship should have an automatic invite to the defending champion. I understand that I didn’t qualify this year via points, but I think that the defending champion should at least have the buy in for $10k option, which I didn’t have either. I am not just biased because I happen to be in this position this year. I spoke with Sam Barnhart last summer about the same thing, as he was not eligible to play the event last summer as defending champion, and I thought that was absurd then. I think they definitely should give this year’s champion at least an option to buy in next year should they not qualify

You have had a nice run on the East Coast heading into the WSOP, talk to me about how things have gone on the felt the past few months…

I have been fortunate since I have returned to poker. I have been pleased with the decisions I’m making on and off the felt, and I think that I’m playing a very high level of poker right now. I also have run well in some important spots and showdowns to have the results I have had. I came back in January after six months off, and made several deep in the money cashes at the Borgata Winter Poker Open. I then went to LAPC and made two final tables in 1ks and a final 5 Table run in the Main event. After that I played Bay 101, had no success and had to come home for some family issues.

I played a few events at Foxwoods in March, one of which was the Main Event ($2700 reentry). I was fortunate to come in second in that event to Justin Schwartz (Stealthmunk). I finished my East Coast run by winning a postlim at Borgata for 31k. Since I’ve come back I have 10 cashes and around 200k in earnings in 4 Months of play. Running well 🙂

What are you goals heading into this year’s Series? Planning on playing a full schedule?

I’m playing the biggest schedule that I have every played. It is around 75k worth of events, including every 5k NLH and all WSOP NLH Bracelet events. The package is already sold out and I will be arriving in Vegas soon to play the first 5k event on the 29th of May. I’m very hungry, want to win another bracelet this summer, and I would have to say that is my main goal. I want to win at least one more bracelet this year. That should be the goal of any serious pro who is going out to play the Series

You’re a player that is available for selection on the GPI Fantasy Poker Manager App – tell me why Fantasy Managers should count on Ryan Eriquezzo as a solid selection this summer in Vegas?

I would probably pick myself this year. I love the decisions I’m making at the tables. I’m composed and playing extremely well these days. My results so far since my return have shown that I am a good pick to be a consistent and dangerous competitor this summer. Hope that people draft me!

We thank Ryan for taking the time to talk to us.

You can follow Ryan on Twitter @RyanEriquezzo and read his blog over at RyanPoker.com

 

 

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About the author

Eric Danis’ passion for poker came at a very early age but it’s when writing about and covering the game he loves that Danis is most in his element. Danis is better known for creating www.PTPRpoker.com where he spent a few years covering poker events. Danis is also known for having worked on the poker shows Poker Eh! and The Pulse on the Quad Jacks Network.