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Poker passion pays off for Oak Park man
The money's nice, but Freeman, a senior at the University of Southern California, says that's not the only reason why he plays. Freeman likes to go toeto-toe with the other players. "I'm a competition junkie. My whole life I've had the drive to be the best at something," Freeman said. "I think it's the same for most poker players." The World Poker Championships is the biggest professional poker tournament of the year, Freeman says. This year's event attracted more than 6,300 entrants from around the world competing for $59 million in prize money. The winner earned $8.25 million. The rest of the money was split among the top finishers.
Most of the entrants were men, but there were some female players. Freeman met players from throughout the United States as well as from Russia and Ireland. "I played with so many different, interesting characters from all over," Freeman said. Freeman had mixed feelings about his performance. Although pleased that he won at all, he was frustrated over not placing higher than 19th. Had he come in at 18th he would have won an even larger share of the pool. "I'm just disappointed because I was so close," Freeman said. He earned another $40,000 from an online poker website that paid him to wear their site's patches on his shirt the last day of the tournament At the Las Vegas event, Freeman played for five days from noon to midnight. "It was only five days, but it felt like forever," Freeman said. "It was a real grind, really tough." Participants began dropping out starting with the very first hand, and half of the entrants were eliminated on the first day. When it became apparent that Freeman would play in the finals his family and friends drove to the gambling capital to watch him. Parents Gail and Bruce Freeman and sister Christine came from Oak Park. Another sister, Lisa Abel, flew in from San Diego. Friends from Oak Park and from USC also came out to cheer him on. "We didn't know until midnight the day before that he would be one of the final 36 players," Bruce Freeman said. Freeman said his son was the youngest of the winners. "Scott is very smart, with good common sense. He is all about challenging himself to get better, to be better," Bruce Freeman said. While a student at Oak Park High School, Freeman became interested in poker after learning and playing the game at a friend's house. "My friend's dad played poker for years, so he taught us, and we all got hooked on it," Freeman said. It takes dedication to be successful at poker, Freeman added. He said he spends much time thinking about strategies and putting them to work. He plays up to 50 hours each week in online games, especially on Sundays when many tournaments take place. It's as much about reading one's opponent as its about the cards. Even in online games Freeman said he can read his opponent. High level poker requires "situational analysis," Freeman added. "If they're really aggressive or passive or if they like to bluff a lot, you can pick that up easily. It helps you determine how you're going to play," Freeman said. "In every single poker hand you have a ton of information given to you. It's really important to see how they react to how you bet." Freeman uses some of his poker earnings to play online. The rest he saves. He estimates he has won "a couple hundred grand online." His dad, a financial adviser, is paying for his college education. Freeman is majoring in business but isn't sure what career he will pursue. After graduating from USC in the spring, he plans to continue playing poker and traveling to other countries to visit some of the poker players he has met. "That's why poker's been so good. It has given me money so that I don't have to get a job right away," Freeman said. The tournament was taped by ESPN and will air on Aug. 21. | ||||||
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