One could expect a guy to get cocky after winning more than half a million dollars in one of the most important online poker tournaments around. It’s not uncommon for people like that to find themselves floating around on a cloud of delusion that has a special seat for their particular brand of poker-deism. Or, in plainer terms, a lot of big winners think they’ve got it all figured out.
So when David “CrabMaki” Shallow took down the high-rolling $10,000 buy-in Event #2 of the 2010 World Championship of Online Poker, he didn’t climb up to the mountaintop and declare himself Zeus. He didn’t point and poke at runner-up Team PokerStars Pro Ville Wahlbeck and say anything nasty. When given the chance to talk nice-nice about himself, Shallow didn’t dare. He knows the score and it fits right in with his basic poker philosophy.
“Dont be results orientated. Don’t tilt,” Shallow said. “Just because a load of good players think something is right, doesnt make it right. Think independently.”
Such a philosophy almost sounds humble, doesn’t it? And humble is as humble does, it appears. Shallow took his screen name from a sushi roll (er…raw fish). As early as six years ago when he started playing poker, he described winning his WSOP seat as luck and his performance as, in his words, “useless.”
And yet, he sensed he might have something. The man from England gave up law school to play poker. He flirted with the big time and just missed some big scores in live events. Then he found online pot-limit Omaha and a goldmine that has afforded him some six-figure days.
Still, until this week, he had nothing like a six-figure score that began with the number six. Indeed, it was a $605,655 win that he scored heads-up against Wahlbeck, a man who gives credit where it’s due.
“I really would have wanted to win it, especially since I am a new Team PokerStars Pro and I’m kind of eager to prove them that they signed a first rate player,” Wahlbeck said. ” But CrabMaki played great and he deserved the win. I had my lucky breaks during the tourney, so if I look back, I’m happy with the second place.”
Shallow may have had some big success this week, but his ambitions are as varied as the rolls at his London sushi joints. He’s made it through some early interviews on The Apprentice. He wants to own a restaurant. He wants a lot and he aims to get it. He knows it will just take some time and adherence to his way of looking at his present money-maker.
“Poker is an unsolved game, so be creative,” he said.
For more on Shallow’s win, see: CrabMaki King of Event #2 ($10,300 NLHE)
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