Martin Finger: Eye of the German Storm in Main Event

Martin Finger is a beast on the international high roller circuit with $6.8 million in tournament earnings. He won a bracelet in 2013 and cashed in the $111,111 One Drop High Roller that year too, but otherwise his World Series of Poker results are pretty pedestrian compared to his international earnings. Finger has 2.3 million on Day 5 of the Main Event and his opportunity isn’t lost on him.

“It’s a roller coaster, up and down – I just lost kings versus aces for 2.7 million,” Finger said on the second break. “I took down another pot right after though – it brought my emotions back to a better place after. Now I’m just trying to make the best out of it.”

Finger has a ton of experience and knows the spot that he’s in. “It’s a unique tournament – everybody knows the prize pool is so big,” he said. “The field is amazing, you get a mix of professionals and amateurs and my tables have been pretty good.”

“I tend to play the higher buy-ins where you pretty much play your hand the same way all the time,” Finger said. “Here you have more room for creativity. That’s what makes it more interesting, along with the $8.5 million up top. Plus, all the coverage, it’s a unique experience for me.”

Finger began Day 5 with a table that’s unlikely to break. “Playing with the same table for a long time and seeing them play would me an advantage for me I guess,” he said. “On Day 2 and Day 3 I had a table where I got distracted from talking too much to the people sitting in my corner. That was fun, but today you can feel is getting more intense and the money is getting more important.”

Martin Finger at his 2013 Final Table against Matt Stout. (Photo: PokerPhotoArchive.com)
“Making the final table at the WSOP Main Event is so big that there’s no chit chat going on,” Finger added. “It’s just too important at the end.”

With the November Nine format history and the Main Event playing out in July, Finger was split on his opinion. “There’s good points and bad points for playing it out,” he said. “If was to make the November Nine, I would have three months and knew that I had a million or up to $8.5 million – I’m gonna have the time of my life.”

“But on the other side, to get two days off – there’s no way people catch up if you have the advantage,” he added. “It’s nice for TV production if it’s live.”

“It does mean a lot to me. When go home I’m excited to come back the next day,” said Finger. “I have to sit down and enjoy what happened that day – for me it’s a big deal. Winning the tournament would obviously be one of the most unique experiences in my life and nothing else in my life would be comparable.”